Ricardo is looking over paperwork for his school when his phone rings. He barely looks at the caller ID before he's answering, expecting calls about future bookings. "Hola," he says cheerfully, setting aside a few pages that can be held off on until later.
"Ricardo? Hey, it's Mike," he hears, a frown furrowing his brow.
"Mike? Hey, man, what's going on?" They talk sometimes, not as often as they used to, but enough. And Ricardo keeps up enough with WWE news to know it hasn't been a very beneficial few months for Mike, very few matches and the segments he gets almost always leading to some sort of embarrassing beat down. So he's not surprised to hear Mike kind of downtrodden, but still. it's concerning, especially for Mike to be calling at this hour.
"I, uh. Guess I just needed an ear," he says uncomfortably. "You know, I don't... talk about these things often."
Ricardo does know, remembers back when they first became friends and Ricardo felt like he knew barely anything about Mike, while Mike knew seemingly everything about him while helping him through first Alberto's betrayal, and then his departure from WWE. "Yes, I know," he confirms softly, then waits, not wanting to scare Mike off.
"Well, I..." Mike exhales, slow. "You've kind of been where I'm at, I think. Where you're disenfranchised with the business as a whole, and you don't know where to turn."
Ricardo taps his pen against the surface of his desk, nodding absentmindedly. "Yes," he says quietly. "I have been there quite a few times over the years." After Egypt, after WWE, after Paige. If not for Alicia and Pennsylvania, this school, he's not sure where his lfie would've ended up. "How can I help, Mike?"
"That's the thing," Mike says, sounding shaky, almost at his breaking point. "I don't even know, I just know something needs to change. I just don't know where to begin."
Ricardo hums. "Are you-" He stops, thinks for a minute. "WWE is coming to Pennsylvania soon, right?"
"Yeah, November 6th, for Raw," Mike confirms. "What are you thinking?"
Ricardo continues to tap his pen, trying to find the words. "Come to the house," he says. "You can see the kids and Alicia, maybe visit the school if you want. We won't promote it or make a big deal out of it, the students don't even need to know you're there unless you want them to. It'll be completely up to you how this goes."
Mike stays silent for a moment, and Ricardo's confidence wans a bit until he exhales. "Do you think it'll help me get my head back on straight?"
"Couldn't hurt, right?" Ricardo says. "I always feel more solid in my passions after I spend some time with them. They're good people, young. Bright, very innovative. Give it a try?"
Mike is quiet again, but Ricardo remains patient this time, solid in his reasonings. "Yeah," Mike says. "I'd like that. I'll let AJ know. What if I brought her and the kids?"
"Alicia and Sofia would love to see them, you know that," Ricardo says fondly. "You all are welcome any time."
"Thanks, Ricardo," Mike says. "This means a lot. I'll call you in a few days to confirm what AJ and I are going to do."
"Great, talk soon," Ricardo says, the two of them exchanging goodbyes before hanging up. Resuming his pen tapping, Ricardo stares ahead and smiles a little, looking forward to seeing his friends, and hopefully helping Mike out of this funk. Pay it forward, he thinks, finally turning back to signing a few of the contracts for future shows.