“But it’s been an acceptable cross to bear,” said Mrs Bristow.
The next morning, after the Bristows left for Chigwell, Danny went out into the small but well-kept garden. He looked up to the sky and whispered: “Things are going really well, Dad. Thank you for your help.”
He felt sure, as he had felt so many times before, that his father was looking down on him, helping and guiding him.
Still buzzing with the excitement and thoughts of having a place of their own, he decided to take a morning run to the park and tell Albert the good news. It was strange to think, as he ran through the familiar smog-laden streets, that in just a few weeks, it would be time to say goodbye to it all. He reflected on the years of growing up in the neighbourhood, the scrapes and adventures of his childhood. He thought about those wayward friends that he grew up with. Vince for one had landed up in prison: something to do with a botched robbery attempt on a bank in Romford. Ironically, one of the gang had become a policeman somewhere in Norfolk. Another had emigrated to Australia for a better life. Danny’s life was changing for the better too, and he was looking forward to meeting up with the man that had set him on this path.
The familiar sight of Albert in the park, bag of bread in hand, surrounded by his family of hungry ducks, made Danny smile. With so many things changing, the constant routine of Albert felt reassuring.
“Morning, Albert!”
Albert turned. “Hello Danny, all right?”
“I’ve got some good news, Albert. I’m buying a house in Chigwell!”
Albert sat on the bench. “That’s a bit posh Danny, I’m pleased for you. When do you move in?”
Danny joined him. “In a couple of months. I’ve gotta get one of them mortgages, I think.”
“Right. Lots to do then.”
“Yeah. You’ll have to come and see it.”
This was a good feeling, Danny thought. Just the two of them, generations apart, sat side by side. No pressure, no distractions.
“None of this would have happened if I hadn’t met you all those years back,” he said.
“So it’s my fault, is it?” said Albert with a smile.
“Yep, all your fault,” Danny agreed. “I could have been in jail now, like a couple of my mates from school.”
“Well it’s free board and lodgings,” Albert observed. “None of that mortgage lark.”
Danny laughed. “I’ll need to buy a motor though, if I’m living in the sticks. I need to get to Patsy’s and that.”
“See Lenny, he’ll sort you out with something decent,” advised Albert.
“It’s going well though,” said Danny. “I’ve got that lunch meeting with Tommy and Jack later, in an upmarket Chinese restaurant in Limehouse called Wing Wong or something. You ever had Chinese food, Albert? I ain’t. Is it right they cook up cats?”
Albert scratched his ear. “I wouldn’t know, son. But if you’re meeting Costa and Cohen, maybe they should cook up a couple of rats.”
This took Danny aback. He knew Albert was suspicious of Costa and Cohen, but had hoped the recent triumph and success would have eased his fears.
“It will be interesting to see what plans they have in the future for us, won’t it?” he said, trying to put a positive spin on things. “I’m not sure why they didn’t want you and Patsy at the meeting.”
“It’s your future,” said Albert. “We’re the past, me and Patsy.”
“No,” said Danny uneasily. “You’re a part of it.”
The two men went quiet, and watched a small boy with his grandfather playing with a remote-controlled boat on the pond, scattering ducks in its wake.
“Listen son,” said Albert. “Costa and Cohen want control. They don’t want me interfering. I’ve given this a lot of thought and I think it’s best if I bow out.”
Danny felt winded. “You what?”
“I’m sorry boy,” Albert said gently, “but I’ve made my mind up. Best if you go your way and I go mine. I’ll still keep an eye on what you’re up to, and I’m sure Patsy will still be with you, but you don’t need me. I can’t rub shoulders with Costa and Cohen.”
Danny felt like his world had turned upside-down. From being on top of it all, he was now drowning in a sea of confusion. He had trained so hard and Albert had been his inspiration, but now with success within their reach, Albert wanted out. He couldn’t believe it.
Albert put his arm around Danny’s shoulder. “You’re moving up, Danny. Those two have contacts and power. You don’t need an old stick-in-the-mud like me.”
Danny felt choked. Albert was not a man to change his mind when it was made up. His first reaction was to ditch Costa and Cohen, but there was the new house, the baby, Wendy to think of. He needed to think this through. He needed time to defuse the bomb that Albert had tossed in his lap.
“All right Albert,” he managed to say. “I’ve gotta go, speak to you later.”
Albert looked into Danny’s eyes. “Goodbye son,” he said.
At the park gates, Danny looked back to see Albert still sitting on his bench. A cloud of sadness engulfed him as he walked the streets back to the Bristows’.
Albert stayed where he was, staring at the trees gently swaying in the wind.
He had tried wrestling with his principles, but couldn’t shake off his misgivings. Costa and Cohen had fixed Danny’s fight to fast-track him into a money-making machine. Albert had too much respect for himself and the noble art of boxing to do anything so shady.
Costa and Cohen had recognised his honest old-fashioned outlook and saw him as a drag on their scheme of things. As much as he cared for Danny, he could not be a part of something crooked. He could not be party to the dangerous liaison that could eventually lead to Danny’s downfall.
With a heavy and empty heart, Albert made his way home.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
DANNY was still in a state of shock when he reached the Bristows’. He was relieved that the house was empty. He needed some time to think, to be alone. He made his way through the back door and into the garden, looking up at the clouds in search of answers. None came.
Deep in troubled thought, he heard the front door open.
“We’re back, Danny!” Wendy called. “Mum and Dad love the house, it’s going to be so good for Ruby!”
Danny made his way inside, past a couple of smiling garden gnomes along the path.
“You know, Danny,” said Mrs Bristow in excitement. “I wouldn’t put curtains up. The modern thing is those Venetian blinds.”
“Albert’s leaving the team,” Danny blurted out.
The chatter stopped for a moment.
“Oh well,” said Wendy. “If that’s what he wants. He’s probably too old for this game now anyway.”
“Albert’s important,” Danny said angrily.
“Not so much now you’ve got Tommy and Jack looking after you, eh?” said Mr Bristow.
Danny felt his anger and frustration begin to boil over.
“You don’t understand,” he bit out. “None of you understand.”
Grabbing his coat, he walked out of the house and slammed the door. None of this was the Bristows’ fault, he knew, but it felt like it.
He walked aimlessly around the streets until it was time for lunch. Arriving at the Chinese restaurant at Limehouse, he felt a mixture of emotions towards Costa and Cohen. It was their fault that Albert was leaving the team, and yet they were his best option if he, Wendy and Ruby were to move forward.
He looked through the window at a line of nasty-looking orange ducks hanging on a spit. Seeing the ducks so bald and lifeless sent his mind back to Albert and the lively birds that he nurtured and fed. Albert would be disgusted to see this.
He was just about to go in when a car pulled in at the kerbside.