Bang Gang (55 page)

Tonya had already got the girls their doughnuts. They were covered in icing sugar, licking their sticky fingers.

I squeezed Darren’s hand as we approached, careful to keep my ring from view.

Ruby saw us first. “Daddd!” she squealed.

She bounded over and launched herself into his arms, full of questions about his face and whether he butt-hurt someone in the pub again.

“Think I might have done,” he said. “Sorry, Rubes, sometimes your dad can be a bit of a prick.” He dropped her to the ground and took her hand, took Mia’s too. He crouched down, at Ruby’s height and looked up at me. “Can I tell them?”

I nodded. “I think you best had.”

Ruby’s eyes were wide. “Tell us what, Dad?”

“Me and your mum. We’re getting married. I’m moving in with you, if you’ll have me. If that’s alright?” He looked between them, one to the other, but they didn’t speak, didn’t say a word. “I’d really like that,” he said. “We can be a proper family again, I’ll be there every day, every night… if that’s ok? Is that ok, girls?”

I looked at Tonya and her mouth was open wide. She fanned her face, and she was welling up, I saw it.

Ruby bit her lip, and her face crumpled. It made my breath catch in my throat.

“Yeah,” she said. “That’s ok!” She clung onto his neck and she was crying. “You’re really coming home, Dad? Really really?”

“Really really,” he said, and I’m sure his voice was thick. He looked up at Mia. “How do you feel about that, Mia? Can I come home? You alright with that?”

She nodded and her lip was going too. “Yeah, that’s ok… that’s really ok…” Her cool facade burst open and she wrapped her arms around my waist. “Thanks, Mum.”

“Don’t thank me,” I said, and my voice was wobbly. “Your dad was the one who proposed.”

I showed them the ring, and Tonya crammed in, too.

“Beautiful.” Ruby grinned. “Like a princess ring!”

“That’s really beautiful, Mum,” Mia said.

“Wow, Jo, that’s really something,” Tonya said.

I took a breath, smiled at Darren. “Yes, it really is.”

I reached for his hand and he squeezed right back. Took hold of Ruby’s with his other and I took hold of Mia’s. She took hold of Tonya’s and I laughed, started the walk over to the fireworks.

Ruby started waffling on and it made my heart soar.

We can watch Top Gear, Dad! And you’ll have to watch Question King with Nanna, too. We all watch it! You’ll read me a bedtime story, won’t you? Can I come to the garage with you before school? Will Mum be Mrs Trent now? Can I be a bridesmaid? We have fish and chips on a Thursday, you can have them too if you like!

I was enjoying the monologue when a flash of expensive highlights appeared in the crowd in front of us.

Darren saw them too. His fingers crushed mine.

“Shall we turn back?” he whispered.

I shook my head. “When have you ever turned away from a confrontation in your life, Darren Trent?” I smirked and kept on walking.

Lorraine’s jaw dropped right open when she saw us, she turned to face me, and plastered a huge fake grin on her face.

“Jodie!” she said. “I’ve been trying to get hold of you, I just wanted to say…”

I flashed her a smile, one of my finest, and then I gave the bitch the fucking finger.

“Stay away from my family you skanky arsed hoe,” I said. “You can go fuck yourself.”

I brushed past her as she gawped and Darren was laughing. He dropped my hand long enough to light up a cigarette, and Ruby was right there staring up at me, her mouth was open as we watched Lorraine make an exit.

“Mum! You just used garage talk! I think you went and butt-hurt her! You butt-hurt Lorraine! Real bad, too!”

I ruffled her hair and smiled at Darren, and then I sighed.

“Sometimes people get butt-hurt,” I said. “And that’s ok. Sometimes in life you’ve just got to give people the finger and tell them they can go fuck themselves.” I smiled at her. “Just not too bloody often, Ruby, and not at school. Deal?”

She grinned her freckly face off.

“Deal!” she said.

The fireworks were the best I’d ever fucking seen.

It was still dark when the door creaked open. The patter of Ruby feet sounded across the carpet, and then I felt her, her bony knees clambering up the bed, digging into my legs through the covers. She flung herself onto her back between Darren and me. I pretended to be asleep when I felt him move, just to hear their conversation.

I love listening to those two.

“Dadddd!” she whispered. “I think Father Christmas has been!”

“You think, Rubes?”

“Yessss!” She giggled. “I crept downstairs and there’s presents
everywhere.
Shhh! Don’t tell Mum. She said no sneaking! Said to stay in bed in the morning until the sun comes up or the shit will fly!”

“She said that, did she?”

“No, but that’s what she meant…”

I tried to hold back a laugh.

“I think your mum can hear you well enough, Rubes. I think you’re well and truly busted.” He tickled her until she squealed.

“Little Ruby Sneaky-pants,” I groaned. I pulled her close and her hair was a bird’s nest, crazy curls against my cheek. I reached out for Darren, gave his arm a squeeze. “What time is it?”

He turned the alarm clock to face me. “Not even six.”

“Bloody hell, Ruby. The sun’s not even close to coming up.” I yawned and flicked on the lamp.

“But he’s beeeeeeen!” Ruby protested. “I heard him!”

Darren raised an eyebrow, brushed a curl from her forehead. “You heard him, did you? That right?”

She nodded. “And his reindeers. I heard them, too!”

“Good job you didn’t catch him,” I said. I flashed Darren a cheeky smile. “He’d have been embarrassed if you’d have caught him drinking your dad’s beer.”

Her eyes widened. “He drank your beer, Dad?!”

He nodded, pulled a fake scowl. “He did, liberty-taking asshole. He drank it all last night and left me none. Gonna tell that chubby prick what I think of him if he comes back round here again.”

I couldn’t stop smiling. “He had quite a party, I think. Made quite a racket.”

“I think he bloody well did,” Darren said. He reached out and brushed a thumb across my cheek. I took his hand, kissed his knuckles.

Christmas.

Family Christmas. All of us.

I’d dreamed of this for so long.

“So?” Ruby demanded. “Can I go get my presents now? Mia’s awake too, she’s just pretending to be all grown up and asleep, just because she’s a
teenager
now.”

“What about Nanna?” I said. “You’ll have to go and see if she’s awake. She might be flat out though, so don’t be too…”

Ruby was off like a cannon before I’d even finished, announcing it was Christmas morning with enough volume to wake the whole fucking street, not just Nanna.

“…loud,” I finished.

I listened to her yelling at Nanna to get her butt out of bed and I giggled, pulled a pillow over my
face, but Darren was right there. He took it off me and kissed my neck until I squirmed.

He slipped his hands under the covers, over the little bump of my belly, and lower. I tingled all over, my breaths coming shorter. “Steady there,” I whispered. “I don’t think we’re going to get away with a lie in somehow...”

“Appears fucking not,” he growled. “That means an early night’s on the cards then, doesn’t it?”

I reached for him, pulled his mouth to mine. “I guess it does.”

I dragged myself out of Darren’s arms and out of bed. He tugged on a pair of jeans as I wrapped up in a dressing gown.

“Christmas morning,” he said. “This’ll be the best yet, Jo.”

I knew it. My smile told him so.

The kids were already poised for action. We’d barely taken a seat on the sofa as they started tearing into their presents. Nanna was on the edge of her chair, her eyes twinkling as she giggled along with the girls. I linked Darren’s fingers in mine and slipped them inside my dressing gown to rest on my swollen belly. The girls were too engrossed to notice.

Darren made all the right noises.

That’s sweet, that is, Mia. Well tidy, like.

Father Christmas has done you bloody proud, Rubes. That’s well cool.

Let’s have a look at that. Pretty damn awesome.

Might have to forgive him for drinking my beer at this rate.

It was all him. He’d gone crazy this year, no expense spared. I’d told him off, told him he’d turn them into spoiled little brats at this rate, but he’d had none of it.

I just wanna see their faces, Jo. I just wanna see them smile.

I watched him watching them, and I think he was even more excited than they were. I told him so.

Ruby tore open a
Top Gear
box set and I took that back.

Nanna started on the brandy at breakfast time with a little nod Darren.

It’s Christmastime, Nanna, get it down your neck.

He put the stupid Christmas songs album on in the kitchen and Ruby made us all wear ridiculous Santa hats. The pom-pom kept falling in my face as I prepared the veg with Darren, but the hell would she let me take it off.

“When are your parents getting here?” Darren asked.

“Midday, same as yours,” I said.

I was nervous. I felt the jitters.
Good jitters.

“And we’re gonna tell them, right? Today? Everyone?”

I nodded. Smiled. “Today, yeah.”

“Righto,” he said, and he couldn’t stop grinning.

We fucked up dinner a little but Darren dished out enough Christmas wine that nobody really cared. Who even likes turkey anyway? The sprout bowl remained filled to the brim, and the pigs in blankets disappeared like liquid gold. Standard.

Except nothing was standard about today.

The whole thing felt magical. Amazing. Just… right.

Darren and his dad made toasts to our health, our good fucking fortune, and the wedding we were having in March.

It was all booked, everything. Everything signed, sealed and put on order. The local church, the vicar, the after party in a heated marquee at the back of the Drum – Darren’s idea, not mine.

I’d wanted to keep it small. Special, but reasonably priced, nothing too extravagant, not with the baby on the way. The pomp and circumstance didn’t matter anyway, so long as Darren and the girls were there.

That’s all that mattered.

I’d made the decision to use Pops’ money for it. Darren had protested, said
no fucking way
in typical Darren Trent style, but I’d argued it. Stood my ground. 

The experience of a lifetime
, I’d said.
The experience of
my
lifetime. I can’t think of a better way to spend it. I
want
to spend it this way, Darren. It’s what Pops’ would have wanted.