Guardian Angel

Shirts

I grabbed the baskets full of shirts that had been hidden in the bottom cabinets and brought them out to the lobby. I sat them down in front of the fire that somebody had lit in the large dusty fire place, most likely having been one of the waitresses. Most of the younger boys were already sitting around the fireplace while the all of the older boys, including Spot, were standing and leaning against the walls. I noticed how all of the youngest children were sitting closest to the fire while the oldest were farther back.
I kneeled down in front of the fire as Cheer scurried over to nestle into my side along with the other youngest newsie who I had learned was named Crow and was Cheer's best friend. As soon as they were comfortable leaning on me I pulled the first brown wicker basket closer. Quickly I glanced up to see 40 curious faces staring at me, obviously wondering what I was doing. I read the tag of the shirt on the top of the pile, not yet taking it out of the basket because I wanted to keep them a surprise for as long as possible. "Bear?" I softly called out as I glanced around the silent room.
It was a few seconds before a boy about 16 stepped forward from against a wall. He had short black hair and sea green eyes. He only looked to be about 5'5" but was broad and sturdy with a dark tan from obviously long days spent working is the sun. "Yea?" he asked menacingly but never once did I feel threatened by him, seeing through his tough guy act to the teddy bear he had seemed like earlier.
"Well come here," I said softly beckoning him forward with a soft smile, "I promise I won't bite," I giggled at his hesitant figure. He slowly made his way through the small sea of boys until he was standing in front of me. I could see Spot shift closer as Bear crouched down so that he was at eye level. I slowly reached in the basket and pulled out the blue green checkered shirt which had been designated as his. I watched as Bear's eyes grew wide in surprise as he stared down at the shirt I had just handed him with a gentle smile.
His head snapped up to face me and I giggled softly at the look of surprise on his face. His cheeks soon grew light pink in embarrassment as I giggled and he shyly smiled a "Thank you miss."
I nodded my head and said, "Call me Angel." He smiled at me once more before shuffling back to his previous spot, leaning against the wall with his new shirt in hand. And that's how the time was passed for the next 45 minutes. I meet each newsie and handed out new shirts that were every color under the sun. Each time a newsie got a shirt I was given a surprised look and then an extremely grateful smile, as if they had expected for their friends to get a shirt but not them.
Finally I was left with only one shirt to give, this one being a white and brown checked shirt with the name Spot printed on the tag. I swallowed nervously, having avoided his gaze as I had passed out the other shirts, not having wanted to see his reaction. I slowly lifted Cheer and Crow off of me and stood up shirt in hand. The sea of boys parted, leaving a path for me leading up to the king which I slowly walked toward.
Before I knew it, I was standing in front of him head tucked down, looking at the bottom of my dress. I tilted my head up to face him and gently handed him the shirt, unable to decipher the look on his face. I felt shocks on my fingers as Spot's brushed mine while taking the shirt from my hand. He slowly smiled down at me with his heart melting smile and softly said, "Thank you Angel."
My face quickly brightened as I replied, "Your welcome Spot." I walked back to where Cheer lay asleep with Crow, trying to hide my blush as Spot followed me through the loud crowd. I swiftly bent down, and lifted Cheer into my arms, holding him against my hip and laying his head down on my shoulder before turning to Spot again and asking "Would you mind grabbing Crow and their shirts and showing me where I can tuck them in?"
Spot shook his head with an amused grin on his face before picking up Crow and their shirts and grabbing my free hand, causing tingles to shoot up my arm. We made our way through the room, seeing newsies comparing their new shirts and smiling brightly at each other. Slowly making our way in order to make sure we would not wake the sleeping boys, Spot and I crept into a room full of bunk beds. The room was dimly lit by the moon light shining in from the dirty window to illuminate a surprisingly neat room. Each bed was made up with a small pillow and a thin tattered blanket and what little extra possessions the boy had were tucked neatly away underneath the lower bunks. The beds Spot and I put Crow and Cheer in were the farthest away from the door and window and had what seemed to be the thickest blankets in the room, presumably in an effort to keep their small, easily sickened bodies from the cold, even if the blankets could barely be called summer sheets. Spot placed Crow on the upper bunk and I placed Cheer in the lower bunk. I quickly removed the shoes and caps of each boy, placing them neatly at the end of the beds next to their new shirts. Pulling the thin blankets up to their chins and laying a kiss on each of their foreheads, I made a mental note to buy new blankets for each of the boys to put on their beds.
Stepping back from the beds with a small smile on my face, I was quickly reminded of Spot's presence in the room when he gently grabbed my hand and led me back down stairs. His hand was large and and rough yet warm and comforting around mine at the same time. It was a feeling that I wasn't used to, but one that I liked. As we got to the door I gave Spot a small smile and, suddenly feeling very bold, leaned up on my toes and kissed his cheek. Darting away I quickly grabbed my baskets and ducked out the door wordlessly to the carriage that was waiting to take me home in the darkness of the night.