Charles and Juana Viteri were about to become parents to their tenth child, when something went horribly wrong. Charles had been holding his wife's hand while the children watched their mother give birth in their three bedroom town home. Conditions for the Viteri family were not so good. They lived in Spain, but were below so many classes of people. Charles was an employee at a local bank, but it was still not enough to cover more than rent and one meal per day for his family. There were no ways of birth control in 1883, at least none that were legal and available to the people who needed them the most. Charles and Juana had already had to make the sad decision to end their romantic life; they couldn't keep having children, as much as they loved each and every one of them.
That day, though, Charles stopped being cheerful. The moment Juana used up all of her energy and pushed out her child, dying in the process, he lost any love for the crying creature. The midwives pushed the children out of the room, telling the eldest to run for a doctor. One midwife tended to the mother, though she was dead, and the other tended to the baby. As she was cleaning the baby and wrapping her up in whatever rag she could find, the infant announced herself by crying loudly. Charles had been standing their, frozen, until the sound of her crying came. "Get that child out of my sight." he said, and the midwife scurried out of the room with such quickness that she nearly dropped the baby in her arms. Days later, when asked what he wanted his child to be named, he said he didn't care. The midwife named her Dolores. It was taken from the Spanish name of Virgin Mary "Maria de los Dolores", "Mary of sorrows". It was quite fitting for the occasion.
-
It had been five years since the death of Juana. Charles was becoming increasingly violent with his children. The eldest sons; fifteen and fourteen, left the house because of how bad it was. The oldest child of them all, at sixteen, stayed and tended to the younger ones. Oh, did she wish she could leave, though. Dolores was just five years old and already she had seen death. A sickness which had spread across their town claimed four of her siblings two years after her birth. Now only four siblings remained in the house with the other two having left. At sixteen there was Maria, at twelve was Virginia, at nine there was Philip, and at five there was Dolores. Her siblings had taken to calling her "Lolita", another Spanish name which was much less sad.
One night, Charles came home in a rage. He had a gun and his intent was to kill his children, and then himself. They would have never known as they sat at the dinner table, quietly eating what would have been their last meal, if Maria hadn't seen it on him. Quietly, she began to dismiss her siblings to the kitchen. She got herself away, and before they could leave, he started shooting at them. All four ran for their lives through the kitchen exit, some crying, some screaming. He followed them for about a quarter of a mile before he stopped, and shot himself in the head. Nobody looked back to see their last parent. Maria and Virginia cried silently; they were the only two who could still remember how cheerful their father had been, besides the two run away brothers.
After staying in an orphanage for ten years, Dolores was fed up. Her sisters both had married but were unable to take care of her. They did visit her, however. Her brother had run away some time ago, and just like her two other brothers she'd never seen him again. Dolores decided to take a page from their book, and one day she up and left. She had saved all the money she'd earned from her secret job as a seamstress; if anyone found out, she would be forced to pay the orphanage for her expenses. She knew just where she was going, too. To the land of opportunity.
She landed in America after being in a disgusting ship with the other steerage passengers. They were all stuck below deck in one large room like cattle. A man with children had taken pity on her and let her sleep with his family so no unwarranted attention would come her way. She got off the docks at Ellis Island, and after they'd given her the papers she needed, she took a look around the great city. Soon she found her way to Manhattan, and it was absolutely amazing. It was much cleaner than the town she'd lived in back home, though it was still dirty, and it was much bigger, too. Her brown eyes opened wide in amazement as she looked around. Someone bumped into her, startling her out of her excitement. " 'Ey, watch where you'se goin', lady!" A kid with an eye patch and a stack of papers hissed at her. He made to leave but she stopped him.
She wasn't very good with English, but she gestured to his papers and held out a coin. He looked at her as if she had grown two heads all of the sudden. "What are ya tryin' ta pull, lady? I got papes ta sell and I don' need ya offerin' me fake monies. Wait... you'se not from around here, are you?" He paused, pointing in the direction of Ellis Island. "Ellis Island?" he asked, and that she understood. She nodded vigorously. So she wasn't even an English speaker. He couldn't tell what she was; all Europeans looked the same to him. His father had told him that he was a third generation American.
"Come wit me, goil, people in dis city is gonna tear you'se apart if you'se go around, tryin' ta give 'em yer weird coins an' won't speak ta dem. I'm Kid Blink, by da way. What's your name?" he asked, thinking she must either be French or Spanish, since he'd recognize if she was something else. Bumlets was Spanish, he could sort this out if she was, too. If she wasn't, well... He'd find them something else to do. So he took her hand, and as she cried out in her language, he put a finger to his mouth to keep her quiet. This didn't help, and she continued to shout all the way to the newsies' lodge.
-
The boys that were usually quick to sell their papers were all there; Cowboy, Race, Mush, and Bumlets. Thank goodness he was there. "Hey, Blink! You ain't even done yet and you'se brought a girl back here? You ain't gonna have a bed ta sleep in, let alone her, if ya don't get yer butt outside and start carryin' da banner!" Cowboy joked with his friend. The other boys laughed.
"It ain't like dat, Cowboy. Dis goil don't speak no English. I found her wanderin' 'round, bumpin' inta people and tryin' ta buy me papes wit some foreign coin." he looked at Bumlets. "Is she Spanish, like you? Can ya try ta talk to her?" he asked, and Bumlets shrugged, speaking his native tongue to the girl. Lolita gave an audible sigh of relief and responded very quickly in Spanish. They went back and forth before Bumlets nodded and told her he'd explain her situation to the boys.
"She says she just got off a boat. She's from Spain, yeah, and her name is Lolita. She doesn't have nowhere to stay and she's looking for a job as a seamstress or a maid, but I told her she's got to learn a little more English before she can do that. She asked if we knew of anywhere she could stay but I told her everywhere costs money. I figure we can help her out, though, maybe all chip in for a bit for her to have a place to stay, and in a month or so she'll be able to speak enough English to be able to get a job. What do you guys say to that?" Bumlets was the most well spoken out of all of them, ironically because his first language wasn't even English. He was also very tender hearted, and he and Mush probably tied first place for the sweetest of all the Newsies.
Everyone looked at Jack for an answer, and Lolita, following their gaze, gave him a very sad look. She did feel like the lady of sorrows at this moment. Cowboy stared at her for a moment. Her black hair was curly and wild, but it was also very beautiful. Her brown eyes were deep and sad. She held a small bag with whatever belongings she had, and she wore a rosary around her neck. Her dress was a mess, and he couldn't help but take pity on her.
"Alright. I'll talk ta da oders, but she's in for now." Bumlets relayed this back to Lolita, and a huge smile crossed her features as she pulled Jack into a hug. He laughed and patted her gently. "But don't be gettin us in no trouble, you'se here? No funny business." He grinned at her, and Bumlets didn't bother to translate that little bit to the foreign girl.
Author's Note: Hey! This is my first story in awhile here on , I used to have a different screen name but I lost the e-mail address for it. I look at it as a fresh beginning. So, please R&R, it helps me write faster when I know people are reading it! Also, I obviously do not own the Newsies, nor any historical figures I'll mention in the following chapters.