Envy On The Island

(Takes place after the episode "Deserted Island")

After finding out that the bathing beauties that Ricky and Fred were supposed to judge the Beauty contest with were on the same island, the mood of the boys instantly changed. Claude Aikus had just invited them to a luau and the boys seemed like they were in heaven. It was a dream come true, except for Ethel and Lucy.

Lucy kept thinking that her scheming to keep the boys away from those girls was all for nothing because, lo and behold, here they were. Lucy and Ethel decided to follow their husbands and Little Ricky, along with everyone else to the spot where the party was being held.

There was tons of food and so many people who had been working on the documentary. Of course, Ethel walked right to the table where the buffet was being served and Little Ricky walked off to see the camera equipment that was being used for the movie.

Lucy had never felt more alone with a group of people in her whole life. The one thing that she couldn't get over was how her husband was acting with that blonde woman in the sparkly bathing suit. He was laughing and seemed to be having a great time. A twinge of jealousy came over her, as she tried to recall a recent time where he laughed with her like that. The whole day, even before her scheme was known to him, he seemed to be very distant from her. Every joke she made and everything she said seemed not to phase him in any way. Lucy even remembers making a joke about the way that Ricky said "cacanuts", but it didn't even register. She had never felt this sad in her entire life. Not feeling like she would be missed, she walked away from the party and walked back to the remote area where the gang had just been.

She decided to sit down and stare out into the ocean, thinking about nothing and everything at the same time. She started to wipe tears away from her eyes, which as seconds passed, got stronger. This wasn't her usual dramatic cry, but a sincere one that showed sadness about the whole day.

"Lately, it seems like Ricky has more fun with other women than with me," thought Lucy, out loud.

All of a sudden, she could hear his beautiful laugh from the party. This made her cry even harder than before. Pretty soon, her whole body started to shake with sobs and she wasn't even sure why. After a while, she started to pull herself together.

"Mommy?" asked Little Ricky, curious about why his mother was sitting by herself.

"Oh, hi sweetheart."

"Why are you sitting here by yourself?"

"Oh, Mommy just wanted some time to herself, that's all. Why aren't you at that party?"

"There aren't any kids for me to play with."

"Why don't you sit with me for a little while, huh?"

"Ok."

Mother and son sat together and watched the waves roll in and out for a while. All of a sudden, they heard footsteps behind them. Little Ricky turned around and called out to the person that was joining them.

"Hi Aunt Ethel!" called out Little Ricky.

"Hi Honey! What are you and Mommy doing out here?"

"We're just looking at the water."

While talking to the little boy, Ethel noticed her best friend looking down. To find out what happened, Ethel decided to get the boy back to the party so she could help Lucy.

"Rick, why don't you go back to the party and get something to eat. Mommy and I will be there soon to join you."

"Ok, Aunt Ethel."

As Ethel watched the boy retreat back to the luau, she took a seat next to Lucy. Silence went on for a while, before she decided to ask her what was wrong.

"Lucy, is something the matter?"

Deciding not to respond, Lucy just looked down in the sand and shook her head. Finally deciding that she wasn't strong enough to keep the tears in, she started to cry again. Ethel put her arm around her friend and tried to comfort her the best that she could.

"I feel like I'm losing him, Ethel."

"Who, Ricky?"

"Yes, I'm losing him to those gorgeous women out there and I don't think there's anything I can do about it."

"Don't be silly! You're not losing him! Ricky loves you so much, Lucy."

"He might love me, but he enjoys being around those other women a lot more. I just cause trouble wherever I go and I think he's getting tired of me. Those beauties that he and Fred are with, I bet they wouldn't cause any problems for him. They would be better wives than me and wouldn't do anything to make his life miserable."

"Lucy Ricardo, you don't make Ricky's life miserable! That's nonsense."

"Oh, come on, Ethel. He could barely look at me today, even before the boat trip. After he found out what I did with the gasoline, that look he gave me spoke volumes, even for him!"

"Well, to be fair Lucy, we all gave you that look. It wasn't just Ricky."

" I know you're trying to make me feel better, but it's no use."

"Lucy, honey, just come back to the party. Forget about what happened today and just have fun. We'll eat, maybe dance a little bit to the music they have going and then before you know it, we'll be back at the hotel."

Lucy considered the idea of just going back to the party and trying to forget this awful day, but was hesitating. After confessing how she felt about her marriage lately, she didn't know if she could face Ricky. Ethel, being Lucy's best friend, was able to sense her fear and voiced a plan.

"You know, you could come back to the party and ignore Ricky. Pretend like his hanging around that mermaid doesn't bother you in the slightest. You're having too much fun without him."

Lucy thought the plan sounded a little too mean and could make matters worse, but thought that maybe she would try it out and face the music when necessary.

"Just give me a minute, Ethel, to pull myself together."

"Ok, honey, take all the time you need. I have a feeling with the way the boys are acting, we'll be here a while."

Lucy took Ethel's last words to her to heart and decided that maybe the plan she had come up with wouldn't really hurt. It might even help how she was feeling and Ricky would see how it feels. Wiping the last of her tears and checking her face in the mirror she had, she stood up determined to show off to a certain Cuban husband, no matter how childish it would look to anyone else.

Lucy walked back to the party with confidence on the outside, but was nervous on the inside. She had done this before, but she didn't feel right doing it this time. After all the years that she and Ricky had been married, she learned that communication was the key to everything. For a split second, she considered just telling him how she felt and enjoy herself with a clear conscience. Walking back to the party scene, she felt her second choice was no longer an option. Ricky was still hanging on that blonde's every word and laughing his hearty Cuban laugh. Plan A was on deck and it would be played out until someone yelled defeat.

Lucy decided to start the plan by walking right passed Ricky with an air of self confidence.

"Hi honey, are you havin' a good time?" asked Ricky.

"Yes," said Lucy, nonchalantly.

Lucy caught a quick glimpse of her husband after their quick interaction and noticed the look on his face. It seemed that he didn't know what to make of his wife's brief response. After sauntering away from Ricky, she decided to go up to a man who looked unattached and interesting. She saw a tall man talking to one of the crew members and thought he looked familiar.

"Claude? Is that you?"

"Yes, Mrs. Ricardo, it's me. I look different without all of that tribal makeup on, don't I?"

"You certainly do! You're very handsome!"

"Why, thank you, Mrs. Ricardo."

"So, how did the movie go?"

"I enjoyed making it and the director just told me that it came out wonderfully, so I think it's going to turn out great."

"Well, that's wonderful!"

"So, are you enjoying yourself down here, Mrs. Ricardo?"

"Oh yes, all of us are having a great time."

While Claude and Lucy were continuing their conversation about the many things that the family could do in Florida, Ricky was having a hard time focusing on what the woman in front of him was saying.

He saw Lucy was chatting it up with Claude Aikus and he wasn't too sure how he felt about that. He couldn't get over how short she had been with him before she started talking to Claude. Usually, she would've been energetic and excited about being at a beach party like this one, but the quick hello she gave made him worried.

"Ricky, did you hear a word I said?"

"No, I'm sorry, I guess I din't."

"I said that maybe after the beauty contest tomorrow, the four of us could go out for dinner."

"I'm sorry, I can't talk now. I'm goin' to talk to my wife."

As soon as he said the words, he walked over to where Lucy stood, still talking and at this point, laughing with Claude.

"Hey, what's goin' on here?" asked Ricky, trying to conceal the jealousy that was in his voice.

"Oh nothing," said Lucy, again in her nonchalant voice, "I was just talking to Claude about some of the wonderful things to do in Florida before we leave."

"Oh, like what?"

"Well, just this and that. You'll probably be too busy to do any of these things, so Claude has agreed to go with me, the Mertz's and Little Ricky. You know, show us around Miami, especially the tourist sites."

After hearing this, Ricky knew that he didn't want his wife to go out with Claude. He couldn't tell if Lucy was doing all of this on purpose or she really felt like he didn't have any time to spend with her, but he would show her that was completely untrue.

"Well, it jus' so happens that after this contest, I'll have free time. So, Claude, do you min' if I come too?"

"Not at all, Ricky. The more, the merrier."

"Wonderful," said Ricky, as he smiled a big smile at his wife.

Ricky noted the look that Lucy was giving him and he sensed that Claude must have as well, because he suddenly excused himself.

"Well, I see another crew member that I have to talk to, but before you leave tonight, let me know when all of you are free and we'll schedule a day for me to show you around."

"That would be wonderful, Claude, thank you," said Lucy.

With that, the actor walked away and left the couple alone together. The tension between the two of them was unbelievable.

"So, where did you suddenly get all of this free time? I didn't know you were going to be able to actually spend time with me and Little Ricky."

"Well, it jus' so happens that I do."

"Don't you have to spend some time with that blonde over there?"

"Lucy, I think you're yealous!"

"I'm not 'yealous!' You've been spending all of your time with her, taking publicity pictures and judging the contest. Now, you decided to spend time with her at this party. The minute we realized that those two flouncing bathing beauties were here, I stopped existing to you!"

"You din't stop sisting, Lucy!"

"Of course, I did! I can't compete with those gorgeous girls you're around. With my goof up today, you're angry with me. I get that and I know that you would be happier with one of those girls. They wouldn't get you in situations like this and they wouldn't come up with crazy schemes and they wouldn't get jealous like I am right now!"

Ricky looked around and noticed that a lot of people were staring at the two of them. He knew that the two of them needed some time to spend together to talk and get some things sorted out.

"Come on, sweetheart, let's go for a walk."

Lucy reluctantly decided to go, but knew she wanted to get away from those other partygoers because she was embarrassed about the scene she just made. As they got to an area on the beach away from everyone else, they were able to talk to each other, finally.

"Now, Lucy, honey, what's this all about?"

"Ok, I'm jealous. Are you happy? I'm jealous that those girls get all of your attention and I'm left with nothing."

"Honey, you're not lef' with nothin'. You still have me, Lucy, and you always will. It's true, I do have publicity that I have to do with them, but no matter what, I always come back to my redhead."

"So, you can come back to me at the end of the day, after you have had your fun. Super!"

"No, it's not like that. You have nothin' to be yealous about. I agree, it wasn't right for me to leave with those girls to go to the party. I shouln't have done that. I should have been at the party with my beautiful wife and not another woman. If I could do it over again, I would. I love you."

Ricky's words touched Lucy and as she looked at his face, she could see the sincerity of his words. She was thinking that she was being silly for thinking this way, that her husband could love another woman. She had been down this road before and she knew that she could trust him no matter what.

"I know I was being silly, sweetheart. The only reason I acted the way I did was because I love you so much. The more jealous I get in these situations, the more I love you, it seems."

"It's not silly, Lucy, it's cute. I've always thought that when you get yealous, you're adorable and I always fall in love with you more. It does show that you're in love with me and I love that feelin'. Let me tell you this, that no one can make me feel the way you do and that you migh' drive me crazy, but I wouln't have it any other way."

Lucy put her arms around her husband's neck and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. She then stared into his beautiful shoe button eyes and saw his love for her in them.

"Sweetheart, what'dya say instead of goin' back to the party, we walk aroun' the beach?"

"Are you sure?"

"I can't think of anyone else I'd rather enjoy this beautiful scinery with."

The couple walked around the beach hand in hand, while stopping periodically to look at the moon that was starting to come into full view. Night was approaching and they knew that pretty soon, they'd have to leave this beautiful paradise. As they stopped to look at the reflection of the moon on the water, Lucy decided to break their comfortable silence, but Ricky had other ideas in mind. He decided to kiss the side of her face and travel his lips down to her neck. That was one of his favorite spots to kiss her and he knew that she enjoyed it, as well.

"Sweetheart, I hate to admit this, but I think we need to start heading back now," whispered Lucy.

"Mmm mmm", moaned Ricky, which was his way of telling his wife that he wasn't ready to leave yet.

"We have to. It's way passed Little Ricky's bedtime and I'm a little tired from the day, too."

"I'm enjoyin' this time with you, Lucy. Can't we stay a few more minutes?"

"I really think we should start heading back, but I'll make you a promise. How about we ask Ethel and Fred to take care of Little Ricky and you and I can continue our stroll around the beach at the hotel?"

"I thought you were tire?"

"Well, as long as I rest on the boat ride back, I think I can get a second wind to take a midnight stroll with you."

"Alright, you gotta deal!"

"Great, let's go get the others, get the gas for our boat and head back!"

Lucy started to walk back to the party, but was pulled back by Ricky's hand.

"Wait, wait, wait. I want a few more minutes with my gorgeous redhead. Please?" asked Ricky, sticking out his bottom lip.

"How can I say no to that?" asked Lucy.

The two of them continued their kiss that seemed to express all of the love that the they shared in this lifetime together. Lucy knew that her husband wasn't going anywhere and no matter what kind of crazy situations they got into, she knew that he was hers forever.