'Til I Kissed You

by Pam Howes

  ‘Don’t swear in front of him, either,’ Sammy snapped back.

  Eddie diffused the situation by suggesting Jason and Jon go out to do the grocery shopping.

  Jon nodded and turned to Jane. ‘Mum, I’ve invited a couple of birds over later. We met them last night. They’re from Pickford. I hope it’s alright in view of what’s happened just now?’

  ‘It’s okay, Jon,’ his mum said. ‘Things should have quietened down by this evening. They can eat with us. We’ll make a curry or something.’

  ‘Thanks, Mum.’ Jon and Jason hurried off with the shopping list.

  ***

  Jess ran up the road onto Marine Parade and down the steps to the beach. The pebbles crunched beneath her Doc Martens and her freshly washed hair flapped damply around her face. Tears ran unchecked down her cheeks. She walked towards the sea, sat down, watched the waves lapping rhythmically onto the pebbles and felt terrible, wishing desperately that she hadn’t said those things to her dad. He’d looked so very hurt and hadn’t deserved any of it. He doted on her and had given her everything she’d ever asked for, and Jess knew that she’d always asked for a lot more than her fair share.

  Back there she’d felt the anger well up and overflow at the unfairness of it all. Why couldn’t their parents’ see how much she and Nick meant to one another? It’s not as if they needed permission to sleep together, after all, they were old enough and Mum and Dad knew she was on the pill. But it would be nice to have their approval or blessing, or something like that anyway. Not to be reprimanded like a naughty kid caught stealing sweets in Woolies.

  ***

  Nick walked along the promenade, scanning the beach for a sign of Jess. He spotted her slim figure as she walked slowly along the sea edge and then dropped down onto the pebbles, shoulders hunched. She was crying; he recognised the stance. He ran down the nearest steps, sprinting across the beach to her side. He took her in his arms and hugged her.

  ‘Come on, Jess, don’t cry, please. One more month and we’ll get our own place, I promise. Even if we have to eat bread and water all week. We can live on our love, can’t we?’

  She smiled through her tears. ‘I love you, Nick Cantello. Don’t ever leave me.’

  ‘Never, Jessie-Babes; we’ll be together forever, you and I.’ He wiped away her tears with the sleeve of his shirt. ‘Let’s go back to Celia’s. Your dad’s very upset. I think you owe him a big apology.’

  She nodded and stood up. ‘I do.’

  They strolled hand in hand back to Dorset Gardens where their mums were at the kitchen table sorting through boxes of letters and photographs. They looked up and smiled reassuringly as Nick and Jess walked in.

  Their dads were still sitting on the sofa in the lounge.

  ‘Dad, I’m so sorry.’ Jess knelt in front of him and wound her arms around his neck. She kissed him on the cheek.

  He pulled her close and hugged her tightly. ‘I’m sorry too, Jess. I should have spoken to you privately. Am I forgiven?’

  ‘Of course you are. I shouldn’t have said what I did about Angie and Mum, and Roy and Sammy, it was very wrong of me. You’ve always done your best for us, whatever the circumstances.’

  ‘Well maybe I deserved it, for the way I handled the situation.’ He wiped her eyes and tilted her chin, a thing he’d done many times when she was younger and had run to him crying for comfort. ‘Anyway, perhaps we were being a bit old fashioned, so we’ve had a chat and made a decision. You and Nick have our permission to share your room. We have no problem with it and that includes your mothers.’

  Jess was overwhelmed. She stood up and went to stand beside Nick who put his arm around her shoulders. He looked towards their respective fathers.

  ‘Thank you, Eddie, and you too, Dad.’

  ‘Thank you, Dad.’ Jess smiled and then walked across the room and kissed Roy who gave her a reassuring hug.

  ‘We all remember what it was like to be young, honestly. Hell, we still are, aren’t we?’ he said.

  Jess grinned up at him through her tears. Uncle Roy could always cheer her up.

  ‘Go and help Mum sort out the kitchen cupboards. Me and Roy are going out in a minute to see if we can find a furniture dealer. Nick can help Jon and Jason in the cellars.’

  ‘Where are Jon and Jason?’ Jess looked around.

  ‘Shopping for groceries,’ Mum replied as she walked into the lounge. ‘All sorted?’ she asked and raised an enquiring eyebrow in Eddie’s direction.

  He nodded. ‘Least said soonest mended.’

  ‘Good.’ She held out her arms to Jess who moved into them.

  ‘Thanks for being so understanding, Mum.’

  ‘I almost started world war three with Gran the day I asked permission to move in with your dad. It was “Not until you’re married, Jane. I don’t wish to discuss it any further!”’

  They all laughed at Jane’s perfect imitation of her mother’s voice.

  ***

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Jane peered through a cloud of steam as she drained a large pan of rice.

  ‘What did you say, Ed?’

  ‘Have we enough wine?’

  ‘Get a couple more bottles of white. We need poppadoms and mango chutney, too. The boys forgot them this morning.’

  Eddie left the house with Jon and Jason, who were off meet up with Helen and Ronnie.

  Sammy picked up a handful of cutlery. ‘Shall I set the big table in the dining room? There won’t be enough space in the kitchen for us all.’

  ‘Yeah, that would be lovely.’ Jane followed Sammy into the high-ceilinged room, with its ornate cornice and cast-iron fireplace. ‘It’s a beautiful room and we never use it.’

  A large shelving unit, filled with photographs and ornaments, spanned the back wall. Jane picked up a pretty silver frame and stared at the photo of Eddie, Angie and Jon taken on Jon’s christening day. She showed it to Sammy.

  ‘Put it away. Give it to Jon when you get home,’ Sammy advised. Jane nodded. There’d been no love lost between her friend and Angie, for try as she may, Sammy had never got on with Eddie’s late ex. Jane slipped the frame into a drawer. She couldn’t face answering any awkward questions that the photograph might prompt, especially with strangers coming for dinner.

  Eddie arrived back with the supplies as Jon and Jason strolled in with Helen and Ronnie.

  ‘Go through into the lounge, girls. Get them something to drink, Jon,’ Sammy ordered.

  ‘Coke okay for you both?’ Jon asked.

  They nodded and followed Jason and Eddie.

  ***

  ‘Sit down, girls.’ Eddie gestured to the sofa.

  Helen, looking at her mother’s former teenage heartthrob, said, ‘I’ve heard so much about you that I feel I know you already.’

  ‘Is that right?’ Eddie smiled.

  ‘So, Helen, your mum was a Raiders fan,’ Roy said as Jon handed out drinks.

  ‘Yes,’ she replied. ‘A big fan, she’s kept all-sorts of press cuttings and pictures. She’s also got a lock of Eddie’s hair that her friend cut while his back was turned.’

  ‘Was your mum one of the girls who hung around the gates of Hanover’s Lodge?’ Jane asked.

  ‘Yeah,’ Helen laughed. ‘She used to skip school with her friends and spend all day there.’

  ‘Are we eating yet?’ Eddie interrupted. ‘Me and Roy are starving.’

  Jane rolled her eyes. ‘You two have got hollow legs. Go through to the dining room, everything’s ready. Jon, shout Nick and Jess, please. They’re upstairs, supposedly getting changed.’

  ‘Give ’em an inch,’ Sammy muttered as Jon bawled up the stairs.

  Jess and Nick, faces flushed, came running down.

  ‘Hi again,’ Jess said, greeting the visitors with a smile. Helen and Ronnie smiled back and took their places at the table.

  ‘Wine?’ Roy held the bottle over Helen’s glass.

  ‘Just a drop, thanks.’

  ‘Ronnie?’ Roy waved the bottle
in her direction. She nodded.

  Sammy and Jane carried in two huge bowls of curry and rice.

  ‘Get stuck in,’ Sammy ordered. ‘Guests first,’ she said as Roy’s face lit up and he reached for the serving spoon. ‘He’s no manners,’ she told Helen and Ronnie who giggled and the ice was broken.

  ‘Are you two at college?’ Jane asked the girls, pushing the rice bowl towards them.

  ‘Still at school,’ Helen replied, digging in. ‘We’re doing GCSE’s and I’m hoping to start college in September.’

  ‘And what about you, Ronnie, any plans?’ Sammy asked.

  ‘I want to do the NNEB,’ Ronnie replied, picking up a poppadum.

  ‘What’s that when it’s at home,’ Jess asked, frowning.

  ‘It’s a Nursery Nursing course,’ Ronnie said. ‘I love kids. I want to work with them.’

  ‘God, why would you want to work with ankle biters?’ Jess grimaced. ‘I could think of better things to do with my life.’

  ‘Jess, that’s not very polite,’ Jane said. ‘At least Ronnie’s got some sort of idea of the job she wants to do. It’s time you thought…’

  ‘Yeah, yeah, I know.’ Jess screwed up her face. ‘I’ll do something about it when we get home.’

  ‘You can always come and help me and Sammy with our business,’ Jane said, and helped herself to rice. ‘Damn, I didn’t put the mango chutney out. Nip and get it for me will you, Jon? Put it in a small dish and bring some teaspoons, too.’

  Jon left the room as Jason turned to Helen. ‘Which college have you applied to?’

  ‘Hollings, in Manchester. I want to study dress design.’

  ‘I go to Hollings, well, The Toast Rack as we call it,’ Jason said. ‘I’m doing art and design, but Mum did dress design there in the sixties, didn’t you, Mum?’

  ‘I did,’ Sammy replied, ‘for my sins. It’s a good college – you meet the nicest people. You get to go to all the fashion shows. I could have gone to Paris with my course, but Mum couldn’t afford it at the time. Still, I’ve been plenty of times since.’

  ‘Have you ever been to Paris, Jason?’ Helen asked as Jon returned with the bowl of chutney. He sat down next to Jess, who smiled at him.

  ‘Yeah, but not with college,’ Jason replied. ‘We go to France a lot because we have a lovely house there and occasionally we drive across to Paris for a few days so Mum can indulge herself.’

  ‘Oh, it’s my dream to go to a Paris fashion show,’ Helen said. ‘I can’t wait.’

  ‘You met your best mate at The Toast Rack, didn’t you, Jase?’ Nick said with a hint of sarcasm.

  Jason blushed and nodded. ‘Yes, I met Jules there,’ he told Helen. ‘He’s on the same course as me, but he’s really talented. You should see the bronze sculpture he did last term. It’s amazing.’

  ‘Sounds impressive,’ Helen said. ‘You’ll have to introduce me to him when I start my course.’

  ‘Oh, you wouldn’t be interested in Jules,’ Nick said. ‘Or should I rephrase that? Jules wouldn’t be interested in you. He bats for the other side.’

  ‘He does not,’ Jason said, punching Nick on the arm. ‘You’ve only met him once, so how would you know?’

  ‘Nick, that’s enough,’ Sammy said. ‘Behave yourself in front of our guests.’

  ***

  Jon frowned at the exchange between the brothers. Why did Nick take such delight in having a go about Jules, knowing full well how it riled Jason? Jess tapped him on the arm.

  ‘Pass me the chutney, Bruv.’

  ‘Certainly, Sis.’ He picked up the bowl and dug a spoon in. ‘Where do you want it,’ he said, grinning as she opened her mouth. He tipped a spoonful in and watched Nick’s face closely. Jess licked the spoon clean while he held on to it. At least it had stopped Nick taunting Jason. Two can play the teasing game, Jon thought.

  He looked around the table. Mum and Sammy were chatting to Helen and Ronnie about Paris, Dad and Roy were talking music. Jason was toying with his meal.

  ‘More chutney, Jess,’ Jon said after a while. She nodded and he popped another spoonful into her mouth.

  Nick got up from his chair and pushed it back so hard it hit the wall unit. Everyone jumped as he stormed from the room.

  ‘What the hell’s wrong with him?’ Roy said as the door slammed shut.

  ‘Don’t know.’ Jon winked at Jess who blushed slightly. ‘You’d better go after him. Don’t think he liked me spoon feeding you,’ he whispered.

  She got to her feet. ‘I’ll go and sort him out.’

  Helen and Ronnie offered to wash up as Jess left the room and carried the plates and dishes to the kitchen with Jane and Sammy.

  ‘Fancy a bit of a jam?’ Roy asked. He and Eddie made their way into the lounge and tuned up the guitars. Jason set up his keyboard and Jon grabbed a set of tom toms.

  ‘We’ll run through the new songs,’ Roy said. ‘Somebody give Nick and Jess a shout.’

  ***

  Nick lay on the bed in Jess’s room, arms behind his head. He felt bad for teasing Jason. He was always touchy where Jules was concerned. He was well pissed off with Jon though. Giving Jess the chutney like that. Why couldn’t he have just lobbed it onto her plate? But it was her fault for opening her mouth. Jon was always hugging and teasing her, but then he was her brother, and maybe that’s what brothers did. How the hell would I know? Nick thought. I haven’t got a bloody sister and you don’t hug brothers like that, or at least he didn’t hug Jason, except on his birthday, but it was more like a pat on the shoulder than a hug.

  The door opened and Jess looked in. ‘There you are,’ she said, coming into the room. ‘Why did you dash off like that?’

  ‘Don’t know,’ he shrugged. ‘Jon just pissed me off, being touchy feely with you again.’

  ‘Don’t be so daft,’ she said, sitting on the bed and stroking his cheek. ‘He was just messing, that’s all. And you weren’t very nice to Jason. You should apologise. Come on, sit up, give me a kiss and let’s go downstairs. Dad’s shouting us. They want to play for Helen and Ronnie.’

  Nick sat up and took her in his arms. He kissed her long and hard. ‘I love you,’ he said.

  ‘And I love you.’ She pulled him to his feet. ‘Better now?’

  He nodded and followed her out of the room.

  ***

  Jess picked up her bass, Eddie handed Nick his Stratocaster and the house was filled with music.

  The Zoo gave their first rendition of the, as yet untitled, new songs, Nick and Jess’s voices blending as perfectly as their respective fathers did.

  ‘Any requests?’ Eddie asked as the evening wore on.

  ‘My Special Girl, please, Dad,’ Jess suggested.

  ‘Okay, why not? Ready, Roy?’

  Jane and Sammy looked at one another. The song always transported them back to the long ago night when they’d first heard it. It still had the power to bring a lump to their throats. Written by Eddie and Roy while on the road touring, the ballad was dedicated to their girls and was The Raiders first big hit.

  Helen smiled. ‘I’ve heard Mum play the record so many times, I know every note. It was lovely, thank you very much.’

  After Helen had taken photographs of everyone for her mum, Jon ordered a taxi to take the girls back to Rottingdean and Roy handed over money for the fare. Jon promised to call Helen the following day and kissed her goodnight.

  Jason shyly hugged Ronnie who grabbed the opportunity to peck his cheek. He smiled and said he’d talk to her when Jon called Helen.

  ‘What lovely girls,’ Sammy said, closing the front door after waving the taxi off.

  ‘They were.’ Jane flopped down on the rug in front of the gas fire. ‘I’ve a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot more of them.’

  ‘I’m going up to bed,’ Jon yawned. ‘I’m shattered after that cellar clearing. I’ll see you in the morning. G’night, all.’

  ‘Night, son,’ Eddie said as Jane blew Jon a kiss.

  Jason stood up. ‘I’m
off then as well. See y’all.’

  ‘Night, boys,’ Sammy and Roy chorused.

  Nick and Jess looked at one another and at their respective parents.

  ‘Err, anyone mind if we go up?’ Nick asked.

  ‘Of course not,’ Jane said. ‘See you in the morning,’ she added as they hurried out of the room.

  ‘Yes, g’night everybody,’ Jess called over her shoulder.

  ‘Shall we hit the sack?’ Roy pulled Sammy to her feet.

  ‘What about you, Jane?’ Eddie sat down beside her on the rug and put his arms around her.

  ‘Let’s stay down here for a while.’

  ‘For old times sake?’

  She nodded, eyes sparkling as she kissed him.

  ‘What am I missing?’ Roy looked puzzled.

  ‘Tell you when you go upstairs,’ Sammy replied. ‘Night, you two, have fun. Come on, you.’ She pushed Roy outside, turned off the main lights, leaving the room romantically bathed in the soft glow from the table lamps, and quietly closed the door.

  ***

  Jane smiled at Eddie, gazing deep into his eyes. ‘I love you more today than I ever did, if that’s possible.’

  ‘And I love you, too,’ he said, unbuttoning her top.

  ‘Do you think the kids will come back down?’ She yanked his T-shirt off and ran her hands over his chest.

  ‘I doubt it. Jon and Jason were knackered and Jess and Nick have other things in mind.’

  He pulled the cushions off the sofa, threw them onto the rug and lowered her onto them.

  She cocked an ear. ‘They’re still using the bathroom. I can hear water running.’

  Footsteps sounded over head, doors slamming, then silence.

  Eddie smiled. ‘Do you think that’s it?’ He kissed her deeply.

  ‘What was that?’ She sat upright at the sound of feet on the stairs, pulling her top back on.

  Eddie rolled his eyes as Roy called out, ‘Only me. Sammy’s forgotten her glass of water.

  Jane stifled a giggle. ‘No peace for the wicked.’

  They heard Roy running back up the stairs. Eddie pulled her down again.

  She unzipped his jeans and pushed them down. There came another bang from upstairs.