Chapter 15: See Chapter 1 disclaimer

Louisa woke quite early on Tuesday, even earlier than Martin, who had tossed and turned frequently in his sleep. She quietly got out of bed and looked in on Mary and James, who were peacefully ensconced in their own beds. At some point, she thought, we are going to need more room than this house can provide us, but that's a problem for another day.

Louisa then quietly extracted today's outfit from her dresser and closet and got dressed in the loo so as not to wake Martin. She tiptoed down the stairs to the kitchen and put the kettle on for tea, flipping the whistle up so that it would boil silently. She let the tea steep in the pot, then poured herself a cup, and waited for the family to wake. She was unsure what to say to Martin. Should she let him bring up whatever had upset him on Monday, or should she press him to tell her? Louisa decided to take it as it came based on Martin's mood and how the children were behaving.

After about half an hour, Louisa heard water running down the drain. Within ten minutes, Martin came down, dark circles under his eyes. He was dressed in a dark suit with a white shirt and red tie, freshly shaved, which was a good sign. Louisa said, "Good morning, Martin. I won't ask how you slept, but, um, how are you this morning?"

Martin nodded to Louisa. "Good morning. I'm, ah, fine, thank you."

Louisa was disturbed by this answer. He clearly wasn't fine yesterday, and it wasn't a good sign that he seemed to be acting as if nothing had happened. "Right. Well, that's really good news. I didn't think you would be fine today, given how exhausted and grey you were last night. So, you're feeling much better then, yeah?"

Martin looked at Louisa closely to see if her inquiry was sincere or sarcastic. "A little tired still," he admitted. "I did sleep poorly. My conversation with Mrs. Matlock was not at all what I expected. And I committed to a trip to London on Saturday to pick up my mother's effects. Mrs. Matlock also said she wants to give me something but didn't say what."

Martin paused for a long time. Louisa waited, then finally became impatient. "What did she say, Martin? You can't just stop there."

"I need to think about it more, Louisa. I will talk about it more this week, maybe tonight, but right now I don't think I can explain without just, ah, more thought, and I need to open the surgery shortly." He was actually concerned about a similar physical response as he'd had during the call.

Louisa sighed. "Alright, Martin, but promise you will tell me? This clearly upset you, more than I've seen you upset in donkey's years, and we talk about things now, right?"

"Yes. Yes, just, ah, let me do it in my own time." Martin looked at her, almost pleadingly.

"I will try, Martin. Now, I'll head upstairs and get the children dressed. Janice will be here in 45 minutes for Mary and then I'll take James to school. I have a few clients early today and one midafternoon." Louisa was pleased that her morning would be occupied, to distract her from the uneasiness of unraveling whatever had so gutted her husband. She also had client notes to catch up on in the afternoon.

—ooOOoo—

When Morwenna arrived, Martin asked her to reschedule the routine appointments to another day and try to consolidate the more emergent ones into the morning, as he wanted some time to process his phone conversation and possibly talk to Louisa if he could get his thoughts in order. "Sure thing, Doc. I'll do my best. Looking over the list, I think I can free you up about 15:00, would that be good?"

"Mm, yes. Thank you, Morwenna," replied Martin, and Morwenna immediately began making calls.

The next person he spoke to was Janice, who had arrived to care for Mary. Martin asked her if she could come back at 15:00 and watch the children so that he and Louisa could go to an appointment. Janice informed him that Louisa had asked her to stay for the whole day, as well as pick up James from school, so staying later was fine. The appointment was a bit of a ruse; Martin just wanted to get Louisa alone for a talk to explain himself.

The morning proceeded tediously, with the standard aches, pains, and whinging. At 11:15 however, he shouted out, "Next patient," and Mrs. Beckett walked in. "Take a seat," he commanded. "What seems to be the problem?"

Ethel Beckett was an outspoken woman who knew how to describe her symptoms, although she used quite a few words to do so. She hemmed and hawed, while constantly picking things up from Martin's desk and then setting them down.

"Stop that! It's annoying!" Martin said, in no uncertain terms.

"Well, that's just it, Doc. I can't!" she said, her voice trembling with frustration and some fear. "It's like me right hand has a mind of its own. It just keeps grabbing at things without me thinking about it!"

"Mm. How long has this be going on?" Martin asked.

"Well, I hadn't noticed much until the past week, and I thought it would just go away. It was so bonkers. I thought I was goin' Bodmin and you'd section me off. But now, I just can't seem to stop it, so I had to come in." The poor woman was near tears, which was quite unlike her.

Martin looked at her notes to refresh his memory. "Mrs. Beckett, it has been about eight months since your stroke, from which you appeared to make a full recovery. Have you noticed anything longer ago, more than a week, when it seemed as if you didn't control your hand? You said you hadn't noticed much."

"Well, now that you mention it, you know how you're fallin' asleep and suddenly your body jerks like it were shocked? I've had that happen a couple three times with the hand, but just thought it was something like that."

Martin continued to press. "Had that ever happened before your stroke?"

Mrs. Beckett pondered and scratched her chin with her left hand, until her right hand grabbed it and pulled it down. "No. Bloody hell! Sorry Doc. It's just maddening! But to answer your question, no."

"Right, um, yes. Are you unusually stressed or fatigued?" Martin asked.

"Well, the hand is certainly causing me stress and fatigue now but come to think of it I've had to take care of me grandson lately since me daughter took ill a month ago. I didn't notice the hand going loony 'til after that."

"Mm. Well, I think you have Alien Hand Syndrome. Your notes say the infarct, that's the stroke damage, occurred in your left parietal cortex. Such damage, combined with your stress and fatigue, has triggered the uncontrolled right-hand movements."

Mrs. Beckett breathed a sigh of relief. "So, I'm not goin' Bodmin then, Doc?"

"Ah, no. Unfortunately, there is no cure, but it is triggered by fatigue and stress which can be managed. Occupational therapy can help teach you to control the movements, but the best thing you can do is to get more rest. Is there anyone who can help you with your grandson? Even if you could get a nap for an hour each day…"

"Well, I supposed I could hire one of those teenagers who are always roaming about…" she proposed.

"Ah, noooo, no. Don't do that. I will ask my wife if she is aware of any former students who would be old enough and responsible to perhaps help you. I will call if she has any suggestions. In the meantime, I will refer you to an occupational therapist."

"Right. Thank you, Doc. I feel better just knowing this has a name and there might be a way to stop it."

"Yes. Next patient!"

—ooOOoo—

During the lunch break, Martin retired to his consulting room and closed the door. It wasn't just his body that had been tossing and turning for hours last night, it was his mind. He had finally reached a conclusion which allowed him to fall asleep. Now he wanted to pull his thoughts together so he could tell Louisa about what had upset him so much with Mrs. Matlock.

Mrs. Matlock didn't tell me anything I hadn't heard about my parents, except maybe that my parents bragged about my accomplishments until I, well... Louisa and my therapists have all told me their behavior was tantamount to child abuse. But those conclusions had been based on what I had told them about my upbringing. Joan and Ruth told me that I changed as a child and they blamed my parents but, again, they have a, ah, vested interest in my welfare. What Mrs. Matlock revealed is that she and her husband, people with a long professional and social acquaintance with my parents, saw them as cold and unloving of children and self-centered and only interested in some sense of reflected glory. That is an objective opinion, and somehow that matters more to me. It does not seem as if that's how I should tell Louisa though.

He thought harder how to present this. If I had to present this to a medical conference, how would I phrase it? Patient could not accept information from those whom he felt were only in possession of facts that were possibly biased and therefore needed confirmation from objective sources who were not in possession of the biased facts. Yes, that'll do.

—ooOOoo—

When the patients were all seen to, Martin found Louisa in her consulting room typing up notes. Janice had taken Mary with her to get James from school. He took a deep breath. "Ah, Louisa, are you about done with your notes? It's just that I'd like to explain myself from yesterday. I did arrange with Janice to stay longer with the children so that we could go to an appointment, so the children will be minded."

Louisa looked puzzled. "What appointment, Martin?"

Martin groused, "It's nobody's business that I want to have a discussion with my wife. Ah, um, I didn't know how else to explain the departure in the routine and why I was the one arranging it."

Gee, Martin is very nervous, Louisa thought. And he's making me nervous. "Alright, I can see that. So, what should we make our appointment be?"

"I think if we just put on our coats and drive away from the village, we could sit in the car on the side of the road and I can explain last night's, um, incident."

"But Martin, we haven't got the car back from the shop yet," Louisa reminded him.

"Bugger! I can call a cab and then…" Martin proposed, flustered.

"No, Martin. That won't work. Here's what we're going to do, yeah. We're going to tell Janice that we just wanted to arrange some personal time to decompress after the post-holiday rush of patients and all the other things that have happened. After all, your Mother died, you crashed the car, I fell on the ice, you were running down that infection, and then you had the usual glut of people who waited until after the holidays. It's all normal. People put personal time on their calendar all the time. It'll be okay, really."

"Ah, yes, right. Fine. But without all that detail!"

Janice returned to the surgery with the children, so Martin and Louisa bundled up and walked out the door, no explanation necessary after all. They were fortunate that, while cold, it was unusually windless. They turned left up the hill to the bench overlooking the harbor.

"I'm glad you are going to talk to me, Martin. I've never seen you so ashen and couldn't help but be concerned." Louisa paused there, a pregnant pause that she hoped Martin wouldn't need any more urging to fill.

Martin continued to peer out over the harbor. "Ah, yes. Well." Then he proceeded to list out a set of facts emotionlessly.

"My mother was living with a Susanne Matlock. Susanne's late husband Barton had been an anaesthesiologist who worked with my father. My father had performed a lifesaving surgery on their son, which of course set my father in good standing with them. The Matlocks knew my parents socially as well as professionally. They said my parents bragged about my accomplishments but never seemed to have any information of a more personal nature to share. She said my mother was clearly uncaring around children and that my father was a philanderer. When my mother came to her for a supposed temporary place to stay, she provided it to be appreciative of my father saving their son, not out of affection for my parents. She also said she ascertained Margaret was lying about her situation after enough time passed that her story was implausible."

Martin took a breath. He'd said all that without so much as a glance at Louisa, but now he turned to her. She looked ready to speak, but he raised his eyebrows, pursed his lips, and tipped his head to the side slightly to communicate that he was not yet done and to please not interrupt. It took Louisa a moment, because she was impatient and wanted to hug him, but she relaxed her face and body language so Martin would feel comfortable continuing.

Martin continued. "Why this upset me is that although you and the therapists we've spoken to have all told me my upbringing was not my fault, you were operating on information I had provided, which could be one-sided. And although Ruth and Joan contributed their views of how I had changed as a child, they, ah, shared a characteristic with you that, um, well, could also lead to bias."

Louisa couldn't help herself and said, softly, "You mean we all love you, Martin."

He whispered, "Yes." Before she could say anything more, he cleared his throat and charged forward, "And because you are concerned for me and operating on information I largely provided, I did not have anyone completely objective to corroborate your conclusions. Now, I think I have found someone."

"And that's important to you." Louisa asked. She was a little hurt, but could see how Martin, a man of science, could think like this.

"Yes."

"Alright then. Then you need to go see her on Saturday. The children and I will be fine."

—ooOOoo—

Martin received good news on Wednesday from two sources. Firstly, discharge papers for Nelson Hughson were sent from Truro, so his last bacterial infection patient was enroute to a full recovery. Mr. Hughson's toe was also healing nicely. Martin hoped that this hospitalization might have a silver lining in that it would scare the imbecile into following an appropriate diet.

The second piece of news was that the organic toothpaste company was found by the Environmental Health Commission to be at fault for the spread of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections. An inspection of the manufacturing facility showed black mould-like substances in the water used for making the product as well as, ironically, for cleaning it. The UK newspapers covered it extensively to make the public aware of the problem. People were advised to throw out any remaining products with the mint and cinnamon flavours.

Martin placed a call to Mark Mylow. "Mark, I'm sure you've seen in the news that the organic toothpaste was indeed the culprit."

Mark was pleased. "Yes, thanks, Doc. You must be glad that's all sorted." Mark thought, easy now, play it cool. "I think I'm going to talk to Mike about adding water testing to M and M Home Services. We've had enough water scares around here and the kits seem easy enough to use. What with all the wells and the sheep and cattle, right, who knows what the next head scratcher might be?"

An astute suggestion, Martin thought. Testing water wouldn't be in the remit of a GP, but it would be reasonable for a plumber to offer that, and Martin was confident he could rely on Mark's discretion should he need his services again. "Uh, yes, Mark. I would support that idea."

"It felt good, you know, being able to help you solve a problem for the village," Mark continued.

Martin replied, "Yes. Ah, your powers of observation and deduction were very very good. I knew the medical cause of the infections, just not where the problem originated."

"And it didn't help we couldn't rule out a problem with the water. You know, Doc, there might be other ways I could help. I'm in enough homes around here. It's not my business to share what I see unless there's some probable cause, but maybe we can figure out a way to look for the overlap without spillin' the tea on our customers." Mark was teasing this out a little at a time.

Martin looked dubious. "Mm. This situation seemed somewhat unique to me. I, um, don't really think it's likely to recur."

Mark finally set up the idea he'd been thinking about. "How's this, Doc. I'll knock around a few ideas and maybe you can give it a noodle too. If you don't have time, no worries, I get it, you've got a family and all to keep you busy. But next week, how's about I grab an espresso for you at that new coffee shop above the slipway, and we can compare notes for about 15 minutes during your lunch or after hours." By making it a defined event with a restricted time allotment, Mark hoped he could get Martin interested.

"Ahhhh, well." Martin did not really find the argument compelling. Still, Mark did step up immediately and do what Martin had asked, without requesting any sort of compensation. Mark was also clever about how he enabled Martin to sectionalize the overlap between where Mark saw toothpaste and Martin's patients without compromising patient confidentiality.

"C'mon, Doc. It costs you at worst 15 minutes plus you get to try a new espresso place. Little downside, you've gotta admit."

"Right, yes, alright. A week from tomorrow, 12:00."

Mark hid his glee effectively. "Right you are, Doc. Then I'll chew over this some and see you then."

"Yes," Martin answered, then promptly hung up.

—ooOOoo—

Today was the day of James' first after school play date with the Fenn twins, Mickey and Pete. Maureen had picked all three boys up after school and taken them to her and Roger's home near Port Gaverne. She would have to bring them back as well, given Martin's car was still being fixed.

The car situation had become untenable, largely because Martin needed a car for emergencies and for patients who warranted house calls. A second car was something they had been thinking about for a while, as Louisa missed having a car. Plus, it could prove useful to have two if Martin needed to use his and Louisa had somewhere to go. When finalizing the play date, Maureen and Roger agreed to keep James over for dinner to give the Ellinghams time to search for a car.

Louisa was once again insistent that she get a small car that would fit the roads of Portwenn and the surroundings. They had made an appointment at the local used car place where a robin's egg blue Mini Cooper with low miles was for sale. Martin was skeptical.

"Louisa, if I'm to drive this car occasionally, I need to fit into it," he said, with mild exasperation.

"I know that, Martin, so I searched the internet for 'Can 6'3" people fit into a mini?' and the answer is yes. This is a Countryman, it has the most headroom of the Minis and there are people as big as you who drive them."

"Yes, alright. I will want to test drive it though."

"Of course. That only makes sense."

They took a cab to the independent dealer and met up with the saleswoman. "Afternoon. I'm Betsy Davies. You must be Louisa. I'm guessing you're Mr. Louisa?"

Martin looked scandalized. "Dr. Martin Ellingham."

Louisa cringed at the "Doctor" introduction. That wouldn't help their price negotiations one bit. It probably didn't help that Martin always appeared to have a custom-made suit, which was actually the truth. Ah well, there's nothing for it at this point.

"Ah, right. Well, nice to meet you, Louisa, Doctor Ellingham." Betsy said with a smile.

Ego soothed, Martin shook Betsy's offered hand. Louisa took charge, as it was to be her car after all.

"Right," she said. "I'm here to look at low-mileage cars, small ones, but ones with a bit of storage because we have two children." Louisa was trying to feign indifference to which car she bought, but she did have her eye on that Mini.

Betsy replied, "I think I have exactly the car for you. Over here, we have this Mini Cooper Countryman. It has space in the back seat and behind the seat, but it's perfect for around here. It is stingy with the petrol, and it only has 9200 miles on it. Just came off a lease."

Louisa gave it a glance, and said, "Funny colour, though, really." Martin looked at her in surprise. She had been RAVING about the colour when she saw the car on the internet.

"Louisa, it's…" Martin started, only to be interrupted by Louisa, desperate for him to not spoil her negotiation tactics.

"I know, Martin, it's also a bit small for someone your size. What about this Toyota over here? Is that a Corolla?" Louisa picked this car purposely, because she had seen it be removed from the website just this morning, meaning it was probably spoken for.

"Yes, it's a Corolla. But I don't think you can rule out this Countryman. I can't change the colour but I think the good Doctor would fit comfortably in it." Betsy informed them.

"Well," Louisa said. "I think I'd like to test the Corolla first. It's a bit more affordable."

"That's because it has over 18000 miles on it and it's the petrol model. Everyone seems to want the hybrid version these days." Betsy explained.

"How about we take both for a spin, Martin. We can quickly rule out the Mini because I just don't think it looks like it would be comfortable for you. And my budget is much more in line with that Corolla."

"Suit yourself," said Betsy. "I'll get both sets of keys and turn you loose for a bit."

"Ok, so we'll start with the Mini to get that out of the way." Louisa took the wheel of the Countryman first, with Martin in the passenger seat. Once out of earshot of Betsy, Martin looked at Louisa incredulously. "Louisa, I thought you liked the colour. It's all you were talking about. And you didn't ever mention the Corolla."

"Yes, Martin. It's called bargaining. You avoid looking too enthusiastic about the car you really want. I'm trying to get the Countryman for the price of the Corolla."

"Well, I don't know. I usually research the car until I find exactly what I want and then order it from the manufacturer." Martin explained.

"Yes, I know. But you must remember that we come from very different financial circumstances, Martin."

"But not anymore! We can afford the price of the car you want, Louisa. In fact, this insistence to buy a used vehicle seems ridiculous to me. Why don't we buy a new Countryman, if that's what you want."

"Because Martin, where is the fun in that."

"The fun, if you want to call it that, is in the new car warranty and the lack of unknown abuse the prior driver might have inflicted upon the car." Martin could not believe Louisa wouldn't listen to reason.

"This used car has a warranty, although I admit it's not as long. But we would save so much money. It's not bad to be frugal, Martin. It's not a bad lesson for the children either."

It was clear she was not to be dissuaded. They turned the car around in a car park so that Martin could take a turn driving. He agreed that the size was reasonable for him, especially as he wouldn't likely use it often. It was more important for Louisa to be comfortable, and she clearly was. They returned to the lot.

"Well, I agree that it is functional and fits Martin, but I would like to take the Corolla out now." said Louisa.

Betsy proposed, "What if you could buy the Countryman for 1500 pounds more than the Corolla. That's a significant discount."

"It still doesn't change that I'd look like a bird's egg driving around in it. But let me discus with my husband."

Louisa and Martin walked out of earshot and Louisa said, "I'm going to try to get her down another 500 pounds. Watch and learn, Martin. In the meantime, talk to me about anything, look less puzzled and more disagreeable."

Martin was not good at pretending but fortunately for Louisa, his usual expression was neutral to mildly disapproving and so it worked. They exchanged inanities, and Martin got more frustrated to the point that he was gesticulating with his hands in annoyance. Louisa announced, "That's probably long enough. Wait here, Martin."

Louisa walked over to Betsy, who had watched the exchange. "I'll tell you what, Louisa, how about if I sell you the Countryman for 750 quid over the price of the Corolla. Do you think that will persuade your husband? I really think this is the car for you."

"I'll check. Give me one moment." Louisa walked over to Martin. "Martin, she'll sell it to me for an even better price than I was shooting for. Look unpersuaded for a moment and then nod." She talked about what they were going to have for dinner, then told Martin it was time to nod, which he did.

"Alright, then. If you would include two oil changes, we will take it."

"Sold", said Betsy. "Let me go get the paperwork. How much time do you have? I could probably have this turned around in an hour if you want to wait."

Martin and Louisa agreed to wait, as the sooner they had a functional car the better. They filled out paperwork while the car was cleaned and prepared. Martin pulled out his checkbook and wrote the check. After a little over an hour, they were in possession of the car and drove back to the village in time to prepare dinner for themselves.

Roger drove James Henry back home after dinner. "How'd it go, James? Did you have fun?" Louisa asked.

"I. Did!" James stated clearly. "And we had pot roast and mash for dinner and it was GREAT!"

Louisa gave Martin a quick look that he correctly interpreted to mean, "Not one word about the dinner." He did glare a bit though. Louisa then replied, "I'm so glad. It's fun to play with other children, right? And meals that are different can be so good, right, a nice change?" To Roger, she remarked wistfully, "Not much beef in this household."

"Ah, right. Not a recipe approved by the British Medical Association?" Roger replied with a smile.

"Right," Louisa replied. "Alright, James, up you go to get ready for bed."

"Yes, Mummy." Martin told James that he would come up to tuck him in shortly.

Louisa followed up with Roger, "How did it go from the parent perspective, Roger?"

"Louisa, he was a joy. The boys loved playing with him again, despite the age difference. James is obviously bright and kept right up with them. I think the play dates are going to work out fine. And Maureen and I look forward to the occasional date night of our own. You should consider it, Martin. Just you and Louisa or maybe the four of us can go out if we can get a sitter."

"Right, ah, maybe. We'll see." Martin wasn't keen on that idea, although he did enjoy speaking with Roger at the Boxing Day get together.

"I'll try to talk him into it, Roger. In the meantime, thanks again so much. Give our best to Maureen."

"Right. So long." Roger made his exit.

Louisa set about making some dinner for herself and Martin while Martin relieved Janice and got Mary and James into bed. He came back down in time for dinner.

"Louisa?" Martin asked tentatively. "I have something to ask you."

Louisa paused, and tensed a little, thinking about everything that had happened in the last week, the upcoming visit of Martin to London, the proposed date night idea from Roger. She reached across the table and put her hand gently on his. "Yes, Martin?"

"Can you recommend a responsible villager who could care for a toddler a couple of hours a day for one of my patients?"