I'm sorry I didn't update earlier, but I haven't really had time to do so because of my exams (believe it or not… here in Italy we have exams until early July and it sucks)! I also haven't felt really inspired but I hope you like this chapter anyway… thanks for sticking around!

11 – Baby names and omelettes

"Sodapop? Will you make me an omelette? Please?"

"You never liked my omelettes before!"

"You should be happy someone wants to eat your food, Soda!" Ponyboy piped up, laughing.

Soda threw a pillow at him. "I thought you were going to the movies with Lauren tonight."

Ponyboy looked caught off guard for a second. "Right…yeah, I better go."

He left while Soda hollered: "Don't come home too late!" Then he turned to look at me: "So, now that we're alone…"

I interrupted him: "An omelette? Please?"

"Alright!" Soda got up and reluctantly headed for the kitchen. "Did you notice anything wrong with Pony lately?" he asked when he came back to the living room with my omelette.

"What do you mean?" I replied.

"I ain't sure, but since last week he's been acting a bit different. Like something's troubling him but he's trying to ignore it…"

"Did you talk to him?"

"Not yet. Maybe if he doesn't come home too late we'll chat later. So, how d'you like it?"

"It's delicious! What did you put in here?"

"Believe me…you don't wanna know." Soda grinned. He then started talking to the baby. He did that a lot and when I was alone I did it too. It made me feel really relaxed. "By the way, Soda, we should really start thinking seriously about names. I'm kind of tired of calling our baby the baby, you know?"

"We still have two months to choose the name. I'm sure if we choose the name now, we'll end up changing our mind a million times before February."

"Still…I think-"

I stopped talking because I heard the front door slamming. Soda frowned and went to see what was going on.

"Pony, what's wrong?" I heard him say. "You only went out half an hour ago…"

I couldn't hear Ponyboy's voice. He was probably talking very quietly. Soda then started soothing him and told him to come sit down in the living room, but obviously Pony didn't want to, because Soda came back alone, informing me his brother had gone in his room.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"Looks like he and Lauren broke up."

I nodded. "I see. He must be feeling awful."

"Well, I don't know. I think he was the one who decided to break up with her, he must've been thinking about it for a while. I guess that's why he was so upset this past week." Soda explained, sitting next to me.

"Maybe…" I agreed.

"You don't look surprised."

"That's because…I always thought Ponyboy and Lauren would eventually break up. I mean, I wasn't wishing for it, of course, but… I always had the feeling Lauren wasn't right for Pony. Besides, he's young, he's got plenty of times to find the right person."

Soda looked at me, taken aback. "I guess…you may be right. Pony must feel awful now…d'you mind if me and him go out tomorrow? Just so I can cheer him up a bit."

"Sure, that's a good idea." I approved. "I hope he doesn't feel too bad about leaving Lauren."

"You know what he's like, it'll take him some time to feel better."

After talking about Ponyboy for a while, I changed subject: "About the names for the baby…you don't like the name Holden, do you?"

Sodapop stared at me disbelievingly: "Have you re-read The Catcher in the Rye once again?"

"Yeah, so what? Holden Patrick Curtis has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" I said.

"Why Patrick?"

"I thought the middle name of the baby should be yours. Holden Patrick Curtis is a nice name." I insisted.

"You perfectly know I think Holden is a ridiculous name."

"It's original! No one else will share our baby's name…"

"That's for sure." He remarked jokingly.

"Okay, let's drop it. I'm tired and I'm going to bed." I got up and kissed him. "Night."

"Night."

-------------------------------------------------

"You sure have a great house, Joan…"

"Yes, it's very nice!"

"Thank you! Adam and I almost drove ourselves crazy when we had to decide where to place the different pieces of furniture, we couldn't agree on anything, but you know how it goes…you've been married way longer than me!" she replied.

I looked at Soda and he looked at me. We were sitting on a very comfortable sofa in Joan and Adam's living room, waiting for him to get back from work so we'd have dinner together. Joan had invited us a couple of days before.

"I guess…" Truth was, Sodapop and I hadn't fully furnished our house until a few months into the marriage. And even that, we agreed pretty much on everything. "Did you hear anything from Helene? I thought she'd come to Tulsa for Thanksgiving, but she didn't…"

"I know, I thought the same. She has to come back for Christmas anyway or I'll be very mad at her! Not to mention, her parents will be upset, too." Joan said. "Adam and I wanted to throw a little party to celebrate Christmas with our friends…if we do, you'll come?"

"Sure. I mean…Ponyboy can come too, right?" I asked her. Since Pony had broken up with Lauren, he had been feeling miserable.

"Of course he can." Joan smiled. "Look, it must be Adam!" she exclaimed when the doorbell rang and she got up to answer.

"Why do they lock the door?" Soda whispered.

"I don't know. Probably cause they've got a damn beautiful house." I replied. "Joan's so much in love with Adam, she can't stop mentioning him for a second!" I smiled.

"I noticed!"

Adam then entered the room and grinned. "Hi, Sybil, Sodapop! How are you doing?"

I smiled back at him. He was a nice looking guy: he had curly dark brown hair and warm brown eyes. When he smiled, he showed two dimples, one on each cheek, and he was a very outgoing kind of person, almost never serious. That's probably why he and Soda got along so well.

"Adam, go get changed so we'll have dinner!" Joan urged him.

"Alright!" he sighed. "Be back in a minute!"

Not much later we ate dinner and when we finished I helped Joan with the dishes, while Sodapop and Adam chatted in the living room.

Joan and I talked about unimportant stuff, until she gave vent to her feelings about her parents: "My dad's fine most of the time, but my mom is a whole different story. She never leaves me alone, she thinks I don't know how to do anything! Once, when she and dad had lunch here, she told me I shouldn't do this and I shouldn't do that, and…really, I'm glad at least she doesn't criticize Adam, cause if she did, I'd lose my temper!"

"What does Adam say about her?"

"He's okay with her. He likes my parents and I never understood why."

"Probably because they love him as well." I suggested.

"You're right. Sometimes I really wish they didn't live close to us, though!"

"You do?" I quietly said. I was actually a bit jealous of Joan and Helene and everyone else who still had parents.

"Yeah, I…" she seemed to realize something. "Sorry, Sybil, I didn't mean to upset you!"

"That's fine. Sometimes I just miss my parents so much…especially now that I'm going to have a child."

"Your parents would be proud of you if they could see you now." She assured me.

"Thanks…"

"So…you found a name for the baby yet?"

"No. I want a unique name, but not ridiculous…"

"If Adam and I's first child is a boy…when we have one, I mean…I'd like to name him after Adam…Adam Samuel Cameron Jr.!"

"I'm happy things between you and Adam are going so well…" I thought of Helene and Seth. I wondered if they were back together.

Soon we were reached by our husbands who had grown tired of waiting for us in the living room. "Does anyone want some coffee?" Adam asked, eyeing Soda and me.

"No, thank you. I'd love some, but I can't…" I said.

"Right…I kinda forgot…" Adam showed his goofy grin once again. He and Joan reminded me so much of Soda and I when we first got married.

-----------------------------------------------

The rest of December went by soon and the New Year began. I was eight months along and I was starting to get impatient and long for the day I'd give birth to Soda and I's baby.

"I'm home!" Sodapop exclaimed, slamming the front door behind him. "Hey, Juliet!" He kissed me. "Had a good day?"

"No. I'm tired. What about you?"

"I'm great! And guess what?"

"What?"

"This policewoman made me pull over the car while I was coming back home and she wanted to give me tickets for speeding, but I was able to convince her otherwise." He quickly said.

"I suppose you flirted with her."

"A bit." He admitted.

"How old did she look?"

"She looked like she was in her late 30's."

"I can't believe a woman that age would lust after a 24-year-old." I shook my head. "What's wrong with people these days?"

"I don't know. I'm just happy she changed her mind about the tickets." Soda grinned.

"Alright." I shushed him. "I was watching the news on TV."

"So? What did they say?"

"The President announced the suspension of offensive action in North Vietnam…and said peace negotiations are progressing well." I informed him.

Soda stared at the screen of the TV with a blank look on his face. They weren't talking about the Vietnam War anymore, but he seemed entranced by what they were showing on screen. I understood he wasn't really seeing what was in front of him though: he was remembering, and re-living, once again, those days.

I put my hand on his shoulder. "Soda…"

"Yeah, I know." He stood up and seemed to go back to his normal self. "How would you like pizza for dinner?"

"I'd love it, but-"

"I'm sure Pony's fine with it, too, so I'll go get some now. Be back soon."

He quickly left. I hoped he was fine, I hated seeing him reminiscing about the past. That very moment I felt the baby kicking. He usually was pretty quiet, so it surprised me… "I hope Soda and I get to choose your name before you're born." I told him. Who knew finding the right name could be that difficult?