Johnny was a man to hold a grudge, and had never spoken to his mother or sister since the day they had left Tiptree. He had bent over backwards to take care of them, and in his eyes they had thrown his kindness back in his face.
Seeing a blonde bird who was standing at the bar smile at him, Johnny gave her figure the once-over then smiled back at her. He still had his good looks and had succumbed to many a one-night stand since moving to Tiptree.
Trying to struggle with temptation, Johnny sank his pint and went to the toilet. It was all his wife’s fault that he couldn’t keep his penis in his pants. Deborah was a good wife, a great mother, but had let herself get so fat that physically she made Johnny feel sick.
‘Hello, handsome. I haven’t seen you in here before,’ the woman said, approaching Johnny as he walked back to his seat.
Johnny grinned, then began a conversation while studying the woman closely. She was certainly no oil painting up close, but she was better than what he had on offer back home. Johnny glanced at his watch. He’d had far too much to drink to head back to London tonight now anyway. The best thing he could do to take his mind off stuff was drown his sorrows, have one last fling, and then tomorrow he could plan his revenge.
Needing some space to clear his jumbled-up thoughts, Vinny told his brothers he had some personal business to attend to, and would meet them at their mum’s house that afternoon. Usually, Vinny would inform his brothers of any foul play he intended to be involved with, but for once he had decided to keep his cards close to his chest. What he had planned for Karen was a bit below the belt even by his standards, and apart from his pal Ahmed, whom Vinny trusted implicitly, the fewer people that knew about it, the better.
Driving along the Whitechapel Road, Vinny spotted his mother walking along laden with carrier bags. He pulled over and opened his driver’s-side window. ‘Mum, jump in. I’m on my way to yours.’
Queenie dumped her bags on Vinny’s back seat, and grinned as she saw some of the passers-by staring at her son’s new car. All her boys now had flashy top-of-the-range motors and that made Queenie extremely proud. ‘I’m glad I’ve caught you alone, Vinny. I need you to do me a couple of big favours.’
‘What?’
‘One, I want you to throw our Roy a surprise engagement family get-together, and secondly I need you to give our Lenny a job at the club. Vivvy’s been worried sick about him recently. She reckons he is picking up bad habits off them kids he mixes with at that school. He needs something to stimulate his mind properly, boy. Been performing something rotten since he found out his father’s been murdered. Keeps cocking his leg up in the air and pissing like a dog, he does.’
Vinny turned right and pulled up outside his old club. ‘Looks a shithole now, don’t it, Mum? I’ve heard it might close down soon. Such a shame. Good little club that was when I owned it. Yeah, I’ll organize something for Roy. Just leave it with me.’
‘And what about Lenny?’
Vinny turned to his mum and smiled. ‘How about I employ Champ as our little handy-man? He can do a bit of everything then. He can collect the bottles and glasses, help with changing the barrels and stocking the bar up. He can even do a bit of DJ-ing if it makes him happy.’
Queenie hugged her son. ‘Oh, that’s brilliant, Vin. Vivvy will be made up. You’re a good boy, you are. Heart of gold, you’ve got.’
‘Talking of which, I’m giving Karen a job behind the bar. She wants to see more of Little Vinny, so I said she can pop round to yours for an hour or so to see him before she starts work. Is that OK? I don’t want her taking him out alone, and I won’t worry so much if you’re there to keep an eye out.’
Queenie’s usually thin lips curled into a frightening snarl. ‘I ain’t happy about that tart coming round my house or being part of Little Vinny’s life. He’s changed since he met her. Right soppy little bastard he’s becoming. We’ll lose him to her if we ain’t careful, boy, you mark my words. If you want my advice, you need to nip it in the bud.’
Vinny couldn’t help but smirk. He would do more than just nip it in the bud.
Brenda was dismayed to walk into her house and find virtually all her family present, bar her mother and eldest brother. She had planned her speech in her mind, but there was no way she was disclosing her big secret in front of them all.
‘What’s up with you? You look like you’ve lost a pound and found a penny,’ Vivian chuckled.
‘Where’s Mum?’ Brenda asked, looking thoroughly miserable. She wasn’t in the mood for jokes, no matter how funny they were.
‘Here she is now. Vinny’s with her as well,’ Roy said, looking out of the window.
The mention of her big brother was enough to make Brenda want to escape the family gathering. ‘I’m gonna go for a lie-down. Tell Mum I’ve still got that bug and I don’t want no dinner,’ she lied, darting up the stairs.
‘Well, this is a nice surprise. All my boys visiting me together without warning,’ Queenie grinned.
‘We need to talk to you about something, Mum. Or, has Vinny already spoken to you about it?’ Roy asked suspiciously.
‘Yes, he has. Now, shall you tell Lenny the good news? Or shall I?’
Michael and Roy looked at one another in bewilderment. What the hell was their mother going on about?
Vinny sat down on the sofa next to his nephew, winking at his brothers, as if to warn them to keep their mouths shut. ‘Me, Roy and Michael have been thinking, Champ. You’re a big boy now and it’s about time you joined the family firm. You will have to leave school obviously, but it will be good for you to work and earn your own money, won’t it?’
‘But, I don’t wanna leave school. I will miss all my friends.’
‘No, you won’t. This is your last year at school anyway. You’ll be working with me, Champ, and I thought your job could involve a bit of DJ-ing. How’s that grab ya?’
Like magic, Lenny’s eyes suddenly shone with excitement. ‘What, I can be the DJ in your club? And can I play whatever music I want?’
‘Well, not every night, but sometimes you can,’ Vinny laughed, ruffling his cousin’s thick mop of dark hair.
When the boy began leaping up and down as though he had just won the football pools, Vivian and Queenie shared a satisfied smile.
Roy and Michael stared at one another while the rest of the family celebrated Lenny’s new job. Neither was happy with Vinny making decisions behind their backs, and both thought that the club was a far too dangerous place for somebody of Lenny’s mentality. Roy was the first to find his voice. ‘Right, can we discuss what we came here to discuss now?’ he asked, glaring at Vinny.
‘Mum, sit down a minute,’ Vinny ordered.
‘What’s the matter?’ Queenie asked, clocking the sudden serious expressions on all three of her boys’ faces.
Knowing what a bastard Vinny could sometimes be, Roy decided to spill the beans himself. ‘It’s Dad, Mum. He came to see me at the club yesterday. He’s ill. In fact, he’s dying I think, and he wants to make things right with all of us before he croaks it.’
‘You don’t have to see him though, Mum. Don’t feel pressurized if you don’t want to,’ Vinny added.
‘Fucking old bastard. Deserves to rot in hell after what he did to you,’ Vivian spat.
About to agree with her sister, Queenie looked at the hopeful expressions on Roy and Michael’s faces. She had no feelings for Albie whatsoever, so whether he was dying or not, seeing him wouldn’t upset her at all.
‘I want to see Uncle Albie. If I don’t he might die like my dad did and then I will never see him again,’ Lenny said.
‘Shut up, you, and eat your fucking sweets,’ Vivian barked.