Chapters (48)
- Cover
- THEFEUD
- Dedication
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- PROLOGUE
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
Jed stood up and grabbed her by the hand. ‘Come on, before I get overexcited. Let’s go to a pub, I’ll buy you a roast dinner.’
Joey was still in bed and Jessica was desperate for time alone with him. ‘Ed, you and the boys have worked so hard this morning. Take Gary and Ricky to the pub and buy them a few beers. Go on, I insist.’
Eddie put an arm around Jessica’s shoulder. ‘This is the type of woman you wanna end up with, lads. She’s one in a million,’ he said proudly.
Gary laughed. ‘Come on Dad, quick, before she changes her mind.’
As soon as the men had left the house, Jessica took a deep breath and went upstairs. ‘Joey, wake up love,’ she said, as she knocked and then entered her son’s bedroom.
‘All right, Mum? What’s the time?’ Joey mumbled, his eyes still half shut.
‘It’s gone one. Can I have a little chat with you, darling?’
The seriousness of his mum’s voice made Joey’s eyes open wide. ‘What’s the matter? Has something happened? Where’s Frankie?’
Jessica sat on his bed and clutched his hand. ‘Nothing’s wrong. Frankie’s gone out with her friends. You dad’s not in, he’s up the pub and Nanny and Grandad have gone home. It’s just me and you, Joey, and we need to have a little talk, love.’
Joey wasn’t silly. He sat himself up. She knew; he knew that she knew. ‘What about, Mum?’ he asked nervously.
Jessica smiled. ‘About you and Dominic. About what’s going on.’
Joey tore his eyes away from her. What was he meant to say. It was embarrassing. He could talk to Frankie about his sexuality, but not his mum.
Understanding his dilemma, Jessica spoke softly to him. ‘It’s OK. I’m not annoyed. Whatever you are, or might be, is fine by me. I love you, Joey, you’re my son, and I’ll always love you, no matter what.’
Shocked by his mum’s understanding attitude, Joey’s lip wobbled, then the tears came. ‘I’m really sorry, Mum. I’ve tried to like girls, but I can’t. I’ve always known I liked boys, ever since I was little. Even when I was about nine or ten, I remember fancying that bloke out of The Dukes of Hazzard,’ he admitted.
‘Sssh, it’s all right, baby. Don’t cry, Joey, please, or you’ll make me cry, too.’ Jessica handed him a tissue. ‘So how long have you been seeing this Dominic? Is it serious between you? Or it is just casual?’
‘We haven’t been seeing one another long. I really like him, though, Mum. It’s the first proper relationship I’ve had. I’m not going through a phase, I know I’m not.’