(Darry)
Excitement coursed through me as soon as the doctor gave me the okay to bring Ponyboy home. As grateful as I was to the hospital staff for everything they'd done for my brother, I couldn't wait to bring him home with me, to get him settled in his own bed and start getting him settled in his life with us. The excitement mixed with apprehension as anxiety crept in and a doubtful voice whispered in my mind, 'what if you aren't good enough for him?'
'No' I shushed the doubtful voice. I would be good enough for him. I'd do whatever it takes to do good by him, to give him the care and support he's been missing out on all these years.
So with the piles of paperwork from the doctor and social workers and the medicine they were sending him home with, I sprung Pony from the hospital, driving him home with mixed feelings of nervousness and excitement that I imagined first time parents felt when they brought their babies home from the hospital.
As we pulled into the driveway, a wave of contentment washed over me and I couldn't help but feel incredibly thankful to be home, even if I still had things to worry about. Things like helping Pony recover and the upcoming court case. And tomorrow is Christmas and I still needed to wrap presents and figure out what to make for a Christmas dinner.
The guys had really outdone themselves and the house looked magical. When I saw Pony and Soda's faces light up as they took in the living room, I couldn't even be mad at Two Bit for nailing holes through my socks for our stockings.
Blinking back the tears that had unexpectedly pooled in my eyes and clearing my throat, I slap a hand on Two Bit's back and then grab his shoulder to pull him around to face me, giving him a shake as I do.
"Thanks, man" I tell him.
He just grins smugly at me, "Don't mention it, superman".
Steve and Dally got up from the couch, making room for Pony and Soda to settle down on it.
"Glad to have back, kid" Dally tells him with a smirk.
Pony gives him a small smile in return, "Glad to be back"
"You need anything else before we head out?" Two Bit asks me, quiet enough that the others can't hear us.
I shake my head, "You've done more than enough. Seriously, thank you"
"Not a problem, superman." He says louder this time, "We're gonna head out then, my ma is taking us out to my grandparents for dinner."
The rest of the guys stand up to leave also, gathering their coats and putting them on before they venture back out into the crisp winter air.
Before he can scamper off, I grab Johnny lightly by the elbow, "Wait, Johnny, you got somewhere to stay tonight?"
He nods, dark eyes glancing up to mine before they dart back down to the floor.
"You know you can stay here if you need to, right? The door is always open" I tell him.
"I know. I'm staying with Dal tonight. And then we're going to Two Bit's for breakfast. But thanks for looking out, Darry"
"That goes for you too, Stevie" Soda adds, sending a meaningful glance to his buddy.
Steve simply grunts in response before he heads to the door, holding it open for the rest of the boys to file out of.
Before he leaves, Two Bit leans over to Pony, whispering something I can't catch in his ear. Pony smiles and nods at him. I raise a questioning eyebrow at Two Bit as he straightens up but he just mimes zipping his lips, tossing an invisible key over his shoulder.
"Don't forget, my ma is bringing dinner over for all of y'all tomorrow" Two Bit calls over his shoulder.
I give him a nod in acknowledgement as he shuts the door, leaving just the three of us here.
I glance down at my watch, it's still a bit early for dinner, but Pony looks exhausted so I figure we can just eat early tonight so he can get to sleep. While I get started on dinner, Soda helps Pony take a quick shower, hanging out near the bathroom in case Pony needs him. Pony comes into the kitchen after his shower, wearing a pair of Soda's old pajamas, and sits at the kitchen table, propping his chin up on his hand to watch me while I finish making up some sandwiches. Soda joins us soon after and we all eat a hastily put together dinner of sandwiches and potato chips. By the time we finish, Pony's eyes are drooping and the kid looks about five seconds away from falling asleep at the table. I give him the pills the hospital sent home which he swallows without complaint and then nudge him out of his chair to go brush his teeth and get ready for bed. Soda follows after him and soon I hear the two of them stumble into their room and the creak of their bed as they lay down.
As much as I've missed sleeping in my bed the last few nights, I planned on dragging the recliner into Pony's room, not wanting to be far from him in case he needed me. A few more nights of sleeping in a chair wouldn't kill me.
I tap my knuckles lightly against their open door. The light is still on but they're both settled in the bed, an extra blanket on top of the bed to help fight off the cold.
"You staying in here tonight, Soda?" I ask him.
"Yep!" Soda says, emphasizing his point by cuddling down under the blankets more.
"I'm gonna stay in here too, I'll bring the recliner in"
"Wait!" Pony says, propping himself up on an elbow. "You can just sleep with us. I mean, if it's okay with Soda"
Soda smiles and scoots himself over "Of course it's okay with me! It'll be a Christmas sleepover!"
"I don't know if there's room for all three of us" I say slowly.
"Please?" Pony asks. And damn it if that kid doesn't have the best pair of puppy dogs I've ever seen.
I really wasnt on planning on going to bed this early with them, but how could I say no to Ponyboy right now?
"Okay" I say with a smile, "Scoot over".
Pony scoots to the middle and I turn the light off before getting in on the empty side of the bed.
The three of us lay in the bed, a bit squashed but still warm and comfortable. I waited until I was absolutely sure that they were both asleep before I slipped out of the bed, carefully pulling my arm out from underneath Pony, trying not to jostle him. Walking as quietly as I could, I crept down the hallway, the icy coldness of the floor biting at my feet, even through my socks. I shut my bedroom door softly and then pulled out the Christmas presents I needed to wrap. I wasn't the best wrapper, but armed with some newspaper, tape, and scissors, I managed to get everything wrapped up somewhat neatly and placed underneath the Chritstmas tree.
I eased myself back into Pony's bed, where he was cuddled up close to Soda. But as soon as I was in the bed, he shifted a bit, resting his head against my arm and letting out a contented breath. And even though I didn't have visions of sugarplums dancing through my head, I couldn't help the childlike excitement that carried me off to sleep.
A whimpering noise woke me up. My eyes shot open at the sound, morning light creeping through the window, my head immediately turning to Ponyboy who was still sleeping between me and Soda, a frown creasing his face. He flinched and let out another whimper. A nightmare. I knew he had them, but I figured we could expect them to get worse after what he just went through.
Just as I was about to reach out and wake him up, Soda turned over, his face drawn with concern as he looked at our brother.
"Hey Ponyboy" he soothed, "It's okay, you're okay. It's just a nightmare".
Soda brought a hand out from under the blanket, running it softly through Pony's hair. Ponyboy didn't wake up but he seemed to push himself closer to Soda's touch, his face relaxing as he let out a soft sigh.
"Nice work, Pepsi Cola" I whisper to him.
He grins up at me, "Thanks, Dar. Poor kid shouldn't be having a nightmare on Christmas Eve"
"It ain't Christmas Eve anymore. It's officially Christmas morning" I tell him, glancing over at the clock on the nightstand that shows it's just before seven.
Soda's face lights up, "Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas, little buddy" I tell him, returning the smile he aims at me, "I'm gonna go start on breakfast, you can try and get a few more minutes of sleep if you want"
Soda nods and then throws an arm over Pony before snuggling back down under the blanket.
Thirty minutes later, I have plates stacked with french toast, bacon, and eggs and a fire crackling merrily in the fireplace.
Going back to my brother's room, I knock softly on the door, intending to let Pony stay sleeping if isn't up yet, knowing he needs his rest to help him recover. But when I sit lightly down at the end of the bed to shake Soda's leg, Pony stretches, his feet knocking into my leg before he blinks his eyes blearily up at me.
"Issit morning?" he grumbles, still sounding half asleep.
Soda sits up next to him and practically starts bouncing on the bed, "It's Christmas morning, Pony! Merry Christmas kid"
Pony glances over at me like he's looking for confirmation.
"He's right. Merry Christmas, kiddo" I tell him.
A smile lights up his face as he tells us, "Merry Christmas"
Soda's still bouncing on the bed, grabbing Pony's arm and hauling him to sit up next to him.
"Easy, Soda" I warn, "He ain't supposed to be moving too much. Don't go bouncing him off the bed"
Soda rolls his eyes, "I wouldn't bounce him off the bed"
"Hey listen up, both of you" I tell them, both of their eyes locking on mine. I school my face into the most serious expression I can muster, "I got something real important to tell you"
Pony looks almost nervous and Soda leans in, a conspiratorial look on his face.
"I think Santa came last night"
Soda's face lights up in delight while Pony just chuckles as he rolls his eyes.
"You know I'm thirteen, right? I know Santa isn't real"
"You better shush up, Pony. Or Santa might put you on the naughty list!" Soda tells him, poking him gently on the shoulder.
"Well somebody left presents under the tree. You guys can rip into them after breakfast" I tell them, holding a hand out to help Pony up.
The three of us head to the kitchen and eat ourselves full. Pony even eats three slices of french toast. I hand him his pills and he swallows them down with a swig of chocolate milk.
"You guys ready to open some presents?" I ask.
"Present time!" Soda says excitedly, his socked feet slipping as he runs out of the kitchen and down the hallway. He comes back with a handful of brown paper bags, placing them under the tree with a proud smile.
The three of us all sit on the floor around the tree and Soda starts to pull presents out from under the tree, sorting them into little piles in front of us.
"Wait!" Pony said, getting slowly to his feet and then hurrying down the hall. I raise a questioning eyebrow at Soda but he just shrugs.
Pony comes back with two beautifully wrapped boxes in his hand. The gold wrapping paper seems to glimmer, the colorful lights from the christmas tree reflecting off them. Red bows tied the gold paper down, sitting perfectly on top of the boxes.
"Here" Pony said, almost shyly, holding the boxes out to me and Soda.
"Aw, Pony" Soda says, taking the box held out to him.
"Wow, looks like we know who's going to be doing the wrapping next year" I tell him with a smile.
He blushes and shakes his head, "I didn't wrap them, I had some help. I don't even know how to wrap a present"
"Well, I'll teach you next year"
His smile seemed to grow when I mentioned next year, like he was still trying to process the fact that he'd be here next year. He'd be here every year from here on out if I had anything to say about it.
"Dig in, kid" I tell him, gesturing with my head to the small pile of presents in front of him.
Pony picks one up and starts to unwrap it, pulling gently at the tape to unfold the paper instead of just tearing into it. Soda started in on his presents also, ripping the paper off in shreds and tossing it to the side.
I didn't have as many presents in front of me as Soda and Pony, so I opened mine slowly, trying to match their pace. I didn't mind that I had less, I really didn't even need any at all but I was touched all the same that my brothers had thought to get me something.
Pony and Soda opened up the clothes I'd got for them, both of them seeming truly thankful for such boring gifts, neither one seeming to mind that the clothes were second hand. Soda had gotten me two shirts, also from the second hand store, but they were clean and soft and he'd picked them out in my favorite color.
Pony opened up the books me and Soda had picked out for him, his eyes lighting up as he pulled the paper off.
"Great Expectations!"
"I thought you might like that one, Philip" I told him with a smirk. He smiled back at me, adding it to the pile of books he'd already opened and then pulled another present towards himself. I watched him unwrap this one, excited to see his reaction to the sketch book and colored pencils I'd gotten for him.
"Oh wow" he exclaims, "This is amazing, thank you!"
"You're welcome, kid. I've seen you doodling a few times, figured you could use a real sketchpad and colors"
"Now you can be a professional doodler" Soda adds.
Pony chuckles, tracing a soft hand over the cover of the sketch book before placing it gently down next to his other presents.
Soda opened the swiss army knife I'd gotten him, which I kinda regretted getting after the events of the last few days, but Soda smiled and thanked me, telling me how he'd been needing one of these for work.
I saved the present Pony got for me for last, not wanting to rip the paper off and ruin how perfectly wrapped the gift was. But we were all down to our last present, so taking a page from Pony's book, I carefully unwrapped the present, trying to hide my wince when I saw Soda tearing his paper off like a rabid dog.
Inside the box was a black thermos. It was slick looking, it looked like something a lawyer or a CEO would carry with them to a meeting. Picking it up out of the box, something on the bottom of the cup caught my eye. Engraved against the silver rim was my name, Darry Curtis.
I look up from the cup at my brother, who's looking shyly at me.
"Pony. This is great, it's perfect"
"I know it's not much but I thought it'd be nice to have something with your name and the thermos reminded me of you and how we met and I thought it was kinda special but its really not-" Pony stuttered, tripping over his words as he nervously mumbled them out.
"Pony" I interrupt him, waiting to continue until he looks back at up me, "I love it, thanks little buddy."
He smiles down at his lap, and then glances over at Soda, who's staring almost reverently down at his own box, his hands holding a brown leather wallet. As if he can sense our brother's gaze on him, Soda looks up from the wallet to meet Pony's eyes.
"You got my name on mine too?"
Pony nods. Soda beams at him, and opens the wallet, taking a look at the inside, "This is real nice"
"I thought, maybe, if you wanted, you could put pictures inside. There's a spot for it. If you want to" Pony mumbles.
And then Soda darts over to him, pulling him into a tight hug that Pony seems to melt into.
"Thanks, Pony. I love it"
The two pull away from each other and Soda ruffles Pony's hair, dragging Pony's last present over to him and plopping it in his lap.
In that gentle way of his, Pony pulls off the wrapping paper. His jaw seems to drop and tears fill his eyes. He looks up at me in disbelief before turning his gaze to Soda.
"But…but…this is yours, Soda" Pony says, holding the old family photo album to his chest.
"It aint mine. I've just been holding on to it for us" Soda says gently, "Besides, I've memorized every picture in there. They're yours now"
"We want you to have it" I add softly.
"Thank you" Pony whispers, opening the book to a photo of our parents, his finger lightly brushing over their faces.
"There's lots of blank slots at the end of the book. You can start filling it with new pictures" I tell him.
He looks up at me and then hugs the book to his chest. He gives me a nod, seeming to choked up to talk.
Soda leans over to him and knuckles his head, making a wet laugh escape.
"Thanks you guys" He tells us earnestly.
We may not have had a lot, our presents weren't expensive or fancy, but everything was just perfect.
Soda went off to the bathroom to shower while I cleaned up breakfast in the kitchen. Pony came in and offered to help but I didn't want him doing too much so I sat him in a kitchen chair and let him dry dishes after I finished washing them. Once we finished, I suggested we head back to the living room to relax and watch some television. Pony nodded. And then he stood up and took three quick steps across the kitchen to me, throwing his arms around me and pressing his face against my chest.
There wasn't a second of hesitation before I hugged him back, pulling him to me and running a hand gently over his back.
"Thank you. I love everything I got today" He whispered, his face still pressed to my chest.
"I'm glad" I tell him, my hand cupping the back of his head, "Thank you for my present. Don't tell Soda, but I think it's my favorite one that I got today"
He laughs and pulls back to look at me, his eyes are happy and young, such a stark difference to how they looked when I first found him, full of hurt and sadness. I'd never let them look like that again.
"This is the best Christmas I've ever had" he says.
I ruffle his hair and pull him to my side for another hug before leading him out to the living room. We spend the rest of the afternoon lazing on the couch, still in our pajamas and watching whatever Christmas movies are playing. Eventually Steve comes over. He hands each of us a chocolate bar before he plops himself on the couch next to Soda.
In the late afternoon, there's a knock on the door and then suddenly Two Bit plus his mom and sister come bustling in, arms loaded with covered plates of food.
"Special delivery!" Two Bit calls as he leads his mom and sister into the kitchen. Johnny and Dally follow behind also carrying dishes, apparently being roped into this by Mrs. Matthews.
"Soda, Steve, help them set the table" I tell them with a jerk of my head.
"Mrs. Matthews, this is amazing. Thank you so much for doing this" I tell her, taking a casserole dish out of her hand and putting it down on the table.
"Of course, dear. It was my pleasure" she says with a smile, similar to Two Bit's but without all the mischief.
The two of us direct the boys, except for Pony who's seated in his chair, on which dishes need to be heated up and where to put everything. Once everything is ready, the enticing aroma draws all the boys to gather round the table.
"Darry, I have something for you" Mrs. Matthews says, her arm pulling me into the kitchen before pressing a folded piece of paper into my hand.
"You know me and your mama were good friends. I had borrowed this from her before she passed, but I found it a few days ago when I started all of my holiday baking and I thought you might want it"
I glance down at the folded piece of paper, my mother's handwriting jumping out at me and making my heart ache for a second. I hadn't seen her writing in years, but I would recognize it anywhere. I missed the way she looped her L's and the way her C's never sat straight on the line she was writing on.
It was her recipe for her famous chocolate cake. The favorite dessert of all her boys. Darry remembered having her cake at every important occasion, whether it be a birthday or a holiday.
"Thank you, Mrs. Matthews" I tell her, trying to talk past the lump that had suddenly formed in my throat, "This means a lot to me"
She smiled and gave my arm a soft pat.
I wanted to surprise my brothers with it, and I had a perfect idea for when. So for safekeeping for the time being, I tuck the paper carefully into an old recipe book we keep on the kitchen counter.
"Now go enjoy that dinner with the boys" she tells me.
"Aren't you staying?" I ask.
"No, I'm taking Susie over to my sisters. But there's plenty of food for all of you boys. Hopefully enough for some leftovers"
"I cant thank you enough for all of this, Mrs. Matthews"
"You put up with my son and help keep him out of trouble. Consider this repayment"
We both laugh, glancing over at Two Bit who's currently handing out coca colas to everyone to drink.
She wishes all of us a Merry Christmas before leaving with Two Bit's sister in tow.
The seven of us settle around the table, heaps of mouth watering food in front of us. Everyone dishes up and eats more than their fill.
I've never been particularly religious, except when my Mama brought me to church when I was a little kid. But for the first time in probably forever, I send ip a prayer. I don't know who exactly I'm praying to, but I send up the most sincere thank you I can. Thank you for the friends who helped make this Christmas special. Thank you that Johnny Cade has a full belly and warm place to sleep tonight. Thank you that Ponyboy is okay. Thank you that I have my brothers with me and that I have a family again.
Looking around the table, I have to agree with what Ponyboy said earlier. This is the best Christmas I've ever had.