CHAPTER TWENTY TWO REMEMBRANCE
The Characters, places and situations of Doc Martin are owned by Buffalo Pictures. This story makes no claim of remuneration or ownership, nor do I make any attempt to infringe upon any rights of the owners or producers.
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Have faith. There will be a wedding but there are things you would want to know I think before we jump to the altar. So sit back and enjoy the journey.
Louisa and Natalie have not had their fill of planning yet.
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
"James, why are stopping here? This is just a pub out in the middle of nowhere. I am keen on getting to Portwenn."
We had left Plymouth early Saturday morning, looking forward to three days off.
I had to show Emily the famous Coach and Four; well at least famous to our family.
So I pulled up beside the pub and told Emily she would have to trust me. We went in and a young woman was sitting on one of the stools. She looked at us and exclaimed, "Well, you two are out a bit early. Want something to drink?"
"We might. Just wanted to show the pub to my friend. Is the plaque still on the wall?"
"What plaque? We have every manner of things hanging on these walls. This place was my granddad's. Been here over 50 years."
"We'll look around a bit. Why not bring us a couple of half pints? No, on second thought tea sounds good. A pot of tea please."
I looked around where I remember the plaque being and was not long in finding it. "Alright, Sweetheart, read this."
Emily began to mouth the words, "James Henry Ellingham was born in this pub 14 July 2,013. James, you mean this is it? This is the place you told me you were born?"
"Mum told me her water broke after the car accident and when they arrived here she went into labor. Here I am Love - the rest is history."
The young woman interrupted as she brought our tea. "I heard what you said. Are you really the baby that was born here? My granddad told me all about that. I wish he was here to meet you. This is on the house. Please sit down for a bit."
"Thank you. What is your name?"
"It's Molly. Molly Flannigan."
"Molly, please sit with us. I want to hear the story your grandfather told you. Let me pour you a cup too."
An hour or so later we were back on the road having had a delightful visit with Molly.
"James, that was amazing. Molly's granddad didn't seem to have too high an opinion of your dad. I've never seen him as a rude grouch."
"Emily, Dad has never suffered fools. I have seen him quite short-tempered.
Frankly I do think his rough edges have smoothed over the years. I think we both know Mum did a lot of that smoothing."
"Alright, one more stop before we get to town. I want to drop by High Trees and see Aunt Ruth and my friend Judith. Thanks for letting me have a little part in our planning. She and Matthew providing the music will be the perfect touch."
"Of course. They are not simply our wedding musicians, but dear friends who want to make our day complete. But James, I do think I want to enter to the organ playing Psalm 19 by Marcello and I want us to walk out to Handel's Hornpipe from Water Music. I hope you are OK with a bit of majesty."
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I must have been 16 when Aunt Ruth moved from her house in town and into High Trees. For her age she was quite agile and her mind was still very sharp. She was not one to mix a lot but when Judith Hainsworth moved in she and Aunt Ruth found each other and developed a friendship. They were often together when I visited and ultimately Judith became a person I really enjoyed being with. Music was a common love we shared, but she was reluctant to speak much of it. Finally, I think I was in the middle of my A-Levels, I decided to try and break through a shell she had built around herself.
"Oh, James, why have you brought this? I have told you I do not intend to play again. You know I have not picked up the flute since Cecil died."
Judith Hainsworth had been the principle flutist for the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester for many years. She met her husband, a cellist, in 1985 which was the year both of them joined The Hallé. Their journey of love and music had been the stuff of love stories from time immemorial. Judith had been one who helped break the male dominance in English orchestras. By the time she left almost half of the players in The Hallé were women.
After Cecil died Judith's daughter decided it would be good if her mother would move closer to her and High Trees was a very fine facility. Judith had no complaint about the place, but she had a depth of loneliness that would not go away. She missed her husband. She made a few friends, but they were not close. Actually Ruth Elllingham was the only person she spent much time with.
"Judith, at least look at this. It is an arrangement for guitar and flute of Shubert's Stänchen. It is simply beautiful. Please play it with me. It would be such an honor if your would."
"James, you know your visits mean so much to me. I never thought a 17 year old would want to be friends with an old lady like me. I want to refuse you but I cannot and will not. I will assemble my flute. As I recall the key is D Minor."
That afternoon will always be a highlight in my life. How did we do it? It was if we were in another dimension simply lost in the movement of this beautiful creation.
There were tears in our eyes when we finished and we both knew this was a special day. She reached out her hand and I took it.
Suddenly there was applause outside her door. We had had an audience.
And there was music now at High Trees that did not exist before. Mr. Greenlee, we learned, was a cellist and for the Christmas party he joined us along with Matthew Fenn. We even asked Matthew's dad to come and play the bass guitar for the upbeat pieces. Judith would always miss her sweet Cecil, but she had music back in her life.
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Upon arriving at High Trees we found Aunt Ruth sitting in the lounge having tea. She had to do a double take upon seeing us as we were showing up unannounced. Recognition brought a smile and she stood to greet us.
"Emily, you look wonderful. James, you look, well you look like you could use more rest. This is a surprise. I suppose you are down to work on wedding plans. It won't be long now."
"Hello, Aunt Ruth. You are the one who looks wonderful. We are on our way into town and wanted to stop by for a minute."
"Well, don't leave before you arrive. Sit down and at least have a cuppa. Tell me all about what is going on with you two. Excuse me. Madeline, would you please bring another pot and some cups for our table? There, now you have to stay a bit."
We brought Ruth up on life in Plymouth. The school term was winding down for both of us. She was most anxious for me to fill her in on my studies and delighted to know that I had made a final decision to specialize in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. She had been encouraging me in that direction for a good while.
"Take care of the children, James," she would always say. "I always wonder how the lives of many of my patients in prison would have been different if proper attention had only been given them in childhood."
That comment always led me to thinking about my father. What if he had experienced a loving home or what if someone had intervened to help him with the horror he had to endure? My conclusion is always the same. If that had happened, I probably wouldn't be here. It has caused me to look at events in life with a guarded opinion. When people want to draw conclusions I nearly always want to say, "Well, it is too soon to know."
As we finished our tea Ruth asked, "You are going to see Judith before you leave, right?"
"Of course, Aunt Ruth. You do know she and Matthew Fenn are going to provide music at the wedding. We'll go see her and come back by before we go into town."
We knocked on Judith's door and I called her name. She opened the door and bright sunshine greeted us and a gentle breeze from the open window. "James, this is a surprise. Please come in and you must be Emily. Oh this is just delightful."
She gave us each a warm hug and we sat down surrounded by the peace that she had created in this small apartment. Beauty followed wherever she went even in the way she arranged her furniture down to the small floral arrangement on a table.
"Judith, I hope you are well. I know you were quite ill in February."
"When you're old you catch everything that flys by. Gratefully, I am well and strong again. I have to be. Have to be ready for your grand day. Matthew was here last week and we decided on some pieces. Thank you for giving us some latitude in the music. I promise it will not be too heavy. It will be serious with a bit of whimsy thrown in."
We talked awhile but really could not stay. Judith was disappointed but understood our need to get on into town. "Emily, please come for a visit. I want to get to know the woman who had the sense to grab this good man. You two get on but please don't stay away. I miss our visits James."
We were in the village and headed for White Rose House when I spotted my granddad working in his garden. I stopped and called him. "Emily, we have to stop for a minute."
"Hello Granddad. How are you?"
"Fine Son, fine. Just spending time with the flowers. I suppose you are just down for the week-end."
"Right you are. Trying to finish up this term at school. You remember Emily?"
"James, of course. One does not forget an unforgettable person. Hello Dear. So good to see you two."
"Granddad, what did you do to your hand?"
"Oh, a careless slip with a chisel repairing one of the life boats. You know I help keep their equipment in good order. When I returned here it seemed to me to be payback time and being around those kids keeps me young."
"We've got to get on to the house. When will we see you?"
"My kind daughter invited me for supper tonight, so I'll be over around half six."
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"Natalie, I cannot imagine why the children haven't arrived yet. I suppose they slept in and are racing straight from Plymouth to our doorstep. I have been expecting them for a good bit."
"Well, Louisa go over all the things we have talked about. I think we have taken all of Emily's concerns and ideas and put them in the picture in some fashion. Can you believe in two weeks we will be together?"
"I heard a car drive up. I'll call you Monday and fill you in on everything."
With that Martin came in with James and Emily following. "Louisa, look who showed up on the doorstep!"