The boys' nervous energy was bubbling over. Their fascination with the courtroom had long since passed, their patience was quickly waning, and random fidgeting was developing into rougher play and bickering.
No one had known what to expect, but the boys had hoped that the judge would look them over, say, "OK, you're adopted," and they could all go home.
That's not how it happened.
Shortly after they'd arrived, Adam Franklin had been summoned to the judge's chambers. It seemed the judge wished to talk with each child individually for a few minutes before making any decisions. That was two boys and almost forty minutes ago. The judge was with Romeo at the moment. He'd already spoken with Specs and Crutchie, but all they could say was that the judge had asked them about their life at Kelly House and the people who lived there.
Race sat down next to Specs. "Ya sure he ain't asked ya nothin' else?"
Specs pushed Race away. "Shut up. I done told ya what he asked me and it ain't changed in the last two seconds!"
"I's just makin' sure ya didn't remember nothin' new!"
"Well, I didn't, so stop whinin' 'bout it." He pushed Race again.
"Fellas," Jack warned, heading toward the arguing boys.
Tom stopped Jack with a slight wave of his hand. He stood at the front of the room. "Team," he said loudly and firmly. It took a minute or two, but eventually, all the kids settled on the benches in front of him. "I think it's time for a noun review."
"What's that?" Race asked suspiciously.
"A noun?" Tom raised his eyebrows in mock surprise, pretending to misunderstand Race.
"I knows what a noun is."
"Tell me."
"It's somethin', someone, or somewhere."
"Excellent."
"What's that gotta do with anythin'?"
"Go get my bag and I'll tell you." Tom had Race distribute tablets and pencils to everyone as he explained. "OK, Team, we're going to play a little game of I Spy."
"Ya means like the people what goes to see what the enemies're doin'?" Elmer asked eagerly.
"No, nitwit," Specs corrected. "He didn't say, 'I is a spy,' he said 'I spy,' meanin' 'I looks at stuff."
"Oh," Elmer's shoulders drooped in disappointment.
"Technically, Specs, you are correct. But, I wonder, how do you think a person who goes behind enemy lines to gather information came to be called a spy?"
"'Cause he goes there to look at stuff?" ventured Elmer.
"Precisely," Tom praised.
"A spy spies," Albert joked.
Timid giggling tittered through the group.
"Exactly," Tom confirmed, smiling. "And you are all going to be my Alphabet Spies this morning."
"Spies," Elmer repeated with a grin, nudging Albert with his elbow.
"Whatta we gotta do?" Finch asked.
"At the top of each page, write a letter of the alphabet. Go in order – don't mix them up," Tom shot a knowing look at Race, who smiled sheepishly. "When you're done with that, I want you to see how many nouns you can find in this room. Write each one you find on the page labeled with the same letter as the first letter of your nouns. There are only three rules: write down only nouns, do not open the doors or leave the room unless you are asked to, and keep your voices at respectably low levels. The one who finds the number of nouns closest to the magic number of the day wins all the marbles. Any questions?"
"Yeah. Can we help each other?" Crutchie asked.
"There are only three rules. If not helping each other was one of them, then you have to work alone. If I didn't say anything about helping each other, then feel free to do so. Now, hop to it. See how many nouns you can find in here." He retreated to the group of adults as the boys and Annie began whispering amongst themselves.
"Guys," Specs finally said with a sigh, "Coach said they's gotta be nouns, stay in the room, and no shoutin'. They's the only rules."
They all relaxed and began their noun spying.
"Clever," Charles commented as Tom sat down.
"Yeah," Jack agreed. "I'd'a thought they'd be swingin' fists by now or somethin' the way they was actin'."
"Distraction is key," Tom told them, smiling his thanks for their words of praise. "I saw my mother do it time and again with me and my brothers and sisters, even with my father and her own brothers. It worked like a charm nearly every time."
"What's the lucky number?" asked Darcy. He'd come to offer moral support to Kat, his best friend, but also to the residents of Kelly House, who were all dear friends by now.
Tom chuckled. "That came about by accident – "
He was cut off as Romeo bounded into the room. The boy dashed to Kat and Jack, jabbering about his time with the judge. The newsies crowded around but nothing had changed – the judge had only asked Romeo the same questions he'd asked Specs and Crutchie.
Tom got the boys settled again, explaining the activity to Romeo and assuring Albert, who was next on the judge's list, that he'd have time to finish his spying when he got back. With the boys properly distracted once more, Tom rejoined the adults. "Where was I? Oh, yes, the Lucky Number.
"As I said, that was an accident. I thought a bit of friendly competition might make the lessons a little more fun, so I began having contests, offering prizes to the winners. But they all worked together to make sure everyone got a chance to win."
"Makes sense," Jack said.
Everyone looked at him.
He shrugged. "Ain't no fun if the same person's always winnin'. Besides, if ya don't help your buddies who ain't as good as you at somethin' then maybe they's skippin' a meal or sleepin' in the cold and you ain't, and where's the fun in that?"
Tom nodded. "Fair points. I hadn't considered things from those angles before. It's amazing how your lives on the street affect how you interact with others even after you've achieved a more stable situation."
Jack just shrugged, not quite sure how to respond.
Kat kissed his cheek. "Didn't I tell you you're amazing?" she whispered in his ear.
He blushed and draped his arm around her shoulders.
Tom continued. "When the lure of winning didn't work, I tried giving prizes to the losers, but with about the same results."
His audience chuckled.
"My attempt to have them do their own work lasted about ten minutes."
Jack laughed. "That ain't gonna work."
Tom's grin showed he agreed. "True. Their comradeship is so deeply ingrained, they oftentimes don't even realize they're asking for or providing help. They just do it."
"Yup. Ya looks out for each other, got each other's back," Jack confirmed.
Tom nodded. "Precisely. As I said, that decree lasted about ten minutes, and probably not even that long. I realized it wouldn't work when Elmer asked Specs how to spell something. Race told him he had to do it on his own. Elmer said he was doing his own writing but he needed Specs to tell him how to spell something. Crutchie got the dictionary and Specs showed everyone how to look up words. Then they all tried to outsmart each other with increasingly harder words and whatever assignment they'd been working on was completely forgotten."
Everyone laughed at that. It wasn't hard to picture.
"Bridget's the one who suggested picking a random number." Tom grinned at his wife. "The idea had merit, but I wanted it to be completely random."
"What did you do?" Medda asked, intrigued.
"That involved an impromptu lesson in geometry, physics, and woodworking. Mr. Jacobs helped us create a wheel, divided into ten sections. Then we made tags numbered one through one hundred. Each day, the eight of them, plus Les, pick a number out of the box and put it on the wheel. Whoever won all the marbles the day before gets to pick two numbers and spin the wheel."
"But don't they use the number like they would winning before?" asked Darcy.
Tom nodded. "They did, the one time we did it at the beginning of the day."
"Aah," Darcy sang in understanding.
"Yes. Now, we collect points throughout the day and spin the wheel just before lessons are over. It's the only way I can keep them from holding themselves back in order for everyone to have a chance at winning."
"I likes it," Jack decreed. "They's all doin' top work 'cause there's no tellin' which number'll be picked."
"Exactly," Tom agreed. "And there isn't a prize, really, so no one feels like they lost."
"So what are 'all the marbles'?" Kate Pulitzer asked.
Tom chuckled. "A handful of marbles in a fancy wine glass."
"No! Really?"
"Indeed. Surprised me, too, how much they like it. They get to put it wherever they want in the library. You'd think it was the crown jewels sometimes, but they like that and the wheel better than anything else I came up with, so," he shrugged, "I stick with what works."
"Smart man," Bridget praised.
Everyone laughed and the conversation broke into several smaller ones as the rest of the boys and Annie all had their turns with the judge.
Just under two hours later, Finch, the last of the boys to see the judge, returned to the courtroom. Everyone looked up, hoping to see the judge enter, but it was the bailiff again, this time requesting Jack, Kat, Greta, and Charles go to the judge's office.
"Where's ya goin'?" Albert fretted.
"Ya ain't leavin' us, is ya?" Elmer echoed.
"Does ya hafta go?" Romeo chimed with worry.
"Fellas, it's OK," Jack assured them. "I's guessin' the judge wants to talk to us, same as he did you."
"But he did us one at a time," Race pointed out. "He's takin' all of you's at once. What'll we do if he don't let ya come back?"
"Boys," Charles's firm tone silenced their growing agitation. "I assure you, there is nothing to worry about. The judge merely wants to talk with us. We will return to you when we are done speaking to the judge."
"What if they take us away while you's gone?" Crutchie asked, sparking a new round of panic in the room.
"Fellas," Katherine said loudly enough to get their attention. "There are just four of us going to speak with the judge. Look around at how many adults are left." She counted them off, just to make her point. "Coach and Missy, Miss Medda, Darcy, and my parents. That's six left. Not to mention Mr. Franklin and his team. Do you honestly think any of them would let anyone take you away?"
"Not while I have breath in my body, they won't," Bridget declared, hugging Finch tightly.
"Hear, hear," Darcy declared, placing a firm hand on Crutchie's shoulder.
"You just let them try," Medda declared, "and they'll be checking out their windows in Jersey to see why I'm raisin' a ruckus 'bout them takin' these boys away!"
Everyone laughed and relaxed a little bit at that. The other adults made similar promises of support, moving to stand protectively around the boys.
Greta ruffled Albert's hair and caressed Specs's cheek. "Do you honestly think I'd let some cranky old judge take my boys away from me?" She gave Elmer a hug. "My dear boys, I promise we will all return shortly."
"And no one will take you away," Katherine assured them once more. She and Greta moved among the boys, offering hugs, smiles, and loving touches.
"Now, stop your fretting," Greta commanded in her practical, loving way. "Get back to your spying. I'm sure there are some nouns you've missed."
The boys relaxed at her familiar no-nonsense tone.
"I don't know, Greta. We's got a lot," Specs told her, looking through his tablet.
"Who wrote down 'tree'?"
"There ain't no tree in here," Finch told her.
"I see one right there." She pointed out a window.
"That ain't in the room."
"I don't recall Coach Tom saying it was against the rules to look out the window."
Eight sets of eyes turned to their academic coach, who shrugged and said, "She's right."
There was a flurry of activity as the kids scrambled to get to their tablets and get a prime window.
The four invited adults snuck out of the room amid calls of:
"Which comes first, 'M' or 'N'?"
"I gets that window in the corner!"
"Does the 'K' in 'squirrel' come before or after the 'W'?"
After a half-hour or so Jack and Katherine returned, as promised. Greta and Charles arrived several minutes later. They were swarmed by the boys, eager to know what the judge had said to them.
"Fellas!" Jack said loudly. "Settle down! He ain't said nothin' to us we already didn't know."
"What's that mean?"
"What do we know?"
"Does we know somethin'? How's the judge know we knows it so he'll say somethin' else?"
Charles coughed to cover his chuckles. "Boys," he said calmly, but loudly.
The boys immediately got quiet.
"Hush, now. Nothing is wrong. You will all be fine so settle down. The judge is here and we would all like to hear what he has to say."
"Charles?"
"Yes, Race?"
"Does we hafta sit all in a group like before?"
The judge cleared his throat, commanding everyone's attention. "You are not on trial," he told them with a kind smile. "Please. Sit wherever and with whom you are most comfortable."
Romeo, naturally, bee-lined for Jack and Kat. They sat on one end of the front bench with Romeo between them, Kat's parents next to her, and Medda on Jack's other side. Next to Medda was Albert, who was clinging to Greta's arm. Annie was between her mother and Charles, who pretended not to notice how close Race sat next to him. On the second bench, Crutchie sat behind Jack between Darcy and Bridget, with Finch on Bridget's other side. Tom was flanked by Finch and Specs. Adam Franklin, his assistant, and his research team occupied the tables at the front of the room.
After everyone was settled, Adam stood and addressed the judge. "Your honor, you have before you ni-, uh, several Petitions of Adoption. My team and I have conducted extensive research into the backgrounds of each of these children to ascertain that they have no living relatives or that any relatives they may have are either ineligible to claim custody or were willing to voluntarily give up any such claims. All the requisite documentation is included with each Petition."
"Yes," the judge said, browsing through the files. "Everything is in order. I've read through all the reports. Good work, counselor. You and your team are to be commended on your thoroughness."
"Thank you, your honor."
The judge gathered the papers once more into a tidy stack, tapped the ends against the desk, and set them aside. He looked out over the group of adults and nervous children watching him nervously. "So, the first order of business for the day is to make you all Wards of the State," he explained.
"What's that?"
"What's he mean?"
"Does we get to stay with Jack?"
The adults got the newsies to settle down. Adam turned to the judge. "My apologies, your honor. My clients are just a touch apprehensive today."
"Apprehensive? They're as nervous as long-tailed cats in a room full of blind grannies in rocking chairs!" The judge chuckled at his own joke then waved off the attorney's concerns. "I've spoken with them all and have a general idea of their mindset at the moment. They're intelligent lads, all, but they're scared, too, and the two don't always mix logically. I've sons and grandsons, so I know how it goes. Take the time you need to explain. I don't want them leaving today without knowing exactly what went on and why."
"Thank you, your honor." Adam turned to face the newsies. "It's OK, guys. We talked about this, remember? Before you can get adopted by anyone, we first had to make sure –"
"Ya had to make sure we was orphans or not wanted," Specs broke in. "I 'member that."
"That's right. Once my team took care of that, then we were able to ask for you to be adopted."
"So why's he doin' this other thing first?" Race asked suspiciously.
"We talked about that, too." Adam reminded all of them gently. "Until you are Wards of the State, you cannot be adopted."
"Why?"
"Because you aren't his responsibility until then."
"But what if –"
"Race, ya gotta belong to him before he can give ya to someone else," Specs explained. "Right now we don't belong to no one, so can't no one do anythin' for us."
Race looked at Adam. "That right?"
Adam nodded. "Yes."
"Mr. Judge?" Romeo piped up.
"Yes?"
"If I lets ya have me, do ya promise to give me back to my ma and pop?"
Eyes twinkling, the judge nodded solemnly. "I do," he promised.
Romeo nodded, satisfied. "OK. But could ya do it fast-like? I don't wanta not belong to no one for very long."
The judge couldn't hide his chuckles. "I will do what I can to speed up the process," he promised.
"Good." Romeo leaned forward to look down the line at Race. "It's OK, Race. Just let him do what he's gotta do so's we can belong to someone real quick."
Race looked up at Charles, who nodded encouragingly. Then Race nodded at Adam, who turned to let the judge know they were ready to proceed.
"Very good," the judge decreed, looking out over the anxious boys. "In keeping with my promise to speed things along, I won't bother reading out all the details associated with each of your cases. I will just hereby declare that all the boys up for adoption are now officially Wards of the State."
The boys all let out the breaths they hadn't been aware they were holding.
"If you'll just give me a moment to sign all the documents…" the judge requested.
"What 'bout Annie?" Elmer inquired. "Why ain't she a whatchacallit?"
"I already belong to my mama," Annie explained patiently, turning around to smile at Elmer, "so I don't need to be a Ward of the State."
"Oh."
"In a few minutes, you'll belong to Jack," she reminded him, "so you won't be a Ward of the State anymore."
Elmer's face cleared. "Nice."
"There we go," the judge declared, tapping the papers on the desk and setting them aside. "I've learned that it pays to sign things as you go, so thank you all for your patience." He looked back out at the group. "Now that you're all officially Wards of the State, you can be officially adopted. Shall we begin?"
"Yes!" Romeo shouted, jumping to his feet.
Everyone laughed, even the judge. "I guess we'll start with you, young man."
"OK, but hurry. I wants to belong to my ma and pop and not to you!"
The judge laughed again. "I understand. Let's see, here we are," he perused the paperwork once more. "Nico deGuzman, also known as Romeo. Petition of Adoption by Mr. and Mrs. Jack Kelly. Hmmm...You're a Ward of the State...their references are impeccable...they have the means and desire to support you...therefore...the Petition for Adoption of Nico deGuzman by Mr. and Mrs. Jack Kelly is hereby approved. Congratulations!" He signed the paper with a flourish.
"What's that mean? What'd ya say?"
"It means, young man," the judge said with a smile, "that those two people right behind you are now officially your mother and father."
Too used to having promises taken back, Romeo was dubious. "Is ya sure?"
"What do you mean?"
"Doncha gotta bang your stick? I thought nothin' was real 'less the judge bangs his stick."
The judge struggled to hide his grin. "You could be right." He cleared his throat. "I hereby officially declare Romeo to be the legal son of Jack and Katherine Kelly." CRACK! went his gavel.
Romeo froze. "Ya did it," he whispered in disbelief.
"I did."
"Ya means it?"
"I do."
"They's really my folks? No one can snatch me away?"
"That is correct."
Romeo whipped around, his eyes drinking in the vision of the man and woman who were now and forevermore his parents. "Ma?" he squeaked, his little body trembling with the magnitude of the moment.
"Come here," Kat trilled as she pulled him into her arms.
He wrapped himself around her as tightly as he could as he lost the struggle against his tears of joy, excitement, happiness, and sheer relief of knowing his heart's deepest wish had come true.
Jack wrapped them both in his arms and held them for a long moment.
The other newsies expressed happiness for Romeo, but their words, while sincerely meant, were laced with tension and uncertainty, wondering if their own endings would be as happy as Romeo's.
After a few minutes of celebration, the judge asked for everyone to please return to their seats. When they'd settled down, he announced, "Shall we continue with the Petition of Adoption of Miss Annie Thorpe by Mr. Charles Montgomery?"
Annie squealed softly, hugging Charles's arm as they stood.
He chuckled and wrapped his arm around her.
"Everything appears to be in order here, but just to confirm," the judge looked at Greta. "Mrs. Montgomery, as the natural mother and current sole custodian of Annie, do you have any objections to Mr. Montgomery adopting her and sharing custody?"
"No, your honor. I have no objections."
He smiled. "Very well. As there are no objections, I hereby officially declare Annie Thorpe to be the legal daughter of Mr. Charles Montgomery." With a sidelong glance at Romeo, the judge whacked his gavel on his desk.
Annie squealed loudly and threw her arms around Charles. "You're my papa now!"
Charles lifted her off the floor in a bear hug. "I am indeed, my Annie-girl. I am indeed." He reached for Greta and the three of them savored this happy moment.
Annie pulled back to look at her parents. "We're a family now. A real one." She beamed.
"We are, dearest," her mother agreed.
Annie's brow furrowed as something occurred to her. She turned to face the bench. "Mr. Judge, is my name still going to be Annie Thorpe?"
"If you want it to be."
Annie vehemently shook her head. "No! I want to be a Montgomery, too. Like my mama is."
"Seeing as how it is traditional for adopted children to assume the name of their new family, that won't be a problem."
"So I's a Kelly now, too. For real?" Romeo piped in.
"You are," the judge confirmed.
Romeo melted in bliss against Jack.
Jack laughed and hugged his son – his official, legally his, really his, son.
The newsies were looking more fragile by the second.
The judge called everyone to order once more.
The newsies settled down, but were on pins and needles. Who was going to be next? What would the judge decide?
The judge looked kindly over the anxious boys. He took a deep breath. "This court does not take lightly Petitions of Adoption. They are a chance for a new beginning, not only for the child, but for the adoptive parents as well. I have reviewed the remaining Petitions with care and I interviewed all of you prior to this hearing.
"Based on what I learned in speaking with you and with the Petitioners, and my own observations of your interactions with each other, I feel it is in the best interests of the remaining boys to deny the Petition of Adoption for each of you as submitted by Mr. and Mrs. Jack Kelly." He banged his gavel.
"No!" Specs shot to his feet.
All heads swiveled his way.
"What's he mean?"
"What'd he say?"
The newsies peppered Specs with questions, wanting to know the truth, even while fearing they understood it all too well:
There'd be no happy ending for them.
Specs narrowed his eyes at the judge. "He said that Jack and Mare can't adopt us."
The judge nodded solemnly. "You are correct."
There was a brief, airless moment of stunned silence before the newsies exploded.
"That ain't fair!"
"That's not right!"
"Can he do that?"
"What d'we do now?"
"I's gettin' the hell outta here!" Race declared hotly, heading for the door. He turned back before he got there. "This ain't right!" he shouted at the judge. "All we want's a place where we's wanted! We got that! And you ain't gonna break us up! Ya got that! We's a family! A family! And if ya don't want us to be then we'll find us a judge that will." He scrubbed at his eyes. "C'mon guys. There's gotta be another judge in here somewhere."
The newsies looked at each other, heartbroken and confused. Should they stay? Should they follow Race?
Charles moved quickly to keep Race from leaving as the other adults moved to console and reassure the boys.
"Get outta my way, Charles!"
"No."
"Move, Charles! I gotta get outta here! I ain't gonna let some man break us up just because he bangs his stick! Let me go!"
Race repeatedly tried to dart around Charles to get to the door. Charles finally just picked Race up and stood him on a chair so they could see eye-to-eye. "There is no need to leave. The judge is not attempting in any way to break up this family."
"Then why's he sayin' Jack can't adopt us?"
"Have you considered the possibility that there might be someone else who wants to adopt you?"
"I'll live on the streets again before I lives in anyone else's house," Finch declared hotly at Charles's words.
"I don't wanta leave Kelly House," Albert wailed.
"We gotta leave?"
"He can't make us go, can he?"
"But that's our home. Why would he make us leave it?"
The newsies were growing increasingly agitated and making stronger efforts at moving toward the door.
Charles would not let Race down off the chair.
"OK, Charles," Race sneered. "Tell me who'd want to adopt six gutter rats like us if it ain't Jack?"
"I would."
The air left the room in a silent rush.
"Y-you?"
"Yes."
"But why?"
"Because I love you."
Race was rendered speechless. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before he finally squeaked out, "But you's...you's respectable..and my ma…"
"Your mother was a young woman in desperate circumstances. She did the best she could, the only way she knew how, to provide for and protect the son she dearly loved."
"But what if I's an awful son?"
"You haven't been thus far. Why should that change?"
Race's face crumpled and he threw his arms around Charles's neck as he fought the intensity of the emotions running through him. He won...mostly.
Charles lifted Race down to stand in front of him, resting his hands on Race's shoulders. They looked at the group clustered around one of the tables. The newsies were still anxious and confused, but there was a touch of hope in them now.
"Boys, if you please," Charles said just loudly enough to be heard.
The room got quiet.
"I do hope you will forgive me for not telling you of this sooner. Finch, settle down, now."
Bridget moved to wrap an arm around Finch's waist. His fidgeting and belligerent expression cleared almost immediately. "But why didn't ya tell us?"
"While there was still a chance that everything would go as originally planned, I did not want to alarm you. If you think back, you will remember that Mr. Franklin told us all, on more than one occasion, that Jack and Katherine might not be allowed to adopt you. We talked about that many times."
"Yeah," Specs conceded, "but hearin' it for real is lots different from only thinkin' it might not happen."
Tom patted Specs's arm. "It's a shock, it is, to hear something isn't going to be how you'd hoped it would be. But that's an ideal time to play my favorite game –"
"Consider This!" all the children said in unison. There was some giggling and definitely some relaxing at the familiarity of the routine.
Adam Franklin was amused. "May I ask what 'Consider This' is?"
"'S a game we plays with Coach," Specs told him.
"Yeah," Finch confirmed. "What ya just seen ain't always everythin' that's goin' on."
"That's right," Tom praised. "So, what just happened?"
"Dam-," Race began, but cut himself off at a squeeze on his shoulder. He looked up at Charles. "Sorry," he whispered.
Charles smiled warmly at him. "All will be well, dear boy."
"Is ya sure? 'Cause it don't seem so."
"I promise. Now, why don't you answer Coach Tom's question."
Race nodded and looked back at his teacher. "The, uh, judge won't let Jack and Mare adopt us."
"Right." Tom nodded. "And you are all understandably upset by that. But we have discussed all the possibilities, and that was one of them, was it not?"
"Yeah," Crutchie agreed. "But it's like Specs said, it's different havin' it be that way for real than it is knowin' it could happen but hopin' that it won't."
"True," admitted Tom. "So, let's review some of the reasons the judge might have decided what he did."
"Well, there is a lot of us," Albert pointed out.
"And Jack ain't so much older than we is," added Elmer.
"Very good. And didn't Mr. Franklin tell us that the adoption might not go through for those very reasons?"
"Yeah," rumbled several disappointed newsies.
"Let me ask you another question. What is your relationship with Jack?"
"We's brothers."
"Yeah, that's right."
"He's my brother. Has been since we met."
"He's my Pop!" an excited Romeo chirped loudly, latching his arms around Jack's waist.
Jack chuckled and hugged him.
"Did you hear what I heard?" Tom asked the fellas. "Jack is brother to six, father to one."
"Yeah, so?" Race snapped.
"Are any of you ready to join Romeo in calling Jack 'Pop'?"
He let the boys mumble over that for a minute while he went to ask the judge for the Petitions of Adoption. He gave each boy the Petition pertaining to him.
"But didn't Mare say we could be their legal somethin's even if they couldn't adopt us?" Specs asked.
"She did," Tom agreed. "But they want the absolute best option for their family, don't they?"
"Yeah," a couple of the boys agreed warily.
"The Petitions you're holding are the ones submitted by Jack and Kat. Let's put them in the center of the table, shall we?"
The boys complied.
"Do you know what I see there?" Tom asked.
"Failure?"
"A busted up family?"
Tom smiled. "Open your minds, boys. What I see there is love."
"How's that?" Elmer asked.
"Two people love all of you so much that they wanted to make you all legally a family so there was never any doubt. Their original plan didn't work out –"
"So why don't the judge let us do one of the other things?" Specs broke in.
"Yeah. Why not do that?" muttered a couple of the other boys.
"Because a better option presented itself." Tom handed each of the boys a second Petition.
"Petition for the Adoption of Albert James DaSilva by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Montgomery," Albert read. "What's this mean?" he asked, his eyes darting between Tom and Charles.
"It means a father is better than a guardian," Jack told them.
"Jack?" several boys asked in confusion. "Don't ya want us?"
"Sure I wants ya," Jack told them. He pointed to the Petitions in the center the table. "And the judge said he'd consider them other things we asked 'bout. But since Charles and Greta wants to adopt ya, too, he –"
"Greta?" Albert squeaked.
"Yes, dearest?"
"You wants to adopt us, too?"
"Of course! Did you think I was going to just sit in the corner and let Charles have all the fun being your father?"
Albert shook his head.
"I hadn't thought 'bout that," Finch admitted. "That you and Charles is married, so if he adopts us, we'd have –"
"– a father and a mother," Elmer finished in awe. He looked at Tom, who nodded in confirmation.
"So, if you adopted us, we'd be a whole, entire, real family, all legal-like?" Crutchie asked Charles.
"We would," Charles confirmed.
Excitement began trickling through the room.
"What about Mare?" Specs asked warily.
"What about me?" Kat moved to stand beside her champion.
"You's been like a ma –"
"Like a mother," Kat agreed. "That's why you named me 'Mare' to begin with, remember?"
He nodded. So did several of the others.
She hugged him. "You'll always be my boys. Nothing can change that," she assured them all. "Besides, Greta and I have been sharing you this long, I don't think it'll be hard to keep going."
"Indeed not," Greta agreed.
Albert threw his arms around Greta's neck. "My ma," he squeaked.
Greta chuckled as she returned the hug.
The boys' excitement began to grow. Uneasy whispers were giving way to louder, hopeful conversation, when Race broke through it with a question. "What about Jack?"
All talk ground to a halt.
"What about me?" Jack asked.
"Greta and Charles adopts us and they's our folks. You and Mare adopted Romeo, so you's his folks."
"Yeah?"
"Who's your folks?"
"He's right."
"Gotta point there."
Jack scoffed. "I can't be adopted 'cause I's married."
"Then how's you gonna be our brother?" Elmer asked.
"I'll be your brother," Jack assured them, "same as always."
The other newsies shook their heads.
"We's gonna all be brothers gettin' adopted or we's all gonna be bothers same as always," Race declared. "Ain't no mixin' it up."
"Yeah," Crutchie added. "It'd be pretty strange if people say, 'There go those Montgomery brothers and their friend Jack." He tugged at Jack's arm. "We's brothers. You gots it in writin'. Now ya just gots to tell the judge to make it legal-like," he pleaded.
"Guys," Jack said, starting to panic that his plan seemed to be unraveling. "It don't matter –"
"It matters to us," Race declared on behalf of them all.
"It sure do," the others agreed.
Jack looked at Charles in desperation.
Charles moved around the table to stand next to Jack. "This was not unforeseen," he announced, reaching for the last document Tom was still holding. He handed it to Jack.
Jack looked at it, then back up to Charles. "I don't understand," he whispered.
Romeo took the paper from his father, frowned at it, then showed it to Race. "It looks just like yours, don't it?"
Race took it and read, "Petition for the Adoption of John Francis Kelly by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Montgomery."
The buzz of excitement was back in the room. All attention was on Charles and Jack.
"But, but," Jack stuttered. "I's married."
Adam Franklin stepped forward. "It is unusual for a married man to be adopted, but as you have not yet reached the age of 21, it is not impossible."
"Quite right," agreed the judge.
Jack's eyes never left Charles's face. "But, but…"
Charles placed warm hands on Jack's shoulders. "As Greta once told you, so I now repeat: Just because you are the head of the household, do not think you are any less one of my boys. You are as dear to me as any of the others, and I cannot imagine life without a single one of you in it."
Jack shuddered and looked down at the paper Race had handed back to him, but the words were all blurry. He looked up, his eyes darting around the room. They landed on Kat, who smiled, but he quickly moved on – as much as he loved her, she wasn't what he needed right now. He searched desperately until he saw her, the one who'd been his anchor in storm after storm until he'd met Kat. "Medda?" he squeaked.
"Baby," she said softly as she moved his way. "It's OK."
"But, my ma and Pop…"
She wrapped him in a hug. "They loved you more than anything," she assured him. "But baby, they ain't here right now."
"They ain't," Jack conceded, "but–"
"But nothin'," Medda stepped back and grasped Jack's shoulders. "Your folks loved you and your brother and did everything they could to make you happy. They didn't want to leave you. They would never have left you if they'd had a choice about it."
"But they did."
Medda nodded. "Yes. They did. But look at how they still kept their promise to you."
Jack looked at her, his brow furrowed in question.
"The family you were born into got taken away, but you created a family around you. Your ma and pop did that. They showed you the strength of a family, so you found one for yourself. Now you're none of you living on the streets anymore, so it's time to make it legal."
Jack studied the Petition he was holding. "But won't my ma and pop care that I's gettin' another one?"
Medda gently lifted Jack's chin. "Baby, I think they led you here. They found Greta and Charles for you, and worked their angel's magic to make sure you'd have them for parents."
Jack sniffled. "Really?" he whispered.
"Really." She wrapped her arms around him. He held on tightly. After a moment, when he'd gotten his emotions under control – mostly – she whispered in his ear, "You are one special boy, ya know that?" Then she gave him a squeeze, kissed his cheek, and turned him around to face Charles.
He smiled tremulously at the man about to become his legal father. "Um. Uh. No man but my pop's ever wanted me except for –, except for –"
Charles framed Jack's face in his hands. "Never again," he vowed fiercely. "Never. Again. Anyone, man or woman, who attempts to touch you with anything but the kindest of intentions shall battle me in a fight to the death, and I promise you – I shall win."
"You really do want me, too?"
"I do."
Jack's knees gave out but Charles caught him and held him tightly against his chest.
While Jack fought to regain control of his emotions once more, Charles looked around at the boys he hoped would agree to become his legal sons. "I make the same promise to you all," he told them. "No one will ever harm or hurt you again without having first to deal with me."
After a moment to let that sink in, Greta chirped, "And once he's done with them, they'll have to answer to me."
They all looked at her gentle, loving face, then, as her meaning sunk in, laughter began to trickle around the group.
"You's pretty strong and fierce, Charles, but I think Greta's scarier," Elmer declared.
The laughter grew.
In short order, the judge had banged his stick – once for each newsie because they insisted it wouldn't be legal to do it just once for all of them, it had to be once for each boy – and they were all officially adopted by Charles and Greta.
Nervous excitement filled the air. They had expected to be adopted, but not by Charles. Jack was officially their brother now. They were all officially brothers. And they officially had a mother. It was what they had anticipated when they awakened this morning, but it was all so different.
Nervousness gradually ebbed and excited chatter got louder as each boy had the adults confirm multiple times that they were officially family and no one could take them away.
The noise was broken briefly by Elmer's question. "Charles, what's we gonna be called now?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you's a Montgomery and 'cause you adopted Annie, she gets to be a Montgomery. You adopted us, so we should be Montgomerys, too. Right?"
"Indeed."
"But what about Jack?"
"What about me?" Jack asked.
Elmer looked at him. "If you's adopted by Charles, you should be a Montgomery, too, like the rest of us. But you and Kat's married, so she's a Kelly. So is she gonna be a Kelly still and you be a Montgomery? Or is you gonna stay a Kelly?"
"Is we gonna live at Montgomery House, now?" Finch added.
"And if you stays a Kelly," Elmer continued as if Finch hadn't spoken, "and we's all Montgomerys, then how's people gonna know we's brothers?"
"You have an interesting point, my lad. We will have to give this dilemma some serious consideration."
"But we gots to know now so the judge knows how to make us all the same family," Elmer insisted.
"Yeah."
"Makes sense."
"Who're we gonna be?"
"We gots to know who we is."
Darcy cleared his throat. All eyes turned in his direction. "I think this can be solved rather easily," he offered.
"How?"
"Whacha mean?"
"Which name ya gonna pick?"
Darcy smiled. "This is not an uncommon situation among the families that Kat and I grew up knowing. Many newlywed couples take the names of both their families and hyphenate them."
"What's that mean?" Race asked suspiciously.
"They both keep their original last names, but connect them together with a hyphen."
"We seen that in the papes," Crutchie told them. "In them columns on the society pages. All them uppity people with the names longer than a train."
"We's gonna be uppity?" Albert asked. "Don't know if I like that."
"I ain't gonna be no uppity, high-falutin'– "
"Boys," Charles calmed them down with just a word. "No one is asking any of you to be other than who you are."
"That's right," Greta assured them. "You are perfect just the way you are, and we wouldn't want you to change."
"That's right," Darcy added. "I wasn't suggesting that you necessarily hyphenate your name, just that it is an option. Another alternative would be to keep both names without the hyphen, and just have two last names."
"What's that?" Crutchie asked.
Darcy smiled at him and explained, "You could choose 'Montgomery Kelly' or 'Kelly Montgomery.' It could be a double last name, or use one of them as your middle name. By using both, each of you honors the men who have played a vital role in your life. For Jack, that would be his own father and Charles; for the rest of you, that would be Jack and Charles. This way, Jack – and Kat and Romeo – could remain Kellys; Kelly House could keep its name; and you would all have a tangible tie to both of these men you care for."
"Montgomery Kelly," Race tried it on for size. "I likes it." He looked around at the rest of the newsies who were giving it their nods of approval, too.
"Charles, you OK if we do it that way?" Specs asked.
"My boys," Charles looked around at them, his love for them all evident in his expression, "whatever you decide is perfectly fine with me. To paraphrase something Jack once said, what I am won't change, but a name can carry great meaning. So you decide what works best for you. Nothing about your name will alter the fact that Greta and I are now your mother and father."
"But ain't it gonna be strange if we's all brothers but we's Montgomerys and Jack's a Kelly?"
"Don't forget about me," Annie piped in. "You're all my brothers now, too, you know."
"We gots us a sister?" The newsies hadn't thought about that, and excitement rippled back through them.
Albert hid his face in Greta's shoulder, overcome with emotion at having such an unexpected surprise.
She hugged him tightly, amused but loving every minute of it. Her boys were really and truly her boys now! Well, hers and Charles's. She cast a loving glance at her husband, who smiled back at her. She supposed she would share them.
"So, we's Montgomery Kellys, Annie's a Montgomery, and Jack's a Kelly?" Specs asked for clarification. "Who's gonna keep that straight?"
Kat wrapped her arms around Specs. "Remember, we are a family, but we are not a traditional family," she reminded them all. "We get to define how our family works. And if we want to have an assortment of names, then that's our business and no one else's."
"Hey, yeah, that's right!"
"We can be who we wants to be?"
"I don't care who I am so long as we's still all gonna be a family."
"Yeah. I like a family."
After much muttering and conversation, it was decided that the newsies would take Montgomery Kelly, without a hyphen, as their official new last name so the judge could put it on the papers, but that they would decide later what their last name would be when they were talking to people.
The judge seemed fine with that. He signed all the appropriate papers, then banged his stick once more for good measure.
It was an exuberant crowd that left the courthouse that day. The boys hopped and danced along the sidewalk as they headed toward the Pulitzer mansion for a celebratory meal. More than once, each of them circled back to either Greta's or Charles's side for a quick reassurance that they really were adopted and legally bound together as parents and child.
Romeo was twittering with nearly uncontainable joy at having gotten not only a mother and a father that morning, but a handful of official uncles, an official aunt, and a whole 'nother official set of grandparents! He could not believe his great fortune! He wanted to sing, to shout, to bounce, to dance, he wanted to … to … to… to fly! His excitement surely could not be contained, so he must fly! He settled on getting as high as he could, in his Dziadek's arms.
Pulitzer steered the crowd to a small park a block off the main street, about halfway to the house. He purchased a couple of balls from a nearby store, and gathered the boys and Annie together. "You will divide into two teams," he brought his arm down in the center of the group to indicate where the dividing line was. "You," he pointed to the team on his left, "will try to get the balls between those fence posts over there." He pointed to the fence posts in question. "You," he pointed to the other team, "will try to get the balls to that tree over there." He again indicated the goal. "Each team will do their best to keep the other team from getting the balls to their goals. Understood?"
All the kids nodded. Pulitzer tossed the balls over their heads and they were off. The very basic rules he set up became the basis of an ever-changing set of other rules. But the exercise served its purpose; after a solid half-hour of running around, they were sweaty and tired, but in much more control of their emotions. And so, it was an elated, but slightly less energetic, crowd that tumbled up the steps of the Pulitzer mansion to celebrate what they all thought was the very best thing in the world: family.