The Outsiders: Before My Time Sequel | Sodapop

Hello, Darling

It was the first few days without Soda that were the worst. It was difficult to keep myself from calling him, or going to pick him up so we could drive somewhere. To drive anywhere. All I wanted was Sodapop Curtis to be in the seat beside me, making me laugh as we drive off to wherever we wanted. I was craving him next to me. I needed to talk to him, but he wasn't there. He was never going to be there.

It's cheesy, but at least I know that we were still wishing on the same stars, and looking up at the same moon. He's here... somewhere. He has to be.

I did not know where he was, he said that he would find me but it had not happened. It was driving me crazy. At one point, we were both eighteen. Now, I'm still eighteen and he is sixty-nine. Soda has lived a whole life. Something difficult I had to come to terms with was that Soda probably fell in love with a gorgeous girl from the sixties. Someone that was wonderful for him. I could imagine him with kids, and grandkids. Maybe even great grandkids now. He probably has a giant, loving family, and a beautiful wife he has spent decades with. That's probably why he hasn't come for me yet: he has forgotten all about me. I was in his past, a past he didn't want to dig back up.

Lillian and I did visit two members of the gang, the only two that we knew where they were at. And that was Two-Bit and Steve.

First we visited Steve. Lillian and I drove to the Grease Monkey gas station together and asked for the owner when we got there. Jenni didn't come with us, because she didn't really care for him. I think their age difference kept them from becoming good friends. Plus, Steve and I were not too close either. He was my boyfriends best friend, and part of the gang, so it's not like I never saw him.

We asked the cashier if we could speak to the owner. He said, "one second," and he went into the back office.

"What?" I heard a raspy voice ask from the back room.

"There are two girls here asking for you," the cashier repeated in a monotone voice.

"Gah," Steve groaned. I heard him throw a paper down and he walked out, I assumed it was the newspaper. "Whaddya girls want?" He asked when he got to the main part of the store.

As soon as he saw us, his face lit up like the Fourth of July. His grumpy demeanor completely flipped to an attitude that was more like Steve: happy, childish, and fun.

"Bri? Is that you, kiddo?" He asked, his familiar green eyes squinted at us.

"It's me." I grinned.

"It's been an awfully long time. I never thought y'all were gonna come back," he said with a smile on his wrinkly face.

Steve looked just about the same. Although, his hair was grey and thinning, his muscles were still strong. His aged skin was tan but wrinkly, and he was sporting some grey stubble on his sharp chin. I knew it was Steve because I recognized his arm eagle tattoo he got when he was a teenager. He had a few more tattoos on his arms that joined it throughout the decades.

"We promised we would," Lillian said.

"How are you?" I asked him.

"The DX was trying to close this location down. I ran the numbers and decided to buy the joint myself. Too many memories, you know? And the owner gig is a lot better than I thought it was gonna be. That's why I stayed," he said, probably remembering our last conversation when he told me that he was hoping to leave before that happened. "Oh boy, it's great to see you two again. It's like a small part of the gang is back together."

"It's good to see you too," Lillian said. "Was I part of the gang?"

"Well..." I could hear the uncertainty in his rough voice. "Not the 60's gang."