She pulled the doll over to her and handed the man the receipt and told him to mark it paid in full and sign it. When he did, she put it in her pocket and handed him his money, then , tightly clutching the doll, she gathered up her two bags and rushed to the door.
“Crazy old woman!” She heard the man mutter as she went out.
She still had three dollars left. She knew without food she might not survive another cold night, so she struggled with her belongings to a nearby café, where she had some hot soup and some bread.
When she had finished eating, hardly taking her eyes off the doll sitting beside her in the booth, she took an old dress from one of her bags and wrapped it around the doll and over her heal like a shawl to keep her from getting wet in the snow, then went out into the dark street and made her way back to her alley. She kept a sharp lookout to be sure there was no one to see her go into the secret place where she slept. It had been a terrible day and a wonderful day and now she was exhausted and sleepy. She found her pile of papers and cardboard near the warm vent intact, buried herself underneath them with the doll snuggled close beside her, and slept.
When morning came, she had to struggle with her bags and the doll while she found another abandoned grocery cart. It had stopped snowing briefly, so she hurried downtown to beg where people might take more notice of her. By the time she got there, however, the wind had come up and the snow started again, so she was only able to beg some change all day. The next day was Christmas eve. She didn’t eat much, because she was afraid that on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day she might get nothing, she wanted to save all she could for those empty days. Before dark she went back to her alley and went to sleep.
On the morning of Christmas Eve, as she got out from the pile of papers, Mary’s shoulder plate, which loosened because some of the sawdust had been lost from her body, fell off. Luckily, it landed on dry paper and was not hurt. Meg sat down to try and put the head back on when she notice the corner of a folded piece of paper sticking out of the sawdust at the top of the doll’s body where the shoulder plate went over it. She sat the head down and pulled out the paper, unfolded it and read:
My Darling Meg;
The stock market is very bad and I am afraid we might lose everything, so I am doing this to be sure you are always taken care of in case something happens to me. I know you love this doll so much you will never be parted from her, and I know that somehow, some time, when you really need it, you will find this. Look in the sawdust for a bag.
I love you. Father.”
With trembling hands and pounding heart Meg laid the letter aside and parted the sawdust. She saw a small cloth bag, which she carefully pulled out and opened it. In the bag she found ten one thousand dollar bills and a few bonds. She didn’t know how to tell the value of the bonds and thought they might be worthless now, but she put them back into the bag.
She picked up the doll’s head and looked into the tin eyes, which seemed to smile at her. Meg smiled back. And smiled and smiled.
Carefully she picked up the doll’s body and head, and started to pick up her bags. Then she smiled and dropped them. She took an old blouse from one of them and stuffed Mary’s body so the shoulder plate would fit snug again. Then placed the bag with the money inside the front of her dress, and walked, with Mary in her arms, to a nearby store where she bought a bottle of glue, and glued the doll’s shoulder plate with the head back on. Then she went to a bank and asked to see the manager.
