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Across the city, Maggie stood in the middle of Central Park. She tucked her money away where no one would find it and curled up in a tree. She usually slept on the higher branches of the tree when she could. It was safer in her mind. She'd never known anyone else to climb the tree she slept in. There were no branches close to the ground where others could climb up to her. The only way up was the scale the tree. Maggie had a little bit of rope to do so with.
The next morning, Maggie awoke at six. The rest of the newsies in the city usually didn't wake up until seven or later, depending on how far they had to travel to the distribution alley or wagon. Maggie climbed down to the lowest branch and swung off to the ground. She landed softly and scrambled off to The Pond. She dipped her hands into the water and wiped her face as clean as she could. She ran her wet fingers through her hair and shook it out. She retied the string in her hair and dried her hands on her pants. When she was done, she ran off to do her morning exercises. She ran around the park several times before going to buy her papers in the morning. It helped her to warm up during the winter and to wake up in the morning.
At about seven-thirty, Maggie stood outside the gates of the World building, waiting to buy her newspapers. The newsies who lived in the Newsboys Lodging House stood around her. Frankie walked up to her.
"Mornin', Maggie," he greeted.
"Whatta ya want, Frankie?" she replied, slightly annoyed.
"Do I gotta want somethin' ta tawk wit' cha?" he asked, offended.
"No, but ya nevah tawk wit' me 'less dere's somethin' ya want. So, whatta ya want, Frankie?" she answered.
Frankie sighed. "Ya awways know, Maggie. How d'ya know it?" he inquired.
"Yer's easy ta read as a front-page 'eadline," she said simply and began playing with her suspenders.
"Really? I din't t'ink I was dat bad. Huh. Well, we'se wonderin' if ya wanted a bed ta sleep in tanight."
Maggie sighed irritably. "You been tawkin' wit' Spot," she declared.
Frankie was silent.
"Ya 'ave. Ya was tawkin' wit' Spot las' night. You two's conspirin' 'gainst me," she said.
"Naw, Maggie, we ain't. We ain't doin' nuthin'. We was jist tryin' ta help ya. Dat's all!" he stuttered.
Maggie was about to reply when the circulation bell began to ring. She gave Frankie an evil look and walked into the alley. She was first in line that morning, mostly because no one wanted to cross her.
"How many?" the teller asked, not looking up.
Maggie put her coin down on the counter. "Hunnerd," she proclaimed.
"Hundred papes fer da girl," the teller called back to his helper.
The helper counted out one hundred papers quickly and slid them under the bars. Maggie took hold of them and lifted them up to her shoulder. She walked down the steps and leaned against the far wall, her papers under one foot. She pulled one out and skimmed through the headlines. She found a few promising ones and picked the rest of her papers up onto her shoulder. Once she was settled, she left the alley. The rest of the newsies followed her after a few minutes.
Maggie walked to her corner quickly and sold about ten newspapers on the way. Once she finally reached her corner, she began calling out headlines as usual. She'd sold a little less than half of her papers by lunch time. She pulled an apple out of her pocket and sat on the curb with her papers beside her to eat lunch. A few people bought papers from her while she ate, but not many. Once she1d finished lunch, she stood and brushed herself off. A nervous man walked up to her.
"Uh, um, do you think I could have those?" he stuttered. Maggie looked at him. "You see, I'm in a terrible bind. I was supposed to buy ten newspapers for my boss and the board, twenty for all the secretaries, and twenty more for all the clients today. That all adds up to fifty newspapers. That stack looks to be about fifty there. I'll pay you whatever you want, but, please, may I have them?" he pleaded.
Maggie looked at him again. "Penny a pape, Mistah," she replied and handed him the stack of papers.
"Thank you so much. You have no idea how much I appreciate this. Now I won't lose my job. Thank you so much," he rambled, handed her a coin, and ran off.
"Thanks, Mistah," Maggie yelled after him. She looked at the coin in her hand. A dollar! "Thanks a whole lot, Mistah," she said with a small smile. She pocketed the coin and started back to the circulation center.
At the circulation center, Maggie slid twenty cents under the bars. The teller looked up at her. "Doin' good taday?" he asked.
Maggie shrugged. "Bettah 'an usual," she answered with a sly smirk.
"Hey, Jimmy, anuddah forty fer da girl heah," the teller called back to his helper. The boy counted the papers out carefully. "Say, girl, what's yer name anyway? I know all a the boys, but you I dunno." Jimmy slid the papers under the bars toward her.
"Margaret Halpern, Maggie. Hey, thanks," she answered and took hold of her papers. She lifted the light stack onto her shoulder and started back toward her corner.
She heard the church bells ring at four the way they did every hour on the hour. She still had ten papers left. She took out the card that Antonio had written the address on. She read the address over several times before replacing the card in her pocket. She tucked her papers under her arm and headed off toward the street named on the address. It took her nearly forty minutes to arrive at the street; It was up near the Bronx, and she had to be careful up there. She found the building relatively easily. She walked up to the door and walked inside.
The secretary at the desk looked up when she walked in. "What may I do for you, uh, miss?" he inquired, looking her over, disgusted with her appearance.
"Uh, I'se lookin' fer Antonio Papperelli," she replied timidly.
"Is he expecting you?"
"Yessah."
"Very well. I'll see if he's available. What's your name?"
"Margaret Halpern, Maggie."
The secretary forced a smile and stood. He sniffed and walked out of the lobby. Maggie waited nervously. The man walked to Antonio1s office and knocked lightly.
"Enter," Antonio called.
The secretary entered. "Mister Papperelli, there's a.. girl here to see you," he said.
"Maggie?" Antonio asked, looking at his watch.
"Yes, sir," the secretary answered.
Antonio smiled. "Very well; show her up," he replied happily.
"Yes, sir," the secretary muttered, still disgusted with the filthy girl in the lobby. He left Antonio's office and walked back to the lobby. "He says for you to go up to him. Follow me, please," he said and started back toward Antonio's office. Maggie followed him. They walked back to Antonio's office. The secretary knocked.
"Come in," Antonio called.
The secretary opened the door for Maggie, and she entered. Antonio stood to greet her. Maggie staggered in, and the secretary shut the door inches behind her.
"Hello, Maggie," he greeted.
"Evenin', Mistah Papperelli," she answered quietly.
He walked toward her. "Now, I have a meeting to go to. While I'm at the meeting, you can wash-up and change in here," he said, showing her an adjoining room. Maggie looked at him. "My meeting should take about an hour. That should be enough time for you to do what you need to do. I1ll see you when I return," he said and walked out of the room.
Maggie watched him leave. She shook her head clear and entered the adjoining room. She started the water in the bathtub and began pulling her clothes off. Once the bathtub was sufficiently filled with water, she shut the faucet off and stepped in. She immersed herself in the water and began scrubbing the dirt and filth off her body completely. She found some shampoo next to the bathtub and washed her hair with it. She was surprised at how soft it made her hair feel. She'd never used shampoo before, so she felt that it was a luxury. She finished washing and got out of the water. As she dried herself off with a towel, she noticed a blue velvet dress on a chair in the corner. She dried her hair a bit with the towel as she walked over to inspect the dress. She found all the undergarments that went with such a dress next to the chair.
"Wow," she breathed.
She finished drying herself off. She dropped the towel and began dressing in the undergarments. She found the corset particularly difficult to wear and lace up, but it did make her look good. She finally laced it up properly and started pulling the dress on. The dress buttoned up in the back, so it took her a while to do. Once she finally finished that, she went to the mirror and ran a comb through her hair. The hair curled a little at the ends. She noticed some make-up next to the mirror. She applied a little to her face subtly. She pulled a pair of black pumps onto her feet and tied them up. She ran her fingers through her damp hair, shaking out a little water, and returned to Antonio's office.
She looked around but didn't see Antonio. She walked over to the big window behind his desk and looked down to the street below. She couldn't believe how high up she was. She'd never been in a building so high. The highest thing she'd ever been in was her tree down in the park, and that was considerably lower than Antonio's office. She just watched the people walk along the streets down below. They looked like little ants to her.
Antonio walked in a few minutes later. Maggie didn't hear him. He watched her for a while before saying anything. "Nice view," he commented and started toward her.
Maggie whipped her head around to face him; her curls swung into her cheek. "Yeah, it's a real nice view from heh'," she replied.
"From here, too," he said and approached her. "I didn't know you had curly hair."
Maggie blushed and laughed. "Neiddah d'I," she replied and looked down at the rug.
"Come on; let's get going," Antonio said and offered her his arm.
Maggie smiled and took hold of his arm. They walked out of his office and down to the lobby. When they passed the secretary, his jaw dropped. Maggie giggled back at him a little. They walked out to the street and on to a restaurant. As they walked, Maggie saw several newsies she knew. They all had to look at her twice to realize that this beautiful girl with this handsome man was actually Maggie Halpern, the little waif who lived in Central Park every month of the year. One in particular had a little trouble with the concept.
"Maggie?" he asked, stopping dead in his tracks.
"Conlon," she replied with a small inclination of her head. She smiled and continued on with Antonio, leaving Spot, shocked, in the street.
"Your friends are quite stunned by your appearance," Antonio commented after a minute.
Maggie blushed. "Dey nevah seen me so cleaned up 'n' in a dress befoah. I awways wears pants, what I'se wearin' eoiliah, see. Dey nevah seen me wit' no coils in me hair neiddah. I'se even saprised when I sees meself in da mirrah tanight," she answered.
"You shouldn't be." Maggie looked at him. "You're very beautiful." She stopped dead in her tracks. Antonio looked back at her. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"No one's nevah called me beautiful befoah," she mumbled, shocked.
"That's hard to believe. You're, by far, the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."
Maggie blushed again. "Th- thanks," she stuttered and kept looking at the ground.
Antonio smiled and continued down the street with her. They arrived at a lovely restaurant and went inside. They were seated immediately. The waiter brought them food without their having to order it. He brought Maggie roast beef with gravy, mashed potatoes, and a vegetable medley. Antonio had turkey, green bean casserole, and scalloped potatoes.
They had a lovely dinner and dessert. Maggie tried not to meet his eyes, but he kept staring at her. They talked mostly about the news, seeing as how it was the only thing they really had in common. Antonio was amazed at how well-versed she was in politics and such things. He couldn't believe that such a beautiful woman was so knowledgeable about the world. He'd virtually forgotten that she sold the news for a living.
They finished dinner and dessert and left. They walked arm in arm down the street for a little while. Antonio spoke first.
"Where do you live? I'd very much like to walk you home."
"Central Pawk."
"You live in Central Park?"
"Yeah, yeah, I do. I don't got too much money ta be livin' nowhere nice. I ain't nevah lived undah no roof."
"You've never lived in a house?"
"Naw. I been livin' alone on da streets since I'se eight. Befoah dat, me 'n' Pop lived on da streets tageddah. Pop could nevah git no steady job, 'n' Mom died when I'se born. We nevah lived in no house er nuthin'."
"That's terrible. I'm surprised that you're not bitter from the experience."
"Ya ain't known me too long, Tony. I ain't da friendliest poisson on da streets heh'. I ain't da nicest neiddah. Most kids don't come 'cross me 'less dey got some sort a death wish. Da only pawt a me dat ya met's da pawt dat's..." she paused, "sweet on ya."
"I'd like to know the rest of you."
She smiled. "Well, Tony...." She trailed off and listened intently.
"What're you-"
"Sh," she quieted him quickly.
Antonio didn't speak. Maggie listened carefully. Somebody suddenly grabbed her around the waist, trapping her arms. She screeched in surprise. She struggled, but it did no help. A second man stepped out to greet Antonio.
"Lookie who we gots heah, a richie 'n' 'is goyl," the figure mocked with a laugh.
"Lemme go," Maggie protested as she struggled a little more.
"Leave her alone. If it's money you want, I'll give it to you. Just leave her alone," Antonio protested, not lowering himself to pleading.
"Aw, come on, Richie. Ya don't 'spect us ta be leavin' wit'out tastin' da goyl; do ya?" the man holding Maggie sneered, stroking his hand down her face and neck.
"Ah'ight, dat's it," Maggie exclaimed angrily and punched him in the groin. She broke free of his grip while he was dealing with his pain. "Nobody does nuthin' wit'out me sayin' so," she declared, still furious.
"Maggie?!" the second boy asked, stunned.
"Yeah, dat's me. Ya thought I'se jist some ordn'ry goyl. Well, sahprise, Knoxie, I ain't," she asserted seriously. She stepped closer to him. "Wanna dance, Knoxie?"
Knox laughed and stepped closer to her. The two proceeded to have an all-out fight. When one of the two men was down, the other would start in. They fought for quiet some time; Maggie stood the whole time. Antonio tried, but he really wasn't any help. After several minutes, the two men ran off.
"Ya 'membah it, Knoxie. Don't come near me er none a me friends neiddah!" Maggie yelled after them. She brushed her hair out of her face and turned to Antonio. "Sorry 'bout dat, Tony," she apologized.
Tony said nothing. He just stepped closer to her, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her. Maggie was quite surprised at first; then she just let it happen.
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