The Feud

by Kimberley Chambers

  Raymond didn’t need asking twice. He was so used to his mum and dad constantly shouting at one another, he couldn’t get used to the silence. ‘I’ll just run a quick bath. I’ll be fifteen minutes, tops.’

  Eddie laughed at his eagerness. ‘Best you move your arse then, ’cause I told Jess I’d only be half an hour. Leave the door open, so you can give me the full lowdown on that little floozy you tugged.’

  Jessica tried on a few outfits. She opted for her white linen trousers, red patent platform boots and a patterned vest top. She had originally chosen to wear her new dress, but had decided to keep it casual, as she had no idea what the other women would be wearing. Jess put a cardigan, a pair of denim hotpants and a pair of flipflops in her bag. She might get changed later on and, if she wanted to dance, she could take her boots off and wear her flatties.

  ‘I’m home, babe,’ she heard Eddie shout.

  Unable to walk properly in her new chunky footwear, Jessica held on to the stair rail for dear life as she plodded down the stairs.

  ‘Fucking hell, sis! You look like Wonder Woman in them.’

  Surprised, but pleased to see her brother, Jessica playfully punched him. ‘This is all the rage, Ray. You wouldn’t know about women’s fashion if it smacked you over the head, so I’d keep quiet if I was you,’ she joked.

  ‘Ed said I could come to the party with you. You don’t mind, do you?’

  Jessica smiled. ‘Not at all. The twins will be thrilled.’

  With Frankie in one arm and Joey in the other, Eddie walked towards Jessica. ‘You look fabulous, but you don’t need all that make-up on,’ he said, pecking her on the lips.

  Jessica wiped off her eye shadow. ‘I didn’t know what to wear. It’s so warm today, I was going to wear my hotpants, but I don’t know what the other women will be wearing and I’d hate to turn up looking tarty.’

  Eddie smiled. ‘You could never look like a tart, Jess. We ready to make tracks then?’

  Both Jessica and Raymond nodded.

  ‘Gary, Ricky, move your arses. You’ve got one minute or I’m leaving you here,’ Ed shouted.

  Patrick Murphy was a big, flash, loud Irishman who loved nothing more than being the centre of attention. He’d been holding his legendary bank-holiday parties for over ten years now and every year he tried to push the boat out a couple of yards more. Over the years, Patrick had fathered six children by three different women. Like many a good man, he adored his own, but wasn’t that keen on anybody else’s. This year, to rectify his own little problem, he’d fenced off a great big part of the field just for the kids. He’d hired fairground rides, swings and slides. He’d even booked Bob the balloon man and a clown from Corringham to keep the little bastards occupied and well away from the adults.

  Eddie had chosen to drive his Porsche to the party. He had no intention of driving it home drunk, but was determined to show off his wealth. Jess had urged him to get a cab, but he’d flatly refused. She was a woman and she didn’t understand the method in a man’s madness.

  With the whole family unable to fit in the Porsche, Jessica had also brought her Merc. ‘We’ll get a cab home later and pick the cars up tomorrow,’ Ed told her.

  Parking on the packed field, Eddie suddenly wished he had got that cab after all. ‘Jesus wept! Look at the motors here. Look at that Roller – I wonder who that belongs to?’

  ‘I dunno, but the guests here are all obviously minted. Look at that green Bentley, Ed. Ain’t it a beauty?’ Ray said.

  Annoyed that his motor paled into insignificance, Eddie quickly leaped out and urged Ray, Gary and Ricky to do the same. ‘Come on, Jess has just parked up and I’m gagging for a drink.’

  Walking towards the gates of the house, Eddie was surprised to see a big bloke in a suit vetting people.

  ‘Names?’ the guy asked bluntly.

  Eddie gave him his name and explained who Raymond was.

  ‘In you go,’ the geezer told him.

  ‘Eddie! Great to see you,’ Pat Murphy said, shaking his hand.

  Eddie introduced his family and gratefully accepted the glasses of champagne that a waiter appeared with.

  ‘We’re gonna get a hot dog, Dad,’ Gary said, dragging Ricky away.

  ‘Mummy, can I go and see the clown?’Frankie screamed.

  ‘I wanna balloon. Get me a balloon,’ Joey said, tugging Jessica’s arm.

  Patrick smiled at the two spoilt brats. ‘Do you want to come with me? Uncle Patrick has booked childminders to look after you and keep you amused. We’ve got games, toys, even fairground rides – safe ones, of course.’

  ‘Yes! Can we go Mummy, please?’ Frankie screamed.

  Jessica looked at her husband for guidance. ‘I’m not sure, Ed. Shouldn’t they stay with us for a bit?’

  Joey burst into tears and threw himself onto the ground. ‘I want a balloon and I want one now,’ he sobbed.

  Embarrassed by his son’s behaviour, Eddie yanked him up by one arm. ‘I’ll give you more than a balloon in a minute, Joey. Stop behaving like a baby and act your fucking age.’

  ‘I’ll go over the play-area bit with ’em, if you want,’ Raymond offered.

  ‘No, you won’t. As Pat says, they’ll be fine. It’s time they were let off the harness. If we didn’t pamper them so much, they wouldn’t make a show of us in public every time we took ’em out. I’m sick of ’em whingeing and crying every time they don’t get their own way and I ain’t putting up with it no more,’ Eddie said, glaring at his wife.

  Jessica looked away. Once Eddie got a bee in his bonnet, there was no point arguing with him. She knew he was having a dig at her, but she couldn’t help the way she was. She hated letting the twins out of her sight. The week they’d started school was the worst week of her life. She’d drop them off, drive straight home and sob her heart out until it was time to pick them up again.

  ‘Go on, then. Uncle Patrick will show you the play area. Enjoy yourselves,’ she said, as the twins skipped happily away.

  Sensing Jessica’s awkwardness, Raymond put an arm around her shoulder. ‘If we stand over there by that bar, we can keep more of an eye on ’em,’ he said.

  Jessica nodded gratefully.

  Seeing that Eddie was already surrounded by a fan club, Raymond tapped his arm. ‘Me and Jess are gonna stand by that table next to the bar.’

  ‘No probs. I’ll be over in a bit,’ Eddie replied.

  Spotting Frankie and Joey joyfully running around hitting one another with plastic hammers, Jessica relaxed and took in the rest of her surroundings. There were two makeshift bars, about half a dozen waiters walking about with trays and right in the centre was the biggest barbecue that Jessica had ever seen.

  Aware that his sister was clocking the grub, Raymond pointed towards the conservatory. ‘They’ve got tons more food in there. There’s sandwiches, seafood, everything. I saw it as we walked past. Are you hungry? Shall I get you something?’

  Jessica shook her head. ‘I’ll have something later. What’s that man doing with them boxes? And what’s that big square thing over there?’

  Raymond craned his neck. ‘I think the geezer carrying the boxes is the DJ. He’s probably setting his stuff up for later and I think that’s the boxing ring over the back. From what Eddie was telling me, I think all the lads lark about in it later on.’

  Noticing a crowd of women sitting together, Jessica had a look to see what they were wearing. ‘Good job I never wore my denim hotpants. No one is very dressed up. In fact, I feel silly in these boots now, I’m gonna put my flip-flops on.’

  Raymond laughed as Jessica frantically tried to tug her boots off. Women were funny creatures. Blokes didn’t give a shit what they were wearing – well, apart from Eddie, that was. He insisted on buying the best of everything.

  Seeing Gary and Ricky bound towards her, Jessica asked them a favour. ‘Don’t tell your dad I asked you, but will you check on the twins for me? They’re in that play area that’s sectioned off.’

  Ga
ry and Ricky did as they were asked and were back within minutes. ‘They’re having a great time. Frankie is hitting the clown with a big plastic hammer and Joey’s skipping about with some other little boy,’ Gary told Jess.

  ‘We told them where you’re standing, so they know where to find you,’ Ricky said to Raymond.

  Seeing Eddie walk towards her with another couple, Jessica smiled at him.

  ‘This is Dougie, an old pal of mine from way back and this is his girlfriend, Vicki,’ said Eddie. ‘Dougie, Vicki, this is Jessica, my wife, and my brother-in-law, Raymondo.’

  As the men shook hands, Jessica grinned shyly at Vicki. Dougie looked well into his forties, but his girlfriend only looked about the same age as herself. Jessica liked her immediately. Vicki was very pretty with long dark hair, a warm smile and was a very trendy dresser.

  As the waiter came up, both girls reached for the bubbly. ‘I love your shoes – where did you get them from?’ Jessica asked.

  ‘Dougie bought them for me. He got them up the West End,’ Vicki replied.

  Overhearing their conversation, Eddie noticed that Jess had put on an old pair of flip-flops. He gently pulled her to one side. ‘Put your boots back on, babe, I don’t like you in them flip-flops. They make you look like a cleaner.’

  Feeling a bit embarrassed, Jessica smiled at Vicki. ‘Men, eh?’ she muttered as she quickly did as Ed had asked.

  Vicki did her best to put her at ease. ‘Dougie’s the same. He always tells me what to wear. Wow, them red boots are just fabulous.’

  Eddie grinned. ‘See,’ he said nudging Jess. ‘Your husband knows best.’

  Jessica nodded and turned back to Vicki. ‘So, are you and Dougie local? I take it you live together.’

  Vicki nodded. ‘Your husband was telling us where you live. We’re about five minutes away. You’ll have to come round one day. We can have lunch while the men are at work.’

  ‘I’d love to,’ Jessica replied, thrilled.

  Ever since Jess had married Eddie, she’d lost touch with virtually all of her friends. She’d still heard from Mary, but Ed had even put a stop to that now. Eddie hated her going out of a night. Ginny had rung her recently and invited her out for a meal to celebrate their friend Linda’s birthday. Eddie had made it perfectly clear that he didn’t want her to go. ‘Only old slappers go on girls’ nights out when they’re married with kids,’ he told her. Jess didn’t bother to argue. What was the point when she always came out second best?

  ‘I won’t be a sec. I’m just going to check on the kids,’ Jess told Vicki.

  ‘Where you off to?’ Ed asked her.

  ‘To make sure the twins are OK,’ Jess replied.

  Eddie sighed and turned back to Dougie and Raymond.

  ‘What about that pikey that’s bought that big house near you? He’s fucking cakeo, he is,’ Dougie said.

  ‘What pikey? You talking about the big white gaff near the bend?’ Ed asked.

  ‘Yeah, that’s the one. I don’t know his name, someone pointed him out to me earlier. He’s here at the party, pulled up outside in a Roller, he’s a mate of Patrick’s, apparently.’

  Eddie felt his blood start to boil. He’d despised travellers ever since he was a teenager and he certainly didn’t want them living near him. The O’Haras were the main cause of his hatred and, even though he hadn’t seen them for years, he still hated Jimmy with a passion. Annoyed, Eddie snatched a couple more glasses off the waiter’s tray and handed one to Dougie.

  ‘I ain’t fucking happy about a pikey living near me. You know what thieving bastards they are, I’ll have to fucking nail everything down. See if you can spot the cunt and show me who he is.’

  Dougie craned his neck and shook his head. ‘Maybe he didn’t stay long. I can’t see him now.’

  Raymond laughed at Eddie’s annoyance. ‘Whoever it is, if he’s brought a house the size of that white one and is swanning about in a Rolls-Royce, I doubt you’ll need to worry about him nicking your plant pots, Ed.’

  Luckily for Raymond, Eddie saw the funny side and laughed. Maybe he was overreacting a bit. The feud with the O’Haras was now in the past, and it was wrong to tar every other traveller with the same brush.

  Jessica returned with not only the twins, but two other little boys in tow as well.

  ‘Fuck me, we only had two kids when they went in there,’ Eddie joked.

  Jessica smiled. ‘They wanted you and Uncle Raymond to meet their new friends.’

  Seeing Frankie holding hands with a little boy, Eddie smiled. Seeing that Joey was also holding hands with a little boy, Eddie knocked his arm away. ‘Frankie can hold hands with boys. You can only hold hands with girls, Joey. Do you understand?’

  ‘Yes, Daddy,’ Joey said meekly.

  Jessica felt sorry for her son. ‘Don’t have a go at him. He’s only six, and at that age they hold hands with girls and boys,’ she said to Eddie.

  Feeling guilty, Eddie ruffled Joey’s hair. ‘What’s your mate’s name then?’

  ‘Michael,’ Joey mumbled.

  Eddie smiled at Frankie. ‘And what’s your friend’s name?’

  Holding hands with the object of her affection, Frankie put her other hand on her hip. ‘He’s not my friend, Daddy, he’s my boyfriend and his name is Jed.’

  Eddie bent down and shook hands with both kids. ‘Pleased to meet you Michael, pleased to meet you Jed,’ he said, laughing.

  ‘Can I take Frankie to play in the woods?’

  ‘Cheeky little bugger,’Eddie said to Raymond and Dougie. ‘No, you bloody well can’t,’ Eddie told him laughing.

  ‘Yes, I can,’ Jed said, pecking Frankie on the cheek. Eddie couldn’t believe the front of the kid. He wasn’t even used to grown men answering him back, let alone an ankle-biter. Grabbing hold of Frankie, Eddie hoisted her into his arms. ‘Off you go now, Jed. Go and find your own mum and dad.’

  Jed shook his head. ‘I wanna stay here with Frankie.’

  ‘Please, Daddy, let me go and play in the woods with Jed,’ Frankie cried.

  Getting more annoyed by the second, Eddie handed his daughter over to Jessica and knelt back down to face the brat. ‘Listen Jed, I’ll tell you once more, go away, else I’ll go and find your father and get him to drag you away.’

  Jed stared into Eddie’s eyes. ‘No, you won’t. My daddy knows you, he don’t like you. He won’t do as you tell him.’

  Suddenly, an awful feeling washed over Eddie. Surely not? It couldn’t be, could it?

  Eddie felt his mouth go dry as he asked the question. ‘Who is your father, Jed?’

  Jed smiled. ‘My dad is Jimmy O’Hara.’

  THIRTEEN

  Realising that Eddie was anything but happy, Jed decided it was time for him to jog on.

  ‘Bye Frankie,’ he shouted as he ran away.

  Petrified, little Michael bolted as well. Absolutely seething, Eddie vented his anger towards his six-year-old daughter. ‘If I ever find out you’ve been playing in them woods with a gyppo, I’ll break your fucking legs, Frankie.’

  Sobbing, Frankie clung to her mum. She was far too young to understand what she had done so wrong. ‘I’m sorry, Daddy,’ she whispered.

  Not used to seeing his sister so upset, Joey started to sob too. Jessica was furious. ‘Pull yourself together, Ed. Your daughter’s only six years old, for God’s sake.’

  Desperate to try and smooth things over, Raymond grabbed Eddie’s arm. ‘Come on, me and you will go and get another round of drinks,’ he told him.

  Still shell-shocked, Eddie allowed himself to be led away.

  Embarrassed by her husband’s behaviour, Jessica apologised profusely to Dougie and Vicki. ‘I’m so sorry about that. Eddie’s such a great dad usually, I don’t know what’s come over him.’

  With both twins still sobbing and clamouring for her attention, Jessica did her best to placate them. ‘Now, come on, stop all that crying. Daddy didn’t mean what he said, he just got angry, that’s all. He is silly at times your
daddy, isn’t he?’

  Holding one another’s hands, Frankie and Joey nodded simultaneously.

  Looking into their innocent little eyes, Jessica felt like crying herself. Picking on her was one thing, starting on the kids was another. Aware that Eddie was on his way back from the bar, she quickly pulled herself together. ‘Shall Mummy take you to get an ice cream from that van over there?’

  The word ice cream usually managed to stop the tears and Jessica was relieved as, once again, it worked wonders.

  ‘Can I have a ninety-nine?’ Frankie asked brightly.

  ‘I want a screwball, Mummy,’ Joey grinned.

  As Eddie reappeared he tried to wrap his arms around her, Jessica scowled and walked away with the twins. Watching Jessica walk away, Eddie stood chatting to Raymond and Dougie. He wasn’t really concentrating on the conversation – he couldn’t. The party was pretty packed now and Ed had no idea where O’Hara was, but he couldn’t get him out of his mind.

  He’d never set eyes on any of the O’Haras since the day they’d moved off the site in Stratford. He’d heard rumours over the years that Jimmy was doing well for himself in the scrap game. He also heard that he’d originally moved to Basildon and then, more recently, to Kent. Finishing his Scotch, Eddie headed back to the bar to get himself another.

  O’Hara being at the party was bad enough, but the fact that the cunt was swanning about in a Roller and had bought the fucking house that he’d wanted was far too much for him to swallow.

  ‘All right, Dad? Can you get me and Ricky a beer?’

  Eddie smiled at his eldest two boys. ‘’Course I can. What you been doing?’

  Gary grinned. ‘We’ve been sparring in the ring. I met this boy, Billy O’Hara. Same age as me, he is, and he thinks he’s the bollocks. He wants to fight me later and I’ll beat him, Dad, I just know I will.’

  Eddie handed the boys their drinks. ‘I need you to beat that boy, Gary. I know his father and I hate him. Now, don’t let me down, son.’

  Gary smiled confidently. ‘I won’t. I’ll let you know when we’re ready to fight and you can come and watch me,’ he said, dragging Ricky away.