Beach Babe | The Outsiders | Johnny Cade

Epilogue

22 years later

"Mom I can't find my Walkman!" Augustine calls from upstairs, her voice mixed with the sound of Farah Fawcett Spray being overused on her hair.

"Do you really need it? It's just a ribbon-cutting ceremony!" I put my earrings in and struggle for a few minutes to get my bangs to look good.

Curtis comes running in and wraps himself around my leg. "Mom! Is Uncle Dally gonna be there?" He asks loudly, his tiny voice even higher than normal.

I pick him up and hold him on my hip. Lord, he's getting big. "All your uncles are going to be there, sweetheart." Curtis squeals in excitement and hugs me.

Curtis Tucker Cade is my youngest, my baby. He was born on 3/20/1981, named after the family that saved my life and my husband's best friend. He's a mess. I call him my little tornado. He makes a mess everywhere he goes, and Augustine hates it. He looks wise; he's Johnny's carbon copy, but he has my eyes.

I walk into the living room and plop Curtis onto the couch which makes him giggle like a little maniac. I grab my purse and keys. "Augustine, let's go!" I shout up the stairs.

I hear her heavy footsteps clomping down the hall and see her coming down. Her hair is teased to high heaven, her makeup is very loud, and she's wearing my old, black cocktail dress from before I was pregnant with Curt. I can't fit into it anymore. She's also wearing my earrings and necklace. At least the heels are hers. "Did you raid my closet?"

"Yes." She smiles and flutters her eyelashes. "Don't I look great though?" She does a little spin and puts her hands on her hips.

"You do. You also look grown, it might give your father a heart attack." I kiss the top of her head.

"Speaking of, where is Daddy?" She looks around.

"He's already there, he rode with Uncle Ponyboy." It's still weird to think about, tiny Ponyboy Curtis is the uncle to my children. Sometimes I look at him and I still see the boy who loved Paul Newman and who loved watching sunsets.

We all walk out to the car and get in. It takes only thirty minutes to get to the centre, I'm early but the parking lot is already becoming crowded. We park near the door and get out. Augustine carries Curtis on her shoulders, listening to him babble on about god knows what.

Augustine Richie Cade. My fifteen-year-old daughter who loves music and going out with her friends. Raising her was.. hard, to say the least. She wasn't easy, she had croup so she screamed and cried constantly as an infant, it nearly killed me. I felt so guilty when she would just cry and cry. I couldn't help her, couldn't do anything but rock her as we both sobbed.

Eventually, it got easier, especially with Johnny, he was born to be a dad. He's fantastic at it. I used to question whether or not I was cut out to be a mom, but seeing Johnny with our babies killed those thoughts. I'm meant to be Augustine's and Curtis's mom.

When we step into the building Johnny sees me and loudly calls out. "There's the woman of the hour!" He starts clapping and everyone else joins him. I blush heavily and as soon as I'm close he grabs me and kisses me, his hands find my waist. "Damn gorgeous, where you been hiding this waist. You look incredible, Stacy." I smile.

Augustine barely has time to put Curt down before he's running full speed at Dally. Curtis hugs his leg tightly and nearly knocks him over. Dally grabs him and shakes him around. "Watch where you're going, you little punk!" He says, his voice playful. Dally still claims not to like children but he seems to like Curtis.

Ponyboy walks over and hugs me. "Stacy! It's been so long, too long. I'm so proud of you."

"Proud of me? I'm proud of you, Mr. New York Best Seller!" Pony wrote a book about everything that happened when we were younger, from the movie theater to Johnny and Dally's brushes with death. He sent the whole gang a signed copy once it was released. I couldn't bring myself to read it at first, I only read it a few years later. It nearly broke me. I had been blocking out that whole event, especially August. I relapsed that night. Johnny was working night shift at a 24/7 diner and it was before we had the kids. I was all alone and the words Pony had written about August in the church, the things he said, the things he did. I couldn't take it. All I remember from that night was driving myself to the hospital and drying out. I stayed sober for five years after that.

The second and last time I relapsed was in '73, my mom showed up at the house and demanded to see Augustine. She screamed at me for an hour about family values and betrayal. I slapped her, hard, I don't know what possessed me but I've never hit anything harder, I yelled at her to leave and never come back. She hasn't been back since so I think she listened. I slammed the door and my vision was blurred with tears, so many emotions built up inside me and after forty minutes of unsuccessfully trying to calm myself down, I got the wine bottle I had hidden in the bedroom closet.

I remember pitifully sobbing, sitting against a wall while a one-year-old Augustine was sound asleep upstairs. I called Two-Bit, I was a mess. He came right over, I only had a few sips of wine but it was enough. Two helped me get cleaned up and he took me to rehab, said he'd watch after Augustine. I missed my daughter's second birthday. I've never forgiven myself for that. I haven't even thought about having a drop of alcohol since.

Shortly after I started the S.T.A.R. Centre. A shelter for abused women and a rehab center. I worked two jobs and so did Johnny to help me save up enough money to get it running. It opened in January of '78, it had 100 beds. There were definitely a few challenges that came with opening a business, but after a while, everything evened out. Today the second location is opening. There are news reporters and photographers here, ready to photograph me cutting the ribbon. It's overwhelming but with Johnny and the kids here, I feel okay.

I've never publicly said why it's called S.T.A.R. It feels too personal to say.
S - Sawyer
T - Theo
A - August
R - Richard
My family, the people whom I love most. All but one dead.

Theo couldn't make it tonight, he's sick as a dog with the flu. His husband has been taking care of him though. Theo and Davey had a ceremony in '83, they aren't legally married of course but maybe someday they will be. I love my brother, and my kids love him too. Augustine went and stayed with him for a whole summer a year ago, I think she likes him more than me. I like Theo more than me too.

Rebecca, the woman who's going to the manager of this location, taps my shoulder. "Mrs. Cade, it's time." I nod and take a deep breath. Johnny gives me a thumbs up and Augustine puts on her headphones and starts playing the tape in her Walkman. She hates speeches.

I walk over to the podium and all talk in the room ceases. I look out at my family, reporters, photographers, and investors who helped me get here. "I want to start by thanking everyone for coming tonight. Opening up this second location means so much to me. I'm not very good at talking so I'll keep this brief. I was abused and I was an addict, it gets better, you can recover, it isn't the end for you. I hope that every woman who enters this facility leaves healthier and happier, and most importantly, safer. Thank you very much to everyone for coming tonight."

I look into the crowd, at the gang. Pony's a best-selling author, Two-Bit has been dating Marcia for ten years now after Randy moved toorado, she's expecting, Sodapop lives on a farm out in the country with Ponyboy, tending to horses, when Sodapop moved out Darry saved up, bought a house on the good side of town, reconnected with his high school sweetheart, and married her, Dallas is the same as always except now he's married to none other than Cherry Valance. He kept it a secret for the longest time, we only found out when he showed up to lunch with lipstick on his collar and a wedding band on. He keeps details of their relationship secret. We've all grown up so much.

I walk over to the ribbon in front of the doors that lead into the facility, Rebecca hands me large gold scissors and I take a deep breath before snipping the ribbon. The camera's flash and I smile. I answer a couple of questions from reporters before making my way over to Johnny. He hugs me tight and sighs. "I'm so proud of you." Those four words mean so much to me. His thumb rubs over one of my gunshot scars and I tear up. I've been through so much with him, and he's always been there. He loves me and I love him. I love my kids. I love Darrel, Dallas, Keith, Sodapop, and Ponyboy. My family.

The family that saved my life.

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Thank you for reading :)

Word count: 1636