It was the afternoon of New Year's Eve, and the women were busy prepping the geese that been stored in the "cooler" for a special dinner. Michonne had found a couple of cans of black-eyed peas while rummaging through their canned goods and Sasha had high-fived her.
"We've still got some of those greens Noah found," Sasha commented.
"And there's these boxes of Minute Rice," Michonne added while shifting containers this way and that on the shelf.
"I thought 'Hoppin' John' was traditionally served on New Year's Day?" Allison said, guessing what the two had in mind.
"That's true," Michonne admitted, "but these days we have to live by the 'one day at a time' code, no?" She paused and eyed Allison and Sasha. "We don't know what's going to happen from one day to the next, or even from one hour to the next. Since we'll all be together tonight for dinner to ring in the New Year and finish off the roast goose, what's the harm in eating a traditional 'good luck' dish a day early?"
"I agree," Sasha said. "Plus it makes for a delicious side dish."
"Hey, we could use all the good luck we can get," Allison smiled, "and a nice tummy-filling side dish is always a plus."
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Merle had spent much of his watch duty rehearsing a speech in his mind. He kept a dutiful eye out on the horizon, always alert to any walkers or intruders, but part of his mind was still focused on the discussion he planned to have with Maggie and Glenn later. He was well aware that there was no love lost between him and two of them, and that they more or less merely tolerated him when it came to the whole "we are all family" thing, and, honestly, he couldn't blame them after what had happened at Woodbury. But, damn it, he was only doing what was needed to survive at the time, and he would never, ever hurt Beth. He was hoping in his heart of hearts that those two would understand that.
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"I wasn't home much when Carl went through this stage," Rick commented to Michonne as he placed Judith on the toilet. He had no idea about potty training, but Michonne had told him that Judith was 'about that stage' when she was starting to outgrow diapers, and besides, why not start her now while they had working indoor plumbing?
"Isn't she too young?" Rick asked, propping Judith up on the seat while Michonne ran the faucet in the sink in an effort to encourage Judith to "perform".
"She's about the right age," Michonne told him. "Little girls tend to toilet train earlier than little boys."
Rick was tempted to ask Michonne why she knew such statistics but suddenly Michonne called out "Good girl!" as Judith peed into the toilet. Rick grinned and praised her as well, and Judith smiled and clapped her hands, joining in the merriment.
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"New Year's Eve," Tara commented out of the blue as she and Eugene walked the perimeter while on guard duty. "Did you ever stay up late to watch the ball drop on TV?"
"In fact I did," Eugene replied. "For many years it was a family tradition." He paused and then ruminated, "I used to wonder how those people standing in Times Square went to the bathroom, and how did the city clean up all that confetti left on the ground."
Tara almost made a remark about Eugene's unique ability to change a sentimental memory into a science experiment, but instead she said, "I remember struggling to stay up late so I could see the ball fall when I was what, about seven or eight years old… I'd always fall asleep on the couch and my sister Lilly would wake me up just in time to see it drop." She smiled and added, "I had my first taste of alcohol when I was in the fourth grade and Dad gave me a sip of his highball just after midnight."
"What is a highball? And, I apologize for my non-linear line of questioning, but I don't remember you ever mentioning you having a sister before."
"A highball is a cocktail – whiskey and ginger ale. Mostly ginger ale in my parents' case. And…" she paused to collect herself; she hadn't thought of Lilly or anything in the 'past' for a long time, "Lilly was my older sister. She and I met this guy we knew as 'Brian' but turned out to be the Governor, and I'm sure you've heard his story. Anyway, Lilly…" Tara was suddenly sorry she'd brought up the topic, "Well, she got bit, let's leave it at that."
"I am truly sorry for your loss," Eugene said quietly. The two remained silent for several minutes and then Eugene felt the need to say something, anything. "By the way, I have since learned that on average it took 177 sanitation workers to sweep up the 60 tons of confetti left on the ground after the ball drop."
Tara wiped a tear from her eye and replied, "I wonder how many people had to clean up after those people who used the Times Square pavement as a bathroom."
"That is something I'd prefer not to consider," Eugene said.
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"Woman, you exhaust me," Abraham murmured to Rosita as they snuggled in bed after a session of "Afternoon Delight". "I've got guard duty in…" he weakly reached over to the nightstand to look at this watch, but his arm felt like a limp noodle, "I dunno, sometime soon…" His eyes drooped as his voice drifted off.
"I think someone needs a pick-me-up," Rosita said, getting out of bed. She turned the water on in the shower and then pulled a reluctant Abraham out of bed by his arm.
"Come on, Sarge, you know you need this…"
The ice cold water immediately snapped Abraham into consciousness, but that quickly his eyes closed again and he had to grab the towel rack to support himself as Rosita joined him in the shower. She soaped him up this way and that and then dropped to her knees. The rush of the cold water over him on top of the outrageous sensation of Rosita's warm mouth on his… He opened his eyes as best he could while looking down at this beautiful woman. He stroked her hair and then pushed her head against him as he almost automatically started thrusting his hips harder and more then grunted several times as he reached his peak. He bent over to catch his breath and then cupped Rosita's face in his hands and guided her back up into a standing position. He kissed her passionately and then silently reached over to the shelf, picked up the shampoo bottle and squirted some of it onto the top of Rosita's head. He massaged her head and methodically scooped up her long hair until it was all covered by the lather. He then pushed her underneath the shower head and massaged her scalp while all of the shampoo rinsed out.
"Dios mio," Rosita sighed as Abraham toweled her off vigorously when they emerged from the shower. "How long before you have guard duty? I could really go for a nap right about now…"
"Sorry, but duty calls," he said as he gently led her to their bed and tucked her in. He bent down and kissed her. "I hate to leave you, but I want you to know I had a wonderful afternoon…somehow you are able to make me weak and strong at the same time."
As Rosita drifted off to sleep her mind wandered a bit, flitting from topic to topic until it settled once again on Abraham. Sometimes she couldn't help but be envious of the married couples in their group – Maggie and Glenn, Allison and Daryl… Those men had enough love in their hearts to commit to one woman for life. As drowsiness slowly overcame her she thought to herself, "How much more can I do to show this man how much I love him….?"