The next afternoon, I left Ponyboy standing at our locker and strode straight to the parking lot. If Darry didn't approve of my new business venture, then I couldn't expect to get a ride from him. I'd have to see if maybe Two-Bit or Steve could take me, but honestly, at that point I would've walked downtown myself. I needed to get that job in order to discover what I needed to about my family's past. I heard Pony's footsteps quicken behind me as he tried to catch up, and he even called out to me a couple times to wait up, but I ignored him. I was on a mission.
Eventually I reached the parking lot, and there was Darry's car, right in the front row, so that it was the first thing that I saw when I walked out the door. His eyes met mine through the windshield, but I looked away and walked determinedly out of the parking lot.
"Hey! Diana! Get in the car!" I heard Pony yell behind me.
"I'm going downtown," I responded hotly. "Unless Darry plans on driving me there, I won't be getting in his car."
There was no response, and I pressed on, my chin rising higher with every step. I heard the engine of Darry's car rumble up next to me. I ignored it.
"Hey, Diana, just get in the car," Darry growled at me. I ignored him.
"Diana, come on," Pony begged. I ignored him, too.
"You are not going downtown alone." Darry's growl was menacing and determined. I couldn't stop the shivers from racing up and down my spine, even though my jaw was set angrily and a vein was popping in my temple.
"Will you take me, then?" I asked him challengingly, tossing my hair back and continuing to walk.
Darry huffed in frustration. "No. You can't go down there."
"I can and I will, Darrel Curtis. I'm going to that interview no matter what," I growled just as menacingly. "So will you come with me, or will you let me go alone?"
Both of them sighed at the same time. "I guess you gotta take her, Darry," Ponyboy admitted after a pause. I gave him a sharp glance through the car window, unsure if he was joking or actually serious, but his expression looked sincere. My heart leaped in gratitude for his support of my decision.
"Either that, or I will walk," I said seriously. "I'm not kidding."
I halted in my tracks as Darry stopped the car from slowly inching forward. He gave another annoyed sigh and looked up at the rusting ceiling of his car. Finally, after a long and awkward silence, he threw his hands down on the wheel and said, "Alright, get in" very resignedly.
I struggled to hide my smile; I knew I'd win him over eventually! I slipped inside the old car cheerfully enough and ignored the glower Darry gave me in the rearview mirror. I knew he didn't like being outmaneuvered like that, but what could I do? I was desperate to get that job, and without his support I supposed I didn't have a chance. I was still angry with him, though. It was extremely frustrating that he thought he could control everything I did, when he had only known me for a week or so. I didn't think there was that much of a connection between us.
The ride was stonily silent. Neither Darry nor I looked at or spoke to each other; we were both equally stubborn and proud. Pony looked between us worridley but said nothing. We would both just have to wait and let the anger simmer out before attempting to speak to each other, or I was certain I would snarl at him, and he at me.
When we reached the address the woman over the phone had given me, Darry parked at the curb. It was, admittedly, a very seedy-looking place, with a dreary facade: soot-blackened brick surrounding a worn wooden door with no window. An old sign swung from a single chain above it, supposedly reading "McNamara's Housecleaning Services," but a couple of the letters were extremely faded so that all that could be read was "McNa's secleaning Serces."
"Pony, walk her up to the door," Darry said shortly, jutting his chin towards the sketchy entrance.
Pony slunk out of his seat and held open the door for me. I thanked him and glanced at my watch: 3:55. I had barely five minutes to spare.
Pony made to grab my elbow, but I shook him off. He hung back behind me as I knocked smartly on the door. Almost immediately, it was flung open by a blonde woman who was wearing a spectacular amount of eye makeup. She leaned against the doorframe and regarded me languidly.
"McNamara's Housecleaning Services, I'm Holly McNamara, how can I help you?" she said tiredly.
"Hi, um, I'm Diana Jean. I have an appointment with you... Ms. ... McNamara, regarding a job?" I said as confidently as I could. All of my nerves were stretched taut in nervousness.
"Oh yes, Cheryl said you'd be in. Well, come on in, sweetie. Your boyfriend's gotta stay out, though." She peered at Ponyboy suspiciously and pulled me inside.
"Oh, I'm not--" Ponyboy began embarrassedly, but she slammed the door in his face before he could finish.
"Well, now, without all those distractions, let's get started on the interview, shall we?" Holly said kindly, pushing me towards a sagging but cleanly upholstered striped couch. Despite the grungy exterior, the inside of the establishment was clean and well-lit, though shabby. The few pieces of furniture were mismatched and obviously old, but they were in good condition. Three other women were perched on tables and armchairs around the small room, and they regarded me curiously, sipping on steaming mugs of coffee as they did so. I noticed that all of them were wearing long black skirts and aprons that had the company name stitched on the pockets, so I assumed that they were the other employees. I looked them over just as curiously as they looked over me as Holly bustled over to her small metal desk to grab some papers.
"Alright now, sweetie, I have a few questions to ask you. Firstly, have you done any housecleaning work before?" she asked me.
"Well, not besides cleaning my own house. My mother works, so I've always done most of the housework," I explained cautiously, not wanting to give too much away about my personal life.
"I'd count that as experience," Holly muttered under her breath, scribbling on a piece of paper. "And how old are you?"
"I'm eighteen."
"Perfect, you're legally allowed to work. And- oh yes- what hours would you be willing to work? We can have you do evenings, if you have school," she offered.
"Yes, evenings would work fine," I said enthusiastically. So far this was working out better than I had hoped for; at this rate, I would totally be hired!
"And what are your thoughts on working... say... further on the West side? In some of those big fancy homes? Those rich people would feel a lot better having a pretty young thing like you clean their homes." She looked up at me expectantly, pen poised.
My heart pounded. This was exactly what I wanted! I needed to be able to snoop around the high society of Tulsa. "Yes, that sounds perfect!" I acquiesced.
"Great. Well then, Ms. Jean, looks like you're hired," she said, giving me a warm smile.
I grinned back at her. "Thank you so much!"
"I should introduce you to the rest of the staff." Holly stood and walked over to the group of women sitting on the furniture. "This is Cheryl." She pointed to a busty redhead who was smoking a cigarette as she drank her coffee. "Hi, dear, nice to see you," she said nasally. She sounded like the woman I had spoken with on the phone.
"And this is Anne." A spindly brunette nodded in my direction, her green eyes heavily outlined in black eyeliner.
"And, of course, Louise." Holly patted the last woman on the shoulder. She was pretty enough, but her forehead was lined with wrinkles and there were patches of silver in her blond hair, which was tied back with a pale purple scarf.
"Nice to meet you all," I said politely and smiled at all of them.
"Well, you'd best get on your way. Your first shift starts tomorrow at four o'clock. You'll be cleaning the Ashton house, all the way on the West side. I'll provide the transportation, as long as you are here by four o'clock. Got it?" Holly said.
"Yes, I got it," I replied.
"Well, then, see you around, sweetie!" And with that, she pushed me out the door and slammed it behind me.
"How'd it go?" Ponyboy asked me amusedly, noticing the shock that was clear on my face.
"That woman is really something," was all I could muster, still slightly overwhelmed by her intense energy.
"I'll say," he muttered as we slipped back into the car.
"Did you get the job?" Darry didn't look at me, but his voice wasn't as icy as it had been before. I took that as a step forward.
"Yes, I did, actually. I start tomorrow. At four," I replied smoothly.
He glanced at me in the mirror but didn't say anything. I could sense his disapproval from the front seat, but for once I didn't care what Darry Curtis thought. I was finally on my way to discover the truth about my mother!