Chapter 18
One month later…
Frank had more than enough room to accommodate his daughter and grandchildren. Valerie had moved into her dad's house a few weeks before her court date to divorce Albert. Frank and Valerie felt it was necessary to have a stable home for the children. He loved the company, and she loved cooking for her dad.
Valerie attended family court to dissolve her marriage to Albert. The courts insisted that he pay support payments for his two children, Valerie politely declined, citing he didn't have a stable income.
Albert apologized to Valerie. "My mom introduced me to Hannah before we got married. You got pregnant with Bert before I could break up with you. It's all my fault, Val. We should never have gotten married. I didn't know mom would get angry about the baptism," Albert rambled.
"Albert, you went through all of the preparations for the baptism. The priest required your consent that you willingly gave. I don't understand why it suddenly became an issue with your mother. You know what? It's all water under the bridge now, Albert. You're free to marry Hannah. I wish you nothing but happiness. I hope Hannah gives you children your mother could be proud to call her grandchildren. If you change your mind about Lisa and Bert, call me," Valerie said before exiting the room.
Cal waited in the SUV outside for Valerie to appear. He wanted to stand by her side, but Valerie didn't want to rub Albert's nose into her new relationship as Albert had done to her. "How did it go? Are you officially free?" Cal asked.
"About how I expected, and I'm free," Valerie replied. "I found out that Albert met Hannah before I got pregnant with Bert. He planned to end our relationship, but I got pregnant again. His mom never wanted us to get married. She got worse when I had Lisa and Bert baptized. I didn't know it would end our marriage."
"It sounds to me that it was over before it began," Cal said.
"The deck was stacked in favour of the house," Valerie dismissively stated. "I'm supposed to help Tank with the monthly reports." Cal nodded, then stroked her cheek. They held hands as they returned to Rangeman.
Cal parked his car in the employee lot on the opposite side of the building. Valerie smiled when Cal jumped from the car to open her door. He was a gentleman. Chivalry was not dead where Cal was concerned.
Rangeman hired Valerie to help Tank with the paperwork. She helped streamline the process to make everything easier. Valerie didn't care for the strict exercise routines, but she was glad to be exercising again.
"Are you free for dinner?" Cal asked Valerie a few hours later.
"Um. Yes. I haven't made plans. Dad's ordering pizza for the kids," Valerie replied. "Is something wrong?"
Cal grabbed Valerie's hand, pulling her from the chair. He wrapped his arms around Val and whispered, "Val, we need to talk."
She squirmed from his embrace. "Steph, do you mind giving Cal and me some privacy?" Val asked.
"Nope," Stephanie said as she got off her chair. "I'll be in Ranger's office." Stephanie left her office, closing the door behind her.
"We'll talk now," Valerie said. "Are we breaking up?" Valerie knew it was too good to be true. Men like Cal weren't interested in women like her.
"No, darling. I love everything you do for your children. However, when your family is at my home, I don't want a doting girlfriend who does everything around the house," Cal stated.
"So we are breaking up. I knew jumping into your bed too soon would negatively affect our relationship. But Albert and I didn't have sex since a few weeks before I gave birth to Bert. It was over a year ago," Valerie said, her chin wobbled as she fought back the tears.
Cal lifted her chin to look into her eyes. "Valerie, we're not breaking up. A man wouldn't let his woman wait over a year to have sex. I'm a modern man. I don't need to get married to live with the woman I love. I don't need to be a biological father to be a dad for your children. I don't want a Burg wife to cook and clean. I want a woman to share the chores with me. I want my family to live in my house. Most of all, I want my girl to share my life, home and bed every night," Cal explained.
"You can do much better than me," Valerie said. "I'm a mess. I got divorced twice."
"I want you," Cal stated.
"I don't want to get married again," Valerie quickly said. Her self-esteem was more fragile than she was willing to admit.
"I'm not asking you to marry me, Valerie. We don't need a piece of useless paper to have a committed relationship. However, I am asking you to move in with me."
"No. I will not move in with you," Valerie stated.
"No? Why?" Cal asked.
"I'm not saying I'd never move in with you. I made a mistake getting involved with Albert too soon after my separation from Steve. You deserve better than a woman jumping into cohabitation before she's ready. I need to work on myself before I can take that step," Valerie replied.
"I can live with that. We'll revisit this discussion in a year," Cal stated.
"Thank you." Valerie kissed Cal. He deepened the kiss before breaking the connection.
"I love you, Val and I love your children. Take all the time you need. Please let me know when you can say yes," Cal added. Valerie didn't reciprocate, but Cal knew she loved him too. She'd show it in all of the little things she did.
~~~
Stephanie used the washroom in Ranger's office. She pulled the package from her purse to open it. Stephanie carefully read the instructions before removing the item from the box. She followed the directions and set her phone for three minutes.
"Babe?" Ranger knocked on the door. Carlos watched Stephanie enter the washroom with her purse.
"Come in," Stephanie said when her alarm sounded.
Ranger entered the washroom. He immediately noticed the tear on Stephanie's face. "What's wrong, Babe?" She pointed to the item on the sink. Ranger lifted the object to read the result. "Babe?"
"I know we didn't discuss having children, and I wasn't sure I even wanted to have one," Stephanie sobbed.
"Babe. Please look at me," Ranger said, lifting her chin with his finger. "I'm happy."
"You're not mad?" she asked in disbelief.
"I am not mad. We never took preventative measures," he replied. "I love you, Babe." Ranger rested his forehead against hers. "You're going to be an amazing mother. You already are a remarkable mother to Julie."
"But you can't go into the field until the baby's born," Stephanie added.
"And I couldn't be happier," he responded.
"You could always rewrite the Rangeman protocols," Stephanie joked.
"Babe, we have protocols for a reason."
"How many manuals do we have?" she asked.
Ranger quickly replied, "Rangeman standard protocol manual for everyday operations. A manual for employee conduct, including diet and exercise. Last but not least, we have a manual for married employees and their families."
"Ya. I would say that's two manuals too many," Stephanie said.
~~~
Several months later, on a hot July day, Helen moved out of the Burg. Helen had to sell the house where she raised her daughters. Money got tight, and Helen got a job at the local zoo. It smelled, but she couldn't get a job anywhere else. Unfortunately, it didn't pay all the bills, so she was forced to sell her home.
Frank refused to drag out the divorce. Helen got the house instead of spousal support and half of Frank's pension. None of the businesses allowed her to enter their establishments. She thought about moving to another state, but she wanted to be close if Valerie or Edna required her assistance.
Helen was embarrassed. Stephanie married a Rangeman thug and Valerie got divorced for the second time. She didn't know what was wrong with Valerie. Kloughn made enough money to pay the bills. Getting divorced was unnecessary. Valerie never told Helen that her marriage ended because she wasn't Jewish, and her mother-in-law found a more suitable wife for Albert.
She changed her clothes into the awful green top and khaki pants. Helen didn't like cleaning the crap from the animal's cages. It had to be the worst job at the zoo.
A group of men, women and children walked past Helen as she prepared the buckets and mops. "Is that grandma Plum?" Helen heard a familiar voice ask.
"I doubt it, sweetie. Your grandma never worked while we were growing up. I don't think she'd have a job now, especially mucking out cages at the zoo," Valerie replied.
Helen hid her blotchy red face from view. She peeked over her shoulder at the families. Stephanie rubbed her stomach as she talked to the dark girl standing beside her. "How are you feeling, mom?" Helen heard the girl ask Stephanie.
"A little nauseous, but I'm sure it will pass. Your brother is a little active today," Stephanie replied. Helen couldn't believe her daughter got pregnant by that thug.
Valerie was holding hands with the giant man with the skull tattoo. She was disgusted. Helen tried to figure out who the other couple was. "Mama, can I take Sophia and Ronnie to the reptile habitat?" Julie asked the pretty woman.
"Sure, Jules. Keep an eye on your sister. She's afraid of snakes," Rachel replied.
"Can Angie and I go too?" Mary Alice asked.
"It's fine by me," Valerie replied. "Do you mind them tagging along with your children, Rachel?"
"Not at all," Rachel replied. The adults stopped walking to watch the zoo worker coax the lions into the back half of their enclosed cage.
"Come on, Lisa and Bert. You can come with us," Julie said, taking the double stroller from Valerie.
"Julie looks happy," Rachel stated.
"I hope she is," Stephanie responded. "I was afraid to tell her about the baby."
Rachel laughed. "Julie was excited from the news. She called us the day you told her," Rachel informed Stephanie.
"I want you to know that your family is also our family, Rachel. We're raising Julie together," Stephanie stated.
"You're more generous than I would be," Rachel admitted. "I appreciate everything you have done for Julie." Stephanie waved off her gratitude. "Have you picked out names for your little man?"
"Not yet. I want to name our son after his father," Stephanie admitted.
"Let me guess. Carlos doesn't like his name, so you shouldn't pass it onto the boy," Rachel said, laughing.
"Yup," Stephanie admitted as she laughed.
"Our wives are comparing notes," Ron joked. Ron laughed harder when Ranger groaned.
"She can name our son anything her heart desires," Ranger confessed.
"Have you told Stephanie?" Ron asked.
"No. It's more fun listening to alternative options," Ranger replied.
Ron laughed. "Stephanie's keeping you on your toes."
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
Helen was disgusted as she listened to the conversation. Her daughter welcomed her husband's ex-wife, new husband and children, into her family. Why couldn't her daughter be like other people? Helen doesn't have the words to describe how she felt about her older daughter, Valerie.
"I moved the lions into the other cage, Miss Mazur. Their cage is ready for you to clean," the zoo manager stated. He latched the gate in the back for Helen to clean the front half.
Valerie had stopped to tie her shoe when the zoo worker talked to her mother. She stifled a laugh. "Mary Alice was right. It was mom we walked past," Valerie stated.
Stephanie looked around and met Helen's eyes. She refused to talk to Helen after their confrontation at Rangeman. Helen made her choices and needed to live with them.
"Babe?" Ranger asked, passing Stephanie a bottle of water.
"Thanks, Carlos," she replied. She drank half the bottle before giving it back to her husband. He finished the bottle then tossed it into the recycle bin.
Ranger held his wife's hand as they strolled through the zoo towards the reptile habitat. Rachel and Stephanie joked as they walked. The women talked a few times a week since Julie moved to Trenton.
"I need to use the washroom," Stephanie whispered. Rachel and Valerie giggled before dragging Stephanie to the closest washroom. "How did you know where to find the washroom?"
"Steph, Rachel and I are mothers. We research all bathroom locations before we go anywhere," Valerie stated.
"You should start now before your son arrives to get into the routine," Rachel suggested.
Stephanie rolled her eyes. She knew the women were correct. "I'm going to get huge," Stephanie groaned.
"You're only nineteen weeks along. I could barely see a bump," Valerie stated.
"I wish my abdomen stayed that small during my pregnancies," Rachel added.
"I'm huge," Stephanie complained. Valerie and Rachel laughed.
"Wait until she's ready to deliver," Valerie whispered to Rachel.
"You guys are mean," Stephanie complained.
"But you love us anyway," Valerie added.
"I do."
Ron and Ranger raised their eyebrows when the three women exited the washroom. Valerie looked around for Cal, who was noticeably missing. "Cal left to rescue Lisa from the python," Ron stated.
Stephanie shivered. "Yikes." Valerie's mouth popped open. She didn't like snakes.
Rachel rolled her eyes. "He's teasing you, Val," Rachel stated.
Ranger grabbed Stephanie's hand, leading her towards the reptile habitat. Stephanie didn't want to see any of the scaly creatures especially, not snakes.
Contrary to what Valerie thought, Lisa loved seeing the python. Stephanie took a picture of the four girls with the fifteen-foot-long python draped across their shoulders. The zoo attendant laughed when Lisa cried that the snake got returned to his enclosure.
After visiting all of their favourite animals, the group walked back to the entrance. They passed Helen cleaning the monkey enclosure. "Hi, grandma," Mary Alice shouted.
Helen ignored her granddaughter as she continued to clean the cage. "Unbelievable," Rachel muttered as she looked over her shoulder. "She wouldn't even acknowledge her granddaughter."
Angie sighed and said, "It's her loss, Mary Alice. We have a new family with lots of uncles and aunts."
"I know. But I was hoping we still had our old family too," Mary Alice confessed.
Cal kneeled down in front of Mary Alice. "You are a special girl. All of your Rangeman uncles and aunts love you for the wonderful girl you are. I know my parents would love to call you their granddaughter. They would never make you feel like nobody loved you. You know I love your mother, right?" Cal asked.
"Yes. You love Angie, Lisa, Bert and me too," Mary Alice replied.
"I do love all of you. You're my family now," Cal added.
"I love you too, dad," Mary Alice said, throwing her arms around Cal's neck. "I mean. Is it okay if I call you dad?"
"Sure, Mary Alice. It's okay with me," Cal replied when he saw Valerie nod her approval.