*December 2040*
Everyone was growing more and more excited as the days passed; winter break was coming soon, which meant no school, no work, and a nice break. It was already snowing too.
Nini was stressing out; it wasn't over their musical, which only had a few major mishaps (that's less than usual), but she was freaking out over her holiday shopping. They had all agreed that they were not obligated to get everyone a present, but they already knew each other very well and knew the gift exchange was going to get out of hand.
Out of everyone, she was freaking out the most over a gift for Ricky because she had zero ideas and not a clue where to start.
She had the bomb shelter to herself at the moment since Miss Jenn had already left as well as most of the students; she was just waiting on the twins to come to the room, so they could head home. She stared at the empty list of ideas in her notes app. She had the perfect person in mind to ask though.
She picked up on the second ring. "Hey, what's up?" Kourtney answered.
"Kourt, I desperately need your help."
"Hurry, I'm a little busy."
"Yeah, right, sorry, probably should've called later."
"It's fine. I'm doing inventory while Gina's at the front."
"I'll make it quick. I'm trying to think of gift ideas for Ricky, and I'm seriously struggling."
"Do you have anything so far?"
"Nope," she answered, popping the P, "not a clue."
"Is he still into skating?" she half-joked.
"I need a serious opinion."
"Ok, ok, um... clothes?"
"No, not for his holiday back."
"Dinner?"
"No, I want to do an actual item to commemorate the moment, not just the memory."
"Does the man have any hobbies?"
"Not that I know of."
"I'm out of ideas."
"That was fast."
"Well, it's not like I have a lot to go off of. Is he still into music?"
Nini was about to answer, but she was very unsure this time. "I- I don't know."
"Just ask him what he's into."
"How do I do that subtly?"
"You could have the twins do it. It could be like they're still trying to get to know him."
"Ooh, that could work; as long as they're comfortable with it. Kourt, you're a genius."
"I know," she chuckled. "Oh, you could also ask that, um... the woman he's living with."
"I don't have her number."
"Do you know where he lives?"
"Uh, yeah."
"Just go over there then."
"What? No. What if Ricky's home? Then it'll be awkward. Plus, I don't know her that well; I don't think I could have a conversation with her alone."
"You should've been thinking about this at Thanksgiving," she chortled.
"That dinner alone was stressful enough. I wasn't ready to think about the next holiday yet."
"I don't know what to tell you then. Maybe Big Red has an idea."
"Ooh, yeah, I'll try him. Wish me luck."
"Bye, Neeners!"
"Bye!"
Nini then dialed Big Red, knowing Ricky was probably at Slices with him. "Hey, Nini!" he answered cheerily.
"Hey, Red! I have a question for you."
"Alright. Shoot."
"Can you help me think of gift ideas for Ricky?"
"Um, just a moment." Nini could hear him shuffling around on the other side for a minute before he spoke again. "Sorry, Ricky walked in. I'm in the office now; I don't think he'll be able to hear me."
"Great. I have no idea where to start because I realized that I don't actually know as much about him as I thought. Like, hobbies and interests wise."
"Well, I was planning on giving him his old skateboard. Remember when Mike was cleaning out the garage that one time and let me keep it? I don't necessarily have a use for it, and I doubt he does either, but I figured he could just have it as a memento."
"Yeah..." Nini thought about that for a minute; it was a really sweet idea, but she wasn't sure if she could part with anything that used to belong to him.
"You know you could do the same," he said. "You have most of his old stuff."
Nini chuckled. "I don't know, Red. I don't want to lose anything."
"What would you be losing? Plus, we have the actual Ricky back now; we don't have to hold onto objects as if he's dead anymore when we have the real person one call away."
Ok... you have a point. "Ok. Thank you for that. I'll figure out what to do."
"Glad I could help. Happy holidays!"
"Happy holidays!" Nini hung up and heard footsteps behind her; Jayden and Lauren came into the room. "So... what do you guys want for Christmas?" she asked.
They both just shrugged. "I don't know," Jayden answered.
"You two don't have anything in mind?"
"Um... not really," Lauren added.
"Thank you for the hint," she joked. They're impossible.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nini tapped her fingers nervously on the steering wheel; she thought she could blame her shakiness on the cold. It was time for the annual group holiday party, which was being held at the Redonovich's this year because of Ashlyn's pregnancy. The main problem she's had so far is the constant nauseous feeling.
She had all her gifts in the car, continuously checking names off in her head. She felt like a box might sprout legs and run away on the ride over.
She pulled into the driveway of the Red family, noting all the cars that had already shown up. (She blames her children for their tardiness.)
The family of three worked to get all the boxes and bags to the front door. "Alright, is that everything?" Nini asked, double-checking the trunk.
"Yup!" Jayden called, already at the front door. He always loved the whole group get-togethers because they were hilarious and the food was always amazing.
Lauren leaned into the trunk and didn't see anything else. "I think we're clear."
"Ok, just making sure," Nini said, pulling the trunk door down to close.
"Don't worry," her daughter reassured. "I don't think we forgot anyone."
"I hope not," Nini murmured.
Once he saw the other two coming, Jayden went ahead and rang the doorbell. A few seconds later, Big Red opened the door. "Ah, my favorite twins!" he cheered, hugging both of them. "The food is a free-for-all out on the dining room table and eggnog is also out," he said, ushering them inside and taking the presents they were holding.
After the two of them went inside, Nini hugged Big Red, the two sharing a quick greeting. "Hey, Nini!" he said joyfully. "Have you completed all your shopping?" he chuckled.
"Yes, and I think I've found all the perfect gifts," she boasted.
"We shall see. Carlos is placing bets again."
"Ah, that sounds about right."
"Come on in; all the heat's getting out."
She walked in, and he shut the door. Nini immediately saw all the decorations and thought it was strange to have a banner of mini Menorahs strung above the windows along with a few tiny Christmas trees dotted around. Big Red could tell what she was thinking and said, "Oh, Ashlyn saw those while she was holiday shopping. They apparently came in a set for a good price, and she thought they were cute," he shrugged. "I didn't mind since they're not overly in your face and really add to the overall feeling."
"They are cute," she agreed. "Plus, who said a whole religion could claim a tree of all things," she joked. Big Red laughed with her, and the two joined back with everyone else after placing her gifts with the rest.
The whole house was full of the holiday spirit: a fire was going, music was playing, and everyone was enjoying themselves. Nini looked around for Ricky for a moment since she couldn't remember if she had seen his car yet realized he was the only one who hadn't shown up yet.
The four kids were outside playing in the snow while the adults stayed in the warm house, chatting with each other. "I hope there are more than just baby clothes in that pile," Ashlyn joked, nodding to the mound of presents. "That's what the shower is for."
"Ooh, speaking of which, we need to plan that!" Kourtney gushed. Gina, Kourtney, and Nini began talking about what they would do for that.
As they were speaking, the doorbell rang. Big Red quickly jumped up to answer it, and the door flew open. "The final guest has arrived!" he hollered, quickly pulling Ricky inside. He took the gifts he had in his hand and placed them with the others.
"S- Sorry," he shivered. "The whole car was covered in snow and ice, and it took me forever to get it all off."
Nini hopped up to greet him, thinking he was kind of cute with the cold red nose. "Well, you made it, and that's all that matters." The two shared a quick peck without thinking and sat next to each other, wrapping an arm around the other.
Meanwhile, a few faces were confused by this. "I- I'm sorry, but, uh... when exactly did this happen?" Carlos asked, pointing at the couple.
"Oh, right," Nini said, holding him tighter. "We're back," she answered simply.
"Yeah, but when?" EJ wondered.
"Um... a few months now, yeah?" Ricky replied, looking down at Nini.
"Yeah, September," she confirmed.
"You kept this from us for three months?!" Seb shrieked.
"Well, not necessarily kept."
"I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the people who didn't react already knew," Carlos stated.
"Yeah, well, it just happened," Ricky said.
"You need to tell us everything," Seb urged.
"You sound like a middle school girl at a sleepover," Nini compared.
"And rightfully so!"
The couple then spent the following minutes telling of their rekindled relationship. The others were amazed by how giddy and excited the pair was; they were acting like lovesick teenagers yet in their 30s.
"And... yeah, I think that pretty much sums it up," Nini finished.
"I can not believe that everything is officially normal again," Gina said.
"Well, I wouldn't say that," Ricky said, "but I am happy to be back in this position."
"Me too," Nini mumbled, tightening her grip on his torso.
"Oh god, does this mean we have to go through the honeymoon phase with you two again?" Carlos wondered.
"I don't think they've ever left that phase," Kourtney added.
"Hey," Nini whined, "we're happy."
Ricky smiled and pressed a lingering kiss to her temple. "Yes, yes we are."
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I decided to skip Thanksgiving because I felt like it would've been too repetitive with the awkward and silent setting. Plus, I feel like I've brought up food plenty of times now in this book lol.