THAT MIAMI GLOW
Ranger POV
Chapter 9: I
oOo
It was such a relief to escape that weird scenario. Yes, it was predictable and we knew their tactics would be relentless, but fuck me! This fixation to marry Stephanie off to Morelli, despite the obvious fact that we were already married, had me shaking my head in bewilderment. I turned to look at Steph as she buckled up for the ride home. We both sighed on a long exhale, which made us both laugh at our dual reactions.
"I love how you stood your ground, Babe. You were so cool and direct. You didn't rise to their bait especially her hysterics. By keeping that even, direct tone it rattled your mother. Morelli too. You played your own game. But I have to confess, I found it quite difficult listening to their diatribe. Morelli … I just can't believe that he is still so fixated on you, after all this time."
She smiled at me with a hand on my arm.
"Yes. He is so insanely jealous. And he's an A-Class jerk. You know, he can't handle it that you won my heart, that I chose you. It was never a competition. He never featured in the running. But, because I called that ridiculous on-off relationship finally off for good, he somehow feels that it's not real because he didn't end it. He won't let go. And you saw how they fed off each other, even after all this time, over a year, and they are still deep in denial."
"Ha. Well after tonight, I think he got that memo. He's delusional, just as much as your mother."
"Those two have been plotting and winding each other up all this time. Sometimes I wonder if they are for real or that something happened to them in the Twilight Zone. I really thought at one stage you were going to leap across the table and throttle my mother." She giggled. I nodded.
"You read my mind. You got that absolutely right, Babe. I just wanted to rip her tongue out and throw it out the window or smash it against the wall. And Morelli? Jeez. Jerk is just too tame a word to describe that moronic fucker. It took so much of my self-control to keep my hands still. In my mind I was playing so many options on how I wanted to deal with him. Firstly, I really wished I had my gun. Part of me was hoping that your Grandma would pull her Old Bessie out, like she did when she shot the chicken in the gumpy. I really wanted to punch his lights out. But you kept me centred and grounded, just with your touch. I know I promised not to react, and not to interfere. You kept me to that. It was worth it. There is just no respect for you from those two at all."
Stephanie smiled indulgently at me.
"I can handle any sort of criticism like that, especially when it is levelled at me. But I found it mighty difficult because I wanted to protect you from their crazy shit, their bizarre perspective and obsessions. They are both so irrational! It just blows me away."
I kissed her across the console and then drove away slowly, away from this noxious place and out of the Burg.
"Another thought crossed my mind. If I didn't know better, I would guess they were planning an intervention. Your sister not being there was a bonus, but it did make me curious."
"An intervention?"
She laughed. I am so glad she can laugh after all that bullshit. "Oh my God! That was quite likely, you know. But I think they totally underestimated what we have and how happy I am."
"Absolutely, Querida. You are so strong and resilient. That they are clueless, was clearly obvious. I totally agree. They underestimated you so much. You have moved on and they are still stuck in that miserable mindless rut."
"Ican't believe Daddy didn't know all of what happened all those years ago. I thought everybody knew. My mother certainly made sure of that. Amongst all the other shit, I had to endure all the "Why me's" and "Oh, the shame," and "How can I show my face at the Italian People's Bakery or Giovincchini's. Her face! Not mine. I was confused and upset. Because I was grounded for the entire summer, missing out on the Prom was part of my punishment. No friends over, no playing in the park or swimming at the beach. That was the hardest, not being allowed to go to Point Pleasant and have fun on the boardwalk. Pfft. That's in the past now."
I didn't have to see her face to know that she rolled her eyes. It still makes me smile. She nudged me playfully.
"See, again it was all about her. Nothing to do with my welfare, my fears, my absolute confusion, my shame and guilt. She pounded that into me, blaming me. Shame and guilt. I was practically drowning in it. I was so naïve with Morelli. So, it is clearly obvious that she kept those specific details from Daddy. I'm surprised that he didn't find out through his friends at the lodge. Burg men gossip just as much as Burg women, I'm sure."
"Well, I'll tell you this. Having a daughter of my own, if I found out someone did that to her, well, let's say, there might not be enough evidence to find a body let alone identify one. How you came out of that upbringing so remarkably well still amazes me. She's a control freak. The douche-bag, too. Both loose cannons."
"Yeah, well. It was difficult. That summer, I also had to endure the revolving door of weird and sordid eligible bachelors for dinner a couple of nights per week. Ugh. Such seedy creeps. They were gross and lecherous. And they thought they were going to get lucky, especially after reading Morelli's disgusting and embarrassing little "poems". Blah! Let's say, a few of them had a close encounter with my knee as a parting farewell on the front porch."
She made the air quotes for the poems and shuddered visibly talking about those creeps. I laughed out loud at her with the knee to the groin, her signature move. That must have been her training time, because since then she has perfected that move rather well. Nowadays, her self-defence skills have a much wider repertoire.
"But, that's history. Water under the bridge as they say. I have moved on. Escaping to college, with Grandma's help was my saving grace. Told all sorts of lies about why I no longer lived at home. Pfft. Now I have you in my life and I can't believe how blessed and lucky I feel. I love you so much, Carlos."
I squeezed her hand and kissed her palm.
"Damn. It was so good to see Frank finally react and respond to Helen's outrageous rants. I reckon your Grandma will enjoy the smackdown tonight. But, I have to be honest, I seriously had doubts about your father. It's a start. On each previous occasion when we came to dinner together, I noticed how he always sat there, like earlier this evening, saying nothing, ignoring her, with only an occasional grunt or utterance. In that way he had enabled her, and condoned her disgraceful behaviour towards you."
Stephanie was quiet for a bit, contemplating that.
"Yes. It was rather wonderful to see the beast within suddenly emerge, and with such fury. Way overdue. Makes me wonder where he was when I needed him before?"
"Ah, yes. That's a question only he can answer."
"And decking Morelli in such a powerful way was awesome!"
"Yeah. That was damn good. I still wished it was me."
She hummed and chuckled at my disappointment pout.
"You know, hearing you call Morelli on his shit was perfect. Your confident body language had him second guessing his moves. And, you know, you did the same before, when he was harassing you at the TPD. I saw the feed from the TPD, thanks to Hector. Cal was revelling in your superb counter attack, while you were talking about him, not facing him. That really pissed the fucker off. But, this evening, standing up to Morelli in their home, and especially in front of Helen, while openly defying her and countering each of her spiteful tirades, that was a veritable and final Fuck You Helen Plum. You have no idea how proud of you I am, Babe."
She beamed at me. Then she looked down, fidgeting a bit.
"Um. I have a confession to make."
"A confession?"
I slowed down, preparing to pull over. I wasn't sure if I needed to be concerned. I was puzzled and very curious. Initially, she wasn't giving anything away, but then her eyes got that cheeky twinkle as she bit her bottom lip.
"Spill."
"Well, I had my phone on the table. Much to my mother's disgust. I deliberately did it just to annoy her."
"Oh, Babe! You didn't."
She giggled as she pulled her phone out of her bag. Her smile was wickedly delightful.
"Yup." She popped that last P. "I pressed record, and got the whole sordid, disgusting conversation," as she pressed play.
I had to pull over, I was laughing that much. I grabbed her for a fiery kiss. Once we caught our breath, leaning forehead to forehead, I said, "I am impressed Stephanie Manoso. Very impressed. To think I was contemplating how I could get Hector to install some cameras before our arrival. This is perfect."
"Okay. Enough of all that crap. Let's change the subject."
She tucked her phone inside her bag with a smug grin and leaned back in the seat making herself more comfortable. A contented sigh told me she was alright with all that ensued at the Plum dinner from the Twilight Zone. Our discussion and reflection of the dinner debacle was my strategy, in a manner much like a little debriefing. It is necessary to put those thoughts behind us so we both can move forward. Whatever they try to do will have no impact. Fuck you Morelli. Fuck you Helen Plum. And fuck the Burg, too.
As I pulled back into traffic to get to Haywood, I smiled. Now I feel like the cat that caught the canary.
I raised my eyebrow.
oOo
TBC
Ooh. Clever mischievous Stephanie.
Now, why is Carlos feeling so much like the cat that caught the canary?
Just to remind you, hers, not mine. Just the plot is mine and any mistakes.
Be safe. Keep well. Keep smiling. Stay connected.
And I LOVED all the wonderful reviews. Thank you so much. More to come shortly. Brace yourself.