4. Smitten
Cal lumbered into Lillith's apartment, arms laden with their belongings. "So tell me Sis. What did you do to piss off Ranger?" His face was serious but his tone held humor. "Nothing whatsoever. We settled our business. That's all." Lil knew exactly what bee had flown in Ranger's bonnet. She didn't really care. "Please don't push too many of his buttons. I don't need to spend every morning on the mats." His plea was in earnest. She gave a half shrug in reply. Translation, she wasn't promising anything. Truth was, she figured Mr. Manoso needed to have some of his buttons pushed. Anyone who tried to be in that much control all the time was delusional. "I think I can get the rest of your stuff in three more trips with the dolly. I can't believe that's all you brought with you." Lil was sorting the boxes Cal had just delivered. "Most of it's Tilde's. Or basic housewares. You know I'm not a hoarder." This was a running joke between them since Lil's teen years. At the magical age of thirteen she developed an unhealthy obsession with candles. He had called her a wax hoarder ever since. Cal was sure that at least two of the larger boxes only contained wax and wicks. "I gave Ella your card. She said she would drop by later to check on you."
As promised, three deliveries more and Lil was staring at a mountain of boxes in her new living room. Tilde was happily playing in the first box mommy unpacked. Cal made himself busy assembling the toddler bed while Lil found places for Tilde's other belongings. Their combined efforts made the work go by quickly. Lil thought the room still needed a few more touches, maybe something for the walls so they weren't so bare. Her room in Vegas was covered in one big Disney mural. An acquaintance of Lil's had offered the artwork as a baby shower present. She hoped Tilde could adjust to this new environment without too much stress. Before Cal left for his meeting, they moved the living room furniture about to create an open space for Tilde to play. Cal laughed when the couch was positioned with it's back to the television. Lil didn't watch TV often, her daughter didn't watch it at all. They ate a quick lunch of sandwiches and healthy snacks after Tilde had a short nap on the sofa. Cal kissed both girls on the cheek with a promise to come back in a few.
Not long after, a light knock on the door alerted Lil to a visitor. The older woman on the other side was shorter than her, a little fuller all the way around. She had the warmest smile. Lil liked her instantly. "Hello dear. You must be Lillith, I'm Ella Guzman." Ella took both of Lil's hands and stretched up to kiss her on the cheek. "It's a pleasure to meet you Ella. Thank you again for getting the apartment ready for us." Lil opened the door further, offering the kind woman a wordless invitation inside. "Oh it was nothing Cariña. And who is this beautiful princess?" Like most people, Ella was drawn to Tilde. Lil picked Tilde up, making sure she had the little girls full attention. "This is Matilda. We call her Tilde. Tilde, this is our new friend Ms. Ella. Can you say hello?" Tilde applied the full force of her big brown eyes and quirked a tiny smile with a "hello Ms. Ella." Between her munchkin voice and her obvious manners, Ella was a goner. "My goodness, you are the most adorable little treasure ever!" Matching smiles were further proof that Tilde and Ella were smitten with each other.
"How is the unpacking? What can I help you with Cariña?" Lil grinned. "I seem to have everything under control, Tilde's room is finished for now. The housewares are done. All I have left are my bedroom and bathroom items. Then I'm going to see if Cal can hang a few pictures in the living room for me." Ella chuckled. "Nonsense. I'm here now. Let's get everything set just the way you like it. That way tomorrow you can wake up in a place that feels more like your own." Ella was a force of nature. Strong-willed in all the best ways. Lil knew that type of woman. Her late mother had been the exact same. It was a trait Lil continually tried to emulate. Together they hung Lil's modest amount of clothing, filled her dresser, and unpacked her toiletries. They moved through the apartment sorting, organizing, placing, hanging. It was a whirlwind. It was fun. Ella giggled at the two full boxes of candles. Magnus followed them from room to room, happy when Ella spent time rubbing behind his ears. Tilde occupied herself with a few wooden puzzles and books.
As they worked, Ella explained her full role at Rangeman and about her husband Luis. They discussed the shopping, the cleaning, the cooking, and the laundry that Ella handled for the entire building, all the men included. Lil made it clear that she did not expect Ella to handle any of that for her. Nor did she want her to. She liked to cook, didn't mind cleaning, and actually enjoyed folding laundry. They finally agreed that Ella would do the grocery shopping for Lil and Tilde. Of course, she only gave in because she didn't want Mr. Manoso to have to send a bodyguard with her every time she needed milk or bananas. "Just make a list for me whenever you need anything. It's no bother. You can call my extension on the in-house system or come up to the sixth floor to drop it off. When you are ready to do your laundry, my washers are also on six. Do you have plans for dinner tonight?" Lil looked at the clock. It was nearing 4:00. Time flies when you step into the Ella cyclone. "No ma'am. I hadn't gotten that far today." Ella patted her hand. "No matter Cariña, I have plenty to feed you tonight." Lil's cell phone beeped from the counter. Cal had sent her a text asking if the Core Team could come up to meet them at 1900. She responded in the affirmative. "OK Ella, I accept your generous offer for dinner this evening. But in return, I would like to make dinner for you and Luis one night soon." It was official, Ella was smitten with Lillith too.
The girls enjoyed a peaceful dinner of grilled chicken breast and veggies. From the moment Matilda could take solid foods, Lil had been broadening her palette with all sorts of healthy edibles. So far, there was nothing that Tilde wouldn't eat. Lil considered herself lucky. She had read many horror stories about kids who learned to be picky at a young age and then became monsters during meal time in their primary years. Not gonna happen here. No Sirree. Her daughter did not watch television. She did not have electronics of her own (Lil found it shocking how many apps were made for toddlers these days), and she had never even tried fast food. Tilde knew what chicken was, but not a nugget. Lil was lucky, but she was also putting in the work. Some of the mothers they'd met in Nevada had given Lil the cold shoulder when she explained how she was raising Tilde. Many of those women thought Lil was being pretentious in her parenting choices. The truth was, Lil wanted her daughter to be as healthy as possible, especially after the scares they dealt with when she was born. The other truth was, 'fuck those women'.
Dinner finished and dishes washed, the girls had just enough time for baths. Tilde was dressed in her Toy Story footy pajamas, her curly hair drying quickly into ringlets. Lil had just enough energy to throw on a clean pair of jeans and a Salt-n-Pepa tee before yanking her damp hair back into a ponytail. She had a fleeting thought of throwing on some mascara but quickly decided it was too much work. Lil was amenable to meeting more of the men who worked there, but she hoped they didn't stay too long. The three day trip from Vegas had officially caught up with her. She wanted a week long nap. They had just finished reading Llama Llama Red Pajama when Cal entered the apartment, followed by Ranger and five other men. Tilde inched her way further into Lil's lap, dragging her stuffed pig with her.
"Hey Lil. Are we interrupting? Hey Peanut. Where's my kiss?" Tilde lifted her arms to Cal. Her love for him far outweighed her discomfort around the giant men in their living room. He placed loud wet kisses on her cheeks, causing her to giggle. "Guys. This is my sister Lillith. And this little peanut is my niece, Matilda. That bruiser over there is Magnus." Tilde received a few more silly kisses. "Lil, this is Tank, Ram, Bobby, Hector, and Lester. Of course you remember Ranger." Cal pointed to each man as he said their names. Standing up Lil smiled, "Yes Good Evening Mr. Manoso, hello gentlemen." The men were torn between discomfort at being called 'gentlemen', and amusement that she didn't use Ranger's street name. Ranger was not amused. Hector was the first to approach Lil and shake her hand. Bobby and Ram followed. Lester gave her his most 'come hither' look and placed a kiss on her hand. Lil rolled her eyes. "Please, have a seat guys. We were just spending some quiet time before Tilde's bedtime. Can I get anyone a drink?" Each shook their head or declined. It took three of the dining room chairs and Tank choosing a seat on the floor, but they finally got settled. Realizing that there was no danger, Tilde toddled to her play area to fiddle with a puzzle. Hector snapped his fingers to call Magnus. It seemed they had already started to bond.
"Lil, together we make up the Core Team of Rangeman. Ranger is the CEO. Tank is his second-in-command as the Operations Manager. Lester is the Head of Client Services. Hector is in charge of our Tech Department. Ram is our Weapons and Range Supervisor. And Bobby is our Medic and the Supervisor for all Health and Physical Training." Lil followed along, noting who was who for future reference. She knew she would definitely need to talk to Bobby soon. "So I guess that means you, Sugar-butt, are the Head of the Bond Enforcement Department." Lester, Bobby, and Ram snickered as Cal turned red. She knew what he did, she just wanted to give him a hard time. Cal looked her square in the eye, "I think you need more candles Lilly-pad." He added to the sarcasm with a Vanna White arm sweep around the living room. "Touche."
As the guys started to give Cal shit about his nickname, Lil took a moment to really look at them. All in black, check. All large and muscular, check. All exuding an abundance of masculinity, check. All handsome as hell, double check. Was this a hiring requirement for Rangeman? Potential employees must be able to shoot a canon, run faster than a speeding bullet, and destroy a woman's panties in under two seconds. Geez. Lil had to admit, the scenery in her new building was mighty fine. While Lil was covertly looking the new men over, Ranger was scanning the updates to the apartment. He was also watching her out of the corner of his eye. It appeared that her decorating taste was feminine but neat. Three quotes under glass on the east wall drew his attention. They read: 'We are all searching for someone whose demons play well with ours.' 'To heal a wound you need to stop touching it.' 'I'm not going to censor myself to comfort your ignorance.' Ranger read them each a few times. He was surprised. In his experience, most women would have chosen sappy words, or skipped the words altogether and used pictures of kittens. Or worse, selfies.
Their individual mental musings and verbal ribbing of each other was interrupted by a sleepy Tilde, shuffling back into the middle of the group. Carrying her pig, she walked up to Tank and looked him in the eye. "Pua." The one word in her little munchkin voice had everyone's attention. Tank was not sure what to do. Small children usually ran from him. Shit, grown men ran from him. And he had no earthly clue what a 'pua' was. Did the kid need the bathroom? Lil laughed. "She's introducing you to her pig, his name is Pua." At Tank continued confusion she added, "he's a character from the Disney film Moana. It's one of her favorite books." Tilde tried again, this time lifting Pua higher up. "Pua." Tank blanched but sucked up his embarrassment quickly. There was just something about those big brown eyes. "Hi Pua." His deep voice sounded odd forming those syllables. Tilde smiled, used Pua to kiss Tank on the cheek, and crawled into his lap. Lil bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. Cal didn't even try to hold it in. The other men were transfixed. Tank remained perfectly still, like she was a forest animal he might accidentally spook. "If she makes you uncomfortable I can take her", Lil offered. Tank gave a barely-there smile and shook his head. Tilde yawned. "Gee Tank, I think my niece is smitten with you."
The men left Lil's apartment not long after. Tilde waved goodnight to everyone but Ranger. Their bedtime routine was short and sweet tonight, both girls were exhausted. The core team, spread between the fourth, fifth, and seventh floors were all thinking about their meeting with Lillith and Tilde. Hector was smitten with la niña and the beautiful dog. Ram, Bobby, and Tank were smitten with both girls. Lester thought he was full-out in loooove. And Ranger, well Ranger was just plain irritated.