Boxing Day

Martin felt an arm encircle his waist, so he opened his eyes to see gray light infiltrate their bedroom.

Louisa pulled him closer to plant a kiss on his ear.

"Um, hello," Martin said, yawning.

She nestled closer resting her cheek on his shoulder. "Did you have a nice Christmas?"

Martin was puzzled, for nearly always he was the one to wake up first, for Louisa was typically a tardy and unhappy morning riser. "Yes… morning."

Louisa yawned into his ear. "Me too. The emerald is wonderful." She rose slightly, turned her head and planted a kiss on his lips.

Still slightly asleep, Martin returned her kiss without much enthusiasm. Marriage, he thought; still adjusting to having a wife and being a husband. Louisa climbed partway atop him, and her pregnant belly pushed against his stomach, baps hard against his chest. And a father to be. He hugged her around the shoulders gently, then lifted her slightly.

She broke their kiss, then smiled down at him. "First Christmas." Then she yawned. "Loo," she said, then climbed out of bed, the mattress bouncing Martin.

He lay there, blinking himself to further awareness, then he looked at the alarm clock. Lord, it was almost nine, December 26. As he listened to Louisa in the bathroom, he reflected on the past months. An irregular romance, a fractious breakup, then a medical emergency and he had proposed all in a rush. Soon thereafter they got married (and almost did not) and discovered that Louisa was already pregnant. And they had come just that close to calling off their wedding. Louisa admitted that she thought she'd flee to London after calling off the wedding.

He sighed, for would that have been a disaster. Him here, here there and pregnant; just 250 miles away but it might as well have been the surface of the Moon. She was stubborn, he knew, but for that matter so was he.

The loo door swung open, his wife emerged, and standing in front of her makeup mirror brushed her hair with long strokes, as he watched her with some pleasure.

She turned around, gave him a big smile and returned to bed. She scooted over towards him, wrapping an arm and a leg about him. "Hello."

Martin rolled on his side to face her. "Yes."

Louisa licked her lips, then said quietly, "Guests won't arrive until 2 or so."

Martin groaned inside, for he'd rather spend the day working on the antique windup alarm clock which Louisa had bought at the Christmas Market. He sighed. "We ought to get up and start breakfast." He tried to move, but Louisa pulled him down.

"Come here," she said into his ear and then she kissed his ear in the same spot.

For a few seconds, as Louisa rubbed his neck, he had a flashback to Edith Montgomery. That one was a taskmaster; both judgmental and critical. She was not a stellar student and only by Martin tutoring her did she do well enough to advance in medical college. As Louisa was stroking his hair, he realized that Louisa was so much nicer in all things than Edith. For instance, Edith in a moment such as this, would have been uttering orders; harder, faster, lower, pants off! And then she would be really severe saying, good God, Ellingham, can't you do anything properly? A fourteen-year-old schoolboy would have given me an orgasm by now!

Martin started to kiss Louisa, tenderly and lovingly, pushing Edith out his mind with a will.

Louisa started to melt as Martin began to love her in earnest. She held him close, as he ran his large hands down her body. She kissed his mouth softly, thanking God that Martin had finally offered up his love to her, and that Danny Steel was gone from the scene.

Yes, back in school she and Danny had fooled around, and she might have been willing to let Danny go further in a snog than was prudent; next time she had vowed - on their next date out on the moor. But, and there was always a but with Danny, Tegen Dodge had shown up in the village, and Danny's head had whipped about like a merry go round. Suddenly Danny was chasing after the 'new girl' - only sixteen Tegen was - while Louisa had just turned eighteen, the summer before Uni. But Danny was always chasing after a new thing.

Martin's large fingers began to work their way under her PJ top, as Louisa sighed with anticipation and sexual desire.

0==0

"I really don't see why you invited all these people!" Martin hissed as the door closed as another guest arrived.

"Martin, it is a custom in the village. I've always held an Open House, and if you'd ever accepted one of my invitations on Boxing Day, you'd have known that." She answered through gritted teeth, while trying to both keep her voice low, and a smile fixed for their guests.

Martin frowned. "Look, Aunt Joan and Pauline, plus Al Large, I understand. But Bert? He's only here for free food and drink!"

Louisa ducked her head. "I've known Bert since I was a young girl, and he… he was one of the helpers that kept me going… after my parents split up. Sort of a father figure, right?"

"Okay. Fine. But Joe Penhale?"

Louisa looked across the kitchen where Joe was drinking cider while espousing the merits of community policing to Molly Collins, the youngest – and Louisa thought – cutest and prettiest of her teachers. "Oh Joe is just… you know. Being Joe."

Martin hissed air from his nose for when he'd answered the front door, there was Penhale outside looking very forlorn, until Louisa had pushed her husband aside and bade Joe to enter. "But Caroline Bosman?" Martin whispered.

Louisa shook her head. "Caroline is one of my friends. How many of your friends did you invite, Martin? Hm?"

"Louisa… I… that is not the point."

Louisa crossed her arms, rather miffed at the man, but she sighed and shook it off. Martin was being Martin; not the warmest of people. "You'd rather work on your new clock."

"Louisa, it is not new. It is an antique."

Louisa froze for a moment, she looked down and got thoughtful and drew him down the hall into reception, where they interrupted Pauline and Al who were having a very close embrace, their lips locked together.

Flustered, Pauline thrust herself away from Al. "Louisa! Sorry, we was just…"

Al cleared his throat. "Doc, Louisa. Thank you for, um, inviting us… I was just sayin' to Pauline…"

Louisa only chuckled as she backed away from the couple, then she pulled Martin into his examination room, closing the door behind him.

Martin braced himself for an expected scolding, but he went on the offensive. "Louisa, it's just that there are a plague of pathogens wafting about the whole village and we have brought Heaven knows what into our home with all these people!"

Louisa smiled at him and took his hand.

"Now what? What?" he spluttered.

Taking his hand, she rested it on her belly, which was even more sticking out than yesterday. She swore she could see it getting larger day by day. Martin would say that was nonsense, at this stage of development, but here belly felt heavier, and larger both in front and side-to-side. But since she had a slender build, as Martin had told her, she'd look further along than she actually was.

Martin froze. "What's wrong?" he asked in alarm.

She smiled at him. "Just feeling hormonal and motherly and I think I can feel the baby kicking so I wanted you to feel it as well."

Martin considered her statement. "Bit early to feel actual foetal movements, Louisa. This is your first pregnancy so you might not feel actual motions until 20 weeks or so."

"Still," she said as she felt something move down there. "Feel that?"

Martin cocked his head looking down, her hand still pressing his against her belly. He sensed that two answers were possible. One was to say yes, which would disappoint him, and the other answer was no, which would disappoint Louisa. A noncommittal reply was the best, he felt. He looked up at her face, her eyes shining, lips half parted, with literally an expectant expression on her. "Possibly," he said, splitting the difference between truth and lie.

Louisa threw her arms around him and kissed him fervently. "Our baby. It's alive and moving down there. It's been a wonderful Christmas, Martin!"

Martin thought to answer that foetal movements were natural and a part of every pregnancy and of course the foetus was alive and growing, but he stopped before the words came out. "Yes," he said.

She started crying and all Martin could do was to put his arms around her, until they heard a hubbub coming from the kitchen.

Suddenly the examination room door flew open, and Joan and Mr. Branning came in dragging Penhale between them. "Martin! Penhale needs your help!" Joan announced.

Joe looked frightened, his eyes goggled, sweaty in the face, a dribble of spittle from the corner of his mouth.

Martin asked, "Joe! What's wrong?" He expected a heart attack or perhaps stroke, but Joe wrested his hands away from his helpers, and put both his hands up to his throat.

Airway obstruction, Martin could tell. "Can you get any air? Any at all?" Martin asked.

Joe shook his head emphatically no.

"Stand back!" Martin yelled, as he spun Joe around, put his front up to Joe's back, and clasped his hands below the man's sternum. A quick thrust upwards and nothing. Again. Still nothing.

Louisa's eyes were wide. "Call 999?" she asked, her hand reaching for the desk telephone.

Martin did not answer. He had an emergency tracheostomy kit in the cabinet which he would use if needed and that would be long before an ambulance might arrive. He said a silent prayer – one of the few a doctor might think – Lord hope this works! With one more mighty thrust he pushed his hands upward into Joe's chest, right below the sternum, squeezing the man with all his might. Such a force was applied that he actually lifted Penhale off his feet.

And then… then… Joe retched, and a wad of half-chewed carrot flew out. Joe took a deep breath and coughed a few times.

"Are you alright now?" Martin asked him.

"Yeah, thanks, Doc," Jow breathed heavily. "Thought I was a goner." He threw his arms around Martin who pushed him away. "You saved my life, Doc!"

Martin shook his head as he shot his cuffs. "Just applying the Heimlich Maneuver, Joe."

"It's a Christmas bloody miracle!" Joe announced and all of them laughed.

Louisa noticed that Molly, who had been hidden in the hallway, was suddenly by Joe's side, rubbing his back. As Joe smiled at the girl, Louisa thought that it might be a miracle indeed that Joe may have found a friend.