The Perfect Gift

Ch. 9

Nini giggles into the back of her hand at another comment Ricky makes about one of the people walking by.

"No, but really, his pants are pulled up so high, it looks like he's expecting a flood."

Her giggles turn into peals of laughter and he grins at her, pleased to know that he had caused that lovely sound. He watches her and finishes off his dinner with one last bite of mashed potatoes. Nini had been done with her plate for a while, but that was probably because Ricky's plate held triple the amount of food on Nini's.

She calms down and shakes her head at him. "Okay, so the amount of ankle he's showing is pretty criminal, but look over there," she murmurs, pointing in the direction of an older woman that clearly had too much work done. "If she smiles, do you think her entire face would fall apart?" Nini whispers.

"That's probably why she gets so much work done, so she can keep rebuilding it when she does accidentally smile," he answers soberly. He watches the woman as she carries on a conversation with her tightly pulled back and scarily expressionless face. She held some comically high brows, making the upper half of her face look shocked while the rest remained eerily still. Even when she speaks, her overly plump lips barely part and her company seems to have trouble understand her. "I bet she drinks her water like this."

She turns her attention away from the woman and blinks at him, confused. "Like what?"

Ricky carefully paints on a dull expression, lifts his eyebrows to appear surprised, and puckers his lips just ever so slightly in an uncannily accurate imitation of the overly done woman. He holds up his drink to his barely parted lips and tilts the cup into his mouth. When he pulls the cup away, the water dribbles from his mouth and back into the glass. It's really rather disgusting, but his expressionless face is what makes the whole thing absolutely hilarious.

A highly undignified snort leaves Nini's mouth as she doubles over in a roar of laughter. "That's disgusting!" she cries. Despite the complaint, she sounds thoroughly amused.

"What? What's so funny?" he mumbles through his closed, semi-puckered lips, still impersonating the woman.

Nini continues her laughing fit, a hand pressed to her mouth in a poor attempt to stifle the sound.

Ricky drops the act and wipes the water from his mouth. "You okay?" he chuckles.

She shakes her head and she continues laughing as he watches her quietly. "Oh my God, I can't breathe," she rasps.

He laughs for a second and then looks thoughtfully into his glass. "I'm, uh, I'm going to get a new drink," he says with a wince.

She nods understandingly as he walks away with their plates and his drink in hand. When she has finally calmed down, she goes back to scanning the crowd for any more wacky characters worthy of commentary for Ricky's return. But then something on the stage catches her eye and she turns to look at the singer calling for everybody's attention. Ricky joins her with a new glass of water in hand as she eyes the stage curiously.

"What's going on?" she asks Ricky as Dan walks up onto the stage.

Ricky frowns and shrugs. "I don't know. Maybe an announcement or some kind of surprise?" He looks around as a crowd starts up front by the stage. "You want a closer look?"

She shrugs like Why not? and they both get out of their seats and move closer to the stage to listen to what Ricky's boss has to say.

Dan grins once he has the audience's rapt attention. "How about we pass the mic around for a bit, huh? I know some of you talented folks are dying to show off your lovely voices."