Free The Midwife And The Single Dad by Gill Sanderson

wouldn’t be bothered by men. I don’t trust love any more.’
    ‘I know that feeling. But do you think it’s possible you’ve found your haven in Soalay?’
    ‘It’s not impossible,’ she said after a few minutes’ thought. ‘I’ve been very happy since I got here.’
    The thought flicked across her consciousness and it almost surprised her. She had been very happy since she’d got to Soalay—and it was due in large part to her spending so much time with Ben. She enjoyed his company so much. And—the realisation took her breath away—it wasn’t the memories of fifteen years before. She enjoyed the company of the new Ben, the mature man. A man any girl would be happy to fall in love with.
       
    They were in luck when they arrived at the Lawses’ cottage. Freddie had gone for a walk—apparently he had some accounting problems and hoped that the sea air might help him find a solution. Alice gave Debbie the pamphlets she had promised her and then said, ‘This is Dr Cavendish. Since we were in the area together, I thought it might be a good idea if the doctor took a quick look at Albert. He seemed a bit peaky when I saw him last.’
    She saw Ben wince at the word ‘peaky’—but she knew that Debbie would react to it.
    Debbie looked doubtful. ‘Didn’t we ought to wait for Freddie to come back? He is the boy’s father and he—’
    ‘I agree, it would be nice if Freddie was here,’ Ben said smoothly. ‘But I’m afraid we haven’t much time. Of course, you are Albert’s mother now and as such fully entitled to give your permission to have him examined. You won’t want to wait for Freddie’s permission when your new baby comes along and you want him examined? Will you?’
    ‘It would be awful if it turned out later that somethingwas wrong with Albert and you hadn’t done anything about it,’ Alice put in.
    Debbie sighed, realising that she was being manipulated, but she didn’t really seem to mind. ‘If you’ll explain all that to Freddie when he gets back,’ she said. ‘Come on up. Albert is lying on his bed.’
    Debbie sat there as Alice helped Ben with his first examination—the usual BP, pulse, heart rate and so on. And as they examined him they talked to Albert. It was important that they get some idea of how he felt, what interested him. Albert felt tired. He wasn’t interested in anything very much.
    Alice noticed that Ben paid particular attention to Albert’s eyes. He also handed him things from time to time—and asked Albert to stretch out and pick up one of the models sitting on his bedside cabinet. Albert often missed.
    ‘What’s happening here? I didn’t give you permission to examine my son!’
    No one had heard Freddie return from his walk. Now here he was in the doorway of Albert’s bedroom. And he was enraged!
    ‘If he’s ill, perhaps he needs to see the doctor. It can’t really hurt him,’ Debbie tried, but Freddie wasn’t going to pay too much attention to his wife.
    ‘Doctor whatever your name is! Please leave my son alone and come downstairs and explain yourself.’
    ‘Of course,’ said Ben. ‘And my name is Dr Cavendish.’
    He smiled down at Albert, said, ‘That wasn’t too bad, was it? Now Nurse Muir here will give you a badgeyou can pin on your T-shirt and I’ll go downstairs and chat to your father. You get some more rest.’ Alice noticed that Ben carefully closed the bedroom door after they had all left.
    The four adults trooped downstairs. ‘I thought that yesterday I made it quite clear to the midwife here that there is nothing wrong with Albert. She is in our home as a midwife, that is all. I am not interested in her opinions on the health of my son.’ Obviously Freddie was not going to be placated easily.
    ‘Miss Muir is an experienced registered children’s nurse as well as a midwife,’ Ben said, ‘and you may shortly have to thank her for her skills. She spotted something that needs to be investigated. That child should have