Chapter 7

Ten minutes later, I stood to carve the turkey.

While I wasn't as good a cook as Mama had been, I did an okay job. There were heaping bowls of mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry salad, gravy, and piping hot rolls. I smiled at Pony and he sort of grinned back.

I know he was having a really hard time, I just didn't know how to help him.

We had a good dinner, but I noticed as the day wore on that Ponyboy grew quieter and his body language changed completely. Even though I told him not to, he picked two fights with Steve, and even Soda was getting disturbed by it. I finally told him to sit down and stop it. When five o'clock rolled around, there was a knock on the door. I opened it to find Sherri standing there holding a pie. She was wearing a blue skirt and a soft white sweater. Smiling I invited her inside. Handing me the pie, she sat down.

"It's apple. I hope you like it. I made it this morning," Sherri told us.

Soda took the dessert from me and went to the kitchen.

"We love apple pie," he said with his usual grin.

"Hey Pony, how are you?" she asked quietly.

I stared at him until he mumbled an answer.

"How was your day?" I asked her to break the uncomfortable silence.

"It was all right. There are always a lot of people at Mama's dinners, so it was loud, as usual."

I sat beside her and she leaned into me. Pony's eyes widened as she gently kissed me before leaning back, and the look he shot me was pure evil when I wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

Soda brought two plates of pie. He handed one to Sherri and the other one to me. After giving Steve and Two-Bit each a slice, he served Pony and himself.

I took a bite and savored the sweet taste. It was delicious; Pony however sat there glaring and refused to try it.

"Pony, is something wrong?" Sherri asked watching him.

He took a deep breath, "Nothin's wrong," he said and then because that sounded too cold, he added "I'm just not very hungry right now. I'll eat it later," he got up and set the dish on the table.

"I'll be in my room," he told us, picking up his copy of 'Gone with the wind'.

Soda went to talk to him, but came back a few minutes later.

"He said that he was tired. I thought we could take him to the movies or something," he said.

"Sure, go on," I told him. He went to get Pony, and, under protests from my littlest brother, the four of them left.

"I'm sorry about Pony. He's still having a hard time letting go of the past," I told Sherri.

"It's all right. I understand. Some people take longer to heal than others," she said softly.

"I wish I could help him, but the doctor I talked to said that Pony had to work through it himself. It's tough watching my little brother hurt and know that I can't do a thing to make it better for him," I murmured, content to have her in my arms.

"Well, Pony knows that you and Soda are here if he needs you," she told me. It was quiet a minute, and I gently kissed her soft lips.

"Mmmm, the best thing that happened this year was coming home and getting to know you," she murmured.

"Me too," I said before kissing her again. Sherri deepened it and pressed her body closer to mine. A shiver ran through me as I smelled her perfume, a faint scent of vanilla lingered around her. She pulled away.

"We shouldn't be doing this," Sherri whispered.

"I know we shouldn't, but I want to kiss you again," I said, frustration in my voice as I leaned closer to her.

She smiled a little.

I took her face in my hands and lowered my mouth to hers again. Sherri responded at once and our tongues danced together.

Footsteps pounded outside, then the door shoved open. We jerked apart, guilty expressions on both our faces when we saw Ponyboy standing there, his eyes filled with disgust, a smirk on his face.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt, but it is my curfew," he snapped.

I struggled to clear my head, but my body was still hot and it was hard to form a thought.

"Pony," I started, but he cut me off.

"Hey Darry, forget it. It's not my business who you kiss."

"Pony," Sherri said smoothing her hair.

"Don't talk to me. You don't belong here, go away," he said insolently.

"Ponyboy Michael, go to bed now. We'll talk tomorrow," I told him because I was too angry to deal with this right now.

Pony rolled his eyes at me. "Yeah I know, you're too busy right now," he implied snidely.

"Room now, Ponyboy!" I hollered getting to my feet. "I'll be right back Sherri."

I quickly went to the bedroom. Pony was sitting on the bed, knees drawn up. When I opened the door, he swiped at his eyes.

"This isn't like you Pony. What's gotten into you?" I asked, trying to remain calm as I walked over to him. .

"How can you ask that? You act like nothing ever happened, like they didn't matter at all," he burst out and then covered his mouth, horrified at what he'd said.

"Pony, lower your voice please," I sat by him. "Johnny and Dally did matter, but they are gone and we have to move on."

"She's the reason they're gone," he mumbled.

"It's not any one person's fault. A lot of events happened that night. No one is to blame. Pony, it was their time to go," I told him yet again.

"Whatever. Can I go to sleep now?" he asked me.

"Yes, but we will talk about this tomorrow," I stood up and returned to the living room to find Sherri gone and a note that she would call me tomorrow. I sighed and sat down to wait on Sodapop to get home. After explaining what happened with our brother, I tried calling Sherri and when she didn't answer, I went to bed.

I watched Pony stagger into the kitchen the next morning. He looked so tired; I had to wonder if he'd slept at all. God knows I didn't sleep well. I poured a cup of coffee and sat at the kitchen table across from him.

"Can I go with Two-Bit to a party tonight?" Pony asked holding his glass.

"Tell me more," I demanded.

"Nothing to tell, it's just a party."

"If you don't give me any details, then I guess you can stay home," I said with raised eyebrows. I could see resentment in his eyes, but I didn't back down.

"It's a party at Shepard's," he finally said, his voice calm for once.

I studied him over the rim of my cup.

"Sodapop will be there," he told me.

"All right." I finally gave my permission. "Be home by midnight," I said standing up, because now was not the time to bring up last night.

I talked to Sherri on the phone before going to work. When I apologized for Pony's outburst, she told me not to give it another thought; that Pony had a right to think what he wanted. We ended the call with plans for a quick dinner. All day I thought about her. It was 6:30 and I hurried home to shower and change before I picked up my girl.

"Sherri, are you okay? You seem distracted or upset tonight. Anything I can help with?" I asked, because I wanted to see her smiling again.

"It's just the usual stuff. Mom got invited to a friend's house for Christmas out of town and she said that they had to go so Dad is going along with her," she told me.

"Does that mean that you will be gone too?" I asked, hoping she would be here.

"No, Mom said that she needed a break from all the hassles in Tulsa and I could stay here and have Christmas with my friends," she almost sobbed.

"You can have Christmas with me," I told her quickly.

"What about Pony? He didn't like me being there at Thanksgiving," Sherri pointed out.

"I'll worry about that. Would you like to spend Christmas with me?" I asked, hugging her close to me. Sherri nodded and held me tight.

The next few weeks were magical, as Sherri and I spent most of our evenings together. We would go horse back riding, take long walks at night or end up in the park where I would push her on the swings. I told my brothers that she would be coming over for Christmas. Pony didn't say anything, but I could tell he didn't like it. Soda told me later that they had a long talk and hopefully he was okay with it.

When Pony asked if we could have a real tree, the whole gang went one Saturday and got one. Pony had wondered off alone to look.

"Darry, here's the perfect one," Pony yelled excitedly.

I rushed over to see it. "It's pretty big. Are you sure?" I asked. By then Steve, Soda and Two-Bit had gathered around us.

"It's not too big," Soda yammered.

"Let's get it," Two-Bit added.

I sighed, knowing I was outnumbered. "All right, let's get it and go," we paid for it and put it in the truck. Pony looked happy for a change. That night Sherri came over to help us decorate the house and tree.

The days passed quickly. Mr. and Mrs. Valance left two days before Christmas. On Christmas Eve I went to see Sherri. She was upset and I could tell she had been crying.

"What's wrong? Why are you crying?" I asked her.

"It's just been one of those days when old memories come back to haunt me," Sherri began playing with her hair nervously. "Bob's Mom called to see if I would come over tomorrow. I had to tell her no, I just didn't feel right about it. She then told me that I was being selfish."

"Sherri, I'm sorry," I told her, brushing the hair from her cheek.

"It's okay," she assured me. "I had some good times with Bob, but it's time to move on."

I remembered the conversation with Ponyboy. So many lives had been changed and everyone was still hurting. Would the wounds ever heal?

"Then Bob's sister got on the phone and reminded me that she still blamed me," Sherri said.

"You mean for Bob's death?" I wanted to know.

"It is my fault. Bob only went after Pony and Johnny because they were walking us home," she whispered.

"No, it's not," I told her.

"Yes it is," she said, and the anguish in her voice broke my heart.

Tears poured down her face, her body wrenched by sobs. Wishing I could take her pain away and make everything better for Sherri, I held her.

"Get your stuff; I don't want you to stay here tonight. You can have my room," I told her and soon we were on the way home. In the car we talked some more.

"Sherri, you're a beautiful person and you are n no way responsible for Bob's actions. He is. Don't take it on yourself," I told her as she reached over and laced her cold fingers with my warm ones.

Pony was on the porch when I pulled in. His face tightened when we got out, but he hid it with his book. I told Sherri I would be right in.

"What's wrong?" Pony asked taking a draw on his cigarette.

"Bob's family called her today. I didn't think that she needed to be alone tonight," I told him.

"Well it is Christmas Eve; no one should be alone at Christmas time. I can get along with her for you," Pony said looking at the moon.

"Thank you Pony," we smiled at each other.

We had dinner and the guys played cards while Sherri and I talked. She was teased and teased back. It was like she really belongs here with me. At midnight we turned in. I led Sherri to my room and took the couch since Steve and Two-Bit took Soda's old room. After it was quiet, I went out to the porch thinking about tomorrow. I'd gotten Sherri a really nice necklace with a silver cross on it.

"Darry," I turned and caught my breath. Sherri stood in the doorway in her short night gown; my mouth went dry at the sight of her. God, she was beautiful. "I didn't want to be alone," she told me.

Somehow we were face to face, though I don't remember moving. I found myself staring into her gorgeous eyes.

"I think I'm falling in love with you," I told her.

"Me too," she replied quietly tracing my jaw as I dipped my head toward her. My lips brushed hers softly at first, but when her tongue traced my bottom lip, I lost it and the kiss deepened. When she moaned, I raised my head. We were both breathing hard. As if our feet had a will of their own, we moved over to the couch and I sat down before pulling her across my lap. We continued to kiss and touch each other. Groaning I pulled away again.

"Sherri, baby, we have to stop before I lose what little control I have," I told her gruffly.

Wide-eyed she nodded and rested her head against my neck. I pulled a blanket over us, stretched my legs out on the coffee table and sighed. Sherri squirmed getting comfortable and then was still.

"Good night Darry," she whispered sleepily.

"Good night Sherri," I told her.

Loud shouts woke us up. Sherri moved and I looked into her sleepy face.

"Merry Christmas," I told her.

"Merry Christmas," she repeated blushing when she realized where we were.

It was 7:30, Soda and Two-Bit were yelling at everyone to get up. Then Pony and Steve woke up, I sighed again as I got up to start breakfast. I made eggs, bacon, toast and coffee and of course there was chocolate cake. Sherri took a quick shower and then joined us. When everyone was done, we sat down to open presents. When I gave Sherri the necklace, she'd been quiet and I thought she didn't like it. That was until she threw her arms around me. I stared at the watch she'd given me, it was a nice watch and I'd needed a new one for a long time. Sherri had also gotten Pony several new books that he had been wanting, Soda and Steve got new shirts and Two-Bit got a new knife. We played football and then sat down to dinner which Sherri helped prepare. Pony looked sad.

"Pony, its okay to remember people we've lost. As long as they live on in our hearts, Johnny, Dally and even Bob, will never be gone," Sherri told my little brother.

He took a deep breath and smiled at us.

We were missing some very important people this Christmas, but they would never be forgotten.

After dinner I got Sherri under the mistletoe and kissed her again. Amid the teasing and laughing, we decided to take a drive to spend some time alone. We ended up a block from the house, swinging on the swings, at the park where it had all started.