We went to a neutral diner, one not favored by greasers or socs. I
guess we felt like we should be on neutral ground.
We shared a soda, the two straws emerging at cocky angles. The light was so harsh in this diner and I looked around at all the middle class kids. Someone put a nickel in the fancy jukebox in the corner and 'I want to hold your hand' by the Beatles started.
Two bit looked haggard. Worry twisted his features, squinted his eyes, his lips pressed together in a harsh line.
"I've gotta go there, I've gotta find them..." He put a hand over his eyes and leaned his head slightly forward.
"I don't think they went to Texas," I said quietly. He looked at me with this raw expression. He was reaching the end of a fraying rope.
"What? But Dal said..." I closed my eyes for a moment longer than a blink.
"Two bit, think about it. Would he tell you where they are going in front of me?"
He thought, I could see the realization coming into his eyes like dawn.
"Aw shit, you're right," The way he looked right then reminded me of how Randy had looked this afternoon, lost. I touched his arm and rubbed it, told him I was sorry.
"Damn that Dallas, he knows where they are, why won't he fucking tell me?"
I didn't answer, didn't know what to answer. I thought Dallas was right not telling anyone. Wherever they were, they'd be safer if no one knew.
"Let's get outta here," He said, throwing some money on the table for the soda.
I let him drive my car and we flew down the road, the dark trees flying by in a blur. I was comforted, as I could be, by the speed. Two bit looked sharply handsome in the dashboard glow, the planes of his face in stark light and shadow. I felt out of sync about this whole thing. Cherry was a mess, she'd been in love with Bob. I didn't care for Bob, he was a jerk and brought his death upon himself. I knew Johnny was the kid they'd almost killed that day, knew it. You reap what you sow. And it was tearing Two bit up that Ponyboy and Johnny were in such serious trouble, going to jail for the rest of your life trouble. When the police find them Johnny might even get the electric chair. Bob's family had an awful lot of money and several good lawyers, the best in Tulsa. I knew that Johnny was dirt poor and his family couldn't afford a lawyer, so he'd get a court appointed, inexperienced green lawyer who would let the state kill him. These things were givens. But I hardly knew Ponyboy and Johnny and didn't feel that upset about it.
"Let's get a drink," He said, starring at the road, a cigarette dangling from his lips. This had been a difficult day. I thought we both needed to unwind.
"Yeah, sure," I said, looking at the point where the headlights appeared to converge. Two bit drove to a bar that wasn't too careful about carding. It was easy, there were lots of them.
I had a rum and coke, it was nice because it was kind of sweet but not too sweet and not heavy like milk based drinks. Two bit had a beer.
The alcohol didn't take long to loosen us up, to smooth away the rough edges of this rough day. I liked Two bit's eyes, the color of the ocean on a cloudy day.
"I'm sorry," he said, glancing from his beer glass to my face, "I can't stop worrying," I nodded, I understood. I took a long swallow of my rum and coke and finished it, the melting ice clinking in the glass. I motioned the waitress over and ordered another one.
"It's just, it's hard to explain, we have to protect Johnny, he's..." He shook his head, at a loss as to how to explain it. I lit a cigarette and waited anxiously for my drink to arrive.
"Well, there's nothing you can do right now," I said gently. He nodded glumly and downed his beer, lit a cigarette of his own.
"Dallas knows where they are, he's probably helped them in some way. You've just got to trust that they'll be all right," Two bit looked slightly comforted by this and smiled a little smile.
"You dig o.k.," he said, and I heard admiration in his voice. I smiled ,too. The edges of the room had grown hazy with the alcohol, only Two bit was sharp. We leaned over the table and kissed like we were alone. I put my hand on the back of his neck and could taste the beer he drank and the cigarettes.
"Hey, you wanna go?" he said, and I nodded. I followed him out to the car.
He drove again, far less effected by his one beer than I was by my drinks. The road slipped by and I didn't ask where we were going, I didn't care. I could see him trying to let it go for now, could see him trying to will the worry away.
The car slipped back into town and the neighborhoods grew progressively worse, run down, the streets became narrower, the houses closer together until they were separated by a sliver of lawn, the east side. We pulled up to his house.
I must have looked apprehensive because Two bit reassured me, "It's o.k.," he said, "my mom isn't home," We went into the dark house, lit only by the flickering glow of the T.V. screen, blaring away for no one. I followed him down a short hallway to his room. He turned on a tiny lamp and I saw sports pendants taped crookedly to the walls, cracks and lines in the paint running across the walls like roads on a map, the thin cotton spread that covered his bed.
I sat on the bed, it was old and too soft. He sat next to me.
"Oh, Marcia, you're so pretty," He said softly and leaned toward me and I leaned back so that I was lying down with him over me. We kissed again and I closed my eyes, put my arms around his neck and then on his biceps, the muscles were hard because he was holding himself up over me.
"Marcia," he said in a breathless way that made my heart start beating faster and he fumbled with the buttons of my blouse. I didn't really feel like I was cheating on Randy. Hadn't he cheated on me? I thought he had.
He got the buttons undone and I wished that the lamp was turned off, but I kind of liked it on.
We shared a soda, the two straws emerging at cocky angles. The light was so harsh in this diner and I looked around at all the middle class kids. Someone put a nickel in the fancy jukebox in the corner and 'I want to hold your hand' by the Beatles started.
Two bit looked haggard. Worry twisted his features, squinted his eyes, his lips pressed together in a harsh line.
"I've gotta go there, I've gotta find them..." He put a hand over his eyes and leaned his head slightly forward.
"I don't think they went to Texas," I said quietly. He looked at me with this raw expression. He was reaching the end of a fraying rope.
"What? But Dal said..." I closed my eyes for a moment longer than a blink.
"Two bit, think about it. Would he tell you where they are going in front of me?"
He thought, I could see the realization coming into his eyes like dawn.
"Aw shit, you're right," The way he looked right then reminded me of how Randy had looked this afternoon, lost. I touched his arm and rubbed it, told him I was sorry.
"Damn that Dallas, he knows where they are, why won't he fucking tell me?"
I didn't answer, didn't know what to answer. I thought Dallas was right not telling anyone. Wherever they were, they'd be safer if no one knew.
"Let's get outta here," He said, throwing some money on the table for the soda.
I let him drive my car and we flew down the road, the dark trees flying by in a blur. I was comforted, as I could be, by the speed. Two bit looked sharply handsome in the dashboard glow, the planes of his face in stark light and shadow. I felt out of sync about this whole thing. Cherry was a mess, she'd been in love with Bob. I didn't care for Bob, he was a jerk and brought his death upon himself. I knew Johnny was the kid they'd almost killed that day, knew it. You reap what you sow. And it was tearing Two bit up that Ponyboy and Johnny were in such serious trouble, going to jail for the rest of your life trouble. When the police find them Johnny might even get the electric chair. Bob's family had an awful lot of money and several good lawyers, the best in Tulsa. I knew that Johnny was dirt poor and his family couldn't afford a lawyer, so he'd get a court appointed, inexperienced green lawyer who would let the state kill him. These things were givens. But I hardly knew Ponyboy and Johnny and didn't feel that upset about it.
"Let's get a drink," He said, starring at the road, a cigarette dangling from his lips. This had been a difficult day. I thought we both needed to unwind.
"Yeah, sure," I said, looking at the point where the headlights appeared to converge. Two bit drove to a bar that wasn't too careful about carding. It was easy, there were lots of them.
I had a rum and coke, it was nice because it was kind of sweet but not too sweet and not heavy like milk based drinks. Two bit had a beer.
The alcohol didn't take long to loosen us up, to smooth away the rough edges of this rough day. I liked Two bit's eyes, the color of the ocean on a cloudy day.
"I'm sorry," he said, glancing from his beer glass to my face, "I can't stop worrying," I nodded, I understood. I took a long swallow of my rum and coke and finished it, the melting ice clinking in the glass. I motioned the waitress over and ordered another one.
"It's just, it's hard to explain, we have to protect Johnny, he's..." He shook his head, at a loss as to how to explain it. I lit a cigarette and waited anxiously for my drink to arrive.
"Well, there's nothing you can do right now," I said gently. He nodded glumly and downed his beer, lit a cigarette of his own.
"Dallas knows where they are, he's probably helped them in some way. You've just got to trust that they'll be all right," Two bit looked slightly comforted by this and smiled a little smile.
"You dig o.k.," he said, and I heard admiration in his voice. I smiled ,too. The edges of the room had grown hazy with the alcohol, only Two bit was sharp. We leaned over the table and kissed like we were alone. I put my hand on the back of his neck and could taste the beer he drank and the cigarettes.
"Hey, you wanna go?" he said, and I nodded. I followed him out to the car.
He drove again, far less effected by his one beer than I was by my drinks. The road slipped by and I didn't ask where we were going, I didn't care. I could see him trying to let it go for now, could see him trying to will the worry away.
The car slipped back into town and the neighborhoods grew progressively worse, run down, the streets became narrower, the houses closer together until they were separated by a sliver of lawn, the east side. We pulled up to his house.
I must have looked apprehensive because Two bit reassured me, "It's o.k.," he said, "my mom isn't home," We went into the dark house, lit only by the flickering glow of the T.V. screen, blaring away for no one. I followed him down a short hallway to his room. He turned on a tiny lamp and I saw sports pendants taped crookedly to the walls, cracks and lines in the paint running across the walls like roads on a map, the thin cotton spread that covered his bed.
I sat on the bed, it was old and too soft. He sat next to me.
"Oh, Marcia, you're so pretty," He said softly and leaned toward me and I leaned back so that I was lying down with him over me. We kissed again and I closed my eyes, put my arms around his neck and then on his biceps, the muscles were hard because he was holding himself up over me.
"Marcia," he said in a breathless way that made my heart start beating faster and he fumbled with the buttons of my blouse. I didn't really feel like I was cheating on Randy. Hadn't he cheated on me? I thought he had.
He got the buttons undone and I wished that the lamp was turned off, but I kind of liked it on.