Kimberley Chambers - Payback

‘And why would I want to do that? He isn’t even my bloody kid, Michael. It’s bad enough I have to suffer him day in, day out, without forcing my parents to suffer him too,’ Nancy screamed, unaware that her sons and Lee were all ear-wigging outside.

Furious that his mother’s nasty comments had made Lee cry, Daniel opened the back door. ‘Me and Adam don’t want to come to your party, Mum. We want to go to Nanny Queenie’s party with Daddy and Lee.’

Aware that Lee had tears streaming down his face, a guilty Nancy bent down to comfort the child.

‘Get away from him. You’ve already said enough for one day,’ Michael spat, before ordering all three of his boys to play in the bedroom upstairs. Michael then turned back to his wife. ‘You are one selfish cunt, Nancy. No wonder I can’t get a fucking hard-on when I try to make love to you. How do you think that little boy feels, now he’s heard you slate him, eh?’

Nancy burst into tears. She’d had no idea the boys were listening to her and Michael’s conversation and she now felt dreadful. ‘I’m sorry, Michael, I really am. I’ll speak to Lee and apologize to him. It was said in the heat of the moment, I didn’t mean it. Where are you going?’

Snatching his arm away from his wife’s grasp, Michael stormed out of the house, slamming the front door behind him.

Vinny was quiet on the journey to Goodmayes. Shelling out a hundred and fifty grand up front to a complete stranger was one thing, but shelling out over a million was a gamble he was not sure he could take. He knew he owed it to Ahmed to trust him on this, especially after the accident, but if a million pound plus went astray it really could mean financial ruin. The club earned him and Michael a decent living, but the takings were nowhere near what they’d been raking in at their old club down the Commercial Road. It had taken Vinny a long time to become as wealthy as he was, and there was no way he was gambling his daughter’s future away.

‘What’s up with you? And don’t say nothing, because I know you like the back of my hand,’ Queenie said.

Vinny smiled. ‘I’ve had a business proposition put to me. I don’t want to go into detail, but I think it’s too much of a gamble.’

Queenie had never been one to pry too much. She knew Vinny had business interests other than the club and it would only worry the life out of her if she knew what they were. ‘Go with your head and not your heart, Vinny. You inherited that brain of yours off me – it certainly never came from your father’s genes – so use it wisely.’

Vinny pulled up in the hospital car park, switched the engine off and gave his mum a hug. ‘I know I don’t say it as often as I should, but I really do love you, Mum.’

‘And I love you too, boy, much more than you’ll ever know. Right, let’s go and get your Auntie Viv and pray to God she likes that fucking kitchen.’

Hoping to break the ice quickly, Joanna opened the door to her mum and Sandy with the baby in her arms. It was a bank holiday, Little Vinny had gone out to play and Joanna was praying the little sod wouldn’t come back while her mum was here.

‘Aw, Jo, isn’t she beautiful!’ Sandy gushed.

Deborah stared at the child. She had expected it to be dark-haired and olive-skinned like Vinny and had been prepared to dislike it on sight, but Molly was nothing like her father. She was blonde, chubby and the bonniest baby that Deborah had ever laid eyes on. ‘Can I hold her?’ she asked, her eyes brimming with tears.

‘Of course you can, Mum.’

The next hour or so passed pleasantly. Both Sandy and Deborah complimented Joanna on her house, Vinny wasn’t mentioned at all unless Jo said his name, and baby Molly had them all eating out of the palm of her chubby hand.

When the front door opened, Joanna’s heart lurched. Vinny had gone to pick up his Auntie Viv and said he was going to make himself scarce for the rest of the day, so Jo knew it had to be Little Vinny. It was, and he was accompanied by Ben Bloggs.

‘Where’s me dad?’ Little Vinny asked.

‘He’s gone to pick your Auntie Viv up from hospital. Mum, Sandy, this is Vinny’s son, Vinny, and his friend Ben.’

‘Pleased to meet you both,’ Little Vinny replied politely.

‘Pleased to meet you too,’ Ben Bloggs added.

‘Jo, did Dad leave me any money? Only me and Ben are bored and we want to go to the pictures.’

‘No, he didn’t, but let me get my purse and I can give you some.’ Jo was so relieved the child hadn’t showed her up in front of her mother that she would happily have given him the contents, but instead she handed him a five-pound note.

‘Cheers, Jo. Bye, ladies and Molly,’ Little Vinny shouted, as he and Ben marched out of the door.

As they ran off down the road, Little Vinny waved the five-pound note in Ben’s face. ‘Told you I would get money off the silly slag, didn’t I? Now who can we ask to get us some fags?’

Vivian stood open-mouthed as she stared at her kitchen.

‘I knew it, she don’t like it,’ Queenie mumbled, punching her son in the arm.

‘It’s even got a dishwasher, Auntie Viv, look,’ Vinny said, pointing out the appliance.

All of a sudden, Vivian clapped her hands together in glee. ‘It’s the bollocks! I love it!’

‘Thank goodness for that,’ Queenie muttered.

‘And we’ve got another surprise for you, haven’t we, Mum?’

Queenie nodded. She had been worried how Viv would react on walking into the house, having to face how empty it was without Lenny, but so far she had been fine. However, Viv hadn’t seen her second surprise yet and even though Queenie thought she would be thrilled, she was nervous in case it had the opposite effect and send her sister back into a depression.

Vivian followed Vinny and Queenie up the stairs and gasped as they opened Lenny’s bedroom door. All his toys, clothes and other belongings that she had thrown out for the dustmen were now back in the room, including Zippy the monkey, who was perched in his usual place on the bed.

Vivian burst into tears, but they weren’t sad tears, they were ones of happiness. Out of all the things she had done when she was ill, chucking her beloved son’s belongings out was the thing she had regretted the most. ‘Oh dear God. This is wonderful! How did you get the stuff back from the dustmen?’

Crying happy tears too, Queenie hugged her sister. ‘The dustmen never took it – I did. I knew how much you would regret throwing Lenny’s belongings away once you felt better, Viv, so I rang Vinny and he collected it from mine and stored it at the club.’

‘I am so relieved. This has to be the nicest thing that anyone has ever done for me. I feel like a part of Lenny is back here with me now. Thank you both so much.’

Vinny took his aunt in his arms, rocked her side to side and kissed her on top of her head. ‘No need to thank us. We’re your family. Welcome home, Auntie Viv.’

Nancy Butler poured herself a glass of wine and dejectedly flopped onto the armchair. She had just been upstairs to apologize to Lee and entice the boys downstairs. Lee had been understanding, but Daniel had looked at her with hatred and refused to come out of his bedroom until his father came home, which had upset Nancy immensely. As for Adam, he was far too young to understand what was going on.

Desperate to speak to somebody, Nancy debated who to phone. Her friend Rhonda had gone to stay with family and Nancy knew her mother wouldn’t be very sympathetic, as she always sided with Michael when it came to Lee.

Picking up her handbag, Nancy opened her purse and stared at the phone number that Freda had given her the day before. She’d had no intention of contacting Dean, didn’t think it was right now she was back with Michael, but she was desperate for a friendly ear to tell her troubles to. Freda had told her under no circumstances should she ever call Dean from her home phone, so Nancy folded the number up and put it back in her purse. She then ran up the stairs. ‘Come on, boys, get your coats on. I’m taking you out for a burger.’