Red River Blue
Chapter 35
Ezekiel waited patiently for the hugging and the gushing and the excited squealing to die down before he called the first Coalition leaders meeting of the summer to order. Hilltop was the only community without any present representation. But given the ongoing threat to that community, Ezekiel could hardly blame Glenn and Maggie for staying put. He wouldn't leave his people if they were facing such a threat either.
New to the meeting was Ozzy, the leader of the Highwaymen. His group was small compared to the other communities. And Ezekiel guessed that they would eventually become absorbed by one of the larger groups. But for now, it was fine for them to stand alone and represent themselves. Ian, the leader of Riverbend, and one of his top soldiers were present. And even Georgie turned up, choosing to attend the meeting alone and leave the twins to socialize outside with the other early arrivals.
The most pressing issue up for discussion was the threat to Hilltop. A threat to Hilltop was a threat to all of them. Not only because they were allies, but because Hilltop raised most of the livestock that all the other communities needed to thrive. Ezekiel could tell that Carol was ready to call in the treaty for her friends. But it didn't prove necessary. Everyone volunteered to help without a second thought. Even Ozzy, who had never been to Hilltop, offered to send a few of his men. It was a good start to the fair.
"I'll send a few of my best," Cyndie said, the color rising in her cheeks. "...but I can't go myself because I'm volunteering for service this year."
Cyndie's announcement brought on a flurry of excitement from the other women. Ezekiel thought about trying to bring the meeting back to order. But he wrapped his arm around Michonne instead, resting his hand on her swollen stomach. Ian was the only one who didn't look amused by the display. But even he seemed content to wait and let the noise die down on its own. Being the leader of a group that formed their rules based on religious values, Ian didn't approve of everything that went on inside the other Coalition communities. But since Riverbend appreciated and needed the trading and the benefits they got from the mutual protection treaty, he tended to keep his opinions to himself.
Unlike the other communities, Alexandria had a whole council of leaders as opposed to just one or two people in charge. And the council members that were married shared their position with their spouses. Which meant Ezekiel never knew who was going to show up to represent their community or what mood they might be in. Having River, Carol, Rosita, and Harley there gave the meeting a much different flavor than a meeting with Rick, Aiden, and the Dixon brothers. He didn't remember there being so much hugging or excited squealing happening last year when the men were the ones to attend the first meeting of the year.
"I can't believe yer goin' down to the Hoe-tent," River squeaked, hugging Cyndie for at least the third time since the young woman announced her summer plans.
"HEY!," Ezekiel warned. "River! I would greatly appreciate it if we did not refer to the population diversification project as the Hoe-tent." When his scolding only served to send River into a fit of near hysterical laughter, Ezekiel buried his face in his hand.
"To be fair, the tent of population diversification doesn't exactly have the same ring as Hoe-tent," Michonne added, trying not to start laughing herself.
"Does someone want to explain what a Hoe-tent is?," Ozzy asked. Because it sounded a lot like a whore-house. And these didn't seem like the kind of people that would approve of something like that. River tried to answer his question, but she was still laughing too hard. Ezekiel's wife Michonne kindly explained that they had an area set up for women that were trying to get pregnant by men from outside their communities. The hope was that it would help diversify the population and keep future generations from having to marry their cousins.
"You should volunteer," River added. "Yer whole group is from outside the area and yer not related to anyone. You'll get first picked fer sure." If groups from outside the coalition attended the fair, they were usually encouraged to participate.
"What would I have to do?" he asked. Since River's explanation of what he ought to do was sure to be R-rated or worse, Michonne quickly interjected. Married men and women needed permission from their spouses to volunteer. Then, everyone that was interested met up on day two of the fair down at the assigned area which was not to be referred to as the Hoe-tent. The woman picked their partners. After that, it was encouraged for the couples to meet up once a day down at the same tent, which was positioned away from the main area of the fair to allow some privacy. If everything went well, nine months later a new batch of tiny survivors would arrive. The practice started as a way to help Oceanside, since the group was almost all women. But it slowly expanded over the last few years to include women from any community that wanted a baby and were without a partner, or even women that were having trouble conceiving or just wanted to have a child that wouldn't be related to the other children in her community.
Ozzy pondered this information. He'd never considered having a fling just for the purpose of getting someone pregnant. But in the old world, they did have sperm banks and fertility clinics. So the idea wasn't that far-fetched. He'd seen stranger things since the outbreak. And he supposed that if people were going to engage in the activity anyway, it was better that it was being done in some sort of controlled setting. His eyes scanned over Cyndie before settling on River, the woman he found to be by far the most attractive of the group. Her smile was infectious and he liked the little crook in her nose.
"Are you gonna be down at that tent?," he asked, his eyes lingering on River's exposed cleavage. She tossed her head back and laughed.
"No. But god bless ya fer thinkin' I'm young enough to be down there," River teased. Gesturing to Harley, who did not look amused with the situation, she added, "I got three kids already. That's my oldest daughter." Ozzy's eyes widened as he looked back and forth between the two women.
"I thought that was your sister," he admitted. Harley snorted, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes. This douchebag sure was original. And the way her mom laughed, you would think no one ever used that corny line on her before.
"Can we please get this fuckin' meeting back on track?," Harley asked. "Y'all can talk about yer Hoe-tent shit on yer own time."
Ezekiel cleared his throat, secretly grateful to Harley for putting an abrupt stop to the Hoe-tent discussion. He quickly went over the rules for the fair booths and the activity schedule for the next two weeks. There wasn't much change from the year before, except for a few minor adjustments. After Ezekiel was done, he opened the floor for further topics of discussion.
Carol went first. Eugene was rigging up some sort of communication system. Carol wanted permission for him to set up some sort of radio tower at every community. This would allow everyone to broadcast information and pass messages without having to constantly send messengers out on horses. Everyone agreed to this, as it didn't seem there was a reason not to. Being able to communicate directly between the communities would be a distinct advantage for all of them.
Cyndie went next. She wanted help bringing in a large cruise ship they spotted off shore. The vessel was likely full of the dead. They always were. But the ghost ships were also full of supplies and equipment. The last large ship they towed in was a navy cruiser. Just the weapons cache alone made that ship worth the trouble. And they found almost a year's worth of dry goods and non-perishable food items. Plus there was the ship itself, which was still slowly being dismantled and used to build and reinforce all sorts of structures and walls. All the plumbing was removed and used to replace the aging pipes in the Kingdom. Like the radio system installation, everyone was eager to help with the ship, though when that was going to happen was shelved for later discussion. Large scale scavenging missions usually had to wait until after the summer growing season was over. No one could spare that many able bodies this time of year.
In her usual style, Georgie waited for everyone else to finish before she spoke up. She had plans for a new water powered electric system that she wanted to test and she thought the waterfall near Hilltop would be the perfect spot. Glenn and Maggie would ultimately have to approve this. But like the other topics brought to the table, there seemed to be no reason why they wouldn't agree. The next topic she broached was a little more controversial. Georgie brought up some stories she heard about a large-scale community of survivors in Ohio. So far, she'd only heard talk from other people she met in her travels. But she wanted permission from the Coalition to investigate. The stories she heard were pretty far fetched, including descriptions of towns that were operating at pre-outbreak standards.
Since it was obvious that there was a split in opinions on whether or not it was safe to approach this new community, the Coalition took a vote. Georgie put forth the motion, which meant she wasn't voting. Oceanside and Alexandria voted her idea down. Riverbend and Kingdom voted to approve. And Ozzy didn't have a vote yet. Because his group had not officially joined the Coalition. This left them at a tie that Glenn and Maggie were going to have to break once they arrived.
"Your majesty," Jerry chimed, sticking his head in through the open door. "There's a woman at the gates that says she's not from any of the coalition communities. She says she lost her group and she's been living alone."
"Is she asking for safe haven?," Ezekiel asked. Jerry shook his head.
"Naw. She's got a bunch of puppies with her and she says she wants to sell them at the fair."
This unexpected information was greeted with a fair amount of excitement. What kind of puppies? I want a dog so bad. Can we see the puppies? Ezekiel laughed at his fearsome Coalition, transformed into children with the mere mention of a puppy.
"Escort her in and set her up with a place to stay and one of the empty trade booths," Ezekiel said. He had to admit, after losing Shiva he wouldn't mind having a new pet for himself.
With the meeting over, everyone began to file out, hoping for a glimpse of the mysterious woman and her litter of puppies. Ezekiel caught Carol on her way out the door.
"Did you need something else?," she asked. The light of excitement in his eyes had her curious.
"I have something to discuss with you," he admitted, "...but it's personal, not Coalition business. If you'd prefer, we can wait until your husband arrives to start the formal preparations." Carol raised her brow and gestured for him to continue. "...upon his arrival, Prince Henry informed me that we have a royal wedding to plan."