Author's Note:
Chapter 5, guys! It's not my favorite, but I hope you still enjoy it!
Chapter 5: Watch What Happens
The next morning, as Jack ate his oatmeal, Les and Davey bombarded him with questions.
"What happened last night?"
"Did Katherine say 'yes'?"
"Was she excited?", et cetera.
Jack swallowed the last bite. "She did say 'yes'. And she was pretty excited, I's think. It was real great!" he smiled, and tried to suppress the color rising in his cheeks.
"That's awesome!" Davey exclaimed, happy for his friend.
"Hey, Jack, can we sell papes with ya today, since we got no school?" Les asked hopefully.
"Sure!" Jack pulled up his suspenders and began to button up his blue shirt. "Let's go!"
The three boys told Davey and Les's parents that they were going to sell with Jack today. Then they hopped out of the window and ran to buy some papes from Wisel.
Jack, Davey, and Les sold papers for several hours- it wasn't hard, though, because the three of them made a great team, and they were finished by lunch time. Les was definitely getting up there in the ranks, what with his 'poor orphan boy' tactics. And even Davey sold some papes, thanks to Jack's coaching.
"Hey fellas, how 'bout we go to Jacobi's for lunch? The other boys is probably already there." Jack said.
"Sure!" Davey gripped his little brother's hand, and they set off for Jacobi's Deli.
They hurried through the dusty, crowded Manhattan streets and dodged carriages, wagons, peddlers and hanging laundry. Pretty soon the boys saw Jacobi's up ahead, and, sure enough, they could see through the shiny glass windows that the place was packed with teenage Newsies.
"There ya go." Jack laughed. He opened the door for his friends.
"Thanks." the brothers said.
Once inside, Jack realized that all his friends were huddled around something. Apparently something very interesting, for they were all exclaiming "Wow!" and "Cool!" and "Is that real?" and "Ya kiddin' me?"
"Hey, boys!" Jack greeted them as he made his way through the group.
"Hey, Jackie! Nice job! Congrats!" the Newsies shouted and patted him on the back.
"Wait- what? Who-" Jack began. Then he looked up ahead and saw her- of course.
Katherine Pulitzer was sitting on a table, showing off her new diamond ring to all the boys, who had basically become her brothers at this point.
"What are you doin' here?" Jack raised a questioning eyebrow, though it was clear that he was happy to see her.
"I'm sorry, Jack. I just had to tell someone about our news- or, you know, all the Newsies of Manhattan," she said sheepishly.
"Now don't be going 'round telling everybody 'bout us. I don't want the whole state of New York at our wedding!" Jack's eyes sparkled the way they did when he was joking.
"I won't." Katherine smiled.
"We are invited to the wedding, ain't we, Jack?" Albert spoke up.
"Whadda ya talkin' about? 'Course you's all invited." Jack swatted Albert playfully with his cap.
The boys all began to buzz about how excited they were for the wedding, and how they'd never been to such a fancy event before.
"Jack, can I talk to you for a minute?" Katherine took him by the hand and pulled him over to the side.
"Sure. What is it?"
"I know, I know, you just said that you didn't want a bunch of people at our wedding, but... well, I was wondering if I could write an article about are engagement... you know, for The Sun. I want others to know how much you mean to me, Jack Kelly." Katherine smiled at him, showing off her pearly white teeth.
"I-I... Of course you can. You's the writer. Plus, I can't say no when you're making that adorable face." Jack smiled back. Then he quoted, "'Number 37: Jack acknowledges my writing ability. He gets it.'"
Katherine laughed. "It's true! I'll admit, I-I was a little upset when you doubted me, especially because I was a girl. But I know you didn't mean to offend me. And- I know now that you believe in me."
"I do." Jack pulled Katherine closer. "And I's sorry I ever doubted you. Girls can do just what boys can do."
"Apology accepted." Katherine stared into Jack's eyes and squeezed his hand. "Apology accepted."
Then there was one of those moments where they just got lost in each other's eyes and everything else melted away. Like when you receive a new toy as a child- they were only fixated on one thing; each other.
"What are you waiting for? We ain't goin' anywhere! Just kiss her already!" Race called, breaking the silence.
Jack and Katherine both laughed. He took her face in his hand, (yes, just one, because his hands were pretty big), and kissed her. When he broke away, Jack said, "Now, I's can't wait to read that article, Kath!"
"I'll try to write it on Monday. And- don't worry..." Katherine lowered her voice, "I won't put anything too personal in it, like that fight we had, or the kisses."
"Thank you. I 'pprecriate that."
Monday morning (she didn't work on Sundays because she went to church), Katherine arrived at work early. She grabbed her morning coffee and settled down at her typewriter. Ideas flooded her head, but she knew she had to keep it relatively short. She wouldn't make it too detailed, as she'd promised Jack. Katherine decided to begin the piece by saying:
Have you ever met someone and just knew they were the one for you? Jack Kelly is the one for me. In fact, we have just recently been engaged!
Where to go from there? Katherine thought for a minute. She couldn't break her promise to Jack- but she still wanted the article to be interesting. Katherine sipped her espresso. Ooh! The caffine helped! She returned her fingers to the typewriter.
What was going to be a normal evening turned into the best night of my life when Jack proposed to me! We ate a picnic dinner, then danced. Then Jack proposed! It was a great evening, and we are very excited to be engaged. We have not known each other for very long, but we both love each other. And sometimes you don't need years to decide if you love somebody. Love can come from unexpected places- and I'm glad it can! We planned to be married pretty soon, on November 5th. We agreed to have a small, simple wedding. We don't need something big and fancy- we only need each other. In conclusion, Jack and I were recently engaged, and we are very thrilled for our upcoming wedding!
Not bad. It could use some polishing, though. Katherine scribbled down notes in her little journal. She couldn't wait for Jack to read this; and she hoped he liked it.
The next day dawned. Jack was ready, as usual, to sell his papers. And, not surprisingly, he found that Crutchie was already gone. Jack quickly ate a banana, then sprang down into the crowded streets of Manhattan.
Jack found Crutchie at the selling window, taking his fifty papes. "Hey, Crutchie!" he called.
"Oh, hey, Jack!" Crutchie grabbed his papers from Morris Delancey and limped over to Jack. "Wanna sell togetha today?" he asked.
"Of course! Sounds fun!" Jack patted his brother on the back. "I's be right there." he ran over to the window, dropped his cash onto the money-collecting box, and said to Weasel, "A hundred."
"Give 'im a hundred." Mr. Wisel nodded to Morris.
"Here ya go, Jackie." Morris slapped the papers against Jack's chest.
"Wow, I wish you'da thrown 'em at me!" Jack laughed sarcastically. "See ya round, guys." he joined Crutchie and said, "Let's hit the streets!"
Jack was (as previously mentioned) great at selling papers- he could sell them solo or with a partner. And Crutchie was an especially good selling partner. The duo sold their papers without breaking a sweat- well, actually, they did sweat, but in their defense, it was like 90 degrees outside. When all their papers were gone, Crutchie asked, "Can we go to the diner now, Jack? I's getting hungry."
"Yeah! C'mon! I's hungry too."
Together the boys made their way through the busy, dusty New York streets to get to Jacobi's. As they drew closer, Jack said, "Judging by the sun, I'd say it's only eleven or so. The fellas probably ain't here yet."
And Jack was right. A couple was just leaving the diner, but none of the Newsies were there yet. Mr. Jacobi was sweeping the floor when the two boys came in. "Hello, Jack, Crutchie. What can I get for you today?" he asked kindly.
"Hi, Mr. Jacobi. Two ham and cheese sandwiches, please." Jack handed the older man several coins.
Mr. Jacobi nodded and headed to the kitchen. Jack and Crutchie sat down at a table to rest.
It only took a minute to make the sandwiches. Mr. Jacobi came out, holding two plates in one hand and two glasses of water in the other. "Here ya go, boys. Eat up!"
"Thank you!" they said gratefully.
"I'll be in the back if you need anything else." Mr. Jacobi nodded and left.
"Hey, Jack, the weather's really hot today, ain't it?" Crutchie remarked as he bit into his ham and cheese sandwich.
"Yeah, it is. I's glad it ain't cold, though!" Jack finished his sandwich swiftly in five bites. Then he pulled an old newspaper out of his pocket, along with a piece of drawing chalk. "I figured I'd draw my cartoon for Pulitzer early today." Jack began to sketch a cartoon of the mayor, Robert Anderson Van Wyck, making a speech.
Suddenly, the bell above the door jingled very enthusiastically. "Jack! Jack! I have something to show you!" An excited voice called.
Jack turned around in his chair to see Katherine waving a newspaper in his face. She was hopping back and forth like she had just drank soda or something. "Woah, calm down!" Jack smiled. He took the newspaper and unfolded it. Katherine leaned over his shoulder and pointed out a heading. "Right... there."
Jack followed her finger to the heading and read it: The Best Night of My Life by Katherine Plumber. He smiled up at her, then began to read the actual article. He did this slowly, because he couldn't read some of the bigger words; but he didn't want to admit that, of course.
Jack's smile kept growing as he read slowly but surely. Katherine was so sweet, the way she wrote of love and marrying him. When he was finished, Jack said, "Here, Crutchie, read this." Jack stretched over and handed him the paper.
"Gladly." Crutchie raised a curious eyebrow and began to read.
Jack stood up and turned to his fiance. "Thank you. What you wrote was very sweet. And you's right. We's don't need big or fancy things... We only needs each other."
Katherine glanced down at the floor, a sort of embarrassed smile on her face. "You're welcome. It really was the best night of my life, Jack."
Jack grinned as he brought her face up to his and kissed her. Crutchie, not wanting to ruin the moment, kept browsing through the paper as if he didn't notice them.
When Jack and Katherine broke apart, Crutchie smiled and said, "This is a real good article, Kath. You's got a neat way of puttin' words together."
"Thanks, Crutchie." she smiled.
"Hey, Crutchie. How would ya like to be my best man at the weddin'?" Jack suddenly asked. "I mean, you's my-my best friend. My brother." Jack smiled. "Don't tell Davey and Race and them, though."
"You kiddin' me? I'd love to be the best man!" Crutchie leaned on his little wooden crutch as he stood up. He hugged Jack. "Thank ya, Jack."
"You's welcome, Crutchie. Speakin' of the best man, we's really need to start planning for the weddin'!" Jack turned to Katherine.
"Yeah, we do. This will be fun!"
There's chapter 5! Thanks for reading, and please review if you'd like to! See you in the next chapter!