by Paul Kelly
I was absorbed in my thoughts of the past when Sarah my receptionist came in to tell me that all the patients had gone home and the surgery was empty.
“All right then Sarah, you can go home now, but please don’t forget that I won’t be in the surgery for a few days and doctor Baltimore is taking over until I come back.”
“Oh yes, I remembered now. You’re going up to Scotland for a while, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I am going up to Edinburgh for my daughter’s wedding.” I said as I reached for my coat and the furry little Pekinese toy dog fell out from the pocket. Sarah looked strangely at me for a moment as she picked up the furry toy and replaced it on a nearby shelf where it was usually kept before she spoke.
“But I didn’t think you were married, doctor,” she said and I could see the suspicious look in her eye. Sarah was a good Christian woman and children outside of marriage was something that she didn’t accept or approve of, but I looked back at her and smiled.
“You don’t have to be married to have children,” I said and although I could see her disapproval, she went on to ask me if my daughter was being married in a church and I told her that as my daughter was a Catholic, as I was a Catholic, she was indeed being married in a church . . . a church of Rome and Sarah gave me a look of satisfaction after I told her that and more particularly when I told her that my daughter was a lawyer and she was marrying another lawyer as they had both worked together in London for the past four years, but that Eric, her fiancée was a Scot and that they hoped in time to settle down in Scotland and raise a family
“Eric,” repeated Sarah and her eyes lit up, “That’s a nice name for a man, I like it,” she said and then after a few moments of hesitancy, Sarah spoke again, “You never told me your daughter’s name, doctor Carpenter,” Sarah added with deep concern in her voice and with another look of anxiety.
“Oh yes, I didn’t tell you, did I? My daughter’s name is Freya and I have always called her FREYA TWINKLE TOES and if you really want to know, she was born in Germany in 1939, just as the last war started. Good afternoon Sarah. . .”
The End
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