Ricky Jacobs

Be a best friend, tell the truth And overuse “I love you” Go to work, do your best Don’t outsmart your common sense Never let your prayin’ knees get lazy And love like crazy

Happy Birthday to my husband, my best friend, my Lisa!!

I felt crazy nostalgic making this about how we made this.  We created a family and showed how a partnership can really work and be interesting to play in a world where people saw complicated as what was entertaining.  True Love is simple and can still be a blast to play out.  

“I don’t know.  All I know is that you scare me.  I feel so much for you,” she told him, her hand pressed against her chest over her heart as emphasis.  “And I don’t know what to do with that.  That’s not fair to you and I know that.  You need answers but I don’t know if I’m ready to give them.”  She stood there before him, wondering if this was the end.  Would she have to go back to her old life without him?  Would she ever be happy that way?

“You scare me too.” Ricky laughed a little. “God, you’re fucking terrifying, you know that?” The feelings Ricky had for Madelyn were like nothing he’d ever experienced before. He knew he was good looking and could wrangle just about any girl into bed but he was definitely not known for having actual relationships that lasted more than a few weeks, sometimes even just a few days. But with Madelyn, he wanted so much more. “You told me once that I felt like home to you.” Ricky’s gruff voice spoke strongly, his hand coming forward to take Madelyn’s. “I don’t want that to change. I thought being stabbed in the back was the worst pain I’ve even endured but the thought of this ending feels like death.”

I never expected this to last and if this is the end, then fine.

Hearing those words hurt him far more than he ever thought it could. Ricky didn’t know what their future held but he at least thought it could be a possibility, had some sense of hope that things could actually work out in the end, somehow. Ricky kept his features neutral, however as he stood in front of her even though his heart was pounding in his chest.  “I never expected you to walk away from everything you’ve ever known for me. I wouldn’t ask that of you. I guess I don’t know what I expected... just not this.” Ricky reached up to brush the hair away from her face. “What do you want from me? I want you to tell me.”

Her mentioning Tre spoiled the mood as they sat parked in front of her private spot. Ricky shifted slightly in an uncomfortable manner, his eyes on the hilltop before he looked back to Madelyn. Silently, Ricky unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car, moving around it to take her hand in his. He tugged her close and just smiled down while gazing into her eyes but something was definitely wrong. He swallowed thickly.  “I don’t know if I can do this anymore...” Ricky kept his eyes on hers as he clarified, “be with you.... without really being with you. It kills me knowing that you go home to him every night, while I just go off to the other side of the tracks until the next time we’re together.”

It was almost painful to have to pull himself away from her as they drove off to her ‘perfect place’ but he also didn’t want them to get into an accident either. He thought back to his own accident and smirked a little thinking about how she was the last thought he had just before it happened. Ricky’s hand moved up her thigh a little as they drove out of the neighborhood. “I really hope this perfect place of yours isn’t too far away.” He laughed a little.

“I love you, too.” Ricky whispered back, his eyes meeting hers. He couldn’t see himself with anyone but her and that both scared him and made him happy. “Now move this damn car so I can have my way with you.” He laughed, pulling away from her but keeping a hand on her thigh, as always. “I mean, what would the neighbors think?” He threw his head back, laughing. 

As soon as they got on the car, she barely managed to put the keys into the ignition before her lips were on his.  “Thank you for being nice to them.  I know they are not easy to tolerate,” she spoke between kisses.

“I really don’t want to talk about your mom and her friends when you’re giving me a raging boner, Mad.” Ricky laughed against her mouth, his hands all over her. He kissed her again, sucking lightly on her bottom lip. “Did you mean it?” He panted, hands up her shirt now. “Do you love me?”

Madelyn got a perfect reaction from her three words.  She tried not to laugh at how quick he was to leave now.  And she knew why.  

“Aww, we were going to play games next.  You seem like a smart boy.  You might actually have fun.”

She couldn’t stop the snickering but coughed it with a polite cough.  “They are going to play games,” she repeated with amusement.  “But we do have quite a busy schedule.”

Ricky pretended to look disappointed at the mention of missing out on their games. “I really wish I could stay. I’m quite proficient at gin rummy but we really do have to go. Very, very badly, in fact.” Ricky shot a smirk at Madelyn. “Thank you again, ladies.” Ricky gave a little wave as he started to walk away toward the front door.

She looked at him with an amused and curious look as he listed off the benefits like he was reading from an encyclopedia.  She had no idea he knew so much about tea and food in general.  Learning new things every day.  It made her think about the future and all she had to learn about him.  The ladies were eating it all up.  They liked to feel good about themselves and this was likely to repeated like their own knowledge later but now they were all beaming like the benefits were already taking effect.

“I love you,” she whispered in his ear, then giving him a playful look like she said nothing of the sort.

“The tea is delicious.  You have a talent.”

“So much talent goes to waste on that side of town.  Those poor children.”

“It’s the parents’ fault.  Like that Rodney Dodger.  Such a menace just like his father was.”

Ricky glanced over at Madelyn with a smirk. If it hadn’t been for all the passive aggressive put downs, it would be a great day. Somehow, Ricky had a feeling that Rodney would love being called a menace by these women and he would definitely be jazzed over being compared to his dad. The man was a legend. “Well I’m glad I could share my talent with you lovely ladies today.” Ricky winked over at Madelyn as he sipped his tea with his pinky sticking out, hoping to make her laugh. 

“I’d love tea and sandwiches, ma’am.” Ricky smiled back to Madelyn’s mother. He wasn’t giving up that easily. These woman would not break him. He moved back to the table and pulled a chair out for Madelyn to sit down. “Just one cup is all we can stay for, I’m afraid. We’ve got a busy schedule to keep.” Ricky shook out a napkin and laid it over his lap after he sat down. He reached for the tea and poured a cup for Madelyn first, then one for himself. “How do you ladies like the tea?”

“They are.  I’ve just never been compared to one before,” she replied back, amused.  She loved how often he made her laugh.  “I heard them too.  They still see me as that little girl with pigtails.  So see, they annoy me too.”  Her eyebrows raised at his magic trick comment, wondering if he could actually do that.  An answer came shortly afterwards and she laughed again softly.  Her eyes lingered closed just briefly as he kissed her cheek.  She wanted to kiss him deeper on the lips but there was no time.  She didn’t respond to his statement but the way she looked at him said all that was needed.  She had every intention to keep him around.  

 “We might just have to steal you away from Tre.  Did you mother teach you?”

            “Oh don’t be so assumptuous.  Do you still have a mother?”

“Ladies,” Madelyn intervened.  “What is on the agenda today?”

His mother being brought up in such a crass way was almost enough to make Ricky’s carefully forced persona crack in front of these women but he kept it in check. Now was not the time. “I had one but no, she didn’t teach me. I read a lot of books about tea and herbal remedies.” Ricky went around carefully pouring each cup of tea with a pleasant smile on his face. His eyes darted to Madelyn every now and again as he did so. When he was finished, he placed the kettle onto the table and stood off to the side to keep out of the way. He really didn’t know what to do with himself now.

“Baby panda cute?” she repeated after him with an endearing laugh.  Her eyes answering his statement for him.  However, she pulled back slightly at the use of her old nickname.  “Don’t call me that.  I hate it.”  The Maddie persona was behind her and she didn’t like having very many reminders of it.  “So what other tricks up your sleeve do I not know about?”