He Was Mine, I Was His

25 Years Later

"And that's how your father and I fell in love," I told my sixteen-year-old daughter as I finished doing her hair. She had been bugging me about the story for the past week since she met this boy in her class named Eddie.

"I hope I can have a love story like yours one day mom," she said, admiring the hair in her mirror.

I took her hands and looked at her father's eyes, "You’ll have your own beautiful love story one day, Grace. Just have patience. Don't settle. Now let's make sure everything is ready before they get here."

We both went downstairs to the kitchen. Sodapop was standing outside at the grill with our son, Theo, who was turning 13 in a few weeks. Maisie, who had just turned 10, was in the yard, chasing the horses which roamed on the other side of the fence.

Grace and I walked out to the patio with the fruit salad and lemonade we had made earlier. Just about that time, our first guest arrived.

"Hey there, mom and dad!" Two-Bit yelled as he entered the backyard.

Two-Bit finally graduated with Johnny and now manages the local grocery chain. His wife, Crystal, is the realtor that helped us buy our house.

I greeted them both as their little boy, Jeffrey, raced over to play with Maisie. Crystal greeted me with a hug and handed me her tray of brownies. She always had the best recipe.

"Well if it isn't super dope and little dope," Soda waved as Darry, Ponyboy, and their families joined us.

Darry had finally gotten his chance to attend college and now teaches history at the highschool. Of course, he coaches the high school football team and took his team to win the state championship last year. He and his wife, Dianne, never had kids. Darry said playing uncle and teaching kids was always enough for him.

As for Ponyboy, he and Cherry never lasted through highschool. Man did the 70’s change him. He got out of Tulsa and married a nice girl named Valerie. They had twins, Micheal and Sunny. Ponyboy pursued his passion of writing and already has a book out. It’s pretty good, too.

“Are you ever going to stop calling me that?” Darry asked.

“Nope,” Soda smiled.

Johnny was the next to arrive. I always loved seeing him bring Donna to our family events. It took me back to that day at the rodeo where we first met her. Donna and I had grown to be good friends over the years. They only had one son, Dallas.

Johnny finally got away from his parents when he turned 18. He went around from job to job, struggling to find his way. Eventually, he and Donna decided to open their own riding business last year. They had a hard time getting it up and running but I can see it being a big success.

Steve was the last to show up, of course. He and Evie didn’t last either. I still remember Evie crying in my dorm room when it happened. Soda and Steve decided to join the Navy together and Steve cut it off.

Steve seemed to find his place in the Navy and actually became quite the well known pilot. He has a new girlfriend now but we’ve never met her. He won’t bring just anyone around until he knows they’re special. He also knows the guys will give him crap if she’s not.

Steve and Darry helped Soda finish dinner and I set the table, with the help of Donna and Valorie. Two-Bit, Johnny, and Ponyboy had started a game of football with some of the kids. Two-Bit sure wasn’t in the same shape he was years ago.

To catch you up on Soda, he had joined the Navy with Steve when I went off to college. It was one of the hardest times in my life being away from him. While he didn’t become a pilot, he made a name for himself as an aviation mechanic. While he can hate it sometimes, I knew he was always meant to fix things.

He left the Navy after Grace was born. He said that his only goal was to be a good father and a good husband and being away wouldn’t help him do that. He traded his planes back in for cars and now works for a few race car drivers to help make their cars faster. You can find him on the track or the drag strip every weekend.

As for me, I graduated from the University of Tulsa with a degree in Journalism. I guess Ponyboy had brought out my love for writing. Now I work as an editor for the newspaper. I hope to work my way up to magazines someday. Maybe even start my own. I’m 42 now and some days I still don’t know what the future holds for me, especially now.

Yesterday, I went to the doctor for my yearly check-up. They found the same cancer that took my father, growing inside of me now. I hadn’t told Soda yet. Part of me didn’t know how, the other just wanted a 4th of July filled with joy, not the cloud of worry that a diagnosis like that brings. Thankfully, it was caught in an earlier stage than my father’s and I had every intention to fight, and beat it. I made a promise, for the sake of my family, that I wouldn’t go down that easy and I planned to stick to that.

“Dinner’s ready,” Soda called.

Everyone made their way back to the table and found their seat. We said a prayer before we ate, a new tradition we had started, and dug in. I always thought staring at the sunset would be the most peaceful thing I would ever experience, but I was wrong. My family, sitting around the table, laughing and talking and making new memories; that’s what now brought me the most peace. Knowing that even when God decided to take me home, they would have each other to rely on.

That night as I layed in the grass with my family, watching the fireworks, I came to a great realization. When I first moved to Oklahoma and faced the struggles that came with it, I thought that was the worst thing that could happen to me. Now as I sit amongst the people I loved most, I know that isn’t true. That move to Oklahoma was the best thing that happened to me. It gave me a glimpse of hope that, even when things seem scary or bad, the sun still shines and there is always hope for brighter days ahead.

♡