‘I don’t like the taste of this. I wish we’d nicked lemonade instead,’ Ben said, screwing up his face and passing the bottle to Vinny.
Vinny didn’t like the taste either. Neither he nor Ben were used to alcohol, but seeing as they had taken the trouble to steal it, he was determined it wouldn’t be wasted. ‘I don’t want to go home. Let’s kip here tonight, Ben. It will be exciting and we’ll have a laugh.’
Ben shook his head. His mother wouldn’t care if he didn’t come home for a week, but he knew Vinny’s dad would go mad. ‘You got to go home, Vin, else your old man will kick off and blame me. Then, he won’t let you out again.’
‘My dad don’t care about me no more. All he cares about now is Molly. You should see how he is around her. He don’t leave her alone. I never remember him being like that with me. He loves her more, I know he does.’
Seeing his best pal near to tears, Ben Bloggs put a comforting arm around his shoulder. ‘It’s only ’cause Molly’s a baby, Vin. You ain’t used to having brothers and sisters, but I am. I’ve got six of the buggers, and you get used to it. My mum barely notices me; neither does my nan, but I just go out to play to get away from them all.’
Little Vinny took another mouthful of cider. ‘I wish my mum was still alive. Her name was Karen and she was lovely.’
‘How did your mum die?’
‘My dad said she was a drug addict, and killed herself.’
‘My mum takes drugs too, Vin. I’ve seen her, she smokes them, injects them – it’s horrible. I don’t really like her much. I wish I had a dad like yours. At least he buys you nice things and cares about what you do.’
Little Vinny glared at his pal, then pushed him in the chest. ‘No, he don’t. Since he met that slag Jo, he’s changed. All he cares about is her and Molly now. I fucking hate him and I hope Jo and Molly die in a car crash like Lenny did.’
On the day of Vivian’s homecoming, Queenie Butler was all of a fluster. A few months ago, Vinny had treated her to a posh new kitchen. It had gold Formica counters, an electric double oven, harvest gold vinyl flooring and dark wooden-looking Spanish-style cabinets. It even had something called a dishwasher, but Queenie couldn’t get on with that. No machine could clean her plates and cutlery as well as she could.
It was Vinny’s idea that Vivian would like a similar kitchen, but now Queenie wished she had said no. Vinny had said it would be good for Viv if she came home to a nice surprise, but Queenie knew what an old stick-in-the-mud her sister could be at times and she was dreading her arriving home and hating it.
Going over Viv’s house once more with the duster and polish, Queenie put the vase of fresh flowers in the centre of the coffee table. She had popped in every day to check on things while Vivian was in hospital and had put air fresheners in all the rooms and opened the windows regularly to keep it smelling sweet.
Remembering she had not yet dusted Viv’s old grandfather clock that sat in the corner of the hallway, Queenie smiled. Another couple of hours and her wonderful sister would be out of that nuthouse and back where she belonged.
Another person in a fluster was Joanna Preston. Her mother had rung her out of the blue and said she wanted to visit. She was travelling to London today with her friend Sandy and even though Joanna was looking forward to her mum meeting Molly, she was also very nervous. Little Vinny had been treating her like shit lately whenever Vinny wasn’t about, and Joanna knew if he did it in front of her mother, Deborah would say something back and that might cause an argument with Vinny. Her mum’s sudden change of heart was bothering her a bit too. Only last week Deborah had flatly refused to come and see Molly, and Joanna couldn’t help wondering what had happened to change her mind.
‘You OK, babe? Don’t be worrying about your mum’s visit. It’ll be fine, I promise,’ Vinny said, cupping his hands around Joanna’s cheeks and kissing her on the forehead.
When Joanna tried to put her arms around his neck and kiss him properly, Vinny grabbed her wrists and chuckled. ‘I’ve got to go out, Jo, so don’t start getting me all excited.’
It was a lame excuse. They hadn’t made love or even had a proper kiss in months. ‘You do still fancy me don’t you, Vinny? I will lose this bit of baby weight soon, I promise.’
Feeling guilty, Vinny took Jo in his arms and squeezed her tightly to his chest. When they had first hooked up he had enjoyed the sex immensely, but that was only because he was getting one over on her father. Vinny had always hated kissing, he found it too intimate, and the only sex he ever enjoyed was the really rough kind. ‘I’ll tell you what, how about we get the Jubilee out the way then shoot down to Kings at the weekend? My mum and Auntie Viv will come, so they can look after Molly and we can have some us time. What do you say?’
Desperate to feel loved and wanted again, Joanna grinned. ‘That sounds like a great idea.’
Nancy Butler looked at Michael in total disbelief. Not only had he tried to make love to her again this morning and failed miserably, he had just had the cheek to inform her that Daniel and Adam would not be going to her parents’ street party, they would instead be going to Queenie’s.
‘But I’ve already told my mum and dad that I’m bringing the boys to theirs.’
‘Well, best you untell them. You don’t think I’m gonna leave Lee to spend the day with just us adults, do you? The Silver Jubilee is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and, seeing as they’re so close, the boys should spend it together. I don’t mind you going to your mum’s party, but only if you take Lee as well.’
‘And why would I want to do that? He isn’t even my bloody kid, Michael. It’s bad enough I have to suffer him day in, day out, without forcing my parents to suffer him too,’ Nancy screamed, unaware that her sons and Lee were all ear-wigging outside.
Furious that his mother’s nasty comments had made Lee cry, Daniel opened the back door. ‘Me and Adam don’t want to come to your party, Mum. We want to go to Nanny Queenie’s party with Daddy and Lee.’
Aware that Lee had tears streaming down his face, a guilty Nancy bent down to comfort the child.
‘Get away from him. You’ve already said enough for one day,’ Michael spat, before ordering all three of his boys to play in the bedroom upstairs. Michael then turned back to his wife. ‘You are one selfish cunt, Nancy. No wonder I can’t get a fucking hard-on when I try to make love to you. How do you think that little boy feels, now he’s heard you slate him, eh?’
Nancy burst into tears. She’d had no idea the boys were listening to her and Michael’s conversation and she now felt dreadful. ‘I’m sorry, Michael, I really am. I’ll speak to Lee and apologize to him. It was said in the heat of the moment, I didn’t mean it. Where are you going?’
Snatching his arm away from his wife’s grasp, Michael stormed out of the house, slamming the front door behind him.
Vinny was quiet on the journey to Goodmayes. Shelling out a hundred and fifty grand up front to a complete stranger was one thing, but shelling out over a million was a gamble he was not sure he could take. He knew he owed it to Ahmed to trust him on this, especially after the accident, but if a million pound plus went astray it really could mean financial ruin. The club earned him and Michael a decent living, but the takings were nowhere near what they’d been raking in at their old club down the Commercial Road. It had taken Vinny a long time to become as wealthy as he was, and there was no way he was gambling his daughter’s future away.
‘What’s up with you? And don’t say nothing, because I know you like the back of my