Francesca, page 52
‘Maybe, Julie. But now I am having a good time. After all, it’s why we’re here, isn’t it? Cheers, Julie,’ I said and raised my glass to her before I drank the champagne. I saw her worried face watching me drinking, but I didn’t care.
Jake was waiting for Tony in his usual corner of the bar beside Sharon. ‘Well, Tony, how did it go? I see not that well by that red mark on your cheek. You’re pushing her too far this time, Tony.’ Jake was having a whisky. He had already poured one for Tony because Tony had already discussed earlier what he was going to do.
Tony thought his idea sounded okay in his mind. Now Jake wasn’t so sure, and neither was he. Only time would tell.
I made a point of dancing with a few men, who seemed intent on groping my bare back. And I laughed and joked with other people at the table. It was a fun evening, I suppose. I was letting my hair down and didn’t give a damn.
Julie took my arm and almost dragged me to the ladies’ toilets. ‘Okay, Fran, let’s have it. What’s wrong?’
‘Tony has dumped me. There, are you satisfied?’ I snapped. I was a little drunk and snapping at the wrong person. ‘That’s all, Julie. Another one of Tony’s tarts bites the dust.’
Julie folded her arms and insisted on the details. I was surprised that she never said anything of significance. She never even threatened to go out there and give Tony a piece of her mind. She put her arms around me and smiled. ‘Oh, he’s just smarting, Fran. He’s never been turned down before. Dented ego.’
I felt a bit tipsy. Three glasses of champagne was definitely my limit.
As Julie and I walked out of the loo, a man took my arm and started pulling me towards the dance floor. ‘Come on, beautiful. It’s nearly midnight, and I feel like dancing,’ he slurred.
He was pulling at me, and despite Julie and I pushing him away, he wouldn’t leave me alone. Julie walked away to get Ralph. I waved my hand to her to let her know that I was okay and could handle it. This guy wasn’t the first drunk who had tried grabbing hold of me. I had worked the strip clubs, and that sort of behaviour went with the territory.
The man pulled me closer to him, and the more I pushed him away, the tighter his grip seemed to get. I shouted at him but was drowned out by everyone shouting the last-minute countdown to midnight, before the New Year’s bells chimed.
Suddenly, the man flew across the room and fell into a table, knocking the glasses to the floor. I looked up and saw Tony. He was walking towards the man and grabbed him by the back of his jacket, pulling him to his feet. Tony’s fist flew hard into the man’s face again and again. Blood was pouring from the man’s face. He looked half unconscious, but Tony didn’t stop.
I was shouting to Tony to stop but he wasn’t listening.
‘That is my wife, you sleazy bastard,’ Tony roared.
In the end, Jake appeared from nowhere and dragged Tony away.
The bouncers of the club had seen what had happened and hurried forward. Picking up the man between them, they dragged him outside and threw him on the pavement. No one would care. It was just another drunk on New Year’s Eve who had had a fight. Once he sobered up and realised who he had been pulling around, he wouldn’t make a complaint.
Everyone was in celebration mode, singing and dancing. The fireworks were being let off, and people were standing on the balconies toasting each other, totally oblivious to what had happened.
‘Here, put this on, you bloody fool. You could have killed him.’ Ralph handed Tony the clean shirt he’d told Jake to go and get from the apartment. He had instructed the bouncers to take the beaten up, half conscious man off the pavement and put him in a skip around the corner. Someone would find him and call an ambulance. He would be too drunk to remember the details and too frightened to tell anyone it was Tony.
Tony was rubbing his fist. His face was red with anger. He saw the blood on his shirt collar and went to his office to change.
Jake followed him into the office. ‘Get dressed, Tony, and put that one in the bin. It’s after midnight now. So do what you have to do. And for God’s sake, don’t fuck it up this time. Good luck, mate.’ With that, Jake left the room.
Tony changed his shirt and let out a loud sigh. Things hadn’t gone as planned. But in his life, they never did. No one was allowed to touch Francesca, especially a man. She was his and his alone. Now he would prove it.
‘Thank God we were in a dark corner, Fran,’ said Julie.
We were both a little breathless with recent events.
‘No one noticed,’ she added. ‘They’re all too busy celebrating, and the music is loud.’
I couldn’t believe what she was saying. ‘Is that all you care about? No one noticed Tony beating the living daylights out of some customer?’
‘No,’ said Julie, full of sympathy. ‘You know what I mean. Are you okay, love?’
I nodded. I had seen many a fight break out and get out of hand. Who the hell was Tony to start fighting and say I was his wife. What did he care—he had just dumped me!
Jake was standing with Julie and Ralph at the bar. They were all having a well-deserved drink. ‘Can you believe it, Jake? Not one person saw that. People were nearby, but no one saw that crazy outburst. Happy New Year’s, everyone,’ said Ralph.
‘Where is Fran?’ Julie was looking around the room. She couldn’t see Francesca anywhere. Maybe she had gone to the ladies’.
She waited but didn’t see Fran come out.
Jake radioed the bouncers at the door to see if she had passed them while leaving. The answer was a simple, ‘No, boss.’
I didn’t bother knocking on the office door. I just barged in. Tony was changing his shirt. Strangely enough, it was exactly the same colour as the one he had worn earlier. No one would know the difference. He was combing his hair back and checking himself in the mirror.
‘Who the hell do you think you are, Tony?’ I wasn’t shouting or snarling but just wanted to make my point. ‘I am not your wife, Tony. So why beat up that man and say that I am? For goodness sake, Tony, stop it. You blow hot and cold all of the time. You don’t want me, but you don’t want anyone else to have me either. Or am I on your substitute list, like all those other silly women out there?’
Tony had his back to me while he was looking in the mirror. He didn’t look at me directly but into the mirror at my reflection. ‘I never said that I didn’t want you Francesca, did I?’ He carried on checking his tie. In all of our conversation earlier, did I say I didn’t want you?’ He turned fully now and looked me in the eyes. His face was still slightly flushed, but he had calmed down.
‘You said we were over, that you’d had enough of me. What else is that supposed to mean, Tony?’ I was stunned by this revelation.
‘It means what I said, Francesca—out with the old and in with the new. It’s a new year and a fresh start. And although things haven’t gone quite as I planned, that is what I meant. Think about it, Francesca.’
I shrugged and shook my head. I had no idea what he was talking about. He was probably drunk and didn’t know what he was saying. I turned and walked out, heading towards Julie at the bar.
‘I’m leaving, Julie. I’ve had enough. I should never have come.’
Julie seemed to panic a little and encouraged me to have one last drink before I went.
She ordered a soft drink. I noticed the club lights were being turned up. It was now fully lit up and everyone was looking around and wondering why as the music stopped.
Tony walked out into the middle of the dance floor. I was curious now, as I watched his lone figure standing there while the crowd looked on. Suddenly the air seemed sombre.
‘Happy New Year, friends,’ he said to put everyone at ease.
So that was what the big entrance was all about. He was playing host. Everyone shouted happy New Year and started applauding him. He was looking around the room, and when he saw me, he stopped and held out his hand.
‘Francesca, come here please.’ He paused and held his arm out.
Everyone turned to look in my direction, so I felt I should walk forward to Tony. He embraced me and held me tightly. His mouth was near my ear and he was whispering. ‘Think back, Francesca, to the place you once said you would like to get married in. Think of the one place in the whole world where I would never tarnish beautiful memories with deceit and lies. You want commitment, Francesca, this is all I have.’
His lips were warm against my ear. I was trying to think what he was talking about.
He pulled away and addressed the crowd again. ‘I have asked the beautiful Francesca to marry me, and sadly, she turned me down.’
You could see the shocked look on people’s faces, and I could see Roxy and his army of lady friends sitting at the bar. They were turning their head from side to side to get a better view. When he said that, you could almost hear a pin drop; their jaws dropped.
‘Well.’ Tony beamed a large smile at them all. ‘I told her that I would never ask her again, because this time I am telling her.’ He held my hand and brushed a wisp of hair from my face. I wasn’t taking any of this in. ‘Thank you to all of my beautiful lady friends who I invited here tonight. Thank you for coming.’ He pointed towards the bar where some of them were sitting. ‘It’s been a real pleasure, ladies. But now everything changes. In two weeks, I am getting married to Francesca. She has walked in and out of my life, and I cannot stand it anymore. Enough is enough.’
I was shocked. I looked at Tony and then around the room at the faces staring at us. Everyone seemed as shocked as I was. They must have thought he was drunk, although he didn’t look it; he was very coherent. I tried pulling away. ‘No, Tony, stop it. Don’t do this. You’re making a fool out of me.’ I turned my back and started to walk away.
At the top of his voice, Tony shouted, ‘Do you love me or not, Francesca?’ I could hear the impatient anger rising in his voice.
I turned to face him. It seemed like there was only him and me there, although there were hundreds of onlookers watching the notorious Tony Lambrianu declaring his love.
‘Yes,’ I shouted back at him. ‘For what good it has done me, Antonias, I love you with all of my heart. But so do they.’ I pointed at Roxy.
He walked towards me and grabbed my arms. ‘The difference is that I love you. I think I always have since we met at that Christmas party in the East End. That is why it’s only right I do this now, at Christmas. I have asked you to think back to a place where I would never lie to a woman or hurt her with my selfishness. Is this public enough for you, Francesca? There are no secrets now.’
I looked into his eyes. Instantly I knew what he meant. His grandmother’s church. Tony’s grandmother had told me she had gotten married there. Tony would not use it to play his games. To him, his family church was hallowed ground, if you like.
‘You mean your grandmother’s church, don’t you?’ I whispered, not wanting everyone to hear me.
Tony nodded and smiled at me. To him, that was the ultimate commitment. He would never take his vows in there unless he truly meant it. He went down on one knee and took a ring box out of his pocket. I looked down at the little square box as he opened it. Inside was a huge diamond surrounded by sapphires.
‘I will not give you the chance to say no again, Francesca. You’re marrying me in Italy in two weeks’ time. I have the airline tickets booked, and Bobby has a passport.’
‘We need to talk in private, Tony,’ was all I said. Then I walked towards his office, ignoring everyone around me. This wasn’t a public discussion. He had made his grand gesture proposal, but there was more to it. I heard the music start up again as I stood in Tony’s office and waited.
‘Tony,’ I began as he walked in, ‘you can’t just organise a wedding in two weeks, especially in a foreign country. And how come you’re so sure of yourself? I don’t want that circus wedding we had last year, full of people I don’t know. I’m no good at being married, Tony—twice divorced. Is this what your speech was all about earlier—about starting afresh?’
He put his arm around me and held me. Nothing was said. He pulled away from me and cupped my face and kissed me on the forehead. ‘It’s not a foreign country, Francesca. It’s my home, where my mother and father lived. It’s taken me longer than I expected to arrange, and your mother has declined to come due to other commitments. There will be only ten of us, me, hopefully you, and the rest of our dysfunctional family. Oh and Grandma and Rosanna will be there too. I have asked Elle if she wants to bring Albert.’ He was grinning now at the mention of Albert’s name.
‘My mother knows about this?’ I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Everyone seemed to be in on this. ‘I need time to think, Tony. Really I do.’
I turned to leave, my mind in turmoil. And then I heard a noise. I turned around and saw Tony with a gun in his hand. He was pointing it at me. ‘You will marry me, Francesca. I’m not letting you go. I would rather kill you first. You can think about it if you must. And yes, they all know. You say you love me, and I love you. What more do you need to think about?’ This was a whole new meaning to a shotgun wedding!
‘Put it away, Tony,’ I said, calm considering I had a gun pointing at me, and I knew he had a hot temper. He threw it back in his desk side drawer and swept his hair back, totally frustrated. He took a deep breath and sat down.
‘You drive me crazy, Francesca,’ his tone was full of despair. He had tried everything, even attempted murder. He was exhausted.
I turned and left him sitting in his chair and walked out of the club, the crowds watching. I had a lot to think about. All in all, it had been an eventful night. I realised now Tony had put this pantomime on for my benefit, to prove his love.
I presumed he had wanted to ask me to marry him on the stroke of midnight, but with the fight, it had all gone wrong. I now realised, when he had said that he was tired of the way we were carrying on, he meant our little affair. He wanted marriage, nothing less. Inviting his lady friends was some kind of farewell to his past life. He had worn his heart on his sleeve. No one had ever done that for me before and probably never would again.
I rang my mam when I got home. It was the early hours, and I was taken aback when George answered. She confirmed she knew what Tony was planning but had been sworn to secrecy. ‘You two are like Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. How many more weddings am I supposed to come to, Fran, and in Italy of all places?’
I had obviously interrupted her, and she wasn’t happy. She didn’t even ask if I had agreed to marry Tony. I wished her a happy New Year’s and hung up the telephone. There was nothing more to say. I looked at the engagement ring Tony had put on my finger and the airline tickets in my handbag. I would think about that tomorrow.
I didn’t sleep very well that night. My mind was in turmoil. Tony had always been in control of things. I’d thought he’d dumped me. He had watched me cry and then announced he was going to marry me. I don’t know what went through his head. For a level-headed businessman, when it came to love, he didn’t have a clue.
I needed to get away from here. Julie was supposed to be coming today for our postponed Christmas. I really didn’t feel in the mood for all of that. Elle had stayed overnight while looking after Bobby. She seemed surprised when she got up in the morning and found me up and about. She also noticed Tony’s absence.
I knew she wanted to know what had gone on last night, and I saw her look at my ring, but she said nothing. She no doubt guessed that Tony’s plan had gone awry. Not only hadn’t he stayed the night while we were united in our engagement celebrations, but she could see my sombre mood. She quickly showered and got ready to leave. She could tell I wanted to be alone to think.
After a coffee, I decided to get rid of the elephant in the room and clear the air. ‘I presume you knew he was going to finish our affair and ask me to marry him, Elle, didn’t you?’ I asked.
She took a deep breath and nodded at me, sighing. ‘What did he do, Fran? What has happened? I told him not to rush in like a bull in a china shop.’
I told her what had happened. I knew she knew about Italy. Apparently it had all been planned for a while. He had just handed out flight tickets to people, a bit like Willy Wonka and his golden tickets. She told me my mam had refused to come, making excuses that she was busy. I already knew this.
What a difference in women. Elle was defending my mam’s decision, mentioning the short notice and everything she had to deal with. I wouldn’t like to think what my mam’s opinion would have been about Elle if the boot was on the other foot, knowing how much my mam resented her.
‘Where is everyone supposed to be staying, Elle?’ I asked. I was curious, and I felt Elle could calmly fill in some of the missing information.
‘Can’t you guess?’ She laughed and put her hand on top of mine. ‘As far as I’m aware, everyone is due to go the week before and then have a week to rest or get ready for the big day. Everyone is staying at Julie’s, Fran,’ she said, surprised I’d even had to ask.
‘Julie is supposed to be coming today. I’m not in the mood, Elle, and I need time to think things through. Everyone else has had time to think about this except me. Tony thinks I am just going to go along with his plans. He doesn’t care what I think. Why would I get married without my family there, Elle? In fact, why would I want to get married at all? We’re happy, Elle. Why change things?’ I knew what I was saying made sense.
I was just supposed to go along with it all. Tony was supposedly in love, and nothing or no one else mattered. He had made his choice.
‘That’s Tony, love. He will never change. Think about poor Jake. He has put up with it for years.’ She laughed, shaking her head. ‘I have known Tony for a very long time, and he does everything with a passion—his work, his anger, and his lifestyle. There are no half measures. Now for the first time in his life—and I mean this; I am not just saying it for your benefit—Tony has found love, Fran. You have made the mistake of telling him that you love him. As far as he is concerned, there are no more questions to be asked.’ She stood up to leave. ‘If you tell him that you don’t love him, he won’t take it easy. But he will accept it. I know you have rejected him already, and that scared him. He doesn’t scare easily, Fran, but he is afraid of losing you. And this is his ham-fisted way of showing it.’ Elle picked up her coat and left.
