All familiar characters belong to Janet. Mistakes are solely mine. Tank's gift from Lester can be bought online.
"I know Tank is currently in his office on five," I informed Stephanie, not really surprised that Mabyn would talk to us before Tank will. "I spoke to him before Amari arrived."
"So … side trip?" My wife asked, and then answered the call on speaker while I helped Olivia hit the button for the fifth floor. "Hello?"
"Hi, is this Stephanie?" Mabyn asked.
"Yeah. And I'm guessing this is Tank's Mabyn? How's your father?"
Needing to make sure a loved one stays safe at home, rather than trust a facility to be responsible for watching an Alzheimer's patient, is a shitty reason for having to meet someone new. But the security system we developed for her family did bring her and Tank together, and she's been good for him.
"He and I are both doing better thanks to your husband's company and the system they created for him so he can't wander off again."
"Glad we could help."
"You're probably wondering why I'm calling …"
"Actually," Steph said, "I was busy trying to decide if Tank knows you're talking to me or not?"
"He does. He's the one who gave me your number with an almost 'I dare you to call her' eyebrow lift."
My wife nodded even though the woman can't see her. "That sounds like him. And word around the building is I'm overprotective of everybody here when I should stick to just worrying about my kids."
She laughed. "I don't know about that, but I have heard a few 'Olive' stories. She's made quite the impression on her Godfather."
"Sorry about that, but I'm not ashamed to say that our baby is hard not to talk about. And her GodTank is one of Olive's favorite people."
"That's actually why I wanted to speak with you. Pierre has obviously met my family out of necessity, needing to know what alarms their house needed. And I would really like to meet the people he cares about. I was hoping you'd be up for dinner at his place tonight. I know this is really short notice, but he said and I quote … 'Steph won't care about the time or date you give her, she'll be too nosy to turn any invite from you down.'"
"Wow, ten minutes ago I got called pushy by one Rangeguy, and now I'm nosy according to another. I wish I could be offended, but unfortunately … they're both right."
My wife glanced at me and I nodded. I wasn't agreeing with what she just said, she knows I view her as self-assured and the most empathetic person I've ever met, not pushy or nosy. I was nodding because I know she wanted to make sure I'd be okay with us having dinner with the couple tonight.
"It's clear that Pierre," Mabyn began, only to pause. "I'm sorry, I told him from the very beginning that I just can't call him 'Tank', values your family's opinion and I'd relax more if you had a good one of me."
"I'd say I understand why you can't go the 'Tank' route," my wife told her, "but I still call Ranger … Ranger, because that's the man I met and became obsessed with. 'Carlos' is who his family and clients see. Hmmm, hearing myself say that, maybe I'm not in a position to offer advice on the whole nickname thing."
"I'm hoping if things continue like they have been, I can start calling Pierre 'honey' or 'sweetie' just so we can bypass our differences on the subject and both feel comfortable."
I knew what was coming before Steph even opened her mouth to respond. "We'll come to dinner if you promise to call him one of those names tonight."
The laugh flowed easily through the phone line. "I can't promise you that, but I can swear on a Bible that I'm a pretty decent cook. Plus, I was given a head's up on the food groups your husband prefers and a separate list of what will win you over."
"You're halfway there, just for knowing that there are two separate lists," Steph told her.
"We can make it an early dinner and night so you can bring Olivia too. I have to get virus-tested for work or I wouldn't have suggested getting together right now."
"And now you're halfway to winning my hubby over. He takes no chances with his family."
Mabyn was quiet as she likely thought about her own family. What she's been living through hasn't been easy, but it will feel like a cakewalk compared to what's ahead for all of them.
"That's exactly how it should be," she finally said. "Will five o'clock be too early or too late?"
"We'll be there."
"Oh good. Pierre told me to tell you to leave the dogs at home so they won't scare his cats again, but I'm afraid I can't bring myself to say that. I'm an everything person. I like cats, dogs, and kids, and I don't see why they can't all come to a party. It's adult humans I sometimes have to put restrictions on."
"If I were a religious person, here's where I would say 'Amen'."
"I can tell Pierre was right, you are 'cool'. Dinner will be a 'come as you are' one. Please don't get dressed up for nothing."
"You said that because Tank already told you that he wasn't touching a suit, am I right?" Steph teased.
"Yes. And he also added no to a tie or wearing something other than his work boots."
"Good. He'd freak me out if he prettied himself up just for dinner. The guys only do that for funerals or a job, and I'd prefer this to feel like a relaxed night in."
"That's my goal. Good food with hopefully good friends. Does Olivia have any food preferences? I'm afraid I don't have a lot of experience when it comes to feeding children."
"Olive is adventurous. Whatever I or her Daddy are eating, she'll be willing to try. I'll pack something for her just in case, though. Don't waste time worrying about that, you'll need all your energy to convince Tank not to bail on this."
"Are you going to give him a hard time for me wanting to meet you?"
"Yep. He knows we love him, and he'll expect - and accept - nothing less. I just helped out a different RangeUncle and I wouldn't want Tank to get jealous by ignoring this opportunity to annoy him."
"I'm going to trust that you know what you're doing when it comes to him."
"I don't, but he hasn't killed me yet so I feel confident that he likes me … at least a little bit."
"He would never harm you. He loves your little girl too much to upset her like that."
Steph smiled again. "I'm glad you picked up on the Olive/Tank mutual admiration-thing, because if you guys are serious/serious … you may run into a pint-sized problem."
She glanced at Olivia's upside-down face, as our daughter began using me as a set of playground monkey bars. My wife tipped her head to the side just so she could press a kiss to our baby's cheek.
"Women are accused of changing their minds at a moment's notice," Steph continued, "but I think Olive is totally convinced she's going to marry Tank one day. I figure we'll give her crush another year before we start getting concerned that he's totally ruined her for all other humans."
The sigh that drifted out to us sounded slightly sympathetic. "I completely understand why she'd be enamored, and she might need at least three years to see anyone other than him. He's a really special man."
"We think so, but out of respect for both of you … I'll wait to ask your intentions regarding him until after dinner," my wife teased, but I sensed a promise and threat lurking in her words.
Another laugh, this one with a hint of something else behind it. "I'd appreciate that. I do care about him. I could tell from our first phone conversation that he's one of the good guys."
"We agree on that one too. We'll see you tonight. I'm going to go needle him now."
"Please go easy on him. He doesn't like being the center of attention."
"Aaaaand you knowing and saying that makes me think you're perfect for him."
"I honestly hope I am. Tell him I'll see him soon."
When she disconnected, Steph eyed me curiously. "You didn't want to jump in?"
I'd stayed silent during the call for a reason.
"I wanted a chance to observe her. If she knew I was on the line, she would've been on guard. Not only am I Tank's best friend, I'm also the Owner and Boss of the company she hired. I didn't want her to freeze up or start trying to placate me. The reason why I've always tried to get you working for Rangeman is how easily you connect with people. I wanted to see how she approached you to get an idea of what she feels for him."
"You'll never be officially 'off duty', will you?"
"As you said, I don't take chances with my family. Tank's been even more of a brother to me than my own at times, and I'll always do what I can to protect him. Hearing Mabyn's interaction with you was more informative than what my programs turned up on her."
"So we both think Tank's in good hands?"
"Yes," I answered. "But that doesn't mean we can't give him a hard time about it."
"I need a bigger body to contain just how much I love you right now," my wife said, leaning into me for a kiss.
"Mama, isses," Olivia said, trying to get upright again just to wiggle her way in-between our bodies.
"Mama saves her biggest kisses for you," Steph told our baby.
"Does she really?" I asked.
"Yes. But there are 'Olive kisses' and then there's 'Daddy kisses'. They're different, but I promise … they're equal in feeling."
We paused before stepping out onto the fifth floor just so Steph could cover Olivia's face in kisses again.
"Okay, we'd better go find GodTank before an Uncle tries to get you to play with them instead," Steph said into Olivia's neck. "You know where to find GodTank, don't you?"
"Dat aye," our baby said, pointing down the hall.
"Good job," I told her, as Steph set her down. "You're a better tracker than some of your Uncles."
"That's a little unfair," Stephanie said. "Our daughter was genetically programmed to be hyper-aware of everything and know where everyone is at all times."
I didn't disagree with her, but I did want to let Tank know that our women have banded together for his own good.
"Go ahead, Olive. You go to town on GodTank's door," Steph instructed.
We stood back as our baby let the door-bangs fly and waited for the 'Come in' command to reach us. I got the door for them and Olivia was headed straight for the second-largest desk in the building less than a beat later.
"How's my favorite little girl?" He asked our daughter, watching her run across his office to get to him.
He offered her an arm to climb up so she could sit on his lap and suddenly occupy the power seat in the room. Olivia reached for his landline to start with. She picked up the receiver and started informing imaginary clients of her demands while her Mama went to work.
"Guess who I just spoke to?" Steph asked Tank.
"Don't have to guess, you're dying to say it."
"So Mabyn wasn't kidding? You knew she'd call me?"
His attention drifted down to Olivia. Our daughter turned to him holding his pen in her hand. He wrapped a hand that's half-the-size of her body around her tiny one in order to help her write her name before he answered Steph's question.
"If I've learned anything from watching how you operate, I know it's a waste of time to try to talk a woman out of doing something important to her. Mabyn wanted you two to meet, so …" he shrugged, as if further explanation is unnecessary.
"Huh," my wife said mostly to herself. "I hadn't expected this. I thought you'd either keep Mabyn mysterious or we'd hang out only against your will."
"You were wrong. I like her and I knew she'd like you. Dinner was gonna happen whenever it did."
"You're kinda sucking the fun out of this. I was supposed to be working on my interrogation skills while I got info out of you, but you really like her enough to let us get to know her?"
"Stranger things have happened, Babe. Olive can't keep him to herself forever."
I dropped an arm around her shoulders and used my hold to pull my wife close. She'd had an entire conversation worked out in her mind, and now she clearly needed a moment and some humor to regroup.
"Sucks to be so wanted," he said to me.
"You're over six-and-a-half feet, there's more than enough of you to go around."
"As long as he's being loved as much as he is here," Steph added.
"I'd prefer a full-on interrogation, complete with torture, over this shit," he told us. "What do you wanna know?"
"I don't know now. You have me feeling guilty for asking questions about Mabyn without her being here. So I guess I'm waiting until dinner for details?"
His expression didn't change, but I could see victory flash briefly in his eyes. Atlas is new to what makes Stephanie tick, but Tank knows her almost as well as I do, and understands how she shows her love for her people. They all tease her for being so invested in them, but every man here appreciates the fact that she's got their backs.
"Mama, make dit," Olivia said, pushing a note pad across the desk for Steph to read.
"Very funny," she said a second later.
Tank didn't just help Olive spell her name, he added a 'My GodTank wins' above her signature.
"Just telling the truth," he responded. "You're always worried about me, even when you don't need to be."
"I hate to break this to you, but that's not going to change even if you marry Mabyn and live happily ever after. You're always going to be family … so our caring about you doesn't have an expiration date."
"You got off easy," I told him. "Atlas and Amari just withstood the full-force of my wife's 'caring'."
"And you know they're probably working things out as we speak," she replied. "He knows there are cameras everywhere, right?"
"Yes, Babe. He won't be doing anything except talking unless they head somewhere else."
"Okay, I definitely don't want their reunion to go public like that."
"It won't until he has any news to share with us."
"I have a feeling that won't take too long. Raphael and Cal didn't waste any time. And now we have a little Range-Cal coming in a few months, and Raphael was talking about he and Aubrey getting a dog. You know what that means?"
"I don't," I said, while Tank said "Negative."
"Getting a pet is like a trial run for having kids. Everybody knows that."
I kissed her temple. "Really? Aside from Rex, all our pets came after Olivia. And Cal and Kenzie have zero pets and went straight for the baby first. Same with Kane and Harper."
"Yeah, so my theories need a little fine-tuning. Nothing new there. Mabyn said this was a casual dinner, but it feels like a special occasion. What should we do, wear, and bring?" She asked Tank.
"Show up, I don't care, and nothing from Tasty Pastry," Tank told her.
"Wow ... way to kill a 'special' moment."
Again, Tank put the discussion on hold so he could pay attention to Olive. He held onto her as she stood up on his legs to reach his 'Complaint Department: Take A Number/fake hand grenade gift he'd received from Lester at the start of the pandemic, when he took over operations on this floor. While my daughter was busy trying to remove the number 1 tag hanging from the ceramic grenade, he focused on what my wife said to him.
"It's not a moment," Tank told us. "It's every day now."