My Knight in Shining Armor

Chapter XII

Dally pushed me down the street to the record store. I had the letter in my pocket because I felt they needed to know about their son. "Don't tell them about my legs, yet. I don't want them pressuring me to get up and walk," I pleaded quietly.

"I'll keep my mouth shut."

We heard the small "ding" of the bell when we entered the store. "Why, hello, Penny," my mother greeted.

"Hey, mom. Any new records?"

"Not today. But because we've become so popular—"

"One of the most popular in the whole state," I interrupted.

"—We've got someone coming to do a record signing next week."

"Who is it?"

"Take a wild guess."

I thought for a moment, then looked at Dallas. "I'm not sure. What do you think?"

Dally was silent for a minute. "I don't know, man. I only listen to the big-times, the ones that wouldn't waste their time on a city like Tulsa."

My mother grinned wide. "Then I think you'll be surprised when I tell you the King is comin'."

My eyes were wide. "Elvis Presley is coming here? Next week?"

My mother nodded. "He sure is."

"Mama, this is great!" I was more excited than I'd been in a while, but I quickly remembered why I was there. "Mama, this letter came for you and Dad."

I wheeled myself to the other side of the record store—I knew my mother would cry when she read it, and I just couldn't stand to see her cry—and looked through the records again. I wheeled myself behind a shelf, out of view from my mother, and stretched my legs—the pain had started to subside in my legs. They still hurt, just not terribly. It was more like a dull ache with a slight tingle.

"You feeling a little better?" Dally asked.

I nodded my head. "They just hurt a little. I think I'm gonna try to stand up, though."

"I meant... the situation with you brother."

"Oh." I didn't quite know what to say. "Well, I still feel pretty miserable about it, but he would've left whether I was here or there. At least here, I've got you and the gang. I've got a winning streak in rodeos. I mean, they started the weekly children's rodeos because of me. I just wish I would've been there to convince my brothers not to leave."

It was silent for a moment. I wanted to get my mind off of the war, and my brothers, so I decided to stand up. I gripped the sides of the wheelchairs and gave myself the leverage to get to my feet. My knees were wobbly, and I was about to fall—my legs felt awfully weak—but Dally caught me. It took a few minutes for me to gain my balance, but I eventually did.

"This feels pretty good." I had a huge smile on my face.

Dally kissed my cheek. "You have no idea how happy it makes me to see you so happy."

I laughed and grabbed hold of the wheelchair. "I guess I won't be needing this anymore."

We wheeled it into the backroom. We walked fairly slowly, because if we walked fast, I would probably fall or something. When we walked in, I found my father with his arms around my crying mother. He looked up, tears in his own eyes. "We'll talk later, Penelope."

"But Dad, I know—"

"Just go on and have a good day. The sun is shining out there."

Tears threatened to leave my eyes, but I held them back and nodded. Dally gently guided me to the door. "C'mon. Let's go get something to eat."

We grabbed our usuals from the Dingo and continued on towards the Curtis house. "Maybe we were a little hasty getting rid of that wheelchair."

"Ya tired?"

"Yeah, and my legs hurt a bit."

"Alright. Hop on my back."

I had to stand on a bench to get on—I was kinda short. Not terribly short or anything, but below average height. We both laughed when I hopped on his back, 'cause he almost fell over. We headed towards the Curtis house again.

"What in the world are you two doing?" Darry asked when we got through the front door.

Dally set me down. "Her legs were tired."

The boys were all staring at me, dumbfounded. "She's been walking?"

I nodded eagerly. Yeah, I have been!"

Cheering ensued, and I was nearly stampeded by hugs and high-fives. "Let's celebrate!" Two-Bit hollered. The cheering increased.

Soda ran into the other room to grab a cake and Cokes that had been in the icebox. He passed them out, a goofy grin on his face. Finally, after everyone settled down a bit, he asked: "Have your parents seen you walk?"

I shook my head slowly but stopped and nodded. "They did, but I don't they realized I was. Grief is a powerful mask."

Everyone in the room went quiet and looked at me. I knew I was staring to cry, so I went outside and laid in the grass. No one followed me out right away, but eventually Dally joined me. "I hope it's okay that I told them, man. I think they should know."

I sighed. "I'm glad you did. I certainly couldn't myself."

We laid on the grass in silence for a while. I definitely needed a breather, some fresh air. I needed to clear my head and being outside always did the trick.

I hadn't realized I'd fallen asleep until I awoke in the darkness. I wasn't alone. Me and Dally weren't even alone. The rest of the gang laid on their backs, looking at the stars and chattering quietly. "What are y'all doin' here?" I asked, trying to keep sleepiness out of my voice.

"We figured you needed company—" Johnny started.

"And support," Steve finished.

I smiled. "Thanks, guys."

We stared off into the sky, but gasped when we saw a shooting star. "Did you guys see that?" I pointed up towards the sky.

"Yeah," they all said.

I could hear Ponyboy sigh. "To bad it was gone so quick. I feel like everything leaves and changes too fast."

I nodded. "It's like a poem I heard once..."

"What?"

"Like a shooting star,

Things don't last.

It can be hard

To let go of the past

Memories will fade,

Moments will end,

But the choices we made,

The love that we lend,

It changes us well.

It's slowly refining,

And someday we'll tell

It's us we're defining."

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Author's note
I apologize for not posting even though I'd already written it 😬
What did y'all think of the poem? I bet you could tell I wrote it 😐

Your friendly neighborhood greaser, signing off...
Stay gold y'all ⭐️