Hi guys! I've been wanting to write this for a while. This was a request that I got from a very loyal and amazing guest reviewer. I hope this lived up to your expectations and I'm very sorry if it didn't but I did have a lot of fun writing it and it was honestly completely adorable.
For Fanz4life...
Jack Kelly... man of mystery he is. I love that boy to the ends of the earth and I have ever since his momma brought him to me. That little boy was full of energy I ain't never seen in anyone. He loved the theatre. My theatre. Still does. He always will.
His momma used ta drop him off with me. We were old friends and I understood that she had to work. She was a single mother, after all. What I didn't understand was the day she left.
As Jack grew up, he liked ta tell people that it was a terrible accident. That boy could spin a story ta get folks to fall all over him. But that wasn't why he told that story. How a momma could leave such a wonderful little boy behind would always be a mystery ta me. He was only six years old when it happened.
I tried ta take him in, but the boy was a wild one. He was always runnin' out at the first sight of sun and then he was comin' back long afta' the moon started ta shine. I took care of him with all I could. I had money. I could've taken him in like my own son. But he seemed to know that there were others who needed him more than I did. And he was determined ta go out and find them.
When he was seven, he joined the newsies. He didn't come ta my house anymore. But he was in my theatre more than anyone expected him to be. It wasn't always just another visit. He was runnin'. From who? I wouldn't know until a couple a' years later when a little friend of his came rushin' in, ignorin' my security that was yellin' fer him ta stop.
I'd met the boy a few times. Jack called him Racetrack. They were very close. Jack talked about him all the time. I liked to call them fire and ice. Jack was a cooler headed little actor and the Higgins boy was hot headed and never ceased to speak his mind. They balanced each other out. But when the boy ran straight into me, wailin' about a man that had taken Jack, my heart dropped.
Snyder the Spider, they called him. That man was as cruel as they came. He was always after the newsies. Called them rats, thieves. He didn't know them like I did. He didn't know how sometimes they were barely gettin' by. He didn't know that they were scared ta death of losin' each other. And he came for them too much. He took my boys from me too many times. Almost every single one of them.
Jack got out and came lookin' fer me. Two weeks. He was a mess. That little boy was one who loved ta touch ta show his affection. He loved when other people would hug him or ruffle his hair. Not when he came back. When he came back, he froze whenever someone touched him. When Racetrack saw him and ran up to him, throwing his little arms around my baby's waist, Jack gasped and it took him a long time to realize it was his friend. His friend that had missed him too much to express with words.
I watched that wild child close in on himself for weeks. He would get angry too easy and he would disappear for hours without anyone knowing where he was. It wasn't until he came runnin' in a while later with a boy in his arms that I saw my baby boy comin' back ta me.
"He's hurt, Miss Medda... I found him... I don't know what ta do."
We took him ta an empty dressing room. He was tiny. The poor thing was hurt. Jack was a mess. He only wanted to help.
That little boy was someone who Jack came to love very dearly. Crutchie. We gave him a crutch and Jack and Racetrack taught him the ways of bein' a newsboy. The kid helped my boy to be my boy again. He helped Jack become familiar with touch again and soon enough, Jack and Crutchie and Race were like they should be. They were three little boys who created chaos on the streets with spun stories and faked coughs.
I love my boys. And I watched them grow up. When they were teenagers... that's when I had my hands full.
The three were charmers, even if Crutchie refused to look at himself that way. Jack taught Racetrack his ways of sweet talking every young thing that walked by. And they always wanted a way to entertain. They would sneak into my shows with their lady friends and then a few weeks later, it'd be someone else.
I let it slide. They were my boys. They could get away with murder with one look. They were a couple a' heart breakers, those boys. But there were always those few who left 'em in tears. There were those girls that left 'em broken and cryin' ta me in the backrooms.
I never thought I'd see the day when I saw it their eyes. I never thought I'd see the day where the little boy I met when he was three years old was seventeen and comin' ta me in a daze.
"Medda... I think I'm in love."
She was an angel sent down from heaven. She still is. That girl had been the answer to my baby's prayers. Most girls would be scared off by the boys. The little kids that followed Jack wherever he went, wanting to be just like him. They'd be annoyed by Jack's best friends and annoyed with the cocky gambler and gimp boy that he was always hanging around. But not her. Not Katherine Pulitzer.
Katherine was somethin' else. She was independent, daring, and, when the moment called for it, the girl could kick some ass. She was one hell of a writer and she had captured my boy's heart within only a few days.
Race tried ta warn Jack against it. Women always had their tricks and he didn't trust 'em. And then Katherine found him on the streets. He was sick. So Katherine dragged him here. She helped me take care of him. And he warmed up to her soon enough. Soon it was clear, she was as close to him as Jack was. And she won Racetrack Higgins over. I never thought I'd see the day.
Crutchie was much more trusting. They had liked each other from the start. And Jack had loved seeing the two of them together.
Katherine was a rare one. She loved the boys almost as much as Jack did. And she took care of 'em the best she could.
Jack told me she was a dream. He told me he never felt the way he did when he was around her. He told me everything about her. Every little thing she did with him and his boys.
But there is no such thing as love without arguments...
"She told me I was bein' ridiculous!"
The boy was confused and angry. I wasn't sure with who.
"What happened, baby?"
"It was a stupid fight. I was just tryin' ta make some extra cash!"
He had been. He was out late. No one could find him. Racetrack had looked everywhere. Turns out, Jack had been in Brooklyn. He was paintin' for another theatre. He still worked at mine, but he didn't like takin' my money.
Katherine had been worried sick. Brooklyn was no place to be late at night. The girl had been going mad. And her and Jack had a long talk about it.
"She was worried about you, honey."
Jack was a stubborn boy. He refused to see reason until his sweetheart came rushin' into my theatre with tears on her cheeks.
"Jack!"
"Ace!"
They embrace each other like their lives depended on it. They mumbled out their apologies and I couldn't help but think that it wasn't always gonna be like that. Fights wouldn't end with desperate apologies because they were so in love and could forgive each other for absolutely anything.
I was wrong.
The two were meant for each other. She was the stable thing he needed and he was dreamer who would let her be free of the real world for a minute. They were perfect together and whenever they were apart, life was miserable.
Like when Jack had to stay in Brooklyn for a few days because the leader had requested his help. Something very rare of the other boy. Katherine sat with me in the theatre.
"So... what was he like as a child?"
I told her. I told her he was wide eyed and adventurous, just like he still was. I told her he never wanted to grow up. He had his brothers and they created too much chaos on the street.
I told her about the things she didn't know. I told her about a momma who left her son without saying goodbye. I told her about a scared little boy who was still running from a cruel man that wanted to imprison him and his brothers for no reason, even though he was behind bars himself. I told her about how he had started painting because he found old paints his mother had left behind and he wanted to forget that she was gone. So he did something with 'em that reminded him of the woman she used to be.
Katherine held Jack so tight when he came back the next day. Jack didn't understand why, but he held her back. It was a wonderful sight.
Jack grew up some more, along with his friends. He took a job with Katherine's father. He got an apartment and left the lodging house, though he never left his boys. I didn't like to watch it. Sometimes I wished I could still come to the theatre and find three little boys hiding behind a new painting with messes of colors stuck to their faces. It wasn't till one day when I unlocked the door and saw the three of them sittin' on the stage that I knew those days were gone. Jack was holdin' a small, black box. And Race an' Crutchie were smilin' at him like mad men.
"Jackie's got it bad, Miss Medda..."
"He's 'fraid ta ask..."
I smiled and stood in front of him. "What is it, honey?"
Jack smiled. He opened his mouth to speak and then scoffed at himself. "I love her, Medda... I want her ta be mine... I just..."
Crutchie bumped him a little, tryin' ta get him ta finish. "Cmon, Jack!"
"I don't know how ta ask her."
He was blushin'. My baby was completely love struck.
A week later, Jack popped the question. The boys were excited. I was honored to be the first person the girl told. She showed off the ring ta me like it was a star that had fallen to her from the midnight sky. I never told her that I had already seen it. I never told her that I was the one to tell Jack to take her to the roof and draw her a picture. A beautiful picture of him and her with a ring on her finger. From what I heard, it took her a while to catch it.
Katherine asked me to look for a dress with her. We brought along Racetrack and Crutchie too. For the life of me, I don't remember why. Those boys were too much like Jack for their own good. Perhaps she brought them along because they made her laugh when she was nervous. They were quite the help.
She looked beautiful in it. Pure and bold, just like her. It was laced and elegant and completely perfect.
The wedding was everything they'd dreamed it would be. I walked Jack to the alter. I kissed him on the cheek and wiped away his nervous tears.
"Thanks, Miss Medda... I love you..."
I love him more than words could describe. "I love you too, baby."
I watched a man who was once my boys' enemy walk a beautiful, risk taking, adventurous girl down to my baby. She had tears runnin' down her face and she had to look over at the trail of boys behind Jack to make her laugh.
Crutchie stood right next to Jack, and Racetrack next to him. The best men. They were both shakin'. Change was hard. But we were all glad that Katherine was part of it. She was like a sister to all of 'em.
They said their vows and proclaimed their endless love for each other. I had ta wipe my face in order to see. My baby... he was becomin' a man.
They kissed and everyone cheered. We celebrated after and they both found me. They both hugged me and I congratulated the beautiful couple. The match made in heaven.
They went away for a few day. The boys missed them dearly. I did too. But they came back and moved into Jack's apartment. And they were the happiest newly weds I have ever known.
It didn't take long before the inevitable happened. I found Katherine standing outside the theatre one night.
"What's the matter, dear?"
She was crying. She was shakin'.
"Miss Medda... I don't know what ta do..."
Katherine had had a doctor's appointment that morning. She'd told me about it. What she didn't tell me, was what it was for.
"You need ta tell him."
Katherine shook her head. "He said he wasn't ready. He said he needed time-"
"And when you tell him, he will know that it doesn't matter. He loves you no matter what."
I was there when it happened. When Jack's face light up and tears filled up his eyes.
"Ace... I'm gonna be a fatha'?" He was more happy than I had ever seen him. And Katherine took one glance back at me before she nodded and laughed with tears in her eyes.
Jack lifted her off the ground and spun her around in his arms. "Katherine... we're gonna have a family..."
My heart melted. They were perfect. I was able to leave the apartment when they started dancing and laughing with each other.
Nine months later, Katherine had been out with Race and Crutchie when her water broke. Racetrack ran as fast as he could to get me, not exactly knowing what else to do. I told him to get Jack. Panting and shaking as he was, he did what I told him to and I found Katherine outside, breathing hard on the ground with Crutchie holding her hand.
"Medda... I'm scared... I don't know if I can do this."
"Take a deep breath, honey. Jack will be here soon."
Jack came running down the street, a terrified Racetrack at his side. "It's gonna be okay, Ace..."
"Jack-" She was scared. I understood. What she was about to go through would not be easy.
"Cmon. You can do this."
She believed him. And, after Jack had scooped her up and run her to the hospital, after ten hours of screams and soft reassurances, I was able to walk into the room with two of my babies and see Jack, sittin' on a bed, his arms around Katherine and a small little bundle. A baby girl.
"What's her name, Jack?" Crutchie asked. I was curious too. Race was stunned into silence.
"Her name's Ella."
"Ella Kelly..." The name was perfect. A beautiful name for a beautiful baby girl. A beautiful baby girl that would be spoiled rotten by her rambunctious bunch of uncles who would fall head over heals for her.
I held that child in my arms. She had my boy's eyes. She had Katherine's smile. She was beautiful. She was a angel that the Lord sent down to me... to all of us.
For a single moment, everything was perfect. But, like any father would, Jack wanted to be more. He wanted to be better. He didn't make enough money and he was angry with himself for not being enough for his family.
Crutchie limped into the theatre one night with a worried look on his sweet face. I didn't have to ask him what was wrong. He just started cryin'.
"He's drunk, Miss Medda... Jack was yellin'. Race got inta a fight with him and Katherine took Ella ta the Pulitzer's..."
I was out the door in a second with the boy behind me. I practically ran to the Kelly apartment. Crutchie was right behind me the whole way.
I found Racetrack when we got there. Crutchie unlocked the door and the boy was a mess on the couch. He was breathin' hard and his face was covered in blood. It was only a bloody nose, but the sight was terrifying. He was barely able to point me to my boy.
Jack was curled up on the other side of the room. He was cryin'. All I wanted to do was hold him and tell him it would be alright. But he wasn't a child anymore. He wasn't my baby that I took in so long ago. He had another baby ta take care of and he needed to go to her.
"They won't want me..."
It wasn't true. Somehow, God knows how, I convinced him. He marched over to Pulitzer's house and pleaded with her to forgive him. It wouldn't happen again. They knew it wouldn't.
A week later, Katherine walked back through the door with little Ella in her arms. Because she knew that Jack wasn't his momma. Jack Kelly did somethin' she couldn't. He stayed.
Jack Kelly is a mystery to most who meet him. Abandoned and abused. But he has so much love in him. I carried him when he couldn't walk and kissed him when he cried and it was all he could do to wait until he had that chance. Now he does it, everyday. He does it with his soulmate that was carefully crafted, just for him, as he was perfectly made just for her.
They were a couple a' diamonds in the rough. A pair no one thought would ever meet each other. A pair that needed each other so much it hurt. A pair that held a rare thing. A pair that held true love.
Jack Kelly and Katherine Pulitzer... who woulda thought?
So this request was for some Jatherine through the eyes of one Miss Medda Larkin. I thought it was a very cute idea and I really really hope you guys liked it!
Happy Thanksgiving week! I'm very thankful for everyone who reads and reviews and follows and favorites my stories. It makes my day every time I see people taking time out of their day for these stories.
Thank you so much Fanz4life! I adore you! I always look forward to your reviews. I really hope you liked this story. I did my best with it. :)
As always, thanks for reading! Make sure to tell me what you liked, what you didn't, what you'd change or what you'd improve by leaving me a review! Love ya, Fansies!