May 31st, 2012
This Friday is warm as days usually are in Georgia this time of the year, but the surroundings of Alexandria are filled with trees, making the weather seems cooler with the breeze. The neighborhood is a thirty minutes drive from the city, and it's fairly new, a suburb still being constructed. The second street was only finished last year, the last three houses, from the 24 houses, are still being build. These small details make Rick think about how different and yet how similar this place is to the place he used to live when he was married to Lori, five years ago.
Here in Alexandria they have white fences and green grass, as well as they had in his old house at King County, but Alexandria is small in comparison. The place started to be built less than ten years ago by a woman called Deanna and her husband Reg, an architect. They both lived here, as Michonne once told him, but moved when the husband had a stroke. Since he only moved here six months ago, he never got to meet the creators of this place he now happily calls home.
Another thing Deanna and her husband left behind, and that is very different from King County, is the close and good relationship with the neighbors. Michonne told him that Deanna and her husband used to offer monthly barbecues or dinners at their house to the few neighbors they had at the time. She told Rick that, at first, it all seemed weird to her, not accustomed to such things after years of living in Chicago. But soon she grew fond of such gatherings, and not just her. So when Deanna and her husband moved out of Alexandria, the neighbors made an agreement of keep doing the monthly gatherings. He recalls the first one he came, longer before he moved in here, short before getting his divorce with Lori and years before meeting Daryl.
They still happen every month and Rick loves them. It's a great way of keeping in touch with the people who live next to him and Daryl. It's a great way of meeting someone when they have a new neighbor. And that's something his old place didn't have. He and Lori only had three couples as their friends. They would attend to social events together at the time, but he can barely remember the name of such "friends". In Alexandria, he knows everybody's names and faces and houses and stories and hobbies and jobs and ages and birthdays.
He walks out of the patrol car with a wave of goodbye to Michonne, his partner, even if her house is almost in front of his and he'll probably see her again in a few hours. He stops in front of his blue house and stands there smiling, thinking about all of this comparisons and changes in his life, but most of all thinking about the man that is waiting for him inside the house. The man he loves.
It's only five p.m., but he knows Daryl will be home already since he usually leaves shortly after four and his job is closer than Rick's. On the other hand, Rick is arriving earlier than usual, expecting to surprise his boyfriend with it. And for a second he wonders how strange it's to call Daryl his boyfriend now, after six months of living together, and because the word seems so little to describe everything the man means to him.
However, when he walks inside his house, he's the one surprised.
His living room is being occupied by Carol, Lily, Maggie, Andrea and Daryl. They all have books in one of their hands and a drink in the other, except Daryl, who has a beer bottle in his. They're talking and giggling and don't even notice Rick's presence until he is right next to them.
"Hello, Rick!" The girls say almost in unison.
"Hey, there." He nods greeting them back. And smiles wide when his and Daryl's eyes meet.
They've been dating barely over a year now and living together for almost seven months, and he still smiles like this every time he sees or thinks about Daryl. He gets this feeling in his chest that spreads all over his body like a shiver and his heart always beats faster than necessary. Daryl doesn't smile with his mouth, although you can see the smile in his eyes, the way he just can't look away from Rick. And they must be staring at each other for longer than they should because they can hear Maggie's voice saying how adorable they are.
"What's happening here? Are you plotting world domination?" He asks after being able to look away from Daryl, whose cheeks are slightly red thanks to Maggie's commentary.
"No. That's on Wednesdays." Carol answers him with a mischievous look and an innocent smile on her face, even if innocent is not a good word to define anything Carol does.
"Book club." Andrea tells him. "We've been doing for an over a year now, but only last month we discovered what a great asset Daryl is to this club." The four women look at him with big smiles on their faces and Daryl shrugs.
"Make drinks." Daryl answers the question Rick is about to ask before he even opens his mouth.
"Great drinks!" Maggie raises her glass, then drinks a large sip.
"And what great asset are you to the club?" He asks Maggie because she's moved after him and Daryl, so she couldn't be part of the Book Club since the beginning.
"I drink greatly!" She laughs at her own joke. "And I have a fancy degree saying I understand literature and stuff. But honestly, I'm just here for Daryl's drinks."
"Aren't we all?" Lily toasts with Maggie and they take a sip of their drinks.
Carol smiles at Daryl and bumps her shoulders on his. He keeps his head down, feeling uneasy with the honest (and slightly drunk) praising from his neighbors. Rick still has a smile on his face, thinking once more how much this place is good to him and even more to Daryl. The man never had an easy life before, where friends and nice words come so easily. In Daryl's old neighborhood, drinking at this time was much more a sign of alcoholism than friends celebrating the end of a week of work. He remembers how much Daryl hated living there. He never wanted Rick to go there, he'd go to Rick's apartment and spend almost every second of his days there, so he wouldn't have to go back to his own place.
"Michonne?" Andrea asks Rick.
"Home."
"Did she bring dinner?"
"No. I think she's planning on ordering food for you two again."
Rick sees the dread in Andrea's eyes at the thought of eating takeout food once again. Both women have works in the city and spend too much time out of the house, meaning they don't usually cook, except when it's a celebration or one of them has the day off.
"But I'm about to make dinner. You're both invited to dinner here. You all are." Rick invites and they all cheer.
After his divorce and six months of only eating takeout and junkie food, Rick started to learn how to actually cook. He used to know how to cook pasta and steaks only, but now his cooking skills are much more diverse and quite appreciated by Daryl, Carl, and the neighbors. His mind wanders to the memory of his son telling him that his apple pie is better than his mother's. Another thing that's so different from his old life.
"Can't stay." Lily says already standing. "It's getting late and I've got to make dad's dinner. And Tara's and Meghan's too. They'll all starve if I don't cook." She says her goodbyes and Rick opens the door for her.
"There's no way in hell I'm missing Rick's food to go back to mine. Count me in! And Glenn too!" Maggie adds cheerfully after taking the last sip of her drink.
"Oh, I can't stay." Carol tells and both Daryl and Rick look at her in confusion, she and Sophia eating at their place is as usual as the two of them eating at Carol's. "I have a date tonight." She explains.
"Ahhhh!" Andrea and Maggie tease her. Daryl and Rick keep looking at her, waiting for further explanation.
"I'm not telling you anything before the date. You're going to jinx it for me. Just like you did with Axel. If my sex life depends on not giving you details of my dates, that's what I'm going to do." Daryl looks away, his cheek red once more. "Oh, Pookie, don't be such a prude." She kisses his cheek and pats his shoulder lightly, then she says her goodbyes and leaves the house.
Rick approaches the couch where Daryl is sitting, since the seat is now empty, and they share a passionate kiss. Rick is happy for finally being able to say his usual hello. He's used to arriving at a house where Daryl is not alone since he's the usual babysitter for Sophia and Meghan. Not only this, but all the neighbors like to stop by for all sorts of reasons. The difference is there aren't usually these much people between him and Daryl. The two women make their regular "aw" sound every time they're being romantic with one another, just for the sake of teasing them. Sometimes Daryl shows his middle finger to them, thankfully today is not one of those.
Rick goes to his and Daryl's bedroom, where there's a private bathroom, to take a shower and leaves Maggie and Daryl in the living room since Andrea goes to her house to tell Michonne about their new dinner plans. When he comes back, the two are talking about the book they read and Rick decides to not interrupt them, following to the kitchen to prepare their meal.
Twenty minutes later, Andrea comes back with Michonne, and they each have a bottle of wine in their hands. Daryl takes the dirty glasses used by the Book Club and takes them to the sink. He washes three of them and takes two more from the cabinet. Rick is looking at him during every action, affection showing on his face without reservation, even if his hands don't stop mashing potatoes.
"What ya lookin'?" Daryl asks. His tone might sound rough to those who don't know him, but Rick knows him and knows this is just Daryl being himself, rough on the edges and soft on the inside, where people can't see it unless they're looking for it.
"Admiring how domestic we became. You especially, Mr. Book Club. Why didn't you tell me?"
"Didn't know what to tell. Jus' happened." He shrugged. "Went to Maggie's house last month durin' one, to give her that bill that was in our mailbox. Prepared some drinks to them and got invited to the next ones."
"That's why you've been reading in bed this month." Daryl agrees with only a nod of his head, feeling a bit embarrassed about it. "I'm happy for you. I'm happy for both of us, actually. And I can't remember the last time I've been this happy."
"Me neither." He responds after washing all the glasses and looking directly at Rick.
Daryl doesn't say things he doesn't mean, so Rick is certain of his happiness just by those words. But he's even more assured when Daryl comes near him and embraces him, pressing his chest against his back, not really applying any strength, just touching, reassuring his presence. He places small kisses on Rick's shoulder and neck, brushing his lips against the man's skin, and making Rick's body shiver in love, desire, and recognition. He even forgets to keep mashing the potatoes, until Daryl goes back to the living room with the clean glasses.
A few minutes later, Glenn arrives, joining the three women and Daryl in the living room. Somewhere during dinner, Carol brings Sophia before she leaves for her date. Sophia immediately takes her place next to Daryl at the table, telling him about her plans for summer vacation next week, about this new band she's listening to and how he can help her with her project for the science fair when school returns.
During the evening, everyone is eating, talking, drinking, having fun and discussing which dishes they're going to make for next month's barbecue. Rick and Michonne tell the story about an arrest they did earlier today, made funnier by the alcohol. Andrea shares a story of one of her earlier cases as a lawyer. Maggie talks about adventures she had in College, kept PG-13 for the sake of Sophia. Glenn discusses his misfortunes about his new job. Daryl mainly listens to them. Quirking the corner of his lips here and there, and even making one or two comments about the others' stories, but mostly interacting only with Sophia. Except for his hand, that stays placed in Rick's thigh almost the whole night. Not as a gesture of lust, but of complicity, sharing the happiness of the moment.
Later, they put Sophia to sleep in the guestroom, where she's used to sleeping by now. Daryl kisses her goodnight with a sweetness he reserves for kids and living animals. Then they go to their own bed, Daryl curling himself against Rick's body, putting his ear on his chest and hearing his heartbeats slowing down, feeling the vibration of his breath become more even. And he thinks Rick is already sleeping until he hears his voice sleepy and low asking:
"Have you ever thought you could be happy living like this? That we could be this happy?"
"Nah. Always thought this were the dreams of other people, that I couldn't fit in them."
"But now you know you belong here, right? With me. In this house."
"I know."
"Good."
Rick kisses the top of Daryl's head and squeezes the man in his arms. A smile spreads across his face and he thinks one last time about his old life. He thinks of how he never felt like this while with Lori, how his life there was the perfect American dream with his wife, his son and his white fence; but only now his life actually is anything similar to a dream, and he never wants to wake up.