"Tickety boo?" Trixie quietly questioned aloud to herself as Dr. Turner left the parish hall kitchen. She continued to fold the nappies in front of her, thinking more about the doctor and his strange behavior this morning. Dr. Turner was a great doctor and was typically very focused on his patients but he had felt distracted lately. He was famous for running behind but that had gotten worse. Trixie had also noticed that a couple of times after he had been out to a birth he had just sat in his car staring off into space.
She tried to think of what could be bothering him. She wasn't aware of any particularly complicated patient cases lately. And the anniversary of his wife's passing was at the beginning of the year so that was still months away. Tim seemed to be doing fine, although the daily wellbeing of the ten year old boy wasn't something she paid much attention to.
Thinking about when this distractedness and odd behavior began got Trixie thinking back to the visit by the x-ray van. Dr. Turner had been excited by the tuberculosis screening but that took a dark turn the next day when Sister Bernadette went to the sanatorium.
That was it! A lightbulb went off in Trixie's head. He had been acting strange since then. Was he that upset that Sister Bernadette had been sick and nobody had noticed? Certainly he couldn't blame himself when the small nun hadn't even known she was sick. Shouldn't he be happy that it was caught early and she was able to get the proper treatment?
It was once she had mentioned Sister Bernadette that he had harshly set down his cup and even dropped the spoon in the sink. It felt like it was out of surprise. Oh, but he hadn't done it when she first mentioned her but when she mentioned her letters. Regular but boring. Why would hearing about Sister Bernadette's letters surprise him? Had he written to her? Why would he write to her? If he wanted to check on her health he could simply call the sanatorium, he was her GP after all. Did he write a more personal letter to Sister Bernadette?
It is only then that she remembers a few months ago after the birth of the new Carter twins. She had offered to stay behind to finish cleaning up so that Dr. Turner and Sister Bernadette could get on with their day. When she was filling the kettle to boil more water for cleaning she looked out the Carter's window and saw them leaning against the boot of Dr. Turner's car. She realized now that it was more casual than she was used to seeing her colleagues but she hadn't continued to watch them so didn't know how long they had stayed that way. She raised an eyebrow as she thought more of Dr. Turner and Sister Bernadette.
"Trixie, are you done with those nappies yet?" Jenny said as she walked into the kitchen.
"Yes." Trixie replied. She turned to look at Jenny before asking, "Have you noticed anything strange about Dr. Turner lately?"
Jenny stopped to think for a moment. "He has been more distracted and running later than usual. I think his smoking has increased as well by the volume in his ashtray at the end of clinic. Why do you ask?" She said, as she leaned back against the counter opposite Trixie.
"I just realized he has been acting strange since diagnosing Sister Bernadette's TB." Trixie pointed out.
"Do you think he is upset that he missed diagnosing her illness himself?" Jenny asked.
"I don't know. He acted very strange today when I mentioned her and her letters. And it made me remember seeing them conversing after the Carter birth. Do you think he might have feelings for her?" Trixie said before digging for her cigarettes and lighting one.
"Trixie! He can't, she's a nun!" Jenny whispered loudly.
"Yes but the heart wants what the heart wants. Plus with those new glasses he probably got lost in her eyes and forgot all about the whimple." Trixie teased with a giggle, waving her cigarette towards Jenny as she laughed.
"You're horrible." Jenny giggled back before leaving the kitchen to get back to clinic.
The following afternoon Trixie walked into the sanatorium sitting room and saw the small form of Sister Bernadette sitting in a chair by the windows.
"Sister." Trixie exclaimed at seeing her. She was thinner than usual and more pale, with dark circles under her eyes that suggested she wasn't sleeping well. While the triple treatment may be miraculous it seemed to be taking a lot out of Sister Bernadette.
"Hello Nurse Franklin. It is wonderful to see you. I was curious who my first visitor would be." The nun greeted from her seat.
Trixie set down all the items she had been tasked with bringing to Sister Bernadette and went to scope out the sanatorium by the window. She had placed the note and matchbox from Timothy Turner on top of the pile of items in the hopes that it would lead to a discussion about Dr. Turner.
"I have to say, the tuberculosis doctors are extremely pleasing on the eyes." She said from her place leaning near the window.
"And extremely well qualified and good at their jobs." Sister Bernadette said behind her in a tone that was almost a reprimand.
"What a bonus!" Trixie replied, turning to smile brightly at the nun and noticing her opening Timothy's parcel.
"Oh, I've been dying to know what's inside. Young Timothy Turner insisted I give it to you personally. Oh, and Mrs B hopes you enjoy the cake." Trixie continued as she looked around some more. She turned around when she heard the nun hum with excitement. She walked over and peered into the matchbox from the young Turner boy.
"A dead butterfly. Peculiar boy." Trixie commented with a shake of her head.
"Pieris brassicae. He wants me to ask the doctors for a diagnosis. Apparently, it's not his father's area." Sister Bernadette read from the note before looking up at Trixie with a smile.
"I'd say the pin sticking through it didn't help." Trixie replied as she reached for an apple out of a nearby fruit bowl.
"He found him dead on the windowsill. Besides, an inquiring mind is always to be admired." Sister Bernadette responded as she refolded the note then closed the matchbox.
"How is... How is everyone?" Sister Bernadette asked hesitantly.
"We're all perfectly fine. But frankly, we've had enough of this sanatorium business. We'd like you to come home. With Chummy coming back, it will be just like old times again." Trixie replied. She noticed that Sister Bernadette looked away wistfully at her comment before changing the subject to ask about some of her patients.
On the bus returning to Poplar, Trixie thought about her conversation with Sister Bernadette. She had definitely paused when she asked how everyone was right as they were talking about Timothy. Had she wanted to ask more about Timothy or Dr. Turner? Trixie could tell the nun was depressed but she was not the type to easily be swayed by Trixie's cheerfulness. Was the Sister depressed because of the TB treatment or from being away from all the people that she knew and loved? Come to think of it, she had seemed low for quite a while before the x-ray. Maybe something more was going on with Sister Bernadette.
Could that something be related to Dr. Turner? It would explain why they were both acting so strange. But neither of them were acting like love birds, like Chummy and Peter. It was more painful. She had been pained while still in Poplar but was still in emotional pain now at the sanatorium even though she was away from everything. Dr. Turner didn't start acting strange until after she had gone away. Had he admitted feelings to her in the car ride to the sanatorium in case she did not return? Had he written his feelings and that is why he was surprised to hear she had been writing to Nonnatus House?
All of it seemed like it could be straight out of a movie. A widowed doctor with a young son falls in love with a nun he works with. She has been a nun for a while but has begun to question if it is the real path for her and when she gets sick the doctor who she works with admits his true feelings. It sounds like a nice story. But Dr. Turner is not the type to notice the women around him. He had never flirted with any of the midwives or the other women of Poplar, to her knowledge. He is still too bereaved after the slow and painful death of his wife. And Sister Bernadette was so devoted to her calling as a nun and a midwife. She was their most skilled midwife and the strongest voice when the nuns worshiped.
Maybe she was just reading too much into the feelings of those around her. Or maybe it was the lack of anyone serious in her own love life and she was projecting that onto others. She shook her head to clear the thoughts away and instead focused on the rest of her work schedule that week. She had Friday evening off and might be able to talk Jenny or Cynthia into attending the dance. If luck was on her side she might meet a nice chap there.