Read Sadler's Birthday for Free Online Page A

come on ahead on his own. ‘Family porter, that’s me,’ he said nodding at the loaded cart.
    â€˜But they’ll be coming on, your Mum and Dad?’
    â€˜Tomorrow afternoon. Mother can’t be doing with any kind of muddle, has to have everything in its place before she’ll sit down.’
    He laughed. Annie looked away, knew otherwise she’d stare at him. He found the key to the front door and opened it. It led into a tiny hallway with rooms branching off and a staircase going straight up. Joe looked back at Annie who hesitated at the door.
    â€˜Come and see,’ he said, amused by her shyness. ‘It’s quite a fine little house.’
    She followed Joe from room to room. In each one he went to the window and opened it wide. ‘Air and sunshine,’ he said, ‘that’s important if a place is to be right.’
    The rooms were square and small, smaller empty of furniture, and, to Annie, Joe seemed too big for the house. It wasn’t that he was very tall, but he was sturdy with wide, strong shoulders and a mop of curly black hair that made his head seem large. Annie wondered how old he might be – twenty-three perhaps, even twenty-five. His arms, where his shirt was rolled to the elbow, were tanned and covered in soft brown hair. Noticing them, Annie wanted to touch them.
    â€˜What do you think, then, Annie? It’s a fair little old house, isn’t it?’
    â€˜Oh it’s fine,’ said Annie. ‘My Dad and me are at the other end of town; the houses aren’t as fine there.’ And she smiled.
    â€˜How old are you, Annie?’ Joe asked.
    â€˜Sixteen.’
    â€˜Ah.’
    At that moment Betsy came back, clutching her vase, a vase much too tall and grand for the flowers they’d picked. She ran to Joe and he whirled her into the air, kissing her on both her pink cheeks.
    â€˜What a time we’ll have, eh Bets!’ he said.
    Then they began unloading the cart, piece by bulky piece of furniture, suitcases full of linen and china and dusty odds and ends that were all brought out and laughed over. Betsy complained playfully all morning.
    â€˜Lor, Joe Elkins, anyone’d think we was dockside haulers, the way you make us fetch and carry.’
    â€˜No one else to do it, Betsy.’
    â€˜Well, what’d you have done without us?’
    â€˜Done it all on my own.’
    â€˜What conceit!’
    So hot they all were by midday, and untidy and covered in dust and dirt and hungry and thirsty, that Betsy sat herself down on the bare floorboards of the front room and declared she’d lift nothing more till Joe fed and watered her. Annie flopped down beside her. ‘See,’ said Betsy, ‘strike!’
    So they sent Joe off to Mrs Bolton’s General Store, sat and chatted while he was gone, even lay down flat on their backs on the dusty floor to have a rest and Betsy said she wasn’t tired at all really, because if you were happy didn’t Annie agree that you just didn’t notice other feelings? Annie shut her eyes. She could smell the sunshine now, feel a breeze on her face, coming through the wide open window. She noticed that her mind had begun to feast on her image of Joe and that already it was constructing all the dimensions that it couldn’t see, spinning a little web out from itself to him, along which she travelled like a fly.
    â€˜You are silly,’ Betsy said suddenly.
    Annie jumped.
    â€˜Why, Bets?’
    â€˜Well, you know what should happen? You should make Joe be in love with you.’
    Annie smiled. ‘He’d never be!’
    â€˜Why?’
    â€˜He just wouldn’t.’
    â€˜If you married him, you’d be my cousin too, in a way.’
    â€˜So you would, Annie.’
    They sat up. Joe was standing laughing in the doorway, holding a bag of groceries and a jug of cider. Annie blushed to think he’d heard their chatter, but Betsy was unconcerned.
    â€˜I