Chapter 21: Convention
"You did what?"
"Mom, I got married last night."
"And….you were planning on telling me you were engaged, when?"
"I wasn't. I mean, I guess we just sort of decided. It just happened."
"Just happened. So you run off to New York with your new boyfriend and get married before you even bring him home to meet your mother and father?"
"Mom, calm down. Don't be mad."
"Honey, I'm not mad. I'm just…concerned. After everything that's happened with Ed and with…with... I mean, your exes are…"
"Assholes," Carol pointed out. "And Daryl is nothing like either one of them." A beat. "Mom, for the first time in my life, I did something without thinking it to death. I love him. He's good to me. And I'm very happy. Please, just don't freak out. You and daddy are gonna love him. You'll see."
...
Carol's palms were sweating, and every time Daryl would give her hand a squeeze, she would feel the tide of anxiety recede just a little bit.
"I ain't never seen you like this before," he murmured, pressing a kiss to the side of her head.
"I'm not so good with conventions. I mean, when I'm on the panel, it's fine, but when I have people coming over to me and hugging me and…well, I just get nervous. They mean well, but it's a little overwhelming."
"I'll be there. Lurkin' in the background."
"Oh, there'll be no lurking. My fans are smart. I'm sure the phones are all charged and ready to snap a picture of you at the first possible opportunity."
"Are you sure you ain't havin' second thoughts?"
"You mean about last night?" she asked narrowing her eyes at him. He gave her a little nod, and she smiled.
"I could have thought about it. We could have planned something big. But when it came down to it, in that moment, it's what I wanted. It was just you and me, and it was perfect." She leaned over to kiss him. "And I don't regret it for a second." She bit her lip when his hand caressed the back of her neck. "Today, I just want to get through this craziness. Tomorrow, I want you to put that ring on my finger, and I never want to take it off." Daryl grinned at her then, and they kissed softly, hands entwining, breaths mingling as the cab took a turn into the parking garage where the convention guests were given privacy to enter and exit the center without a horde of people following them.
"This is it?" Daryl asked, as the car rolled to a stop next to a set of elevators.
"You sure you're ready for this?"
"Gotta be," Daryl chuckled, giving her hand a squeeze.
"Don't worry, you'll have an all access pass. You can use the back rooms if you need an escape."
"You got back rooms?"
"You have no idea how overwhelming things like this can get. Sometimes we just need to escape for five minutes to breathe. You'll see what I mean." She gave him one last quick kiss before they slid out of the back of the car and headed into the convention center.
"Carol! Hey!" Glenn was the first to spot her, and he came rushing over with two bottles of water in his hand. He handed one to her, and Carol waved to Tara who was standing nearby with her girlfriend.
"How's the crowd look?" Carol asked, gratefully accepting the water and taking a sip before passing it to Daryl. "Trust me, you're gonna want to stay hydrated in this place." Daryl took a cold drink of water before passing it back to her.
"Not bad out there yet. They're already lining up for autographs, and your line is the longest. Tara's got a pretty damned long line herself. The ladies are killing it today." Carol blushed, and Daryl gave her hand a squeeze. "Oh, you better be careful out there, dude." Glenn leveled a gaze at Daryl.
"Me? Why?"
"I caught sight of more than a couple girls out there with 'we heart Daryl' pins."
"That's a thing?" Daryl asked with a grimace.
"You're dating the star of the show," Glenn said with a shrug. "These fans get really into the actors' lives, if you haven't noticed already."
"You gonna be ok?" Carol asked softly.
"M'fine, but that's just weird."
"It's a little weird," Carol chuckled. "Most of them are harmless. They mean well. But some of them can get a little…"
"Delusional?" Glenn asked.
"Oh, that's not nice," Carol scolded.
"Well, it's true. You should read some of the fan theories about the show. Some of them can't accept when a character dies. I mean, c'mon, it's a show about surviving in a new world where people make their own rules. Not everybody's gonna survive this."
"Ok, Glenn, we've heard it all before," Tara said dramatically, linking her arm through her co-star's. "You ready to go meet your groupies?"
"I don't have groupies," Glenn whined. "And please don't say that." Tara fake pouted before rolling her eyes.
"C'mon," Tara insisted, tugging at his arm. "I've got boobs to sign and babies to hold."
...
Carol was not exaggerating in the slightest. The second he was out on the floor, he was keenly aware that people were watching him, were taking his picture, were whispering about whether or not he'd come with Carol or was just there on his own accord. Naturally, the second they saw him, they were craning around, looking for any sight of her.
Two minutes into stepping out from the back, a group of young women approached them wearing Olivia O'Connor t-shirts and clasping toy props from the show.
"Oh my God, you're Daryl, aren't you?"
"Uh…"
"I can't believe it's really, you! What's she really like? Carol? Is she as amazing in real life as she is on the show?" It was then that Daryl noticed a rubber bracelet on the girl's arm that said Livvie Lover. She must have been part of a fan club. His first instinct was to turn and walk away, but he didn't want to offend Carol's fans. So he just cleared his throat and nodded his head.
"She's uh, yeah, she's a great girl. She's awesome."
"Oh my God," the one girl squealed. "Are you going to be on the show, too? Oh my God, but no, Olivia's supposed to be with Jake." Daryl restrained himself from stepping back and running.
"Uh, no. I ain't an actor. Just a mechanic."
"Are the rumors true? Is she pregnant? Will they have to write it into the show next season?"
"'Scuse me, ladies," he finally bit out. "I gotta…" Make something up. Anything. Thankfully, one of the other girls spoke up before he could think of excuses.
"Can we get a selfie with you? A group picture for the website?"
"Uh, I guess. Sure." He stepped into the center of the huddle, and the girls all touched his arms and shoulders as somebody held their arm out and snapped a picture. Then he quickly excused himself and escaped into the nearest bathroom. She was not kidding at all. This place was nuts.
"Don't worry. It's just one day. Lucky this isn't one of those weekend-long affairs." Daryl turned to see a man drying his hands with a wad of paper towels. He was older, probably in his late 40s and balding on top. He was dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a blue and white plaid button-down shirt. "You're Daryl, right?"
"Uh…I know you?"
"No, not at all. You're the new guy."
"'Scuse me?" Daryl narrowed his eyes at the man.
"I'm Tobin." Daryl shrugged a little. "Oh, I take it she didn't tell you about me? I'm, uh, her ex."
"You mean, one of the assholes that took advantage of her and used her for fame?"
"Actually, I'm an actor. We dated maybe ten years ago. I actually asked her to marry me, but…it…well, it didn't work out. I was the idiot that let her go, but she didn't love me. Not really. I get that now." Daryl narrowed his eyes at the man. "I saw her in the back. She looks beautiful. Happy."
"She is," Daryl replied quietly, not certain if he should hate the man or shake his hand for being Carol's past and not her present.
"Congratulations, by the way."
"What?"
"She told me you two got married last night. I'm happy for you guys, really. Been married six years, myself. Got two little girls. It's a great thing, man. Good luck to the both of ya." Tobin gave him a pat on the arm before walking out of the bathroom. Daryl turned to look at the door, wondering what the hell just happened, before his cell phone buzzed in his pocket. With a frown, he took it out and saw a text from Carol.
Where are you? I've got an hour 'til the autographs start. You wanna fool around in the dressing room?
Daryl smirked at the message and then looked back up toward the bathroom door where Tobin had just walked out from, wondering why Carol had bothered to tell an ex of hers about her marriage when she hadn't even wanted to wear her wedding ring to the convention. He couldn't wrap his head around it. And why hadn't he heard of Tobin before? He'd heard about Ed. About a couple of the other assholes that had used her. But Tobin? He was the nice guy ex that she almost married, and she was still chummy enough with him that she could tell him about her secret marriage to her new guy.
He looked back down at the phone and chewed his lip, trying to decide if he was ready to face her with all of these questions or if he should give himself a minute to process before he said something incredibly stupid that he might end up regretting.
Rain check? Forgot something at the hotel. Be back in a couple hours.
A few moments later, his phone buzzed again.
You ok?
He hesitated before he finally tapped out another message.
Yeah. Be back in a bit. Love you.
And then he pushed out of the bathroom and left the convention center, heading out and down the street.