The Boy Who Could Fly

chapter nineteen

One Week Later

Aimee gathered her arms full of bread and fresh fruits from the market before heading to the lodging house. She hadn't had as much time as she wanted to visit the boys in the past week. Once they got settled, she focused her energy on her studies.

It had taken a while to explain to her parents how a bunch of boys showed up all of a sudden, all of them seemingly close to Aimee and her siblings. She ended up with some lame excuse about how she had gotten lost one day, found the boys, and they helped her get back. Aimee was sure her parents didn't believe it, but she knew the real story was even more unbelievable. But she was off the hook for the time being, and her parents finally allowed her to go visit the boys.

Weaving through the evening rush hour crowds that filled the streets, Aimee walked the short distance from the market to the lodging house. She knew that most of the boys would have returned from work by now. As she pushed open the door, she could immediately hear the sound of the rambunctious boys messing around upstairs in the bunk room.

The only boy sitting downstairs happened to be the newest addition to the group. He hadn't come from Neverland with them, but he showed up at the doorstep two days after everyone arrived. The group had affectionately dubbed the blonde boy "Crutchie," since he had a bad leg and used a crutch to get around. As soon as Aimee stepped inside, Crutchie gave her a brilliant smile. "Hey!"

Aimee returned it, going to set the food down on the table. "Hi."

Standing up, Crutchie made his way to the bottom of the stairs. "Aimee's here!" He called to the rest of the boys. "An' she brought food, too!" Within seconds, the stairs were flooded with people as they clambered downstairs to eat.

Aimee managed to pull Race aside in the midst of the chaos. "Where's Jack?" She asked. She hadn't seen him in the group.

"Oh, he's on the roof. He spends most of his time up there nowadays," Race answered, grabbing a hunk of bread.

Aimee nodded, managing to swipe a piece of bread and an apple for Jack. "Thanks," she said to Race before walking up the stairs to the second floor. She tried to ignore how much of a mess the bunk room was. She picked her way over discarded clothes, shoes, and the occasional newspaper. After sliding up the window, she climbed out onto the fire escape and began walking up to the roof.

Jack was sitting with his back to Aimee, his legs hanging off the edge of the roof. He looked peaceful, and every now and then he would glance up at the sky.

"Care for some company?" Aimee asked, hoping not to startle him too much.

Jack turned and smiled a little when he saw her. "Sure." He motioned for her to come sit down next to him, and she did, handing him the food. "Oh, thank you." Jack began to eat slowly.

"How was work?" Aimee asked. Her priority when the boys had arrived in New York was to find them jobs. They couldn't live without them, and luckily, they all seemed to be pretty good at selling newspapers.

"It was alright," Jack answered, taking a bite out of his apple. "I sold out o' all my papers, which I guess is normal. But some o' the boys are havin' a hard time. I don't know how ta' help 'em."

Aimee nodded slowly. "They'll get it in time. You've only been here a week. Though I hear you're the best out of the group." She smiled a little.

Jack grinned slowly. "I dunno what you expected. I'm the best at most everything."

Aimee rolled her eyes playfully, and both of them fell silent for several moments. Finally, she spoke up again. "Race said you're up here a lot. Is there a reason why?"

"This is the closest I can get to the stars," Jack said softly, looking up at the sky wistfully. "I used to be able to fly. Now I gotta stay on the ground. An' this is the tallest place I can get to."

That made sense. Of course he couldn't fly, they had used up all the pixie dust. So it was only natural for him to get as close to it as he could. Aimee tried to look on the bright side. "Well, at least you got away from the pirates. You and your boys are safe, and you can start building a new life. I heard from Spot yesterday, and she said they're all settled in Brooklyn. Looks like you guys might be the majority of the newsboys on the streets in Manhattan and Brooklyn."

"Yeah, I talked to Spot too. I think this'll be good for us. It'll just take a while to get used to it all," Jack agreed, but Aimee could see that he missed Neverland more than he let on. "I think it'll be a good thing, though," he added.

Aimee nodded. "It will be. You've got a place to stay and a way to make money. It will all work out."

"Yeah," Jack said softly, going quiet as he got lost in thought. After several moments, he turned to Aimee. "It ain't like this everywhere, right?"

"Like what?"

"So...crowded. And busy. With tall buildings. An' people everywhere. It's exhaustin', and after livin' on an island for so long, I dunno how long I can take this," he said.

"It's not like this everywhere," Aimee promised him. "Maybe someday, when you have enough money, you could move out West. There's a lot of room there. Big, open spaces. But you wouldn't want to leave your boys, would you?"

Jack didn't answer her question. "D'you know the names of any places out there?"

Aimee nodded. "Sure, there are a lot of towns and cities in the West. None as big as New York, though." She thought over the settlements she knew of on the opposite side of the country. "You might like Santa Fe."

"Santa Fe," Jack repeated slowly. "Where's that?"

"Out in the New Mexico territory," she answered. "I've never been there. But I hear it's nice. They have cowboys."

"Hm." He nodded a little. "I'll hafta look into that. Thanks." He fell silent again, finishing the food Aimee had brought to him. Standing up, Jack sighed. "I should get downstairs to make sure the boys ain't killin' each other without me."

Aimee laughed softly. "I think that's a good idea." Jack outstretched his hand to help her up, and she took it. Together, they made their way to the stairs.

"Man, I hate stairs," Jack said under his breath as he began to climb down. "Life was easier when I was the boy who can fly." He turned to look at Aimee with a small smile, and she returned it happily.

"Don't worry, I have a feeling everything will work out just fine for you and the boys here," Aimee said confidently. "Besides, you'll always be the boy who could fly. And while others may not know that, you have a whole lodging house full of people that do. Your legacy will live on somehow."

Jack laughed as they climbed through the window and walked back to the kitchen. "Maybe we could start tellin' my stories but give me a different name. If it picks up, my legacy may never end. It'll just be under a different name."

"I think that's a grand idea." Aimee nodded, still smiling. "Do you have a name in mind? Or will we have to make one up?"

"What about Peter?" He shrugged. "First name that came to mind. I heard some woman call a man by that name today."

Aimee laughed softly. "Alright. Peter it is. But are you going to give yourself a last name?"

Scanning the kitchen, Jack's gaze landed on a small stack of cooking dishes. He turned to Aimee with a grin. "How about Peter Pan?"

~~~~~
the end!
thank you to all of you who have been reading this faithfully. your comments, votes, and support mean the world to me! this has been one of my favorite books I've worked on, and I'm so sad it's come to an end.
I hope you all enjoyed it! I'll see you for the next one!