A Stephanie Plum fan fiction story. I don't own the characters, just playing with them. For all those Babe fans, this one is for you. Soulmate mark story.
Chapter 1
Could this day possibly get any worse? Crap! Why did I have to say that? I can see Lenny Gruber following me in his tow truck. He works for the repo company and the luxury of driving my Miata has nearly come to an end.
Hi, I'm Stephanie Plum. I'm only 30, 5'7" tall with brown curly hair and blue eyes. I was born and raised in Chambersburg New Jersey. However, everyone refers to my community as the Burg where most of the residents are Italian. My body shape is okay, but I will never win a beauty pageant with only a 36B bra size or be classified as sexy. Most people say my looks are average, but I disagree. I know I have that innocent 'girl next door' vibe going on. My looks are definitely not average. Valerie is average and me? I'm way below average in looks. Girls with average looks tend to have more boyfriends and dating experience than I do.
I have only been intimate with 2 men. Unfortunately, I married one of them thinking he was my romantic soulmate. When I look back at our relationship, it would appear someone interfered. He said the right words, I should really say word, my romantic soulmate will only say exactly one word. Dickie claimed my words were written on his body, but he refused to show me them. It wasn't until I saw him knocking boots with Joyce Barnhardt when I finally saw the words. The script was similar to my handwriting, but it obviously was not mine. How could he do this to me? A person's romantic soulmate mark is like sacred ink. It should never be duplicated as a tattoo and kept a secret by your parents. It certainly should never used as a way to manipulate another person. It didn't take long to discover Mom told Dickie what my romantic soulmate mark said. I was too naive. Our explosive divorce is still the talk in the Burg.
The second man I've been intimate with was Joe Morelli. When I was 16, I allowed him to talk me out of my pants. Other than marrying Dickie Orr, it was the largest mistake of my life. Unknown to me, after our encounter Morelli wrote a poem about our encounter in all the men's washrooms in the Burg. He left for the Navy the next day. I was completely distraught and needed to talk to someone. The following day, I went to visit my Mazur grandparents. Grandpa and I talked about what happened. I told him everything including not really wanting to have sex with Joe. He said if I didn't have sex with him, he'd spread nasty rumours about me. If I let him take me, he'll be lenient and protect what we've shared. Grandpa made me realize it still wasn't consensual sex and should not be romanticized. Morelli's actions was classified as rape. "Morelli's coercion was rape Stephie," he explained. "He still forced himself on you. Do you want to press charges?"
"If I press rape charges, will I have to testify?" My greatest fear was everyone in the Burg finding out, especially Mom. I was also afraid Dad would be disappointed in me.
"Probably, but since I know he left for the Navy today, it would have to wait until he finishes his training. We could always begin the procedure and hope the Navy discharges him immediately."
"When will that be?" I wanted to know the timeline involved.
"Between 3 and 4 years. Unless he's discharged for misconduct."
"I honestly don't think it's worth pressing charges Grandpa. If I press charges and the Navy doesn't discharge him, I'll be waiting for years just to have to experience it all over again. I really want to forget about what happened and move on."
"Alright. I'll follow your lead for now. You can't live in denial land forever. Let me know if you change your mind," he said, knowing I would forge ahead without Joe receiving retribution for his crime. "Promise you'll stay away from him when he returns."
"I promise. I'm feeling a bit itchy down there. Is that normal?" I asked not feeling remotely embarrassed.
"We'll have to ask your Grandma. I don't know if that's normal for a girl's first sexual experience." He held my hand as we told Grandma everything. I could see the anger in her eyes.
Grandma Mazur insisted on taking me to a Newark clinic to be examined. Grandpa drove while Grandma had her arms wrapped around me as we sat in the back seat. The doctor said it was fortunate my periods were irregular. I asked about the possibility of contracting an STD since he didn't use protection and I was feeling itchy there. After receiving results from a swab, she prescribed antibiotics for the STD and birth control to regulate my periods.
Dad asked me about the messages written on the men's washroom walls. He realized his error when he noticed Mom was still in the room. So much for nobody finding out. Joe lied and I felt ashamed. Dad was called to an emergency Post Office convention, at least that's what he told Mom. I knew he was an Army Ranger and was called away on a mission. He left before Mom doled out my punishment for having sex with Morelli. I was already ashamed, but I felt Mom's summer long punishment was too harsh. It was sheer luck I didn't get pregnant.
Back to my current dilemma. If Lenny repossessed my car, I would have no way to get back home. Luck, if you call it that, was on my side tonight. I stopped at the next red light and ran a few cars back to Lenny's tow truck. "Can you please wait until tomorrow? I'm going to my parents' house for dinner and I need to get back home." Lenny Gruber and I went to school together. He had a crush on me for many years.
"I will wait until you get home," he easily agreed. I released a breath in relief before running back to my car. He turned at the light, leaving me to continue driving towards my parents.
I arrived at my parents' house with a minute to spare. Thank goodness the roast won't be dry. Mom and Grandma were waiting at the door for me. Grandma pulled me into her arms before allowing me to enter the house. She whispered, "I'll have your father drop the car off tomorrow." How does she know?
"Hi Daddy," I said before kissing him on the cheek. He was sitting in his chair watching the Rangers game in the living room.
"Hey Pumpkin," he replied with a smile. Dad has the most amazing smile. His entire face lights up whenever he sees me. I sat on the couch closest to him and reached for his hand. His fingers wrapped around my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"Dinner's ready!" Mom yelled from the dining room. We held hands as we walked into the dining room. Mom huffed when she saw our joined hands.
Dad and I were very close. He took a more active role in my life after the event with Morelli. I told him about the 'Choo choo' incident when I was 6. He was away on a mission and Mom never mentioned it to him. If he had known, he would have made more of an effort to ensure Morelli stayed far away from me. Dad was very pleased when I hit Morelli with his Buick when I was 18. He returned from the Navy a few weeks earlier. I remember overhearing him in the store bragging about the number of 'cherries' he popped in high school. When he mentioned my name and the poems, I dropped my basket and left. I waited until he left the store before 'accidentally' hitting him. Fortunately my Godfather Joe Juniak was the Police Chief at the time, so I wasn't charged. If he had known what Morelli did to me, he would never have hired him on the Trenton Police Force. He vowed to keep a close eye on him.
As we ate dinner, Dad asked how my job. He knew the EE Martin CEO was indicted for his mob affiliations and his business was sold to Baldicott Inc. "I'm sure you heard what happened at EE Martin around 6 months ago. As a result of the sale and housekeeping, I was laid off through no fault of my own. I haven't been able to find another job. The temporary jobs never turned into full time positions. I was overqualified for entry level jobs and under qualified for the management jobs available. Nobody wants to hire a previous EE Martin employee," I explained.
"How are you for money?" Grandma asked. From the gleam in her eye, I knew she was aware of my dwindling funds.
"Getting a bit tight. It's the only reason I moved back to Trenton," I admitted. "If I stayed in Newark, I would've been broke within a few months. I have enough to get me by for the next few weeks, but I already missed 3 car payments. My car will be repossessed by tomorrow morning."
Dad quickly glanced at Grandma before telling me, "Your cousin Vinnie is looking for a file clerk at Plum Bail Bonds. You should talk to him about the job." I quickly promised to visit him the next day.
True to his word, Lenny left my car alone. I noticed his tow truck as I pulled into the lot of my apartment building. After thoroughly searching my car, I waved to him before removing the car key from my key ring. I put the key into the ignition before locking and closing the door. He laughed as I gave him a finger wave over my shoulder. Why should I make it easy for him? I'm sure he has a slim Jim to pop the lock.
By the time I carried my belongings upstairs, the car was hooked to the tow truck and removed. Thank goodness Grandma was letting me use her car.
The following morning, I loaded my TV, VCR and microwave into Grandma's blue Buick. She inherited the car from her brother Sandor. My uncle Sandor's car was a powder blue 1953 Buick. Nothing about this car screamed sexy. It was definitely a car only men could truly love.
I put my hand into my jeans pocket and felt paper. My eyes filled with tears when I pulled out 100 and realized Grandma slipped me the money when I hugged her last night. I drove to Blue Ribbon, the used auto dealer, and bartered to purchase a 500 Nova. It was a piece of shit car, but what else do you expect from trading a TV, VCR, microwave and a hundred bucks for a car worth 500?
After our transaction, I talked the salesman into following me to my parents' house to drop off the borrowed car. He left the Nova running at the curb before running down the road, distancing himself as he called for a cab.
After returning Grandma's car, I got into my POS Nova and drove home to change. I pulled on a skirt and a nice top before driving to the Bonds office. The storefront had a blue and white sign over the door. It read 'Vincent Plum Bail Bonding Company' and in smaller script boasted 24 hour nationwide service. I gave an involuntary shiver as I opened the door to enter the office.
Connie Rosolli was seated behind the reception desk applying red nail polish to her nails. "How can I help you?" she asked before looking up. "Stephanie Plum? What are you doing here?"
"I'm applying for the filing position?" I replied with a question.
"I'm so sorry. That position has been filled. We have an opening for a BEA. Our usual guy Morty Beyers has a ruptured appendix. He went in for surgery last night," Connie offered.
My cousin burst from his office to yell, "You cannot be a BEA. Uncle Frank will kill me if anything happens to you."
I pushed him into his office where I blackmailed him into hiring me. To protect his secrets from being exposed to his wife Lucille, he agreed to give me a chance. If I could catch Joseph Morelli in 2 weeks, the job was mine. I groaned when he mentioned Joe's name. Will I ever be able to escape this creep?
Connie gave me the file and details to capture Morelli. I took the file home to plan my approach. If I can't find an adequate starting place, I'll ask Connie for help.
