Mike's Navy: Mike Meets Marlene

"That's not what I meant. I meant why didn't you tell me you could get pregnant when I was here in September. Why just let me fuck you and forget it? Why would you do that?"

She starts crying again, "Oh Michael, now your mad at me. That's why I didn't tell you then. I thought you would get mad or something and stop loving me. Please don't yell at me, Michael."

He settles in the seat, "So I guess you want to be Mrs. Claymore now." He thinks on that. "What can we tell your parents? An immaculate conception? The stork made a mistake? Do you suppose they'll believe we have no idea how it happened?" he asks with a grin. "I can hear your mother now, 'I knew that thug was abusing my child and forcing her to do those awful things that teenagers do.'

Marlene can't help but giggle through her tears and she gets the hiccups. She wails, "Oh Michael, I don't know how we're going to tell them."

"We? I think you better tell them while I'm over to the island today. That way they can't find me to murder me before it sinks in we're getting married. By the way, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

"But I wanted to go with you to the island like we always do and I'd be pleased to accept your proposal, kind sir."

"I suppose you want the ship's captain to marry us?"

"I never thought of that. Do you suppose he can?"

Mike laughs, "You're serious, aren't you." It's a statement. "I guess we can check it out." He adds, "We do have to tell them, love. I should think the sooner the better. It's already too late. By the way, shouldn't you be in class this morning?"

"I begged off the rest of the week. I told them I'd be at home. I didn't know what else to say. I just wanted to be with you."

"Let's go get some breakfast then." He pulls around to the side of the mall and they go to Tim Horton's for breakfast. In light rain they head for the ferry. This time when they cross the Haro Straight they behave themselves and consult with the captain. He informs them he has never performed a marriage but has heard the adage that such is possible on the Washington Ferries System amongst these same islands.

They decide it has to be the BC Ferries or not a shipboard ceremony. One reason they feel this way is because they want their marriage to be recognized in Canada without question. It would be like getting a Las Vegas wedding or divorce, not ideal. They consider other possibilities and decide to next find out about getting a license. What better place to check with than the capital, Victoria.

Mike drops Marlene at the Sub Shop in the mall near the base and goes to deliver his load. The officer says, "You have Friday, Saturday and Sunday off. That means you get today to run up to Nanaimo and bring a trailer back here. Monday we have one from here to go to CFS Aldergrove then back here for a load of old ammo to Gorilla Surplus in Vancouver then back for another load of the same to the same. That should keep you busy next week and then Friday there's a load from CFB Chilliwack to Camp Borden. From there pick up at Valcartier Industries and back to Halifax."

"Is there any problem with me going over to the mainland for the weekend, sir?"

"Best you don't do that with your tractor. When you get back from Nanaimo we'll have a pickup for you for the weekend. Just check with dispatch, they'll have the keys."

"Yes, okay sir and thank you."

He goes back to the truck cursing under his breath. This will deprive him of his truck on his weekend. It's his transportation and his accommodation. He guns it and heads around to the mall for Marlene. She's waiting at the curb and he doesn't hardly have to stop.

"We got complications."

"What's wrong?"

"I have to go pick up a load here on the island and bring it back here now. Then they will have a pickup for me for the weekend. A pickup! What am I going to do with a pick up?"

"Is that going to make that much difference?"

"I don't know, you tell me after you spend three days in a pickup." He grumbles a while then says, "We'll have lunch up at Nanaimo."

"So when we go back to Vancouver tonight it will be in a pickup, is that it?" Mike nods. "I suppose we won't be able to sleep in it in the mall, will we?" He nods again. "What will we do?"

"Do you know any cheap motels?" She looks glum at that. "Would you prefer to go back to the college?"

"No, no, no, no."

"Maybe your mom will let us stay at their house. We could sleep in your old bedroom."

She glares at him, "That's not funny."

"I guess we better go over there tonight. Might as well face them now as later. Any ideas on how we handle this? We have to stay in their good books as much as we can. We still need their signature for you to get married unless you're going to turn nineteen right away. Are you?"

"I can get married when I'm eighteen, mister."

"You can get into a bar in BC when you're eighteen but you can't get married without parental consent until your nineteen. Didn't you know that?"

"No, I thought it was eighteen." She pouts as she realizes she needs her mother to agree to this marriage. "Mom might not go for it if she knows I'm pregnant so maybe we should just tell them we're getting married. That's all."

"Oh sure and we want to do it in the next couple months. I'm sure she'll go for that. She's going to know so we might as well be honest and tell them the truth.

She pouts, "Okay, Michael." Now she knows her goose is cooked. Her mother will know she was only seventeen when she got pregnant and she'll light into Mike about it and then he'll know and he'll be mad at her for that. She gulps and clears her throat but no sounds will come out. She boosts her self saying, "I can do it! I can do it!" quietly in a small voice.

"What'd you say?"

Mike my love, I have a confession to make. Please hear me out before you say anything."

Mike narrows his eyes, "Confession? What else didn't you tell me? You've got another boyfriend and it might be his?"

"No, no Mike. You are my one and only lover. I could never look at another man when I love you the way I do."

"So?"

She bites her lip. "You know when you and I met down at Jen's and we went to the island?"

"Yeah."

She blurts it out, "I wasn't eighteen yet. I had that phony id so I could get in the bars. So did Jen have one, too. We wanted to be grown up for the... the guys... I guess. I don't mean to catch guys but so they would think we were old enough to drink. Oh shit! It sounds so lame. I screwed up. I wasn't eighteen yet."

Mike is slowing and staring ahead. He pulls over and asks, "How old are you?" His face is ashen.

"Michael, please, Michael, I'm really eighteen now. I am. I had a birthday just after you left last time." She's afraid of him now. "Michael, I'm not lying to you. I'm really eighteen."

Visions of prison for years and possibly lashes for sex with an underage minor sweep through his head. He feels sick to his stomach and launches himself out of the truck narrowly missing a passing car. He kneels by the front wheel and brings up everything he has eaten for days. Marlene moves over by the passenger door and doesn't know what to do.

Mike looms in the door and he holds out a hand to her. She sighs and reaches for his hand but he slaps it aside. "Your phony identification. Give it to me!" She stares at him with tears welling in her eyes. "Now! Put it in my hand!"

She whimpers, "Why?"

"It's my only defense if they claim I molested a minor. It's the only way I can prove I didn't know."

"But you didn't molest me, you made love to me. We made love to each other, Mike. That can't be wrong. It was an accident I got pregnant, that all. His open hand is still in front of her face and he extends it again. She starts crying, "I can't. I burned it after my birthday. All I have is my real one now."

Mike sits down in the seat breathing fast and shallow. He is white and still feels ill. His head is whirling. "You have to get Jen's phony id. It will substantiate my claim that you had one. You'll have to get hers. I have to have it!"

"Well, I'll ask her but she might not like it..."

He jumps up and looms over her again "Do you want me in jail? For years? Who will marry you then? Damn it all to hell, I need that id. You will get it!"

She holds up her hand defensively and Mike collapses in the seat. "I can't drive. I can't think. I hate myself for threatening you, I love you. I'm not in very good shape." He slouches behind the wheel shaking his head and trying to clear it.

They have just came through Chemainus so Mike drives back to go for a bite at a McDonald's. He goes to a picnic table to eat and she joins him so he gets up and goes to the other end of the table. They eat in silence. He waits for her to finish then goes back to the truck. As they settle in he pours himself a fresh coffee and puts it in gear. He shifts and shifts then lifts his coffee from its holder and has a sip before shifting again.

He glances over at her and can't help but notice how beautiful she is. He stops wondering if she's worth it. She is and he'll prove himself her champion if he can or die trying. She spots his glance and he winks at her. She smiles weakly back and feels some relief. They'll make it, she's sure.

Mike drops her in town and drives to the station for the trailer. It's ready to go so he just hooks up, sign for it and pulls it away. He's back to get Marlene within half an hour.

"Do you want a bite, Hon?"

"Maybe some fries and peanut butter." He smiles and watches for a place to stop. She gets her fries and peanut butter. They head back to Esquimalt. It's only about seventy miles so an hour and a half sees them back at the mall near the base. He reminds her he will be in a blue military pickup so that's what she will have to watch for.

He drops the trailer at supply on the base and goes around to the motor pool. They have a 1979 Chevy pickup for him in camouflage with a straight six diesel under the hood.

It's fueled up and ready to go. He pulls all his loose personal stuff out of the Hayes and tosses it in the pickup. He signs it out and tells them, "See you Monday."

He pulls back around to the mall and looks for Marlene. She's a knock out so it doesn't take him long to spot her. When he waves she realizes it's him and waves back. She tries to get in but the floor is littered with his stuff and so she has to put her feet up. "Oh Mike, can't some of this stuff go behind the seat?"

He decides he'll try so he folds the bedroll different so it's flatter and he can fit that back of the seat. His shades slip back there easily. His brief case just won't fit anywhere so it stays on the floor. "How's that?" he asks.

"It's better, what's this big thing in the middle?"

"That's a military radio, love. It's part of the truck."

"I guess I'll just have to stay over here then." She sighs.

They head for Swartz Bay and the ferry to the mainland. Mike complains, "We didn't get a chance to check out the requirements to get a marriage license here. I guess we'll have to do that in Abbotsford.

"I been racking my brain about a cheap motel and I think there's one near the abbey in Mission. They have monthly rental units with kitchenettes, I've heard."

He looks over at her. "I think we better play that one by ear, love. You're mother's not going to like you staying with me in a motel. I think we better check with them first." He's dreading this meeting but knows it's necessary.

As they ply the waters of the straight once again and near the mainland Mike and Marlene have found a way to cuddle on the bench seat in the front of the pickup and have the pillows under their heads. He whispers encouragements to her and she thinks they'll be able to weather the storm of her mother's wrath now. She determines in her mind she will get Jen's phony id card for him.

Mike says, "If they can't give us their support I've heard young people sometimes go to Alberta to get married. All you have to be is eighteen there and no parent's consent required. It's a short one day drive, love."

"I'll get Jen's phony id card for you, Mike."

"I'm sorry I was so rough on you for that. Let me check on the legal age for consent in British Columbia before we panic there. I have always heard it's eighteen but how do young people get married then. Some of them must have sex before then, don't you think?"

"I know many of my classmates did and they were only fourteen or fifteen at the time. The first time I did it with my boyfriend in school I was fifteen."

"Yeah, but you didn't keep doing it, eh?

She looks sheepish, "We did it many times under the bleachers."

"Huh? How many times?"

"Oh Michael, you just want to embarrass me. Stop that!" She laughs quietly. "It was only one semester."

They get around as the ferry docks and Mike gets the pickup started. Quickly they leave and start for Abbotsford. He asks, "Do you have a health nurse at the school or a counselor?"

"Yeah, we do. Why?"

"That's one source of information on the age of consent, I suppose. The only other source I can think of is the police."

"What about a minister?"

"Maybe." He thinks on it, "That might be worth trying. Who's your minister?"

"What about a doctor?"

"Yeah or a health clinic. I think I saw one in the mall in Abbotsford." He decides to check with them when they get to town. "I bet they're closed now though. It's after six."

"Emergency is open all the time. We can ask there."

So they pull into the Abbotsford Regional Hospital and check in emergency for a doctor. At the desk they have to answer a lot of questions and are finally directed to a counselor. She invites them in and makes them comfortable.

"Is this concerning your own health," she asks Marlene.

"In some ways it is. We want to know what the age of consent to have sex is."

"In Canada it's quite complex but to make it short fourteen is the legal age of consent."

"Oh. We thought it was eighteen."

"Well, it is eighteen if you are thinking of male homosexual sex or exploitive sex, but twelve is the age of threshold sex. There's a law of 'close-in-age' sex that is permitted because the partners are within two years in age to each other.

"Would we be exploitive?"

"I don't think so. He doesn't make you have sex with others to make money or he's not a police officer or a teacher or anyone with authority over you, is he?"

"So we just have to be fourteen then?"

Mike shakes his head, "Is it the same in Quebec?"

"It's different all across Canada. Each province has it's own laws on that and I'm not sure on Quebec but it will be similar." Mike feels a lot better.

He asks, "Why don't we know that? It should be something as familiar as the speed limit on the highways."

She agrees with him, "I don't know why it's such a secret. Young people who it affects most are the ones least told."

Marlene asks, "Where can I get a pregnancy test?"

"Your doctor is the best place. They do have new fangled in-the-home tests at the drugstores but I think the most reliable is from your family doctor. You'll be involving him anyway. If you decide to try the drug store test I recommend the Daisy 2. It gives you results in one hour, not two and includes a second test to reassure you of the initial results. It's the newest test on the market."

They thank the nurse/counselor and leave. Back in the truck Mike asks, "Are you up to facing your folks?"

"Oh Mike, do we have to tonight?"

"If we don't we will end up going to a motel and that will just aggravate the situation. I think if it's not too late we should go see them. We know we didn't do anything illegal and we know we want to be married. The pregnancy does make it more urgent we do something right away, that's all."

"Okay, but mom's going to go through the roof."

"Give me directions."

"Go out to the right then turn right on Marshal Road." Mike follows the directions. "Keep going to the end. Well not quite the end." They pass Bakerview Elementary School. "Keep your eye out for Catalina Crescent on the left. Go down there passed Cordova and follow around to the right. The first place on the left is it."

"Oh, that place is nice. It looks like a double lot." He parks in the drive beside a pickup behind a van.

Marlene speaks up, "Maybe you better park behind the pickup. Dad might not be home."

"Dang, I'd rather he was here. I feel he might offer us some support."

"Daddy? I'm scared to say anything about being pregnant around him." They get out of the pickup and start for the house. A figure moves in the shadows of the porch.

"You got guts, I'll give you that. You must be Mike."

Marlene shrieks, "Colin, you scared me! What do you mean?"

"Mom has had Dad searching the town for you two all day. She wanted the cops to do it but they refused until you're missing for twenty four hours. So where were you?"

"Victoria and Nanaimo and the ferries, of course. Mike, this is my older brother, Colin. Colin, this is Mike."

Mike reaches around her and shakes his hand. "Nice to meet you, Colin. So we're in trouble, eh?"

"I guess the college called to confirm she was at home and of course she wasn't. Mom went ballistic and your name came up right away. Welcome to the family, Mike."

Mike replies wryly, "Thanks... I think."

Marlene pipes up, "He's going to be. He proposed to me and I accepted. We're engaged." She pouts, "No ring yet."

"What is this foolishness?" Marlene's mother comes out on the porch. "Why are you all skulking out here on the porch? Come inside." She shoos them along. "I want to talk to you, young lady." They all go inside and Mike is introduced to Tom (Thomas) her younger brother. He looks around for Marlene but she has been whisked away.

Tom asks him about the navy and the opportunities there. Collin asks about the pickup and Mike is caught up in the McRae family gab fest. In a way it's fun and he feels like a long lost brother. They fight over who will go hang up his coat for him and each vies for his attention.

Marlene comes back into the room looking serious. Mike asks, "Is everything alright, love?" She shakes her head.

Her mother appears behind her, "Would you like coffee, Mike?"

"Only if it's no trouble. If your having some, I'll have it with you."

"Come," she leads him to the kitchen but no one accompanies them. She pours fresh coffee for two and seats him across from her. "I'm reserving comment on you two kids actions today until my husband comes home." she sips her coffee. "So you want to marry my daughter." She sips some more. "Drink your coffee, Mike."

"Has she told you she usually gets her way?" Mike tastes the coffee. "She's our only daughter so she does get spoiled." Mike feels uncomfortable. "Since she's met you she's spent a lot of time with you. She does that with new things, like her puppy or a new toy when she was younger."

Mike clears his throat, "I don't think I'm a passing fancy, ma'am." She turns and glares at him balefully.

Marlene comes into the room and leans on his shoulder. "I haven't told her yet, Mike."

"You mean there's more?" She spins around and looks her daughter up and down. She has removed her jacket now and her mother's face becomes ashen and clouded. "So do tell me the rest." she grits her teeth.

Mike wishes he wasn't there as Marlene blurts out, "We're having a baby. I'm carrying Mike's child and I think it's wonderful. It's your grandchild, Mom." She finishes plaintively. "Oh Mike, please help me."

He catches her around the waist and heads for the door with her. He takes her through the house to the front door and out on the porch. He sits her down and holds her close. She sobs quietly into his shoulder. "Can we leave now?"