Chapter 9

Dreams

Their last year at med school had been one brutal slog to graduation. Always unflappable, Ellingham was the only student who was not suffering stress. Edith was on pins and needles waiting to hear from McGill and endlessly snapped at him.

They had developed a habit of leaving the med school library at six on Saturday evening and taking the tube to her family's flat in Kennington. Either Ellingham would cook supper or they would dine at an inexpensive restaurant near the flat. It was the one night he would eat late, otherwise strictly adhering to what Edith called his "carbo conscience."

On a Saturday in late March, Edith received a letter from McGill offering her a residency at Royal Victoria Hospital. She had only to organise her work permit and other documents to be on her way. Although ecstatic with the news, she would not yet tell Ellingham. Exams were looming and she needed him.

With her limited help that evening, Ellingham prepared chicken with a dried fruit sauce and couscous which reminded her of a dish she had eaten in Morocco. When she mentioned it, Ellingham asked if she would like to have a summer holiday with him. Of course, he only wanted to know where she would train following St. Mary's. She refused to discuss it with him, saying only that she had applied to several hospitals. Rather than tell him about McGill, Edith said she would think about the holiday.

After Ellingham did the washing up, they retired to bed as usual. What was not usual that night was Martin. His skill and confidence as a lover had been increasing slowly but steadily, and Edith found him very satisfying if not stellar. Robert Southwood was stellar

That fateful Saturday, Ellingham came into his own and left Edith sated as she had never been before with him. In gratitude, she allowed him to hold her and rub her body, a gesture she usually reserved for a stellar lover. As she languorously nestled in his arms whilst he stroked her back, Edith had to steel herself, once again, from having an emotional reaction to him.

Truth was, he had always been very helpful to her and to many other students as well. Her best research papers came from ideas spawned by him. He silently suffered her prickly nature and bought the food, cooked it, and washed up on many a Saturday night.

Now he had become a very accomplished lover, but still as considerate as his first bumbling attempts with her. Was she mad going off to Canada? They got on well, had a common background, socio-economic standing, and admirable intellects. Would it be horrible remaining in London and marrying Ellingham?

Edith knew the sort of marriage they would have. Many examples were available in the London worlds of academe, politics, law and medicine. Career driven couples, of course with no children, who competed with each other and the world at large.

She would qualify as a consultant and then a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Ellingham would follow suit, except as a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons. One or both of them might be lured away to a lucrative Harley Street practise. More likely it would be Edith, as Ellingham had no avarice in his soul.

They would be mind-numbingly busy with little time for each other or much else in life. That would be fine. This would be what they wanted. Journal articles, books, lectures, seminars, conferences would be part of their brief as they matured into their professions. An OBE would be certain for Ellingham, perhaps for Edith as well. Reproductive endocrinology was growing in stature.

When retirement was reached, they would remain on committees, boards and offer sage advice to those willing to pay their fees. A small flat would be kept in London for their city meetings, the opera and theatre. Along the way, they would have acquired a pile of bricks, most likely in Hertfordshire, where they would dodder about. Gradually, they would be less sought after and would drift together into oblivion.

No, my God, no, Edith could not do that to herself. She has been fascinated with Montreal since Mum and Dad had taken the six of them to the Summer Olympics in 1976. Edith had studied French forever and had been delighted that the Quebecoise would actually respond to her. In Paris, the French ignored her schoolgirl attempts at even a greeting. By the time she left France the previous summer, the only French word she would use – and liberally – was merde.

Mum had several friends on the British equestrian team and persuaded Dad to have one last family holiday before their children departed completely. Queen Elizabeth opened the games, and Princess Anne competed in horse riding. It was very British of them to support their country. With Mum and Dad off to the equestrian events, the six siblings were on their own.

Her twin, David, either visited a library near the hotel or traipsed about with his brothers, Simon and Arthur, having no idea of what to do with himself. Peter, the future priest, made several trips to the shrine of Saint Anne de Beaupre and attended mass at a different church each morning.

In the afternoons, the four brothers made their way to the Olympic Village where Arthur and Simon would chat up girls from around the world and Peter watched in amusement. David generally read while waiting for them, although the shy 14 year old with his sleepy green eyes and tousled auburn hair attracted as much female attention as his older brothers.

This left Edith with George, her oldest brother, who was annoyed that he had to leave a recently-acquired girlfriend for two weeks in Montreal. He pouted by studiously avoiding the games and the family.

George was 11 years older than Edith and was off to boarding school a few years after she was born. Not having experienced Edith's irritating personality, he allowed her to accompany him on his adventures in and around Montreal. He had read history at Cambridge with an eye toward following Dad into law. A summer stint in a solicitor's office had revealed to him the leaden boredom of the profession and his plans were changed.

For the last few years he had moved from job to job and was then a researcher for a medical journal. This was where he met the new girlfriend and was quite besotted. He solemnly told Edith that she would understand some day when she found her one true love. Her other brothers were not like George. They mostly ignored her and would never confide anything so important to Edith. To stay in his good graces, she only had to listen as he prattled on about this Fiona.

Olympic crowds were not interested in the architecturally-interesting public buildings, churches and gardens of Montreal, so the two wandered freely as George explained their histories. One day was spent at McGill University, and Edith became enchanted with the school. Her brother even walked with her through the medical school and hospital after she shyly confessed her hope of becoming a doctor.

They found obscure cafes for noon meals and searched out jazz clubs in the evenings following Mum's mandatory family dinners. Although barely a teenager, Edith felt quite sophisticated as she collected napkins and matchbooks for her few friends at St. Paul's.

Boys asked her to dance at the clubs and George waved her on, preferring to sip wine and listen to the music. Most nights, Olympians came to the clubs, and Edith was thrilled to dance with them. She received her first kiss from a member of the New Zealand swimming team after several dances – very close dances – with him. She nearly felt like an adult.

Edith realised she had been at an impressionable age, but Montreal had been her dream since that golden summer. The fact that there was a superb hospital with a strong program in fertility medicine made the city even more appealing. No, she must take the residency at Royal Victoria Hospital.

Medical school was wretched, and now she wanted to have fun as she did those two weeks with George. Ellingham would find another woman to marry. More women were entering medicine, and he would have his choice of those who wanted a stolid, intelligent man.

She was doing Ellingham a favour by not becoming his wife. At the end of her reverie, Edith decided she would tell him about McGill after they finished at St. Mary's. Her move to Canada would be a relief to him. She would find someone else to love as would he.

Continued . . .