AN: I'm glad to see that some of you are still enjoying our little story. I've got a couple more chapters here that are begging to be written so I'm going to be a bad person and put off some of the stuff I should be doing to indulge my muse.
Just a note for anyone concerned about Andrea. I *am* taking Andrea OOC. I feel I should explain that I am not an Andrea fan. I know some people love her and I respect that. She's just not my cup of tea. While she was on the show there were times when I sort of liked her, and there were times when I wanted to be driving a bus that ran over her for annoying me. That being said, I've made her a character of my own, if you will, for this story.
That being said, I do *not* see Andrea in the story as a *bad* person. I see her as sexually autonomous in that she chooses who she wants to be with, when she wants to be with them, and what (if any) recompense she receives. Yes, she does rip into Carol, but ironically even I'm willing to forgive her for that given the fact that her mentality would be someone who is frustrated by her situation. Look at the place she works and the life she leads. For her, a good or a bad night is a big deal. I don't intend for her to be permanently bitchy, actually not in the slightest, but even though she's OOC for the show, I'm attempting to make her a realistic portrayal of the character that she plays within the tapestry of Sweet Junction. Daryl isn't fond of her (yet) but I think that's because she represents for him a kind of woman that he doesn't understand/isn't comfortable with. I hope that might clear a few things up on the Andrea character. I'll shut up now.
That being said, let's continue, shall we? Let me know what you think!
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Daryl lie awake in his bed. It was hard enough to sleep on the damn thing with springs poking him from every which direction, but the sounds coming from Merle's room weren't helping. He bet that fucking Andrea woman stayed overnight, too. That would be a real treat in the morning. The only thing they had in the house to eat was some old rat poison he found in the back of the cabinet, but she was welcome to that if it hit the spot.
He hoped that the twenty he left for the Carol woman was enough to at least get Andrea off her back. He had no idea how much Andrea typically pulled in for a night at the Water Ho, but he hoped that the twenty helped even out their tip jars a little. He felt sorry for the woman, though he knew nothing about her besides the fact that someone had taken it upon themselves to almost entirely rearrange her face. He figured that anyone that looked like she did and was working at the Water Ho when they were obviously very uncomfortable around such a crowd probably needed the twenty even more than he did.
The sounds from the other room continued and Daryl flipped over, wishing that his well-furnished palace had at least come with a pillow so he could bury his head in it. As it stood, though, they didn't even have sheets for the bed.
As the realization of the lack of sheets crossed Daryl's mind, he cringed again at the howling drifting in through the walls. It would probably be best to burn the mattress that Merle was sleeping on. Daryl sighed and pounded on the wall with his fist.
"Knock that shit off!" He yelled. "I gotta fuckin' work tomorrow!"
The sounds didn't cease immediately, but when they did, Daryl finally drifted off.
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"But what I don't understand is how it got there," Carol said, following Michonne around the kitchen with Celine in her arms. Ed had gotten out of jail early that morning and Michonne had gotten the phone call from Rick. She had immediately declared that she was staying home from work and working from home, but first she was making them both a breakfast fit for linebackers.
"Maybe you picked it up from someone and just didn't notice the bill," Michonne said.
"I think I'd notice the difference between a one dollar bill and a twenty," Carol said.
"Then you've got an admirer," Michonne said. "Someone who thought your service was worth a twenty. Did you hit it off with anyone in particular?"
Carol shook her head.
"Not really," Carol said. "Most of the men were more interested in me getting Andrea's attention."
Michonne frowned a moment and paused in beating the eggs she had in a bowl to deposit a few more melba cookies on the high chair in front of Anjelica. She went back to her eggs.
"Well it had to get in the jar somehow, Carol. I don't think there's a tip fairy flying around at a place like The Watering Hole," Michonne said.
Carol sat down in one of the chairs at the table and kissed at Celine a moment, obviously thinking about her mysterious tip.
"Did you do this?" Carol asked.
Michonne smiled at her, scrambling the eggs.
"Yes, Carol, it was me. I snuck into The Watering Hole late last night with both the girls who were supposed to have been in bed for quite a while and put that twenty in your jar. Then I snuck out again without drawing even the slightest bit of attention from anyone," Michonne said.
Carol scoffed at her.
"A simple 'no' would have been fine," Carol said.
"I'm sorry," Michonne apologized. "I'm just not in a very good mood today."
"What's wrong?" Carol asked.
Michonne eyed Carol a moment and thought about the absurdity of the situation. Here was Carol, having accepted essentially three part time jobs, one of which was about one of the most degrading positions she could think of in Sweet Junction, and she was about to tell her how she was having a bad day because she didn't want her ex-husband to keep the girls until dinner time. She would have opted to take back her earlier comment, but Carol was already looking at her expectantly. Michonne sighed.
"It's nothing, really. Dean is coming to pick the girls up in a little bit. Usually he picks them up from Roweena, but since I'm home for the day he's coming to get them here. He gets to keep them until six this evening, and I just don't really like when they're with him," Michonne explained. She walked over and put bread in the toaster, pushing down the lever. It wouldn't be long now and they could eat.
Carol nodded.
"Dean isn't good with the girls?" She asked.
"Dean is about as responsible as a four year old hyped up on birthday cake," Michonne said. "I mean he's got this girlfriend, I don't know what the fuck her name is…Cupcake, Cookie, Cocoa, I don't know…something that will rot your teeth…and on top of that he doesn't even seem to notice that he's really a father. The man doesn't even have cribs or anything. How do you have two infant daughters and you didn't even think it might be a good idea to have somewhere for them to sleep if the need arose?" Michonne said.
"What happened between you two?" Carol asked.
"Well...when I found out that I was pregnant with Celine, Dean just kind of checked out. He said he couldn't handle it. I caught him sleeping with his edible girlfriend, and that was pretty much that," Michonne said. Considering the details of Carol's impending divorce, she realized hers paled by comparison. Essentially she had married a man child that was afraid of commitment. He wanted children, practically begged her to have Anjelica, but that was right up until he realized that children weren't as convenient as sitcoms made them out to be.
Almost as if on cue, Celine began to cry. Carol tried to soothe the infant.
"Don't worry about it," Michonne said. "I've got to feed her. Come get a plate and eat some breakfast," she said, walking over and taking the unhappy baby from Carol. Carol got up and went to start making a plate. "Take as much as you want, and I mean it. None of that list ridiculousness," Michonne said, settling down in one of the chairs to feed her youngest.
Carol came over a few minutes later and put a plate in front of Michonne. Michonne looked at her, raising an eyebrow in question.
"You fixed it, the least I can do is serve it," Carol said. "Besides, it's good practice for later today when I start at Lula's. Don't look at me like that."
Michonne thanked her and began to eat with her free hand, watching as Carol fixed her own plate.
"Just be careful today," Michonne said. "I'm going to drive you into work and you don't leave until I get back to Lula's to pick you up."
"You don't think Ed's going to try anything do you? I mean we have the restraining order now and he just got out of jail," Carol said, coming to the table with her own plate.
"You just stay there and wait for me," Michonne said. "I don't think Ed's dumb enough to try anything, but I wouldn't put anything past him."
Carol nodded and started eating her breakfast, a look of concern plastered on her face.
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Daryl didn't have to look in the kitchen to know there was nothing there for breakfast. Merle probably hadn't bought groceries in his entire life, and Daryl hadn't been down to the store to get anything else. Daryl passed through there buttoning his shirt, ready to go to work without breakfast and hoping that Hershel's wife, Jo, was nice enough to make him another sandwich for lunch.
Andrea was in the kitchen when he passed through, wearing her tank top from the night before and a pair of Merle's boxers.
"Where is your food?" She asked, looking in the empty cabinets.
"Ain't got none," Daryl said. "Ain't gon' have much a' nothin' 'til Merle gets his ass a job that pays money." Daryl took his keys off the hook by the door. "Merle!" He called.
"What tha hell ya want?" Merle called back.
"Ya goin' ta work today or what?" Daryl asked.
Merle appeared behind Andrea then wearing just his boxers.
"Yeah, Daryl, I'ma go tha fuck down there, but I ain't gettin' paid 'less Ed's there, so I ain't stayin' if he ain't. I ain't workin' fer charity," Merle said.
Daryl sighed.
"Well if he ain't there ya better start lookin' for somewhere else ta work 'cause I don't think this here job's workin' out for ya," Daryl said.
"Just keep ya shorts on, lil' brothah, I'll find somethin' if he ain't there," Merle said.
Daryl didn't stay any longer and didn't bother to extend any further words to Merle or to Andrea. He plucked the truck keys from the hook by the door and left quickly to head for work.
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When Daryl got to Hershel's farm he parked in the shade underneath the tree that he always parked under. He crawled out of the cab of the truck and started toward the barn in search of Hershel to get instructions for the day.
As Daryl reached the barn he almost ran into the youngest of the Greene girls who was coming out with a bucket of milk. She smiled shyly at Daryl and he tipped his head at her. Her name was Beth and Daryl figured she was just beyond the age of scraped elbows and skinned knees.
Daryl proceeded to the barn where he found Hershel in the back apparently taking inventory.
"What'cha need me ta do today?" Daryl asked. The man turned, apparently having not noticed Daryl walking into the barn.
"Mornin' son," Hershel said. "There isn't much to do today. I need you to take this hay down to the other barn and then I've got to go into town. I thought you might like to ride with me. I've got to pick up some feed and I thought we might grab lunch in town."
Daryl chewed at his thumb and nodded. He didn't care how Hershel Greene wanted to spend his day. The man had forwarded him almost a month's worth of pay on credit, and that meant that he was obliged to do whatever he needed, whether that was move hay, punch cattle, or accompany him into town.
"Fine, I'll be ready ta go when ya want me," Daryl said. He walked past Hershel and wrestled with one of the hay bales that Hershel needed to be moved.
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Daryl loaded the truck for Hershel at the Feed and Seed with the help of one of the men that worked there. When the back of it was packed, Hershel drove the two of them downtown and parked in front of Lula's Diner.
"You ever been here, son?" Hershel asked, switching off his truck. Daryl reached around fumbled with his seatbelt.
"Yeah, I had me a burger here," Daryl answered.
"Lula's been running this diner for as long as I can remember," Hershel said. "The burgers are good, but the omelets are better." He made no immediate move to get out of the truck, so Daryl sat still and waited.
"Is her name really Lula?" Daryl asked. Hershel chuckled.
"No, her name's really Lucille, but her sister, Loretta, is only about two years older than she is. Whenever Lula was little, Loretta couldn't ever say 'Lucy', so she called her Loolie. Her parents just finally took to calling her Lula after that. That's all I've ever known her as," Hershel said. "She and Jo have been friends since they were just girls in school. Lula's one of the reasons that Jo and I ended up dating when we were younger. If you ever find you a girl, Daryl, don't ever underestimate the power of her girlfriends. They can make or break your relationship at times."
Daryl didn't know much about women, but he knew they loved to sit around and flap their jaws with other women, so he didn't doubt the old man's word on the subject. Furthermore, Hershel Greene seemed to be old enough to know what he was talking about, and his wife was a nice old woman. Daryl knew she made good chicken salad sandwiches and that she had a strong liking for calling him 'darling' and 'sweetheart' even though he'd done nothing to earn the titles from her.
"Shall we go get somethin' to eat?" Hershel asked. Daryl nodded and both of them got out of the truck. Daryl imagined that the feed loaded in the back was safe. It would be hard for any would-be thief to run off with any of the heavy bags, and besides that, Sweet Junction seemed like a place where the crime rate was probably fairly low.
Daryl followed Hershel into the diner and cast a quick glance around for Jacqui, but he didn't see her. Maybe she didn't work every day at the diner. He followed Hershel to a table and took the seat opposite him in the booth. Daryl craned his neck around the side of the booth checking again for Jacqui. He had liked her. She had a nice face.
"Looking for someone?" Hershel asked.
Daryl turned around and shrugged.
"I was lookin' for Jacqui," Daryl said.
"Oh? How do you know Jacqui?" Hershel asked. Daryl looked at him for a moment and then remembered that apparently he was the only person in this town that didn't know every single other soul that resided there.
"She waited on me when I come here before, but it don't look like she's here today," Daryl said.
A few moments later a large older woman walked over. Daryl immediately figured out that this must be Lula, and her barely two year older sister Loretta must be none other than the Loretta that owned the Water Ho. The two almost looked like twins. They were about the same height, and certainly the same build. The biggest difference between them being the fact that Loretta seemed to fancy dying her hair a smutty charcoal black while Lula's preferred color was some kind of red that almost looked purple to Daryl.
"Well Hershel!" The woman crowed as she walked over, "I didn't expect to see you in here today!"
Hershel smiled at her and she leaned over to hug him in the booth. Daryl sat back a little uncomfortably and hoped she didn't greet all her customers that way.
"Had to come into town for some feed, so I thought we'd stop by and grab a bite," Hershel said.
Lula turned her attention to Daryl.
"And who's this? This isn't one of your sons is it?" Lula asked.
"No, no," Hershel said with a smile. "The boys are still off sewing their wild oats. This here is Daryl. He's new in town and working for me out on the farm."
Lula laughed and Daryl couldn't help but smile at her. Her laugh was contagious and jolly.
"Well welcome to Sweet Junction," Lula said. Daryl thought she even sounded like her sister, except for the fact that it sounded like Loretta had perhaps a few more years worth of smoking under her belt, giving her voice a more gravelly quality than her younger sister.
Daryl nodded in response and glanced around a moment while Lula continued to talk to Hershel. There were more people in the diner now than had been there when he came on his own and he decided that the time of day must mean a lot in this town.
"Did y'all make any good zucchini this year?" Lula asked Hershel, leaning against the table.
"We've made a mess of them," Hershel said. "You should come and get some. We've got more than we'll ever eat."
"You tell Jo that I finished putting up those peach preserves and I'd be more than happy to trade her a few jars for some of that zucchini bread that she makes," Lula said.
"I'll do that, Lula," Hershel said.
"You ready to order?" Lula asked. Daryl looked at Hershel. He didn't really know what to order, so he was probably going to go with his customary burger at this point. He noticed that the diner didn't seem to have menus. It was as if everyone just knew what they offered to eat here.
"I want one of your loaded omelets," Hershel said.
"Hash browns?" Lula asked.
"Of course," Hershel said smiling. "All the way. Did you make the sweet tea today?"
"You know I did," Lula said. She winked at Hershel and turned to Daryl. He had gotten distracted a moment because he noticed another waitress waiting on a booth on the other side of the diner. As she'd turned, he'd realized it was the woman from the Water Ho. He watched her a moment. She looked much less out of place in the fifties style uniforms that they wore at the diner, though he still thought the checked aprons looked ridiculous.
"Son, what do you want to eat?" Hershel asked, snapping Daryl out of his daydream.
"Oh, uh, burger an' fries," Daryl said. "Strawberry milkshake…who's that girl? I seen her some place before."
Hershel and Lula both turned at the same time and Daryl hoped that she didn't notice them all three looking in her direction.
"Good heavens!" Hershel exclaimed. "Is that Carol Ann?"
"Sure is," Lula responded, jotting down Daryl's order. "She's comin' to fill in part time for me. Her husband sure did a number on her, didn't he? Poor thing's tryin' to leave him and she doesn't have any way to pay her way."
Hershel studied the woman a moment longer and turned back around in the booth, looking at Lula.
"Good for her if she's finally left him," Hershel said. "I'll see if we can't take up a collection for her at church."
"Won't take charity," Lula said. "Shane Walsh was in here earlier and he said that they went to get her. Rick Grimes took her over to Michonne Williams' house. I reckon she's staying there for a spell because Michonne came in to tell me not to let her leave here and to call Rick or Shane right away if Ed so much as looked in the window."
Daryl froze for a minute at the mention of the name.
"Ed?" He asked. He looked around again, but Carol had disappeared. He presumed that she was gone to the back of the restaurant with the order from the booth.
"Mmmhmmm," Lula said, leaning again on the table. "She's married to Ed Peletier. He's been mistreating her like that since they got married, but I've never seen it quite like this."
"It's a shame," Hershel said. "Well, if she won't take charity from the church, then how about sneak a little something on my bill to pay for some extra tips. Jo and I've got it to give and if it'll get that girl away from him I'd rather her have it than someone else come beggin' for it."
"I'll do that, hon'," Lula said. "I'm paying her double what I pay the others, but she doesn't know that. I told Jacqui and Donna they both get Christmas bonuses that they'll remember if they don't tell her that she's getting special treatment." Lula sighed and then the smile from earlier returned to her face. "I'm going to put your orders in and I'll have your food out here in a jiffy. Don't forget, Hershel, I want some of Jo's bread."
"I won't forget," Hershel said.
Daryl sat back in the booth a little incensed.
So the woman that he'd slipped money to at the Water Ho was Ed Peletier's wife. He couldn't quite wrap his mind around it. Merle was under the impression that the woman that Ed was married to, the woman that had gotten Ed locked up for a few days, was a full blown hell cat. She had been described in such a way that Daryl had even painted a picture of her for himself. Ed supposedly only roughed her up to keep control of her, so she must be a formidable woman, and one that would lash out at a man of Ed's stature. She was shaming him by running around with every pair of pants in Sweet Junction as well. Now, though, as Daryl thought of the woman that he'd now seen twice, he saw nothing of the woman that was described to him.
Daryl was snapped out of his daydream again when the food was placed on the table and he physically jumped when he realized it was Carol that was putting it down. He looked at her and nervously smiled. She smiled at him, but she didn't look she recognized him.
Daryl thought about it. What reason would she have to recognize him? They hadn't exactly interacted much at the Water Ho and it appeared she had a lot going on in her life right now. Furthermore, Daryl wasn't sure that he wanted Hershel, God fearing man that he was, knowing that he frequented the bar nightly, even it was mostly to collect his half-drunk brother.
"Carol Ann, sweetheart," Hershel said, catching the woman's hand in his when she'd put the plates down. "I haven't seen you since your Mama passed, how have you been?"
Daryl looked at the old man and back at Carol. He realized this was the polite social banter that one was expected to engage in while in an establishment such as this, but it didn't make the question sound any less ridiculous. Her face was the color of a blueberry, how did the old man think she'd been?
"Things are going well," Carol said. Daryl picked at his fries and glanced at her sideways, not wanting to openly stare.
"Honey, you should come to church sometime. We haven't seen you there in ages," Hershel said.
Daryl almost scoffed, but he held it back. That's how it was with the church going types like that. He'd seen it a million times before. Your life was in shambles and you didn't have two dimes to rub together and they'd always try to drag you to their church. Feed your soul, they said. Unfortunately they seemed to forget that what you really needed was a roof over your head and food on your table if you wanted to even live to make it to their precious churches.
"Oh…well…I'm sure I will…" Carol said. She glanced nervously over her shoulder and turned back, pulling her hand loose from that of the farmer. "Do you need anything else? I really should be getting back to work."
Daryl shook his head and Hershel declared that he didn't need anything either. She smiled again and walked away. Daryl let his eyes follow her for a moment before turning back to his burger. He hoped that Hershel wasn't in much of a chatty mood because right now he didn't want to talk to anyone.
"It's such a shame," the old man said softly, picking up his fork. Daryl didn't respond and Hershel didn't say anything else. Daryl was grateful for the silence and ate quickly, still trying to process the fact that the shy woman was the supposed hell cat he'd heard Merle and Ed both talk about. Daryl wondered what Merle was going to think when he got home and told him that he'd seen old Ed Peletier's wife, and that Merle had seen her too, though he'd probably never imagined whose face he was looking at.