Sorry about the update being slow. Stuff got crazy with tennis, Mr. Gorgeous Dream Boy, a house fire, my birthday party coming up and an invite to tour Europe.

Enjoy and review.

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As Uncle Bryan and I walked the rest of the way to the restaurant, I noticed him looking at me out of the corner of his eye as if keeping a constant watch on me would prevent me from having another fit. I didn't say anything, allowing him to believe whatever it was he wanted to believe.

Upon arriving, he held the door open for me and from there led us up to a host's desk. The man behind the wooden stand informed us that there would be a 2 hour wait. "I have have a reservation." My uncle said patiently.

"What name is it under?"

"Denton."

"Oh, there's already a woman waiting for you." He lead us through the painfully overdecorated sea of people, tables and food.

As we approached a small circular table, a blond woman who had been seated there rose up to greet us. She walked to my uncle and kissed his cheek hastily, and turned to me seeming like she was far more interested in her niece to be than in her own fiancée.

"You must be Elsie!" she cooed as if speaking to a small child and continued to kiss the air within an inch of both my cheeks.

I decided not to take offense to being spoken to like I was a little girl and said respectfully and with the most dignified maturity I could muster, "You must be Rebbecca. It's wonderful to meet you." I considered using the stupid line 'I've heard so much about you.' and refrained from the lie. In truth, my uncle hardly mentioned her.

"Sit, sit." She motioned toward the chairs. I sat and started when I felt the host push the chair I sat in towards the table. After several minutes of listening to her, I felt positive I new her entire life's story. I made myself more comfortable, expecting a dull evening.

As the two adults spoke, I scanned the room. A teenage boy clearing dishes from a table caught my eye with his peculiar familiarity He seemed conscientious of my stare and returned it with the same confusion mine held. He looked at my chatting companions and as if something had clicked he smiled. He began to make his way towards me and I quickly averted my eyes and refocused my gaze onto the tiny salad that had been placed before me a few minutes ago.

I could feel him getting closer and prayed he was going somewhere else in the large room. I felt him tap my shoulder and flushed terribly. "Elsie?"

I turned and felt timid until I saw I was looking at Skittery. "Hello there."

In a matter of hours his entire appearance seemed to change. Trading in his undershirt, suspenders, classic newsie hat and grungy pants, he now wore a pair of black dress pants and a stiff buttoned up shirt. His hair was no longer covered but slicked back instead. The difference was so big, I almost didn't recognize him.

"Hello." I said calmly, hiding my slight bit of excitement. "What are you doing here?"

"Well I always hang around fancy restaurants stealing their dirty dishes." I noticed Rebecca's eyebrows rise over dramatically as if she believed him. Turning his attention to the my uncle and his fiancée. "Denton." He shook his hand and smiled at Rebecca. "Good evening ma'am." She returned a nervous smile and a similar sentiment.

A short, mustached man came to Skittery's side. "Johnston, get back to work." He grumbled. He continued to threaten Skittery, telling him he would lose his job if he ever disturbed customers again. "I'm so sorry. I'll make sure his supervisor is alerted."

"Don't." I stopped him, annoyed that he sent Skittery away. "I was talking to him. He wasn't disturbing us at all."

"Oh." He said, with a snide look.

Only seconds after he left, Skittery came back over. He squatted down by my chair and quietly said, "I'm done in about 2 hours. Meet me outside." Then, as an afterthought, he said "Please."

I turned around to reply, but he was already turning away.

"He seemed ... nice." Rebbecca said, though her expression didn't reflect the statement.

"He is. He's one of the newsies that started the strike." Uncle Bryan said, hoping that would make her feel less uneasy about him and also using it as an excuse for Skittery's unintentionally improper behavior.

"Oh. Really?" She said even more nervous. "Wasn't that a violent affair?"

"Not really." My uncle said hesitantly and rubbed the back of his head.

"Elsie, I don't think you should meet him. Street boys aren't always as nice as they seem. He might just be a charmer who might rob you, or worse."

"He won't." I said, surprising even myself at the way I jumper to the boy I hardly knew's defense.

"I have to insist you don't." She said.

"Rebbecca..." My uncle said. "I know him better than you, and I trust him. He's a good kid."

"Bryan." She whined. "What if-" She stopped in mid-sentence, but I still knew what she was thinking.

"What if I get sick?" I finished for her, but looked towards my uncle while I said it.

"Elsie-"

I cut him off and said, "I asked you not to tell people when I came."

"I told her before you even came."

"Why? It doesn't affect her!" I said, frustrated. Before this I would have told someone that Rebbecca was alright, maybe a little annoying, but I could stand her. Now, I would tell them disapproved of her and would exaggerate her talkative tendencies, and ironically enough she hadn't said or done anything wrong.

"It does too! She's part of our family!"

Holding my tongue, I asked to be excused and left before receiving permission.