Chapter 3

"Funny woman, that Margaret, typical London socialite … high and mighty." Miriam mused as she watched Margaret leave the salon. "Nice tipper though … don't usually bore my clients with stories of my grandchildren, but she did ask. And she seemed to be interested. I'll have to ask her about her family next week. "

She puttered around her station in preparation for her next client, gathering up her implements and placing them in the sanitizer, all the while thinking back to her two weeks in Cornwall this past summer with Louisa and Alan and their families. Certainly she enjoyed her time with the family, but two weeks was just about all she could manage. By the time Martin put her on the plane back to Portugal, she was ready to leave, ready for some peace and quiet.

She had stayed with Louisa and Joan at the farm because Alan and his family were in Louisa's old cottage in the village. The farmhouse was actually quite large and, because of several renovations Martin had made, it was very comfortable. Joan had moved into the ground floor suite that Martin had built when he renovated the house before he and Louisa married. "Joan is getting older, but then aren't we all?" Miriam chuckled to herself. Joan's arthritis had made getting around a little more difficult, not that she had slowed down much from her younger days. She had let out the hay fields to one of the neighbouring farmers, but she still tended to the chickens and the sheep and her large vegetable garden from which she supplied the green grocers in town and several of the local restaurants. Even so, she often commented, "I certainly don't miss the stairs at night after a full day working on the farm or making deliveries."

Despite the spacious accommodations at the farm, Louisa and James usually stayed in her village cottage whilst in Portwenn. Louisa enjoyed being part of village life and keeping current with all her old neighbours; but they decamped to the farm when Martin was down or when Alan and his family came to visit. Miriam had pegged Martin as antisocial from the first time she had met him and she suspected that his discomfort with the prying eyes of the village was the primary reason they moved to the farm when he was down. That and Joan, he really was devoted to his aunt. Plus, Louisa's cottage was too small for a man of Martin's size with its low ceilings and cramped rooms.

The additional renovations to the farm house he and Louisa had made two years ago made it a perfect family holiday home. On the first floor upstairs on one side of the central hall, there was now a large master suite with an en-suite bath and a separate study for Martin's use when he was down. Louisa had placed a single bed in the study where James could sleep on the occasions when they needed his room to accommodate extra guests. There were two comfortable bedrooms on the other side of the central hall with a bath that was tucked in a private nook between the two rooms. She had enjoyed one of those rooms and the sole use of the bath for all but the last two days of her visit when Ruth came down with Martin and took over the second bedroom. It really was a very comfortable family house.

Until Martin and Ruth arrived, it was just Louisa, James, and Alan's family, and Joan of course. They made a true holiday of their time in Cornwall this summer, spending many afternoons in the village visiting with old friends, exploring the rock pools and eating ice cream or fudge from the sweets shop in the village. Most days were sunny with a warm breeze and they took advantage of the balmy weather to take the children to the sandy beaches at Harlyn Bay and Daymer Bay. The water was warmer than you might think and the children enjoyed playing in the sand. With the help of Alan, Annie and Louisa, they built quite the grand sand castle. She smiled to herself and shook her head as the image of James helping the others build a sand castle floated across her mind's eye, "How can a three-year-old know how to build the towers and walls so that they don't fall down? But he does, explaining exactly how to pack the sand in the buckets so that it holds its shape when it is turned over. I suppose his Dad explained the engineering concepts to him on an earlier trip. Even so, he's a clever little bugger … opinionated and bossy too. Takes after his Dad in more ways than one."

They took a few side trips up to Tintagel and down to the Eden Project, visiting sights that she had never made time to see before she moved to Portugal all those years ago. The trip to Tintagel was strenuous, windy and cold, but the children seemed to enjoy it, or so they told her. She declined to join them and puttered through the many souvenir shops in town and found a lovely little tea shop where she could enjoy a cream tea and watch the tourists wander by the window. All three children were excited to tell their Mimi about the way the early tribes had lived and just where Arthur had held court. Louisa bought James a wooden toy sword and shield in the gift shop, and the girls came away with a King Arthur activity set and a "sword in the stone" snow globe. James loved playing with his sword, swinging it through the air pretending to slay dragons and chasing his cousins around the farm. After reprimanding him more than once, and after he whacked Abigail on the arm, she took it away and put it away for next year. Miriam shook her head as she remembered James with his sword, "I don't know what Louisa was thinking when she bought that toy."

The Eden Project was still under construction when Miriam moved to Portugal all those years ago, and she was amazed at the size and scope of the facility. On the day they went there, she spent the day wandering the gardens with Alan's wife Annie, enchanted by the plant specimens in the large biospheres whilst Louisa and Alan took the children on a tour of the project. Louisa had taken some of her Portwenn Primary classes to the Eden Project before she married, and she had a docent's knowledge of the facility. Miriam wasn't sure if the children would have enjoyed the trip if Louisa hadn't known which parts of the facility were interesting to children, and if she hadn't downloaded some of the "Spy Trails" guides provided for children to use in exploring Eden. James was really too young to use the guides, but the girls included him in their explorations and they all learned many interesting things about nature, probably more than Miriam and Annie did exploring by themselves.

Martin and Ruth didn't arrive from London until late the Thursday afternoon of her second week in Cornwall. They all were to celebrate James' third birthday on Friday, and she was scheduled to leave on Saturday. Alan and his family would drive back up to the midlands on Sunday morning, whilst Martin and Ruth would stay the following week. She still found Martin's nearly constant scowl and thoughtless remarks difficult to bear and she was glad that she only had to tolerate him for Thursday night and Friday. What her daughter saw in the man had been completely beyond her understanding the first few occasions she had spent any time with him. Of course, he did come with a comfortable London home and the farm in Cornwall which were certainly appealing; but a woman would want more in a husband, wouldn't she? However, over the past several years, she had observed the two of them in a few private moments and it soon became apparent to her that Martin adored Louisa. What woman wouldn't put up with a few eccentricities, or more, to be cherished so thoroughly?

She chuckled to herself remembering how she been in her room freshening up shortly after Martin arrived. She heard the three of them, Martin, Louisa and James climbing the stairs. James was beyond excited to see Martin; he was jabbering away excitedly, "Daddy, Daddy, can we go down to the cove and look for shells? Can we?"

"Yes James, as soon as I greet your mother properly and unpack."

"I can help you unpack, and then we can go down to the beach."

"Yes James." She heard Martin drop his bags on the floor. She was about to leave her room to go downstairs when she heard him say in a gentle loving tone, "Hello Mrs. Ellingham."

Miriam froze just outside her door waiting to hear what happened next. Louisa responded in a similarly loving tone, "Hello Mr. Ellingham."

Except for the sound of James moving around the room, it was quiet for a few moments and then Louisa sighed, "Mmmm."

Martin whispered, "I missed you", and Louisa replied in a muffled voice, "I missed you too." It was quiet for a moment and Miriam was certain that there would have been some serious snogging going on had James not been there. James' footsteps clattered across the room and he climbed onto the bed, bouncing up and down. Martin gave him a sharp rebuke, "James, you know better than to jump on the bed."

"Okay," James grumbled, reluctantly slipping off the bed with a loud thud. He sighed and then whined, "Finish kissing Mummy so we can go down to the beach." Miriam had to stifle a giggle. A few moments later Louisa sighed again, saying, "I suppose I should go downstairs. We need to start dinner."

"Right."

"Later then?" Her tone was full of anticipation.

"Yes." His voice held the same expectation as hers and Miriam had little trouble imagining what they had planned for later. Louisa took a step toward the door as Martin continued, "I'll unpack and take care of James. Do you need my help with dinner?"

"No, it will be fine. We already have more cooks than we can use."

Quickly Miriam slipped back into her room as Louisa headed down the stairs. She could hear James as Martin started to unpack his bag. "I can help Daddy. Where do these go?"

"Mmm. Put my pants in this drawer and then you can get my t-shirts and put them in there as well. I'll just hang up my suits in the wardrobe here."

She could hear James pattering back and forth, probably from Martin's bag to the dresser. "Here are your shirts Daddy."

"James! Don't drop them." Martin let loose a loud sigh. "I'll hang them up later. Perhaps we should leave for the beach now."

"Okay. Let's go." James was extremely excited as they started down the stairs. "We need to put our wellies on. Mummy says we always wear our wellies to the beach."

"Uh-hm. Yes, she is right."

xxxx

Just before dinner, Miriam cornered Louisa in the lounge and whispered, "How is Mr. Ellingham this evening, Mrs. Ellingham?" Louisa looked puzzled for a moment and then turned bright red and gasped, "Mum! Were you spying on us?"

"I just happened to be in my room when you came up."

"Right." It appeared Louisa didn't believe her, as she glared at her, hands on hips, with what Miriam assumed had been her "tell me the truth" look when she was head teacher.

"I didn't listen on purpose." And just because Miriam couldn't help herself, she grinned and added, "Special plans for later?"

"Mum!" Miriam laughed at her daughters reaction. Teasing Louisa had always been so easy.

Sure enough, later, after James was safely tucked in his bed, she noticed Louisa and her husband slip out of the house and walk hand in hand out to the cliffs. Yes, there was much more to that man than initially met the eye and he obviously made Louisa pretty happy despite his miserable demeanour.

The next morning, Martin was up early with James, letting Louisa have a lie-in, as he prepared a big healthy birthday breakfast. Once again, Miriam had to admit the man had many talents, and the breakfast he prepared was delicious. He cut up some melons and berries and boiled some eggs for protein and then prepared whole meal pancakes for all of them. For James, he made the pancakes in the shape of various animals, letting James assist in adding currants for the eyes and nose and in turning them over. Spread with fruit preserves over the top, they were a healthy and entertaining special breakfast for the little boy.

Alan and his family came over mid-morning and passed the day with James, wandering on the coastal path and wading in the water chasing crabs. She and Louisa joined them in the village for ice cream in the early afternoon while Martin shopped for dinner. Later in the afternoon, Louisa and Annie drove up to Delabole, where one of Louisa's friends had set up a bakery, and they picked up the birthday cake Louisa had ordered for the occasion. Martin was busy preparing the fresh fish and vegetables that he was planning to grill for a special birthday dinner when they walked into the kitchen. Martin took one look at the cake and bellowed, "Louisa, that cake is filled with fat and sugar, completely unhealthy. Why do you insist on offering that to our son?"

She just gave him a look, and said, "Martin, birthdays are special and cakes are traditional. It's not negotiable. Besides, everybody likes cake."

Somewhat chastised, Martin just huffed, "Mmmm ... I don't"

Louisa glared at him screwing up her mouth as he marched out the door, muttering under her breath, "Your loss."

Martin spent a few minutes on the terrace staring out to sea . She could see him clenching and unclenching his fists as he undoubtedly mulled over his wife's refusal to see his point of view. Finally he returned to finish his dinner preparations. Louisa went up to him and placing her hand gently on his back, smiled up at him, "Better now?"

Martin glared down at her and responded with a definite, "NO." Louisa gave him a quizzical look and he repeated in a softer tone, "Nooo ..." She reached up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and went back to her own tasks. Martin followed her with his eyes, and as the hint of a smile slipped across his lips, he went back to work.

Miriam didn't often see them argue, and she watched in fascination at their interaction, at first fearing their argument might spoil the party and then wondering what unspoken exchange had seemingly cleared the air. By the time dinner was on the table, all was back to normal, and the meal was exceptional. James loved being the centre of attention, and when they brought in the big chocolate cake with three big candles on top, his eyes grew wide with wonder. He was thrilled with his day and soon fell asleep after playing with his new set of farm animals and building a barn for them with his blocks. Whilst Martin settled James in his bed, the remaining adults enjoyed a rousing game of cards, and soon it was time for Alan and Annie to take the girls off to bed as well. Miriam was leaving the next day so the good-byes were profuse and emotional. She noticed that Martin hung back waiting for Louisa to be free whilst she and Louisa were fussing over the girls and helping them into the car, although he joined them in waving good-bye as Alan pulled the car away from the house. Miriam walked back into the house and then peered out the window to see Martin and Louisa slip away to wander the cliffs for a few minutes to themselves. "Looks like mum and dad are off for a little quality time, if you get my drift," she said to no one in particular.

Joan piped up in reply as she walked over to the window to escort Miriam back to the sofa, "Yes I imagine they are. Let's leave them to it. Would you like to join Ruth and me in a glass of whiskey?".

"Don't mind if I do". Miriam closed her eyes and smiled as she remembered the witty after dinner repartee the three women enjoyed, which was liberally greased by the honey undertones of Joan's favorite whiskey, "delicious" she thought to herself as her next client walked in the door.