Zee and Marissa had invited us for dinner. Louisa was excited about going, especially because Jenny would be there. I wasn't really interested in these dinner events, too much idle chatter. To please Louisa, I had accepted the invitation on our behalf.

She was standing before the bathroom mirror brushing her hair when I came in looking for my cuff links which I had left on the vanity top.

"Louisa, we should have left ages ago. You know I hate being late." Louisa still hadn't caught up with London time.

"It's a 7 pm dinner, Zee said it would be informal. It's only 5:50 pm, we're right on schedule and we don't want to be the first guest to arrive. It's good form to give your host a 15-minute breather"

"We're not on schedule. I want to go early and leave early. I told you that I have an early meeting tomorrow and, at the very least, I would like to start the week right. As for giving your host a 15-minute breather, they should specify the time they really want us to arrive."

Ignoring my whining, she asked, "Here, please zip me up."

It was then that I really looked at what she was wearing. It was a deceptively simple looking, glamorous, short sleeve cocktail length black dress that seemed to have been sewn on her because of how it clung to her curves. It fitted her not in a lewd way, mind you, just right for her body. The impractical high heel sandal she had on made her legs look long and elegant, a fact I'm sure she knew. Louisa enjoyed dressing up and often told me that she did so to keep me interested. "Have to keep the romance alive." I'm still amazed that she had aged so beautifully. Tonight, especially, she looked younger than her years and, for more times than I could count, I thanked my lucky stars that when the night was over, she would return home with me.

"Are you sure that your dress is appropriate for a dinner?" When her face froze, I hastened to correct any misunderstandings. "The dress is fine. It just shows up your lovely body and I don't want anyone ogling you. Can you stand for long in your shoes?"

She responded with a tinge of annoyance. "Yes, I can stand in my shoes." Seeing my contrition, she smiled. "I'm glad you noticed what I'm wearing. It's good for you to see me dressed up sometimes. We need to get out more often."

Holding out for my benefit a pair of flat shoes that folded on itself in half and could hold in her small evening bag, she said, "I was a Girl Guide … always prepared. Plus I have a shawl if there's a chill. You know how unpredictable the weather can be."

I took the brush from her hand and placed it on the vanity top. Pulling her back against me until I felt the contours of her body etched in mine, I reached inside her dress and around her waist and began caressing the sensuous mound of her belly and other places where my long arms could reach.

She pressed into me, responding to my touch, yet tried valiantly to pull me back from the secret places I wanted to go. "I thought you were in a hurry to leave. When we get back will be time enough."

"Just a minute," I whispered as I began nibbling at her ears. She grabbed the brush and gave me a little whack.

"Easy does it. We'll continue this when we get back home. Promise."

"Let's call and say we can't make it. Something has come up," I begged. I didn't want to share her with anybody this evening, not after the wave of desire that had begun coursing through me as I felt the soft, warm undulations of her body.

"You know we can't do that. They are our friends."

"Sod that. They will understand." I drew her even closer, hoping she would relent.

"No, they won't. We hardly do anything with your friends. Let's go, now we're really going to be late."

Reluctantly, I removed my arms from inside her dress and zipped her up. She asked me to fasten the simple pearl necklace I had given her for Christmas, then she put on the matching erring.

"How do I look?"

"You know how you look," I said hoarsely and pulled her into me again. "You look beautiful and exceedingly desirable as you always do. I'll be salivating all night until we get home, if I can last that long. Are you sure you won't change your mind?"

She gave me a mischievous smile. "Where did all this lust come from? We have been here all day and you have spent most of it locked away in your study. I could have done with some attention today."

"You should have said." I groaned, remembering how much time I had put in on a presentation for my 8 am meeting tomorrow. This was one of the few times I had locked myself away in my study on a Sunday. Usually, Sundays are reserved for whatever Louisa wants to do or we just spend time together as a couple.

"No harm done, the day is not over."

Zee and Marissa lived in a townhouse in the heart of London. The first floor housed Marissa's architecture practice and Zee's kitchen. Parking was surprisingly easy and by 6:55 pm we were walking up the few steps to their second floor lounge.

"Glad you two could make it," Viola said cheekily as we stepped through the door holding hands. "Martin, you deserve a medal for coming out tonight. Looks to me that you could find better things to do at home." She was clearly referring to Louisa who was still glowing from our little encounter in the bathroom. Viola liked to tease and I think she took pleasure in making Louisa blush as she was now doing. I knew Viola long enough to know that she meant no harm and was just having a bit of fun.

"We have to come up for air sometimes, you know" I retorted.

"You're in fine form tonight, Martin." Looking over at Louisa, she stated the obvious. "In that outfit, you're going to have a hard time keeping your husband's hands off you."

Louisa couldn't resist a saucy response. She was in that kind of mood, it seemed. "And who says I want his hands off me? I can't get enough of him."

Viola didn't miss a beat. "Whoa. Somebody needs to get a room."

"That's why we're leaving early," Louisa fired back with an innocent smile.

Jenny joined us. "That's telling her, Louisa. Although you will admit that your outfit ... Is there a little seduction going on here? I can see how your little black dress must be making Martin wild."

"That the intention, Jenny."

Realizing that neither were going to stop the teasing unless we got to safer ground, I dragged Louisa towards the drinks table and got wine for her and mineral water for myself.

Soon, Zee and Marissa came over to greet us and said dinner would be served in fifteen minutes.

I knew everyone in the room, at least by sight, and set about introducing Louisa, after which we sat at a table, big enough to seat the 14 of us.

"May I have your attention, please," Marissa began over the low hum of voices. "Welcome to our home, glad you could make it. Zee has a few culinary surprises in store for you so be prepared to enjoy. Today being July 14, and with only 14 of us here, let's applaud ourselves, the magnificent 14. For one, there's the beautiful Louisa, the love of Martin's life." She paused to acknowledge the cheers for Louisa. "Then there's our esteemed Genius, Martin Ellingham himself. Martin is not known for being a social butterfly, given his whirlwind schedule and certainly not now that he has Louisa to keep him company, so we're glad that he could grace us with his presence." She stopped when the clapping got too loud and Louisa looked as if she regretted coming. Marissa brought the table to order.

"That's it. Enough ribbing for the night. Louisa and Martin, we're honoured to have you with us," she said in her gentlest voice. "Please, a toast for Martin and Louisa, our honoured guests."

Dinner was lovely and Louisa was enjoying herself. Although she didn't say much, she was the centre of attention as everybody was especially welcoming to her. I enjoyed the attention she was attracting and kept looking at her, as if to remind myself that soon she would be all mine. At around 8:30 when we were in the lounge having coffee, my phone vibrated. It was a text from James. Rosie in labour. Come now. I must have gone ashen in the face because Louisa and Viola leaned over to read the text.

Viola sprang into action. "Okay everybody, Louisa and Martin are about to become grandparents. The mum is already in labour. Bill, please call the hospital and speak to the powers that be. Zee, please call a cab for them, we'll follow in their car and Ed, you had better see that your team doesn't muck it up."

Somehow, we managed to gather our belongings and walked outside to await the cab. We drove in silence, interrupted only by Louisa's fidgeting. I felt her anxiety in her cold and clammy hands which held mine tight and held her in my arms to quiet her fears. Years of medical training and the high pressure of surgery had taught me how to suppress my emotions and work off adrenaline. Still, my head was buzzing with a million thoughts. What if the baby didn't make it? No, James and I had kept a sharp eye on Rosie's progress and everything was going well. What if the baby had birth defects? What ifs, what ifs, what ifs … I felt as helpless as when I had seen Louisa in hospital last year, unable to remember who she was. Now I was just another grandparent but one who knew too much about the possible dangers of childbirth for his own good.

When we were almost there, Louisa found Ruth's number and gave me her phone. "You need to tell her Rosie is in labour."

Yes, I should. Another Ellingham was about to enter the world. Aunt Ruth picked up on the first ring. "Louisa, is something wrong?"

"Ruth, this is Martin. I'm using Louisa's phone."

Without waiting for me to continue, she asked in her no-nonsense voice, "Is she ill?"

"No, no, sorry to bother you. Rosie is in labour and we're on our way to the hospital. We thought you would want to know."

"You did the right thing, Martin. Please let me know when the baby arrives, no matter when. I won't be able to sleep, anyhow." And in the soft voice which I had only heard when she spoke to James, Aunt Ruth said, "Please give Louisa my regards and keep an eye on her."

Luckily, Ruth was a woman of few words, so I was able to get off the call quickly.

It wasn't hard to find Labour and Delivery, even though my visit to this part of the hospital was limited to using it as a shortcut to another department. There were families milling about in the waiting area and hospital personnel scurrying around. This was so different from the controlled world of surgery. Louisa must have sensed my discomfort because she gave my hand a squeeze and flashed me a shaky smile. James met us at the door with his usual inscrutable face. We were relieved to hear that Rosie was comfortable and that the birth was going to be quick.

"Mum, Dad, would you like to be in for the delivery? Rosie said you would be welcome." I looked at Louisa questioningly. She nodded her head.

Then James made me the offer of a lifetime. "Dad, we know this would mean a lot to you and we would like you to hold the baby right after he or she is born, if you like."

I was overwhelmed by their generosity. Of course I would like to hold my grandchild. I would be in the delivery suite and my medical knowledge might be useful. Deep down I knew that was not why they had bestowed this honour on me. He and Rosie thought that seeing their child being born and holding he or she as they entered the world was the closest I would ever get to experience my son's birth.

Louisa answered for me, "He would love to."

Louisa and I scrubbed and were gowned before we went inside the delivery room. Rosie smiled tearfully when she saw us and held out her hands to us.

"I'm glad you're here. My parents couldn't make it ... I was hoping that they would have changed their mind but ..."

Louisa hugged her. "I'm so sorry Rosie, but we're here for as long as you need us." I nodded in agreement. To hell with her parents, I wanted to know how far along she was.

"I have been here since 5 o'clock. The contractions began when I was doing my last exam this morning, but I stuck it out and also did ward duty. Some friends brought me over, then I called James. No point in worrying him too early. The baby and I are healthy and I don't expect any complications. It's going to be quick, I'm almost fully dilated," she said with a low moan as pain gripped her. James began rubbing her back until the pain subsided.

From then on, everything happened fast. The midwife was a certified, competent, cheerful professional who kept a watchful eye on Rosie and showed James and I how to help her with her breathing. Except for when I had no choice but to deliver Isobel's baby when I was the village GP, this was all new to me. I had expected screaming, groaning and writhing about and when I shared this with Rosie, she looked at me in astonishment. "This is clearly not your field. The music you hear is what I requested, as is the home-like atmosphere here with its comfortable seating. I'm a doctor and understand the value of a hospital birth, but I also wanted the comfort of a home birth environment."

I was surprised at how easily Rosie switched between joking around and concentrating on her breathing. My respect for her deepened. She only broke down in the last 30 minutes when the struggle to bring our grandchild into the world was at its most intense. James held her as she cried on his shoulder, while Louisa and I gave her words of encouragement, held their hands and ours, alternatively, and sometimes our breath. The room was calm, almost ethereal. Nothing prepared me for the wonder of giving birth - the superhuman marshalling of strength, the concentration of effort by all, followed by the joy and relief when the baby's first cry signalled that a new life had entered the world.

Neither parent had wanted to know the gender of their child. When he announced himself with a loud cry, Louisa and I could only gape in wonder. The midwife bundled him into a blanket and gave him to his parents. After cuddling him a bit, they handed him to me.

Louisa was a cross between tears and laughter as she held me around my waist and looked at the baby. "This is exactly how James looked when he was born. Same screwed up face, same sounds he made, same curly blonde hair, same wrinkly self, same expression, same everything. He's a beautiful boy. You too did a great job."

So this is what I had missed. What if I had stayed around for at least James's birth … how would my life have looked? I remembered Veronica's the obstacle is the path and kissed Louisa.

"Now you get to be his granddad, to spoil him, to watch him grow," she said encouragingly.

I had never held such a tiny life in my hands. I looked at the baby nestled in my large hands and saw my genes, the life my son had helped to create and whom he was entrusting to my care. For a few seconds, time stood still as the surgeon in me did a quick visual check of his health and the emotional grandfather saw himself passing over into the next generation. The baby began wriggling at all this scrutiny. Reluctantly, I gave him back to Rosie, leaned down and kissed her on her cheek. "Thank you for giving us this precious gift. You were wonderful."

"Wonderful? I feel like a wreck, a happy wreck," she said with a forced grin.

I took her hand and gave it a squeeze, knowing that she was missing her parents. "Yes, you were wonderful and you'll always be wonderful to me."

"Thanks. Having you and Louisa here made me feel that I could face whatever my parents have in store for me."

James shushed her. "Not now, Rosie. We'll deal with whatever happens, if it happens. Let's talk about more pleasant matters, like what are we going to call our son." They looked at each other, then she asked us shyly if we liked the name they were considering, Martin Nathan Ellingham. Louisa answered yes for me, I was too choked up to respond. Vaguely I remembered that there would now be three Martins – me, Laura's son and now my grandson.

To hide the tears which I was trying to contain, I latched onto the chaos the name might cause. "There's going to be endless confusion with two Martin Ellinghams around, at least when he's small. Please consider giving him another name or changing the order of his name."

James patted my back. "No worries. We're going to call him Marty. That's what Granma used to call you. It's my way of keeping her in my life and Rosie agrees with me."

Good old Auntie Joan. Her great-grandson would have loved her. He will be a Londoner, but having a bit of Cornwall in him will be a good thing.

Outside in the waiting room, we were greeted by some of our friends from the dinner, James's and Rosie's friends and even Veronica. I half expected to see Mrs. Green since she had taken this on as her personal project. When Louisa and I came out smiling, a loud cheer went up. Chris and Jenny asked if they could pop their heads inside to see the new parents, just as James walked out behind us. I saw tears pooling in Chris's eyes when he hugged James and whispered, "Congratulations, son." My heart swelled with pride. This was my family. Chris had been a part of every important event in my life since we met in medical school. It had to be more than coincidence that he was in London when my grandson was born.

As usual, Viola took charge and managed to quiet the crowd with the promise that she would arrange for them to see little Marty when he was taken to the nursery for cleaning up and that the wait wouldn't be long. How did she know this? She must have seen my puzzled look, because she mouthed at me, "I have friends in high places."

Later when everything had quieted down, Rosie was moved to a private room, which Mrs. Green had insisted on arranging. James would be spending what was left of the night with her, so we thought it best to leave them and their son. Before we left, he said he wanted to have a word with us.

"I know I have been difficult at times and you both have been patient with me. Thanks for putting up with me, for accepting Rosie into the family and for sharing Marty's birth with us. I'm glad he had all the family around that mattered to welcome him into the world."

"Oh, you weren't difficult. Typical father reaction. Martin and I are grateful that we could share this moment with you and Rosie. This was the most precious gift you could ever have given us."

I didn't know how Louisa could assure him that his behaviour was typical. When Auntie Joan had called to say that Louisa was on her way to the hospital and again when James was born, I had politely told her thanks for letting me know and had sent flowers and an extra cheque to cover whatever expenses she had incurred for his birth. Inside I was hurting and terrified. To escape the pain and isolation, I had volunteered for double shifts and weekends for a very long time. I groaned at the memory.

Louisa took my hand. "Let's go. It's way past our bedtime." Then she turned to James who was seeing us out. "Who's going to help look after Rosie and the baby?"

"I will. The hospital gave me a few days off. Her friends will also help."

"No, no. When Rosie is discharged tomorrow, she's coming to our home. We have plenty of space and that will give you both time to rest. Being up at nights with a baby will not be easy."

James was relieved. "Thanks. That takes a load off my head. I have Practicals in another two weeks."

"Has Rosie finished her shopping for the baby?" she asked.

"I'm not sure that she ever began. I think she was expecting her mother to help her with that. Mrs. Green got her a few items, though."

"That's fine. Your father and I will pick up a few things tomorrow morning."

Louisa had been secretly preparing to have James, Rosie and the baby stay with us. I had seen her and Mrs. White rearranging the furniture in James's room as well as the guest room but thought it best to say nothing in case the new parents to-be had other plans. I guess I could put up with a crying baby and even help out. She had done it alone with Joan's help. It was my time to play my part.

"That's settled then," I told James. Before we drove off I remembered that I had promised to call Ruth. She picked up on the first ring.

"Boy or girl?"

"A boy. Martin Nathan Ellingham."

"Good. When I call my lawyer tomorrow he'll have a name to work with."

"Ruth, the baby will be well provided for. No need to go to all that trouble."

"Not at all Martin. I'm happy to stand in for Joan's great-grandson. Now you and Louisa must be exhausted. Talk to you in the morning."

We got home long after midnight. After completing our ablutions, we sank gratefully into bed. Louisa had been emotional all night and cuddled up to me with a tearful sigh. "I'm so happy, so very happy."

"Happy about the baby?"

"The baby, yes … Martin, you have made me happy in ways I cannot count, ways I never expected. Thanks to you I have James and now Marty."

I couldn't hold back my tears any longer. Emotion and physical exhaustion had loosened the grip I kept on such displays. In the sanctity of our home and the security of our love, I whispered, "Thank you for giving me a family, Louisa. You have made me the happiest man in the world." She held me tight and allowed me the sweet relief of tears.

As he drifted off to sleep, Martin told himself that the third time was indeed the charm. First it had been his son whom he had always loved from afar, then having Louisa back in his life as his wife and now his grandson.