The Rock'n'Roll Romance Box Set (Pam Howes Rock'n'Roll Romance Series) (9 page)

‘Two men fighting for your love,’
Carl said. ‘Just like in the films they show at The Plaza.’

Jane stood up and brushed the
crumbs off her skirt. ‘No, Carl, not a bit like the films at all.’

‘I’ll tell him to come up, then.’

Carl disappeared. Jane brushed
her hair and touched up her lips. Though why she was bothering when it was only
for Mark she couldn’t imagine. ‘Come in,’ she called at the gentle tap on the
door. ‘Hi, Mark. What on earth are
you
doing here?’

‘I don’t know,’ he faltered. ‘Old
habits die hard. I always used to come and have lunch with you on Saturdays.
All I
do
know is that I just had to see you.’

‘Why? There’s nothing more to
say, except - thank you for the roses. It’s a bloody good job mum didn’t have a
nosy at what you’d written on the card!’

‘I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking
straight. I’ve come to tell you that I’m leaving Pickford and moving to Chester;
getting a transfer with the bank very soon.’

‘Oh, right. Well that will be
nice for you,’ she said, thinking, thank God for that. ‘What about your
mother?’

‘She’ll have to manage without
me. If you and I had married, she’d have lost me anyway.’

‘I think not.’ Jane shook her
head. ‘She’d never have let you go. Maude rules your life, Mark. All I could
see ahead was years and years of her living with us. Nightmare!’

‘Is that why you ended our
engagement?’

‘No, I told you the reason that
night.’

‘Ah yes, so you did. You shagged
Eddie Mellor. I just saw him leaving here with John Grey.’

Jane ignored his sarcasm. ‘Eddie
had an interview for the manager’s job at our new store.’

‘I see. Did he get it?’

‘Yes, he did. Though what it’s
got to do with you, I don’t know.’

‘So, you’re seeing him again?’

Jane looked down at the floor and
chewed her lower lip. ‘No, but we’ve made friends. Soon we’ll be colleagues.’

‘Why not give
me
another
chance then?’

‘Because I don’t want to be tied
down. I’m seeing Phil Jackson now,’ she fibbed. Mark moved towards her. She
wished he’d go away. He was giving her the creeps staring at her so intently.
His grey eyes were cold and unfriendly like that night in The Lakes.

‘Couldn’t we just date one
another without the engagement ring?’ he asked. ‘I won’t pressure you or
anything. I’m sure Phil won’t mind. He has enough birds in tow to spare
you
occasionally.’

‘No, Mark.’ She turned her back
on him. ‘It’s over. Just leave me alone.’

He caught her arm and pulled her
round. ‘You’re lying, about Phil Jackson, I mean. I saw you with Eddie Mellor
on Tuesday night. You were all over one another like a dose of measles. Why lie
about dating Phil?’

Jane groaned and tried to pull
away from him. ‘Okay, so I’m back with Eddie. He’s splitting up from Angie.
Don’t you dare go causing trouble for us. Things are difficult enough as it is.
Eddie, Roy and Tim would soon sort you out if you interfere. Now let go of my
arm before I call for help.’

‘And don’t
you
dare
threaten
me
with the Pickford Mafia!’ He pushed her away in disgust.
Then lunging towards her again he gripped her shoulders. ‘If he ever lets you
down or lays a finger on you, he’ll have me to answer to. I’ll wait for you.
One day you’ll need me so badly that you’ll be
begging
me to take you back.’

She shivered at his words and
pulled away from his grasp. ‘Don’t you bet on it. I wouldn’t want you if you
were the last man on earth. Now piss off, or I really will call for help.’

Mark stared hard at her then
looked at his watch. ‘I’ve an hour to kill. I might go and see your mum. Have a
cup of tea with her. She always told me I’d make the perfect son-in-law. She
was so glad Eddie Mellor was out of your life. I wonder what she’ll say when I
tell her he’s screwing her daughter.’ He left the stockroom without a backward
glance. Jane slumped down onto the LP boxes, tears running freely down her
cheeks.

***

On his way back into the shop
from buying lunch, Carl sidestepped as Mark brushed roughly past him. Carl
frowned and continued downstairs. ‘What’s got into him?’

Stuart looked up. ‘You okay?
Thought you were going for lunch. I suppose you want the NME?’

Carl nodded and picked up the New
Musical Express. ‘Mark’s just stormed out with a very angry look on his face.
Go and see if Jane’s alright while I hold the fort.’

***

Stuart ran quickly upstairs. He
could hear Jane sobbing as he opened the stockroom door. ‘Hey, come on.’ He
took her in his arms. ‘What’s all this about? You were happy as Larry earlier.’

‘Mark’s gone to tell my mum I’m
seeing Eddie,’ she cried and took the handkerchief Stuart proffered. ‘I’ve got
mascara all down your shirt, Stu.’

‘Never mind that, it’ll wash.’

‘He was scary and threatening. I
don’t want mum to know yet; it’s too soon. The time needs to be right or she’ll
hit the roof. Should I call Eddie, tell him what Mark’s up to, or just leave
it?’

‘If you want my opinion, Jane,
Mark’s bluffing about going to see your mum. He hasn’t the guts to cause
trouble for you. He’s trying to make you suffer because he’s hurt and feeling
rejected. On the other hand, if you were
my
bird and someone was
upsetting you, I’d want to punch his bloody lights out. So yeah, call Ed.’

Jane nodded. ‘Thanks, Stu, for
listening and for the advice.’

‘Hey, what are friends for? After
all, it was John and me who introduced you to Eddie in the first place. I’d
love to see the pair of you together. I think you’re soul mates.’

‘Really?’ Jane smiled through her
tears.

‘Really,’ Stuart replied. ‘Take a
few minutes to compose yourself and then come on down. I’ll keep Carl out of
the way for a while.’

‘Thanks again, Stu. Eddie should
be home by now. I’ll try calling him there.’

‘Use the phone up here then. It’s
a bit more private than the shop phone.’

***

‘Can you get that, Mum? It might
be Roy for me,’ Eddie yelled from
upstairs. ‘I’m just getting changed.’

His mother shouted that the call
was for him. Eddie ran down the stairs and took the phone. ‘Who is it?’ he
asked but she walked away with a shrug of her shoulders. ‘Hello. Oh, hi, Jane.
What is it?’ He detected a voice wobble when she spoke. ‘Has something upset
you?’

He listened, anger rising as Jane
related what had happened between her and Mark. ‘Right, leave it with me. He
needs to be put in his place.’

‘What will you do?’

‘Just leave it with me, Jane.
I’ll sort it. Nobody threatens
my
girl and gets away with it.’

‘Eddie, don’t do anything silly,
please.’

‘I won’t. But there’s no way Mark
will go telling tales to your mother when I’ve had my say. Where does he live?’

‘Don’t hurt him,’ she pleaded and
gave him Mark’s address.

‘I don’t intend to. A verbal
warning should do it. I’ll get Roy
to give me a lift to his house in the van. I’ll see you tonight. I love you.’

‘Love you too,' she said.

Eddie replaced the receiver. He
turned to find his mother standing behind him, buttoning up her coat.

‘What’s up, Mum?’

‘That was young Jane on the
phone.’

‘Well of course it was.
You
answered the call. She’s got a bit of a problem. I promised I’d sort it.’

Mum wagged her finger at him.
‘Now I want no lies from you, Eddie Mellor. I just heard you call Jane your
girl. Then you told her you loved her. What’s going on, son?’

‘If you heard me say that, then
isn’t it obvious? I’m seeing Jane. I love her. I’m going to marry her as soon
as I can divorce Angie.’

‘I see,’ she sighed. ‘Oh, Ed, you
do make problems for yourself. Does Angie know you want a divorce?’

‘I’ve hinted at it. I was
thinking how to go about things while I was upstairs. I’ll move back to the
flat tomorrow night, just temporary, to see a bit more of Jonny. I’ll ask her
for a divorce then. But I’m definitely not telling her I’ve got the job. She’ll
want to know the details. I’m not having her threatening Jane.’

‘Okay. But I think we should keep
things from your Dad for now, until you know exactly what you’re doing.
Meantime, I’ll keep your bed aired.’

Eddie put his arms around her and
hugged her. ‘Thanks, Mum! I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused you and Dad
over the last few years. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.’

‘Eddie, all I want is to see you
happy and settled. Whatever it takes is all I ask.’

‘I
do
love Jane, Mum. I’ve always loved her. I only started seeing her
again on Tuesday. Roy told me she’d
broken off her engagement and wanted me to get in touch.’

‘You’re a little so and so,’ his
mother said. ‘I’ll help you all I can, love. But please be careful how you go
about things. You’ll have Angie threatening all sorts, and we don’t want to
lose contact with our Jonny. Anyway, you think on what I’ve said and I’ll go
and round up your father and the little fellow while you get yourself off to Roy’s.’

***

Roy
was playing his guitar, posing in front of the dressing table mirror. He smiled
as Eddie walked into the room and sat down on the bed.

‘Gotta get the look just right,
Ed. Girls love it when I lower my eyelids and look sexy!’ Laughing, he placed
his Fender Stratocaster on its stand. ‘Fancy sharing a joint before we go
through the play list for tonight?’

‘We need to go somewhere first.’

‘Sure. Where?’

‘I’ll tell you when we’re on the
way. Can we take the groups’ van to save time?’

Roy
nodded, pulled on his leather jacket and picked up his keys. ‘Lead the way,
mate.’

They drove across town to leafy

‘Right, Ed. Let’s go and sort the
bastard out!’

By mutual consent the pair
decided they weren’t spoiling for a fight, but that Mark should be left in no
doubt he must leave Jane well alone. They swaggered along the gravel drive,
glancing up at the smart semi with its neat and tidy front garden.

Roy
lit a cigarette and tossed the spent match into the bed of colourful crocuses
beside the front door. Eddie rang the doorbell and stepped back, rocking on his
heels.

‘You sure you don’t want a fag,
Ed?’

‘I’ll have one on the way back.’

The door opened and a plump,
grey-haired woman peered short-sightedly through her spectacles at them.

‘Is Mark in?’ Roy
asked.

‘He’s in his bedroom playing his
guitar. Are you from the group?’

‘Yeah, that’s right,’ Roy
spoke up quickly.

‘Well you’d better go up then.
Mark told me he was expecting Tony. He didn’t say anything about the others
coming too.’

‘Last minute change of plan,’ Roy
said before Eddie could open his mouth.

‘Well put that cigarette out
before you come in here. I don’t allow Marky’s friends to smoke in my house.
It’s a filthy habit.’ She turned and went back inside, muttering, ‘Just follow
the noise, you’ll find him.’

‘That was easy,’ Roy
hissed as he and Eddie crept quietly up the stairs. ‘Christ though, I’m glad
she’s not
my
mother with rules like no smoking in the bloody house.’

They stopped outside one of the
doors on the landing and Eddie nodded. ‘Bit of an old bag, isn’t she?’ he
whispered. ‘This is the one. Do we knock, or just go in?’

‘The element of surprise is the
best approach,’ Roy said and opened
the door.

Mark had his back to them. He was
seated on his bed playing his bass, oblivious to the interlopers in his room. Roy
coughed loudly and Mark turned, his eyes widening in disbelief.

‘What the fuck are you two doing
here? Who let you in?’

‘Your mum, of course,’ Eddie
replied. ‘She’s thinks we’re your mates, M-a-r-k-y!’

Mark stood up and placed his
guitar down on the bed. ‘Say what you’ve come to say, Mellor and then piss off!
You’re trespassing in my home.’

‘Actually,’ Roy
smirked, ‘we’re not trespassing, because your old mum kindly let us in. As far
as the law stands, we’re visitors.’

‘And you can piss off too,
Cantello!’

‘Just shut your gob and let Eddie
get on with telling you why he’s here. Then we
will
leave you in peace,’ Roy
said, the friendly smile leaving his face. ‘You’ve no argument with
me,
Mark. Who was it picked up the
pieces for you last weekend after Jane gave you the elbow? Who stayed with you
all night to stop you topping yourself, instead of lying in the arms of my
lovely Sammy?’

‘I wouldn’t have topped myself
over that little slut. You needn’t have wasted your night with me. You could
have had the pair of them, Roy, a threesome. They’re both tarts!’

‘Right, that does it.’ Although
two inches shorter than Mark’s six-foot frame, Eddie sprang into action and
thumped him on the jaw, knocking him against the wall. ‘Don’t you
ever
call my girl a slut or a tart
again! You stay away from her, Fisher. Don’t even
thin
k about blabbing to her mother, or I’ll fucking swing for you!’

As Mark regained his footing, Roy
knocked him back down with a swift right and blood spurted from his nose.
‘That’s for calling my Sammy a tart!’ Roy
rubbed his knuckles as Mark staggered to his feet. ‘
Nobody
calls my Sammy a tart and stays upright. You’ll do well to
remember that.’

‘Get the fuck out of my house or
I’ll call the police,’ Mark yelled, hands covering his nose, blood seeping
through his fingers.

‘Just going,’ Eddie replied
calmly, though he was seething inside. ‘Keep away from Jane,’ he warned again
and left the room followed by Roy.