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visit your Tommy in Feltham. I’ve tried to help ’em, but I can’t this time.’

      Tommy shrugged his slouched shoulders. ‘Whaddya want me to do? I ain’t got no money.’

      Squinting through one eye, Sheila suddenly realised that the cute little boy must be Tommy’s son.

      ‘Is that your daddy?’ she slurred.

      Frightened of the woman with the big boobies, James nodded and quickly moved away from her.

      When sober, Sheila hated children. They were a bloody nuisance. When drunk, she loved every hair on their little heads.

      Ethel made Tommy empty the pockets of his dirty trousers. ‘One pound, ten pence. Is that all you’ve got? You might be my son, but you make me fucking sick, Tommy Hutton. Pissed up in ’ere, day in, day out, and not a penny towards your family’s upkeep.’

      ‘Issall gone,’ Tommy slurred.

      Sick of the mad woman who kept pestering him, James moved to the other side of the pub and sat at a table. Sheila, who was desperate to get away from the family argument, decided to play chase with him.

      ‘Where you gone, little boy?’ she shouted, as she staggered his way.

      Seeing her lunge towards him, James leaped off the chair and ran back towards his mum. Hearing a commotion, he looked behind him just in time to see Sheila fall into the table and land flat on her back.

      ‘Can we go now, Mummy?’ he said, tugging Maureen’s arm. His dad hadn’t even spoken to him and he didn’t want the mad woman to chase him again.

      Having kept her trap shut until now, Maureen looked at the one pound ten pence in her hand and felt her blood boil. Slipping James the coin, she ripped the pound note up in shreds, dropped it in Tommy’s pint and then promptly poured the contents over his drunken head.

      ‘You fucking arsehole,’ she said viciously. ‘Come on, we’re going.’

      Grabbing Ethel with one hand and dragging James by the other, she marched out of the pub, head held high.

      An hour later, back home with a brandy in her hand, it was Ethel who started laughing first.

      ‘Did you see his face when you poured the beer over his head? I didn’t know if he was gonna cry or lick it up off the bar.’

      Maureen knocked back the contents of her glass and forced a smile. She was still worried about the visit, but had an idea. It was the last resort, really. Maureen didn’t have a phone indoors, but Ethel had one and allowed her to use it if she needed to.

      ‘Mum, do you think Kenny would lend us the money for the train fare? I can pay him back within a month.’

      ‘Course he would,’ Ethel said immediately.

      Unlike Tommy, her youngest boy was extremely wealthy and a credit to her. He and his wife Wendy had no children, but Kenny loved kids, and Ethel was positive he’d be only too pleased to help his family out. He wouldn’t see Tommy have no visitors, that was for sure.

      ‘I’m surprised I never thought of Kenny. Run over to mine and ring him,’ Ethel insisted.

      ‘No. I don’t like to,’ Maureen said sharply. ‘You do it, Mum. Ask him for me.’

      ‘You’re a funny girl, Maureen. He don’t bleedin’ bite, yer know,’ Ethel said, as she picked up her bag.

      Five minutes later, Ethel was back with good news. ‘You ain’t even gotta get a train, Maur. He’s driving yer down there in his new car. He said he’ll probably bring Wendy for the ride. He also said that he’s gonna get you a phone installed, he said you should have one now so that Tommy can ring yer.’

      Maureen was horrified. She always felt inadequate around Kenny and Wendy. Their lives were so different from hers and she felt extremely uncomfortable in their company.

      ‘I don’t wanna go in the car. I’d much rather go by train.’

      Ethel poured them both another brandy. ‘Don’t be so bleedin’ stupid. You’ll enjoy going by car, and James’ll love it.’

      Hearing his name mentioned, James wandered into the kitchen. Ethel grabbed him and sat him on her lap. ‘Uncle Kenny’s gonna take you to see your bruvver in his brand new car.’

      James bounced up and down excitedly. He loved cars, they were his obsession. ‘What car has uncle Kenny got?’

      Ethel lifted him off her knee. Her bloody ankle was playing up again. ‘He’s got a Jaguar.’

      James’s eyes lit up. ‘Really? And he’s gonna take me to see Tommy in it?’

      Maureen looked at her son’s happy face. He deserved a treat, her baby, and if it meant suffering Wendy and Kenny for the day, then so be it. At least they would get to see Tommy and the visit would still go ahead. Maureen downed her drink in one and topped her glass up again. She rarely drank in the week, but today had been stressful, to say the least.

      She smiled at Ethel. ‘Come with us on Saturday to see Tommy. Even if we can’t get you in on the visit, just come for the ride.’

      ‘Whaddya want me there for?’

      Maureen squeezed her hand. The drink had made her go all sentimental. ‘’Cause I bloody well love yer, and sometimes I don’t know what I’d do without yer.’

      Normally Ethel was as tough as old boots, but Maureen’s words struck a nerve. Unusually for her, her eyes welled up. ‘Of course I’ll come, yer silly cow.’

      Hearing Susan come in, Maureen shouted for her to come into the kitchen.

      ‘Tired. Going to bed,’ came the reply.

      ‘That is one horrible little fucker, needs a good fawpenny one, she does,’ Ethel said bluntly.

      By ten o’clock, both Ethel and Maureen felt tipsy. After a long, tough day, James had provided them with some light entertainment and had been singing, dancing and telling jokes.

      Feeling worn out, James plonked himself on his mum’s lap. ‘Mum, you know that mad lady in the pub? Did you see her fall over?’

      ‘I didn’t see anything. Who you talking about?’ Maureen asked him.

      ‘The mad lady who was with Daddy. When you weren’t looking she chased me and fell on the floor.’

      Maureen looked at Ethel and they both burst out laughing. Holding her sides, Ethel had trouble getting her words out.

      ‘Did the mad woman get back up, James?’ she chortled.

      James shook his head. ‘No, she was still lying on the floor when we came home.’

      James stood up. He’d never seen his mum and nan laugh so much. Joining in the fun, he leaped up and down excitedly. Apart from Tommy, his mum and his nan were his world, and making them happy filled him with glee.

       SEVEN

      WENDY HUTTON SAT in the front of her husband’s car with a face like a slapped arse. She couldn’t stand her Kenny’s family, and was unable to think of a worse way to spend her weekend than being stuck in a confined space with them. In Wendy’s mind, the Huttons were the ultimate dregs of society. She hated sharing their surname and couldn’t believe that Kenny had come from such a repulsive family. At first, she’d flatly refused to go on the journey.

      ‘If you think I’m giving up my Saturday to visit a murderer and be stuck with your uncouth family, you can think again,’ she told Kenny.

      Kenny had bargained with her. ‘Please come, Wendy. I know they’re common, but they are my flesh and blood. We’ll drop them off, then me and you will go for lunch. Go on, come with us, and then on Sunday I’ll take you out to look for that sports car you so badly want.’

      Reluctantly,

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