The Incomers

by Moira McPartlin

  Ellie’s throat dries. What information does this book already hold about her life, about the time when this young boy had told her to take better care of her child? Does he now think that she has allowed this terrible thing to happen?

  He looks at both James and Ellie before taking a sip of his tea. Ellie wishes he would get on with his tale.

  ‘After you called me yesterday, Mr Mason, I went to the residence of Carol Wilson. I don’t know if you are aware of this, but the girl’s mother is in hospital at the moment. In fact, she has been in and out of hospital for years with alcohol-related problems.’

  ‘Yes, I know, is very sad,’ Ellie says.

  James and the Constable frown at her in puzzlement, and she feels her face heat.

  ‘I don’t care about this,’ James says. ‘Is the girl behind bars? My son is still in hospital, and I want to know he will be safe when he returns home.’

  ‘Yes, we detained her yesterday, sir.’

  ‘Why did she steal Nat?’ Ellie asks.

  ‘She said she wanted a black baby to help her mum get better.’

  Ellie’s hand shoots to her mouth. She is going to be sick, she is sure.

  ‘Apparently every time she got a black baby at school she named it Phemie after her mum. She would take home the little card the teacher gave her with the baby’s name written on it and her mum would be better for a while. Her mum would tell her she was clever and next time she should get a boy and call it Thomas after her granddad who died two years ago.’ The Constable is still shaking his head. ‘But since her mum has been in hospital she has not been able to give Carol her black baby money.’

  ‘Where is Carol now?’ Ellie asks, for despite her initial hatred of the girl she cannot help but feel her pain.

  ‘She’s locked up in a secure school in Airdrie. Her maternal grandmother lives nearby so she can act on behalf of the girl’s mother when the time comes for her to go to court.’

  ‘Where is this Airdrie? I have heard of this place before.’ Ellie asks.

  ‘It is a town in the West of Scotland. Many of the miners in Hollyburn migrated here from towns in the West of Scotland when the pits closed over there,’ the constable says.

  ‘So Carol returns to her motherland,’ Ellie mutters. Even the girl Carol is a foreigner in Hollyburn it seems.

  ‘Eh? What’s that, Mrs Mason?’

  ‘The Motherland – the land where your mother is born. In my country, when a person dies they are taken back to their motherland to be buried.’

  ‘Aye, I suppose in that case you could say she has returned to her motherland to be sorted out. But the main thing is she is off our streets and your son will be safe from any further problems.’

  ‘Good riddance,’ James says. ‘That’s what she deserves. She almost killed my son.’

  ‘She will be without her mother; this is an even harder punishment. At least she will have her grandmother.’ Ellie can feel James bristle beside her but she does not care: she only speaks the truth.

  Nat recovers well once his sling is off and his cut heals, but his eyes do not shine as they once did. They dart worried looks to the door each time he hears a sound. He often crawls into the corner and prefers to play in his playpen or cuddle into Ellie as she sits in the chair with the red check cushion. He is now too big for her back sling; now she ties him to the side of her hip. His first steps are taken just in time to help pick the first crop of strawberries at the beginning of July.

  As Ellie washes the crop and takes the white husks from the inside, she hears voices drift in through the open door. Through the still air she makes out the voices of children playing in the forest, and for the first time since the day Nat was stolen from her Ellie thinks of Mary and wonders if she has made new friends, better friends. For even though Ellie kept her promise to the Virgin Mary and now attends Mass every Sunday, she lies in bed late, cuddled into James and attends second mass to avoid seeing Mary and Mr Gallagher. She even has her own seat that the parishioners leave free for her. It is the seat beside her friend Mrs Winski.

  The strawberries are for supper and there are plenty left on the plants for Monday when Mrs Winski will call in for a chat and a cup of nettle tea. Many times in the past Mrs Winski has invited Ellie to her house in the village, but Ellie makes excuses and Mrs Winski does not press her. There will be plenty time for Ellie to visit but that time is not yet here.

  When all the strawberries are cleaned, Ellie sits down in her chair, and Nat toddles to her knee. She picks up a book she has read to him a hundred times. James left early in the morning to visit his mother in Perth. The kitchen is tidy, the food is prepared for the evening meal and it is still not yet lunch time. Ellie knows she smiles more often these days but a stone weighs down her heart.

  She looks at her son and hugs him tight. How is it such a small person can give her so much joy?

  ‘I know, Nat, let us go to the town,’ she announces. ‘We can get more books there, at the library, and if the library has closed doors, I am sure that Woolworths will have some. We can begin to build our own library.’ She lifts him high above her head and he giggles. ‘You and I are going on an adventure, Nat.’

  The sun has been shining for four days now. Ellie looks at the blue sky clear of clouds. She dresses Nat in pale blue shorts and white shirt. As she pulls on his white socks she rubs and admires his beautiful skin. The brown Clarks sandals she and James had bought him in the Co-op shoe shop feel snug on his feet. He grows so fast. She stands him on the kitchen table and examines her boy; he is no longer a baby but a little boy. A little boy who nearly died.

  Ellie ties him to her side but before she leaves the house she writes a note for her husband and leaves it under the bowl of strawberries on the kitchen table.

  The bus stop is crowded with huddles of women and the big boy Ellie recognises as Eric Creighton. When Ellie approaches the bus stop, the woman Bella, who had been gossiped about in the doctor’s waiting room, puts her hand out and touches Nat’s head.

  ‘How’s yer wee boy now, hen?’ she asks. ‘Hus he got ower his fright in the burn?’

  Ellie smiles, ‘Yes, he is fully recovered now, thank you.’

  ‘Ye must huv goat a right fright, him fawin’ in the water and aw that cairrie oan wi’ the Wilson lassie?’

  ‘Yes, we did,’ Ellie says, ‘and how are you? Have you recovered from your operation?’

  The woman touches the front of her coat and nods. ‘Early days, hen, but ah’m no bad the noo. A bit jiggered noo and again, that’s all.’

  One of the other waiting women shuffles up beside them. ‘This ye aff tae the toon wi the wee man then?’

  ‘Yes, we are going to the library or Woolworths to buy a book.’

  ‘Ah, books is it? Ah’ll bet the wee fella’ ll be a right clever thing when he gets tae the primary.’

  ‘Yes, I hope so.’

  The bus trundles along the road and pulls in short of the stop. The boy Creighton jumps on in front of the women and dashes up the stairs.

  ‘Cheeky monkey,’ Bella says, then to Ellie, ‘On ye go, hen.’

  Ellie at first does not know they mean her until Rose says, ‘Come oan, hen, we huvnae goat aw day, ye ken.’

  Ellie moves to climb the stairs when Bella shouts, ‘Ye dinnae want tae be draggin the wee bairn up the stairs in amongst aw they smokers, come away inside wi us, hen.’

  Ellie looks to Rose who shrugs, ‘Oan ye go in then, hen. Ah’ll git ye in a minute.’

  When the bus moves off Rose humphs and wheezes up the stairs to collect the fares.

  When she comes back down she is panting heavily. ‘Where dae ye want tae get aff? Woolies again?’

  Ellie kisses the top of Nat’s head and touches the prayer book in her pocket; the book she took on impulse before she left the house. She looks up at Rose.

  ‘Can you tell me how to get to Perth?’

  Book Group Questions

  1. The main character Ellie is West African and was brought
up in a mission. How effective is her distinctive narrative voice and how does it help to define her character?

  2. Within the book there are many voices/dialects used: Mr & Mrs Winski, Mary, Carol, Mrs Watson, The Pairty Line. How did the differences between each of the voices help your perception of their characters?

  3. The character of Ellie’s husband, James, moves from strong romantic in Africa to avoiding, almost passive aggressive when he moves back to Scotland. Discuss the reasons for this shift and do you feel it is necessary for the narrative?

  4. How do you feel about James and Ellie’s relationship? On page 42 Ellie asks James why he married her. How honest were they about their (individual) motives for marrying?

  5. How significant was the chapter with Ellie’s trip into ‘The Toon’? In what way did this episode effect what happened to Ellie after the event?

  6. What is the purpose of the Pairty Line? How sympathetic were you to the two women on the call. The women are never directly named in the story, why did the author choose to do this?

  7. Some of the conversations are not directly connected to Ellie. Why is this and did it make a difference to your enjoyment of the novel?

  8. How important is Ellie’s mother to the story? How important are the flashback scenes about her home country? Discuss.

  9. Throughout the story many parallels are drawn between Scotland and Africa (e.g. old wives tales/witchcraft, tribalism/football supporters, celebration markings/religious symbols, tribal markings/tattoos, treatment of women). What does this show you about both countries in the sixties and today?

  10. What do you make of the ending?

  11. Mr Winski has a large presence in the first part of the book. What do you feel about his story and his outcome? In what way does his story impact Ellie’s story?

  12. Religion and the Catholic Church are shown in many different lights. What do you feel about the issues raised and Ellie’s reaction to them?

  13. The novel is set in 1966. How well is the period reflected? Why do you think the author chose this period over the present time?

  14. How appropriate is the title?

  15. What was your overall reaction to the book?

  Acknowledgements and Thanks

  My transition from business woman to writer would never have happened had it not been for the help and encouragement of others. I would like to thank in particular all those who read early drafts of the manuscript; my writing buddy David Allan who bullied me into finishing and spotted my many howlers; Frances Wright and Sarah Smith, my fellow Mitchell Sisters, for correcting my errors and making me laugh; Liz Small and Sara Hunt who gave me invaluable input in the later stages; Alan Bissett, Tawona Sithole and Gameli Tordzro for their generous quotes.

  I would also like to thank Clare and Zander at Fledgling Press for their hard work in this production; my editor Anne Marie Hagen for her attention to detail; Thomas Crielly of TMC Graf’x for the stunning cover and George Lammie Photography for the wonderful portrait.

  Some very patient tutors suffered my early offerings and I need to thank them all; Alistair Paterson started me writing in Borders Bookstore; Elizabeth Reeder opened the rusty cellar door and coaxed my creativity into the open; Laura Hird supported my early bids for publication; Frances Campbell fed my story with her theories on alienation and Ian MacPherson convinced me a Fife mining village was exotic. I am also grateful to all my Weegie Wednesday pals and The Hair Shop in Balfron for my regular, and necessary, doses of encouragement.

  I had to research many aspects of the book and owe a huge debt to James Bauld, Fatoumata Brown, and the lovely people of The Gambia – thanks for allowing me into your worlds.

  I also want to thank my family for keeping me grounded, with special hugs to my grandchildren, James and Caitlin, for helping out with the characteristics of Baby Nat.

  And finally none of this would have been possible without the solid love and support of Colin, the quiet man who always finds the right words to soothe my doubts.