The house was quiet when I entered. I knew Darry and Ponyboy were at work, but I was surprised not to find Soda at home, until I remembered that Darry had sent him to the store. The house still looked clean, and as I passed by the boys' room, I noticed that Soda had even made the bed, something he rarely does. I heard the washing machine running and smiled slightly at the thought that Soda had done a load of laundry. Maybe if we told him we had a state visit every week, I thought, he'd actually keep things neat for a change.
I went into my bedroom, looked through my closet, and picked out a shorts set that Anna had given me. It was still a little bit too big, but it seemed to me like the kind of thing the state would want to see me wearing, so I grabbed it off the hanger, pulled some underwear out of the drawer and went to take a shower.
I had just turned off the water when I heard voices in the kitchen.
"Soda?" I called, looking around for anything I could use as a weapon in case it wasn't him.
"Yeah, it's me and Two-Bit," he answered.
"Okay. I'll be out in a few minutes," I called back, knowing those two would goof around for hours before they got around to putting away the groceries.
I dried off and got dressed, staring at myself in the mirror for a good long time trying to figure out what to do with my hair. I wasn't sure how I wanted to look to the state lady – young and innocent, or older and mature. Young and innocent might play on her sympathies and make her see how badly I needed my brothers, but older and mature would show that Darry was doing a good job of raising me, that I was growing up okay with him in charge. Finally I decided on parting my hair down the middle and French braiding each side.
"Scout, what are you doing in there?" Soda was at the door just as I was finishing the second braid. "Hurry up, I gotta pee."
I opened the door with one hand and walked out past him, continuing to braid. I stood in the kitchen while I finished and tied it off with a hair elastic as Two-Bit stared.
"How do you do that?" he asked, and I laughed.
"Magic." I answered, looking at the groceries scattered all over the kitchen.
"Did it occur to either of you to maybe put things away?" I asked, as Soda came back into the kitchen. "This is summer, you know… things go bad if you don't refrigerate them." I grabbed the milk and eggs and put them into the refrigerator. Two-Bit reached around me and grabbed a beer.
"You either drink all of those, or take them down to the cellar," I said. "Nobody in this house is even legal; the last thing the state wants to see in our refrigerator is beer."
He peeked around me to see how many were left – there were three.
"That will not be a problem," he assured me with a smile.
"And take the bottles outside to the trash, don't throw them away in here," I added.
"What the hell? The state people go through your trash?"
"I don't know, maybe. Who knows what they'll do? I hate it, that they can just come in and look wherever they want. It's stupid and it's not fair."
"Scout, don't get worked up about it," Soda said, as he stacked the canned goods in the cabinet. Like Darry said, there's nothing we can do about it, so we might as well just learn to live with it."
"Doesn't mean I have to like it," I grumbled.
"Hey, don't worry, Scooter," Two-Bit chimed in, "if the state decides Darry ain't good enough for y'all, you can come live with Katie and me."
I gave him a look that displayed my full disgust at that suggestion and he laughed.
"Okay, or… maybe not," he laughed. "Seriously, Darry's the best person to be in charge of you guys, and there's no way they won't see that. So chill out there, little missy. It will be fine."
I didn't answer. I wanted it to be fine, but saying it felt like it would only serve to jinx it.
"What time is Darry getting home, anyway?" I knew he'd be ticked to find Two-Bit sitting around drinking in the house.
"A little early, maybe, he said," Soda answered. He was gonna try for around four-thirty." I glanced at the clock. Two o'clock. Two-Bit saw me checking the time.
"Don't worry Scooter, I don't want your brother beating my face in, either. I'll be long gone by then." He smiled, opening beer number two.
"What do you think she'll ask us, this time?" I asked Soda. To me, that was the worst part: the questions. We knew how to make the house look good, we knew how to clean ourselves up and look and talk decent, but we never could figure out exactly what answers they were looking for when they asked us questions. We were always hesitant with our answers and I worried that it made us sound like we were lying, which we weren't.
"I'm sure she'll ask me and Darry about work, and you and Pony about school, and what you're doing for the summer. Probably ask Darry about money, stuff like that."
I didn't respond. It seemed like every time somebody from the state came they always caught us off-guard with something and made us feel inadequate. The last time, I got asked about what my plans were for the future, after high school. Mind you, I was not even in high school at the time, and here some lady is asking me about my plans for afterward. When I told her my honest answer – that I really hadn't thought about it – she seemed appalled, as though a twelve year-old without her entire life completely planned out was a major cause for concern.
I sighed, louder than I meant to, and Soda rubbed my head.
"It'll be fine, Scout. It will."
"Don't mess up my hair," I said, crankily, and headed off to my bedroom. "And don't make a mess," I yelled back at them.
"Yes, ma'am," Two-Bit answered, and I heard Soda snap at him.
"Knock it off, Two-Bit. This is hard for her. She knows what the state could do, if they decide they want to."
"I know," he answered seriously. "You don't really think…"
"No, I don't," Soda interrupted, "but it's just a whole lot scarier for Pony and Scout."
"I should probably get goin', anyway," Two-Bit said, and I heard him pushing the chair back. "I'll take these for the road." I heard beer bottles clinking together.
"Scout, I'm gonna drive Two-Bit home, okay? I'll be back in a few minutes."
"Okay," I answered, flopping face down on my pillow. I hated lying that way, but I didn't want to mess up my hair. I was hungry, but I didn't feel like eating anything. I had only been lying there a few minutes when I heard the door open again. I ignoring it, figuring it was Soda – it seemed too soon for him to be back already, but Two-Bit was letting him keep the car overnight since they both had their doctor's appointments the next day, maybe he'd just driven fast.
"Anybody home?" As it turned out, it wasn't Soda, it was Ponyboy.
"In here," I called out, my voice muffled by my pillow. I heard him come to my door.
"Scout, you okay? Are you crying?"
I pulled my face out of the pillow and sat up.
"No. Just thinking. You're home early."
"Yeah, it was real slow so he let me out early. Figured I'd get a shower early, before Darry gets home. You look nice."
"Thanks. I hate this part, the waiting."
"Yeah, no kidding…me too. I'm gonna go shower – hey, where's Soda, anyway?"
"He drove Two-Bit and his beer back to their own house."
Pony laughed at that.
"Alright, well, then, I'll be in the shower."
"Okay."
I heard Soda barge back in and went out to the living room and sat in the armchair. Soda sat on the couch and turned on the TV, glancing at the bathroom door where he could hear the shower.
"Pony's home already?"
I nodded.
"You eat lunch?" he asked.
"No, I'm not hungry. Don't tell Darry, okay?"
"Scout, you hafta eat."
"I do eat, Soda. Missing one meal isn't gonna kill me. Just… lay off, okay? You know I'm already aggravated enough."
"Yeah, I know," he said quietly.
Pony came out of the shower and Soda went in… by that time it was almost 4:30 and I figured I'd better start making dinner. We didn't know exactly what time the lady would show up, so Darry had said to just stick to our usual routine and that way she wouldn't think we were putting on some sort of show for her.
I tried to think of something I could cook that wouldn't make a big mess, would keep for a while if she came before we got to eat, and wouldn't make the house smell bad. Once I thought about the smell factor, I remembered how good the chili had smelled the last time we made it and decided on that. Plus, it would only take one pot, and I wouldn't dirty up anything else. I pulled out the cans of tomatoes and beans and grabbed the hamburger that Soda had just bought out of the fridge. Just as I was adding that to the pot I heard Darry come in the front door.
"Chili again, huh?" he asked as he came into the room.
I explained my reasons and he approved.
"Good choice," he said. "Nice outfit, too."
"Thanks."
"Who's in the shower?"
"Soda. Pony's getting dressed."
"Well, I'm gonna hit the shower next and hopefully that state lady should be here by 5:30 and we can get this whole thing over with and get you smiling again," he said.
"Amen," I muttered, and he laughed. It made me a little mad, him laughing while I was all knotted up inside from stress, but I ignored it. I grabbed a sponge and wiped down all the countertops again. After a while I felt somebody staring and looked up to see Soda in the doorway.
"You keep wiping like that and you'll start whittling away at the actual counter," he said. He came over, took the sponge and set it down above the sink, turned the chili down to simmer, and pulled me into the living room.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Well, it always calms down Darry, and you two are pretty alike, so I'm gonna try it on you." He sat me down on the floor and sat behind me on the couch, reaching over and massaging my neck. I had to admit, it did feel good. I pulled my braids forward so they lay across my chest and closed my eyes as Soda's hands worked down to my shoulder blades.
"Jesus, Scout, you are tense," he said. "Relax, okay? Everything is okay." Little by little he worked the knots out of my upper back, much more gently than he ever seemed to be when he gave Darry backrubs. I actually felt myself drifting off a little, and was almost asleep when, suddenly, the doorbell rang.
My head jerked up and I realized that this was it: the moment of truth. Soda patted my shoulders and whispered in my ear.
"Feel better? It will be okay. I promise."
"Yeah. Thanks." He pulled me up, and the two of us stood there as Darry and Ponyboy came into the room.
"Everybody ready?" Darry asked quietly. We all nodded. I took a deep breath as he walked over and opened the door to reveal a tall, thin woman, frowning while looking at her watch. She seemed a bit startled when Darry opened the door.
"Mr. Curtis?"
"I'm Darrel Curtis."
"Agnes DiSalvo, from the office of Social Services. May I come in?"
"Of course," he said. "I apologize. Just…we were expecting a Mrs. Robertson."
"Yes, she had a family emergency, so I was sent in her stead."
"Well, welcome to our home… Can I get you anything? A cold drink, coffee?"
"No, thank you, I'm quite alright. Why don't you all have a seat, so I can take care of some paperwork."
We all dropped immediately into seats. She sat down in the armchair, and I saw her look at the worn armrest. She took some papers out of her briefcase and started writing. I disliked her already. Soda must have felt me tense up again, because he sneaked his hand around mine and squeezed.
There was a minute or so of silence while she wrote and then she finally spoke.
"So, I apologize for the fact that I'm not terribly familiar with this case – I understand that you are the guardian for these three minors, Darrel?"
"Yes ma'am."
"And you are…" she rifled through the papers, "Sodapop, Ponyboy, and Samantha?"
I tensed even more; I would never be comfortable with anyone but my mother calling me that. But I didn't say anything.
"Yes, ma'am," we all responded.
"Which one of you boys is which?" she asked.
"I'm Sodapop, he's Ponyboy," Soda answered.
"And you're Samantha, obviously," she said, though she didn't even offer a hint of a smile.
"Actually, she goes by her middle name, Scout," Darry said, and I wanted to hug him right there.
"Alright then, Scout."
"Yes," I answered. "Ma'am," I added.
"So, Darrel, I assume you are the sole provider for the children, with your wages as well as the state aid that you receive?"
"Actually, no… Sodapop works full-time, as well."
"In the summer, only? Is that correct?" Darry and Soda looked at each other.
"No, actually I work full-time year-round. I work down at the DX station."
"Are you saying that you dropped out of school?"
"Yes, ma'am, I did. You see, I wasn't doing well anyway, and I knew we could use…"
"That's fine." She cut him off as she scribbled furiously in her notes.
"Darrel, I see here that you are attending the University part-time? How is that going?"
I hung my head down. Figures, she would ask about all the stuff the state wouldn't like.
"Well, actually, that's been put on hold for a while. I took last semester off, to make sure things were squared away here at home and put away some savings."
"And you'll be returning in the fall?"
I wanted him to say yes so badly, not just because it was what I knew she wanted him to say, but because, if he said it, he'd have to go back.
"That hasn't been decided quite yet," he answered, and she scribbled away again.
"I hope I can assume that the two of you are still in school?" she asked, directing the question at me and Pony.
"Yes, ma'am," we both answered.
"They do really well. Almost straight A's on both of their report cards. Scout had a little trouble in math this past term but I've been working on it with her, and she's coming along real good," Darry said, seemingly relieved to have something positive to talk about.
"Yeah, and Scout graduated eighth grade this year and got all sorts of awards, and a varsity letter, even. She was one of the first eighth grade girls ever to get one," Soda said as he passed the stack of awards over for her to look at. They had been sitting on the mantle since the day they came in the mail.
She looked through the pile.
"You all must have been very proud, seeing her hard work get recognized like that," Mrs. DiSalvo said. I saw Darry's face fall, and I jumped into the conversation.
"Actually, I didn't go to the graduation… I just felt like it would be too hard, since my Mom and Dad were there with me last year to see Ponyboy's. I didn't really want anybody to go."
"I see." She shot Darry a look that was less than kind, and I wanted to run across the room and jump in his lap and hug him. Stop making him feel bad, I wanted to scream. But I just sat there.
"So, Scout, why don't you tell me a little bit about how things are going around here."
I felt like a deer in the headlights. Okay, I thought, no pressure, just that your family's future together could be riding on what you say right now. I prayed that my voice wouldn't quiver.
"Well… I think things are really going well. Darry takes good care of us and we get everything we need. Now that it's summer I've been babysitting for my basketball coach's daughter, and doing some gardening in the yard. Things are really good."
"Yes, I saw the flowers. Very nice. You're…" she looked at the paper. "Twelve?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Do you have a boyfriend?"
That was a question I hadn't gotten before. What on Earth did that matter?"
"Well, kind of, yeah."
"Do you have a curfew?" I looked at Darry. Technically, I didn't, it was just assumed that I would be home at a reasonable hour.
"Well, we don't really go out on dates or anything, but I don't stay out late. He lives next door, I mean… we usually just hang around our houses." She raised an eyebrow and wrote something down when I said that.
"Scout and Ben aren't allowed to be together in either house unless there's a adult at home," Darry said.
"I see," she said. I was starting to not like that answer. She wrote down a few more things.
"Sodapop, I see you have a cast. Can you tell me how that happened?"
"Well, I was in a car accident a few weeks ago."
"Oh, dear. Were you the only one injured?"
"No, Scout was with me. She just needed a few stitches, she just got them out yesterday. I'm seeing the doctor tomorrow and I should be able to go back to work soon." Darry shot Soda a glare. There was no way Darry would let Soda start working again until he had the all clear from the doctor.
"It wasn't Soda's fault," Ponyboy piped up in his support. "The light was broken. It was the state's fault. There's even a lawsuit."
"Really?" she asked. "So you'll be testifying, Sodapop?"
"No, actually… I was knocked unconscious. It's Scout they want to testify, she saw the whole thing."
"Hmm." She flipped through her pages. "It indicates here that court has been particularly stressful for you, in the past, Scout." She looked at Darry. "Are you sure putting Scout through all that again is a good idea?"
I could feel the rage growing inside me. Why was she constantly making Darry look – and feel, from what I could tell - like a bad guardian?
"I want to do it. Darry isn't making me. I asked to do it."
She didn't answer me, just made some more notes.
"Ponyboy, what are you doing this summer?"
"Just the usual things – hanging around with my friends, training for the track team, going to the movies, reading." He couldn't tell her about his job, since technically he was too young to work.
"So, you are unsupervised all day while your brothers are at work? And you, too, Scout?"
"I guess you could say that, technically," Pony answered, warily. "But Darry and Soda always know where we are. Soda calls from work and Darry calls at lunch when he can."
"I see." She made some more notes and I wasn't entirely sure that one of us wouldn't kill her if she said "I see" again.
"Do you mind if I take a look around?" she asked, standing up while still writing.
"No, not at all," Darry said, and it was clear to all of us except her that he was pretty annoyed with her.
She stood up and walked through the kitchen, looking in the refrigerator and making some notes. She looked at the chili and asked about who did the cooking, laundry, cleaning, etc. She seemed confused to find that what was supposed to be – according to our file, I assumed – Darry's bedroom no longer was his.
"We switched our rooms around because I wanted to be at the front of the house," Darry said, and I could tell he was debating whether or not to include the part about me, but there was no other way to explain why the boys and I had also switched. I guess he realized that, too.
"Scout was having some trouble sleeping, too, so we thought she might sleep better with us on both sides. So far it has worked."
"Yeah, I've been sleeping much better," I said. She didn't answer me, just kept writing as we all followed her. She looked at the bathroom and the rest of the bedrooms, eventually ending up at the front door. She stood there for a moment and continued writing, then put her papers into her briefcase and looked back up at us.
"Well, Darrel, it was nice to meet you. You'll receive a copy of my report in a week or so, and the state will contact you about another visit in approximately six months." Then she turned to the other three of us.
"You three stay out of trouble," she said. "Your brother already has quite enough on his plate."
"Yes, ma'am, we will," Soda spoke for all of us.
And, with that, she turned and headed down the walk. We all just stared in silence as she got into her car and drove away. Finally, Darry stepped up and closed the front door, then turned to face us.
"Let's eat," he said.
……………………………
A/N: Not exactly the kind of visit you'd be thrilled about, but looks like things will stay as they are for now… Thanks, as always for your reviews.
To those who wished me luck in my charity walk, the Boston Breast Cancer 3-Day raised over 4 million dollars for Breast Cancer research and education. And yes, I made it all sixty miles (and I have the blisters to prove it.)