Chapter 36

"He looks so pale", Louisa commented to Martin as he led her down the corridor away from the wards to take a lift to the second floor.

"Mmm … he's going to have a long recovery."

"Do you think I could come by again?"

"If he continues to progress, I don't see why not.'

They left the lift and walked down a wide hallway where Martin punched in a code to a door that opened to a suite of offices and examination rooms. Martin's office was a small room, sparsely furnished with a desk, a bank of bookshelves and a credenza on the wall behind the desk. His desk sported a lonely laptop and what appeared to be an inbox that was currently empty. There was a bank of windows opposite the door providing a picturesque view of the city nearby. Martin took Louisa's coat and hung it on the peg behind the door and gestured that she should sit in one of two visitor's chairs facing the desk and he took a seat behind the desk in what appeared to be a cushioned desk chair. Office hours had ended just a few minutes previous and the staff was preparing to leave for the weekend. A middle-aged woman with dark hair and bright blue eyes followed them into the office, "Do you need anything else before I leave Mr. Ellingham?"

Martin cleared his throat, "Yes. Would you leave me my list for Monday? Also have you and Kirkham's assistant set up a schedule Monday for us to meet with the second candidate coming in for an interview and tour?"

"Yes. It's all arranged along with a working lunch with a few other heads of departments. The schedule for Mr. Harding will be similar to Ms. MacDonald's interview today. I've printed out your schedule, along with patient notes for your consultations, and I've included it all in your on-line planner."

She handed Martin a sheaf of papers which he quickly leafed through before placing them in his briefcase, "Good. Thank you, Mrs. Lassiter. That will be all."

Louisa watched Martin's interaction with his assistant with interest, and smiling, stood as the woman turned to leave. Louisa had spoken with her a few times during that week as Martin set up his office, and she wanted to get to know the woman better. She knew that it wouldn't occur to Martin to make introductions, so she offered her hand, "Mrs. Lassiter, I'm Louisa, Martin's wife. I believe we've spoken a few times over the phone?"

Mrs. Lassiter took Louisa's hand gratefully and smiled back at her, "Yes, it's so nice to meet you. Please call me Julia. I'm sure we will have to consult with one another from time to time. It's good to have a face to put behind the name."

Louisa responded, 'Yes, same here." And she glanced around the room, "I'll have to make sure Martin has a picture of his family to put on the desk."

"Humph, no need." Martin opened the top right-hand drawer of his desk and pulled out a family portrait, "I have one right here when I want to look at it. No need for others to gawk at it."

As Martin placed the framed photo back in the drawer and closed it, Louisa added, "You may have already discovered that my husband is very protective of his privacy, and he abhors gossip." Louisa laughed, "Don't say you weren't warned." She had noticed several staff wandering past the open door peering in, anxious to take her measure. She was certain that there were already whisperings in the hallway because of her noticeably pregnant belly. She doubted that Martin had confided to any of his staff that they were expecting a child.

Mrs. Lassiter took that as her cue to leave them to it and left the office, closing the door behind her, "Have a nice dinner."

Louisa sat back down and, nodding her head towards Martin's drawer, she murmured, "That's nice."

Martin swivelled his head from right to left, trying to find whatever it was she was referring to, "What?"

"Our family photo. It's nice to know that you wanted to have it near."

"Mmm," Martin reddened. The photo was one of the first things he had brought to his new office. Seeing the picture of the three of them holding each other close soothed his soul when he missed their presence. "Yes. Ahem, I like to look at it from time to time."

She reached over and squeezed his hand, "I'm glad. I miss you too during the day."

She smiled at him and he held her gaze thinking, "How did she know?" It baffled him how she was learning to read his unspoken thoughts, something new and good in their relationship.

Louisa let go of his hand and tilted her head towards the door, "Mrs. Lassiter … she seems nice."

'Mmm. Very efficient as well. Excellent organizational skills."

"Good. You don't miss Morwenna then?"

Martin looked at her puzzled, "No. Why would I?"

Louisa shook her head and sighed, "No reason. Do you want to give me a tour of your new digs?"

"This is it," Martin raised his eyebrow, as if to say, "what were you expecting?"

"Is this where you do your consultations?"

"Of course not. We have examination rooms for that. I write up my notes here, make calls to referring physicians, that sort of thing. I would seldom need to consult with a patient in this office."

"Oh, right." She wandered over to the windows and looked out. The sun was setting and casting a colourful glow over the city. "Nice view." She turned towards Martin, "Where are we meeting with Mr. Kirkham and his wife?"

"We are expected in his office in ten minutes."

"Great. Gives me time to find the loo."

Martin tugged on his ear in consternation and sighed, knowing that some of the staff would still be closing up. "Right. Just down the hall to your left."

When Louisa returned, he stood and picked up her coat. "His office is on the third floor. We will have to take the lift."

The third-floor hallway was similar to the first and they walked down to a suite of offices and entered. The receptionist was still on duty and Martin spoke to her, "Mr. and Mrs Ellingham to see Mr. Kirkham."

She responded quickly, "Ah yes, he is expecting you. Go through." The door to the surgeons' offices and examination rooms clicked and Martin led her to a corner office where Mr. Kirkham was waiting. He rose when they entered the room, "Ready for dinner Martin?"

A small conference table sat against the other windowed wall

Louisa took a quick glance around the room which was much larger than Martin's office. It had similar furnishings, a large desk with a well-padded desk chair and two guest chairs, but Kirkham's desk was covered in files and piles of various papers, and the bookcases were filled with reference books and assorted mementos. Framed professional certificates filled up the wall next to the door. Floor to ceiling windows lined the two outside walls and a sofa and coffee table were arranged in front of one of the windowed walls. A small conference table sat against the other windowed wall, and a large potted plant was placed directly in the corner where it could capture the light from both directions. All in all, Mr. Kirkham's office was pleasant and commodious, perfect for holding the occasional meeting.

Mr Kirkham walked from behind his desk and greeted her, "You must be Louisa. I've heard a great deal about you … not from Martin of course," he chuckled, "but from our friend Chris Parsons. He's quite your advocate."

Louisa was a bit taken aback at the man's direct manner, and she responded in a friendly tone, "Yes. Chris is a good friend of Martin's and mine. It's nice to meet you Mr. Kirkham."

"Oh, please call me Rob. Valerie, my wife, had to run down the hall for a minute. I'm sure she will be back moment …. Ah, here she is."

An elegant middle-aged woman with blond hair done up in a chignon entered the room. She was fashionably dressed in a silk navy dress cut to hide the figure flaws that middle age bestows on most women unless they are diligent about visiting the gym. For some reason, she reminded Louisa of Martin's mother. She bore no resemblance to Margaret, but her manner and haughty expression were similar. Rob introduced her, "Valerie, let me introduce you to Martin Ellingham, our new vascular department head and his wife, Louisa."

Valerie raised her head and greeted them both, "Martin, so nice to meet you finally. Rob has spoken of you often and has great hopes for your success." She then turned to Louisa and looked her up and down appraisingly, "Nice to meet you as well Louisa. I was going to invite you to our next auxiliary meeting, but I'd say that you will have your hands full before the month is out."

Louisa gave her a strained smile, trying to suppress her offence at the imperious tone Valerie had used to address her, and responded politely, "Nice to meet you as well. Actually, the baby isn't due for two more months, towards the end of January."

Valerie raised her eyebrows in disbelief which reinforced Louisa's impression of the similarities to Margaret, "my apologies. I didn't mean to imply …"

Louisa turned to Rob, "I understand that you and Martin met with Ms. MacDonald. Can you tell us anything about her or her partner? Sofia is her name, I believe." Ms. MacDonald was the surgeon that they hoped to recruit from Imperial in London.

"Yes. Martin and I had a good meeting with Priya. I believe she is very interested in joining us, and we would be happy to have her. She is quite knowledgeable, has excellent references, and Martin was impressed with her skills when he observed her work in London."

"I don't suppose she shared anything personal with either of you. Give us something to discuss at dinner."

Valerie tilted her head at Louisa and spoke in a condescending tone, "My dear, that is why we are having dinner. A more relaxed atmosphere away from hospital will enable her to ask us about the lifestyle here in Cornwall and let us get to know her a bit better."

"Don't treat me like a child," was the thought that flew through Louisa's mind, and she couldn't help her mouth setting in a determined grimace as she replied, "Yes, I see."

Unable to stop herself, Louisa stepped closer to Martin and speaking into his sleeve, added under her breath, "That hadn't occurred to me."

Martin glanced down at her, perplexed, but before he could ask her to repeat her comment, Rob spoke up. He had noticed Louisa's reaction and decided that it was time to leave, "Well my dears, we have reservations downtown for half six. We'd better leave if we don't want to be late. We don't want to keep our guests waiting."

He reached for Valerie's coat and helped her into it, and Martin helped Louisa with hers. The sun had already set and the wind had picked up by the time they exited the hospital's main entrance, and made their way to the car park. "Would you like to ride with us?" Rob offered to Martin, but Martin declined, "We'll take my car. That way we can go straight home after dinner."

Martin took Louisa's arm and helped steady her as they walked the short way to his assigned spot in the car park. As soon as they were in the car, Martin turned to her, "Are you alright?"

"Fine. I'm fine," Louisa replied through gritted teeth. "Nice of you to ask though."

"Mmm. You looked annoyed. I wondered if you wanted to say something."

"What do you think of Rob's wife Valerie?"

"Should I think anything about her? She's, his wife. I suppose I am required to be polite."

"She doesn't remind you of anyone?"

"No … I take it you don't like her."

"She insulted me … twice."

Now it was Martin's turn to be puzzled, "She did?"

"Yes, she implied that I was fat and socially inept."

"I'm sure she didn't mean either of those two things."

"Oh Martin, you don't understand. Certain women have a way of expressing themselves, insulting other women in a very underhanded way. Just trust me; we need to be wary of her."

"Right." Martin tilted his chin upward, not really understanding, but cognizant of the fact that Louisa had felt offended.

She was tempted to point out the similarities between Valerie and Martin's mother, but held her tongue. It wouldn't do for Martin to see Valerie in the same light as his mother. He might treat her with undisguised contempt and offend Rob; best that he treats her in the indifferent and aloof manner he used for most of his non-medical acquaintances.

The restaurant was just a few minutes' drive from hospital, and they soon arrived, joining Rob and Valerie at their table. Within another five minutes their guests arrived as well. After all the introductions were made, Louisa commented to Sofia that she thought her name was very pretty.

"Why, thank you." She laughed slightly, an impish expression crossing her face, "My parents were travelling in Bulgaria nine months before I was born and they named me after the capital city in remembrance of their time there … if you get my drift."

Reactions to this personal nugget were mixed, Martin appeared confused, Valerie forced a smile and both Rob and Louisa laughed. "What a lovely little story. They must have enjoyed their visit tremendously," Louisa commented slyly.

Priya joined in the humour commenting, "Sofia loves to tell that story. Her parents are delightful people, and they love to travel, but I think Sofia is the only child they named after a city."

Louisa replied, "I only commented because I'm making a list of possible girl's names in case we have a girl."

Priya exclaimed, 'You don't know whether you're having a girl or a boy? I'm sure your doctor knows and could tell you."

"Yes, she offered, and there are times when I wish we had asked, but really, I think it's more exciting to wait and be surprised. We didn't know that James would be a boy until he was born."

"Oh, you have a son?"

"Yes, he turned three this last summer."

Priya added, "That's a wonderful age, so inquisitive, and full of life."

"Yes, he is," Louisa grinned with joy. Tucking his chin in an effort to hide the pride he felt for his son, Martin added, 'Yes."

Louisa tilted her head and tentatively asked, "Do you have children of your own?"

"Oh no, but my two sisters both have children and I remember when they were three, so much fun."

"Do they live in London?'

"No, they both live in Scotland, near my folks, but Sofia's brother and his wife live in Newquay and they are expecting their first in April. We can't wait and if we find ourselves living in Cornwall, even better. My sisters' children call Sofia and me the "fun aunties."

Valerie jumped into the conversation at this point, "Sofie, we know that Priya was busy at hospital today. Were you able to enjoy any of the sights of our city?"

Louisa prickled at Valerie's mispronunciation of Sofia's name. Margaret always seemed to drop the 'a' from her own name, but Sofia handled the omission beautifully. "It's Sofi-a, actually. Yes, I mostly wandered around, visited the cathedral and the Royal Cornwall Museum … checked out the Pannier Market and took a sandwich to eat at Victoria Garden, and I stumbled across Lemon Street Market on my way back to the car park. What a great place, I could have spent hours there."

Valerie agreed, "That is a very eclectic market, great for finding decorative items and special gifts. I find myself there often when I want something with just that 'je ne sais quoi.'"

Valerie continued to outline all the cultural benefits to be found in Truro and in Cornwall generally and their two guest politely responded, thanking her for the information. At some point, Louisa interrupted Valerie's soliloquy and asked them what they liked to do in their leisure time.

Priya looked at Sofia and responded, "We are both outdoorsy people. We love to go hiking and are looking forward to exploring the moor and wandering the coastal trail. We also love to ride horses and surf. That was one sport we couldn't indulge much living in London, but it's much too cold to surf until spring, don't you think?"

Louisa responded, "Wow, Cornwall is a great place for surfing. I've even tried my hand at it, although I'm not particularly proficient, still surfing at the beginner level I'm afraid. I can stand up on the board, but fall off within a few seconds." She grinned, but then continued, "There are some hard-core surfers here who surf year-round. Go visit some of the local beaches and check out the scene. You might find some surfing soul mates. If you like to sail, that's also something you could enjoy on our warmer winter days."

All through the conversations, Rob and Martin stayed mostly in the background, with Rob occasionally interjecting a comment. Martin was quietly pleased that Louisa was able to carry the weight of entertaining the two women. He would have been at a loss to discuss any of the activities that they seemed to find interesting. Their leisure time pursuits were of no interest to him as long as Priya was a competent surgeon, of which he was certain. While she hadn't immediately accepted the post they were offering, she had indicated a strong interest and he was confident that she would join them by early December, and he pasted as congenial an expression on his face during the meal as he was able.

As they were driving home, Louisa turned to him, "I really enjoyed our evening. Both Priya and Sofia seem quite pleasant. What did you think? Do you think Priya will accept your offer?"

"I believe she will. She seemed very interested, and now that you have discovered that they can enjoy their favourite leisure activities here in Cornwall, I am nearly certain."

'Yes, they both seem to enjoy outdoor activities, much easier to access surfing locales when living in Cornwall than in London."

"Yes."

Louisa leaned back in her seat and smiled to herself, "Remember when you had to go to that beach shack and deliver the baby for the surfer instructor's wife?"

"Mmm … yes. Fortunate there were no complications."

"I should give Priya and Sofia his name. He could direct them to good surfing beaches."

"I suppose. Seemed like a bit of a cupcake to me."

Louisa grinned as she simulated waves in motion with her hands, "Total surfer dude. Wonder how they will handle living in that shack with a baby."

They drove on in silence, Louisa closing her eyes and leaning her head against the window, startling slightly when Martin spoke, "Mmm … baby names. I suppose we should discuss them before the baby arrives."

"You don't want to wait a few weeks after the birth to decide?" Louisa teased with a sparkle in her eye.

"It was a difficult time, if you recall." Martin's tone was severe and reflected the hurt he still harboured, and she realised that now was not the time to tease him about making that decision.

"Yes, it was. But we've come a long way since then." She reached over to stroke his arm, "Haven't we?"

He lowered his chin and glanced in the mirror before turning onto the motorway, "Yes."

"The name Sofia. Would you seriously consider naming our daughter Sofia?"

"It's a pretty name."

"Mmm …" Martin grunted dully.

"You don't like that name?"

"There was a very annoying woman in medical school called Sofia. She …"

Louisa held up her hand, "Say no more. I will cross the name Sofia off my list."

"Good."

"Actually, I was thinking we could name our daughter, if we have a girl, after Joan. What do you think?"

"Joan? Yes. I'd like that."

"But I can't think of a middle name. Do you know what Joan's middle name was?"

"No, but I'm sure Ruth would know."

"We could also name her after Ruth. I don't want Ruth to feel slighted, but Joan Ruth Ellingham … Ruth Joan Ellingham … neither has a nice rhythm to it."

'I don't think that Ruth would care if we named our daughter after her or not. In fact, she might find it overly sentimental."

"And she wouldn't think that naming the baby Joan would be overly sentimental?"

"No, I don't think she would."

"How odd."

Martin tipped his head to the side and grunted, "Mmm …"

"So, it's settled. We will name our daughter Joan … and think about a middle name before the baby is born. Maybe Elizabeth after the Queen."

"Possibly. My grandmother, Henry's wife, was called Elizabeth. What if we have another son? Have you been thinking of boy's names?"

"Yes. I have. I'd like to name our son Martin."

"Really? Wouldn't that be a bit confusing?"

"Confusing? How? Lots of men name their sons after themselves. It seems to work out."

"A bit narcissistic if you ask me."

"Not really. I love you and I'd love to name our son after you. We could call him 'Marty' just like Joan called you. I'd love to have a little Marty to call my own."

"Have you thought about a middle name?"

"No. That seems to be harder for both a boy and a girl."

"We could name him after your other grandfather. Wasn't his name Robert? Your middle name, Roberta honours him, doesn't it?"

"I suppose… or we could use Phillip, after your Uncle Phil."

"Mmm …. If we are considering naming our son after me, we could name our daughter after you. Louisa Joan. Hmmm?"

She stroked her cheek with her index finger as she contemplated the name, "I suppose we could, but I'd still like to call her Joan … our little Joanie."

Martin turned off the coastal highway onto the road leading into the village. "No need to decide tonight. We're almost home."

Louisa sighed, "We could consider someone that we admire to name our child after."

"Do you have someone in mind?"

"No, but I'm sure that there is someone you or I would like to be a role model for our child." She sighed, "It's just a thought. Like you said, no need to decide tonight." She ran her hand lightly over his thigh and gave it a squeeze. "It will be nice to get home and into bed. I'm exhausted."

Her caress had heightened his senses; he recognised it as one of her frequent unspoken expressions of desire, and he felt a longing for her course through him in anticipation of an early night. With lust in his eyes, he leered over at her just as she stifled a yawn, and he swiftly realised that his evening would be ending earlier than he might have hoped, "Yes."

He tapped nervously against the steering wheel and considered that a gesture of affection wouldn't go amiss at the moment. He reached over and gently stroked her thigh, and he felt her fingers interlace with his. Dr. Timoney was right. Gestures of affection, conscious or not, were very powerful.

A big thank you to everyone who is still reading this story despite the long time between chapters. I hope you are enjoying the Ellinghams journey into the future. And an especially big thank you to those of you who leave a comment, no matter how long or short; they all mean a great deal to me.