Chapter Ten

Two weeks after we got the telegram, we were sitting in the airport waiting for Sodapop's plane to land. We weren't sure about the extent of his injuries, but we knew they were pretty bad. I could tell that Pony was excited about Soda coming home, but I was nervous. I didn't know what to expect.

Shirley was sitting next to me and holding my hand. She hadn't wanted to come to the airport to get Sodapop at first because she thought just his brothers should be there, but I was finally able to talk her into going. I was glad she was there too. Pony was too excited to see that I was nervous, but Shirley can read me like a book. She squeezed my hand and gave me a kiss on the cheek every few minutes. It was helping to calm my nerves a little, but not much.

Finally, the plane that Soda was on landed, and we waited for him to get off. There were several other war veterans on the plane, and Shirley made sure to thank every one of them for their service. I had to laugh at her. It was just like her to do something like that.

Finally, a stewardess pushing someone in a wheelchair walked off the plane. I didn't recognize him until Pony yelled out his name and ran toward him.

Soda looked kind of shocked and disoriented. His hair was still in the military crew cut that he had to get before he went to Vietnam. I couldn't believe how bad he was hurt. He had a big scar across his face and several cuts and bruises, but that wasn't the worst part. His right leg below the knee was missing. It wasn't badly cut up or anything, it was just gone. I didn't want to look at it, but somehow I couldn't stop.

"They've got him on some medicine for the pain from his injuries, so that's why he's so out of it," the stewardess explained. She handed me a bottle of pills. "Give him one of these two times a day."

I nodded.

"It's almost time for another dose, so he won't be as disoriented in a little while, but he'll also start hurting pretty badly so don't wait too long to give him the medicine."

"Ok," I said. I didn't know what else I could say to that.

"Also, you might want to contact the V.A. about some sort of physical therapy for him. They recommend it for amputees," the stewardess said.

"I will," I said. I just wanted to get out of the airport and get Soda home.

Soon enough we were in the truck and heading home. Just like the stewardess had said, Soda was starting to seem a little less loopy, but not much.

"I've missed you guys," he said to Pony and me. His speech was slow and a little slurred, almost like he was drunk.

"We've missed you too, buddy," I said. "We're glad you're alive."

"Same here," he said. "When I got shot back in 'Nam, all I could think was 'oh shit, I'm gonna die', but then I didn't."

No one knew how to respond, so we all sat in silence for a few minutes until Soda started talking again.

"Woah! Shirley, when did you get here?" He asked. Had he really just noticed she was there?

"A few months ago," she said.

"Well good," Soda said. "Good for you. I always knew you and Darry would end up together."

Shirley squeezed my hand, and I smiled at her. We both knew that Soda was more than a little out of it, but it made me happy to know he wanted us to be together. I just hoped he would feel the same way when the medicine wore off completely.

We finally got home, and Pony and I helped Soda out of the car. I carried him to the room that he and Pony shared and put him on the bed. Soda had started to complain that his leg was hurting when we got close to home, so I gave him some of his medicine.

"Anything else you need?" I asked.

Soda shook his head, "Nah, I'll be out cold in a few minutes anyway."

I laughed, "We're glad you're back."

"I'm happy to be here," he said. "I was so scared that I wouldn't see you or Pony again."

Soda fell asleep a few minutes later, and he slept until we were all ready to go to bed. Shirley had warned Pony and me that Soda might have nightmares for a while. Pony wanted to stay in their room with him, but we decided that it was best if he slept on the couch for a few nights. If Soda woke up from a nightmare and he was still half-asleep, having Pony there might have just scared him more instead of comforted him.

After we made sure that Soda and Pony were asleep, Shirley and I went to bed and started making out under the covers. It felt so nice, and I didn't ever want to stop and get out of bed again, but then I heard a blood-curdling scream.

"Oh no," I said. "Soda."