Chapter 4: See Chapter 1 disclaimer
Boxing Day arrived with a mix of clouds and sun, and the threat of a flurry later in the day. The Ellinghams used the morning to play with the children and tidy up the house after the whirlwind that was Christmas. The plan for later in the afternoon was to head to the village hall to visit with other folks from Portwenn. Each family was expected to bring a treat to share.
"Louisa, I'm more than happy to stay home with the children while you go to the hall."
"What a surprise, Martin. I'm sure you would, but we did agree that we would all go. There will be children there for James to play with and it will be good family time for us all."
"Family time should be time just with our family," grumbled Martin a bit too loudly to escape notice. To forestall a retort, he then replied, "Yes." And so the die was cast. He'd just have to grin and bear it. Or scowl and bear it, which was far more likely.
Louisa busily baked some biscuits as their contribution to the festivities, while Martin went out to purchase some soft cider. When 14:00 arrived, the family bundled up and headed out to the hall. The weather was starting to get colder but there was not yet any precipitation, for which Martin was glad. Nothing like an icy evening to guarantee a busy night for the surgery and he was appreciating the holiday break.
The first people they ran into at the hall were Bert, Caitlyn, Al, and Morwenna. Louisa was pleased to see the four of them enjoying each other's company, especially with Morwenna now expecting. Bert and Caitlyn had both been moping after their spat in the summer, but it seemed that time, and a well-spoken apology, could heal all wounds. Morwenna in particular seemed pleased to see the Ellinghams.
"Doc, Louisa, Happy Boxing Day! And hello to you too, James and Mary. I hope you enjoyed your Christmas!"
"Yes We Did," James Henry enunciated carefully.
"He reminds me so much of the Doc, but at least he smiles more," thought Morwenna. "Doc, I had a question," said Morwenna. "It's about the surgery."
"Yes?" said Martin, cringing at the possibility of opening Pandora's box in answering a medical question outside of the surgery. Morwenna had earned the right though, as his best receptionist, and Al was certainly someone Martin had a modicum of respect for. He considered for a moment that he thought the younger generation of the Larges were tolerable.
"I've heard that you haven't been able to keep a, ummm, suitable receptionist since I left for my paramedic training. Now that I'm pregnant, the hours of a paramedic don't appeal to me quite as much as they did. So I'm thinking of training instead to be a GP assistant. I'd have to spend a day per week on training, half a day working alongside a GP who would mentor me, and another half day uploading homework and such. I think I should be able to manage that and the receptionist's duties, at least for a while."
This gave Martin pause. Not only was it likely the most mature and comprehensive set of statements he'd heard from Morwenna but taking her up on what she was offering would be mutually beneficial. He'd get back his best receptionist plus a GP assistant could take on some of the blood draws and testing, as well as some patient preparation and administrative duties.
"Mmmm," Martin replied. "Mmmm," he repeated. Morwenna thought maybe she should backtrack a bit, but then remembered her reading on assertiveness and thought, "The worst he could say is no."
"Let me think about it, Morwenna. It's an intriguing idea and I think you would be very good as a GP assistant. That is, if you don't overreach your remit."
Morwenna smiled and blushed just a bit. This was high praise from Doc Martin.
In the meantime, Louisa had brought the biscuits and cider to their appropriate tables where people could help themselves and had got James settled playing with the Fenn twins, Pete and Mickey. Roger had recently retired from the full-time teaching position he'd taken in Wadebridge after Maureen gave birth, but he was still teaching piano students regularly as a bit of a side gig. Maureen had decided to be a stay-at-home Mum. "Maureen, hello! You're looking really well, much better rested than when the twins were younger."
"Hello, Louisa! Yes, I loved those early days, but they were exhausting! And look at you now, with Mary to remind you of those joys of toddlerhood."
"Yes, but I'm grateful, really. We got a late start and we're both pleased that James has a sibling, something neither Martin nor I had. Of course, I don't have to tell YOU about late starts! At least you got it all over with in one shot." Both women smiled. "Where's Roger?" asked Louisa.
"Oh, they have him mucking about with the audio system as usual. I expect he'll be by shortly, once that's all sorted." As if on cue, Roger strolled up.
"Louisa! How are you? I haven't seen you in donkey's years," exclaimed Roger. His voice was so much better now that he was completely healed from his surgery.
"Congratulations on your retirement, Roger. I assume that all your pension troubles are now sorted?"
"Yes, that's all water under the bridge and now I can actually retire without worrying how to pay for my next haircut, or that of my family," he said, clearly chuffed at the idea of being a successful father and husband.
Martin walked up at that moment and greeted the Fenns perfunctorily.
"Martin, good to see you, mate," said Roger, and he did seem to mean it.
"Yes," replied Martin. "How are you, Roger? Your voice sounds quite good."
"I'm really well. I know you don't like to hear it, but I thank the gods every day for you, for spotting that cancer and forcing a crusty git like me to do something about it. Without that, I wouldn't have Maureen or the twins, or my voice, or possibly even my life."
Martin tipped his head down, and said nothing, then gave the briefest of nods in acknowledgement. That was nice to see, Louisa thought.
Roger said, "Come on, Martin, let's take the drink orders from the ladies and get things settled." Louisa requested a glass of wine and Maureen asked for cranberry juice. The Mums had already seen to the children, so Martin and Roger walked off to the drink table.
"How have YOU been, Martin. I heard from Ruth that she had been concerned about you when you weren't answering your phone during that sudden snow squall. And you do seem to have a bit of a bump on the head. Did you have a run in with a reindeer out at 'Santa's'?" Roger said with the faintest smirk.
"I'm fine. A bit of frostbite on one toe but that's already resolved. I hit my head twice in short order, once on the steering wheel of the car and once when I slipped and fell down an embankment."
"I'm surprised by the frostbite. Doesn't that take a bit of time to develop? It wasn't that terribly cold, was it?"
Martin hesitated. Did he want to get into more detail about the accident and hypothermia? At the same time, Roger had always proven trustworthy and somehow easy for Martin to talk to, at least when Martin first arrived in the village. He decided to say a little more.
"Well, I knocked myself out when I fell down the embankment and was unconscious for about an hour or so with no overcoat. In fact, I was hypothermic and likely within an hour of my body shutting down."
Roger looked concerned, "That sounds downright frightening, Martin. Does Louisa know? Ruth didn't say anything about it."
"Yes, yes it was frightening. Louisa knows that I was concerned but not those specific details. And Ruth doesn't know."
"Well, I won't say a word to anyone. For myself, I'm grateful that things worked out for the best. Leonard also seems fine, so it appears that you've taken care of yet another one of us idiotic villagers." Roger could be quite caustic, but Martin could tell that Roger was just winding him up. Martin had made it no secret in the past that he held many of the villagers in low esteem. Still, hearing Roger call the villagers idiots sounded … wrong somehow. Perhaps it was just in the context of Leonard Maitland, who didn't seem to be that much of an idiot, especially now that Martin knew the medical reason he'd been so inebriated after the Christmas Grotto debacle.
The husbands brought the drinks back to their wives, then decided to head to a quiet corner on their own after being reassured they weren't needed for child care duty. This evening was shaping up much better than Martin had expected, and it was due to the presence of Roger Fenn.
"So, Martin, unless you have any objection, I'll switch my medical records back to you here in Portwenn. Wadebridge was the only surgery I could get to with my teaching schedule, but now that I'm retired, it's certainly far more convenient to come here."
"Yes, good." Martin did think it was good. Roger proved that he would take Martin's medical advice with the appropriate seriousness, unlike so many others who'd prefer to rub lanolin on a raging infection or chew dandelion leaves for nausea.
"And Maureen and the twins, can I switch them also?"
"Yes, it's completely your decision."
A couple of hours passed, and the hall had gotten quite noisy with the children playing games and screaming, especially after they ingested numerous puddings and sugary drinks. Martin's head had started to throb and he was very much looking forward to leaving. The Fenns had departed about 30 minutes earlier, so Martin was at loose ends.
"Louisa, I would really like to get home. The noise is obnoxious and, well, I just need to get back home. I could take the children with me if you'd like to stay longer."
"You know, Martin, that would be really nice. I will probably stay for about half an hour more and then come back home. You'll be able to whip up a light supper? I can't imagine any of us needs anything heavy, given how we've been eating for the last several days."
"Speak for yourself. I'll cook up some fish and vegetables for me, but I can prepare some soup for everyone else if that sounds appropriate."
"Perfect. Thank you, Martin!"
Martin left the hall with James in tow and Mary in her buggy. It had started snowing a bit, and there was a sheen of ice on the ground. It must have started out as a brief freezing rain before turning completely to snow. Martin and the children walked carefully up Roscarrock Hill, leveraging the low wall for stability. He then dialed Louisa to warn her not to stay too long, as the walking was getting treacherous. The call went to voicemail, so Martin dialed again but the result was the same.
Author's note: Thanks to robspace54 for correcting that the Fenns had twin boys. Misty has been renamed Mickey. I try to keep loyal to the TV show, so corrections are always welcome. Note, sometimes small errors have their purpose too. Not in this case, however.