Wish I Could Catch a Breeze // Albert DaSilva

Chapter Twelve

With intent concentration, Gretchen focused on tying the ribbon in her hair. She finally finished and stared herself down in the mirror, checking her appearance. She knew she didn't have to look nice, but it was her first official date with Albert. Ms. Ferguson had given her the day off work, and while Albert still had to work, he promised to finish as soon as he could. They had agreed to meet in Albert's selling spot, since it was close to wherever Albert was taking her that afternoon.

Finally satisfied with the ribbon, Gretchen left the apartment and started down the street. The sun was up and shining, turning the chilly morning into a comfortably warm spring day. Gretchen happily walked to Albert's spot, smiling when she heard his familiar voice coming from the street corner. She approached him, noticing the sizable stack of papers he had left.

"Good morning," Gretchen said cheerily, joining Albert at his spot.

"Mornin'," Albert replied, smiling at Gretchen. "I am almost done sellin' my papes, an' then we can go." Gretchen nodded and sat down on a conveniently-placed bench behind Albert, waiting. Soon, she grew tired of sitting there and waiting for him to finish.

"Can I help you?" Gretchen asked him, standing up from the bench.

Albert looked at her, surprised. "You...you wanna help me sell?" Gretchen nodded in response. "Yeah, I can teach ya. All you gotta do is shout a headline and sell a pape. Watch." To demonstrate, Albert stepped forward and shouted a headline that was definitely not on the front page of the paper. He got a coin in exchange for the paper, and returned to her.

"But that's not the headline," Gretchen said, confused as she picked up one of the papers.

"Yeah, I know." Albert picked up another. "Ya never say the one on the pape. They usually stink. Call something that gets attention, then fold the pape like this." He showed her how to fold the paper in on itself, concealing the actual headline. "You try."

Gretchen stared at the paper in her hand. "Produce stocks go down," she read aloud, then she sighed. "You're right, that does stink." Albert breathed out a laugh as Gretchen racked her brain for something more interesting. Finally, she nodded. "I'm ready."

"Go for it," Albert said, an amused smile on his face.

Gretchen folded the paper like he had instructed, stepping forward toward the street. She took a deep breath, cleared her throat, and shouted, "Large industry goes bankrupt! Thousands may lose their jobs!" A few people hurried over and paid her for the papers. When Gretchen turned back to face Albert, his amused expression had shifted to one of pride. "How was that?"

"That was really good. Are ya sure this is your first time sellin'?" Albert grinned.

"I'm sure! Can I do another?" Gretchen asked, happy to help. With the two of them working together, they sold all his papers within the next hour.

"You ready to go?" Albert asked once he had thanked her for her help. "I got somethin' planned."

Gretchen nodded with a smile, eager to see what he had in mind. "Let's go." Albert took her hand and began walking. They chatted while Albert led her to the mystery location, both of them feeling on top of the world.

Albert finally turned off the street, leading her into a park. "This is it," he said, grinning. Gretchen gasped softly when she saw the park, and she smiled. It was full of flowers. Beautifully groomed flower bushes lined walking paths, and bumblebees buzzed lazily from flower to flower. "D'ya like it?" He asked, his voice soft as he looked at Gretchen.

"It's beautiful," Gretchen said just as softly, smiling happily. "I love it."

Albert grinned. He dropped her hand and offered her his arm instead. "Shall we, m'lady?" He asked, his voice taking on a jokingly formal accent.

With another wide smile, Gretchen hooked her arm through his. "We shall, good sir," she said, using the same accent. Together, they strolled the paths and looked at the flowers. Gretchen happily pointed out some of her favorite kinds to Albert. Both of them were on cloud nine for the rest of the afternoon, enjoying each other's company.