"Darry! Some guy asking for you by your full name is on the phone." Pony hollered.
"All-right. I'll be there in a minute." Darry yelled back.
"Owe! Dar, my head already kills without you hollerin' in my ear." Soda complained.
"Sorry, buddy." Darry finished rewrapping his brothers ribs. "Try and stay still, all-right? I'll bring you some supper in a bit." He got up and headed to get the phone.
"What's it about Darry? Is he from the state?" Pony questioned anxiously.
"Never mind Pon. Go finish your homework." He picked the phone up. "Hello?"
Ponyboy watched his brother suspiciously, halfway to his bedroom door. He tried to hear the conversation but Darry motioned for him to hurry up. Whatever it was about, Darry didn't want him to know and that made him all the more curious.
"Soda, Darry's on the phone." Pony said, walking into their room and setting down at his desk.
"So?" Soda asked, fidgeting in bed, longing to get up.
"So… I mean he aint talking to just anybody. The guy sounded important. He said he was from an agency or something and he asked for 'Darrell Curtis' not just Darry. And then Darry made me leave the room like he didn't want me to hear or something."
Soda smiled. "Its probably just some solicitor or something. Stop worrying so much."
"Maybe." Pony mumbled but he still ran the event over and over in his head.
That weekend Soda woke up and dragged himself into the kitchen. Ponyboy was already wide awake and on the couch reading. "What time is it?" Soda asked.
"Nearly twelve." Ponyboy answered, not really paying attention.
"Where's Darry?" Soda poked around in the ice-box trying to find something appetizing. Nothing struck him as desirable which was unusual for him.
"Probably in his room."
Soda settled for a half eaten muffin and some chocolate milk and went out to join Ponyboy on the couch. "Whatcha reading?" he asked, peering over his little brothers shoulder.
"Some old book I found on the shelf. It's the only book left that I haven't read."
Soda rolled his eyes. "You read WAY to much. When's the last time you went outside on a Saturday to play football or something?"
"Well, you don't read enough." Pony shot back. "When's the last time you sat still on Saturday morning?"
"All-right fine." Soda smiled, jumping up. "I'll just try this reading thing and see why it's so fascinating, huh?" Soda grabbed up Darry's' paper from the coffee table.
"He's gonna be mad if you loose his place." Ponyboy warned.
"So I'll just stay on the page he's on." Soda said, scanning over it. "It's just a bunch of house adds." He showed it to Ponyboy. "Dang, some of these socy houses are going for more money than I've ever seen in my whole life." Pony grunted, still immersed in his book. "Hey this one down here looks a lot like our house." Soda squinted and looked harder. "Actually it looks exactly like our house."
"Lemme see." Pony leaned over him to look. "Huh, you're right. Fence and everything."
"Wait a minute." Soda's eyes widened. "Ponyboy that's our address." He pointed to the letters underneath the price.
"DARRY!" They both yelled.
Soda took off down the hall with the paper, Ponyboy inches behind him. "Darry!" Soda burst into his older brothers bedroom.
"Haven't you two ever heard of knocking?" Darry said exasperated, clad in his boxers.
"Darry." Soda held the paper up to his brothers face. "Why is our house listed?"
Darry grabbed the paper out of his brothers hand. "Since when do you read the newspaper?" He barked at him.
"Darrel Curtis, answer the question." Soda demanded.
"Hey! Who's the adult here? You or me?"
"Well would the adult care to answer?"
He hesitated for a moment. He'd ran over his plan of telling them in his head over and over and this was not at all how he'd hoped that it would go. It was to late now though. There was no redoing it from here. "We're moving." Darry said plainly.
"Why?" Soda and Pony both shouted.
"Darry, why didn't you tell me we were running out of money? I would have gotten another job. Now we have to sell the house? I-"
"Soda, its not the money." Darry interrupted. There was silence for a few moments, in which time Darry inwardly screamed at himself for leaving the paper open to that page.
"So… we're not broke?" Pony asked, quietly.
"Not anymore than we've always been." Darry confirmed.
"Then WHY is our house for sale?" Soda demanded, utterly confused now.
"I told you. We're moving. For no other reason but to move." Darry had his reasons though and to him they made perfect sense in every way. He didn't think he'd be able to word it right to his brothers though and he didn't even think he wanted them to know.
"But we've lived in this house since I was a baby. Since YOU were a baby. Why do you want to move now? It's not like we're gonna find a better house in Tulsa with the money we've got."
"No." Darry said. "Not in Tulsa. But we will in the country." He sighed as his brothers' eyes widened.
"D-d-darry. Leave Tulsa?" Ponyboy spoke finally. "My life is here… my school…. My friends! OUR friends. We can't just move." He said sounding desperate.
"When were you gonna tell us about this anyways, Dar. When the Uhauls pulled up?" Soda questioned.
"I wanted to wait until I new it would sell." Darry sighed. "Ya'll weren't supposed to know yet but you're both so darn nosy-"
"Nosy! Hello, it is our house too in case you didn't remember. Couldn't you have at least discussed it with us? Shouldn't we get a say in this?"
"No." Darry said plainly, busily getting his work clothes on.
"What do you mean NO?" Soda hollered.
Darry got right up in his face. "I mean exactly that. No. It's my decision and mine alone."
"Well, that's not fair." Pony cut in, fighting back tears of utter frustration.
"It's not up for discussion." Darry said, sleeking his hair back into a cowlick and throwing the comb back down. He looked back to his brothers, seeing two confused faces. "We'll talk about it when I get home. Don't look so upset. This is a good thing." He squeezed Pony's shoulder on the way out and tried for Soda's next but he found his hand half heartedly shoved away. Soda tried desperately to be angry with his brother but at the same time he wanted the affection. Darry ignored it and headed off to work, deciding Soda needed some time to cool off.
"Soda, I don't wanna move." Pony said quietly, when he heard the old Ford pull out.
"Me either." Soda said.
"You reckon he's totally serious? He's really gonna do it?"
"Well, if the house is listed then he's already done it, now hasn't he?"
"What about Steve and Two-bit? What about track?"
"They'll have track at any school Pon. An' maybe Steve and Two-bit can come and visit." Soda tried to reassure himself as much as Ponyboy.
"It won't be the same." Pony said the words that were running through Soda's mind.
"I don't wanna talk about it anymore." Soda said with finality but softened his tone when he saw his brothers downcast face. "Lets go play catch in the lot."
"Darry'd flip if you were to play catch with them broken ribs and nose still healing."
"Darry ain't here, now is he?" Soda cocked an eyebrow. Pony laughed and followed Soda outside with the football.
