I wasn't sure if this chapter had a place in Ranger and Stephanie's story, but a few of you mentioned Frank in your reviews, and wondered about his reaction to what went on between Stephanie and Helen, so I thought this would be a good way of bringing him into the story. Even though this chapter is from Helen's point of view, I still tried to keep it centered around about Ranger and Stephanie. All characters belong to Janet.
Helen's POV
It has been a week since Stephanie walked out of our house vowing never to speak to me again. And I am still in shock. I was driving around the Burg, completing made up errands to keep myself busy and out of the house now that my mother had taken over my kitchen. And I was replaying what happened over and over again in my mind.
I didn't see this coming. I thought Stephanie and I had a good relationship. We had dinner together at least once a week, and before she so publicly ended things with Joseph, Stephanie was coming over to do laundry and have lunch with her grandmother and I a couple of times a week. Now, Ranger has been taking up all of her time. It seems like she doesn't have any left for her own family anymore, and acting like she doesn't need me anymore. What daughter treats her mother like that?
I wasn't going to admit that all of Stephanie's talk about how great Ranger's housekeeper Ella is had me a little jealous. I know it shouldn't, because there is no replacement for a girl's mother, but the feeling is there all the same. Ella made them a delicious dinner almost every night. Ella did all the shopping for Ranger's company. And that included picking out clothes for Stephanie, something she hasn't let me do since she turned seven years old. Ella is the one who cleans up any of Stephanie's injuries if it was something minor like a cut or scrape. All things I, Stephanie's mother, should be doing for her. And now she will be living in the same building with that woman permanently. I couldn't help but feel that Stephanie was swapping out one life for another. Replacing Joe with Ranger and me with Ella. And I was frightened by the sudden shift.
And in an hour or so, my mother, Valerie, and even Frank would be getting ready for dinner at that God forsaken Rangeman building. I know that I didn't handle Stephanie's decision to leave her apartment very well, but who would want that kind of life for their daughter? She'd be living with a whole building full of unsavory men. Stephanie hasn't said it, but I knew a few of them had to have seen the inside of a prison cell at one time. It just wasn't safe for her there. I know she claims to have a friendship with them, but men like that are only after one thing. And although Ranger appears to be a respected businessman in the community, that doesn't make him the right man for Stephanie. I've known her longer than anyone else. I carried her for close to nine months for goodness sakes. If anyone should know what is best for Stephanie, it should be me. My mistake was saying all of that out loud, and I lost control of everything as soon as I did.
And boy was Frank mad when he came home that day and found my mother, Valerie, and I all glaring at each other in silence. He drove in ten minutes after Stephanie decided to leave, and to say that I was still stunned at that point would be a gross understatement. I thought Stephanie would complain that I was butting into her life like she's always accusing me of doing, instead she walked out the door without a backwards glance. I was trying to tell myself that she didn't mean what she said but, deep down, I was starting to have doubts.
Frank had come into the house and stood looking at all of us.
"What did I miss?" He asked."I wasn't gone long enough for anything as bad as what your faces are showing to have taken place."
"That's what you say now," my mother told him,"but once you hear what your wife did, you'll see that there was plenty of time for all hell to break loose."
"What happened?" Frank asked.
"Stephanie and Ranger came over to tell everyone that she's moving in with him," Valerie said.
"They didn't wait for me to be here?" He asked us.
"Guess not. When Grandma and I came in, things were already going from bad to worse."
Frank looked over at me."What did you do, Helen?"
"I didn't do anything, Frank," I told him."I voiced a few of my concerns and Stephanie misunderstood what I said and overreacted to it."
"What did she 'misunderstand', Helen?" My mother asked."You slammed the men she works with, vilified Ranger, and picked apart something Stephanie was excited about."
"I think you've said enough, Mother," I told her. I had to tell my side of the story before Frank jumped to conclusions.
"You haven't heard half of what I want to say to you right now, Helen. And you should be damn glad that I haven't told you just what an uptight, sanctimonious, self-centered person you proved to be today."
My mouth dropped open. I can't believe that's what she thought of me. I know she's close to Stephanie, but I didn't think she'd completely turn on me for not being overjoyed that Stephanie would decide this without even talking to me first.
"When you say Stephanie is moving in with Ranger," Frank said,"did you mean that she's already living in his building?"
"Yes!" I said to him. Finally, someone else is going to say what a bad idea that is.
"Thank God," he said, instead.
"Frank?" I said.
"I never liked the apartment she was living in," he said."It was too easy to break into, and those neighbors of hers were crazier than Edna."
My mother smiled at him like that was supposed to be a compliment. Sometimes I think I am the only sane member of this family.
"Now that Stephanie's staying with Ranger," Frank continued,"I won't have to worry about her so much."
I turned to him."You're not serious?" That was the last thing I thought I would hear him say.
"Yes, Helen. I am. And if Stephanie wants to live with Ranger, then I'm fine with it."
"But, Frank, what will people say?" I asked him. The wives of the men at the lodge will be hard enough to listen to, never mind the Burg as a whole. Those Trenton Told-You-So's will be out in full force.
"Who cares what anyone says?" He said to me."This is Stephanie's decision, not ours, and not theirs. And she must have thought a lot about it if she's willing to do something she hasn't even considered since she divorced that bastard Dickie."
"It's about darn time you speak up, Frank," my mother said to him."I worried that Helen had nagged all the fight out of you."
"Mother!"
"Oh, put a sock in it, Helen. One of Stephanie's parents needs to be the voice of reason here, and it might as well be Frank since you've already messed everything up. You should be thinking about how to get Stephanie back here instead of trying to cover your own behind."
"What are you talking about?" Frank asked her."Why wouldn't Stephanie come here?"
"Well, don't pick now to be quiet, Helen," she said."Speak up. Tell Frank all about how you harped on your daughter so much that Stephanie told you she wasn't going to be here for dinners or anything else ever again."
"You're not helping, Mother," I told her in complete exasperation.
Frank's eyes had been on me while my mother was speaking, and I could tell the moment they shifted from a questioning look into an accusing stare. This is the first time he used that expression on me instead of on his mother-in-law.
"Good," she said."I wasn't trying to help you. Frank, you have to do something, because it's obvious that Helen won't."
"Yeah, Dad," Valerie said."I've never seen Stephanie like that. She was angry, but determined not to be. I think she's serious. Until Mom accepts her for who she is, and stops finding faults with Ranger, Stephanie's not going to talk to her. She did invite you, Grandma, and I over for dinner this week, though."
"Ranger was nice enough to invite Helen, too, but only if she behaved herself," my mother said."Needless to say, Helen here wasn't promising anything."
"Helen?" Frank said.
"Frank, I was upset ..."
"So was Stephanie," Valerie said."But at least Stephanie was making sense. Nothing she wanted was unreasonable. She only asked that you don't disrespect Ranger or anyone associated with him. And that you start treating her better."
"What exactly did you say to Stephanie?" Frank asked me.
"Nothing that shouldn't have been brought up," I said.
I could hear my mother's snort of derision. After all the time I put into ensuring that my family was cared for now, one by one, they were turning against me. Why? I want the same things they do for Stephanie. For her to have her own home, a happy family inside of it, and married to a man who can give her both. What is so wrong with that? But Stephanie had to choose a man who lives like he's visiting an upscale hotel, with someone doing the cooking and cleaning for him daily, complete with round the clock room service. A man who also isn't interested in doing right by her. Stephanie tried to say that she was the reason they weren't making their relationship official, but I knew it had to have been his decision. And she would do whatever Ranger wanted. I think Stephanie may be a little blinded by how handsome Ranger is and the 'power' he seems to have over everyone. What woman wouldn't be? But that can't be the basis of a solid relationship.
Frank had been studying my face."What did you say?" He asked again.
"That she shouldn't move into that building. If they were actually serious about doing this, then they should have found another place to live," I told him. I had nothing to be ashamed of. I love Stephanie. And I would do anything to protect her. Even if that means angering the people closest to us."I also told Stephanie that she shouldn't have rushed into anything until Ranger promised her a commitment."
"How do you know he didn't?" Valerie asked."Everyone who sees the way Ranger is with Stephanie knows that he'd do anything for her."
"Then he should be able to give her a ring, shouldn't he?" I said to her. How did I become the bad guy here?
"Jesus," Frank said."No wonder she took off. I would have, too."
"Her temperament comes from you, Frank." I told him, with no small amount of satisfaction.
"Edna, Valerie, I think Helen and I need to talk," Frank told them."Would you excuse us?"
I've never heard that tone from him in all the years we have been married, and I started to feel a little bit apprehensive. The sudden change in Frank's normally unflappable demeanor, and seeing him so concerned about this, made Stephanie's words finally sink in. I didn't take her threat of not talking to me seriously, but Frank did. And now I was starting to wonder if maybe she did mean it. But you can't just cut all ties to your mother, can you? Look at me and my own mother. Even though we have our differences, I still insisted that she move in with Frank and I after my father died. Children are supposed to be there to take care of their parents.
"It's about time you woke up and became a parent in this," my mother said to Frank."You've been sitting there stuffing pot roast in your mouth year after year, and letting your wife railroad Stephanie. Now you'd better find a way of getting her to see, and admit, that she owes Stephanie a whopper of an apology."
"I'll handle this, Edna," Frank said.
"What about me?" I asked her.
Didn't anyone care about what I was going through? I'm the one Stephanie is mad at after all.
"What about you?" My mother said."Do you think Stephanie wanted to tell you that you hurt her? That girl is full up to the brim with pride, and she would never have admitted how you've made her feel unless she was ready for it to change."
"What is yelling at me going to change?"
"She wasn't yelling, Mom," Valerie said."Not really. She was much calmer than I know I would've been."
"And the fact that you just asked that is why Stephanie left," my own mother said to me."She's all yours, Frank. I hope you have better luck. If this keeps up, we're going to turn into one of those screwy reality show families."
"Come on, Grandma," Valerie said."You can come with me. Albert and the kids aren't home so we can talk all we want about what we're going to wear, and bring over, to Stephanie and Ranger's."
"I'm gonna make her my famous chocolate chip cookies. Stephanie told me that they're her favorite," she said, while glancing over at me.
Stephanie may like my mother's cookies, but I know she loves my chocolate torte. I was just thinking that this would be the perfect time to make it for her, when it occurred to me that I wasn't going to be able to. I'd been uninvited.
I glanced up and saw my mother watching me. She gave me a knowing look as if she'd purposely mentioned the cookies to drive that exact point home.
"Maybe I should make some brownies, too," she said."I heard that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. I bet I can land one of those hunks with my brownies. Maybe even two of them if I double the recipe."
"Grandma, remember what Stephanie said," Valerie told her."You're not supposed to be shopping for a boy toy while we're there."
"I'm only trying to be friendly."
"Yeah, right," Valerie said."We're taking off, Dad. I hope you can get through to her." And she gave me a dirty look.
"I am still your mother, Valerie," I said, sharply."Don't you get smart with me."
I honestly don't know what had come over everyone today.
"You may be my mother, but Stephanie is my sister. And I'm not trashing the relationship we finally have by pretending that you're not dead wrong about Stephanie, Ranger, and their relationship."
Valerie picked up her purse and waited for my mother to get her things and then they left me alone to face a furious Frank.
"Why did you do it, Helen?" He asked me, making an effort at keeping his temper in check.
"I don't know what you mean," I told him."I was only thinking about Stephanie's welfare, and she took what I said the wrong way."
"According to what all three of you have told me, how could she have possibly taken anything the wrong way? You seem to have been clear on wanting to alienate both of them."
"After telling everyone how much she likes being self-sufficient, Stephanie never should have offered to give up the life she had until she was sure of Ranger's motives."
"His motives? Ranger seems like a man who thinks very carefully about all of his actions before he makes a move," Frank said to me."And Stephanie wouldn't have gone along with anything unless she wanted to. Her independence is very important to her. She was seeing Joe Morelli for a lot longer, and she never stayed with him for more than a few weeks before hightailing it back to her own apartment."
"Exactly!" He was starting to see this from my perspective."What does this man have that Joseph didn't? It's rumored that Ranger is very well off."
Frank's lips thinned and he narrowed his eyes. What did I say now? Why is everyone twisting my words around? I only want Stephanie to be happy. Why doesn't anybody understand that?
"Helen, stop talking," he said, angrier now than I have ever seen him."Do not think for a second that Stephanie is with a man because of his bank account. That is not the person she is. And shame on you for suggesting it."
My mouth dropped open."Of course she's not after his money. I wasn't trying to imply that she was. But there has to be a reason why she would choose to live with Ranger without getting married first, instead of settling for Joseph when he has asked her many times."
"You just answered your own question," he said."Because Stephanie would be settling for Morelli when she's obviously in love with Ranger. Haven't you seen the change in Stephanie since she told Joe to go to hell?"
"Frank!"
"Don't you dare Frank me. This is just as much my house as it is yours. And now, thanks to you, I won't be able to see my own daughter in it. When I asked you to marry me, I knew what I was in for. I let you make the rules, and I was fine with that. But you've gone too far and I'm drawing a line where our children are concerned. Stephanie shouldn't have been put into the position of choosing between the man she loves and her own family. And if I would have been here, she wouldn't have had to. God knows Albert wouldn't be my choice for Valerie, but I kept my mouth shut because she's happy with him. And you should have done the same."
"But what's to stop Ranger from getting Stephanie pregnant and dumping her?" I told him."He's already shown that he can walk away from a child."
"Did you not see what that man went through when he found out that his daughter and our daughter were being held hostage?" Frank said."Ranger didn't hesitate in walking to his own death to get both of them free. I believe he loves that little girl, despite the arrangement he made with her mother. Stephanie didn't want to tell us everything that happened after she left here, but I talked to Eddie Gazarra not long after, and he told me what Ranger had done that night. Ranger informed everyone involved that he was going in alone, and he wouldn't listen to anyone who advised him against it. All he cared about was getting his child and our child away from that monster."
I could feel tears threaten as I thought about how close Stephanie came to dying.
"And I'm grateful that he was there for Stephanie," I said to Frank.
"You don't seem too grateful to him, or thankful that he got Stephanie out of that alive."
"Frank, that's a horrible thing to say."
"Then make me believe that it's not true," he said."Why couldn't you tell Ranger that you're glad that he has been continually watching over Stephanie? Or you could have at least told Stephanie how proud you were of her for doing everything she could to save a child she had never met. I, for one, know that I couldn't ask for better daughters than the ones I have. And Ranger is a good man, Helen. And he has done nothing to warrant your bad opinion of him. Did you know that Ranger and his men were the ones who found her when she was taken by Constantine Stiva? Ranger protected her, and gave her a safe place to stay, when those Slayers were after her, and again when that worthless ex-husband of hers got Stephanie involved in his shady business dealings. And after Vinnie saw her being taken by Bluttovich's henchmen, he called Ranger. Not the police, not Joe, but Ranger because he believed Ranger would know what to do in order to save her. Ranger has put himself in jeopardy multiple times, and has been shot more than once, trying to help or protect your daughter."
"Protection my daughter wouldn't need if she would just quit her job at that bonds office," I said to him."How do you know all of this anyway?"
"You listen to whatever is being repeated at the dry cleaners or bakery, I find out the truth by asking the people who have witnessed it first-hand. I love my daughters. And I will always look out for them. Even if they don't know I'm doing it."
"You were the one to suggest Stephanie ask about a job with that disgusting Vinnie to begin with."
"First off, I suggested she take a filing job," he told me, still not agreeing with me on anything."I didn't know she'd accidentally become a bounty hunter. But despite all the danger she has been exposed to, I really think this job suits her."
"Why on earth would you say something like that?!" I asked, my voice sounding shrill even to my own ears.
"Stephanie wasn't happy working in Newark for that underwear company. She's not the type of person to suffer through a steady 9-5 job just to get a paycheck. She needs something less routine. While I don't like the fact that she's constantly being threatened, in becoming a bond enforcer, Stephanie seems to have found what her life had been lacking. I was worried for a while that being with Joe was going to cause her to revert back to how things were before, when she was just forcing herself to get through each day. Luckily, she figured the same thing out herself, dumped Joe, and started seeing Ranger. He's not only been a good influence on her, he can also keep an eye on her while she's doing a job that she seems to be steadily getting better at."
"And if Stephanie has just got herself into more trouble?"
"How so?" He asked.
"What if Ranger involves her in something more dangerous than she's ever had to face, even after working for Vinnie? I know some people think Ranger is an upstanding member of society, but I've heard a few things ..."
"Stop it, Helen," Frank said, interrupting me."You need to back off and stop listening to people who don't know what the hell they're talking about. I learned a long time ago to judge a person by their actions alone. Not on rumors, or reputation, but on what I've seen them do with my own eyes. And Ranger has been unflinchingly supportive of Stephanie. First as a mentor, then as a friend, and now as the man she wants to live with. She shouldn't have been attacked by her own mother for wanting to share something with us. And there is no way I'm being cut out of my daughter's life because of you. You owe it to Stephanie to make this up to her, but I'm not sitting around here until you do. If Stephanie doesn't want to come here, then I'll go to her."
"She was just caught up in the heat of the moment, Frank. She'll be back."
"For the love of God, Helen! When are you going to get that Stephanie doesn't want the life we have? And right now, neither do I. Don't bother with dinner," he told me heading to the door,"I'm going out."
And we are still walking on eggshells around each other. And that's why, as I was passing by the deli, I decided to stop and pick up some of Frank's favorite pastrami for his lunch tomorrow.
I was waiting for my order to be weighed and wrapped when Darcy Rowanson came up to me.
"Hi, Helen. How are you?" She asked me.
I knew she was only asking because she felt she had to. I could tell right away that she had something other than my health on her mind.
"I'm good," I said, waiting for her to spit out whatever it was. I wasn't saying anything more. And I definitely wasn't telling anyone how I really felt. Which at this point was lonely, frustrated, and annoyed at myself. But no one needed to know that.
"I bumped into Stephanie yesterday," Darcy told me,"and she said that she was having her family over for dinner tonight. You must be so excited. I always wanted to see what the inside of that building looked like. I've heard a lot about Carlos Manoso, and I don't blame Stephanie one bit for wanting to snatch him up. Joe Morelli is a good catch if you're going by Burg standards, but that Manoso is something else entirely."
I wasn't about to inform one of the biggest gossips in Trenton that I wasn't welcome in my own daughter's home. I'm sure everyone would love to hear about that. 'Oh, how the mighty have fallen' they'd say to each other. The same women that had asked me to lunch last week would be whispering behind my back at how my family had failed to live up to my own ideals. And they are all a bunch of hypocrites. Ernestine Cossette's daughter was arrested for driving under the influence last month. Tina Martignetti's son was caught inside Maria Kaplan's bedroom without any clothes on by Maria's husband. And Darcy's own brother is known to gamble away more money than he earned, borrowing from any relative still speaking to him. They had no right to judge me. They couldn't hold a candle to my husband and my children. I didn't need any of these people feeling sorry for me, either. I just needed my family back the way it was.
I was saved from having to make small talk when the young man behind the deli counter handed me my order.
"Here you are, Mrs. Plum."
"Thank you, Michael," I said to him, and handing him his money.
He's always so nice to me when I come in here. And I thought his mother had done an excellent job raising him, his manners are impeccable. Michael is around Stephanie's age and has been working here at the deli since he moved to Trenton six months ago. Why couldn't Stephanie have fallen for someone like him?
"Um ... I was wondering," Michael said, suddenly shy."Is your daughter Stephanie seeing anyone? I heard she broke up with Joe Morelli and might be dating someone else, but I was hoping it wasn't serious yet. I always wanted to ask her out, but once I found out that she was seeing Morelli I didn't think I had a shot."
"You didn't," Darcy said."There's only one guy in Trenton who could beat out Joseph Morelli, and Stephanie's already nabbed him."
"Oh, that's too bad," Michael said, sighing."I would have tried talking to her sooner, but I sort of thought Stephanie was way out of my league."
"Don't say that, Michael," I told him."I'm sure Stephanie would have been flattered by your interest, but as Darcy so bluntly pointed out, Stephanie's with someone now and I don't see that changing."
And then it suddenly dawned on me that I had wanted to make someone who was, for the most part, a stranger to me feel better about himself, but I couldn't do the same for my own daughter. I really was no better than these people.
"I have to go," I told Darcy.
"Yeah, I bet you have a lot to do before going to check out Stephanie's place," she said to me."I hope you bought a bottle of wine or something to take with you. It isn't polite to show up empty-handed."
"That won't be a problem," I said to her. And it wouldn't be for me, because I wasn't going."I still have to pick up something for my mother before I head home."
I left Darcy with Michael and stopped at the Shop n Bag on the way home. I didn't want to chance bumping into anyone I knew at Giovichinni's. I quickly picked up a raspberry Entenmann's coffee cake for my mother and even got a couple of the cookies Frank likes from Starbucks. It probably wouldn't change their attitude towards me, but I thought it couldn't hurt. I also wasn't in any hurry to get home. Frank would be getting changed to go see Stephanie, and I wanted to give my mother plenty of time to pack up the food she was bringing with them. That's why I had spent most of the day in my car. I am the one who should be baking cookies and changing clothes. I parked in the driveway, let myself into the house carrying my bags of bribes, and kept busy putting them away inside the now empty kitchen. I could hear noises coming from upstairs, and I had a feeling that my mother and Frank would be leaving earlier than expected.
I dried the remaining dishes, wiped down the counters, and swept the floor all while keeping an ear tuned to any footsteps on the stairs. Twenty minutes later, Frank came down and I saw him getting his jacket out of the hall closet. He looked handsome in his dark brown slacks and white dress shirt. Not too long ago, I would have told him to wear a blazer with it, but I wasn't in any position to comment on his clothing choice. My mother came down shortly after wearing a shocking red dress with, of all things, a ruffle along the hem of what I thought was a too short skirt. It should have landed well past her knees, I thought, but again I wasn't saying anything. Especially, since I knew she had made a special shopping trip with Valerie earlier this week to find a dress to wear.
As Frank was fastening his jacket he noticed me in the doorway.
"We're leaving a little early," he said, probably hating the fact that he was answering my unspoken question. I knew they had told Stephanie and Ranger that they would be there at six and it was only a little after four.
"Since we were planning on picking up Valerie on our way," he continued,"Edna suggested we spend a little time with the girls before we drive over to Rangeman."
My mother slipped her dress coat on, and picked up the boxes full of cookies and frosted brownies she had spent the day baking, and followed Frank to the door. She had gone to the craft store yesterday with one of her friends to buy the decorative boxes. She had really gone all out for tonight, and knowing that made me feel even worse.
"Don't wait up," she called over her shoulder at me. I knew she was enjoying this.
I was left standing in the kitchen I called home, listening to my family leave without me. I started for the pantry as soon as I heard Frank's car pull out of the driveway, but as I opened the door and went to reach behind the olive oil for the bottle of whiskey hidden there, I let my hand drop back down to my side. I knew it wouldn't help with what I was feeling. This has been hard for me, too. Didn't they realize that? It is so easy to just blame me for everything without thinking at all about what this is doing to me. Everyone thought I was wrong for trying to prevent my daughter from being hurt, and all three of them kept telling me to mend my relationship with Stephanie, but how do you go about repairing something that you didn't even know was broken?