Part 29 (1/2)
Rich nodded. ”Yeah, I'm too old for this s.h.i.+t. But you'd better tell me why you were s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g with Rosalie and lying to her.”
”I'll tell you everything. Don't hit me again until after I finish. Fair enough?”
Rich shrugged. ”Okay. But it better be good.” He followed Nick to the kitchen.
Nick slid the pizza onto the granite counter top, went to the refrigerator, and pulled out two beers. He handed one to Rich and put the other on his eye. The d.a.m.n thing was still watering. He was glad it was red and swelling. Otherwise, the pizza boy would have thought he was crying. As it was, he was going to have one h.e.l.l of a s.h.i.+ner.
Rich looked around Nick's kitchen and whistled. ”s.h.i.+t, this place has changed since the last time I was here.”
”Yeah, I'm not living in the bas.e.m.e.nt apartment anymore. I bought the building and turned it back into a single family.”
”How are your mom and Vinny?”
”Good. I bought Mom a brownstone a few blocks away. She doesn't have to work any more, so she's enjoying herself. She's got Nana living with her. Vinny and Mona still have the restaurant, and they've had three kids. They're good. I hear you've done well for yourself-a professor at Dartmouth-who'd a thunk, huh?”
Rich nodded. ”I bet if you asked one of those cops who arrested us how we'd turn out, he'd have said we'd both end up at Rikers Island doing hard time.”
”No chance of that. One stint in Juvie, and I'd had enough to know I never wanted to be behind bars again.”
Rich closed his eyes and shook his head. ”s.h.i.+t, Nick, I'm sorry about that. I asked my parents to help-”
”You what? After what I did, you asked your parents to help me out?”
”The only reason you got into trouble was because you followed me. You were the kid brother I never had. And I should have taken better care of you.”
”Hold on. You're Rich Ronaldi, right? The Rich Ronaldi who caught me sleeping with his girlfriend the day we got arrested?”
”h.e.l.l, you were what-fifteen? And you were bombed. Sophia and I'd been fighting about something-I don't remember what-and she used you to get back at me. I knew how it was. I just never expected her to tip the cops off after I dumped her.”
Nick sat on a bar stool. ”That makes sense. Sophia was the snitch. I always wondered how we got caught.” He opened his beer and took a long pull.
”You didn't know?”
Nick wiped his mouth on his sleeve and shook his head. ”No. I pleaded guilty and was sent to Juvie. I guess in the end, it was the best thing that could have happened. I learned enough to know I wasn't cut out for crime. I didn't like doing time.” He opened the pizza box, grabbed a slice, and pushed the box over to Rich. ”Vinny helped me out, got me through high school. I got a job as a mechanic, put myself through Columbia, and opened my own place. I've been lucky.”
”Yeah, now you're a big shot. I come back every now and then. I heard about how well you were doing. I would have looked you up, but I didn't think you'd appreciate a visit from me.”
Nick shook his head. ”Christ, I feel like we're in one of those reunion shows on that women's channel. What is it?”
Rich nodded. ”Lifetime.” Nick raised an eyebrow. ”Hey, I have girlfriends.”
”Yeah, well, don't expect me to say how much I've missed you and give you a hug or something. It's not going to happen. I am happy to see you, though.”
”Yeah, same here. Except for all the s.h.i.+t I heard from Gina about you and Rosalie. I had to pound you for that.”
”Understood. But in my own defense, Lee's the one who wanted no strings and no commitments. I was just following her rules, and I thought it'd be over long before you came to town for spring break.” Nick took another bite of pizza and talked with his mouth full. ”My relations.h.i.+ps usually don't last a month before the woman starts making wedding plans.”
”Why did you lie to Rosalie about who you are?”
”Gee, I don't know, Rich. I figured you'd have a problem with your little sister seeing the person who got your a.s.s thrown in jail. My mistake.”
”Anyone would be better than that a.s.shole, Joey.”
”Gee, thanks.”
”Don't mention it. Besides, you had nothing to do with our arrest.”
Nick shot Rich a you-gotta-be-kidding look.
”Okay, you had something to do with it, but only because you were a normal, h.o.r.n.y fifteen-year-old and acted like one. h.e.l.l, you should never have been there in the first place, and you wouldn't have, if it weren't for me.”
”Oh, come on, Rich. Let's face it; we were both looking for trouble, and we found it together. I knew what the h.e.l.l I was doing. Though maybe not when I did Sophia. I can't remember that.”
”Wow, that sucks-too drunk to remember your first time.”
”How'd you know it was my first time?”
”Come on, Nick. This is me you're talking to.”
”Right. I could never pull one over on you.” He took a long draw on his beer.
”So, are you going to do the right thing and marry Rosalie?”
Nick choked and coughed. Marriage? He couldn't breathe. Rich smacked Nick on the back. It took him a minute to catch his breath. ”Why would I need to marry Lee? h.e.l.l, why would she need to marry me?”
”Gina called me and asked me to fly down. She said Rosalie's sick.”
”Sick? What's wrong with her? Is she back in the hospital?”
”Calm down. No, she's not in the hospital, but I'm worried. I've never seen Rosalie so skinny. She looks like h.e.l.l, and Gina says the sight of food makes her queasy.
Gina doesn't think she is, but it sure sounds to me like she's pregnant.”
”Pregnant? Did you say you think she's pregnant, as in, having-a-baby pregnant?”
”Yeah, that's usually how it goes. A woman gets knocked up, then nine months later, she has a baby.”
Oh, G.o.d, a baby. He was going to be a father. Nick sat down, before he fell down. He hoped to heaven he'd be a better father than his old man, not that he could be worse. ”You didn't ask her?”
”h.e.l.l, no, A guy can't ask his little sister that. He goes to the boyfriend, beats the s.h.i.+t out of him, and makes the boyfriend ask.”
Nick nodded. It made perfect sense to him. ”Christ, a baby.”
”Yeah, a baby. What the h.e.l.l are you going to do about it, Nick?”
Nick smiled so big, it cut his face in half. He was elated. A baby. Man, that was it. Screw the rules. A baby took precedence over the rules any day. He and Rosalie were having a baby. How cool was that? He pictured a little girl with Rosalie's curly hair and smile and a little boy who looked just like him. d.a.m.n, he'd get her back for sure now. They'd get married. She and Dave would move into the brownstone. They'd have to get rid of the furniture, though. No kid of his was going to grow up in a f.u.c.kin' museum. No, they'd do it up just like Rosalie's place, only bigger... and neater.
Rosalie couldn't go on eating pizza and takeout every night. When they were together, he'd always cooked for her. She needed to eat healthy stuff. He'd have to find out what to feed a pregnant woman. G.o.d, a kid-they were going to be a family. A real family. Like they were before, only now, they'd have a dog and a kid. s.h.i.+t. They'd been a family before, but he'd never seen that. They spent time together. They had fun, even when they weren't making love. On Sat.u.r.day mornings, before he went into work, they'd hang out in bed, drinking coffee and sharing the paper. They didn't talk. They didn't screw. They were just together. It was comfortable. That wasn't something he could see himself getting sick of. Vin was right. He'd found the right one, and he'd been too stupid to see it. He was a putz.
”Nick. You there?”