Alicia leaves. Alicia returns. She smiles and looks normal, acts like everything's fine, but Ricardo can tell WWE's hesitation to give her a true answer on her return eats at her. He more than understands, cupping her face and kissing her until her smile turns sincere, her eyes gleam just a little brighter. "I need to talk to you," he says, and to her credit, she sits quietly as he explains to her his thoughts for later in the week.

"I don't like it," she sighs. "But for you, I'll go along. I might even be nice."

He kisses her again, smirking when she arches up into his touch.

He has the date marked in his digital calendar. It's even scrawled into the barely used, hardly cared about paper calendar nailed into the wall in the kitchen. So it'd be impossible to forget it; since Alberto had told him, he'd put reminders of the event where he'll be best reminded of it. The invitation is open, because most everyone else is busy on a random Thursday afternoon, but all Ricardo has to do is some training at Hybrid later in the evening, so he pulls out his suit and gnaws at his upper lip as he drives over to the building chose for this monumentous occasion.

When Ricardo arrives, Alberto is pacing back and forth outside of the building, speaking into his phone with his eyes downcast. "Ay, si, I know- I wish you could be here too," he says and Ricardo imagines he's speaking to his brother, maybe his uncle or father. He smiles and waves discreetly when he looks up to find Sofia in the doorway, his breath stolen as he gets a good look at the housekeeper for the first time in months.

She blinks as though not recognizing him at first and then tears fill her eyes as she blows a kiss at him, Ricardo nodding his head in quiet acceptance before turning his attention back to Alberto, who is finally hanging up his phone and bowing his head quietly. He's murmuring lowly in Spanish to himself, perhaps a Catholic prayer of some sort, when Ricardo approaches him. "Ay, senor? ¿Sabes a qué hora comienza la ceremonia?"

Alberto's shoulders tense up and he turns to look incredulously at Ricardo before barking out a pained, desperate kind of laugh. "Mi hermano!" he cries out, grabbing Ricardo in a tight hug. "You came! You said nothing, and I just assumed-" He pulls back, staring into Ricardo's face, teeth flashing as he grins.

"As if I would miss this," Ricardo says, resting his hands on Alberto's shoulders and squeezing. "Should we go in?"

Alberto nods. "Si, si!" He looks up as Sofia joins them, pulling Ricardo to her and hugging him tightly. "Maybe in a few moments," he concedes as she mumbles in Spanish against his shoulder.

"It is good to see you, mi hijo," she says, wiping at her face as she looks up at him. "I have missed you." He nods, looking ashamed, and she touches his jaw gently, smiling up at him as if to say everything's fine. "You are well? Alicia is healing well?"

"We're engaged," he shares with her softly and she claps her hands happily, hugging him again. "We'll have to come over so you can see the ring. I think it's pretty perfect."

She smiles at him. "You have perfect taste, so I'm sure it's an incredible ring."

Before anything else can be said, Alberto awkwardly clears his throat. "I think... I think we should go in, mi familia." Ricardo looks almost ashamed for taking away from Alberto's moment with his own news, but Alberto merely grins and drops a hand around Ricardo's shoulder, his other gently resting on Sofia's back as he guides them in to the seats set aside for him. Sofia is settling into her seat when Alberto turns to Ricardo. "Congratulations on the engagement, mi hermano. I wish you every happiness, if I have yet to say it before."

Ricardo's smile is soft, a little strained. "Gracias," he says, trying his hardest to not think about Paige, About how they'd so badly wounded him, left him almost not wanting to try to get this invested in his relationship with Alicia. But here he is. He hopes it's the right decision, he hopes she'll never hurt him to the degree that his ex-fiancee and best friend had done.

They sit as well, softly talking and taking a few discreet selfies as the time ticks closer to the beginning of the ceremony. It's weird, Ricardo thinks, holding this sort of thing when the world seems to be crumbling around them, but it all goes off without a hitch. Alberto and the others scheduled to be named as official citizens of these United States of America walk up when it's time, takes the form declaring them as such, shakes the hands of everyone in reach, and quietly returns to their seats.

Ricardo beams at him, reads the paper over, and nods quietly. "I am proud of you, Alberto. It is an impressive accomplishment." And it is. He can remember the drama surrounding his own citizenship all too well, and he's thankful that his friend's path was so much smoother than his own.

But the week is far from over. The next day, Alicia gets out of her car, a vaguely uncomfortable grimace to her face as she walks up to him and kisses him softly. The women exchange pleasantries and coos over Alicia's 'perfect' engagement ring, Ricardo flushing hotly under the Texas sun, when finally it happens and they scramble into position.

As soon as the door opens, Sofia beams at her employer. "Felix Cumpleanos, Alberto." She holds a cake, covered in cream frosting and berries, out to him and he stares down at it, eyes soft. "I am aware it's not much, but-"

"It's perfect," he says, reaching out to hug her. "Gracias, Sofia. My one truly loyal companion-" He's just guided her into the dining room to put the cake down when he freezes, jaw dropping. "Que?!"

There's a happy birthday banner sprawling from one side of the room to the other over the table, lights softly twinkling from around his chair. He swallows hard and tries to choke out something when Ricardo walks out of the shadows, Alicia tagging along after him. He stares there, staring plumbstruck at the cake, at his family, as the three of them sing to him, Alicia sticking with English while the other two mix in the Spanish lyrics without hesitation.

He's just sat down heavily, not fully able to believe that any of this is reality, when Ricardo leans over and sticks a Happy Birthday candle into the cake, a lighter appearing out of nowhere to set it aflame. "Make a wish, El Patron," he says, watching the twinkling lights dance across Alberto's face.

To his credit, Alberto tries. But his family is surrounding him, he's finally become a United States citizen, and his retirement is approaching ever closer. Life is pretty damn good, he has to admit.

I wish that I will always feel like I do in this very moment. Leaning forward, he blows the candles out and smiles up at the others, tears pooling in his eyes. "Gracias. I can't even..." Ricardo hugs him, then Sofia and they're not short, lengthy hugs that seem to be warming him from the inside out, no they both hold onto him for long moments until he smiles and gently pulls away from Sofia, eager to get this party started quicly."Let's eat!"