A/N Thank you all so much! I'm posting a little early this week because tomorrow is Easter, yay! Happy Easter. I hope you enjoy the chapter. xo
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He's feeling so upbeat, what a day, and her Mama is about the sweetest lady he's ever known, "What's that Ma'am?"
She looks in his eyes and in such a kind and loving voice she asks, "When are you going to marry my daughter?"
Hershel practically shrieks her name, "Annette!"
She looks at her husband and shrugs, "What? Don't tell me you don't have the same question, and if a person has a question, sometimes the best thing to do is just ask it."
Beth has barely caught her breath but she manages to respond before her Daddy does, "Mama! Stop, please. It's not fair to put Daryl on the spot that way."
Annette seems undaunted, "Now Beth, you said yourself you thought he'd marry you but that you'd have to ask. I happen to think he should be the one to do the asking and maybe he just needs a little push. What do you think Daryl?"
Daryl's finally got his head together enough to say, "Ma'am, I appreciate all ya done today n I want ya ta know, I love your daughter. I'd do anything for Beth, but I think this is sumthin' her and me need ta talk about, ya know, alone. It's kinda private n all, don't ya think?"
Before the last sentence is out of his mouth, Beth is by his side, "It's okay Daryl, please, I know you want to get to work. Go ahead, please. We can talk later."
"Ya sure?"
"Oh my gosh, yes, I am so sure."
Once he's gone she tells her Mama, "That was so unfair, gee Mama, he's just getting to know you and you hit him with that."
Even Hershel gets after her a little, "You accuse me of not knowing how to act, what do you call that? Besides, if there's anyone who's supposed to pose that question to the man, it should be me, not you. And wasn't it you who told me 'They're just young, they're in love and they're building a life in their own way'?"
The discussion gets a little heated, but no one really wants to argue, they're just now getting reconciled. They agree to drop the subject and see where life takes Daryl and Beth over the next several weeks. Beth and her Mama are doing the dishes and Beth gets on a topic she knows her Mother loves, "I've got a perfect spot for a vegetable garden out back. I just have to clear some brush and Daryl will help with that, and then I can start planting."
Mama's all enthusiastic about gardening now, and she offers, "I have seeds I harvested from my garden I can give you, and I might even be able to get you some starts. You let me know when you're ready and I'll get those to you."
"That would be wonderful Mama, thank you."
What's really wonderful is that they're no longer discussing marriage, and what Beth wants to do right now is have a good heart to heart with Amy. She needs a friend to talk this through with, and there's no one better than Amy because Amy's been going through the same kind of situation with her parents. Well, not her Daddy. Amy says he'd like to run Merle Dixon out of town on a rail, and Amy didn't sound too convinced when she added, "He just needs to get to know Merle and how terrific he is, then I'm sure he'd be happy we're together." Beth wasn't too convinced either, but who can tell about these things?
Now that Beth's folks are gone she plops down in Daryl's chair and makes the call. She tells Amy the whole story and Amy has to giggle about Mama, "Oh my gosh Beth, I wish I had a picture of everyone's face at that moment. I'm really sorry though, really."
Beth agrees, "It would have been a lot funnier if it happened to anyone besides me and Daryl. Anyway, so tell me, what's happening with your parents, have they accepted the way things are with you and Merle?"
Amy heaves a loud sigh and says, "It's my Mom, Beth. She won't stop pressuring me about getting Merle to marry me. Get this, she told me he needed to make an honest woman out of me. Who the heck says that stuff anymore? Anyway, I finally told Merle everything about it last night, and guess what he said?"
"I just can't even imagine, tell me."
"So, I tell him all of it, everything, and I didn't sugarcoat the stuff my Dad said. I mean, let's be real, Merle's not dumb and he pretty much knew how my Dad feels because Dad was so rude he wouldn't even shake Merle's hand when they met. Then I tell him how my Mom is putting on the full court press about if we're going to be living together he has to marry me, and then he says," at this point Amy does her best imitation of Merle's Dixon's voice, "well shit then Sugar, let's make your Mama happy n help your Daddy ta see the light. We'll go right over ta the courthouse n get married. You just name the day n time."
Both young women are laughing, and Beth asks, "So is that what you're going to do?"
"Well not exactly. He said we'll do this however I want, and I'm thinking a small backyard wedding at our house. I want you and Daryl there, of course, heck, I don't think Merle would get married without having Daryl there, and my sister and Mama, Daddy if he'll come, and your folks…"
"I'll help in any way I can Amy. I know you've wanted this and I'm so happy for you."
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As soon as Daryl walks in the backdoor of Dirty Dixon's Jerry calls out, "Merle's in the kitchen, he wants you to go see him."
"Thanks, that's right where I was headed."
As soon as he's in the kitchen the smile spreads across his face, "Well ain't you the fuckin' shit Merle, ya got er done."
"You bet kid, once I didn't have you here botherin' me it was easy."
Daryl laughs, "Fuck you brother," and the too shake hands as they look around the room, smiling at the sight of the nearly completed kitchen.
Daryl shakes his head a little and says, "Man, I can't believe it. It's gettin' closer n closer ta bein' real Merle. Shit, who'd a thought it."
"It's gonna be great kid, I know it will. I can't wait ta come for barbecue." Then he asks, "So, how'd the meal with the folks go? I don't see any blood or bruisin' on ya, so it couldn't have been too bad."
"It was mostly real good…" Daryl runs it all down for him, including Mama's words right there at the end, and asks, "Shit, so now what the fuck?."
Merle starts belly laughing, "I guess you better just do what Mama wants, huh? Amy's Mama wants the same thing, wants Amy ta make me marry her, shit, Amy don't have ta make me do nuthin'. If she wants ta marry a crusty ole bastard like me, hell yeah, we're gettin' married. I love that girl, so why the fuck not?"
Daryl's just quietly chewing the side of his thumb, but his head is spinning.
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It's late when he gets home, shit, well it is Saturday night and the crowd was thirsty. You can't be rushing them out the door when they're so willing to spend their money. Daryl did decide to hold off on the bookwork, he'll catch it in the morning. For now, he locks the receipts in the safe and heads to the kitchen. He needs some time to come down off the busy evening.
He grabs a beer from the fridge, and the bottle from the cabinet, pours a healthy portion of the amber liquid into a juice glass and sits down at the kitchen table. He stares out the window into the darkness of the yard, trying hard not to think of anything at all as he sips the whiskey and takes a pull from the beer bottle.
He can feel his neck and shoulders start to relax, it comes from the quiet in his mind more than the quiet in the room. That's how it is if you already have your mind made up about something, and his mind is made up.
He swallows the last of the whiskey, washes it down with the last of the beer, closes his eyes for just a minute, then stands and makes the walk to their bedroom, being as quiet as he's able to be. There's just enough ambient light for him to make out the shape of her slim body lying under the covers, and the sight of her always makes him smile.
He brushes his teeth before getting in the shower, and once he's in, it doesn't take him much time to wash up, but he pauses and smiles as a long ago memory pops in his mind. Shit, he couldn't have been more than four years old, but the memory is so vivid it's like it just happened. He'd been playing down by the river, where he was strictly forbidden to play. He had a blast rolling around in the soft mud at the bank, and trying to skip rocks like his big brother did, but boy, he was a mess when he got back home, and there was 14 year old Merle on the front porch, almost like he was waiting. His brother stood and grabbed him by the back of the collar, carrying him into the bathroom while telling him, "Hurry n get them clothes off little brother, n get in the shower. Ya gotta get that mud washed offa ya 'fore the old man sees ya, he'll know where ya been and he'll whoop ya good. I'll take your clothes out back n hose em down."
Merle cranked the water on and said, "Go on, get in n hurry it up. The ole man's libel ta be home any minute."
Daryl had never taken a shower. Mama just put him in the tub once a week or so. He protested, "I dunno how."
Merle snorted, "It ain't like it's sumthin' ya need ta learn, ya just take that bar a soap, start at the top a your head n work your way down ta them little toes a yours," and then he said, "n don't miss any a them cracks or crevices along the way. Everythin' needs a washin'." That's when he snorted a laugh and added, "But don't be dwellin' on that little thing ya got hangin' there for too long neither." Daryl's still smiling as he turns the faucet off and thinks about how that fuckin' Merle saved his ass that day. It wasn't twenty minutes later the old man came home.
He walks in their room, stopping when he reaches the bed just to look at her for a minute as she sleeps. Shit, how did he get so lucky to have this woman in his bed? His lips are still turned up in a small smile as he bends to lift the covers and slip in next to her. He's pretty sure Beth hasn't budged an inch since he first walked in the room. Her back is to him as he reaches for her, his palm softly rubbing along her bottom and the curve of her hip before it floats up and over the dip of her waist.
He's pressing his lower body into her bottom, rubbing softly against her as his hand slides across her back to her breast. He spreads soft kisses along her smooth, pale shoulder and back, while his hand fondles her sweet breast and his fingers roll and pinch the taut little nipple.
She moans a long low 'hmm' and he smiles, then she sleepily whispers, "Whoever you are, you'd better stop that, my boyfriend is going to be home any minute."
He holds her tighter, "Boyfriend? Why settle for some boy when you could have a man? But hey, if you're worried about your boy, well shit lady, I'll hurry it up."
It's all she can do not to laugh when she softly begs, "Oh no, no please don't hurry. I like it slow."
They can't help themselves, they both start to laugh, but not for long. Laughter gives way to passion. They tease and touch each other, and soon her nightie is laying at the foot of the bed, and Daryl's laying on top of her.
He's barely moving, his strokes so slow it's driving her half crazy, "Daryl, what are you doing?"
He smiles down at her, "Ya said ya like it slow. Just doin' what ya like."
"I lied, now stop that. No! Wait! Don't stop but speed up a little."
They both start laughing again, until he begins to nibble and suck at her breasts while his strokes become faster, stronger, deeper. Suddenly his hands clasp her waist and he rolls them both over and she's straddling him when he says, "You're turn ta do the work Baby. I'ma just lay here n enjoy it."
She's smiling, "Fine," as she starts to move up and down on him, and just before she leans down to suck and nibble on his breast she asks, "What's gotten into you? You're so silly tonight."
He sets his finger on the tip of her nose and says, "I'm silly? You started this shit Baby, I'm just goin' along."
"All right then Mister Manly Man, let's do this."
"Try'n stop me." Soon they begin to move together, touching, rubbing, pinching and nibbling at each other, they're too lost in the heat and too lost in each other to play any more games, it's all about love and satisfaction now. Suddenly his hands are on her butt and grasping firmly onto the warm flesh as he pulls himself up to a sitting position. He sucks hungrily at her breast while he pushes her harder onto him and her fingers run through his hair, tugging at it while over and over she whispers, "Daryl, oh, oh, oh, Daryl, Daryl…"
Her body begins to flex then relax, and then she trembles all over with one last cry, "Oh Daryl," and she loses all control.
His hands are on her back holding her to him and holding her steady as he begins to lose himself to her and as he cums he calls back to her, "Shit Beth, damn Baby, damn."
Daryl falls back onto the bed, never letting loose of her and she falls with him, nestling into his chest as he whispers, "Damn that felt good. I love ya Baby."
"mmm, it was so good I don't even mind that you woke me up. I love you too Mister Dixon."
To her it seems completely out of the blue, but to him it's a question he's been planning to ask her since he left home this afternoon, "So, um, Baby, um Beth, is that what ya want? Ya wanna get married? Cuz I mean, ya know, I guess we can if ya want to."
She leans up looking at him while shaking her head side to side saying, "Daryl, that was pitiful. The worst excuse for a marriage proposal in the history of all mankind. If I say yes, what does that mean? We're doing what I want and you're just going along because you don't know what else to do?"
Even laying down the man can shrug, "Yeah, well I guess, but, ya know, well, I mean I love ya and I ain't against it exactly. I guess I just never really thought about it. We live here together, you n me, you love me, I love you and that's that. Neither one of us is leaving the other, we already made that promise, we already said it was gonna be forever, so I guess I thought we had it covered. But honest ta God Baby, I ain't against it either. It's just sumthin' I never thought I'd ever do an I never gave it any thought at all, but more'n anything I wanna make ya happy and if gettin' married would make ya happy then fuck yeah, let's do it."
This man, sometimes he is just too much and she can't help giggling at his words. My God, for a badass biker he is so pure of heart.
Then he says, "Ya know what? If we're gonna have some kinda discussion, I oughta go get rid a this thing n clean up real fast."
"I think I'll go get a glass of water, can I get you one?"
"I think I better have a beer, if ya will."
"Sure."
Back in their bed they sit side by side propped up with pillows and sipping their beverages. Daryl takes her hand, nervously bouncing their clasped hands up and down between them, and he asks her, "Just tell me what ya want Beth, and for fuck sake, be honest. Do ya wanna get married?"
Okay, he wants honesty, he gets honesty, "I do want to marry you Daryl, if we could do it right this minute, and I thought you wanted to as much as I want to, I would throw my nightgown back on and rush down to the courthouse to say, 'I do.' But I won't do it just because you think you need to marry me to keep me happy. If you marry me I want it to be because you really want to."
He chews on his bottom lip nodding his head ever so slightly as he thinks this over. He thought he had all the answers when he got home, all he had to do was whatever she wanted. Well, she wants this but he seems to be missing what the importance of it is to her. Finally he says, "Can I ask sumthin', and I ain't jokin' or bein' contrary, it's a real question."
"Yes, of course."
"What difference does it make? I mean, I guess I don't get it, we're here, we're together, we're in love, we ain't gonna love on anyone else, and as far as I can see, we promised we were gonna be this way forever. Shit Baby, we live like a husband and a wife. So, yeah, I don't get it."
Now she's nibbling on her upper lip as she thinks about his question and how she's going to explain to this man what the difference would be. Finally she settles for telling him exactly what she knows he wants to know, what's in her heart. "I've heard people say marriage is just a piece of paper but I don't see it that way at all. First though, let's talk about the legal part. What we get if we get married are things like our health insurance. You have to pay for it, I have it and pay for it, but if we were married we could have just one policy. There's social security when we get old, you know, if one of us should pass the other gets benefits. And we'd have medical access if one of us got sick or in case of an emergency, and there are tax benefits too. So that's the boring stuff."
"Yeah, but I'm glad ya said that, cuz I never even thought about any of it."
She smiles and admits, "I didn't either, Mama reminded me this afternoon." They both chuckle at that.
She takes in a breath and talks about her feelings, "If I married you Daryl, it wouldn't be because I just like the thought of getting married. I want to be married to you, I want to work on building our love and our relationship together. I want to make the commitment to love and cherish you for the rest of my life, through sickness and health, the good times, the bad times and all the times in between. I want to be your wife. I want to tell the world that I love you that much. I want God to know I believe he brought us together for a reason and that I'm willing to fight to protect us and what we are to each other. I want my parents and my brother and sister, my friends and everyone I know, to know, I love you. I pick you. I will always love you and always pick you. Marriage is about commitment and faith and about you and me becoming a real family, and I like knowing that 100 years from now our names are still going to be listed together on a marriage record because we let the world know we picked each other."
He looks at her like he's not sure she's real, then sets his beer down on the night table, takes the waterglass from her hand and sets it down next to his beer. He still hasn't spoken as he leans in, takes her in his arms and begins to kiss her. His kisses are warm and she can feel the love in them, and then he draws away and asks, "Will ya marry Beth? Please? Whenever ya want, wherever ya want. I wanna be your family, and I'ma always pick you too."
"Yes."
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A/N YeeHaw! Please leave a comment. There's a chapter photo on my tumblr blogs gneebee and bethylmethbrick, please have a look. I'll be back next week with more of The Accidental Christmas, and I hope you'll be here too. Until then Happy Easter, and remember, I love ya large! xo