It was late afternoon on Christmas
Eve at the Dancingdean Health Centre and Locum Doctor Kelly Spearman had one
last patient to see.
Mrs Bramwell entered the room with
her young daughter Kylie skulking in her wake.
“Come on Kylie the Doctor hasn’t got
all day”
“Hello Mrs Bramwell, how can I help?”
“Kylie’s not right Doctor, very odd”
“In what way?”
“Well look at her Doctor you can see
you doesn’t look right.
She starts the day feeling sick and
ends it eating Pizza with sugar on. It’s no small wonder she’s put on so much
weight”
“Well I’ll have to do a full
examination” Kelly said
Kylie lay on the examination table
and Dr Spearman gave her a thorough exam, asking questions as she did so.
When she had finished she told Kylie
to redress and sat down at her desk and tapped at the keyboard until the girl
was seated.
“So what’s wrong with her Doctor?”
Mrs Bramley
“Well there is no doubt in my mind
that Kylie is pregnant” she replied
“About five months to be precise”
“That’s absolute rubbish Doctor,
Kylie can’t possibly be pregnant, ridiculous that is, she’s only 14 and I can
assure you my daughter has never been with a man”
“There is no doubt” Kelly said as she
took off her glasses
“Tell the Doctor, Kylie, tell her
you’ve never been with a man”
“I haven’t Doctor I really haven’t,
not even kissing” Kylie confirmed
Kelly looked at the girl doubtfully
then stood up and walked to the window and stared out into the darkness shaking
her head.
“So what’s wrong Doctor?” Mrs Bramley
asked “it’s serious isn’t it?”
“Not at all, I just wanted to check
the sky for something, because the last time a girl got pregnant without going
with a man a bright star appeared in the East”
“Are you trying to be funny?” Mrs
Bramwell asked
“No I’m not, I’m trying to make a
point” she replied
“Whether Kylie says she has been with
a man or not, she is definitely five months pregnant, so I suggest you think
back five months and figure out where she didn’t have sex with a man”
“I don’t like your attitude Doctor if
my daughter says she’s a virg…” she stopped in mid flow and turned to Kylie and
said
“You dirty little cow, it was that
boy you met on the beach at Sharpington wasn’t it”
At that the girl began to cry and Mrs
Bramley bustled her out of the room admonishing her without acknowledging Kelly
again.
Kelly was one of the cleverest
medical students of her year and she was also one of the sexiest, a fact she
had perpetually tried to play down.
She
wanted to progress in her profession based purely on her abilities and not
because she was “fit”.
She
certainly didn’t want the distraction of having to fend off unwanted advances
while she tried to qualify.
Her
style of dress was muted, still feminine but understated, she wore her hair
combed back severely off her and wore heavy framed spectacles.
A look
she maintained long after qualification and all through her time at the Winston
Churchill Hospital.
The
result of which, being that after ten years she remained single and with a
reputation for being cold and aloof.
As
neither description was true she gave up a senior position at the Churchill to
take up general practice, but she needed to learn the ropes as a GP locum,
which was why she was working at the Dancingdean Health
Centre.
Kelly had completed her notes and
packed her things away.
She was looking forward to getting
home, she loosened her hair and shook it out before putting on her woollen hat
and slipping on her coat and finally picked up her bag.
No sooner had her fingers curled
around the door handle than the phone on her desk rang.
“Oh, so close” she said to herself
and released her grip on the door handle.
There was nothing waiting for her at
home except what she craved at that moment, peace and solitude.
But she had noticed the steady
snowfall through her surgery window and she was not a lover of driving in the
snow.
“Hello” she said
“Could you see one more patient
Doctor?” the receptionist Lynn Cooper asked “It should be a quick one but it’s
quite urgent”
“Of course send them through” she
replied and slipped off her coat and sat down.
A few moments later there was a light
knock on her door.
“Come in”
When the door opened a tall slightly
built man of a similar age to herself walked in.
“Thank you for seeing me Doctor” he
said “I’m sorry to delay you”
“That’s fine” Kelly replied
“I see you’re dressed for the
conditions” he added
“I’m sorry?”
“Your rather fetching headgear” he
explained
“Oh” she said with a laugh “I forgot
I had it on”
“So what can I do for you? Mr
Springthorpe”
“I need a repeat prescription for
my Theophylline I have nearly run out” he said and she tapped at her
keyboard
“Your last prescription was in
October you shouldn’t have run out yet” she said
“I know but the water tank in my loft
sprang a leak and brought the ceiling down which ruined everything in its path”
he explained
“Your medication included” The Doctor
said
“Yes” he confirmed
“Very well I’ll write you another
one” she said
“Thank you Doctor”
“The pharmacy in Oakwood Road is open
until 10 o’clock tonight” she said and handed him the prescription
“Thank you Doctor and Merry
Christmas”
“Not to Merry I hope” she scolded
“Happy Christmas”
The moment the door closed she
quickly redressed in her out door clothes and left before the phone went again.
She ran the festive gauntlet of staff
members, exchanging greetings in the time honoured fashion and emerged into the
snowy car park and she was surprised to find exactly how much had fallen.
She got into her car and set off
towards Mornington-By-Mere.
Kelly had only lived in Mornington
for a few months, she wanted somewhere that was in striking distance of
Shallowfield, Purplemere and Childean which were the towns she would be able to
work as a locum.
Even Finchbottom and the
Pepperstock’s were doable from Mornington at a pinch.
She had a rented a house in Military
Row which was one of a number of good sized family dwellings originally built
as Officers Quarters for the Officer personnel from the since defunct
Mornington Airfield.
The original plan was to get a short
time let and work as a Locum and then when she managed to secure a permanent
position in a practice she would then move somewhere close to where she would
be working but she had rather fallen in love with the village.
Despite the conditions she had made
steady progress and had travelled about two and a half miles before she spotted
the red tail lights and she came to a halt at the end of the queue.
There were three or four people
milling around in the road so she got out of her car to join them in the hope
of finding out what the problem was.
Just ahead of the queue of six cars
there was a seventh car being reversed out of a snowdrift.
She made her way to the front and
asked
“Is anyone hurt, I’m a Doctor?”
“No Doc, nothing hurt but his pride”
An old country man replied
“A bit of a brown trouser moment
though I shouldn’t wonder”
This induced a good deal of laughter
as much from Kelly as anybody else.
“I take it the road is closed” she
said when the laughter had subsided.
“Very much so Doc” Another bumpkin
replied
“Then I shall wish you all a Merry
Christmas and go in search of an Inn”
She did a three point turn in the
road and headed back the way she had come and hoped she wouldn’t have to spend
the entire evening driving around looking for a room.
Kelly was not yet fully au
fait with Shallowfield and its environs but she had stored several key
landmarks in her memory bank but the only Hotel she could bring to mind was the
Shallowfield Lodge Hotel by Teardrop Lake.
Which she thought was as good a place
as any to start, if that failed she knew that a lot of her colleagues at the
Health Centre lived in the area so she would try her luck with one of them.
Jonathon Springthorpe was due to have
dinner on Christmas Eve with his oldest friend and business partner Richard
O’Sullivan but he had to cancel it at the last minute when he realized he was
almost out of his medication.
Although
it was a genuine emergency and not an excuse he still felt guilty cancelling
their dinner date because Richard was such a lonely cove.
He pledged to himself he would call
round to Richards’s house once he had rectified his medical emergency.
He was very pleased to have caught
the Doctor before she left for the Holiday, and even more pleasing was the fact
she was so attractive.
After leaving the Health Centre he
drove to the Oakwood Road pharmacy and was grateful he didn’t need to drive any
further as the snow was several inches deep already and was falling exceedingly
fast.
Under the circumstances he abandoned
his plan to go and see Richard, so all being well he would be safely indoors
for the night within half an hour and then the weather could do as it pleased.
Kelly parked her car and opened the
boot, fortunately being a practical person she always had a change of clothes
in the car for emergencies.
Unfortunately this did not include
underwear so she would need to rinse through what she was wearing, provided of
course she could get a room.
She went inside and straight up to
the reception desk where a trim well-dressed woman was stood smiling in her
direction.
“Can I help?” Mrs Brown said
“I do hope so” she replied dropping
her bag to the floor
“I’m stranded in Shallowfield because
of the snow and I’m hoping you have a room”
“You’re not the only one dear” Sheryl
Brown said “But you’re in luck I have one room left”
“Thank you so much” Kelly said and
she felt her shoulders relax
Sheryl Brown gave her a registration
card to fill out and asked
“Is it just the one night dear?”
“Oh I don’t know” Kelly said “I
hadn’t thought”
“Well look I’ll book you in for two
nights, just in case” she suggested
“Ok yes, that’s a good idea” Kelly
agreed
After all the formalities were
completed and Mrs Brown had given her the key Kelly leant in close and
whispered conspiratorially
“There was one other thing, I need to
wash my underthings…”
Sheryl put up her hand and stopped
her mid-sentence
“Don’t worry dear I have just the
thing” she said and disappeared through a door marked private only to emerge 30
seconds later holding a small Tupperware box with a quantity of powder
in.
“This is what you need”
“You are a Godsend” Kelly said “Thank
you so much ...”
“Call me Sheryl”
“Thank you Sheryl”
“My pleasure” she replied “Now the
restaurant is still open though under the circumstances it’s a rather
improvised menu, but it will be hot”
“Hot will suffice” Kelly said
gratefully
Kelly went up to her room and quickly
freshened up and then made her way back downstairs.
She smiled at Sheryl Brown, as she
passed the reception desk, who was busy helping someone else.
She walked into the busy restaurant
and found an empty table and had only sat down long enough to order a drink
when she was asked.
“Do you mind if I join you doctor?”
It was Jonathon Springthorpe
“Not at all but please don’t call me
Doctor” she replied in a hushed tone
“Why? Have you been struck off?” he
said
“No” She replied and laughed “But if
people know you’re a doctor they can’t help sharing the details of their
ailments with you”
“Oh I see, so what should I call
you?”
“Kelly will be fine” she replied
“would you like a drink?”
“Just a coke please”
“Nothing stronger?” she asked
“No it reacts with my medication” he
said and tapped his coat pocket
“Just testing” she lied
“So Kelly what brings you to the
Shallowfield Lodge on a snowy Christmas Eve?” Jon asked
“You first” she said
“Well as I said earlier I have some
water damage in my house so I’ve moved out while it’s being sorted”
He explained
“So what about you?”
“I was trying to get home but the road
was closed by a snowdrift”
She replied
“And where’s home?” he asked
“I live in Mornington” she replied
“So do I” Jon said “I live in the Old
Forge”
“Really I’m renting one of the houses
in Military row” she said
“It’s a small world isn’t it?”
“So why here?” he asked after the
waitress had taken their dinner order
“It was the first place I tried” she
replied “but I wanted somewhere local because I’m on call from lunchtime
tomorrow for two days”
“Oh bad luck” he said
“No not really I volunteered” Kelly
said
“Why on earth did you do that?”
“Well everyone else has a significant other or a family” she said
“And
you don’t?”
“No,
I have no significant other and no family within easy reach, all
my nears and dears are many miles away”
“So
not married?” he asked
“No”
“Divorced?”
“No just never married”
“By accident or design?”
“A little of both I suppose” she
replied enigmatically just as the food arrived
“So what about you?” Kelly asked
“Divorced” he replied
“How long?
“What married or divorced?”
“Both”
“Married 10, divorced 2” he said
After desert Kelly asked
“So why are you staying here?”
“I told you, my house is unliveable”
“Yes I know, but why here?” she
persisted
“Oh I see, well I work in
Shallowfield”
“And what do you do for a living?”
“Auctioneer” he replied proudly
“At O’Sullivan and Springthorpe”
“Oooh one of the bosses” she said
feigning impression
“One of the partners” he corrected
her “Of which there are a number”
“Still, name over the door” she said
playing with him
While they were drinking their coffee
Jon suddenly asked
“What are you doing for Christmas
Lunch tomorrow?”
“I don’t know, whatever they’re
serving here I suppose”
“I’m going to my parents for lunch
tomorrow” he said
“Why don’t you join us?”
“Oh no I couldn’t impose” she replied
“Nonsense it’s no imposition”
“No I can’t and I’m on call anyway”
she insisted
“It’s only in Shallowfield” he said
“so it won’t affect you being on call”
“Wait a minute” she said “Your
parents live in Shallowfield?”
“Yes”
“So why are you staying here why
didn’t you stay at your parents?” she asked aghast
“Are you kidding, 36 years old and
moving back in with the folks” he said
“I’d only be there for a day and Mum
would start ironing my socks”
When they had stopped laughing Jon
said
“So will you come?”
“Oh alright then” she conceded “But
explain to your mother that if I have to disappear in a hurry it’s not because
I’m not being rude”
They were to meet in reception at
10.30 on Christmas morning,
In the cold light of day Kelly
questioned the wisdom of her decision to accept Jon’s invitation.
For a start she was not dressed as
smartly as she would have liked but under the circumstances it was the best she
could manage.
Fortunately when she arrived
downstairs she found Jon had dressed down for the occasion, which made her feel
much more comfortable.
“Happy Christmas” he said and kissed
her cheek
“Happy Christmas Jon, are you sure I
won’t be imposing?”
“Absolutely not” he insisted
The snow was still
falling though much lighter than the night before, so there was an eerie
hush apart from the satisfying crunch underfoot.
If she hadn’t been on call they would
have walked all the way but she needed her 4 x 4.
When they arrived at the
Springthorpe’s home she realised his apparel was not as she had thought,
coincidental, but was by design, as all of the family were in their best bib
and tucker.
Jon had realised that morning that
Kelly would have limited options for the day so deliberately dressed down so
she wouldn’t feel awkward.
“Thank you” she whispered when she
realised what he had done.
He introduced her to his parents,
aunts and uncles, nephews and nieces, kissing cousins, two godsons and a
brother all of them dressed to impress.
Including Kelly and Jon there were 19
for dinner, and seating and feeding that many people was no mean feat.
But Margaret Springthorpe did it in
style, and everyone’s food was piping hot.
After dinner the gathering fragmented
and Kelly volunteered to help with the clearing away, fending off the initial
protests that she was a guest.
Just as the last plate was wiped up
and put away Jon appeared
“Oh
look perfect timing” Margaret said
“Dad
won’t stop talking about the Golf game tomorrow so I just had to get out of
there” he announced.
“It’s
a shame you didn’t get fed up with it a bit sooner then you could have helped”
Kelly said
“Well
said” Aunty Victoria said
The
reason for his father’s discontent in regard to the Golf was that the Annual,
Springthorpe Family Cup competed for every year on Boxing Day had been
cancelled for the first time since 1936.
Not
even Adolph Hitler had been able to put a stop to it.
There
had been snow at Christmas before and it had been possible to play the day
after but this year due to the depth of snow on the ground the course was
unplayable.
“Does
it bother you that you won't be playing?” Kelly asked Jon.
“Yes. I love the Boxing Day game” he replied “But it’s impossible, Dad just
won’t accept it”
“So why not
play it on New Year’s Day instead?” she suggested
Jonathon opened his mouth to speak
but seemed unable to find the words and closed it again.
He repeated this mime twice more then
turned and left.
“Did you see that Margaret? She left
him speechless” Victoria said
“Absolutely marvellous!” Margaret
said
Kelly was roundly congratulated by
the family for her solution to the Springthorpe Family Cup debacle and they
were genuinely disappointed when at just after four o’clock she was called out.
She promised she would return as soon
as she had finished but as it turned out she didn’t return until 7 hours later
so she went straight to the Hotel where she found Jon waiting for her in the
Hotel bar drinking hot chocolate.
“Come
and have some” he said “it’ll warm you up”
“What
I need is sleep” Kelly said
“Have
a drink first, please” he begged
“Oh
ok”
“You
were a big hit with the family” Jon said
“Oh
I don’t know about that”
“Seriously”
he said “so much so that you have been invited to take part in the Springthorpe
Family Cup”
“But
I’m not family”
“You
have been made an honorary member” he said
“How
do you know I even play?” Kelly asked
“Well
you do, don’t you?”
“A
little” She said “maybe you can coach me”
They talked for about an hour before
Kelly excused herself and went off to her bed.
The
moment her head touched the pillow she was asleep and she slept very soundly,
which was just as well because on Boxing Day she was bounced all over the
district, dealing mainly with patients who have severely overindulged the day
before.
Kelly checked out of the Lodge on the
morning after Boxing Day and that evening after surgery she was finally able to
drive home to Mornington.
The
first thing she did when she got home was to change her underwear, although she
had washed them out every night before she went to bed, after wearing the same
knickers for four days she still felt dirty.
She
then had two wonderful days off in lieu of Christmas which gave her time to
tidy her house and do some laundry.
But
she was on call again on New Year’s Eve.
Kelly checked back into the
Shallowfield Lodge after work on the 30th and that night she
had dinner with Jonathon at the Phoenix Restaurant in Shallowfield but it had
to be an early finish as she was on call from midnight.
Kelly was on call from midnight on
the 30th until one minute past midnight on New Year’s Day.
It
was a very quiet day she only had three call outs all day and it gave her
plenty of time to think things through.
Kelly liked Jon, he made her laugh
and feel sexy all at the same time, and he was kind and thoughtful.
But
he or anyone like him was never in her plans for the future.
She
had not moved from a senior position at the Winston Churchill into general
practice looking for a man, however kind and thoughtful he might be.
But
she didn’t think of him as just a man and she hadn’t felt that way about a man
since she was studying medicine in Edinburgh.
However
that had all ended very badly indeed and left her totally devastated and she
did not want to repeat that mistake and feel worthless again.
Perhaps
she should just nip it in the bud and not take a chance with him.
But
why should she? Why wouldn’t it succeed?
She
had always succeeded in her life when she put her mind to things, her
recreation, her education, her profession, so why could she not succeed in a
bright future for her and Jon.
The only fly in the ointment as far
as she was concerned was that she wasn’t really sure how he felt about her.
He hadn’t even tried to kiss her,
apart from a peck on the cheek on Christmas Day.
And she had wanted him too, after she
found him waiting for her in the bar with hot chocolate.
She concluded that perhaps it was
time for her to take the initiative.
On New Year’s Day Jonathon picked her
up from the Hotel Car park.
It was a beautiful crisp winter’s
day, no wind and not a cloud in the sky, she was standing by her car when Jon
pulled up.
“Happy New Year” he said and kissed
her cheek.
“Well that’s encouraging” she thought
“but just on the cheek again”
But out loud she just repeated his
greeting.
While he helped her transfer her
clubs from her boot into his she was thinking that if was only going to kiss
her on public holidays she would have to wait until Easter for the next one.
The Forest Ridge Golf Club was on the
road between Shallowfield and Childean and the journey took about 15 minutes
and all the way Jonathon was giving her Golf tips, her grip, her stance, her
swing.
His coaching continued in the car
park and on the walk to the clubhouse.
“Shut up Jon and kiss me” she
screamed in her head
“The most important thing is to
relax, don’t tense up” he said
“No the most important thing is that
you take me in your arms and kiss me” she replied silently
Even if she’d said it out loud there
wouldn’t have been time to act on it as they were soon surrounded by other
members of the clan.
Jon and Kelly were the last to tee
off in a four ball with his younger brother Chris and his Uncle George.
“Don’t worry if you’re only a novice”
he said as they approached the 1st tee “I can teach you as we
go around”
“Ok” she said
Kelly was the first to tee off, it
was a short dog leg par four, just under 200 yards to the turn so she selected
her 3 wood and took up her position.
“That might be a little ambitious”
Chris said
“Remember to relax those shoulders”
Jon said encouragingly, agreeing with his brother about her club
selection Kelly took a couple of practice swings and then addressed the
ball before hitting a crisp clean drive which sailed straight down the middle
of the fairway.
“Whoa” Chris said “I thought you were
a novice”
“I never said that” Kelly retorted
“You did say you played “a little”
Jon said
“I have only played “a little” since
I moved to Mornington” she said
“You’re a bandit” Jon said and
laughed
By the end of the 17th Uncle George
and Jon were 5 shots off the pace and Kelly and Chris were all square.
After 3 shots Chris was on the green
with a 20ft putt and Kelly was on the apron more than a hundred feet from the
pin.
Chris was supremely confident as he
watched Kelly chip to within 12 feet of the hole.
Chris however 3 putted and Kelly
holed hers to win.
Jon was delighted partly because it
gave him ammunition to rib Chris but mainly because he liked Kelly.
When all the scores were in Jon’s
Cousin Mike won the day but Kelly was the highest placed woman and she won the
nearest the pin on the par 3 7th.
There was a great huddle of bodies at
the bar but she was stood in a quiet corner of the lounge admiring her little
trophy when Jon joined her.
“So I wasn’t able to teach you
anything today after all” he said
“I was trying to impress you and you
ended up impressing me”
“That was my intention” she said
“To impress me?” he asked
“To get you to notice me” she replied
and he looked puzzled
“You wanted me to notice you?”
“You
have a lot to learn about women” she said taking a step towards him.
“Maybe you can teach me then” he told her looking into her eyes.
“There’s no maybe about it” She said and leaned her face towards him and
touched her full lips gently to his.
He
responded in kind and they were both lost in the magic of the moment.
As
their lips parted they both opened their eyes.
“Would you like me to teach you some more?” she asked smiling.
“That’s a silly question” he replied and wrapped his arms around her waist
pulling her close and their lips met again, but this time there was no
restraint.
