June 12, 1829

. . . Two days later, Nancy showed up at the house. She told me she had no money and asked if she could stay for a bit. I said she could and she (because of a lack of any more bedrooms) slept on the couch. Nancy wouldn't tell anyone what had passed between herself and Bill. Fagin tried to get the story out of her several times, but gave up after a while because she would go silent and say nothing. I figured that it would take time before she would be ready and I was right. She did eventually tell me several months later, but she swore me to secrecy so I cannot tell the reader. Sorry!

- - - - - - -

We had a very merry Christmas that year. We decorated the house with ivy and mistletoe, went caroling, and even spent a week working in a local soup kitchen. The new year was a wonderful time, too. We stayed up until midnight, playing cards and sipped punch. Charlie had spent his time earlier that day making party hats for us all. He forced us to wear them and then laughed uproariously at how dumb we looked.

After New Years, the boys were sent to school. This was something they were both dreading, but they learned to like it. After about a week of attending, Dodge came home with some startling news, "Charlie is actually smart after all!"

"What, my dear?!" Fagin cried in mock surprise.

"Yeah," said Dodge, "He got an 'A' on a report!"

"What was it about?" I asked.

"Hamlet; I criticized its satire - I said it didn't really have satire at all because it wasn't funny in the least," Charlie went red in the checks and gave a sheepish smile, "The teacher said that she disagreed with me, but that my argument was so good that she could not help but give me a perfect grade."

"How did you do, Dodge?" I was extremely curious.

"Not so good; I got a 'B-.' The teacher didn't like how I criticized the play's length. Said it wasn't a good thesis," Dodge shrugged his shoulders.

Since then, Dodge has improved tremendously. He gets 'A's and was voted class president. This doesn't shock me very much. He is a natural leader and has had a lot of experience in that area. I mean, he was the second in command to Fagin.

Fagin has put all of his free time into writing his autobiography. I asked him if he was actually going to take the chance of publishing it. I was afraid that he would be taken into custody immediately.

"Oh no, my dear! I want you to publish it after I have gone! Not now! Not anytime soon!" with that he dipped his pen in the ink bottle and went back to work.

Nancy and I spent a couple of months doing housework together. During this time, I realized that I liked her a lot. She had a very sweet demeanor and was happy to work and take care of us all. By April, I asked her to marry me. We wed on the twenty-fourth and then went to Ireland for our honeymoon. Later, Nance asked me if I still thought of Bet at all.

I answered, "Not since we spent that time together cleaning the ashes out of the fireplace."

"Really?" She responded, "Want to know when I started liking you?"

"Do I really want to know?"

"Yes! I liked you the first time I met you. I just always thought you were really handsome!"

I am still working at the orphanage. The only thing that is different is the fact that on Tuesdays, I bring Fagin along. He spends his time there talking to the children. The children get excited whenever he shows up. One girl commented to me that it was like having a grandfather. I told Fagin this. All he said in response, with a grin, was, "Am I that old, my dear?!" He has since decided that that little girl is his personal favorite. He is discussing possibly adopting her - that is, if it is alright with everyone else. We said that it was fine.

All in all, it has been a blessed year so far. Hopefully it continues to go this well. God has been very good to all of us . . .

THE END

That's the final chapter! I hope you enjoyed the story! I will get to work writing my next one. It is also a Oliver Twist story. Please review! I hope everyone is happy with the ending! There is no use in complaining! It is, after all, a happy ending! - Elaine Dawkins