Even When (Ricky + Nini)

chapter 9 - sorry seems to be the hardest word

[a/n : just saw a clip of ashlyn calling ej elton john caswell on the show lol. title is from Elton John's aong - Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word]

After spending all of last week in Barcelona, Ricky insisted that he was okay, and Nini and Joel should go home. At first, Nini protested, but she knew that Joel would have to go back to school soon, so now they were settling back into their NYC routine.

"Joel give the phone to your mom."
The toddler was currently eating pancakes while facetiming his dad.

"Ok. Bye dad." Joel handed the phone to Nini and happily munched on his breakfast.

"How is he cuter everyday?" Ricky asked. "I thought kids were supposed to get less cute."

"Well. You ended up pretty cute as an adult. So maybe it runs in the family."

"You're not half bad.." He smiled.

"I miss you, babe."

"I know. I miss you too." Ricky said, "I was thinking of coming down there for Joel's birthday next week. Give him a bit of a surprise."

"He would love that, Ricky."

"Great. I already bought tickets. So I guess I'll see you soon."

Nini squealed in excitement causing Bob to awake from his slumber.

"Ricky's coming home Bobby." Nini said scratching his head. "You want some food?"

"I won't keep you too long." Ricky cleared his throat. "I'm sure you've lots to do."

"Can't say you're wrong. I've got to feed and walk Bob, take Joel to school, EJ wants to meet me for a coffee and then I have some work to do." Nini listed off all her things, "But I always love talking to you."

"So what does EJ want?" Ricky asked. "You think he's finally gonna tell you why they broke up?!"

"I'm not sure, babe. I'll let you in on it once I meet him. Hope everything's ok."

"Yeah. I'm sure it's fine. Tell him I said hi!"

"Okay. Well, I'll talk to you later?"

"Yeah." Ricky said. "Actually before you hang up.."

"What is it?"

"When you said you have work to do—"

"Oh. It's a meeting with Grayson. Going to play him some new songs I wrote. I promise I'll tell you about it tonight."

"Okay. Please call me." Ricky said softly. "I really want to know about your new music."

"I will, baby."
____________

"Neens, thanks for meeting me." EJ said sipping his coffee. "I wanted to see you."

"You don't have to thank me. You're family." Nini said smiling, "So what's going on, man?"

"I'm leaving."

Nini couldn't believe the conversation she was having with EJ. Between Ricky's accident and their arguments, she'd forgotten that EJ was planning on moving away. She had to be supportive though, so she pretended to be unaffected.

"Where?" She said nonchalantly.

"Boston." EJ played with his spoon, "It pays better, and it's in a law firm. I've always liked Boston Legal."

"When?"

"This weekend."

"Does she know?" Nini asked, failing to hide her emotions.