Chapter Six:
"Daddy, I'm stuck…"
Rick peered down at Judith's foot and saw that she'd somehow managed to get her foot stuck in her seatbelt. He started detangling her, "How did you do that?"
"...I don't know…", Judith muttered back.
Rick pulled her free, then lifted her out the car seat and onto the pavement, "You're like a little magician"
"I don' wanna' be a magician…", Judith looked up at him with her big brown eyes, "...I wanna' be a fish that wears fancy blue hats…"
Rick stared at his daughter for at least ten seconds before he repeated her words, "You wanna' be a fish that wears fancy blue hats?"
Judith nodded and her curls bounced, "Yeah"
Rick couldn't remember a time that he was so confused, and to make matters worse his daughter wasn't giving him any indication that she was joking, her expression was deathly serious. He closed the car door then crouched down in front of her, "Can I ask why you wanna' be a fish that wears a fancy blue hat?"
Judith's gaze started to wander as she said, "...I think I like them…"
"...You've seen a fish that wears a fancy blue hat before? Is it a cartoon or somethan'?"
Judith looked back at him and shook her head.
Rick really struggled to see where their conversation was going, so he just nodded as he stood back up, "Okay, sweetie. That's fine. Let's get you inside."
Carl had already bolted his way up to his mother's home, where Lori was waiting for them at the front door. She gave Judith a large smile as Rick walked her towards them, "Hey, my little honeypot"
"Hi mommy", Judith chirped back as she took her time climbing the steps.
"Is everything alright?", Lori asked as she eyed her daughter, "Was she stuck?"
"Yeah, she got her foot stuck in the seatbelt", Rick explained as he followed behind her, "Then she told me she wanted to be a fish that wore fancy blue hats, so I had to ask her what that meant"
Lori looked just as confused as he felt, "A fish?"
"She's talking about when we were fishing with Michonne", Carl spoke in a tone that suggested it was the obvious reason, "We said that the fish weren't biting because they were out buying hats"
"Oh…", Rick and Lori both said at the same time.
"...I need a fancy blue hat", Judith declared seriously as she looked up at her mother.
"I guess you do", Lori smirked and ran her hand over the little girl's hair, then looked at Rick, "Do you want to stay for dinner? I made plenty and it turns out that Brian's not going to be home for a while"
"I can stay a little while, but don't worry about dinner.", Rick placed his hands on his son's shoulders as they all filtered into her home, "Brian at work?"
"No, he's over at his mother's house helping with the decorating. Apparently, he and Michonne are going head to head with his mother over her choices…"
"Got it.", Rick began to wonder if Michonne was in town but he was quickly distracted by the way his children immediately dropped their bags in the hallway and ran over to the television. He sighed, "I thought the two of you would have had enough of that already"
Carl snorted in return as he began flicking through the channels, "Yeah, right"
Lori gave him a similar response, "I honestly don't know why you'd think that. That's where they live."
"Obviously", Rick rolled his eyes as he followed his ex-wife to the kitchen, "By the way, Carl was talking to me about playing soccer on the weekends"
"Really? Well, we'll have to look into that then. I was wondering when would be a good time to get him involved in that stuff", Lori glanced back at him as she made her way to the coffee maker, "You want a cup?"
"I'm fine, thanks", He leaned on the door frame and looked around the room as he spoke, "I'm sure I can talk to his gym teacher at school… He must know something"
Lori turned back to face him with a huff as she stood by the counter, "I actually have something to tell you"
Rick's eyes slowly slid over to her, "What is it?"
"...Brian proposed."
He blinked at her, "...Brian proposed?"
She nodded, "Yeah."
Rick stared at her for a moment, "...To you?"
His ex-wife frowned, "Yes, Rick. To me."
He shifted his stance awkwardly, "Congratulations"
Lori narrowed her eyes at him, "What are you thinking?"
"I'm just… Shocked at the way you said it", Rick couldn't bring himself to tell his ex-wife that he thought her boyfriend was attracted to men, and he hoped he never had to, "But seriously, I'm happy for you."
His words didn't seem to bring her any comfort, and he still knew her well enough to know that she wasn't being sincere when she said, "Thanks. I appreciate that."
It was his turn to look at her skeptically, "...What are you thinking?"
"...I guess I'm just having a little doubt", She sighed deeply, "I mean, I love him and I care about him and he's such a great guy, but… something feels off"
Rick asked innocently, "...What makes you think that?"
"Just… Sometimes it doesn't feel like we have a relationship and a friendship. It feels like we only have a friendship…", Lori tucked her bangs behind her ear, "I don't know how to explain it…"
"Sounds like you should talk to him about that. Let him know how you feel before you take this big step", Rick was so pleased to know that she wasn't completely oblivious to her boyfriend's behavior, "If it doesn't feel right then maybe it's not"
Lori crossed her arms over her chest, "Yeah. I want to but I just haven't figured out how"
"Tell him the exact same thang you just told me", He suggested, "I think that was pretty clear"
She nodded her head as her dark brown eyes searched his face for reassurance, "Yeah. You're right."
"It'll be alright. I'm sure Brian will understand what you mean."
She flashed him a small smile, "It's nice when you pretend to care."
"I do care", He said flatly, "I just don't feel it's my place to involve myself in your business the way you do mine"
"I don't involve myself in your business, Rick. I just think you needed help realizing that-"
"Here she goes", He muttered to himself.
"You liked Michonne.", Lori shrugged at him innocently, "And I was right… And I actually thought it would be nice if you started dating again, but instead, you chased her off…"
"I didn't…", Rick's rebuttal was weak, "I wasn't trying to."
"Well then give her a call or something", Lori made the suggestion sound simple, "She might appreciate that."
He cast his gaze away from her as he thought about it, "...Yeah. Maybe."
"...Thought I'd warn you that your dads back in town, by the way…", She informed cautiously as she faced the kitchen counter again, "I saw him in the week."
"I don't care.", Rick couldn't be bothered to think about his father. He was still annoyed with him and simply couldn't bear the thought of seeing him anytime soon, but he felt differently when it came to Michonne.
He still cringed when he thought about their last encounter. Their first friendly conversation ended like a trainwreck all because he had no tact. He truly believed that asking her out on a date would be the best way for them to get to know one and other without his family hovering in the background, but he didn't take into consideration just how bad that could be received. Even though she hadn't declined, she certainly made him feel like the rear end of a donkey for even making the offer, to begin with so he felt inclined to make things right between them.
He would have adhered's to Lori's suggestion if her had Michonne's number, and even though he could have easily asked his ex-wife to ask her fiance for her details but he didn't want Lori to involve herself any further in his tragic romantic life, so he did the next best thing and decided to pass by her fiance's mother's property on his way home. He'd met the woman through his father years before Lori and Brian began dating so he hoped that it wouldn't seem odd for him to turn up unannounced.
Brian's mother lived on a sizable estate and one of the few Victorian homes still standing in Kings County. Rick never knew what the woman's family did or why they were so wealthy, but he was almost certain that he didn't want to know. He drove down the long driveway and stopped near five other vehicles when he noticed the front door was open, and the lady of the house sauntered onto her grand front porch.
"Well hello there Richard Junior, I was expecting to see you here?", Like a lot of the other older women in King's County, she dressed to impress; She wore formal and elaborate dresses that consisted of lace and frills. Her frail hands were donned in fine pieces of jewelry and her silver hair was wrapped in a loose bun that sat on the top of her head.
Rick gave her a gentle nod as he placed himself on the bottom step, "Good afternoon, Mrs. Baudelaire. How are you?"
"I'm fine, son", She had a way of looking at people through narrowed eyes, and it made it seem as if she already knew what they were going to say before they said it, "What brings you to this neck of the woods? You looking for anybody in particular? Because I can't imagine that it was just myself that brought you over here…"
Rick shifted uneasily, "Well, yes. Actually, I was hoping to catch Brian? Lori told me he was over here"
"He certainly is. Didn't you notice his monstrosity parked in the driveway?"
"I did wonder if that was his…", Rick glanced back towards Brian's silver SUV, which was parked on the other side of a dated luxury vehicle, but what really caught his eyes was the black little sports car parked the furthest away from his. He immediately recognized it.
"Mary, I just need to get the other swatches from my car", Michonne announced hurriedly as she stalked out the front door. She looked even more put together than she usually did, wearing a white blouse that cinched at her tiny waist and a pair of tight black pants. Her dark dreadlocks were pulled into a neat ponytail and she had on a pair of clear-rimmed glasses that framed her face perfectly, "I can't find the ones that you… Picked…"
She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Rick and immediately looked annoyed. Rick swallowed. Mary Baudelaire slyly looked from one person to another, and her thin lips curled into a weak smile, "That's fine Michonne, but have you met the dear Richard Junior?"
"I have", She answered coldly, "Hello, Rick"
"Michonne", Rick croaked out, "Nice to see you"
She made no attempt to appear friendly.
"Such a frosty reception… I'd love to hear why that is someday", Mary purred with amusement, "Until then, why don't I just get my son out here¬"
Rick side eyed the old women, "Uh, it's fine actually. Thank you, ma'am"
"I see. Well, we were just taking a little break... Michonne has shown me some lovely patterns and prints that I'm gonna' have to look over when she's not perched over me like some kinda' hawk", Mary slid her eyes over to Michonne as she grinned, "I'll leave the two of you can 'catch' up while I prepare some fresh tea…"
Rick watched as Mary spun around at a snails speed and sashayed back into her home. He had a feeling that she had managed to work out just what was going on. He looked to Michonne when he heard her heels hitting the porch steps, "Uh… Can we¬"
"We can't.", She shot back easily. She didn't bother to look at him as she headed to her car, "So if you can excuse me, I'm actually working right now¬"
"I know, I'm sorry", He followed her, "I came over here to catch Brian¬ I don't have your number so I couldn't call you and apologise¬ So I thought I'd see if he had it¬"
"You could have looked me up and left a message if you had something to say", She countered. She yanked her the back door to her car door open and began looking in the back seat.
"You're right, I could have done that but uh… For some reason I didn't think of that", Rick couldn't believe that he was already starting to sweat, "But since you're here... I just… I just need a moment, Michonne"
She spun back around to look at him, "A moment for what?"
He swallowed, "..To apologize. Properly."
Her fierce brown eyes scanned all over his face like lasers, "I don't need an apology from you."
Ricks' head jerked back as he frowned at her, "No, I think you do. I certainly feel as though I owe you one."
"Well I don't, so let's just forget about it", She said with an air of finality to her tone, "Just move on and forget about it."
Rick didn't like that and even though he was willing to say just about anything to defuse the situation, he still felt it wouldn't be fair to brush another awkward encounter under the rug, "...I'm sorry if I confused you or anythan' like that. I wasn't trying to. I wanted to get to know you better so I was hoping that I could take you out sometime. That was all."
Michonne pursed her lips together as she gave him a stern look.
"I was hoping that…", Rick stopped himself for a moment and tried to pick his words carefully, "I could apologize and maybe approach thangs a little differently… Since you didn't say no..."
Her eyebrows sprung up and as soon as her lips began to part he held up his hand to stop her.
"You said you can't give me an answer right then…", He noticed her lips snap shut, "And I've been around you enough to know that you don't mince your words and you've been pretty upfront with thangs so I think if you wanted to say no, then you would have done, right there and then…"
Michonne expression softened just a tad, "I can't believe that I have to repeat this, but this is not a good idea. It's a bad one. A ridiculous one¬"
"I know. Trust me, I've thought about it over and over again…", He raked his fingers through his hair, "And you're right. It's not."
"Then why on earth are you pushing this?"
"...Like I said before, I think you're the smarter one out of you and I.", He was hoping a light joke might brighten the mood.
To his relief, she scoffed as she dropped her gaze to her shoes, "I'm starting to believe that."
His eyes didn't leave her face as he asked, "...So what do you think?"
She let her gaze meet his again and she sighed, "...I think you're an idiot."
Rick bit the inside of his cheek as he prepared for her to cut him down to size.
"I'm not usually the kind of person who cares what everybody else thinks but this place is small and I know that everyone knows everyone. Your father introduced me to a lot of people when I was down here and I can already imagine the things they might say if they see me hanging around with you¬ And that wouldn't be so bad if you didn't have a family, but you do. So I don't want to make anyone a target for rumors and unnecessary attention"
"...I understand that, and I appreciate that… But I don't care about all of that either. I said it before and I have no problem saying it again; my kids really like you… In fact, Judith told me today that she wanted to be a fish that wore hats and Carl had to explain to Lori and I that she was talking about somethan' you said to them", Rick knew he was making some headway with his argument when he saw her eyes light up, "And Lori's probably more a fan of you than myself so that.. That's enough for me. No one else matters and no one else's' opinion matters."
Michonne still looked hesitant; so hesitant that Rick thought that she would give him a clear 'No' this time around, but she surprised him by leading their brief discussion in a new direction, "...We hardly know each other…"
"I know"
"And I haven't got as many nice things to say about you as you said about me"
Rick cringed, "...That's fair"
"And that doesn't make me feel any better about all of this"
He thought he would start to sweat again, "Uh… Well¬"
"So if we're going to entertain that idea of yours then I want to feel as though I'm not walking into this blindly", She crossed her arms over her chest as she summarised her point.
He appeared confused, "...So, what exactly does that¬"
"We can spend some time together, and if that goes well then we can consider the possibility of going on a date", She nodded her head as though she was happy with her conclusion.
Rick was so pleased with her final answer that he readily agreed, "Yeah, that's fine by me… Uh, we can have dinner or somethan'?"
"That sounds like a date", She deadpanned, "Something a little less formal... Like fishing. We can do the whole… Fishing thing again"
His eyebrows sprung up, "You… You wanna' go fishing again? I mean yeah, we can do that¬"
"With your kids."
He blinked at her, "...You want me to bring Carl and Judith? On purpose?"
"Yes. It will make it seem even less like a date", She explained casually, then added, "And it'll be a good excuse for me to see them again."
Rick could see she was serious, which was both endearing and amusing to him. He nodded his head and tried to hide his grin, "That's a good idea."
"Fine.", She turned back to her car and climbed inside for a short while, then held out a little card to him, "Here"
He took it and quickly skimmed over her details, "Alright. I'll give you a call and we can set somethan' up"
She stepped out of her car with booklets under her arm and closed the door, "Alright."
Rick looked back at the home as he said, "Well I'll let you get back to work… And thank you for giving me that moment"
"It's fine", She smoothed her blouse as she started to walk away from him, "Bye."
"Bye, Michonne"
Rick watched her disappear inside the house while fidgeting with the card in his fingertips. For the first time in a long time he had something to really look forward to, and even though she had agreed to see him under strict conditions, she was still open to the idea of going on a date with him in the future. That meant that he'd have to do everything in his power to show her that there was a kind, responsible and desirable mate beneath his simple, country exterior. It also meant that he would have to consider the possibility of bribing his children to be on their best behavior, too.