THAT MIAMI GLOW

Ranger POV

Chapter 5: M

oOo

"Married!?"

"Mum! You're not listening!"

"You can't be married. What about poor Joseph here?" Her voice was getting to that edgy unpleasantly harsh, harpy tone.

"In Miami?!" Helen all but screeched, totally ignoring her daughter. Her fleeting yet scornful, arrogant glance of disgust cast my way again was very telling. Helen's greeting was anything but welcoming when we arrived, least of all for me.

"Married?" whined that ass, Joe Morelli. "I don't believe you."

"Tough. I don't care what you think. Just know that you never featured Joe. It was over ages ago. You're just in denial, like her. I bet she still has the VFW booked, on standby. Ha!"

Ooh. Yeah! That hit a raw nerve with both of them. Direct hit, Babe. Boom! Helen was spluttering and spilt her wine as she was shaking in anger at Stephanie's bullseye comment. Damn. That's another point for her.

"And, if you think I am going to carry our marriage certificate around to wave in front of your eyes as proof, you've got to be kidding. Deal with it and move on."

And really! What the fuck is he doing here, at the Plum home for dinner, after all this time? Stephanie had declared their relationship permanently off more than a year ago. Neither he nor Helen took it seriously. I still can't believe the gall and the idiocy of the man. He's in denial just like her harpy of a mother.

Inwardly, I chuckled at his shocked expression. Yeah, asshole. We are married, Stephanie and I, married, in the warmth of Miami. No Burgers were invited. It was a small private, romantic affair, on the beach, barefoot in the sand, on an evening ending with a stunning sunset. It was a truly memorable and magical moment for us and our closest friends. Just the way we wanted it. I smiled at the memory, watching Morelli's jealousy surge forth, that prominent vein on his forehead pulsing rapidly as his grip on the cutlery tightened fiercely. Yeah. Eat your heart out, fucker! I squeezed her thigh under the table and kissed Stephanie on her temple in a loving demonstration of support. Her spontaneous reciprocal response and sigh needed no translation.

"You know, Mother, I am not asking for your blessing. Not at all. To be honest, I don't give a damn what you think. It is my life. It is my decision. My fiancé and I decided to get married while we were enjoying our wonderful tropical vacation. Miami was the perfect place. And, not that you'd care to know, we are so very happy. That makes two of your check boxes filled, so you should be pleased. Happy … check. Married … check."

"Oh my God!" Helen shrieked, crossing herself quickly. Stephanie nudged me with a sneaky grin having predicted what her mother would quickly assume. "You're pregnant! Oh dear, Lord. You had to get married! What will the neighbours say? Why me?" Helen muttered while crossing herself repeatedly. Jesucristo! Such hypocrisy!

"Aw geez, Mother. Seriously? Newsflash. You have got to be kidding, especially after the Saint Valerie eloping debacle. By the way, they went to Miami as well. What a coincidence."

Stephanie was calm in delivering her backhands with such perfect sarcasm.

Morelli glared while he stared intently at Stephanie's waistline. She had deliberately worn a figure-hugging dress, which highlighted her svelte figure. She was toned and tanned and the dress highlighted every beautiful bit. She expected her mother and Morelli would be checking her waistline. Another point for her. Damn.

"In answer to your stupid assumption … No. Not yet. Well, maybe. Unless, last night …," she mused wistfully smiling at me, deliberately leaving that open for a significant effect. She smiled fondly at me.

"By the way. We were already engaged weeks before we decided to go on vacation in Miami. That damned Burg Grapevine of yours failed you big time on that little nugget."

Helen's gasp was quite laughable, her wine glass in mid-air poised for a sip nearly fell out of her grasp, causing her to spill the wine again on her pristine tablecloth. Frank had stopped eating but sat there blank-faced. Edna was grinning, enjoying the showdown. She too had lost her appetite it seems. Morelli's eyes went wide with that extra information.

"And, you know, Mother, I don't give a bloody damn what the neighbours might think. And just typical, you have to make this all about you! Really Mother?! You are a piece of work. This has nothing to do with you. Carlos and I are married and very happy. That's all you have to know. We just came to tell you personally, out of familial courtesy. You wouldn't want to hear it on the Burg Grapevine since they always put such a nasty spin on the news."

Stephanie's scathing sarcasm was very pointed and absolutely perfect. I love it when my Babe gets all fired up. I have to admit it is very arousing.

"Besides, as George Harrison from The Beatles so aptly quoted, Gossip is the Devil's radio. I thought that was so profound and so accurate, especially about the toxic Burg Grapevine that you seem so embroiled with."

At this Helen huffed and spluttered, while Frank remained silent, and Edna sat still, quietly enthralled. Thankfully she was not making any inappropriate innuendos for a change. From her initial reception when she opened the door to us, I could tell she sensed a showdown of epic proportions. She had smiled, welcoming me with a warm "Welcome Carlos." Here now, at the dinner table, her eyes darted towards her pathetic daughter, shaking her head and sighing in disappointment at Helen's performance. And that is just what it was, a performance.

"How dare you talk to me like that!" Helen was bordering on hysteria as she spat those words out. "I never brought you up to speak to me so rudely. That must be all his bad influence, that … that thug!"

"Oh, Mother. Puh-lease! My husband's name is Carlos and he is a successful and respected business man. He is not a thug, that's just Morelli here poisoning your misguided perceptions, which you are only too willing to believe. He's a jealous pathetic jerk. And, just to remind you, I am an adult, not a child. You can't sit there, on your sozzled self-appointed throne, pontificating as you always do. I don't need nor deserve your bitter remonstrations. I don't want to live the miserable, pathetic life that you had planned for me."

Sitting there watching Stephanie stand up to her mother, hitting back with strong comebacks sent Helen into a raging fit. She was so offended and infuriated that Stephanie even dared to challenge her, her mother! Ha! Go Babe! While spluttering her disgust at being defied so openly she glared at her own mother, Edna, then to Frank, and last of all, to the insipid looking Morelli, his smugness having faltered with Stephanie's display of confidence and defiance. There was barely any eye contact, least of all any recognisable moral support for her exaggerated outrage. So, she slammed her empty glass down on the table and stomped into the kitchen, leaving us sitting quietly in the wake of her fury. Well, that sure got her goat!

We had decided to let Helen make her idiotic rants, both of us having made our bets earlier, with the reward of winning foreplay power tonight, once we arrived home away from this toxic house. Such a great incentive, I thought. So far, she had the score up on me, but only by one. She had, however, predicted that Morelli would be there. Damnit! But that made it all the more fun, and an extra challenge. We both love a challenge and modified our game plan. It was flexible. I love it when Stephanie is in a mischievous mood. It was game on, no longer a chore, but still we had to endure the inevitable yet predictable tirades. Our checklist had filled fast. But, we had Plan A, Plan B and even a Plan C, considering all the possible ways that this evening's dinner might play out. Plan B and C are already on the mark, since Plan A is a total clean sweep.

We continued eating but it had already cooled down. Besides, the food was tasteless. There was a weird uncomfortable silence so we let the conversation just hang there for a bit while sipping some water.

Morelli was still glaring daggers at me. Then his eyes caught Stephanie's hand movement, as she placed her left hand on mine. It was a subtle but deliberate move. In the bright lights of the dining room her rings sparkled and Morelli's jaw just about hit the table. Yes. Eat your heart out asshole. They're real, authentic. His eyes looked to my left hand, where I was wearing my wedding band, a hammered dark titanium with a rose gold edge. It was classy. He scowled at our hands, his eyes fixated on the rings. We ignored his tormented expression. I could hear his teeth grinding from here. Stupid fucker didn't appreciate what he had so long ago. What a loser. His loss was my gain and I am grateful for every day with her. I respect and appreciate her in so many ways. And that was his folly. He had neither of those qualities. Fucking idiot.

In a deft move, very deviously, Edna had thwarted Helen's seating plan by sitting next to Morelli quickly, knowing that Helen wanted Stephanie next to him. She winked at me and I gave her a nod. Helen had made a big show of reluctantly making an extra place setting for me, even though Stephanie had confirmed that we were both coming. Ha. Another point for me. The harpy really is making a dramatic show of it. Tsk. So pathetic.

I could tell that Stephanie was quite at ease, feeling strong and empowered, she smiled and breathed easily at me as I stroked her back and squeezed her shoulder. This earned me a disgusted grimace from both the harpy and the fuckwit.

Stephanie had already declared she was not going to back down or grovel, but stand her ground firmly, once and for all. Leaving early was not going to happen because that would appear like she was running away or concede defeat. No, Stephanie was making sure to see this out and not fold to her mother's demands and decrees. Emotional blackmail was not beneath her mother.

I smiled at Stephanie. This is going better than I thought it would, giving her a wink. Helen's contrived and melodramatic performance as she sat down with a woeful sigh a new bottle in hand, was quite pathetic. It looked like she was regrouping, taking a hefty swig from her freshly refilled wine glass.

oOo

TBC

Brace yourself for Round 2. There is more to come. The proverbial shit is going to hit the fan.

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