I seriously can't thank you guys enough for the response you've been giving this story and I feel like I say that with each chapter but thank you from the bottom of my heart. I can't tell you how much it means to me.
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Chapter Nine.
When Beth said she'd be bringing food to the park for the movie, Daryl had expected something simple like cheese and crackers. And there are cheese and crackers but there's a lot more than that and he just sits there on the blanket with her and her two friends, watching as she keeps pulling stuff from the basket she's brought with her.
"I hope you're hungry," she smiles at them all.
There are cold cut sandwiches on little rolls of bread, potato salad, pasta salad, freshly baked corn bread, cut up mango and watermelon, the cheese and crackers, bottles of pink lemonade and water and for dessert, she produces the container of the rest of the peanut butter cookies they had been eating from earlier that afternoon but hadn't been able to finish. She's even brought little dog biscuits and a pig-ear for Louis.
"You know there are only four of us, right?" Rosita teases her. She had been leaning against Spencer but now, she sits up and grabs a paper plate, beginning to help herself.
"Shut up. I like to feed people," Beth says and Daryl gets the feeling that this is something her friends tease her about often.
"And you know we're people, right? And not rhinos?" Spencer grins, grabbing one of the little ham sandwiches and leaning back on his elbow, he takes a bite that is nearly the entire thing, and Rosita hands him another one.
Beth looks to Daryl and she smiles as she hands him a paper plate. "Please. Eat. I hate taking home leftovers."
"Only got one stomach," Daryl says to her in his quiet voice and when Rosita hears, she laughs and Beth rolls her eyes and his lips twitch in a smile.
He loads as much as he can onto his plate and listens to the other three talk and joke with one another. He can tell they've all been friends for a long time and have more of that kind of bond that siblings have rather than mere friends. He knows he and Rick have that kind of bond between them but even though they've known each other a long time now, things have slightly shifted and Daryl wonders if Rick can feel it, too. Daryl knows he can go to the man for anything and Rick will do anything to help if Daryl needs him but Rick got married and then had a couple of kids and when that happens, priorities shift – as they should. His wife and kids are usually on his mind – whether he has something to worry about or not – and Daryl, sometimes, feels like he and Rick just don't have that much in common anymore.
He sees Beth's fingers floating in the corner of his vision and he lifts his head from his plate to see that a soft smile is across her face as she gently catches a blinking lightning bug with a gentle hand. She then turns that smile on him and looks at him as if nothing more amazing has ever happened to her. And he stares at her, unable to help himself. He stares at her as she looks at the lightning bug closely as the bug walks to the tip of her finger before it flutters it wings and lifts itself up and away and she keeps smiling the whole time.
"Did you make a wish?" She asks, looking to him.
He shakes his head slightly then as if shaking himself from a trance. "Wha'?" He asks.
"A wish. If you catch a firefly and set it free, you make a wish as it flies away," she explains.
He's never heard of that before. He shrugs his shoulder. "You caught it. Not me," he replies before chewing on a forkful of pasta salad and Beth just smiles and he wants to ask her what she wished for even though he knows it's none of his business. Anyway, Beth's probably one of those girls who believes that the wish won't come true if you say what it is.
In the distance, he hears a familiar laugh and it makes him stop in mid-chew. He thinks maybe he's just imagined it. After all, the Commons area is crowded that night with other people picnicking, ready for the movie to begin and all around him, there is chatter and laughter and there's no way he'd be able to pick out her laughter among everything. But the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and he knows he's not imagining it. It's there. Again. Loud and crystal clear as if she's laughing right next to him.
He feels his appetite completely disappear within a second and he sets his plate down, somehow managing to swallow the food that is now a lump of wood down his throat.
"Are you alright?" Beth asks from beside him, noticing.
He doesn't say anything. He just nods though it's pretty damn obvious that he's not alright. And he hears the laugh again and he stiffens. What the hell is she doing here? She's never come to a movie they show in the park at night. She never expressed interest in going – always saying that the town shows movies she has no desire to see. Kid movies and musicals or old black and white movies and Amy doesn't like any of those kinds of movies. Jurassic Park is something different though and maybe that's why she's here. Maybe Randall loves this movie and that's why they're here tonight.
"No, Louis," he hears Rosita say and he looks to see that Louis is getting too close to the plate Daryl had sat down on the blanket, ready to eat the food himself. Rosita hands him the pig ear for him to chew on instead and to be distracted.
Daryl doesn't know how they would possibly know. It's not like they know what Amy's laugh sounds like. Or maybe they do if they hang out at Joe's on nights Amy is there, too, sitting on her stool. All Daryl knows is Spencer reaches into the bag he's brought with him and holds something out for Daryl to take.
"Here, man," he offers. "And I have more if you need it."
Daryl reaches out and takes it, seeing that it's a mini-bar size bottle of vodka. Not his usual choice of drink but hell, right now, anything would be better than listening to Amy laughing without a care in the world, somewhere in the Commons, making him feel sick to his stomach because even though he can't see her, he can hear her. Everyone can fucking hear her and he wants to just take Louis and go home so he doesn't have to listen anymore.
But he stays because Beth asked him to be there and she said that she wanted to be friends and Daryl knows he wouldn't mind being friends with her – sounds nice actually – and friends just don't get up and walk away from hanging out just because their ex is around. It's a small town. Of course his ex will be around and he needs to just get used to it.
Daryl exhales a heavy sigh and unscrewing the cap of the vodka bottle, he tips his head back and downs nearly the entire thing in one gulp.
…
When he was younger, he'd go to the Commons with his mom when they would show movies. Not as many as they do not but always on Memorial Day and Labor Day – signifying the beginning and ending of summer. Paulie brought a blanket and bug spray and they sat side-by-side, watching The Wizard of Oz and Barefoot in the Park. Paulie's always been crazy about a young Robert Redford.
And now, he's back here with Beth, sitting next to her on the blanket, but it's different. For one, she, Rosita and Spencer seem to take movie watching in the park very seriously because not only is there a blanket and enough food to stuff all of them, Rosita and Beth both have brought pillows for everyone and Spencer has brought liquor. They make themselves a comfy spot on a patch of grass in the Commons next to the Stonewall Jackson statue and by the time the night sky is nearly completely dark, and Louis is happily lying down and chewing on his bone, three of the four people are lounging back, eating peanut butter cookies and the rest of the cheese and crackers and fruit and cheering along with everyone else around them as the movie begins.
"Here," Beth says, looking up to Daryl, and she gives him a smile he can see still perfectly, despite it being near dark. She's lying back, propped up against two pillows, and she takes the two remaining pillows and piles them for him next to her. "Unless you want to sit up."
Daryl pauses for a moment. He's never done anything like this before. Lounging on a blanket with other people, eating and picnicking and watching a movie and just relaxing. He looks around at all of the people around them and all of them are eating and lounging on their own blankets. This is what is done in the Commons during a movie night. And maybe he should lounge, too. He's never done it before but maybe it's time for him to do things a little differently.
Slowly, he leans back against the pillows and Beth smiles at him, handing him a cracker with a cube of Colby cheese. And he feels his lips twitching a little in response, taking it from her, popping it into his mouth, before his eyes go back to the screen. He's seen this movie once – when it first came out and he saw it in the theater, along with everyone else in the world – but he hasn't seen it since.
Sometimes, he hears Beth saying lines of dialogue along with the actors and when the goat leg lands with a splat on the jeep's window, she, along with others around them, cheer and Daryl finds himself relaxing back against the pillows and smiling to himself.
Once Louis finishes his pig ear, he gets up and stretches before shaking himself off. Daryl wonders if he should lead him somewhere away from all of the people so he can go to the bathroom but instead, Louis comes to the space between Daryl and Beth and burrows himself down between them though there's not enough room for him. Beth giggles and moves over so there is and Daryl scratches a hand behind Louis's ear as the dog rests his head down on his front paws and thumps his tail once against the blanket. Beth's hand then joins his, scratching Louis behind his other ear and the dog looks as if he's in heaven now.
Beth lifts her eyes and looks to Daryl, giving him a smile, and for the second time that night, Daryl finds himself looking at her and he's not really able to get himself to look away but then there's a loud roar from the screen and Beth looks away first, getting back to the movie, and Daryl's finally able to move his eyes, too.
He can hear the mosquitoes buzzing around though they're all wearing a bucket of bug spray each so Daryl doesn't feel any biting him. He sees lightning bugs and hears the crickets and people munching food and talking softly around them and hears Beth murmur "Clever girl" right before Muldoon is attacked by the raptor and Daryl settles himself against the pillows more until he's almost sinking into them, his eyes glued to the screen.
When the movie is done and people begin gathering their things to leave, Daryl finds himself feeling almost disappointed.
…
"So, you and the Doc, huh?" Merle gives him a grin as Paulie pours them cups of coffee.
Daryl isn't entirely surprised by the question though it's really not a question. Not from Merle. The grin he's giving is lecherous and suggestive and Daryl just frowns as he picks up his cup and takes a sip. He's not going to humor his older brother and give him an answer. He knows that plenty of people saw them lying side-by-side on a blanket at movie night and it won't matter that Louis was lying between them. People saw what they saw and that is all is needed for the start of gossip to go flying.
"We're jus' friends," Daryl finally mutters because Merle won't stop grinning and Daryl hates that grin. At least, that's what he thinks they are. Beth said that that's what she is hoping they would be so that's what Daryl is going to say they are.
Merle snorts into his own cup of coffee. "Sure thing, baby brother."
"Merle, leave your brother alone," Paulie says as she returns to stand in front of them on the other side of the counter and Merle just keeps on grinning. "Now, what do you two want for breakfast?" She asks them.
The two men order their breakfasts and Paulie goes to take their order into the kitchen. Through the window where orders are placed once done, Daryl can see his mom and the owner of the diner, Dale, talk with one another. The man is a bit older than Paulie – owner, cook and widower – and it's not much a secret that he has something of a crush on his waitress. It had been his wife's idea to hire Paulie all of those years ago after Will died and she was in need of work and money to care for her sons. They were Christians and they had to set an example. And Dale had pretty much worshiped the ground Irma Horvath walked on and did nearly anything she wanted. And for years after, Paulie became a friend and they made sure to always invite her and her youngest son, Daryl, over for dinner on Sunday evenings.
Dale and Irma were good people and from Dale, Daryl learned things that he supposes boys learn from their fathers. How to treat women – though Daryl already learned that long ago and anything Will Dixon did, just do the opposite – how to change a car's oil – though Daryl had taught himself that years earlier because they had one junk car and his mom couldn't afford to take it into service when it needed it – and how to generally be a good and productive man of society – which, Daryl, admitted, he didn't know how to do.
When Irma became sick with cancer, Paulie went over to their house every day, helping the woman be as comfortable as possible and helping Dale with things around the house that he was letting fall to the wayside as his wife slowly died in their bed.
It's been years since Irma passed away and everyone in town knows that Dale still mourns his wife every day but he's beginning to finally move on past her – the smiles he gives Paulie nowadays more friendly than the ones given in the past.
Daryl sips his coffee and watches them through the window. He wonders if he'll be their age by the time he finally gets over Amy.
What he muttered in Rick's bathroom and what he told Beth are both true. He's not sure if he wants to get over her because yeah, he knows he should forget her and she's a bitch and he's sees that more than he ever has before but he was with her for a long time and he was in love with her and he wanted to marry her for Christ's sake. Being with Amy is familiar to him and he's still not sure how to deal with everything turned upside on its head now.
He thinks of Beth, then, propping pillows up for him on the blanket so he could relax and watch the movie and it's something so small. She probably hasn't even thought of it since the second after she did it. Seeing to others and their comfort is probably her second nature. But even now, hours later, Daryl can't remember Amy ever doing something like that for him. Just something where it saw to his comfort maybe before hers.
Living with Will Dixon and watching him beat the living shit out of his mom, and him, too, Daryl learned a few things. How to be quiet. How to make himself as small as possible. How to live his life and not make any waves. When he was with Amy, he always rolled over like a dog and did whatever she wanted because he didn't want to cause any trouble. He just wanted a simple, easy life and keeping Amy happy was the way he had it.
He knows it's not healthy and it probably doesn't make too much sense to others but to him, being with Amy, it was just how he always envisioned a good relationship to be.
After seeing to her other tables, Dale rings the bell on the window and Paulie goes to collect the two plates, turning and setting them down in front of her sons.
"Thanks, ma," Merle grins at her.
"Thanks, ma," Daryl echoes and it's never mattered to Paulie how old her sons are.
She leans into the counter and kisses them each on the forehead before bell rings again and she's off, delivering more food to more tables.
"So, what are you gonna do 'bout livin' situations?" Merle asks him as both men dive into their breakfasts. "You gonna keep livin' with ma?"
Daryl shrugs, turning on his stool to flick Louis a bit piece of bacon, the dog happily catching it in his mouth and then sitting obediently for more. "For the time bein'," he said, turning back to his breakfast plate. "Shane's got a place 'bove his garage but even he said that it's a shithole and I'd rather put work into somethin' I see myself stayin' in a long time."
Merle shovels more of his eggs into his mouth. "What are you thinkin'? We can always talk to Joe. Maybe he'll let you put another trailer back by mine behind the bar."
Daryl immediately shakes his head to that. "Nah. Don't want that neither."
Merle sighs heavily and puts his fork and knife down his plate. He then brings his elbows up on the counter and folds his hands beneath his chin. He stares at Daryl so long and so hard, Daryl nearly shifts on his stool as if he's under the bright light in an interrogation room. He does his best to ignore him and continue eating his breakfast.
"Daryl," Merle then says his name and Daryl was expecting his brother to sound harsh then but he doesn't. He actually sounds tired. Daryl looks to his older brother, unable to help but feel curious. "You ain't gonna be movin' back in with Amy," he says.
Daryl's frown is instant. "I know I ain't. What the hell you talkin' 'bout?"
"You don't want to live above Shane's garage. You don't want to get yourself a trailer. What do you want? You nearly forty and you're still gonna be livin' with ma," Merle says and his hands drop. He picks up his knife and fork again but he seems done with eating for now.
"Well, ma's gettin' older. Ain't nothin' wrong with it if I wind up stayin' 'round to help her."
Daryl's still frowning and he feels himself getting angry now, too. Merle's doing what Merle always does. He expects Daryl to act certain ways in situations and gangs up on him if he doesn't do exactly that.
"I think you're waitin' for Amy to take you back and if she does, and you go back to her, I ain't never gonna talk to you again, Daryl," Merle frowns on her. "Move the fuck on, boy."
Before Daryl can even think of a retort to that, Dale calls out his name.
"Daryl, phone call!"
Without a word to Merle, Daryl stands up and even with his breakfast not even half-finished, he tosses a couple fives on the counter next to his plate. He's lost his appetite.
There's a phone in the kitchen on the wall and Daryl goes there now, Louis trotting after him. Maybe it's T or Rick. He can't imagine who else would know he'd be there.
He picks up the receiver. "Yeah?" He answers gruffly. Through the window, he can see Paulie come up to Merle and they start talking and Daryl tenses because he knows they're talking about him.
"Hi, Daryl," Beth's voice fills his ear. "I took a guess and was hoping you'd be there."
"What's wrong?" He asks her because he can't imagine Beth calling him just to chat.
"Do you know anything about air-conditioners? I'm at Buddy's store right now, thinking about buying a unit for the farmhouse. Daddy always said it was something he wanted but never got around to it and I've got a little bit of inheritance… Anyway, I think it's time I get air-conditioning. If not for me, at least for the animals. But I'm standing here, looking at what I could get and I have no idea what I'm doing and I was hoping you did."
She has said so many words at once, it takes Daryl a couple of seconds for his mind to register what the hell she's just said. He watches Dale at his large flat-iron, working on cooking five orders at once. Flipping pancakes. Scrambling eggs. Everything sizzling and popping and smelling amazing. Watching Dale cook – fast but certain – is almost relaxing.
"First off," he finally says to Beth. "Get out of Buddy's. He's a good guy but all of his units are higher priced than anywhere else. Wait for me outside and me and Louis will come pick you up. We'll head over to Chilton. They got a place and we'll get you a good deal there."
"Oh, Daryl, you don't have to do all of that…" she begins to protest, not surprising to him.
And before she can continue, Daryl hangs up on her and pulls his keys from his pocket. "Let's go, Louis," he says to the dog and with a parting wave to Dale, he heads out of the back door in the kitchen so he doesn't have to walk past his brother or mom again.
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