Chapter 8

Ricky sat at the breakfast table, just staring at his eggs and bacon that Lucy had prepared for him. He sat and kept thinking about the situation that their life was in. For the past week since Lucy had come home, she kept having nightmares and crying in her sleep. Of course, he had been there for her every single time, showing his support and comforting her the way she needed him to. This pattern of disrupted sleep was catching up to him and he was grateful that he had taken some time off from the Tropicana to be there for Lucy.

As Ricky was using his fork to play with his eggs, the back door opened and in walked Ethel, with a big smile on her face. She had come by to visit every day since Lucy had come home and even though she was Lucy's best friend, Ricky was starting to become a little bit annoyed with her constant visiting.

"Hiya Rick!" said Ethel, joyously.

"Hi," said Ricky, in a monotone voice.

"Where's Lucy?"

"She's in the bedroom, sleepin. I sent her back to bed after she made breakfast. She's 'sausted, so you should probably come back later."

"Well, I can stay here with you and keep you company until she wakes up. Fred will be up in a minute to join us, as well."

"Ethel, you dun't have to stay here with me. I'll be fine. I jus' wunt to be here for Lucy. I'm the only one she needs right now, so maybe you should jus' go home."

"Ricky, how can you say that? She needs her friends too and that's what Fred and I are. Just remember, we're here for you too, you know."

"Well, I dun't need you!" shouted Ricky.

Ethel didn't know what to do about the way that Ricky just spoke to her. In the eleven years that she had known him, he had never spoken to her that way before and she wasn't going to take that from him.

"Well, honestly, Ricky! You don't have to scream at me like that! I'm just trying to be supportive! Lucy is going through something and she's going to need everyone in her life to be there for her. She went through a lot to get into that show and even more, recovering from it."

"Well, Ethel," said Ricky, in a sarcastic tone, "how do you think she went through what she went through? She needed to lose weight and you helped her do it. Why din't you see she was sufferin'? After all, you were her cuch, right?"

"Ricky, are you implying that I made Lucy sick? Might I remind you that you were the one who called her fat and told her that she couldn't be in the show unless she lost weight. So, before we start pointing fingers, we might want to remember all the details."

"Well, you din't have to encourage her to go alon' with it. What kind of a friend are you? Friends dun't help their friends hurt themseles!"

"Husbands don't insult their wives so that they think they need to change their physical appearance so drastically. I know that Fred and I insult each other, but we do it somewhat jokingly. Your comment about Lucy being fat was just plain mean. So, when you're up late at night and you can't sleep, just remember that you're the reason she is the way she is and maybe that's why she doesn't want to talk to you about certain things."

Ricky just stopped and stared at Ethel. Her last sentence resonated in him and he couldn't believe what he had just heard. Lucy was confiding in Ethel about how she was feeling and he was being ignored. He couldn't believe it. He started to feel insane and didn't know what came over him. All he knew was that he wanted to talk to Lucy privately and wanted Ethel out of his house.

"Get out! I dun't want you here anymore!"

"Ricky Ricardo!" shouted Lucy, from the kitchen door entrance.

Ricky turned around quickly to see Lucy standing in the doorway with an angry look on her face. He had seen her angry before, but with this look, there was something different about her. Her normally sparkling blue eyes turned darker and she was fuming at him.

"How dare you talk to Ethel that way! She is welcome here anytime! You are not to talk to my best friend like that!"

"I wunt to know why you talk to her, but you dun't talk to me."

"I don't want to have this conversation right now, so how about instead of Ethel getting out, why don't you? Go! Right now! Take a walk and cool off, or something! I just don't want you here in this apartment right now!"

Ricky couldn't keep the hurt look off of his face. Lucy had never sounded so serious before. She was kicking him out of the house. He began to open his mouth to argue, but knew it wouldn't do him any good. He got up from the breakfast bar and walked to the kitchen door. He turned to see if Lucy would stop him, but instead he saw her fold her arms and put her back to him. He had never felt his heart break so much in his entire life. His Lucy was moving farther away from him and he felt like he was losing her completely. He didn't know what to do anymore so he just granted his wife's wish and walked away.