The Rock'n'Roll Romance Box Set (Pam Howes Rock'n'Roll Romance Series) (100 page)

  
‘That’s fair enough,’ Jane agreed. ‘You’re still building bridges.
Right, I’ll call Jess, make sure she’s okay then I’ll get on with some work.
Don’t forget I’m taking this afternoon off to go with her to ante-natal.’

***

Jess yawned and stretched her arms
and legs. ‘Come in,’ she called as someone knocked lightly on her bedroom door.

  
Gran’s smiling face appeared. ‘Cup of tea and some toast, Jess?’

  
‘Oh, thanks, Gran. You shouldn’t be waiting on me hand and foot like
this.’

  
‘Well somebody has to and with your Dad out and your Mum and Jon
working, who else is there? Your Mum just called to ask if you’re okay.’ Gran
sat down on the edge of Jess’s new double bed and smiled. ‘How are you feeling
today?’

  
‘Fat!’ Jess groaned. ‘Look at the size of me and I’m not even four
months yet. Jon’s already complaining I take up all the bed.’

  
‘It’ll no doubt be a big baby, love. Jon’s a strapping lad and
he
weighed over nine pounds at birth.’

  
‘Thanks, Gran! Cheer me up, why don’t you? The very thought makes me
cringe. I’m never having anymore.’

  
‘We all say that. I reckon we women are gluttons for punishment. Sammy’s
doing it the right way this time, letting someone else have the baby for her.’

  
‘Grandma! What a thing to say. I bet Sammy wishes
she
was carrying it. Much as I hate being pregnant, I couldn’t bear
the thought of Jon going with anyone else.’

  
‘No, I’m sure. I’m only joking, love,’ Gran replied, patting Jess’s arm.
‘Eat your breakfast now and then I’ll help you with your shower, unless you
prefer to do it by yourself.’

  
‘I can manage on my own now, thanks all the same. But you could help me
dry my hair if you will then I’ll be ready for Mum.’

  
‘Give me a shout when you’re ready.’

***

As Enid
hurried away, Jess sat back against the pillows and sipped her tea, reflecting
over the last few weeks. After the revelations at Cathy’s house, she and Jon
had mulled over how to tell his Grandma and Aunt Sally. Then Cathy had called
and told them that Sally already knew, but had promised to keep it to
herself.
 

  
‘We’ll have to go and visit Sally,’ Jon had suggested. ‘Tell her about
the baby.’

  
Their dad agreed. ‘She’s already in the picture about Richard. It
shouldn’t be too difficult. Invite her to the wedding and christening. Perhaps
she can think of an easy way to explain it to her mother.’

  
Sally had welcomed them with open arms, telling Jess how much she looked
like her dad with her big blue eyes. Jess warmed to Sally immediately and
wondered if she in any way resembled how Angie might look now if she’d lived.
But she couldn’t equate the picture of the youthful schoolgirl with the plump
and motherly Sally.

  
‘Now then, Jon, how did the visit to my mother go?’ Sally asked. ‘I know
you only stayed one night and guessed you’d had enough after that.’

  
Jon blushed slightly and glanced sideways at Jess.
 

  
‘Sally, Jess and I know that Ed’s not my real dad,’ he said.

  
Sally gasped, hand flying to her mouth. ‘Oh my goodness, who told you?’

  
‘No one. Grandma gave me Angie’s diaries. Except of course she has no
idea that she gave them to me. They were locked away in a tin box that was
stored in another box of Angie’s belongings. With hindsight, it’s probably as
well, considering the information they contained. Dad, Mum and Cathy confirmed
everything she’d written.’

  
‘I had no idea she kept diaries,’ Sally replied, her face pale. ‘It must
have been a terrible shock for you, Jon. I know that it was for me. But you are
so
like Richard that I knew I
couldn’t be mistaken.’

  
‘It knocked me for six,’ Jon admitted. ‘But to be honest, it’s the best
thing that could have happened for Jess and me.’

  
Sally looked puzzled as Jon took Jess’s hand and laced his fingers
through hers.

  
‘This will come as another shock. Jess is expecting my baby.’

  
Sally sat back on her chair, mouth agape. She quickly composed herself
and shook her head. ‘Well, I can see she’s expecting, but I didn’t think… Oh,
Jon, how have your parents taken it?’

  
‘They’re fine,’ he replied. ‘Mum suspected something was going on
between us and they already knew that Richard was my father. It’s just a pity
they didn’t tell
us
, it would have
saved a lot of worry.’

  
Sally nodded. ‘I expect they did what they thought was best at the time.
What about you two, were you already involved before you found out you weren’t
related?’

  
Jon smiled sheepishly. ‘Yes. We planned on leaving the area so that we
could live together.’

  
Sally sighed and shook her head. ‘If our Angie weren’t already dead, I
swear I’d throttle her for her lies and deceit! It’s had such far reaching
consequences for years.’

  
‘To be honest, Sally, she was terrified of telling anyone,’ Jess said.
‘Her diaries tell the tale of a very mixed-up teenager who got involved with
Richard and ended up pregnant after a one-night stand.’

  
‘She should never have deceived Eddie. That was very wrong of her and to
keep up that deceit when she realised Jon was Richard’s was unforgivable,’
Sally said.
    

  
‘We know,’ Jon smiled. ‘But she
was
my Mum and at the end of the
day she was so young. Look what I’ve done. I’m my mother’s son all right! But I
can put all those wrong things to bed and forgive Angie for everything now.
Because of what she did I can now rightfully marry my “sister”! There’s just
one more thing, Sally.’ He grinned as she looked enquiringly at him.

  
‘What’s that?’

  
‘Who’s going to tell Grandma?’

  
‘Oh my Lord!’ Sally exclaimed. ‘Do we have to?’

  
‘Well she wants us to visit her again and we’d love to, but Jess can’t
hide her bump. Not only that, we plan to marry next year. She’ll have to be
told sometime.’

  
Sally puffed out her cheeks and shook her head. ‘I’ll do it. You two
youngsters have got quite enough on your plates. Leave it with me. I’ll let you
know how I get on.’
 

  
‘Will you come to our wedding and the christening?’ Jess asked.

  
‘I’d love to. It’s a chance to buy a new hat.’

  
Two weeks after the visit they received a letter from Jon’s grandmother.
Enclosed was a cheque for five hundred pounds to put towards a pram, cot and
whatever else they needed. She congratulated them, said she wasn’t surprised as
she’d guessed they had feelings for each other and wasn’t it as well that
Richard was Jon’s father and not Eddie. She admitted to being shocked at first,
but was now looking forward to her great-grandchild and the wedding.

  
Jess waved the cheque in front of her father.

  
‘
She’s
obviously mellowed in her old age,’ he responded, reading
the letter Jon handed to him. ‘There are no recriminations, or “how could
you’s?” Jon, you are obviously her blue-eyed boy.’

  
‘Don’t you mean green?’ Jon quipped as Jess laughed at them.

  
‘At least
you
don’t have to sell your drum-kit like poor Dad did
to buy you a cot and pram,’ she said.

  
A scratching at the bedroom door broke Jess’s daydreams. Lennon pushed
his way in, jumped up on the bed and held out his paw.

  
‘Hello, old fella. Do you want some toast?’ She broke off a corner and
scratched his silky ears. ‘There won’t be much room in the bed for
you
to snuggle up to me soon if the baby
keeps on growing at this rate.’

***

CHAPTER
THIRTY-FIVE

FEBRUARY 1985

The Raiders
UK
tour began with a gig at The Apollo Theatre
in their home city of
Manchester
. The venue was sold out over two nights. Their family members, who
occupied most of the circle’s front row, attended the first night’s show. Sean,
Tina, and a heavily pregnant Livvy were seated close by.

  
Support act,
Perry’s Dream
opened the show. When the
handsome Ja
mes
Perry stepped into the spotlight Jon nudged
Jess.

  
‘If you hadn’t got involved with
me, Dad could have introduced you to him later.’

  
‘I think he’ll be more
interested in Jason and Jules than me,’ she whispered.

  
‘You’re probably right there.’
Jon squeezed her hand.

  
Perry’s Dream
finished their spot with the number one hit
Let’s Love a
While Longer
, written by Roy and Eddie, and took a bow. As they
left the stage the theatre lights came up and Katie tapped her feet
impatiently.

  
‘When’s Dad coming on?’

  
‘Soon,’ Jon replied. ‘Just be
patient and don’t speak with your mouth full. You’re spitting popcorn
everywhere.’

  
‘I’m tired,’ Dominic complained.
‘Can we go home?’

  
Jon rolled his eyes. Their dad’s
fame washed completely over Katie and Dominic’s heads. But then again, they’d
only ever known him as Daddy who was home all day and looked after them. ‘We
can’t go home yet, Dom. Dad would be really disappointed if we missed the show.
Have a Jelly Baby and pass one to Katie and Abby. When the lights go down again
the group will come on stage.’

  
Dominic sighed and sat back on
his seat. He pulled a cellophane bag from his jacket pocket and begrudgingly
held it out to his sister and Abby. ‘Only take one each,’ he said to Katie who
grabbed a handful.

  
‘You’re such a meanie with your
sweeties,’ she said. ‘You’ve eaten nearly all Abby’s popcorn and
she
didn’t complain.’

  
‘Don’t you two start,’ Jane said
as the lights dimmed and a hush fell over the audience.

  
Katie leapt to her feet,
sweeties forgotten for the moment. ‘Is it now? Is Daddy on now?’

  
A ripple of amusement sounded as
people turned to look at the excited little girl.

  
‘Yes, Katie, any minute,’ Jane
said.

  
In the dark, silent theatre the
audience held its breath. A small circle of light fell on the stage and picked
out a hand, poised to strike a chord on a white Fender Stratocaster.
 

  
Sammy’s breath caught in her
throat as Roy’s hand crashed down on the strings and coloured spotlights picked
out the members of
The Raiders
as
they launched into their raunchy rocker,
You Give Me That Feeling.

  
The theatre erupted; as for the
first time in over twenty years the band belted out their old number one hit in
time-honoured fashion. Katie, Kim and Abby were up on their feet, clapping and
dancing. Jane, Sammy, Pat and Cathy breathed a collective sigh of relief and
smiled at one another as the song ended to tumultuous applause.

***

‘They’re back!’ Sammy grinned.

  
‘They look wonderful in those
cream suits,’ Cathy said. ‘Thank God they decided on the brown shirts and not
the pink. Carl looks hideous in pink with his red hair.’

  
‘They look almost fanciable from
up here!’ Jane laughed.

  
Roy
stepped forward, a big smile splitting his
face. ‘The next song is our new single and will be on sale from next week.’

  
I’m Gonna Change the World
was
a slightly slower tempo and it was the first time the girls had heard the group
perform it.
 

  
‘Number one that! I bet you
anything,’ Sammy whispered to Jane. ‘It’s fabulous when you hear it properly.’

  
‘I reckon you might be right
about number one,’ Jane said, clapping along to the song. Eddie was drumming
and shaking his head from side to side with the rhythm. He looked exactly the
same as he’d always done, except he no longer had a floppy fringe to flick from
his eyes.
Roy
was on top form, dancing around, and
cracking jokes with the audience when the number ended. He handed his guitar to
the roadie for a string replacement as requests for favourite Raiders songs
flew thick and fast.

  
The band ran through their
repertoire, playing their own songs and a selection of Rock’n’Roll favourites.

  
‘Will they sing
My Special
Girl?
’ Katie asked.
   
   

  
‘Of course they will,’ Jess
replied.

  
‘Because I’m Daddy’s special
girl now that you’ve got Jon,’ Katie said smugly, folding her arms.

  
‘We’re
all
special to Dad,’ Jess replied, smiling at Jon.

  
As the show drew to a close and
the audience members, who had left their seats to dance in the aisles, went to
sit down,
Roy
squinted up at the circle and waved at
Sammy.

  
‘Our final song tonight is the
very first hit we ever had way back in 1965. Eddie and I wrote it for three
very special ladies. Tonight, we sing it not just for
our
three special girls, but also for our daughters and special
girls everywhere.’

  
Sammy felt the familiar tears
start. She glanced at Jane and Pat who were wiping away their own tears. She
looked at Jess and Jon who were holding hands, and smiled at Abby, Katie and
Kim, who were sitting on the edge of their seats as though knowing that the
song was being sung just for them.

***

Livvy, sitting next to Sean, put her hand protectively over the wriggling
bump that she was so sure was a girl and whispered, ‘This is for you too,
Harley. That’s your Daddy out there singing for you.’

  
Sean smiled. ‘This was always
mine and Tina’s favourite.’
    

  
The audience erupted again as
the beautiful ballad came to an end. The whole theatre was on its feet,
clapping, whistling, stamping and cheering as
The Raiders
assembled at the front of the stage and took a bow.

***

Roy
turned to Eddie and flung his arm across his
shoulders. ‘That was brilliant. But I’m absolutely knackered!’

  
‘Me too,’ Eddie nodded, ‘and
we’ve got the encore to do yet.’

  
‘I need a pee first,’
Roy
whispered as they filed off stage while the
audience yelled MORE!
 

  
‘Phew.’ Carl grinned
delightedly. ‘That went down great. ‘God, I feel fantastic.’

  
‘So do I,’ Phil said as
Roy
disappeared into the toilet. ‘You almost had
me in tears out there,
Roy
.’
  

  
‘Why?’
Roy
called from behind the closed door.

  
‘All that sob stuff about
special girls. Laura and our daughters are here tonight. I gave her a pass for
later, so I hope they’ll come and meet the rest of you.’

  
Roy
re-appeared, zipping up his flies. ‘Come on
then, let’s rock some more and then we can grab something to eat and drink
backstage.
Summertime Blues
, here we come!’
 

  
They ran back on stage and took
their places, launching into the old Rock’n’Roll classic with renewed vigour.
Ending on a triumphant note they bowed and waved their way off stage.
 

  
As they peeled off their damp
clothes and changed into jeans and T-shirts, their agent and manager Frank Ja
mes
strolled into the dressing room, carrying a
crate of champagne.

  
‘Come on, lads, there’s a crowd
of women out there, claiming they’re all someone’s special girl. Come and sort
out whose is whose.’

  
Roy
grinned and led the way to the hospitality
area where a cold buffet awaited along with a crowd of pressmen and
photographers. After giving a brief interview and posing for photographs, the
group greeted their families and tucked hungrily into the food.

  
Sammy flung her arms around
Roy
and kissed him. ‘You were all brilliant. I’m
so proud of you, darling.’

  
‘I’m knackered, Sam,’ he replied
wearily. ‘God only knows how I’ll cope with the whole tour. Believe it or not,
all I want to do right now is go home and go to bed - to sleep - I might add.’

  
‘That’s not like you, Roy,’ she
said, handing him a glass of champagne. ‘You were always at your most randy
after a gig!’

  
‘I know, love. That’s what
worries me. I’m getting old, Sam.’

  
‘Don’t be silly. You’re in your
prime. Livvy’s over there with Sean and Tina. We should go and say hello, ask how
she’s feeling. She looks really pale tonight. She’s only got a week to go now.’

  
Frowning,
Roy
turned to look across to where Livvy was
standing. He caught her eye and she raised her hand. ‘She
does
look pale,’ he said worriedly and crossed the room to Livvy’s
side, Sammy following.

  
‘Hi, Liv.’ He smiled at her.
‘How are you?’

  
‘Fine thanks,’ Livvy grimaced.
‘Well, I think I am. I feel very uncomfortable, like it’s going to drop out any
minute.’

  
‘Is that normal?’
Roy
turned to Sammy.

  
‘Perfectly normal,’ Sammy
nodded. ‘You men don’t know you’re born! Why don’t you sit down, Livvy? You
look really tired. Come on, I’ll sit with you and
Roy
can wait on us hand and foot. There are some
chairs over there.’

  
As Sammy led the way a gush of
water shot down Livvy’s legs and splashed onto the floor. She pulled on Sammy’s
sleeve and whispered, ‘My waters have broken.’

  
Sammy quickly took charge. ‘Keep
calm, let me go and find Jane. We came in the Jeep. We can use it to get you to
hospital.’ She turned to a worried looking
Roy
. ‘Stay with Livvy. I’ll go and explain
what’s happening to those who need to know.’

***

Sammy dashed across to Jane. ‘Livvy’s waters have broken. We need to get
her out of here. Can you take us to the hospital right now?’

  
‘Of course. Just let me tell Ed
where I’m going and then he can see to the kids. Grab a handful of clean towels
from the lads’ dressing room and meet me by the stage doors.’

  
Sammy got the towels and went
back to Roy and Livvy, who were both looking terrified. Between them they
helped Livvy out of the crowded room and down a corridor followed by Sean and
Tina.

  
‘What if there are fans waiting
at the stage-door?’
Roy
said.
 

  
‘Oh God, I never thought of
that,’ Sammy replied. ‘Well, they’ll be looking for autographs, won’t they?
You’ll just have to sign a few program
mes
while Jane and I settle Livvy in the Jeep,
and then you can make a run for it. Just divert their attentions away from what
we’re doing.’

  
‘Okay,’
Roy
muttered as Livvy let out a howl of pain.

  
Tina frowned and took her hand.
‘You’ve been having pains all night, haven’t you?’

  
Livvy nodded. ‘All day really,
but I didn’t want to miss the show. I need to go to Sean’s house for my case,’
she told Sammy.

  
‘It’s okay, we can do that,’
Roy
said as a screech of brakes sounded outside
the doors. ‘Here’s Jane.’

  
Sean opened the doors a crack
and peered out. ‘It
is
Jane and there aren’t that many people outside.
It’s chucking it down, so that will have seen a lot of them off. Drape a towel
over your head,
Roy
and make a run for it. Jane’s got the car doors open. Go on quick, we’ll
see to Livvy.’