Disclaimer: This is a non-commercial work of fanfiction. Anything recognizable from Newsies belongs to Disney and not to me.
A/N: Hello, gracious readers! It's been a few weeks; thank you, as always, for your patience (additional apologies for the wonderful guest reviewer(s) who regularly check back for updates - I'm sorry that you had to wait so long for this one). I think I'm finally starting to come out of my writing slump, so I am hoping to get back to posting something (either here or in Interstices) every week to week and a half like before.
Feel free to just skip ahead to the chapter, but if you're in the mood for any Christmas-themed stories, I wanted to share a few options for your consideration in case you wanted anything to read between postings ;):
- "The Fashioning of a Friendship" (in Interstices): This isn't specifically Christmas-related, but it's set around that time of year. Pre-SWW, it features young!Margaret and young!Sadie and recounts how their friendship began (some of the details in the story parallel the chapter you're about to read).
- "Hidden Kindness" (also in Interstices): A Christmas-themed one-shot featuring the ensemble newsies and Alfred Kloppman, the lodging house superintendent. This one was posted last year, and also takes place pre-SWW.
- "Swappin' Random Presents With Me Chums": This one's a few years old, and it's a (completely silly) modern AU story, but if you're looking for something lighthearted and humorous (or if you liked "Dyin' to Get There"), this might fit the bill. ;)
- "New Neighbor" (in Interstices): Fluffy with just a hint of bittersweetness, this is my first venture into the post-SWW timeline. If you're curious to see what one of our main POV characters is up to several years after the end of our story, you might find this interesting.
Regardless, thanks, as always, for reading SWW, and I hope that you'll enjoy the chapter to come! :)
Chapter 108: Mixed Messages
The rustling of papers and the shuffling of feet filled the classroom as eager pupils packed away their belongings and called out to their friends, their voices full of excitement as they began to discuss their plans for the afternoon. Class had been dismissed at lunch time that day, Mr. Crowell having resumed his post but still not fully recovered from his bout with the flu, and the unexpected announcement that he would be releasing his students early had been met with enthusiasm all around.
Sadie had just finished wiping her slate clean when she felt Margaret's hand on her shoulder and looked up to see the other girl standing next to her, a positively eager-looking James in tow.
"I know today's your day to work at Gorham's," Margaret began, sounding apologetic, "but would you mind if I skipped out on walking Les and Abby back to the tenement today? James said there's a special at Lenzi's - half off all ice cream sodas and cold custards. He asked if he could treat me to lunch, but I told him I had to check to see if that was all right with you, first."
"Of course it's all right, Megs!" Sadie smiled. "Since we're getting off early, I'll have plenty of time to walk Les and Abby back, and I wouldn't want you to miss out on your time with James." She squeezed her friend's hand. "Go and have fun, and eat a bite of cold custard for me."
Margaret gave her a grateful look, then turned to follow James out of the schoolhouse, the two of them bent close in conversation before they'd even disappeared from sight.
Sadie turned back to her desk, packing her slate carefully into her handbag and trying to stow away her disappointment as she did so. She was happy for her friends, and didn't mind walking Abby and Les back to the tenement in the slightest, but the last two days she'd hardly gotten a chance to speak with Margaret, as the other girl had been spending almost every free moment with her beau. There was nothing wrong with that, of course, and Sadie didn't begrudge her friend taking advantage of the opportunity to do so, but she did feel a bit wistful as she watched Margaret traipse off, bright-eyed and buoyant in the company of a boy who looked at her as though she'd hung the moon.
It must feel lovely to be admired like that, Sadie thought as she finished packing up her school supplies and reached down to get her lunch pail. As she stood to make her way towards the door, a few of her friends hailed her, asking about her after-school plans and animatedly disclosing their own. Several requests for her company were extended with disappointment sincerely expressed when she regretfully declined due to her work obligations, and Sadie found her spirits slightly lifted by the time she left the schoolyard and started down the street to the corner where she usually met Abby and Les.
To her surprise, the two younger ones were actually in conversation when she arrived. It was unusual for Abby to speak with Les any more than she had to, and he seemed to be equally content to ignore her so long as there was someone else to talk to, but Sadie overheard the words "rumors" and "Sally," and surmised that something must have taken place in class, something significant enough to warrant a breach in Abby and Les' usual "no speaking" protocol.
The little group headed down the street in the direction of the tenement, and Sadie idly observed the passers by as she kept an eye on Abby and Les just ahead. The streets were more crowded than usual on account of the time; many workers were on their noontime breaks, grabbing a bite to eat or running errands, and it felt almost odd to be heading home so early when the rest of the city was only at the midpoint of its day.
They passed by Lenzi's Drugstore, and Sadie could see that it was packed inside, likely full of others like Margaret and James who were eager to take advantage of the daily special. Several couples were clustered around the lunch counter, sharing sodas and custards and ice cream sundaes, and there were even more customers standing off to the side waiting for seats to open up. It all looked so bustling and cheerful that Sadie found a hint of her wistfulness returning, and she quickened her pace to catch up with the rest of her party, realizing that she'd significantly slowed her pace without realizing it.
After escorting Les and Abby back to the tenement, she decided to head straight to the tailor's. The temptation to linger at home and loaf around was there, as she wasn't due at work for another two hours, but in the end, sensibility won out. There was always something to be done at the shop.
The brief walk to Gorham's was pleasant, the chilliness that had set in earlier in the week giving way to clear, sunny skies, and Sadie found herself breathing in the crisp air with a sigh of satisfaction. It was pleasant to be outdoors on a day like this, and even if she would soon be back inside, she'd much rather be at the tailor's working with her hands than stuck in a classroom listening to her schoolmaster's lecture.
Crossing the street, she bypassed several slushy puddles of melting snow, resisting the urge to splash through them and wondering, a bit disappointedly, if the snow behind the tenement was already beginning to thaw.
At least she'd managed to get in one snowball fight - even if it had been rather brief and against a completely unexpected opponent.
She hadn't seen Davey at all since their friendly skirmish in the snow - school had been cancelled for the two days following, so there had been no tutoring sessions, and Sadie had spent most of her time with her nephews to free up Judith, who was assisting their mother in the first round of the Becker's annual holiday baking spree.
There would likely be no need to meet that night, either - the lecture that morning had been brief, covering the topic of monthly budgeting, and Sadie wouldn't be surprised if Davey already knew more about that subject than a week's worth of instruction could offer. She actually half suspected that most of what was going to be covered in class - all of the practical life skills and workplace know-how meant to prepare the outgoing class for the next stage of life - would prove to be redundant for her neighbor downstairs who already seemed to possess a fairly strong sense of responsibility alongside an excellent work ethic and a keen mind. Davey wasn't going to have any problems holding down a job, finding a career, or managing a family. He already had the experience and acumen necessary for success, and Sadie was sure that it would only be a matter of time before he'd settle into a secure, steady, and meaningful future.
It almost seemed like a waste of his time to keep up their tutoring sessions.
But, for whatever reason, he had made it clear that he preferred not to forgo their usual routine, so Sadie had let the matter lie, even if she'd found it a slightly perplexing decision on his part. He seemed to be forever surprising her, always upending her expectations just when she thought she'd begun to get a handle on who he was.
Their snowball fight earlier that week had been a case in point.
She'd simply hoped to coerce Davey into a little lighthearted play, the part of her that enjoyed a challenge eager to see if she could get him to tolerate the diversion despite his deep-seated hesitation, but to her surprise, he'd actually seemed to enjoy himself - and had said as much when they'd parted ways. If she didn't know him as well as she did, she would have assumed that he was only being polite, but the tenor of his voice had been sincere, and she could see from the way he'd smiled that his words had been true.
She'd observed Davey's mischievous side emerge briefly on a few other occasions, but she'd never seen him give into it as fully as he had that evening behind the tenement, and it had caught her off guard, particularly at the beginning of their exchange when he had jokingly remarked that perhaps he wasn't quite as polite and well-mannered as she'd taken him to be.
I might not be as much of a gentleman as you think I am, Sadie.
He'd said the words with complete facetiousness, but she'd been unprepared to hear them, and they'd instinctively sent a little chill of fear running through her. When he'd taken a step in her direction, she'd panicked, hurling the snowball in her hand with all her might, because in that split second she'd forgotten that the boy approaching was only her downstairs neighbor gently teasing her, not someone else with a far more self-serving purpose in mind.
As soon as her projectile had hit its target, the spell had been broken, and a sense of relief had washed over her at the realization that it was only Davey standing there, wiping the snow from his face and wryly remarking on how cold it was, Davey with his easy, resonant voice and his eyes that weren't deep-dark with anger but were the calming color of sea and sage instead. Just Davey. Only Davey. Safe, sensible, trustworthy Davey.
She'd recovered quickly after that, and he hadn't seemed to notice her momentary lapse, but even as Sadie's cheerful demeanor had returned, the incident had lingered in the back of her mind. It hadn't stopped her from fully enjoying their snowball fight, and by the time she'd said goodbye to her neighbor later that evening, the brief jolt of fear that she'd felt had faded considerably, but as she'd returned to the warmth of her family's apartment to change out of her wet clothes, she'd found herself rather sober at the realization that she'd so easily - if instinctively - conflated Davey with someone else who was nothing like him in any sense of the word, even if the association had only lasted for a moment.
The arrival of Judith and her family for dinner had quickly drowned out further rumination, and Sadie had thought no further about the incident for some time. But now as it resurfaced, she silently resolved to do her best to prevent any kind of unfortunate convergence from happening in the future, for she did not want the past overshadowing her friendship with Davey. Their warm, mutual regard was far too valuable to her, and she was not about to let their camaraderie be disturbed - at least, not if she could help it.
Gorham's tailor shop came into view, and Sadie hurried across the street, noticing with surprise that her employer hadn't yet left for his lunch break, which he generally took every day at a quarter after noon. It must have meant that the morning had been a busy one or that a customer had dropped off a rush order, and Sadie found herself glad that she'd decided to come to work early that day instead of idling away her free time at the tenement.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Gorham," she greeted the older man as she entered the shop. "School was dismissed for the day, so I'm here a bit early."
"And not a moment too soon," he smiled, looking up from the pair of pants he was hemming. "We've had quite an influx of folks stopping by, and Miss Pulitzer will be along any minute now to pick up some alterations. They're sitting on my table in the back room, if you don't mind packaging them up."
"Of course." Sadie made her way behind the counter and through the curtain that led to the back room where the tailor did his fittings and most of his alterations. The order to be prepared was sitting exactly where he'd indicated, and Sadie quickly set down her things and got to work wrapping up the garments and placing them neatly into a pile.
No sooner had she finished her work when she heard the tinkling of the shop's bell and the sound of Mr. Gorham's voice cheerfully greeting Miss Pulitzer as she arrived. Sadie gathered up the order and made her way to the front of the shop, smiling as she added her own hello.
"It's been some time since I've seen you, Miss Pulitzer. I hope that you've been well."
"Well enough!" the young woman answered. "These last few months have been busy ones."
Sadie was about to ask how things had been going at The Sun before quickly remembering that Miss Pulitzer hadn't actually shared any information about her employment first-hand, and that it was probably best not to mention it, as it seemed unprofessional to bring up details (however innocuous) that had been learned from a mutual acquaintance rather that directly from the source.
To her surprise, however, Miss Pulitzer seemed to have no qualms about doing that very thing.
"I take it that you've been busy yourself," she remarked, smiling at Sadie. "How have you been faring between your job here, caring for your sisters, and your evening work as a tutor?"
The question caught Sadie by surprise. "I have been faring…reasonably well," she faltered, wondering how the woman on the other side of the counter had acquired the latter two pieces of information. "But, how did you know - "
"I have my sources." The woman shrugged. "I won't go so far as to divulge the identity of my informant...but I will say that he had quite a lot to say on the subject of your industrious bent, as well as a laundry list of your other admirable qualities that he was only too happy to elaborate on in detail for quite some time."*
Sadie found herself flustered by the disclosure. "I..." she trailed off. "That's very…"
How was she supposed to go about responding to a remark like that?
"I'm sorry," she apologized, clumsily trying to smooth over her momentary lapse into silence. "I've held you up with my unnecessary questions." Quickly, she set the packages down. "Here are the alterations you requested. If you need any further adjustments made, please do let us know."
Miss Pulitzer received the garments with a word of thanks, graciously overlooking the abrupt change in subject, but Sadie didn't miss the canny look in her eye or the way her smile quirked up just a bit at the corners as though she was amused. After paying generously as she always did and bidding everyone a good day, she departed, and Sadie was left to fidget under the questioning eye of her elderly employer.
"It sounds as though someone thinks a great deal of you," he smiled, peering at her through his round-rimmed spectacles.
"I'm sure he was only making conversation." Sadie swept a few stray threads littering the counter into her hand, intending to discard them. She knew that it was unfair of her to characterize the situation as such, for of course the person whom they were discussing wouldn't say anything unless he meant it (and he'd complimented her before, so in some ways it wasn't anything new), but for whatever reason the thought that he'd spoken of her so highly to a third party - indeed, the fact that he'd thought of her at all while not in her company - astounded her a little, because she'd always assumed that Davey's mind was on far more important and interesting subjects than anything concerning herself.
Quickly hurrying to the back room to avoid further conversation, Sadie settled down in the chair that she usually occupied, picking up a little girl's dress that she'd been working on and beginning to piece it together with neat, even stitches. But even as the garment took shape beneath her hands, her thoughts refused to come together, scattering instead like a box of buttons spilled haphazardly across the floor.
Katherine carefully slid the paper-wrapped parcels that she'd just picked up from the tailor's into the bottom drawer of her desk. She'd arrived back at The Sun ten minutes late from her lunch break due to the errand, but the detour had been worth it; this way she could head home directly after work to see how Jack and Crutchie were faring.
The last several days had been busy ones; the two newsies had been relatively quiet and undemanding guests, but Katherine had insisted on pulling out all the stops to make their stay a comfortable one, checking in frequently to see if there was anything patient or caretaker needed and bringing home an array of hearty foods to tempt the boys under her roof to partake, for she knew that it wasn't often that they got to eat their fill.
Thankfully, Crutchie had taken a turn for the better soon after he'd arrived, the commodities of Katherine's apartment no doubt supporting his recovery, and it was only a matter of days before he'd begun to look more like himself, though his body was still clearly fighting the lingering effects on the illness. Katherine had been inwardly relieved that no doctor had needed to be called; she would have done it without a second's hesitation if Crutchie's condition had demanded it, but she was thankful that there hadn't been a need to bring in an outside party, for it certainly wasn't proper for a young lady to be housing two young men at her apartment, and the discovery would have no doubt led to questions - or at least some thinly-veiled disapproving looks.
Propriety for propriety's sake had never mattered much to Katherine, but there were certain breaches of decorum that she'd prefer not to flaunt if she could help it, simply because dealing with others' displeasure was tiresome and inconvenient (not because she gave a fig for what they had to say). It was a luxury to ignore a certain degree of scrutiny cast upon her by society, (a privilege she retained as the daughter of a rich and powerful man), for girls of lower social situations did not have such an option, but even that luxury had its limits, and privilege was, in many other ways, its own kind of encumbrance.
Privilege, however, was what had given her the means to help Jack and Crutchie, and Katherine was grateful for that. Despite the seriousness of the situation, the last several days had been pleasant ones, and she had relished both the chance to play hostess and the opportunity to spend more uninterrupted time with her sweetheart once his charge had fallen asleep for the night. Jack would sketch or work on his drawings for The World while she read, and in between bursts of inspiration and chapter breaks, they'd talk and laugh and flirt with each other, exchanging provocative quips and knowing glances until the conversation eventually petered out all together in favor of more amorous pastimes. They never took it too far and always wound things down when the hour got late, Jack returning to the room he shared with Crutchie and Katherine retiring to her own bed for the evening, but she'd found it rather thrilling - if slightly scandalous - to have her beau sleeping under the same roof, even if the arrangement was only temporary and for pragmatic rather than romantic purposes.
At this very moment, Jack was probably making his way over to The World for his usual weekly cartoon delivery. Crutchie, thankfully, was in stable enough condition to be left alone to rest, and Jack had spent nearly all of his time by the recovering newsie's side, so some fresh air and a chance to stretch his legs would be good for him.
She was looking forward to seeing him in a few hours when she got home.
Checking the large clock on the wall to note the time, Katherine pulled a pen and a pad of paper from her desk, then rose and made her way across the floor to the copy editors' office, where she was due to meet Lena for an informal meeting. The older woman was already in her office and waved Katherine in when she arrived.
"I have some exciting news," she announced, motioning for Katherine to take a seat on the other side of the desk. "After two weeks of waiting to hear anything from Roosevelt's office, I just got a phone call this morning from one of his aides who was passing along a message from the Governor himself. It seems that a formal investigation of The Refuge has finally been mounted, and the aide I spoke to said that it's looking likely the place will be shut down for good until serious reforms can be made."
She smiled. "Congratulations, Kath. It seems that your crusade has finally come to an end."
"Lena, that's wonderful!" Katherine exclaimed, wanting nothing more than to spring out of her chair and hug her coworker, though she checked herself in the interest of professionalism. "I can't thank you enough - this wouldn't have been possible without you!"
"They were your words, Kath."
"And it was your advocacy and your byline that allowed those words to reach the people who needed to hear them," Katherine insisted. "You're a hero, Lena, and I can't wait to tell Jack and the rest of the boys this news. They'll be absolutely thrilled!"
"The man I spoke with at Roosevelt's office was rather apologetic," Lena disclosed. "He said that the Governor had always planned to follow up with an investigation as he'd promised back in August, he'd simply gotten preoccupied with other matters of political business. Next year's an election year, as you know."
Katherine nodded. The easy if oft-forgot promises of well-meaning but preoccupied politicians wasn't an unfamiliar subject at all. She was thankful that Roosevelt had finally made good on his word, even if that action had been delayed and had necessitated another article - and another outcry of dismay from the public - to get the ball rolling again.
"I'm glad that you'll be able to put this to rest, now," Lena said kindly. "I know this cause was an important one for you, Kath; I could practically feel your words living and breathing right on the page when you wrote that article." She shook her head. "It's really a shame that you're still blacklisted. Your words could be regularly gracing the front page, if you were just allowed to use them."
"Well, as you've told me before, it's all in a day's work for a woman carving out her career in a man's world," Katherine answered, laughing a little dryly. The admission always stung, but coming on the heels of such good news, it hurt a little less. "We have limited power and influence, but at the end of the day, we get the job done." She smiled at her friend. "And today's triumph proves my point."
"I'm glad you're pleased," Lena replied. "And - if I'm being candid - I'm glad that I can finally go back to my regular job responsibilities, now that this is starting to blow over! With the Governor's office taking action, it's unlikely we'll be getting any more phone calls or letters from the public about 'my' scintillating exposure of the Refuge's horrors. I'd even welcome a few weeks of mundane, boring office work for a change."
"You've been a gem," Katherine declared, getting to her feet. "And I won't keep you any longer - I'm sure there's plenty of work waiting for you that you've had to put off for my sake - but thank you again, Lena! You really came through, and I know it cost you. I won't forget this."
"All in a day's work," the other woman replied, bidding Katherine farewell before turning back to the pile of files on her desk.
All in a day's work, indeed, the former reporter thought as she made her way back to her alcove, feeling satisfied and almost giddy with excitement. Upon returning to her desk, she saw that Jenny the secretary had already dropped off the mail, which was sitting in a neat pile next to the typewriter. It was mostly interoffice memos and a few business invoices, but as Katherine set them aside, almost ready to dismiss the entire batch in favor of diving into her work so that she could leave the office as soon as possible, the last envelope caught her eye.
It was plain and unobtrusive, but the handwriting looked familiar, and as Katherine slid her letter opener through the envelope crease and removed a single folded-up piece of newsprint, she suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.
It was a copy of the article about The Refuge, cut out from the rest of the page, each edge uniformly rigid and straight. Underneath the headline, Lena's name had been crossed out with a single line of red pencil, and clipped to the newsprint was a small piece of paper with a single sentence written across it:
I know it was you, Kit.
A/N: *Foreboding music*
*Katherine is referencing the conversation she and Davey had during the strike (wayyy back in Chapter 28 of this story, a long time ago in real time, but only a few months ago in their world ;)).
I'd love to hear what you thought of this chapter! There's a bit of Sadie's backstory hidden in this installment, so I'm curious if anyone has any reactions or thoughts about that, but of course, I'd just be thrilled to hear anything you have to say about what you read! :)
