I remember well the day that my brother, Darry, came home from work with a big dumb ol' grin on his face (for once in his life). Sodapop came running up to him, teasing him.
"So, you win the lottery or somethin'?" Soda said as Darry's grin only grew more.
"No." He took a seat on the couch. "You know who Skye Marcy is, right?"
Soda and I glanced at each other with one eyebrow raised each.
"Isn't that the really pretty girl with the medium long brown hair?" I asked him, sitting down on the couch across form him.
Darry nodded.
"And isn't she the one who is your age and works as a nurse at the hospital?" Soda pitched in.
Darry nodded again.
"Well? What about her?" Soda asked, getting more curious. Darry chuckled and kept that dumb grin on his face.
"We're dating now." A really faint blush came across his face. Soda's and mine jaws dropped. Skye was pretty enough to be a model if she wanted. She wasn't a Soc but she could have been. Her dad ran out on her and her mother when she was 8. Skye and her mom moved out and moved into greaser territory. Darry and she had been friends since high school.
"You managed to score a beauty like her?" Soda teased him.
Skye was different than the other girls in our neighborhood. She didn't dress down, she didn't use grease in her hair and she acted classy. But she knew her place too. Skye didn't act like a Soc or ever try to be one. I could tell that Darry admired that, though he'd never tell anyone.
"Oh hush up!" Darry lightly shoved Soda. "She's coming over tomorrow for dinner so you guys better act nice!"
The front door opened and Two Bit, Dally and Johnny strode in. Two Bit spread out his arms and let out a loud "Hallelujah! Hallelujah!" We all laughed…expect Darry, that is.
"What are you so pepped up about now?" Darry stared at him, asking a dumb question. We all knew what Two Bit was happy about.
"You manned up and got yourself a girl! We all thought you'd end up like those crazy cat people!" Everyone hollered with laughter. That Two Bit has a magical way of making everyone laugh, especially me.
"Oh shut it! Skye will be hanging out with us more and I don't need you making fun of me, okay?" Darry was getting worked up about impressing Skye. I guess he must really like her then.
"Alright, big man. Will do." Two Bit said, and then turned and whispered something in Soda's ear which made him roar with laughter.
Darry's eyes got colder and harder.
"I'll be right back." He started to make his way for the door, grabbing his leather jacket and Ford keys on his way out.
"Hey, where you heading, Darry?" I asked, chasing after him.
He unlocked his truck and sighed. "I just need to get some ingredients for dinner tomorrow. I really want to show Skye that I'm a good cook. That's all. Now get inside already! It's freezing out!" He shoo-ed me inside and hopped into his beat up Ford. I closed the door and walked back to the main living room where everyone was gathered. Dally was telling stories about his times in New York and his run-ins with the fuzz. I sat back, scratching my head and cracking a new book open and letting the outside world escape me.