38. Making Plans
When I woke up, Ponyboy was sitting on the sofa, flipping half-heartedly through a library book. I rubbed my eyes, getting a better look at him and frowning when I realized he looked exhausted. My heart sank. I'd thought the day before would have done him good. We'd had a good time swimming with Sue and her cousin…and her cousin's friends. We had friends watching our backs now besides James. We had another day off work…we could go to church but I'd figured we could sleep in and rest. But Pony had dark circles under his eyes when he looked up at me, blinking tiredly.
I sat up, leaning forward, and he grinned a little. "Hey, man," he murmured, wiping at his eyes.
"Hey, Pony. Couldn't you sleep?"
Ponyboy laughed a little, but I didn't see why. "Uh…not really." He ran a hand through his hair and I hoped he wasn't getting sick again. I was about to suggest he lay back down when he opened his mouth again. "I, um…Rita called last night."
I froze, eyes wide as I stared at him. He was grinning a little, but he looked shaken. I stood up, climbing onto the sofa beside him and leaning back so I could see him as I fought to place the name. But then it came to me.
"Rita? Like…Rita, your foster sister?" He nodded. "Is…is she okay? Or…how did she even get this number?" I asked, a pit forming in my stomach. If she had this number, did anyone else? Did Richard have this number too? And if Richard had the number, could he find us? Would he come after us, or send someone else after us? Pony was still pale, but he seemed okay. Had he not thought of any of this yet? Wasn't he worried?
"Yeah, she's okay…I think. Not living with Richard anymore. And Susie gave her the number."
I blinked. "She did what? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? Man…Pony, if she gives that out to…"
"It don't matter, man," he interrupted me, smiling just a little. "Johnny…she's gonna talk. She's gonna tell the cops everything. I mean…she's gonna talk to Darry and Sodapop first, but then…she's gonna tell that cop everything Richard did to us and then…it'll be safe for us to go home." He choked a little on his words and I dropped a hand on his shoulder.
"Are you…you're serious?"
"Yeah."
"We…if she does that, we can go home?"
"Yeah."
I dropped back on the sofa, my eyes closing as I took a deep breath.
"We can go home." I said it again, finding that it wasn't entirely a good thought. Here, I didn't have to worry about my parents or socs…well, we had to worry about other people jumping us, but still. We had jobs that I actually kind of liked, and we had money to spend. "When?" I asked, crossing my arms and turning to him.
He scooted over so he could face me.
"I don't know…she said she was gonna try to do it sometime this week. She's scared, you know? She's scared of Richard and what he'll do if he finds out. I don't blame her…" He trailed off, staring at the floor, then grinned up at me. "It might take a few days, but she said she'd call after she talked to the cops, and then…then we can go home."
"Sometime this week…do we have enough money?"
"We ought to after this week. I mean, we've saved just about everything we made." He reached under the sofa, pulling out the bag Dallas had given him and for the first time I caught sight of the gun. Usually, he was the one that threw the money under some clothes in the bag, but now he pulled it out, putting it on his lap.
"Man, what's with the gun?" I asked, lowering my voice like someone could hear me.
"Dally gave it to me," he told me with a shrug, and I nodded. That sounded like Dal. I didn't think Ponyboy could ever shoot anyone, but it was good for him to have protection, especially since he'd come up here alone. It would probably freak Darry out if he knew. Then again, I knew they'd all gone hunting with their dad. I'd never shot a gun before, but Ponyboy had confided in me once that him and Soda just goofed off most of the time since he didn't want to kill anything. Darry had always gotten the most ducks, but Soda had told me that Pony was actually the best shot when they messed around with targets. It made me kind of jealous, sometimes. My old man had never taken me anywhere. I tried not to think that way, though. Pony's parents had been real good to me. Treated me like one of their own kids.
We counted out the money and he was right. We were a little short, but with another paycheck, we'd have just enough for two bus tickets and even a little extra. Not a lot…we'd probably just make sandwiches to eat on the way so we could save our money. They'd make us some food when we got home.
Darry and Sodapop were gonna be real happy to have Pony home. And the guys would be glad to see me, I guess. I didn't know about the other stuff…Darry didn't have custody of Ponyboy, but surely after the cops found out what Richard had done, they'd give him custody back! I didn't bring it up. I knew Ponyboy would just worry more if he started thinking about that so I figured we'd take it one step at a time.
Neither of us said much else while we made breakfast. Eggs and the last of the bacon. I wondered if James would miss having us around to cook and grinned a little at the thought. It was surreal. We might be leaving soon. I mean, I knew all this was temporary. I knew that we wouldn't stay here forever or nothing. But glory...it was almost over. All the getting jumped and working nights and spending our days cooped up at the library or in this apartment. It was almost over.
I noticed Pony didn't look as happy as I'd thought and I wondered why. Wasn't he excited? I didn't want to ask. His moods were kind of unpredictable and I wondered if that was because he wasn't feeling great or maybe because he was just scared. Was he scared she was lying? That thought made my stomach clench as I suddenly lost my appetite. What if she was lying? That would leave us back at square one. Stuck here with grocery store jobs, sleeping in some guy's living room. I guess that wasn't fair...James was practically our buddy now. He'd been nice to us. But still, despite my parents, I found that I really did want to go home.
We decided to go to church like normal, partially because we liked it, but also because Ponyboy would probably drive himself crazy sitting around the apartment all day, thinking about being able to go home soon. Me too. Dressing and making sure to push the bag back under the sofa, we headed over to the church, Pony's sleeves still covering his wrists. I didn't say anything about it. We'd both had a good time the day before and we were antsy at the idea of going home, so I didn't want to bug him about it…I didn't want him to be upset anymore. I just wanted to feel normal for a while. And I knew Pony did too. I wondered if he'd planned on calling his brothers and telling them, but figured he didn't want to get anyone's hopes up.
It was a quick walk to the church, but before we reached it I turned to Pony. "Should we go ahead and tell Mr. Williams?"
"I guess we ought to." His hands were stuck in his pockets and he was staring at his feet while he walked. "I mean…I don't know how long we're gonna be here. She might take a few days to talk to the cops. Or…I don't know. She might not do it." He shrugged, and my heart dropped. So we'd been thinking the same thing. I'd never forgive that girl if she did this to him...if she let him hope then disappointed him. He didn't deserve that shit. "I wouldn't blame her, you know?"
I nudged him, hating how defeated he sounded. "She said she'd talk to them. She's gonna talk to Darry and Soda, then we'll get to go home."
He stared at the ground for a moment, then forced a grin. "Yeah…you're right. She's gonna talk soon."
I patted him on the back, both of us climbing the stairs to the church. The usher grinned at us, handing us bulletins and telling us good morning. A few other members of the church smiled at us and wished us a good morning, or asked us how we were doing. We did our best to grin and Pony told them we were fine. I knew he was still kind of uncomfortable since they were all strangers but they were mostly pretty nice.
Thomas was talking to Marcus in the pew where him and Sue and Mr. Williams all sat, and both turned with grins when we walked up. Mr. Williams and Sue weren't there yet, but those two nodded hello. "Hey, kids," Thomas called, waving a little.
"Hey." Pony nodded, grinning as he slipped into a pew. I joined him, sitting down beside him, and the two of them sat down too.
"How's it going?"
"Alright." I shrugged. "You know where Mr. Williams is?"
"He ought to be here soon," Marcus told me. Pony yawned, stretching a little, and I watched the preacher making his way through the crowd, shaking hands and grinning real big, welcoming everybody. Mr. Williams and Sue came in before he made it up to our pew and shook hands with him, then came up to the pew where we were sitting, sitting down beside us.
"Good morning, boys. How are you?" Mr. Williams asked.
"We're good. How are you, sir?" Ponyboy asked, and our boss grinned.
"Doing good. Heard you two went swimming yesterday."
I grinned. "Yeah. It was fun."
"Sue said she found you in the library. You two go there often?"
"Just about every weekend," I admitted.
He chuckled, breaking off when the pastor approached us, reaching out a hand to me that I took after a second's hesitation.
"Good morning, son. Patrick, right?"
"Yes sir," I agreed, looking forward to when I wouldn't have to pretend to be Patrick anymore and hoping that day came soon.
"And…" he trailed off, holding out a hand that Ponyboy shook with a grin.
"Michael, sir," Pony told him. It was easier for him...at least it was his middle name.
"Good morning, Michael. How are you two doing?"
"We're good, sir," I told him.
"It's good to see you." He nodded to us, turning and heading up to the pulpit after we thanked him. It was a lot nicer here than at the church in Tulsa. I figured if we dropped a hymnal here, they wouldn't all give us dirty looks. I mean, sure, Steve had done it on purpose just to see if the pastor would stop preaching if he did it. Still, I hated that Pony had been so embarrassed, and I'd been pretty embarrassed too. I think Soda had been kind of upset with Steve afterwards…especially when he'd found out that Pony wasn't going to church anymore.
So it was nice to come here and have people tell us they were glad we were here.
I turned back to Mr. Williams and cleared my throat. "Um…Mr. Williams…there was actually something I needed to talk to you about."
He frowned, looking concerned. "Is anything the matter?"
I shook my head, hesitating, as out of the corner of my eye saw Thomas heading over to sit with his family. "Not…not really." That didn't seem to reassure him. "We, uh…just need to talk to you about work."
He nodded. "Alright," he told me slowly, but the pastor started talking before I could try to explain. Pony settled back in his seat, singing softly when the choir did, his eyes following the words in the hymnal. I wondered if he remembered the songs from when his mom took him to church, or if they sang the same songs as back home. I recognized one or two of them. He could sing pretty good, even though I'd never heard him sing much at home, even with the radio. Usually, he just listened.
Then the pastor started talking, and I did my best to listen and not let my mind drift to Rita. Pony hadn't told me much about her…just that she was the oldest. And as far as I knew, the two hadn't talked much. But really, I had no idea. It wasn't something Pony liked to talk about, so I left it alone, like almost everything else from the time he'd been away. He'd been in a boy's home for months. I had no idea what that had been like. I didn't know if he'd ever want to talk about it. Maybe with Soda...Sodapop could get him to talk about nearly anything. I thought of the scars on his arms and back and amended that thought.
Maybe not anything.
When the service was over and we all stood up, Mr. Williams gestured for us to follow him, and Pony and I followed him down the aisle, occasionally stopping to say hello to someone who wanted to tell us good morning or that they were glad to see us back again. Pony grinned down at his feet, thanking them under his breath and shaking their hands. They were all real friendly…Thomas saw us from across the room, waving a hand and elbowing his dad who gave him a look, shaking his head. Of course, there were some people who turned away from us as we walked by, but most of the people were nice, used to seeing us around, I guess. I recognized a few of them from the store too. Sometimes the older ladies would have us get things from the top shelf for them, then tell us what nice boys we were. It was kind of embarrassing but it was funny to see Pony's ears turn red.
Mr. Williams led us back to the front room where only a few people were milling around in little groups. The pastor was still mingling in the sanctuary, and the front room was pretty quiet. We could just barely hear the lady playing the organ in the sanctuary with the doors shut. "What did you need to talk to me about?" he asked softly, the three of us in a corner.
I hesitated, then decided to tell him the truth. "Um…we got a call from back home and, uh…we might be able to go home sometime before next week."
He lifted his eyebrows, then nodded slowly. "Really?"
"It's not for sure yet." Pony put in, glancing around. "I mean…we might have to wait a little while longer but…I think we're gonna be able to go home soon."
Mr. Williams considered him for a moment, then softened a little, smiling. "That's good." He reached out a hand and put it on Ponyboy's shoulder. "I'm glad to hear it, son. Just let me know when you're leaving and we'll get you your last paycheck."
"Thank you, sir," I told him quietly, reaching out and shaking his hand. He patted my hand with his other one, but it didn't feel condescending or nothing...just nice.
"But you plan on being at work this week?" he confirmed.
"Yes, sir. I think so," Pony told him.
"Good. We're having dinner after the service today. Would the two of you like to join us?"
"Sure they're gonna join us!" Thomas called, Marcus behind him as they pushed the double doors that led to the sanctuary open, their voices almost too loud. They were both dressed in nice suits and I felt kind of shabby in my jeans and somewhat clean t-shirt. I think Pony was feeling the same way, his hands shoved in his pockets. "Come on, kids. Let's go eat." He threw an arm around me, tugging me forward. I glanced at Pony who shrugged, smiling.
"Might as well," he told me quickly, following Thomas and me through a side room and down some stairs where tables were set up, full of food. A bunch of older ladies were talking in small groups and putting more food on the tables. A big bowl of punch was on one table, and a bunch of cups were stacked beside it. They were all covered with plastic tablecloths and metal folding chairs were set up around all of the tables.
Soon lots of people were down in the basement, standing in line for lunch and piling plates with food. Sue joined us, gesturing for us to follow her, and we all got in line with Marcus and Thomas, piling our plates with mashed potatoes and green beans and hot dogs. Thomas went to sit with his dad, and Mr. Williams invited us to sit with them. I was surprised that no one said anything mean, and it was real nice to have dinner that someone had made for us with Mr. Williams and his family. Not quite like being back home, but almost. I knew some people didn't want us there, but at least they were keeping quiet about it.
The next day, Pony and I headed to work as usual, both of us keeping an eye out as we walked to work. No one bugged us though, and as soon as we got to work, Mr. Williams called us back to his desk, the two of us sitting down across from him, waiting. "I just wanted to let the two of you know that even if you aren't able to go home just yet, you'll still have a job here. And if things don't work out and you need to come back, I can find a place for you two," he told us, speaking softly as he leaned across the desk.
"Yes sir…thank you." Ponyboy told him softly.
He nodded. "Of course. You two have been doing a real good job around here, and I appreciate how you protected Sue from those boys." Pony seemed to pale a little, his jaw clenched as he stared down at the floor. Mr. Williams got up from his desk, stepping around it and sitting on the edge of it, closer to us. He seemed to think about putting a hand on Pony's shoulder but he paused, dropping his hand back in his lap. "Is it really going to be safe for you to go home?" he asked.
Pony glanced at me, seeming to ask a question, and I shrugged. He already knew some of it. "My…my foster sister…she called. Said she was gonna tell the cops what that guy was like…our foster father. He was the reason it wasn't safe for me to go home." Mr. Williams hummed softly, nodding. "I don't know if she's gonna do it…it ain't safe for her either."
"Like I said, you two got jobs either way. Everything going okay with your…cousin?"
"Yeah. He's fine," I told him. "He ain't gonna kick us out." I hoped that was true…surely Dal wouldn't let him. But a part of me was already planning for it. If she let us down, then we might eventually have to find our own place to stay. I wasn't quite old enough to get my own place, but I could maybe pass for eighteen...if James vouched for me with someone around here. Pony and I would have to keep working though...we'd never be able to go back to school. That would be a shame...but maybe Sodapop and Darry could visit, at least.
Whatever happened, I was staying with Ponyboy. No way I'd leave him alone up here again.
"Good. Alright. You two can go ahead and get to work." He stood up, going back to his spot behind his desk, and Pony and I did as he'd asked, getting to work stocking the shelves.
We did that for a while, then cleaned, mopping and dusting, Pony going over to the windows and cleaning those too. I wondered as we worked if we'd be able to get jobs when we got back home. I didn't know if Darry and Sodapop would let Ponyboy…they'd probably want him to wait until he was sixteen, but I could always get a job at a grocery store or something now. Maybe Mr. Williams would give me a reference. That might make it easier. Then I'd have my own money…plus I wouldn't have to be home as much.
All I knew was that when I went home, I didn't want to go back to how things had been. I didn't want to go back to getting knocked around by my old man all the time and screamed at by my old lady. I didn't want to be scared to be in my own home…so I just wouldn't go there. My parents didn't give a shit about me. It sucked but it was true. Darry and Soda and the rest of the gang did. Heck, Pony was like my brother and the rest of the guys were my family too. Dally didn't have a family that cared about him...Steve neither, and both of them were okay. I would be too.
Rita didn't call back for two more days. Pony and I went to work on Tuesday and Wednesday, and both nights Marcus came back after walking Sue home, hanging around the store until we were done at eleven, then walking us home. On Tuesday he came in with us at Pony's invitation, nodding a hello at a started James. James didn't say anything much, just nodded back and offering him a beer. Marcus took one, then sat on the couch with us and asked James if he'd heard anything from Pete.
"Nah…he's been pretty quiet. They're probably getting ready for the rumble this weekend." Marcus glanced at us for a second.
"You kids any good in a rumble?" he asked.
I shrugged and Pony nodded a little. "We do fine."
That was an exaggeration. We were okay fighters, but we were both pretty small, and even though he was doing better than he had been last week, he was still kind of shaky looking. He'd lost weight and hadn't gained it back yet, and he got tired a lot at work, still. I figured it was because he wasn't eating enough, but he claimed he didn't have much of an appetite. I thought he might need a doctor, but I wasn't exactly qualified to make that call. I guess Pony didn't want to tell them that we might be going home soon, but I wondered if we'd even be in town by the weekend. I wondered if that girl would call and we'd get to go home sooner. We'd both been waiting, me getting kind of antsy. I didn't hate it in New York or nothing, but I missed being somewhere I knew…and I missed the guys too. Having people around who I knew had my back.
"Those two ain't fighting in no rumble," James cut in, shaking his head, his voice firm. "Just look at the little one. He ain't a hundred pounds, and the short one's barely that."
I gave him a look, somewhat offended, but he just grinned at me, daring me to argue. He reminded me a lot of Dally so it was hard to be mad at him.
"These two ain't fighting," he repeated. "They been beat up enough, and the little one's apparently got a real big brother who's gonna be out for my blood if I let something happen to him. My old buddy, too. Dal's gonna be pissed enough when he finds out yous two got jumped."
"He already knows," I admitted, and he sighed, leaning back.
"Well shit," he muttered, and Marcus grinned.
"Wasn't your fault. You can't be with us all the time. Besides, we're fine," Pony argued like he was trying to comfort him.
He looked at Ponyboy for a minute, then rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, you sure look it." He turned to Marcus then. "I gotta head to work for a couple of hours. You want something to eat or…?"
"Nah, I'm alright. Thanks, man." He reached out, shaking James's hand. "I'm gonna head out. I'll see you kids tomorrow."
"Thanks, Marcus," Pony called as our new friend headed out the door, letting it slam behind him. Marcus waved a lazy hand over his shoulder, and then he was gone. James watched the closed door for a minute, then jumped up.
"See you kids tomorrow," he told us simply, grabbing his wallet and following behind Marcus, and I heard the lock click behind him.
It was Wednesday night, around one in the morning, when the phone rang again. We were both sleeping, and James was out with his friends or something. They stayed out late even when they weren't working, but he was pretty good at being quiet when he came in late. Or, early, I guess. I usually didn't hear him. Even when he was drunk, he tried to be quiet. Once he came in at four in the morning, tripped over something, and just about fell on top of me. Pony had laughed so hard I'd thought he was crying for a minute, the way he shook under the covers. I guess the sight of that tough hood trying to tiptoe drunk through his own living room was pretty funny.
This time, we were alone in the house, and the phone rang five times before Pony managed to drag himself over to it, reaching out and grabbing it from the table. It about fell on his face and he held it against the side of his head, still laying down. "Hello?" he mumbled. We'd gone to bed right after work, both of us pretty tired, and I figured we'd sleep in in the morning.
He seemed to wake up all of a sudden, though, sitting upright so fast it made me jump a little. "Yeah? You are?" he asked, leaning forward, his elbow on his knee, jaw tight. "Okay…"
Suddenly he seemed to deflate, dropping back against the sofa. "Okay. Yeah. Yeah, we can. Okay." He was quiet for a long time, then listening. I sat up, cross legged on the floor, and tried to catch his eye, hoping to figure out if it was who I thought it was and was reminded again that he hadn't called his brothers in just about a week. Maybe more. Things had been kind of crazy, I guess, but I figured they were worried sick about him. After we'd gone swimming, then church…then waiting for Rita to call back, I guess we'd been distracted. Darry wasn't gonna like that excuse, though. Dal neither, not when I'd promised to get him to call home.
"Yeah…bye." His voice was about hoarse when he hung up, and he swallowed real hard, his head back against the couch.
"Pone?" I asked, sitting up on my knees to try and get a better look at him in the dark. "Was it her?"
"Yeah," he muttered.
"Rita?" I confirmed, not willing to leave this to chance.
"Yeah."
"What did she say?"
He released a long, watery sigh, sniffing a little. "She talked to my brothers a few hours ago…agreed to talk to the fuzz. Darry called that cop he knows and she told him everything. They…they've got a warrant out for Richard." His voice broke a little, and I wondered if I'd ever heard him say the guy's name when he wasn't sick or half-asleep. He sniffed again, trying to keep it together. "She said the cop just called the house…said Richard wasn't home and his wife didn't know anything. They arrested her too. They think one of his friends is hiding him." He took a long breath but didn't say anything else.
"Where is she?"
"She said she's staying with a friend for the night. She didn't tell them that she'd talked to us…said she wasn't supposed to know where we were. She was at a payphone."
"Dally ain't gonna want us to come home…not before they catch him."
"I don't care," he told me softly. "I want to go home."
I stood up, then dropped onto the sofa beside him. He wasn't crying…just staring at his lap, hands clenched. I put a hand on his shoulder, thinking carefully. It wasn't safe yet. We wouldn't be safe…well, Pony wouldn't. And after all this…if Pony got hurt…then what was the point of any of this? But I wanted to go home too. And I knew he'd be better off with his brothers.
"I can stay with Dally at Buck's. I mean…drop by, see Soda and Darry, but hide out at Dally's. Buck's place should be safe. At least until they catch that guy. There's people there all the time, and Dally's got a gun." Pony did too, but neither of us mentioned it. "I want to go home. I haven't seen them in almost a year," he whispered.
He was right. And maybe we would have to stay at Buck's or somewhere else. Heck, with Tim or something. But the guys back home would keep us safe. Us. Us, because I sure wasn't about to leave him. Not now. He was my best friend and my brother and I was sticking by him until I was sure he was safe. He'd been away from his family for so long, and it was time to go home. Squeezing his shoulder, I nodded.
"Tomorrow, we'll tell Mr. Williams. We'll take those books back to the library, and see if we can get our paychecks. We'll tell James and…" I hesitated, not able to believe I was saying this. "And then we'll go home."
