Chapter One: Mass, and other frustrations
The wind battered the outside of the church which, although drafty despite the candles lit throughout the building, offered the perfect sanctuary from the cold. Winter's on its way, Sadie thought, finally allowing herself to relax in the pew. Her youngest sister Ada, more commonly known as Cheeks, had finally stopped her squirming, her chubby, seven-year-old fingers messing with the ribbon around her waist.
Sadie watched her from the corner of her eye while simultaneously trying to listen to the priest's sermon. She paid no mind to her brother, Colin, sitting to the left of her. He sat up straight, hands together in his lap, eyes trained forward as always. It was Cheeks, always Cheeks, that she had to worry about. The way her small body buzzed with never-ending energy that had always made the eldest nervous. Even when she was an infant, before their father died, Cheeks hardly rested; her little body always in some kind of motion, commanding the attention of those around her and finding ways to cause trouble before she even learned to walk.
Sadie loved her, yes, with all of her heart.
But dear God, she thought heavily, she can be exhausting.
As if reading her mind, the child to her right began to squirm in her seat, her little hands balling into fists and then springing open wildly. She was getting bored, this much was obvious, and there was nothing more dangerous than that child being bored. Reaching over slowly, so as not to call the attention of the people around them, Sadie reached over and gave the outside of her sister's thigh a small, stern pinch.
Cheeks made a noise in the back of her throat, head whirling around so quickly to face her that Sadie almost had to dodge one of the braids she'd painstakingly plaited into her hair before they'd left. "That hurt!" She hissed, fingers still kneading the pain from the offending pinch.
"Sit still," Sadie countered, narrowing her eyes at the child. That particular command never worked before, why she'd thought it would this time was, and still is, a mystery to her. Her focus had been on the youngest so long, that she'd lost most of the sermon. Colin, Mouse, had to elbow her lightly in the side for her to look around and notice that the entire congregation's heads were bowed for The Lord's Prayer. Immediately, her hand went to the back of Cheeks's head, tipping it down and she too faced her lap, folding her fingers together.
And every voice spoke as one:
"Our father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name"
She fought to ignore her little sister's squirming once again, ready to pinch her should it start getting back.
"Thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread"
She unfolded her hands and grasped tightly onto Cheeks's arm, who was now testily tugging at her braid and had begun humming under her breath. The child stilled instantly under the force of her grip and let out a huff.
Please just a little while longer...
"and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
A-"
"Whack fol' the dah will ya dance to your partner
round the floor your trotters shake
isn't it the truth I told ya?
Lot's of fun at Finnegan's wa-
"
Feeling every ounce of blood in her body rush to her face, Sadie clapped her hand around Cheeks' mouth and jolted to her feet, bringing the child up with her. The entire church had turned to stare at them, some eyebrows raised curiously, others furrowed, irritated, gazing daggers across the pew to them. She mumbled a quiet apology and grasped her sister's arm, half-dragging her out of the pew, down the aisle and through the door. As she walked past the last pew, she heard muffled snickers coming from the small group of boys that occupied them.
"Sadie that hurts!" Cheeks whined, wrenching her arm loose once they'd left the safety of the church.
Bending her knees, she stooped down to her height and grasped her shoulders, giving her a rough shake. "What the hell is wrong with you, Ada! Is it really that difficult for you to sit still long enough to listen to a sermon, take the Eucharist, say the prayer, and leave like everyone else?"
Cheeks leaned her head back to unsuccessfully hide the fact that she'd rolled her eyes and stomped her foot. "But it's boring!"
"What would dad say about this if he were here?"
Her round, light green eyes widened at the mention of their father and then narrowed within seconds. "He'd say you're a sorry person to bring him up like dat just to make me be quiet."
Swearing under her breath, she knew that Cheeks had her. "Look, let's just get back inside, okay? I don't know about you, but I'm freezin' my toes awf out here. Can you just promise me that you'll sit and be quiet until it's over?"
"I guess." It came out as a sigh.
Sadie stood up and let out a heavy breath, rolling her shoulders back to relax them. She placed her hand in her sister's and together, the walked back into the church; Sadie avoiding the glares of some of the people who'd been watching for them to come back, and Cheeks smiling defiantly up at them, offering little waves as they past. They took their seats next to Mouse, who gave Sadie an anxious look. She offered him a weak smile and leaned back against the bench, letting out another breath.
Already, she wished the day would end.
"Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles: 'I leave you peace, my peace I give you.' Look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church, and grant us the peace and unity of your kingdom where you live for ever and ever." The Priest announced and everyone rose to their feet.
As always, Sadie first stooped down and swept Cheeks into a hug, placing a kiss on her cheek. She turned to Mouse and wrapped her arms around him, doing the same. They filed out of the pews, Sadie keeping Cheeks close by the prevent even more trouble and began offering small bows and curtseys to the other in the congregation. It was mindless, really, something she'd grown so used to doing, she never even bothered to take notice of the people she was doing it with.
It wasn't until Cheeks made a small noise beside her that she turned. Her sister had her back to her, and held one of her braids in her hand, head tipped back to face the boy in front of her, "Why'dya do that?"
The boy gave a small laugh, his blue eyes held something calculating in them that Sadie didn't much appreciate, especially when she'd not noticed him there and he'd apparently put his hands on Cheeks. He placed his hands on his knees and bent down to face her, "Finnegan's Wake is my fav'rite," he whispered and took her hand, placing a small kiss on the back of it.
Cheeks didn't seem to appreciate much, as she immediately rubbed the back of her hand on her dress. Sadie bristled obviously, the usual bolt of irritation riding up her back that usually resulted from a neighbor yelling at her about the youngest. She ground her teeth together and narrowed her eyes, "Do me a favor. Don't egg her on."
"
Do me a favor," He began and lowered into a small bow, which she returned out of necessity. His eyebrows were still hiding behind his bangs, as though it were the first time anyone had given him and order, much less expected him to obey it. Baring his teeth in a dark grin, he finished, "don't evertell me what to do again."
It was more of a threat than a suggestion, and she knew that. On instinct, she placed a hand on Cheeks' shoulder and returned to the pew next to Mouse, who'd been watching the entire thing with a look that was a strange combination between interest and something else that she could not put her finger on.
"Sadie, he pulled my braid." Came the injured voice beside her.
"Did it hurt?"
"Well, no."
"Then don't worry about it, okay?"
They remained standing for the recitation of Agnus Dei, when finished, the Priest presented the altar and looked up at the crowd. "This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Happy are those who are called to his supper."
Together, the room recited quietly, "Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed."
They rose, once again and got in line for communion, which, thankfully, went by without any further interruptions from the tiny redhead at her elbow and sat for the concluding rites. It was then that it was time to leave, to retreat back into the cold. Sadie helped Cheeks into her coat, promising to sew up the frayed holes in it after dinner and took her hand, Mouse bringing up her left side as always. They left and, heads down, began the trek to the apartment, Cheeks humming Finnegan's Wakeunder her breath happily.
"Where did you learn that God-awful song?" Sadie snapped, her hand moving to pinch the bridge of her nose.
"Nowheres."
The answer came way too quickly for it to be the truth, but, knowing better than to push it and risk another flare in her temper among the crowded streets, Sadie quietly accepted it and kept walking.
"What did Conlon want?"
Mouse's voice emerged so suddenly that, despite how quiet it was, Sadie jumped. "Huh?"
"What did Conlon want?" He repeated patiently, raising his eyebrows.
Sadie opened her mouth to brush it off, but Cheeks cut in excitedly, "He pulled my braid and then told me Finnegan's Wake was his favorite song too, and then Sadie-"
"Told him not to give her any more reasons to make me feel like swearing in Church." Her grip tightened on the child's hand as they went up the stairs to the apartment and walked in. "Now both of you wash up and find something to do while I make dinner." She shot Cheeks a gaze, "Withoutleaving the apartment. Read one of your schoolbooks or something."
She lit the fire under the stove and put on a pot to boil water, cutting up vegetables messily. The apartment was small, essentially one room with two closets, one that they'd shared as a bedroom and the other, a washroom, and she listened to Mouse and, mostly, Cheeks, as they chattered on. Cheeks was the first in the washroom, running around in her underclothes, fresh scrapes on her knees from God knows where.
Sadie pulled a small amount of ham out of the hand-me-down icebox she'd received from Dorothea Hirsch, the woman she cleaned for and chopped it up, throwing it into the water. Outside the window, she watched as the boys that had stayed to the back of the church ran around the streets, her eyes zeroing in on the boy who'd pulled Cheeks' braid and threatened her without reallythreatening her.
Of course, she'd seen them around, especially a few of the smaller ones who'd taken to playing in the streets with Cheeks when they weren't hawking papers in the neighborhood. They were loud, and when they weren't laughing, they were usually in some kind of brawl or catcalling to women on the streets. They navigated the streets like Kings, while still bowing in respect to the boy who called himself their leader.
Mouse had called him Con-
"The watah's boilin' ovah, Sadie."
It was his voice that knocked her out of her reverie and, letting out a string of curses, she grabbed the handle of the pot without thinking, her hands searing on contact. She had enough sense – stupidity, more like it, she chastised – to keep hold of it long enough to set the pot on the counter, before reeling away, holding her hands tight against her body.
"Shit! Shit shit shit shit shit, DAMNIT!"
Mouse charged over and grabbed her arms, holding her hands beneath the faucet and pumped cold water onto them. Already, blisters were bubbling up on her skin and she let out a whimper, lump of tears moving its way up her throat. It stung. Badly. He'd wet a rag and put it in one of her hands, "Hold that... you sit down and I'll take care of the rest of it, okay?"
"God..." Sadie moaned and seated herself at the table. She clenched the rag between both of her hands and let the tears come, hating it. "How am I supposed to work tomorrow like this?"
"Mrs. Hirsch will understand if you explain it to her. She likes you, she'll take it easy on ya."
"Hope Mr. Hirsch isn't home," she mumbled darkly and held the cool rag over her face, letting the sting come.
Can this day please be over yet?
A/N: This is the start to a new story, I know it's kind of a slow start, but I really just wanted to focus mostly on the characterization in this chapter. The next will reveal a little more. Please review and let me know what you think, I'm a little nervous about this one especially since it's my first legit fanfic without the help of anyone else. So yeah, please please PLEASE review? I will give you food? And stickers!
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters that you recognize in this story. However, the ones you don't are all mine.