Most of the time, Rick enjoyed living in the same neighborhood he'd grown up in. The thought of moving anywhere had never even occurred to him, not even when he was younger. He quit high school at 16 to take on work as a mechanic at Conway's number one garage where he remained for the next thirty years, climbing the ranks until he was the boss and owner. Moving to a new apartment was bad enough when it was a few blocks down the street, let alone crossing state borders. Besides, why would he leave behind all those creature comforts? The coffee shop he made his daily visit. The trusty mall that had every store he relied on. And he was under half an hour from the ocean, that's practically beachside property!
However, he wasn't the only one to stay in Conway. He'd fixed many a car of a former jock, nerd and cheerleader in his day. Interactions ranged from awkward to downright unpleasant. But it was part of the job. Then of course there was family. His parents still had the family home, though they spent more time on cruise ships since they both retired. Likewise, his little brother Ryan had also stuck around. He'd had the typical small town romance where he married his high school sweetheart, and the two had a boy together. However, they were moving clean across the state in a few short months after Ryan had scored a lucrative job offer. Pretty soon, it would leave Rick the only Marino in Conway, and he wouldn't have to take care of his nephew ever again.
It wasn't that Rick didn't like Ollie, in fact he hated all kids equally. Even when he was a kid himself, he couldn't stand being around them. And Ollie was at least a sweet kid. Rambunctious at times. Very chatty. The kind of kid you can tolerate in short bursts. It firmly cemented his role as uncle in his life plans, with no plan to have kids of his own. Which made it all the more frustrating when Ryan would use him as free daycare. Always assuming he was free to look after the brat for a few hours. Even today, he didn't even ask if Rick had other plans before dumping Ollie on his doorstep while he took the wife up to Lexington to view some houses. It drove Rick crazy. He tried telling himself they were moving in a few months, he should appreciate their presence while he could. All he could think of was of his wasted afternoon
At least this time around, Ollie had discovered a new hobby - treasure hunting. It was all thanks to Burrowing Bandicoot, the marsupial miner that headlined his favorite cartoon. He'd just received the official metal detecting kit for his birthday, and was raring to give it a try. Which meant taking him to the beach so he could sweep the sandy shores for pirate loot. A goal that Rick was all too happy to oblige, preferably when the UV was at its highest. All he had to do was sit back, top up on his tan, and let the boy be everyone else's problem for a couple of hours.
Just as he was starting to doze off, his fantasies were interrupted by a distinctly shrill voice cry out in joy that was getting progressively louder. Rick sighed as he turned his head to see Ollie pelting full speed towards him. "UNCLE RICKY!" he cried out. "I FOUND SOMETHING! UNCLE RICKY!!"
