The Betrayer (25 page)

Tommy and James stood at the bar in the Horn of Plenty. It seemed an appropriate place to go, seeing as their dad drank in there for many years. Both lads were in a quiet mood, neither really knew how to react to the news. Tommy had calmed down a bit now, and he was making James laugh with the old memories he had of their father.

Seeing Tibbsy, Benno and Dave Taylor walk in, Tommy’s stomach lurched. ‘This is all we fuckin’ need,’ he muttered to James.

‘All right Tommo? All right Jimmy boy?’ Benno said.

Tommy looked at his old mates as though they were something bad he’d trodden in. Not only were they drunks and druggies but, if you listened to the grapevine, they’d also got into burglary and had mugged a couple of old ladies. Tonight, of all nights, Tommy really couldn’t be doing with them.

‘Look, lads, I hope yer don’t mind, but I just wanna have a quiet drink with me bruvver. We’ve just found out that me old man’s dead and we’ve got shit to sort out and stuff.’

Tibbsy grinned like a Cheshire cat. ‘I saw your old man a couple of months ago. He was propped up in the corner of the Blind Beggar. He’d pissed and shit himself, the dirty bastard, and everyone was cracking up.’

As Benno and Dave Taylor burst out laughing, Tommy saw red. Grabbing Tibbsy by the neck, he shoved him up against the wall.

‘See you, yer mug. Don’t you ever, ever, disrespect me or my family again.’

Knowing he’d said the wrong thing, Tibbsy tried to turn his comments around. ‘I’m sorry, Tommo. I didn’t think you liked your old man. I would never disrespect you, you know that.’

Silencing him with a knee in the bollocks and a head butt, Tommy watched him slump to the ground.

‘Whether I liked him or not is none of your business. He was my dad and if anyone’s gonna slag him off, it’ll be me.’

Seeing Tibbsy crumpled up in pain, Tommy snorted and spat on him. Turning around, he nodded to his brother.

‘Come on Jimmy, we’re out of ’ere.’

TWENTY-FIVE

The day of the funeral was wet and dismal, which matched everybody’s mood perfectly. They’d found out only the day before that Tommy senior had been dead for over three weeks before his body was found. It was the postman who had alerted the police. He’d noticed a nasty smell, had looked through the letterbox and seen the room swarming with flies.

As the funeral cars headed towards the City of London Crematorium, the rain fell by the bucketful. It had been Ethel’s decision to have Tommy cremated. In the past, all of her family had been buried.

‘You bury treasure and burn rubbish, my dear old mum used to say,’ she said.

Ethel had thought long and hard about her choice. No one would tend to his grave, so it was best to say goodbye once and for all.

Kenny led the family into the chapel. He’d been pretty choked up over his brother’s lonely death and, for once, Wendy had been very supportive.

‘I’ll come to the funeral. He was your brother, after all,’ she insisted.

Surprisingly, the chapel was quite full. There were a few distant cousins, a couple of aunts and uncles, Freddie was there and all of Maureen’s and Ethel’s friends had turned up to offer their support. Tracey and Darren were the only ones who couldn’t make it – they were on holiday in Spain.

‘All right, son? How are you?’

James didn’t recognise the grey-haired man at first.

‘Charlie Venables. I helped you take your dad home from the Blind Beggar that time.’

James shook his head. ‘Thanks for coming, Charlie.’

The service was short and sweet, and Kenny arranged a free bar and a bit of grub in the Horn of Plenty as a tribute. Tommy had been barred from the pub in the latter part of his life, but prior to that, had nigh on lived there.

Maureen had offered to do the honours. ‘There’s no point wasting your money in a pub, Kenny, I’ll do it at home. There’s hardly gonna be any people there, anyway.’

Kenny had refused. ‘Look, Maur, it’s a bad enough day for you as it is. Let the pub sort it, it’ll cost peanuts and it’s not worth the agg.’

‘What’s the matter, Mum?’ Maureen asked, as she handed Ethel a brandy.

Ethel’s eyes filled with tears. ‘Oh I dunno, I was just picturing my Tommy as a little un. He was such a cute kid – all the neighbours loved him, yer know. He had this big gappy smile and was such a cheeky little sod. Once he found alcohol, that was it for him. It was his poison; he could never say no.’

Maureen hugged her. She’d never seen Ethel really cry before. ‘He’s at peace now, Mum,’ she told her soothingly.

James looked at his watch: Maria should be here by now. She’d offered to take the day off work to come to the funeral, but he’d told her not to bother. She’d recently started a job in a hairdresser’s not far from his shop and he didn’t want her to get into trouble.

‘Look, Maria, you’ve only been there for a fortnight and you can’t ask for time off yet. Anyway, you never even met my dad. I’ll be fine, honest. All my family will be there with me. Just come to the pub when you finish work, that’s when I’ll need you the most.’

Tommy ordered his brother another pint, ‘What’s up with you? You waiting to go home or something?’

James smiled. ‘Nah, Maria’s coming, she should be here soon.’

Tommy left James talking to Freddie and went to the payphone.

‘Hi Lucy, it’s me. The funeral went OK, and I’m in the Horn of Plenty now. Come down and ’ave a drink, will yer? I need a bit of TLC. Freddie’s here, so bring one of yer mates. Ask that Sarah bird, she’ll be right up Freddie’s street, she will.’

Lucy agreed to come straightaway and, feeling pleased with himself, Tommy went back to the bar.

Seeing Wendy walking towards her, Ethel lifted her dress up. Clocking her look of horror, she winked at Maureen.

‘Look at the boat race on Lady Penelope,’ she said loudly.

Wendy turned to her husband. She’d spent all day playing the caring wife and now she’d had enough. ‘Can we go soon, Kenny?’

Kenny glared at her. Didn’t she realise this was his brother’s funeral? ‘No, we fuckin’ can’t,’ he told her bluntly.

Susan was sat at a table with Kevin, sipping a glass of wine. Carrying a sprog wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, and she felt as if she’d been pregnant for ever. ‘Cop a feel of your son,’ she said, putting Kev’s hands on her belly.

Kevin’s face lit up. ‘Fuckin’ hell, feels like he’s kickin’ and punching. Maybe he’s gonna be a boxer, Suze.’

Susan laughed. Thankfully, they had virtually forgotten about their visit to the fortune teller. They’d made a pact that day not to tell anybody or mention it again, and they’d stuck to it. Susan was positive that their baby was fine. She should know – it was dancing about inside her morning, noon and night.

As Kev went up to the bar, Susan spotted a blast from the past that made her stomach lurch.

‘What’s up?’ Kevin asked as he sat back down.

‘Billy Barnard’s over there with his mum. I feel really bad: I used to pick on him when I was young.’

Kevin shrugged. ‘We’ve all done shit we regret when we were kids. Don’t worry about it, Suze.’

Susan stood up. ‘I need to go and speak to him. I know he ain’t all the ticket, but I still have to apologise.’

Billy grabbed his mother’s arm as Susan walked towards him. Her face brought back so many terrible memories that he was unable to control his emotions. ‘Please don’t let her hurt me. Tell her to go away, Mum.’

Mrs Barnard stroked Billy’s arm. ‘It’s OK love, sssh. No one will hurt you while I’m here.’

Unable to look at Billy’s panic-stricken face, Susan spoke directly to his mum. ‘I just wanna say that I’m so sorry for the way I used to treat your Billy. I was a horrible person when I was younger, and I hate myself for it.’

Mrs Barnard nudged her son. ‘Susan’s saying sorry to you, Billy. She wants to be friends with you.’

Billy shuffled his feet and looked at the floor.

‘Be a good boy and shake Susan’s hand,’ his mum urged.

Susan smiled as Billy held out his podgy hand. ‘I’m sorry, Billy. Truly sorry.’

Maria felt really nervous as she walked towards the pub. She’d managed to avoid Tommy since the day he’d come barging into her house. She’d been on top of the world when she’d heard his mother had kicked him out. It was such a relief not to have to worry about him knocking on her door, or seeing his smarmy face.

James still saw him a few times a week. Now and again they had a boys’ night out on a Friday but, other than that, he only saw him at work. She knew that Tommy often popped into the shop. He’d obviously never said anything about their night of debauchery, but she didn’t trust him as far as she could throw him. She could sense he was an evil bastard, and the thought of seeing him tonight was making her feel sick to the stomach.

As she reached the pub, she took a deep breath. James needed her and she had to be there for him.

Sandra and Brenda were the first to start the singalong. It was a ritual in this neck of the woods, especially after a funeral. ‘Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do! I’m half crazy, all for the love of you!’

Wendy was in total disbelief as the rest of the pub joined in. They were at a funeral, for Christ sake, and these low-lifes were acting as though it was a bloody party.

‘Hello darling.’ James hugged Maria as though he’d never let her go. He might not have ever been close to his dad, but he’d found the whole day upsetting all the same. ‘You’re well late, but I’m so glad you’re here,’ he told her.

With his arm casually slung around Lucy, Tommy watched the tender moment between his brother and Maria with interest. She was looking at him adoringly and clinging to him like a fucking leech. He couldn’t help smiling as he turned back to Lucy. As special as Maria thought she was, he’d been the first to penetrate that tight little fanny of hers.

He walked towards her and politely kissed her on the cheek, ‘Hello Maria. How are you? This is Lucy, my girlfriend.’

‘I’m fine thanks, Tommy. Nice to meet you, Lucy,’ Maria said, relieved that he had a girlfriend in tow.

Maria tugged James’s arm. ‘Where’s your mum?’

‘Over there with me nan.’

Maria smiled. ‘Shall we go and sit with them?’

‘If you want,’ James replied.

Ethel spotted her first. ‘’Ere she is, me little darling. You come and sit over ’ere with me.’

Wendy moved up and ended up sitting next to Gladys. If things weren’t already bad enough, she was now lumbered with the nutty old bat that swallowed whole ducks.

Gladys smiled at her. ‘How much is that doggy in the window? The one with the waggly tail.’

Wendy stood up. She’d had enough. Searching for her husband, she found him up at the bar.

‘Kenny, I’ve tried, but I can’t stand this one minute longer. Can you call me a cab, please?’

Tommy was spot-on about Freddie liking Sarah. He was all over her like a rash, the dirty bastard.

‘Looks like we’ll be going out in a foursome from now on,’ he joked to Lucy.

Lucy agreed. ‘I’m just popping to the little girls’ room, I’ll be back in a sec.’

Tommy smiled as she walked away. She had a cute little arse and he liked the way she wiggled it. He couldn’t quite put his finger on how he felt about Lucy. She’d been bloody good to him, that was for sure. He’d barely known her at all when his mum had chucked him out, but she’d let him stay there for a week and treated him like a god at the same time. She was three years older than he was and worked as a receptionist up town. She was no man’s fool and he did really like her, but that special spark wasn’t there. He fancied her all right, though. She was slim, blonde and stunning, but she was a bit too quiet; he liked them feisty.

Maureen and Ethel were more than ready for a singalong.

Susan tried to join in, but couldn’t. The baby kept kicking and bringing tears to her eyes.

Noticing that her daughter looked as white as a ghost, Maureen stopped singing. ‘Are you OK, love?’

Susan forced a smile. ‘I think I’m having a footballer, Mum. It’s got to be a boy, he don’t stop bleedin’ kickin’ me.’

Maria giggled as James joined in. He knew every word to every bloody song.

‘How do you know all these oldies?’ she asked him.

James smiled. ‘I was brought up with the bloody stuff. My nan drummed every word into me from the age of two onwards.’

Extremely drunk, Kenny was relieved that Wendy had now gone home. She did his head in sometimes and, as much as he loved her, he could never quite relax in her company.

‘Ssh, it’s my turn now to choose a song,’ he demanded.

‘Go on, my son,’ Ethel urged. Her Kenny had such a lovely voice.

Kenny stood up. ‘Who’s sorry now? Who’s sorry now? Whose heart is achin’ for breakin’ each vow.’

Maureen stood up. She desperately needed another drink.

Watching her mother walk away, Susan grabbed hold of the table. She was fucking sorry now, that was for sure. The baby was giving her gyp and when the little bruiser finally arrived, it would definitely be her first and last.

Enjoying the singsong, James told Maria to shout up some more drinks. The ramp in the Horn of Plenty was round and centred in the middle of the pub. Seeing Maria standing opposite, Tommy excused himself from his present company and walked over to her.

‘How’s it goin’?’

Maria felt like running back to the table, but decided against it. She wasn’t going to let him think he had the better of her.

‘Things are going great, thanks. What about you? Lucy seems nice.’

Tommy smiled. ‘She is, and she’s far better in the sack than you.’

Looking around to make sure no one had heard, Maria snarled at him. ‘We need to forget the past, Tommy. I’m with James now, you’re with Lucy, so why can’t we just be friends?’