Chapter 3

He heard the feet running at him before he saw the small body. He was sitting on the stool enjoying a beer. He had finished installing some wiring on the headlight system of the old bike he'd been working on. That was the last piece of the puzzle. He looked forward to calling the owner and telling him to come pick up his bike. He'd finished it three days before the agreed upon pick up date.

"We brought you dinner!" The little voice shouted in his direction as the girl collided into his legs. "You like spaghetti right?" Sophia smiled up at him as she worked to climb onto his lap.

He waited for her to finish climbing, then he lifted her off of him and back onto the floor. He did not like being touched, and was not comfortable at all with this small child sitting on his lap. He stood from the stool and walked toward Carol. She was smiling brightly, her intense blue eyes looking into his. He felt his heart rate increase as he got closer to her. He found himself unsure of what to say or do.

"Hope your hungry." She said sweetly.

"Ain't eaten no dinner yet. You ain't got to bring me nothin. Told ya you don't owe me nothin for fixin the car." He said, his voice sounded gruff and he felt bad for that.

"I know. It's just that Sophia suggested it, and I thought it would be something nice for you." The smile no longer reached her eyes.

"Ya'll eaten?" He asked, now feeling guilty as he could see she had lost some of her smile.

"No!" Sophia said quickly. She hoped they would eat together. Her mom had saved enough for them to have for dinner at home, but Sophia wanted to stay with Daryl a while longer.

Daryl pulled open the bottom door of the desk. He grabbed a few Styrofoam bowls and some plastic forks. He lay them on the counter and watched as Carol dished him a large portion, then less for she and her daughter. Daryl didn't waste time as he stuck the fork in the spaghetti then took a heaping bite.

"You must be hungry!" Sophia laughed as he slurped the spaghetti into his mouth.

"What." He said eyeing the child sideways as he sucked in another fork full.

She giggled as she watched him continue eating. "My Momma makes the best spaghetti." She said, her small feet kicking as they dangled from the chair she was sitting on.

"Really good." Daryl said, looking over to Carol. He watched her take a small bite of her own. He noticed her slender figure, the bit of make up she wore. The sun that was setting showed the colorful display of reds and blondes and browns with a hint of grey in her hair. He noticed the way her shirt cupped her just right in just the right places. He looked again at her face and noticed that she'd caught him staring. He felt his face go warm, embarrassed that he'd been caught. He cleared his throat and looked down again at his spaghetti. It really was good food.

Sophia kept the conversation going, asking Daryl about the bike shop and why he liked to work there. She asked how old he was and where he lived. Daryl entertained her with short answers. Carol was surprised to find that he was only four years younger than she.

"Momma was helping me build a little tree fort, but then the sink got clogged because the machine thing won't eat the food and she's been trying to fix it for a week now. We have to wash the dishes in the bathroom sink." Carol shot back to reality hearing her daughter speak of her home ownership woes.

She looked at Daryl embarrassed. She didn't want him to think her a weak female who couldn't take care of herself. He was watching her intently as Sophia spoke.

"You got one of them garbage disposals?" He asked. "Sounds like your garbage disposal is broke to me. May not be an issue with your drain." He said, seeing her face turn red.

"Yes. I think that is the problem. I just have to figure out how to get it out of there so I can look at it" She felt the words leave her mouth and regretted it instantly. Now he would certainly think she was a worthless female.

"I could come by, take a look." He said, gathering their empty bowls and throwing them in the trash.

"We live on Easton Drive. It's a white house with blue flowers in pots on the porch. I helped Momma plant 'em as soon as the weather turned warm. Blue is Momma's favorite color." Sophia said, jumping out of her chair and starting toward the car. "You follow us ok?"

Daryl stood and took the keys out of his pocket. Carol shook her head no. "No, Daryl really. I can figure it out. I can watch video's on….." Daryl interrupted her, motioning for her to get in the car.

"You heard the kid, I'm following you." He sat down on his now repaired bike and put his helmet on.

Carol got in her car and started the engine. She felt like she was going to throw up. She wanted to hug and throttle Sophia at the same time. Now this man would be coming to her house. She hoped she put away the dishes she had left to dry on the counter. She hoped Sophia hadn't dumped her toys all over the house. She hoped she'd remembered to make her bed that morning.

"Momma. Do ya hear me?" Sophia said, kicking her feet against the back of her Mom's seat.

"I didn't hear you." Carol said glancing at her daughter in the rearview mirror. Upon doing so she saw the man on the motorcycle behind her. Her heart began to thump wildly as they pulled into her driveway.

Daryl parked his bike behind her beat up car. The front of the house was nicely decorated, her lawn was well maintained. The blue flowers were a nice touch he thought. "Her favorite color is blue." Went through his mind. He felt a smile cross his lips. His favorite color was dark blue, well that or black. They had something in common. He felt a small hand latch onto his as he was yanked toward the front porch.

"I'll show ya where the kitchen is. Come on." Sophia said pulling on his arm. His stiches pinched as she pulled but he ignored the pain and allowed her to pull him forward.

"See. Here it is. We been washing everything in the bathroom. It takes forever. I don't like it. Momma does most of the dishes though.

"I can figure it out really. Don't feel like you have to do this. You've done so much already." Carol said quietly behind him.

He glanced at her and noticed her blue eyes once again filling with unshed tears. He walked past her, his arm brushing against hers. Walking to his bike he opened the saddle bags and pulled out a small bag filled with an array of tools. Carol stood, rubbing her arm where his arm had brushed against hers causing goosebumps to rise. He walked past her without a word and opened the cabinet doors under the sink. He moved the dish soap and the sponges out of the way then lay down in the small space.

"Sophia." He hollered from his spot under the sink.

The little girl rushed into the kitchen hearing her name called loudly. "Yes?" She asked walking over to the man lying under her sink.

"Need your help. You gonna hand me some tools but you gotta pay attention." Daryl said, working on loosening the bolts.

"But I don't know their names." She said sadly fearing he would get angry with her. Her daddy got angry with her when she didn't know things.

"I'll tell ya which ones. You just show 'em to me and I'll tell you if your right or not." He said calmly.

"Okay." She sang happily.

Carol watched as Daryl asked for different tools then patiently waited until she found the right one. Together he and Sophia removed the garbage disposal. He set about taking it apart on her small kitchen table. He worked with parts and pieces, finding a small pebble that had stopped the blades from turning causing the motor to short.

"Well, gonna need a new disposal." He said frowning. "Burnt up the motor. Ain't no good no more." He said, cleaning up the mess he had created on the table.

"Oh. Okay." Carol frowned. "Is there a way to make the sink work without one for now?

"It's better if ya just get ya a new one. When you get it, let me know and I'll come put it in for ya." He said packing up his tool bag. Sophia had run off to play while he tinkered with the motor.

"You got a real nice place here for you and your little girl." Daryl said shyly.

"Thank you. She seems to like it." She handed him a can of coke from the refrigerator.

He smiled and popped the cap open. He leaned against the counter and silence filled the air around them. They glanced awkwardly at one another, each looking away when the other was caught.

"So you got a place in town too?" Carol finally asked breaking the silence.

"Yep. Me and Merle got an apartment. He ain't around much, so it's mostly just me. It ain't great, but it's enough." Daryl answered slowly drinking his Coke. "Well I'm gonna head out. Got a couple things to do tonight so….." Daryl said crushing his Coke can in his hand and reaching for his keys. "You know where to find me once you get that disposal."

Carol nodded quickly as he brushed past her. She felt a strong urge to reach out and grab his hand, stare into his eyes. She fought the urge off as he made it to the front door. Sophia was in her room just off the living room playing her barbie dolls.

"So uh Daryl, you want to go to the dance with me?" Sophia spoke out loud interacting with her boy and girl dolls.

Daryl paused at her door. "Bye kid." He said realizing she was playing with a doll named after him. He ducked his head low to hide the redness creeping up his neck, then he opened the front door.

"Bye Daryl. See you later." Sophia smiled then turned back to her dolls.