A cup of tea

„Come on, Angela, I am certain Mummy will be home now," Patrick Turner tried to coax his tired daughter to walk the short distance home.

Shelagh had gone to Nonnatus House to sit with a shaken Sister Monica Joan after the elderly nun had been bedridden because of a flu for the past week. Shelagh had volunteered on her husband's day off to give the Nonnatuns, Sister Julienne mainly, a few hours of rest from her worries over their oldest sister.

It was Patrick's first day off in quite some time and he had been looking forward to spending it with his wife and their two younger children. Timothy had long planned on visiting his Granny Parker for the weekend. It would be the birthday of the boy's late mother on Sunday and he had wanted to spend the day with his granny to keep her company and remember their daughter and mother.

Now with Shelagh away, Patrick had had to spend the morning alone with his two youngest. He had taken them to the park and for a lunch of fish and chips. Now everyone was tired and all he wanted was getting home to put down the little ones for a nap and get some rest himself, too.

"No, I can't walk anymore," Angela cried. "Carry me!"

Patrick rolled his eyes. He had to push the heavy pram with Teddy in it and did not want to give in to Angela's cries as they were really quite close to home.

"Angela, we are almost home. You can walk a few more steps, we are almost there."

"No, daddy, I can't," the girl cried and sat herself down on the pavement.

Patrick considered just walking on, when he heard a voice from behind: "Now, little Miss Turner, what is the matter? Are your legs tired?"

Patrick turned around and saw a woman carrying several heavy bags approaching them. Only when she had almost reached the Turner party, Patrick's face lit up recognizing her. He would always recognize her radiant smile. "Mrs Gillespie," Patrick gasped. "Good afternoon. I am sorry you are meeting us in this kind of state," he said excusingly.

"Good afternoon Dr Turner," Mrs Gillespie smiled at Patrick. "Please, never mind. I have three of my own, remember? It is always close to home that they find they can't walk anymore."

Mrs Gillespie put her bags down on the pavement and knelt down in front of Angela. "Good afternoon, my dear. My name is Stella, and who are you?"

Angela watched the unknown woman with big eyes.

"Come on, Angela, say hello to our friend," Patrick urged his daughter.

Angela looked at her father, her face showing a mixture of curiosity and shyness.

"Now go on, Angela, say hello," her father said, almost sharply with impatience now.

Mrs Gillespie cocked her head at the little girl. "Oh no, you don't have to. You are tired and I am a stranger. But I am also the mum of your brother Timothy's friend. My girl, Caroline, used to be a sweet little princess just like you, darling."

Mrs Gillespie raised herself up and looked at Patrick again. "Your little Angela reminds me of my Caroline. Oh my, she would always throw herself on the pavement just opposite the house," she laughed. "Don't make her say hello if she doesn't want to, though. Some little ones are shy and just need a bit of time."

"Now, Angela," Mrs Gillespie said to the little girl and bent down again. "How about I take your left hand and your daddy takes your right hand and we both take you home? Would that help to get you home?"

Angela looked at the woman, slightly puzzled, and when her father nodded approvingly, she slowly got up and they did as Mrs Gillespie had suggested.

"Thank you, Mrs Gillespie," Patrick said. "But I really don't want to keep you from what you were doing."

"Oh, never mind, Dr Turner," the gentle woman said. "I remember how hard it is being alone with the little ones. I only have to get our foodstuffs home," she nodded at the bags still placed on the pavement. "Nothing that can't wait for a few more minutes."

"Well then," Patrick said, putting the two larger bags into Teddy's pram and waited until Mrs Gillespie had lifted the third one. Then the little party slowly began walking towards the Turner's house.

When they reached the Turner's gate, Patrick said, "Thank you again, Mrs. Gillespie." For a moment, he kept looking into the woman's laughing blue eyes. Then he said: "My wife will be due in shortly. Would you want to come in for a cup of tea? I am going to put down the little ones and would appreciate some company until Shelagh gets back. Also, Shelagh certainly will want to meet Caroline's mum, too."

Mrs. Gillespie raised her eyebrows and cocked her head as if she was considering his offer. Then she said "Yes, why not. Caroline is out for the afternoon and I certainly appreciate a bit of company."

15 minutes later, Patrick returned to his kitchen where he had left Mrs Gillespie after he had gone to take the young ones upstairs. He noticed with surprise that his guest had already prepared a pot of tea and placed the crockery on the table.

"I am sorry if I overstepped," Mrs Gillespie said in an apologizing tone when she saw him taking in her in his kitchen, "but I thought you looked tired and certainly would appreciate a cup once the little ones were down."

Patrick smiled thankfully and slumped down on a chair. He sighed and smiled at his guest. "Thank you very much. A cup of tea is just what I need right now. Young children can be so very tiring. And, well, I am not the youngest anymore," he added, chucking.

Mrs Gillespie sat down opposite of him and poured tea. Both then stirred sugar and milk into the steaming liquid.

"I remember how tired I was all the time with the little ones. My boys were born only a few years apart while my husband was… mostly not at home. And it was a lot. You deserve a rest. You certainly are working odd hours frequently, being a GP?"

Mrs Gillespie looked at Patrick and a silent understanding passed between the two. Patrick knew she was referring to the war when she mentioned her husband having not been with her. And he knew she understood he had been in the army, too.

"At first I thought Timothy and Caroline would become more than friends but I assume it was just hoping," Mrs Gillespie chuckled in an attempt to steer away from the gloomy topic of the war experience looming over them.

Patrick raised his eyebrows. Apparently the woman knew more about his son's interest in girls than he and Shelagh did. "Oh, is it? I only remember Timothy mentioning he wanted to sit next to her in orchestra practice."

"Well, he has taken her home a few times but no more.." Mrs Gillespie looked out of the window for a while before she continued. "Caroline does not tell me much about boys. I just hope there is not much to tell," she chuckled. "But she said she likes Timothy but more like a good friend and not like, well, like … more."

Patrick smiled. "Oh well, he will get over it. Young people's hearts can bear their share of pain, I am sure. We all have, haven't we. And I am not saying this as a doctor, if you know what I mean."

Mrs Gillespie gave him a weary smile and watched her hands while stirring her tea absent-mindedly for a while.

Then she raised her head again and looked at Patrick, with an earnest expression: "Caroline told me once she likes to talk to Timothy because they share the experience of losing a parent early in life. She said he lost his mother when he was only nine years old. I, too, lost my husband. He died when Caroline was only four. My oldest was 12 by the time, but it was hard for all of us. Still is." Her voice trailed off and she enclosed her tea cup with both her hands.

While listening to his visitor, a shadow passed over Patrick's face. The memory of having lost his late wife still stung his heart, even though this had been seven years ago and he had happily moved on since.

Patrick watched Mrs Gillespie for a moment before he said quietly: "It is hard to bring up a child on one's own, isn't it? I can only imagine how it must have been with three of them."

"Yes, it is. You can hardly deal with your own pain most times but you have to help the little ones with theirs. And then there are all the many things you have to do. I mean, I was used to being on my own, but still, it was hard…"

Mrs Gillespie took a deep breath and carried on, her voice firmer now: "You were lucky, you found another wife who became a good mother to Timothy. I wasn't so lucky. Which is not to say that you don't deserve it," she paused, looking at Patrick apologetically. "But I managed to raise Caroline and the boys just right. Both stand on their own feet and one is about to start his own family now. It is not easy getting used to the home getting quieter. It won't be long until Caroline will be gone."

"I remember the first weeks after Marianne died," Patrick said quietly. "I thought I would never manage. Looking back now, we did, though I don't know how, really. And it wasn't that long afterwards that I married to Shelagh. But still, I don't wish anyone to have to go through it. I can only imagine how hard it must have been for you."

Mrs Gillespie smiled a sad smile. "Caroline was the age of your Angela when Martin died. It is still hard for me to think that she will never be able to remember her father. I always thought it ironic. He returned from the war in one piece only to die from the flu. This was not fair. But what is fair, really?" her voice trailed off.

Patrick nodded in agreement.

The two people sat in silence for a while, both contemplating lost loves and all the years having gone by since.

Mrs Gillespie suddenly looked at her watch. "Oh, I have to go, I am sorry. I still have to do a few things and I won't get dinner on the table in time if I don't hurry up now."

While she was talking, Mrs Gillespie got up from her chair and began to clear the table. Patrick stilled her by putting his left hand to her right forearm. She raised her head and looked into his eyes. Patrick momentarily was at a loss of words, but quickly forced himself to regain his composure. "Please, leave it for me to clean up. I want to thank you for the nice company."

Stella smiled warmly and nodded at him. "Thank you for the lovely afternoon, it was certainly an hour well spent," she said. "I am sorry I missed your wife, though," she added while Patrick ushered her out ot the hallway and helped her into her coat. His hands lingered on her shoulders for just a second, and he thought they felt a warmth radiating from the intriguing woman's body right into his soul.

"I had a visitor today. I thought you would be back by 2 o'clock, that is why I invited her in, so you two would have been able to meet," Patrick said while he was watching Shelagh prepare their dinner. Shelagh gave him a questioning look and Patrick explained: "Mrs Gillespie, Caroline's mother, happened to come along when Angela began to cry just five minutes away from home. She helped me to bring her home. I invited her in for a cup of tea and we had a nice chat."

"Oh, I am so sorry. I just lost track of time. I suppose I was happy to for once be at Nonnatus House all by myself. Sister Julienne was not as busy as usual and we had a very hearty talk. She is worried about Barbara," Shelagh said.

Patrick smiled and lovingly brushed his wife's cheek with the outside of his fingers. "Yes, we all are," he said earnestly.

"So how is she, Mrs Gillespie?" Shelagh asked after a short pause.

"She is a lovely woman. She is a widow, lost her husband twelve years ago. Caroline was Angela's age she said," Patrick added.

"Perhaps this is what Timothy and Caroline appreciate about each other?" Shelagh guessed. "Both having lost a parent at young age?"

Patrick shrugged his shoulders. Right now, he couldn't care less about either Caroline or her mother. He was looking forward to an evening with his wife, and just her, and was counting the hours until they could put the little ones to sleep.