Dave was running about the studio like a chicken with its head cut off! He was absolutely delirious, and Clive was getting a bit worried.
“Are you all right, mate?” Clive asked.
“Yes. Fantastic. This is unbelievable. My girlfriend is in Aberdeen and I’m going to see her in an hour for the first time in nineteen years! Quick – quick Clive, help me find a CD. The Best of The Mamas and Papas – ah – here it is. Got to be quick, David Gates is about to finish. Into the deck it goes . . . track number . . . and . . . press ‘pause’. That’s it cued.”
The David Gates track ended and Dave opened the microphone fader.
“Well, there you go, that’s got to be one of my ‘Desert Island Discs’ if you know what I mean. David Gates there, and ‘Took the Last Train’. Now I just took a very special phone call a few minutes ago – a phone call that has just literally knocked me for six, and living proof that thought transmission really does work. Those of you who listen to the programme regularly will know I always dedicate a track at some point in the show to a lovely lady called Katharina, and I never say who she is. Well, she’s a long lost girlfriend who I haven’t seen for nineteen years, but the flame still burns, and would you believe she’s in Aberdeen and I’ll be seeing her in an hour. This is the best thing ever that could have happened tonight, and I’ll never forget this night. I hope you can share in my excitement when I tell you that this is one very special lady, and I’m going to dedicate the next track especially to her. Katharina, my love, this one is for you and you only. It’s the Mamas and the Papas – ‘Dedicated to the One I Love’.”
Katharina listened on her Walkman on the ship, and started to cry.
“What’s wrong Mama?” Anna asked, putting her arm around her.
“Oh, nothing, darling. They’re just playing a silly sentimental record on the station I’m listening to.”
Dave was really champing at the bit to get out of there now, but he was a professional and was determined to end the show properly. After the Mamas and Papas track, he went straight into ‘Sara’ by Fleetwood Mac. While it was playing, he hunted out a nice long track to end with so he could nip away early. Picking a CD by Rick Wakeman called ‘The Six Wives of Henry the 8th’, he cued up track number six, ‘Catherine Parr’ which was seven minutes six seconds long. That’ll take us to the end, he thought.
When the Fleetwood Mac track ended, he opened the mike. “Fleetwood Mac there, and Sara. Well, that’s about it for another show. It’s certainly been one to remember, what with the heat, the wildlife, and the reappearance of someone very, very special. To end with, I’ve picked a track by Rick Wakeman from his superb album ‘The Six Wives of Henry the 8th’, and it’s called ‘Catherine Parr’. Clive’s standing by to take you through to six, and I’m off to meet a lovely lady. Bye now.”
Oh shit, he thought, Tammy will be listening. And she hasn’t phoned tonight. I’ll have a lot of explaining to do.
He remembered the last time he felt as excited as this. Tammy had phoned him towards the end of the programme.
“Hello, Strathdee FM, Dave Buckingham here. Speak to me.”
“Hell, Dave, shut up and listen . . . it’s coming, it’s bloody well coming . . . the baby . . . Dave, get your arse over here quick.”
“Have you phoned the midwife?”
“No, yes, oh I don’t know. Mum’s supposed to be doing all that. All I can do is yell every few minutes. Come on man, get yourself over here now – this is all your fault anyway!”
“WHAT! It takes two you know! OK, I’m on my way.” You couldn’t argue with a woman in labour!
In a completely helpless flap, he just panicked, then panicked more, left the control console and told Clive he would have to take over for the rest of the show, shouting to him, “I’m having a baby!”
He climbed into the Land Rover, and just flew down the farm track with all four wheels barely touching the ground at any one time. Once he got to the Truck Stop, the midwife’s car was parked outside. He went round the back to the trailer, knocked and went in. The midwife stopped him in his tracks, saying: “No room in here for men. Go into the café and make a big pot of tea. We’ll call you when anything happens. Everything’s fine just now – Tammy’s a real expert at this!”
Dave went into the café where the other kids were watching television. He started making the tea, and when he was finished, the door opened and the midwife shouted to him to come through to the trailer. The kids ran after him as they went in.
“You’ve got a lovely big bouncing baby boy,” the midwife said to him with a big grin. “Well done!”
“Say hello to Duncan,” Tammy said to Dave.
He went over to Tammy and kissed her. “Well done, love.” Then he looked at his beautiful son and gave him a tender little kiss on his soft forehead. “Well done, son. You’ve done us proud. Come on kids, come and see Duncan, your new brother.”
The kids were just over the moon, and the whole scene was just a lovely happy family situation – just a normal day in the life of Tammy, ‘The Pride of Strathdee’!
As the years progressed, Dave played a very active part in the upbringing and well-being of his son Duncan. He played with him whenever he could, took him for rambles in the forest, taught him how to fish, helped him with his school work, and all in all, was the perfect dad. Tammy didn’t ask for any of this, he just wanted to do it. He also provided financially in no small way.
He still went to the café after his show for bacon rolls and coffee, and occasionally, if the moment was right, the conversation would lead to other things. It was an arrangement that suited both of them, and it continued over the years.
The Truck Stop had been fully refurbished by Frank, and was now busier than ever. The evening clientele were different to the daytime ones. At night, as predicted by Frank, a lot of the American oilmen came out from the city with their families to have some real home cooked Aberdeen-Angus burgers, and listen to live Country and Western bands. Frank managed to get some pretty hot bands to appear, and he would record the performance and play it on the station. When the audience in the city heard this, they just had to come out to see it for themselves, and the place went from strength to strength. Frank took on extra staff to cope, and when she was old enough, Tammy’s daughter Sarah worked in the café full-time. The twins, Robert and Jamie, started work with Benson’s Plant Hire when they left school, and soon they were driving trucks and were experts on any kind of machine. They were real enthusiasts. The trailer was eventually too small for all of them, so Frank bought another one and sited it alongside the first one. This way, everyone could get a bit of space and privacy. There was even room for her mum to stay in comfort whenever she liked – or was needed. Tammy thought the family would soon leave home, but they had other ideas – her home cooking was just too good to give up! And they had a good life.
At last, Dave was free from the studio. He opened the door and walked out into the warm morning. It was one-thirty, and he was a man on a mission. He had almost an hour’s drive ahead of him. He looked at the JCB bucket and the oil drum in the back of the pick-up, and cursed Mrs Benson. He cursed Archie too. His head’s too full of barmaids just now, he thought. Well, I’ll just have to go up to the site with the stuff after I’ve met Katharina. I’m not wasting time just now.
He climbed into his ‘new’ company vehicle which was a seven-year-old yellow Toyota Hi Lux pick-up, which replaced the Land Rover after it eventually died. Always one for a bargain, Frank bought this vehicle at auction from the Water Board. Luckily, it still had its rotating flashing beacon fitted to the roof, very handy for their line of business. Dave drove on down the A93, leaving Aboyne behind, heading for Banchory on his way to Aberdeen, and Katharina. He just thought this was the happiest he had felt in a long time when, suddenly up ahead, he saw a blue flashing light. The policeman directed him over into a lay-by. He wound down his window, and the officer said, “Good morning, sir. Just a routine check. Would you mind telling me where you have been and where you are going?”
Dave obliged. “Mains of Clarty, and going to Aberdeen Harbour.”
The officer continued, “Would you mind telling me the purpose of your visit to the harbour?”
“I’m meeting my girlfriend off a ship.”
“Really, sir? Can you tell me why you have a digger bucket and a drum of oil in the back?”
“Yes, officer. After I meet my girlfriend, I’m taking these things up to Camus Fearn where my boss needs them for the morning.” Dave was getting exasperated by now.
“Is that so, sir? Do you have any means of identification on you?”
“No, officer, I don’t. I’m Dave Buckingham, you know, the DJ on Strathdee FM.”
The officer smiled. “And I’m Maggie Thatcher, sir!”
Dave couldn’t believe this – he just didn’t need this right now.
“Look officer, I’ve just remembered I’ve got a credit card with my name on it in my wallet,” and he produced it. “I live in the caravan at the woodman’s cottage, Mains of Clarty.”
The officer took it, inspected it with his torch, flexed it, and then, incredulously, sniffed it! He took it over to his colleague who was sitting in the police car and he wrote something out. The officer came back over to Dave and handed him his card, and a piece of paper.
“This is notification to produce your licence and vehicle documents at any police station tomorrow. Sorry to have bothered you sir. Have a safe journey.”
I’d have a safer journey and more peace of mind if you’d stop harassing me, Dave thought.
On he drove, through what he felt was a magical, mystical night. It was like he was in a dream. Perhaps I am, he thought, and this isn’t really happening. To make sure, he switched on the radio and listened to Clive’s show in the background. He reached the town of Banchory which seemed to be totally asleep. The only other vehicles he passed were two taxis, otherwise the road was deserted. Onwards through Crathes, then Peterculter, and when he got to Bieldside and Cults, where the moneyed people lived, he had reached the outskirts of the city.
He was starting to have butterflies now, and he felt his hands and feet shaking – not very handy when you are driving. He pulled into the side of the road and got out to calm down. Everything was deadly quiet, like time had stopped and that was it. He could smell the night. Like the world was standing still.
Oh no it’s not, he told himself. I’ve got a very important lady to meet, and he climbed back into the truck, much calmer now, and set off again.
As he reached the city centre, it was sound asleep. Turning off at the end of Union Street, he headed for the Beach Boulevard. This was the only way he knew to the harbour, so he stuck to it. Turn right now, onto the Esplanade. With the sea on his left, and the Funfair on his right, he cruised along slowly, past all the empty, silent cafés, and then to the little unobtrusive street on the left, lined with houses and parked cars, which would take him right down to the harbour and Pocra Quay.
His hand really was shaking now as he fumbled for the switch to put on the flashing beacon. The whole area was immediately floodlit with one-second pulses of orange light, even right across to the Bon Accord soft drinks depot on the other side of the water. As he slowly drove round the quay, the big BP oil tanks out on the jetty alternated between white and orange as the truck’s beacon rotated. Further round still, and there she was – the Star Venturer, alternating between orange, and even brighter orange. This is it, he thought, this is the most important moment of my life.
He got out and looked up at the huge ship. He could see two girls leaning on the rail, looking over to him. One of them waved. He waved back. Then she started to hurry towards the gangway, with the other girl trying to keep up behind her. Anna just didn’t know what was going on, and she was watching to see what her crazy Mama would do next. Katharina reached the gangway and started running down it, almost stumbling as she ran. Her heart was racing; the butterflies in her stomach were having a boxing match with the kittens, and there, in front of her, was the whole reason for her living. It was as simple as that to her. Nothing else mattered, except, of course, her precious daughter. Dave’s precious daughter. She reached the quay, then slowed down and stopped. She could see Dave silhouetted against the pulsing orange light coming from the truck’s beacon, and he could see her, her face illuminated in orange at one second intervals. The radio in the truck was playing ‘I’ll Be There for You’ by The Rembrandts, and the light was flashing in time to the music, like a surreal disco.
After about thirty seconds, she walked slowly over to Dave, and he saw the other girl stay where she was. Dave could see Katharina was crying, and as she got nearer, he held his arms open wide. She ran the last few yards and just threw herself into his arms, the tears now streaming down her cheeks. Dave expected bells and whistles with fireworks or even a trumpet fanfare when this moment arrived, but there was silence. They just stood there locked together as Anna looked on. The beacon flashed, the deep purr of the Star Venturer’s generator filled the air, and somewhere along the quay a warning bleeper was sounding, either from a fork lift or a truck manoeuvring.
Dave was the first to speak. “It’s all right. I’m here now. It’s all right, love.”
She still hadn’t spoken as they kissed passionately.
“You don’t know how good it is to see you and hold you,” Dave said.
Eventually, Katharina managed to speak. “I do, I do. I’ve waited nineteen years for this. Now look at me – what a mess! Tears everywhere!”
“You’re starting me off as well,” Dave spluttered, as they both hugged really closely again.
Then, Katharina remembered Anna watching from a distance, and she said, “Dave, it is so, so good to see you. But I am forgetting – there is someone here I want you to meet,” and she waved Anna over. Anna looked puzzled as she walked over to them. Dave saw a beautiful young woman with long dark brown hair tied back in a pony tail.
“Dave,” Katharina said slowly, “Dave . . . this is Anna. Dave, Anna is your daughter. Anna, darling, meet your Papa at last.”
Dave was completely paralysed, his jaw almost hitting the ground. He just stood there and Anna stood in front of him. They looked at each other for what seemed like an eternity, and Dave could see that Anna was crying now. This was all too much for him. Eventually, Anna opened her arms and said, “Hello Papa.” Dave took two steps up to her and they hugged, carefully at first, then a full no nonsense hug, cheek to cheek.
Dave said, “Hello Anna,” his voice hoarse with emotion. Anna kissed him on the cheek and he returned the kiss on hers. I’m holding my own flesh and blood, he thought, and it feels wonderful!
When all the hugging, kissing and crying had subsided, Dave came back down to earth. “How long are you here for?” he asked tentatively, not sure if he really wanted to hear the answer if it wasn’t going to be ‘forever’.
“I’m not sure,” Katharina answered. “It depends on a lot of things. Anna has been offered a place at Aberdeen University and we are here to check it out. It depends also on how long you would want me to stay for. It’s been a long time and lots of things have happened to us both. I have to know what you think – I already know what I think.”
Dave didn’t like this uncertainty – he had to sort this out now. “Do you want to know what I think? I’ll tell you what I think. Do you know what the word ‘forever’ means?”
“Of course,” she said, and started to get excited. “Yes? What do you mean?”
“I mean forever. I want you to stay forever. Until the end of time. Until the tide stops rushing in, until the rivers stop flowing and all that stuff! No, wait, longer than that – forever and a day!”
Katharina really was excited now. “That’s what I really wanted to hear. That’s how I feel too – that’s all I want!”
Anna joined in, “Oh Mama, this is wonderful, and Papa. I’m so happy for you both. This is the best night of my life.” Then they all hugged together.
Dave pulled himself together and took control of the situation. “Now, do you have anywhere to stay?”
“No,” Katharina said, “we had planned to book into a hotel when we arrived, but the plane was delayed and we were too late. This very kind oilman gave us a lift from the airport to here, and the ship’s chef cooked us a meal. The oilman was going to try to find us accommodation.”
“Well, you’ll come and stay with me, won’t you?”
“I was really hoping you would say that. I will go anywhere with you Dave. I never, ever want to lose you again, and I will make sure of that.”
“That’s what I wanted to hear,” he said. “I’m never going to let you go. And Anna, this is wonderful, I just can’t believe it. How old are you?”
“Nineteen,” Anna replied.
Katharina whispered in Dave’s ear, “It was that night on the Mermaid, when I got the phone call about my Papa. I forgot to take my sweet!”
“And you have had my lovely daughter all these years and I never even knew. Looks like we’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”
They said thanks and goodbye to Ritchie and the captain who had been watching, and walked over to the pick-up. Dave said, “Right, we should be able to squeeze three in here, but your bags will have to go in the back,” and they climbed in. “We’ve got about an hour’s drive to get to where I live.” He switched off the beacon, started the engine and they drove off.
As they drove back through the city, then out onto the A93, he told them all about what happened on the Mermaid and how he and Tom Hammond had jumped ship in the RIB. He continued with how he ended up in Aberdeenshire, and how Frank had changed his name and bought the plant hire business and the radio station, and married Tamara, the Russian lady in Spain. He left out the bit about his son, Duncan. She would find out soon enough, and he didn’t want anything to jeopardise this moment.
Katharina then told Dave all about her experiences over the last nineteen years. She told him about her ordeal with the debt recovery agents and how she nearly died. She told him all about Rupert, and how she was in a successful job in Vienna. She commented on his hair now being so different, to which he replied, “Well, Beatles mop-tops do eventually go out of fashion, and we all get older!”
They drove through the night and into the morning. Dave felt like he was in a movie. This sort of thing just didn’t happen in real life, did it? To make sure, he looked over at his two lovely ladies. Katharina was sitting beside him in the middle seat, and she mouthed a kiss to him while she put her hand on his thigh.
Slightly flustered, Dave cleared his throat, and said, “We can’t go back just now. I’ve got to deliver this digger bucket and the oil to Camus Fearn. It’s right up a forestry track at the back of beyond. Frank has a machine up there ready to start work in the morning, but Archie the driver forgot the bucket.”
The radio still played in the background on Strathdee FM as they drove, and Clive was doing them proud. He was playing ‘My Girl’ by The Temptations, and he back-announced it, dedicating it to Dave and his girl. Then he played ‘Waiting for a Girl like You’ by Foreigner, and dedicated it to Dave and Katharina also. Everything just fitted perfectly – what a morning, what an atmosphere – perfect!
They reached the turn off for Camus Fearn. It started as a single-track road, and then petered out into a dirt track with grass growing in the middle. A closed gate loomed up ahead, and Anna obliged by getting out and opening it, then closing it behind them. They had to go through two more gates, climbing all the time through the forest, and then they reached a clearing down in a little dip. The dip was full of water, and a little loch had formed, blocking the track there and then. At the edge of the water was the JCB.
Dave stopped the Toyota and got out to survey the situation. The two girls also got out. It was so quiet and still, the silence was deafening. Katharina looked knowingly at Anna who smiled back at her – all girls together! Katharina said, “We won’t be a minute, darling!”
Without saying a word, Anna wandered into the forest out of sight. Katharina took Dave’s hand and led him in the opposite direction.
“Turn your back,” she said to him softly. She came up behind him like she used to do and caressed his neck, then kissed his neck, slowly turning round to give him a long, passionate kiss.
The strong smell of the pine trees was lingering everywhere on this hot, still morning. Even stronger, was the smell of the sphagnum moss and the heather beneath them as they kissed and kissed. It was like a wonderfully scented padded quilt – almost like standing in a giant bowl of pot pourri. Dave thought for a second, if you could bottle this, you would make a fortune.
“This is just so right,” Dave whispered, “this is how it should always be, and will be forever. I love you so much, Katharina.”
“I love you too, darling. I want you forever. Never, never ever leave me, will you? Always stay with me and I will always be yours.” Then she slipped into her old accent, saying, “Katharina, she want to make you happy for ever and ever. She is yours always.”
Dave just laughed, “I love you, darling.”
They both wished this moment would never end, but then Dave said, “Well, I hate to break up the party, but we’ve got a digger bucket to unload, and our daughter is on her own in the forest.”
Katharina laughed, “You party pooper!”
They made their way back over to the truck where Anna was leaning against the open passenger door listening to the radio and drinking a Coke. She gave her mother a knowing smile as if to say, ‘I know what you two have been up to!’
“Right,” said Dave, “let’s get this bucket dumped. It’s too heavy to handle, so I’ll have to use some ingenuity.”
He started the truck and repositioned it. Taking a heavy rope from the back, he tied one end through the fixing eye of the bucket, and then walked over to a tree behind the truck. He tied the other end round the tree and climbed into the truck. He drove slowly forward until the rope tightened, then kept going as the bucket was gradually pulled to the edge of the tailgate. A bit more power and the bucket thumped down onto the ground. He turned the truck so that its headlights were pointing to the digger, then filled the oil can from the drum, climbed up onto the digger and topped up the hydraulic oil reservoir. He left the oil drum beside the JCB then said, “OK girls, homeward bound!”
They went through the same rigmarole in reverse with the gates, and eventually reached the main road.
“This is the village,” Dave pointed out, as they drove through Strathdee. It was now after four thirty and getting light. As they passed the baker’s shop, Dave saw Ian Forbes the baker busily getting his day’s offerings ready. The milk truck was out delivering milk, and there was even someone out walking a dog along the main street.
Once out of the village, they turned into the farm road up to Mains of Clarty. Frank had widened and resurfaced the road since the first time Dave had gone up there in his parents’ Jaguar. It was now quite a good road, until it entered the farmyard and then things kind of let it down. It was a physical impossibility to keep a plant hire yard tidy, and the place was cluttered with diggers, lorries, bulldozers, dumper trucks . . . the list was endless. Katharina was completely gobsmacked. She used to love diggers and excavators when she was a little girl, and here was a yard full of them! Barely visible behind a huge tracked excavator was the studio. “That’s Strathdee FM,” Dave said to her, pointing over to it. “We have to go up another narrow forest track to get to my country residence.”
He drove up the track towards the caravan, the pick-up’s wheels spinning on the gravel. Anna was overawed by the sheer beauty of the area. She was surrounded by her beloved trees. When they reached the clearing, Dave parked the truck and they got out. The sweet smell of pine was everywhere as he took them round to the caravan.
“Well, here we are. Welcome to ‘Buckingham Towers’!” He opened the door and welcomed them in. They all flopped down on the comfortable sofa in the lounge.
“What do you think?” he asked.
Katharina was the first to speak. “It’s . . . it’s . . . just magic! It is. It really is a magical place. It’s lovely inside – very nice and comfy. Are you going to show us round?”
“OK, follow me. This is the lounge, as you have already seen. Through here we have the kitchen – quite spacious for a caravan, and at this end we have two double bedrooms. I use the bigger one, which I hope you will share with me, and Anna, you have a good sized room there for yourself. Next to the bedrooms is the toilet and shower room. It is all connected to the mains water supply and drains, so there is no hassle. We use bottled gas for cooking and heating, but the lighting and power is on a cable from the farmhouse where Frank and Tamara stay down at the farmyard.”
He put on a posh accent and said, “What does madam think? Does madam wish to stay?”
Katharina answered, “Madam is very pleased. She likes what she sees very much. She will stay. She will stay forever and a day!”
“And what about my precious daughter? Do you like it, Anna?”
“I love it . . .” and she hesitated, “. . . Papa. I love being right in the forest. It is just magical.” Dave felt so proud – she called him ‘Papa’.
“That’s good,” he said. “Now, this is what I suggest. I think we all need about eight hours sleep, so I will get the other bed set up for you, Anna, and we can all sleep until noon then make our plans in the afternoon. Frank is coming back from Spain sometime today, so you will see him soon.”
Anna and Katharina went back outside while Dave got some clean bedding from the storage lockers and made up the spare bed. They wandered over to the old woodman’s cottage and had a look around it. They loved this place, and couldn’t wait to see it in broad daylight.
Once back in the caravan, everyone settled in for the rest of the morning, Anna in her new room, and Dave and Katharina snuggled together in his room.