The Rock'n'Roll Romance Box Set (Pam Howes Rock'n'Roll Romance Series) (4 page)

Eddie grabbed the phone from the
hallstand, sat down on the bottom stair, and dialled Cantello’s Fruit Shop.

Roy’s
Italian father answered. ‘Eddie! How’s the bambino?’

‘Jonny’s fine thanks. How’s
things with you, Bob? Anymore thoughts on going back to Italy?’

‘When Roy’s
famous and earning a packet I might retire to Italy,’
Bob replied, his tone wistful. He lowered his voice. ‘Between me, you and the
gate post, if Irene refuses to come with me, I’ll find myself a nice little
signorina to serve my needs.’

Eddie smiled into the receiver.
‘While you’re about it, find one for me, too.’

He heard Bob chuckle and then
reply, ‘You’ve only been married five minutes. Wait until you’ve done
twenty-five years,
then
you’ll know
what I mean. Right, I’d better get back to the counter before Irene comes
cracking the whip. Roy’s here now
so I’ll say arrivederci.’

‘Arrivederci to you too, Bob, and
thanks.’

‘Hi, mate. How you doin’?’ Roy
said.

‘Could be better, Roy.
And you?’

‘Pretty good, thanks.’

‘Mum said you had news for me?’

‘I do, and boy, will it put a
smile on your face.’

‘Great! I could do with some good
news for a change. Well, come on then, what is it?’

‘Meet me at seven-thirty tonight
in The Royal Oak and all will be revealed.’

‘Sounds mysterious. Can’t you
tell me now?’

‘No, Ed. This news is far too
important to tell you in a hurry. Anyway, I want to see your face when you hear
what I have to say. So does Sammy and she’ll lynch me if I tell you when she’s
not there.’

Eddie laughed.

‘A word of warning,’ Roy
continued. ‘Don’t bring Angie. This news is not for her ears.’

‘I won’t. She’ll think I’m going
to night school anyway.’

‘Right then. See you later.’

‘Bye.’ Eddie hung up and
re-joined his mother in the parlour.

‘Well?’ She handed him a mug of
tea as he sank down into the comfort of his dad’s fireside chair. She adjusted
the antimacassar behind his head and smoothed his fringe from his eyes.

He smiled. She treated him like a
little boy sometimes, but he didn’t mind.

‘He wouldn’t say. I’ve got to
meet him and Sammy later in the pub.’

‘Thought you had night-school on
Mondays?’

‘I’m giving it a miss tonight. Roy’s
news is more important, apparently.’

‘Well have your cuppa and then
you can get off home. You look tired. Are you sleeping properly?’

‘So, so.’ He took a sip of tea
and stared thoughtfully into the fire, wondering if he should tell her about
losing his job. He decided against it. Angie should be told first.

‘Are things no better between you
and Angie?’ Mum interrupted his thoughts.

He shrugged. ‘Much the same. I’m
still sleeping on the sofa.’

‘If only things could have been
different,’ she said. ‘You might have been wed to young Jane Wilson now. That
girl thought the world of you.’ She took a sip of tea and continued. ‘It’s a
shame you didn’t take the engineering apprenticeship your dad had lined up for
you at Bennett’s. You’d have had a good job for the future there. You’ll never
make anything of yourself at that paint factory.’

He raised an ironical eyebrow and
nodded. ‘You’re right. But there you go, I didn’t and I’m too old to start an
apprenticeship at nearly twenty-one. Anyway, if I had my time again I’d still
be with
T
he
Raiders
.
They’re making decent money now. But
what choice was
I
given? You got the
girl into trouble; do the right thing and marry her. Give up the group. Get
yourself a proper job. Does it all sound familiar, Mum?’

‘Ed, there’s no need to take it
out on me. Your dad and I helped you as much as we could. We thought you’d be
better off working properly, not swanning around the country with the group. It
seemed the best thing all round at the time. Angie’s parents thought so, too.
You can’t just blame us.’

‘I’ve never blamed you and Dad.
Old Mother Turner would have had me hung drawn and quartered if I hadn’t done
the right thing by her bloody daughter.’ He grinned wickedly, adding, ‘It was
my fault. Like Roy says, I should
have worn wellies when I took a bath.’

‘Eddie!’

‘Sorry, Mum.’ He finished his tea
and placed his mug on the coffee table. ‘Right, I’m going.’ He leapt to his
feet. ‘Angie should be home from work by now and her mother will have dropped
Jonny off. I like to get back after the old witch has gone. She can’t stand to
be in the same room as me and the feeling’s mutual.’

‘Well you can’t avoid the woman
forever. She’s Jonny’s granny at the end of the day.’

‘She’s also my worst nightmare.’
He shrugged into his jacket. ‘With a bit of luck I might get a decent meal
tonight. Last night it was beans on toast, again! I get better fed here and at Roy’s
place than I do at home. Still, like you’re always telling me, you make your
bed, etcetera.’

‘Get off with you.’ She handed
him a small paper bag. ‘Take these jelly babies for Jonny and don’t you be
stealing all the black ones.’

‘Thanks Mum. Might see you
tomorrow.’

***

Eddie climbed the stairs two at a
time to his second floor flat. He put his foot up the backside of his
neighbour’s mangy tom and wrinkled his nose at the dingy, peeling paintwork and
the permanent smell of boiled cabbage and cat pee in the communal hallway.

‘Daddy’s home,’ he called.

Jonny hurtled down the hall into
his outstretched arms. Eddie swung him up into the air and twirled him round
and round. Jonny shrieked for more, big green eyes sparkling with excitement.

‘No more, you’ll be dizzy when I
put you down. You might fall over and hurt yourself. Let’s go and find Mummy.’

‘She in da kitchen,’ Jonny said,
beaming. ‘You got sweeties?’

‘Yes, jelly babies from Nana. But
you have to eat all your tea up first.’

‘Had tea at Granny’s.’

‘Did you now? Well here you are
then.’ Eddie handed over the bag. ‘Go and sit on your little chair in the
living room while you eat them.’

Jonny chuckled and toddled off
down the hall, clutching his jelly babies.

Eddie gritted his teeth before
popping his head around the kitchen door, wondering what sort of mood Angie
would be in tonight. She hadn’t called out a greeting as he’d come in, but he’d
rather the cold shoulder than have her pick a fight for no good reason. There’d
be enough for her to complain about when she found out he’d lost his job.

She was standing at the cooker,
frying sausages and onions. In stark contrast to the shabby kitchen with its
old-fashioned cupboards hanging off the walls and the cracked tiles and torn
lino, Angie was, as always, dressed in the latest style.

Her white sweater clung to her
curves and her short black skirt showed off her long legs. She’d tied a frilly
apron around her waist and her light brown hair tumbled in a mass of soft curls
onto her shoulders.

‘Sausage and mash?’ he ventured,
mouth watering at the aroma. He strolled across the kitchen, put his arms
around her waist and pecked her on the cheek. ‘Smells really good.’

She turned to him with a
half-smile that failed to reach her green eyes. But in spite of her
indifference he leant in to kiss her and felt a twitch as he cupped her
breasts. She pushed him away and his heart sank.

‘Well it’s more than I can say
for you.’ She screwed up her face. 'You stink of paint and booze
and
you’re late.’

‘I had a quick pint with Jack and
then called in to see my mum. Can’t help the paint smell. I’ll get a bath in a
minute.’

‘Right!’ She turned back to the
sausages.

‘Any objections?’

‘No, but you’ve got night school.
You’re usually in a rush to have your tea and go. Not only that, you shouldn’t
be spending money on drinking. We’re supposed to be saving up to get out of
this shit hole!’

‘Jack treated me. He’s a good
mate.’ Eddie folded his arms across his chest. ‘Anyway, one pint’s hardly going
to break the bank compared to what
you
spend on bloody clothes and makeup.’ He should do it now. Tell her she had to
quit spending because he’d been sacked. He opened his mouth to continue as she
muttered something under her breath. ‘What was that?’

‘I said Jack’s common, the way he
speaks. He drops his H’s and wears scruffy clothes. Hanging around with him is
not going to help your image when you finish your course and start looking for
a new job.’

‘He’s not common. And you’ve only
seen him in his work clothes. The trouble with you is your head's so far up
your own arse, you think anyone with a local accent’s common. Jack’s a proud
man and a bloody hard worker. I won’t be taking him with me when I go for
interviews. So what’s your problem?’

‘Nothing,’ she spat, turning back
to the cooker. ‘You’d better get ready. Tea won’t be long.’

‘I will in a minute.’

‘Can you try and switch the
sitting room fire on, please. The knob’s sticking again and I couldn’t turn it.
It’s freezing in there and Jonny’s starting with a cold. You’ll need to put the
heater on in the bathroom, too. There was ice on the window when I came in from
work.’

‘Is there money in the meters?’

‘Of course there is. I wouldn’t
be able to cook if there wasn’t.’

‘Just asking. No need to snap.’
He reached under the sink for his pliers and shook his head at the chaos in the
cupboard. For a girl so fussy in her appearance, she was such an untidy bugger
around the house. Soap powder spilled out as he rooted. He scooped it up,
spotted mouse droppings, sat back on his heels and scratched his chin. Sod it,
he wasn’t mentioning mice now or she’d be up on a chair shrieking and he’d get
no tea, again.

In the sitting room, where Jonny
was playing with his cars on the faded, threadbare carpet, Eddie removed the
fireguard and turned the knob of the old gas fire with the pliers. He lit a match,
the fire spluttered to life and he put the fireguard back, smiling at Jonny who
wiped his little red nose on his sleeve, leaving snail trails on his blue
sweater.

He flopped onto the shabby sofa,
pulled Jonny onto his knee and rubbed his cold hands. In spite of his best
efforts in painting the mouldy walls magnolia and buying a new red hearth rug,
the place still looked squalid. Angie’s sister had given them her old curtains
and cushions, but he hated the gaudy red and orange pattern and it did nothing to
set off the room.

‘One day, son, I’ll get us out of
this dump. We’ll have somewhere with your own bedroom and a nice garden for you
to play in.’ He tickled Jonny who giggled and rolled off his knee. ‘I’d better
go and see if Mummy needs any help.’ Remembering, as he passed, he switched on
the bathroom heater and went back into the kitchen.

‘Cathy’s coming round later and
Alison and Carol from the salon said they might pop in, too,’ Angie said.

Eddie couldn’t hide his smirk.
‘Shall I get the cauldron out?’

‘Don’t be so nasty about my
friends.’

‘Why not? You’re always nasty
about mine.’ He lounged against the kitchen door, grinning.

‘Only because they make it so
obvious they don’t like me.’

‘That’s rubbish.’

‘No, it’s not. When we went to
Talk of the North last month they all ignored me.’

He rolled his eyes. ‘Roy and Tim
tried their best to include you in the conversation, and Sammy and Pat asked
you to dance. But you sat there all night wearing your
I’m sucking a lemon
face! Roy
said later that you take after your mother in more ways than one.’

‘There’s nothing wrong with my
mother.’ Angie drained boiled potatoes over the sink, steam engulfing her face.
She slammed the pan down on the draining board and reached for the masher.

‘Nothing that a personality transplant
wouldn’t cure.’ Eddie ducked as she grabbed a plate off the rack and hurled it
across the kitchen in his direction. It smashed off the door and broke into
jagged pieces.

‘You nearly hit me, you stupid
cow!’

‘God I hate you, Eddie Mellor.’
She burst into tears. ‘I don’t know why I married you.’

‘You were pregnant.’ he said. ‘Or
has that fact conveniently slipped your mind?’

‘I could have managed well enough
on my own,’ she cried. ‘Other women do.’

‘Oh, is that right? Well that’s
fucking great! Now she tells me. Do you think
I
want this crap every night when I come home from work? I didn’t
want to marry you. I gave up
The Raiders
and Jane for you. It sickened me when I had to sell my drum kit so you could
buy the most
expensive
cot and pram.’

‘You’ll never let that one go,
and how dare you mention that bitch in my home,’ Angie sobbed. ‘I don’t know
why you don’t just leave us. Go back to your bloody mother, if she’ll have
you.’

‘Here we go again,’ he said.
‘Tell you what I might just do that this time.’

‘Well you won’t see Jonny. I’ll
make sure of it.’

‘You can’t stop me seeing him;
he’s
my
son, too.’

‘Huh, is he yours though?’ she
muttered, turning her back on him.

He grabbed her by the wrist and
pulled her round to face him. ‘What the fuck do you mean by that?’

‘I didn’t mean anything. Of
course he’s your son. I was just getting at you. You only stay because of
Jonny.’

He let her go and turned at the
sound of whimpering by the kitchen door. Jonny was standing on pieces of broken
china. His face crumpled as he burst into tears and ran to his mother,
clutching her legs.

‘No shout,’ he sobbed.

‘Get your sticky hands off my new
stockings,’ she shrieked, frightening Jonny further. ‘You’ll bloody ruin them.’

Jonny bawled as she pushed him
away.