Good medicine

Connie and Eugene had worked out a system of sorts, and they alternated the full time care of Coco. It helped that Eugene moved in; helped maintain a routine and some stability, at least for the time being.

Each day for the remaining Alexandrians was pretty much the same, with either security duty, compound work, gardening, laundry or meal prep rotation. Everyone got free time of course, for hobbies and for family life. What was left of it. Besides Coco, there were no children in Alexandria. Connie couldn't help imagining this was what Hamelin town might feel like after the pied piper waltzed through and collected his due.

They didn't have much walker activity to speak of, and the absence of a human threat was a very welcome reprieve. She was grateful for those things. It was peaceful. But it did feel much too still. She supposed one could get used to that.

Connie had Coco for the day today, and Eugene was on baby duty tonight. The infant was mercifully having a lull in teething; these days being more preoccupied with perfecting her forward and backward crawls, the latter of which Connie found extremely adorable. She had laundry duty which didn't occupy her whole day, so after Coco had been fed, they took a walk over to the school room so Connie could browse the history section of their ad hoc library.

Connie was skimming through a still sturdy copy of 'The Naval War of 1812' authored by the 26th president; stimulating stuff she was thinking, when she happened to glance at the calendar on the wall. Gabriel's project of faithfully charting out the days and months for the next twenty years would be one of his many legacies. She pointed to it and signed daddy made that. The baby followed her hands, then looked back at Connie, chuckling happily. She thought everything was a game. Connie smiled.

If the days on the calendar were marked off correctly, it meant today was pretty special.

Connie thought there was definitely time to whip up a batter and pop it in the community wood burning oven before they needed the space back for supper prep. She rushed back to the house, pausing only briefly to wonder if this could backfire. Would he be offended to find out she'd peeked at his medical chart? Connie bit her lip nervously. She was willing to take a chance.

Daryl was working over on a section of wall by the lake, which was actually a reservoir. The September heat showed no sign of letting up, not even late into the day. Sweat dried leaving a salty film on his forehead which he wiped away with the bandanna he kept in his pants back pocket. His shirt clung to his back when he bent over.

Man, he was really looking forward to a shower. He longed to be able to go out and jump into one of the nearby creeks to cool off but most of the waterways near there were so tainted it'd be a death wish. Maybe in a couple of years nature would take its course and restore some health to the ecosystem. For now he'd be content with the simple shower system rigged up in the homes they occupied.

He spotted Connie coming along the wooden walkway that surrounded the lake. She was pushing Coco in the stroller and he thought they must be just out for a walk. He loved to see her being a mother. She cared for the infant with a passion that seemed easeful not forced. Plus seeing her looking so relaxed stirred up feelings south of his belt buckle which made even him blush. Daryl chucked that up to plain old biology, something he'd learned over the years to ignore or handle quickly and efficiently himself.

They'd been in fight or flight so long he couldn't remember the last time he'd indulged in handling anything; acknowledging guiltily that Connie had definitely been the object of his um...focus, when he did.

Daryl yanked his mind from where it'd wondered and back to the task at hand, only to be interrupted again. He hadn't noticed Connie walk right up close to the spot where he worked.

She was in her black tank and khakis; hair tied back from the stickiness of the day. She looked flushed and excited.

Daryl raised a hand in hello and walked over, shading his eyes against the sun. He peeked into the stroller and saw Coco was asleep. 'Hey' he said

'Break?' she signed back and extended a canteen of water to him. 'Thanks' Daryl signed gratefully taking the container from her outstretched hand. He emptied the contents in one go, drinking long and swallowing hard as he savored the refreshment.

Connie waited till he was finished then gestured for them to sit down. They went over to the railings which served as a bench and when they were seated she took something from the stroller carrier and unwrapped it. The warm sweet smell of the cornmeal cupcake wafted up and Daryl's stomach growled, reminding him he'd skipped breakfast.

'Happy Birthday' Connie signed 'I would sing for you but...' she shrugged cutely, her expression was dead pan

That made Daryl chuckle. Connie grinned. She couldn't recall if she'd ever seen him laugh like that. She liked it. The way the lines crinkled around his eyes, the dimple that briefly appeared at his cheek, transforming and softening his features. Daryl liked the feeling too, it felt good to laugh together. It felt like good medicine.

'How'd you kno...?'

'...right. the clinic'..he nodded, finishing her sentence as she explained.

'Are you upset?' Connie asked him

'What! no...not at all...' on the contrary; he was happy she took a chance, touched that she cared.

'This was really sweet of you' he said '...thank you'.

They sat together sharing the cake and talking for a while, before Daryl had to finish up for the day and Connie headed back to the house.