Chapter 80
The next morning Louisa opened her eyes slowly. Listening, she could hear Martin's soft breathing and a smile came to her face. Last night had been so fantastic. His lovemaking was just about out of this world. He'd been very taken with her flimsy underwear but had resisted the urge to just rip it off, and instead had removed it slowly, enjoying each piece of flesh lovingly uncovered. She had been transported to a world of sensation and love. A sigh escaped her lips and as she turned to face him, she saw he had woken up as well. His eyes gleamed as they looked over her exposed body.
"Hello, husband," she said, recalling the words she'd used when they were alone for the first time on their honeymoon.
"Hello, Mrs Ellingham," he responded. "Did you sleep well?"
"When I got to sleep, yes. However it was what happened immediately before that which was exceptional. You were wonderful."
His head dipped as he tried to brush aside her compliments.
She reached across and raised his chin so she could meet his eyes. "I've never felt so loved and cherished before. Thank you for that."
His chest swelled as he looked at her. "Me as well. When I saw you almost naked it felt like my heart was being squeezed. I wanted to tear those garments off, immediately. I'm glad we were patient with each other." He reached across to lay his hand gently on her abdomen. "I wonder what Junior made of it all?"
"We'll never know, but I pray that he/she will find a mate as wonderful."
Martin smiled in complete agreement. "Well this is our last full day. What do you want to do?"
"Stay here a bit longer, and discuss whatever comes up," she laughed.
A plan of action which was suitably carried out.
Eventually they got up and after his shower Martin went to make breakfast. When Louisa joined him, he put out his hand out to stroke hers as she came to sit at the table.
"We'll have to do some cleaning, ready to leave the apartment tomorrow. Have you any washing which could be done today?"
"Yes, some. I did a bit earlier this week, so it's not as much as it could have been."
"Right. If you do that, I'll clean the shower thoroughly so we only have to rinse it down in the morning."
"I'll vacuum the lounge and bedroom before beginning to pack my case," Louisa promised him.
Louisa brought the dirty washing through and put a load in, before washing the breakfast dishes. She swiftly vacuumed the carpets and flooring before putting the newly washed clothes out onto the clothes line to dry outside.
After a light lunch, Louisa suggested a slow walk in the sunshine, along the Town Beach. "We can sit on the seats and just watch the boats and people going by."
As Martin didn't have a better suggestion, hand-in-hand they ambled along the path near the beach. Many of the boats were at anchor, bobbing gently in the swell of the tide. Further out, a few more tacked this way and that, dependent upon the capriciousness of the slight breeze. They sat in the sunshine, each lost in their own thoughts, which oddly (or perhaps not) centred upon their stay in the Scilly's.
Martin was slightly regretful of the medical emergencies he'd had to attend. If they had not happened, then they might have fitted in an extra excursion. On the other hand being a doctor was what he'd trained long and hard for. He was glad he'd had the knowledge and skill to help out.
Louisa's thoughts were very similar in that she would have liked the extra day to themselves, but she realised that his skills would always be in demand and actually she was very proud of both them and him. She resolved to find the inner fortitude not to act like a spoiled brat when an emergency arose.
She looked up at him to find him staring at her with that particular gleam in his eyes. "Is it time to go back already?" she enquired.
"Hmm, if you are ready to take your nap. I'd like to join you if I may?"
Louisa sighed and said "Perfect."
Following their "nap" Louisa went out to bring in the dry clothes while Martin made a light dinner. Afterwards they set about packing their cases as far as they could and then sat together listening to the radio.
The weather forecast for Saturday was for bright sunshine and a light northerly breeze. Hopefully that would result in a smooth flight back to the mainland. They checked the fridge and food cupboards to throw out any food which would not be required for breakfast, finally being ready to go to bed.
Louisa wrapped herself as close to Martin as she could get and promptly fell asleep. Martin smiled to himself. He'd never had a holiday like this before and he hoped it would be the first of many, although future ones would include the presence of his offspring.
The next morning Martin's alarm woke them up in time to get ready to leave. Their dirty linen was set aside, their breakfast plates washed and put away. A last-minute check around ensured that nothing was left behind which was needed and that any rubbish had been consigned to the bin.
Martin locked up and they went to hand the keys back to Mrs Markham.
"We've had a wonderful time, Mrs Markham. The flat has been lovely. Thank you very much for your help."
"I'm glad you've enjoyed your visit. Also I'd like to say thank you to you, Doctor Ellingham. One of my nephews was on that trawler and needed treatment. He got away with only minor burns, and he told me that several of his crewmates weren't so lucky, but that your expertise had resulted in injuries less severe than they might have been."
"Erm, yes. Thank you." Martin's embarrassment at this praise was obvious to Louisa and she was glad to see the taxi pull up, to take them to the airport.
The driver put their luggage in the boot and they were on their way home.
The flight home proved to be uneventful and soon they were descending down to Newquay airport. Louisa waited with the baggage as Martin went off to bring the car around.
At last they were ready to leave. She settled back into the familiar seat, glad to be going back to reality. The last two weeks had been a wonderful interlude, one which she'd never forget. She turned and put a hand on Martin's thigh. "Thank you, Martin. These two weeks have been absolutely great." Then an impish smile grew on her face, "Just what the doctor ordered, in fact!"
He squeezed her hand in reply, before returning to his driving.
At last they were descending into Portwenn, the journey time having been foreshortened for Louisa by her nap. Martin pulled into his parking place near the surgery and stepped out. He was assailed by the familiar salty tang of the sea and the raucous cry of the gulls. He stretched before going to open Louisa's door and then the boot lid to retrieve their luggage.
Louisa went up to the back of the cottage while Martin transported the luggage. Inevitably the trio of teenage girls was just passing.
"Ooh, have a good time, then Doc? Nudge, nudge, wink, wink!" crowed one of them, while the rest dissolved into shrill cackles of laughter.
"Imbeciles," muttered Martin, glad that Louisa wasn't there to hear him.
When he got around to the kitchen, it was to hear Louisa saying "Yes Joan. We've had a lovely time and seen lots of things. No, I didn't have to drag Martin anywhere. He was perfectly happy to wander about."
Obviously, Joan had then thanked them for the cards and flowers because he heard Louisa say, "It was no trouble at all. We thought you'd like them."
Martin went back out to get the remaining bits and bobs before locking the car up and returning to the house. Louisa had finished her call to Joan and had put the kettle on.
"Ready for a cuppa, then Martin?" she looked in the fridge for some milk and saw that Joan had left both it, some butter, eggs and one of her pies for their tea. "Oh that's lovely! Martin, Joan's left a pie and some milk for us. How thoughtful of her." Checking the bread bin there was a crusty loaf and some sliced bread.
They sat down at the table and Louisa told Martin that Joan had invited them to lunch, tomorrow. He grimaced, "We've only just got home! Why do we have to go out straight away?" he petulantly enquired.
"It's not straight away, it's tomorrow. Don't you think Joan will be glad to see us? We've been gone for two weeks! That's a long time when you are on your own, and used to seeing family on a regular basis."
"Humpf. I'll take the cases up after this, " Martin grouched. He'd been looking forward to settling back into the surgery quietly, with plenty of time to catch up on any mail or other correspondence. Finishing his drink he took the cases upstairs, used the bathroom and then went into the surgery to his office.
A pile of envelopes and some opened letters stood awaiting his attention. He sat down and phoned Chris Parsons to let him know the surgery would be open again as normal, on Monday.
"Chris, was there any feedback from the trawler incident? I tried to find out the next day but got no real answers."
"No Mart. The A&E guys were full of admiration for what you'd done. Even Laverick had to admit he wouldn't have been able to do as good a job. The patients who have been transported here are in special burns wards and are making progress. You know it will take some time before they are anything like back to normal, and for a few they will never completely recover."
"How's Louisa? Did you both have a good time over there? Carol and I were quite envious of you both. It's somewhere we'd like to visit, but life got in the way!" he laughed.
"Yes, we had a good time. Plenty of sight-seeing and quite a bit of flora and fauna to see, also. Has there been anything untoward here, Chris, that I should know about?"
Martin was soon down to business and concerned about the state of his practice. He'd never been one for idle chit-chat and was keen to end the conversation.
"No, Mart. Nothing out of the ordinary at all. Apparently, Lewis wasn't called out to any of your patients. Those who could, travelled there and the rest either got themselves to Truro or decided it wasn't really an emergency anyway!"
Martin was astonished. He'd felt certain that any number of the malingerers would have haunted Wadebridge or tied up the ambulance services. It just went to show that he could relax a bit and ensure he got a weekend free after the baby was born.
"Right, thanks Chris. I'll talk again soon. Bye." And put the phone down.
He checked the unopened mail, all marked "personal" but didn't find anything which required his immediate attention. He decided to leave the correspondence until tomorrow.
Going back into the kitchen he heard the washing machine on the go and knew that Louisa had been busy. Looking about he saw that she must be upstairs and so went quietly up. Peeping into the bedroom he saw she was fast asleep, so left her to it. He set the table, got out some frozen veg and began to make their tea. When it was nearly ready, he went and roused Louisa. "Tea's made. I thought you needed the nap so I didn't wake you."
She turned over and looked at him. "What time is it?"
"Five-thirty. Time for you to get up."
She nodded and said she'd be down soon. The pie was delicious but neither of them wanted any dessert. Louisa made their drinks as Martin washed up.
"Any news, Martin?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean was there any news about the practice, or Dr Lewis, or any outstanding bills to pay. You know, news!"
He shook his head. "No, Chris said that Lewis hadn't been called out as most patients had gone to Wadebridge or got themselves to Truro. The rest deciding they weren't emergencies."
"Well! When I think how often you've been called out for minor and trivial things I could scream. Your patients will have to bear in mind you will be a family man soon, and modify their expectations, accordingly. They've proved that they can when the occasion warrants it!"
Martin was pleased that Louisa had arrived at the same conclusions that he had. He reached across and took her hand. "Don't worry, I'll be making that plain, soon enough."