Pie in the Sky

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LastNight – 11:30pm

Judging by the conversation these girls are having, I can say for certain the brunette is – was – Darry's date. Small world. And speaking of Darry…

Swallowing the last of my beer – my third of the night – I sigh and slide off of my bar stool, bored of watching Joe act like the village idiot and hustle more idiots. If I hear shucks one more time…

I find some change in my pocket and make a break for the pay phone, figuring I owe my brothers a phone call and some semblance of an explanation. I drop in the coins and punch my number. The jukebox plays a Grateful Dead song.

He answers before the end of my line even has time to ring. "Hey, Darry," I say.

"Jesus, Ponyboy…" There's a long exhale. Then in a curt voice – harried yet no-nonsense – he says, "Tell me where you are and I'll come get you."

"I'm at that hokey saloon down on Stockton but listen, Dar—"

Before I can finish my sentence someone yells, "Incoming!" and reflexively, I duck, dropping the phone. Glass smashes the wall where I had just been standing. It shatters above my head as I bring both arms up to shield myself.

Straightening up, I look over my shoulder to see Joe giving me a thumbs-up.

"Like a pro!" he screams.

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LastNight – 11:30pm

"Jesus, Ponyboy…" I let out a long breath, relieved to hear his voice. Soda steps in from the porch, a cigarette between his lips. I nod and Soda's eyes light up. I go back to the phone. "Tell me where you are and I'll come get you."

"I'm at that hokey saloon down on Stockton but listen, Dar—"

Annoyed, I'm about ready to launch into a thousand questions but suddenly there's the sound of a yell, glass shattering and the thud of the phone. Then, empty silence.

"Hello? Ponyboy? You there?" I give the phone a quick shake. It just buzzes in my ear. "God damn it," I swear, slamming the receiver down.

"Is he okay?" Soda asks, finishing his smoke and coming inside. Behind him the shadows of Steve and Two-Bit lurk.

"I don't know." I slip on a jacket. "I do know where he is though," I tell him as he frowns. I snatch the keys to my truck and move to the door. "C'mon."

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LastNight – 11:39pm

"You're holding it wrong!"

"How in the hell am I supposed to hold it, Joe?"

"You swing like a girl!"

"Do not!"

"Duck!" Joe shouts at me over the commotion as he dodges the muscle-bound hulk. The big, greasy guy Joe was trying to hustle figured out his scam. And rightly so, he and his friends are pissed. A guy with a crew cut takes a swing at me and I drop the beer bottle I had been holding.

Joe pops the hulk a quick fast one in the jaw. I hear the crack over the music. "Watch it – You're gonna get hit, kid!"

"Shit!" I jump away right before the whoosh of the pool cue grazes the front of my shirt. Feeling cocky, I turn to Joe, raise an eyebrow. "Told you I co—oomph."

The pool cue from one of the guy's Joe has hustled makes a full rotation and connects with my back. Luckily the light buzz I have going on cuts the pain, but not by much. I go down hard. "Oh goooood," I tell the ceiling as someone grabs my ankles and begins hauling me across the peanut-littered floor. "Because this night couldn't get any better…"

Beer splashes everywhere, the bartender hollering that he's gonna call the cops if we don't stop, and suddenly I'm pulled back onto my feet. Crew cut lifts me up, off my toes and tosses me across the room.

I slam onto a table, sending beers and martinis flying. Alcohol soaks my jacket. Darry's date stares at me, all four girls huddled together against the wall, shrieking. I push back, off the table. "Hi," I say to her. "Rachel, right?"

She nods.

Coolly, I brush glass of my jacket. "You go on a date tonight with a big, brawny guy? Darry Curtis?"

"Yes," she squeaks, looking terrified.

"That's my brother," I blather. "It's my fault he couldn't drive – I took his truck and while I'm always causing trouble, he's a really great guy and I'd hate it if you based your date on this one—"

Rachel's eyes move to something behind me and this time I duck and dodge. Crew Cut's fist narrowly misses my ear and I pop back up slamming a fist into the guy's nose. Blood springs from his face as he falls backwards onto the pool table. I suck in a breath, wincing.

Joe's running at me from across the bar, the hulk on his heels, waving a pool cue. I turn back to Rachel. "So like I said—"

"Now's not the time to play grab-ass, kid!" Joe yells, wrapping an arm around my waist and propelling me forward fast. We bolt out the back door of the bar. "You knock that guy out?" Joe gasps as he shoves me in the direction of our ride. He fumbles with keys.

"Yeah," I gulp, ripping the passenger door open and barreling in.

"Nicely done," he says, gunning the engine; I barely have my door shut before we peel out of the parking lot, the smell of rubber burning the air. I allow myself a smile of satisfaction as I see the hulking guy in my rearview mirror running after the—

My smile fades. I think about it and look around. It didn't even register at the time. A dashboard Jesus stares back at me, wobbling as we speed away. "Who's truck is this?"

Joe says nothing. I grip the door handle. "You stole his truck, man?" I yell at Joe. "You stole his goddamned truck?"

"Yeah," Joe says, clucking his tongue. "And it's not even a diesel."

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Last Night – 11:56pm

"Holy god, what did he do?" Steve mutters as we pull up outside the Lazy Cowpoke Saloon. A cop car with its red and blue flashing lights sits in the parking lot. Scatters of people huddle in groups, watching the scene.

Soda elbows Steve in the side, shooting him a glare before he bolts from the truck. "What happened?" he's asking a cluster of girls when Steve, Two-Bit and I reach him. They shoot him appreciative glances and all start talking at once. Soda holds up his hands, trying to get a word in. "Did you see—what about—a kid, his name—"

"Let me handle this," Two-Bit says, swiping a hand through his greasy hair. "Laaaadies…" Seeing Two-Bit, all the girls fall silent. Steve snorts. Two-Bit turns back to us. "Aaaand that's how we do it."

I'm about ready to step in to get some answers when there's a psssst from the left. Rachel's standing in another cluster; I feel my mouth drop open. She beckons me over.

"Late night drinking?"

She blushes and flips the collar up on her jacket. "Maybe." Then her eyes narrow. "I saw your little brother tonight, Darrel."

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Today – 12:00am

"Food sounds good."

"Food?" I ask in quiet disbelief.

"Yeah. I could eat. How 'bout you?"

"We stole a car, Joe."

"I stole a car. You forget that. Anything illegal, I take responsibility for."

I throw up my hands. "Well, hell, let's just go rob a bank then."

Joe cranks the wheel, does a U-turn, cuts the engine in the parking lot of a 24-Hours Diner. "How does cherry pie sound, smartass?"

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Today – 12:02am

"The guy inside says they stole his truck…but him and his cronies started the fight. Started yelling at the older guy and then bashed your brother with the pool stick. " As Rachel narrates what's happened at the bar, Sodapop's eyes keep getting bigger and bigger.

A blonde girl pipes up, "If you ask me, that jerk deserved it picking on your brother." She shrugs. "He seems like such a sweetie." Seeing the blonde, Two-Bit raises an eyebrow and takes a step forward before Steve sticks an arm out, blocking his advance.

"Was he okay? I mean – did he—"

"He seemed fine, Darry," Rachel says, smiling. "Maybe a little jittery…I think he was drinking but can't be sure."

"And you're sure it was my brother?"

"Completely. He knew about your truck and our date." Rachel chuckles, making me wonder just what Ponyboy's said. She gestures to Sodapop. "Besides, he looks just like this one. Everything except the hair and the eyes."

My chest unclenches but my jaw doesn't. "And the guy he was with?"

"Some tall guy. But I don't know – they kept arguing a lot. After the fight, he dragged him out of the bar. Last I saw of them."

Soda speaks up. "Did you catch a name?"

Rachel purses her lips. "I think it was Joe," the blonde says, moving into the circle. She snaps her gum. "Heard the cops inside say the guy's truck was a gray Chevy."

"You work fast, doll," Two-Bit says, giving her a wink.

"I used to date one of 'em," the girl replies.

"Sounds like a job for me now that you're single again…" Two-Bit drawls smoothly. The blonde giggles and Rachel winces, giving me a look.

"He takes medication," Soda says, shutting Two-Bit and the giggly blonde up.

I squeeze Soda's shoulder. "Gray Chevy. Joe," I repeat to my brother who nods. "Thanks," I tell Rachel and her friend. "That helps a lot."

Rachel smiles. "You're welcome. I hope you find your little brother."

"Yeah," I say as we turn to go. "So do I."

"Let me guess," Steve says as we walk fast back to the truck, leaving the bar behind us. "We're just gonna drive around town until we find that truck?"

Soda loops an arm around Steve's shoulders. "Stevie, that's exactly what we're gonna do."

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Today – 12:12am

"We're gonna go to jail. Oh, we're so going to jail. Either that or that guy's gonna catch up with us and ram that pool cue into all the wrong places." Trailing off, I shove the heels of my hands into my eye sockets, my elbows resting on the Plexiglas countertop.

"What? You go to college? You're full of knowledge?" Joe lights a cigarette and sticks it in between my splayed fingers.

"No," I sigh. "That's just the way things work, Joe."

"But you do go to college, don't ya?"

"I do." I remove my hands from my face and start puffing away on the smoke. "English. Wanna be a writer."

"Well hey, you and I work out perfectly then."

I squint, eyeing him with suspicion. "How do you figure?"

"When all this is over I am gonna need an obit…and you'd be the one to wr—"

"Hey, fuck you." Angry, I push back in the booth and point my smoke his way. "I ain't in that business and I'm not even having that conversation tonight." I take a long drag. "I ain't never havin that conversation with you so just forget it."

"Okay, okay. Shit, sorry." Joe examines a menu. I stare out the window, at the gray Chevy in the parking lot, sitting there, mocking me.

The waitress approaches, refills our coffee. "Another piece of pie, honey," Joe tells her. She walks away, her heels clicking on the linoleum floor of the diner. I glare at Joe.

"Hell, it'll be okay, kid."

"Says the guy who wants to kill himself."

"You can't tell me you aren't having fun."

I give him a doubtful look. "Are you?"

"Best I ever had." The waitress comes back with two slices of pie and Joe picks up his fork. "You gonna be in a lot of trouble after this night?"

I gulp my coffee, ignoring its hotness. "Don't know." I eye the payphone. "Although I really should call them. Again."

"Who?" Joe asks with a mouthful of pie. "Your brothers?"

"Yeah."

"Ain't you old enough to be out past curfew, kid?"

I rub the back of my head. "My brothers are kind of…"

"Musical?"

"No."

"Philanthropists?"

"No."

"Hells Angels?—Ooo, Ooo, wait, I know this, in the mob?"

"Protective."

"Huh." Joe's eyes are glossy. He squints at me. "Well, I'm sure there are worse things to be. At least they let you know they love ya a lot."

I bite my lip. Swallow the knot in my throat. "Yeah."

Sitting back in the booth, Joe lets out a breath of air, pressing in on the middle of his stomach.

"You okay?"

"I need some Tums or something."

"I think there's a convenience store across the street." I stamp my smoke out in the ashtray. Joe tosses down some bills. As we leave the diner, I check the clock on the wall and can't believe how young the night still is.

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Pardon typos!

Happy reading and reviewing.

Thanks to all who've been keeping up with this.

XO,

Feisty