Chapter 27

The day after giving birth to my second set of twins, I asked Dr Portman to tie my tubes. Carlos had a vasectomy the day I gave birth. He was resting in the chair next to me with a bag of frozen peas in his lap. It wasn't necessary for me to have the procedure, but if I didn't, I knew I would get pregnant again. Four Manoso children was more than enough.

Waiting six more weeks to make love with my husband was torture. It's already been eight months. "Another month or so won't hurt us," Carlos explained.

It's easy for him to say. He could at least rub one off. I couldn't even take care of myself.

"I didn't rub one off," he stated. "If I couldn't make love to you, then I didn't want the release."

"That's just ridiculous Batman. There was no need for you to suffer," I snapped.

"Babe. I only want to be with you. I only want to orgasm with you. Self love will never satisfy me the way only you can." He quickly switched to Spanish, "You're the love of my life. Without you, I'm just an empty shell. Babe, you are my soulmate, my other half. My heart beats just for you. You are my love, my life, my everything."

"Carlos, I feel exactly the same way about you."

"I completed the terms of my contract," he whispered.

"Are you going to sign a new one?" I asked.

"No. I belong here with you and our children," he quickly replied.

The twins christening the following month was very interesting. Kenni and Rici laughed when water was poured over their siblings' head. Manny's wife Arianna was Parker's godmother and we asked Lester's new wife Taylor to be Charlie's godmother.

I know… Lester is married. Believe me, I was surprised they eloped a few days after meeting too. She easily fit in with the Rangeman crew. Ari, Anna, Janet, Valerie, Taylor and I are very close.

A lot of the men found their romantic soulmates, but my gentle giant, the big guy we call Tank, hasn't met his romantic soulmate yet. I had a feeling it was about to change.

Several months later…

Kenni and Rici started walking the day before their first birthday. If I thought chasing after crawling babies was difficult, try catching them when they run in opposite directions. I'm so glad to have my village. We wouldn't be able to manage otherwise.

Our Rangeman apartment wasn't large enough for our family of six. We've been living in the Batcave since Parker and Charlie were born. After a few months of struggling, we hired a nanny for our children. Our Rangeman family helped out whenever possible, but they couldn't be spending all of their time with our family. Ranger's cousin Stella was willing to relocate from Arizona to help us. She's a beautiful mixed race woman. Her father is Maria Manoso's brother. Stella's mother was a beautiful Texan model. I was instantly drawn to Stella. We were going to be the best of friends… I just know it.

Stella loved the children and they loved her too. She told me about the disastrous relationship she had with a man in Texas. Like some people I know, Stella gave up hope on finding her romantic soulmate.

Tank was coming over for dinner tonight. He wanted to spend time with his godson Charlie. I loved seeing this gentle giant hold my youngest child.

Charlie was so tiny he used to fit into the palm of Tank's hand. Whenever Charlie's in Tank's arms, he smiles. He already loves his uncle Tank.

"We're expecting a friend for dinner," I told Stella.

"Do I know this friend?" she asked.

"I'm not sure. Have you ever met Carlos' friend Tank?"

"Is he one of his Army buddies?" she asked to clarify.

"Yes. He's around 6'6" talk, dark skin, very muscular. Basically, he's built like a tank," I described my friend.

"Doesn't ring a bell," she answered.

Tank's familiar knock sounded on the door. "Can you get the door? It's probably Tank," I asked.

She opened the door and gasped. "Tank is right. Are you big everywhere?" she asked without filtering her thought.

"Only one way to find out," he replied.

"It's you," she said as she touched beside her left breast.

His jaw dropped open. He's seen pictures of Stella, but never had the opportunity to meet her before now. Pulling his shirt over his head, he asked, "Is this you?"

"Yes," she huskily replied.

He stroked a finger down her cheek. "I need to see it," he said while tracing her collarbone. Her reply seemed to be stuck in her throat. Carlos smiled when he saw Stella leading Tank towards her room.

"Are they?" he asked.

"They are. Did you know?" I asked.

He nodded. "But neither of them were ready until now," he answered.

"I never thought I'd see the day when you become a matchmaker."

"I have many sides Babe," he replied. Before he could pull me into a panty ruining kiss, I heard the babies cry.

"It's my turn," I said before going to the nursery to grab the crying baby. I wasn't surprised to see it was Charlie. "Hey little man. Let's get you a bottle so you don't wake up your sister."

Carlos had a bottle ready when I entered the kitchen. "I'll take him," he offered. I put Charlie into his father's arms. Watching Carlos feed his babies always made me smile.

The oven timer chimed, indicating the casserole was ready. Using the silicone oven mitts, I pulled the casserole from the oven. I dished a small amount into two small plastic bowls. Kenni and Rici started eating the same food we do. It made meal preparation easier, even if we had to make them more 'child' friendly. We never classified it as a hardship. I liked sharing the same meal with my children.

Charlie and Parker were eating Milupa baby cereal. We tried them on the pablum type, but they didn't like it. When we were at Rangeman, Ella made them cereal. Neither Carlos nor I had the time to prepare it. Ella offered to make it for us, but she had enough to do for Rangeman.

Tank and Stella arrived as I set the table. They were smiling. I'm so happy they finally found each other. Now all of Rangeman's core team found their romantic soulmates. I sent a mass text to everyone at Rangeman except for Tank. Time to take bets on when they would tie the knot. 'Two years,' I bet. Each man participating had to place a 10 bet.

Lester quickly replied, 'Three months tops.' I'll have everyone else's wager by tomorrow morning.

Carlos read the message and smiled. '18 months,' was his bet. I probably shouldn't have participated since I had the inside track.

Stella was the best nanny. I loved seeing her interact with the children. "Kennedy, Ricardo, time for snack," she called. The kids ran from the living room until they noticed their dad standing beside me. Giving him their most innocent look, they slowed down and walked into the dining room.

"Papa up," Kennedy called as she reached towards Carlos. He lifted her into his arms and gave her a kiss to her cheek. She repaid him with a slobbery kiss to the chin. In Spanish, he told her that he loved her. Kenni smiled from his words and gave him another kiss.

Not wanting to be overlooked, Parker started fussing until Carlos picked her up too. After giving him a slobbery kiss and a small smile, he sat her in the high chair.

He gave Charlie and Rici a kiss to their forehead. Charlie gave his papa a smile. Rici reached up to give his papa a kiss.

When we gave our children baths after dinner that night, I noticed Kennedy, Ricardo and Parker had romantic soulmate marks. All four children had multiple platonic marks. Some of the writing was the same on each child, indicating they have the same platonic soulmates. I was surprised to see Parker's romantic soulmate had the same writing style as the other's platonic marks.

Our group of children were going to be linked together by more than just DNA. I could hardly wait to see how this will all unfold.

The day finally arrived for Valerie and Vince to have their baby. Vincent James Holman was born on New Year's Day at 2323 hours. He's long at 22 inches and weighs 10lbs even. We were told to call him James. Vince decided to have a vasectomy. This would be their last child.

Five months later, my brother Manny and his wife Ari became parents to Manual Frank Plum. Little Manny was breach so Ari had a c-section. They weren't planning to have more children, so Ari had them tie her tubes.

I've been having a lot of conversations with Stella. She admitted to not wanting children of her own. I was concerned how Tank would feel, but Carlos told me not to worry. Tank had a vasectomy after a pregnancy scare many years earlier. He would have it reversed if Stella wants kids, but he too didn't really want them. Being godfather to Charlie was more than enough for him. I was slightly disappointed because their children would be adorable.

Having Stella live with us meant having Tank around all the time. When he wasn't working, he was always helping Stella with the children. Carlos and I were busy building our Rangeman family. As more men moved from Rangeman into their own homes, we converted their apartments into office spaces.

In a way it was sad to see everything change, but it was also necessary since Rangeman was also expanding. We needed to hire more men to handle the ever growing BEA department.

Our security business was also expanding. Lester, Cal and Ram were searching for a suitable building in Pennsylvania and another in Ewing township. We had our team running the everyday operations and we hired younger men to handle the skips. I couldn't blame them either, most of them had young children or their wife was expecting. Rangeman policy dictates you can't be in the field while your spouse is pregnant and you were benched until your child was three months old.

Neither Carlos nor I are benched, but we only go into he field for our required surveillance shift or to meet with our clients. Having four children under the age of two was a lot of work.

As I thought about the children, I realized when Charlie and Parker have their first birthday, they will be the same age as their older siblings for two months. I'm just glad to be finished having children.

I'm still not back to my pre-pregnancy weight or size. My body was quickly bouncing back from my first set of twins when I became pregnant with the second. Carlos was super aware of his own temple… I love worshiping at his temple. I had to shake my head to get back on track. He wasn't pushing me to get my body shape back. 'It doesn't matter to me,' he said when I complained about my larger clothing size. However, it does matter to me. I guess we'll just have to work harder to whip me into shape.

We have a fully stocked gym in our basement. The twins often watched from their play pens while their daddy and I used the equipment. After we completed our daily routines, we would set one of the older children on our laps to show them how the equipment worked. Carlos had a theory if we taught them from a young age, they will be more inclined to exercise and be responsible around the machines. I guess only time will tell. We plan to repeat the process with the younger children.

Every morning I wake up thankful to have the love of my life, my romantic soulmate in my life. I always knew returning to Trenton would change my life. It certainly didn't disappoint. My husband and children are my life. Without them I would be nothing but an empty shell. I have a full, albeit busy life and I wouldn't change a single thing.

Mary Lou started working at Rangeman. We paid for refresher courses so she could learn the changes made to business accounting and government taxation changes. She'll be handling all of our accounts receivable. It was a huge relief for Valerie. With the business expanding, Val was finding it difficult to keep up with the demands.

My cousin Shirley approached me around the same time Mary Lou started working at Rangeman, she was wondering if we had a job available for Eddie. It didn't take long for us to find an adequate opening. We decided to open the business more to bodyguards. Eddie was in charge of arranging security details for Rangeman children. The younger men were vetted and placed with the child best suited for them.

"We have guards on duty when Stella's alone with the children. It isn't necessary to have their own individual detail until they start school," I argued.

"Babe," Carlos replied. I knew he was disagreeing with me. His next few words had me changing my mind. "I have enemies who wouldn't think twice about using our children to get to me."

I wrapped my arms around his waist and said, "Okay." If having bodyguards for the children meant that much to him, then how could I say no?

The next few years seemed to fly past. Our children are now in school full time. Stella and Tank got married. By the way, I won the pool. They got married exactly two years from the day they first met.

Angie graduated from high school. I opened the safe and removed the top envelope, finding another below it with the initials MAEH with the same date. When I pulled them, I saw one for KPM dated for 2032. Taking a peek at the one below it, I saw her brother's initials RCM with the same date.

I called Angie and Mary Alice, inviting them over for dinner. The envelopes felt like they contained a letter. My curiosity was humming and I was tempted to open them. I'll just have to be patient.

After we ate dinner that night, I handed the girls their respective envelopes. Angie opened her letter and started crying as she read her great-grandmother's words. She passed me the page so I could read it for myself. It wasn't too difficult for me to decipher the message written on the paper stapled to the letter.

"Angie, it's the name of the bank," I said surprised. She nodded.

"I think grandma Edna gave me money for university," she admitted.

"You're probably correct. How did she know I got into Harvard?" Angie asked.

"Grandma Edna was a very special woman. She could see our future," I replied.

"Why did MA get her letter now?" she asked.

"I'm not sure. Mary Alice, do you have something to share?" I asked her. My spidey sense was screaming that she graduated a year early.

"Um… I didn't want to say anything, but I graduated from high school too. I finished my credits a few weeks after the cut-off date for convocation," she answered.

"Why wasn't your name on the program for graduation?" Angie was curious to know.

"They printed them a few days after the convocation deadline," she easily replied.

"Read your letter sweetie," I said quietly.

Mary Alice also cried when she read the letter. Grandma Edna was proud of her for finishing school early and not taking away from her sister's important day. She congratulated MA for getting into veterinary sciences at the University of Tennessee Martin.

When the girls visited the bank the following day, they learned the accounts were opened when my mom was a teenager. The accounts had more than enough to cover their full tuition.

Before they left for university, we threw them a party. Everyone from Rangeman gave them cash for groceries and other entertainment. I was going to miss them, but they need to start their own lives.