Cinnamon & Rubies // The Outsiders

seven

"Well, hello there!" Annie, Caroline's coworker for the day, greeted the new customers. Caroline glanced up and smiled at her little siblings. She skated over, scooping Teddy up and grabbing Louise's hand. Helen had just dropped them off before leaving for work.

"Now, y'all know you really shouldn't be here, but Mama and I couldn't find anyone to watch y'all so you gotta be good until my shifts over, alright?" Caroline reminded them, sitting Teddy at one of the stools of the bar. Louise climbed up next to him and dutifly began her homework. Caroline pressed a kiss to the top of their heads and moved on to clean up a table.

"Annie, turn that up, will ya?" she called out and gave a thumbs up once she heard the radio get louder. The after school sports crowd would be coming in soon and she really wasn't looking forward to dealing with a bunch of handsy, hormonal teenagers today.

Humming along to Elvis, she turned to wipe down another table and gasped as she stumbled straight into a wall. Well, what she thought was a wall.

"I'm so sorry!" she squeaked. Darry Curtis grabbed her upper arms to steady her and then stepped back, an unreadable expression in his eyes.

"No need to apologize. Jus' an accident," he said.

"Jeez, Darry, you ain't in football anymore. Don't have to tackle the poor gal," Soda chimed in behind him. Darry rolled his eyes but moved over to sit at their normal booth.

"I might have burned dinner," the middle Curtis child explained as he and Ponyboy joined their brother.

"I'm assuming the usual?" she asked.

"You're a doll," Sodapop cooed and she sighed, lightly tapping him on the top of the head with her notepad as she passed by. After writing out the ticket, she stuck it on the line and returned to her siblings, reading over Louise's shoulder.

"Now, you gotta remember to carry the one when you subtract somethin', right? You got most of 'em right, but you gotta go over these again." Caroline pointed to the wrong answers and then ruffled her sister's thick blonde curls. "You're doing good, kid."

She then leaned over to see what Teddy was doing. He had a little thing of crayons in his bag and was doodling on some extra papers he had. Caroline complimented him on his flowers and cars as she smoothed down his hair, resting her chin on his shoulder. His little arms wrapped around her neck and she dropped a kiss onto his cheek, reluctantly pulling herself away to help the customers that just walked in.

The Dingo was the last place she wanted her siblings to be in. It was dirty and dangerous, especially when the occasional fights broke out. As more kids started coming in, it was harder to keep a watchful eye on her own kids.

When she passed by the Curtis table with her trusty coffeepot, she noticed that Darry's cup was low. Pouring some liquid heaven into it, she almost didn't acknowledge them staring at her.

"What?" she finally asked once she caught onto their behavior.

"Your kid siblings?" Ponyboy asked and she nodded, casting a glance back at them.

"Mama couldn't find a sitter for the night and I can't leave 'em alone. They ain't a bother, are they?"

"Golly no. If you need someone to keep an eye on 'em, we don't mind. Bring 'em on over!" Soda exclaimed.

"Oh, gosh. I couldn't ask y'all to do that. Y'all must be tired from your day and-"

"Caroline," Darry spoke firmly. "It'd be no bother at all."

Darrel Curtis could make grown men cry, Caroline observed. His tuff nature and strong build was accompanied with the ability to command a room to attention. He could very well order her to do something in that powerful voice she heard once or twice in class when talking to his football buddies, but he never did. His voice was always soft with her, even when he was being firm.