About to walk away from the bar, Eddie came face to face with his very worst nightmare.
‘How you doing, mush?’ Jimmy O’Hara asked him.
Not wanting to mug himself off, Eddie kept his voice calm. ‘Fine. And you?’
Jimmy smiled. ‘I’m cushti. Actually, I’m glad we bumped into one another. I dunno if you’ve heard, but I think we’re about to become neighbours. Bought the place down the road to you, I have. I’m moving in this week.’
‘So I hear,’ Eddie said brightly. He was desperate to sound normal and hide the jealousy in his voice.
Jimmy O’Hara tilted his head to one side. ‘Look, mush, I know we’ve been through a lot of shit in the past, but we’ve both moved on now, so can we call it quits?’
As Jimmy held out his right hand, Eddie had little option but to shake it. ‘Suits me. I’ve got a family now, I don’t want no grief,’ Eddie replied.
Jimmy smiled. ‘Same here. I’m putting a mobile home next to me new gaff, so me mum and dad can live there. Three chavvies I’ve got now, all boys. Actually, I think me youngest, Jed, has got a crush on your daughter. You never know, we might have a wedding on our hands, Eddie boy.’
Eddie made an effort to smile. If O’Hara thought for one minute that his beautiful daughter would ever be jumping over a broomstick, pissing in a bucket and eating a wedding banquet of baked hedgehog in clay, he could fucking think again.
‘I best be getting these drinks back now, the lads’ll be wondering where I’ve gone. I’ll see you around, Jimmy.’
As Eddie walked away, Jimmy O’Hara smirked. The scar he’d given him was a pure work of art. He could sense that Eddie Mitchell was thoroughly pissed off with him buying the house and that pleased him immensely. Jimmy O’Hara wasn’t as forgiving as he portrayed himself. As if he was ever going to forget his father being shot in the foot. His old man was a shadow of his former self and had walked with a limp ever since.
He and his brothers had all sworn to their father that they would let bygones be bygones. They had promised to forget about their feud with the Mitchells, once and for all. Knowing his dinlo brothers, they probably had forgotten about it. Jimmy didn’t see much of them now. Ever since he’d given up the pub protection racket, he kept well away.
Opting to go legal was the best decision Jimmy had ever made. The month he’d spent in hospital after Eddie had beaten him to a pulp had given him food for thought. Jimmy had always been the brains of the family since he was a nipper, and he was now the proud owner of fifteen scrapyards in Kent and Essex. Millions he’d made, fucking millions, and he made sure his wife, chavvies and parents were all well provided for.
Ordering a round of drinks, Jimmy nodded to Eddie as he walked back past him. He would never break his promise to his dad while Butch was still alive. Jimmy grinned as he marched across the field. He would bide his time, play Mr Nice Guy and then, one day, when the time was right, he’d make Eddie Mitchell wish that he’d never been born.
‘Please Mummy, can we go and play on the rides?’ Joey asked.
‘We’ll be good, we won’t be naughty,’ Frankie added.
Jessica looked at Eddie with pleading eyes. ‘Let them go and play, Ed. They’ll only be bored standing here with us.’
Eddie shook his head. He was drunk now, very drunk. ‘Fuck me, you’ve changed your tune. You didn’t want to let them out of your sight a few hours ago. They ain’t going nowhere, they’re staying put.’
Seeing the twins faces crumple, Jessica stood her ground. ‘If you won’t let them go and play, I’m taking them home, Ed. It’s too hot for them sitting here and I’m not gonna let them watch you drink yourself into a stupor again. They were petrified when you kicked off the other night. It’s not fair on them, they’re only babies.’
Furious at being spoken to like shit in front of Dougie and Raymond, Eddie grabbed Jessica by the arm and dragged her towards the bar.
‘Ed, stop it, you’re hurting me!’ Jessica cried.
Dougie had had enough of Eddie’s drunken behaviour by now. ‘I’ve just spotted a pal of mine over by the entrance. Tell Eddie I’ll see him later on,’ Dougie told Raymond as he dragged Vicki away.
Raymond nodded. He could see that his sister was upset and he didn’t know what to do for the best. His dad had told him about the row at Reg’s party, but getting involved in other people’s maritals just wasn’t his scene.
‘Can we go home now, Uncle Raymond?’ Joey pleaded.
Raymond glanced back towards the bar. Seeing Eddie shouting at Jessica, he decided he had no choice but to step in. Blood was thicker than water, after all. ‘Stay there, don’t move,’ he ordered the twins.
Running towards his sister, he pushed himself in between her and Eddie. ‘For fuck’s sake, can yous two stop arguing? You’re upsetting the kids and everybody’s looking at you. It’s embarrassing.’
‘Eddie’s drunk, Ray. All I want to do is go home,’ Jessica wept.
‘I’ve told you, you’re my missus and you’ll go home when I say you can,’ Eddie said nastily.
Raymond put a protective arm around his sister. ‘Come on, Jess, let’s go and stand over by the disco. The kids can have a dance and we can watch ’em.’
Eddie sneered as his wife and brother-in-law walked away. He knew deep down that he was in the wrong. As a rule, he was a good drinker, he could hold his own with the best of them. But on the odd occasion when he hammered the Scotch, he knew he turned into an arrogant arsehole.
‘There is nothing worse than seeing a grown man drunk and acting like a fucking idiot. Watch your booze intake, Eddie, ’cause when you’re steaming, that’s exactly what you turn into,’ his father had told him only recently.
Eddie ordered himself another large Scotch. He had every right to get pissed after the shock he’d had today. Jessica wouldn’t understand. For years he’d only had to look in the mirror and see his scar to be reminded of Jimmy O’Hara.
‘Dad, Dad. Quick, the boxing’s about to start,’ Gary said, tugging at his sleeve.
Putting his arm around his eldest, Eddie swaggered over to the ring with him. ‘Beat that O’Hara kid and I’ll give you a score, Gary.’
‘What about me?’ Ricky asked.
‘You win your bout and I’ll give you a score as well,’ Eddie said laughing.
‘Are you OK?’ Vicki asked, as she sat down on the grass next to Jessica.
Jessica nodded. ‘Eddie’s never usually like that, so please don’t think badly of him, will you?’
Vicki squeezed her hand. ‘I don’t. I have to put up with a lot with my Dougie sometimes, believe me.’
Jessica smiled. ‘Aren’t you and Dougie going to get married or have children?’
A sudden look of sadness washed over Vicki. ‘Dougie’s ex-wife died of leukaemia and I think he still loves her. He don’t wanna get married again, he says no one can ever take her place. He reckons he wants more kids, but I don’t know if he’s just bluffing. It’s hard sometimes, Jess, I feel like I’m second best to a ghost.’
Noticing tears in Vicki’s eyes, Jessica hugged her new friend. ‘We’re a right pair we are, aren’t we?’
Their conversation was ended by an excited Frankie. ‘Look Mummy, Joey’s dancing.’
Jessica stood up to get a better look at her son. The DJ was playing the Village People’s ‘YMCA’ and Joey stood in a circle full of adults. He was waving his arms and copying the funny dance they were doing.
Vicki linked arms with Jessica. ‘Ah, look. He’s just so gorgeous, both of your kids are. You’re really lucky, Jess. I’d give my right arm for two kids like yours.’
Jessica smiled proudly. Everybody said how gorgeous her twins were and they were right, of course.
* * *
Eddie’s heart thumped with adrenalin as Gary stepped into the ring. He could see Jimmy O’Hara standing opposite and he just prayed that the training his son had been given at the Peacock Gym would pay off.
‘Go on, Gary, I’m ban
king on you, son,’ he yelled, as the fight started.
‘Jab, jab, Gary. Hit him with your right,’ Raymond urged.
As Gary swung a right hook and the O’Hara boy hit the canvas, Eddie and Raymond leaped up and down.
Not only was Patrick Murphy the referee, he also ran a book on these special occasions, and both Eddie and Raymond had stuck a oner on Gary to win. ‘He’s a good little boxer,’ Patrick told Eddie, as he handed over their winnings.
Eddie smiled as Jimmy O’Hara approached him. ‘Got a good right hook, won fair and square your boy. How old’s your other one? My second one down, Marky, is thirteen.’
‘My Ricky’s twelve, but he can handle himself all right.’
‘Get him in the ring, then,’ O’Hara demanded.
Eddie and Gary placed another oner bet each and watched as Ricky put on a pair of gloves. ‘Hit him hard, son, as hard as you fucking can,’ Eddie urged him.
‘He’s a lot taller than me,’ Ricky said vulunerably.
‘The bigger they are, the harder they fall,’ Eddie told him.
‘Go on, Ricky, you can do it,’ Gary yelled as the bout began.
Desperate to make his dad proud of him, Ricky flew out of his corner. Within a minute he had knocked the O’Hara boy down.
‘Marky’s fine, let him carry on,’Jimmy O’Hara shouted.
Patrick Murphy waved his hands to signal the end of the fight. ‘And the winner is Ricky Mitchell,’ he shouted, holding Ricky’s right arm aloft.
Jimmy O’Hara was pissed off. He’d had £200 each on his boys and they’d both let him down. ‘Why did you stop it? He slipped over,’ he moaned to Pat Murphy.
Patrick shrugged. ‘You know the rules, Jimmy. He never slipped, he was put down. One knock down, fight over. They’re only kids, remember.’
Seeing the smarmy expression on Eddie Mitchell’s face, Jimmy walked towards him. ‘Let’s put the little ’uns in there, then. How old’s your youngest?’
‘My Joey’s six, but his mother won’t be letting him get in there,’ Eddie chuckled.
Jimmy tried to goad him, ‘Does your wife wear the trousers, then? Five he is, my Jed. Come on, let the chavvies have a go. What are you? A man or a mouse?’
Eddie shrugged. Jed might only be five, but he certainly wasn’t a wimp like Joey was. As it wasn’t in his nature to back down, Eddie went off to find his youngest.
Seeing Jessica sitting with Vicki, he walked over to them. ‘Where’s Joey?’
Jessica smiled and pointed to the makeshift dancefloor. Eddie’s blood boiled as he spotted his son. He looked a right pansy dancing in a circle with six little girls.
‘He’s coming with me. I’ve organised a little boxing match for him,’ Eddie told Jessica bluntly.
Jess looked at her husband in horror. ‘What do you mean? A boxing match?’
‘He’s going in the ring with that little Jed. They’re only having a spar up, it’s nothing dangerous,’ Eddie said reassuringly.
‘No, he is not,’ Jessica said immediately. ‘He’s six years old, Eddie.’
Ignoring her, Eddie marched towards Joey and dragged him out of the circle.
‘Leave him alone!’ Jessica screamed, chasing after her husband.
‘Daddy, no, leave Joey alone,’ Frankie cried.
Vicki caught Jess by the arm and cuddled her. ‘Leave it, Jess. You won’t win. Men like ours, they don’t listen, love.’
‘Please, Daddy. I don’t want to box, I want to dance,’ Joey sobbed.
Picking up his son, Eddie marched him towards the boxing ring. ‘Stop crying else I’ll wallop you. Now, all you’ve got to do is get in that ring and land a few punches. Just hit him as hard as you can, Joey. You’re older than him, you’ll be fine.’
‘I don’t want to, Daddy,’ Joey said, trying to wriggle out of his father’s arms.
Eddie slapped his son gently around the face. ‘Like it or not, you’re doing it. Dancing is for girls, boxing’s for boys. Now get in that ring and make your dad proud of you.’
Jessica was hysterical as her son was lifted into the ring. ‘Do something, Raymond, please,’ she screamed.
Grabbing hold of her and Frankie, Raymond hugged them both. ‘It’ll be fine, Jess. I can’t do nothing, you know what Ed’s like. Just face me and don’t look. It’ll be over within seconds.’
Joey shook like a leaf as the boy stared at him. ‘Hit him, Joey, hit him!’ Eddie screamed.
‘I can’t. I don’t want to,’ Joey sobbed, as Jed lunged towards him.
As the punch landed on Joey’s chin, he hit the deck with an almighty thud.
Seeing Patrick Murphy wave his hands, Jimmy O’Hara jumped into the ring and lifted Jed up in triumph. He’d had £500 on his youngest, so at least he was no longer out of pocket.
Eddie dashed into the ring to tend to Joey.
‘Is he OK? I’m a first-aider,’ he heard someone say.
‘He doesn’t look OK,’ somebody else shouted.
Jessica pushed Raymond away and took in the pandemonium. Hysterical, she ran towards her son. ‘Joey, Joey, Joey!’ she cried.
Seeing her son’s limp body, Jessica screamed louder than she had ever screamed before.
FOURTEEN
‘I’ve just examined Joey. He’s absolutely fine, you can take him home now,’ the doctor told Jessica.
Relieved, Jessica repeatedly thanked the doctor and hugged her mum. ‘Ring Dad and get him to come and pick us up,’ she told Joyce.
Joey had come round five minutes after he’d been knocked out cold. Petrified that he might have concussion or suffered permanent brain damage, Jessica had brought him to casualty. He’d been kept in overnight as a precaution and Jess was thankful that her prayers had been answered and he was OK.
She had used Patrick’s phone to call her parents, who had been brilliant. Stanley had taken the hysterical Frankie home with him, while Joyce had stayed with Jessica and Joey at the hospital all night.
Eddie had turned up at the hospital late the previous night, but Jess had immediately sent him packing. ‘Get away from me and my children,’ she screamed.
‘Please, Jess, let me see Joey. I’ll make it up to him, I’ll make it up to you and Frankie as well. Nothing like this will ever happen again, I promise,’ Ed pleaded.
Jessica was having none of it. She had seen a side to her husband over the last couple of days that she’d never seen before. A nasty, vicious, drunken side, and she would never forgive him for what he had done to Joey. ‘Just go, Ed. If you don’t I shall scream blue murder and tell the nurses and doctors what really happened,’ she told him.
With tears in his eyes, Ed walked away. Jess knew he felt terribly guilty – she could see it in his eyes – but she could never excuse what he had done.
She had told them in casualty that Joey had fallen off a swing. She could hardly tell them the truth, could she? Their faces would be a picture if she told them her husband had forced their six-year-old son to participate in a boxing match. She’d have social services knocking on her door if the doctors found out the truth..
‘Hello, Mummy. Are we going home now? I want to play with Milky the Cow.’ Joey said chirpily.
Jessica scooped her son into her arms. ‘We’re going to stay with Nanny and Grandad for a few days,’ she told him.
Joey looked perplexed. ‘But I haven’t got any toys at Nanny and Grandad’s house. Can’t we go to our house, Mummy?’
Jessica stroked his thick blond hair. The innocence of his eyes tugged at her heart strings and she felt a tear run down her cheek. ‘Frankie’s round at Grandad’s. You want to see your sister, don’t you? And what about the pigeons? Grandad will take you out and you can help him fly them.’
Joey could tell that his mum was upset, but he wasn’t sure why. ‘OK,’ he said, smiling.
‘Hello, darling, how’s Nanny’s little soldier?’Joyce said, as Jessica walked towards her with Joey in her arms.
‘I’m hungry, Nan. Can I have some chips?’
Joyce kissed Joey on the forehead. ‘As soon as we get home, Nanny will cook you whatever you want.’
* * *
As soon as Raymond opened his front door, Eddie walked inside and sat on the sofa with his head in his hands. He hadn’t slept a wink and he was consumed with guilt and an aching heart. Ed knew he’d been bang out of order. Seeing O’Hara had made his blood boil. Overcome by jealousy, he’d got paralytic and the rest was history.
‘I know Joey’s all right. I rang up the hospital this morning. What am I gonna do, Ray? Say I’ve lost Jess? She might leave me and take the kids with her.’
Raymond shrugged. This was an awkward situation for him, and his loyalty really lay with his sister. Seeing tears in Eddie’s eyes, he decided not to rub salt in his wounds. He obviously knew what he’d done was wrong, so there was no bloody point in making it worse for him.
‘I dunno what you’re gonna do, Ed. Is Joey still in hospital or have they let him out?’
‘The nurse I spoke to said that he was OK and he’d be discharged this morning. I can’t see Jess coming home, though. Your mum’s up there with her and I reckon she’ll take the kids round to hers.’
Raymond nodded. He’d shot up the hospital last night and spoken to Jessica and his mum, and he knew she wasn’t planning on going home. ‘Do you wanna drink? You’re shaking,’ Raymond said to Eddie.
Ed shook his head. ‘It’s drink that’s fucking caused all this. If I hadn’t been so pissed, none of it would have happened.’
Raymond opened a can of lager and sat down opposite Eddie. ‘I really don’t know what to say, Ed. The only advice I can give you is to let me sister calm down a bit. I wouldn’t go round me mum’s just yet. I mean, Jess has got to come home at some point, she’s got no clean clothes for herself or the kids with her, has she? And what about school? She won’t want the twins having too much time off, will she?’
Eddie stood up. ‘I’m gonna go home and wait there in case she comes back. I might try and ring her at your mum’s, see if she’ll talk to me. I’ll do anything to get her to forgive me, Ray. I love her, she’s my life and without her I’m nothing.’
The Feud Page 13