Red River Blue
Chapter 36
Carl tore towards the open gate, running at his father like he hadn't since the beginning of the turn when the man miraculously rose from the dead and showed up at the camp they had back at the quarry. The two men were equal in weight and height. And had been for the last few years. Carl nearly tackled his father, knocking him back a few steps with the force of his embrace. Rick laughed, hugging his son back. Carl's sudden show of affection was surprising. But not unwelcome.
"I've never been so happy to see another dude in my entire life," Carl gushed. "All they've been doing for the last two days is non-stop baking and talking about weddings."
Carl was happy for Mika and Henry. Even though he personally thought they ought to get to know each other a little better before they decided on a lifetime commitment. Wren was excited for their upcoming ceremony. Planning it was making her happy. So that was nice. But talking about the wedding only held Carl's interest for about the first five minutes. After listening to it for the first half of day one, he was ready to stuff his ears full of buttercream frosting. He offered to take Axel hunting with him just to get away from the constant chittering. And then that little shit climbed up a giant tree and decided once he was up there that he was afraid to climb down. Carl had to climb up to get him, scratching his arms and hands all to hell in the process.
"You didn't have fun listenin' to all the gossip?," Rick teased, his body shaking with laughter when Carl rolled his eyes back in his head and pointed his fingers towards his head like he was ready to pull the trigger on an invisible gun. Before either of them could say anything else, they were drowned out by the loud chorus of birthday wishes coming from a few feet away. Rick turned towards the raucous disruption and started laughing harder. The only woman not partaking in the loud chorus of squealing was Harley, who appeared to be more interested in laughing at what was happening than participating in it. Rick joined her, slipping his arm around her slim waist.
"My mom's been planning this ambush fer days," she whispered into his ear, her face still lit with a big smile.
Daryl had his arm around Carol, trying to back them both away from the rest of the small crowd. But his efforts were useless. River was shoving a pink cupcake at him while all the other girls were singing a very loud and off key version of happy birthday. The fact that Daryl's birthday fell during fair week was a source of endless irritation to the man. Every year he told his wife and his sister-in-law that all he wanted for his goddamn birthday was to be left the fuck alone. And every year they made a bigger fuss than the last. Rick suspected that Daryl actually enjoyed all the attention, even though he would never admit it.
Since it was about to be shoved directly in his face if he didn't, Daryl took his birthday cupcake from River's hands and blew out the tiny yellow and white striped birthday candle she'd managed to scrape up from god only knew where. All the girls whooped it up, cheering for him. River wrapped her arms around him and Carol, kissing them each on the cheek before she darted off to jump on Merle. Daryl hoped he'd seen the last of her for now, since the crowd of girls were finally starting to disperse now that River had moved away. But just when Daryl thought he was in the clear, she reappeared in front of him.
"I got yer present in here," River squealed, digging into the canvas bag she had hanging off her shoulder. Daryl could tell when she found the item she was digging for, because her eyes lit up. And from her bag she produced a giant unopened bottle of high end before the outbreak tequila. Daryl's mouth gaped open. This wasn't just any tequila. It was Silver Patron. The same shit she used to buy him the tiniest bottle of for his birthday every year, since the small bottle was the only one she could afford. Seeing it filled him with a rush of memories and love for the woman that really was his best and oldest friend. River took one look at Daryl's face before her eyes started watering. She handed him the bottle and wiped them with the back of her hand, laughing when Daryl finally released his wife and pulled her into a tight hug.
Letting River go, Daryl ripped the plastic seal off his birthday present and pulled the round cork stopper from the bottle neck. He took a swing of the well aged liquor, enjoying the burn as it went down. Then he offered the bottle to River. She laughed, telling him happy birthday one more time before she took a sip herself. River handed the bottle to Carol, giggling as she reminded her that it was bad luck to pass on a birthday toast. Carol took a small sip as Daryl motioned his brother over.
"Happy birthday little brother," Merle offered, tipping the bottle back and getting a healthy gulp. Before he could pass the bottle off to anyone else, River snatched it from her husband and corked the top. She handed it to Daryl, telling him he should save the rest for later at his party. At the mention of a birthday party, Daryl let out a heavy sigh. He knew there was no use in complaining, so he stuffed the tequila in his bag and tossed his arm around Carol's shoulders.
"When do I get my present from you," he asked, leaning down and speaking into her ear. If he was going to put up with all this happy birthday caterwauling, Daryl figured he might as well get something out of it.
Carol laughed as she shook her head at him. They had what she would consider to be a healthy sex life. Especially for people that had been married for so long. And Daryl never wanted anything different from the things they usually did together. The kind of sex that River referred to as spicy vanilla. So why Daryl got some extra thrill out of doing it on his birthday was a mystery to her.
"I've got your present back at the tent," Carol promised, turning her head so she could press her lips against his. "You can't have it until after your party tonight," she added, already knowing that Daryl was going to try and corral her back to their tent right now. And while she would love to drop everything and spend the day in bed, they had too much to get done. She also wanted to wait because she had an actual surprise for Daryl. Something other than sex. And she wasn't going to have possession of it until later in the day. She needed some of the supplies that the guys brought over in the second wagon load to trade for it. Carol knew it would be hard to top River's gift. But she was going to try.