Chapter Seven

The last week of June was spent bring Kat back to full health. From the first time she opened her eyes, Kat was never left alone. At least one newsie was with every minute. They kept her company, fed her food when she was hungry, and just helped keep her mind off the fact that she couldn't get out of bed. Everyday, Kat got a wee bit better. She stayed awake for longer moments at a time, and she was soon able to sit up in bed without the room spinning.

She was still very pale, and she had gotten very skinny due to the lack of food and exercise she had missed. Her eyes had gotten bigger in her face and her cheeks were more hollow then before. One of her worst peeves though was the fact that she smelled terrible and her hair was one big grease ball. To remedy this problem, Kat sent Les to Medda with a folded note begging for a woman to come and help her clean up.

Two days later, Medda, Sara, and Mrs. Jacobs marched into the bunkhouse with their arms loaded down with towels, soaps, lotions, and a big washtub. They ordered all the boys in the building to leave for their jobs. Now, no one argues with the flaming eyes and determined scowls of three ladies on a mission for their fellow sex. Davvy and Les were the first to scrambled for the door before their mother and sister had even turned to look at them. The others didn't give much of a fight when they were threatened with a bath too.

Once the place was clear of male life except for Kloppman, who stayed downstairs to guard the door, Medda and her troop went to work. They heated buckets of water in the newsies' bathroom till the windows fogged with steam, and the waiting boys outside wondered what was being done to their room. Then, Sara and her mother helped support Kat into the waiting tub where she was scrubbed, lathered, and lotioned till she felt clean once again.

Kat demanded that she not be dressed in her nightgown but in her newsies outfit. With much chagrin, the ladies complied only to find that the shirt just hung off of Kat's shoulder blades, and the trousers had to be tied with Kelly's rope to keep from falling off. Kat couldn't help but burst into laughter at the sight of her non-existent figure in the mirror brought with Medda. This sent the ladies on another mission: getting fitting clothes for the young girl.

After Kat had been deposited in an over-stuffed chair in the foray of the bunkhouse, and the boys' bathroom had been cleared and cleaned, the boys were given permission to come back inside. They didn't seem to see Kat sitting in her favorite chair reading one of her books as they rushed up the stairs to see what damage had been done to their room. Other then the warm steam that still lingered in the air along with the fresh scents of soap and lotion, the bathroom seemed to be intact. Their relief was interrupted when they heard laughter filtering up from downstairs as Kat chortled at something in her book. Oh how they had missed that sound.

Another week past before Kat started to get strong enough to move around with the help of someone. For moving long distances, Jack or Blink would pick her up in their strong arms and take her wherever she needed to go. This often earned them a bright smile or peck on the cheek in thanks. Kat still would fume to her captors about not being allowed outside. She would stand at the windows gazing out with much longing, long after the boys had disappeared around the corner to sell their papes.

She would spend most of her day writing to her brothers, reading, or playing poker with Jimmy. Her cat had gotten much bigger during her illness, but he was just as cuddly and affectionate as he had been when she first gotten him. He and the boys had come to an understanding: if they left him alone, he would just hound after them for their love and affection. Race had told Kat that he was most annoying during her unconsciousness because he was constantly crying for someone to pick him up.

One thing that helped to while away the time till she could go outside again was thoughts about her coming birthday. Her brothers never mentioned anything about coming to visit during that day, so Kat naturally assumed that they just couldn't get away from their work. This was disappointing, but she perked up when she started to make plans for the celebration that she would have with her new friends. A homemade calendar that hung on the wall of her room counted down the days till July 12: her birthday. Everyday, Kat would scratch off another square, bringing her special day that much closer.

Kat's birthday dawned clear and bright. Long, warm rays of sunshine shone through the only window of Kat's room and danced across her face. Slowly, she stirred from the dreamless sleep that had claimed her the night before. Blinking her eyes against the strong light, Kat caught sight of her calendar. Covered in X's except for the last square that had been circled in bright red and decorated with big, sloppy stars. She sat up with the realization that it was her birthday! She was now sixteen years old today! The long looked for day had finally come to her at last!

With a mighty spring, Kat was out of bed and began doing a little dance to the tune of 'Happy Birthday.' She rushed around the room like a hurricane getting ready to sell papes on her special day. Instead of her normal newsie garb, Kat stepped into a dark blue/violet skirt and white ruffled blouse. Medda had provided the outfit as an early present, and Kat couldn't have been happier to receive it. To tell the truth, Kat missed looking like the pretty girl she was. She used her little face mirror to brush her long glossy curls back before securing them with a hair ribbon that matched the color of her skirt.

She stepped back and perused her reflection in the mirror with a careful eye. The excited blush in her cheeks and special sparkle in her eyes finished the pretty picture before her. Kat grabbed her washcloth, soap, toothbrush, and toothpaste before skipping down the hall to use the boys' bathroom. She knew that they weren't awake yet because they never woke up with the sun. Come to think of it, neither did she. With a shrug of her shoulders, Kat quietly entered the room.

When she first entered the room, Kat was careful to not wake the boys knowing that they would not appreciate the early wake up call. But as her excitement at being sixteen returned to mind, she began to hum the tunes of several songs taught her by her brothers. She started in low, then unbeknown to her; the volume grew as she got into the fast and louder songs.

The chorus of "Oh! Susanna" slowly pulled Crutchy out of a happy dream about him and Kat. As sleep gradually left him, Crutchy could hear the voice better. It was a sweet, melodious female voice. The only female, who would even dare to step into this room, was Kat. He opened his eyes to see the object of his affection standing as the wash basin scrubbing her face till it shone.

What was amazing was that this was the first time Kat had ever been heard singing or seen in a dress. Crutchy glanced around to see in any of his mates were woken up by this beautiful wonder. Next to him, Race slept soundly, muttering in his sleep about a winning racehorse. In a flash, Race's head had been formally introduced to Crutchy's pillow. This made his face flush bright red with anger at the kid smirking at him.

Crutchy quickly quieted him down before motioning to the still singing Kat. Race's eyes bugged out of his head when he saw the girl in a dress. It took several minutes for Race to snap out of his amazement to slap Blink in the bunk above his. In no time flat, the five regular bunkhouse newsies plus Dave, Les, and Spot, who had stayed the night for a very special reason, were all wide awake and listening to Kat's canary voice singing about a sailor who had lost his love.

Kat ended her cleaning by brushing her teeth, which silenced her from singing but didn't kill her humming the tunes. She turned from wiping her mouth on a towel lying by the sink to find her nine friends looking her over. She didn't blush or even seem embarrassed at their stares. Kat flashed them a bright smile that challenged the sun to a dual and skipped over to them. She planted a quick kiss on Crutchy and Race's cheek, much to their surprise, before skipping out of the room with a new song on her lips:

Well, come along boys and listen to my tale

I'll tell you of my troubles on the old Chisholm Trail…

The boys stood stock-still staring after her. Crutchy and Race placed a hand to their cheeks where they still felt the warmth of her lips. Kat was really acting strange this morning. With a shake of their heads, the boys hurried around to get ready to follow Kat downstairs and into the newspaper-selling world.

After leaving her astonished friends gaping at her, Kat lightly ran down the stairs to the big foray. Kloppman greeted her with a light kiss on the top of her head and well wishes for her on her birthday before handing a pile of letters and cards that had come earlier that morning. With hungry eagerness, Kat plopped onto the bottom stair and tore open the letters from her brothers.

She was so engrossed in the news from her kin that the approach of nine pairs of feet was completely ignored. Kat had just started one of the best parts of the letter from Jesse when she had the distinct feeling of someone reading over her shoulder. With flashing eyes, Kat turned her head and came face to face with a nervous Blink. The look on Kat's face would have made Goliath feel small. Blink nervously cleared his throat and fiddled with his suspenders before backing quickly away.

Noticing that the rest of the boys were looking at her with impatience, Kat gave a great sigh before folding the letter and giving her stack back to Kloppman for safe keeping. Then with the sunshine smile placed firmly back on her face, Kat bounced out the door wishing herself a happy birthday at the top of her lungs. The boys couldn't help but mentally slap themselves when they realized that they had forgotten about her birthday! Then they realized that Kat didn't seem to care because she was too busy having fun herself.

When the group reached the distribution yard, Kat bottled up all her happiness into one very large grin that she flashed at everyone who greeted her. The boys just followed her chuckling as she led them into line. There were many wolf-whistles and catcalls sent toward Kat's new look. What surprised Crutchy and the others was that all she did was blush and smile at the attention. She wasn't glaring or threatening to soak the culprit. But that could be because she wasn't entirely strong yet. She couldn't hold her own completely so why bother making a fuss if she couldn't back it up.

Crutchy's attention was brought from Kat's smiling face to two figures standing in the shadows. Their dark eyes never left Kat. They roved over her hungrily, wanting more then they could have. Crutchy knew that these two were up to date with Kat's illness and certain weakness right now. If anything, these two would attack her when she couldn't fight back, and Crutchy didn't even want to think what they would do to Kat if they caught her. Not to raise suspicions, Crutchy lightly tapped Jack shoulder and motioned with his eyes toward the Delancys.

Jack's eyes went between the brutes and Kat several times. The look he had was hard and cold. By now, the rest of their troop had noticed the Delancys spying on their girl. Spot was starting to get worked up by just thinking about what they would do to Kat, and Jack had his hands full keeping his boys under control. They decided that they would all sell papes in close proximity to Kat to keep an eye on her. Soon, the ten had gone through the line and bought the papes they needed.

Kat marched gaily out of the front gate with her friends trailing behind. "So, where are ya fellas sellin' today?"

"Oh, we's thought we's would stays wich youse. It bein' youse birtday and all." Spot shrugged nonchalantly at her inquisitive glance.

Then the smile was back on her face, and with a shrug she started to the market place where she always sold her papes the fastest. The nine boys glanced around before hurrying to catch up with their friend. This could tend to be a very long day.