38. Merry Christmas Dulce

Lil and Ranger spent a little while longer on the roof with Tilde, letting her explore her new playground paradise. Bobby and Ram, who were manning the monitors, watched with grins. They took a few candid still shots of the trio on the swings. Tilde was reluctant to leave, and who could really blame her? Lil's gentle reminder that it was still Christmas day and there were many presents to give was enough motivation. They made it back down to the first floor, finding the rest of the Rangemen and the Guzman's singing carols while wearing their Santa hats. Lester turned his sexy smile to Lil, "Is it present time now?!" Oh Geez. "Yes Puddin, we can open the presents now." She couldn't help but laugh at his exuberance. "But one at a time Mr., so everyone will have to wait their turn." A chorus of halfhearted grumps went through the room, making Tilde giggle. Lil was starting to feel like she had twelve children instead of one.

Lil instructed Tilde to go to the tree and pick out a gift to give. Her first selection was for Junior, Lil read the tag and let Tilde skip to him with glee. "Here you go Junior. Merry Christmas!" Awww, the men were melting in their seats while Ella was busy snapping pictures. Junior opened his Army themed box to find a Montblanc fountain pen set and an embossed leather journal. His smile was brighter than the Christmas tree. In return, he handed Tilde a gift bag. The peanut squealed when she opened it to find a stuffed Eeyore. Binkie received a black and bronze mechanical wind-up pocket watch with his name engraved on the back. He was shocked. They had a single conversation in early November about his love of trains and watches, Lil had remembered. Her thoughtfulness made him feel extra special. He gave Tilde her bag which held a stuffed Cheshire cat. The Peanut was starting quite the stockpile next to the tree. Lester was bouncing in his seat, the grown man's patience was dwindling. Lil whispered in Tilde's ear and pointed to a small box in the Army paper. Tilde picked it up and skipped to Lester. Ranger sat next to Lil, shaking his head at his cousin's antics as Lester tore the paper off his gift. Pathetic. Sometimes he really questioned their relation.

Lester opened the small black box with an 'Oh wow'. Inside sat a pair of Swarovski Taddeo Black and Palladium skull cuff links. A small inscription on the back of each read 'Lester the Lady's Man'. Ranger was still shaking his head. He gave Lil a pointed look, "do you really think it's a good idea to encourage him?" Lil snickered. In turn, Lester gave Tilde a stuffed Nemo that was nearly bigger than her. Tilde was on cloud nine. Yup, the kid was gonna need a bigger bed. Vince received a hand-carved wooden cigar case and personalized lighter. Tilde added a stuffed Figment to her menagerie. Slick, the only Rangeman to dress up for the day, was very pleased to open his men's bracelet and money clip set. They were forged from copper and inlaid with onyx. They were 'Slick' all the way. Tilde added a Figaro to her pile. Zero threw his head back and laughed when he opened his crystal and amber rocks glasses and bar accessories set. He always joked about drinking cheap booze, now he had something fancy to put them in. He gave Tilde a fluffy stuffed Pluto.

Lil helped Tilde carry Hal's gift as it was a little heavy for the tiny child. Hal was blushing furiously until he opened the package. Inside he found a masculine vintage leather briefcase. Inside the case was a copy of The Handbook of Forensic Psychology. If Lil wasn't mistaken, there was a small tear in the corner of the sweet man's eye. He gladly gave Tilde her new plush Flower. Ironic, the Disney character he chose was just as shy as Hal. When Woody opened his new hand-tooled leather belt and silver Bull buckle, he immediately stripped off his tactical belt and replaced it. The men were laughing and cheering. Tilde told him he looked 'pretty', which earned more laughs. He gave her a fuzzy Sven. The mountain of stuffed characters was growing at an obscene rate. Tilde was having the best day of her life. Ace opened his new craft beer kit and set of crystal pilsner glasses, prompting a few of the men to offer their tasting services. Tilde's hoard grew with a new stuffed Bambi. Hector, who was sitting to Lil's right, smiled broadly when Tilde handed him a small box with Mexican flag paper. He lifted the lid and let out a course of Spanish. Luckily, Tilde didn't understand any of it. "Holy crap Chica!" The other men in the room couldn't wait to see what he received. The new set of Gil Hibben throwing knives with a leather sheath was going to give him hours of entertainment. And one more reason for the creeps of Trenton to run in fear. Lil turned to Carlos, "Now that's encouragement..." He chuckled. Tilde skipped to her pile after getting a kiss from Hector with a giant Donald Duck.

Ella needed to head back upstairs soon to check on her half of dinner, so Lil directed Tilde to the gifts for her and Luis. They opened their individual boxes and Ella started crying. While she collected herself, Luis held up his new hammer. Etched into the wood handle were the words "Yo amo a mi abuelo Luis!". Ella had calmed some, though there were still a steady trail of tears down her cheeks. The kind woman was holding a silver locket with Tilde's picture inside. The outside was engraved with "Yo amo a mi abuela Ella!". Luis helped her place the locket around her neck. He then stepped out the door so he could wheel in a large wooden chest. The detailed carving on the outside was further evidence of his exquisite woodworking skills. Tilde opened the chest to find it filled with dress-up costumes sewn by Ella. There must have been at least twenty dresses with assorted accessories. Wow. Hugs and kisses were given before the older couple headed back to the sixth floor.

The last three gifts under the tree were the largest, Tilde would require help with their weight and size. Instead of trying to manage on her own, the smart little cookie looked at the name tag and called out, "Tank, this one's for you!" The men laughed. Tank stood and walked to the box she indicated. Lil had written 'fragile' on the tag, causing him to rip the paper a bit more carefully. Inside he found a small box on top that contained an antique brass compass. Tank studied the fine mechanism with a keen eye. Below that sat a large framed and very weathered map. It depicted none other than the exact Parish in Louisiana where Tank was raised. "We thought that might look good in your office." Lil offered a kind smile. No one had ever given him something as special and personal. Tank turned to Ranger, "Really rethinking that proposal man..." The other's snickered. In return Tilde topped her pile off with a large special edition Minnie Mouse. Tilde skipped over to the tree, "This one's for Uncle Cal!" She was so proud to read the names herself. Cal picked up his own 'fragile' package and began to remove the wrappings. A 10x14 frame on top held a photo collage of their family. There were pictures of Tilde, their parents, and Cal and Lil as children. Sugar-butt was turning red from the building emotions. Under the frame was a shadowbox that held their father's Marine dog tags, his USMC Drill Instructor Ribbon, and both his Silver Star and Purple Heart medals. Unabashedly, Cal started to cry. A few of the others had become a little misty too. Lil and Tilde gave him big hugs and kisses until he got himself together. Cal handed Lil a card with an obvious wink to Tilde. Lil opened it to find season passes to Disney World for both of the girls. When Lil showed Tilde and explained what they were, the little girl nearly fainted. Yup, best day ever.

After skipping around the room three times chanting about Cinderella's Castle and Mickey Mouse, Tilde pointed to Ranger's box. "Carlos! Feliz Navidad!" Ranger smiled fondly at her as he lifted the package and took it back to his seat by Lil. A smaller box was attached to the larger, Lil pointed to the bigger of the two. Inside he found a Lenox Old World globe that had to have costed her a fortune. It was phenomenal. Ranger reached over and squeezed Lil's hand, "Thank you Dulce". Lil was nervous about his reaction to the smaller gift… He opened the box and donned a sinfully sexy look. A new pair of handcuffs sat inside on black tissue. Around both bracelets, the words 'Set yourself free' were engraved. She waited for him to make a funny comment, instead he reached over and kissed her cheek. He understood their meaning. Lester, who was back to his silly impatience hollered, "Hey, it's time for Lil's gift!" The others readily agreed. Tank and Cal stepped outside and returned with an enormous box. They sat it in front of her with a mischievous grin. The note on the front said, 'from all your Rangemen!'. With a little assistance she removed the front of the box to find the sexiest espresso machine she had ever seen. It was a La Pavoni in solid copper. OH. MY. GOODNESS. As soon as she figured out how to work it, she was going to caffeinate herself silly. "Guys this is wonderful! Thank you so much!" Lil gave each Rangeman a special hug and kiss on the cheek. She checked the clock on the wall, "OK gentleman, I need to head upstairs and finish dinner so we can bring it down in the next hour." She waited for the cheers to die down, they loved her food. "Dinner is your final Christmas gift from Ella and I. We wanted to make sure you all had a taste of home or a dish that was from your individual heritage. So be prepared to feast on everything from Cuban to German and Cajun to South African tonight!" The roar of appreciation was deafening.

The men helped Tilde load all her new friends onto one of the empty food trolleys. As Lil started to push her daughter's zoo out the door Ranger asked, "Do you mind if I come with? I still have a gift to give you..." Lil nodded with a timid smile. He took control of Tilde's goods while tossing the little girl up into his free arm and they made their way to the elevator. After a quick stop on five so Ranger could retrieve Lil's gift from his office, they arrived at Lil's apartment. Tilde busied herself finding unique homes for all of her plush friends. Lil checked on the oven then started pulling dishes and platters from the fridge. "Can I help?" "Sure, the two trays in the oven need to come out, and this one needs to go in for thirty minutes." Ranger got to work, happy to assist in any way. While waiting for the last of the food to bake, he took Lil's hand and led her to the large basket on the dining room table. "Merry Christmas Dulce." Lil wiped her hands on her apron and lifted the cellophane around the pretty wicker container. It was a large picnic basket, intricate designs were woven through the fibers. "Open it". Ranger was nervous, he didn't know how she would react to his gift. Lil did as she was instructed. Inside she found an absolutely stunning emerald cashmere sweater, the complete Bulgari Omina women's bath set, a well-worn copy of The Hobbit, a new pair of Mountain Lights hiking boots in her size, and a full fondue set. A note at the bottom of the basket read: 'nothing is impossible'.

*Christmas dinner consisted of Roasted Pork Shoulder (Cuba), Jerk Chicken (Jamaica), Tostones (Puerto Rico), Dirty Rice (New Orleans), Black Bean Enchiladas (Mexico), Mushroom Spatzle (Germany), Caprese Salad with Pesto Dressing (Italy), Mushy Peas with Leeks (English), Apple Tart (France), and Malva Pudding (South Africa).