England is busy in a different way than India was a year prior. With India, the main thing Ricardo had to focus on was the growing amount of students he had to train day by day and getting the indy fed off on the right foot. WAW at least is a known commodity in the British wrestling scene, so all Ricardo has to do is help build on what's already there. Which means he does interviews and television spots, wrestles where he can, and spends the rest of his time training and passing along all that he's learned over the years.
It's nice but it's tiring, which is also a good thing because it keeps Saraya from mentioning Paige to him, or much else, really. If things are a little awkward between them, Ricardo works through it and acts as professionally as he can. After that first experience with Paige's brother, he's determined to be better, rise above all of this drama and do the best job he can. Either way, he's in England and he has free time here and there to explore, and he does, finding a quiet corner by some trees where he can sit and meditate in the early morning hours before anyone else is awake and demanding of his attention.
He's here when his phone rings. He sighs and peeks an eye open before grabbing for it. Alicia's name flashes on the screen and his eyes light up as he answers. "Hola, Alicia. How are you?"
She sounds oddly strained when she finally speaks and a number of awful possibilities run through his mind. "Hello, Ricardo... I, um, wanted to be the one to tell you. I tried to check the timezones but I was confused, I hope I didn't wake you up or something..."
"No, I'm awake," he encourages her. "What's going on? Is something wrong?"
"Yeah," Alicia breathes out. "I mean, no one's hurt physically or anything, I just... wanted to hear your voice when you heard. Make sure you're alright."
"You're worrying me," he says honestly, though knowing that no one's hurt is a comfort. "What is it?"
She swallows, seems to struggle to find the words. "Uh, well, so I... I mean, some rumors have been going around the locker room but I just ignored them, because you know how it gets, but it's been confirmed today. Early this afternoon, Alberto was suspended for violating the wellness policy. Just a few minutes, it was announced that Paige also was suspended."
Ricardo sits for a few minutes silently on this. Dwells on everything- how his old suspension had been so painful and frustrating, what possibly could've been the cause of their getting popped. In the background of his thoughts, he can hear Alicia's soft breaths over the phone and it helps to comfort him. "What's the grape vine on what it is? Anything?"
"There are a lot of jokes," she says. "Hard drugs and the like, things I don't really buy. I mean, I don't know Alberto well, but Paige... I don't see it. Especially when she's rehabbing like she is."
"Yeah," Ricardo mumbles. Part of him wants to contact Alberto or Paige or both, check on them, because he remembers the humiliation of being publicly shamed by a wellness violation announcement. But in the end, he can't get past everything they've put him through the last few weeks so he opts to stay on the phone with Alicia and ask about the cats, listening to her talk about how her week's been going. It's nice to hear her voice again, all thoughts of meditation escaping him as he chuckles helplessly at her talking about Heath Slater's latest attempts to get a contract on either Raw or Smackdown.
"Poor guy," she says. "First Brock, then Orton. Hopefully something works out for him. It's kind of sad, really. All of his... constantly changing amounts of kids."
Again, Ricardo laughs. "I missed you," he admits quietly after a second.
Alicia pauses and he can picture her smling sweetly. "I miss you too. The apartment is strangely quiet, I guess I just got used to having you there to keep me company when I'm not on the road. Your pets are sweet, of course, but it's just not the same."
Ricardo exhales with a sad smile of his own. "I know what you mean. I wish I could show this place, it's so beautiful."
"Maybe some other time," Alicia says quietly. "I'd like that."
"So would I." He sits and talks with her, telling her all about the things he's been doing here, until the sun's fully risen. "Well, I should go," he finally says reluctantly. "We have to catch a ferry to handle some business. Thanks for letting me know about Paige and Alberto."
"You're welcome," she says softly. "If anything else happens, I'll let you know."
"Ok, thanks," he nods, a tingling kind of happiness under his skin as he prepares to hang up. "Talk to you soon." As soon as she tells him bye and hangs up, he lays back against the grass and stares up at the sky, conflicted over how to feel about all of this. On one hand, he almost feels like Paige and Alberto deserve this... but on the other, he still cares about them both, deep inside, the time and space between them, his time away from his day to day reality giving him a clearer view of the truth of the matter deep inside himself.
Sighing heavily, he forces himself up. Collects the few things he has scattered around, then heads back to the building to start his day properly.