TDTLBU Chapter Thirteen

Jefferson, Ohio

April, 1939

“Attention, attention. Will the two-hundred and… uh… what’s the number?” Josh leaned towards Emma, one eyebrow raised in comical confusion.

“Two hundred and twenty six,” she answered without hesitation.

“Uh… right. Will the two-hundred and twenty-six meeting…”

“Two hundred and twenty sixth,” Emma corrected sharply.

“But you said…”

“Lemme do it.” Emma shoved him aside and took up the nutcracker that served as a gavel. “Attention, ladies and gentlemen and those-who-are-not-gentlemen-but-still-tolerated,” she shot a pointed look in Josh’s direction, putting heavy emphasis on the last words. He stared back at her, unruffled, grinning impishly. “Will the two-hundred and twenty-sixth meeting of the Cavalry please come to order.” she rapped the nutcracker sharply on the kitchen table.

“How d’ya keep track of those numbers?” Josh spoke in a stage whisper. Emma ignored him. 

“First order of business. Treasurer’s report.”

“Same as it was last week and the week before that and the week before that and so on and so forth,” Jerry shrugged. “Eleven dollars and forty-three cents.”

“I disagree,” Lissie spoke up. “Last week it was eleven dollars and forty-eight cents. What’s happened to the other five cents?”

“Doggone it, I forgot that. Uh… emergency came up.”

“And what was the nature of this emergency?” Emma inquired, so formally, that Josh snickered. She kicked him under the table.

“Heatstroke." Jerry replied confidently. But at the funny looks he was getting, he continued to explain. "I was gonna pass out, honest. There were stars everywhere and the world was spinning and I thought I was gonna die,” Jerry’s voice was earnest, but the mischievous twinkle in his eye gave him away.

“Jerry… what did you do?” Emma sighed as one who suffers much.

“Took a nickel to buy an ice-cream soda at Pop’s.”

This announcement flung the meeting into chaos as the room erupted with accusations and defenses. Emma appealed the matter to Ronnie, who thus far had watched the proceedings in silence, with an amused grin.

“I say he earned it,” Ronnie spoke quietly as soon as Josh had gotten everyone to shut up. He had done so by standing on his chair and hollering so loud that Myra was already en route from the garden to scold them all. “He contributed to the fund, same as all of us. He sent in two dollars of the money he got from mowing yards. If he took a nickel, it’s okay.”

No one contested the decision. In the Cavalry, Ronnie’s word was law.

“Alright,” Emma conceded. “Next order of business. News report.”

“Drumroll please,” Josh rose, pulling a crumpled sheet of paper from his pocket with a flourish. “Ahem. Thank you, thank you.” He bowed elegantly. “Local news is as follows. Old Mr. Kupp stalled his tractor on the railroad tracks. Caused a big ruckus, running around it in circles, kicking and screaming and saying words he shouldn’t have said. Mr. Lorn was driving by, pulled him off the tracks with his pickup. In our next item, Mrs. Stuffed-Hen herself,”

“Watch it Scout, or I’ll tell your mom,” Emma raised her eyebrows in warning.

“My apologies, madam,” Josh tipped an imaginary hat. “As I was saying. Mrs. Croft fell down the church steps last Sunday and sprained her ankle. She is blaming it on, and I quote,” Here he assumed a snooty expression and such an accurate imitation of Mrs. Croft’s deep-throated, self-righteous voice that the Cavalry was reduced to tears of helpless laughter. “Young hooligans leaving a baseball on the stairs of the church… such sacrilege… such an unholy object to be placed on the stairs of the church, that’s what!” Unquote.” He waited for the laughter to abate before he continued.

“As for not-local news, crazy stuff going on across the pond, as usual. We all know how it goes, right? We’ve already heard that Germany took over Austria. People keep talking about war coming.”

“Are they serious?” Lissie’s eyes widened and her face grew a shade paler. They had been talking on and off about the news coming out of Europe for months now. But she never failed to look terrified every time it came up, as if she was hearing it for the first time.

“There’s a lot of mixed opinions,” Ronnie put in. “Some people think that Europe’ll just fight it out a bit, nothing serious. And others say there’ll be another war, on the scale of the Great War.”

“Ridiculous,” Katie spoke unusually strongly and the others looked at her in surprise. “That was the War to End All Wars. It couldn’t ever happen again. Not even half that big of a war. It’s just talk, that’s all it is. Isn’t it?"

“I… don’t know…” Emma faltered. “Let’s not talk about it. We should move on to the next order of business.”

“This is the good part,” Josh grinned, leaning back in his chair and folding his hands behind his head.

“Not for you, Scout,” Emma narrowed her eyes. “Performance report.” She pulled out a little notebook and opened it to a bookmarked page. “Katie, exemplary, as always. Jerry and Josh have been reported as having been seen swinging from the trees in front of Town Hall. Upside-down.” 

“You been talking to Mrs. Croft?” Josh yawned.

“Besides the point. The guilty have thus been accused… and I know they’re guilty… what’s the punishment?”

“The usual,” Ronnie grinned. “Pull all the weeds in all the gardens of the Cavalry members.”

“No way.” Josh groaned. “I won’t do it… I declare mutiny!”

“I second the mutiny,” Jerry sang out gleefully. “You take out the captain and I’ll steal the ship.”

“Josh…” Emma laughed. “Pulling weeds is your job anyway. What’s a couple gardens more? Remember, we agreed on this…”

“I thought you guys were kidding.”

“Let me finish the performance reports, will you? For Ronnie…” Emma paused suddenly and glanced meaningfully at Katie. Katie shrugged innocently and said nothing. “Ronnie and Lissie,” Emma continued, taking no notice of Lissie’s sudden and furious blush. “Have been reported as having been seen sharing a soda at Pop’s.”

“Hey, sis. What’s wrong with that?” Ronnie frowned at her.

“Might I add that it was one soda with two straws,” Emma clarified.

“Emma…” Lissie pleaded. "It wasn't... It was two sodas... Who even said that?"

“This violates law number eleven of the Cavalry,” Emma stated grandly, either not hearing or pretending not to hear Lissie's specification of the details.

“There ain’t any law number eleven,” Josh drawled.

“There is now. It’s an unspoken law.”

“Then leave it unspoken." Ronnie's face was very red.

“No can do.” Emma stuck out her chin stubbornly. “And Scout, don’t say “ain’t”.”

“Why are you allowed to say “no can do”?” 

“According to law number eleven,” Emma went on, undeterred. “No members of the Cavalry are allowed to fall in love with each other.”

“Alright, you’re done.” Ronnie stood. By the expression on his face, it was impossible to tell whether he was furious or just annoyed. “I’m declaring mutiny myself. Meeting adjourned!” 

✯✯✯

“That was pretty heartless, Emma Ruth Stewart,” Lissie glared at her friend as they wandered out of the kitchen to the back porch. 

“I was just making a point,” Emma laughed. “C’mon, admit it, Lissie. You’re in love with Ronnie, aren’t you?”

“That’s besides the point.” Lissie tossed her blond hair, pointing her nose in the air and walking off ahead of Emma. 

“I don’t mind, honestly, I don’t, Lissie,” Emma hurried after her. “I was just making a joke. Really… I’m thrilled. My brother and my best friend… how could I not be thrilled? Not that I like the thought of everyone growing up and changing and all, we’ve had such fun just being kids… it’s just I’m trying to get used to the idea, that’s all…” 

“Just as long as things don’t change too much,” Lissie sighed and turned back to Emma. “This is beautiful, Emma. I… I love it here. And I… I’m afraid.”

“What’s there to be afraid of?” Emma spoke absently as she let her eyes roam over the yard. The boys had started up an impromptu game of football and, to all appearances, were practically killing each other. Josh had just landed on top of Ronnie in a flying tackle while Jerry rushed him from the other direction, and all three were howling wildly. “Idiots, aren’t they?” she smiled affectionately.

“Nothing much, I guess,” Lissie followed her gaze. “Just this talk of war that scares me.”

“Oh, it won’t come to anything,” Emma said cheerfully, taking her friend’s arm. “Like Katie says. It’s just talk. There goes that dratted Toast,”

“Poor dog,” Lissie laughed. “Can’t take him seriously with that name.”

“Well, it was Josh’s fault,” Emma declared. “He could’ve stuck up to me harder and he didn’t. So now everyone calls the dog Toast.”

Toast had been an honorary member of the Cavalry ever since Josh acquired him, just two years before. He had worked an entire summer to earn the money for a dog and in the end changed his mind, putting the money in his school fund and adopting a mutt someone had intended to drown. It was just a puppy then… a little scrap of dog with a tan underbelly and dark brown back and the biggest, roundest dog eyes ever seen. Josh had hesitated on naming him and Emma rose to the occasion with the suggestion of “Burnt Toast”.

“Because he’s exactly the color of burnt toast,” she justified herself. This had sparked a terrible argument and an even more terrible feud as Josh decided the dog should be named General MacArthur, after the brigadier general from the Great War. The girls of the Cavalry had sided with Emma and the boys with Josh. But in the end, they compromised, mostly because the girls threatened to go on strike and never share their baked goods again. The dog was duly christened General Toast MacArthur, but was always and forever after that referred to as simply Toast. Even by his indignant owner.

"And Emma…" Lissie's voice interrupted her friend's revery. "There isn't anything serious… between me and Ronnie. We aren't going steady… we're just friends."

"Ah, nothing serious yet," Emma winked. "I've seen Ronnie look at you. Mark my words, Lissie, he'll come around."