A/N Thank you all very much. Beth seemed a little disappointed, or maybe dismayed, or maybe both at the end of the last chapter. Let's see how things go.
The Mattress
He was carefully placing Miz Erma's seed boxes on the front passenger seat when the idea crossed his mind, and now the idea has turned into what feels like a must-do. If no one else has thought of it yet, someone will soon enough. Shit, he's surprised it took him this long to realize what a gold mine the little place is.
You have to reason that the survivors of whatever the fuck this disease is are going to have to change the way they've been doing things. The world has taken a huge step backward, and with no fuel or electricity available, everything has suddenly been pushed back to the way it was a couple of hundred years ago. Technology is gone. There's no more refrigeration, no natural gas or electric cook stoves, no central air, no heat, no fuel. You can't just drive to the supermarket and grab whatever the hell you feel like having for dinner, and you can't run in the department store and pick up some new shoes and a coat.
A person will have to have the right tools to deal with this big change, and most of the tools people are going to need come from a different century.
So yeah, if no one's hit the historical museum yet, he and Beth stand to make a good haul.
As for Beth, she's still stunned by his remark. She was beginning to think of them as a couple. It sure felt like they were, but apparently Daryl thinks of them as roommates. Sleeping under the same roof in separate beds. It's not that she thinks they're at a place where they're ready to start sharing a bed, but she was hoping that time would come in the not too distant future. Him getting himself his own mattress now has her thinking it's not something he wants.
This is going to be so awkward. Awkward? No, not just that. Considering her ever growing attraction to, and affection for him, it's going to be tough both emotionally and physically. But what can she do? If he's not feeling it, she can't force him to care for her the way she wants him to, and the way she cares for him.
She's deep in her thoughts when, as they're about to get in their vehicles, he comes over to her and says, "Hang on a minute Beth. I's thinkin' about another place we oughta check out. Lemme see if we can make a little room."
He lifts up the canopy on the pickup, yeah, he could rearrange stuff a little and squeeze a couple of small things in, plus, now that Jack is sitting up front with Beth there's some space in the back seat.
Then he opens the back end of the van and sure, he can make it work. He can shove a few more things in, oh yeah, and there's the floorboard of both the passenger seats. So, why not go ahead and see what they can find.
He's not sure why Beth looks so sad and confused, maybe it's all the dead people, and her buddy Dwight. That slimy little bastard had to be a big disappointment. There's also the way she is, with all those feelings and everything. Man she's sensitive. Seeing her apartment all torn up probably hurt her feelings. But she sure was happy about those texts from her family, and he was happy for her. And man, she's got to be happy with the way things have worked out, they managed to get a ton of good shit.
She's usually the one who's all grateful and saying she feels blessed, but the way she looks right now, it's like it was all bad news.
He'll never figure her out, that's for sure, and for now, he's not going to ask what's wrong and start some new trouble. He simply floats his idea by her. "Hey, remember when I told ya about Miz Erma takin' me ta that little museum to see all the stuff people had in the old days? That's where her and me came up with my washing machine idea."
"I remember."
"Yeah well, I was thinkin' we should hit the place. We could use some a that stuff they got, whaddya say?"
She doesn't exactly seem enthusiastic, but she agrees, "Sure." Huh? She almost sounds pissed at him. What the fuck did he do?
Whatever. For now, they need to get the fuck out of town and back up the mountain. She can chew his ass out when they get there. "A'ight, I'll lead the way. There's a parking area in the back; I hope we can get to it. I'll try for that. I wanna get close enough ta the backdoor so we can load up what fits and get the fuck out."
They see a few dead people walking on the short drive, but except for dead bodies that are really dead, downtown seems deserted. That makes sense. People would flee their offices and other places of business to get home to their families. There are abandoned cars, fender benders and much worse accidents, but they're able to get around it all and stay on the route they planned. They see one lone walker in front of the police station and Daryl decides to leave him be, he's not bothering them and Daryl's a man on a mission, he's anxious to get where they're going.
He pulls around behind the museum, and there's only one car in the lot. Unfortunately, it's taking up the spot where he'd be able to pull in next to the building and roll windows down for Jack without putting the dog in danger. That won't work now. He plans to just go ahead and go in by himself, but Beth's having none of that, "No, Daryl. I want to go in too."
He shrugs, "A'ight, then we take Jack with us. I ain't leavin' him out here as bait, and I can't leave him in the car with the windows up, it'll get too damn hot." His words help to lift her spirits because they remind her he really is a very sweet guy, just completely and absolutely clueless when it comes to personal relationships with humans.
They lock the vehicles, Daryl reaches in his pocket for the small knife so he can pick the lock, and that's when they discover it's not locked at all. They see it as a warning, there may be people inside. They hold their pistols up, ready for whatever.
Once inside they see the lone occupant and Daryl recognizes her. Miz Erma called the older lady the curator, she runs the place. Well not anymore. Daryl motions to Beth and says, "Don't shoot, the noise could attract more trouble." Instead, as the dead woman approaches him Daryl quickly stabs her in the forehead.
He drags the body behind the counter and out of sight, that's better. Except for that sad incident, Beth is so happy they stopped at this small county museum. It's a treasure whether they needed any of this stuff or not. She can't believe she never visited this place. Well, she's in love with it now and her mood has gotten better quickly, and almost immediately she sees something she wants, "Daryl, they've got a peddle operated Singer sewing machine, look, there's even an old sewing box full of accessories and lots of spools of thread. My gosh, I'd be able to repair all of our clothes, and even make some new ones if we ever came across fabric."
He nods, "Okay, we got a little room where we can set it on the floorboard of the van. I just gotta take the legs offa that stand thing and put em back on later. We'll take it." He points at something in the kitchen area of the museum and says, "Hey, look at this thing. It's a waffle iron with no cord. How the hell do ya use it?"
"Oh how awesome. It's from back before there was such a thing as an electric waffle iron, or electricity for that matter. You put it right on the stove top."
"Cool. I'ma get it. I can make waffles til I run outta flour. They'll be real tasty with Miz Erma's jam."
Daryl wants the washboard too; it might be easier for washing some things than that contraption he's been using. There's a stove top toaster and a cast iron muffin pan, all things Beth would like to own, but what happens when they run out of flour? That thought has no sooner crossed her mind than she sees a vintage flour mill. Hmm She knows how to grow wheat, why couldn't they at least give it a try?
In the small farming section there's a wealth of treasures, including farm implements like chaff cutters, scythes, sickles, hoes, ditching spades, shovels, rakes and pitchforks. Daryl notes, "Some a this shit would make damn good weapons."
He's not wrong, and Beth asks, "Those tools would be great to have for our farm. Is there any way we can take them all?"
"I was just thinkin' about that too. I don't see why I couldn't tie em all on top of the van next ta the sheeting."
She's all smiles now, "Oh good. We're going to have a real farm Daryl and I'm pretty excited about that." Even Daryl smiles just a little. Then she sees it, a huge display of seeds. They're all sorted in an old wooden box and hand labeled. It's similar to Miz Erma's boxes but larger, and this one includes wheat, beans, more spices and even nuts. "We should take this Daryl. I don't know if we can get any of this to grow on the mountain, but maybe, and I'm pretty sure a lot of it would do just fine in the greenhouse."
"Do you think that stuff is still good?"
"They wouldn't all be, but some would and if we can get them to grow, we'll get new, fresh seeds. It's climate controlled in here and I see they had a dehumidifier, so gosh, it's worth a try. People do keep heirloom seeds."
"Yeah, I guess it's worth a try. We're gonna have ta be 100% self-sufficient."
There are so many vintage kitchen utensils and she sees a lot they could use, like measuring cups, measuring spoons, wooden spoons, a hand beater and so much more. She smiles remembering how she used to hate mixing cake batter with the hand beater. She'd feel lucky to do that now. She asks him, "Daryl, I was thinking all of these kitchen items would fit under the back seat next to your toolbox. Can we please take them?"
"Yeah sure. Good idea."
He's distracted again in the mechanical section when Beth spots them, a display of beautiful old collector spoons. There's no way she needs collector teaspoons, sheesh, how silly. Especially now. It's just that they're so pretty and maybe the new world needs pretty things. She quickly fills the pockets of her jeans with the little spoons.
Just as she's putting the last of the spoons in her front pocket Daryl approaches and she tells him, "You know Daryl, there's a bakery three blocks from here. They might have some of those big commercial sacks of flour, and maybe there's some yeast, baking powder, baking soda, sugar. I don't think anyone but us would think to take that stuff. Not yet."
"Shit, we're gonna be so loaded down the rigs might not make it back up the mountain."
She smiles, "I'm confident they will. Do you want to make a bet?"
"Not with you. I already know you're the lucky type, otherwise you never would have survived bein' in that trap for four days."
They do make a stop at the bakery, and just as they were sure would be the case, whatever cooked foods there may have been are long gone, but the baker is not. Daryl stabs him and they both feel it, shit, the guy was just doing his job. Fuck this world. Still, there's good news for them. Apparently it hasn't yet occurred to folks that it's time to start working with the raw ingredients. He's pretty sure he can get two of the 50 pound sacks of flour on the back seat of the pickup, then stack her quilt and her duffle bags on top of them. Yeah it works, and he even manages to wedge a big plastic tub of lard between the backseat and the floorboard.
The oversized cans of baking powder and baking soda, plus the huge jar of yeast will fit on the seat between her and Jack, and now that he's moved the duffel bags and her quilt out of the pickup bed, the big plastic tub of sugar, and the one Daryl's most excited about, the cocoa powder, will fit in the bed of the pickup, along with a gallon jug of vanilla.
Daryl actually gives her a full-blown smile when he remarks, "I'ma be eatin' better now than I did before the world went ta hell."
She manages to smile back, "It's a good thing we're going to be working so hard getting our farm going, we're going to have a lot of calories to burn."
Then his mood turns serious, "It's after three Beth, we gotta get. We're gonna be drivin' up that mountain in the dark, plus, I'm starvin'."
"Me too and I'm anxious to go. We should eat a couple of those granola bars, and when we get home we can have ramen."
Daryl is cautious before they begin their journey up the mountain, carefully checking out the trailhead area. He wants to make sure there's no one around who might get ideas about robbing them, or try to follow them. When he's sure the coast is clear, they begin their trip.
The rigs are packed and stacked to the gills and more. They're moving a lot of weight up the mountain, but Daryl's confident if they take it slow and easy they can do it. He lays it out the plan for her and adds, "The trip back up the mountain is gonna go a lot slower than the trip down. You follow me. I'll keep a close eye on ya in my rear view mirror. If ya have any trouble at all, flash your headlights at me. K?"
"Yes, okay."
He wasn't wrong, it is slower, but they're making steady progress. All they have to do is get home with all the stuff they got and they'll be set. They already had more than enough food to make it through this winter, maybe even into next fall, but now they have some variety and lots of snacks. When spring arrives they're going to start their own farming operation. Once they get that going, and with Daryl's hunting skills, they shouldn't ever have to worry about where their next meal is coming from.
Between her smarts on the subject, and the book he found about building your own greenhouse, he'll have his plans drawn up and be ready to start building the thing as soon as the ground thaws in the spring. But he won't wait until then to get started. He'll use the outdoor kitchen as a work room and get going on the inside of the greenhouse. Him and Beth talked about shelves on one wall, then a series of benches with planter boxes on them. He's got plenty of scrape wood for that. They've decided to stick to the basics for their first year of growing greenhouse crops. They want to plant plenty of tomatoes, enough for eating when they're fresh, but also to make sauces to can and even tomato juice. They'll grow lettuces, but not too much. Bell peppers and lots of potatoes. Red beans won't do with the mountain's short growing season, but Beth has an idea to try growing some northern white beans, just to see if they can really do it.
He'll have all the shelves, benches and planters built by the time he starts to build the actual greenhouse, and as soon as the structure is completed he'll move everything in and they can start planting.
Daryl could never have imagined himself looking forward to being a farmer, but he finds that he is.
Oh fuck, then two minutes later he thinks about all the shit they forgot. Well, he can't get mad about it, not really. Shit, they wouldn't have had room for any more stuff anyway. He's just going to have to put away all the stuff they got today, make sure Beth knows how to operate everything at, and around the cabin, just in case he's gone more than a full day, then he'll go back down the mountain and get the stuff they still need.
Yeah, it'll be faster and easier if he just goes by himself. He can hit the garden department of any big box store, shit, maybe he'll keep it simple and just go to the WalMart. He'd bet his ass the store has been looted by everyone in town and that there's nuthin' much left. He'd also bet no one's raided the garden department. He'll get potting soil for the greenhouse, and lots of fertilizer and mulch to work into the soil of their farm. He'll grab whatever seed packets they've got left too. If it hasn't been picked over, maybe the hardware store will have stuff like that left too.
If he takes the van he can easily load it with everything they need, and then out of the blue he's suddenly wondering what Beth's favorite flower is, and if it would even grow up this high up.
They've been driving for about an hour when the pickups' headlights blink. He stops immediately and hurries back to her, "Everythin' okay?"
"It's Jack, I think he needs a break."
Daryl lets the dog out and as Jack runs around a little and has some water, Daryl asks Beth, "What about you? How you doin'?"
She shakes her head and he sees sadness in her eyes when she answers, "To tell you the truth, I feel a lot like Jack, but don't worry. I'll be fine. We'll be home soon."
How is he supposed to know that the next question he asks will be just the beginning of a conversation he never could have imagined he'd ever have with anyone, and the conversation won't be over until late into the night. "So do ya really think you're gonna like livin' on top of this mountain?"
"Yes, I know I'm going to love it. Gosh Daryl, you have an awesome place. The area couldn't be more beautiful and the house and outbuildings, the root cellar, all of it is so cool and well thought out, oh, yeah, and there's an actual bathroom in a mountain cabin. I can't imagine spending the apocalypse anyplace better than your place."
Yeah, okay, he gets it, "So if it wasn't for the apocalypse like ya called it, it wouldn't be so great, huh? It wouldn't be a place you'd wanna live?"
He drives her crazy, "Just stop it Daryl. Stop it."
"Stop what? What'd I do?"
"Stop doubting me and stop acting like the only reason I want to be on the mountain with you is because the whole darn world ended and I'm afraid. Geez, of course I'm afraid of what's happening, of course I want to be safe, but did it ever occur to you that if I wanted to find somewhere else to be safe I could? If that was all I cared about?" She can't seem to help the angry tone in her voice, "I swear Daryl you are so hardheaded."
"Well shit, I didn't mean ta piss ya off."
"Well, you did piss me off and more than once today. I don't even want to talk to you anymore. I'm too mad. Get Jack and let's go home."
"Yes boss, shit, I guess if I'ma get my ass chewed I'd rather get that done at home."
"Well then you'll be very happy."
"I probably deserve ta get yelled at for some reason or another, but you're gonna need ta explain whatever it is I done, cuz I swear lady, I got no idea."
She softens, but just a little, "I honestly believe you haven't got a clue Daryl, but don't worry, I plan to take you to school."
"Ya know Beth, you sure talk tough for a hundred pounder, but today I seen what you're capable of and ya got me kinda scared."
"Good, that's what I planned. Now let's go."
He's as confused as he's ever been about anything as they continue their ascent up the mountain. Shit, she seemed a little irritated when they left Dale and Erma's house, but for the life of him he can't figure out why she would have been, or why she is now. He's going over everything they did today, and he thinks he was real nice about it all. He can't remember saying "no" to anything she wanted. He tries to remember everything that happened, everything that she said, and everything that he said, but he's coming up empty.
Maybe she's kidding, maybe she's not really mad at all. No, she's mad. He saw fire in her eyes.
Meanwhile, in the pickup, Beth's scolding herself for acting that way with him. She reminds herself that he hasn't done one darn thing wrong. He's just Daryl being Daryl and that's one of the reasons she cares for him the way she does. He's exactly who he appears to be, no pretense, no mask. This is all just her problem and it's her own fault, but she can't help feeling the way she does about Daryl and what's making her so upset isn't Daryl, it's the fact that he doesn't have the same kind of feelings for her that she has for him.
Stop it Beth, right now. You have to stop thinking about all this stuff and concentrate on your driving. It's treacherous during the day, and now it's dark out.
Two seconds later she's right back in her thoughts. Logic and good sense can't seem to keep her from getting teary-eyed and sniffling, and Jack reacts to her sadness with a low mournful whine. "Don't worry about me Jack, I'll be fine. It's just your Dad. I wish he cared about me as much as he cares about you," comparing herself to the dog? Come on Beth, that makes her giggle through her tears, "Oh my gosh Jack, I think I'm jealous of you."
The dog is a wonderful listener and Beth keeps talking to him, "You have to know he's not my type at all, I mean seriously, come on. First of all, he's a little old. I bet he's 10 years older than me," As if on cue, the dog sighs, "No, I'm sorry, you're right Jack. I don't know why I even brought that up. It doesn't matter to me, and shoot, my Dad was 20 years older than my Mom and it didn't seem to bother either one of them."
"I guess the bottom line is, I have to focus on the positive, right? Especially with things in the world the way they are now. Daryl's been very good to me. I owe him my life for gosh sake. He's going to let me live with you guys, and I know it was never his plan to share his home with anyone except you Jack. I'm so blessed. I know he won't let me go hungry, and I know he'll protect me, and I know he'll never be mean to me on purpose. It's just that, gosh Jack, I think I might love your Dad, and I'm so sad because he's made it very clear he doesn't feel that way about me."
She's gotten herself all worked up and Jack feels it, letting out his own soft cry, "I know Jack, I'm sorry, I'm probably driving you crazy but who else can I talk to about these things? I mean think about it, I'm going to be living with this big, handsome hunk of a man, and I'll be wanting him, and you know what he'll be doing? He'll be looking at me and thinking that he got stuck with a roommate he never wanted."
That's when her right rear tire slips. It's not enough to cause any real trouble but the pickup does slide several feet back and sideways. Daryl's looking in his rear view mirror right in that moment and he hits the brakes. She stops immediately and he's already out of the van as she's rolling down her window. He starts to ask, "Beth…" and he notices the tears and red-rimmed eyes, "Ya hurt? Tell me what the fuck, ya okay?"
"I'm fine, the tire barely slipped. I'm not hurt and Jack isn't either, are you Jack?"
"If ya ain't hurt then why the fuck ya cryin'? What's goin' on Beth?"
"Everything's okay Daryl, I promise. Can we just talk about it when we get home? I'm tired and hungry and that's probably part of my problem."
He looks at her suspiciously but agrees, "Yeah, me too. A'ight then, be careful."
What a day it's been, never has he ever been so happy to see his cabin. They unload the pickup first. Quite a bit of the food that's in it will go to the cellar, but they agree they want to keep some ramen, granola bars, chips, soda and candy in the house.
He sets her duffel bags on the bed and promises, "Tomorrow I'll put a pole up somewhere for you to hang some a your stuff. You think about where you'd want that. As for drawer space, we're short on that and space is already gonna be pretty tight in the house. I could build ya a nice dresser in the bathroom for your other stuff. There's room."
"That would be great, thank you Daryl." Okay, she's grateful, so why does she sound so pissed off? Daryl doesn't ask, he's a little afraid to hear the answer.
Once outside it occurs to him, before he moves the van over by the shed he wants to get the chair out. He carries it in, sets it near the fire, not far from his, and asks, "How's this?"
"Perfect. I love that chair and thank you for thinking of getting it for me." Shit, now she sounds like she might cry.
"Umm, lemme get the fire goin'"
"No, you have enough to do. You go take care of all that and I'll get the fire going and the snacks put away, oh, and I'll get the water heating for our ramen." It all sounds so great, but she doesn't sound great.
"Okay, sounds good."
He re loads the snacks that will go to the cellar into the back of the pickup, and tells her, "I'ma drive over to the cellar and take care of the rest of the food, then I'll get the gas and tools to the moonshine shed, but I ain't gonna worry about unloading the lumber and sheeting til tomorrow when it's light out."
"I think that's smart, and of course I'll help you." He isn't about to tell her he can do it himself and that he doesn't need her help. She hasn't started yelling at him yet and he'd like to keep it that way.
He's about to get in the pickup and drive over to the cellar when he realizes, shit, the damn mattress. How could he forget his bed, he really must be tired. He loosens the rope, gets the mattress off the pickup and for now, he simply leans it against the cabin. He'll take it in when he gets this other stuff done.
By the time he unloads all the flour, sugar and everything else they got at the bakery, plus the vending machine goodies and the stuff Beth had at her place, he's really feeling the day. Shit, everything else will keep until morning.
As soon as he left for the cellar Beth found her sweats in the duffel bag and put them on, being comfortable and cozy always makes everything a little better. She smiles as she sets all those pretty little spoons on the kitchen counter, she'll have to think of some place to keep them where she can see them everyday. They make her smile. She gets the fire going, fills the kettle with water and sets it on the back of the woodstove, then begins the task of putting all the snacks away. The kitchen isn't exactly spacious and there's not a lot of cabinet space, but she ends up finding a spot for everything. She checks the kettle and the water's ready whenever he gets home.
For now, she gets back in her small duffel, gets her books and arranges them on a shelf in the bookcase. There isn't room for all the other books her and Daryl got at the library, so she simply stacks them on top of bookcase. She softly laughs at the sight of so many books on such a small bookcase, "It certainly looks like were avid readers."
She's just laid the quilt Mama made her on the bed when she hears Daryl coming in, my gosh he's making a racket. She turns and sees that he's dragging that stupid mattress in with him. She doesn't say a word as she watches him slide the mattress over by the far wall and lay it on the floor. The trouble is, it's a little too much in the small cabin. It's half blocking the door to the bathroom, and there's barely any floor space now. He's shaking his head when he says, "Shit, I guess I shoulda took a smaller one."
What she's thinking comes out in a snarl, "Oh yes, because you really needed that mattress. I get it, the worst thing that could happen to you would be if you had to share a bed with me."
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A/N Comments? Thank you all so much. The Chapter Photo is on my tumblr blogs gneebee and bethylmethbrick, I hope you'll take a look. I'll be back with another chapter of The Man on The Mountain next week, and we'll see if our couple can come up with a solution to the bed situation. I hope you'll be here for that. Until then remember, I love ya large! xo gneebee