Distance

Carol collapsed on the porch swing another long day of canning tomatoes and green beans. All the women had been busy from sunup with preserving food for the winter. It was hot and messy, and she didn't care if she saw another green bean in her life. They had been canning every day for two weeks. Jo's garden had produced an abundance of vegetables this year and she had given them the surplus. Jo and Emily showed them how to can food safely, and it had been rewarding. They had row after row in the basement of canned tomatoes, green beans, sauerkraut, and corn. They had just about cleaned out the garden and the canning was finished this evening. The women had taken showers and were enjoying the cool of the evening and thought that canning was over for the year. Carol thought about the last two weeks since Hershel died.

The group had begun to prepare for winter in every way that they could think of. They had exchanged some of the scavenged supplies that they found in the run for chickens, and some goats. Sam had traded for a milk cow and he shared the butter and milk with them. One day each week the town had a market day and farmers and craftsman bartered for things they needed. Rick and Daryl had decided that they needed more scavenged goods to trade for things they would need to make it through the winter.

So while the women worked in the hottest part of the summer canning and storing food for the winter like ants, the men had been bringing in wood and expanding their fence to include the new greenhouse and the barn house. They built a chicken coop and a small barn for the goats. The fence was not as strong as the fence that had enclosed the prison but it would keep out a small group of walkers. The barn house was now complete because the men had worked twelve hour days to get it finished. Beth, Maggie, and Glenn had moved in. The fenced in area was big enough to include another house or two. There was an abandoned business nearby that had sold log home kits. They planned to go load up at least one kit for whoever needed it. The green house was ready and they had planted crops for the fall. Everyone fell exhausted into bed at night and dragged out still tired the next morning.

Rick had decided that it was time to take that run back to the distributing center. The rest of the men were ready to do anything that didn't involve more back breaking labor but would still benefit their group. Daryl visited Sam and Dave to see if they were willing to go on another run; they jumped at the chance. They wanted some things for winter like everyone else and they could either find it on a run or barter for it from whatever they could scavenge up. Joaquin had talked to Rick and he wanted to go. They were taking Carl this time and leaving the women home to finish the canning.

The next morning the men loaded up the vehicles and trailers and left before daybreak. The women spent the day finishing up the odds and ends of the garden but the end was in sight. There would be life after canning. Everything was finished and the canning crew cast off their aprons and tomato juiced stained garments. They took a shower and put on clean clothes. It was party time.

The mood on the porch was relaxed and they were ready for some entertainment. Andrea surveyed her fingernails ruefully, "It is time we had a spa evening," she stated. Michonne moaned, "I would rather face a herd of walkers than a bushel of tomatoes right now". Carol laughed at the vision of Michonne dicing tomatoes with her katana. Maggie was still pissed that she had been left to string green beans while Glenn rode around in an air conditioned car all day. Carol decided that they had whined long enough, "Let's have something cold to drink and just celebrate that it's over." She went into the house and dug out a couple of bottles of blackberry wine that Sam had brought over. She had put it in the refrigerator this morning thinking that since the men would be home from the run and they would be finished with canning they might share a glass of wine this evening and unwind.

They opened a bottle and had a glass of wine. They began to laugh about how Michonne had slipped on a tomato and landed on her ass, Maggie had dropped a jar of green beans on her foot, and Andrea had gotten stung by yellow jackets when she was gathering corn. War stories from the fight against starvation. The second bottle got opened and they had another glass of wine.

Carol barely listened; she was thinking that she had not had a real talk with Daryl since Hershel had died. She had been too busy with canning to notice how quiet he had been. She had been in the kitchen working on green beans this morning when Daryl left; she had not thought to go out and tell him goodbye. How could they have become so distant from each other as to forget the saying farewell ritual? She chastised herself for not making time to be with Daryl; they had not taken evening walks together because they had been too busy. They had shared a bed and little else these two weeks.

Maybe she and the other women had become obsessed with canning in order to not deal with Herhel's death. Maggie and Beth had worked as hard as anyone; they had been too busy to mourn their father. They had been too busy to mourn after leaving the farm; they had lived as nomads moving constantly to find food and shelter. There had never been time to mourn Lori, and TDogg. Carol suddenly realized that work was their avenue to avoid dealing with death; they could have stored food and mourned Hershel. Instead they acted as if there wasn't an empty spot in their lives that Hershel had filled.

Carol knew that Daryl had loved Hershel. He had been a father figure to all of them, but for Daryl Hershel was the father that he wished he had. Daryl had picked Hershel to marry them, because he respected him so much. Carol had expressed her sympathy to Maggie, Beth, and Glenn but she had never given Daryl a chance to talk about what Hershel meant to him. Daryl might not always express how he felt about things but she should have been sensitive to how losing Hershel hurt Daryl.

She had never talked to Daryl about how kind and gentle Hershel had been with her when they worked together. He built her self confidence by honest praise when she did something right and gentle correction when she did something wrong. A more confident Carol had learned how to fight, to work with sick or injured people, and to love a difficult man like Daryl.

Daryl had been halfway to the run site before he remembered not telling Carol goodbye. He had checked the vehicle and his weapons and half turned around because he knew he had forgotten something and Glenn had yelled that he was ready to go. He had jumped in then and taken off. He was now a little pissed at Carol for not coming to say good bye to him, but he remembered watching Hershel and Carol together. She adored him and he was always good to her. She had lost her father when she was a little girl and Hershel was like a daddy to her.

Daryl thought about these last two weeks since Hershel died. He had been busy with important jobs, but he had ignored Carol. She had been busy with canning, but he should have made an effort to spend time with her. Maybe he had been working so hard so that he wouldn't have to think that they didn't have Hershel around anymore. He really loved that old man and tears came into his eyes. Glenn noticed that Daryl was upset. "Is my driving that bad?" he asked.

Daryl answered, "Not bad for a Chinaman." Glenn said "Korean" and in unison they said, "Whatever".

Daryl waited awhile and said, "I was just missing Hershel".

Glenn felt his tears leak out and he swiped then away, "I miss him all the time, my dad died when I was ten. Hershel was a father to me. I loved him".

Daryl asked, "How is Maggie doing?" Glenn admitted, "We haven't talked about it much. We have been so busy these last two weeks."

Daryl agreed, "Carol and I have been working too hard. I am going to find something nice to give her on this run and I am going to let her talk to me about how she feels. You know women, they got to talk about their feelings all the damn time. She will probably tell me how I feel while she is telling me how she feels. " He looked over at Glenn who was still leaking tears. "Maybe I will tell her how much it hurts to know that he is gone. I'll go all Dr. Phil and tell her that I loved Hershel and I am gonna miss him like hell. "

Glenn looked over at Daryl, "Thanks, Dr. Daryl. Let me know how that worked for you".

Daryl said, "I think it will make me feel better to talk to Carol about it, You know women, they eat that shit up like candy".

Glenn just laughed; he knew full well that Daryl had been serious about talking to Carol and just blowing smoke with the last statement. "Why don't we try talking to them about how much we loved Hershel and bringing them home a gift?"

Daryl channeled Merle for a moment, "Sounds like a plan, Little Brother".

The run had went fairly well; they had brought charged batteries and loaded up another semi at the distributing center. Daryl had had a conversation with Dave about finding some things for the women. Dave led them to a small mall located in a very expensive part of town. Dave's theory was that this part of town would be protected by private security guards and the local police long enough to stop it from casual looters taking advantage of the chaos. He was rewarded by leading them to an untouched shopping area. Rick's plan for practical scavenging had been hijacked by men who wanted to bring home something nice for their ladies.

Rick decided to talk to Daryl about this crazy scheme that would take time away from productive scavenging. Daryl listened to Rick whine for a bit, and then shut him down by reminding him that he was cutting into his shopping time. He wanted to get Carol a few things, and he reminded Rick that he could go find things for Judith and maybe for Emily. Rick was pissed off and went looking for Carl. The boy was at an electronics store loading up on tablets and gaming systems. He had picked up a new laptop for himself and Arya and was hoping for some games that they could play together. She liked to take photographs and he was looking for a new digital camera for her. Rick gave up when as he passed a lingerie store he saw Tyreese and Glenn with big shopping bags going through the merchandise with a critical eye.

Rick went shopping for Emily when he realized that she might be the only woman not getting gifts from this venture. He found Sam and Dave at a men's store doing some shopping for themselves. He asked them for help in finding something for Emily. They took pity on him and pointed out a few tasteful gifts. He took their advice, suddenly realizing that he had not spoken with her since Hershel's death. He went to a children's store and got Judith some warmer clothing for winter.

The shopping frenzy lasted an hour and by then everyone was back in the vehicles with stuffed shopping bags and big smiles. Being completely impractical seemed to cheer them up. They headed next to a pharmacy located on the next street. They had to pry the doors open and they rushed to get all the medicines they could find. They boxed up all the drugs and took them to the trucks. They took as much as they could from the shelves. Glenn stripped the shelves bare of all condoms, and gave Jonathan a stern look when he found him in that section. Carl was filling up his backpack with condoms when Rick walked by. Awkward moment. Rick thought he had better have a talk with his son soon.

There was still time to check out a home improvement store, and were able to score some generators that would be like gold for barter. They found a box truck there and Sam got it running. They loaded it with generators and wood stoves. It was getting late and they left then for the mountains. Their luck ran out on the way to the highway and they had to fight their way through a fairly large herd, but they got through. Then they were on their way up to the mountains and to the ones they loved.

Carol had wandered back to the kitchen and looked what they could make for a late supper. They had not been doing much cooking for the last two weeks and she wanted to make something for them to eat when they got back. She made chicken salad sandwiches and a sweet for dessert.

The men arrived later than expected, but not so late that panic had set in. They came in loud, sweeping in full of high spirits and testosterone. Everyone ate everything in sight and the house was filled with people glad to be together.

Daryl enjoyed his supper, took a shower, and went to his bedroom. Carol was waiting for him in bed. He sat down in the chair and looked at her. "We need to talk," he said. They talked for a very long time. There were tears. And less distance between them.

Later, he showed her his shopping finds, expensive sheets for their bed, cashmere sweaters, lingerie, sexy red silk pajamas, and dangly diamond earrings to match her engagement ring. She oohed and awed over everything because they were all worthy of being oohed and awed over. Daryl asked, "What do all these things have in common?" Carol looked them over and guessed, "Impractical?" Daryl shook his head. He knew that she was going to make him say it. "They are all beautiful. I picked those things that I could imagine you enjoying. They are beautiful and you are beautiful and you will enjoy these things." He picked silky lingerie and went on, "I am going to enjoy them with you, especially this."