Victoria stayed in the sick room for two weeks. Bumlets was the only person she let near her. One hot night in June, Bumlets and Victoria were talking in what now had become her room. “Niña, I think it’s time you met the other newsies.” Victoria lowered her head and nodded. "Just please don't leave me." "Never." Bumlets took her hand and they walked up to the bunkroom.
Every head turned as they walked through the door. Victoria had no idea there were so many boys living here. They were scattered around the room, playing cards, talking, or inventing dance moves. She recognized the boy who rescued her in the corner playing cards. Victoria saw him smile as she walked in, and thought it must have been the most beautiful smile she’d ever seen; he had one deep dimple in each cheek and she was instantly smitten. The silence was deafening until Bumlets finally introduced her. “Guys, this is Victoria.” She gave a nervous smile and a wave. Hope, who was in the back with Snoddy, came forward and shook her hand. The other newsies followed suite, each careful not to scare her. Jake kissed her hand and gave her one of his best smiles. “I’m glad you’re feeling better.” “Thanks…and thanks for helping me too. I’m so sorry I screamed at you…” “It’s ok, I understand. I’m just glad you’re alright.”
“Victoria, I’m Jack. Will you tell us why you’re here? You’re not from New York.” "My family lives in Texas. I’m supposed to marry the man they picked for me, but I hate him. I’d rather die than be his wife, so I ran away. I figured they wouldn’t follow me all the way to New York. Bumlets must’ve told you the rest.” Jack nodded. “Yeah. Well, Kloppman said you can stay here as long as you need to get better, and one of us will bring you food from Tibby’s, so don’t worry about a thing.” Victoria’s smile lit up the room…and Jake’s heart. “Thank you, all of you so much.”
Victoria stayed up in the bunkroom for hours watching Racetrack and a few others playing poker. After Bumlets lost his fifth hand, Victoria walked onto the balcony to get some fresh air. Jake was there smoking a cigarette. “Hi Jake.” “Hey Tory.” She opened her mouth to say something, but she started coughing from the smoke. “I’m sorry.” Jake dropped the cigarette and mashed it with his foot. “Thanks.” “I need to quit, it’s a bad habit.” “Why don’t you?” He shrugged. “Never had a reason to.” Victoria remembered what she wanted to say before the cloud of smoke interrupted her. “Why’d you call me Tory?” “You remind me of one of the nuns at the orphanage. Her name was Sister Catherine Victoria, but she let us call her Tory.” “I bet she was fat and ugly.” She said jokingly. “No… she was very pretty…actually, she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. But if you don’t want me to call you that…” “No, I like it.” Bumlets stuck his head out the window. "Victoria, come 'ere, you gotta see this step we made up." "Be right there." Jake mumbled a good bye and smiled at her again. Tory was glad it was dark, so Jake couldn’t see the stupid grin she was wearing.
In a few weeks, all of Tory’s bruises were healed and she was no longer afraid of the newsies. In fact, she relied on them all as brothers, especially Bumlets. She didn’t know why, but there was just something about Jake that set him a part from the others, and it was much more than his smile. She couldn't get him out of her mind. Kloppman helped her get a job cleaning houses and delivering laundry. Her apartment was only a block away from Tibby’s, so she was always close by.
One day, Tory went to the Lodging House to play cards with Race, but she could tell by the looks on the faces in the lobby that poker was the last thing on their minds. "What’s wrong, guys, bad selling day?" "They’re gonna close the House." Specs answered. "What?!" "Yeah, if we don’t make $100.00 by next Friday, the bank will throw us all out." "But Kloppman…" "Kloppman fell behind on his payments because he’s always givin’ us breaks on the rent. He’s in his office right now trying to figure out a way for us to stay. He’s been keeping this to himself for months, poor guy." Mush said. "Isn’t there someway we can raise money?" "We’re tryin’ to think of something, but…" Tory’s eyes brightened. "What about a party?" She could tell by the looks on the newsies’ faces that they thought she was crazy. "I’m serious! A real Mexican fiesta with food, music and dancing! I could cook the food, Bumlets and I could teach everyone how to salsa…" Jack looked at her intently. "You know, I think she’s right…we could have it on the roof…" Boots perked up. "…and we could get Tibbs to donate food…" Crutchy started grinning. "…and Medda could get us some costumes…" Blink was starting to get enthused as well. "…Denton’ll put an ad in the pape for us…"
After two weeks of hard work and preparation, the newsies managed to put together a great party. Tory cooked all the food, and Pie Eater, Snoddy and Dutchy were running the game booths. Tory was looking around frantically for Bumlets. She wanted to practice their routine one more time and the doors opened in half an hour. She ran to the bunkroom and knocked on the door. Her heart stopped when Jake answered. He looked very handsome in a suit he’d borrowed from Medda’s. It was a navy blue, which off set his beautiful brown eyes. He smiled at her, dimples showing. "Hi Jake, have you seen Bumlets?" "No. Actually, I think he went off to find you. Try the roof." "Ok, thanks." Tory’s perfume tickled Jake’s nose as she walked by. He’d never seen her look so beautiful. She was wearing a traditional white Mexican dress, with a colorful shawl wrapped around her waist. Her hair was up in a bun, and some loose hairs fell over her face. He didn’t realize he was staring until Boots snapped his fingers in his face. "Jake…Jake…" "Huh? What?" Boots shook his head. "Man, you’ve got it bad." Jake nodded. "Yeah… yeah I do." He said quietly. "What are you gonna do about it?" "Nothing." "Why not?" Jake gestured to Tory and Bumlets, who were dancing. "She’s already got the guy she wants."
The Fiesta was a huge success. Denton and bunch of other reporters came, and the newsies were having a great time teaching the girls how to dance. Bumlets and Tory were a hit with the crowd, as was her cooking. The only unhappy figure on that roof was Jake. He was about to light a cigarette when he felt a tap on his shoulder. "It’s a nasty habit, you know." He smiled stiffly. "Hi Tory." "Are you alright?" "I'm fine." The band started to play a ballad. "Dance with me?" She asked. "Sure." Tory loved being in Jake’s arms. She liked the feel of him against her, his strong arms keeping her safe. As they swayed to the music, she put her head on his shoulder, hoping he wouldn’t pull away. She sighed with relief when he held her closer. She pulled back a little to look into his eyes and noticed how close their faces were. Jake reached up and pushed a stray hair out of her face, his hand resting on her cheek. They each leaned in, but then a loud voice rang out over the roof. "Attention everybody!" said Kloppman. "I’ve just counted all the receipts, and not only can we keep the Lodging House, but we have 50 dollars left over!" A loud cheer erupted and Jake twirled Tory around. "You did it!" "We did it." "No, Tory, this was all your idea. Maybe we helped but we would’ve lost the place without you."