Sadie Was A Lady

by Joan Jonker

  ‘I don’t like.’ The girl’s voice was a mere whisper. At thirteen years of age she hadn’t got a single friend and had never been in another house before. ‘I won’t know what to say.’

  Sarah was closing the door behind them and couldn’t help but overhear. ‘We’ll not eat yer, sweetheart, and it won’t matter if yer don’t say a single word. Just go in and get yerself warm while I make a nice cup of tea.’

  Sadie breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Jimmy sitting on the floor looking as though he felt perfectly at home. Thank goodness he wasn’t as shy as Ellen. ‘That’s our Jimmy on the floor, and this is our Ellen. Me brother will talk to yer until the cows come home, he’s a bit like Peter from next door. But me kid sister here, she’s the shy one. The cat seems to have got her tongue right now so we’ll just leave her until she gets it back.’

  Sarah bustled out to the kitchen, saying, ‘Leave the girl to come around in her own time. It won’t do no good to rush her.’

  Jimmy patted the rug in front of the fire. ‘Come and sit down here, Ellen, yer’ll soon get warm.’ He waited until she’d settled herself as close to him as it was possible to get, then grinned into her face. ‘How about that for a fire, eh? Ain’t it a smasher?’

  Sadie tutted, ‘Jimmy, there’s no such word as ain’t, and yer should know better.’

  ‘Yes, there is.’ Jimmy drew his knees up to his chin. ‘It’s a slang word.’

  ‘Well, yer shouldn’t use slang words, should he, Grandad?’

  Jimmy’s brows flew up to disappear under a lock of his unruly hair. ‘Grandad!’ His eyes settled on Joe. ‘Why is our Sadie callin’ yer Grandad?’

  Sadie gasped. ‘Ay, our Jimmy, don’t be so blinkin’ hardfaced!’

  ‘I only want to know, an’ if I don’t ask I’ll never know, will I?’ Jimmy stared her out. ‘How can he be your Grandad and not ours?’

  Joe chuckled as he sucked on his pipe. ‘There’s a lad after me own heart. Anyone that goes through life without being inquisitive usually ends up as thick as two short planks.’

  ‘In that case,’ Sadie said, ‘our Jimmy should end up a real brain box ’cos he never stops askin’ questions.’

  ‘I don’t always get answers, though, do I?’ The lad shuffled his bottom to move away from the heat of the fire. ‘I usually get fobbed off or told to mind me own business. That’s if I don’t get a clip around the ear. Anyone would think I was a two-year-old instead of twelve, going on thirteen.’

  ‘I won’t fob yer off, son, so you ask away.’ Joe smiled at him. ‘As long as yer don’t ask me for the loan of ten bob.’

  Jimmy’s laugh filled the room. ‘Would I be in with a chance if I only asked yer for the loan of two bob?’

  ‘Yer’d have as much chance as a snowball in the fires of hell, son, I’m afraid. I’m what some would call financially embarrassed, or, in other words, stony broke.’

  Sarah came through carrying a tray. ‘Here yer are, get a warm drink down yer. It’ll keep yer going until tea-time.’

  Sadie jumped to her feet. ‘I think I’ll give Peter a knock, Grandma, and ask him to leave it until half-three. It’ll give the children a bit more time to get to know you and Grandad.’

  The old lady cast a meaningful look at Ellen’s bowed head. ‘I think that’s a good idea, sweetheart. Run along now but don’t stay, I’ve poured yer a cup of tea out.’

  Joe sat back in his chair watching as Ellen pulled on her brother’s pullover. He saw her mouth the words, ‘Go on, ask them.’

  ‘All right, give us a chance, will yer?’ Jimmy hissed, straightening the pullover that was his pride and joy before looking from Sarah to Joe. ‘Why is our Sadie callin’ you Grandma, an’ him Grandad?’

  ‘It was what we all wanted.’ Sarah told him. ‘Now she’s living here it’s more friendly than having to give us our full title all the time.’

  Joe knocked his pipe against the side of the grate. ‘I think they’re old enough and intelligent enough to be told the truth.’ He looked from one pair of deep brown eyes to another. ‘Yer can keep a secret for Sadie’s sake, can’t yer?’

  Jimmy looked indignant. ‘I don’t tell no one about our Sadie. She’s good to us, always has been. Better than me mam and dad.’

  Ellen raised her head. ‘I can keep a secret, honest.’

  ‘Right then.’ Joe leaned forward and clasped his hands between his knees. ‘Yer both know why Sadie left home, so we don’t need to go into that. But because we didn’t want the neighbours being nosy and asking questions, we told them she was our granddaughter. It was the best thing we could have done, because no one has ever asked where she lived before. Except for the boy next door, Peter, who has a crush on Sadie. He’s always asking questions but she just tells him to mind his own business. He’ll be in to see yer later and I think yer’ll like him – he’s a nice boy, full of fun.’

  Jimmy was only half-listening. He’d made up his mind as soon as he set eyes on the old man that he liked him. He could tell he was gentle and kind, and he’d bet he never got bad-tempered and used dirty words, or let fly with his fists. ‘What do me an’ our Ellen call yer, mister?’

  Joe tapped his chin as though deep in thought. ‘Well now, what would yer like to call me and my dear wife?’

  ‘I want to call yer what our Sadie calls yer.’ Jimmy turned his head to glance over his shoulder. ‘What about you, our Ellen?’

  Embarrassed by her own shyness, Ellen lowered her eyes. ‘If they’ll let us.’

  ‘Of course yer can, sweetheart,’ Sarah said, damning in her mind the man and woman who didn’t appreciate the gift they had been given in these wonderful children. What sort of parents were they to have allowed them out on a cold day like today without a coat on their backs?

  ‘We’d be honoured.’ Joe smiled that slow smile that endeared him to everyone he met. ‘But I’d like to ask a favour of Ellen. Will yer lift yer head, queen, so we can get a good look at that pretty face of yours?’

  When the girl raised her head she was blushing to the roots of her hair. No one had ever said she was pretty before. She’d made the most of her appearance today because she didn’t want to let Sadie down. She had an abundance of black hair which she’d washed last night and put in rags, and now her pale face was framed by curls reaching down to her shoulders. She knew she was looking her best in the jumper and skirt she’d got off her sister – but pretty? No, she wasn’t pretty, not by a long chalk.

  Sarah sat on the arm of her husband’s chair and tilted her head. ‘You two are very alike, but yer as dark as Sadie’s fair.’

  ‘Our Sadie and the baby, Sally, take after me mam, she’s got blonde hair. But the rest of us take after me dad.’ Jimmy felt contented sitting in front of a warm fire, in a room that was comfortable and spotlessly clean, and facing two old people whose genuine warmth seemed to reach out to him. ‘But I’m not goin’ to be like me dad when I grow up. I’m goin’ to live in a nice house like this, an’ if I ever have children I won’t be hittin’ them all the time, I’ll look after them proper.’

  Sadie came through the door then, bringing a waft of cold air with her. ‘Honest, yer stand more chance of stopping a train between stations as yer do trying to stop Peter from talking. He can’t half gab.’

  ‘I’ll pour yer a fresh cup of tea, sweetheart, then we’ll tell yer what we’ve been talking about while yer were out.’

  ‘Oh aye, talking behind me back, were yer?’ Sadie rubbed her arms briskly. It had been freezing standing on next door’s step while Peter nattered on. ‘I hope it was nothing bad that yer had to say?’

  ‘I wouldn’t never say nothin’ bad about you, our Sadie,’ Jimmy said. ‘And I’d crack anyone that did.’

  ‘I know yer would, sunshine, yer the best brother in the world. We wouldn’t swap yer for a big clock, would we, Ellen?’

  There was spirit in Ellen’s voice when she answered. ‘I wouldn’t! He’s good to me, is our Jimmy, he looks after me. He’s had many a clout off me
dad for stickin’ up for me.’

  Jimmy’s chest swelled with pride. He’d always look out for his sisters because he loved them dearly. Even when they were older, he’d still keep an eye on them to make sure they didn’t marry a man like their father. No man would ever lay a finger on them while he was around. He let his eyes roam the room, repeating in his mind that, yes, one day he would live in a house like this. ‘You’re lucky, our Sadie, living here.’

  ‘Oh, I know how lucky I am, Jimmy, that’s for sure. But as I’ve told yer, in a year or two you’ll be able to do the same as I did. And I’ll keep me promise and help yer.’

  ‘Don’t forget about me, will yer?’ Ellen said. ‘I’m fourteen in May, but I can’t leave school until the summer holidays.’

  Sarah handed Sadie a fresh cup of tea. ‘In special circumstances they’ll let yer leave school when yer fourteen without staying on until the break.’

  Ellen’s face lit up with hope. ‘They won’t, will they?’

  Sarah nodded. ‘If the family are poor and need the child’s wages coming in, yes they will. There’s a woman at the bottom of the street, she’s a widow and the family were living hand to mouth. They let her girl leave school the week she was fourteen.’

  Ellen’s face dropped. ‘They wouldn’t let me leave ’cos me mam’s not a widow and me dad’s working.’

  ‘Ay, I’d be all right if they did that.’ Jimmy wagged his shoulders from side to side. ‘It’s my birthday in March. If I was fourteen instead of coming up thirteen, I’d leave without tellin’ anyone.’

  ‘Don’t be gettin’ ideas in yer head, Jimmy,’ Sadie told him. ‘The School Board would be round to the house like a shot.’

  ‘If I’d run away from home they wouldn’t be able to find me, would they?’

  Joe gave a hearty laugh. ‘The boy’s got something there. They’re not going to send a search party out lookin’ for him, just for the sake of sending him to school for a few weeks.’

  ‘Grandad!’ Sadie wagged a finger. ‘Don’t be putting ideas into his head, he’s bad enough without you egging him on. Anyway, let’s talk about it some other time. I want to show them me bedroom before Peter comes. He’ll be here before we know it.’

  Ellen and Jimmy took their seats at the table, their eyes round with wonder at the display of sandwiches, fairy cakes with coloured icing on, trifles, jelly creams and biscuits. And in the centre of the table was a large sandwich cake with a Father Christmas and a tree on the top.

  Jimmy’s grin stretched from ear to ear. ‘Ay, Grandad, these look good enough to eat. It’s a pity I’m not hungry, isn’t it?’

  Joe gave him a conspiratorial wink. A bond of genuine liking and respect had grown between the two and it was hard to believe they’d only met an hour or so ago. ‘Do yer best, son, otherwise my dear wife will get upset. She’s been all morning getting this ready and she won’t take kindly to anyone not eating. Besides which, I’ll be getting the leftovers for me breakfast, dinner and tea for the next few days.’

  Peter was sitting next to Jimmy and he gave him a dig. ‘Me Auntie Sarah’s a witch, yer know. She’s got a big broom she keeps in the coal-shed.’

  Jimmy returned the dig. ‘Where do yer keep yours?’

  The loudest laugh came from Peter. ‘Nice one, Jimmy. I can see I’m goin’ to have a bit of competition in the laughter stakes.’

  ‘That will make a change,’ Sarah said with a smile. ‘It’s not often anyone can get the better of you.’

  Peter looked across the table at Ellen. Apart from a brief nod when he came in, he hadn’t been able to get a word out of her. ‘What did yer get off Father Christmas, Ellen?’

  Her eyes on the plate in front of her, Ellen said in a low voice, ‘A jumper and skirt and a pair of gloves.’

  Sarah gave a cry as her hand went to her mouth. ‘We’ve been that busy talkin’ since yer came, I forgot that Santa had left yer a present each on our tree. It’s only chocolates, but at least he didn’t forget yer.’

  Jimmy was very quick to take advantage of the opening. ‘Can we leave them on the tree, Grandma, and pick them up next week when we come to see yer?’

  Sadie had to smother a gasp. She tried to kick her brother under the table but he was crafty and kept his legs well out of reach. ‘Yer’d better take them with yer today,’ she said, ‘otherwise me Grandad will eat them. He’s a holy terror for chocolate.’

  Joe raised his hands in mock surprise. ‘Me! It’s my Sarah that’s got a sweet tooth, not me. You leave them here, son, no one will touch them before yer come.’

  ‘The Father Christmas we had this year was no good,’ Peter said. ‘I’ll swear he was new at the job ’cos when he came down the chimney he brought half the soot with him. Me mam was hairless when she saw the state of the hearth. If she could have got hold of him she’d have strangled him. He was a cheeky blighter, too!’ He saw that Ellen was looking at him with a rapt expression on her face, and he leaned forward and spoke just to her. ‘D’yer know what he did, Ellen?’

  He wasn’t half nice-looking, Ellen was thinking as she shook her head. She couldn’t understand why Sadie was so off-hand with him.

  ‘Well, me mam always leaves a tray set for him, with a glass of sherry on and two mince pies on a plate. And she does it up nice, with a doily on the plate and a paper napkin. But this was no ho-ho-ho, ha-ha-ha Father Christmas, not on yer nellie he wasn’t. Can yer guess what he did, Ellen?’ He waited for the girl to shake her head then his eyes went around the table. ‘A tanner for anyone who can guess what he did.’

  For a tanner, Jimmy was going to have a go. ‘He dropped crumbs on the floor or broke yer mam’s plate?’

  ‘Sorry, Jimmy, yer not even warm.’

  ‘He trod soot all the way through the house?’ Sarah’s guess was answered with a shake of his head.

  ‘He made himself a cup of tea?’ Sadie raised her brows at him.

  ‘Sadie, I’d love to say yer were right, but unfortunately your imagination isn’t as good as one would expect from someone with a face as pretty as yours.’

  ‘I know,’ Joe said, his shoulders shaking with laughter. ‘He got the tin bath off the nail in the kitchen wall, stoked up the fire and gave himself a good soak to wash the soot off.’

  ‘Yours is the best guess, Mr O’Hanlon, and very worthy of the prize. But I can’t show favouritism – the rules of the game have to be strict and fair. Especially when it’s my tanner that’s at stake.’

  Jimmy stared at him in amazement. ‘Yer don’t half use some big words, Peter. Yer sound just like my history teacher.’

  ‘Your history teacher must be a very clever man, then, Jimmy.’

  ‘My history teacher’s a woman, Peter, but I’ve got to say she does look like a man. She wears her hair cut short like yours, but she’s got a moustache an’ you haven’t.’

  Amid gales of laughter, Joe banged his fist on the table. ‘Can we get back to this Father Christmas of yours, before I die of curiosity.’

  His face a picture of innocence, Peter asked, ‘What Father Christmas is that, Mr O’Hanlon?’

  Joe put his turkey sandwich down. ‘The one yer were telling us about.’

  ‘Was I tellin’ yer about a Father Christmas?’ Peter scratched his head. ‘D’yer know, I can’t remember.’

  Sadie’s eyes rolled to the ceiling. ‘I told yer he was two sheets to the wind, didn’t I, our Jimmy?’

  All eyes focused on Ellen when she spoke. ‘The one who brought the soot down the chimney with him and made yer mam hairless.’

  ‘Oh, that one!’ Peter snapped his fingers. ‘Oh yeah, wait till I tell yer what he did, the cheeky blighter.’ With that he stretched out to pick up a fairy cake and demolished half of it in one mouthful. ‘I’ll just have a bite to eat first.’

  Sadie sucked in her breath. ‘Peter, the kids have got to leave at five o’clock, will yer put a move on?’

  ‘What have they got to leave at five o’clock for?’

  ‘Because me
mam and dad will be worried about them goin’ home in the dark.’

  Peter turned to Jimmy. ‘Where do yer mam and dad live, Jimmy?’

  Sadie said quickly, ‘Tell him to mind his own business.’

  Jimmy felt like pinching himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. This was a different world to the one he was used to. He’d never known people to be so friendly and laugh so much. ‘I’ve been told to tell yer to mind yer own business, Peter.’

  ‘Okay, Jimmy, don’t take it to heart, I’m used to it.’ The other half of the cake was popped into Peter’s mouth and he wiped the crumbs from his lips with the back of his hand. ‘Now back to this feller who turns up once a year in a red suit and a white beard. When yer come to think of it, he must be a lazy beggar, only workin’ one day a year.’ He heard Sadie’s tut of impatience and decided now wasn’t the time to say he was going to apply for the job himself next year because it was a cushy number. ‘When me mam had got over the shock of seeing soot all over her clean floor, she noticed a letter propped up against the glass on the tray. The cheeky devil had written to say the mince pies weren’t to his liking, not enough mincemeat in and too much fresh air. He suggested that next year she buys them from the Co-op because they’re his favourites.’

  Encouraged by the loud laughter, Peter went on. ‘Me mam said if she knew which way his reindeers had gone, she’d follow him and give him a piece of her mind. I told her I didn’t think that was a good idea because if he thought the mince pies were full of fresh air, what would he make of her mind?’

  Sarah wiped a tear away. ‘Peter, if you’re like this all the time I wonder how yer mam puts up with yer. I don’t know where yer get all these ideas from.’

  ‘I thought it was dead funny.’ Jimmy started on his third jelly cream. ‘D’yer know who he reminds me of, our Sadie? That bloke next door, Harry.’

  ‘Harry!’ Peter was quick off the mark. ‘Is he the Harry who—’

  Sadie cut him short. ‘No, he’s not.’

  However, Peter wasn’t satisfied and turned to Jimmy. ‘How old is this Harry?’