by Peter Martin
‘Oh right – thanks anyway,’ Billy said.
After approaching several more students, he realised how difficult this would be; he may never find her. But then just as he was about to turn and walk away, he caught sight of her. His pulse quickened, and his stomach flipped. She was the last student out of the building, running down the steps, books under her arm, as if she were late for an important appointment.
Her hair was highlighted and cut short in a spiky style and her eyes heavily made up. He was shocked by her appearance, but the way she moved in the tight-fitting jeans and blue top left him in no doubt it was her.
At first, she seemed startled, and then stopped dead in her tracks. Averting her gaze, she turned to walk away from him. And as he started to follow her, she ran as if her life depended on it. Halfway down the road, he caught hold of her.
‘Sarah!’ he shouted at her. ‘What’s the matter? Why are you running away?’
‘Billy, please you mustn’t be anywhere near me,’ she protested, trying to pull herself free. ‘He has people at uni watching me and they’ll report back to him. And people close to where I live. If we’re seen together, he’ll know about it. He’ll stop at nothing to keep us apart.’
Billy needed no explanation about who “he” was, and said, ‘I can’t believe this. It’s a bit scary to think he has this much power and influence. I didn’t think he could get to us here, but obviously he has.’
‘He has lots of friends in high places. Once he’s gets something in his head, he won’t let it go. Especially as he thinks you had sex with me while I was under-age.’
‘I’d already gathered that. We can’t let him do this, because we’ve done nothing wrong. We have to find a way to stop him parting us. I can’t let him win, we’ve come too far for that.’
She stopped fighting to get free, and Billy let go of her arm, but her fear was plain to see. She stood there breathing deeply, then dropping her head, she burst into tears. He hesitated at first, but when she looked up and sank into his arms, it gave him hope.
After the sobbing had abated, he held her at arm’s length to look at her from a distance. She was so beautiful.
‘You’ve changed your hair,’ he commented.
‘You like it?’
‘Very much. Makes you look even more attractive.’
She laughed. ‘You think so?’
‘I do.’
‘I’ve missed you, Billy. At first I couldn’t stand it and I wanted to die … Oh, dear God, it was unbearable.’
‘But that’s over now. Somehow, we have to make sure we’re never seen together, rather like when you were at school. I’m sure we can do it; the only difference is this time we will be together. And if we can’t, we have to stand up to whatever he threatens. When it comes down to it, there’s no way he can stop us seeing each other. Be strong, Sarah, we’ll win, I promise you.’
‘You make it sound so easy, Billy – if only it were that simple.’
‘We have to at least try.’
‘I feel so guilty, you’ve changed your job and moved house, all because of me. Over Christmas he nagged me all day, threatening what he would do.’ She stopped to dry her eyes. ‘I don’t want to cause you any more trouble. That’s why I ignored your messages.’
They walked to the nearest bench and sat down together.
Tentatively, he asked, ‘Are you still living in, like before?’
‘Yes, four of us share a two-bedroom house. It was converted into flats, solely for student accommodation, and the rooms are small and sometimes it’s impossible to get in the bathroom.’
‘Well, that must stop for a start. Think of the money you’re paying out. You can live with me, rent free,’ he said, squeezing her hand.
‘You mean that?’
He nodded, adding on a lighter note, ‘It would solve your problem with the bathroom too – we’ll share.’ She playfully thumped the top of his arm. ‘I came up here to be near you. It would have been pointless otherwise.’
‘Good, I’m so glad,’ she admitted.
‘I want you in my bed, and to wake up to you every morning …that would be a dream come true.’
‘For me too,’ she agreed, snuggling close.
‘What are we waiting for? Get your stuff together and I’ll pick you up from the railway station. I say that only because we don’t want to be seen together.’
She nodded and looked deeply into his eyes, making him sure she still wanted him.
‘I’ll go then. But what if Dad finds out –’
‘We have to make sure he doesn’t,’ he said, putting his arm around her shoulders and kissing her on the cheek.
She arrived at the railway station bang on time and he drove her to the house.
On entering the living room, Sarah stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes widened, and a smile lit up her face. Obviously highly delighted, she wiped the corners of her eyes with her fingers, as if overcome with emotion.
‘Gosh, what a transformation! It looks fabulous. And you did all this yourself?’
‘Pretty much. I’m so glad you like it.’
‘I do. How did you get this finished so quickly?’
‘I’ve worked hard.’ He put his arm around her shoulders, and said, ‘It’s not quite finished yet, but now you’re here, it’ll give me an extra incentive to get those final bits done. Why don’t you unpack your things while I cook us a meal?’
‘Okay.’ She smiled, causing Billy’s heart to flip, then added, ‘What have we got because I’m starving?’
‘There’s two steaks in the fridge. How’s that sound?’
‘Just perfect. When I’ve unpacked, I’ll take a quick shower.’
‘This will take about forty-five minutes, so carry on.’
After the meal, having washed up the dirty crockery they watched a romantic film. Once it was over Billy got up, scooped Sarah into his arms and amid much laughter carried her off to the bedroom.
‘Oh, tell me we never be parted again,’ Sarah said.
‘We won’t, I promise.’
‘I’m trying to believe you, despite my dad.’
‘We’ll have to do our best to prove him wrong, won’t we? As long as he doesn’t catch us together, there’s no way he can make any accusations.’
‘Yes, but, from the way he went on at me, he’s more determined than ever to keep us apart.’
Billy chose to ignore this, although it worried him deeply, and just cherished these special moments.
‘Oh, talking of Dad, he had a spot of bad luck not so long ago.’
‘Perhaps that was due to the meddlesome way he interferes in other people’s lives?’
‘No ... Well, I don’t know. I suppose it might be.’ She shook her head. ‘It’s unbelievable.’
‘Go on then, what happened?’
‘Someone slashed his car tyres. The same day the burglar alarm went off and as he’d wired the security lights to come on, all hell broke loose.’
‘I can well imagine.’
‘And then to top that, Reg, the next-door neighbour, complained about the disturbance and they nearly came to blows.’ She laughed. ‘But you haven’t heard the best … When Dad went back in the house after his row with Reg, he said to Mum, “Huh, nothing’s changed, he’s always been on a very short fuse”. Even Mum couldn’t keep a straight face.’
<><><>
With the forthcoming Autumn term two weeks away, Billy tried to wind down. They’d just returned from a sunny five-day break in North Wales, and now, as he sat sipping his coffee on the patio, he felt life was complete; well almost.
Sarah left early that morning to go to her part-time job in Edgincombe; she’d been lucky to get the position serving in a café, a job which the manageress promised would last until October when she returned to university. Billy hadn’t wanted her to go to work at first, but one control freak in the family was enough. Anyway, his spare time was taken up with more work on the house; he’d even battled with the garden – he laid a
few feet of decking, landscaped a lawn and planted scrubs and flowers around the perimeter.
Days later when he heard a knock on the front door, Billy had no reason to think it was anyone but Sarah, who must have forgotten her key. When he opened the door to see a sour-faced Mr Baker, he moved back unable to take in what was before him, and, for a few seconds, froze.
‘Where is she?’ Harry growled.
With legs like jelly, he replied, ‘She’s at work.’ He couldn’t imagine how this loathsome person had tracked them down.
‘What the hell are you doing with my daughter? You gave me your word you’d never see her again.’
‘I did no such thing,’ Billy snapped, livid that this man had the gall to turn up on his doorstep. Then, through gritted teeth, he added, ‘We bumped into each other right out of the blue, and after that –’
‘I warned you,’ Mr Baker butted in, ‘to keep away from her and I told you what would happen if you didn’t. I’ll ruin you, lad, if this doesn’t stop. Whatever it takes.’
‘Sure, but you’ll be dragging Sarah’s name through the mud as well. And don’t for one minute imagine your reputation won’t be sullied.’
‘You’re no good. Maybe she’ll hate me at first, but in time she’ll see sense, and thank her lucky stars she had a narrow escape.’
‘No, she won’t. We’re happy here together. And besides how do you propose to split us up? You can’t just carry her off.’ At that Mr Baker barged into the house, nudging Billy into the wall. He was amazed at the cheek of the man as he watched him flop down into an armchair in the living room.
‘Well, I’m staying put until she comes home. I’ll get her to change her mind if it kills me.’
‘I’ll set the law onto you. You’re trespassing on my property,’ Billy threatened.
‘Go right ahead, and I might just let slip about your child molestation. What do you think about that?’
‘You might be in for a long wait. Sarah won’t be home for ages yet.’
‘I don’t care how long she is.’
They sat opposite each other in complete silence both waiting for Sarah, the only sound in the room coming from the tick of the clock. Inwardly, Billy trembled, not because of the pressure from this tyrant, but due to the fear of losing Sarah. Would she have the courage to stand her ground? He hoped to God she would, she was the only family he had, and he couldn’t live without her.
At around two o’clock the front door opened. It had to be her and as always, she shouted, ‘It’s only me.’ Billy didn’t answer hoping she’d guess something was wrong.
When she entered the room, Billy half-smiled, waiting for her reaction to their visitor.
‘Dad, what are you doing here?’ she asked, her bag dropping to the ground, her face now white with shock.
‘Hallo, Sarah. I’m here to take you home – and away from him,’ he told her in a low, calm voice.
‘How did you know I was here?’
‘Your mother,’ he explained, straight-faced. ‘I caught her reading one of your letters. After that it didn’t take much to get the truth out of her.’
Billy shook his head and glanced at Sarah. How could she have been so stupid? Her mother was bound to tell her dad in the end. Why didn’t she telephone, or send a text message? She might have ruined everything now. He well remembered the afternoon, not so long ago, when he’d seen her dad’s true colours. Since then he’d often questioned the hold Mr Baker had over his family. Had it ever gone a step further from threatening verbal behaviour to physical force?
‘I won’t come, Dad,’ Sarah insisted. ‘Even if you force me to go back, I’ll escape. Anyway, we’re planning to get wed soon, and you can’t stop me, I’m over eighteen. Accept it, or leave me alone.’
‘Married? After what he’s done to you – are you mad? I won’t stand by and watch you throw your life away.’ He got to his feet.
‘You don’t have any choice, Dad. I’ve decided. We will be married because we love each other. Threaten all you like, but it won’t change a thing – except to make us suffer.’
‘Sarah!’
‘No, Dad. I’m staying here with Billy. I’ll tell Mum about the wedding, and you’re more than welcome to attend. And now I want you to leave.’
Sarah’s father sighed. ‘You’ll be making the biggest mistake of your life, you little fool. Here I’ve got something to show you.’ He took out some papers from his jacket pocket.
‘What’s this?’ She looked puzzled.
‘I’ve been doing some investigating. Asked a former colleague to put Billy Price through his computer records. And, amazingly, look what he came up with. Seems his dad was convicted of the murder of his wife’s lover and his wife. And later hung himself in prison. There are statements here from Billy himself, as he actually witnessed the scene. Do you really want to be associated with that sort of filth?’ Mr Baker eyes bulged with a self-satisfied look on his face.
Billy became suddenly short of breath.
Sarah laughed. ‘Can’t believe you’d sink so low. I don’t need to look at this, because Billy has already told me all about it. It’s horrific what he went through and, in fact, it makes our love even stronger. It’s my life, Dad, and I’ll decide what’s best for me. Now I won’t ask you again, I want you to go.’
‘Not until you admit your mistake and come with me.’
‘Billy, phone the police, tell them he’s harassing us, and is refusing to leave. Let’s see how he likes being threatened.’
She picked up the receiver and handed it to Billy, and he dialled the number.
‘All right! All right!’ Mr Baker conceded. ‘Put it down.’
Billy did just that.
‘You’ll regret this, Sarah, and when you do, don’t come running to me.’ He pointed a warning finger. ‘You’re on your own now. You’ll get nothing from me or your mother, I’ll make sure of that. I wash my hands of you.’
‘Get out, Dad. You seem to think it’s one rule for you and a different one for everyone else. And don’t take it out on Mum.’
Harry turned around, stormed into the hall, then banged the door behind him. Sarah sighed with relief, and burst into tears.
‘Oh, my God,’ she began. ‘I feared he’d hurt you.’
‘He’s not that stupid. Besides, being a retired policeman, he wouldn’t want to appear in court charged with GBH, now would he? But, Sarah, you were brilliant the way you stood up to him.’
‘I did it for us, Billy, to show you how much I love you.’
‘You did that, but when did I say we were getting wed?’ he said poker-faced. ‘Remind me when I asked you to marry me? It seems to have slipped my mind.’
Just as seriously, she replied, ‘I said that to get rid of him … We don’t have to.’
‘Well actually, I think it’s a great idea.’
A smile crept across her face. ‘Phew, for a minute there I thought you were serious.’
‘I am, now. Will you marry me, Sarah?’ he said, bending down on one knee.’
‘Oh, Billy … yes, please.’ She was bubbling over with excitement. ‘I can’t wait.’
‘Any idea about a date?’ he asked.
‘As soon as possible.’
‘How about in the summer holidays next year.’
‘Yes, but that’s months away.’
‘That’s why I’m suggesting it. I want you to be sure you’re doing the right thing. It’s a big step to take.’
‘I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life.’
‘Me neither, but let’s not rush just to get back at your dad. We need to talk about it.’
‘You’re being silly now.’
‘No, I’m not but I don’t want anyone saying I pushed you into it.’ He worried about the implications of what was happening. And didn’t like Sarah being estranged from her family; well, her father. Maybe her mother would find the strength to voice her own opinion, but he doubted it.
She kissed him. There was no doubt she wante
d to marry him at the moment, but nineteen-year-olds could be impetuous. Although, he tried to convince himself that the eight-year gap in their ages wasn’t so much, and lots of people got over bigger obstacles. And besides, that bully of a man was nothing more than a hypocrite with Sarah’s mum ten years his junior.
CHAPTER 15
The weeks leading up to Christmas were hectic and pressurised. While Sarah had mountains of work to do to make sure she got through her second-year exams, Billy did his utmost to bring his students up to scratch to prove his worth. So, any time they had together ended up being work-orientated. Billy longed for the Whitsun holiday when the exams would be over. He still needed to go to the college, but the pressure would ease, allowing their wedding arrangements to be made.
The register office wedding in July was a quiet affair, with only a dozen guests, a few of Sarah’s friends from university and one or two of Billy’s colleagues. The ceremony went smoothly without incident. But it seemed strange, Billy thought, that since his visit in August last year, Sarah’s father hadn’t contacted them or raised any further objections. They sent Sarah’s family an invite, but knew they wouldn’t attend.
The reception took place in the local pub, and after spending the night at home, the following morning they jetted off to Jersey for the honeymoon.
<><><>
By the early September, the excitement of the wedding was over and they took time to adjust to married life. Billy had noticed Sarah wasn’t her usual chirpy self and seemed preoccupied. He’d put it down to the studying, but now he wasn’t quite so sure.
But, by the weekend, everything became clear. They had spent a cold afternoon in the local park and were on their way home. Sarah told him to a stop, and turned to face him.
‘Billy, there’s something I have to tell you,’ she said, unable to look him in the eye. ‘I … I’m almost sure I’m pregnant.’
Stunned, for a second he was speechless. But as the news sank in his eyes widened, and he smiled. ‘My God, is this what’s been bugging you these past few weeks? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?’ He took her in his arms and hugged her tight. ‘I knew something was up, but I never dreamt it would be this.’