Part Nine: The Power of a Moment


Seven stared at the ring with wide eyes. She could feel the newsies’ eyes on her, but she did her best to ignore them. She took the ring out of Swifty’s fingers and looked the ring over. It was real all right; one hundred percent real. She felt a tear run down her cheek, and she could feel even more ready to fall.

"Derek…" she said quietly.

"Please say yes." Swifty said, taking her free hand.

Seven sniffled and handed the ring back to him. "I can’t answer right now. I…I just can’t answer right now."

Swifty only stared at Seven as he stuck the ring back in his pocket. The two stared at each other for a long period, but it seemed to pass in a matter of seconds. They knew that it was longer than they thought when the air was filled with cries of "Happy New Year!" from the other buildings.

Some of the newsies began to cheer, but Swifty arose and walked over to his bunk. Seven watched him as he walked away, and when he laid down on his bunk, she hid her face in her pillow and cried.

Slowly, one by one, each of the newsies went to their bunks and went to bed. When the light went out, Seven still cried. She had the feeling that she had torn Swifty’s heart in two.

* * *


Jeff took another swig of rum as he watched the clock. It was two o’clock, and all he could think about was Swifty. As he took another swig, he saw Jones, Collins, Whittier and Stamblyr coming toward him. Jeff tried to ignore them, but they all sat down next to him.

"I was a fool." Jeff said. "I shoulda seen that he was going to leave like that."

"Swifty was fool." Stamblyr said. "Everyone told him that he would die if he left, but he didn’t listen."

"No, he wasn’t." Jones said. "I think that what he did was very brave, cuz he loved that woman. I believe that he because of an act of love."

"I wish I was like that with my wife." Whittier said. "A snowstorm got in the way when I wanted to propose, but I waited till it was over, which was a week later."

Just then, a man came into the saloon, and he looked around. When he saw Jeff, he walked up to him.

"Jefferson?" he asked.

Jeff nodded. "That’s me."

"Telegram."

Jeff took the paper and read over it. A smile suddenly formed on his face, leaving the other men clueless.

"What’s it say?" Collins asked.

"Swifty made it to New York." Jeff answered. "He made it, safe and sound, and in the nick of time."

"He made it?!" Stamblyr exclaimed. "That’s impossible!"

Jeff shook his head. "No it isn’t. This shows ya what the power of love can have over the human heart. He may be known as a hero to the people in New York, but only one person who thinks he’s a hero will truly mean something to him. That’s the woman he went the distance for."

* * *


Swifty awoke early the next morning, and it was still dark. When he saw that the dark blue sky was still lingering around before morning dawned, he suddenly came up with an idea.

Throwing his covers off, he pulled on some extra layers of clothes and was careful not to wake anyone up. He walked over to Seven’s bunk and shook her gently.

"Mariah," he whispered, "wake up."

Seven moaned and rolled onto her back. She opened one eye sleepily and moaned again.

"It’s too early." She said, closing her eye again.

"Mariah, wake up! There’s somethin’ I gotta show ya."

"Can it wait?"

"No! Now get up!"

Seven shook her head. "No."

Sighing, Swifty took the alternative plan. He picked Seven up, blankets and all, and pulled them tighter around her.

"What’re you doing?" Seven demanded.

"Gettin’ you up. This is really important."

Seven’s bones buckled underneath the weight of the blankets around her, but Swifty lifted her up and carried her to the window. He opened it and slipped through.

"Outside?" Seven asked.

"Yeah. Don’t worry, it won’t be for too long."

Swifty stuck his head back in and pulled Seven through the window. Lifting her up once more, he carried Seven up the stairs to the roof. He walked over to the edge of the roof and sat down on the side. He set Seven down next to him and looped his arms around her.

"Derek, why are we up here?" Seven asked.

Swifty smiled and brushed his lips through her hair. "Shh! Just wait. Watch and wait."

The bitter cold was painful to Seven, and the fact that she didn’t know what was coming only made her feel worse. She looked up at the sky and saw that the navy blue color was slowly softening and turning lighter. The stars were also softening and became dimmer until they finally disappeared.

As the lovers watched the sky, it was soon splashed with bright colors of oranges, reds, yellows, golds and pinks called clouds, and they were painted all along the blue canvas above them. Even more colors were woven in with this masterpiece of the morn and the dawn was only becoming more beautiful.

Seven watched in awe as the sky became brighter, readying it for their king, the sun, to arrive. When the sun’s orange rays touched the sky, it lit up the sky and showers of gold reflected off the snow-covered buildings and ice-coated windows, making them shine like millions of diamonds.

Finally, the sun peeped over the horizon as if to make sure that it was the right time to come out. It slowly rose, knowing that it was the right time, and it beamed with splendor and exuberance as it dawned on the New Year. Seven smiled brightly and looked up at Swifty.

"That’s the life I want to give you." Swifty told her.

"What does that mean?" Seven asked.

Unlacing his arms from her, Swifty got down on the ground once more. On one knee, he drew the ring again and held it up to the woman he loved.

"Mariah Chase O’Hara," he said, "I have loved you since the moment I laid eyes on you, and I love even more now than I ever have in my entire life. And what I say now I am saying from the bottom of my heart." He held it closer to Seven. "Will you marry me?"

Seven looked at the ring, then at Swifty. A joyful tear fell down her face, and the smile that appeared gave Swifty his answer. Taking her hand in his, Swifty slid the three-jeweled ring onto her finger.

Seven leaned down and kissed Swifty, and he gently pulled her down to him and held her close. When they parted, they looked back up at the sky, watching as the new year dawned with a beautiful new day.