Remember Me by Margaret Thornton

really should go out and about and enjoy himself a bit more; he was missing out on quite a lot of the things that young men of his age liked to do. And so he had agreed at once to accompany his brother to the show at the North Pier Pavilion. It would make a pleasant change, and Joe deserved a night out just as much as he did. Joseph was a rather shy lad, but his dealings with his grocery customers and the visitors at the boarding house had helped to bring him out of his shell. He had never been much of a scholar and had been glad to leave school at thirteen and find a job. They had been living in Liverpool at that time and he had worked as an odd-job lad in all sorts of places. Joe was a hardworker; there was no doubt about that.
    As for Daniel, he had a more outgoing disposition than his brother and had never found it difficult to make friends with either sex. He had subjugated his feelings, however, to a certain extent, knowing that years of study lay ahead of him; he knew he must develop the trait of single-mindedness and not allow himself to be sidetracked.
    ‘Good for you,’ he said to Joe, when his brother told him about the tickets he had obtained. He had come back in great excitement from his trip out with the handcart; it was empty, however, and he had not brought any visitors back with him. ‘Where did you get the tickets, though?’ Daniel asked. ‘Don’t tell me you’ve bought them?’
    ‘Don’t talk daft!’ replied Joe. ‘I got talking to this girl, see…’
    ‘What girl?’ asked Daniel, surprised. His brother did not usually bother with girls; he was covered with confusion whenever he met any. He, Daniel, could talk to them easily enough, but he never allowed himself to think any further about them; there would not be much point. ‘Don’t tell me you’ve got yourself a girlfriend?’ he asked, laughing, but not unkindly. He thought the world of his young brother.
    ‘Don’t talk daft!’ said Joe again. ‘Course, I haven’t, but she was real nice and friendly. I was carting their cases for them, see, to their lodgings,an’ she told me she’s a singer in the show. Then the boss man came up to me and asked if I’d take their props round to t’theatre, so I did. It’s real posh inside, Dan, the Eastern Pavilion. You should see it! Well, you will, won’t you, if you go with me. He gave me these tickets, see. They’re for Monday night. I asked if we could have second house; you know, with us having to see to t’visitors’ teas, and he said yes. And he gave me two for Mammy and Daddy as well. D’you think they’ll go?’
    ‘I don’t see why not,’ replied Dan. ‘Go and ask Mammy; she’s in the kitchen; well, they both are. I’ll go with you, Joe, on Monday. I’m ready for a night out.’
    ‘Aye, our mam’s a slave-driver, isn’t she?’ said Joe. ‘Making sure you study all t’time.’
    ‘You could say that,’ smiled Dan. ‘But I don’t mind…most of the time. Her heart’s in the right place.’
    Joe was relieved that his parents seemed pleased about the tickets as well.
    ‘Well done, lad,’ said Thomas Murphy. ‘What a nice surprise. It’s ages since we had a night out, isn’t it, Anna? We’ll look forward to that.’
    ‘That’s all very well,’ said his wife, ‘but what about the visitors you were supposed to be finding for us, Joe? A couple of tickets for a theatre won’t put any money in our pockets.’ Joe could see just a glint of annoyance in her green eyes.
    ‘Aw, leave the lad alone,’ said Thomas. ‘I’m surehe’s done his best, haven’t you, son? Sunday’s not a good day; most of ’em arrive on a Saturday.’
    ‘That’s true,’ said Anna, relenting a little. ‘And maybe four couples are as many as we can manage this week. It’ll break us in gently before the Easter weekend. We’re pretty nearly full up then.’
    ‘And I keep telling you, Anna, you’ve got to learn to walk before you can run,’ said her husband. ‘I think we’re