Orphan Train Christmas

by Rachel Wesson

  “What you doing on this side of town? You’re Irish, ain't ya?” Lucky asked. “You a five-pointer?”

  “Yes, sir, I’m Irish. I don’t know about a five-pointer.”

  “I like you already, kid. He called me sir.”

  “Sit down and eat. I’m starving,” Axel ordered. Kenny assumed he was the oldest, given how he took charge.

  He sat next to Angel, who served up a large dish of meatballs and something stringy. He had never seen anything like it before. He wasn’t sure how to eat.

  “You lost your appetite?” Angel challenged him.

  “No. I was just waitin’.”

  “So how did you find Kenny?” Axel asked his sister.

  “A group of boys was picking on Jack and him, so I told them you would see them off. He was hungry, and I took him home. He needs to get to Macy's.”

  “What you want with the store? They got lots of security working. You’ll get caught if you plan on robbing it,” Lucky said in between large mouthfuls.

  “I’m no thief,” Kenny retorted quickly. “I got to see a man is all.”

  “What type of man?” Axel asked.

  Kenny didn’t want to admit he was going to see Santa. He figured they would laugh at him.

  “I asked you a question.”

  At the threatening look Axel sent his way, Kenny lost all his bravado.

  “I got to meet Santa Claus. I want him to give me back me ma and me sister. The police said Mary was dead, but I knows he’s lying, and she was just asleep. Mary said Santa was magic, that he can do stuff. I want me ma back, too.”

  Chapter 29

  He couldn’t help the tears falling, despite wanting to look like a grown up in front of Angel. He rubbed his arm across his nose, as Jack inched closer to him. He wanted to run away.

  “Listen, kid, why don’t you eat your dinner, and then you can tell us your story.” Axel gestured at his plate.

  Kenny nodded, not sure how much he could eat with the lump in his throat. He glanced at Angel, but she wasn’t laughing at him. She gave him a smile and picked up her fork. He watched as she wrapped the white strings around her fork. He tried to do the same, but it kept falling off.

  “What’s wrong with you? You never eat spaghetti before?”

  “No,” Kenny admitted. “But it’s delicious.”

  “Here, kid, like this,” Lucky showed him how to manage the meal. He wasn’t entirely successful, but at least he got almost as much in his mouth as he did on his chin. It was the best thing he had ever tasted. The meatballs were rich and spicy, not bland like the food he was used to.

  “Did you get anything for afters, Angel?” Lucky asked.

  “I didn’t have time to bake, but I picked up some pastries. I was keeping them for Sunday, but you can have them now, if you want.”

  “You are an angel. Lucky, put some coffee on,” Axel ordered, as he lit up a cigarette.

  “You put the coffee on. I ain’t your wife,” Lucky retorted, but, before he had barely finished the sentence, Axel sprang out of the chair and pushed his brother up against the wall, Lucky’s hand twisted painfully behind his back.

  “Let go, you big lump. I’ll do it,” Lucky shouted.

  Kenny glanced at Angel, but she didn’t seem to notice the violence going on around her. She sat finishing the remains of her dinner.

  “Angel’s been working hard all day making us this food. You guys show some respect,” Haviv said, putting the kettle on the fire to boil. He added some coffee to a pot and then poured the hot water on top. A beautiful aroma filled the room. Kenny had never tasted coffee before. He hoped the brothers would let him try it, although he felt rather sleepy after the meal.

  “You okay there, kid? You look like you’ll fall asleep in your plate any second.”

  Kenny sat straighter in response to Axel’s remark.

  Haviv poured coffee for all of them, including Kenny. He added some sugar before handing the cup to the boy. Kenny tasted the drink. Yuck. It had smelled so good, but he preferred tea. He wasn’t about to say that, though.

  “Kid, tell us again why you want to go to Macy’s. What’s this about your sister and your ma?” Axel asked, lighting a second cigarette from the butt of the first.

  Kenny told him his story. He didn’t cry this time, but he stumbled over some of the words. It was hard talking about Mary. He missed her more than his ma.

  “Jeez, you had it tough, kid. You got somewhere to stay tonight?” Axel asked, setting his cup down on the table.

  Kenny shook his head.

  “You can stay here with us,” Axel offered. “We got plenty of room. Tomorrow afternoon we’ll take you down to Macy’s, and you can see Santa and ask him whatever you like.”

  “Don’t go making promises to the boy,” Lucky warned. “Seeing Santa costs money.”

  “I know that,” Axel said. “I’ll pay for him. Can’t have a kid miss out at Christmas, now can we?”

  Kenny didn’t hear the rest of the conversation, having lost his battle. His head would have landed in the plate of food but for Angel’s quick response.

  “Sounds like he had a lucky escape with a ma like his,” Lucky said.

  “It’s sad and all that, but he ain’t our problem,” Axel shot back. “We got bigger fish to fry. We have to get out of New York. Let the heat simmer down a little. Eastman is out for blood.”

  “Shoot, it wasn’t our fault the guard got killed. We didn’t know Monk had that place under his personal protection,” Haviv protested.

  “Don’t matter. We are going in the river, if we don’t get clear,” Axel responded grimly.

  “Where do you suggest we go?”

  “I don’t know. What about Uncle Asael’s place out in Maine? Quiet enough down there. Aunt Rachel keeps writing, telling us to come and meet some nice Jewish girls. Maybe Santa can give you a bride for Christmas.” Lucky’s remark earned him a belt across the ear from Axel.

  “Ah, man, she keeps kosher. She’d have us committed herself for not observing Shabbat,” Haviv moaned.

  “She might have us praying, but at least we’d be alive. More than can be said if we stay around Monk!” Axel stood up, as he spoke.

  “What will we do with the kid?” Haviv asked.

  “Take him with us? He got nothing left in New York. Maybe Aunt Rachel can find him a wife?” Axel replied, picking Kenny up with a surprisingly gentle touch. Kenny opened his eyes and smiled up at the man who had promised to pay for him to see Santa. Then he closed them again and fell back into a deep sleep, totally unaware of the plans being made for his future.

  Chapter 30

  Kenny woke to Jack licking his face and pulling at his ear.

  “What’s up with ya? Ya daft, mutt,” he said affectionately, as he cradled the dog to him. The rest of the room was in silence but for the snores of Angel’s older brothers echoing through the upstairs floorboards. He got up quietly, so as not to wake them. Moving to the door of the room, he spotted Angel in the kitchen area poking the fire.

  She glanced at him, as he came in, but didn’t say anything. He thought she looked as if she had been crying. Girls did that a lot.

  “Um, Jack needs to go out.”

  “Let him out that door,” she said, pointing. “Keep an eye, though, that he won't run away. I’m not running after him.”

  Confused by her crankiness, he did as she said. Jack was soon finished and back indoors.

  “Close that door. You’re letting all the heat out.”

  Kenny blew through his nose. It was a game he had once played with Mary, pretending he was an animal with the steam coming out his nostrils, but Angel didn’t look amused. If anything, she looked sadder.

  “What’s the matter with you? Don’t you want to leave?” he asked, keeping his distance in case his questions earned him a belt.

  “No, I don’t. I hate our Aunt. She’ll make me wear dresses and study. She’ll even force me to go to school and take up needlework,” Angel said.

 
“So why do you have to go then? Can’t you tell your brothers you want to stay here?”

  “I can, but they won’t listen. You heard them last night.”

  “I don’t know who they were talking about,” Kenny said.

  “You never heard of Monk Eastman? Where’ve you been living? He runs New York.”

  “I thought that was some fella called Roosevelt. Inspector Griffin mentioned him a few times.” Kenny didn’t know or care who ran New York. All he cared about was the fact he was hungry. He wondered if Angel was going to feed him again.

  “Kenny, you should go now, before the boys wake up. I should never have brought you here,” Angel said, almost pushing him out the door.

  “No, I don’t want to. Lucky said he would take me to see Santa, and he can give me my family back. Why are you being so mean?”

  “Yes, Angel. Why are you throwing our young friend out?”

  Kenny saw the look of fear on Angel’s face, before she turned her attention back to the fire. Lucky glanced his way, a smile on his face, but Kenny didn’t feel as comfortable as he had the night before. Jack growled but stayed close to Kenny, making him wonder what the dog had against this giant of a man.

  “Sit yourself down, kid. We goin’ to have some breakfast, and then you’ll have a bath. Afterward, we will get ourselves up to Macy’s. You can see Santa, and I got a job to do. We will be back here in time for dinner. You’ll see.”

  Kenny was about to protest the bath, but Angel got in before him.

  “What type of job, Lucky? He ain’t nothin’ more than an innocent kid.”

  “I bet when you give him a wash, he will clean up real nice. That hair and those baby blues will have the ladies swooning over him.”

  Ladies? What was Lucky talking about? Kenny was only interested in seeing Santa.

  “Lucky, don’t we have enough trouble?” Angel asked.

  “Angel, you stick to doing what you do best and leave the thinking to me. Do you have anything Kenny can wear? Those clothes he has are little better than rags.”

  Kenny pulled his sweater closer. Sure, it was ripped and torn, but Mary had knit it for him. He scratched his hair, as he watched Lucky, warily keeping his distance, but the man didn’t say another word. He sat at the table and shoveled big mouthfuls of oatmeal into him.

  “Sit down and eat. If you wait ‘til Axel gets up, there will be nothing left,” Lucky said, as he beckoned Kenny to the table.

  Kenny sat, but his appetite had disappeared. He didn’t like the way things were turning. He didn’t want a bath or a change of clothes, and he wasn’t at all sure going to see Santa with Lucky was a good idea. Still, what was his alternative? He didn’t reckon he would get far, if Lucky were to chase after him.

  Chapter 31

  “Mornin’, what’s got you in such a good mood?” Axel asked, as he entered the room, his scar looking more vivid in his freshly washed face.

  “Got a way out of our troubles, Axel. Thought of it last night. Monk is going to be so pleased with us. We won’t have to go near Aunt Rachel.”

  Axel glanced at Angel, but Kenny saw she didn’t look up from the fire. He looked down before the man could catch his eye.

  “You going to tell me your plan, Lucky?”

  “Later,” Lucky said. Angel, that water ready yet? Where’s your scissors, reckon the kid needs a haircut, too.”

  Kenny stood up quickly. “I don’t need nothing. I got to get home. I forgot, but I promised Granny Belbin I’d clean her windows today. Thank you so much for having me.”

  Kenny didn’t get far, as Lucky’s arm stretched out to grab his wrist in a tight grip.

  “Now that’s not how it works, Kenny lad. We fed you, and you are going to do us a little favor in return. I scratch your back, and you scratch mine. That’s the way it is in these parts.”

  Kenny knew when he was beaten and sat back down. Axel stood to help Angel take down the tin bath and place it in front of the fire. Angel filled it with steaming water, testing it with her elbow to make sure it wasn’t too hot.

  “In you go,” Lucky ordered.

  “In front of all of ye?” Kenny protested, but his answer was to land in the bath fully clothed. Angel squealed, as the water splashed her, the fire sizzled, and Axel threw something at Lucky for making him wet. Lucky just laughed, but it wasn’t a sound Kenny wanted to hear again. He looked for Jack, but the puppy had taken refuge under a chair on the opposite side of the room from Lucky.

  “Best do as he says,” Angel whispered, handing Kenny a flannel and a small piece of soap. “I’ll wash your hair for you.”

  As she did, the tears ran down Kenny’s face, but he had his back to the boys, so they couldn’t see him. Angel’s gentle touch reminded him of Mary. He wished his sister were there, but then he doubted he would be sitting in this house. Mary would never have accepted Angel’s invitation to eat something.

  Soon he didn’t recognize himself. Angel had found some old clothes—a pair of trousers and a shirt with a jacket that was only slightly too big for him. His hair was sitting against his neck, rather than curling on his collar, following the haircut Lucky had administered. He gazed at his feet, hoping Lucky would be pleased with his new look.

  “Don’t he look as innocent as a newborn babe?” Lucky asked Axel and Haviv.

  “Not sure your plan is going to work, Lucky,” Axel said, looking at Kenny doubtfully.

  “It will. It has to,” Lucky retorted sharply. “Right, young man, let’s get going.”

  Jack moved toward Kenny’s feet, but Lucky aimed a kick at the dog. Thankfully Jack was too quick for him and sprang out of the way.

  “What you do that for?” Kenny cried. “You could have killed him.”

  Lucky grabbed Kenny’s arm, squeezing it painfully. “Leave the dog with Angel. You can’t take it into Macy’s anyway.”

  “But he comes with me everywhere,” Kenny protested, not liking the way his voice shook.

  “He stays here. Now come on, or Santa will have gone back to the North Pole at this rate.” Lucky laughed at his joke, but nobody else joined in. Kenny kissed Jack goodbye quickly and then turned to follow Lucky. “Look after Jack for me please, Angel,” he whispered.

  She didn’t look up as he left, but he prayed she had heard him. Lucky walked so fast he had to run to keep up with the tall man.

  Chapter 32

  Back at the sanctuary, the children and adults had gathered in the sitting room.

  “Shush, children, keep your eyes closed. No peeking,” Kathleen admonished the children, as they giggled and shut their eyes. Bridget held Teddy in her arms, with Carl holding Laurie. Both twins were angels, a good thing considering Lily was due to have her next baby just after Christmas.

  “Can we open them yet, Miss Kathleen?”

  “No George, not yet, just keep your eyes closed for a couple seconds more. Okay, let’s count down—three, two, and one. You can open them now.”

  Kathleen stood back, as the children opened their eyes and stared at the huge Christmas tree sitting pride of place in what was usually the sewing room. Richard stood beside it, his grin almost as big as the children’s.

  “So, who is going to be the first to decorate the tree?” Richard asked, looking at Kathleen.

  “George won the chance to go first. Go on, George, put your decoration on.”

  “I don’t know where would be best?” George said, sticking his tongue out, as he stared at the tree.

  “Want me to pick you up, so you can reach up high?” Richard asked him. George nodded, as he took the string of popcorn Kathleen had helped him with and started winding it around the upper branches of the tree.

  “Can we all put our decorations on now, Miss Kathleen?”

  “Certainly, Carrie. Off you go, and don’t get in each other’s way.”

  The children ran toward the tree, but thankfully they helped rather than hindered each other’s progress.

  “Miss Kathleen, would you like a cup of my mulled w
ine? I made it myself from a family recipe,” Cook offered.

  “Yes, thank you. I am sure the gentlemen would enjoy a glass, too.”

  “They are on seconds already,” Cook confided in a whisper. “Don’t judge Doc Richard harshly. He came in chilled to the bone. It will help warm the cockles of his heart.”

  Kathleen exchanged a grin with Lily. They had discussed the fact Cook never seemed as concerned about their chilled bones as she did for Richard, Charlie, or Carl, or Father Nelson for that matter. Cook treated every man, regardless of his age, occupation, or status, as if he were her own long-lost son.

  “What are your plans for tomorrow, Kathleen?” Lily settled herself on the chair.

  “I thought I would take the children to see the Macy’s window. Bridget says it is stunning this year. She said the window dressers outdid themselves. Would you like to come?” Kathleen offered, as she took Teddy from Bridget. She loved holding Lily’s babies. “Bridget won’t be joining us, as Richard says she needs a day off.”

  “I am fine, and Richard is just being a fusspot,” Bridget protested, earning herself a reprimanding look from her husband as well as her doctor.

  “I would love to, but I don’t think I would fit. This baby seems heavier than the last time around,” Lily said, caressing her bump.

  “Maybe it’s another set of twins.”

  “Kathleen Mary Collins,” Lily gasped. “Don’t you wish that on me. I love the boys, but one extra baby is enough for me. I don’t know how I would manage without Vicky to help me. She is a godsend.”

  Kathleen didn’t disagree. Vicky had been another one of Mrs. Fleming’s protégés. When their old neighbor died, Vicky came to live at the sanctuary. She loved little children and had jumped at the chance to help Lily with looking after the boys. Vicky regularly came into the sanctuary to help look after any children who needed shelter. She was a firm favorite amongst the children, possibly because she behaved like a child herself. As Kathleen glanced toward the tree, she saw Vicky had climbed the ladder and was swaying precariously trying to add decorations to the top.