Bitter Fingers

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John had to learn to fight for his wife.
11.3k words
3.95
76.1k
41

Part 1 of the 2 part series

Updated 06/07/2023
Created 07/22/2015
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Another sunny school morning, Monday morning to be precise, and John Lock waited by the stile for his first love Margaret Short. They walked across the field together, every weekday, to school. The field was the next one to John's garden and a few hundred yards from Margaret's house. At the bottom end of the field was a long gravel track that went slowly downhill ending in an overgrown thicket that boarded a shadowy copse.

The field and copse were owned by John's parents along with the farm cottage and smaller field on the other side. Both fields were full of bright yellow rape that John's dad grew for seed to sell for the oil. The stile was their daily meeting place for their walk to school, hand in hand, both in their own bubble of love.

Margaret loved their school and so would John if it wasn't for the fact that Gary fucking Smith went there. John always called him that or sometimes Gary fucking bastard Smith if he had particularly rubbed John up the wrong way that day.

Gary Smith was an arrogant little prick and John hated his fucking guts. He was always chiding John about something and he was forever trying it on with Margaret. The fact that she didn't let him get to her and just brushed off his amateurish advances, didn't make the slightest bit of difference. Gary just wouldn't let up, only last week he had poured ink into John's pocket without him realising it until his leg felt wet. His best school trousers were ruined and his leg was still tinged blue three days later.

Living in the village of Soton and being in junior school in the sixties was hard work if you had a prick like Gary fucking Smith on your back.

Margaret was John's soul reason for getting up each day and walking through the rape fields in the sunshine with her was the reason he hadn't tried to strangle Smith way before now. Margaret had said a few times that she thought Gary was probably just misunderstood and despite all the upfront bravado, underneath she felt he was quite a nice guy.

As 10 year olds, John and Margaret had only ever held hands and cuddled. The fact they thought of themselves as "girlfriend and boyfriend" was down to the fact that they had known each other so long and, if truth be told, actually loved each other very much. John and Margaret could never see themselves ever being apart and neither of them wanted to be.

The last year of junior school turned out to be the hardest and worst of all for John. Gary got even more obnoxious and his bating scaled new heights, as the volume of John's hatred was turned up several notches. Through all this Margaret kept right on defending him and insisting he was a nice guy really.

The class was split up into smaller groups according to skill level in different subjects. John was in different groups from Margaret and Gary for reading, science and mathematics. This meant that considering the boys and girls were split as well for PE, John only got to see Margaret at the beginning and end of the day and the occasional lunchtime. Breaks and most lunchtimes were staggered because of the size of the kitchens and food kiosks.

Days were long and lonely and spent looking forward to the walk home. Margaret didn't seem to miss him as much as he did her as all she seemed to do on the walk home was talk about what fun she had during the day's lessons. Gary fucking bastard Smith's name cropped up a lot more than John wished it had.

On the second to last day of term John knew that Margaret had the same lunchtime as him and he looked around the school for her. He found himself looking across the playing field to to edge where there was a long row of birch trees. John had run along behind those trees many times as they mapped out the end of the cross country run to insure the runners completed the whole course.

He could see the two of them facing each other, close enough to touch but not quite hugging. A weird sick pain shot through his gut, making him almost throw up, and he had to force down a dry heave.

John stopped himself from running towards them and appearing desperate yet he found himself walking faster and faster towards them. Suddenly he came to a stop a couple of yards behind them, just as Gary leaned into her and pressed his lips against hers.

He stood there, mouth open, breathing hard his heart beating so hard that he felt in that moment that the whole school must have been able to hear it.

"Oh, John.. No.. John it's not, it's not what.. John no." Margaret spluttered.

John said nothing, he just stared at her, with his mouth still agape.

"John I, I, John it just happened."

Gary stepped back and away from her.

"Oh just fuck off and leave us be" Gary moaned, "she's always liked me better, so just fuck off."

John just slowly closed his mouth and turned his head to stare at Gary. Not having a clue what to do or say he just stood there stunned.

As he turned back to Margaret with the soul intention of saying something, anything but at least speaking. Then BANG, a sharp pain in the mouth, and he was falling backwards his lip swelling as he went down, and then BANG another sharp pain in the back of his head.

Gary had punched him hard in the face and knocked him off balance and he had hit his head against the bottom of the tree behind him. Everything went black for a few seconds and then he could gradually see a face coming into focus in front of him.

Mr Mann was one of John's teachers and was smiling at him.

"Ok John, slowly now, slowly." He spoke gently.

John was trying to pull himself up as his head thumped, but his vision cleared.

"Come on now son, take it easy." The wise voice ordered.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, I just bumped my head a bit." John moaned.

"Ok, ok, but we need to get you to the nurse, just to check." Mr Mann stated.

Glancing around John looked for Margaret and Gary but apart from what seemed like his whole school year, he could see neither of them. In fact that was to be the last he would see of either of them for a long time.

Margaret.

There wasn't a second gone by that Margaret didn't regret her first kiss. It should have been with John, the boy she loved so much, but of all people it had to be with Gary fucking Smith. That's what John called him so it had kind of stuck. Gary hadn't really forced her, he had just been very persuasive. And of course her curiosity had got the better of her. The moment she saw John standing there with a look of horror on his handsome face, she knew her life's direction had taken a sudden change.

Gary had hit John and knocked him out, or so she thought. Suddenly there were lots of people everywhere and Mr Mann was trying to wake John up. Gary pulled her away and with his arm around her, walked her back towards school

"It's ok, he's fine, teach'll sort him out, can't believe he went over like that, I hardly touched him, Jesus I'm hard, if I'd punched him with all my power I .."

"Stop it Gary, you shouldn't have hit him." Margaret chided.

Still shepherding her towards school with his arm around her shoulders, Gary kept up his banter. "He's such a fucking wimp, you're better off with me like I keep telling you," he bragged.

Margaret just suddenly realised that John was absolutely right about Gary, he was a fucking bastard, and she wanted to get away from him as soon as possible. "Get off of me you idiot, John was always telling me what a nasty boy you are, and now I know he was right." She cried.

Ducking away from him she turned and ran back towards the field leaving Gary standing there with a bewildered look on his face. As she got nearer to the place it had all happened she realised that everyone had gone back to school. She ran as fast as she could but as she got there she could see everyone had returned to class.

"Sir, I need to see if John Lock's ok, I won't be lo.." She stated

"No need dear, he's fine and he has all the help he needs now," Mr Lovell ordered.

"But Sir I just need to.." She retorted, getting cut off for second time.

"If you carry on it'll be the headmaster you'll see, now sit down and take out your work and let's not hear any more out of you about anything but the parts that make up a flower," stormed Mr Lovell.

At the end of school Margaret waited for John in their usual place so they could walk home together but he didn't show. Walking across that field alone made her feel worse than she had all day.

As she reached the stile the tears started and she sat there for a few minutes with her face in her hands. Why had she even thought about kissing that prick? What was she actually thinking? Or was she thinking at all? Maybe a zillion questions went through her mind but they all had the same answer, she just didn't know.

Her mind in turmoil she suddenly found herself at John's door, knocking with what was left of her hope in her clenched fist. She didn't know how many times she had knocked without an answer. Why didn't John come to the door? Ok maybe that was a stupid question. But if he didn't want to talk to her, ok she could understand that but at least he could have shouted at her, he could have screamed at her out of the window.

Even if he didn't want to talk to her himself, either of his parents could have at least answered. The final walk from John's cottage to her house was made in floods of tears, she didn't realise she could cry like that until now. Despite her parents comfort she ate very little supper and went to bed early where sleep came slowly.

Maybe John had been taken to hospital yesterday and he wasn't back when she called. If that was the reason maybe he would be waiting by the stile in the morning. With that thought she finally dropped off into a restless sleep.

Bright and early the next morning Margaret waited hopefully at the stile. John never showed and sadly Margaret made her way across what always had been such a bright sunny field, but was now so much more dull and sad. School was much the same, as John never showed up there either and Margaret's last day of junior school just did even more to feed her depression without John.

Everybody at school was happy and jolly and full of the holiday cheer, exchanging gifts and excitingly chattering to each other about what senior schools they would be attending and who would be their teachers and what house they would want to be in. Margaret didn't much care about any of it and soon everybody realised it and left her alone. Gary was his usual self but after Margaret's third put down he decided that he needed to play the long game and hopefully with John out of the picture, as he thought, his chance would come.

John.

John headed home early and dreaded his parents seeing him, especially his dad. His fat lip wasn't as painful as his hurt pride, and he had no after effects of head butting the tree, with the back of his thick skull, and being knocked out for a few moments.

John was surprised more than anyone that Gary had the punch to knock him over, especially when he knew that it was hitting the tree that had put him out. But his fat lip was testament to the fact that he'd been caught with a sucker punch.

More than anything else John didn't want his dad to find out he'd been bettered in a what could be described as a fight.

John's dad is an ex boxer, he was an unbeaten semi-professional middleweight who had retired at the pleading request of his wife, John's mother. He joined the Navy from school and boxed for them against international opposition for six years. After leaving the Navy he then fought for the British and Commonwealth titles whilst working as a farm labourer. It wasn't until he met and married Emma that he gave up fighting when she couldn't take him fighting for a living. Ron Lock then bought the small farm cottage and grew crops as opposed to getting punched for a living. When he saw John's lip, in that instance he knew that he had to go against his wife's wishes and at least give John the option of not being hurt.

"Follow me boy" Ron instructed walking out the kitchen door towards the barn.

"Ron, please, no" Emma pleaded.

"He has to learn if he's going to survive" Ron replied, "that'll be the last chunky lip my boy will ever come back home with".

"I just don't want him getting hurt to earn money," Emma cried.

Putting his strong arms over her shoulders Ron whispered comforting words to her, "Don't worry love, I won't make that decision for him, but what I will try, with all my power to do is make sure is that he learns how to duck."

Ron took his son out to the barn.

"How do you feel?" He asked John.

"What do you mean dad? John replied.

"How do you feel? How do you feel about that?" Ron asked pointing at John's lip.

John bowed his head.

"Ashamed" John whispered.

"Good," Ron stated, "Remember that feeling because after today you'll never feel that way again about being hit." Ron said.

"Sorry dad" John moaned.

Lifting John's face gently with his big fist, Ron looked his son in the eyes and smiled "I love you boy and I don't ever want you to be ashamed or sorry from fighting ever again, so I'm going to teach you all I know about boxing and that will at least be enough to give you the option of not being hurt,"

A small tear beaded in the corner of John's eye but he blew his cheeks out and nodded to his father.

"Ok face me, you're right-handed yes?" Ron asked.

John nodded.

"Left foot forward, feet about shoulder width apart." Ron stated. John immediately did as he was told.

"Up on your toes and nice and loose. Now hands up, left in front of right. Tuck your chin into your chest and eyes on me, don't take them off of me until I says its ok."

Thus began the tutelage, in the art of boxing, of John Lock.

Maggie.

John went to Shirley Warren senior school which was five miles from the village Margaret and he lived in. Margaret went to the Soton village school as did Gary and most of the kids from their junior school. It was unusual for kids from Soton to go to any other school than the local one and Margaret was shocked that John would go to Shirley Warren.

Soton was considered a better school and obviously closer so she couldn't understand what would motivate John to want to journey further away to an inferior school. She enquired to her parents about whether she could maybe transfer there but was shot down in no uncertain terms that it became obvious to her that John must have either really wanted to go to Shirley Warren or really did not want to go to Soton .

She had lost count the number of times she had knocked on John's door, but only to be told that he was either very busy or not there. She hadn't even seen John in the village at all and if she saw either of his parents they would politely acknowledge her and quickly avoid making any kind of conversation. Her parents were treated the same way by his and soon avoided them as much as possible. Pretty soon it was as if John had disappeared altogether . Although not forgotten completely John almost became a distant memory to Margaret but the small ember of love remained.

Boys hit on the quickly blooming Margaret all the time, her beautiful green eyes, full cherry lips and shocking red hair made her stand out from all the other girls. Her Irish temper had been a gift from her Mother's side of the family and there were times when she was hit on, especially by Gary, that it was gratefully received. In her mind she had cheated on the only boy she had loved so she was going to remain faithful to him from then on even if they were no longer together.

"My name is Maggie and you would do well to remember that," Was her favourite saying and seemed to work when dealing with anyone, as well as the fact that people always remembered her when they met her.

Margaret decided that she liked her Irish side and becoming Maggie made her feel like a new person. She passed through her senior school years with ease and left with good enough qualifications to enter the university of her choice. Nursing became her vocation and she excelled in her field, becoming a highly sought after nurse and climbing the corporate ladder quite quickly. At the age of twenty six she moved back to Soton to take the position of head nursing sister at the small town's doctors practice. Her parents had retired and emigrated to Australia but she made enough money to easily be able to afford to visit them sometimes up to three times a year.

Maggie had all but forgotten John and although he would always be her first love she had met and dated a few men, and although being a good Irish girl and still having her virginity she had indulged in everything else but penetrative sex. Wanting to remain a virgin until marriage was, in her eyes, her penance for being a cheater and of course she felt it was the right thing to do.

Moving back to Soton had been her wish for a few years and finding an available single apartment had been a massive stroke of luck. She was quite close to work and all the local amenities including The Rising Sun bar or "The Sun" as it became known as.

The Sun had a long single bar, a couple of pool tables, a dance floor and a small stage with just enough room for a DJ or sometimes a small band. There were tables and chairs around the dance floor but there were also several dark alcoves with couches and soft leather armchairs that couples could become intimate in.

One Friday night, Maggie sat at a table next to the dance floor with Elaine and Lynne from the doctors practice, they had come to the pub that night to listen to a local band called Solar Prestige. A night of drinking and dancing was always an enjoyable end to the week, where Maggie could relax and let her hair down for a bit. Most of the people that she had got to know since she had moved back, came to The Sun over the weekend.

"Hey grumpy knickers, someone's angling for a dance I think," shout Elaine , pointing across to the other side of the dance floor.

"Who is? What are you going on about?" Maggie shouted back.

A nail polished finger pointed across the table towards a guy standing, staring at her with a half drunk pint of lager in his fist.

"It'll be you he wants, that's Nick," Maggie pointed out.

Nick was a regular in The Sun and Maggie had gone out with him once, but so had both of her friends and also most of the single women in the bar. Maggie's date with Nick had been ok until the end. Nick had picked her up and taken her to El Sombrero for a nice meal, then had made the stupid presumption that he would get a "result," as he put it, and get his cock wet on their first date. What he failed to understand was that the only way his dick would be getting wet on that date, or any other date with Maggie now, was if he sucked it himself. What Maggie didn't know was that Nick had gotten his cock wet on most of his first dates including those with Lynne and Elaine.

"A little portion of Nick would do you the world of good, it would go a long way to getting some of the starch out of your panties," Lynne chided.

"Yeh stiff knickers, Nicks got just the tool to unlock those well and truly slammed shut legs of yours," Elaine added.

"Just because Nick gave you both a five minute prodding doesn't mean he's ever gonna get the chance to pass on whatever tropical cock disease he's picked up this week, to me," Maggie replied, taking a sip from her very rare glass of iced Vodka and Coke, and remembering the slap she had given Nick after he had tried to clumsily push his hand up her skirt whilst ramming his whole fat tongue down her throat.

"Suit yourself, but he would certainly help to change your nickname," Elaine said back.

"I don't care what people call me," replied Maggie, "The Iron Virgin, doesn't bother me or any other name."

"It would bother me," Elaine groaned.

"Me too," Lynne chipped in.

"Well I don't care, I'm waiting for the right guy, and we'll love each other forever and it'll be special and not just for the first time but every time," Maggie shouted as she rose from her seat and pushed past the few people on the dance floor and headed to the bar.