Chapter: VI Lady and Bumlets
"It's in here, I'll be back. Stay here so you can hide if someone comes." Bumlets is standing just inside the house where it is shadowy. Lady heads to her bedroom in the basement. She walks down the worn out stairs, and she pulls the string above her head to the light. She looks around and pulls her case from under her bed. She opens it and puts a few things she had taken out back in. She is about to close it when she hears someone coming down. Lady franticly tries putting it back under the bed. It's half way under when she looks to see a figure standing at the bottom of the steps, and it's not Bumlets. However Bumlets has heard this as well and inches is way to the doorway to listen.
"Where you goin' tootsie?" Bumlets' hears Morris' voice.
"No where. Why, need something?" Morris creeps closer.
"You'se look like your up to somethin' to me."
"I'm not." She smiles nervously. Again, he steps closer blocking her to the bed.
"Liar!" He startles her shouting into her face. He begins to smooth the hair coming down the side of her face. He continues.
"But I won't tell."
"You wont?" She asks a little scared knowing she just made a verbal mistake. He leans in quickly and plants a kiss on her un-expecting lips. Immediately she starts to push him away while making sounds of disgust. He as well is fighting back, by pushing her back against the bed again. "Oscar is getting himself a feisty one. Don't worry tootsie we share everything." All of the sudden Lady hears a thud and groan escape Morris' lips, and she falls with Morris's body. She looks up to see Bumlets with a piece of wood in his hands. She looks back at Morris still breathing now slouched on the floor.
"Bumlets!" Lady squeaks out. He helps her up and retrieves the case from under the bed.
"I'm sorry." She attaches her hand to his arm, which surprises him.
"It's not yer fault. You'se okay?"
"Yeah. Can we not tell anyone about this. I feel kinda dumb." They stop by the building near the lodging house. They have their backs to it.
"I'm sorry I'm still a little shaky. Give me a minute." Bumlets sits her worn tan suite case down and waits. He looks at her and notices tears in her eyes. He moves in front of her, and she starts to really cry, and hugs him. After a few minutes she quiets. Bumlets could stay that way forever.
"Thank you for letting me use your shoulder." She whispered as she removed her head. He laughs a little.
"Anytime." They stand for a moment. Bumlets looks at her, she is exactly like in his dreams. Her hair is the same, her eyes, even they way she talks. He leans down some right when his lips nearly touch hers, a force meets his face, and stops him. After he snaps out of the shock, he realizes who it was. He puts his hand to his cheek and backs off.
"I'm sorry I didn't,"
"No, I'se shouldn't of tried anything."
"It's just that,"
"What's going on out here?" An old man walks out and sees the two.
"Sorry Kloppman, dis is Lady. Do you'se dink she and four of her friends can stay wid us for a while?"
"We'll we have the extra room. Can they pay?"
"Yeah days newsies too."
"It's alright with me then. What happened to your face?" Bumlets looks at Lady for a moment then answers.
"Run in with a Delancey." The old man looks satisfied.
"Funny, their hands look bigger." Lady and Bumlets sign in and then walk up the worn out stairs into the bunkroom. He shows her the wash room and then walks over to a bunk.
"Dis one okay?"
"It's fine. Where's yours?" He points to one across from hers. They both feel a little awkward now. He decides to make a little small talk.
"Sos, I'se really hope Smokes stays hidden good." Bumlets states. Lady nods.
"Yeah, I know. That was really awful." She lies trying to be vague and believable.
"Da Delacney family has some ties. Oscar an Morris by demselves are almost okay, but bein' a Delancey day'se both headin' in da same direction. If they're not careful, days may be murdered too."
"Ya know he told me so long ago, I don't really remember anything about it."
"Smokes was about fifteen den. He was workin' for them for about tree, four years, and one day when a job went bad day blamed it on him. Poor Smokes was just tryin' to defend himself when Antonio attacked him. Does't matta to da bulls dough. A few months after Jack escaped the refuge, he wasn't too far behind. We'se hid him for a while. Then one day he said he wanted to go back to Ohio. We heard from him a couple of times. He stopped goin' by Jonathan Ocean to Smokes Ocean." Lady sits for a few moments. She couldn't believe what she just heard. It would explain why he never wants to talk about his past, but still doesn't make since.
"But I thought Jack. I mean I heard that story but a little different."
"You'se heard Jack did it!" He begins to laugh.
"What's so funny? I didn't know any different."
"Wait a minute, you'se didn't know?"
"I'm sorry, I just really wanted to know something about his past. He never told me anything. What's that noise?" She looks around and then to the floor.
"Sounds like some of da boys are back." They wait for a moment to see a small group of newsies head by Spot, Mush, and Lola, the second two whose arms are around each other.
"Mush would you tell Spot to stop coughing. I can't believe I was ever going to marry him." Spot's slate blue eyes look at her in confusion.
"Once again, Mush yer goil's talkin' crazy, an if she wasn't a goil, I'd soak her." Mush in between the two shakes his head.
"Day been like dis sice day met. Her an Spot's goil Dazi really don't get along." Lady lets out a slight chuckle. A few moments later Smokes and Jack come strolling in. Jack spit shakes with Spot and sits down at a makeshift table where Racetrack and a few other newsies have started a game of poker. Smokes walks over and whispers something to Lady's ear. She nods and they head up to the roof. A little bit of jealously surges through Bumlets.
"Why did you leave New York?" Lady demands as soon as they are out of earshot.
"What do you mean? I just wanted to." She turns around kind of dramatically and throws her hands up.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Who told you!?!"
"That's not important. What if the cops find you?" Lady is starting to become upset.
"That's not gonna happen. I'm gonna be goin' back in a few days. I wanna know if you maybe wanna go to Brooklyn and stay."
"I'm not going to Brooklyn, I wanna stay here. An,"
"Why? I thought you didn't like Jack."
"Misunderstanding, and it's not about him any ways." Smokes takes a cigar out of his mouth, and takes his hat off revealing beads of sweat on his forehead from the June heat. He edges closer and they hug. Lady's eyes barely can see over his shoulder.
"When your parents can forgive you an everything is okay you can come back to Ohio."
"We'll see what happens." She spies a figure move in the doorway. She squints to see who it is, and catches a glimpse of the side of his face. She knows exactly who it is, the strings at her heart pull and she begins to feel bad. They pull away from each other.
"Wanna go back inside now?"
"Yeah." She smiles. They walk back in to see the room lit and most of the newsies there. Smokes takes a place at the card table. Lady notices everyone is paired off or in groups. She was never a group person herself, so she walks to a corner of the room that is darker and quieter. She sits on a bunk for a moment.
"Why ain't you'se in dere wid Smokes?" She turns to see Bumlets next to her.
"Why?"
"Yer his goil aren't you'se?"
"So. I mean no, we haven't been together in a while." She starts defensive but backs down knowing he didn't mean anything by it.
"You two act like it."
"We'll right now I like someone else." She is smiling. Bumlets looks a little down.
"Who is he?"
"Um, someone nice, sweet, handsome, he is very alluring." She says with such vagueness.
"Jack." He answers matter-of-factly.
"What, uh no, never mind." Lady took this a clue that he may not feel the same, so she changes the subject and they continue talking about the dreams about one another.