Style | Dallas Winston

Chapter Eleven

Every year the Curtis family did Thanksgiving the same way. No matter how early anyone in the house woke up, somehow Mrs. Curtis was always awake before everyone else. They would get woken up by the sound of dishes clanging in the sink, or the smell of cinnamon, and stuffing starting to cook. The three young boys would go outside with their father and play football, each brother fighting on who got their dad on their team. And if the team without their father on it lost, (it always did), they would always blame it on the unfair advantage. Eventually Mrs. Curtis would call them into the house and put them to work, whether it was cleaning, cooking or washing dishes—no one was sitting around. By noon the house was bustling with activity, neighbors, friends, and family were coming and going through the house, eating food and bringing some of their own.

The gang usually stayed the whole day, except for Two-bit, who liked to spend some of the day with his mom and little sister. Maeve and her mom were often out of town visiting family for the holidays, but in the years when she was in town, she always made sure to stop by, always baking some mediocre cookies so as to not come empty handed. Mrs. Curtis' pumpkin pie was to die for, and if she knew that Maeve would be coming, she would save her a slice. The house always had a warm, homey atmosphere, but even more so during the holidays.

Though none of the boys would say it outloud to the others, this year's holidays were something that they dreaded. This would be the first Thanksgiving without their parents. As a response, each brother had a different way of dealing with this fact. Darrys' was that he went a little overboard with the cooking, having started the night before, and pulled out all of his mother's old recipe cards to try and make everything exactly as it used to be.

Sodapop's solution was to try and be happier and more chipper than normal, trying to make it seem as though everything was perfectly normal. What he succeeded in doing was making both of his brothers even more annoyed and gloomy than they were before. Even still, he tried his best to cheer everyone up.

Ponyboy had just decided that Thanksgiving is stupid and he wasn't going to bother with it at all. He went to his room to be alone anytime Darry tried to get him to help with meals or sort through the recipe cards. This caused a good bit of arguing between the two brothers, which Soda tried to mediate—to no avail.

The day before Thanksgiving, the gang was piled into the house like they were most days. Today, the boys had pushed the couch and coffee table as close to the walls as they could get them, creating an open space in the middle of the room. Steve and Two-bit had decided the two of them were going to have a wrestling match after they had an argument about god knows what. Soda had elected himself referee and it was clear he was taking that very seriously.

"Alright you two," said Soda in a very serious voice, "I want a clean match—no funny business, you got it?" He looked between the two of them, waiting for confirmation. The rest of the gang, (with the exception of Darry, who was prepping in the kitchen,) were eagerly awaiting the "match".

Once the two of them nodded, Soda continued, "Alright let's get started!"

As soon as he said that, Two-bit leapt on top of Steve, trying to take him down. He succeeded, as the two were now rolling around on the floor. Everyone else–including Maeve–was cheering and shouting encouragement. Eventually Steve had managed to pin Two-bit to the ground, his flailing and feeble attempts making no difference.

Soda dropped down on the ground, slamming his hand against the floor with every number. "One, two, and three! We have a winner!"