Chapter 51
Sunday was overcast and raining. The temperature was well down and Louisa shivered as she got out of the shower. Wrapping the towel around her she went back into the bedroom to find Martin sitting up in bed, waiting for his turn in the bathroom. "Brrr. I'm sick of being cold up here."
He tilted his head and said, "You seemed warm enough last night," and smiled.
"Well, where were you when I stepped out of the shower dripping wet and exposed to all sorts of draughts," she snapped.
He knew he wasn't going to win this so opted for diversionary tactics. Holding out his hand he said suggestively, "Come here, and I'll warm you up again!"
Despite herself, Louisa smiled. "Then I'd need another shower, wouldn't I?"
"Come on, we need to get moving. You've your speech to write, and I need to find out when the Hall will be available. Have you any preferred time, or date?"
"I'll think about it while I'm in the bathroom," he promised. He lay there a bit longer watching her get dressed. She was so beautiful, his heart leapt in his chest whenever she smiled at him.
She brushed her hair, then found her slippers and headed downstairs. "You've got ten minutes while I make the porridge, otherwise your name will be mud!"
He sighed as she went out of sight. However, he knew the threat had not been an idle one, so threw back the covers and made for the bathroom.
Louisa was making the tea when he appeared downstairs, dressed as usual in his formal suit and tie. She looked critically at him and he knew she was thinking of something which he probably wouldn't like.
"You know, you always look smart in those clothes, but today is a Sunday and most people dress down a bit in order to feel relaxed. Why don't we get you something a little more casual?" She saw he was about to say he didn't want jeans or cut-offs to be relaxed and that if he was called out, he would want to look professional.
"Casual clothes are not all about jeans and T-shirts, Martin. You would look just as smart in chinos and a shirt, with jumper."
He frowned, and she decided to let it rest. Perhaps if she'd planted the seed of an idea it might germinate in a few months' time. She grinned to herself, wait until he has to change Junior, in his suit!
"I think I'd like the time of the talk to be a Sunday afternoon, after the hangovers have eased and main meals have been eaten. Also, not before Chris and Carol have been."
"Yes, that makes sense, Martin. Shall I ask Joan to help with the teas?"
"I think she'd like that. You know how involved she's been in the life of Portwenn ever since she arrive here." Martin was enthusiastic to involve all his family.
"OK, I'll go and make a start on my speech. Is there anything you want before I go?"
Louisa put her hand to her face in a mock "I'm thinking" pose and then said, "Yes, a kiss!"
He gladly, but briefly obliged, knowing that if he lingered, he wouldn't want to stop.
She smiled as she watched him disappear to his desk. After washing the breakfast pots, she went to her computer and looked for the opening times of the Hall as well as the contact for making bookings. She was relieved to see that the Hall was open on a Sunday and was free on Sundays 22ndrd and 29th March. She rang the contact and was assured that she could provisionally book both slots until she had her numbers sorted. The catering could be done by volunteers and didn't need to be professionally done.
Those dates sorted out she went back onto the RoSPA website and found that pamphlets were available at a small cost so she could have leaflets on display. She ordered some different types as well as a couple of larger posters. She thought that once the meeting was over, she could put them in the school and do a mini-project on safety in the home.
Lunch was simply cheese and crackers. Martin was pleased with what Louisa had found out and advanced her a sum of money to make the necessary purchase of pamphlets. He elected for the 29th March in the hope that the weather would be better.
Louisa began to do her school work while Martin went back to his speech writing. She'd put a load of washing in earlier, so went and folded the clothes before putting another load in. Finishing the marking she went back upstairs and cleaned out the bathroom and then putting clean bedding on. She sighed when she saw the underclothes under the bed that she'd missed earlier and put them in the laundry basket for later.
Martin had had enough of writing so was busy preparing their meal. "I thought I'd do a chicken casserole tonight."
Louisa's face lit up as she realised it wouldn't be fish! "That's good. I'll enjoy that." She left him to it and then vacuumed the carpets, and dusted the surfaces, placing his BMJ's tidily on the coffee table.
Once their meal had been eaten and the washing up finished, they retired to the couch, she with her novel and he to browse through his magazines.
Monday brought the last days of February and the weather was quite pleasant. At least the sun shone, even if it was still quite cold. The children played noisily in the schoolyard and then went back to their lessons.
Louisa, on afternoon playground duty, was contemplating what life would be like when Junior made an appearance. Would it be as the adverts hinted at, a breeze to look after a baby and the house, cook meals, wash, iron and all the other tasks which needed to be done, as well? Would she be able to cope with all that, and not be ready to scream? She smiled to herself. Time will tell, she thought.
"Hi there, Louisa. What are you thinking about?" Pippa smiled at her.
"Oh, nothing much, just wondering what it will be like to be at home all day, and only the baby to look after, instead of a classroom full of children?"
Pippa's raucous laugh rang out. "You won't know what's hit you! Your emotions will be up one minute and down the next. The baby might decide not to eat, will need changing, just as Martin walks in and expects dinner on the table. However, you'll only have the one to care for. Imagine all that doubled!"
As Pippa had twin boys, she did know what she was talking about. Suddenly Louisa felt less sure of herself, and her doubts threatened to overwhelm her. Looking at her watch she saw there was less than an hour to go before school finished. They walked into school together and Pippa laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry too much. Eventually you'll get into a routine and learn what the baby needs. It takes time and practice. At least you have a doctor in residence who will know if the baby is ill!" She gave a final squeeze to Louisa's shoulder, then went on to her own classroom.
Louisa managed to pull her thoughts away from the future and into the here and now where Amy and Karen were just about to square up to each other. "Er, what's going on you two?" she demanded.
"Please, Mrs Ellingham, Karen's got my pencil." Said Amy.
"Have not," retorted Karen.
"Show me the pencil, Karen," said Louisa in her best schoolmarm voice.
Reluctantly Karen took it out from behind her back and showed the pencil.
"See! It is mine," declared Amy.
"How can you be sure, Amy?" It just looked like an ordinary one to Louisa.
"There," Amy pointed to two indentations on the pencil, "that's where I bit it!"
"I see. Karen, where is your pencil, have you lost it?"
Karen looked abashed and nodded her head.
"You should have come to me for a new one, shouldn't you? Come on, I'll give you a new one."
She went into the store cupboard and found a new one. "Tell, you what. We'll mark this one so that you'll definitely know it's yours." She took a sharp craft knife from a high shelf and the proceeded to peel off a shaving from the end of it. Then going back into the classroom, she picked her pen up from the desk and wrote "K" on the newly exposed wood. "There, now you can see it's yours."
Karen beamed up at her. "Thank you, Mrs Ellingham."
Louisa sighed. If only all life's problems could be solved so easily!
March roared in like a lion, with strong winds and rain blowing in off the Atlantic. Everyone coming in to the surgery complained about the rotten weather.
"What can I do for you, Mrs Davies?"
"Well Doc, I've been having trouble with my monthly period. It's not monthly no more! Sometimes it is and then I go more than two months without it!"
"May I ask how old you are?"
"I'm 57, Doc. I'll be 58 in May."
"You are in the age bracket when menopause sets in, and it's likely that you too, have entered it. You can expect your periods to gradually disappear over the next year. Are you still married, Mrs Davies?"
"Yes Doc, my Alfred is a fisherman. Got his own boat now, the Esmerelda."
Martin nodded, acknowledging the man's occupation. "If you are still having sexual relations, you must keep up with your method of contraception."
"I thought you couldn't get pregnant if you were in the menopause?" Mrs Davies asked.
"That's true if you are in menopause. I'll take a blood sample and that should confirm it. Do you have other symptoms you've noticed?"
"I get very hot in bed some nights and have woken up in a bit of a sweat. I'm not so keen on sex and I'm finding it somewhat painful at times."
"Yes, it seems as though you really are menopausal. When I get the results of the blood tests, I'll arrange another appointment with you and I can go over some coping strategies." Martin confirmed. "Was there anything else?"
"No, thanks Doc." She left the surgery feeling old. She didn't want to be labelled as 'past it.'
Two or three patients came in with coughs and colds sniffles, all were advised to go home, keep warm, stay hydrated and take a mild painkiller if necessary. They were further informed that they should be better in a week's time.
The next patient was a bit of a surprise to Martin. He called out for the next person, and in walked Mrs Tishell.
"Mrs Tishell, how can I help you, today?"
Oh, Doctor Ellingham I'm having some pain in my neck. Even wearing my collar, it doesn't go away. Can you have a look at it please?" she looked at him with guileless eyes and waited for him to speak.
"Have you had a trauma to your neck, Mrs Tishell, or any other reason you can think of which has caused any damage?"
"No, Doctor. I've not been injured at all."
"Did the pain come on suddenly, or has it been a gradual build-up?"
"It's come on gradually, Dr Ellingham. I was fine a couple of weeks ago."
"It may just be a case of your having slept awkwardly. I'll prescribe you a course of physiotherapy and see if the muscles in your neck can be manipulated to a less painful condition. If, after having that done, you are still in pain I'll send you for an X-ray and see if there has been a deterioration in the bones in your neck."
Mrs Tishell nodded, or as much of a nod as she could manage with the neck collar in position.
"You may take mild painkillers such as are given over the counter, but nothing stronger than that without my prescription."
"Thank you, I'll wait for my appointment times to be sent to me." She batted her eyelashes at him and then left the room.
Martin washed his hands, which had suddenly become clammy, at the sink.
At lunch time he forwent a sandwich in favour of a glass of water. Truth be told, he was feeling a bit under the weather, himself. He sat at the table perusing a BMJ but thinking of Louisa, as he usually did in his free time. He decided that he would go and pick her up from school and rang her to see what time she would finish. "Louisa," was his opening remark. "What time will you finish, and I'll come and pick you up?"
"Hello Martin, that would be lovely. This weather is shocking, isn't it? I'll be done at 3:30. Will you wait outside the playground?"
They confirmed times and he rang off feeling happy that he could do something good for her. He washed his glass and went back to his afternoon patients.
Meanwhile Louisa stared at the phone and wondered about Martin. He didn't normally interrupt his surgery time by picking her up from school. However, it was a terrible day, weather-wise so perhaps he just wanted her to be spared a walk home in the wind and rain. "Bless him." She smiled.
"What are you all smiles about?" asked Pippa.
"I'm being treated to a ride home, with Martin," confided Louisa.
"Least he could do, given the weather," muttered Pippa.
"To be fair to him, he is usually tied up with patients, and he doesn't always know when he might be called out." Pointed out Louisa.
"I suppose so," responded her friend. Pippa glanced at her watch, "not much we can do outside, today. I expect playtime will be in the classrooms."
"Yes, and if I don't get there shortly, I think mayhem will be in evidence." Louisa picked up her bag and they both left for their respective class rooms.
Louisa's class was doing art, first thing after lunch. The children were asked to provide a picture of their favourite thing. "Does it have to be big, Mrs Ellingham?" asked George.
"It can be as big as the paper itself, George, but no bigger!" Louisa knew that given half a chance George would need three sheets at least for his picture.
She handed out the drawing paper and the children set to work. Taking out their school books, Louisa began to mark their morning's work. This should save a bit of time at home. From time to time she looked up at the class to make sure they were all still occupied.
Finally, the decibel level rose and she knew that most of them had finished their pictures. "Please leave your paintings on your desks and then take your brushes and paints over to the sink. Leave the paints at the side and then wash your brushes under the taps." At once a horde of children made a dash for the sinks. "Er, one at a time, please." She called. Eventually all the brushes had been cleaned and were left upside down in drainers, to dry.
Resuming their seats, the children waited for Louisa to tell them what to do next. She walked around the room, looking over each of the drawings or paintings. When she got back to the front again, she said "Well done! I'm very pleased with what you have achieved. All the drawings show some lovely things. Mary, tell us about your picture, please."
"It's a drawing of my bestest doll, Mrs Ellingham. Her name is Jemima."
Thank you, Mary.
"Frank, what have you drawn?"
"My car garage. It's just like my Dad's," he said proudly.
"Does it have fuel pumps outside, Frank?"
"Yes Mrs Ellingham. Two. One for diesel an' t'other for petrol."
Louisa nodded, "That's right, Frank."
"Amy, what about your drawing?"
"It's my rabbit, Henry, Mrs Ellingham." Amy looked very proud to have drawn such a good rabbit.
"I think all your drawings are very good. Now, one at a time, come and bring me the wet pictures, and I'll hang them up here to dry." She pointed to the string line suspended across part of the classroom. Taking some clothes pegs from a box nearby, she hung the paintings by a corner, from the line.
The bell went for playtime, but as the weather was so bad the children had to remain in the room.
"Take out your rough books and open them at the next clean page. I'm going to write a letter on the blackboard and I want you to write down as many things as you can think of which begin with that letter. For example, if I wrote the letter Z (zed) what can you think of which begins with that letter?"
Hands shot up around the room. "Please, I know," said Kenny
"Yes, Kenny?"
"A Zoo, Mrs Ellingham."
"Well done, Kenny, now do you all understand what to do?"
A chorus of "Yes, Mrs Ellingham's" rang around the room.
"Very well, the letter I've chosen is 'T'," she wrote it on the board. "Get busy."
She sat back down and waited for them to write several things down. One or two looked a bit perplexed but when they saw examples on the pages of other books, grasped what it was which was needed.
Louisa held up her own piece of paper and although the children could see that there was writing on it, they couldn't see the word itself.
"Right, beginning with Amy I want you to call out two of the words, you've written down, please."
Amy called out "Twin and Time."
Ben called out "Train and Twig."
Brian called out "Triangle and Trip."
And so, it went on.
Robert called out "Tomato and Turnip."
Finally, Wendy called out "Tuesday and Trap."
"Now this piece of paper is very special. Whoever has called out the same word as I've written here, will get a piece of chocolate!" Louisa announced. "Are you ready? The class looked excited and waited to hear what the special word was.
"The word is Tomato!" Louisa smiled when Robert jumped up and said "It's me, it's me!" The rest of the class looked on in envy.
"Yes, well done Robert. Come up here and you can have a chocolate." Louisa opened a bag of chocolate and let him choose a piece. "Robert, can you take this bag and go around the class giving everyone a piece, please?"
At that, the atmosphere in the class lifted, as they all waited for their treat.
"Right put away your books and sit quietly, please. I'm going to read a story until it's time to go home."
There was a flurry of activity as pencils and books were hastily put away. The children paid rapt attention as she began, "Once upon a time…."