Vinny took his keys out of the ignition, leant across his seat and enveloped his mother in his arms. The club had re-opened again now, but Vinny hadn’t shirked any of his other responsibilities. He had spent nearly all day every day at the hospital since his brother had woken up and he planned to support both Roy and his mum as much as he could, whatever the future might bring. ‘You got to stop getting upset like this, Mum. Every time I see you cry, it makes me want to do the same. We need to be strong for Roy’s sake, and his unborn child. They are both gonna need us to be at the top of our game, aren’t they?’
‘I just can’t bear seeing your brother as he is, Vinny. He ain’t the boy I gave birth to any more. He’s a fucking vegetable,’ Queenie spat, her face contorted with pain and anger.
Vinny hated hearing his brother referred to as anything but normal. ‘Don’t say shit like that, Mum. We’ve got to be positive. Perhaps the scan results will give us some better news? Roy hasn’t been awake for long, and the doctors did warn us that his recovery would take time and patience.’
‘But, say he don’t get better? Say he never walks and talks again, eh? He can’t stay in hospital forever, and how am I meant to cope if he comes and lives with me? He won’t be able to get up and down the stairs, will he?’
Vinny laid his mother’s head on his shoulder and stroked her bleached-blonde hair. ‘Let’s not look too far ahead, eh? Roy will be in hospital for ages yet, and if he’s still no better when the time comes for him to be discharged, then we can look into other options. Perhaps we could hire some nurses to care for him? I would do anything for my family, Mum, and if that means paying privately for the best care possible to help Roy with his recovery, then so be it.’
For the first time that morning, Queenie managed a weak smile. ‘You’re a good boy, Vinny. The best a mother could wish for.’
Michael Butler felt rather nauseous as he paid the jeweller in crisp twenty pound notes.Getting hitched at his age was the last thing he really wanted to do, but since his mum had checked out Denise’s pregnancy story, which her doctor had confirmed to be true, Nancy had barely spoken to him.
Michael loved Nancy more than he had ever loved any girl, and he knew he was on the verge of losing her forever, which is why he had bought the engagement ring today. It was the only rabbit he could pull out of a hat to save their rapidly deteriorating relationship. Surely marrying her was better than losing her, wasn’t it?
Unaware of her boyfriend’s planned proposal, Nancy was sitting on the bench in her favourite little park currently crying on her mother’s shoulder.
‘Oh, Nancy. Why don’t you come back home, love? I can talk your dad and brother around, so don’t you be worrying about them. You don’t want to stay with a lad who’s having a baby with another girl, do you? It’s too much to take on something like that, especially at your young age.’
‘I know you are right, Mum, but even though I hate Michael for doing this to me, I still love him as well. He says he will support his child financially and as a father, but he has sworn to me he wants nothing whatsoever to do with Denise. He reckons she trapped him on purpose by not taking her contraception pill.’
Mary held her daughter’s hands and squeezed them. ‘Only you can decide what you want to do, darling, but let me tell you one thing. Whenever you have a child with someone it creates a strong bond, and this one’s a bond you won’t be part of. I know Michael says he wants nothing to do with Denise, but once she gives birth to his child he will be in contact with her on a regular basis again. How’re you going to feel when she is ringing up every five minutes asking for this and that or telling him the child isn’t well, Nance? You’ve got your whole life ahead of you, and are beautiful enough to bag yourself any lad you want. I would hate to see you sell yourself short.’
Nancy nodded sadly. What her mum had just said was spot-on and deep down she knew it. ‘I’ll pack my stuff when I get back to Queenie’s, Mum, and tell Michael I’m moving back home. Are you sure Dad will be OK about it?’
‘You leave your bloody father to me, darling. I pulled the wool over his eyes to escape today. I only let him think he wears the trousers to keep him happy. He won’t overrule me, because if he does then I shall leave him. Our home will always be your home, you know that.’
Nancy looked at her watch and silently cursed the time. ‘I’m gonna have to go, Mum. I am already in trouble at work for taking too much time off so I daren’t be late back from lunch. Can you be near the phone if I ring at dead on eight tonight? Make sure you speak to Dad first though so I know everything is OK your end.’
‘I will. When will you move back in?’ Mary asked, her face a picture of happiness.
‘I might as well come back tonight, I suppose. Once I’ve spoken to Michael, then rung you, perhaps Dad will pick me up?’
Mary grinned. ‘You bet he will, and I’ll come with him so you don’t feel awkward.’
‘Thanks for everything, Mum. I’ll see you later,’ Nancy said, before sprinting off.
As Mary walked back to the shop, she could not wipe the smile off her face. She had her little girl back.
At the hospital, Queenie, Colleen and Vinny had just sat down opposite the brain specialist.
‘Well? Have you got the results?’ Vinny asked, impatience creeping into his voice.
‘Yes, I have, and I’m afraid the news isn’t as good as we had hoped for. The scan shows that there has been a considerable amount of damage to Mr Butler’s brain, which is the cause of the paralysis down the right side of his body.’
‘But, he will get better, won’t he? There must be something you can do, surely?’ Vinny interrupted, now agitated.
Bursting into tears, Colleen ran from the room. She was training to be a nurse, therefore knew what the specialist was going to say next and couldn’t bear to hear it.
Queenie sat frozen to her seat. Her heart felt like a lead weight and it was as though time had stood still and she was in a trance. Images of Roy in his younger years flooded through her mind. His first day at school with his little legs poking out of his long shorts. Those same legs sprinting to glory when he won the hundred-yards race at the age of thirteen. Roy dancing with her to Kenny Ball’s ‘My Mother’s Eyes’ on the opening evening of their first ever club. How could it be possible that her handsome, strapping son would never use those legs again?
‘So, what can we do to get him better?’ Vinny asked the specialist.
‘Roy will be given extensive physiotherapy, speech therapy, and help in learning the basics once again. Unfortunately, it is highly unlikely that your brother will ever live the life that he once did. There has been too much damage to the brain, I fear.’
Vinny was in a shocked kind of stupor. ‘But, he will walk again, won’t he?’
‘Well, obviously miracles have been known to happen, Mr Butler, but if you want my honest opinion, the answer is no.’
When his mother started to cry, Vinny held her in his arms. He could have quite easily broken down in tears himself, but as the eldest child, it was his duty to be a tower of strength, and his mother needed that from him more than ever now. ‘I’ll get Roy the best help possible, Mum, I promise you that. Together, we will get through this. We are Butlers, remember?’
At the nightclub, Karen had just woken up fully clothed with a thumping headache and little recollection of going to bed once again. She half-remembered falling over and Vinny carrying her up the stairs, but she wasn’t sure if she was imagining that part or not.
Karen sat up, perched herself on the end of the bed and stared at her unglamorous reflection in the mirror. She looked like she had two black eyes where she hadn’t taken off her make-up, and her hair stood up on end as if she had been dragged through a hedge backwards. ‘What the hell is happening to me?’ she asked herself out loud. She hadn’t felt right since the terrifying experience she’d suffered on the night of Vivian’s birthday party. The visions of spiders crawling all over the floor, the horrendous metallic taste in her mouth, then the constant vomiting she’d endured throughout the night would be with her for the rest of her life.
The truth of her scary ordeal had come to light the following day. Lenny had been given a couple of LSD tabs at the club by a customer a few weeks ago. He had been told that they would make him feel good and have fun, but frightened to take them himself in case his mum found out, he had decided to give them to Vinny and Karen so they could enjoy themselves instead. As luck would have it, Vinny’s glass that contained the drug had been knocked off the kitchen top by Ahmed’s elbow, so it had been only her that had suffered.
Karen had been furious at Lenny’s stupidity at first, but when Vinny had made him apologize in person, she had found it difficult to stay angry with the boy. Lenny couldn’t help having mental health problems, had seemed genuinely sorry, and had promised never to do anything similar to anyone ever again. Vinny had told Karen that he knew the bloke who had given Lenny the tabs and was personally going to teach him a lesson. He had also given his cousin a good telling-off in front of her too, but what Karen obviously didn’t realize was it was all an act and Lenny had been paid fifty pounds for his part in the drama.
Karen had begged Vinny to tell his family the truth. She felt so embarrassed by her outrageous behaviour that she insisted she was too ashamed to face the Butler clan again unless they were aware of what had really happened.
Vinny had refused. He said he wasn’t a grass and there was no way he was going to get Lenny into trouble. He had promised to one day explain that Karen had been accidently spiked up by somebody else though, but now wasn’t the right time as his family had enough on their plates with the Roy situation.
Karen ran a bath, had a quick dip, and then dried herself with a king-sized towel. Her move into her lovely new flat had been temporarily delayed as there had been a hitch with the previous tenants. A family death had stopped them collecting their belongings when they were supposed to, but Ahmed had promised her that the situation would be resolved in the next few days.
Having already given back her keys to her own flat to the council, Karen had hoped when Vinny suggested she stay at the club it would bring them closer together. It hadn’t though. Karen had been sleeping in Roy’s room and had not even shared as much as a kiss with Vinny. He had hinted the other day that they would share a bed when she moved into her own property though, and that thought had made Karen very happy indeed.
Karen hadn’t seen much of her son since the evening her drink had been spiked. Only twice Vinny had brought him to the club and both times Little Vinny had seemed quite reserved and wary of her. Karen had cried after her son’s last visit when he had refused to kiss her goodbye, but Vinny had promised that this Thursday, he would let Little Vinny take a day off school and all three of them would have a nice family day out. Vinny insisted that the boy had just been scared by what he had seen and would soon forget all about it. What he hadn’t told Karen was that he had told his son that his mother had a bad drug problem, and it would be better if he didn’t get too close to her in case she started acting all weird again.
Karen got dressed and rang her friend Debbie. Vinny had made her swear that she wouldn’t tell anybody that it was Lenny who spiked her drink, but Karen had told the two people she trusted, Debbie and Nancy. Both had been so supportive this past week, and had promised to keep what had happened to themselves.
‘You all right, mate?’ Debbie asked.
‘No, not really. I don’t remember going to bed again last night and I have a really shitty headache. I don’t know what’s a matter with me lately. That’s twice I’ve somehow got drunk and blanked out in the past week and I haven’t drunk any more than usual. Perhaps it is the after-effects of that awful bloody trip?’
‘Listen, don’t take this the wrong way, but I think something isn’t right. First, you get spiked with the LSD, then the lovely flat isn’t ready for you to move into. Now you’ve mysteriously got drunk twice in a week without drinking much and for no apparent reason, blanked out. Something don’t sound kosher to me, Kaz.’
Karen was stunned by her pal’s little speech. Whatever was she insinuating? ‘So, what you saying, Deb? You don’t think Vinny is trying to poison me or something, do you?’
‘I really don’t know, mate. Look, I’m gonna have to go now, I’ve got to pick the boys up from school. Just be careful, Kaz, and any time you’re worried just ring me and you can come and stay here.’
‘Do you honestly think I’m in that much danger?’ Karen asked, her heart pounding nineteen to the dozen.
‘I don’t know, but watch your back, Kaz, just in case.’
When Colleen’s relations turned up at the hospital, Queenie and Vivian decided to make themselves scarce. Colleen had been as devastated as anyone about the scan results and seeing as her family had just arrived from Ireland again, Queenie thought it only right that they should spend some time alone together.
Queenie’s earlier sorrow had now been replaced with feelings of bitterness. Her Roy had always been a good lad. He was kind and considerate, so what the hell had he done to deserve such appalling injuries?
‘’Ere you go, get that down your neck. I’ve poured myself one an’ all. Think we can do with a drink after the day we’ve had, don’t you?’ Vivian stated.
Queenie snatched at the glass and knocked the sherry back in a couple of gulps. ‘Can’t believe how cruel life can be, Vivvy. There definitely ain’t no fucking God, you know. Makes me sick that you’ve got all them kiddy-fiddlers and wicked bastards roaming the streets who never catch as much as a fucking cold. Why do bad things happen to decent people like us, eh?’
‘I know what you mean, Queen. I was bitter for a long time after my Lenny was born with his difficulties. I thought, why me and him? Why not some other bastard’s child? Look what an awful mother that Old Mother Taylor was. Dirty whore, and them poor little mites of hers were brought up in squalor. Nothing ever happens to people like that old cow though. Tragedy always strikes good souls such as you and I.’