I do not own any of the TWD characters.
One Fish, Two Fish
Merle was sporting Daryl's "kiss the cook" apron and had been at the deep fryer for going on two hours now. Beth made sure to run a cold beer out to him every fifteen minutes or so to keep him from jumping ship. "How much more fish ya got in the house?" Merle grumbled. Merle looked at all the pans of fried catfish he had lined up on the warming shelf in front of the giant outdoor fireplace.
"That's it for the fish" Beth told him, but plopped a huge aluminum casserole dish down in front of him - it was one of those throw away type pans from the local BBQ joint they used when catering large events.
"What the hell's that?" Merle grunted.
"Hush puppies" Beth grinned. "I had Earl order them for me."
Merle tried not to grin, but damn, he sure did like those hushpuppies they served up at Earl's joint. They had diced jalapenos and cheddar cheese in them - came with this spicy, white dipping sauce.
"Ya get dippin sauce to go with em?" Merle prayed she did. Surely she did - Beth never half assed anything.
"You know it" Beth confirmed and popped the top on another cold one for her brother in law. "Here ya go."
As Merle was sweating like a hog running that deep fryer in front of a fire, Daryl and George had spent the day gathering all of the propane heaters that were located anywhere on the Dixon Greene farm. Jacob and MIcah visited every Tractor Supply, WalMart, and Southern States Coop in the county purchasing propane tanks. It wasn't the coldest start to January they'd ever experienced, but there was a definite chill in the air and Beth didn't want anyone to catch cold at the fish fry. That was something she should have considered when planning a fish fry in January Daryl had told her. Beth had acted as if she hadn't heard his little dig, just smiled and tweaked his cheek before kissing his forehead. "You're the best Babe" she said with a giggle.
"The propane heaters are for the perimeter of the outdoor area" Beth had told Daryl, as if he didn't know where to place them. "I don't want them under the pavilion at all - too noisy."
"Yes Dear" Daryl mumbled and George snorted.
"You're finally learning" George teased.
"Yeh, guess so" Daryl agreed.
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Carol, Beth, Katie Raye, and Hannah had spent their Saturday giving all of the downstairs restrooms a quick once over, opening up the Chinet paper plates and Solo cups, and dressing the tables with candles,potted herbs from Beth's kitchen window garden, and fresh cut flowers from the local supermarket. No one would have ever known that this was a winter fish fry.
"Beth" Carol smiled while they put the finishing touches on the counter that would serve as the serving table. "You never cease to amaze me - everything's just beautiful."
Beth hugged Caroil tight to her side. "Well, I'd never been able to pull it off without everyone's help. Us Dixons make a good team don't we?"
Beth looked down at her watch. "We've got just enough time to clean up a little bit and change clothes."
"I brought mine and Merle's things with us" Carol said. "Didn't know what kind of time we'd have to spare. We'll use the kids' bathroom upstairs to get ready so we don't mess anything up down here."
"Lord no" Beth laughed. "Noone can breathe downstairs - don't touch anything!" Carol and Beth both laughed. They'd worked too hard putting last minute touch ups on everything.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
It was sundown and the guests were beginning to arrive. Beth went to the door to greet the first set of guests - Jeff,Brad, Maggie, and Glen, hugging and kissing each person as they stepped into the house. Brad and Glen talked amongst themselves about making good time from Atlanta. Maggie quipped that it was a wonder neither of them had been pulled over.
"Beth" Jeff exclaimed, "the driveway is just captivating!"
"The driveway?" Beth asked, She was confused. Nothing had been done to the driveway that she knew of. Looking down the tree lined drive, Beth saw exactly what the man had been describing. Daryl and George had taken the time to put out all of the small fire pits in between each tree, creating a well lit avenue to the house. The farm looked like a winter wonderland and it really was quite beautiful. Beth was happy that her "bargain find" at the end of summer one year was finally getting used instead of just collecting dust in one of the barns. She remembered Daryl wondering "Just what the hell are we gonna do with forty mini fire pits?"
Maggie and Glen joined Carol and Merle out back and immediately began to ask about things that still needed tending to. Carol assured them that everything was under control and suggested a drink instead. Maggie took her up on her offer immediately.
Jeff and Brad, on the other hand, went in search of their daughter. They'd missed her like crazy that week. Sure, she'd called and face timed them every day just as she promised she would, but they had nearly lost their minds without their daughter all week. Imagine their surprise when she and Micah pulled up on the Gator. The biggest surprise was the smile on her face. And not because her dads were there to pick her up. No, this smile was for Micah and only Micah. The two youngsters were laughing at some obviously private joke. It took Hannah a few minutes to even realize her dads were standing there watching her interact with the younger Dixon boy.
Brad and Jeff looked at each other, somewhat stupefied.
"Uhhhh" Brad mumbled to Jeff. "Are we to the liking boys stage?"
"Close your mouth Dear" Jeff told Brad before walking to their daughter "There's our Hannah Banana!" Jeff reached for his daughter while elbowing Brad to join him.
"Hey" Hannah shrieked, " I didn't even see you guys standing there."
"Hey Dr. Holt" Micah said to the man just standing there staring at him. "Everything okay?" Micah asked him.
Brad shook his head a bit to clear the momentary thought of wanting to strangle this gangly boy standing in front of him. "Oh,yeh" Brad finally managed. "I've just missed Hannah" he said.
Micah told Hannah he'd catch up with her later and ran into the house for a quick shower. It was obvious he had not taken care of that task yet and the boy was quite sure that there was probably not a drop of hot water left. Just as Micah headed up the stairs, Daryl met him coming down rubbing a towel on his still damp hair.
"Get ready to freeze your balls off" Daryl warned Micah.
"Great" Micah whined.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The hush puppies were a hit, as was the catfish. Everyone ate and drank, laughed and talked, teased and told tales on one another. Then, they ate and drank some more. The big surprise of the night was when Katie Raye noticed the ring on Sophia's finger.
Carl blushed when they both stood to show off the ring. Or course, Merle and Carol were already in on the secret as were Rick and Michonne. The longtime couple had decided that tonight's gathering was the perfect opportunity to announce their engagement. Apparently, it was going to be a quick engagement. As Merle had teased Carl relentlessly, they'd already had the world's longest record of dating; they needed to just go ahead and seal the deal so he could get some grandkids before he was too old to enjoy them. Carl had taken a law enforcement job down in Savannah that was to begin on April 1. Sophia had also gotten herself a really nice position with a mental health facility that specializes in childhood abuse trauma. Their wedding would take place mid March.
Beth had learned another little secret that she was going to have to keep under wraps for a while. Rick was going to be a daddy again! He and Michonne were keeping things very quiet in light of Carl's upcoming wedding. Rick and Michonne were planning a weekend trip to Vegas pretty soon to tie the knot. Beth wasn't quite sure she'd be able to keep all that to herself, but she promised to try.
Glen and Maggie had planned on heading back to Atlanta that night, but as usual, Glen ended up getting shit faced and Maggie wasn't too far behind him. Brad and Jeff already had dibs on Daryl and Beth's downstairs guest room so Merle and Carol took the Rhees home with them.
"Better not puke in my house China Man" Merle teased Glen as he drug him through the front door. Glen was too drunk to even care - he just laughed along with Merle's usual questionable sense of humor.
"Merle" Carol sighed in an exasperated fashion. The lady really had given up on teaching him any manners.
Maggie, on the other hand though, tried to take up for her husband. "Merle Maynard Dixon!" she slurred. "If ya weren't putin us up for the night, I'd whip your ass."
"Yeh, I bet ya" Merle started back at her, but by this time Maggie was snoring already, still fully clothed.