The two women looked one another up and down, and neither particularly liked what they saw. Joycie thought Queenie was extremely hard-faced and nobody of her age should be wearing a skirt slightly above the knee. As for Queenie, she thought Joyce was an ugly old cow. Her teeth were far too big for her mouth, her nose slightly hooked and that bouffant hairstyle had gone out with the ark.
Queenie smiled falsely. ‘Nice to meet you, Joycie.’
‘Likewise, Queenie. Would you like me to give you a tour of the house and grounds?’ Joyce asked, in her poshest voice.
‘No, thank you. I have just lost my sister, so not an awful lot impresses me at the moment.’
Eddie and Vinny shared an awkward glance. This certainly wasn’t going to plan.
Georgie and Harry O’Hara were bored, miserable and felt like fishes out of water. They’d sneaked upstairs earlier and tried the number Georgie had thought was Ryan’s, but some silly old lady had answered.
‘All right? Shit party, ain’t it?’ Calum Butler voiced, plonking himself on the grass next to Georgie and Harry.
Harry eyed the boy suspiciously. ‘Who are you?’
‘Big Vinny is my granddad and Little Vinny’s my old man. Are you Eddie Mitchell’s grandkids? I heard you were gypsies.’
Georgie O’Hara glared at the boy. ‘So what if we are?’
Fourteen-year-old Calum smiled. He’d fancied Georgie the moment he’d laid eyes on her. She had dark hair and green eyes like he had, and she had big knockers and a very pretty face. ‘Wait ’ere and I’ll steal some booze. I won’t be a tick.’
Loving nothing more than bragging and showing off her wealth to her old neighbours, Joyce dragged Hilda and Rita upstairs to view her newly acquired bedroom furniture. ‘Look at the quality of the pine,’ Joyce urged, stroking the chest of drawers as one would a tiny puppy.
Hilda and Rita pretended to be interested, then nudged one another, raising their eyebrows as soon as Joyce turned her back. Joyce had always thought she was the bee’s knees when she’d lived a spit’s throw away from them in Upney, and since moving up in the world had become ten times worse.
About to start gushing about her new en suite, Joyce was stopped in her tracks by an out-of-breath Stanley. ‘Get your backside downstairs now, Joycie. One of your Butler guests has just knocked Jock in the swimming pool – on purpose. Never will I invite my friends round here again. This is all your fault, you senile old bat.’
The sight of Stanley’s best mate spluttering and mumbling obscenities while fully clothed in her swimming pool appealed to Joyce’s warped sense of humour. She tried to keep a straight face, but when she locked eyes with Queenie, who was laughing like a hyena, Joyce did the same.
Arriving amidst the drama, Joey Mitchell was none too surprised to learn that his nephew was at the centre of it. He had done his utmost to bond with Harry, but the child was bloody hard work and so was Georgie.
‘Where’s Dom?’ Eddie asked his son.
‘He’s not coming. We had words earlier, you know how it is. He’s on my case constantly to go back to work and I just don’t feel ready. To be honest, I don’t know if I want to go back to my old job at all. It’s too stressful and I don’t think I could cope with it now.’
Eddie felt guilty. Joey had been earning bloody good money at the Stock Exchange before that fateful night with the O’Haras. An unlikely hero, Joey had never returned to work since.
‘Where’s Frankie?’ Joey asked. He and his twin were extremely close, but looked nothing alike. Frankie had his dad’s dark skin, hair and features, whereas Joey was fair-skinned and blond like his mum had been.
‘I think she’s gone round the side of the gaff to give the devil’s spawn a talking to.’ As Joey made to set off in search of his sister, Eddie laid a hand on his arm. ‘There’s something you need to know: I had to tell her Jed and Jimmy were brown bread.’
‘You what! You said you wasn’t going to tell her. You didn’t let her know—’
Eddie interrupted his son. ‘Of course not. What happened that night stays between those present. Nobody else will ever find out, so don’t panic. As far as Frankie knows, none of us were there when the deed was done, me included. But I had to tell her something, son. She was out of her mind with worry that Jed would come back and snatch the kids. Stuart said she hasn’t been sleeping properly for weeks. Well, it’s done and dusted now, but she was interrogating me about you. Reckons you must have witnessed something because you’ve changed since that day. If she starts questioning you, tell her she’s talking bollocks. Make something up about you and Dom if you have to, eh?’ Eddie had been mortified when he’d first learned his son was gay and in a relationship with Dominic. Time was a healer though and even though he still wished Joey was straight, he’d managed to finally accept the situation.
‘I’ll tell Frankie me and Dom are on the rocks and that’s the reason I’ve not been myself lately. It’s partly true anyway. He knows something went on that evening and I can never tell him the truth, can I? He would disown me.’
‘You saved your family’s bacon, boy. That’s something to be proud of, not ashamed. But no, the less people that know what really happened, the better. Listen, how d’ya fancy being mine and Vinny’s assistant manager at the casino when it opens? Keeping your mind occupied might do you good, and if you don’t like it you can always go back to the Stock Exchange at a later date.’
Joey toyed with the idea. The thought of working in the City again filled him with dread, and he couldn’t be unemployed as he and Dom had a mortgage to pay. He was on the sick, his father had sent him to a bent doctor who had lied and informed his employers he’d had a nervous breakdown.
‘I’ll pay you good dosh,’ Eddie promised.
Joey held out his right hand. ‘You got yourself a deal, Dad.’
Having never met before, Sammi-Lou Butler and Frankie Mitchell were getting along famously. Frankie had few friends these days, and it was good to speak to another mother whose children were problematical.
‘It’s awful having to keep Georgie and Harry under lock and key. But I’m at my wits’ end and have no other option. Would you do the same, if you were in my position?’
Sammi squeezed Frankie’s arm. ‘Probably. I can’t begin to imagine the heartache you went through when their dad took them away. All those wasted years when you could have been watching them grow up. But you’ve got them back now and that’s all that matters. Things will improve, but it’s bound to take time.’
Frankie looked towards her children and smiled at her new-found friend. ‘They seem to be getting on well with your Calum, so that’s a start. They’ve had no interaction with other kids since they came home. It’s a relief to know they can mix, to be honest.’
‘I have an idea. Why don’t you bring the children over to ours for the day so they can hang out with Ollie and Calum? We have a big garden and while the weather’s still nice, we can have a barbecue.’
‘That would be lovely. Our men seem to be getting on like a house on fire too, so I’m sure Stuart will be up for it. But please be forewarned, Georgie and Harry can be awfully behaved at times. They swear like sailors and I’d hate you to think badly of me and Stuart. It’s the way they were dragged up in the travelling community.’
‘Mine weren’t dragged up and they’re no better. Oliver is an angel compared to Calum and Regan. Little bastards they are. I seriously don’t know where me and Vin went wrong. We’re decent parents, I know we