While I coax my stubborn writing muse out of hiding, a recent Babe Squad challenge caught my eye, thanks to really nifty stories from MiBabe and XxTartLoverxX. (Check them out, if you haven't already!). This one-shot is loosely based that challenge, where two Merry Men see something they weren't supposed to see. In my story, though, it happens while they're working. (Because, really, do the Merry Men get days off? Ha ha...)
This story is different in tone and not related to my other challenge-based story, "Steph, I Need a Favor." With thanks to all of you who have been encouraging me to keep writing, this one's for you. It's a Babe - I hope you like it.
PS: My intent is to show Steph being comfortable and conversant with her rich Jersey-Italian heritage. I've based this on my own extended family-by-marriage. (The Loretta in this story is actually my own cousin, whose lively and marvelous wedding I attended about 15 years ago.) In this story I pretend that my specific family experience is universal, and would be part of being Italian-American in NJ. However, to paraphrase commercials, your experience may vary. Please accept my apologies if you feel I'm off the mark.
I don't own these characters; nor do I make any profit. This story is purely for entertainment. if you recognize them, they belong to JE.
That's Amore
"C'mon Binkie, we're done here, there's nobody in these empty warehouses." Cal started walking back to the Bronco they'd parked half a block from the first warehouse they'd inspected.
"I know Cal, but both informants swore they saw our skips wandering around here and these buildings have been abandoned for over a year. Anyone could be here."
Cal stopped to look at Binkie. "Yeah, but how specific is 'tall man with dark hair, with a woman who might be mixed race but we're not sure'? Hell, that could describe about a quarter of Rangeman on a date."
Binkie grinned and looked over at Cal. "Look, there's only one more warehouse in this complex. Let's do a quick walk-through, and then we can go back to Rangeman and report that we were thorough."
Cal grunted and glanced quickly at his watch. "Alright, let's do it." He pulled his gun back out and got into position while Binkie prepared to open the door. Motioning for silence, Cal moved inside. He put up his arm quickly to stop Binkie. There was sound coming from the open door at the far end of the room. Oddly, it sounded like music.
Moving quietly in formation, they approached the door and saw it opened onto a balcony or walkway that looked down to a large sunken area where two people were... dancing. Even more oddly, they were swing-dancing. A CD-player with a pair of speakers was sitting on a couple of milk crates, and there were a few folding chairs sitting nearby. A small stack of CDs was on the floor.
Binkie touched Cal's arm and mouthed a few words in the barely audible whisper they used in the field: "Shit, that's the boss." His eyes were wide. It was taking him a moment to process what he was seeing. No way they were the actual skips... Of course not. But, what the heck? Why were they here?
Cal nodded slowly and replied, just as quietly, "And I think that's Bomber." They stared at each other, and then they both couldn't help but look back down at the dancing couple. Yeah, definitely the Bomber, with her signature wild, curly hair half-escaped from a pony tail. "Do you know why there here?" Binkie whispered.
Call shook his head slowly and mouthed back, "No, but maybe they're drawing someone out? They might want back-up." Cal reflected that this is why he was "lead" when he partnered with Binkie; he could think strategically and adapt plans in the field. They retreated slightly into the shadow, where the low safety barrier along the walkway mostly hid them, though they could still see Ranger and Stephanie dancing below. After they'd gotten over their initial surprise Cal and Binkie could hear Ranger's voice over the music.
"Babe, they don't do those at Cuban weddings. We just have a big party and salsa, do some Miami Rhythm and maybe some rumba. Then we do some cha-cha or mambo for the abuelos, and smoke some cigars. Sometimes lamentably there's a Conga line." He frowned slightly and added in a foreboding tone, "Though my family knows better than to even ask me to join in."
"Ranger, it's an Italian wedding. You gotta do the special dances. Do you want me to help you, or what?" He spins her out, she twirls and comes back into his arms. "Didn't you ever go to any weddings in the Army, for any of your friends?"
He stared at her a moment while they triple-stepped through a measure. "Babe," he said in a tone that Cal recognized as perplexity, having worked with Ranger over the past several years, even before Rangeman.
"What?" Stephanie released Ranger for a beat and stopped, flinging her hands out in a pure Jersey move. "What does 'Babe' mean? I left my dictionary at home." Cal felt himself smile. He enjoyed seeing Bomber push Ranger; only she and Tank had that privilege and it always amused him.
Ranger pulled her hands back with a small almost-smile and then turned them both on the floor in a graceful reverse turn. "Babe, do I seem like the type of man who people invite to weddings and parties?"
Up on the balcony with Cal, Binkie was thinking "Hell no" after spending a moment trying to visualize the dangerous, armed figure of Ranger stalking into any of the weddings in his family. He had some actual "Family" in his extended relations but still he was having an easier time imagining Cal showing up, and that was a stretch.
Meanwhile, Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Okay, you've got a point. Well, anyhow, let's do a waltz for the next one, before we switch into the 'real' dances." She had a small smile on her face. "There's almost always one or two waltzes in the early part of the reception."
"Got it." Ranger replied, straight-faced.
She rolled her eyes again. "So, here's tip number one: You're supposed to act like you're having fun," she said, pointedly staring at him while he supported her into a slight dip as the song ended.
"Your point?"
"Ughh!" She groaned in exasperation as she turned to the CD player and started to change disks. With her back turned to Ranger, she continued, "You have to smile occasionally. Act like you're laughing at the DJ's jokes, which by the way are always super-lame so everyone except for the old guys are faking that one." She turned back to him as the music began with a mischievous expression on her face. "You'll fit right in."
"Babe."
She sighed so expressively that Binkie and Cal could hear it as they stood transfixed and silent on the walkway. She continued, "Point number two: You'll have to actually talk from time to time." Cal and Binkie both snorted lightly at that, and then eyed each other briefly. Cal made a "stay silent" gesture, to which Binkie nodded.
"Wait Ranger, you're not dancing this the way we would in the 'berg." She stopped. "Here, kinda follow me for a moment, I'll show you how it goes." She started up, backleading, and Cal could see the difference though he couldn't explain it. The movement now was less fluid somehow, a little more vertical than horizontal, though it was still a graceful dance.
Binkie remembered with a shudder having to learn this dance for his brother's wedding. Stephanie was correct, it did look "right" now. In fact, Binkie reflected a bit grudgingly that, as with everything else, Ranger made it look better than Binkie had ever seen it danced before. The man must get laid every time he touched a woman, he thought to himself. Must be nice. Well, at least until he met the Bombshell. Ranger's attention seemed always focused on her now, though half the time she seemed to be dating that jamook, that idiot of a cop.
Ranger's voice snapped Binkie out of his reverie. "Babe, I think I've got it. Let me lead and see if it's right." They continued dancing. It still looked "right." More than right.
"So anyway," Stephanie continued, "back to what I was saying. With guys at weddings, cars and sports are always good for hours of conversation. You'll have to bone up on your Detroit cars, though. No Porsches." She paused for a moment, "But, on second thought, you can talk about Ferraris if you act like you've never ever driven one, but you know it would be better than sex 'cuz it's Italian."
"Babe, a Ferrari is not better than sex. No matter how much I 'bone up'."
She took her hand off his shoulder and punched his arm."You know what I meant. You are so annoying sometimes."
"Babe, just saying." His lips lifted in a small smile. "If that point was confusing I'll be happy to clarify with a demonstration after we're done here."
Stephanie huffed. "Oh, never mind." Cal and Binkie looked at each other, grinning. Chalk one up for the boss.
Ranger was still looking fairly smug. Stephanie sighed again and shook her head. "Anyhow, Ranger, the other big conversation for guys at weddings is sports. I'll watch the next few Philadelphia Flyers games for you — I get them on cable — and send you an email with some good hockey talk. For the Eagles, though, you're going to have to talk to your guys. They'll know a lot more about football than I do."
"Really? I thought you watched football. I've seen you watching it with the guys several times." Ranger looked down at her, one eyebrow raised.
"Eh, I watch it mostly to keep company with people." She followed Ranger as he moved a quarter turn to change direction as they approached the east wall. "Well, that, but mostly to watch all those guys with great buns wearing tight pants and jumping on each other in the mud. That's definitely a plus." She had a big smile on her face, now.
Ranger stopped mid-step and pulled back for a double-take at her. Unfortunately, at that same moment, Stephanie was looking down, leaning into a step. With Ranger not where she expected him to be, she overbalanced and started a little pinwheel maneuver, and then her arms flung out as she started to trip. Ranger moved to grab her, which caused her to tilt on her heels. At that point gravity took over and she completely lost her balance, spearing Ranger under the ribs with her elbow on the way down.
"Omigod Ranger, I'm sorry, are you okay?"
While she fussed over Ranger and he reassured her, Cal looked over at Binkie, whose face was starting to get red as he worked to keep from laughing. Cal mouthed, "I don't know if I've ever seen boss-man startled like that before." Binkie took a moment to collect himself mouthed back, "Whoa, did you see that, she just elbowed him in the solar plexus when he grabbed her."
Cal looked back down at Ranger and Steph to make sure they hadn't been spotted yet. "Jeez, I've been trying to do that in the gym for like two years. I guess I have to take him dancing." Binkie started to struggle with laughter again. Cal continued, "Man, he's woofin' — she really got him good."
Binkie replied, "Yeah, but he's still the Man. He's slick, he's totally covering up that she clocked him one. Didn't bend over or groan, or anything."
Back down in the main room, moving a little more deliberately than usual, Ranger held out his hand to Stephanie. As she grabbed it, Ranger helped her up and then they resumed the dance.
"Ranger, I know we just tangled and that was my fault. But, you're still too smooth at this. You need to kinda miss the beat sometimes. It's not a wedding waltz if you don't knock knees at least three times during the dance."
Ranger stops, and Cal recognizes his look. He's in mission planning mode. Ranger starts dancing again, now stiff as a board.
"Ouch!"
"What Babe?"
"Okay, you got the knee thing — ow! — but now you look like Lurch. That's not 'fitting in.' Just pretend to be just a little clumsy."
"How do you pretend to be "a little clumsy' Babe?" Ranger cocked his head at her, one eyebrow raised.
"Jeez Ranger, I don't know." She thought for a moment. "Probably you pretend you're dancing with my Grandma Mazur and you're trying to keep her from groping." She looked up at him, sweetly adding "I've noticed that all the guys who come over to dinner with me act a bit physically challenged around her."
Ranger had a slightly queasy look on his face. "Yeah, Babe. That should work." Cal and Binkie were both turning red now, and Cal found himself biting the side of his finger to keep from laughing.
Ranger and Stephanie started dancing again. "Ow. Ow!" She stopped and pulled her hands from Ranger's. "You know what Ranger, you should just sit-out the waltz. Wait for later when they start playing Aerosmith and Coldplay. Just get up with your date and rock-and-roll dance along with everyone else. Wave your arms around while you dance and try not to look too polished and you'll be fine. Even Vinnie can dance to those songs and he's completely pazzo."
"Babe, I totally agree that Vinnie is completely crazy. But, even though you're using him as an example of what I'm not, I'd still prefer that you never compare me to Vinnie in any way."
Stephanie laughed, and went over to the CD player. "Okay, now we really have to start with the wedding dances. We'll start with the most important one, the Tarantella." She looked back at Ranger and, at his puzzled look she added "It's that dance they do at the wedding in the Godfather. It's at every wedding." She leafed through the CDs and picked out two. "So, do you know what part of Italy they're from? Sicily, Calabria, Naples…?"
Ranger stopped to think, "You know Babe, I have no idea."
"That's okay, tell me some of the family names." Ranger listed five or six and Stephanie nodded quickly. "That sounds Sicilian." Up on the walkway, Binkie nodded along with her. Stephanie continued, "That's good, that's the version of the Tarantella I know best." She discarded one of the CDs she was holding and inserted the other one, to play.
"There's multiple versions of this dance?" Ranger looked at her, askance. She just nodded as the distinctive sound of the Tarantella music started up. It sounded just like 1960's Italian movies. And yes, kinda like The Godfather. As Cal looked on, Ranger's face reflected astonishment. It was possibly the funniest thing he'd seen so far.
"Holy crap, Babe! Are you really serious? I'll have to dance to this?" Cal didn't think he'd ever heard such shock in Ranger's voice. Ever.
"Yep, Ranger, this one is obligatory. It's not hard though, and nobody expects the wedding party to look like a dance troop. It's repetitive, like a line dance married to a square dance, and nobody uses tambourines.
Out of the corner of his eye, Cal saw Binkie's hand move up to his face. When he looked over, Binkie was laughing so hard that he had tears running down his face, and his hands were both covering his mouth to keep from laughing out loud.
Ranger stood immobile, just staring at her. "Not gonna happen."
"Oh c'mon. It's a really easy dance once you get started. It'll be okay: You don't look Italian so people will be charmed that you know anything. They'll all help you, and if you start at the back of the guy's line, you can follow along with what they do. Here, I found a good example on YouTube." She stopped the CD and picked up a tablet to show him the dance. "This part, where the men dance together, mostly we skip that part."
"Yeah I can kinda understand that, Babe."
"Okay, so let me show you. Here's the first pattern." She moved through the dance steps for him slowly, explaining as she went. "Now try it with me." As he didn't move, she added, "It's really my favorite part of the wedding: Everyone comes together as a big family." Then she added for encouragement, "You can do this, you're really good at dancing."
He still didn't move, so she reached out to him. "Here Ranger, take my hand. We'll go through the whole thing together, It's really easy." She started pulling, so he gave in and began moving his feet in mimicry of her. No surprise: He picked up the dance the first time through. "See Ranger, it's easy. You're good at this. And, it's more fun when everyone's doing it. The dance doesn't seem so silly then."
"Babe, dancing with you never looks silly. It's just that this feels so… well, stereotypical. Almost like I'm making fun of people."
"Ranger, if I were at a wedding with your family and I danced the salsa would you think I was making fun of Cubans?" He looked sharply at her. "No, Ranger, I'm not trying to be insulting, it's just that this doesn't feel stereotypical to me because I grew up with it. It's just what you do at weddings. Like dancing the salsa, and then the cha-cha with the abuelas."
His lips twitched for a moment. Then his features smoothed to give him a pensive look while he was clearly thinking about what she said. "Okay Babe, I get what you're saying. I think I just feel self-conscious dancing this because I'm not actually Italian."
"That's thoughtful Ranger. But don't worry. Everyone — and I mean everyone — dances this one. I was at a wedding once where there were a couple of exchange students from India, and they danced the Tarantella too. They looked like they were having fun It's just what you do at a wedding."
She pushed "play" on the the CD and they started the dance again, this time to music, with Stephanie dancing the women's part. She pointed out the times he'd be trading off partners if there were more dancers. Looking on, Binkie mused that Ranger looked like he'd been dancing it all his life. Just another thing that the man could do better than everyone else.
Binkie was suddenly glad that his girlfriend Angela had never met Ranger; he liked being by himself on Angela's pedestal of masculine perfection. He vowed to take her out somewhere really nice this weekend, maybe Rossini's, to remind her of how good they were together. After all, flowers and movies were fun, but she deserved to be shown that she was his principessa, his princess, from time-to-time. He'd call for reservations as soon as they got back to the office. With a small smile on his face, he turned his attention back down to the scene below.
Ranger and Stephanie were standing on either side of the now-quiet CD player, and Stephanie was talking. "... so, definitely the Loco-Motion. You don't absolutely have to do it; it depends how much you need to mingle with the guests. And how much your date pushes you. Since you're a guy, you have the automatic 'out' that people will figure you're one of those grumpy silent men who just wants dinner and a quiet home, like my dad."
Ranger looked at her speculatively as she squatted, sorting through CDs again. "Babe do you think I'm a grumpy silent man who just wants dinner and quiet?"
She looked up at him. "No Ranger, of course not. You're you." She paused, looking thoughtful for a moment. "You don't talk much, that's true, but you let others talk and you pay attention. I sometimes think you remember almost everything I've ever said, which is kind-of amazing since I think I talk enough for both of us, and maybe a friend as well. And, now that I think about it, it's also kind-of flattering. And besides," she smiled up at him wickedly, "you're not grumpy, you're lethal. It's different."
The corners of his lips twitched upward. Looking on, Cal knew Ranger found her comments amusing, and also they made him quite happy for some reason. Well, on reflection, Cal reasoned that Ranger was notably different from everyone else. Maybe having a woman call him lethal gave him the same "top dog" feeling that other men got from a beautiful woman saying they were sexy. Something Cal truly didn't want to think about too much.
Cal was grateful that Stephanie had continued talking, since it gave him the chance to concentrate on something else — anything else — other than what female comments gave Ranger a party in his pants.
He quickly tuned back into what Stephanie was saying. "Okay Ranger, you can pout if you want, but you should be prepared that if your date drags you up to the dance line, you really will have to dance this one unless you want to stand out as a big oaf." She paused, while Ranger's facial expression clearly indicated that he never did anything even remotely resembling "pouting." Stephanie smirked at that, and went on. "Anyway, here's the good news. They might also do dances that are more goofy, like the Macarena or the Chicken Dance. But anyone can back out of those. The Hokey-Pokey and the Bunny Hop, too." She stopped talking and then started giggling.
Ranger gazed at her, looking like he was waiting for her to spring a trap. She laughed harder when she saw his expression, and finally explained, "It's okay Ranger, don't worry. I was just remembering a wedding last month where everyone did that Gangnam thing. It was absolutely hysterical. Ohmigod, it was the funniest thing I've ever seen at a wedding. Juniak and his entire family were up there along with my dad and like thirty other people pretending to ride a horse. My cousin Shirley has part of it on her cell phone and I'm desperate to get a copy."
She was having a hard time talking through her laughter, and up on the walkway Cal worried that he had snot on his face from trying to stay quiet while he was doubled over laughing at the image. He didn't even dare look over at Binkie.
Even Ranger was smiling. "Babe, please tell me I don't have to dance Gangnam Style. I think I'd re-enlist for lifetime Antarctica duty to avoid that." He stopped for a beat, then added, "But if you get a copy of that video from Shirley, I'll buy you dinner just to see it."
Stephanie howled with laughter, but then finally controlled herself enough to say, "Ranger, you wouldn't have to dance that one either. Though I'd buy you dinner for a year just to see you dancing Gangnam Style at a wedding." She collapsed in laughter again, not noticing the calculation on Ranger's grinning face.
She finally got her breathing under control and looked back up at Ranger, whose face was back to neutral. "Oh, that was awesome, Ranger, but where was I?" She stopped for a moment, looking back down at the CDs. "Oh, I know. If you decide you need a refresher on any of those dances, just let me know. I know them all and I have the songs here."
Seeing no reaction from Ranger, she continued, "If they start playing one of those goofy songs from the '60s, like Volare, Che la Luna, O Sole Mio, or That's Amore… which by the way, yuck!... just stay in your chair and let the old folks dance. You don't have to sing along, either." As Ranger looked at her sideways, she continued, "Really. Unless my dad made me, or dragged me bodily onto the dance floor, there's no way I'd sing or dance to those. So you should be safe."
"Good to know, Babe." Ranger gestured to the folding chairs, and sat down after Stephanie did.
"Another thing, Ranger: You have to wear some color. Only the old capos and their lieutenants wear all black. You could start a Family war just by showing up in one of your all-black business outfits." She paused looking at him. Apparently sensing that his mental images were veering dangerously toward Guys and Dolls, she quickly added, "Just wear a light-colored shirt and a matching tie with a pattern."
Seeing a slight smirk on Ranger's face, Stephanie admonished, "And, Ranger, I know what you're thinking. Remember that gray is not a color." Cal snorted at that, and backed up quickly as he saw Ranger's eyes move quickly to the corners of the room. He very clearly thought he'd heard something. Cal motioned low, signalling Binkie to stay motionless and still.
"Okay, so here's some other stuff. We talked about the procession and the chairs when you first arrived, and you can just go with the flow with those if they do them. But, do you know anyone there? If so, ask if they're going to do a traditional wedding with money gifts and the purse, or maybe cutting the tie." Ranger gave her a look that Cal thought was some mixture of bafflement and disbelief. At this point, Binkie slid silently down the wall and sat, barely able to control himself. Cal started worrying that Binkie might piss himself if this went on much longer. Between Ranger and Binkie, this was the best entertainment Cal had experienced in months.
"What on Earth are you talking about, Babe?"
"It's some old tradition where you give the bride money in a purse, or you buy pieces of the groom's tie during the party." She paused. "My grandma Plum said they used to do that because they were all really poor so it was a way to raise money for the wedding costs. I thought it was one of those embarrassing things from long ago, except I was at Carl Costanza's second cousin Loretta's wedding last year and they did the tie thing. And my mom said she saw the purse thing at a wedding they went to a few months ago."
She rolled her eyes. "Well, the women usually deal with the purse, so your date will do that and you'll only have to deal with the tie. Just ask someone if they're going to do either the purse or the tie, and I'll tell you what you'll need to do, if anything."
At this point, Ranger was starting to look like he was mission-planning again. Cal knew that most people wouldn't be able to see it, but there was something about the expression in his eyes that gave it away.
"Okay, then moving on, I gather that you're not in the bridal party, but sometimes there's a special Mass the weekend before that. If you're invited, here's some stuff you'll need to know..."
"Babe," Ranger interrupted. "That was this past weekend, so I'm all set there."
Stephanie suddenly turned her entire body on her chair, and there was a moment when it looked like she was going to completely unseat herself. Ranger put a hand out to steady her.
"Wait, whoa, so the wedding is this Sunday?" She asked with obvious astonishment, her hands out beside her in a gesture that clearly telegraphed "what the heck!" Watching from above, Cal knew that this would be the translation in Stephanie's mind, though the men in the room would have a more profane translation.
Looking at her curiously, Ranger asked, "How do you know it's on Sunday babe?"
"We'll, duh, because you get married on Sunday. But don't try to change the topic on me. Why are you just starting to prepare now? I thought you guys spent weeks planning for undercover. At least more than four days. You enlist experts. You develop plans and scenarios." She was staring at him with a dumbfounded expression.
"The situation finally clarified this past weekend." He gazed at her, with his half-smile. "So I came here to work with one of my experts, just as you said."
"Holy cow, Ranger, why don't you send one of your Italian guys instead? I think both Zip and Binkie could both pass in the 'berg as cousins from out-of-town, so could probably make it work in Philly also. They'll already know all the stuff to do."
"No, Babe they've asked specifically for me, based on my background."
She looked down, tapping her foot and biting her lip as she clearly tried to figure out another scheme. Up on the balcony, Cal tried to also think of strategies to help the boss. This was incredibly quick turn-around for an infiltration and it was imperative that the team support the boss. At which point Ranger said the one thing that Cal knew would change the odds completely in Ranger's favor.
"Okay, Babe, you're right. Will you go with me to the wedding and reception, and help me through this thing?"
She looked up in surprise. "But wait, aren't you going as someone's date? How did you get invited otherwise?"
He answered wryly, "It's a big wedding and they included me along with a third of South Philadelphia."
Stephanie still didn't quite believe he knew what he was talking about, and asked with disbelief, "This is a wedding. You can just bring another guest?" Her voice went up an octave at the end.
"Yeah, I can make that happen." He paused to catch her eyes. "Please Babe."
She looked at him for what seemed like thirty seconds, at least. "Well, okay Ranger. You know I'd do anything to help you." Then she paused, and with a full-on grin she added, "But that means that you'll have to do the Loco-Motion and the Bunny Hop. There's no getting out of it." She reached down to pull out a practice CD that she brandished with glee.
"Babe!"
At that point, Cal looked at Binkie and whispered, "We have to leave. I can't watch anymore." After they silently retraced their path out of the building, Binkie started to get his composure back, and added "Oh God, there's no amount of bleach that could remove that image from my brain if we'd stayed." Binkie paused for a breath. "I'd be in an institution within the month. I think you just saved my life." Cal barked a laugh and replied, "I hear you, brother.".
They got back into the Bronco and drove back to Rangeman. They were mostly quiet for the first half of the ride, until Cal snorted and Binkie finally released howls of laughter that he'd held in the whole time they were in the warehouse. Cal joined in; it really was outstandingly funny.
They schooled their expressions to "Rangeman Serious" as they entered the garage, where they ran into Tank. He looked over at them, arms crossed on his massive chest. "Took awhile to recon the warehouse block. Get lost?"
Cal looked at Binkie, and then stammered out, "Well, uh, we kinda happened to see the boss and we, uh, thought we should stick around in case he needed backup. We left when it was clear he had the situation well under control.
Tank's eyebrow raises. "Uh huh."
Binkie suddenly felt himself turning red again. As Tank turned his attention to him, Binkie blurted out, "You know, Ranger's preparing for that undercover job coming up in Philadelphia."
Tank's expression became suspicious. "What job in Philadelphia?" he asked, his voice unusually low.
Binkie, feeling the pressure, answered, "Uh, I dunno, something where he has to go undercover at a wedding." Tank was still glaring, so he continued, "He's got Bomber teaching him how to Paisan' up. She's actually got him doing a pretty good Tarantella."
Cal volunteered, "Yeah, but the boss-man got smart and enlisted her to go with so she can cover him and make sure his infiltration will work." Looking over at Binkie he added, "It ain't easy pretending to be one of you guys."
Tank looked over at Cal sideways and then started to smile. Cal and Binkie were both startled when Tank actually let out a booming laugh.
Wiping his hand over his face and still smiling, Tank said, "That, my boys, isn't a Rangeman job."
Cal and Binkie looked at each other, perplexed. Tank continued, "At least, not in the normal sense. Ranger's half-Italian cousin on his dad's side, Maria, is marrying into the Giannini family that owns half of Bella Vista." Another deep laugh. "He's done almost everything possible to get out of attending, and was willing to ship out almost anywhere rather than go. But I guess his grandmother Mañoso finally lowered the boom at Sunday dinner." Tank's laughter echoed in the garage.
As understanding dawned, Cal and Binkie started to laugh along.
Glancing at them, still smiling broadly, Tank concluded, "Maybe the next thing Steph can teach Ranger is how to actually ask a girl out on a date."