.

OF THE commotion in the back of her car, Jessica turned down the radio. ‘Will you two stop mucking about while Mummy’s trying to drive? What are you doing in the back?’

      ‘Frankie’s took one of my new trainers and she’s put it out the window,’ Joey said, trying to grab his sister’s arm.

      As she stopped at a red light, Jessica glanced around. ‘You’d better not have thrown his trainer out, Frankie. Now where is it?’

      ‘I haven’t, Mum,’ her daughter said, showing her the proof.

      ‘Give it back to Joey, now,’ Jess ordered.

      Giggling, Frankie gave the trainer back to its rightful owner.

      Jessica sighed as she turned up the radio volume. Her children certainly drove her doolally at times, but she loved them more than life itself. She’d been horrified when the doctor had first told her that she was expecting twins.

      ‘I’m only seventeen, I’ll never cope,’ she had cried to Eddie.

      Eddie had put his strong arms around her and washed away her fears. ‘You’ll be a natural, Jess. Remember, we’re in this together. I’ll help out as much as I can and your mum’ll be brilliant, I know she will.’

      As usual, Eddie was right and, once she had got over the initial shock, Jess had never looked back. She remembered the day she’d given birth as though it was yesterday. The pain was unbearable and, due to the size of the babies and her small frame, the doctors had given her an emergency caesarean.

      ‘We think the babies could be in trouble,’ they had said.

      Eddie and her mum had both been by her side when she’d finally come round. ‘Where are the babies? Are they OK?’ were her first words.

      Eddie had tears in his eyes as he gently lifted them out of their cots. ‘We’ve got one of each, Jess. A boy and a girl.’

      As rough and sore as she felt, Jess could barely believe her luck. The twins were a decent weight and absolutely perfect. To be blessed with one of each was a sheer gift from God.

      Eddie and Jessica had spoken about baby names for months leading up to the birth. They hadn’t known what they were having, so they had chosen two names for a boy and two for a girl.

      Francesca was Jessica’s choice. She thought it was the prettiest name she’d ever heard. Eddie chose Joseph. He wanted the name to be a tribute to his deceased grandfather. Their names were shortened within the first few years of their lives. Everybody referred to them as Frankie and Joey. They adored one another, and everything they did, they did together.

      Jessica’s thoughts were interrupted by her son.

      ‘Mum, I think I’m gonna be sick.’

      Unable to find her usual supply of sick bags, Jessica urged him to try and hold on for a minute. ‘Open the window, Joey. I can’t stop in the middle of the A13. Let me get round this corner and I’ll –’

      The sound of retching mixed with the smell of sick stopped Jess in mid-sentence.

      ‘Urgh! Mum, open the roof.’ Frankie said, holding her head out of the window.

      Spotting a lay-by, Jessica pulled over to inspect the damage. It was everywhere – all over Joey, the seats and the bloody carpet. With nothing but a box of tissues, Jess did her best to clean up both her son and the car. She daren’t tell Ed. He’d only recently bought her the red Mercedes convertible as a birthday present and he wouldn’t be impressed to know it was now covered in spew.

      ‘Make sure you’ve got a sick bag with you when you take Joey out,’ Ed insisted.

      Jessica had carried a couple originally, but Joey had already used them and, with a brain like a sieve, she had forgotten to replace them.

      ‘Now, come on, don’t cry,’ Jessica said, wiping away her son’s tears.

      Poor little sod, it wasn’t his fault that he was a terrible traveller. Frankie loved being in the car and was fine, but Joey, unfortunately, was the opposite.

      Jessica put down the roof and continued her journey towards Tesco. Her parents and brother were coming over this evening and she had promised to cook them a slap-up meal. She couldn’t wait to show her dad and brother around her new house. Her mum had already visited and had fallen head over heels with it, but her dad and brother hadn’t yet seen the finished article.

      ‘Oh, Jess, it looks like a mansion. It reminds me of one of them posh houses in them American films your father watches.’

      Jessica was thrilled with her new surroundings. The house was any woman’s dream. Eddie had had it built from scratch by some pals of his. He’d bought the land, got planning permission and, even though it had taken ages to finish, it was well worth the wait. The area, in the country lanes of Rainham, Essex, was perfect for the kids.

      Before they had moved, they’d still lived in Upney, near Jessica’s parents, and Eddie had hated the area. ‘It’s a fucking shit-hole round here, Jess. Now the kids are nearing school age, we need to move somewhere nicer,’ he had told her a couple of years back.

      Jessica had been reluctant to move at first but, within a month, Eddie had persuaded her. Eddie had forbidden Jessica to see the new house until it was all finished, and when she had, she was gobsmacked. Set in an acre of ground, it had four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a big dining room, a luxury lounge and the most enormous, modern kitchen she had ever seen.

      Jessica whooped with delight when she saw the garden. Eddie had made it into a playground for the kids. They had swings, slides, a trampoline, and he’d even had their own tree-house built for them.

      ‘Well, what do you think?’ he’d asked her.

      ‘I absolutely love it. It’s the nicest house I’ve ever seen in my life,’ Jessica said, overwhelmed.

      Eddie might be a rough diamond, but his good points definitely outweighed his bad. Jessica was sort of aware of how her husband earned his money, but she never asked any questions. Eddie had a dark side to him sometimes, especially when he drank Scotch. They were the times Jessica chose to forget. Many a time Ed’s eyes would blacken and he’d lose his rag over the most trivial thing. Jessica always forgave him. She loved him too much not to, but he did frighten her. He’d never hit her or anything like that, but there were occasions when she’d feared he would.

      Overall though, Ed was a fantastic husband, a good dad and a wonderful provider. Jess had never wanted for anything since the day she’d met him and she had never seen him so much as glance at another woman. On the whole, their marriage was extremely happy and everyone had their faults, didn’t they?’

      ‘Mum, Mum, I need a wee-wee,’ Joey said, snapping Jess out of her daydream.

      Jessica quickly stopped the car. Her son had a weak bladder at the best of times.

      ‘Go behind that bush over there,’ she ordered.

      Frankie laughed as her brother disappeared into the undergrowth. ‘Joey is funny, isn’t he, Mummy?’

      Jessica ruffled her daughter’s hair. Frankie and Joey might be twins, but in many ways they were chalk and cheese. They looked nothing like one another and their personalities were extremely different. Frankie had dark hair and was more like Eddie. She was a proper tomboy, a little daredevil, who would try anything once. Joey was the opposite. He had blond hair and was more like herself. He hated heights, was petrified of insects and cried every time he watched Lassie.

      Eddie would get really annoyed with Joey sometimes. ‘You’re meant to be a boy. Stop acting like a fucking wimp,’ he would shout at his son.

      Jessica would comfort Joey, wipe away his tears, and then Eddie would have a go at her. ‘You’re to blame for the way he is. You mollycoddle the fucking kid. It’s a hard life out there, Jess, and he needs to shape up before it’s too late. Ricky and Gary were never like him, they were proper little boys. Joey acts like a