are you drifting way beyond what’s normal? 'cause 'round your mind rings the words that they would say? when you go home everything looks different. and you're scared of being left behind.
“you’re missing her, aren’t you?” she says, half-empty bottle in hand. naomi could think of no other reason why ricky would seem so lost in his thoughts. “that sweet little baby.” she takes another sip. “she’s literally the cutest little thing i’ve ever seen.”
the best part about this little vacay was the booze, readily available and more often than not on someone else’s tab. lord knows she’ll need it to get through the wedding, and she wasn’t even the maid of honor!
“it’s okay, you can say it. i won’t tell anyone.” naomi holds out the bottle and gives it a shake. “you want a sip or two to cheer you up?”
ricky knew he didn’t have to reply for the other to have known his answer. half of his year consisted of missing violet. the only saving grace was that they were broken up into two week intervals. thinking about any other scenario was something he avided altogether - and thus, he expertly shifted focus onto naomi’s second comment; his answer could be a lot less involved that way. “sweet?“ he retorted, “do we know the same kid?” the smile on his face said otherwise. “you know, the other day i was telling her something — can’t even remember what it was. but she goes, ‘yeah, daddy, i know’, to whatever was said ... to which i say, ‘how’s that?’. she looks at me like i’m some idiot and says, ‘you just told me’.“ he shook his head, “i stopped talking after that.“
“of that stuff?” and yet, he didn’t delay in taking the bottle from her hand, “i thought i told you to stop drinking this shit,” his eyes shifted to the bottle in his grip, “after all these years, you still don’t listen to me.” through a grin, he took a sip of the same drink he’d slandered her with.
having left daphne with her mother, she felt the anxiety clinging to her shoulders all day. she had no idea what that woman was going to do with here child and she was fearful to find out. but it was either be anxious about that, or be anxious about seeing everyone for the first time in fifteen years. so she was stepping away from the house for a bit, getting close to the ocean. this was certainly something she didn’t have in new york. when she heard sand move behind her, she turned and saw erick. “hey,” her lip quirked up. “can you believe this? even i didn’t have a sweet view like this when we were kids.” she still has no idea how they pulled this off.
“but your house did have more than one bathroom.“ out of all the things diane’s house had, the number of bathrooms was the one thing ricky found the most genial spite in. “talk about privilege,” he hummed, letting out a chuckle. the years hadn’t changed him … much; at least enough for diane to hopefully know he was joking. “you look well.” he spoke ( three words he was bound to recycle time and time again, especially during the trip ) and stepped towards the old dog until their frames were adjacent to one another. “do you feel well?” a simple question, but the way ricky asked it always made it seem heavier than it was.
look, it’s erick atto, did you know they now work as a(n) sober coach / uber driver ? you know, they can be a bit collegal & impartial, but they’re honestly changeable & mulish. when i hear their name i think of the comforting smell of homemade cooking, the ready-to-volunteer designated driver, brown eyes that could never feel like a stranger’s, listening to the bustle of the city, a heart to heart they also seem to be a bit thrilled about everyone getting together.
FULL NAME: erick atto
NICKNAME(S): rick, ricky
DOB: october 4th, 1986
AGE: thirty-three
GENDER: cis male
NATIONALITY: american
ETHNICITY: ughandian
HOMETOWN: willow, maine
RELIGION: none, raised by roman catholic parents
SPOKEN LANGUAGE(S): english ( fluent ), swahili ( hardy, much to the dismas of his mother )
OCCUPATION: uber driver / sober coach
the one in the back
hjHKJDHWKE i don’t know what to SAY about erick. he was the boy that had an odd affliction for kung-fu movies that followed him into his teens as much as his poster of jackie chan from the drunk master did ( i wouldn’t be surprised if it’s still in his room to this day, even if it’s been shoved to a corner wrapped back up ). odd hobbies aside, anyone with a problem would end up talking to erick, whether it was because they knew his nature from their own experiences or by a recommendation from a friend. he was a real problem-solver and had a way with people - and most importantly, he kept his mouth shut.
erick didn’t necessarily need the validation from the dogs about his hobbies n other stuff - he was assured in the fact he liked them and that was kind of ?? all he needed. but knowing that they wanted to be involved ( even if that was just to make him feel involved ) meant a lot to him. he’s a quiet extrovert, for sure, and being around a group of louder personalities kept him balanced. he was definitely not one to miss out on a group outing and probably didn’t ?? ever. you could rely on erick to always be there because spending time in the group would always bring him comfort over being alone. i’m also imagining that he took a lead role in planning a lot of events because of this. if nothing was going on, he wanted to make sure something Was. he’s always found comfort in familiarity, which is ironic when you think about the fact he moved Away from all that.
but as much as he loved the dogs, it was willow that he couldn’t stand. freedom from his parents sounded like something he could do with, even if it was only for a few years until college was finished. some extended family lived in new york - he’d visited a lot throughout his childhood and adolescence and became enamored with the city. it was only when a compromise was reached between him and his parents in which he could move there after graduation, given that he attended a community college there, that his dreams of moving there would be ultimately fulfilled. while in new york, he moved into a shared house with a cousin of his and some others desperate for housemates ( it wasn’t as if the city was short of them ). he attended college, as promised, picking the degree that made the most sense at the time which was business. looking back, it made little sense - but looking back, college altogether made little sense. he’d never responded too well to academic restraints.
when studying at college, he was introduced into the world of cab driving. originally, it was more of a necessary evil in order to continue his payments for college. but after a few months - once he saw the money he could accrue from the same hours he was doing at a local hardware store as a cashier - college became the secondary thing. with any increase in rides came an increase in money and truly, at that time, there was no better city than new york with its population just shy of 8 million - at least in comparison to willow. he eventually quit college and took cab driving full time.
somewhere along the way was an unhappy marriage, the result of a somewhat happy relationship. they were both young ( in their early twenties ) and it made sense at the time ( he really do be doing a lot of things bc they ‘make sense’ dfhkd ) ; he has a large array of family members and almost all of them are married and the same went for his wife. as with a lot of marriages, this one came with a pregnancy and quite soon, too. by the age of 24, erick was married and now a father. fast forward five years and a whole lot of same for erick, he found himself finalising a divorce. it wasn’t the messiest of divorces, but with there being a child involved, things were destined to be complex. neither parent was willing to take any less than full custody, which is why their only option was to settle for joint-custody. the two week by two week schedule worked for a few years, each parent living local to one another and having family to facilitate the handoffs. it worked until erick’s ex-wife moved back to her hometown near quebec city, canada. suddenly a journey between homes that took an hour max was going to push closer to ten. it wasn’t feasible. and so, for the sake of his kid, he moved back to willow, inching the eventual journey down to just a few hours, manageable enough for the both of them - but more imprtantly, fair for their daughter, violet.
BASICALLY, he’s now 33 and has been living in willow again for the past four years. he moved back in with his parents and as much as he could, relied on his work with uber and local cab firms to help with the rent. his mother works in care and has done since erick was young. there was a volunteer opportunity in the local drugs and alcohol centre that she saw advertised and knowing that her son needed all the transferable skills he could get, she suggested it to him. after volunteering there for a year, when a job opportunity came up, erick took it and ran with it. he wanted something more than driving and tbh, the talking therapy he was providing to addicts was not too dissimilar to what he’d spent the past ten years doing as a cab driver. he genuinely adores his job for what it gives those he can help and for what it gives him. when he’s not at work, he’s with his daughter and that’s something he’s more than okay with. responsibility is a comfort to him in ways.
one of his worst traits is that he can be SO lazy. he’s a good cook ( his mom made Sure of that ), but instead of cooking his daughter a gorgeous meal, he’d much rather stick on some chicken nuggets and smiley faces bc it’s Easy and he’s tired.
i imagine he’s kept in touch with those who remained in willow ( especially in the past few years ) - and to those that flew willow’s nest, he’s used social media to keep it touch, even if that ‘touch’ only extended to a few likes on facebook profile pictures.
wanted plots?
the person in the dogs erick kept in touch with the most ( mainly over facebook ) during his time in nyc.
someone in the rats whom erick developed a friendship with post-high school ( again, likely started on facebook ).
an old flame 👀
someone who stayed in or has lived in willow for the past few years and has become a close friend of erick ; they help out a lot with violet when his parents can’t.
someone erick had eyes on during high school ... but they happened to be dating someone else at the time ( or he just never made a move )
