When Julie arrived home from work that evening, Betty decided to broach the subject with her.
‘We’ve had the invite to your cousin Dawn’s wedding love,’ Betty began tentatively.
‘Oh good, that should be something to look forward to.’
‘I’m sorry Julie but they’ve only invited me and your father. They said that they’ve had to cut down on numbers.’
‘You’re joking, I can’t believe it! Dawn’s been telling me about the wedding for months. She wanted me there! What the hell are they playing at?’
‘Well I can understand it in a way love,’ Betty replied, attempting to calm Julie. ‘Weddings are a dear do these days and I expect they’ve just got to cut corners.’
‘That’s a load of crap and you know it!’ Julie yelled. ‘We all know the reason I’m not being invited so why don’t you just admit it?’
‘Don’t talk such bloody rubbish!’ Bill interrupted. ‘The world doesn’t revolve around you and your cronies you know. People have got better things to think about. And don’t speak to your mother like that!’
Julie gave a sad-eyed glance towards her mother then retired to her room. Betty could read the hurt and despair in Julie’s eyes, which told her more than any words could do, and her heart cried out in sympathy.
--------------------
Saturday 19th July 1986
It was Saturday, the day of the wedding, and also the day on which Rita was due to return from her holidays in the early hours of the morning.
‘Well what do you think?’ asked Betty as she swirled around in her peach, georgette two-piece outfit.
‘You look fine Mam,’ Julie answered.
Seeing the look on her daughter’s face, Betty tried to quell some of her excitement, but this was marred by Bill when he walked into the room and announced, ‘You look smashing Betty love. You’ll be the bell of the ball!’
Hearing a rare compliment from her husband, Betty gave a girlish giggle, unable to contain her joy. ‘Go on with yer, I’m a bit old for that!’
But Bill’s compliment had touched her. When the taxi driver rang the doorbell, Bill rushed to answer the door. Continuing his merriment, he shouted, ‘Right ma’am, your carriage awaits!’
‘You daft beggar!’ Betty answered as she headed towards the front door. Before leaving the house, however, she caught sight of Julie’s despondent expression.
‘Are you sure you’ll be all right love?’ Betty asked.
‘Of course I will Mam, don’t be daft!’
‘All right, I’ll see you later then, and make sure our Clare comes in on time for me won’t you love?’
‘Yeah, stop worrying! Just go and have a good time.’
‘All right, bye then.’
Betty breathed a sigh of relief as she left the house, glad to be away from the stifling atmosphere. For the last week or so it had been like treading on eggshells. Every time she had mentioned anything connected with the wedding, Julie’s face had dropped.
Betty and Bill had decided that they should go to the entire event alone as there seemed little point in taking Clare to the church and then having to return home with her prior to attending the reception. They had explained the situation to Clare and she had accepted it. Grown up parties held no interest for her. She would sooner go to one her friends’ birthday parties where they could run around, play games and compare outfits.
With Julie though, it was a different matter. Julie would normally have been the very person that Betty would have discussed the wedding with. They would have chatted merrily about what the bride would be wearing, where the honeymoon would be, how many bridesmaids there were etc. etc. It had been difficult for Betty trying to keep her enthusiasm to herself.
‘I do hope our Julie will be all right,’ she said to Bill inside the cab.
‘Stop worrying about her Betty! She’s a grown woman and can take care of herself. It’s not your fault she hasn’t been invited, so stop taking it all on yourself. It’s like you said, they’re just trying to cut corners, that’s all!’
‘It’s just a pity it had to be our Julie though, especially after all she’s been through.’
‘I know love, but it won’t be just Julie. There’ll be plenty of other people that haven’t been invited. I bet it will only be a small affair.’
The wedding service went well. The bride looked beautiful and Betty couldn’t help but shed a few tears as she watched her walking down the aisle, recalling Dawn as a toddler not so many years ago. After the photograph session, they were taken in a minibus to have a celebratory meal. As they approached the splendid five star hotel by means of its lengthy driveway, Bill turned to Betty and whispered. ‘Bloody hell! They’ve pushed the boat out here, haven’t they?’
‘Yes,’ Betty replied as she gazed in awe at the impressive surroundings. The hotel was set in acres of gardens with lawns stretching out for miles to the sides of the building; the grass cut to perfection and surrounded by colourful herbaceous borders.
They entered the hotel, marvelling at their opulent environment. Betty noticed the detailed cornicing, marble pillars and crystal chandeliers. As she stared about her in a trance, Bill nudged her and indicated towards the bride and groom who were preparing to meet their guests. Embarrassed, they joined the line of people.
As Betty shook her niece’s hand she said, ‘Ooh this is lovely! It makes me feel like royalty.’
‘Enjoy it Aunty Betty,’ said Dawn while the groom grimaced at Betty’s lack of social etiquette. Betty shook his hand awkwardly, then she and Bill made their way towards a table lined with glasses of champagne laid on for the guests.
‘I never expected a do like this!’ Betty commented, surveying the surroundings.
Bill, ill at ease in such environs, replied, ‘Aye, so much for cutting bloody corners!’
‘Well perhaps they overspent and had to cut back at the last minute,’ said Betty, defending her sister’s family. ‘See, there aren’t many here for the meal, not as many as there were at the church.’
‘I’m not surprised!’ said Bill. ‘I bet it’s costing a bloody fortune just to feed this many!’
Several people turned round on hearing Bill’s raised voice.
‘Shsh!’ whispered Betty. ‘Don’t make a show of us!’
For the next few minutes they remained silent, each engrossed in their own thoughts. Betty knew just as well as Bill did that the excuse about cutting corners wasn’t a valid one. At first she had refused to see it. How could her own family turn their backs on Julie? But now, in light of what she had seen, she realised that there was only one reason why Julie hadn’t been invited to the wedding.
Betty’s elderly aunt Mary came to talk to them, commenting on what a lovely do it was, and telling them all about the groom’s family as she pointed out who everybody was.
By the time they sat down to the meal Betty and Bill had learnt that Dawn’s husband came from a family with money. His father ran his own factory, but Dawn’s new husband had not followed in his father’s footsteps. Instead, he had studied law at university and was now a well-paid solicitor.
During the lavish four-course meal they indulged in small talk with some of their relatives and acquaintances, but they were unable to enjoy it. They both felt out of place and disheartened at the way Julie had been treated.
As soon as they had finished the meal, Bill found them a small table in a side room. Betty noticed that there were two chairs at the table and guessed that this suited Bill as it would deter other people from joining them.
‘Bill, they haven’t done the speeches yet,’ she said, once they were out of earshot.
‘Sod the bloody speeches! It’s nowt but a load of old codswallop! What’s wrong with booking the local labour club, and having a good knees-up? It’s a load of nonsense, all that shaking hands and drinking bloody champagne. I’d sooner have a pint anyway!’
‘If that’s the way they want it Bill then it’s up to them. Anyway, we both know that isn�
��t what’s really upset you. It’s our Julie isn’t it?’
Bill paused and drew in his breath sharply before replying. ‘Well it isn’t right! Who are they to judge? It’s not as if she’s been charged with anything!’
‘All right Bill,’ coaxed Betty. ‘I’m not overjoyed with it myself. That’s supposing that it is the reason Julie wasn’t invited. We don’t know that; we’re just surmising aren’t we?’
‘It’s obvious Betty! Our Dawn’s married into money and they don’t want to be shown up by having a murderer in the family. That’s the way they see it anyway.’
‘Look Bill, we don’t know whose decision it was. And we still don’t know the real reason. You can’t take it out on everybody. Besides, it might not be the reason. There’s only close family to the meal, and all of those that I know are more closely related to Dawn than our Julie is. We might be reading too much into it. Let’s just relax and try to enjoy it eh? It isn’t every day we get the chance to live it up in a place like this, is it?’
Eventually, after a couple of drinks, Betty was relieved to see Bill begin to relax. As the evening guests arrived, they noticed a couple of acquaintances, and their conversation helped them to settle down and start to enjoy the occasion. While they were chatting, however, Betty observed the guests that were arriving for the evening reception, noting that there were many of Dawn’s cousins amongst them.
When they were left alone Bill echoed Betty’s thoughts. ‘I wonder what their excuse is for not inviting our Julie to the evening do. The world and his wife are here.’
Betty remained silent but bore a troubled expression.
‘I’m going to the gents,’ Bill said, patting Betty’s hand as he left the table.
Betty watched the other guests enjoying themselves while she waited for Bill. After a couple of minutes she could see him heading back towards her. Bill had remained calm for the last couple of hours so Betty was shocked to see him storming through the room with a face like thunder.
‘Sup up Betty, we’re going!’ he shouted, banging on the table for effect.
Betty stared at him in shock.
‘You heard, sup up we’re going!’
Betty wasn’t used to seeing Bill like this and knew that there must be a good reason for his behaviour. She quickly downed her drink, conscious of the many faces watching them as she gathered her handbag from under the table.
Aware that they were on show, Bill took the opportunity of making his feelings known as he led Betty away.
‘Come on, we’re going home! I’m not staying where we’re not wanted for a minute longer. They can all bugger off! Our Julie’s better than the lot of them put together, for all their bloody airs and graces.’
He sped through the crowd, leading Betty by the hand into the hotel lobby. As Betty watched him in astonishment, he strode up to the reception desk and ordered a taxi to take them home.
While they waited for the taxi, Betty said, ‘What the hell’s got into you Bill?’
Bill began to explain the conversation he had overheard in the gents amongst two of Betty’s relatives. They were maligning Julie, saying she was unfit to be seen at such a function. While Bill was apologetic to Betty for having spoiled her evening, at the same time, he made it clear that he valued his daughter over and above anybody present and he wasn’t prepared to put up with her being treated as an outcast. Betty knew better than to argue with him. Bill, normally a quiet man, could be quite headstrong at times.
The taxi soon arrived and Bill and Betty left the hotel. In the ten minutes that they had been waiting in the foyer, nobody had been to see them.
It was only ten o’clock when they arrived home, but Julie wasn’t downstairs. They surmised that she must have gone to bed early and, as she didn’t come downstairs to see why they had arrived home so early, they decided not to disturb her. Instead they settled down to watch television for a couple of hours. Betty did, however, pop her head round Julie’s door before she went to bed, just as she did with Clare. Julie appeared to be sleeping soundly.
Chapter 19
Saturday 19th July 1986
Julie was led into a small room, about 6ft by 6ft. Once inside, she heard the sound of a key being turned in the lock and the jingling of the jailor’s chain of keys. She ran to the door attempting to open it but it wouldn’t budge. In her desperation she looked around the room for an alternative means of escape. There were windows but they were heavily barred. In between the bars, faces peered at her in amusement, jeering and shouting insults.
The room was bright, with strip neon lights lining the whitewashed ceiling. The walls and floors were whitewashed too, reflecting the brightness of the lights. As she looked around the room, the intense brilliance dazzled and stung her eyes. Her ears rang with the sound of mocking voices as they grew louder until she screamed at them to stop. But Julie’s screams were met with derision. In despair she tried closing her eyes and covering her ears with her hands, but she could not escape from the noise, the blinding headache, dizziness and nausea. It was stiflingly hot inside the room and Julie started to perspire profusely.
Suddenly, the walls began to close in on her and she panicked, pushing at the walls in a futile attempt to hold them back. The voices changed to laughter; loud, raucous laughter, which echoed in her mind.
The walls drew nearer and nearer. The windows disappeared. The faces faded. And the laughter ceased. The room now became dark and ominous and Julie prepared to meet her fate. As she felt the hard stone crushing her legs, she emitted a shrill scream.
It was this scream that awoke her parents who dashed into her room to find Julie fighting for breath and sweating copiously; one clammy hand clutching her chest and the hair pasted to her forehead.
‘Julie, what’s the matter love? Have you had a bad dream? You frightened the bloody life out of us!’ yelled Betty.
Julie’s breathing had become so strained that she had difficulty replying.
‘What should we do Bill?’ asked Betty, beginning to get flustered.
Before Bill had a chance to answer, however, Julie had jumped from the bed, fled from the room and tore downstairs with Betty following in close proximity.
‘Julie, what’s wrong love?’ Betty shouted in despair.
Julie struggled to force out a reply in between taking sharp breaths and swallowing hard. ‘I think I’m having a heart attack or something Mam! There’s pains in my chest, and they’re even down my left arm. I can’t get my breath, and my heart’s going twenty to the dozen. Oh God, I think I’m gonna faint Mam!’
Betty followed Julie into the living room, plumping up a cushion. ‘Sit down here love, and you might feel a bit better.’
‘I can’t Mam! It’s worse when I stay still! It’s better if I keep walking.’
Betty’s face displayed a look of total confusion while Julie continued to dash around the room showing signs of distress but acting far too energetic for someone having a heart attack.
Fortunately, Bill strode into the room and began to take control.
‘She’s having a panic attack Betty. Calm down the pair of you! It’ll soon pass.’
‘Are you sure that’s what it is Bill?’ asked Betty, becoming agitated herself.
‘Course I’m sure! I’ve seen a few of ’em in my time. You go and pour her a brandy Betty; I’ll sort her out.’
Betty dashed to the drinks cabinet while Bill took hold of Julie and tried to encourage her to take slow, deep breaths, while he uttered words of reassurance.
For several minutes Julie found it difficult to settle and paced around the room in between taking sips of brandy. Eventually her symptoms subsided and the attack culminated in an outburst of tears.
‘Oh Mam, I thought I was dying!’ she sobbed. ‘Thanks for helping me Dad.’
‘That’s all right, but if you’re gonna have any more of these attacks, don’t get too used to having a drink to calm you down. It’s a bad habit to get into. Get yourself down to the doctor’s on Monday morn
ing and see what they can sort out.’
‘I will Dad, thanks,’ Julie muttered.
Bill returned upstairs leaving Julie and her mother to talk.
‘Are you all right now love?’ asked Betty.
‘Yes, I’m just a bit shaky, that’s all. I can’t believe a panic attack can make you feel that bad! I honestly thought I was having a heart attack or something. It’s a good job my dad was here, isn’t it?’
‘Aye, he does care in his own daft way you know Julie.’
‘I suppose he does, but he’s still disappointed in me, isn’t he?’
‘You wouldn’t have said that if you’d have seen how he stuck up for you tonight!’
‘What do you mean Mam, what happened?’
‘Oh it was a right carry on, a big posh do it was, and after them saying they had to cut corners. We knew straightaway the real reason they hadn’t invited you.’
‘Oh yeah?’
‘Yes Julie, my own flesh and blood turning their backs on you! It shames me to say it, and if that wasn’t enough your dad overheard two of your uncles having a conversation in the toilets about you.’
‘What were they saying about me?’
‘Oh, you know,’ Betty began, ‘they were talking about you being arrested, and that being the reason for you not being there, that sort of thing.’
‘Go on.’
‘Oh I think you’ve got the gist of it Julie. You don’t want to hear the rest. Anyway, the point is, your father stood up to them all and told them you were better than the bloody lot of them put together, and then we stormed out.’
‘You’re joking!’
‘I’m not love. See, I told you he cares in his own daft way, didn’t I?’
This revelation succeeded in bringing a brief smile to Julie’s face as her mother held and comforted her. Julie couldn’t help her look of amusement as she pictured the scene that had taken place. She could imagine the horrified reactions of the other guests.
‘Right,’ said Betty, after a few moments. ‘I’m off to bed. Will you be all right now love?’
‘Yes!’ Julie assured her for the second time.
Slur: The Riverhill Trilogy: Book 1 Page 12
