Governor's Daughter (A Mush Meyers Love Story)

Chapter 4: Don't Mix

The next day was Saturday. I woke up to the sounds of my father’s phone ringing in his office. The sun was already bright outside. I got dressed in a blouse and a skirt. I wanted to be out of the house before my dad could see me and ask where I was going. As I was putting my hair up, Jane walked into my room. She leaned against the door post and I could see her in the mirror I was sitting in front of. She had a questioning look on her face and I wasn’t in the mood to be asked a lot of questions.

                “Where are you going in such a hurry?” she asked me.

                “I’m meeting up with Grace,” I lied, “I’ll be gone most of the day.”

                “Oh really. Did you tell Daddy you were leaving?”

                “No, but he won’t care. he never does.”

                “He would care if he knew you were going to see a boy.”

                “I’m not going to see a boy.”

                “I’m not stupid, Anna. You never try to rush out of here so fast to meet up with Grace. Who is he? Is it Christopher Bateman?”

                “No. I have no interest in your beau’s little brother.”

                “John is not my beau. Although I would like him to be, but he hasn’t even asked me to go steady yet.”

                “Ugh, I don’t want to hear about dates and boys. I’m going to meet Grace. I’ll be back later. Tell Daddy I went to Tibby’s or something.”

                “If you get in trouble it’s not my fault. Tell whoever he is I said hi.”

                “Yeah, sure.”

                I grabbed my shawl and draped it over my shoulders. I went out of my room with Jane following me to the front door. Before I could walk out she stopped me.

                “You better not be going over to newsie territory,” she said, “It’s dangerous over there and you have a thing for getting into danger.”

                “I’m not going over there,” I said, “I promise. Why would I want to go hang out with a bunch of filthy newsies?”

                “Good. I just wanted to make sure.”

                I nodded and walked out the door. I made sure Jane wasn’t watching me and headed in the direction of town. I reached the middle of the square. The city seemed oddly quieter. I stood in front of the statue and found Medda’s place with big huge letters spelling it out. Newsboys were piling inside and I knew they weren’t all from New York City. I felt my stomach drop at the thought. What if I wasn’t able to find Mush or Sydney? Then I would be stuck in a sea of street kids. I was about to turn around and walk back to get Grace when I ran smack into Mush again. He grabbed my arms to keep me from falling. His body was so close to mine. It was the closest I had ever been to a boy. He smiled at me.              

                “We got ta stop meetin’ like dis?” he joked.

                “It’s not my fault I seem to be a rock you always want to knock over,” I snapped, “You’re still holding me.”

                Mush let me go. “Ya came.”

                “So what?”