Chapter Eleven
Daryl wandered around the van he'd just towed into the garage, checking the tires and lights for any damage although he knew the extent of the real problem already. It pissed him off that he had to take another vehicle in their fleet out of commission—this was the fourth one this month. At this rate, they'd have to cut some of the services on the schedule and he knew T-Dog wouldn't be happy about that.
There wasn't any use complaining about it so he popped the hood and started with the repair.
So far, he enjoyed his job working for Dale and T-Dog. He didn't much understand what they did except that they were another set of do-gooders, helping folks out in different communities. It amused Daryl that he was accumulating all these bleeding heart types lately after a life of dealing with drunks and petty criminals. There were some good folks in that category too whose only failing was falling on hard times; he still kept up with a few friends when he was out in his neighborhood. It was just a different crowd for sure.
When he first started working here, he had joined their construction crew and did a lot of projects at community centers and low-income housing complexes. Sometimes they'd work alongside contractors and sometimes it was just the small internal group that traveled the surrounding counties where the guys had contacts. Only in the last month had he moved to the auto body section since they were short staffed and needed the help. Daryl was handy with a car so he'd ended up staying for longer than planned. The guy, Jim, who ran things wasn't his favorite person in the world but he generally got stuff done and didn't bug Daryl too much. That's all he really wanted in a job. He also ran into T-Dog a lot more since he oversaw their transportation arm. There had been a bit of posturing between the two at first but it turned out they worked pretty well together. And Daryl thought the guy worked hard and cared about folks even if he came across as some random guy rather than a business owner.
Who knew that going to a crazy party would lead to this changeup with his unstable circumstances. Michonne's involvement in his life tended to do that he noticed.
He hadn't seen her in a few weeks for focusing on his new job. He didn't have the spare time or the excuse of convenience to simply hang out with her and her kids and what little spare time he did have he spent keeping up with his volunteering. She sounded busy too, her job and the girls involving their usual unpredictability. They did talk on the phone on occasion, usually one of them making some kind of excuse to call. Once, she'd rung him up to ask about the new job and he'd similarly called her to make sure the water heater he'd installed for her wasn't acting up. She would ask him about some geographical issue in one of her cases even though she probably could have looked it up online and he checked in to see if she had Tyreese's work phone number, though he really didn't need it. Even if they were short, discrete matters that only required a few minutes to address, they'd both let the conversation linger, enjoying the company and open to the sharing.
He'd finally thought of a way to get together with her and it both excited and unnerved him to start putting his plans into action. It would have to wait until later though because there were too many people around the garage right now and he had too much work to do.
Daryl tinkered with the newest vehicular casualty for most of the afternoon. Zach, one of the temporary mechanics, came in as he was taking some things apart so they chatted about the problem for a while before the kid went off to tackle his own work. He liked the young guy even if he did tend to follow him around a little too much for his liking. He wasn't nobody's damn role model but you couldn't tell Zach that.
About an hour after Zach disappeared, Daryl went back to the storage area to make sure they had everything in stock that he needed to make the repair. When he returned to his work, Jim had opened the hood of the van and was poking around the engine. Daryl's expression hardened as he approached.
"What's up, man," he tried to keep his voice neutral. There was no need to start something just yet.
Jim glanced at him and went back to scrutinizing the van. "T-Dog mentioned that he'd sent this over so I'm checking it out. He thinks something's up with the battery."
"Naw, it's the starter. I can fix it before I leave today." His response was guarded, unsure about what Jim was up to nosing around his work.
"We should replace the battery anyway," he said, starting to fiddle with it as if to take it out.
"Hey man, I done already looked into it. Battery's fine. He replaced it last month. The starter's your problem."
Jim straightened and narrowed his eyes at Daryl. "Look, I know you're new here and trying to make an impression on the boss but let me handle this."
Daryl hated the way guys like Jim would pretend that they were part of the team but secretly were taking him for some backwards hick. He might not have some fancy piece of paper to put on the wall but he'd been working on cars and building things since he was in single digits. And he knew what he was talking about here since he'd spent the afternoon eliminating other problems before deciding that the starter was the issue.
"This aint about lookin' good for the boss. The battery aint the problem, the starter is. You wanna waste your time and T-Dog's money fixin' shit that aint broke, that's on you. But don't come in here tellin' me I'm fakin' my job just to kiss somebody's ass." His words were clipped and tense.
Jim tracked his nervous movements and Daryl forced himself to back off the man. If he got in Jim's face, there was no telling how he'd react and the guy was his boss. It wouldn't do to risk a good thing making a point to this fool.
"Did you also check the alternator?"
Daryl wanted to roll his eyes. What was this? A fucking Auto Shop for Dummies pop quiz? "Aint a thing wrong with the alternator."
"And the spark plugs? You replaced them?"
This time Daryl did roll his eyes. "Man get outta here with that amateur hour shit. You wanna spend your night doing every test I just did to come to the same damn conclusion, go right ahead." He leaned down to grab his toolkit. "I'm 'a go find somethin' else to do and when ya need help fixin' that starter, you let me know."
Jim backed up and waved his hands, cracking a smile. "Apologies, Dixon. I didn't realize you had it handled."
Daryl knew that was a damn lie because the man had seen him working on the van all afternoon. He shook his head and strolled over to the work bench so he could organize his gear.
"Hey, wait." Daryl kept his back to him but turned his head to the side to let him know he was listening. "I'm not saying you're slacking off. I didn't mean for it to come out like that."
"It sure sounded like it. If you gotta problem with my work, you bring it up with me square. None of this bullshit."
"I don't have a problem with your work. You're new and a little standoffish if I'm to be honest about it but you work hard. If I'm looking over your shoulder, it's because what comes out of this department has my name on it."
Daryl turned and crossed his arms, eyes narrowed and still pissed at his supervisor. "It's got my name on it too. I got a lot to lose by not turning out my best so don't treat me like I'm some kid."
"Fair enough, Dixon." They both drew their attention to the sound of the side door opening. It was T-Dog. Daryl glanced over to Jim and wondered if he'd end up telling their boss about what went down.
T-Dog wandered over to where the two had faced off, picking up on the odd tension.
"Whoa, everything cool in here?" He had a bunch of papers in his hand and Daryl figured he had stopped by to get the weekly reports and drop off paychecks.
Jim cut his eyes to Daryl briefly. "It's cool. Daryl and I were just talking about this van you brought in."
T-Dog didn't turn around to look at the vehicle even though the hood was still up. "Oh yeah, I should have called you back on that and then I figured it could wait since I was stopping by anyway. Man, I hope you didn't go through any trouble on it. I thought it was the battery but I remembered I replaced that thing last month. It's gotta be something like the starter."
Jim flashed to Daryl again and Daryl tried not to appear too smug about the exchange. "No problem. Daryl had already figured it out. He's on it."
Looking up from his paperwork, T-Dog fixed his gaze on Daryl. "That's my man," he said, smiling. He walked over with Daryl's paycheck. "Thanks for the quick diagnosis."
Daryl, shuffled about, fiddling with the envelope in his hands. "It's nothin'. I can have it fixed before I go."
"Cool, cool. If I can get it out on the road this weekend, that'd be great. One of our churches wants to use it for picking up their elderly members for Sunday service. An extra van would be sweet."
And since Jim wasn't trying to start nothing, he could do the same. "I'll let Jim know when I'm done and you can roll it out."
T-Dog nodded, now paging through his papers. "That'll work. Come on Big J, let's get this reporting wrapped up so Dale can get what he needs." They left Daryl to his own devices and headed for the back office.
Daryl let out a deep breath and thanked whoever was listening that he hadn't gotten into it with Jim. He brought his tools back over to the van and went to work fixing the starter.
Around five-thirty, he had finished the job and knocked on the office door to let Jim know that it was done. Since the guy was on the phone, he simply pointed at the van and gave the thumbs up. Jim waved at him, indicating he could head out for the day.
He had some odds and ends to finish up so he fiddled around the empty garage for a few minutes. Looking at his phone, he contemplated his earlier thoughts on seeing Michonne again and wondered if he should give her a call. She often left work early on Fridays because of the girls. If it turned out she wasn't available, maybe it'd be better to leave a message and lay out his idea without worrying about her immediate reaction. He pulled out his phone and rung her cell.
To his delight and slight horror, she picked up on the third ring.
"Daryl Dixon. To what do I owe the honor of your esteemed attention this fine Friday?"
Daryl grinned instantly at hearing her voice. "Woman, ya know you're talkin' to a country boy. You need to speak the kind 'a English I can understand." She laughed.
"Alright. Translation: what's up?"
"Aint much goin' on, just fixin' to head out. What you up to?"
"I'm on my way to this parent-teacher meeting. Who does this on a Friday?" She paused, her attention probably diverted in the traffic around her. "Anyway, His Highness is going to be there and he's leaving the girls with Stacy so there's no telling what he'll find when he gets home." They both laughed at the mental picture of the young woman keeping up with Big Big and Lil Bit.
"Tell 'em I said 'hey'." Daryl joked.
"Oh, he'd love that," she said, chuckling. "I have half a mind to invite you over the next time he picks up the girls."
"Now there's an idea. I could really redneck it up for him. Wear my best trucker hat and camouflage. Bring some moonshine and country music. Maybe fill the truck with huntin' gear and tear down some game in the front yard."
"Right. And I'll be sure to walk around barefoot in cutoffs with a shotgun at my shoulder. We can cuss and yell at each other as he gathers the girls."
He couldn't see himself cussing and fighting with her but he sure wouldn't mind the attire, shotgun included. Daryl's heart sped up at the idea of them hanging out again, playing house and conspiring to antagonize her ex. "You a little too good at this, Michonne. Makes me wonder where in Georgia you were hidin' before I met ya." Even Daryl groaned at that line. He was so terrible at this courting business.
Michonne didn't seem to pick up on his subtext though, instead tsking his comments. "This entire conversation is actually incredibly offensive. I'd apologize but you started it."
"I'll take that hit." He started messing about with the items on the workbench trying to figure out a way to segue into his reason for calling her. "So what you doin' this weekend?"
She paused again and this time he worried that it wasn't the traffic but her stalling for how to respond to him. His intentions seemed really transparent. It wasn't like he was that smooth and she was incredibly smart.
"You still there?" he muttered.
Another pause. "No, I'm still here. This jerk just tailgated me and then cut me off. Road rage. I'm sorry, you were asking about the weekend? I'm doing a workshop for the job. I don't remember if I told you about it but I'm not looking forward do it."
Daryl now recalled her complaining about this a month ago. He didn't realize that was happening this weekend.
"Oh, okay. So no girls after the parent-teacher gig?"
"No. James is going to have to clean up whatever mess Stacy causes. I'm officially staying out of that." She cursed under her breath and grew quiet. Daryl wasn't really sure where to go from here so he was quiet as well. "Do you have plans for the weekend that I should know about?"
Daryl frowned. Not now he didn't. "Naw, I'm 'a probably go help Carol; maybe go check out some motorcycles."
"You finally ready to pull the trigger on that?"
"Soon, maybe. I still got Merle's while he's locked up." He dropped the pliers he'd been playing with and turned to lean back against the worktable. "Naw, I was just askin' 'cause I thought about takin' the girls out for a walk up in the trails by my place. I been meanin' to get my crossbow out and do some huntin', just little stuff to keep me practicin'. There's a nice lake up that way too."
He had no idea if that would appeal to her at all. It was the kind of activity he'd been doing all his life and was normal recreation for him. Maybe it was too different for her, the hunting especially.
"The weather has been nice lately," she said, warmth in her voice. "How about next weekend when I have them next." Daryl smiled and switched the phone to his other ear is if to keep her from picking up on his intense happiness at her acceptance.
"Can do," he simply replied. He hoped his quick assent didn't seem weird to her. "Maybe I can meet y'all at that barbecue place I told ya about? Have some grub before we run those girls in the woods?"
Michonne laughed. "Oh no. Having barbecue with those two without the option of hosing them down afterwards is a no-no. Trust me. What about that diner you like? The one with the good pie."
"That place is good. Let's do it. Noon?"
"Noon it is. And just so you know, I'm not getting in any lake so don't even think about suggesting it."
"You too much a city-girl to play in a lake?" he teased.
"Hell yes. There are all kinds of animals and algae and probably disgusting other things living in there. No thanks."
Daryl chuckled at her insistence. "Fine then. You be like that. We gon' shoot us some squirrels though. We gotta do something country or it aint worth the trip."
"I'll think about it," she responded, skeptically. "The girls will be really excited when I tell—ugh." Her abrupt explitive caught his full attention, brow furrowing at the interruption. "I just pulled into the school and His Highness is looking at his watch like he's so put out. Such an asshole. To think I used to find this so charming."
Daryl always felt like he wanted more time whenever they talked. Yet he was pretty satisfied that she'd liked his idea and that they'd made solid plans. Sure, he still needed to work up to setting a proper date but one step at a time.
"I'll let you go then. Give him a smooch for me."
"Shut your mouth, Daryl Dixon. Bye." She disconnected the call, laughter trailing her words.
Daryl remained leaning against the bench, ankles crossed casually. He bowed his, hiding the big smile on his face. No one was around but he felt a bit exposed and self-conscious at how much pleasure he got out of talking to her.
From out of nowhere, Zach appeared carrying some paint and a bucket of supplies. The smirk on his face let Daryl know that he'd caught at least some of his conversation.
Shaking his head, he crossed the garage to load the supplies on the truck parked in front. "Damn romance novel," he mocked as he passed.
"Shut your mouth, kid," he repeated but his grin hadn't faded. Pocketing his phone, he packed up his tools for the day and headed home.
TBC …
AN: I know I said that I was skipping a Daryl chapter but I felt bad about it and whipped this up. Thanks lexlady for planting the seed that got me thinking on this chapter. I wrote and edited this in one afternoon so please excuse any wonkiness. And I know absolutely nothing about cars so apologies if my extrapolations read like gibberish.
