Not Desperate

Chapter 14
The Spanish Inquisition

That night, when Daryl got to Yvonne’s house, he was bearing flowers. Just a hodge podge of wildflowers, but they were beautiful. She had just put the lasagna in the oven and was making a salad. Daryl spent the next forty-five minutes playing zombies with Michael and in a show of mercy, let the boy win. Dinner was amazing, Daryl was really starting to get used to this. He’d never had a woman cook for him like this, well, except Carol, but this was different. Speaking of Carol. . . “My brother’s gonna be going with us to Carol’s tomorrow night. Hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course not. She invited him, right? Are they trying to get back together?”
“I don’t know. She’s good for him. Only person to ever keep him in line, but he screwed up bad and I don’t know if she’ll take him back,” Daryl said sadly.
“Tomorrow is gonna be a good night. We’re all gonna have a good time, right Michael?”
“Yeah, sure,” Michael replied, sounding dejected.
“She’s got a daughter,” Daryl said. “Her name’s Sophia. She’s real cute. You’ll like her, she’s nice. She’s excited to meet both of ya. Soph’s twelve, but older women are cool. They know stuff.”
“If you think she’s cute, then, okay. Maybe it won’t be so bad. I just don’t wanna get stuck playing with Barbies or something.”
“Soph’s an outdoor girl. She’s a tomboy. You’ll have fun.”
After dinner, Daryl helped Yvonne clean up while Michael finished his homework. When he left, he held her tight and kissed her. “Don’t be nervous about tomorrow night. You’ll do just fine. Everybody will love you,” he said and drove home. Now all he had to do was keep himself calm. Sometimes Merle worried the shit outta him.
The next night, Daryl and Merle pulled into the café just as Yvonne was walking out the door. Merle, with all the grace of a crack head rhinoceros, jumped out of the truck to let her sit up front with his brother. They stopped to pick up Michael and headed to Carol’s house. The ride was awkwardly quiet at times, but Merle soon filled the silence with his scratchy voice. “I remember seeing ya at the bar that night blondie. You sure did get some looks. If baby brother here hadn’t scooped you up, ole Merle would’ve grabbed ya.”
“Shut up Merle! Not in front of the kid!” Daryl said, already frustrated.
“Uh, thank you?” Yvonne said and looked at Daryl, who had an apologetic look on his face. Soon they turned into Carol’s driveway and Daryl helped Yvonne and Michael out of the truck. As they walked to the door, Daryl took her hand in his and tried to give her a reassuring look. He was just as nervous as she was and was hoping to reassure himself as well. As they approached the front steps, the door swung wide open. Sophia bolted out the door and flung herself at Daryl wrapping her arms around his waist. He let go of Yvonne’s hand to wrap his arms around the little girl. “Hey Soph! How ya doing?”
“I’m glad you came tonight. Ma’s making a real good supper. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans and a blackberry cobbler for dessert,” the little girl said as she extracted herself from Daryl and looked around at the others for the first time. “Come on in, Mamma’s waiting on you.” Daryl held the door for everyone as they walked in. Carol was standing at the counter putting the finishing touches on the cobbler when she heard the door open a second time, she washed her hands and went to the door to meet her guests. She hugged Yvonne who was first through the door. “So glad you all could make it.” Merle walked in bringing up the rear. How appropriate, Carol thought. “Sophia, why don’t you give Yvonne and Michael the tour, then maybe you and Michael can play for a while until supper is ready.”
“Okay mamma.” The little girl took them both by the hand and led them around the house. Once they were gone, Merle spoke up, “It’s good to see ya Carol. How’ve ya been?” Daryl felt uncomfortable just watching this exchange, so he left the room in search of Yvonne and the kids. He found Yvonne coming out of Sophia’s room. “I think he likes her,” she said in a whisper. “He actually wants to play with her. They’ve been making each other laugh. I’m really glad we came here.”
“Yeah, me too,” Daryl said and put his arms around her waist. “Merle and Carol are having awkward conversation in the kitchen. I had to leave. Nobody should see that,” he said and smiled.
“I think it’s good that she was willing to invite him and that he was willing to come. Maybe she’d give him another chance. She seems to be a good woman, she’d be a good influence on him.”
“Merle wouldn’t know a good influence if it pitched a tent in his ass. Maybe you’re right though. I think he still loves her. He just doesn’t know how to show her. He’s afraid she won’t forgive him and he’ll lose her forever.”
“All he has to do is be honest with her. I don’t know what he did, but if they’re supposed to be together, they’ll be together. Let’s go see if we can help with dinner.”
When they reached the kitchen, Merle and Carol had their backs to them, his arm around her shoulders. Daryl cleared his throat to get their attention. Merle’s arm dropped suddenly and he turned to face them. “Hey brother. Where the kids?”
“Playing in Sophia’s room,” Yvonne said and walked over to Carol. “Need help with anything?”
“Merle, why don’t you and Daryl go into the living room, watch t.v. or talk. Yvonne’s gonna help me set the table,” Carol replied. As soon as the men were gone, she handed Yvonne a stack of plates with utensils on top. Nothing was said for a while, until Yvonne spoke up. “So, how long have you known Daryl and Merle?”
“Ten years now. Merle and I were together for half of that. Daryl’s like a brother to me. It’s nice to see him happy. He and Merle have never been really happy. Daryl isn’t like Merle though, he wants to be happy even though he doesn’t believe it will happen. He’s never had a lot of people in his life. He’s always had Rick and T-Dog, and Merle, but Merle hasn’t always been there for him like he should have. He left Daryl alone a lot when he was growing up. I’m really glad Daryl met you. You’re making him happy.”
“Well, Daryl makes me happy too. Never known a man like him before. Plenty of men who tried to convince me they were like him. He seems so honest, so genuine, and almost innocent. Maybe insecure at times, but full of confidence at others. Is he really like that? Is he really who he says he is?”
Carol walked over to her and put her hand on the other woman’s shoulder. “He sure is,” she said. “The most honest man I’ve ever known. He’d never hurt you, or your son. He’s been through that, he’d protect both of you from anything. He’s head over heels for you. If there’s anything that you need to tell him, anything he needs to know, don’t be afraid. He’s got a lot he’s still dealing with himself. He and Merle saved mine and Sophia’s lives.” She continued talking as she took a seat at the table. “Sophia’s father was an evil bastard. He beat me almost every day after we got married. When Sophia was born, it just got worse. He resented her and the time that she took away from him. When she would cry, he would punish me. I met Daryl one day at the diner after a particularly bad episode. Together with Rick’s help, he and Merle got me and Sophia out of that house, put Ed in jail for a while. He was killed not too long after he got out. Those men helped me get a job, find a home and Daryl is still helping me when he can. He’ll help you if you need him to.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through all that. No woman deserves that. I saw it myself with my own mamma. I was so lucky Michael’s daddy never touched me like that. But, I have to admit, between him and my dad, my views of myself and men are kinda screwed. I guess I’m just having a hard time believing that all this is real. I’m having a hard time believing that a man like Daryl could like me or want me for more than the time it’s gonna take for him to get off. I haven’t been attracted to anyone for a very long time and I just can’t imagine him feeling the same way about me. No one has ever loved me as much as I loved them.”
Carol patted her hand. “You don’t have to worry about that. Daryl does love you. He’s never loved anyone in his life. He’s never had the patience to be around a woman before. You’ve got that man tied in knots. He’s scared to death of losing you, or hurting you. Ya’ll are scared of the same thing. Sweetheart, you should talk to him. He’s been there for me and Soph since we met. He won’t leave you or run away from you. You just got to have a little faith in him.”
We finished setting the table and got everyone seated. We were all talking and laughing and having a good time. Each time I looked up from my plate, Daryl was looking at me, smiling. Carol and Merle were even joking around with each other. The kids were talking about some video game they wanted to play. When everyone was finished, I asked Carol if she needed help with the cleanup. “No honey. You’ve already helped. It’s someone else’s turn.” She took a plate in one hand and grabbed Merle with the other. As she walked away, she turned her head back to us and said, “Why don’t you go out on the back porch and smoke. Clean up won’t take long.”
Daryl took my hand and led me through the house to the back door. The temperature had dropped a bit and I was shivering. He took off his leather jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders. He took out his pack and lit two cigarettes, handing one to me. “I’m glad you and Carol are getting along. She’s one of my best friends.”
“Yeah, she speaks very highly of you. If I didn’t know better, I’d think the two of you were more than friends.”
“Nah. Never saw her like that. Besides, she and Merle love each other, they just don’t see it. You have a good time tonight?”
“A great time. Your brother’s not as bad as I thought he’d be. He’s been almost a perfect gentleman.”
“He’s like that around Carol. Around anyone else, he’s an ass.” Just then, Michael and Sophia came out to let us know that it was cobbler time. Dessert was just as pleasant as dinner and soon it was time to leave. Daryl dropped Merle at the trailer first because he didn’t want to go on a “long ass ride to Bumfuck”, even though he lived in Bumfuck too. Michael dozed in the backseat all the way home. When we got there, Daryl carried him to his bedroom and I tucked him in. Daryl gave me as sweet peck on the cheek as he was leaving. His cell phone chimed as he turned away from me. “It’s Carol, she just wanted to make sure everybody had a good time.”
“We did. Thank her again for us. She’ll have to come here for dinner one night.”
“I’ll tell her. Good night Yvonne. Sleep well sweetheart.”
“Good night Daryl. You too.”