A/N: Just a cute little one-shot involving Bumlets and his girl, Eva. I may write more if I get the urge to.
Disclaimer: Nope, don't own.
She was beautiful. He didn't want that to be the first thing he noticed about her, but it was. She was like the girls back home that his mamá would always talk about. Flowing, curly hair, big, brown eyes, and dimples that made you want to kiss flushing cheeks. Tiny, like a fairy, and always smiling, even in the face of sadness.
The second thing he noticed about her was the fact that she wore the cross. His hand went to his own, and he smiled gently across the street, even know he knew she couldn't see him. The cross meant that she was a devout servant of God, which was what his mamá always told him to look for.
He could almost hear her voice, whispering about how this girl would make a good wife. And who was Alejandro to refuse the spiritual presence of his mother? A fool, that's who.
Courting her was difficult, don't get him wrong. He brought her flowers, and little trinkets, and whatnot, things that he most definitely couldn't afford, but bought anyways. Then, at the insistence of her father, he started working at the factory, instead of as a newsboy.
And so, while he would see his friends sometimes, Alejandro Cortez (not Bumlets anymore) mostly lived apart from them. He didn't much mind— definitely not as much as he thought he would.
Finally, achingly, he was allowed to take her on a date. He showed up, freshly washed and in his best clothing, at her house and let her papá inspect him beforehand. At the gentle nod the older man gave to him, he allowed his daughter to step out.
"You look beautiful, Eva," Alejandro murmured, Spanish soft and gentle.
"You look very handsome, too," Eva replied, her own Spanish sweet and musical, a gentle breeze in the summer that left Alejandro almost speechless.
Along with her father, Alejandro gently led Eva to the restaurant he was taking her out to. It wasn't particularly nice, just a little better than Tibby's— a restaurant the newsboys frequented when they could. Even though he made much more money as a factory worker, he also had to pay rent for his tenement and for his own food, as well.
But it didn't matter. All that mattered was that he, Alejandro, was here with Eva. Eva, the girl of his dreams. Eva, the woman he was going to marry soon, if he had the choice. Eva, the bright, musical, laughing, girl that left him breathless more often than not.
Though it was technically their first date, Alejandro knew that he would be with Eva the rest of his life. God made plans for all of them, and his was to be with her.