"Your man has arrived!"

Penny stood outside her apartment door, as Soda's car came to a stop in a nearby parking space. She ran to greet him, her feet leaving the ground, as he twirled her around in his arms. "I'm so glad you're here, sweetheart."

Soda set Penny down, his hands moving from her waist to her face. "Me too. Are you so excited about tonight? I know I am."

"Of course. I can't wait for it to be official. I passed my licensing exam, so everything's all done."

"I bet you passed it with flyin' colors too. You're going to be a great nurse."

"I have two job offers, like I told you. But I'm still not sure which one I'm going to take yet."

Soda smiled, his hands on Penny's cheeks, as he leaned in for a kiss. "I have an offer right now that I really hope you'll take."

"Yeah. His girlfriend, Penny, is graduating from nursing school tonight. So he drove up there for the ceremony."

Katie sat across from Steve in one of the campus dining courts, the salad in front of her covered in both dressing and tomatoes. "And she's graduating from the University of Oklahoma?"

Steve nodded, as he dipped a chicken finger into barbecue sauce. "Yep. And Soda's brother is off at Oklahoma State. But, yeah, Penny's coming back here with him sometime tomorrow."

"How long have they been together?"

"Um...about five and half years, I think. Well, that's how long they've known each other anyway. It's kind of funny because, originally, Penny was supposed to be my date."

"Oh really? So did you ever go out with her?"

"No. Our buddy, Keith, was dating Penny's best friend, and she wanted to go on a double date. So he asked me about it first. But I had just broken up with somebody, and I didn't want to."

"So then he asked Sodapop?"

"Yep. And he and Penny hit it off right from the start."

"So you've been spending a lot of time with Emily?"

Soda settled himself on the sofa in Penny's apartment, his duffel bag near his feet. "Yeah. I like to go over there at least once a week, and I see her at church too."

Penny busied herself with getting drinks in the small kitchen that was connected to the living room. "Oh. You've stayed really close to her then."

"Yeah. You know I always wanted to be."

"Of course." Penny poured tea over the ice she'd already added to the glasses, fresh warmth colliding with the cold. "So no one new knows about the adoption, right? It's still all the same people?"

Soda took the glass Penny handed him, as she came into the living room. "Yeah. It's still the same, except I told you about how Emily knows now."

"Yes. You told me she knows we're her birth parents."

"She loves hearin' about it too. It's so simple to her, you know? But special at the same time."

"It's not confusing for her at all?"

"I don't think so. Samuel and Vivian are still her Mommy and Daddy. It just tells her where she comes from and why we know each other."

"Oh. It's important for her to know that too. The story shouldn't be a secret."

"I think it's better she hears it now, you know? So, um, this is kind of a different subject, but what job offers did you get? Hillcrest and St. John's?"

"One is for Hillcrest. I didn't apply to St. John's because it's where I gave birth to Emily."

"I can understand that. So where else then?"

"I wasn't going to tell you this yet, but it's the medical center in Oklahoma City."

"But that's an hour and a half away from Tulsa."

"I know, and that may be exactly what I want."

"But what about me? What about us?"

"I don't know, Sodapop. I haven't decided what I'm doing."

"I want to be with you, Penny, but I- I don't want to leave. I have a lot in Tulsa. I-"

"I'm not asking you to move for me. I couldn't do that. If I do take that job, it doesn't mean we can't be together either. I'd be closer than I have been for the last four years, and we could still see each other."

"I've been lookin' forward to you comin' home."

"I know. Whatever happens though, it won't be right away." Penny leaned closer to Soda, laying her head on his chest and listening to the heart that was always full of love for everyone in his life. "And for now, we've still got tonight."

"I want to stay in and near the phone because Soda's supposed to call."

Katie followed Steve into the apartment, setting her purse down on the couch, as he hung up his car keys. "Oh. Okay. But didn't he just leave this morning?"

Steve put his books on the coffee table, as he took his wallet out out his pocket. "Yeah. But I want to know he got there okay and all. Does pizza sound good?"

"Sure. That sounds fine."

"Okay. I'll get myself cleaned up, then order it."

"So what else are we doing then?"

"Just hanging out, I guess. We can watch TV, talk, anything you want."

Katie went up to Steve, hands cupping his neck, as she kissed his lips. "Can we do this?"

Steve smiled, giddy with the feeling he always got when he was around Katie. "Of course we can. We can do it as much as you want."

"Wow! You look incredible, Penny."

Penny wore her black and crimson graduation gown, spinning around in front of Soda. "Thank you! I even feel incredible."

Soda reached for the cap that Penny held and set it on her head, his fingers touching the apricot-colored tassel that dangled near her face. "And now, you look perfect."

"Thanks, man. That was pretty fast."

Katie smelled the hot pepperoni pizza, as Steve gave the delivery guy cash, complete with a tip.

Steve closed the door, pizza box balanced on one hand before he set it down on the table. "I haven't had pizza in a while."

Katie went over after Steve opened the box, serving herself one slice on a paper plate.

Steve did the same, the ringing phone sounding, as he took the first bite. "I bet that's Soda."

Katie took a seat, also grabbing a handful of potato chips, as Steve picked up the phone.

"Hello? Hey, buddy. Yeah, we're just hanging out and having pizza. How was the drive? You made pretty good time then. Huh? Yeah, sure. We'll do that when you get home. Whatever you need."

Katie listened in on Steve's end of the conversation, her curiosity piqued.

"I know, so just tell me tomorrow. We'll have a little heart-to-heart. And if the girls both can, we'll go on that double date on Sunday. Have fun tonight. You too, buddy. Always. Bye."

Katie saw Steve hang up the phone, the words coming out of her mouth before she could even attempt to stop them. "You guys seem awfully dependent on one another."

"Huh? Oh. Well, I guess we are. In some ways. I'm, uh, not sure what else I can say about that. Except there are a lot of reasons for it, and they go back to when we were kids. We aren't just friends who say we're like brothers. We treat each other that way too."

"You aren't defensive at all."

"I've got no reason to be. It's not like there's anything bad going on. It's just the way me and Soda are. We do depend on one another, and it's honestly been a lifeline I wouldn't trade for anything."

"Hey, Sodapop, you're sitting with us!"

Soda looked around the auditorium, spotting Roy Jacobs in a seat a few rows down from where he was standing. He then made his way over, the other man gesturing to an empty spot beside him. "Hey, Mr. Jacobs. Long time, no see."

Roy returned the smile Soda was giving him, his arm around June, who was seated to his left. "Too long, if you ask me."

Soda took the seat next to the couple, looking down at the graduating class, as they were filing into their arranged chairs. "Ya'll must be mighty proud of Penny."

June joined the conversation, as she spotted her daughter down on the floor. "We are. I know you must be too."

Soda saw Penny waving at them, her smile one that gave nothing away. "Yep. I sure am, and I'm real glad to be here."

"Yeah. Both of us wanted to give the newly-married couples some space. Plus, I started school just a few weeks after Darry's wedding, so it made sense for us to move in together and split the bills."

Katie put her hand on Steve's knee, the couple now on the couch, what remained of the pizza on the table in front of them. "That does make sense, especially if neither of you wanted to live alone."

Steve looked down at Katie's hand that seemed to be inching its way up his thigh. "We definitely didn't. Soda and I had quite the heart-to-heart about that, actually."

"I'm sorry if I was too blunt earlier. I didn't mean to make it sound like I think your friendship is unhealthy or anything like that."

"It's okay. It didn't bother me because I know it's not." Steve felt Katie's hand touch the waist of his jeans, her fingers then slipping underneath his shirt. "But speaking of being blunt, since we're alone like this at night, I think there's something we need to talk about."