Author's Note: This chapter is written by taylor519 (user id 2770779). I wrote chapter 9 and will write from here on out.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Outsiders.
Emma Leah pulled open the white door to the retirement home. It wasn't a really nice place but it was clean and for the most part the people who worked there was real sweet. Her grandmother had been smart in her youth. She had saved much of her money. Her granny Ann paid to stay in that place all on her own, just off of her retirement and saved cash.
Johnny followed silently behind her. He was excited to meet his grandmother but at the same time nervous. Just a few days ago the only relative he had was his drunken father, and now he had a loving cousin and possibly a loving grandmother as well. He just hoped she would be as inviting as Emma. The thought of knowing another person like his mother was scary, to say the least.
"In here, Johnny," Emma Leah directed, glad he had come along. She couldn't wait to introduce them; her Granny Ann would just adore him. And another loving relative wouldn't hurt him either.
They walked into a large room with big windows. The curtains were tied open so that plenty of light could get in. The walls were painted a very light white-pink color, and many sofas and chairs were scattered around the room. It was very inviting. A few elderly people sat around on chairs, some played cards and some were talking to nurses or families that were there.
Emma led the way up to a big, cushiony chair with a tiny woman sitting in it. The woman was looking out the window at a few birds singing in a tree. She was so small the chair nearly swallowed her. Her skin was very dark, though, darker than Johnny. When she noticed them walking towards her, she smiled kindly.
"Hello, Granny Ann!" Emma said cheerily. She leaned down and placed a soft kiss on the woman's forehead. "How are you feeling today?"
"Oh, Emma, darling, I'm feeling fine. You worry about me too much! Tell me how are you?" Her voice was soft and sweet, but the enthusiasm in her voice was enough to make her sound much younger than she looked.
Emma Leah always got just a little frustrated when her grandmother refused to tell her how her health was. She wasn't sick or anything, she was just getting very old. It seemed everyday there was a new symptom to add to her list of problems. Yet, she was determined to keep her granddaughter from knowing about it.
"I'm great, and I brought someone to meet you."
"I see that. Young man, come! Introduce yourself! I ain't going to bite," she teased.
Johnny hadn't realized he had been standing behind Emma. He stepped forward and held out his hand to her. "My names, Johnny Cade, mam'."
She took his hand in hers; her hands were very warm and soft but instead of shaking it she used it to pull him closer, so that she could wrap her arms around him. He leaned down so as to not make it so difficult for her.
"My, you have grown so much! You were just a little baby last time I saw you!" she told him after she released him from her hug.
Emma Leah pulled two chairs up closer to her so she and Johnny could sit with her to talk.
"You know me?" Johnny asked, a little surprised. He was expecting to have to explain how they were related and everything else.
"Of course, Darling! I was there when you were born. I heard about your mother, I'm very sorry I couldn't be there."
Johnny smiled at her. The conversation was so normal, it was the kind of conversation a regular family would have. And for a moment he felt it-like he had a regular family, a regular life.
"It's alright," he told her quietly. "How come I never got to see you?" It was a bold question, one that only a few days ago he never would have asked. It's possible she simply didn't want to see him, decided to leave his life when she had the chance. His parents certainly felt that way.
But this woman was too sweet, and he had Emma Leah by his side. He asked her without even a second thought.
"Oh, honey, well, you know how your mother was. She could be pretty tough sometimes." She didn't want to say anything bad about his mother, now that she had passed away. But whenever she thought of her youngest daughter, Granny Ann couldn't help but get a nasty taste in her mouth. That woman was something else. "She wasn't always that way, but after she moved out and got married to that man, she just started getting meaner. I tried to tell her, to let her know that he would suck the life out of her, but she wouldn't listen. She got pretty riled when I brought it up. She loved him, you know, she really did. Then, after she had you I started to worry. He already wasn't husband of the year, and I was worried he would treat you the way he treated her. I tried to convince her to leave him then. I tried so hard. But she was too far gone. The sweetheart who used to be my little girl was gone; her sweet soul was taken, and replaced by this nasty, dark mess. She told me I couldn't go around there no more, and that I couldn't see you. I tried to a couple times, but that man sure can hit hard if he wants to."
She had been holding his hand gently and rubbing her thumb back and forth across it as she talked. Somehow, it comforted him.
"You don't... blame me for not coming around, do you?" she asked him, and the fear was clear in her eyes.
For so long the only family she had was her little Em. She didn't want to ruin her chance at another grandchild. She didn't want to lie to him and she didn't want to lose him, so she told him the truth and hoped for the best.
"No, no. I don't blame you," he told her quickly, so she could breathe a sigh of relief. "I get it," he added quietly but they all heard it.
So her fears had come true, his father did treat him the same as his mother. And if she were to take her best guess she could say his mother probably abused him too, when she was alive.
They spent the morning talking about themselves. Emma shared with her grandmother everything that had happened since when she went to visit the day before the funeral. And Johnny told her about his buddies. Granny Ann told Johnny a bit about herself, and he realized Emma Leah got a lot of her crazy, superstitious pancake-theories from Granny Ann.
When Johnny asked, Granny Ann told him about his mother when she was young and happy. She told him about how she used to sing while she cooked and how she was almost never home before curfew. She even told him that when she found out she was pregnant. A little sparkle came back into her eyes, a sparkle that hadn't been there in years.
When they left hours later, Johnny had the smallest smile playing on his lips. He was glad he knew a little about his mother. He was glad he found out his mother had wanted him-at some point. And he was especially glad to have a grandmother who cared about him. He couldn't remember the last time he felt so light. He thought it was weird, he almost felt like laughing! Then he realized-he was just genuinely happy.
Emma Leah sat in front of the large circular mirror in her dressing room behind the stage and twirled her hair around a curling iron. She had to straighten her hair out first, then curl. She was trying to tame the messy curls that made her head look too big for show-business. Then she would sit and curl it in smooth, controlled curls that nicely framed her face-nothing like her regular hair. Although she loved how pretty it made her look, she knew it wasn't worth the forty-five minutes it took to do it. That's why she only did all that for work. She would never get up an hour early just to do her hair for the day; actually, if she didn't work on stage in front of a bunch of people, she would never do her hair for work either.
As steam rose from the curler, she let it release and picked out another strand, twirling it around the iron. As she continued the repetitive steps, her mind wandered back to that day.
After visiting with Granny Ann, they had gone over to Ponyboy's. They hung around and didn't do too much, but she had fun anyways. Just before she left she had met Darry.
"We'll, I ought to go," she told the boys, scattered about the living room, standing up from her spot on the couch.
"So soon?" Ponyboy asked her.
"Yeah, I got to go to work, don't want to be late," she explained, before turning to head out the door.
She nearly ran right into Darry, who was just coming in from work. It startled her, and she had to crane her neck to look up at him.
"Oh, hello there! You must be Darry," she said cheerily, glad to finally meet him. Taking a step back she looked him up and down.
She thought he looked real hansom, all muscle. He had his dark hair greased back and his blue eyes sparkled like ice as he looked down at her. "I'm-"
"Emma Leah," he finished for her. She gave him a surprised smile. "The boys told me all about you."
"Already?" she asked, surprised. She had only met them a few days ago.
"Yep. Where you headed off to?" he asked her.
"Work. Shit. I'm going to be late! Nice to meet you." Then she was out the door.
Johnny's friends had been so welcoming to her. Emma Leah knew she wanted to hang around with them again, they were good people and the closest things to friends she had in this town.
It seemed to her that most people around here weren't too friendly - not people her age at least, especially not the girls. She had tried to make small talk with a few of the girls who waitressed where she worked, but they had shut her down.
"You're on in half an hour, Leah," Bill leaned his head in her door to tell her.
"Sure thing," she replied, snapped out of her thoughts.
Bill was a good old guy, always making sure she was alright. Whenever guys got a little too friendly and she was uncomfortable he was always there to make them back off. He owned the place. It was a restaurant, but the tables faced a stage. On Wednesday to Sunday night, Emma Leah would sing. She went on at eight and was done by eleven, of course she had breaks in between though. On Mondays and Tuesdays they just had a band play. The pay was decent. She had enough to pay the bills and put a little away for whatever she may need it for later. Her Granny Ann had taught her to save money. If she ever needed a little more, Bill was always willing to have her come in early or on her day off to wait tables.
She stated to do up her makeup. Usually she did not put very much on, but when she went on stage she did it up a little more. She kept it light around her eyes, using just a little color of whatever matched her dress. But with blush she would put a dark beige color along her cheek bones. Under the spotlight it made her cheekbones look higher so she appeared more mature. She also but on a bright shade of lipstick, it drew attention to her mouth while singing.
She stepped into her dark blue dress, it fell to her knees but was tight and fitted, and she had to shimmy into it. She topped the look off with black heels. She took a look at herself in the large, full body mirror. She couldn't help the arrogant thought when she looked at herself. All done up like this, she knew she looked stunning. She just wished it didn't take so much effort to make it happen.
"You're on in five! Ready?" Bill leaned in to ask.
"I'm always ready," she told him with a cheeky smile.
She didn't know what it was, but once she was into the outfit and into the music, she was different. She felt like a star, even though her audience was usually just a few people out on dates or out with friends. It was only really busy Friday and Saturday nights, but she didn't care how many people were watching. She didn't care if anyone watched at all. When she started singing, she was a star.
He gave a soft laugh and walked out.
She stepped up to the stage, the ever-familiar butterflies in her stomach. It wasn't nerves, it was anticipation. The spotlight turned on and the butterflies disappeared. She gave a bright, movie-star smile to the audience. They silenced and she began to sing. She would do an introduction later, right now, she had to get their attention, really blow them away.