Beth and Carol followed Mary, one of the townspeople, as she showed them around the storage room. Clothes, toiletries and personal products that the town scavengers had gathered, were piled up on tables. "Since you just arrived here, you can grab what you and your friends need and I'll check it off the list. Then I'll add you all to the regular rotation. Has Deanna told you where you'll be working yet?"
"Not yet." Carol said with a smile, her housewife façade going strong. "But we'd love to pitch in anyway we can."
"Well I could really use some extra hands in here. Sorting through a truckload of supplies every week is a lot of work." Mary flipped through some pages on a clipboard. "Grab what you need and I'll meet you outside."
She leaves and the two women are left standing in the center of the room. "A truckload a week?" Beth asked.
"Almost too good to be true." Carol grabbed a laundry basket near the door and started looking through the clothing. "We should try and find out where they've been searching. In case we don't stay long."
Beth grabbed a basket as well and moved to another table, grabbing soap and shampoo. "I hope we can stay. Settle down. After everything that happened at the prison. Before the prison."
"And live the suburban life? Making cookies and babies?"
"It could be nice." Beth turned away from her.
Carol walked up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I want this to work, too. I just don't want us to forget about what's going on outside the walls. The world is just as dangerous as ever."
Beth nodded. "I know."
Carol walked back to her table. "I haven't had a chance to say this, but I'm glad you and Daryl found one another. I've never seen him this happy before."
"Thank you." Beth smiled and they got back to work. After filling her basket with enough toiletries for everyone, she spotted a few boxes of condoms near the first aid items. She grabbed three boxes, knowing Maggie and Rosita would need some as well.
Carol had managed to get everyone another set of clothes in roughly the right sizes, and they lugged their baskets outside to Mary. She was chatting with two other women Beth didn't know the names of. Perfect timing!" said Mary. These ladies were just telling me they are throwing you and your friends a welcome party tonight."
One of the other women spoke next. "Nothing special, just drinks at my house."
"Tonight?" Beth asked.
"Sounds great! We'd love to meet everyone!" Carol cut in and Beth nodded along. They got the details and headed back to their homes.
"If we want to stay we have to fit in. Small talk and all." Carol whispered.
"I know. It's just that Daryl doesn't like crowds."
"Just make an appearance, let everyone see you two, then you can leave. 15 minutes tops." They walked the rest of the way home in silence.
Beth stood in front of the bathroom mirror brushing her hair. She was wearing a new white short-sleeve top and jeans, and left her hair down. "15 minutes," she muttered. She touched the scars on the forehead and cheek, not quite as red as when they were fresh, but they still stood out. The few townspeople she had met so far had tried to avoid staring at the marks out of politeness, but she still saw their eyes widen at first glance. She imagined what they must say when she wasn't around. Have you seen the girl with the scars?
She walked back to her room and found Daryl sitting on the bed. He also had new jeans – black - but was wearing a navy blue button-up shirt. "Haven't cut the sleeves off yet?" she joked.
"Not yet." Daryl didn't smile. "We leaving?"
"Yes," she answered and watched him stand and walk towards the bedroom door. "I promise we won't stay long. I don't want to go either, but we have to."
They walked through the town without speaking, but held hands along the way. They stood on the front step for a couple of minutes. "Ready?" Beth asked softly.
Daryl took a deep breath. "Ready," he said, squeezing her hand tightly, and opened the door.
They were the last of the group to arrive, seeing their friends scattered around. Beth spotted a drink table off to the side. "Want a beer?" Daryl nodded his response and they pushed through the crowd, grabbing a can each and popping them open.
Within seconds half a dozen people were crowded around them, asking them scores of questions. Beth did her best to answer them all, giving short answers. Where are you from? Georgia. What work did you do? Family Farm. Any family left? Maggie. Are you two close? Very. Daryl nursed his beer without saying a word.
The couple stayed in placed while people came and went, asking similar questions, sharing their own anecdotes. 5 minutes passed, 10, 15, 20. Daryl got increasingly fidgety. He started chewing on his thumb.
An elderly woman stood off to the side, openly staring, looking them up and down. Eventually she spoke with pity in her voice. "How old are you, honey?"
"Old enough," Daryl barked, shooting her a dirty look.
Beth rubbed his back. "We should walk around, meet everyone." The others nodded and broke apart, letting them walk through. They walked directly to the front door. "Come on," she said. "we stayed long enough."
"You sure?" he asked, obviously relieved.
"I'm sure. Anyway, the house is empty. We should take advantage of the privacy." She gave Daryl a wicked smile and they hurried home.