Home Is Your Heartbeat ('Home Is' Book Two - Daryl Dixon)

Chapter 53 - Moonshadow (Cat Stevens)

NATE

When I heard the faint twang of a guitar on the breeze as I wandered back to our house?

My mouth opened into a cackle of evil laughter and I high-fived myself.

In my mind's eye, I can see Dixon's face screwing up in pained resignation. Then his eyes narrowing in realisation. That he's just boarded the karma express  😏

"Something has tickled your fancy this morning, Nate?"

"Morning, Gabriel. Yes and very much so. But I've got a feeling it's going to come back and bite me on the ass big-time. Sooner rather than later."

I grin hugely at him as I pass by but don't stop to shoot the breeze....

....and he doesn't seem offended.

Just want this tiny bit of merriment to stay with me for as long as possible. Longer than my intended 'to-do'  list anyways.

That happy state lasted all of approximately....Oh....I'd say thirty-two seconds? Which is how long it took for me to reach our porch and open the front door.

My sigh was loud as I stepped across the threshold, while looking back longingly at the many houses in Alexandria. Those that are still empty, untouched and....clean.

Maybe we can just pack up and move every few weeks when it gets grotty? Failing that, find someone else to do my....to-do's?

Stop procrastinating, woman....and get your ass into gear. Ain't gonna awesome itself you know!

*

Over the next couple of hours, the house slowly transformed from a pigsty back to a show home.

And during that time, I couldn't help the feelings of longing that washed over me whenever I thought of our old abode.

No, FUCK NO....not the prison itself  *shudder*  😬

I meant....the life that we'd built there. It was one huge house and like a well-blended family, we all lived in it. Happily for the most part.

Sharing the workload was a whole lot easier. Even though we didn't always have the luxuries as we do now. Like solar electricity, running water, vacuum cleaners, refrigerators and washing machines.

The old gennie's could only handle one thing at a time back there. And even then it was a matter of fingers crossed.

Each had a little space to call their own. A cave-like refuge to run to whenever the togetherness got too much. And yup, we all squabbled occasionally. But like most families, we made allowances and tried to get over ourselves.

I'll be honest and fess up that I'm quite enjoying the extra privacy we have here. Though we're paying a high price for it I think?

Not the least is in....time.

Time that could or rather should  be better spent on preparing for the future. Not falling back into the so-called 'convenient'  ways of the past.

We've come full circle and then some, don't you agree?

From having everything at our fingertips to losing it all in a matter of mere weeks. And now after a couple of years....having just about all of it back again.

'Nate? Getting the impression here that you want the circle to keep going around. Until everything is almost back to basics again?'  I thought to myself in shock.

Oh lordy, don't I sound like a maudlin old fool? How on earth does Dixon manage to put up with me? My man has the patience of an absolute saint when it comes to his little idiot of a missus.