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
‘Well, I’ve never bloody well seen anyone wearing them.’
‘That’s probably because you spend half your life in the betting shop. No one’s gonna be wearing them in there, are they?’ Joyce shouted at him.
Desperate to get away from her warring parents, Jessica grabbed Eddie’s arm. ‘Come on, let’s go,’ she said.
Eddie let her lead him out of the living room. ‘Nice to meet you both again,’ he said politely.
‘Hang on a minute,’ Joyce shouted.
Seconds later she presented Eddie with an object wrapped in tin foil. ‘That fruit cake you liked, I baked you one,’ she said proudly.
Eddie pecked her on the cheek. ‘You’re a star, Joyce. I’ll have that for me supper.’
Jessica felt relief wash over her as Eddie drove away from the house.
‘What’s up, babe?’ he asked her.
Jessica sighed. ‘Just parent trouble. They’re always arguing and they make me feel like piggy in the middle. Both of them drive me mad and I don’t know what to do about it.’
Eddie laughed. ‘I know exactly what you can do about it.’
‘What?’ Jessica enquired.
Swinging the car onto a nearby kerb, Eddie got out, walked round the other side and opened the passenger door. As he knelt on one knee, Jessica looked at him in amazement.
‘What you doing?’
Eddie held both her hands and smiled. ‘Jessica Smith, marry me?’
FOUR
Jessica immediately accepted her boyfriend’s marriage proposal, but at Eddie’s insistence, she said nothing to either of her parents.
‘I’m a big believer in doing things properly, Jess. Keep schtum for now and next weekend I’ll come round your house and ask for your parents’ blessing. I’m a very traditional geezer at heart and I’m sure your dad would expect me to ask his permission.’
Jess loved Eddie’s morals, but with her head in the clouds, she was desperate for the world to know of her good fortune. ‘Can’t I just tell my mum, Ed? It will be so hard keeping it from her and I know she won’t say anything to my dad.’
Eddie shook his head. ‘No, it’s not right, Jess. We’ll tell them together and then I’ll take you shopping for a ring. I’ll take you up Hatton Garden and you can pick whatever you want.’
How Jessica kept her mouth shut that week, she would never know. She didn’t tell a soul, not even the girls at work. The following Saturday, she could barely contain her excitement and was out of bed before the birds had even started singing. She was unable to eat any breakfast, but made her parents boiled eggs, toast and tea and took it into their bedroom.
‘What’s all this in aid of?’ her mother said, as she handed her the tray.