If it was any other day, Darry would've made me go to school after waking up with a hangover, a payback of sorts. But since Hudson was still suspended, he instead woke me up at 6am and told me I'd be babysitting all day, and handed me a to do list of chores. I went to argue with him, but bit my tongue and instead, untangled myself from Soda's arms and got up off the couch to go start on my list. While Darry was in the shower, I started the coffee and got to work making lunches. By the time he was done, Soda was up and in the shower, and Darry was pouring himself a cup of coffee as I placed a pack of bacon on a cookie sheet and put it in the oven before mixing up some pancake batter.
I ignored him as he stood there, and I guess it got too much for him because he sighed and put his cup down on the counter.
"Listen Ave," he started, reaching back and scratching his neck, something he did whenever he got nervous. "I'm sorry. I know how you feel about them, after everything that happened. But Lewis, he wasn't part of it. And I just, I can't stay mad at someone for something they didn't do, you dig?" I finished adding the ingredients to the batter and started whisking, turning away from him.
"Avery, I love you. I love all four of you. And if were going to make this work, we need to stick together. And that means we need to do what's best for the family, understand?" I gave him a dirty look. "Yeah I understand, like folding to the man just because of money. We don't have money Darry, we wouldn't be any worse off-" instead of arguing with me, he just reached out his arms and hugged me, pulling me tight against his chest, and I released a few tears.
"I know all of this has been hard for you recently. I do. But Avery, this is important. This job opportunity could lead to more opportunities, get it?" I nodded as he smoothed my hair and pulled away. "And I understand why you were drinking last night. I get it. I want you to know you can go there any time, just please maybe take one of us with you?" I sighed but nodded. "Okay, I'll keep that in mind." He smiled and patted my head before going off to get dressed.
Hudson and I did a lot on our day "off". I helped him work on the packet that was sent home with him yesterday, and then the two of us whizzed through the rest of the chores. Clean the oven, dust the living room, sweep and mop, mow the yard, scrub the bathtub, wash everybody's linens. By the time five o clock came around and the gang came barreling through the door, we were watching Bonanza and playing monopoly at the coffee table, laughing as Hudson rattled off what he would buy if Monopoly money was real.
Our laughter was cut short as the guys came in and I noticed Pony holding a rag to his neck. "What happened?" I exclaimed, getting up off the floor and rushing over, grabbing his face and checking for any other marks. "I'm fine Ave" he laughed, trying to play it off. "You're bleeding!" I pointed out, gingerly taking the rag away from his skin and seeing a two inch long cut. "They got you again" I breathed out, transported back to the last time he got jumped. I instantly thought about all the things that happened right after that, and winced.
"He got jumped, but cool it Ave. It makes him look tough, don't it?" Soda tried to get me to drop it. "Which ones?' I asked softly, pulling Ponyboy into a hug. "Mitch" Two Bit snarled, clearly not happy with the way things went down. I bit my lip, tempted to fawn over my brother some more, but knowing that he would get embarrassed. "Come on then" I said, grabbing his hand and walking to the kitchen. "Let's get some antiseptic on that."
After dinner Darry, Hudson and I sat at the kitchen table. Darry was paying bills and I was working on some math homework
"I can't believe what it costs to feed this damn family! Sodas going on a diet," he muttered, totaling up our expenses and trying to "crunch the numbers" as dad would say.
I grinned at Hudson as he sat between us, practicing a multiplication worksheet I had come up with for him that day. The kid was a math genius and the work his teachers gave him just wasn't cutting it. "You hear that Huddy? Looks like we're gonna have to start eating rabbit food."
The three of us looked up as we heard the truck outside, and Darry grumbled "Does he always have to drive like that?" Ponyboy walked in then, shaking his head. "Dad did too," he pointed out, sitting at the table and placing a pair of old running shoes on it. "Not to mention, you drove like that just a few years ago Darry" I singsonged as I flipped the page of my math workbook.
"Hey guys!" Soda grinned as he came through the screen door, bounding to the fridge and drinking directly out of the milk bottle. "Soda slow down, will you?" Darry griped, returning to the bills he was going over, but the shoes catching his eye instead. "Where'd you find these?" He asked Ponyboy as he picked them up, looking them over.
"Up in the closet, I was thinking about going out for track!" Pony shrugged, acting nonchalant. I knew exactly why he was. You couldn't get your hopes up over anything in this family, especially not now. And if you pretended you could care less, maybe it wouldn't hurt so much when you were told no.
"Man," Darry sighed. "I haven't seen these in years!" Soda stopped drinking to ask "Track Pony? For real?" "Well I don't know, maybe" Pony continued, turning his attention back to our oldest brother. "If they fit can I use them?" "Yeah you can use them, we sure can't afford a new pair."
The phone rang as Darry was revisiting his glory days, of sports events and letterman jackets, and not having to take care of four siblings when Soda answered it, immediately holding it out for Darry. Pony and I shared a look as he got up and answered it. "Lewis, hi!" Soda put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed as we waited with bated breath. I had decided that our family could use something good, and despite my feelings towards one of the people that reminded me of Darry's past, we couldn't afford to hold grudges. Putting food on the table was more important.
"Yeah, that would be just fine! You bet, I'll see you over there. Right, thank you!" Darry not up the phone and Pony and Soda were immediately standing. "Darry, you okay?" Pony asked. "I got it!" Darry grinned. "I got the job with Lewis! Do you know what this means? Money now sure but if I do a good job this could lead to even more!" All five of us cheered and Hudson and I stood up to join our brothers in a hug.
I stayed home with Hudson while the boys went out to celebrate at Buck's, with a promise Darry would bring me home a whoopie pie. I was tucking my littlest brother in after reading him a chapter of "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe", when he pulled on my arm.
"Hey Avery," he started, pausing as he said my name, as though he was contemplating whether or not he really wanted to ask me the question that was on the edge of his tongue. "Yeah buddy?" I replied, dog-earring the chapter we were leaving off on and closing the book. "Why is the job Darry got such a big deal?" He asked, looking at me intently. "Well what do you mean?"
"When I was supposed to be sleeping this morning, I heard you and Darry arguing, about that Lewis guy. And about something happening" his voice got quieter as it drifted off. I smiled gently at him, pushing his washed hair out of his eyes and kissing his forehead. "That's nothing for you to worry about little man, now get some sleep, alright?" He nodded, climbing deeper onto his covers, before saying, "Sometimes Avie, I kinda miss Dallas." I nodded as I tucked him in. "Yeah, me too kid." He shifted, mulling over what he was going to say next. "Is that bad though?" I frowned. "Why would that be bad buddy? He was your brother, you're allowed to miss him. You loved him."
"I know" he said softly. "I did love him. But he wasn't my brother Avie, not really. Not like how he was your brother." I kneeled beside his bed. "What do you mean by that?" He started tearing up. "I'm sorry Avie, I just-" "shhhhh" I shook my head, wiping his tears with my thumb. "There's nothing for you to be sorry for. You're allowed to feel however you feel. I'm just asking is all." After a minute, he collected himself. "I never lived with Dally, Avie. And I never met Cynthia. Mama and daddy were always my mama and daddy. And Soda and Darry and Pony were always my brothers. But I didn't know Dally when I was little like you." I smiled. So that's what this was about. He really was mature beyond his years, to go through all this thought process.
I leaned my chin onto my hands on the bed. "Do you remember what Mama always said about Dally?" I asked, grinning at him as he shook his head. "Well one night, when I was thirteen, I got into a fight with Soda-" "You got in a fight with Soda?" He asked wide eyed. I laughed and nodded. "I did. You see, I really wanted to go see this movie, and mama and daddy said that either Darry or Soda had to come with. Darry had just graduated high school earlier in the summer and was already working with dad, trying to save money for school."
Darry had been offered a few athletic scholarships to some colleges in Oklahoma, and a few in Texas, but none of them offered enough. He decided to take a year off and work to save money, and then last spring, daddy got sick. He had to take some time off work, so Darry continued working for his job, continuing into the fall. He planned to apply to a local university this year, but then mama and daddy died. Becoming sole guardian of your siblings really throws a wrench in your plans.
"So Darry spent a lot of his free time with his buddies, and I'm sure if I asked he may have said yes, but I just assumed he wouldn't want to go. S I got it into my head that Soda pop absolutely HAD to be the person to go with me! So I asked him very sweetly over breakfast if he would for and he told me he couldn't because he was going to see that movie with Steve. Soda was almost fifteen, and he was going through a phase where he didn't really like hanging out with his kid sister. When mama suggested they let me come with, and Steve even said it would be alright, but Soda told a big fib and said they had dates. I got upset but understood and didn't want to be a third wheel."
I got up from my kneeling position on the floor and sat next to him in the bed as he scooted over slightly.
"Well Curly walked by and I asked Mama if I could go with him. She said yes." "Like a date?" Hudson wrinkled his nose, making me laugh. "No Huddy, like two friends hanging out, the way we still do it." He grinned, shaking his head. "So it was like a date" he teased, and I scoffed. "You wanna hear the rest of the story or not?"
"Fine Avie, go on." I cleared my throat and continued. "When we got to the movie theater, Curly and I sat up front. I didn't even bother looking for Soda, because I didn't want to ruin their date, but I didn't have to. He and Steve found me and yelled at me about being on a date with Curly. After I yelled back that it wasn't a date, I realized they had been sitting alone, and I got angry. Well, we yelled so much back and forth that the ushers kicked the four of us out. And we even continued bickering on the way home. Soda told me he needed some time with just his friends, I told him I understood but he shouldn't have lied to me. And then, about five minutes from home, he called me a Tagalong. I didn't speak to him for the rest of the night, and I got so angry that I started packing my suitcase."
Hudson's jaw dropped. "You ran away?" He asked. "I don't remember that!" I laughed. "That's cause I didn't. Mama came in and told me if I was running away, I better take my toothbrush. And then she put dad's old thick socks in there, for when my feet got cold in the winter. And then she grabbed a thick wool sweater and put that in there. And a copy each of To kill a Mockingbird, Little Women, and the Bible. And then she put two pairs of sneakers, one of Pony's, one of Soda's, for 'when my feet would grow'." Hudson started laughing. "Your feet still aren't as big as Pony's!" He pointed out, and I made a face at him.
"Anyways, eventually she asked me how I would carry such a big suitcase, and when I told her to forget the suitcase, she asked me where I was running to. I told her I'd go live with Dally, because he's my only actual big brother. Well, mama sat me down and hugged me, and she ask me why I thought Dally was my only 'actual' big brother. I told her it was because we had the same parents, and she shook her head. 'Blood doesn't make him your brother' she said. 'Neither does living with him. Love does. You guys love each other a lot, that's why you're brother and sister'. So anytime after that, when any of us got into an argument, or when I got into an argument with Dallas, she would say 'remember, love is thicker than blood'"
Hudson was quiet for a moment. "So what does that mean?" I smiled. "That means that he's your brother too. It's not because you did or didn't have the same DNA. It's not because you did or didn't live with him. It's because he loved you fiercely, and you loved him." I reached down and pulled off the St Christopher necklace we received from evidence that I had been wearing.
I slipped it over my littlest brothers head.
"And this is so everybody knows it." He looked at it and grinned, rushing forward and hugging me. "Thank you Avie" he whispered. "You're welcome" I said back, squeezing him tight. "Love you he smiled as I pulled back and got to the door. "Love you more" I responded, turning out the light. "Love you most!" He continued. "Love you forever" I ended, closing the door and walking down the stairs.