by Joan Jonker
‘Don’t you dare tell him, our Jimmy!’
‘Yer’ve got to mind yer own business again.’ Jimmy had never felt so happy in his life. With no one to tell him to shut his mouth or belt him one, he felt as free as a bird. With a cheeky grin he added, ‘Yer must have a good business, Peter, ’cos yer spend best part of yer life minding it.’
Joe chuckled. ‘He’s met his match in you, son, yer make a good comedy pair. Almost as funny as Laurel and Hardy.’
Ellen had little to say for herself; she was content to sit and listen and laugh. Her eyes kept going to the clock on the mantelpiece, dreading the fingers reaching the hour of five. But all the wishing in the world didn’t help, and all too soon Sadie said it was time they were on their way.
‘Ah, ay, Sadie, just another ten minutes?’ Jimmy pleaded. ‘I’m not half enjoyin’ meself, an’ so is our Ellen.’
‘I’m sorry, Jimmy, but yer did promise yer’d go when it was time. I’ll walk home with yer and we can have a good natter on the way.’
‘I’ll join yer,’ Peter said. ‘The walk will do me good.’
Sadie shook her head. ‘It’s good of yer to offer, Peter, but I want a bit of time with me brother and sister. I don’t see them very often and we’ve a lot of talkin’ to do.’
Peter held up his hands. ‘I won’t open me mouth, I promise. I’ll be that quiet yer won’t know I’m there.’
‘Uh, uh.’ Sadie was adamant. ‘Go home now, Peter, so I can get them ready. They’ll be in trouble with me mam and dad if they’re out too long.’
Ellen looked at his crestfallen face and felt sorry for him. ‘It’s not that we don’t want yer, Peter, but Sadie’s thinkin’ about us gettin’ into trouble.’
He smiled across the table at her. ‘I’m not upset, Ellen, I’m used to your sister. Yer wouldn’t think she was head-over-heels in love with me, would yer? I know she’s got a funny way of showing it, but she’s crazy about me. In fact, she’s begged me to take her to the pictures on Wednesday night, and being a gentleman I couldn’t refuse. I won’t be holding her hand, though, or puttin’ me arm around her shoulders. And a kiss in the dark is most definitely out of the question.’
Sadie’s tummy was shaking with laughter. ‘Those are the only true words yer’ve spoken today. There’ll be no hand-holding, no cuddles, and as yer said, most definitely no kissing in the dark.’
Peter winked at Jimmy. ‘Next time yer come, remind me to tell yer about the cracks in me bedroom ceiling.’
Sarah felt sad that the afternoon of jollity was coming to an end; it was many a long year since this house had known the sound of so much laughter. But she was comforted by the thought that there’d be many such afternoons to come. ‘Get yerself off now, son, and yer’ll see the children again next time they come to visit.’
Jimmy piped up. ‘Saturday, we’ll see yer.’
‘Not Saturday, Jimmy, I work all day.’ Things were moving too fast for Sadie. If she didn’t watch out, Peter and everyone else in the street would know her whole history. But looking at the eagerness on her brother’s face, her heart went out to him. He had so little to look forward to; coming here again was important to him. And to Ellen, who wasn’t as outgoing as her brother but whose eyes expressed her hope. ‘Make it Sunday afternoon.’
When Sarah was showing Peter out, Sadie nodded to the littered table. ‘You two take some of the dirty dishes out while I go upstairs for me working coat. Ellen can wear it on the way home, save her freezing to death.’
Sadie had her foot on the bottom stair when Joe called her back. ‘I don’t know whether it’ll be any good, but I’ve got an old donkey jacket hanging under the stairs. I haven’t worn it for years, but it might do for Jimmy to go home in.’
‘Will yer show our Jimmy where it is, Grandad, while I sort Ellen out? I don’t know what excuse they’re going to make for being out so long. There’s nowhere open, so me mam and dad are going to think it’s fishy if they say they’ve been wandering the streets for about six hours.’
‘Come on, son, I’ll get the coat for yer.’ Joe pushed himself up from the chair. ‘It’ll probably be moth-eaten by now, but it’s better than nothing.’
‘Better than a kick in the teeth, eh, Grandad?’
‘Yes, son, better than a kick in the teeth.’
When the coat was brought out into the light it was easy to see it had had many years of wear, but fortunately the moths had left it alone. And it turned out to be a good fit for Jimmy. His face was agog as he fastened the buttons and stuck his hands in the pockets. If it had been a brand new expensive coat he couldn’t have been more happy. ‘How about that, then, Grandad?’
Sarah came into the room and stood with her arms folded watching Jimmy pull the collar of the jacket up to cover his ears before swaggering across the room. ‘Yer look very grown up in that coat, Jimmy – it suits yer.’
‘When I start work I’ll save up and buy meself one.’
‘You can have that one to be going on with, son,’ Joe said. ‘I don’t wear it and it seems a shame to leave it hanging there doin’ nowt.’
‘He can’t have it, Grandad,’ Sadie said, coming into the room dressed in her best blue coat and carrying her working coat over her arm. ‘Where can he say he got it from? I’d let our Ellen have this one with pleasure, but no one in their right minds is goin’ to believe that a stranger walked up to them in the street and gave them a coat each.’ She closed her eyes against the disappointment on Jimmy’s face. Today she’d given them a glimpse of how happy life could be; now she was taking it all back and returning them to the misery that was their real life. ‘What I could do, I could meet both of yer on the first day of next term as yer come out of school and I could bring the coats with me. That way yer won’t have to tell no lies. Yer can say I gave them to yer.’
Jimmy’s face brightened considerably. ‘Thanks, our Sadie.’ He turned to Ellen. ‘We’ll be proper posh then, as good as any of them.’
‘Come on, Ellen,’ Sadie coaxed. ‘Get yerself muffled up and we’ll be on our way. We’ll put our thinking caps on and see what excuse we can come up with for where yer’ve been all afternoon.’
‘There are some places open on Boxing Day, queen,’ Joe said. ‘I don’t like to encourage the children to tell lies, but I think the old saying about necessity being the mother of invention is true, so in this instance I don’t think a little white lie would go amiss.’
Sarah looked sceptical. ‘What are you up to, Joe O’Hanlon? I don’t want you teaching the children that it’s all right to tell lies.’
‘Grandma, if we had halfway decent parents I’d clout the kids for telling lies.’ Sadie linked her arm through Ellen’s and pulled her close. ‘But we don’t have decent parents and I’d lie through me teeth to save the kids from gettin’ a hammering off them. So if Grandad has a suggestion, I’d like to hear it.’
‘Yer might not like it, but it’s all I can think of. They’ll not get away with saying they’ve been walking the streets all this time without warm clothing on.’ Joe leaned back in his chair and smiled at Ellen who was looking worried. ‘The Salvation Army is open all over the Christmas holiday, so is the Seamen’s Mission and a couple of churches. They open to feed the tramps, the down-and-outs and the poor. They’re not really places where children would go, but they could say they were walking past one of them, decided to go in out of the cold and were invited to stay. It isn’t likely, but it is possible.’
‘I know where the Salvation Army place is, I’ve often gone past it and seen people goin’ in,’ Jimmy said, happy to let them see he wasn’t completely thick and there were some things he did know. ‘We could easy say we’ve been there.’
‘Oh well, that takes care of that,’ Sadie said with a sigh. ‘I can’t see me dad gettin’ off his backside to go and see if yer telling the truth.’
Jimmy grinned. ‘I can’t see me dad ever gettin’ off his backside to go anywhere except the pub on the corner. He could have bought that pl
ace twice over with the money he spends there.’
‘Aye, well, if he’s taught us nothing else, he’s taught us how not to live our lives.’ Sadie took her arm from Ellen’s and pushed her forward. ‘Say goodbye to Grandma and Grandad, thank them for the lovely party and give them a big kiss.’
Ellen hung back until she saw Sarah open her arms wide, then with her eyes glistening with tears, she walked into them. ‘Thank you, Grandma.’
‘Thank you for coming, sweetheart, and me and Joe will look forward to seeing you both next Sunday.’
Jimmy’s face was crimson as he shook hands with Joe and gave Sarah a kiss and a hug. He wasn’t used to these niceties but knew he would like the opportunity of getting used to them. ‘Ta very much, an’ we’ll see yer on Sunday.’
Sadie sat next to Peter in the picture house on Wednesday night and bit on her bottom lip to stop herself from laughing. The film was a sad one with Janet Gaynor, but Peter’s antics were pure comedy. He’d tried every trick in the book to get hold of her hand but she’d thwarted him at every turn. Now, having fidgeted through half the film, he was raising the armrest to see if he’d have more luck. In the end, Sadie held her hand out. ‘If this will keep yer still, it’s a small price to pay. But don’t get too attached to it ’cos I want it back.’
A look of pure bliss came over Peter’s face as he clasped her hand. ‘Yer see, I knew yer were crazy about me, Sadie.’
Mindful of the people around her, Sadie kept her voice low. ‘Peter, how old are you?’
‘Going on seventeen.’
‘That means yer sixteen, the same age as me. It’s far too young to be going out serious with anyone.’
‘Ah, but think of the time it gives us.’
‘Time for what?’
‘To practise for when we’re old enough to get serious. If we practise hard enough we’ll be dab hands at it when the time comes.’
‘D’yer think yer could keep quiet now, Peter, so I can watch the film and find out why Janet Gaynor’s crying?’
‘She’s crying ’cos she was sorry for me ’cos yer wouldn’t let me hold yer hand. But she’ll stop now, you just watch.’
Sadie rolled her eyes. They’d have been better off staying in with Sarah and Joe, then Peter could have kept them all amused. There wasn’t much point in coming to see a sad film with someone who saw humour in every situation.
When they came out of the picture house Peter refused to let go of her hand. ‘Uh, uh, if I let go I’ll never get it back again.’ He grinned down into her face. ‘It wasn’t half sad, Janet Gaynor dying, wasn’t it?’
‘Oh, yer did notice, did yer?’
‘Well, I wouldn’t have done only yer nails were diggin’ into me hand ’cos yer were upset. That’s something I’ll never understand about women. Why they bawl their eyes out at a sad film. I mean, Janet Gaynor didn’t really die, did she? If I’d thought for one moment that she was really gasping her last breath, I would have cried me flippin’ eyes out.’
With her hand clasped tightly in his he began to swing their arms between them. He walked with a spring in his step as though he didn’t have a care in the world. And glancing sideways at him, Sadie grinned. He was a nice lad, she was fond of him and grateful that she had him for a friend. When she was with him he took her mind off her concern for her brothers and sisters. She had left Ellen and Jimmy at the corner of their street on Boxing night and she was dying to know how they got on. But the schools were still closed for the holiday period so she’d have to wait until they came for tea on Sunday. If their dad had laid a finger on them she’d ask Tommy and Spike to go up there with her and put the frighteners on him.
‘You’re very quiet, Sadie,’ Peter said. ‘Yer not worried about what to wear for Janet Gaynor’s funeral, are yer?’
‘No, I’ve got a little black number in me wardrobe – I’ll wear that.’
‘I’ll go half with yer for the wreath.’ Peter’s head went back and he laughed. ‘Yer realise that yer getting as daft as me, don’t yer?’
‘Yeah, but I do have me serious moments – you don’t.’
‘That’s where yer wrong, Sadie – I do have me serious moments. I never let anyone see them, like, but I do have them.’
‘I find that hard to believe. What are you ever serious about?’
‘Me future. I intend to make something of meself when I’m older. I’m an apprentice engineer now and there’s so much progress in engineering I mean to keep up with it. I get the practical experience at work, but I go to night school once a week to learn as much as I can about new technology.’
‘I didn’t know that! You’ve never mentioned going to night school.’
‘I didn’t want to bore yer. But I am ambitious, Sadie, I intend gettin’ on in life.’ He let her hand drop and put an arm across her shoulders. ‘What about you? Don’t you want to get on, move a few rungs up the ladder?’
‘Not particularly. I just want to be happy, with enough money to get by on, of course. And I want to see me brothers and sisters happy.’
‘I liked your Ellen and Jimmy, they’re nice kids. I don’t think yer need worry about Jimmy, he’s got enough nous to get on in the world. Ellen’s very shy, though, isn’t she?’
‘She’ll come out when she starts work and is mixing with people.’
‘Would yer mam let her come to Blair Hall with the gang of us? We’d all look after her, and she’d soon get over her shyness in Tommy an’ Spike’s company.’
‘We’ll see,’ Sadie said as they stopped outside her house. Ellen’s future was too uncertain to make plans. ‘Thanks for takin’ me to the pictures, Peter, even if I haven’t got a clue what the film was about.’
‘What! No good-night kiss? Ah, ay, Sadie, don’t tell me I sat through Janet Gaynor’s death scene and I don’t get a reward for it.’
Sadie grinned. What would you do with him? She held her head sideways. ‘You can kiss my cheek. And before yer start moaning, yer lucky to get that far on a first date.’
‘Don’t take yer face away, I’ll come for me kiss after I’ve worked something out.’ Peter started ticking off on his fingers. ‘First date, kiss on the cheek. Second on the forehead, third on the nose and after that the chin. Seeing as that takes care of all yer face, it figures that the fifth date is the big one where I finally get to kiss yer on the lips.’ He leaned closer to peck her on the cheek. ‘I can hang out that long.’
Chapter Twenty-Five
Half-past six. Sadie shivered and pulled the eiderdown up to her chin. Another fifteen minutes and she’d get up and light the fire so Sarah would have a warm room to come down to. The winter seemed to be neverending; they’d had a few heavy falls of snow and it was so cold standing in the market she sometimes thought her toes were going to drop off. Mind you, she couldn’t complain. Mary Ann had made the one day a week off into two days while the bad weather was on. There wasn’t much doing during the week and one could manage the stall on her own. But they were into March now and the weather should be improving soon, then it would be back to normal.
Sadie curled herself into a ball to keep warm, while her mind wandered. Nine months she’d been living here with Grandma and Grandad, and every day she counted her blessings. Since Christmas, Ellen and Jimmy had come every Sunday for tea and they loved it. Those few hours were the highlight of their lives, and the change in the children was nothing short of miraculous. They had blossomed in the warmth and the love they were given so generously. Especially Ellen. Gone was the shy girl who hung her head when spoken to. Now she was talkative, and when Peter came in for the Sunday tea, she gave him back as good as she got.
Their visits gave Sadie the opportunity of keeping up with the events at home. She knew the place was still a hovel, that food and heating were always in short supply and that their father still spent every night down at the pub. But, thankfully, Les and Sally were never at the wrong end of his temper because they were usually in bed when he came home from work. Her sister, Dot, hadn’
t changed from all accounts. She was off flying her kite each night with every Tom, Dick and Harry, her face caked in makeup, and coming home all hours. She wasn’t popular with the children because she was too handy with her fists. Jimmy said you only had to look sideways at her and she’d land you a fourpenny one.
Sadie lifted her head from the pillow and cocked an ear. Yes, there it was again, the creaking of a stair. Surely Sarah wasn’t getting up before she’d had time to light the fire? Pushing the clothes back, Sadie swung her legs over the side of the bed and moved her feet around until they came into contact with the warm slippers. Then she drew the curtains back so she could see her way around. It wasn’t broad daylight out, but it was light enough to find the cardi which had slipped from the bed onto the floor. And as she struggled to get her arms in the sleeves, she made her way to the door. She was on the landing when the light in the living room went on and she hurried down the stairs.
‘Grandma, what are yer doing up this time of the morning? Why didn’t yer stay in bed until I had the fire going?’
‘The old lady next door knocked on the wall, she mustn’t be well.’ Sarah was pulling her long black skirt on over her nightdress. ‘She looked terrible when I saw her yesterday and I told her to give me a knock if she wanted anything.’
‘Yer mean Mrs Benson? What’s wrong with her?’
‘She was as weak as a kitten and the sweat was pouring off her. I told her to make a bed up on the couch and keep the fire going, but yer might as well talk to the wall. She never has a decent fire in the grate and the whole house is damp, yer can smell it as soon as yer go in.’ Sarah’s blouse was topped by the thick black woollen shawl she was never without in the cold weather. ‘I know she has a hard time making ends meet, but I’m fed up telling her that keeping herself warm is more important than anything. When yer get to our age a cold can quickly turn to pneumonia.’
‘I’ll go into her, Grandma – you stay and get me breakfast ready.’
‘No, sweetheart, it’s best if I go. Maggie might be embarrassed with a young girl like you. I can let meself in ’cos she’s left the key hanging on a string inside the letterbox. I’ll just see how she is and come right back.’