Should we just keep driving?

 

Rico hadn't seen Bren in months. In fact, he probably hadn't seen his brother Mario even longer. He dropped in with Carmen. He'd tried to get Kenny to tag along, but he was playing with some kids in the neighborhood. It felt like spring had arrived.

"When's the baby due, again?" It felt like it should be soon.

"Possibly April," she told him as she rested her hands on her baby bump.

Rico told her she looked radiant and he meant it. Of course, it made Carmen blush. She only smiled at Bren who asked her how life was at Liv's. 

"Liv?" Carmen winced. 

Rico looked at Bren as if she'd gotten it all wrong. He didn't talk about Liv. 

"Oh," Carmen smiled as if she'd forgotten. "Patsy's daughter." She said they didn't talk about her much. She mentioned Tristan. "He comes around when he can, but he's been in Florida."

Someone else Rico avoided talking about too. Of course, he went on to ask about Mario. "He's still at that lumber yard place?"

"Not for long," Bren told him he'd gotten a call to help with spring training in baseball at the University. 

"They're going to pay him?" Rico winced with a silly grin. "How come he didn't tell me?"

"I guess he didn't want to get his hopes up, but he signed a contract. He's on the coaching staff now." Bren smiled as they all sat down in the living with a box of Girl Scout cookies and hot tea.

"Wow, dad's gonna be so happy to hear about this," Rico was still gitty with the news. He thought his brother's baseball career was over after he had an arm injury. 

"Oh, the coach had to talk him into it."

"I wonder if Nic knows," Rico said. "Nic used to play baseball with Mario."

"He hasn't called him. He always says he will, but you know, he gets busy." Bren told him.

"I don't know why he's this way, you know," Rico shrugged.

"Did you ever try out for baseball?" Carmen looked at him with an open smile.

"They'd probably make him cut his hair," Bren teased.