To try and make excuses for her Susan’s behaviour would be an insult to their intelligence.
Unable to look them in the eye, Maureen shook her head. ‘Thanks for tellin’ me, ladies. It won’t happen again, I promise yer that. I’ll give that daughter of mine such a fawpenny one when she gets home, she won’t sit down for a week. And tomorrow I’ll go and see the Barnards. Susan can apologise in person, tell ’em how sorry she is. I’ll drag her round there by the hair if I have to.’
Old Mother Kelly nodded. ‘Come on then Flo, let’s be on our way.’
With a heavy heart, Maureen shut the front door and leaned against it. She’d brought her daughter up to be respectful and kind, so what had gone wrong? To say Susan was a bad apple was putting it mildly. The girl was worse than bad, she was one hundred per cent rotten.
As Tommy and Freddie ran through the corridors, they were filled with a mixture of relief and exhilaration. Not only had they stood their ground with Leroy Wright, they’d frightened the life out of the cunt and done him good and proper.
The fight had been hastily arranged earlier and had taken place in the shower room. It had been all fair and square. Leroy had a mate at Feltham who had been in one of his previous borstals. It was a straight two against two, with a couple of tools included. Tommy had nearly shit himself at first. He’d always been able to handle himself over the years, but that had been with wet-behind-the-ears lads, not the big-league boys.
As Leroy lunged towards him with the lump of wood, Tommy had felt like legging it. Afraid of mugging himself off in front of Freddie, he got a second wind. In a blink of an eyelid, he pulled out the sock containing the pool balls and walloped the motherfucker as hard as he could. As Leroy hit the deck, Tommy clumped him harder and harder. Maybe he was stronger than he’d ever realised. Freddie had done the other lad easily and the feeling Tommy had as he left that shower room would live with him for ever. It was a mixture of happiness, triumph and pure strength.
Finchy saw the two lads running through the corridors. Unbeknown to them, he knew exactly what had gone down and he’d been happy to turn a blind eye to it. Leroy Wright was a screw’s worst nightmare. Not only had he clumped a few, but he’d also been the cause of many a riot. Finchy smiled as Tommy and Freddie bolted past him. He could tell by their demeanour that they had been victorious. That thought alone made Finchy an extremely happy man.
Tommy and Freddie tidied themselves up and headed back to the games room. They were finding it difficult to keep the smiles off their faces and were far too excited to carry on playing pool. Sitting in the corner, the two of them spoke quietly.
‘You were blinding, Tommy. I thought I’d be doing Leroy and you’d be dealing with his mate. I’ve gotta hand it to yer. You were summink else.’
Tommy sat back in his chair. He was as proud as a peacock over what he’d achieved. In the past he’d always felt he was second fiddle to Freddie, but not any more. Today he’d proved his worth and now they were equals.
Freddie grabbed his pal’s fist in his own and clenched it tightly. ‘To us, our friendship and our future.’
Tommy smiled. ‘To us.’
1985 – Ten Years Later
SUSAN ENDED THE call, replaced the receiver and smiled as she flopped on the bed. It was over four years now since she’d first met her Kev, and he still made her heart race, especially when he was nice to her.
Shutting her eyes, she pictured the night that their paths had crossed. Eighteen she’d been, him twenty-one. It had been a boring Friday night down her local, and on the way home she and Tracey had stopped for their regular doner kebab and chips.
Famished, Susan was too busy shoving rancid pieces of lamb down her throat to notice the two fit blokes enter the shop. Aware of them chatting to Tracey, she plonked herself at a table, carried on eating and took little notice.
‘Suze, the boys have invited us to go to a party with them,’ Tracey said, nudging her.
Chilli sauce dripping down her chin, Susan glanced around. Locking eyes with the taller one, she suddenly didn’t feel hungry any more.
Heart pounding, she tried to sound casual. ‘Where is this party then?’
The tall one ignored her, but his mate smiled. ‘Whitechapel. It’s a mate of ours’ twenty-first. Say you’ll come, girls. We’ve got plenty of booze, all we need is the company of some pretty ladies. By the way, I’m Darren and this is Kevin.’
It didn’t take much conferring for Susan and Tracey to make up their minds. Chucking their half-eaten takeaway into the nearest bin, they smiled at one another and linked arms. The lads in their local were silly little boys and neither of them could believe their luck.
The party was in full swing when they arrived and it didn’t take Susan long to realise that the object of her affections wasn’t very interested in her. Darren was all over Tracey like a rash, but every time Susan tried to spark up a conversation with Kevin, he gave her one-word answers and quickly walked away. Watching him chat up other girls made her feel physically sick. She couldn’t understand why she was feeling the way she was – it was ridiculous, as she’d barely known him five minutes.
As the party dwindled and the smoochies were put on the record player, Susan felt her mood lift as the bird Kev had been chatting up for the last half-hour left with her mate. Beer in hand, Kevin saw her watching him and walked towards her.
‘Wanna dance?’
Thrilled that he’d finally noticed her, Susan grabbed him around the neck as though her life depended on it. Determined to snare him, it took her five minutes to get his cock erect and ten to get him in the bedroom. As soon as they hit the sack, Susan knew he was her soul mate. Like hers, Kevin’s sex drive was insatiable and they were at it like rabbits all night.
When daylight broke, Kevin leaped up and got dressed. ‘Me mum’s out tonight. Wanna come round mine for another session?’ he asked casually.
Memorising his address, Susan couldn’t wipe the smile off her face. She’d shagged plenty of boys but, for the first time ever, she was hopelessly in love!
Still daydreaming hours later, Susan’s thoughts were interrupted by the slamming of the front door.
‘Anyone in?’ her mother called.
‘I was just dozing off. Do yer always have to wake me up?’ Susan shouted angrily.
Maureen ignored her daughter’s arrogant tone. ‘Just puttin’ the shopping away. I’m off out again now, so yer can doze as much as yer like. Me and yer nan are goin’ up the Roman to choose some paint. We need to decorate the living room before our Tommy comes home.’
Susan didn’t bother answering and was relieved as she heard her mother leave the house. Tommy this, Tommy that – she was fucking sick of it. Her brother was due out in just under a month, and her family didn’t stop going on about it. Even James had little other conversation.
Desperate to get out of the house before the Tommy fan club returned, Susan decided to get ready early. She was really looking forward to tonight. It was Kev’s uncle’s fortieth, and all his
