"baby, please don't cry"
Candice "Candy Cane" Marshall hasn't seen or talked to any of her friends in a long time. Dallas and Johnny are gone and she's terrified to face the fact that Steve and Sodapop may have met their fates in Vietnam. But when t...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
tw// sad/death/ also drunk soda
The grass brushed up against my jeans as I knelt in the yard. In front of me, the granite headstone was still shiny, as it was only a few years old.
Samuel Arnold Montgomery
B. May 18, 1972. D. May 21, 1972
"Well," I said, taking in a deep breath. "Yesterday would have been your second Christmas. You'll be two in May. I wish you were here, Sam. I know I didn't get too long with you on this planet, but I loved you more than life itself. And I'll continue to love you until the ends of the earth. I hope that wherever you are, you're happy and peaceful and healthy. I hope my parents are taking care of you."
I wipe the tears from my eyes. "I came here last Christmas because it would have been your first. My daddy came with me right before he died, but now he's in heaven or wherever with you." I think about my words next. "Say hi to my parents for me, okay? And Dallas and Johnny if you see them, too." I stand and look down at the headstone for another couple of minutes. "Okay. I'm going to go, but I'll be back to say hi on your birthday. Bye, baby."
I had Sam buried next to my mom. When my dad died, I had him buried here, too.
"Take care of my son," I tell the stones, and I turn to leave. That's when I notice Sodapop's car parked behind mine at the cemetery entrance. I see him walking toward me and I'm unsure of what to do.
"Hi, honey," he says as he reaches me. "I was heading to the grocery store when I saw your car."
"I just came to say Merry Christmas to my parents... and to Sam." Soda looks around me to the tiny grave next to where my parents are buried.
"It's so little," he notes, his voice low and sad. "I'm so sorry you had to lose him."
"He'd be almost two," I said. "This would have been his second Christmas."
Soda turned to Sam's grave. "I just want you to know that I'm taking care of your mom, little buddy." My heart swelled. He said 'little buddy' in that way that Darry used to do to him. "I bet he'd look just like you."
I smiled. "I miss him. I never thought I'd ever be a mother and then it was suddenly ripped from me before I could even process it. God is cruel."
Sodapop pulled me into him and kissed the top of my head. "I know he is."
"He's taken and taken and taken and I don't know what he's given."
"I know one thing he's given me..."
I looked up at him.
"He gave me you."
I hugged Sodapop tight. "I want to go say Merry Christmas to your parents, too."
