Hello, all!
It's summer!
I'm going to be traveling a lot at the beginning of the summer, which means I will be writing A LOT. I just probably won't have access to WiFi very often, so expect a story dump at some point.
Anyway, this story is dedicated to my younger sister. I am dedicating it to her for two reasons:
1) Her inability to pronounce the words "Auntie" and "Uncle" inspired the twins' four-year-old talk in the section called Winter 1909. We have a couple of "Aumpy"s and "Unc"s in our family thanks to her.
2) She FINALLY stopped trying to read over my shoulder while I was writing this. I may have had to threaten her (Nothing too serious. I just informed her there was a very heavy book within my reach.), but she did stop all the same and I do appreciate that.
In other news: this was my first shot at doing my own cover art. It came out really cool, and I'm quite proud of it. Thanks to sonicblue99 for introducing me to an awesome photo editor app.
I hope you all enjoy this story, and that you have an awesome summer!
(Stay tuned for a mini history lesson at the end of this story)
Winter 1901
Jack left The Sun feeling almost as light as he did when Katherine kissed him.
He had just received his first official paycheck, and the distinct lack of coins clinking in his pocket made him want to dance.
True, over the past year Katherine had convinced him to do some freelance work and he was paid in dollars for that, but now it was official. He had a steady paying job, the success of which did not depend on the weather.
Jack rounded the corner, leaning into the bitter winter wind. He wished, not for the first time, Jacobi's was closer to The Sun's office building, as that was where he planned to meet the boys for dinner.
He was walking so quickly that he didn't notice the kid until he almost bowled him over.
"Buy a pape, mist'a?"
The boy was terribly pale with bright red cheeks thanks to the wind. His lips were tinted blue and he was shivering so hard Jack was surprised he hadn't fallen over.
Frowning, Jack asked, "What pape are you hawking?"
"The World."
"Yeah, and how's Mister Pulitzer treating ya?"
The boy shrugged, "The headlines have been awful."
Jack bent down to the boy's level.
"Remember kid: headlines don't sell papes, Newsies sell papes."
The kid nodded, and made to turn.
"I'll take two."
"Papes?"
"Yes, papes."
Jack dug around in his pocket, suddenly wishing it were filled with coins.
He pulled out a dollar.
"I only have bills, so I'm going to teach you something. How much have you made today?"
"Thirty cents."
"Okay kid, so this is call making change. I give you this dollar, and you give me those thirty cents. There are one hundred cents in a dollar, so I'm paying you 70 cents. Now you're 40 cents richer. Do ya get it?"
"Not really."
"You live at a lodging house?"
"Yeah."
"Kloppman's?"
"Yeah?"
"Ask him to explain it to you."
Jack got up to leave.
"But mist'a! 40 cents is too much for two papes!"
"Keep the change kid. And go get yourself someplace warm."
Spring 1902
The rain came down in buckets, drenching anyone and everyone idiotic enough to venture outside.
Jack was soaked to the skin.
The newspaper he had snagged from The Sun's distribution desk was wet and runny. Earlier in the morning, the front page had contained an article of Katherine's, paired with a political cartoon of his. Now it just contained large blobs of black ink.
"Extra, Extra! Cuba gains independence from the US!"
Jack slowed down slightly, looking left and right for the person hawking the headline. If the kid was still attempting to sell in the pouring rain with no one in sight, he had to be desperate.
He spotted the boy standing in the doorway of a bank, relatively dry but accompanied by a large stack of papers.
Jack ran over, reaching into his pocket for the change he now made a habit of carrying.
"I'd like a pape, please."
The boy looked at him, confused.
"But you've already got one!"
"Here's a trick, kid," Jack said, handing the boy the money and picking up a paper.
He deftly folded the newspaper into a simple shape before continuing.
"Papes make excellent hats."
Summer 1903
"I can't believe you convinced Katherine to let you throw rice at us!"
"Come on, Jack! It'll be fun!" said Crutchie with a grin.
"I just don't want to have to pick rice off myself and then off the floor off the apartment!"
"Because it'll delay your weddin' night?" asked Race with a smirk.
"Who asked you to come along, Race?" muttered Jack.
"No one. I invited myself."
"Well..."
"Can we not do this now?" Davey intervened, "it's too hot to argue."
"Besides," piped up Crutchie, "the wedding is at 10 in the morning. They'll have to wait anyway."
"Will you stop talking about my wedding night? Why are you even thinking about it?!"
"Come on, the grocer is just around the corner. How much money do you have, Jack?"
"8 cents. Enough for one pound. And you are not allowed to get more secretly."
"Fine."
"Extra! Ext—Ra! First ever cross... cross-country auto... automobile trip com-pleted here in New... New York!"
"Hey, kid! You okay?"
The four boys gathered around the young newsgirl who was struggling for breath.
"Yeah... yeah. I'm just... hot and, and some of the... boys chased... chased me away from my spot, and, and I had to... to run really far!"
"Maybe you should stop selling for today," suggested Davey gently.
"No! I... I can't! I've barely sold anything."
Jack pulled the eight cents out of his pocket, and pressed it into her hand.
"Now you've sold eight more. At least take a break."
The girl smiled. "Thank you."
She handed Jack the papers and then walked off in the direction of the grocer.
"Um, Jack? What do you plan to do with eight papes?"
"What? Are you gonna sell 'em yourself? For old times' sake?"
"We could turn them into confetti. Since we're obviously no longer getting rice," suggested Crutchie.
"Let's do that. Better than rice in any case."
Fall 1904
Jack looked at the list in his hand, muttering under his breath.
"Why does the ink have to be from Scrimmages'? That's all the way across town! Why can't I just snag some from downstairs? And does she really want bananas? Yesterday she wanted apples!"
"Don't ask me! I'm just the messenger."
"How did you get roped into being the messenger, Romeo?"
"I was walking my girl, Eliza, home from work when I ran into Becky as she was leaving your building. She snagged Eliza, handed me the paper, and told me to get this to you."
"Rebecca was there?" piped up Davey from the doorway.
"Yep! She said she was visiting Plums."
"Well, thanks for the message Romeo. I guess I better go try and find this stuff. See you Saturday?"
"See ya Saturday."
Romeo left the office and headed out to the lobby of The Sun.
"So you're heading out?" asked Davey.
"Yeah, and you're coming with me."
"What? Why?"
"Come on. It'll be good practice for when you and Rebecca finally get hitched."
"Who said anything about me and Rebecca getting married?" sputtered Davey as Jack dragged him through The Sun and onto the street.
"No one said anything for certain. The boys just have a running bet on it. Personally, I put money on a wedding."
Davey shook his head.
"Do you think we should split up to find this stuff?" asked Jack.
"Sure. We'll cover more ground that way. I'll try and track down the bananas, if you like."
"Thanks. Meet up here in two hours?"
"Sure. See you then."
Jack let his mind wander as he walked to Scrimmages'. It was a long walk, one he didn't make often, but was familiar enough with not to get lost. He was halfway to the printing supply story when had to duck into an alleyway to avoid being hit by a cart.
The alley way was narrow, and the tall buildings on three sides blocked most of the sound from the street. So when the sound of someone coughing filled the alley way, it was much more noticeable than it would have been on the street.
Shoving a stack of crates aside, Jack went hunting for the source of the coughing.
Leaning against a wall was an older newsies, although how old Jack couldn't be sure. He was breathing heavily, occasionally blowing his nose into one of the many newspapers from a stack beside him.
"Hey, kid! You okay?"
The boy started, jumping to his feet.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."
"You sure? You don't look okay to me."
"I'm fi–" The kid broke off in a fit of coughs.
"Why did you decide to sell today if you weren't feeling well?"
"What's it to you?"
"If I'm going to help you, I want to know why I need to."
"I… I just didn't want to worry the boys."
Jack nodded. He could sympathize with that reasoning.
"You're going to worry them even more if you get sicker."
"I know."
"Then you know you should head somewhere warm."
They boy coughed again, before sighing and bending to pick up his stack of papers.
"Can you sell those back?"
"Yeah, I can."
"Good. Can you make it back to where you're staying alright?"
"I…"
The boy paled, hunched over, and proceeded to empty the contents of his stomach onto the stack of crates.
Jack waited for the boy to finish, and then helped the boy stand up straight.
"Better?"
The boy nodded.
"You live in a lodging house?"
The boy nodded again.
"Can you show me where it is?"
The boy nodded a third time.
"Good. Come on."
Jack lead the boy out of the alley, and helped him back to the lodging house. By the time he had finished, two hours had passed and he needed to meet Davey.
When the two meet up, Davey looked quizzically at Jack's lack of ink package.
"Katherine isn't getting her ink today," stated Jack.
"Hopefully she won't mind too much."
"I hope so. A pregnant Ace can be a scary Ace."
Winter 1905
Jack was in a hurry.
He had stayed at work to finish up a cartoon for tomorrow's morning edition, not realizing how late it had gotten.
Usually, it would be fine for him to stay late. Both he a Katherine did it frequently. But today was different.
Four days ago his twin daughters had been born.
And today, all of the newsies who were still in New York were coming over to meet them. It would be a tight fit in the Kelly residence, but they'd make it work. They always did.
"Ack!" Jack leapt back as he was almost bowled over by a group of kids.
They were running about in the street, tossing something back and forth.
"Give it back! Give it back! I need that!"
In the center of the group was a newsgirl, and she was surrounded by a cluster of newsboys.
"What's going on here?"
The newsgirl turned to face Jack as the boys hurried to make themselves scarce.
"Please, sir. They stole my money! They were tossing it back and forth, and said I couldn't get it back unless I could catch it,"
"They stole all of it?" Jack had an unpleasant taste in his mouth.
"Yes, sir. Please, sir. I need that money! I can't buy papes tomorrow without it!"
Jack looked around the street before catching sight of the boys running down the street.
"Come on," Jack said to the girl, "let's get your money back,"
Jack had helped kids in the past. Newsboy. Newsgirls. Shoe-shiners. Factory workers. But today felt different.
Lillian and Ann Marie would never have to work while they were kids, he'd make sure of that. But there were plenty of ways for them to get in trouble in New York, and Jack hoped that there would always be someone around willing to help them, should they need it.
Spring 1906
"Jack?" called Katherine.
"In here."
"Jack?"
Jack looked up from the floor where he was playing with Lillian and Ann Marie.
"Yes?"
"Please explain why I found seven papers in your bag?"
"Um… I brought them from work?"
"Then how come only two of them are The Sun?"
"What do you mean?"
"Jack, I can read. There were two Suns, a New York Times, two Worlds, and two Journals."
"I bought them off newsies. On my way to and from work, I look for kids having a rough time of it and I buy papes off them. Sometimes one, sometimes more. I think the most I bought was eight, but there was that time I paid enough for forty because I didn't have any coins."
"Jack." Katherine shook her head fondly before leaving the room.
She came back into the room a few minutes later and pressed a handful of coins into his palm.
"Ace? What?"
"Buy a few from me tomorrow, okay?"
Jack reached up and gave her a kiss.
Summer 1907
"Mr. Kelly!"
"Yes, Mr. Laffan?" Jack jumped up as the editor and publisher of The Sun entered his office.
"Please explain why these newspapers were found in your office."
Mr. Laffan spread an array of papers out on the desk, all of which were from other newspapers. Jack must have left them in his office when he last came in to work.
"Well you see, sir, I bought them from newsies. I've been doing it for a while now because…"
"You wanted to see what sort of drawings the competition is using. I think it's a brilliant idea!" exclaimed Mr. Laffan jovially.
"Well… I… What?!"
"I discussed it with my advisors and they think it's an excellent idea as well. By looking at what the competition is doing we can do the same and up our circulations. We've decided to set aside a small about of money each week to buy multiple copies of various newspapers, so that other departments can do it as well. I'm sure you wouldn't mind doing all the purchasing."
"I… that would be fine, Mr. Laffan."
"Excellent. Excellent. Do you think $1.50 a week would suffice?"
"That's more than enough. Thank you, sir."
Once Mr. Laffan left the room, Jack dropped back into his chair. Mr. Laffan may have been only thinking about his paper's circulations, but Jack could help a lot of kids with $1.50 a week.
Fall 1908
"We're home!" shouted Jack as he entered the Kelly apartment.
"I'm in the bedroom!"
"Okay girls, let's get your coats off."
Jack helped the girls out of their coats, and hung them on the coat rack.
"How was your walk?" asked Katherine, coming out of the bedroom.
Katherine had been working on an article all day, and so when Jack had come home from work he had taken the girls for a walk to get them out of the house.
"It go good, Mama!" piped up Ann Marie.
"It did go well." Jack pecked Katherine on the cheek. "We went for a walk 'round Central Park, and we got a few more papes. The girls helped me decide who to buy from."
"Jack, how many is a few?"
"A few, Ace."
"We got this many, Mama!" said Lillian, holding up six fingers.
"Actually, sweetie, it was this many."
Jack knelt down by his daughter and added two fingers.
"Jack!"
"What?"
"Jack, what are we supposed to do with all these papers? It was fine before we had kids and we could just put them anywhere, but now the girls get into everything. Can't you just leave them at work?"
"I'm already buying 150 papers a week on behalf of The Sun, Kath. I don't think they'd appreciate more, even if I'm the one paying for them."
"Well please figure something out. I don't think I can take much more of finding paper scraps everywhere."
Jack sighed.
"I'll think of something, Ace."
Winter 1909
"Daddy, can we give out da tank-yous now?"
"Sure. Go ahead, Lillian."
It was Lillian and Ann Marie's fourth birthday. All of the newsies who still lived in New York, some new friends from Jack and Katherine's work, and some of the girls friends were squished into the Kelly residence for a party.
The birthday girls had wanted to make something for their guests to say thank you for coming to their party. Seeing a way to keep them entertained for a few hours, Katherine had set them up with a dull pair of scissors, some paste, and a stack of newspapers.
Whenever either parent had tried to see what the girls were making they were shooed away. Therefore, no one had any idea what the girls had made.
"Go get da tank-yous, Ann Marie."
"Got 'em!"
The girls quickly passed out the results of their crafts.
"Here you go, Unc Crutchie."
"And dis is yours, Unc Race."
"And dese are for you Unc Davey and Aumpy Becky."
"Oh! Don't forget the specials, Lillian!"
"Right! We made these dollies special for Ethel and Robbie."
"Thank you, girls. Um, what are they?"
"Silly Unc Henry! Dat's a flower!"
"And Ms. Amelia, we made you a paper bracelet!"
"Do you like dem?"
While the guests exclaimed over their thank-you gifts, Jack turned to Katherine.
"Hey, Ace? I think I've figured out what to do with the newspapers."
1910
If you were to find yourself in the Kelly residence on any given day from this point forward, you would notice their interesting taste in decorations.
Strung across windows and door frames are dozens of paper chains. Newspaper doilies are often used in pace of real ones. Vases filled with paper flowers adorn every surface in sight. And paper dolls litter the rug.
I really didn't do much research for this, but here are three things I did learn:
1) In 1903, the average cost of rice was $0.08 per pound.
2) In 1907, the average worker made between $200 and $400 per year. The average wage in 1907 was 22 cents per hour.
3) The price of newspapers stayed $0.01 until 1914. It was WWI that made the price go up, and the rose steadily until the Great Depressions.