Two-Bit Mathews.
The next morning, while everyone was eating breakfast, there was a knock on the door.
The boys looked at each other apprehensively. Anyone they knew didn't bother to knock. Darry went to open the door, clearly steeling himself for cops or some other official business. Johnny gathered Mary up out of her basket and into his arms and hung behind him, waiting for the proverbial axe to fall.
Everyone wilted in relief when he opened the door. It was Maude, the elderly lady who lived two doors down. Her husband had died some years back and she kept mostly to herself these days. But she'd been friendly with the Curtis family and knew the boys by always checked on her when it was cold or stormy and Soda sometimes bought her groceries home from the store.
"Hello Darrel!"
"Hi Maude…" The tension in his voice and body disappeared, although he remained cautious in his speech "…What brings you here this morning?"
"I came to welcome your new arrival! I always like to meet a new neighbour." She said with a smile.
So everyone knows. Two-Bit thought. His heart sank at the thought of how loud Johnny and his father had been screaming last night. The voice of every Soc who'd ever called the Cades poor white trash echoed in his mind.
She pulled something into view and Two-Bit watched as Johnny's mouth dropped open in a little gasp of disbelief. It was a baby carriage. A real nice old fashioned one, like he'd seen on TV, or sometimes being wheeled down the street by fancy Soc ladies. It was black and cream, with rubber wheels and a folding canopy. It was clearly used but in good condition.
The old woman continued. "Last night I spoke to the neighbours and we had a whip around for any old baby things we weren't using anymore… We thought you might appreciate them Johnny Cade?" She said it casually, but her gaze shot right through him and he turned red as he saw that the baby carriage was full of stuff. Some of it wrapped in brown paper, some of it open. Food, clothes, toys and books.
"Th…Thank…" Johnny was wide eyed and speechless as Darry wheeled in the baby carriage and ushered Maude inside. "Please have a seat Maude… May I offer you cup of coffee?" He said politely while shooting Ponyboy a sharp look with said make the woman a coffee now! Pony was on his feet boiling the kettle a second later.
"Why yes thank you! I shan't bother you for long I just wanted a word with this young man." She said, smiling at Johnny as she sat on the couch, patting the seat beside her and looking at him expectantly. "Thank you my dear" She said to Ponyboy as he set her coffee on the end table.
"Well?" She said to Johnny. "Bring her here honey… I won't bite." She put out her arms and Johnny handed Mary over cautiously. Sitting beside her, he hovered like she might suddenly disappear. It was the first time anyone outside of the gang had held her.
"Oh!" She said with a lilt in her voice "Oh aren't you just a perfect little lady!" She looked enchanted. "Just a beautiful little girl!" She looked up at Johnny. "How old is she?"
"Thirteen days old Ma'am." He told her, biting his lip nervously.
"And what have you been feeding her?" She asked, stroking the baby's head gently.
"Nestle powdered infant formula Ma'am. It's what Doctor Spock recommends."
"Ah! You're a follower of the modern parenting movement are you?" She raised an eyebrow and smiled at him. "Tell me Johnny Cade. What appeals to you most about Doctor Spock's approach?"
He thought for a moment. " I guess… I guess I like that he sees babies as real people in their own right… He… He says that they come into the world with feelings and their own personality… And… And… That most people's instincts are already pretty good… It made me a lot less…" He trailed off.
"Scared?" She asked him. He nodded sheepishly.
"I've had four children and was always terrified to touch them at this age." She said.
Johnny's eyes widened in surprised. "Really?"
"Oh of course… The little floppy necks, the tiny arms and legs! The soft spot on the head! It's like carrying a crystal vase everywhere except it squirms constantly."
Johnny smiled faintly at that. "I'm most scared to bathe her, I'm scared she'll slip." He admitted.
"Oh she will! And she'll do it more than once… I can't count the number of times I dunked my babies…They all survived!" She joked.
While Johnny and the old woman talked, the rest of the boys sat silently staring at each other in astonishment, Their collective first thought was that the old broad was going to rat them out the moment she left the house. But now, watching her conversing so easily with Johnny, Two-Bit wasn't so sure.
After she'd finished her coffee she showed him the gifts she'd collected.
Some small dresses from the Sullivan family across the street, all their girls were grown and gone now but Mary would grow into their pretty things, Things Johnny could never have imagined being able to afford. A knitted bunny rabbit from Mrs Olsen and her husband. Some children's story books from the old alcoholic man named Jeffery who played guitar on his porch. A fruitcake from herself… All poor people with little to give. All most definitely within earshot last night.
When Johnny's eyes grew liquid with tears as he tried to stammer out thanks she kissed him on the cheek. "There now… You and your little sister deserve a bit of kindness Johnny Cade… Its about Damn time!"
A collective sense of relief permitted the room. She'd lived in the neighbourhood a long time. She knew everything they all did. Johnny wondered if she'd also stayed awake listening to his parents scream at each other. Wondering if he was OK.
"And if you ever need some advice form an old grandmother who's seen it all… You come straight to me. Day or night. My door is always open to you dear."
"I…" He wiped his eyes. "…I never knew my grandparents." He said.
"Well consider me your unofficial Granny." She smiled, kissing the baby's soft hair. "If my old mother could see me now she'd have a heart attack." She laughed. "How times change… You know, now that segregation has ended, she'll be able to go to the local elementary school with all the other children? What a time to be alive!"
"Hadn't thought of that." Darry said quietly. "I hadn't really thought of anything to do with that until now."
"Well… Unfortunately you'll have to. I doubt old attitudes die that fast… Not in Oklahoma at any rate. Things won't always be easy for her."
"We'll protect her from all that." Ponyboy said adamantly. "Let anyone try and give her a hard time!"
"You do that!" Maude said to him. "You never stop standing up for her! But don't kid yourself… Her experience of the world will be much different to yours. As a coloured person, and as a girl… I say this as a woman, and an old one with plenty of experience… You don't know how unjust the world can be until you have daughters."
"Yes Ma'am" Said Ponyboy, clearly only half understanding what she meant.
But Darry and Soda exchanged a troubled look. And Johnny was deep in thought.
"I sure am regretting some of the things I've said and done right about now." Two-Bit hadn't meant to say it out loud. He blushed. But if he was honest with himself he hadn't always been a gentleman. Seeing the defenceless little mite there made him feel sad about all the jerks like him that she was going to meet in the world.
"You want some advice going forward from someone who's been around Keith Mathews?" Maud said wagging a finger at him. "I think you can't go wrong if you act and speak out of kindness… Always, wherever you can… A decision can't be wrong if it has its root in love. Whatever else you do you can't go wrong if love is steering you"
"That's why I bought her here." Johnny whispered. "That's why I ran with her."
"I know Honey. You've always been a better person than you had any right to be." She said, looking at him fondly. She rose to leave. "Well… Thank you for the coffee boys… You know Johnny… I think it's safe enough to take her out for an occasional walk… At least on this street. Everyone knows. After last night, no one will say anything."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Two-Bit stayed most of the day even though it was Saturday and the brothers and Steve were all there. Steve, Sodapop and Darry were deep in conversation about something or other but he couldn't focus. He sat on the couch with Johnny and Ponyboy as Johnny looked through all the gifts again. Showing the baby each one, like she cared. It made him smile anyway.
He saw Dally through the porch window and watched him as he he slipped in quietly and handed Johnny some cash.
"Aw Dal.. You don't have to…" Johnny complained.
"Just take it." He murmured. "Keep it for a rainy day."
Dally was quiet that day, preoccupied. He slipped out and sat smoking on the porch watching as Johnny and Ponyboy wheeled the baby carriage down the sidewalk.
Johnny went from door to door ,thanking people for their generosity and shaking hands. He never did like charity, Two-Bit knew that. Thanking people gave him a bit of dignity back he guessed. People knew him, even if they'd never really spoken to him. He was "that poor Cade kid." Johnny never gave off an air of criminality like so many other greasers did. They shook his hand warmly and cooed at the baby. It was mostly housewives who answered the door.
When they rolled around the corner and out of his line of sight, Dally got up and followed them at a distance. Two-Bit went with him.
"What's got you so anxious?" He asked.
"How'd you think they'd manage against a car full of Socs right now?" Dally asked him. "Or Johnny's old man?" He slowed a little when the boys were back in sight.
"You heard about that huh?"
"Kinda hard not to… The whole neighbourhood was talking about it." Dally murmured, hunching up his shoulders as he walked. "The fucker had the nerve to come to the Dingo! Before he came here… He got too drunk, got booted."
"You were there?"
"Buck told me… Apparently he was ranting about his wife… Nothing strange there… But he really had a hate on for Johnny last night too. If you hadn't been here I don't wanna think about what he might've done to him."
"Johnny seemed pretty well able to take care of himself last night." Two bit said, defensive of Johnny's reputation.
"What about after?" He asked.
"Things kinda fell apart after." Two-Bit admitted. "I'd freak out too if my Old Man tried to murder my sister and called me a punk in front of the whole neighbourhood."
"He say anything about Johnny's Ma?" Dally asked, side eyeing him.
"Said she took off…. Wait… Why? What have you heard?"
"Good Riddance." Was all Dally said in reply. But Two-Bit could tell there was more.
"Seriously Dal… What about the bitch? You know she could come back and walk away with that baby, and no one could stop her right?"
"Old man Cade said some stuff about her when he was hammered is all… Nothing to worry about."
The boys had stopped in front of the old guitar player's house. He was out on the porch laughing with them. His ever present bottle of whiskey in his hand. His name was Tom and no one knew his last name so he was just "Tom Guitar."
"Oh Alice in Wonderland… The Little Engine That Could… Don't forget the velveteen Rabbit! You gotta promise to read her that one!" He said jovially.
"We will Mister!" Johnny said, waving at him. "Thanks a bunch!"
That seemed to be the end of the line for them and they turned around to come back. Dally and Two-Bit ducked out of sight behind the house wall so as not to embarrass them. They knew neither boy would appreciate being babysat. After they passed by again and moved on towards home, Dally walked out and right over to the old man's porch. He leaned against the fence and lit a cigarette, offering the Tom Guitar one.
" I got my vice already." The man lifted his whiskey bottle. "You keepin' an eye on your little friends? or following them for another reason?" He frowned.
"Just keepin' them safe." Dally said. "You never know who might be around."
"I heard tell Mr. Cade ended up in Jail last night." The old man drawled.
"Oh yeah? Who from?"
"Can't remember… No bad thing if you ask me though."
Dally nodded. "You know them?"
"I used to drink with the father once upon a time." He said, a far away look in his eyes. "Right up until I saw how he treated his wife and kid."
"You know where she went?" Dally asked him.
"Wasn't aware of her leavin'" He said. Taking a swig from his bottle. "Y'all take care of them kids now… God knows some one needs too."
"Cheers." Dally said. "Come on Two-Bit." They hauled ass up the parallel street and managed to arrive back just before the boys.
xxxxxxxxxxxx
It turned out that Darry and the boys had been making plans. He actually seemed excited about something. He insisted everyone gather around.
"Ok so… Bare with me… You know how our worksite has a dump? Like, where we throw all the offcuts and stuff?"
"Yeah?" Two-Bit was confused.
"Well, you know how I'm always saying it's such a waste and you could build a house will the crap we throw out? There are even windows and bathroom fixtures and stuff... Hell It's where I go if I need to replace some thing in this place!"
"Yeah?"
"Well… I'm thinking we could at very least build an extra room onto this place… We own the plot round back and I can transport the materials in the truck. It's all free."
"Seriously?" Pony asked, excitedly, grinning at Johnny "You think it's doable Darry!?"
"More than doable. I build more complicated stuff every day. We can tack an extra little bedroom onto this place over a few weekends… What do you think Johnny? a room for you and Mary? Somewhere for her to play when she gets older? You'd probably appreciate your own space too huh?"
Johnny squirmed "It's not that it's….Oh I dunno Darry! if anyone gets their own room it should be one of you guys." Johnny said doubtfully.
"Now Johnny…" Darry raised an eyebrow in mock severity. "What was rule number five?"
"Mind you and do what you say or else?"
"Right… And if I want to build an extra bedroom onto this place we're doing it!" He said sternly." ...I will need help though." He added sheepishly.
"I'll help out Man!" Steve said "I'm free most weekends."
"Great! Soda?
"I'm in… Of course!"
They all agreed to help out with the building and Darry got to work on the plans, he was a decent draughtsman and had a floor plan of the house sketched out on the back of an old telephone bill in minutes.
Dally put an arm around Johnny, who looked uncomfortable with the whole situation. "No more sleeping in the lot for you ever again Johnnycake!" He joked, ruffling his hair. "You're a house cat now!" He laughed.
Johnny scowled at him from under his bangs. "Y'all are making a fuss." He huffed. Like it was the worst sin they could commit.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Two-Bit headed home that night, Steve came along with him. Neither fo them could quite believe the development of the last week or so.
"You think it'll work out?" Steve asked as they kicked along the sidewalk. "The baby I mean?"
Two-Bit shrugged. "I hope so Man… Johnny's living' for that kid… But somethin' tells me it won't be that easy. I mean… A kid? Johnny's only sixteen! And… Well… He's Johnny. The guy's a nervous wreck to start with. Hows he gonna deal with everything life with a kid is gonna throw at him now?"
"And a coloured kid too." Steve said. "That's gonna add a whole ton of trouble…"
"Yup, wait till the Socs find out about that…"
"And a girl too… Man… There isn't a day I don't worry about my sisters."
Two-Bit stared at him for a moment. Steve didn't talk much about his family.
"She could play with your littlest sis one day, what is she? Two? Three?" He suggested.
"She's three… And no… My Ma and Pa wouldn't allow it." He said, shaking his head bitterly. "People like them are gonna be the problem."
"How'd they feel about Johnny?" Two-Bit asked. Not naming the thing about Johnny that no one mentioned. It was certainly less noticeable in him than in Mary but the people in their neighbourhood knew their Spanish from their Italians and Greeks. Let alone Indians or Blacks… They all knew.
"They never said anything to me about hanging out with Johnny… But they're different with the girls." He said, tightening his mouth. "Hey… Look where we are."
They were right outside the Cade house. The lights were off. No sound from inside.
"You think Johnny has anything in there we could get for him?" Two-Bit wondered. "I've never been in there, not even to visit."
"Me neither… My Ma always said she'd skin me if I went in there." Steve walked up to the door and tried the handle. Then he went round back and Two-Bit heard the sound of glass breaking.
"What the hell are you doin' Man!?" He whispered harshly as he sped around to join him. Steve had broken the glass on the back door and had opened the latch from inside.
It smelled awful, damp, flithy, something disgusting that Two-Bit couldn't put his finger on. It was cold and dark and It felt more like an abandoned house than a place people actually lived.
The kitchen looked like it had been turned upside down, broken dishes on the floor, mouldy ones in the sink, a sticking layer of grease covered the countertops. Parts of broken chair lay splintered all over the room. It looked like there'd been a fight.
They moved quickly and quietly through the other rooms, the bathroom had cockroaches crawling the tiles. The living room was the cleanest and most normal looking area but even it had a carpet that smelled like a sewer and whiskey and beer bottles littering the place.
The bedroom… Well… The bedroom was strange. It had just a double bed… No mattress or blankets or sheets or anything… Just naked slats… There was an end table, a chest of drawers and a picture of the Virgin Mary... And that was it. That was all there was room for really.
"Glory!" Steve said quietly. "How do people live here?"
"No wonder Johnny didn't wanna sleep here." Two-Bit whispered. "Speakin' of which… Where's his room?" As far as they could tell there were no other rooms in the house.
"Maybe he slept on the couch?" Steve murmured, eyeing the double bed with a kind of disgust.
"I hope so." Whispered Two-Bit. The idea of Johnny having to share a bed with those people make his stomach turn.
He opened the chest of drawers and the drawer in the end table, there were clothes, but nothing that looked like Johnny's. There was a Bible, and cigarettes, and a little photo album. Two-Bit opened it and held it up to the moonlight by the window.
There were pictures of weddings, He assumed grandparents from the style. There was one of Johnny's parents at their wedding. They both looked more like they were attending a funeral though. Johnny's father was young, thin and clean shaven, in a soldier's uniform. His mother was pretty clearly pregnant in her wedding dress. She looked… Just so sad. She'd been real young, maybe his own age, and she had Johnny's puppy dog eyes back then… Shit!
He blinked tears out of his eyes as he flipped through the book and saw pictures of Johnny as a little baby. His parents had looked kinda normal back then. They had lived somewhere that wasn't here, an apartment in the city by the looks of it. They were even smiling in some of the pictures. There was one of Johnny at two or three looking cute as a button, sitting on his Mother's lap and they were smiling at each other. Genuinely.
Man… What had happened to that woman? He didn't know what possessed him, but he peeled the picture out of the book and put it in his pocket.
"I wanna get out of here." Steve murmured. "Two… I gotta get out of here!" He was getting upset so they left, taking deep breaths of clean air the moment they got back outside and getting out of dodge before anyone spotted them. They were a block away before Two-Bit noticed Steve was on the verge of crying.
"There was nothing of his!" Steve said, shaking his head in disbelief. "Not a thing in that house that was his… Not even a bed!" His voice was choked.
Two-Bit had a lump in his own throat. He thought about his own loud, overcrowded house. He might've had his share of problems with his folks and siblings but at least he wasn't treated like a damn ghost in his own family! He couldn't shake the oppressive feeling of wrongness in that house.
He realised then that they couldn't just hope that the baby and the Curtis household worked out for Johnny. They had to make sure it did. Because Johnny deserved more than an empty, loveless, dark house to come home to dammit! Mary deserved more too.
He put an arm around Steve "I know." He said "But it's OK…We've got them now… They're ours now."