Mothers Know Best (Chapter 10)
A/N: Warning! This chapter is fluffy. I couldn't help it. Sorry. Also, I always like to reply individually to my reviews so here are a couple from guests:
Guest: Gotta love Shane!
Idilisamonalisa: I can't write bad Shane. I think the relationship that he and Rick had was great and I don't want to taint it with the Lori stuff, so we get good Shane in my stories.
Two days later, they are walking the dock at the reservoir, reminiscing about their time there the year before, and enjoying the decorations and fireworks display. Carl is with them and he even invited one of his neighborhood friends, Duane, to come along. The weather is as cold as they expected, so Rick buys hot chocolate for them as they sit around the heat lamps and enjoy the time together.
"Looks like we're going to be pretty busy for the next couple of days. You up for it?" Rick asks as Michonne snuggles closer to him for his blessed warmth.
"Do I have a choice? Christmas Eve at your parents' house and Christmas at my parents' house. I can't opt out of anything even if I wanted to," she answers.
"Well, if you're too tired, just tell me. We don't have to be there for long. You need your rest, babe." Rick is concerned.
Michonne lets out a huge yawn as the mere mention of rest seems to make her sleepy. She shakes her head as she can see it in his eyes that he is about to suggest they leave. "No, Carl is really enjoying himself. Let's stay for a little while longer."
Rick relents as he looks over to where Carl and Duane are talking excitedly as the sky lights up with colors of white, blue, red, green, and yellow. The fireworks display is always nice and he loves how the Christmas trees appear to be floating on top of the water. "So, are you up to riding with me to take Carl over to Lori's folks' place on Christmas Eve?"
"Of course. What time do we need to have him there?"
"Well, they haven't seen him in a while, so I was hoping to get him there by 9 that morning, then maybe pick him up around 6 or 7 that night," Rick suggests.
"That's fine. Is Lori going to be there?"
Rick bristles just a little with the mention of her name. "I haven't heard from her and to be honest, I don't want to hear from her. He'll be in good hands with her parents."
Michonne is silent as she watches Carl, wondering what his mother is doing by not reaching out to him or spending time with him. She realizes that she can't take Lori's place, but she is going to try her best to be there for him during this unusual time in his life.
Christmas Eve arrives and Rick and Michonne deliver Carl to Lori's parents as promised. His grandmother actually cries she is so happy to see him. His grandfather shakes Rick's hand and claps him on the back, thanking him for allowing them to spend the day with Carl. They welcome her as well and invite them in for breakfast.
An hour later, they are on the road again after promising Carl they'd be back no later than 7 pm to pick him up.
"They seem like really nice people," Michonne offers.
"They are which is why I'm not understanding what's going on with Lori right now. I thought about reaching out to her, but I don't know what to expect any more so I'm just going to leave that alone," Rick states.
Christmas Eve activities begin around 5 pm at Rick's parents' house and it's a busy time for all. Neighbors, friends, church members, family, local community workers, seems like all of King's County are milling in and out of the house. Michonne is glad to see Sasha, Daryl, and Darlene, so she engages them immediately, picking up little Darlene who seems to be happy to see her.
"You are so good with her. I guess some people are just naturals. You and Rick should have one of your own," Sasha suggests.
Rick shares a smile with his wife as he admires her with the baby in her arms, imagining her with their bundle of joy. "Yeah, that would be nice," he agrees.
Daryl looks over at Rick. "So, you know I've volunteered with the boy scouts for the last couple of years and I was hoping we could finally get that camping trip in. You game?" He and Rick move off to talk, leaving Sasha and Michonne to talk and get to know each other better.
Later that night, they are home safely, preparing for bed. Michonne notices that Carl isn't as enthused as a child should be on the night before Christmas. He seemed happy about the gifts he received from Lori's parents, but now appears a little sad. She peeks in through his doorway, observing him already in bed. "Hey, you want to read a couple of comics before you drift off?"
He nods in agreement, so she steps inside, still wearing her party clothes. He scoots over, allowing her to sit in bed with him. He looks up at her, watching as she grabs a couple of favorites from his nightstand. "Can I ask you something, Michonne?"
"Anything." She props her feet up on the bed to get more comfortable.
"Why do you think my mom doesn't want to see me? I thought for sure she'd be at Grandma Betty's today, but she didn't show up and she didn't call. I guess that means she didn't even get me anything for Christmas," Carl realizes sadly.
Michonne's heart is breaking as she comprehends how sad Carl is. The tears come and spill over as he lays his head in her lap and starts to cry. She caresses his arm gently, trying to provide some sort of comfort. "I don't have the answers to those questions right now, but I guarantee you I'm going to find out, ok? Meanwhile, we're going to have a great Christmas. Did you see all those gifts under the tree for you? Grandma Gladys and Grandpa Arthur sent their stuff over with me and your dad tonight. So did my mom and dad. I know that hardly compares to what you really want, but it's a start. I promise you, Carl. Your dad and I will figure this out. You believe me?"
He nods against her lap, sighing heavily. "Thanks, Michonne. I'm glad I have you to talk to."
She smiles. "Me, too, Carl. Me, too." She stays with him until he falls asleep, then she lays him down gently and moves to the door.
Rick was just coming to check on them as she is pulling the door closed to Carl's room. He immediately takes in her red-rimmed eyes and asks, "What's wrong?"
She takes his hand in hers and leads him to their bedroom. Closing the door, she relays her conversation with Carl. "He is so sad and I'm ready to call that bi….woman and tell her exactly what I think about her."
Rick sits down on the bed, wondering what he could do to solve this issue. "Damn. Could this be another one of her games to get me to turn over custody to her?"
"I don't see how. She has to understand how much she's hurting him. My question is why? Do you think we should call her?" Michonne wonders.
"I'll ask Carl to give her a call tomorrow and before you say it…I know that's not his responsibility, but maybe it'll help him to feel a little better," Rick returns.
Michonne tears up again just remembering his trembling little voice. "Why am I so upset?"
Rick moves over to her, pulling her into his arms to comfort her. "It's going to be ok."
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The sun is barely up when Carl bursts into their room, yelling, "Merry Christmas!" He shakes his Dad awake as well as Michonne. "Come on! Let's open up the gifts!"
His enthusiasm is contagious and Michonne can't help but laugh at this happy child in contrast to the one she rocked to sleep last night. She prefers this Carl and hopes he can remain in happy spirits. She grabs her robe, putting it on as she follows father and son down the stairs.
Moments later, they are sitting around the tree. Rick is passing out gifts while Michonne uses her cell phone to record the happy occasion. Carl unwraps his gifts, hurriedly. He received video games and a couple of sweaters from Ms. Mae and Walter and baseball gear and cards to add to his collection from Ms. Gladys and Arthur. Rick actually had to reign Michonne in as she was trying to buy everything. They both decided on a nice bicycle and Michonne couldn't resist the electric scooter so Rick relented. He moves to the garage off the kitchen and brings the two items in to Carl's joyous squeals.
As Carl is ensconced with his new toys, Rick and Michonne decide to exchange gifts. They tear into them at the same time. Michonne holds up a beautiful monogrammed sterling silver necklace and Rick laughs as he pulls out a voucher for season tickets for the Atlanta Braves.
"Thank you," they both say simultaneously, hugging each other. She turns around so Rick can help her put the necklace on. He kisses her neck, then turns her around to check out how the necklace looks.
Michonne touches it softly. "I love it!"
"I didn't take you for a huge baseball fan, babe," Rick studies the voucher.
"I'm not. That's for you, Carl, and Shane. Daryl, too if he wants to go," she informs him.
He laughs as she tears into another gift and frowns up at him when she pulls the gift card out of the box. It's a gift card to her favorite lingerie shop in Atlanta.
"Really Mr. Grimes?"
"Yeah, I thought we could do a little shopping together." He smiles widely.
Michonne shakes her head and watches as he opens another gift. "This is more for you than me, you know that right?"
"Babe?! Are you serious? Hawaii?" Rick seems excited.
She smiles. "Well, we never got an official honeymoon, so I thought of this months ago before we found out some other stuff but we can still go. Can't we?"
"What other stuff?" Carl chimes in.
"We'll talk about that later, ok?" Michonne diverts.
She starts to clean up as Rick moves off to another room. He returns momentarily with a huge canvas covered square.
"I have one more gift for you." He looks over at his wife with excitement.
She stops what she is doing and smiles as he sets the large object in front of the fireplace. She gasps as he removes the canvas to reveal a hand painted portrait of them on their wedding day.
"I know how much you like art, so I thought I'd get this done." He pauses. "I can hang it right here over the fireplace."
Michonne is speechless as she is beyond pleased and so thrilled at how thoughtful her husband can be. She walks over to him, tears brimming in her eyes, ready to spill over at any moment and wraps her arms around him.
"I guess that means you like it?"
Hours later, they are at Ms. Mae's enjoying the food and the company. As usual, the Christmas spread at her mother's is massive and the house is full and festive. The two families have come together yet again and it truly is a joyous occasion.
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Later that night, Michonne is lying in bed with Rick, contemplating what to do about Lori. Carl tried to reach out to her but only got her voice mail. He seemed to have a very good day and he didn't mention his mother at all when they told him good night, but she can't help worrying about him.
"I want your opinion about something," she asks.
Rick nods, a little distracted by whatever he's watching on TV.
"I'm going to ask Lori to meet me for lunch or coffee or something and have a one on one with her about Carl," Michonne announces.
That got his full attention as he turns the volume down on the TV and looks at her. "You think that's a good idea?"
"I don't know. That's why I'm bringing it to you."
"Well, I can definitely say she's not going to want to hear anything from me and probably even less coming from you. I don't know. I won't tell you not to try, but I gotta say I feel like I should be the one handling this," Rick states.
"I know, but you just said it. She's not going to listen to you, so I'm going to give it a try. Maybe she thinks she's hurting you somehow or getting back at you, but she's hurting Carl and I feel like I need to do something. If it blows up in my face, so be it. At least, I tried."
Rick grabs her hand and kisses it. "How'd I get so lucky to snag you, huh?"
Michonne smiles. "Guess it was just meant to be."
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The next day, she is in Atlanta with her mother and mother-in-law shopping. They have been at it for a few hours, so they decide to grab lunch at a nearby restaurant.
Michonne values their opinions, so she tells them about her idea to meet with Lori to discuss her recent treatment of Carl.
Ms. Gladys sighs. "Well, if that's what's on your heart, I say go for it. Don't know how receptive she's going to be, though. Lori's not the same girl I knew when she was first married to Rick."
"You're doing it out of love for Carl, so you're going about it the right way. All you can do is try, baby," Ms. Mae inputs. "What does Rick say?"
"He doesn't think she's going to listen, but I won't know unless I try, right?" Michonne answers.
Both women nod and look at the waiter with appreciation as their food has finally arrived. Michonne gets one whiff of the shrimp on her mother's salad and feels sick. She excuses herself and hurries to the ladies' room.
Minutes later, she returns to the table and takes a few sips of water, hoping that will quell down the nausea. She looks up into the questioning eyes of her mother-in-law and her mother.
"Is there something you want to tell us, Mimi?" Her mother asks.
Michonne sighs heavily as she doesn't want to lie to them. "My husband will never forgive me if I do this without him. Hold on." She pulls out her cell phone and dials his number. He picks up after two rings. "Babe, I'm trapped. I'm having lunch with our mothers and they know something's up, so I'm going to let you tell them."
"Really?!" Rick practically yells through the phone. "Wait. I need to close my door. Hold on." Once he returns, Michonne places her phone on the table and presses the speaker button.
"Mom, Ms. Mae?" Rick prompts.
They both answer, "Yes?"
"We're having a baby."
Their squeals of delight draw looks from other patrons in the restaurant who are unknowingly ignored as the two best friends grasp each other's hands.
Ms. Mae says, "Thank you Jesus!"
Once they calm down, the questions begin. Michonne and Rick laugh as they're firing off questions left and right.
"Umm…yeah, well I'll let Michonne handle all of that. Talk to you later. Love you!"
"Love you, too." Michonne replies as she disconnects the call. "Rick and I just want to keep this quiet for a little while longer. Is that ok?
The mothers nod, still not ready to tone down their excitement.
Ms. Gladys grabs Michonne's hand. "Congratulations. We'll keep quiet, but it's going to be hard."
"Yeah, you know your mother-in-law can't hold water," Ms. Mae reports.
"You're one to talk." She looks to Michonne. "She'll be trying to make an announcement in church on Sunday. Mark my words," Gladys says.
"Can we just please keep this between us?" Michonne reminds them.
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Two days later, Michonne is sitting in a local diner, wondering if Lori will even show. She believes the only reason Lori answered her cell phone is because she didn't recognize Michonne's number. She is surprised when she sees the tall brunette enter the restaurant. She waves her over and takes a deep breath, gathering her courage to say what needs to be said.
They greet each other nicely enough, then Lori cuts right to it.
"What is this really about, Michonne? Having trouble with Rick and you want my advice?" Lori asks with sarcasm.
"I really am here to talk about Carl. Just like I told you over the phone. I don't know what's going on with you, but your son misses you. You haven't called him, you haven't even tried to see him since the Christmas party and he's really hurt," Michonne tells her.
Lori immediately gets defensive. "I don't need you to tell me anything about my son. I'm still working things out with Phillip, so I've just been…busy."
"Too busy to make time for Carl? I know you love him and you don't want to hurt him, but that's what you're doing. You say you're working things out with Phillip, but what does that have to do with Carl? You're going to punish him for the decisions you made?"
"Don't get all high and mighty with me. You think Rick won't stray? All men do eventually." Lori looks at her, daring her to refute her words.
"I didn't come here to talk about my husband or yours. This is about Carl and the fact that you're neglecting him. You were so quick to throw that in Rick's face and now you're doing the same thing. It's not fair to him. He needs his mother, Lori," Michonne reminds her.
"He's got you now. Aren't y'all one big happy family?" Lori retorts.
"Yes, he does have me, but I'm not his mother and I'm not trying to be. That's who you are to him, who you'll always be," Michonne states.
Lori doesn't have a retort to that as she realizes how right Michonne is and that this woman really isn't trying to take her place. She looks at Michonne and can't help but feel a little respect for her. Lori recognizes that Michonne didn't have to reach out to her, she could've let things remain as they are, so she must really care for her son, she must really love him.
"I just want Carl to be happy. He wants both his parents in his life and I really don't think that's asking for too much. You have a beautiful son, Lori. He doesn't deserve to be treated like this." Michonne waits patiently for Lori to say something. She hopes it's something positive.
After several moments, Lori replies with, "I….you're right." Her eyes tear up just a little. "I've been so….I guess angry at myself. Rick really was good to me. He's a good man and I just…I don't know. I messed up. I can see that now."
She fidgets with the strap of her purse, nervously before looking Michonne in the eye. "He really has someone good in you and I can see how happy he is, how…in love he is. Anyway, I've been a bitch and I'm sorry. You and Rick and especially Carl haven't deserved that. Anything going wrong in my life is all my fault. Nobody else's. I'll try to work on that for Carl's sake. Phillip is going back to Virginia tomorrow. I was planning to go with him, but I think I'll stay. I can spend a week with my parents and have Carl come stay with me if that's ok."
Michonne smiles. "That would be great. I'm sure Carl would love to spend an entire week with you."
Lori smiles, realizing how genuine Carl's stepmother is. "Thank you."