For the following three days, I kept my mouth closed on anything that even remotely came close to sassiness. I stayed home,
doing all the regular chores, and even added cleaning the front windows, inside and out.
I was still on the porch, doing the outside of them, when Darry got home that third day. Pony was on cooking duty and Soda and
Two-Bit were inside, watching a show on television. The sun was beginning to pinken in the sky.
I paused in my window-washing to face Darry as he came up the porch steps.
"Hi, Darry," I said, in greeting.
"Hi," he answered. He stood there a moment, his tool belt slung over his shoulder. "I don't think those windows have
ever been washed."
"Really?" I asked.
"Well, it's been a few years, anyway."
"I just thought I would-everything inside is pretty much done."
"Well, that's great, then," Darry said. He began coughing, turning his head until it stopped.
"Are you gettin' sick?" I asked.
"Naw. Just got some dust in there," he said. He went to pull the screen open, and then paused again. "Remind me
later tonight to give ya that allowance I promised."
"Okay," I said.
He half-smiled at me, and went inside, and I could hear him coughing again.
SPDJ
Ponyboy's supper meal left something to be desired. Macaroni and cheese, and hot dogs, which be okay ordinarily, but
he didn't cook the macaroni long enough and it was all clumpy.
Nobody said anything about it, though. To complain-well, that would be sayin' that ya could do better, and though Soda and Darry,
and probably even me, could have done better, nobody wanted to cook when it wasn't their turn. So, stayin' quiet was what was smart.
Outsiders
The next afternoon I was glad to see Pony come home, and Soda shortly after that. I found that I didn't like being all
alone every single day, all day long. Not only was it boring, but it was darn lonely. Darry was late gettin' home that
afternoon. It was nearly six-thirty by the time his old work truck pulled into the driveway. I was actually sitting outside
on the porch steps, waiting for him to come home. When he pulled in and then parked, and got out, beginning to reach in
and gather his tool belt, I saw him bend over coughing. I stood up, and a couple minutes later he came up the sidewalk.
Pony came out the screen door just then, and we were standing together, as Darry walked up.
"Hey, you two," Darry said in greeting.
"Hey, Darry," Pony said. "You're late gettin' home."
"Tryin' to finish up a job," Darry said, and went on inside.
Pony and I exchanged a glance and followed Darry in.
"You're still coughin'," I said.
"It's better," Darry said, in dismissal.
Soda appeared at the kitchen doorway, wearing a goofy looking apron. "Beef stew for supper," he announced to Darry.
"Good. I'll be out in a minute," Darry said, and went off towards his bedroom. We could all hear him coughing again.
At supper, it didn't seem as though Darry ate all that much, and both Soda and Pony made comments
about his coughing. Darry responded in the same way, as he had to me, saying that he was fine.
Soda said he would do the dishes, and Darry went to take a shower. I went back into the kitchen, where Soda had recruited
Pony to dry dishes.
"Darry's coughin' awful bad," I said, quietly.
"Yeah," Soda said, in agreement.
"Maybe he really is sick," I said.
"He oughta go to the doctor," Ponyboy said, drying a plate and putting it in the cabinet.
"Oughta, but he won't," Soda said.
"Tell him he has to go, Soda," I said.
Soda gave a snort. "I don't think that'll work."
"Well-" I began, as Darry walked into the kitchen, wearing sweat pants and a wife-beater t-shirt, his hair wet from the shower.
At the sudden quiet in the kitchen, with all three of us going silent, and looking at him somewhat guiltily, Darry
went to the coffee pot, pouring himself a cup.
He gave us all three a lookover, as we stood there in a small circle together.
"What's the big powwow about in here?" Darry asked.
"Nothin', Darry," Ponyboy answered.
I kept quiet, and so did Sodapop.
"Yeah?" Darry said, doubtfully. "It seemed like it was somethin' to me."
Soda turned and wiped his hands on his jeans. "We think ya oughta go to the doctor-see about that cough."
"Oh, yeah?" Darry asked, with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah," Soda said, in a definite way.
"I don't need to go to the doctor," Darry said, sitting down in his chair at the table.
I put my hands on the back of one of the chairs. "You're coughin' awful bad," I said.
"There's been a lot of dust on the job site," Darry said.
"It's more than dust causin' it," Soda said.
"You're a doctor now, are ya?" Darry challenged.
"We're just worried about ya, Darry," Ponyboy said.
Darry looked at Pony's worried expression, then at me and Soda. He sighed. "I know. I'm alright, though."
I guess none of us looked very convinced, because Darry said, "I am."
"Even Superman can get sick," Soda said.
Darry drank down the coffee in his cup, and stood up, pushing in his chair. He stood, surveying all of us, and
said, "Look, y'all, I just need a good night's sleep. That's all. I'll be right as rain in the mornin'." He put his cup into
the sink, and walked past us. "G'night, all of ya."
We all said goodnight, but exchanged exasperated looks after he'd gone.
"Why's he gotta be so damn stubborn?" Pony said.
"Man, I dunno," Soda said, turning back to the sink.
"If it was one of us coughin' that way, he'd cart us to the doctor right off," I said.
"Yeah. He does a lot for us he won't do for himself," Soda said.
"Well, what can we do?" I asked Soda.
"Let's see how he is tomorrow when he gets home. If he's no better, I'll talk to him," Soda said.
Outsiders
At breakfast I sipped at my orange juice, and ate my Cheerios, and kept my eyes mostly on Darry. He didn't seem to
be coughing as much as the evening before, but he looked to me as though he didn't feel well. He ate his breakfast and
drank his coffee in mostly silence. He took the lunch that Soda had packed for him, and got around ready to head off
to work. I tagged after him, carrying his thermos.
"Darry, don't forget this-" I said, and he turned at the door, reaching out to take the thermos from me.
"Thanks," he said.
I think he knew I was watching him closely, and that I wanted to say something, too-because he said,
"I'll see ya later, okay?"
"K. Bye," I said.
Pony was grabbing his lunch, too, so Soda could drop him off at the bowling alley. I followed both of them out
onto the porch.
"What are ya gonna do today?" Soda asked, pausing on the steps to look at me.
I shrugged. "I dunno. Chores, I guess."
He was looking at me, sort of sympathetically, I thought.
"I'm crazy bored, Soda," I complained. I knew I could get away with complaining to Soda that way. I'd never have
tried it with Darry-but Soda was different.
"Well-" Soda began.
"There's only so many times I can sweep the floors," I continued complaining.
"Then take some pictures," Soda suggested.
"I'm almost out of film," I told him.
"I'll bring ya some more this afternoon when I come home," he said.
"Okay," I said.
Pony was pushing the horn in Soda's truck. "Come on!" he hollered.
"Comin'!" Soda hollered back. He looked at me, a little less sympathetically. "It's your own fault you're
grounded, June-Bug," he reminded me.
"I know," I sighed.
"I'll see ya later," he said, and then he and Pony were gone, too. And, I was alone again. I opened the windows before the
heat got any more intense.
I was out in the back yard later, eating marshmallows right out of the bag, and sitting in a yard chair, reading.
I heard my name being called from around the corner of the house, and looked up to see Rhonda leaning over the
fence looking at me.
"Unlock the front door," she told me.
I got up and went thru the house, to the front door, and unlocked it, admitting Rhonda.
I was really glad to see her, truthfully. It was sooo boring, going eight to nine hours without talking to someone. I figured
she wouldn't hang around long, once she found out I couldn't go with her anywhere. But, a little while with company was better than
none.
"Want a Coke?" I offered.
She said she did, and so I pulled out two bottles from the refrigerator, and opened them. Rhonda, I saw, was dressed in short
shorts and a shirt, which she peeled off to reveal the bathing suit top underneath.
"Let's go out and get some sun," Rhonda said.
We sat down in the chairs in the yard, and sipped at our Cokes.
"Where's Soda?" she asked.
"At work."
"Too bad," she said, sounding regretful.
"He's always at work at this time of day," I told her.
"Yeah. I was just hopin', that's all," she lamented.
She took a long drink of her Coke. "Do ya think Soda might take me out sometime?"
I knew there was no way that would ever happen, but I just hated to say that to Rhonda. I didn't want to make her mad
or anything.
"Soda doesn't date girls our age," I said, trying to be tactful.
"Well, but I'm older than you are," she pointed out. "I'm fourteen already."
"I know, but-well, I just don't think he would," I said.
I knew that even if Rhonda was older, Soda wouldn't give her a tumble. Even though he was nice to her, he thought she was
real annoying.
Rhonda sighed, and then proceeded to blow a giant bubble from her gum.
"Are ya still takin' pictures?" she asked me, then.
"Yeah. It's hard to keep findin' new things just stayin' around the house, though."
"Wanna go to the city pool?" she asked me, jumping to another topic.
"I can't," I said.
"I can pay for it if ya want," she offered, thinking that a lack of funds was the reason for my refusal.
"It's not that," I said. "I got into trouble after the other day-when we went with your cousin to the lake and all."
"How come?" Rhonda asked.
"Because-the social worker came and-" I hesitated. "Well, I just did, that's all."
"Darry put ya on lockdown?" she asked, looking faintly amused.
"Yeah."
"How long?"
"Another week after this one," I said.
Rhonda shook her head, and tossed her gum into the grass. She reached into the pocket of her shorts and took out her
pack of cigarettes.
"Man, Darry is harsh," she said. She lit up her cigarette, and took a long draw, blowing out the smoke.
"Darry's alright," I said, in defense.
"It wasn't even that bad-just goin' to the lake, good grief, June." She sounded disgusted.
I didn't want her thinking Darry was some sort of a tyrant, or somethin', but I also didn't feel like explaining in detail to
Rhonda just why I'd gotten grounded.
"It was about a bunch of stuff," I said, vaguely.
"I don't see why he's gotta be so strict," she continued. "You're like-well, like the best kid I know. Ya never do anything. If he was
my brother, or guardian, or whatever, he'd be singin' a different tune."
"What would ya do?" I asked, curious.
"Well," she said, taking another puff of her cigarette. "For starters, I'd tell him that I was gonna do what other girls do, and that he
needed to stop bein' so hard-nosed about everything. And-I'd tell him that I had rights-and that I could get a job, and go places
without havin' to beg to go-and all of that."
Just the thought of me facin' off with Darry, and tellin' him even half of that stuff, had me shaking my head.
"I know Darry's sort of-" she hesitated. "Sort of intimidatin', and all, but if ya took a real firm stand with him, June, I
think he'd unbend a little."
I thought of tellin' her that Darry might unbend just enough to bend me over his knee if I took any such of a stand with
him. But, never mind. That was embarrassing.
"It's different with us," I said, instead. "We have to be extra careful, cause of social services, and all. And, Darry's given up
a lot to take care of us-"
"I know," she said, waving a hand. "I heard my father talking one time last year. He said Darry could've had a full ride to
college on a football scholarship if he'd wanted to. That he was a force to be reckoned with on the football field."
I felt the same pang that I always felt whenever I heard somebody say somethin' like that.
"So Pony and I feel like we gotta not be horrible," I said. "Cause Darry didn't have to stay 'round here and keep us together."
"Yeah," Rhonda said, and I took that to mean she sort of understood and agreed.
"Want one?" she offered, holding out the pack of cigarettes.
"Naw," I said, shaking my head.
"They help relax ya," she told me.
"No, that's okay," I said, in refusal.
After about another hour or so, Rhonda left. I was sorry to see her go, because the afternoon ahead seemed long and drawn
out.
Outsiders