Chapter 54

Gifts

It wasn't difficult to see Soda was falling for Patty. They spent a lot of time together and I was glad to see him finally going out and living again. And he was right, she is a nice person...sort of like us on the east side, stuck in the rut that circumstances or fate had put us in.

But she had climbed out of her rut, child in tow no less, and was working to be better than she was, same as Soda. He had overcome the obstacles of his education to have a decent job now, with only better things to come. I could begin to see it for him. So it sort of shocked me when he said he had news that I needed to sit down for. Oh Soda...I TOLD you to be careful!

"It ain't nothing like that, Darry." He said smiling. "She's going back to school, nursing school. She just needs someone to watch Andy for a few hours a day while she takes a class. I figured between you, me and the guys...we could cover it. Whaddya say?"

I just looked at him. How did I go from raising my teenage brothers, I thought, to being asked to watch someone else's two year old son? Soda was giving me those eyes. Oh HELL! "Sure, Soda, somehow we'll get it done. But you'll have to rope the others in on this first before I'll totally agree. What about your work? You can't watch Andy and work at the same time."

"I can switch to the opposite schedule so I can be here to watch him while she is at school. I already asked the boss, and he don't care as long as I show up."

Something else was bothering me. "Soda, where are you going with this relationship? You've been going out with her since September. It's December now, aren't you rushing this...taking care of her kid and all? Where's Andy's father?"

He was quiet for a moment. "I know we ain't been together long, but things just feel right. As far as his 'father' goes, well, when she told him she was pregnant, he gave her a hundred and fifty bucks and dropped her off at a 'back alley specialist' to 'erase his mistake', then drove off never to be seen again. She couldn't do it...and here they are."

"Oh Soda, Soda, Soda..." I shook my head. "Like I said, rope the rest of the gang and we'll figure something out." I got up and went to fix dinner. When I looked back at him a few minutes later, he was still sitting at the table, staring at his Pepsi, but had an odd smile on his face. Oh brother of mine, you and women!

I hoped Ponyboy was at least being smart. I had a pretty good idea he was still a virgin when he left. Hell, when he was 14 and 15 years old he wouldn't even look at a girl, afraid they'd say "boo" to him. Too much crap had happened when he was 16, what with Soda's deployment and all; then he disappeared on me. I could only pray that he was still a virgin and that, ...God forbid... if he wasn't one that he was being smart and careful about it. I hadn't exactly given him the talk...being from this side of town and with all the talk the guys did around him, he knew what was what anyway, and he knew unprotected sex caused pregnancy. Hell, even protected sex wasn't guaranteed to keep all your swimmers out of the pool. Please please please, Pony, I begged silently, if nothing else, remember the few morals mom and dad gave you and keep your personal property in your pants! I was fully aware he was 17 now, and if he's anything like Soda and I were at that age, his hormones should be in full force by now. Lord, help us!

XXX

Christmas was finally here again, and like last year we didn't do much for it. This was always Ponyboy's favorite holiday, his and mom's, and last year we didn't even have a desire to get a tree. I did buy Soda some shirts - he hadn't had any good clothes since his DX days had all but destroyed them. I baked a turkey and had mashed potatoes last year for a change, and had planned to do the same this year. Patty and Andy were over this year, along with the rest of the motley crew. Things were never going to be the same without Ponyboy, but we tried harder this year, for Patty's sake. Soda was really trying to impress her, so I went along with it as best I could.

ZZZ

Patty and I took Andy out to the mall a few days before Christmas for shopping. I had no idea what to get anyone – money was a little better for us what with my disability check and my new job, but it would always be tight.

I found her a watch I thought she'd like so she could use for work and for school. Darry was needing a new tool belt so I picked one out that had deep pockets in it that I knew he'd like. I found Steve a new radio for him to use at the DX so it wouldn't be so quiet there...my replacement wasn't exactly the outgoing type, from what he told me. Steve and I had secretly decided we'd overhaul Two-Bits car for him and finally get it running good.

Patty and I walked up and down the mall for an hour, and Andy was finally getting tired. We went into the bookstore to sit and watch him in the kids book section, but ended up lost in our own conversation instead. When we finally looked over at him, he had some book in his mouth chewing on it, and had literally chewed part of the cover off. Damn! Well, I guess I know what he's getting for Christmas!

"Aww, Andy! You don't eat books, honey!" Patty admonished the smiling boy as she pulled the half chewed cover out of his mouth.

Ewwww, I thought watching her. Raising kids ain't easy, yet she did this so flawlessly. Nothing grossed her out.

"He's teething, has some new teeth coming in and his gums are sore. I'm sorry, Soda." She said, looking a tiny bit frazzled.

"No problem, but I have to pay for the book. Hand it here, what is it?"

She looked at the cover, "Butterflies and Mountain Skies by John Quinn. Well, at least the artwork is colorful. It's a buck fifty. I'll pay you back for it, really." She said, handing me up the book.

"Don't worry. I have the money." I said absentmindedly. I was looking at the damage Andy had made. He had chewed right through the cover where the artists name was. All that was left was "Po.............tis" Who ever that guy is, I thought, I hoped he knew that his art was literally being devoured by his fans.

I paid for the book and met Patty out in the mall area. Andy was looking tired, so we set out for home. I had been shopping for Christmas gifts almost every year of my life, but having a two year old in tow sure changed things. Good thing we didn't go to a china shop!

Christmas morning Darry and I exchanged gifts before the rest of the gang showed up. He liked the new belt and got busy working the leather to soften it up. He bought me a jacket – mine was being used double duty at work and on my off hours. "I don't want to see your good stuff ruined at work anymore." He explained. I liked it and it fit well. Later we sat around, just he and I, staring at the TV but neither of us really watching it, obviously thinking of someone else.

"You think he's okay, Darry?" I asked quietly, not turning to look at him.

"I hope so, Soda." He answered back after a long pause, his voice just as somber as mine, and he didn't turn to look at me either.

"Do you think he misses us? Forgotten us?"

"Don't do this, Soda."

I looked at him. He was pale and his jaw was tight, but his eyes were doing the hundred yard stare they taught us in boot camp. I had no answers, neither did Darry. I only had questions that yearned for answers that never came, and an emptiness in my chest, centered right over my heart. If I knew Patty wasn't coming over, I would have gotten a beer out of the fridge then. Not that I drank a lot, it was rare for me. Even more so with my kidney repaire job. But I wanted one then.

"Hey, anyone home?" The door opened and Two-Bit came in. "I thought this was Christmas! Cheer up! Y'all ain't had eggnog yet – here, I brought my own special version. Try some!" He handed me the flask and I took a swig, instantly regretting it.

"Two-Bit, this is gross." I handed him back the flask and downed my Pepsi, trying to kill that taste in my mouth. Darry just got up and went to his room for a while, not saying a word.

"What's up with him?" Two-Bit asked quietly.

I got up too, but didn't move out of the room. "We were thinking of Pony before you came in." I answered back, my smile gone again.

"I haven't given up, Soda. I'm still searching for him. He's out there, we'll find him yet."

He sounded so serious. "Will we, Keith? Will we? It's been over a year. He's not once tried to contact us. I can't even let him know I ain't dead...."

Two-Bit put his flask down and pulled me to him, a very unusual move for him. He spoke to me while holding me tight.

"Now listed to me. That kid is a lot of things, but he will never forget about you or Darry, that he is a Curtis, and where his family lives. He is a dreamer and a seeker, and one day when he finds his path it will lead him home. Here. You can't give up on him, Soda. If you, you of all people give up, what will the rest of us do?" He let me go and I wiped away the few tears that had sprung up without permission.

"I miss him so much, so damn much...." I could barely say through the knot in my throat.

He put his hands on my shoulders near my neck, and looked at me until I looked into his eyes. "We miss him too, just as much and just as bad. But don't you give up." He relaxed his hold on me but didn't let go. "And the name's 'Two-Bit'. I ain't ready to be all grown up and responsible yet." He let out a hint of a smile while cocking that eyebrow of his.

I grinned. "Whatever, you old hound." I didn't want to remind him that he and Darry were nearly the same age.

"Come on," he said to me, "lets go see what 's around here to eat."

The rest of the day went as usual. Patty liked her watch, just as I expected her to, and Steve and Two-Bit seemed to have a good time. To my surprise, Patty handed me a package and looked at me for my reaction when I opened it. It was a framed enlargement of the picture of mom and Ponyboy sitting at the piano, the one I loaned her a while ago.

"I hope you like it. They look so natural in their pose. I just felt like it needed to be seen again, instead of lost in a photo album. I know it's a rather old shot but still...."

"No.." I said, unable to take my eyes off it. "I love it." And I did. I held it in my hands for a while then put it on the piano where mom and dad's pictures used to be, before they disappeared with Pony that day.

For a while the only noise was Andy playing with the discarded wrapping paper. I handed him the last present, the book he had already chewed on, but my thoughts were elsewhere. If only I had a clue where Ponyboy was, something that said he was okay, then I could rest again. I pushed the thoughts to the side and smiled at Andy, pulling him into my lap. I took the book from him and began to read it to him while he looked at the brightly colored pictures on each page. Bald eagles drawn with amazing detail, and mountains, butterflies and deer drawn out on every page. Patty was right, the artist had talent. Neither Andy nor I took our eyes off it until the last word was read off the last page of the book.

XXX

If you don't have kids, this will seem too convenient an explanation for why the name is gone. I you do have kids, you will see the total plausibility of this scenario. Either way, I needed Soda to not see the artist's name.

Thanks for your reviews!

Calla Lilly Rose