‘About half twelve. I wish Vinny hadn’t left her, seeing as she was so drunk, Queenie.’

‘My Vinny was home by half ten and I said the same to him last night, June, that he shouldn’t have left her. He said he did go after her, but she started swearing at him, so he gave up and came home. To be honest, June, I think it’s a blessing in disguise they’ve split up. Bonnie is far too old for Vinny. She wanted him to do things over the course of their relationship that Vinny didn’t feel entirely comfortable about. Bonnie needs to date lads her own age in future. Vinny’s inexperienced when it comes to girls, and Bonnie is a young woman.’

June Tarbuck was mortified. Bonnie had sworn to her she hadn’t done anything with Vinny other than kisses and cuddles. She was obviously up to her old tricks again. ‘OK, Queenie. Thanks. I’ll get to the bottom of what’s happened, don’t you worry.’

‘You not going to drink your tea, dear?’ Queenie asked, when June stood up.

‘No, love. I have to be somewhere. You drink it,’ Embarrassed beyond belief, June Tarbuck couldn’t get out the cafe quickly enough.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Two Years Later

Autumn 1964

I only needed a few bits – sugar, flour, suet, a tin of Spam and a tin of sardines – but was tempted to do without when I saw the length of the queue. All I wanted to do was get home and sit in my beloved garden. The weather had been crap all week, but it was unusually warm that day.

‘Come up to the front, Queenie love,’ shouted Maura, the shop owner.

Heads turned towards me. I received nods, looks of admiration and numerous ‘Hello, Queenies’. The only two who looked at me with hatred were Freda Smart and Old Ma Bloggs. I disliked both women as much as they disliked me. Freda was as mad as a hatter, the other was a well-known shoplifter.

‘No need to pay me, Queenie,’ Maura said as I went to open my purse. ‘Send mine and Colin’s regards to Vinny and Roy. Love to the rest of the family too, sweetheart.’

‘How comes we gotta stand ’ere like a bunch of lemons, while she gets to go to the front of the queue?’ bellowed Freda Smart.

The shop fell silent, that quiet you could almost hear a pin drop. I winked at Maura, picked up my goods, turned around and locked eyes with Freda. ‘She is what you call the cat’s mother, darlin’, and I’m that all right. Thanks to my boys, I’m the cat that got the cream.’

Most of the queue started to laugh and I winked at them. Freda loathed my sons, everyone knew it. She never stopped banging on about them. Probably because her own son Terry was such a bloody loser.

Freda started to rant, just like I knew she would. Every time I bumped into her, a similar situation would occur. ‘I ain’t scared of you, or those villainous sons of yours. Who do you think you are, eh? Coming in ’ere, giving it the high and mighty. It weren’t so long ago you had nothing, like the rest of us. Dirty money, that’s what you’ve got now. So best you get off your high horse.’