Fathom Less by Trish Wall

Hi all...does this grab anybody??? Suggestions welcome.

Chapter 1

Jennifer and Debbie grew up in a fairly typical smallish Irish seaside town Lismore. It was admittedly exciting during the Summertime with the holiday makers, but in the Winter, it was a one horse town and the horse had long since passed on from causes unknown. Most likely boredom. Even the Surfers who seemed to be quite accomplished at doing very little, deserted the environs in the wintertime taking with them their shaggy hair, colorful vans, outfits and boards. To absolve themselves from sheer mind numbing boredom, the girls made their main entertainment the observation of the holy roller busy bodies who, on their daily excursion of military precision eviscerated and desiccated the helpless or hapless by the time they got up the street to the Church. "Holy my backside!" quipped Gloria Connell when as a third year student, Deb quizzed her Mom over dinner about it. She sadly explained to her daughter that just about every town in Ireland had people like that, Lismore was not special in that regard. Scandal and stories grew legs like when somebody got too drunk and did something less than salubrious. If the Guards were called, well then, that was a huge bonus. Speculation could then have free rein and inconsequential details could be talked about for weeks or months while the ensuing court case was followed with great interest.

The girls at their age were of course, oblivious to the jealousy and spite that ruled every town in Ireland, from top to bottom. Debbie recounted to Jen how upset Gloria got when she asked her about "the Biddys" as the girls christened them. She said that cruel and vicious talk had caused many girls to be forced to leave their home. Debbie said her mom had wept openly as she told her about her friend Mari O'Brien who, many years ago, had gotten pregnant by her then boyfriend Tom Hilliard. Both Tom and Mari wanted to get married but Tom's family were business people in town and felt Mari was not good enough. They had quietly paid the parish priest to "get rid of her". The priest duly bullied her terrified parents with threats of the wrath of God, into sending Mari away to Dublin. Mari begged and pleaded with her parents to let her stay and marry Tom. To no avail, she was packed off post haste to a Magdalene Institution in Dublin. Neither Mari nor her child survived. As far as Gloria was concerned, piety and snobbery had killed her best friend. Tenderly stroking her head, she emotionally said to Debbie, "No matter what happens to you Deb, you can always come home here to me and your Dad, there is always a place for you here, and I mean that. No problem will ever be too big for us all to handle together."

Debbie and Jennifer in their innocence of youth, were appalled by the sadness of the tale. Debbie incredulous, recounted it to Jennifer. They had assumed these types of things only happened on television. They randomly discussed it at length in hushed and horrified tones while going for their daily stroll to the beachfront and down along the prom. Both admittedly felt confused and conflicted by what they had learned. It had made them look at nuns and priests differently, it made them question theur inherited beliefs. Up till then, they had been taught nobody in the Church did wrong and were to be treated with reverence. "I don't think they are all the same, you know what I mean? Just like anything, there must be good and bad there too, but they are hard to figure out, the kinda hide behind their headdresses and collars" said Debbie. "You can nearly pick out the mean ones tho when you think about it Deb, look at the ones that pick on Mikey White at school. He is as quiet as a mouse and an easy target. They make his life a misery." Jen made a snap decision and said she was taking Mikey White under her wing if she could, not making a big deal about it, but maybe it some small that would matter to Mikey. "That's what I love about you Jennifer Reilly, you have a heart as big as Mount Everest, but you are just an awful lot easier to conquer!" she joked. "Go way Deb, look at me now, I'm scarlet, you know how easily you can embarrass me. I know I am tall but could you please compare me to something other than like the biggest mountain in the World!" "Ah feck off Jen, with your face and figure girl, I could be comparing you quite easily in a few years time to Irelands answer to Cindy Crawford. "Oh, God" moaned Jen rolling her eyes dramatically, "Now you are trowel ling it on fairly thick, and have just gone for complete ass kissing embellishment". "Uh no, Jen, you don't get away with that little ould me crap, when I am a famous fashion designer, I am going to insist on your wearing my clothes. I could ask for no better hanger." They stopped into McNees Shop for a quick ninety nine to sustain them on the walk home. "I wonder what ever happened to Tom Hilliard?" asked Jen as they went strolled back up the road with their scrumptious cones, completely oblivious to the admiring glances of the local young lads. "Oh, he left and went to America, never came back according to Mam, never ever contacted his parents again. You know them don't you, they own that huge clothes shop in the Square. They have another shop somewhere else I think. It seems he had a right row with Mari's Dad before he left that.... they came to blows. He said he would never set foot in this place again and as far as Mam knows, he hasn't. It sounds like he has never forgiven them." "That's so sad Deb, that never needed to happen like that, if Tom's parents were reasonable. Jen stopped and said, "I am never, ever going to be a pushover, I am going to be my own person Deb" said Jen with feeling. "sure you are preaching to the converted there now Jen, to my mind you are already the main "go to" person you clown!, you're Captain of the debating team and the one that compiled the list of class complaints and brought them to the vice-principals attention. I don't know what you are going to be Jen Reilly, but you are not going to be anybody's doormat." That Fall when they went back to a new term at St. Marys Academy, there was a newly formed student union body of which Jennifer was to her amazement elected president. "Told you so" said a highly delighted Debbie, "told you so." "Now, I have a personal list of my own that I would love to see happen, starting with you finding a better of selection of cute looking fellas for us to gawk at." "I don't know if I can do that Deb, sure no other school in Ireland has the perfection we have here." "too true" sighed Deb, "we do have the real thing, pity there wouldn't be a few more like him though"

Chapter 2

Outside of it being a government requirement, both girls had solid good reason for going to school, Fathom O Dwyer. At St. Marys Academy, he stood out as being a cut above the rest of them by mile. There was no getting away from it but he was a good looking fella, they all knew it. Except him. Dark Irish, for sure and certain a throwback to his Spanish ancestors who washed ashore with the remnants of their Armada in the waiting arms of the lonely local fisherman's' daughters and widows. Many were killed by local men as they landed but, as many more were saved. Local legend is that many of the women found them too beautiful to kill and so hid them and kept them for their own. Many of these women might had already lost fathers and husbands to the Sea and felt the sea owed them a little something back. Thank God that even at that stage there were sensible women in Killtey 'cause Fathom O' Dwyer was beautiful.

The girls often said that God must have taken a whole week off with exhaustion after he made him. Who ever was made by God after Fathom...... got a real bad deal. They got all the leftover parts 'cause he had all the perfect ones gone already. Even as teenagers, he was well on his to his finally lean, muscular six foot four frame, possessed graceful, his artistic hands that gesticulated for emphasis when he spoke. As if that wasn't enough, Fathom was blessed with sparkling, almost cerulean blue eyes, that crinkled endearingly at the corners, sallow skin and a thick shock of unruly black hair that was constantly being mauled by his restless fingers, which in its' entirety made for an exceptionally attractive package.

His family were farmers for generations and he had a much younger sister Feile. He father Vincent, a tall handsome man, appeared taciturn and in contrast, his mother Marette a pretty, bright, vivacious woman seemed to be the life and soul of their house. In fairness, she appeared to be one of the few to elicit any good humour from her husband Vincent. To their young eyes, he seemed a very cross man. Jennifer's mother said that Marette was pursued by every bachelor for miles but, she had eyes only for Vincent. However it happened nobody cared, everyone was delighted as at least they had given them..... and the world, Fathom. He was annoyingly good at all sports and was on every school team, not the biggest talker in the world but from a mature perspective they now realised he was just deeper than his peers by years. He was exceptionally down to earth, an intelligent conversationalist on a subject that interested him and he had an unexpected, deadly dry sarcastic wit guaranteed to have the entire class falling out of their chairs in helpless laughter at some comment passed on an unwitting trainee teacher. Now, given the fact that it was a mixed school, we were fairly sure that half of the ones throwing themselves down on the floor in laughter were hoping he might get a right good look at them or their knickers and notice they existed.

He was in all the "brainy" classes.... "honors' everything" Debbie using to sigh dreamily as she yet again scribbled "Debbie O' Dwyer " on her book...suitably embellished with empathic red love hearts with cupids bows going through them. Even back then Debbie was very artistic and possessed a certain flair for the eclectic. She said he was living a life of unrequited love, like Romeo and Juliette. "that's pushing the boat out even for you Deb" Jen acerbically said, she herself was fairly smitten with Fathom. But sure they were not alone, every female with a pulse in the school had an eye for him. Calvin Klein sure wasn't sleeping the day they snapped Fathom right up out of college when they "found" him. He had just completed his Economics and International Business degree at Trinity with honors, no less, when a scout saw him lounging on a park bench in Stephens Green. Jen snorted with derision when she heard it, sure a blind person could pick him out of a crowd she said sarcastically to Debbie.