March 15, 10 NE
Dearest Candy,
I have adequate time to write you one of those long letters you spoke of because Dianne is out celebrating nuptials and impending nuptials with her lady friends, and Ajax and I have a quiet evening to ourselves by the fire. Since you're looking for juicy gossip, I'll tell you my German Shepherd has successfully impregnated Barry's bitch. We're expecting a litter by May, and I intend to give one of the pups to Garland's boys, if he can convince Shannon to accept the family addition.
Another I'll give to Linda. If she's going to insist on living in that tavern on into her dotage, she had best have some protection there, and a well-trained dog will do the trick. Do you know she's talking of turning it into a bed and breakfast for visiting Alliance members? The tavern, I mean. Not the dog. We already have the free-of-charge guest room in the barracks, so I'm not sure she'll find any takers at this stage, but who knows what the future might bring. As for her relationship with Joe, no wedding bells have yet threatened to sound, but their dating continues apace.
Connie has moved in with Carlos on The Discovery, so I can only assume things are going well in that relationship. Enid and Raul have gotten engaged, but I suppose you might have heard that news before I did, given your proximity to Hilltop.
I'm glad to hear of Eugene's progress on the battery project. Who knows? If the speedboat begins to operate more frequently, so that I don't have to be away for two full weeks, I might even venture to this mythical land of Alexandria to see my infant namesake. (Not to mention my dear friend Candy.) I'm glad to hear little Gunther's club foot is being expertly treated.
Andrew and I had a chat this evening, at your request, and I do believe he will endeavor to be of more help to his more-than-worthy bride. He assures me she'll only be working part-time, at the tavern's peak times, when the tips are best, and that his earnings from his portrait business will see them through her reduced hours. I doubt he'll be cooking any dinners, but he has agreed that perhaps his late nights out could benefit from a reduction.
Thomas has not boasted of any relationship success with the Kingdom's fair Kelly, but he's not a man I'd expect to boast. They do appear fond of one another in public, and I would wager it's only a matter of time before, shall I say, matters progress. Melissa did indeed come to visit Seaman Reedus again. It's an odd pairing, but I suppose perhaps there's someone for everyone in the end. I can;t speak to any dalliance between Tara and Magna. I only know they danced with one another at the New Year's Eve party, much to the chagrin of the onlooking sailors. Slingshot Kelly is much wooed, but to my knowledge she has thus far not returned a single advance.
That is all the news that's fit to print. Speaking of printing…Carlos told me that Connie used to be a reporter in the Old World and that she's been mulling over the idea of starting a Jamestown monthly newspaper. A newspaper, of all things. She'll have to convince Garland to let her use his manual typewriter and his hoarded ribbons, because she plans to make a copy each for Oceanside, Alexandria, and the Hilltop. As for Jamestown, she'll make three copies - one to place in the Jamestown library, one to leave at the tavern to be read at the bar, and one to keep secure in the museum files. I suggested Carlos tell her to hire Deputy Andrew for the illustrations. Perhaps we could even have ourselves an original comic strip. Jamestown certainly has its share of characters.
How strangely the world is pressing on. I miss you, too, my dear friend.
With affection,
Gunther
[*]
3/16/10
Beautiful –
Went scavenging with my boys. (Mitch, Aaron, Garland.) Took my bike. Back by 2. Left y'all girls coffee. Tell Michonne she snores like a fucking chainsaw when she's drunk.
- Daryl
[*]
It's Carol's day off, and she spends a fun morning and early afternoon with Michonne and Sweetheart. "The boys" return at three, with a worn but sturdy saddle for one of the horses, a replacement part for Daryl's motorcycle, toys for Sweetheart and VanDaryl and Gary and Gracie and Mitch's sponsored orphan, a piece of manual milking machine equipment Gunther asked for, and various odds and ends. When Michonne goes to meet with Garland about Alliance business, Carol begins packing for her journey tomorrow.
"Seven days," she says as she zips up her pack. "Are you going to be all right?"
Daryl, who is plopped down in the armchair and tightening his bow strings while Sweetheart plays with the shape sorter on the bearskin rug, says, "Got m' right hand."
"That's not what I meant."
"Be fine. Ain't the first time I done it."
"Sorry I'll be losing a week of income."
"S'a'rgiht. Good week to hunt more anyhow. Get the overtime. Put Sweetie in daycare half the time. Drop 'er at Shannon's to play with the boys the other half. Have fun with 'er on m' day off."
"You're paying Shannon, too." It's a statement, not a question.
"Yeah. Less'n daycare, though. Henry payin' you?"
"He's my grandchild."
Daryl chuckles. "Ezekiel's a hell of a name to saddle a kid with."
"I think they'll call him Zeke. Does it bother you? The name?"
"Hell would it bother me for?"
She shrugs. She leaves her pack and comes and sits on the end of the couch near his chair. "I know I hurt you by marrying Ezekiel."
"Yeah, well, man was Henry's father. Even 'fore you were his mother. And Henry didn't hurt me none by wanting the King for a dad. Be another thing if you named our kid that."
"That would be an odd name for a girl."
"'S an odd name for a boy."
Carol chuckles. "Unlike VanDaryl."
"VanDaryl's a bad ass name for a boy. Gonna be a vampire slayer." He lays his crossbow aside, leaning it against the chair.
"Let's hope vampires don't get added into the mix. Walkers are enough."
Sweetheart turns her shape sorter upside down and shakes it. When none of the shapes fall out, she shakes it more angrily.
"You've got to open the little door, Sweetie," Carol tells her, and then gets down on the rug to show her how.
That night, Michonne finds somewhere else to stay, to give Daryl and Carol their last night of privacy before Carol has to leave. When Sweetheart is tucked into slumber, they make love behind the closed drapes of their own little bedroom. It doesn't take Daryl long to drift off afterward, but Carol remains up another two hours, excited and anxious about her trip to Oceanside.