Two Women

by Martina Cole

  ‘What you want?’

  The voice was abrupt.

  Barry took a deep breath before answering. He was pleased that his voice was not quavering in the least.

  ‘I need to see Joey McNamara. Tell him it’s important.’

  ‘Who wants him?’

  Barry sighed.

  ‘Never you mind, it’s private. Just tell him he’s needed out here, all right?’

  The grid disappeared as the shutter was forced back into place, and now that he had started Barry felt a surge of uncertainty again. Joey might decide to kill him stone dead. After all, he was hardly Joey’s favourite person. He might even roll Barry, perish the thought. Suddenly he was glad he didn’t have the dosh on him.

  He was kept waiting for five minutes and it seemed like hours. The sweat really was taking hold now and he was convinced he could smell himself.

  Fear made his heart race and his legs feel weak. He was regretting everything, and wondering whether he could sneak off and forget the whole business. Then the door was unbolted and there before him stood Joey.

  He squinted out into the gloom then his face set into a snarl.

  ‘What the fuck do you want?’

  The doorman laughed. ‘Shall I evict him for you, Joe?’

  Walking towards him, Barry saw what made people wary of Joey McNamara. It was his stance, his very movements that were intimidating.

  ‘Nah, Colin, I’ll evict this cunt meself.’

  Barry raised his arms as if in self-defence even though nothing had as yet happened.

  ‘Hang on, Joey, I have something I think will interest you. All I’m doing is paying my respects, that’s all. I had a tickle and I’m just bringing you your due. No more, no less.’

  Joey’s eyes screwed up and he said incredulously, ‘What are you - a fucking brief? Bringing me me due . . . you sure?’

  He turned to the doorman and laughed.

  ‘Did you cop that lot, Colin? I have been accosted by a fucking dictionary.’

  The big man laughed loudly.

  ‘Well, rip out his index then.’

  Barry listened fearfully.

  Joey began to push him none too gently towards the street. The street and people. People who would see him beaten to within an inch of his life if he wasn’t careful.

  ‘Look, Joey, like I say I have just had a bit of a tickle and I’m bringing you your twenty-five percent, that’s all. I was told I had to do it. Everyone had to do it. I know you don’t like me, but this is business.’

  Joey stopped dead.

  ‘How much you get?’

  The money was always the angle with Joey and Barry had banked on that.

  ‘Four grand. I rolled someone last night.’

  He was unsure whether he should tell the truth but decided he ought to in case Joey knew more than he was letting on.

  Joey was impressed.

  ‘Four grand? How you manage that, Sonny Jim? My daughter been teaching you the tricks of her father’s trade, eh? Along with everything else. I know all about you sneaking around me mother’s house, boy, I know all about it. Debbie grassed you up, sonny. Now I reckon it will cost you that whole four grand to keep me sweet.’

  Barry knew that this was the make or break time.

  ‘I was there, I admit that, Joey . . .’

  Joey’s fist hit him in the jaw but he was ready for it and stayed on his feet.

  ‘He’s a game little Jock, ain’t he, Colin?’

  Turning round Joey bellowed, ‘You get back inside, this is private. Family business.’

  Colin disappeared.

  ‘So what did you hear, eh? A father giving his daughter a hiding, teaching her a lesson.’

  Barry nodded.

  ‘’Course. What else?’

  He frowned as if wondering what Joey was talking about. They both knew it was an act but that did not matter at the moment.

  Barry brought out a pack of cigarettes and offered them to Joey. He took one and they lit up in silence. But it was an act of reconciliation, they both knew that. Each in their own way knew they were going to strike an unlikely bargain and neither knew where it would lead.

  ‘So where’s me grand then, boy?’

  ‘I’ve got it whenever you want it.’

  Joey nodded.

  ‘That will be sooner rather than later, mate. Where did it come from? No one I’m minding, I trust.’

  Barry shook his head.

  ‘I done an uncle, a money-lender off the market, late last night. Marcus something or other. A front wheel skid. I had him as he went to a tom’s house, sweet as a nut. Got six grand in all, two for the tom, three for me and one for you. I intend to make it a regular thing, I have the contacts now.’

  He was ribbing and they both knew that.

  Joey drew deeply on his cigarette.

  ‘What about the money to the tom? That’s five hundred sobs she owes me.’

  Barry was nonplussed for a moment, until he saw Joey’s grin.

  ‘Fuck the tom. A grand is a grand as my old dad used to say.’

  Joey was over the moon. He had recouped a thousand of the three he owed the uncle.

  ‘Actually, I have a little earner for you meself, if you’re interested?’

  Barry nodded so hard he nearly took his own head off his shoulders.

  ‘If you like killing uncles, then I have the perfect man for you. Come in and have a drink and we’ll talk about it, eh?’

  Barry felt as if God Himself had finally realised he was alive and had decided to bestow everything he had ever wanted on him in one day. As Joey put an arm around his shoulders and led him into the Victory, a place he had never thought would be open to him, Barry swelled with pride.

  All he needed now was an in with Susan once more and he was set like a jelly.

  Murder did not bother him at all; his own father had been murdered. In their world it was just an occupational hazard, a chance you took, a chance you used if you had to.

  Joey wanted another uncle trounced and for completely selfish reasons. If the man he owed the three grand to was dead, then all debts died with him. Another very handy unwritten law of the turf.

  All in all he was beginning to think that his Susan had better taste in men than he had at first thought. He could like this boy, if only because he was a lamb going to the slaughter. Unable to see further than his own nose and impressed for all the wrong reasons, Barry could be moulded into something, used for Joey’s own ends and then left to take the rap.

  Joey would set people up and Barry execute the acts of violence and robbery, leaving Joey with the wedge and the kudos of being number one bailiff to the criminal community, while at the same time earning off the people stupid enough not to have him as their protection.

  Something he would offer them after the first attack. Davey Davidson was going to love him, and it was all because of this young man. Life had a funny way of making you rich. His own father had always said that and now Joey understood what he’d meant.

  June looked at Susan and sighed. Her daughter looked better than she had in ages. The bruising was gone and with her weight loss she looked quite attractive. But the closeness they had once shared was gone for good.

  June was jealous of her daughter, and inside knew that she had failed to protect her as a real mother should. But how could she have done? There’d been no precedent in her own early life and June’s mothering instincts had long ago withered and died.

  It wasn’t as if Joey had hurt her or anything - Christ, she was quick enough to jump on that Barry’s bones, so what was the difference really? Anyway, Joey had sworn to her that he had not really done anything and June chose to believe him whatever the truth of it all. As he said, he had her. What would he want Susan for anyway, ugly bitch that she was? He could have the pick of the local women with his creds and his rep.

  Ever since she was a small child Susan had caused trouble and now she was growing up she had to face the consequences of her own actions. To attack h
er own mother was a disgrace and she had to be taught a lesson.

  ‘You finished those potatoes then?’

  Susan nodded and started to clear the peelings from the sink.

  ‘You chipped them yet?’

  She nodded once again and started to clean out the sink and wash down the draining board. The slump of the girl’s shoulders made June feel angry, and at the same time she felt a surge of sorrow for her daughter. Pouring herself another drink, she swallowed it down in one gulp.

  Ivy let herself in at the front door and June swore under her breath at her mother-in-law’s loud voice.

  ‘Only me, thought I’d come and see me family.’

  As she walked into the kitchen Susan nodded hello and June said nastily, ‘What do you want?’

  Ivy ignored her and put the kettle on for a hot toddy. She had seen the whisky bottle as soon as she walked in and she had another cold.

  Ivy had had a cold all her life.

  No one spoke. When the kettle boiled, Ivy poured hot water into a mug. She sat at the kitchen table, her hand hovering over the bottle until June allowed her to pour herself a generous measure.

  ‘I been down the market. Guess what? Marcus Stein was found dead last night. Beaten to death he was by a thug. What is the world coming to? Lovely man, for a Jew. I remember during the war, he made sure we all had a few bob if the old man was away. Had no kids of his own, see, so he liked everyone else’s. His sister’s boy was the apple of his eye. He’ll be worth a few quid now. I reckon Marcus must have been worth a bit. Uncles always are.’

  June listened with sadness. She had used him a few times herself over the years. The reason she had not used him last night was because she already owed him from years ago. It was only Joey’s rep that had stopped Marcus from calling in the debt. Unlike the other uncles he was not under the protection of the Davidsons and consequently got mugged off now and again.

  ‘Poor man. He was ever so nice, Ivy. Never tried to get you to pay the debt in kind and a lot of them do that. Remember old Isaac? Dirty old fucker he was.’

  Ivy nodded, eyes shining with whisky and malice.

  ‘You know who was one of his best customers, don’t you? Mary Hanson. Christ, she used to keep us in fits when the kids was small, telling us all about what he wanted her to do and everything. Her old man knew, encouraged it even. She was into Isaac for a small fortune when he died. We all joked he would leave her something in his will - and he did. He left her a bracelet her mother had pawned years before. Ain’t that a weird one!’

  June roared with laughter.

  ‘I remember him.’

  Ivy stopped laughing.

  ‘You never, June!’

  She topped up their drinks and said jokily, ‘Well, you’ll never know, Ivy, will you? Give you something to think about on the long winter nights in bed on your own.’

  Susan rolled her eyes at their talk and looked out of the kitchen window at the estate gardens. As she looked out she got the biggest fright of her life.

  ‘Mum! Mum, you’d better come and see this.’

  June went to her daughter.

  ‘What now, Susan? You’re getting a right fucking nose bag, just like your granny.’

  Ivy joined them at the window.

  ‘Oh, for fuck’s sake. What are them two doing out there?’

  She was amazed to see her son and Susan’s boyfriend crossing the grass together.

  June laughed. ‘Oh, by the way, Joey knows you had Barry in the flat the night he give Susan her justs so I’d be careful of your beloved little soldier today, Ivy. He’s out to hang you from the rafters.’

  She was terrified.

  The two men went out of sight and they could hear them coming up the stairs. All three women felt their breath stop at exactly the same time. Then they heard it. The noise was deafening and they looked at one another in shock. The two men were singing. At the top of their voices, they were singing. ‘I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles’ was blaring out all over the estate as they vied with one another to sing the loudest.

  They came along the balcony towards the front door and heard Maud next door cry, ‘Give us another shot of that, Joe.’

  Joey and Barry did as they were asked and stood outside the window, grinning like idiots and singing their hearts out.

  ‘Now I have seen fucking everything.’

  June’s voice was amazed.

  Susan ran from the kitchen to the bedroom to repair her make up and try and look pretty She did not know what had occurred and did not care. Barry was coming into her home and she was amazed, excited and jubilant.

  The front door was opened and the two men fell into the hallway.

  ‘Junie, get me and my friend a drink and some grub in that order, please.’

  June looked at her husband as if she had never seen him before and he smiled. Taking the thousand pounds out of his pocket Joey threw it at her, the money going all over the place.

  ‘There’s a grand there and plenty more where that came from. Stash it in your drawers, girl, keep it safe from prying hands.’

  ‘That’s the last place you want to put it then.’

  Ivy’s voice was jocular but nasty.

  Joey turned on her.

  ‘Shut up, you. You’re still in me bad books.’ Then he hugged her. ‘You know me mother, Barry? Dirty, smelly, full of cobwebs but she’s good with the kids.’

  Barry laughed uproariously as they all did. Ivy loved it, even the insult. It was a sign that she was forgiven.

  ‘Eggs, chips and tomatoes and a nice little drink, June, pronto. For me and me new partner.’ Joey looked around him. ‘Where’s our Susan then?’

  ‘Making herself presentable.’

  He grinned. ‘Fuck me, we ain’t got that much time, we’re going out again at seven.’

  Everyone laughed again. Especially Ivy and June. Barry laughed but hollowly.

  ‘Go in the bedroom, son, and drag her out. Once you marry them they look more frightening than a fucking Hammer Horror in the mornings. I should know. Look at June. Someone asked me once if I would rent her out for scaring crows for the summer.’

  Ivy roared now but June did not find it at all amusing and showed it by pursing her lips.

  ‘Very funny, Joey. What’s your next trick, dropping down dead?’

  He looked at the ceiling in mock fear.

  ‘I have upset her who must be obeyed. Now the fucking eggs and chips will be cooked to within an inch of their lives.’

  June grinned.

  ‘Go through to the lounge and we’ll get you something to soak up the drink, all right?’

  ‘Christ Himself knows they need it, June. I’ll give you a hand,’ Ivy offered.

  Susan came out of the bedroom then and Barry smiled at her. Joey felt a flicker of jealousy and swallowed it down. He could have his cake and eat it if he was clever, and he was clever. No one knew as yet just how clever he was. The drink was making him unstable and he decided he needed to sit down. He dragged himself into the lounge and collapsed on the sofa.

  Susan looked better than Barry had thought she would. She was slimmer and that emphasised her two major attractions. Barry was quite happy to let Joey take the piss, he knew he would have the last laugh.

  Susan watched her mother as she observed the two of them getting acquainted after so long and hoped against hope that Barry would not do or say anything to cause dissent.

  He did not as yet understand the vagaries of McNamara family life. Joey could change in a split second and then Barry would be unceremoniously thrown from the flat. Things like that had happened before and Susan was hoping against hope they would not happen today.

  ‘Ain’t he a lovely little fella, June?’

  Ivy’s voice was wistful and June snorted.

  ‘He’s just like Joey, but she won’t see that, silly whore that she is.’

  She walked into the kitchen. Despite herself she was annoyed with her daughter. Susan had got herself a handful, as the East Enders
would say, and June herself wished she was young enough to be embarking on life once more. At least, she wished she was younger while knowing exactly what she knew now. Susan’s bright eyes and happy expression made her feel old and tired.

  ‘I like that young Barry, I think he’s a nice boy. Too good for that madam. Now if it was Debbie, I could understand it.’

  ‘Debbie, love her heart, is lacking in the two things that make Susan interesting to all men. And I don’t have to spell out what they are, do I?’

  Ivy nodded sagely.

  ‘Down her knees after the first kid, then round her ankles after the second. You mark my words.’

  This cheered June up and she laughed.

  ‘He’d better make the most of them, girl, before he has to chase the fuckers round the bed!’

  It did not occur to either of them that Susan was fourteen years old and should not even have been contemplating sex, babies or anything else.

  They both knew the score. It was the way they all lived and it would never change as far as they could see. Sex kept their world going, kept them interested and kept them amused. It was free, it felt good, and at times it gave a woman great power.

  Because Susan looked older they treated her as an adult. What she had seen and witnessed all her life made her seem like an ancient in comparison with most of her peers. Neither woman saw anything wrong in how they behaved towards the girls or around them. As far as they were concerned Susan and Debbie were already women. Susan was expected to learn earlier because she was so well developed. It did not occur to either of them that her being so well developed at such a young age might be a good reason to protect her from men. They saw it as a natural progression. You grew up, you got a body and you used it, which was exactly what they had both done. They did not think in terms of emotional development, that was beyond their comprehension.

  The girl talked as they did, knew what they knew, because they talked about and let her see things that most people would hide from their children. Therefore they’d assumed Susan must understand it all, which she didn’t. She let Barry do what he did because that was how she would keep him. That was what she had been taught all her life.

  She did not even expect his fidelity, that was not something within her experience.