…
Rosita Espinosa – soon-to-be Nash – never saw her life quite turning out like this, but she knew that people who tried to plan their lives were always just slightly disappointed because they would always turn out differently than those carefully made plans so Rosita made the conscious effort to never make plans.
Siddiq always said that it was one of his favorite things about her; her ability to fly by the seat of her pants. She was from Dallas and after a slew of failed relationships and boring jobs, Rosita decided that she needed to see something different. New Orleans and then Tampa before Atlanta – nothing that different from one city to the next. Men sucked everywhere, apparently, and there were the same menial jobs everywhere, too.
She had always loved photography, but that wasn't exactly a lucrative career except for a miniscule chosen few. So, Rosita worked everything from being a waitress, bartender, shelf stocker and on and on and took pictures in her spare time. She was working at a perfume counter in a department store when she met Siddiq. Right off the bat, she knew he was different from the other men she had subjected herself to.
For one thing, he was aware she had eyes and looked into them as he spoke to her and no where else.
"A perfume for your mom for her birthday? What kind of scents does she like?" Rosita asked as she began gathering a few of their more popular bottles.
"Uh…" Siddiq scratched the back of his head. "She loves to cook so I would say… turmeric? Caraway, maybe. I don't know," he then admitted with an embarrassed smile.
Rosita found herself smiling at how much of an idiot he was; but an idiot in a completely adorable way.
She grabbed one of the bottles and spritzed a spray onto a test strip. "This is Dior Dolce Vita. Spicy, woody and warm," she waved the strip gently in front of his nose as she explained the scent.
And Rosita thought she might have fallen a little in love with him already when he didn't immediately respond with an "That's what she said".
They began dating and Rosita knew that she wasn't good enough for a man who was a doctor and she just assumed that Siddiq was dating her because he wanted to "slum" it for a while. But she went with it. She was having fun dating a real man and she wasn't going to worry about the inevitable end. A year later, they were still together and he asked her to move in with him. She did. And when she took the pregnancy test, the only reason she was nervous when it turned positive was because she worried Siddiq might think that she was trying to trap him.
But Rosita should have known that Siddiq would never think that. He was a good guy. The best guy. Being pregnant and having a baby was something else that Rosita took in stride. She was nervous and excited to be a mother – as she was sure all moms felt – and her mom came from Dallas to Atlanta to help her – and Siddiq – in the last month of her pregnancy. And it was in the middle of labor, screaming at Siddiq for doing this to her, he asked her to marry him.
And when Coco was around four months old and Siddiq came to Rosita, asking if she wanted to stay in Atlanta forever, Rosita just shrugged as she always did.
She had taken to mothering as she took to everything. In stride. Whatever happened, happened. Her mom had had no idea what she was doing when she had given birth to Rosita and Rosita thought that she had turned out alright. What was the point of being an anal mom anyway? Coco was going to be who Coco wanted to be and either Rosita could be a bitch mom about it or be a mom who loved and encouraged her.
"Not really. Did you have somewhere in mind?"
So, no. Orson, Georgia had never been a part of her plan, but none of this had been part of her nonexistent plan of how she was going to live her life. As the only medical doctor in the town, Siddiq Nash was a very important person. The mayor had already approached him about sitting on the city council as well. And Rosita knew that in such a small town, the doctor's wife (or fiancée) would be important, too, but thankfully, there wasn't a horde of well-to-do-ladies trying to invite for lemonade and a game of Bridge.
She and Siddiq had seen the pictures of Orson online and it had seemed like any other small, nothing, town in the South. Miniscule business section with a mixture of known stores and independent ones, a couple fast food places, a couple of restaurants, the elementary school, the park, the houses.
And Dixon Trailer Park.
Rosita had seen her fair share of trailer parks, living and vagabonding around the South for her entire life, but she had never seen a trailer park like this. Since moving in, she had begun taking pictures of life here.
Ms. Mackey watering her flowers and walking her dog, Frankie; of her garden gnome collection. Mr. King sitting on his front porch with his Great Dane, Barney, playing checkers with Daryl or Greg or Gary. All of the bird feeders and flocks of birds eating outside of Bridget and Gary's trailer. The Leesman kids playing and running around. George playing with his dragon in his front yard. Daryl carrying groceries for Ms. Mackey into her trailer. A sweet moment between Theresa and Greg, hugging on their front steps. The planted flowers and tulips; the lilac bushes; the oak trees and the vegetable garden Kristy was growing in her backyard.
All of Dixon Trailer Park was beautiful and Rosita loved capturing it. She wanted to take pictures because she wanted to show people things they had never seen before and life in this trailer park was like that.
Ms. Mackey surprised all of the kids with a large inflatable pool – so large, it could fit, comfortably, four adults and it came with its own pump.
"You're gonna kill the grass," Daryl frowned a little when Ms. Mackey asked if they could set it up and all of the kids circled him, begging and pleading with him. He sighed heavily and they all knew that Daryl would – eventually – agree. He may have done his best to keep a gruff exterior, but Rosita had been able to read him within a couple of days of moving here. He wasn't fooling anyone. "I wan' you all to know that I think you're all annoyin'. How big is the damn thing?"
Rosita took more pictures of Daryl, with the help of Merle and Gary – Greg and Siddiq were at work or else, they would have helped, too – digging the shallow spot in the ground that would fit the pool perfectly. They smoothed the dirt over as much as they could. Gary then unfolded it and Merle had it pumped up, fully inflated, in no time. The spot it was in was closest to Kristy's trailer so she unrolled her hose and dragged it over.
"We'll all chip in with your water bill this month," Theresa promised her and no one argued with that. For a massive pool, it was going to take a lot of water.
The kids all went to change into their swimming trunks and bathing suits and George didn't have a pair of trunks, but Enoch had just outgrown his and Theresa let George have his old pair. Coco had a little bathing suit, too, that Rosita changed her into and in no time, the kids of Dixon Trailer Park were splashing and playing in their new swimming pool. Rosita made sure to take plenty of pictures as the kids all splashed and swam and played; and made sure they treated baby Coco with such a gentleness in the water even as they all acted insane, it made Rosita's heart squeeze. Theresa came back from her trailer, crossing the road and grass to come stand with Rosita, handing her a bottle of root beer with a smile as she sipped from her own.
She never had plans for herself, but that had slowly changed. Be a good wife to Siddiq. Be a good mom to Coco. Be a good friend and neighbor to everyone who lived here. And to show life here. For whatever reason, that was now an important part to Rosita's plans.
…
Beth walked home from work. She and Albert hadn't had the same shift and though she was friendly with all of her coworkers, she hadn't felt comfortable enough to ask any of them for a ride home. And besides, it was only a mile. It was hot and humid, but it felt good to be walking out in the fresh air nonetheless.
It also gave her the opportunity to have some time to herself and think.
She was off tomorrow – Friday – working on Saturday and then off on Sunday. And Sunday was George's birthday. Her mom was coming back tomorrow for a visit and Beth still hadn't decided if she was telling her mom that. She hadn't even decided if she wanted George to meet Annette.
Shouldn't she want George to meet his grandma? He had been asking about his grandma just a few weeks ago. He obviously would want to meet her if he knew who Annette was. And yet, Beth hesitated all the same. She was being selfish. There was such anger and hurt on her part and while it was a relief that she had been able to tell Annette everything that had happened to her, there was still so much hurt and anger. Years of that wasn't just going to go away.
(Beth didn't know if she wanted Annette to just go away.)
She felt awful for thinking that, but she thought it nonetheless.
Beth had gotten so used to it just being her and George – and then Daryl and the entire trailer park – that did she now have to worry that her mother would want her and George to come back to the family farm? There was no way Beth was going to do that. She had made a life for herself and her son here. It might not have been anything fancy. It might have been a hard and a poor life, but it was hers.
She didn't want her mom to come into her and George's life and try to change things. Beth and George were happy. For George, this was the happiest he had ever been. And for Beth, this was the happiest she had been in a very long time.
She had to tell Annette that there tomorrow. She had to make sure Annette that there was a line now and Beth wasn't eighteen anymore. She was a grown woman and a mom. She was going to let her own mom know that there were boundaries and Annette wasn't welcome to overstep boundaries that Beth set.
Nearing the trailer park, Beth could hear shrieks and screams – which actually wasn't an out-of-place sound. The Leesman children were some of the loudest children Beth had ever met; not badly behaved whatsoever. Just energetic, who took their play time very seriously. She was so glad that George had them as friends. And she didn't doubt that when the baby Coco was a little older, she would fit right in as well.
Turning the corner, Beth saw the reason for just noise. There was a very large inflatable pool set up near the back of the field and oh goodness. With how heavy the air was this afternoon and having just walked home, Beth thought that right now, that inflatable pool was the best thing she had ever seen.
"Mama!"
She turned her head and saw George with Daryl. Daryl was sitting on the bottom step of his porch and George was standing in front of him, between his knees, as Daryl rubbed a towel over George's head. He was wearing a pair of lime green swimming trunks – she already knew to thank Theresa for those – and his skin was just a little tanner than it had been just this morning when Beth left for work.
"Hi, Georgie," Beth smiled as she closed the distance between them. Daryl stopped toweling so George could run to her for a hug. His body was mostly dry from the sun, but his trunks were still wet, now making her jeans wet – but Beth didn't mind. It felt refreshing and she wished Aldi would let her wear shorts at work. She bent down and kissed his head. "You certainly are having a good day," she smiled.
"The best!" George exclaimed.
George ran back to Daryl and Daryl gave a smile, dropping the towel over the boy's head and beginning to rub it again, George laughing. Beth still smiled as she came to sit down next to Daryl, unable to stop the heavy sigh she exhaled. It felt so good to be off her feet for the first time in hours.
Daryl realized something and looked up the road. "Did you walk?" He looked to Beth, frowning.
"I did," she gave a nod. "I didn't need a ride," she then was quick to add because she already knew that Daryl was going to tell her that she should have called him. "It's just a mile, Daryl."
"And it's a hundred degrees out, Beth," Daryl said, still frowning.
Beth just shook her head and leaned in, giving him a kiss. "That pool looks amazing."
"Ms. Mackey surprised the kids with it. 'm actually gonna go check on her. She's been inside jus' abou' all day." Daryl finished toweling off George and then draped the towel around the boy's shoulders like a cape. Beth normally would volunteer to check on Ms. Mackey herself – or go with him – but now that she was sitting, she didn't know if she could stand up again anytime soon. "'m gonna get you some water," Daryl told her. "And 'm serious, Beth. You call me next time you need a ride."
Before Beth could say anything to that, Daryl stood and went to go inside to get her the bottle of water. George came to stand in between Beth's legs now, leaning his back against her chest, and Beth wrapped both of her arms around him, putting her cheek to his.
"Do you like living here, George?" Beth asked. She already knew the answer, but she liked to hear it.
"I love it," he said just as she was expecting. "Do you like living here, mama?" He then asked.
Beth smiled and squeezed her arms around it. She kissed his cheek. "I love it, too, and no matter what, we're never going to leave."
…
Daryl made sure the citronella torches stabbed into the ground around the pool were lit and let them burn for a few minutes so the scent would smack away whatever mosquitoes were buzzing around. He then scooped out the few lingering bugs from the water. It was warm, but still felt damn good.
Everyone was in for the night except for him. He could hear music playing from Cassie's open window. Cassie loved country music, but she also had this thing for Elvis and that's who she was blaring tonight. Daryl didn't necessarily mind. There were a lot worse kinds of music that a teenage girl could be blaring.
Lights were on in all of the trailers; even Ms. Mackey's, in her bedroom where she was probably reading. Daryl was relieved for that. When he went to check on her earlier, she had said she was just tired – again – and Daryl offered to drive her to the clinic to see Siddiq, but Ms. Mackey had just shaken her head.
"When you're my age, you'll be tired, too," she told him.
Daryl did his best to not be too worried about her.
He stood up and turned his head, seeing Beth coming across the grass towards him. She had the light on the front porch switched on, helping him see her in the darkness, and then she was in the circles of flickering light from the citronella torches.
She smiled as she came to a stop at him and the pool. "I don't have a bathing suit."
"Me, neither," Daryl gave a little smile, feeling shy all of a sudden though she had already seen his torso and there was no reason to act hesitant or like he had to hide things from her.
Beth unbuttoned her jean shorts, letting them slide down her legs, and she pulled her tee-shirt off. Her underwear was a dark color – Daryl couldn't tell if it was black or navy blue – and her bra was dark, too. Daryl was wearing a pair of green sweat-shorts and he kept those on, but took his tee-shirt off. He figured shorts might be better than just his boxers, remembering how he reacted when Beth had kissed him and he had worn nothing, but boxers. Being in the water with Beth in just her bra and underwear? Definitely no boxers tonight.
Beth stepped into the water first, sighing the instant the water enclosed around her legs, and then Daryl stepped in. He frowned a little when he felt the uneven ground beneath of the dirt.
The inflatable pool would have killed the grass and made the whole field look shitty – and nothing looked shitty in his trailer park. He figured that by digging the grass out and putting the pool in its spot, it would look a little better. He was thinking he would build a deck or something to cover up the spot when the pool was put away, but then Greg had had an idea of cementing the spot over. It would be better for the pool's bottom to be on concrete than uneven dirt and rocks and then, a nice concrete spot would have more uses, too. Maybe they could set the grills up on it when they have their barbecues.
Beth sighed as she sank down. "Oh goodness, this is wonderful."
Daryl lowered himself down, leaning back against one of the walls and stretching his legs out. Beth moved herself to him, the water gently lapping around them both, and Daryl held his arm out for her to come against his side.
They were quiet, just sitting there, listening to the sounds of the Georgia country night, both completely relaxed. Beth sighed softly and nestled in closer to Daryl. He turned his head to look down to her face.
"You alrigh'?"
"Just tired." Her arm slid across his stomach so she was hugging him. "My mom is coming tomorrow."
He knew that that was who the woman in the trailer had been; a mom or another family member. He wasn't surprised at Beth's words. Honestly, he felt relief that she had wanted to tell him about her.
"I don't know… I think I might invite her to George's birthday party on Sunday. I just… is that a mistake? Should I keep her away? I would just want her there and none of my other family. My mom, she actually took the time to find me and talk and apologize and I… George should know his grandma."
Daryl didn't say anything as Beth talked; her thoughts falling from her mouth as she had them. He didn't know what to think. Her old man had been the one to kick her out and close the door, but it didn't sound like Beth's mom had fought that. In Daryl's mind, Beth's mom was just as guilty. But Beth was right. The woman did track her down to apologize. That counted for something; a miniscule shit something, but a something all the same.
"If I ask my mom to come to Wal-Mart tomorrow, will you come, too?" Beth tilted her head up to look into his face.
"If you wan' me there, I'll come."
"I need you there, Daryl."
Daryl tightened his arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead. "Then I'm comin'."
…
Thank you so, so much! In the next chapter, Beth, Daryl and Annette in Wal-Mart, shopping for George's birthday, lunch together and then George meets his grandma.