Disclaimer: I do not own any WWE Superstar in this story. The personas/gimmicks belong to the WWE. The actual persons belong to their respective selves. Any brand/logo/trademarked name found in this story does not belong to me.
Chapter Nine: Surprise! Surprise!
"I am so sorry, Ms. Cruz, but I cannot clear Mr. Orton to fly back to Missouri… He has simply not healed well enough to be exposed to extreme pressures like that of a plane… I'm really sorry, Ms. Cruz, but Mr. Orton cannot fly home for the holidays…" the doctor said.
Randy sat on the bed in his room in Riz's house. That line had been running around in his head since this morning when he got checked up at the Medical City. Just great. He couldn't go home for the holidays. He couldn't spend Christmas with his family or even in his hometown. He was in a bad mood. No. He was in a shitty mood. Pissed off would be too much of an understatement for this situation.
December 24th, 2005. Riz was running around the house preparing for Christmas Eve. In the Philippines, they celebrated Christmas on the eve of the twenty-fourth. They opened presents when the clock struck twelve and not during Christmas morning like in the US. Randy was sitting on one of the couches inside the living room. Yes, he was able to walk around now. He did so with a slight limp though. His leg wasn't fully-healed. He still wore a sling for his elbow and he walked around with a cane.
Just three days ago, he had received the news that he wouldn't be able to fly home for the holidays, and during those three days, he'd been very quiet. He had this pent up anger for the world right now. He had this pent up anger for Riz for some odd reason, too. He was just really angry at everyone around him. Imagine. He was stuck here in the Philippines while his family is back in Missouri probably having lots of fun without him. Just freaking great.
"Orton, come on, let's get you changed upstairs before everyone else gets here…" Riz said as she sat beside Randy on the chair. He glared at her and snapped. "Just because I have to spend Christmas here in your house doesn't mean that I have to abide by your fucking dress code, bitch!" he screamed.
"Look, Orton, please don't be difficult… It's not my fault that you're here… But please, at least try to enjoy the holidays…" she reasoned with him. "It's not your fault that I'm here?! Excuse me, if you had probably just left me in the hospital, I would have healed better! I wouldn't be stuck here in this dump spending Christmas with you! If ever I would've been stuck here in a hospital, at least I would be surrounded by beautiful nurses! Unlike you!" he screamed as he stood up.
"Well, thank you very much for the nice compliment, Orton! I appreciate it!" her voice once again dripped with concentrated sarcasm. "If you want to sit there looking like you've just been dragged from the trash, then be that way! You could at least change something about yourself, even if it's just for the holidays, Orton… Just 'cause you have a bad vacation, doesn't mean the rest of the world has to, too!" "Why couldn't you have just left me in the hospital where things could've been better?!" his cocky remark came.
She stood up, too, and went toe-to-toe against him. "Orton, to think that I thought you'd be grateful for me taking you out of that hospital and probably stuck in the middle of four walls for so long! Fine, if you want to spend your Christmas being Mr. Scrooge and all, and then be my guest! All I ever did was try to make your holidays a little lighter since I know how much of a shitty mood you're in! But if this is how you want to take it, then suit yourself, Orton! Go ahead! Make life shittier for you!" she screamed as she stomped away.
He looked at her retreating figure and immediately regretted what he had said. She had taken him in after everything he had done to her. She tried to make his holidays a little lighter because she knew how much he wanted to be at home with his family. She honestly tried. But this was what he gave her. His conscience was running wild as he decided to walk up the stairs and into his room. It took him quite sometime to do so, too.
Once he got to his room, he saw his clothes ready and lay on the bed. He scanned his clothes for the night and saw a pair of black dress pants, a plain dark red round-neck t-shirt, a black blazer and his shiny black dress shoes. It looked so casual yet so formal at the same time. Wanting to show Riz that her efforts wouldn't go unnoticed, he slipped the clothes on slowly, careful to not twist anything. It was hard. It took him a good half-hour to put everything on but he was able to do it.
He stood there in the middle of his room as he scanned himself. Everything seemed to be in order. He put his shirt and pants on the right way luckily. He heard the door open and in ran little Dave. He hugged Randy's good leg and said, "'Andy!" since he couldn't pronounce 'Randy' correctly just yet. "Hey, little man!" Randy said as he messed up Dave's hair a little.
"Dave, come back here 'cause grandma and grandpa are looking for you!" Riz screamed down the hall. She stepped into the room and said, "Da-" but she stopped when she saw Randy all dressed up and ready to go. "I just thought I'd dress up to make your holidays a little happier, too…" he said with a slight smile to her. Dave let go of his pant leg and ran over to Riz. It was only then that Randy noticed what she was wearing. A flowing black skirt that reached until her knees, a loose red off-shoulder half-sleeved top, a pair of black strappy high heels and her hair was up into a bun being held by a chopstick with her bangs slightly curled to fall down in front of her face.
"Well, you look good, Orton… You look good…" she said with a genuine smile as she walked out of the room with Dave attached to her hip. Randy smiled to himself as he began limping to the door to go down and join everyone else for the festivities. He went down the stairs and walked into the living room where everyone was having fun. The surround sound stereo was blasting Christmas songs, the tree lights were on and blinking different colors, there were gifts wrapped in multi-colored wrapping paper underneath the tree, there was the aroma of food coming from the kitchen, people were laughing and having fun. It was just like the holidays back home minus the snow.
"Randy! How good to see you again!" Emma said as she stood up from her seat to hug him. "How have you been, Randy? I'm happy you're spending Christmas with us… But it isn't the same now, isn't it?" she said. Randy shook his head. "No, it isn't, Mrs. Cruz… But you know, I'm happy to be spending the holidays here instead of in the hospital… All thanks goes to your youngest daughter…" he said.
Riz stepped into the picture with Dave still attached to her. "Your welcome, Orton…" she said as she walked over to her mother and whispered something in her ear. Then, Riz walked away and outside the door. Emma asked Randy to sit down on one of the couches. Lin and Drake were off to one side as Randy sat opposite them. Sure, this felt like the holidays but he still couldn't get the feeling of being homesick out of his system. He wanted to see his little sister, Becky and see how much she's grown; his little brother, Nathan and give him a noogie; his dad and talk about wrestling with him; his mom and listen to her nag.
"Hey, guys…" Riz peeked in through the door. "I know it's only eleven-thirty and we aren't going to be opening presents until midnight but I wanted to give Orton his gift early… Thought it might cheer him up from his gloomy state…" she said as she stepped in and threw the door open. "Merry Christmas, Orton…" she said as Bob, Elaine, Becky and Nathan Orton stepped into the house. Randy jumped up from his seat and limped over to his family. He hugged his little sister first.
"What are you guys doing here? Shouldn't you be back in St. Louis with grandma and grandpa? How did you guys get here?" Randy asked in such excitement in seeing in his family. "Whoa, there, bro… You should thank a certain someone who took the initiative to call us and book us a flight here so we could spend the holidays with your injured self…" Becky said. "Who?" Randy asked, still clueless about the whole thing.
"Look behind you, son…" Elaine said. Randy looked behind him and saw Riz standing there tickling a laughing Dave. She looked up to meet his gaze and smiled. "I thought you'd have a happier Christmas with your family here so I decided to fly them in from Missouri… They agreed and so we arranged everything… I've noticed that you were so gloomy since doc said you couldn't go home so I thought why not cheer you up, right? Instead of you flying home, why don't I fly home to you?" she said.
Randy immediately tore away from Becky and hugged Riz. "Thank you, Riz…" he said. That very moment, everything seemed to have gone in slow motion. Randy felt the same familiar touch of her skin against his hands. It was like he had felt it before somewhere, some how. Riz just stood there not being able to hug back. She had felt like he was realizing something. But she couldn't remember what that was. They just stood there in the hug.
Until, of course, the moment was kind of spoiled when a loud crying burst through the room. Randy pulled away from Riz and saw that Dave was squished in between them. He was crying now as he buried his face in Riz's bare neck. She calmed him down some as Philippe and Emma welcomed the Orton family. Randy walked a couple of steps to where Riz was calming the infant down. He crouched down slightly to go face-to-face with Dave as he poked him a little and did baby voices and sounds along with Riz. Much to their satisfaction, Dave stopped crying.
Everyone started eating from there on. They ate the magnificent noche buena or Christmas dinner that Riz had prepared earlier that day. She spent five hours in the kitchen just preparing the festivities for that night. There was spaghetti or spirals with either red or white sauce, deep-fried chicken, chocolate cake, fruit salad, Caesar salad with croutons and lots of drinks: iced tea and carbonated drinks. Everyone was having fun. Lin fed her son as Riz proceeded on to feeding Randy. "Have you eaten yet?" he asked her.
"Nope…" she said. "But I can always eat later, Orton… You come first…" he nodded and proceeded on to eating the extremely delicious food that this girl in front of him had prepared. The only thought running through Randy's head at that precise moment was the one of which this girl in front of him. Why does she always take care of me first before herself? Why do I have to eat before here? Can't she see that she's growing stick-thin? What if I ask her to eat? He debated with himself.
"Hey, Riz, why don't you go eat for a while? I mean, I'm sure I'm gonna be okay eating by myself…" he said. "Well, Orton, let's just say that you cannot move your shoulder and arm that much so you're being restricted… Plus, I'm not really all that hungry… So, since you need more nutrition here, you need the food… Now, open wide!" she said. He merely obeyed.
After all was said and done, they walked back into the living and sat down on the couches to open presents. Bob had taken the presents from their car and laid them under the tree as well. Everyone gave out gifts and ripped the papers of their own. There were watches there, necklaces here, socks there, caps here. Typical Christmas.
"Here, Riz, this one's for you… From all of us…" Nathan said as he handed her a box wrapped in red and gold paper. "Aaw, shucks, guys, you didn't have to get me anything…" she said and received it with a smile. "Ah, but we did… Take it as a form of gratitude from the Orton clan for taking care of our eldest boy over here…" Bob said as he patted Randy on the back. "Go! Open it!" Becky said excitedly.
She ripped up the paper and took out a white box. She opened the box and found a navy blue long-sleeved sweater that said 'Riz' on the front in bold white letters. She laughed a little and put it on. She stood up and turned around playfully as she asked, "So, how do I look?" with a simple pose. Everyone burst out in laughter. "Riz, we decided to give you that sweater because it means that you're like family now… Everyone in the Orton family has that and now you have one, too… Welcome to the family, dear!" Elaine said as she stood up to hug Riz.
"My gosh, y'all make it sound like Orton and I are getting married!" Riz said after they pulled away from each other. "Well, when are ya?" Bob asked. "When are we what?" she asked, catching on pretty slow to what Bob was trying to say.
"When are you and Randy gonna tie the knot?" Bob asked again.
"Uhm… Dad, I don't think you should be asking that question…" Randy said to his father after partially choking on his own saliva. "Orton and I aren't getting married, uncle… We aren't even romantically connected… Hell, we even hate each other's guts to hell!" Riz explained to them.
"Aaw… Too bad! Riz, you would've made the perfect sister-in-law! I mean, judging by the way you two calmed down the lil' cutie earlier, I could've sworn you two were his mom and dad!" Becky squealed in sadness. "But, wait… If you two hate each other then how can you two live under one roof and not kill each other?" she asked with a confused expression. "That amazes me, too, sister dear…" Randy said.
Everyone burst out in laughter. Soon, Riz jumped to where the tree was and grabbed the last present that was there. It was a box, similar to the one the Ortons gave her, but it was wrapped in blue and gold paper. She handed it to Randy and said, "Well, it's our turn… Here's to ya, Orton… From this family… I can't say the whole Cruz clan 'cause not all of us know ya…" Randy smiled and took the present from her. He opened it with one hand and opened the box with her help.
He pulled out a white t-shirt that had 'Greatness' written on it with black cursive letterings. He held it up to his front and asked, "I would've worn it like Riz did but I can't with this sling on my arm so I'm just left to ask… How do I look?" Everyone laughed again at his actions as they all nodded. "We gave you that 'cause we thought it'd support your persona… And plus it would be like something you can flaunt to the roster… Say, 'This is original!'" Rico said.
Everyone laughed again. It was one happy Christmas for all of them.
At 3 AM, everyone decided to go home and retreat to their own beds. The Ortons went back to the hotel Riz had gotten them for their stay and the Cruz family went back to their houses. The only two people left in Riz's house were Riz and Randy. Randy was helping her clean up some while she washed the dishes. They were setting their goal to getting the house clean before 4 AM. And they did accomplish their goal. They finished cleaning at 3:57.
Riz helped Randy up the stairs as she told him to go his room and she'll be there in a while. She just had to check all the doors and window in the house if they were locked. Randy followed her instructions and limped to his room. He opened the door and saw that there was something waiting for him on his bed. He walked closer and saw that it was a paper bag made out of newspaper. He looked at the card and read: To: Orton From: Riz. Just great… A gift wrapped in freakin' newspaper? How pathetic… he thought to himself.
He opened it and saw a folded piece of paper inside. He opened the piece of white paper and inside, written in Riz's handwriting, was a poem. And it went a little something like this:
For so long, I've yearned to try
But I can never seem to answer why
That when your eyes meet mine, I glare
It made it seem like I don't care
Maybe you are a little rough
Maybe trying to polish you is too tough
Outside, you were this man that made me quiver
You were dull and ugly, just like ol' newspaper
I thought I knew everything and could judge you
But I was wrong, what I saw wasn't true
For days, into months, even into years
All I ever saw were the tears
I looked inside when I got the chance
And what I saw put me in a trance
It was beautiful; to say the least, divine
All this time, the mistake was mine
I need you to know that I made a mistake
I shouldn't have done what caused you to break
On the exterior, sure you were tough and showed class
But inside, I felt you were as fragile as glass
You were cocky, arrogant, and I couldn't understand
But when I did, I could only take your hand
And say, "I've judged you and I'm sorry…"
"I just never knew how beautiful you could be…"
Hey, Orton! Yeah, this may seem weird… I know! You, getting a Christmas present from me? Yeah, well that's a first… But yeah, I'm here to say sorry… Sorry, that I may have judged you a little too quick from the day we first met… Looking after you for the past two months has been wonderful… And you've been such a good little boy! Yeah, I know, weird… But I really enjoyed looking after you… So, yeah, I'm sorry I judged you… It's like, you're sometimes like newspaper… You take your first impression on it and it serves a lifetime without getting to know the person… But yeah, inside, you were nice… And I regret only getting to know that now… Take care of your gift, Orton… It was my first one… Well, it served a lot of firsts but anyways… Take care, Orton… God bless and Happy holidays!
heart, Riz
P.S- News: doc said that in about one or two months, you can go back to the WWE… Just sharing...
P.P.S- I still don't like you.
He judged the newspaper earlier. He said it was pathetic. Could he be pathetic, too? Discarding the thought, he shoved his hand deep into the paper bag and pulled out the gift. He held it in front of his face and saw it to be a snow globe. It was tinted pink and the city inside the globe was New York City. There was a yellow post-it on it. It read:
Remember NYC? The place we first fought? Yeah… Also the place I first saw snow and the place I debuted… This was my first snow globe, Orton… I got it when I was 5… I've taken care of it all these years, and I hope you do, too…
Since she was five? That was two decades ago! And yet the snow globe still looked pretty much to be in mint condition. There were no scratches, no discolorations, no fingerprints whatsoever. It looked brand new. It amazed him how she took care of things with such precaution. He admired the view of NYC in the globe and put it back inside the paper bag along with the poem. He set it aside to the bedside table and waited for Riz to come and help him change. He did not want to go through that again like earlier. Man, that was hell.
Riz soon entered the room with Randy's night clothes. She helped him change into the pair of boxers and the white t-shirt. For any other girl, seeing Randy Orton this 'bare' would be enough to make them faint. But to Riz, it seemed like nothing since she'd done it often with John. That man was always drunk after partying so she had to take care of him. After changing, Riz helped Randy lie down on the bed. She pulled the covers onto him and kissed him on the head. "Good night, Randy…" she said even though it was morning outside. She began to walk away.
"Riz…" he called out. She looked back. "Thank you…" he said in probably one of the sweetest voices ever to come from his mouth. "Thank you for the gift… I promise I'll take care of it…" he said further. She smiled back at him and said, "Your welcome, Orton… Now, go to sleep so that you'll get your rest and you'll heal faster…" before walking out the door. He watched her walk out before his eyelids closed and he fell into a deep slumber.
Riz walked over to her old room, where she always slept. She changed into her pajamas, a pair of black pajama bottoms and a white razorback, before grabbing a notebook and pen from her desk and sitting on her bed. She looked around her room and smiled to herself, feeling content with how the holidays went. She had started writing in the notebook when her N90 rang from her bedside table. She grabbed it and answered, "Hey, John! Happy Christmas!"
"Happy Christmas to you, too, Rizzie wizzie… How was the celebration?" he asked.
"It was alright… Flew Orton's family in so that he wouldn't be so homesick…" she said.
"That was really nice of ya, Riz… So, tell me, what happened during Christmas?" he asked.
And they talked for hours on the phone. It seemed like they weren't even tired. But they put down the phone when it was around 7 AM already so that Riz could get the proper rest. She closed the notebook she had been writing on and put it on her bedside table. She pulled the blankets onto her and fell into a deep slumber.
She felt prodding on her shoulder and she opened her eyes to see who was bugging her and ruining her beauty sleep. She opened her eyes to see Randy there with a puppy-dog pout on his face. "Hey, Riz… Uhm… I was kind of wondering if maybe, I could stay here with you? I mean, I'm sure this sounds really pathetic but… It just felt so lonely in the other room and I couldn't go to sleep once I woke up…" he said.
She simply nodded and understood his dilemma. He moved over to one side and let him climb into bed with her without hurting his leg. Being the little kid he had morphed into when he was injured, he placed his head on her chest and got comfortable. He started falling back into his sleep as she also started to fall asleep while stroking his hair to help him relax.
"Riz?" his voice echoed throughout her ears. "Hmm?" her mere reply. "I'm sorry I didn't get you anything for Christmas… I mean, after everything you've done for me, the least I could've done would be to give you something in exchange… I'm really sorry…" his voice trailed off. "You don't need to give me anything, Orton… Just go to sleep, that's enough…" her voice came.
The feeling for both of them was pure comfort. It was so familiar. The feeling felt so relaxing and so natural that they couldn't decipher what it was. It was like having someone so close yet so far away. Physically, that someone was there and present but emotionally, he was so far away; so undetected by the world outside. It was a mystery and yet it seemed to be standing right there in front of their eyes. What was this happening to them?
Why did these dreams haunt them so?
-veracruzortongal