"Aw, look at us," Hannah sighed as we stood in the master bedroom at Evie's parents'. "We're getting so big."

"Only a few more weeks to go," I sighed. "I honestly can't wait. I'm so uncomfortable and all I wanna do is just hold her, y'know?"

"Oh, I know. I wanna hold mine, too. Two-Bit asks me about every day how I'm doing. He's so sweet and, god do I love him, but sometimes my hormones take over and all I wanna do is punch him."

I couldn't help but giggle. Poor Two-Bit. As I gazed back into the mirror, I smiled. Mine and Hannah's matching pale blue bridesmaids dresses looked so beautiful. The other girls were already ready, but Hannah and I decided to change last since we'd take the longest, what with our enormous bellies and all. "I can't believe Steve and Evie are getting married today."

"I know. It feels like yesterday we were only planning it. Now... Oh, I can't wait to see Evie in her dress. She's gonna look so gorgeous."

"Hey, ladies, you decent?" came a voice from outside the bedroom door.

"Come in, Keith," Hannah called. The door swung open and in walked Two, Mikey right at his side as usual. I swear, the kid never let Two out of his sight. He was getting big. It was hard to believe he'd been under Two-Bit's care for a year now. Two was doing great as a dad for Mikey. I couldn't wait to see him as a real dad with his own baby. Hannah was due just a few weeks before me and I knew she was getting anxious. I knew all about caring for babies and little kids, and she was helping to raise Mikey, but she knew next to nothing about babies.

They decided to keep the gender a secret. None of us knew what their baby was going to be, but we were all excited to greet Baby Mathews all the same.

"We're about ready to start the ceremony," Two-Bit said, wrapping his arms around Hannah.

"Okay. We're ready. We were just admiring our hourglass figures," I chuckled.

"Hey, you both are beautiful."

"Well, I didn't say we were ugly."

Two-Bit frowned, then let out a loud, boisterous laugh. "Come on," he said, tugging Hannah's hand. Sodapop appeared in the doorway a minute later and smiled when he saw me.

"Aw, you guys look gorgeous," he commented, grinning from ear to ear. He took my hand in his and, together, the five of us left the bedroom and headed out to the backyard for the ceremony. For a December day, the weather was really nice. They wanted to get married outside in the snow. The ceremony wasn't supposed to be very long. A quick sharing of their vows before going inside for the reception.

I wrapped my giant cardigan around me when we got into the kitchen. The guests were standing around, prepared to head outside to watch Steve and Evie finally get married. I spotted Steve by the door, looking nervous. He was dressed in a very military-ish suit, a few medals pinned to his chest and an army beret on his head. He had a nervous look to him like he could just start running in circles at any given moment. I left Soda to go and stand next to him.

"Hey, Steve," I said.

"Hey, Candy Cane. Thanks so much for coming."

"Oh, you know I wasn't gonna miss my best friend's wedding." I grinned up at him before pulling him into a reassuring hug. He struggled to hug me back, what with my giant stomach, but we managed.

"You're gonna do great, buddy."

"Thanks." He sent me one last smile before Cathy walked in.

"We're ready to start," she announced. Everyone moved out to the backyard to start the ceremony. Steve and Evie had decided to only invite close friends, with the exception of Evie's parents. Steve hadn't invited his old man and, as far as I know, Steve hadn't even talked to his dad since he'd come home from Vietnam. I doubt the old bastard even knew Steve had a girlfriend, let alone that he was marrying her.

I didn't blame Steve for not telling his dad. His dad was a piece of shit and had treated Steve like nothing more than a bag of garbage his whole life. That was part of the reason why Steve and I got along so well. We both knew what it was like to not have one parent and to have the only other one you had treat you like you didn't matter. We both had gotten kicked out on the near-daily and, often times, we ended up having to share the couch when we were little kids.

As all of Steve and Evie's friends gathered around, I couldn't help but feel excited knowing this was going to be Sodapop and me in just under a year. But for now, I was excited watching two more of my best friends getting married. It was weird to see us all grown up. We'd gone from fighting socs on our turf, causing trouble, trying so desperately to just survive. And now here we were, adults getting married and having kids-- all of us with great jobs and we were branching off and building our families.

The most important thing about being a greaser is sticking together. The people you have when you're young are the people you have to love and protect and rely on for the rest of your life. To see us still together, only missing two people, made me both happy and sad at the same time. I wondered what Dally and Johnny would be like ten years later. Would Johnny have grown out of his shell? Would Dally have settled down with a girl and decided that being a cold-hearted person isn't the life for him? Maybe. Or maybe that's just destiny. And we can't change destiny no matter how hard we try.

The ceremony started. Evie's dad walked her outside toward the archway, where Steve was waiting for her. I saw tears brim his eyes. I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen Steve Randle cry.

"Dearly beloved," the priest began. "We are gathered here today to watch the union of two wonderful souls, Steve Lucas Randle and Evelyn Irene Samson. Thank you for attending their ceremony and union. I have been asked to keep this ceremony short, so we are going to go ahead with the vows.

"Do you, Steve Randle, take Evelyn Samson to be your lawfully wedded wife, rich or poor, through sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," Steve said.

"Do you, Evelyn Samson, take Steve Randle to be your lawfully wedded husband, rich or poor, through sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," Evie smiled.

"Do we have the rings?" the priest asked. Sodapop, who stood behind Steve, stepped forward and handed the priest the rings. The priest handed Evie Steve's ring and Steve Evie's. Steve slipped Evie's ring on her tiny finger and Evie followed suit. "With these rings signifying your union in marriage, Steve, you may now kiss your bride."

Steve grabbed Evie around the waist and swooped her down, giving her a hard, passionate kiss on her mouth. We all whooped and hollered for them.

"Now let's head inside before we all turn into popsicles," Steve announced, making us all laugh. Soda wrapped his arm around my waist and I grabbed onto Robin's hand. Greg and Claire walked alongside us and we followed the others inside.

The reception was very laid-back compared to Ponyboy and Cathy's wedding. We all sat around, eating finger foods and telling stories. None of us were having alcohol because three of us girls were pregnant, and there were too many kids around to be able to drink.

"Do you remember that time we all went bowling?" Steve asked Two-Bit, Soda, and I as we sat around the island in the kitchen.

"Which time?" I asked, popping a grape in my mouth. "We went bowling a few times, buddy."

"That time we all sneaked in through Soda's bedroom window and we all passed out in his bed. Mrs. Curtis came in the next morning and found us and she was pissed."

"I'd like to hear that story," Evie said, a grin on her face.

"Yeah, so would I," Hannah added from beside me.

"Oh, I think I remember that," Darry said from next to the sink."

"Steve tells the story better than anyone, I think," Soda said. "Go on, bud."

"So, it was me, Soda, Candy, and Two-Bit. It was always us four together."

"Usually," I corrected.

"Okay, it was usually us four together. Anyway, we all went bowling. Candy was like fourteen. Soda and I were about fifteen, and Two was, what, sixteen?"

"Yeah, almost seventeen, I think."

"Yeah, so we were all bowling. Then, out of nowhere, Two pulls a flask out of his pocket and we're all trying to pretend that we're cooler than we are, so we start passing it around. What were we even drinking?"

"It was Two-Bit's, so who knows?" Soda shrugged, a wide grin perching on his face.

"So, we're getting shitfaced. Candy's probably drunker than all of us. We try and keep bowling, but Candy ends up throwing her ball down the wrong lane and I think Soda went sliding down another. Two ends up dancing on one of the tables--"

"Don't forget he stole a basket of fries from a couple on a date," I added in.

"Did I really?" Two-Bit asked.

"Oh, yes you did," I said. "I remember because I tried to steal them from you."

Two-Bit started cackling at the thought.

"So, we get kicked out of the bowling alley and we're like, 'well shit, where do we go now?', so Sodapop somehow leads us all back to his place. We all manage to sneak in through his bedroom window and we all pass out in his bed."

"Keep in mind, my bed was not that big. Two people could probably squeeze in and still be a little comfortable."

"And there were four of us," I laughed.

"So, Mama Curtis comes in the next morning and sees us all passed out in Soda's bed."

"One of the few times I've ever seen your mom mad," Two-Bit said.

"I don't ever remember you drinking," Greg comments.

"I rarely did," I replied. "And when and if I did get drunk, I always went over to the Curtises. I don't think you've ever seen me drunk."

"You've always been super lightweight, too," said Two. "I think that time you only had a few drinks out of the flask."

"I believe it. I was never one for drinking."

The rest of the night, we continued telling stories. We stayed until about eight-thirty before deciding we were all exhausted and ready to go. Greg, Claire, Robin, Sodapop and I piled into Soda's car and we prepared to head home.

"Oh, I love this song," I said, turning up the volume on the radio as Soda drives down the snow-covered Tulsa streets. It's More Than A Feeling by Boston. I sang along terribly, Greg and Claire eventually joining in and Sodapop laughing along. I looked at Robin through the rearview mirror and she was looking at us all like we were crazy.

I guess we were. But we were happy. Nothing could have ruined our moods or the moment. Except something did.

I wasn't paying attention when Sodapop let out a scream, but it was too late for any of us to react as we were hit head-on by another car. I felt the car flip and I screamed. It didn't take long before my head hit the window and my vision went spotty.

The car slid down the side of the road on its side. As I went in an out of consciousness, I became vaguely aware of people shouting and crying.

I could hear Claire sobbing and trying to console Robin, but I couldn't see anything or move or talk. It wasn't until I was loaded into the back of an ambulance that I slipped away entirely.