In bed I could hear the seconds ticking away on the kitchen clock. The quiet and darkness made the sound resonate through my ears as it became the only thing that I could focus on. I got out of bed and strolled to the kitchen door. Flicking on the light I read the clock, 12:09am, well it's Monday. I turned the light off and pulled the door shut so I couldn't hear the ticking as well. As I walked back to my bed I looked into the living room. There was no one on the couch. Often I would look out and find Steve or Johnny were there, but tonight all was quiet. I climbed back into my bed pulling my quilt up around my neck. The ticking was gone, but a new sound was catching my attention. It was Sodapop. He was in his bed crying.
I flipped my covers back and walked across my room to his door. Slowly I opened it. "Soda?" I whispered. "Are you ok? Do you need some company?" I could see Soda's face illuminated by the moonlight. He reached out his hand for me. I took the hint and climbed in bed with him and he locked his arm around my neck.
"Sissy… I …" Soda continued to cry. He wasn't just whimpering now he was starting to cry harder and louder. "I was laying …here hoping to God that the judge lets you stay. I don't think I could stand it if I lost you and mom and dad all in one week."
Crying was contagious when it came to the topic of mom and dad, plus Soda and I were the biggest cry babies in the family. I didn't have anything to say or promise to Soda, so I kept quiet and just listened. "I can't believe they are gone. I miss them so much." My brother buried his head in his pillow and wailed. I reached over and rubbed his back to let him know that he wasn't alone. We weren't alone either.
"Soda?" Pony's raspy voice asked from the doorway. "Are you ok?"
Soda picked his head up from the pillow and looked at Pony. "I miss mom and dad! I can't believe they are gone. I want them back so bad."
Pony and I felt the same way and we cried along with Soda. Pony climbed into the bed on the other side of Soda and the three of us huddled together and cried as long and as hard as we wanted. Our lives were already destroyed and in a few hours they might become even more devastated.
On the other side of the wall Darry heard us. He didn't come to join us, or check on us. Instead, alone in the privacy of his own room he cried. His sorrows muffled by our collective crying. We would never know that he had shed a tear. Alone he suffered, not wanting to seem weak to the rest of us. We didn't know why he was that way, he just felt he had to be.
In the morning Darry went to wake Pony up for court, he wasn't there. He walked through the kitchen and opened the wooden door to my room. I wasn't there either. Darry started to wonder if we had all split in the middle of the night. That was just what he needed. He thought about what he would tell the judge as he stood there trying to convince the man that he was a suitable guardian. Darry threw open Soda's door ready for the worst. He was surprised to see all three of us huddled together around Soda.
Darry paused before he woke us to think about what his life was like at our ages. Soda was just 16. At sixteen years old Darry was the hero of the school and our house. He had been playing on the varsity football team and mom and dad dragged us to everyone of his games. At 16 Darry didn't have or want a job. He got to do what ever he wanted, and he didn't have to cook or do laundry either. My brother could barely remember being thirteen. He tried to imagine what the last six years of his life would have been without mom and dad. Would he have fallen off course in school? Not tried out for sports? Darry felt horrible for Pony and I, we were so young to be without our parents. He vowed to himself to be strict and to make sure he got us both off to college. That is, if he had us both to raise.
Darry sighed hard and yelled out. "Rise and shine ladies!"
Within an hour we were all fed, showered, dressed and ready to go. Just one week ago we were in school and at work and our parents were packing a picnic for their anniversary. Just seven days later there was a different feeling in the house. Worry consumed us all as our status as a family was hanging in the balance.
The proceedings this time were held in the courtroom. When we arrived no one was there to greet us so we went in. Inside there was a court reporter and a bailiff. I took one look at him and my heart sank a little deeper as I imagined the judge yelling "take her away bailiff!" Darry escorted us to the front row of benches. Darry sat on the aisle, I sat next to Darry, Pony sat next to me and Soda sat next to Pony. No one else was in the courtroom as the clock reached nine o'clock.
I looked around expecting the proceedings to begin at any moment. No one entered. Eventually the bailiff looked at his watch and leaned up against the judge's podium. I checked the time on Darry's watch. Nine o'four, the judge was late.
The silence was disrupted by people coming into the courtroom. All four of us turned to see who it was. Two-Bit, Steve and Johnny quietly walked in and sat a few rows behind us.
Sodapop leaned back and whispered. "What are ya'll doing here?"
Two-Bit spoke just above a whisper. "We were riding to school today and decided instead of waiting to hear the news tonight we would just skip school and come and see for ourselves."
"Yeah," Steve agreed, "so if its bad news you won't have to tell us about it."
As they spoke I wondered why they were whispering. No one else was in the room and court wasn't in session. Then I reminded myself that having them whisper would keep them from getting out of hand. Soda turned back around and we waited. I turned around to look at the clock on the wall. Nine ten.
Soda turned around to face the gang in the back again. "Hey ya'll where's Dallas?"
Two-Bit leaned forward to speak then looked around the empty room and spoke louder. "He figured him coming to court would be like volunteering for the line up in a murder case." Two-Bit laughed at himself and Pony and Soda laughed along. Darry shot them a look to be quieter. Then we waited.
At nine twenty I looked up at Darry. "This was suppose to start at nine o'clock, right?"
Darry shook his head in agreement then cleared his throat to speak to the bailiff. "Sir we have the right courtroom for the Curtis Guardianship hearing correct."
"Yes Sir." The bailiff answered without whispering. "The judge is in a meeting right now and we will begin when he is ready."
We waited. The time helped me to calm down and not worry so much. Pony laid his head down on the rail in front of our bench. Soda began to get restless as he fidgeted in his seat.
Nine forty. By now Two-Bit, Steve and Johnny had moved up to the bench directly behind us. Everyone was chatting quietly about nothing in particular. I turned to Darry, "Do you think it's good news or bad news that the judge is late?"
Darry rubbed his brow. "I don't know Sissy. Could be either." I understood Darry didn't want to get my hopes up, I didn't want to get my hopes up either.
Nine forty three, the judge's door swung open. A man in a black suit and tie came out waving goodbye to the judge as he left.
The older man was tall and handsome with his silver hair parted to the side. He walked through the court and greeted the bailiff then passed through the swinging gate and stopped by Darry's side. "Darrel Curtis?"
Darry looked up and then stood. I could tell by the look on his face that he didn't know the man. I looked at the rest of the gang, no one recognized him.
The gentleman shook hands with Darry and introduced himself. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Richard Ottavi, Kathryn's dad."
Darry smiled with relief. "Nice to meet you too Sir."
The City Attorney continued the conversation. "Kathryn has a lot of nice things to say about you. I want you to know that I think it is wonderful that you are willing to give up so much to take care of these kids. I wish you the best of luck." Darry smiled and thanked him. The man looked down at me and my brothers and said, "best of luck to you," then he smiled at the rest of the gang and walked out.
Before any of us could discuss the conversation the bailiff call to everyone. "Please rise! Court is now in session, the Honorable Judge Robert Carlson residing."
The portly judge waddled up to his seat at the bench and allowed us all to be seated. I looked at Darry's watch, nine forty nine. The judge read some official papers marking the date, time and case numbers then looked out into the courtroom and asked Darry to come forward. Darry rose and towered over us. He passed through the swinging gate and stood between the two tables and faced the judge. "Darrel Curtis it is the understanding of this court that you are seeking guardianship over three children who are also you siblings. This court has made a ruling on each child individually. On case number 74569 the court has ruled that guardianship of Sodapop Patrick Curtis be granted to Darrel Shaynne Curtis Junior." Sodapop couldn't hold in his grin and Pony and I were happy for him too. The boys on the back bench patted Soda on the shoulder as the judge continued. "Monthly assessments will be made by the state of Oklahoma for reviewed assessment of the child's progress and safety in the home. Sodapop Curtis is considered an orphan in the state of Oklahoma and is eligible for state funded medical care and a monthly stipend for life essentials."
Darry stood still and kept his gaze fixed on the judge. The judge prepared to move on to the next ruling. I grabbed Pony's hand and Soda leaned forward and looked like he may have been praying. As the judge began Pony looked over to me and our eyes met. We were both scared. "On case number 74570 the court has ruled that guardianship of Ponyboy Michael Curtis be granted to Darrel Shaynne Curtis Junior." Sodapop and Pony exchanged a relieved smile and then knew that the worst may still be to come. "Monthly assessments will be made by the state of Oklahoma for reviewed assessment of the child's progress and safety in the home. Ponyboy Curtis is considered an orphan in the state of Oklahoma and is eligible for state funded medical care and a monthly stipend for life essentials."
You could see the tension building in Darry as he seemed to straighten up a little more and braced himself for the final verdict. Sodapop jumped over Pony and I to sit on my right hand side. Both he and Pony had my hands tightly wrapped in theirs. Behind me one of the gang had put their hand on my shoulder and I felt myself holding my breath as the judge began to speak. "On case number 74571 the court has ruled that guardianship of Scout Marie Curtis …"
"Excuse me your honor." The Court reporter interrupted, "if you could wait just a moment I am having trouble with this paper strip." Judge Carlson grumbled a little and allowed the woman a moment to fix her recording machine. I looked up at the judge hoping to get some information on what the ruling would be. The judge's face showed no expression other than annoyance with his court reporter. He made no eye contact with anyone. The court reporter repaired her machine. "Ok your honor, I am ready for you to continue."
"Very well then, I will begin again." The judge picked up the sheet in front of him. I held my breath again and Soda and Pony squeezed my hands again. I closed my eyes and listened worried that I may not hear the real answer. "On case number 74571 the court has ruled that guardianship of Scout Marie Curtis be granted to Darrel Shaynne Curtis Junior." I opened my eyes still not sure that I had heard the ruling correctly. I looked over to Pony just as he wrapped his arms around me and Sodapop grabbed the two of us in one big hug. From behind us the boys let out whoops of joy. The judge banged his gavel on the desk. "I'll have order in the court!" Everyone sat up straight and quiet.
Every ounce of tension, fear and sorrow was removed from our bodies. Perhaps news like this would make dealing with the evening that much easier. Judge Carlson finished speaking with Darry. "Monthly assessments will be made by the state of Oklahoma for reviewed assessment of the child's progress and safety in the home. Scout Curtis is considered an orphan in the state of Oklahoma and is eligible for state funded medical care and a monthly stipend for life essentials. This court is dismissed." Judge Carlson banged his gavel on the desk and rose from his seat as the bailiff called out. "The court will rise."
I jumped up. As the judge retired to his quarters Darry turned and hustled back to where we were. He reached across the railing and pulled me off the floor with his strong arms. Pony and Soda joined in the embrace as Steve hollered and Two-Bit whistled with excitement. The wait was over and the result was amazing! I couldn't believe how so much of the week had fallen into place to make this dream come true. We never actually learned whether Mr. Ottavi had convinced the judge to favor us being allowed to stay with Darry, but I was forever in debt to Kathryn. I truly believed that she made the difference in the case and I owed her, big time!
:::::::::::::::::: Author's Note :::::::::::::::::::::::
I would like to thank everyone who has read and/or reviewed this story. Creating and sharing this story has been exciting and I have more to come in time with Scout and her brothers. I have many ideas and chapters I am working on. I will post the continuance as a new fanfiction story with the same characters titled, Coming of Age.
Because this story has been in my head for so many years I have worked and reworked it. I have also explored many possible endings, some not so pleasant. For fun and in the spirit of DVD's and movie writing I have decided to quickly write up an alternative ending chapter. This is a much abbreviated ending to a long story. I have extended one pivotal scene. Enjoy and watch for more fanfiction from me in the future.
Thanks so much for allowing me to share this story with you!
Erin