Nick sat on the couch with Lani, holding her hand, watching her expressions, trying to figure out what the conversation was about, if it was good news or bad news. She was unreadable.
She flipped off her phone and tossed it back into her purse, taking his hand in both of hers. “Okay. Not so bad, I don’t think.”
“Yeah?”
“Neron contested a few things. I guess he stormed into Miguel’s office like a bat out of hell.”
Nick shook his head and wondered for the millionth time where Lani’s head was when she hooked up with the man. Not that Nick’s past didn’t have its black marks too, but he was stupid. Lani wasn’t. “That got him nowhere, I hope.”
“Oh definitely. It’s why I hired Miguel in the first place. He was my brother’s best friend in high school. He was always protective of me, even though I was older.”
“So what’d he argue?”
“Child support like I expected. God, I would have loved to have seen his face…” She drifted off into a temporary revengeful trance, remembering the look on his face when she slammed the door on his naked ass. Shock. Defeat. Fury. It was beautiful.
“Well, good…looks like Miguel knows what he’s doing.”
“He does, but Neron tossed us a surprise, too. He wants Rosalie to have his name.”
“He doesn’t even want Rosalie. Why would he push that?”
“Control. Possession. When Ro marries, his name will remain, not mine.”
“You don’t give up your name when you get married?”
“You give up your mother’s name, retain your father’s. We do it weird in the Spanish tradition…some of us anyway.”
“Like…?”
“Like, his name is Neron Alano Gomez Oliveras. Gomez is his father’s name and Oliveras is his mother’s.”
“You don’t have four names though.”
“Nope. Mamí didn’t want me to have my father’s name, just like Ro.”
“And now he wants her to so his name will be carried on...”
“Yeah, and he’s not going to get it.” She giggled as she could see Nick’s mind trying to figure out what the names would be should Neron win. “Rosalinda Maria Gomez Romero. His name – or his father’s, and my name.”
“So, say we get married…” he chuckled at her shocked face and kissed her lips into a smile. “…don’t be so surprised. What would her name be then?”
“Unless you adopted her, she’d still be Romero.”
“And you would be…”
“My last name would be Romero de Carter.”
“So if I adopted Ro…she’d be the same?”
“Nope, she’d be Carter Romero; when she marries, Romero would be gone. Just like the Americans do, but Carter would always be part of her name.”
“And that’s okay with you – that Romero isn’t carried on?”
“Sure. I’m not fighting it for my name. I’m fighting it for hers.”
Nick nodded and let his mind wander more into the future of a life with Solana and Rosalie. Marriage had always seemed like such a far off thing for him, especially in light of the mess he always saw at home, but now? Now it just seemed like the logical order of things. The pleasurably logical order of things. He folded her into his arms, breathing her in as she relaxed at his touch. “It will all work out, baby. You’re doing the right thing.”
She nodded against his chest knowing he was right, wishing for a quick end to it all so she could believe it from her head to her toes. “We’ll just offer him less money in hopes that will shut him up. Bastardo.”
“He’s a prize alright.”
They stayed curled up on the couch, their minds swimming with thoughts of marriage, divorce, custody, names, family, home when Howie arrived and interrupted their quiet.
“C’mere, you guys. You’ve gotta see this.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Howie led them back to Studio A and put his fingers to his lips. “Lani, it’s one way glass, so she won’t see you, but she might notice the engineers talking to someone else. You’re gonna love this.” He pushed the steel door open and peeked in, slowly opening it fully for Nick and Lani to go inside.
Lani’s hand covered her mouth to stifle the chortle that threatened to ruin the moment. Nick did the same, pulling up a stool for both of them to sit and watch the show before them.
Brian had taken Rosalie into the booth and smacked a set of headphones over her curls. She had to hold them up with her chubby hands because they were much too large. But, they didn’t distract her from the job she was doing.
Apparently, he had taught her a new song. One Lani didn’t know, but Nick was familiar with from his childhood. He and his mom would sing it on some of their longer drives to dance class and rehearsals. This was obviously a rehearsal before anything official happened because Rosalie wasn’t singing into the mic and no one seemed to care. Brian was just there for coaching and sound effects.
“Okay, Ro…the music is cued. You ready, sweetheart?” The engineer had his finger on a few sliders, ready to help Ro kick off her musical debut.
She looked back at Brian, not sure how ready she really was. “Am I ready, Brian?”
“You’re ready, girl…tell him, ‘Hit it!’”
“Hit it!”
A very synthesized, Barney-esque song started and Rosalie started to bop her head in time to the music, waiting for Brian’s signal when to start singing.
In a voice only a duck’s mother would love, Brian cued his girl. “Okay, Ro. Sing it! One, two, one, two, three, four!”
Six little ducks that I once knew
Fat ones, skinny ones, fair ones too
But the one little duck with a feather on his back
He lead the others with his quack, quack, quack
Quack, quack, quack
Quack, quack quack,
He lead the others with his quack, quack, quack
Brian quacked at the appropriate times – usually, and Nick almost fell off of his stool. Lani’s hand hadn’t left her mouth.
Down to the river they would go
Wibble-wobble, wibble-wobble to and fro
But the one little duck with the feather on his back,
He lead the others with his quack, quack, quack
Quack, quack, quack
Quack, quack quack,
He lead the others with his quack, quack, quack
By now, everyone in the studio was doing the motions to the song, wibble wobbling and flapping their wings with the quacks. All unbeknownst to Rosalie of course, who was giving the performance of her life. In between smacking Brian for being a smarty pants.
Home from the river they would come
Wibble-wobble, wibble-wobble, ho hum hum
But the one little duck with the feather on his back,
He lead the others with his quack, quack, quack
Quack, quack, quack
Quack, quack quack,
He lead the others with his quack, quack, quack
Nick finally full out laughed and Lani smacked his arm, reminding him to be quiet. The music silenced and Rosalie’s face went from fun loving to very serious. Obviously the tune was changing pace. And key. Rosalie’s eyes got concerned and she looked to Brian and tapped her headphone covered ear mouthing her concern.
“My note, my note???”
At just the right time, Brian started for her, backing off to let Rosalie take her mini-medley home.
Little Ducky Duddle
Went wading in a puddle
Went wading in a puddle quite small.
Brian quacked in the pauses. Nick almost fell off his stool again. The engineer’s shoulders were violently shaking.
He said, “It doesn’t matter
How much I splish and splatter
Cuz I am just a ducky afterall.”
She took a deep breath for her big finish.
Cuz I am just a ducky…after…alllllllllllllllllllllllll.”
Brian sealed the deal with quacks and ducky talk as the music wound down. Rosalie wrapped her arms around Brian, knocking both of their headsets clean off and ending the song with nothing but a full round of giggles.
Lani got the ‘all clear’ from the engineer and bolted into the sound room, scooping up Rosalie and twirling her around, almost knocking over stools and microphones and Brians in the process. “Baby! You were wonderful!”
“Did you hear me, Mamí? Did you? I’m a singer!! Just like Brian and Nick and Aaron!”
“Yes you are, baby…yes, you are!” She looked over her daughter’s curls to thank Brian and the engineers for wasting expensive studio time on her child. “You guys…what a treat for her.”
The engineer’s voice popped in the small room, startling Lani and making Rosalie giggle. “You get used to that, Mamí.”
“Give us about 10 minutes Miss Romero and we’ll have a copy of it for her to take home.”
“Wow, baby…your own CD! What do you think?”
Rosalie squirmed out of her mother’s arms and into Nick’s. “I think I like that. And, I think I’m ready for lunch too.”
“Worked up an appetite, huh?
Rosalie kissed Nick’s cheek and shimmied down his body to go give Brian a hug. As they nestled in each other’s neck, Nick and Brian caught eyes. They’d been working together again for weeks, but nothing had been said about the anger that had lingered between them for the previous couple of years. There hadn’t been time alone to do it. There hadn’t been time made to do it.
But in this moment, they let it all go. Brian accepted Nick’s new life and Nick remembered what a caring, compassionate man Brian could be. With a whispered, “Thank you,” and a faint smile and nod, all was forgotten, all was forgiven, and one little star – at least to this audience – was born.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*“Woah, woah, woah! Hold on there, Muñe. We’re right up here.” Rosalie stopped tugging on Nick’s arm and watched with a gaped mouth as he lifted her Dora suitcase up into the overhead bin. “Come on – you get the window.”
“We’re up here? In these big seats!?” She clamored up and bounced on the seat, waving to her mother and neighbor as she took the seat across the aisle. “Hi, Mamí and Katy! You gonna be okay over there?”
“Yep. We’ll just hang on to each other if this thing goes down.”
“Hey now. None of that.” Nick popped Lani on the behind and they all snuggled into their seats, ready for the long flight back to Florida.
It had been a great week, one of little work, a lot of play, a lot of love making and tons upon tons of giggling. Oh yes, and listening to Rosalie’s duck CD 150 million times. At least. Brian had signed it for her and they made copies of it for Abuela, Katy and Neron. Of course, all four copies had to be tried and tested and tried and tested to be sure that everyone had exactly the same copy. Lani and Nick swore they would start quacking in their sleep.
The women chatted and Nick and Ro snuggled and slept and looked out the window at the beautiful scenery below them. He pointed out the Grand Canyon and they talked about how cold it must be on the mountains to have snow, while it was swim suit time in Florida already. As the sun set on their flight, they watched the sky change colors and then guessed at what could be happening in the towns where all they could see were glittering lights over cityscapes. Nick squeezed Rosalie’s hand tight as the plane touched ground and Rosalie squeezed back.
“You’re not afraid, are you, Nick?”
He lied. “No.” Then he looked at her, at the tired glow in her deep brown eyes, at the promise that she offered just because he was his Nick to her Rosalie. Suddenly he realized, he wasn’t really lying. He wasn’t afraid.
There was nothing in this world to be afraid of – as long as he had his girls.
