The Catcher in the RYE. Happy Ever After.

Different ending of 'the Catcher in the RYE' book.

Yeach. It's me . Holden never doing what I said I will do Caulfiel Yes. I know that the last time I told you guys that I will not say to you a goddamn word more about my life, but as I told you before I never gives a damn about what I promise.

Anyway. Here I am. Standing in front of this goddamn house, holding this goddamn tree, freezing my ass on this goddamn yard, asking myself why am I doing this? The answer is simply, because I was told. You don't know anything what Am I talking about right? Okay, Maybe I should start from the beginning of this screwed story I had after I took old Phoebe to the zoo.

After standing a while in this rain, old Phoebe was almost as wet as I was. Not wanting her to die or catch a flu, I told her that we should take her bag back and go to the home. That was the worst idea I ever had in the last three days, even hiring this prostitute in the hotel sounds like a better idea now but stick to the point.

When mom saw us, me and Phoebe, she was in a shock. Exactly in a double shock if you want to know. First shock she gots when she get a call from old Phoebe school that she didn't come. I swear to God that she was calling police when we were just walking to the house. Second shock she got when she saw me. All wet, carrying my and Phoebe's bags, looking like I come back from a goddamn war story.

When I saw her face, I was thinking that she was gonna kill us, which she almost did. She never hugged me that tightly like that moment when I was all wet, she crushed half of my ribs, I can swear it and she also got her own clothes wet. But I need to say that that was nice, I never was too much into hugging, but there is something with worried mothers, when they are worried, they hug you, and you want nothing more than hug them back.

Anyway, when she stopped hugging me and old Phoebe, she give us one the hell loud conversation. What was not even that bad, until she figure out somehow that I was kicked out from school. I swear to God, if old Phoebe was anything like someone in my family, she was just like my mother. I was even thinking that she will punch me like old Phoebe did two nights ago, but she didn't. She just give us hell for skipping the school, trying to escape from the home, we did not tell her that, she figured it out herself just by looking at us and our bags, and for me smoking in the house, another thing she figured out, that woman is killing me, I swear. If she knew all these things, why she was even asking?

But at the end, when she was sort of out of the breath, she hugged us again and send us under shove before we both freezed to death. To be honest, mom's reaction wasn't worrying me that much, I was more afraid about dad. Like every yellow boy, I was more afraid of my old man than my mother. Later we were just sitting on the couch, in the middle, between mom and old Phoebe at my sides. I was just telling them what I was doing after I was kicked out, not mentioning a few things to them, I'm not that crazy to tell my own mother that I get drunk three time in two nights. I was in the middle of lying to them what I was doing in the hotel, when Dad walked to the home.

I know that I mentioned already that I'm a yellow type of guy, but I get a heart attack in that moment. Dad was walking slowly, not looking mad but you never can know when the fathers really are mad at you or just disappointed, or mad at someone else from work or just so tired that they have no strength to be mad. But I still scared as hell, he was wearing this long, dark coat he hate soo much and his dark hat, there was a rain on him so I guess that it was raining when he was coming back from work. He was looking like some kind of a mafioso or a hitman in that coat, that is the reason why he hates it soo much.

I don't know why, but the first thing I did when he saw me was to run to him and hug him like my life was depending on him. I don't even know why I did that, I did feel like some stupid child, and I was probably looking like one but I did not give a damn about that.

To my surprise. Dad knew everything what happened, except for this stupid things I did after I left Pencey of course. And he wasn't mad, not a bit. He just wanted to know what I was doing and where, so I told them all everything. But dad did not believed me and when mom and old Phoebe were asleep, he took me to the living room and somehow make me tell him everything. About the hotel, bars, my walks and being just under under his nose last night. He was laughing a bit, he even told me that the next time he will take me with him on a beer if I will want to.

Then things get pretty serious. He told me that I need to choose a next school, I told you about it last time, and a things about looking into the future and thinking about what I want to do and with whom. You know. The talk about being older and life getting more shitty.

I told him that I understand. I really do. And promised him, I don't know if I even was serious about that, but I promised him that I will pass next year and that I will not be kicked out again. I told you that I can't be sure if I will do it until I did it, but at least I will try. That at least is something what I can be sure I do.

The next day was a lot better than last time, I told mom and old Phoebe what I was doing, and there come why I'm standing here. I told them about my date with Sally, what happened, that I promised to bring her a christmas tree, and that I called her at later houer, I only forgot to say that I was drunk like a sailman when I was saying the last two things. Mom get me a hell of a speech about that, she told me that I was a pig and I should never do something like that again and other, that wasn't that bad to be honest, the worst come when old, goddamned, Phoebe said that I need to say to her that I'm sorry and give her something. What is not only a tree but I will tell you later what I have for her.

I was trying to fight my way out of that idea, but even dad said that I should do it. The last chance was in D.B but even my own dam brother took her side and forced me to give her something nice, he was back from Hollywood only for a few days and he already pissed me off.

So there I am. Standing at the doors of Sally's house waiting, with snow in my hair, with a pine needles in my glove, with a small gift in my pocket. My heart was beating like a hammer and my head hurt like hell, I was supposed to knock the door a while ago, but I was too scared to do that. I was thinking for a moment that I can just, walk away, throw the three somewhere and keep the gift for another occasion. But then I saw some move in the window next to me, behind a white curtain. I don't know who was it, but that for sure was someone and I could not just walk away not, because I'm really sure that this someone was waiting for me to knock.

Acting in stress and fear, I finally knocked these cold like damned ice doors. I heard voices and steps inside so someone was here, not to mention some creep watching me in the window. Then it hit me, What should I say? I mean, I just am standing in the house patio, holding a christmas tree in my hand, and the only person who know me here is Sally. What if her mother, or father, or god forbid, her grandmother who picked the phone us few days ago will open the door?

I wanted to run, run as fast as I could, but I was paralyzed from fear. I almost fall over when I hear how someone was opening the doors. Thank god that was Sally who opened the doors. And again I got that freaky feeling I told you about a few days ago when I took her on a date. I was so mad that I was here, that I had to give her some gift that I started to hate her, but when I saw her, wearing nothing but simply white/green christmas style sun dress and red necklace, I wanted nothing more that just as her out again.

,,Hey.''I smiled to her, awkwardly as hell, looking like the idiot that I am, but she didn't say anything, or even smile back. All she did was just cross her arms and show me a mad face. She was still sore about that call I made at the middle of the night, I'm dam sure she is. But it was too late to run and too early to be mean so I tied to say something smart.

"How are you?" That was all what I could say, man I'm a idiot, one dam idiot. I'm coming to somebody house, a day before Christmas Eve and all what I can said is to ask 'how are you' What kind of idiot doing that.

" Good. Thanks" She said, but she still was looking at me like I just come here to take something from here like these guys who are selling a lot of crap telling you that it is the first calls thing. But I could not stop on something like that, no I had to say something even worst.

"Soo, how is going?" I cannot be more stupid that I am already, I can't just say anything worse that it right, if I will, I will just shoot myself, I swear to god.

"Good. Especially when nobody is calling me at middle of the night." She said and the venom could be just be seen in her voice. Damn, that girl has a guts, bigger than I, that for sure. But at least she strick just to the point.

" Yeah. About That. Listen. I'm sorry for this, You know for being.." I was telling her slowly not really thinking what I'm saying, I could not even find a goddamn word when she was standing like that with her arms crossed and face stiff like a bat.

"..A drunk jackass who makes me look like an idiot in front of my grandmother?!" She yelled that like she was just waiting these few days just tell to me this. God, I forget that she wasn't the only one with problems, her grandmother picked the call from a drunk guy who was calling to her young granddaughter, wanting who knows what. Shit, I really am a jackass.

" Yeah. Because of that. Listen I'm sorry. Look I brought you a tree. As I promised." I said, red as hell, but I had to change the topic before she just slap the doors into my face. She was kind of surprise that I actually bought her something, so was I. She was watching the tree who I was holding in front of her, between me and her.

If was a small tree, not very impressive, but all what I could buy, I needed to save my money for that other gift, who I will give her when I will stop having this freaking heart attack.

"Thanks." It was all what she said, she took the tree from me, trying to not to touch the needles in both of her hands. Then she was just looking confused, less mad and more sad from some reason. She did not say anything for a while, I also did not say a word.

"Can wait a minute?I need to find a place for it. You can come inside and then we can talk. If you want to." I was just about to leave when she said that. I wasn't really expecting her to say anything, and for sure nothing like that. But I just nodded and then she was gone back in the house, I heard her running up on the stairs in the corridor, probably running to her room for something.

I closed the doors behind me and stood next to the wall in front of me. The house was looking good, like almost every single house the day before Christmas, it was also smelling nice, like cake and flowers, very brightly too, just like my mother prepared this all.

I was looking around the corridor, when I saw the open living room's door, looking by the doors and saw someone sitting on the chair, close to the window where someone was watching me. I looked up to see who it is, and then I turned pale like someone just shot me. The person in the chair was an old lady in old lady style long dress with long gray hairs and the most unpleasant look on the face I ever saw. It for sure was Sally's grandmother who was listening to my drunk promises and begging of talk with Sally. I quickly turned me head away from her to right, just to see that someone was also watching me in the room at my right. I could not see very well who was it, because the doors were almost closed, but I could still see some part girly head peeking at me. I'm not sure if Sally have a older sister, or aunt but I was praying to everything what holy in this goddamn world that this person was not Sally's mother.

Then the salvation comes. I was so damn lucky tha Sally finally finished anything what she was doing and now she was walking down through the stairs. Maybe I'm wrong, or just have something with my eyes, but I can swear that she looked different than before when she was standing in the doors scaring the shit out of me. Not like that she was older or taller than before, but somehow she was looking more pretty than before. I don't know how, so don't ask me, I ques that it is a girls thing, one moment they want to kill you, then they are killing you by looking like from a movie, smiling like a million dollars.

I was speechless and I think she knew that, by the way she was smiling at me. She did not even said a thing to me, she just took her jacket, scarf and walked out of the house. I was following her not really knowing what I was doing.

We were walking for a short moment not really talking a bit, it was cold outside so she was walking close to me to get warmer, I don't know about her, but I for sure get warmer, the hell lever warmer. After a while she started talk to me, asking why I called her and what was happening to me. I told her everything not even thinking twice, scaring the hell out of her for a moment, but she was listening me like never before, not even saying a word in her irritating phony voice.

I don't know how, but after a longer while we were sitting on the parks bench resting a bit and I decided to give her my gift then. She was surprised that I had anything more for her, I told her that my mother helped me to choose, and that was probably the dumbest thing I could say because she probably figured that out then that my mother forced me to buy her something, but she did not said a word.

This gift I give her were simple, black gloves from one shop my mother likes a lot. They were nice but I don't think that they were something special, just classical women gloves, but Sally was more than happy when she saw them. Not waiting a bit, she took her own gloves off and put them on her hands. She hugged me a bit and said thank you more times that I can possibly count.

Then we were going back to her home, the new gloves she wore were cold so her hands also get cold so she was walking with one of her hands in her jacket packet, and the second hand was. And now the point where I get nervous. She was holding my hand the whole damn way back to her home, and I'm so glad that we were wearing a gloves because my hands were sweaty like hell. After that she took me inside and told her mom and grandmother who I am and what I did give her. Her mom was nice and thanked me, grandmother on the other hand was more suspicious in some way but did not said anything beside that it was nice to meet me. I said that back and it was the first time when I actually meant that. I was so glad that she did not said a word about the call and that there was no hard feelings. They give me a cake, a hot chocolate and asked me if I will visit them after christmas on a diner. Believe me or not, but I said yes, and I was more happy than ever. After that I went back to my house and the first thing I did was to hug old Phoebe as tightly as I could, then my mom and even D.B for some reason. The funniest thing is that he was somehow expecting he to be like that but I don't give a shit about it.

And that's it. I could tell you what happened next or what I did after christmas or if I ever seen Sally again, but it is very late even for and there is nothing that I want more now than to jump onto my bed and fall asleep like a rock. See ya!