"Girlie, are you ok? I feel like I'm looking after you here, and it's meant to be the other way round," my best friend said as she sat on the couch.
"I'm ok. I'm just trying to understand what I did to Raphael for him to react the way that he did last night," I sighed.
"What are you talking about?" she asked, so I told her.
"Well, that is strange. And you say he was acting strange earlier in the day too?" she asked, to which I nodded once more.
"Maybe he's going through something," she commented.
"That's what I'm thinking. I just wish he didn't shut me out," I replied.
"Don't put much thought into it. He'll probably call you back once he's dealt with whatever is bothering him. Just give him time," she suggested.
"I will," I agreed.
"Good! Now, I believe you promised me a nice foot rub," she said innocently.
"It's funny how you're the only one who remembers this encounter," I raised an eyebrow.
"Deep down, you do. You're just blocking the memory because of your worries over your husband," she said cheekily.
"Uh huh! Speaking of better halves, has Jono landed yet?" I asked as I set her feet on my lap.
"I just got off of the phone with him. He landed but he says he wont be staying for eight days as originally planned, and now that I know that you and Raphael aren't on good terms, I understand his sudden decision," she replied.
"He doesn't have to do that," I panicked.
"We both care about you girlie, which is why I support his decision fully. We look up to you guys, which is why we want to help you where we can," she said.
"You both really don't need to worry," I told her.
"Joel may not have to, but I certainly do," she said, folding her arms.
"Why?" I scowled.
"Because you're either lying to me, or you're desperately trying to hide whatever is going on with you," she replied.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I said, looking anywhere but at her.
"I'm pregnant and I've been banned from doing any work girlie, which means I'm just itching for a new hobby, like oh I don't know, finding out what you're hiding from me," she pointed out.
"When did Jono say he'd be back?" I asked.
"You're changing the subject," she deadpanned.
"I'm not. I just need to know," I defended.
"He'll be back by Tuesday morning. Why do you ask?" she asked.
"Well, there's something I need to talk to you about," I responded.
"So you are hiding something from me?" she asked.
"I am, but you'll understand why once I've told you," I sighed.
She dropped the questioning and we spoke about other things, but my mind was still stuck on Ralph. My encounter with him had been the greatest shock of my life by far, but once I knew his entire story, I was convinced.
However, I don't know how my husband is going to take it.
You see, this is something I have no intentions of hiding from him. There's already so much that he and I have overcome, and I'm not about to jeopardise that by hiding the biggest secret ever. This he needs to know, and I don't care who has any obligations, or whatever their obligations may be.
I woke up the following morning and told Rhonda that I was heading down to open up the bakery. The truth was that I was meeting up with Ralph. After he'd helped me get the things to the bakery on Saturday morning, he'd disappeared, but had left his numbers with me.
"Thank you for agreeing to meet me again. I know that I probably overwhelmed you the first time we met, but from all I've learnt, you mean the world to my brother, so I thought you deserved the truth," he said as we sat down. We were meeting in his temporary apartment.
"Then you know what I'm about to say next," I pointed out.
"He can't know Aretha," he shook his head.
"And I can't keep this from him Ralph. Our marriage is still fresh, and extremely fragile. This is the last thing he needs me to do. I refuse to keep this from him," I said sternly.
"Is there convincing you otherwise?" he asked.
"No! Raphael has been beating himself up over your death. I refuse to let my husband go through so much pain, knowing that it could very easily be ended," I replied. He was silent for a while.
"You really care about him huh?" he asked.
"I'm in love with him. I married the man for heaven sakes. Of course I care about him," I huffed.
"I didn't mean any offence by that. I just meant that not many women would marry someone like my brother for who he is," he elaborated.
"Raphael is a handful, but he's my handful. I didn't marry him for any of his possessions. I married him because of the man that he is, that I know he chose to hide from everyone simply because no one believed that he could be that man," I explained.
"I know what you're talking about. I tried to make him see that side of himself, but I guess I don't have a woman's love," he joked, making me laugh.
"I guess not! Does this mean I can tell him?" I asked.
"How about we sit here and work out the safest way to go about this, because something tells me Raphael isn't the only one who you want to know about me," he said knowingly. I reached out to touch his hand.
"It's been eleven years Ralph. Don't you want them to know that you're alive? Don't you want to be reconnected with them?" I asked.
"It's a lot harder than that. I don't remember them for the most part, and I highly doubt that I'm the same person they remember. I just don't want to disappoint them," he sighed as he let go of my hand.
"Oh you silly man! You could never disappoint them. They'll be happy to have you alive more than anything. You can be anyone that you want to be," I smiled. He cocked his head to the side.
"You're so different to her," he commented.
"I'm assuming that by her, you mean Gabi? Do you remember her?" I asked.
"I do. I remember fragments of her, but mostly how toxic she was for my brother. I thought that by taking her away from him, I was saving him, but he was too in love with her to see it that way. He hated me so much after that night, and that was the last time I saw him," he explained.
I was tremendously stunned to find out that Ralph was never in love with Gabi to begin with. I mean, I still don't fully know everything about my husband's past, but this I knew about, and to find out that he was wrong in his thoughts of his brother had knocked the breath right out of me.
Ralph explained to me how he, Jonathan and Salina could see just how toxic Gabi was for Raphael, and how they came up with plans to get her away from him. Only, all the plans didn't work and instead, the snake just sucked my husband in deeper and deeper, until he couldn't be saved. Ralph only pretended to love her because he knew she would thrive from the attention, and he hoped she would finally leave his brother alone.
If that isn't love, then I don't know what is.
"I'm so sorry Ralph," I told him honestly.
"I'd like to say that it's ok, but that would be a lie. My brother is the only person whose memory of is untainted in my mind. To be quite honest, he's the only person I truly want to reconnect with. They say having a sibling is a special bond, but having a twin is a damn near unbreakable one, and I need to fix the one I managed to break with him," he told me.
"I promise to help wherever he can, and I'm sure he'll understand everything once you tell him the truth," I pointed out.
"Thank you for your optimism Mrs Maestri. Now, how are we going to go about this?" he asked.
Of course being who I am, I'd already thought of a number of scenarios which we could play this out by. He listened attentively to every suggestion I had, before criticizing what he thought wouldn't work. By the time he was done, we had a full proof plan.
"So I guess I'll come and see you tomorrow morning then?" he asked.
"Yep! You know where I'll be," I said before hugging him and leaving.
I headed to check on things at the bakery. I was beyond relieved to not find my sister there. I just wasn't in the mood to face her interrogation, especially after she'd seen me leave on Saturday night with sadness written all over my face.
"Mrs Maestri!" I heard someone call. I turned to find that it was Raquel, but I was surprised to find that she was with Marielle Galavis.
"Hello Raquel. What are you doing here?" I asked after having greeted.
"My friend and I were coming to get some cake and coffee from the best bakery in town," Raquel beamed.
"You might be in the wrong place," I winked.
"Never! The bakery turned out great. Thank you once again for the invite to the opening. I got some amazing business deals out of it," Raquel rambled. I'd invited her and Teri to come and they couldn't have gushed over the celebrities enough.
"It's my pleasure. You did a truly magnificent job with these pieces," I complimented.
"Thank you," she blushed.
"How come you're here and not at the office?" Marielle asked me.
"I thought my absence would please you," I raised an eyebrow at her.
"Why would your absence please her?" Raquel asked in confusion while Marielle flushed.
Clearly Raquel doesn't know about her friend's infatuation with my husband.
"How is my husband today anyway Marielle?" I asked her.
"I wouldn't know. He's been in a very pissy mood. Problems at home?" she asked, quite chuffed at that.
"I can guarantee that you'll be the first to know if there are," I smirked. Her expression faltered and was quickly replaced by a scowl.
"So how can I help you ladies?" I asked them.
Raquel ended up ordering for them both since Marielle decided that she's pouting. Once I was done serving them, I didn't want to risk the chance of possibly running into my sister, so I left and headed back to Rhonda's apartment.
"When is Lina meant to be back?" I asked her as I cooked dinner.
"If I'm not mistaken, she thinks she's found her dream man, so she extended her Cuba stay to see where their relationship goes," she replied.
"Oh Lina! Do her brothers know why she hasn't returned yet?" I asked.
"I doubt they noticed, and I doubt that they will any time soon, which is honestly perfect for her," she pointed out.
"True! It does buy her time to at least get to know the guy before the Maestri brothers do their worst," I giggled.
"Precisely! So, how are operations at the bakery?" she asked.
"Everything is going smoothly. People really like it," I smiled.
"Of course they do girlie. It's one of your masterpieces. Whatever you and your husband decide to do turns to gold," she complimented.
"Thank you I guess! What did you spend your day doing?" I asked.
"What could I do? Do you have any idea how annoying it is to be banned from doing anything? I'm only thirteen weeks pregnant, and yet I've already been banned from doing anything," she huffed.
It's safe to say that the Barclays are extremely excited about their new heir.
At first it was Geoffrey and Marylyn that had more excitement than anyone else, but I guess having them around has rubbed off on Jonathan. Unfortunately, it's having the reverse effect on my spitfire best friend.
"I take it you're still looking into moving the wedding?" I questioned.
"I don't even know how to tell him that I want to move it. I just feel like with all the baby excitement, the wedding would take away from our child you know? I'd rather we wait at least a year and a half before getting married. That's not too much to ask is it?" she sighed.
"You have to talk to him though, and since I know the look on your face very well, don't even think about it because I'm not getting involved. You need to learn to talk to each other about the serious things as well if you want your marriage to succeed," I pointed out.
"I hate that you're right, I really do. He's already house hunting Rita. What am I going to do?" she asked.
"You're going to be supportive while also talking to him about taking things slowly. Now that Marylyn is accepting, you don't need to rush anything. Just tell him that and promise him that you wont leave him, and I can guarantee that he'll understand," I explained.
"I guess what you're saying makes a lot of sense. I just need to have the guts to carry it out," she said thoughtfully.
"You're Rhonda Riviera. You'll get it right," I nudged her.
"I may be Rhonda Riviera, but Joel makes me feel like a high school girl with her first crush. I have never had anyone blast through my defences the way that he did," she admitted with a blush.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I never thought I'd live to see this day," I teased.
"Shut up! Raphael told me that you told him about Eva and Daniel," she suddenly brought up.
"I did. I couldn't hold it from him any longer," I replied.
"I'm proud of you girlie. It couldn't have been easy to tell him," she commented.
"It wasn't, and I honestly worry everyday that he'll wake up and realize that I'm damaged goods. Maybe Eva and Daniel were right when they said that I belong to them and them only. Only they could possibly love me after everything they've done to me," I pointed out.
"Now you're just self-sabotaging. Raphael loves you more than you're willing to accept, and the sooner you accept it, the better. He wants to avenge you more than he wants to leave you. He's not going anywhere, and I wish you would just open your heart up to the possibility of a true happily ever after," she said, reaching out to hold my hand.
"With everything I've been through, it's not easy to have that kind of hope, especially when I'm always so strong for everyone else. However, I know what you're saying. I do believe that my husband is my happily ever after. We just have to fight to make it there, and I have to believe that I deserve it more than anything," I replied.
"That's my girlie!" she beamed.
She fell asleep before she even finished her dinner. She sleeps quite a lot for someone who's only thirteen weeks pregnant, but then again, she always loved her sleep. Pregnancy just allows her to use it as an excuse to sleep at any time.
"Is she asleep?" a voice whispered behind me, making me jump. I turned to find my other best friend there.
"Why would you do that to a person?" I asked him.
"Because I'm a demented human who wanted to frighten you," he chuckled.
"Well done Jono," I told him as I rolled my eyes.
"Why thank you Mrs Maestri. Now, is the love of my life asleep or not?" he asked.
"She's asleep on the couch. I thought you were only coming back in the morning," I scowled.
"Love does crazy things to a person. You wouldn't believe how much I missed her," he sighed.
"Aaaaw Jono, I'm so happy for you," I cooed as I hugged him.
"Get your cooties off of me woman. I don't like this feeling," he grumbled.
"What? Missing her?" I asked. He nodded.
"I have never felt like this for anyone, let alone in such a short space of time, and it honestly terrifies me," he admitted.
"There's a simple answer to what you're feeling right now, even though it comes in the form of a question," I told him.
"Well, go on then," he said anxiously.
"Do you see the rest of your life without her in it?" I asked.
I've been asked that question before with regards to my husband, which is how I know that it's the question that will set his thoughts straight. No matter my fears or doubts, I am confident that living without my husband is not an option for me.
I'll face it all, as long as he's in my life and heart.
"I've thanked God every day that I met you on that plane, and that you were alone," he said after a while.
"Why is my being alone relevant?" I asked in confusion.
"We wouldn't be as close as we are if you had been with Ambrosi when we met. Thanks to you being alone, I was able to gain another best friend who has helped me tremendously, which is why I want to return the favour. Who is the man you went back to your house with on Saturday morning?" he asked. My eyes widened.
"How do you know about that?" I asked.
"It's the reason why your husband left in such a pissy mood," he sighed.
"I don't understand," I admitted.
"You have to understand that while he trusts you, he's still waiting for the other shoe to drop. I believe you were acting strangely on Saturday, or at least strange enough to kick his paranoia into action. He had Petro pull the surveillance from your house on Saturday morning, and he saw you bring a man into the house, who strategically managed to avoid his front being seen by the cameras," he explained.
"He thinks I'm cheating on him, doesn't he?" I asked knowingly.
"He doesn't want to believe it, but this is also how everything started with Gabi. He caught her on surveillance and nothing went well for him since. I'm pretty sure the reason why he left is because the past crashed in on him," he explained.
"I wish he could've talked to me about it," I sighed.
"I tried to tell him that, but this is Ambrosi we're talking about. I don't know whether or not you need to give him space," he admitted.
"It's not even debatable. I am giving him space, but only because he needs to be one with himself before I reveal something to him," I said.
"Are you pregnant?" he asked wide eyed.
"I wish, but no. I just need to make a call," I said, excusing myself. I took my phone out and dialled his number.
"It's very late Mrs Maestri. I thought we were meeting tomorrow," he said as he answered.
"Firstly, would you stop calling me Mrs Maestri? Secondly, I need you to come over now," I replied.
"Alright fine, I'll stop. Why am I coming over now though?" he asked. I could hear some shuffling in the background.
"I'll explain when you get here," I said.
"I'll be there in fifteen minutes," he responded before the line went dead.
I went back to the kitchen to find Jonathan gone, but my best friend was awake again. She had her head in the fridge, probably having one of her weird and disgusting cravings. Seriously, the things this woman eats make my stomach churn.
"Who were you talking to?" she asked, coming out of the fridge with food in her hands.
"Just a friend. What are you even eating?" I asked in disgust.
"It's called food," she retorted cheekily.
"It's called unnatural," her fiancé said as he walked into the kitchen. Her eyes went wide before they filled with tears.
"Jo," she whispered, dropping all the food she had in her hands.
"Hey babe," he smiled, which was enough to have her running into his arms.
Cue the cooing in my head.
"I missed you," she sniffed.
Yep, they're meant to be.
"I missed you too. That's why I came back early," he said, wiping away her tears.
"I love you," she said. He leaned down to kiss her.
"I love you too my munchkin," he smirked, making her giggle.
"It's like I'm looking at people I don't know," I teased.
"Whatever! We've suffered through this with you and Ambrosi, so suck it!" Rhonda told me before sticking her tongue out at me. I was about to reply when the doorbell went.
"Isn't it late to be having any visitors?" Jonathan frowned.
"I need you guys to go and sit down," I told them. I was glad when they didn't ask questions.
"Why am I here Aretha?" Ralph asked me when I opened the door.
"Because your brother is pissed off at me and thinks I'm having an affair with you," I replied.
"I don't understand," he said with a scowl.
"Just come in and I'll explain," I told him. He walked in and I closed the door before leading him to the lounge.
"Hey Raphael," my best friend beamed, while Jonathan was frozen in shock.
"Joel? I thought you said this is your best friend's apartment?" Ralph turned to me.
"It is. She just so happens to be Jonathan's fiancée," I replied.
"Why do you look so surprised?" Rhonda asked her fiancé.
"Babe, that's not Raphael," he told her. She turned back to Ralph with wide eyes.
"Ralph?" she asked.
"You know about me?" he asked in shock.
"How?" Jonathan instead asked.
"It's a long story, but this is who I was with on Saturday. You can imagine why I had to have him hide his front," I told him.
"What are you talking about?" Ralph looked to me in confusion.
"Your brother asked for surveillance at the house from Saturday morning, so he saw you helping me with the baked goods and now thinks I'm cheating on him the same way Gabi did," I explained.
"Doesn't he have more faith in you? I have never met anyone who loves my brother as much as you do," Ralph said strongly.
"He has every right to be upset with me right now Ralph, which is exactly why I don't want to hide this from him. I don't want him to think that history is repeating itself in any way, because no offence to you, but Raphael is the only man I love," I said seriously.
"I don't doubt that, and I'd never do anything to jeopardise that. I still don't know why you called me down here earlier," he admitted.
"How long have you known that he's alive?" Jonathan asked me.
"I found out on Saturday morning. I called you down here because if there's anyone who's going to help us with this, it's these two," I replied to the both of them.
"What are we helping with exactly?" Rhonda asked.
"With the best way this can come out to the Maestri family, especially Raphael. I refuse to have this hidden, especially from my husband. I don't care about the dangers of the situation. He has to know," I replied.
"What dangers?" Jonathan asked in confusion.
"My situation is a very complicated one, but long story short, I work for the CIA now," Ralph replied.
"You work for the Americans?" the engaged couple asked concurrently.
"Yep! Revealing the fact that I'm alive may not be the wisest thing to do, but apparently my sister in law will have none of it. She wants the truth out, and I'm beginning to learn that going against her is something I might not want to do," Ralph sighed.
"Especially where Ambrosi is involved," Rhonda said in agreement.
"There's so much I still need to understand, but seeing you alive is the most important thing. We'll help in any way that we can," Jonathan said.
For the next three hours, we planned how we were going to play this whole thing out. By bringing Jonathan and Rhonda on board, we were able to come up with an even greater plan, one that I was sure would work even better than what we'd originally planned.
Rhonda let him sleep over as well since her apartment has three guest rooms. It was early morning when we finally went to bed, and it was late morning when we finally woke up. I could tell that Jonathan was still disbelieving of the sight before him.
"So, you'll go to the house, and then I'll get you out without you being seen," Ralph said as we all finished off our breakfast.
"And then you'll come back here and we'll meet with the Maestri's and everyone else who is important. Once they know about Ralph, we'll kick the next chain of events into action," Jonathan added.
"I still don't agree with the last part of this plan. It's so cruel," I sighed.
"It's also a joke Rita. My brother is so stiff it's unbelievable. I would've thought he'd changed over eleven years, but from everything I've learned, he's only gotten worse over time. Just trust us on this, and if it goes badly, you can always blame me for it," Ralph shrugged.
"So easy to say, until he's on the verge of killing you," I pointed out.
"You really think he'd want to kill me after finding out that I wasn't dead all along?" he raised an amused eyebrow.
"Remember my words when he has you in a chokehold," I said innocently.
When we were finished with our breakfast, I headed out with Ralph following me, while Rhonda and Jonathan made the relevant calls to everyone. I got to the house and was greeted by the security team.
I went inside and packed a bag of all the relevant things I needed. I heard Ralph enter the house minutes after and he assured me that no one had seen him. I could only imagine how pissed off my husband would be when he found out that our security can be so easily breached.
We left without being seen, and a big part of me felt the shadiest I have ever felt in my life. With the overwhelming guilt, I tried my husband's phone again, but it sent me straight to voicemail. I thought about sending him an email, but I thought against it.
"You weren't caught right? This plan wont work if you were," Jonathan asked when we made it back.
"We weren't," Ralph confirmed.
"Good! Everyone will be here in an hour," Rhonda replied.
As we waited, Ralph caught Jonathan up with everything while Rhonda and I prepared food and snacks for everyone. I was feeling highly nervous about doing this, but I also knew that it had to be done. Once everyone knew the truth, it would be easier to break it to my husband.
"What are we all doing here? You guys pulled me out of a very important meeting," Fabius asked. We'd suggested that Ralph not be around when everyone arrived.
"Trust me when I say that this is more important than your meeting," I told him.
"Well then, get on with it," Marcia said impatiently.
We'd decided that no amount of words would be able to explain the situation, so we had Ralph reveal himself then. The initial reaction was confusion because I think they all thought he was Raphael, until they noticed the differences.
Much like I did when I first saw him.
"Ralph?"Marcia was the first to whisper in disbelief.
"Hi guys," Ralph said nervously. I sent him an encouraging look, to which he smiled to.
"Mio Dio! Il mio bambino è vivo!" Anita said incredulously as Raoul held her. I could see the surprise on Ralph's face. [Oh my God! My baby is alive!]
I hadn't exactly filled him in on what he'd also missed out on.
"Madre, padre," he said in surprise.
"You know that Anita is your biological mother?" I asked him.
"I've always known. It didn't take Ambrosi and I all that long to figure it out," he told me.
"How?" Fabius asked.
"We have her eyes," Ralph replied.
"That's not what he means Ralph," Luigi told him.
"I know. It's a really long story, and I need you guys to just sit and listen. You can ask your questions later, but for now, you just need to listen and understand," he told them, to which they nodded.
He got into the story and they sat, listening attentively. As Jonathan had said, we invited everyone we felt is relevant, which meant my dad, sister, Bianca (who had just returned from the safe house), Liam and Malia had also been invited to come through.
They all looked the way I probably did when Ralph told me everything that had happened to him in the past eleven years.
"Your brother was arrested for your murder," Raoul commented once Ralph was done.
"I know, and he was only released as quickly as he was because of me," Ralph replied vaguely.
"Wait a minute! So what you're saying is that you remember who we are to you, but not entirely?" Marcia asked him, to which he nodded.
"I'm guessing that I only remember Ambrosi fully because of our bond," he added.
"Why reach out now? And why to my daughter of all people?" my dad asked him.
"I saw the wedding special on TV, and I had never seen the look on my brother's face before. He loves this woman, and I could immediately tell that she loves him too. I was originally told to avoid coming into contact with any of you, especially for the sake of the case, but I couldn't take it any longer. I needed to reach out to someone, and the more I read about how highly acclaimed my sister in law is, the more I knew that I could trust her with this. What I didn't count on was her dedication to not only my brother, but my family as well. She insisted that you should all know that I am alive, so here I am, disobeying orders in the name of this woman," Ralph explained.
That made my sister laugh.
"Trust you to get a man to risk his job and safety for the truth," she told me.
"Everyone needs to know the truth," I shrugged.
"God bless you child," Florencia told me while her grandson sent her a smile.
"So what now? Aren't you going to be in trouble?" Marcia asked her brother.
"I don't know just as yet. I sent in a report this morning explaining the situation to my superiors, so I have to wait for a response from them before I can confirm anything," Ralph replied.
"They can't take you away from me again," Anita said, tears filling her eyes.
"I promise you that I'm not going anywhere Ma," he told her assertively.
"What are you saying?" I asked him.
"I'm saying I'm staying. You've convinced me to stay, so I'm going to," he smiled.
"Another point for the greatest sister in law in history!" Fabius smirked.
"She is pretty awesome isn't she?" Bianca smiled. It looked like Ralph only noticed her then, and the confusion was back on his face again.
Someone has a lot of questions to ask I'm sure, and that's exactly what he did.
Since everyone knew his story, we all caught him up on what he'd missed in the eleven years that he's been gone. The siblings are obviously the ones who had the most to say since they knew the most about the eleven years.
We just excluded everything to do with recent dangers since we figured he should be reunited with Raphael first.
"I know eleven years is a long time, but man I didn't think I missed this much," Ralph admitted.
As much as Anita wanted to spend time with him, she and Raoul understood that he needed to take in everything that had happened, so they left together with my dad and Florencia. That meant that we were left behind with the siblings, my sister, Liam, Malia, Bianca and my best friends.
"I still can't believe you're alive. I can't even begin to imagine how Ambrosi is going to take this. He has hated himself so much since he realized that Gabi had been playing him all along," Fabius commented.
"How was he after I supposedly died?" Ralph asked.
"Everything went to hell for him. We didn't know anything about him half the time. It took Gabi's pregnancy to slow him down, and then the birth of the quads to end his cartel life," Luigi informed.
"The cartel just let him go?" Ralph asked in doubt.
"From the looks of things, yes. They haven't bothered him since the quads were born," Jonathan replied.
"Surely he found that strange?" Ralph said.
"We wouldn't know. The past isn't something he's entertained talking about, so none of us have ever broached the subject," Fabius responded.
I could see the concern on Ralph's face, which in turn triggered my own concern. I don't know much about Raphael's past, and I was just now learning that he was a part of a cartel. He'd told me that he'd been involved in illegal things, but now I'm beginning to realize that I don't know just how illegal.
"I can't believe you still want to prank him after all these years," Marcia laughed.
"When we were fifteen, I promised him that I would finally get him back for that prank he pulled on me when we turn thirty. Who better to play along than his beloved wife?" Ralph smirked.
"I still don't think this is a good idea. You're going to give him a heart attack," I sighed.
"He'll live! He's much stronger than that," Ralph shrugged.
"Not when it comes to Aretha. She's his greatest weakness," Luigi said.
"Which makes it even better. He's going to want to hit me, but hey, it will at least lighten the mood," Ralph said.
"You're so twisted," my sister laughed.
"Thank you," he smirked.
We spent the rest of the night just talking and putting together the rest of the plan. I was against it on so many levels, but they all figured that it would work better this way. Hell, I was tempted to call my husband and warn him about everything, but my phone was confiscated from me.
"So, your husband is pretty much in panic mode right now," my sister informed.
"You guys are so wrong for this, and I'll never forgive any of you if he's mad at me for this," I sighed.
"I told you that you can blame me for everything," Ralph reminded.
"That's not the point here. I don't like the fact that we're playing with his emotions like this," I admitted.
"Like Ralph said, your husband is so stiff. I don't think he's ever been pranked since he was a kid, which is kind of sad. We know you feel guilty, but you're being a party pooper. Just go with this, and we'll all take full responsibility if he's really mad," Rhonda told me.
"Alright fine! As long as you're all ready to defend me if this goes wrong," I pointed out.
"We promise," they chorused.
Even Chang had been dragged into this, and by Sunday night, the venue was ready. The twins were turning thirty, and Ralph wanted to throw his brother a party to apologize for being gone for so long. The girls had arrived, together with Salina. The five of them were shocked to see him, but they were happy after they got over their shock.
Even Sven looked stunned for the first time since I've known him.
"Alright girlie! Chang just sent a text saying that he's pretending to locate you, so it's almost time to get your acting in play," Rhonda told me.
"I still don't want to do this," I whined.
"Come on Rita. You promised me you would," Ralph pouted.
"I seriously hate it when you two do that to me," I mumbled as I took the phone he was handing me. I dialled my husband's number.
"Maestri," he answered.
"Rafe," I whispered.
"Ari?" he said, sounding panicked.
I am going to hell for this.
"Rafe, I'm in trouble," I said before coughing.
"Where are you?" he asked.
"I don't know. I was knocked out, so I don't know. I only just managed to get this phone. Find me Rafe," I whispered before hanging up the phone.
"I wouldn't have done it better myself," my sister mock sniffed.
"I'm going to hell for what I just did. He's so worried," I said guiltily.
"Which only means he'll be here within the next fifteen minutes. We all need to hide, and fast," Fabius suggested.
We all found a hiding place and I switched off all the lights before going to mine. The mansion looks abandoned from the outside, which is apparently the whole idea. We waited for a few minutes, until we heard a car pull up.
My heart was racing when I heard the front door open. I had to stop myself from running out to the very husband I hadn't seen in more than a week. I'd missed him, and I was truly worried about what his reaction to this would be. He flipped the light switch and the whole room lit up.
"What the hell?" we heard him say before we all jumped out of our hiding places.
"SURPRISE! HAPPY THIRTIETH BIRTHDAY!"
**********
HEY SMURFLETTES!!!
I am SO SORRY for how long this took. With my exams, I found myself having writer's block, so I couldn't remember what was meant to happen in this chappie, and then it hit me last night!
I hope this is worth it! Thank you so much for your continuing support on this book. I love you guys!
Katee (^^,)