Creative Writing: Doctor Pax

The next morning, Doctor Pax was on his way to the windmill when he saw a girl and her dog. Clemmie didn’t hear him walk up behind her. With her nose pressed against the glass, she stared at a dark figure in the garden. Spud had dressed for the wet weather in a thick coat which reached well below his knees. From where he stood, shoulder high amongst the runner beans, he waved his muddy hand at Clemmie, and she waved back with a smile.
Doctor Pax was not blind. He detected the growing bond she had with Spud, and Mrs Tiffin. For the time being, he would build on that trust, because right now Clemmie needed all the friends she could get. She had such low self-esteem. Take last night as an example, when she asked, no, begged, him not send her away.

What was the daft mutt doing? His pink tongue lapped at the glass, trying to lick drops of rain water running in rivulets on the outside. As Clemmie turned to walk on, Doctor Pax placed a hand on her shoulder. 'Good morning. Have you seen Mosaic?’
'G’morning, Doctor Pax. Mosaic...he...um...well…’
He peered down and sensed something was wrong. So, he bent on one knee and stared into her face. 'Hmm? Either spit out what's wrong or I'll tickle it out of you. Which is it to be?'
He could tell she wanted to speak, but an inner voice held her back. There was confusion written all over her face. Tell him, or tell him not. Tell him, or tell him not. Then she looked away, blushed, stared at the floor, blushed again, then twitched her nose. Of course, she didn’t keep him waiting for long. First, she fidgeted, then blurted out, 'I met a strange man last

‘Can you see why she finds your behaviour odd?’
Haig butted in, 'What Dad is trying to say is...'
'Dad?' Suddenly, Mosaic sat up straight with an alert face.
'Yes, what he's trying to say is that my sister...'
'Sister?' This time, Mosaic bent forward in his chair.
‘You don’t know?’
‘It’s my fault,’ confessed Doctor Pax. ‘Look, I meant to tell Mosaic, but what with the tremors last Sunday, and my busy schedule …’
Meanwhile, Mosaic scratched his head. 'Am I missing something here?'
Doctor Pax saw the gradual change on Mosaic’s face, from despair to hope, but he had teased him long enough, and now was the time to put him out of his misery. ‘Allow me to formally introduce you to my twin children. Haig and Harmonie.'
Then Harmonie choked back a laugh. ‘So Clemmie thought I was a loose woman?’
‘Not to worry. I’ve settled matters with her now.’
Doctor Pax didn’t mention what else he whispered to Clemmie. That one day he hoped for the sound of wedding bells. Although his daughter had only just met Mosaic, it hadn't taken long for them to fall in love.
The same happened when he met his own wife, and together, they had ten marvellous years, but then he lost her. That was, until the he