Crippled Words (A Crutchie Love Story)

Chapter 5: World Turning Around

I stayed with Crutchie for awhile telling him what happened. All he did was listen to me and make comments when he thought it was alright. I didn’t leave until Willa came and found me with the help of David who had been looking for Crutchie. Willa took me to the hotel her and her family had rented a room in. I didn’t talk to any of them, not even Willa. Willa’s mother said I could live with them until I turned 18 or until I got married since most girls get married between 16 and 17. I nodded my head, but still didn’t say anything. Willa and I shared and room and a bed while her little brother had the other bed. I sat in the room staring at the wall more in shock than anything. Willa came to sit next to me.

                “I was worried when you ran off,” she said, “I thought you were going to go and jump off the Brooklyn bridge. Then I ran into David and he asked me if I had seen Crutchie because he didn’t come back to the newsboys lounge. So I figured you were with him.”

                I didn’t say anything. Willa continued to talk. “I’m awful sorry about your dad. He was a good man. It’s a shame he had to go like that. But we’ll take care of you, you’ll see. It won’t hurt after awhile and we’ll get a new house and we’ll be like real sisters.”

                “But we’re not,” I said, shocking Willa since I hadn’t talked for days.

                “What?”

                “We’re not sisters, we’re friends. And I don’t want to live with you, I want to live with my dad. Now I don’t have a mom or a dad. I’m a orphan just like Les. At least she had the luck of never actually getting to meet her parents.”

                “You’ll get used to living with us. You and I used to have sleepovers all the time. It’ll be like that only longer.”

                I sighed and went to go look out the window. I admired that Willa was trying to make me feel better. She was trying to make me see the bright side to living with her and her family. But I knew the bright side already. The bad side was that I was never going to see my father again. I was never going to hear him laugh or feel his kiss on my cheek. Never again. And that’s what hurt the most.

                The day the world really started turning around was a week later on Friday. Willa and I were talking to the newsies outside of the hotel. Crutchie was with us, and Jack, Race and Mush. Mush was telling us about a girl he had met the other night. Crutchie told me Mush met a lot of girls, but it was never anything serious. They usually turned him lose after one date if he was that lucky.

                “Ain’t that like the 3rd girl dis week, Mush?” Jack asked.

                “The first two were bum odds,” Mush said, “I didn’t even bother to go wit ‘em anywhere.”

                “Ya a real charmer, ya know dat,” Race commented.

                “Yeah, ya gonna charm ya way into da gutter,” Crutchie said.

                “I’m already there,” Mush said.

                We all laughed. Crutchie dropped his voice so only I could hear what he was saying. “At least Mush gets girls,” Crutchie said, “No girl wants to talk to a gip.”

                “How could you say that, Crutchie?” I said, “That’s not true.”

                “Yeah it is. I might as well be a horse with a broken leg, I don’t mean nothin’.”

                “Well, you already got a girl to talk to you. And she likes you a lot.”

                “Really? Who?”

                I took his hand in mine. “Me.”

                His face turned bright red. I giggled as he smiled making his face even redder. “Gosh, that’s an improvement already.”

                I giggled again. I hadn’t let go of his hand and he didn’t seem to want to pull it away. I don’t know what came over me. Maybe it was just nerves or bravery. I kissed him on the cheek in front of our friends. I put my hand over my mouth shocked at my own self for what I did. My father would have told me I was being fast. That just reminded me that he wasn’t there to tell me that anymore.

                “I’m sorry,” I said, “I didn’t mean to do that. Well I did, but…”

                I didn’t get to finish before he kissed me on the lips. I heard Jack and Mush laughing and Race shouting. Crutchie pulled away from me. I stared at him amazed.

                “I’m sorry,” he said.

                I smiled. “Oh don’t be sorry. That was just great.”

                He laughed. Willa hit me in the arm. “I can’t believe you got kissed before I did and that you have a bo before me.”

                “Maybe you should kiss David. What have you got to lose?”

                “My dignity and my lunch.”

                I giggled and laid my head on Crutchie’s shoulder. Just then, a carriage pulled up to the front of the hotel. The carriage looked expensive with a door and everything. A man was driving the carriage for whoever was inside. He stopped the horses and got off the seat to open the door for the passenger. Out of the carriage, walked a lady I knew very well. She wore a white lace dress lined with expensive embroidered flowers. Her hat was white as well and covered in feathers. She wore white gloves and carried and white bag. She stepped out of the carriage with perfect posture and an upturned nose.

                “Aunt Caroline?”