Ok, I am back to keeping these last seven chapters between 8500-9500 words! This one was a success! Also, I am going to post the remaining chapters as soon as I finish the edit so I can go ahead and complete this little twenty-chapter story. My goal is to complete this in the next three weeks, so there will probably be multiple chapters posted per week from now until the end. The next chapter, 15, will definitely be posted later this week. Also, if you want a small idea of what to expect from the rest of the story, revisit the mild spoiler notes in chapter 7!
Let's Carry On!
CHAPTER 14- Move Forward In The Joy
Rick was sitting on the couch in the family room eating sugary cereal and trying to focus on the silly plot of whatever insane cartoon Carl was watching. The sun had not yet risen, and they were the only two people up and about on the farm. Even Ella was still asleep which did not surprise Rick. The previous day was hard on everyone. Carl was struggling to keep his eyes open, and Rick could not understand why his son woke so early in the first place, but figured Carl just wanted to stand firm in his routine. Rick admired the determination of his son in trying to keep up the Saturday shenanigans despite how tired he was and hoped the custom did not end anytime soon. Rick stared at Carl and was amazed at just how much he loved his son. The depth of his affection for Carl was so overwhelming that, at times, the emotion made Rick spontaneously tear up. Rick turned back to the cartoon before he succumbed to another bout of random weeping, not realizing that his son's ritual was not the reason why Carl was up only four hours after his late-night cocoa talk with his father. Carl had a nightmare that shook him from his sleep.
"Carl, you all right?" Rick grinned when Carl's head fell forward, chin to chest.
"I'm just resting my eyes dad," Carl answered mimicking his mother's adage before gluing his eyes back to the tv screen.
Every now and then, Rick would slow down his chewing and look up at the ceiling as if he could see Michonne still asleep in bed. He needed his fiancé to wake up so he could get the full stripper story uninterrupted while it was still quiet. Twenty minutes later, Rick heard footsteps coming down the stairs and he bounded over only to be disappointed.
"Oh, it's just you mama," Rick breathed out in annoyance.
"Such a nice way to say good morning to your only mother," Ella smiled sarcastically, "What's got your goat this morning?"
"Hey, shhhhh! Don't say goat. Sasha might hear and have a conniption fit!" Rick whispered trying to keep a straight face.
Ella and Rick stared at each other, then broke out in giggles.
"Leave Sasha alone, Rick. Be nice," Ella humorously warned with a smile, and Rick gave his mama some early morning side-eye.
"You laughed too!" Rick accused and walked back over to Carl who was still in a cartoon trance.
Ella chuckled and ambled into the kitchen to start coffee, and then breakfast. Rick shook his head at his son who had not moved a muscle as he gathered the empty cereal bowls.
"Ten more minutes Carl," Rick warned, and Carl did not respond.
Rick stood in between Carl and the television and waved his hand up and down in front of his son's face, breaking the daze.
"What?" Carl asked, confused as to why he could no longer see his favorite character on the screen.
"Ten more minutes Carl," Rick repeated with emphasis.
"Ok Dad," Carl muttered and went right back into his stupor.
Rick stared at Carl for a few seconds and shook his head again before joining his mother in the kitchen.
"Rick, I did not mean to interrupt your time with Carl," Ella apologized as she reached into the refrigerator to pull out the fresh eggs Beth had gathered the day before from the coop, "The coffee is brewing."
"He probably don't even realize I left," Rick chuckled and placed his hands on Ella's shoulders and turned her around so that they were eye-to-eye, "Mama, you, okay?"
Ella took a big breath.
"It was one thing to leave him Rick. It was the right thing for me to do and in my heart, I knew it was time to let Richard and our marriage go for good. I do not regret that at all. But this is different. Richard is dead, Rick," Ella uttered dejectedly, "And for some strange reason, I feel like I lost him all over again. I wanted him gone from my life, but I didn't want him dead," Ella uttered, and she went to the cabinet to pull out a bowl to scramble the eggs.
"Hey, sit down mama. Let me do that. In fact, I think I am going to make my signature pancakes this morning and you just take a break," Rick offered and took the bowl and eggs from Ella.
"Rick, I can cook. I like to cook. It takes my mind off things," Ella reminded, and Rick poured her a cup of coffee.
"Here," Rick handed Ella her coffee, "Just let me cook this morning, ok?" Rick asked and Ella nodded.
"But not just pancakes Rick. Make some eggs and bacon. Oh, Look in the refrigerator, I peeled and diced some potatoes and put them in water last night before I went to bed. I was going to make some home fries too. And Grits. Carl likes grits. Carl likes the way I do them. Oh hell, move Rick. Let me cook," Ella demanded and pushed Rick out of the way, "you just do the pancakes. I will do everything else."
"Ok mama," Rick chuckled, "why so much food?"
"It's Saturday. The house is full of people who love to eat, which makes me happy, and like I said, it takes my mind off Richard for a while," Ella confessed as she drained the water from the potatoes.
"I feel the same way you know. I wanted him out of my life, but not dead," Rick admitted.
"I think maybe his death hit me harder because of what he did for you and Carl. Leaving you his pill bottle as a clue? He needed those to live Rick, and he just left them on the street for you to find Carl without thought for his own life. He could have emptied the bottle before he left it, but he didn't. He sacrificed himself for his grandson. At the end, he did right. And it makes me sad that he died after all of that. And he won't get the chance to get to know his wonderful, gorgeous, smart, shenanigan-loving grandson," Ella admitted with a chuckle, and Rick hugged her tightly.
"That boy does love shenanigans," Rick laughed and looked over at Carl.
"I know how you feel mama. Finding out what he did to me and Michonne was hard, and I was hurt and angry. But at the end, he was the man that we both thought he was when we had our blinders on, and after what he did for Carl, I think that is the father that I want to remember," Rick confessed, and Ella nodded.
"Me too," Ella muttered and went to the pantry to look for the grits while Rick pulled out the flour for his pancakes.
"You still want to have a fast funeral. The funeral director said we can do the burial Wednesday," Rick probed to gauge his mother's feeling on the subject.
"Yes, I think that is best. Will you come?" Ella asked hopefully.
"Of course. Michonne said she would like to go also, Carl too. We can all go as a family," Rick declared, and Ella nodded and patted her son on the back.
"Go get Carl before he gets sucked into that TV and becomes a cartoon. I would be upset if the only way I could see my grandson was to tune to channel 25," Ella giggled.
"Speaking of Carl. With the funeral and everything else that happened. Are you ok with the birthday party still happening in two weeks? Michonne and I are willing to reschedule it, or have something smaller?" Rick asked ready to do what his mother needed of him.
"No Rick, I will be fine. I promise. I have been looking forward to it! And I want Carl to have a good time on his birthday. Rescheduling won't change anything that happened, it would just keep us dwelling in the sadness of it all. Best to not get stuck in sorrow and instead move forward in the joy," Ella advised as she cracked the eggs, "Now go get Carl."
Rick pulled his son from the television and walked him upstairs to get showered and dressed for the day. By the time Carl finished in the bathroom, Michonne was up ready to take her turn. With Abe and Rosita staying, along with Darryl and Sasha while their home was being built, and Andrea who decided to stay at the farm too, bathroom space was extra tight and there were only three and a half bathrooms in the house. It was going to be a race to get clean. After Carl was ready, Rick ushered him downstairs to help his grandmother with breakfast and Michonne slipped sneakily past Rick into the shower. With the line soon to form for the bathroom, Rick decided to save time and water and join her. He now had a captive audience.
"Now tell me about the stripping Michonne. I hate that you had to do that because of me, but I ain't judging you for it. You did what you had to do to take care of our son," Rick clarified, and he kissed Michonne on the forehead, "Was it all nude? Just your titties showing? Or did you have some sort of top and bottom covering all your parts while you danced?"
Michonne giggled and shook her head.
"I was not a stripper Rick. I said I WORKED there, not STRIPPED there. And it was very lucrative!" Michonne laughed, and Rick took a deep breath of relief.
"Oh thank God," Rick uttered and pulled her naked body close, "Wait. What in the hell did you do at the strip club that was lucrative if you didn't strip!"
"Hurry up in there!" Abe shouted as he banged on the door and Rick rolled his eyes, "Hey where you going?"
"Mrs. Ella said Sasha and I could use her bathroom anytime we needed," Darryl grinned and darted inside Ella's upstairs, en suite master bedroom, "We are in need!"
"NOT FAIR! THERE'S A LINE!" Abe shouted and narrowed his eyes at the couple.
"Come on. Let's get cleaned up before Abe bursts a blood vessel out there, "GIVE US TEN MINUTES ABE!" Michonne shouted.
"Who is us? Rick in there too? I do not want to step in any sticky icky when it's my turn!" Abe hollered and Michonne shook her head in aversion.
"Let's hurry. It's weird knowing Abe is standing outside the door. I will tell you about the job while we get dressed in the bedroom," Michonne directed and turned to have Rick wash her back.
Rick found it difficult to stay focused on just showering, especially with the white soapy suds dripping down between Michonne's ass cheeks, but Abe's constant yelling and banging on the door helped cool Rick's libido immensely and he was annoyed. Michonne usually did not like to fool around with so many people at the farm, but this morning in the shower, it looked like she was open to doing a little sumthin, sumthin, and Abe was ruining it. Michonne told Rick to focus and nine minutes later, Rick and Michonne were putting on their robes so they could decently make it back to their room to get dressed.
"Bout time," Abe uttered and was so busy rolling his eyes at Rick and Michonne, Beth was able to sneak by and shut the door, "Oh come on!"
Michonne disrobed and walked completely naked over to her suitcase to look for her panties. Rick looked like a predator and Michonne gave Rick a choice. The stripper story, or a quicky, he could not have both. After Rick's huge, over-the-top huff, Michonne started the story Rick anxiously wanted to hear since the previous evening.
When Michonne was a first-year law student, money was much tighter than when she was an undergraduate and had grants and scholarships to cover tuition, food, and housing. As a graduate student, she received little to no money to pay for school, room, and board. Living with Sasha in the apartment rent free was a godsend, but she still needed to work to pay for everything else, including her son's daycare and living expenses. It was hard to find odd jobs where she could make good money that also worked with her grueling law school schedule. So when she saw a posting for a job at a strip club on the edge of town, she jumped at the opportunity. The pay was more than decent to start, but once she began work, it turned out to be very profitable and she could not give that kind of money up easily, even if the work was slightly gross.
"So, what did you do there that was gross but paid well?" Rick asked curiously as got up to find his own pair of underwear.
Michonne was relieved Rick was finally covering his dick. She was about to cave and attempt to coherently try and share the story while riding his cock. Michonne closed her eyes and focused as she dug around for her bra.
"Well…" Michonne uttered and continued her stripper club story.
The job was during the early morning hours, from 4:30am-8:30am, and even though it was only four hours of part time work a day, the pay was more than what she made after eight hours of most of her other minimum wage jobs. All she had to do was clean up the club after the night of debauchery. Michonne was the deep cleaner before the light cleaning crew came later in the day. Since the light cleaning crew was also the DJ, the bartenders, the waitresses, and on slower weeks, the strippers, there was a need because they had their own jobs to do, which meant spots were not cleaned as well as they should have been. The owner was trying to avoid another health code violation.
"So you cleaned the club?" Rick grinned happily and pulled Michonne by her hips in between his legs as he sat on the edge of the bed.
Rick kissed her belly, and Michonne immediately became self-conscience wondering if Rick noticed her new little baby bulge. Before Rick joined her in the shower, she noticed a teeny-tiny bump that to her, looked like she was at least six-months pregnant. Rick placed his arms around her and pulled her closer, laying his head on her stomach as she stood standing in front of him. Michonne bit her lip and ran her fingers through Rick's hair like he loved, and in her irrational paranoia, wondered if Rick could hear a heartbeat. She shook off that nonsensical thinking and proceeded to correct Rick's false understanding of her strip club job.
"I did not just clean, I deep cleaned Rick," Michonne tried to step away, but Rick just held on tighter, "the job was perfect. Carl was still asleep when I left, and by the time I got back home, Darryl or Sasha had him up, dressed and ready to start his pre-kindergarten day. I could drop him off and still make all my classes."
The first morning of her new job, Michonne wore tall rubber rain boots and long rubber gloves over her long-sleeved top. She wore leggings underneath a pair of sweatpants, and also wore a doctor's mask and a shower cap. The last thing she needed was any bodily particles getting into her locs. Other than her eyes, there was not a part of her body uncovered. The only reason she did wear goggles was because Carl had broken his swimmers and those were the only pair she owned. Michonne started with the poles. She used a ladder and a tall cleaning tool to wipe down the top with strong cleaner and bleach. Lots of bleach. Once she was at a height where she could reach from just standing on the stage, she put the ladder away and wiped down the poles until they were fully sanitized. Michonne was surprised to find that the pole spun.
"They spin? So it's not just the incredible upper body strength of those strippers propelling their bodies around it?" Rick asked, interrupting the story.
"Yes, and also no. Evidently the spinning pole helps them with more difficult moves and adds dramatic effect, but those strippers are athletic and most of the spinning was them. They have unusually strong cores. I tried one time after I cleaned one, and I swung myself across the stage. Almost broke my damn neck. Did you go to a lot of strip clubs Rick?" Michonne asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Nope, continue with the story please," Rick answered and walked to the closet to grab a pair of jeans and Michonne eyed him suspiciously.
"Then I moved on to the stage and mopped that," Michonne continued pulling out a sundress and shaking the wrinkles from it.
Once the stage was clean, she moved on to the tops of the tables and chairs, then the floors. Again, all with a lot of bleach. Bleach, Bleach, Bleach. Once the main area was clean, she began on the three VIP rooms and wiped down every single surface in the small curtained off areas. She had to pull the ladder out again to clean the poles, and noticed the VIP poles did not spin like the ones on the main stage. Michonne figured it was not the pole dancing the VIP's wanted to see anyway. Michonne stared perplexed at the small, curved purple velvet sectional and thought for a minute. She walked to get a scrubber with a short handle attached and filled a bucket with a little soap and warm water. No bleach this time, soap would have to do. She dipped the scrubber in the bucket and carefully scrubbed the sofa and hoped it dried before all the activities started that evening. Then she cleaned every single door handle in the establishment before she tackled the locker room and restrooms. Michonne was pleasantly surprised at how clean both were. She learned later the staff took turns hourly and made sure the restrooms were always cleaned on a regular basis and the girls made sure their space was immaculate before they left for the evening. They also took shifts cleaning the drinking glasses to avoid a lapse in patrons paying for overpriced, watered-down drinks. Michonne unloaded the dishwasher and placed all the glasses back behind the bar and started another wash with any dish still lingering in the sink.
"Ok, so you said it eventually got lucrative. How?" Rick wondered as he pulled on his T-shirt then walked over to help Michonne zip up her dress.
"Now, remember I was young Rick. Well old enough to know better, but it turned out really well. It was not as bad as I imagined it to be," Michonne uttered with a shrug.
"What turned out well Michonne?" Rick asked anxiously as he turned her around to face him.
After a month on the job, there was an envelope for Michonne on top of the bar. When she opened it, it was an invitation to an employee picnic the owner held once a month to keep up employee morale. Michonne did such a great job with her deep cleaning, everyone wanted to meet her because it was much less work for them, and it made their day start on a brighter note. The health inspector was even impressed. After Michonne's shift, she went home and showed the invitation to Sasha and Darryl.
"Should I go?" Michonne asked and Sasha took the invite and read it.
"Why not, it would show you consider yourself part of the team," Sasha grinned, "We will all go! Says here you can bring your family."
"I'm in," Darryl uttered, and Sasha tuned her neck so hard to give him the evil eye that she almost got whiplash, "just trying to be supportive babe."
"How can we all go? Who is going to watch Carl? It's Sunday. School is not open on Sunday Sasha," Michonne reasoned, and Sasha thought for a second.
"A stripper picnic on the Lord's day," Sasha giggled, and she handed the invitation back to Michonne, "Carl is only four, he will be fine."
"Almost five," Michonne corrected trying to find an excuse not to go.
"Like I said, four. Carl isn't going to have a clue about who the people are, besides, we are not going to the strip club Michonne. It's at a public park and I am sure they will not be wearing thongs and pasties," Sasha argued and Michonne bit the inside of her cheek in contemplation.
"Ok, I guess it might be good to meet the people I technically work with," Michonne agreed.
Sasha wanted to meet the people that Michonne was cleaning up after. Were the girl's quality or skanks? Was the owner legit, or sleezy? Sasha wanted to know all the dirt. When they arrived, as Sasha predicted, they were all dressed nicely, appropriately. Many had their children with them and were running around the park and playing on the swings. Darryl was a little bummed that none of the women were in uniform but pleased that he met some genuinely great people.
"You took Carl to a stripper picnic?" Rick asked with a grin as he pulled on his boots and watched Michonne slide into her sandals.
After Rick had his boots on, he kneeled down to help Michonne fasten her sandals then ran his hand up her leg, stopping and rubbing his thumb over her panty. Rick looked up and smiled then took his finger and wiggled it under her panties and rubbed at her core.
"Yes, I did, and Rick, we do not have time for that. Your mother is downstairs waiting on us, oh my God Rick, and Carl will be looking for us soon, RICK!" Michonne hollered in pleasure then resumed trying to reason with her fiancé, "Don't you want to know how it got lucrative? I can't tell you with you fingering me!"
Rick sucked his teeth in annoyance and pulled his finger from inside her and sat on the edge of the bed. Rick sucked on his finger and acted like it was the best thing he had ever tasted, and Michonne was speechless as she watched. Rick's need to know outweighed his need to be inside Michonne, and he knew he would get that ass later anyway. Rick kneeled down again and buckled Michonne's other shoe as she continued her story.
"Once the employees met Carl, they were charmed," Michonne laughed thinking back to how her son commanded the crowd with his captivating smile.
Even at four years old, Carl knew how to charm people, and he enchanted every single one of those strippers including the owner. When they heard Michonne's harrowing story, they were heart wrenched and also impressed at how Michonne never gave up as young as she was and succeeded despite her circumstance. By the end of the picnic, the owner told Michonne that he was tired of picking up the money from the floor left by the strippers, and any money she found while cleaning was hers, and it served the strippers right for leaving it.
"They left money behind?" Rick asked confused.
"No. They just told me they did," Michonne grinned fondly at her coworker's gesture.
On her next shift, Michonne did not expect much, a stray dollar or two, but that first night there was fourteen dollars, all singles. Michonne shrugged her shoulders and wiped the money down with a bleach drenched cleaning cloth, then folded the money and placed it in her pocket. The next morning, it was seven dollars, and the next sixteen. On that first early Saturday morning, it was almost fifty. Michonne was shocked enough to go back to the club once it opened to let the owner know just how much was left on the floor.
"Turns out, on slow nights, each of the ladies would purposely leave a dollar or two per dance. On more profitable nights, a couple more. When they had "event nights" with high-rollers, I would get one or two hundred dollars," Michonne told a stunned Rick who opened their bedroom door to Rosita and Abe walking out the bathroom in robes.
"Why did they do it?" Rick asked as they headed down the stairs.
"They said it because Carl was so damn cute, and since he had the best mother, he deserved the best of everything else that money could buy. I was so touched. I cried almost every time I got money, no matter if it was just a dollar or a hundred," Michonne answered with tears welling in her eyes.
"You are the best," Rick told her and kissed her on her cheek, "Carl takes after his father you know. I have charmed quite a few ladies Michonne," Rick grinned as he clasped her hand in his.
"How many Rick? How many have you charmed?" Michonne asked with her head tilted to the side.
"The only one that matters," Rick covered and chuckled, "Does my mama count?"
Michonne narrowed her eyes and giggled.
"No Rick," Michonne replied waiting on a number.
"Letty?" Rick grinned.
"Nope," Michonne laughed.
"Well, then one. You ruined me for all other women," Rick laughed and almost toppled over when Carl jumped in his arms.
"What took you guys so long? Were y'all in there kissing?" Carl asked and Rick shook his head.
"Why are you always wondering if we are kissing," Rick inquired bewilderedly.
"Because kissing is how you get a little brother right? Can you kiss more so I can get a brother please?" Carl asked and Rick looked over at Michonne who turned and quickly marched into the kitchen.
"Turncoat!" Rick hollered then put his son down, "Let's go eat Carl."
Carl shrugged his shoulders and followed his father into the kitchen. Everybody was waiting for the two to join so they could all dig in.
"Finally!" Darryl grunted and grabbed a slice of bacon, "Where are the pancakes, Rick? Ms. Ella said you were supposed to make the pancakes."
Everybody stared at Rick, then at Michonne, then at Rick again.
"He was pouring the Bisquick upstairs in the bathroom," Abe laughed, and Rosita slapped her husband on the arms.
"I made biscuits instead," Ella sputtered to refocus the conversation and pointed for Rick and Michonne to sit down.
Ella gave Abe a look of warning and Abe averted his eyes.
"Shane called and said the FBI expects to take Greggory into custody tomorrow. The Feds told Hershel the mayor and the claimer in Manville custody will be charged federally. If they are convicted, they ain't ever getting out of prison," Darryl relayed after taking a bite of bacon and scooping scrambled eggs onto his plate.
"Hershel ain't here?" Rick asked, figuring his uncle was still asleep.
"He left while you were getting dressed. He needed to meet with the agents this morning. He took his breakfast to-go," Ella answered as she sat down a platter of fresh biscuits and a bowl of sausage gravy.
"Hot tits on a cold witch, I ain't had biscuits and gravy this good since my mama passed away, God bless her soul, And God bless you too Mrs. Ella!" Abe hollered to Ella's dismay especially when Carl laughed.
She looked around the table and wondered why she was the only one concerned with the colorful talk in front of Carl.
"You get used to it," Carl laughed and Michonne shook her head at both Carl and Abe.
Just then Maggie came busting through the front door looking disheveled.
"Maggie, what are you doing here? Are you alright?" Ella asked looking at her exasperated niece and walking over to check her over.
"Came down when I heard about what happened, but Daddy called and told me he did not have time to pick me up because of all the hullabaloo," Maggie informed, "so I figured, if Carl could ride the bus here, so could I."
They all looked at Carl with narrowed eyes.
"Hey! Don't throw me under the bus Maggie! Don't worry everybody," Carl said looking at his family, "I already promised that I won't ever do that again. BUT If I did not ride the bus to King County, I would have never met you dad, so technically…"
"Salir mientras estas por delante, Carlito," Rosita spoke with a mouth full of home fries and Carl zipped his lips.
"She told Carl to quit while he was ahead," Michonne whispered to Rick and Rick eyed Carl in agreement with Rosita's wise words.
"That's good to hear because I don't know how you did it, Carl," Maggie continued as she grabbed a plate from the cabinet and sat down at the table, "There are a lot of good people at the greyhound station, but it seems like crazy, and disturbing are what reigns supreme. I will NEVER use that method of transportation again. At least not alone."
"What happened?" Rick asked worriedly and then looked at Carl who was not bothered at all as he placed six strips of bacon on his plate.
Even though Carl acted like an adult, he was not, and he did not comprehend all the nefarious situations that were happening in front of him at the bus station, or even on the bus ride to and from King County. Rick put four of Carl's slices of bacon back and spooned some eggs and grits on his plate instead.
"Well first, a man kept asking me how much I charge," Maggie looked at Carl then widened her eyes for the adults to get the drift, "then one woman kept asking if I had a cigarette, and no matter how many times I said no, she kept asking, then called me a "Damn Liar" and stormed off. And the smell coming from the bus restroom, oh my God, I thought I was going to puke. I almost would have rather walked the rest of the way here than stay on that stinky bus. It was 6am in the morning, and someone already smelled like they died, came back as a zombie, and took a shi…," Maggie eyed Carl who appeared amused and changed her wording, "And took a poop. I don't know how you did it, Carl."
Maggie piled some eggs and biscuits onto her plate and was reaching for the bacon when Carl replied to her rant.
"I didn't think it was that bad. The people were nicer when I rode the bus. One man told me I could have his duffel bag and just sat it on my lap, and I said no thanks! But he insisted and told me it was a gift then walked away. A police officer took it from me and chased the man down I guess to return it to him. I think the officer must have heard me tell the man that I didn't want it," Carl shrugged and took a bite of his bacon.
Michonne's mouth was wide open, and everyone was staring at Carl speechless. Rick ran his hand down his face.
"Carl," Rick started but Carl stopped him.
"Don't worry Dad, no matter how nice the people were to me, I won't ride the bus again. I promise," Carl assured and went back to eating.
Rick eyed his son and then Michonne and narrowed his eyes at Carl for good measure. Maggie chuckled and continued with her story about how she got to the farm.
"I went to the sheriff's station for a ride here and it was all abuzz. My dad had deputy Bassett drive me home. I am really sorry about Uncle Richard," Maggie stated sadly and grabbed Ella's hand, "Have we discussed Rick ripping that man's throat out with his bare teeth yet?"
The whole room went quiet.
"Maggie," Ella muttered after hearing the story from Abe the evening before.
Sasha spit out her eggs and Andrea snorted. Andrea was busy tending to Richard inside the cabin and missed the amazing feat of strength as some were already calling it but heard exactly what happened from several sources. A few from the Mayor's office heard from a deputy, who heard from DEM STREETS during their interview before they headed back to Atlanta excited to tell everyone on the block what Rick did to save Carl. Abe did his share of the retelling when Hershel asked what happened at the scene and Abe reenacted the event for the Sheriff, several deputies, and the coroner, and made sure to include growls for dramatic effect. Abe even pretended to sleepwalk with his arms stretched out in front of him to overdramatically show them what Rick was acting like right before and right after the bite. By now, the infamous neck bite was being spread all over King County and beyond, and not a single person judged Rick for it. Most cheered and one loony wanted to write a folk song about it. Rick's bite was almost as famous as the colt he carried.
"Oh, so we are pretending that didn't happen? Ok. Pass the gravy and the potatoes please," Maggie replied with a shoulder shrug.
Rosita coughed to try and cover her laugh and Beth's eyes went wide wondering what everybody was talking about. Sasha kicked Beth under the table then shook her head no when she was about to ask. Rick changed the subject.
"Saw a sign that the new pizza place will be opening fourth of July weekend," Rick uttered and gave Maggie a death look.
"Yeah, I saw the guy go in when I was waiting for Leon to come out. He was cute," Maggie grinned and took a bite of toast, "His name is Glenn Rhee, and he LOVES pizza!"
"I heard you are trying to start your own business. You wanna cattle ranch? Buy that old, dilapidated property twenty minutes outside of town?" Rick asked and saw Maggie's face fall.
"I wanted to, but I needed to secure the funds first before I tried to contact the owner. I did not secure a single dime, so there was no use in trying to figure out who owns it," Maggie shrugged obviously very bummed at the turn of events.
"Well, turns out you do know them, Maggie," Ella informed, "when Richard signed over the farm, he evidently signed over all his land. Dale finally got a comprehensive list of what I own, and I went to see him about it. I signed all the property over to you Rick, other than the land Letty and I are building on, of course. Dale is finding the deeds and as soon as he draws up the paperwork, everything else is yours."
"Is that why you were meeting with Dale a few weeks ago?" Rick inquired, "I went out looking for you and Letty told me you were in town."
"Yup. Your great grandfather Grimes owned the ranch, passed it down to your grandfather who preferred horses to cattle, then he passed it down to Richard, who also had no desire to run a cattle ranch. So it just sat there. I think he forgot about it. And now that old ranch is yours Rick. You also own a little land about thirty miles outside of King County towards Manville, well as soon as the paperwork is ready to sign you will," Ella informed a stunned Rick.
Rick looked at Maggie and grinned evilly.
"My, my, my how the tables have turned," Rick mocked and grinned even wider at his cousin.
"How Rick? The scrambled eggs are still right in front of me. This table ain't moved?" Maggie smiled her own sinister grin.
"That was figuratively Maggie, not…." Rick started and stopped when Maggie sat back in her seat and folded her arms across her chest and smirked.
Rick's cheeks turned pink in embarrassment.
"Maggie, I bet you are happy as the dic….." Abe started and Rosita hollered out.
"DAY! As the day is long," Rosita finished and furrowed her brows at a confused Abe.
"Is that the saying Rosita?" Abe asked perplexed, "It makes more sense if the di…"
"ABE!" Everybody hollered.
Abe thought for sure the saying was as the dick is long, it made more sense to him. He shrugged his shoulders and grabbed another biscuit and poured sausage gravy over it.
"I told you before it's Day, Estupido, es DAY! Dia, Dia, Dia!" Rosita said quietly through gritted teeth.
The rest of breakfast went smoothly, and they all broke off to their own corners of the house to wait out their food comas. Maggie was happily talking to Ella, Sasha, and Rosita about the plans for a ranch she did not even own yet but was sure her dear cousin would sign it over to her. Sasha went to Darryl to talk about investing in the ranch. The sale of their condo was lucrative, and giving Maggie a quarter of their profits would be a nice investment. Darryl grunted and Sasha kissed her husband as he patted her oversized baby belly, then they both left to take a nap. Michonne was walking down the stairs after making Carl take a little nap too. Carl argued he was not tired but was snoring as soon as his curly little head hit the pillow. Michonne wanted to talk to Rick about a few things and made her way to him out on the back porch.
"Rick, did you talk to your mother about Carl's birthday party? How does she feel about it. How do you feel about it?" Michonne asked, wondering what Rick wanted to do.
"I'm fine. Mama is fine. We talked about it. We are not happy that he died, but he did, and on his own terms. I think Richard would want us to move forward. Mama really wants to have the party. Plus, all the invitations have already been sent out. Do you think any of Carl's friends, other than DEM STREETS will come?" Rick wondered if the parents at Carl's school were willing to make the drive.
"I hope so. They all RSVP'd yes. From my understanding, they are carpool plans being made as we speak. I told you, everybody loves Carl," Michonne laughed.
"I'm going to take off work and stay with you until the party and maybe until after Carl finishes school," Rick suggested and Michonne shook her head no.
"Rick, we have a plan. We will be fine. Besides, we have DEM STREETS now!" Michonne laughed still in disbelief about what they did for Carl, "Plus, I think Carl has learned his lesson about being aware of his surroundings and I don't think he will be running off without me or another adult by his side for a long while.," Michonne assured.
"You sure?" Rick asked and Michonne nodded.
"Yes," Michonne muttered, and Rick noticed that her body language contradicted her words.
"Ok, but I might come anyway," Rick replied and watched visible relief cross Michonne's face.
"Well, if you want. But other than coming for the first therapy session, Carl and I should be good," Michonne responded, and again, her body language suggested otherwise.
Rick wondered why Michonne was not telling the truth.
"Michonne, why…," Rick started and Michonne interrupted.
"I have been thinking about something, Rick and I decided, I think I am going to leave my job in Atlanta at the end of this month and put in my notice of resignation once I get back. When Carl gets out of school for the summer, I am going to move too. Sasha is getting closer to her due date, and I don't see any real reason to wait. That job can suck it. You okay with that?" Michonne asked and stared at Rick who was grinning from ear to ear.
Rick was ecstatic and picked her up and walked her across the field to the back of the barn, temporarily forgetting about Michonne's weird behavior.
"Rick! Not here!" Michonne giggled as he backed her up against the barn wall with her legs around his waist.
"Why not, nobody saw us come back here?" Rick smiled undoing his belt and unzipping his pants.
"You are so bad. This is like when we were sixteen and you had me in all sorts of crazy places," Michonne stated before her head fell back when she felt Rick fingers move her panties to the side.
"You are just as wet now and you were then, and it was you that picked the places most times Michonne. Remember when you had us climb inside the bucket of that dump truck. If anyone was looking, they would have probably seen my ass pumping up and down," Rick chuckled then placed a finger inside his fiancé.
"Rick," Michonne yelped.
"Rick what?" Rick teased then slipped another finger inside and bent them which drove her crazy.
"RICK!" Michonne hollered and Rick pulled his fingers out and placed his hand over her mouth.
"Shhhh," Rick sounded then moved them over to the edge so he could look around the corner towards the house to see if anybody heard her.
When he had the all clear, he put her down and pulled her panties off. After stepping out of them, Rick gave them a long sniff and put them in his back pocket.
"You are too young to be a dirty old man Rick," Michonne chuckled and then closed her eyes tight when Rick lifted her leg over his shoulder and gave her pussy a long lick.
Michonne heart was beating fast, and she frowned when he removed his mouth and picked her up and placed her right back in the position she was in moments before: Leg wrapped around his waist and dress hiked up, sans underwear.
"We ain't got time for all that right now. This is gonna have to be quick. I just wanted a little taste before I did this," Rick explained then pushed his dick inside of her hard and fast.
Michonne bit down on Rick's shoulder and took it.
"Rick, I love your big fat cock. It feels so good Rick. Don't stop. Harder," Michonne begged, and Rick did as he was told.
It was a true quicky. Seven minutes later, Rick was pulling up his pants and Michonne was trying to lay down in the grass for a nap. Rick laughed and pulled her up and helped her back into her panties, straightened her dress, removed a few blades of grass from her locs, grabbed her hand, and walked his well-sated fiancé back towards the house.
"You, okay?" Rick chuckled when he saw Michonne's heavily lidded eyes, and she nodded lackadaisically.
"I want to move the wedding up to June, Rick. Can we do that?" Michonne asked still out of breath and in a dick coma.
Rick grinned and picked her up and carried her to the porch and Michonne appreciated not having to move her legs anymore.
"Yeah, we can do that," Rick replied happily, "let's pick a date."
Rick sat them down on the porch swing and Michonne leaned her head on his shoulder thankful they did not get caught doing the deed outside in the open. Michonne smiled when she remembered the number of times her and Rick used to have sex in the great outdoors when they were young and in love. After a few minutes, Rick hated to ruin the mood, but there was another thing he needed to know.
"You ready to tell me about the attack?" Rick asked then kissed Michonne on the top of the head.
Michonne grew animated and jumped up clapping her hands. Rick was confused because she looked happy about it.
"Later Rick! I'm glad you reminded me!" Michonne ran inside the house past Abe who was walking out.
"I heard you two earlier when I came out here. Which side of the barn did you use? I might see if Rosita is willing to give me some barn sex too," Abe uttered, and Rick turned bright red.
"Left side," Rick muttered, and Abe slapped him on the back and called for Rosita to come outside.
That was Rick's cue to go back in. Rick walked in to find Michonne in the kitchen talking to Ella and Sasha. When Rosita walked back inside shaking her head, Rick laughed out loud.
"Letty would love that! When can we meet him?" Ella asked excitedly.
"Let me call him. He roams around a lot, but I bet he would love to come and at least open the spa and stay until you find someone more permanent?" Michonne shared excitedly and scrolled through her phone for Jesus's number.
"I remember that pequeno hombre duro. His self-defense classes were badass. His yoga got me all limber," Rosita remembered as she stretched her arms in the air.
"Then I need to thank him properly for that. Hire him Mrs. Ella," Abe chuckled walking back in the house and rolled his eyes at a laughing Rick.
Paul Rovia came to Michonne's aid during an attack on the college campus, and possibly saved her life. Then he taught her self-defense, mediation, and yoga. It was Jesus who led Michonne a sensei who taught her the ways of the sword.
"This town is his kind of place. All the serene woods and stuff. He might stay and make this his home. Oh, I can introduce him to Aaron!" Sasha excitedly enthused.
"Not too fast. Aaron lost his husband two years ago in a fluke accident. Eric was bitten by a rabid dog, didn't realize it was wild at first and waited until the next morning to go to the hospital. By then he had sepsis and never made it out of the hospital. So if anything is gonna happen, it needs to happen organically for Aaron," Andrea explained, and Sasha agreed.
Earlier that morning, while they were all enjoying Ella's big breakfast, Richard's body was being prepared for transport to the King County Funeral Home early as a favor to Rick and Ella. Since Rosita was not due to leave until Sunday morning, she volunteered to escort Ella to the county morgue to sign the transfer papers and use her medical examiner expertise to help her navigate the process. Rosita informed Ella that with Richard's wounds and her witness to them, an autopsy would probably not be necessary. Ella was grateful for that information.
"You know, now that King County is expected to triple in size, the naming of businesses might have to change," Rosita chuckled, "King County Funeral Home, King County Elementary, King County Nails."
Ella laughed out loud and nodded. Having this new extended family was everything to Ella and she loved every new personality, even Abe's.
"I'm sure you are right Rosita. I mean, do I go to the King County Café on the north side of town? Or the King County Café on the east side of town? Maybe the downtown King County Café is better?" Ella joked and Rosita snickered.
"Ella, I am sorry for your loss," Clifford the King County Medical Examiner offered."
"Thank you again Clifford, I appreciated the sentiment when you told me the first two times last night," Ella answered and patted the Medical Examiner on his hand.
"WHAT?" Clifford hollered.
"I SAID I APPRECIATED, aw hell" Ella uttered in frustration, "THANK YOU CLIFFORD!"
"Yeah, Yeah, you and your friend come on back," The old doctor ambled back towards his office.
"That man is two-hundred years old?" Rosita exclaimed and Ella grinned widely.
"He needs a replacement, Rosita. He has been here a long time and it's time for his old ass to retire," Ella informed and saw the wheels spinning in Rosita's head, "you know they are expanding the Sherriff's office too. And the Fire Station. Building a whole new, updated one according to Andrea. I'm sure they will need more firemen as well as paramedics," Ella said emphasizing Abe's line of work and walking off towards the office and leaving Rosita standing there deep in thought.
Rosita had been thinking hard about her situation. Rosita suspected she was pregnant. And King County's slower pace would leave her more time with her family if she was. When she spoke to the coroner the night before, he could not stop gushing about the family friendly town. Abe was already ready to move, but he told Rosita he would fully support her decision either way. Rosita needed to talk to Andrea about the potential future job opening. Then she would need to confirm she was pregnant, and if she was, have a good talk with her husband.
Rick was back home trying to figure out how to best get Michonne to agree to having him stay with her and Carl in Atlanta until they all came back for the funeral on Wednesday. Michonne was actively trying to be okay with everything that happened and be strong for Carl, but Rick noticed Michonne was in fact, not okay. Neither was Carl.
"I'm going back with you and Carl when you leave tomorrow and stay until we come back for the funeral," Rick informed and braced for Michonne's reaction.
"I just called my boss, and after I apologized for calling him on a Saturday, I told him what happened and I took off for the next three days, Rick. We need to be here for Ella to help with the funeral arrangements. I can't believe they are having it so fast. After the funeral on Wednesday, Carl and I will head back so he can go to school Thursday and Friday," Michonne informed, and Rick nodded in appreciation.
"What about the therapy. When are we starting?" Rick asked, wanting to start as soon as possible after noticing Michonne's new behaviors.
"When I call Carl's school Monday morning to let them know about his absence, I will ask Carl's counselor for a referral.
"Sounds good. Let me know what she says, and Michonne, I appreciate you taking off work," Rick expressed with gratitude.
"How do you think your boss will react when you give your notice," Rick inquired.
"He will be fine, but at the end of the day, it really does not matter what he thinks," Michonne answered with a shrug, "It's happening whether he likes it or not. Oh, and Maggie is going to stay at the condo when she gets out of school next Wednesday and drive back with me and Carl to the farm."
"Wednesday coming up?" Rick asked confused.
"No Rick, this Wednesday is the funeral. Next Wednesday," Michonne clarified. "She was going straight to the farm, but I convinced her to stay with me a Carl and catch a ride back with us."
Rick nodded in confusion and wondered how the strange arrangement came about. He did not understand why Maggie needed to go to the condo instead of straight home but decided not to ask just yet. Something was off and he needed to observe his fiancé to figure out what in the hell was going on with her.
"Ok, Whatever you want. And thank you for staying until after the funeral," Rick stated and kissed Michonne with all the love he had in him.
"Let's got take a nap," Michonne suggested, and Rick nodded and smiled.
Early Sunday morning, they all saw Abe and Rosia off, and Maggie who was hitching a ride back with the Ford's glad she did not have to ride the bus again. The rest discussed their not so leisurely plans for the day.
"I am going to go finish setting up my office. You wanna come with?" Michonne asked and Rick was surprised.
"It's Sunday Michonne?" Rick questioned.
"Sasha wants to go too. We left it a mess and Sasha needs to finish a brief she left undone on Friday." Michonne informed, "Darryl left to go to his worksite to check and make sure everything is locked up and secured since he has not been out there since Friday either."
"Well, I was planning to go see about the transfer of Greggory down at the station anyway. I will drive you and Sasha. Just let me know when you are ready to get picked up," Rick offered.
"I thought you weren't working this next week?" Michonne asked with confusion written all over her face and Rick furrowed his brow at her almost near panic.
"I'm not, but I want to go down and see what's going on. I will be ready leave when you and Sasha are done," Rick grinned but still a little offput by what he just witnessed.
Michonne was acting differently during the car ride into town. She was looking around nervously and wringing her hands. It got worse the closer to the office they got. Sasha eyed Rick through the rearview mirror. Both thought it was because Michonne was getting closer to the scene of the kidnapping and figured they were right when she hesitated to get out of the car.
"You all right?" Rick asked and Michonne's look of reluctance turned into a faux smile.
"Of course!" Michonne exclaimed, "Hey if everything is slow down at the station, will you come back? To help me set up I mean?"
Rick eyed Michonne and nodded. Rick and Sasha made eye contact. Sasha noticed something odd too.
"Of course, I will call you when I get to the station," Rick answered already knowing he would tell her it was slow and immediately come right back even if all hell was breaking loose.
When Rick returned, he noticed Michonne jump when he entered the office.
"I thought I locked that," Michonne uttered worriedly.
That evening, although the den and the air mattress were free to use since Rosita and Abe left back to King County, Carl wanted to sleep with his parents and Rick found that odd. Carl did the same on Monday and Tuesday evening also and Rick knew for sure his son needed to see a counselor. Rick woke up a few times over the last few evenings to check on the two snuggled up together and he could tell Carl was dreaming about something bothersome. Rick supposed they were nightmares of what happened replaying in his head and Michonne and Carl would move into a protective cuddle. Rick wondered if Michonne might need some counseling too. Maybe they all needed it as a family, and not just Carl.
By early Wednesday morning, Richard Grimes Sr. was in the ground. The services were short, but attendance was surprisingly larger than Rick expected. Many were there in support of Ella, including Letty. After the funeral, Michonne walked over to her father's gravesite and smiled at the gravestone she purchased a few months back that read: Andre Hawthorne: Devoted Husband and Great Father. Rick and Carl joined her and paid their own respects.
"I will be back soon dad," Michonne uttered and smiled when Carl approached the gravestone.
"Me too grandpa!" Carl added and touched the headstone like his mother did.
"We all will," Rick added and took both Michonne's and Carl's hands and lead them back to the car.
Later that afternoon, they were on the road to Atlanta. Rick was curious to see if Michonne and Carl's demeanors would normalize once they were back home in more familiar territory. They did not. For neither Carl nor Michonne. Rick did, however, find out why Michonne decided to surprise Rick with her unexpected King County visit the day of the kidnapping. It seemed Michonne would not have to wait until after the party to share the baby news after all.
