Sunny Days

Chapter 23

Sunny watched the children run around the new playground the whole  Sanctuary banded together to build. A playscape that had been sitting in  the back of one of the storage areas, the lumber and hardware just  waiting to be used for anything other than its intended purpose, was  built complete with rainbow roofs over the different levels providing  shade and shelter. Slides and climbing apparatus surrounded the  structure. Swings hung from a long beam that jutted out from a tower.

Barricades  were erected to shield the children's eyes from the outside world. A  sandbox was filled, teeter-totters and obstacle courses of old tires  arranged on astroturf stolen from a nearby high school football field.  The Saviors had even stripped an old truck leaving just the seats and  steering wheel for the kids to climb on and pretend to drive. Some of  them too young to remember ever riding in one.

Schools  were raided per Sunny's requests. The first things they used were the  art supplies. The hallways for families, nursery, and future school  rooms were painted with whatever bright colors were on hand to cover the  dingy gray of the factory. Paper decorations the kids had worked so  hard on hung from the ceilings. Handprints of the kids and their  families decorated the walls forming murals of flowers created by tiny  hands. Everyone's names were written by their hand. No matter what, a  piece of them would always exist.

Sunny loved her work  with the kids and helping to make their surroundings a home. She had  become more confident that their baby would be able to thrive there. She  had already seen a remarkable change in the attitudes of the parents  and their kids. They were happy and hopeful.

The kitchen  had the inventory lists ready a few days after the initial committee  meeting. They were learning to harvest seeds and regrow from scraps of  greens and roots. Canning and making preserves was a work in progress  but progress was being made.

Yet there was still so much  to do. She wanted to get as much of it done before the baby was born or  before she was too big to help. Her stomach seemed to pop overnight. She  was finally in maternity jeans. They assumed she was approaching the  halfway point but without a sonogram or exact dates, it was hard to know  for sure. Negan had promised he would figure out a way to get one for  her. Adding to the list of many things they needed.

"Dominique!"  Sunny shouted across the playground. She waved the woman over to her.  "We should probably think about getting them inside. It'll be time for  dinner soon. Their parents will want to get them."

"I  think we should let them keep playing. It would be good for their  parents to get to see them like this. Spend a few minutes playing with  them too."

Sunny nodded. "You're right." Everyone should  get to see such pure joy. Far be it for her to deny them such a simple  pleasure. She took the hand of a precious 5-year-old who tugged her to  the swings. Helping them up, she took her spot behind them and started  to push, smiling at their cry of "higher" with each pass. 

Negan oiled Lucille, running the rag up and down her handle as he  sat alone in his office. It was strange to be in this room without  Sunny flitting in and out from their bedroom. Lonely even. But she was  at work and he had plans to mull over.

It was the weirdest  thing. The world essentially ended. He lost everything and everyone who  had ever meant anything to him. And yet, he was almost happy for the  first time in his life. He wasn't looking for greener pastures. Wasn't  avoiding his responsibilities. He was all in. But a nagging part of his  brain was just waiting. Waiting for the other shoe to drop because a  bastard like him didn't deserve to be happy.

It was  getting harder to maintain control. He was still sending Saviors to  other communities to collect. But those groups of enforcers were getting  smaller with every visit especially since he had his people out there  looking for other resources now.