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When he saw Dom walk back inside the pub, Joey smiled. Uncle Raymond and Polly were also going to his grandparents’ for dinner tomorrow and Joey felt that perhaps the time was right to tell his family about his and Dom’s relationship.
It might come as a shock to them at first, but the quicker he and Dominic were accepted as a couple, the happier Joey could be.
Joycie felt content as she sat on the bench in the garden. Raymond and Stanley had worked wonders while she had been in hospital. They’d repaired the broken furniture, assembled a new pigeon shed, replaced the trampled flowers, and the house itself was absolutely spotless. As Stanley handed her a cuppa, Joyce urged him to sit down next to her.
‘Where’s Joey?’ she asked.
Stanley shrugged. ‘I think he said he had an interview or something. To be honest, Joycie, the last few weeks he’s hardly been here. He’s got that mate, Dominic, ain’t he, who lives in Islington, and he’s been stopping over at his. He did pop in the other day, mind, and he seems much brighter and happier.’
‘Well, who exactly is this mate? I’m sure I ain’t met no Dominic,’ Joycie said suspiciously.
‘Joey says we have met him before. He said he came to his and Frankie’s birthday party earlier this year. You gotta remember he’s sixteen, Joycie. If Joey wants to stop at his mate’s flat, we can’t do much to stop him.’
Joyce pursed her lips. ‘Well, good job he’s bringing this Dominic around for dinner tomorrow. At least we can check him out, make sure he comes from a good home. For all we know, he could be a druggie, Stanley.’
Just a short distance down the road, Frankie had felt tired and depressed all day, so had taken herself off to the bedroom for a catnap. On awakening, still bleary-eyed, she stumbled into the lounge. The reek of aftershave hit her nostrils immediately, and she was shocked to see Jed spruced up in a shirt and trousers.
‘What’s happening? Why you all dressed up? Are we meant to be going out?’
Jed kissed her on the forehead and laughed. ‘I’m going out, you’re staying ’ere, Frankie. I told you the other day I was going to a stag night. You know my cousin, Sammy? Well, his mate Donny’s getting married at the weekend.’
‘You never told me anything,’ Frankie said stubbornly.
‘I did. Your mind’s all over the place at the moment. It’s because you’re borey – that means “pregnant” in Romany – before you ask. Anyway, you don’t have to feel left out, ’cause I’m taking you to their wedding reception over in Kent.’
Frankie moved away from him and flopped onto the sofa. ‘Do you have to go to his stag night, Jed? I’ve been stuck here on my own all day and I’m so bored.’
Sitting down next to her, Jed squeezed her hand. ‘Of course I have to go. You don’t want me to look like a dinlo, do ya? Why don’t you go next door and watch telly with me mum and dad?’
At the mention of Jed’s mother, Frankie burst into tears. ‘I want my own mum, not someone else’s,’ she sobbed.
Making sure that her tears didn’t ruin his Ralph Lauren shirt, Jed put an arm around her. ‘Look, no one can bring your mum back, Frankie. I know what happened was rotten, but you’ve got your cuntsmouth of a father to blame for that. We’re gonna be parents ourself soon, so you gotta pull yourself together. How you gonna take care of our chavvie properly if you’re upset all the poxy time?’
Frankie stared at him in horror. Her mum had only been dead for two months, so surely she was allowed to grieve. ‘Just go, Jed,’ she said angrily.
Jed stood up. He was gagging for a good night out and he wasn’t going to let Frankie spoil it for him. ‘I’ll try not to be late. Why don’t you have an early night? You look ever so tired,’ he said gently.
Frankie wanted to tell him to fuck off, but didn’t have the guts to. If she was still living back at home, she would have told him where to go, but what was the point now when she was so reliant on him?
‘Love you,’ Jed said, as he slammed the trailer door.
Over in South London, Eddie Mitchell reread the letter he’d received today from Paulie. He didn’t usually receive a lot of post, but today he’d had mail from Raymond, his Uncle Reg and his eldest brother.
Raymond’s letter was pretty brief, but he’d asked for a visiting order to be sent, which had pleased Ed no end.
Reggie’s letter had been pleasant, but long-winded. He’d spoken in detail about Auntie Joan, Auntie Vi, Uncle Albert, but had said very little else of interest.
It had been Paulie’s letter that had been the real eye-opener. A, Ed hadn’t expected to ever hear from him again after the fall-out they’d had earlier this year, and B, no other fucker had told him that Jed and Jimmy O’Hara had turned up and ruined Jessica’s funeral.
To say Ed was livid was the understatement of the century. It wasn’t just the fact that the bastards had had the front to turn up, it was also because no one had felt fit or brave enough to tell him about it. Eddie was especially annoyed with Gary and Ricky. He could understand people not wanting to tell him what had happened by letter, but his sons had been to visit him week in, week out.
Folding up Paulie’s letter, Ed shoved it under his pillow. Even his own flesh and blood obviously believed he’d lost the plot that fucking much he couldn’t handle any more bad news.
Turning on his side, Eddie stared at his vulgar cellmate. Big Bald Baz was in his usual position, lying flat on his stomach, snoring and farting like an unadulterated pig. Ed didn’t smile much lately, but tonight he couldn’t help but grin. All them arseholes that thought he was a sunken ship would think differently after tomorrow. He had mourned as much as he could mourn, cried as many tears as he could cry, and now he couldn’t wait to prove his doubters wrong. From tomorrow onwards, Eddie Mitchell was back with a bang.
CHAPTER SEVEN (#ulink_67d6ab80-7a8b-5cdf-a188-0348beaa3a3b)
At 6 a.m. the following day, Frankie got out of bed. Jed still wasn’t home and she had barely slept a wink all night.
She debated whether to go and wake his parents, but decided against it. She was worried that he’d got drunk and had an accident in his truck, but his mum and dad would probably accuse her of overreacting. She tried Jed’s mobile again, but the phone was still switched off. About to ring her brother for advice, she heard an engine nearing and ran over to the window.
When the headlights turned into the drive, Frankie was relieved, but also angry as she spotted Jed’s truck. Hearing loud voices, Frankie peeped through a gap in the curtains. Recognising Jed’s cousin Sammy, she ran back into the bedroom.
Eddie Mitchell took a slow walk towards the shower room. He knew Big Bald Baz and his cronies were already in there, as his pal, Johnny the screw, had given him the nod.
Johnny was a good lad and Ed had noticed, within weeks of arriving at the prison, that he had little respect for the many scumbags residing there. Today Johnny was on duty with another screw called Fred. Fred hated Big Bald Baz, because on many occasions the fat bastard had tried to terrorise him. Baz could sense weakness in people and Fred wasn’t like most of the other screws. He was meek and a bit of a loner and people like Baz tended to cause him no end of aggravation.
Nearing his destination, Eddie smiled as he heard Big Bald Baz laughing. He bent down, took the file out of his sock and slipped it up his sleeve. The dirty stinking animal wouldn’t be laughing for much longer, that was for sure.
Frankie darted into the bedroom, curled back up under the quilt cover and turned off the light.
Jed and Sammy were obviously slaughtered and she was fuming that Jed had driven home in such a state. She knew they were still drinking, because she could hear the cans being opened. She could also smell cannabis wafting through the crack in the door. She listened intently. They were giggling about some girls they’d met. She heard Jed mention the name Sally, but he then lowered his voice and she heard footsteps heading her way.
As the bedroom door opened, Frankie shut her eyes and pretended to be asleep. She couldn’t wait to give Jed a piece of her mind, but she wasn’t going to show herself up in front of his cousin, Sammy.
Jed sat on the edge of the bed and kissed her on the cheek. ‘How’s my girl? Been looking after that chavvie for me, have yer?’
Frankie ignored him. Jed stank of booze, fags, and his clothes smelt sweaty and stale. She was livid with him and didn’t want him anywhere near her.
‘I know you’re awake,’ he said cockily.
Frankie opened her eyes. ‘Leave me alone, Jed, I’m tired,’ she said angrily. ‘Go and have fun with your cousin. You can talk about what girls you pulled.’
‘We never pulled no girls, Frankie. Me and Sammy knew you were awake, we saw the light go off as we drove in. We’ve been winding you up, you dinlo.’
Unable to stop her eyes welling up, Frankie turned away from him. ‘I was worried sick. I thought you’d had an accident. Why was your phone switched off all night?’
Jed lay down next to her. ‘’Cause me battery ran out. Don’t have the hump, Frankie. Stag nights go on for hours and I ain’t had a night out with the boys for ages, have I? Surely you don’t begrudge me a good time once in a while?’
As his arms went around her waist, Frankie moved away from him. She could feel his hard-on, but he smelt like a tramp and sex was the last thing she fancied, especially with Sammy in the next room. ‘I need to get some sleep, Jed.’
Annoyed, Jed stood up. ‘I’ll speak to you later,’ he said, as he slammed the bedroom door.
Over in South London, Eddie was ready to strike like a viper. As a grinning Baz put the towel around his extra-large midriff, Eddie made his move.
‘You fucking fat cunt, take that,’ he shouted, as he came at Baz from the side and aimed the file straight at his right eye.
As luck would have it, Eddie had taken Baz completely by surprise. His aim was spot on and as the big man fell to the floor in agony, Ed pulled the file out of one eye and aimed straight for the other. ‘That’s what you get for slagging off my family, you fat piece of shit.’
As Baz’s three mates ran towards him, Ed stood up with the file pointing their way.
‘Help me! I can’t see. I’m blind, I’m fucking blind!’ Baz screamed hysterically.
Baz’s mates saw the state of his face and stopped, rooted to the spot. There was blood pouring from both his eyes, and it looked as if he was crying red tears.
As Eddie walked towards them, all three of Baz’s friends took a step backwards. ‘You saw nothing, you mugs, and I swear if you say one word, you’ll have no fucking eyes left as well.’
The three men all held their hands up. ‘We didn’t see anything,’ they repeated one after the other.
Knowing that it was time to leave, Ed couldn’t resist a closer look at the bleeding, screaming mess he’d just attacked. He lifted his foot and kicked Big Bald Baz as hard in the bollocks as he could. ‘You grass me up, or ever say one more word about my wife or dad, I’ll cut your fucking heart out next time, got me?’
‘I can’t see. For fuck’s sake get me some help,’ Baz screamed in agony.
Eddie washed the blood off his hands, smirked, and sauntered out of the shower room.
Joey was a bundle of nerves as he and Dominic headed towards Rainham in a taxi.
‘You haven’t got to tell them tonight if you don’t want to,’ Dominic said kindly.
‘I want to. If me and you are gonna be truly happy, we can’t live a lie.’
Admiring his boyfriend’s strength of character, Dominic squeezed his hand. ‘Why don’t we stop off and get a couple of drinks inside us first.’
Joey shook his head. ‘No. My nan’s expecting us at six and we don’t wanna be late. I won’t tell them straight away. We can eat our dinner, have a few drinks, and I’ll break the news towards the end of the evening.’
Dominic nodded. It was Joey’s family, so the decision was entirely up to him.
Raymond and Polly had just arrived at Joycie’s house.
‘Take Polly’s coat and pour our guests some drinks,’ Joyce said to her husband in her posh voice.
Stanley smiled as he obeyed his wife’s orders. Joyce was properly back to her old self; so much so, it was hard to believe that she had ever been ill in the first place.
Raymond thanked his father for their drinks and politely asked about his pigeons. Their relationship had been difficult after Jessica’s death, but his mother’s illness had helped to heal the rift between them.
Joyce checked on the roast potatoes, shut the oven door, then made her way into the lounge.
‘So lovely to see you again, Polly,’ she said, kissing her son’s girlfriend.
As the dogs ran into the living room, Joyce shushed them out. Buster, the slightly bigger of the two, was having none of it. He’d taken a shine to Joyce since she had come out of hospital and rid herself of her madness. As Buster clung to her leg and tried to hump her, Joyce screamed in mortification.
Realising that the dog was very excited and rubbing his masterpiece against Joycie’s best dress, both Stanley and Raymond burst out laughing.
Joyce was furious. Talk about embarrass her in front of Polly. ‘Get this dog away from me now. Put them out the back,’ she yelled at Stanley.
Trying to stifle his laughter, Stanley ushered Bruno out, then managed to untangle Buster from Joycie’s leg.
‘I feel grubby now, so I’m going to get changed again. Now that Joey’s rarely here, I’m sending them slobbering, filthy creatures back round to Pat Murphy’s,’ Joyce said haughtily.
Once she left the room even Polly started to laugh. Joycie’s face when Buster had got a hard-on had been an absolute picture.
Joyce quickly changed her dress and when the doorbell rang, ran downstairs to answer it.
‘You must be Dominic?’ she said to the tall dark-haired lad who stood next to her grandson.
Naturally polite, Dominic handed Joyce the bouquet of flowers he’d bought. ‘Thank you for asking me for dinner. These are for you.’
Joyce immediately liked the look of Dominic. He was obviously older than Joey, but seemed polite and sophisticated.
‘Thank you so much – they’re beautiful. Take Dominic into the living room, Joey. Your grandad will get you both a drink while I put these in water.’
Raymond shook Dominic’s hand and was immediately aware of Joey’s nervousness. Ray still remembered clearly the night in the Flag earlier this year, when Ronny had blurted to Ed that Joey had a boyfriend.
While Dominic chatted away happily to Polly, Raymond studied him. Ed had never mentioned the incident again, or said anything about Joey’s sexuality since that day, but Raymond was now in no doubt that Ronny had been telling the truth.
Less than a mile away, Frankie was bored stiff. After rejecting Jed’s advances this morning, her fiancé had gone out again with his cousin Sammy and still hadn’t returned. Knowing that her family were having a get-together down the road was hardly helping matters. If she had known that Jed was going to do a disappearing act, she could have sneaked off to see them.
Frankie felt incredibly sorry for herself as she sat down to watch CoronationStreet. To say she felt lonely was putting it mildly – she felt utterly desolate.
Jed finally arrived home during the commercial break and when she heard the door open, Frankie kept her eyes glued to the telly.
‘I got us a takeaway. Cheered up now, have we?’ Jed said, slamming the trailer door.
Frankie could see immediately that he’d been drinking again. Full of pent-up emotion, she spoke clearly, but with venom. ‘I’ve had a lot of time to think today, Jed. I’m not happy living here, so I’m going to move back in with my grandparents.’
Jed threw the Chinese on the side and walked over to her. ‘You can’t do that. We’re meant to be getting married, and what about our chavvie?’
He sat down next to her and Frankie was glad that he looked upset. ‘I won’t be treated like shit, Jed. You was out on the piss all night and again today, while I’m sitting here like some idiot. I wasn’t brought up to be treated like a fool.’
‘I’m sorry, Frankie. It won’t happen again. Don’t leave – I love you, you know I do.’
Knowing she had him by the gonads, Frankie carried on. ‘It’s not just about you going out last night and today, Jed. There’s other stuff that I’m unhappy about as well.’
Holding both her hands, Jed knelt in front of her. ‘What? Just tell me and I’ll sort it.’
‘Your mum, for a start. I’m sick of the cooking lessons every day. I know she’s only trying to help, but some days I don’t feel well and I don’t fancy bloody cooking.’
‘I’ll have a word with me mum. Leave it with me.’
Frankie nodded then continued. ‘I also want to be able to visit my nan and grandad as well. I ain’t got me mum and dad now and I miss having no family.’
‘You’ve got your brother, ain’t ya? I worry about you going to that house because I don’t trust your uncle Raymond,’ Jed argued.
Frankie shrugged. She was determined to get her own way. ‘How about if I see my nan and grandad away from the house? I could meet ’em for lunch, or go shopping with me nan.’
Jed wasn’t happy, but was desperate not to show it. ‘Look, we’ll work something out, I promise ya. Why don’t me and you take your grandparents out for a meal next weekend? Tell ’em it’s my treat.’
Frankie smiled. She was getting somewhere now. ‘There’s one more thing, Jed.’
