A family complication

The story line. ? Edward C Aylward 1999
The story starts at the wedding reception of two mid-twenty-year olds;
she is four months pregnant.
They are very loving, holding hands and looking into each others
eyes.
In the background are the two sets of parents. The bride's father and
the groom's mother are smiling and enjoying the occasion. This
contrasts graphically with the looks of pain and anguish on the other
parents' faces, but this is noticed only by a friend who knows the full
story. This friend becomes the narrator.
The friend looks back to the married couple and dwells on the series of
mishaps that have resulted in this bizarre, but poignant relationship.
He speaks about the complex series of events that have led up to this
happening.
The bride's father, John Hemmings, and the groom's father, Peter
Clarke, met when they were in their teens. Both enjoyed sowing their
wild oats. Indeed, they were more like brothers than friends. It was
not unusual for them to "share" their girlfriends. They never had any
feelings of possession or jealousy. It was an open joke in the circle
of their male friends that they took "turns about". "They like the old
buttered bun!" they would joke.
Peter was the more outgoing and John the more inward looking. It was
Peter who was always the girls' fancy. Peter picked off virgins as
though they were ripe fruit hanging from a tree!
At a dance they meet two girls, Kathleen Ford and Violet Dean, the
future mums of the bride and groom respectively. During the early years
of their relationship, as was their enjoyment, the boys took "turns
about". As usual, Peter was first.
The relationships of each couple settled out that matched John to
Kathleen and Peter to Violet. The circle of friends realised this and
accepted it. Their courtship progressed over a long period. It was to
be in their forties when they were to marry.
During the early years there is a traumatic event. Kathleen gets
pregnant. John believes Kathleen when she says that the child is his.
It is not! It is Peter's child. Because of his love for Violet, Peter
goes along with the deception.
John arranges and pays for an illegal abortion for Kathleen. This is
the late fifties. Things go wrong and Kathleen is taken into hospital.
Her parents find out and morally blackmail John. He is caught! He had
no intention of ever marrying.
Time goes on and John and Kathleen marry. John is threatened by
Kathleen's parents. (Kathleen is getting on in years and they don't
want to see her "left on the shelf"). A few years later; when Violet is
pregnant, she marries Peter.
The couples drift apart, meeting only sporadically. At a party, Peter
and Kathleen re-consummate their relationship! As a result Peter has
fathered two children within a few months.
When Kathleen realises that she is pregnant by Peter, she makes every
effort to keep a big distance between them. She also makes certain that
John will believe that the child is his. He enjoys a period of high
sexual activity!
The children are born. David to Violet and Tracy to Kathleen. Both
Peter and Kathleen make certain that the two families move apart. She
even concocts stories to turn John against Peter. They also move house
and cease to use the old meeting places.
Tracy grows up and is a very precocious child. She appears to have a
knowledge of the true relationship. When she is fifteen she seduces
John when he is drunk. (a la Lot at Sodom!) Tracy is pregnant. Abortion
is legal. Kathleen thinks that Tracy is pregnant by a boy friend,
(which is the truth!), and takes her away for the termination. Problem
solved.
Kathleen does have some inkling that something is wrong. She is very
shrewd and cunning. During a family row she does pick up some innuendo,
but discounts it as she believes, (correctly), that John is
impotent.
John, is ridden with the guilt that he has committed incest and got his
daughter pregnant. He tries to atone by lavishing all he can on Tracy
to keep her happy. This just makes her into a spoilt brat and she uses
the advantage. She despises John. Kathleen is happy believing that John
is being a doting father.
Tracy is intelligent and with hard work gets a degree. She joins a
multinational and has to travel abroad.
David, in his time, reaches adulthood and becomes an entertainer.
Tracy on a trip overseas meets David and falls in love with him, and he
with her. (good sub-stories)
There are many incidents, during which the two sets of parents nearly
meet. (good sub-stories)
They all finally meet; just the six of them. This is a terrible shock
for Peter and Kathleen.
Peter and Kathleen never discuss the situation. John and Violet are
very happy that they are all friends again.
The wedding passes. The child is born. Tracy dies giving birth. John
commits suicide never knowing the true story.
David goes to live with his parents with his child, named Tracy in
memory of her mother. David, living the life of an itinerant
entertainer, descends into forgetfulness with alcohol and drugs and
dies of an overdose.
Tracy is raised by her grandparents.
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