"It has to be exciting to be back in your hometown?"
Michonne smiled brightly towards the woman sitting across from her, Judy Long, the voice of King County. She was the second most famous person from King County, the first being Michonne. Her perfectly coifed red hair hung at her shoulders brushing against the top of her blue form-fitting dress. Her posture impeccable, same with her dazzling white veneers that were on display as Judy forced her Botox ladled face into a grin.
"Very exciting," Michonne replied. She herself wore an orange vintage tweed Chanel blazer with matching skirt. "Everyone here has been very kind and welcoming."
Too welcoming, over enthusiastic smiling faces were all she saw that morning with their cheery greetings and need to invade her personal space. Maybe she was too use to the LA and NY scene, especially New York where no one there gave a damn if you were a celebrity or not, but the sweet friendliness of the people of King County was too sweet.
Or maybe she was just being a stuck up brat. That's what Mike proclaimed after they arrived at the hotel from the mayor's dinner, last night.
"The film Storm which is currently in production is already doing wonders for the town. Projection says tourism will be up and folks here who have been out of a job are being hired to work on the film. What are your thoughts on that news?"
"I heard how our town fell on hard times, the economy hasn't picked up quite yet here." Michonne paused, clasping her hands together. "So, it's exhilarating to hear that positive piece of news, my goal by asking the studios to film part of the movie here was to provide job opportunities for those out on their luck."
"It's not permanent."
Michonne shook her head, "No, but while I'm here I'm hoping to one of my business ventures here."
"Sounds great," Judy Long grinned, she shuffled paper on her lap, her long red nails making clicking noises. "But," she stared into Michonne's eyes, her gaze fixed, "What kept you away from King County. Your beloved hometown, yet you haven't been back in fifteen years."
Michonne nodded slowly, changing her whimsical expression to a thoughtful one, pretending that Judy Long asked such a hard-hitting question. "15 years wow," she laughed softly. "Time flies when you're focusing so heavily on making your dreams come true." A small smile etched on Michonne's face. "Unfortunately, I have no family that lives here anymore, so there was really nothing to tie me here but memories. But… you all proved me wrong. You all are my extended family and I'm so glad to be home."
Michonne gaze went past Judy and fell on to Mike giving her a thumbs up. He then whispered in the ear of a producer.
"That's all the time we have today," Judy announced to the camera behind Michonne, her eyes swept to Michonne, still smiling, now almost painfully. "Michonne it was a pleasure."
Michonne took her hand and shook it firmly, "A pleasure indeed."
The producer Mike spoke to, came forward, "And three, two, one. That's a wrap!"
Michonne sighed, standing up she removed her mike pack and handed it to one of the errand boys. When she turned, Judy stood right in her face, up close her smile was unnerving.
"We have to have lunch or dinner sometimes," she said. Without asking, Judy locked arms with Michonne as they walked towards the catering table inside the hotel room.
"Yes," Michonne looked around for Mike or Glenn, even Tyreese. None of the men were in her visual sight. At the table, Judy grabbed a plate and piled several tiny sandwiches, devil eggs, watermelon and cookies on her plate. Bewildered, Michonne watched as she practically inhaled her food while she talked.
"It is just so refreshing to not be the only famous person here?"
Michonne grinned and nodded.
Judy nudged her in the arm, "I loved the pageant answer you gave, the people here will eat it up," she said, winking.
Michonne stepped backward until she was at arm's length, "I'm on a tight schedule, I'll tell my assistant to set up a lunch meeting, sometime." She was lying if anything, Michonne would make sure Glenn knew to do the opposite.
Judy nodded, reaching for more food to plop on her plate.
Michonne turned to search for the door leading out of the room when Tyreese appeared at her side. She gave him a light slap on the arm, "Where were you?"
"I'm here now."
Tyreese, a former defensive tackle of the New York Jets hadn't lost his size, still a massive behemoth ready to mow down any potential threats to Michonne. He guided her out of the room and into the hallway. If you judged him based on appearance then he was one to stand clear of, but Tyreese was a sweet man, full of kindness and empathy. Being Michonne's personal bodyguard, he's seen it all, more than anyone else close to her and lucky for Michonne, Tyreese was a loyal friend.
"Are we leaving," Michonne asked.
"Heading to the parade area right now."
With a heavy sigh, Michonne crossed her arms, "I was hoping that dumb thing would be canceled."
"No chance with Mike running the show," he smiled and gave her a side hug as they headed inside the elevators.
"You'll sit here, wave periodically throughout the parade and throw out candy." Michonne's assistant Glenn, handing Michonne a pumpkin-shaped container full of candy, it was obviously meant for Halloween, but someone painted the container black and wrote storm where the eyes and mouth use to be.
Michonne tried to protest one last time the extravagance of having a parade to celebrate her return to King County, but Mike wouldn't hear of it, actually, he wouldn't stand still long enough to hear her out. Mike was everywhere, but by her side which made Michonne's irritation rise.
"Let's get you seated," Glenn said, holding out his hand. She took it giving him a smile that he returned with ease. Michonne was glad to see some of Glenn's anxiety wear off, maybe it was because she hadn't really needed him for much the past day and a half or it could be Maggie, the girl that approached her last night, that she later saw having an animated conversation with him.
In most parades, there would be dozens of floats lined up in the streets, but today there was only one. Magenta frill with purple sheeting, silver ornaments all over the place and a matching throne in the middle of the float. Michonne shook her head, cringing at the tackiness of the event. She sat the container of candy on the floor of the float and hiked up her white one-shoulder dress above her ankles to keep from falling.
"Glenn, how long will this take?" Cars were lining up in front of and in the back of the float, some of them were all black sedans, the kind you'd see surrounded by the POTUS, others had huge company labels slapped on them, and then police vehicles and motorcycles. She averted her eyes from the King County officers that were lining up, focusing her energy on breathing correctly.
We're not doing this again, Michonne. Calm down.
"Parade will be short, maybe 15 minutes. This town isn't that big—."
"Could you bring me some bottled water?" She asked, cutting Glenn off. "Please?" She kept her eyes to the ground.
"Yeah, I'll be back."
Michonne nodded and started towards her throne. She took one step and her right heel caught in her gown, making her lose balance. Michonne tried to catch her footing, her arms stretched forward grasping for the chair. If she had more time, she would have blurted 'this is going to hurt,' but instead she screeched as she felt her body fall backward off the float. She closed her eyes bracing herself for the pain, but she fell against someone.
Michonne wiggled her feet, noticing that the ground was not underneath them, that whoever she fell against was actually cradling her in their arms. She turned her head ever so slightly, peeking at the person that rescued her. Heat rushed to her cheeks, Michonne groaned and covered her eyes with her hand.
"Hi," she muttered.
"If you wanted to see me that badly, there are less dangerous ways to do so." A cheeky grin stretched across Rick Grimes's face.
"Put me down." Michonne removed her hands as Rick gently helped her to her feet. She caught the eyes of several people who stopped and watched her embarrassing fall and then her own eyes swept to the bright blues ones full of concern.
"You okay?" He reached for her, but she took a step back, nodding quickly.
"Fine, this dress is too long."
"Let me help." Rick held out his hand again. Michonne looked intently at his hand and then back to his face. In uniform sans his hat, sweat gleamed on his forehead, his light colored eyebrows furrowed awaiting a response from her.
"Wait a sec," he said. Rick hopped on the float, turning around and holding out his hand again.
Michonne paused and with a roll of her eyes, she took his hand as he pulled her up on the float beside him.
"Thank you," she said, the two words tumbled out of her mouth with a quickness that they sounded foreign.
Rick leaned closer to her, "What did you say?"
"I said thank you." He still held her hand, Michonne was surprised by the softness of his hand and found herself enjoying the warmth of his touch. But, she came to her senses, wiggling her hand free.
Rick smiled sheepishly, "You need help getting to your seat."
"No, I think I got it." Michonne lifted her dress enough where the bottom was not touching the ground.
"Can you believe this? A parade for you," Rick chuckled, he looked around him and she did too. People were scurrying about getting into position or finishing last minute tasks before the parade started. "If we were kids again and someone said this would happen, I'd be like, no way, not my Mich."
"And why not?" She knew she was scowling before her brain could order her to stop.
Rick's eyes widen. "That came out wrong! What I meant… Michonne I… I wasn't expecting you to become this huge star." Michonne turned her back to him and headed towards her seat. Rick scrambled behind her, "Not that that's a bad thing… I just mean that I had no idea you were going to leave and—."
"I get it," she said. Dismissing his explanation with a single wave of her hand, she sat down and pointed behind him, "Could you hand me that bucket."
Reign back your bitchiness, missy.
Rick picked up the black pumpkin filled with candy and gave it to Michonne. She sat back in her seat and looked everywhere, but at him. Rick swallowed and wet his lips, "Can I ask you about last night?"
Michonne eyes connected with his, she shook her head, "Perfume reaction."
"Oh, right. Yeah, you said that," he said. Michonne eyed his unconvinced expression and then awkward silence followed. As kids, they use to talk for hours, never running out of topics to discuss but, that was a million years ago.
"Michonne?" Rick moved a step closer to her and placed his hands on his hips, putting his thumbs through the hoops of his belt buckle.
"Yes." His blue eyes drew her in just like they did last night.
"We should meet and have coffee when things have calmed down a bit." Her eyes swept away from him to the left, she searched for Glenn who should have been back by now with her water. And then Tyreese who should be by her side at this very moment. And then Mike, who she was hoping wasn't anywhere near the float.
"My phone's not on me," she said, truthfully.
Rick reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a notebook pad and a pen that was clipped onto his uniform shirt. Michonne's palms sweated, her internal temperature rose, and then her stomach flutter. She frowned as he scribbled on the paper, was she really becoming nervous around him. Rick Grimes? The dorky kid, she punched in the face for crushing her butterfly and since that time he was utterly devoted to her. No, it wasn't nerves as she remembered that she hadn't eaten since breakfast, almost six hours ago. Rick ripped the paper from its pad, he put the notebook and pen into his pants pocket and folded the paper.
"My number and home address. Call me." He held the paper out and Michonne took it with haste, clutching it in her left hand. "Please," Rick continued. She heard the plea in his voice which awaken her guilt. After all these years, the least she could do was have a cup of coffee with him.
Michonne smiled, "I will, Richie."
"Richie?" Rick groaned which contrasted with his own smile. "Ah man, I do not miss that nickname."
"What! I was the only one who called you that, though, why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I didn't want to hurt you." Michonne's mouth dropped slightly. "Your feelings, I mean," Rick corrected.
"You wouldn't have," she said quietly.
A bang on the float caught both their attentions, Rick moved to the side giving Michonne a view of a dark haired man dressed in the same police uniform as Rick. He had a smirk planted on his face and he looked at both of them as if he caught Rick and Michonne making out.
"I've been looking everywhere for you, silly me for not checking here first."
Michonne looked at the man and looked at Rick who seemed annoyed. Rick met her eyes and pointed to the man, "Michonne this is my partner, Shane Walsh. Shane this is Michonne."
Shane waved and Michonne hesitantly smiled back. "I have heard so much about you," Shane said, leaning his elbows on the float. Michonne watched Rick shift on his feet, he seemed uncomfortable and tight. "Such as you were Rick's best friend before I came into the picture."
Michonne nodded, "Yeah, that's right."
"But, it's a good thing ya'll never lost contact, that's a sign of true friendship even though ya'll didn't work out."
Michonne's forehead scrunched, she opened her mouth to ask Shane to clarify when Rick spoke instead.
"We gotta get going," he said, practically running off the float and then pushing Shane away. "Call me," he yelled while he and Shane walked further away. In the meantime, Glenn came into her view with several bottles in his hand.
"I'm really sorry, I got lost trying to find water," he said. Handing one bottle to her, "but Maggie helped me out."
Michonne snorted, "She helped you huh?" Michonne saw that Glenn's usually impeccable hair was now ruffled and his clothing disheveled. He nodded enthusiastically, placing the rest of the bottles on the ground. "Glenn?"
"Yeah."
"Your fly's undone," she remarked, keeping a laugh from escaping. Glenn's face went beet red as he walked to the corner of the float that gave him the most privacy.
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Johnny Cash's "Solitary Man" started suddenly and the gentle strums of the guitar sounded throughout Rick's empty bedroom. His hand came down on the power button of his alarm radio quickly. He was up and ready to start the day.
He showered and brushed his hair and his teeth, spending extra time to make sure he was as clean shaven as he could be.
He admired his police uniform that was hanging from the door before he took it down; it was starched and pristine – fresh from the drycleaners'.
"Don't know that I will~ But until I can find me~" He sang as he donned his uniform. And before leaving his house he dabbed on a bit of cologne – a gift Shane had gotten him that he had just let sit undisturbed in his medicine cabinet until now.
His cell phone rang and – assuming it was work since he was five minutes late – he ended the call before picking up and without looking at the screen properly.
"Okay," he said, looking in the mirror one last time before he was satisfied. Seeing that he looked as put-together as he possibly could, he left his house – ready to get to work and ready to see Michonne, whom he couldn't stop thinking about since the night before.
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
The town was unusually quiet as Rick made his way from his home to the police station. When he stepped inside the precinct, he commented on it. "Town is unusually quiet today."
Through the usual greetings, Shane's voice piped up. "You surprised?" he asked. "It's 'cause everyone's gone to your girlfriend's little parade."
Rick smirked. Shane's way of taunting him by calling Michonne his girlfriend didn't bother him so much.
"Shane...leave him alone."
Lori stepped away from the filing cabinet near the wall; Rick hadn't noticed her there. She walked forward to greet Rick by giving him a friendly kiss on the cheek. The scent of perfume she wore was pleasant; Rick found himself trying to place the scent. "Hey, Rick," she said. "How are you? I was just dropping off lunch for this big buffoon." She gestured toward Shane.
"Doing fine," Rick said, a little surprised to see her but not put off. "How are you?" he returned.
"I've been better," Lori quipped. "Judith kept me up all night."
"She stayed up all night again?!" Rick asked.
"Yes! I don't know what happened. She was sleeping on our schedule for a full three months. I don't know what threw it off! Probably Shane and his need to excite her every time he gets back home from work." She threw an accusatory glare over her shoulder.
"Hey!" Shane said, putting his hands up. "I barely get any time with my daughter as it is. Can you blame me for not wanting her to be asleep when I get in?"
"Well, maybe if you wouldn't work such long hours..."
"Hey, talk to him," Shane said, directing Lori's ire to Rick.
"Don't bring me into this," Rick said quickly.
Lori smiled. "What is it you do to get her to fall asleep?" Lori asked. "I notice that when you keep her, every time I come over to pick her up she's just knocked out."
"I don't do anything much. Just sing to her."
Lori smiled, her eyes sparkling with surprise. "Sing?! I didn't know you sing!" She swatted Rick with the back of her hand, causing a bashful blush to spring across Rick's face.
"Ah, it's nothing," he said. "I said I sing; I didn't say I sing well."
"Well, I wanna hear it sometime..." Lori urged gently.
Rick chuckled in response. "The day you hear my singing will be the day hell freezes over."
Lori laughed in response, an easy natural laugh that was always on the edge of her throat when she was in the presence of her two favorite guys. "Okay," she said. "Well, can you come over tonight and work some of your magic? I need her to fall asleep and stay asleep tonight. For my sake."
"Uhh...I don't know..." Rick said, thinking of his workload. He glanced at Shane, who shrugged. Shane was always down for his buddy coming over.
"Come on," Lori urged. "I'll make dinner. Better than you eating alone again tonight, isn't it?"
"Ouch," Rick said jokingly even though a serious twinge of hurt sparked across his chest. He knew Lori didn't say it to be mean-spirited, but it cut all the same.
Shane raised his hands in the air. "See. You think I'm the rude one," he teased.
Lori scoffed. "You know I didn't mean it like that," she opined.
"Sure, sweetheart," Shane said. "But maybe you're wrong. Maybe Rick's got a date tonight. A blast from the past. Huh, Rick?" Rick raised his eyebrows suggestively and Rick ignored him.
"I'll think about stopping by," he said to Lori. He then turned his attention to work. "Are Scott and Doug down at the parade like they're supposed to be?" he asked Shane.
"Yeah, him and a few others..." Shane studied Rick with an annoying, knowing look on his face. Rick felt like he could read his thoughts...which apparently he could as evidenced by his next question. "Why? You wanna go down and get a glimpse of your woman?"
Again, Rick ignored his friend. "I think we could afford more detail down there," he said, hopefully fighting and losing against suppressing the pink tinge reaching his cheeks. "It's quiet-"
"Surprising for the town of King County," Shane interjected sarcastically.
"All of the excitement is there," Rick continued. "So...me and a few other men will go down there to help out-"
"Great!" Shane said with a grin. He chewed enthusiastically on a piece of gum. "I love parades!"
Not excited about Shane coming and continuing his chiding, Rick bit back his demand that Shane stay at the station. He knew that would only lead to more posturing and ribbing from the other man.
"I can't believe you two," Lori said, drawing Rick and Shane's attention. Disappointment was heavy in her voice. She crossed her arms over her chest.
"What?" Shane asked.
"How you two are going on about this parade..." Lori chastised.
"What about it?" Shane asked.
"A parade? Seriously?" Lori passed a judgmental stare between her husband and his friend. "I mean, come on, it's not like this is a national holiday or anything. She's just a model. I find this whole thing to be excessive and silly," she said, shaking her head dismissively.
Rick didn't feel like the parade was silly. He felt like it was a physical representation of what he had been feeling internally since he heard that Michonne was coming back to King County. Happy and ridiculously celebratory. If Lori thought the parade was silly, he was glad she couldn't see inside his being. He was pretty sure his inner self was doing the macarena, shooting fireworks, and standing on his head.
"She's not just a model," Shane said, walking forward and clapping his hand on Rick's shoulder to form solidarity against his wife. "She's Rick's ex-girlfriend. The one who got away. The love of his life. Who knows? If Rick shows up at the parade, she may take one look at him and fall in love all over again."
Rick turned to stare, unamused, at Shane. He didn't like the way Shane made it sound like that was the most ridiculous thing that ever had the chance of happening. He shrugged Shane off. Of course he didn't really expect that to happen, but Shane's teasing was edging on being disrespectful.
"Okay, but seriously, Lori..." Shane said. He walked forward and put his hands on either side of her waist. "You should come to the parade as well when you get a chance. Stuff like this doesn't happen all the time in King County."
Seemingly swayed by Shane's request, Lori rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said. "But I'm going to change first." She looked down at the long, white dress she wore that was cinched at the waist by an inch of belt-like fabric. "Can you wait for me and walk with me there?" she asked Shane.
"What's wrong with what you got on?" Shane asked.
"I just wanna change," Lori challenged, keeping it as simple as that. Shane shook his head at Rick, clearly telegraphing the thought – 'Women'.
"I'll go on ahead," Rick said, secretly glad that they wouldn't immediately be coming with him. He hoped Lori would take a long time picking out a new outfit. "You two can meet me there."
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
When Rick got to the parade, he saw her immediately. She was already aboard the float, a whimsical contraption whose extravagance was simultaneously combated by its falseties and material bravado. Rick frowned with slight disapproval. He wanted to know whose idea it was to put her on this thing. He thought a limo with her seated atop it or waving from the sunroof would be more fitting for someone of Michonne's regality.
His view of Michonne was only of her back, but he could tell she looked beautiful. The skin of her bare shoulder glistened under the sun and he found his eyes traveling down the rest of her before he stopped himself. This was his old friend, now acquaintance and impossible-to-reach celebrity. Not only that, she had a boyfriend who looked like he had a bit of a mean streak.
His eyes swept the area around Michonne, looking for the man he had seen on television and at the party the night before. He wasn't there. Only an Asian man who seemed to be her assistant was there.
Rick shook his head, again chastising himself for his line of thought. No need to entertain thoughts of how beautiful was when he had no intention or chance of dating her.
He focused on the float again, something to preoccupy his mind. It looked hurriedly put together. 'Is that thing even stable?' he thought, walking forward almost involuntarily to test how safe it was to stand on. Michonne would probably hate it if she went crashing through the floor of a faulty float in front of everyone's smart phones and the few news cameras that were out, recording the event.
Rick was glad he was already atop the float, though, when a different offender brought Michonne almost crashing to the floor. Her damn dress.
He caught her before she could hit the floor and he didn't want to put her down. He actually managed to say something charming, even though her eyes meeting his almost caused his brain to stutter to a stop and his other physical faculties to almost shut down. It wasn't until she asked to be put down that he released her.
After some flirting – borne from a confidence that came naturally to him when he was in front of her – and a close fuck-up of the entire situation, he managed to get her number. That kept him satisfied even after his scare with Shane. And even through his friend's renewed pushing as he led him away a few seconds later.
"Your birthday's coming up, isn't it, man?" Shane suddenly asked.
"Yeah," Rick answered. "I had almost forgotten." He didn't place much stock in his birthdays anymore. Not since college. They were just another day to him. Nothing changed except the addition of a few gray hairs and more brittle bones.
"You should have a party!" Shane said. Rick wondered why Shane was bringing this up out of the blue until his friend's next statement. "And you should invite Michonne. I'd love to hear her tell stories about you two – you know, from her perspective."
Rick frowned at Shane, who gave him a teasing smile in return. "Listen," he said. "Don't bother Michonne about this stuff."
"Why?" Shane asked.
"She's moved on; she's got a boyfriend," Rick said. "No use drudging up the past."
"Or," Shane said. "You don't want me mentioning it because you know you're lying out your ass and you don't want her to discredit you." Shane laughed at his own statement until Lori came alongside them. She was now dressed in fitted blue jeans and a pretty white top. Rick didn't greet her because he was biting back an insult for Shane.
"What's going on?" Lori asked.
"Nothing," Shane said. "Rick's just living in fantasies about Michonne, like usual."
Lori turned to Rick with a small, bemused smile. "Really?"
"No," Rick answered.
"Have you met her yet?" Lori continued.
"Yep."
"He did," Shane interjected. "And it just looked like a fan meeting a celebrity to me. Didn't look like two ex-lovers meeting after years apart."
"Look," Rick said with frustration. "Don't believe me if that's-"
"Shane, leave Rick alone," Lori was saying, overlapping Rick's own retort. Her face held humor. "If Rick wants to fantasize about dating a supermodel, why is it any of your business?"
"You don't believe me either?" Rick asked.
Lori opened her mouth to speak. "Well, I-"
The sudden sound of Rick's phone vibrating cut her off. Irritated at his friends, he pulled the phone out of his pocket and looked at his screen. His irritation vanished and the frown on his face was replaced by a smile. "It's Michonne," he said, just knowing even though the number wasn't yet recognized in his phone. He enjoyed Shane and Lori's surprised expressions for a second before he answered. "Hello?" Then he turned away and walked a few steps away to focus on the conversation.
"Hey, Rick." Her voice sounded smooth and thick over the telephone. Rick liked the sound of it. "I was just making sure I got the number right. Your handwriting is as bad as it always was."
Rick chuckled and ignored Shane, who called from behind him: "Put it on speaker."
"What was that?" Michonne asked.
"Nothing," Rick said, walking further away from his nosy friends. "I thought you said you didn't have your phone on you."
"I didn't," Michonne said. "It was with my assistant."
"Oh," Rick said, feeling foolish about implying that she may have told him a fib. "So you got my number right," he said, changing the subject. "Is that all you wanted?"
"No." Rick held his breath, waiting to hear what she said next. "I was wondering if maybe you could meet me tonight." Rick's eyebrows shot up, surprised to hear her ask him to meet.
"Yeah," he said immediately. "Yeah, of course. When and where?"
"Oh," Michonne suddenly said, distracted by something on her end. "The parade's starting. I've gotta go."
"Hurry and hang up," Rick heard a male voice instructing. "Who are you even talking to?"
"I'll text you when and where," Michonne said hurriedly and quietly, then she was gone. She hung up.
"Wait-" Rick said. Realizing he wasn't going to get her back, he pulled the phone from his ear and sighed.
"What'd she want?" Shane asked.
Rick started past them, toward some subordinates who looked like they needed instruction since they were eating funnel cakes instead of standing on duty like they were supposed to be. "She wants to meet me tonight," Rick said, a strut in his step.
"What?" Shane asked, both shock and excitement in his voice. "For what?!" Rick smirked and didn't respond. Shane's bewilderment was victory enough for him.
"But-" Lori spluttered. "Rick, you agreed to come over and help with Judith tonight."
Rick stopped. 'Oh yeah.' He had forgotten about that. Genuinely sorry towards Lori, he turned toward her. "Can we do a raincheck?" he asked. "I'll come over tomorrow night."
Lori frowned, obviously confused and disappointed. "I guess..." she said.
"I'm sorry," Rick said before continuing on towards the lower ranking officers.
"Rick's never stood up a night with Judith," Lori said to Shane.
"Well, what can you expect?" Shane asked. "Sounds like he's got a date with Michonne. I'd stand up a night with Judith too." Lori sent him a glare. "I'm kidding!" Shane said with a laugh. He wrapped his arm around Lori. "Come on. Let's go enjoy the parade."
Lori went with him, casting one more glance over her shoulder at Rick. She wasn't sure how she felt about him dropping their plans so quickly.
When Rick finished reprimanding the officers, his phone vibrated again. He pulled it out of his pocket in a hurry, expecting to see a text from Michonne. Instead, it was a text from his father.
'I'm coming back to town tomorrow. Let's do dinner.'
Rick's good mood dropped. He didn't always get along with his father. They had a strained relationship at the best of times, but Rick also had this annoying feeling like he needed to impress the man. To live up to his expectations. He sighed. He wasn't looking forward to this dinner.
'How long will you be staying?' Rick texted back.
The response came back promptly. 'Permanently.'
Comments
Post a Comment