Cinnamon & Rubies // The Outsiders

three

The rain luckily stopped by the time that two rolled around and Caroline clocked out and changed her shoes in a hurry. Slinging her skates over her neck, she hurried towards the elementary school. Students were streaming out of the doors by the time she got there and Caroline craned her neck, searching for her little siblings.

A mess of jet black hair came sprinting at her and Caroline kneeled down to catch her little brother. She let out a grunt as he collided with her, but his excited laughter made her ignore the ache of her joints.

"How was your day, buddy?" she asked, lifting him up so he could rest his head on her shoulder.

"Good," he said softly, burying his face into the crook of her neck while playing with the wheels on her skates.

"Have you seen Louise?"

He pointed towards the crowd and Caroline smiled at the sight of the young girl trudging towards them. Her smile faded at the sight of her sister's red eyes and wet cheeks.

"Louise, what's goin' on?" Caroline asked softly, brushing her sister's messy brown hair out of her face.

"'S nothin', Care. Let's jus' go," the young girl mumbled.

"Louise Anne, is that a handprint?" Caroline demanded, seeing the angry red skin raised on her sister's cheek.

"I said 's nothing, Care!" Louise snapped. "Let's go."

"Nothing, my ass," Caroline spat. "If you ain't gonna explain yourself to me, you better have a damn good reason as to not tellin' Ma."

"Stop gettin' on my case, Care! I said 's nothin'!" the young girl shouted before storming off.

"Damnit," the oldest Montgomery huffed, scooping down to pick Teddy back up. "Sorry that you had to hear all that, buddy."

"'S okay," he mumbled.

The walk home was silent and Caroline wished desperately to listen to their usual chatter. Even Teddy, the sweet seven year old that he was, understood the tension between the two sisters.

About halfway there, Caroline had to set him down in order to give her muscles a rest. She settled on holding his hand as she crossed streets. Her grip tightened as Soc and Greasers drove by, silently wishing that they would leave her alone since she had kids with her. Seeing her rundown house appearing at the corner, she let out the breath she was holding in relief.

"Ma ain't gonna be home until seven so y'all need to do your homework or in Teddy's case, play outside. No TV until after five, got it?"

Her response was the slamming of Louise's feet pounding up the rickety stairs and the slamming of her bedroom door. Groaning, Caroline walked upstairs but took a left at the top, heading for her own room. She set her skates down by the door and pulled off her uniform, throwing it in the basket in the corner. After sliding on some red pedal pushers and a white polka dot blouse, she let her hair loose from its pins and brushed out her tawny brown locks and then pulled her hair up, securing it with a ribbon. Before she left, she reached into the pocket of her uniform and pulled out her tips for the day.

Next door was her ma's room. On the far wall, a table was set up with a few tin cans. They were labeled with things ranging from bills to clothes to a car. The can with the most dollars was of course the collection for bills. Caroline counted out her tips and slipped the majority in the necessary funds while putting two in the jar for a car.

Ma had a nice car, but it was a few years old and had some wear on it. She said it would last a little longer, so Caroline needed a car next so she could get to work easier. However, life kept getting in the way and it was one thing after another that needed their attention and money.

"Care?" Teddy's voice came from below and she quickly hurried downstairs, seeing him sitting on the floor with a book clutched in his hands.

"Peter Pan?" she gasped dramatically. "Oh, I love this story! D'you want me to read it to ya?"

He nodded and she sat on the couch that had rips all over it and stuffing falling out of it. Patting her lap, Teddy hopped up and sat on her legs, eagerly handing her the book.

"Chapter one, Peter breaks through. All children, except one, grow up..." Caroline began to read aloud.

By chapter three, Louise had heard the low voice droning through the house and peeked out to investigate. Hearing her sister read was one of her most favorite things in the world, so she couldn't resist sneaking downstairs. Caroline simply glanced up at her and smiled, patting the open space on the couch next to her.

When the clock struck six, Caroline set the book down and pulled her siblings in for a tight hug. "I love you two, ya know that, right?"

They both nodded and she grinned, ruffling their hair. "Now, come on, get up. Y'all gotta clean this place while I cook some dinner."

At seven, Caroline had created some form of chicken and pasta and it was set out in perfect timing for her mother to come home, exhausted as usual. Her white cap was at an awkward angle, indicating that she had tried to pull the pins out but got frustrated as usual.

"Ma, do you want to change before eatin'?" Caroline asked softly, easily plucking the hat out of her mother's light brown curls.

Her mother nodded, "Anything is more comfortable than this dress."

"Go," Caroline urged her, pushing her towards the stairs.

"You are the sweetest, kindest, greatest daughter alive," her mother mumbled, stumbling upstairs.

Being a nurse, Helen Montgomery usually worked long shifts. Caroline tried to ease the financial and mental burden that rested upon her by helping with the kids and by bringing in some cash. The stress seemed to be mounting, though, with the news rattling things off about war and such.

Once dinner was eaten and the kids were tucked into bed, Caroline and her mother sat on the lumpy couch, watching the Red Skelton show on their TV and reading the newspaper.

"My friend, Susan, you remember her?" Helen spoke up.

"Mhmmm," Caroline hummed, flipping the page.

"Her son is goin' to 'Nam."

The room went silent and Caroline stared at her over the edge of the paper. "This ain't our war, Mama. It ain't right, sending our boys in a war that ain't ours."

"I know."

That night, as she shivered under her tattered blanket on her lumpy mattress in the cool Tulsa spring, Caroline dreamed of war and of blue eyes.