Disclaimer: This is a non-commercial work of fanfiction. Anything recognizable from Newsies belongs to Disney and not to me.
A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter - your words were greatly appreciated! :) For those of you who weighed in on the "Is Charity a nice or a stuffy name?" debate through review or via PM, I'm happy to report that Team Nice Name was the undisputed victor - and that Sadie has begrudgingly honored her end of the bargain by buying Davey his fairly-won victory ice cream (he says 'Thank you!' for the votes!) ;). We've got another lighthearted chapter coming up (shocking, I know), so pull up a chair, and we'll get this installment started!
Chapter 68: Invitation and Insight
Esther Jacobs slid her timecard into the employee punch card system, waiting for the tell-tale sound of the paper being stamped before she slid it out and returned it to its slot on the wall. Her shift at the lace factory normally ended in the late-afternoon, which was convenient, as it allowed her time to run errands before heading home to start dinner.
Exiting the factory grounds by way of the employee gate, Esther made her way up the street, exchanging polite hellos with some of the women who were arriving to begin the late shift. She normally would have headed to the grocer's before going home, but she'd taken care of the shopping the day before, so she went straight back to the tenement, lingering for just a moment in the crisp October air before climbing the steps to the second floor, letting herself into her family's apartment.
Mayer was napping, David was still out selling papers, and Les had gone to a friend's apartment after school, so the Jacobs abode was quiet, and Esther allowed herself a moment to rest at the table before starting her dinner preparations. She was thankful for the work at the factory, but it strained her back and her hands, and she often found herself worn out before the day was done, though she tried not to let the fatigue show.
After resting for a few moments, she got up to light the stove and was about to begin preparing some parsnips for boiling when a light knock sounded on the door. Curiously, Esther went to answer it, wondering who would be calling at such an odd hour so unexpectedly.
To her surprise, it was the landlord's daughter, Sadie.
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Jacobs," the girl said politely. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but a letter arrived at Papa's office for your family, so I've brought it over, and I was also wondering if I might drop off something for Davey and Les?"
"Of course!" Esther received the two envelopes and motioned for her to come in. "The boys are both out right now, but if you're not in a hurry, please sit and stay a while."
"Oh, I wouldn't want to impose," Sadie protested. "I'm only dropping off an invitation; I don't need to speak to either of them."
"Well, I'd certainly like to speak with you if you have the time," Esther smiled. She'd only conversed with Sadie once, the last time the girl had been in the apartment shortly after the Jacobs family's move, but since then the two of them hadn't crossed paths. "You've been such a help to my boys as they've adjusted to life here in Manhattan. I'd like to thank you and get to know you a little better."
Sadie returned the smile. "No thanks are necessary, Mrs. Jacobs," she insisted, "but I'm certainly not going to turn down the prospect of conversing with you if you're offering." She stepped inside, and Esther invited her to take a seat at the dining room table, wishing not for the first time that their apartment had been big enough to accommodate a seating area for guests.
"Would you like something to drink, Sadie?" she asked, setting the kettle on the stove next to a large pot of water that would be used to boil the parsnips. "I have a few different types of tea, or I can prepare coffee too if you're like my husband and older son who prefer the stronger stuff."
"Tea would be lovely," Sadie answered. Esther nodded, setting out two teacups and reaching into the pantry to rummage through the shelves. She had a tin of wafer cookies that she occasionally dug into to reward Les, and thankfully there were still several of the sweets left. Setting these on a plate, she placed them on the table and took a seat across from Sadie.
"So, tell me about yourself," she invited. "I've heard from Les that you're fun and have a quick wit, and David has often mentioned your kindness, but I'm sure there is an array of specifics that they haven't mentioned amidst those descriptors."
"I'm rather surprised at their assessment!" Sadie declared. "I would have half-expected Les to mention my daydreaming in class and Davey to remark upon my impulsive carelessness...but I suppose I'll have to thank them later for not tarnishing my reputation!" Her smile was humorous, but Esther could tell that she was pleased.
"I'm not sure there's really much to say about me that's at all riveting," the landlord's daughter continued, "but I'm the second youngest of four sisters, and my family has owned this tenement for nearly twelve years now, so I've more or less grown up on the property."
Sadie continued to share, giving Esther a brief sketch of her family and a general rundown of their history in Manhattan. It turned out that both Philip and Miriam had been born and raised there, so the Becker roots in the borough ran three generations deep, and Philip's father had also owned property, though the tenement he had managed had been smaller than the one his son was currently overseeing.
"Are you close to your sisters?" Esther asked, rising to fetch the teakettle from the stove and filling the teacups with water. She was one of three sisters herself, and though none of her family was within close geographical proximity anymore, their connection remained strong.
"I suppose you could say that we're close." Sadie paused for a moment, as though considering the question further. "Judith was my confidant before she moved to Boston, but now that she's gone, Abby and I have gotten closer by necessity, though our personalities couldn't be more different - we're like Davey and Les in that way. And Lilly is in her own category - we can't really converse much, but I know she understands, so she's generally the one who gets an earful whenever I need to air my thoughts to a sympathetic listener."
"We all need someone like Lilly in our lives," Esther nodded, handing Sadie a cup of tea. "My older sister was much the same for me. I missed her terribly when she got married and moved away."
"How did you get along without her?" Sadie asked wistfully, her hands curving gently around the teacup. Esther could hear the quiet ache behind the question.
"It was difficult for the first few months," she admitted. "I was the second-oldest, so many of Aida's roles and responsibilities fell to me once she left, and I never felt like I could truly fill her shoes. I didn't know how to be a support to our mother or to manage the kitchen or to guide our youngest sister Vera when she came to me for advice about boys or had a falling-out with her friends at school." She took a sip of her tea, then continued. "I tried to be Aida at first, but my personality was so different from hers that I ended up failing spectacularly at almost every turn. It wasn't until I stopped trying to replicate the way she did things that I started to see some small, modest successes. And over time those successes became more regular and more natural. I learned how to do the things my oldest sister had done without having to do it exactly the way she had."
She gave Sadie a sympathetic look. "There were times where I resented Aida for leaving, but as I got older, I realized that having to step into her role was beneficial for me in many ways. I learned how to manage a household, which helped me when I got married and had a family of my own, and I learned things about myself, too - that I couldn't be Aida, but I could still get things done in my own way." Reaching across the table, Esther gave Sadie's hand a gentle squeeze. "You'll find your way, too," she said reassuringly. "Give yourself time. It will come to you...I know it will."
The landlord's daughter didn't reply at first, but Esther could see that the words had touched her, for she smiled gratefully and clasped Esther's hand in return.
"Thank you, Mrs. Jacobs," she said softly.
Esther was about to reply that she was more than welcome, but before she could respond, there was the sound of someone arriving at the door, and it swung open to reveal David, who paused for a moment on the threshold, looking a little surprised at the unexpected company.
"Hello Mom, Sadie," he said, clearly trying to figure out why the landlord's daughter was present, but too polite to ask outright. He took off his cap and newsboy bag and hung them by the door. "Sorry if I'm interrupting anything."
"Sadie brought over a letter for us, and an invitation for you and Les," Esther explained. "We were just having some tea and getting better acquainted." Remembering the time, her eyes flickered from the clock to the stove where the pot of water sat.
David caught her look. "I can get dinner started," he offered, walking over to the stove. "Is this pot for the parsnips by the sink?"
Esther nodded. "I cleaned them earlier today, but they'll need to be cut up first. The pot's already heating up, so it will be ready for boiling soon if you don't mind preparing the vegetables."
"I think I can manage that." David began washing his hands.
"So you weren't joking - you do know how to cook," Sadie said, sounding slightly amused.
"I said I knew how to cook a little, and only enough to get by," David amended, drying his hands on a towel and then pulling out a cutting board and knife to begin slicing the parsnips. "That's hardly a claim to proficiency."
"At least you're not burning brownies or over-boiling potatoes," Sadie sighed. She smiled at Esther. "I'm a notoriously inept in the kitchen, Mrs. Jacobs - it's rather embarrassing."
"She says that, but I've yet to see proof," David interjected. "I'm starting to get suspicious that she's making it up."
"I'm sure you can't be that bad at it," Esther agreed. "There's no escaping mishaps in the kitchen - they're inevitable. I'd imagine that even the best cooks have over-boiled potatoes from time to time."
"That's gracious of you to say," Sadie ducked her head in acknowledgement. "But I know it's mostly due to a lack of applying myself. I'm sure the results would be much better if I didn't let my mind wander so much."
"Or maybe if you weren't so set on doing things the ridiculous rather than the sensible way," David added, grinning at her over his shoulder. He sounded almost cheeky, and Esther hid her amazement, shocked that her polite, well-mannered son would have it in him to sass the landlord's daughter. But clearly there was some kind of understanding between them, for Sadie didn't seem offended by the jab.
"Are you actually cooking, Davey, or are you only dishing up smart remarks this evening?" she asked primly.
"Both, I suppose." He finished cutting up the last parsnip and turned around so that he was facing her. "It's not so hard to do two things at once when you're sensible."
Sadie gave him an unimpressed look. "Your pot of water's boiling over," she observed.
Panic quickly replaced David's audaciousness, and he lunged for the stove, pulling the lid off of the pot just as the water began to fizzle over the sides.
"Are you absolutely sure that you've cooked before, Davey?" Sadie asked innocently. "Because despite your assertion that you can handle yourself in the kitchen, I've yet to see proof of it - I'm starting to get suspicious that you're making it up."
She was throwing his earlier words back at him, and Esther could see the quick wit that Les had described and wondered how David would respond.
"Is that a challenge, Sadie?" he asked, recovering unusually quickly from his slight embarrassment. "Because it sounds like a challenge to me." Esther could hear the appreciative note in his voice. For all of his natural reticence, David did enjoy the occasional verbal spar if he was comfortable.
"A challenge?" Sadie echoed. "Hardly. I'm here to enjoy your mother's company, not to settle which one of us is the superior - or perhaps I should say inferior - cook."
"Point taken," David acquiesced. "Sorry; I'll let you two talk." He turned back to the pot on the stove, but not before Esther caught sight of the grin that was still on his face.
The exchange had taken only a moment, but it had provided a wealth of insight into David's friendship with the landlord's daughter. Previously, Esther had been afforded little opportunity to observe the two of them interacting, but now she could see that they had certainly come a long way from the awkward conversation they'd had the first time Sadie had visited the apartment. David's playful side only showed itself when he was completely at ease, so he was clearly quite comfortable with her, and everything in Sadie's demeanor seemed to indicate that the easy camaraderie was mutual.
It was the first time Esther had seen her older son so effortlessly relaxed since they'd moved to Manhattan, and while she would not have expected the source of that lightheartedness to be this unlikely friendship, she was grateful for it.
"Oh, I didn't realize that it was getting so late!" Sadie exclaimed suddenly, glancing at the clock and drawing Esther out of her thoughts. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Jacobs, but I really should be getting back to my family's apartment. We'll be having our own dinner soon, and I don't want to keep everyone waiting."
"Of course," Esther said graciously. "Thank you for staying a while; it was lovely getting to know you."
"Similarly so," Sadie smiled, draining the last drop of tea from her teacup and walking over to set it in the sink. "I'm glad we were able to talk, and I appreciate the advice."
"You're welcome to come over any time," Esther assured her. "I hope we'll see you again soon."
The girl thanked her, and they walked to the door. "I'll see you tonight for tutoring, Davey," Sadie called over her shoulder. "In the meantime, keep an eye on that pot of yours." She bid Esther a cheerful goodbye, and then took her leave.
The door clicked shut behind Sadie, and Davey turned back to his task, but he could feel the unspoken questions hanging in the air as his mother returned to the kitchen table to clear the rest of the dishes.
"Did you enjoy your time with Sadie?" he asked, deciding that he might as well broach the subject himself if they were going to talk about it eventually anyway.
"She seems like a lovely girl," his mother answered, setting her teacup in the sink. "She has that unusual combination of spunk and sweetness that you don't come across very often. I enjoyed our conversation."
"I'm sorry I interrupted you," Davey apologized. "It was probably rude to jump in like that - I'm not sure what I was thinking."
"She's your friend, David. It makes sense that you'd want to talk to her."
"But I see her all the time. You don't get the chance to speak with her very often."
"I'm sure there will be other opportunities," his mother reassured him. "And I'm fairly certain that neither of us minded your spontaneous contributions to our conversation."
Davey found himself smiling a little. He'd realized that his banter with Sadie might have come across as slightly impudent from his mother's point of view, but he was relieved to know that she wasn't upset about it and didn't disapprove.
"Sadie brings out that side of people, I guess," he said, trying to explain himself, even though his mother hadn't actually asked any questions yet regarding what they both knew had been slightly unusual behavior on his part. "I can't really put my finger on what it is. It's just that she…" he trailed off, suddenly at a bit at a loss.
"She makes you happy, doesn't she?" his mother finished.
Davey found himself completely caught off guard by the question; that wasn't how he would have explained things, but as he silently debated how to answer, he found himself surprised to realize that his mother's assessment might actually be true. Sadie did make him happy, and though he would have liked to contend that there was more to it than that (and there probably was), perhaps this simple answer was actually closer to the truth than he would have thought.
"Yeah," he admitted finally, a little embarrassed for reasons that he couldn't place. "She does."
He could tell that his mother was surprised that he hadn't denied it, but she didn't press him further and only smiled, patting him gently on the arm.
"I'm glad." She walked over to the table and picked up an envelope, carefully breaking its seal. "I'll let you open up the invitation from Sadie, but I'm going to see what's in this letter."
Davey took the opportunity to check on the parsnips as his mother silently scanned the epistle.
"Well, this is a surprise!" she exclaimed a moment later, folding up the letter and setting it back down on the table. "We're going to have company."
"Company?" Davey gave her a curious look. Who would be bothering to call on them?
"Our friends, the Liebermans," his mother elaborated. "Gabe has some business in Manhattan, apparently, and their family has decided to make a trip of it, so they will be staying at one of the hotels nearby for a week or so. They want to take the opportunity to reconnect with us since they'll be in our part of town."
"That'll be nice," Davey remarked, stirring the pot. "It's been awhile since I've seen Ruben or Rachel." The Lieberman siblings had been classmates of his - Ruben in the year above and Rachel in the year below - during the time that the Jacobs family had lived in Brooklyn. Davey had been sad to say goodbye to them when his family had moved, but since then they'd seen each other on occasion, as Mr. Lieberman's business trips often took him to different parts of New York, and whenever they were in town near the Jacobses, they'd always made it a point to connect.
"When will they be coming?" Davey asked, wondering if he was realistically going to have much free time to spend socializing.
"In two weeks," his mother answered. "They have other social engagements planned, but they're hoping to see us soon after they arrive." She walked to the stove and checked on the parsnips.
"Those are coming along nicely," she said. "Thank you for getting them started, David." She held out her hand for the spoon. "I can take care of dinner from here; why don't you go open Sadie's invitation?"
Davey followed the suggestion, relinquishing command of the kitchen to his mother and sitting down at the table to examine the small white envelope. It was addressed to both him and Les, and as he opened it, he saw that it was an invitation to a joint birthday party that the Becker family would be hosting for Sadie and Abby, set to take place, incidentally, on the day of the Liebermans' arrival.
"We might have a scheduling problem," Davey remarked. "This invitation is to a birthday party, but it's on the same day that the Liebermans are coming."
"We'll have to discuss that as a family, then," his mother mused. "It's a birthday party for Sadie?"
"Sadie and Abby. Apparently they both have October birthdays." Davey scanned the invitation again. "It says here not to bring gifts, but…"
His mother shook her head. "Of course you and Les should bring gifts. It would be impolite not to, especially after everything the Beckers have done for us." Setting down the spoon, she walked over to her purse and was about to pull out some coins when Davey interjected.
"It's all right, Mom - I'll take care of it. I can sell some extra papers to earn the money."
"Are you sure?" she hesitated. "Your work day is already long enough without adding on to it."
Davey gave her a slightly-grim smile. "I know we don't have much to spare right now," he said, wanting to be frank. "It'll be all right - I'm sure I'll manage. Just don't be surprised if I'm home late a few nights."
An idea suddenly came to his mind, and he rose from the table, walking over to the corner of the room where he and Les had their bed and a small bookshelf. He'd have to think further on what to get Sadie, but he already knew what the perfect gift for Abby would be...
Kneeling down, Davey began scanning the rows of books. His collection consisted mostly of a handful of childhood favorites interspersed among some more recent acquisitions, but there was one title in particular that he was looking for…
After several minutes of fruitless searching, Davey sat back on his heels, perplexed.
"What's wrong, David?" his mother asked.
"Oh, nothing Mom," he said absently. "I just can't find my copy of Huckleberry Finn, you know, the limited edition volume that I got for my birthday the year we left Queens. I'm sure it's around here somewhere. I think it would be a great gift for Abby - she's reading Tom Sawyer right now." Reaching under the bed, he pulled out a box where he kept a few more novels, but the book in question was not there either.
That's strange…
Davey got up, trying to shake off the feeling that he was missing something. He hadn't lost the book, had he? He was fairly certain he remembered setting it on the bookshelf with the rest when he'd unpacked his belongings. And he couldn't recall picking it up since then...
Before he could ponder the matter further, the door opened and Les walked in.
"How was your time with Martin?" their mother asked.
"Swell! His pa had to hurry back, so he said to give you his apologies." Les kicked off his shoes, stood on his tiptoes to hang his bowler hat by the door, then walked over to sit down at the kitchen table where the unfinished plate of cookies sat, eagerly helping himself to a handful.
"Don't eat too many, Les" his mother cautioned. "It's almost dinnertime."
"I won't spoil my appetite," the younger boy promised around a mouthful of wafer. "I could eat a horse!"
Deciding to set the matter of the missing book aside for the time being, Davey walked over to join his brother, passing the invitation across the table. "Les, the Becker sisters have invited us to their birthday party. It's going to be at the park in a few weeks."
Les gave the card a cursory glance. "Sounds fun," he remarked. "Do you think there will be cake?"
"Probably." Davey reached over to rescue the invitation from the shower of crumbs that was accompanying Les' enthusiastic chewing. "I've already thought of a gift to give Abby, but I'm not sure what to get Sadie yet. Do you have any ideas?"
Les shrugged. "You're the one who's always hanging around her. Shouldn't that make you the expert?"
Davey gave him an irritated look but didn't answer. He should have known better than to ask Les for help; of course the younger boy would ignore the importance of the question, and would write off any type of -
He sat up straighter. Wait…wait, hold on - that's it!
Davey grinned, reaching across the table to ruffle Les' hair. "Thanks, Les," he declared, getting to his feet. "You were a big help."
His younger brother gave him a suspicious look, but Davey ignored it and made his way back to their corner of the room, eager to resume his task of finding the missing copy of Huckleberry Finn. Once he located it, he'd have Abby's present already in hand, and then all that remained would be for him to sell some extra papers for the next few days so that he could save up to buy Sadie's gift.
He knew exactly what he was going to get her.
A/N: Playful!Davey decided to stick around for another chapter...and Huckleberry Finn makes a triumphant return (in reference, if not in substantiality). It's been a while since that plot point was introduced - does anyone remember where it's showed up in this story before? If you don't, it's completely my fault, not yours ;). Thanks for reading this chapter - I'd love to hear your reaction to it!
