Kimberley Chambers - The Feud

Overcome by excitement, Jess lifted up the hem of her dress and ran over to her mum’s table. ‘Look, Mum, it’s only ten minutes’ walk from you. That’s the house I told you about. There’s a picture of it there.’

Eddie stood proudly behind his wife. ‘I knew she wanted to live near you and what Jess wants, she will always get,’ he told Joyce.

Joyce grabbed Eddie’s face and planted a smacker on his forehead. ‘I can pop round when you’re at work and, when the baby arrives, I’ll babysit whenever you want. I knew you’d make a great son-in-law the moment I saw you, Eddie. I can’t thank you enough for buying her a house near her mum. Look, Stanley, isn’t it wonderful?’

Stanley glanced at the piece of paper and nodded dumbly. As much as he hated Eddie, he was pleasantly surprised by this strange turn of events. Knowing Eddie’s type, he’d have fully expected him to whisk Jessica miles away from him and Joycie.

‘A young girl needs to be near her mum and dad. That’s what families are all about,’ Eddie said, smiling at Stan.

‘Don’t expect me to come round and change shitty nappies, will you, sis?’ Raymond said laughing.

Eddie ruffled Raymond’s hair. Jessica’s little bro was a proper character. In fact, he reminded Ed of himself at sixteen. Eddie allowed himself a wry smile. Neither Jess nor Ray were fuck-all like their father, so surely at least one of them had to belong to the milkman.

With the speeches and surprises all over, Eddie started to organise cabs to get to the reception.

As Joyce went off to powder her nose, Ivy shifted herself next to Stan. ‘I know I said this earlier, but I really don’t like him, Stan. Whatever was my Joycie thinking of, encouraging Jess to get involved with the likes of him?’

Stanley shook his head. ‘I’ve no idea, but I’m glad it ain’t just me. I don’t trust him, Ivy. He’s got eyes like dead fish.’

Ivy shuddered. She’d noticed Eddie’s cold, calculating stare from the moment she’d set eyes on him and the thought of her beautiful granddaughter sharing her life and bed with him sent shivers down her spine.

‘She won’t find happiness with him, Stanley. I’ve seen his sort before. He’ll mould Jess into what he wants and, before she knows it, he’ll suck the fucking life out of her.’

AWARE 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.