Journey – Chapter 10
A/N – Hey guys! Exciting news! My website for my original stories is just a couple of days away from completion and launch!
I'm so excited and nervous to share this part of myself with you all. Please enjoy the update!
Three weeks later…..
It took Rick three weeks to have everything ready for his perfect date with Michonne. He worked extra hours and even on his off days to reach closer to his monetary goals. He was not only saving for their date but also for the perfect engagement ring. He went ring shopping twice a week during his hour lunch break.
He did see a couple of rings that were beautiful but they didn't have the special spark that he was looking for…the spark that matched Michonne's beauty, grace and most of all, her innocence. His eyes damn near popped out at the prices of some of the rings but no price is too high for the woman he loves.
He knew that his colleagues noticed his extra happy mood but no one asked why. They eyed him suspiciously, none more so than Mr Greene himself. His eyes were glued to him, narrowing whenever he volunteered to take customers bags to their home as well as suggest home delivery.
He had a goal. He was gathering as much extra tips a possible to make his future wife dreams come true. A customer walked in. He smiled, walking towards them.
"Hi. Good Morning. How may I help you today?"~*~*~*~*~*
Mrs Goodwin smiled to herself when she saw the young lady walked cautiously to the side of the building down the alley to meet the young man. They giggled and she tiptoed to meet his kiss. Their innocence was so pure that it was tragic. She rocked back in her chair, hidden by her plants and sipped on her tea and watched as the young lovers talk.
After five minutes, they kissed again, twice and the young man looked on as his lady love walk away. She rose from her seat and bumped into one of the pots on the railing, sending it crashing to the ground. The young man's neck snapped towards her and their eyes connected.
His eyes bulged out and she smiled, raising her cup to him in a toast in one hand and giving him the thumbs up with the other. He cocked his head to the side and she walked inside.~*~*~*~*~*
Michonne was beyond excited for their second date tomorrow. She feels bad she had to lie to her parents about going to her friend Tonya's house to spend the day. She even bribed Tonya by promising to give her the bracelet that she got from her father on her 14th birthday.
She has been eyeing it for years. It was small price to be with Rick because her parents would not approve of their relationship, especially her father. She went to Tonya's house, stayed for half an hour and left meeting Rick at the bus shed on corner of 22nd Street. Five minutes, she saw Rick walking towards her smiling.~*~*~*~*~*
Michonne's back was turned towards him when he walked around the corner and he just had to stop and stare. She was wearing a sleeveless flowing buttercup yellow dress up to her knees with strappy cream flat sandals. Her hair was in a centre one with full fro on the end. The angelic sight almost caused the picnic basket to slip out of his hand.
She turned around and when she saw him waved. He walked up and the first thing he did was pull her into him with his free hand and kissed her. She pulled away with a mixture of surprise and worry on her face.
"I'm sorry for kissing you in public but I couldn't help it."
She blushed, burying her face into his chest as the bus pulled up.~*~*~*~*~*
There weren't much people on the bus and for that, they were grateful. They went largely ignored except for a middle aged man who stared at them and their intertwined fingers but would turn away when Rick looked at him. The man mumbled. Rick heard him but not what was said.
"Do you have a problem sir?"
The man looked at him.
"Are you talking to me?"
"Yes. I asked if you have a problem with me and my girlfriend."
Other bus patrons looked at them and the bus driver glanced back through the front mirror. The man was hesitant to talk but he spoke up.
"What you're doing ain't right son."
"Firstly, I'm not your son and secondly, what am I doing?"
The man nodded at Michonne and Rick looked at her.
"I'm a young man taking his lady out. Is that a problem for you?" He looked around the bus at the other passenger. "Or any of you?"
No one said anything and most looked away. Rick focused his attention back on the man.
"We don't water down our race. We don't mix. We stick to our own and they stick to theirs."
When the muscle in this arm tensed up from rage, he felt Michonne's grip on him tightened. He looked at her, eyes was pleading him to not engage with the man anymore, to let it be. Taking a deep, calming breath, he closed his eyes for a couple seconds, then opened then.
"How about this? You stick to your own business and let me stick to mine!"
The man stared at them for a few more minutes before finally looking away. He pulled Michonne in closer, planting a gentle kiss on her forehead.~*~*~*~*~*
When they got off the bus and Michonne saw they were at a park, she pulled away, terrified.
"What are we doing here?"
He stepped closer to her and took her hand.
"This is not the same park."
"I know but the same thing could happen here." She whimpered. "I can't go in!"
He pulled her close and cupped her face in his hands. He spoke softly.
"Do you trust me?"
She looked over his shoulders at the people inside the park. She wore a worried smile.
"Yes. I trust you Rick with everything I have."
"Good." He stepped away pulling something from the basket which she couldn't see. "I need you to close your eyes."
"What?'
"Just close your eyes."
"Rick…."
"You said you trust me so close them."
Slowly, she did and gasped when he blindfolded her.
"Rick!"
He took her hand.
"I'm right here."
She clung to him tightly.
"Just follow me and don't take off the blindfold until I tell you too, okay?"
"Okay."~*~*~*~*~*
The texture under her feet changed from smooth and hard to stony to soft. She felt the blade of grass between the toes and laughed out loud a few times. She also heard birds and laughter from young and old. After ten minutes, they stop.
"Take off the blindfold now?"
"No! Not yet. I'm going to let go for a bit okay."
"No Rick!"
"Don't worry! You'll be safe."
A couple minutes passed before he grabbed her hand again startling her.
"I'm sorry! It's me." He paused. "We're going to pass through some bushes. We're almost there. Ready?"
She squeezed his hand.
"Ready."
Slowly, carefully, he guided her through, telling her to watch her step when necessary. The branches and leaves whipped against her face. Rick pulled her into his side, shielding her. Seconds later, they emerged free. A blast of the freshest air hit her in the face and nostrils. She gasped.
"Oh my God!"
She raised her hand to take off the blindfold but he stopped her again.
"Wait. Just listen."
She did. She heard the gentle chirping of birds and running of water."
"Is that a river?"
He slipped behind, holding her gently around her waist against him and whispered in her ear.
"You can look now."
Slowly, she lifted up the blindfold. She covered her mouth gasping with tears in her eyes. The sight before her was pure bliss. There was a spread on the grass on a pink picnic cloth with a single red rose placed at the centre. Around it was a spread of small finger foods, two glasses and a pink drink in a bottle. In the background was a small pond with tiny birds hanging on a tree branch over it, chirping and singing. The evening sun was streaming through the branches, decorating the water and grass with dozens of sunlight spots. Overwhelmed, she burst into tears.
"Oh Rick! It's beautiful!"
She faced him and he too had tears in his eyes.
"I don't know if I deserve this."
Quickly, he wiped away her tears.
"Don't say that! You deserve this and so much more! I love you so much Michonne, that's why I give you my heart, my soul, my everything!"
She laughed through the tears.
"I love you so much Rick and my heart, soul and everything belongs to you!"
They kissed.~*~*~*~*~*
They spent about an hour laying on the grass cuddling. Rick was spooning her, arms wrapped tightly her waist as she snuggled against his warm chest.
"Don't you want something to eat?"
"I'm too happy to eat. I wish I could stay here forever with you."
"If I had the power to grant you that wish I would…in a heartbeat."
"I know." She turned to him. "I'm scared Rick. Scared of the future."
Their legs intertwined as Rick propped himself up in his side, looking down at her.
"I'm scared too that's why you have to let me defend you Michonne. I have to defend you…. defend us. I'm not going to let anyone talk bad about you or to you especially in front of me. Don't ask me to sit down and watch people make you cry because I'm not going to do it. I will defend your honour even if it kills me."
"That's what I'm afraid of Rick. I don't want you to die because of me! If something should happen to you because of who I am, I will die."
"Don't ask me to live without my soulmate Michonne. You will be condemning me to death because that is what life without you would be."
"And I don't want to live without my soulmate either." She kissed him gently. "I will fight for you Rick."
He picked up her hand and kissed the paper engagement ring he had given her
"I will fight the world for you Michonne, for our love, our children and our future."
She giggled. Feeling playful, he gathered her in his arms and rolled around in the grass.
She screamed out.
"Rick! Stop!"
He didn't stop. Instead, he rolled on top of her and started tickling her.
"Oh my God Rick! Nooooooo!"
He tickled until tears started running down the sides of her face. He hovered over her as she calmed down.
"Are you hungry yet?"
"Yeah."
"Okay. Let's eat."~*~*~*~*~*
First, they fed each other cheesy chicken sandwiches as Rick prop himself up on his side and she leaned against him. Some of the sandwiches had the crust off because he didn't know which one she liked. His thoughtfulness made her heart swell with that much more love for him.
After the sandwiches, they eat the strawberries which were dipped half in mint and the other half in chocolate. She shrieked in delight at the combination of her favourite flavours. She bit into the first strawberry and refused to share it with him. He laughed boisterously when she picked up another bite into it, falling back on the grass, groaning from the aromas in her mouth.
"It taste sooooo good!" She looked at him. "You are the devil for bringing these!"
"I know!"
He took a strawberry, put it in his mouth and poured two glasses of pink lemonade. He knee walked over to her, giving her one of the glass.
"What is this?"
"Pink Lemonade. Wanted to try something new."
"Okay."
She smiled to herself as she rose on her knees. She didn't have the heart to tell him that she absolutely hates pink lemonade. However, she'll drink it…just for him. They clinked their glasses.
"To our future."
She blushed.
"To our future."
While Rick took two slips, she only had one and swallowed quickly so that her face didn't betray her. He pulled her in for more cuddles as they watched the pond. After a while, they started talking about their life to come.
"Where do you see us in the future Rick?"
"I see us getting married in the near future."
"You want kids too?"
"Of course! My mom would be looking forward to grandkids."
He felt her body stiffen.
"You told you mom about me?"
"Yes. You didn't tell your mom about me?"
"We talked about how to know if you're really in love but it I didn't tell her directly that I am in love."
"Why do you sound alarmed?"
"I didn't know we were doing that yet."
"Well, she saw how happy I've been lately and suspected it had something to do with a girl so she asked me. I didn't want to lie to her or about you so I told her. I didn't go into details. She just knows your name." He chuckled. "She even called you Mrs Michonne Grimes. She wants to meet you."
"Oh…." She was quiet. "What did you tell her about meeting me?"
"I told her not right now, that we are still figuring out things." He paused. "That's it complicated."
"That's putting it nicely. It's terrifying Rick." She turned to him. "I love you and you love me and we promised to fight for each other but have we really thought this through? You want children and so do I but they will be growing up in hate Rick because of who we are and what we represent."
"We are two people in love! That is what we represent! So what if you're black and I'm white. It shouldn't matter!"
"It doesn't matter to us but we don't live in a world by ourselves. Our children will face what I went through at the park. They will face what I went through on the bus today."
"Are you saying we shouldn't have children?"
"Of course not! I would love and want to be the mother of your children but I know what it's like for people see and treat you like nothing….like less than nothing. That's why my family moved here. The hate here is not as deadly as in Mississippi but it's still bad Rick and it hurts. I don't want our sons and daughters going through that and they will if they look like me."
In her eyes, Rick saw how genuinely concerned she was for their children. He pulled her in and cupped her face.
"We promised to fight for each other and we will do the same for them. The world is not going to be like this forever because people like you and me will push back and push back hard with everything in us. We have to make sure our children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and great great grandchildren inherit the best world possible. We are going to start the change for them."
She smiled.
"Yes. We will."
She shook her head.
"What?"
"My father knows what happened at the park."
His eyes bulged but she corrected herself.
"No! Not that it was us but he knows that a white boy and black girl went to the park and…" Her voice trailed off. She didn't have to fill in the blanks. He was there.
"How did he know?"
"A co-worker heard from another worker and he told him. My father said the young lady had no right going out with a white boy and she deserved what she got." She sighed. "He said I should marry a black boy and have black babies."
Rick scoffed proudly, puffing out his chest.
"Well that is never going to happen because you're marrying this white boy and this white boy alone!"
The confident way Rick said those words made her feel sure of herself and their love. He continued.
"And you are going to have three boys and two girls with this white boy. No one else."
"Five?! You want five kids?"
"Not enough?! We could add three more to those."
"Rick!"
He threw his hands in the air.
"Fine! We'll stick to five. They will have different colour eyes, full thick curly hair and beautiful skin tones of different shades."
"I don't think we have any control over those things Rick."
He shrugged his shoulder.
"We'll see. By the way, they will all look like me except for the last girl. She'll be the exact replica of her mother."
"Why do I only get one? That's not fair!"
He winked and they fell back into the grass as she laughed joyously. The sun was setting and the calm engulfed them. They sat there is silence enjoying it.~*~*~*~*
It was almost dark and Rick packed up the picnic area as Michonne stood near the pond. When he bent over a $10 fell out of his pocket. An idea came to him. He looked up at Michonne whose back was still turned to him. He smiled.~*~*~*~*~*
Michonne turned around and everything was fully packed. She walked over.
"Ready?"
"Not quite." He grinned. "Give me your hand."
Puzzled, she gave him both hands. He took left hand and took off the $5 ring. She was about to protest when he slipped on another ring, this one fashioned out of the $10.
"I know this is not the ring you deserve I promise to never stop working to give you the best in everything."
He looked at her hopeful.
"I already have the best Rick." She wiped away a tear from his eyes." She leaned into him. "I love you Rick Grimes and I always will."
They kiss.~*~*~*~*~*