The Manny (The Walking Dead Richonne)

Chapter 2

Monday

Michonne came home tired from a stressful but productive day.

"Mommy!" Andre came toddling across the living room towards her with a big grin on his face.

Michonne scooped him up into a hug, kissing his forehead.

"How was he?" she asked the new nanny.

"Good. He was fussy at nap time, though," Rick answered.

Michonne gave him a sympathetic smile, "He's like that for me too, more often than not."

"Well, have a good evening, ma'am," Rick said as he gathered his jacket, then to Andre, "See you tomorrow, buddy!"

When he was gone, Michonne looked around. All of Andre's toys were put away. In the kitchen, the dishes from their rushed breakfast were gone from the sink. In fact, the counters were spotless and there was a hint of lemon freshness in the air.

"Nice," Michonne said to herself. She could get used to this.

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Tuesday

As Michonne was fixing dinner, she noticed a piece of what was obviously Andre's artwork taped to the fridge. There was a crayon drawn house in the midst of some colorful scribbles. In the corner of the paper, written neatly in pen, were Andre's name and the date.

It was a small gesture, sticking a child's drawing on the fridge, but it struck Michonne as very thoughtful. The old nanny had never bothered to do anything of the sort.

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Wednesday

That morning when Michonne was passing Andre off to Rick, he asked if she would be comfortable with him taking Andre for a walk to the neighborhood park. Michonne agreed and showed him where the stroller was kept.

When she got home that night she found a little bunch of wildflowers in a glass on the kitchen table.

"Did you pick these for me?" she asked Andre, lifting him into his high chair.

"Yep!" the little boy answered.

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Thursday

In every office there's that one manager who loves to hold meetings every chance they get. The longer and more unproductive the better, it seemed, and today Michonne got roped into attending. She tapped her pen on her notepad, barely resisting the wholly unprofessional temptation to doodle in the margins as the speaker droned on.

The quiet buzz of her phone was a welcome distraction. She checked it discretely.

There was a new text alert from Rick Grimes. When she opened it there was a video attachment. Michonne checked that her volume was off and tapped play.

Andre's angelic face filled the screen. He was sitting in a bucket swing at the park down the street from their house, smiling like he was having the time of his life.

When the short clip was over, Michonne played it again, smiling to herself. Her little boy always managed to cheer her up.

"Oh, is that your son?" Michonne's nosy coworker leaned over, apparently also not paying much attention to the meeting.

"Yeah," Michonne said.

"He's precious! Look at those cheeks!" the woman gushed.

The manager shot them an annoyed look but thankfully someone else pointed out the time and the meeting was adjourned.

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Friday

At lunch time Rick sent Michonne a picture of Andre wearing his bib, munching on some baby carrots. For a caption he wrote 'TGIF!'

When Michonne got home and Rick passed Andre off to her, she thought back on their first meeting and how hesitant she'd been about having a male nanny. Now she almost couldn't imagine not having Rick around!

"Thank you so much all your help, Rick," she told him.

"Well, that is what you're paying me for," Rick said, looking amused.

"Yes, but. I guess what I'm saying is, you're doing a great job," Michonne said.

"Thanks," Rick's eyes held hers for a long second, "Have a good weekend, you two. I'll see you again on Monday."

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By the end of the second week, Michonne thought maybe she was imagining it, but Andre seemed to be happier than he had been the past few months.

There had been a lot of upheavals in his short life, his father leaving, the move from the city, her scrambling to find childcare. Michonne tried to shelter him from the stress of it all, but sometimes she wondered how everything was affecting him. There had been days that he was petulant and irritable, throwing fits over things that had never bothered him before.

This new nanny was attentive and caring, Michonne thought, and he brought some much needed stability to their lives. Andre was getting back to his naturally cheerful self and Michonne finally felt like she was getting a grip on things. Instead of living in crisis mode, she felt like she could slow down a bit and enjoy life more.

So one week when the beautiful blue eyed nanny invited her and Andre over to his place for a cookout, she didn't hesitate to accept.

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TBC!