We Come Alive 4

Family Ties

Thursday late afternoon, after a long day of working with plays, files, and dealing with a football team, Ricky walked into his home with the mail out of the mailbox in his hand.

He dragged himself through the house and onto the couch. He flopped down and tired to close his eyes to rest, but it was interrupted by a body climbing on his. Ricky opened his hazel green eyes to be met with an identical pair in front of him.

"What's up, Nick?" Ricky smirked. "What you want?"

Nick smiled as he used his little hand to push back his long brown curly hair out his face since he grew out his hair like his older brother. "You're home." He smiled. "I waited for you."

Ricky wrapped his arm around his brother's back as he got up so he didn't fall. Nick held onto Ricky's neck as he was carried into the kitchen where their mom was cooking dinner.

"Hey, ma." Ricky greeted, kissing her cheek before setting Nick on the ground. "I stopped on the bank before walking home."

"You walked to the bank?!" Rachel gasped, looking back at him. "Ricky, you can't to the bank from work and then walk all the way back home."

Ricky shrugged his shoulders while reaching into his back pocket and pulling out the money he got out of his bank account. "Anyway, I got this month's rent and my half of the bills."

Rachel glared at Ricky, but turned down the stove and took the money. She walked towards him and counted it. When she made sure all of the money was there, she held it in her hand and looked up at him.

"You need to go to college." She reminded him. "This assistant coach job is doing you well now, but I want you to have more options. Not just a hand out that your old coach gave you because he felt bad for you. You need to go get some type education."

"سأفعل. أنا النذر." Ricky promised in his native tongue making his mom smile.
(I will. I vow.)

Rachel smiled widely at her son and grabbed his chin. She kissed his cheek which Ricky just let her do than went back to the living room to relax and play with his brothers while she finished making dinner for the three boys.

~**~

Meanwhile just a few blocks away, Mateo walked into the house to hear it was silent other than one talking voice. He carried his bag through the house and walk down the short hall until he got to the kitchen, living room, and back hallway meeting point. He saw Clover sitting at the dinning table that was in the small area behind the living room couch that they made into a makeshift eating area.

"Where's my wife and daughter?" Mateo wondered, dropping his bag down on the couch.

When she didn't reply right away, he turned around to see her on the phone. He saw she was holding a binder full of papers in front of her, but he didn't question it.

Mateo went into the kitchen, went into the fridge, and got a beer. By the time he got the top off the glass bottle and came back near her, she was hanging up the phone. That's when Mateo realized what the binder was. It was his stats on all the players from last season.

"What're you doing?" He frowned.

Clover motioned to the seat across from her for Mateo to sit in. He sighed and groaned while flopping down in the chair.

"Are you about to fire me as your coach or something?" He joked.

"No." She rolled her eyes, but then became serious and set her phone down on the table. "I have been thinking lately about just...life. And I need to tell you this most importantly, Mateo. You know, you being my coach and the person I see as a father and stuff. I want to change my college of Southern California to A&M."