This is isn't a great chapter. My heart isn't in it. Too much drama with my "friend" treating me like shit has left me totally uninspired. Please be patient with me, the stories going to get better when I feel better about myself. Just bare with me for a bit.
Claire did not own a formal dress. She owned two dresses, two skirts and three shirts and that was all she had ever needed. She started panicking, plagued with the dilemma women had been faced with centuries, the thought running through her head "What should I wear?" She thought of other girls she knew and the few she did were not the types to have fancy dresses. She sighed, wondering what she was going to do.
Suddenly , as if it was some sort of revelation, she remembered the backstage at Medda's place. There were rows upon rows of clothes, every color, type, and size. She locked the apartment and sprinted down the stairs, nearly knocking over a boy how was about her age, maybe older ,with black hair. She apologized and that's when she recognized him.
"Good day Ms. Kelly. You are just the person I was looking for." Joe Pulitzer said, sleaze oozing from his words.
"Ise t'ink yous've mistaken lil' ol' me foah someone else, ma dea' sir." she said putting on a fake accent and looking down to hide her face. She tore off running before he could get in another word. "Mr. Demsey, if Spot Conlon comes for me and I'm not back yet, let him know I'll be back soon, would you please?" She asked the landlord.
"Yes ma'am. Anythin' else ya need ma'am?" He said, as usual kissing up to her. He didn't know what was up with her and Spot, but he knew there was something and Conlon wouldn't have liked anything him treating her any different than a princess. Anyways, he liked her. She had always been polite and not caused any problems.
"No, Mr. Demsey. Thank you kindly." She said sweetly, before running off again. It would only be a matter of time before Pulitzer realized she wasn't home and came back down. Being a newsie for most of her life, she could run fast. She wasn't strong enough to fight the boys who would start something with her but she learned to outrun them. She made it to Irving Hall in record time and let herself in the back door. "Medda? Medda, are you here?"
"Oh, Claire! How ya been? The boys told me you were here the other night. Said you went off with that Spot Conlon. Now I always thought he was bit cheeky, but he sure isn't bad looking." She winked at the last part. She stopped after this, surprisingly enough. She could normally rant forever but she noticed Claire was out of breath. "Doll, you look like ya ran all the way here? You alright? Nobody's chasin' ya are they?"
Laughing Claire decided to get to the point. "Well, actually yeah. Ever since he stopped by the store I'm working in, Joe Pulitzer Jr. has been following me around. It's pretty scary - he claims to be in love with me. He showed up at my apartment and I ran before he realized who I was. But that's not why I came. Spot asked me out to a nice dinner tonight and he said it would be pretty formal. I, er well, I don't have any nice dresses and I was wondering if you could maybe let me borrow one?" She asked, blushing.
"Well, if I had anyone as rich as Pulitzer in love with me I wouldn't run, but they say our hearts work in strange ways. Back to your wardrobe situation, of course you can borrow something. Pick anything you like. I think you should wear white to offset those dark eyes of yours. Something simple and elegant, but stylish." Medda said as she looked through her costumes. "Aha, this one is perfect!" She declared pulling out a dress.
The silk sleeves stopped at the elbows and after that another six inches of red lace came down. It had a red sash around the waist. Medda walked up to her jewelry box and pulled out a ruby necklace on a silver chain. "Oh you are going to look amazing in this! You should wash your hair and then I'll put it up for you." Medda cried. She was truly taking this project to heart.
An hour and a half later, Claire came out of a dressing room looking more elegant than she ever had in her life. Medda was nearly in tears, it was like the little girl she bought papers from everyday was suddenly an beautiful young woman. "Oh, Medda!" Claire said when she looked in the full length mirror. "Thank you so much. You saved my night." Medda nodded, smiling, and pulled Claire into a hug.
"Any time honey. You look amazing. No wonder Spot asked you out." She joked. "Well you better get going. Have fun tonight!"
"I will! Thanks again, you are the best!" Claire said walking out of the theater wrapped in a red cloak also borrowed from Medda. For the first time since she had run away from home, people didn't shove her in the streets but instead made sure she had enough room. New York is funny like that, status and money are everything. She was almost home when a blond boy with a tan eye patch bumped into her.
"Sorry ma'am, so sorry. Are youse alright?" He said politely. "Claire? Claire is dat you?"
"Yeah Blink, it's me. I'm going out tonight."
"Youse look great! Where da hell ya goin' dat ya gotta be so dressed up foah?"
"Well," Claire blushed. She hadn't though about it until now but it was going to be weird when she told the guys about her and Spot. "Spot's taking me out and he said it was a formal place."
"Wonda where 'e's takin' ya?" Blink mused. "Sounds like youse gotta get goin' so I'll se ya lata." He hugged her and kept going down the street.
She walked back up to the apartment and pulled a book out. She had just gotten situated when someone knocked on the door. She hopped up eagerly, almost falling when she tripped on her skirts. She smoothed out he dress which was a nervous habit oh hers, took a deep breath and opened the door slowly. There stood Spot, holding a boutique of red roses and wearing a black suit.
"Wow." he exhaled. Staring at her in awe. She was a vision of beauty and whenever he thought of her from then on that's how he would see her.