CHAPTER 2- Spot

"An' that was when I seen 'er! The most beautiful girl in all o' Brooklyn! Nah, nah, in all o' New York!" Sprite, a young fellow of about thirteen, shouted at his captivated audience. I looked around the room filled with my fellow newsies. Some of them were leaning over pillows with their elbows propped up on them, others were leaning forward on their knees with wide eyes and mouths gaped. He always had a story about the "prettiest girl in all of New York," but somehow, everyone was still enchanted by his stories. Todays was about a particular blonde he had a habit of watching while he was selling the morning paper. She had been selling flowers on a street corner.

"C'mon, ya gotta tell us. Please?" said the littlest one, Pepper, who was sitting at his feet. She was five, and my favorite of the bunch, even though I don't have favorites. Cute as a button with chin length curly brown hair, chocolate eyes, and a heart-warming smile. Terribly mischievous, but could wriggle her way held out of almost any situation.

Suddenly, my attention was directed elsewhere as the front door burst open. The distraction contained Kid Blink carrying a seemingly sleepy Rosie. Everyone else called her Trousers, incidentally a name I'd called her when we were kids. But she's my Rosie. Quickly I realized she wasn't sleeping.

"Blink, what's wrong wit' 'er? Is she alright? Where did ya find 'er? What happened?" I glanced up at him. My ego and reputation might be big, but most others were taller than me.

"I dunno, Spot. I found 'er like this. She came runnin' at me, I caught 'er just afore she fell!"

"Well, shit." I said, staring at her face, bloody and already forming bruises. Rosie, my special Rosie, didn't want no one with a foul mouth around the kids, which was kind of ironic because she had a mouth on her that could put a sailor to shame. I didn't have time to worry about that now. "Doubt, get over hears, now." A young raven-haired girl came to my side. "I need ya to get all the guys upstairs, now. Please go to the larger bunk room and entertain yourselves until I come. Or, better yet, go outside and play jacks or tag." I paused, making sure she'd heard me. As she nodded, I called for my quickest boy, Henry. "Go out, look for Doctor Carheart. She should be at 'er usual place, if not, maybe one o' 'er women knows where she's at. Tell 'er it's urgent. She knows us, hopefully she don't have a lot o' patients today. Hurry!"

I turned and looked at Blink who was still standing uneasily on his feet, unsure of what to do. He was not a fan of blood. "Sorry yous got to be the one that found 'er. I knows this ain't somethin' ya really likes to be 'round. Maybe set 'er on the sofa. Wait! Maybe lets get 'er up the stairs? Might be more comfy."

"Spot, I can't. I keep lookin' at 'er face and I—if I don't get any air now I... I'm sorry, I know yous needs the help."

"Nah, its okay. Yous go grab one o' the boys, he can help. Get uh... get Bouncer." Bouncer was a boy who'd gotten his namesake by doing just as it said—bouncing. I stared down at Rosie's face and stroked her hair as I waited for Bouncer to come. I looked up and Blink nodded at me and walked out the front door. Bouncer was following about ten feet behind him. As he got closer, I said, "It's a real easy lift, I don't have any issues carryin' 'er, I just need someone to support 'er head." I stroked her hair one last time before picking her up in my arms. One of the kids came up to us.

"Hey, Spot, whys you carryin' 'Rousers? Is she sleepin'?" I glanced down and saw it was Pepper. She still had trouble pronouncing her T's sometimes. It was adorable.

"No, pumpkin, she ain't sleepin'. She jus' got hurt, that's all. We gotta take care o' 'er for a good while, that's all. So's no climbin' all over 'er anymore, okay?" She nodded, and I smiled at her. "I need ya to go outside and play with everyone else for now, alright?" She hugged my legs and scampered off.

Slowly, methodically, we made our way up the stairs. I kind of had to go sideways in order to keep her head supported. We made it into her private room just as Doctor Carheart came into the room with her bag clutched in her hand. Bouncer left the room, and I extended my hand to shake hers. "Thanks for comin', Doc. Really means a lot. Ain't sure really what happened, all's I know is that one o' the boys from 'Hattan found 'er and brought 'er through the door. She was real banged up. Can you fix 'er?"

"I will try. Will you please get a tub of water and a rag to wipe her down? After that, I'll need you to leave us in peace, as we have to undress her to completely assess our situation." I nodded and twisted my cap in my hands. I tucked it back in my pocket as I ran down the stairs. I rounded the corner and grabbed the bucket that was by the laundry pile. I filled it up as quickly as I could and grabbed a few strips of cloths from some old clothes that had gotten too many holes in them to be patched up and passed down.

The doctor looked up at me as I entered the room and instructed me where to put it. Rosie's blouse had already been undone, there was a bit of blood on her shift by her left ribs. This concerned me, but the women around me seemed oblivious to it. I dunked the water in the bucket and began gently wiping her face down. It wasn't long before the water in the bucket was an ugly red-brown color.

After I was finished, I turned to Doctor Carheart. "Why's her side bleedin'? Is she gonna be okay?"

She sighed, and as she turned I saw all of the medical equipment that had been laid out on top of the chest of drawers in the room. "Mr. Conlon, I'd really love to tell you if Ms. Lynch here will be alright, but I haven't done any work on her yet. I appreciate you wiping her face down. Now, I'll need you to leave the room please." She waited as I stared at her and reluctantly turned to leave. I went and got the chair at the end of one of the bunks in the smaller lodging room and set it outside Rosie's door. I pulled my cap out of my pocket again, put my elbows on my knees, and hung my head. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. I looked out the window at the end of the hall. The sun was still high in the sky, and the kids by now should've been lining up to get the paper. It was only Saturday, so I would have to miss this round. Thankfully Rosie and I had saved up a little over the years, and all our extra money was stored under a lose floorboard near the edge of her bed. My room was right next to hers. I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. My worries came rushing back as I began pacing the floor, to one end of the hall and back.

Doubt came up to me, shaking me out of my trance. She smiled nervously and motioned at my cap that I was still twisting in my hands. "Ya gonna needs a new one by the end o' the day. Speaking of, it almost is. We sold the noon pape, and now the evenin' one. We's gettin' tired o' playing games now. Is it good if we comes inside now? Almost supper time."

I sighed. "Yeah, go's ahead and come inside. Mrs. Kirby will be wantin' to know where everyone is. If she asks about us, jus' tell 'er that we had some business to take care of, please. Don't forget to wash up!" I called after her as she skipped away in excitement. I turned and knocked on the door. No answer. I could hear bustling on the other side though. I continued my pacing, and watched as my men came running up the stairs past me, clambering over each other to be the first to wash their hands and faces. The older ones were always last. I watched them straggle down the stairs again, and the clinking of cutlery as their meal began. Finally, the door opened behind me, and Doctor Carheart turned the opposite direction, searching for me. I cleared my throat.

"Oh, there you are, Mr. Conlon. So, the report," she paused and looked at me. "Are you okay? Here, come sit down, you look pale." I felt my face get hot, but this woman meant no harm in telling me that. At least no one else was around to hear. I was starving for news. "There was a piece of rock that was lodged in her side. It was carved in the shape of a knife, so it was obviously meant to hurt someone." Her eyes widened when she saw my face. "It was an extremely short 'knife' if one could even call it that. It was just a flesh wound, but caused her to bleed a bit. She will recover from it, if that's what you're thinking." I breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that she'd added that bit in. Around here, we all knew how fatal a knife wound in the torso could be. "It was a knife most likely made by a beginner, even I could carve a better knife than that. It had the letter C engraved on the 'handle.'"

I had a list of people who could have been responsible for it, but that dwindled with that information. "It might be difficult for her to do anything besides lay down and walk to the bathroom with help," she continued, "Make sure she drinks plenty of fluids, she will need them for recovery. However, doing this also might cause her some discomfort. That is mostly, in part, to the broken ribs she's suffered. These will take months to heal, and there isn't much to do about it but good care, and to make sure she stays wrapped. The good news is that her jaw is still fully intact, though she will have some bruises along it and a black eye. She has been responding well to the fluids we have ran through her Intravenous fluid tube. This is an extremely new discovery, so we are thankful that it worked. I hope you will treat her well, and that she gets plenty of sleep and rest. Now, today has been a draining day, I will take my nurses and go." She wiped her hands on her apron, which had spots of dried blood on it, summoned her nurses, and swept out of the lodging house.

It took me a while to digest the information, and I stood rooted to my spot. My legs felt like lead, even though I so badly wanted to go to Rosie's side and no one was barring me from her room anymore. After what seemed like ages, I was finally standing at her bedside. I crouched down so my face was positioned next to hers. I studied it. She looked horrible. A strange tube-y thing was sticking from her arm. Her face was covered in cuts and bruises. Her torso was covered in white cotton, and there was a red splotch that had blossomed in the same area I was concerned about earlier. I gently pushed her hair back away from her face, and her eyes fluttered open. I smiled down at her and kissed her cheek.

"Hi, Spot." She said as her face twisted into a weak smile. She was pale.

"How's ya doin', love?" I asked her, looking her over again. "You like someone worked ya over real good."

"Just hungry." As if on cue, her stomach rumbled.

"I can tell. No hurt? The doc said ya had some broken ribs," I glanced around the room, and sure enough, the 'knife' had been left behind. I moved to get it. "And this was lodged in ya side where you're bleedin'."

Rosie looked down frowned, "I can't feel nothin'. Except for this thing that's in my arm. It keeps pokin' me." I fiddled with it a bit. "Ouch, don't do that please, Spot. It don't make it any better."

I apologized. "Should I go see iffen I can't scrounge up somethin' from Kirby?" She nodded and I smoothed her hair one last time then turned to leave.