Sadie Was A Lady (59 page)

‘No, they wouldn’t, sunshine, and I wouldn’t want to leave them. But I can’t be all things to all men, can I? You need help and I made you a promise. And we’d only be next door. We’d be seeing each other every day and we’d be on hand if they wanted anything or one of them got sick and needed help. They’re part of my life, Jimmy, and they always will be.’

Jimmy had another dark thought. ‘Would the rent man let us have the house? I can’t see him renting it to three kids, ’cos that’s all we are.’

‘We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. And until then, not a word to a soul.’ Sadie passed him a plate to dry, and as she did so, she met his eyes. ‘Jimmy, how come yer never mention our Dot? Yer talk about Les and Sally, but yer never mention yer big sister. Why is that?’

‘ ’Cos I’ve got nothin’ to say about her. She just comes an’ goes as she pleases, never hardly speaks to anyone. She gets in from work, has whatever there is to eat, then she’s off out an’ I’m in bed by the time she comes ’ome.’

‘Who does she go out with, a girlfriend or boyfriend?’

‘I honestly don’t know, Sadie, she never talks to anyone. Even me mam doesn’t know where she gets to ’cos I’ve heard her tellin’ me dad.’ Jimmy bent to put the plates away in the kitchen cabinet. ‘She doesn’t hit us no more, that’s one good thing. And she doesn’t put so much muck
on
her face. Honest, she used to look like a clown when she went out, with two big round patches of that red stuff on her cheeks. If she hadn’t been me sister I’d have been laughing an’ pokin’ fun at her.’

‘Don’t ever do that, Jimmy, ’cos after all, as yer said, she is yer sister.’ Sadie’s voice was so low as she bent over the sink, Jimmy had to cock an ear to hear what she was saying. ‘Whatever our Dot is, me mam and dad made her that way. I know she’s hardfaced and not very nice, but don’t forget she had a lousy childhood, same as us.’ She swished her hand around in the water to make sure she hadn’t missed any small items of cutlery, then pulled out the plug and leaned against the sink to watch the water drain away. ‘Let’s forget about Dot, now. Have yer no other news?’

‘Only that I earned an extra penny at the market yesterday. Yer know Tommy and Spike usually give me a penny each for runnin’ messages for them? Well, they gave me a thruppenny joey between them yesterday ’cos they said I’d worked hard.’

‘Good for you! Yer could get a nice summer shirt with that from the market. Yer’ll need one with the weather picking up.’

‘Nah, I’m goin’ to save it to buy yer a present on yer birthday. I’ve never bought yer a present before ’cos I’ve never had the money.’

Sadie dried her hands on the towel hanging from a nail on the kitchen door. ‘You spend yer money on yerself, sunshine – yer worked for it. Don’t be worrying about me, I’ve got everything I want or need.’

Jimmy gave her a mischievous grin. ‘Just wait and see, yer won’t half get a surprise.’

Sarah came to the kitchen door. ‘It’s takin’ a long time for yer to wash the dishes. I hope yer haven’t washed the pattern off the plates.’

‘We’ve finished now, Grandma, the dishes and our little talk.’

‘Well come along in, Peter’s here.’

Ellen waited for her sister to sit down before asking,
‘Can
I come to the dance with yer one night, Sadie?’

Sadie glanced across at Sarah. ‘What d’yer think, Grandma? Is she too young?’

‘That’s up to you to say, sweetheart.’

‘Go on, let her come,’ Peter said. ‘She can’t come to no harm while she’s with us.’

‘Don’t be mean, our Sadie,’ Ellen pleaded. ‘Let me come with yer on Wednesday, go on, please?’

‘Oh, all right. If I say no I’ll never hear the last of it.’

‘Well, instead of playing rummy, why don’t we teach her a few dance steps?’ Peter said with a smile on his face. ‘Just in case some poor fool asks her for a dance.’

Ellen was bobbing up and down on the chair. ‘Ooh, yeah, that would be brilliant.’

Joe and Sarah were all for it. ‘Push the table right back, queen, and make more room,’ Joe said. ‘Me and my dear wife might have a go as well. They say yer never too old to learn.’

Sarah chuckled. ‘Yes, we might come with yer to Blair Hall, as well.’

The table and chairs were pushed right back, and amid laughter and cheers, Ellen had her first dancing lesson.

Jack Young watched his reflection in the mirror over the fireplace as he straightened his tie. ‘I won’t be out long, love, just a pint to whet me whistle.’

‘I don’t mind yer goin’ out, yer know that,’ Florrie told him, then laughed. ‘As long as it’s only every Preston Guild.’

‘I wouldn’t bother, meself, but when I met Bill Curtis on the tram coming home from work and he asked me to go for a pint with him, I didn’t like refusing. Like meself, he’s not a drinker, so we certainly won’t be there until the towels go on.’ Jack turned to his son who was sitting at the table reading. ‘D’yer feel like comin’ out for an hour, Harry? Just down to the pub on the corner?’

‘No, Dad, I don’t feel like it,’ Harry said, ‘but thanks for asking.’

‘Oh, go on,’ Florrie tutted, ‘don’t be so flamin’
miserable.
It’s a lovely night, the fresh air will do yer good.’

Harry grinned. ‘It’s about thirty steps away, Mam, about six breaths of fresh air and we’d be there. I’m not being miserable, I just don’t feel like it. Yer know I’m not a drinker, I wouldn’t care if I never saw the stuff.’

‘Okay, son, it was only a thought.’ Jack kissed his wife on the cheek. ‘I’ll be gone an hour or so, love.’

Florrie went to the door with him. ‘Yer’ve no need to hurry back. God knows it’s not often yer go out. But a warning, Jack Young, don’t you come rolling home.’

Jack laughed as he walked away. ‘Fat chance of that, love.’

Bill Curtis was sitting in a corner of the pub, his coat over a chair to reserve the seat for his friend. ‘Sit yerself down, Jack, and I’ll get the drinks. Pint of bitter, is it?’

‘I’ll get them in.’

‘No, this is my round.’ Bill moved his coat from the chair. ‘Park yer backside an’ take the weight off yer feet.’

The two men had been neighbours for years and had a mutual respect for each other. As they sipped their pints, conversation came easy. They discussed the weather, their jobs and their families. ‘Talkin’ about families,’ Bill said, leaning closer, ‘there’s a miserable specimen of manhood standing at the bar who could do with a few lessons on how to raise a family.’

Jack turned his head to see George Wilson leaning on the counter. ‘You’re telling me. He’s a bloody disgrace, and that’s putting it mildly. And a bloody mystery! One of his daughters went missing nearly a year ago, and now it seems another one has left home – just disappeared into thin air. No one knows where they are, an’ he goes around as though he hasn’t a care in the world.’

‘Can yer blame them for wanting to get away from that house? I certainly don’t. And the blonde one seems to be doing all right for herself. She looks better since she got away from his clutches. She’s a fine-lookin’ girl, and a worker.’

Jack looked surprised and puzzled. ‘Yer mean yer’ve seen her?’

‘Yeah – I’ve seen her a few times. She works in Paddy’s market.’

‘Go ’way!’ Jack’s heartbeat was racing but he didn’t want to sound too interested. ‘What does she do there?’

‘She works on a second-hand clothes stall for a woman called Mary Ann. Everybody knows Mary Ann, she’s a well-known character around Scottie Road. Very popular she is, with a sharp wit and a smile for everyone. Good businesswoman, too. Her stall does a roaring trade.’

‘And Sadie works for her?’

Bill looked puzzled. ‘Who the hell is Sadie when she’s out?’

Jack nodded to the figure holding up the bar. ‘The queer feller’s daughter, the blonde one.’

‘Oh, I get yer now. Yeah, she works there, I’ve seen her with me own eyes.’

‘Have yer spoken to her? Has she seen yer?’

‘ “No” to both questions, Jack. I never spoke to her while she was livin’ in the street, so she’d think it was queer if I went out of me way to speak to her now. And she’s never seen me, ’cos the market’s so crowded yer can’t see anyone. It would be like lookin’ for a needle in a haystack.’

‘What do you go to Paddy’s market for? I would have thought St John’s market would be nearer for you from here.’

‘It probably is, but I enjoy the atmosphere at Paddy’s market. I go there for lots of things, like second-hand tools, bits of wood if I’m makin’ something, any old odds and sods. There’s nothing yer can’t get there, and for only a few coppers.’

‘I see.’ Jack wanted to rush home to tell Harry, but he had to get his round in first. ‘I’ll have to try it some time.’ He picked up the empty glasses. ‘Same again?’

Over the second pint, Jack thought things through and decided not to say anything to his son until he was sure of his facts. It would devastate Harry to have his hopes raised and then dashed again. He’d go to the market and see for himself first.

So in bed that night, Jack told Florrie of what he’d learned. ‘I’ll go on Saturday afternoon, just to make sure and see how the land lies.’

‘I’ll come with yer.’ Florrie couldn’t rid herself of the guilt she felt. If she hadn’t been so down on the family next door, Harry would have brought his feelings for Sadie out into the open. She was responsible for the change in her son and she deeply regretted it. ‘We’ll go together.’

‘No, love, don’t be rushing at it like a bull at a gate. If we don’t get things right, we’ll do more harm than good. One might go unnoticed at the market, but not two. Let me do it my way, love, and trust me.’

The crowds were three deep at each of the three tables and hands were coming over the tops of heads or between bodies. Just the sight of a certain colour could have someone straining to reach it. They might not want it when they got to it, but they wanted to be certain they didn’t want it before someone else got there before them. And the old hands had a few tricks up their sleeves. If they spotted something they liked the look of, but couldn’t get near the table, they weren’t beyond giving the person in front of them a kick on the shin, and while the hapless victim was bending down, the perpetrator would push her way to the front while murmuring sounds of sympathy.

Mary Ann clicked her tongue as she anchored a lock of stray hair behind her ear. This had to be the busiest day they’d ever had. It had been non-stop since nine o’clock and there was no sign of a let-up. It was a good job her feller had brought a few extra bundles just to be on the safe side. She turned her head sharply at the sound of a scuffle and rushed to where two women were fighting over a blue and white striped blouse. They were playing tug-of-war with it, first it would go one way, then the other. ‘In the name of God, will yer just look at yerselves? Women are supposed to be the fairer, weaker sex, but you two look like prize-fighters! Eyes screwed up, nostrils flared and teeth ground together, anyone would think yer were going to kill each other. Well, let me tell yer there’ll be no
murder
committed at my stall, unless I can sell tickets for it. If yer’ve ripped that blouse, then yer’ll pay for it, d’yer hear? Now give it here to me.’ The women looked shamefaced as the blouse was handed over. ‘I saw it first, Mary Ann, and this one grabbed it out of me hand.’

‘You bleedin’ barefaced liar! I saw it first!’

‘Will you two behave yerselves and act yer age, before I come round there and bang yer bleedin’ heads together?’ Mary Ann shook the blouse before holding it up. ‘Nellie, and you, Vera, seein’ as both of yer have got breasts as big as footballs, how did yer intend gettin’ into this? It wouldn’t cover one of them, never mind two.’

The women eyed the blouse then looked down at themselves. ‘I never got a chance to see it proper, Mary Ann,’ Nellie said. ‘I’d only just picked it up when this one snatched it out of me hands. Quick as bleedin’ lighting she was.’

Vera’s look was scornful. ‘I hope when yer go to Confession that yer tell the priest how many lies yer tell. Every time yer open yer gob the lies just pour out.’

‘Oh, aye? The bell’s gone for the second round, has it?’ Mary Ann thought of a way to put a halt to it. ‘Well, yer can stop it now ’cos I’ll sell yer the blouse. The first one to hand thruppence over can have it.’

‘I don’t want it,’ Nellie said. ‘It’s no good to me.’

‘What’s the use of buyin’ somethin’ that doesn’t fit?’ Vera asked. ‘Yer must think we’re short on top, Mary Ann, or we’ve got money to burn.’ She turned to Nellie. ‘She’s not soft, is she, girl? It’s no wonder she’s loaded.’

‘We’ll look for something else, eh, Vera? I fancy somethin’ in blue.’

Vera frowned. ‘Ay out, Mary Ann, some kid’s just nicked one of yer jumpers.’

‘Oh dear, oh dear,’ Mary Ann sighed. ‘D’yer know, when I get home tonight I’m goin’ to be too tired to count me money.’ She saw the figure of a young boy pushing his way through the crowd, a grey jumper swinging from his hand. ‘It’s all right, he’s Aggie Armstrong’s son, she’ll pay me next time she comes. If she doesn’t, I’ll give him a
thick
lip.’ The stall-holder’s brow creased. There was a man standing just at the back of the stalls, and she’d noticed him a few times. At first she thought he was waiting for someone, but he’d been there ages and each time she’d looked he seemed to have his eyes on Sadie. That’s all he was doing now, standing with his hands clasped behind his back, his eyes on her young assistant. He was up to no good, that was a dead cert, but she’d soon send him packing.

‘Sadie, I know yer up to yer neck, girl, but I’ve got to go to the lavvy or I’ll burst. Will yer hold the fort for a few minutes?’

‘Of course I will, Auntie Mary.’ Sadie smiled. ‘I’ll keep me eye out.’

Without further ado, Mary Ann squeezed through the gap in the tables, walked to the back of the stall and confronted the man. ‘Well?’

Jack Young took a step back in surprise. ‘I beg yer pardon?’

‘Don’t come the bleedin’ innocent with me, my man. I’ve been watchin’ yer for the last fifteen minutes and all yer’ve done is stand there gawping at me young lady assistant. Now I want to know why.’

‘You mean I’ve been watching Sadie?’

Mary Ann was taken aback. ‘Yer know her?’