The Village Doctor's Marriage

by Abigail Gordon

  When Steve phoned Tom on Monday he wasn’t there. He’d gone away for a long weekend and wouldn’t be back until the following day, and Steve thought that they were having a taste of being on the other side of the fence again, relying on the medical profession and hoping it wouldn’t let them down as they waited for him to return.

  Sallie wasn’t feeling very well herself. She’d felt tired of late and had had a couple of gastric upsets. They’d had staffing problems at the practice since the Christmas break, which had increased the workload for Steve and herself, and she’d put it down to that.

  One of the practice nurses had left to go into hospital work and a receptionist had gone to look after elderly parents in Cumbria. The good thing about that was it had left a gap for Melanie to slot into, but she was having to be trained, as was the new practice nurse they’d appointed, and it all took its toll.

  Sallie decided that she must have been overdoing it and was going to slow down. But the feeling of being less well than usual had seemed like nothing when Steve had stepped from under the shower on that January morning after the alarming discovery.

  Tom Cavanagh was smiling when Steve walked into his consulting rooms to keep an appointment that had been hastily arranged.

  ‘So how long have you been back in these parts, Steve?’ he asked.

  ‘A few months,’ he told him. ‘I couldn’t keep away from Sallie any longer, Leaving her was the most stupid thing I’ve ever done, and coming back was the most sensible. She and I are closer now than we’ve ever been. We’ve just moved into a fantastic house by the river, and life was wonderful until I felt what might be the return of the cancer.’

  Tom didn’t ask him if he’d fathered any children. He knew it would have been the first thing Steve would have told him if it had been the case. ‘I’m glad you are back together,’ he said. ‘You two were made for each other. So where is Sallie now?’

  ‘Holding the fort at the practice. Whatever is happening in our lives, there are still two surgeries a day to deal with and home visits to carry out.’

  When he’d finished his examination Tom said thoughtfully, ‘I’m not sure what I think. There is something there, but it could be a lesion, scar tissue from the operation. Obviously we’re going to have to go through the tests routine again before I can give you an answer.’

  ‘And if the cancer has come back?’

  ‘Let’s not jump to conclusions. I’ll set the tests up for tomorrow. It will be more or less a repeat of last time.’

  As Sallie dealt with her Tuesday morning surgery, she had herself under control, knowing that she would be doing herself or her patients no favours if she didn’t keep her mind on the job. But once surgery was over, the queasiness she’d felt ever since Steve had left for his appointment became worse, and as she got up from her desk the room began to spin round and she crumpled onto the carpet.

  Steve returned at that moment and found her there, and as he bent over her anxiously he thought bleakly that this new development was taking its toll on Sallie.

  She opened her eyes and when she saw him looking down at her she groaned. ‘I must have fainted,’ she said, raising herself to a sitting position. ‘Some use I’m going to be if I’m wilting around the place when you need my support. What did Tom have to say?’

  ‘He’s not sure. The usual tests are being set up for tomorrow. But at the moment I’m more concerned about you.’

  ‘You needn’t be. I’m all right,’ she protested, as he helped her to her feet. ‘My nerves were in knots all the time I was seeing the patients, and I think the effort of trying to keep calm must have been too much. Oh, Henry Crabtree was here. He’s moving back into his cottage tomorrow,’ she said with a weary smile, ‘and is delighted to know we’re his new neighbours. His comment was, “So I can just pop across if I’m under the weather, then.”’

  ‘We’re going to have to put him right about that, I’m afraid,’ Steve remarked dryly. ‘And now you are going home to rest while I take over for the remainder of the day.’

  ‘Not until I’ve had a peep at Liam first. Hannah has just brought him back from the shops.’

  ‘I’ll join you for that. It’s so good that we can still see him whenever we want to.’ Lowering his voice in case Melanie was around, he said, ‘Not a word to Melanie or anyone else about what is going on in our lives until we get the verdict.’

  Steve had been for the tests and all they could do now was wait for a phone call from Tom. Each time Sallie gazed around the house that Steve had had built for them she wanted to weep. She loved the place, but without him there beside her it would be empty and meaningless.

  After finding her in the faint he’d insisted that she give the surgeries a miss for the rest of the week, and, though reluctant to do so, she’d agreed. Having time on her hands, though, made the waiting seem longer.

  That night as they ate their evening meal Steve noticed her pallor and wondered if she was ill and not telling him because she didn’t want to put any more burdens onto him. Whatever it was, he knew there was something wrong. He could feel it in his bones.

  Later, as they lay in bed, holding hands and listening to the river running past, his anxieties were still there, and when he turned to take her in his arms he saw that she was asleep.

  As he looked down at her in the moon’s light, she looked pale and ethereal and his unease increased. He’d been the one with the health problems so far. Was it going to be Sallie’s turn now?

  His innards were clenching at the thought of anything being wrong with her. It would be the first time if there was, but the cancer had been the first time he’d had anything wrong with him. Which said that years of good health were nothing to go by if nature had some trick up its sleeve.

  During the rest of the week Sallie pushed Liam out a couple of times in his buggy and enjoyed every moment, but once she’d returned him to his doting mother the days seemed to stretch for ever.

  It wasn’t warm enough to sit out in the garden in January’s chill, and when she’d done any household chores she wandered aimlessly from room to room, wondering how much longer before Tom had news for them.

  It was to be soon. On the Friday morning Steve had just finished the home visits when the call he’d been waiting for came through. Knowing that what Tom had to say in the next few seconds could put an end to his and Sallie’s hard-won happiness, he braced himself for what was coming.

  ‘You’re clear!’ Tom’s voice said in his ear, quietly exuberant. ‘It was scar tissue and everything else is fine. You’re going to live to fight another day, my friend.’

  ‘Thank God!’ Steve breathed. ‘I can’t wait to tell Sal.’

  ‘Go and do it, then,’ the other man advised laughingly, and Steve didn’t need to be told twice.

  Back at the house and desperate for something to do, Sallie was unpacking some of the clothes she’d brought with her from the apartment, and had just unearthed the dress she’d worn on their first date years ago. She’d kept it for sentimental reasons and was suddenly tempted to see if she could still get into it.

  Of pale apricot silk, with a long skirt and boned bodice, it was no longer fashionable, but she would always treasure it. As she slipped it over her head it was tight and the boned bodice was like a vice. With a grimace she took if off and felt her breasts where the bodice had been.

  They were really tender, and with cancer being the only thing she and Steve had been able to think about for days, she was suddenly uneasy, and sank down onto the nearest chair to think about it.

  Tender breasts, nausea, tiredness, fainting—all might be signs of it, but they were also signs of something else. Pregnancy! Ever since they’d first tried to start a family, she’d kept a note of dates, but because of all that had happened in the last weeks before Christmas and her anxiety over Steve since then, every other thought had been driven from her mind.

  She opened her diary with trembling fingers, and it was there. The date when her last period had been due.
As her heartbeat quickened and her mouth went dry, she saw that it should have been three weeks ago.

  To someone who had never been late in her life, it had to mean one thing. Unless it was due to the shock of what was happening to Steve. There was only one way to know for certain and within minutes she was on her way to the chemist’s.

  The test showed positive! She couldn’t believe it and the tears began to fall. They’d waited all this time and now when Steve’s life might be threatened, they were going to have the child they longed for.

  She’d imagined countless times how it would be if she ever told him she was pregnant. There would be joy, delight and every triumphant emotion she could think of to mark the occasion. But it wouldn’t be like that if he was going to get the thumbs-down from Tom. Life could be so cruel.

  When his car pulled up in the drive shortly afterwards she knew he’d got the results, even though his expression gave nothing away. He came into the house with his usual brisk stride and called her name, and as she went into the hall to meet him he picked her up in his arms and danced her round and round.

  ‘It was scar tissue,’ he cried. ‘I’m clear, Sal. The way ahead is just as we want it to be. Being aunt and uncle to Liam, looking after the village and living and loving in our beautiful house.’

  ‘With our children,’ she said in breathless wonder.

  He frowned. ‘I think not,’ he said. ‘But one can’t have everything in this life, and thank God I’ve got you!’

  She was smiling up at him from his arms. ‘You think not. I think so.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I’m pregnant.’

  ‘What?’ he exclaimed, putting her slowly back on to her feet.

  ‘I’m a doctor, for heaven’s sake! But because my mind has been so full of what has been happening in our lives over recent weeks, I haven’t been checking my dates. Otherwise it might have occurred to me that I was showing all the signs of pregnancy instead of thinking I was run down.’

  ‘But are you sure?’

  ‘Mmm. I’ve been to the chemist.’

  There was a smile on his face the like of which she’d never seen before.

  ‘We’ve been given two life lines in one day,’ he rejoiced. ‘I’m OK and we are going to have a child. Do you think it was conceived the night I came home after being lost on the moors?’

  ‘There have been other occasions since,’ she told him laughingly

  ‘Yes, but that time was in a class of its own.’

  ‘Yes. It was indeed.’

  ‘A child of our own at last!’ he choked. ‘Wait until Melanie and Rick hear this. They’ll be so glad for us, and so will the village.’

  ‘Could we keep it to ourselves for a while?’ she asked. ‘You know how we’ve talked about a house-warming. I thought we could have one in a couple of weeks’ time, and tell everyone our wonderful news then. All those we care for will be there. Melanie and Rick with Liam, Hannah, Alison and the vicar with their boys, Philip and Anna Gresty, if we can somehow manage to get him here, and how about Jennifer, if she’ll come?’

  ‘That’s a great idea,’ he said enthusiastically, ‘but you’ll have to keep me gagged until then. I feel like doing the town crier bit and going around the village, announcing to everyone our fantastic news. Have you thought of any names?’

  ‘Steve!’ she exclaimed laughingly. ‘I’d only just found out when you arrived. There will be plenty of time for that.’

  ‘Mmm,’ he murmured with his arms around her. ‘Time for everything, and only a few hours ago I thought there was going to be time for nothing.’

  Later that day they phoned Colin in Canada, feeling that of all people he should be told their good news. Colin had been the one who’d brought them back together and they owed him a lot.

  Sallie spoke to him first and he was delighted to hear her voice. ‘How are you and Steve getting along?’ he asked.

  ‘We are back together in every sense of the word,’ she told him happily, ‘and we have you to thank for that. We’ve moved into a beautiful house that Steve has had built for us in Bluebell Lane. But, Colin, the main reason I’m phoning is to tell you that we are going to have a baby. I’m pregnant, and you can imagine what Steve is like. He’s over the moon. We only found out today and aren’t telling anyone locally yet. But we both feel that you should be the first to know.’

  ‘That is wonderful news!’ he cried. ‘Wait until I tell Jessica.’

  She passed the phone to Steve and his first words were, ‘So, Colin, what are the chances of you both coming over for the christening? How would you feel about being one of the baby’s godfathers?’

  ‘The answer to both questions is yes,’ he said. ‘Yes, we will come for the christening and, yes, I would love to be a godfather.’

  When they’d said goodbye Sallie was smiling. ‘Aren’t we being a bit previous, arranging such things? We are several months away from the event. Anything could go wrong.’

  ‘No way,’ he said. ‘I’m going to cherish you like you’ve never been cherished before.’

  They’d planned the house-warming for early February and all those invited had been pleased to accept, including their new neighbour, Henry Crabtree, Lizzie Drury and Jack Leminson and his wife.

  ‘I think old Henry has his eye on Mrs D.,’ Steve said as they dressed for the occasion.

  ‘Surely not,’ she said laughingly. ‘Lizzie Drury would never fancy Henry.’

  He was zipping up the long strapless dress she was wearing and brushed his lips against her bare shoulder. ‘You didn’t fancy me second time round, did you?’ he teased.

  ‘Oh, yes, I did,’ she protested, swivelling to face him. ‘I never stopped fancying you. But it took the thought of losing you to bring me to my senses.’

  She touched his face with gentle fingers. ‘Shall we go and prepare to greet our guests?’

  ‘Of course. I’ve been waiting for this moment ever since that wonderful day when you told me I was going to be a father.’

  When all the guests had arrived and been served with drinks, he said, ‘Sallie and I have arranged this house-warming for two reasons—first of all because we want to welcome you all to our new home, and secondly because we have some fantastic news. Sallie is pregnant. We are going to become parents.’

  He went across the room to where his friend was slumped in a wheelchair. ‘Do you hear that, Philip?’ he said softly. ‘We are going to have a baby.’

  It had been an effort for the sick man to get to the party, but he had made it and there were tears in Philip’s eyes. ‘Wonderful!’ he said, bringing the word out with difficulty, and after that there wasn’t a dry eye in the room.

  It was September, harvest time again. The windberries were ready for picking, and as the farmers celebrated the yield of their fields once more, Sallie and Steve were excitedly awaiting the birth of their babies. She was carrying twins and they were due any day.

  Life ever since that day when Steve’s burden had been lifted off him and Sally had found she was pregnant had been a time of happy amazement that had reached new levels when a scan had shown that there were two babies in her womb. They didn’t know the sex. Didn’t want to. It was enough to know they were there.

  There had been only one dark cloud in the sky during those months of contentment. Philip had died in the early summer, and much as he was mourned by his family and friends, there had been none who would have wanted to see him suffer any longer.

  During her pregnancy Sallie had worked part time at the practice. They’d taken on a trainee GP, the son of a retired doctor in the next village, and he was proving to be a good choice.

  After those first few weeks of lethargy and nausea she had bloomed like a flower in the sun, and as he watched over her Steve could scarcely believe that soon there would be two babies in the house by the river.

  ‘Pregnancy suits you,’ he’d told her smilingly one day, placing his hand on her bulge. ‘We’ve come a long way since the day I t
old you I had cancer, haven’t we? From having no family, we’ll soon have two children.’

  ‘And maybe more,’ she’d said, laughing up at him.

  ‘I saw Tom Cavanagh the other day,’ he’d told her, ‘and he was highly amused to know that I’d fathered twins when I had such grave doubts about even fathering one child. How about asking him to be one of the godparents?’

  ‘Yes,’ she’d said immediately, ‘and there is Melanie and Anna, and what about Jack, who built our lovely house for us? I have a feeling that he would be pleased to be asked.’

  ‘Fine by me,’ he’d said, ‘All we need now is the safe arrival of the babies.’

  ‘I’ll second that,’ she’d told him softly.

  Stephen Philip Beaumont and his sister Lauren Elizabeth came into the world on a golden September morning, and as Sallie lay back and observed Steve with a baby in each arm, it was as if all their lives they had been waiting for this moment.

  ISBN: 978-1-4603-5896-2

  THE VILLAGE DOCTOR’S MARRIAGE

  First North American Publication 2007

  Copyright © 2006 by Abigail Gordon

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

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