After the cops picked up Tim and I when we were twelve, I never thought I would ever have respect for them again. They picked us up disturbing the public. We were running around a fountain. Detective Michaels was working his ass off to find Pony. He was one cop I could respect. Soda, the gang and I had all appeared on the news, beginning the kidnappers to bring him back, and not to hurt him. The thing was time had to move on. So did we, I couldn’t sit and mope. I had to work, I couldn’t loose Soda. It seemed like Tulsa was starting to let go too. I mean sure all the stores had his picture in the windows, the schools too.

It wasn’t until today where I got the first signs of Tulsa really letting go. Children were back out on the streets and in the parks. I guess people couldn’t live in fear forever. Our door still remained locked. Soda was coming less scared to be alone. He had gone back to work, but no longer opened or closed the place alone. I pushed the front door open.

“Hey, Sodapop.”

He turned around and grinned at me. “I made some normal dinner.”

I smiled slightly. He had picked up on my strange eating habits, or well lack of. I told him yesterday I just couldn’t stomach the weirdness of his creations. “Thanks, but I ain’t that hungry today.”

Soda scooted up to the couch with me. “You never are. Darry you have to eat. You will disappear when you turn side ways.”

I laughed, I wanted to tell him about how I puked almost every time I ate while they were gone. It was a combination of that and the fact that the smallest thing felt like a brick in my stomach weighing me down until it came back up. I didn’t, I took my hand and rubbed circles on the back of his hair. “Where is everybody?” I asked noticing for the first time that night that everyone was gone.

“Steve is at his house. Johnny said he really needed to go home. Two-Bit and Dally are at Buck’s.”

“Guess it’s me an you for a while.” I felt Soda nod his head.

“I saw the toughest car today at work. It was a Cadillac. I got to change the oil. Man, we need to get one of those.”

“We, hardly got the money for truck.”

“I bet the Cadillac doesn’t need as much maintenance as the truck.”

“I don’t really see myself driving a Cadillac. No matter what, I’m still a truck kind of guy.”

“Why a truck?” Soda asked. He was looking at me like I had about four heads.

“A truck is more practical. It’s big and powerful.” I said.

Soda was about to say something but aloud knock interrupted him. Soda’s eyes went to the door. He looked like he wanted to make a run for it. Instead he reached into his pocket and flipped open a knife. “That’s not necessary. Who is it?” I hollered.

“The boogieman”

“Might as well be, you already scare little kids, Tim.” Soda grinned. I moved to open the door. He flipped his knife close.

“Lock it behind you Curly.” I said.

Tim reached into a grocery bag. “Here, Darry got something for you.”

He handed me a beer. “Thanks. You came this way to hand me a beer?” I set the beer on the coffee table.

“Just thought we’d stop by and see how you guys were holding up?”

Many people feared Tim, many others figured him to be a common hood. Which in many ways he was. Tim was actually a good guy when it came down to it. He’s do anything for his little brothers and sister, and his own kind, greasers. Ironically he we used to be pretty good friend back in the day. Then Dally came along, and I got on varsity football freshman year. I shrugged, “We’re holding up okay.”

“Did you mirror break, Curtis?” Tim asked. “Dallas said you looked like hell, but you look like a holocausts victim.”

“He doesn’t eat.” Soda said.

I shot him the best. You better keep your mouth shut look, I had.

“it’s been almost three months. Pony”

“SHUT UP!” I screamed jumping from the couch. “Don’t finish that sentence. Don’t you ever let me hear you finish that sentence.”

“Darry, don’t scream at me man. You need to listen, hell even Dally’s almost worried about you. Social Services ain’t going to let you take care of him. You look like hell. For all we know Pony

“I said shut up!” I wasn’t thinking anymore. I grabbed the beer bottled off the coffee table and flung it across the room. Tim just dodged it. It hit the wall and shattered everywhere.

Tim glared at me. I could tell he was using every ounce of will power he had not to come after me. “I hope to God, no social service members turn up at the door tomorrow. You’re a mess.”

I had realized something; Tim was right. Pony may have been gone, but I had to keep things moving. I couldn’t bring myself to look at Tim again. I wasn’t about to apologize to Tim, and I couldn’t make myself pretend like nothing is going on. I just went to work and came home. I sat across the table watching Sodapop as he attempted to do his math.

He put his pencil down. “My manager told me, when ever I was ready to go full time.” Soda paused. “He’d let me.”

I put the cash for the electric bill in an envelope. “You tell your manager you can go full time as soon as summer starts.”

Soda sighed with frustration. “I want to help you. Let’s face it; I ain’t any good in school. It’s just making things tense between us. You get fed up and so do I with my school work.”

I rubbed my dirty left hand over my face. “Look Sodapop, you aren’t dropping out of school. You’re the one who is going to make it. You got an opportunity, just take it and work for it. I’d rather have you doing math problems that you hate, than busting your back roofing houses. So you are going to graduate. I don’t want to hear any more of this dropping out crap. You savvy?”

He looked at me half heartedly. “I savvy.”

“Good, I’m going to shower. Think you can have that done by the time I’m out?”

“I’ll try.” He mumbled.

I turned the water on and waited for it to get hot. Soda just didn’t get it. We were all we had, and one of us had to become something. It wasn’t going to be me. I pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it a side. I stood back as far from the mirror as I could. I wore the shirts I used to rumble in. The ones that were supposed to show off my muscles, they now hung off me like grapes on a vine. “You do look like shit.” My skin was pulling tight against my muscles, but not in a healthy way. My eyes looked sunken in . I closed my eyes and stepped into the steaming hot shower. I liked taking showers. It was the only time of the day, where I was fully awake and completely relaxed. No one bothered me when I was in here.

“Darry!” Soda banged on the door.

I rolled my eyes. I wanted to ignore him but he beat the door again. “Detective Michaels is on the phone!”

“I’m coming!” I shut the water off and wrapped a towel around my waste. I slid out of the bathroom. Now I realized why Mom always warned us to dry off completely when we were little. I hit the carpet in the living room and stumbled a little but. “It’s Darry.” I said into the receiver.

“Darry, we found him. In New Jersey.”

“New Jersey? Is he alright? How did they find him? When is he coming home?” I almost forgot that I had a towel around my waist.

“He’s fine. Unidentified caller tipped off the local police. Then after a neighbor reported a fight, they investigated and found Pony.”

“When is he coming home? Do I need to get him?”

“He’ll be taken to the Tulsa police station. We have him on a plane to Tulsa now. Just come to the station.”

I couldn’t speak, when I turned to tell Soda. “They found him!” Soda jumped into the air. He must of put two and two together. “Is he okay?”

“Yeah, we have to go to the Police Department.” I managed to say. I grabbed my keys off the table. “Let’s go!”

Soda grinned. “Darry, I think you need to get dressed first.”

“Hey little buddy.” I shook Soda a little bit. He had fallen asleep about an hour ago using my leg as a cushion.

“Hmm?” He answered not fully waking up.

“I’m going to go get some coffee, you want anything?” He didn’t give me a response. I got up and wondered down the hall. It was going on three am. I was about to fall over too. I expected the police station to be noisy and rowdy like there were in the afternoon. The hustle and bustle was over. In fact the station looked like one of those ghost towns that I saw in John Wayne movies. I half way expected a tumble weed to blow down the hallways.

“Darry?” Detective Michaels voice came from down the hall. I turned around. There he was. He looked about forty pounds lighter. His normally greased hair was fell foreword into his face causing his eyes to peak out. He looked like a lost sheep that wondered away from the heard. Pony took off running toward me. He collided into me with what seemed like little force.

“Oh, God.” I hugged him so hard. I was lifting him off his feet.

“I didn’t think I’d see you again!” Pony made an attempt not to cry.

“I thought I lost you.” I was never going to let this kid leave my line of sight again.

“Soda, they took Soda some place. I think they”

I looked at my baby brother’s expression. I couldn’t tell if it was overly joy, or the expression of someone who had just seen the dead rise from the graves. I turned around to see Soda. He must have heard us. It was the first time that I actually saw him smile, since I found him.

“You going to give me a hug or stand there?” Soda asked bemused. He extended his arms, but I didn’t know why because tackled him to the ground in a hug. I laughed at the twp of them. They both were a little crazy in the head if you asked me. “Look Pony, I’m not the only bawl baby.”

I wiped my face with my hand. “You getting mouthy, Sodapop.” I hauled them both up off the floor and hugged them.

“Go home, guys.” He looked at Ponyboy. “We’ll be by to talk to you tomorrow.” Detective Michaels said.

I took my arm from around Soda. “Thank you.” I extended my hand to him.

“Come on you two. Let’s go home.” We headed home. I was half expecting the entire gang to be there but they weren’t. We had called them from the station. I directed Pony by his shoulders down the hall. He sat lazily on his bed. I probably should have made him take a shower, and do the usual bedtime routine, but he had been through enough. Who cares if he missed washing his face and brushing his teeth. I threw him a clean shirt and a pair of sweats.

He put the clean t shirt on and fell back on his bed. “Wait a second little man. You still have your shoes on.” I sat on the edge of the bed, and pulled off one filthy converse. He held his other foot up for me to take the other one off. “Good night , kiddo.”

Pony’s eyes shot open. “NO!” He screamed. He sat up in bed grabbing my forearm. “You can have the bed, I’ll sleep on the floor.” He jumped out of bed.

“I’ll pull the chair in here.” Pony waited until I had a chair and blanket before going back to bed. I leaned forward and pushed the hair back from him eyes. “You’re okay now, kiddo. You’re home.”