Picturing Stanley wearing the T-shirt, both Joey and Dominic creased up laughing.
Stanley looked up from his book and shook his head in total disbelief. ‘Put it in the bin, you silly old woman. I ain’t wearing no T-shirt that says the word “gay” on the front!’
‘Does it bloody well matter what’s on the front if you’re only pottering about in the garden?’ Joyce argued.
Stanley shook his head. ‘I ain’t arguing with you, you senile old bat. Now put the bastard T-shirt in the bin.’
Terry Baldwin was in deep thought as he drove towards the gypsy camp in Hainault. His wife, Anne, had insisted that he and Sally pay Jed a visit after dinner rather than before. Anne wasn’t Sally’s birth mum and she’d been getting sick of Sally’s behaviour of late.
‘I am not having my Christmas ruined by that daughter of yours, Terry. The girl’s psychotic. She needs help, love, and I’m getting poxed off with our lives being turned upside down by her. I can’t believe you’re going out today, of all days, and if you’re not back within two hours, then don’t bother coming back at all.’
‘Are you OK, Dad?’ Sally asked him.
Terry nodded. Luke was asleep in the back of the car and Sally had a big smile on her face for the first time in ages.
Turning up the radio, Terry hoped for Sally’s sake that by taking her to see Jed, he was doing the right thing for her fragile state of mind. With his contacts, he could probably have found Jed yonks ago if he’d have really wanted to. The reason he hadn’t was purely selfish. He had become so attached to his grandson that he was happy to provide for Luke himself and have him living at his house for ever.
As Terry drove onto the site, he ordered Sally to stay in the car in case Jed wasn’t at home. He knocked at the trailer door. Keith had told him that it was the second one in on the right.
‘Can I help you? Whaddya want?’ shouted an old woman opposite.
Terry walked towards her. He wouldn’t pass as a traveller, so the only option was to pretend he was related to the Mitchells. ‘Hello, I wonder if you can? I’m Jed’s girlfriend’s uncle. I was visiting other relatives over this way, so decided to surprise Frankie and Jed by dropping in. I have their presents in the car.’
The old woman looked at him suspiciously. She didn’t trust gorjers, never had done. ‘Well, you won’t find ’em ’ere. Jed’s spending Christmas over at his father’s house and don’t be asking me where that is, ’cause I won’t be telling ya.’
Terry smiled as she slammed the door in his face. The silly, toothless old bat had already given him every little bit of information he needed.
Unaware that a gentleman was on his way over with revelations that would turn her Christmas upside down, Frankie was trying to make the best of a bad situation. Alice had been stuck like glue to Georgie all day, and sitting opposite Shannon at the dinner table was doing Frankie’s head in.
As a roast potato was chucked across the table at her by Shannon’s horrible son, Frankie was annoyed as everybody erupted with laughter.
‘He didn’t mean it – he was trying to aim for my plate,’ Jed whispered, as he saw the annoyance on his girlfriend’s face.
Frankie stood up. She was too excited about her car to be hungry or upset. ‘I’m gonna feed Georgie now – she must be starving, Jed.’
Alice leaped up. ‘You sit back down. I’ll feed Georgie girl.’
‘No. I want to feed her myself,’ Frankie said indignantly.
Jed pinched his girlfriend’s bum. ‘Let Mum feed her, babe, she don’t see as much of her now. Then, after we’ve eaten dessert, you can have your surprise present.’
The mention of her present was enough to make Frankie agree and sit back down. Jed might have bought her a car but, little did he know, she had an enormous surprise for him also.
Unable to stand the suffocating smell of shit in such a confined space, Terry Baldwin pulled into a pub car park. ‘Me mate Andy owns this boozer. Let’s go in there, Sally, and while you’re changing the baby, I can have a quick pint.’
‘Is it definitely open? It’s four o’clock, Dad.’
‘Yes, he’s having a private party. You don’t want Luke to be stinking of shit when he meets his dad for the first time, do you?’
Andy made a real fuss of Terry as he entered the pub. ‘Christ, this is a nice surprise. To what do I owe this honour?’ he joked.
Watching Sally walk into the toilet, Terry pulled Andy away from his pals.
‘What’s up?’ Andy asked.
Terry shrugged. ‘I’ve got to go round Jimmy O’Hara’s place and I was wondering if I could borrow one of your guns.’
Frankie was filled with anticipation as Jed handed her her surprise present to unwrap. She had looked on the way in to see if she could spot the car, but she hadn’t seen it. Jed was very clever at hiding stuff and Frankie guessed that he’d probably hidden it at the back of his father’s land somewhere.
‘Don’t keep us all waiting. Open it, then,’ Alice urged.
Frankie ripped off the wrapping paper and stared at the box. Jed laughed, as every time she opened one box, there was a smaller one inside. Frankie’s heart lurched as she got to the final box. It was a bit small for car keys, but it couldn’t be anything else, surely?
Smiling at Jed, Frankie took the top off. ‘I didn’t want this,’ she said as she stared at the ring with revulsion.
Jed ignored her. He knew that Frankie had been expecting a car and he also knew how to play her. He knelt down beside her. ‘I never bought you a proper engagement ring, did I, babe? Real diamond, that is, cost me an arm and a leg, it did, but you’re more than worth it, Frankie.’
As Jed slipped it on her finger, Frankie began to cry. ‘But I thought you was getting me a car. I do like it, Jed, but I need to have a car more than I need a ring.’
Shannon nudged Alice. ‘Ungrateful little whore,’ she said as she walked out of the room.
Ordering everyone to leave them alone, Jed shut the door. ‘I wanted to buy you a proper engagement ring, Frankie. I love you and I want everybody to know that you’re gonna be my wife. I can get you a car any time, can’t I?’
‘But when? If you don’t get me one soon, I’ll forget how to drive,’ Frankie sobbed.
Seeing headlights looming through the window, Jed stood up. ‘Who the fuck is this?’ he mumbled to himself.
As soon as he recognised the unexpected visitor marching towards the house, Jed turned to Frankie in blind panic. ‘Stay ’ere and don’t move.’
‘Who is it, Jed?’ Jimmy O’Hara shouted.
Jed ran into the kitchen. ‘It’s that Sally’s dad. Go and answer it, Mum. Tell ’em I ain’t ’ere. You stay ’ere with me, Dad, please.’
Furious that the man she’d seen beating up her youngest son had the audacity to come back on Christmas Day, Alice picked up the rolling pin and ran to the front door.
‘Whaddya want? Jed ain’t ’ere,’ she shouted.
When Sally appeared from behind her father with her son in her arms, Alice glanced at the baby and gasped.
Terry immediately took control. Andy didn’t keep his guns at the boozer any more, so he had no tool whatsoever on him. He hadn’t intended to use the shooter – he wasn’t that silly. He’d just wanted to scaremonger and ruffle a few feathers if he needed to. He held his hands up, flat, palms towards Alice.
‘Listen, we don’t want no grief, I promise you that. This is my daughter, Sally, and this is your grandson, Luke. All we want is to speak to Jed. It’s about time he met his son, don’t you think? I know that Jed’s living in Hainault and if I can’t see him today, I’ll go there tomorrow.’
Not knowing how to handle the situation, Alice called for Jimmy. She had no doubt that this man was telling the truth. The boy was the spitting image of Jed as a baby.
Frankie opened the lounge door a tad. She wasn’t stupid and had guessed who the caller was and what was going on. She had sort of recognised the man’s voice.
‘You
’ve got no right coming ’ere on Christmas Day. And so what if it is Jed’s kid? He’s engaged now and he’s got another family, ain’t he?’ Jimmy shouted.
As Terry Baldwin started shouting the odds back, Billy ran to the front door. Jed stayed cowering in the kitchen.
Furious that her boyfriend’s name was being dragged through the mud when he hadn’t done anything wrong, Frankie laid Georgie on the sofa and marched into the hallway. What sort of man was Jimmy O’Hara, allowing his son to take the blame for his own mistakes and infidelities?
‘How dare you accuse my Jed of being unfaithful to me? That dirty old pervert standing there is the father,’ she screamed, pointing at Jimmy.
Jed cringed when he heard his mum fly at his dad. ‘Fuck, fuck, fuck!’ he said, holding his head in his hands.
Jimmy grabbed Alice’s arm to stop her from hitting him with the rolling pin. ‘I ain’t done nothing. I swear Alice, I’ve never seen that girl before in my life.’
Shannon grabbed Frankie around the throat. ‘You lying fucking whore,’ she screamed.
Billy ran into the kitchen and dragged an ashen-faced Jed into the hallway. ‘Sort this out now,’ he ordered.
Frankie managed to push Shannon off her. ‘I’m not lying. Jed told me it was his dad’s baby. Ask him – go on, he’ll tell you the truth.’
Terry turned to his daughter. ‘Tell ’em who the father is now,’ he said, as he shoved her and baby Luke into the hallway.
Frankie stood open-mouthed as she stared at the child. The baby was obviously younger, but it was like looking at Georgie just a few months back.
‘It’s Jed’s baby. I don’t even know his dad,’ Sally sobbed.
Shoved into the hallway by his brother, Jed slid down the wall, sank to his knees and covered his face with his hands. ‘I’m so sorry, Frankie. I love you. It was a mistake, I swear it was.’
Jimmy O’Hara was beside himself with rage. ‘You lying little bastard. How dare you get me into trouble with your mother?’ he yelled, grabbing Jed by the throat and marching him into the kitchen.
While Alice, Jimmy, Billy, Shannon, Terry and Sally all followed them out there, Frankie ran into the lounge.
‘Where’s my bag? Where’s my bag?’ she sobbed.
Spotting it by the side of the sofa, Frankie picked it up, chucked it over her shoulder, then grabbed Georgie.
As she ran down the driveway with the baby in her arms, she caught a glimpse of her engagement ring sparkling on her finger. She stopped, yanked the ring off and threw it as far away as she could.
Hearing Jed shout out her name, Frankie quickened her pace. He couldn’t see her – it was far too dark and the outside lights had gone off.
As Georgie began to scream, Frankie stopped briefly to stroke her head and comfort her. ‘Sssh, don’t cry, Georgie girl. We just need to get away from your daddy and, once we do that, Mummy will take care of you for the rest of your life, I promise.’
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Joyce always prided herself at being a bit of an expert at Scrabble, so a score-sheet showing that Stanley was beating her by fifty points did not fill her with glee. Desperate to stop her husband getting on another triple word score, Joyce chewed her fingernails.
‘Ah, I’ve got something,’ she said, as she proudly put her letters on the board.
Stanley looked at her incredulously. ‘Poofta! You can’t have that, Joycie, it ain’t a real word.’
Joyce took a sip of her sherry. ‘Of course it’s a bloody word. Ask Joey or Dominic; they’re both pooftas, so they should know.’
Joey raised his eyes at his boyfriend. His nan really needed a lesson in tact at times. ‘It’s offensive slang, Nan. You can’t use it in Scrabble,’ Joey told her.
Furious, Joyce punched Stanley on the arm. ‘Pass me that bleedin’ dictionary.’
As Stanley stood up, he was surprised to hear the doorbell ring. ‘Who the bloody hell’s that? We ain’t expecting no one, are we, Joycie?’
Pushing her husband out of the way, Joyce stomped off to answer the door. She hoped it was an unexpected visitor, then she could put the board away and keep her unbeaten record.
Joyce was stunned when she opened the front door and saw her granddaughter’s tear-stained face.
‘Can I stay here please, Nan? I’ve got nowhere else to go.’
Guessing that Frankie must have sneaked out of the house and legged it to her grandparents’, Jed was adamant he was going there to bring her back.
Alice and Jimmy both tried to make their son see sense. ‘You’ve done enough damage for one day, boy. Give the girl some space, you dinlo,’ Jimmy urged him.
Alice agreed. ‘Don’t be charging down there like a bull in a china shop. Give it a couple of days to let her cool off a bit.’
Jed flopped back down in the armchair. Christmas had been ruined and it was all Terry fucking Baldwin’s fault. If he hadn’t come round sticking his oar in, Frankie would be none the wiser about his shenanigans.
Terry, Sally and Luke had eventually left about half an hour ago. Jed had barely glanced at the child, but he’d given Sally a couple of hundred quid and had promised to pay maintenance.
Jed put his head in his hands. He was going to have to pull one out of the hat to get Frankie to forgive him for this. Suddenly an idea came to him. He picked up his phone and rang his cousin.
‘Sammy, I need a favour. I don’t care how much it costs, but I need you to get hold of a motor for Frankie for me. That mate of yours who sells cars, he must have something. Ring him, Sam, it’s urgent, real urgent and I need you to get me one by tomorrow at the latest. I want something decent with a small-size engine, and low mileage on the clock.’
Stanley, Joyce and Dominic all stayed downstairs with baby Georgie while Joey took his distraught sister upstairs to talk to her in private. All Frankie had said so far was that she and Jed had split up and she’d asked if she could move in with her nan and grandad until she sorted out somewhere else to live.
Desperate to know what had really happened, Joey led Frankie into his old bedroom and sat her on the edge of the bed. ‘Why have you left him on Christmas Day, Frankie? Something bad must have happened for you to leave, today of all days.’
Desperate to tell at least one person, Frankie fell into her brother’s arms. ‘You were so right about Jed, Joey. You said he couldn’t be trusted and he can’t. He’s cheated on me with this girl called Sally and she turned up today with his baby.’
Joey could barely believe his ears. ‘What, he’s had a kid with someone else? How old is it?’
‘Just a few months, I think,’ Frankie sobbed.
Joey held his sister tightly. Frankie needed him and the row they’d had over their father’s court case was now long forgotten.
‘You can’t go back to him after this, Frankie. He’s bound to push the boat out to try and win you back, but you have to be strong. A leopard don’t change its spots, and if Jed’s cheated on you once, chances are he’ll do it again.’
Frankie nodded. ‘I know you’re right, but what about Georgie? Jed’s a good dad and I don’t want her to grow up fatherless.’
‘He can still see her, Frankie. Georgie is only young, she’ll get used to Jed not being there, and when she’s older, she can spend weekends with him and stuff.’
Frankie rubbed her sore eyes. They were red raw through crying. ‘It’s not as simple as that though, is it? I’m pregnant again, Joey.’
Joey shook his head in disbelief. ‘But Georgie’s only nine months old. How can you be pregnant again this quickly?’
Frankie clung to her brother. ‘I am, Joey. I’ve already done the test. What am I gonna do? Jed doesn’t know, I haven’t even told him yet. I was gonna tell him today, surprise him, and then that old slag turned up at the door.’
Joey held his sister by the shoulders and stared into her eyes. ‘You have to have an abortion, Frankie. You can’t have any more kids by him, you just can’t. Jed’s a traitor, he’s scum – can
’t you see that, Frankie?’
Frankie furiously shook her head. ‘I won’t have an abortion, Joey. I could never kill my own child.’
Jed spent Boxing Day over at Sammy’s. Sammy had sorted a car out for him, a bright red Ford Fiesta, but Jed couldn’t pick it up until the following morning.
‘What am I gonna do if she won’t take me back? It would break my heart to be separated from Georgie girl,’ Jed asked Sammy.
‘Of course she’ll take you back. You’re gonna have to grovel and shit, promise that you’ll never be unfaithful again and all that bollocks, but she’ll definitely take you back. Don’t worry, Jed, Frankie’ll be fine once you’ve worked your magic on her, and if your charm don’t work, the car should do the trick.’
Jed was up bright and early the following morning. He picked the car up from Wickford and, with a heavy heart, drove it towards Frankie’s old house, which now belonged to her grandparents.
Praying that Frankie would open the door herself, Jed was horrified when he came face to face with her Uncle Raymond.
‘Look, I don’t want no grief, I just want to talk to Frankie and see my baby,’ Jed mumbled. He had never forgotten the time Raymond had chased him down the road with a baseball bat.
Raymond had no idea why Frankie had fallen out with Jed. He’d asked Joey, but Joey was too loyal to his sister to blab and Joyce and Stanley knew nothing other than that Frankie had turned up at the door sobbing on Christmas Day. He glared at Jed and stepped outside.
‘You’ve got some nerve, coming ’ere. You ain’t welcome, so fuck off.’
Jed kept his voice calm. ‘Look, I need to speak to Frankie and I have every right to see my daughter.’
As Frankie appeared at the door, Raymond ordered her to go back inside the house. Frankie pulled her uncle to one side. ‘I am quite capable of dealing with this myself. I can’t avoid him for ever, Ray, we’ve got a child together.’
Raymond pointed at Jed. ‘I’m warning you, you hurt her and I’ll hurt you – got it?’
Frankie waited until Raymond had gone back inside before she spoke. ‘Whaddya want?’ she asked abruptly.
The Traitor Page 24