Shades of Gray
Chapter 55
The rescheduled later morning meeting went off basically without any unexpected dementia. A tease or two was made about working for a 'hunk' of a boss. There were a few comments and jokes about the 'Limo Kings Limo to Lock-Up Service' but he could not ignore 12 skips yesterday and the last one was waiting for them outside of KTRN. Lester and Bobby never broke a sweat, no injuries, and it was easy money for his company, but he was a Bad Ass who liked the chase knowing that he, Ranger Manoso, was very difficult to outsmart and the best at what he did. The installation review went off without a hitch also after the meeting. He was 2 for 2. Maybe the full moon hold was over. Maybe not.
So, did he want to break the streak he had going on for unzaniness. The e-mail in his inbox was from her, the crazy woman from Newark who kept calling saying he was a hunk. If he never read it, then Ranger could tell his Momma he never received it. His very high technical SPAM filter that Hector had installed sent it right to that folder and it was deleted to No Man's Computer Land. His Momma wasn't very hi-tech and it could happen. Ranger could just hit the SPAM button. He sighed. If he did that it would lead to another turn of the Ana Manoso guilt wheel and he had more than his fair share at his birthday party. Ranger sat there staring at his lap top in his Rangeman office.
"I'm a Bad Ass. I can do this," he said to his empty office as he directed the cursor over the e-mail entry from 'BadButtMom1'. He pulled back thinking his Momma was his Momma. How many Bad Asses had a mother like her? He clicked closing his eyes. He waited a second and opened one eye. It looked normal.
It started out 'Hi from Ana and Juan Manoso. We have something to share with you. Click here'. It was a little package.
Ranger clicked on the blue package. Instantly 'How Much is the Doggie in the Window' began playing. A picture of his parents appeared. His father looked pained, but his crazy zany Cuban mother was smiling big enough for both of them holding a brown and white puppy similar to Sam with a black muzzle.
'Juan and Ana Manoso are proud to introduce you to Reggie, the newest member of our Cuban family. Doesn't he look Cuban?"
Scrolling down he read Reggie's adoption information. It included the precise time including the seconds when his parents purchased the puppy.
His mother wrote him a note: 'Carlos, I hope you like your new brother. You will always be my little boy. Love, Your Momma'.
He gave the e-mail that hard eye stare but it didn't go away. The full moon curse was still upon him, it was only a reprieve he was experiencing. His cell phone rang. Checking it he saw it was Stephanie calling.
"Babe?"
"No, Carlos, it's Frank," he whispered in the phone.
"Is something wrong?" Ranger caught himself talking softly back.
"Stephanie's crying and I can't get her to stop. Tiana passed the test and starts kindergarten next week."
"Be there in ten," Ranger said before closing his phone and running out of his office. After the interview, Stephanie, Paulo, and Tiana were going to the Hamilton Heights Elementary School for a tour and the little girl was being tested to see if she was ready for school.
His Porsche was just pulling out of the garage when he noticed a cloud of smoke billowing down the street but nothing else. He heard a churning so something was approaching. Out of the grey smoke was a lurching brown hearse with a turn signal on to come in the garage.
Lester's proud grin appears in the smoke as the window came down, and he was coughing "Ranger, we got a deal on this! It probably just needs a tune-up. I bet the skips will love this. It's retro 1955!"
"It's a piece of crap!"
"Be gentle. She'll hear," his hand patted the side mirror. Bobby was grinning just a wild from the passenger seat. "It's Rangeman's new 'Limo to Lock-Up' vehicle. We just need to put in some nice padded seats in the back and I bet we could get 10 skips in this, less if we put in a mini bar. Oh, you owe Big Ed $250 for taking this off his hands," Lester drove past into the garage with a large cloud following.
"I'm not paying $250 for that piece of shit!" Ranger yelled out his window. An old lady was coughing on the sidewalk and told him to watch his language. His Porsche window went up so she couldn't hear, "When is this FUCKING curse of the full moon going to be over!"
Running through Stephanie's back door, he immediately picked up on sobs coming from the living room.
"Babe," he had her in his arms cradling in his lap. Frank gave him a silent 'Thank you' leaving them alone. "What's wrong?"
"Carlos, Tiana is ready for school," gulped between words. "She won't be here with me." Her tears were wetting his neck and running down to dampen the edge of his black T-shirt.
"That's wonderful isn't it, Babe?"
"I'm not ready for two."
"Stephanie," his hands were cupping her face. Ranger knew next to nothing about small children so he was working off the cuff here. "You have done a wonderful job with them. I would expect new things to intimidate them, but they were on TV today and it didn't phase them at all. They travel with you and they're pros at it. Tiana and Paulo are ready. You made them ready and they aren't afraid."
"But, I'm not!" She started to cry harder. "I wanted to have girl time with her so we could get our nails done when she wasn't in preschool. Now she has to go everyday to kindergarten. She's so small!"
"You still have the afternoons if you aren't signing books. They are ready, Babe. She will be five in a few weeks. Look at the life you have given them. They love this house and the puppy. They wouldn't have had anything like this is an orphanage."
"I know," Stephanie told him as her tears were finally drying up.
"Mommy, why are you crying?" Paulo asked with his sister and Sam watching her.
She gave them a teary smile, "Mommy is so happy because her little boy and girl are ready for school!"
They looked at each other and Stephanie knew they weren't buying it. "And, I'm going to miss you," holding open her arms.
"We'll be home everyday, Silly Mommy," Tiana told her.
"I know and we'll all be together."
Ranger was laughing in her curls. He was holding Stephanie in his lap with two children and a puppy in hers.
"Babe," Ranger whispered in her ear because he had to know, "is it that time of month?"
"No! I get really crazy then."
"Just checking!"
He had lunch at her house and was getting ready to go back to Rangeman since it was calm now in Hamilton. The rest of Trenton he couldn't speak for at this moment.
"Where did Stephanie go?" Ranger asked Frank sitting outside on the deck.
He had to chuckle, "While we were out this morning, some business man called again trying to get Stephanie to agree to some deal to market a 'Tag-Along-Tom' software game. She doesn't like it because it's not educational enough for her. I think she's letting him down quite hard downstairs." He grabbed Sam's leash as he and his grandchildren were walking with the puppy to get more cream, dip, and chips for Edna's porn party. She was serving Kahula and cream to go with 'The Big Kahuna's Kahuna'.
Ranger couldn't resist this. Stephanie was so easy going when it came to her books.
Going down the basement steps he heard the business woman, "You aren't listening, Mr. Foster, I do not like your idea. Parents expect any product which has my characters associated with it to be educational, not mindless babble as this is! I don't care about the money, I care about my reputation, what my books stand for, and quality! It shows me the sloppy work your company does because you would have known my characters are all copyrighted and I have all creative control. So, let me make myself clear this one last time and I never want to hear from you again. If you attempt to market 'Tag-Along-Tom', 'Sam the Patchwork Puppy', Emily, or even so much as a flower or fish I've illustrated you will be involved in the biggest lawsuit your company will ever see and when it's over and I own your company, I just may let you park my car in your former parking space to give you a job! Good-bye!"
Stephanie slammed down the phone.
He was leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed grinning at his hot tempered business woman. She was crying a short time ago, now she was going for a man's jugular vein. What a woman! "Babe, that was hot! I have a few clients that are particularly difficult, want to handle them?"
"No, but I'd like to handle you. You were voted as a hunk on 'AM Trenton' this morning. I think I need to find out if that's true."
Stephanie came from around the desk, her blue eyes intense and meant all business. She placed a palm in the middle of his chest and pushed him out of the office and into the game room. He kept backing up as Stephanie directed him. After a few steps. He was going down on the armless sofa and she was on top of him. His T-shirt was flying as was hers over the back. The zipper of his cargos was going down and her nails were scraping over his ridges.
"Hmmmm, I think Trenton may be right, you are a hunk," Stephanie whispered against his lips.
"Let me show you."
