Come Down From Your Fences

Chapter 23

Sarah gingerly opened the front door and peeked her head around the corner. Her mother was sitting on the couch in the family room, engrossed in an issue of Better Homes and Gardens. It looked like she was alone, but Sarah wasn't sure.

"Mom," Sarah said in a loud whisper. Her mother didn't look up. Apparently it was a really good article. "Psst, Mom." Still no response, Sarah rolled her eyes and muttered, "A bomb could go off and she wouldn't notice."

A deep, male chuckle sounded behind her and Sarah looked back at her companions. Darry, Soda, and Steve were all waiting with varying degrees of patience for her to get them into the house. Thing was, she needed to make sure Johnny wasn't around or the surprise would be ruined. To most guys things like that didn't matter; careful planning and preparation were not of the utmost importance to them. They were like bulls in a china shop, and one particular bull had reached the end of his rope.

"Here," Steve said with a determined look as he eased a reluctant Sarah out of the way, "let me try or we'll be stuck out here all damn day."

He leaned into the opening. "Hey, Mrs. Martin," he said loudly. Startled, Mary jumped and threw the magazine up in the air.

"Oh, good God!" she exclaimed, gasping for air as she stared wide-eyed at the stranger in the doorway. "Who are you?"

"I --" Sarah elbowed Steve out of the way before he had a chance to explain.

"Hi, Mom. Sorry we scared you." She glared at Steve as she squeezed past him, a bag of groceries in her arms.

"You didn't scare me, sweetie - merely startled me, that's all." Sarah made her way over to the couch and leaned down to give her mother a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Is the coast clear?" Sarah asked softly, realizing how silly the question was since Steve practically announced their arrival at the top of his lungs.

Mary looked behind her at the closed bedroom door. "So far. They've been in there for about an hour. I think they've finally torn down the wallpaper. He doesn't suspect a thing."

"Well, it helps that we didn't tell Two-Bit," Soda explained as he made his way into the house carrying a cake box, followed by Darry. "He actually thinks he's here just to help paint Johnny's room. It only took us about ten or twelve years to figure out that if you want somethin' to stay secret, you best not tell it to Two-Bit Mathews."

Mary looked confused. "Two-Bit?"

"Keith, Mom." Sarah explained.

Her mom was thoughtful for a moment. "You know, I think Two-Bit suits him better than Keith."

"He'll be thrilled to hear that," Darry supplied dryly. "Even his mom calls him Two-Bit."

Mary stood up and smoothed her sweater over her hips, a warm smile on her face. "So, Sarah, are you going to introduce me to your friends?"

"Of course --" Sarah began, but a loud crash from the bedroom cut her off, followed by loud, slightly hysterical laughter. The door opened and Johnny made his way into the family room in his wheelchair, followed by a crestfallen Ponyboy, a cackling Two-Bit, and Tom - who was shaking his head, either in amusement or bewilderment.

"Ah, man, Two-Bit - look at what you did," Johnny groused as he fussed with his hair. Sarah covered her mouth to keep from laughing when she realized he was splattered with blue paint, most of it in his hair. Upon closer inspection, she could see that Ponyboy had also been liberally doused with the stuff, too.

"Well, you said I couldn't catch the paint brush if I flipped it in the air four times - and, well, I could," Two-Bit said triumphantly.

"No, I said I didn't care if you could or not. And what idiot flips a paint brush when it's full of paint?" Johnny complained.