A series of one shots focusing on Darrel Curtis, Sr. and his parents, Dale & Laura.
A/N: S.E. Hinton owns Darrel Curtis and The Outsiders. The Outsiders inspired me to create Dale & Laura Curtis. "The Old Rugged Cross" was written George Bennard in 1912. I do not own the song nor the lyrics. I also do not own the film "The Rainbow Trail" which came out in 1925.
Darrel is two-weeks old when his mother discovers his love of horses.
Laura Curtis holds her son against the warmth of her chest. Her long dark hair forming a protective cocoon around the infant. He refuses to take her milk. She cajoles, he whimpers. She grimaces, he squirms. She rocks back and forth, he kicks left and right. She paces the small room; his screams fill every nook and cranny.
My son is already a stranger to me. She stares at the doe-eyed baby boy squirming in the crook of her arms. Her arms are sharp twigs, her breasts heavy clouds. He wants nothing to do with either one.
She turns on the radio to her favorite gospel station. Tapping her foot to the music, she warbles off-key to the infant. If I can't calm him down, she figures, surely Jesus will. But Jesus is playing hooky that day and all her singing does in cause little Darrel to scream even louder. The choir's desire to "cling to the old rugged cross" a gentle breeze compared to his lightning bolt wails.
Laura hates her milk, hates her breasts, hates herself and most of all, hates the red-faced infant.
"What's wrong with you," she hisses at him. She wants to throw the crying, ungrateful brat across the room. For a second, she imagines him floating through the room and out of the window. She stares out the window and sees thick pregnant clouds hiding the blue sky. She then sees her husband Dale, hiding from her, drinking his Moonshine. She thinks about yelling out the window at him, but she is too tired to do anything but stare. Besides it wouldn't do any good. Dale would just continue to drink his Moonshine and Darrel would just continue to reject her milk.
She imagines the infant floating through the air and landing right on top of Dale's hooch. Brew and baby fall to the ground with a thud.
She shivers and grips the baby. She quickly scans the room as if someone is there, watching her. Reading her mind. Seeing those awful images of little Darrel cracking into 7x70 little pieces. As dark thoughts soak her mind, a rainbow appears in the form of a radio ad for a new Tom Mix movie.
"The Rainbow Trail starring America's favorite cowboy, Mr. Tom Mix;" Laura hears the sound of horse hooves in the background. Laura knows that the "horses" are probably the clickity-clack of shoes in the radio studio. But, it sounds awfully real. Yes, it sounds like a hundred horses are just outside the house, maybe by the shed where Dale keeps his Moonshine.
When Darrel hears the "horses" he stops crying and presses his lips to his mother's nipple. He is calm, peaceful, hungry and ready to eat.
Laura looks down at her son, "the Lord works in mysterious ways," she laughs. Her laugh is soft and full. Like clouds.