Sat. Nov. 19, 1966

The first birthday of Dallas Winston without him. We all went to his grave to start an annual visit to his grave for his birthday to show he was still in our hearts and that we won't forget him. I was the only one that cried but my friends were there to console me. We weren't there long but we replaced the old flowers and without thinking I spoke aloud the epitaph I wrote for him. I memorized it.

"Dallas Winston… A hood he may have been, though a friend 'til the end. Yes, he lied, cheated, stole, and swore but that will be no more. He was gallant to his buddies and a disgrace to the outside world. He earned what he got and he got what he wanted."

They didn't say anything to my random speech. We stood there for awhile, thinking, admiring, remembering Dallas. He was definitely a handful and a whole lot of trouble but at times he could be the one to be everything you need.

"C'mon, let's go." Darry said. They just dropped me off at home because I wasn't in the mood for company. It was only this day that I felt I couldn't feel anything but remorse. Tomorrow things would go back to normal and I wouldn't be so sad.

Sun. Nov. 20, 1966

Like I had predicted, I was okay today. Kevin, the Curtis cousin, woke me up. I thought it was Soda when I first looked at him.

"Kevin?" I was still tired and my eyes kept closing.

"Yeah, it's me." He helped me out of bed. I sat up and he sat next to me. "I decided to come and visit. I hope you don't mind."

"No, I don't mind at all. I actually am really happy to see you." I cheered.

After getting dressed, we went over to Soda's house and we hung out with Kevin all day. Two-Bit got drunk but we had a real good time.

Tues. Dec. 27, 1966

When both parents want to talk to you and don't sound happy, something is wrong and something is gonna change. My mom had called earlier this morning and said that she and my dad wanted to talk to me. They said this topic included Travis and Max too.

I drove over to the house and was a bit worried. I didn't know what to expect. I walked in and everyone was in the living room waiting for me. Johnny was there too. This must be some serious family business.

"Have a seat Typhani." Dad said. I took the seat next to Travis. Mom's eyes were red. She must have been crying. "Your mother and I have to come to a mutual decision that it would be best if we took some time apart."

"So you're getting a divorce?" I asked.

"Yes. We thought arguing all the time isn't gonna help anything so it just might be time to take a break." There was long, awkward pause. "Your mother decided she'd move out into another home. Travis and Max you're welcome to go to either house at any time. And you too Typhani, if you need to." Another awkward pause. "Well, that's all." I guess that was the sign to leave. Mom and Dad walked toward the kitchen and I followed Travis to the stairs.

"What were they arguing about?" I asked Travis before he went upstairs.

"You want to know the truth?" I nodded. "They've been arguing about your safety ever since you moved out. They were trying to decide whether or not to force you back home. You're their main topic because you're never around anymore." Fantastic. I was the cause of the divorce. I wanted to cry. Who could I go to talk to? Sodapop Curtis. His name forced a smile on my face.

He was definitely at work right now. That would work; seeing Soda would cheer me up. Steve would just be the cherry on top.

"What's wrong?" I didn't even say anything and Soda could all ready tell that I was upset about something.

"Uhm…" I started and scratched the back of my head. "Well, my parents are getting a divorce and it's all my fault." I leaned up against the car behind me.

"I'm sure you're over exaggerating." Soda said.

"Travis said that they've been fighting about me for a long time."

"What do they say about you?" Steve asked.

"They talk about my safety and how I'm never around anymore."

"Well, I'm sorry about your parents."

Wed. Dec. 28, 1966

It was real late and none of us were tired. So we got in the car and drove to the drive-in. Two-Bit and Steve brought a date, I kinda went with Soda (nothing was official yet since we broke up, even though it's been like three months), and Pony just tagged along. Two-Bit went in his car with his date and Steve and Evie (Steve's date); and, Soda took me and Pony in his truck. Darry stayed home. We parked next to each other and all crammed in the trunk space of the truck.

We didn't watch the movie much, just talked and enjoyed the time together. Two-Bit mainly made-out with his girlfriend, so, we made him go back in his car.

We were there for hours. We were there for so long that some people that worked there had to kick us out. I crashed at Soda's house and on his shoulder. We started off just talking but the conversation started to bore me, so I slowly drifted to sleep.

Thurs. Dec. 29, 1966

I woke up late today and was late for work. My boss didn't get mad but made me work overtime. So really it was no big deal.

Sat. Dec. 31, 1966

I went to bed early tonight because I was bored and tired enough to sleep.

I am sitting on the couch waiting for someone. I don't know who to expect to come out but I knew that we were going somewhere special, like a date, because Two-Bit, Pony, and Steve were there. They each had a date. I was dressed in a pretty blue dress and the guys were in tuxedos. Then out walked Dallas. I looked at him with the biggest admiring eyes ever. He looked amazing and I was awe-struck. He gazed back at me and smiled. Dallas put out his hand I stood up as I took his hand. Dallas Winston was my date to the dance. We danced all night and had the greatest night ever. At the very last dance, Dallas brought my face to his…

The phone woke me up when it rang. I sighed because I came to realize that Dallas was still gone. It took me awhile to get up to answer the phone but when I got there, Cherry had answered it.

"Typhani, the phone's for you." Cherry said. I could tell that the phone woke her up too because she was still tired. I went to answer the phone. I looked at the clock. It was two o' clock in the morning.

Typhani: Hello?

Meredith: Hi Typhani, this is Meredith, Travis' girlfriend. Um, look, we're at this party and the boys got Travis really drunk and now they're making him do stupid things but I got them to stop. Ashton just brought him inside and just left him on the couch. I need your help.

Typhani: How did you get my number?

Meredith: It's on Aston's fridge.

Typhani: Of course it is. Um, I'll come over and we can bring him back to my place.

Meredith: Thank you!

Typhani: Anytime.

I went to change and quickly fix my hair. My hair did not look good in the morning. I got in my car and rushed to Ashton's house. There were tons of people outside and music was blasting; I could hear it from inside my car.

"Where's Meredith?" I asked the closet sober person.

"Inside." I found her sitting on the couch next to Travis.

"Meredith?" I asked just to make sure that was her.

"Yeah." Travis was sitting on the couch, hitting on Meredith and laughing at nothing. We held him on each side and supported his weight. He was heavy. We carefully put him in the truck. Meredith climbed in next him.

"Meredith, where you going?" Some guy asked her.

"Away; before the police arrive." She was serious but it was not a threat to call the police and he didn't show any signs of worry.

"We can take him back to my house. Otherwise, if my dad saw him, he would flip." Meredith and I brought Travis inside and laid him on the couch. I told Meredith she could sleep in my room and I would sleep on the couch to stay with Travis.

"…or I guess you could go home if you wanted to." I said later.

"Well, you look pretty tired and you'd have to take me home, so I'll just stay here. Thank you." She explained.

"You can borrow any of my clothes, just make yourself comfortable. Wake me up if you need anything." I offered. Travis was still awake and he wouldn't go to sleep. I laid him down with a blanket and a pillow and hopefully he would get the message. I fell asleep easily.

"Typhani!" Someone called my name and woke me up.

"Dad?"

"Have you seen Travis?" I took a quick look at the other couch and Travis wasn't there. Then he came out of the bathroom with wet hair and a towel around his waist.

"Oh, look there he is." I said.

"Travis where were you last night?" Dad asked him.

"I got drunk and Typhani brought me here." Travis put his hand to his head as if he had a headache… or a hangover, of course. No one talked for some time. Dad didn't explode or get outrageously mad.

"You're not mad at him?" I asked.

"Well, his curfew was three AM and I fell asleep before he was supposed to come home. I am not mad because he was at a new year's party and he was not caught drinking when the police arrived. Ron called me to tell that they did arrest some kids for underage drinking. Then he told me they didn't arrest Travis because he had a good sister." He explained. I wasn't buying his kiss-up by calling me a good sister.

"Why did you want to be a cop in the first place? Do you enjoy other peoples' pain?" It wasn't much of a question. I just said it to show that I was still upset with him.

"When I was ten-years-old my best friend was killed by a drunk driver while crossing the street. Since then I've always wanted to cage those animals." I felt bad for what I had said earlier but I didn't apologize. Then I remembered when I was only fifteen and still living at home, when one of Travis' friends, Danny, got into a drunk driving accident and my father was hysterical. He was yelling and screaming at Travis and my mom even took Max out for ice cream so he wouldn't experience my dad's ugly side. I had read about Danny in the paper. That's how I found out the whole story. Travis was not willing to talk about it. After that night, it hasn't been brought up.

Drunken Teen Crashes and Kills

Local teen, Daniel Hastings, was at a party Saturday night and illegally drinking. Around nine-thirty he gathered himself and a few friends (Ashton Carter, Travis Taylor, and Ricky Thompson). The friends of Daniel that had joined him had also been drinking.

After driving for about five minutes, it was too much for Travis and he jumped out of the car. He does not suffer from any serious injuries, just a sprained ankle. Travis was found twenty minutes later by Officer Ron Cherwell. Daniel continued driving with two in the back seat. He came up to a stop light and ran a red light therefore hitting a crossing vehicle. Inside the victim's car was only George Andrewson. Mr. Andrewson, along with Ricky Thompson, was killed in the crash. Daniel and his friend, Ashton, were injured and hospitalized. They do not suffer from injury but suffer the consequence of juvenile hall and regret.

"Well, Travis we better go."

"Dad, I can take care of myself. I'll come home later." Travis defended.

"Right." Dad left without another word. Travis and I stared at each other for a moment. I went in my room to see if Meredith was still there. She wasn't but there was a note on the bed.

Typhani –

I went through the window (I hope you don't mind) because I had a curfew and I don't want to get in trouble. Let me know how Travis is. Call me 852-9235

-Meredith

I walked back out to the living room and saw Travis eating breakfast. He was still clad in only a towel. I grimaced with disgust. I took a seat at the table across from him but I paid no attention to him.

"Where's Meredith?"

"I had a dream last night. We were going to a dance. I was waiting for my date. Steve, Two-Bit and Pony were there too. My date was Dallas. He was gonna kiss me but the phone woke me up before he did." I told the story with my eyes fixed on the wall, like I was waiting for it to tell me something.

"He's gone Typhie. I'm sorry." My eyes moved to him as he called me the name he gave me when we were real little. He hadn't called me that since we were like five. It definitely caught my attention.

"But it was nice, though, to feel his presence again. It keeps him alive." He nodded and just looked at me like I was crazy.

Travis wasn't much fun anymore. He ate our food and watched TV. Thankfully, he left around lunch time.