CHAPTER TWO

NELLIE'S BIRTHDAY

The noise and warmth hit Joey as soon as he walked in. All eyes turned towards him and cries of welcome rang out. Joey acknowledged them with a cheerful "greetings " and advanced to his mam, sat at the table in front of a huge cake.

"Joey, Oh Joey, I'm overwhelmed by everything, I'm so glad you're here now, I was worried you wouldn't make it. We've waited to cut the cake." His mam gestured to the mound of unwrapped presents around her.

"Don't worry mam, I'm here now, just had a couple of things to sort out first."

Joey bent down to hug and kiss his mam and give her his present. She returned his hug, clasped him to her, then sniffed and opened it.

"Oh luv it's beautiful, oh thank you, oh I'm being spoilt so much today."

Joey moved behind his mam automatically rubbing her shoulders as Aveline started to sing 'happy birthday' and the whole Boswell crew joined in loudly and enthusiastically, clapping and cheering as Nellie cut into the cake.

"Drink Joey?"

He turned to see Susie indicating a row of bottles, cartons, glasses, lemons and every other item a well stocked bar would have. Joey smiled, he'd always liked Susie, she reminded him of the tough scarf and pinny street matriarchs of his youth, not that Susie would have been seen dead in that sort of get-up.

"Vodka and tonic, ice and a slice, please."

"Lemon or Lime?"

"Lime."

A hand suddenly appeared in front of Joey, followed by the rest of Adrian ready to perform his normal welcome. Adrian had also kept his figure and hair, although he favoured a more flamboyant dress style than Joey.

"I saw one of your paintings in the Caledonia the other day Adrian, it was very good."

"Yes, the 'real art in real pubs with real ale' has been very good for me. I've sold more since it started than in the last ten years put together."

If time had been kind to Joey and Adrian it had deserted Jack and Billy with a vengeance. Both overweight, Jack verging on the obese, and still dressed in the jeans, checked shirt and sweatshirt combination of thirty years ago. Not even decent branded gear but shapeless and ill fitting.

A conspicuous absence from the Boswell gathering was Freddie, noted Joey checking round.

"Did dad put in an appearance?"

"No, but I'm not sure he can manage the walk now. I did offer to pick him up on my way to get Chantel and the boys but he declined."

"Oh, not like dad to miss out on free food and drink. I'll pop in later and check he's ok."

Adrian lived to the North of Sefton Park, Irene to the south, and Freddie and Lillian in between to the west. Their little flat, provided by Joey, was sandwiched between Sefton and Princess Parks, giving Freddie a choice of nearby places to sit and dream.

Time seemed to have run out of options and stood still for Aveline.

"Joey," she shrieked. "How are yer?" as she tottered over on heels too high, skirt too short, top too low, not quite as extreme as in her youth, but nowhere near suitable for a woman her age.

The words 'mutton' and 'lamb' floated in and out of Joey's mind as he turned to embrace his sister.

"Can't complain Princess, can't complain."

He caught sight of Ursula and smirked. Ursula had hated all the modelling jobs Aveline had foisted on while she was growing up and had retaliated by studying hard, gaining excellent qualifications and graduating at Cambridge, where she continued to pursue an academic career. A stunning looking girl she had always dressed down, much to her mother's annoyance, albeit in designer kit. Her boyfriend Harry, also an academic type, was looking slightly uncomfortable chatting to Matt.

No one would consider Matt an academic. Two years younger than Ursula he'd left school barely clutching a few odd certificates and joined Billy at The Deli. His good looks and easy manner made him a success with the customers and he was perfectly happy in what he was doing and content to live with his mam and dad.

He disengaged himself from Aveline and moved to speak with Oswald in the parlour.

"Hello Joey."

"Greetings, and how are you this fine day?"

"Very well, thank you and yourself?"

"Fine."

"And Roxy?"

"Same as ever, thank you Oswald."

"And Alex and Hannah?"

"Both good."

"Ah, excellent, excellent."

"So Oswald, how's life at the cathedral?"

"Different to parish life Joey, it is strange living in The Close and being around others."

This somewhat formal exchange masked a deep bond between them. For both of them knew they had fallen passionately for selfish, self-centred women who took constantly but never gave, and had married against their better judgements. Both too decent to leave and seek more fulfilling lives elsewhere.

Although Aveline was too self-absorbed to meet anyone's needs but her own, and had left Oswald to do the child rearing largely unaided, she hadn't had constant affairs, or any at all, as far as Joey was aware, so Oswald had been spared that particular heartache.

The look that passed between them conveyed their feelings and without further words they returned to the kitchen.

And straight into an argument between Billy and Jack.

"I'm telling you it was The Braddocks, soft head"

"No, it was something Heights, them funny Italian ones."

"It wasn't, it was The Braddocks on Netherfield Road."

"Or was it The John Kennedy Heights? It was something Heights!" Billy was beginning to screech.

And Jack louder, "It was The…."

"Hey, hey cut it you two. Enough now."

Joey turned abruptly and went back to the parlour ostensibly to look at the cards, but really to make sure his brothers didn't clock the tears forming in his eyes.

Block 3, John F. Kennedy Heights, Everton Brow, demolished 1999.

Joey had watched it come down and a tiny bit of his heart had broken off and crumbled with the building.

Handmade cards, arty cards, comic cards, sensible appropriate cards, an over-the-top gushy card (Aveline), his own good taste card, and at the end two elderly relative duty cards – one from Francesca and Zac, the other from Alex.

Joey held it in his hand, happy birthday from Alex and Hannah. Just that. He sighed as he replaced it. Nellie had never been able to overcome her deep hatred of Roxy to accept Alex as a grandson, one of the family.

'She's a tart Joey, a tart.'

'I know mam, I know, you've told me. But it's not the little lad's fault. Don't hold it against him.'

'Joey, you just don't know do you luv, you just don't know.'

'Know what?'

'I've seen it with the animals, if there's something wrong with the bitch there'll be something wrong with the young. Stands..'

Joey had walked out straight to his car without another word and driven off with a 'Joey, Joey, Joey?' ringing in his ears.

He'd come back of course a few weeks later, hand forced by a family crisis, but it was another fatal cutting of the strings binding him to his mam.

His dad and Lilo Lil had no problems in accepting Alex. Freddie took anything and everything in his stride and treated the lad in the same way he had his own sons, football on a rec, get up soft lad if you took a fall, cheering Liverpool on the telly, or if he'd had enough 'yellow' mornings, from The Kop itself, and a drink at the local as soon as you were old enough to get served.

Lillian, Joey stopped using the derogatory nickname, deprived of a family of her own, delighted and flattered to be included, spoilt him rotten, but became the mother figure that Roxy wasn't. Lillian's unconditional love for Alex had drawn Joey close to her in a way that he could never have imagined.

Alex remained close to them and Joey couldn't help contrasting his mum's card with the fuss Alex had made for Lillian's 70th birthday, when the five of them had enjoyed a day out and a meal in her favourite restaurant. It wasn't surprising of course but it still saddened Joey that his mam could have been so vindictive in the first place to a little lad.

Composed now Joey re-joined the throng in the kitchen. Watching his mam surrounded by the youngest family members he was pleased she was reaping the benefits of her mellowed attitude to non-blood Boswells, Roxy and Andrew excepted.

Not that Roxy would have visited anyway, she still refused to have anything to do with his family and objected to any time he spent with them. Joey anticipated the cold-shoulder treatment awaiting him for when he got home, but he couldn't say it bothered him anymore.

Andrew, on the other hand, had no problems being around the rest of the family and didn't seem to make any fuss about Adrian visiting Nellie.

As the twenty somethings were making plans for an evening of drunkenness and debauchery in the Ropewalks' clubs, the teens their own little secret meets with their mates, and the youngsters bath and bed, Joey predicted that soon the party would break up and he could have a quiet chat with his mam. Despite the smashing of some of the ties Joey still loved his mam deeply, cared and looked out for her.

"Before you all start to leave I'd just like to say a few words."

"Oh no, Adrian we don't need one of your speeches."

"It's ok Jack, I think this expresses it better than anything I could say."

The sounds of Lou Reed's 'Perfect Day' began to play out.

Joey thanked God he was near the back door and could edge into the yard.

Now the tears did fall. What was it with today?

He leant against the wall, wiped his eyes, took a deep breath and fought to regain control of himself.

As he slipped back in he caught Oswald's concerned glance, but no one else seemed to have noticed.

As he anticipated the house emptied out,

"Joey, you know where I am if you need me."

Joey nodded his appreciation at his brother-in-law, not that he'd be taking up his offer, when he didn't even know himself why he was feeling so fragile.

"So mam, everything ok then?"

"Oh a lovely day Joey, just perfect, well apart, he didn't remember you know, too busy with that tart no doubt."

"Ah well, dad is dad mam, he's not going to change now."

Joey had hoped that when Nellie's relationship had progressed with Derek for a softening of her attitude to life, for less reliance on the family and on him in particular, and for a time that had seemed to be the case. They had been good friends and companions, though Joey suspected, never lovers. Nellie had seemed happier and more content, but Derek's death five years ago had sent Nellie into a spiral of hurts and disappointments and she had grown shriller and more prone to furious, judgemental outbursts with every year that passed.

Billy wandered in.

"Aw hey, plenty of cake left mam," and began devouring some.

Joey was just about to protest when Matt popped back.

"Uncle Joey here's the gas certificate for The Deli, I forgot to give it to you earlier. Aw hey, loads of cake. Can I have some Nan?"

"Of course luv," Nellie smiled fondly.

Joey shook his head, Matt had always seemed far more like Billy than either Aveline or Oswald, probably why they worked so well together.

"Oh, by the way, you haven't got a secret love child kicking around have you Uncle Joey?"

"No, I don't think so, no."

"Only the lad who was promoting the other night looked just like you going by some of mam's old photos. Looked about twenty-five."

"No, nothing to do with me son."

"No, twenty-six years ago he was saving himself for that tart who was busy having other men's babies!" Nellie was gearing up for a rant, all pursed lips and red face.

"Mam, let's not go through all that again. Not today." Joey sighed.

"I don't like seeing you hurt Joey, and she's done nothing but hurt you for the past thirty-five years," Nellie snorted.

"Mam, it's my life, let's just leave it and have a nice chat, ok?" Joey tone was brittle and Nellie knew by past experience it was time to stop.

He turned to Matt.

"About twenty-five you say, more likely to be Shifty's, he was putting it about all over the place then."

"Who's Shifty?"

"Aw, do you remember that Celia, what…"

"Yes, well Billy, Matt doesn't want to hear those stories." Nellie interrupted.

"Oh he…"

"Bill-y," Joy felt the need to intervene.

"I'm still never allowed to finish a sentence in this house am I?"

"I'd better be off Nan, " Matt decided to scarper, "Tell me Monday, Uncle Billy."

Billy finished stuffing his face, "It'd be nice though wouldn't it if you did have a secret son? I mean you're the only…"

Joey raised his eyes and Nellie silently crossed herself looking anxiously at him.

"NO, it would not be nice Billy. Why don't you go next door to your own house and leave me to chat with mam in peace. Alright?"

Even Billy recognised the dangerous edge to Joey's voice and promptly disappeared.

"Oh, thank God Joey, he's getting worse. I do try with him but it's fighting a losing battle." Nellie laid a conciliatory hand on Joey's arm.

"Never mind mam, now let's have that coffee and you can tell me all your news.