When I arrived at Darry's house later that night, I stood on the porch feeling a little lost. When I was younger, I used to just walk in and know that it was okay. But now I wasn't sure if I should ring the doorbell or not. It just felt strange not knowing what to do at a place I had once been so familar with. After a minute, I rang the doorbell.

"Come on in," Darry said when he opened the door. "Oh, and be careful of the Leggos on the floor. Matt's trying to build a castle."

"See my bear?" Anna asked me from behind Darry's leg. She held out a pink bear with a rainbow on it's stomach. "Daddy got me it."

"That's a nice bear," I told her.

"She really likes those Care Bears," Darry told me as he motioned for me to have a seat. "Everything she wants now has to have Care Bears."

"Is that what they're called?" I asked.

Darry nodded as he stepped over the pile of Leggos. "Fortunately, Care Bears are easier to pick up than Leggos. And they don't hurt if you happen to step on them in the middle of the night."

"I have two bears," Anna told me.

"One is mine," Matt said as he came into the room and sat down to work on his castle. "But I let her have it. My grandma gave it to me for my birthday."

"Keith should be here soon," Darry told me. "He's going to be surprised to see you, Steve. I'm not even sure if he'll recognize you after all these years."

"You did," I said. "How are his mom and sister?"

"They're doing okay," Darry replied. "His mom works as a waitress and got remarried about ten years ago. Carol lives in Seattle and works as a receptionist in a doctors office."

We sat for a few minutes in uncomfortable silence. My eyes kept looking at the flag that was folded into a triangle and placed in a case above the arm chair along with a few pictures of Soda. Soda had been buried with military honors and I remembered being one of the soldiers to help fold that flag at the funeral. I could recall forcing myself not to look at Darry or Ponyboy during those few minutes because if I had, I probably would have lost it. Especially if I had looked at Ponyboy. The kid had been devastated when he heard that Soda had been killed in combat and he was the one who had to break the news to Darry which had to be harder than telling us that Johnny had died.

"I take the kids to visit Soda's grave almost every week," Darry told me. "Pony goes there a lot, too when he visits."

"Does he visit often?" I asked.

"He tries to stop by at least once a year for vacation," Darry replied. "Speaking of Pony, he might be calling sometime tonight. His wife is in the hospital now."

"Is she okay?" I asked. Ponyboy had been through enough during his life.

Darry laughed as he nodded. "I forgot to tell you earlier that they're expecting a baby. His wife is in labor now as we speak."

"That's exciting," I told him.

"Hey, is this where the free food is?" Keith asked as he walked inside without bothering to knock or ring the doorbell.

"No, we charge five dollars a plate now," a woman said as she came out of the kitchen. She gave Keith a hug. "It's nice to see you again, Keith."

"Nice to see you too, Diane," Keith said.

Diane turned to me with a smile. "And you must be Steve. Darry has told me so much about you over the years. I'm just sorry I haven't met you until now."

"Well, I haven't exactly been around to meet," I said as I went to shake her hand.

"Oh, give me a hug," Diane said with a laugh. "Supper is almost ready. I hope you like pork chops."

Diane went back to the kitchen while Keith looked at me with his mouth hanging open in surprise.

"I don't believe it," Keith finally said once he was able to speak. "Steve Randle has made a return. I thought we'd never see you again."

"He decided to come for a visit after buying Pony's book," Darry told him.

"And you didn't tell me?" Keith asked.

"It was kind of a surprise visit," I said. "Darry didn't even know I was coming until he saw me at the lot earlier today. And while I'm thinking about it, when did you decide to start going by your real name instead of Two-Bit?"

Keith grinned as he sat down next me. "When I decided to get serious about my life. I still like to have a good time, but there just came a point where I had to grow up. You can still call me Two-Bit if you want. I don't mind."

I nodded absently as Diane announced that supper was ready. We all stood up and went to the table where Matthew had already sat down. Anna stood next to me and looked up at Darry. "I want to sit next to Steve."

"Okay, you can sit next to Steve," Darry told her as he put a booster seat on the chair next to mine and helped her up on it. He grinned at me. "She seems to like you, Steve. Don't be surprised if she asks you to read to her later."

"Let me guess," I said. "She has a Care Bear story book."

"Not yet," Darry replied. "But I think a certain uncle of hers might be willing to buy her one for Christmas."

The phone rang then and Darry answered.

"Pony, we were just talking about you," Darry said. "Yeah, Keith's here for supper. Steve's here, too. Said he bought your book."

I looked at Darry who was listening to what Ponyboy was saying on the other end of the line. A big smile spread across his face.

"Well, I should let you go enjoy your new daughter," Darry said. "Tell Elizabeth I said hello."

Darry hung up and returned to the table. The rest of us all looked at him, waiting to hear what Pony had to say. He turned to me first.

"I hope you plan on sticking around Tulsa, Steve, because he wants to see you when he visits in a month," Darry told me. Then, he looked at everyone. "Pony and Elizabeth just had a baby girl. They named her Stephanie Lynn and she weighs six pounds four ounces. He says she's the cutest baby girl he's ever seen."

"I was cute," Anna said.

"Yes, you were," Diane agreed as she cut up Anna's pork chop. "You still are."

I started to eat my own dinner, glad that I had decided to return to Tulsa. When I had that morning, I had only planned on staying for a few days. But, now that I was back, I realized that I had no reason to return to Chicago. I had friends in Tulsa as well as my folks who still had no idea that I was in town. Tulsa was still home in many ways, even without Soda. It was the only place where I had friends who accepted me no matter what and I was stupid for leaving them. As I ate, I looked at Keith and Darry who were also eating. Both of them didn't seem to mind my sudden visit and Darry even seemed happy to have me there with them like the good old days. I had been gone for way to long.