Billie Jo (4 page)

Waking up the following morning, fully clothed on the
sofa, Chelle had very little recollection of the previous
night's events. She could remember singing with her mates
on the stage, but everything after that was a total blank.
Hearing noises in the kitchen, Chelle wandered out there.

'All right, Bill? Did you enjoy yourself last night? What
time did we get home?'

'Are you having a laugh, Mother?' Billie asked sarcastically.
'I was enjoying myself until you decided to make
a complete show of me and Dad and then we had to leave
early.'

'What do you mean? I can't remember doing anything
wrong. What did I do?'

Michelle didn't really want to know the answer to her
question, but knew she had to find out. She hated not
remembering and would much rather hear about it from
Billie than from Terry.

Billie stood with her hands on her hips and looked at
her mother in disgust.

'I'll tell you what you did, shall I, Mum? You stood at
the front of the stage with the mike in your hand, slagging
off Dad, accusing him of having an affair. Then you
fell flat on your face and had to be carried out of the
reception and I'll tell you something else, Mum, if you
can't remember any of that, you have got a severe problem
and you need to go and have treatment.'

Chelle felt the tears forming in her eyes, because she
knew it was the truth. Her drinking was well and truly
out of hand, but for one reason or another she would
never admit it. She would rather be dead than be unable
to drink. Opening the fridge, Chelle poured herself a glass
of wine. The thought of facing Terry petrified her, as she
knew by her daughter's reaction that she must have seriously
overstepped the mark this time.

'Surely you're not drinking again?' Billie said, looking
at her mother in disgust.

Ignoring the question, Chelle knocked the drink back
in one.

'Where is your dad, Bill?'

'He's still in bed and I'd steer well clear of him if I
were you. Oh, and by the way, I forgot to tell you something.
Did you know that your trousers split as you fell
and everyone at the reception saw your fanny hanging
out?'

Chelle was mortified and could stand no more. She
had to get out of the house before Terry got up. 'I'm
popping out for a while, Bill,' she said, grabbing her car
keys. She needed to see Hazel and get an exact account
of the previous night's events. She hadn't even had a wash
and was still wearing the outfit she'd had on at the wedding
but she didn't care, she was just desperate to get out of
the house. Noticing the crutch of her trousers was split,
Chelle covered herself with her handbag.

'Tell your dad I'll be back this afternoon, Bill.'

'I shouldn't think he'll care.' Billie gave her mother a
nonchalant look. 'Anyway, me and Dad won't be here
when you get back. He's taking me out for the day.'

Grabbing her handbag, Chelle bolted out of the front
door.

Billie ordered a cheeseburger, filled up her salad bowl
and sat facing her father. The Harvester was the venue and
Billie wanted some answers. 'Come on then, Dad, what is
it that you want to tell me?'

Terry felt a surge of love rush through his veins as he
sat facing Billie. He decided there and then that he was
going to be totally truthful with her.

'You know my secretary, Jade?'

'Of course I know her, Dad.'

Billie had met Jade quite a few times over the years
and although she'd never spent any time alone with her,
she'd always quite liked her. 'Well, Bill, over the last
couple of years Jade and I have become more than just
workmates, we've sort of become very close. You know
life hasn't been easy for me living with your mother. Well,
me and Jade have sort of got it together, if you know
what I mean?'

Billie could feel bile rising in her throat and knew she
wouldn't be able even to nibble the burger that had just
been placed in front of her. 'Cut the crap, Dad. You mean
you're having an affair with her. That is what you're trying
to tell me, isn't it?'

Terry clocked the look of shock in his daughter's eyes
and immediately regretted his decision to tell her. Even
though Billie acted way beyond her years, she was still
only fifteen and he should have known better. He should
have waited till he had left Chelle and then broken it
to her gently. Deciding it was too late to pull the wool
over her eyes, he carried on. 'It's not just an affair, Bill.
I love her and she loves me.'

Billie looked at her dad as though she was staring into
the eyes of a local pervert. 'Isn't she a bit young for you?
She's not much older than me, is she, Dad? Please, tell
me, she's not going to be moving in with us when we
move house?'

Terry cursed himself for opening his big mouth. 'Of
course she won't be moving in with us. It'll just be me
and you, I promise, babe.'

Not realising her father had just lied through his teeth,
Billie breathed a sigh of relief. She had enough grief with
the mother she'd inherited without being lumbered with a
new one.

The conversation for the next half an hour was stilted
and neither of them ate their food. Billie excused herself
from the table and went to the toilet. Desperate to get out
of the restaurant she rang Tiffany and asked if she could
stay the night.

Terry smiled at his daughter as she sat back down at
the table.

'What do you fancy doing now then, Princess? We can
go to the pictures, bowling, it's your call.'

'Actually, Dad, I want you to drop me off at Tiff 's
house. I'm staying there tonight, we arranged it yesterday.
I'm sorry, I must have forgotten to tell you.'

Terry knew his daughter was lying and that the sleepover
had been arranged in the last five minutes, but he
guessed that deep down she needed someone to talk to
and tonight that someone wouldn't be him. He could
understand her not jumping for joy when he'd dropped
his bombshell, but what he couldn't handle was her
looking at him like he was some kind of nonce case.

'Can you take me home to collect my stuff for school
tomorrow and then drop me round Tiff 's after?'

'No problem, babe,' Terry said, switching his phone
back on. He'd turned it off earlier so he could talk to
Billie without any distractions. Terry dialled his answerphone
and was shocked to hear his mother's frantic voice
on the other end.

'Terry son, why haven't you got your bloody phone
switched on? Your father has collapsed, and I've just called
an ambulance. I'm so frightened, son, I don't think he's
breathing. I should imagine he'll be taken to Oldchurch,
or King George's. Hurry up, boy, I'm in pieces and I don't
know what to do.'

'Right, Bill, I'll drop you home, then you'll have to
sort yourself out. Get your mother to drop you off or get
a cab or something. Nanny's just rung, Grandad's ill and
I've got to shoot straight up the hospital and find out
what's going on.'

'OK, Dad, that's fine. Will Grandad be all right?' Billie
asked the question out of politeness rather than love. She'd
never had a close relationship with her father's parents.

Her nan she thought was a hard-faced old cow and her
grandad a miserable old bastard. She'd always dreaded
the odd occasion that she'd been dragged round to their
house. Billie had fantastic early memories of her other
grandparents on her mum's side. Nanny Sheila and
Grandad Brian had been the total opposite of her dad's
family and had showered her with cuddles, presents, kisses
and laughter. It was just after her eighth birthday that
Nanny Sheila had first been taken into hospital and then
moved into a hospice. Billie had vivid memories of visiting
her nan there. She'd burst into tears because Nan had lost
so much weight.

Shortly after, her dad sat her down and told her that
Nanny had gone to live in the sky with the angels. Two
years later, unable to deal with his wife's death, Grandad
Brian had gone off his rocker and had been carted off to
the local nuthouse. He still lived there now, in a sad,
lonely world of his own. Her mum had taken Billie to
visit him a few times over the years, but he didn't know
what day it was, let alone who they were. Her mum had
stopped visiting him about three years ago, saying she
found the experience too upsetting.

Thinking back to her early years, Billie remembered
that it was around the time her nan had died that her mum
began to change. Her mum had never been a big drinker
until then, but, overcome with grief, she'd seemed to hit
the bottle and change overnight. From that day on, the
arguments had started and her parents' relationship had
gone from bad to worse.

'What's up, girl? You're deep in thought.'

'Nothing, Dad, I'm fine.' Billie smiled at her father,
as her thoughts returned to the present day. She wasn't
happy about what he had told her, but loved him far too
much to be downright nasty to him.

After dropping Billie home, Terry put his foot down and
raced towards Oldchurch Hospital. He drove around in
circles for ten minutes looking for a parking space. Cursing
at the lack of facilities, he parked the Range Rover up by
the ambulance bay. Let the bastards clamp him, he couldn't
give a shit, he had a showroom full of fucking cars.

After bowling into A & E and having a chat with the
receptionist, Terry was informed that his mother was there
and had been taken to a relative's room a couple of corridors
away. Terry heard Pearl screaming long before he
reached her.

'Mum, it's all right, I'm here now, babe. Are you OK?'

Pearl sat on the brown leather chair rocking backwards
and forwards. 'Oh Terry, son. Jesus, Mary and holy Saint
Joseph, we've lost him, boy.'

Terry looked at the doctor standing beside him. 'I'm
so sorry, Mr Keane, we did everything we could. It was
a massive heart attack but I can assure you he never
suffered, he wouldn't have known anything about it. Can
I get you, or your mum, a cup of tea or coffee?'

'No, but thanks anyway. I'll take Mum home and pop
back tomorrow to sort things out and collect his stuff.'
Terry cuddled his mum. 'Come on, darling, let's get you
home. You can come and stay with me and Chelle.
Everything will be OK, I'll look after you, I promise.'

Pearl was overcome by grief and Terry had to half
carry her out of the hospital. Paddy had been her main
purpose in life, her reason for living. Personally, he'd
never forgiven the bastard for the beatings and the horror
of his childhood.

Michelle was plonked on the sofa with her second
bottle of wine watching the film
Pretty Woman
. She
couldn't concentrate on it though, as she was too scared
of what Terry was going to say to her when he got home.
Hearing the front door slam shut, Chelle took a deep
breath and prepared herself for the worst.

'Hello, Pearl, what are you doing here?' Chelle couldn't
stand Pearl and the feeling was mutual, but for the first
time in her life she was glad to see the miserable old bat.

Helping his mother onto the sofa, Terry nodded at
Chelle to follow him into the kitchen. Now that his old
man had snuffed it, he decided not to mention the wedding
farce. That could keep. 'My dad's just died, Chelle. Mum
can't go home on her own, so I want her to stay with us
for a while until she feels up to facing the world again.'
Terry knew the fat bitch hated his mother. He also knew
that Chelle would be so desperate to get back into his
good books that she would be likely to agree to anything.

'Of course she can stay, Tel, she's more than welcome.
We'll take good care of her and I'm so sorry to hear about
your dad.'

Lying cow, Terry thought to himself. He knew she'd
hated both of his parents. Biting his tongue, he turned to
face Michelle. He could see the relief in her eyes that the
old boy had chosen today of all days to snuff it. 'Go
upstairs, Chelle, sort her out some nightclothes and make
a bed up in one of the spare rooms.'

Bounding upstairs, Chelle thanked God for the lucky
escape she'd just had. Knocking back the last drop of
wine she'd taken with her, she held her glass aloft.
'Cheers, Paddy, you old bastard, you couldn't have picked
a better day to go, mate. In fact for once in your sad,
miserable life you've done something useful.' This situation
was absolutely brilliant. Not only was she needed
at the moment, it also gave her an excuse to behave like
the perfect wife. Whatever old tart Terry had on the go
certainly wasn't going to look after his miserable old
cow of a mother, she was certain of that.

No, for the moment she was needed, and being needed
made Michelle a very happy woman indeed.

In the days that followed his father's funeral, Terry was
stressed out beyond belief. He couldn't understand how
anybody could hate the sight of their old man and become
upset the moment he kicked the bucket. After barely
speaking for years, he now felt guilty that he hadn't tried
to bury the hatchet while Paddy was still alive. His mother
was becoming another headache; Terry had fully expected
that Pearl would want to move back into her own home
once Paddy's funeral was over and done with, but much
to his dismay, she hadn't.

'I can't go back to that bloody house on my own, there's
too many memories,' Pearl had said adamantly. Terry
didn't know what to do about the situation. He could
hardly sling her out on the street, could he?

His relationship with Jade had recently begun to
suffer. Babysitting his mum in the evenings, he only got
to see Jade at work and the situation was driving him
mad. Jade also seemed distracted, as if she had something
on her mind and Terry was really worried about
her. She'd called in sick on numerous occasions, which
was really unusual, as Jade would normally have to be
dying not to make work. Terry had begun to think that
she was getting pissed off with the whole caboodle and
was trying to avoid him. He decided there and then to
turn up uninvited at her flat that evening and find out
what the bloody hell was going on.

Flicking through the TV channels, Jade tried but was
unable to concentrate. She knew she had to tell Terry the
news, but the thought of broaching the subject filled her
with dread. What if he dumped her, called it a day? Even
worse, he may swear blind that she was trying to trap
him. Why, oh why did this have to happen now? They'd
planned their future so precisely and this hadn't been part
of the plan. Everything was ruined now and it was all her
fault. Feeling the tears roll down her cheek, she angrily
snatched at the tissues. The thought of losing him was
too awful to contemplate and all she could do was pray
that he understood the predicament she found herself in.

Billie was having her own problems with the new lodger
and had temporarily decided to stay at Tiffany's. Ever
since her grandad had died, her nutty nan had started
taking an interest in her, asking her personal stuff about
her love life and questioning her morals with boys.

The quotes she kept repeating, over and over, were
alien to Billie.

'Always remember, Billie. The five is the trump card,
you should always hang on to the five.'

'Why would a man buy a cow, when the milk is delivered
on the doorstep?'

'Billie, never trust a man until he's seven days dead.
Even then, if you open the coffin, his thingy would still
be standing upright.'

Driven mad, Billie had spoken to her dad, packed her
bags and headed for some sanity around her friend's house.

* * *

'Get me another cup of tea, Michelle, I'm thirsty. There's
a good girl.'

Chelle looked at her mother-in-law with pure hatred.
The greedy old cow had about thirty cups a day and
expected her to keep jumping up and making them. 'No
problem, Pearl,' she said through gritted teeth.

It was two weeks now since Terry had first brought
Pearl home and Michelle's patience was wearing thin. She
loved having Terry home again every night, but it was
the daytime bit that was getting on her tits. The old bag
expected to be waited on hand and foot and Chelle wasn't
sure she could take much more. If only she hadn't mugged
herself off at the wedding, she wouldn't have had to suffer
any of this.

Having to lick arse and act like the perfect daughter-in-law
just wasn't Chelle's scene and she knew it would
take just one little thing to push her over the edge. The
final nail in the coffin came when the phone rang.

'All right, Chelle, it's me. Is everything OK? How's
Mum?'

Chelle swallowed a mouthful of vodka, took a deep
breath and went into cheerful mode. 'I'm coping, Tel, I've
just taken a cup of tea and a piece of cake up to the
bedroom for her. What about you, are you all right? Will
you be home early again?'

Terry had been home by eight o'clock every single
night for the last two weeks and Chelle was thriving on
it. Deep down, she knew that it wasn't her he was rushing
home to, but she could live with that. He was back where
he belonged and that's all that mattered. She was sure
whatever old floozie had been on the scene had now been
well and truly discarded.

'Actually, Chelle, that's what I rang to tell you. I'm
gonna be home late tonight. I've got to pick up a couple
of cars from an auction in Cambridgeshire. I might be
really late so don't bother waiting up for me.'

Cutting him off, Chelle poured herself another drink,
a large one. She knew the bastard was lying. Auction my
arse, he was meeting up with his old slapper and she'd
just about taken all she could take. If he thought she was
sitting here looking after his old cunt of a mother while
he was out whoring, he had another thing coming. After
ringing Hazel and organising a night out, Chelle had a
bath, sorted through her glad-rags and spruced herself up.
No-good bastard, she'd had a gutful of him and his fucking
mother. Bollocks to the pair of them. For all she cared
they could both rot in hell!

Hazel had advised her weeks ago to hire a private
detective to catch Terry out. At least that way she could
put herself out of her misery once and for all, but Chelle
was too frightened to follow it through. She'd thought
about it, she really had, but the thought of being handed
photos or a videotape with some ravishing beauty on the
other end of it filled her with dread. She'd probably end
up topping herself if that were to happen.

Chelle had met Jade on numerous occasions over the
years when stomping into her husband's car lot for this,
that or the other. Describing her to her friends as the
blonde gofer with the Pam Ayres voice, Chelle would
have had a cardiac on the spot if she'd realised that the
girl she'd always mocked and spoke to like shit, was not
only shagging her husband, but had also won his heart.
This was perhaps Chelle's downfall. She was never able
to see further than the end of her nose. Because Jade had
a country accent, wore long skirts and didn't walk around
with her tits hanging out, Chelle judged her as a nothing,
a no-mark. The Essex girl that Chelle was could never
understand the sex appeal of someone like Jade.

Deciding to wear a low-cut top, jeans, scarf and Armani
blazer, Chelle admired herself in the mirror. She'd recently
lost a few pounds and thought she looked good for it.
Hearing the front door slam, she galloped down the stairs.
Maybe Terry had had a change of heart, binned the old
tart and had come home to her after all.

'All right, Mum?' Billie Jo stood at the bottom of the
stairs.

'I'm fine, Bill,' Chelle replied dejectedly.

Billie noticed her mother's look of disappointment and
was unable to stop her own sarcasm. 'It's so nice you seemed
as pleased to see me as usual, Mum, considering I haven't
been home for days. You make me feel so wanted, not.'

'Look after your nan for a while, Bill, I've got to pop
out, it's an emergency.' Chelle could lie for England when
it suited her.

'Do I have to, Mum? I've got school tomorrow and
loads of homework to finish.'

'Just do it, Bill. Daddy's on his way home. Just look
after her till he gets here.' With her nose growing longer
by the second, Chelle shot out the door, leaving her
daughter to it.

Terry arrived at the flat at six o'clock and was let inside
by an ashen-faced Jade.

'What's up, babe? You look awful. Have you been
crying? What's the matter?'

Jade fell into his arms and sobbed like a baby. 'I'm
OK, Tel, I think I've had a touch of the flu or something.'

Terry stared intently into Jade's eyes. He knew when
she was lying. For a split second he felt his veins run
cold. Had she been attacked or threatened or something?
'Don't fuck with me, Jade. What's the matter? Has
someone touched you or done something to you, or what?'

Jade looked at him and knew she had to tell him the
truth. 'I'm so sorry, Terry, I'm pregnant. I've been taking
the pill, I promise you. I swear I would never try to trap
you, not in a million years. I don't know how it happened
and if you want me to get rid of it I will. It's up to you,
Tel. Whatever you decide, I'll do it.'

Terry sat deep in thought for a couple of minutes. Jade
looked at him, her face full of concern, and was relieved
to see a big smile spread across his face.

'Get rid of it, are you mad or what? It's brilliant news,
unbelievable. I want us to have a baby, more than you'll
ever know. We'll have to keep it under wraps until my
divorce is finalised. If anyone asks, just make up a story
that you've got a new boyfriend or something. As soon
as I've got rid of Chelle and paid her off, the world is
ours, girl, ours and our baby's and we can shout it from
the bloody rooftops.'

Jade sat down next to him and knew in an instant that
he was telling the truth. 'I was too frightened to come
into work, Tel. I kept having morning sickness and when
the doctor confirmed it, I didn't know what to do for the
best.'

'I can't believe you, Jade. Whaddya think I am, some
kind of monster?' Terry took her into his arms and
squeezed her tightly. 'I love you so much and don't you
ever forget that. Me and you are gonna be so happy, Jade,
you got that?'

'Oh, Terry, I love you so much.'

'Not as much as I love you, girl. And I promise you,
whatever happens in life, I will look after you and our
baby until the day I take my last breath.'