2. Sarah
Saturday, June 6, 1903
The third-floor suite was a definite upgrade from the cramped tenement that offered hardly more than a view of a brick wall. Even with the hustle and bustle that echoed up from the street below, it had been surprisingly easy to get used to these new accommodations. Some mornings, Sarah still woke up, marveling at just how much air a bedroom could have when it was her own private chamber. Within the first week, she had forgotten entirely what it had been like to share her space with her two brothers. Within the first month, she had fully adapted to her new status. So what if she was considered an old maid by some standards? She was particular and was glad that her family supported her by allowing her to have final say over exactly what she did with her life. For the time being, Sarah was beyond content to work on behalf of the the Children's Aid Society. She didn't see it as a socialite's folly, like so many would be quick to assume. No, there had been a time, several years back, when boys and girls so very much like the kids she worked with now, had changed the course of history. Sarah had been right in the thick of things then and she did everything she could to do her part since. The difference was that now, she wasn't like the rest of these unfortunates. She got out. By stupid, tragic, sheer luck, she got out. The whole family did.
Sarah lay in bed for a few extra glorious moments, enjoying the warm sunshine dancing through the open curtains. There was a breeze blowing from the Hudson, pleasant despite its promise of heating up by the afternoon. Some days Sarah was convinced she could smell the weather changing and today was no different. By mid-afternoon, the heat would be stifling, she knew. Perhaps a cotton dress would do. At least she wouldn't have to leave the building today, if she didn't want to. She strained her ears and could tell that Esther was in the parlor, most likely mending clothes already. Old habits died hard for their mother, for she still insisted on taking her husband's old clothes to restitch them to fit Les. Les was probably out selling newspapers, still just young enough to blend in with other newsboys even if his recent growth spurt was doing him few favors. At fourteen, he shot up overnight, his whole body stretching to become gangly and awkward in ways that nobody was prepared for. Their older brother David was Les' only consolation - he had been gangly and unsteady on his feet at around the same age as well, but now he had grown into his frame rather handsomely. David was guaranteed to be downstairs, judging by the sound of the bell tinkling every time the clinic door opened down on street level. The clear, silvery sound cut right through the clamor of busy thoroughfare, telling Sarah that David was already elbow-deep in appointments, despite it being Shabbat. David did always seem to care more about his patients rather than the strict rules of their father's traditions.
By the time she had dressed, pinned up her hair and joined her mother in the other room for a bite of late breakfast, it was nearing the hour to bring David his lunch. The tray was all arranged in the kitchen, complete with a plate of chicken, potatoes and sauerkraut, a piping mug of black coffee, and a slice of Esther's chocolate cake. The maid was just about to put the whole lot into the dumbwaiter when Sarah entered the kitchen.
"I'll serve him today, Gertie" she helped the maid with the mechanism, even though she really wasn't expected to do this by anyone other than herself. It wasn't right for a lady of Sarah's status to be doing such menial chores. Gertrude was always quick to remind the Jacobs women about the fact that their actions we sometimes incorrect for the tier of polite society they now occupied.
Downstairs, Sarah unlocked the decorative wood paneling on the door of the dumbwaiter. It was designed to come down right into the office of the head physician. David insisted that he didn't feel right claiming this room, seeing as he was still so young, despite the fact that it was his name on the door out front. Still, it was the only place he could ever get some privacy to eat, so at least Sarah was able to coax him to sit behind the heavy mahogany desk once a day with expertly crafted meals. He was getting better about it too - today he walked right in and plopped into the chair before picking up a slice of fresh rye bread and munching on it absently.
"You know…" Sarah cleared her throat and took a seat opposite her brother in a chair where patients were supposed to sit. "...if you want people to take you seriously and not make you run around like some nursemaid in your own practice, you really should consider using this space more often than just as a glorified dining room." She laced her fingers, elbows resting on the carved wood arms of the chair.
"Not today, Sar...just…" David exhaled sharply through his nose, tossed the bread back on the tray and pulled his chair in closer to the desk to tuck into the potatoes before they got cold. "...not today, alright?"
"What's today?" Sarah knit her eyebrows, her gaze snapping back to her brother from wandering around the room. It was a handsome office indeed - wood paneling, a built-in bookshelf taking up the entire wall, filled with all sorts of medical texts and paperwork, the painting of their family that now hung behind David where the portrait of a pretty white-haired girl had hung until very recently. So, he finally decided to replace that painting after all. "Oh…" it dawned on her when her train of thought went down that path. She had genuinely forgotten the significance of the date.
"Look, I know what you're gonna say…" David meticulously sliced up the chicken and popped a bite into his mouth
"...it's been three years, David." Sarah cocked her head to the side, watching his face for a reaction "three years. It's got the best end of the deal here so just accept it for what it is and finally let yourself move on"
"I'm too busy, Sar, you know that" He brushed her off before taking another bite "I've got three patients scheduled for this afternoon, inventory that needs cataloguing, a kid that came in off the street needing stitches and Mush isn't scheduled to come in until an hour from now." He was eating quickly, practically scarfing down his meal so he could get back to work as quickly as possible.
There was a time that David hated the clinic. It was work and it brought much better money than any other job David had picked up back in the day, but it came with the expectation that he had to earn his place in it by marrying the doctor's daughter. Sarah remembered it clearly, all those times David nearly quit the clinic because something about the arrangement rubbed him the wrong way. The girl had been a decent match, pretty enough with a sharp wit like David's and an entire medical practice as her dowry. But it had been pre-arranged, so David resented the whole situation. Even now, years later, Sarah knew that it rubbed him the wrong way just thinking about all that mess.
"All I'm saying is that it's about time you move on. The clinic won't burn down if you step away for an afternoon and enjoy yourself in the company of someone who might actually care about you?" Sarah leaned back in her chair and narrowed her eyes, studying her brother's mannerisms to try and get a read on him
"I don't have time" David repeated and pierced a potato and a piece of chicken with his fork in one smooth movement. Ever since that unfortunate turn of events three years back, Sarah had taken it upon herself to ensure her big brother's romantic life. David didn't like that, but he wasn't given much of a choice, so he was left pushing her ideas aside under the guise of being too busy with his new practice "And even if I did, I don't have anyone to do that with"
Sarah rolled her eyes at how difficult David was being and shrugged "What about Katherine?" she threw out the first name that popped into her head.
"What about her?" David looked up from his meal, his eyes darkening in response to his sister's ludicrous idea "She's too busy being a real journalist...and besides, she's Jack's"
Sarah stared at David, completely baffled that he dared go there "She's not, just like I never really was" she reminded him that there had been a brief fling between herself and David's best friend back then. It made David cringe every time, which helped drive the point home "She was always too good for him. You, however? Smart, successful, with means...those are all traits that could sway a woman like Katherine in your favour"
"But...Jack…" David tried to push back weakly
"You really have to stop defining the women in your life by what men they were attached to at one point or another" Sarah frowned and pushed to her feet. "That goes both ways too...Katherine isn't Jack's anymore and that horrid cheating scum of an ex-fiancée isn't yours. She never was, so stop dwelling on a doomed engagement that just wasn't meant to be and try with someone that could make you legitimately happy"
"She wasn't scum" she heard David mutter under his breath, but chose not to pay it any mind.
"I'll make you a deal" Sarah had walked around to David's side of the desk and towered over him, arms crossed, while he sat, dabbing at his mouth with a cloth napkin "I help around the clinic and I even look over the inventory, you know I'm much better with keeping records than you are. I help and you send a note to Katherine. Don't even have to talk to her in person, just a simple note will do. As for me, maybe I'll help track down where the laudanum keeps getting to."
"Fine." David threw his hands up in surrender, frustrated enough by Sarah's insistence that he was willing to do whatever, as long as it made her go away. "Fine, go ahead and help" he waved his hand dismissively before reaching into his desk drawer for a notepad and a pen.
Before David could write a decent note though, a commotion in the reception area brought both siblings running out of the office. A young man was at the desk, demanding that he get to see David despite the lineup of patients. He ran a hand through his sandy blonde hair in frustration, knocking his leather eyepatch lopsided momentarily. He fixed it just as quickly and trained his good eye on the attendant. Sarah immediately recognized him, despite the fact that the past three years had brought him a lot of change. No longer was he the lanky teen drowning in layers of oversized shirts and hiding behind his patch. He had filled in rather nicely and looked every bit the dashing rogue that Sarah had the very unfortunate opportunity of knowing him as. The shadow of blonde scruff on his jaw aged him even more, complimenting the mildly haggard look he sported. She would never dare to classify Blink Baletti as handsome, because admitting that was the first step toward showing weakness in the face of his charms. Sarah knew better. Blink, as sweet as he could be, could just as easily bring a whole world of hurt crashing down around them. It had taken three years to recover from the last time and Sarah had absolutely no desire to deal with whatever mess he'd be dragging them into this time.
"What's the problem?" She walked briskly toward the visitor and measured him with a withering look. "You know you're not welcome here, Blink" the ban was very well known to him and to their mutual friends. Even Mush, his best friend in the whole world, knew he couldn't ask Blink to come around the clinic, even to pick him up after work for a night out.
"I get it, I do" Blink spun around to catch sight of both siblings, his hands up, caught off-guard "I'm gonna keep apologizin' fer the rest a my life, I know it, but I needs yer help real bad." Sarah wanted to turn Blink away then and there, just as she should have done a three years ago, before things turned sour for everyone. The fact that he even dared show his face at the clinic after what he'd done though suggested he really was that desperate for help.
"I gotta find 'er..." Blink rambled on, making brother and sister exchange a look."...her an'...that kid of ours…"
Sarah glanced over at her brother, who was battling with several reactions at once. He clearly had no idea what Blink was talking about. "What. Kid?" She demanded evenly, clipping off at every word. She had guessed, of course and now the truth was coming out. This was definitely a case of 'better never, than late'. David really didn't need this mess dredged up. Especially not today, on what would have been his wedding anniversary.
"I um..." Blink suddenly found the brim of his cap intensely interesting, his sharp blue eye dropping to study every thread in close detail. "...I've had a few visitors, a few news an'...i dunno if there even is a kid...wid' her I mean...I know there's others. Three others...so, I gotta find 'er just to make sure. I wouldn'ta thought to come here an' stir up bad blood again, but I'm outta ideas. Figgered you mighta heard from her since" he shrugged, looking as apologetic and lost as he sounded. It was obvious that all the years of escapades and flings caught up to him in a matter of days and now he found himself having to step up. Sarah had always thought karma would have her revenge in the end and it seemed like she finally got her wish.
"Get in" to Sarah's surprise, David answered with a cold edge to his tone that she hadn't heard more than a handful of times. He was gesturing to the office. "I don't need you running your mouth out here." She stepped aside as Blink stalked into the room and David followed. "Deal with the waiting room, Sar" was all he deemed to say before he closed the door in her face.