Red River Blue

Chapter 62

Deanna crossed her legs and shifted her body. She was perched in an armchair, quietly observing the new arrivals. The man was sitting on the end of her couch, his body language deceivingly casual. Contrary to his posture, his eyes were constantly scanning, revealing that he wasn't feeling as comfortable as he was trying to lead Deanna to believe. His age was hard to guess. If she was pressed, Deanna would say he had to be close to fifty at least. But his wife appeared much younger than that. Too young to have a teenage daughter. She was also quite pretty, even with the sideways crook in her nose.

The younger of the two girls favored her mother in looks. She had light brown hair that was bleached lighter around her face from the sun. She was chewing on her lip and continuously staring at the floor, refusing to make any eye contact with Deanna. The girl was tucked into her father's side, one hand fisted into the fabric of his shirt. With her other hand, she had a firm grip on her mother's hand. The woman was sitting so close to the girl that they were almost on top of each other. The man had his good arm wrapped around both of them, his hand resting on his wife's shoulder.

Unlike her sister, the older of the two girls had her steely gaze fixed firmly on Deanna. Her arms were crossed under her breasts. She was sitting against the opposite end of the couch, leaving a little space between her and her mother. Her body was rigid with tension, her pouty lips turned down into an angry scowl.

"I usually interview everyone individually," Deanna explained, "But you're the first intact nuclear family we've brought in so I wanted to commemorate the occasion."

Deanna was hoping for some sort of response to her announcement. She fought the urge to fill the silence with her own words. The less she said the more likely people were to start speaking up, eager to fill the awkward silence. But both the man and woman were just staring at her like she had grown a third head. And the older girl was still only scowling. It was the younger daughter that finally broke the silence in her small quiet voice.

"We're not gonna do anything bad," the girl insisted, "...not gonna explode."

Deanna furrowed her brows. It took her a moment to realize that the girl misunderstood what she meant by nuclear family. Deanna started to laugh, then quickly choked off the noise, letting it die in her throat.

"No," Deanna explained, "I meant nuclear family as in two parents and their biological children. Not like a nuclear bomb."

The girl's only response was to bury her face into her father's side. She was clinging so closely to the man, almost burrowing under him in her attempt to hide. The man didn't seem to mind the contact, though it couldn't be comfortable for him.

"Why don't you start with telling me a little about yourselves?," Deanna suggested. When none of them spoke, she decided to try a more specific question.

"How long have you two been married?," she asked, glancing between the two adults. The woman's eyes widened a little and she glanced over at her husband, looking to see what his response to the question would be. The answer to Deanna's question was rather complicated. They got married the first time when River was fourteen. So it had been seventeen years since then. But they also got divorced twice and weren't technically married now. River wasn't sure how long it had been since they got back together. Not very long.

"Got married seventeen years ago," Merle said, hoping the woman would pick another subject to ask them about.

"Oh," Deanna exclaimed, "...how nice." The woman had her gaze focused on River and Merle had a sneaking suspicion that she was trying to guess River's age. Thankfully, the woman seemed to have better manners than to ask that outright. Because if she could do basic math it would only take her a few seconds to figure out that if River was only 31 that meant she got pregnant when she was still in middle school.

"What did you do for work before the outbreak?," Deanna asked. Harley didn't like the woman's question. If this uppity old bitch found out her mom was a dancer and her dad sold drugs Harley could only imagine what her reaction would be. She decided to hurry up and answer the question before either of her parents could.

"I'm seventeen lady," Harley announced, her voice loud with irritation, "...I was in fucking high school before the outbreak."

"Harley!," the girl's mother hissed, "LANGUAGE!" The girl snorted in response, her arms still crossed under her breasts. Deanna struggled to maintain her composure. She wasn't happy about being cursed at. But at least one of these people seemed willing to speak to her.

"Did you do any extracurricular activities?," Deanna asked the girl, ignoring both the cursing and the deadly stare she was getting from her.

"She played sports," the younger girl offered. Her sister quickly ordered her to shuddup. The younger girl leaned around her mother and stuck her tongue out at her sister before tucking herself back into her father's side. Daring another verbal lashing from her sister, the girl spoke up again, "I was in seventh grade. I used to take dance classes."

Wren peeked over at the older woman in the chair. She was smiling. She seemed friendly. But Wren wasn't really sure about her yet. Maybe she was only pretending to be nice. And it felt weird to be sitting in her big fancy house. Even before the turn, Wren would have been uncomfortable here. Now it felt even weirder.

"Is there anything else you'd like to tell me about yourself?," the woman asked, sounding hopeful. Wren held tight to her daddy's shirt and chewed on her bottom lip. She felt obligated to think up something to tell this woman. Especially after Harley cursed at her. Wren didn't want to be rude.

"I have a boyfriend and my sister doesn't," Wren announced.

River snorted, unable to hold her laughter in. She covered her mouth with her hand, casting a sideways glance at her older daughter. The last thing she needed was for her girls to start up fighting in this woman's fancy sitting room. She was relieved when Harley just rolled her eyes. For all Harley cared, Wren could have ten boyfriends. Boys were nothing but a pain in the ass.

"I was in the military," Merle offered, hoping to change the subject and keep his girls from having a knock down drag out while this woman was recording them. The woman nodded.

"Were you a homemaker?," she asked, directing her words to River.

"No," River said with a shake of her head, "I owned a bakery."

Deanna smiled. She was finally getting somewhere with these people. Olivia needed help organizing their pantry. Someone that ran a bakery would have the necessary experience for that job. And Deanna had something in mind for a man with militray experience as well.

"I think I have the perfect jobs for you," Deanna announced.