Sadie Was A Lady (38 page)

‘Mind your own business.’ Wild horses wouldn’t have dragged the truth from Sadie. She had visions of herself walking down the street, nose in the air and dressed to kill. How soft she’d look if he knew everything she had on had come from Paddy’s market! She’d die of shame. ‘Because I’m letting you help me, it doesn’t mean I want to be pally with yer.’

‘I was hoping to see yer, Sadie, to apologise for what I said the other night about yer grandparents. I didn’t mean to upset yer, and I only said it to keep yer talking a bit longer. We were getting on great, then I had to go and put me big foot in it and you stormed off in a huff. I kicked meself all the way down our hall, honest I did. In fact, I’ll show yer the bruises if yer’ll hold this bundle for a minute. Black and blue me shins are, and even a bit of yellow in parts.’

Sadie threw her head back and her laughter rang out loud and clear. ‘Yer tuppence short of a shilling, you are, Peter Townley. As soft as a blinking brush.’

Peter turned his head to look at her. God, but she was beautiful. ‘Are we friends again, then, Sadie? I know yer courting strong, yer don’t have to keep telling me that, but I’d still like to be friends with yer.’

Sadie had no intention of going into detail about Geoff, so she let it pass. ‘Okay, Peter, we’ll call a truce.’

He let out a loud exaggerated sigh of relief. ‘I’m glad about that, Sadie, ’cos I’m a growing lad and I need me sleep. You’ve been stunting me growth since yer moved into the street. I can’t get to sleep for thinking about yer.’

‘Peter Townley, if you lose any sleep because of me then yer need yer bumps feeling because I’m not worth it.’

‘I have given that very subject a great deal of thought, Sadie. And after much soul-searching and deliberation, I have reached the conclusion that you are worth losing sleep over. And to prove how much confidence I have in the outcome of my deliberation, I lie awake every night
just
gazing at the cracks in me bedroom ceiling. Twenty-four there are, by the way; I counted them.’

They were outside Sadie’s house by this time and she stared at him, open-mouthed. ‘Have you swallowed a blinkin’ dictionary, Peter Townley?’

‘Yeah.’ He rested his chin on the top of the bundle, his face smiling and his brown eyes dancing with mischievous laughter. ‘The pages weren’t that bad to swallow, but the hard back cover was murder. Couldn’t get it past me Adam’s apple, yer see.’

Sadie doubled up with laughter. He might be a blight on her life but he was a comical one. There’d be no miserable faces in his company. ‘Wait until I knock on the door, then I’ll take that load off yer.’

But the door opened before her hand reached the knocker. ‘I saw yer passing the window, sweetheart.’ Sarah looked surprised when she saw who her companion was. ‘Are you two on speaking terms again?’

‘He’s a nutcase, Grandma, a real head-the-ball.’ Sadie grinned. ‘But he’s been very good carrying me bundle for me, so I’ll not insult him by saying more.’

‘She won’t tell me what it is I’m carrying, though.’ Peter rolled his eyes. ‘Must be ill-gotten gains.’

‘No, I won’t tell yer what it is, and neither will me grandma. So I’ll thank yer kindly and take it off yer hands.’

‘I’ve carried it this far, I may as well finish the job off properly and put it on me Auntie Sarah’s table for yer.’

Sadie gaped. ‘Auntie Sarah? She’s not yer Auntie!’

‘She’s been me Auntie Sarah since the day I was born, and she’ll always be me Auntie Sarah whether you like it or not.’

Sarah could see a fight brewing and decided she wasn’t having any. They could play silly beggars if they liked, but not in front of her. ‘Can’t we have one night where you two say good night as friends? Every time yer see each other yer end up fighting! Behave yerselves, the pair of yer, and act yer age.’

Peter grinned while Sadie looked shamefaced. ‘I will if she will, Auntie Sarah.’

‘Oh, all right, we’ll be friends,’ Sadie said. ‘So will you take me bundle inside, Peter, please? And then I’ll say ta-ra and let yer get about yer business. I’ve taken up enough of your time as it is.’

Peter nodded and grinned at Sarah. ‘She has too, yer know. If it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t know we had twenty-four cracks in me bedroom ceiling.’

The old lady looked puzzled. ‘Yer’ve lost me there, son. I don’t know what your bedroom ceiling’s got to do with anything.’

‘Take no notice of him, Grandma, or we’ll be here all night. Just let him put the bundle on the table and I’ll stand here until he comes out.’

Sadie was waiting when Peter came out of the house minus the bundle. ‘Good night, Peter, and thank you.’

‘Are we friends then, Sadie? I’m only asking so I’ll know whether to speak to yer next time we just happen to bump into each other. It makes things awkward when yer don’t know whether to say “hello”, or just pull tongues.’

Oh, he really was the limit, Sadie thought. But she couldn’t help smiling. ‘Don’t you dare pull tongues at me, Peter Townley!’

‘So we’re on speaking terms, I take it, Sadie?’

‘Yes, Peter, we’re on speaking terms.’

‘Thank God for that! Those twenty-four cracks can look after themselves tonight, I’ve stood guard long enough. It’s a good night’s sleep I’ll be having tonight, and I bet I’ll have grown another two inches by the time I get out of bed. Me growth will no longer be stunted.’

‘Good night, Peter, enjoy yer sleep.’

‘Good night, Sadie. At least yer can’t fall out with me when I’m asleep.’

Sadie was chuckling when she closed the front door. That was one bloke you couldn’t fall out with – he wouldn’t let you!

‘Oh, sweetheart, yer look absolutely beautiful.’ There were tears in Sarah’s eyes. ‘A lovely coat for a lovely girl.’

Sadie did a little twirl. ‘I thought yer’d like it, Grandma.
What
about you, Grandad? Could yer fall for me in this rig-out?’

‘I could fall head over heels for you in anything, queen, but in that I’d do a double somersault.’ Joe couldn’t have been more proud of Sadie if she’d been of his own flesh and blood. In fact, there were times when he forgot she wasn’t. ‘If yer were old enough I’d take yer down to the pub with me, to show yer off to me mates.’

‘Over my dead body, you would.’ Sarah’s eyes flashed. ‘Nice girls don’t go in pubs, Joe O’Hanlon, so don’t you be leading her astray.’

‘Before you two come to blows, can I show yer me coat properly?’ Sadie took Sarah by the arms and sat her down. ‘It’s not often I get the chance to swank, so let me enjoy meself.’

Sarah smiled and clasped her hands in her lap. ‘We’re all eyes and ears, sweetheart.’

‘See how these lapels, or revers, are lying flat, Grandma?’ Sadie ran the back of her hands down the soft velvet, liking the feel of luxury. ‘Well, when the weather’s cold I can fold them over and they’ll fasten up to me neck to keep me nice and warm. It’s a shame to hide the velvet, but when it’s fastened up it doesn’t half feel good next to me skin.’ She smiled and hugged herself. ‘I wonder if the girl who it was bought for loved it as much as I do?’

‘That’s something we’ll never know, queen,’ Joe said, ‘but one thing’s for sure, it couldn’t look any better on her than it does on you.’

‘She must belong to a monied family.’ Sarah spoke softly, as though to herself. ‘It cost a pretty penny, did that coat.’

‘These must have been hers, too.’ Sadie held one of the jumpers aloft. ‘I wonder if she knows how lucky she is?’

‘She’s made you a very happy girl, so yer can thank her for that.’ Sarah pushed herself up from the chair. ‘Now, young lady, if yer don’t shift everything off the table, yer dinner won’t be fit to eat. Yer can show us the rest after yer’ve had yer meal.’

‘Oh, the rest of the things aren’t for me, they’re for me brothers and sisters.’

Sarah’s eyes widened. ‘But yer’ve just given them a stack of clothes, sweetheart. It’s your mother’s place to see to them, not yours.’

‘Grandma, I’ve had one lecture off Mary Ann, so don’t you start on me, please! I know everything yer saying is true, but neither you nor Mary Ann know just how bad things are at home. And none of it is the fault of the kids. Believe me, their life is like a hell on earth, and they’re too young to do anything about it or help themselves. I know exactly how they feel because I had to go through it, too. All I ever thought about was the day I would be old enough to walk away from it. But I can’t just abandon the other kids, put them out of me mind as though they don’t exist. I couldn’t live with meself if I did that.’

‘All right, sweetheart, don’t be getting yerself all upset. Clear the table and I’ll bring yer dinner through.’

‘I’ll nip upstairs with some of these, get them out of yer way.’ Sadie grabbed an armful of clothes and made for the stairs. On her way down again the smell of liver and onions assailed her nostrils and the hunger pangs began. ‘Ooh, that smells delicious, Grandma, me mouth’s watering.’

‘It’s nice and tender, sweetheart, just the way yer like it.’

There wasn’t a word spoken as Sadie tucked in with an appetite that was envied by Sarah and Joe. They used to eat big meals like that right up until Joe finished work. But as they grew older their need for food diminished. They still had a hot dinner every day, Sarah insisted on that, but their plates were no longer piled high.

‘Grandma,’ Sadie rested her knife and fork, ‘yer won’t tell Peter what was in the bundle, will yer? I’d hate him to know all me clothes are cast-offs.’

‘Not a word will cross my lips, sweetheart, I promise.’

‘He will ask, yer know. He’s cheeky enough for anything. No matter what I say to him, how rude I am, he won’t leave me alone.’

Sarah bit on her lip to keep a smile away. ‘Will yer give yer tongue a rest and finish that dinner before it gets stiff? With the weather getting colder yer’ll need plenty of nourishment inside yer to stand in that market all day.’

‘So me Auntie Mary keeps telling me.’ Sadie was thoughtful as she pushed her fork through the mound of mashed potato. ‘Has Peter Townley got a girlfriend? He’s old enough to have one, and if he has why is he pestering me?’

‘From what I saw, Sadie, he wasn’t pestering yer tonight, he was helping yer. And as for him having a girlfriend, well I wouldn’t know. And he’s not that old, yer know, only a couple of months older than you. I’ve seen him with plenty of girls – they hang around the top of the street waiting for him. After all, he’s a nice-looking lad. But as to whether he’s got a regular girlfriend, well, yer’ll have to ask him that yerself.’

‘I wouldn’t be bothered doing that.’ Sadie pushed a fingernail between two bottom teeth to dislodge a piece of liver. ‘He’d think I was interested if I asked him something personal like that.’

‘Yer’ve just asked me, sweetheart, so yer must be a bit interested in him.’

‘I am not!’ Sadie sounded indignant. ‘I only wondered because he seems to be always following me. He’s like me blinkin’ shadow.’

Joe wasn’t due for a smoke, but with the excitement of Sadie’s new clothes and everything, he decided this was a special occasion that called for a treat. It would mean one less tomorrow, he told himself as he rubbed the tobacco between his palms, but he’d worry about that when the time came. ‘This situation with you and Peter, queen, it’s like one of these serials yer see at the pictures where yer have to go back the next week to see what happened. It just gets to an exciting part when it says “To be continued”.’

Sadie raised her brows. ‘Excitement, Grandad? I would have thought nuisance was more like it.’

Joe drew on his pipe and a look of contentment settled
on
his lined face. His old briar was one of the few pleasures left in life. The other two were looking at him now, his beloved wife and the young girl who’d come into their lives and brought a ray of sunshine. She’d given them so much. The days didn’t seem so long now they knew she’d be home at six every night with her bright smile lighting up the room. But on the matter of young Peter, he didn’t agree with her. ‘Me and Sarah have known Peter since he was a babe in arms, queen, and I think she’ll bear me out when I say he’s a good lad. One of the best, eh, Sarah?’

His wife nodded. ‘They don’t come any better than Peter. But then it wouldn’t do for us all to be the same, would it? We each have our own likes and dislikes, and that’s the way of the world. If Sadie doesn’t like Peter that’s her business; she’s entitled to her own opinion, Joe, even if we do think she’s wrong.’

Sadie gazed from one to the other. ‘I don’t dislike him. In fact, I’d think he was a smashing bloke if he’d just leave me alone. I mean, if it was only now and again, and we could have a good laugh, I’d get on well with him. But never a night goes by that he doesn’t pop up from somewhere like a blinkin’ Jack-in-the-box.’

‘I think he’s taken a shine to yer, sweetheart,’ Sarah said, ‘and yer should be flattered, not annoyed. But let’s forget about Peter now. Tell us how yer got on with Geoff last night. Yer were in such a rush this morning I didn’t get a chance to ask yer.’

Sadie pulled a face. ‘I didn’t tell him, I didn’t have the nerve. We went dancing and we had such a really good night, I just couldn’t do it. He’s one helluva nice bloke and I don’t know why I can’t fall for him. I’m beginning to think I’m not made right.’

Sarah’s wise old eyes were serious. ‘Don’t stay with him just because yer feel sorry for him, sweetheart, that wouldn’t be fair to him or to you. If yer let it go on too long yer’ll end up marrying him because that’s what he’d expect, and, child, yer’d regret it for the rest of yer life. Yer can’t turn love on like a water tap; it’s something yer feel inside of yer when real love comes along. Yer’ll meet the
right
boy some day, the one that’s meant for yer, and believe me, sweetheart, yer’ll know him right away. Yer heart will beat faster and sing every time yer see him and your tummy will feel as though there’s a million butterflies flying around in there. There’s no other feeling like it in the world, sweetheart, and it’s worth waiting for.’

‘Oh Grandma, that was lovely, what yer said.’ Sadie pushed her chair back and rounded the table to hug the old lady. ‘It sounded real romantic.’

‘And every word was true,’ Joe said. ‘I can vouch for it. I still feel the same way about yer Grandma as I did the day I met her. I never look at her without me heart turning over.’