Chapter 3 - A Complication named Martin

Louisa poured herself another drink, and this one was to quell a nagging feeling she sometimes had, a feeling more than a definite thought that she was missing something in life. Yes, the wine did the trick and her elation returned. She had to share this news with someone right now. Louisa grabbed her phone to dial a number ... and then she paused. Martin Ellingham, the general practitioner of Portwenn, was the one she'd automatically started to call.

This dream of America had been resurrected by the news of her acceptance into the summer teacher exchange program and it had overtaken all her thoughts since her shriek in the post office that afternoon. But there was a new reality in her life. The unexpected had happened. She had met Dr. Martin Ellingham.

That meeting could not have been more awkward. Louisa had finally overcome the flush of embarrassment that she had whenever she remembered her judgmental behavior towards him and her sharp words - "You've got a problem" - that she'd flung at him before she moved to a row further back from the one where they had sat facing each other on the flight from London to Truro airport. And to think they could have even shared a cab from the airport to Portwenn if they had spoken decently with each other. But, no, she was not going to accept all the fault for that unfortunate incidence. He could and should have spoken up right away about the reason for his intense scrutiny of her face. She had no idea he was a medical doctor.

When she arrived for the meeting which had been scheduled to interview the candidate for the vacant position of GP, with great surprise they recognized each other. It was why tall, taciturn Dr. Martin Ellingham was in Portwenn, and she saw that he was swaying the other committee members favorably with his remarks. He could become the new GP for the village. Well, she had had plenty to say about that in the meeting. She'd seen more than she needed to know on the plane about his lack of interpersonal skills and surely he had a poor bedside manner to go along with it.

But then Martin had finally spoken to her, as he was invited back into the conference room to be offered the position. Louisa had voiced the annoyance she felt at this decision by warning him that he would no longer be working as a surgeon dealing with bodies, but to remember as a GP he would be treating people. He had ignored her remarks to ask her if her vision was a bit blurred in one eye. Any further sharp retorts of hers had been stilled as she quietly answered his questions. Back home later in the afternoon she remembered his calm manner and the sound of his voice as she prepared to follow his instructions and make a phone call to the eye doctor in Truro. She'd gotten an appointment for the next day and treatment was promptly scheduled.

A week later she'd glanced through a window and was surprised to see him striding past the school. He turned his head her way so she knew he'd seen her wearing the eye patch. Martin was now officially the General Practioner of Portwenn, but Louisa had been his unofficial first patient. It had been several more days before she had the chance to thank him as she bravely faced him to request a transfer of her medical records back to Portwenn from Truro in order that he could become her regular doctor.

However, in the following days there were many times when she realized that she was correct in her initial assessment of Martin. She was provoked time and again by his thoughtless treatment of the villagers. Then she would recall the hurried but intense examination he'd given her eye and the soundness of his judgment, which had been only a brief glimpse of his prompt but careful skill that he continually showed in dealing with all manner of illnesses and accidents as he treated the people of Portwenn. They flocked to the same office and home of old Dr. Sim's that he'd made his own and she began to reexamine her view of him in spite of his often boorish behavior.

Martin and Louisa often passed each other in the narrow village streets and her feminine eyes noticed the fine cut and fabric of the impeccable shirts and suits he wore. Martin would mumble a quick greeting and hurry by, and often she was not even sure what his mumble had said. But this acknowledgment of her presence in the street certainly contrasted to the brusque manner with which he quickly trod past others moving along, even if they had been in his office with him just minutes before.

There were times when he did want to talk with her, and when he paused, she did also. In the beginning of these brief exchanges, their talk concerned her eye problem which he had immediately identified and diagnosed during their first moments together. One day Louisa had invited Martin to meet her at the local pub, but she could tell he was uneasy being out socially where his patients might appear. So it was almost a routine that had developed for them to seek some time together, but usually not in one of their homes. The dinners she now shared with Martin had been unexpected, considering the calamity of their first meeting, but they'd gotten past that. She thought the village folk were largely unaware that they were ever together and that is what Martin preferred for he willing drove the distance to Truro or to an out-of-the-way country pub for a meal. He drank his glass of water and Louisa ordered wine.

Louisa was discovering that Martin demanded the utmost professionalism of himself in his dedication to his chosen field of work. She admired that in him … that he preferred to be readily available to grab his bag from his office and hasten to any emergency call, no matter how trivial. It also meant that he needed time in the evenings and on weekends to read medical journals and occasionally consult with several former colleagues in London. Long stretches of time would pass when neither saw each other on the street nor in a shop. What she looked forward to many evenings were his phone calls, but again there was no pattern and she was unsure what prompted him at times to dial her number. She was surprised when the first casual call came because they'd just said goodnight to each other. He must have called the minute he'd gotten home. Now in the evenings she would be busy correcting school papers and the phone would ring. After answering "Hello," she would hear his long, drawn-out "Aaaah, hello Louisa." With many pauses, they stumbled through an awkward chat to share their day with each other.

Louisa was trying to accept Martin's silences as they drove or ate because his glances at her were becoming most unnerving. When their eyes met, each quickly looked away, and Louisa almost forgot to breathe. What was going on? She hadn't felt this way before, even as she told herself that this man certainly did not fit her idea of a courtly lover. And then she would laugh. She was not some dainty medieval maiden who needed a knight to rescue her. But he did have an effect on her, even if sometimes it was one of annoyance at something he'd said. Try as she might to hold her tongue, it was as much not in her nature to be silent as it was for him to be. Martin had not touched her in an affectionate way yet. And she wondered, would he ever?