Silver City, New Mexico
The sun was blazing down on the desert land of New Mexico with a stinging heat that Jack Kelly had to focus to ignore. The brim of a worn hat cast just enough of a shadow on his face to keep the light from blinding him. He was starring down at what he could only surmise use to be the main street of Silver City, New Mexico. Despite the oddity of the street having sunk down almost two levels, the scene was almost familiar to a man that had spent many afternoons in Five Points and Lower East side.
The destruction of several floods had torn up the storefronts and the chasm that once was Main Street was filled with lingering pools of water, piles of forgotten trash and broken parts of nature. Jack stared at a tree stump, finding it the only part of the scene that reminded him of his surroundings. Just one breath of the crisp fresh air and Jack would remember he was in a town out west and not in an over crowded section of a city his heart wouldn't quit aching over. Jack snapped his fingers impatiently chastising his mind for wandering into memories of New York.
"Paper, mister?" A boy with curly hair and a look of discontent shoved a paper up at Jack. Jack cocked an eyebrow in shock at the boy but didn't move to push the paper away from his chin.
"A newspaper?" Jack asked biting back his desire to curse the boy, his paper and all the memories stirring to hell.
"Yeah, can't you see it?" The boy replied cheekily. Jack frowned swinging his arm up and pushing the hat up to let the boy clearly see his face. Since the second week as the leader of Duane Lodging House Newsboys in Manhattan, Jack Kelly had a habit of making sure others could see his displeasure with their actions clearly without the obstruction of his hats.
"I can see the paper in my face just fine kid, but if you're trying to sell it to me you're doing a scab dumb job of it." Jack announced finally swiping the paper from the kid.
"Hey, you take it you buy it mister!" The boy snapped huffily holding out his pudgy hand for payment.
"I'll tell you what, I will buy it if you can tell me one of the headlines." Jack folded the paper like an expert, not even sparing a glance on it. Instead the man bent down on one knee and stared expectantly at the boy in front of him. The newsboy of New Mexico was better fed than the newsboy of the city. Jack could tell this boy lived with a family. A family that fed him well and that pushed him out the door to sell newspapers to keep him from getting into mischief in the kitchen. Jack smiled when he noticed the boy reminded me somewhat of David Jacobs, a younger less ambitious David but still the same type of family boy.
"That's what you got the paper for. Read the headlines yourself." The boy scoffed. Jack shook his head.
"How do I know if I want to buy it, if you don't even tell me what's in it?" Jack asked patiently. Jack had taught countless boys had to be proper newsies. It was second nature for the man to be having this conversation with a ten year old.
"I suppose you don't." The boy shrugged uncomfortable at being spoken to by an adult. Jack smiled as he watched the boy squirm, shifting his eye focus to the ground and fidgeting with his hands. This boy was use to be lectured, chastised for most of his actions.
"Newsies are suppose to sell papers, by letting people know what the headlines are. Let's try this again..." Jack sighed as he held out the paper to the boy.
"Are you going to buy a paper?" The boy asked suspiciously.
"If you're going to sell it to me." Jack countered waiting for his headline. The young boy grudgingly unfolded the newspaper with his clumsy hands. Jack noticed David walking around the corner about a half a city block if Jack were to estimate.
"City's Mainstreet is flooded." The boy coughed out the headline unenthusiastically. Jack snapped his eyes down to the child and frowned before glancing over at the destruction of Mainstreet.
"Yeah, I can see that for myself." Jack grumbled.
"It's on the front page." The boy pointed to the main article of the thin paper. Jack rolled his eyes. Silver City, New Mexico didn't have newspapers like New York City, New York.
"All right, here." Jack dropped the penny into the upturn hand as he took the paper without a glance at the headline. The newsboy ran before the strange man could lecture him anymore or demand anything else from him. Jack shook his head as he flipped past the first page and read his newspaper.
"Torturing the local newsies?" David mocked as he reached his friend.
"Kid wasn't even shouting the headlines." Jack grumbled.
"Is there more than one headline in this town?" David questioned as he glanced over his friend's arm to view the paper. Jack shoved his friend playfully as he handed over the paper.
"Can we get on to Santa Fe?" Jack asked wistfully looking out to the horizon of the desert.
"There is a lot of work here Jack," David reminded his friend. David had been the one to convince the once all-powerful leaders of Manhattan and Brooklyn to change their destined course. He had heard of the floods of Silver City, a problem they have been having for years the most recent storm hitting in August. But more importantly David had heard that there would be enough work for over a dozen men to rebuild storefronts and patch up Mainstreet again. After some persuasion Jack and Spot had agreed Santa Fe could wait another few months, as they had heard of no work in that city. Jack had waited for Santa Fe for most of his life and a few more months wouldn't kill him. Besides the boys could use the steady income, as all three were trying to pinch every penny they could spare.
"We should find a place to stay." David suggested folding up the newspaper. Jack was starring up at the sky now, letting the sun beat onto his face with a reckless abandon that made Jack's skin also a shade or two darker than Spot's or David's.
"Jack?" David pressed inching to get to find a meal, a bed and work.
"The sun looks the same." Jack spat the words out with a hint of annoyance. David squinted his eyes and looked up at the sun.
"As it always does?" David offered up the information as he blinked quickly and dropped his gaze. How Jack could stare up at the brightness for as long as he did was beyond the levelheaded man of the bunch.
"Maybe brighter?" Jack stated hopefully dropping his gaze finally.
"Without the buildings, we can see how bright it is. In the city, we were always in the shades of the buildings… you know the World building was one of the tallest in the world." David started rambling. David Jacobs often talked about New York City, without the aching that colored the voices of Jack and Spot whenever they spoke of it. David didn't miss the city like his friends. He didn't miss the scent of rotting vegetables in the Lower East Side or the shrill cries of babies. Granted, he did miss the newspapers, the shouting of headlines, the delight of being with his friends and feeling like they were the masters of their own faiths despite their conditions. But David still experienced that thrill. He was after all roaming the West with the great Jack Kelly and the mighty Spot Conlon.
"I once told your sister the sun was different in New Mexico. Bigger…" Jack rambled as he started to lead the way to the entrance of the general store of Silver City.
"Knowing Sarah, she laughed and said it was the same sun…" David smiled sadly. The way Jack and Spot missed the city was the way David missed his family.
"Yeah, but you can't say it ain't bigger Davy." Jack pointed up at the sun. David laughed at Jack's insistency.
"It's the same sun Kelly," Spot growled stopping in front of the two men. Spot Conlon was calmer than he had been in days with a cigarette comfortably sitting in the edge of his mouth. He held out a pack of cigarettes to Jack, who readily took them and instantly pulled one out as well. It had been three days since the boys had run out of their last pack somewhere along the New Mexico border. Spot had already been irritable, missing his cousin's wedding was not something the man was particularly pleased about and he had made no attempt to hide his anxiousness.
"Didn't bother with food, but the presses stop rolling with Kelly and Conlon don't have their cigs." David grumbled as loudly as his stomach. Jack laughed as he lit his cigarette and threw his arm around his friend.
"I found us a place to sleep mouth, how about you show some gratitude." Spot flicked his cigarette.
"I think our pal Dave wants a meal not a place to sleep Conlon." Jack smiled.
"I think our pal Dave wants both." Spot chuckled as David opened his mouth to give his opinion only to find his friends had already said everything he was thinking.
"I got us free lodging." Spot grinned beaming with pride.
"It ain't like that town in Texas where we had to sleep in the wagons?" David almost whined.
"A bed is a bed." Spot pointed out. "But no, I got us a couple of beds above the general store. They take boarders every once in a while, and as long as we work to fix their store front first the shop keeper will let us board for free for two weeks." Spot explained.
"He noticed he'll make that back in cigarette sales?" David quipped. Spot popped his knee up and foot back, hitting David right below the knee on the left leg.
"You ain't going to be a walking mouth much longer…" Spot warned.
"Why don't we find some food?" Jack laughed.
The three men walked towards a small boarding house, where there was sure to be a meal for sale in the middle of the day.
Author's Note: I am so sorry for the delay, when I actually got to writing this afternoon I finished this section fairly quickly. I just got fairly swamped and I apologize for the delay. I am going to try to write ahead over the next few days before I possibly get swamped again. But please let me know what you are all thinking! I have LOVED the feedback I have been getting on my old stories - also part of this series - it great's to know that people still care about all these characters and what is going on in their lives as much as I !