Joanna opened her mouth, closed it again, sighed, plumped herself down in a chair and stared in front of her.
She said,
"I've had the most awful day."
"What's happened?"
"I've done the most incredible things.
It was awful -"
"But what -"
"I just started out for a walk, an ordinary walk - I went up over the hill and on to the moor.
I walked miles - I felt like it.
Then I dropped down into a hollow. There's a farm there - a God-forsaken lonely sort of spot.
I was thirsty and I wondered if they had any milk or something.
So I wandered into the farmyard and then the door opened and Owen came out."
"Yes?"
"He thought it might be the district nurse.
There was a woman in there having a baby.
He was expecting the nurse and he'd sent word to her to get hold of another doctor.
It - things were going wrong." "Yes?"
"So he said - to me,
'Come on, you'll do - better than nobody.'
I said I couldn't, and he said what did I mean?
I said I'd never done anything like that, that I didn't know anything - "He asked me what the hell that mattered. And then he was awful. He turned on me. He said,
'You're a woman, aren't you?
I suppose you can do your darnedest to help another woman?'
And he went on at me - said I'd talked as though I was interested in doctoring and had said I wished I was a nurse.
'All pretty talk, I suppose!
You didn't mean anything real by it, but this is real and you're going to behave like a decent human being and not a useless ornamental nitwit!'
"I've done the most indiscernible things, Jerry. Held instruments and boiled them and handed things.
I'm so tired I can hardly stand up.
It was dreadful. But he saved her - and the baby.
It was born alive.
He didn't think at one time he could save it.
Oh, dear!"
Joanna covered her face with her hands.
I contemplated her with a certain amount of pleasure and mentally took my hat off to Owen Griffith.
He'd brought Joanna slap up against reality for once.
I said,
"There's a letter for you in the hall.
From Paul, I think."
"Eh?"
She paused for a minute and then said,
"I'd no idea, Jerry, what doctors had to do.
The nerve they've got to have!"
I went out into the hall and brought Joanna her letter.
She opened it, glanced vaguely at its contents, and let it drop.
"He was - really - rather wonderful.
The way he fought - the way he wouldn't be beaten!
He was rude and horrible to me - but he was wonderful."
I observed Paul's disregarded letter with some pleasure.
Plainly, Joanna was cured of Paul.
Things never come when they are expected.