Chapter Two:
"I never really get why people give their kids their names. If that's not narcissistic then I don't know what is"
Michonne huffed as she rolled her eyes over to meet Andrea's, "They're nothing alike. His son was rude and judgemental"
"He's probably just jealous", Andre snickered, stabbing her fork into her salad.
"His ex-wife is pretty, in that 'girl next door' kind of way"
"Ex? See, even she moved on. He's bitter and he's jealous, so don't pay him any mind"
Michonne sighed, pushing her own salad away from her, "I don't get why it's so weird? I mean, yes, he is much older than me but he's hardly any different to a younger man. He's in great shape, he looks after himself, and he has such a laid back attitude-"
"What do you think he's like in the sack?", Andrea's eyebrows shot up as she leaned forward, "I heard older men have all the skills-"
"He's a gentleman, Andrea", Michonne quickly responded, "It's all very above board"
Andrea frowned at her, "Really? That's boring"
"No, it's not", Michonne insisted, "Look, I've had great sex with guys our age but the conversation is just so tedious, and they don't ever want to do anything else besides go to bars… Richard likes doing things, going places, we talk about everything and I haven't even kissed him but it's still fun and exciting, and it's different... I mean, we haven't even had 'the talk' yet, but his son was quick to call to me as his girlfriend-"
"Did big Rick hear?", An evil grin spread across Andrea's face, "I have to be careful how I say that, I might slip up and say Big di-"
"No, he wasn't there to hear it and I'd appreciate if you just stopped speaking now", Michonne replied flatly.
"You know me, I think you can try anything once, so just ignore his son. He's just freaking out that his dad has a young, gorgeous, successful woman paying his old man some attention"
She sat back at her desk and peered out the tall window nearby, "His kids were adorable, though. A boy and a girl"
"Oh? Cute. I bet you were having the time of your life with them…"
"I guess I was…", Michonne tried not to let her mind wander any further, but it wasn't easy.
"Hey, are you heading down there again this weekend?"
"Yeah, he wants take me fishing…"
"Well, that's a guaranteed way to make sure your date keeps her panties on", Andrea closed her empty container and stood up, "Listen, I have to get back to work but I'll call you later, so we can set up a day to go furniture shopping, okay?"
"Yeah, sure, speak to you later", Michonne called, though her mind was still elsewhere. She soon shook her head, ridding her thoughts of children and focusing on the discussion she had just had with Andrea.
When she first met Richard, their easily flowing conversation didn't register to her as a romantic one. He was funny, helpful and he seemed genuine enough, but it was clear to her that he was a man that was out of the age bracket she was familiar with. If he hadn't asked her to join him for lunch after he changed her tyre, she wouldn't have thought about seeing him again, but the way Richard held a conversation captivated her, so she was happy to go on a few more dates with him.
Like she had told her friend many times, there was a pleasant difference she encountered with Richard than what she was used to, and she just wanted to explore that, so she was looking forward for her fishing trip with him on the weekend, excited to try something else she hadn't done before.
Most of her work week was spent in her office, speaking with clients and making arrangements for their homes, which was something she enjoyed immensely. Being able to help create the right environment for all different kinds of people made her borderline ecstatic, and she truly loved her job because of that, so spending hour after hour in her office late into the night didn't bother at all, but it did mean she would want to spend her weekends doing something memorable and productive, and not stationed at a bar at ungodly hours.
"You excited for this?"
"I am", Michonne grinned, watching Richard set all the fishing equipment in the back of his truck, "We should have brought a picnic basket or something-"
"Don't worry, my son and his family are going to be out by the lake too"
"Oh?"
"Yeah, they're having a picnic or somethan' with another family, uh Morgan? Remember he and his wife Jenny from last weekend? We can stop by if you don't mind?"
"No, of course not. I don't mind at all", Michonne didn't particularly wish to be around his son again after their initial meeting, but none the less, she would grin and bear it. "So do you have any tips for a first time…'Fisher woman?'"
He chuckled at her as he walked around to the driver's side door, "I have plenty, the first being, relax and enjoy yourself. I'm almost certain that the fish can tell when you're eager to get one of them, and that's why they don't fall for the bait, so just sit back and let them come to you"
"Let them come to me", She repeated, climbing in the high truck, "Do you throw them back or are we keeping them?"
"Well that depends, I don't ever see the point in keeping those little ones, but if you get a decent sized fish, then we keep it. Believe it or not, but my grandson caught this big ol' thang when he was out there with me last time"
"Carl? He caught something?"
"Yep. We had to bring it in for him or else he would have flown off the boat. Bigger than anythan' me or my son have ever caught, so we were both jealous"
Michonne sniggered at him, "Carl has the magic touch"
"He does. We might have to take him on the water this time too, let him catch dinner for us all"
"Good idea", She peered out the windshield as they backed out of his driveway, "It's great that you get to spend so much time with your grandkids"
"It is. I try to spend as much time with them as I can but me and my son… we don't see eye to eye on a lot of thangs. I mean, we don't have any full blown arguments or anythan' like that, just bickering. Constant bickering. It's like he thinks he's my father now, and he's always trying to tell me off"
"Isn't that that the way It goes when you get older? It's time for your kids to look after you?"
"He can be a pain in the ass"
Michonne bit her lip as she tried not to laugh, knowing her own parents might say the same about her, given the chance.
They drove past a picturesque scene on their way to the lake; the sky was cloudless, allowing the sun to beam mercilessly on everything, including Michonne. She tied her dreads up, wrapping them in a messy bun on top of her head, and it came as a great relief to feel some breeze on her lean shoulders.
The lake was larger than she expected, and it appeared that they weren't the only ones with plans to fish, as there were several boats already sat on the water, leading Richard to groan in annoyance, "Now would you just look at that?"
Michonne shelled her eyes from the sun with her hand, "Is this bad?"
"When it's busy like this, the fish tend to hide"
She pointed to the small deck built over the water nearby, "What if we sat on the edge there? It's quiet, and we won't need to take a boat out?"
He began to frown, "You don't mind?"
"No, not at all", She shrugged, "Let's do it"
Michonne was genuinely looking forward to learning how to fish, and so she paid great attention to everything Richard said and did, once they were all set up. While she knew that she probably wouldn't take it up as a hobby, it was still a skill that she'd be able to tick off her list.
"This is actually really relaxing...", She announced, refusing to look away from the water by her lure, "...And stressful at the same time"
Richard smirked at her as he opened a can of beer, "Just give it a while"
"...So it's not going to be like in the movies-"
"No, I'm afraid you won't be wrestling with an eight foot fish"
Michonne felt oddly disappointed, and relieved at the same time, "Got it".
"Grandpa!", They both spun around when they heard the little familiar voice call from nearby, and sure enough it was Carl, followed by Judith, who tried her best to keep up with her brother.
"Well look who it is!", Richard beamed, rising from his seat to greet them, "My little guppies!"
"Have you caught anything?!", Carl quizzed him hurriedly, "Anything big?!"
"No, not yet, we just got started", Richard scooped up Judith, while Carl's eyes lit up when he noticed Michonne.
"Have you caught anything yet?", He stood beside her, peering over the edge carefully.
She smiled at him, "No, not yet. I don't think I'll be getting anything as big as the fish you caught though"
"Grandpa told you?"
"Yep. I'm jealous"
"So was my dad", Carl sniggered, hoping in his Grandfather's seat.
Michonne peered back to see where the kids had sprung from, and sure enough, their parents where stood by one of the benches with another family that she had met at the cookout setting up for their picnic. She swiftly turned back to Carl, "So, can you give me some tips on how to catch a fish?"
The little boys dark brows furrowed for a moment, "...Maybe drop your sandwich in the water… that's what I did"
A hearty chuckle erupted from her, "What was in the sandwich?"
"Peanut butter"
"So I need to drop a peanut butter sandwich in the water, and all the big fish will come over here?"
"I think so"
She leaned closer to him as she lowered her voice, "We'll have to try and get one from the picnic basket in secret"
Carl giggled as he peaked over his shoulder, "Okay!"
It was only right that she followed Richard to greet the others by the benches, though she purposely kept her distance from Rick after welcoming him with a civil, 'Hi'. The other family consisted of a man named Morgan, a friend of Rick's, and his wife Penny and no their older son Duane. Michonne easily got along with the others, including Rick's ex-wife Lori, who didn't seem to notice when her son snuck off back to the deck with a peanut butter sandwich, but Michonne did, and she was right behind him.
"You sure this will work?", She asked, peering over the edge from her seat.
"I think so", Carl had saved the other half of his sandwich, and nibbled on it as he too peered over the edge.
Michonne looked behind him when she noticed someone hovering close by, and to her surprise, it was Judith. The little girl kept a safe distance from her when they first met, clinging to her mother instead of playing with Michonne and Carl, but it seemed she was getting a little more comfortable. Michonne beamed at her, "Hi Judith! Do you want to join us?"
The little girl looked apprehensive, fiddling with the edge of her dress while her dark brows knitted together.
"...Okay, how about you sit with your brother?"
That appeared to be a better option, as the girl took the tiniest steps towards Carl, then squeezed in their Grandfather's fold out chair beside him.
"She's shy, like my dad", Carl informed, brushing the crumbs off his lap.
Michonne's eyebrows sprung up, "Oh really?"
"That's what my mom says"
"I think we can all get a little shy sometimes…"
"You catch anything yet?", Lori questioned as she approached them with bottle of water, holding it out to Michonne.
"Thank you", She breathed, taking it from her, "And nothing yet. Carl's giving me some great tips, and Judith's teaching me about the power of silence"
The little girl dipped her head shyly at the mention of her name, leading her mother to giggle, "They both bring completely different things to the table… So Richard hasn't had you milk a cow yet?"
Michonne shook her head as she opened the bottle, "No, not yet. I think he's saving the best 'till last"
"He's always so set out to show anyone that's not from around here 'how we do thangs'. Honestly, I've never fished before in my life, and I don't intend to learn either", Lori glanced over her shoulder before hissing to Michonne, "You should drag him along on a shopping marathon, see if he could handle that"
Laughter burst from Michonne's lips just before she took a sip of her water, "I should, shouldn't I?"
"I bet you he would cry-"
"Ladies, I'm sorry to interrupt", The man in question announced as he stalked up to them, "But a friend of mine got into some trouble, ended up in the hospital with a broken leg and he ain't got anybody else around-"
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that", Michonne slowly stood from her seat.
"I'm sorry to cut our day so short, but I can drop you back at your car, and we can sort somethan' out-"
"After coming all this way?", Lori frowned, "That's a waste"
"I know", Richard side eyed his grandchildren's mother.
"You don't need to do all that", Lori waved her hand dismissively at him, "You go ahead and do what you have to do, she can stay out here with us, Rick can drop her to her car when he takes us home later"
Richard narrowed his eyes as he thought about it, looking towards Michonne, "Uh, would you wanna' stay out here?"
Michonne blew a breath, hating being put on the spot, but considering they hadn't even been at the lake for an hour yet, she truly didn't want to waste the journey, "Yeah, sure, I don't mind, if it's not too much-"
"See?", Lori shrugged, smoothing her son's hair down as she stood behind him, "We'll drop your stuff off at your house, too"
"Oh, alright, then…", Richard slowly, began to back up, "Well I'll give you a call later, alright?"
"Alright. Bye", Michonne called, realising it would be the second time she would be left up to her own devices with his family, yet she was glad, as they were still just as welcoming as the first time.
Sadly, she wasn't faring well when it came to fishing, much to both her and Carl's disappointment, as the boy had taken over his Grandfather's place as her fishing partner. Judith still hung around quietly, leaning forward so she could see past her brother whenever Michonne spoke, which only made the little girl appear even more adorable.
"Maybe the fish are… out buying some furniture for their underwater homes?"
Carl chuckled, "Or… Maybe they're out fighting bad guys?"
"And they have little swords that they carry around", Michonne added, watching how the boy was trying his best to think of a reason why they weren't catching any fish.
"...Maybe they're buying hats?", Judith piped up, wearing an unsure expression.
Michonne was delighted to finally hear her speak, "What colour hats?"
She looked towards the water for a moment, "Blue?"
"Some fancy blue hats? I think you might be right Judith", Michonne could have patted herself on the back when Judith flashed her a nervous little smile, but instead she jumped, feeling a light tug on the rod she held, "Oh! Something's happening!"
"You have to reel it in!", Carl exclaimed, jumping up excitedly, "Dad! Dad!"
Michonne tried to do as she was told, the way that Richard had showed her, but it was proving difficult, as the light tugging turned into rough pulling, causing her to mutter to herself, "Oh crap…"
"It might be a big one!", Carl was bouncing on the spot, looking from Michonne to the lake.
"I'm still a beginner so I hope not", She breathed, stepping away from her seat so she could have a better stance.
"Should I get the net?"
"How about we see what it is first?", Rick suggested in a cool tone as he approached them, his eyes already on the fishing pole, "Is it still pulling?"
"Yeah", Michonne answered, keeping her grip firm.
"Alright then reel it in slowly, it'll get tired soon", He reached over and lifted the road slightly, "Keep it here, you don't wanna' give it too much line to play with"
"Should I get the net?", Carl repeated again.
"Yes Carl, you can get the net"
Michonne didn't take her eyes on the fish flailing in the water, "It's still pulling?"
"Bring it in a little quicker", Rick reached across her again and turned the dial at the base of her rod, "I'll get tired"
She did as she was told, slowly increasing the pace, and she couldn't help but smile at her efforts, "I cannot believe I'm doing this…"
"Keep going… keep going… now move back here", Rick instructed, moving to the edge of the deck.
Michonne took small steps backwards, all while continuing to reel the fish in, and as soon as the line was close enough, Rick grabbed hold of it, pulling it out of the water by hand, and she was sure she heard him mutter, "Jesus…"
"Look, dad! That's like the one I caught!", Carl pointed at the fish his father held up, "We did it!"
"We did!", Michonne glowed, tempted to do and do celebratory dance for her catch, "Can you see it Judith?"
The girl nodded with enthusiasm, "It's big…"
"You wanna' keep it or toss it out?", Rick quizzed, holding the fish out in front of him.
"Let me get a picture of it as proof first", She set the rod aside and retrieved her phone from her back pocket, knowing Andrea would never believe that she caught such a large fish, "Then you can toss it back…"
"We ate mine…", Carl admitted shamefully.
"...It was yummy", Judith added with a giggle, making Michonne chuckle once again.
Rick allowed her to take pictures of her catch before pulling the hook from its mouth and setting it back down in the lake. He then peered at his children from over his shoulder, "I think it's time for cake, don't you guys?"
"Yep!", Carl didn't need to be told twice, as the boy shot off down the short peer, and Judith wasn't that far behind him.
Michonne slowly inhaled as she prepared to speak to Rick, "Thanks for your help"
"No problem", He slowly stood up, squinting in her direction, due to the sun, "You might not have needed it though. Carl's a great teacher, too"
"Yeah, he is. It was his idea to use the peanut butter sandwich as bait"
Rick looked back towards the water, "I thought I saw somethan' like that floating around earlier…"
"You probably did…", Michonne's gaze travelled around their surroundings awkwardly, "Well, uh-"
"I don't think there needs to be any kind of bad blood between us", He issued evenly as he sat his hands at his sides.
She raised a neatly plucked eyebrow at him, surprised by his outburst.
"Anythan' I said last week wasn't meant maliciously, I just wasn't thinking. The truth is, my dad is always springing thangs up on me and I guess you can say that it caught me off guard. That's all that was", He shifted his stance as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Obviously the two of you are old enough to do whatever you please, and I respect that"
Michonne eyed him for a few moments after he finished speaking, deciding if she found his explanation genuine or not, but either way she would accept it, since she didn't exactly want there to be any tension with anyone in Richards family, "Well I appreciate that"
He appeared relieved, slowly nodding his head as he exhaled, "Alright then...Well you should probably get over there if you want some cake or else Carl will eat it all"
Michonne turned back to see the others at the picnic table, not ready to share jokes with the man just yet, "Got it."