stared into her son’s eyes. She knew her eldest better than he knew himself at times. ‘Don’t take me for a fool, Vinny. I know you’re up to no good. It had better not be something to do with Roy and Colleen, because if it is I won’t be happy at all.’
‘What do you take me for, eh? I try and make a bit of an effort and throw a nice party at all my own expense and this is the thanks I get. Well, cheers, Mum. Thanks a lot. I even got in touch with Colleen’s work pals and invited them.’
‘OK, I’m sorry,’ Queenie said, aware of how hurt Vinny looked.
‘Dad. Uncle Michael says Brenda and Dean are outside,’ Little Vinny said, tugging his father by the sleeve of his suit jacket.
‘Tell Champ to turn the music off, Mum, and get ready for the big entrance. He knows what he’s got to do. I’m gonna keep Bren and Dean outside until Roy and Colleen arrive. I want them to all walk in together.’
After Queenie gave Lenny the heads-up, she sat back down opposite Vivian.
‘I hope you had a go at Vinny for inviting Albie. What on earth was he thinking of, eh?’ Vivian asked.
Queenie shrugged. ‘Oh, for fuck’s sake. Albie has spotted us and is coming over.’
Vivian glared at her ex-brother-in-law as he plonked himself on a seat next to her. ‘Jesus, you smell like a fucking brewery and the party ain’t even started yet. How many you had?’
Dreading doing what Vinny had ordered him to do, Albie had been merry on arrival. Vinny had then served him up a few large brandies. ‘I’m a dying man, Vivian. Is a man staring death in the face not allowed to have a few drinks?’ Albie slurred.
‘Well, hurry up and croak it then,’ Vivian muttered.
‘The bleedin’ state of you, Albie. You haven’t even had a shave and the collar of that shirt is filthy. Looks crusty, it does. Don’t you dare introduce yourself to Colleen’s parents. They’ll think their daughter is marrying into The Beverly Hillbillies,’ Queenie remarked.
‘I’ve already met Colleen’s parents. Very nice people. They’re standing up by the bar.’
About to scold Albie for embarrassing the family name, Queenie was stopped by Lenny’s voice booming out over the microphone. ‘Surprise! Congratulations Roy, Colleen, Brenda and Dean. This party is for you and so is this record.’ He then proceeded to play the Dixie Cups’ ‘Chapel of Love’.
‘Always reminds me of our wedding day this does, Queenie. One of the happiest days of my life, that was,’ Albie said wistfully.
‘Oh, shut up, you silly old bastard. This record didn’t come out until the bleedin’ sixties. We’d been married donkey’s years by then,’ Queenie spat.
‘I ain’t sitting here listening to this old bollocks. Come on, Queenie, let’s go and say hello to all the guests,’ Vivian said.
Queenie stood up. ‘And don’t you dare do anything to ruin the evening, Albie. I know what an arsehole you are in drink.’
When Queenie and Vivian walked away from the table, Albie felt like crying. He would have liked to have attended the party in a nice suit, celebrated the joyous occasion with his children, behaved himself and done them proud. Yet here he was, resembling a tramp, three sheets to the wind, all because his eldest son was an evil bastard and was using him as a pawn in his latest game. Albie put his head in his hands. A brave man would walk away now rather than ruin his own son’s engagement. But Albie was a weak man, who would do anything to save his own bacon, and that had been his biggest downfall.
Mary Walker was begging her husband to calm down and think sensibly. ‘If we let Nancy go, Donald, she will be married and pregnant in no time, then we will lose her forever. We have to stop her from making the biggest mistake of her life. Perhaps if we allow her to see Michael, their relationship will fizzle out in a matter of months. But, if we force her to leave, and she moves in with them Butlers, we might as well have handed our own daughter over to a hungry pack of wolves.’
Donald was devastated, but extremely angry at the same time. For years he had worked his bollocks off to provide his children with the best possible start, and Nancy had just thrown everything he had ever tried to do, including teaching her good morals, back in his face.
Mary let out a traumatized sob when Nancy bounded out of her bedroom with a suitcase in her hand. ‘Please don’t go, darling. You will regret this for the rest of your life if you end up a part of that family. You’ll be pregnant and trapped before you know it.’
Wanting to hug her wonderful mum more than anything else in the world, Nancy knew that she couldn’t. If she did, she might not ever leave, and she loved Michael too much to give him up. If she did stay, it would be like living in a prison cell and her overbearing father and brother would watch her every move to make sure she never set eyes on the love of her life again. ‘I’m sorry, Mum, but I have to leave. I’ll be in touch soon, I promise.’
‘Oh, no you won’t. If you walk out that door and choose those Butlers over us, we want no more to do with you, do we, Dad?’ Christopher stated.
‘Your brother is correct, Nancy. For your mother’s sake, I will give you one last opportunity to apologize to your family and stop all this nonsense once and for all. Because if you don’t, I swear on the Bible you will vacate our lives forever.’
Not wanting her obnoxious father to see her falter, Nancy picked up her case, stormed out of the door, and did not cry until she had reached the pavement outside the shop.
‘Donald, do something. Please, go and bring her back,’ Mary sobbed.
Donald held his hysterical wife in his arms and did his best to comfort her. ‘None of this is our fault, Mary, so let’s not blame ourselves that Nancy has turned out to be a bad apple. We have given that girl everything, and for her to throw it back in our faces like she has is thoroughly appalling. It will be difficult, but from this moment on, Nancy doesn’t exist any more in this household. My old mum used to say, “If you lie down with dogs you catch fleas.” Well Nancy will be infested with those fleas for life now, and as much as it breaks my heart, we have to say goodbye and good riddance to her.’
Johnny Preston was well aware of his hands physically shaking when he replaced the receiver on its cradle in the phonebox. He had just rung Graeme to update him on what was happening and how he felt it in his bones that tonight was the night.
Spotting an off licence, Johnny headed towards it. His nerves were jangling and a half-bottle of Scotch should help to calm him down. Trying to shoot Vinny with trembling hands was a no-go. He would probably gun down somebody else by mistake.
Ten minutes later, Johnny was parked in a secluded alleyway off the Mile End Road. He took the bottle of Scotch from the inside of his jacket, unscrewed the lid, and drank half of it in one gulp. Immediately feeling more calm and confident about the task in hand, Johnny decided to stop at another off licence on the way back to the club to purchase another bottle in case he needed it later. With a few Scotches inside him, Johnny felt as though he could conquer the world, and that’s exactly what he needed to pull this one off successfully.
Glancing at his watch, Johnny re-started the bike’s engine. Hopefully, in the next few hours, Vinny Butler would exist only in memory.
Back at the party, Colleen’s parents, Rosa and
