Roni Tubbs

As Ali did up the last button on my dress, I turned to face the mirror. I barely recognized myself! The long full skirt gleaned white and the beaded bodice sparkled in the light. I ran my hand over the sheer veil that cascaded over my head and shoulders. It sounds so corny, but I truly felt like a princess. In just one week I'd be walking down the aisle and making a sacred vow to my lifelong love.

I felt my mom's arm around me and from her voice, I could tell she was trying to hold back tears. "Oh baby, you look beautiful!" She turned and grasped the hand of Gina, her best friend and my future mother in law, who was grinning ear to ear.

"My son is such a lucky man, Roni!" Gina gently wiped a tear from her eye. "Trudy, when they were kids, who knew we'd be planning a wedding someday! Now we're officially going to be family." she remarked wistfully.

Ali grinned as she smoothed my veil. while the seamstress pinned up the hem. "Yeah, and there were times when we were kids where I thought you'd kill Miguel, not end up marrying him! Remember that time we had that sleepover he tried to scare us?"

I threw my head back and laughed. "'How could I forget?" That memory was special in my mind in ways nobody else knew about. Although it occurred years before our first kiss or even our first date, it sparked something special between Miguel and I. Although Ali was right, at the time I wanted to kill him! in the end though, it made me see him in a different way…

September 2000

"Thanks so much for having Roni over tonight!" Mom said, hugging Aunt Gina and placing my sleeping bag and backpack on the floor.

"No problem, Trudy. You and Rico enjoy your anniversary! The girls will have a great time."

"Hi Ali! What are we going to do tonight?" I asked my best friend excitedly asked as I came in the front door. At just eight years old, I'd normally be nervous about spending a night away from home, but the Castillos were so much like family, their house was like a second home. And Ali was the sister I never had.

Ali's eyes shone with built-up excitement. "Lots of stuff! Mom's getting us pizza, and we can play games, have makeovers, and…" she leaned in to whisper in her friend's ear, "We can even watch a scary movie later!"

My eyes widened. "Really? Wow!" Secretly, I wasn't too sure about the whole scary movie thing. Those things gave me nightmares. But no way was I going to look like a baby in front of my best friend! I could always just hide my eyes in the scary parts or something. I turned toward the stairs and saw Ali's older brother. "Hi Miguel!"

"Hey Roni! Ali, can I play a game with you guys?"

Ali put her hands on her hips and shook her head. "No way, Miguel! This sleepover is for girls only!"

"Aw, c'mom Ali, we can play Monopoly! You can be the top hat!"

"No!"

"Can I at least watch the movie with you?"

"No way, you'll probably have nightmares and ruin it for all of us!" Ali turned back to me. "Miguel watched Friday the 13th at Eric's house last month and after that he slept in Mom and Dad's room for a week."

"Shut up, Ali! I did not!"

I tried not to giggle. Miguel often tried to be a protective, tough older brother but in reality he was sweet, kind and gentle. Still, I knew he was destined to be braver than he seemed.

"I said go away Miguel!" Ali stood firm.

"MOM!" Miguel called. "Ali said I can't play!" He turned to Ali with a look of satisfaction, as if to say 'now you're going to get it.'

"Oh Miguel, let the girls have some time tonight," Gina shouted from the kitchen.

"But Mom! I'm BORED!" Miguel, Ali and I had been playmates since birth, the three of us did almost everything together and I guess he was a little hurt to be left out tonight.

Aunt Gina peeked her head out of the kitchen. "Miguel, when you have friends over I don't let Ali bug you. Dad will be home soon, maybe he'll play a game with you later. In the meantime, there's plenty of things for you to do, you can watch TV or read a book, or practice your violin…"

"But…" Miguel began, but his mother gave him a warning look. "Oh, fine."

Miguel flopped on the couch and sighed loud enough for Ali and I to hear. He turned on the TV and half watched Spongebob Squarepants while occasionally glancing at the dining room table where we were giggling and painting their nails. Normally Miguel would have chosen to go up to his room and read or play his violin, but I think he didn't want to give Ali the satisfaction of having him leave her completely alone.

A commercial for something Halloween related caught Miguel's eye. Next to Christmas, Halloween was his favorite holiday. Aunt Gina always helped him and Ali make great costumes and Uncle Marty enjoyed helping them carve pumpkins into interesting designs. Being in fifth grade, he had decided that this year he needed to wear a really scary costume, and an old werewolf mask given to him recently by his older cousin fit the bill perfectly. He couldn't wait to scare Ali with it! Suddenly, he had a great idea. If Ali was going to leave him out tonight, the least he could do was make her sleepover memorable! He stifled a laugh, he couldn't wait until it got dark and they started watching that scary movie!

"Checkmate!" Miguel announced triumphantly.

"Good job, son! Your game has really improved!" Martin patted his son on the shoulder.

Miguel smiled proudly. He knew his father was not the type to let him win at games, so beating him at chess was a real accomplishment. "Thanks, Dad!"

"You want to try one more?"

Miguel was about to say yes, then out of the corner of his eye he saw Ali and I heading upstairs whispering and giggling. "Actually, Dad, I should practice my violin tonight."

"Next time then, kiddo!"

Miguel ran upstairs and into his room, closing the door behind him. He rifled through his messy closet. That werewolf mask had to be in there somewhere! It was so frightening looking that he had buried it under some toys and stuffed animals so that he wouldn't accidentally see it staring at him late at night.

"Ah ha!" he exclaimed holding it up.

It didn't fit well over his glasses, so finally he decided to not wear them. Miguel couldn't see well at all without his glasses, but Ali's room was just down the hall and he figured he could feel his way around well enough.

He opened the door to his bedroom and found the hallway completely dark. Downstairs he could make out a faint light and could hear his parents' voices in the kitchen. Ali's bedroom door was shut, but he couldn't see any light coming from under it, since we had her lights off as well. Perfect! On cat-like feet he tip-toed down the hall and slowly turned the doorknob, holding his breath and praying it wouldn't squeak. The room was dark except for the dim light from the TV, but he could barely make out the huddled figures of Ali and I sitting on the bed with our backs to him.

The movie was just getting really scary and I tried to squeeze my eyes shut.

It took every ounce of self control for Miguel not to laugh. He tiptoed closer and closer and then leapt in front of us. "Rawwwwrrr!" He yelled.

My eyes must have been as big as saucers and I shrieked at the top of my lungs, scurrying to hide in the corner.

Ali, on the other hand, threw herself at him, pinning him to the ground and hit him squarely in the nose. "Go away, you monster!" she screamed while I sobbed in the background.

"Help! Ali, STOP! It's me!" Miguel pleaded, struggling to remove his mask while Ali held him down. Fortunately the werewolf mask was thick enough to protect him from Ali's tiny fists.

"Miguel?" Ali finally sat back on her heels, completely surprised and out of breath.

"What the world is going on up here?" Uncle Martin demanded and he and Aunt Gina hurried into Ali's room.

"It's nothing!" Miguel insisted, getting to his feet.

"He… he scared us!" I stammered through my tears, pointing an accusing finger at Miguel. At that moment I was furious with him. How could he scare us half to death like that?

"Yeah! And I'm not sorry for hitting him, he got what he deserved! He's so mean, Mom!" Ali added angrily.

"Miguel Christopher Castillo!" Boy, Miguel was in for it now. I always knew he was in big trouble when his mom used his middle name. "Didn't I tell you to leave the girls alone? You apologize right now!" Gina handed me a box of kleenex and put a comforting arm around me. Slowly I felt myself relax but I still continued to cry, partially because I wanted Miguel to see it and feel really, really guilty. Why did he have to be such a pain sometimes?

Miguel looked down at his feet. "Sorry," he said meekly.

"Go to your room, young man. You'd better hope they don't have nightmares." Uncle Martin's voice was stern and he gave his son a disapproving stare.

Quietly, Miguel obeyed and went to his room. He shut the door behind himself and laid down on the bed. Years later, when we spoke of this incident again, he had admitted that he thought it would just give Ali a little scare, he certainly didn't mean to make me cry. He felt horrible. Slowly he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

It was about 2am when I woke up with a start, breathless from a nightmare of being chased by (What else? A werewolf, of course).

Slowly my eyes adjusted to the low light and I saw Ali's sleeping form beside me. I gave her a gentle tap. "Ali? Ali? You awake?"

Ali just snored loudly and rolled over.

Great. Now I was awake, scared, and alone in the dark! I felt tears fill my eyes as I suddenly wished I were safe at home. But the Castillos were practically my family, I could always just go tell Aunt Gina how scared I was. I got up and turned the doorknob to her and Uncle Marty's bedroom but stopped short of opening the door. Uncle Martin's words to Miguel echoed in my head: "You'd better hope they don't have nightmares." Miguel would just get in bigger trouble, and now that the initial shock had worn off, I really didn't want to see that.

Rubbing my eyes, I turned to the door next to me and opened it slowly. Miguel's room wasn't as dark as I had expected. In fact, there was a dim light on beside his bed where he sat reading a book. His dark brown eyes looked up at me from behind his glasses.

"Roni?"

I groaned groggily and rubbed my eyes. "I- I had a bad dream." I stammered. "I was hoping someone was still awake." I sat down on the edge of his bed. The elderly family cat, Marmalade, who had been sleeping curled up at the foot of the bed, yawned and stretched.

Miguel nodded and avoided eye contact. He reached over and scratched Marmalade behind the ears. "Yeah, I couldn't sleep either." He paused for a moment, then looked over at me sheepishly. "Roni, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you so badly."

"It's not all your fault, I know you didn't mean it. Can you keep a secret?"

Miguel nodded and leaned in close.

"I actually hate horror movies but I was too embarrassed to tell Ali."

He blushed a bit, then scooted over to sit beside me. "Same here. That story Ali told you earlier?About me being freaked out after sleeping at Eric's place? Yeah, it's all true. But you shouldn't be afraid to tell Ali the truth, she's your best friend! Besides, she always covers her eyes whenever the flying monkeys come on in 'The Wizard of Oz.'"

I giggled.

"Hey, you wanna go downstairs and watch a movie? I know exactly the right volume level to keep it on so that Mom and Dad don't wake up. Nothing scary, I promise."

I brightened a bit. "That'd be great!"

Miguel and I laughed about that night many times after that, although knowing him, he still feels bad about scaring me. But sitting side by side that night made me feel safe and secure with him. A feeling that has never changed even as our relationship did.

Two days later, I was back at the office for my last few days at work. I was overwhelmed and stressed with the number of reports I had to finish before the wedding and honeymoon, but still, I found myself daydreaming constantly. I missed Miguel terribly, and was counting the hours until we could enjoy a relaxing honeymoon week on the beach in Cuba, sipping drinks, splashing in the water, sleeping in…

"Roni? Hello? Earth to Veronica!" Ali leaned over her desk to wave a hand in front of me.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, I was just thinking about this case…"

She smirked. "Yeah right. I think you were thinking about lying in the sand, sipping Pina coladas with my brother."

"You know me too well!"

She pointed to her watch. "I'm heading out. You wanna have dinner tonight?"

I sighed and opened my mouth to respond, but Billy Crocket dropped a stack of files on my desk. "She's got a million reports to finish! No time for relaxation now!"

Ali shook her head. "Aw, Billy, cut the girl some slack. She's marrying my brother this weekend!"

Billy put his hands up. "Don't blame me! That's not my fault!"

I stifled a laugh. Billy still saw Miguel as the younger "cousin" he loved to tease.

Ali rolled her eyes and handed me my purse. "C'mon. Don't listen to Billy. He's never had to plan a wedding. You need to relax, pal!"

Billy sighed, but I saw a small smile creep across his face. "Oh alright, but those reports had better be on my desk by noon tomorrow, detective Tubbs!"

"You got it, Lieutenant Crockett!" I grinned. "Okay,Ali, wherever we go, they'd better have drinks! I could use one of those Pina coladas right now!"

She laughed and put an arm around me as we headed for the elevators. In the lobby, she stopped in her tracks, which startled me a bit.

"Well, well, look what the cat dragged in," Ali said in the direction of the figure of a strangely familiar tall woman with her back to us. The woman spun around. Now I recognized her, it was Britt Wheeler, Ali's high school nemesis. I hadn't seen her in several years but she still had that sour, just-sucked-on-a-lemon expression on her face. She looked the same, but her face a bit older. Maybe her evil ways had aged her.

"Britt? Britt Wheeler? What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Yeah," Ali added, "Funny, I didn't notice your broomstick in the parking lot?"

Britt tossed her chestnut brown hair over her shoulder and looked down at me condescendingly. Suddenly I felt like I was back in high school all over again. "I'm just here doing a public service," She spat snootily and turned to me, her expression dripping with fake sympathy. "I just wanted to tell the bride-to-be that her loving fiance is cheating on her!"

Ali's eyes filled with rage. "How dare you come around here telling your vicious lies about my brother? Don't you have anything better to do?"

Britt narrowed her eyes angrily at Ali. "I'm just trying to save your friend, you pint-sized freak!" She held up a photo on her cell phone. "I have proof!"

I tried to hold back laughter, but failed miserably when Ali began laughing until tears ran down her cheeks. "That- that's your proof?"

"What more do you need than a picture of a half naked woman sitting on Miguel's lap?" Britt screeched in frustration.

I crossed my arms and met Britt's eyes with mine. "That is a picture from his bachelor party." I pointed to the photo. "If he were cheating, why the hell would he do it with Ryan Rivera, Billy Crockett, and all his other friends int he background watching?"

Ali chimed in. "Yeah Britt, I really thought your Photoshop skills would have improved. You're really getting lazy!"

I could practically see steam coming from Britt's ears as she shoved her phone back in her purse. "You'll be sorry, Veronica Tubbs! You'll regret it when you're knocked up with his spawn and he's running around town with every tramp in Miami!" Angrily, she stomped away, slamming the door behind her.

Ali put an arm around me. "Don't let her get to you. Now let's get outta here, I'm starvin'!"

"Me too, after that I might need two of those Pina coladas!"

Although Britt's accusations were laughable, it seemed we'd never truly escape our past. Sometimes, part of me wished we could move far away and leave it all behind. But then again, this was home, for better or worse. I couldn't picture my life anywhere but in Miami.