Hi everyone! The title of this chapter comes from yet another song by The Doors. Such a great band! Check them out if you've never heard their music!
And I don't own The Outsiders.
9 – Summer's almost gone
"I'm sittin' in the railway station…got a ticket for my destination…" I sang along to Simon and Garfunkel's song Homeward Bound as I was doing some ironing.
"Not Simon and Garfunkel again!" Soda pleaded, entering the room. "You been listenin' to them all week long!"
"So?" I shrugged. "Their music is relaxing, I love it. How did you manage to rip your t-shirt once again?" I asked, eyeing the shirt I was ironing.
"Farm work." He simply said. "C'mon, let's hear something else for a change!"
"Okay. Will you change record? I want to listen to Tambourine Man."
Soda clearly wished he hadn't said anything since he didn't really like The Byrds that much, but put on their record anyway. "Listen… I should go out for a while tonight, I need to talk to my boss and stuff, d'you mind? I'll be back before midnight." he said.
He had never gone out at night before, but I didn't think much of it and nodded. "Sure. Joan's coming over after dinner, she said she's got some news."
"Tuff enough, so you won't be alone, 'cause I think Pony's going out, too." He replied. "Did you go to the doctor's?"
"Yeah, everything's progressing just fine. I'm just two months along anyway…"
"Two months and a half." Soda corrected me, like he wanted to make sure I didn't forget.
"He said I should eat more healthy though." I added.
"What's wrong with what we eat?" Soda asked curiously.
"We barely eat any vegetables." I reminded him. "And way too much sweet stuff. But you can eat whatever you want, it's not you the one who's expecting." I ironically said. "By the way, this morning I went out to look for a job, but I didn't find anything."
"I told you there ain't no need to. It ain't like you can work for much…"
"I can't even stay at home all day long, cleaning and cooking." The sheer thought made me feel nauseous. Or maybe it was the baby.
"You know what, I think we should leave Tulsa for some days and have a nice vacation…in Florida!" he grinned.
"What?"
"You heard! I have a dozen days off work in August, we can go!" he happily said.
"But…" I didn't even know why I was trying to object. Going somewhere with Soda on vacation would be great, we didn't get to travel too much and he didn't get too much rest, either. "I'll start looking for accommodation then, if you know which days you're free."
"I'll ask Mr. Danes." Mr. Danes was his boss. "I'll cook tonight!" He cheerfully said and I watched him disappear into the kitchen. I wondered what he'd cook. Surely something that would turn out looking 'interesting'…for lack of a better word.
Later that night, Joan and I were chatting quite animatedly and eating popcorn. I was really craving popcorn at the moment.
"Remember I told you I had some big news?" Joan asked. I nodded. "Adam…"
"Yes?" I urged her.
"He proposed…we're getting married!" she exclaimed, a huge smile plastered on her face.
"That's awesome!" I hugged her. "When?"
"In September! Of course, I want you and Helene to be my bridesmaids along with my sister!"
"Sure I will!"
I thought of the day of my wedding. Sophie and another friend of mine had been my bridesmaids and my dad had walked me down the aisle…where Sodapop was standing, looking more handsome than ever…my heart was pounding so fast the whole time…
"Do you think Helene will be back in town by September or will she still be working in San Francisco?"
"I think…wait a second." The phone rang and I answered. "Hello?"
"Hello, John Bryant speaking. Can I speak with Sodapop Curtis?"
I had never heard this guy's name before. "I'm sorry, he's out…he'll be back late, do you want to leave a message for him?"
"Yeah, can you tell him he should ride tomorrow night? There's been lots of requests and we added another date."
"Ride?" I repeated uncertainly.
"Yeah, saddle bronc, as usual. He can find me at the usual number if he needs to call."
"Alright…thanks." I slowly hung up. I wasn't sure what was going on. That guy had mentioned saddle bronc, but Soda couldn't be actually riding…could he? I was suddenly feeling dizzy.
"Sybil, are you okay?" Joan asked, noticing something was wrong.
"I'm fine." I muttered. "Fine…" I repeated mechanically. I was hoping that guy had dialed the wrong number, but he knew Soda's name perfectly well. Why did he lie to me?
I couldn't fall asleep that night, despite getting up early in the morning.I kept glancing at the clock on the bedside table. 12.23. Why was Soda that late?
I heard footsteps coming closer and the door opening. Soda quietly entered the room and took his clothes off, before sneaking next to me. I pretended I was asleep. I didn't feel like talking at the moment.
"Sybil? I know you're awake…"
Damn. Why had he noticed? I didn't answer.
"Sorry I'm late. You ain't mad at me?"
"No." I muttered. "John Bryant called."
Sodapop fidgeted nervously beside me. I added: "Said you should ride tomorrow night, too. Why didn't you tell me anything?"
"Cause I knew you wouldn't approve. Look, it was just every now and then while you were in San Francisco, to make some extra money… tonight should've been the last time." He explained.
"Some extra money?" I repeated. "We've not come to the point where we need money badly! And you know I don't like rodeos, not when you're the one riding! It's dangerous!"
"It ain't like I'm riding bulls, calm down-"
"Don't tell me to calm down! You should have told me, I felt awful when that Bryant phoned!"
"But we have the money to go to Florida without wasting our savings now! I did it for us!"
"Yeah, well, I prefer staying home. I don't wanna go anymore." I got out of bed. "I'm gonna sleep on the sofa!"
"No you ain't!" Soda got up and reached me.
"Yes I am!"
"If you wanna be alone, I'll go sleep on the sofa." He left the room. I lay down but couldn't fall asleep for a long time.
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I didn't sleep well at all. I woke up every now and then, looked beside me and not finding Soda I wondered why, then I remembered about our discussion and went back to sleep…or tried to. So, the following morning, when I got up at 8, I was feeling awful. Soda had already left and Ponyboy was having breakfast in the kitchen.
"Morning, Sybil. Want some scrambled eggs?"
"Yes, please…" I rubbed my temples.
"Didn't you sleep well last night?" Ponyboy asked, looking at me worriedly. "Feeling sick again?"
"A bit. Thanks." I started eating, but my stomach didn't want to collaborate and I had to stop, before rushing to the bathroom. When I came back, Pony gave me a sympathetic look. "I should go to work…" He had found a summer job. "But I can stay if you aren't feeling well."
"I'll be okay, don't worry! Will you be back for lunch?"
"Nope, but Soda said he would." He informed me.
I was hoping I wouldn't see Sodapop till later, cause I was still a bit angry. "Alright."
I tried to keep myself as busy as possible that morning. I cleaned the bedrooms and the bathroom and I went to the library to return some books Ponyboy and I had borrowed. Then, since it was almost midday, I started cooking lunch.
"I'm home!" Soda announced, not much later. When he entered the kitchen, he had already taken his shoes off and was walking barefoot, as usual. He greeted me and kissed me on the cheek. "You still mad?"
"I'm not mad." The way I spoke those words clearly contradicted my affirmation.
"Well, you won't be for long. Here." He gave me two letters. One was from my brother and I immediately tore it open. I quickly read it all before exclaiming: "Oh goodness…he says he's engaged! And getting married soon! And I don't even know the girl!"
"What? Won't he come and visit?"
"He doesn't say…" I read the letter once again, but Lewis didn't specifically say he'd stop by and visit, to introduce me to his future wife. "I can't believe it! First Joan last night, now him…"
Soda looked at me curiously. "Joan?"
"She told me Adam's proposed to her and they're getting married in September…she wants me to be one of the bridesmaids."
"Wow…so many people are getting married all of a sudden." Soda gave voice to my thoughts perfectly.
He sat down and ate, while I read Helene's letter. She didn't have any great news, she said she just felt like writing to me and she told me a little about her job at the Californian.
I put her letter on the table. "At least she's not marrying someone anytime soon." I commented. Soda had almost finished his lunch and I remembered I was supposed to be mad at him. "I'm still angry anyway."
"I already said I'm sorry. Besides, I'm sure the baby doesn't want you to get all upset over this. He'll love horses."
I looked at him sceptically. "Who says it'll be a boy?"
"Why not?" Soda shrugged. "And even if it's a girl, she'll love horses, I know it." He got up and gently rested his hand on my still flat stomach. "What? Sure. I'll tell her. Okay." He looked up at me. "Baby says mom shouldn't get mad because dad loves her too much and it ain't fair to make him feel bad."
I smiled. "Listen, I didn't want to get that mad at you, I overreacted…I don't know why…I know you love rodeos and everything, but…even your dad made you quit and I'm just worried you might end up hurting yourself."
"I know. I should've told you about it, I made a mistake. But I won't lie to you anymore and…" he sighed. "I won't go tonight. I called Bryant earlier and told him I'm out."
"That's great. Oh, wait." I pretended to listen to something and then added: "Baby's proud of us 'cause we're fighting no more." I remembered something. "Soda, have you talked with Steve lately?"
"Not much. Why?"
"Cause…I think he and Evie don't get along well lately. Last time I was at their house, looking after Julie, they had just had a fight. I hope it's nothing serious."
"You worry too much. Steve and Evie have always had fights, it's just the way they are."
"Yes, but since they have a daughter they shouldn't fight in front of her…or let her know they're mad at each other." I reasoned.
"I'll talk to Steve, okay? If he even listens to me. He's so stubborn. Now…" he paused. "Ain't you having lunch?"
"I'm not hungry. Whatever I eat, I'm gonna throw up, anyway." I sighed.
"Poor baby. Come here!" Soda embraced me. That made me feel better. Before knowing Soda, I'd never thought another person could make me feel so vulnerable and so strong at the same time.
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By the end of August, I wasn't feeling sick anymore and I was very grateful for that and I guess Soda and Pony were too, because my mood also improved greatly. Soda and I spent one week in Florida, which was very relaxing…for the most part. Some girls on the beach walked by Soda and I's spot lots of times during the day, to take a good look at him, probably. If he went to get something to drink it'd take ages to him to come back, because some girl would always start chatting with him. I thought they had to be really dense if they didn't notice the ring on his finger, or maybe they just didn't care. There were hippies on the beach, too.
Back in Tulsa, Joan was driving everyone crazy because the day of her wedding was approaching fast. She was very nervous. I couldn't recall being that nervous, but my wedding had been much smaller than hers.
My brother had also phoned to tell me he'd come by in September. He hadn't told me much about his fiancée.
"Maybe he's just anxious 'cause he wants you to like her." Soda suggested.
"Lewis? Anxious? No way! I think he's acting egotistical as usual."
When my brother finally arrived in town, he showed up alone. As we were sitting at the kitchen table with Sodapop, I started asking him about his girlfriend. "What?" he had a confused look on his face. "What girlfriend?"
"The one you proposed to!" I reminded him.
"Oh, you mean Jennifer…I never proposed to her."
"Lewis, you're confusing me…you wrote me a letter saying you were engaged!" I exclaimed.
"We were! But we broke it off…the engagement. I never proposed, she wanted me to marry her and I accepted, but then…it just wasn't meant to be, we broke up a couple of weeks ago."
"You don't look sad at all." I noticed.
"That's cause she was driving me crazy. I don't even know why I agreed to marry her, but I'm glad I'm free now. I don't guess I'll settle down that easily." He said.
My brother was insane. I decided I'd better tell him about the baby, since he didn't know yet, and he reacted like I thought he would: he congratulated Sodapop and I and asked when I was due. He looked happy for us, but he also looked lonely and I wondered why he couldn't stay in a relationship for more than two months in a row.