Maria and Carmen were running around the loft, arguing lightly over whether a plant belonged over the bed or on top of the television. Maria wanted it over the bed but Carmen said the plant added a classier touch over the TV set. Carmen finally won out and Maria graciously accepted defeat. Smiling happily as Carmen placed the plant over the television, Maria was happy to see her mother so full of life again on this beautiful March afternoon. She and her mother had been fixing up the loft where Ricardo had once lived. It had been 8 months since he had left for Miami. He kept in contact with Maria almost on a daily basis and had decided that upon returning to Sunset Beach, he would be buying a house. He had asked Maria if she would be interested in taking the loft. It was an offer she accepted immediately. Maria spun around the loft looking at it from every angle. The loft definitely had a feminine feel to it now. She stopped for a second and her smile slowly turned sadness. She missed seeing her brother. She wished he would come home soon. She picked up a picture of him, which was lying on the kitchen table and smiled. Carmen came over and caught a glimpse of the picture. Her cheerful mood dampened at seeing Ricardo's picture and she suddenly became melancholy. She had not spoken to her son since that fateful day. Even thinking of it now sent chills up her spine. Ricardo had not forgiven her yet. And not a night went by that she did not pray for him and for God to help her regain her son's love again. She could only hope. Maria saw her mother looking at the picture pensively and wrapped her arms around her mother from behind.

"He doesn't tell you when he's coming home, does he mija?" Carmen asked Maria this same question almost everyday since Ricardo had decided to stay past the six months he had originally planned.
"No Mama. He doesn't. He's done such a good job in Miami that they asked him to stay around for a little while longer. He's not sure when he'll be back." Maria knew Ricardo still needed more time to resolve everything. His staying the additional two months was by no way an accident. Ricardo had requested to prolong his stay. "I don't know when he'll be back."

Carmen turned to face her daughter and sadly asked if Ricardo had asked for her. "Does he ask for me? Does he ever ask about any of us?" Carmen was hoping for a yes, almost begging for it, but she knew what Maria's answer would be.
"He doesn't ask for anyone Mama." Maria hated to have to be so blunt but it was sometimes a necessity with her mother if she was to get through to her when needed. Maria was the only contact Ricardo had to anyone in Sunset Beach. He had requested that she not discuss his mother, Gabi, or Antonio. He didn't want to know anything about them for now. Maria respected his wishes and only spoke of what was going on in her life. She had helped in getting him back on track. Everytime she spoke to him, he sounded a little better………he sounded more like the Ricardo she had loved and admired. He was healing and that was all Maria could ask for.

She looked into her mother's saddened eyes and smiled at her. Then she hugged her tightly. Her mother had made tragic mistakes. But Carmen was her mother and she loved her dearly.
"Do I get one of those hugs too?" A voice came from the doorway of the loft.
Maria and Carmen both looked over and were shocked at who was standing there. Wearing khaki pants and a blue button up shirt, stood Ricardo, wearing his trademark Cheshire cat smile. Maria quickly sprang to attention and ran to hug her brother. He caught her in his arms and laughed. They hugged for what seemed like a minute before pulling apart.

"I can't believe you're here!" Maria was beaming at her brother. She mockingly hit him on the shoulder and pretended to get upset. " Don't you know to use a phone to tell people your coming home!" Ricardo couldn't help but laugh. Seeing his sister brought a flood of warmth to his body. He couldn't stop smiling at her and looked at her for the longest time before speaking. " I honestly didn't know I was coming until yesterday. I finished up a case and decided I wanted to come back home……so here I am……..Don't tell me your not happy to see me sis?" Ricardo placed a mock look of hurt on his face, all the while trying to hide his smile.

Maria simply smiled back. "Of course I'm glad your home, it's so good to see you. You look great Ricardo." And he did. Her brother looked like a million bucks. The time away really seemed to have done him well.
"I just came from the airport and----" Ricardo stopped when he then noticed his mother again. His smile slowly faded as he saw her approach him. He could tell she was doing her best to hold back her emotions for him. "Hello Mama," he said politely. He was starting become a little uncomfortable but didn't want to make the situation even more uneasy.

Carmen could only look at her son and smile. Tears of joy were hiding yet ready to spring to action upon command. Her son was home. She could tell he was uncomfortable being around her but she could not help but try to get close to him. She calmed herself and held back. She merely welcomed her son home. "Welcome home mijo. How are you?" She was trying hard to control herself.

Ricardo could see she was holding back for his sake and this made him feel a little less uneasy. "I'm fine Mama, thanks for asking." He realized he was being extremely cordial to her. The politeness he was projecting was one he would give off to a stranger. In essence, his mother was a stranger to him for now. He was still on guard and couldn't help but be that way with her. "I like your hair, Mama." He wanted to try to make it a little less uncomfortable for Maria, who was nervously looking back and forth from their mother to him.

Carmen lit up at his comment to her hair by bringing both her hands to where her hair ended. "Oh! You like it?" She was smiling lovingly at him. "Maria convinced me to cut it and I'm glad I did." She gave him a grateful smile. "Thank you for noticing mijo." He was not anywhere near to being comfortable with her but at least he was talking to her and that was a good start.

Ricardo's gaze shifted from his mother to Maria as they shared an awkward few seconds until he noticed the changes in the loft. He gladly changed the subject. "SOOO! What have you done to this place? I hardly even recognize it." And he honestly meant it. His once decorated bachelor pad had been converted into a haven of flowers, light bright colors, and paintings all over the place. He eyed his old place with surprised delight. He looked over at Maria. "You've really done a good job Maria. I especially like those pots and pans hanging from the kitchen ceiling." He eyed them a little curiously.

Maria was pleased that he liked what she had done. "Well those were actually picked out by Antonio and Gabi and we had------" Maria stopped dead in her tracks. Luckily she had her back turned to Ricardo. She shut her eyes in disbelief and brought her hand to her face. She turned around to see Ricardo staring at the floor, then back at her. She couldn't believe she had been so stupid as to mention their names. What was she thinking? "Ricardo…..I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring them up…..I don't know what I was think----"

Ricardo interrupted her by placing his hands on her shoulders. "Maria, it's ok. I won't break if you mention their names…….ok?" He was smiling at her softly as if to tell her it really was ok. He sighed at that point. "Besides…" He stepped away and walked toward the pots and pans, looking at them intently, "Gabi always had good taste." Thinking of her sent a chill up his spine. He turned toward Maria, wanting to know something. He looked down at the floor as he asked. "How is Antonio anyway?" Ricardo looked up at Maria sheepishly, really wanting to know what his brother was up to.

Maria couldn't help but slightly place a grin on her face. "Well," she began to laugh a little, "You might not believe this but he's a teacher now." She couldn't help but let her laughter out more as she saw the look of surprise wash over Ricardo's face. She noticed Carmen coming over to try and engage herself in the conversation of her children as well. "I heard there was an opening for a teacher at Sunset Beach High School and told him about it. He decided to go for it. Since he has a degree in history, he was offered the job after several interviews. He's teaching world civilization to 9th graders and loving every minute of it."

Ricardo wasn't really surprised. As a kid Antonio had many times talked about teaching. He smiled to himself as he realized he finally set out to do it.
"He's also assistant coach for the baseball team." Maria continued, "He's at the field right now at practice. He talks about it all the time. He's nervous about the boy's first game coming up." Maria stopped when she noticed Ricardo was slightly day dreaming. He was thinking about Antonio and the baseball memories they had shared. They had had so much fun together playing ball.

"Earth to Ricardo??"
Ricardo shook his head and fixated his gaze on Maria again. "Sorry, I guess I got lost in a thought."
Maria understood. She was happy that Ricardo was at least smiling so much and as it apparently looked, thinking about Antonio. "That's ok, you probably have a lot on your mind, thinking of some people you might want to see." She looked him in the eye as if trying to send a message via airwaves.

Ricardo smiled back." Yeah…..I do have some things I need to take care of." He tickled the top of her nose with his finger and grinned." You mind if I crash here for a little while, until I find a place I want to invest my hard earned money in that is?" His mischievous grins were contagious. He hugged his sister one more time before leaving. Softly in her ear, he whispered, "Thanks". As they pulled apart, she mouthed the words, "Your welcome." He then looked over at his mother. He couldn't bring himself to hug her…..he was still working on getting past what she had done to him. He had worked through a lot but he just wasn't there yet. He did manage to lightly brush her shoulder before he walked out. As he reached the door, he turned back one more time and winked at both of them.

Maria was happy that her brother was back. "He's healing Mama. That's all we can ask for now." She leaned her head against her mothers.
"Yes, he is….my Ricardo is going to be alright." And Carmen truly believed it.

To be continued on the next page.