Cause & Effect: The Five Defining Moments in the Life of Christine Hargensen

2 - The Stepfather

February 1969

Two things happen in the lead up to Christine Hargensen's tenth birthday.

The first is her mother's remarriage to John Bartel. Chris is less than thrilled with the union, and her relationship with her new stepfather is strained from the word go.

John is a far cry from her own father – a sports coach with little patience and an evident belief that children should be seen and not heard. He seems to place little importance on girls, and probably thinks he'd prefer to have a son, which is reflected in the relationship he has with his own daughter, Martha.

She is thirteen that year – a pretty little girl who likes climbing trees and rough and tumble with the boys. A tough cookie – had to be, on account of the fact her own mother had upped and left her several years earlier. All the same, she doesn't have much of a connection with her father and it's hard going.

Despite this – or perhaps because of this – she and Chris bond instantly. They are sisters within the week and inseparable within the month.

But with the exception of the relationship with her stepsister, Chris fights her mother's new marriage all the way – refuses to accept John's authority, clashes with him constantly.

The second thing that happens is unlikely to be a coincidence – Chris learns she can manipulate the adults around her – play them off, set them against each other.

She does so constantly.

Her mother carries around a constant feeling of guilt and is far too focused on keeping the peace to have too many ground rules, so Chris acts much older than her years and mixes with the older kids, too.

She can be a vicious little thing with a smart mouth, as John knows all too well, but it all simmers down when her Daddy shows up. She can really lay it on thick.

John thinks the pair of them are too soft with her, reckons she'd benefit from feeling the back of his hand a couple of times.

And she does, but it never ends well – she only need pick up the phone to her father and he's round to defend her honour. There are several confrontations, and in turn, John becomes familiar with the back of Daniel Hargensen's hand, too.

And Chris acts up at school. Partly because she can't seem to help herself, and partly because it always gets her the desired outcome – her parents in the same room, talking about her, arguing about her and if she's lucky, an extra weekend with her Daddy in a futile attempt to bring her back on course.

But at ten years old, there is little hope of bringing Christine Hargensen back on course.

That ship has long since sailed.