On The Docks | A Spot Conlon Love Story

His Secret

"Ash! Ash! Ash, wake up!"

I feel my consciousness come back to me as I hear someone calling my name. Opening my eyes, I see Jackie looking down at me, and he seems a bit confused. I look up at him and smile.

"Hey, Jackie. What's up?" I ask him.

"Did you give up your bed for Leo?" Jackie asks, I nod. "Well, you know that you can just take my bed, right?"

"Oh yeah. I could've done that. Could you do me a favor and watch Leo for me? I've gotta go buy some stuff," I say. He turns around and looks at the sleeping boy on my bed.

"Sure. Just stay safe, we don't want you getting hurt," Jackie says. I hug him and kiss his cheek.

"Thank you so much! Love you, bro!" I say as I run out of the lodge with a few extra coins in my pockets. 

As I run through the streets, I keep an eye out on things that look interesting or would be good gifts. I'm running past buildings when something catches my eyes. Snow globes.

I walk into the small store, looking at the snow globes and all different types of souvenirs. I find a small snow globe that says the words 'Santa Fe' on it and it has mountains inside it and pick it up. I find a golden painted necklace with a heart with the words 'Heart Of Gold' etched into it and decide that it's the perfect gift for Spot. And finally, I find a small pair of binoculars and think of Renner, because he's a spy and might need a pair.

After picking all of these gifts up, I walk over to the counter, where I see a little old lady standing there.

"Hello, miss. How much would this be?" I ask her. She takes a good look at me and then at the gifts.

"Oh, it's lovely to see someone in my shop these days. You're one of those newsies, aren't you?" She asks. I nod. "Well, congratulations on winning the strike. Now, who are these gifts for?"

"Well, the Santa Fe one is for my brother, the binoculars is for a friend, and the heart one is for my boyfriend," I say. She nods, thinking for a minute before deciding.

"Hmm, then I'd say fifteen cents. Is that a good price?" She asks. My eyes widen at the cheap price of the objects. 

"Uh, sure. But at least let me give you an extra five cents, as that's way too low of a price for such beautiful souvenirs," I say, but she shakes her head.

"No, that's alright, darling. It's just good to know that people are buying gifts out of the kindness of their hearts," she says. I can't argue with her, so I just nod and fish out the cash from my pocket. I place 17 cents down and make my way out of the store as fast as I can as to not be roped back in because of the two extra cents.

I feel a sense of kindness, knowing that I'm doing something good as I cross over the Brooklyn bridge. While walking to the docks, I see Renner walking along the streets and run over to him.

"Renner! Just the guy I was looking for! Here, you've been really kind as to watch over me, so please, have this gift!" I say happily as I hand him the binoculars. I see his eyes light up as his hands take the small object.

"Holy crap! Where did ya find these? I've been lookin' all ovah for a pair a' these bad boys," Renner says while inspecting them.

"Well, I just went to a souvenir shop. It didn't cost too much and I thought that you might need it," I say. He doesn't respond, just looks at everything through the lens. "Well, I best be off to go see Spot."

I turn around and continue walking down the docks. One of his boys tells me that he's in his room, so I walk up to the lodging house, where I see another girl walking in. I rush as fast as I can to catch up to her.