Four days later, Rick gave a hug to his Aunt Annie as Laurie tousled the hair of his cousin.
"Next year you come for Thanksgiving at the ranch, Auntie." Rick told her, then took a bag of presents from Laurie and put it into the rear of the truck.
Saying their goodbyes, the two Simons climbed into the truck and Rick put the vehicle in gear then headed toward the freeway.
As they drove toward Encinitas, Rick put an arm around his wife.
"I'm glad we came, darlin'; I'd forgotten how nice it was at Christmas time here."
"I didn't, we even had time to go to the Candle Factory. I'll never forget the first time I smelled lemon soap, you bought me one from there." She put her head on his shoulder.
"You remember that?" Rick was amazed, then saw the look of nostalgia on her face.
"I'll never forget it. You gave it to me and said it reminded you of summer."
"That's right. I bought you lemon and Mom strawberry, I had to keep A.J. from eating the soap because he didn't believe it could smell like that!" he reminisced.
Laughing over the memories of his younger brother, Rick grew quiet as they pulled up to the neatly kept home on the outskirts of Encinitas. Instantly a figure came out from the whitewashed porch, and Rick sucked in his breath when he saw the wiry form of his old friend.
"Rick, he's so thin." Laurie gasped, then teared up at the beaming expression of Carlos as he came toward their truck and opened her door.
"Carlos!" she hugged him, then let him help her out of the cab.
"Little Laurie, you're still the prettiest girl in town." he smiled then glanced up at the older Simon.
"Mi compadre." He held out his hand, and Rick grasped it, then drew him into a hug.
"You always were the flirt with my girl. How are you?" he choked, fighting his emotions.
"Better then ever." came his reply, as Rick pushed back, getting a good look at him.
As the two chatted, Rick managed to cover his dismay at the gaunt appearance of Carlos. "So where's this someone you wanted us to meet." He asked.
"She's right here." Carlos raised his head as a child's wail pierced the air. Leading them to the porch, he stopped at a baby stroller sitting next to the front door, then reached in and lifted up a small girl, dressed in a miniature jogging suit.
"Andrea, don't cry. I'm here. Say hello to your Uncle Rick and Aunt Laurie." The little girl stopped crying and stared at the dumbfounded husband and wife.
"Thought you'd be surprised. This is my daughter, Andrea Marie." Carlos said proudly.
Rick was the first to recover. "Your daughter, well, for goodness sake." Hearing an unfamiliar voice, the child turned to look at him then focused on Laurie, who smiled at Andrea and cooed, "Hello, little one."
"Ma!" she squealed and reached out to her with both arms. Instinctively Laurie held out her hands and Carlos gently handed his daughter to her.
"Oh, sweetie." Rick looked at Laurie and saw how tenderly she held the little girl, now giggling and playing bouncy with her.
"Uh, Carlos, how old is she?"
"Almost a year old, her birthday is the day after Christmas." A sad expression came over Carlos's face.
"Her mother, is it anyone I know?" Rick knew the answer almost before he saw his friend's head shake.
"No, Rick, you didn't know Marie, I met her at the hospital where my mother was treated a couple of years ago. We started going out a lot, and my sisters really liked her. Unfortunately," Carlos sighed, "she didn't want to be tied down with a family. When she told me she was pregnant, I asked her to marry me. She almost laughed in my face." He slumped down into a seat on the porch and Rick ached for him. To fall for someone and be rejected like that…..
"Hey, Carlos, that's rough…" he stopped when he saw his friend's rueful smile.
"It's okay, I'd half-expected to lose her. But what I didn't know was that she was in love with a married man who didn't want kids. When I offered to support her in what ever she decided, she took me up on it, literally. After she had Andrea, she left her with me and said she'd be back. That was ten months ago. Last I heard she moved to Northern California."
"Oh, Carlos.." Laurie murmured sympathetically, shifting Andrea to her hip as she reached out and squeezed his shoulder.
"At first Mom and the girls were blaming me, then once they realized Marie really left both of us, they've helped me a lot. When I'm at work, Consuelo takes care of her. Only thing is, I don't think either of my sisters want to raise another child." He looked over at his daughter, then made a funny face at her.
Instantly the girl laughed, and Carlos brightened up.
"At least something good came out of your, I mean, she's beautiful, my friend." Rick fumbled.
"Thank you, Rick. You don't know what it means to have you guys come see us." Carlos drew his sleeve across his eyes, then smiled.
"Enough of the past. So you want a couple of piñatas? I know a great place a mile from the border, they make them to order for all the big hotels. What say we go get some dinner, hit a couple of the night spots then come back here tomorrow."
Just then Andrea sneezed, and Laurie wiped her nose with a handkerchief.
"Bless you! Carlos, I don't think taking her out in this cold is a good idea. Why don't the two of you go; I'll stay with Andrea if you like."
Rick started to shake his head, "Laurie, you've never been to TJ…" only for Carlos to eagerly interrupt.
"You're a good sport, Laurie, thank you! I want you to get to know Andrea and my sister won't be back until tomorrow, Mom's got a cold and didn't want the baby to catch it."
"Well, why don't you follow Rick and I back to our hotel then he can ride with you over the border." Laurie suggested, seeing Rick relax at the suggestion.
As they pulled up to their hotel, Rick saw a familiar car in the self-parking area. "Don't look now, darlin',we've got company." He grinned.
Laurie glanced over and started to laugh. "I thought Mom was coming for New Year's; I guess she changed her mind."
As they parked, Rick shook his head at the blond and silver-haired man just coming out of the hotel lobby.
"What happened, Mom decide to see Auntie this week?"
A.J. flashed a relieved smile.
"Yes, but more important, I have some news, can we go to your room?"
"Let me meet you up there, Carlos'll be here in a minute. I think you and Mom'll be surprised when you see him." Rick told him, just as his friends' truck pulled into the waiting zone.
A.J. gave Laurie a hug, then turned around in time to see Carlos approaching with his daughter in tow, a baby carrier over one arm.
"Little brother, how are you?" Carlos called out, and Rick saw A.J.'s momentary look of surprise, then Cecilia's voice carried from the entrance.
"Goodness sake, Carlos, who is that?"