Vi smiled at him. ‘She was a kind, wonderful woman. Had a heart of gold, didn’t she, Joan?’

Joan nodded. ‘Give you her last ha’penny, she would. She was one of life’s gentle souls.’

Aware that his eyes were starting to well up, Eddie stood up.

‘Where’s the little ’uns? We’ve seen Gary and Ricky, but we ain’t seen the twins yet, have we, Vi?’ Joan said.

‘I’ll tell Jess to bring ’em over in a minute,’ Ed said, as he walked away.

Bowling over to the table where his wife was sitting, Ed could see no sign of her. ‘Where’s Jess?’ he asked Stanley.

Stanley shrugged. ‘Joyce has took the kids to the toilet, but I’ve no idea where Jess is.’

Eddie’s eyes scanned the hall. He wasn’t happy with Jessica’s behaviour tonight. How could she not take the twins over to say hello to his two old aunts? She was out of fucking order.

Unable to see hide nor hair of Jess, Eddie walked back to the bar.

‘What’s up?’ Paulie asked him.

‘Nothing,’ Eddie said, as he urged the barman to leave a bottle of Scotch on the counter.

Spotting Raymond chatting up a bird, Ed walked over to him. ‘Where’s Jess? You seen her?’

Raymond shrugged. ‘She was sitting with me mum and dad. Don’t worry, she won’t go far without the twins. I’m gonna make a move now, Ed. This is Jane and we’re going back to mine.’

As the singer took a toilet break, Ed smiled when his dad leaped on the stage and began one of his infamous speeches.

‘Everyone knows why we’re here tonight. We’re celebrating the retirement of the oldest swinger in town. Reg, where are you? Now, I might be his brother, but I ain’t giving you no old flannel. He was a horrible fucker when he was a kid. At six years old he . . .’

As Ed spotted Jess all cosied up with some good-looking geezer, he lost track of his father’s speech. Fuming, Ed marched towards her, grabbed her arm, and pulled her away. ‘Whaddya think you’re fucking doing?’

Jessica looked at Eddie in horror. ‘I beg your pardon. Are you drunk, Eddie? Don’t embarrass me, please.’

Eddie sneered at the bloke. ‘Who’s that cunt?’ he asked Jess.

‘Lee Jones. You remember my old schoolfriend, Mary? Well, Lee’s her older brother. Please don’t start, Ed. We’re catching up on old times, that’s all.’

‘I am not a happy man, Jess. My aunt Joan and aunt Vi are sitting on that table near the door. You ain’t said hello or fuck all to ’em. Asking me if the twins are here, they were. I want you to take the kids over to ’em, now, before I lose my temper with yer.’