Faded Glory (22 page)

He thought back to the day they’d first met, when something in the boy’s eyes had reminded him of his own lost son.

“How far you’ve come, Danny,” he said to himself. “How far you’ve come.”

Not one to wallow in self-pity for long, he decided to get out of the flat and pay Lenny a visit.

True to form, Lenny was washing a car.

“Albert man,” he said, squinting up at his visitor. “You look like you’re running out of petrol. Cup of tea? I’m just finishing.”

“Yeah,” said Albert gratefully. “Cup of tea.”

He followed Lenny to his sitting room at the back of the workshop and took his usual seat.

“How’s the boy?” said Lenny, boiling the kettle.

“Fine, I think,” said Albert. “He’s got another fight coming soon.”

“Who’s he fighting?” asked Lenny as he handed Albert a mug.

“I don’t know, Len,” Albert admitted.

“What, his managers ain’t told you?”

“I’m not involved any more,” said Albert, taking a welcome sip of his tea.

Lenny frowned. “Those bastards got rid of you?”

“Not directly. It was my choice, Len. I think it’s best.”

Lenny set his own tea down on the worktop. “What are you saying, Albert?” he demanded. “You threw away a chance for glory, a chance to have money? Why, man? Why?”

“My glory may have faded, but money and glory ain’t everything,” said Albert with dignity. “Honesty, fair play and truth in the sport I love makes money worthless.”

Lenny sipped his tea, then made his familiar hissing sound. He shook his head. “Principles, principles,” he said. “You know, boy, people go to war on principles. What good does that do, eh?”

“It’s just the way I am,” said Albert. “I can’t change.”

“You’re a fool to yourself,” said Lenny, angry now. “How can you watch Danny’s back if you’re not around?”

Albert bent his head over his tea. “I know, Len,” he answered. “I’m sorry. Now, subject closed.”

LIFE without Albert watching and advising was difficult for Danny at first. But Albert had made his decision, and Danny had to move on.

Danny had been promising his mum that he would bring Ruby round and visit for weeks. It was always a point of friction between Wendy and Danny, with Rosie complaining that she wasn’t seeing Ruby or her son nearly enough. The truth was, Wendy thought Rosie was a bad influence. So, the Bristows’ house was definitely out of bounds for Rosie Watson, and Danny’s visits to his mum’s were limited.

Danny pushed Ruby through the streets to Rosie’s house for a rare visit. Keeping the peace between his mother and Wendy was tricky, and he had often been stuck in the middle since moving out. It was true that Rosie’s lifestyle of partying, drink and fags probably wasn’t ideal, but she was still his mother, and through all her failings, there was indeed love.

Danny rang his mother’s doorbell. The door opened so quickly that it was clear Rosie had been waiting in the hall.

“Danny darling!” she gasped, grabbing Ruby. “Oh look at her, look at her! Come to Nanny!”

Rosie seemed sober and unlikely to drop her grandchild today, Danny decided.

“Ain’t she got big?” cooed Rosie. “She’ll be walking soon. Oh Danny, she’s lovely!”

To Danny’s surprise, the house was spick and span. There were no empty bottles, no over-full ashtrays. The kitchen was cleaner than Danny had ever seen it. A cake sat on the kitchen table, next to the best china tea set that usually only came out at Christmas.

Danny was touched by Rosie’s efforts. “The place looks nice,” he said.

“Well it’s not often I get to see you and Ruby,” said Rosie, with just a touch of venom. “So I wanted to make it nice.”

“I know,” said Danny. “It’s just been so busy. Where’s Ricky?”

“He’s gone to Stratford,” Rosie replied. “He’s doing his Elvis thing in a pub or something called the Two Puddings. How about a nice cuppa? Look, I bought a cake too, your favourite. Angel cake.”

“Thanks Mum,” said Danny, whose last taste of angel cake had been when he was about nine.

“Oh, and I bought some rusks for Ruby.”

With Ruby happily on Rosie’s lap, they sat down for cake and tea.

“Lots of good things happening, Mum,” said Danny, angel cake in hand. “I told you about the new house?”

“Yes you did Danny, I’m pleased for you. Only I probably won’t get to see you at all when you move away,” said Rosie, suddenly crestfallen.

“Of course you will,” said Danny, knowing in his heart that his mum was probably right. With Wendy’s attitude towards Rosie’s lifestyle, the visits would be rare, if at all.

He drank his tea and watched his mother playing with Ruby. Ruby seemed so happy bouncing on her nan’s lap. Danny wished he could change Wendy’s attitude, although he knew that Rosie’s performance as the perfect nan and mother was very unusual. After all, she was never a great mum to Danny, putting him a firm second to her well-known gallivanting. But still, it was good to see Ruby happy in her nan’s presence.

Rosie did all the things that grandparents tend to do. There was “Walkie round the garden!” and “Tickle under there!” – a firm favourite with the sweetly chuckling Ruby. “Peek a boo!” went down a treat too. It was clear that Rosie was loving having Ruby all to herself for once, and Danny was happy for Rosie to have this special time with the granddaughter she hardly knew.

“Ooh look at the time,” Rosie said at last, briskly handing Ruby back to Danny. “I better get going. I’ve got to get to that pub to see Ricky do his thing. Silly sod forgot his Elvis wig.”

The saying “Leopards never change their spots” floated through Danny’s mind. “Yeah, Mum,” he said, trying to paper over the cracks. “We better get going too. It was good to see you.”

Rosie more or less bundled them out the door.

Danny made his way back home, taking the scenic route through the park. He wheeled the pram with the sleeping Ruby to the duck pond and sat down on Albert’s bench.

There was something about this familiar spot that helped him think. Danny looked around at the budding trees and early flowers heralding the beginning of spring, and watched ducklings following their mother with relentless energy. The loss of Albert was the only grey cloud on this beautiful day.

All was as it always was, but Danny couldn’t help feeling uneasy. He had a loving wife, a beautiful daughter, a new home to look forward to. But sometimes, too many changes could be overwhelming.

Where would these uncharted waters take him? Perhaps it was the thought of moving away from the area he had known since he was a baby that was confusing him. And then of course, there was the battle to come. “A life-changing contest,” Costa had said. Danny’s life was already changing.

For the better on paper, but what about in reality?

His thoughts were broken by Ruby’s crying. Danny looked at her cherry-red face and open mouth. She looked like a baby bird, waiting hopefully for its mother to return with food. Reaching into the bag hanging on the pram, Danny picked up the baby bottle of milk his mother had filled before they left. Taking Ruby in his arms, he tucked the bottle teat between her little red lips.

As he watched her feeding, all the grey clouds in his mind disappeared.

Seeing her so helpless and dependent on him cleared his thoughts. The desire to get things right and build a happy future for his baby girl welled up in him, a feeling as strong as the oak tree that they sat under which shaded them from the sparkling sun.

With Ruby fed and happy and trying to munch on one of Rosie’s rusks, Danny wheeled the pram out of the park again. “We should get back, Ruby,” he told his daughter. “Mummy will be wondering where we are.”

At the last minute, he decided to make a detour to Lenny’s garage.

Lenny was in his usual position underneath a car.

“I’ve brought someone to see you, Lenny,” Danny told Lenny’s legs.

“Is that you, Danny?” came Lenny’s voice from underneath an exhaust pipe.

“You remember Ruby, Len,” Danny said as Lenny slid out from underneath the car. “Ruby? This is your uncle Lenny.”

Lenny’s face lit up. “Ain’t she got big?” he said, as Ruby wriggled and fretted in Danny’s arms. “Beautiful too. Good job she takes after her mother. Let me wash me hands so I can hold her.”

“She’s all yours,” said Danny.

As soon as Lenny took her, Ruby stopped fretting and became still and serene.

“I think she likes me,” Lenny said proudly. “She’s got taste.”

Lifting the little girl high in the air, Lenny then started to sing a soft lullaby, making up the words as he went along. Ruby was hooked, a wondering smile spreading across her little face.

Danny loved seeing them together. “You look like the perfect grandad, Lenny,” he said in admiration.

Lenny finished his song. A mesmerised Ruby had already fallen into a happy sleep in his arms. Taking Ruby from Lenny, Danny put her gently in the pram.

“She is lovely,” Lenny said, looking down at the pram. “You’re a lucky boy.”

“I know,” said Danny. “So did you hear about Albert? Leaving and that?”

Lenny made a face. “He told me,” he said. “He thinks a lot of you, Danny, but not a lot of Costa and Cohen.”

“That ain’t a reason to leave,” said Danny, fishing for answers.

“He’s got his reasons,” was Lenny’s enigmatic reply. “He didn’t want to talk too much about it.”

It seemed to Danny that Lenny either wouldn’t or couldn’t throw more light on Albert’s decision.

“I know where he lives,” he said aloud. “Above that junk shop. I could go and have a chat with him, maybe. You know, away from the Live and Let Live.”

“Not a good idea,” said Lenny. “Albert don’t have visitors. He has let me in his flat only twice all the years I’ve known him. So Danny, I hear Costa and Cohen are working for you, got your next fight planned?”

Danny reluctantly dropped the subject of Albert. “Yeah, they’re doing good. I’m fighting Billy Livermore in a few months’ time.”

Lenny whistled. “Now that’ll be a tall order,” he said with a smile. “But don’t you worry. Your number-one fan will be there to support you.”

This statement of loyalty meant a lot to Danny. With Albert gone, he’d felt sort of abandoned. Having Lenny around at least would be something.

They wished each other warm goodbyes and Danny headed back to Wendy’s house. As he pushed the pram along the cobbles, Danny allowed himself to focus on the task ahead. Albert or no Albert, he was going to give the Livermore fight all he had. His family deserved it. His future depended on it.

*

The next few months were busy. Danny tried to avoid the distraction of moving, leaving most of it to Wendy and her willing parents. His priority was to be fit and ready for the fight.

Lenny had kindly lent him a Ford Zodiac, and after a handful of lessons and a near-botched driving test, Danny was soon driving back and forwards to the gym. Patsy had Danny working well, and the occasional sighting of Albert at the Live and Let Live was not as awkward as it could have been.

It was true, though, that things with Albert were different. Albert never watched Danny train any more, and their conversation was little more than small talk. Albert would occasionally take Patsy aside and ask how Danny was doing, but that was the extent of his involvement. There was a chill between Danny and Albert now, although their relationship had not entirely frozen over.

On the other hand Costa and Cohen were getting closer to Danny every day. There were almost daily visits to check on progress. They brought sports writers to interview Danny, photographers to capture the boy, and food supplements to aid his concentration.

“Vitamins, are they?” said Patsy, examining the supplements one day.

“Only the best for our boy,” said Cohen.

“Whatever they are, they’re working,” said Patsy as they watched Danny pummel the pads with renewed aggression. “His stamina, strength and energy have all improved.”

“How’s his temper?” asked Costa, casually examining his fingernails. “Along with the benefits, these vitamins can sometimes get a fighter a little worked up.”

“Short,” said Patsy.

Cohen and Costa nodded as if they’d expected that.

“There’s always side effects,” said Cohen. “Worth it though, right?”

Patsy watched Danny work through his routine. “Worth it,” he agreed.

After each tough training session, Danny would climb in his borrowed Zodiac and drive home to his new house and family.

Wendy and her mum had performed miracles in Chigwell. Most of the moving boxes were now empty, and furniture was being delivered daily. Ruby loved being in the garden. The new house was starting to feel like home.

Danny loved the house. He felt a sense of achievement having put a roof over his family’s head. As for the sky-blue Zodiac, he especially loved the bench seat and the column gear change. It wasn’t a Porsche, but he did feel like one of his heroes, James Dean, as he motored from East London to leafy Essex. He had paid Lenny a deposit, and promised to pay the balance from the takings of the upcoming contest.

Things were good in Danny’s life. Patsy was pleased with his progress, and although Danny still missed Albert and his words of wisdom, there was a job to do and he had to be ready.

Days were peppered with the odd press interview and a lot of serious preparation for the big fight. Patsy and Danny had watched film footage of Livermore nearly every day, looking for a weakness, a soft underbelly, an opening that Danny could attack.

“He’s over-confident,” Patsy told Danny as they watched the footage. “Look, he drops his guard too much. He’s strong coming forward but not so secure in defence. Pushing him back will be a good option, I reckon.”

Cohen found a couple of new sparring partners for Danny, fighters that mirrored Livermore’s aggressive style. Danny found it useful, but was of course aware that the real thing would be a tougher nut to crack.

*

As the months passed, Danny and Patsy started to frequent Costa’s club in Soho. The good life was seductive, and without a firm date for the fight, it was easy to drift into late nights and too much alcohol.

One night, Danny observed Costa roll up a five-pound note into a tight tube and sniff some white powder through it.