Chapter 7

Cassandra’s phone rings loudly and she shuffles in her bed to take the call.

“What the hell Ricky? It’s past midnight!” She answers in a sleepy voice.

“Sorry love! I forgot the time zones. I just wanted to hear your voice. You haven’t called in a while and I was getting worried.”

“I’ve just been busy sweetie. There’s this teacher who’s been on my ass all week, calling my designs a little unconventional.”

“That sucks. Don’t let anyone give you shit. You know you’re good. You just went there for further training. You don’t need them to try and bust your self-esteem.” She sighs deeply.

“I don’t know anymore. Everyone in my class is good Ricky. You should see how they speak up for themselves. There’s this girl in particular. I love how she’s confident about her work. She even had an internship with Donna Snyder. Can you imagine how crazy that is? Working with Donna is my dream.” Ricky is silent for a moment.

“Do you want me to try and contact her atelier? I heard she’s open to working with new designers.”

“I don’t know. Please don’t push me into it yet. I think I need a little more time to make that decision.”

“Of course love. Just let me know when you’re ready and I’ll be happy to help.”

“Thanks baby. I gotta go back to sleep now.” She yawns and he chuckles.

“Gotcha. Sweet dreams babygirl. Love you!”

“Love you too Ricky.”

*****

Claudia, Alexander and Donna are having a quiet night in, something that rarely happens for the busy family.

“Have you talked to Richard?” Alex asks Claudia and she nods eagerly.

“Yep. Couple of times a day. You know how he is. Calls and ask a bunch of stuff for work.”

“I’m happy he decided to stay in Germany.” Dona places her fork down. “He doesn’t realize it yet, but it might do him a lot of good.”

“Agreed.” Alex smiles at his wife. “That kid is burning himself out throwing into work like that. I’ve talked to him once or twice about it, but you know how he is.” Donna sighs.

“I’ve thought about calling him these past days, but the timing was never right. I keep forgetting what time it is there. I don’t want to wake him up in the middle of the night.” She sips her wine casually.

“You know your son barely sleeps. Might as well give him a call now. Wait, I’ll video call him. Even better.” Claudia grabs her phone and does just that.

A couple of rings later he appears on the screen, topless, breathing heavily and sweat dripping from his hair to his forehead.

“Oh shit! Tell me you’re not doing the nasty. I’ve got mom and dad here.” His laughter booms through the speaker.

“You’re stupid. I’m working out.”

“What I said counts as workout.”

“At the GYM, Claudia! God! Will you ever change?”

“Hey baby!” Donna joins Claudia on the screen and Richard smiles at him mother.

“Mom. Hey! How have you been?”

“I’m good baby, I’m good. Same old. How are you? Are you enjoying your time there?”

“Sure am. I hate to admit it, but I guess the Blondie was right. I needed some time away.” He refers to Claudia, who snickers.

“How’s dad?" Richard asks next, wiping his face and hair in a towel.

“I’m good.” Alex chimes in. “God, I’ll never get used to that! I keep forgetting how many you have.” The older man refers to his son’s tattoos. Richard grabs a tshirt and throws it over his head.

“There old man. Problem solved.”

“What time is it there?”

“Something past four I believe, why?”

“And you’re up at the gym? You’re screwed in the head. Go sleep!” Claudia shakes her head at her brother.

“You do that as well Grandma'. It’s past your bedtime there, I believe.” That makes the girl laugh.

“We’ll leave you to it baby. Call whenever you’re free. You know we miss you.” Donna offers him a warm smile.

“Alright! Buy guys!”

“Love you!” Claudia calls and he just winks at her and the call disconnects.

“He’s a lost cause. I’m never gonna hear those words leave his lips” Claudia laughs and Donna scowls.

“Don’t pressure him. You know how we was when he first came to us. I feel lucky enough as a mother to only have his love. I don’t need to hear it. We all know he loves us, but his brain is wired like that.” The mother says.

“She’s right, you know.” Alex joins the conversation. “I know I’ve never told you what his story is, ’cause it’s not my place to tell, but believe me when I say, Richard has come so far from the boy I first met. He’s become a good man. Even I sometimes doubted if he would be able to change.”

"Let’s drop this conversation now.” Donna raises from the table. “I don’t care what his past is. It is the past for a reason. All I care about is that he is my son and I love him like I love you and Ian. Why are we even talking about this after over fifteen years?” She left Claudia and Alex in the dining room.

“What the hell?!” Alex scratched his head.

“Menopause. Don’t mind her.” Claudia sighs. “That, and she talked to Ian today. You know how he can be.”

Alex sighs at the mention of Ian. When he had first brought Richard home to his family, his oldest, Ian, was the only one that reacted negatively to it. Donna and Claudia were supportive and grew warmer to Richard, but Ian never did. He only pretended to accept his new little brother when Richard grew up, built a fortune and took care of Ian’s careless expenses. He still does to this day, much to Alex’s objection.