Beth dropped Ally off on the way back home. It was just beginning to get dark thanks to Daylight Savings Time so it was easy to see Maggie sitting on the front porch and watching as the old pickup came to a rest in the driveway. Her sister waiting on the porch was never good news. She was the early warning system. Beth got out and reluctantly walked up to the door.

"Heads up. Daddy went out earlier and ran into the choir director. He knows you didn't have practice tonight," Maggie said quietly as she continued to flip through her magazine.

"Shit," Beth cursed under her breath. She quickly tried to think of a way to explain herself before marching into the house.

Hershel Greene was sitting at the table eating a piece of lemon pie and reading his bible when Beth breezed in.

"Hey, daddy," she said as she sat down beside him and swiped a finger into the meringue on his pie.

"How was choir practice?" he asked as he looked over at her.

"Well, that was actually a mix up on my part. I guess I wrote the date down wrong. Ally and I just drove around listening to the radio," Beth lied, keeping her finger crossed that he'd buy it.

"You didn't stop anywhere?" he asked as he forked up another bite of pie.

"Um, nowhere special," she said as she licked the sticky sweetness off her finger.

"I thought I saw your truck at the fairground as I drove by," he remarked.

"Yeah, we went by there," Beth said. "They were still settin' up. It's the same old stuff as every other year."

"Um hm," Hershel remarked. "So, you didn't' make a special trip there to talk to the carny boys and then lie to me about it? I guess I was wrong then."

'Fine," Beth huffed. "Yes, we went there and I did lie in my note but I don't see why I have to tell you where I'm going or when I'll be home anyway. Daddy, I'm 21 years old. I'm not your little girl anymore."

"Bethy, as long as….." Hershel started to say.

"Oh, I know," Beth jumped in. "As long as I live under your roof, I live by your rules. But I won't be here much longer, Daddy. I only have one more year of college then I'm moving to Nashville. Can't you just trust me the way you trust Maggie?"

"Honey, I do trust you. It's those boys workin' the carnival that I don't trust. They certainly don't have a history of being honorable. As far as Maggie goes, your sister is quite a bit older than you," Hershel explained patiently.

"Okay, fine. I get it. I won't lie to you again, but you have to promise you're going to loosen up the reins a little, too," she told him.

"I'll think about it," Hershel replied with a grin as he finished off his pie. "Now, I'm gonna go check on the horses and then watch the rest of the Civil War documentary on PBS. Why don't you visit with Mag for a bit. She's leavin' tomorrow."

"I will, Daddy," she agreed as she kissed him on the cheek and headed for the porch.

Maggie was still sitting in the rocker leafing through her magazine. "How'd it go?" she asked as she glanced up at her baby sister.

"The same as usual, a little lecture about livin' under his roof and about not hangin' with the wrong crowd," Beth said with a roll of her eyes.

"Enjoy it while you can," Maggie told her. "You're goin' to be out on your own soon and wishin' you still had Daddy to take care of you. It gets lonely."

"Puhlease," Beth huffed. "You've got it made, your own apartment in Atlanta, a great job doing photography for Southern Living magazine, a different guy every night of the week. How on earth could you miss this dreary old place?"

"You'll see," Maggie said wistfully. "And, it's hardly a different guy every night. I've been on one date in the last month but it was a really good date," Maggie admitted with a smile.

"Oooh! Details please," Beth asked as she took a seat on the porch railing.

Maggie laid the magazine aside. "Well, his name is Glenn. He's a video game designer. He's really sweet and sort of shy. We had the best time. He's Asian and he took me to this Asian street fair in Buckhead. I really like him."

"So you going out with him again?" Beth asked.

"Yep. He called yesterday and asked me to a movie on Wednesday night," Maggie said happily.

"Well, you'll have to call and let me know how it goes," Beth told her sister.

"What about you?" Maggie asked. "You seeing anybody special?"

"No, not really," Beth said but as she answered the image of the shaggy haired carny from the top of the ferris wheel flashed into her mind.

"I know that look," Maggie said, "Who is he?"

"No one, really," Beth replied. "Just, I met someone who seems really interesting."

"You didn't meet him at that stupid carnival, did you?" Maggie asked in her strictest "big sister" voice.

"What difference does it make where I met him?" Beth replied. " I didn't ask where you met this Glen?"

"That's different and you know it," Maggie quickly told her. "Those carnies only want one thing. You've got too much goin' for you to let one of those guys mess up your life."

"Maggie, please don't try to be my mom right now. Honestly, I just need a sister to talk to, not another lecture," Beth said tiredly.

Maggie looked a bit guiltily out into the darkness . The moths were beginning to flutter around the porch lights and Beth swatted at one that got a little too close to her face.

"I..I'm sorry, Beth," Maggie finally said. "I know I'm not your mama. I just don't want anything to happen . You're so talented. Don't let some guy ruin your dreams."

"I don't plan to," Beth said, sounding rather more responsible than she felt, "but that doesn't mean I can't have a little fun in the meantime." Both girls chuckled at that.

Maggie stood up and gave her sister a hug. "I forget sometimes that you're all grown up now. You'll just have to kick me in the head if I do it again," she said.

"I'll be happy to," Beth replied with a big grin.

The sisters sat on the porch just chatting about silly things like clothes and haircuts and favorite television shows for a couple of hours. Hershel finally stuck his head outside the screen door and told them it was time for bed. Beth hugged Maggie once more and whispered, "Let me know how it goes with Glenn," before they said goodnight and went upstairs to their rooms.

Beth lay wide awake for a while longer. She thought about Daryl, the way his muscles flexed as he worked on the wheel, the sleepy slant to his eyes and the gruff timbre of his voice. She wondered what it would feel like to have those rough, work hardened hands touching her. She wondered what his lips would feel like against her own. It was all silly and school girlish, like some damn romance novel, but she couldn't help it. "Ugh," she moaned into her pillow. She was going back to the carnival and would be doing her best to meet up with Daryl Dixon despite what she told her father and Maggie. She didn't want to lie to her father again but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, she thought.

The next day, Beth had classes until early afternoon. She met Ally at the cafeteria where they usually ate lunch together. Ally was already picking at a salad when Beth sat down.

"You look tired," Ally told her friend.

"I know. I sat up with Maggie until midnight and then didn't sleep well. I was hopin' to leave campus early but now we've got an emergency choir meeting at three o'clock so I guess I won't get home until nearly five," Beth said.

"Yeah, it sucks. I've got a date tonight though," Ally proudly told her.

"With that guy? From last night?" Beth asked.

"Yep, Bobby called me right after I got home. He's takin' me out to the lake," Ally told her.

"The lake? Ally, are you crazy? You don't even know this guy? Don't go out there alone with him," Beth warned her friend.

"Beth, you sound just like my mama. I don't need you to lecture me. I just want to have a good time," Ally told her a bit sharply. Beth flashed back to her talk with Maggie from the night before. She was doing exactly what she'd gotten mad at her sister for.

"Sorry, you're right Ally. I guess I get my nagging habits from my overprotective family. I'm just jealous cause I don't have plans," Beth offered apologetically.

"I could get Bobby to bring Justin along and we could double date," Ally said excitedly. "You'd like him Beth. I know he's not a rocket scientist but he's funny and not bad to look at."

"Nah, I don't think so. You have fun, though," Beth replied.

"Oh, I will," Ally said. "See you later at the meeting."

Beth watched her friend walk away. She was wearing a dress that looked two sizes too small and way too much make-up. Ally was a completely different person than the girl she'd known all through school. When they were younger, they were like two peas in a pod. They liked to dress in matching outfits and fix their hair the same way. Everyone always thought they were sisters. Sometime about four years ago, Ally started to change. Beth wasn't sure if she would have become friends with this Ally. Sometimes she thought they had nothing in common anymore except for their shared history as besties since elementary school.

After picking at a tuna sandwich for half an hour, Beth finally gave up and tossed the leftovers into the nearest trash can. She had to go to the library and research some old newspaper articles about the Voting Rights Act in Georgia for her American History class. She was buried in print outs for over an hour and then rushed to make it to the emergency choir meeting.

Mr. Rush, the director, was pacing excitedly at the front of the room as they all took their seats. "I've got some exciting news," he told them as the meeting started. Beth always found him a bit comical when he got excited. He was on the short side with a bit of a paunch. He was balding and wore large round framed spectacles. When he was excited, his eyes got big and round giving him an almost owlish appearance. She covered her mouth with her hand quickly to hide her grin.

"We've been asked to perform at the carnival on Friday night. They had the Lee College choir scheduled but their director had to cancel at the last minute because of a mono outbreak on campus so I told the owners we could fill in. The only problem is that we don't have much time to rehearse so I thought we'd go with stuff we already have prepared. What do you all think?" the director asked.

Most of the students seemed pleased. They loved any chance to perform. All Beth could think was that this could be her chance to see Daryl Dixon again.

"We could do the same numbers we did for the state choral competition except for the hymn. Don't think the carnival goers want to hear an 18th century hymn while they're out at the fair. But we could add in a number from Todd and one from Beth. I know you both have a good repertoire to choose from. Just let me know what you plan on singing," Mr. Rush told them. "Let's go ahead and do a rough rehearsal today and we can pin it down on Wednesday. "

The group assembled quickly and did scales as Mr. Rush conducted. Then he sat down at the piano and began playing the first jazzy swing number. Beth gave herself over to the joy of the songs as the group ran through them. Singing was her joy and her escape. She loved it. She hoped one day to make her living as a singer and songwriter.

As the meeting broke up, the choir members began going their separate ways. Beth was already pondering what song to choose for her solo performance. She wanted to make a good impression but not seem too eager or too flashy. She promised Mr. Rush that she'd have something nailed down by Wednesday and be ready to rehearse it.

By the time she got home, it was close to six o-clock. Her father was heading out in his Suburban when she parked. He rolled down his window and yelled to her, "I'm headin' over to Otis's house. They've got a cow that's calving and having trouble. I'll be home when I can. If you have time could you pick up my prescription at the drug store? "

Beth was fairly exhausted but she knew how tired her daddy always was after assisting at a calving. She agreed to run his errand and told him to be careful. She went inside and poured a glass of sweet tea and got the last slice of lemon meringue pie. As she savored the cool, slightly tart lemon filling, she let her mind wander through a list of songs that she might want to perform.

"Lilac Wine" was one of her favorites but it might come off as a little too sultry. Maybe a country song would be better like Lady Antebellum's "I Need you Now" or a Carrie Underwood song. Nothing that she considered seemed right. As she finished up the pie, she decided to go on out to the drug store and pick up her dad's medicine so that she could have the evening free to go through her sheet music.

The tiny drug store at the crossroads was mostly empty when she arrived. "Hey Beth," the pharmacist called from behind the counter as she walked up.

"Hey, Mr. Turner," she said.

"I got your daddy's medicine ready. Be right with you," he told her as he finished up an order. Beth had known the Turners all her life. They lived in a little house just down the road from the Greene's farm and went to the same church where Beth had been baptized and gone to Sunday school. Mr. Turner was a tall thin man with bushy gray hair. He had become stooped over the years of tending to his customers from behind the pharmacy counter and that stoop had gotten worse over the last year since his wife passed away. He came from behind the counter carrying a small white bag and rang up the purchase for her.

"How are things at the farm, young lady?" he asked as she counted out the money for the purchase.

"Oh, fine, you know how Daddy is. He keeps it running like a top," she said cheerfully.

"Tell him I said hello, will you?" he said.

"I will and you take care Mr. Turner," she said as she turned to go. As she approached the front of the store, she heard a bit of a ruckus from across the street at the convenience store. She stopped inside and watched as an obviously drunk guy made a fool of himself standing outside his truck and yelling at the store.

"I'm a damned veteran, I'll have you know," the man said. "You cain't treat me like this. If my little brother wasn't such a pussy, he'd stand up for hisself and for me but Darlina over here ain't got the balls to show you what Dixons are made of."

Beth flinched. It was the same man who'd been yelling at the carnival. As he screeched, she saw Daryl open the car door and begin trying to muscle him around and into the passenger seat. Her heart broke at the sight. Daryl was obviously mortified but also apparently used to dealing with the drunken sideshow that was his brother.

Mr. Turner had come out from behind the counter and was now standing next to her. "Those people with that carnival are always causing problems when they come to town," he said disapprovingly. "They're just not our kind of folks." Beth suddenly realized how Daryl must feel when dealing with the people in the towns that they visited with the fair. He was never good enough in their eyes and then he had his brother to deal with on top of it all.

A state trooper pulled up next to the pickup and a very large uniformed officer stepped out of the car. Beth could hear him asking if there was a problem. Daryl was doing his best to stay calm and handle the situation but it was taking everything he had to keep his brother in the truck and shut him up. The officer said a few words to Daryl and then stepped back. Daryl nodded and walked back around to the driver's side of the truck. The look on his face as he slid behind the wheel was one of the saddest things Beth had ever seen. "He's lonely," she suddenly realized. "He is so lonely."

"What did you say, Beth?" Mr. Turner asked.

"Oh, nothing, just it must be lonely living the way they do," she replied.

"I guess but it's no excuse for behavior like that," the old pharmacist told her.

"Well, guess I better get back home Mr. Turner. See you later," Beth told him as she walked out to her truck. That look on Daryl's face would haunt her, but it was that though that made her realize what song she wanted to do for her solo.