“Ain’t it great livin’ in New York?” Jack asked in a thick New York accent. “I mean look. This town is as good as it gets.” He looked at Sarah. “Well, not as good as it gets.” They smiled at each other.
“Aw, stop it!” said Spot, matching the strong accent that Jack had. “You two do dis way too much! Don’t you ever get tired at just looking at each other? I mean, don’t it get a little old after a while?”
Sarah and Jack smiled at Spot. They were always in a good mood when they were together.
“Well Spot, you’d look at her too if you had a girl here as good as Sarah!” Jack put his hand around Sarah’s shoulder. “But, you know that I mean that in the best way possible, you know that, right Spot?” Jack grinned and then sniggered. Sarah couldn’t help but hold in a giggle. She found Jack and Spot very funny when they were together.
Spot smiled. “Yeah, but I guess I don’t have a goil to look at so don’t rub it in!” He playfully smacked Jack’s face.
Spot hated it when his fellow Newsies showed off their girlfriends to him. He hadn’t had a girlfriend in a very long time. In fact, he hadn’t had one since before the Newsies strike. He did, however go out with a girl named Carrie Quinn. Everything was fine between them until Carrie’s dad got very ill and she had to leave New York and go to Maine to care for him. They both knew that a long distance relationship wouldn’t work so they broke it off. That had upset and hurt Spot a lot and he hadn’t gone out with another girl since.
“Jack, you know I don’t have time to watch this junk between you two. I gotta go sell me papes. I’ll see you two around,” Spot said as he got up to leave Tibby’s.
“Okay we’ll see ya around Spot!” Jack called.
“Yeah, see you Spot!” Sarah echoed.
“Actually, I better be going too,” Jack said. “I’m a little behind schedule with me papes. I got me too many today. The headline really ain’t that great.” Jack kissed Sarah on the tip of her nose and she smiled. Then, he took his papers and walked out of Tibby’s. Soon after, Sarah left too.
“Extra, extra! Three kids found alive yesterday! Extra, extra!” Jack yelled over the loud roar of the crowd. He was barely heard, however. Jack always picked the busiest places to sell his papers. He thought that it worked better that way. And, in a way it did because he always sold 100 papers, whether the headline was good or bad. Jack had an excellent way of ‘improving the truth’ as he called it.
Jack graciously thanked an old man for buying a paper. ‘Only 15 left!’ he thought. ‘After this I can go to Davey’s!’ Davey was Jack’s best friend and he had been ever since they met one morning a couple months ago before the Newsies strike. Davey was also Sarah’s big brother.
“Extra, extra!” Jack shouted again. “Here ma’am. Would you like to read about the Bradley kids? They were found alive yesterday mornin’,” Jack asked an elderly lady that looked as if she may have been interested in buying a paper.
“Why, yes I would,” the lady said reaching into her pouch and taking out a shiny penny. “I was wondering about those kids. Didn’t know what happened to ‘em, did they?”
“No ma’am. At least not until yesterday mornin’,” Jack replied kindly. He smiled at her and took the penny that she was handing to him. “Thanks ma’am. You have a good day now.”
“Oh I will now that I have a paper to read! Thanks dear!” The lady smiled a nice old lady smile and took the paper that Jack was holding out to her. Jack tipped his hat as he turned around. He suddenly crashed into a young girl who seemed to be wandering around aimlessly. In her hand she held a small suitcase.
“Oh I am so sorry!” the girl exclaimed, bending down to pick up the scattered newspapers. The girl was very pretty. She was tall and had beautiful reddish hair and blue eyes. She had on a dirty light blue dress that was covered in dirt and dust.
“That’s okay,” Jack replied.
“I really am sorry. I got lost I guess. Oh, look what I did to your papers!” the girl said holding up a crumpled and dirty newspaper. Her voice was very pretty, too.
“No problem,” Jack replied. “You new to this area?”
“Yeah,” she said. “Just got off the train actually. I ran away—“ she stopped in mid-sentence. “Oh never mind,” she said and stood up and handed Jack the papers that she had collected off of the ground. “I better go. I really am sorry about your papers.” She started to turn around but Jack stopped her. She looked so sad that Jack felt it was his duty to comfort her.
“Um, do you wanna talk?” Jack said. The tone of his voice made you want to trust him with all of your heart. “Or at least get out of this big crowd?”
“No,” the girl said quickly, looking away.
“C’mon,” he said leading her out of the crowd. He led her to a small, wooden bench in an alley not far away. Rumbling could still be heard from the noisy crowd. They sat down on the bench.
“Thank you very much, but I’m sure you must have better things to do than listen to me. I’m so sorry that I disrupted your selling.” She got up off of the bench and wiped her hands on her dirty dress. “I really must be going,” she said to him. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “I’m awful sorry about those papers.” She turned around and walked off. She looked behind her to smile weakly at Jack.
Jack didn’t know what to say to her. He felt bad for her. She really didn’t know where she was headed. Lost in New York was not a good position to be in. Jack felt bad that he hadn’t helped her out just a little more.
“Hey-ya Jack! Whatcha thinking about?” Spot’s voice echoed throughout the alley.
“Aw nuttin’ much Spot. What are you doin’ out heah? Shouldn’t you be in Brooklyn by now?” Jack said looking at Spot.
“Yeah I should but I don’t wanna go back right now. I want to stay here tonight,” he called back.
Jack got off the bench and walked toward Spot. “You wanna stay at the Manhattan Lodging House? I’m sure that Blink won’t mind if you sleep in his bunk tonight. Is there anything eating atcha Spot?”
“Naw. Just don’t want to go back to Brooklyn is all.”
“Oh,” Jack replied, accepting Spot’s answer.
The sun was beginning to set and it made the sky a reddish pink.
“We best gets going if we gonna make it to the Lodging House before sunset,” Jack said matter-of-factly.
“You'se right,” Spot replied. “I sure hope that Blink won’t mind. If he does, I can sleep on your bunk, right Jack?” Spot looked up at Jack with neutral eyes.
“No you can’t! You'se can sleep on the floor for all I care!” Jack smiled, took off his cowboy hat and began to hit Spot on the head.
“Hey Jack!” Spot yelled backing away from the oncoming hat. He began to playfully punch Jack in the stomach.
“Ahh!” Jack yelled. “He’s after me!”
They began to chase each other around the alley.
Then, they made their way back the Lodging House.
~*~
On their way there, Jack decided to stop at Tibby’s. He and Spot were pretty hungry for dinner. Every once and a while, Jack went out to eat dinner. Usually, he ate the dinner at the Lodging House but he figured that today was an exception because Spot was with him. As they walked up to Tibby’s, Jack thought that he someone familiar inside the window.
“Sarah?” Jack questioned. “Spot, can you tell if Sarah is in there? I think that she is,” Jack said to Spot.
Spot looked into the window. “Yep, Sarah’s in there all right,” Spot said to Jack.
Just then another figure sat next to Sarah and handed her a drink. A tall figure with blond hair was all that Jack could make out of the person.
“C’mon over here, Spot,” Jack said motioning him to the street. The two boys hid behind a parked wagon so that they had a better view of what was going on. The figure seemed to be sitting awful close to Sarah. “Who do you think that is, Spot?” Jack whispered.
“I dunno, Jack. Probably Davey or someone like that. C’mon, I thought you said that you was hungry,” Spot nudged him.
“Hold on a second, Spot,” Jack said to him.
“You’d rather spy on your goilfriend than eat a good dinner? Jacky-boy, you are messed up!” Spot said. “Jack are you listening to me?”
“Uh-huh,” Jack replied in a tone that said that he really wasn’t.
“Aw, c’mon Jack. I bet that the Newsies all the way back in Brooklyn can hear me stomach growlin’! Heya Jack, are you payin’ any attention to me? I don’t think that you are!” Spot leaned over and hit Jack on the head. “Yo Jack! You still there?” Spot laughed.
“Jeez, Spot, cut it out. Let me watch this,” Jack muttered.
“Aw Jack, you’re kidding, right? Lets go in and just see who it is! I mean, it ain’t that hard to figure out,” Spot looked at Jack. He was straining his eyes to see who was in there with his girlfriend.
“Spot, shut up and let me watch this!” Jack snorted.
Just then the figure leaned over and kissed Sarah. It was a long kiss and, by the looks of it, very meaningful. Spot looked at Jack. Anger surrounded his face like a cloud.
“Hey Jack. I don’t think that-“
“That does it,” Jack said standing up. “I can’t just stand here and see my girlfriend be kissed by another guy. C’mon Spot, we’re going in to see who this idiot who thinks he can mess with my girlfriend is!”
Spot stood up and then they began to walk toward Tibby’s. When they reached the door Spot said, “Jack just act casual, okay? I mean, goils don’t...”
“Don’t tell me what to do Spot, okay. It’s been a long time since you’ve had a goilfriend so you are not very experienced in this subject!”
“Jeez, Jack. I’m sorry,” Spot said.
“Just let me handle this, okay?” Jack looked at Spot and he nodded. Jack had a right to be snotty. Some guy was messing with his girlfriend. Any guy would be mad at that! Spot followed Jack into Tibby’s.
Once inside, Jack spotted Sarah and the mystery guy sitting in a back booth kissing again.
Jack stared at them for a little while. His anger had turned into fury. “What is going on?” Spot thought to himself. Jack took a deep breath and walked briskly over to the booth where Sarah was sitting.
“Sarah,” he said loudly.
Sarah and the mystery boy stopped kissing and looked up at Jack.
“Jack,” Sarah said, sounding surprised but looking embarrassed with her bright red face to show it. “What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same question but I won’t because I have a better one. Who is that?” Jack nodded his head towards the guy. Spot could tell that Jack was trying real hard not to blow up at Sarah and the mystery guy.
“Oh uh, this is my friend, Daniel,” Sarah replied, her voice shaking. She couldn’t tell if Jack was mad at her or at Daniel.
“Your friend? Oh yeah well you must be real good friends I mean, good enough friends to swap spit!” Jack almost yelled. Some of the late night guests at Tibby’s had stopped eating and were watching the quarrel. “What do you think you'se doin’ with my girl?” Jack said looking at Daniel with large, bulging eyes.
“Um…” Daniel started. Spot could tell that he was very intimidated by Jack. “I was uh...”
“You were, were ya? Well, you won’t be able to anymore,” Jack took hold of Sarah’s arm and pulled her out of the booth. “We’ll be going now. Sarah, say bye to your friend!” Jack was furious. Spot had never seen him so angry before. Jack turned on his heel and walked out of the restaurant, keeping a firm hold on Sarah’s arm. Spot followed behind Jack. He could have sworn he saw Sarah give a look of worry to Daniel.
“What was that, Sarah?” Jack said once they were outside. “I mean, You really don’t think that I am stupid enough to believe that he is your friend. So what happened?” He gave Sarah a little shake.
“Jack, please let go of my arm,” Sarah whimpered.
Jack let go of her arm reluctantly. “What happened Sarah?” Jack had lowered the volume of his voice. It was down to a questioning tone that was yearning for an answer.
Sarah didn’t answer. She looked at the ground instead.
“Sarah, I need to know why he did this,” Jack looked at her.
“He didn’t do anything, Jack,” Sarah said after the longest time.
Jack’s expression turned clueless. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that he didn’t do anything. We did,” Sarah looked at Jack. His eyes were as angry as the look on his face. Jack was still piecing the story together.
“What do you mean we? We as in you and him?”
“Yeah. As in me and him.” Sarah had a weird look on her face. Part of it looked sad and the other part had no meaning.
“You been seeing him behind my back?” Jack inquired sadly.
Sarah nodded. She seemed to be afraid to speak to Jack for fear that he may get worked up again.
Jack looked Sarah in the eyes. His eyes were confused and sad and her eyes had no expression in them at all.
Jack began to shake his head. “No Sarah. Tell me that you are lying.” He looked at her.
“I’m not, Jack.” She put her hand on his shoulder and he shook it off.
“I thought that you were different than other girls. I thought that you might be the one…” Jack trailed off. Sarah stood speechless. “Jack, I’m sorry,” Sarah said.
“No you aren’t,” Jack said, “you couldn’t be.”
“I am,” Sarah said.
“Stop lying to me Sarah!” Jack burst out. It made Spot jump. “I know that you are.”
Sarah looked at Jack again. She thought that she saw a small tear stroll down his face.
“Jack never cries,” she thought. Then she realized how badly she had hurt him. “Yes, Jack. I truly am sorry.”
“Sarah, shut up! I thought that we had it made but obviously, I was wrong.” Jack looked up at Sarah and then he turned around and began to walk away.
Spot, sensing that the fight was over, began to follow Jack. He could hear Sarah crying. Spot didn’t feel a bit sorry for her. “How could she do this to him?” He thought.
When he finally caught up to Jack, Spot said sincerely, “Hey Jack. I’m real sorry ‘bout that.”
“Me too, Spot,” Jack said without looking up from the gravel road beneath his feet, “me too.
They walked together in silence until they got to the Lodging House.
“Heya Jack!” Crutchy called from the doorway. “We’se been lookin’ all ovah for ya. Where ya been?”
Spot put his finger to his lips and Crutchy silenced with a weird look on his face.
“I’ll tell you later,” Spot whispered to Crutchy when he walked past.
Crutchy just nodded.
“By the way Crutchy, you got any leftover dinner? I’m kinda hungry.”
~*~
Jack sat on his bunk contemplating what just happened between Sarah and him. “How could she do this to me?” Jack asked himself.
“Hey Jack. I brought you some leftover dinner. It ain’t all that great but it will do, considering you didn’t have any.” Spot’s voice echoed throughout the empty bunkroom.
“Thanks Spot but I really ain’t hungry.” Jack sounded hurt and sad. Spot knew that he was yearning to talk about what happened. “How could she do this to me Spot?” Jack turned and looked at Spot.
“I dunno, Jack. Maybe she is a little screwed up in the brain. You know, maybe that guy sucked all her brains out,” Spots attempted joke backfired and didn’t make Jack laugh. In any case, it made him feel worse. “Sorry Jack. That came out wrong.”
“Hey, Spot it’s okay. I can handle anything now.” Jack sat up on his bunk. His head was inches away from the ceiling.
“You know, Jack. I may not know a lot about goils but I think that she is screwed up. I mean, I really do.”
“Remember how she used to smile at me? Do you remember, Spot?” Jack looked out the window. It was dark and only a few street lamps were shedding off some light.
“Yeah, Jack. I remember. I think that you should talk to her. I mean, I think that she should seek you out but you should talk to her if you see her.”
“I just don’t know how I can even stand to look at her again. I mean, she really crushed me. To see her through that window kissing him is really hard to handle. How stupid do you think I feel being totally oblivious to the fact that she was seeing him behind my back?”
“Goils are pretty sneaky, Jack.”
“Yeah, I guess. You know, I didn’t know who to blame at first. I wanted to tell myself that my girlfriend wouldn’t do that. I wanted to go up to that guy and soak him, right then and there. I hated him at first, Spot. But, when Sarah told me that she was in on it too, I wanted to hate her just like I did with that stupid guy of hers but I couldn’t. I seriously couldn’t! I got so mad but I couldn’t hate her. Gosh Spot, why couldn’t I bring myself to hate her?”
“You like the goil. You like her an awful lot, Jack.”
“Yeah I do. I just can’t think about us being apart. Ugh!” Jack moaned and flopped down on his pillow. “I don’t wanna break it off. I like her too much. What am I gonna do?”
“I think that is one of those ‘forbidden’ questions, Jack. I think that you gotta make it yourself. She did somethin’ bad to ya and it hurt you a lot but you like her a lot too. I guess you gotta go with your gut feeling.” Spot felt bad that he couldn’t give him some real advice. “You probably have to sleep on it, Jack.”
“Yeah you’re right. Thanks Spot.” Jack said.
“You want the soup that I brought ya?” Spot asked.
“Yes! I am starving!” Jack sat up and took the bowl from Spot and began scarfing down the soup. “You’re right. It ain’t good...,” Jack said between gulps of the soup.
“Well you sure seem to enjoy it more than I did!” Spot laughed and Jack smiled.
“Thank goodness!” Spot thought.
~*~
Jack sat on the steps of the Lodging House using the wall as a backrest. It was thundering and lightning outside and Jack could have sworn that that was happening inside of him too. He could sense that there was going to be a huge storm. His knees were clasped up to his chest and he was trying to keep warm. He was thinking about everything that popped into his head. While Jack sat there, Davey came up to him.
“Hey Jack,” Davey said.
Jack looked up. “Oh, hi Dave.” There was no emotion in his voice.
“I heard about what happened.”
“Yeah?”
“Uh-huh”
They were silent for a little while until Jack broke the silence. “Ain’t it kinda awkward for ya? I mean, to talk about your sister with me. I imagine that it’s kinda hard. You’re torn between your sister and me.”
“You’d think that it would be but it’s not. I don’t agree with what she did. I mean, I haven’t told her that but that’s how I feel. You should be mad at her, Jack. What she did was wrong. I just hope that this doesn’t ruin our friendship, Jack, you know?”
“Hey Dave don’t worry. This is between me and Sarah.” Jack said.
“Good. You know that you can tell me about this stuff Jack. Even though she’s my sister doesn’t mean that I’m gonna take her side.”
Jack nodded. He didn’t feel like talking much. Somehow, Davey sensed that. “I guess I’ll see you around then,” Davey said.
“Okay Dave.” Jack nodded at him and smiled weakly. Normally, Jack would have spit shook with Davey but this time he didn’t. He was just too crushed.
~*~
Sarah sat on her bed looking out her window. She remembered when Jack used to wait there for her to wake up, his head resting on his hand. He did that every morning and when she woke up, she would go to the window and they would give each other a good morning kiss. It was such a great way to start off the day. Sarah felt like a queen when Jack did that. “How could I have done this to him?” Sarah thought. She really had made a big mess of this whole thing. She recalled the fight the previous night. She remembered the looks in Jack’s eyes and the expressions on his face. She knew that she had hurt him tremendously. After Jack had stormed off and left Sarah in the street crying, Daniel came out and had tried to comfort her. She was so sad and angry and her feelings were swirling like a huge tornado inside of her.
“What’s wrong?” Daniel had asked.
“Nothing,” she had replied.
“C’mon,” he said soothingly, “you can tell me.”
“No I can’t! I’m sorry Daniel. I think that I need some time to myself. I’m sorry.” Sarah had said to him. “I have to go,” and she had walked off her hands to her face.
Sarah cringed at the flashback. The thought made her realize how badly she hurt Jack. She knew that he liked her a lot and she liked him too. They had so much between them that it hurt Sarah to even think about their future, together or not. She knew what she had to do but she didn’t know how to do it. She hugged the pillow on her lap. This was going to be really tough but she thought that it was the right thing to do. She got up off the bed and put the pillow back in its place. Then, she took a deep breath and set out on her rather difficult mission.
~*~
Jack sat in the same spot for a very long time. The Newsies weren’t going to sell papers because it was a crummy day and no one would want to buy anything. Days like this were very rare and the Newsies loved them because they didn’t have to go sell their papers. Jack was too sad to think about anything reasonable. He could barely concentrate on what was happening right before his eyes. It had begun to rain and he was getting drenched. He didn’t care though. Nothing really mattered to him. He wanted to talk to Sarah but he didn’t want to see her. He didn’t know what he was feeling for real. He felt as if all his feelings were getting beaten like an egg and his real feeling that he wanted to get in touch with was the tiny piece of eggshell that couldn’t be scooped out. He shuddered and decided to go back inside the Lodging House. He pushed open the door and warm air welcomed him. He trudged up the stairs and nearly fell through the door of his bunkroom. Spot and Racetrack were playing cards, Blink and Bumlets were wrestling with Mush and Specs, Crutchy was refereeing, and Boots was washing his hands and cheering for Blink and Bumlets. It was as noisy as a circus but when Jack entered, everything went quiet. Racetrack stood up and walked over to Jack.
“Hey Jack. I heard about what happened,” he said, his cigar bobbed as he talked. “Sorry.”
“Thanks Race,” Jack said.
Then, everyone in the room began to ask Jack questions about what happened. Spot made his way to Jack and said, “I tried not to tell ‘em but they kept pressuring me. They was all worried about you Jack. They said they never saw you so sad before."
“They were gonna figure it out sometime,” Jack said. “No use feeling bad for me, Spot.”
Jack sat down on an unused bunk. All the Newsies sat down in front of him and waited for him to tell his story.
Spot took a seat next to him. He had been at the fight so he was almost as valuable to the story as Jack was.
“Last night,” Jack began and the group of Newsies fell silent. “Last night I saw Sarah kissing another guy.” Jack took a deep breath and finished telling story word for word.
After he was finished, all of the Newsies said, “Sorry Jack,” and “Too bad Jack.” He got countless pats on the back. When everyone had told Jack that they were sorry, they went back to playing and goofing around. Only Jack’s best friends stayed around him.
~*~
Sarah walked up to the Lodging House steps. She took a deep breath and walked up the steps and went inside. She walked up the stairs and into the Newsies’ bunkroom. She paused before entering the room. “Just act casual” she told herself and opened the door. The whole room fell silent and all of the Newsies stared at Sarah.
“Jack, you’se got a guest,” Spot said nodding his head toward the doorway.
Jack looked up and saw Sarah standing in the doorway. Her face was bright red.
“Do ya want me to do anything?” Spot whispered.
Jack shook his head and stood up and walked over to Sarah.
“Can we talk?” she asked as quiet as a mouse.
“Yeah,” Jack replied.
Sarah nodded. “Can we talk outside?”
Jack turned around and looked at the other Newsies. They all looked away. Jack nodded and walked out the door. Sarah followed. They walked down the stairs until they were in the lobby.
“So what is it Sarah?” Jack asked. “What do you want?”
“I wanted to say that I am sorry,” Sarah said.
“Is that it?” Jack asked.
“Well, no,” she replied.
“What then?” Jack sounded a little angry.
“I just came to say that I still want to go out with you. I never should have done that, Jack. I never should have. I wasn’t thinking. Honestly, I didn’t make a good choice and I am sorry. Jack, I am so sorry. I want you still, not Daniel. I wasn’t thinking. I really don’t know what came over me,” Sarah said. She looked at him and he looked at her.
“Why did you do it, Sarah?” Jack asked.
“I told you, Jack,” Sarah sounded as though she was hurt.
“There has to be something else. I know that you had more going on in your head. What was wrong with us?” Jack looked at Sarah again.
“Nothing,” Sarah said.
“There had to have been something wrong or else you wouldn’t have done this,” Jack said. He had begun to get angry.
“Jack, I know that you aren’t going to believe this but I’m going to tell you anyway. Daniel was my best friend from a long time ago, when I was about 4. Then, we had to move because of Papa’s job. I thought that I might never see him again. So we moved, and, now, just a couple of weeks ago he came to visit our family. I was so excited,” Sarah paused. Jack was listening intently to what she was saying. She shrugged, “Anyway, I don’t know why I didn’t tell you that he was here, I really don’t know why. We kept going out, not courting but just doing things and I was having such a fun time. Then we went out to Tibby’s that one night and we...” she trailed off.
“You kissed Sarah. Go ahead and say it. I saw it through the window, okay. I saw you kiss each other.”
“Yes, we kissed. I thought that it would be okay because he was my best friend. Jack, he was just my friend.”
“Sarah, I want to believe that. I mean, I do believe it but do you know how hard it is to see you kiss another guy? I mean, it’s tough Sarah. Especially knowing that you didn’t know that I was watching.”
“I’m sorry Jack. I really am,” Sarah said.
“I want to believe you, Sarah. I want to believe you so bad! I just don’t know how I can keep seeing you the way that I used to. I am gonna look at you differently now, Sarah. I can’t know that you kissed another guy behind my back. I just can’t handle it.” Jack took a deep breath and said what he dreaded saying. “I don’t think that we should see each other anymore.”
Sarah just stood there, calmly nodding. “That is what I was afraid you were going to say. I understand though, I guess.”
“Good.” He leaned over and gave Sarah a hug. And with that, he turned and went up the stairs to the bunkroom.
~*~
Jack fell onto his bunk. Everyone had forgotten about him and they were still playing in the room.
Spot came over to him and said, “How did it go?”
“We broke up,” Jack said.
“Aw Jack, I’m sorry,” Racetrack said to him.
“It’s nuttin’,” Jack said.
“You wanna talk?” Spot asked.
“Not especially, Spot,” Jack answered.
“Okay,” Spot said. He began to walk away.
After a while, Jack hopped off his bunk and went outside. He didn’t know where he was headed but somehow, his senses were leading him towards Davey’s. He climbed the stairs and knocked on the Jacobs’ door. Les answered.
“Hey Les,” Jack said to him, “is Davey here?”
“Hi Jack,” Les said. “Yeah he’s here. I’ll go get him.”
Jack stepped inside. The Jacobs’ home was cozy and he could remember countless times when he and Sarah would snuggle up on the couch and read books to each other. Jack loved coming here and being with Sarah.
“Hi Jack,” Davey said.
“Hey Dave,” Jack replied.
“Momma, Papa, I’m going out with Jack. I’ll be back in a little bit.” Jack smiled as Mrs. Jacobs walked in the room.
“Okay David. Be back soon though. Hi, Jack,” she said, nodding at Jack.
“Hi Mrs. Jacobs,” Jack said politely.
“Bye, Momma.”
“Good bye, David. Good bye, Jack.”
Jack waved his hand and Davey nodded. Then, they walked out the door.
~*~
Jack and Davey walked down the road. The ground was damp and squishy under their shoes.
“Wanna know what happened?” Jack asked.
“Uh-huh,” Davey said.
“We broke up,” Jack said.
“I figured that you would,” Davey replied.
“You did?” Jack stopped walking.
“Yeah. I mean, listening to your voice this morning I could tell that you weren’t gonna forgive her.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that her friend was visiting?” Jack asked.
“I guess I didn’t because Sarah didn’t,” Davey said.
“What do you mean?”
“If Sarah didn’t tell you, she obviously didn’t want you to know. I mean, Jack, she tells you everything and if she doesn’t tell you something then she doesn’t want you to know.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this morning?” Jack asked again.
“Because I didn’t think that there was any way I could change your mind. From the way you talked, it seemed like you didn’t want anything to do with her. I figured that I shouldn’t talk about her because you didn’t want to hear about it.”
“Well, there was a way to change my mind, Dave. I wanted to forgive her. I really did. I just didn’t know how. I didn’t want to break it off. I didn’t. I just thought that I should.”
“Yeah but Jack, you wouldn’t have forgiven her even if I did tell you that they were just friends. They kissed and that’s bad, even if they were friends. I don’t know. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you. I didn’t think that it was a good thing to do. She’s my sister and I guessed that you may think that I was taking her side and not yours.”
“Hey Dave this ain’t gonna affect our friendship, remember?” Jack said reassuringly.
“Okay,” Dave said nodding.
Then, they started walking again.
~*~
They went to Tibby’s and got into a booth. There was hardly anyone there because the rain had kept everyone inside their homes.
“So, you don’t feel bad about me dumping your sister?” Jack asked once they were seated.
“No,” Davey replied casually.
Jack nodded.
They both silently ate as the rain patted the roof.
Once they were finished, Davey said, “This is gonna be tough for you and me.”
Jack nodded again.
“This was bound to happen, you know that, right?” Davey said.
“I know,” Jack replied.
“We just have to work with it,” he said.
Jack nodded. “It’s gonna be tough for me to get over Sarah. But, Dave, when I do, don’t get mad at me for going out with another goil. As much as I loved Sarah, I still have to go on with my life.”
“I know,” Davey said. “I completely understand.”
“Good,” Jack said.
They got up from the booth and paid the waiter.
“I’m gonna have to start eating at the lodging house from now on. I got no extra money to spare,” Jack said, digging in his pockets. “The headlines haven’t been that great lately.”
“A headline doesn’t sell a pape though, Jack,” Davey said while they walked out into the cold air.
“It does now. I must have lost my technique of selling,” Jack said.
“How could you have lost your technique?” Davey asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe it was because I was always thinking about Sarah while I was selling. Who knows, maybe I’ll get some work done now that she isn’t my girlfriend.”
Davey felt a little hurt for his sister, but he was Jack’s friend and he just needed to listen to everything that Jack said no matter how much he put down his sister.
“Why do I have to be the one torn between these two? It’s going to be harder than I thought,” Davey thought to himself.
When they got to the Lodging House, Jack said, “Thanks for listening Dave.”
“You’re welcome,” Davey replied. They shook hands and Davey walked home.
~*~
“Momma, Papa, I’m back,” Davey called when he entered his little apartment.
“Hi David,” Sarah said. She was sitting on the couch next to Daniel.
“Hi,” Davey replied. He glanced at Daniel.
“Where were you?” she asked.
“I was out with Jack,” Davey said.
“Oh,” Sarah replied. She sounded surprised, curious, and a bit disappointed.
“Hey Daniel,” Davey said nodding at him.
“Hi Dave,” he replied.
“So, did Jack tell you the whole story?” Sarah asked.
“Nope. Just the highlights of it. I heard that you two broke up. Jack is crushed but he’s gonna try to get over you as soon as possible,” Davey said, trying in the nicest way possible to make his sister feel guilty.
“Oh,” Sarah said again. She sounded very disappointed.
“Sarah, I better go,” Daniel said getting off the couch.
“Okay. See you later,” Sarah said. Davey noticed that their hands were connected.
“Bye, Daniel,” Davey said. They watched him walk out the door.
“So, Jack misses me?” she asked curiously after Daniel was gone.
“Yeah, a lot,” Davey replied.
“He said so?”
“Yep. He also said that he needs to get over you.”
Sarah shook her head. “I don’t know why I did it. I just did. I miss him too. I missed him coming to my window this morning. Why did I do it? Why did I kiss Daniel?”
Davey just sat there, he wasn’t sure if he was supposed to answer her question. “I guess that I’ll just have to get over him too. You’re on my side though, right?”
“I’m not sure. I guess I’m on both Jack’s side and your side. You’re my sister and I’m always gonna love you but I think I’m mostly on Jack’s side in this situation. What you did was wrong Sarah. You know that, right?”
“Yes,” Sarah said nodding. “And I regret it, I really do.”
“You can tell me stuff though, okay? I’ll listen to you,” Davey said. He sounded very caring.
“The next time you see Jack, tell him that I miss him and that I’m really sorry.”
“All right,” Davey said.
“Thanks Dave. Thanks a lot,” Sarah said, giving Davey a hug.
“You’re welcome. I’ll be sure to tell him.”
~*~
Jack sat in the bunkhouse playing cards with Spot. It was getting dark outside. “I hope that none of me newsies back home are worried ‘bout me,” Spot said setting down a card.
“I dunno,” Jack replied. He studied his cards intently.
“I hope it ain’t raining tomorrow. I need to sell some papes soon or else I’ll be broke.” Spot looked at Jack’s face.
“Me too,” Jack said. “I won.” He set all of his cards down.
“Aw no way! C’mon Jack. Best 2 out of 3. What do ya say?” Spot said shaking his head and looking at the cards.
“No thanks, Spot. I think I’m gonna turn in now,” Jack said. He got off of the crate that he was sitting on and went over to his bunk. “I’m pretty tired.”
“Okay. Will you come visit me sometime?” Spot asked.
“Yeah, sure.” Jack replied.
“Hey Jack, maybe you’ll find another goil tomorrow.”
“Yeah. Who knows,” Jack said sarcastically.
~*~
Jack opened his eyes at the sound of Kloppman’s wake up call. He tried to close his eyes and fall back asleep but the sound of all the other newsies waking up and heading into the bathroom stopped him from doing so. Slowly he lifted himself out of his small bunk and walked tiredly to the bathroom to get ready for the day.
“Hi-ya Jack,” Crutchy said. He sounded as if he had been awake for hours for his voice was happy and cheery like always.
“Hey Crutchy,” Jack replied before splashing cool water on his face.
It had been 3 days since the break-up. Jack hadn’t seen Sarah or Davey since then.
After Jack was finished washing up, he walked down the wooden steps to the lobby, said a quick good morning to Kloppman, who was sitting behind the counter, and went outside.
The cool morning air welcomed him outside.
“Hey Cowboy,” Racetrack said to Jack.
“Hey Race. How’s it goin’?” Jack said.
“Good. Wanna meet us at Tibby’s after you sell your papes?” Race asked.
“Naw, Race. I was planning on going to Brooklyn today. I told Spot I’d come visit him and I think today will be the day,” Jack replied.
“Okay. Good luck with your papes,” Race said.
“Thanks. Good luck with your poker games at Tibby’s,” Jack replied.
“How’d you know I was gonna be playin’ poker at Tibby’s?” Race asked.
Jack shrugged. “Lucky guess.”
Race nodded. “See ya.”
Jack slowly made his way to the circulation desk just as the bell rang.
“100 papes,” Jack said to Weasel. Weasel had gotten his old job back and so had Oscar and Morris. They could keep their jobs as long as they didn’t pick any fights with any of the newsies, Jack in particular.
Morris handed him his papers and Jack set off on his journey to Brooklyn.
He sold all of his papers on the way there. It was a chilly morning. The breeze from the water below chilled him a little as he crossed the Brooklyn Bridge and made his way to the Brooklyn newsies’ pier.
“Hey Jacky-boy,” Spot said.
“Hey Spot. How’s it going?” Jack replied.
“Pretty good,” Spot said as they spit shook.
“Did you sell papes today?” Spot asked noticing the lack of papers under Jack’s arm.
“Sold all of ‘em on the way here,” Jack replied. “What about you?”
“I only got 50 today. I sold ‘em all but I wasn’t really up to selling,” Spot said.
Jack nodded.
“Wanna go inside? It’s kinda cold out here,” Spot asked.
“Sure,” Jack replied.
They walked off the pier to the Brooklyn Lodging House. Inside it was warm and cozy, unlike the air outside.
“I woke up pretty early this morning,” Spot said once they were inside.
“Me too,” Jack replied.
“We got a newcomer here,” Spot said. “Came here pretty late last night. All tired and wanting a place to stay.”
“Really?” Jack asked.
“Yeah. You should see her Jack. She’s real pretty,” Spot said.
“She?” Jack asked again.
“Yeah. I don’t know why she was here in New Yawk but I’m glad she stayed with us,” Spot said excitedly. “Her name’s Daisy. The name fits her; she’s sure as cute and pretty as a daisy.”
“Spot, you sound like you’re in love with her,” Jack said, a small smile spreading across his face.
“It’s hard not to go crazy for her,” Spot said.
Jack smiled. “So, Spot, can I meet her?”
“Yeah,” Spot said. They walked up the steps.
The Brooklyn Lodging house wasn’t very different from the one in Manhattan. It had the same structure. Jack knew exactly where they were going; up to the bunkroom.
They walked into the bunkroom. On Spot’s bunk lay a beautiful girl; her long reddish hair was scattered across the pillow.
“Hey Daisy, ya up yet?" Spot asked.
The girl opened her eyes and smiled. “Yes,” she said in a sweet voice. She got out of the bunk and walked toward the two boys. She was wearing a white nightgown. It looked just like what Sarah used to wear when Jack would meet her at her window.
“How’d ya sleep?” Spot asked.
“Really good. I needed it,” she said smiling. “It was awful nice of you to let me stay here.”
“It was no problem,” Spot replied.
She looked at Jack and her cheeks went a light shade of red. She smiled shyly.
“Dis is Jack,” Spot said.
“Hi,” she said, still gazing at Jack. “I’m Daisy.”
“Nice to meet you, Daisy,” Jack said, taking off his hat. Daisy blushed even redder.
“He lives in Manhattan,” Spot said.
“Oh, is Manhattan far from here?” Daisy asked.
“No, not very. You just cross the bridge and you’re there,” Jack said. “So, how long you gonna be staying here, Daisy?”
“I don’t know. As long as I can, I guess,” she replied. “Spot said I could stay here as long as I like.”
“The offer still stands, you know,” Spot said.
“Thank you so much Spot. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your hospitality,” she replied.
“Since you’re gonna be staying here, you want a tour of the place, you know, to get used to your surroundings?” Spot asked.
“Yeah, I’d love one,” Daisy said.
“I might get some more papes and sell while I show ya around,” Spot said. “I didn’t sell very many this morning. I was waiting for you to wake up to see if you was okay.”
Daisy smiled once more. “That would be great if you could show me around! Um, I need to get dressed.”
“Okay, we’ll wait downstairs for ya,” Spot said.
“Okay. I’ll be down soon,” Daisy replied.
Jack and Spot turned and walked downstairs. Jack seemed to remember the girl’s face, like he had seen her before.
“See what I mean,” Spot said as they reached the bottom of the staircase.
“Yeah,” Jack replied. “She’s pretty.”
After about 5 minutes, Daisy appeared on the top step. She wore a long blue dress that accented her small waist.
Jack smiled to himself at the sight of her.
“I’m ready,” she said.
“Great,” Spot said, perkily. “Let’s go now so we can get a head start.”
“Would it be okay if Jack came? I mean, the more the merrier,” Daisy said cheerfully.
Spot glared at Jack for a while before saying, “Yeah, if that’s okay with you.”
“Sure,” Jack said.
“Great,” Daisy said, a big smile spreading across her freckily face.
“Let’s go,” Spot said. His voice wasn’t as perky as it was before.
They all walked out of the Lodging House. The Brooklyn newsies all took off their hats when they saw Daisy.
“Hey Spot, we need ya over heah,” a newsie called over to Spot.
“Okay,” Spot said. “I’ll be right back.”
“So how do you like New York so far?” Jack asked Daisy once Spot was gone.
“From what I’ve seen, I really like it. Everyone is so nice! I wasn’t expecting such a warm welcome from Spot and the others,” she said.
“You been here for long?” Jack asked again.
“No. A couple of days, I think,” Daisy replied, shrugging.
Jack nodded.
“Sorry, some of me newsies was pickin’ a fight with each other. Okay, now let’s really go,” Spot said returning from his conversation.
The rest of the day was dedicated to showing Daisy each and every inch of Brooklyn. Spot dragged her around the whole city while he told her every aspect of being the leader of Brooklyn.
The sun gradually set over the town and Spot, not quite understanding that he had been dragging Daisy and Jack around all day, didn’t realize that the day was almost ending.
After what seemed like forever, Spot said, “Well, that’s probably enough for today. I’ll show you more tomorrow,” and turned around back to the Brooklyn Lodging house. Jack and Daisy exchanged smiles at Spot.
Spot led them down an alley claiming that it was a shortcut to the Lodging House.
The alley got darker as they walked into the depths of it. Spot led the way without a hesitation to where he was going. He seemed to know the alleys of Brooklyn better than the back of his own hand.
“We’re almost there,” Spot said speeding up his pace a bit because the darkness was taking over the day.
“Help!” screamed a voice further down the alley.
Spot turned around.
“Somebody please help me!” the voice pleaded to the silence.
Daisy glanced at Jack with a concerned expression on her face.
They all started sprinting at the same time.
A blood-curdling scream not far from where they were filled the alley and then all was quiet.
Daisy turned and ran around a corner and gasped.
On the ground lay a girl; knocked out cold.
Spot approached the girl. “She’s still alive.”
“We better get her to the Lodging House,” Jack said approaching the girl also. Spot stood up very quickly. Jack rolled his eyes and cautiously picked the girl up.
Quickly and speechlessly, they all walked back to the Brooklyn Lodging House. The air was getting colder and it was very dark.
They walked up the stairs to the bunkroom where all the Brooklyn newsies were.
Jack walked to the nearest bunk and set the girl down on it.
“Skipper,” Spot ordered a newsie, “go get a wet cloth.”
Skipper did as he was told and soon returned with a damp cloth that Jack gently placed on the girl’s forehead.
“She looks beat up real bad,” a newsie said.
“Looks more than just beat up,” another declared. “You know what I mean.”
Jack looked up from the girl. “She’s sick and she may have some broken bones. We better not move her until she gets a little better. She’ll have to stay here for the night.”
“What are you, da doctor?” Spot asked smiling but suddenly looking alarmed. “We don’t have any extra bunks! We gave the last one to Daisy yesterday night. This is Daisy’s bunk that she’s on! You’ll have to carry her to Manhattan, Jack. We got no more room here!” Spot was talking a mile a minute.
“Whoa Spot! Calm down! We can’t move her. More than likely she has some broken bones and if we move her we’ll make them worse. Daisy can just spend the night in Manhattan,” Jack said.
“But, it’s a long trip there and it’s dark out!” Spot said.
“I’ll be walking there too, you know. She wouldn’t be walking alone.”
Spot tried to object but no words came out of his mouth.
“Spot, Jack’s right,” Daisy said.
Everyone looked at her.
“I mean, we can’t let her get worse. She looks bad enough as it is. It would be best for her to just stay here. Besides, I think I should decide where I should go because, after all, it’s me you’re talking about.”
Spot looked stunned. “O-okay,” he stuttered. “If you’re sure it’s okay.”
“It’s fine,” Daisy said.
They waited until the girl was situated in Daisy’s old bunk. Then, after Daisy had gathered her 2 dresses in a small shoulder pack, they walked down the stairs to the lobby, followed closely by the other newsies.
“Tell me when she gets better,” Daisy said to Spot. “I hope she does very soon.” “I’ll tell you,” Spot mumbled.
“Spot, thank you so much for letting me stay with you. I’m sure I’ll see you tomorrow,” Daisy said smiling.
“Sure,” Spot mumbled.
“See ya, Spot,” Jack said spitting in his palm and holding it out to Spot.
Spot didn’t even look at the out stretched hand. Jack pulled it away and wiped it on his pants.
“Bye,” Daisy said.
The Brooklyn newsies waved and Daisy and Jack set off to Manhattan.
They walked in silence for a while. The night was very chilly. Only the bright moon illuminated the sky.
“Do you need help carrying your bag?” Jack asked.
“No thanks, I’ve got it,” Daisy said readjusting the pack as she said it.
“So, uh, why are you heah staying with the newsies?” Jack asked.
“It’s a long story,” Daisy replied.
Jack laughed. “I don’t even know why I ask that question. No one ever tells me.”
“You mean about their past?” Daisy asked.
“Yeah,” Jack replied. “How’d ya know?”
“Every newsie I talked to in Brooklyn wouldn’t tell me about theirs. I wondered why,” Daisy said.
“Too embarrassed, I guess.”
“I’ll tell you about mine if you want to know,” Daisy said.
“If you’re willing to tell, I’m willing to listen,” Jack replied.
Daisy laughed. “Okay, well, my parents died a couple years ago and I was sent to a boarding school. I hated it so much that I decided to run away with my friend. So we did. We lived on the streets for a few weeks, stealing occasionally. We didn’t have any money. One day, I got caught by the bulls. We decided that we needed to get away and we split up and I just happened to end up here,” she finished.
“Sounds like some past you have there,” Jack said. “So, you’re in trouble with the bulls?”
“Well, just a little. Nothing serious. I mean, we just stole some food,” Daisy replied.
“Sounds harmless, doesn’t it?” Jack said quietly clenching his teeth together.
“Yeah. You sound like you know what it’s like to be in trouble with the law,” Daisy said.
“I have been,” Jack said.
“Why?” Daisy asked.
“I stole some food too and got in tons of trouble from the bulls,” Jack replied.
“So, what is your past like?” Daisy asked. “If you don’t mind telling me.”
“My mom died when I was little then my dad was put in jail. I lived on the streets for a while. The only way I ate was to steal. Then one day, the bulls caught me stealing food and I was sent to the refuge. Then I escaped and I’ve been a newsie ever since.”
A cold gust of wind swept over them.
Jack looked over at Daisy. The bright moon illuminated her profile. Jack smiled to himself. Somehow, he couldn’t look away from her.
Daisy turned her head and saw Jack staring at her. “You look really familiar.”
“So do you,” Jack replied.
They walked for a little while in silence.
“So, um, how much farther do we have to go?”
“A couple blocks,” Jack replied.
Daisy nodded.
They walked again in silence, enjoying the peaceful night.
“Is the Lodging House we’re going to like the one in Brooklyn?” Daisy asked.
“Yeah. It’s almost exactly the same,” Jack replied.
“You know, I only stayed at the Lodging House for one night and I feel as if I’ve lived here my whole life. Isn’t that strange?” Daisy asked.
Jack looked at her. “Yeah, I guess.”
Soon, they approached a town.
“Here’s Manhattan,” Jack said proudly.
Daisy looked around. “It’s nice.”
“Yeah,” Jack said. “There’s the Lodging House.”
Daisy looked where Jack was pointing. Right above the door was a sign reading Newsboys Lodging House.
They made their way to the steps in the dim light of the street lamps.
“You’re fun to talk to,” Daisy said as they reached the top step.
Jack turned around and looked at her.
“Thanks,” he replied. “So are you.”
They looked at each other for a while longer. Then, Jack opened the door and they entered.
It was warm inside. They walked up the stairs to the bunkroom. Noise could be heard from inside.
“They’re probably playing poker with Racetrack,” Jack said. “He’s always beating someone. You’ll see what I mean.” Jack opened the doors.
“Hey Cowboy,” Racetrack said, getting up from his poker game and walking over to them.
“Hey Race,” Jack said.
Racetrack looked over at Daisy. “Who’s dis?”
“Dis heah is Daisy,” Jack said.
“Well, it’s nice ta meet ya, Daisy,” said Racetrack.
Daisy smiled and nodded at Racetrack in reply.
“Heah is your bunk,” Jack said walking over to a lower bunk.
“Okay,” Daisy said walking over to it. She took her pack off her shoulder and placed it on the bunk and turned around. Almost every newsie was looking in her direction. Her face turned red.
“Jack, they’re all looking at me,” Daisy whispered.
“I know.” He raised his voice and said, “Guys, dis is Daisy, in case you’re wondering.”
“So, Jack, is dat you’re new goilfriend?” Blink asked.
“Uh, no,” Jack said, looking at Daisy. “She’s just a friend.”
“Oh,” said Blink, a little embarrassed.
Jack looked at Daisy, embarassed.
“I’m kind of tired,” Daisy said to Jack.
“Okay. The bathroom is over there,” Jack said pointing to it.
“Thanks,” Daisy said. She got her brush from her bag and walked over to the bathroom.
Inside the bathroom were a few shower stalls and toilet stalls. In the middle of the room were sinks. She went over to a sink and proceeded to wash her face, brush her hair and get ready for bed. Almost immediately after she was done, all the newsies came into the bathroom to do the same.
Daisy made her way to her bunk and slid under the covers. She took a book out of her bag and tried to concentrate on the words in front of her but couldn’t because of all the noise.
“Whatcha reading?” someone asked.
Daisy looked up from her book and met the gaze of a rather attractive boy with beautiful dark skin and curly brown hair. “Um, I’m not really sure,” she replied shyly. “I found it on the train and I haven’t started to read it until now.”
“I’ve only read a few books in my life. I usually just read the newspapers,” he said.
“You can borrow it if you want,” Daisy said, offering him the book.
“Not now but maybe later,” he said. “I’m Mush by the way.”
“I’m Daisy.”
“So, have you been in Manhattan for long?” Mush asked.
“No. I actually just came here with Jack.”
“So you haven’t seen the town?”
“Just in the dark.”
“Are you going to sell papes tomorrow with us?”
“I don’t really know.”
“Well, I hope that you do. It’s a lot of fun.”
Daisy smiled. “Okay.”
“Well, good night. Enjoy your book,” Mush said.
“Thanks.” Daisy opened the book again and struggled to read the first sentence but she couldn’t concentrate. The noise of the newsies washing up was very loud. Finally, she gave up. It was just too noisy.
“Daisy, do you want to sell papes with us tomorrow?” Jack asked, kneeling by her bunk.
“Sure,” she replied.
“Good. I’ll see ya tomorrow morning then, bright and early.” He got up and started walking to his bunk.
“Okay,” Daisy said. ”Hey Jack?
“Yeah,” he said turning around.
“Thanks for walking me here. I’m glad that I met you instead of someone else.” She smiled.
Jack looked at her. “I’m glad I met you too,” he said smiling. Then he walked over to his bunk smiling to himself.
Daisy closed her eyes. She fell asleep with a picture of Jack in her mind. ~*~
Rain was pouring down so hard. Everything was wet. Thunder echoed through his head. Lightning illuminated the dark sky for a second before it went dark again. He was so cold and wet and hungry. Very hungry. He needed food. He knew he needed food but where could he get it? He opened his mouth and tried to catch some raindrops. Maybe if he ate some rain, he wouldn’t be hungry anymore. Thunder once again shook his frail body. Lightning flashed. It didn’t fade. The light kept growing brighter and brighter. He lifted his arm to block the light and looked up into the sky. A giant ball of light was emerging through the clouds. He looked closer. A face. There was a face appearing in the middle of the ball of light. He strained to get a closer look at the face. He squinted and just barely made out a dirty face encrusted with blood. A piece of rope was tied around it’s neck. It had long and stringy brown hair. It looked as though it were sopping wet. He struggled to see who the face belonged to. A loud, horrible scream erupted out of the face. The scream was full of pain and agony. Then it came to him. The awful realization hit him hard. He knew the person. He knew her very well. It was his mother.
~*~
Jack awoke with a start, just as a roll of thunder rumbled in the distance. He wiped his sweaty forehead with his sweaty palm. He could hear rain on the roof above him. Jack rolled over. He looked over at Daisy’s bunk. He just barely saw that it was empty. He sat up and looked around the room. It was very dark. Just then, lightning split across the sky and Jack saw a figure by the window. He got out of his bunk and walked over to it.
“Daisy?” he said.
Daisy jumped and turned her head. “Jack, you scared me,” she said.
“I’m sorry. What are you doing up? It’s the middle of the night,” he said.
“The thunder,” she replied and turned her head back outside. “It woke me up.”
Jack nodded and sat down on the wooden window seat next to her.
“Did I wake you up?” Daisy asked looking at him again.
“No,” he replied. “It was the thunder, too.”
They sat in silence for a while. Thunder boomed in the distance.
“Don’t you just love thunder? It sounds so majestic.”
Jack looked at her. “I guess.”
“I mean, you hardly ever hear anything as loud coming from nature. It’s amazing how so much sound can come from the sky.”
Jack nodded.
“I’m sorry. I guess I talk too much.”
“No you don’t. I like hearing you talk. You’re interesting.”
She smiled. “No one’s ever told me that.”
“Tell me something else,” Jack said.
“Like what?”
“Tell me something about your childhood.”
She smiled and looked out the window. “When I was little, my mother and I would wake up during thunderstorms and sit by the window to watch and listen to it. We would sit and smile at the thunder and make funny faces at each other when the lightning flashed. When I got older, we’d still wake up but we’d just talk about things. It was the one time that I got her undivided attention. I used to pray that we would have thunderstorms just so I could just talk to her.” She looked back at Jack. “Tell me something about your childhood.”
“I had a boring childhood,” Jack said.
“No you didn’t.”
“How do you know?” Jack asked.
She looked at him. “I can tell. What’s your favorite memory of your parents?”
Jack looked at her. “I only have one.”
“Tell me.”
“My mom and me used to want to travel. We would come up with places that we wanted to go and talk as if we had already been there a million times. We both decided that we really wanted to have a ranch and raise animals. Once, I found a travel brochure on Santa Fe. I brought it home as quickly as I could to show Mom. I remember her reaction, too. She said, ‘Jack, someday we’ll go there together. Just you and me. We can get away from here. Someday, Jack. Some lovely day that God finally will have mercy on us.’ “
“Did you ever go?”
Jack shook his head. “She died before we made it there.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“That’s a great memory, Jack. It’s so sweet.”
“You like to think, don’t you?” Jack asked suddenly.
“What do you mean?” Daisy said.
“I mean, you really think about things thoroughly.”
“Yeah. I guess I do. Where did that come from?”
“I can tell that you’re the curious type.”
“Well, I am.”
“What are you curious about?” Jack asked.
“Everything.”
“Why?”
“I guess I’m never full of the right information. You see, I know and understand everything I learned in school but I just don’t know the things that I want to know. That’s why I always am thinking. I guess it is more like curiosity, though. ”
Jack smiled.
Thunder roared again.
“I just love the rain,” Daisy said.
They sat in silence and watched the rain fall outside the window.
“Do you miss her?” Daisy asked.
“Miss who?”
“Your mom.”
“Yeah, sometimes. I miss the hope that we had about moving away from everything and going to Santa Fe. I loved talking to her about what kind of animals that we would have and where we would live. She was just so interested in everything that I had to say. Sometimes, I would find myself rambling on and on about some imaginary animal that only we could raise on our ranch and she would just sit and listen to me. But, most of all, I miss the way that she...” Jack stopped.
“The way that she what?” Daisy asked.
He smiled. “It’s crazy but, I miss the way that she smelled.”
“What did she smell like?”
“She smelled like flowers and the air after a rainstorm.”
Daisy smiled. “How’d she die, Jack?”
Jack cleared his throat. “My father killed her.”
“Oh, Jack. I’m so sorry.”
He shook his head. “He was always drunk and he was never home. Mom hated him because he changed after they were married. I barely even knew him. I was only 12 when he killed my mom. Then, he was arrested and sent to jail. I packed up and left afterward because I didn’t want to get sent to an orphanage. I took all the money out of the money jar that mom and I kept for Santa Fe and bought a train ticket and ended up here.”
“You just left everything behind?”
“Everything but the travel brochure and some of my clothes.” He took in a breath. “So, how did your parents die?”
“Well, they were riding in the carriage over a bridge and it broke from under them. Neither of them knew how to swim so they drowned.”
Jack nodded.
Again, they sat in silence as the rain pounded the roof.
Daisy yawned. “I’m tired. I think I’ll go back to bed.”
“Yeah, me too,” Jack said.
“Good night, Jack,” Daisy said.
“Good night,” he replied.
He stayed at the window for a while after. Then, he walked over to his bunk and glanced at Daisy. She was already asleep. He looked at her for a while and smiled to himself. A strand of her red hair fell across her eyes. Jack walked over to her bunk and brushed the hair off her forehead and pulled her covers up over her shoulders. Then, he crawled into his own bunk and closed his eyes.
~*~