This chapter could have been out this morning... but I kept getting distracted by thoughts about future events in the story... which lead to me spending several hours creating charts and outlining conversations...

Chapter 38

The thing about putting my life in someone else's hands for three months and having almost every minute of the day planned out for me was that by the time eight o'clock rolled around my first day back in my own country, my own apartment, my own life, I was feeling the lack of activity. I was showered and dressed, my hair semi-neatly braided, I'd eaten a relatively healthy breakfast from the food that had miraculously appeared in my refrigerator, tidied the apartment, and was in the laundry room checking my emails on my phone while I waited for a load of washing by the time eight o'clock rolled around. I'd achieved so much in the hours that I would normally have still been sleeping that I was struggling to comprehend how I could possibly fill all the hours the day had to offer me. Probably, I'd have to figure out a routine for myself to satisfy this new emptiness I was feeling.

Opening a new email, I composed a short message for both Aunt Beth and Brandon to let the know, belatedly, that I had arrived back home safely. I took the time to briefly explain how my meeting with Ranger had gone, and what my plan was moving forward, before urging them both – Brandon in particular, since I knew Aunt Beth was likely to do so anyway – to keep in touch. By the time I'd finished, the laundry was finished, and I had just enough time to get it back upstairs and put away before I needed to leave for the Bonds office.

Connie had her back to the door, rummaging in a file cabinet when I entered, setting off the bell above the door. She didn't turn, or look up from her task, just called a quick, "I'll be with you in a moment," over her shoulder. "Take a seat. Vinnie's not in yet."

"Well that's not very professional of him," I mentioned, lowering myself onto the scarred leather couch. "I'm supposed to have a meeting with him in-" I checked my watch. "Three minutes."

Connie spun around on her office chair so fast that she almost fell off. "Stephanie Plum!" she exclaimed. "When the hell did you get back?"

"Yesterday," I shrugged. "Is Vinnie really not in, or is that just a lie he's making you tell to avoid having to deal with people?"

She sighed, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms over her ample bosom and giving me a 'What do you think?' look. Vinnie was nothing if not predictable. He didn't like people. He avoided them at all costs, preferring to listen in to other people's conversation from the safety of his office via the creepiness of bugs planted in Connie's desk, shouting like a mad man when he heard something he didn't agree with. If he was smart, he'd file the information away and use it as leverage, but nobody had ever accused my cousin of being smart.

"Well, I better go let him know I'm back and ready for action," I sighed, pushing to my feet once more. There wasn't much I hated more than being stuck in an enclosed space with my cousin, the renowned sleaze, especially if that space was his office. I'd heard tales about the sordid acts that had taken place in this room, and it made my skin crawl just thinking about it.

The meeting took approximately ten minutes, during which I was careful not to touch anything that wasn't absolutely necessary, perched on the very edge of the visitor's chair with my hands clasped in my lap. I explained that I was back and more ready than ever to go out there and catch the scum he assisted to get back out on the streets after their felonies. He asked me a series of pointed questions regarding my commitment and capabilities, making waves like he had to be sure I was suited and trustworthy enough to work for him again, when I was fully aware of how heavily he'd been relying on outsourcing to Rangeman while I'd been away. Partnering with Rangeman was a costly affair for the Bail Bonds business, and I knew that with me out of the picture he would have had to pass even the smaller bonds over to them, unless he'd managed to find a replacement for me. According to the guys last night, though, Vinnie had done no such thing.

Eventually, he relented and accepted that I would be returning to bounty hunting for him and waved me irritably out of his office.

"So, tell me everything," Connie requested enthusiastically, appearing at my side and squirting sanitiser into my hands as I emerged from Vinnie's inner sanctum. "The boys in black told me you were win England and then you come back in here after months of absence looking like a whole new woman. What's up with that? Did you and Ranger fix things up?" She waggled her eyebrows at me in tandem with the nail file she'd just plucked out of her pen cup as she sat back down.

I had, of course, told Connie and Lula about the goings on with Ranger and how the Merry Men had reacted, but even knowing that Ranger had broken my trust and put me in a dangerous situation, Connie had advocated for me to forgive and forget. Something told me she just wanted to live vicariously through me. If someone she knew had a shot of being with the Cuban Sex God, she was going to encourage that no matter what. It wasn't that she wasn't a good friend, she'd just been married a long time and longed for something a little more.

With a groan, I settled back into the couch once more. "I'm not sure Ranger and I will ever be able fix what's broken between us," I sighed, tucking a rogue curl behind my ear. "I decided to go visit him yesterday on my way home, and it turns out that things are worse than I thought."

Connie was in the middle of trying to persuade me to give her all the details when the bell over the door rang out, announcing the arrival of a welcome distraction in the form of a plus sized woman named Lula. She let out a rather undignified shriek when she noticed me on the couch and in the next moment I found myself smashed against her cleavage as she wrapped me in a bear hug that could rival Tank's. After several suffocating moments, she released me and plopped down on the couch by my side, grinning from ear to ear.

"Why didn't you tell me you were back?!" she demanded. "I've been working my butt off holding down the fort here for you. A little phone call to say you're back to pick up your slack would have been nice."

I couldn't help but return her smile, knowing that while she appeared to be rousing at me, it was really just her way of saying she'd missed me. "I got back yesterday afternoon," I informed her. "And slept most of the time since then. But you'll note that I am here now."

She narrowed her eyes at me but didn't question the facts. Instead, she returned the subject to the one I'd been trying to stave off when she arrived, asking me about Ranger and what our status was. I told her the same as I told Connie and, in order to get the focus off me, asked her how married life was going. Conversation successfully diverted from the topic of my life, I visited with the girls for a while longer, until Vinnie started yelling from his office about time being money and I decided it was time to take the files Connie had assembled for me and take my leave.

"I'll ride shotgun," Lula announced, bounding to her feet as I was walking to the door. "Gotta look out for my white girl."

"Oh," I uttered, caught off guard. For some reason, with my new training under my belt, I had failed to consider how Lula fit into the picture I was reframing for myself. I knew that I was more confident in my abilities than I'd ever been before. My gun felt comfortable in my hand, and I had no trouble throwing my weight around in order to detain a target. The problem was Brandon had drilled sensibilities into me while I was under his tutelage. He emphasised being logical, and calm, and having a solid plan going in. I had an idea of how that looked for me but including Lula in the scene was a little more difficult. She wasn't known for her sensibilities. I mean, she wore mini skirts and six inch heals to help me catch bad guys. At this point, I needed to take some time to figure out my new routine and slot Brandon's training into some real life scenarios, and I felt it was something that needed to happen on my own first before I considered adding Lula's chaos to it.

"I was just going to go back to my apartment and run some background searches," I explained, which was not a lie. Getting more information on the FTAs was my first step to finding them and bringing them in. "And I have some other things I need to figure out moving forward. How about I call you when I'm ready to hit the streets?" I suggested.

"That works for me," Lula said easily, adjusting her cleavage. "If you're just gonna be staring at screens, I may as well get some A,B,C practice in and do some filing."

A feint 'Hallelujah!' drifted out of Vinnie's office, the tone laced with copious amounts of relief, and for the first time I felt like a agreeing with him. It wasn't that I didn't want Lula around. I just had things that I needed some time to figure out the transition from the old Stephanie who's life was out of control, to the new Stephanie I wanted to be with control, and confidence, and significantly less accidents and injuries. It was one thing to have the knowledge of what I needed to be doing in order to be successful, and quite another to work it into my life. If Brandon's training was going to be a full success, I needed to take this last step. I needed a plan and, I think, a bit of advice from the guys.

"Talk to Louis and figure out when he's available for dinner," I said to Lula in an effort to squash the guilt attempting to bloom at having to blow her off. "We should catch up properly."

*o*

Out in my car, I considered my options for the immediate future. Theoretically, I should go and visit my parents before she got a phone call from a member of her gossip tree to inform her that I'd been spotted around town and she called me to admonish me for not letting her know that I was back in the country. And for not letting her know that I was leaving the country, too. But there was also all the life and work stuff that I needed to figure. I felt the need to set out a daily routine for myself, organise my life, be a productive adult who is accountable for her actions.

I glanced at the time, noting that it was approaching midday. I'd spent longer catching up with Lula and Connie than I'd thought. It did, however, make for a convenient to visit my parents. I hadn't planned what I was doing for lunch when I left the house this morning, but I did have a fridge full of food and the intention of returning to my apartment to do research and get this Bounty Hunting thing done right for a change. Heading over to face my mother, though, would kill two birds with one stone. Hopefully those birds would be lunch and showing my mother that I was alive and well, and not my mother actually murdering me for being such a terrible daughter.

Predictably, she was at the storm door waiting for me when I pulled up to the curb out front, Grandma Mazur right behind her. Wondering anew if there was some merit to the gypsy blood Grandma sometimes spoke about running through our veins, I tucked my FTA files into the glove box for safe keeping, gave myself a quick pep talk, and started up the garden path.

"Stephanie!" she admonished when I was close enough that she didn't have to yell for me to be able to hear her. "How dare you go off to England and not tell me!? I was worried sick about you!"

"I told Dad to tell you," I pointed out calmly as I climbed the front steps to meet her on the porch. "And I was staying with Aunt Beth, so you could have contacted me there at any time."

Mom huffed out a breath as she held the door open for me to enter the house – heaven forbid we linger on the porch a second longer than necessary and allow the neighbours to see our dysfunctional interactions. It just wouldn't do for them to realise that we are human and not prone to perfection.

"Hey, Grandma," I greeted, ignoring Mom's mood; she'd be over it in a few minutes, and I wasn't in the mood for indulging her. "How are you?"

"I'm better now that you're back in town," she assured me. "Your mother's been threatening to lock me up if I didn't start behaving. I don't know where I went wrong with her."

I shook my head. "You didn't go wrong with Mom," I defended. "She just has different values than you and I do. We can't fault her for trying to keep us safe."

Now it was Grandma's turn to huff as I continued past her, ducking my head into the living room to wave hello to my father on the way to the kitchen at the back of the house. It wasn't every day that I defended my mother, but the new leaf I had turned over was a whole life change, not just a work one. I couldn't just continue to poke at my mother's faults every time I visited and also expect her to stop pin pointing all of mine. Relationships were a two way street. Unfortunately for my mother and I, we'd been perpetually stuck in an unhealthy pattern of communication since I was a teenager. It was time to break the cycle. Maybe if I showed Mom that I wasn't going to fight as hard against her, she'd ease up on me as well.

"Thank you, Stephanie," Mom said, sounding surprised as she trailed behind me down the hall. "I… That was… Will you stay for lunch?"

I couldn't help the smile that crept onto my face. We weren't big on feelings talks in this family, but Mom had always found a way to express herself through food. It didn't seem like much from the outside, just a mother offering to feed her youngest daughter since she happened to be visiting around a mealtime. But it was in the way she offered to feed me, and the care she took in preparing my plate that let me know she loved me and appreciated the small stand I had taken for her.

"Of course," I replied. And she knew that it was the way in which I replied rather than just that I had answered in the affirmative that showed that I loved her, too.


How is everyone maintaining their sanity during lock down?