The Rock'n'Roll Romance Box Set (Pam Howes Rock'n'Roll Romance Series) (28 page)

CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE

SEPTEMBER 1965

‘Jonny, take your cars into the
lounge before Mummy breaks her neck falling over them,’ Jane said, fastening a
bib around Jessica’s neck. It was the weekend of the christening. She was up
early, rushing round, trying to feed the baby, see to Jonny, and cursing Eddie
for spending too long in the shower, when someone knocked loudly at the front door.

Expecting it to be fans, Jane
opened the door a crack and peered out. She was shocked to find a tall man in
green overalls, clutching the largest bunch of red roses she’d ever seen.

‘Mrs Mellor?’

She nodded; eyes wide. ‘For me?’

‘Someone loves you a lot.’ He
handed her the bouquet.

‘Thank you.’ She waved goodbye.
There was an envelope stapled to the wrapping. She took out a card, which read,
W
ill these do? I love
you, Mrs Mellor.

She bit her lip, eyes filling
with tears. Hearing a noise she turned. Eddie was leaning against the doorframe
looking at her. He was bare-chested, wet hair glistening from the recent
shower, blue eyes shining with love.

‘Well, will they?’ he asked.

Jane nodded, not trusting herself
to speak. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. ‘But why?’

‘Come here,’ he said. ‘I never
gave flowers a thought until you said Carl used to send them to Tina. I
wondered if that was a hint.’ He put his arms around her, holding her close.

‘They’re beautiful, Ed, thank
you.’ She smiled through her tears. ‘You’re so romantic.’

‘Well, I try,’ he said. ‘Flowers
are a nice way of saying I love you.’

‘They are,’ she sniffed. ‘But you
don’t need to go overboard. We had all those red roses in our honeymoon suite,
too. Twice in a year is pretty good going.’

***

Jessica behaved impeccably at the
christening. The local church was packed with family and friends and outside a
gathering of fans waited eagerly to catch a glimpse of their idols. Having done
her best to keep the christening as secret as possible, Jane was dismayed to
see photographers jostling for the best shots.

Everything they did was under
public scrutiny. No wonder Sammy said she wanted to keep her wedding day quiet,
she thought, hurrying towards the waiting cars.

Back at Hanover’s
Lodge the caterers were finishing laying out the buffet and their respective
fathers were officiating over the drinks, pouring glasses of champagne to toast
Jessica’s special day.

‘Ed’s really pushed the boat out
for our Jess,’ Fred said proudly as he handed out champagne.

‘Aye,’ Ben agreed. ‘Nothing’s too
much trouble for him where Jessica’s concerned.’

Sean and Tina arrived, closely
followed by Cathy and Carl and Jane was thrilled to see the pair holding hands.
She’d been a little concerned that there might still be a touch of rivalry
between Carl and Sean over Tina, but she needn’t have worried. Cathy was
positively glowing and Carl was looking extremely pleased with himself.

‘Thank you for introducing us,
Jane.’ Carl kissed her lightly on the cheek.

‘It was my pleasure. You were
both under one another’s noses, almost. You just needed to be in the right
place at the right time. You look happy.’

‘We are,’ Cathy said, smiling at
Carl. ‘Very.’

Carl went off to get drinks as
Sammy joined Jane and Cathy.

‘Well?’ Sammy raised a knowing
eyebrow. ‘Any luck with him?’

‘Sammy!’ Jane said as Cathy
smiled.

‘It’s okay. I don’t mind. Yes,
actually, and you were right, Sam. I didn’t know what I was missing. He makes
me feel very special.’

‘Really?’ Sammy said, grinning in
Carl’s direction. ‘Well, well, well. What was that you once said about the
quiet ones, Jane?’

Carl walked back to the group of
young women and blushed as Sammy dug him in the ribs and said, ‘Keep it up,
Casanova!’

Cathy quickly changed the
subject. ‘I can’t believe all these people, Jane. There were only a handful of
guests at Jonny’s christening.’

‘Well, there’s the family from
both sides. That’s my brother Pete and his mate Harry over there. We’ve a lot
of friends, and then there are people who’ve got something to do with the
group. That tall, dark-haired guy over there is Frank James,
their agent and the woman hanging from his arm is Helen, his secretary. The
sexy blonde guy chatting up my mother is Phil Jackson from the group.’

‘Yes, I recognise him and there’s
John and Stuart from Flanagan and Grey’s. Would you mind if I take some photos,
Jane? I want to use up the film. There’s some of Jonny on it from ages ago that
I’ll let you have when I get them developed.’

‘Thanks, that would be lovely,’
Jane replied. ‘Eddie has hardly any early photos of Jonny.’

‘Eddie’s trying to catch your
attention.’ Cathy pointed across the room. ‘He looks ready to make a speech.’

‘I’d better go. Make sure he
keeps it clean in front of my mother. I’ll catch up with you later.’

Eddie called for silence and
asked everyone to raise their glasses to toast Jessica, and to Jane for giving
him such a lovely daughter. He then called on Roy
to make an announcement. Sammy took Roy’s
hand and together they announced they would be getting married straight after
the
European tour. A cheer went
up and congratulations echoed around the room.

***

Jane saw the last of the guests
out while the caterers cleared away. Her mum had packed Peter and Harry off
home in a taxi and stayed behind to help tidy up and her dad had followed Roy
and Eddie upstairs.

‘Thanks, Mum,’ Jane said as Enid
put the last clean plate on the pine dresser and hung the apron she’d borrowed
on the back of the kitchen door.

‘That went off very well, Jane,’ Enid
said.

‘It was great. Jessie and Jonny
were as good as gold,’ Jane said. ‘I noticed you and Phil Jackson getting on
like a house on fire while dad’s back was turned.’

‘Well I never really got a chance
to talk to him at your wedding. He’s
very
nice. Flattered me something
shocking. Told me I don’t look old enough to be your mother.’ Enid
patted her curls in place, blue eyes twinkling. ‘If I was twenty years younger,
I
could give him a run for his
money!’

‘Mother!’

‘Don’t tell your father, but it
did my ego good. Phil’s the nicest looking lad I’ve ever been chatted up by.’

‘Phil’s a randy Romeo, Mum. He
used to chat
me
up all the time. He’s
had more women than the rest of the group put together and than
you’ve
had hot dinners. Isn’t that right, Sammy?’

Sammy nodded. ‘It certainly is.
You’ve had a lucky escape there, Enid.’

‘Oh well, the flattery was nice
while it lasted.’

‘Anyone for coffee?’ Sammy put
the kettle on and reached in the cupboard for mugs.

‘Not for me, love,’ Enid
replied. ‘The next party here will be your wedding. Your mum and Tom are over
the moon.’

‘I know they are,’ Sammy
smiled.
 
‘We’ll get this tour out of the
way and then we can plan the day properly.’

‘Are
you
going to Europe
with Roy then?’ Enid
asked. ‘Your mum told me Pat’s going with Tim.’

‘I am. I’ve never been to Europe.
I’m really excited,’ Sammy replied.

‘What about you, Jane, are you
going, too?’

‘Yes, Mum. We’re taking Jessie
with us and Jonny’s staying with Eddie’s mum and dad for a couple of weeks.’

‘Would you like to leave Jessie
with your dad and me? Then you and Eddie can relax and enjoy yourselves
properly.’

‘That’s a good idea. I’ll ask Ed,
see what he thinks. Would you be able to cope, Mum?’

‘Jane, I brought you and Peter up
and you lived to tell the tale. It’ll be nice to push a pram again. Molly and
Susan are on hand, I’m sure they’d love to help.’

‘All right, you’ve convinced me.
But I’ll check with Ed first.’

‘Right, we’d better be going,’ Enid
said, gathering up her handbag and jacket. ‘The taxi will be here in a minute.
Where’s your father got to? He always seems to disappear when there are things
to do.’

‘They all do. This kitchen’s a
man free zone,’ Sammy laughed. ‘They’re upstairs in the music room. Can’t you
hear them?’

‘I thought that was a record.
Who’s singing?’

‘Eddie and Roy, of course. It’s
definitely not Dad,’ Jane said.

‘Your father likes to think he
sounds like Dean Martin!’ Enid
grinned. ‘Will you tell him I’m ready to go, Sammy?’

Enid
followed Jane into the lounge where Jonny was playing with his train set.

‘You’ve got this house lovely,
Jane; it’s like something from Ideal Home magazine.’

‘You always said I would never
have anything if I got involved with that Mellor lad,’ Jane teased. ‘Come and
say bye to Grandma Enid, Jonny.’

‘Well, it just goes to show how
wrong I was,’ Enid admitted. She
held her arms out to Jonny and kissed him. ‘I shall never again judge a book by
its leather jacket.’ She was laughing at her own joke when Ben strolled into
the lounge with Sammy.

Jane stared at her dad who was
grinning broadly, his eyes slightly glazed. Too much to drink, she thought. He
grabbed hold of her mum and waltzed her round the room.

‘Wish I were twenty years
younger, Enid,’ he said, slapping
her playfully on the backside. ‘I feel like joining the group and having some
fun with the lads.’

‘You’re a daft sod, Ben Wilson,’ Enid
said, pushing him away.

‘You okay, Dad?’ Jane asked.

‘Me? Couldn’t be better, Janey,
lass,’ he replied. ‘I’ve just shared a roll up with Roy.
Big fat bugger it was. Best baccy I’ve had in a long time. Much nicer than
Woodbines.’

He turned to Sammy and smiled.
‘One thing puzzles me, Sam. When Roy
has all that money coming in, why does he still roll his own fags? Mind you,
with baccy like that, I don’t blame him. I meant to ask him what brand he buys.
I’ll treat myself someday, start rolling
my
own.’

Jane caught Sammy’s eye behind
her parents’ backs. Her hand flew to her mouth as the penny dropped. ‘Oh – my -
God!’ she mouthed as Sammy’s shoulders began to shake. Jane tried to control
the laughter that bubbled up and said goodnight to her mum and dad as the taxi
arrived.

‘Thanks for a lovely day, Jane.’ Enid
kissed her on the cheek.

‘Aye, thanks, love,’ Ben added.
‘Could have done with a bit more grub though. All that dainty stuff’s not for
me. Me belly thinks me throats been cut. I’m gonna get that taxi to drop us off
at the chippy. Come on, Enid, get a
move on.’

Jane shook her head as she closed
the door. ‘No wonder Dad was skittish when he came downstairs,’ she giggled.
‘He’d have a holy fit if he knew what he’d really been smoking.’

Sammy was doubled up, tears
running freely down her face.

‘Trust Roy
to roll up in front of your dad. I can’t believe he’d do that.’

Roy and Eddie strolled into the
kitchen, finding the girls helpless with laughter.

‘Jane, I’m really sorry about
your dad,’ Roy began. ‘I skinned up
out of habit and he said
“Give us a drag, it smells really good”.
I couldn’t refuse, could I? He would have wondered why I wouldn’t share with
him. Trouble is, once he’d had some he wouldn’t stop.’

‘Was he alright, Jane?’ Eddie
asked.

‘He was pretty much stoned and
very frisky with mum. Said he wanted to join the group and have some fun. But
there’s no real harm done, don’t worry.’

‘Thank God for that,’ Eddie said,
grinning. ‘He’ll end up chasing your mother round the bedroom when he gets her
home!’

‘Oh, don’t,’ Jane howled,
clutching her sides.

***

Jane told Eddie about her
mother’s suggestion of leaving Jessica while they went to Europe.

‘I think that’s a really good
idea,’ he agreed. ‘Having her with us might be a problem at times.
It would be a bit difficult to sterilise bottles and wash nappies in a hotel
room. It’s fine by me if
you
don’t mind. It’ll be a second honeymoon,
all that time in bed with no interruptions.’

‘Now there’s a thought,’ she
said, snuggling closer. ‘I’m so tired. It’s been quite a day, but a nice one
all the same.’

***

Vicky buttered toast and cut it
into fingers. She popped them on a plate next to a boiled egg. ‘There you go, a
nice boiled egg and soldiers,’ she cooed. She placed the plate in front of Mark
and sat down opposite.

He pushed the plate away. ‘I’m
not a fucking baby! You have it.’

‘I’m not really hungry. I’ll just
have a cup of tea. You need to eat, Mark. You lost a lot of weight in
hospital.’

He rolled his eyes, grunted and
pulled the plate back to his side of the table. He chipped the top off the egg
and dunked a toast soldier into the soft yolk, staring as it spilled over,
leaving golden trails down the speckled brown shell. ‘Are you going to work
today?’

‘Later. I’m only working part
time at the moment so I can take care of you, remember?’

He looked momentarily puzzled and
then nodded. ‘Yeah, of course. But I’m not ill anymore. I can look after
myself.’

‘That’s all very well, Mark, but
I promised Tony I’d do my share while he’s at work.’

‘Suit yourself.’ Mark dunked
another soldier into his egg.

Vicky sighed and poured herself a
cup of tea. This was hard work and she truly wished she’d listened to people
who’d advised her that looking after Mark was not going to be easy. Especially
after learning the truth from Tony about Beth’s abortion.

His stay in hospital and the
correct medication had stabilised his mental state. But keeping certain facts
from him that she felt could tip him back over the edge was proving very
difficult. There were Raiders songs being played constantly on the radio.
Numerous TV appearances, and this week, photos of Eddie and Jane at their
daughter’s christening, featured in countless newspapers.