Welcome to the chapter you couldn't wait for!!
I was glad to see everyone so excited in the description chapter🤣
A heads up for later: I was too lazy to find pictures for the kids' group chat😅
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"I'm sorry for barging in like this. I'll leave if you want me to, right after I get a word in."
Shock is still flowing through everyone. They're convinced this is some fever dream.
There he stood in a white T-shirt with a camouflage jacket and pants. The jacket was open, and what was clearly visible were two dog tags. One was his name and identification number. The other: the tag from junior year of high school; the one Nini gave him when they got back together.
"Ricky?" Nini squeaks out again.
He nods. "In the flesh. Trust me, I'm just as shocked as you guys."
"I find that hard to believe," Seb says, jaw still dropped.
"You've got a lot of explaining to do, Bowen," Kourtney says, taking a step forward.
"I never thought I'd miss Hurricane Kourtney coming for me," Ricky chuckles.
Big Red's the first one to approach him. "I don't understand."
"I don't either," Ricky said. They hug each other, and EJ's the next one to step forward.
"Dude, you're here." His voice cracks, but that's not what's important right now.
"Ah, if it isn't the egocentric jac- jerk," he responds, noticing there are children in the room.
"I'll let it slide just this once."
"I'm with Kourtney; you have a lot to fill us in on," Ashlyn says.
"I know I do. And I will. If you'll let me."
"Yeah, that 110% needs to happen," Seb says.
"Ok, either you're genuinely standing in front of us, or we're all having the same hallucination," Carlos says, rubbing his eyes.
"No, this is really happening. I'm here."
"How? Just... just how?" Gina adds.
Ricky's attention turns towards Nini, who hasn't said much. "Hey, Nini," he says delicately. He hasn't said that name in so long; he's surprised when he didn't choke on his words.
He walks towards her, and she can't figure out how to move her legs. "Hi," she gulps.
"This is high school all over again," Big Red whispers.
"I think they need a little help," Carlos says, bringing his fingers close together and walking towards them.
"Carlos, what are you about to do?" Ashlyn asks worriedly.
"Ricky, Nini," he gestures with his hands as if they were meeting for the first time. "Nini, Ricky. Now hug like normal human beings!" He puts his hands on their backs and forces them together.
"I see you haven't changed," Ricky says over his shoulder.
"Nope," Seb confirms.
They both had tears in their eyes and had pulled each other as close as possible without realizing it. This hug was big deja vu to when Ricky came over to her house after hearing about his parents' divorce for the first time. Crazy to get deja vu about something that happened about twenty years ago.
"I thought you were dead," Nini mumbles so only he can hear.
"I'm not," he says in the same quiet tone. Tears were threatening to fall from both their eyes.
Lauren was the first one to question what was happening. "Mom?" Her voice breaks them out of their hug, and Nini starts internally panicking. Shit, what happens now?
Deep down, Ricky could feel that word sting a little. Mom.
He had no reason to question; he had no right to be mad. What'd he expect after being away for fifteen years? He was happy she finally got the family she's always wanted, even if it wasn't with him. And judging from how old this girl looked, Nini had her a long time ago.
I'm sorry I couldn't be a part of your life. I know we both used to talk and dream about having a family together, but I am happy for you.
"Who's this?" Jayden questions. There was something strange about the boy who stood up, but Ricky couldn't put his finger on it.
Nini, still panicking, looks between the three of them, not knowing what to say. Everyone else is noticing the awkwardness. "Lauren, Jayden," she forces out. "This is, um..."
"This is Ricky. A very good friend of all of ours," Big Red says, saving her. Everyone is silent for a moment as confusion circles the room.
"This is a sweet moment, but where the heck were you?!!" EJ yells, breaking the silence.
Ricky turns around with a faint smile on his face. "Where do I even start?"
"How about the fact that we all thought you were dead!!" Gina shouts. Dead?? Geez, what happened to this guy? Aidan thinks.
The doorbell rings, and Kourtney answers it. "Carol? Dana? What are you two doing here?"
"Mike said we should come over here, but I-" Carol stops talking when she sees Ricky. "You all see him too, right?" she asks. The gang all nod.
"Carol, what are you-" Dana has the exact same reaction when she turns the corner. "We're not hallucinating, right?" she asks. Everyone shakes their heads no.
"It's good to see you guys too," Ricky chuckles.
"I have an idea. How about you two go talk on the patio while we stay in here?" Seb suggests (demands) as he's pushing them outside.
"Geez, you guys are acting like your high school selves," Ricky says right before Seb shuts the door and locks them out.
"Who was that?" Madison asks.
"And why was he considered dead?" Aidan asked.
"And why have we never heard of him before, yet you guys all clearly know him?" Lauren points out.
"But most importantly, who is he?!" Jayden adds.
"Oh... right. You guys are still here," Ashlyn whispers. The four nod.
"Let's just sit on the couch while they sort things out," Big Red suggests. The four children groan and plop onto the couch anyway.
*Patio*
When the door shuts, Ricky faces Nini and starts rambling.
"Ok, before you yell or scream or- or get mad, I want to say a few things." When she doesn't respond, he keeps going. "I'm sorry. And I- I know that that's not good enough, and you're probably confused about how I'm here and why I'm here now a- and not before. I'm aware of both letters you got twelve years ago. I'm aware that they make me out to be dead. I know that there's nothing I could possibly do to ever look better in your eyes. I know how big of a failure I am. And I'm not trying to get back into your life or anyone else's. I'll leave after this; you don't have to see me or hear from me ever again if you don't want to. But I want to have a chance to explain myself. I know I don't deserve it but please. I... I'm sorry."
Nini doesn't know what to say. They both still have tears extremely close to spilling over; a few of them already have. "Sit down," she manages. She doesn't sound nearly as hostile as Ricky thought; he figured she'd be livid with him. There's still time for an explosion, I guess.
They sit on the small couch on the back porch in silence until Nini has figured how to form words again. "How long have you been in town?" Not the question I was expecting but ok.
"Three days. I've been staying with my dad."
Nini lightly nods her head as she tries to understand everything. "I have to be on something right now," she mutters.
Ricky's so scared of making this situation worse. He doesn't want to accidentally do anything that would make her upset; he already expects her to be. But he hesitantly moves his hand, so it's slightly touching hers and whispers, "This is real. I'm here."
She nods, understanding that he is physically in front of her, but her body is still in shock. "This is a lot to, um... process."
"I get that. Take your time." Ricky slowly runs his thumb over her knuckles, a simple yet rather grand gesture.
While letting her think, he notices she doesn't have a wedding ring... or an engagement ring... but she has two kids. The temptation to ask was high, but that seems extremely invasive and inappropriate, considering they haven't talked in fifteen years. Pressing into her love life was none of his concern... even if he did wonder.
"Where have you been? Why haven't you tried to reach out?"
He sighs and takes his hand away, both wishing he hadn't. "Let's see. Long story short: I, um... I was trapped in a submarine for about a month; I got captured by the enemy and stayed in a jail cell for almost six years; I managed to break out, then went on the run for about five years; and I've been in and out of hospitals and therapy for the last year."
Nini just stares at him blankly, now in even more shock. "I know it's a lot, and that's the short version. I know everyone else deserves to know, but I figured y-" He stops talking when she hugs him. She had one arm around his torso, and the other was around his neck.
"I thought you were dead," she cries into his shoulder again.
"I thought I was too." He pulls her closer and rubs her back in an attempt to soothe her, but he knows there's no use. "But I'm not."
When they pull away, arms still lingering, Nini notices his hand. "You, um... you still wear your ring." She takes his hand in hers and runs her thumb over his engraved name.
"I always had it with me," he whispers.
"Me too." Nini always wore hers everywhere... minus the time she was pregnant and none of her rings fit for a few months, but there's no need to bring that up now.
"Just curious, you don't have to answer if you don't want to, but what have you been doing these past years?"
"I've, uh..." She didn't know what to say here, so she kept her answers short. "I've been raising kids. The two that stood up."
"And the other two?"
"Carlos and Seb have a daughter, and EJ and Gina have a son."
"Yikes, a mini EJ? Talk about a handful." Nini chuckles and smiles at his joke.
"There was this phase where all he did was wreak havoc," she laughs.
"I bet. I kinda feel bad for Gina." They both laugh then go silent.
She's still running her fingers over his ring. It looked to be in perfect condition; his name was still clearly legible... or it could be the fact that Nini had better handwriting compared to him. Either way, it was perfect.
"I missed you," Nini says, barely above a whisper.
Ricky puts his hand over hers and whispers, "I have too," in the same tone.
Whether or not this next sentence would make things weird between them or not, he went for it. "Not a day has gone by where I haven't thought of you."
*Inside*
Carol and Dana were taking as many glances at the pair as they could from their spot in the kitchen closest to the window. "Where do you think he's been?" Dana thinks out loud.
"No idea. But I'm glad he's back."
Lauren was becoming impatient with how long this conversation was taking; she wanted answers. She goes to get a refill but stops walking when she hears her lolas talking.
"You think they'll get back together?" Dana asks. Huh? 'Back together'? So they dated at one point? Lauren questions.
"Look at her. That's a Ricky smile. It only comes out when he does something. I don't think it'll take too long," Carol says.
Lauren finally enters the kitchen, and her lolas stop talking. When she's walking back out to the living, she catches a quick glance at her mom and the stranger. They were talking and laughing a little about something. She had no clue what the history was behind them, but she knew her mom would never let it out easily.
Lauren comes back to sit on the couch and opens her phone to their little group chat.
Lauren looks up from her phone to see Aidan and Madison laughing under their breaths while Jayden's face turns red.
*Patio*
This is all I wanted. One last chance to not be a failure in her eyes.
"We should probably go back inside," Nini says, not actually wanting to go back in.
"Oh, yeah. Right. I should probably leave as well."
"Don't you want to catch up with everyone else?"
"Well, yeah. But I wasn't sure if you wanted me around."
"Ricky," she starts, "I think it'd be nice if you stuck around for a little while longer."
He smiles brightly at her offer. "Are you sure? I don't want to intrude."
"I don't think they'll mind too much."
"What about the kids?" He was a complete stranger who kinda just walked in.
"Don't worry about them. We're actually having a little celebration for the school year coming to an end. Unless you have somewhere else to be... I wouldn't mind if you stayed."
He was overjoyed on the inside. He didn't think she'd want him anywhere near her, let alone letting him stick around. "So, you're not mad?" She raises an eyebrow at him.
"Mad? Why would I be mad?" Ricky looks at her confused. He couldn't tell if she was joking or not.
"I assumed you'd want to throw me out a window after just appearing here with no explanation. And for not communicating for fifteen years. And for not coming back that summer."
"I'm not mad. Confused, scared, and worried are better adjectives. It was so rough. Every day, I always wondered if you were ok or not. Every day, I questioned if you would be coming back home or not. Everywhere I went, something reminded me of you and that you weren't here with me. Then the dreadful day came when your dad showed up here with those letters. I- I didn't read the military's letter until a whole year after it arrived because I couldn't bring myself to believe the first sentence was true." As she spoke, her eyes glazed over more and more.
Seeing Nini cry was one of the things Ricky hated most. And he hated it even more knowing he was the reason for these tears now and all the ones before.
"I am so sorry. And I know that that doesn't cut it, and it would be next to impossible for me to make it up to you. And again, you don't have to welcome me with open arms or at all. I just want a chance to explain why everything happened the way it did."
Nini nods her head, not able to speak at the moment. Ricky being around again is going to take some getting used to, but she knows him being back is a great thing.
"I know everyone missed you as much as I did. I don't think they'll care too much if you hang around a little longer."
Ricky wanted to take her up on her offer, but he also didn't want to scare those kids by just barging into her house. "I don't want to upset anyone though. Maybe another time would be safest," he suggests.
"Safest? Who's gonna care that you're here? Look, the kids aren't a problem if that's what you're worried about. But if you just want to stay out here, that's fine too."
"But I don't wanna keep you from them."
"You're not, but I think you should at least talk with everyone before you leave. We all have the same questions."
"Ok, yeah." It was the least I could do.
"Great, just give me one second."
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So, yeah... all that just happened. I wonder what the kids are gonna think?🤔
This is hands down my favorite chapter (for obvious reasons😅).
Props to those who kept reading to see what Nini said at the end of chapter 14. The reactions were great😂