What Happened in the Morning...

The Call

 
A few hours later, the entire garage was silent; Clank was on the couch reading a novel while Ratchet stared intently at the closed door of the guest room. Inside, Alice was pacing back and forth trying to decide what to do. She knew she had to call her mother at some point in order to tell her everything was okay and that she was alive. But she was concerned about how her mom will react about Ratchet; she was always protective of her when it came to boys. Alice started pacing even faster while her heart was beating out of her chest. What to do, what to do, she thought. She groaned in frustration. Nothing was coming to her. And the silence from outside her door was also concerning. That is, until she heard a knock at the door.

"Alice are you still in there?" a familiar voice asked. She rolled her eyes while taking out her phone. Her eyes widened in shock. The phone screen was overloaded with 237 missed messages. And don't even start with the missed calls. Nonetheless, all the missed calls and messages were from her mother. Realizing she didn't answer the question, she piped up.

"Yeah, I'm still in here but you can come in," she said, the door immediately being opened. She flopped onto her bed with her phone in hand, still trying to decide what to do. Her thumb hovered over the FaceTime button. Thoughts were racing through her head so fast that it was giving her a headache. As Ratchet sat next to her on the bed, she suddenly dropped the phone and covered her face with her hands.

"Oh, Ratchet," she said, giving an sigh. "What am I going to do?" For a solid minute, no one said anything. Just as he opened his mouth to say something, a sudden vibration on the bed startled both Lombaxes. Alice picked up her phone to check the caller ID:

INCOMING CALL:MOM

"You're going to have to answer it," he said. Alice looked at him with a worried glance before taking a deep breath.

"...Ok. I'll answer it," she said, sliding the answer key and putting the call in speaker mode. She spoke timidly. "Hello? Mom are you there?" The line was silent, which concerned her. But the dread faded away when her mother's voice chimed in.

"Allie?" she asked, obviously in disbelief. "Is that you?" Alice felt her eyes well up with tears.

"Yes Mom. It's me." From the other end, she could hear her mom crying with joy. Who wouldn't? Wouldn't any mother be in the same situation if their only daughter went missing for over three months?

"...I can't believe it," her mom said through shaky breaths. "My baby's alive..." Now heavier tears were falling down her cheeks.

"Mom, I'm fine," she reassured her mother. "I met some friends who helped me when I landed on Veldin."

"Oh really? Are your friends there with you? I want to tell them my thanks."

"Of course, Mom," Alice said, remembering Ratchet sitting next to her. Throughout the whole conversation, he couldn't help but smile when he heard her mom come through the other line. And that heartwarming moment brought tears to his own eyes. Imagine being separated from your family for a long time. Of course his own parents were killed when he was only a few days old so he was used to being on his own, but Alice's mother was with her pretty much her whole life, even after her father died. No wonder she missed her so much; she had a stronger bond with her than with anyone else. He was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't notice Alice passing him the phone to speak with her mother. Somehow though, he was able to grab the phone and cleared his throat.

"Hello?" he said, sounding more awkward than he intended. Not knowing what to call her, he decided to just be polite. "Mrs. Ramirez?"

"Yes and what's your name, young man?" Ratchet gulped nervously.

"My name is Ratchet, ma'am," he said.

"I see. And I owe you my thanks. Thank you for taking care of my daughter. Has anything happened to her since she arrived?" He rubbed the back of his neck nervously while staring at the bandage around Alice's waist. What would she say about that? Before he could speak, Mrs. Ramirez piped up from the other end.

"Considering how quiet you're being, something did happen, right? Don't worry, I'll understand." Both Lombaxes exchanged glances but agreed to tell her. So they explained to her about how Nefarious broke into the garage, how Alice was shot and rushed to ER, and how the trauma was almost life-threatening to her. Throughout the whole conversation, Mrs. Ramirez remained silent. Alice became worried; whenever her mom was silent like that, it was never a good sign. However, this time it was different.

"I see," she simply said, muttering something inaudible under her breath. "I kill that insensitive brat if I could...ooh if I can just get my hands on him, I'll break every part of his body until he wishes he was never born..." She stopped abruptly when she realized how both Lombaxes were dead silent. "Sorry about that little drama moment. I fully understand; I know it's not your fault for her injury. At least you were there to rush her to the hospital when it happened; otherwise she would've been like her grandfather where he was brought too late. And I thank you for that. I thank you for everything you did to keep my little baby safe." Alice turned a deep crimson while Ratchet gave her a warm smile.

"Uh Mom?" Alice asked. "Is there any chance we have the time and money for me to have a quinceañera?" Mrs. Ramirez remained silent but soon responded.

"...Of course we can, princesa," she said, resulting in both Lombaxes to smile.

"And I would like to help in any way possible, ma'am," Ratchet said while hovering over Alice's shoulder.

"Wonderful! Where are you two thinking about having it?"

"At London Caterers on planet Pokitaru. It's like this beach resort banquet hall," she said. "And Ratchet already saved some bolts for it."

"Tell him not to worry about the money. I have plenty here that your father left us. He had a feeling you would ask for one like your aunt Lina had when she was fifteen." Alice couldn't help but laugh. That quinceañera was a disaster, according to Mrs. Ramirez. One of the hanging decorations came loose and fell on top of her. Of course she wasn't alive at the time but at least her parents were there to experience it.

"Oh! And one more thing," Mrs. Ramirez chimed in. "What's your address at the moment? I have something I want to send you." Once she told her the address, Alice asked her one more question.

"When are you coming to see me, now that you know where I am?" she asked. "I just miss you so much."

"Sooner than you think, sweetheart. Don't worry, I will come when I get the chance. Love you."

"I love you too Mom," she said, the other line went dead. "Well, at least she knows I'm alive and well." She turned to Ratchet, who was still sitting next to her. "I think we have some work to do." He stood up, stretching his limbs from sitting motionless for so long.

"Let's go then," he said, making his way to the door. "I've made about 15,000 bolts in the past three days."

"Wow," was all she could say. "And how much is the banquet hall?"

"About 50,000." Alice ran her tired fingers through her hair.

"Do you think we'll have enough bolts by February?"

"If everyone pitches in, I believe we can earn enough," he said. Alice then wrapped her arms around Ratchet's waist.

"Thanks for helping me with this party," she said while resting her head on his chest, listening to the rhythm of his heartbeat. He wrapped his arms around her, caressing her deeply.

"No problem. Anything for a friend," he said, speaking in a low tone. If only she knew...