Chapter 5: The Talk Part 2

Grim finished the soup minutes before the guys got back to the lodging house. David wasn't among them though. When Grim asked Jack where David was, he told her that David didn't feel like coming by but he'll stop by for a few minutes to pick up his little brother, Les. Grim didn't ask anymore questions. I know why he didn't want to come over, she thought. She silently went over to Crutchy's bed. He wasn't sleeping. How could he with all the noise, she thought. She gently shook him.

"What?" he asked in a hoarse voice.

"I saw that you stayed in today so I decided to make you some soup. It'll help your…headache. Come on. Sit up." Grim said as she helped him sit up with one hand while carefully holding the bowl of soup with the other. Once he was up, Grim carefully handed it to him then she sat on the other end of his bed.

"Thanks. It looks good." Crutchy said then he took a sip. "Taste good too."

"Thanks. There's more from where that came from. I made a big pit in the kitchen." she said. Crutchy just nodded. She thought for a moment then said, "Doyou like Spot Conlon?"

"Spot is…um…Spot." he answered.

"You didn't answer my question."

"Well, Spot is a good leader. He looks out for his boys and he looks out for New York. Nothing goes down without his say so. That's why Brooklyn gets so much respect."

"He wanted me to learn how to fight and wear boy clothes. Did the other girls who lived here follow those rules?"

"They did. One girl was such a great fighter, she went to sell in Brooklyn because she thought Spot was a better leader than Jack. She thought she'll be able to see more wars in Brooklyn than here."

"Does she see more wars?"

"Yeah. Some other leaders try to take sown Spot but it's a waste of time. Brooklyn will always win. They're good fighters."

"What about their clothes? Do they dress like everyone else?" she asked.

"They never had a problem with it. Clothes are just clothes. It doesn't make you who you are. Spot just think it's better if girls were wearing our clothes because it's easier to fight in pants than in a skirt." he answered then he went back to his soup.

Grim looked towards the door and saw that the doorway was empty. All over the room, the boys were doing their own things. Race, Blink, Spot, Snitch, and Jack were playing poker, the little boys were playing marbles, and everyone else were talking. Everyone was her but David. And that's a good thing because we'll just be at each other's throat, she thought. She also wished that Spot wasn't in the same room as her because she didn't like his "better than thou" attitude.

"Davey should be here soon." Crutchy suddenly said which made Grim turn to him quickly.

"I wasn't looking for David." Grim answered.

"Sure and I'm going to walk with the crutch one day." he laughed.

"He didn't come here because of me." she said quietly.

"Hey, you don't know that. Jack said that he didn't feeling coming over. He's been in a bad mood for a couple of days. Maybe he just wants some time by himself without Les around." he explained.

"That's true. Would you like some more soup?"

"Yes, please. Thanks." Crutchy said with a weak smile. Grim took the bowl and went downstairs.

While she was coming downstairs, she noticed David standing by the counter flipping through the sign-in book. Grim stopped on the third step up from the bottom and silently stared at him. How long has he been down here?, she thought. Why should she care anyway? Just minutes ago, she was glad he wasn't here. She was having a nice conversation with Crutchy and, no matter what he says, she wasn't thinking about David. She quickly went down the last three steps as quietly as possible and headed for the kitchen but David stopped her by talking.

"Did Crutchy like your soup?" she asked.

"Yeah. I was about to get him another bowl." she answered. "I think Les isn't done with his marble game."

"Oh, I didn't come here to get him yet."

"Then why are you here?"

"Well…Sarah's at home talking with Ma about who knows what and he's hysterical. Papa even had to step pit for a bit." he answered.

"Don't you have any other place to go? Don't you have any other friends?" she suddenly snapped. David was about to snap back at her but he took a deep breath instead.

"No, I don't. My friends form school doesn't want anything to do with me since I dropped out and became a newsie. I mean they like I do but they think they're better than me because I have to help my family and they can do whatever they want. They doesn't' have to work and watch their little brother while they work and make sure the Delanceys stay way from their sister." he said, raising his voice with every sentence.

"Is that why she was hysterical?" Grim asked.

"I don't know. Anything Papa or I tried to open the bedroom door to find out what's wrong, Ma always slams it shut." he sighed, "I could be about anything; work, Jack, the Delanceys. I don't know. Maybe its just women's things."

"All I can say is don't worry about it too much. I'm sure it's really important, she'll tell you as soon as possible."

"You really think so?" David asked in a concerned voice.

"You're her brother. Trust me. If she has a big problem, she'll tell you the things she won't tell your parents. True?"

She was right and he knew it. He remembers all the things his brother and sister told him that they would never tell their parents and he has done the same to them. Sarah would tell me if something terrible has happened, he thought. He didn't say anything to Grim. All he did was nod.

"All right, then." Grim said quickly.

"Are you still upset with me?" David asked.

"I guess not. I was just getting annoyed with Spot." she answered.

"Spot could do that sometimes."

"I have to get Crutchy more soup." she said then she headed into the kitchen with David behind her.

Grim kind of wished he wasn't there right now. She was feeling all kinds of emotions that she wasn't used to feeling which included concern for David's family and guilt for snapping at him for no reason when she first talked to him tonight. He was nice to her and all she was worried about was trying to make him leave. She taught herself from an early age never to feel anything that will lead her to pain but David was trying to break through that wall. What about Crutchy?, she thought, You're worried about Crutchy's health. That's different though because she was always worried and concerned about the sick. She seen too many kids die due to illnesses.

"The soup smells great. Who taught you to cook?" David asked, breaking into her thoughts.

"The women workers at the organization. They wanted all the girls to learn how to cook so they don't have to be a burden on their new families. They also taught us how to sew, wash clothes, take care of babies and small children, and how to keep a house clean. We were also taught how to read and write." she explained.

"Did you like it there?"

"It was as close to a home as I got."

"But did you like it?" he asked again. "You can have a home but you don't necessarily have to like it. The guys call this place home but I know most, if not all, don't want to be here for the rest of their lives."

"I found it…livable."

"Ok." David said as he let out a small laugh. Grim stared at him. He sighed, "You know, Grim, it's Ok to laugh once in a while. It's not going to hurt you."

"How do you know?" Grim suddenly snapped. "How do you know that it won't hurt to laugh or to love or to let myself be happy for once? It's easy for you because it's second nature to you. You had all that in your life. It hurts when you don't have that in your life because you don't know how it's suppose to feel like. Don't tell me that it's not going to hurt me."

"I wasn't saying it to make you angry, Grim. I was just trying to help you."

"I don't need you to help me and I certainly don't need you to save me from myself. I survived this long looking out for myself and acting the way I do. You don't mean anything to me and neither does your words."

"I'm not trying to hurt you, Edna." David said loudly to get her attention but all he got a hard slap across the face.

"Don't ever use my given name." she demanded.

They both stood in the middle of the kitchen staring at each other. Grim felt bad about slapping David. She never laid a hand on a person before. It's just that he said my name, she thought. She hated when people used her given name. She can't even remember if her own mother called her by her given name. She didn't get her nickname until she was in the organization but maybe her mother had her own little nickname for Grim. Grim never wanted anyone to call her by her given name, not even her husband if she ever change her mind and get married. How could David know how she felt about that?

"David," she said quietly, "I'm sorry."

"I like you, Grim. I really do and I want you to be happy. You're starting a new life. Why don't you make it a good one by changing your view of life?" he asked.

"I don't know if I want to change my view." she answered, honestly.

"You're too good to be this miserable." he said. Grim rolled her eyes as she poured soup into the bowl. David took the bowl out of her hand, "I know you don't believe that but you are. You have a heart. You care about Crutchy and you care about my words. If you really don't care about my words, you wouldn't have gotten angry earlier at Tibby's. Make your new life worth something."

"If you want me to make my new life worth something," she said as she took back the bowl then began to walk away, "show me there's something out there for me."

"Grim," David said quickly before she left the kitchen, "I'm going to show you. I promise."

"Whatever you say, David." she said then she left.