Chance encounters, p.23
Chance Encounters, page 23
‘If you do stay overnight then where are you staying, do you know?’
‘A hotel in Dublin. We’re flying to Dublin and then Hank is hiring a car there. Do stop worrying, I’ll be quite all right,’ she added impatiently as she reached up and kissed him.
Harvey held her close, kissing her on the brow and then on the lips. The look of concern on his face touched her and for a moment she considered pulling out of the trip. But she knew Sandra was counting on her company, so in the end she returned Harvey’s kiss and said no more.
The flight from Liverpool to Dublin was uneventful. Megan had been afraid that she might feel queasy. But she felt fine, even when they descended through the mist at Dublin airport.
By the time they were through customs and had picked up their hire car the sun was shining.
The village they went to that had been home for Nelly and Betsy was not far from the airport but so very small and rural that it was like being transported back into the Middle Ages.
‘They’ll never make a living here from a teashop,’ Sandra said worriedly. ‘It’s far too remote and I shouldn’t imagine they’d get more than half a dozen visitors a year.’
‘We’ve plenty of time to look around, honey,’ Hank told her. ‘There must be other villages nearby that offer better prospects.’
‘It’s very picturesque here and similar to Wales,’ Megan observed. ‘I can understand why Nelly was so entranced by Beddgelert.’
‘If only it was Beddgelert. Now that does attract tourists and the like,’ Sandra sighed.
‘We’ll keep looking, honey,’ Hank drawled, ‘and if we haven’t found anywhere by lunchtime then we’ll go into the nearest hostelry and ask them to tell us the name of some of the larger villages or small towns.’
Sandra and Megan both agreed with this. Sandra spread out the map she had brought with her and suggested that they should start by circling Dublin and see if they could find something within a ten miles’ radius.
‘Why is it so important that you find a village so near to Dublin?’ Megan asked.
‘It’ll make it so much easier for us when we want to visit. We can probably fly direct from America to Dublin,’ Sandra pointed out when she saw that Hank was also looking rather puzzled. ‘Also, it’s an area that Nelly and Betsy know. Isn’t that right, Hank?’
‘Whatever you say, honey,’ he agreed. ‘So where do you want me to drive to next?’
Sandra reeled off a list of names. ‘Hold it, hold it, you sound as though you’re talking in another language and I can’t take it all in,’ Hank laughed. ‘What with Bally this and Bally that and Kill something and Kin something, it’s going round and round in my mind and confusing me.’
They drove round for over an hour, Sandra giving instructions of when to turn left or right. Now and again she would tell him to stop in one or another of the little towns they were passing through so that they could weigh up the possibilities of Nelly and Betsy making a living there.
Eventually they decided on three places; one was a large village, with a long main street with four shops but no tearooms, a church, two pubs and a school, and the other two were large enough to be called small towns.
‘Any of these would be ideal,’ Sandra confirmed as she made a note of their names in the notebook she’d brought with her. ‘They’re not too far from Dublin and near enough to the village where Nelly and Betsy came from for them to feel at home because they are bound to know the places all around here.’
‘Do you think they would be able to make a living here though?’ Megan asked dubiously.
‘Yes, I do. They’re quiet spots, I know, but they do get an awful lot of walkers and hikers around here and they all of them need somewhere to stop and have a cup of tea, a snack and a rest. I think any of them would be ideal.’
‘So do we try and find out if there are any suitable properties available?’
Hank looked at his watch. ‘You were thinking about getting home tonight, weren’t you, Megan?’ he chuckled.
‘Well, yes, I would like to do so if it’s at all possible. Harvey seemed to be worried at the thought of me staying in Dublin overnight.’
‘There was no need for him to be concerned. I was planning to book us into the best hotel in town,’ Hank assured her, ‘but if you would prefer to fly back tonight then that’s all right with me. How about you, honey?’ he asked, looking at Sandra.
‘I’d like to get back as well, to make sure that Hope is all right. I know Betsy will take great care of her but we’ve never been apart before and I’m sure she’ll miss her daddy if he isn’t there to read her a bedtime story.’
‘Then in that case it has to be home. Do you want to have dinner here first?’
Sandra and Megan exchanged glances before saying in unison, ‘No, we’d sooner get home.’
‘Right then, that’s what we’ll do. Does this mean we’ll have to come back again to see if we can find any vacant properties?’
‘No,’ Sandra told him, ‘we have the names of the village and towns, so we’ll leave it to the estate agent Harvey recommended. Let him do the searching. If he can’t find a suitable property in any of the places we’ve given him, then I’m sure he can find something nearby.’
‘He won’t manage that before we go back to America,’ Hank warned. ‘We’re booked to fly home in three days’ time.’
‘I know but it doesn’t matter. I’m making arrangements for Megan and Harvey to sign any papers necessary to say that we will buy the property so we don’t have to worry about that.’
‘Are you making the same arrangements over selling your house, honey?’ Hank asked.
‘I am. I’m quite settled in my own mind that everything is taken care of, so don’t worry.’
THIRTY-FIVE
Megan’s baby was born in early June; a healthy boy weighing eight pounds. He had a mass of dark hair and a very lusty cry.
Harvey was delighted with his new son and immediately telephoned the Lloyds to give them the good news and to tell them that they had decided to call the baby David.
As he spoke to Lewis, he could hear Bronwyn’s gasp of relief in the background as the news was relayed to her.
‘When are you planning to come to Wallasey to see Megan and the baby?’ Harvey asked.
There was a brief pause and then Lewis Lloyd said, ‘Not at the moment. We’ll let you know the date later.’
Later that day Harvey received a phone call from Lewis Lloyd to say that his wife was suffering from a summer cold and he thought it unwise for them to travel at the moment.
‘You wouldn’t want her around the baby either. I know at that tender age they are supposed to be immune from such germs but you never know. Perhaps we’ll be able to come in a couple of weeks’ time. Or, better still, perhaps you would like to come here for a break as soon as Megan feels fit enough to travel.’
Harvey didn’t argue but accepted the invitation on the understanding that he would have to find out if he would be able to get the time off.
‘We’re a doctor down so we are rather busy at the surgery at the moment,’ he explained.
‘Not too busy to take care of our daughter and our new grandson, I hope,’ Lewis boomed.
‘No, they’ll be taken great care of, I can assure you on that score,’ Harvey promised.
Later that day when he went to the Maternity Home in Penkett Road the receptionist stopped him from going to Megan’s room. ‘Dr Parker is with Mrs Stott at the moment,’ she explained.
‘Nothing wrong is there?’ he asked.
‘Oh no, a routine visit. Dr Parker always visits new patients twice a day for the first week.’
‘I see. Well, I’ll go up just the same,’ he stated and headed for the stairs before she could stop him.
Dr Parker greeted him cordially but his attention was focused on Megan. He was grey-haired and probably in his sixties exactly as Megan had described him. When he stood up and turned round Harvey immediately recognized him.
‘Are you Richard Parker’s father?’ he asked.
‘Yes, that’s right. Do you know my son?’
‘We were at medical school together. I went into practice in Liverpool afterwards and I understand Richard was planning to join the forces so we haven’t seen each other since.’
‘Indeed!’ Dr Parker held out a hand to Harvey. ‘Richard has recently been demobbed and will be back home next week. He’s been abroad for most of the war, first one place and then another. Fortunately he’s come through unscathed. I’ll tell him I’ve met you.’
‘Yes, please do. I’d like to meet up with him again sometime.’
‘I’ll tell him. Your wife is doing very well indeed, Dr Stott. No worries at all and you have a very healthy baby.’
‘So he is your friend’s father,’ Megan said in surprise after Dr Parker had left. ‘What a coincidence!’
‘Yes, isn’t it. It would be great to see Richard again. You’ll like him. Enough about that, how are you feeling?’
They spent the rest of Harvey’s visit planning the future and when she would be likely to come home. He told her about his phone call to her parents and their relief at knowing she and the baby were both doing well.
‘I’ve said we’ll go and visit them as soon as you feel strong enough to do so. There’s no immediate hurry as your mother has a summer cold and is scared that either you or the baby might catch it.’
‘Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Never mind, by the time we visit them we may be able to tell them that the sale of The Haven has been finalized and that the place in Ireland is ready and waiting for Nelly and Betsy.’
‘Make sure you don’t go rushing around doing too much in trying to help them to pack up when they are ready to leave Liverpool,’ Harley warned.
‘Don’t worry, I won’t. For one thing Nelly wouldn’t let me. She fusses even more than my mother if that’s at all possible.’
Ten days later when Harvey arrived to take Megan and the baby home he had a pleasant surprise. Richard Parker was at the clinic talking to Megan and waiting to meet him.
Richard was tall and broad with short dark hair and grey eyes. He had a wide smile and Megan thought he must have looked very handsome in his uniform. Now he was wearing grey slacks, a plain blue open-necked shirt and a Harris tweed sports jacket.
Both men seemed delighted to see each other again and before they left the clinic Richard had promised to meet Harvey in a few days’ time for a night out together.
‘I’m not inviting you, Megan, because I’m sure you’ll be far too busy,’ he said with a grin as he looked down at the baby she was holding in her arms.
‘I wouldn’t want to come,’ she told him. ‘You two will be far too busy reminiscing to even notice if I am there or not.’
‘You’re quite right, we have three or four years to catch up on and to anyone else our chat will be extremely boring. We’ll make it up to you at a later date,’ he promised.
Harvey was so keyed up and excited when he came home a few nights’ later after his evening out with Richard Parker that for one moment Megan thought he was drunk.
‘Drunk with excitement,’ he told her. ‘You’d never guess, not in a hundred years, I couldn’t believe it myself.’
‘Will you calm down and tell me what I wouldn’t believe! What is it that you’re so excited about?’
‘A partnership,’ he told her, his eyes glowing. ‘A partnership with Richard Parker and it will be right here in Wallasey. Can you believe it?’
Megan stared at him wide-eyed. ‘What about your present job?’
‘I’ll tell them that I’m leaving. There won’t be any problem.’
‘You’ll probably have to give a month’s notice!’
He shrugged as if that was of no real importance.
‘I’ll be working right here, right on the spot. Isn’t that wonderful! No more daily commuting on the bus and ferry boat to Liverpool, no more late nights being called out in an emergency. I’ll be working right here on my own doorstep.’
He pulled her into his arms and waltzed round the room. ‘A partner! Not just a salaried member of a team, but as a full-blown partner.’
‘Hold on, hold on,’ she said, pulling away and staring at him. ‘Can you afford to buy into a partnership? We spent all our savings furnishing our new home.’
‘That’s the beauty of it all; I don’t have to pay anything. Well, just a nominal sum of a few hundred pounds, but that’s nothing. Old man Parker wants to retire but the practice has grown so much that he feels it’s too much for Richard to handle on his own so he suggested to him that he should find himself a partner. Richard immediately thought of me and of course old man Parker has met me and he agreed without any argument.’
‘When does all this start?’ Megan asked in bewilderment.
‘In August! From the first of August Richard’s father will retire and Richard and I will be partners. Richard’s father will stay on call for six months in case we should need his advice over any of the patients. After that, providing everything is going smoothly, we’ll be on our own. Fantastic news, isn’t it? Wait until I tell your parents.’
Lewis and Bronwyn were extremely pleased when they heard the news.
‘Anything that means you are severing all connections with that rough area of Liverpool is wonderful news,’ Bronwyn breathed with relief.
‘Yes, it’s a very good move and we’re delighted for you, Harvey, and very relieved to know that both our daughter and our grandson are well away from the Scotland Road area. I know you’ve never had any trouble while you’ve been working and living there, but it is a very rough area so you are much better away from there.’
Harvey nodded but said nothing.
‘And once you’re settled into your new job and can take some time off,’ said Lewis Lloyd, ‘it mightn’t be such a bad idea to take that proposed trip to America. I’m sure that little David is old enough now to travel and Megan fully recovered from his birth, so why not enjoy a holiday?’
He handed Harvey a cheque. ‘This is a belated wedding present from us; it should cover the expense of your holiday.’
THIRTY-SIX
David was ten months old when Megan and Harvey took him to America to visit Sandra and her family. Megan had been wanting to make the trip to Bellingham which was on the borders of America and Canada for months but first of all they’d had to pay a visit to Yr Glaslyn at Christmas and Harvey had said it was no good going to the USA before that because November was the wettest month of the year in Bellingham.
‘How on earth do you know that?’ Megan asked in surprise.
‘I’ve been doing my homework. I thought you’d want to see the place when it was at its best so I made enquiries from a travel agency.’
‘I see!’
‘The rainy period extends from October until April. November is typically the wettest month, with numerous frontal rainstorms arriving. At the height of the really cold spell, local ponds and smaller lakes freeze solidly enough to allow skating.’
‘Doesn’t the place ever have any decent sunshine?’
‘Oh yes, but it does has the lowest average sunshine amount of any city in America.’
‘Well, at least I suppose that means we won’t get sunstroke,’ Megan muttered.
‘Despite this, Bellingham also has mild, pleasant summers and drought is rare. Although I must warn you, wells have been known to run dry in August and September.’
‘OK, I get the picture,’ Megan laughed. ‘You don’t want us to go there in winter or in the height of summer. In that case what about March or April?’
Harvey frowned. ‘That might be all right. I’ll have to check with Richard Parker to find out what his plans are, and if it’s OK with him then I’ll see if we can book in a locum to take my place while I’m away.’
‘Since you seem to be giving me a lesson about Bellingham, what other things have you found out about the place?’ Megan asked.
‘Well, it’s in the state of Washington and is about 90 miles north of Seattle, 21 miles south of the Canadian border and about 52 miles south of Vancouver.’
‘Really!’
‘“It started out as four separate towns on the shores of Bellingham Bay with Mount Baker as its backdrop, Bellingham is the last major city before the Washington coastline meets the Canadian border. The city of Bellingham, which serves as the county seat of Whatcom County, is at the centre of a uniquely picturesque area offering a rich variety of recreational, cultural, educational and economic activities”,’ Harvey read from the pamphlet he was holding.
‘Is that something the travel agent gave you?’ Megan asked.
‘It is. Do you want to hear any more?’
‘Go on.’
‘“There is an arts and cultural district downtown and a very active waterfront hosts a range of marine activities. Housing ranges from regal Victorians, waterfront bungalows and country farmhouses to downtown condominiums.
‘“Prior to white settlement, the Lummi, Nooksack and other Coast Salish tribes thrived there. An English captain called George Vancouver first explored the area in 1792 and named Bellingham Bay for Sir William Bellingham, Vancouver’s British Navy provisioner. The city of Bellingham was incorporated in 1904 after the populations of four adjacent bayside towns voted to consolidate. Bellingham’s historic character is remarkably well-preserved, with a large number of historic buildings downtown, in the Fairhaven District, and in adjacent neighborhoods”.’
Megan clapped her hands over her ears. ‘I feel I know the place already so don’t tell me any more,’ she begged, ‘or I won’t want to go there.’
‘I told you I’d done my homework,’ Harvey said with a broad grin.
‘Yes, a bit too well. You’re not thinking of getting a job as a guide when you get there, are you, Dr Stott?’
‘No, but I found it interesting to read about it; I like to know where I’m going,’ Harvey said. ‘By the way, the flight takes about thirteen hours so be sure to pack whatever you think David is going to need en route into our hand luggage. They may have baby food on board but it might be wise to take whatever he is most used to.’
