Chapter 38: Knocking

"Dude? Hey, dude?" Daryl looked up from where he'd been crouched in front of the display of baby diapers for the last several minutes only to see a young man who couldn't have been older than twenty standing there with a lost and weary look on his face. One shoulder slumped as he held an infant carrier in one hand. He swayed it gently back and forth as the baby inside slept peacefully.

"You say somethin'?" Daryl asked, standing up and grabbing hold of his stock cart.

"Uh, yeah. I'm looking for Nutri-Plus formula."

"Next aisle over."

"You're out. You have any in the back?"

"They got some on the truck, but I don't know what kind," Daryl pointed out. "Purple can or orange?"

"Uh, Orange."

"Yeah, that shit goes fast," Daryl muttered.

"What?"

"Uh, I said that's a good seller," he said quietly.

"Well, could you check? Look, my girlfriend's trying to sleep back home, and I promised I'd watch the baby, but I have to tell you I don't know what the hell I'm doing." Daryl felt for the kid, and he gave him a nod.

"Yeah, sure. I'll go check."

"Thanks, man." Daryl nodded and left his cart to head to the back. On the way, he took a peek at his phone to see his shift ended in twenty minutes. He'd come in for a four hour shift after working at the garage, and since business was pretty slow for a Friday evening, his supervisor had pretty much left him alone to do his job. Unfortunately, he'd been in a weird funk for most of the day, and he'd worked clear through his break time. So, he decided to take it before clocking out.

He stepped into the back and into the storage area for the infants section. He looked around for the particular kind of formula the customer needed, only to discover they were completely out. He scanned the tag on the storage bin to find they expected to get another shipment in the following day.

He returned to the sales floor to find the customer waiting where he'd left him.

"Sorry, man. We're out, but we should have some in tomorrow."

"Great," the man scoffed. "Well, what the hell am I supposed to feed my kid, huh?"

"Look, m'sorry, but we don't have any. I checked the back and everything."

"Yeah, well, sorry won't keep my kid fed," the younger man snorted. He turned to walk away, and Daryl swallowed back the urge to tell the kid to fuck off.

"Maybe don't wait 'til the last second to buy your kid's food next time," he muttered under his breath, grabbing his stock cart and heading toward the back.

"What'd you say?" the customer asked, turning around to look at him.

"Said m'sorry we didn't have what you needed. Maybe we will next time."

"Yeah, whatever. Asshole." Daryl sighed and shook his head, turning to head into the back of the store again to take his stock cart back.

He really hated working retail. Sure, there were some nice customers, but a lot of them were rude and treated him like he was subhuman, acting as if not having something in stock was his fault. He didn't own the store. He wasn't even in charge of ordering anything. He was just there to put shit on the shelves and help customers as needed. And the only reason he was staying on was to replace the savings he'd spent on the car and hold it back for when the baby came.

He put the rest of his things away and headed back to the break room, where a couple of other employees were sitting, completely engrossed in whatever they were doing on their cell phones. He pulled his phone out just in time to see a text pop up from Carol.

Hey, I just got a call from Rick. He's going to be late picking Sophia up. I know that changes our plans a little.

Daryl stared down at the phone for a moment, and a little smile tugged at his lips.

Maybe we can have that talk with her before she goes.

Are you sure? I know it's been a tough couple of days.

Yeah. I'm sorry if I worried you. I just didn't want Sophia to see me mad like that after talking to Lucy. But I still want to do this.

Me too. Okay, well, you're off soon, right?

Yeah. In a few minutes. Did you two eat?

Yeah, we did. I saved something for you.

Alright. I'll head that way after work. I'll see you soon, ok?

Ok. I love you.

I love you too.

...

"Sophia? Honey? Come downstairs, please!" Carol called from the living room after greeting Daryl with a hug and a kiss. She smiled at him, and he smiled back. "You sure you're ready for this?"

"You think she's gonna be ok with this?"

"I told you I think she already has an idea. She's crazy about you, Daryl. Just be prepared for lots of questions."

"Lots of questions. Got it," he chuckled.

The sound of little footsteps thundering down the stairs broke up their conversation, and Daryl looked down when Carol took his hand in hers and gave it a squeeze.

"Is Daddy here?" Sophia asked. She gasped when she stepped into the room and saw Daryl. "Daryl!" She hurried over and hugged him around the middle. Daryl chuckled and gave her a little hug back. "I can't play. I'm waiting on Daddy to pick me up."

"Hey, that's ok," Daryl said with a little nod, gently prying Sophia away. She grinned up at him, and Daryl looked down at her, suddenly feeling a little nervous about talking to a five year old. But, he figured this was just one of many awkward conversations he was going to have over the next lifetime, so why not start now? "Hey, kiddo. Your mom and me wanted to talk to you about something."

"Am I in trouble?" Sophia asked, looking up at Carol.

"No, sweetheart. You're not in trouble. Will you sit down for a minute?" Sophia nodded and sat down on the couch, while Carol took Daryl's hand again. Sophia didn't seem to notice, but Daryl glanced at her nervously. She gave him an encouraging smile. "Sophia, do you remember what we talked about in the car the other morning?"

"Uh-huh," Sophia said slowly. "About getting a turkey."

"Well, before that," Carol said quietly. Sophia scrunched her nose up for a moment, and Carol glanced at Daryl.

"Umm, oh yeah! I told you I wanted a baby sister when you and Daryl get married." Her eyes went wide. "Am I getting a baby sister?!"

"Uh, no, sweetie," Carol chuckled. "But, we want to talk to you about the other…thing."

"Are you marrying my mommy?" Sophia asked, bouncing on her seat on the couch.

"Um, no," Daryl said slowly. "I mean, we ain't talked about that yet." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, and Carol sat down on the couch next to Sophia.

"Oh. Well, what then?" Sophia wondered.

"Well, remember when Daddy and I lived together, and we always asked you to knock before coming into our room?"

"Yeah," Sophia said slowly. "'Cause you and daddy were sleeping, and if I knocked and you didn't answer, it meant you wanted to keep sleeping."

"Right," Carol said with a nervous laugh. "Well, Daryl's going to be spending more time here, and sometimes my door will be closed like it used to be at daddy's."

"Oh," Sophia said with a nod. "So you're going to have a sleepover?"

"Right," Daryl said with a nervous chuckle, sitting down on the chair across from the couch.

"And if I knock and you don't answer, I don't come in," Sophia said with a nod. She looked at Daryl. "Mommy and Daddy slept a lot." Carol knew her face was turning every shade of red imaginable, and Daryl's own face matched well.

"So, do you understand, Sophia?" Carol asked slowly. Sophia nodded.

"I think so. It means you love Daryl, right? And Daryl loves you?" Carol nodded.

"Yeah. And we want to spend more time together. And I know maybe it might seem different at first, but I love you so much, and nothing will change that. I know you had a lot of questions when daddy and I got divorced, so I want you to know that if you have any questions, I'll try to answer them, ok? I love you so much."

"I love you too, Mommy," Sophia smiled. "I have a question."

"Okay."

"If you don't get married, can I still get a baby sister? Carl said when his mommy and Shane kept their door closed, it wasn't long until his mommy said she was having another baby." Carol's eyes went wide, and she looked up at Daryl who looked like he wanted to crawl under the couch cushions.

"We, uh, we're not, um, planning on that just now. Okay?"

"Okay," Sophia said with a shrug.

"Do you have any other questions?"

"Can I go play 'til daddy gets here?"

"Absolutely." Carol let out a sigh of relief, and she stood up when Sophia hopped up and hurried back over to hug Daryl.

"Will you be here when Daddy brings me home Sunday?" He glanced at Carol and she offered a little nod.

"Yeah, I'll be here."

"Will you watch a Princess movie with me?"

"I'll watch two princess movies with you. Deal?"

"Deal!" Sophia grinned. She hugged him again and hurried upstairs to play, while Carol shook her head and covered her mouth to stifle a giggle.

"That went a lot better than I thought," she admitted. She pulled her arms around Daryl's shoulders, and he buried his face against her neck, breathing her in. When he pulled back, Carol detected a little smirk on his lips. "What?"

"So you and Rick slept a lot, huh?"

"Stop," she laughed. Daryl grinned, and he leaned in to kiss her once again.

Author's Note: Please let me know what you think. Feedback is always appreciated.