Billie Jo (23 page)

'Thanks, Jamie,' Billie said, appreciating his kindness.
'I'll see you when you get back.'

Danny had kept half an eye on Billie for the last thirty
minutes or so. He'd seen her crying to his mother and
knew he was in shit-street. Fuck, he thought to himself,
things had been going so smoothly since he'd come out
of nick. Now Michelle had gone and opened her big
mouth and ruined it. Knowing he had to pull a rabbit
out of the hat to get back in Billie's good books, a
drunken thought invaded his brain. Picking up his glass,
he walked up to the stage and had a quiet word with
the DJ.

Billie saw the door open and noticed Debbie come in.
Clocking to see if Danny had noticed, she realised he
hadn't because he was over by the stage.

'Ssh, can I have everyone's attention, please? I've got
a very special man here who would like to say a few
words.'

Danny jumped up onto the stage as bold as brass.
Cheers and clapping rang around the hall. Grabbing
the mike with his right hand, left hand in his trouser
pocket, Danny smiled at his audience, milking his
moment.

'Firstly, I'd like to thank everyone for coming this
evening and all that bollocks.' The hall erupted with
laughter. 'Secondly, I'd like to thank Jimmy the Fish for
taking me on as a partner. I won't let you down, Jim, but
I want a seventy-thirty cut, you tight bastard.' The laughter
continued. 'And thirdly, and on a more serious note, I
want to thank my wonderful girlfriend Billie Jo for being
so supportive to me and I want to ask her an important
question.'

Taking the box out of his pocket, Danny got down on
one knee. He had only brought the ring with him to show
a couple of his pals what a good deal he had got. Clearing
his throat, Danny spoke loudly and confidently.

'Billie Jo, will you marry me?'

All eyes turned to Billie, who was sitting alone in the
corner. The DJ, who was ready to start the karaoke up
again, snatched the mike off Danny.

'Billie, come up here, love, and give us your answer
on the mike.'

Standing on the stage, Danny noticed Debbie standing
by the bar with a mortified expression on her face. Fucking
hell, he thought to himself, I need her here like I need a
hole in the head.

Billie got up and walked towards the stage, amid cheers
and congratulations. She couldn't believe her luck. No
longer did she feel like little Miss Timid. In fact, she
wasn't even nervous. Fuck Danny O'Leary and all his
gangster friends. They could go to hell for all she cared.

Danny kissed Billie on the cheek as she clambered
onto the stage. 'What's your answer then, babe?' he asked
brashly as he showed her the ring.

Taking the mike in her hand, Billie smiled at Danny.
'The answer is no, I won't marry an arsehole like you.
You are a cheat, a liar, a scumbag . . .'

Danny tried to snatch the mike, but Billie held on to
it firmly with both hands. 'Why don't you take your ring,
Danny, and shove it up your fucking arse. Either that or
give it to the old slapper over there that you've been
knocking off. Debs, he's all yours, love.'

The hall fell completely silent. Danny O'Leary's homecoming
had been well and truly ruined.

While the disc jockey tried to defuse the situation by
cracking a couple of jokes about women with PMT and
singing the classic 'Always Look on the Bright Side of
Life', Billie calmly got down from the stage and walked
towards the table where she'd been sitting. Before she
could reach her destination, her arm was grabbed violently
and she was dragged out of the hall by her hair.

'Let me go, Danny, you bastard. The baby's at the table
on his own, let me go.'

Danny was foaming at the mouth. The mixture of drink
and drugs he'd consumed had done nothing to lighten his
mood. 'You fucking slag. How dare you make me look
a cunt? I'm gonna kill you for this, you fucking bitch.'

Billie was suddenly frightened. She'd expected
someone to come out of the hall and intervene.
Everybody had seen her being dragged out, but as usual
in situations like these, they had obviously chosen to
turn a blind eye instead.

Trying to pacify him, Billie spoke calmly. 'Let me go,
Danny. I'm going home now, please let go of me, DJ's
inside and he needs me. You stay here and enjoy yourself
and we'll talk about things tomorrow.'

'Enjoy myself. After what you've just fucking done.
Are you being funny, you cunt?' Losing the plot, Danny
laid into her, punching and kicking her as hard as he could.

Jimmy the Fish had been keeping a watchful eye on the
situation and as soon as he saw Danny kicking seven colours
of shit out of Billie, he ran outside to restrain him. 'Now
come on, son, leave it now or you'll end up getting arrested.'
Grabbing him from behind with both arms clenched on to
his chest, he managed to drag Danny away from a hysterical
Billie Jo.

Pulling up in a cab, Jamie spotted the back end of the
commotion. 'Wait here, mate,' he said to the driver as he
leapt out of the car. Noticing Billie Jo lying battered and
bruised on the floor, Jamie went apeshit. 'You no-good
bastard,' he said, lunging at Danny.

A couple of Jimmy's henchmen had now emerged from
the hall to help with the situation and quickly dragged the
two apart.

'Take him inside,' Jimmy said, nodding at Danny, who
for once did as he was told. 'And you, boy,' Jimmy said
as he turned to face Jamie, 'you don't know the half of
what's gone on, you weren't even fucking here. A proper
cunt she made him look. Any marital grievances should
be sorted out in the privacy of your own home. Women
are a fucking nuisance, they need to learn how to behave.
They should be seen and not heard.'

Billie was hysterical. 'Jamie, the baby's inside and so
is my handbag.' She didn't really want Jamie getting
involved, but she could hardly go back inside herself.

Jamie helped Billie gingerly rise to her feet, then pushed
past Jimmy the Fish and strode into the hall. Luckily,
Danny Junior was still sound asleep. Danny Senior was
up at the bar, giving it large about how he'd just given
his bird a dig. He didn't feel like bigging it up, he felt a
complete prick, but had no choice than to put on a front.

Holding DJ with his left arm and Billie's bag with his
right, Jamie stormed out of the hall. Ignoring the glares
from the plastic gangsters, he put his arm around Billie
and led her towards the cab.

'Gidea Park, mate, sorry about that. I'll pay your
waiting time. What happened, babe?'

Billie relayed the whole story as the cab headed off.

'I wish I'd seen his face when you mugged him off on
the stage.'

Billie gave a half-smile. Her face was hurting, her ribs
were sore and her right eye felt tender. Jamie put a
comforting arm around her shoulder. 'Are you sure you
don't want to go to the hospital to be checked over?'

'No, honestly, I'm fine, just tired. You don't think he'll
come back home later and start again, do you, Jamie?'

'I don't know, Bill,' Jamie replied honestly. 'He's so
unpredictable. Do you know what I think you should do?'

'What?'

'Come with me. I'll take you home, pick up whatever
stuff you need for you and the baby and then come
and stay at mine. My mum's away, Lucy's not staying
now, so we'll have the house to ourselves and in the
morning we'll get in touch with a locksmith. At least
if you change the locks the no-good bastard can't get
back in.'

'That's no good,' Billie said dejectedly, the enormity
of the situation only just hitting her. 'The house belongs
to Jimmy the Fish and he's bound to side with Danny. I
can't stay there, I'll have to move out.'

'Look, don't worry about anything tonight. Things will
be clearer in the morning and I promise you, Bill, I won't
let anything bad happen to you. I'm your mate and I'll
look after you. Grab all you can from indoors and we'll
drive to mine.'

'Thanks,' Billie said, gratefully.

Billie was woken up the following morning by the
sound of Danny Junior screaming. She immediately picked
him up, and held him close. Smoothing down his spiky
hair she tried to calm him down. 'Ssh, come on now,
what's the matter?'

'Where are we, Mummy? Can we go home now? I
want to play with my toys.'

Billie wiped away his tears with the cuff of her pyjamas.
'We're at Jamie's. Mummy's got a few things to sort out
and then we'll go home. Is that OK?'

DJ nodded, his bottom lip quivering.

Hearing Billie up and about, Jamie slung on a pair of
jeans and opened the bedroom door. He'd slept in his
mum's bed and let Billie and the child sleep in his. 'Do
you want any breakfast, Bill?'

'Jamie,' DJ screamed, excitedly.

'Hello, tiger,' Jamie said, ruffling his hair.

Billie couldn't face eating. She felt sick with dread at
the thought of what was going to happen when she saw
Danny. 'No, I'm not hungry, just a coffee will be fine.
You go downstairs, Jamie, and I'll get me and the baby
washed and dressed.'

'So what are you gonna do then, Bill?' Jamie looked
at her quizzically as he sat opposite her. She looked pasty
and ill and he was worried about her.

'I'm gonna have to go back to the house. I've nowhere
else to go at this present moment and he can't sling me
out because of the baby.'

Jamie gave a worried sigh. 'Do you think it's wise,
going back there?'

Billie forced a half-smile. 'I've no choice, Jamie. I'm
going to tell Danny that it's over between us, ask him
to move out and just see what happens. He can hardly
chuck us out on the streets, can he? His plastic gangster
cronies won't think much of him if he makes his
own son homeless.'

Jamie stood up and picked up his car keys. 'I wouldn't
put anything past him, Bill. I'll drive you home, come in
with you and make sure you're OK. If you have any grief,
ring me and I'll come straight back and get you.'

Nodding, Billie picked up the sports bag that she'd
hurriedly packed the night before and stood up. 'Thanks,
Jamie, for everything, but I don't think it's a good idea
for you to come in with me. It's my problem and if Danny's
indoors, you coming in may set him off again. If I need
you, I'll ring you, all right?'

Billie sat in silence on the journey home. Pulling up
on the corner, out of the way of prying eyes, Jamie handed
Billie her bag out of the boot and hugged her tightly. 'You
know where I am if you need me, eh?'

Billie felt comforted by the feel of his strong arms.
'I'll call you later, Jamie, and let you know what happened.
And don't worry, I'll be fine.'

Billie's heart was in her mouth as she unlocked her
front door. She found the silence that awaited her eerie.
Was he lying in wait for her? After having a good look
round, Billie was relieved to find no signs of the bastard.
The suit that he'd worn was nowhere to be seen and the
bed showed no sign of having been slept in.

In nearby Dagenham, Danny woke up with a jolt as he
felt the soft moist lips moving up and down his cock. 'Oh,
that's good, babe,' he moaned ecstatically. This was what
you called an early morning call and it certainly beat
waking up at home with frigid Lil, who rarely wanted him
anywhere near her.

Hearing him groan with pleasure, Debbie swallowed
his sperm and then casually asked him what he wanted
for breakfast.

'A bit of egg and bacon wouldn't go amiss, girl.'
Hugging her tightly, Danny felt at ease. He'd had a good
seeing to and it was lovely to be around someone that
actually wanted him. Indoors there was no intimacy and
he knew when Billie had sex with him, it was out of a
feeling of duty rather than want. Well, after her making
a mug out of him last night, he wasn't putting up with it
no more. Billie could go and fuck herself. 'Is it all right
if I stay here for a bit with you, Debs?'

Debbie was delighted. This was better than her wildest
dreams. She didn't want to seem too keen so she decided
to play hard to get. 'It depends, Danny. Are you leaving
Billie for good or just temporarily? Only I'm not gonna
be used again, you know.'

'I'm leaving her for good, it's over. No one cunts me
off like that and gets away with it. No one.'

Debbie tried to sound casual. 'Well, in that case you
can stay here. What about your son?'

Danny ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. 'I'll
see him whenever I want. He's my boy and no one or
nothing will stop me seeing him. Now do us a favour, stop
asking questions and go and cook us some breakfast.'

Wiping the last of the sauce off the plate with the stale tasting
bread, Danny got out of bed and got dressed.
'Right, I'm gonna have to go home, get some clothes and
stuff, pick me motor up and I'll be back later, probably
tonight. Do us a favour, Debs, get me a key cut, if you
ain't got a spare.'

Danny took his mobile out of his pocket and rang for a
cab. The firm he used knew him well and promised him
one in five minutes. Giving Debbie his new mobile number,
he chucked five twenty-pound notes on the little bedside
cabinet. 'There's oner there, go and get a bit of shopping in
and get us some lagers, preferably Stella.' Hearing the toot
of a car, Danny swiftly kissed Debbie on the cheek and
sauntered out of the room.

Debbie sat on the bed, feeling like a dog with two tails.
She'd finally got her man and was overjoyed. Now all she
had to do was hatch a plan to keep him. Heading off to
the bathroom, she ran the water till it was cold and filled
up a glass. Thirstily, she drank some, picked up her birth
control pills and took the one marked Sunday out of the
packet. She put the pill on her tongue, and was just about
to take a sip of water, when a wonderful thought came
to her. Spitting it out, she smiled as the pill went down
the plughole.

A baby, that was the way to keep him. That was the
answer. He'd soon forget about his old family if he had
a new one to concentrate on. Getting showered and
dressed, Debbie left the flat and headed round the corner
to her mum's house. Already a mother of two, Debbie
Jones had it easy. Her mother was only five minutes away,
loved having her kids and was an ideal unpaid babysitter.

'Mum, I need you to have the kids for me for a couple
of weeks. Remember Danny who I really liked? Well,
we're back together. He's left his bird and he's moving in
today.' Debbie handed her mum a bag of kiddies' clothes.

Sharon Jones had no life of her own and lived her life
through her daughter. At twenty-four stone, Sharon was no
beauty and life consisted of her beautiful daughter, her two
grandchildren,
EastEnders, Coronation Street
and a once-a-week
outing to the local Mecca bingo hall. 'Of course
I'll have the kids for you,' Sharon beamed ecstatically.

Kissing Britney and Jordan goodbye, Debbie set off to
the local supermarket with Danny's hundred quid. They had
some nice clothes in Asda and she could now afford to treat
herself. Standing outside, laden with carrier bags, she lit up
a fag and for once felt elated with her life. Normally she
couldn't afford the luxury of a taxi and had to bastard well
walk. Well, not any more. She'd found a good 'un now, a
rich one, and she was going to do everything in her power
to keep him. Smiling like a cat that had just drunk a dish
of the finest cream, Debbie ordered the driver to stick the
bags in the boot while she stood there like lady muck
watching him. This is the life for me, she thought. Without
a fucking doubt, this is the life for me.