Friday
was a remarkable day at Cliff Haven because for the first time in weeks,
nothing of any consequence happened.
There
was just Molly and Danny, with no deadline to meet, no visitors and no
documentation to read.
So
they completed watching the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit.
It
was the last such day for several months.
GP Stuart Cameron had
lived a life, and he had something of a reputation as a womaniser in his
younger days, which he tried rather unsuccessfully to live down, on the
mainland.
It was a deserved reputation, which he would be the
first to acknowledge, but he changed after a near miss at a party with an
underage girl.
It has to be said, it may have been a spine
growing moment or at the very least developing a conscience.
He did not kid himself that he possessed any high principles, he did hold
certain standards and preferences but they were at best flexible.
He had begun, despite his penchant for all things crumpet, tried to avoid
fishing in someone else’s pond, no matter how attractive the body of water
might be, but he had abandoned that after failing to meet his exceptionally low
standards and repeated his failures on numerous times afterwards.
So although he did possess some scruples he showed by his behaviour that they
can be overcome, as his many peccadilloes testified to.
It
was at a fancy dress party where he met his Waterloo.
He
didn’t know why he didn’t accept the girl’s overt invitation; it certainly
wasn’t through a lack of attraction or even what she was wearing, he liked
uniforms and outfits.
He
had rummaged his way into a Vicar’s vestments at one time, so that certainly
didn’t put him off.
It was one of his fondest memories, probably because
she was a Vicar, although had she been in any other occupation he would
probably have jumped her bones in a second anyway.
The whole prospect of defrocking a Vicar, in
costume, aroused him greatly, it was probably a combination of the fact that
she was a woman of the cloth, and his distaste for the Church, that sweetened
the experience.
His epiphany with the young girl took him by
surprise, the girl was acting under the influence of two much wine on an empty
stomach, but for that to stop him would have been totally out of character, but
something did stop him.
What scared him was if she had offered it to him on
another day he might not have been so strong.
It became a turning point in his life, but he couldn’t shake off his past,
his reputation always got in his way, and no one
would accept that he had turned over a new leaf, so he decided to go somewhere
that he was unknown, change his career and become a GP.
It suited him because the likelihood of meeting
anyone he knew or one of his past conquests was very unlikely.
There was a large surgery at the Bellevue and
smaller ones on the Saxvirdan side of St Pierre and another in Spaniards Creek
and he divided his time between the three, as well as doing house calls when
necessary.
He wasn’t the only GP on the island, but he was the
youngest by some distance, but he wasn’t the youngest Doctor.
The job also came with a two-bedroom cottage in
Manor Row, overlooking Manor Cliff beach where he could hide away and reflect
on past mistakes.
He
had been on the island for six months and kept himself to himself, he didn’t
socialise with work colleagues or frequent pubs, coffee shops or any form of
social gatherings, he just worked or stayed home.
However,
one Saturday he was getting a bit stir crazy and when there was a break in the
weather, and the sun actually put in an appearance, he decided to take a stroll
up to Bellevue Woods.
As
soon as he stepped out of his front door and felt the sun on his face, he
thought it would be nice to see another human being as he walked briskly down
the path and across the St Pierre road and into the Halfway Lane.
After three hours of walking
in the countryside, through the woods, skirting High Lake and ending up at Manor Cliff Beach he felt refreshed of
spirit and cleansed of mind, but he
didn’t see a single solitary soul until he’d climbed back up to Manor
Cliff turned the final corner towards his house when she saw a figure appear
carrying some shopping bags and then almost immediately disappeared again, and
then there was an exclamation of “oh bugger”.
He
pressed on round the corner and found a woman sitting on the wet ground, legs
akimbo, surrounded by her shopping, and she was laughing.
“Are
you ok?” he asked with concern
“I
fell on my arse” she said and laughed again
“I’m
serious, I’m a Doctor”
“So
am I” she said and laughed again even harder
When
she had gotten herself under control, he finally got her to her feet.
“Now
can you tell if you are you ok?”
“I’m
fine” she said “I’m not so sure about my eggs though”
Stuart
helped her pick up her shopping and carried the bags to the house for her.
“Thank
you” she said “I’m Deborah by the way”
“I’m
Stuart” he replied
“Can
I offer you a cuppa? It’s the least I can do” she suggested
“I
won’t thank you” he said “I’m already running late”
“Ok,
another time perhaps” she called after him
They
both lived in Manor Row, which was made up of a dozen, one- and two-bedroom
cottages, for the exclusive use of essential hospital staff.
Deborah
lived at number 6 he lived only a few doors away at number 10.
She
was disappointed that her good Samaritan hadn’t accepted her offer of
refreshment, she liked the look of him.
Stuart
liked the tall jovial Doctor, with her abundance of brunette hair and an
infectious laugh, and he really wanted to stay for a drink, but he was strong
and resisted the temptation thankfully, when he got home, he slept away the afternoon on his
sofa.
