I met Keith for lunch the next day at Tastee Freeze. It was hard to remember that he was going by his real name instead of Two-Bit and I had to stop myself several times while talking because I was so used to his childhood nickname. He didn't seem to notice though, and even said I could call him Two-Bit if I really wanted to.

"No, I should get used to calling you Keith," I told him.

"So, tell me about Chicago," Keith said, putting his arms behind his head. "I've been there before for visits, but I want to know what it was like to live there."

"There's not much to tell," I replied. "Living there really wasn't much different from living here."

"Did you ever go swimming in Lake Michigan?" Keith asked.

I shook my head. "No, the water was always too cold for me. It's like stepping into ice water year round."

Keith grinned and took a drink of his sweet tea, something I didn't think I'd ever see him drink. He was still the funny guy that I had grown up with, only he had become more serious and mature.

"You know, I've missed having you around," Keith said after awhile. "I miss Pony, too. It's not the same around here without you guys."

"It hasn't been the same since Johnny and Dally died," I pointed out.

"No," Keith sighed. "But I didn't think there would be so many changes in such a short amount of time. It's like everything happened so fast and none of us really had a chance to get used to one change before another one happened."

I knew what he meant. The gang was still getting over the loss of Johnny and Dally when I got sent over to Vietnam and Soda went not long after I did. It seemed like our world was turned upside down in an instant and it never occurred to me that Keith may have had a hard time dealing with all the changes that went on. After all, he had always had a smile on his face and a joke to keep us grinning ourselves. I never thought that maybe he was hurting too, and just didn't know how to deal with it. He wasn't one to let someone know if something was bothering him. As far as he was concerned, his job was to keep everyone else happy while he kept his true emotions to himself.

"I missed you, too," I admitted.

"You could have called," Keith told me.

"I know," I sighed.

"But I understand why you didn't," Keith continued.

"You do?" I asked.

"Hey, you're not the only one who was good friends with Soda," Keith said with a small grin. "Sure, it would have been nice to have you and Pony stick around, but I can understand why both of you would want to leave."

"Didn't Ponyboy get drafted, too?" I asked.

Keith shrugged. "I'm really not sure. He left as soon as he turned eighteen because he didn't want to get drafted. I think his moving to Canada was harder on Darry than losing Soda was. Darry used to worry about Ponyboy constantly when he first moved away. It wasn't until Ponyboy came home for a visit after the war was over that Darry was finally okay with the idea of him living so far away. He knows that Ponyboy is just a phone call away and will visit when he can."

"Have you ever been to Ponyboy's house?" I found myself asking.

"Darry has," Keith replied. "You should ask him to show you pictures of it when you see him again. It's a really nice looking house, although I supposed the pictures aren't as nice as seeing the house in person."

"I'll have to do that," I told him as he looked at his watch.

"Well, I hate to say it, but I have to get back to work," Keith said with a sigh. "You have my phone number, right?"

"Yes I do," I said as we stood up.

"Give me a call sometime," Keith told me. "Although I'm sure I'll be seeing you at Darry's later."

"Yeah, he invited me over for supper again tonight," I said.

"You can see the pictures of Ponyboy's house," Keith said. "I'll see you later."

I stood outside the building and watched as Keith got into his car and drove away. It had been nice talking with him again. I had forgotten what a good friend he was and felt bad for not staying in touch with him. Maybe my leaving after Soda's death had been a selfish move on my part, but at the time, I didn't know what else to do. Just like I didn't know how to give up my drug habit.