Chapter 12
I ended up dozing off sitting on top of the RV with Rick and Anneliese. And once the group was up and starting to move around Rick nudged me awake and helped me climb down with Anneliese after him. I thanked Rick for holding Anneliese before I went inside and woke Jackson up and sent him outside to sit with Carl while I changed Anneliese. I decided to wake Penny up and if she needed a nap later, she could take one. I strap Anneliese into the baby carrier and then Penny and I join the group around the fire where Carol is preparing some oatmeal.
"Good morning Genevieve" Dale greets as I sit down in a lawn chair and pull Penny to sit on my lap, her head coming to rest on my shoulder.
"Good morning" I say back with a small smile.
Sitting in a foldable lounge chair with a baby strapped to my chest and a 3 ½ year old curled up on my lap is not the most comfortable and anytime I or Penny shift I feel like the whole chair will just collapse.
Breakfast is mostly quiet and awkward and then everyone splits into separate groups. Dale to the roof of the RV; Rick, Shane, Glenn, Andrea and T-Dog all gather around a truck with a map; Carol starts cleaning up from breakfast, and Lori has disappeared somewhere leaving Carl with me.
"What do you say about some math problems?" I ask and get groans from Carl and Jackson
"Do we have to Gen?" Carl asks
"Yes, I think we do, I'll go grab the books and some pencils. Don't go anywhere and keep an eye on Penny please" I put Penny in the chair and head off to the RV and quickly grab the books and the diaper bag.
"Hey Dale! I'm gonna take the kids out to that tree and do some schoolwork" I call up to Dale
"Okay, be safe" He tells me, and I nod.
Once the kids and I settle underneath the tree out in the field that provides shade from the hot sun, I write some math problems down in the books and get Carl and Jackson to start that. I lay a blanket out on the grass and lay Anneliese down to stretch out while she naps. And then I start counting with Penny.
About an hour later I've run out of math problems and send Jackson and Carl to get Harry Potter from the RV. By the time Lori and Carol have lunch prepared we have read through 2 more chapters of the book.
We all join the group at the fire, and I make Anneliese a bottle before I take a plate of for myself. Lori and Carol had made rice and beans with some corn. It's slow eating while feeding a baby, so I'm not surprised when pretty much everyone is finished before me and the kids. I am a little surprised when a shadow falls over my lap and I look up to see Rick, with his arms out. I raise my eyebrow at him, and he laughs.
"Here let me hold her so you can finish eating" He says, and I nod my thanks letting him lift Anneliese from my lap and quickly resume eating.
As soon as I'm done, I take Anneliese back and settle back into my chair and wait for the kids to finish lunch. Once the group has dispersed, I start reading again. About half a chapter in Daryl walks out of the house and towards his tent. He looks relatively okay just a little sore.
"Momma look Mr. Daryl is outside" Penny says excitedly
"I see him Penny, I told you he was okay" I tell her smoothing a hand down her hair
"Now come on let's read some more" I instruct trying to pull her attention back to me
A little over an hour and a chapter later, Beth approaches us.
"Hey Beth" I greet her with a smile
"Hi Gen, Patricia and I made some lemonade, you and the kids are more than welcome to come get some if y'all would like"
"I think that sounds wonderful Beth. We'll follow you up" I say standing up and ushering the kids to their feet as well.
It's a short walk to the house, where Carl, Jackson and Penny all sit at the kitchen table with a glass of lemonade and a shortbread cookie – a treat that Patricia has decided all kids need after a day of schoolwork.
"You'd think I'd deserve a cookie for having to listen to them whine every 2 seconds" I mock whisper to Anneliese who grunts in her sleep.
"Do you want a cookie Genevieve?" Patricia asks with a laugh
"No thanks Patricia"
It's quiet for a few minutes before Carl speaks up
"Do we have to do more math Gen?"
"Well that depends on how much time we have, I'll have to feed Anneliese, but I can teach y'all something while doing that"
"But we're tired of math" Jackson whines causing me to raise my eyebrows at him
"I could also think of some verb and noun exercises if that would be better." I tell them which they immediately say no to, causing me and Patricia to laugh.
"I think I have some of my old schoolbooks if you'd like them?" Beth asks and I consider it for a moment
"Thank you, Beth, no rush on getting them" I tell her, and she nods
"Momma?" Penny asks
"Yes Penny?"
"Can we take Mr. Daryl some lemonade?"
"I guess, Patricia could we take Daryl some lemonade?" I ask the older woman
"Sure, I'll pour you a glass" she says grabbing another glass from the cabinet next to the sink.
"Would you two mind keeping an eye on Carl and Jackson while I walk her to Daryl's tent?" I ask and they both agree.
Once Penny finishes her cookie, I pick up the glass of lemonade for Daryl and take Penny's hand and let her lead the way to his tent.
We're about 10 feet away from his tent when Andrea steps out. She gives us a small smile as she walks by us and I try not to make a 'what the hell' face. She has made it clear that she doesn't like us, so her smile unnerved me. Shaking the thoughts from my head we continue on and stop outside the unzipped tent.
Daryl is laying on his cot poking holes in the netting of his tent.
"You're gonna be sleeping with tons of bugs" I comment and his head whips towards us
"Penny wanted to see how you were and to bring you a glass a lemonade" I tell him holding up the glass of lemonade.
He stares at us for a moment "Well come on in then"
I gently nudge Penny into the tent, as Daryl pushes himself into a seated position which looked very painful. I hand him the glass of lemonade once he's sitting straight.
"Thanks" he grunts, and I nod looking down towards Penny who is sucking her thumb and eyeing Daryl nervously
Its silent for a few minutes before Daryl makes eye contact with Penny
"Are you still hurt?" Penny asks around her thumb
"A little but I'm getting better" he tells her, and she nods
This has to be the most awkward conversation I've ever been involved in and I'm not even involved completely.
"What's your book about?" She asks him
"I don't know yet, I haven't started reading it"
"Does it have pictures?"
"No"
"Hm, I can't read books unless they have pictures" she informs him her thumb leaving her mouth as she gets more comfortable
And then out of nowhere in one swift movement Penny climbs onto the cot next to him.
"Penny don't!" I scold and make to tug her lightly off of the cot and away from the poor man's personal space, not noticing the baby strapped to my chest begin uncomfortably wriggling and letting out small whines.
"She's alright." Daryl gruffly says.
"Penny-"
"Gen." He raised his voice a little but not in a yelling manner. "She's fine. She ain't hurtin' nothin'."
"Can you read it to me?" Penny's sweet voice asks Daryl. Either oblivious to the happenings around her or actively ignoring my protests I couldn't tell. Just then Annelise lets her displeasure known by exhaling a shrill cry. I scramble a little to look at her face and shush her, making a promise to take care of her soon.
"I'm not a very good storyteller." Daryl tells her.
"Please?" Penny drew out.
"Penny, let's go." I beckoned her. "Your sister needs something. If he says it's okay, we'll come see Mr. Daryl later."
"I wanna stay here." I try to bounce Annelise to soothe her and stop her piercing hollers. "Just one page?" Penny holds up a finger and looks to Daryl.
"We can't right now Penny, we need to let Daryl rest and I have to take care of Annelise." Said baby swings her fists and kicks her legs.
"Penelope, right-"
"I got her." That gruff voice assures.
"Daryl, that's sweet but you need to rest. You won't get any-"
Penny cheers and smiles wide. "See momma, I can stay. He said so." I shake my head.
"We can talk about this later. Daryl is still hurt and-"
"It's one story, Gen." Daryl gestures with his chin for me to go. "I got her." I look between the baby, Daryl and Penny, and outside the tent. I couldn't possibly leave Penny here; she can be a handful sometimes. I was torn but I couldn't fuss with Penny and placate the screaming infant on my chest at the same time.
"Be easy with him, Penny, he is still hurt. I'll be back, half hour tops."
"Yay!" She says pumping her hands in the air.
"Half hour tops." I swear to Daryl and make my way out of the tent and to the RV.
I feed and change Anneliese as quickly as possible and even then, it takes more than half an hour.
I'm rushing out of the RV and towards Daryl's tent when Rick calls my name, causing me to turn towards his voice.
"What's up Rick?" I ask as he comes to a stop in front of me
"You got a minute to talk?" he asks
"Kind of not really, the kids-"
"Where are the kids?" he asks interrupting me
"Jackson and Carl are with Beth and Patricia hopefully not doing too much damage. And I'm on my way to rescue Daryl from Penny"
"Daryl is watching Penny?" he asks his eyebrows almost reaching hairline
"Yes, that's why I have to go rescue him, she's a handful" I laugh
"This shouldn't take too long" He tells me and it's my turn to raise my eyebrows at him
"Okay? I guess Daryl can survive a few more minutes. Why don't we go sit over here?" I gesture towards the shaded area where I sat with the kids earlier.
Once we're seated, he doesn't speak for a minute and then his eyes meet mine and I'm shocked to see his filled with unshed tears.
"Rick? What's going on?" I ask placing my hand over his clenched ones.
"Lori slept with Shane" he says after a shuddering breath
It takes a second for his words to register and when it does, I'm sure my face is the picture of shock.
"What?" I stutter out
"Lori slept with Shane. When it all started, she said she thought I was dead. But I've seen what grief does to people you don't immediately jump into bed with your dead husband's best friend" He rants his voice rising to an almost yell at the end causing Anneliese to shift and whine in my arms. I take a moment to shush her before I grasp his forearm to bring his attention to me.
"That's a bullshit excuse and I'm sorry" I tell him
"I just don't know how I'm supposed to feel. She said the baby might not even be mine. Which just fucking sucks."
"I'm sorry Rick, I really am"
"It's not your fault Gen, I just don't know how I should act. I don't even want to look at either of them right now. And I don't want Carl to know, that would make even more of a mess" he mumbles running a hand down his face
"You do what you have to do, you be civil and that's that. Carl has been with me lately and I don't think there would be too much of a chance of him noticing that anything is up. And Rick?" I ask
"If you need a break or just a quiet moment to sit, come get Anneliese, she might be small but she's a good cuddle bug" I say once he's looking at me
"Thank you Gen, really thank you. For watching Carl, for helping around camp, for listening. Just thank you." He says squeezing my hand
"You're welcome Rick" we sit in silence for a minute before I speak up "I gotta go get Penny from Daryl, but if you need to talk or just some quiet company come find me okay?"
"Okay, thank you Gen really" he says. I nod and squeeze his shoulder as I walk past towards Daryl's tent.
It's quiet as I approach so I slowly lean in the entryway and smile at the sight; Penny is curled up next to Daryl sound asleep.
"Hey, I hope she wasn't too much trouble" I whisper
"Nah she fell asleep bout 5 minutes into the book" He murmurs back meeting my eyes
"She probably needs it"
"She not been sleeping?" he asks
"No, she had a lot of nightmares last night" I tell him hoping he won't ask what they were about
"Nightmares? Bout what?" No such luck I think as I bite my lip and look down at a sleeping Anneliese trying to think up a response
"Gen? Nightmares bout what?" he presses, and I look up to meet his eyes and sigh debating on whether or not to tell him the truth.