Hot Chestnut Weather

London, England, 1910

It rained on Bert's jolly holiday with Mary, and he let out a small sigh as all his hard work washed away, leaving him wet and hungry.

"Oh, Bert, all your fine drawings," Mary Poppins said.

"Well, there's more where they came from," Bert replied. "Meantime, I'm changing businesses. This here is lovely hot chestnut weather."

They said their goodbyes and Bert went on his way to the market to pick up some chestnuts to roast. It was a good call-he ended up earning enough to buy a big dinner and tuck some away in savings for his rent. Warm paper cones of chestnuts flew out of his hands as fast as he could roast them.

"There's nothin' like hot chestnuts on a rainy day!" he said to the lady who bought his last cone of chestnuts.

Bert closed up shop and headed to the pub for dinner. His shoes got wet in the long walk to the East End.

"Eel pie n' mash for me, please! And a shot of whiskey to warm me up," he told the bartender. Right after he took the first bite of pie, he saw what looked like Eamon, but his face was swollen and blue in places.

"Eamon! You look downright dreadful-what happened to you?"

"Yea, I'm not a pretty sight, am I? I was robbed last night. The fellow who did it must have heard about the collection we were doing and followed me on my way home. I got cornered. The fund for Henry's widow is gone-I'm real sorry, Bert."

Bert's heart fell. "It ain't your fault, Eamon, I'm just glad you're still alive and kickin'."

"I am grateful for that. Just wish we could've done more for Henry and Sandy, y'know?" Eamon threw back a shot of whiskey.

Bert got an idea. "Tell you what. I'll talk to a friend of mine about getting some high quality childcare for the kid. I should know by tomorrow mornin'."

"Bless ya, Bert." Eamon raised his glass.

Bert gobbled up his dinner and walked over to Cherry Tree Lane in the dark and rain. On the way, he hummed to distract himself from the cold. "Chim chiminy, chim chiminy chim chim cheroo…"

By the time he got to number 17, all the windows were dark except for one, which glowed with light from a single candle. Bert prayed it was Mary Poppins who was still awake. It would be awkward if he ended up having to explain himself to Mr. Banks. He fished out three chestnuts from his pocket and tossed them one by one at the lit window. After tossing the second one, the window opened and Mary Poppins' head peeked out.

"Bert! Bert, whatever are you doing here?" Strange how she managed to whisper so loudly, Bert observed.

"May I speak with you?" he asked.

"You'll catch your death! I'm coming down to let you inside," she said and then shut the window. The door opened not long afterwards, and Mary Poppins waved him inside. "Come in right away. Spit spot!"

"Thank you for coming down-"

"You're dripping all over the floor! It's not proper, but I don't want you to be seen. Come up with me to my room." Mary Poppins threw down her handkerchief, which followed Bert like a small dog, mopping up rainwater as he went up the stairs.

"Andrew would be much better at this," Bert whispered.

"Shh!" Mary Poppins scolded. Once in her room, Mary Poppins sat Bert down in front of the fireplace. "You're a chimney sweep-make yourself useful and start a fire. I need to fetch the medicine from the nursery."

"Righto," Bert replied, tossing some kindling and a couple logs into the fireplace. Using the candle, he set the kindling on fire, which spread to the logs. A roaring fire blazed before him in no time. Bert sighed, content, and warmed his hands as he waited for Mary Poppins.

"Take off those shoes!" she ordered as she rushed in with the medicine. "I could hear them squelching as you went up the stairs."

He did as she said. "There you go!"

"I do hope the window has not cracked. Whatever were you tossing at it? And why could you not wait until tomorrow?"

Bert smirked. "I told you it was hot chestnut weather, Mary Poppins."

She frowned at him.

"But in all seriousness, I need to speak with you about something."

"After you take your medicine! People who get their feet wet must take their medicine." She handed him a spoon and poured a dark brown liquid into it. "Get on with it."

Bert gulped it down. "Mmm, tastes like chestnuts."

Mary Poppins shook her head at him. "Spread your arms out. Let's take this coat off of you too, it's soaked." She peeled his brown coat off of him and walked over to hang it on her hat rack by the fireplace. Bert stood up behind her and when Mary Poppins turned to find him standing there, she gasped softly but was otherwise unfazed.

"Mary…" he took her hands in his. "I'm taken care of. May I pull up a chair for you?"

She snatched her hands back and looked away. "Yes."

Bert pulled up another chair and they sat together in front of the fire.

"What is so urgent?" Mary Poppins asked.

But Bert had other things on his mind. "Do you sleep with your hair put up like that?"

"Bert!"

"Right! My urgent matter. One of my chimney sweep friends, Henry, who was a mentor of mine, recently died of consumption, leaving behind a wife and child."

"My condolences," Mary Poppins said, gazing at the fire.

"Thank you. It's terrible what happened, and I can't imagine what it's like for his wife and kid. The sweeps even tried to put together a fund for them, but my friend who arranged for it was robbed. We're not sure what to do."

"I see."

"And I thought of you! A child is in need. Perhaps you could provide some childcare after you've finished up with Michael and Jane? You'd make a big difference in their lives."

"Can the widow-what is her name?"

"Sandy."

"Sandy-can she afford me?"

"Afford you? I expect she needs less than a week to get back on her feet-"

"I have to eat too, Bert."

"Right...of course, I apologize. I just didn't know who else to turn to." The back of Bert's throat felt tight.

Mary Poppins took Bert's hand as a tear streaked down his cheek. "That poor woman. There must be something that can be done...Actually, I just thought of this-what about your uncle? He is of means."

Bert sniffed. "There's an idea! I'll pay Uncle Albert a visit in the morning. What would I do without you, Mary Poppins?" He gave her cold hand a squeeze for warmth before letting it go. "I'd best be off! I'd better get going if I'm to get even a wink of sleep before visiting Uncle Albert tomorrow. I reckon I've dried off enough-"

"Don't be ridiculous, Bert! You're not going back out in the rain. You sleep here in this chair tonight-just make sure you leave at dawn."

"Are you sure? I don't want to impose-" her eyes shut him up. "Right. I'll stay."

"Throw another log on that fire, will you?"

"Of course." Bert did as she asked and slumped back into his chair. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Mary Poppins replied, absorbed in her needlepoint. As she stitched though, she hummed a lullaby from his childhood.

As he came to rest in the stillness and warmth, fatigue crept into every nook and cranny of Bert's being. "Crikey, what a long day," he whispered to himself, sliding into sleep with ease in the presence of Mary Poppins.