The next few days came and went with little commotion, Ellie and Joel still getting settled in their new digs. As promised, Sadie treated Ellie to a day of looking things to make her feel more at home in Jackson which included getting her some new clothes to diversify her options, locating some comics that escaped serious water damage for over twenty years, and a few trinkets that caught her eye. Sadie relished in the girl's excitement, realizing that the outing was a first for Ellie. Both she and Joel insisted on paying her back somehow when they returned to the house with the various bags, but she quickly dismissed them.
"Spending the day with Ellie was enough." Sadie insisted, offering Ellie a smile.
The young girl reciprocated, profusely thanking Sadie again for the items before going to her room to put everything away.
"I also picked something up for you," Sadie told Joel, reaching into her bag as he gave her a quizzical look.
When she pulled out the familiar red container Joel knew all too well, he felt the look of surprise spread across his face. He could already taste the familiar flavor of Folger's dark roast in his mouth despite not drinking a cup in years. As she extended the container to him, he unconsciously reached out and took it, still in shock.
"Where did you find this?" he asked.
Sadie chuckled. "I know a guy."
"Sadie, thank you so much."
"No problem, Texas."
The nickname made Joel's head snap up, a numb feeling spreading through his body threatening to make him drop the coffee in his hands. Tess used to call him Texas, the only one whoever called him it actually, and he did not let her come to mind since he and Ellie left Boston if he could help it. Her memory hurt, as she served as his only friend in the post-apocalyptic work and closest thing to a relationship he engaged in even since before the world ended. She occasionally visited him in his dreams or at fleeting moments when something sparked her memory like just now. Other than that, Joel did not like too much of her even though she deserved to be remembered.
"You alright?" Sadie asked when she noticed his happily surprised expression melt into something morose.
Joel collected himself and nodded. "Yeah, I just haven't heard that nickname in a long time."
Realizing that she unintentionally caused a painful memory, Sadie made a mental note to not call him Texas again but did not press further and tried to appease any accidentally imposed sadness.
"You owe me at least one cup of that," she half joked. "Dark roast is my favorite."
Joel chuckled, the gray cloud already passing over him. "You bet."
OOOOO
Tommy immediately recruited Joel for patrol duties, knowing that his brother could do more than just handle himself beyond the safety of Jackson's walls. He could handle himself, others, and infected all at once if needed. Tommy spent a day to show Joel the ins and outs of patrols, which horses got taken on patrols each day, the check in locations at each posting, and everything between.
On Joel's first real day of patrolling with Tommy the following day, it came and went with little activity outside the walls. The warm weather caused infected to end up moving around than they did in the winter, so there were a few that needed to get taken care of in some of the surrounding buildings and woods. No hunters or survivors appeared, so other than Tommy and other members of patrol, there was not any human contact. Jackson always saw this as a win, as no hunters meant no danger for the community. As for survivors, Jackson would not turn away those who needed help, but their priority remained those already within the walls.
When the day ended, Joel dropped his horse back at the stables and prepared to pick Ellie up from Sadie's restaurant in town where she was spending the day. Tommy hung back at the stables to speak with the stable keepers, so Joel headed out alone. He barely made it out of the stables before he heard yelling and commotion. Instinctively, his head turned towards the voices and saw a crowd of people forming in the near distance. He jogged towards the mass and realized upon getting closer that the cause for a commotion stemmed from two boys fighting. No one seemed to want to get involved in the scuffle, as the two boys were rolling around in the dirt as each fought for leverage. The crowd consisted of a few women with their kids and a couple of men who seemed to be returning from a day of work, not looking to accidentally catch an elbow trying to break up two teenagers.
Joel took it upon himself to step in and pull the boys apart, yanking the one currently on top of the other in one swoop by the back of his shirt. He all but threw him to the side to create some distance between the two, looking down at the other boy to see the familiar face of Zach, Sadie's boy. He recognized him from the photos he saw on Sadie's fridge.
"That's enough you two," Joel told them, sparing a glance at the other boy he did not know.
He already sported a bloody nose, while Zach's face showed a cut lip and eyebrow from the altercation.
"I just finished what he started," Zach uttered as he shot a threatening glare at the boy he fought with, wiping the blood from his lips.
"Fuck you, Zach," the other teen spit back. "You act like it takes more than a poorly time joke to send you swinging."
"I said that's enough!" Joel repeated, his voice jumping several octaves to make his point clear before turning to the other boy. "You guys are done. You go get yourself looked at to make sure you don't have a broken nose."
The teenage turned swiftly, the small crowd breaking apart to clear a path. The onlookers began to disperse from the scene to get on with their evenings and forget the scene that unfolded before them. Joel turned back to Zach as he stood up.
"And you," Joel started. "It's just your luck I am on my way to Sadie's now. Let's go."
Zach brushed himself off, wiping the blood on his mouth with the back of her sleeve as a laugh escaped him.
"Great, I get to disappoint her yet again." He commented, mostly to himself but walked past Joel before he could respond.
Joel followed him, the two starting off their walk to Sadie's restaurant in town silently. Zach's hair was stark black and long, the locks disheveled from his altercation. Everything about his face was sharp, but his blue eyes remained soft. At sixteen, he stood almost as tall as Joel and filled out his figure with what seemed to be muscle, most likely from years of living at the end of the world. As they walked, Joel could notice hi sinner thoughts occupying his minds, ranging from starting with anger but softening to disappointment as they came up on Sadie's place.
Sadie's restaurant was small compared to the on pub in the town's center, but she preferred it like that. Her pub was often referred to as a diner, but it possessed the familiar feel of a bar from the days before. Her place provided something quainter and more intimate for those who desired a quiet meal or drink for just themselves and maybe one other person. A date night for some. She ran it most days, but her larger contribution to Jackson's survival involved food preparation, preservation, and storage and helping other eateries as needed, so she seemed to drop in everywhere during the week.
Joel and Zach approached Sadie's café, named The Hemlock Hashery after Sadie's Washington roots, where thankfully the crowd was minimal seeing as how Zach would come walking in after a fight. Joel could see Ellie through the large glass window wiping down the front tables, Sadie elsewhere in the restaurant. The two entered, Zach taking a deep breath as they walked into the café and going through the front dining area. Ellie noticed them walk in, Joel putting up on a hand to silently signal her to stay put. She abided and watched as Joel and Zach entered the next part of the restaurant where Sadie stood behind a counter.
Sadie's brown messy bun popped up as they entered, her eyes immediately landing on Zach. Her face fell seeing the blood, but his eyes went to the floor. He knew she would not yell or scream, she would stay calm and tell him to go clean up so they could go home.
"You know where the bathroom is." she stated, a defeated sig escaping between the words.
Zach took that sign of dismissal and fled the space, disappearing down some steps to the bathroom in the basement to avoid further human interaction.
Joel watched as Sadie dropped her head to take a deep breath.
"This kinda thing happen a lot?" he asked, not missing the clear sign of familiarity in the encounter.
Sadie let out a sad laugh. "Yeah, it's sort of a long story."
"Well, whenever you got time, I'm a good listener."
Picking her head up, Sadie forced a defeated smile. "I'll bring some whiskey for that conversation."
Joel laughed as Ellie poked her head in, silently asking if it was okay to enter. Sadie jerked her head a bit, letting her know she could come in.
"There is my favorite person of the day," Sadie commenting, earning an immediate smile from Ellie. "Think I can steal you for one off day jobs in the future? I'm sure this kind of thing wouldn't be your cup of tea every day, but I like having you around, Ellie."
"Of course," Ellie said. "Just let me know when you need me."
"Before you go, let me get you something." Sadie said before turning around and reaching into a drawer.
Once she found what she was looking for, she turned back around and handed a stack of a few papers to Ellie.
"They are free pastry coupons." She explained to Ellie. "Most stuff around here I can afford to give up for next to nothing, but the treats that require a lot more effort to find ingredients for and make don't come at no expense. You can trade these for things at the market."
Ellie smiled and offered her thanks.
"Thank you, Sadie." Joel said as well. "For this and everything you've done since we landed here."
"No thanks needed. Now get out of here; I think you two have worked hard enough for one day."
The pair chuckles before leaving the restaurant, Ellie tucking her coupons away into her pocket.
"What was the deal with that kid you came in with?" she asked as they walked.
"That was Zach," Joel told her. "Got back from patrol to find him in the middle of a fight. Figured I'd bring him right to Sadie."
"I guess the teenage angst wasn't an exaggeration."
Joel shook his head and could only wonder what got the boy so revved up to start throwing fists. Based on what the other kid said, it did not take much to set Zach off and as much as he knew it was not his business, he wanted to know more about what when down with him today.
OOOOO
Later than night, Joel relished in the ability to relax on the couch with no fear of something or someone bursting through the door unannounced. Ellie already retired to her room after they finished cleaning up from dinner, but his body remained awake and alert. Years of needing to sleep with one eye open and remain alert did not go away after a few days, and Joel knew it would take a while before he could fully relax. He allowed his eyes to close for a few moments, but they shot awake when he heard footsteps on the steps leading up to his porch followed by a knock.
He stood from the couch, wondering who could be at the door at this hour. Upon opening the main door, he found Sadie on the other side of the screen with a bottle of whiskey in one hand and two glasses in the other. She offered a sad smile before apologizing for the late appearance.
"I'd go to Tommy for this conversation normally, but seeing as though you helped deal with what happened today, thought I could give you an explanation for it and spare Tommy a night of this."
Joel opened the door for her without a word, her smile warming from sad to grateful as she entered and made her way to the living room. She set the glasses down, pouring the familiar brown liquor into the two glasses as she and Joel took their seats on the couch.
"When kids here get to be old enough, we try to get them a bit more exposed to the world beyond the fences," Sadie began as she took a sip of her whiskey.
"Zach kept bugging me for weeks about going out and I finally caved. It was a simple run. They were only going a couple miles east to an old wildlife park that we thought was clear of infected based on our log and track records. We lost three men on that run, and I thought I lost Zach, too when the two of the others showed up without him and hurt. They got swarmed by infected and everyone just scattered. They wanted to stay and look for Zach but one of the guys ended up breaking his ankle during everything. Thankfully, Zach showed up the following day just before we were about to head out looking for him.
It was a little over two months ago and he hasn't been the same ever since. He's distant, always disappearing, and getting into arguments with people; even me which never used to happen. I just hit my limit tonight and we argued louder than we ever did. I know there is something he ain't telling me, and it kills me that he won't talk to me."
Joel watched as she took another swig of her whiskey, her frustration building.
"How did you end up with Zach if you don't mind me asking?" he asked.
"We found him trapped in a house not far from here with his parents when he was nine. His parents were bit and just wanted to get their kid somewhere safe. They almost got here all together, but they died so their son could live. When we found them, I promised them I would look after him and he became my responsibility that day."
"You think he feels responsible for his parents and what went down on that run? And that he thinks he deserves to be kicked around by people?"
Sadie nodded. "Something like that, but I don't wanna bring it up to make him feel that way if he doesn't. Too bad they didn't have a "What to Expect" type book for kids in the apocalypse."
Joel laughed and so did Sadie.
"Well, I am sure he will come around. I can tell he cares what you think about him and wants to do right by you, but a sixteen-year-old is a sixteen-year-old; regardless of the apocalypse."
Sadie let out another laugh and raised her glass, Joel cheersing her right away. They locked eyes for a moment, Joel not missing the most endearing gleam in her green eyes. She relished in the moment, thankful to make a friend out of Joel.
"Thanks for listening, Joel."
"Anytime, doll."
What started as a sad smile when she first entered the house transformed into a warm one complimented by a blush.