They sat down at the dinner table, the family acting as if Kid Blink was one of their own. He had never felt so nervous in his life. Kat sat next to him, flashing her beautiful smile at him like nothing could make her happier than seeing him sitting there. And the more he focused on her face, the less nervous he felt. That is until her uncle turned the conversation to Kid Blink.
"So," Uncle Walden said, smiling kindly at the young man. "How long have you been working for the paper, Mr. Blink?"
Kid Blink smiled and laughed a little; he'd never been addressed like that.
"Since I was eight, sir," He glanced at Kat and she fought to hide her grin.
"Wonderful!" The man thundered. "Shows good character when a young man knows the value of working hard. I imagine being a newsboy is not always the easiest task."
"It has its days, sir." Kid answered happily.
"Good lad," Uncle Walden beamed.
His voice sounded so strange to him in this nice room filled with china and the family's English voices. The twins were up stairs asleep, and it was just Kat and her uncle and aunt. Kid expected them to scrutinize him, to have their eyes wander over his tattered clothes, to cringe at the sight of his dirty sleeves on the clean linen table cloth. But Aunt Margaret told him to "tuck in", and filled his plate with more roast and potatoes every time he took a bite or two.
"Good work or no work, you won't leave this table until you're a bursting," she said. "It's the rules."
Aunt Margaret was a larger woman, wearing a green dress with an apron tied around her waist. She had light brown hair, tied up in a messy bun with wisps of hair framing her kind round cheeks, and tired hazel eyes that crinkled and shined when she smiled.
"She'll feed you until you can't see your toes," Kat whispered to him as she sipped her water.
But he didn't mind in the slightest. It was the best meal he'd had since…well, ever. The Newsies sometimes got their meals from Tibby's when Medda paid the tab every week, but even hot dogs and burgers couldn't compare to the potatoes that melted on his tongue. But Kid Blink lied and said he was full, even when he could eat a whole new plate. He didn't want to come across as desperate or underfed, like he couldn't take care of himself.
They didn't question him too much about his personal life, which Kid liked, and they laughed at Uncle Walden's stories of him and his brother, Kat's father, when they were boys, digging in their mother's garden on expeditions.
"Your father was the instigator, my dear," Uncle Walden laughed as he recalled fond memories. "You will love Africa. You'll never want to leave."
Kat beamed but stole a nervous glance at Kid Blink, her smile dropping a little. He wondered why she did that, but he realized his heart felt a little heavy after her uncle's comment. She would be leaving; he'd forgotten about that. But he'd be lying if he said he hadn't forced the thought from his mind on purpose.
Aunt Margaret served tea and biscuits, and the family began asking Kid about the Newsies. He knew he could talk about them, his brothers, for days, and he began telling them stories. Soon he forgot where he was sitting, and he was on the streets instead, reliving his fondest memories. Some stories he probably shouldn't have told…especially the one of Race and him getting caught stealing candy at the racetracks. Race would've killed him had he'd known.
But he saw Kat from the corner of his eye, watching him with gentle interest. Her eye lids were drooping a little, sleepy from the day and the warm tea. She laughed at all the right parts in his stories, and then resumed watching him, her elbow propped on the table with her cheek resting in her slender hand. When he finished his story, he smiled a little, looking down into his empty tea cup.
"Good Lord, you boys don't lead a dull life, do you?" Uncle Walden said, dabbing the corner of his eye with his handkerchief as his laughter filled the warm room.
Kid Blink laughed, smiling widely, "We do our best to keep things interesting."
"Interesting or not, you are welcome here anytime, Mr. Blink," Aunt Margaret said as she began clearing the table. "It's the least we could do for you looking after our Kitty Kat."
Aunt Margaret winked at Kat, who rolled her eyes.
"I can take care of myself," Kat insisted. "He's just along for company." She looked at him and winkled her nose.
As ten o'clock neared and the table had been cleaned, Kid Blink wished them a good night as Kat walked him to the door.
"Wonderful meeting you, Mr. Blink," Uncle Walden bellowed through the living room.
"Walden! The children!" Aunt Margaret scolded and then smiled and waved to Kid Blink.
He waved back and opened the heavy front door. He stepped onto the stone porch and turned, seeing Kat leaning against the door frame, her face peaceful and content, her eyes sleepy again. The lights from the hallway casted a glow from behind her and he felt the same feeling he had when they had stood here a few hours ago. His palms became clammy.
He cleared his throat, "You have a great family, Kat. Um…thank you, for havin' me."
"You could come again tomorrow night too, if you'd like," she said, her light eyes glancing up from her fingers on the doorframe. "But only if you want to. I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable at all."
He laughed at her, "You don't make me feel uncomfortable." He wished he hadn't said it aloud, but he quickly added, "I like them."
She laughed quietly and smiled at him gently, "Good."
"I'll see you later," he said as he stepped down from the porch, not wanting to take his eyes off her beautiful face.
"Good night, Kid Blink," she said as she stepped inside, closing the door until he could only see half of her face.
"Night," he said, watching as she closed the door, hiding her smile.
When Kid Blink arrived at the Newsies Lodging House, he was in a daze, thinking about Kat and her family, a perfect family. He never expected them to be so kind to him, so accepting. And he had a feeling they were truly genuine about it, too.
At the front door, he could hear the shouts and voices from the upstairs bunk room, and as he climbed the stairs he heard the bunkroom door swing open and voices from the balcony above him.
"Ooo, Lover Boy has returned!" Specs cooed.
"So, why ya been out so late, huh Blink?" Boots asked, grinning mischievously.
"'ey, leave 'im alone, huh?" Mush said, pushing his way through the wall of half naked boys. Kid Blink reached the top of the stairs, his feet aching from the long walk, and smiled weakly at his friend.
"'ey, Mush," he said as he walked into the bunkroom, removing his vest and hat.
"Don't 'hey Mush' me, tell me what happened!" Mush demanded, his voice cracking a little.
The boys agreed, their voices rising.
"Tell us, Blink!" Boots shouted as he climbed into a top bunk, lying on his stomach next to Specs. The boys didn't care who was in whose bed; half the time they climbed into whichever they wanted, whether there was someone there or not. They weren't greedy in that sense, or any other sense. They rough housed and sat next to each other, even if some were arguing or pissed at each other. In the bunkroom, the real world was left outside. Here, everyone was the same, brothers.
Kid Blink smiled to himself, shaking his head, "you guys don't want ta her about her."
He expected the reaction: the boys grew irritated and protested, throwing pillows and shoes at him.
"She's outta his league that's what's about her," said Snoddy. Some boys laughed.
"I want ta hear about her," said a voice from behind Kid Blink.
The boys' voices fell and Kid Blink turned to see Jack, standing behind him, leaning against his bunk. No one touched Jack's bunk; it was the only one off limits. Not that he would care, they just respected his space, being the leader and all.
Kid Blink beamed; he hadn't seen Jack in over a week.
"Jack, man," Kid Blink went up to Jack and embraced him. Jack hugged him back, squeezing him tightly before releasing him to sit down on Mush's bunk. Jack looked better, now that Ira was back to her old self. Every few days, Jack would come to stay with the Newsies a while, to check in on things and to be with the guys. But Kid knew Jack better than anyone, and could see the anxiety building inside him, itching to get back to Ira. The boy had it bad.
Kid Blink could relate.
"They tell me she's from Upper East Side," Jack said, looking up at Kid, his dark eyes guarded.
Kid's smile faltered; he knew that look.
"Jack, she's not like that," he said, his eye pleading.
"Kid's right, Jack," Mush said, sitting next to Jack. "She's real nice, and this one can't keep his eye off her."
Kid punched Mush in the arm, his cheeks reddening.
"An' she can't take her eyes off 'im either," Racetrack said as he leaned against a bunk post, lighting his old cigar.
The boys made low approving noises, shoving Kid Blink. He tried to whip them with his shirt that was wadded up nervously in his hands.
"Makes a guy sick," Race said, grinning at Kid Blink.
"Well, different or not," Jack warned. "No one good comes outta the East Side."
Kid Blink huffed, "She's got nuthin' to do with Rockefeller, Jack."
"An' what if she's using ya, huh?" Jack fired. "What if ya jus' some poor son of a bitch ta give her an' her rich friends somethin' ta laugh at?"
Heavy silence fell, and all eyes looked at Kid Blink. If anything, his expression was more patient than angry.
"Jack," Kid Blink said gently, "Jus' give her a chance, a'right? Don't knock her jus' yet, man."
Kid Blink saw the worry in his best friend's eyes; it's why he didn't haul off and punch him when he made those comments. Jack didn't understand, and Kid was always calm with Jack, like David. Jack just cared more than he would admit, and he took extreme measures—and words—to protect his own.
Jack breathed heavily, reading Kid's eyes. And soon Kid could see his tough wall come down a little.
"A'right, Blink," he sighed.
Kid nodded and Race clapped him on the shoulder in support.
"Thanks, Jack," Kid Blink said. "So, how's Ira?"
The eyes shifted to Jack and the air seemed to stiffen. They were all eager to hear about their favorite girl, but hardly anyone ever asked Jack. Things were either bad, worse, or okay.
"She's good," Jack mumbled. "At the dance studio."
His voice was dull and unenthusiastic, and he rubbed his face with his hand. Kid Blink knew all the signs; Jack was hiding something, usually his real feelings. He looked exhausted.
"Why do I get tha feelin' things aren't goin' so good?" Racetrack asked, knitting his eyebrows heavily as he stared at Jack.
The boys leaned in and Jack looked up at Kid Blink, his dark eyes spent. He seemed broken, too.
"We got into it earlier taday," Jack said solemnly.
"Seems normal enough," David said, walking in from the bathroom as he dried his hair with a towel, wearing his street pants and undershirt. The boys, except for Jack, laughed and David smiled cleverly at them. Racetrack pushed his shoulder.
"Have some respect, Davie," Race said, clenching his cigar between his teeth. "And put some clothes on."
The boys howled and David's smile widened.
But Jack glared up at him, "'s more than that, egghead. She had anotha nightmare las' night."
The boys fell silent and their expressions darkened. Jack had told them about Ira's nightmares, about her screaming in the middle of the night, terrified to go back to sleep. Cruel hands and faces haunted her in her sleep, and Jack was usually the one she took it out on. Her lack of sleep and fear led to her strange moods and outbursts, still too guarded to open up to him honestly about them. At least, that's what David had concluded.
Jack rolled his shoulders, blushing a little as he avoided their gazes. "I touched her this mornin', and she jerked away from me, like I was gonna hit her. If she thought for a minute that I-"
"She does know better, Jack," David said, cutting across Jack before Jack could work himself up. David wringed the towel in his hands nervously, struggling internally as he looked at Jack. "She's… talked to me before…about her nightmares. She told me that sometimes when she wakes up, she doesn't know if it's you…or someone else."
The boys all looked at Jack's face. He looked furious and David swallowed anxiously; he expected Jack to fire off, to get jealous that she had not confided in Jack instead. But Jack's expression dropped and he nodded, looking away as the wheels in his head turned.
"What do I do, huh?" Jack asked, meeting David's relieved face. "Sleep on tha floor?"
The boys laughed a little.
"So we gotta give her something else ta dream about, ta occupy her," Mush said. "Like…Like uh…"
"A party," Kid Blink said. The boys agreed, nodding and becoming excited.
Jack considered it, looking up at his best friend. "'s a good idea, Blink."
"When's her birthday?" Kid Blink asked, looking around at the faces. The boys looked confused and scratched their heads.
"December! It's in December," Mush said. "I heard her and Spot going at it the other day; he didn't believe that she was older than him."
They laughed and David smiled excitedly, "Alright, so I'll talk to Medda, and Jack, you keep Ira busy."
"Shouldn't be too hard," Snoddy said slyly. The boys howled with laughter as Jack lunged for the Newsie, chasing Snoddy around and through the bunks. The boys pushed them lightheartedly, hitting Snoddy with pillows, and Jack even allowed a grin. He caught Snoddy in a headlock and Snoddy tapped out in less than a minute. Jack clapped him on the back as he tried to catch his breath. It was all good fun, and Jack knew the boys never meant any disrespect, nor would they even dream of giving any.
Kid Blink laughed, leaning on Mush's shoulder, and his head snapped up when he heard Jack's booming voice:
"An' you bring your girl, too, Blink," Jack demanded. "No girl hangs out with my boy without meetin' me firs'."
The boys howled and rubbed Kid Blink's head from their bunks, laughing at the blush on his cheeks.