Chapter 6

Sacrifice

"Waitress! Waitress! Bring us more napkins will ya? Dumbass over here spilled his drink!"

Lunchtime at Tibby's was anything but civilized. Noisy patrons of the limited establishment crammed into the small wooden seats, each longing for just another inch of elbow room while they stuffed their faces full of inexpensive food. Far from a classy eatery, Tibby's catered to those who were fortunate to have a few extra cents in their pockets and craved something besides a meal at home. The tables were scratched, silverware dull, and the lighting was dim, not for effect, but because the tall buildings surrounding the restaurant stole most of the sun's rays.

"Waitress!"

Sighing, Firecracker plucked the withered blue ribbon from her clenched teeth and finished tying up her long, curly-red hair. Reluctantly she strode over to the rowdy table, placing the requested napkins by the spill.

"Say, why don't we let her clean it up?" one gruff man snorted.

"You made da mess, you clean it up," the other replied.

"It's, it's okay. I can clean it up," Firecracker stated meekly, adverting her brown eyes as she began to soak up the spilled soda.

"See, told ya sweetcheeks wouldn't mind," the first grinned slyly.

Is dis really what I wanted ta do wid meself? Fire asked herself that question everyday, and at least twice just during lunch hour. She had come to the city looking for adventure and a new, exciting life, but instead she had found discouragement. The city wasn't anything like she had pictured in her dreams each night – a city full of abundant job opportunities and exhilarating adventure around every corner. Chances of being shot or mugged were more bountiful than those of having a promising career.

Firecracker had sacrificed the life she knew all too well for the unfamiliarity of the city. Time and time again she told herself that this was what she wanted, just for once to be completely free of everything, and to be her own person. But this freedom she thought of so highly came at a price she hadn't known the consequences of. Having left her family in New Jersey, she was penniless and her family had disowned her for leaving in such a tiff. She wasn't welcome at home anymore – she couldn't go back, despite how bad things were here.

When finally out on her own, the deep reality set in – she was homesick. It wasn't the kind of homesick where a person would take the first train home, but the kind where little things would remind her of what she used to have. If she saw a candy store, she was reminded of the times her father used to give her a penny to run down to the corner store and pick up her favorite treat. If she saw a dress shop, she was reminded of how much her little sister wanted to design clothing one day.

"Waitress! How long is me food gonna take?"

Stuffing her hands in the front pockets of her dark blue skirt, Firecracker took a deep breath and plastered on the smile her boss made sure to check for. This was her life now, and she was going to save every penny she earned for the day she could finally throw her apron down and walk out of here to a better life. Tomorrow will be bettah.

Sacrifice was one of the highlighted words in a working child's dictionary. Some sacrificed their pride in whorehouses because they thought it was the only way to have a hot meal and a place to sleep. Others sacrificed their health by working in some of the worst factories imaginable, the soot alone slowly deteriorating their insides. Still more sacrificed their only possessions, giving up their last memory of home to another child in exchange for a few cents to buy a meal for their famished bodies. There wasn't one street in New York that didn't hold a tale of sacrifice.

****

"I don't know where he could be… He said he just had ta pick up somethin'," Jack explained, tapping his fingers on the table.

"It's really all right," Autumn assured him. "It's just… I'll have ta be getting back to the factory soon. I ain't supposed ta really be out dis long anyhow."

"I know he wanted ta be here," Jack sighed. He knew how disappointed David was going to be and had to think of a way to meet up again. "I know… What might ya be doin' later?"

"Well, I work until six, then usually I just go home wid da goils," Autumn answered. She nervously played with her long braid of hair, wondering why Jack insisted on having David around. She had the impression Jack was the one interested in her and it seemed rather mysterious that Jack would want to court her in front of David. Maybe David has ta approve of who he dates or somethin'.

"We could meet ya at yer place," he suggested. "I mean, dat way you'd have familiar faces around whom I'm sure will wanna keep an eye out for ya."

Hesitant to accept, Autumn finally decided that it wouldn't hurt to finally have a gentleman caller, and smiled. "I suppose that would be alright. Come around seven? It's a couple blocks from here, over on Moore and Greenwich. The girls' boardin' house is on da corner."

"Great," Jack grinned. "Seven it is." Sliding out from the booth, Jack took Autumn's hand and helped her stand.

"Thanks for lunch. It was real nice of ya." She glanced at the clock on the wall and gasped. "I'm gonna be late. Um, thanks again." Leaning towards Jack, she kissed his cheek and turned to leave before she could witness his reaction.

Jack stood there, quite shocked, and raised a hand to his cheek. Maybe she was just being nice because he had paid for her lunch, or maybe Autumn wasn't interested in David, and this was her way of telling him that. But, how did Jack tell David this? Or did he even have to? His mind was racing so fast that Jack hardly noticed David walking towards him.

"Jack! Jack I'm sorry I'm so late. Mother had me doing chores, then I went to pick up flowers for Autumn and the vendor kept accusing me of wanting to steal instead of buy," he sighed. "Where is she? Is she not here yet? I didn't miss her did I?" he asked, hope shining in his eyes.

"Oh, Davey, I waited here… but she didn't show up. Sorry," Jack frowned. It's better dis way. He won't be so disappointed. If he knew she liked me den he'd be even more bummed. 'Sides, Autumn's real nice. I'll just go up dere later and talk ta her.

"She never came?" Sighing, David dropped the flowers on the table and sunk into the booth. "I told you this would happen," he grumbled.

"Don't worry Dave, we'll see her again."

****

"Hope? Hope! Come on Hope we gotta get home!" Blaze called as she raced after her child. They had stopped at Central Park, Blaze thinking she could sit for a moment, and Hope deciding she would run around for a bit, much to Blaze's dismay.

Darting through the trees, Hope was providing quite a chase for her mother. As Hope had shed her knapsack and her mother was toting it along, the child was beginning to lengthen the lead she had as she ducked past pedestrians and cornered around benches and trash cans.

Giggling, Hope continued running, paying no heed to anyone in her path. Finally, after having turned her head around at the wrong moment, Hope's luck ran out, and she collided with another figure, sending them both tumbling to the ground.

"Hey!" gasped the stranger as he seized his walking stick from the ground before his eyes darted around to see who his attacker was.

Sniffling, Hope sat in the cool grass and rubbed her elbow, which she had fallen on. She twisted her head in every direction as she sought out her mother, but was unable to find her.

The boy's angry demeanor diminished instantly the moment he set eyes on the young child. He had been off in his own world, imagining a duel against a formidable opponent with his trusty walking stick, when all the sudden he was caught off guard by a four-year old.

"Hey, kid, you okay?" he asked softly as he crept towards the girl.

Hope merely shook her head, her blonde curls covering her face in a tousled mess. She could see the boy coming closer and immediately started to back away.

"It's okay… I ain't gonna hoit ya. Is yer arm alright?" the boy asked, staying still until she signaled that it was all right for him to advance again.

"I'm okay," Hope stated as she began to stand up. Once again her eyes searched the park for her mother. She turned back to the boy who had also stood and her eyes caught sight of his walking stick. "Whatcha got dat fer?"

Looking down at his walking stick, the boy smiled proudly. "Dis? Why, dis is me sword."

"Sword?" Hope interrupted. "Looks like a piece of wood ta me."

Shaking his head, the boy frowned. "No, no, dis is much better den just a piece of wood."

"How so?" Hope questioned, interrupting him again.

"Because, it can help me walk when I get tired, or point out stuff in da distance, or it can be a great sword ta help me defend meself against me enemies," he beamed, pushing his shiny black hair away from his face.

"Defend yerself? From what en… enmies?" Hope asked, her eyes filling with curiosity. By this time she had forgotten about her bruised elbow and was much more set on learning about this sword of his.

"Why, from dat tree ovah dere," he pointed. "Or dat bench! It's lookin' at us awful strange."

Hope giggled. "Da bench? It can't hoit you!"

"It could!" he protested. "Say, why don't you give fencin' a try?" he suggested. "Ya can use me sword if ya want."

"Okay!" Hope smiled.

"Hope! Hope I was so worried!" Blaze fell to her knees by her daughter and threw her arms around the child. "Are you okay? Why did you run off like that? You had me so scared."

"It's okay! Dis boy's is gonna show me how ta fence! Can I? Please, can I?"

"What boy?" Blaze asked. She hadn't even noticed anyone else around them. As soon as she had finally set eyes on her daughter, Blaze had rushed over as fast as she could.

"Dis boy," he stated, smiling at the two. "Name's Bumlets."

"Oh, hi… I'm Blaze. Dis is Hope," she replied.

"Well, hello dere Hope," Bumlets greeted and gently shook her tiny hand.

"Hi Bumlets," Hope giggled and turned to her mother. "Can I please? Just for a minute?"

"I suppose so… Just, be careful," Blaze agreed. She sat in the grass and watched in wonder as Bumlets showed Hope how to hold the walking stick. It was much too long for her to handle properly, but that didn't stop Hope from trying her hardest.

Bumlets picked up a stray tree branch and fought against her, yelping each time Hope would charge at him. He let the child feel like she was in control the whole time and put on quite a performance. Blaze marveled at the sparkle in his deep brown eyes when Hope finally tackled him to the ground and tickled him mercilessly.

"Do you always 'fence' in da park alone?" Blaze asked with the hint of a smirk once Hope had finally let Bumlets breathe.

"No, I don't," Bumlets replied indignantly. "Me fencin' partner hasn't shown up yet. We practice tagether." He lightly poked Hope's nose before he helped the child off the ground.

"Oh," Blaze nodded. "Well, thanks again for watchin' out for her. We really should be goin."

"Say, um, do ya think… well, ya might come by da park again sometime?" Bumlets asked as he brushed the dirt from his pants.

"Oh, I don't know… We don't live so close to it…" Blaze felt Hope tug on her hand and looked down at her daughter.

"I want ta play wid da boy again mommy," she smiled.

Blushing, Bumlets scuffed his boots in the grass. "It was silly of me to ask. I thought she was ya sister," he admitted. "Ya must be married to a nice man. I'm sure he'd kill me for askin' such a thing of his wife."

"I'm not married," Blaze replied.

"Oh, um, well, yer boyfriend den," Bumlets stuttered, feeling more embarrassed by the second.

"No… no boyfriend… We women can raise children on our own ya know."

"I-I didn't mean that. I just thought," he sighed and shook his head. "Just someone like you… it just don't seem dat ya wouldn't be taken," he admitted honestly.

"It's alright…" Blaze smiled down at her daughter as she fitted the knapsack around her arms. "We really need to get home."

Clutching his hat in his hands, Bumlets took a deep breath. "So does dis mean dat ya might be free sometime and by chance be in dis park around da same time I am?"

"Maybe," Blaze nodded. "Thanks again for lookin' out for her. Say goodbye Hope."

"Bye Bumlets," Hope pouted and waved to the boy.

"Goodbye Hope," Bumlets smiled. He watched the two resume their journey home and chuckled at the bounce in Hope's steps.

"Why couldn't we stay longer mommy?" Hope asked.

"Because we have to get home, sweetheart," Blaze replied.

"Can we see him again? I wanna fence again!" Hope exclaimed as she hopped up and down.

Blaze sighed. "I don't know. Perhaps, we'll see okay?"

Blaze had learned to distance herself from men. She didn't trust them at all, but still, there was a part of her that felt differently. It wasn't like Blaze didn't want someone around with her, someone to share her love of music, someone to wrap his arms around her and tell her everything was going to be all right, but Blaze was scared – literally petrified of the consequences of getting involved with another man. She had vowed not to get involved with anyone until Hope was much older, and for four years, she had successfully upheld that pledge.

What happened if she trusted a man, and he hurt her daughter? Blaze would never bring that ill fate upon her child. She had seen men lash out at their children before and she'd seen the aftermath. Never would Hope be harmed by a man, and if that meant staying away from men entirely for years to come, so be it. But was it right to keep Hope away from a fatherly figure? Hope had never known her father or anyone that was like a father to her. Maddy was like an aunt to her and as she was single, Hope hadn't had any real contact with an older male.

Despite her attempts to keep men off her mind, Blaze caught herself thinking about the boy from the park. She'd never witnessed anyone play with her daughter like that before. It was as if he liked to make her smile and run around with her, instead of wishing the child would go play quietly in a corner. She struggled with the decision to remain on her own and take care of her child by herself. Would Hope grow up to turn out like her mother or would she not make the same mistakes?

"Mommy… dis bag is heavy," Hope whined, slowing her pace. She held the knapsack at her side, the bottom of it scraping against the ground.

"Aw, honey, here, let mommy help ya," Blaze smiled. Scooping up Hope and the knapsack in her arms, Blaze kissed the child's forehead. "We're almost home."

~~

But, if we do this… If we go on strike, how are we gonna eat? Where are we gonna live? I don't know about you, but I ain't got much of a life savings. What if it goes on for weeks? Pulitzer might never back down. Den what? Racetrack asked, clutching to his prized pocket watch with one firm hand.

If we starve today, da woikin kids will eat tomorrow, Jack stated, pressing his dusty cowboy hat onto his head.

****