Katherine was on her way to the lodging house to give Jack a present. It was his eighteenth birthday today. She was almost at the steps when she saw a little girl. She looked to be about four or five years old; she also had dark hair and was clutching a piece of paper.
Katherine goes over and kneels in front of the girl, "Are you ok?"
"Yes ma'am."
Katherine smiles, "What are you doing?"
" 'M lookin' for me dad."
"Oh, maybe I can help. What does he look like?"
"I don' know I ain't eva' met 'm."
"Really?"
"Yeah, bu' me ma wrote this letta an' it says he lives there." She points to the lodging house.
"Oh, did your mom put his name in the letter."
"Yeah, Jack Kelly."
"Oh," Katherine said, while trying to figure out what she was feeling, "I know who that is."
"Can ya show me ta 'im."
"Of course sweetheart." She leads the girl into the lodging house, which was chaos with all the boys getting ready, or messing around till it was time to leave. "Jack!" Katherine called up the stairs knowing that he was always the last one to come down.
"Yeah Ace?" He called back.
"I have a big surprise for you."
"Ok, jus' give me a minute! Albert give Race back 'is ciga' an' Mush give Romeo back 'is pants!"
Katherine sat on the couch on the first floor of the lodge. The little girl sat by a group of boys who were playing some type of card game.
"Who's the girl?" Specs asked sitting next to Katherine.
"I found her looking for her dad."
"Oh…do you know who he is?"
"Yes, in fact he's upstairs right now."
"Oh."
" 'Ey Ace wha' is the surprise?" Jack said coming down the stairs followed by Race, Romeo, Mush, and Albert. Katherine points at the young girl. "Who's the giorl?"
"I figured you would know better than me…given you are her father."
" 'Ey Jack a grave is six fee' righ', we an' the boys wanna know 'ow deep we 'ave ta dig." Race said.
"Shut it Race, an' Specs take the boys to The World, I need ta talk ta Ace." Specs nodded and soon the lodging house was mostly empty and completely silent, something Katherine has never experienced in the building. Jack looks over at the young girl. " 'Ey kid wha's ya name? "
The young girl looks up, "Holly."
"Come ova' 'er Holly."
She walks over to Jack, who picks her up and sets her in his lap. He studied her features and he had to admit she look a lot like him all the way from her ocean blue eyes and black hair to the way she holds herself. " 'Ey can ya go upstairs an' ge' me a pack a cards up there?" She nods and Jack sets her down. After he made sure she was gone, he turned back to Katherine, " 'M sorry Ace."
"Why didn't you tell me, Jack."
"I didn' know Ace. I wasn' exactly the type ta stay ta the mornin'."
"And you see how well that went."
"So I messed up, wha' was I suppose' ta do? I was thirteen an' nervous ta start leadin' the boys, I wanted a one nigh' break."
"Now you're dealing with the consequences of that break."
"I know, now 'm gonna take care of 'er."
"Jack, do you even know how to take care of a kid?"
"Wha' do ya think I've been doin'?"
"Keeping watch on the boys is a lot different than raising a child of your own."
"I know Ace…an' I was 'opin' ya'd help me."
Katherine nodded. Even though this wasn't necessarily the way Katherine wanted her relationship to go, she was happy with it.
"Looks like this birthday was a big surprise." Jack said with his cocky Jack smirk.
"You could say that." Katherine says smiling.
