by Joan Jonker
‘When he comes in, just pretend it never happened. He’ll get over it.’
At that moment Harry was turning the corner into the street after a brisk walk around the block. His head was down, chin on chest and eyes on the ground as, for the umpteenth time, his mind went over what his mother had said. He had to admit she had reason to dislike the Wilsons. She was so houseproud herself, you could eat off her floor; it must get her down having to pass next door every time she went out. And she was right about Dot, too; she was really hard-faced for a girl of her age. She’d stopped him a few times, brazenly asking if he’d like a date with her, but he’d sent her packing. It was hard to believe she and Sadie were sisters.
Harry’s thoughts were miles away and he didn’t see Jimmy Wilson coming out of the corner shop until they’d collided. ‘Sorry, mister.’ Jimmy bent to pick up the bundle of firewood that had been knocked out of his hands. ‘I didn’t see yer.’
‘It was my fault,’ Harry said. ‘I wasn’t looking where I was going.’ He stared into the young boy’s face and couldn’t stop himself from asking, ‘Have yer heard anything from Sadie?’
Jimmy hesitated. The bloke had always been friendly with him, not like some of the others in the street. Surely it wouldn’t hurt to say he’d seen his sister? After all, he couldn’t tell him where she was because he didn’t know himself. ‘Yeah, I’ve seen her. She came down to the school to see me. Twice, she’s been.’
‘How is she?’
‘She’s all right. She told me she’s got a job that she really likes, an’ she’s got somewhere nice to live.’
‘Oh, aye?’ Harry’s heart was beating fifteen to the dozen but he tried to keep the eagerness out of his voice in case he frightened the kid off. ‘Where’s she living, then?’
Jimmy shrugged his shoulders. ‘I dunno, mister. She won’t tell me anythin’ in case me mam and dad get it out of me. She doesn’t want them to know nothin’, see?’
‘I was a friend of Sadie’s, yer know, she wouldn’t mind yer telling me where she is.’
‘Honest, mister, I don’t know. I wish I did, then I could go and visit her.’
Harry could tell the boy was speaking the truth so there was no point in pushing him. ‘Will you be seeing her again?’
‘Oh, yeah,’ Jimmy said proudly. ‘Our Sadie said she loves me an’ the other kids, an’ she’ll never forget about us.’
‘If I wrote a letter to her, would yer give it to her for us?’
Oh dear, Jimmy hadn’t been expecting this. Perhaps he should have kept his mouth shut. ‘I don’t know when I’ll see her again, mister – it could be ages. An’ I haven’t got nowhere to hide a letter an’ me mam would find it an’ I’d be in trouble. So I’ll just tell our Sadie that yer were askin’ after her an’ see what she says.’ Jimmy lifted the bundle of firewood. ‘I’d better get home with this or me mam’ll kill me. She wants to light the fire to have the room warm for me dad comin’ in.’
Harry narrowed his eyes. ‘Yer mean yer haven’t got a fire lit now?’
‘No, mister, we don’t have a fire during the day, only at night for me dad comin’ in from work. He didn’t half take off when he came into a cold house tonight – yelled the blinkin’ place down. That’s why me mam wants to get the place warm now for him comin’ in later, so there’ll be no trouble.’
‘But he’s only in that pub across the street. By the time he gets home it’ll be time for him to go to bed.’ Harry shook his head in anger and disbelief. ‘The fire should be lit during the day to warm the house through for the children, not at ten o’clock at night when they’re in bed.’
‘I know, mister, but me dad’s the boss in our ’ouse and what he says goes. An’ If I don’t get back with this wood smartish, I’ll be gettin’ a thick lip off me mam.’
‘Okay, but don’t forget what I said about Sadie, will yer? Give her my regards and say I’d like to see her some time.’
‘Yeah, I’ll do that.’ Jimmy took off like a shot. It was all getting too involved for him; he’d land himself in trouble if he didn’t learn to keep his mouth shut. Sadie had warned him to be careful and he would be from now on. He wouldn’t even tell her he’d spoken to the bloke from next door.
Harry watched the boy running like the wind, as though the idea of a thick lip held no attraction for him. But what a stroke of luck he’d bumped into him. At least he knew now that Sadie was keeping in touch with the children, and that meant there was the possibility of him finding out where she was. And to think he wouldn’t have that knowledge if it hadn’t been for the argument he’d had with his mother. He’d walked out of the house in a right temper, but he was going home with hope in his heart.
Sarah insisted that Sadie invite Tommy and Spike in when they called for her. She knew both the lads from the market, and knowing they were a pair of jokers she thought they’d cheer her husband up. And it was nice for them to know the company Sadie was keeping.
‘You two look after our girl, d’yer hear?’ Sarah sat on a straight chair, a clean pinny on and her hair neatly combed for the occasion. ‘If yer don’t, it’s me and my feller yer’ll have to answer to.’
Tommy grinned. ‘We’ll treat her like the crown jewels, Sarah, cross me heart and hope to die if we don’t.’
‘Like a piece of Dresden china,’ Spike said, nodding his head for emphasis before turning to his mate. ‘That’s what they call that dear stuff, isn’t it? What all the posh people use with their little finger stickin’ out.’
Tommy tutted. ‘Yer dead ignorant, you are. I can’t take yer anywhere without yer makin’ a show of me. Stuff is what clothes an’ curtains and that sort of thing are made of. Yer can’t call china “stuff”.’
‘Oh.’ Spike was given his nickname because his hair was always standing up like spikes, and when he ran his hand through it now, it made him look like Stan Laurel. ‘What d’yer call it then?’
‘Huh! You’re not soft, are yer? Talk about act daft an’ I’ll buy yer a coal-yard isn’t in it!’ Tommy spread his hands and appealed to Joe. ‘Now, I ask yer, Mr O’Hanlon, wouldn’t I be a mug to tell him? I’ve already taught him his two times table, and how to count up to a hundred. If I keep passin’ all me knowledge on to him, he’ll soon be as clever as me an’ I don’t fancy that at all.’
Spike laughed with the rest of them. ‘I’ll tell yer what, Tommy, even if I was an idiot I’d still be cleverer than you.’
Sadie picked her handbag off the sideboard. ‘Come on, you two, or we’ll just be in time for the last waltz.’ She grinned at Joe. ‘They’re like this all the time, yer know, Grandad, there’s never a dull moment when they’re around. I don’t know how they ever sell anything at the market, the way they fool about.’
‘It’s better than being miserable, queen, any day – and it’s good for business. While their customers are laughing their socks off, it’s easier to get them to part with their money.’
‘I wish me dad saw it that way, Mr O’Hanlon. He’s always tellin’ me to grow up an’ stop clownin’ around.’
Sadie punched Spike on the arm. ‘Will yer shut up and let’s get going? I hope yer not going to gab all night, I’d like to get some dancing in.’
Tommy gave a cheeky grin. ‘I bag the first dance.’
Spike pulled a face and snapped his fingers. ‘I’m foiled again. We haven’t even got out of the door yet an’ I’ve been knocked back already.’
‘Ah, yer poor thing,’ Sadie said. ‘Never mind, yer can have the second dance.’
They were laughing as they walked down the hall, Sarah and Joe following so they could wave them off. ‘Enjoy yerselves,’ Sarah called after them. ‘And you boys make sure that Sadie gets home safely.’
‘She’ll be escorted right to her front door, Sarah, by two of the bravest, strongest men in the city of Liverpool. If we come across a dragon, like that Saint George feller did, we’d slay it with our bare hands rather than let it get to the fair maiden.’
‘You speak fo
r yerself, Tommy Seymour,’ Spike said. ‘First sight of a dragon an’ I’ll be off; yer won’t see me heels for dust. You can be a dead hero if yer like, but me, I’ll be a live coward.’
They were passing under a street-lamp when Sadie turned to wave. ‘Don’t worry, Grandma, they’re not as daft as they make out. Now you two go inside before yer catch yer death of cold. Good night and God bless.’
‘Good night and God bless, sweetheart.’
‘Good night and God bless, queen.’ Joe put his arm across his wife’s shoulders and led her back into the house. ‘Sadie won’t be short of a laugh with them two.’
‘No, they’re good lads, she’s in safe hands with them.’ Sarah began to chuckle. ‘She better had be! Any shenanigans out of them and Mary Ann will have their guts for garters. She’d think nothing of giving them a good hiding, big and all as they are.’
The strains of a tango greeted them as they climbed the stairs to Blair Hall. ‘I’m good at this,’ Tommy bragged. ‘Everyone says I knock George Raft into a cocked hat with me tango. He’s not in the meg specks.’
‘In that case yer’d better find yerself another partner.’ Sadie pulled a face. ‘If yer that good, I’d only cramp yer style.’
Spike held the door to the ballroom open, and as Sadie walked through he said in a loud whisper, ‘Take no notice of him, Sadie, he can’t tango to save his life.’
‘He can’t be any worse than me. So if yer want to have a bash, Tommy, I’m game.’
Spike was right: Tommy was hopeless. But he was so funny he had Sadie in stitches. Holding her arm straight out, as stiff as a broom handle, he marched her down the centre of the dance floor, his body and head movements deliberately exaggerated and the expression on his face dead serious. And he gave way to no one. Any other couples unfortunate enough to cross their path had to swerve to avoid a collision because Tommy was determined to get to the other end of the dance floor if it killed him. And once there, with a little corner to themselves, he decided to be daring and try a movement he’d never tried before. He’d watched other blokes do it and it looked as easy as falling off a bike. So, with his hand pressed firmly in the small of Sadie’s back, he bent his body forward, forcing her to bend backwards until she was nearly bent in two. The trouble was, while Tommy had been busy watching the blokes’ bodies, he hadn’t bothered watching their feet. Instead of being firmly on the floor to take the weight of Sadie’s body, his feet were both turned in. Too late, he tried to right them. The consequence being, he stumbled and let go of her, and she ended up sprawled out on the floor.
His face the colour of beetroot, and hoping that no one had seen what a fool he’d made of himself, Tommy bent down to try and help Sadie up, only to find she was so helpless with laughter she couldn’t move. A small crowd had gathered around them and Tommy’s embarrassment grew. ‘Come on, Sadie, everyone’s lookin’ at us.’
Sadie ignored his outstretched hand and scrambled to her feet, convulsed with a fit of the giggles. ‘Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! Just wait until I tell Mary Ann, Tommy Seymour – yer’ll never hear the end of this.’
‘Hello, Sadie.’
Sadie spun around and surprise replaced the smile on her face. ‘Geoff! What are you doing here?’
‘I could ask you the same thing.’ Geoff still had his arm around the waist of the girl he’d been dancing with. ‘I’ve been coming here every Wednesday for the last few weeks. Who are you with?’
‘I’m with Tommy here, and another boy, Spike. They, er, they live in the same street as me grandma.’
The music came to an end and the crowd dispersed. ‘We’d better get back to Spike, but I’ll see yer later, Geoff.’
‘Yeah – save me the next slow foxtrot, will yer?’
‘Okay.’ Sadie watched them walk away and noticed that Geoff not only escorted the girl back to her seat, he stayed with her. She wondered whether there was anything in it, but she wasn’t allowed to dwell on her thoughts because Spike joined them and began to tease Tommy without mercy.
‘I remember yer tellin’ me once, Tommy, that yer ambition in life was to be an exhibition dancer. Well, I can honestly say yer’ve fulfilled yer ambition tonight, me old mate, ’cos yer’ve just made a right exhibition of yerself.’
‘Leave him alone, Spike,’ Sadie said. ‘He slipped, that’s all. It could happen to anyone.’
‘I bet it doesn’t happen to George Raft.’ Spike wasn’t going to let an opportunity like this pass. ‘D’yer know this dragon yer said we might meet on the way home? Well, I hope he doesn’t want to do the tango with yer, Tommy, ’cos those things breathe fire, yer know. If he ended up on the floor like Sadie, he’d burn the backside out of yer kecks while yer were leggin’ it hell for leather up the street.’
Tommy took it all in good fun. ‘Now yer’ve had yer money’s worth, Spike, d’yer mind if I have a laugh at meself? I mean, there’s not much point in makin’ a fool of yerself if yer not going to get a laugh out of it.’ A cheeky grin spread across his face. ‘I told meself it would be as easy as fallin’ off a bike. But me memory failed me, ’cos I fell off a bike once and it wasn’t a bit easy, or funny.’ He turned to his friend. ‘You should remember ’cos you were with me when I pinched the loan of Bobby Hyland’s bike. We were about ten, and he’d left it propped up outside the corner shop while he was on a message for his mam. In fact, now I come to think of it, you were the one who dared me to have a ride on it! I’d never been on a bike before but you egged me on, saying it was a doddle. It was a doddle all right – I fell off before I’d gone two yards and I scraped all me knees.’ He nodded his head as he remembered more of that sorry episode. ‘It’s all comin’ back to me now, yer little twerp. When Bobby went home crying because I’d buckled one of the wheels, and his mam came out and chased me down the street, you told her yer knew nothing about it! A fine friend you turned out to be. As well as gettin’ a clip around the ear off Mrs Hyland, I got another one off me mam when I got home.’
Sadie shook her head. ‘You two take the biscuit, yer know that, don’t yer? Yer’ve gone from exhibition dancing to dragons, from pinchin’ a kid’s bike to buckling the wheel on him, from his mam comin’ out and chasing yer, and you getting a clip around the ear off her, then another one off yer mam! Yer’ve covered some ground there all right. And what started it all off, pray? I get pushed to the floor, that’s what started it. And neither of yer have even bothered to ask if I’m dead or alive.’
The two boys exchanged glances. They’d been pals for so long, since infant school, they could practically read each other’s mind. ‘She’s touchy, isn’t she?’ Spike said. ‘Just like a blinkin’ girl.’
‘Yeah,’ Tommy agreed. ‘I mean, it’s not as though she’s broken anything. She’s still in one piece, so I don’t know what she’s got to moan about.’
‘That’s where yer wrong, yer see,’ Sadie said, keeping her face straight. ‘’Cos I did hurt meself.’
Tommy’s grin disappeared. ‘Yer didn’t, did yer? Where did yer hurt yerself?’
‘All over. Me backside, me elbows and me pride.’
‘Ah well, we can’t do anything about yer pride, Sadie,’ Spike said. ‘But me an’ Tommy would be more than happy to rub the other two better for yer.’
Tommy’s shoulders started to shake and Sadie knew he was going to come out with something outrageous. ‘When I was little and I hurt meself, my mam used to kiss it better. That’s where the saying comes from, “kiss me backside”.’
Sadie feigned shock, even though she was laughing inside. ‘You just wait until I tell me Auntie Mary on you, Tommy Seymour. She said, “You tell me, girl, if they say one wrong word out of place and I’ll marmalise the pair of them”.’
‘That’s mean, that, Sadie.’ Spike shook his head sadly. ‘Especially after he’s promised to slay the dragon for yer.’
Tommy gave her a dig. ‘Ay, Sadie, here’s that feller comin’ to claim yer for the slow foxtrot.’
‘He’s an old friend –
I go out with him now and again.’
‘Why did yer tell him we lived in the same street as yer grandma?’
Sadie saw Geoff was almost upon them. ‘I’ll tell yer later.’
After a brief nod at the two boys, Geoff led Sadie onto the floor. ‘I never expected to see you here.’
‘I never expected to see meself here,’ Sadie laughed. ‘Tommy and Spike were coming anyway, so when they asked me I thought I might as well. I had nothing else to do and they’re a good laugh.’
‘A good laugh? That ginger-haired one yer were dancing with is an idiot! He can’t dance for toffee an’ shouldn’t be allowed on the floor. He’s lucky you didn’t break a leg.’
‘He’s not an idiot, he’s just a young lad that enjoys life.’ Sadie stared into Geoff’s eyes and it struck her suddenly why she’d never been able to feel more for him than liking. He was a nice, decent, steady bloke, and they’d had many a laugh together. But it had never been a side-splitting belly laugh because he had no sense of the ridiculous. He could never make her laugh like Harry used to, or Tommy or Spike did. And Peter Townley, he was another who could make her giggle even when she was telling him to get lost! It wasn’t Geoff’s fault that he didn’t have a good sense of humour, Sadie didn’t know she had one herself until she’d met Mary Ann. And coming from a home where laughter was rare, she appreciated it more than most. It was an added bonus to the quality of life she now enjoyed.
‘You don’t mind me not sitting with yer, do yer?’ Geoff asked. ‘Only for the last week or so I’ve been staying with Ruby in between dances an’ she’ll expect it.’
‘Of course I don’t mind – I don’t own yer. We agreed to do our own thing, didn’t we? And anyway, I couldn’t leave Tommy and Spike, not after they brought me.’ Sadie looked to where Ruby was sitting, her eyes watching their every move. ‘She looks a nice girl, Geoff, very pretty, too.’
‘Yeah, she is nice. She’s a good dancer, too.’ He slowed down to a walk. ‘She’s not as pretty as you, though.’