Winter in New York city was brutal. The days were often gloomy, and the wind sent chills down Nini's spine. Some days, she found it hard to get up because she didn't want to leave the warmth of her comforter. Bob would sometimes snuggle in with her under the blanket to protect himself from the cold weather, and Nini thought it was the most adorable thing. Today was different though, they were nearing the end of February, and the weather seemed to be looking up. It was going to be a great day.
It was also Nini's birthday. Ricky had promised that he would visit her, and he would be arriving very soon to spend the day with her. Well, the evening, since Nini still had work. She smiled when he texted that he'd landed, evidently his arrival was what made her so excited in the morning.
She arrived at work with a pump in her steps, and entered her office to find that her friends were already there, ready with cake and party hats to wish her a happy birthday.
"Happy Birthday, Neens!!" EJ and Gina said in unison.
Nini engulfed them both in a hug and thanked tbem. She frowned, however, when she noticed Kourtney was missing.
"Thank you so much, you two. Where's Kourt ?"
"Oh. Um.. she said she was sick." EJ said scratching his neck uncomfortably. Something was up, because Kourtney rarely gets sick, and EJ was looking nervous.
"Oh no. What's wrong?" Nini asked.
"She just had a fever..." Gina answered.
"Poor thing." Nini said. "I'll give her a call later. I hope she's okay."
_______
"It's just a cold, Neens. Don't worry about it." Kourtney said dismissively. "No! Don't come here. I'm fine, I promise. You should be enjoying your birthday! Go out for lunch. Have some cake... make sure EJ and Gina treat you well... Yes. I'll drink plenty of water. I promise. Happy Birthday!"
Ricky looked at Kourtney anxiously. "She knows doesn't she?"
"She definitely didn't believe I was sick." Kourtney said. "Your girl's too smart for her own good."
"Oh man. She's gonna find out. I'm screwed." Ricky nervously ran his hands through his curls. "Everything's falling apart."
"Okay... drama queen. First of all, she doesn't know I'm with you. Second of all, you need to chill everything's gonna be fine. You know she's gonna say yes."
"Oh my gosh. I hadn't even thought about that. What if she says no?!" Kourtney placed a hand on his back to soothe him, but immediately removed it.
"Aww. Richard, you're really nervous aren't you. You're sweating through your shirt in this New York winter. You're crazy." Kourtney said. "She's going to say 'Yes' Ricky. That's all that matters in the end right? Even if everything falls apart, you'll have her."
"You don't know for sure she'll say yes." Ricky said. "She's totally out of my league, you know."
"Look, lover boy. She loves you. I don't know for sure, but I know 99% she wants the same thing. She's crazy about you." Kourtney said, trying to calm him down. "Now let's not think about that yet and rerun the logistics again."
"Okay. Let's do that." Ricky opened up his iPad. "So, I pick her up from work at 5. Gina and EJ will make sure she gets out on time. We take a stroll to Central Park, where Ethan will be waiting with Bob. You're gonna use my keys, and take Bob to Ethan's at 4."
"And you have the file with you?" Kourtney said. "And talked to the park people?"
"Yup." Ricky said. "We just have to finish setting up by 3."
"Okay. We have some time now, so let's go over what you're wearing tonight."
"Okay."
____________
I'll pick you up at 5. Can't wait to see you. ❤️
Nini giggled like a teenage girl counting the minutes till her date arrives. It always surprised her how excited she always was to see Ricky, even after all these years. Lately though those feelings have somehow intensified, and she often found herself a emotional mess around him. She thought about Ricky again, his curly brown hair that was always the right amount of messy, his hazel eyes, and that smile that always made her heart skip a beat. Ricky could kill her with those dimples.
Her musings were interrupted by her favorite duo. EJ and Gina had been "hovering" over her a lot today. She thought maybe it was because they just wanted to be with her on her birthday, but they'd seemed awfully suspicious. EJ had been fidgety all day, and Gina jumped every time she asked a question. She had a feeling it might have something to do with Kourtney. Earlier, EJ had mentioned that the stylist was home with a fever, but when Nini called, Kourtney said she had a cold. Lunch had also been unusually awkward.
"You done with work, Neens?" Gina asked.
"No. Why?" Nini asked.
"It's getting late, and it's your birthday. You should go soon and enjoy your day." EJ said.
"It's 4.30 .. isn't it a little early for it to be getting late?" Nini asked suspiciously. "Plus, Ricky's picking me up at 5, and I should be done by then. I still have some time."
"Oh. That's good." EJ said in the most unnatural way.
"Right. Great. That's great." Gina said.
Now Nini knew why they weren't actors. They couldn't act to save their lives.
"Okay. Y'all need to drop this act." Nini said as EJ and Gina's eyes widened in shock. "What's going on? Does it have something to do with Kourt? There's something you're not telling me."
"Umm. Yeah. It's got something to do with Kourtney." EJ said, while Gina looked at him anxiously. "Umm. She told us to monitor you all day to make sure you're having fun on your birthday."
"Yeah, Neens. We just want you to have a good day." Gina added. "You do so much for us and you rarely think of yourself. We just want you to have fun for once. Sorry if we annoyed you."
Well now Nini felt bad. "Aww. Come here you guys... you're so cute." Nini embraced them into a group hug. "Just so you know, I have a lot of fun ... with you guys."
"How about we just chill and talk for a bit? You don't have any deadlines due tomorrow right?" EJ asked.
"Sure."
"I'll get drinks and snacks." Gina said. "You shouldn't lift a finger on your birthday."
Nini thought she heard EJ say : she can lift if it's the right finger.
__________
"I can't do this, Red." Ricky said. "What if she says no?"
"I doubt she'll say no." Big Red said over the phone. "Just calm down, man."
"I feel like I'm gonna puke."
"Don't." Red said. "Where are you right now?"
"I'm outside her building. I've been waiting for like 10 minutes and she's not out yet." Ricky paced back and forth. "Maybe she doesn't want to see me. Maybe she wants to break up-"
"Whoaaa.. Slow down bro." Red said laughing. "You're letting your mind run wild. She's probably just waiting for the elevator or wrapping up with work. Look, she loves you. There's no way she's gonna reject you."
"You sure ? Cause I've been getting lots of rejections lately." Ricky sighed, his mind suddenly occupied with thoughts of his job applications.
"Hey man, don't be putting all that pressure on yourself. Just take it easy and go with the flow. Enjoy your night."
Suddenly, Ricky spotted the petite brunette walking out the elevator into the lobby. She hadn't seen him yet. But Ricky felt his throat close up. He couldn't breathe. She looked extremely beautiful today.
Her face was donned with light make up and her classic red lipstick. She wore this simple black dress that ran to her mid thigh with black ankle boots and a black leather jacket. Ricky was sure that all the men in this building were ogling her all day long, and if it weren't for the fact that Ricky was having trouble breathing, he would have ran in there and covered her up with his coat so they would know that she belonged to him.
"Ricky? You there ?" Red said over the phone.
"I gotta go. She's here. I can't breathe. I'm gonna die."
"Rick-" Ricky hung up the phone and walked towards his future wife.
___________
"Hey. Who were you on the phone with?" Nini asked as she walked towards her boyfriend.
Ricky seemed to be caught off guard. "Umm. Just Big Red."
"Is everything okay?" Nini asked.
"Yeah. He just has ... pre-wedding jitters."
"This early? The wedding's not til April.".
"You know Red. He overthinks everything." Ricky said, playing it cool. "So.. can we please stop talking about Red, and get to the part where you greet your favorite person who you haven't seen in almost two months ?"
Nini smiled and immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. She looked into his brown eyes and couldn't help but think about how handsome he looked tonight.
"What?" Ricky asked.
"Nothing. You just look really good." Ricky was wearing all black today. He had a grey coat outside but then a black sweater, trousers, and shirt inside. It made him look extremely good.
"You obviously haven't seen yourself, because you look amazing." Ricky said blushing and kissing her one more time. "Happy birthday, by the way." He tucked her into his side as they walked. He stopped midway and took off his coat, putting it on Nini instead.
"It's okay, babe. I'm not cold." Nini said.
"I know. You just look too good and I don't want other guys to look at you." Ricky said making her blush. She'd always thought jealousy looked good on him. "This outfit should be illegal. How is anyone supposed to focus on working, and walking and breathing when you look like that? People are going to trip and fall just looking at you."
"Okay that was smooth." Nini giggled accepting the coat. "So where are we going?"
Nini could feel Ricky getting tense by the way his grip on her tightened when she asked the question, but a second later he seemed to have calmed down slightly.
"I thought we could take a stroll around Central Park before heading out for dinner." Ricky stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her with a serious expression on his face. "I know it's your birthday, but I thought I could be in charge tonight. That's okay, right?"
Nini took his hand in hers. "Of course it is. I didn't have any plans anyway. All I want is to be with you tonight."
Ricky visibly relaxed. "Good. Great."
"Why are you nervous anyway? It's not like this is the first time we've spent my birthday together." Nini probed, wondering why everyone was so jumpy and on edge today.
"I just wanna make sure everything's perfect." Ricky said. "It's your night, babe."
"It's already perfect because you're here. So let's just relax and have a good time." She kissed his cheek lightly hoping he would calm down.
"Okay. Let's go." Ricky intertwined his hand with hers and led the way.
__________
Central Park was pretty at night. The lights were on and people were generally more chill this time of day. For a while Nini just enjoyed her quiet stroll with her favorite guy. Ricky had other plans though. The route they were taking was not their usual one.
"Where are we going?" Nini asked tugging at Ricky's arm. "You're not gonna kill me are you? This path is awfully quiet."
"Just relax. I have a surprise for you, okay." But Nini could sense that Ricky himself was tense. "I won't kill you, silly. 'Cause then I'd be lonely."
After walking a while, Ricky came to a stop in front of the Bethesda Terrace. There were candles lit all over the place and at the center was a simple set up. A small bench, a table with a bouquet flowers and Ricky's laptop atop it.
"These are for you." Ricky handed the bouquet over to her. "They're red tulips. They're supposed to symbolize true love. I looked it up." Ricky grinned nervously.
"They're beautiful. Thank you baby." Nini said kissing him. "This is all beautiful. When did you do this?"
"Shh. Come sit." Ricky said patting the space beside him on the bench, and plugged in a flash drive into the computer. "I've been working on this for a while, and was looking for the right moment to give it to you. Happy Birthday, babe. I hope you like it."
Ricky wrapped his arm around Nini as she leaned on him. She watched as music started to play and the screen flashed with her birth date, and Ricky's warm, husky voice narrated the video.
February 25th, 1993.
You graced the world with your presence. Unfortunately I couldn't be there, our paths would not cross until later.
Across the screen were baby pictures of Nini, her parents and her Lola. Nini felt emotional looking at them, and squeezed Ricky's hand in hers for moral support.
Years later you moved to Salt Lake City, and I met you for the first time in Mrs. D's English class. You helped Red when he stuttered in front of the class, even though you didn't know who he was. You were always kind and I knew I wanted to be friends with you. From then on, the three of us became inseparable.
A montage of her elementary school pictures flashed across the screen including a few photos of her, Red and Ricky.
In middle school, you were one of the popular kids, while Red and I were skate rats. But you still hung out with us. You went through some tough times but you never let anything get to you.
Nini laughed at the pictures of the three of them in braces. The time Ricky and Red convinced her to try skating. Their
project which got a ribbon at the science fair.
2011 was our Senior Year of High School. My parents had gotten divorced by this time, and you were always there beside me. We graduated together top of our class. (I only made it out alive thanks to you) I had a crush on you, but was deep in denial. We even went to prom together... as friends.
Nini pecked his cheek fondly. She had feelings for him too at that point. Every time he looked at her, her heart fluttered, and whenever she was sad he would be there for her. She just didn't realize what they were until college.
In college, I finally made you mine. I didn't know why it took me so long, but I fell in love with you, hard and fast. From then on, it was Ricky and Nini. Nini and Ricky. You grew to be a brilliant writer and I was just a lucky photographer.
The photos on this part of the video were significantly better, because Ricky took them. "You're not just a photographer.." Nini whispered to him. "You're incredible." But he just shushed her, directing her head to the screen to make her focus on the video.
We did so many things together. It was us against the world. Through it all I fell deeper and deeper in love with you. You had become a part of me that I never knew was missing all these years.
Nini smiled fondly at these photos. Their trip to Italy, Ricky's birthday at the zoo, hiking the grand canyon, numerous dinners at Salt Lake Slices, volunteering for habitat for humanity... they really did everything together. There was also a montage of photos of just her that Ricky had taken candidly. Suddenly the music turned somber.
I did many stupid things, and made mistakes. I hurt you and made you sad. The thing I regret the most was that I broke your heart and drove you away. All the way to New York City.
The next few frames were just photos of Ricky or videos of places he'd gone to, things he's done while they were apart, with voice notes that he'd recorded during that time.
[a/n: if y'all don't remember, Ricky did this voice note thing after they broke up - chapter 5&6]
The first few voice messages were drunken and bitter as Ricky was still emotionally unstable after Nini's departure.
Life sucks without you. I'm sorry for what I said. Please come back, baby.
Why'd you have to go away? Everyone leaves in the end. What's wrong with me?
Nini, I'm so sorry I ruined everything I can't lose you too, please. Wake me up and tell me this is all just a bad dream. I didn't mean what I said.
Nini's eyes began to water at the sound of his voice. He was in pain and she hated that it was because of her. He did ask her to leave, but she still felt bad for him. At her side, she could hear Ricky sniffling as well. She squeezed his hand to let him know that this is real, that she's real and here now, and she's not planning on leaving anytime soon. He kissed the top of her head in response.
Hi Neens, today I went to work for the first time in a long time. It felt good to have a sense of normalcy for a few hours. I wonder where you are in the world right now. I miss you. Salt Lake's not the same without you.
Hey Neens, guess what? I submitted one of my photos to this lifestyle and culture magazine in new york, and it's gonna be the cover of the magazine next month. Thanks for always pushing me to take risks, you were right, like always. I miss you so much.
Hi baby.. I'm at the skate park. It's one of those nights. The stars are out and all I can think about is if somewhere out there, you're looking at the same sky.
How long do you think it's gonna be until we meet again? Can you find it in your heart to forgive me ?
Hey Neens. I'm in Chicago, and I just had some deep dish pizza (don't tell Big Red). I went to see my mom. We talked, and it wasn't terrible. She told me I needed to fight for you. I think I agree with her, Nini. When I think about my future, there isn't a version where I'm not with you. All I want is to be with you, babe.
There were dozens of messages, and Nini felt the stream of tears finally spill out of her eyes. She was reminded of her own pain during their separation. He loved her so much, and she loved him.
To be honest part of me thinks that you're better off without me. But I'm a selfish man, Neens-
Nini paused the video, to Ricky's surprise. "I can't watch anymore of this Ricky."
"What? I worked on this for weeks, baby." Ricky said, slightly panicked.
"I just feel really overwhelmed. Plus, you're sputtering nonsense in this video. I'm not better off without you. You make me better, and I don't know where I'd be without you."
Ricky bounced his leg frantically. "Okay, baby. But will you please keep watching the video? There's only a few seconds left, I promise." Ricky gave her his best puppy dog eyes and thankfully it worked.
"Okay. You should know it's a crime to make someone cry so much on their birthday, though."
I need you in my life, by my side, I don't want a future without you in it.
Photos of them having fun and walking around New York flashed across the screen.
Right on cue, Nini heard a familiar pitter patter of feet, or paws nearby. She turned her head to find that it was none other than Bob.
"Bobby, what are you doing here? How did you get here?" As expected, Nini became concerned and started walking towards the dog with Ricky following closely behind.
"I think Bob has something he wants to ask you." Ricky said when they were close. That's when Nini noticed around his neck was a cute little bowtie and he was also carrying a sign. Upon closer inspection, Nini's eyes began to fill with tears again. It said : Will you marry me ?
"Ricky-" She turned around to find that he was already down on both knees with a ring box open in front of him. Nini covered her mouth felt her eyes cloud with tears and she let them fall freely, as her own knees buckled and she knelt down facing him.
"I meant every word I said in that video. Nini, those three months without you were arduous and terrifying. I didn't know if I would ever see you again. I thought I'd lost you forever. I'd lost the best thing that ever happened to me. And when I found you. I was afraid that you wouldn't take me back, that you'd moved on without me. But, as always, you were kind and forgiving. It baffles me how someone could have so much love in their body. From the moment we met until today, you've always been there for me, taking care of me through every up and down." Ricky's voice got thick with emotion and he had to clear his throat a few times. "-and no matter what happens I'll always come back to you. Tonight, if you'll have me, I promise to return the favor - to take care of you and love you for the rest of our lives."
He took her hand in his, looked into her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Nina-" Ricky paused when he noticed her cringe at her given name, which made them both chuckle. "Nini Salazar-Roberts, will you marry me?"
Nini was speechless and full on crying at this point. So she just nodded furiously and kissed him fervently, as he spun her around in his arms.
"I love you so much, Ricky Bowen." She said when they broke apart.
"I love you too." Ricky took her hand and put the ring on her finger. It was a beautiful emerald cut, mosaic diamond ring, and it fit perfectly on her. Bob started howling loudly, instantly lightening the mood, and Nini called him over immediately so he could join the group hug.
"Come here, Bobby!" Nini ruffled his head. "You did such a great job, bud."
Ricky joined in and hugged them both. "Good boy, Bob. I'm gonna be your new doggy daddy now!"
_____
Afterwards, Ricky insisted on carrying Nini bridal style all the way to the Loeb Boathouse where their friends were waiting to celebrate with them. Everyone was there, Kourtney, EJ, Gina and Ethan. The only ones missing were Red and Ash, as they were busy with their own wedding planning. But they had a quick video chat to congratulate Ricky and Nini.
"Hey Everyone!" Ricky called out as they arrived at the boathouse. "I put a ring on it!"
Everyone cheered and Kourtney was the first to give them a hug.
"Is this what you were doing all day?" Nini asked.
"Yeah, girl. This outfit didn't choose itself." Kourtney said pointing at Ricky's fit.
"Well. You really shouldn't have left those two in charge of me. Because they were suspicious as hell!" Nini laughed. "Even if they were the last two people on the planet, Broadway wouldn't hire them, because they're terrible. actors!"
"Oh you poor thing. I had no choice, Neeners. Someone had to help lover boy here calm his nerves and get things done."
Ricky blushed.
"Well, thank you, Kourt. Now come here all of you!" Nini motioned to EJ and Gina and they soon ended up in a group hug around Ricky and Nini.
In the middle of it all, Nini found Ricky's beautiful hazel eyes and found herself getting lost in them. She was truly happy and she could tell that he was, too.
_____________