Baz chuckled, Eddie did his best to keep hold of his temper. He’d been desperate for weeks to shut the ponce up, but he wasn’t about to do it in the cell. Eddie loved a bit of impact, so to have Baz in front of his cronies was the only way forward.
Pretending to scratch his foot, Eddie smirked as he ran his fingers along the file that Johnny had managed to smuggle in. He’d doctored the thing himself by rubbing it endlessly against the brick wall. Sharp as a razor the fucker was now, with a point like the Eiffel Tower.
When Baz let out one almighty fart, Eddie picked up his book. The geezer was filth, an utter animal, and Ed couldn’t wait to get rid of his oversized carcass once and for all.
Unaware that her dad was up to his old tricks again, Frankie stood awkwardly in Alice O’Hara’s kitchen. Unfortunately for her, it was time for another cooking lesson.
‘Now, don’t stand there doing nothing. You’re never gonna learn how to be a good wife if you don’t do stuff with your own hands. Wash that liver under the cold tap, then roll it in the flour,’ Alice ordered.
Frankie had been relatively lucky with sickness during her pregnancy. She’d had a couple of bouts of it in the first few weeks, but since then she’d been OK. Until now, that was.
Picking up the liver, Frankie quickly slung it back down on the worktop. ‘I can’t do it. It feels horrible,’ she said.
‘Don’t be such a dinlo,’ Alice said, picking the liver up and waving it in front of her nose.
Feeling under duress, Frankie tried to touch it again. Without warning, she immediately heaved and slung her guts up all over the kitchen floor. Feeling embarrassed and scared of Alice’s reaction, Frankie began to cry.
‘Now, stop all that. You can’t help it, you’re pregnant,’ Alice said kindly, as she led her into the lounge.
While Alice went off to clear up the mess, Frankie felt extremely sorry for herself. She missed her own family terribly. Joey, her mum, Nan, Grandad and, even though he’d done a dreadful thing, she even missed her dad.
Living with Jed was turning out to be not as much fun as Frankie had hoped. She loved the evenings when they were alone and all cosied up in the trailer, but when Jed was out grafting, she hated it. Alice taking a special interest in her potential homemaking skills wasn’t exactly helping matters, either.
Frankie spoke to Joey virtually every day and she knew that her nan was much better and was moving back into the house with her grandad. The trouble was, Jed had made her promise that she would have no more to do with her family, and, each day that passed, Frankie missed them that little bit more.
‘When we get wed, you’ll be an O’Hara, Frankie. Look at the way they’ve treated you and me. You’re my girl now, we’re having a chavvie together, so you’ve just got to forget about ’em.’
Although Frankie had originally agreed with Jed, she didn’t now. She wanted to go and see her grandparents, try to build some bridges. Knowing Jed would strongly disagree, Frankie decided that if and when she went, she wouldn’t tell him. Hopefully, if she was careful, he would never find out anyway.
Joey punched the air in delight as he spotted Dominic waiting for him in reception. Dom had got him an interview in the building where he worked and Joey had just been offered the position. It was nothing special. He’d be working as a post boy/courier, and would spend half of his day in the post room and the other half delivering mail and parcels in and around the City.
Dominic hugged him. ‘I take it you got it, then?’
Joey dragged him into a nearby pub. ‘Of course I did. Let’s celebrate.’
Dom ordered a bottle of champagne and they sat down at a quiet table. ‘Is everything still OK for tomorrow?’
Joey nodded. His nan had come out of hospital only this morning and insisted that he bring his new friend round for one of her special roasts the following day. Ever since they’d got back together, Joey had spent most of his time staying at Dominic’s flat. Dom had been keeping him financially, as since his mum had died and his dad had got locked up, he’d been completely brassic.
‘Once I get my first wage packet, I’ll pay you back all that money I borrowed,’ Joey said happily.
Dom shook his head. He had a high-powered job and certainly wasn’t short of a few quid. ‘I didn’t lend it to you, Joey, I gave it to you. I tell you what you can do though, when you get that first pay packet – you can take me out for a nice slap-up meal. The works, I want.’
As Dom left the table to answer a business call, Joey grinned. His boyfriend was one in a million, and the only downside to his life was that his mum wasn’t able to share his happiness with him.
Joey rarely thought consciously of his dad any more. Now and again he dreamed about him, but other than that, he’d completely erased him from his mind and his life.
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
