‘We’re gonna have to be getting back now, Joycie. I’ve gotta take the cat to the vet at eleven and I’ve got tons of washing and ironing to do first,’ Rita said politely.

‘And I ain’t even had a chance to wash me bleedin’ fanny yet,’ Hilda whispered in Rita’s ear.

‘What’s so funny?’ Joyce asked in annoyance as both her friends burst out laughing.

Joycie’s angry tone only made Rita and Hilda laugh all the more. Both suddenly saw the funny side of being woken at some unearthly hour, being forced to go for a drive, then having private lessons on the workings of a Jaguar XJ6.

‘I said, what are you bloody laughing at?’ Joycie asked, this time turning around in her seat.

‘We’re laughing at you, Joycie. I don’t think you realise how funny you are at times,’ Rita commented, holding her sides.

‘You’ve explained every detail of the car to us three times over and we still don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,’ Hilda added, crippled with laughter.

Furious that her friends were amused rather than impressed by her new car, Joyce punched her husband on the arm.

‘Ouch, that bleedin’ hurt. What was that for?’ Stanley asked, bewildered.

‘Turn the car around now, Stanley, and drive back to Upney. I refuse to be mocked by jealous, classless fools.’

The words ‘jealous’ and ‘classless’ made Rita and Hilda both laugh all the more. The reason being, if they had to pick one woman in the world that those words summed up, then that woman would be Joycie.

Thrilled to have now collected her baby from prison, Frankie was in reasonably good spirits on the journey back to Essex. Her dad had wanted her and Brett to stay at his cottage but, not ready to make friends with Gina just yet, Frankie had flatly refused and had opted to stay with Joey and Dominic instead.

Eddie was on cloud nine as he sat in the back of Larry’s motor. He had one arm around Frankie and was stroking his grandson’s cheek with the other. ‘I wish you’d change your mind about staying with me, babe. You really will like Gina if you give her a chance and you won’t be bored with us oldies, ’cause Stuart’s still living with us an’ all.’

‘Thanks, Dad, but no thanks. I’d much rather stay with Joey for now, if you don’t mind. Perhaps when I get settled, we can go out for a meal or something and I can meet Gina properly. I feel so comfortable with Joey and Dom and I don’t fancy sharing your cottage with people I don’t even know.’