Everything I am about to tell you happened because I was waiting for it, or something like it. I didn't know what exactly, but I had some idea. I know what Mr Booker would say. He would say what you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts.
Looking back, Martha could've said no when Mr Booker first tried to kiss her. That would've been the sensible thing to do. But Martha is sixteen, she lives in a small dull town—a cemetery with lights—her father is mad, her home is stifling, and she's waiting for the rest of her life to begin. Of course Martha would kiss the charming Englishman who brightened her world with style, adventure, whisky, cigarettes and sex.
But Martha didn't count on the consequences.
