Chapter 32 Out of reach.

'Let's go back to the hotel, Martin', Louisa said, 'James must be exhausted'.

'Hmm, yes…' Martin replied, 'I wonder what bothered Morwenna, I hope she doesn't suffer from fear of flying. Didn't you notice? Although she smiled at us, she looked so worried and scared when she walked away to customs'.

Positively surprised of the empathy Martin showed. That was rather exceptional for her grumpy husband. Louisa tried to reassure him.

'She's probably just a bit worried to find her way in this big airport, but why don't you call her just to reassure yourself and to calm her?'

Martin took his smartphone out of his pocket and pushed the hot key he had programmed with her number. Only a few seconds later, Martin heard a nervous little voice saying

'Al, is that you?.. Oh no sorry doc, it's you…'

Martin clearly heard disappointment in her last words.

'Morwenna, are you alright?'

'Yes doc.. no doc.. I am worried about Al.. didn't hear him all day. No text messages either, that's not like him, doc..' She was about to cry now.

'Morwenna calm down! I am sure there is a plausible reason for that. Maybe he is at the farm and he forgot his telephone, or he forgot to charge it?'

'No, his phone is practically stuck to his fingers, I can't belief that, he can't live without it..'

Martin frowned, not sure how to handle this. Louisa grabbed his phone and started to talk to Morwenna.

'Morwenna, it's Louisa. Please don't worry too much dear. Martin will think of something to do. For now, try to relax and find your gate in time. You wouldn't want to miss this flight do you? And once in Exeter, just take a taxi to Portwenn, if nobody is there to pick you up, OK?'

She hang up and then, also a bit worried, looked up at Martin. He looked at her and touched her cheek with his thumb.

'Don't start worrying too, Louisa.. Let's go and find Edwin. I'll call Ruth on the way back to the hotel…'

Edwin waited just outside and he smoothly manoeuvred the Lexus through the busy drives at the airport. When he entered the highway to Amsterdam, they soon found themselves in the middle of a traffic jam. Edwin said to Martin,

'It will take a while sir, it's near five o'clock, so most of the Dutch are heading home after a long day of work'.

Martin grunted as reply. He dialled Ruth's phone number.

'Martin, hello, is everything alright across the channel?'

Martin quickly explained why he called her. Ruth answered to that,

'Mmm yes, I would have been surprised when you'd only called me to chit-chat about Amsterdam.. Al told me that he would go to the farm today. There is so much to do before we can open the Bed & Breakfast. Or… which I don't hope for your receptionist... he lost interest?'

'Don't be ridiculous Ruth', Martin shouted in his phone, 'he practically texted her every 10 minutes, the last three days!'

'Well, I can't go there and have a look.. he took my Mercedes to go to the farm, because he had to buy paint and other things for his job today.

Martin's frown grew deeper.

'I will call Penhale to pick you up. Can you go to the farm with him and see what happened?'

'Well all right then... because your my favourite nephew!'

'I am your only nephew!'

'Yeeees Martin. Well come on, get Joe on the phone then. In the mean time I will walk to the Plat. He can pick me up there'.

'Thank you, Ruth'

Martin hung up and immediately called the police officer.

Before Joe Penhale could blurt out his usual opening sentence, Martin shouted in the phone

'Penhale, it's doctor Ellingham. I need you to do something for me.'

'What's up Doc? Did you get in trouble in that country known for distribution of too much aspirins? If you get my drift..'

'Of course not, you …Grr..', Martin exclaimed. But then he took a deep breath and, much calmer, he explained what the policeman had to do. Joe Penhale replied,

'Consider this situation taken care of, Doc. It's only half of the dynamic duo in action, but we'll manage.'

'Be careful and drive safely. Assure that my aunt closes the buckle of the seatbelt!'

He finished the phone call and turned around in his seat to watch his wife and son. The latter had given up the battle with his eyes that wouldn't stay open.. He was sound asleep, firmly holding a new plush elephant in his arms. Louisa smiled at Martin but still looked a bit worried.

'We can only wait until we hear from Ruth again Louisa.'

Martin looked at his watch and stated that he still had time before the plane would take off, so he sent a message to Morwenna with a summary of the actions taken.

THX Doc, was her brief reply. At least, she had received the message in time.

- About 560 miles further away in Portwenn -

The blue police Landrover raced through the narrow streets of Portwenn, flashing lights and the siren on to chase everybody out of its way. The tires screeched on the tarmac when he stopped at the Plat.

'Hello Dr. Ellingham, I heard we had some kind of emergency at hand. Get in, please!', he said to her. He was probably the only person in Portwenn, except from her nephew when he spoke about her in public, who called her Dr. Ellingham and not simply Ruth, or even aunt Ruth.

'Hello Joe, don't panic, it's probably nothing. We have to find Al. Apparently he has been constantly "online" with Morwenna over the past three days, but the "line" dropped dead this morning. And now Morwenna is so worried that she even spoke to my nephew about it.'

With Joe's help, Ruth climbed into the Landrover and Joe turned the car on the beach and left the village in the direction of the farm. He drove at a very high speed, so Ruth said,

'Slow down, Joe, we don't want to get an accident, do we? Besides, there is no emergency reported. Al probably just forgot his phone!'

Soon they arrived at the farm and Ruth didn't spot the blue Mercedes in front of the farm.

'I wonder if he is here… I don't see the car'.

She quickly climbed out of the car and headed for the front door of the farm.

'Al?... Al, are you here?'

Ruth didn't get any response so she said to Joe Penhale,

'Let's have a look at the barn'.

The police-half of the dynamic duo reluctantly followed Ruth around the house. Then they saw the blue Mercedes, its hood open and Al stood bent over the motor block.

'Bugger, bugger, bugger!', he underlined his words by kicking the bumper with his foot.

'Well Al, what makes my car deserve such a gentle treatment?' Ruth asked dryly.

Hearing her voice, Al came out from under the hood hastily, too hastily, because he bumped his head against it.

'Bugger', he said once more.

'Ruth… what are you doing here?' , he then asked.

Ruth and Joe came a few steps nearer to him.

'Al, aren't you supposed to go to Exeter to get Morwenna from the airport?'

'Why do you think I am cursing like this Ruth? This wreck broke down and now I can't go there'.

'You could have called her!', Ruth suggested.

'There's no signal here and Joan's old line at the farm is dead. I came here early in the morning and I tried to contact Morwenna a thousand times, but there is no way to get through. I even walked up that hill over there… Nothing…' AL pointed at a hill on the other side of the valley.

'Hmm, well my nephew called me to come and see if you're still alive. Go freshening up at the farm, we will be off to Exeter then. If we hurry, we can still be there before her plane lands… Unless.. you don't want to..'

'Of course I want to!' Al ran to the farm, than came back in the same pace, grabbed Ruth by her shoulders and gave her a firm kiss on her cheek.

'Thank you Ruth!'

Ruth answered with her crooked smile.

'Hurry, boy!'

When Ruth and Joe waited for Al, Joe asked

'How will he get there, if the Mercedes is broken down?'

'Joe, what question is that? In your Landrover of course!', Ruth replied promptly.

'But I am on duty, I am always on duty… There is no other policeman in Portwenn', Joe complained.

'Nonsense, you can't be on duty 24 hours a day, all week long!', Ruth objected.

'I am sure you can alert Wadebridge or Delabole. Tell them you have an important family business to attend to.'

Bbb..but I would be lying!'

Well don't you think the villagers of Portwenn are very close to what a family would be? If you don't wish to say it's a family business, tell them you have to help out a very good friend. You wouldn't tell me that would be lying too?'

'No…', reluctantly, Joe hesitated, but finally took out his phone and called Wadebridge..

'No signal here…'.

'Joe, stop acting like a baby', Ruth told him. 'Of course there is no signal here, that's exactly why Joe couldn't reach us and ask for help. We'll go and we'll pass Wadebridge on our way, so you can go can go to police station and explain it to them.'

Al came out of the farm, closed the door and put the key where it had always been, on a ledge above the door post.

'Alright, let's go then!

Ruth took her place at the passenger's seat, Joe at the wheel and Al chose a place on the backseat. Joe drove away over the sandy lane and soon reached the narrow tarmac road, where he chose the direction of Wadebridge. He incessantly tried to reach the police station of Wadebridge over the radio and was relieved when he succeeded in getting his colleague on the radio.

'PC Joe Penhale speaking. I have to report a sudden absence from my station, due to a private obligation… PC Penhale herewith requests background support for the rest of the day, over..'

'PC Mark Baker speaking. No problem Joe, I'll keep an eye on them and make a small surveillance tour to Portwenn a bit later… the perfect opportunity for an ice cream at the Ice cream Parlour or some tea at Niccki B's.. over', the policeman of the Wadebridge police station agreed.

'Thank you.. I'll let you know when I'm back…over.'

'Take your time mate.. over.'

Joe pressed a short key on his cell phone in order to transfer all the possible calls to the police station of Wadebridge and finally relaxed in his seat. The Landrover accelerated as soon as Joe entered the A39.

'Must take us about one and a half hour, Al. Will that be enough?

'It will be just right. Let's hope there won't be any traffic jam'.

Ruth leaned back in the car seat and enjoyed the view. Al sent a text message to Morwenna. He knew she couldn't read it right now, but as soon as she would be connected again, she would be able to read his message. The next thing Al did was calling the Doc. Martin answered his call at the first sign.

'Doc? This is Al. We are on our way to Exeter'.

'Good, fine…', Martin was about to end the call after that, but Al stopped him

'Doc, thank you'.

'For what?'

'For sending your aunt to the farm looking for me. You know, I was out of reach and the Mercedes broke down, so I wasn't able to go to Exeter. Now Joe Penhale is bringing me there. And Ruth'.

'Wat about my aunt?

'She is coming too. She judged it would have taken too much time to drop her off in the village.'

'Hmm.', was Martin's answer and he then ended the call. But just a few seconds later, Louisa called him asking him a thousand questions.

'Why didn't you text Morwenna, Why didn't you go to Exeter on your own, what happened to the car..' Al answered the questions as best as he could. Before ringing off, Louisa told him

'Be nice to Morwenna, Al, it must have been a stressful journey!'

Al blushed and he was glad Louisa couldn't be the witness of that. He hesitated because he wanted to say exactly the right thing to Louisa, who he really liked.

'You don't have to worry about that, Louiser, I'll give her a warm welcome home.'

One could say a lot of the somewhat awkward constable of Portwenn, but he had an exceptional sense of distance and the time one would need to bridge that distance. After exactly one hour and twenty-five minutes they arrived at the airport. Al jumped out of the car as soon as Joe's Landrover stood still. He was about to run to the arrival hall, but Ruth stopped him.

'Al, Joe and I will go and have something to eat nearby. We will pick you and Morwenna up in about an hour and a half. Let's hope she won't have a delay.'

Joe started the car again and slowly manoeuvred the Landrover out of the parking place. He was too surprised about the idea of having dinner with this Dr. Ellingham, but for once he kept his mouth shut. He didn't want to spoil an evening out with pleasant albeit quiet company.

In the meanwhile, Al walked through the arrival hall, watching the clock ticking away the minutes. Every twenty seconds, he watched the information boards to see if the flight from Amsterdam already had landed. It wasn't exactly time for it yet. Altogether Joe had assured that he was quite in time.

Al thought about how he would welcome Morwenna. Seeing plenty of persons with cards and papers with names on it, he got an idea. To realize it, he went to a kiosk and bought what he needed: a big A3-format peace of white carton and a thick red marker. He looked for a quiet place where he could prepare his welcoming board for Morwenna.

When he was finished, he went back to the arrival hall. The information board just mentioned that the plane had landed. It made him a bit nervous. How would she react? Had he understood the underlying messages of her texts in the right way? Did she feel about him the same way as he did about her? He would get the answer soon, very soon. Suddenly, his cell phone beeped.

Plane has landed, CU soon!

After fifteen minutes or so, the first persons came through the doors. Al gulped and started to hold up the welcome board he had made. People who saw it smiled. Occasionally a woman said something like

'Oh, how sad, my name is Ann, not Morwenna!'

Morwenna seemed to be the last person to come through the doors, pulling behind her the four wheeled suitcase and the handbag that she had as luggage. A total stranger standing among the waiting families and friends joked loudly

'I do hope you are Morwenna, girl, this man here is about to get a nervous breakdown!'

Morwenna looked up and saw the board Al was holding up. It Said:

MORWENNA, I AM MADLY IN LOVE WITH YOU! Beneath the text, a big heart was drawn with an arrow through it, saying Al - Morwenna.

All Morwenna could say was 'Awwww'. She dropped everything she carried and ran towards Al, who handed the carton board to the first person next to him. Just in time to open his arms for Morwenna who nearly strangled him in the huge hug she gave him. The people around them started to clap their hands, but Morwenna and Al hardly noticed it.

'I missed you Morwenna', Al said.

I missed you too AL', Morwenna whispered.

Al softly kissed her and she eagerly answered his kisses. for minutes, they stood together in a close embrace kissing each other and looking in each other's eyes, forgetting the whole world around them. Finally, Al said

'Let's get your luggage and find something simple to eat. Our taxi will only be here in an hour'.

Morwenna frowned, because she didn't understand exactly what Al was saying, but gave in. She was so glad that he came to get her from the airport that she couldn't care waiting another hour to go home. They found a small restaurant in the arrival hall and quickly ordered some soup and bread. They chose to sit next to each other, simply enjoying being together and exchanging some kisses too.

After their meal, they went to the exit of the arrival hall. Punctual as ever, Joe stood waiting for them in front of it. Morwenna laughed when she saw her taxi. Joe and Ruth stepped out of the car to welcome her.

'Thank you Ruth, for organizing this.', Morwenna said thankfully.

'I presume I can congratulate you two, hmm?' Ruth said, giving her and Al a brief hug.

Both of them blushed and nodded.

'Joe, let's bring this special delivery home.'

When they were half way Portwenn, AL suddenly realized that they hadn't informed Louisa and Martin. So he sent a message to Louisa. Just a selfie of himself and Morwenna that he had taken in the restaurant. It showed the new couple, with the welcome board behind them.

Far away in Amsterdam, Martin and Louisa were already in bed*. Martin grumbled when he heard the beep of Louisa's telephone.

'Martin, look… we can quietly go to sleep now!'

She showed him the picture and added.

'Well done, Dr. Ellingham, two patients cured!'

'What?'

'You probably think that being lovesick isn't a medical condition, but not knowing if the person you love returns the feelings, can really make you feel very bad, Martin. Besides, you did bring them together. Most of the time you don't even realize how much you do for people, do you? You've helped so many of them and I am so proud of that.'

'Hmm…Can we go to sleep now?', Martin grumbled, often still uncertain about how to react on her words. Instead of saying anything else, he carefully pulled his lovely wife closer to him in a loving embrace. With the happy feeling that their holidays now finally could begin, they both soon dozed off.

To be continued

*) there is one hour time difference between the UK and the Netherlands.