TULSA - darry curtis

E P I L O G U E

10 Years Later
꧁꧁꧂꧂

Darrel and I sit out on the porch with huge smiles on our faces as we watch our beautiful children play in the yard, spraying each other with the garden hose.

Two years after the night we'd said our first I love you's, Darry had proposed to me. We had an absolutely beautiful wedding. Even Two-Bit cried.

Before our wedding, we lost both Johnny and Dally to one big huge mistake that ended up taking both of them out of this earth. I still ache for them at times, but the more years that go by, the more I learn to appreciate the time I did have with them rather than mourn the time I don't get to have them anymore.

"Mommy!" My daughter, Clementine, shrieks as her baby brother drenches her with cool water. "Johnny won't let me have a turn with the hose!"

"Jonathan Dallas!" I scold, the rare use of his whole name showing him that I was serious. "You share with your sister, you hear me?"

He lets out a short whine but allows Clem to tug the hose out of his stubby fingers. His pout turns into a high-pitched giggle when his sister aims the water into his flaxen hair, relieving him from the heat of the Oklahoma sunshine.

With a small chuckle, my husband runs his hand over my belly for what must have been the one hundredth time today, feeling the slight bump under my dress.

"She's gonna be a girl, I just know it." He insists, pressing a kiss against my rounded stomach.

"We'll see, Mr. Curtis." I smile, placing my hand over top of his, dragging his palm towards the upper part of my belly, where the baby had been kicking all morning.

He smiles excitedly when our third child kicks against his hand, looking at me with the same excitement that he had six years ago when Clementine was born and three years ago when Jonathan was born. I press a small kiss to his lips before my eyes scan out along the green grass extending for what seems like thousands of miles.

After Ponyboy graduated from high school, we moved back out to the country. Sodapop and Steve started their own garage: Curtis and Randle's Auto Repair. They've been putting every other shop out of business ever since the opened their doors.

Ponyboy started writing books; even wrote one about the gang. About Johnny and about Dally. About everything. He's a really excellent author and I can see him really going places. He and Cherry Valance ended up tying the knot a few years ago after she got up the courage to finally leave the scumbag Soc she had been dating.

And, believe it or not, Two-Bit ended up becoming a school teacher! I wouldn't have believed it either if I hadn't have seen the nameplate labeled Mr. Matthews outside the door of his classroom when he brought the whole gang to see. He's awfully proud of his job and he absolutely loves it with all of his heart. His students all rant and rave over how much fun his class is and they all pass with flying colors.

Even my father and I came to terms when he realized what the booze was doing to his life. He got himself back on his feet, and I'm so proud to call him my Papa. With Mama, I still don't know her whereabouts. I just trust that she's happy wherever she is. I hope that she is.

I lean back with a content smile on my face, interlocking my fingers with Darrel's as the baby kicks again.

As I rest my eyes, I hear and feel the labors of my life playing in the background: The sounds of my children's laughter and joy, the feeling of my baby's life in my belly, and the hum of my husband's voice whispering "I love you."