Ponyboy and I had been to the DX station hundreds of times as kids and when we went with Soda to visit Steve, but today was special. As we walked up the driveway Soda bounded out of the station grinning so you could see all of his perfectly straight teeth. I knew right then how happy he was. You would never find a smile like that on Soda's face in school.
Pony called out. "Hey Sodapop!"
"Hey Pony and Scout," Soda spun around showing off his new work shirt and hat. "How do I look?"
Pony and I both laughed. Very few people in this world would get as jazzed up as Soda was for a job at a service station.
"You look nice Soda." I told him. "You look really handsome in that color."
Soda smiled vainly. "Awe hell Scout, I look good in any color!"
"Soda, you got a dime to buy us some Cokes?" Ponyboy asked as he pulled a cigarette out of his pack and lit up.
"Yeah sure, why you two think you're thirsty from riding the bus all day." We followed Soda into the gas station.
"You better believe it." Pony answered.
The three of us sat on the counter inside the station and told Soda about cleaning his locker and talking with the principal. Soda asked if it was a hassle to have him dropout of school. Ponyboy said the only hassle was that we had to do it for him. I don't think Pony is ever going to let go of the fact that Soda is a dropout. After an hour Soda sent us home to do our homework. We all shared a laugh at Soda being the boss of us. If we had our choice he would be in charge, but unfortunately for Darry, that was his heavy burden to bear.
Back home Pony and I worked on our algebra homework. Advanced Algebra is a class that we were in together, so to cut down on our homework time I always did the even problems and Pony did the odds, then we copied the answers from each other. By three thirty in the afternoon we had all the exposure to homework we could handle so we quit till the weekend. Besides the boys should be rolling in from school at any minute.
I put my books away on my nightstand and noticed my coat on my bed. Oh my goodness I darn near forgot about my plan! I reached into my pocket and pulled out Kathryn's phone number. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Pony going through the kitchen to his room. I was hoping he would stay there for a spell so I could make my phone call in peace. I jogged out to the telephone and flopped down in the armchair.
I opened the note and read the number. I pulled on the rotary phone dial and listened as each number clicked back to me and the dial spun around to it's resting place.
Ring…. I started to get nervous, what if she didn't really mean for me to call her if I needed anything.
Ring… My mouth went dry
Ring… I considered hanging up. I must be out of my mind to call a soc for help.
"Hello?" The lady's voice answered the phone.
"Hello. Is Kathryn there?"
"Yes she is, who is calling please." I felt a panic building in my stomach, sometimes I hated giving my name over the phone. It usually led to a conversation about why that was my name, and I was too nervous to have that talk. "Scout Curtis."
"Just a moment." The lady told me and I could hear her asking Kathryn if she knew a 'Scout Curtis'. I didn't hear Kathryn's answer, but the distant conversation was followed by a long pause. I started to curse to myself for calling at all.
"Hello Scout, this is Kathryn." Her sweet voice finally answered.
"Hi Kathryn." I blanked out on what I was going to say. "I … um … I am calling to ask … do you remember at the diner you asked me to call if I needed anything?"
"Yes I do, what do you need?"
"Well we have this court date coming up on Monday." My throat started to tighten as I thought about the horrid possibility of being put up for adoption. "I am hoping to stay with Darry, but you see…." Uh no, not the tears, I can't tear up now. My voice began to crack. "the judge….he thinks I should be… put up for adoption… and I……"
"Hold on honey." Kathryn interrupted my babbling. "Why don't I come over to your house and we will talk about this there."
My house? No she can't come over here! That's not part of the plan. I don't want her to know how Darry really lives, he'll skin me! She doesn't even know where we live! I tried to stop her. "Well you don't really know where we live and it's kind of hard to find..."
Kathryn interrupted. "Of course I know where you live. All the girls know where Darry lives! I'll be over in about twenty minutes." Before I could object she hung up the phone.
"Oh my God what have I done?" I said out loud forgetting that I wasn't alone.
From beside me Pony's voice made me jump. "What are you talking about?"
I stood up and grabbed Pony by the arms and almost shouted. "My plan! It's backfiring and Darry's gonna be home and she is going to be here! He is going to skin me good!"
Pony laughed at me, which pissed me off. "What plan, what are you talking about?"
"Ugh!" I really didn't want to tell Pony the plan, but if I wanted his help I would have to so I rambled. "Ok listen. The day of the funeral Darry took me to Rusty's for a milkshake and a bunch of his friends from high school were there. One of them was this girl Kathryn and she really thinks Darry is tuff and she said if we ever needed anything to call her and I did, now she is coming here! A soc in our house! I'm dead where I stand."
Pony laughed again. "What kind of plan is that?"
"Oh glory Pony don't you listen?" I pushed him and then realized I had left out the important part of the plan. "Kathryn's dad is the City Attorney! If I can get her to talk to him then maybe he will talk to the judge and I can stay with you guys!"
Pony looked down at me giving my plan some thought. "Ohhhhh. I see what you are thinking."
I ranted. "No! See I'm not thinking that's the problem! I got the idea from Steve, he said I needed a plan and now I got one and she is coming here and Darry is going to be mad."
Pony blew off my opinion of Darry. "Who cares if he is mad. The plan may just work. You just need to make sure Darry is nice to her, that'll be the hard part."
I sighed then remembered the clock was ticking. "Pony! You gotta help me get everything cleaned up!"
Pony agreed and we started to pick things up and dust. Truthfully the house wasn't too dirty. We were pretty clean people. The problem with the house was the house itself and not the things inside. Just as we finished the front door flew open and in walked Two-Bit, Johnny and Dallas. Oh bother! Not the hoodlums!
I ran to the living room. "You guys can 't stay here! You have to go somewhere else for a while." I tried to push Dallas and Two-Bit back out the door, but they wouldn't budge.
Pony disagreed with me. "Scout they can stay. They ain't gonna hurt nothing."
I turned to my brother to put up and argument. "Pony! They will not help my situation…."
I was interrupted by Dally whistling and looking out the window. "Well what do we have here? A hot dame in a long black expensive sedan!"
"Dallas!" I yelled. "Get away from that window and don't any of you say anything to her!" The guys just laughed at me while I proceeded to freak out. "I mean it!"
"Wait a second," Two-Bit said as he shared Dally's view. "That's Kathryn Ottavi from school, her dad is the city attorney. She had the biggest crush on Darry her senior year… hey you all think she is here to see Darry?"
I peeked out the window and noticed Kathryn was outside at the bottom of the steps. I had to get these boys under control to avoid any more embarrassment. "No Two-Bit she is not here to see Darry! Now both of you come away from that window and please, please, please for just once in your lives will you act like proper gentlemen?"
Dally immediately crushed my dream with his comment. "Awe man Darry is one lucky man to have the opportunity to nail that broad." I heard Two-Bit and Johnny laughing.
"Pony!" I yelled. "Would you please help me?"
"Ya'll be serious now." Ponyboy laughed at the situation. Pony really should be more serious about things! "Scout is hoping the girl can help her find a way to stay here with Darry, Soda and me, so just leave her alone."
With that Kathryn knocked on the door. I raced to it so no one else would have the opportunity to make a first impression. I opened the door and marveled at how beautiful the young lady really was. She was standing there in a yellow sweater set and skirt to match. "Hi Kathryn, won't you please come in." I stepped back to allow her to enter and I caught Johnny's appearance out of the corner of my eye. His clothes were dirty and I was reminded of what I was wearing. Oh Glory! I thought. I forgot to change my clothes. My embarrassment built and I swore to myself.
Kathryn entered and looked at the four boys who were standing throughout the living room. Each one was practically drooling as if she was a steak dinner or something. I noticed the crooked grin on Dally's face and eyed him to be sure he kept quiet.
I introduced Kathryn to the guys in the room. "Kathryn, this my brother Ponyboy, he and I are twins." Kathryn stepped forward to shake his hand. "Then these are our friends, Dallas, Johnny and Two-Bit."
"Two-Bit!" Kathryn called out. "So nice to see you again." She must have remembered him from school, he was a hard character to forget.
"Nice to see you too Kathryn." Two-Bit often had fine manners when he wanted to. "How's life treating you?"
"Not too bad. I'm in school here at Tulsa University." It was strange to see a soc talking so comfortably with a greaser. Usually a social girl wouldn't throw their glass of water on a greaser if he were on fire. "I am studying to be a social worker." She turned to me. "So I am very interested to know what you need Scout."
My face went redder than it already was. "Why don't we go to my room and talk about it." I suggested and Kathryn accepted. She didn't seemed to be worried about the house or my appearance the way Mrs. Marten was. We sat down on my bed I wrung my hands in my lap and forgot to speak.
"Well?" Kathryn cued me.
I smiled out of embarrassment. "Well, I have a problem… I guess you could say. See since my parents died I need someone to take care of me, and Darry wants to do that…"
"Hey Kathryn?" Two-Bit interrupted as he leaned through the kitchen doorway to my room. I frowned at him, but he didn't notice because he didn't take his eyes off my guest. "You want a cold beer to drink?"
Kathryn giggled a little. "No thank you Two-Bit I'm just fine."
"Ok suit yourself!" Two-Bit took a big swig of beer and walked back into the living room through the other door. I heard Ponyboy scold him for bothering us, but Two-Bit just laughed.
"Go ahead Scout." Kathryn urged.
I took a deep breath in and noticed her perfume smelled sweet like candy. "I… see Judge Robert Carlson, the judge on the case… he… doesn't think staying with Darry would be good for me, cause he's not rich or anything like that. The judge wants to put me up for adoption, and if that happens I swear I'll just die right there on the court room floor!"
Kathryn nodded and I made a cringed face and continued. "So beings how your dad is the city attorney and all I thought maybe you could have him change the judge's mind for me. I mean Darry won't ever have tons of money, but he, Soda and Pony are the only family I have."
Kathryn reached up and pushed the hair back behind my ear just like my mother used to. The affection on her part made me think about what Pony had said earlier in the day. Maybe angels were with us, maybe mom was with me right now and I didn't even know it. My emotions got the best of me and tears ran down my face. I tried to stop them, but Kathryn encouraged me not to.
"Oh you poor thing. That is just terrible, come here." She put her arms around me and hugged me tight. It was at that moment that I realized she wasn't a soc. That is why she came to help and that is why she was so smitten with Darry. Kathryn was just a beautiful girl with a heart to match. I stayed there and cried for a minute until Pony came to the doorway.
"Scout are you ok?" Pony's face was full of concern as I looked over at him. He was surprised to see Kathryn had taken me in her arms to give me comfort.
Before I could speak Kathryn spoke for me. "Oh I just think she has a lot on her mind right now and she needs a girlfriend around to help her out."
Pony looked at her funny. "Alright, but if you need anything Scout just let me know." Pony wandered back into the living room.
I pulled my face away from Kathryn's shoulder and blurted out. "I am so sorry for crying and all."
"Don't be. You have had the worst week of your life and it doesn't look like it's quite over yet. Tell you what. I will talk to my dad and see what he can do. I'm not making any promises, but we do know Judge Carlson pretty well and he's kind of a pushover for my dad."
"Really?" I asked shocked that she was going to help.
"Really, you know he loves to eat and my mom makes the best peach cobbler in the courthouse!"
We both laughed.
"Now!" Kathryn said. "It's getting mighty close to dinner time, how about I help you get a nice dinner cooked for you and your brothers."
I sniffled and wiped the last of my tears from my face. "Would you like to stay for dinner too?"
Kathryn smiled, I think she was hoping I would ask her to stay until Darry came home. "I would love to stay for dinner!"
Kathryn and I went to the kitchen to get things ready for dinner. There wasn't much in the cupboards or the refrigerator so we focused on making mustgo. That was what my family called leftovers that we ate for one meal. Everything in the fridge must go!
While we searched for our menu the front door swung open and Steve and Soda came home from work.
Soda kicked off his shoes letting them fly where ever and then he threw his coat onto Johnny who was sitting on the couch. "Whoa did you see that car out front? That thing has got to be worth at least eight grand! I wonder who it belongs to?"
"Scout has a friend over." Two-Bit answered and laughed. "And we are all suppose to be on our best behavior!"
Soda looked confused. "Scout has a friend? Here?" Then Soda's mind filled with dirty thoughts and he shared a crooked smile and tried to raise one eyebrow like Two-Bit. "Is it a boy?"
"Soda!" Ponyboy cringed at the suggestion. Neither he nor I were interested in dating, yet. "It's a girl that Darry knows from high school. Her dad is the city attorney and she is going to see what she can do to keep Scout from being put up for adoption on Monday."
Soda's face fell temporarily as he was reminded that the family could all change again very soon. Still, gloomy news rarely kept Soda in the dumps and his smile returned as he went in search of the new house guest. "Scout!" He yelled.
"In the kitchen Soda!" I yelled back and then told Kathryn that Sodapop was home. I warned her that he was better looking then Darry and had an infectious smile. Kathryn told me that she already knew that. Soda was considered one of the all time best looking guys in high school last year by the girls she hung out with. I was surprised to hear that a soc would find a greaser attractive. Kathryn proceeded to tell me that she didn't believe that who you were in high school was important, it was all in who you aspired to be that was the key in judging a person. That comment stuck with me, it made perfect sense.
"Well hey there!" Soda greeted my guest as he leaned up against the edge of the doorway. "I'm Scout's older brother Sodapop."
"Hi there." Kathryn smiled from in front of the refrigerator door. "I'm Kathryn Ottavi. I know your brother Darry from high school."
"I remember you, you were in my gym class last year." Soda's memory was sparked not only of the last time he had seen Kathryn, but of the car outside. Soda loved cars, money and women. "Is that your Cadillac out front?" Kathryn shook her head yes. "That is one tuff car."
"If you want you can go out and check it out." Kathryn offered figuring Soda would go nuts to sit in a brand new car. "I'll give you the keys, but you have to swear not to drive it. It's only a week old and my parents would kill me if it got ruined."
"Oh man!" Soda yelled out gleefully. "Dig it Steve! I got the keys to the car outside, wanna go check it out?"
Steve and the rest of the crew couldn't wait to see what eight thousand dollars could buy. They all followed Soda out the front door and the house was peacefully quiet.
"You are pretty brave letting Soda get in your car. I don't know if he has enough self control not to take off in it." I joked and grabbed some ham and potato casserole out of the fridge.
"It's just a car." Kathryn said. "I don't get worked up over possessions. Well I mean I appreciate them, but I am not the kind of girl who needs a lot of fancy stuff. That is my parent's way of thinking, not mine. To me a car just needs to be able to get you where you are going."
As Kathryn and I talked I became less worried about the appearance of the house and myself. She really seemed down to earth, not spoiled or acting like she thought she was better than anyone else. I dug that about her. We finished putting together a healthy collection of mustgo and started the oven when the boys bounded back in.
"Hey ya'll!" I called from the kitchen doorway. "How many of you are staying for dinner?"
"Not me I gotta head home and babysit my little sister for my mom." Two-Bit said.
"I'm outta here too." Dally told me, which I was thankful to hear. I didn't care much for his company.
"I'm staying! Steve announced. Steve usually ate with us when he wasn't working. The only one left to answer was Johnny, and he rarely piped up that he was staying. Ponyboy always had to ask him privately if he wanted to eat with us. Johnny rarely ever said yes. He just shrugged his shoulders and gave a little smile to Pony.
"Johnny's staying!" Pony yelled out without looking at me.
I went to the dining room and set six chairs around the table as Two-Bit yelled to no one in particular. "See ya!" He and Dally walked out. It felt good to have a few less people in our small house. I usually never minded all of the guys being around. Tonight was different. I wanted Kathryn to be impressed with me and my family so she could convince her dad that our cause was a worthy fight.
Soda, Steve Pony and Johnny settled down to watch a television show while Kathryn and I visited in the kitchen. We talked about my parents and Darry and how all the girls have always loved him. Twenty minutes later it was time to take the hot dishes from the oven.