Chapter 49

A few days later Louisa left their home to meet Martin in his office for a quick lunch. He was running a little late with his morning procedures so she settled onto the couch in his office with Joanie napping in her push chair after her late morning feed. Louisa hadn't been to his office since Joanie was born and the staff all gathered round to admire the latest Ellingham progeny. Morwenna was particularly thrilled to see the baby, although disappointed that Joanie was sleeping. She desperately wanted to hold the baby. She and her IT boyfriend Al had married two years before and were thinking about starting a family; and after the rest of the staff went back to their stations, she stayed to talk with Louisa about the challenges of caring for a new-born.

"Well, there's the loss of sleep. That's probably the hardest part and can go on for months. You have to be prepared for that. Do you plan to go back to work after the baby is born?"

"Kind of have to. We couldn't live on what Al makes alone. My mum has offered to keep the baby whilst I work if we have one. She keeps asking us when we're going to start a family … kind of pressuring us to have a go at it."

"Mmm …. How do you feel about that?"

"Not sure really. We'd like to have a family … someday. I'm just not sure we're really ready yet."

"Yeah, it's a big responsibility."

"I'm not sure my mum sees it that way. She just wants grandchildren."

Louisa laughed gently, "Fortunately, neither Martin nor I had that kind of pressure since our parents weren't around." Louisa paused for a moment and added wistfully, "Which is actually kind of sad."

'I'm so sorry. I thought your mum was still with you."

Louisa poked a strand of hair behind her ears, "Well, she's still alive, but she lives in Portugal. We do see her once or twice a year, but to be honest, she's hardly the maternal type."

"I know Mr. Ellingham's parents are still living, sort of, given that his Dad is so sick. What about his mum? Does she spend any time with the children?"

"No. They live in Portugal as well." Louisa didn't elaborate, not wanting to divulge Martin's estrangement from his parents.

Louisa continued, "It's nice you have your mum, but it can be difficult if she is pressuring you. Wait until you and Al are ready. There's no rush. Look at Martin and me."

Morwenna smiled back at her, or rather at Joanie.

Louisa cocked her head, "You know what they call us?"

"Nooo…?" Morwenna screwed up her mouth, looking puzzled and nervous. Louisa had the sudden thought that perhaps she was thinking of all the names that the staff had for Martin; they probably had a few choice nicknames for her as well, and she laughed.

"I don't mean what they call Martin around hospital." She chuckled, "I'm sure that the staff has several colourful nicknames for Martin…and maybe for me as well. No, I mean what they call prospective parents like us who are older than average. In obstetrics, they call us geriatric."

Louisa could see the relief in Morwenna's face as she laughed along with her.

"You're still in your twenties, right?"

"Yeah. Twenty-eight, twenty-nine in June."

For some reason Louisa thought she was younger even though she had been Martin's admin assistant before she herself had met him more than nine years prior. "You still have time before the biological clock starts ticking, a few more years at least. Don't be in any hurry to become parents."

She leaned in close, lowering her voice, "And when you do get ready to conceive, come back and I'll tell you all about the indignities involved with giving birth and breastfeeding."

Morwenna's eyes bulged out, "Really?"

"Yeah."

Martin walked into his office just at that moment. "Why aren't you at your desk?" he barked at Morwenna when he saw her sitting with Louisa on his sofa.

"Lunch break?", she answered with a tone that indicated, "Duh? isn't it obvious?" then continued, "Calls are rolling over to the answer phone. I'll check it when I get back to my desk. Don't worry."

She stood up and turned to Louisa, "I guess that's my cue to return to work." She leaned over to take one more peek at Joanie, "Nice chatting with you Louisa, and so nice to see this little one." She looked up at Martin and nodded her head toward the baby, "Proper job on that Mr. Ellingham. She's just beautiful."

Martin nodded his head, pursing his lips and grunting his usual, "Mmm. Close the door on your way out."

After she left, he leaned down to brush his fingers against Joanie's cheeks, then took the lunch bag that Louisa handed to him and spread their lunch out on his desk.

"What were you and Miss Newcross discussing?"

"Oh, babies and that sort of thing. She and her husband are thinking of starting a family."

"Humph. Really? I hope not anytime soon. That would be very inconvenient."

"Oh Martin. You want her to devote her life to her job as your assistant? That's not fair. It's only natural that she will want a family too."

"She will be very difficult to replace."

"I'm sure she will want to return to work."

"Right, and I'll have to put up with some stand-in whilst she is on maternity leave, and then she will have to stay home when the baby is sick. All very inconvenient."

"She said her mother will take care of the baby, but you can't expect her to come back to work right after giving birth."

"Humph."

After they finished their light lunch, they headed down the hall to the wing where Christopher was recovering from his hip surgery. They had agreed that Martin would go in first to check his father's chart and to do a quick medical check whilst Louisa waited in the hall. Louisa could hear him interact with his father. If she hadn't known better, she would have assumed this man was one of Martin's regular patients, not anyone special, certainly not his father. The interaction was strictly doctor-patient, strictly professional.

"How are you feeling today Dad?"

"Fine, fine." His Dad sounded impatient.

"Any discomfort with your incision?"

"No. Pain meds take care of that."

"Good. Is the staff getting you up and moving about?"

His Dad sounded annoyed as he replied, "Yes, yes." He mimicked the nurses, adopting a high-pitched tone and a lower-class accent," Time to get up and walk Mr. Ellingham. Don't want you to get a DVT."

"And you are able to walk on your own?"

There was a moment of silence. Louisa waited for his Dad to answer, "I can walk just fine."

"Mm. I'm sure you can."

She could hear Martin put the clipboard with his medical notes back, "Um … Dad, are you up for a visitor?"

"Depends. Who is it?"

Martin walked over to the door and reached out for Joanie's push chair, nodding to Louisa to follow him, "Come through."

Martin pushed the baby through the door and Louisa followed, "Dad, this is my wife, Louisa. Louisa, my father, Christopher Ellingham."

Louisa clung to Martin's arm at the foot of the bed as she greeted Christopher with a gentle smile, "It's very nice to meet you Mr. Ellingham."

An initial expression of shock crossed Christopher's face as he realised who had just entered his room. He squinted at her and muttered, "The fisherman's daughter."

Louisa heard what he intended to be a slur on her parentage and, raising her head with dignity, quickly spoke up, 'Yes, my father was a fisherman, and a very successful fisherman as well. I was quite proud of him."

Christopher turned to Martin, "Quite spiky, isn't she?"

Martin glared at his father, and his father returned his attention to Louisa, "Come closer so I can get a good look at you."

Louisa took a step forward and Martin grabbed her arm, "No need. He can see you perfectly fine where you are."

'I'm not going to bite her!" Christopher shot back at Martin. "I just wanted to see what it was that made you marry her. I will admit she's quite pretty."

"Yes, "Martin agreed as he leaned down to pick up the baby who had started to fuss.

"Ah, your latest sprog." He screwed up his mouth, "Third child, isn't it?"

He looked Louisa up and down, leering, "Have to admit my dear, if I were in better shape, I'd have trouble keeping my hands off you as well."

Martin puffed up in indignation, "Dad. That's completely inappropriate."

"Son, it's obvious you have trouble keeping it in your pants when she's around. How else to explain all the children? You do know there are ways to enjoy the delights of the flesh without reaping the consequences? And if an accident happens it's easy enough these days to terminate a pregnancy."

Despite Martin's warning about his father's incivility, Louisa could barely believe her ears and she glared at him, stunned at his casual reference to abortion, but he continued, "Three children, what were you thinking? You never did have any common sense. Ridiculous!"

Martin grabbed Louisa's hand, hissing, "It's time for us to go." Pulling her along behind him, he snarled at his Dad," You have no idea what you're talking about. I'll check in on you tomorrow. Good-bye."

Christopher shouted out after them, "Don't go. We were just getting to know one another. Please, Martin …" He was becoming more and more agitated, "Please don't go. Martin, Louise. Come back."

Martin handed Joanie to Louisa and indicated that she should go down to the family lounge area near the lifts, and he went back into his father's room, demanding impatiently, "Dad. What is it?"

Louisa ignored Martin's directions to the lounge and stayed put just outside the door. She could hear Christopher, who had started crying, "Where is Louise? Bring her back? Where is your mother. I want Margaret. You have your wife. I need mine."

He continued to sob, blubbering, "Margaret, I need my honey-buns. Where is she?"

"Good God". Martin shuddered with revulsion at his father's emotional outburst, curling his lip as he reached over and gave his father a tissue, "Dad, get a grip. Mum went to Portugal before you fell to prepare the house for your move back. I told her to stay until you recovered from the anaesthesia. I'll notify her to return as soon as she is able."

Christopher choked down a sob and Louisa could hear his sigh, "Please. Yes, tell her to come soon. I need her."

"Yes. Right." Martin replied, and then added as he turned toward the door, "And my wife's name is Louis-a."

He marched out of the room, surprised to see Louisa standing next to the door jamb listening.

She looked up at him, scrunching her face into a look of puzzlement, not wanting to say anything lest Christopher might hear, although she could hear him shouting at Martin," Bring Louise to visit again soon. She is so pretty, so prett …" His voice trailed off as he realised that Martin was no longer there.

'Your name is Louisa. Why can neither of my parents remember your name?" Martin was muttering to himself as he turned to go down the hall.

Louisa stopped him and whispered, "Martin, the push chair?"

"Yes," He went back into the room in a huff, grabbing the chair and yanking it out into the hall unnoticed by his father who was fussing with the television remote.

"Do you want to put Joanie into the chair?"

"No, I think I will hold her for a few moments longer." She shifted the baby to her shoulder, patting her back and kissing the top of her head.

As they walked down the hall, she whispered, 'Is he going to be alright?"

"Hard to say. He's obviously not himself. Stroke induced mood swings, I'd say. No telling how he'll react when my mother comes back. I'll send her an e-mail when I return to my office."

He stopped for a moment and looked down at her, "I'm sorry you had to experience that."

"To be honest Martin, I expected worse, although I was shocked when he suggested an abortion as a means of birth control."

"Yes." Martin was dismayed with the entire encounter, and he leaned against the wall as a nurse strode past. There was a tone of dejection in his voice as he reflected, "I warned you that he could be critical. He has never approved of anything I have ever done."

Martin was always supremely confidant, rarely showing any vulnerability, yet here he was downtrodden by his father's words. Louisa desperately wanted to hug and comfort him, but she knew that the middle of the hospital corridor was not the place. "That horrible, spiteful man. He has no idea. Let's go back to your office."

"No. You go on home. The boys need you, and I have consultations."

She placed her hand on his chest as a small gesture of comfort, "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Alright, I will, but you need to remember that we think, I think, you are the most accomplished man in the entire country."

He gazed down at her and his eyes reflected a hint of humour, "Yes, I know you do." He reached for Joanie and lifting her up to face him, he confided, "Your mother is delusional."

Louisa chuckled and punched him softly in the arm, "Am not."

Just then the lift arrived. Martin had moved Joanie to the crook of his elbow and reached for the push chair, and they entered the lift. Louisa followed, relieved that the dark cloud that his father's dismissiveness had cast over her husband seemed to have lifted. They were alone in the lift as the doors closed, and so she whispered into his ear, "I love you."

He gave the baby one last hug and then buckled her into her push chair, "Yes."

The lift doors opened, they moved into the hallway, and they bid each other farewell. A quick "Good-bye" from Martin, and a "see you at dinner" from Louisa. She watched him stride down the corridor to his consulting rooms, straight and tall, nodding as one or two of the staff greeted him. The twitching of his fingers was the only sign that he wasn't complete master of his world. Louisa's eyes followed him until he turned a corner, and she pondered how her husband, an extraordinary man, a truly extraordinary man, had managed to overcome his abysmal parentage.