by Anne Bone
His father, now, his father he believed was a travelling man whom his mother met at a fair ground in Inverness where she had been working. She had, it seemed, fallen for him and Marty had been the consequence. He was told this by his aunt and she had told him that was where his black curly hair must had come from, as no one in the Paton family had any similar colouring. His mother had returned to the parental home in Aberdeen, and Molly had taken her under her wing. Molly had only just ceased caring for their sick mother who had recently died and was at a bit of a loss. So, when her sister arrived pregnant and alone it had not taken much thought for her to take on the care of the bonny dark-haired child and allow her sister to pursue her life without him.
Marty had explained how he loved his Aunt Molly and would do anything for her. She had been terribly upset when he had mentioned he was going to get a job out in Donside for the summer which meant leaving her. However, Molly always put her nephew first and if this was what he wanted, then so be it.
Beth painted a picture of her life, which left out many of the real details of how it was. She told him the bare facts, without bitterness of how her mother was ill and she had to look after her and the home. Marty was impressed. Impressed mainly that she told her story without any bitterness or resentment that she was missing out on doing the things she should have been doing at her age.
It was when Poppy started to get really fed up waiting around, and her whining eventually irritated Beth enough, that she realised it must have been at least an hour since she and Marty had begun their conversation.
He asked if he could walk with her to the end of her track. She was happy for him to do this, but tentatively mentioned that if any of her family appeared not to be offended if she suddenly dismissed him. He was more than happy to comply.
They walked along the pathway in silence, Poppy charging ahead, happy now to be on the move again. When they reached the end of the track, they stopped and looked at each other, not really knowing how to finish their conversation.
‘So, will you be walking Poppy tomorrow evening around the same time?’ Marty had a glint in his eye when he posed this question.
She nodded, and answered rather shyly, trying to ignore the fact that her heart was beating rather faster than normal. ‘Yes, as long as it’s not pouring with rain, I usually finish clearing up the back of seven.’
‘Ok then, maybe I will see you tomorrow night,’ and with that he reached over and planted a kiss on her cheek. She felt herself blush and then immediately cursed herself for doing so.
Before she could suffer any further embarrassment, he turned and walked away from her in the direction of Hillside Farm. Just as she thought about turning and carrying on with her journey, he turned and waved his hand.
She waved back and turned and made her way home. She felt her step was lighter and she felt freer than she had ever felt in her life before. How exciting, she had met such a gorgeous bloke.
Chapter 4
Beth was not exactly sure of the moment when she fell in love with Marty. It may have been during that first minute of the first night when her eyes met his. Nevertheless, she was positive that she did love him when a few days later he took her into his arms and kissed her deeply that for one minute she thought her heart was actually going to leap out of her chest. Afterwards she felt something she had never experienced in her life before, a sense of warmth, contentment and excitement. It was a powerful cocktail, which left her feeling as though she had a radiator inside her body, which was glowing for the entire world to see.
One thing she was certain of was that she had to keep her feelings under wraps and away from her family. Although she knew she was going around the house with a silly grin plastered across her face, she remembered to straighten her face whenever she came into contact with any members of her family.
Fred had caught her singing the other morning while she scrubbed the lino around the toilet. ‘Aye, Aye, lassie,’ he had said, ‘your top of the world about something this morning, are you in love?’ he teased her.
Beth had immediately stopped singing, and found herself blushing to the roots of her hair. She mumbled something, telling him not to be so silly course she wasn’t in love. However, she then realised that she would have to be doubly careful. She could not bear her family spoiling this for her, and she knew that once they knew about Marty they would in some way do so.
As long as she continued to fulfill her tasks and duties around the house, and keep her mother contented, no one really took much notice of her disappearing every evening, announcing that she was going to take Poppy for a walk. No one questioned this, even the evenings when the air was damp with the soft light drizzle which seemed to soak into you more than if it was pouring down buckets. It also, unfortunately, brought the midges out with a vengeance.
It was on one such evening that the couple found their way into a small fishing bothy further up the River Don. They had taken to walking further and further in an evening, mostly to ensure that they were putting some distance between themselves and Cairn View. They spotted the bothy in the distance and Marty suggested that they might make for it, hoping it would provide them with some shelter out of the dreich, damp weather and onslaught of midges.
Indeed it did provide them with the shelter needed. They did not dare light a fire in the small stove just in case the smoke was spotted by the water bailiffs who would no doubt come and investigate. The little wooden bothy did have a bench and the floor was wooden and dry. This little building gave the couple just what they desired most in the world. Privacy.
In this privacy their kisses became more demanding and passionate. Beth did not object when Marty’s hands first found their way inside her bra, before they eased their way into her knickers. The sensations she was experiencing were making her breathe faster, and wherever this was leading she did not want it to stop.
Marty pressed his body to her, and she felt his hardness against her. Although Beth was inexperienced in the world, she knew enough of the male body from sharing house with her brothers. She shyly encouraged Marty to reveal the hardness, by helping him release his trouser zip and both relished in their touch of each other. She soon realised though from the sounds of delight that he uttered, that he was experiencing similar sensations to her, and if he could make her feel so wonderful, then she could do the same for him.
There was only one outcome for this passion, two young people who never in a million worlds would be able to pull back and control themselves. Therefore, the inevitable happened, knickers and underpants were removed and the couple consummated their passion on the cold wooden floor of that small wooden building, the sound of the river flowing just yards beside them. It would remain to them the most romantic and exotic venue in the world.
Afterwards they looked in awe at each other. Beth noticed that she was bleeding and cursed that their actions had started her period. Marty had laughed, and pulled her into his arms.
‘No my little precious, it is not your period, you bleed the first time. It’s what’s called your virginity.’ He pulled her tight again, kissing her face, neck and finally her lips. ‘Oh, I love you Beth, I do, I really love you. You are so special.’
He noticed then that she had tears streaming down her face. ‘Oh Beth, I am sorry I never thought. You did want to do it didn’t you? I am so sorry, I’ve been a selfish brute. ’
‘Course I wanted to do it,’ she sniffed, and took the handkerchief he offered her. ‘It’s not that, but no one has ever told me that they love me before.’ She blew her nose and then looked at him shyly. ‘I love you too Marty, and I really liked what we did.’
‘Yes my sweetheart, we can do it again whenever. Although I think we had better be getting back now.’ Marty was feeling quite chuffed with himself. He did not tell Beth, she was only the second girl he had had sex with. The first was a bit of a village bike, but although he had reached an orgasm, what happened with Beth was no comparison in any shape or form.
On their re
turn to the track at the end of the croft the couple held each other tightly and whispered words of love into each other’s ears.
This set the pattern for the next few weeks. They would meet and walk quickly to the little wooden bothy where they would make passionate love. Things improved as far as the little bothy was concerned, as Beth managed to bring a rug which made the floor a little more comfortable. Marty had managed to buy some condoms which they were sure made everything safe. The fact that they sometimes ran out or would get so carried away that Marty forgot to put one on did not really worry them. Then pregnancy happened to other people and they were being careful so it wouldn’t happen to them.
When Beth missed her first period she was not really that worried. After all, sometimes her periods were a bit erratic. It was in August when her second period was due and still did not appear that she began to realise that she might be pregnant. She had also noticed that her breasts seemed to be fuller and they were tender when Marty touched them. She was not sure what to do about it. Marty did not seem to notice that she hadn’t had a period.
It was after they finished making love one Sunday evening when Marty was standing fastening up his trousers. He stared at her as she sat up to replace her bra. ‘Shit, Beth, your boobs are growing, you can see the veins and all in them.’ He did not realise the effect of his words.
Beth put her head in her hands and howled. ‘Whatever’s the matter?’ he asked her.
‘I think I’m pregnant, that’s why my boobs are growing, and I haven’t had a period for two months. I don’t know what I am going to do.’
‘Oh shit,’ came the reply.
Beth did not know what to do. She had nobody she could talk to about it, nor could she ask anyone for help. She had only Marty in the world who she could talk to, and in this situation Marty was of no help. He in turn had no idea what they were going to do.
They could not get married, that was for sure as Beth was still only fourteen and he was only just sixteen. Getting rid of the baby was not an option. They would not have known the first thing about how to go about this. Running away was another option considered and rejected; even Aunt Molly could not hide Beth from her parents.
The indecision about what they would do continued into September. Beth reckoned that she was three, possibly nearly four, months pregnant. She was beginning to show, her stomach was growing and soon even the baggy shirt she had taken to wearing would no longer serve to protect her from being discovered.
To make things even more difficult, Marty was due to leave the farm in a couple of weeks and the thoughts of being parted from each other only increased the sense of panic they were both feeling.
Doris was the first to notice that her daughter was putting on weight. At first she thought that she was just gaining weight, taking after her. Then she noticed that every morning Beth looked quite pale and pasty, and never ate any of the breakfast which she served up to the rest of the family. She was sure that on at least one occasion she even heard her throwing up in the bathroom.
If it had been anyone else she might have thought she was pregnant. But not Beth, where on earth would she have met anyone to get her into that state. Doris began to watch her daughter.
One thing she did notice was that every evening Beth took Poppy for a walk and could be away for a good couple of hours. She decided to test her out one evening and told her that she could not go out; she was needed to stay at home and complete some sudden task. However, Beth did not seem outwardly bothered, and Doris reached the conclusion she could not be meeting anyone, or else surely she would have been bothered.
Of course, Beth did not show she was bothered, she was far too good an actress and survivor to allow her mother to see any sign of emotion. She and Marty had already agreed that if any evening she did not appear at the end of the track by eight o’clock then he would know that for some reason she could not get away.
Doris, however, still kept watch. She was sure there was something going on. She eventually mentioned it to Fred one night just before he dropped off into a deep sleep. He was immediately awake. Sitting bolt upright in bed, he berated Doris for not telling him her fears earlier. They would just have to find out, wouldn’t they?
Beth did not notice her father looking at her strangely the following day, nor did she notice that he was watching her when she walked along the track to meet Marty that evening. Neither she nor Marty noticed that they were being followed. They first found out when they heard Fred’s roar of anger as he dragged them apart from the passionate embrace he found them in at the little wooden bothy.
‘Who the fuck are you?’ were his first words directed at Marty. He then turned to his daughter glaring at her, ‘You little slut, just what have you and him been up to?’ He said this while pointing his index finger menacingly towards Marty.
The couple froze. Beth felt the colour drain from her body, while Marty braced himself for the menacing finger to turn into a full fist, which he was sure was just about to connect with his face.
‘Right you two, both of you are to come with me back home, where,’ he straightened himself to his full height and puffed out his chest as though he was so important ‘we are going to get this little matter sorted out.’
The two young people had no option other than to follow him. Marty clutched Beth’s hand tightly trying to convey that she was not alone and they were in this together. Fred’s pace quickened and they almost had to run to keep up with him, but they did, they had no other option.
When they arrived at Cairn View and entered the kitchen, Doris was amazed, ‘I’ll be buggered.’ The boys were watching TV, but were instructed by their father ‘to get their asses out of here and get lost for a while’. None of the boys argued, although they would have loved to have stayed around to witness whatever was going to happen next.
Fred indicated to Marty to sit down at the table. Beth also sat down next to him, although she dared not hold his hand as she so wanted to. Fred also sat across the table, while Doris remained in her usual armchair in front of the range.
‘Now, young lady, your mother seems to think you might be pregnant. So, truth now, are you?’
Beth could not help the tears falling. Before she could answer, Marty did so for her. ‘Yes, we think that Beth might be pregnant. I am really sorry Mr Menzie, we did not mean it to happen.’
‘Shut your gob, you, I’ll deal with you in a minute. I am asking my lass. So, young lady are you up the duff?’
Beth nodded, then Doris struggled to her feet, mounds of fat wobbling as she made her way across the kitchen. ‘You silly little cow, how far are you gone?’
Beth sniffed, ‘About three or four months I think.’
‘For fuck’s sake, four fucking months. Too late to get rid of it then.’ With that she came and stood beside her daughter and before anything else could be said, she took her hand and walloped Beth across the face. ‘You are nothing but an ungrateful little slut.’
Marty wanted to stand up and wallop Doris back, but sat rigid with fear as the atmosphere in the kitchen was feeling decidedly ugly.
Fred stopped his wife from any further outbursts of violence. ‘That’s not going to help is it, belting her, bit bloody late for that now. Shame you hadn’t done more of that sooner, then she wouldn’t have got into this mess.’
With that, a full-scale argument ensued between Fred and Doris, who both screamed abuse at each other, throwing insults and blaming each other for their lack of direction as a parent.
Although it gave the youngsters some respite, it still did not give them any hope that they were out of trouble yet. When finally Fred and Doris ran out of steam and Doris ran out of breath and had to stagger back into her chair, where she sat puffing and coughing holding her chest, the atmosphere calmed for the moment.
‘Now, back to you two. Well,’ Fred addressed Marty, ‘what are you going to do about it? You can’t offer marriage as she ain’t old enough.’ It was as he said these words you could almost see the t
hought processes grinding away in his brain. He paused, scratching his head. ‘So you see you could be in a big load of trouble you could.’ He pointed again at Marty, reaching across the table as he did so and looked menacingly into his face. ‘I could get the police on you, she’s only fourteen, and you could go to the jail for what you did.’ He spat out these words.
Hearing this brought a fresh wave of fear for both Marty and Beth. Marty began to think that his hold on his bowels might not continue, while Beth thought for a moment she would faint. Usually her father had no truck with the police; usually he was on the receiving end of their attention.
