Disclaimers: As usually I'm only borrowing the characters, except for those I created ^^ 4th chapter's up. Enjoy ; )

September When

Chapter 4

Funeral day.

The day of the funeral.

I was awake. I had been for at least an hour. I knew Ranger was awake too. I doubted he had slept more than an hour throughout the night. It was 7 am. The funeral was at noon. I needed to get ready. It was funeral day.

*

We were walking in a line after the casket which was being carried by Ranger, his father and Ranger's brothers Manuel and Armando. Ranger's grandfather had wanted to carry it too, but Abuela had managed to convince him that it would be better if he walked next to her instead. Without hurting his pride she told him she needed him to support her, and he never suspected that it was because we thought he wouldn't be able to lift it. The two of them was walking together behind the casket and I was walking behind them again, next to Tank, Lester and Bobby. Lester had an arm slung around my waist and was keeping me close to him. I wasn't sure if it was for his sake or for mine, but I was grateful for it anyhow. My worrying about Ranger was taking its toll on my physical health as well as my mental. He was no longer making any form of conversation with anyone, and he didn't make any attempts to hide his vulnerability. I was afraid I had lost him. The guys were worried too and had on several occasions tried to divert him, but the most response they'd get from him was a lift of his eyebrow. Now he was walking 8 feet in front of me, and I was worried, again, that he would collapse from the weight of the casket.

*

The funeral was over. Everyone had gone to Abuela and Abuelos house for some cookies and coffee. They had left two hours ago. I was standing in the rain, 10 feet from Ranger. When people started moving, leaving, after the funeral, Ranger had been standing still. Stoic. When the graveyard had emptied for people he had finally moved and crouched down in front of his mother's headstone. He hadn't moved since. Every now and then he would reach forward and touch it. I could see his lips moving. He was saying good bye.

Lester and Bobby were sitting in the car a few yards away, waiting for us. Tank was right outside the graveyard, standing guard. You see, there's a possibility that some of Ranger enemies could show up and if they did it was highly unlikely that Ranger would be able to take them down. It was unlikely that Ranger would even notice them, at least not before it would be too late. So, Tank was post on look out.

Anyway, we had been here for more than two hours and it was pouring down. I was soaked to my skin, and I was sure Ranger and Tank were too. Only difference was that Tank was trained not to acknowledge it, and Ranger was probably not even aware that it was raining. He seemed oblivious to everything surrounding him. Finally he stood up from his crouched position, but didn't move any further. I figured this was my cue, so I moved up to him.

"She's gone," he said when I stood next to him.

"Yes," I answered. He nodded.

"I'm going to miss her," he whispered. I laid my arms around him.

"I know". His arms came around me and squeezed me tight, hiding his face in my hair. He didn't make much sound, but his shoulder was slightly shaking and I could feel the wetness of his tears. He was finally letting go.

I lost track of how long we stood there, just holding each other. I don't know how much of the time was spent shedding tears, and I don't know who shed the most tears, him or me. What I do know is that when we were finally making our way back to the car, and got into the back seat, the mood had lifted a little. I wasn't being naïve, I knew that there would be time before he was back to his old self, but now we were finally moving in the right direction. On the way over to Ranger's grandparent's house none of us said much, but when we were inside and we settled down for coffee and cookies, the conversation floated more easily then it had any other day. I'm not saying it was just because of Ranger. All of us had gotten some kind of closure now that the funeral was over. But it was also a consequence of the fact that Ranger was more at ease and more open.

"Remember when we took her clothes and makeup and stuff and dressed up Mrs. Alvarez's dog?" Armando asked Ranger. He had a smile around his face and even though his eyes carried his grief, a sparkle of laughter shot through the haze. Ranger breathed a small chuckle.

"I don't know who took it the hardest; Mrs. Alvarez, mama or the dog. And I'm not sure if hooking a bra around its ears and putting lipstick on its teeth qualifies as dressing up."

"I remember when you did the same with Manuel," Abuela spoke up. Manuel's eyebrows hit the roof.

"They dressed me up? Oh lord, have mercy. What did they dress me up as? Do I even want to know? I will not like it if I find out you hooked mama's bra around my ears as well," He threatened, but there was a small glint in his eyes. Ranger and Armando smiled secretly. "We didn't," they said in union. Their grin suggested otherwise. Manuel laid his head back and covered his eyes. "And people ask why I don't have a girlfriend". That got us all laughing a little. Apparently Manuel was gay. "With brothers like you, it should be a no-brainer," he said exaggerated.

As the night went on we continued the trip down the memory line. Most of the stories, if not all, circled around Juanita. They all told of the fondest memory they had of her, and they told stories of times when she had done crazy things or when she had caught Ranger or any of the other "kids" doing crazy stuff. The evening proceeded as ceremony where all her virtues, her strength and her kindness were honoured. When the clock passed midnight we all figured it was time for bed. All of Rangers immediate family was present, and that made the house more crowded then it had been other nights. To make room for the new houseguests the existing sleeping arrangements had to be reorganized. Tank and Lester had room for one more, so Bobby bunked with them. There was room for two more in Carlos's bedroom, where Armando and Manuel were placed.

"You better keep your hands to yourself," Armando said when it was made clear that they also had to share a bed. Manuel answered by smacking Armando in the back of his head. "You are a very sick and twisted man" he uttered before he disappeared down the hall.

Celia, Ranger's older sister, and her kids got the bedroom were Bobby had slept. Ranger's room was pretty small and didn't offer any extra sleeping spaces, so Ranger's younger sister, Elvira, drew the short straw and ended up sleeping on the couch. It made me feel a little bad. I figured I should have offered my space or something, but I didn't let the guilt consume me. Besides, when I slid into bed next to Ranger and he hooked his arm around my waist and brought me so I was flushed up against him, I couldn't even have picked Elvira out in a lineup.

*

There are two kinds of morning people; those who get up at the crack of dawn and those who get up at 10 am, claiming it's the crack of dawn. I admit that I belong to those who think that anyone who gets up before 10 am has to be mentally unstable. Ranger belongs to those who like to rise with the sun. Today I had gotten up at 10.30 am. I'd showered, shaved and got dressed. Then I got downstairs and had some pancakes for breakfast and two cups of coffee, after I spent some time helping Abuela in the house together with Celia and Elvira. The guys were set to babysitting-duty. In between chores I snuck into the living room where the guys were watching Celias twin boys and baby girl, just to see if they were still alive.

One of the twin boys had thing where he always tried to pull everyone out of their chairs. Lester had on several occasions let him drag him out of the chair, and had each time made a big show out of it, so it seemed like León threw Lester across the room. Of course León thought this was hilarious, so now Lester couldn't sit down at all without León coming and expecting him to fly out of his chair. Lester had his hands full. Once Lester put a bit too much force into his leap and had crashed into Tank who was entertaining Mateo, the second twin, with a dramatic reading of Little Red Riding Hood. They had ended up in a tangled mess on the floor and started play-fighting. Mateo and León were quick to throw themselves into the fight and it was safe to say that Tank and Lester had gotten their asses kicked. Little Sol Angélica, Celias youngest, was sitting on Armandos lap and was having a laughing fit from watching her brothers with their uncles. Her laughter infected me and I walked away with a smile greater then the Grand Canyon on my face. You would really have to look long and hard for a sound sweeter than an infant's wholehearted laugh.

It was now 3 pm and I couldn't think of anything more to do. Ranger had been sleeping in today. I thought it was a little weird when I got out of bed this morning and Ranger hadn't as much as flinched, but I figured he needed the sleep. He hadn't slept much the past week. When noon came I had gone up to check on him, but he had still been sleeping like a baby. Now I was standing in our bedroom again, and I was wondering if he didn't have to pee. I know I would if I had been sleeping for nearly 15 hours. There was a theory floating back in Trenton that Ranger was a superhuman or maybe a superhero, like Batman. Lula was mainly responsible for the theory, but I guess I would have to take my share of the blame. I think I might have been the one who floated the idea first. Or maybe it was she that first mentioned it and then I played further on it. We had been chasing a skip in a car during this conversation, so I wasn't all that clear on the details. Anyway, I was drawing a line over the whole theory. After this week I knew he was as human as the next person, which brought me back to wondering if he didn't have to pee. Ranger groaned and rolled onto his back.

"Sleep," he muttered and threw an arm up to cover his eyes. I didn't know what to answer so instead I brought my coffee cup up to my lips and took a sip while watching him. "Fuck," he muttered again and threw the covers back. I kept my eyes on him as he went across the hall to the bathroom. He closed the door and I took another sip of my coffee. A couple of seconds ticked by and I took another sip. And another. Then the bathroom door opened again and Ranger made his way back to the bedroom.

"Coffee?" he asked when he stopped in front of me. I nodded and he took the cup from me, taking a big gulp.

"How are you feeling today?" I asked.

"Better. Not good, but a little better. Sleep helped," he said and started getting dressed.

I nodded. "I'm sure some food would do good too. Abuela's just finishing dinner."

"Let's," he said and we headed downstairs.

When we entered the kitchen everybody stopped what they were doing and looked up at us.

"Did you sleep well?" Abuela asked after a couple of beats. Ranger nodded, and everybody turned their attention away again. Food was served and we all got busy loading up our dishes. Rest of dinner went by smoothly and mostly quietly, some small talk was made from time to time, otherwise the only sound was the radio playing softly in the background, and Celia's kids.

"It's time for us to talk Carlito," Carlos said after dinner, when we had settled in the living room. Ranger's father had been devastated when his wife died, and he had looked as if though he would just stop breathing at any moment, but he had gotten a lot better during the last couple of weeks. There was still sadness in his eyes, but each day you could also see a will to carry on living, and it was growing slightly stronger for each day. For the past days he had wanted to talk to Ranger about something. But each time he had tried Ranger would shut him out.

Ranger locked eyes with his father and after a while he nodded. He got up from his seat next to me and followed Carlos into the other room. I didn't really know what Carlos wanted to talk to Ranger about, and I didn't really care all that much. I think it would do Ranger some good, having a little one-on-one time with his father. Okay, maybe I was fibbing a little. I was seriously curious, but I respected their privacy enough to not eavesdrop on them. Despite what other people might say, I'm not lacking total self-control.

I am so sorry for the late update, and the short(?) chapter. With school starting back up I don't as much time as I want to write, and I end up updating late. I'm going to try to update more frequently. Again, really sorry.

Thank you so much for all of your reviews guys! It really keeps me going and gives me inspiration. So please continue to do it!!

Will be updating as soon as possible, that is a promise. Until then, stay tuned ;)