Chapter 35 – Jumble

The plane's engines droned away as I sat peering out the window at the long line of Cornwall cliffs being splashed by the sea. Brilliant flashes of sun bounced off the waves and dazzled me, so I pulled my attention back inside the cabin. There was a man seated opposite in the rear facing seat. He was tall, sort of rugged looking, and his ears stuck out a bit. He was wearing a suit that must have cost more than a couple months of my salary, brilliant white shirt, striped tie, and the shoes on his feet were so well polished he likely could shave using them as mirrors. He was reading the London times and he must have seen me peering at him as he occasionally looked over the pages at me, in sneaky glances.

I rather liked his look, always sort of went for the tall types. Danny Steele my old school mate was rather slender, and not that tall. He also had dark hair and eyes unlike this man who rather interested me. I tried to smile a bit and fingered my necklace, which was nicely framed by my V-neck sweater. He seemed to be interested, but now his peering was almost leering, and it rather startled me.

Now he was pushing the paper down and looking very hard at my chest, or so I thought, and it bothered me. I was just ready to tell him to bugger off, when he threw down the paper and launched himself from his seat and dropped to his knees.

"Louisa! I just wanted to say… I can't live without you! Marry me!"

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It was a very tiring day after the trip to Exeter, dealing with the kitchen emergency at the hotel, and coming to grips with Edith Montgomery's plans. As I lay in my bed, with most of my belongings packed up, I thought about tomorrow, Friday, my last full day in Portwenn. The movers would come and I would be gone from Cornwall. I sighed in the darkness and willed myself to sleep.

But as the darkness came a figure appeared sliding from the darkness in the corner. A woman of medium height and slender build, spiky ginger hair, and bright blue eyes stood at the foot of my bed. She wore some sort of black lacy thing, with slit skirt and semi-transparent top. She stood there staring at me with sad eyes and crossed her bare arms defiantly.

"Ellingham? Why did you have to do it? To leave? It's quite," she sniffed and looked away, then turned those blue eyes back at me, "unsatisfactory!"

"Edith, I uhm… well, I…" Before I could say more, another figure stepped from the gloom and stood by my bed.

Another woman, tall, with dark brown hair and blue eyes as well, with porcelain skin glided into view. She wore her hair loose about her shoulders, framing her face, and her eyes fixed me in place as well. Her posture was leaning rearward with shoulders well back, breasts bulging out a white full length nightgown draped over a pregnant stomach.

Louisa turned her head and glanced at Edith. "Edith? What did you expect from Martin, hm?" She crossed her arms almost in anger, outlining the burden her abdomen bore.

Edith rolled her eyes. "I expected he'd take me to bed!"

"There is a…" Louisa replied then paused, "little problem." She put her hand on her enormous belly. "This. See?"

"Yes. Of course, my dear. But you surely must know," she slid a hand down her slim flank, "that Ellingham and I are far better suited than you and he." She batted her eyes at Louisa and at me. ""Aren't we Ellingham?"

"I, uhm… I'd have thought that since I left you today, you'd get the hint?" I cleared my throat. "Honestly, Edith, what we had was ages ago! No going back!"

"Then what about me, Martin?" Louisa pursed her lips into a pout. "And what about the baby, our baby?"

I felt sweat break out and bathe my face as Louisa's eyes bored into me. Her face was so mournful, yet she was not sorrowful, more like regretful.

"Louisa, I didn't mean to get you, that is us, pregnant. If I'd known earlier… that is if you'd stayed… if we'd got married last October, well…"

"None of this would have happened?" Edith answered my question. "Yes, I know. I have thought of that. But you know, Ellingham, we were fated to meet again. Haven't you thought of that?"

"Martin! His name is Martin!" shouted Louisa. "The man has a name! A first name, you witch!"

"My, my, Ellingham, your little biscuit-tin town teacher has some fire, doesn't she? Come to think of it, have I ever called you Martin? No, I don't think so." Edith shook her head. "No, not ever, just… Ellingham."

"Edith, let me tell you," Louisa started to say through gritted teeth, "that you can…" She stopped speaking and her face turned to mine. "Martin, you have to do something! Something…"

"What, Louisa, what do I need to do? Tell me! Tell me what to do!" I sat up in my bed and felt my entire body start to shake. I extended a hand to Louisa, but Edith moved to intercept my arm. "No!" I shouted at Edith and moved away from her, but her hands had become talons as she neared.

Edith tossed her head, her hair all fly-about. "Come now, Ellingham, it's not too late… we can still… well, carry on? I need you Ellingham!" she almost shouted, but it ended with a little whimper.

Louisa turned a shocked face from Edith to mine and back again. "Martin, you can't leave, you just can't. It's not just about me or our baby!"

"I'll bet," interrupted Edith who was sniffling and wiping her face with her hand.

"You shut up!" Louisa shouted. "Martin, I know that you want to, no need to get back to surgery, but does it have to London? What about the people in Cornwall, in Portwenn? Don't they get a chance to have your skill, your…"

"Brains, Ellingham. Yes, that's it, She wants your brains, as well as your body," Edith laughed hysterically.

"They go together, Edith!" Louisa said crossly and took my outstretched hand. "Martin, please, stay for them, not for me…"

Edith came round the bed and put her hand on Louisa's shoulder who then shook off her touch. "Miss Glasson, Louisa!"

Louisa turned her head to look at her.

Edith put on a sad little insincere look. "Let's face it… we might not be good enough for him?"

Louisa shook her head. "No, no! I won't accept that!" She took a step towards me. "Remember the plane, Martin!" she yelled then froze, her beauty sheltered in the dimness.

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Who was this man, a man I'd never seen before? Was he mad? Bodmin? Had he escaped from a home somewhere after stealing a solicitor's clothing, stolen a ticket and then boarded the plane?

He put his hands, quite large ones, over mine. "Louisa? I asked you a question. Do I get an answer?"

I pulled back, and the plane faded into my cottage, where the slate floor was strewn with blood and broken glass. I was wearing a striped blue top and blue jeans, and Martin, yes that was this stranger's name, stood there with a pleading look.

My God! Holly had just been taken to hospital after Martin had saved her life, after almost killing her with morphine. I looked around, at me, at him, at the lounge, then launched myself into his arms.

We kissed quite long and deeply, and I let him go to see him sitting on his sofa, holding a ring, and I was dressed all in white, a wedding dress, and I held a letter in my hand. "I wrote you a letter," I said.

But as I looked at the letter it turned into a pregnancy test, where the word PREGNANT appeared, and I wailed at the sight. But as I screeched, things faded once more and I was in bed, on my side, the baby was kicking my bladder to pieces and I had to wee. I shook my groggy head, struggled upright, then hoisted my enormous body to vertical and waddled into the loo.

My face was terrible in the mirror as I washed my hands. I dropped the towel at the sight and just didn't have the strength to bend over and get it. "Sod it!" I yelled and kicked it away.

The clock by the bed read two-seventeen in the morning, and it was Friday. The last day of school, and it was the last full day that Martin, Doc Martin our GP, would be in Portwenn. I sniffed a bit. "Oh, Martin," I cried into the dark, "what have I done?"

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I leaped from my bed to take Louisa in my arms, but she faded like the fog. I turned to stare at Edith, confused.

"What Ellingham? Did you think she was really here? Or me?" she cackled and faded as well.

I gasped and my heart skipped a few beats. "Lord! What was that?" I said. The room was empty. "Rubbish!" I shouted at the ghosts as I stumbled to the bath.

My face in the bathroom mirror was drawn, lined, and sleep boogers clogged my eyes. I splashed cold water in my face and slumped down on the toilet, feeling my sweat drenched pyjamas stick to my legs and bum.

"Ellingham, what a bloody mess you've made!"

There was no answer to that; there was no simple, satisfactory answer.

I rubbed my face then slogged back towards my bed, where the sheets and blanket were twisted into a knot. The alarm clock read two-seventeen and it was Friday. My last Friday of practice as the GP of Portwenn. The last full day I would live in Cornwall. In this town… the town where Louisa Glasson lived, and Saturday the movers would come.

I went downstairs to the kitchen and drank some ice water, then stood at the front window, looking over the harbor. I could just make out houses and shops across the way. One in particular grabbed my eye, even though it was not actually visible. Just there at the end of the row, up from the Portwenn School, that was where Louisa and her baby, no our baby were. I'd be leaving them behind.

"Oh, Louisa!" I whispered. "What have I done?"