Chapter 21
I wasn't liking the attention I was currently receiving since I got my own mother arrested. Carlos pulled me into his arms and sat with me in our oversized chair. The other men took their positions around the room. Mary Lou and Eddie had to get back home to their families. I thanked them for coming out to help settle me.
We talked about the arrests and how Rangeman can reach out to our current clients to reassure them. Tank stated, "I don't think we need to reassure them. They saw first hand how our searches work and the information Stephanie can uncover. I guarantee we'll receive an influx of requests for complete background checks on every employee within their company, especially upper management."
"To prove we're not immune to background checks, you should run thorough background checks on all Rangeman employees," Dad suggested.
I shifted in my husband's lap before announcing, "We actually did that already Daddy. It was necessary to find the man stealing our client lists."
"Every full and part time Rangeman in all our branches were cleared. Only one of our contract workers was responsible and he was arrested earlier today. We've changed protocol so only a select few have access to client lists," I told him.
"Ah, that explains the company wide memo we received earlier," he said with pride. "I'm very proud of you Stephanie. I need to talk to Valerie." He gave me a hug before removing his phone from his pocket.
"We're all proud of our little girl," Tank added. Each man gave me a hug and kiss my forehead before leaving for the night. They understood I needed to have time alone with my husband. Carlos lifted me into his arms and carried me to bed.
He just laid me on the bed when my phone chimed with a text from Valerie, 'I am so sorry you had to do this Steph. Don't be hard on yourself. We love you. I'll see you in the morning, okay?'
I texted back, 'Okay. Thank you.' Her reply has a gif of two little girls hugging. I smiled before setting my phone aside. Since Valerie moved back home, we've been getting very close. We finally had the kind of relationship I always wanted us to have.
My phone was turned off the following morning. Mom's Burg friends called to either offer the family support or blame me for her arrest. It took several weeks for the excitement to taper off in the Burg. My Rangeman family was very supportive. Dealing with all the stress wasn't good for my babies.
As Tank predicted, all of our corporate clients wanted in depth background checks done on their employees. Not a single employee was exempt from the search. They were pleased to learn all Rangeman employees were scrutinized too.
Mom's trial lasted a few months. Any account containing mom's legal name was frozen. Luckily dad had another account in his name only. It was the place he stashed most of the money he earned during special ops missions.
Grandma was happy mom got exactly what she deserves, but it's still her daughter. During mom's sentence hearing, Grandma collapsed. They rushed her to the hospital, but it was too late. My biggest supporter, besides dad, was gone.
On the day of her funeral, Valerie, dad and I were huddled together with the girls. The funeral was almost like a circus act, but it was exactly what grandma wanted… an outlandish, eccentric and colourful. At grandpa Mazur's funeral several years ago, grandma made Val and me promise to wear colourful sundresses to her funeral. At first I thought it was a ridiculous request, but with her propensity to dress in outrageous styles and colours, I also knew we should respect her wish.
On the day of her funeral home visitation, I learned I was having a boy and a girl, as Lester predicted. He had correctly identified which was the girl. I slipped a copy of my sonogram into her coffin. I noticed Valerie do the same. She was having another girl.
Several of grandma's friends arrived for the funeral wearing brightly coloured dresses too. Valerie was wearing a pink sundress that showed off her already very large baby bump. My blue sundress showed off my equally large abdomen. Her belly was large because it's her third pregnancy. Mine was large because of the twins.
Val and I waited for everyone to say their final farewell before we placed our roses on her coffin. Angie and Mary Alice were going home with Binkie. "Watch over by babies grandma. I love you," I said as I placed the roses on her coffin. I heard Valerie repeat my words. We hugged as they lowered the coffin into the ground. Carlos pulled me into his arms as Vince pulled Valerie into his. They carefully guided us over the uneven ground and into the waiting limo.
A few weeks later, I was crying harder when grandma's will was read. Valerie, Vince, Carlos, Manny, dad and I were in attendance.
Grandma left her bright pink 'barf' bucket to Helen… I had to admit it made me laugh. Her wedding bands and other jewelry went to Valerie. All her other assets, including her Point Pleasant house, I didn't know she still owned, was left to me. It was too much. She should have split the assets evenly between me and Valerie.
The lawyer passed me a letter to read.
'My darling little one,
Stephanie, you deserve everything I left you and so much more. Since the day you were born, you gave my life meaning. Your happy go lucky attitude, kindness and generosity continued to grow every day despite the harsh punishments from your mom. You always let your sun shine through and saw the best in everyone and everything.
Helen made you live in Valerie's shadow, but your light still shone through her darkness, illuminating you. It made you shine even brighter. Your mother was jealous of our closeness. She was more like her father.
Many have been drawn into your light and you quickly became the centre of their universe. You certainly were the centre of mine.
Don't worry about how Valerie will feel. She will understand my decision. You and I have always had a very close relationship (even though I started acting more eccentric in my later years). I love how you embraced my crazy behaviour and let me have my fun. I've lived the 'proper Burg' life for so many years. When your grandfather passed away, I was finally free to live my life exactly how I always wanted… just like yours.
Your grandfather and I encouraged you to be your wonderful, curious, loving, generous and adventurous self. I have never been more proud to see you flourish under our guidance.
Don't ever let anyone dim your light. I'll be watching you from heaven. Take care of my great grandson and great granddaughter. Teach them as I have taught you.
Remember my beautiful little one, you are the sun that shines in the sky. You are the beacon in the dark. You are the only one who can guide your mercenaries back home.
I love you more than I could ever express in words.
Henry's calling for me so I need to leave you soon. Don't mourn my death. Please celebrate my life. *Cue 'Party Rock Anthem'* Do as the band name suggests… LMFAO…
Love always, Grandma
PS… You know what to do with BB. I ran out of time.'
I was both laughing and crying from her letter. "When did she write this?" I asked the lawyer.
"The night before she passed away," he said with sadness. "Your grandmother Edna was a remarkable woman. My father was very fond of her." He noticed Valerie's raised eyebrow. "They were… companions of sorts… they um…" he was uncomfortable trying to say the words.
"Finding comfort in each other's arms?" Vince offered.
"Yes. We will go with that," he replied. "She left the letters on my dad's night stand." Okay… TMI.
Valerie and I started giggling. "At least she had one last ride before she passed," I said through laughter, causing Valerie to laugh harder.
"Oh my gosh… stop making me laugh or I'll piss myself," Valerie cried.
"Here are the keys to your Point Pleasant property. You'll find it's the one you visited frequently as a child," he said as he passed me the keys. "Oh… I almost forgot," he added before passing me the keys to Uncle Sandor's blue Buick.
"You get Big Blue too?" Manny asked. Valerie nodded when I pointed to Manny.
"No brother, you get Big Blue. Grandma wanted you to have it," I said as I carefully folded the keys into his hand. I knew grandma wanted him to have the car, but she didn't have time to change her will.
"She wasn't really my grandma," he started to protest.
"Edna loved you as if you were, son," dad stated.
"Thank you Val, Steph," Manny said before giving us a hug.
Carlos drove us to Point Pleasant to see the home grandma left me. It was freshly painted inside and out. The flower gardens looked recently weeded. It lacked furniture, but I imagine the old items were broken or too worn to keep.
"We can purchase whatever you want," Carlos stated. We looked throughout the upper level. Four bedrooms upstairs, three on the main floor. No basement, but there was a pool house with four additional bedrooms.
"This is new. I remember there was just a small shed here," I explained when Carlos questioned my surprise.
"What else is different?" he wondered.
"Almost everything. I remember the upper bedrooms, but the main floor was more open with a large dining room, living room, office and den. The living room is gone, so I think it was converted to add bedrooms. The kitchen cupboards and appliances are new. This washer/dryer closet is new too," I explained.
"It was renovated to fit your new family," Carlos observed. We took a closer look at everything. I noticed a small note attached to the refrigerator, held in place with a 'My Sunshine' magnet.
'Little girl, I fixed up the place for you to share with your chosen family. I want you to love this house as much as you did as a child. Grandma.'
I started crying again. Grandma was a very special woman. "I haven't been here since I was 16," I confessed.
Carlos growled, understanding the reason I was banned from visiting my favourite summer vacation spot. "Would you like Ella to decorate for you?" he asked knowing I love shopping for clothes and shoes, but not furniture.
"Do you think she would?" I asked. Without waiting for his reply, I called her. "Hi mama. My grandma left me a house in Point Pleasant. It has new appliances but nothing else," I stated.
"How many bedrooms?" she asked.
"Four upstairs for Val's family, three on the main floor for me and Carlos and four in the pool house for my Merry Men," I replied. "Oh the house has a dining/kitchen combo area and a living room around 400 square feet.
"Any preference to style or colour palette?" she asked as a follow up.
"I'll let you decide. You always know what everyone likes. There's a main floor office too. I'll give you a set of keys," I answered.
Carlos grabbed my phone to give her another message. He spoke in Spanish, but I still understood what he said… money was not a concern. If our friends come to the house, we will need sturdy furniture to handle their bulky bodies.
"All new flooring," Carlos said over the phone. "Get permit to add a washroom to the guest house." He promptly ended the conversation and returned my phone. "Luis will add an addition to the pool house structure. It will change the property value and taxes."
"It's fine. I just want it to be comfortable for all of us. Besides, my husband is a bit old fashioned and refuses to let me contribute to the household expenses. Did you know he paid off my credit card when I went shopping for maternity clothes?" I teased.
"He did?" he asked.
"Yes and I love him so much. Do you think he'll let me buy us a house?" I wondered.
"I doubt it. He still has to show you the Batcave." he joked.
"But isn't the Batcave…" I started to ask before he cut me off.
"Forever," he finished. "And I will love you forever."
"I'll love you forever too Batman."
We held hands and made our way to the car. He helped me into the front seat of his Porsche 911 and buckled me in, making sure the lap belt was tucked under the baby bump. After he sat in the driver's seat and started the car, he connected to Rangeman to request an alarm system installation at our summer home. I laughed when he said the guest house needed one too.
He drove back to Trenton, but took a slight detour. Carlos used a fob to open the gates of a large two story home. It was absolutely breathtaking. The pale yellow brick house has two large bay windows on either side of the centred main entry door.
A porch spanning across the front was covered and had beautiful dark wood pillars. To the right side of the house looked like an addition to the original house. It was only one floor, but the roof was an outside fenced in deck. The left side was also an addition, but instead of a closed in room, it was a large covered deck. I was trying to take everything in, but there was just too much to appreciate.
Carlos unlocked the dark wooden door and disarmed the alarm. I was surprised to see it was the day we first met. He smiled and led me into the house.
My jaw dropped when I saw the gorgeous dark hardwood floors, neutral coloured walls and warm brown leather sofas and chairs in the living room. The dining room was located in the right side addition of the house. A beautiful light pine table with 24 chairs spanned the distance in the room. Along the north wall was a large cabinet containing plates, mugs, glasses and cutlery.
The plate design made me laugh. "Did you get these custom made?" I asked.
"Babe," he said with a smile. Okay, so Ella had them custom made. You would assume it was a flower type design, but when you actually studied the plates, you would see tiny blue Batman and Wonder Woman symbols.
"I love them. Remind me to thank Ella."
Our kitchen was huge. It has two wall ovens and two cooktops. I laughed when I saw it also has two dishwashers.
We walked around to the left side addition. I was wrong about it being completely open. Only the front half, the part you see from the front of the house, was an open, covered deck. The back half was enclosed to create an office. All the furniture in this room was very masculine. I noticed there was plenty of room to add a second desk. "You can choose your own desk," he said as he wrapped his arms around me.
"I like the style of your desk. Can we order something similar, but slightly smaller?" I asked. He nodded and sent a text. We could always add a few throw pillows to balance out the room.
"Whatever you want Babe." Carlos turned me around to give me a panty ruining kiss. I wanted to skip the rest of the tour and try out our bed. He lifted me into his arms and carried me up the stairs. Our bedroom was large.
I was placed in the centre of the bed and watched my gorgeous, sexy husband remove his clothes. He quickly removed mine and positioned us to accommodate my growing belly. After making love in our bed, we made love in the shower.
"We need to head back to Rangeman," I stated. He gave me a quick tour of the upstairs. "Five bedrooms," I said in amazement. "And you already decorated the nursery."
"After our children are born, I would like to live here. We can work from home until the children are a bit older. There's a guest house in the back. Our basement has a full gym and another four bedrooms. The decision is yours," he said before giving me another kiss.
"I would love to raise our children here," I confessed. We could move in now, but it was easier for us to live at Rangeman while I'm pregnant. Our house is a 20 minute drive from work. The less we need to travel during my pregnancy, the better.
