Courfeyrac yawned as he relaxed on the side of the road. The day wasn't busy, and there were few rich people walking around. Little Gavroche, who had learned how to walk, was sitting next to him.
Courfeyrac mostly let Gavroche beg, since the adorable boy was perfect for that sort of thing. Even after a year on the street, they didn't have any money to spare. The money they got, they needed it for food and drink. And Courfeyrac also gave the rest of the money to the other beggars on the street. They were barely surviving, yet they were free. They could do what they want, since no one cared. Courfeyrac still wanted to find a home for Gavroche, a proper home, with a roof over his head.
The two girls they had met, Marie and Aimee, were no longer there. Courfeyrac had looked after them for a couple of months, treating them like younger sisters. Aimee got hurt one day, when someone threw her out of a shop. Her injury got infected, and she soon died. Marie had found work, helping an old seamstress. The seamstress had eventually decided that Paris was too crowded, and was leaving for a nice, peaceful village in the country. Marie was going with her. Courfeyrac was glad that Marie was being taken care of.
Cosette never left Courfeyrac's mind. Often, he would be filled with guilt, and want to go back to get her. But then, he would see little Gavroche sleeping, and knew that he had to wait. He didn't want to put any more children out on the streets. It was bad enough that Gavroche was out here.
Gavroche got up and walked down the street. Courfeyrac sat up and watched Gavroche carefully. As long as he didn't cross the road, he should be safe. The carriages would storm by, and could be hazardous.
Gavroche was wandering around, when he bumped into someone.
"Oh, I am sorry," a nice woman said. Gavroche looked up and frowned. The woman didn't look rich, but she wasn't exactly poor.
"It's okay, I shouldn't have let him run off," Courfeyrac said, running over to him. The woman had shoulder-length dirty blonde hair. Her eyes were a bluish grey, and she had laugh lines.
"Are you two by yourself?" The woman asked, in a motherly way. Courfeyrac reluctantly nodded. "Well, why don't you stay at my place for a while? My son and his best friend are around your age."
Courfeyrac hesitated. He didn't want to trust a complete stranger. The woman seemed to realize this and smiled sympathetically. "At least for tonight. If you want to leave right away, that's fine. I just want you two to have a nice place. The amount of homeless children on the street…" the woman sighed in annoyance. "The government should be doing something about this!" The woman smiled again, "if you don't want to come, at least take this." She gave a few coins to Courfeyrac.
Courfeyrac stayed there, thinking. She had already given them money, and Gavroche and he could leave guilt-free whenever they wanted to. Besides, he should repay this kind act by letting her take care of them. "Alright Madame," Courfeyrac said.
The woman smiled, and took Gavroche's hand. She led them down the street and to a nice-looking house. She picked Gavroche up and told Courfeyrac that her son and his friend would be back shortly. Courfeyrac nodded and walked over to the couch. He sat down, intending to wait for the two boys, but fell asleep almost instantly.