A Happy Marriage?

Chapter 23: Improvement?

"You worried today?" Rick asks as they walk to the garage.

"I don't know if she's ready or not. I mean, I want her to be happy, but I don't want her over doing it." Rick is the only person who knows about Daryl's relationship with Beth. They talk about it at lunch and for the passed five weeks, Daryl has been a Nervous Nate at work. But today, he is even more unsettled.

"She'll be fine. Ya sad she was getting better at working on documents and understanding what she used to know."

"Yeah, but she's still having head aches and phantom spasms on her gut. I just don't want her to over do it, ya know?" Looking at the paneling in the elevator, Daryl can see himself almost clearly. His hair is cut shorter and his goatee is neatly trimmed. "I think I'm gonna go visit her at lunch."

"You said you two were gonna give each other space. You go over there, she's gonna think that you're worried. And worrying is gonna make her worry."

"So I should just let her suffer?"

"How do you know she's suffering? She could be perfectly fine right now." Rick points out and Daryl furrows his eyebrows.

"I'm gonna text her."

"Don't."

"I'm her husband. I can text her whenever I want." He growls and Rick snatches the phone. "Hey!"

"You text her and say something stupid- you're gonna fall into overly protective husband position." Rick holds the phone behind his back and Daryl becomes even more irritated. "Trust me. Let her be for today. She needs to feel like she's getting back to normal."

"I don't want her back to normal! Normal means that she goes away for months at a time. That I never get to see her because she works all day and night. That we fight and ignore each other until we find something to converse about. It's lonely going back to how it was. I don't wanna go back if it means I lose the Beth I have now. The one who cries like a child and crawls into my lap looking for a hug. The one who smiles at me for no good reason and gets embarrassed wen I catch her looking. The one who curls into my side at night because she would rather be there than in her office working until the next day. I want my Beth." Rick sighs and hands the phone back to Daryl.

"I just wish you'd trust me on this." The door opens and Rick exits on the third floor. Looking at the phone in his hand, Daryls about to send Beth a text when he thinks about what Rick said. Putting the phone in his pocket, presses the ground floor button and waits for his turn to get out.

Across the street, Beth also struggles with decisions.

"The Corporation is planning on shifting from home network to over seas production to plunk out more cycles. We have to get ahead of Harley Davidson." Shawn presents in the meeting. Maggie and Hershel nod their heads but Beth and Grandpa are unsuaded.

"That's not what Greene Cycles is about. We are a homegrown, American made, blue jacket Company. We can't just give into temptation to try and get ahead. We would be fools." Beth slams her fist on the table and stands up. Her stomach twists and she becomes dizzy, but she doesn't faulter to it. "You move this company over seas and business will go down. 95% of cycles that are made over seas bring back liability problems. More consumers end up suing the company for manufacturing problems from over sea grown builds than with homeland made. Are you willing to pay out of your pocket for every lawsuit? Because I am not. This company wouldn't live long on that. And how could you even suggest that! If you're that bored of playing big boss then hand your share over to me and I will handle it better than you ever had Shawn. How many complaints and workers have you lost this passed year from New York? You have the lowest sales in the passed three quarters alone! If you stopped fucking your employees and focused on the betterment of the company, then we would be on the topside of H&D Cycles." Beth angrily says and Shawn stands up and aggressively points in her face.