"Not bad," said Ralphie, his arms crossed, as Adelaide walked up to him and handed him the billfold she'd just lifted from a gentleman. "If you were a guy, you would've probably gotten arrested by this point, but I think all the men are distracted by that face of yours." Ralphie winked.

Adelaide rolled her eyes. "I hate this, Ralphie."

"I know you do, kitten, but everyone's gotta pull their weight around here."

"Can't I sell papes?"

"Why would you want to sell papes and make maybe 50 cents a day, when you can do this and make a couple dollars every minute?"

"Because I don't see any of the money anyway, so it makes no difference to me. I'd rather be walking around Brooklyn Heights with Spot than having to pick pockets under your glare."

"Not glare," said Ralphie. "Critical eye in more like it."

Adelaide rolled her eyes.

Ralphie frowned. "You ought to be grateful."

"Why?" Adelaide frowned at him, rubbing her stomach. "I didn't ask for this I didn't want this. You are the one who dragged me here. You are the one keeping me here."

"What's wrong with you?" Ralphie asked, noticing her rubbing her stomach.

"I don't feel good."

"Still?"

Adelaide nodded.

"Maybe you've got the flu or something."

"Can I take today off too?"

"You took yesterday off coz you weren't feeling well. You can't have a free ride."

"I felt better yesterday afternoon. Maybe I'll feel better in a few hours."

Ralphie nodded. "Why don't you take a break, go back home, and we'll start up again this afternoon."

Adelaide hesitate, never knowing Ralphie to acquiesce to any request of hers. "Thanks, Ralphie."

Ralphie nodded.

Adelaide turned and walked down the street toward their tenement building. Within a few blocks, she heard the familiar footfalls of Spot behind her.

Adelaide stopped until Spot caught up to her.

"Even after all this time he still doesn't trust me?"

"He's not a trusting person, you know that," said Spot. "So the flu still bugging you?"

"I guess so," said Adelaide.

"How long has it been now?"

"Three days." As if on cue, Adelaide felt the familiar pang in her stomach, her chest tightening, and her mouth watering. "Oh no." She rushed over to an alley and Spot was right on her. He was able to grab her hair and hold it back right before she threw up her breakfast in the alley. She pit out the rest and wiped her mouth.

"Let's get you back," said Spot.

They began walking down the street once more.

"Spot, if I ask you something, will you be honest with me?"

Spot smirked. "You know I will be."

"Do you really think I'll be stuck here forever?"

Spot's smirk faded and he looked down at his papers, counting them to stall. "I dunno, Aide. I guess that's up to you."

Adelaide furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"

Spot shrugged. "You ran away once, didn't you?"

"Everything okay?" Ralphie asked one night at dinner.

Adelaide nodded, keeping her head down and slowly swirling her spoon around in her soup.

Ralphie reached over and put his hand on hers. Adelaide flinched, but kept her hand on the table. "Talk to me," Ralphie said softly.

Adelaide lifted her eyes and gave him a hard look. "It's been two months since I've seen Tumbler and Skittery," she said, wiping away a few tears that had fallen.

"I'm sorry," he said, moving his hand away and taking a bite of his meat. "I ask Blade every day and he hasn't seen them."

Adelaide watched him, not believing him.

"How'd you two kids meet, anyway?"

Adelaide looked down at her soup. "When Mikey and I left Brooklyn, we had nowhere to go," she said. "We sort of just walked around for a couple days. One day, I was off trying to scrounge for something to eat, and when I found Tumbler again, he was sellin' papes with Skittery," she said. The memory brought a smile to her face.

"Skittery let Tumbler sell the rest of his papers, and split the money with him," Adelaide continued. "He told me about his lodging house, and about the Girls Home. That was the first time Tumbler and I had ever been apart for a night, but we were both in warm beds. The next day, I met them at the circulation office, and bought papers to sell."

Adelaide smiled softly, lost in the memories of days spent with Skittery and Tumbler.

"Well, that's sweet," said Ralphie.

Adelaide's smile faded as Ralph's voice brought her back to the present.

"And how does the kid factor into all of it?" asked Ralphie.

"Snipeshooter?" Ralphie nodded. "He was Mikey's friend. Would always drag him into trouble."

"And you hated him for it?"

Adelaide opened her mouth to answer, but only shrugged. "I don't know. Lately I've been thinking I may have been…too quick to judge."

Ralphie raised an eyebrow. "I don't know. He's been fitting right in with my boys. Not exactly the type you'd want little Tumbler to be around."