Chapter 84
It was actually just before midnight when Martin crept into the bedroom. He stripped off and went to wash. Having found his pyjamas he gingerly eased himself into bed in an effort not to wake Louisa. He waited a while and then turned towards her to snuggle in. An "ohhh" greeted his efforts, but no further acknowledgement of his presence. He closed his eyes and managed to get off to sleep.
He was still the first one up, so used the bathroom and went to make breakfast. She followed him down about half an hour later.
"Morning Martin, " she greeted him and then went across for her kiss.
"Yes. Do you want egg and soldiers, or porridge?"
She opted for the cereal and sat down with her drink. "How did it go last night? Did Frank survive?"
"I can't discuss my patients, Louisa. You know that."
"Really Martin, telling me if he's alive or dead does not count as discussing your patient! Even you must concede that!"
He could see she was annoyed and cursed himself for his automatic reply. "Sorry, yes he was admitted and then went to theatre."
"Thank you. There, that wasn't so hard, was it?" She picked up her spoon and began to eat.
"Now, about last night. We've been away for two weeks and I did not know who was going to be at that quiz. I met up with Joan and joined her at her table. Danny also came over, and only then did Erin Glover join us. Short of telling him to 'go away' in no uncertain terms, there wasn't anything I could do. He bought two rounds of drinks for the table and asked if he could join our team. We agreed and then played a few rounds. The commotion with Frank ended my evening. So, does that satisfy your curiosity or do you want to ring Joan and verify my statement?"
"Er, that won't be necessary. I'm sorry if I upset you. He just gets on my nerves."
"That's not really good enough, is it? I'm not going to allow you to dictate who I can or cannot see! I grew up with Danny, and yes, I had a relationship with him. However that was a long time ago and his recent attempts at reigniting those feelings have failed. At least as far as I'm concerned." She proceeded to eat her breakfast whilst he mulled over what she'd said.
In a calmer voice, as she reached over to grasp his hand, "Martin, I love you, and only you. I'm carrying your child, surely you must realise what you mean to me?"
Martin ruminated on these words. He knew he'd reverted to old-fashioned jealousy and a few moments reflection last night would have convinced him that Louisa couldn't have known beforehand of Danny's presence. He'd mucked it up again. He looked dejected and Louisa could see he was genuinely sorry.
She rose from the table and rinsed her bowl and cup, before placing them in the dishwasher. As she passed Martin she bent down and kissed his cheek. "Don't worry, I still love you."
He looked up quickly to see her smile. The weight eased from his chest. "Will you be home for lunch?"
"Yes, I'm not on playground duty today." She went upstairs to finish getting ready and then when she came down popped her head round the surgery door. "I'm off then, see you later."
He nodded. "Have a nice day," he said quietly.
She went down the hill towards school, wishing that Martin felt more confident in their relationship. How can he not see that Danny doesn't mean anything to me? She caught up with Tricia Soames and thoughts of Martin had to recede to the back of her mind.
Martin was turning the matter over in his mind. Why did he have the almost pathological aversion to Danny? He knew Louisa loved him, and yet there was this fear lurking in him that somehow, she would turn to Danny. Was this the manifestation of the idea that he wasn't up to it? That he just wasn't good enough to be with Louisa?
It was at that point he heard his father's words ringing in his ears – "you'll have to drug 'em to keep 'em!"
He slammed his fist down on the table, "No! I'm good enough. I'm not listening to your rubbish, anymore!"
He heard the front door open and then Pauline clip-clopping across to her desk. Martin got up and went into the surgery. As he sat behind his desk she came in with the mail and patient notes. "Morning Doc. Got a number of letters this morning, and here's the first few patients' notes."
Martin took them and began to look through the mail. "Was that all?"
Pauline tutted and waltzed out back to her desk, leaving Martin perplexed as to what he'd done now?
"First patient!" he called out.
Chippy Miller came limping in and sat down.
"What can I do for you, Mr Miller?"
"It's me back, again Doc. I was unloading me fish the other day and I felt something twinge. I thought I'd get over it, but this morning it ached something fierce."
"Right Mr Miller, stand up, indicate whereabouts it hurts and then lift your shirt up so I can palpate the spine."
Chippy pointed to an area just above his pelvis and then tried to lift his shirt clear.
Martin went around behind him and slowly pressed the vertebrae as he worked down from Chippy's ribcage. When he got to the last two vertebra Chippy gasped as Martin pushed at them.
"Do you feel any tingling in your legs? Any pain in your legs or is it just in your back?"
"It's just me back, Doc. What do you think it is?"
"Well I've seen you lifting your crates of fish and I knew it was only a matter of time before you did yourself an injury. You must learn how to lift properly. The way you do it your back is out of alignment and it's no wonder you've sprained it."
Martin got up and pushed his wastepaper basket away from his desk. "Watch me lift this and you pretend it's a crate of fish."
He stood with his feet apart just the width of his shoulders, and then keeping his back straight lowered himself down until he grasped the bin and, using his thigh muscles, stood upright again.
"Could you see how I did that?"
Chippy nodded. "Yeah, but that's just a small bin and not a crate, Doc."
"Nevertheless Mr Miller, if you don't learn how to do this correctly you will eventually herniate a disc in your spine which could lead to incontinence and/or sexual difficulties, among other things. Do you want that to happen?" he asked bluntly.
"I think you've just sprained your back, so take some painkillers, preferably ibuprofen, for the pain and ice packs on your back every couple of hours. Don't do much for the next two days, but after that do some walking about and you should get back to normal. Mr Miller you may be overweight and so losing some weight will help, as will strengthening your abdominal muscles and thigh muscles. Do you have a video player?"
When Chippy nodded, Martin went to one of his cabinets and took out a video. "Here's an explanation of how to lift correctly and what exercises you can do to help with that. Don't do anything strenuous until the pain has eased a lot, and then begin slowly and build up to full fitness. I'll give you a sicknote for two weeks, and if the pain hasn't gone away by then come and see me again. Please bring the video back when you've done with it."
"Does this mean I can't go out on the boat, then Doc?"
"Yes, it does mean that. If you go out and do further damage to your spine you could end up in a wheelchair. Do you want to be an invalid for the rest of your days?" Martin looked sternly at him.
Chippy wilted and conceded that he would do what he was told.
After he'd gone, Martin muttered, "unbelievable," before filling in the patient notes.
Sore throats, minor injuries and a couple of prescription renewals took up the rest of his morning. He'd forgone his coffee in favour of water and so did not extend his break time.
Louisa arrived home just after midday and was pleased to see Martin making some salad sandwiches, for their lunch. She went across and kissed his cheek. "Hello handsome, are you feeling better now?"
He turned and pulled her into a warmer embrace. Nuzzling in to her neck he said, "I'm sorry Louisa. I was thinking earlier that I still hear my father at times, and that causes me uncertainty. I'll try and repress those feelings in future." He leaned back and looked at her.
"Well perhaps you ought to be thinking more about the wonderful two weeks we've just had away on Scilly. Surely, I made it clear what I think of you? Perhaps you need a refresher course. Are you free tonight?" She teased him.
"I'm not saying anything, because if I do, I'll be called out. However I'll bear in mind what you've said and take appropriate action accordingly."
Louisa laughed and ate her lunch. "I'm going to call in the supermarket on the way home. Do we need anything beyond bread and milk?"
"Erm, yes. I used the last of the pepper the other day. Would you get me some more toothpaste as well, please?"
"Yes, I can do that. Are we going into Wadebridge on Saturday afternoon? We could shop for a few more things, then?"
They chatted for a bit longer and Louisa gathered her coat and belongings and returned to school.
With something to look forward to, they both got through somewhat tedious afternoons.
Louisa called into the supermarket and picked up her supplies as well as pepper and toothpaste for Martin.
She saw Joan delivering her veg. "Time for a quick tea?" she called.
"Yes – last delivery for today. Do you want a lift back?"
Louisa climbed into the car and waited for Joan to finish. The trip back to the surgery was soon accomplished.
"Have a seat, Joan while I put these away." Louisa put the kettle on and then placed the groceries into the cupboards.
"How are you, Louisa? Any aches and pains?"
"I've been pretty good, thanks Joan. Apart from feeling as though I'm a ton heavier. What about you?"
"Oh you know, can't get to my age without something creaking, or groaning," she laughed.
Louisa made the tea and then sat with Martin's aunt while they drank it and discussed happenings in the village. "Sorry I can't offer you a cake or a biscuit, but Martin's pretty strict about eating 'unnecessary' calories!"
"Tell me about it! He keeps going on to me about trying to lose some weight."
Martin's voice from behind her made her jump. "Perhaps if you cut down a bit you wouldn't be creaking so much?"
"Martin! Don't sneak up on us like that!" exclaimed Joan.
"I didn't! You were so busy castigating me, you just didn't hear me coming."
"Do you want some tea, Martin, it's fresh?" Louisa tried to divert the conversation away from dietary wrong-doings.
"Er, no thanks. I just came for some water. How are you Aunty Joan? Should you be making an appointment to see me?" Martin was very solicitous of her.
"When I've got something wrong with me, you can be sure I'll be straight in," she promised.
"Hmf" Martin dismissed this notion, out of hand. His Aunty Joan had to be seriously affected before she'd even consider making an appointment.
"Thanks for the tea, Louisa, I must be off. Chickens won't feed themselves!"
Martin went back to finish his surgery and Louisa made the dinner preparations. She'd decided on monkfish, just the way he liked it. She prepared the vegetables whilst the fish was thawing. After she'd done that, she set to and began her marking. The more she got done now, the less it would impinge on their time together this evening.
In the surgery, Mrs Poustie was complaining about her earache. "It's really painful, Doc. I've had it for a couple of days now."
When Martin had a look, he could see her ear canal was inflamed and her eardrum, slightly swollen. "You've got an infection, Mrs Poustie. I'll give you some amoxicillin, and if you take the full course, that should clear it up."
"Oh, thank you Doc. Can you give me something for the pain?"
"Ordinary ibuprofen should work. Are you taking the prescribed dosage, like it says on the package?"
"I've just been taking the one tablet, but the directions do say take two. However they recommend you don't exceed 6 in a day."
"Start taking the antibiotics and you should find that as they begin to work, the pain will subside. However, try and take the painkillers only three times per day, if you need to. Don't go poking anything in your ear, either."
"OK, Doc. I'll do that."
"Was there anything else, Mrs Poustie?"
"No thank you, Doc. That's it for now." Mrs Poustie went away.
Florence Dingley was the next patient in. "It's my eyes, they are sore and I can't see very well." She took off a disreputable pair of almost broken spectacles. The sidearm was nearly broken off.
"How long is it since you had an eye test, Mrs Dingley?"
"Must be about 4 years now, Doctor."
Martin examined her eyes with his opthalmoscope. He could see that her outer eye was red, but inside her eye looked fairly clear. "I think you have conjunctivitis. Have you got rid of those cats, yet?"
"No. How can I? They're my family! Mind you, I've only kept two," she whined.
"I'll advise you to get some chloramphenicol, from Mrs Tishell. The cost of it is less than the prescription charge would be. Mrs Dingley I also suggest that you get your eyes tested, and invest in a pair of new glasses!"
"Won't you give me a prescription for new glasses?"
"No. You need to see an optician, but don't go there until your conjunctivitis has cleared up. Is that all for today?"
Mrs Dingley left the surgery, muttering about 'bloody Doctors who wouldn't give proper prescriptions.'
Martin sighed, "Why do I bother?"
When he called for the next patient, Pauline clumped in and told him "You've no more patients tonight, Doc. After I've filed these can I go?" She picked up the files and waved them in the air.
"Er, yes. Goodnight."
Martin tidied his desk, checked his bag was fully stocked before making sure everywhere was clean and tidy.
He was just about to leave the office when the phone rang. "Ellingham" was his curt answer.
"It's Gloria Evans, Doc. My husband Gabe, has fallen over and is in a lot of pain. He can't move his leg!"
"Where are you, Mrs Evans? I'll come out."
"22 Tintagel Terrace, Doc."
Martin thought quickly. "I'll come in the car and be about ten minutes." He put the phone down. "Damn and blast it. Was I going to have a pleasant evening?" he went to the kitchen where Louisa was just about to make tea.
"I've been called out. I don't know when I'll be back, as I may have to go to the hospital. If you make the tea, wrap mine in foil and I'll have it later."
He snatched his car keys up and hastily left. Louisa hadn't even had a chance to kiss him goodbye. She sighed; he'd been right. Schedule a bit of "us time," and that was enough to trigger a call out.