Schemer (27 page)

‘Pa, Daddy, pa,’ Tyler said, holding his arms out to Wayne and dropping his towel.

Wayne let go of Stephanie and picked up his naked son. ‘If you wanna go to the park, Tyler, then Daddy shall take you there. You never know, the fresh air might even clear his hangover.’

Drying her eyes with a piece of toilet paper, Stephanie managed a smile. ‘I’d best ring Tammy then.’

Wayne grinned. He was far too cute for Stephanie and always knew the right things to say to ensure that he got his own way. ‘You just worry about sorting some grub out. It ain’t gotta be nothing fancy, lasagne and salad will do. I’ll ring Tammy. If I beg her and say I fucked up by inviting Bazza round when I was pissed, there’s far more chance of her coming. I’ll take the kids to the park for a couple of hours, get ’em out your way while you’re preparing the food.’

Feeling a bundle of nerves, but desperate not to show it, Stephanie smiled. ‘Thanks, Wayne, that’ll be great.’

Over in Soho, Angela Crouch was sitting in a café with her new best pal, Roxy. The girls had met through working in a local lap-dancing club and had since moved in together. It wasn’t exactly the luxury apartment that Angela had told her mother it was, but their two-bedroom flat was extremely trendy with lots of home comforts.

‘We don’t want no butter,’ Angela snapped at the waitress, as she put the one slice of toast and two mugs of coffee on the table.

Roxy tutted when the waitress took the disgusting-looking butter tray away. In her and Angela’s job, it was unusual for them to eat carbohydrates, let alone plaster them with something as evil as butter. Roxy cut the toast in the middle and handed half of it to Angela. ‘So, how did you do last night? I earned a hundred and fifty and you seemed far busier than me.’

‘I earned about twenty-five more than you, but it was bloody hard work. Fucking perverts most of my clients were, especially that fat, bald-headed old bastard that kept mauling me all night. He offered me five grand to sleep with him and I told him exactly where to poke it.’

Roxy laughed. Neither she nor Angela were slags. Some of the girls who worked at the club were, and would sleep with anything that had a pulse for five hundred quid plus, but Roxy and Angela were both very choosy. Their men had to be rich and good looking to even be considered for any extras. ‘I met a nice chap last night. His name was Mark, he owns a club in Islington and he was very handsome. I gave him my number and he said he’d call me this afternoon,’ Roxy said.

Angela smiled at her friend. With her long dark curly hair and perfect features, Roxy was an absolute stunner. Her mum originated from Mauritius and Roxy’s dark skin only added to her beauty. But, unlike Angela, Roxy was very un-streetwise and had a habit of believing every yarn any man told her. ‘Don’t get too involved this time until we’ve checked him out, eh?’

‘No, I won’t, but I’m sure he weren’t no Billy Bullshitter, Ange. He was dripping with money from his watch to his shoes. You can just tell the wealthy ones, can’t you?’

‘Yeah, you can, but don’t forget the last one you fell for, Rox. He told you he was single and had a chain of betting shops, then he turned out to be a married bus driver,’ Angela reminded her pal.

Roxy giggled. ‘I suppose I was a bit naive then, but it didn’t take long for the penny to drop, did it? So, what you up to today? You’re seeing Aidan, aren’t you?’

Angela sighed. She had promised to take her son to the pictures today, but the very thought of the boredom she would have to endure filled her with dread. ‘I’m gonna ring me mum up, tell her I’ve got a sore throat. I can’t be arsed schlepping all the way over to Essex, and the thought of spending two or three hours watching some crappy kids’ film don’t even bear thinking of after the amount we had to drink last night. Why don’t we go shopping instead? Let’s go up the King’s Road and check out that new boutique Pippa told us about.’

Roxy grimaced. She adored Angela as a friend, but thought she was an absolutely diabolical mother. When she was in her early twenties, Roxy had given birth to a stillborn baby and it had all but torn her heart to shreds. How Angie could treat Aidan with so little regard, Roxy would never know. ‘You can’t just blow your son out, Ange. He’s probably really looking forward to seeing you. Why don’t I come with you and we can both take him out? We haven’t got to go to the pictures, if you don’t want to. Why don’t we go to that Lakeside Shopping Centre. That’s in Essex, isn’t it?’

Angela felt herself blush. She had told Roxy that her mother was well-to-do and lived in a posh house in Chigwell, so how was she meant to explain the crappy council house in Dagenham?

‘Look, I know your mum don’t live in no posh gaff, and I know you were bought up in Dagenham as well, if that’s what you’re worried about. You’ve slipped up a couple of times when we’ve been drunk, but I knew before that anyway.’

Angela immediately relaxed. ‘How did you know?’

‘By the way you talk and by the way you act, Ange. You told me you went to a private school and I know people who went to private schools and they don’t talk like you, mate. I don’t know why you feel the need to lie. You’re such a nice person and it’s not as though me or any of the other girls are posh.’

‘I’m sorry, but you won’t tell the other girls, will you? My mum’s fat and common and Dagenham is such a dive. I’m just embarrassed by my upbringing, that’s all.’

Roxy squeezed Angela’s hand. ‘I won’t tell a soul, I promise, but you shouldn’t be embarrassed of your mumma no matter what she is or looks like. You should also try and see more of Aidan, Ange, ’cause if you don’t, some day you might just regret it.’

Feeling sorry for herself because the truth had been blatantly pointed out to her, Angela felt her lip begin to tremble.

‘Don’t get upset, mate. I’m only telling you all this for your own good. Now, dry your eyes and let’s go and pick that lovely little boy of yours up, shall we?’

Wiping her eyes with the cuff of her fake-fur jacket, Angela nodded.

Stephanie could feel her hands shaking as she tried to hold the wine bottle to pour herself a sneaky glass. She had cooked two big dishes of lasagne, but her mind had been so all over the place, she wasn’t even sure if she had added all the usual ingredients.

‘You all right, babe? Is everything prepared?’ Wayne asked, poking his head around the kitchen door.

‘Yes. I’ve chopped all the salad up and all that’s left to do is the garlic bread, which I’ll cook fresh,’ Steph replied, trying to hide her glass of wine by putting a screwed-up carrier bag in front of it.

Wayne had eyes like a hawk and spotted the half-hidden glass immediately. ‘Why you necking the wine? It’s a bit early, ain’t it?’

Not wanting to admit that she was desperate for something to relax her and instil a bit of Dutch courage into her terrified body, Stephanie scowled at her fiancé instead. ‘Give me a bloody break, Wayne, will you? I’ve been slaving away in this kitchen for the past couple of hours because you decided that we were having a dinner party this evening, so please don’t begrude me one glass of poxy wine.’

‘Sorry, babe. I weren’t getting on your case, honest I weren’t. It’s just unusual for you to drink this early in the day, that’s all. Pour me one as well. The kids are ready and looking the part. I dressed ’em in the outfits you told me to.’

‘Thanks. Now ring Tam and see where she is for me,’ Stephanie replied, glancing at the clock. She had rung her pal a couple of hours ago after Wayne had already spoken to her, and Tammy had promised her faithfully that she would arrive before Barry did. ‘I’ll die if Barry turns up and there’s just me, Wayne, and the kids here. I need your support to get through it, Tam,’ Stephanie had whispered down the phone.

‘She’s five minutes away in a cab,’ Wayne said, reappearing.

‘Is Tricky Dicky with her?’

‘Yep.’

‘Ooh, I can’t wait to meet him. Apart from his name and what he does for a living, Tam’s told me very little about him. She wouldn’t even tell me what he looked like. She said he’s that handsome, she wanted to surprise me.’

Tyler’s screams stopped Wayne from answering. ‘Let me sort him out. I ain’t having him playing up when people arrive.’

‘Don’t hit him, Wayne. Just be gentle with him,’ Stephanie urged her fiancé.

‘Don’t hit him! I’ll fucking brain him if he shows me up in front of Barry, let me tell you. He needs a bloody good hiding, that’s what he needs. He don’t need pampering, Steph.’

Stephanie downed her drink in one and quickly poured a refill before Wayne returned. She had showered earlier, but was purposely waiting for Tammy’s arrival to get herself glammed up. She wanted to drag her mate up the stairs and chat to her alone. Tammy was the only person who would understand the way she felt.

‘The cab’s just pulled up outside. Take this kid upstairs and do not fucking bring him back down until he has learnt how to behave himself,’ Wayne demanded, handing Stephanie their hysterical son.

‘Send Tam upstairs while I’m getting changed. I don’t want Richard to see me looking like a bag lady,’ Stephanie said, while trying to calm Tyler down by stroking his head. Her son was a little sod when he kicked and thrashed his arms about, and had given Steph many a bruise over the past year or so.

Wayne opened the front door and smirked as Tammy walked up the path with a tall, strapping six-foot hunk. He held out his right hand. ‘So, finally we get to meet Richard.’

Tammy glared at Wayne. Coming over to the house and meeting up with Barry again was the last way she had wanted to spend her evening. She would much rather have introduced Stephanie to Richard in a restaurant or a wine bar somewhere, without Wayne or Barry being involved.

‘Steph’s upstairs. Go up and chat to her, so me and Richard can do a bit of male bonding,’ Wayne said, grinning at Tammy’s obvious annoyance.

Tammy’s lips curled up with contempt. Stephanie was dreading seeing Barry again, so was she, and Wayne should have known better than to invite him over for dinner. ‘Pour me a drink, make it a large one, then I will.’

Barry Franklin picked up the huge bouquet and bottle of champagne off the back seat. ‘Cheers, mate,’ he said, as he slammed the door of the taxi. He stood on the pavement and took in his surroundings. He wasn’t overly familiar with Chigwell, but he could see that it was a sought-after area and stank of money. Barry felt no nerves as he sauntered up the driveway. He was actually looking forward to seeing his slut of an ex again.

Wayne answered the door with a big grin on his face. ‘Bazza, let me get you a drink, pal. What you having?’

Barry handed Wayne the bottle of champagne. ‘Either open that, or I’ll have a scotch.’

Wayne checked out the label on the bottle. ‘I’ll open this when the girls come down. They’re upstairs powdering their noses at the moment. This is Richard, Tammy’s boyfriend,’ he said as he led Barry into the lounge.

Barry was a bit taken aback as Richard stood up. The chap was extremely well built and, even from a man’s point of view, incredibly handsome. He was suited and booted nicely as well, and remembering Tammy with her ginger ponytails and freckles, Barry could hardly believe that they were a couple.

Walking over to the drinks cabinet, Wayne poured out three scotches. ‘Cheers, lads,’ he said, handing one to Richard and one to Barry.

‘So, how long have you and Tammy been together?’ Barry asked, sitting down opposite Richard.

‘We only met just over a couple of months ago. I’m a property developer and I was over in London on business when I met Tammy in a bar up town.’

Wayne sat on the arm of the sofa. ‘You won’t recognize Tam now, Bal. She ain’t ’arf changed since we were at school, mate. Richard and Tammy are moving to Spain soon. Richard’s just been telling me about his business out there. This is the first time we’ve met tonight as well.’

‘Whereabouts in Spain you moving to?’ Barry asked Richard.

‘Alicante. It’s where most of my business is based.’

‘I know a lot of massive property developers over in Fuengirola and Marbella. You heard of Johnny Duncan?’

‘For fuck’s sake, Bazza. We’re meant to be reminiscing, not talking business. Let’s have a toast, eh?’ Wayne suggested, holding his glass aloft.

Barry stared at his old friend and couldn’t help but grin. Here he was, sitting in a posh house in Chigwell that didn’t belong to him, clad from head to foot in designer clothes, when he didn’t have two pennies to rub together, yet he still had the brass neck to be giving it the large.

‘To old and new friends,’ Wayne said in earnest.

About to reply, Barry was stopped from doing so as a little girl in a red dress ran into the room.

‘Who are these men, Daddy?’ Dannielle asked, sitting on her father’s knee.

Barry stared at the child who was lowering her eyes shyly. She was incredibly beautiful and looked like a younger version of how he remembered Stephanie.

‘Hello, my name’s Barry and I’m an old friend of your mum and dad’s. You gonna tell me your name?’

Giggling, Dannielle climbed off her father’s knee. She walked over to the armchair that Barry was sitting on. ‘My name’s Dannielle and I’m six,’ she said, her eyes twinkling. She liked Barry already.

Barry smiled at her. Dannielle’s nose, eyes, ears, even the colour of her hair, were all replicas of the Stephanie he had once known and loved.

‘Looks like Steph, don’t she, Bazza?’ Wayne said, chirpily.

‘Yep, she’s definitely her mother’s daughter.’

‘Speak of the devil and it appears,’ Wayne said, when Stephanie walked into the room behind Tammy.

Barry was temporarily lost for words as he focused on both girls for the first time in years. Tammy looked stunning, totally different from how he remembered her, and Stephanie’s beauty would have shone out at him like a lighthouse on a cold, dark sea, had he not hated her so much. Knowing that Wayne’s eyes were firmly on him, waiting for a reaction, Barry took a deep breath and stood up.

‘Steph, Tam, the pair of you look beautiful, and I can’t tell you how brilliant it feels to see you both again.’

‘What about me? Am I beautiful?’ Dannielle asked, hugging at the leg of Barry’s trousers.