"Professor Howard might be there too. He knows a lot about soil improvement and developing new varieties. UTK's agronomy program is one of the best in the country!
Did you know he once grew a giant pumpkin that won the world championship? And I don't think learning more could hurt. Just in case..."
Maggie paused, leaving the rest unsaid, then went back to brushing her hair.
(Giant pumpkin competitions have a long history in the U.S. The full name is the World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off.
The first official competition was held in 1974 in California. The famous Canadian grower Howard Dill later developed a new variety called "Atlantic Giant.")
Glenn was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking down as he checked his boots. At her words, he looked up. "Just in case what? Maggie, we're only here temporarily to stay with Lori. Isn't this, this kind of serious conversation a little inappropriate?"
There was a tightness in his voice that even he hadn't noticed.
That afternoon, Glenn had spent a long time wandering through the industrial zone alone. The more he saw, the more complicated he felt.
The order and vitality there kept reminding him of the chaos and shortages at the prison.
But that was normal. The prison was still new, after all. That was probably what an ordinary survivor camp in the apocalypse was supposed to look like.
He understood Maggie's excitement. In a way, he even shared that sense of awe. But beneath it, a deeper unease was growing.
If they got too invested, did that mean betraying Rick and the prison?
Maggie's hand stopped in mid-brush.
She turned to look at Glenn. The anticipation on her face faded a little, replaced by hurt and confusion at being questioned.
"Inappropriate?
Glenn, we're learning!
Learning how to keep more livestock alive through the winter, and how to grow more food in the spring!
What's inappropriate about that?
Does that knowledge only belong to 'them'? Are we not even allowed to listen?
Or do you think we should spend every day sitting by Lori's side, not touch anything else, and act like proper guests?!"
Maggie spoke quickly, every sentence sparking with anger.
This wasn't the Glenn she knew.
The Glenn who had taken risks with her in the prison to clear walkers, who had stood firmly by her side during the crisis at the farm, the Glenn who had always been quick-thinking and full of life, now had a look of worry and distance on his face that she couldn't understand.
"That's not what I meant!" Glenn stood up too and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "I just... Maggie, we don't belong here.
Our home is at the prison. Rick, Hershel, Beth, Otis... everyone is there.
Of course we can bring back what we've seen and learned here, but we need to remember why we came here!"
He put heavy emphasis on the words "why we came here."
"Why we came here?" Maggie stepped closer, looking up at him with reddening eyes. "For Lori and the baby, yes!
But what else, Glenn? Besides 'finishing the mission,' can't we just open our eyes and look around?
Look at how the people here live?
Look at what the farm Dad dreamed of his whole life could become?
Look at Calista and Leah... look at what they've made this place into!"
Her voice began to tremble, full of hurt. "I like it here, Glenn.
I like waking up in the morning and breathing clean air. I like seeing people here living almost the way they did before the apocalypse!
I like how strong Leah is. I like Calista...
She's younger than me! But she's done what Dad, Rick, and maybe all of us wanted to do but couldn't!
What's wrong with that?!"
"Like it?" Glenn's voice rose as well. He felt a kind of panic, as if he were being pushed to the edge. "Maggie, you've only been here three days! Three days!
Everything here looks great, but how do you know there isn't a price behind it? How do you know there aren't rules we can't see, or even... danger?
We don't understand this place at all!"
"A price?! Who do you think you are? You think they're going to force you to sign yourself away?" Maggie blurted out. She regretted it almost immediately, but she still straightened her back.
"Glenn, I have eyes. I can see. I have a heart. I can feel.
Leah and Calista saved my life and Beth's. When the walker herd turned the farm into hell, they saved everyone!
Even the prison was taken by her teammates!
They never asked us to pay any price!
And now, they've given Lori a safe place to have her baby!
That's what I see!"
She took a deep breath and tried to steady her voice. "I'm not saying the prison isn't home.
I'm just saying... this place is good too. Maybe there's another kind of 'home' out there.
I just want to hear about their ranch experience. Maybe it can help Dad, help all of us later, no matter where we end up.
Is that betrayal too?!"
The two of them faced each other, and the air in the small cabin seemed to freeze.
Glenn looked into Maggie's stubborn, slightly wet eyes. The light in them felt so unfamiliar, yet so alive.
The anger and unease in his chest suddenly drained away like a punctured balloon, leaving only a deep helplessness and an even stronger confusion.
That light was exactly what he was afraid of.
It was too tempting, too warm. It made people want to move closer. But did moving closer mean drifting away from the "home" where they had once supported each other through hardship?
In the end, Glenn gave in. His shoulders slumped, and he apologized in a hoarse voice. "...I'm sorry, Maggie. I didn't mean to argue. Go ahead. I, I'm a little tired. I want to be alone for a while."
Maggie looked at his face, suddenly dim, and at the struggle in his eyes. Her heart softened too.
She stepped forward and gently hugged him, pressing her face against his chest. "I know you're worried, Glenn. I'm worried about Dad too, and Beth, and everyone.
But being here means we're finding a path for them too, doesn't it?
If this place is better, why wouldn't we stay...
Well, at least for Lori and the baby!
Don't think too much, okay?"
Glenn stiffly hugged her back and said nothing.
Maggie let go of him and picked up a coat. "Then I'm going. I won't be out too late."
She walked to the door, then looked back at him once more, her eyes complicated. In the end, she turned and disappeared into the night outside the ranch.
Glenn sat alone on the edge of the bed, listening as Maggie's footsteps faded away, feeling lonelier than he ever had before.
The confusion inside him, Maggie's wavering, this tempting new world in front of him, and his responsibility to the prison...
Everything tangled together, leaving him at a loss.
Should he tell Rick what was happening here?
What could he even say?
That Maggie was starting to like this place?
That he himself was shocked by the order here, even impressed by it?
That he and Maggie had argued about whether to stay or leave?
No. Glenn couldn't say anything.
He could only keep it all buried inside, like guarding a secret that might crack open at any moment.
If only Hershel and Dale were here. They always saw things clearly and helped everyone find their way at the crossroads.