Richie's Arrival

When the plane finally finished taxiing to the gate in Boston late Friday afternoon, Richie stood and stretched. He had left as early as he could on Friday. He wanted to leave right after seeing Cheryl back to her hotel, but had dinner plans with his daughter. He was distracted all night, which wasn’t lost on Ava, and he wondered what she’d tell her mother when he dropped her back home. He was packed and ready to leave by nine Friday morning when his own words from lunch the previous day came back to him. He owed Jennifer something special.

He knew she wouldn’t appreciate jewelry or flowers; she’d like them of course, but she wasn’t a ‘buy me off’ kind of girl. Besides, he wanted to give her something personal; something that showed her how much she meant to him; something that showed her that he was serious about them, and wanted to put the last days behind them once and for all and move forward; together.

As he was pacing the house trying to think, he discarded dozens of ideas as too trite. He thought about writing her a song, but thought that was way too clichéd. But, he reasoned, he always poured his heart and soul into the pieces he’d written for Ava, why not for Jen? As he walked purposefully toward the small studio he had set up in the back of his house, he stopped. The hallway, his “brag wall” was lined with photographs and promotional posters from his solo work from the 90’s. Seeing them made him smile.

He knew just what to do for Jennifer.

He pulled his phone from his pocket and pressed a few buttons. After a minute, he said, “Tony? Rich. I need a favor.”


Now that he was on the plane, and it was nearly to Boston, Richie was practically crawling out of his skin. He’d been antsy and fidgety the entire flight. Even the flight attendants, who were usually charming and attentive, were giving him a wide berth and leery glances.

The cross-country flight seemed to take more time than ever this time around, and with every minute that passed, he had gotten more and more agitated. When the plane finally came to a halt, he grabbed his oversized duffel from the overhead, and his guitar from the captain’s closet. He stopped a moment to apologize to the flight attendant for his attitude, then turned and strode purposefully down the jet way. Ava had wanted to come to Boston to see Jen, too, but Richie knew that he needed some alone time with his girl to really make sure everything was alright. And he wanted to be alone with her when he gave her the gift Tony helped him put together.

Checking his watch, he cursed. He’d be able to get to Jen’s before she got home, but just barely. And if there was traffic getting out of Logan, he’d miss being able to surprise her.


Jennifer checked her watch for the thousandth time. Then she checked her phone. Richie had said he’d call with his flight arrangements, but when the phone rang, she was in a meeting, and let it go to voicemail. He didn’t leave a message, which surprised her, but called him back as soon as she got back to her desk. No answer.

Her cell rang an hour later when she was on a conference call, and again, no message. “What the hell?” she said to herself, when she got Richie’s voicemail again.

By the end of the day, they still hadn’t connected, and she lost service when she got on the train. She wasn’t worried; she figured Richie would either be on the first flight out on Saturday or a late flight later tonight. She was nervous about it being awkward between them, however, and wanted to know when he was coming so she could have time to prepare for his arrival.

She spent the drive home from the train station wondering what they’d do over the weekend, and by the time she keyed in the code at her gate, she had calmed herself down. She’d pour herself a glass of wine, call Richie one more time, and settle in for a quiet evening at home.

As the house came into view, Jennifer frowned. The soft glow from the front windows distracted her, and she didn’t notice the smoke rising lazily from the chimney. “I don’t remember leaving any lights on,” she said to herself. She was meticulous about shutting off the lights before she left for the day. Her frown turned to fear when she saw a shadow pass in front of the window.

Standing on the brakes, she brought the car to a halt. She threw the gearshift into reverse and backed down the driveway, dialing her cell as she went. “Patriot Security, how can I help you?”

“This is Jennifer Petruzzo, account 3287154; I want to check on the status of my alarm, please.”

She heard a few key clicks on the other end, and the voice said, “It was disarmed this afternoon at 6:12pm Eastern time. Is there a problem?”

Much of Jennifer’s fear dissipated. She had set it that morning; someone who knew the codes had unset it. Most of her family and close friends had the gate and house codes, and before she brought the police in, she wanted to be sure of who was in the house.

“There may be, but I don’t know yet. Can I keep you on the line for a few minutes?”

“Of course.”

She put the Tahoe into ‘drive’ and crept up the driveway. When she turned off the SUV and climbed out of the car, her front door opened. Standing there, filling her doorway was Richie.

“Rich!” Jennifer exclaimed. “You should have told me you were coming early!”

“Sorry, darlin’,” Richie said softly. “I wanted to surprise you.”

“Well, you certainly succeeded,” she chuckled. She put the phone up to her ear and said, “Thanks, everything’s fine. Sorry to have bothered you.”

“No trouble at all, Ms. Petruzzo. You have a good evening.”

“Thanks, same to you.” She clicked off and dropped her arm to her side. “It’s really good to see you,” she said to Richie.

“It’s so good to see you too,” he replied, coming down off the porch to stand in front of her.

After an awkward silent moment, Richie opened her arms, and Jennifer stepped into the circle of his embrace, nestling against his chest. He kissed the top of her head, then laid his cheek against her hair and squeezed her tightly. “I love you,” he said simply.

Jennifer leaned back to look at Richie, tears glittering in her eyes. “Oh, Rich, I love you too.”

He lowered his mouth to hers, and sipped naturally, gently from her lips. When Jennifer sighed, Richie tilted his head a little more, slanting his mouth so his tongue could fully explore her mouth. She met him stroke for stroke, and they stood there for long minutes, mouths locked together, their bodies pressed tightly against each other. When they finally broke apart, Jennifer smiled and caressed the side of Richie’s face. He closed his eyes against the sweetness of the gesture and sighed.

“I missed you,” he said to her, gently grasping her hand and kissing her palm. “And I’m so damned sorry.”

“I’m sorry too,” Jennifer answered, “more than you know. And I missed you something awful. But you’re here now, and everything’s going to be alright. Help me with my stuff? I’ll make you dinner.”

Richie nodded, tucked Jennifer under his arm, and led her back to the Tahoe. He grabbed her briefcase and laptop bag, she grabbed her purse, and they slowly made their way into the house.

Richie dumped Jen’s bags on the entry hall table, and pulled her into his arms again. “On second thought, I’m not very hungry right now,” he said. “Not for food anyway.”