Simply a Greaser

Chapter 49

The Curtis' phone started ringing at about one in the morning. 

The gang, minus Dallas and Two-Bit, was all playing poker with dollar bills and cigarettes. I was eating cake and watching Johnny and Darry dominate the card game. 

Darry sighed, stood up from their table and answered the phone. As soon as his back was turned, Steve and Soda looked at his cards.  

"Hey, Ava, it's Dallas. He wants to talk to you," he called.

The conversations stopped, all eyes turning to me. They probably all figured Dal had called to yell at me over the phone and we would get into a huge fight. 

That would almost be better than him calling and saying that mom had contacted him again. 

I sighed, getting out of my chair and grabbing the phone from Darry. 

"They looked at your cards," I mumbled. 

"Yeah, I knew they would." 

He walked back to the table and started up another conversation, taking the attention off me. 

"Hi," I grumbled. 

"We're invited to the weddin'." 

I paused, unsure of what to say. "Um- that's... good." 

"Yeah, sure. Sounds borin' as fuck if you ask me." 

"When is it?" 

"Five days from now," Dallas said, his voice tight with stress. "They leave tomorrow at eight." 

"Do we have to leave with them?" 

"Yeah, we do. They're takin' the rental car to some dealership or somethin' near here, then takin' the trains the rest of the way." 

"So... do you wanna go?" 

He sighed. "No, but..." 

"We kinda have to." 

"Yeah." 

"Where are we meetin' them?" I asked, leaning on the wall. I didn't want to go, but mom was making an effort. Maybe going to the wedding would be enough to convince her she could step back again from our lives for a while.

I mean, it was good having a parent again, I guess. It was just too fast for me. I still carried too much resentment for what she did to Dallas and me to have a good relationship with her and I knew that. 

She could go back to writing her letters, and this time I would actually see them and respond until I was ready to see her again, face to face. That would have to be enough. 

"Mom said she could pick you up at the Curtis' at six-thirty. She wanted to meet them. She's pickin' me up at Buck's after." 

"Okay." I cursed internally, wondering why life sucked so much. "I'll see you tomorrow." 

I hung up. Everyone was staring at me again. 

I forced a smile. "Who's ready to meet my mom tomorrow?!" 

They all looked at each other as if they were trying to figure out if I was joking or not. 

"Me?" Soda looked at the other guys. 

I smiled. "Great! The rest of you better agree 'cause you don't really have a choice!" 

"We don't?" Steve asked, looking glum. 

"No, not really. Mom wants to meet you, and I'm gonna make sure she gets what she wants so she doesn't bitch the whole way up to New York!" 

"Wait," Pony said, putting down his cards, "New York? What's that gotta do with anythin'?" 

I flopped down onto the couch, throwing my hands up into the air in a mix of exhaustion and exasperation. "We've been invited to the weddin' in five fucking days! We're headin' to New York City to see them tie the knot!"  

"Yeah, I guess I'll meet her," Steve grumbled, rolling his eyes. "Will her boyfriend be here too?" 

"I don't know," I said, yawning. "Wake me up at six." 

I dialed Two-Bit's number into the Curtis' phone, my eyelids heavy. Me and waking up early didn't go together well. 

Darry had everyone else in the kitchen. They had all ended up spending the night so they could meet my mother. Dallas and I had told her and James a little bit about each of them, so there was no way she'd be happy if she didn't meet each and every one of the members of the gang. 

The phone rang and rang. I was worried no one would answer and about to hang up. 

Someone picked up. 

"Hello?" 

"I'm surprised you answered," I said, trying to sound as awake as possible. 

"Yeah, me too,"  Two-Bit grumbled. "It's just the last time I ignored a phone call it didn't end too well for me." 

"Yeah, you could say that again." 

"What're you doin' up this early anyway?" 

"I, um, have been invited to a wedding," I began. "And it's in five days in New York." 

"And you have to leave soon?" 

"Yeah." 

"How long do you have until you gotta go?" he asked. I could hear him moving around. 

"Thirty minutes, give or take a few." I looked at the clock and saw five minutes had passed.

"Alright. I'll be at the Curtis' in twenty." 

"Before you make that promise," I mumbled, "I'm warnin' you that my mom's gonna be here and she expects to meet you." 

"Well, shit," he chuckled, "already met your dad. Might as well meet your mom, too." 

"Haha, very funny." I rolled my eyes even though he couldn't see me. "I'll see you in twenty." 

I hung up the phone and started gathering my shit, which was just a few items of clothing, a toothbrush, and a hairbrush. I threw it all in a bag and hoped it was enough for five days. 

By the time I was done with that, Darry had breakfast cooked. I ate some scrambled eggs and chocolate milk, glancing at the clock every few bites. 

Everyone was too tired to hold a conversation, so we ate in almost total silence. Darry was the only person who had any energy, and he was getting ready for work. He had a pass because he had met mom before. 

I heard the door open, the sound of crutches hitting the floor muffled by the carpet. 

I dumped my plate into the sink and walked into the living room, where Two-Bit had sat down on the couch and flipped on the TV. 

"How's the leg?" I asked, sitting next to him, leaning my head against his side.

He wrapped his arm around my waist. "It's been better."