Red River Blue
Chapter 77
Aaron snapped two more pictures. His purpose in stopping by was to talk to Daryl. But when he saw that Alexandria's first band had just been formed, he couldn't resist taking the opportunity to chronicle the occasion by taking a few pictures. When he was done, the small group of people dispersed. Some returned to their instruments. Harley and Spencer walked over to the front porch steps. She climbed up a step, giving herself a height advantage over him. Spencer was smiling up at her, his hand resting on the curve of her hip. Harley was looking down at him, a playful grin turning up the corners of her mouth. When she leaned down and pressed the tip of her nose to his, Aaron couldn't resist. He lifted his camera back up and snapped a picture of the couple.
"Hey!," Harley protested, her head snapping up at the sound of his camera.
"Sorry," Aaron said, quick to apologize. "You looked so cute I couldn't resist." Spencer snorted out a laugh. Harley was many things. But cute was not one of them. Not even close.
"Let's go to my house," Spencer suggested, squeezing her hand with his. "No one's home over there."
Aaron smiled as he watched Spencer and Harley head off down the street together. They made a handsome couple. And he was happy to see that his constant recruitment efforts finally paid off. It was satisfying to know that some good was coming out of his contribution to the strange new state of the world.
"Hey," Aaron called out to announce his presence as he swung the front door open. The Dixons house was by far the noisiest and most chaotic household in town. Someone was always hollering at someone else. People ran up and down the stairs. And the kitchen always seemed to be packed with children. As Aaron stepped inside, he saw that today was no exception. Tyreese had Judith on the couch, trying to change a rather epic looking poopy diaper. The little girl was much more interested in rolling over and crawling away than she was in cooperating with him.
"Wren!," Tyreese said, calling the girl over, "hold her still for me before she gets poop everywhere." Wren wrinkled her nose up but did as she was asked and pinned Judith onto her back so Tyreese could clean the girl up and strap a fresh cloth diaper on her. When he was done, he swung Judith back up into his arms and sent Wren down into the basement to put the soiled diaper in the wash sink. She held the smelly bundle of cloth with her arm stretched straight out and her other hand pinching her nose shut.
Daryl came flying down the stairs. Aaron had to move back to keep from being run straight over. The man swung around the corner with one hand gripping the railing and took off into the kitchen like his ass was on fire. He must have run smack into Tyreese because a moment later, Aaron heard the large man laughing and asking Daryl where the fire was.
Since everyone seemed to be converging in the kitchen, Aaron headed that way. He stopped in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe and smiling. He found it humorous that while no one seemed to be bothered by his appearance, they didn't seem concerned with greeting him either and just continued about their business like he wasn't there.
Tyreese was dancing around with the baby, making her giggle as he bounced her in his arms. Rick was at the table with Mika and Sam, helping them sort out a monstrous pile of dandelions. Music playing had resumed in the garage. And Daryl had a firm grip on Carol, whispering something into her ear that was making her smile.
"Hi Aaron," Carol said once Daryl released her from his grasp. "What can we do for you?"
"I came to talk to Daryl actually," Aaron said. Daryl glanced over at the mention of his name but he didn't ask for any further explanation. He seemed much more concerned with whatever he was trying to get from Carol. From the looks of it, he wanted either sex, or for her to make him something to eat. Possibly both. And he didn't look interested in why Aaron was there. Not in the slightest. Aaron scratched his head. This wasn't starting off well.
"I'm going out on a recruitment mission," Aaron explained anyway. "I thought you might like to go…" Aaron had a mostly put together motorcycle in his garage, which he thought about mentioning. But he didn't want to oversell.
"Naw," Daryl said, waving Aaron off with barely more than a glance. Daryl thought the man must be a special kind of stupid. Do I look like I want to go recruiting? He was high as fuck and he wasn't going anywhere. Except maybe upstairs with Carol. And if he couldn't talk her into that then he at least wanted her to make him lunch. The furthest he was going was out to check his snares. And even that was a stretch at the moment.
"We shouldn't be recruiting," Rick announced from the table. "It's dangerous."
"I brought you in," Aaron said with a sigh. This conversation was going from bad to worse in a hurry. He might just have to wait for Eric's ankle to heal before he went out again. And that was going to take a while. He was hoping to take one more long haul run before the weather turned.
"If you really need someone, I could go with you," Tyresse offered, ignoring the dirty look he was getting from Rick.
"Thanks! I'd really appreciate it," Aaron said with a smile. "I want to leave tomorrow morning." He came for Daryl but he didn't mind leaving with Tyreese. The man was physically intimidating. But he had a calming presence and a reassuring smile. Aaron thought he would be a big help in talking people into coming back to Alexandria with them. But he was also strong enough that if the people they met ended up being violent or crazy, they might think twice before messing with him. Aaron thanked the man again and hurried home to pack before Tyreese could change his mind about his offer.