The next few months passed quickly. We celebrated Pa's birthday in late September, then mine in November. While I won't say I had never been happier, I will say that I was happy. I completed my schooling, spent time with Papa and Ingrid and the boys, and even heard regularly from Hazel. We spent our second Christmas Eve without Mama quietly—just Papa and me. It was nice, even if we did miss her.
Christmas Day was beautiful. Snow in the city is generally ugly; it turns brown and dirty in a matter of hours. It slows down business for Papa, the newsboys, and so many other people. However, while it is falling it is really lovely. That year was one of those lucky years where the fresh snow coincided with Christmas Day. Papa had gone to the livery to look in on Maus, who still needed to eat on Christmas when the livery boys had off, and I was just about to head out with Jimmy and was grabbing my cloak when there was a knock at our door. There stood Spot, an impish grin on his face.
"Spot! Merry Christmas," I said in surprise, a grin cracking my own face. He had said he planned to spend the day at the lodging house making sure his boys weren't too lonely. I knew that the lodging houses generally had big holiday feasts that were free, but that the boys could sometimes miss their families-especially boys like Roller, who had been orphaned over the summer. The boys tended to stick together, and Spot's visit the prior year had been an anomaly. We'd already given him his gift—new winter boots. It took us awhile to save up for them, but he'd never had new shoes, so the surprise and delight on his face had been worth it. He had paid the livery fees for Maus for the month of January for us, which allowed us to contribute a bit more money to our next horse fund.
"Merry Christmas, Cat. I can't stay long, but I thought maybe we could go for a walk in the new snow," he said.
"I was just about to head out," I responded. We set off in the snow, Jimmy trotting ahead. He never strayed far; he's too smart and well trained for that. We spoke about the feast the boys had enjoyed and the gifts of new clothes from the various aid societies that the boys had received. I expressed my concern about Maus and the fact that we had barely paid off our debts and were not yet able to buy a new horse. I shared the latest from Hazel's letter, and Spot informed me that Red was thinking of taking a job as a sailor on one of the merchant vessels. He was starting to plan for the following spring or summer. I was excited for him, and it made me wonder what Red's real name was. Spot laughed.
"I don't figure he tells many people, but it's Michael," he said. "Don't tell him I told you." He winked, and I laughed.
"What about you?" I asked, surprised that I had never wondered about it before. He was just Spot to me.
"It's Tommy. Thomas Conlon. A good Irish name. But ain't nobody who knows that except you, so don't you be telling people!" He wagged a finger in my face. "I've been Spot since I sold me first pape and claimed the spot was magic. I always went back to my magic spot. I was so little, and the boys laughed about my obsession with it, so they called me Magic Spot-and that became Spot. Before that I was just the kid. Nobody around now who remembers anything else."
I laughed at this explanation. We were near our normal afternoon bench by now. "Where was this magic spot?" I asked, curious if he still sometimes sold there.
"Right here," he laughed and grabbed my hand, turning me toward him.
"Right where we met is your magic spot?" I asked, surprised.
"In more ways than one," he answered, looking intently at me. I was suddenly acutely aware of how close he was and the warmth of his hand on mine. Why was my stomach suddenly flip-flopping? When had this happened? I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Spot was creating weird feelings in me when he leaned in and kissed me. I don't think I moved at all—I was too surprised by the light contact of his lips on mine. He pulled back a bit and just looked at me. I think I was blushing, but I couldn't help but give him a small smile. He smiled back before bringing his hand up to my face and kissing me again, this time a bit slower. This time, I know I reacted. I didn't know what I was doing, but it was pleasant!
After a few moments Spot pulled back again and, still holding on to one of my hands, turned me toward home. He started talking again, this time about a boy who had showed up last week wanting a job. I fell back into the easy conversation, and we carried on all the way home. Once we got there, Spot gave me another soft kiss.
"See ya later," he said as he headed back out into the cold.