Author's Note: This first chapter was first done in 2004, but, like Diabo, I decided to rewrite it to try and work on this story some more. I always enjoyed writing about Clover – considering I have three nice chapters towards the close of this story already written; I guess I just stopped working on this when I had writer's block on how to connect my idea of the beginning with the climax I had already developed. And, since I'm taking a couple days break from my other main stories, I thought I would try this again. And, in case the premise of the prologue seems familiar but you can't place it, this once went by "Written in Ink." With a new spin on the tale, I changed the title. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: This story is from the property of my mind. The twins, Clover & Ash O'Connell, as well as most minor characters are mine, except for a few friends who were generous enough to let me use their characters. Any character that you recognize from the 1992 musical, Newsies, obviously is the creative property of Disney.
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ad infinitum
- To Infinity -
07.01.06
When Clover lost her parents and her love all within one short year, she and her brother remained in Manhattan.
What happens, though, when her newfound life as a newsie isn't as carefree as she thinks?
Or her position in the group leads her straight into the arms of her old enemy?
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MONUMENTUM
MEMORIES
"Here, Clo. Wipe the blood off with this." The boy pushed his longish black hair out of his face as he bent down and reached for a nearby rag. Grimacing – he wasn't a fan of blood and, when he had his own ink done, he had nearly passed out from the sight – he handed it to her.
Fifteen year old Madeleine O'Connell accepted the dirty rag and held it to the freshly made wound on her upper left arm. "My arm ain't gonna fall off now, is it, Mick?"
Mickey Duggan, somewhat taller than an average sixteen year old boy, tried to hide his discomfort by smiling warmly down at her; he rolled up his own sleeve to reveal a new, though somewhat healed, tattoo of a heart with an "M", for Madeleine, in the middle; while he liked to refer to her using her childhood nickname, he knew that the name wouldn't be respectable for a wife. Years from then, he would be glad that he tattooed Madeleine on his arm rather than Clover. "My arm's doing just fine and I let Inks do it two weeks ago."
"Yeah, and if I remember right, you cried more than I did this morning." She smiled as she removed the rag to see her tattoo, a three-leafed clover – a testament to her lifelong nickname – with an "M", for Mickey, dashed across it. "But, honestly Mickey, do you like it?"
Mickey bent down slightly so that he was her height and looked her right in her hazel eyes. "Of course, Clover, of course. With these tattoos, our love will be there forever. Forever and always, you know."
The beautiful moment was ruined when Clover, staring back into Mickey's dark brown eyes, let out a snort. "Forever and always?" she teased.
Mickey straightened up and shrugged his shoulders, a handsome grin crossing his face. "I thought the moment called for something a little extra," he said.
Placing the rag back on her arm, Clover stood up, making sure not to step on the bottom of her brown skirt. "Whatever you say, Mickey."
Mickey steadied Clover as she stood, and, making sure no one was watching, quickly pecked her on her cheek.
"Mickey Duggan! You know damn well it's not proper to do that in public," she cried as she turned her head, her clipped dirty blonde hair swaying as she did, before resting in place down her back.
"Maddie O'Connell! You know damn well it's not proper for a lady to swear," Mickey countered as he threw Clover's words right back at her.
Clover turned back to glare at him, but when she saw his smile, her own face betrayed her. "Touché."
Mickey winked and leaned towards her again; but, this time, Clover was quicker and jumped to the side. "Come, Mickey, it's time to go home. Mama and Papa said not to be late for dinner again."
Mickey nodded but reached for the ruffle of Clover's off-white blouse. "I think your parents can wait a few moments more – I have to talk to you."
Clover checked to see if her arm was still bleeding and, when she saw the bleeding had ceased, she rolled her sleeve down to hide it. Her mother would tan her hide if she saw the mark. "You can talk to me after supper. Just tell Ash to keep an eye out for Mama and Papa and you can come see me in my room."
"I really think I should say it now, Clover."
"Mickey, think about it. If we show up late for dinner, Mama and Papa will ask what we have been up to. And you know that they don't approve of us gallivanting throughout the Five Points together without supervision. It may have been different when we were children after we arrived here, but now we are grown. It's not right. And what will happen if they see what I have done to my arm? They see you as the little boy they took in when we left Ireland. What would they say if we told them we have grown up and grown together? They won't like it, Mickey. They think of you as a son, not a potential husband for me." Clover's normally pale, yet freckled, face turned red as she vented out loud at Mickey.
As much as the two of them hated to admit it, everything she was saying was true. Ever since the O'Connell's took Mickey in after his parents confessed they wanted him to have a better life in America, a life they could never afford to give him, Margaret and Colin O'Connell viewed Mickey as the son they adopted when he was ten. Though they knew that their daughter was fond of both her twin brother and Mickey, they tried to ignore the differences in the signs of affections that she showed towards both. But they weren't blind; tempers were rising around the O'Connell apartment and Clover was waiting for something to set her parents off. Something like what Mickey was preparing to say to her.
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, Clover," Mickey announced, resting his hand on the same sleeve, the one not covering her new tattoo. His voice lost its earlier playfulness; he was serious.
Clover took a deep breath and willed her face to return to its normal color before sighing. "What is it, Mickey? What is it that can't wait?"
Mickey began to fidget, pacing back and forth, while wringing his hands at the same time. When he saw that Clover had began to tap her foot while watching him pace, Mickey stopped mid-step and blurted out what was on his mind. "Clover – Moira. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"
Clover's jaw dropped as she stared at Mickey's hopeful expression. "Are you kidding me, Mickey? Us, married?"
Mickey simply nodded.
"But, Mickey, I'm so young. You're so young. I mean, we're only fifteen and sixteen." Clover began to shake her head in disbelief. She knew she would eventually be married to Mickey, no matter what her parents said, but now?
"So, Clover? My ma and pa were fourteen when they got hitched. Why can't we?"
Clover, not really thinking about what she was saying, answered, "Yeah, and your parents had you so young that they couldn't afford to keep you when you got older." But, once the words were out of her mouth, the harsh reality of their meaning coupled with the sharp intake of breath that Mickey drew in let Clover know she went too far. Mickey hated to be reminded that he was being raised in a family that really wasn't his own while his real parents remained in Ireland. "I'm sorry, Mickey, I didn't mean it. You just caught me off guard, is all."
Mickey nodded and turned his back on her. "I know, Clover. I just thought you loved me enough to want to be with me forever."
"I do..." she answered hesitantly. She didn't like where he was going with this.
"Then I don't see any reason why we can't get married." Ah, Mickey logic.
Clover sighed. When Mickey had his mind set on something, there was no way he was going to change it. The trick was to get Mickey to think about something else until he forgot the first thing. "Mickey, look. It's getting late. How about we talk about this later, okay?"
Mickey just shook his head. "That ain't gonna work with me, Clover. I've been thinking about this for awhile now and I ain't gonna forget it right quick. . I'm really serious about this. I've already decided to head on down to the Church and ask Father MacDougal about the cost of the ceremony. Just tell your parents that I won't be home in time for supper. If you want to tell them where I am and why, go ahead. But please think about my proposal, Clover. I've already saved up a few dollars working for Old Man Smith's fruit cart down the block so I'm sure I can afford it. What do you say?"
Clover looked around wildly and then pulled her bonnet down to cover her eyes while she contemplated Mickey's idea. Then, with a smile, she stood on her tiptoes and looked straight into Mickey's waiting eyes. "I say yes, Mickey. I say yes."
Mickey whooped loudly and lifted Clover up in the air, spinning her around, her skirt fanning around her ankles as she spun. "I'm so happy, Clo. You won't regret it."
Clover laughed when Mickey placed her on the ground. "I know I won't."
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Clover stared down at the faded green ink on her arm and frowned. Forever and always, eh? With a small sigh the girl rolled down her sleeve and called out into the streets, "Ash?"
As if out of nowhere, a short boy, wearing a white button-down shirt – missing the top two buttons – grey knickers and a faded blue newsboy cap, appeared at her side. Seventeen year old Aidan O'Connell, nicknamed Ash for the light color of his hair, smiled at his twin sister. "Yeah, Clo? Did I hear you call?" His face was heart-shaped, just like hers, but his own hazel eyes were filled with a spark that even the recent hardships the siblings encountered couldn't extinguish; Clover's eyes were as dull as the water-starved grass that made up the Park where she was standing.
Momentarily forgetting her memories of the last time she saw Mickey Duggan, Clover playfully hit her brother upside his head. At least I'll have Ash forever and always. "What did I tell you about disappearing like that?"
Ash removed his faded hat and rubbed the back of his head. "Hey, Maddie, just because Ma gave birth to you a couple of minutes before me, that don't make you the boss of me."
Clover, being the older and taller of the two, looked down at Ash as she reminded him for the countless time: "I distinctly remember that right before Ma died last year she said I was to look after you." She paused for a second before adding: "And my name is Clover, not Maddie." She still preferred to be called by her nickname. Her Christian name reminded her too much of her parents. But, despite the fact that she purposely called her brother by his nickname, he only ever called her Maddie.
Her brother playfully hit her across her right arm. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, if you say so, Madeleine, though I still say that was the fever talking and not Ma." He grinned goofily as he replaced the hat back on top of his head. "You know, I still can't believe that after everything we been through together as a family here in the City, it was a fever that did her in. I thought for sure that she was going to die of a heart attack when you came back from Chatham Square with that thing on your arm announcing that you were going to get married."
Ignoring the latter half of his comment, Clover stared at the spot here she knew the choppy design on her arm lay before whispering to the air, "Or a broken heart when Papa got killed."
Her whispered words were enough to wipe the smart aleck grin right off of Ash's face. "Mickey didn't do it, Maddie. You know he couldn't."
There was a brief pause that, if Ash wasn't as simple as he was, he might have realized that it wasn't the smartest thing to say to his sister. "The only thing I know, Ash, is that right after I talked to Ma and Papa about Mickey, Papa took off to have a word with Mickey and ended up getting killed. And, right after that copper told us about finding Papa a block from the Church, we found out that Mickey had take off, leaving Five Points forever. If he didn't do it, why would he leave home?" Clover countered, her voice almost hissing as she crossed her arms over her chest, creasing her blouse.
Ash shrugged, trying to resume his earlier grin. "I don't know, Maddie. But I do know that Mickey would never do anything to hurt Papa. I mean, look at all Papa did for him. Taking him in, making sure his belly was full, keeping a roof over his head..."
Clover turned her face away from her brother and held up her hand. "Ash, stop. I don't want to talk about it no more."
And, for once, Ash heeded her words and fell silent.