“Hello.” Medda said, holding her hand out. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Seven accepted her generosity and shook her hand. “You too.”
“So, you just arrive today?”
“How’d you know that?”
“You look like you’ve been traveling. Don’t worry, I used to travel a lot too.”
“Seven sings real good.” Pie Eater popped in.
Seven shut her eyes and fought the redness creeping to her face. ‘I wish he hadn’t said that,’ she thought.
“Oh really?” Medda asked, obviously interested.
“Yeah.” Pie Eater said. “She was singin’ on da way ‘ere, an’ she’s real good.”
“I din’ ‘ear ‘er.” Crutchy said.
“Well, you was talkin’, an’ I wasn’t. Why don’t ya sing out loud?”
“I’d like to hear you.” Medda said gently.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t do that kinda thing.” Seven said sheepishly.
“Aw, come on!” Jack said. “We all likes real good singin’! Please?”
“Yeah, please?” everyone joined in.
This time, Seven couldn’t fight the heat in her face. She blushed furiously with embarrassment as the newsies continued pleading for her to sing. ‘I’m gonna shoot Pie Eater for this.’ She thought.
“Oh, okay.” Seven shrugged. “Let’s see…late at night when all the world is sleeping, I stay up and think of you. And I wish on a star that somewhere you are thinking of me too. Cuz I’m dreamin’ of you tonight, till tomorrow, I’ll be holding you tight. And there’s nowhere in the world I’d rather be, than here in my room, dreamin’ about you and me.”
“Wonder if you ever see me and I wonder if you know I’m there. If you looked in my eyes, would you see what’s inside, would you even care? I just wanna hold you close but so far, all I have are dreams of you. So I wait for the day and the courage to say how much I love you. Yes I do. I’ll be dreamin’ of you tonight, till tomorrow, I’ll be holding you tight. And there’s nowhere in the world I’d rather be than here in my room, dreamin’ about you and me.”
Seven suddenly stopped when there was applause behind her. Even Medda was clapping for her.
“That was wonderful!” she exclaimed. “You know, for quite some time we’ve been looking for someone who would sing on Wednesday nights, and I think you’d be perfect. Would you like the job?”
Seven’s eyes widened. “Me? A singer? No, I couldn’t do that. I’m a newsie-“
“Oh, don’t worry. I’m sure you can hold two jobs at one time. Jack, don’t you think she should take the job?”
“Sure!” Jack exclaimed. “You’d be a hit!”
“Well…I guess so.”
“Wonderful!” Medda cried. “You don’t have to start this week if you don’t want to. You can start next week if you’re comfortable with that.”
“That’s fine.”
“Good. You’re going to be a hit.”
Seven rubbed her eyes to keep awake as she walked to Newspaper Row behind the wild newsies. They seemed like they weren’t tired, for they turned cartwheels and jumped off of barrels, crates and carts and even sang as they ran. ‘I hope I get used to this.’ She thought.
“Hey, Seven!”
Seven turned to see Bumlets coming toward her with a wide grin on his face. She was glad to see him, for by the time they got home last night, it was time for them to go to bed.
“So, how’d it go las’ night?” Bumlets asked when he caught up with her. “Jack said dat Medda gave ya a job.”
“She did. She wants me to sing Wednesday nights.”
“Really? Wow! Ya must be some singa if Medda hired ya. Couldja sing fer me?”
“Not right now. I’m really tired.”
“Oh. Well, will ya sing for me later?”
“I guess so.”
“Great! All newsies love good singin’.”
They finally arrived at Newspaper Row and lined up to get their newspapers. Seven fumbled around in her pockets and finally pulled out five dimes. Jack had told her about the price of Newspapers, so she decided to try her luck at a hundred. When they reached the front counter, an older, grumpy looking man looked up at her and frowned.
“How many?” he asked, his voice gruff.
“A hundred, please.” Seven said, placing her dimes on the counter.
“Please, huh? Well, you’ll get yer papes. Oscar! Hundred papes for the new kid.”
A younger, slimmer man wearing a round derby and a disapproving frown on his face suddenly appeared and slammed her newspapers down on the counter. When he saw the pretty young newsgirl, his frown suddenly disappeared.
“Oh, sorry. I din’t mean to slam ‘em on ya.”
Seven didn’t answer but took her newspapers and left. She walked down the platform to meet Bumlets when Jack walked up to her with a not too thrilled look on his face.
“What?” Seven asked.
“Looks like ya’ve been noticed by Oscar Delancy.”
“What about it?”
“’E’s trouble.” Bumlets answered. “Both Delancy brudders are trouble.”
“Oh. Well, it’s okay, he looked trashy to me.”
“So, ya wanna sell wit me?” Jack asked. “Dey say I’m da best ‘round dese pahts.”
“Well…I was kinda hoping to sell with Bumlets. That is, I’m a little more comfortable with him since I know him better.”
“Aw, no problem. ‘E’s pretty good too.”
“Okay.”
Jack turned and left, and Bumlets looked at Seven and smiled brightly. “You wanna sell wit me?”
“Yeah, you.”
“All right! I mean, that’s good. C’mon, let’s get you sellin’ before Oscar tries to get ‘is hooks on ya.”
A week and a half had passed and Seven had been accepted as a newsie. She was now adjusting to her new life and coming along just fine. Tonight was her first night as a singer at Irving Hall, and she was completely nervous. She couldn’t stop shaking.
Medda had let Seven borrow a dress to wear and had fixed her up all nice, but she was still nervous. She was afraid that she would forget the words to the song, or her voice would crack, or she would trip or mess up on the Spanish part to the song. She didn’t even know what the Spanish words meant! Oh, how she wished someone would translate for her. She nearly jumped a mile high when there was a knock on her door.
“Oh, uh, come in!” she called.
Medda opened the door and peeked in. “You have five minutes. Are you doing okay?”
“Oh yeah, I’m fine. I’m more than fine. I’m terrific!”
“You’re scared stiff, aren’t you?”
“I’m terrified, that’s what!”
“Well, don’t worry. The newsies are outside, and if you get nervous, just look out at them and imagine that they’re the only people in the audience. It works with me.”
“Thanks.”
Medda smiled quickly and shut the door. When she heard the lock click, Seven looked at her mirror and wondered what she was getting herself into. ‘I’m gonna do terrible. I know it.’ She stayed that way for a while until Medda knocked on the door and told her that it was time.
Rising, Seven could feel her heart pounding against her ribs. She was so scared that she thought her heart would burst right out of her chest. She walked next to the stage and then saw Bumlets on the other side, smiling at her. Seven felt better seeing him there, for she always felt better when she was closer to someone she knew.
The music began playing and Medda announced Seven’s name. There was applause and some whistles, and Seven walked onstage. This music began, and she inhaled deeply, closed her eyes and began to sing.
“Late at night when all the world is sleeping, I stay up and think of you. And I wish on a star that somewhere you are thinking of me too. Cuz I’m dreamin’ of you tonight, till tomorrow, I’ll be holding you tight. And there’s nowhere in the world I’d rather be than here in my room, dreamin’ about you and me.”
“Wonder if you ever see me and I wonder if you know I’m there. If you looked in my eyes, would you see what’s inside, would you even care? I just wanna hold you close but so far, all I have are dreams of you. So I wait for the day and the courage to say how much I love you. Yes I do. I’ll be dreamin’ of you tonight, till tomorrow, I’ll be holding you tight. And there’s nowhere in the world I’d rather be than here in my room, dreamin’ about you and me.”
“Corazon,” she whispered loudly, “I can’t stop dreaming of you. No puedo dejar pensar en ti, I can’t stop dreaming. Como te necesito, I can’t stop dreaming of you. Mi amor, como te extraño.”
“Late at night when all the world is sleeping, I stay up and think of you. And I still can’t believe that you came up to me and said, ‘I love you.’ I love you too. Now I’m dreamin’ with you tonight, till tomorrow, and for all of my life. And there’s nowhere in the world I’d rather be than here in my room, dreamin’ with you endlessly. And there’s nowhere in the world I’d rather be, than here in my room, I’ll be dreamin’ of you tonight.”
The music slowly began to fade, and the place exploded with applause. Some people were cheering; others were whistling loudly. Seven opened her eyes and broke into a huge smile. She curtsied and left the stage. When she was out of sight, Bumlets rushed to congratulate her.
“You were great!” he exclaimed. “Never heard anyone sing so good in my entire life!”
“Thanks.” Seven mumbled.
“Ya know, I happened to notice that ya din’t look like ya knew what you were singin’ when you was singin’ in Spanish.”
“I didn’t. That’s just the way the song went.”
“I know what dey meant. Want me ta translate?”
“Sure.”
“Well, foist of all, corazon means ‘heart.’ No puedo dejar pensar en ti means ‘I can’t stop thinking about you.’ Como te necesito means ‘how I need you,’ an’ mi amor, como te extraño means ‘my love, how it’s strange.’”
“Hey, Seven!” Medda called. “You were great!”
“Thanks!”
“Jack’s back here. He said that he and the other newsies wanted to take you to Tibby’s for a celebration.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Tell ‘im I’ll be there in a few minutes.” Seven turned to Bumlets. “Why don’t you catch up with Jack? I just need to change.”
“No problem. See ya in a few minutes.”
Seven then turned and rushed to the dressing room, leaving Bumlets watching her before she closed the door.
“No puedo dejar pensar en ti.” He whispered. “Yo te amo.”
“What was it like up there?” Cap asked.
“Freaky, that’s what.” Seven answered. “You know what it’s like, being up onstage with a hundred people you don’t know looking straight at you? Oh man, I thought I might throw up.”
“Well, ya did good.” Quips said.
“Thanks.”
“Hey, check out who’s lookin’ over ‘ere.” Charcoal said. “Nine o’clock.”
Seven looked at Charcoal’s direction and saw Bumlets staring her way. When their eyes met, Bumlets suddenly turned his head and continued his conversation with some of the newsboys. Seven then slowly turned back to the newsgirls and couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking.
“I often catch him looking my way.” Seven said. “Every now an’ then, I look at him and he suddenly looks away.”
“He’s got it bad for ya, Seven.” Dancer said.
“Can’t ya see that ‘e’s dyin’ to ask ya out?” Beaner asked.
“No. Only one guy did, an’-“ ‘Oh Lordy, why’d I bring that up?’
“An’ what?”
“Nothin’. Just forget I even mentioned it.”
It had been another two weeks, and Bumlets still couldn’t find the courage to ask Seven out. Each time he tried, he always stuttered and said something else. But today, he was going to ask her out. He knew that Dutchy was also after Seven, and that he would get to her if he didn’t.
That day, Seven had gone off to sell by herself, as she normally did, but she always came to Tibby’s for lunch. Bumlets had gotten to Tibby’s earlier though, for he wanted to catch her when she arrived. He impatiently tapped his foot against the floorboards as almost all of the other newsgirls entered except for Seven. ‘Where is she?’ He wondered.
Several minutes passed. Almost all of the newsies were gathered a Tibby’s now, and Seven was not among them. Bumlets now began to tap his fingers impatiently against the tabletop as he continued to tap his foot against the floor.
Another several minutes went by, and all of the newsies were there except for Seven. Bumlets had finally had enough and decided to get something to eat. After all, he had been waiting for almost forty-five minutes, and he was starving. Right when he had ordered a hot dog, Seven came in and sat down at a table by herself.
‘Now or never,’ Bumlets thought as he rose from his seat. He waltzed over to Seven’s table and tried to remain calm.
“Hi.” He said. “Cin I siddown?”
Seven looked up at him and nodded. “Sure. Have a seat.”
Bumlets sat down in the booth and smiled faintly. Seven was counting out the money she had made that day and wasn’t paying very much attention to him.
“So, how was your day?” she asked, still counting her money.
“Well, it was fine for now because I went and bought a hundred papes ta sell an’ then I ran into Morris Delancy an’ he wanted to beat me up but I wouldn’t let him an’ I went to sell my papes.”
He was rambling on so fast that all the words seemed to run together. “It was kinda hard fer me cuz we din’t have a good headline an’ no one wanted ta buy papes taday so I had to go somewhere other than my regular sellin’ spot ta sell papes. Afta that I came here an’ I’ve been here for forty-five minutes. So, ya wanna go out with me sometime?”
Bumlets felt like a train was about to smash into him. He may as well be trying to hammer nails into his head and having no success. ‘I blew it.’ He thought. Seven then looked up from counting her money and smiled brightly.
“I’d love it.” she answered.
Bumlets’ eyes widened. “Really?” he exclaimed.
“Really.”
“Wow! I mean, when’s a good time fer ya?”
“I’m not sure. What do you think?”
“How ‘bout tomorrah night? Ya doin’ anythin’ tomorrah?”
“No. Tomorrow’s sufficient for me.”
“Alright, then. Tomorrow it is.”
“Ya know something, you’re the second person today who asked me out.”
“Who was da foist one? Dutchy?”
“Oscar Delancy. But don’t worry. My exact words were ‘bite me.’”
Bumlets kicked his head back and laughed out loud. “Oh man, ya’ve probly scarred ‘im fer life!”
Seven chuckled to herself. “I know. The look on his face was priceless.”
“Well, I’m glad ya said yes. Fer a second der, I thought I blew it.”
“Well, I could tell you were nervous about something, and I do want to go out with you. You didn’t need to be nervous.”
Bumlets ran the comb through his greasy hair once more before looking in the mirror. “Shoulda washed my hair last night,” he mumbled to himself.
He pulled his hat on to hide his greasy-looking hair and walked down to the lower level to pick up Seven. When he reached the girls’ bunkroom, he knocked on the door and Seven answered with a wide smile on her face.
At first, all Bumlets did was stare. Either she or one of the other girls had styled her hair up real nice, and it made her look even prettier. She was also wearing a rather nice blouse along with a long, black skirt with beige and orange flowers on it, and hanging from her neck was beautiful silver locket with floral designs all over it. He couldn’t help but wish he had dressed a little nicer.
“Ya look…pretty.” He stuttered.
Seven blushed a little. “Thank you.”
Bumlets then reached behind his back and thrust a tiny bouquet of hand-picked flowers before Seven. “Here.” He said. “I got dese for ya.”
Seven reacted with surprise and took the bouquet. “Why, thanks. These are really nice. So, what’re we gonna do tonight?”
“Well, I’se thinkin’ of takin’ ya to an Italian restaurant dat jus’ opened. Sound good?”
“Yeah, sounds good. Lemme just put these flowers in water and we can get going.”
Seven then turned around and went back inside the bunkroom. She returned a few seconds later and Bumlets offered her his arm. Seven nodded and accepted it. Together, the two left the lodging house and walked down the street.
In order to get to the Italian restaurant, they had to pass Central Park. As they neared the park, a carriage suddenly came rolling past with a young woman and an older man inside. The woman had on a beautiful white dress made of satin with lace going around the collar, and the sleeves were also made of lace. And at the top of her head was a long veil. She must have been heading to her wedding.
When the young bride saw the two newsies, she smiled a huge smile, waved, and said hello. Seven waved back, but Bumlets couldn’t understand why she was so happy.
“’Ey Seven, why’s she so ‘appy?”
“Cuz she’s getting married, that’s why. My mother told me that a bride’s wedding day is the happiest day of her life.”
“Oh, okay.”
They continued on, but as they walked past the park, they soon heard low music playing from not too far away. As the two looked in the direction from where the music was coming from, they saw the young bride that had waved to them, and she was preparing to walk down the aisle of chairs that were set up and filled with people.
The bride saw them again and waved once more. This time, Seven tugged Bumlets’ arm and dragged him over toward the wedding ceremony. Once they had arrived, the ceremony began, but they lingered off to the side and watched from a tree next to one the rows of chairs.
It was a perfect day for a wedding. The sky was half cloudy, but the way that the sun shone on them made them look many different colors of red, oranges, pinks and golds. There was a calm breeze blowing, and the non-cloudy part of the sky was a beautiful powder blue. It was also nice outside; not too hot and not too cool.
The ceremony continued quickly, and as they watched, Seven leaned back and set her head gently against Bumlets’ shoulder. Bumlets only smiled to himself and gently squeezed her hand.
The next few minutes whizzed past and the two newsies watched as the handsome groom slid a band of tiny gold leaves onto the bride’s finger. They said their vows, and kissed. The guests then stood up and began applauding and cheering for the newly married couple.
Seven felt warm inside when she saw the two kissing, but then she turned cold. She was too close to marrying a man she could never love. Just looking at them made her think of what might have happened had she married Quentin. She decided to forget about it and not let it spoil her evening.
The bride and groom then walked down the aisle as a few guests threw rice at them. When the bride saw them, she smiled once again and seemed glad that they had come to her wedding. After that, someone opened up a bottle of champagne and Seven and Bumlets then noticed that there was food and presents right next to the ceremony. They were having the reception here in Central Park too.
The bride then came over and invited them to join in. They both accepted and got in line to get some food. Many of the guests received them kindly and asked about them. Some seemed pretty impressed about their job as newsies, for few of them had been newsies when they were younger.
When they finally reached the food, they were impressed. This couple was not poor, for some of the entrées they saw now they hadn’t seen before. Both only took a little bit of food, but enough to fill their stomachs. Afterward, they sat beneath the shade of a fully blossomed tree with a few guests around their age.
They chatted as they ate their suppers, and they were having a marvelous time. After about ten minutes, an older man came by and offered them champagne. Seven shook her head and politely said no. Bumlets did the same and they finished with their dinners.
After that, Bumlets noticed that quite a few guests were dancing, and he wanted to join in. He gently tapped on Seven’s shoulder to get her attention.
“Hey,” he said, “ya wanna dance?”
Seven thought for a minute, then nodded. “Sure.”
Bumlets took Seven’s hand and helped her up. Together they walked over to where the couples were dancing and joined in. They two waltzed around to the Celtic music and made the best of this moment that they could. When Seven looked into Bumlets’ smiling eyes, she smiled back and knew that he was the only one she ever wanted to be with.
When the music stopped, they passed out the wedding cake, and after that, it was announced that the bride was going to toss her bouquet. Seven joined the group of single women and waited for the bride to toss her bouquet. When it flew through the air, all the women tried to jump and grab it, but it landed straight in Seven’s hands. Her eyes widened and she immediately showed Bumlets.
“I got it!” she cried.
Bumlets nodded and got ready for the groom to toss the bride’s garter. When he did toss it, Bumlets was too far back and couldn’t reach it. Another young man caught it, but Bumlets didn’t have any hard feelings. He just walked over to Seven and she took his hand and squeezed it.
“It’s alright.” She said.
“Thanks.”
After that, the bride and groom left for their honeymoon. Seven waved to them as they drove off and watched as they disappeared when they turned a corner. They then helped some guests and the family members clean up, and Bumlets helped stack the chairs and table and load them into carts and wagons while Seven helped pack the rest of the food and clean up the plates and cups from the ground.
When it was finished, the family members thanked the two and they left. Instead of leaving, Bumlets offered to take Seven on a tour of the park. She accepted and they walked all over the park and Bumlets showed her the sights and his favorite places.
It was dark and they sky had clouded over when they decided to leave, and Seven said that it looked like it was going to rain. Bumlets only took her hand and they walked away from the park. When they were halfway to the lodging house, Seven stopped Bumlets and pulled his to the side of the street.
“What’s wrong?” Bumlets asked her.
“Nothing.” Seven answered. “I just wanted to tell you that I had a wonderful time tonight.”