meetmemartha - Tumblr blog

meetmemartha · 1 year ago

Text

Down on Kencaide's

a/n: This takes place two years after the movie. Tex's brother has left for college by now, their father nowhere to be seen as usual and Tex now working full-time at Mr. Kencaide's ranch during the summer months.

On the 5th of May, 1976, Martha came to Tulsa. She had dark brown hair like that of a wise oak tree and a voice that rarely spoke. Her words wrapped around the nooks and crannies of your mind like ivy wraps around the trunk of the tree it engulfs.

Martha was the niece of Mr. Kencaide, and spent summers down on his ranch occasionally. Her parents got sick of her being around them for so long; not everything intoxicating should be kept close.

Tex didn't know yet, and neither did Martha, but their love would only lead to hurt.

During the reading of a eulogy of a passed townsfolk Tex first spotted Martha in a crowd, beside Mr. Kencaide. Like a poison to the eye, Tex couldn't stop looking at her. Each time he thought he had certainly studied the slope of her nose or the tilt of her eyes her face seemed to change with expression; she smiled and her dimples revealed themselves; she frowned her brows knotted together and seemed to enlarge her eyes.

Like a maze, each groove and surface on her face was unmemorisable, which only made it more tempting to look at. At the end of the church service, Tex was greeted by Kencaide and introduced to Martha, who had a smirk on her face Tex couldn't place.

At the ranch, Martha escaped from chores and housework to walk down by the stables or fields, trying to catch a glimpse of Tex. Tex took long walks when he had to go from and to the walkway from the stables to the large field as it passed by the ranch house. He'd look in, trying to catch a glimpse of Martha.

Although neither of them believed in God, it seemed they were made for each other. Without having ever spoken one word to each other, the two shared looks and smiles of connection, sparks lit when their shoulders brushed as they walked past each other.

What Martha liked about Tex was his soft brown features and his prominent brows, always so full of expression. They framed his face perfectly, and although his features came off as bold and almost intimidating to others they intrigued the girl. She admired his hard work, and his slightly sassy but humorous attitude that never went on pause; even when talking to his boss Kencaide.

Tex didn't know what he liked about Martha apart from her mystery. A beautiful girl from a city far far away, who smiled at her with dimpled cheeks and shiny rows of teeth. He didn't know what damage she would cause yet.

The two of them finally spoke a conversation when Martha was asked by Kencaide to give Tex his weekly pay in a little brown envelope and send him home for the day. They struck up a conversation as Martha walked down the driveway alongside Tex.

Tex spoke first, he was the eager one. "How are you finding the country?"

"The air is much easier to breathe, I felt like I was suffocating in the city. I like the people here too, they're nice."

"And the scenery, how'd you like all the green?" The rolling seemingly endless hills of green were a staple trait of the countryside. The hills and fields and random patches of forest were so ethereal even locals sometimes stopped to divert their journey into the forest, or even stopped to simply stare at the vastness of nature.

"In the forests and glades you can see foxes and pheasants and all other sorts of things. You ever seen a fox before?" tex asked, shyly glancing from his mud-caked boots to Martha walked elegantly beside him.

"Once only. When I was younger, about six or seven. I saw it in a field my mother was driving past. I pointed to it and told my mam to look, but she never saw it." Martha paused, reliving the memory in her mind.

"I feel like I'm the only person in the world to of seen that fox. Like it was meant for me." Martha's voice trailed off without leaving prints behind it, like a wispy dancing spiderweb on a faint breeze. Just distinguishable.

"Well there's plenty up in the woods near the ranch. I can take you there sometime, it's a nice place for a picnic as well."

The two of them glanced at eachother, sharing an awkward but sweet silence before awkward giggles broke the silence.

For the next three weeks, Tex and Martha were seem together as commonly as bread and butter. Inseperable, they spent almost every waking hour in the company of each other.

They filled each others times with conversation and presence; skiving off from chores and duties to kiss behind the stables or sit under the large horse nut tree in the yonder field.

Underneath that tree is where Tex would kick off his boots and bring his radio so they could listen to music together. Sometimes Tex turned on the news, but since Martha wasn't interested in politics or road accidents Tex would turn it off. She didn't even have to ask, her face would twist into uninterest and he read between the lines. They were so desperately in love with each other it physically hurt not to be touching or close-by at all moments of the day. Tex propped himself up on his elbow and told jokes to the girl lying beside him, giggling softly. He looked at her with warm Hershey brown eyes, softened with adoration. Her smile widened her whole face, made her eyes squint & dimples press into her cheeks. They talked about their future together, how they'd have a girl called Maeve and a boy called Evan, two dogs and a ranch on a large piece of land. Tex would have horses and Martha would keep chickens in a coop.

Each feature of one another's features was studied, by eye and hand. The long silences ever between lovers could be held and no awkwardness would pollute the moments between them.

"How along are you gonna be staying here for?" Tex had waited so long to ask Martha this, he didn't want to be disappointed.

"Two more weeks. I'm staying here for five weeks total." Martha's voice had a hint of sadness, but acceptance. Tex's didn't.

"You're leavin' me by the end of the month? But why? Summer's not even over yet?"

Martha looked at him with calm, still facial features. She looked wise, not that she had spoke this conversation before but in a way she had any answer Tex asked for in the palm of her hand. He just needed to reach for it.

"I never stay here for the whole summer, I just spend five weeks. Then I get picked up by my mother and driven to the airport where we fly back to New York. I-"

"But do you want to go back?" Tex sat up straight, brushing grass off his jeans and shirt to make Martha take him seriously.

Silence hung in the air. Martha's hair and dress moved gently in the warm summer breeze.

"I want to see my family again." She responded. Tex couldn't protest to that, he felt bad. The young boy rarely saw his father, although he knew Martha wasn't especially close with hers either. Maybe she just couldn't fathom doing anything besides what she was told to.

"Are you coming back next summer, then?" he asked, slightly broken and defeated.

"No. I'm seventeen, when I turn eighteen next year I'll be in Univeristy, I can't take trips while I'm in University."

More silence ensued. Martha wished Tex would fill it, like he usually did. His eyes scanned his surroundings while his brain worked, trying to think of any question but the one he truly had on his mind.

"Is this the last time I'm gonna see you?" His doe brown eyes looked at Martha, they looked into her soul. What they would was a cold barren ice land, unwelcome to the outside.

"It might be, might not be."

Tex frowned, enraged by her shrugging it all off. Did nothing matter to her? Suddenly her quiet mannerism seemed disrespectful. Her mysterious essence had been drained by companionship, she was just a vessel filled with ice now to Tex.

"What in the hell does that mean? Am I going to see you again or not Martha?" He asked again, his voice changing from irritation to a plead. His eyebrows were even more knotted together now, as they looked up at Martha. He wanted to see her face shift, to see at least sympathy decorate her eyes or lips.

Inside, the girl was dying. She loved this young spirited boy with all of her, and yet she didn't show it. She would have to separate from him, and they'd possibly never meet again. She was telling herself internally that this was just a whim, a meetup, a summer fling. The moments they shared and the times they touched had to be looked past, the complications of reality got in their love life's way.

"Don't make this any harder than it already is." She frowned, lowering her head and her voice trembled. It shook; finally; a sign of weakness. This smooth uncracked statue was now breaking, from the inside.

"I'm not trying to make it anything, Martha, please, just tell me if you want to see me again." She was upset, and he didn't know how to comfort her. He knew he was upsetting her, but she was upsetting him.

"Tex I don't know, Kencaide only took me when I was a child because my parents told him they wanted their hands free for a while. He's not going to take me while I'm an adult, and I'll be busy with schoolwork when I go to University."

She didn't want to say no, but long term just seemed to impossible.

"Do you want to go?" Tex asked again, his voice lower. It was one last question.

"No."

The two of them stared at each other, Martha's barriers finally down.

"Then run away with me." Tex breathed, only fully registering what he said after the words left his mouth.

Now that the evenings had arrived and the sun had gone down, the land was colder. Martha could heart heart beating and the cold rush of wind on her face as she ran back to the Ranch house, packing the

Nervousness engulfed her. The plan was to eat dinner, and then sneak out once the house had fallen asleep.

Diner was mashed potatoes, peas, chicken and carrot. Martha played with her food and mindlessly moving it around the plate before chewing it even though her stomach felt turned inside out from the idea of what she was doing. She wondered if it was a good idea, if running away was what she wanted.

She didn't miss her parents like she had told Tex initially, she didn't even want to go to University. That was her parents plan for her. On one hand she wanted to follow

and everyone around her thought was best, but her heart sang a different song. She wanted to run away with tex and just lie in his arms forever, in a permanent peaceful rest.

When dinner was finished, Martha cleaned her plate and went to bed, saying goodnight to Kencaide and the maid.

She walked up the stairs, each ancient one creaking as she took it, as if warning her not to go. Martha sat at the foot of her bed, antsy with anticipation. She thought of not going, of laying her head down to rest and not running away. Then, she thought of Tex all alone at the end of the driveway waiting in the dark, just for her. She had to go now.

Creeping down the stairs with her bag slung over her shoulders, Martha made her way to the kitchen, then the utility room. Every shape of furniture seemed somehow sinister now in the dim lighting of the night. Every time she turned a corner or stepped on a creaking floorboard she'd fret of disturbing the maid, or even Kencaide's sleep.

At the backdoor, before Martha could twist the handle it twisted for her, as Tex stood there with a big dumb grin on his face.

"There you are, I was worried you'd changed your mind." he joked quietly, glancing from Martha to over her shoulder, making sure she hadn't been followed.

Martha's eyes teared up. She could barely believe she was acting on such an impulse. She threw her arms around Tex's shoulders and leaned in for a kiss, trying to dull the thought of turning back now. Pleasantly surprised, Tex slowly wrapped his arms around Martha, feeling her rushing heartbeat from her chest against his own.

They stood there for a moment, before Martha pulled away. The two ran hand in hand down the driveway. As they got closer to the wall by the gate, Tex gave Martha a hand to get over the wall as he hopped it himself, slinging both their bags over.

Now off the ranch, Martha felt so much freer. The cold summer night air was soothing her sweating boiling skin, cooling her down. The two walked towards the town center where Tex spoke of getting the train from. From there, they could go anywhere in the country they pleased. He had his entire life savings tucked in his wallet, and spoke about how he'd buy any ticket to anywhere.

Tex smiled at Martha with excitement, she smiled back but with an underlining of fear beneath.

The town was mostly empty, it was midnight. The sky was now pitch black, letting only streetlights and the full moon illuminate the concrete paths and grey buildings.

At the train station, the bright buzzing light above created a whole new atmosphere. This was no longer the countryside with the sweet Southern boy she loved, this was the premonition to the possible tale of living somewhere so far away she wouldn't know where to point at on the map.

"Oh shit." Tex mumbled, turning the corner to see the local police officer talking to his colleague. They were standing near the ticket booth, sipping coffees on their nightshift.

Perfectly inconvenient timing. As soon as they saw Tex and Kencaide's niece it caught their attention. They were asked why they had full bags and fearful faces in the train station at midnight. What was their business there? Why are they out so late, shouldn't they be in bed?

It was almost painful to hear this all for Martha, and her eyes immediately began letting tears burst through. Tex remained calmer, having had run-ins with police before. He shrugged off questions, giving cheeky remarks here and there which was something the police didn't like.

"I'm going to have to escort you back home Ms. Kencaide, I assume you have no business leaving town without any guardian."

"I'm-" Tex was quick to answer, but was shut up quickly by the officer. They knew he was quick to think on his feet, and that he couldn't be trusted.

When beckoned to come towards the officer, Martha stood frozen on the spot. Adrenaline coursed through her, she was sure her mental state was shining through by the state of her weeping tears and trembling legs.

Martha glanced at Tex. He looked back. They shared a moment, one with no words spoken, just the most intense eye contact of their lives. If telekinesis was ever ruled to be unreal, this observed moment could disprove that. They broke off into a sprint, doing a complete 180 out the door. As soon as they had reached the end of the street the officers made it to their car, and had turned the sirens on. Tex hopped over a fence, sitting on the hop as he held out a hand to help Martha over.

They ran through back gardens, back alleys and even main streets, always trying to hide from the siren wailing in the background. By now it was no lie they had woken up half of the town, leading the police all around it who's sirens blared through the otherwise empty silent night. Every time they thought the sirens were far enough away, the car seemed to appear at the end of the street. In reality, the town was too small to properly evade police.

At the end of one alley, Martha broke. She cried out how her legs were killing her, how she was too out of breath to jump this one last fence. Tex coached her on desperately as he heard the sirens getting closer and closer. Eventually, the colours of red white and blue fell onto the brick wall of the alley, illuminating it.

As the two officers approached, Tex held Martha's face. "I'll find you, Martha. I'll write to you, I'll call you, I'll keep in touch. Tell me you'll do the same."

Tears streamed down her face, her throat was too choked up to speak back.

"Just nod your head Martha, if you can't talk, just nod your head." His deep brown eyes looked into hers, he only saw sadness in hers.

The police put them in the back of the car. At the station, they shared one final embrace as Tex went to the waiting room and Martha was pulled into another room.

The following week Tex finally found the courage to knock at Kencaide's door, apologising for stealing away Martha in the night and asking for a number or address. He got a cold blunt scoff and the door shut in his face.

Tex spent the next few months ringing numbers in phone books with the surname Kencaide or the first name Martha. He tried half the numbers in New York, breaking his pockets from the cost of the long distance calls.

He showed up to Kencaide's ranch every so often, giving another apology and asking for anything to find Martha with. It took half a year for Kencaide to be worn down. He finally town Tex Martha's parents home address. He wrote a letter every week or so, mailed it, and waited for a response.

The beautiful green leaves on the trees turned golden brown, then fell, rotting on the ground. The spring lambs were slaughtered, and the hills turned golden or brown. Tex grew a little older and a whole lot wiser. He came to the conclusion he'd never see or hear of Martha again, and the sweetness of summer love matured into a fond memory.

Summers passed and although Tex never forgot Martha's name, the partings in her hair or the accent that lay in the grooves of her voice, he moved on. Jamie, Johnny's sister came back into his life. They ended up marrying young, settling somewhere just outside of Tulsa on their own stretch of land. Tex's father came home and lived in the old house, which Tex went down to visit sometimes. On his drives there, now in a new truck with cleaner boots and ironed shirts, Tex would gaze out the window and recall how Martha and him walked down by the fields and when he passed by Kencaide's ranch he peered in, hoping to see Martha under the tree once again. She never was, but he didn't stop looking.

Jamie and Tex lasted thirty years together before they grew tired of each other and went their separate ways. They had no children together, which was of course the talk of the town. By then, very few townsfolk remembered Martha, let alone remembered the summer she spent here seeing Tex. It was like an incurable disease Tex had. He woke up late at night hugging a cold pillow expecting embrace back, he lay in long grass fields trying to recall how the buzz of the radio and hum of Martha's voice harmonized.

It had been so long Tex couldn't exactly name what was wrong with him, what he was missing, but he knew there was a missing piece to him. One that Martha had taken long ago when she visited him.

On a bleak autumn night, Mr. Kencaide took a stroke which resulted fatally. Tex attended the funeral, wearing his Sunday best. Among the rows of people were locals and a couple distant relatives who had flown in to see it all happen. Among the rows, her brother Tex had never met sat. During conversation, Tex sheepishly asked how Martha was doing. He got a bland answer back, but was told if he really wanted to know he could ring her. Her number was given to him on a slip of paper, as the brother disappeared after the funeral was over.

Standing at the landline phone, Tex hesitated. He stared at the piece of paper, not wanting to call someone he'd met so many years ago. She could've forgotten about him, it was possible. It was likely. He placed the slip of paper by the phone and went to bed.

In the morning, he created the courage somehow to call her. Tex felt like a teenage boy again, shy and unsure. He had breakfast, got dressed, went for a walk and did tiny chores around the house, as if to avoid doing the one thing he had been trying to do for all of these years. By the time he rang, it was two in the afternoon.

It was Martha's daughter, aged twenty who picked up the phone.

"Hello, I'm calling for Martha?"

"Who are you?"

"An old friend. I was wondering if, if she's around." With zero idea what to say if Martha answered, his words stumbled over themselves.

There was a pause. A pause so quiet he couldn't even hear the girl breathing on the other end of the line.

"You haven't heard?"

"Heard what?"

"She's passed on. Just this morning." A sad but accepting voice replied.

Tex stared at the wall in front of him, holding the phone, letting the feeling sink in. It numbed him, it numbed the insatisfiable hunger in his heart, knowing that his love was dead.

"Thank you.. Sorry, I forgot to ask for your name."

"Maeve. Is there anything else you need mister?"

"No, that'll be all."

★

#1970s #tex mccormick #the outsiders #tex #matt dillon #matt dillon fic #tex mccormick fanfic #tex mccormick fic #cowboy #angst

1 note · View note