by Joan Jonker
‘There’s always Mrs Benson’s next door,’ Sarah said softly. ‘When she leaves yer could rent that between yer.’
Sadie almost gasped aloud. Why the crafty, lovely, adorable old lady! She must have heard her talking to Jimmy about it. ‘We’re too young, the landlord wouldn’t let us.’
‘I have mentioned it to him,’ Sarah said. ‘I knew yer’d be looking for somewhere for Jimmy to live, and being selfish I wanted to keep yer near. And Maggie’s told me she won’t be able to take the big furniture with her because her daughter’s house is full already. That means the house, when she finally decides to move, will be furnished.’
Sadie couldn’t believe her ears. ‘What did the landlord say?’
‘That as long as he got the rent every week he didn’t care how old yer were.’ Sarah crossed her fingers and prayed forgiveness for the lie. The rent man had said they were too young, but what had happened today changed things. Harry was twenty, old enough to rent. Something could be sorted out before Maggie made up her mind to move out.
Joe covered his mouth to stop the chuckle. There was his dear wife, ahead of the field again.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
‘Me and Joe are slipping next door to see Maggie,’ Sarah said on the Sunday afternoon. ‘We won’t get a chance when Mary Ann and Tom come, and yer know I like to go in every day just to make sure she’s all right.’
‘Can I come with yer, Grandma?’ Ellen asked, on cue. ‘I haven’t seen Mrs Benson for nearly a week.’
‘You’re all goin’ out and leaving me on me own?’ Sadie looked apprehensive. She’d never had a birthday party before and was sick with nerves and excitement. ‘What if the visitors start to arrive and there’s only me here?’
‘They won’t be here for another hour or so, sweetheart, and we’ll be back well before then. Anyway, there’s only Peter and his mam and dad, and Mary Ann and her feller. It’s not as though there’s any strangers coming.’
‘Okay, I’ll let yer off,’ Sadie grinned. ‘If I get stuck I’ll knock on the wall for yer.’
Left on her own, Sadie walked through to the kitchen and eyed the cakes and sandwiches Sarah had prepared. There seemed to be an awful lot for the few people that were coming, but as her grandma said, what didn’t get eaten today would keep for tomorrow. And it wasn’t only a few people because there was Jimmy, and she’d sent word with him to their Dot to say she was welcome if she felt like coming. That had been Sarah’s idea. Give the girl a chance and a helping hand, she’d said. And when Sadie had seen Jimmy at the market yesterday he told her that Dot had apologised for being a lousy sister. ‘She speaks to me and the kids now, and she even brought some sweets in for us to share. She doesn’t have much to say to me mam and dad though, an’ I don’t blame her ’cos they’re horrible with her, always making snide remarks about her and sniggerin’ like a pair of idiots.’
So an apology and a change of attitude would satisfy Jimmy; he wouldn’t be holding any grudges against his sister.
There came a loud rat-rat at the knocker and Sadie’s hand flew to her mouth. Oh Lord, who could this be? She wouldn’t mind if it was Mary Ann, but if it was next door she’d panic. She was all right with Peter, but she’d be tongue-tied with his parents. It was probably only Jimmy, though, too impatient to wait until four o’clock. He hadn’t been happy when Sarah said she’d be too busy to make a roast dinner today, so he was not to come early or he’d be under their feet. She looked in the mirror over the fireplace as she passed, stroked the long blonde hair that was already perfect and went to open the door.
‘Hello, Sadie.’
Sadie’s breath caught in her throat, her mind ceased to function, and her heart stopped beating. It was as if time and the whole world stood still. For a few seconds, shock took over. Then she drank in the smiling face with the deep dimples, the tender smile and that special look that made her tingle all over. As a cry left her lips she jumped from the top step, sailed through the air and landed in Harry’s waiting arms. Saying his name over and over, she clung to him, afraid that if she let go he would disappear.
‘Would you invite me in, Sadie? I can see all the curtains twitching, the whole street are probably watching and I’d much rather do this in private.’
She took his hand and walked ahead of him into the house. After closing the door, she asked shyly, ‘Can I have a kiss, please, Harry? Just so I’ll know I’m not dreaming.’
Harry held her tight. ‘Just a kiss, or one of me smackeroos?’
‘I don’t mind, as long as you’re here, that’s the main thing.’
‘Just a brotherly kiss for now, eh? Then I’d like to sit down and have a good talk to yer before anyone comes.’
Sadie tilted her head back to ask, ‘How did yer know I lived here?’
‘It’s a bit complicated, Sadie, so can we sit down?’
Sadie led him to the couch, holding his hand in a tight grip. ‘Now, how did yer find out where I lived?’
‘I’ve got so many questions bottled up inside me, Sadie, let me set me mind at rest before anything else. First of all, have yer missed me?’
‘Every day, Harry. I’ve thought about yer and missed yer so much it hurt.’ Sadie suddenly jumped up. ‘Hang on a minute, I’ve got something to show yer.’
Harry heard her taking the stairs two at a time, then within seconds she was on her way down again, jumping the last three stairs. She sat down beside him and held out the little teddy bear. ‘Remember this, Harry? Never a night goes by that I don’t kiss him good night. And this,’ she opened her other hand to reveal a silver sixpence nestling in the palm, ‘this is the last sixpence yer gave me. Even when I was skint I wouldn’t spend it ’cos you’d given it to me.’
Harry gazed into her eyes before slipping a hand into his trouser pocket. He pulled out a paper sweet bag and handed it to her. ‘Those are yours.’
Sadie stared down at the bag full of sixpences. ‘What are these, Harry?’
‘There’s fifty sixpences there – one for every week yer’ve been away. The first night yer didn’t turn up I didn’t worry ’cos I thought yer couldn’t get away. The next time I still thought the only reason yer didn’t come was because yer weren’t well or something. So I put the sixpences away, never dreaming you were no longer living next door. I wouldn’t let meself believe I’d never see yer again, even when the months passed and there was no further word from yer and no sight of yer. The only thing that’s kept me going was the thought that one day I’d catch up with yer. I didn’t know how, it was just a feeling I had.’
Sadie dropped the bag onto her lap and cupped his face. ‘I’m sorry for what I did to yer, Harry, it was mean of me. But I had to get away from that house, I couldn’t take any more. And the only way I could do that was by not telling anyone, in case me mam and dad found out where I was.’ She kissed his cheek before asking, ‘How did yer find me, Harry?’
‘Me nerves are ragged, Sadie, I’ve got to ask yer something first. Then I’ll tell yer the very long and complicated story.’ He held her hands in his. ‘Will you be my girl, Sadie? Not just me girlfriend, but me sweetheart?’
‘Yer don’t need to ask, Harry, but I’ll tell yer all the same. I’ll be anything yer want me to be, I’ll even fly to the moon with yer, like yer once asked.’
‘I love you, Sadie, so much that it’s frightening.’
‘And I love you, Harry. I think I have done since yer came down the entry that day and found me crying. But I wouldn’t let meself admit it because I knew it wouldn’t do no good. Your mam would never accept me as yer girlfriend.’
‘That’s all part of the story I’ve got to tell yer, but one more question first. Will yer get engaged to me on yer birthday?’
Sadie closed her eyes. She felt as though she was floating on air. ‘There’s nothing in the world I’d like more, but what about your family? I don’t want to cause trouble between you and yer parents.’
‘We’ll come to that in a minute, Sadie, just answer
me question. Will yer get engaged to me on yer birthday?’
‘That’s tomorrow, Harry, and I work on a Monday.’
‘So do I, but I’ve asked for the afternoon off. And you’ve been given the afternoon off, as well, so yer’ve no excuse.’
‘I don’t understand! How do you know I can have the afternoon off?’
‘ ’Cos Mary Ann told Mrs O’Hanlon yer could.’ His questions answered, his heartbeat back to normal and his nerves calm, Harry laughed aloud at the startled look on Sadie’s face. ‘Why do yer think yer grandma and grandad have taken themselves next door? And taken Ellen with them?’
‘They knew you were coming, didn’t they?’ Sadie didn’t know whether she was on her head or her heels. But she did know she was happier than she’d ever been. ‘Harry Young, if you don’t hurry up and tell me what’s going on, I’ll take me kiss back.’
‘Sadie Wilson, the only way yer can take a kiss back is by putting yer lips on the mouth yer’ve kissed. I’m quite happy to oblige if that’s what yer want.’
‘You can have as many kisses as yer like, once yer’ve told me what’s going on.’
‘Before I do, I’ve got to tell you that you are lovelier than ever, that I love you with all my heart, and that there’s fifty sixpences in that bag which entitles me to fifty kisses – all of them me speciality smackeroos.’ He held up his hand, ‘Okay, here we go.’
Harry started at the night she went home with Tommy and Spike and his family heard the row. It was that night his family found out how deep his feelings for Sadie were. Then he told how his dad was in the pub with Bill Curtis when his friend just happened to mention he knew where Sadie worked.
When he’d finished, he sat back and sighed. ‘So now you have it, lock, stock and barrel.’
Sadie was struck dumb for a while as her mind tried to take it all in. Then, her voice a mere whisper, she asked, ‘Yer mean your mam and dad have been here, to this house?’
Harry nodded. ‘I take me hat off to me dad, it was a good bit of detective work he did. And I’ll be grateful to him for the rest of me life.’
Sadie bit on her lip. ‘I can’t believe it, it just won’t sink in. I’m so happy I feel like crying me eyes out.’
‘Oh, no, you don’t! The gang will be here in about ten minutes and we’ve got to get fifty kisses in by then. And don’t try and cheat by givin’ me little pecks, ’cos although me mind isn’t workin’ right at the moment, I can still count.’ He pulled her close. ‘Mind you, whenever I was with you me mind never worked right, it was always somewhere in the clouds.’
When the door-knocker sounded, Sadie grabbed Harry’s hand and pulled him along the hall. ‘I don’t know who it is, but you’re comin’ with me. I’m not lettin’ yer out of me sight.’
She thought nothing would surprise her any more, not after Harry turning up on the doorstep. But she was wrong. This time she opened the door to all the friends she’d made in the last year. Fronted by a beaming Sarah and Joe, they were all there. Mary Ann and Tom, Peter and his parents, Betty and Frank, and towering above them all, Tommy and Spike. And standing close together at the edge of the group were her sisters, Dot and Ellen, and her brother, Jimmy.
Sadie shook her head. ‘I don’t believe it! Where did you all spring from?’
It was Mary Ann who told her. ‘It was this grandma of yours. She had us all use the entry to get to Mrs Benson’s, just so yer wouldn’t see us passing the window.’
‘Well, I thought it would be more of a surprise if everyone turned up at the same time, instead of coming in dribs and drabs, so we arranged to meet next door.’ Sarah was feeling very proud that everything had gone according to plan. There was one more surprise in store for Sadie, and that would be the one to complete her day of happiness. ‘Now are yer going to stand aside and let us in, so we can meet this young man of yours?’
‘I don’t want to meet him, I want to break his neck,’ Tommy said. ‘A complete stranger, someone by the name of Harry, comes along and steals our girl! It’s just not blinkin’ well on, is it, Spike?’
‘Yer right there, pal,’ Spike growled. ‘He should be taught a lesson. I’ll tell yer what, Tommy, I’ll hold ’im down while you beat the daylights out of him.’
Harry came out of the shadow of the hall and stood on the step next to Sadie. With his arm across her shoulders, he asked, ‘Who’s the one goin’ to beat the daylights out of me?’
Spike pretended to size Harry up. ‘It wasn’t me, pal.’ Speaking out of the side of his mouth like he’d seen Edward G. Robinson do in a gangster film, he said to his friend, ‘Yer on yer own, pal, this one’s no pushover.’
‘What are yer looking at me for? I haven’t done nothing.’ Tommy looked suitably hurt. ‘Why do I always get the blame?’
‘Oh, stop messing you two and let’s get in.’ Sarah took Joe’s hand as she mounted the step. ‘We’re the oldest so we get priority.’
‘I’m goin’ to be posh, Grandma, and introduce each one to Harry on the way in. And who better to start with than the two people I love so dearly.’
His mother and father had spoken so well of the old couple, Harry had been curious about what was so special about them. But it only took one look, one smile, and he was in Sarah’s arms. And he felt at home there. He whispered in her ear, ‘Thank you for looking after Sadie for me.’
‘It’s been our pleasure, sweetheart, and we’ll keep on looking after her until someone comes along to take over.’
‘I start learning from tomorrow,’ he told her, ‘when we’re getting engaged.’
Everyone was so cheerful and friendly as they trooped in and were introduced that Harry didn’t feel in the least awkward. He couldn’t remember all their names, but he’d get to know them better as the day wore on. They were certainly a happy bunch, no doubt about that. And there was no doubt about their genuine affection for Sadie.
The three children were the only ones left now, and while Ellen and Jimmy did what they’d seen the grownups do and shook hands with Harry, Dot hung back. She was shaking inside at the thought of looking Harry in the face, remembering how she’d cheapened herself in front of him. But Sadie had paved the way and he greeted her as a friend. ‘Come on, Dot, there’s no need to be shy with me, we’ve known each other long enough.’
Jimmy made a bee-line for the kitchen to see what the food situation was, while Ellen made straight for Peter. ‘Yer haven’t said yer like me new dress, Peter.’
‘I like yer new dress, Ellen, yer look very nice.’
‘Yes, I do, don’t I? Are yer goin’ to dance with me after, Peter?’
‘Ellen, are yer asking me, or telling me?’
‘I’m asking yer to ask me first, Peter, ’cos that’s proper. But if yer say no, then I’ll have to ask you. It is all right for girls to ask boys, I’ve seen them doin’ it at Blair Hall.’
‘Ellen, this isn’t Blair Hall.’
Still looking the little innocent, Ellen said, ‘No, it’s a bit smaller, isn’t it? But we’ll manage.’
Everyone had been listening to the exchange, now the room erupted with laughter. Peter’s mother, Betty, thought it was hilarious and doubled up. ‘I’ll say one thing for yer, girl, yer not backward in coming forward.’
‘That’s right, Ellen,’ Tommy roared. ‘Don’t you stand no messin’ from him. Let him know who’s the boss.’
Spike had to add his twopennyworth. ‘Start as yer mean to go on, girl.’
Peter took it all with good humour. After all, Ellen was looking good enough to eat in her new dress, with her lovely hair bouncing on her shoulders and her pretty face smiling. ‘Before I commit meself, I want to make sure she doesn’t have a points system, like her sister.’
There were only four people in the room who knew what he was talking about. Sarah and Joe were shaking with laughter and Sadie gasped. ‘Peter Townley, I’ll kill you!’
‘Well, I think we men must stick together,’ Peter said, his face serious. ‘And I think Harry sh
ould be warned that he probably won’t get to give Sadie a proper kiss until they’ve been out on a date six times. And even then he’ll have to have a letter from Our Lord.’
‘Is that how it works?’ Harry was leaning against the sideboard with his arm around Sadie’s waist. ‘This is goin’ to take some figuring out. Let me see, I haven’t seen Sadie for nearly a year, so at a rate of two dates a week, that’s a hundred kisses.’ He stroked his chin thoughtfully. ‘I’ve only had fifty off her this afternoon, that’s all the time we had before you lot came. So she still owes me fifty kisses and I owe her a letter from Our Lord.’
Ellen was the other person to know of the points system. ‘I don’t have no system, Peter. I wouldn’t make yer kiss me chin or me forehead.’
Peter chuckled. ‘In that case I’ll ask me mam if I can dance with yer.’
‘There’s work to do before yer think of dancing, Peter, sweetheart,’ Sarah said. ‘I want yer to go next door with Tommy and Spike and fetch the crate of beer and the two bottles of port wine.’
‘Grandma, you haven’t been splashing out on drink, have yer!’ Sadie shook her head, worrying that her grandma and grandad would leave themselves short. ‘We don’t need drink to enjoy ourselves.’
‘You speak for yerself, Sadie.’ Tommy was already on his way to the door, followed by Spike and Peter. ‘Yer can’t have a proper knees-up without a drink. And this party is definitely goin’ to be a jars out, knees-up party.’
When they’d gone, Sarah told Sadie, ‘I haven’t paid a penny out, sweetheart. Mary Ann and Tom, Betty and Frank, and Tommy and Spike, it was their idea and they clubbed together for the drink. They wanted this to be a birthday party yer’ll never forget.’
Sadie was close to tears. ‘I’ll never forget this day as long as I live, Grandma. I keep thinking I’ll wake up and find it’s all a dream.’
‘Listen, girl,’ said Mary Ann, ‘don’t you start me off crying like yer usually do. This is a bleedin’ party, not a wake, and I intend to enjoy meself.’