"Shall we?" Jazz motioned towards the door and started up the steps. We walked in the open door and up to the large desk next to a huge wooden staircase. A middle-aged woman with graying hair entered from the room to the left.
"Can I help you?" She looked at us suspiciously. Then her eyes set on my chest, and her expression softened, "You girls need a place to sleep?"
"Yes, please," Jazz smiled and tried to look as ladylike as possible in her cut-offs and cabby hat.
"All the bunks are full; I can only offer you one double bed in the sick room upstairs."
"We'll take it, ma'am. Thank you."
"That will be two cents each." We looked at each other. Will CJ and I still have our money? Is it any good? Cracker and I started rooting though our pillowcases. Were the hell'd all this penny candy come from? I found some change at the bottom and looked at it. Three dimes, a quarter, and two pennies, all dated in the 1890s. Apparently Cracker noticed the same thing, because when I looked up she was staring wide eyed into the palm of her hand.
I laid the dimes on the desk in front of the woman. "This should do for a few days, right?"
"Yes," she answered curtly and picked them up, "five days. Follow me." She led us up the stairs and through the bunkroom and bathroom. Girls paused to watch us walk by. We must be a sight, coming in after dark dressed like guys. We ended up in a tiny, two windowed room with a dry sink. "Curfew is at ten every night, lights out at ten-thirty; I don't like to be bothered after then. And you need to be out of here by eight every morning unless you're sick. I'm Mrs. Nolan. Goodnight, ladies." She turned and left. As soon as she was downstairs girls started creeping into the bathroom. A few were getting ready for bed, but most were gawking through the doorway at us.
Finally a short, stocky, brunette stepped forward. "Hi, I'm Ducky. Welcome ta da lodgin' house." She looked around at the other girls, "Come on, they ain't gonna bite ya." They began to trickle into the room, still staring. After initial introductions, Ducky asked, "So why're you tree here, an' why're ya dressed like guys?" We told her the story that I had told Mush, and when we had finished she said, "Well, do ya still have your skirts?"
I lied, "No, we left them on the train." Gettin' good at this.
"It ain't proper for no goil ta be runnin' 'round in trousers. You look about my size. I got an extra skirt ya can borrow. Ladies, we gotta get dese goils in proper clothes. If ya got any extra stuff, go get it." Moments later girls with random clothing filled the room. Ducky held a gray wool skirt to my waist. "Yep, dat'll fit," she stood back as I held it in place, "Almost poifect." Other girls held out clothes that they thought might fit us. Trolley gave Jazz a dark brown skirt, and Clips found a light blue blouse in her trunk that fit her perfectly. Spitball let Cracker borrow a really cute pink and white dress. Tooey lent me a white blouse that fit a little tightly and showed off my large bosoms, but it wasn't uncomfortable, so I took it. We thanked them, quickly changed back into our costumes, and took the grand tour of the upstairs.
Mrs. Nolan called lights out, and the girls headed to their bunks. Before she left I asked Riley what paper we sold for. She turned, "Da Journal. It's right up 'round da corner."
"Um…Where's The World," Cracker tried to sound casual, "I mean, we can pick what we sell can't we?"
"Sure. Little sells Da Sun, an' Kane sells Da Post ev'ry now an' 'en. World building's 'bout a block ta da left. Bettah watch yaselves down there, bunch of handsome fellas workin' for Da World." She smiled and winked before entering the bunkroom.
"Hey Riley," I called just as she turned out of sight, "what's today's date?"
"July seventeenth."
"Ninety-nine?"
"Course, what other year would it be?" She chuckled and mumbled something to herself as she climbed into her bunk.
I took a good look at Jazz and Cracker for the first time since we'd been out all night. Their clothes seemed different. They were different. They looked the same, but heavier, more worn. I looked down at my own blue pants and plaid shirt. They were heavy now, like wool. My gray elastic suspenders had been replaced by real button on suspenders. A thick button up undershirt was where my white cotton shirt had been. Cracker and Jazz were studying their wardrobes now, too. "Hey," Jazz sounded angry as she examined her hat, "what the hell happened to my hat? It's wool!"
"Dude, almost all our clothes are wool. I think something really weird happened to us tonight."
"Really, Lida? I guess Mush showing up in the middle of Talleyrand Park wasn't much of a clue to that."
"Whoa, someone's a bit touchy over her hat."
"I loved that hat, dammit."
Change the subject before she starts whining. "Hey, I still have my marbles!" I untied the little brown pouch hanging from my belt loop and emptied the marbles onto the bed, "Looks like they're all here, how about you two?" Jazz and Cracker untied their marbles, worn in a fashion similar to mine, and dumped them onto the bed.
"All here."
"Yeah," Cracker held up her favorite shooter, "mine too, Rose." She put them back into her sock pouch and laid it on the dry sink. She started to undress.
"Wow, Jacks, you've got some hot undies goin' on there." Cracker was standing in the middle of the room in frilly white knickers. How did we not notice this stuff before?
"Cool! Do you guys have 'em, too?" Jazz and I speedily undressed and saw the same white unmentionables that Cracker was wearing. This is the most awesome dream I've ever had!
"Wonder why we didn't notice these before."
"We were too busy trying stuff on to notice," Jazz was examining herself as best she could without a mirror. "How's the money situation?"
"Kinda weird," I reached for my pillowcase and dumped it onto the bed, "It's dated from the 1890s. And look at all this penny candy." Every piece of my Halloween candy, all the Snickers and peanut butter cups, had turned into penny candy and lollipops. I counted my money. "Still got a hundred and some dollars. At least fifteen of it's in change, though."
"I still have my fifty, but about five is pennies, nickels and dimes. Couple quarters," Cracker sorted the change, "Five pennies, thirteen dimes, twenty-seven nickels, and a lot of pennies…" Sometimes I could swear she has OCD. "Eighty-nine pennies." Uh huh, OCD.
"Let's just go to bed, I'm really tired."
"Aren't you going to count that change?"
"No, I know how much is there."
"How?"
"My paycheck was for $120.37. I didn't spend any of it, and there's a hundred and five in bills. Ergo, $15.37 is there in change."
"$15.07, you gave Mrs. Nolan thirty cents."
OCD! "Yes, $15.07. I'm tired, I'm getting in that bed, and I'm going to sleep."
"Me, too," Jazz yawned and climbed in bed. I got in beside her, and Cracker took the spot on my other side. The city lay quiet outside the windows. All the times I've been in New York, and this is the first I've ever heard it quiet. Only in Dreamland. I heard Cracker's breaths deepen and knew she was asleep. Jazz stirred a little, whispered something about chocolate milk, and fell into deepening breaths as well. I drifted off to sleep, pondering over old coins and penny candy.
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What will happen in the morning? Was it all a dream?? Will we ever see Mush again??? Keep reading to find out!
Thanks so much for reading! Please Review!
Sorry, no shout outs, I think they're obnoxious. Maybe as I write more.