‘Hey, Solly, why don’t we talk about this some other time?’ Tommy finally interjected with a sigh. ‘I don’t even have a drink in my hand, you cheapskate,’ he added with a smile, showing an empty palm and placing his other hand on Solly’s shoulder.
‘You’re right, Tommy, my boy. Tonight is for fun. Business can wait another day,’ Solly responded, looking at his partner who nodded his agreement. It was enough that Tommy had not rejected them out of hand and was willing to discuss their proposal another time. ‘And my manners are appalling,’ Solly carried on, slapping his hand hard against his forehead. ‘What would you like to drink? I’ll go and fetch you one.’
‘I could murder a cold beer.’
‘And a cold beer it will be then,’ Solly replied, touching him on the forearm before heading out to the kitchen.
Tommy followed his tread and then gazed around the room, feeling decidedly uncomfortable standing next to Solly’s uncommunicative and miserable-looking business partner. His eyes fell immediately upon an attractive girl wearing a white dress and navy-blue cardigan, with long, blonde corkscrew hair. ‘Wow, I wonder who she is?’ he said to himself, loud enough to stir Isaac into looking up at him.
Tommy continued to stare at Vicki, who was side on to him, and noted that her group did not include a man of similar age amongst them. Vicki was unaware that Tommy was looking at her until, turning her head a touch, she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. Unexpectedly, their eyes met and Tommy gave her the broadest and brightest smile she had ever seen, which even lit up the gloomy Isaac next to him. Instinctively, she turned her head away, but she could not hide the widening of her mouth or blushing of her cheeks from Tommy.
‘Here you are, Tommy, my boy. A nice cold glass of Löwenbräu for you.’
‘Cheers, Solly,’ Tommy replied, taking a large gulp. It was so cold and strong that it watered his eyes and made him shiver. ‘Tell me, who’s that girl over there in the white dress and blue cardigan?’
‘Where? Over there? Oh, that’s Victoria Mitchell,’ Solly returned, straining his neck to look around some of the other guests in the living room. ‘She’s the marketing manager of an American company that supplies me with cloth for my schmutter.’
‘She’s a very pretty girl.’
At this moment, Isaac made his excuses and walked away. He could see in which direction the conversation was heading and it was not one in which he had any interest.
‘She is that, and a very sweet girl as well, I must say. Hard as nails, though, Tommy, my boy. Can never get any money out of her for my marketing campaigns,’ Solly continued, shaking his head and pursing his lips. ‘Would you like an introduction?’
‘Sure, at a suitable moment.’
And with that, Solly left Tommy’s side and side-stepped his way around the other guests to Vicki’s group. Tommy threw his head back in exasperation, cursing Solly for being as subtle as a medieval mace fight, as he watched him whisper something into Vicki’s ear right in front of her friends. They all looked in his direction, which made him feel extremely uncomfortable, and the best he could do was to grin back cheesily. But you had to hand it to Solly for, a few seconds later, he turned back towards him with Vicki in tow. Tommy observed the expressions of surprise on the faces of the others in Vicki’s group and particularly on that of the other young woman, who looked as if the on-the-run Great Train Robber, Ronnie Biggs, had just entered the room.
‘Victoria, my darling, I’d like to introduce you to Tommy Slater,’ Solly pronounced with his arm around her shoulders like a caring father and as if she might never have heard of him before. ‘You probably know that Tommy is the esteemed captain of the England football team,’ he continued unnecessarily. Tommy held out his hand for Vicki to shake. His grip was firm though the skin was soft. They beamed the broadest of smiles to each other. ‘Well, let me leave you two together now, but please do grab yourselves a drink and tuck into the food whenever you want. I wouldn’t want any of it to go to waste.’
‘Thanks, Solly, I’m sure we will,’ Tommy replied and Vicki concurred. Solly finally left them and made a beeline for the record player where he placed another Frank Sinatra LP on the turntable.
‘Well, Victoria, it’s very nice to meet you.’
‘Please call me Vicki. Only Solly and my parents call me Victoria.’
‘Well, Vicki, it’s very nice to meet you, too,’ Tommy returned, trying to be funny and raising the smidgen of a smile on her face. ‘Sorry for the way Solly broke into your group over there. I only mentioned what an attractive girl you are and how I wouldn’t mind an introduction and the next thing I know he’s off like a dog chasing a stick.’
‘Oh, that’s okay,’ Vicki replied, her confidence boosted by Tommy’s compliment. ‘We all know what Solly’s like. If he’s anything, he’s a bundle of energy and certainly not shy in going forward.’ Vicki hesitated a moment before adding, looking Tommy straight in the eye, ‘I’m glad he did.’
‘Yeah, I’m glad he did, too.’ They both lowered their eyes for the fleetest of moments, not saying a word, and took the opportunity to take a sip of their drinks. The attraction they held for each other was obvious and they both knew it. ‘So, Vicki, Solly tells me your company supplies him with cloth?’
‘Yeah, that’s right. He’s a good customer of ours, though, between you and me, it would help if he paid his bills on time more often. He’s always pleading poverty and asking for lower prices, but, judging by this flat and the Jag he drives, I think he’s doing alright.’
‘I’m sure he is,’ Tommy replied with a nod.
‘How do you know him, may I ask?’
‘I’ve only just met him to be honest. He’s my new neighbour as I’ve just moved into number forty-two along the corridor. We’ve had a few chats and he’s good company, even if he is a Spurs supporter. He’d like me to invest in his business as some security for when I finish playing football, but I’m not all that keen.’
‘You’ve still got a few years ahead of you, surely?’
‘Oh, yeah, at least six or seven before I hang up my boots. But, you never know, an injury could end it all tomorrow, so Solly’s not wrong in getting me to think about my future. I’m more interested in property development, you know, buying and doing up old wrecks and selling them on afterwards. There’s a handy profit to be made in that.’
‘You’d need to be David Nixon and Merlin the Magician all wrapped up in one to make a profit out of my dump of a place in Battersea,’ Vicki responded, arching her eyes to the heavens, but immediately regretting it. She had opened the door to questions about her living arrangements which she didn’t think was such a good idea in the circumstances. Tommy was about to say something when, fortunately for her, another guest came over and shook him by the hand, telling him what a great admirer of his he was. Tommy had a quick word with him before turning back to Vicki. Luckily, he resumed on a different subject.
‘Sorry about that. Where were we now? Yeah, getting back to Solly, where I might get involved with him is by modelling some of his new clobber, you know, his new collection of suits in particular. I think it could be quite lucrative for both of us and it’s something I know I’d enjoy. I’ve always liked nice whistles and it’d make a change from endorsing some of the products I’ve done recently like frozen pies. It’d certainly be a lot more glamorous!’ Tommy chuckled.
‘That’s right, I remember now the one you did for Fray Bentos on the telly around your kitchen table with Cheryl.’ Vicki had deliberately thrown in Cheryl’s name to gauge his reaction. She had read that the relationship had come to an end but she never knew whether what she read in the press was always correct.
‘Yeah, disgusting they were, those pies,’ Tommy replied, pinching his nose, ‘but please don’t tell them,’ he whispered conspiratorially into her ear, ‘because it was a nice little earner and I wouldn’t mind them asking me again.’ The sensation of his breath on her skin was like a puff of warm air on a long summer’s eveni
ng and made her tingle with desire, a feeling Tommy was all too aware of.
Simultaneously, they burst out laughing, drawing the attention of Vicki’s work colleagues across the room. They all looked at each other in amazement and revelled in the gossip that would go around their company at this turn of events. With Brenda, the biggest gossiper of the lot in their midst, this was guaranteed. Vicki was fully conscious that her spending time in the company of Tommy Slater would inevitably lead to this but she couldn’t care less. She was suddenly eager for more … a lot more.
Tommy could tell that Vicki was digging for information on Cheryl, putting a few ferrets down a hole and seeing if any rabbits would pop out. He had nothing to hide and welcomed telling her the truth for he had already fallen for her and wished nothing better than to deconstruct any imaginary barriers that might exist between them. ‘Saying that, I’d have to do the ad by myself next time as I’m not with Cheryl anymore, as you’re probably aware.’
‘Yeah, I had read that. I’m sorry,’ Vicki replied, not meaning it.
‘It was a real shame but we just grew apart the older we got. When we first met we never thought it would ever end, but, you know, things change.’ Vicki nodded. ‘It got a bit messy and she was badly advised with that interview she gave to Woman’s Own, talking all that nonsense, but, hey, that’s life, I suppose, as Esther Rantzen might say.’
Vicki smiled at the clever reference to the new and increasingly popular magazine-style television programme but her head had clocked that Cheryl was definitely off the scene and she felt a warm glow inside. The conversation died as Vicki was more interested in absorbing and understanding what Tommy had just said rather than responding to it and they both took the opportunity to sip from their drinks once again.
‘I need a fresh one,’ Tommy finally proclaimed, showing Vicki an empty glass. He looked at hers which also needed a refill. ‘Let’s go into the kitchen and get ourselves a drink. Don’t know about you but I’m feeling a bit peckish so I think I’ll take Solly up on his offer and grab something to eat.’
‘Good idea.’
Tommy led the way, stopping briefly to have a quick word with and accept the handshakes from some of the overawed guests. Vicki waited beside him and glanced over to her work colleagues, who all projected their most knowing smiles at her. She blushed back at them. Frank Sinatra was imploring his love to “Come fly with me, let’s fly, let’s fly away …”, which Vicki mimed along to, wishing madly it was Tommy singing it to her with the same intent. At last, Tommy freed himself from a final well-wisher and set off for the kitchen, Vicki following close behind.
‘What do you fancy, Vicki?’
‘I think I’ll have another gin and tonic.’
‘Tell you what, I’ll mix that for you while you grab me a beer.’
As Vicki opened the top compartment of the stainless-steel Smeg fridge which rose high above her head, thinking that this compartment alone was twice the size of her fridge at home, she ventured a jocular quip at Tommy, who, before grabbing the Gordon’s bottle, munched down a tiny smoked salmon sandwich. ‘So, this new collection of Solly’s you might model, will the colour scheme be claret and blue?’
‘Ha ha, who’s the funny one? I’ll always be proud to wear the Hammers’ colours on the pitch but they might look a bit odd in a whistle, though you never know these days ’cos any colour seems to go. Would you mind grabbing the tonic from the fridge while you’re there?’ As Vicki reached for a small bottle of Schweppes, Tommy resumed light-heartedly, pouring a measure of gin into a tall glass. ‘Anyway, I’m not sure I should be talking to a Chelsea supporter, as you’re one of our biggest rivals.’
Vicki was taken aback as she closed the fridge, holding the necks of the bottles of Löwenbräu and tonic water in the fingers of one hand. ‘How did you know I was a Chelsea supporter?’
‘Oh, come on, Vicki, it’s obvious,’ Tommy replied, turning round momentarily to face her, a piece of lemon in one hand and small knife in the other. He was smiling broadly. Vicki looked nonplussed. ‘Firstly, you live in Battersea, where a lot of their supporters come from and, secondly, you’re wearing their colours.’
Instinctively, Vicki looked down at her dress and cardigan. She shook her head, slightly embarrassed. ‘When I put this on, I can assure you Chelsea’s colours were the last thing on my mind.’
Taking the bottle of tonic from her hand, Tommy grinned. ‘I’ll tell you something, you look a lot better in those colours than that madman ‘Chopper’ Harris does,’ as he recalled a particularly vicious kick on the ankle from the Chelsea hard man. He stopped for a second and then gazed lovingly into Vicki’s eyes before adding with the faintest of nods, ‘In fact, you look absolutely stunning.’
Vicki thought her knees were going to buckle at such a lovely compliment and she had to look away, so discombobulated did she feel. She was lost for words and, in a daze, she sought the bottle-opener to take the top off his beer.
‘I think this is what you’re looking for.’ Tommy had already picked it up to remove the top from the Schweppes bottle. As he held it out, their fingers touched and their eyes met. Vicki made no effort to take the opener and Tommy made no effort to release it.
Eventually, after a few delicious seconds, Tommy slackened his grip and Vicki removed the top of the Löwenbräu. She poured it into a glass and handed it to Tommy, who, in turn, handed her the gin and tonic. Not a word passed their lips for almost a minute and, with her head in a whirl, Vicki considered the platters of food on the sideboard. She spent an age choosing between the cheese and pineapple on a stick, sausage on a stick, wide array of vol-au-vents and sandwich triangles. She couldn’t concentrate and may as well have been considering a selection of lipsticks for all she knew, so tizzy had her mind become. She just needed to gather her thoughts a second. Finally, she selected a vol-au-vent overflowing with prawn cocktail sauce, grabbing a bright-red serviette at the same time.
For his part, Tommy was experiencing the same shivers of excitement as Vicki and took a large gulp from his glass to compose himself. He absolutely adored her. A handsome couple entered the kitchen at that moment, momentarily breaking the spell that bewitched the two love birds, but so obvious was the love in the air that the woman asked apologetically whether they were disturbing them.
‘Not at all,’ Tommy replied with his most charming smile. ‘In fact, we were just leaving.’ This was news to Vicki but she followed Tommy out of the kitchen and into the living room, tugging at his arm to indicate a space in the opposite corner to where her work colleagues were standing.
‘Cheers.’ Tommy raised his glass in salute and took a sip of his drink. Vicki did the same. Feeling more relaxed, they then started to speak simultaneously, each interrupting the flow of the other.
‘Sorry, Vicki, you go first.’
‘No, you go first.’
‘Beauty before the beast.’
Vicki grinned and was about to say something when Tommy began to speak with a cheeky smile. Vicki thumped him playfully on the arm, pursing her lips, and they both laughed. Finally, after taking another sip of her drink, Vicki took up the conversation. ‘So, West Ham United? You must come from the East End then?’
‘I’m sure my accent’s a bit of a giveaway as well but, yeah, you’re right. In fact, I’m a true Cockney. My family’s originally from Bow and I’m proud to say I was born within the sound of the bells before we moved to Hackney. How about you? Please don’t tell me you’re from Chelsea?’
‘No. I was born in Guildford, actually, near to where my parents live now, but I can honestly say I’ve got some East End blood in me ’cos my father was born in Plaistow.’
‘Really?’
‘Yeah. In fact, his first job was in Billingsgate Market.’
‘You’re kidding! That’s where my old man used to work.’
‘God, what a coincidence. I wonder if they ever knew each other. Mine was there just after the war for a year before he met my mum. My parents were only e
ighteen when they got married and he moved to Guildford where my mum’s family was living.’
‘My dad was working there during the war when he got called up. He got demobbed in 1947 and returned to Billingsgate. They probably missed each other then.’
‘Probably. That’s the year my parents got married and I know he was working as a clerk in the City by then, though he did do his eighteen months’ National Service soon after. Yours truly came along the following year,’ Vicki added, opening up her arms as if receiving the applause of an audience.
‘I was born in 1946 as a result of my old man coming home on leave the year before. Well, I suppose they had to make the most of it.’ They both laughed. ‘In fact, my dad was in Egypt when I was born and celebrated hearing the news by diving into the Red Sea.’
Vicki smiled and could see in Tommy’s eyes how much he loved and admired his father. ‘Did you always want to be a footballer?’
‘Good question. I loved the game as a kid and was always kicking a ball about in the streets with my mates and my brother but I can’t honestly say I wanted to be one at the time. In fact, all I really wanted was a good office job, a bit like your dad, I suppose, and for my parents to be proud of me. For a working class family to have a son in a suit and tie behind a desk was high ambition. But it transpired I was pretty good at football and got scouted by West Ham, so I signed on as an apprentice and the rest, as they say, is history.’
‘Your family must be very proud of you?’
‘Oh, yeah, no doubt. But not when I first signed.’
‘Oh, why’s that then?’
‘Because they’re all Orient supporters.’
Vicki laughed, triggering Tommy to do the same. When it subsided, they gazed into each other’s eyes, both holding the look with ease. A moment later, Solly was at their side, as if appearing from nowhere, and he put his arms around their shoulders. ‘Victoria, Tommy, I hope you’re both enjoying the party. Grab yourselves another drink whenever you’re ready and please tuck into the grub.’
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