Frankie gave him a hug. ‘What’s that for?’ he asked.

‘Dunno. ’Cause I love you, I suppose,’ Frankie replied guiltily.

‘Who’s that geezer standing over there with you? The tall one with the dark hair. Looks older than your crowd,’ Eddie asked. He didn’t trust strangers, especially in his house.

‘Oh that’s Wesley’s mate, Dominic. Me and Joey know him well, he’s a really nice person, Dad.’

Satisfied with Frankie’s explanation, Eddie winked at his daughter and held up a burnt-looking steak on a large fork. ‘Grub’s up, everybody,’ he bellowed.

Frankie went upstairs, sat on her bed and searched through her purse. When she’d come in this morning, she’d written Jed’s number on a piece of paper, then washed it off her arm. She was tempted to ring him and arrange a date for the following day. Staring at his number, she switched on her mobile. Should she? Shouldn’t she?

‘Hello, yous two,’ she said, as Buster and Bruno came tottering towards her.

Shoving the piece of paper into her bedside drawer, she switched off her phone and went back to the party.

Jessica had prepared three massive bowls of salad. She had also made coleslaw and warmed up lots of garlic bread. ‘Help yourselves – there’s plenty more in the kitchen,’ she urged everybody.

As Jessica sat down to eat hers, she studied her son from behind her glasses. She was intrigued by what she saw. The way he and Dominic were looking at one another wasn’t normal. They looked at each other the way she looked at Eddie.

As the two lads walked towards the barbecue, Jessica noticed Joey slyly pinch Dominic’s bum.

‘Oh my God,’ she said out loud.

‘Whatever’s wrong? Are you OK, Jess?’ Vicki asked concerned.

Jessica chucked her plate on the grass and jumped out of her seat. ‘No, I’m not. In fact, I think I’m gonna be sick.’

THIRTY

Eddie waved goodbye to the last of the guests and shut the front door.

‘Are you OK? You’ve been ever so quiet and you look really pale,’ he asked Jessica.

‘I’ve got a terrible migraine. Are Gary and Ricky still here?’ Jessica replied.

Eddie nodded and gave his wife a big cuddle. ‘I thought it was a great party. Even Ronny behaved himself and that’s a first.’

Jessica nodded. ‘I was enjoying it earlier, before I came over bad.’

‘The twins got some nice presents, didn’t they? Did you see their faces when your mother brought the cake out and made everybody sing “Happy Birthday”. They were well embarrassed and their friends were taking the right piss out of ’em.’

Jessica kissed Eddie on the lips. ‘I’m going to bed now. You sit up and have a nightcap with Gary and Ricky. I’ll tidy up in the morning, when I feel a bit better.’

‘Sweet dreams,’ Eddie whispered lovingly.