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Distance Doesn't Matter

"Oooo Momma, she's coming! Hurry Hurry!" Ava was practically shouting down our hotel room in excitement. I laughed as I made my way down the hall way. Chesi was coming up today to talk to Ava about her attempt at matchmaking. Chesi and Lester had their first date last night and Ava was wound up and enthusiastic about spending the afternoon learning all about it.

"¡Momma, prisa!" Ava shouted.

"Ava-Baby, English please. I don't speak it as well as Daddy does." I told her. Okay, I really didn't speak it at all. But I was going to learn.

"Sorry, Momma. But please hurry."

Since Chesi was coming over for tea with Ava and myself, the boys went out and were doing something. I really had no idea. They would probably check out a couple of local bars or clubs; if they had those in London and I'm sure they did. Even though it was in the middle of the afternoon, I was sure the guys would find something to do.

I stepped into the sitting room and gave a little swirl for my daughter. "How do I look, Ava?" I asked her. After all this little afternoon had all been planned by her. Miss Ava was the queen at giving tea parties.

"Momma, you is beautiful." She declared. I had decided to wear an Indian Summer Eyelet Dress or should I say Ava decided I would wear it. It was a white, rhinestone-enhanced v-neck, and it was sleeveless. It also had a charming eyelet flower pattern and Ava thought it would be perfect for our tea party. Since Ava loved going barefoot at her tea parties, this one would be no different. I had pulled my hair up in a ponytail as to keep it out of my face.

"Thank you, Miss Ava. You look very beautiful too." I told her and she did. She had picked out a white cap sleeve dress. Delicate white ruffles trimmed the square neckline, bodice and bottom hem and pretty bows adorned both the left bodice and right sleeve. She too had her hair pulled back in a ponytail and she was barefoot. She did look absolutely gorgeous and the white in her dress made her Cuban skin just pop. I hoped Ranger got home before she took it off because I knew he would love her in that dress.

"Gracias, Momma." She said. I knew what that was.

"You're welcome, Ava." I told her back; kissing her forehead. A knock sounded at the door and Ava almost killed herself trying to answer it.

"Who is it?" Ava asked sweetly.

I heard Chesi giggled on the other side of the door before answering. "It's me, Chesi."

Ava laughed and opened the door. "Chesi-Babe, you is dazzling." Ava exclaimed. I had to say she really did. I was a little surprised upon seeing that she too was wearing white. I wondered if Ava said something to her about that. Her dress was a sleeveless all over lace design with a scooped neckline. The straps over her shoulders were wide and it too had a flower design. Chesi however had her blond hair falling down around her shoulders.

"Thank you Miss Ava. You're quite lovely, yourself."

Ava giggled. "Come in my Chesi-Babe. But no shoes, please." Ava told her politely.

Chesi came in and slipped off her matching white flats. "Hi Miss Stephanie." Chesi greeted me.

I smiled. "Hi Chesi, but please call me Steph." I insisted.

Chesi nodded. "Thank you, Steph."

I shook my head. "No thank you for coming. You have made our day." I told her.

She laughed. "I think Ava and you have made my year." She admitted before blushing. I couldn't keep the smile off my face. She really liked Lester and that made me very happy. I wanted him to be happy. Okay, I wanted them both to be happy.

"Tio Lester likes you really a whole lot." Ava told her. She grabbed a hold of Chesi's hand and pulled her into the dining room that was set up like a small tea party.

We were really lucky in the set up of our dining room. Claridge Hotel has tea every afternoon downstairs in their dining room. However for this special day, Ranger had it all arranged so our tea party would be set up in our hotel room. Claridge's hotel had quite the selection when it came to tea. We had over thirty different selections of tea, a array of finger sandwiches, several different types of pastries, and raisin and apple scones with something called Marco Polo jelly and Cornish clotted cream. It all looked so delicious and yummy and I couldn't wait to dive in and try everything.

"I really like him too, Ava." Chesi told Ava; her voice barely above a whisper. I guess she was afraid Lester might hear her even though he wasn't in the hotel. Her mouth dropped open upon entering the dining room. "Wow, you two really out did yourself." Chesi exclaimed.

"We did it all for you, Chesi-Babe!" Ava bellowed.

"Well thank you very much, Ava-Honey."

We all settled down into our seats at the table and poured ourselves some tea. I was seriously impressed with the colors and decorations of our tea set. The cups, saucers, and plates were mint green and white striped. The silverware was sterling silver and had a calla lily design on the handles. The serving trays were also done in sterling silver with the same calla lily design. To top it all off was a beautiful bouquet of calla lilies in the center of the table in a crystal vase. Claridge's really did an excellent job in decorating our little tea party.

We had several minutes of silence before Ava spoke once again. "I love your name, Chesi-Babe! I wanna name my little sister after you." Ava said and Chesi looked at me before back to Ava.

"Thank you, Ava. I like your name very much too." She told Ava before turning to me. "Is a congratulations in order?" She asked.

I shook my head and smiled. "We're trying, but nothing yet." I explained. She nodded and turned back to Ava.

"Ava, your name means bird in Latin, doesn't it?" Chesi asked. Ava eagerly nodded her head.

"That's why Mommy named me that. She wanted to be wonder woman when she was my age." Ava explained and felt my face grow hot.

Chesi let out a small laugh. "She did, did she?" She asked and Ava nodded. "Yep! She wanted my name to mean something." Ava said.

"Well, I would say she succeeded." Chesi smiled.

"Gracias, Chesi-Babe!" Ava responded. "What does your name mean?" Ava asked.

"My name is an old English term for landing place for chalk or limestone or what is called a seaport." Chesi explained.

Ava cocked her head. "Why were you named that?" She asked. I had to admit I was wondering too. It might just be where her family liked the name or even a family name.

Chesi laughed. "Chesi is an old family name that has been passed down from generation after generation."

"Why?" I should have known Ava wouldn't have been satisfied with that explanation.

"I'll tell you, but it might be a little boring." She warned Ava.

Ava shrugged. "I'll be the judge of that. Explain." Ava demanded and I have never had more of harder time keeping the laughter from escaping. I couldn't wait to tell Ranger about that.

Chesi smiled and took a drink of her tea. "Back in the early 1900's, my many-great Grandfather met a beautiful young English girl. He immediately fell in love with her. But her parents forbade her to ever see my Grandfather as he was a very poor man. So they would meet in secret." Chesi stopped to take another drink of her tea. I glanced over at Ava and grinned. She had abandoned her tea and scones and was hanging on every word. She had her head propped up by hands with her elbows on the table.

"Every Tuesday evening at nine o'clock sharp, my Grandfather would meet his beloved at the beginning of the Chelsea Bridge. Together, they would walk the length of the bridge. They continued this every Tuesday for several months until one day my Grandfather's beloved became with child. Her parents were furious and sent her away." Chesi stopped talking and looked over at me; a question upon her face. I nodded my approval and she continued.

"So the next Tuesday they met again and she told him everything. My grandfather was a very lowly man, but he loved her and he wanted to do the right thing. They got married and agreed to raise the baby together." Chesi paused and took another drink. Ava was still hanging on to her every word. Her eyes wide with wonder.

"It was stormy night and she went into labor. They went to go to the hospital; both of them full of excitement. They got onto the Chelsea Bridge and were going across when they hit a patch of water. My Grandfather lost control of the vehicle and they crashed into the side of the bridge. My Grandfather was killed instantly, but his beloved made it to the hospital where they delivered the baby. His beloved was dying slowly and they wanted to know what she wanted to name her new baby daughter. She managed to say Chelsea before she passed on." Chesi finished.

"What happened to Baby Chelsea?" Ava asked before slipping her tea and munching on a scone.

"My Grandfather's beloved; her family took the baby and raised her as their own."

"What was your Grandfather's name?" Ava asked.

"Simon." She replied.

Ava grinned. "I like that name."

Chesi smiled. "I do too, but no one else in our family is named that." She responded.

Ava nodded. "What was her name?"

"Addy." Chesi answered.

"Addy? I like it." Ava told her.

Chesi smiled. "Me too."

Ava grinned. "So if you and Tio Lester has a girl, you named her Chesi?" Ava asked.

Chesi blushed and shook her head. "Probably not since my name is Chesi." She answered.

Ava nodded. "Tell us about your date with Uncle Lester!" Ava demanded.

Chesi laughed. "He picked me up and I was wearing black sheath dress. He gave me a bouquet of pink and yellow roses which I put into water. He took me to a very fancy restaurant called Restaurant Gordon Ramsey."

Ava interrupted with a giggle. "That was my idea." Ava told her. "We went to the one here and it was so yummy. Mommy moaned all through dinner."

I blushed and gave Chesi a grin. She returned it before turning her attention to Ava. Chesi gave her a smile. "He told me and it was a very good idea too. The restaurant was gorgeous and the food was delicious!"

"What did you eat?" Ava asked.

"I had a lemon sole fillet and Lester had the lamb." Chesi told her.

"What about dessert? You can't eat dinner without dessert!" Ava explained. Yes, she was definitely my daughter.

"I had chocolate for dessert."

"Mmmm, was it good?"

Chesi nodded. "It really was."

"Did Uncle Lester eat dessert? Cause if he did, then I gotta tell Daddy so Uncle Lester has to work out more."

Chesi laughed. "He did, but it was a small dessert." Chesi confirmed.

Ava nodded. "I'll tell Daddy." She said and Chesi smiled. "Where did you go then?" Ava asked.

"Then we went to Kensington Gardens to visit Pixie Park."

"You did?" Ava asked with disbelief.

Chesi nodded. "We did."

"That bad man hurt me there but we went back the next day." Ava explained touching her neck. The small spot on her neck still had a scab but it was healing nicely. It had just been three days since that day in the park. Ava had woken up with nightmares that night and the next but hasn't had any since then. We were all affected deeply by what happened that day, but I think it affected Ranger and Lester the most. Neither would talk anymore about it, but it was just a feeling I had.

That same night after we had went to bed, I woke up after a couple of hours. Ranger was missing from our bed. I got up and went to look for him. I found not only him but Lester in Ava's room watching her sleep. I crawled into Ranger's arms and went back to sleep after a few minutes. I woke up when I felt Ranger stand up. He told me to go back to sleep, that it was only 0500 hours. I looked around his shoulder to see Lester getting up too. Neither man had slept that night. You could see it in their faces. However they wouldn't talk about it.

Chesi nodded. "Lester told me what happened. He said you were very brave." She responded. I watched her face. Her eyes were full of sadness and something else. Whatever took place between Chesi and Lester at Pixie Park had also affected Chesi.

Ava was quiet as she sat there looking at Chesi. "Uncle Lester would make a good daddy. I love my Uncle Lester." Ava informed her; Ava's voice quiet and full of warmth. Chesi blushed and nodded. "I do believe you're right, Ava." She agreed.

Ava touched the mark on her neck; sadness in her eyes. Both Chesi and myself waited to see what Ava's next words were, but we never found out. Noises at the front door had Ava running for the door. By the time she got there, the door was open and the men filled the doorway.

"Daddy!" Ava shouted before launching herself in his arms. Ranger caught her swiftly; swinging her up and into his arms. She planted a loud kiss on his cheek which he returned. "Did you have fun?" She asked. I followed closely behind Ava, giving Ranger a kiss on the mouth.

I turned to watch as Lester made his way over to Chesi who had stood up and walked over to join us. He leaned down and whispered in her ear and she blushed. I more saw his body move than heard the chuckle that went through him at Chesi's blush. He kissed her softly on the mouth before giving her another one on her forehead. It felt nice to know that Lester found someone he really liked. I just hoped it all went well when we left.

"What do you think, Mommy?" Ava asked and I snapped my head around to look at her.

"About what?"

"I wanna go to the zoo." She told me.

"I think that is a great idea, Ava." I agreed.

Ava nodded. "Uncle Lester, Uncle Cal, and Uncle Tank is coming too." She said. I nodded.

"Chesi too!" Ava shouted. I turned to see what Chesi's response would be and found myself grinning when I saw Lester's arm thrown around her shoulders and her tucked into his side.

Chesi smiled and nodded. "I would love to come. If it's okay, of course." She agreed. Lester bent down once again and whispered in her ear. She blushed even harder and Lester smiled. "Chesi is coming." He shouted out as he unhooked his arm from Chesi and grabbed Ava from Ranger. He twirled her around and around until Ava began to beg Lester to stop.

It was a beautiful day. It was in the lower 80's but the breeze was blowing and there was no humidity. It was a perfect day to spend at the zoo. It was already later in the afternoon since we decided to go the same day as our tea party. Chesi wanted to go home and change clothes but then Lester once again whispered in her ear and she changed her mind.

So here we were, all dressed in our tea party best. Ranger was wearing black jeans with a dark green Henley t-shirt. Lester was wearing blue jeans with a black t-shirt. Both Cal and Tank were wearing black jeans with dark blue button up shirts. All four men looked extremely handsome.

Ranger paid our way in and off we went. "Where to first, Ava?" I asked her.

"I want Chesi to pick." Ava told us.

Chesi looked surprised but quickly recovered. "The big Asian cats were always my favorite." Chesi offered.

Ava grinned. "Yay! Kitties!" We made our way over to the Asian Cats where we watched the lions and tigers; laughing at their antics as they rough housed with each other. We then made our way over to the monkeys then to the gorillas. Ava walked in between Lester and Chesi holding each one of their hands. As we went through the Giants of the Galapagos, Butterfly Paradise, B.U.G.S, Penguin Beach, and the Rainforest, Ranger and myself walked behind the small group.

I watched as Lester lifted Ava up and supported her with one arm and wrapped the other around Chesi's narrow shoulders. She was just a couple inches shorter than him, but so much more smaller. I watched as he would point things out with the hand that was thrown around her shoulders and then whisper in her ear. He would often turn to Ava and tell her something or even show her something, but as we continued to walk, the scene in front of me was always the same.

I nudged Ranger and he glanced over at me. "Are you watching Lester?" I asked. He nodded. "What do you think?" I then asked. Ranger looked back over at me and smiled.

"My cousin is in love." He replied before facing forward once more.

I frowned. I thought so too, but how was it going to work. "How is that going to work?" I asked; voicing my thoughts.

Ranger gave a slight shrug. "If he really does love her, then the distance between them won't matter." He replied.

I thought about that as we walked on towards the reptile house. I believed the distance would matter. It wasn't just a couple of states separating them, but an ocean. That was a big difference. I wanted Lester to be happy, but I didn't want him to permanently move to London. I wanted him to stay in Trenton. I hoped that wasn't selfish, I just loved Lester like a brother. He was a major part of our lives and I think it would do some serious damage to us all if he moved far away. Even if it was in a wonderful place such as London.

At the same time, I was beginning to love Chesi and I believed she would make a wonderful addition to the RangeMan family. But would she leave all she knew behind to come live in Trenton with Lester? Could or should Lester even ask her to? Lester had plenty of money so they could always come back to visit London at any time, but then again they could always come back to visit Trenton if they stayed in London.

I let out a sigh. Ava loved her Uncle Lester and I knew she would have a harder time than us all to adjust being without him on a daily basics. She was becoming to love and adore Chesi and I knew she would just love the idea of Chesi coming to live at RangeMan. Again, this distance would be a major obstacle to overcome.

Ranger's voice drug me back to the present. "What?" I asked.

"It doesn't matter the distance, just watch." He said as he pointed to them both. Lester had sometime passed Ava to Tank and she was laughing at something he said. But my eyes were on Lester and that look I had seen a thousand times before. Only that look I had only seen coming from Ranger.

Lester had one hand on Chesi's hip; drawing her in close. His other hand came up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear; remaining at her neck, his thumb caressing the skin there. She blushed and said something. Lester smiled and responded back. Whatever he said it made Chesi smile. He leaned down and gave her a long passionate kiss. Chesi arched into him and returned the kiss. Ava's loud giggle made Lester pull away; his face flushed red which matched Chesi's.

He said something to Ava before tickling her tummy. Chesi watched Lester as he teased Ava; her eyes shining with love. Maybe distance didn't matter.