"I need to make a trip back to that pawn shop," Merle announced a few days later shortly after breakfast. Abraham and Daryl were the only ones left at the table. Merle had purposely waited until Glenn had left. "Either or both of you on board to go with me?"
"We already cleared that location of weapons and ammo," Abraham replied.
"Didn't say I was searching for weapons," Merle said.
"Well, what then?" Daryl asked, confused.
"Personal," Merle replied brusquely. "Don't matter what I want, what matters is if I go alone or if you come with me."
Abraham shrugged and said, "It's contrary to protocol to venture out alone, so I'm in."
"Me, too, I guess…" Daryl didn't know what his brother had in mind, but he always felt a little better, more comfortable, when he could keep an eye on him.
‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡
The door of the Kash King Pawn Shop was still easily opened, thanks to Merle's previous use of his lock-picking expertise. The trio cautiously entered and stood just inside before proceeding. Daryl whistled loudly and they waited for a response. The room remained silent, but Abraham stomped on the floor with his booted foot just for extra measure.
"No walkers," Daryl muttered.
"Place doesn't look much different since the last time we were here," Abraham commented. "Guess no one else has been picking through it…."
Daryl and Abraham walked slowly through the aisles and picked up various items that could be useful which they'd ignored previously – bottles of lamp oil, souvenir matchbooks, an assortment of random tools. "This could be handy, unless Tyreese confiscates it for use as his own personal weapon," Abraham remarked as he held up a vintage Craftsman claw hammer. He also stuffed a few screwdrivers into his backpack along with a large adjustable wrench.
Daryl grunted in acknowledgement and continued to prowl the aisles. He picked up a few items that he thought could be re-purposed somehow, but he was mainly trying to find Merle. Where the heck had he disappeared to? Daryl snaked around one aisle then walked slowly down the next. When he got to the end he almost did a double-take. Was that his brother crouched behind the jewelry counter?!
"What the hell, bro?" He blurted.
Merle stood up and asked, "What do you mean, 'what the hell'. What's the problem?"
"I mean why are you wasting time looking at bracelets and shit? That's not why you dragged us out here or…" Slowly something occurred to him. "Or is it?"
"Not bracelets, but rings, Little Bro, not that it's any of your beeswax," Merle replied. He bent back down and resumed examining the various diamond rings inside the display case.
"Why?" Daryl asked, although he had a sinking feeling as to what his brother's response would be.
"Like I said, none of your business, just go on with your scavenging, I'll let you know when I'm ready to leave."
"She's too young," Daryl said quietly.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Merle shot back.
"Beth," Daryl replied. "Just…don't. She's just a kid, and….she deserves better."
"Better than what?!" Merle's hackles were raised. "Better than – how was it you described me that time after Woodbury? – 'a simple-minded piece of shit'?" He paused to catch his breath. "Speaking of Woodbury, the Governor was an evil motherfucker, but he did say something once that really made me think… And yeah, I know that that shocks the shit out of you, but sometimes ol' Merle actually thinks. He said that adolescence was a 20th century invention. Remember Little House on the Prairie? Not too different from what's happening right now. Everyone is expected to work and pull their weight whether they're nine or nineteen. And," his voice became softer, "maybe the age difference isn't as wide among folks today …doesn't matter as much as it used to." Merle turned his face away for a second to avoid meeting Daryl's eyes, because he honestly didn't know if he truly believed what he said or was he just trying to convince himself.
Daryl started to protest that maybe Beth was clinging to Merle because he was one of the few single men in their group. But then he caught himself and remembered shouting at Beth…back at that moonshine cabin…how she'd had a couple of boyfriends and had never shed a tear when they'd died. All he could think of was the mean, cruel Merle he'd grown up with, the Merle who'd always referred to women as "sluts" and much more vulgar names. Beth was such a sweet, naïve young girl, and he felt protective of her since their time together after the prison fell. "I just worry," Daryl began, "Beth was still in high school when the world turned to shit. She…" His voice drifted off. He couldn't formulate his thoughts into words. By now he thought of Beth as sort of a little sister; one who never went to her high school prom, who had only met boys her age since The Turn because circumstances forced them to live together, like at the prison. He didn't want her to "settle" for someone just because the choices were limited…especially when that choice meant Merle. For Christ's sake, how the hell would Glenn and Maggie react?!
"Like I said, times have changed in case you haven't noticed. Everyone has had to grow up in a big ol' hurry since the shit went down. And, not that it's any of your damned business, there has been nothing physical between Beth and me," Merle huffed. He purposely didn't mention the times Beth had embraced and kissed him. Technically, that was physical… "And I would never, ever do anything to hurt her." Merle paused and then squinted his eyes and cocked his head. "What is your real concern, Little Bro? I know that you don't have a hard-on for Beth, so it ain't jealousy. Is it just because you don't want me to find the same kind of happiness you have with Gracie? Are you still that fuckin' bitter?"
"I can't carry much more, y'all ready to go?" Abraham interrupted them.
"Not yet, I'm looking for something," Merle returned his attention to the display case.
"What's going on? Can I help you find something so as to expedite the process?"
"I'm looking for a nice ring," Merle explained. "I think a diamond one. Has to be this size." He held out a crumpled piece of paper that had a circle drawn on it in pencil.
"What's this?" Daryl asked, examining the paper.
"Beth wears a ring on her right hand, she took it off the other night while she was doing the dishes and I traced the inside of it when she wasn't looking," Merle replied.
As much as he was against Merle pursuing a relationship with Beth, he had to admit that tracing her ring was completely out of character for his brother. It was actually…thoughtful.
Always one to be expedient, Abraham looked at the circle and then chose three random rings. He placed each one on the circle and then declared, "Appears to be that we're looking for a size six. Most of these rings have size tags on them, so let's concentrate our search thusly."
After only a few minutes of browsing it was Merle who found what he thought to be the perfect ring. It was a Princess cut ¾ carat diamond surrounded by two channel-set emeralds on either side set in a white gold band. But Merle didn't know any of the technical details, he could only state enthusiastically, "It has green stones. Greene, just like her last name!"
Abraham handed Merle a random ring box from the open drawer he'd been inspecting and said, "If that's all, then I suggest we get the hell out of here sooner rather than later."
During the ride back to camp Merle told the others, "By the way, this whole ring thing is between us and not to discussed or mentioned. You get me?" He paused a moment and then added, "I still haven't decided for sure what I'm going to do…"