by Joan Jonker
But when they announced an Excuse Me quickstep, he coaxed, ‘Come on, have a go. If yer can’t manage it we’ll sit down. But at least try.’
Sadie was apprehensive but she didn’t want to spoil his night for him so she agreed. For the first few minutes her heart was in her mouth, but then she suddenly found her feet were keeping up with Alec’s and she really began to enjoy herself. After all, she wasn’t the only beginner there, she could see a few who weren’t even getting on as well as she was.
Then a man tapped Alec on the shoulder and said, ‘Excuse me.’ Sadie saw the dark look on Alec’s face before he released his hold and then she found herself in the arms of a strange young man. She looked up into his eyes and told him, ‘I’m sorry, but I’m only a learner. I can’t dance properly.’
‘I know, I saw yer here last week. But I was a learner a few months ago – we’ve all got to start somewhere.’ He looked a bit older than Alec, probably about nineteen. Tall, well-built, thick auburn hair, dark eyebrows and lashes and deep brown eyes. ‘My name’s Geoff, what’s yours?’
Sadie hesitated, but only for a second. What harm would it do if that was all he knew about her? ‘I’m Sadie.’ She could see Alec standing on the edge of the dance floor and he didn’t look a bit happy. Do him good to sweat for a change, Sadie decided. He thinks he’s God’s gift to women. ‘I didn’t see you here last week.’
‘I saw you, though.’ When Geoff smiled he showed strong white teeth. ‘Yer didn’t get up for the Excuse Me quickstep, otherwise I’d have introduced meself then.’
Alec appeared at the side of them and tapped Geoff on the shoulder. ‘Excuse me.’ Geoff shrugged his shoulders as he made a face at Sadie. ‘Sorry.’
‘What was he talkin’ about?’ Alec was none too pleased. ‘Yer’d better watch it with him, he’s a fast worker.’
Sadie raised her brows. ‘Oh? Listen who’s talking. He’d have to go some to be faster than you, Alec Gleeson.’
‘What was he saying to yer? Was he tryin’ to make a date?’
‘Holy sufferin’ ducks, Alec, I was only with him for two minutes! It seems to me that your mind works a damn sight faster than his tongue, and it’s all goin’ in the one direction. Everyone’s not a ladykiller like you; they don’t just have one thing on their mind all the time.’
‘That’s what you think! With your looks a feller can’t help wanting to hold yer in his arms and smother yer to death. Unless he’s not normal, that is.’
‘Is that all you’re after, Alec, to smother me to death?’
‘You know what I mean, yer not that innocent.’ The music came to an end and Alec led her from the floor with his arm around her waist, as though to say she’s mine so lay off.
It was after the interval during another Excuse Me quickstep, that Alec felt a tap on his shoulder and there stood Geoff. ‘D’yer mind if I cut in?’
‘Yes, I do mind.’ Alec clung onto Sadie’s hand like grim death. ‘Go and find another girl and leave mine alone.’
‘If you don’t want to be excused then yer should sit this dance out. As it is, I’m cutting in.’ Geoff stood his ground and his face was set. He took hold of the hand Sadie had on Alec’s shoulder and pulled her towards him. ‘You can have her for all the other dances, but not the Excuse Me.’ With that he moved away, taking Sadie with him and leaving Alec red in the face and fuming.
‘Oh dear.’ Sadie didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. But somewhere deep inside her she felt pleased with having two men fight over her. It showed she could always get somebody else if Alec began to make a nuisance of himself. ‘There’s a certain person not very happy with you – he’s giving yer daggers.’
‘I won’t let that worry me.’ Geoff smiled down into her face. ‘The only thing is, he’ll be takin’ yer off me in a minute so I’ll have to be quick. Is he yer boyfriend?’
‘No.’ Sadie shook her head. ‘Not really. I know him from work, but this is only the third time I’ve been out with him.’
‘Would yer come out with me one night? We could go to the pictures if yer like.’
‘But I don’t know you. I don’t know anything about you.’
‘You would do if yer came out with me. Please say yes because I think yer friend is about to cut in.’
Sadie saw Alec begin to pick his way through the dancing couples. Geoff seemed a nice-enough bloke, she thought, so why not? It would be another night she didn’t have to walk the streets aimlessly rather than be in the house sitting in filth and listening to coarse, vulgar language. ‘Okay, how about Tuesday?’
‘Where?’
‘Outside the pub at Everton Valley – say, half-seven?’
There was no time to say more because Alec was claiming her back. ‘If he does that again I’ll thump him one,’ he glowered.
‘Oh, don’t be so childish, Alec. It’s only a dance, for heaven’s sake.’
‘He knows yer with me, so why doesn’t he find himself a girl instead of pinching mine?’
Her confidence boosted, Sadie said, ‘Perhaps he can’t find another one he fancies. I feel quite flattered, actually.’
Alec looked sullen. ‘I hope yer not leavin’ early again. It’s not goin’ to be worth me while bringin’ yer, if yer goin’ to dance half the night with another feller and then dash off early.’
‘I can’t be too late home, Alec, and I’ve got a long way to go.’ Sadie felt a pang of guilt. After all, she wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t paid for her. Because of him she was able to put all her pocket money away this week. ‘You could leave early and walk me halfway home – I’d like that.’
That sounded like a promise to Alec and he cheered up. ‘Yeah, okay, we’ll leave after the next waltz.’
But Alec wasn’t reckoning on Doris, the girl whose favours he’d enjoyed the week before. She’d waited all night for him to acknowledge her but no, he’d looked through her as though she wasn’t there. Doris was known in the area as a girl who let any boy have his way with her. Half the lads in the neighbourhood had been down the entry with Doris, and quite a few of the married men. But with her reputation she couldn’t get a steady boyfriend. She had a temper, too, and it was reaching boiling point when she decided she wasn’t going to be ignored by Alec. He might have got away with it if the blonde he was with didn’t look like a film star. But if Doris was good enough for him last week, he wasn’t going to get away with ignoring her this week.
‘Hello, Alec.’ Doris got a lot of satisfaction in seeing the surprise and fear on his face when he turned around and saw her standing behind him with an insolent grin on her face and a hand on her hip. ‘I’ve been waiting for the dance yer promised me last week, remember?’
Alec could have willingly strangled her. But if he insulted her now she’d let the cat out of the bag and he’d be done for. ‘Hello, Doris. I didn’t know yer were here. Where’ve yer been hiding yerself?’
‘Yer must be bloody blind, Alec, ’cos I’ve been wavin’ to yer all night.’ Doris asked herself if she should make him squirm a bit more and decided it was what he deserved. ‘I think you’ve got cats’ eyes – yer see better in dark places.’
Alec got the message and the fright of his life. ‘I’ll finish this dance off with yer, Doris.’ He turned to Sadie. ‘Yer don’t mind, do yer?’
‘Not at all, I’m quite happy to sit and watch.’ Sadie was having a problem keeping her face straight. The girl looked tough and as common as muck. If Alec had tangled with her then he’d chosen the wrong one to go down an entry with. You could tell by her face she had something on him and was now making him dance to her tune. Serves him right, Sadie thought as she watched them take to the dance floor. He’s probably had his fun with her and now he’s paying the price.
‘Can I have this dance?’
Sadie looked at Geoff’s outstretched hand. Why not? If someone better came along, Alec wouldn’t think twice about dropping her, so why should she consider him? She smiled and stood up. ‘Yer a sucker for punishment, Geoff, �
��cos I’ll be standin’ all over yer toes.’
He grinned as he took her in his arms. ‘Looking at your face will ease the pain.’
Sadie was pleased with the compliment because he didn’t look the type to flatter a girl because he wanted something from her. She could see Alec glaring at her and she gave him a wave. ‘The boy I’m with has met an old friend and is having this dance with her.’
‘Oh, aye.’ Geoff kept his thoughts to himself. He’d noticed Alec come back in the dance hall last week, minus Sadie. And he’d seen him make a bee-line for Doris, the girl no decent man would touch with a barge-pole. And he’d been behind the pair of them when they turned into the entry at the top of the street. But he didn’t know Sadie well enough to warn her that the boy she was with had a reputation almost as bad as Doris. If he said anything she’d think he was telling tales for his own ends. ‘It’s still on for Tuesday, isn’t it? Half-seven at Everton Valley.’
Sadie nodded. ‘If I say a thing, I mean it. I will definitely be there.’
‘I’ll look forward to it.’ Geoff spun her around. ‘You can think about where yer’d like to go. Where d’yer live, by the way?’
Sadie gave a start. ‘I never tell any boy where I live ’cos me parents are very strict. They think I’m out with a girlfriend. But it’s somewhere in Toxteth.’
‘I live in Wavertree, not that far away.’ Geoff looked disappointed when the dance came to an end. ‘I’ll see yer Tuesday, then.’
‘Yeah, okay.’ Sadie went back to the chairs they’d been sitting on but there was no sign of Alec. She looked around the room and saw him in a corner talking to Doris, and he seemed to be in a right temper. I’m not waiting for him, Sadie thought, otherwise it’ll be midnight before I get home. She skirted the dance floor and came up behind him. Tapping him on the shoulder she said, ‘I’ll go on, Alec. I can see yer busy.’
‘I’m coming now.’ He took her arm. ‘I’ll see yer next week, Doris.’
But Doris wasn’t going to let him off the hook that easy. The crafty bugger must think I was born yesterday, she thought. He’s put it that way so the blonde he’s with thinks he means here, next Saturday. ‘Yeah, Alec, outside the Grafton on Wednesday at eight.’
Alec didn’t answer. In fact, he never opened his mouth until they were halfway up the street. ‘Some hope she’s got,’ he muttered under his breath, walking so quickly Sadie was panting to keep up with him. ‘If she thinks I’m takin’ her out she’s got another blinkin’ thing coming.’
‘Surely yer wouldn’t let the girl down? That would be a lousy trick, Alec Gleeson.’
‘Let her down? Have yer seen the face on her – it’s enough to curdle the milk.’
‘She had the same face when yer took her down an entry, Alec.’ Sadie was making a guess but Alec’s start of surprise told her she’d hit the nail on the head. ‘Now she’s makin’ yer pay for yer bit of fun.’
‘I don’t know where yer got that idea from,’ Alec said, bluffing it out. ‘I’d have to be hard up to be seen with her.’
‘That’s the point isn’t it, Alec? That’s what yer go down an entry for – not to be seen.’
‘I’ve never been down an entry with her, so for heaven’s sake shut up about it.’ Alec was not in the best of moods. First that bloody bloke having the nerve to dance with Sadie, and then Doris turning up. He needed something to put him in a better mood, and who better to do that than the girl walking by his side with the face of an angel and a figure to drool over. But he’d have to warm her up first. So he forced a smile to his face and cheerfulness to his voice. ‘Yer doing well with yer dancing, Sadie, yer’ve come on a treat.’
‘Yeah, I’m quite pleased with meself. Another couple of weeks and I’m going to try the Grafton or the Rialto.’
‘With me, I hope?’ They were walking on the main road when Alec stopped, put his arms around her and gave her a kiss full on the lips. ‘It will be with me, won’t it?’
‘Alec, let go of me! Everybody’s lookin’ at us.’
‘Sadie, the road’s nearly deserted. But if it makes yer feel any better, we’ll do our snogging where we can’t be seen.’ He pulled a protesting Sadie into a shop doorway. ‘There, does that please yer?’
‘Alec, what the hell d’yer think yer doing.’ Sadie struggled to free herself from his vice-like grip. ‘Take yer hands off me!’
Alec’s mouth came down hard on hers, stopping her from crying out. He had her pressed back against the side wall of the shop doorway, his body keeping her prisoner while his kiss was rough and bruising. He placed one of his hands on her neck, making it impossible for her to move without being choked. His free hand was fondling her breast, then she felt his body bend and the next thing she knew his hand was up her skirt and on her thigh. It was the feel of his hand on her bare flesh that turned her fear to anger. How dare he do this to her! Who the hell did he think he was! She brought her knee up as hard as she could and was rewarded by his yelp of pain. He fell away from her, his two hands clutching his crotch as he bent double and groaned in agony. ‘You little bitch! I’ll get you for this!’
Sadie looked down at his stooped figure and felt like kicking him in the face. ‘That should teach yer that all girls don’t welcome your advances, Alec Gleeson. If I were you I’d stick to girls like Doris who can’t get a decent bloke. She’s a tart, Alec, and I don’t know the word for a male tart, but whatever it is you’re one. So you and Doris make a fine pair, two of a kind. She was blackmailing you tonight, or d’yer think I’m too stupid to have figured that out? Well, I hope she puts the screws on yer ’cos that’s what yer deserve.’
Sadie left the shadow of the doorway and walked a few steps before turning back. ‘I learned a few lessons tonight, Alec, so I suppose the evening hasn’t been a complete waste of time. I’ve always thought most men couldn’t be trusted and you have proved me right. Also, I’ve mastered a few more dance steps which is a good thing. But the best thing that’s happened is that you’ve got yer comeuppance and I’m glad I was there to see it. So on the whole a good night for me but a lousy one for you.’
Once more Sadie walked away, saying over her shoulder, ‘I would advise yer to stay out of my path in future.’
Chapter Ten
‘What d’yer mean, yer’ve had a row?’ Brenda couldn’t keep the excitement out of her voice. With Sadie out of the picture, she could be in the running with Alec. ‘You haven’t really fallen out, it’s just a lovers’ tiff.’ She managed to add a touch of sympathy to her tone while her heartbeat raced fifteen to the dozen. ‘I bet yer.’
‘Lovers’ tiff? What are yer on about, Brenda? I didn’t even like Alec Gleeson, never mind love him. He was handy to go out with when I had no money, but that’s as far as it went. Anyway, I’ll be walking past him today without letting on, so now yer know.’
‘But what was the row about?’
‘He said something I didn’t like, that’s all.’ This was the tale Sadie had told Harry when she’d met him in the park last night and she intended sticking to it because the truth was far too embarrassing. ‘It’s over and done with, Brenda, so let’s just forget it, eh?’
But Brenda had no intention of forgetting it. Nor had she any intention of walking past Alec without letting on. This was her big chance, and if she had to choose between Sadie and Alec, he would win hands down. So when the bell rang out to announce the dinner-break, she had her overall off before the echo of the clang had died away. She’d bought another new jumper on Saturday and she congratulated herself on having decided to wear it today. It was a summer jumper in a type of knitted rayon which clung to her curves. She pulled at the waistband to straighten any creases, and when she gazed down at herself she was pleased with what she saw. Then the comb came out of her handbag for a quick run though her dark brown hair.
Sadie watched the proceeding with a mixture of amusement and frustration. All this just to attract the attention of a man who wasn’t worth the effort. But it wasn’t up to her to war
n Brenda – she’d have to find out for herself. Anyway, if she did say something her friend would only think it was a question of sour grapes.
Sadie threw her overall on one of the packing crates and reached for her handbag. When she straightened up she was sideways on to Brenda and she thought there was something different about her. ‘Have you got something stuck down yer brassière? Yer certainly weren’t that size on Saturday.’
Brenda blushed. ‘I’ve put a hankie in each of the cups ’cos yer could see me nipples.’
Sadie shook her head at the lame excuse. The hankies had been put there to make her bust look bigger and for no other reason. ‘Come on,’ she said, walking towards the door, ‘or the chippy will be packed.’ Then Sadie’s imagination took over. If Alec ever got Brenda down an entry he’d be in for a big surprise and an even bigger let-down.
When they walked out of the factory door the first person Sadie saw was Alec, leaning nonchalantly against the wall, dwarfing Bobby Bennett who was standing beside him. She could feel her heart begin to pound and her tummy was doing somersaults. But she took a deep breath, held her head high and walked on with her eyes fixed straight ahead. She sensed Brenda squaring her shoulders and thrusting her bust forward to make herself look even more voluptuous. Stupid nit, Sadie thought, she’s making a fool of herself. The best of it is, if a lad so much as laid a finger on her, she’d scream blue murder and want her mam.
‘He was looking at yer, Sadie,’ Brenda said as they walked through the gates. ‘If yer’d given him the chance he would have spoke to yer.’
‘So you were looking at him, were yer?’
‘Well, yeah. I couldn’t very well pretend I hadn’t seen him, could I?’ Brenda didn’t have the nerve to say that Alec had winked at her and she’d winked back. And he’d given her the thumbs up sign, which meant he thought she looked nice. ‘Anyway, Sadie, it’s you what’s had the row with him, not me. I don’t have to fall out with him just because you do.’