• Maggie's POV (Point of View)

    I had just turned away from him for one minute.

    We were at the park, enjoying the fresh breeze and warmth of a beatiful summer's day. As soon as we got there, Darry let out a delighted giggle and sprinted as fast as he could toward a group of pidgeons resting on the green field, waving his arms widely as they flew higher and higher above him. I walked after him, chuckling to myself. Darry was still giggling as I approached him, running toward the leftover birds that had not taken notice of him until now. Once they were gone, he turned and spotted me.

    "Mommy!" he shrieked happily, and he ran, laughing, into my arms. I picked him up and held him with one arm, placing one hand on my stomach. Darry imitated me, placing his hand close to mine, but feeling my stomach all the same.

    "Baby coming?" he asked. I turned to him, smiling.

    "Yes it is. Very soon. And you, mister," I said, removing my hand from my stomach and digging my fingers in his side. He let out a shriek of laughter and curled away from my hand, resting his head on my shoulder, "will have a little sister or little brother. Doesn't that sound nice?"

    Darry nodded, grinning widely. I smiled back and put him down. "Now come on," I said. "Let's enjoy today's nice weather."

    He grinned again and ran toward the sandbox while I walked toward the bench underneath the dark shade of the trees. Sighing, I rested my hand on my stomach once more. I was very excited about having another child, as was Darry. He was proud and happy about the idea of him becoming an older sibling.

    Closing my eyes and leaning my head back to rest on the top of the bench, I smiled at the memory of the discussion me and Darrel had earlier this week about names for the baby. Playfully, he suggested that if it was a girl, it should be named Lilly. A boy should be named Sodapop.

    I laughed and slapped his arm softly. "Sodapop?" I had said. "My goodness Darrel, where do you come up with these ideas? We are not naming a child Sodapop!"
    But Darry had been listening in on our conversation and exclaimed that he loved the name Sodapop. They spent the next five minutes trying to convince to keep the name for a boy, if it was one. They didn't have to try; I had already fallen in love with the name.

    Pulling myself out of the memory, I glanced at the clock on the side of the park's mini ice cream stand. I was surprised to read that already a half-hour had passed since we arrived. I would have to drop Darry off at Mrs. Mathews while I went to my job soon.

    Getting up, I started to go over to the sandbox, only to find Darry wasn't there. Confused at where he could be, I went over to the swings, the merry-go-round, the jungle gym, the fountain...

    Nothing.

    I was beginning to get frantic. Darry was nowhere to be seen. I began asking the people at the park if they had seen a boy, roughly over three feet, dark-brown hair, wearing an old black shirt and jeans. No one had seen him.

    It was until I came to the last person I asked that I reached my breaking point. They had seen a boy fitting Darry's description... walking away from the park with another woman.

    I was past the point of crying; tears streaming down my face, I called the police, reporting a kidnapping. After I was finished, I called Darrel at his work.

    "Garret's Construction. May I help you?"

    "Gar, can you fetch Darrel for me? Something's happened, and I need him over here now."

    Garret was an old friend, and he understood frm the shakiness and pleading of my voice that something had gone horribly wrong.

    "Sure Maggie. I'll get him now."

    There was a silence on the phone as Garret went to fetch Darrel. I grew more impatient with every second passing, and gave a start when I heard the phone being picked up again.

    "Maggie?" Darrel asked. I began crying again when I heard his voice.

    "Darrel," I sobbed, and it took me a while before I could speak again.

    "Darry's gone."


    When the time grew nearer to the day my second child would be born, I realized that I didn't want it. I felt as though I were betraying Darry; he had wanted so badly to be an older sibling, to have someone to take care of. And now he would never have that chance. It was only four months ago when he had be kidnapped.
    However, after a long endurance of the painful pregnancy, when they handed me my new son...

    I couldn't do it.

    I couldn't get rid of this child. I fell in love with him as soon as I looked at him.
    Now, cradling my newborn son in my arms, tears escaped from my eyes at the name Darry had wanted so badly for his new little brother to be named.

    "Hello Sodapop," I whispered, rocking him gently. Sodapop gave me a toothless grin and half-gurgled, half-laughed. He loved his name too. I smiled through my tears; he reminded me so much of Darry at his birth.

    I let out a quiet sob, and hugged Soda close, rocking him and holding him protectively, my body shaking with the sobs that I had tried so hard to hide for four months.