Chapter 7
It was Christmas Eve. All was well in the Ellinghams' world, and Joan couldn't be happier. She was surrounded by her family, a family she had never dreamed she would have until a few years ago. Earlier that evening they had gathered around her table for their Christmas Eve feast, all of them: her sister, Ruth; her nephew Martin whom she loved as her son, his wife Louisa and their son James. Also joining them were Louisa's brother Alan and his family, Annie, Abigail and Amelia whom she had welcomed into her family circle with open arms as soon as Martin and Louisa had wed. It had been a boisterous table full of laughter, just as a family holiday meal should be. Even Martin had managed a chuckle or two during the meal, and it gladdened her heart to see him so happy.
They had finished their repast just two hours ago, sumptuous fish stuffed with crabmeat, slow roasted red cabbage and sautéed spinach along with whole meal rolls and an apple compote for afters. Now the house was getting quiet. She and Ruth were in the kitchen of the farmhouse, Ruth doing the washing up, and she finishing the preparations for their Christmas Day feast. Annie and Alan had taken the girls back to Louisa's cottage in the village and James was asleep in bed.
Louisa and Martin were in the lounge where Martin was setting up the train set that he had played with as a boy. She had found it in a box in the storage room that Martin had converted into a bedroom suite for her back when he did the first of several renovations to the house, back when he was courting Louisa. She remembered encouraging him, hoping that the two of them would find happiness with each other. Ruth had been sceptical, but now Ruth had to agree that, in the end, Joan had been right. Oh, they had their rows from time to time, but they seemed to have made a good life for themselves and their son; and now, in the spring, there would be another baby. Wasn't that proof that they were happy?
It was an evening last summer, an evening just like this one. They had celebrated James' birthday a few days earlier, and now that Louisa's mother and brother had left to go home, it was a quiet house with just the Ellinghams left to themselves. They had finished their meal, and James was in bed back in his room where Miriam had stayed whist she was visiting. Louisa was in the lounge reading and Martin was in his study. Joan hadn't had any time alone with him to chat and she knocked on his door, "Mind if I join you for a few minutes?"
He was seated at his desk with his laptop open and papers spread out across the surface, "No, not at all. Come in. I was working on my latest research project, trying to make sense of the data we've gathered so far."
She walked in and settled herself comfortably in the overstuffed chair he used for reading, "Are you sure I won't be bothering you.".
He leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs and cocking an eyebrow, an expression with which she was very familiar, "Would it make any difference if I said you were?"
"Oh Marty, I won't stay long. I just don't get you to myself very often."
"No, it's fine." He steepled his fingers and gave her a shy grin.
"James seems to be quite a happy little boy, doesn't he?"
"Yes, he is quite healthy and I believe he is happy."
"He gladdens my heart … just like you did when you were his age. You were three the first time you came to visit, same age as he is now. Phil and I enjoyed every minute you were here."
"Yes, so you've told me many times. And my times with you and Uncle Phil were the best parts of my childhood."
"Mmm … So, I was wondering …" She figited in her chair.
"Yes?"
"He has brought so much joy to all our lives … "
"Yes, he has, Aunty Joan."
"Well … "
"What is it?"
Martin was beginning to lose patience with her, she could tell, so she just spit it out. "Have you and Louisa thought about having another child?"
He stared at her wide eyed for a moment, then turned his attention back to the papers on his desk.
"I know I shouldn't pry, but have you? Don't put it off for too long."
He turned back to her and said, "We'll take it under advisement."
Even as he was speaking, she could see the corners of his mouth twitching, and she guessed the truth. Her hands flew up to her mouth, "Oh Marty. Are you …. ?"
He looked down, a wry smile fliting across his face, "Shush. It's very early times as yet. We just did the test a few days ago. Chris is making an appointment for us to see a specialist in Truro on Wednesday."
She barely let him finish his sentence before she jumped up and ran over to give him a hug, "I am so happy for you. Another little Ellingham. Oh! this is wonderful news." She clapped her hands together, overjoyed at the revelation.
"Please keep it to yourself. Don't let Louisa know I have told you."
It was all she could do to keep the news to herself for the next few days until after their appointment in Truro, but then she had weaselled the news out of them. And soon the new baby would be here. She had plans to spend the first two months in London helping out with the baby. It was the least she could do and quite frankly, she could hardly wait to hold and cherish her newest grandchild.
Louisa was seated on the sofa in the farmhouse lounge with her cat, Lizzie cuddled on her lap looking through the photos she had taken earlier in the evening. She had downloaded them onto her tablet, and she was trying to decide which ones to send to her mother. Every now and then Joan would peek out at the two of them in the lounge and watch Marty, sitting on the floor next to the tree, as he set up his train. He had removed his suit coat jacket and was in his shirtsleeves as he arranged the tracks just so and reached over to search for this or that in one of the two boxes which had held the trains and their accoutrements for the last thirty years or more. As she gazed at him her mind brought up the image of him as a six-year old boy right after they had first bought that train for him at the weekly boot sale over in Wadebridge all those years ago. He was an easy child, never demanding anything special from them, and he was thrilled with the train, playing with it almost nonstop for the remainder of his visit that year. She could still see him, blond hair falling over his forehead, inspecting every section of the track, the intense concentration furrowing his brow even then. Every now and then he would glance up and grin, "This train is exceptional, Aunty Joan." She loved that they could make him happy, and giving him those happy memories to take with him back to school warmed her heart from one visit to the next. After they unearthed it whilst cleaning out the storage room that became her new bedroom, she stored it safely in the attic. She suggested to Martin that James might be old enough to enjoy it this Christmas, and he agreed. Even though his expression never changed from his usual serious demeanour, she could sense the excitement in his body language as he pulled the boxes out of the attic right after he arrived two days ago. She was certain that he was going to enjoy playing with it as much as James.
Louisa leaned forward as she stroked her cat and gazed at her husband. As he rummaged through the box, searching for a particular section of track she asked, "How old were you when you received this train set?"
"I think I had just turned six. Mum and Dad had gone off to the Maldives and had sent me down to Cornwall to spend the holidays with Joan and Phil. When I woke up Christmas morning, it was under the tree. Phil turned on the switch and I can remember how excited I was to see the train go around and around. I had never had anything so special in my life. Over the next few years, we added extra track and more cars and a tunnel and the houses. I couldn't wait to come and play with it each Christmas. Of course, that ended when I was twelve. After that I wasn't allowed to come down for Christmas …. or summers …" Martin's voice trailed off as he remembered the lonely holidays after his 12th birthday.
Hearing the melancholy in his voice infuriated Joan; she had never forgiven her brother for taking Martin away from them. That man and his self-centered wife deserved a special place in hell for the way they treated that little boy. There was nothing she could do now except give him a warm and loving family home to visit whenever he could get away from the city.
She could tell it affected Louisa deeply as well. It was very good that he had her to provide him the care and comfort that had been missing for too long in his life. Louisa lifted Lizzie off of her lap and rose from the couch to sit down on the floor next to her husband, encircling him with her arms. Unable to find words that would console him, she sighed, resting her head on his shoulder.
Martin reached for her hand and kissed it, then leaned over to finish setting up the train. "Now James can enjoy it and the new baby as well."
Joan watched as Louisa rose awkwardly from the floor and returned to the sofa, where Lizzie ambled over once again to take up her place on Louisa's lap. She stepped back into the kitchen to put away the stuffing she had finished mixing up and to lay out the serving dishes they would need the next day on the sideboard. Martin had volunteered to prepare a big breakfast for everyone. It was at times like this when she absolutely loved the kitchen that Martin had installed when he first renovated the house. There was plenty of room for several cooks to work at once and she knew that she would be able to get the turkey in the cooker whilst Martin was working on their breakfast.
Ruth had finished the washing up and had joined Louisa on the sofa, a full wine glass in her hand. Joan poured herself a small glass of the single malt Martin had given her for Christmas and joined the others in the lounge, walking over to inspect the train. "Those were good times we had playing with this train, eh Marty? Does it still work?"
"Let's see." Martin flipped the switch and watched as the engine slowly pulled the train down the track, gaining speed until it was nearly flying through the tunnel and past the small village.
Louisa leaned over to get a better view of the train as it chugged past her, "James is going to be thrilled. Thank you for finding this Joan."
"I'm just glad Martin was able to get it working. I wasn't so sure. It had been in storage for so long. We never pulled it out after Marty's last Christmas with us." Joan let her shoulders drop as, once again, she remembered the sadness she felt when Martin was no longer allowed to visit. She put her hand on Martin's head, ruffling his hair as if he were still a boy, "I think I'd better head on to bed. We've a busy day ahead of us tomorrow." With that she made her way to her room, relieved once more that she no longer had to climb the stairs.
She woke the next day to the scent of freshly brewed coffee and cinnamon, and something else that smelled suspiciously like bacon. Marty is cooking bacon? Not likely she thought. She looked at the clock beside her bed. It read 7:35, and she jumped up throwing on her work clothes as she ran into the kitchen. "Marty, why didn't you wake me? The turkey will never be ready."
He opened the door to the cooker and said, "It's fine. Everything is in hand." He had already placed the turkey into the cooker with several strips of bacon over the top, just as she would have done. I put it in an hour ago."
She sputtered, "Did you …"
"Yes, I remembered to put in the stuffing and the excess is in this pan ready to go in an hour before mealtime."
He closed the door to the cooker and stood up straight, looking down at her, "As I said, everything is in hand. You needed your rest."
She plopped down onto one of the kitchen chairs, placing her hands on the edge of the table, "Oh ... well, good then."
"Here, have a cup of coffee. Breakfast is nearly ready. Warm cinnamon buns with currents; a potato, kale and sausage hash with fried eggs and some fresh fruit - apples, oranges and bananas. We'll eat when Louisa and James come down. Ruth has gone out for a short walk along the cliffs."
When Martin works in the kitchen he tends to take over. She knew he had made the current buns the day before but had no idea that he would cook up such a morning feast when they were going to have such a large feast later in the afternoon. "That's quite a lot of food."
Martin looked a bit abashed, "Louisa wanted a nice Christmas breakfast. I decided to indulge her just this once."
Joan knew that he indulged her more often that he would like to admit. She looked up at him and smiled, "Ah, yes." She thought it was one of his qualities that kept his marriage strong and happy.
James and Louisa walked into the kitchen just as Ruth returned from her outing and the kitchen was soon abuzz with activity. Martin dished up the meal he had prepared whilst James regaled them with the news that Father Christmas had brought a train and put it under the tree. He could barely contain himself and it was all they could do to ensure he ate a healthy breakfast before they all retired to the lounge to view the magnificent train running on its tracks around the Christmas tree.
Later that day, after Alan and his family had arrived, the kitchen was awhirl as several cooks prepared the Christmas dinner. Martin had escaped upstairs, ostensibly to work on a paper he was preparing for one of his medical journals, but Joan knew it was to escape the bedlam that had erupted in the kitchen and to enjoy some peace and quiet before it was time to join the family for Christmas dinner. In many ways he was still a solitary man who needed time to himself to recharge in order to enjoy his family; he had been that way as a child, slipping up to his room to read a book or examine his shell and rock collection. It was who he was. Louisa seemed to understand and certainly Joan did as well.
"Yes" she thought again, "Martin was wise to design the kitchen with room for several cooks to work at one time, and we use every single inch of it during the holidays." With the entire family gathered in the kitchen to cook, the day became quite festive. Louisa had taken James upstairs for a short nap mid-afternoon and despite his protesting, he soon fell fast asleep. An hour later Martin appeared in the kitchen with an animated James. The nap had done wonders for James as did the quiet time for Martin. As they were about to sit down to their meal, Louisa insisted that they take time to pose for a family photo. She had set up her tripod in the lounge and put several chairs in front of the tree. It took a few minutes to gather everyone as thirteen-year old Amelia had to check that her hair was just so and Joan kept running back to the kitchen to stir a pot or check on the mince pie she had in the oven, but finally they came together and Louisa had her photos.
As they were waiting for Alan to adjust the camera, Joan felt something in her hair. She reached up and found a foot; turning around, she saw James giggling, "Your hair tickles Gamma."
She laughed out loud, "Yes I suppose it does," and she grinned at him.
Martin was holding James in his right arm with his other arm around Louisa's shoulder. Louisa laughed along with Joan and grabbed James' foot. "James, it's not nice to mess up Gammy's hair, especially with your foot."
Joan looked up at Louisa with a smile and then shifted her gaze to her grandson, "James, I'm going to get you when we finish with the photos!"
James laughed even more loudly as Alan clapped his hands, "Look at the camera everyone." Alan pressed the timed shutter and raced over to Louisa's side just as the camera went 'click'.
"One more, he shouted and set the timer again. 'Click', the camera snapped the photo and the group split up and headed to the dinner table. But not before Joan was able to grab James and give his tummy a tickle. "Stop it Gamma," he laughed.
"Only if you give me a hug." And James complied hugging her tightly and she carried him over to the table, thinking, "Life doesn't get any better than this".
Later as she looked at the family photo, Joan thought how it was the very picture of domestic happiness and again she marvelled at the changes that Louisa had brought to Martin's life, and to her own as well. Life was good. Joan was certain that one or more of these photos would make their way into one of the many albums that Louisa had stored in their family library at their home in London. And she knew that she herself would select the best one to frame and place on her bedside table where she would see it every morning when she awoke.