‘How is your mum? I remember her and your aunt coming into my parents’ café. And I remember your little nephew who loved our jukebox.’
Michael chuckled. ‘My little nephew ain’t so little now. Lenny’s fifteen and is nearly as tall as me. My mum’s a diamond, Nance, so is my Auntie Viv. So are my brothers deep down. They’ve got their faults, but who hasn’t?’
‘Oh, my family have lots of faults. Especially my dad who still treats me as though I’m about ten. My brother drives me mad sometimes as well. He is turning more into my dad as every day passes. I do still love ’em though.’
‘Of course you do. Your family is your family, babe, and you only inherit one.’
‘So, what is Brenda like now, Michael? I can’t really remember what she looked like, but I do remember really liking her. Has she got a job and a boyfriend?’ Nancy enquired.
‘Bren’s a good girl, but she’s a bit headstrong. She doesn’t like work very much either. She’s had three different jobs since leaving school and didn’t last at any of them for more than a week. To my knowledge, she hasn’t got a boyfriend at the moment. I suppose, being the only girl, me and my brothers are a bit strict with her, so she probably wouldn’t tell us if she was courting. In fact, she was over the fair last Saturday, the day we met there. So was Vinny. He spotted Brenda arsing about with some lads and they had a bit of a fall-out.’
The mention of Vinny brought Nancy back to reality. It was his fault that her family had fled Whitechapel in the middle of the night, so how were her parents ever going to accept her dating Vinny’s brother? As much as she liked Michael, Nancy momentarily wondered if she should back out of the relationship before she got in too deep.
Noticing the vacant expression on Nancy’s face, Michael decided he had to broach the subject that they had both so far avoided. ‘Look, Nance, I know what happened was heavy duty, but Vinny has mellowed now. He was young then, we all were, and shit happens, don’t it? I like you so much, I really, really do, so please don’t let the past spoil whatever future we might have. I know if we carry on seeing one another, one day our families will have to find out, but let’s worry about that at the time, eh? Always remember, I ain’t Vinny, I’m Michael Butler.’
Nancy edged towards Michael and laid her head against his chest. He was right. Nothing that had happened was their fault, so why should they stop seeing one another?
When Nanny Maureen excused herself to go to the toilet, Vinny leant across the table and gave Karen’s hand a friendly squeeze. ‘Didn’t it go well? Little ’un really enjoyed himself,’ he said, gesturing towards their son who had over-eaten and was now fast asleep on the chair.
Karen smiled. Vinny had been the perfect gentleman today, and the restaurant he had brought them to was top-class. ‘It’s been wonderful, Vinny, it really has. I can’t tell you how many nights I have laid awake imaging what our son was like, and to now finally be part of his life truly means the world to me.’
‘You know what, I was thinking earlier. Seeing as you are a barmaid now, why don’t you come and work at the club for me? You could see so much more of Little Vinny then, couldn’t you?’
‘Oh, I don’t know. I do days in the pub where I work now. If I come and work for you, it’s nights, isn’t it? It will cost me a fortune to get home to Dagenham in a cab as well.’
Vinny raised his eyebrows and chuckled. ‘’Course it won’t. That’s one of the benefits of being my child’s mother. I’ll pay all your fares and I’ll double whatever wages you are currently being paid. To be honest, I’m on the look-out for a manageress, so if things work out and you fit the bill, then I don’t see why the job can’t be yours.’
‘Manageress! Oh my God! What type of club do you have now? It’s not all seedy old men and strippers, is it?’
‘No, of course not. We don’t have strippers at all now. It’s proper classy. We have jazz nights and lots of live music. It’s members only, and although they are allowed to sign guests in for a fee, there is no riff-raff. You will love it, Karen, trust me. Far better for you than working in some shitty boozer in Dagenham.’
‘But, I won’t get to see much more of Little Vinny, will I? Surely you don’t have him at the club of a night?’
Vinny chuckled. ‘Yeah, he pulls pints. No, what I was thinking was, say you start work at seven, well you can come up this way earlier and spend a couple of hours with Little Vinny before you begin. You’d get to see him most days then, wouldn’t you? Now he has met you, he is going to need to see you regularly.’
Karen couldn’t believe how much Vinny had changed over the years. He used to be a nasty bastard once upon a time, with a vile temper, and even though he had been horrible to her when she had turned up at his mum’s house, Karen now guessed that his behaviour that day was down to shock. At twenty-six, Vinny had matured into a real man, and being a dad had obviously brought out the best in him, Karen thought.
‘Well?’ Vinny asked, impatiently. He wanted an answer before Nanny Maureen returned from the toilet and started sticking her oar in.
‘How could I say no when it means seeing my wonderful son every day. Of course I’ll come and work for you, Vinny, and thank you so much for being understanding about everything. You’re a good guy deep down, you really are.’
Vinny grinned. ‘You’re very welcome, Karen.’
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Johnny Preston opened the door of his van and grimaced as the stench of dead animals hit his nostrils. Working in a slaughterhouse was an awful fucking job and the only saving grace for Johnny was he was able to nick a load of meat which he would then sell on to a few butchers he knew on the cheap.
The hot July weather was making the dead animals smell even worse than usual, and when Johnny climbed into the van and a lifeless pig fell on top of him and sent him sprawling, he knew enough was enough.
‘What you doing?’ Johnny’s pal Keith asked him.
Johnny took off his overalls and slung them in the back of the van. ‘I’m doing something I should have done years ago. I’m moving back to London.’
‘But, I thought you couldn’t set foot in London? You said that heavy mob would kill you if you ever went back.’
Johnny grinned. ‘Not if I kill them first.’
As Johnny strolled up the road, Keith chased after him. ‘Don’t do anything stupid, mate. Think of your kids. You don’t wanna end up six feet under like you said Dave did, do you?’
Johnny turned to his mate and gave him a manly hug. Keith was the only real friend he had made since moving out to Tiptree in Essex, and he was the only one Johnny had ever trusted to tell about his past. ‘You look after yourself, Keith, and don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. I need to get revenge for my pal’s death. An eye for an eye an’ all that. Only I can make sure Vinny Butler gets his comeuppance.’
Knowing how his elder brother was prone to flying off the handle, Roy had decided to wait until the club was shut and he was alone with Vinny before he mentioned their dad’s reappearance.
‘You’re quiet. Has the lovely Colleen kicked you into touch already?’ Vinny asked.
‘No, ’course she ain’t. Look, we need to talk. I had a visit yesterday from Dad, and before you start shouting and swearing, or jumping down my throat, he’s ill, Vinny, really ill.’
‘Oh diddums. Poor Daddy. My heart bleeds for him. So, what did the old cunt want? Money? You better not have given him any of our hard-earned dosh, Roy, else there will be trouble.’
Roy stared into his brother’s eyes in the hope of seeing a glint of emotion. He didn’t. All he saw was coldness. ‘You really are