Missing Days

Chapter 10

Soda's Day

XXX

Soda couldn't sleep, he was as he had been all week - restless and unable to relax When sleep did come, it was fitful, but he wasn't even getting that tonight. The clock perched on the corner of Pony's desk glared the hour at him unmercifully, the red numbers giving off an angry glow he'd not noticed before. Hour after hour he'd watched it's digits slowly counting the minutes pass by. Finally, he gave up and crawled out of bed.

The house was still. He could hear Darry's light breathing coming from the other distant bedroom.

He turned and went to the kitchen and got out a pot to boil milk in. Perhaps some hot chocolate would settle his nerves so he could go back to sleep. In the corner of his mind however, he knew this to be an exercise in futility. He wasn't going to sleep any more tonight. He took out the pack of Marlboro's and lit one, retrieving a can from the trash for an ashe tray.

It was the early hours of the fifth day that Ponyboy was gone. How many more days would there be? Damn that Dallas! He'd had no right to send his brother anywhere. Dally wasn't family. No one else in the gang would have dared send Ponyboy away. Even Steve didn't have those kind of balls.

The milk started to boil and Soda poured it in a mug, adding perhaps too much cocoa to the milk. Still, he stirred the concoction as he stared out at the sky from the kitchen window. Dawn was approaching bringing the emptiness of yet another day.

A noise behind him made him start, almost spilling the cocoa.

"He'll come home, Soda. Somehow."

Darry's hand was on his shoulder, squeezing it. The days when Darry would just put his big overly muscled arms around him had long since passed into memory, but Soda'd wished just this one moment Darry would read his mind and wrap him in an old fashioned embrace. He felt so alone; Pony was gone and Sandy too, not to mention there was a dead kid that someone would have to answer for. He took a drag from his stick and tried to toughen up. Darry didn't need to know just how anguished he felt, he'd shouldered enough of his own.

"I know he will. Want me to start breakfast while you go shower?" Soda quietly answered.

"Yeah, that would be great. Thanks." Darry turned and made his way back down the darkened hallway, opting to ignore the rare smoke Soda was having. Usually he had to chase Ponyboy out of the house lest everything start to smell, but this morning, he'd overlooked it. When put in priority, it was way down on the list.

Soda was off today, the first day since Ponyboy and Johnny'd disappeared. Usually he enjoyed his days off, but not today. He already knew it would be difficult. Work was one of the few things that kept his mind from dwelling on Ponyboy's situation. Every moment that allowed his mind to wander, he'd thought only the worst. Is he cold? Is he hurt? Is he lost and afraid? Does he miss us? Does he know how much we care? He knew with nothing forcing him to concentrate elsewhere, his thoughts would do nothing except haunt him today.

Ugh, between the cigarette and the excess chocolate, even the cocoa was tasting bitter now. Putting it down, he turned toward the fridge to get out some eggs for Darry's breakfast sandwich.

Meanwhile, Darry'd turned on the spray in the shower waiting for the frigid water to turn hot. Another day had come and gone with his youngest brother still absent from his house. He still hadn't gone to see Dallas and it was high time he did. Soda's warning about leaving Dally alone had kept him from going over there and seriously wringing that hood's neck, but enough time had passed without either Dally fessing up or Ponyboy showing up that he'd decided it was time for Big Brother to make his presence known. Later, though; he had a roof over in Edenton he had to fix first. The bathroom was steamy now, and Darry let the water work the aches in his body away.

XXX

"Morning guys!" Two-Bit and Steve were coming in the doorway some time later as Darry and Soda were finishing their breakfast. "Leave us any?"

When did I start feeding the homeless, thought Darry. "No, but there's bread in the kitchen. Make yourselves a sandwich if you're hungry." Darry got up and took his and Soda's empty plates to the sink. He cleaned them and put them in the drain rack, turned and picked up his tool belt, and got ready to go.

"Soda, what are you going to do today?" Darry'd realized that Soda would be alone and for once it bothered him.

"Go get stuff from the store, we seem to be out of everything. I'll try to get some of the laundry done too. I think there are more dirty clothes than clean ones to choose from."

This satisfied Darry. Soda was going to keep himself busy, and that was good.

"Okay then. Job site's in Edenton on 2nd street if you need me. Have a good day little buddy. Bye guys," he called out to the kitchen.

"See ya, Darry," Two-Bit called back.

"Well, Two-Bit, you learning anything in school now?" Soda joked at his friend, smiling.

"Yeah, that going to every class every day - day after day, is ruin'n my rep! Mrs. Conner bout stroked out when I walked in for the third day straight yesterday."

"You ain't doing the work though, you big grease ball." Steve chimed in. "Showing up is easy, getting the work done is what counts. You ain't smart enough to do both."

"Yeah, the only smart greaser in this town is Ponyboy. It's the way God intended it to be." Two-Bit was laughing, but he also meant it. That kid is smart as a whip! Then he saw Soda's expression and looked down, kicking himself silently. Stupid, stupid me!

Silence surrounded them for a moment then Steve spoke up. "Well, it's getting on past 7, I got to get going or I ain't gonna make it to first period. You okay, Soda?"

"Yeah, I'm good. Don't flirt with too many chicks without me, Stevie boy!" It was a fake attempt to put his friends at ease; he knew it, they knew it, and each accepted it.

Steve smiled, "Yeah, okay. Bye now." Steve headed out the door and drove away.

It was just Two-Bit and Soda in the kitchen now, and an eerie silence had settled in. Eying Soda, Two-Bit saw he was looking out the window at the morning sky with that sad distant expression he'd been carrying all week. He knew his comment had hurt his friend, and that was the last thing he'd meant to do.

"Soda, you want me to go shopping with you? We could probably bring home twice as much."

Soda turned and looked at his buddy. "Naw. I don't think Darry would appreciate the pantry stocked with ill-gotten goods. You go on, don't miss class. Lets see if you can scare Old Lady Cooper into a full blown cardiac arrest. I got things to do."

Two-Bit looked at him and smiled. "Okay, then, but I'll probably jet from school after lunch. Want me to come by later?"

"Only if you don't mind folding clothes."

"Ugh! That's work! I have a rep to protect, ya dig?" He got up and smiled at Soda. "See ya!" He let the door slam behind him, and finally Soda was alone again.

Collecting the laundry was the biggest part of the job. It was everywhere. They were typical guys; they each had a hamper but it acted more like the backboard to a basketball hoop - a target to shoot the laundry at rather than put the laundry in.

Darry had one in his room, and he was much better at hitting the goal. But, he'd always kept his room clean and neat. Not as neat as their mom used to, but definitely better than he and Pony kept theirs. His stuff wasn't cluttered, knocked over and piled upon. Organized. Like everything else about Darry, it was organized.

Soda stopped a moment when he saw the sweatshirt. That was one item he wouldn't wash. He held it again, the fabric dry and rough now. He put it to his nose to smell it, to see if Pony's scent was still on it, but it wasn't. It had the distinct smell of faint dry rot – like towels smell when you forget to take them out of the washer after three days or so. Silently, he put the shirt back down and returned to his work.

He sorted Darry's stuff, making a pile of whites and nonwhites and started the washer, loading Darry's stuff first. Both Ponyboy and Darry had told him he wasn't to wash his DX clothes in with their things, the smell of gas and grease never came out of their clothes. Not like he could help it, the smell was part of his job; but he understood, too.

While that was going, he went to his room to collect the next load. Or loads. There were clothes everywhere. Their hampers were by the closet, but as usual there was more stuff around it than in it. Most of it was Soda's, as Pony hadn't been home that week to wear his clothes.

He eventually got tired of trying to figure out if this or that was clean or not, and just gathered it all up. Sometimes they got too lazy to put their own stuff away and just piled it so Darry didn't see it. It's easier than opening all those drawers and closet doors on a daily basis, but by the third day the "neat" piles they'd made were more a jumbled mess than anything orderly. Usually by the fifth day the dirty stuff had mingled with in with the clean stuff and they had to resort to the sniff test to see if it was acceptable to wear again.

The buzzer on the machine went off and he switched loads, one into the dryer and then a new load into the washer.

Returning to his room, he tried to straighten the piles of books that cluttered the floor around Ponyboy's side of the bed. It not only amazed him how much his brother read, but even more surprising was how much he could remember from those books. He remembered back when he was in school and his class was assigned to read Jane Eyre. Oh! he hated that book. He'd grumbled all day before Ponyboy got it out of him what he was upset about. When Pony'd heard what he'd had to read, he started telling him the whole book, chapter by chapter, from memory! The look on Pony's face was so ... different too. His eyes were wide, breathing slightly faster and his face slightly pinker than usual. Pony just sat there holding his knees up to his chest going on and on about Jane and Rochester, and Jane's silly love for him. On and on! Soda'd wanted to haul him in for his report, but Darry wouldn't let him. It was only because of Ponyboy that he'd managed a "C" on that test, but in the end it didn't matter, he was still failing that class anyway.

Two-Bit was right, Ponyboy really was the only smart Greaser in town.

He'd worked for a few hours at this, cycling the laundry. Wet stuff in the dryer, dry stuff to the living room to fold in front of the TV, dirty stuff in to be washed. Finally, the last of the dirty clothes went into the wash and the stacks of clean were put away. He looked around the house, trying to figure out his next move when his stomach launched a protest. Oh yeah, they'd needed food. Darry had taken the truck, so Soda started off down to the DX to borrow Steve's car.

XXX

"Hey Steve," Soda called into the service bay. Steve was under the car in the pit, struggling to unhook something old and rusted from someone's clunker.

"Soda," Steve called out in recognition. "Whassup?"

"Nothing much, man. Can I use your wheels? Need to get some grocery and Darry's got the truck."

"Sure." Steve reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys, handing them out to his best friend. "How's your day been?"

"Laundry. What fun. How bout you?"

"Trying to fix this engine. Owner wants a cheap fix. I hate that."

Soda knew what he meant. They grumbled enough about it on a daily basis. Instead of doing all the work that needs to get done to make the whole engine right, owners just want the most broken part patched up to get the car back on the road faster. It often meant the car would be back when the next part would break. Explaining this to the customer usually got them nowhere. Oh well, it also kept them in business.

Once at the store, Soda scanned the isles for the cheap stuff Darry insisted they buy. Canned vegetables, milk, some meats...the usual assorted things they used. He stopped by the Pepsi display though. He knew money was tight, but couldn't resist. One Pepsi wouldn't kill the budget that much. It was Pony's favorite drink; he had to come home eventually, right?

He took the grocery home then took Steve's car back. Steve was still under that same car, still working on the engine, and for a moment Soda thought of hopping down there and giving him a hand. In the end, Soda didn't, and just waved as he walked on back home. Steve wouldn't finish it until he was satisfied it was done right. It's what made him a good mechanic. By the looks of that clunker, it could take hours.

XXX

Over across town, Dally was pacing back and forth in his room, deep in thought. Going down stairs, he found Buck behind the bar.

"Hey Buck, I need a favor." Buck eyed him suspiciously. His favors for Dallas were fast reaching his limit.

"What is it this time, Dallas?"

Dally put a $20 on the bar and looked Buck in the eyes. "I need to borrow your T-Bird. No questions. I'll bring it back tomorrow."

Buck raised his eyebrows. "What you got going on, Dally? Anything illegal?"

Dally smiled mischievously. "No Buck, nothing like that. I just need some wheels. No more questions. Whaddya say?"

Buck looked at Dally, then at the money crumpled up on the bar and back at Dally again. "Bring it back in one piece and with a full tank." Buck pocketed the money and set his keys on the bar. Ten minutes later he heard it pulling out of the gravel parking lot. He looked out the window just in time to see Dally pointing it toward the highway.

XXX

Darry was finishing up the Edenton job just before five. He was glad - tired and sore, but glad. As the sun got lower and lower, the evening chill would get worse. He hated being loaded down with coats in the morning and evening, it slowed him down too much. Finally this job was finished earlier than expected and with any luck, he'd get that bonus on Monday from his boss. He'd needed it, both he and Soda were getting pretty low on household cash.

Climbing down the ladder and stowing his gear in his truck, he looked over at the skyline. This being late fall, the days were shorter and night just seemed to appear out of nowhere. Darry noticed how the deep reds and oranges that came from the setting sun just seemed to set the skyline ablaze with fire. Pony would have liked this show, he thought to himself. He climbed in behind the wheel and pointed the truck home.

What he couldn't know was that right then at that moment, Ponyboy was in the middle of his own fire, and the skyline had nothing to do with it.

XXX

Calla Lily Rose