Ari went fishing while Merle took a shower and packed his things up. She had shown him where all her daddy's hunting stuff was and put him in charge of packing what he thought would be useful. When Ari got back, they gathered all of their stuff and headed down the trail to where Merle had parked the truck. Ari wouldn't let him talk all the way to the car. She didn't want to risk any walkers hearing them.
Merle thought about his mama during the walk. When his daddy left and she began to drink a lot, Merle was always scared to go around her. His mama used to be such a beautiful woman. She was young, fit, and had a radiant smile. When she began to work long hours and get drunk when she came home, she started to change. Her smooth, bronzed skin turned to wrinkles and her luscious blonde hair started to gray. The worst part was she never smiled anymore. Merle missed seeing his mama happy.
One night about a year after his daddy left, she came home from work and went straight to the bathroom to take a shower. Merle was surprised. She normally went straight for the alcohol. He waited on the couch for her to come out to see what had gotten into her. When she came out, Merle couldn't help but smile. It was his old mama again. She was wearing a sapphire blue dress and her hair had been brushed and styled. She had on makeup and jewelry. Best of all, she was smiling. Merle's neighbor Anne came over to watch the boys that night while their mama left with a really nice looking man. Merle liked him because he made his mama smile.
Merle stayed up in his room late that night waiting for his mama to get back, but she didn't come home. The next morning, he went into his mama's room to check if she was in bed, but it was empty and Anne was asleep on the couch. Anne made him breakfast and drove him to school. When he came back from school that afternoon, his grandma was there playing with Daryl. Merle knew his mama still hadn't come back and he asked his grandma when she would. His grandma told him she would be back soon.
Merle waited at the window all day for her but she never came back. His grandma spent three days at their house taking care of them. One day, when Merle came home from school, he found his grandma had packed up all of their stuff and loaded it into her car. She told the boys they were going to stay with her for a while until their mama got back. She told them she was on vacation because she needed a break from work. Merle wondered why his mama didn't tell him she was going and he wondered why she went with that man.
He didn't see his mama for months and he was starting to think she would never come back until she showed up at his grandma's house one day. Merle was so excited to see her but he quickly realized something was wrong. She wasn't being herself. She kept staring off into space and wouldn't answer when someone talked to her. When she got up to go the bathroom, Merle quietly followed her. She didn't close the door all the way and Merle peeked through the opening. He watched as his mama pulled a needle out of her purse, put some white stuff in, and gave herself a shot. Merle figured his mama was sick and she was giving herself medicine. He decided that's why she seemed so weird; she didn't feel very well. It wasn't until he was a teenager that Merle discovered what she was really doing. The boys never went back to their house and their mama would come and go every now and then. That's the way it stayed until Merle was old enough to move out.
It didn't take long to get to the truck. Ari didn't say one word until they were safely inside with the doors locked.
"So, ya know how to get there?" She asked.
"Ya, hopefully we won't hit any rush hour traffic though."
They both giggled.
"We should try to get some gas before we get outta town. I wanted to make a stop somewhere else too on the way. Maybe that's where I can try and find some gas if it's okay with you."
"You're call captain."
Merle started the car and headed towards Country Oaks Retirement Home.
