Chapter 54
He never heard from the nursing supervisor, and the rest of the night went as well as he could have hoped. They were up every two hours or so to feed Mary, but that was to be expected with a new born. He notified the nursing staff when Mary had awakened so that they could monitor Louisa's vitals; that procedure seemed to work out admirably, and they were able to get some sleep despite the frequent interruptions.
Louisa's doctor arrived to check on her just before breakfast was delivered, and she was pleased with the condition of Louisa's incision. "How is your pain level? Is the pain medication sufficient, or do you need something stronger?"
"Pretty good. The medicine seems to be adequate."
"Good. Healing will progress quickly if you manage your pain effectively. If your current medications cease to provide relief, let the nursing staff know you need something stronger. I've left a prescription for morphine, if you need it. It's best to eliminate pain immediately if need be; don't wait till it becomes severe. You will heal faster if you aren't in pain. I'm sure Martin can help you decide if you are unsure." She glanced at Martin who nodded his head in agreement.
"I see from your chart that you have been up and moving. That's good. Movement will also help to speed up the healing process."
"When can I go home?"
"Ordinarily we recommend our caesarean patients remain in hospital for a day or two after delivery; but given the complications you encountered in your delivery, I would prefer that you stay one more day, at least. I'll be back later this afternoon to remove your bandages and we can assess your healing. If all is progressing as it should by tomorrow morning, we can release you to go home. There will be some precautions to take at home; the most challenging may be to avoid using the stairs as much as possible for a week or so to prevent stress to your incision." She turned to Martin, "What do you think Martin?"
"Yes, I plan to be at home for the next two weeks, so we should be able to manage if Louisa is healing adequately."
"Good. With Martin to care for you, I will feel more reassured about sending you home." She turned back to Louisa, "Any questions?"
Louisa glanced over at Martin with a questioning look, but he shook his head no. Louisa responded, "No, I'm sure we can manage." She smiled at her doctor, "Thank you for everything."
"That's what I'm here for," her doctor smiled back.
"Oh, one more thing." Louisa shrugged her shoulders and sniffed, "When can I have a shower? I feel like I've spent an entire day out on the football pitch with year six."
Dr. Mitchell chuckled, "Tonight work? You can shower any time after we remove your bandages."
"Perfect."
Dr. Mitchell walked to the door and stopped short as the nurse pulled the trolley up carrying Louisa's morning meal into the room, "Looks like breakfast is here." She raised her hand and waved, "Till later." She slipped past the meal trolley and whisked down the hallway.
Louisa lifted the cover to her breakfast and examined the meal, "Eggs, bacon, toast, beans, tomato, juice, milk, looks like a proper full English breakfast, almost. Never thought I'd get this in hospital; hope it tastes as good as it looks."
Martin examined it sceptically, "I wouldn't get your hopes up. However, it should provide you with necessary nutrients."
Louisa tucked into her meal and then looked up, "What about your breakfast?"
Martin waved his hand dismissively, "I will go find something after you have finished."
"You don't have to wait. I'm sure I can manage if Mary wakens."
"Even so …"
Despite Louisa's permission to search out some breakfast, Martin stayed, reading the most recent Lancet, and soon enough Mary did awaken. Louisa hadn't finished all her breakfast, but she knew that feeding Mary would take some time, so she asked Martin to help her up out of the bed so she could walk over to use the bathroom. As he picked up Mary, he heard a knock on the door and he opened it to see Priya and Sofia standing there, grinning at him.
"Is this a good time to visit?"
"Uh …um …yes. I was just about to change Mary's nappy so that Louisa could feed her."
Priya leaned over the baby in Martin's arms and gently tugged at the blanket under her chin, "She is so beautiful." She looked up into Martin's eyes and stepped back, "I know it's early, but I'm in between procedures this morning, and we wanted to come by and offer our congratulations."
Martin stepped away from the door, "No that's fine. Come in."
Priya leaned in, "I got your message last night. There were a few things you wanted to discuss? I don't have much time right now, but perhaps we could talk later, say elevenish?"
"Yes. As I said, it isn't urgent; eleven would be satisfactory."
"Good. In the meantime, Sofia was hoping to take some photographs of the baby to give to you. Would that be alright?"
While Martin and Priya were talking, Sofia had stepped behind Martin, set her camera down and greeted Mary, "Aren't you just the sweetest thing? I bet Mummy and Daddy will love you to bits."
Martin spun his head around to grimace at Sofia, "Um … I need to change her nappy."
"Can I watch? I need to know how to do this for when my brother's baby comes. We've volunteered to babysit when they need a break."
"It's not rocket science," Martin muttered, slightly annoyed, but Sofia let the comment roll off her back so to speak. She had heard enough Martin Ellingham stories from Priya to know not to take offense, it was just his manner.
As Martin removed the soiled nappy, Sofia groaned and waved her hand over her nose, "Phew! That's quite a mess. Is it always like that?"
"Not always, but frequently."
Martin grabbed a few baby wipes and had the baby's bottom pristine within a few moments.
"You're good at that."
Louisa opened the door to the bathroom, and noticed Sofia leaning next to Martin who had just finished changing Mary Elizabeth's nappy, "Sofia, hi. I thought I heard voices … and yes, Martin is an expert at changing baby's nappies."
"Years of practice with James." He turned to Louisa, "Do you need help getting into the bed?"
'Yeah, a little bit."
Sofia reached out for Mary, "I can hold her whilst you help Louisa."
"No!" Martin blurted rudely, "You need to wash your hands first."
"I used the hand sanitiser when we walked into the room, and I haven't touched anything since."
"Um…yes… I suppose," he handed Mary to Sofia who took her gently into her arms."
Satisfied that Mary was safe for the moment, he walked over to Louisa who gave him a black look.
He stood tall and looked down his nose at her, "What?"
She sighed, "Never mind." There was no need for him to be so rude to Sofia, but she didn't have time for a row. "Actually, Martin, I'd prefer to sit in the chair."
"That's fine. Do you want some help?"
"No. I'm feeling better, and I need to be doing these things for myself."
"I'm just trying to help."
"I know," she patted his arm and smiled up at him affectionately. He did mean well,she knew that, but still it could be a long two weeks. "You could get me some pillows to support my arms whist I nurse."
"Of course." He took several pillows from the bed and placed them under each of her arms, and behind her back. He stood up and looked down at her expectantly, "There, is that satisfactory?"
"Yes, Martin. That's satisfactory. Sofia, will you hand me the baby?"
"Of course." She handed Louisa the little one and then sat down in the chair opposite her, "Do you mind if I stay and visit? I thought I might take Mary's first photo whilst I'm here."
"Oh. That would be wonderful. We don't have any new born pictures of James."
"I bet he was just as perfect as Mary Elizabeth."
Louisa rolled her eyes, "Martin thought his head was misshapen."
"It was … from passage through the birth canal, very common in new-borns." Martin countered. He wanted Sofia to know that there had been nothing actually wrong with James.
He watched as Louisa settled Mary to her breast and the two women began to chat, "Louisa, I'm going to go freshen up and find some breakfast. Sofia can help if you need anything." He nodded at Sofia, "Right?"
Sofia glanced up at him and shooed him away, "Of course, Martin. You go do whatever it is you need to do. I'll be here."
He glanced at the two women, and noticing how Sofia was watching intently as Louisa nursed the baby, he added before he walked out the door, "Sofia wants to learn how to care for a baby so let her wind Mary as necessary."
Louisa wasn't the only one anxious for a shower. Martin hadn't changed into clean clothes since Louisa had arrived at hospital, and he was anxious for a quick shower and shave and fresh clothing, so he headed down to the changing rooms thankful that he always kept a fresh change of underwear and a clean shirt in his locker.
Refreshed from his shower, he headed down to the hospital café in search of something edible for breakfast and then he returned to Louisa's room. As he was exiting the lift to the maternity floor, he heard someone callout his name, "Ellingham?"
He recognised that voice. "Oh god." He thought to himself, "What is she doing here?"
He turned, and saw that woman striding toward him, a big grin on her face, "Moved on to obstetrics, have you?"
"Edith," he growled, "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same. I went by your office, but your assistant said you were out."
"Yes," He glowered at her.
"Yet here you are."
"Yes. Why aren't you in London?"
Chris had told him that she had applied for head of obstetrics at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea, but had not made the cut. The current head of obstetrics here in Truro was a very competent practitioner and administrator who, as far as he knew, had no intention of retiring.
"I'm thinking of returning to the fertility clinic I opened a few years ago. I hear it's floundering and they need me to shore it back up."
"Oh."
She moved closer, and placing her hand on his sleeve, gave him an alluring smile, "Plus, it will give us some time to renew our acquaintance."
He scowled, "I don't have time for you. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to be somewhere."
He turned on his heel and strode rapidly down the hall, turned a corner and slipped into Louisa's room and closed the door.
As he stood panting against the door, he glanced over at Louisa and Sofia. They had propped Mary up on a pillow and she was gazing up at a brightly coloured toy they were holding over her head. Sofia had her camera focused on the baby and was taking shot after shot, moving from one angle to another. In a moment, she had finished and pulled up the photos for Louisa to see.
"These are fantastic Sofia. Which one do you think is best? I'd love to use one of them for an announcement."
"I'll go copy them onto a disk for you to look at, and when you decide, I'd be happy to put the announcement together for you."
"That would be great."
"Oh, Martin" Louisa had just noticed him standing by the door. "Are you alright? You look as if you have seen a ghost."
"More like a ghoul", Martin muttered to himself as he walked to the table. He waved her concern away, 'No I'm fine. I just need to eat some breakfast." He motioned towards the container he had just set on the table.
"Okay. Sofia's going to find a disk to put the photos on and will bring them back to us."
"No need. She can load them directly onto my tablet." He slipped over to the cupboard where he had stored his papers and tablet and handed it to Sofia, who inserted her memory card and loaded the photos.
"There that's done. Let me know when you have decided and I'll put together an announcement. Be sure to let me know her exact time of birth, length, weight and anything else you want to include on the announcement. I'll paste it up and send it to you for your approval."
"You are a dear."
"Yes," echoed Martin as he started to eat his breakfast.
Sofia gave Louisa a brief hug, "Congratulations to both of you. Proper job, as they say here in the West Country," she added with a big grin.
Once Sofia had left, closing the door behind her, Louisa glared at Martin, "Something did happen, didn't it?"
He picked up his napkin and blotted his mouth, "I just ran into someone I wasn't expecting to see here."
"And …?"
He took another bite of his poached egg, chewed it thoroughly and swallowed, "That's all."
"Hmm … was it anyone I know?"
He realized that she wasn't going to let this go. He was tempted to tell her that it was just an old colleague, not anyone she knew, but he knew that prevarication wouldn't work, not with Louisa. Hadn't he learned that he needed to be truthful to maintain her trust and keep their marriage healthy? So, he took a deep breath and blew it out forcefully, "It was Edith."
"Edith!? What is she doing here?"
"Evidently she has returned to bring the fertility centre she founded back up to snuff."
"Brilliant." Louisa reacted with sarcasm in her voice. She knew that Martin loved her and that he didn't care for Edith, but that knowledge didn't sooth her insecurities. And she still felt threatened at the thought of Edith trying to worm her way back into Martin's life.
"Did you tell her about Mary Elizabeth?"
"No. I don't think she saw me come into your room, but it may be impossible to keep news of Mary's birth from her if she will be consulting with the staff here."
"All the more reason for me to go home as soon as possible."
"Yes."
He took a bite of toast and another of his egg. "I can't believe Chris Parsons didn't warn me she had come back."
Despite his hunger and the egg that had been cooked to order, not sitting in a warming tray, he found he had lost his appetite. He set the food aside and stood up, "Let's get you out of that bed and walking a bit. You heard what Dr. Mitchell said about moving to help you to heal."
"Yes Martin, I know. Will you take Mary and then help me up from this chair?"
"Of course."
They went to the door; and with Mary tucked securely under his arm, Martin opened it cautiously, looking in both directions lest Edith, the ogre, be lurking about. Satisfied she was out of sight, they left for a walk to the solarium.
When they returned, Mary was asleep. Martin put her in her cot and helped Louisa into her bed where she lay back down, closed her eyes and immediately fell asleep.
Martin sat down with his tablet, checked his short list of items to cover with Priya, made a call to Ruth to arrange for her to bring James for a quick visit later in the afternoon, and then settled down with the latest issue of the BMJ.
By the time Priya arrived, it was time to feed Mary. He had just finished cleaning her nappy and had handed the baby to Louisa. "Louisa, we'll just be a few doors down in a small conference room. Call me on my mobile if you need me."
"Okay. I'm sure we will be fine, won't we, my darling?" She gazed down at her daughter who was happily suckling.
"Right. I'll just put the 'do not disturb 'sign on the door," and he closed the door before going down the hall.
Louisa had just finished winding the baby and was placing her on the other side when she heard a knock on the door. She wasn't expecting any visitors just then, James and Ruth were coming later in the afternoon. Thinking that it must be the nursing staff who usually knocked before entering her room, she answered, "Come through."
To her surprise, a head with short red hair peeked around the door and greeted her, "Louisa, I ran into Ellingham earlier today, asked around and heard that you had delivered another one of his progeny."
It took Louisa a moment to overcome the shock of seeing that woman in her room, but she soon recovered, "Yes. Martin did say he ran into you. I'm sorry, but did you not see the 'do not disturb' sign on the door?"
Edith pulled the door around and glanced down at the sign on the handle, "Oh, yes. Doesn't really apply to hospital staff, does it."
"But you're not hospital staff."
"I just signed a contract, returning to my fertility clinic."
"Oh." Louisa felt no need to respond one way or another.
Edith nattered on, "They were anxious I return and bring it back to prominence. It's the type of clinic that the west country requires, and it seems that I'm just the person they need to restore its world class reputation."
She smiled at Louisa, hoping she had impressed her with her prominent stature in the medical community, but Louisa continued to glare at her and had nothing to say to her remarks.
Finally, she spoke, "What do you want Dr. Montgomery?"
"Oh, please call me Edith. I'm not your doctor and Ellingham always called me Edith, so much friendlier, don't you think?"
Louisa knew she would never be friends with this woman; she could barely stand the sight of her, and she repeated her question, "What do you want?"
"I just wanted to congratulate you and Ellingham on the birth of your daughter. It is a girl, is it not?"
When Louisa failed to reply, she added, "You know, I was surprised that Ellingham was able to father another child, given his fear of intimacy."
Louisa narrowed her eyes and slowly turned her head towards the door. She took a deep breath, breaking Mary's hold on her breast, and she glanced down at her daughter and said," Don't worry darling, this woman is just leaving."
She had no idea what Edith was implying about Martin's fear of intimacy, but she had no intention of giving that remark the dignity of a reply. She turned to Edith and said in as cold a tone as she could muster, "Thank you for your kind wishes, and now, I would appreciate it if you would leave and give us back our privacy."
"Yes, yes, of course." Edith backed up toward the door and then added, "Tell Ellingham that I dropped by and am sorry I missed him ...and that I hope to see him more often now that I am back in Cornwall."
Louisa continued to glare at the woman who turned back, smirking as she offered one more comment before she left the room and closed the door. "Again, my congratulations."