Chapter 25- Plans
"Time to wake up Babe." he rubbed my shoulder as I turned my back to him and pulled the covers tighter. He climbed into the bed and laid beside me on his back. I rolled over on my side and pulled up onto his chest as he wrapped his arm around me.
"Can we just stay like this?" I asked
"We will have time for this, but today we are busy. We have a wedding to focus on." he kissed my head
"The honeymoon?" I wrapped my arm around his waist.
"That won't work. I am not telling you." he continued to rub my back.
"Come on, give me some kind of hint." I begged as turned to look up at him.
"No way." he smiled
"Ugh" I rolled away from him but he turned with me and kept me in his arms.
"Are you excited?" he whispered in my ear.
"Yes! Definitely excited about the honeymoon." I pushed against him.
"You only want me for one thing." he teased as he jumped out of bed. "Go take a shower."
"Are you saying I smell?" I laughed as I got out of bed
He laughed "You need to start your day." he told me as he went into the closet.
"Hey, you didn't say no." I yelled after him as I stripped down. I decided to tease him, so I headed for the closet. I walked in looking for clothes and he was sitting on the bench putting on his black boots. He spotted my legs and looked up slowly. I felt the heat as he looked my body up and down.
"Babe" he said as he shook his head and blew out a breath
I pulled out some jeans and a t-shirt an turned to lay them beside him on the bench beside him. Then I bent over and heard him take a deep breath and blow it out. I picked out a sexy panty and bra set. I pulled out each item and held them up to look them over as I made sure he could see each one. I turned around and laid them on top of the clothes next to him. I walked towards the door of the closet and then turned around and raised my eyebrows as I headed for the shower.
I turned on the water and stood under the it before lathering in the shampoo. Suddenly the door opened and I hear him slide in behind me. I kept my back to him as I washed my body. He kissed my neck and I turned to face him. "I thought you had to get some work done." I smiled
"It can wait." his eyes were on fire, his pupils dilated as he took the loofah from me and ran it over my breasts.
"Mmmm" I moaned as he continued onto my stomach and kept moving down.
Fifteen minutes later we were standing in the bathroom and I was drying him off with a towel. "I told you, you only want me for my body." he smiled puling me into him.
"Maybe." I teased as I kissed him deeply.
He pulled back "Go get dressed." he smiled as he gently pushed me away.
"Now who is the sex fiend. Use my body and then push me away." I pretended to pout.
"Babe" he smiled as he turned me around. He put his hand on my back and gently guided me to the closet.
"So, let's focus." Ranger said as we sat at the breakfast table. "Today you are planning our wedding."
"Don't remind me, I might start hyperventilating." I warned him
"That's reassuring." he shook his head
"I want to marry you, it"s just the planning." I sighed
"We can elope, we can go to Vegas. Whatever you want, I want you happy." he stood up and walked over to me. He kissed me on the head.
"I want to get married here, I want all my my friends and family a the wedding." I admitted
"And the white dress?" he rubbed my shoulders
"Yes and the flowers. I want the whole thing, I just don't want the stress of it all." I took another bite of my bagel.
"Babe, the only thing that matters to me is that you make it down the aisle in one piece." he kissed my head.
"Do you want to help?" I asked
"I have work to do. I am sure you will be able to make the decisions." he walked back to his side and finished his coffee.
"Coward." I smiled
"Yes, when it comes to my sisters helping to plan something, it definitely makes me want to run the other way." he laughed
I stood and went to him. He pulled me into his arms and kissed me. "What if I choose something you hate?" I asked him
"Anything you pick will be fine by me." he smiled. "If you need help with anything just call me."
"Are you still okay with us doing the planning here? After today no one can say I am the only woman besides Ella who has been in your place." I teased
"You are the first and only woman to be in MY place." he smiled "Now, this is our place."
I kissed him and melted against him. He pulled me in tighter and kissed me deep with lots of tongue and lots of passion. I wrapped my arms around him and brought my fingers to his hair. We were breathing heavy and I know I was moaning. His phone went off and he answered it with one hand still keeping the other around me.
"Yes, send him up." he spoke before he disconnected. "You have a visitor."
"Sally!" I smiled as I jumped out of his arms and then froze. I turned back and kissed him on the cheek before running to get the door.
"This is definitely moving up in the world." Sally Sweet said as he walked in and surveyed the place. He looked all around. "Hey stranger." he smiled at Ranger.
"Well, I'll leave you two to your work. I am headed to the office." Ranger smiled as he stopped to kiss my forehead before heading out the door.
"You're running out?" I asked him
"Yes, soon this place will be filled with women shrieking with excitement and asking a million questions." He opened the door and then he turned back again. "Have fun Babe."
"You made a good choice Stephanie. I have never seen you look so happy." Sally smiled
"Yes I did." I couldn't help the big grin that spread across my face.
"So where do we get started?" Sally asked as he followed me to the couch.
"Okay, I don't really have a lot of this figured out." I explained as we sat down.
"That's why I am here, your wedding planner extraordinaire." he smiled as he pulled out a few wedding magazines from his bag.
The intercom beeped "More visitors." Tank told me
"Send them up please." I smiled
"More help?" Sally asked as he pulled out some pictures and papers he had printed from the internet.
"An entire planning committee." I sighed "Your job is to keep them in line and focused on the task.
"Don't worry, I have this all under control." he comforted me
Ranger's sisters came in first followed by his mom and Grandma Rosa. My mother, Valerie, Mary Lou, Grandma Mazur, Lula and Connie followed. I introduced everyone and then Ella joined us bringing with her water, coffee, orange juice and breakfast snacks. Before I knew it I was sitting on the couch surrounded by pictures, magazines and print outs that everyone had brought. Loud voices everywhere as they argued about centerpieces, food, and flowers. My mother suddenly got my attention.
"Stephanie, did you pick a date? We need to start booking places and we need a date." she demanded
I opened my phone and pulled up the calendar for December, and then called Ranger.
"Babe"
"What are you doing on Saturday, December 17th?" I asked
"Getting married to you?" he said without missing a beat
"Thank you." I disconnected "December 17th" I announced
"That's a Saturday." My mother pulled out her phone and so did Celia.
"What's on your mind?" Sally asked me as he sat back crisscrossed his legs and turned to face me.
"You know this is not my thing. But I'll admit I am excited." I confessed "I do have a couple of things I really want. I am so happy to be getting married to the right guy this time."
"As you should be." he smiled right back.
"Time is flying by we are less than three months away from that date." Leya exclaimed.
"Okay I am on the phone with Cedar Gardens. They have the the date available. It's in Hamilton just over the border. I know it's not in the Burg, but it is the most beautiful venue of all of the ones your Grandmother and I toured. They have a banquet hall that can hold two hundred and fifty or the Grand Ballroom that can hold one thousand."
"Book the Grand Ballroom." Santanna told her.
"Oh wow." I said quietly
"What?" Sally asked me
"They already toured halls? They think we need space for more than two hundred and fifty?" I whispered.
"Take deep breaths." Sally told me as he reached out and took my hand.
"Do we want the platinum package? Six hours of open bar." My mom shouted
"YES!" Everyone answered all at once.
"I will make an appointment to go there and discuss the catering menu." Ella offered
"They will have great Italian food but they won't know anything about Cuban food." I worried
"Leave it to me." she smiled "I will make sure the menu has something for everyone or I will cater the whole thing myself." she winked at me
"Great. Thank you." I smiled at her. "I am so glad you are helping."
"Are you getting married at the church? Do you want me to call the priest?" Valerie asked
"I want to get married outside." I told them
"No church?" my mother asked.
"No church." I told her
"There is a space outside of Cedar Gardens for that. All in one place will make it easier for everyone." Grandma Mazur added.
"Does Ranger have a preference as far as a priest?" Valerie asked
"We can use yours." Mari told her.
"Stephanie, do you have a theme or a color scheme?" Angel asked me
"I want a Black and White wedding." I smiled "I want the girls in something they can wear again and won't feel stupid in. NO EGGPLANT!"
"So, girls in black and the boys in white?" My mother asked
"Yes, Ranger and Stephanie are dressed traditionally. The bridesmaids are all in black dresses and the groomsmen are in white tuxedos." Mary Lou explained
"That sounds nice." Mari smiled
"I look good in Black." Lula raised her eyebrows.
"Not really traditional." My mother said quietly
"It will be lovely." Angel told her.
"Did you pick your bridesmaids?" Sally asked
"Lula, Mary Lou, Valerie, Celia, Santanna, Angel, Leya, Connie and Sally of course." I told them
"Sally?" my mother asked
"I will tone it down for a formal event." he promised.
"That's a lot. Nine?" Celia worried
"Well, I know Ranger will at least want his core team involved as well as Javier." I reminded her
"Okay, that will work then." she nodded
"What about your maid of honor?" Grandma Mazur asked
"I guess you can all draw straws." I shrugged as everyone laughed. I really wanted it to be Lula because she had been my best friend for years now. I didn't want Valerie or Mary Lou to get their feelings hurt. Besides truthfully I wouldn't mind anyone of them.
"I will take care of the rehearsal dinner." Mari told my mother.
"Wonderful." she smiled.
"This is really coming together." Mary Lou was smiling.
"I want to show you the dress I found. Be kind please because I am already in love with it and I haven't even tried it on." I warned as I pulled out the heavily creased picture from my pocket. The dress was a mix between white and silver. It was strapless with black and white flowers decorating the bodice and the train. It had a long train and the back had ties like a corset. It was beautiful and unique. I wanted a white dress but I wanted something more, something different. When I married Dickie I had the puffy sleeved giant Burg dress. I didn't feel sexy or even pretty, I felt uncomfortable.
"WOW!" Sally exclaimed as he passed the picture.
"Wow like it's terrible and you hate it or wow like you like it?" I asked nervously
"Wow like it's incredible and an A line will look fantastic on you!" He smiled as I leaned in and we took each others hands and squeezed.
"Love it." Connie said as she passed it to Angel
"Beautiful." Angel said as she and Celia looked it over smiled.
"So unusual." My mother said as she raised her eyebrows.
"Love it." Mary Lou saw it next with Lula over her shoulder.
"That's going to make you look so fine." she nodded.
"Oh Stephanie, I love it." Leya passed it to Santana
"Yes." she smiled and passed it on to Valerie
"I never saw a dress like this." Valerie noticed before handing it off to Grandma Mazur
"Isn't that a hoot." she laughed and passed it to Mari.
"I love it Stephanie, you will look beautiful." she said sweetly
Grandma Rosa took the picture next. She looked it over and then finally spoke "Perfect." she smiled
"I am so glad you love it. I have been holding onto this for a while. I found it for sale on-line for only $700, but I have to do all of these measurements and calculations based on their sizing chart. I am going to need some help with that."
"Oh hell no." Lula shook her head
"You must go and get it fitted. You can't order on-line." Mary Lou informed me.
"I don't want to do that, it will cost a lot more money." I explained
"If you order on-line and it doesn't fit or looks wrong then what? It's much to close to your wedding day to be sending a dress back and forth through the mail." my mother worried
"Stephanie, look down at that freaking rock on your finger. My brother is not going to care about spending money on a dress you love." Celia rolled her eyes.
"Celia!" Mari scolded. "Stephanie, I will take you to the city this weekend and we will find the dress so you can try it and have it fitted. It's important we do this right away."
"Thank you." I smiled as I stepped closer to hug her. I was excited about this. I had never gone clothes shopping in New York City before. Every girl's dream is a shopping spree in Manhattan, myself included. When I was little my dad took me to Rockefeller Center for the Christmas tree lighting but I haven't been there for a long while.
The rest of the ladies argued for a while about a live band as opposed to a DJ. Angel told me to call Ranger. I hit the intercom and when he answered Celia spoke right away.
"Ranger, we can't decide between a DJ or a live band. What do you think?" she asked
"What does Stephanie want?" he asked
"I'm not really sure, either would be great." I told him
"Live band." he answered before disconnecting.
"Here's my vision for the reception hall." Sally began "Close your eyes and picture this. The entrance doors will have four columns on each side. Each column wrapped with small white and black balloons. The tops of the columns will be connected across with sheer very light fabric, think wedding veil. The fabric will alternate between black and white of course. There will be small white lights running through the black fabric because the white fabric won't cover the cords well. Heart shaped red balloons at the peak of each one. "
"WOW!" I opened my eyes
"That sounds amazing." Leya agreed
"You must do that." Angel told me
"The same kind of thing behind the head tables. A giant arch made with black and white heart shaped balloons. With a column on each side wrapped in the smaller balloons. We don't need material to connect them. We can put a red heart balloon in the center." Santanna suggested
"I love it!" I smiled.
"So for table decorations, I am envisioning white linen with black runners down the middle and every other seat alternating between black and white linen napkins." Mary Lou offered
"That sounds great." I agreed
"The chairs?" Angel asked
"Draped in white linen with a black tie around each one." Sally nodded his head
"Amazing." I agreed
"Centerpiece ideas." Celia said as she pulled up some internet pictures. Everyone gathered around the computer screen.
"I like part of one." I told her
"What part?" Celia asked me as I pointed to the bottom of the picture.
"This one has a heart shaped mirror with red rose petals and crystals sprinkled around it to match the bouquets." Angel announced.
"Beautiful, but what's in the middle?" Sally asked as we poured through more pictures.
"I like the tree branches with lights." My mother offered
"That." Grandma Rosa pointed to the screen.
"What is it? I can't see." Lula asked
"I can't see." Grandma Mazur shouted
"It's a black iron frame for candles with the letter M." Angel told her.
"M?" My mother asked
"Manoso" Mary Lou shook her head at her.
"What's in the frame?" Valerie asked
"How about candles?" Connie suggested
"Square glass with white and black beads floating around. Not with water, with a gel to keep them separated." Sally suggested
"And little tea lights on top." Leya added
"Black and white of course." Celia added
"That sounds so perfect." I smiled
"How about pictures? Video? What do you want?" My mother asked
"I don't know." I shrugged
"Hit the intercom." Valerie laughed
"I'm here to help." Ranger answered with a smile in his voice.
"Do you want a photographer? Do you want a videographer?" Celia asked him
"What does Stephanie want?" he asked
"I can't decide." I admitted
"Both." he said before disconnecting.
"He doesn't even say goodbye?" my mother asked
"He doesn't have to, he's Batman." Lula explained
"Let's draw the straws to the maid of honor can get busy planning the Bachelorette party." Connie wiggled her eyebrows.
Ella went to the kitchen and came back a few of minutes later with a handful of straws. "I have colored the bottoms with marker for different jobs."
"Me first." Valerie smiled as she pulled a straw with a pink colored bottom.
"You will plan the bridal shower." Ella told her.
"Yes! I Already have a million ideas." she walked away with a smile.
"My turn." Lula raced forward and pulled out a purple tipped straw
"You are the maid of honor." Ella announced as Lula jumped up and down. Her chest near fell out of her orange spandex top. "I get to do the bachelorette party!"
"I guess I'm next." Connie stepped forward and pulled a red tipped straw.
"You are in charge of the balloons." Connie smiled
"YES!" she screamed
"What are you so excited about?" Lula asked
"I get to make diagrams and hire people and boss them around."she raised an eyebrow.
"Should I be worried?" I asked her
"YES!" she shouted with a big smile on her face.
"I'll play." Sally stepped forward and pulled a yellow tipped straw
"You are in charge of make-up." Ella announced.
"Perfect!" he smiled
"What does green mean?" Mary Lou asked as she pulled her straw
"You are in charge of hair." Ella smiled
"Sounds good to me." she nodded
"Orange" Celia announced as she pulled hers
"You are in charge of the kids. Ring Bearer, flower girls." Ella explained
"I can deal with that." Celia smiled
"Black?" Santanna asked
"You are in charge of the music."
"Sweet! Don't worry Steph, I got this." she gave me a thumbs up
"Aqua?" Leya asked
"Sorry I ran out of color ideas." Ella blushed "You are in charge of corsages for mothers and grandmothers and boutonnieres for men."
"I got this! I have a great eye for flowers." Leya announced
"Oh my God!" Angel exclaimed as she pulled the last straw "Blue?"
"You are in charge of the groomsmen. You make sure they get fitted and help Stephanie pick out the style of tux." Ella explained
"AAnd boss them all around." Angel laughed
"This is going to be really amazing!" I siled to everyone.
The next couple of hours were a blur. They decided on wedding favors and designs for place cards. Connie and Sally insisted that we have a photo booth. Grandma Mazur and Grandma Rosa picked out the wedding invitations. The ladies talked to Ella about chocolate fountains and hors d'oeuvres. I had helped them figure out how to decorate outside and Santanna and Leya wanted to be in charge of designing a trellis for us to be married under. Mom, Mari, and Grandma Rosa were sitting at the kitchen table making guest lists. The rest of the women were discussing flower girl and ring bearer attire. I walked over and handed them a list.
"You have less than ten people on here." My mother noticed.
"Everyone I love is already here. I know you will take care of all the family. I know Mari will take care of the Rangemen. I just want to make sure I don't forget these people." I explained
"Eddie and Shirley Gazzara, Mr. and Mrs. Juniak, Randy Briggs, Walter "Mooner" Dunphy? What kind of name is that?" she looked up at me
"It's a cool name." I laughed
"Dillon Ruddick, Vinnie?" My mom looked at me with big eyes.
"Just add them all please." I told her
Ranger had told me before the get together that he was fine with me making all of the decisions for the wedding. His only request was that I make it down the aisle in one piece The honeymoon on the the other hand completely belonged to him. His plans were all top secret and I didn't even have the smallest clue of the location. I was very impressed he wanted to handle the whole thing and I knew I would love it even if we went just went to Philly. I walked over to the window and looked out. I couldn't wait till December, I was excited to become Mrs. Manoso. It all felt so right and I was anxious to start this new chapter of my life. My smile faded as I thought of Jeanne Ellen and Morelli crashing the wedding together.
"Stephanie!" Valerie broke through my thoughts "We have an appointment tomorrow to taste cakes at Italian People's Bakery at 11am. Don't be late."
"That sounds like fun." I smiled as my stomach grumbled and I went to grab some of the little sausages Ella had brought up.
"You need to make a song list. You need a to pick the song for your first dance, he needs to pick a song to dance with his mother and you for your father." Santanna told me. "You need to first decide between a band or a DJ"
"I prefer a DJ." my mother added
"A band is nice too." Valerie added
"Hit the intercom." Sally said as Celia leaned over and punched the button.
"Yes?" Ranger answered
"Do you want a DJ or live band?" Santanna asked him
"What does Stephanie want?" he asked
"Either one is good with me." I told him
"Live band." he answered before disconnecting
"Do you want the band to play current music?"Santannal asked me
"I think oldies everyone knows and likes." I smiled as I walked back over towards the window and helped myself to some water and another little sausage.
"Are you okay?" Mari asked as she came up behind me.
"Yes."
"I just worried because you aren't really participating in all of this planning. The only thing that seemed important to you was the dress." I grabbed a tiny quiche.
"The truth?" I nodded "I hate this stuff. I just want to marry him, I really don't care about the flowers and the food." she laughed
"I just want to make sure you don't regret speaking up about anything that truly matters to you." she told me.
"The cake is important to me." I laughed
"What else?" she asked
"Ranger offered to elope to Vegas or some exotic location." I told her
"And is that what you want?"
"Honestly, I want to marry him in front of my friends and family. I am proud of our love and I want to share it with everyone that means something to me." I sat down and she joined me.
"As long as you don't have to decide on flowers?" she laughed before taking a deep breath and reaching over to take my hands in hers. "You look a bit worried."
"I'm worried about Morelli and Jeanne Ellen launching some kind of plot to ruin the day." I admitted "I am worried with my bad luck, the place may burn down or explode."
"and then we will celebrate in the parking lot." she reassured me.
"I want to be in a dress that makes me feel beautiful and I want to hear us pronounced man and wife. I have done this before. I planned everything and stressed out and worried about things. I never really felt pretty or special. It was a job to me. My ex complained about everything. I should have seen we were doomed." I looked down.
"Carlos won't complain. He won't notice anything once he sees you walking down the aisle." she pulled me into a hug. "I wish you could see the way he already looks at you."
"How?" I asked confused
"Stephanie, he looks at you like you are the only woman in the room. He is always connected to you. Even when we finally got the chance to meet you." she smiled "When I was walking around introducing you to the family, he watched your every move no matter he was talking to."
"He's just over protective." I shook my head
"I know he worries about protecting you, he doesn't want to lose you. You mean everything to him." she smiled
"But I am still nervous about the wedding." I confessed
"It's normal." she reassured me
"Is this cold feet?" I asked her
"Do you doubt your choice of groom?" she asked
"No, that's the only thing I am one hundred percent sure of when it comes to this wedding." I sighed.
"Then your feet are warm." she gave me a kiss on the cheek. "You have so many people here who love you, let us handle the stress and planning. You have no idea how happy you have made me."
"You?" I was confused
"Yes Stephanie! My son is happy and in love. My future daughter-in-law is good person who loves my son. She encourages him to spend time with his family. She let's us help plan the wedding. She even got Carlos to allow us all into his private apartment. Not to mention we all love you already. You bring joy to his life and ours."
"Thank you." I hugged her again. "It means a lot to me that you have accepted me into your family. I am glad you are helping me with all of this."
"I am happy to help, soon you will be a daughter to me, and I already love you for pulling the real man out of hiding." she smiled. She took my hands and let me back towards the group.
Next everyone got onto the topic of decorations. "So is everything strictly black and white?" Valerie asked me
"Yes and hearts of course." I smiled as I looked down at my hand.
"Damn girl, don't flash that in the sunlight. You almost blinded me." Lula covered her eyes. "Hey! Maybe we can use that to shoot lasers when we go after one of our FTA's" she suggested
"I will check with Ranger and see if it's safe to bounce a laser off of the ring." I smiled
"Laser your ring?" My mom looked confused
"It's a joke mom, just bounty hunter talk." I assured her.
"So who will pick out the style of the dresses?" Connie asked
"All of you." I spoke and everyone looked confused. "You can each pick any black dress you want. Just make sure it's black and at least thigh level." I added that last one for Lula.
"That's so sweet! Thank you Stephanie." Sally smiled
"Bouquets?" Leya asked
"Roses." Valerie answered
"Carnations." Angel suggested
"Tulips." my mother chimed in
"Lilies " Lya offered
"Hit the intercom Mari told Celia." when she did Ranger spoke right away
"How can I help?" I couldn't tell if he was faking it or not without seeing his face.
"Bouquets?" she asked him
"What does Stephanie want?" he asked
"Red but I don't know which type." I told him
"Red and white roses, with something like pearls or diamonds running through them. Figure it out crew. Love you Babe." and then he disconnected
"Awww" several of them said
"That's a great idea. Stephanie, can Leya and I work on the bouquets?" Angel asked
"And Santanna and I will coordinate and do the same flowers everywhere else?" Celia asked
"Sure" I smiled. I was so grateful for the help. It felt like I already had a huge new family. Mari never compared me to anyone else's daughter. My mother was on her best behavior.
"Do you want to just have a wedding cake and a Groom's cake too?" Sally asked
I laughed. "The more cakes the better."
"So any idea on his cake?" Sally asked
"Opera Cake." I looked at Mari and smiled.
"I got that one." she winked at me
Finally the plans and phone calls were made and everyone slowly made their way out of the apartment. My mother was the last in the line and stopped suddenly. She walked back to me. "Angie Morelli is absolutely beside herself because Joseph is so heart broken." she told me
"Mom, I don't really care." I spoke honestly
"Are you sure you want to do this? I hear he is a mess." her eyes were sad
"Its over with Joe and it has been for a long time." I told her
"But he stood by you when you were in the hospital. He shared time with Ranger and tolerated sharing you to make sure you got better." she reached out and grabbed my hand.
"He put me there." I told her
"Stephanie, are you sure about that?" she squeezed my hand "I thought it was Ranger's girlfriend. I just can't believe Joseph would do something like that."
"Have you been talking to Morelli?" I asked as I pulled away my hand.
"He came over, he was devastated. We sat for coffee and he actually cried. He said how much he loved you and begged me to tell you how he felt." she said as she got choked up.
"He can't love me. He doesn't know what love is. He cheated on me dozens of times. He helped the woman get to me. By the way, that woman was someone Ranger used to work with. She was never his girlfriend. You can't listen to anything Morelli says." I gave a sigh "Keep him away from the house, because if you keep trying to help him and listening to him you won't be invited to my wedding."
"What?" she asked
"Mom! we just spent the day planning out my wedding. Look at my face." I stepped back so she could look. "This is the happiest I have been in a long time. I am sure now I look mad and that's because I am. I won't allow you to disrespect me in my own home."
Her mouth dropped open. "You wouldn't keep me away from your wedding would you? Imagine what people would say." she shook her head.
"That's what you care about? Not my big day but what people would say?"
"Stephanie..." she began
"If you want to stay in my life you need to learn to respect my relationship. This is the man I choose, the man I love and the man that will soon be my husband. If you can't respect that then you can't be a part of my life." I looked right into her eyes as they got teary.
"This isn't easy for me. Everyone is talking about how you broke Joseph's heart. How you are holed up in here living in sin." a tear fell down from her eye as I stepped away from her.
"No one thought it was a sin when I was living with Joe, except his Grandma Bella." I am not going to live my life based on what the women of the Burg say. They are gossips who have nothing better to do than judge everyone else. To quote dad fuck 'em."
"Stephanie..." she sighed
"Go home and get your head together. Accept that I am marrying the man I love and you can come and celebrate my happiness. If you spend any more time with Morelli and try to help him and you are not welcome." I told her as I took a step towards her and turned her around.
"Would you at least consider inviting Joseph?"I guided her to the door and Mari suddenly came back in nearly bumping into us.
"Sorry, I forgot my purse." she smiled as she headed towards the kitchen
"Go home and think Mom" I told her as she stepped out the door and I closed it behind her. I turned around and leaned against the door as I fought the tears that were welling up in my eyes.
Mari walked to me and held out her arms. I stepped forward and she pulled me into a hug. She whispered in my ear. "I was eavesdropping and I didn't forget my purse."
I laughed and squeezed her tighter. "You have to respect your mother, but you don't have to like the way she is acting."
"I know, I am just disappointed." I sighed
"I am here to give you support. If you decided tomorrow you didn't want to be with Carlos, I would still be your friend. I would still care about you." she smiled as she pulled me back to look at her. "I would cry though."
We both laughed and she kissed my cheek. "You don't have to worry about that. You are stuck with me."
"That's fine by me." she smiled and then her face turned into a thoughtful look. "This woman who caused your coma, how was she connected to my Carlos?"
I walked over to the kitchen and sat down as she followed me. "She is a woman he used to work with occasionally and she fell in love with him. She thought they would have a future. When she saw us together she was jealous, so she wanted to get me out of the way." I sighed as she reached forward and patted my leg. I didn't think it was necessary to fill her in on Ranger's sex life.
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." She assured me
"No, it's good to get it out."So, my 'boyfriend' allowed himself to be seduced by her and she talked him into revealing all of the trackers Ranger kept on me."
"Trackers?" she was confused
I laughed "Yes, your son was constantly tracking everywhere I went. He was always worried something would happen to me and wanted to be able to find me. He has the on my cars, my clothes, my cell phone, a panic button, a watch, you name it."
She laughed "Wow! Such devotion."
"Yes, it was annoying sometimes how he always tracked every move I made. I knew it was just to keep me safe." I smiled "So Morelli told her where they all were so she could remove or break them. Then she came to my apartment and took me by gunpoint to the river. She put me in the trunk an sent the car into the water."
"What?" she was shocked "I never knew all of the details. He did that? She did that?"
"Yes." I admitted
"And Carlos saved you?" she asked
"Yes, from what I have heard it took him two attempts to get me out of the trunk. Luckily he got to me quickly enough before I died or suffered brain damage." I sighed
"Because the cop told him where you were?" her eyes were soft "He felt regret?"
"No Mari. He never told or admitted it until I broke up with him. I had one tracker left on me. Tank helped by spotting the woman driving my car. He saved me like he has so any times before." I finally smiled
"How scary that must have been for him to almost lose you. And scary for you too of course. Thank God you made it, and thank God you chose him." she patted my leg again.
"It wasn't choosing him, it was realizing my heart had chosen him long ago. He has saved me so many times but the best thing he saved me from was myself. I almost made the wrong decisions and I would have been miserable. He saved me from heartbreak." now my eyes were teary
"You saved each other." she sighed happily. "You want to give me a tour of my son's building? This is my first time here."
"Of course!" I told he as we both stood up.
We started on the ground floor. I explained to her about the key fobs and told her about the time I thought I was sneaking in to stay in his apartment so I could feel safe. "I bet you were scared when he came home." she raised her eyebrows
"Terrified " I smiled as we got into the elevator and headed to the gym.
"Sweaty." she scrunched up her nose.
"Yeah, I don't spend much time in here. I am not exactly the exercise kind of person." I admitted as I lead her to the shooting range.
"Wow, this is amazing." she walked over and picked up one of the guns and headed towards an open booth. "You think Carlos would mind?"
"No, go right ahead. But put on some ear muffs." I told her as I grabbed two pair and walked over to her. I handed her one and put the other on myself.
I grabbed a gun and we took turns shooting. It felt really good to release some stress. I shot and reloaded the gun three times. "Fell better?" she smiled as we both pulled out targets up to inspect.
"Yes." I told her as I inspected the paper. Lots of heart and head shots and some definite crotch shots. I looked over to Mari's paper. "Wow"
She smiled at me. Her paper only had shots in two areas, the heart and the head. "I have had some practice." she winked at me
"Now I know where Ranger gets it from." I smiled as I led her out of the room.
I explained about the employee apartments and Ella and Louis's floor. Then we hit the control room. Hector, Cal and Ram were seated at the monitors. "Good afternoon gentleman. This is Mariposa, Ranger's mother. All three of them jumped up at once.
"Hello Ma'am" Cal said first
"An honor to meet you." Ram smiled
"Hola Senora" Hector nodded
"It's so nice to meet some of Carlos' friends. He speaks very highly of you all." she told them as they beamed with joy.
We walked to Tank's office and poked our heads in. He moved swiftly to the door and gave Mari a hug." Hope all is well, we didn't get much time to chat with everyone around when we came in."
"Yes ma'am. Boss is in a very good mood lately." he smiled as he looked over to me and I was sure my face turned beet red.
"I am glad you look happy to Pierre." she said his name quietly.
"Thank you." he smiled as we moved on to Ranger's office.
Ranger was sitting at his desk. He was on the phone and writing notes. We walked in quietly and sat at the two chairs in front of his desk. He looked up and smiled and then held up one finger. He put the call on hold and then pressed the intercom. "Tank I need you to take this call and finalize the details. I have all of the information."
"Got it." Tank answered him
"So, what do I owe this great honor?" he smiled "The two most beautiful women I have ever know both in my office."
"My charmer. " Mari smiled and rose to her feet. "This is where you work too hard when you are not in the field?"
"Yes." he answered her as he came out from behind the desk and gave her a hug as she kissed his cheek. "It's been crazy all morning."
"If you were so busy all morning, how did you answer the intercom so quickly every time?" I was confused
"Babe" was his only answer and then he did it He flashed that 200 watt smile at me.
"I just had Stephanie give me a tour, we even got to shoot guns!" she was excited but Ranger just shook his head.
"It was fun." I added
"I am sure it was." he let out a short laugh
"I need to get home before your dad worries. One of your guys already took Grandma Rosa." She explained
"There are plenty of more guys with more cars." he assure her as he guided her back to the control room. "I need someone to give my mom ride home."He told them as all three men jumped up.
Hal spoke first with a nod and Ranger nodded back. "Hal will take you."
I leaned in to hug Mari and she pulled us both into a hug. "Soulmates." she whispered before she turned to follow Hal.
Ranger turned and wrapped his arms around me and kissed me. "I'll be done inn a little while and then I will get up there so we can eat." he told me
"Sounds good." I agreed
When I got back up to the apartment, I sat on the couch and released a big sigh. This was really going to happen, I was going to marry Batman. I smiled to myself. I was going to have a huge family, new sisters a brother and amazing in-laws. I kept thinking this had to be a dream. My life went from complete garbage to perfection. I thought everything went very well and I know my friends were excited to have a hand in everything.
Then my mind drifted to a little day dream. Me walking down the aisle in a Wonder Woman costume with Batman waiting at the end. All of the decorations were the bat symbol. The favors were of course Wonder Woman and Batman action figures. I laughed to myself. I was truly excited about the wedding. I couldn't wait to be Stephanie Manoso. I never changed my name when I married Dickie and I was glad for that. I never wanted his name but I definitely wanted Ranger's name. I loved everything about him and I was looking forward to my new family. Hell, I was even considering a baby, and I never wanted that before. But I wasn't ready to discuss that with him.
I needed to get back to life and focus on today. I decided to check out my latest FTA files. I went into Ranger's office and picked up a file to check out. The first one I looked at was Todd Johnson, he was a mailman arrested for throwing mail in the garbage. This should be and easy one, first time offender. He lived only a few blocks away. I called down to the control room to see who was available to come with me. Tank informed me that Lester would meet me in the garage. I texted Ranger explaining I was headed out to work and had Lester with me. He texted back for me to be careful.