…
All of the mailboxes were in a group at the front of the trailer park and after the mail carrier delivered everything, Daryl took it upon himself to take everyone's mail from the boxes and deliver it to the trailers so no one had to trudge out to their box themselves. Daryl's trailer was the closest to the mailboxes anyway and it was just something else he did for the people who lived in his park.
The mail came every day – except Sunday, obviously – around the same time in the afternoon; two o'clock or so and once the truck pulled out, back onto the main road and drove away, Daryl headed to the boxes and began gathering the mail to deliver himself. Today was a little different though because after the mail carrier put things away in the mailboxes, he then got out of his truck. Dog – in the trailer – began barking his head off, not used to seeing the mailman come his way and Daryl had been outside, cleaning Ms. Mackey's gutters for her but stopped when he heard Dog.
Stepping down from his ladder, he wiped his hands with the bandana is his back pocket and met the man as he stopped to wait, seeing Daryl coming his way.
"Help you?" Daryl asked.
"I have a certified letter for Daryl Dixon," the man said.
"Yeah, s'me," he said wile frowning a little. A certified letter? He had never gotten one of those in his entire life. Who the Hell would be sending him a certified letter?
"Just need you to sign for it," the mailman smiled and Daryl took his clipboard, signing next to his name, and then was handed the envelope. "Have a good day."
Daryl barely heard him, staring down at the large manilla envelope now in his hands. "Yeah, you, too," he murmured but the man was already back in his truck.
He looked to the top left corner. It was from the state of Georgia and for a second, Daryl felt his heart freeze in his chest. It came from being a Dixon and coming from a family that messed up just about everything they touched, seeing a letter from the state would cause a flash of panic in anyone with the same last name. Even though Daryl knew, full well, that he hadn't done anything wrong, he still looked at that in the corner of the envelope and panicked that the state thought he did do something wrong.
It wasn't just from the state though. It was from the housing and development department. What the Hell was that? He frowned. Did his park do something wrong?
He admitted he was almost too scared to open it. He didn't know what the Hell this was and he didn't know if he wanted to know.
He looked to Beth's trailer. She wasn't at work that day but she was out with George, her mom and Shawn. Daryl didn't know how she managed it but Annette had been saying that she wanted to buy Beth a few more pieces of furniture and somehow, she had convinced Beth to agree to that.
There was a big used and refurnished furniture store about a half an hour away that they had all gone to. Beth had asked Daryl if he wanted to come but Daryl had work to do around here and he felt like that should be an outing for her, George, his grandma and uncle.
After a couple more visits, Beth finally decided that George could meet his uncle and the first time Shawn came to the trailer park, he brought George a football and since then, that football had sailed through everyone's yard. It had terrified Bridget's birds away during their feeding time and had landed in Mr. King's backyard and Barney didn't want to give it back at first and everyone found out that both Lot and Thaddeus Leesman had a Hell of a throwing arm on them.
Still looking down at the envelope, Daryl turned and headed back towards Ms. Mackey's trailer. Since Beth wasn't home, Ms. Mackey was the next person he would want to talk to about… whatever this was.
Daryl knocked on the screen door, peeking inside. Frankie started barking his head off even after seeing that it was Daryl and Ms. Mackey was sitting on the couch, watching television.
"It's not locked, is it?" She called out to him. Daryl pressed the button in the handle, the door opening. Ms. Mackey frowned at him. "How dare you make me about to get up."
Daryl would have smiled a little at that but he was still holding the envelope in his hands and he honestly couldn't think of anything else.
He slowly sat down in the armchair and after a moment, without a word, he held the envelope out to Ms. Mackey for her to take. She muted the television and leaned over to do just that. And like Daryl had, she stared down at the envelope, silently, for a moment, obviously trying to think of what it could be. She then turned it over and saw that it was still unopened.
She looked to Daryl. "Are you going to open it or do you want me to?"
"You," Daryl answered without thinking any possible answer. "You open it."
"Should I get us some drinks first?" She wondered. He knew that she could sense his nerves.
"Yeah. That sounds good," he nodded. He wanted to open the envelope right this second but at the same time, he also felt like he wanted to pitch into a fire without ever knowing what it was.
He stood up and helped Ms. Mackey to her feet and she passed him, patting his arm as she did. Frankie had a little stool in front of the large front window and he began barking again. As Ms. Mackey went into the kitchen, Daryl went to go see what the French Bulldog was barking about now.
"'s a leaf, Frankie," Daryl frowned because that was the only thing out there; leaves falling from the trees and blowing across the ground. But the dog was now growling as if he had never seen anything more offensive to him than that. Daryl smirked a little and rubbed a hand on Frankie's back. Frankie barked again and Daryl looked – just to make sure. "Alrigh'. I'll give you that one," he said to the dog as Frankie was now barking at a squirrel in the tree.
"Oh goodness, let him out, Daryl," Ms. Mackey said. "It'll wear him out and I'll save whatever hearing I have left. Frankie, get out."
Daryl went to the screen door and pushed it open, Frankie immediately bolting out, barking even louder as he seemed to fly to the tree. Making sure the door caught when it closed again, Daryl turned and Ms. Mackey was carrying two plastic cups and he went to take them for her. They were fizzing and he figured they were Dr. Pepper. He could smell the faintest whiff of it. Once her hands were free, Ms. Mackey returned to the kitchen, getting a pack of chocolate chip cookies.
He smiled a little. Ms. Mackey loved drinking Dr. Pepper while eating chocolate chip cookies.
She got herself settled down on the couch again and pushed the cookies closer to Daryl as she picked up the envelope again. She studied the address in the corner for a moment and then, turning it over, she began to carefully peel the label back.
"If it's a warrant-" Daryl blurted out before abruptly stopping himself.
"If it was a warrant, the police would come personally to deliver it. We both know that. And what have you done that would cause the state to come after you?"
Daryl didn't have an answer for that and he knew Ms. Mackey really wasn't looking – or waiting – for one. Instead, he took a sip of Dr. Pepper and leaned forward in the armchair, watching Ms. Mackey as she finally got the envelope open and reached inside. It wasn't just a letter. There were 8x10 photographs as well and he and Ms. Mackey recognized the photographs immediately.
They were the photographs Rosita had been taking all summer of the trailer park.
"What the Hell?" Daryl frowned.
"Dear Mr. Dixon," Ms. Mackey began reading the letter, setting the pictures aside. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Theodore Douglas, Head of Construction Development and Growth in our great State of Georgia. And what that means is I do my best to set standards and codes that every builder in this state must follow so that all new development keeps with helping our state look the best it can be; a state we can all truly take pride in."
"What the Hell does that mean? He closin' down the park?" Daryl asked, his frown heavier.
Ms. Mackey ignored him as she continued reading on. "Rosita Esponisa, as I'm sure you know, is a resident of your trailer park and she entered a few photographs she had taken in a statewide contest the state has every year. Life in Our Great State. I was most interested in Rosita's photographs while myself and other government officials were looking over all of the entries, deciding on winners. I have lived in Georgia all my life and I have seen a trailer park once or twice in that time. I have never seen a trailer park that looked like anything like Dixon Trailer Park."
Daryl heard the words and slowly – slowly – he began to feel his body relax. Just a bit. He didn't want to assume anything about what he was hearing. This Theodore Douglas could still send him for a loop and after complimenting him, still stay that they were shutting the park down for some bullshit infraction or something like that because that's what people did. They were charming and while you were distracted, they smacked you on the side of the head.
Frankie was still barking outside and he heard Greg's car pulling into the park. A moment later, he stopped in front of Gary and Bridget's trailer.
"Thanks, Greg!" Gary said as he got out of the car, they finished with another day of manual labor.
Daryl was looking at Ms. Mackey as she continued and he slowly reached out, taking a chocolate chip cookie for himself.
"Through her pictures, Ms. Esponisa was able to transport all of us to your trailer park and the tight, safe community you have been able to provide for your residents with birthday parties, pool get-togethers and barbecues. Children playing and neighbors talking and helping one another. And through her pictures, we all wished we were able to live in Dixon Trailer Park for a little bit. It reminded us that things in this life don't have to be expensive or extravagant and there's something about being truly happy with your home and where you live that makes all the difference in this world."
…
Beth gasped, looking at him with wide eyes.
"What?" She asked and Daryl could tell that she hardly believed it. He knew what she was feeling. He was still feeling it and Ms. Mackey had read the letter to him over two hours ago.
Beth, George, Annette and Shawn had returned and in Shawn's pickup truck and a rented flatbed trailer he had hooked to the back of it, they had gotten quite the haul. Gary and Greg had come to help Shawn and Daryl and the four of them got everything unloaded and put into Beth and George's trailer once Beth decided where she wanted everything.
Most people didn't think about it. They heard the word "used" and curled their noses up at it. But at thrift stores and used furniture shops, there were all sorts of hidden treasures and even if the furniture was priced right, Annette had still used her bargaining skills to get even lower prices. Since they were buying so much that day, she felt like they deserved a discount.
When Beth had told Daryl that, he had smiled a little as her cheeks turned pink.
"I told mom that I wanted to do it all on my own and that me and George were doing just fine with everything we have but…" her embarrassment seemed to grow. "But… you were the one to remind me."
"Remind you what?"
Her cheeks were still pink and her smile was now shy. "That there were nice people in this world who did nice things for people. My mom did all of this – not because she thought I couldn't do it or because she was trying to buy me but because… she wanted to do something nice for her daughter and grandson."
Daryl smiled and that and gave her a kiss before going to keep helping.
Annette had bought Beth a dresser with a mirror for her bedroom and a chest of drawers for George's. She also bought him a little activity table for his bedroom. Beth already had a couch – the pullout and there was no way she wasn't going to let herself not have that couch anymore – so Annette bought around that couch. She bought a loveseat and a comfy armchair that George loved because when he sat in it, he felt like he sank into it. She also bought a rocking chair. In the kitchen, Beth already had the table and four chairs and Annette decided that she needed a hutch.
"Why do I need a hutch? I don't have anything to put in it," Beth had said even as she looked at the refurnished, updated wooden hutch and fell in love with it in an instant.
"We're Greenes and before that, I was a Potter and the women in our family have hutches. Some women buy more shoes than they need and the women in our family buy hutches. It's what we do. And it's also the same reason I'm buying you that bookcase. You may not have a lot of books right now and you may not have a lot of dishes right now but you will. In ten years, you'll look around your home and wonder where on earth all of your things came from," Annette said. "You live in a place long enough, you start to accumulate. It's just what we, as people, do."
Beth hadn't said anything about it and hadn't complained at what Annette bought for her because what of her mom had said. Annette considered the trailer to be Beth's home. Annette knew the trailer was Beth's home and wasn't trying to convince her something otherwise.
Before they had left for the store that morning, Beth had fixed up chili and had it cooking in the crockpot all day. And now, after shredding a block of cheddar cheese, they had dinner – Beth and George, Daryl, Shawn and Annette and Beth made sure she put a bowl aside to take over to Ms. Mackey.
"Merle!" George exclaimed when Merle came into the trailer, having read the note Daryl had left for him on their trailer door.
"Hey, Georgie. Got you somethin'," he grinned at the boy and pulled a scratch-off lottery ticket from his pocket. George gasped and eagerly held his hands out. "Now, if you win, we're buyin' cigarettes and a couple of dances, got it?"
"Got it!" George nodded and Merle grinned as everyone laughed – or in Daryl's case, rolled his eyes – and Merle set the lottery ticket down in front of the boy.
"Thank you, Merle!" George beamed, saying it without needing his mama to remind him. "How do I play, Uncle Shawn?" He then asked, showing Shawn the ticket, who sat next to him at the table.
"Let's see," Shawn studied the ticket. "You scratch these three here and these are your winning numbers. You then scratch these ten spots and see if any of these numbers match any of the winning numbers."
"Got it!" George nodded and then went right to it, scratching with the penny his grandma had given him.
"Is everything alright?" Beth asked quietly after they ate and Daryl was helping her clean up.
George had won "five whole dollars!", as George had let them all know, and Merle promised he'd cash in the ticket tomorrow. Merle then left to take Ms. Mackey her chili and then George, Beth and Daryl all said goodnight to Annette and Shawn since they had a drive in front of them and they both wanted to get back while it was still light out since it was fall now and the sun set so much earlier now.
"Yeah," Daryl nodded, but then added, "I'll talk to you 'bout it later."
Beth gave him a smile and standing on her toes, she kissed him on the cheek.
Daryl was spending the night – again – and they all changed into their pajamas and George wanted to watch Babe tonight so that was what they did. And then, exhausted from an exciting day of furniture shopping, George fell asleep in the big armchair and Beth carried him to bed. Daryl got up, locking the front door and then turning off the television, and once Beth came back, they sat on the couch and Daryl told her all about the letter he got from Theodore Douglas and the State of Georgia today.
"What?"
Daryl gave a nod and looked away, not sure how he felt. Embarrassed though he didn't really know why. Maybe it was because he was getting this attention and he never liked attention. Overwhelmed, too, for the same reason.
"Daryl, this is so amazing," Beth smiled at him, turning towards him and taking one of his hands in both of hers. "The state wants to pay you to set up other Dixon Trailer Parks all over Georgia?" She squeezed his hand and he could hear her breath quicken. "Daryl," she said his name again but nothing after that.
"I'm supposed to call this Theodore Douglas tomorrow so we can discuss it and he's going to schedule an official visit here to see it with his own eyes but yeah… they love the look of this place so much, they want other places just like it. Waste of taxpayer money if you ask me."
It sounded stupid. And unbelievable. A Dixon Trailer Park franchise? Who the Hell ever heard of such a thing? And was his park really that special that government suits wanted more trailers in Georgia?
"But they did ask you and they think this is a good way to spend it. Creating safe places for people to live? What's better than that?" Beth asked him. "Daryl… do you remember that first morning George and me walked up the road and found this place?"
"I'll never forget it," he said and his answer made her smile.
"Finding this park that morning, it saved my life."
"Nah, Beth. You saved yourself."
That kept the smile on her face, it softening at his words. "I know." It certainly wasn't the first time he told her that. "But after getting out of Alabama and just walking and walking, I had no idea what I was doing. I had no idea where George and I were going. But then I saw that 'trailer for rent' sign and finally. A destination. And when I got here and saw just what kind of destination it was here, I knew that first day that being here was something good. For the first time in so long, George and I felt safe."
Daryl didn't say anything; he too busy listening to every single word she said.
"And being here, and renting this place, it pushed me to start making a life for me and George as soon as I could because I knew that this was where I wanted to be. This place that you created, Daryl, is the only place in the world I ever want to be. And everyone else who lives here feels the exact same way. So yes, it makes perfect sense to me why there is an interest in it."
Now, he definitely felt overwhelmed and at all of Beth's words, Daryl didn't know what to say. He exhaled a shaky breath and Beth squeezed his hand. She leaned in and pressed her lips to his forehead, leaving them there, and Daryl's eyes closed, sagging against her.
"I love you," he murmured, still against her as if her lips were keeping him up right now and the way he felt, that's exactly what Beth's lips were doing.
Her lips curved into a smile against his head. "I love you, too."
…
I love this chapter and I hope you did, too! One more chapter to go - and it will be a bit of a flash forward.
Thank you so, so much for reading and thank you to those who have been sticking with this entire story. I know I slipped away from this pairing for a while and it means so much that there are those who still want to read my stories.