I.
Ricky switched on the lamp in the small dark hotel room, tossing his tuxedo jacket over a chair carelessly. He looked at the empty single bed in the center of the room and his eyes fell on a chocolate mint wrapped in gold foil on the pillow, left by the maid that morning. Sighing tiredly, he sat on the edge of the bed and kicked off his shoes.
It had been a long two weeks travelling through Florida with his orchestra on tour, and there was still one week left to go. It was the first time in the two years of his marriage that he'd left Lucy for any great deal of time, and although he had a wonderful rapport and friendship with the boys in his orchestra, they seemed to have less in common when the night came to a close and they all scattered through the streets seeing the sights, particularly the ones in skirts.
Ricky suddenly remembered the telegram he had sent Lucy the evening before. She was normally very quick to reply, but he always had to track down the person in possession of it because he was never in the room when it arrived.
With a burst of renewed energy, he crawled toward the head of the bed for the phone on the night table. He picked up the receiver, waiting for an answer on the other end.
"Front desk," was the short quip from the night clerk.
"Yes, this is Ricky Ricardo. Do you have a wire for me?" Ricky twirled the cord around his finger, hoping for a positive answer.
"Let me see, Mr. Ricardo, one moment."
Ricky heard the thud of the phone receiver being placed on the desk as the clerk went away. He tapped the night stand with his fingers and his eyes drifted to the ceiling as he waited. He would've loved to sit in the big lounge downstairs that opened out into the beachfront because the sight of it, the scent of sea air, reminded him of Cuba. But the last time he decided to relax there a few nights before, he found himself hounded by females. Some of them wanted only his autograph and to tell him how they had enjoyed his show. He liked that. But when two of them started purring like alley cats, asking what he was doing that night, he excused himself and left them in the capable hands of two of his trombone and trumpet players.
"Mr. Ricardo?"
Ricky blinked, shaken from his thoughts by the clerk's return to the line.
"Yes, I'm here…"
"Mr. Ricardo, I'm sorry, but I don't seem to have anything here for you right now. If we receive anything overnight, would you like me to send it right up or wait until the morning?"
A wave of loneliness and disappointment swept over Ricky. "If anything arrives, please let me know right away."
"Yes, sir, Mr. Ricardo. Is there anything else?"
"No, no. Thank you. Good night."
Ricky hung up the phone without waiting for the clerk to respond. For a moment, he thought about placing a long distance call to New York, something he'd thought about hundreds of times since he'd been away. But the cost was so great and this trip was for publicity more than it was for profits. He was actually making very little after the costs of travel, lodging and food were calculated.
He frowned. "I dun't care," he said out loud.
Ricky picked up the phone and pressed the button for the switchboard operator.
"Operator."
"Yes, this is Ricky Ricardo. I'd like to place a long distance call to New York City. Circle 9014, please."
"One moment, please."
Ricky waited for what seemed like an eternity. The silence was louder than anything he'd ever heard. When the operator returned, he nearly jumped.
"Mr. Ricardo, I'm sorry, but there's no answer at that number."
Ricky looked down at his watch to see that it was almost three in the morning.
"Mr. Ricardo?"
"Thank you." He hung up the phone abruptly and felt a pang of guilt for his rudeness to the operator. But now he was not only lonely, but worried and a bit upset, as well. He rose from the bed with a scowl, tugging off his tuxedo shirt and headed for the shower.
II.
Lucy didn't know how long the phone had been ringing by the time she heard it from the bathroom. She darted out into the bedroom, her hair dripping from the shower, and reached for the phone, praying to hear Ricky's voice on the other end. It had to be him at this time of night. But when she answered excitedly, she heard only a dial tone.
She hung up the phone, feeling as though she could cry. She wondered if he'd received her telegram yet. She had made it very clear in her message that she was incredibly lonesome for him, so it wouldn't have surprised her that he'd call in response.
She bit her fingernail absently, thinking. She turned suddenly for the hallway and scurried into the front room, heading for the desk. She pulled out the pad where Ricky had listed out where he'd be staying on which dates and put her finger on the name of The Raleigh Hotel.
Lucy picked up the phone excitedly, at the same time hoping that he wouldn't be upset at the cost of the call.
"Operator."
"Hello, I'd like to make a long distance call to Miami, Florida. The Raleigh Hotel, please."
"One moment, please."
Lucy sank down into the desk chair, clutching the phone receiver to her ear with both hands. All she wanted was to hear Ricky's voice and his fractured English. She giggled.
She heard the line click and a gentleman answered. "Good evening, Raleigh Hotel."
"Yes, Mr. Ricky Ricardo, please."
"Yes, ma'am, one moment."
Lucy bit her lip and waited anxiously.
When she heard the line open, she became excited until she realized that it was the same gentleman answering her.
"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but there's no answer in Mr. Ricardo's room at this time. Would you like to leave a message?"
Lucy's smile disappeared and her stomach dropped. "Um…ye-..no. No message right now."
She hung up the phone, not waiting for the gentleman to respond. Where was Ricky? Scowling, she returned back through the bedroom and into the bathroom to dry her hair, trying to push away the anxiety and worry she was now burdened with.
III.
After his shower, Ricky fell into a troubled sleep, not sure where Lucy had been or if she was alright. It was five in the morning when a loud knock shook him out of bed. He stumbled to the door, disoriented. He opened it and squinted at the bellboy standing in the hallway.
Ricky ran his hand through his tousled hair. "Yes?"
The bellboy was timid that Ricky might be mad at the interruption to his sleep. "I'm sorry, Mr. Ricardo, but you said you wanted any telegrams to be brought to you right away…"
Ricky's eyes widened as he reached for the envelope in the bellboy's outstretched hand. "Thank you!" He grabbed a crumpled dollar bill which had been dropped on the dresser when he had emptied his pockets and tipped the boy, who tipped his hat in thanks and hurriedly left him.
Ricky turned to face the window as the night sky became tinged with a blue horizon, not bothering to sit or take any care in neatly opening the envelope.
As he unfolded the telegram, a broad smile crossed his face to see his wife's words.
My Latin Loverboy,
Each time I receive a wire from you, I am so happy. But also sad because it isn't you on the other side of the door. I miss you so very much. I miss hearing your voice and I miss you sleeping next to me and, well, let's just say that our bed is very cold without you.
I'm counting the days until you come back to me. Please write me again. Or if you can afford it, please call. I love you.
Your Gorgeous Redhead
Ricky lowered his hands as he finished reading, clutching the telegram at his side and looking out the window. In one sudden movement, he reached for the phone.
IV.
Lucy twisted under the blankets of her bed, not able to sleep and lost in the thoughts that wouldn't quiet from her mind. She sat straight up as the phone rang out through the silence in the room. She leapt from bed and dashed over to the phone on the table.
"Hello!"
"Hi, honey," came the familiar accented greeting she had prayed for.
Lucy melted down to the edge of the bed, clutching the receiver to her ear. "Oh, Ricky, I miss you so! I'm so glad you called!"
"I called you before, where were you?"
"That WAS you! I was in the shower and by the time I got to the phone, you were gone…I tried to call you back, where were you?"
Ricky laughed gently. "When you din't answer, I went to the shower." He sat on his bed, relaxed as he watched the sun rising outside the hotel.
"Did you get my telegram?"
"Yes, it just came now."
"I wish you were here. How is the tour going?"
"It's fine. But I'm lonely. I miss you."
Lucy blushed. "I miss you, too. You'll be home in a week?"
"Yes. I wish it was sooner."
"Me too."
"How are thin's at home?"
"Fine."
Ricky smiled. "I love you, honey."
Lucy twisted the phone cord around her finger, his words soothing her like a soft caress across her skin. "I love you, too. Tell me about all the things you're doing…"
Ricky sat back against the pillows on his bed. "Well…we rehearse during the day, just like at home…." He talked to Lucy about the hotels, the shows, the audience, the weather. All the while, Lucy listened to him, smiling and imagining that he was next to her while he talked about his days. "What have you been doin'," Ricky asked gently when he had finished.
Lucy grinned. "All the normal things I do in the house…except for cooking. I haven't been cooking just for myself-"
"What are you eating?" Ricky's brow furrowed with worry.
"Oh, sandwiches, cereal, an egg here and there. Or Ethel and I eat out when we go shopping…"
He relaxed and the smile returned to his face and his voice. "Shopping? What did you buy," he teased.
"Not much. You'll see when you get home!"
Ricky laughed and his eyes caught the small alarm clock beside him. As much as he hated to admit it, if they stayed on the phone any longer, the call would be quite expensive. "Honey…I should go. Long distance and everythin'…"
Lucy nodded to herself. "Ok," she said quietly. "Ricky…"
"Yes?"
"Ricky, I…I just wish you were here, that's all."
"I wish I was there, too." He paused. "When I get there, I'm gonna kiss you a lot."
Lucy giggled. "Just kiss me?"
"We'll see." Ricky's smile widened. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
V.
Ricky smiled as his taxi wound through the familiar streets of New York after retrieving him from the airport. When the car stopped at a red light about three blocks away from home, he touched the driver's shoulder. "Hey, I'll get off here." He put fare money in the driver's hand before he could protest and jumped out of the car amid the blaring horns of the city's midday traffic.
He dodged cars with his suitcase in hand and went briskly into the florist on the corner. He emerged after a few minutes with a wrapped bouquet of red roses.
Ricky walked another block closer to home and chuckled to himself when he came upon a phone booth outside the drug store. He walked in and closed the door behind him, fishing change from his pocket and smiling to himself.
"Operator."
"Hello, give me Circle 9014, please."
"One moment, please."
VI.
Lucy closed the oven on a roast pork that she was preparing for dinner, knowing that Ricky would appreciate his first home-cooked meal in three weeks. She tossed her apron onto the counter and straightened her soft red curls as she ran out of the kitchen to answer the ringing phone.
"Hello," she said cheerfully.
"Hi, honey."
Lucy smiled brightly at her husband's voice. "Hi! Are you in New York yet? I can't wait to see you!"
"No, sweetheart, I'm sorry. I had some business to take care of this morning, so I'm catching another plane back tomorrow."
Lucy's face fell and tears stung her eyes, simultaneously sad and angry with him. "What? How could you do that, I've been waiting for you all day! In fact, I've been waiting for you for three weeks!"
"I'm sorry, honey, you know how it is. I'll be home tomorrow afternoon. I have to go…long distance. I love you."
Lucy frowned. "I love you, too," she replied half-heartedly. When she heard the phone click, she hung up, smelling the first aroma of the roast cooking in the kitchen. She sat staring at the phone, tears rolling down her cheeks as she replayed their conversation in her mind. How callous Ricky had sounded about the whole thing! As though he could've cared less about her. What about all those telegrams in which he had professed to being lonely and heartsick without her?
She stood up and wandered into the bedroom to find her handkerchief, broken hearted.
VII.
Ricky cracked the front door open as quietly as he could, peering inside the apartment to check for Lucy. Not seeing her, he walked gingerly inside and closed the door behind him silently. He peeked into open kitchen and didn't find her, although the smell of a roast pork greeted him warmly.
Leaving his suitcase on the floor, the roses in one arm, he tiptoed through the hallway. When he was close to the bedroom, his happy demeanor changed at the sound of his wife crying softly. He hadn't meant for that to happen, he thought to himself, immediately sorry for his joke on her.
Lucy didn't hear him as he walked up behind where she stood looking out the window tearfully. Ricky placed the roses softly on the dresser next to him and approached her, placing his arms around her waist.
Lucy spun around, her eyes wide and glistening with tears. "Ricky!"
"Lucy, honey, I'm sorry. I was just havin' fun with you, I din't mean to upset you."
She melted into his arms, forgetting about her fleeting anger in her happiness at seeing him in front of her. "I'm so happy you're here!"
Ricky closed his eyes and buried his face into her fragrant hair, his embrace tightening around her. "I'm happy I'm here, too. I missed you so much…"
Lucy tilted her head upward and looked at him silently. Ricky's lips fell against hers almost instantly, his tongue thrashing with hers in a passionate release of his feelings of loneliness and three weeks-worth of suppressed physical longing for her.
Her body trembled as he backed her against the wall and ferociously worked on the small buttons down the front of her dress. She smiled as she touched his hands to slow him. "I missed you, too."
As the dress slipped to the floor, Ricky picked her up and moved her to the bed, her slender fingers dipping beneath his shirt to touch the skin below. He lowered her and hovered above her, his kisses descending on the skin of her stomach as his hands worked to free her of the lacy undergarments that annoyed him so.
Lucy nimbly unfastened his slacks as she parted her knees around him, her breath catching when she felt his stiffened erection against the soft skin of her inner thigh.
Ricky smiled down at her, suddenly slowing the pace with which he devoured her body, the gold medal around his neck gently brushing the skin between her breasts. He brushed her lips with his, his breath hot, and his next words were hushed and seductive. "Tell me how cold this bed was without me."
Her eyes narrowed and she bit her lip, remembering the words in one of her telegrams. Her voice quivered in response. "Empty and lonely."
His hands brushed over her breasts slowly, causing her to release a breathless whimper. "Cada noche que quería tocarte y tenerte en mi cama. Tengo que tener tu."
Lucy's hands slid up Ricky's back and her fingers entangled themselves through his thick raven locks. "Oh, Ricky, what does that mean?"
Ricky smiled with no response other than to position himself above her and enter into her fully, his lips adhering to the tender skin of her neck. "Te amo, mi querida. Nunca me imaginé que iba a perder a una persona tanto."
He continued to thrust into her hungrily, gripping her hips and guiding her upward into himself. Her arms wrapped around him, her fingers gripping the muscles that were flexing along his back with his movements. Her breasts gently brushed against his chest.
As his motions intensified with the approach of his peak, Ricky swirled his fingers into the sea of red curls atop Lucy's head and brought her face to his. Kissing her again, his tongue ravaged the inside of her mouth to the rhythm of his hips. Her legs tightened around him as orgasm began to course through her blood.
With his release, Ricky broke the kiss, catching her bottom lip gently between his teeth as the culmination of his passions urgently flowed through her.
As he collapsed breathlessly beside her, Lucy touched his face and locked eyes with him. "The only wonderful thing about you going away, is when you come back…"