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The Pleasantview Diaries (13)
Back to: The Pleasantview Diaries (12) Next: The Pleasantview Diaries (14)

Behold, chapter 13. If you read this story, and especially if you enjoy it, don't be shy to comment!

CALIENTE



Letti’s heart rate increased slightly as she gulped, debating on how to execute the delicate conversation she'd been planning to have with her Mom. She figured their talk could go one of two ways, very poorly or very well. She finally took a deep breath and began. “I’m just going to cut straight to the chase here, Mom. I’m sorry if this upsets you but, I want to know who my father is. His name, what he looks like. I even want to maybe…”, Letti hesitated, “…I want to meet him.”


Nina was surprised to hear this from her daughter. She never really had feelings for Don, and it never bothered her that he wasn’t interested in Letti. To Nina, Don had always been nothing more than somebody fun to mess around with. She rarely thought about him anymore, and never expected him to be a good father in the first place. “Well”, Nina began, “ I’m not upset, so you don’t worry about that. You may not want to hear this but, I never really loved Don. That’s your dad’s name, Don Lothario. So anyway, it really it doesn’t hurt me to talk about him. I never intended to have a baby with him, and I never expected him to be much of a father. I hate to tell you this kiddo, but he's kind of a loser. I thought you knew that, considering our circumstances. I'm suprised you want to meet the guy.”


Letti twirled her spaghetti around with her fork, slightly hurt but not entirely surprised. “Yeah, I guess. Still, I do want to meet him." Letti paused. "You didn’t care about him, not one little bit?”
Nina smirked and breathed out a small laugh. “Nope, sorry sweetie. We just fooled around; we were two of a kind. It was purely for fun, friends with benefits if you will. When I told him I was pregnant he took off and I didn’t chase him. I figured I could take care of you by myself. Don't forget that was also when Aunt Dina was still around.”
“Does he know anything about me?”, Letti asked hopefully while ignoring half of her mother's words.


Nina thought to herself a moment. “Well, I know Dina called him quite a lot when we were pregnant. I don’t know what all she told him though. We didn’t really talk much during that time; we were both pretty embarrassed. Maybe now he might not mind meeting you, since you’re all grown up anyway. There’s not much responsibility left he has to worry about.” Nina snorted.


Letti smiled. “Despite everything, I still want to meet him. Just hear things from him myself. I think Ricardo does too.”
Nina nodded. “I understand, kiddo. You can call him whenever you’re ready; I've prepared you enough with the backstory. I’m sure I’ve got his number around here somewhere. I want you to discuss it with Ricardo first though, now that he knows everything.” Nina stuffed the last bite of spaghetti in her mouth before standing up to clear her plate. “As a matter of fact, I’m surprised we haven’t heard from Dina since you foiled her little game.”


Letti looked down, now worried. “You don’t think she’d do anything, do you?” The teen gulped.
“It depends on how mad she is, I suppose. She’s always been a little unstable.”
Letti thought on her mother’s words for a moment and grew fearful. She decided it would be better to call Ricardo sooner than later.

GOTH



It was mid morning when Ricardo Caliente’s cell phone went off. Its' loud ringtone and amplified vibrations against his hard desk awoke the teen. Ricardo yawned and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes while lazily walking over to his desk. He answered the phone, holding back another yawn. “Hello?”


A far too awake and cheerful Letti replied. “Oh good! You’re up!”
Letti? Do you have any idea what time it is?”
“Uhm yeah, it’s almost ten. Why?”
“That’s too early.”
Letti groaned, slightly exasperated with her brother. “Don’t be so lazy! I have important business to discuss!”
Ricardo sighed, realizing going back to bed was no longer an option. “Tell me then.”


“I have great news! Well, I think it’s great but I suppose there’s a chance you won’t. Anyway, I’ve been talking to my Mom about our Dad and she’s willing to help us meet him! I have his phone number and we can call him whenever we want!” The excitement in Letti’s lilted voice was obvious.
Ricardo blinked, stunned. He didn’t know what to say and remained silent for a long moment.
Letti grew impatient. “Ricardo? Are you there? Ricardo?”


“That’s great, Letti! Wow! Let’s call him today! I want to meet him as soon as we can!” Ricardo’s heart pounded in excitement.
Letti laughed. “Oh, I’m so glad you feel that way! I was worried you’d be upset and not want to meet him. I don’t know if I could do it without you by my side.”
Ricardo was puzzled. “Well thanks Letti but, why would I be upset?”


“Well…”, Letti thought about her answer for a second, “I just know you’re cross with your mother about the whole situation. You went your whole life thinking Mortimer was your father. I thought maybe you’d want to keep it that way, if you know what I mean.”
“Oh, not at all. Since I found out my Mom lied to me, it’s only made me want to know the truth more. I’m not like her. I can’t just pretend lies are reality. I know there’s more she’s lied about too. I want to meet my real father. Maybe he can even help me put some of the puzzle together. You know?” Ricardo sniffed the air, suddenly smelling smoke. He began searching around his room for the source, distracted from Letti’s words.
“Okay, if you’re sure. Speaking of your mother…”, Letti gulped, “She’s not dangerous, is she? I mean, I don’t want her to be mad at me for telling you the truth. I’m sure she is though…”


“Ricardo? You there?” Ricardo looked out his bedroom window and saw what looked to be a large bonfire. He studied the fire for several moments. That’s odd, he thought to himself. Why would some one be making a fire at this hour? Suddenly, Ricardo noticed his painting of Bella Goth sticking out of the top of the fire. His heart dropped and he gasped. He dropped the phone and took off running, leaving Letti worrying on the other end.
“Ricardo? Ricardo?! What’s going on?!”


Ricardo bolted upstairs as fast as his legs would take him to his art studio. He panted as his eyes darted around the room. "No...", he breathed. He cursed at the stark white walls. Everything was gone. His paintings, his easel, every bit of furniture. Gone.


Ricardo dashed downstairs and into his backyard. He saw the fire, and all of his beautiful paintings engulfed in flames. All his studio furniture had been smashed and was now turning to ash. He wanted to cry, he wanted to scream. Dangerous anger bubbled up inside when he saw his mother standing next to the blazing art with a proud smile on her face.


Ricardo ran over to his mother; his fury taking control. The teen did something he never thought he could do to anyone, let alone his mother; he shoved her. “How could you do this to me?!”, Ricardo bellowed through gritted teeth. Dina almost fell backward, a terrified and stupefied look on her face.


Dina was bewildered. “I-I’m just trying to help you! To help us! Those paintings, that painting ruined everything!”
Ricardo was blinded by fury, his mind a maddened whirl. He had to stop himself from diving into the flames and saving his paintings. “You’re crazy!”, he screamed. “It's all your fault, not my art! You’re a monster and I hate you!”


Ricardo’s words stunned Dina, and sent her into hysterical sobbing. Ricardo had no mercy for his mother. “How can you cry right now?” Ricardo held back his own tears. “You’re insane; you need help.” Dina kept crying. “Get out of here! I don’t feel sorry for you!”


Dina eventually walked back into the house without saying another word to her son. When she left, Ricardo broke down into his own tears. He sat next to the fire and watched his most prized possessions burn to the ground. His mother had broken his heart, caused him to suffer a great loss. As Ricardo sat listening to the crackle of the fire fizzle out, he promised himself he would never forgive her.

LOTHARIO



Don and Kaylynn Lothario relaxed together on the soft beach at their hotel on Twikkii Island. Due to a series of big promotions, the Lotharios had some extra cash on their hands and decided it would be a good time to take a family vacation. They wanted to spend some quality time together, and with Lorenzo before his birthday. The husband and wife listened peacefully to the sound of their son playing and the waves crashing on the beach with their eyes closed.


Lorenzo giggled while flinging more sand onto his castle. “Daddy, you look like a lobster!” The shrill sound of his voice brought the boy’s parents back to reality. Kaylynn blinked open one eye to inspect her husband.
She gasped a little, then held back a laugh. “Oh my, honey…you might want to get out of the sun now.”


Don sat up abruptly and soon realized he was indeed, very burnt. “Oh man!” Don poked his reddened shoulder and cringed. “Agh! That hurts!”
Kaylynn and Lorenzo giggled. “I told you to put on some sunscreen!”, his wife reminded him teasingly.


Kaylynn sauntered over to her husband and he put his hands around her tiny, tanned waist. “I told you I don’t need sunscreen, I’m too naturally tan to get burnt.”
Kaylynn rolled her eyes playfully. “Oh really? Then how is it that you’re fried and I, the original Snow White, am perfectly bronzed?”


“I don’t know”, Don purred while embracing Kaylynn and admiring her body, “But I like it.” Kaylynn's heart began to flutter; she placed her hands gingerly on her husband’s burned shoulders. Don winked at his wife as she looked over to their oblivious son, who was now combing the beach for seashells.
“Uhmm, Lorenzo sweetie. Daddy and I are going up to the room for a minute. We’ll be back in a little bit. You stay here and keep looking for shells. Okay?”
Lorenzo was too busy to even look at his mother. “Sure, mommy.”


Kaylynn and Don scurried up to their hotel room, hearts pounding in anticipation. Lorenzo didn’t bother his parents, and the family soon got back to beach activities after the quick, vacation rendezvous. They spent all day on the beach and the family of three fell into bed that night, exhausted from sun and salt water.


Lorenzo, unfortunately for Kaylynn and Don, recuperated from the previous days’ activities much faster than his parents. “Wake up, wake up, wake up! I have my trunks ready and I want to go swimmin’!”, the boy shouted while jumping up and down on his bed.


Don groaned and kept his eyes shut. “Lorenzo, it’s hailing outside. Go back to sleep.”
“No it’s not!” Lorenzo continued flinging his body up and down on the bouncy mattress.
“Yes, it is.”
“Liar Liar, pants on fire!”
Don sighed, hoping his wife would help him out. “Kay?”
Kaylynn kept her eyes closed. “Lorenzo, we’ll go in a little bit. Just please, stop jumping on the bed.”
Lorenzo instantly fell back on the mattress. “Yes, mommy.” Don grumbled something about a "mama's boy" and fell back to sleep.


The Lotharios spent the day exploring every opportunity available on Twikkii island. From fire dancing and shopping, to hot springs and local cuisine, the family was busy as a beehive. They had a blast, and bonded with one another quite a bit.


Kaylynn felt herself growing tired very quickly throughout their day, but toughed out every adventure for the sake of the vacation. When they finally got back to the hotel, she flopped down in a hammock while Lorenzo and Don ran off to find firewood. Kaylynn’s felt her insides gurgling and held her stomach in distress. Ugh, she thought to herself. It’s probably that pineapple surprise. This must be the surprise. Kaylynn chuckled at her joke, then grimaced as the laugh knotted up her stomach.


The vacation came to an end with a boy’s only marshmallow roast; Kaylynn was too sick to join the party. Don and his son enjoyed their guy time together. He explained the dangers of food poisoning to Lorenzo while they sat on the beach, causing the boy to eye his goldening marshmallow suspiciously.


The Lothario family eventually headed back home, unpacked, and changed out of their beach clothes. Kaylynn was still ill, unsure if it was really pineapple surprise or perhaps seasickness. She convinced her husband to check the mailbox and listen to messages on the answering machine for her.
Don reluctantly payed the bills and hit the red button on the black receiver to hear the messages. There was a message from Brandi, wanting Kaylynn to call her back and tell her how the vacation went "ASAP". A couple coworkers had called for both Don and Kaylynn. The last message, however, caught Don off guard. He didn’t recognize the voice, it sounded like a young girl’s. Probably a wrong number, he thought before really listening to the message.
“Hi. I hope this is the right number. I’m looking for Don Lothario. My name is Letti Caliente, and I’m sitting here with my brother, Ricardo Caliente. You've never met us, but I think you can guess who we are. Anyway, we’d both really like to meet you so please, give us a call back. There's a lot to talk about. My mom, Nina, says you should still have our number. So, bye for now I suppose.” *BEEP*

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