Darry Curtis's Daughter Emily: (One-Shot)

Once Ponyboy left to go to college and SodaPop left for the war in Vietnam with Steve, I started to get real lonely and worried, and constantly needed updates on how they were doing. Ponyboy visited me every once in a while when he wasn't too busy, and I sometimes stopped by his place, when I wasn't too busy. Soda was who I was really worried about. Thankfully, he sent me letters every now and then to calm my nerves. I didn't have to take care of two other people in the house, so I had a lot of time for myself, and I so I took advantage of that and went to college. That's when I met the girl of my dreams. Anna Nelson. She was in one of my classes, and she was real beautiful and smart and funny. She was also very hardworking and liked to do things in her own way, which is the thing I think I admired most about her. I had never loved a girl like how I loved her. We had been together for five years, and I thought it was about time for me to pop the big question. I was gonna ask her to marry me.

I planned to ask her privately in our house on our anniversary. I made her a real fancy dinner and everything before I said anything. When the time came I was more nervous than ever, but when I finally said the words,

"Will you marry me," and she said,

"YES," I knew everything was gonna be alright.

We had a small wedding with only the gang. Ponyboy showed up, and so did Two-Bit, and Dally. Even Soda and Steve showed up to surprise me, and heck did it make that day even better. They told us about everything that had happened and how they needed to leave later that night. But it was so good to see them. Especially, my kid brother Soda.

The night of the wedding was the first night me and her, "did it," and it was real special and amazing, just like I anticipated. We had a very happy marriage and things were going along great. A couple of months later we found out that she was pregnant with our baby girl. But during her months of pregnancy I got worried about her. She was always sick, sicker than usual and when we told the doctor they said they couldn't find anything wrong with her. But I knew something bad was gonna happen. She gave birth to the baby girl on Soda's birthday and then she passed away a couple hours later.

I remember holding her hand after the baby had come out saying,

"Everything's gonna be alright."

I told her that I loved her and she said that she loved me. Then she died. Our baby girl looked exactly like her, brown hair and brown eyes. I named her Emily because that's what Anna and I had agreed on. It was tough raising a baby girl all alone because there were things that I couldn't exactly show her how to do, her being a girl and all. But I learned. I learned how to braid her hair, how to play dress up, how play dolls, and how to generally take care of her. Everything was going fine in my life, because I was happy again. But when she turned three, I got the phone call that my kid brother Soda, had died in combat. Emily's birthday represented so many things from that day on. Soda's birthday and death day, Emily's birthday, and Anna's death day. That made it hard to celebrate Emily's birthday when we were also mourning for Soda and Anna. A couple of months later, Steve died in a drunken car wreck. For that time period me and the gang were devastated, but luckily we had each other to rely on and I had my little sunshine, Emily. She always found a way to cheer me up, whether it giving me an invitation to one of her made-up tea parties, or by putting makeup on my face while I was asleep. She always found a way to cheer me up.

Life went on and she grew older. When she was 15 years old, she had a boyfriend. I made sure I checked him out real good before givin' them my approval. And I made it really clear to him that if he breaks my little baby's heart, I'll kick him in the ass. But he was tuff and seemed pretty cool, so eventually, I did give them my approval. When Emily was about 20, they got married and they found an apartment in town not too far from my place. I visited regularly to make sure that they were doin' okay.

After about two years of them bein' married, my angel had given birth to two beautiful boys. She named the older one Soda and the younger one Steve, which made me sad, but happy at the same time. Whenever I went over there and saw those boys playin' and talkin' to each other, I remembered Soda and Steve and how they used hang out and talk every single day. I remembered Soda's famous grin and brown, reckless, yet thoughtful eyes, and how one look at him could cause anyone to smile. I remembered Steve and his tuff-lookin' hair and how all he talked about was cars, but you still loved him none the less. Steve and Soda were best buddies from the beginning and they came this far, ending the same chapter of the same book together. I spent every day with my two grandsons' and told em' about the gang and our adventures, which they absolutely loved. They especially loved the story about the boy with dark tan skin, big black eyes, and hair long enough to cover his face. And they loved how he died a hero in the end.

Ponyboy, Two-Bit, Dally, and I would hang out often whenever we weren't with our families, and it would always be a good time. We enjoyed each other's company and talked about how old we were gettin'. Man I wished Soda and Steve were with us. They would've brought the life to party, or added on to whatever life Two- Bit brought along.

Life was going well for me, I was happy. I had a beautiful family both old and new. My daughter Emily, my son-in-law, my two grandsons' Steve and Soda, my kid brother Ponyboy, and Two-Bit and Dally, the only two surviving members of the gang left. I was proud of the life I had and the mark I left. I was happy back then and I was happy now. So you can bet yourself a Yankee dime, that I died a happy man.