Chapter Ten
Dr. Murphy's Sessions with Ponyboy Curtis
Dr. Murphy: You saw how bad Aurora is, Ponyboy.
Ponyboy Curtis: It's like she's fine when she's on the tranquilizers, but when she's not…
DM: My thoughts exactly.
DM: We can't keep her on tranquilizers forever, Ponyboy.
PC: I know, I know.
DM: What do you suggest we do?
PC: I don't know. I wasn't expecting this. What happened to her?
DM: When the police found her, she was sitting about ten feet from a phone booth. She refused to go with the police, she wasn't leaving until you showed up.
PC: I wonder if that's the same phone booth she called me from.
DM: Could be. What do you think is wrong with her, Ponyboy?
PC: I think she's traumatized. She's been through a lot in the past few months.
DM: So have you.
PC: But she's not had someone to talk to, and she's been out in the cold with no food.
DM: So, you think she'll be better in a few months.
PC: Time heals all wounds.
DM: Visiting day is tomorrow. Do you think your brothers or friends could talk to her for a while? That could help.
PC: I think they're like me; they'll do anything to help Aurora.
DM: We'll have to see what happens.
PC: I guess so.
End Tape
Now
Visiting day. Darry and Soda were coming for a while, about an hour or so. Then Steve, Two-Bit, and Dally were coming.
"Hey, Pony," Soda said as he sat down next to me. "I guess you're excited about Aurora, huh?"
I was quiet.
"Don't start the quiet thing again," Soda begged.
"You need to see her, Soda," I said. "She's just not herself."
"Neither were you when you first came here," Soda said.
"She's worse than I was." I said. "She's completely crazy if she's not on tranquilizers, and when she's been taking them, she's tired and she can't remember anything."
"She knew who you were, didn't she?" Darry asked.
"Barely," I said. "She didn't remember dancing. Dr. Murphy said she might never leave."
"When do you get out of here?" Darry asked.
"About a month," I replied.
Darry smiled, he looked about ten years younger. I could tell I wasn't killing him anymore.
We talked for a while, it seemed like they'd been there for five minutes instead of an hour. A car pulled into the parking lot; I recognized it as Two-Bit's. I was looking forward to seeing everyone, but I was worried about how Aurora would react. Would she go crazy?
"Pony!" Two-Bit yelled. The nurses looked angrily at him. You're supposed to be quiet in these places.
Two-Bit picked me up and swung me around. Either I'd gotten skinnier, or he'd gotten stronger. Or both.
"So, where's Aurora?" Dally asked.
"Here she is," a voice said. It was Dr. Murphy.
"I've just given her a tranquilizer, so she might be kind of sleepy. I think she's fine for the most part other than that. Good luck," Dr. Murphy said.
"You told them didn't you?" I asked. I'd told Soda to tell everyone that Aurora had lost most of her memory. I didn't know if he'd remember.
"Yeah, we know," Steve said.
"So you're blond now," Two-Bit said as he played with Aurora's hair.
Aurora looked at him quizzically. She probably didn't know who he was.
"Do you remember me?" he asked.
"I know the face…" she said quietly.
"Well, that's all that maters," Two-Bit said jokingly.
"You're…" she said.
"You have plenty of time," I said softly. "Do you know anyone here?"
She recognized Dally immediately, and then looked at everyone else. She remembered Darry as "Superman", but she didn't remember his real name. She knew Two-Bit's face, but she didn't recognize Steve or Soda at all.
We spent the rest of visiting day trying to jog Aurora's memory. I was really upset about how little she remembered, and I could tell Dally was too. He tried not to show it, but he really liked Aurora.
After everyone had said their good-byes, and they were about to leave, Aurora got this look like she'd discovered the cure for cancer.
"Two-Bit!" She said.
Two-Bit turned around, "Yeah."
"That's your name isn't it?" She said.
Two-Bit smiled. "Yeah. We'll see you next week, OK Aurora?"
She nodded and everyone left.
"Good job," I said. "you remember anything else?"
"No," she replied. "I'm tied, Pony, can I go back to my room?"
"Sure," I said, "I know; visiting day is tiring isn't it?"
"Yeah. Who were those two other people?" She asked.
"You'll need to figure that one out by yourself," I said. Dr. Murphy had told me not to tell Aurora who anyone was.
We got to Aurora's room, and I told her that I'd see her the next day after her session. I had explained what happened during sessions while I walked her to her room. I was about to leave when Aurora said "Pony, who's Mrs. Johnson?"
"She was our second grade teacher," I replied.
"Oh, I remembered the name, but I didn't know who she was," she said.
I gave Aurora a hug and said "You'll be fine." Then I started walking toward my room.
I didn't know if I really meant that.
