Okay, so I lied :) This isn't the last chapter. I sat down to look at everything, and it was way too long for just one last chapter. So, I've split it, and this chapter is plenty long enough, almost 5,000 words. There will be one chapter after this. Thanks for the reviews. Hope this chapter makes sense...there's some present day with some flashbacks.
"He's not wearing that," Ricky sighed as he shook his head, "no way." Ricky stood with a "not happening looking" on his face, holding Brody, who was looking around. Head of auburn brown hair and a pacifier in his mouth, he was currently quiet. That wasn't always the case; Brody might not have made a sound when he was born, but had certainly more than made up for it in the last year.
"Why not? It's cute, and it fits the theme," Erin asked, looking at the shirt she was holding. "Some Bunny Loves Me," she repeated, reading the words off the light blue shirt. "It's sweet, and besides your mom sent it."
Ricky rolled his eyes and looked at Brody, "Brody, little man, I think your grandma thinks you are a girl. I guess I should be happy you aren't; I wouldn't want to imagine what she'd have you wearing if you were a girl."
Brody just stared at Ricky, big brown eyes looking at him. He continued to suck on his pacifier.
"Well, she sent it partly because Brody loves that blue bunny he has. When I told her that was the party theme, she sent this shirt she found while out shopping," Erin added. "You know, the same blue bunny you bought him that is his favorite thing to drag around," she said giving him a pointed look.
Ricky sighed as he moved around the room, "I can't believe we're having a bunny birthday party-for a boy!" he said a bit loudly. Brody made a fussing sound, "Sorry, man," he said patting his back. He kissed his head. "What was I thinking buying a bunny blankie?" he grinned. "Oh, I wasn't; I was just so overwhelmed by the amount of stuff out there for babies, I don't think I even noticed it was a bunny until it was too late-until it became the toy he couldn't live without."
Erin just chuckled, "You started it," she smiled at Brody; he was getting sleepy and had his head on Ricky's shoulder. "He needs his nap," she commented, pointing at Brody's almost closed eyes.
Ricky glanced down at him without shifting too much, "What time is it?"
"11:00, and your parents said they'd be here around lunchtime," she replied.
"I'll take him upstairs and see if I can get him to take a short nap. While I'm in my room anyway, I'll get changed. It's bad enough I have to sit through a bunny party; I don't need to wear plums on my shirt. Thanks for those, Brody. Glad they were such a hit a breakfast," Ricky said sarcastically.
Erin chuckled again, as she finished getting his outfit ready, "I told you he didn't like those when I tried them last week. He likes the pears better. You two have a nice time up there in your 'Man Cave.' I can't believe Rusty found that sign and got it for you. Wait, actually, I can believe he got it. I just have to laugh that you actually put that sign on your bedroom door."
"Well, guy hideout; it is our man cave," he grinned. "Bed for me, crib for him, tv with sports-what more could a guy want?"
Erin rolled her eyes, I can't believe he's turning one," Erin shook her head. "It's been quite the year."
"That it has," Ricky said, "That it has."
Ricky left Erin downstairs finishing up the birthday party preparations and took Brody upstairs for a short nap. As he gripped the banister, he paused, with a shark intake of his breath. He was standing exactly where everything had gone downhill a year earlier. Here, he'd watch Erin tumble, no crash, down the stairs. The image was still vivid in his memory, as was that of a completely blue, lifeless looking Brody. He shook his head and gripped Brody tighter as he quietly walked upstairs. What a blessing things hadn't turned out badly; it had been quite a year, but it could have been so much worse.
Once he got Brody situated in his crib, he flopped down on his bed for a few minutes. While it was only just after 11:00, he was tired. Brody had first gotten up at 5:30, and because he was just a couple feet from Ricky's bed, he always woke up Ricky nowadays. They did have a good routine going, sharing the early morning "Brody Duty" as they were calling it, but usually once Brody woke up, he was up. This morning, Erin had gotten Brody, which worked well on mornings Ricky was already in the shower. If Brody saw Ricky still in bed though, well, Brody didn't like that, as had been the case this morning. It was Saturday, and Ricky had done "Brody Duty" all week, so Erin had told Ricky she'd get him when he woke up. The plan was going along just fine; Brody woke up, and even though Ricky heard him, he was so tired, he knew he'd be able to go back to sleep. Well, this morning, Brody woke up and stood-that was his new thing, standing. He was slightly delayed in milestones, but he was catching up quickly. Brody stood, and Erin came running in the room to get him before it bothered Ricky anymore. Problem was Brody saw Ricky asleep, his favorite person, and that was the end of that. Quickly, Brody had started with his, 'Dadadada' babble, fussing and wanting to be anywhere Ricky was. Erin tried to console him, tried to get him out of the room before Ricky, head under the pillow announced, "It's fine. Bring him here." Quickly, the noise stopped as Ricky felt a soft pat on his face and smelled baby shampoo. Brody was happy; he was with his dad.
Erin flopped down, with Brody between them so he didn't roll off, sighing herself, "This never works. He likes you so much better than me."
Ricky just opened an eye and peaked over at her, "Well, we can always move his crib in your room," before covering his face again with the pillow. Brody just continued to pat Ricky's arm, saying, "Dada, Dada," over and over.
"Yeah, but then you'd lose your mancave, and I can't be responsible for that," she smirked.
"Touché," Ricky said from under his pillow.
That had lasted a few minutes before everyone got up. Brody was good at getting everyone up; he was a sweet baby, but he had quite a set of lungs on him. Ironic, that the baby who had trouble breathing on his own could deafen the household."
So, now here at naptime, Ricky was ready for a little snooze himself. Sharon, Andy, Rusty, and Gus wouldn't be there for another hour or so, and the party wasn't going to start without them. They were the extent of the party. When Erin had spoken to Ricky about a birthday party, she'd told him she wanted to keep it simple, and they had. That hadn't stopped his aunts and uncles from sending birthday presents; it was a big deal. The little guy had quite a year, and it was one to be celebrated. However, only the four guests were traveling for the party; others couldn't make the long drive. Rusty and Gus had plans to stay in the city for a few days, so they were following Sharon and Andy.
Ricky though back to the tremendous help his mom and Andy had been over the last year. From Day 1, they had been there, supporting him. They'd sat with Brody in the hospital for countless hours; they'd sat with Erin. They'd even cleaned up his place after the horrible fall. They'd listened to him on the phone when he finally saw the light. They had guided him to find all the baby gear he would need. They'd helped him put his life together, a life he didn't known had fallen apart. The greatest help, though, had been from Andy shortly after Ricky's revelation and talk with Erin. Once the two had talked at the hospital and ironed out everything, they had done their shopping that day. Ricky chuckled thinking back to that day. He'd turned Erin loose in a baby store with virtually an unlimited credit card. She'd been cautious at first; they'd just agreed to be cordial to each other, but he quickly persuaded her that she needed to get whatever she wanted. This was their son, and he was going to have whatever he needed. Well, that had been the last time he'd had to remind her. She quickly picked out clothes, toys, bedding, and all. Ricky grinned as he looked over at the blue and green alligator bedding. That had been the one they could both agree upon, and as they got up to the register to pay, Ricky spotted a little blue blanket.
"I think he'll like this," Ricky said, the only thing he'd picked out in the store. Erin had picked out everything else.
"A blue blankie?" she asked.
Ricky shrugged, "Sure. Who knows, it might be his favorite thing."
Famous last words because the blue blankie, which turned out to be a blue bunny blankie had become Brody's favorite thing.
No, the real help from Andy came two days after all of that. Ricky had gotten the thousand items he had either ordered or Erin had purchased home, and he'd helped Erin get setup in her room. Brody was still a day away from leaving the NICU, and Ricky knew he had to take care of something before Brody came home. Because when Brody came home, he knew he was going to be busy and wouldn't want to deal with his little issue.
His little issue had a name: Jack. And, Ricky needed some help dealing with Jack, someone he never had asked before to help him with Jack. Ricky wanted his stepfather to stand alongside him as he dealt with his father. Ironic because he never should have needed to go up against his own dad. No. People had horror stories of evil step-parents, but nope; Ricky had horror stories of his own parent. Ricky remembered that day, a day he wouldn't forget.
"Andy, I'm hoping you can help me," Ricky said as he was in the car driving. It was very, very early, the day before Brody was to come home from the hospital. "I'm sorry I'm calling so early, but I could use your help today. Is Mom there? Go ahead and put me on speaker phone."
Andy, trying to decipher the cryptic message, said, "Sure, what's going on? She's here; we are just eating breakfast."
"Well, I'm on my way to LA," Ricky had replied.
"LA? Why? I thought you were getting Erin settled and bringing Brody home," Andy had asked.
"Erin's doing okay. Brody should get released tomorrow if he passes his test today. I need to deal with Dad, and I need to do it today," Ricky explained.
"Oh Ricky," Sharon cut in, "forget about him right now. Focus on your family there."
"Mom, I need to do this, and I need to do it today. You've been telling me to grow up, and well, this is something I need to do for my family. Andy, I am hoping you will help. Please?" Ricky asked.
Ricky could tell by the silence on the phone that his mom and Andy must be silently talking with their eyes. They were good at it, had been doing it for years. He figured it was something two people could do who really knew each other. After a few long seconds, Andy replied, "I'll help you. What do you need?"
"I need to deal with Dad. I left the house just after 3AM, and I'm hoping to be in LA before lunch. I called Dad's office yesterday to get his schedule. Told hi secretary I was his son and hoping to surprise him for lunch, and she told me he wasn't in court this afternoon. So, I plan to deal with him at lunch. If I can get back on the road by 2:00, I should be able to get home for a decent night's sleep before Brody comes home tomorrow. Andy, I would really like you to go with me to speak to Dad," Ricky explained.
"Ricky, I'll be glad to go with you. Are you sure you want to deal with this now? I don't want this to be some knee-jerk reaction with all the stress you have right now," Andy commented.
"No, I need to deal with him now. Mom, he tried to get my wife to move in with him! I know I can't call her that now, but she was! Andy, I'll stop by work when I get there. Thanks, and Mom, I love you," Ricky added.
"We both love you, honey," Sharon added, "be safe."
Ricky had collected Andy when he arrived in town; he has hit LA traffic mid-morning, so it wasn't awful, and he had made it to Jack's office by 11. Once he'd cleared the secretary, he knocked on Jack's door with Andy in tow.
To say that Jack was surprised to see Ricky was an understatement; to say that Jack was surprised to see Andy with Ricky was even more earth shattering.
"Ricky?" Jack said as he looked up from his desk, "What are you doing here? Is this about your divorce paperwork because I can explain."
"Dad-I'm here because I was told that you suggested Erin move in with you to 'see how things go' as she told me. You want my wife and son to move in with you hoping to take her to bed? Are you kidding me?" Ricky fumed. Andy just stood back and watched. This was Ricky's fight, probably long overdue from anger as a child, and unless things got out of hand, he was going to watch.
Jack stood, waving his hands, "Oh, well, she's got the wrong idea about all that. Plus, you said it wasn't your kid."
"Really, Dad? So, tell me, how many bedrooms does your apartment have?"
"Two!" Jack sputtered. "Look, you are sending her packing. She needs a job and a place to stay!"
"Yeah, and what's the setup in those bedrooms right now?" Ricky asked, having a pretty good idea before he asked.
Jack sputtered even more, "Ugh, well, um, there's my bedroom, and the other, it's pretty small, but we could squeeze a crib in there for that kid, which by the way, you're suddenly calling yours? You said the baby wasn't yours."
Ricky raised his eyebrows, "So, where's Erin supposed to stay?"
Jack's face grew red, "Look, that's between her and me. None of your business. For space, she'd have to stay with me."
Ricky nodded while Andy muttered, "Oh geez," shaking his head.
"Dad, let me be very clear. Stay away from her. You're not taking a 22-year-old to bed. Period. She's not moving here to be your assistant, which by the way, who are we kidding? Do you think Mom didn't know the things you did with other assistants? It's not happening here. My family. You stay away. He is my son; I realize that. End of discussion," Ricky stated and turned to leave.
"So, you're just going to let him talk to his old man that way, Flynn? Oh, the irony that my son brings the replacement screw up along with him to tell me not to date younger women," Jack chuckled.
Andy stepped up to Jack, pointing his finger at him, "You listen. Just when I think you can't be more of a dirt bag, I hear about this. Trying to take your son's family-that's just repulsive. Taking advantage of a young woman who has a mess in her life. Disgusting. Jack, if I never see you again, it's too soon, and yes, just so you know, Sharon was very much aware of your conquests. She was such a loyal and forgiving wife, she tried, but definitely aware!"
Jack just huffed, but as the two men started to the door, he spoke up one last time, "You're still married," he said digging around his desk until he held up the paperwork.
Ricky spun around, "Huh? Erin sent you the papers. She told me."
Jack shrugged, "She did, but she missed signing-initialing really-on two pages. I was going to have her sign when she got down here and then take her out for a celebratory nice dinner," to which Ricky rolled his eyes. He had an idea what that would entail. "So, you're still married to the girl. Here," he tossed the paperwork toward Ricky, "Find another attorney to file. I'm no longer interested."
Ricky just stood there staring at Jack, so Andy bent down to collect the paperwork that Jack had discarded. Andy patted Ricky on the shoulder to snap him out of his haze, and the two men, without incident, left Jack's office.
The whole confrontation had taken five minutes. Five minutes to ruin Ricky and Jack's relationship for good, yet five minutes to strengthen Ricky and Andy's forever. Once Ricky and Andy left, they met Sharon for lunch, where the three talked for almost two hours. They discussed everything; Ricky needed some sound advice, and after that, he had driven back to San Francisco with incomplete divorce papers in hand. Ricky chuckled thinking about those stupid papers. They were still hanging up on the refrigerator downstairs where they'd been the last year. He'd hung them there after returning from his almost 24-hour roundtrip drive to LA. Erin saw them the next morning as they were getting ready to go finally bring Brody home.
"What's this?" she nodded toward the refrigerator door as she went to open it. They were both grabbing a quick breakfast before going to the hospital. Ricky had gotten home very late the night before, and Erin had already gone to bed. He'd called her on the way, but telling her that part of the conversation hadn't been a good 'on the phone' topic.
Ricky glanced up from his bowl of cereal, "The divorce papers. Dad didn't file them."
Erin's eyes grew wide, "He didn't? Why? I sent him those with a note on them to file them. I thought they were filed, and this was official."
Ricky nodded, "He was going to. That was actually something he was going to do, but he did have ulterior motives," he said giving Erin a pointed look.
Erin sighed, "I'm sorry about that, but I told you it was never going to happen with him. Why didn't he file them?"
"You didn't initial two pages," Ricky said as he slurped a bite of his cereal."
Erin's eyes grew wide, "No! I thought I got everything. This is my fault! I'm so sorry. Here, I'll go over them now."
Ricky grabbed her wrist as she tried to walk by him to get a pen, "Hey, listen, they've sat that long. Let them hang there. We can deal with the papers later this week. Right now, I'd say we are both a bit on edge at the thought of bringing Brody home today. Don't ruin a good thing. He's coming home. We'll sit down and go over the papers later this week and make sure everything is sighed. Okay?"
Erin nodded, "Okay. I really am sorry, but I will sign them this week."
Except the papers hadn't been signed, and neither one had commented on that. They were still clipped to the refrigerator with a big magnet, staring at them every day. Ricky needed to end that finally now. It was time for those papers to handled. It had been a year, well, over a year since the papers should have been filed, and he had decided he was going to sit down with Erin this week and handle things. It would be quite an adjustment for all of them, but it was time.
Ricky heard a stirring and smiled as he stared up at the ceiling. Brody sounded like he was waking up from his nap. Ricky dared to glance over, and when he did, he couldn't help but chuckle. Brody was standing in his crib looking at Ricky, head full of bed hair, and waving. Truth be told, Brody's hair looked a bit like Ricky's natural hairdo-a mess. Ricky rolled over to get off the bed and noticed Brody's outfit was laid out there. Ricky must have fallen asleep because he certainly hadn't heard Erin come in and put the outfit out. That stupid blue bunny shirt, he shook his head, sighing. He guessed Brody could endure it for a few hours. Maybe he'd have to feed him some plums while wearing that shirt…
Ricky and Brody appeared at the bottom of the stairs a few minutes later, both dressed for the party.
"Oh, he looks so cute!" Erin said from the kitchen where she was working on the party. Ricky glanced around, frowning. The party had "exploded" in the living room since he'd been upstairs taking a nap, and now there was blue bunny stuff everywhere.
"Don't you think you went a little overboard?" he asked, nodding at all the decorations.
"Well, he's only one once, and I may never throw another one-year-old party again, so nope," she grinned. Ricky shook his head and looked at Brody. "Sorry man."
Ricky moved about getting Brody some milk; he liked that after his nap, and as he was finishing up in the kitchen, the doorbell rang, "I'll get it," Ricky said. "Brody, if you don't answer the doorbell, Grandma may hurt herself running in here after you." Holding Brody, who was drinking his milk, they went to the door.
"Oh, there's my boy!" Sharon squealed, grabbing Brody from Ricky. Rick just frowned at her, "Hmm, I used to be 'your boy," he shook his head. Andy chuckled, moving in behind Sharon, "Get used to it. She told me I'd been replaced when Brody was born."
The two moved into the house, and Erin came out from the kitchen to greet everyone. They all exchanged pleasantries, explaining the Rusty and Gus would be there in about a half hour. They'd had to turn around because Gus had forgotten some restaurant information he wanted to follow up on in San Francisco. His head chef had asked him to try a couple of restaurants while in the area.
Sharon quickly moved into the kitchen area, squealing at all the bunny decorations. Ricky looked at Andy, and the two rolled their eyes, "How's everything going?" Andy asked.
Ricky nodded, "It's been quite the year," he stated. "Say, Brody hasn't been out for a walk today. He loves to take a loop around the block in his stroller. Want to walk with me? I'm sure Mom would say it's good for your health," Ricky smirked.
Andy sighed as he shook his head at Ricky, "Yeah," he said gruffly, with a joking quality in his voice, "I'll walk, but only because I'd rather hang out with the guys than get stuck dealing with a bunny party for a boy."
Ricky threw up his hands, "I tried to tell her!"
After Ricky pried Brody from Sharon, the guys set out on their walk, "So," Andy picked up, "I'm guessing this isn't just a walk around the block. What's up?"
Ricky chuckled, "Mom always said you were her best detective."
Andy raised his eyebrows, "Best, really? She always told me favorite, but best-that's a new one."
The two men chuckled for a moment, and then Ricky started, "Andy, I first wanted to thank you for being there for me, for us, this past year. It's really meant more than I could ever tell you. I often think about where things would have been if Erin hadn't stumbled into your crime scene," he shook his head. "There's a good chance Brody wouldn't be alive because she wouldn't have gotten medical care for her blood pressure before it got out of hand. There's a good chance she'd be living somewhere awful, doing things even worse. You know, she's told me over and over she feels terrible for hitting on Julio when she was interviewed. I guess she was trying to keep her 'dancer' cover and put her walls up. Her personality, her real one, is nothing like that."
Andy nodded, "I know. It's been good to get to know her this year. I know she's gone through a lot-you all have, but she's really had about every twist and turn imaginable."
"Yeah, which is why it's finally time to deal with the divorce," he sighed.
Andy raised his eyebrows at him, "Still have those papers on the fridge?"
Ricky nodded, "Yes, they are there, but it's time. "
"Have you spoken to her about them yet?" Andy asked.
"Not for awhile," Ricky nodded. "We first said we'd deal with them after Brody got home and situated. Then, we were getting into his routine, adjusting to my back at work and her home with him. Then, she started her classes finally a couple months ago. It's just time."
Andy nodded, "You good with your decision, then?"
Ricky glanced down at Brody and then glanced toward Andy, "Yeah. I am. Thought long and hard. You know, it didn't hit me until her classes started. She came home at the end of her first week of class, which I guess was almost a month ago now. She said a guy had asked her out on a date. I remember it well. I was sitting at the kitchen table feeding Brody dinner-peas in fact. Random fact I remember. Anyway, she came in, and I asked her how class had gone. She was telling me all about, things she'd learned, and then she said, 'A guy asked me on a date.' Then, there was silence. I didn't know how to respond, so I asked her what she'd said to him. She simply said, 'I told him I was married.' Then, she said the guy apologized and said he didn't know because she didn't wear her rings," Ricky shook his head. "That stupid wedding. The next morning, she had on that cheap junk band, the one that's probably some sort of plastic. I figured she didn't want to be hit on in class. That was the last we talked about it, but enough is enough. I've followed your advice and waited a year to assess things-to do anything, and I'm planning to deal with it tonight. Are you and Mom still good with watching Brody?"
Andy nodded, "Do you need to ask? Anytime we've come up here, all your mom wants to do is get her hands on that kid. We'll be more than fine. Well, I might feel a little slighted because she probably won't notice I'm there, but yeah, we're good. Deal with this tonight."
Sharon and Andy had been able to visit several times during the last year, and each time, they'd pushed Ricky and Erin out the door one of the evenings they had been there. The first time they visited, it was April, and it was a little awkward. They'd never left Brody with anyone, and while it had nothing to do with trust, it was just an uneasy evening. Plus, they hadn't been out at all without Brody with them, specifically, they hadn't spent any time alone without Brody there as a distraction. So, that first evening, they'd gone out, they'd ended up at the grocery store and Target. They'd done the mundane things that needed to be done, but they'd gotten through it. The second time they had been shoved out the door was July. This time, Erin had been wanting to see a movie, so that went to that. It was easy, and it didn't require them to do much talking. The third time they'd been pushed out of their own house was September, and then, Ricky had heard about a concert in the park, so they'd sat through that and enjoyed it just fine. Like the movie, the concert didn't require a lot of awkward talking. Then, there had been Christmas, which Ricky knew would be awkward. Erin had wanted to go to LA, both to see her sister and for Ricky to see his family. So, they'd gone. The drive had gone pretty well, and Brody had done fine. In LA, they ended up staying with Sharon and Andy, and luckily, they had enough rooms for them. Ricky had been dreading doing his Christmas shopping because what do you really get your wife who is supposed to be your ex-wife, who is living with you raising your kid? Ricky had done pretty well, in the end, he thought. He'd gotten Erin an expensive bracelet that had Brody's birthstone on it. He'd noticed she barely wore any jewelry, and it caught his eye when he was wandering around the mall. He'd also been able to get her a practical gift he knew she'd really enjoy. Erin had become quite the cook and baker, and his kitchen was minimal, so he'd gotten her a nice stand mixer that she loved. He knew that it would be a good gift no matter what.
So, here they were again, after all the awkward evenings out, once again, but this time, he had a game plan-the divorce. First, they had to get through the party.