Mickey & Minnie

Chapter V

Two and a half weeks later

"Come on, Minnie, Mickey. Time for bed," I pleaded. Mickey went right to our room, but Minnie pulled on my sleeve with begging eyes. "You've got to go to bed. It's late. Besides, when you wake up tomorrow, you can start talking again." Minnie smiled and hopped into bed next to Mickey.

"Goodnight, Dally," Mickey yawned.

"Goodnight you two."

I walked out of the room and grabbed my leather jacket. I hopped in Buck's car-it was practically mine now-and drove to work.

It was a rough night. Multiple fights broke out, and a party started on top of the restaurant. "Dallas, go break up the chaos on the roof," my manager said.

I went around back to the ladder on the side of the building and climbed up, no problem. "Cut it out, y'all," I said. No one was listening. Everyone was partying or fighting, so I had to raise my voice. "I said cut it out!"

Everyone quieted down, and a familiar face pushed through the crowd. "Winston?"

"David? What are you doing in Oklahoma? You're supposed to be in New York."

"I figured I'd find you here. I needed to settle some business we should've settled years ago."

I stepped back. "I ain't looking for a fight."

"I didn't leave New York to leave this nasty town empty-handed."

I put my hands up. "I'm going to get the manager."

David stepped forward. "No, Dallas. You're not."

He threw a punch, but I countered it with my own, hitting him square in the face. He staggered for a moment, then lunged at me. His weight knocked me over, and I rolled towards the edge of the roof. I jumped to my feet in an instant, ready to rumble. He threw another punch at me, but while I was dodging, he swept my leg. I fell off the building, only one hand keeping me from falling.

My life flashed before my eyes as I realized this could be the end.

"What's your name?" I asked my little sister, who I'd found cowering in the corner, alone and frightened. Her tangled hair fell down her back, and her eyes were filled with tears. "I'm your brother-I gotta know these things."

The girl remained silent. She reached over for some scrap paper and a dull pencil and scratched out her name. Marylynn. "Can you talk?" I asked her. She shook her head. "Alright. I won't let anything happen to you, Marylynn."

I parked Buck's car and ran into a building. A lady walked up to me, setting an armful of toys down. "Are you here to visit one of the children?" she asked.

"I'm here to pick one up. Michael's in my custody now."

"You must be Dallas Winston, from Oklahoma, right?" the lady asked with a smile.

I stood confidently. "Yeah."

"Let me go get him." She returned moments later with a small, tow-headed boy with bright blue eyes.

"Hey, buddy. I'm your brother, Dallas." I paused a moment, waiting for a response I never got. "C'mon, man. We're getting you out of here."

"I know what you mean. I would've someday had the chance to hear Marylynn's voice, but I'm a greaser. No, I'm a hood." I knew the score. At least, I thought I did.

"Dallas, you're not a hood. You've completely turned your life around. You don't break the law all the time like you used to, you aren't sitting in jail, you have a job, and you're saving for a house." Darry was resolute. It was almost like a pep talk or something.

I returned early one morning from work, exhausted and, I guess, a little frustrated. I hoped to get a couple hours of sleep, but at the early hour of four in the morning, I entered to see the entire gang sitting on the couch, all staring at me.

"What do you want?"

Johnny pulled out a jar full of money, and Darry stepped forward. "We all saved up for that surgery for Minnie."

We all laughed as Darry took his foot off the brake. We were all in the truck, about to make our way to California, but Steve hadn't quite made it. So, we were taunting him, making him think we were leaving him behind. He ran like the wind and leapt into the bed of the truck.

"You were really gonna leave me," Steve said, trying to catch his breath.

"Yes," I said, feeling just a tad like my old self.

A lot was running through my mind. Why were all the flashbacks so recent? "It's because the rest of your life didn't matter. I didn't lead to anything good," a little voice in my head was saying. That's why I wasn't recalling much of my past. Because it did me no good.

"Can you talk..."

"I would've someday had the chance to hear Marylynn's voice..."

"We all saved up for that surgery for Minnie..."

Minnie's voice. I never got to hear my precious little sister's voice. Minnie and Mickey. Marylynn and Michael. My family. The family I finally found after growing up without one.

I was jolted back to reality only seconds after I fell. My hand was still hanging onto the edge of the building, but it was starting to slip. "Not today," I growled. I swung my other hand onto the ledge. With all the strength I had left, I hoisted myself back on top of the building. I ran desperately toward the ladder and climbed quickly to the ground.

"What are you going to do? Tattle to your manager?" David mocked from above.

"Sure, sure..." I muttered, running inside. I found the phone and dialed 9-1-1, telling them what was going on.

Even though my shift eventually ended, the reporters got in the way, trying to get a good news story, and the cops kept me at the Dingo for witness reports and statements.

"Please, I'm just trying to get home," I pleaded, and after enough of that pleading, I was able to slip away and run to the Curtis house.

I threw the door open, and Mickey came running up to me. "I was worried, Dally. You didn't get home before I was awake."

I gave him a tight squeeze. "I'm alright, buddy. I'm glad my little bro was worried about me. I love you, trooper."

Minnie heard my voice and came running toward me. I picked her up and swung her around and closed in on the embrace. "I love you, Minnie, my precious little sister."

She squeezed me tight with her tiny arms. "I love you, too, Dally," her angelic little voice whispered.