Red River Blue
Chapter 86
When he showed up out of nowhere the night before, Rick tried to insist that Morgan be put under some sort of house arrest in one of the empty houses at the end of the block. But he was quickly overruled by Harley, along with her entire rowdy ass loudmouth family. Which apparently now included Beth, Maggie, and Glenn. And before Rick could even register what was happening, the entire flock of them were leading Morgan off down the street, intent on making up their spare bedroom for him. Tyreese was trotting along with them. And Rick could hear his low voice over the chatter, already regaling them with the story of how Morgan saved his life.
Rick padded through his house, trying to stay quiet since everyone else was still asleep. He checked on Carl first. The boy's bed was empty and his window was hanging open. Rick let out a heavy sigh, hoping like hell that the boy wasn't sleeping in Wren's bed again and also knowing full well that's exactly where Carl went. The last time, Carl at least had the sense to sneak Wren out of her house instead of sneaking himself in. Rick still didn't think they ought to be sleeping in the same bed together. But at least if they did it at his house, there was less of a chance that Carl would be murdered in his sleep.
Rick poked through his kitchen, looking for coffee and coming up empty. He headed out his back door, crossing the small section of yard that separated his house from Daryl's. Morgan stopped his aikido, giving Rick a nod of his head and telling him good morning. Rick returned the greeting.
"I like your friends," Morgan said, ticking his head towards the house with a grin. Rick shook his head and smiled back. He could only imagine what the chaos of that household felt like to someone that was alone on the road for months. "On my way in, I ran into another group. Hostile. Not too far from here," Morgan said. Rick nodded.
"Let me get some coffee and I'll sit down with you," Rick suggested. Morgan nodded his agreement, saying he would be in after he finished his aikido.
The smell of fresh coffee greeted Rick when he swung the backdoor open. River was pulling a large glass bowl out of the refrigerator. She set it on the counter and offered Rick an empty bowl from the dish rack next to the sink.
"Overnight oats," she explained. "There's peanut butter and syrup and shit in the cupboard." Rick took a scoop of oats and a cup of coffee. When he sat down at the table, he could see into the living room. Tyreese was sprawled out on the couch with Judith asleep on his chest. No matter how many times a day Rick retrieved the little girl and brought her home, she just seemed to end up right back over here the moment he turned his back. Mothering her seemed to be something of a group project. He saw Judith most often with River and Carol. Beth and Maggie came in a close second. And he knew Wren and Mika liked to play with the girl. Rick even saw Harley with Judith in her lap, letting her strum her chubby little fingers over the strings of a guitar. Rick felt a parental obligation to the girl. Judith wasn't his daughter. But his wife died bringing her into the world. And she was Carl's sister. He felt a little guilty at first. For letting the other members of his group assume the job of caring for the girl. But Judith seemed so happy. She was thriving. Rick finally decided it wouldn't hurt anything for her to sleep here instead of at his house.
"Yer friend has more energy than anyone ought to at this time of the mornin'," River announced, watching Morgan through her kitchen window as he swung his stick around in her backyard. "He seems real nice though. The kids like 'im."
Rick smiled. He was well aware of River's personal litmus test. She believed that children could sense the goodness inside a person. If Judith liked someone, that meant that person could be trusted. Rick wasn't convinced of the accuracy of this test. Especially since Judith was an easily contented baby that would probably let a walker pick her up without complaint if one happened by.
Rick saw Daryl come down from the upper level of the house. He disappeared down into the basement, returning a few minutes later with Glenn. They each grabbed a bowl of oats and took a seat at the table, talking quietly about the run they were planning to leave for shortly. Other than the same items they always looked for on every run like food and weapons, Rick couldn't think of anything else he needed. Glenn read through a phone book and found a small plaza that had a baby boutique and a jewelry store. Eric had been there before and thought the grocery store nearby might still have some canned goods left inside. It sounded like they had a solid plan. And a moment after they headed out the door, Morgan poked his head in and told Rick that they would have to catch up later because he was going on the run with Daryl and Glenn.
"What are they going to a jewelry store for?," Rick asked as he slurped down the last of his coffee. River took the cup from his hands, returning it to him after she refilled it.
"Didn't you hear already?," River asked, her voice rising with excitement. It seemed like everyone already knew about Daryl's engagement, even before she did. And River was more than eager to share the best news ever with someone that hadn't heard about it yet. "Daryl asked Carol to marry him!" Rick snorted into his cup, choking as hot coffee nearly shot out his nose. River took Rick's absolute shock at the idea of Daryl getting married to anyone to mean that he must be as excited as she was about the idea. So she clapped Rick on the back and continued on, telling him all the details. Including a few he could have lived the rest of his life happily without knowing, like what Daryl and Carol were doing when he popped the question. "It's so romantic, dontcha think?," River asked. Rick wasn't sure if shouting out I'm gonna make you my wife while in the throes of passion really counted as romantic. Especially in his opinion. But it was obvious that River considered it to be one of the top best proposals of all time. There was nothing else Rick could do except agree with her.
"The best things are spontaneous," Rick said, trying to hold in his laughter.
"Exactly!," River agreed. She rose from her seat, giving Rick a little squeeze on his shoulder before she pranced away upstairs to shower and get dressed. Rick heard a few loud footfalls and some not so hushed voices coming from above him. A few moments later, Carl was trudging into the kitchen. The best thing Rick could say about that was at least River caught him instead of Merle. Carl seemed unaffected by his ejection from Wren's bed. Instead of dashing home, he scooped up a bowl of oats and sat down at the table to eat them.
"I told you to stop sneaking over here," Rick said. Carl's only response was to laugh into his oatmeal. "It's not gonna be so funny when you have a baby on the way," Rick announced.
"We weren't doing it," Carl argued. "And Wren's not pregnant. She's on her period. So relax." Rick's eyes widened. He wasn't sure if this was information he would rather not know, information he was relieved to know, or if he was just simply shocked that Carl not only knew this information but passed it on so casually. Rick buried his face in his hand. He could tell the talk he had with his son about being respectful had really done the trick.
"Is there anything you want to ask me?," Rick said once he recovered from his shock. When Carl looked at him like he was growing a third eye Rick added, "...about sex?"
"Nope," Carl said, popping the p on the word before he scooped the last bite of oatmeal into his mouth. The information Wren got from her mother was more than enough sex education to last Carl the rest of his life. "But I'll go down and help you deal with that meeting mess if you want." Rick nodded. He finished with his coffee, placing his and Carl's dirty dishes in the sink before he headed out the door.
When Rick and Carl got down to the meeting site, the bodies had already been removed. They headed on to the small grassy area that served at Alexandria's cemetery next. Tobin and Father Garbiel were digging two graves. Deanna was standing by, arguing with the men as they dug. She didn't want her husband's murdered to be buried next to him. The men digging the graves didn't agree.
"I can take him and bury him outside of town," Rick offered. Tobin climbed up out of the hole he was digging and nodded gratefully. He understood Deanna's position. But he also wasn't comfortable just leaving Pete's body out for the crows.
"I'll help," Tobin offered. Carl moved in and took his place, helping Father Gabriel to finish digging Reg's grave. Deanna gave them brief directions to a spot close to town that she knew didn't get much foot traffic. They loaded Pete's body into the trunk of a car and drove off with him, neither of them aware that the man's son was watching the entire scene play out in front of him.