“Where did you find all these?” she asked, wonder in her voice and in her eyes.
Gradually it all came out; how Ben had approached them all to find all the photos of her that they could; how his father had gone up to London on a day when she was at the Music Academy and met Ben at their house and made copies of all the photos she had on display; how Emily and Jennifer had spent hours putting them all together into the beautiful album that Ben had bought. There were photos of her trips to London that had obviously come from James, and some that Mrs. Patterson had supplied. Some were from her schooldays that were in Jennifer's collection, and even a few that had been taken at Willow Bend with Ben in them, too. They’d all contributed to the gift.
The last few pages were photos of their wedding. Her voice choked with tears as she thanked them. “You couldn't possibly have given me anything that I would have loved more,” she said. “I'll treasure it forever.”
The rest of the fortnight passed like a dream but nothing could quite match up to her birthday celebration. Their guests had all gone home the next day. Jennifer and David had driven down from London with James and Helen, as James had been to Meadow Lea Hall many times and was familiar with the way, but as both he and David had to be back to work as soon as possible, they all left quite early in the morning…as soon as breakfast was finished. Emily and Giles stayed until after lunch so Charis was able to give them a guided tour of her house and the gardens. This most northern part of Wiltshire was unfamiliar to Ben’s parents so they planned to stop at Castle Combe on their way home.
For Charis and Ben their two weeks’ holiday was over all too soon and the Maitlands were due back again. For the first week it seemed as though they had all the time in the world, but the second week sped by in a flash.
They’d walked in to Castle Combe a couple of times and had visited the home farm and spent some time with the Ridleys. And they spent a day in Bath. Ben convinced Charis to drive a few times and she almost felt comfortable at the wheel. He praised her for how quickly and how well she’d done, but she gave all the credit to the car.
“It really is a dream to drive,” she said. “But I would never want to attempt it in London.”
She’d been able to show Ben the little village school she’d attended and all the other special and familiar childhood places, and shared her memories of them all with him. He noticed that nothing was ever said about the years after her father died - the memories of those later times she had tried to bury. He wondered if that could have anything to do with her recurring nightmare…if he could induce her to talk about it at all, if it would help. But now was neither the time nor the place. These two weeks were sacrosanct.
As they drove away from Meadow Lea Hall, Ben expressed his thoughts on Mrs. Patterson. “She is a real treasure, you know.”
“Yes,” replied Charis. “I don't know what I would have done without her after my Dad died. I'll send her some flowers and a thank you note when we get home.”
It was hard for Charis to leave her home and to say goodbye to the Pattersons but the closer they got to London the more excited she was to be in her little Chelsea home. Jennifer had gone back to Hampshire and back to work. Ben would also go back to work too and life would return to normal. If normal didn't include any more phone calls she would be blissfully happy and content.
*****
Normal managed to last for almost two weeks. They’d settled into a comfortable routine and Charis was relieved - no phone calls. The Music Academy's new term had been going for less than a week and Charis had started to prepare for a concert they would be presenting later in the year. Two of her students were participating and she had also been asked to perform. Needless to say, it kept her busy. Ben had received only one night time call out and it had been a happy and successful outcome. His patient load was increasing as it gradually became known that he had joined the prestigious St. Anne's Hospital, and he’d taken on an extra shift at one of the NHS hospitals, so life for him was busy, too.
It was after dinner one evening when they were sitting quietly relaxing, cuddled up together in the downstairs living room when Charis' phone rang. It was Helen. Charis assumed it was for her and they chatted for a few minutes before Helen said, “Is Ben there? May I talk to him for a minute, please?” She handed her phone to him and watched his face as he listened to Helen explain what she wanted and almost laughed out loud at his expression of surprise and then horror.
“Oh, no!” he exclaimed. “I couldn't do anything like that.”
Helen's voice continued on the other end but he said again, “Oh, no! You definitely have the wrong person. I wouldn't be any good at all. And anyway, I don't think my colleagues would approve.”
By this time Charis was utterly intrigued and could hardly wait for him to finish so she could find out what was going on. She thought she already knew. Helen's successful television show had resumed at the beginning of the month, and she herself had personal experience of Helen's persuasive powers. She listened to Ben's end of the conversation and was laughing to herself. Helen had used her powers to good effect, with the conversation ending and Ben agreeing to think about it and discuss it with his colleagues.
“Oh, hell and damnation!” he muttered as he switched off the phone and handed it back to Charis. “You know what she wants?”
“Well, I can guess,” she chuckled. “She had me on her show about a year ago. I actually enjoyed the experience.”
“And do you want to repeat it?” he asked.
“Well, no,” she admitted. “Once was enough.”
“Yes, well she wants me for a series. Apparently they're planning a segment on women's health and she wants me for her resident gynaecologist.”
Charis erupted into peals of laughter.
“I'm glad you think it’s funny,” he said, a grumpy expression on his face.
“You'll have to rely on your partners to refuse permission then.”
“Oh, I don't really have any faith in that. They're just as likely to think its good advertising for St. Anne's and the Health Centre.” Which, of course, is exactly what happened.
“Good idea, old boy,” said Graham when Ben told him about it. “Just what we need! A little bit of exposure won't do us any harm.”
“Not for you,” retorted Ben. “Why don't you take my place?”
“Couldn't do that. I don't have a charming bedside manner and those princely good looks.”
Ben threw a book at him. Graham caught it, placed it on the desk and walked out of the room, grinning from ear to ear. And unfortunately for Ben, the other partners agreed with Graham. Even the Senior Consultant at one of the NHS hospitals seemed to think it was a good idea when he heard about it. Ben had no notion how he’d found out, as he certainly wasn't going around broadcasting the news. “Anything that encourages women to take their health seriously, must be a good thing,” he told Ben.
Ben tried, unsuccessfully, to ignore the problem and get on with his work but it continued to nag at him. He knew that Helen would be calling him back soon, expecting to hear that he accepted her request. He also knew that if he tried to refuse she wouldn't take no for an answer, but would pester him until he finally gave in. He made up a list of all the doctors he thought would do a better job or who had better “presence” than he felt he had, but it was to no avail. When Helen got back to him she had arguments for every obstacle he tried to put in her way until finally she had him cornered and he found himself saying a very begrudging, “yes.”
The first show he was to appear in was still a week away so he managed to put it to the back of his mind and pretend it didn't exist, but it kept intruding at the most unexpected times and he continued to hope that something would occur to stop it from happening altogether. Maybe the show would be a flop and the channel would cancel the series. Maybe he would be called away or have an emergency the day he was scheduled to appear. But of course none of those things happened and the day finally arrived when he had to present himself a
t the studio. He made Charis come with him “for support,” he said. He knew Helen wouldn't mind.
In the end, in some ways, it wasn't as bad as he had feared. In others, he found it very embarrassing. Helen introduced him at the beginning of the show, told the viewers that he was, in fact, her doctor when she'd had her twins and how wonderful he’d been with her. She listed all his qualifications before she asked viewers to phone in or email any questions they had for him. Then he returned towards the end of the show to answer those questions.
“Well firstly,” she told him, “We need to establish a couple of basic things here. Seventy-one of our viewers want to know if you are married and thirty-three have issued you marriage proposals. Would you like to answer them or should I?”
Ben shook his head in disbelief. He knew that Charis was watching and he could feel her amusement.
Helen answered for him. “Well ladies,” she said, looking directly at the camera, “Not only is he married, but he is married to one of the most beautiful girls I know, so you don't stand a chance. Now that's out of the way, let's get on to some serious questions, shall we?”
The serious questions turned out to be sensible and pertinent and Ben was completely comfortable answering them and giving sound advice in a very relaxed way. Helen closed the show by telling her viewers that Dr. Sinclair would appear regularly, so questions could be sent in at any time and would be answered in due course.
As soon as they were off camera she congratulated him. “You’re a natural!” she exclaimed. “I just knew you would be. I can't wait for next time,” and she gave him a hug.
Charis hurried up to him with a huge smile on her face. “She's right,” she agreed with Helen. “You were really great.”
“You're just biased,” he said, putting his arm around her and leading her towards the door. “Let's get out of here.”
The evening before he was due to appear on the second show, Helen called to say there’d been a slight change of plan. “We’ve been inundated with so many comments and questions about your segment,” she told him, “that we’ve decided to give you the whole show to advise on all the letters we’ve received.”
“Oh great,” he muttered as he got off the phone. “That's just what I need! Instead of ten minutes, now I've got half an hour.”
Trying not to laugh, Charis answered him. “You'll be great. I thought you were wonderful last time.”
And it turned out to be quite a good half hour. It started out with Helen reading an e-mail sent in by a viewer.
“I was recently on a flight from Cairo to Heathrow, actually it was at the end of May, nearly four months ago now, when a passenger went into labour and had her baby during the flight. I’m sure that the doctor who delivered the baby was your new guest gynaecologist. If I'm right, could you please ask him if he knows what happened to the mother and baby?”
Ben tried to make his answer as short and concise as possible but Helen asked questions until the whole story came out. He was happy to report that he’d seen both of them just a couple of weeks later and that the baby was thriving and the mother was well.
Over the next few weeks Ben's appearances went from strength to strength. He was on every week on Friday afternoon and it was always a popular segment. Some questions he refused to answer by telling the writer that they needed to see their GP and be referred to a gynaecologist, or that he wasn't a fertility expert, or for this specific problem they should go to a marriage counsellor, and so on, but most problems he found could be solved quite easily either with a doctor visit or the use of common sense, and he gave a lot of very sound advice.
Of course, the amount of exposure he received was a two-edged sword. It did bring attention to the importance of women taking care of themselves and it was also excellent advertising for St. Anne's, but it meant that his face became known and he was occasionally approached by strangers who would stop him in the street and talk to him. And, of course, Mrs. Everett, now knew that her next door neighbour was a doctor.
He ended up doing six shows in all, the last one early in November. Helen announced to her audience that it would be Ben’s last appearance, but promised to invite him back again next year when, once again, they would have a series on women's health issues. The segment went well and then Helen read the final letter.
“Dear Dr. Sinclair. I have two teenage daughters aged seventeen and fifteen. The elder of the two is taking birth control pills and has been doing so since she turned sixteen, eighteen months ago. Her younger sister now wants to be allowed to take them, too. She will not be sixteen for another ten months. I don’t want to allow her to do this, but neither do I want to see her get pregnant. What is your advice? Both girls watch the show and have said they will be guided by what you have to say. Signed, A Concerned Mother”
Ben was quiet for a few seconds. “What a responsibility,” he sighed. Then he turned to Helen. “How would you like me to answer that? As a doctor or on a personal level?”
“I really don't know,” she answered “Perhaps both?”
So Ben began. “Well firstly, this letter makes me sad. I find it sad that these two girls are so eager to grow up and rush into adulthood. They’re missing out on the precious years of youth when as teenagers, they should be enjoying life with no responsibilities. Also, both they and their mother are wrongly assuming two things; number one, that taking the pill is going to guarantee that they will not get pregnant, and number two, that getting pregnant is the worst thing that can happen as a result of sexual activity. They are not taking into account STIs – Sexually Transmitted Infections - and although taking the pill is a good form of contraception, it is still not one hundred percent effective. There is only one way to ensure that they won't get pregnant and won't get an STI and that is abstinence.
“On a personal level, I would be most distressed if I had daughters, or if my sisters had wanted to be on the pill at such a young age. And I would like to add something very personal, speaking as a husband. The first time my wife and I were together it was the first time for her and it was the most beautiful, precious gift she could have given me.
“So my advice to your daughters, Concerned Mother, and I know that there will be a lot of young people who disagree with me, is that they wait until they find someone they truly love, someone they are committed to, so if their relationship results in having a child, that child will grow up in a loving family home.”
“Thank you, Doctor Sinclair,” Helen concluded his segment. “That seems to me to be very sound advice.”
As Ben walked off the set, he put his arm around Charis who had been watching on the side lines, and whispered to her, “Come on. Let's go home. I can't get out of here fast enough.”
*****
During the weeks of Ben's television experience the rest of their lives went on as usual. He continued to be very busy. He’d been called out at night a couple of times and even into the hospital at the weekends a few times when he was on call.
Charis was still busy preparing her students for the concert by giving them extra lessons and she also had her own performance to think about. She’d decided to play Elizabethan Serenade but she’d also been asked to sing. She hadn't told Ben about that. She knew he wanted her to keep up with her singing and she’d been taking some additional classes without his knowledge so she could keep it as a surprise.
There was still plenty of amused interest in Jennifer and David as their relationship blossomed, Jennifer spending every other weekend with them. Sometimes David was at the Chelsea house, but most of the time, if he wasn't working, the two of them went out together. One weekend Jennifer was invited to his family home in Surrey. David's father was a stock broker and they lived in Purley, by the golf course. Jennifer was incredibly nervous about meeting them. It made Charis realise how lucky she’d been with Ben. She’d known his family for years so hadn't had the agonising experience of having to be introduced to them.
And then there was Mrs. Everett. She continually found rea
sons, excuses really, to “just pop over” to ask Ben's advice on various aspects of her health, until finally he told her to go and see her GP.
“It's been several years since I had any experience in that area,” he told her. “I’m an obstetrician, so come and see me if you get pregnant. I can help you then.”
Charis had to leave the room in a hurry - she was having such a difficult time hiding her mirth. Mrs. Everett went off in a huff. She was in her mid-sixties and a widow.
Ben and Charis had spent a few days in Cornwall while the weather was still warm but after most of the tourists had gone home. Charis couldn’t remember the name of the cottage she stayed at as a child, so they looked on the internet and booked a couple of nights at a B&B in Tintagel. They drove down through Cheddar Gorge and then stopped at Launceston to see the castle on the way. Ben had never been to Tintagel and they had a wonderful time exploring the castle ruins and the countryside.
Then summer was over and the weather became decidedly cooler. Charis spent some time in her garden tidying up and getting ready for winter, composting dead plants and weeds and planting spring bulbs.
The phone calls seemed to have stopped. Instead, Henry was pushing notes through her front door letter box. The first one had read ‘I'm back.’ The second, a few weeks later, ‘I've been watching you.’ Both times Charis found she was shaking so much she had to sit down until she managed to pull herself together. As long as it's only paper, he can't hurt me, she told herself. She didn't tell Ben anything about either the phone calls or the notes. He was busy and she didn't want to worry him. She knew he would do everything he could to find out what, or who, was behind it all, and much as she desired to talk to him about it, she decided not to…not yet. She hoped the notes would stop just like the phone calls had.
But one evening when Jennifer and David came for dinner, she decided to talk to David about it – in a roundabout way, of course. After all, he was a detective. There had been a report on the news about a young woman who had been stalked by an ex-boyfriend, so Charis asked him what the police could actually do in such cases and was there anything that the victim could do to help themselves…to stop it from happening...and to protect themselves?
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