Infatuation

Chapter 59

After work, Soda picke me up. He has a big smile on his face when I get into the car. I smile back at him.

"How did it go?" He asks.

"Pretty good." I say. I ended up going on four calls today. Two were for broken bones, one was for Harold, and the last one was a minor car wreck. I had a lot of paper work to fill out. That's my least favorite part of the job.

"Dally said he saw you. Told us he was driving by and you were on the scene." He tells me.

"You can't tell anyone I told you this, okay?" I say.

"Okay," he says hesitantly.

"Dally is a cop. He was on scene with me." I tell him with a laugh. I watch his reaction. His eyes light up in humor and he smiles.

"No way! Dallas? A cop?" He says.

"Yeah! I couldn't believe it either!" I admit. My mood abruptly changes when I see a poster for the Vietnam War. More and more men are getting drafted. It's scaring me. I don't want Soda to get drafted. I've heard stories about wife's losing their husband's. I won't be able to handle that. I will completely unravel and I won't be able to be put back together.

"What's wrong?" He asks me.

"Oh, nothing." I say dismissively. I lay my head on his shoulder.

"I know what that look on your face means." He tells me.

"What look?" I play dumb. I can never hide it from Soda. He can always tell when I've been sad or if I am sad. Sometimes I hate that he can see right through me. He knows things I don't.

"Don't do that, Roe. Please. I hate seeing you sad." He says.

I frown. "I don't want you to get drafted." I say quietly.

"I can't get drafted. I busted my knee in a rodeo a little while ago. They don't want me," he says with a light laugh. I sigh in relief. I sit up and look at him. He turns his head to look at me.

"What about Dally?" I ask. New fear floods through me. I don't know much about the drafting process. I've never paid attention to when people are talking about it.

"He has a bad criminal record." Soda tells me. For once, I am thankful for his record. I should have known Dally wouldn't get drafted.

"What about everyone else?" I question.

"Ponyboy and Two-Bit might be able to get drafted. Pony is too young, and Two-Bit is still in high-school. Steve is colorblind, Darry is taking care of kids, and Johnny's back is messed up. He can't walk very far without it giving out on him." Sodapop informs me.

"Can Ponyboy avoid it if he goes to college?" I ask.

"I reckon so." Sodapop says. He parks the car into the driveway. He shifts his body closer to me. His hand pulls a piece of my hair behind my ear. He rests his hand against my face. I lean into the warmth.

"Have I ever told you that you look good in blue?" I flirt as I pull him by his shirt into a kiss. He chuckles as he kisses me. His hand lands on my back as he slowly lowers me down on the seat. He lays on top of me.

He pulls away from the kiss and looks at me. His fingers trace lines onto the skin of my face. It feels real nice.

"I think I'm going to marry you." He says quietly. The smile on my face grows. I can see a future with him. A lifetime. I can see us having kids and growing old together. I want that life. I crave that life. I need that life.

"I think I'll marry you." I tell him confidently.

He smiles brightly and I see his eyes light up. His mouth goes to my neck.

A knock at the window startles me. Sodapop sits up and lets put a disappointed sigh.

"Later," I tell him. He chuckles as he looks out of the window. In front of it stands Ponyboy and Johnny. Sodapop rolls the window down.

"Dally is gonna be here soon. I thought you might want a warning," Ponyboy says with a grin.

"Thanks, Pone." Soda tells him. Ponyboy shifts his eyes to me. He stares at the patch that marks me as an EMT.

"You got a job?" He questions.

"Yeah. Today was my first day," I explain.

"Awesome! How do you like it?" He asks as he leans on the window.

"It's a nice job. I think I'll like it just fine." I shrug. Its more stressful than I anticipated.

I watch as a police car pulls up to the house. I smile to myself. Dally is finally gonna tell everyone.

"What did you two do?" Sodapop plays along. I giggle.

"Why do you think we did something?" Ponyboy asks.

"Because it's always you two. For two kids who don't want to get in trouble, you get into it a lot." Sodapop tells them.

"We didn't do anything!" Johnny informs us.

"Johnny and Ponyboy didn't do anything. It's just Dally." I say.

"Dally got arrested again?" Ponyboy asks.

I don't reply. Instead I watch so I can see Dally step out of the drivers door. Ponyboy's and Johnny's mouth drops open. Sodapop chuckles.

Dally is standing there in his uniform. It makes him look completely different. He usually looks like a hood, but with the uniform on he looks more prideful. He carries himself differently. He is proud of himself. I can tell. It makes me happy for him.

"Is this a joke?" Johnny asks in disbelief. Dally walks over to us.

"What do you think?" He says with a grin.

"I think its different." Ponyboy mumbles.

"I like it," I say. Dally smiles. I'm glad he has something in his life to make him more responsible. He certainly needs it.

"How did you even manage to become part of the fuzz?" Ponyboy asks.

"It was either take a job or get jailed again, and I need to stay out." He informs us. He was gonna get jailed again?

"You were gonna go to jail again?" Johnny says aloud, speaking my mind.

"Yeah. I got caught stealin' a couple of packs of cigarettes." He says sheepishly. I frown at him. Dally has the money for cigarettes. They are only fifty cents. I understand that it might be a hard habit for him to break, but he said he told me he would stop stealing.

"Look, Roe, this was awhile ago. I haven't stolen anything since." He tries to tells me. If I had it my way, he wouldn't even be smoking.

"Promise?" I ask. I don't want to be mad at him. I don't like being angry at the people I love, and that number is very limited. I don't want anyone to be upset with me. I guess that's why I'm still with Sodapop. He doesn't do anything to make me cross, and I don't do anything to make him angry. We have never had an argument, besides the occasional banter we both do. Its playful with him. We really are ment to be together.

"I promise." He says with a smile.