"Dad, if there was a fire and you could only save one of us who would you save?" Soda asked looking up at his dad, waiting for him to say his name. Darrel Curtis looked down at him from his seat on the couch. His two youngest sons, Ponyboy and Sodapop, looked up at him from the floor. He looked from Soda to Pony and back, thinking. "Well?" Soda asked, getting impatient.
"I'd save Zoey," Darrel said, grinning and nodded towards their lazy dog who was asleep in the corner of the room. Soda broke out into a grin and Pony had a confused look on his face.
"No fair! Would you save me or Pony?" Soda asked again.
"What about Darry?" their mother Jean asked them entering the room with a basket full of clean washing she was going to fold.
"Oh he would be out with friends. But Soda is in trouble and is at home. And I. . . I'm sick," Pony answered. Darrel laughed and thought for a moment, really not sure what to say.
"You know what? I wouldn't save either of you," he finally said. His two sons looked up at him in horror. "You two are strong enough to save yourselves, aren't you?"
"Dad!" Soda whined, wanting a serious answer to the question. Though, he won't disagree about the strong part of hid dad's reply.
"Soda doesn't eat his vegetables so he is not strong enough!" Pony said, grinning. Soda hit him playfully on the back of the head.
"What's with the questions? Are you two planning on burning the house down?" Jean asked. Soda shook his head.
"At school Daniel said he asked his dad and he said that his dad would save his sister!" Soda said, seriously. "And-" There was a knock at the door. The house fell silent, except for the TV playing quietly in the background. It was late on a Friday night and they weren't expecting anyone. The only person who would come home was Darry, their eldest son. But he was staying at a friends house and wasn't expected back until the next morning. Darrel stood up, glad to not have to answer questions anymore. He opened the door and immediately the cold night air breezed into the room. He shivered and looked straight into the eyes of the woman at the door. He didn't know her and briefly wondered if she was here as a joke.
"Can I help you?" he asked her. She nodded slowly and took a deep breath. Her long brown hair blew into her face and she tucked it behind her ear.
"I'm looking for Jean Curtis," she said and tried to peak into the room behind Darrel. He moved in her way and studied her. She looked innocent, as if she really wanted to see Jean. But why? He turned around, looking back into the lounge room. Pony and Soda were sitting on the floor trying to see who was at their front door. Jean had continued folding the clean washing but stopped when she heard her name. "She wants to talk to you," Darrel said to Jean, nodding towards the tall girl standing at the door. Jean dropped the t-shirt she had been holding and stood up, going to the front door. Darrel sat back down and watched the TV, really concentrating on what Jean was talking about.
"Hi," she said and frowned at the girl.
"Um hi. I'm Donna," she said, hoping that Jean would instantly realize who she was. Jean did know who she was and wasn't sure what to do. She glanced back at her sons who were watching her.
"Donna, come in," she said, stepping back so Donna could step inside. She shut the door behind her and took in the messy lounge room of the house as she followed Jean into the kitchen. They sat across from each other and were silent, both not knowing what to say.
"Do you know who I am?" Donna asked gently. Her heart was beating a million times a minute and the nervous knot in her stomach didn't help. Jean nodded slowly.
"I do. How do you know who I am?" Donna took a deep breath and looked behind Jean at the kitchen sink which was piled high with dishes. Just how I imagined it, Donna thought smiling to herself.
"My guardian Shirley told me who you are," she said slowly, "She told me it would be best for me to meet you." Jean nodded and blinked back the tears in her eyes. She had always wondered whether she would meet Donna again. The last time she had seen her was when Donna was two months old. But looking into Donna's big brown eyes, she looked just like her dad.
"Why did you want to meet me?" Jean asked. She thought maybe Donna would never want to know who her real mother was. She imagined Donna being angry at Jean, that was if she found out Shirley wasn't her real mother.
"Because, you're my real mom. I only found out Shirley wasn't really my mother a few year ago. I always thought she couldn't be my mother, we're too different. And we don't even look a tiny bit like each other," she said smiling. Jean looked her in the eyes and found herself smiling too. She had the same smile that Soda had. The type that could get him out of trouble. "And I kind of wanted to know. . .Why didn't you want me?" Donna asked, looking away from Jean. Jean was silent, trying to think of a good answer.
"How old are you?"
"Twenty-three," Donna replied.
"Donna, I was only eighteen when you were born. Do you have any idea how hard it was to look after you?" Jean took Donna's hand in hers and smiled at her. "My parents wanted nothing to do with me, unless I gave you up for adoption. At first I was going to look after you. I had to, you're my daughter. But then I realized how hard it was and I thought it'd be best if you had a proper family." Donna bit her lip and stared at her hand in Jean's, thinking about what she had just said.
"I guess that's fair," she said. They were quiet. The only sounds being that of the TV and Ponyboy asking his dad a question: "Who's that girl?" Jean quickly spoke before they could hear Darrel's answer.
"Was Shirley a good mother to you?" she asked. Donna nodded.
"Oh yes, she loved me so much and did everything she could to make sure I was happy. . ." Jean smiled and few tears blurred her vision. "Her husband John was very nice too. So were their two children. They had a boy and a girl."
"Shirley was a friend of mine. Her sister Anne was my best friend and she had told me how Shirley wanted children. She's such a lovely person," Jean said. They were silent again, just for a moment.
"Did you talk to Shirley after she adopted me?" Donna asked. Jean shook her head slowly.
"I told her I didn't want to see you anymore. Of course I wanted to but it would be too hard. She moved away for awhile, when you were still a baby-"
"Yeah, we came back about eight years ago when her mother died," Donna said.
"That's right," They sat in an awkward silence, both not knowing what to say.
"So what are we going to do?" Donna asked. "I mean would it be OK if we stayed friends or something?" Jean had been thinking about this the whole time Donna had been there. And the answer? Of course she could stay in touch with them. She'd always wondered about the day she'd meet her only daughter. Now, she could finally be a part of their family.
"Of course. Donna I think you should talk to Darrel too. I mean he's your father but I'm not sure if he's ready to meet you. You saw him when he came in didn't you? Wait I'll get him," Jean got up and went to the lounge room. The three of them looked up at Jean. "She wants to talk to you," Jean said. Darrel nodded silently and stood up. Jean grabbed his arm and whispered into his ear, "Please don't be rude to her. She just wanted to know who we are," she said and let go of his arm. Darrel continued to the kitchen. Jean sat down on the couch.
"Mom who is that?" Soda asked, loud enough that Jean was sure Donna could hear.
"Just a friend," she replied, smiling. She sat back in her seat and tried to blink back the tears while Darrel talked to Donna. They were silent for a moment before Donna spoke.
"I'm sorry for just comin' in here like this," she said quietly.
"No, it's fine. It's just. . . I didn't think I'd ever see you again," he replied. They looked each other in the eyes. Donna looked hurt. Don't you want to know me, she thought. "But I'm glad you came to meet us," Darrel added and Donna's expression softened. "So where do you live? You still live with Shirley?"
"Yeah, we live sort of in the middle of town. About twenty minutes from here. I'm saving up for my own apartment," Donna said.
"That's good."
"Look, if you don't want me to hang around or anything. I mean Jean said it would be alright for us to stay in touch but if you don't want to. . ." Donna trailed off, not sure whether Darrel was listening or not since he was staring at the ground.
"No, it's fine. I'm just surprised to see you. And happy. I always wondered what happened to you," he said, grinning. She grinned back and they both stood up. "Here, I'll give you our phone number and you can come visit any day. It doesn't matter what time of night it is, you're our daughter," he said ripping off a corner of the newspaper on the table and grabbing a pen. He scribbled down their phone number and handed it to Donna. She read over it and put it in her pocket.
"Thank you," she said. Darrel nodded and followed her back to the lounge room. He sat down on the arm chair in the corner. "We'll see you soon," he said to her and looked over at the TV. Donna nodded and turned to Jean who was now standing by the door. She followed her outside into the cool night air. It smelt as if it would rain any moment and the sky was a dark blue almost black color.
"How are you getting home?" Jean asked.
"Oh my friend lives just a street away. I'm staying there tonight. Darrel gave me your number," she said. Jean smiled.
"You can come over any time you like. Next time you can really meet the boys."
"Boys? Are they your sons inside?" Donna asked, a surprised look on her face. Jean nodded, looking proud of herself.
"Yes, Sodapop and Ponyboy," Jean felt a little embarrassed about the names but didn't show it. They're Donna's brothers, she shouldn't feel embarrassed.
"Cute names."
"Their other brother is at a friends. Name's Darry," Jean said. "Well you better get home before it starts raining. OK, we'll talk soon. Good bye Donna." They smiled at each other and hugged. They let go of each other and Donna walked down the porch steps.
"I'll call or come by soon. Good bye," she said and quickly walked down the drive out into the street. Her heart beat was still going as fast as it could and she couldn't stop grinning. She was starving and cold. But it didn't matter. She'd found her parents and they didn't turn her away.