So You're Leaving?

beginning to wonder

They climbed up the back steps and went into the kitchen where Wendy was just starting to set food out on the table. "Oh! You're just in time! Johnny, why don't you go ring the bell and let Tom and Will know that it's time to eat." Johnny nodded and went outside to where a large cast iron bell hung on top of a tall white pole with a rope hanging down. It could be heard clearly at the barn and probably, Johnny cringed as he pulled the rope, a few miles into town. Dally picked up a piece of bread and narrowly missed having his hand slapped. Having decided not to beat around the bush, and making sure that Johnny was still outside, Dally turned to Wendy and said, "We found an old cemetery in the woods." He was, to say the least, surprised by her reaction. She stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes got a glazed look, she went completely white and nearly dropped the plate of vegetables she was carrying. Then, as quickly as the expression had come over her, it was gone and replaced with one of saddness. She continued towards the table with the plate as though she had completely forgotten that she had even had a reaction at all to what Dally had said. "Yes, that's the family cemetery." She turned to him, her voice low. "Emily is buried there. She was Will's wife. She died so young... They'd only been married a few years! Tragic..." she shook her head as she moved around the kitchen getting the table ready. Carrying a pitcher of lemonade, she stopped and patted Dally's cheek. "Be a dear and don't talk too much about it. Will has never really gotten over her." Johnny came in from the back yard. "You two go wash up, you're filthy!" Wendy said good naturedly too them. Dally thought about the brief conversation he'd just had. He noticed that Wendy didn't mention anything about anyone else that was buried in the cemetery and he was most curious about the small grave stone he'd seen. He decided not to question her about it. At least not right now. In compliance with Wendy's request, Dally didn't say a word at dinner about what he and Johnny had found. And, not surprisingly, neither did Johnny. In fact, he was unusually quiet during the meal and for the rest of the day. Johnny and Dally called the Curtis' later during the evening. Steve and Two-Bit were there too. They were all surprised to hear Dally's voice on the other end of the line. Dally was surprised that Ponyboy had actually kept his mouth shut. Johnny was happy that Dally was there to do most of the talking. He just wasn't feeling up to it. That night, Johnny lay in bed listening nervously to the rain outside his window. Coal was up on his bed, his head in Johnny's lap. Dally knocked softly and poked his head in the doorway. "Hey," Johnny greeted him. "Hey." Dally came inside and strolled over to the window, his hands in his pockets. "You uh... doin' ok?" Johnny nodded. "Yeah. I'm all right." Dally sat down on the edge of the bed and reached across Johnny to pat Coal on the head. "Well, I just wanted to tell you that if you need anything, you can wake me up, all right?" "Thanks, Dal." "I mean it- I don't care what time it is, got it?" Johnny looked gratefully at him. "OK." "I, uh... found out who Emily was," Dally stated hesitantly, testing the waters to see if Johnny would be up for talking about their earlier adventure. Johnny raised his eyebrows. "You did?" "Yeah, I guess your uncle Will was married a while ago to her, but she died. She was young." "Huh." "Wendy asked me not to talk about it in front of Will. I guess he's still pretty upset." "Oh," was all Johnny replied. Dally wanted to talk more about it, but he could tell that Johnny was still a little shaken up about the whole thing and wasn't really up for it. And he wasn't sure it was a good idea to bring it up right before Johnny went to sleep, so he changed the subject. "So, they doing anything special tomorrow at school for Halloween?" Johnny shrugged. "Not really. Some kids are wearing costumes, I guess." Dally raised his eyebrows. "Are you?" Johnny looked at him like he was crazy. "No!" Dally grinned at him. "You goin' trick-or-treating?" "No! Geez, Dal! I ain't 5! "OK. Good. I was afraid you might be getting soft, bein' here so long and all... turning into some country kid." "No, I ain't gettin' soft." Dally grinned at him. "Except for Caroline!" he sang, batting his eyelashes. Johnny rolled his eyes and laid back in his bed. "When do I get to meet her? Huh?" Johnny covered his head with his pillow. "Never," he said, his voice muffled. "Come on! Has she got a sister? I think she's kinda cute." Johnny started laughing underneath his pillow. "Maybe there will be some unfortunate accident and I'll have to take Caroline out myself!" Dally said pushing the pillow down playfully over Johnny's face, pretending to smother him. "Face it, kid. I'm gonna meet her eventually. One way or another." Coal grabbed Dally's arm in his mouth, growling playfully, his tail wagging. Johnny let out a muffled yell and kicked at Dally. "Kill him, Coal!" Dally laughed. He stood up, pulled the pillow off Johnny and tossed it to him. Johnny grabbed it and swung it at him as hard as he could. Dally dodged the blow and reached over and ruffled Johnny's hair. "Good night, kid. Don't forget, if you need anything, just wake me up." Dally headed for the door. "Dal?" "Yeah, kid?" Johnny grinned at him and Dally couldn't remember a time that he'd ever seen such contentment in Johnny's eyes. "Thanks for comin' out here." Dally shook his head and flicked off the lights. "Go to sleep." Back in his own room, Dally pulled some of the photo albums down off the shelves. He sat down on the edge of his bed and flipped through the books, looking breifly at some of the pictures. He was starting to get the feeling that there were a lot of things Johnny didn't know about his past. Having lived so far from the family for so long, it only made sense. But there was something more... Dally just couldn't quite put his finger on it. And what had Johnny really seen? Could it have been a ghost? No, Dally thought. Or maybe... The rusted wheels of his imagination began to turn, suddenly, as though it had not been used in some time. And it hadn't... back home he had no need for imagination. He didn't have time for it. Everything was black and white, cut and dry. But here things were different, slower. He had time to think. He wasn't having to watch out for Johnny or Ponyboy. He wasn't wondering where his next meal would come from. And now he was beginning to entertain the possibility that perhaps Johnny had seen a ghost. Maybe it was Emily! Dally shook his head and rubbed his eyes. Oh, man. I have to get some sleep. This is crazy, he thought. He had only been here for two days but he was more tired than he'd been in a long time. He turned another page in the album he was holding and suddenly, his insides turned to ice. There in the middle of the album page was a loose photo of a child that looked almost exactly like Johnny. Only it wasn't Johnny. And something about the photo made a shiver run down his spine. He had a sneaking suspicion that this was the person buried in the small grave in the woods.