My Newsie Baby Too (A Spot Conlon Love Story)

Chapter 16: Give it up, Jack

I had never seen Spot move so fast. Not even when he was delivering papers. He got up from the dock and hugged me so tightly, I thought my head would pop off. “Les, what are you doin’ here? I thought I would neva see ya again.”

“Neva say neva, newsie. Ya know I always manage to get myself outta stuff.” I pulled away from the hug just far enough to be able to press my lips against his. It felt nothing like being forced to kiss Jack. I felt the familiar flutter in my stomach, the world melting away so it was only me and Spot in the universe. I finally broke away from the kiss when I had to breath. “I missed ya, Spot.”

“I missed ya too. I was worried about how Jack was treatin’ you locked up in that cellar.”

“He didn’ treat me too bad though he’s off his rock. I haven’ seen the streets of Manhattan in 7 months.”

“How’d ya get away from Jack?”

I let go of Spot and sat down on the dock. He joined me. “I didn’ really get away from Jack. I distracted him enough so I could run. But he’s probably out dere lookin’ for me now.”

“What about your baby?”

“It was a boy. I named him Alex. I gave him up.”

“Why?”

“Ya really think an orphan street rat can take care of a baby? I can bare take care of myself. I dropped him off in front of dis rich broad’s house. He’ll be fine.”

Spot stared at me sadly. “Ya regret it?”

“No. I don’ regret nothin’ I do. I know he needed someone who could really take care of him.”

He bumped my arm. “You’re a good kid, pretty face.”

I kissed his cheek. Time got away from me as I sat with Spot talking and catching up on all the months we were apart. It got later and later. The stars were starting to disappear which meant daybreak was coming soon. I was about to suggest I get back to Manhattan when I heard commotion going on behind one of the crates. Spot and I went to go see what the noise was. We found the big boys holding Jack to the ground.

“This ain’t ya territory, Kelly,” Spot snapped.

“You took somethin’ dat belongs ta me,” he growled, “I want it back.”

“I ain’t yours,” I yelled, “Alex is gone. Dere ain’t nothin’ tyin’ me to you no more.”

“What did you do wit my son?”

“I gave him a better family den we’ll eva be. Give it up, Jack. I don’ love ya. I neva will. I love Spot.”

Jack stopped fighting against the boys. It was like all the energy had been stripped from him. Without Alex, he had nothing keeping me with him. He had no ties on me. We had nothing in common.

“Why can’ ya love me, Les?” he asked.

“Ya crazy, Jack. Ya took me from Spot then kept me and Alex in a cellar for months. Ya think I could love ya after dat. I did love ya before, as a brother.” I looked at da boys. “Let him go.”

The boys let Jack go and he got to his feet. He wiped himself off looking more like the Jack that saved me from the orphanage those years ago. “I guess I...got a little outta hand, huh?”

“Ya think?” Spot commented.

I shushed him. “More den outta hand.”

“Look, I’m sorry for everythin’ I did. I jus’ I love ya and I wanted ya to love me. I ain’t neva had no one care about me like you except for Sarah and it still wasn’t da same. I wanted it to be more.”

“Well, it ain’t gonna be. I already love someone, Jack.”

“Do ya think we can go back to da way things were before?”

“I don’t know.”

He nodded his head. He looked around at the older boys who had gathered to protect Spot and me. He backed away then walked off. I let a deep breath I hadn’t realized I had been holding. As much as I hated what Jack had put me through in the past few months, he needed me.