The Rock'n'Roll Romance Box Set (Pam Howes Rock'n'Roll Romance Series) (12 page)

Tony took the black and white
photograph. Amelia was slender with long curly hair. Jack was tall, of slim
build and they were smartly attired in the fashions of the forties.

‘That’s where you get your six
foot from, mate. They’re an attractive pair. Actually, you look just like your
father.’

‘That’s what I thought.’

‘Is he still alive?’

‘I don’t know. He was a lot older
than Amelia, about fifty-six when I was born.’

‘That’ll make him seventy-seven
now,’ Tony said. ‘Is there an address to contact him?’

‘No, just a box number. If he
didn’t want to know me then because of his family, he’s hardly likely to want
to know me now. I’ll ask if he’s still alive when I call the solicitors
tomorrow. But it may be best to let sleeping dogs lie.’

‘Probably wisest,’ Tony agreed
and sat back on his chair. ‘So, this gaff’s all yours then?’

‘Yeah, and I’m gonna make some
changes. I’ll re-decorate and get shut of Maude’s old junk. You could be my
lodger. We can have girls stay over whenever we want. By the way, did that bird
leave her phone number for me?’

‘Vicky, yeah.’ Tony dug in his
jeans pocket and handed Mark a page torn from a diary. ‘There’s a bit of a message
with it. She likes you, Mark.’

Mark ran his hands wearily
through his hair. ‘I’ll get in touch with her. Don’t want anything serious
though. I still love Jane. I know when I’m pissed off I call her names,
but I’d have her back now and forgive her everything.’

‘You don’t seem too upset or
bothered by your discovery,’ Tony said. ‘I’d be freaking out all over the show
if was me.’

‘I feel bewildered, but I’m
fucking angry more than anything. That woman’s deprived me of so much. She’d no
right to keep something so important from me. I need to come to terms with it,
take stock, make changes. I’ll start with this place, make it my own. And I’m
determined to get Jane back from Mellor. I’ll have that ring on her finger
again if it bloody well kills me!’

Tony sighed and swallowed the
last of his drink. ‘What do you intend to do about Maude? This is her home. You
can’t just chuck her out on the streets.’

‘I’ll put her in a nursing home
or get her a flat. She was having trouble with the stairs here anyway and it’ll
be even worse now. I’ll have a word at the hospital, see what they suggest.
When Jane hears I own this place and we can get married and start a family
without having to save up for years she’ll be back like a shot from a gun,’ he
said.

‘Mellor’s got sod all to offer
her and you can’t live on love alone.’ He waved the whisky bottle in Tony’s
direction. ‘Let’s finish this in the lounge and smoke a joint to celebrate.’

***

CHAPTER
TEN

MARCH 1964

Eddie switched off the insistent
alarm, stretched his cramped limbs and groaned. After a week of sleeping on the
sofa again he’d had enough. He leapt up and folded the blankets, grinning with
anticipation. It was the first day of his new job and he was really looking
forward to it, not least because he would be in Jane’s company all day.

He could hear Angie talking to
Jonny as he passed the bedroom door. The one thing he’d really missed while
staying with his parents was Jonny’s big smile first thing in the morning.

He washed and shaved carefully.
His appearance hadn’t mattered at the factory, but the last thing he needed on
his clean shirt was a dribble of blood. He splashed on Old Spice, fighting the
urge to shout “
Ouch.
”
 
In the sitting room his one and only suit,
brown pin striped, hung from the picture rail, alongside a new cream shirt and
brown and beige spotted tie. He dressed hurriedly, went through to the kitchen,
and made a mug of coffee.

Angie appeared behind him,
followed closely by Jonny.

‘Morning,’ she grunted. She
lifted Jonny onto a chair at the kitchen table and fastened a bib under his
chin.

‘Morning, yourself,’ Eddie
nodded. ‘Err, you look nice.’ It was an effort to be civil but it was better
than rowing in front of Johnny. She was immaculate as always, but her pretty
face was twisted with her usual scowl. He sighed as she stared at him. ‘No
hidden agenda. I’m just paying you a compliment.’

‘Thanks.’ Her hand flew to her
mouth. ‘Give Jonny his breakfast. I think I ate something at my mother’s
yesterday that didn’t agree with me.’ Shoulders heaving, she dashed away.

He could hear her vomiting and
shook his head. ‘Too much Bacardi, that’s what’s wrong with your Mummy.’ He
tipped Cornflakes into a bowl, splashed on milk and sprinkled them with sugar.
‘There you are, Jonny, eat up, then you’ll be a big boy.’ He ruffled his dark
curls. Jonny beamed at him and tucked in, milk dribbling down his chin.

Angie shuffled back into the
kitchen and sat down. He placed a mug of coffee in front of her. She pushed it
away, turning up her nose. ‘No thanks, Ed. I’ll have water, please.’

‘Feeling better now?’ he asked as
he handed her a glass of water.

‘So, so. I knew I shouldn’t have
had that sandwich. Pork and me have never seen eye to eye.’ She stared at him
and frowned. ‘Where are
you
going dressed like a tailor’s dummy?’

‘I wondered if you’d notice.’ He
sat down next to Jonny, picked up his mug and took a sip. ‘I’m starting a new
job today.’

‘You’ve got a new job?’

‘Yeah! I’m not totally useless,
you know.’

‘I never said you were. Why
didn’t you say something? You’re supposed to discuss things like that with your
wife. That’s what marriage is all about.’

‘Really?’ He raised an eyebrow.
‘I always thought marriage was about two people loving and respecting each
other. You wouldn’t even begin to know the meaning of the words, Angela.’

Jonny looked from one to the
other, his lips trembling at their raised voices.

Eddie lifted him down, wiped his
chin and removed his bib. ‘Go and find your cars, son. Mummy will take you to
Granny’s soon and Grandpa will play racing with you.’

Jonny toddled down the hall as
Angie stared at Eddie, blinking back tears.

‘You
never
loved me, or respected me for that matter. Well I’ll make it
easy for you. You’ve been itching all week to bring up the subject of divorce,
well fine, go. If freedom’s what you want, clear off. But you won’t see Jonny,
and I mean that.’

‘You can stop using that threat.
It won’t wash with me anymore. Anyway, I’ve no time to argue. I’ll be late for
work, and that’s the last thing I need on my first day.’

‘You still haven’t told me about
the job,’ she called as he made to leave the kitchen. ‘Is it in a nice office
or something?’

He turned. ‘Nothing so bloody
boring.’

‘Well what then?’

‘You’re looking at the Manager of
the new Flanagan and Grey’s music store in Westlow,’ he said, unable to
suppress the hint of pride in his voice as her jaw dropped.

‘Oh! But I thought those new
shops weren’t opening for another month or so?’

‘That’s right, they’re not. I’m
training at the Pickford branch for a few weeks, getting to know the ropes.’

‘Jane works there.’ She spat the
words out with venom.

‘She does,’ he said, looking her
in the eye. ‘So?’

She stood up and pushed back her
chair. ‘I bloody knew it! You’re seeing her again. I heard a rumour she’d
dumped Mark Fisher. It all falls into place now. It’s because she’s seeing
you.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous. Do you
honestly think Jane would want to know me after what I put her through?’

‘You
are
seeing Jane, you liar. I can tell by your face. You’re seeing
her again and I bet you’re screwing her!’

‘Can you blame me?’ he yelled,
forgetting momentarily that he was trying to protect Jane. ‘You haven’t let me
near you for months. What more can you expect?’

‘So, you don’t deny it? You’re
having an affair with Jane.’

‘I’m admitting nothing.’

‘You don’t need to, you bastard.
Well you can get lost. I don’t want you here. Go back to your mother, if she’ll
have you, and I bet she won’t. Not when I tell her what you've been up to.’

‘Mum already knows.’

‘Your mother knows?’ she
screeched. ‘She approves of you having an affair, knowing you’re married to me?
Oh, this just gets better.’

‘I didn’t say she approved. But
she knows how bad it is between us. I’ll move out again. But I want to see
Jonny. You can’t stop me. He's
my
child. I have rights.’

She stared at him for a long
moment then turned away. ‘You can see him on Sunday afternoons,’ she mumbled
over her shoulder.

‘Sunday afternoon. Is that all?
What about in the week? He’ll wonder where I am again. Who’ll read him a
bedtime story if
I
don’t?
You
can never be bothered. You’re always too busy doing your bloody nails!’

‘Just be thankful I’ve agreed to
Sundays for now. You should have thought about Jonny before you started
shagging Jane.’

‘Well, who’s shagging
you,
Angie?’ He moved towards her and backed her into a corner.

‘I don’t know what you mean,’ she
said, fear registering on her face as he leant in until his nose was almost
touching hers.

‘Come on, Angela, out with it.
You must think I’m fucking stupid! You go out of this flat dolled up to the
nines. Fancy knickers, new clothes, and expensive perfumes
we can’t afford.
I’ve
heard a rumour
too. Richard Price is back at the salon. Tim and Pat saw him when Pat had her
hair done. Are you seeing
him
again?’

‘What do you mean, again?’ She
put both hands on his chest and pushed him away. ‘We were friends. There was
nothing between us.’ She turned her back on him and flounced out of the
kitchen.

‘Don’t you dare walk out on me
when I’m talking to you.’ He grabbed her arms and pinned her against the wall.
‘Are you seeing
him
again?’ he repeated, shaking her roughly.

‘And what if I am, what do
you
care?’ She tried to wriggle free from his grasp, but he dug his fingers into
the flesh of her upper arms. She squealed with pain and he loosened his grip
slightly.

‘So
you’re
not denying it either? Richard Price is screwing
you
and probably has been for months and you have the fucking cheek to lay the
blame for our marriage not working on me. Well that’s it, lady.’ He raised his
hand to slap her across the face, but as she flinched he pushed her away. ‘God
help me, I’ll end up killing you if I stay here. I’ll go back to my mum’s
again. I'll look for another flat later in the year when we’re sorted out.’

‘Sorted out, what do you mean?’
she asked, a sob catching her throat.

‘I’m divorcing you for adultery
with Richard Price,’ he said. ‘
And
I’m applying for custody of my son.’

‘No, you can’t do that. You can’t
take Jonny away from me'

‘You watch me fucking try.’ He
pushed past her and walked through to the sitting room where Jonny was sitting
on the carpet, his fists stuffed into his eyes, sobbing loudly.

Eddie picked him up and sat down
on the sofa, cuddling him. ‘It’s okay, Jonny. It’s all over. I’m sorry we
frightened you.’

‘No like shouting,’ he sobbed.

Eddie blinked back his own tears,
stroking the little boy’s curls. ‘No more shouting, I promise. Daddy has to go
to work now. But I’ll be home at teatime and I’ll read you a story.’

‘Okay, Dadda,’ Jonny sniffed.
‘Bring sweeties from Nana.’

‘I will. Go and find Mummy now.
You look after her,’ he said as Jonny slid from his knee, nodding solemnly.

Eddie slammed the door behind him
without a backward glance. He ran downstairs and out onto the street, jumping on
the first bus that came along.

In

‘Kiss me, Jane. Just kiss me,
please
!’

She kissed him and looked into
his eyes. ‘Ed, what is it? You’re shaking and you look really upset.’

He told her what had happened as
they walked hand in hand down Pickford High Street. ‘I nearly hit her again.
She almost drove me to it,’ he finished.

‘So, your suspicions were right.
She
is
having an affair.’

‘So are we.’

‘Well yes, I know we are. But it
doesn’t feel like an affair because
we’re
in love.’

‘No it doesn’t, but we are.’ He
grinned at her reasoning. She was such a wonderful romantic and he loved her
for it. She lifted him so high with her smile that he felt he was walking on
clouds.

‘So, what now?’ she asked.
‘You’re actually going to divorce her?’

‘Yeah. I’ll move back to my
folks’ place. I’ll start the ball rolling as soon as I sort out a solicitor.’

‘John Grey will know of a good
one,’ she said. ‘But what about Jonny?’

‘I’ll apply for custody. If I
fail then I want reasonable access. Poor little sod was terrified again this
morning. We can’t put him through that anymore.’

She nodded. ‘The mother usually
gets custody, Ed, unless you can prove she’s unfit for the job.’

‘Apart from being an adulteress,
she’s not such a bad mum,’ he said. ‘She doesn’t play with him properly. But
she keeps him clean and fed, and she loves him.’

‘Well, whatever happens, you’ll
always be Jonny’s daddy.’ She squeezed his arm. ‘No one can ever take that
honour from you, Ed.’

***

Angie fastened Jonny into his
pushchair and set off on the short walk to her mother’s house. If Eddie thought
for one minute he was taking her son away he could bloody well think again.
She’d speak with Richard when she got to the salon. She knew he’d support her
and help her find a solicitor to fight for custody.

Richard had been her stalwart since
the night Eddie slapped her. Appalled by the bruising on her face, he’d urged
her to leave him immediately. She told him Eddie had gone to stay with his
parents for a few days so she was safe for the time being.

During Eddie’s absence Richard
had visited the flat, bringing flowers and bottles of wine. Feeling neglected,
she’d succumbed to his charms. He’d been so loving and gentle. Now she had
another problem to contend with. On top of everything else her period was late.
It was very early days, but she was convinced she was pregnant again. When
she’d confided in Richard on Saturday night he said he’d stand by her.

With Eddie’s announcement that he
wanted a divorce, there was nothing to stop her and Richard being together. But
fighting for custody of Jonny
must
come first. She’d read in a magazine
that a mother was usually given custody of her child, so she wasn’t feeling
unduly worried by Eddie’s threats. And besides, she had an ace up her sleeve.
But only if things became desperate would she dare to use it.

***

Richard Price was checking the
day’s appointments with the receptionist when Angie arrived at Crimpers Hair
Salon. He took one look at her pale face, ordered the junior stylist to hold
the fort and led her upstairs to the staff room.

‘What’s wrong?’ He put his arms
around her and held her while she sobbed on his shoulder. He tilted her chin
and kissed her. ‘Take your jacket off and sit down while I make coffee. Then
you can tell me what’s upset you.’

She removed her jacket and he
frowned, staring at her upper arms where finger-marks were turning to bruises.
‘What the hell has he done to you now?’

‘He pinned me against the wall
while we were arguing. I thought he was going to hit me again. He knows about
us. He wants a divorce and custody of Jonny.’

‘Right. Let him have the bloody
divorce. The sooner the better as far as I’m concerned.’ He handed her a mug
and joined her on the sofa. ‘We’ll go and see my solicitor at lunchtime and
fight for custody of Jonny, don’t you worry. I’ll take you to the flat tonight
after work to get your things. We’ll tell Eddie together you’re expecting my
baby and you’re moving in with me.’

‘No, Richard. I can’t tell him
I’m pregnant. He’ll use it against me to get Jonny. He’ll say I’m an unfit
mother for having an affair. God, what a bloody mess
everything is.’

‘It’s not a mess.’
He put down his mug and tilted her chin. ‘Now listen to me, I love you and I
want you and Jonny. I can give you a good life. Much better than you’d ever
have living in that shoebox on Eddie’s pittance of a wage.’