Chapter Text
winter
Nina Salazar-Roberts straightened the skirt of her purple turtleneck dress as she walked up the steps towards the large modern-styled house. Her hand stopped over the door, hovering over the doorbell, where an elegant “C” resided beside it.
She smiled faintly, the house was just as simplistic and elegant as her two best friends.
She ringed the doorbell just as a swift swat to her backside caught her off guard, making her jump. She whipped around, glaring heavily at Ricky Bowen. Leather jacket clad, sunglasses on, smirking.
Or, you know, the bane of her existence since high school.
“Hey hot stuff,” he said, smirking down at her. Nina adjusted her eyes upwards to give him a better death glare. “You really filled out.”
“Rot in hell Bowen,” she hissed, turning towards the door. The dark finish was starting to look interesting.
“Wow Roberts, that’s not so nice.” He stepped closer towards her, his sandalwood and citrus cologne really filling her nose. “I mean, you used to be all flat and shit. Nothing really to grab or look at.” His eyes flicked over to her and she grabbed her skirt down, glaring at him. “But now, it’s all nice and round. It’s just making me itch to get a squ-”
“Richard Bowen, shut the fuck up,” she growled, socking his right arm. It was just something she always did, since they were kids. She smirked, satisfied, as he groaned.
“Damn.” Ricky thought he was so cool, showing up to his best friends’ house with a leather jacket and sunglasses in the winter (Los Angeles’ poor attempt at winter, but the point still stands). Well, besides being incredibly lame, it was always a good way for Nina to put him in his place.
They do this game like a well-choreographed dance, one making moves while the other parries back. It’s been like this since high school, where they simply associated with each other because their best friends were dating.
Nina Salazar-Roberts was not friends with Richard Bowen. No, they were simply coexisting, forever bound by their best friends to see each other on occasions such as; their wedding (Nina was maid of honour. Ricky was best man), birthdays, hangouts, parties, and most recently, Lilah’s birthday (she was godmother, and a damn good one. Unfortunately, by some miracle or mistake, Ricky was godfather).
“Well, you’re the first person I’ve known who’s sensitive about their ass.” Ricky laughed, dodging another punch coming his way.
She rolled her eyes, hitting him with her small purse. “I don’t even know why EJ and Gina even invited you! You’re absolutely vile and should be nowhere near their precious child!”
“I’m the godfather, dumbass, of course I’m going to be here.” It was his turn to roll his eyes, waving his gift in front of her face. It was a (surprisingly) nicely wrapped gift, probably a teddy bear knowing Bowen. “It’s her first birthday, and I do love her. And her parents, AKA my best friends. Where’s your present, godmother Nina?”
He drew out her name mockingly, like “Ni-Nuh”, and she gave him a tight fake smile. She pointed at the wicker basket of nicely folded clothes and the other basket of cupcakes and treats. “The cake is in my car,” she told him smugly.
“Fucking show-off,” he muttered, turning back to the Caswells' very interesting front door. She laughed, brushing her wavy dark hair over her shoulder.
“We do this game again and again, Bowen. You try to make a move, but you’ll never win. I do.” She narrowed her usually warm brown eyes and gave him her signature Bowen-You’re-Dead Glare™ (trademark pending by Gina Porter-Caswell). “Remember that.”
“Nina! Ricky!”
They both turned their heads to the doorway, where EJ and Gina Caswell stood, desperately trying to laugh and failing. Gina met Nina’s eyes worriedly, Nina sending a half-smile back before lifting both wicker baskets.
The disaster of 2010 was something Gina Porter-Caswell never forgave herself for, when she set Nina and Ricky up together on a date in high school and he showed up 2 hours late smelling like another girl’s perfume.
Nina made Gina promise that she’ll never have to see Richard Bowen’s stupid face again. Actually, her exact words were, “Gina, oh my god. The only way you can make this up to me is if you promise I never have to see him again.”
Gina had promised and swore up and down that she would never let Nina ever see Ricky again, let alone hear about him. But of course that went to hell because Gina just had to go marry Edward Jacob Caswell (that’s NOT his name Nini!) and guess who happens to his best friend? Richard fucking Bowen.
What a liar.
“Come in guys! Lilah’s just waking up from her nap and we’re going to set up the party soon!” EJ hugged them both tightly, ushering them inside. Even though EJ is best friends with the worst person on the face of this planet, Nina had to give Gina credit. EJ Caswell, sometimes not the brightest light bulb in the pack, was a really nice guy. “It’s so good to see you!”
Gina hugged her after saying hi to Ricky, who smiled and nodded at her before following his best friend inside. “Sorry I didn’t warn you about him,” she smiled sheepishly. “Out of all the things I thought he would do, smacking your ass was something I didn’t see coming.”
“Gi! You were watching the entire time?” she glared at her friend. “You know how Bowen gets when there’s something viable in his vicinity.”
“You wish, princess,” Ricky drawled, taking a sip of his beer (how did he get one so fast?).
Gina held Nina down, who was one sly comment away from beating him up.
“We thought you’d get over this stupid little fued of yours. We were definitely wrong.” Gina wrapped an arm around Nina. “Next time we won’t be stupid, okay?”
Nina smiled, handing EJ the wicker basket of cupcakes. “Okay. Anyways, I have the rest of the treats in my car, so I’ll get it and help you set up for the party, ‘kay?”
EJ kissed his wife’s forehead, smiling at her with his obnoxious mega-watt grin. “Okay. Next time, we won’t leave you in front of our big knocker.”
Ricky raised an eyebrow, saying “You like big knockers?” just as Nina smacked her hand against her forehead, groaning.
Gina smirked while EJ looked not so subtly at his wife’s chest. “Yes. We both do, but especially me.”
Nina sighed, rubbing her eyes. “After all those years, you two are still the horniest people I know.”
Lilah Caswell babbled up at Nina, who scooped her up and bopped her adorable nose (that was definitely from Gina) and stared at her godmother with her gorgeous green-blue eyes (from her dad).
“Oh sweetheart, you are just the most gorgeous baby,” she cooed at her goddaughter.
Lilah grabbed her finger and started sucking on it, making Nina laugh. Lilah was a stunning combination of her parents, with her mother's beautiful dark hair, lightly tanned skin and nose, and getting her dad’s sea green eyes, long dark lashes, and the mega-watt Caswell smile. She was long-awaited, a little surprise for the group of friends, but in Nina’s opinion, more loved than anything else in the world.
The four of them went to different colleges in different states, but still stayed in through touch all of those years. After that, they travelled the world together, exploring the freedom they had after college. Nina still had a scrapbook of their travels, something she’ll give to Lilah when she’s old enough.
After they were sure they'd wrecked enough havoc on the world, EJ and Gina finally settled down and got married at a gorgeous castle outside of Salt Lake City, their hometown, where Nina was the Maid of Honor (obviously) and Ricky was Best Man (somehow). They then settled in Los Angeles, where Nina and unfortunately Ricky had already set up shop and started the rest of their lives.
EJ had settled to becoming an anesthesiologist at the hospital, something that he really never thought of doing until he watched Grey’s Anatomy with Gina on a date in high school, and was shocked to see that almost nothing from the show was applied to real life. But nonetheless, he loved his job and was quickly becoming a “Doctor McDreamy” (thanks Gina).
Gina was an English professor down at the university and was a damn good one (according to ratemyprofessor.com), and before having Lilah used to volunteer at a lot of city events with Nina and taught dance at the local orphanages.
Ricky was a pretty popular sports broadcaster for the local news, usually covering basketball (go Lakers!) and was way too loud about it. He and EJ used to sit on the couch of his basement and watch the games, mock-commenting the game while it was airing, and Nina used to remember throwing a beer can at him once (he swears up and down that he still has the scar).
And Nina— well, after deciding in high school that becoming Taylor Swift and world domination was just too much (for the world, not Nina, they could not handle her), went to culinary school and became a kick-ass baker/chef, starting up her own bakery (and soon-to-be restaurant!) Croquembouche (because I like the way it sounds, Richard), which was really popular in the heart of Los Angeles, so much so that she was expanding it and maybe branching out to more locations in the near future.
Then last year happened, and Lilah Alaia Caswell came into their lives— making them happier than they ever thought possible.
Ricky came, taking Lilah out gently from Nina’s arms, beaming down at her. “Lili,” he tickled her chin, making her giggle, “keep on smiling like that, okay? Or else you’re going to end up like your aunt Nina— all miserable and sad and forever lonely—” he swiftly dodged a kick to his crotch. “Hey, careful, holding precious cargo here.”
Nina scrunched her nose. “I hope you meant Li, and not your dick, because that is most certainly not precious.”
“Both, darlin’,” he sent her a smirk, “and I don’t know what you mean. The ladies love what’s down h—”
“Richard, there is a child in the room.” She threw Lilah’s toy duck (sorry Lilah) at his head, hitting him in the eye. “Plus, I would have done you a favour. You know, no need for condoms.”
He rolled his eyes, rocking Lilah back and forth in his arms. She cooed at her godfather, miraculously loving it. Well, with her parents being EJ and Gina, some of the most generous people she knows, it checks out. “Nina Salazar-Roberts, there is a child here.” he mocked her voice, pitching it much higher than his incredibly gorgeous voice. She kicked him again, making him double-over, clutching onto Lilah. “Nice panties by the way. Red, always my favourite colour on a woman.”
She hissed at him. “Wow, there really is a stick up your ass. Eduardo Junanez, do you need help setting up anything?”
EJ popped his head through the doorway. “Yeah, the tables outside. Also, for the 40th time, EJ does not stand for Eduardo Junanez!”
“It stands for Edward Jacob!” Gina exclaimed, coming up behind her husband. Ricky laughed, bouncing Lilah up and down while Nina cackled giggled. EJ gave Gina a look that Nina thought looked like a kicked puppy, and she kissed his cheek. “Don’t worry babe, I know what it stands for. So will Lilah!”
“She’ll be proud to have her dad be named after the two main leads of Twilight!” Nina called as EJ started to walk with Ricky to the backyard. “But in all seriousness, poor Robert Pattinson.”
“To think I’m saving both of you! All because I really don’t want my daughter’s first birthday to be a murder scene.” EJ and Ricky left for the backyard, which was one of the most gorgeous Nina had ever seen, all green and lush with gorgeous flowers.
“Ricky likes to mess with you,” Gina told her, as Nina finished the last touches of Lilah’s cake. “He’s been doing it since high school, you know? It’s just something we get used to. Don’t let him get to you. EJ and I think it’s because you ditched him at prom for Tom Rodgers.”
“Well, that’s his fault,” Nina huffed. “He’s the one who told me that I had lipstick on my teeth. On prom day, AKA the day you want to be told you’re beautiful more than anything besides your wedding.” She placed the assortment of cupcakes around the larger cake.
“Well, to be fair, you did have lipstick on your teeth, Nini,” Gina reasoned, “but you looked totally hot! Ricky had nothing on you.”
“I didn’t get laid though,” she grumbled, placing the butterfly on the center cake. “You did.”
“Babe, Neens, Nini, sweetheart, I got laid right before I got my prom dress on!” Gina chuckled. Nina smiled as she iced the yellow swiss-meringue buttercream on the cake. “First, when I was getting my prom dress, then in the bathroom after that, then the limo, once in the family change-room, twice in the after-party, and multiple times in the hot—”
“I get it, I get it! You and Edward Jones are the horniest bitches I’ve ever met!” she laughed, before putting down the icing bag and grabbing her best friend’s hands. “But seriously, I love you both more than anything and your precious little girl that you made with your unfairly genetically blessed selves, so I’ll tolerate and maybe, just maybe, be nice to him for today.”
“Thanks, Nini,” Gina hummed. “Now, you know how I’ve switched pediatricians for Lilah? The new one, he’s hot, Neens, and I checked his finger and no wedding ring so—”
“Gi! I love you and you are literally the most important person in my life, but no more set-ups! First braces guy, then creepy kinky guy, then probably in a cult guy, and not to mention the disaster of 2010!” Nina groaned.
“Okay, first off, braces guy was really nice! Creepy kinky guy was an honest to god mistake, and probably in a cult guy was someone my neighbour recommended to set you up with!” Gina laughed, covering her mouth with her hands.
Nina arched an eyebrow. “I see no defence for Bowen,” she pointed out, putting the multitude of candles on the cake.
“The disaster of 2010 is something I forever regret,” Gina declared, “and he was EJ’s best friend and I thought it would be cool if we dated best friends. I saw as soon as you called that that was a big mistake, but to be fair, it introduced us to Bowen-You’re-Dead Glare™, something I do hope you teach to Lilah to protect herself from future boys.”
“Well, I guess Bowen isn’t the worst person you could have had for Li’s godfather,” Nina mumbled.
“So no more set-ups?” Gina asked, brushing a lock of curly hair behind her ear.
“No more set-ups,” Nina affirmed. “Although, there is this gorgeous customer who comes in during lunch and always orders the same thing. He has the nicest smile—”
Ricky took to a swig of his beer on the Caswells’ immaculate lawn, watching his friend swing Lilah back and forth on the baby swing set. She giggled and shrieked at her father, who gazed at her with a tenderness that Ricky knew was only for Gina as well. He made his way to EJ, clapping his hand on his friend’s back.
“You did good with the kid, EJ,” Ricky told him, smiling at the curly-haired girl as she grinned. “I’m surprised she didn’t end up as ugly as you, but I guess that’s where Gina came in.”
EJ rolled his eyes, pushing the swing. “Thanks, dude. But in seriousness, Lilah looks so much like her mom, I'm going to need to invest in a machine gun when she’s older.” He paused, taking out his phone and took a picture of his smiling baby girl. “Or enroll her in self-defence classes.”
“Dude, she’s Gina’s daughter, she’ll be able to take care of herself,” Ricky laughed, taking another swig of his beer, “or her aunt Nina will definitely teach her how to get guys to stay away, with all her frigidness.”
“Ricky, you need to lay off Nina, okay?” EJ turned to his friend, his usually light-hearted eyes serious. “There's only so much she can take from your teasing and baiting, and she’s going to fight back soon enough and we’ll be out two godparents.”
Lilah’s first birthday was going really well, if Ricky were to judge. Kids from all different ages giggled and shrieked, some jumping on the bouncy castle, some on the slides and swings, all just having fun. Parents from the neighbourhood were gathered around the lawn, laughing and talking.
EJ grinned and waved over at Big Red (was that his actual name and why?) and his wife Ashlyn, who looked just ready to pop, while their other child Ruby, who was a year older than Lilah, was somewhere on the massive lawn. Ricky also met Carlos Rodriquez and his husband Seb, the former having sent an appreciative wink over at him, making him pale. Their kids, identical twins Oliver and Bey (after Beyoncé, my queen) were jumping on the bouncy castle. There was also Kourtney and Margo, a petite brunette that reminded him of Nina, talking to the devil herself, smiling and gesturing over to the treats, a camera in her hand ready to capture memories for her goddaughter’s special day.
“Sometimes I can’t help it man,” Ricky shrugged, looking back to where Nina was standing, “she makes it too easy, acting like that. You’re used to it, it’s been like that since high school.”
“She saved your ass multiple times when we were in London and Santorini” EJ frowned, picking up Lilah and placing her on his hip. “She can be a character or Type-A sometimes, but come on man, she’s Gi’s best friend and godmother to my kid.”
“She’s a total bitch,” Ricky argued, tickling Lilah’s foot. Nina was plating food carefully for a child, making sure everything looked good and in place. “Man, you’re being too nice. Type-A isn’t even where to start.”
“Dude, you kind of warranted it,” EJ persisted, “because you showed up late to your first date smelling like another girl’s perfume and with hickeys along your neck. Gi’s never forgiven herself for the disaster of 2010, and she barely lets me forget it.”
Ricky ran a hand through his hair, cursing under his breath as he remembered the disaster of 2010. He could hardly forget how pretty Nina looked in her red dress, hair done up, and crushing disappointment in her eyes. When Gina and EJ told him that they set up a day between the two of them, he was so nervous, always having a little crush on the petite brunette with a gorgeous smile.
He showed up late after going to get her flowers; peonies, her favourite, according to Gina, and when nervously breaking down in front of the shop girl, she was more than willing to close down the shop and show him how sweet she thought it was.
The icing on the cake was that he showed up on his old motorcycle, where Nina insisted that there was no way in hell that she would ride in that thing, instead wanting to take her brand new cherry red (like her dress) Mercedes, a gift from her more than wealthy parents. They didn’t make it to the restaurant.
“Ricky? Dude? Man?” EJ snapped his fingers in front of his face. “Please, if not for me, then Lilah, just try to play nice today. It’s her first birthday.”
“Okay,” Ricky agreed. “Yeah, sure, I’ll play nice with Roberts today.”
EJ clapped his back. “That’s all we ask for, Rick.” Lilah started to cry, her face turning red, and EJ rocked her back and forth. “Shh, sweetheart, shh.”
Despite trying to keep a straight face, Ricky couldn’t help but laugh at EJ being all domesticated, although he was probably the most obvious to have been, seeing as he married his childhood sweetheart in the sappiest but most beautiful wedding he’s ever been to.
Ricky wandered his eyes back to Nina, who was currently trying to avoid a massive guy. “I’ll be back Eduardo.”
He strode over to where Nina was, wrapping an arm around her waist and kissing her cheek. “Hey babe,” he greeted.
Nina turned over to him, for once relieved to see him and plastered a smile on her face. “Hi baby,” she said, turning back to the human hulk. “This is Rico. He opened a dance studio at his gym recently. Rico, this is Ricky, my boyfriend.”
Ricky was almost shocked that Nina addressed him with his name, but nonetheless shook hands with the dancer before turning over to Nina. “Babe, Gina was asking around for you; it’s almost cake time.” He gave Rico a rakish grin before squeezing Nina’s ass, who whipped her heads around at him to give him her “Bowen glare” or whatever Gina called it. “Careful babe, he can still see us.”
“I. Hate. You,” she gritted out, her fake smile looking more and more like the Joker’s, and it almost made it shit his pants (not that he’ll ever let Nina know), but Ricky wasn’t a chooser so he gave Nina’s fantastic ass another squeeze.
Berate him all she wants— Nina Salazar-Roberts had a great ass.
When they met Gina inside the house— out of Rico’s sight, mind you— Nina socked him in the arm.
He couldn’t help but grin as he rubbed it— she had a great right hook too.
Nina smiled as she brought out Lilah’s cake. That cake took her 7 hours, not to mention the cupcakes and butterflies alongside it, but she had to pat herself on the back. It was an amazing cake.
“I think this was better than my wedding cake!” Gina exclaimed, lighting the candles.
Nina laughed, readying her camera around her neck, before pausing. “Wait, I made your wedding cake.”
Gina gave her a look before shrugging. “To be fair, it was a bit dry.”
“Was not!”
“Nini, you’re biased. But to make you feel better, I’m glad that you put more effort in my daughter’s first birthday cake. I guess I know who your favourite Caswell is,” she sniffed.
“Gi!” Nina frowned, giving her friend a hug. “Yes, Lilah is my goddaughter, but I love her just as much as I love her parents. You’re not just my best friend Gi, you’re my sister.”
Gina smiled, giving her a hug back, before laughing. “Neens, you know that was a joke right?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Nina Salazar-Roberts, after all those years, you still can’t take a joke?” Gina asked, her brown eyes sparkling as Nina attempted to roll her eyes.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, Gina, I can take a joke!” Nina cried. “Anyways, isn’t it time for cake?”
Gina glanced at the time on the microwave, before nodding. “Yeah, good thing everything’s ready.”
She stuck her head out the door. “Guys! It’s cake time!”
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Lilah, happy birthday to you.”
Nina took the entire video from her camera, grinning as she watched “Lilah” (really Gina and EJ) blow out her candles. There was a round of applause, and she took a few more pictures, already mentally adding them to her scrapbook.
“Nina! Ricky! Come take a picture with Li!” Gina called excitedly, pushing the two towards her daughter as she took the camera. “Godparents! Say ‘Edward Jacob’! ”
Nina laughed, seeing EJ’s shocked face and a small “hey!” forming on his mouth, while Ricky snickered. Gina snapped a few shots while Nina kissed her goddaughter’s cheeks, Ricky holding the little girl’s hand. Nina already knew that these shots were also going in her scrapbook, with Ricky or not.
Nina quickly sprung up and ushered Gina and EJ back to their daughter, happy to be back behind the camera. The grandparents came in too, Ms. Porter hugged her daughter from behind as Mr. Caswell grinned from behind his son with that damned mega-watt Caswell smile. The light from all 3 smiles were blinding, and Nina made sure to keep the flash off.
“You did good, Roberts.” Nina turned around, where Ricky stood with his hands in his pockets staring at the happy family. “The cake was really good, maybe even better than their wedding cake, and they look really happy.”
Nina smiled tentatively, looking down through her photos, stopping at the photo of her, Ricky, and Lilah, all laughing at the camera, before switching to another photo of the happy family, blowing out the candles. “Thanks,” she replied, “but you meant you did well. Oh my god, are you sure we even attended the same high school?”
Ricky rolled his eyes, stepping closer and brushing a finger over the picture of the happy family. “We did,” he affirmed, “you did get all those As in English and might have paid attention more, but I had a life. And friends.”
“I had friends!”
“Gina was pretty much your only friend, Roberts, you can’t deny it.”
She sighed, taking her hair out of its ponytail and shaking her head. “I’m tired and my feet hurt so I won’t even argue with you.” She took a seat on the chair, rubbing her feet and tucked them under herself, propriety be damned. “But you’re right, they really do look happy. It was a good day.”
“Yeah, it was,” he agreed, running another hand through his curly hair. Nina was itching to fix that one curl that was just hanging on his forehead, but she resisted. They weren’t like that. “But it feels like we’re all growing up, going our own separate ways. Lilah’s just the beginning, and at the rate EJ and Gi are going at, there are going to be more and more Caswell babies. I’m going to still be banging any girl with big boobs and a short skirt, sports comment on the side, and you…”
“World domination, right?” she cracked a small smile. “The plan since high school. Croquembouche is doing well, we’re working on expanding right now, and I’m going to try and travel again, hopefully after the expansion is done. Maybe meet a guy along the way and follow the Caswell formula.”
“We could always travel together,” Ricky suggested, a slight smile falling on his face. “I have an account and it would be cheaper, plus I travel a lot for work. Less lonely, too.”
Nina gave him a sad look. “We’ll kill each other before we get on the plane, Ricky,” she whispered.
Ricky froze, turning towards her, his hazel eyes full of- something ? Nina couldn’t tell what it was. Maybe guilt. Nina paused too, because she never called him ‘Ricky’ before. Richard, yes. Bowen, always. But Ricky? She can count on her hand the number of times she called him that.
“I- I’m not always horrible and intolerable to you, right?”
Nina shook her head. “No, you’re not.” There was a brief lull, before she added, “Like today, with Rico. That was really nice of you, besides the part with you squeezing my ass.”
He gave a low chuckle that was kind of really hot and turned Nina’s insides on fire. “Yeah, well that was the right thing to do. And you do have a nice ass, Nina.”
“He’s back,” she giggled, staring back into his hazel eyes. Have they always been that colour? Amber with flecks of green in them, and another colour she couldn’t identify, maybe blue.
They quiet down as the Caswells come in, looking tired but the happiest Nina’s ever seen them. Parenthood’s always agreed with them, Nina thought as she saw them holding each other’s hands. EJ tapped on his phone and the speakers in the room started playing music quietly. “Lilah is finally asleep,” Gina breathed out. “The Baby Whisperer strikes again.”
“Baby Whisperer?” Nina asked, arching an eyebrow.
“Yeah, our babysitter. She’s fantastic with Lilah, getting to go to sleep when we can’t. She’s also the only one who can get Lilah to stop crying when we even can’t,” EJ explained.
“Cool, is she hot?” Ricky joked. Nina whacked his arm.
“Oh, so hot,” Gina replied, while EJ went to get the presumed ‘Baby Whisperer’. “We could set you up if you want.”
“Nice.”
“You’re such a pig, you know?” Nina rolled her eyes. Ricky laughed, but said nothing, choosing to stare at something behind her, or at least she thought it was behind her. “What’s so interesting?”
“Nothing,” he murmured, averting his gaze. Weird.
“Nina, Ricky, this is Lily, the Baby Whisperer.” Ricky and Nina snapped their heads over to the girl, who was not a hot woman as Gina had insisted, but a small pre-teen with golden blonde hair in a ponytail and sparkling sky blue eyes. Ricky groaned inwardly, while Nina had to stifle a laugh.
“It’s nice to meet you Lily,” Nina said, sending a smirk over to Ricky. “I’m honoured to meet the famed Baby Whisperer. I’ve heard of your work, it’s very impressive.”
“Thank you,” the girl replied quietly, “but it’s not that hard, once you get used to it. I think anyone could do it.”
“Nonsense,” EJ cut in, handing Lily a 50 dollar bill, “your work is legendary and we at the Caswell household thank you.”
“Mr. Caswell, that is way too much!” Lily exclaimed, trying to hand the bill back, but EJ shook his head.
“You deserve it Lil. Tell your moms I say hi and that I’ll see her at the orphanage later with the treats, okay?” Gina told the girl with a smile. “Buy yourself something nice, enjoy being a kid.”
“Thank you Mrs. Caswell,” Lily relented, putting the bill in her wallet. “I’m going to go now, it was really nice to meet you Nina and Ricky.”
“It was nice to meet you too, Lily. Get home safe, okay? Call Mr. and Mrs. Caswell to tell them,” Ricky insisted, giving a not quite Caswell smile but equally effective because hot damn.
She nodded, leaving quickly as the front door clicked and the security alarms chimed.
“‘So hot,’ Gi?” Nina mused with a look over at Ricky, who sulked. “She’s still a minor and practically a child!”
“Hey, if she were legal I would be out of here already,” Gina declared. “She’s fantastic. I’d be old news.”
EJ wrapped an arm around his wife’s waist, frowning as he kissed her forehead. “That’s not true babe. Even if Lily were legal, I’d still only have eyes for you.” Gina smiled at him, kissing him softly on the lips, while Nina’s heart soared.
“Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away
Now it looks as though they're here to stay
Oh, I believe in yesterday”
“Oh my god, this song,” Gina sighed, leaning back into her husband’s arms. “Don’t you remember it guys?”
“Suddenly, I'm not half the man I used to be
There's a shadow hanging over me
Oh, yesterday came suddenly”
Ricky laughed. “This was the song we used to get stoned to! Weed, my basement, the pool table, my dad’s beer, oh that was definitely high school.”
“Dance with me,” EJ murmured, grabbing his wife’s hand and pulling her up. She relented, laughing as she swayed in his arms.
“Why?” she asked as she leaned her head against his shoulder. “This is your stoner song, is it not?”
“I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you during this song,” he told her seriously, capturing her lips in a passionate kiss. “Why she had to go I don't know she wouldn't say, I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday.”
“Didn’t you guys get horny to this song and banged for the first time in Ricky’s basement?” Nina asked, laughing as she remembered Gina’s story vividly.
“So those were assprints,” Ricky mused, soon making a face. “I’m not sure whether or not to hi-five you right now.”
Gina chuckled in her husband’s chest. “I’m pretty sure that was EJ,” she smirked, turning her head towards the two.
“Even though that’s super gross, you gave me the most important girl in my life and a beautiful goddaughter.” Ricky went over to Nina, who was sipping white wine in the corner, before pulling her up by her hands. “Come on beautiful, dance with me. You can’t be the only person sitting out.”
“Just like last time.” Nina hummed. “I was also in that basement and did that stuff too.” He twirled her around and she laughed, closing her eyes and humming along to the lyrics.
“Yesterday, love was such an easy game to play
Now I need a place to hide away
Oh, I believe in yesterday”
Nina swayed in his arms, allowing herself to relax and transport herself to their younger days, which seem like they were just yesterday (no pun intended). Before the disaster of 2010, before prom, just a calm, empty void. EJ and Gina were laughing at something EJ had said, and Ricky—
Well, Ricky was staring at her, almost like a smoulder but she won’t fool herself. She found herself staring back, studying his eyes, finding the specks of green and gold and amber in there, creating a beautiful blend of hazel.
They stopped beside EJ and Gina, who both stared at them in amusement. “Nice dancing,” EJ remarked. “You make a really good team.”
Nina laughed, letting herself out of Ricky’s arms. “He couldn’t handle me,” she retorted finally, looking back into her partner’s hazel gaze. “He lost his chance in 2010.”
Ricky smirked, grabbing her again and spinning her around, bending his head so their eyes met, his pupils dilated so that she couldn’t see the hazel anymore. She breathed in the sandalwood and citrus, which was almost intoxicating, with the light hint of beer. “Are you sure about that?” he murmured, his eyes searching her face before settling on her lips.
Nina forgot to breathe, her insides feeling like they were on fire. The living room and Gina and EJ melted away, and it was just the two of them. Nina was frozen in his warm embrace and strong arms.
Are you sure about that?
“Yesterday, love was such an easy game to play
Now I need a place to hide away
Oh, I believe in yesterday
Mm mm mm mm mm mm mm”
spring
“Can I try a cookie?” Nina asked. “Please, they look so good!”
Nathalie clucked her tongue and shook her hand. “No, Neens, they’re not ready yet!” Nina ignored her as she breathed in the cinnamon raisin, sighing.
“I’m just taking a bite,” she insisted, ignoring the chef’s protests as she took a bite and moaned. It was amazing. “Oh my god Nathalie this is one of the best cookies I’ve ever eaten.”
Nathalie shook her head again, frowning as she picked up the cookie. “No, the crumb is too fine. I should have gone with the Ceylon cinnamon, but I was taking a gamble and thought, ‘Hey, maybe Cassia would be good.’ I was wrong, this is a disaster!” The chef put her head in her hands, while Nina subtly took another bite of the cookie, savouring it on her tongue.
“Oh my god! You’re a genius!” Nina exclaimed, shoving the rest of the cookie down her throat. “You may be a little bit of a control freak, but you are a genius. I swear, I would eat these out of the trash.”
“That is just unsanitary and gross,” the chef remarked, wrinkling her nose.
Nina gave her a pointed look. “But it’s true. They are just so good.”
Nathalie rolled her eyes before turning towards the window, when a good-looking man strolls alongside it. “Hey, free-range turkey is here.” Nina turned her heel and started walking towards the cashier. “Oh, see, you’re doing it again. You always do this when he comes in, and I know you get excited.”
“Shut up, I’m just trying to be responsible.” Nina tried fighting the blush off her cheeks, as she fluffed out her hair from the tight bun, watching it cascade over her shoulders. “Sorry, I’ll take over here. You can take a five minute break, okay?”
“You know, Neens, you don’t act like this when Gutierrez comes in,” Nathalie sniggered.
Nina turned her head over her shoulder, glaring at her. “You know what? You can go fix your broken cookies.”
“Damn Nina, okay,” Nathalie yelped before turning back to where the cookies were.
You see, Croquembouche was a very popular bakery in the heart of LA, where many people, whether they were celebrities, plastic surgeons, or just regular people like you and Nina came in and enjoyed the gourmet makes of this beautiful bakery. But Nina Salazar-Roberts had never ever taken over the cashier and kicked an employee off unless it was free-range turkey guy.
And now, free-range turkey guy was coming in for his 36th free-range turkey sandwich (not like Nina was counting. She totally was). “Hey,” he greeted with a gorgeous smile on his face, and she just about melted.
“Hi,” she replied, plastering a genuine smile that put the mega-watt Caswell smile to shame and tried to play cool. “Let me guess, free-range turkey on baguette?”
He laughed and Nina thought that was the most beautiful sound she’s ever heard. He stuck his hands in his pocket and returned her mega-watt smile with a mega-watt smile of his own. “I’m getting predictable, aren’t I?”
“Huh, well let’s just call it dependable. To be fair, you did order the same sandwich 35 times.”
He quirked an eyebrow, a faint smile playing on his lips. “You were counting?”
Nina widened her eyes. “Ish! 35-ish sandwiches.” She made her way over to the bar. “There are other things on the menu, y’know? If you’d like to try.”
“Surprise me.”
Nina blinked. “Oh, okay. All right, great. Do you like croissants?”
“I love them,” he smiled.
Nina beamed up at him, grabbing the sandwich she had in mind. “Good, then I got just the thing.”
She turned around, wrapping the sandwich and placing it in the bag. “Um, this might sound creepy, but how come you don’t wear a white coat with your name on it? So I, uh, know what it is?”
Nina turned around with a big smile on her face. “It’s Nina,” she told him softly.
He gave her a grin and stuck his hand out. “Nina, I’m Howie.”
She giggled and shook it. “Nice to meet you.”
“Well, actually we met 35 sandwiches again,” he informed her with a lopsided grin. She laughed, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear.
“Ish,” she teased. “35-ish. Now actually 36.” She handed him the sandwich, which he took with a smile, handing her a crisp 10 dollar bill.
“Keep the change.”
“Thanks,” she replied, keying it in. He turned to leave, but Nina froze, blurting out, “You sure you don’t want to throw your card in the bowl? Winner gets a free lunch!”
He turned around, opening his wallet and placing his card gently in the bowl. Nina saw the name and said it over and over in her head. Dr. Howie Ashman. Dr. Howie Ashman. He’s a doctor. “How about I take you on a free dinner instead?” he asked.
“Yeah, I would like that,” she breathed out.
“Good. Call me.”
“I will.” she watched him leave, the bell chiming as people bustled by. She grabbed his card and placed it in her pocket, with Nathalie smiling at her.
“You finally grew the balls to ask him out?” the chef smirked. Nina rolled her eyes, about to say something before the phone rang.
“Hello? Nina Salazar-Roberts speaking.”
And with that one phone call, Nina’s life was changed forever.
Gina. EJ. Car accident. Bad. Drunk driver.
“The police officer at the scene found your phone number at the top of her speed-dial, besides her husband,” the officer tells her. Nina shook, her legs trembling from beneath her as they threatened to give out. “Is there anyone else you can call?”
“Um.” Her breath hitched as she tried to steady her breathing. In and out. In and out. In and out . This was like treating for shock in those lifesaving courses she took back in high school. Nina never thought she would be someone she treated. “Well, they were both only children. Mrs. Porter lives in Salt-Lake City but I have her number here, while Mr. Caswell lives close by. Here.”
Nina fumbles through her phone, giving the officer the numbers before freezing in her spot, feeling her blood run cold. “Their daughter,” she gasped out as the officer looked up. “They had a baby girl, one years old. You say the car flipped. Was she— oh my god was she in the car?”
“Ma’am, I’m going to need you to breathe,” the officer instructed soothingly. Nina complied, but felt the tears start back up as a sob found its say back in her throat. “No, their daughter was with a minor at the time, a babysitter. We placed her in Child Protective Services for the night, they specialize in cases like these.”
“Cases- cases like these?” she found herself saying. Please don’t be what I think it is. Please don’t be what I think it is. Please don’t—
“Yes, orphaned children.” Nina placed her head in her hands, sobbing quietly into them.
Gina. EJ. Gone forever.
Was it just yesterday when she saw them at their house, played with them and Lilah, talked about life and how the business was going and the gossip around the neighbourhood? EJ was laughing about a joke from the hospital, while Gina took care of dinner. And Nina? She played with Lilah, thinking she’d see them in a day or two and have more stories to tell them.
She desperately wished this were a prank show, where Ashton Kutcher would come out and say, “You got punk’d!” but Nina knew better.
There was no Gina to say, “Nini, lighten up, it’s okay,” because Gina was gone and she was never ever coming back.
And Lilah…
Ricky pushed through the doors of the police station, hair sticking up and eyes wide. “Ricky,” Nina cried. “Gina, EJ—”
He strode over to her, wrapping his arms around her as she sobbed into her chest. Ricky was there frozen, wrapping his hand along her back and whispering words of comfort, like he knew EJ or Gina would do. He clutched her tighter when the officer came back, telling them about a drunk driver, friends trying to avoid the crash after a day spent volunteering for the local arts program, and a car accident that made Nina shudder every time she thought of it.
After it was over, when the officer had gone, Ricky finally started to cry, no longer able to hold it in, and sank to the ground, taking the sobbing brunette with him.
When they went to the Caswell house, Ricky almost cried again.
The modern building was frozen in time, just like the last time the both of them were there together, for Lilah’s birthday.
Entering the house was hard. The first thing Ricky noticed was the unopened mail on the counter, something they always got back to doing later in the night. In the kitchen, he saw the stack of papers Gina was marking, and beside that a note that said ‘Lilah started to crawl! 04/29/20’. He glanced over at Nina, who trembled as she ran her finger over it.
There was a doodle next to the phone. Ricky’s eyes filled with tears as he read the train of ‘I love Gina, I love Lilah’, while Nina did start to cry. EJ was on a call, probably from the hospital, and got bored. Ricky could see his friend sitting there and wanted to throw up.
“I’ll find the number for CPS and get Lilah out of there,” Nina started carefully, causing Ricky to look up and stare at the petite brunette. Her usual immaculately done hair was a mess, her mascara running, and she trembled, a shell of herself. It made Ricky ache to see her like that. “I’ll get Nathalie to run the bakery and someone to—”
“Stop.” Nina turned her head over to where Ricky was standing, near the phone. “I think you need to slow down because I think I need to process this because this is happening so fast and I can’t believe this is real.” Nina followed him to the dining table, where he traced Lilah’s high chair, picturing his two friends on both sides of it. “We were all sitting here— two months ago, with them, and they were fine. They were fine.”
Nina’s hand trembled as it went to clasp his shoulder. “It’s just that— it’s just that if I don’t do something the reality is going to catch up with me, and I need to keep going. I just can’t stop or else I’ll think about how we’ll never see— never see them again.” Her voice broke, and she collapsed on the chair, staring at the high chair and remembering Gina’s laugh and EJ’s stupid mega-watt Caswell smile. “And we lost our best friends, but Ricky, our goddaughter lost her parents, and they’re never coming back.”
“Why did this happen?” Ricky didn’t remember ever hearing his voice sound that small. Not even when his parents divorced when he was in high school, when he fell off the deep end and acted out, or even when his mom moved to Chicago and married that asshole Todd. He sniffled, wiping his eyes, staring at the large family portrait of the Caswells, wishing that the stupid smile would come through the front door all fine and alive. “EJ and Gina— they were awesome people. They volunteered with charity, Gina helped teach young kids how to dance at the orphanage, EJ always raised a shit ton of money for whatever charity the hospital was doing and saved so many lives. Fuck, they did everything right in life! Why them? ”
Nina sobbed, her body heaving, and she laid her face on the dining table. “I don’t know!” she cried, hiccuping through her tears.
Ricky took a shuddering breath, staring at the petite brunette who lost her entire world. Him too. “You should— um, you should get some rest Nina,” he told her, his voice rasping. “I’ll— I’ll call CPS and get this mess sorted. Cry it out, just let it all out.”
“I can’t sleep in this house,” she replied hoarsely. “Not with them gone— I just can’t.”
“Then go to the living room,” he begged, “and sit down. You need to go so I can be alone and finally break down and cry then man up and get Lilah back because EJ and Gina wouldn’t want their daughter in protective services.” She met his eyes, her chocolate brown eyes bloodshot, probably matching his. “I can’t break down in front of you Nina, I can’t let you see me this way.”
“Okay,” she said finally, getting up. “I’ll be in the living room.”
Ricky nodded, giving her a tight smile. “Thank you.”
three days later.
“Lilah! Lilah, shh, it’ll be alright. Just try to eat the sweet potato mash, okay sweetheart? It looks gross but I think you like it!” Nina lowered her voice. “Well, at least I hope you do.”
“Nina, the lawyer is at the door,” Ricky announced, coming over to the girls and scooping up Lilah. “I don’t think she wants to eat right now. That looks disgusting.”
Nina looked up at Ricky, whose curls were a mess on top of his head, and a dark shadow of stubble was creeping onto his cheeks. He gave her a tired smile, looking years older than he actually was. She knew she probably looked worse. She hadn’t slept for three days straight. “Okay, let me just freshen up a little bit and I’ll meet you at the dining table.”
“Sounds good.” He gave Lilah a bright smile, attempting the Caswell mega-watt that her father had, but on the inside, felt like he failed miserably. “Sweetheart, I know you hate the sweet potato mash. Me too! Uncle Rick is going to get you that nice formula milk you like, okay? And then we’re going to meet the nice lawyer man that your mommy and daddy had.”
Nina blew a kiss at the little girl before heading up the stairs and down the hallway to the bathroom, before stopping at a picture.
It was one they took at prom night, even after the disaster of 2010. EJ and Gina looked as in love and beautiful as ever, and Nina felt a tear slip down her cheek as she traced the picture of them. Beside them was her and Ricky, with the latter wrapping his arms around her and her leaning her head on his shoulder as they both stared at the camera.
Sure, Nina was mad at him after he told her she had lipstick on her teeth, but she did let him have one dance, and was in such a good move that she had agreed to take a photo with him for EJ and Gina’s sake (though, the pre-prom shots she took at Gina’s place probably helped as well).
Nina marveled at how young and carefree they looked, free from any burdens and well, this.
She sighed before going to the bathroom, washing her hands and brushing her hair, before deciding she looked somewhat presentable, and made her way down the stairs to the dining room. Ricky sat at the table with Lilah on his lap across from Benjamin Mazzara, EJ and Gina’s lawyer.
She joined them at the table, giving Mazarra a small smile as she sat next to Ricky, where Lilah tangled her hands in Nina’s hair. The little girl had a fixation with it, and with Nina not having showered for the past three days, it was easy to say she kind of encouraged it.
“It’s nice to meet you Nina, Ricky,” Mazarra started, giving them both a handshake. “I’m so sorry to be meeting you in these circumstances. EJ and Gina were such good friends of mine as well, and spoke so highly of both of you.” Nina raised her eyebrow, petting Lilah’s head as the lawyer opened his portfolio and took out a few documents. “The house is paid off, seeing Gina and EJ had a lot of savings and used a portion of the inheritance from Mrs. Caswell’s passing to pay off the rest of the mortgage. You would have to still pay house tax, however, if you choose to stay here.”
“Excuse me?” Ricky asked, bouncing Lilah up and down on his knee before leaning forward, peering at the document. “What do you mean by that exactly?”
“Lilah also has a trust fund set up, as well as an inheritance she can reach when she turns 22,” the lawyer told them, “but she can always ask for an earlier release in court if she needs it.”
“Um, Benjamin, I’m sorry, but is there anything in the will about whose care Lilah will be in?” Nina persisted, staring down at the little girl.
“That’s the main reason I’m here,” Mazarra said, producing a copy for both of them from his portfolio. Nina scanned the document over before her jaw dropped to the dining table. “Elijah James Caswell and Genevieve Porter-Caswell left Lilah to be in the care of her godparents, you and your husband.”
“Husband?” Ricky repeated, while Nina continued to leave her jaw dropped. “Mazzara, we’re not married. We’re not even dating!”
“Oh, sorry about that, that was an honest mistake,” Mazarra apologized, “but with the way they talked about the two of you, I honestly thought you two were married.”
Nina revised the document over and over, trying to find something, some little word that told her that this was a prank, because as much as she loved Gina and EJ, there was no way in hell they would leave her and Ricky their precious child. “I’m sorry, what if we aren’t decided to be adequate with the care of Lilah?”
Ricky gave her a look that she easily translated to “wtf” . “Well, you would go to court, which will or will not grant you custody of her. Should you refuse, you would need to find a capable and loving person to care for her in your place.”
“EJ’s father! Mrs. Porter! They would love to take care of their grandchild!” Ricky exclaimed. “Because they’re fucking insane if they think we have what it takes to raise their child!”
“I tried to advise them against it, told them that it was a bad idea to leave Lilah in your care, with your careers and such,” Mazarra stated calmly, “but EJ and Gina insisted that you two were the best for the job. Unless you can find someone suitable to replace you in the care of Lilah or leave her in foster care, you are her guardians. Here, in a will I’ve read over multiple times and helped write, it states clear as day that if anything should happen to Elijah James Caswell and Genevieve Porter-Caswell, that they reward full custody of their daughter, Lilah Alaia Caswell, to her godparents Nina Salazar-Roberts and Richard Bowen.”