Chapter 4
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Ricky walked in beside her, and such relief filled his expression that she bent down and gave him a hug. “I know, right?”
He just looked up at her and dashed off to his room, as if to reassure himself that it was still his room and that everything was the same. She looked over at Trent and mouthed, Thank you.
He nodded and followed Ricky into his room. She trailed behind, still carrying the little bit of luggage they had. She sat down on the edge of Ricky’s bed and asked him, “Is it all here?”
He nodded happily. “Yeah, looks like it.” He cried out joyfully as he threw himself backward onto his bed and stretched out. He looked up at her and Trent. Ricky admitted, “I didn’t think we would make it home.”
“I know,” she muttered. “Gotta tell you that I was worried at times, but I trusted Trent, and you can too.”
Ricky nodded, then got up, walked over to Trent, and gave him a big hug. “Thank you.”
Trent hugged him a little bit longer than necessary, and she could see the emotions choking Trent.
It made her smile to think a big strong guy like him could fall on his knees over a little boy.
If you couldn’t find it in your heart to feel something for a little boy who had suffered as much as Ricky had, something must be wrong with that person.
He looked over at her and asked, “How about some food?”
“Food would be good,” Ricky agreed, bounding up again. He looked at her hopefully. “Hot dogs?”
She winced and asked, “Do we have to?”
He nodded. “We could walk outside and see if our vendor is still there.”
Joe was a street vendor, and she didn’t think it had anything to do with the actual hot dogs that he served but more to do with the man himself. She smiled and nodded. “You missed Joe, didn’t you?”
Ricky nodded immediately. “Yeah, let’s go see him.” He turned and looked around their apartment. “It’s okay if we leave, right? It’ll still be here when we come back?”
“Yes,” she declared. “This is our home.”
“So, we’ll come back here afterward, and we will stay here tonight and tomorrow night?” he asked, turning to her, worry in his gaze.
“Yes, tonight and tomorrow night as well,” she confirmed. She looked over at Trent, then back at Ricky. “I don’t know what we’re doing after that because we need to contact your parents.”
“Right,” he muttered but was completely disinterested, as if whatever his parents did really made no difference to him now. She knew where that was coming from, and it broke her heart every damn time.
Trent raised one eyebrow, and she shrugged. “We better get going, Ricky, if you want to see Joe, since he’ll be leaving soon.”
Ricky immediately bounded for the front door, and she turned back to Trent and added, “I hope you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind at all,” he said. “Often the street food is way better than the big fancy restaurants anyway.”
“Thankfully there is room for both in this world, but, as far as Ricky is concerned, the hot dog vendor is actually the main attraction.”
She could see Trent wanting to ask questions, but he stayed quiet.
Together they walked back outside, without even bathing or changing clothes, but time for that would come afterward.
This was all about making Ricky feel like he was safe at home again, with all the bits and pieces in place that made his life what it was.
As they took the elevator back down, she turned to Trent and shared, “I’m not sure I have any usable money at the moment. ”
Trent laughed. “If it’s hot dogs, I can probably swing it,” he offered, with a smile. “Yet we’ll get you set up with your bank cards and all that, unless you have some back here.”
She frowned. “I might have some. Most of the stuff that I actually use was in my bag on the ship.”
“Well, we got the bag,” he noted, “but no bank cards or anything like that were in it.”
“Of course not,” she muttered.
“We did cancel everything, so you’ll just have to get new ones from the bank.”
She nodded. “It’ll just be a little bit difficult to get stuff for Ricky for the next day or two until I can. He has credit cards, and they’re here at the house. I can use those,” she suggested, “but I’ll have to get some cash for him too.”
As they walked, Trent asked her in a low voice, “Do you handle all that for him?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I have a budget that I run for him,” she shared, “and it’s way in excess of anything that we need.”
Her kept his gaze on her a moment longer.
“We live very simply,” she explained, “but they don’t want to see that he has no money when they have so much.
” She tried to keep the rancor out of her tone, but how did you find any pleasure in a job when it was so obvious that Ricky didn’t need excess money.
What the boy needed was more time with his family.
Instead he was being left out of the family because they thought he wasn’t quite good enough.
As they walked up to the street vendor, Joe smiled at them in surprise and asked, “You’re back, are you? And here I thought you had taken off and weren’t coming home again.”
Ricky immediately shook his head and told him a grand tale of adventure.
The older man stared at him in surprise, looked up at her, and she just smiled and rolled her eyes.
Joe chuckled and returned his attention to Ricky’s wondrous story of being captured by pirates, languishing at sea, being rescued, then going on a submarine, aircraft carrier, and helicopter. Naomi let him ramble on and on.
By the time Ricky finally wound down his tale, Joe was laughing uproariously, even as he handed Ricky a huge hot dog. “Do you think you can get wrapped around this one?”
“Oh, I think so,” Ricky declared, rubbing his tummy. He cautiously took the first one over to a small table where all the fixings were.
She looked over at Trent and teasingly asked him, “Since you’re paying, did you want to get a hot dog?”
He laughed and nodded. “Absolutely.” He ordered up a few hot dogs for the two of them, and together the threesome sat at one of the picnic tables, listening to Ricky run on about the many things that had happened to him.
Naomi whispered to Trent, “I hope it’s okay for him to be sharing all that.”
“It’s actually good for him,” Trent replied, “as long as we’re not overheard by too many people.”
“Well, you know how that is with a six-year-old.”
“Yeah, I do,” he noted, “and that’s one of the reasons why it’s kind of an okay thing, but you know it would be better if nobody knew the truth.”
“I know, but telling Ricky that he can’t tell anyone, when he’s already dealing with his own trauma,” she added, “isn’t that easy.”
Trent turned to the boy and nodded, as Ricky went back over to the vendor to get his second one. She watched him as he talked to the vendor. “Any idea where the family is?” she asked Trent.
“No,” he admitted. “I was hoping something would be at the apartment that we could use to locate more information.”
She didn’t say anything, just nodded.
“Do you have the address of the other house?”
“Yes,” she replied. “At the apartment. More paperwork is there too.”
“Good, I’ll get that from you later.”
Old Joe came over with Ricky and sat down at their table. “He’s got quite the story to tell, doesn’t he?” He chuckled, handed out coffees to both of them, and had grabbed one for himself. “It’s a slow night tonight,” he shared. “It’s good to see you. I was getting a little worried about this guy.”
She grimaced. “We’ve been traveling.”
“So I’ve heard.” Joe chuckled and nodded. “I’ve got a grandson somewhere around his age.”
“Whereabouts?” Trent asked him.
He shrugged. “I’m really not sure. I lost touch a few years back,” he admitted, looking down sadly at the tabletop.
“Had kind of a disagreement, and that didn’t go so well.
My daughter’s husband up and pulled them all away, without even so much as a goodbye,” he shared.
“It kind of broke my heart—and the missus too.” Joe looked up at the two of them.
He smiled and looked over at little Ricky.
“Really appreciate when you bring him by.”
“I know you do,” she agreed, “and he really needs you too.”
“Where’s the family?” he asked. “You got a husband or something? Ricky’s looking for that male bond.”
She nodded. “I know he is, but I’m not even his mom, as you know.”
He nodded. “That’s the damnedest thing. You got a fine boy like that, and they just—” He didn’t finish his thought, which was a good thing because Ricky came bounding back after trying to retrieve some more ketchup.
She looked at the ketchup mound, raised an eyebrow, and finally relented. “Only today.”
He beamed at her and declared, “I deserve it.”
She laughed. “If you say so. I won’t argue that point, but that’s a lot of ketchup.”
“I know,” he acknowledged, “but everything’s so much better when it’s sweet.”
She winced and shook her head. “Only for you because my stomach would not take that very well at all.”
He frowned. “But you put onions on yours. Yuck!”
That got all the adults laughing. When another customer came by, Joe headed back to work. Ricky watched Joe leave. “He looks lonely, doesn’t he?”
“Well, he’s sure happy that you’re back to visit with him.”
Ricky nodded. “And Joe’s hot dogs are the best,” he proclaimed, with the air of someone who had sufficient cuisine experience to assess the quality and taste of the product Joe offered.
Trent agreed. “You’re right. They are excellent.” He took a bite out of his and added, “Good call in coming here.”
Ricky nodded with a smile. “This is my favorite place,” he declared. “My absolutely favoritist in the whole wide world, isn’t it?” he asked, turning to Naomi.
She laughed and agreed. When they were done with their hot dogs, Ricky began to sag visibly. She eyed him and suggested, “Now it’s time to get home for a quick shower, then bed.”
Ricky nodded. “I’m really tired now,” he whispered. He got up, and his feet moved slower and slower, the closer they got to the apartment building.