This part of the story immediately precedes and foreshadows the events in 'Rag Doll' Ch.05. As always, I caution the reader that this is just a story, I had tremendous fun piecing it all together, I hope you enjoy reading it too, and enjoy the conclusion to the entire saga. I hope for all the die-hard fans of the series that the questions regarding Ricky's epiphany, and how and where he found the rest of his family are finally answered to their satisfaction.
All comments are read, sometimes disbelievingly, if you like the story, please vote or comment, and if you didn't, please tell me why. All emails are answered, as long as you leave a return contact email. Read and enjoy!
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Rag Doll Ch. 07: Ricky's Family - Part 2
I know it's a hackneyed cliché, but the shopping trip with my sisters really was the first day of the rest of my life. For the first time in my life, someone had done something for me, with me, and nothing was expected from me; dad had brought us up to expect quid pro quo; I did for you, now you do for me, and that's how it was with Bobby and me, even though now we had nothing; he fed me, so he expected me to one day pay him back, and the payback would be so much more than he'd ever done for me, because that was how it worked. Those were the rules dad taught us, and I'd accepted them, but now I was beginning to see that didn't have to be how it was.
It was kind of an eye-opener; my sister (my sister, wow; I was still trying that on for size!) had given me things and bought me things because she wanted to, not because she had to; my other sister kept me company and stopped the loneliness from seeping back in not because she had to, but because she wanted to. I just had to learn how their world worked; overall they just seemed to have had a much better deal than me, at least when it came to parenting and family life. Perhaps I could learn to be like them, to get more out of life than I thought I was stuck with; maybe they'd even let me share in their world, in their family. It wasn't much to hope for, but it seemed to me to be a whole new, better way to be.
After that first meal together as a new family, Ayesha asked me to stay while the girls cleared up and washed up. I was a little apprehensive, but she didn't look mad anymore, in fact, she almost looked...concerned, if that was the right word.
"Richard...sorry, Ricky, I keep forgetting, I just wanted you to know that the girls, your sisters, and I have had a couple of conversations about, well, you, to be perfectly frank, and we have a couple of things to clear up with you, no, wait, before you say anything, let me finish."
I subsided and waited to hear what she had to say, not certain if it was good news for me.
"Ricky, I won't lie, I had to think hard about this, so please hear me out, OK?"
I nodded and she smiled and continued.
"OK, so, this is kind of a unique situation, but I think I know how we can make it work. Ricky, your sisters like you; they both told me in their own way how they feel about possibly having you stay here, with us, and being part of our family. Now that I've seen and heard how your sisters feel, and from what I can gather from talking and yes, losing it with you, too, for which I apologise, you've never done anything to me or mine, I think I'd like that too."
She smiled at me, an open, friendly smile.
"What I'm saying is: Ricky Davies, my babies feel safer now you're here, it's hard to explain, but they're sure of it, and they're sure about you, and they have very good instincts, so, if you feel comfortable doing it, would you like to stay here, in this house, with your sisters and me, and become a real part of this family? And more to the point, if we let you in, will you let us in, too?"
I was waiting to be told I couldn't stay, that the shopping trip had just been an impulse by the girls and there was no place for me here, so my heart literally leaped into my throat at the thought of being somewhere where I could perhaps be a part of something; the thought of having real, actual family, of being surrounded by people who actually gave a toss about me, filled me with feelings I had no way to describe.
I struggled to speak, and could only nod rapidly like a jackass, afraid I'd blurt out some nonsense in my state of excitement. Soft fingers brushed my hair and I spun around to see Shari standing behind me, a big smile on her beautiful face.
"Yaz thinks you need a haircut..." she murmured, raking her fingers through my hair again, "but I think your hair's just fine, you have very nice hair, a light trim, a little product and you'll be fine..."
With that, Shari knelt down next to me and delicately finger-combed my hair back out of my eyes, something no-one had ever done for me before, so she could look me intently in the eyes.
"You'll be OK, Ricky, you're safe here, you're one of us now, so we'll have to learn how to get along and fit together as we go along, OK? First things first, though; we follow a few simple rules, they're more to do with being family and watching out for others than regimenting our lives, and we expect you to do the same as us, so here they are: number one, don't go out without one of us along; you don't know enough about London and what the streets around here are like, especially at night. Until you get some London street-smarts and learn how to get around, you'll only go out with Yaz or me; this is for your protection, but ours too; having a guy with us means we'll be a lot safer in some of the places we have to go sometimes for work reasons. Can you do that?"
I nodded in agreement, and she smiled her lovely smile as once again as she flicked my hair out back off my face.
"Number two, this is your home now, not a prison, nothing's out of bounds, but we do respect each other's privacy, so please knock and wait before you enter bedrooms and bathrooms, or mummy's office; up to now obviously, this has been a 'girls-only' house, and Yaz, mummy, and I are used to wandering around less than fully dressed; that will stop, but old habits die hard, so just...knock if you want one of us, otherwise stay out of our rooms unless we invite you in, OK? Just look the other way if we're not fully dressed for any reason. We'll respect your privacy too; we'll only come into your room if you invite us in, but please try and not wander around in bath-towels or underwear too, OK?"
I grinned and nodded; simple rules to get along with others, it made sense.
"Rule number three: everybody helps-out; we share the chores, we all clean the house, help with the cooking, Yaz will help you there, she's a great cook, you'll learn good basics from her, and we all tidy-up, take out the rubbish on bin-days, take our turn doing the shopping, and mummy will show you how to use the washer-dryer if you need to do some laundry, and of course we all do what we see needs doing as and when. If the carpet needs vacuuming and you're there, you just do it, don't wait for someone else to come along and do it for you."
She patted my leg reassuringly.
