by Joan Jonker
‘No, it’s not, girl – and if I ever meet yer parents I’ll break their bleedin’ necks for them. But before yer’ve got me bawlin’ me eyes out, and before everything on me stall has been nicked, tell me if yer takin’ the skirt and blouse.’
‘Yes, they’re really nice. I’m sorry about the dress ’cos it is beautiful, but I’d never have the opportunity to wear it and I can’t afford it anyway. So how much d’yer want for the skirt and blouse?’
Mary Ann’s tummy started to shake and her nose twitched with laughter. ‘Have yer still got that bleedin’ shilling?’
Sadie laughed with her. ‘It’s not the same bleedin’ shilling, but yer’d never know the difference.’
‘Give us it then. I won’t charge yer for washing and ironing them.’
‘Yer haven’t washed them, have yer?’
‘I have, ’cos I knew yer’d be wanting to wear them tonight. Now, will yer sod off and let me get back to earning a living?’
‘Can I keep the paper bag, please, to carry me things home in?’
The stall-holder rolled her eyes. ‘Go on, take it.’
Sadie folded the skirt and blouse and carefully laid them in the bag. From now on, that bag would have to be her wardrobe. ‘See yer next week, Mary Ann.’
‘I hope so, girl, otherwise me takings will be down.’
Brenda clung to Sadie’s arm as they neared the Gainsborough where Alec and Bobby were waiting for them. ‘I’ll never speak to yer again if yer leave me alone with him.’
‘Don’t talk daft. How can I leave yer alone with him in a picture house full of people! Be yer age, Brenda.’
Alec made straight for Sadie, who was looking very attractive in her new outfit. His eyes were full of admiration as he took her elbow. ‘We thought yer weren’t goin’ to show up.’
Sadie pulled her arm free. ‘Before we go in, me and Brenda don’t want to be split up. We want to sit next to each other.’
‘Suits me, it’s no skin off my nose.’ Alec had visions of sitting in the back row with his arms around Sadie and couldn’t care less what happened to Brenda. But his hopes were dashed when the usherette told him the back rows were full. The lights dimmed for the start of the first house and after she’d torn their tickets in half, she shone her torch to lead them down the aisle. ‘There’s four.’ She lit up the empty seats then hurried back up the aisle.
Alec took charge. ‘Bobby, you go in first. Then you, Brenda.’
Sadie saw Brenda’s face as she squeezed past the people in the occupied seats. ‘You get in now, Alec,’ she said in a low voice. ‘You can sit between me and Brenda.’
‘But I thought—’
‘Never mind what yer thought, just get in.’ In the light from the flickering screen, Sadie saw her friend’s angry look change to one of pleasure. I knew that would please her, she thought, having a handsome lad sitting next to her. But I’m not coming out in a foursome again ’cos there’s no pleasure in it. I should be enjoying myself, not worrying whether Brenda does or not.
After two short comedy films and the newsreel, the lights went up for the interval. ‘D’yer want an ice cream, Sadie?’ Alec asked.
‘No, it’s all right. Yer’ve paid enough out for us.’
‘Don’t be daft, have an ice cream.’
Sadie leaned forward. ‘Are you having an ice, Brenda?’
‘If you are.’
‘Okay, then, Alec, we’ll have one.’
Alec stood up, pushing his seat back. ‘Come on, Bobby, you can give us a hand.’ He had just about enough to pay for two ices; he certainly wasn’t well-off enough to pay for four.
Sadie watched the two lads walk down the aisle to where the usherette was standing with a tray of ice creams. The tray was attached either side to a wide leather strap which hung from the girl’s neck, leaving her hands free to serve.
‘D’yer want me to change places and sit next to yer, Brenda?’
‘No, it’s all right.’ Brenda tried to sound nonchalant, as though she didn’t care one way or the other, when in reality she was floating on cloud nine, sitting next to Alec. Their arms had touched on the wooden armrest between the seats and she’d been thrilled. He was the nicest-looking lad in the factory and all the girls were after him. She’d never been this close to him before but now they’d been out together she could stop and talk to him without needing a reason. She knew he had his eye on Sadie, but it had only been since she’d been getting all dolled up. In future, she’d ask her mam if she could buy her own clothes and she’d choose something more glamorous to compete with her friend.
‘Are yer sure?’ Sadie asked, although she knew what the answer would be. She’d heard Brenda talking to Alec when the comedy films were on, and although he’d only grunted in reply, it hadn’t stopped her friend from chatting away. Good luck to her, Sadie thought. She can have him as far as I’m concerned. ‘Just don’t come moaning to me on Monday that I broke me promise.’
The lads came back, each carrying two tubs of ice cream. Brenda took hers from Bobby with ill-grace. Never a smile or a thank you. Then she turned to Alec, a silly smirk on her face and her eyelashes fluttering. ‘I’m looking forward to the big picture, are you, Alec? Douglas Fairbanks is one of me favourites.’
Oh, dear God, Sadie thought, dipping the tiny wooden spoon into the ice cream. If I ever had to act like that to get a feller I’d take a running jump off the Pier Head. And she’s being dead mean to Bobby; she hasn’t given the lad a civil word after him paying for her to come in. I know he’s no oil painting, but the poor lad can’t help how he looks.
When the lights dimmed, Alec half-turned his back on Brenda and reached for Sadie’s hand. ‘Does yer friend ever stop talking?’
‘She’s not usually so talkative.’ Sadie wasn’t sure about the hand-holding. She could see couples in front of them holding hands, some of them even had their arms around each other. Better leave it, she thought, otherwise he’ll think I’m childish. I don’t want him to know it’s my first time out with a boy. ‘I think she’s got a crush on yer.’
‘Too bad,’ Alec said, his face close to hers. ‘My sights are set on a girl with blonde hair, blue eyes and a figure like a film star.’
He’s a charmer, probably used to girls falling for his flattery, Sadie thought. But she wasn’t displeased because compliments didn’t come her way very often. So she played him along. ‘Oh, and why aren’t you out with this film star tonight?’
‘I am, but she’s doing a Cinderella on me. She says she has to run when the clock strikes eight.’
Sadie didn’t realise it, but she was having her first lesson in how to flirt. ‘Ah, poor Prince Charming. Never mind, your Cinderella will come along again and you might have more luck.’
‘D’yer mean that, Sadie?’ Alec’s voice was eager. ‘Will yer come out with me one night, just the two of us?’
‘Yeah, okay, but make it on a Friday because I don’t want to leave Brenda in the lurch.’
‘Next Friday?’ Alec would have to borrow the money off his mam until he got paid on Saturday, but it wouldn’t be the first time. ‘It’ll have to be second house because I don’t get home from work until six.’
‘All right, next Friday. But will yer shut up now and let me watch the picture?’
Alec sat back, contented now he’d got what he wanted. The furthest he’d get tonight was holding her hand, but next Friday, when they were on their own, he’d get a damn sight more.
Harry was waiting when Sadie stepped off the tram and the sight of her filled him with pleasure. He’d always thought her pretty, even when she was dressed in clothes that a rag-and-bone man would be ashamed to sell, but the last week had seen her blossom into a real beauty.
‘Did yer enjoy the picture?’
‘It was all right, I suppose, but me mate’s beginning to get me down. I seem to spend me life just tryin’ to please her.’ They were walking, hands by their sides, to their usual destination. ‘We made a foursome up tonight, with
two fellers from work, and Brenda was a real pain. She wanted the feller I had, and because he wasn’t having any she got a real cob on. I’ll never ever go out in a foursome again.’
The jealousy Harry was feeling made him speak abruptly. ‘Yer better off with yer girlfriend, ’cos yer too young to go out with a bloke on yer own. I’ve warned yer, don’t trust them as far as yer can throw them.’
‘I can look after meself, Harry, don’t you worry about that. No feller will ever get the better of me.’
To fuel Harry’s annoyance, another courting couple had taken over their special spot in the park. There they were, their arms holding each other tight as their lips were glued together. And while he blasted them in his temper, he also envied them.
Gripping Sadie’s arm he marched her along until they came to another clearing. ‘Now,’ he said, his hands on her shoulders, ‘the bloke you were with tonight – he didn’t try to get fresh with yer, did he?’
Sadie stared back. ‘He’d have had a hard job tryin’ to get fresh with me outside the picture house in broad daylight, wouldn’t he?’ She pushed her face closer to his. ‘What’s it got to do with you, anyway?’
‘Because I worry about yer, that’s why.’
‘You’re the only one in the world that does, Harry, so I wouldn’t bother if I were you.’
‘It’s no bother, Sadie.’ Harry calmed himself down, afraid she’d walk away and leave him. ‘Yer a nice girl an’ I don’t want yer to come to any harm, that’s all.’
‘I know all about the facts of life, Harry, I was taught them at a very early age.’ Sadie sighed. How could she tell him that even the baby, eighteen months old, saw sights that no child should see? And why was she shouting at him anyway? Harry Young was the only person in the street who still had a smile for her when the rest of the neighbours were openly showing their distaste as the Wilson house deteriorated into a hovel. But for all that, he was still a man and had admitted that most men were only out for what they could get. Wasn’t her father the best example? And Alec? Oh, she was under no illusions about him. He was handsome all right, but he didn’t half know it. He thought he only had to crook his finger and any girl would come running. Well, he was in for a big surprise with her because she wasn’t going to be the one doing the running. ‘Remember, Harry, I’m one of six children and it’s a long time since I believed the fairies left us under a cabbage leaf.’
‘I hope yer as wise as yer make out, Sadie, ’cos with your looks there’ll always be men after yer.’
‘Haven’t you got a girlfriend, Harry?’
‘Yeah, there’s a girl I go out with, but it’s really only for dancing. She’s a smashing dancer, a dream on the dance floor.’ Harry grinned. ‘I think she’ll be giving me the heave-ho soon, because she’s getting fed up with me being late every Saturday. By the time I get there it’s nearly the interval.’
Sadie’s eyes held his for a few seconds, then she asked, ‘Why d’yer waste yer time on me? Surely yer can get as many kisses as yer want from yer girlfriend?’
‘Let’s just say I like a variety, eh? Yer know what they say about variety being the spice of life.’
‘If yer don’t put a move on yer’ll be losing yer girlfriend and then yer’ll have no variety.’
Harry took her hands in his before dropping a light kiss on her lips.
‘That was just a taster to get meself warmed up for the big one. And while I’m building meself up for the main event, can I ask if it’s two for the price of one again this week? Will yer meet me on Wednesday again?’
‘It’s your money, Harry, and although I think yer’ve got a screw loose spending it on me, I’m not goin’ to stop yer.’ Sadie’s mind was on a pair of shoes she badly needed. The old pair were nearly dropping off her feet and spoiling the effect of her new clothes. And it was Harry’s sixpences that were getting her the things she wanted. ‘I’ll meet yer here on Wednesday.’
‘Move that paper out of the way.’ Florrie Young waited until her son had folded the News of the World, then she set his breakfast before him. ‘Get that down yer.’
Harry eyed the bacon, egg and black pudding with relish. ‘Mmm, that looks good, Mam.’
‘I want me head testing, givin’ yer a breakfast this late – it’s nearly dinner-time. Yer a lazy article, sleeping till eleven on a Sunday. Most people have been to Mass and back by now.’
Her husband, Jack, came through from the kitchen drying his hands. ‘Yer Mam’s got you and me down for the fires of hell, son. She reckons we’ll never see the pearly gates.’
Harry reached for a piece of bread. ‘D’yer think Mr Watson from number six will make it to heaven, Mam? He goes to Mass every Sunday morning as regular as clockwork. And just as regularly he beats his wife up every Saturday night after he’s had a bellyful of ale. If he makes it to the pearly gates, and I don’t, then there ain’t no justice. What do you think, Dad?’
Jack picked up the paper and made for his favourite chair. He was a well-made man, tall and muscular. He and his son were very alike in looks and temperament, with their dark curly hair, dimpled cheeks and an easygoing manner. ‘I agree with yer, son. That Norman Watson is a real bad ’un. He’s a bully and a blackguard. I’m used to bad language on the docks, but some of the things he comes out with make me cringe. I’m surprised the church doesn’t fall down on top of him.’
Florrie was clasping and unclasping her hands as she watched her husband bury his head in the paper and her son concentrate on his breakfast. She was a good-looking woman, with a girlish figure, laughing hazel eyes, a good complexion and a happy disposition. The one disappointment in her life was only having the two boys. She would have dearly loved a daughter, but after Paul was born she was told she would never have any more children. Paul, who had gone out to one of his mates, was two years younger than Harry, and in looks he favoured his mother. He also had her sense of humour, and when the two of them got together there was bound to be laughter.
‘What are yer thinking about, Mam?’ Harry asked. ‘Yer miles away.’
Now is the time to get it off me chest, Florrie told herself. But how to find the right words without starting an argument? ‘I’ve been told yer were seen talking to Sadie Wilson, is that right?’
Harry laid his knife and fork down and pushed the empty plate to one side. ‘Is that a crime, Mam?’
‘It all depends. There’s no harm in talking to the girl, but I wouldn’t like yer to be seeing her.’
‘That’s a funny thing to say, isn’t it, Mam? Yer don’t mind me talking to her but yer don’t want me to see her! What should I do, take a blindfold out with me in case I bump into her?’
‘You know what I mean, so there’s no need to be funny. All I’m asking is, are yer seein’ the girl?’
‘Mam! She lives next door, I could hardly miss her! Unless you need yer eyes testing, you see her as well.’
The newspaper rustled and Jack’s gruff voice came from behind it. ‘I hope you two don’t come to blows. I refuse to referee a fight on me day off.’
Florrie wagged her head. ‘It’s him, he’s trying to be funny.’
‘I thought you were the one being funny, Mam, not me. I mean, what does it matter if I see the girl and speak to her? She lives next door, for heaven’s sake! And she’s a nice kid – yer can’t blame her for the rest of the family.’
‘She’s one of them and that’s enough for me. Any decent feller wouldn’t touch her with a bargepole. I’d be ashamed to hold me head up in the street if one of mine got involved with scum like them. So you keep well away from her, d’yer hear?’
Harry leaned his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his clenched fists. ‘Did yer say you’d been to church this morning, Mam? If yer have then yer’ve been under false pretences because there’s nothing Christian in what yer saying. I thought yer were supposed to help those not as well off as yerself, not condemn them.’
‘No one could help the Wilsons, they’re past redemption.’ Florrie
was getting her temper up. ‘There is no need for them to live in filth like they do. He works full-time and there’s the girl’s wages goin’ in. Many a folk get far less but manage to live a decent life because they don’t go out pubbing it every night.’
‘I agree with yer, Mam, on that score. But Sadie … the one you call the girl … is only fifteen years of age – what can she do about it? D’yer think she likes living the way she does?’
‘Yer can talk till yer blue in the face, Harry, but yer won’t change me views on the Wilsons. They’re a bad lot and there’s no gettin’ away from it. If I see her trying to get pally with you, I’ll have something to say to her, believe me.’
Jack shot forward in his chair. ‘No, love, you mustn’t take off on the girl, that wouldn’t be fair. As Harry said, she’s only a kid and it can’t be much of a life for her with the mother and father she’s got. After all, she didn’t ask to be born into this world.’
Florrie bit on her lip. She wasn’t expecting so much opposition. ‘Harry, just answer me one question. Are yer goin’ out with her?’
‘No, Mam, I’m not going out with her. But I will see her and I’ll speak to her whenever I feel like it. She’s a human being and I’ll treat her as one. So go back and tell that to the nosy parker who started all this off. Tell her I said it’s a pity she’s got nothing better to do.’ He pushed his chair back. ‘Give us a couple of pages of the paper, Dad, and I’ll lie on me bed and read it.’
Chapter Five
‘Are yer wearin’ that dress to go out in tonight?’ Brenda asked, a dozen pairs of sheets in her outstretched arms ready to be laid with care in the packing crate. ‘Alec saw yer in it when we went out for our chips, so if I were you I’d put something else on.’
‘Brenda, I don’t need you to tell me what I should do.’ Sadie was trying hard to be patient, but her friend had talked about nothing else all week and it was grating on her nerves. ‘If it makes yer feel any better, I’ll be getting changed.’
‘It doesn’t make me feel any better.’ Brenda’s lips were pursed as she packed the sheets. ‘I don’t know why we couldn’t have gone out in a foursome, like we did last week.’