New York Storm

by Rachel Wesson

  “Kiss you? I’d sooner kiss a frog,” she replied while focusing her gaze on the window. She didn’t want Jamie or anyone else to see how much she’d love him to kiss her.

  “Hah, one of these days you’ll regret not being nice to me. I’ll make my fortune and you’ll be sorry.”

  “Dream on, Jamie,” she retorted, looking at his face.

  He blew her a kiss making her giggle before turning to the back exit.

  “Jamie,” she called after him. “You be careful now.”

  “I will, lovely Lizzie, I will.”

  Sadie giggled this time as she caught the look Lizzie sent him. Why did he have to call her that? He pretended to want a kiss and all that but it was a game to him. It wasn’t as if he really liked her. They’d grown up together, he was a friend of her brothers. She knew he saw her like a kid sister, but she kept hoping he’d see she had grown up.

  “Do you think he’ll dance with you at the social?” Sadie asked.

  “Who knows what Jamie will do? I doubt he even knows himself.” Lizzie hoped she sounded casual. In reality, she dreamed every night about Jamie taking her to the social. She could see the jealous looks on the other girl’s faces as the tall, good-looking man escorted her. She would be wearing a new dress, of course. “What are you thinking about? You got a real goofy look on your face.” Sadie’s voice interrupted her daydream.

  “Never you mind. We best get back to work or Mrs. Reynolds will dock our wages.”

  Lizzie, Sadie, and the other girls kept working despite the frequent updates from various staff members about the storm worsening. They had no choice. Until Mrs. Reynolds told them to leave, nobody would dare ask to go. It wasn’t worth losing your job over a storm.

  Lizzie glanced out the window on her way back from the outhouse. She couldn’t believe her eyes. She couldn’t see as far as the gates surrounding the factory. The snow was falling fast and thick, but it was windy too, so visibility was very poor. She shivered, feeling as if someone walked over her grave. She said a quick prayer Jamie would be all right before hurrying back to her seat. Hopefully, Mrs. Reynolds hadn’t noticed she’d been missing.

  Chapter 19

  Jamie Headford whistled as he got ready to leave the factory. Carter had called him into the office earlier to tell him his promotion had been approved. It meant another dollar a week onto his wages. He wouldn’t spend it, but he’d add it to his savings. This promotion made him one step nearer to becoming a salesman. That was where the big money was. He wanted to save enough to put a deposit on his own place. Then he could ask Lizzie to walk out with him.

  He pushed some newspaper into his boots and wrapped another lot around his chest.

  “What are you doing?” Barry Henson asked, his tone rising with derision. “You look fat enough without that extra padding.” Barry had to stop talking as a fit of coughing caught him.

  “I’m trying to keep warm. You should do it, too, Barry. Especially as you have a cough. That storm is a real big one,” Jamie said.

  “I got my coat. I’ll be fine. Come on. Mitch is waiting outside, he went to have a smoke.”

  There was a strict no smoking policy in this part of the factory as the materials were highly flammable. Jamie couldn’t understand anyone wanting a smoke desperately enough to go out into the storm. He shoved the newspapers under his shirt, before putting his jacket and coat back on.

  Taking mittens his ma had knit him out of his pockets, he put them on his hands as he made for the door. Jamie gasped as a white covered figure came in the door he was attempting to exit. “Jeez it’s cold out there. Are you coming?”

  “Did you have your smoke?” Barry asked.

  “Naw, the wind’s too strong. My hands were too cold to hold the cigarette.

  Jamie said a quick prayer. Mitch never let anything come between him and his tobacco.

  Together they pushed the heavy door open, the strong wind making it difficult. The three of them trudged home. Any attempt at talking was a waste of time. The bellowing wind made it impossible to hear and their breath froze as soon as they opened their mouth. The wind buffeted them causing the men to stagger like drunkards.

  Jamie couldn’t believe all their usual landmarks were completely covered, the skyline has disappeared. The howl of the blizzard and the all-encompassing whiteness made him uneasy. He found himself thinking of the ghost stories his ma told on a dark night around the fire. Back in Ireland, ghost stories were a form of entertainment passed down from one generation to the next.

  It didn’t take long before he realized they would have been better staying at the factory. The heavy snow soon covered them. Within minutes, the three of them were wet through.

  There was no sign of any hansom cabs or other forms of transport, not that they had the money for the fares. They held onto each other as they pushed their way through the heavy storm. In addition to the snow falling from the sky, the wind lifted the snow from the sidewalks to dump it elsewhere causing large snowdrifts in places. Utility poles proven an additional hazard, their tangle of buzzing wires sparking every so often.

  Jamie glanced at Mitch to see icicles glittering from his friend’s nose, the mustache he thought made him a heart throb frozen stiff against his red cheeks, snowflakes clinging to his eyelashes. He would have smiled at the vision only his lips felt solid as if movement would make them crack.

  In the dimming light, it was difficult to see their route. The yellow glow of the gas lamps, was conspicuously absent, another victim of the blizzard. With a curse, Barry fell quickly and disappeared into the snow.

  “Mitch, quick. Barry’s gone into a snowdrift,” Jamie cried out, hitting Mitch on the arm to get his friend’s attention.

  He and Mitch struggled to get a hold of Barry, but the snow was deeper than they anticipated. They didn’t have anything but their hands to dig with. The wind buffeted them constantly and that combined with frozen fingers and rapidly sapping strength, meant it took ages to dig Barry out.

  Chapter 20

  Jamie finally grabbed his arm and dragged him out, Barry coughing and spluttering. He looked like a snow monster. Every part of his body was covered in snow. His coat and shirt had opened during the struggle leaving his chest hair sparkling as if covered in diamonds. Jamie cursed him under his breath for not using the newspapers for added protection as he’d suggested at the factory.

  “We have to get shelter soon, Jamie. Or we’re done for.”

  Mitch echoed Jamie’s own thoughts, but what did Mitch expect him to do?

  They walked slowly on before Jamie spotted what looked like a shed. He roared at his friends, trying to make them realize what he was aiming for. Jamie knew they couldn’t hear him over the howl of the wind. Barry fell again. Jamie realized his friend had lost consciousness.

  “Mitch, grab Barry’s legs. We got to get him to shelter,”

  Jamie shouted as he mimed out what they needed to do. He hit Barry’s face, none too gently. “Barry wake up.”

  His friend opened his eyes but he was barely conscious. Jamie and Mitch struggled, half carrying, half dragging Barry. There was no way they were leaving him behind. Holding him between them, they half-walked, half-crawled their way forward.

  “Leave me here. I’m tired,” Barry complained as he closed his eyes once more.

  Jamie exchanged a look with Mitch, although Mitch hadn’t heard what Barry had said, it was obvious from the way Barry was carrying his head, he wanted to lie down on the sidewalk.

  “Barry, wake up. You got to help us. You’re too heavy,” Jamie begged, but Barry was beyond listening.

  “There’s nothing here. I can’t see anything,” Mitch shouted.

  “There’s a shed. We must be near the station. We got to get out of this wind or we are goners,” Jamie said.

  “Ever the optimist. Where are we going to shelter, in that shed?” Mitch shouted loudly.

  “If we have to.” Jamie prayed it would work. Where was everyone else? Surely they couldn’t
be the only New Yorkers out on the streets. Usually this route was full of people going about their daily business but today it was as if the whole world had been swallowed up leaving them alone with the elements.

  His imagination was getting the better of him. Giving himself a mental shake, he told himself every labored footstep was taking them to safety. He didn’t like the look of Barry and he had long ago lost all feeling in his feet. “We have to keep moving. Come on.”

  They headed in the direction of the shed and almost fell over a more solid shelter. It was some sort of abandoned house.

  “Come inside, you look after Barry. I’ll try and get a fire going,” Jamie said.

  “How are you going to light a fire?” Mitch asked.

  “You’re the smoker. Don’t you have matches?”

  Understanding dawned on Mitch’s face. He dumped Barry on the ground as he routed through his pockets. With a triumphant smile, he produced a box of matches.

  To Jamie’s dismay they were wet. “Not much use to us now.”

  Mitch cursed, but Jamie was too busy looking around him. Maybe the previous occupants had left some matches behind. He didn’t find any but he did find some wood. He desperately rubbed one piece against another.

  “Did you read about that in your books?” Mitch asked.

  “Shut up and see to Barry. Is he even awake?” Jamie said.

  “I’m thirsty. Are you?” Mitch complained as he moved toward Barry’s still form.

  “We can melt some snow. It’s better than nothing.”

  Jamie kept moving, rubbing the sticks together. They were dry so hopefully with just a little bit of effort they would catch. He pulled the paper from his boots and his body but it was too wet to help.

  “Jamie, Barry ain’t breathin’. I think he might be…”

  “He’s just sleeping. That’s all,” Jamie answered hoping Mitch believed him, although he wasn’t sure he believed himself. He had to keep going with the sticks so checking Barry would have to wait. His prayers were answered as first one spark and then another fell on the small bundle of twigs he had gathered.

  “Mitch, quick. Look around and see if you can find anything that would burn easily.”

  But Mitch couldn’t find anything. Jamie used a cloth he had found to fan the flames. He couldn’t use his coat or jacket as they were soaked through.

  “Anything else here we can use?”

  “Looks like the rats or mice got into these.” Mitch held up some old blankets, all of which had big holes in them. Mitch’s lips looked blue and his voice shook as his teeth were chattering.

  “We need to find something to melt some snow in so we can warm up our hands and feet and our ears.”

  “Our ears?” Mitch said, his voice full of disbelief.

  “Yeah, I read it somewhere. Don’t ask me why.”

  Jamie kept talking as he approached Barry. He didn’t want his friend to be dead. He hadn’t touched a dead body before. Well, apart from kissing his old Nan at a wake but that was different. She’d been old and his family had been around him. He prodded Barry’s chest but there was no reaction. He leaned over him to see if he could feel his breath on his cheek. Nothing.

  He looked up to catch Mitch staring at Barry, a funny expression on his face.

  “What?”

  “I was just wondering what we should do with him if he’s dead. He can’t stay here.” Mitch’s voice sounded flat, lacking emotion.

  “But what if he isn’t? What if he’s just so cold he fell into a deep sleep and we can’t wake him?” Jamie asked desperately. “If we leave him outside, he’ll die.”

  “Jamie, he’s dead. Can’t you see it?” Mitch broke down with great heaving sobs. Jamie rushed to his side.

  “Come on, Mitch, you can’t act like this. We got to keep moving. Got to get warm or we don’t stand a chance. Come on, get up. Start walking.”

  “Leave me alone. I don’t want to walk. My feet are sore,” Mitch lay down on the floor practically in the small fire.

  “Take your outer clothes off and start running around the fire. Come on. We can sing while we’re at it.” Jamie knew they had to keep moving. The worst thing they could do was fall asleep.

  “Sing? You’ve lost your mind,” Mitch said looking at Jamie as if he was the devil himself.

  Jamie didn’t care what he looked or sounded like. He wasn’t going to die like this in the middle of nowhere. He had a life to live, a girl he wanted to marry. Children. His whole world was waiting for him. He wasn’t about to quit on it now.

  He explored the abandoned house. It wasn’t much, but at least the walls were solid. They were better than some of the tenements people lived in. It had been kept in good condition. He wondered where the owners were. Would they come back and find them? The cobwebs and dusty floors made him doubt it.

  “Mitch Griffin, get up off your backside and start movin’.” Jamie’s chest hurt as he spoke, his breath coming in wheezy gulps. He didn’t stop to rest. He didn’t know how long it would be, before they could escape the storm or were found by someone. But if they didn’t keep moving, they would be dead. Just like Barry.

  Chapter 21

  Sadie O’Riordan stared out the window. She hated storms at the best of times but this was worse than anything she had ever experienced. She hoped Mrs. Reynolds would refuse to let them out of the factory. At least in here they were warm and dry. Out there, people looked like little toys that the wind was playing with as it tossed them here and there. She had to find Stan but without Mrs. Reynolds realizing she had gone.

  “Lizzie, tell Mrs. Reynolds I had to go the restroom. I’ll be back in a minute.”

  Lizzie nodded, her attention focused on the window.

  Sadie moved quickly, while everyone seemed distracted by the storm. She finally found Stan, already wearing his coat.

  “Stan, where are you going?”

  “Home.”

  “Wait for me. Mrs. Reynolds hasn’t told us we can go yet.”

  “I ain’t waiting on no-one. Did you see the state of that storm? It’s getting worse, not better.”

  “But Stan you can’t go home without me. What will I do?”

  Her brother didn’t give her a second glance. “Not my problem,” he muttered as he moved toward the exit.

  “Stan, wait.” She wiped a tear from her face. She was terrified something would happen to him but worried as well about herself. “Be careful.”

  He didn’t acknowledge her so she didn’t know if he heard her or not. The wind whistled ominously and then the door shut behind him, leaving her standing alone. What was she going to do now?

  She walked slowly back to the sewing room where all pretense of work had stopped. The women who were still there were all focused on the window, looking out at the storm. Some were clearly distressed while others were talking about what they would do with a few hours off work.

  “Do you think they’ll dock our wages?” Lizzie asked.

  “Of course they will. Mrs. Reynolds wouldn’t spend a cent unless she had to,” Mrs. Sherry said.

  Sadie wanted to warn her their supervisor was standing behind her, listening to every word. But a look from Lizzie made her keep her mouth shut.

  “Listen to me ladies. We are closing the factory. The weather appears to be getting worse. I would advise you all to put on as many layers as you have and to make straight for home. No stopping for any reason,” Mrs. Reynolds said, her pointed look at Mrs. Sherry not going unnoticed. “I hope all of you get home safe and sound.”

  “Thank you Mrs. Reynolds,” Sadie found herself saying, somehow sounding natural instead of terrified and childish.

  When Mrs. Reynolds had left, all the women started talking at once. Sadie made her way back to her workstation and tidied up a little. She hated mess.

  “Sadie, what are you doing? You need to find Stan and go home. This isn’t the time to be cleaning,” Lizzie told her.

  “Stan’s gone.”

  Lizzie’s jaw dropp
ed. Sadie almost laughed but it was really no laughing matter. Her brother had deserted her just when she needed him most.

  “Sadie, stay here. Do not move until I come back.”

  Sadie nodded.

  “Listen to me Sadie, I’m serious. No matter what happens, you’re not to leave this chair until I come back. Do you hear?”

  “Yes, Lizzie I promise.”

  Sadie didn’t even question what Lizzie was up to. She couldn’t think of anything other than trying to make her way home in that storm. Alone.

  Lizzie wasn’t long coming back. She seized Sadie’s hand. “We’re going home to my house. Ma will look after us.”

  “Are you sure, Lizzie? I don’t want to be a burden,” Sadie replied, her voice showing her terror.

  Lizzie knew her friend didn’t want to be alone. Nobody did, not in this weather. When she heard Stan had left Sadie at the factory, Lizzie had raced off to find Tommy. She knew he would agree with her plan to take Lizzie with them but she wanted to tell him about Stan without Lizzie overhearing his reaction. As she predicted, he had been furious. If Stan had been anywhere nearby, Tommy could easily have become violent. Instead he told Lizzie they should go and get dressed as warmly as she and Sadie could manage. He would come by and collect them shortly. They were not to leave without him.

  “You won’t be a burden. I’m not having you going home on your own. Your brother should have waited for you.”

  “Stan isn’t like your Tommy. He doesn’t care about anyone but himself.”

  Lizzie agreed with Sadie’s assessment of Stan but she wasn’t about to say so. Instead, she started packing her shoes with newspaper and put some around her middle as well.

  “What are you doing?” Sadie asked.

  “I’m trying to stay warm. You should do it too.”

  Sadie did what Lizzie said as she always did. Soon Tommy came back to collect them.