lucy reminded me of my task to distract her brother while she stole away to his room, then led us out of the mud room and into a very large gleaming kitchen. to my surprise the interior of the house was actually quite grand: full of dark wood, sumptuous draperies and overstuffed furniture. happy freddy followed at our feet, his nails clicking away on the floor. really not at all what i had expected. the outside of the house had me prepared for something much seedier.

we found rick tucked away in a room down a long hallway that was lined with giant sepia-toned portraits of lucille ball and desi arnez. the room, a sort of extravagant kooky entertainment center, aside from boasting every manner of top of the line entertainment gadget and technology, was equipped with a number of life-size, frozen-in-action sculptural renderings of lucy and desi arnez. a giant reproduction of the indelible "i love lucy" heart buzzed on a wall in purple and white neon, flanked by framed, flattened dresses and suits: pieces of what i presumed to be authentic wardrobe. it dawned on me that lucy was named after "lucy"! and rick, "ricky"! even freddy!! how fucking strange.

rick hadn't noticed us when we walked in, being deeply involved in the video game he was playing. he wasn't at all what i had pictured. he was frail with glasses and the physical presence of a question mark. he wore clothing that i can only describe as forgetable -- unrelatable to any of the dominant "styles" like preppy or skater or hiphop.