Chapter 46

Ruth finished packing her bag, closed the latch and carried it to the door of her flat along with her briefcase, and called a taxi to take her to the airport. It had been nearly two weeks since Margaret had returned to Portugal to prepare her villa for Christopher's move back home. Ruth had needed all that time to clear off her desk and arrange for a substitute psychiatrist to be on call if the prison needed someone whilst she was on "holiday".

She was not looking forward to this trip, and to be frank, she had no real desire to help her brother. He had been conniving as a child, always plotting some scheme or another that inevitably went wrong, wreaking havoc or ill will, at which point he would place blame on either Joan or herself. The fact that he hadn't provided much capital for Margaret's support after his death wasn't surprising. Then again, he knew Margaret well, they were alike in more ways than one could count. She would land on her feet, of that Ruth was sure. However, Ruth had promised Martin that she would assist his mother in that landing, and she had resigned herself to keeping that promise.

It was Martin, the son that they had neglected and abused throughout his supposed childhood, for whom she had concern. With several years of therapy, he had managed to overcome most of the damage they had inflicted on him, but it was all likely to unravel if he had to endure their presence much longer. Margaret was manipulative, and there was no telling how much damage she could inflict on his psyche given enough time. Ruth could see the damage building in his eyes when they first arrived in Cornwall for the holidays. His angst had eased whilst he was on holiday with his family, but it had returned once they were back in London.

Ruth gave thanks pretty much every day for Louisa, Martin's wife. The two of them couldn't be more different, but despite their differing personalities, they were a devoted couple. She was openly affectionate, and under her guidance, he had learned to be more open with his feelings as well. Ruth knew that Louisa was instrumental in helping him through his initial therapy, and she was fairly certain that Louisa's attentions had a powerful effect in easing his stress over the holidays. The children, mostly ignorant of their father's difficulties, were powerful healers in their own right. They gave Martin unconditional love, something he had never had in his life until they were born.

She had considered Christopher's illness as she was finishing her packing. He was a proud man, and she knew he was embarrassed that his sister should see him broken and disabled. She had checked on him every day after Margaret left, and had been pleased to see that he had been working on his physical therapy and making progress. She knew that he was determined to prove to her that he could overcome his current situation, and he had been in high spirits for the past few days when he demonstrated his ability to take a few steps without assistance from an aide. Of course, he needed the help of a walking frame. Nevertheless, it was great progress, and she encouraged him to continue. She had spoken with Martin the previous day to discuss his father's gains and to suggest that he stop by and urge his father to continue with his therapy to become more self-sufficient before moving back to Portugal.

As she sat in the taxi on the way to the airport, she checked once more that she had all her papers in order, the confirmation of the hire car she had ordered and the address of the B&B where she planned to stay for the week that she would be in Portugal. Margaret had not offered her a room in their villa, and she wouldn't have accepted the offer if she had. Louisa had called her mother, told her of the situation, and Miriam had immediately recommended the B&B of a friend for Ruth. The B&B appeared to be a lovely older house, or casa, a few blocks from the centre of town and just a short walk down to the harbour. Miriam promised her that the house had been recently updated and that her friend Vivian, another British ex-pat, kept it in immaculate condition. She was certain that Ruth would be very comfortable there. As Miriam had promised, the proprietor was very friendly and helpful, perhaps a little too friendly as she chattered on and on about the delights of her town. Ruth was finally able to end the call after Vivian had assured her that it was an easy drive from the airport to her casa.

They reached the airport on schedule and she hailed a porter to help take her bags into the terminal. As she was standing in the queue to check her bags, her mobile rang. She was tempted to ignore it, but fearing it could be one of her patients or some other emergency, she pulled it out of her bag. Martin's name flashed on the screen. "Hello. Martin?"

"Ruth. Dad fell this morning and has broken his hip. You should cancel your trip."

Martin was never one to mince his words," she thought somewhat stunned. "Oh, for goodness sake. You called just in time. I was about to check my bags with the airline. Let me call you back in a minute or so."

'Ruth! Ruth!" She heard Martin shout out just as she rang off. She put her mobile into the pocket of her coat and stepped out of the line, shuffling her bags to the side with her briefcase balanced precariously on top of her luggage. She stuffed her ticket into the side pocket of her briefcase and rolled her bags over to a bank of seats away from the crowds. Sitting down, she rang him back and continued the conversation as if there had been no pause, "Martin. Have you told your mother?"

"Of course." His reply was curt.

"And …. ?"

"And what?" Martin sounded distracted. She could hear him shuffling papers.

"Is she planning to return today or tomorrow?"

"Not that I'm aware. She asked to be kept informed as to his condition."

"Have you told Louisa?"

"Yes. And I told her I would try to contact you before you left."

"Good. I had better contact the B&B where I was planning to stay, and cancel my car hire, and let Miriam know I won't be joining her for dinner this evening."

"Yes."

"I'll call you after I arrive home and make those calls. You can update me on his condition then."

"Yes. Good."

"Will you be in the office or in theatre?"

"Office, consultations all afternoon."

"Right."

Later, back in her flat and after she had cancelled her car hire and her B&B reservation, accepting Vivian's extended condolences, she called Martin to get an update. Martin told her that the orthopaedic surgeon who had examined Christopher had decided to repair his hip the next morning. In the meantime, they had him sedated to ease his pain, and to prevent him from injuring himself further. His progress with the physical therapy had given him a false sense of confidence in his ability to support himself. When he climbed out of bed the previous night to use the toilet, he fell after a few steps without the support of his walking frame. Now in hospital, there was concern that he might forget where he was and try to climb out of the bed again, further damaging his bones.

The care home staff had not considered him to be a danger to himself and had not applied to have him restrained at night or to supervise him one-on-one. Obviously, he needed the extra care, but now it was too late. Martin was furious with the care home's failure to prevent such an accident, and he let loose a rant castigating the entire industry filled with 'idiots' and 'imbeciles' and threatening to report the fools running this particular home to the supervisory board. Ruth understood his anger, but declined to engage him in conversation. He needed to vent his frustration. If he continued to suggest censure in the next day or two, she would discuss the pros and cons with him when he broached the subject again. She doubted he would. That particular care home had a sterling reputation, but even the best facilities experienced an occasional mishap.

In the meantime, she needed to contact the home health care agencies that she had contacted and cancel the appointments she had arranged for the following week. But first she wanted to talk with Louisa.