Autumn Leaves
Chapter 13
October 8th
XXX
"Hey, get up, old man!"
I yawned, bleary eyed with my tongue feeling like a carpet. What the hell had I been drinking last night? I opened one eye, noticing Darry leaning against my opened doorway with a half smile/ half frown on his face and shaking his head.
"How hammered are you?"
It was more a statement of belligerence than a question. However, it were a question, I might have the answer. Considering the pinging of his voice inside my skull, plenty.
"I'll... ughh... I'll be … fine. I just need … coffee." Was that my voice? It didn't even sound like me.
"Lord, Soda. Your birthday wasn't until today. I thought you said you and Steve were going out to the strip to hang out. Your 'last night' of being a kid. I'm gonna knock that idiot into next week when I see him. Look at you!"
My eye shut by its own accord. "Can you do me one really big favor? Please?"
"What?"
"Shut up."
"Serves you right. You better fake being sober for Ponyboy's sake. What's he gonna think?"
Darry wasn't waiting for an answer, which was good, cause I couldn't remember the question. I heaved myself over onto my back, watching dust motes slowly drift against the sunlight streaming in my window. I didn't want to move. I wasn't even sure I'd gotten drunk until I realized it too late. The whole damn night was a blur. Steve and me went to the strip, ate and hung out. Then we met up with Two-Bit and Tim. The scene shifted in my head and loud music surrounded me. Buck was there. Buck? Crap. Then a pre-birthday drink was given to me and I downed it. Buck said it was a gift. I should have known better. Pony was the one with the least amount of common sense out of all of us, but I was sure even he would have seen that one coming.
It was a sweet drink that had a bite in the aftertaste. I remember Buck asking if I wanted another, and stupidly I think I said I did. How many more came after it I couldn't say. The second one was the end of my clarity. Vaguely I remember telling someone at some point during the night that I had to go home. Thank God Buck didn't leave me in one of his rooms. Darry'd be there with a shotgun at dawn ready to fill my ass full of lead.
Suddenly, an image of Darry wearing a cowboy hat riding a mechanical bull yelling "yehaw" while shooting a sawed off 12 gauge like Looney Tunes' Yosemite Sam slithered across my weakened brain, and I started laughing. Couldn't help it. It was funny as hell.
"Soda?"
Pony's concerned voice brought me off my buzz. I looked over at him, now in the same spot Darry'd been in against the door.
"Yeah, Pone?"
"You um... you okay?"
I nodded. "Yeah. I guess the guys partied a bit harder than I expected. Come here." I had to call him to me as there was no way I was getting up to go to him. He walked over, concern etching his face. I held up my hand to him some and he took it. I tugged and he sat down by me. I patted his leg.
"Sorry you have to see me like this. It ain't my normal, that's for sure. Don't let it bug ya. I won't do this again."
He was silent. I looked harder at his face. Lines of concentration covered him. He was frowning. He was … worried. Now I felt bad. I fought the buzz in my head and tried to sit up. Um, check that. Better if I lay still.
"Ponyboy, tell me what's wrong. I won't be mad, no matter what it is. I swear. Even if you're mad at me, I won't mind. Just tell me."
"What's it like being drunk? I mean, you don't drink... so what happened?"
"Oh, Little Colt, even I make mistakes. Lots of them. Lots and lots and lots and lots.... " My voice trailed a bit. Then I remembered I was talking to Ponyboy and came back to the conversation. "Last night was a whopper. I ain't perfect. And being drunk ain't no picnic. Don't follow in my footsteps, okay? We okay?"
I needed silence. My head was splitting right down the middle, but I'd suffer for Ponyboy's sake. I'd always suffer for him. He'd already suffered enough for the entire gang.
He nodded. "Yeah, we're okay. You gonna be okay?"
I smiled and shut my eyes. Ah, blessed darkness. "I'm gonna be fine. Do me a favor and make me some coffee. I'll be there in a few minutes to drink it."
He carefully got off the bed. "Okay. Hey Soda?"
I opened my eyes. "Yeah, Pony?"
"Happy birthday."
"Thanks."
He shut my door and I relaxed every muscle in my body against the rumpled sheets and blankets on the bed beneath me. I was eighteen. An adult. No longer a ward of the state, not that I had acted like one in well over a year anyway. Free to leave if I wanted, without anyone being able to say a damn word edgewise. But I wouldn't leave. I was needed here. Darry needed me to help with Ponyboy. He was our responsibility now, not just Darry's. I'd better start acting more adult, beginning by staying away from the booze.
I managed to find my feet and stood up, catching the edge of Ponyboy's left-behind desk for balance. It wouldn't fit in his room, so it stayed here, a reminder of what once was. Once the world stopped spinning in the wrong direction, I made my way to the door, then up to the kitchen. Darry was gathering his tools and Pony was in the living room sliding his shoes on. Oh yeah, school and work. Or work and school. Darry put a cup of hot, black liquid under my nose and I scooped it up. It was bitter. It scorched my throat. I didn't care.
"I'll be in around three today," he reminded me in a low, daring voice. "Try to have yourself together by then." His tone was scathing. I understood and nodded my head.
"Don't worry. I'll be the best birthday boy you could imagine." As soon as they left, I planned to go straight back to bed and sleep the rest of this off.
"You'd better. I got to go. Pony!" He belted Ponyboy's name out with more gusto than really necessary, and right next to my ear no less; but this form of payback was also his form of punishment, as if my body wasn't feeling punished enough. I started with the noise as if it were a cannon, spilling some of the coffee in the process, and Pony looked up. "Ready to go?"
"Yeah. Bye Sodapop."
"See ya later." I called, waving my fingers in thin air. The door closed and I dropped my head to the table. Everything hurt. Even my hair. I trudged back down the hall, stopping to piss and rinse my mouth, then stripped naked and fell on the sheets. Their coolness against my skin felt good, and I was asleep before I knew it.
XXX
"Damn, Sodapop. You really need lessons on how to hold your booze, buddy."
I looked up. Two-Bit was sitting in Pony's desk chair staring down at me. Except for the towel now covering my crown jewels, I was exactly how I remembered myself.. naked. I guess Two-Bit had tossed my towel over me.
"I shouldn't have had booze to start with. What time is it?" I groaned.
"Nearly two. I'm under orders to come over and make sure you were gonna be okay for the festivities tonight."
Another groan escaped my lips. "Two-Bit, what the hell happened last night? I mean, I didn't do anything I'd need to go to the doctor for, did I?"
He looked at me, shocked, then cackled out a laugh. It thankfully didn't hurt as much as I expected.
"Well, there was that little bit of time when you sort of sneeked off. Why? you itchy?"
I looked at him sharply, which made him almost explode with laughter.
"Hell, no, Sodapop. You didn't think me, Tim and Buck would let you go that far over the edge, now did ya? What kind of buddy do you take me for? C'mon! Nothing happened except a little good, clean fun. It's your birthday, live a little."
"Don't do this to me again. Ever. You got me?" I got up, wrapping the towel already on me around myself and headed down the hall. He followed but went on to the kitchen as I ducked into the bathroom.
"Sure, whatever. Next up... Darry!"
"Man, you get him hammered, I don't think you'll like it." I pilfered the medicine cabinet and found Pony's stash of aspirin, swallowing two with a cupped handful of water.
"Why? You don't think he'd be a fun drunk?"
I glared at him down the hall. It hurt my face to do so, but I did it anyway. He got the jest of the message.
"Yeah, you're probably right. We'll figure something out when it gets closer to January."
Steam filled the room and I stepped into the shower, letting the pelting water remove the last traces of last night. I shaved and cleaned up. Somewhere in the middle of all this, I started to feel human again.
XXX
The drag strip was loud. Monster trucks were everywhere, engines revving all around us, exhaust clouding the air. Nearby, Ponyboy was scarfing down his second hamburger of the night and Sodapop wasn't far away eating a hot dog. I had a Mountain Dew, sipping it to make it last - careful as always about how much I was spending. One down, one to go. I thought as I looked at them both.
Overhead, they were calling spectators to the main arena, the show was about to start. The guys sauntered over from wherever they'd wandered off to, and as a group we headed up the bleachers for a good view. For the next hour or so we watched oversized trucks with souped up engines crash into other oversized trucks with their own souped up engines. The excitement was catchy. It'd been a while since we'd all gone out and just had fun together.
Soda was smiling, pointing out stuff every once in a while to Ponyboy, who looked at everything Soda showed him with marked enthusiasm. Even Steve was getting into the act, telling Ponyboy about the Dodge Barracuda versus the Pontiac GTO, which Soda and Steve then loudly debated the pro's and con's of each for at least a half hour. I sat back in fascination to watch. They were more entertaining than the trucks down below. For the first time in a long while, everyone was having a genuinely good time.
When the show ended everyone piled back in my truck, Ponyboy riding up front with me while Soda, Steve and Two-Bit rode in the truck bed.
"You have fun tonight?" I asked as I drove us out of the arena parking lot.
He nodded. "Yeah. I like the cars. I don't really get into them like they do, but it's fun all the same. How bout you?"
"Yeah, it was good. I think Sodapop had fun too."
"You save room for cake?"
I looked at him, astonished. "Me? I wasn't the one eating everything in sight! How much room can you possibly have left?" I poked him in his side, to which he batted my hand away and curled up some. I knew he was ticklish.
"Stop!" He squealed. I laughed. It'd been a long while since I'd seen and heard him truly be happy.
"Okay fine. No more poking. I swear though, I don't know how you can eat a single bite more."
He grinned. "It's cake, Darry. Easy!"
XXX
The pile of opened presents lay in front of him. I'd gotten him a new alarm clock, considering his old one was beat from all the abuse the 'off' button had endured. It was time he took responsibility to wake himself up- now that he was an adult; although in the back of my mind I knew I'd still be waking him up. I also got him a new pair of shoes, his old ones were slam wore out. Shoes were always a good, practical gift. Ponyboy had picked out one of Elvis's new 8-Tracks for him to listen to in the truck or in the DX garage where they had a player. It had some good songs so I didn't mind. Steve and Two-Bit surprised me and got him a really nice Buck knife, complete with his initials engraved in the blade. I didn't ask if Two-Bit lifted it then took it to an engraving shop for the extra work. Some things I just didn't want to know.
Pony'd made the cake... his massively sweet, Death-By-Chocolate specialty. He used a regular chocolate cake mix then chopped up a Hershey bar into tiny pieces and added them to the mix. Extra melted chocolate was added to the frosting. It was good... but no one could really eat more than one piece at a time. It would put anyone into a diabetic coma to try.
We hung around and listened to music and played cards for hours, settling down as the night wore on. Pony had even given up and collapsed into a slumbering heap on the couch. Once he was out of the game - and out for the night - the real nuts and bolts of the guys disgustingly sick minds came out. The bull session was on.
Two-Bit and Steve regaled us with talk of women that would quite possibly make Hugh Hefner blush. Soda even surprised me with talk of his exploits in the past, which made me wonder about their validity. If they were true, he was far more experienced than I gave him credit for. I kept an eye on Ponyboy over on the couch, making sure he really was out and not faking. This really wasn't stuff I wanted him to hear. That vixen Linda already had his hormones waking up. Considering he wasn't squirming, I took it that he was out.
I knew the truth - the guys – for the most part- were all talk. That didn't mean the talk wasn't fun to listen to. Maybe five years ago I would have joined in with some made-up crap of my own. As it was, I just played my hand and told them they were full of it when they asked my opinion. They'd find out that life wasn't so simple and fun one day. Still, they kept me young. Hanging with them made me remember I wasn't so much older in age. In body and spirit though, as tired as I felt, I was leap years ahead.
XXX
Calla Lily Rose