Chapter 11

Stopping only for a glass of water, Martin quietly made his way upstairs and into the bedroom. Louisa had left his bedside lamp on, but was quietly snoring on the other side of the bed. He picked up his pyjamas and went into the bathroom to get ready. When he returned, she hadn't moved so he got carefully into bed trying to avoid waking her. As he lay down, she turned over and snuggled in to him. He sighed in thankfulness and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Sunday saw them working at their respective jobs. Martin writing up his notes from the previous day's accident and phoning the hospital to check on the progress of the two who were kept in overnight. The female, although bruised had not suffered a miscarriage and was allowed to go home, with strict instructions to rest for 48 hours and if there were any signs of bleeding to come straight back.

The driver with chest pain had broken two ribs but had not suffered any head or other internal injuries. He had been strapped up and also allowed to go home.

Meanwhile Louisa was preparing her class time tables and thinking up projects for Christmas which was now only three weeks away. The Head had informed the staff that the pantomime assembly would be on the Tuesday before the children broke up for the holidays. Many parents would be attending to see this year's production. Martin declined the opportunity to attend.

The weather turned wet and windy, but snow was not forecast. Louisa bundled up in her boots and winter coat walked as quickly as she was able to and from school. Martin was grateful that there were no unforeseen callouts and only a few house-calls to make.

As her pregnancy advanced the morning sickness she experienced became less and less. Martin ferried her to Wadebridge for her next antenatal check-up and both were pleased to be told that she was on track. Martin made sure they were eating "optimally nutritious" meals and also kept an eye on the amount of weight she was putting on. Making certain that she wasn't overdoing it at school, with the Christmas festivities and other activities.

Joan had asked them to come to her house for Christmas dinner, an invitation which delighted Louisa as much as it somewhat dismayed Martin. "No fish for dinner that day," smiled Louisa. Martin grumbled about all the fat laden foods which would doubtless be offered and hoped they wouldn't have to stay too long.

In the classroom Louisa asked the children to make paper chain decorations from the bright strips of paper she had painstakingly cut out using the guillotine. "How do we do that, Mrs Ellingham?" queried Hannah James.

Louisa demonstrated how to apply some glue to the end of their first strip, then fold it over to make a ring. "Now, get your second strip and put one end through the circle like so. Brush a small amount of glue onto the end so when you fold it you make a link to your chain. Then continue doing links to make a long chain. The children watched fascinated before trying to imitate their teacher. Some managed to follow her instructions straight away and she had to stand over couple more until they got it right.

Keeping a wary eye on three of the boys who always seemed to make a mess in craftwork rather than what they were supposed to be doing, she watched as the chains grew longer. "When you pick up your last strip put your hand up and we'll tie two of your chains together to make a longer chain."

They concentrated hard and at last two children put their hands up. Happily, they were at the same table so Louisa walked across to them and inspected the brightly coloured chains. "Well done!" she smiled. "Gloria, you pick up your chain and bring it here to Mary. Now Mary, pick up your last strip and put it through the last link on Gloria's chain." Mary carefully did as she was told and after allowing the glue to set a bit the children lifted up the ends of each chain and walked away from each other. The rest of the class paid rapt attention when they saw how long the chains were going to be.

Soon there were more joined up chains adorning the tables. The children who were finished watched the last chains being joined. Louisa checked her watch and calculated that they would have enough time. "Right class, we are going to take our chains along to the hall and use them to decorate the walls. Mark, go along to Mrs Draper and ask her to bring the drawing pins and sticky tape along to the hall, please."

Mark hastened out of the door and Louisa was compelled to call after him "Don't run!" She showed the children how to loop the chains over their arms so that they could be carried slowly to the hall. The children trooped along to the hall and stood around holding their chains off the floor. "Davy, go over to the end of that wall and wait there. She watched as Davy slowly walked across to the indicated place. "Now Hannah, you come and stand here, so that when Mrs Draper comes, we can join your chain to Davy's."

At that moment Mrs Draper walked in the door and came across to Louisa. "Hello Mrs Ellingham, what do you need me for?"

"Would you join Davy's chain to Hannah's with the sticky tape, please? Here's some more strips of paper. Once we've got the chains joined, we'll stick them to the wall. While Mrs Draper did that Louisa estimated how many chains would be needed to go along two sides of the hall. She positioned the children with their chains at suitable intervals and waited for Mrs Draper to catch up. Finally, the chains were joined and ready to be attached to the wall. Starting with Davy's chain she used a drawing pin and stuck it to the wall. "Davy, carefully lift the chain in the middle and stand there. Hannah, you go to the middle of your chain and lift it so that Mrs Draper can stick it to the wall."

One by one she got each of the children to position their chains and she helped Mrs Draper attach them to the wall. Once they were finished, she called all the children into the middle of the room and asked them to look at what they'd achieved. The class was delighted to see their chains around the room. "I think you've all done a great job! Give yourselves a clap." Applause rang out from the class. "Now what do we say to Mrs Draper?"

"Thank you, Mrs Draper" sing-songed from the class. Louisa looked across at the Secretary and nodded her thanks. Mrs Draper went back to her office, smiling.

"Back to the classroom, now. Put away the glue pots, carefully mind, and gather up any spare strips to give to me. Put the spoiled strips into the bin." The children put the dirty glue brushes into the sink and followed her instructions with the rest of the mess. When the bell rang for lunch most of the debris had been cleared. "Form a line and walk quietly to the canteen for lunch" she said.

After the children had gone, she quickly tidied up and went to the staffroom for her own lunch. Upon returning to the classroom, she found the room abuzz with chatter about their morning's achievements.

For the rest of the afternoon, it was back to the timetable of regular school lessons and by the end of the day Louisa was glad to be going home.