California Dreamin

25

1983; Los Angeles

The city of angels, the city of dreams, big opportunity, cinema, Hollywood.
To Nina, it was hell-like temperatures, corruption, pervesion and drugs. She never complained though. Her step father was a good man, provided her and her mother everything they needed. They were living in a big house with all the comforts of the modern technology of that time.
They even had a pool, which was nice for those summer days that were able to drain your energy completely.

Still, when the new entry of the family started to crawl and to walk, the pool only became a giant worry to Ms. Ayala, now Ms. Carter.
It was a little girl, Susan was her name. She was born on August 8th 1980. She really was what Nina needed. Of course she missed her brother who would visit them from time to time, but she tried her best to keep herself busy and distracted.
As a matter of fact, she was able to go to college so she could persue her dream to become a lawyer. So she would spend her days between studying and taking care of her little sister, to give her mother a chance to go back to work.

Luckily, Mr. Carter was nothing like the other men of those times. He enjoyed that his wife wanted to work and tried his best to help around the house and with Suzie.

On the other part of the city of angels, Richard was getting more and more involved in a world of drugs, theft and prostitution, the things Nina hated most about that city. He would usually get himself arrested for weapon possession or cocain possession. Then he would get out, go to San Francisco with some 'friends', do the same things and come back to Los Angeles.
All of this while still hoping to meet Nina someday.

He looked for her, for a few months. He was always in the streets, untill he partially lost interest.

There was one day that changed everything though.
Ms. Carter started to acknowledge that Nina was getting busier and busier over the years, too busy to look after Susan, her now 3 years old daughter. She didn't want to leave work so she started looking for a babysitter, only for a few hours.
The payment was good, so nobody could turn down her offer. $20 per hour, fair enough.

What was complicated about it was finding someone convincing for her.
She found girls too distracted to look after a toddler, yet she couldn't trust every male she encountered in the streets.

Untill she saw a familiar face.
He was eating a sandwich, sitting on a bench all alone, messy and dirty curles falling on his shoulders.
"Richard?" She hesitantly asked, slowly approaching who seemed to be the boy she used to look after when he was little.

He looked around him, only to see what seemed to be Ms. Ayala, but different. She was way more beautiful, younger, she looked like she had just left the hair salon, dressed in a white suit, nails freshly painted, slight makeup on.
"Ms. Ayala?" He slowly got up.

Her eyes lit up and she gave him the warmest smile.
"I can't believe this is you." She exclaimed with joy. But something was wrong.
She looked at him from head to toe and she had to admit: he looked disgusting.

He was dirty, smelly and looked like he hasn't slept in years. He was way skinnier than before, especially his face. He almost looked scary, no one would ever aproach him except for the woman who was best friend with his mother and watched him grow up.

"Richard, querido, is everything okay?" Her smile soon replaced with a look of concern.
"Are you eating properly? Are you resting? You still with Ruben?"

No,no and no. Those were the answers Richard was thinking about, but he just couldn't be honest with her. Ruben kicked him out, he was sleeping in motels, moving around from time to time, having no money to settle down. Everytime he'd find a job, it just wouldn't last long.
It was also because of his appearance, he was well aware of that.

He didn't reply, he was speechless. For the first time in years, he felt like he was going to cry.
That woman felt like home, that familiarity, her concern for him.

"Listen, let's get you some new clothes first and then you're coming home with me so you can take a shower, how's that sound?" She smiled.

Richard couldn't help but notice how her spanish accent got less strong than before. He managed to smile before nodding.

They reached her car. He was flabbergasted. A chevrolet impala from 1967. Shiny pitch black.
"Rich dude huh."
He chuckled.

"Pardon me?" She asked, while opening the car door.
"Your new husband? If I remember correctly, you got remarried a few years ago. That's why you moved here. Or so Ruth told me."

Once they got inside the car, as she started the engine, she replied.
"Yes, I am now Ms. Carter."

He nodded.
"Is he...a good man?" He genuinely asked, hoping that this Mr. Carter was a better man than her previous husband.

She smiled while looking at the road, thinking how sweet the boy still was, worrying for her wellbeing after all these years.
"Sure he is."

At some point, he felt like swallowing rocks as a question started traveling his mind.
He gulped.
"How is uhm...How is Nina?" He didn't know why pronouncing that name still felt like a stab at the heart after many years. He knew he was the one who didn't treat her right.

The woman's heart melted at the thought of the boy still thinking about Nina. She still remembered them as kids, always teasing and fighting each other.
"She's doing well, luckily. She's studying to get a law degree."

He cracked a smile. She sure had what it took to become a lawyer. He thought.

Suddenly, the woman spoke again.
"Richie, I don't see you well, can you be honest with me please? I can help you."

He looked at her, her concern catching him very off guard.
Could she really help him?
Money was what he needed, Mrs. Carter was rich.
Maybe she was right. But what she wanted to give him was much more that he'd ever expected.

He remained silent, ashamed of his conditions in front of a woman who took care of him his entire life.

"You don't live with Ruben anymore, do you?"
She asked hesitantly as she didn't want to bother him by asking him the wrong questions. Still, she had to know everything if she wanted to help him.

However, he didn't answer until Mrs. Carter parked the car in the parking lot of a mall.
"He kicked me out after some fights, I'm living on the streets basically."

He simply confirmed what she already doubted.
She also couldn't not notice the bad conditions of his mouth. Even though she wasn't surprised as he was living on the streets and couldn't take care of himself properly, she knew she had to fix him if she wanted him to be her daughter's babysitter.

"Yeah I assumed that. Let's not think about it, I will help you out." She caressed his shoulder, smiling before getting out of the car.

After spending an hour there, it was time to go to the Carter's place and Richard started to get nervous.
As they were putting the bags inside the car, he spoke up.
"I don't want Nina to see me like this. Let me go to a motel, I'll take a shower there and we'll meet each other tomorrow."

He was pleading her so hard with his eyes that she couldn't insist.
However, she did insist in paying for the motel room.
She payed for a few days and then informed him that the next day she would've taken him to a dentist appointment.

"You don't need to do this Mrs. Carter."

"Do you want my daughter back other than a job? Then let me fix you up."