"Well, these are all ruined," said Charlotte, dumping the soaking papers in a trashcan. "Twenty-five cents down the drain." The thunderstorm had come on quickly and violently. The sun had been trying to break through the cloud cover when they woke up underneath the eaves of a vaudeville house. By the time they got their papes, the sky had darkened, and an hour later, all of Brooklyn was drenched.
"Don't worry about it," said Spot, putting his arm around her. "Come on, let's get somewhere warm and dry."
Spot led her to a small park and they stood under a giant tree. They wrung out their clothes and sat on a bench, watching the rain pour and the lightning strike over the river.
"This would be neat to watch if we weren't so cold and wet," said Spot.
Charlotte nodded, shivering. Spot wrapped his arms around her, though he knew it helped little.
Charlotte sniffed and wiped her cheeks.
"You catchin' a cold?" Spot asked.
"I think so," she said, though her voice cracked, and not from her sore throat.
Spot looked down to see her wipe her cheeks again, her eyes glossy from tears.
"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked.
Charlotte just looked down at her hands and shrugged, shaking her head. "It's stupid."
"No it ain't," said Spot.
"I guess I just didn't think it would be this hard," she said, looking out over wet street.
Spot pulled her close and she rested her head on his shoulder as they watched the thunder and lightning.
"Want me to take you back to the Jacobs'?" he asked.
Charlotte shook her head. She didn't want to give David the satisfaction of being right - even though she knew he was right - about everything. She didn't know what had gotten into her that night at the apartment. She'd gotten so wrapped up in Spot, she had forgotten herself. But here she was - with Spot. She didn't want to give him up, but she didn't want to go back either.
With each passing day, Charlotte realized more and more how she hadn't thought the whole thing through when she'd made the decision to run away with Spot.
"I love it when it rains," Adelaide grinned as she leaned back against Skittery in the booth at Tibby's. They were both turned toward the window watching the rain drench the city.
"Why? It only makes the smell of rotten garbage worse," said Skittery.
"Aww, you're so romantic."
As suddenly as the rain had started, it stopped. All the younger newsies cheered.
"Aide, can we go jump in the puddles?" asked Tumbler. Adelaide gestured for them to go outside.
Boots, Snipeshooter, Emma, and Tumbler all raced outside and began jumping in the puddles.
"So which couple are we putting money on in 5 years? Emma and Tumbler or Emma and Snipes?" Skittery whispered to Adelaide.
Adelaide laughed. "Watch her surprise us all and go with Boots or Les."
Skittery chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close to him. Adelaide rested her head back against his shoulder.
"You know, I been thinkin'," he said. "Startin' tomorrow, I think I'm gonna look for another job."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," said Skittery, absently rubbing his thumb on her stomach. "Somethin' that pays more. Can't stay in the lodgin' house forever, you know?"
Adelaide nodded.
"Once I do, and save up a bit more, maybe we can get a place of our own…get married."
Adelaide sat up straight and turned toward him. "Really?"
"Well, yeah," he said, as if it were obvious. "That was always the plan, wasn't it?"
"Yeah," said Adelaide. "It's just…I dunno. Always seemed so far in the future."
Skittery shrugged. "The future can be now."
Adelaide felt a smile grow on her face.
Skittery grinned. "I love you, Aide."
Adelaide leaned in and kissed him. "I love you."
"Get a room, you two," Race called from across the room.
Adelaide looked over at Race. "If you're jealous, I can kiss you too."
"Like hell she will," Skittery grinned. He slid out of the booth and held out his hand. "Let's go for a walk."
Adelaide grinned and slid out of the booth and took his hand.
"Sorry, kid," she winked at Race.
"Looks like they're gettin' a room," Specs grinned.
Skittery just rolled his eyes and he and Adelaide walked out of the restaurant. They walked down the block towards uptown.
"If we don't want to wait too long, we can always dip into Ralphie's stash," she said.
Skittery looked over at her. "You'd do that? I thought you didn't want to use the money coz you didn't want to depend on him anymore."
Adelaide shrugged. "It's different. I didn't want to use it when I needed it. But this time we're using it to build a life together."
Skittery looked down at her a grinned. Adelaide couldn't put her finger on it, but in that simple glance, she felt her love for him overflow. Everything they had gone through, everything she had done to hurt him, and he was still there, right by her side. She could see their whole life together rolled out in front of them - getting married, getting their own place, having a family, growing old together.
Adelaide stopped and pulled him onto a side street, away from the crowd. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to put what she wanted to say into words.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said. "I just…after everything I put you through…all the things I kept from you…you still want to be with me."
"Of course I do, Aide," said Skittery, taking both her hands.
"I still feel so bad for all that I put you through."
Skittery shook his head and pulled her into his arms. "Don't," he said. "Everything we've gone through was nothing compared to my worst fear."
Adelaide rested her cheek against his shoulder and furrowed her brow. "What is that?"
"It…never mind," said Skittery. "It's stupid."
Adelaide pulled her head back so she could look at him. "Tell me."
Skittery sighed. "Well, after everything you went through and how close you two were…I was always afraid you'd end up choosing Spot over me."
Adelaide wanted to laugh at the thought, but she kept a straight face, not wanting to make him feel bad. "Skitts…there's never been anything—"
"I know," he shrugged, looking off to the side. "It's just one of those things, you know?"
Adelaide put her arms around his shoulders and rested her hand on the back of his neck. "There's never been anyone but you. There never will be."
Skittery grinned and leaned down and kissed her, wrapping his arms around her waist. They stayed in that embrace, even when an older gentleman passed them and grumbled something about "kids these days."
