The Sting by Kimberley Chambers

Author:Kimberley Chambers [Chambers, Kimberley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2019-02-06T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Time is a funny old thing. You never know how much time you’ve got left, or what sort of legacy you’ll leave behind.

I remember the day Donna and I told Jack and Suzie we were expecting a baby very well indeed. I’d literally been crapping myself all morning, had expected them to be furious and scold me for not being more careful.

Instead of being angry, Jack and Suzie couldn’t have been more jubilant. Both hugged me close to their chests, gushing how wonderful the unexpected news was. It seemed as though they could not wait to be grandparents, took it literally in their stride. Jack then took me and the lads over to Catford dog track that evening for a proper celebration.

Ronnie, Danny and Eugene were equally thrilled by the news and we all ended up getting hammered. Jack had been given a couple of tips. Both dogs romped home at decent odds and between the five of us we won just over ten grand.

Eugene was sick in the cab, so Danny offered to take him home. I was ready for my bed at that point, asked to go with them, but Jack was having none of it. ‘This evening is all about you, son. Me, you and Ronnie shall pop in my pal’s club for a nightcap,’ he insisted.

The club was a strip joint. Naked girls were cavorting in front of leering, pervy-looking old blokes and I immediately felt uncomfortable.

Jack ushered me into a booth and ordered a bottle of champagne. He made a toast to me and his unborn grandchild, but not to Donna. Ronnie went off into another booth to pay some blonde to dance for him.

‘I don’t want you to be worrying about the wedding, Tommy. Suzie and I will sort out all the details and I’ll be footing the bill, of course.’

Because I was inebriated, I couldn’t quite comprehend what Jack was saying. ‘What wedding?’ I asked dumbly.

‘Your wedding, you numpty,’ Jack chuckled.

I was horrified and it must have showed on my face. ‘Donna and I haven’t discussed getting married, Jack. I’m only sixteen.’

Jack’s expression quickly turned from jovial to serious. ‘I don’t fucking care if you’re twelve, lad. If you’re old enough to put my daughter in the family way, then you’re old enough to marry her.’

‘But we’re only—’ I began to protest but Jack butted in. He was glaring at me now.

‘No buts, Tommy. You will do the right thing and propose to Donna. Now, do you fucking understand me?’

That was the first time I remember being scared of Jack Darling. I nodded my head repeatedly.

So that was it. Like it or not, I was getting married. I had no bastard choice in the matter. But looking back, that wasn’t the worst thing that happened. There was treachery going on that night. The real game is as old as the Bible. It ain’t your enemy that will bring you down, just ask Cain and Abel …

‘Dadda,’ Robbie smiled.

Tommy lifted his son out of the bath, wrapped him in a towel and kissed him on the forehead.

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