A/N: This idea began when I couldn't find where I'd put my paper one day. I read the funnies online, & one site with a few of the ones I like had Annie still in reruns. I knew the comic strip was different – if you read my friend's "Full House" story "Samantha and Friends" you might agree with one man's opinion that it's sort of like the Iliad, a grand adventure rather than a nice family story. That got me re-watching the play on Youtube when I was bored and thinking: How does the comic strip even fit when everything else says it's non-canon? Especially as it violates some known laws of physics like her aging once every 4 years since she's born Feb. 29.
Then, it hit me. One of the girls could *easily* write the stories. I hope you like my idea on who, though if you have a better idea you could easily be right.
I have a two-part story which will stay in the Movies Annie section, "Just Thinking About Tomorrow," with plenty of interesting flashbacks to the orphanage in a 1939 interview about the writing, inspirations, and success of the comic strip plus a bit about wher eht eorphans are as of '39. I make Miss Hannigan a little scarier in it than here, but not physically abusive, so you don't have to worry about that. Certain things I can't/won't do to characters. The '99 movie (based on the musical, not the comics) is a good comparison. Speaking of movies…
The 1982 film flips Kate (7, very shy, rarely speaks in the play, surrogate mother in the movie) and July (13, quiet but mothering in the play, about 10 and rarely speaks in the movie), and the 1999 movie flips them back. I either explain the confusion or confuse things more, I don't know which. :-) (I know from Wikipedia there was a novel, but I would never do to characters what that novel does with the mistreatment from what the article says. Plus, if any were left as babies they develop too well emotionally for it to have been horrid – I've seen mild Attachment Disorder. So, the novel can be chalked up to someone's nightmares. Besides, it's based on the comic strip anyway, and I say isn't canon. It and the one for the '82 film are basically an American Oliver Twist, and I think you'll like my idea for which former orphan writes those.)
Its not this story's focus, so it doesn't have as much on Miss Hannigan's drinking and verbal attacks here – that's for "Just Thinking About Tomorrow." Especially at first, she might be like Carla on "Cheers" (you'll see in the other story she doesn't treat staff well, either - who knows, maybe someone would have gotten that with my clues. I have numerous other fics, you'll see in my profile, on above, you might see it different, I did make Annie a bit less mellow about it than I had her. I hope as this moves to the Plays section to stay that you like it.
To the Rescue
Grace Warbucks walked through the stately mansion of her husband, Oliver Warbucks, and pondered life as a mother – a life she'd only dreamed of till last December. She loved the idea; she'd fallen in love with that girl Annie right away. She smiled as Molly, Annie's… what was that term the social worker had used? Bonded sister? Well, Molly ran in the door with a newly colored picture.
"Wow," Grace said merrily before Molly could get up to her. "What's this you drew?"
"It's Mary's husband's coat!" Molly, now seven, said of the picture. It included a man with a fabulous coat – a coat which Molly had clearly spent a great deal of time on, using every crayon she could find.
Annie, eleven, walked up to her. "Wow, look at that coat. Leaping lizings, does it have a lot of color! But, I think you're a little confused," Annie said, trying to let Molly down gently.
"No, Joseph's daddy gave him this coat. It was as special as your locket. I told Miss Baird about it," Molly explained.
Grace knew which locket Molly meant. All the girls in the orphanage they had lived at till late last year knew the story. Annie's parents had left a locket with her – well, half of it. They had had the other half. For 11 years, Annie had waited, hoping they would return for her. But, they'd died in a fire soon after they'd left her at the orphanage.
Grace knelt down to Molly's level, "What Annie means is that there's more than one Josephs in the Bible. The one you're thinking of is Jesus' mom's husband. The Old Testament one is the one you're learning about in Vacation Bible School this week."
"Yeah, she's right." Annie was close to being able to call Grace "Mom" consistently, but it was still a little tricky dealing with the loss of her parents. It was as if they had died not when they had eleven years earlier, but when Annie had learned of their deaths.
Grace put an arm around Annie. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm just thinking, that's all. You know, why didn't anyone ever try to adopt me, even if they didn't know my parents were dead?"
"That's easy," Molly spouted.
Annie spoke solemnly to Molly. "I remember when you came to the orphanage just a couple years ago. It's hard for you to understand, but… I just don't know how you can know that."
"Will you come Friday, at least? They want us to bring our whole family!" Molly said happily.
Grace was happy to see Annie smile and agree quickly. "Good," Grace said, "because your Daddy and I wouldn't miss it for the world. Molly and the other kids at VBS are going to be part of this big presentation!"
"We're learning songs and everything," Molly exclaimed.
"Good. I'm really glad you're having fun," Annie said happily. She had been invited, but she wanted to do other things, since some of her old friends were there this week.
Grace and her wealthy husband, Oliver Warbucks, discussed the situation that night, once all the girls – the former orphans - were tucked in bed. While they had adopted Annie and Molly, others had been found to adopt the others. Now, all the girls were having sleepovers. The mansion was so big, they could do that while the adoptive parents were in yet other guest rooms.
"It sounds like she bounced back after that, then," Oliver said simply as Grace told him about the discussion they'd had when Molly had brought the picture home.
"It does. She's still been her usual merry, chipper self, so I'm not too worried. I just thought…" Grace said, trailing off as she observed something in the library near the girls' room. "What's this?" she asked nobody in particular.
Oliver raised his eyebrows. "It's… well drawn. An adventure, it appears."
"The drawings are good, but this is Annie's handwriting, isn't it?"
"I can't tell. it looks like some might be, but some looks different. Also, none of the girls were allowed to go to school – they worked every single day," Oliver reminded Grace.
"I understand. None of them has great handwriting yet, that's true. But, this girl… well, the name is Annie, so it seems like it's her… she seems all alone."
Oliver sighed. "True."
"Should we ask her? I mean, some of this…" Grace trailed off again, lost in thought. "A rich socialite married to you?" She wasn't sure if she should be sad, worried, or amused.
"It's definitely a different outline than our familiy's. No mention of Molly," Oliver pointed out.
"At least not here… could there be others?" Oliver wasn't sure. "Oliver, I know you're busy but, we should both talk to her about this. It could be a cry for help."
"Or, it could be a simple adventure like Don Quixote or Mallory's King Arthur legends. Even Pilgrim's Progress was written in prison." He nodded sadly at Grace's look at she stared at him. "Yes, I know, normally you think of boys having these adventures like what's shown here. But, let's not forget that Annie – if it is hers – may have a very vivid imagination. Remember how I started out penniless? The greatest writer begins with something simple."
Grace chuckled despite her worries. "You still feel uncomfortable at times, but you really do dote on our girls, don't you?"
"Grace, I want to see them excel beyond their wildest dreams," Oliver said. He had done the same thing, after all.
"Okay. And, if we have a superstar writer in our midst, I'll be elated. Just agree with me that we're to talk with Annie about this – calmly, not giving away any worry – just to make sure those dreams don't have any nightmares in them," Grace persisted.
"Of course. I'm not going to show this to a publisher right now," he said, emphasizing the word "right. "But, it's good."
Grace finally took the time to study it. "It is good. Well written for a child. I can see Annie having that talent."
The next morning went swiftly. The girls had been up half the night playing fun games. One of them was to put the words who, what, where, when, why, and how on a small sheet of paper fold it in six, and pass it around the room, each unfolding only part and filling it in. Before going off the VBS, Molly showed them some of the funniest ones, which Annie helped her to read.
"President Roosevelt batted third in the Guggenheim in 1776 because he was hungry by singing 'Yankee Doodle,'" Daddy Warbucks repeated, laughing more with each word. "There are some very funny ones here," he admitted as one of his servants came to take Molly and Kate – who had finally agreed to go if Molly stayed with her at all times, given how shy Kate was – to the limo waiting to take them to the church which was holding the VBS.
Annie saw them heading toward the door. "have fun. What name are you using?" she asked Kate.
"Kate, silly," the girl said.
"Good job," Annie heard the older Kate – who had often gone by July - say. July and Kate were being adopted together, while the other three have been adopted individually, as that would be best for them – Tessie's adopted family had an older brother, which would help Tessie's anxiety to be eased even more, as there would be a nice boy watching out for her. The older Kate had been encouraging the younger Kate's response when asked a question – the younger one was still very shy.
"Does she still like to do the different names thing?" Annie asked as July and her new dad walked up to her the mother was volunteering at the church to further help Kate since the girl had decided to go.
July nodded. "Sometimes. I guess since one of the workers named me Kathy, it does make sense. Miss Hannigan just called me July all the time because I was dropped off then," she said with a great deal of weariness at the thought. And, she was born in July. She thinks it's funny. I don't know why she does it, though," July stated. She'd been July for quite a while, but to the others she was Kate often enough that she wouldn't mind switching to Kate full time.
Her new dad put an arm around her. "You don't have to worry about figuring things like that out now," he assured her. "We've got it under control. If it's a problem, we'll find help." She had been a surrogate mother for long enough that she'd gotten used to worrying about little things. And yet, Kate had needed an older sibling to help her, and July seemed to thrive better with a purpose like helping someone.
So, if they switched names, it made sense, and now was the time to decide.
July nodded. "Sure. I guess I do like going by Katherine." They chuckled as they walked away.
Grace walked up to Oliver while the others were talking and whispered. "I looked at some of them. A few things I wondered about that some of the girls wrote, but it had to be different ones a few times."
"Let's not make too much of this too fast," Oliver reminded her as Annie walked into the parlor.
"I'm surprised you're still here, Daddy. They said you and Momma Grace wanted to ask me something," Annie said as she walked confidently over to them.
"Yes. We saw some stories you had written. Or, at least they were left out," Oliver said as he pulled out the ones they had seen from a small drawer in the table beside him. "I must say, it sounds like an incredible adventure on here."
"Thank you, Daddy," Annie said evenly.
Grace spoke next. "Daddy and I were just curious." She almost said "concerned" but stopped herself. "The girl here, well, she seems pretty young, and she doesn't have a home."
"Yeah. I know. She just wants to help people. She fights crime and stuff."
Oliver knew Grace was having trouble articulating all of what she felt – and feared. He decided to be direct in asking one question which might show Annie's thought processes the most. "Some of these bad guys… do they represent Miss Hannigan?"
Grace was glad for one thing. Annie's nod wasn't a tearful one. Annie's "mm-hmm" was kind of more matter-of-fact, though they did detect some… not anxiety, but certainly sadness at the thought of Miss Hannigan.
Grace decided Annie probably wasn't overly upset – indeed, this was the Annie that Grace had come to love, the confident, determined little girl. However, it made her curious.
"You know, we've never really talked about her in depth. I guess we've just been so happy you're here, and I know you are, too. We didn't want you to feel like you had to talk about it. But, if you feel comfortable talking about her, or what it was like at the orphanage, Molly and Kate are off at VBS for a couple hours, they'll have fun playing when they get home, or we can even leave instructions to take them to lunch when they're picked up. The older girls are with their parents. Let's go for some ice cream and talk about it," Grace said happily, at least some relief clearly on her face.
"Sure, I don't mind." Annie didn't like discussing it, but she was rather blunt and honest about things. She didn't feel the need to hide anything, either.
Daddy Warbucks contemplated the situation – and some of the story ideas he'd seen – as they rode to his favorite ice cream shop. The Great Depression had hit America hard over the last four and a half years. He felt badly for those who couldn't work. He'd begun to grow more compassionate since they'd adopted Annie and Molly, in fact.
But he would still have ice cream whenever he liked. And, so would Annie and Molly.
A bit later, the conversation finally got around to the orphanage as Annie took the last bite of ice cream, complete with cone. "So, she just lost all her staff by the middle of 1931," Oliver said, having pieced the dates together by some clues in what Annie was talking about.
"Mm-hmm. She was never nice like you two. But, till that… did you say the stock market?" He nodded. Annie continued. "Till the stock market crash, she didn't live there full time. Though when she did come, she yelled at the staff just as much as us, and expected them to make sure everything was clean. And, she wanted us to 'make the floors shine like the Chrysler Building,' she always said," Annie said, clearly showing a little frustration as she sighed heavily. "Well, once it was built. She used other places before."
"An absentee landlord," Grace muttered as she slowly licked the last of her ice cream. It wasn't totally like that, but Miss Hannigan hadn't stayed there all the time, either.
The comment flew over Annie's head. "She talked about her family and stuff just as much as she taught us stuff like never telling a lie. She had some cousins in Boston. They don't run orphanages and things, though. I guess they do things like wait on people in bars and stuff. Why would someone want to do that?'
"People need jobs," Grace reminded her.
"It sounds like what she'd be best at," Oliver said with disdain.
"Yeah, if someone would hire a waitress who was mean to customers," Annie quipped.
"So, she was snippy, she made a rude remark here and there, but she seemed to care, right? Or not?" Grace said, trying to draw information out of her.
By this time, Annie was away from the stories of earlier years, though, as stories after the Depression were what she wanted to share about as she leaned on Daddy Warbucks, who put an arm around her and squeezed her. "Yeah, that's when she moved in for good, after that stock market thing. People had to start leaving. That started till a year or two later when she took over everything." When asked how she treated the staff, Annie explained. "She really wanted the staff to make sure everything was clean. She yelled at them when they didn't. Then she started to make us clean everything instead."
Grace understood now. To conserve money, staff had been laid off. This meant making the girls do more and more. When she laid off the cook, they just ate mush. Times like that would have been hard for even a nice person, but it made it doubly hard on the girls when Miss Hannigan was snippy and at times nasty to begin with. "She knew how to teach important lessons, but she was bad at a lot of little things," Grace said. "Would that be fair?"
"Yeah. None of us was in school. All we did was keep the place clean and sew stuff," Annie said with fatigue and frustration in her voice. "Every single day. She wanted us to stay busy. And, if we caused really big problems, she'd lock us in the basement."
As she spoke, Grace and Oliver were relieved that it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Sure, Miss Hannigan had been nasty and very cutting with her comments. In an era before anyone understood post-traumatic stress disorder, except by the World War One term "shell shock," it didn't seem like Annie was horribly traumatized, at least.
Still, she had clearly been worn down, from the tone in her voice. Oliver and Grace were concerned about one thing. So, he asked: "What about her drinking?"
"We never saw her. Oh, sure,, she did it around us a bit by the end, Molly said – when Miss Hannigan said it was medicine – that she must be really sick. She didn't yell at her but she did yello 'Boo!' It was funny, really. It was probably in that one cabinet we were never to open; she said there were monsters in there, horrible monsters. July said she thought she saw her get in it, and it made sense. She knew if she saw her a certain way it meant she'd be the mom for a while. I remember one time, soon before I came to live with you two, we had this big fight after Molly woke up with a nightmare. I sang her to sleep or something, then I decided I was running away to find my parents – that's when I got Sandy. The others said Miss Hannigan would catch me. But, we never worried about her overhearing us like that. If she did, she'd just figure we were awake and she'd say, 'Okay, you want it to be daytime, start cleaning! Get to work!' But we almost never saw her if she'd been drinking a lot."
"She was blacked out. Or, at least ignoring things," Grace said. She wondered if the monsters were things Miss Hannigan actually saw.
Oliver considered that this was why July seemed so mothering sometimes, and why Kate and July were being adopted together, with the idea that they would thrive better with individual attention and help.
As they began to leave, Grace muttered to Oliver, "In a way, Miss Hannigan had standards. Even if she acted like she didn't care, maybe she cared more about the girls than it seemed."
Of course, that wasn't a lot, considering how mean she'd sounded, or how she'd forced them to clean all the time and didn't let them go to school. Grace knew that the girls were rather well-adjusted considering all they had been through. Being locked in the cellar, or insulted or treated with such disdain, was certainly extreme, though nothing like the brutality of something like an Oliver Twist. They were glad the stories Annie had told weren't that bad, and that not even the stories they'd seen written down approached that level.
Annie's next comment, after overhearing them, drove home that point. "She really was mean and nasty sometimes. Maybe she cared a little. But, I'd never want to go back."
"You know we'll never send you back there, right?" Oliver asked with his arm around her.
"Yeah," Annie said with a little hesitation.
"Do you worry about it sometimes?" Grace asked. Annie nodded. "Is that why Daddy Warbucks has his own evil step-mother type of wife in your story?"
"Yes. That was my idea," Annie said with certainty as they got into the limo.
Oliver and Grace shared a glance. "So, do you mean someone else gave you ideas?" They had. "Are there more stories like that?" Daddy Warbucks asked finally. "I'd be curious to see them. Whoever did these is a talented writer."
"Sure, I can show you. Some of the others brought some ideas," Annie said. "It was kind of a surprise. We would have shown you on Father's Day a couple days ago, but there was rain at an earlier game so the Yankees played that double header you took us and our new families all to."
A couple of the older girls, Pepper and Duffy, saw Annie showing the Warbucks when they got home. "What are you doing with that?" Pepper asked fussily. She was bothered by the fact she didn't have control of the situation, though Duffy tried silently to remind her to stay calm.
"Daddy Warbucks said he might know someone who can publish these," Annie said defensively.
Grace began to wonder, as Pepper began complaining, if it was all Annie's ideas – or someone else's.
"Oh, my goodness," another girl, Tessie, exclaimed. "But, what if someone reads it and thinks it's awful!"
"I'm sure they won't say that," Duffy said with confidence. She was always very friendly.
"They don't have eyeballs!"
"That's just a unique style," Duffy corrected Pepper as she got a little louder, too. "It was okay when we did them back there." She knew – but didn't say – that athe family she'd been placed with, thanks to them being friends of Oliver War bucks, were into media and knew publishers. So, publication would be a done deal, as these were the same people Oliver would contact.
July and her dad were back by now. "Sure, people don't say things like that normally, not like Miss Hannigan would," July said in a reassuring manner. "If they don't like it, they can be given eyeballs. It's that simple."
As they discussed the stories, Molly and Kate came running up to them after having stopped for lunch. Kate said nothing, preferring to jump into her new father's arms, but Molly showed Annie her picture. "Look. Today Joseph got a slave's coat. He's going to get more new coats tomorrow and the next day."
"That's a nice picture," Annie told her cheerfully.
"You sure you don't want to come tomorrow?"
"I said we'll be there Friday, okay, Molly?" Annie asked.
Truth be told, she probably would have relented if Molly had really begged her, but Molly simply acquiesced. Annie's thoughts were elsewhere.
She studied one of the papers Molly had brought home as the others dispersed. This time looked at the story. "So, this guy got sold into slavery by his brothers because they didn't' like him telling them what he dreamed?" She sighed. "It felt like we were slaves at the orphanage."
Oliver Warbucks let Annie snuggle in his lap; seeing no room, Molly got into Grace's. "I know. Miss Hannigan really was cruel," he said. She hadn't been as bad as she could have been. But, that didn't matter to Annie at her age. What mattered was that she had been mean.
"I just wish there was a point to all of what happened. I mean, why couldn't they have just found someone to adopt me ten years ago? Or put me in a nicer place at least?" Annie complained as she got off his lap and pranced around a little.
"Because you're like Joseph. That's what the teacher said when I told her today."
"Well, yeah, of course. We were slaves there," Annie said, bringing her tone down precipitously, knowing that Molly needed her to be calm. Sure, it wasn't as necessary now – that's why she was willing to express herself the way she did. But, she still felt a need to be a big sister, too.
Molly wasn't sure what to say. So, she just started singing, though in the little kid way those her age often did, where sometimes she didn't think about rhymes or even rhythm. "The sun'll come out tomorrow. But if you don't come at least you'll be there Friday." The Warbucks, Annie included, smiled at the silly song, and went on to other things.
By Friday, the Warbucks had become used to the idea that Annie – and some of the others – had developed the stories that they had. And, it wasn't as bad as it could be. Sure, they might seem dark, but as long as the girls were coping well enough. Although, Grace still worried a little.
Oliver was busy checking his suit when Grace came into the room. "Molly can't wait for this, can she, Grace?" he asked.
"She's been up since around six memorizing a few lines to a song," Grace said.
"Our girls have some real talent." He looked in the mirror. "All I thought about was myself before they came into my life. Now I have you, and them, and so much more I never could have dreamed of," he said as he turned and they kissed.
Giggles emerged from the girls peeking in, but the couple was too busy embracing.
"I have never been happier in my life," Oliver concluded.
"Go tell the driver we're on our way," Grace told them. They left. "You were right. It sounds like if anything is connected to what they went through, they use it to cope – whichever one does – but it's not a big problem."
"You were right, too. I'm glad you wanted to make sure. All this time, I figured people just got through things without realizing how; or how difficult it might be. I'm glad we've had some talks with Annie about the orphanage; which I've talked to the church about. A publisher friend told me yesterday he liked the stories. He thinks maybe a comic strip might be in the works if we meet with a professional to iron some things out. And, all the profits – with some of my money if need be – will go in to re-open the orphanage with proper staff, who truly care for the children. And, with money left over, we can help more children throughout the country."
Grace had been so excited to hear that when Oliver had told her last night. "July said she might not mind working there. I guess she was kind of a mother to some of them; they all did their part to help each other," she said.
"You're right. And, if Annie keeps worrying, wondering why she was there… well, who knows," Oliver said with a laugh. "It's an adventure – all of our lives are, I guess."
Grace agreed. "The important part is, our girls – and I hope all of the girls – know they're loved, and that wandering around trying to help people is just fun and games." She – and most people in the '30s – didn't know about coping mechanisms, or how one way someone with post-traumatic stress might cope was to create things they have control over so they can mentally transfer any flashback into something that's not as bad. However, she could tell that – at least in this instance – it was being done in a healthy way.
Once Molly and Kate had gone, Annie went with the Warbucks to do a few errands. Then, several families met them at the church at the appointed time.
A youth pastor began before the children came up to perform a few songs they'd learned. "For some of your children, it's been all week, for some just a day or two, but for all of you, you've been seeing fun pictures, hearing fun songs, and listening to your children tell you about what they've learned…"
Annie was lost in thought until Molly, Kate, and the others came up on stage to sing. Kate had been put beside Molly since she was very shy. As expected, Kate didn't sing, but she actually did the motions for a couple songs. Of course, she did them by looking directly at Molly and copying her, without even looking at the audience.
"It's an old ballet teacher's trick," Oliver and Grace heard one of the parents whisper to another. "You put the kid who maybe can do a little next to the kid who's really sure of themselves and does it all, so you get at least a few more participating." They knew some kids would freeze or just forget what to do or even wave at the audience, but at least some would participate.
Molly, at least, waited to wave out to the audience until after they were done singing. Then, she waved a little before they were dismissed. She rushed back to where the Warbucks were seated.
"Did you hear that, Annie? That's what I was talking about!" Molly asked when she came with the other children as they sat in the audience with their parents or – if no family was there – with friends.
"I was watching you and Kate," Annie admitted to Molly, "but I'll listen now." She had somewhat listened to the words, but she was still lost in thought about the orphanage.
The youth pastor returned and spoke. "We've been praying hard and long for weeks for everyone who would be here today. What was the purpose of this week, of our songs, of our drawings, of the whole story of Joseph? It's the story of God, and how He brings us through things. Of how sometimes we don't know why things happen the way they do. But, think about it. What if Joseph hadn't been sold into slavery. What if he'd stayed in Canaan till there was a famine, and hadn't gone down to Egypt, become a slave, been thrown into the dungeon…"
Annie couldn't believe it. Was this how God worked? Because somehow, she felt like the pastor was talking right to her. Not in a mean or condescending way, either. No, it was as if God were speaking to her in tender, loving manner she couldn't describe, answering the question she'd had on her heart since learning her parents had been dead for years.
"What if he wasn't there to tell Pharaoh what his dream meant? What if the butler didn't know Joseph could interpret dreams – he wouldn't have known had Joseph still been in charge of Pottifer's household. Millions of people would have died in the famine, because they wouldn't have had the food saved up…"
Indeed, Annie thought, what if? What if she hadn't been in that horrible home? What if she hadn't felt compelled to run away, only to be recaptured and threatened horribly right when Grace got there, before coming to live with the Warbucks'? And, what if she'd known her parents were dead and not made that broadcast, so Miss Hannigan wouldn't have been caught…
"Genesis 50:20 says, 'But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive,'" the minister was continuing.
Saved alive, indeed, Annie thought to herself as tears welled up in her eyes. If she hadn't stayed there so long, would the others still be getting mistreated while she was in some nice home somewhere? One of the girls had only come in the last couple years, when Miss Hannigan had gotten bad. Would Miss Hannigan have gotten even worse? Would they be getting punished much more severely than ever? And would Molly – whom Annie had bonded with so much – be even deeper in despair, frightened even more each night? Would something even more horrible happen to some of them? She squeezed Molly tightly for a moment and whispered "I love you" as the minister went on.
"We each are given the chance to have a coat – Revelation talks of the saints being clothed in pure white garments…"
Annie nodded slowly. It wasn't about just sitting on clouds playing harps. She realized now the coats – just like Joseph's – were meant to represent something, as well as to be real. They represented what the minister was talking about now.
"If you would like to have your sins taken away, it's as easy as ABC – Admit, Believe, and Call. The a stands for Admit you're a sinner. We've all done, said, or thought bad things. That means we fall short of God's perfect glory and can't reach Heaven on our own, with our own works clothing us, so to speak…"
Annie nodded slowly. Yes, while Miss Hannigan had been mean, Annie knew she'd been mean herself, too. She'd talked back, been rude or disobedient or other things she knew were wrong.
"B is for Believe. Believe that Jesus Christ is God in flesh, and that He died to take the punishment for your sins, and then he rose again on the third day. He is alive in Heaven today, waiting to put that coat on you right now, to clothe you in His righteousness because you can't stand before Him clothed in your own.."
Annie nodded slowly, hanging on every word. Yes, she believed it was true. Instead of hanging on to the thought someone might be alive, she could believe on someone who had come back alive and was alive forevermore.
"And, C is for Call. Call on Jesus Christ to save you from your sins, and to come into your heart and life and make you new inside. He will do it. For whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Let's bow our heads and close our eyes. If anyone would like to call on Jesus today…"
Annie didn't need to wait for the end of that sentence. She rushed forward, part of a multitude of people, including all the children who had been at the orphanage; a couple had gone forward before but weren't quite sure of the security of their salvation, given what they'd been through. They'd had a Gideon's Bible which was old, but while it had helped July with some things, she hadn't really understood any such decision till she'd gotten out, with nobody to explain.
Annie prayed sincerely, calling on Jesus and trusting Jesus to save her from her sins and make her new inside. She didn't notice her new parents doing the same thing; she was too focused on making sure she was right with God.
At the end of the service, the minister spoke excitedly of how all who had made that choice were now clothed in God's righteousness. They'd still have their flesh nature, so they'd still sin and lose blessings and rewards, but they could never lose that coat of Jesus' righteousness, nor could they remove it themselves. Their relationship with Jesus was secure. And, as they drew closer to God and prayed and followed His Word more and more, they would find themselves sinning less.
Afterward, the Warbucks were saying goodbye to the others at the Warbucks mansion.
"I feel so much better now." Pepper turned to Annie. "You know, it's funny. I don't know if you were thinking about Joseph and his coat the way you were with that locket. But… what got me was when the minister talked about that first lesson, and Joseph's brothers." She got a little choked up. "The truth is I was always jealous of you. You had hope of finding your parents. I didn't. I'm glad I have a true Heavenly Father now."
Annie smiled. "It's okay." Annie and Pepper hugged.
"I started those stories, and it was kind of annoying, I'll admit, when you didn't mind me making you the title character," Pepper said.
Grace, having overheard, was taken aback. "Wait, so you…? But Annie said…"
"Okay, let me explain," Annie said as the other girls gathered around her, knowing they were talking about the stories. She didn't feel sad sharing this; she was entering that zone where any sad or scary thoughts could just be put into the story, so to speak. "Pepper started the stories before we even got out. Long before, in some cases."
"They were originally just to make fun of her," Pepper admitted.
"I tried to tone them down some," Duffy said, "and added a few ideas. Tessie even drew some pictures-"
"Don't tell them that," Tessie exclaimed, worried about what people would say. "Oh my goodness!"
Her new mom put an arm around her. "Tessie, honey, don't worry. Your drawings are wonderful. They can easily be the basis for the way the pros they found design a comic strip."
Herolder brother added, "Yeah, they'll have their own special quality now. Just like you."
Guessing what Grace meant, Annie went back to what she thought she'd been trying to say. "Once we got out, I remembered what Pepper had done. And, I told her if she really wanted to write those stories down, she should use you, Daddy. But, I didn't want her using the real you. I worry a little bit, sometimes. And, I thought, why not give you a wife? And a bodygard and other people who could help you or just be people I met that helped me. That is, the comic strip me."
"So, since we were getting together for a couple weeks," July continued, "we put together what we had. That's why they were finally out there."
Duffy laughed. "My parents thought Pepper and I were conspiring on some big surprise – they thought maybe we had worked on a secret code or something – so copies are actually already at the publisher's, at least the first few weks."
"And, you weren't sure how to tell us about them – or maybe you were too worried," Oliver said to Annie, casting a quickly glance at Tessie when he spoke of being worried.
"No," Kate said with her hands behind her back in a very low voice. "I did."
"See, Kate heard us talking about wanting to. She's having some trouble – our mom and dad are working with her on that. It's one reason it's good for me to be there; she has a big sister, but I don't have to feel like I have to do everything." July admitted she sometimes did, but she was getting better. "Kate got hold of those stories and wanted to keep them for herself. We told her they were for everyone. She kind of wanted to listen, but was a bit afraid of the reaction. So, just before she went to bed, I saw her sneak out and put them wherever you found them. Didn't you?" Kate nodded as July hugged her.
"And, since I want to be a singer, and my new family is helping with that…" Duffy chuckled. 'They thought I was putting together this big Father's Day surprise with you, so I had to spill the beans early for them."
"But, hey, this means we've got a publisher, and if we hurry, we can start it Sunday, August 5, 1934 – less than two months away," Duffy's newly adoptive father said proudly.
"So, it's a little of all of us, although us older girls do the stories themselves," Annie said.
"Well, thank you, that was a delightful mystery," Oliver said as they finished saying goodbye to the others.
"Is it okay if you're Kate now?" the younger Kate asked.
The older sister was stunned, as were her parents. "You said that a few times – you're really sure?" their soon-to-be adoptive mom asked.
When she nodded, July had a solution. "How about I go by Katherine on the birth certificate. Then I don't have to go by the name Miss Hannigan gave me. But, I don't have to go by the other name I got at the orphanage. And, you can still be Kate.
"You learned a lot from that worker before she had to leave 'cause of the Depression," Annie said with a smile as they hugged.
"I know. I tried. But, now my name can be unique. And, if I get a nickname at school," she said as they ended the motherly embrace, "I might just go by that anyway."
"Sounds like a good solution," the soon-to-be dad agreed as that family left.
"I'm just glad nobody worries about some of those things actually happening, wandering the streets alone like that, with all those criminals. When I think about it, Annie, you were being truthful when you said the bad guys represent Miss Hannigan. We just didn't realize each one of you was a little different in putting your type of bad guy into it," Grace said.
Molly agreed, too. "Kate and I tried to put monsters in there, but the others said 'no.'"
Annie put an arm around her. "Or July-Kate and you do. Pepper turns those into real bad guys."
"You just think of monsters because at your ages, that's what you understand better," Oliver explained. Going back to the service, he said, "Wasn't that a wonderful service?"
"I'll say. God's love is so amazing, no matter what we do He wants to make us new and put His goodness on us. I kept thinking as he talked… I get it now," Annie said in awe. "If all that hadn't happened… I don't know what would have happened to you," she said as she hugged Molly tightly and sniffled.
"I told you," Molly replied.
"Yeah, you did."
"And, for me, too – I see how the things I do here on Earth, they're so unimportant compared to my position in Heaven. I'm so glad I have that secure now," Oliver said with satisfaction
Annie became very quiet all of a sudden. "What is it, Annie?" Grace asked tenderly.
"Miss Hannigan needs to know how God can make her new inside, too," Annie said lowly. "He can do it, I know, if she just lets Him!"
"Now that is the super-confident leader named Annie we have all grown to love," Oliver said. He could tell she had lots of determination in her voice.
"I don't think there's a way to visit where she is," Grace admitted. Though she'd never been physically abusive, she'd still gone away for quite a few things in addition to the conspiracy with her borther, Rooster. "She needs to be the one to trust Jesus – as much as you'd like to make that decision for her. Not just so she can be a changed person but so she can go to Heaven, too."
"We can write her, right?" Annie asked. Before they could say anything, she exclaimed: "Let's do it."
"Sure. I'll have my servants call everyone so we can get all you girls together again right away, so you can write to tell her what Jesus has done for you – and what He can do for her," Oliver declared. "And, pray really hard for her. I don't know if she'll listen," he added worriedly.
"That's okay. I know all those fun rescue stories we came up with aren't enough. We need God to rescue peoples' souls. But, I'll be sure to keep praying! Because now I know what faith really is," Annie declared before she began singing, with the others joining in. "The sun'll come out tomorrow…"
Endnote: I hope you enjoyed it. And if you want to talk to someone about salvation or have questions about God or something, you can go to Godlife dot com slash Gospel