‘You look sensational. Where did you get your shorts?’ she asked.
Jess giggled. ‘They’re not called shorts, Mum, they’re hotpants. They were only cheap, I got ’em down Petticoat Lane.’
‘What time’s Eddie picking you up? Where’s he taking you tonight?’ Joyce asked excitedly.
‘He’s picking me up at six, I’m not sure where we’re going yet.’
Joyce smiled and pointed to the fruit cake. ‘I made that for your Eddie. Are you gonna invite him in?’
‘I wasn’t planning to.’
Noticing her mum’s disappointment, Jessica immediately changed her tune. ‘I’m sure he’ll have time to come in for a quick cup of tea,’ she said.
Joyce urged Jessica to shut the kitchen door. Last night, she’d been so excited about her daughter’s romance, she could barely sleep. She had thought of an idea and she really didn’t want Stanley earwigging.
‘What’s the matter?’ Jessica asked.
‘You know what we were talking about last night? About you making sure you don’t let go of Ed.’
Jessica nodded.
Moving nearer, Joyce continued. ‘Why don’t you trap him? You know, get pregnant on purpose. I mean, let’s face it, Jess, blokes like him don’t come along every day and I’m sure if you were carrying his child, he’d propose.’
Jessica looked at her mother in horror. She wanted Eddie to propose to her because he loved her, not because she had a bun in the oven. They’d done it twice without a rubber, but only because Ed had run out, and she had no intention of trapping him. She was about to tell her mum to mind her own bloody business when the doorbell rang.
‘Quick, don’t keep him waiting,’ Joyce said.
‘Don’t you dare say anything about babies and stuff in front of him, Mum.’
Joyce pushed her towards the front door. ‘Of course not, dear.’
Stanley felt himself flinch as Eddie walked towards him.
‘Good evening, Mr Smith,’ Eddie said, holding out his hand.
As Jessica stepped out from behind him, Stan glared at her. ‘Surely you’re not going out like that? You’ve got no bloody clothes on.’
Jessica raised her eyebrows. She didn’t know who she liked the least. Her domineering mother, who was always trying to run her life for her, or her old-fashioned father, who still thought she was twelve years old.
‘It’s the fashion, Dad. All the girls are wearing hotpants.’
‘Well, I’ve never bloody well seen anyone wearing them.’
‘That’s probably because you spend half your life in the betting shop. No one’s gonna be wearing them in there, are they?’ Joyce shouted at him.
Desperate to get away from her warring parents, Jessica grabbed Eddie’s arm. ‘Come on, let’s go,’ she said.
Eddie let her lead him out of the living room. ‘Nice to meet you both again,’ he said politely.
‘Hang on a minute,’ Joyce shouted.
Seconds later she presented Eddie with an object wrapped in tin foil. ‘That fruit cake you liked, I baked you one,’ she said proudly.
Eddie pecked her on the cheek. ‘You’re a star, Joyce. I’ll have that for me supper.’
Jessica felt relief wash over her as Eddie drove away from the house.
‘What’s up, babe?’ he asked her.
Jessica sighed. ‘Just parent trouble. They’re always arguing and they make me feel like piggy in the middle. Both of them drive me mad and I don’t know what to do about it.’
Eddie laughed. ‘I know exactly what you can do about it.’
‘What?’ Jessica enquired.
Swinging the car onto a nearby kerb, Eddie got out, walked round the other side and opened the passenger door. As he knelt on one knee, Jessica looked at him in amazement.
‘What you doing?’
Eddie held both her hands and smiled. ‘Jessica Smith, marry me?’
JESSICA IMMEDIATELY ACCEPTED her boyfriend’s marriage proposal, but at Eddie’s insistence, she said nothing to either of her parents.
‘I’m a big believer in doing things properly, Jess. Keep schtum for now and next weekend I’ll come round your house and ask for your parents’ blessing. I’m a very traditional geezer at heart and I’m sure your dad would expect me to ask his permission.’
Jess loved Eddie’s morals, but with her head in the clouds, she was desperate for the world to know of her good fortune. ‘Can’t I just tell my mum, Ed? It will be so hard keeping it from her and I know she won’t say anything to my dad.’
Eddie shook his head. ‘No, it’s not right, Jess. We’ll tell them together and then I’ll take you shopping for a ring. I’ll take you up Hatton Garden and you can pick whatever you want.’
How Jessica kept her mouth shut that week, she would never know. She didn’t tell a soul, not even the girls at work. The following Saturday, she could barely contain her excitement and was out of bed before the birds had even started singing. She was unable to eat any breakfast, but made her parents boiled eggs, toast and tea and took it into their bedroom.
‘What’s all this in aid of?’ her mother said, as she handed her the tray.
Jessica smiled. ‘Eddie’s coming round at twelve and I need you both to be here.’
Stanley sat up and eyed his daughter suspiciously. ‘What’s going on, Jessica?’
‘Nothing untoward, Dad. Ed just wants to speak to you both, that’s all.’
Hearing her brother moving about, Jessica swiftly left her parents’ room and knocked on Raymond’s door.
‘Enter,’ he shouted.
Jessica sat on his bed while he got himself ready. Raymond was a vain little sod and took longer to get his hair looking right than she did.
‘What you up to today?’ she asked him.
‘I’ve got band practice, then I’m taking some bird out tonight.’
‘Anyone I know?’ Jessica asked him.
Raymond laughed and shook his head. He had a different girl on his arm every week and it was a standing joke between him and Jessica.
‘What you up to then, sis?’
Jessica smiled. ‘Eddie’s coming round at twelve and then he’s taking me shopping. I wanted you to meet him, Ray. Can’t you hang about and say a quick hello to him, then go out after?’
Raymond checked his appearance in the full-length mirror. ‘Sorry Jess, no can do. I’m meeting the boys at half-ten and they can’t exactly practise without their drummer.’
Jessica stood up and gave her younger brother a hug. ‘You have a good day and I want you to promise me that you’ll make time to have a drink with me and Ed soon.’
Raymond wriggled out of her arms and checked his shirt for creases. ‘I promise. Why are you being all soppy and emotional?’
Jessica giggled. ‘You’ll find out later.’
As the clock struck twelve, Stanley sat fidgeting