The Missing Piece in Ranger's Life
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Chapter 29
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Ranger's POV
Of course, Mama smacked me upside the head before pulling me in for a tender kiss on each cheek and a hug. Then she swiftly cast me aside, like I was dismissed to a discard pile, as she opened her arms wide to warmly welcome my Babe, my wife, my Stephanie. She still glared at me but there was no heat in it this time. Papa gave me a warm man hug and nodded his approval patting my back heartily. When he captured her wide blue eyes, his smile grew even bigger.
"Welcome mi hija to our crazy family. We are so happy to see you again, Stephanie, especially now as our daughter-in-law," my father smiled, giving her the same welcome, minus the upside smack, as Mama did to me.
"Carlito. Why do I have to find out second hand, and so late? Lester was telling us about your wonderful special celebration dance party and how Beautiful, you Stephanie, how well you could dance with all the Rangemen," Mama said with a pout.
"Well, let's put that into context. Lester didn't stand a chance, so don't you go punishing him for letting it slip. She pounced on that one word, "celebration". You know how your Mama has that innate ability to sense that there was more to tell. He just left out some critical yet very important details and she was onto him instantly," my father chuckled, shaking his head as he smiled indulgently at Mama. She just shrugged her shoulders and smiled with all her charm and a cheeky wink.
I see that look. It's how I look at Stephanie. My father raised his eyebrows and nodded, in acknowledgment, reading my mind.
"Lester already confessed his sins while we were driving here. No, he won't be punished," I assured.
Stephanie gave me a pointed look, one hand already on her hip. I squeezed her to my side.
"Okay. He won't get extra monitor duty either," I confirmed. "I promise."
That pleased her and she gave me a gentle kiss on the cheek. My parents were beaming watching our little exchange.
Mama considered all that, nodded and then changed tack. Intervention over. No more inquisition. Acceptance. For now. But, knowing my mother, she was already planning a family celebration. Papa's grin and raised eyebrow confirmed that.
"Come. Come inside. I have made a fresh pot of coffee, and delicious torrejas, which is a Cuban sweet toast, some guava pastries and I also have some freshly baked empanadas. Whichever you prefer."
Mama practically dragged us into the kitchen in her excitement. Ah, that lovely homely smell of her cooking never gets old, such a wonderful welcome. Nostalgia sweeps over me. Stephanie too sniffed the delicious aromas and hummed in approval.
"Mm. Whatever it is, something smells so good in here," she said.
"These guava pastries are a Cuban speciality," I explained as Mama put the tray down beside our coffees. "You're bound to love these mouth-watering, velvety and crispy puff pastries. One of my favourites."
Sure enough, she moaned her approval making Mama smile as she watched over the rim of her steaming coffee cup. Her eyes glanced at me, smiling eyes. Yep. She was plotting, but loved Stephanie's vocal approval of the torrejas.
"So, officially …?"
I rolled my eyes which made Stephanie laugh while Mama gave me another upside, gentler than the first one. "Don't get smart, Carlito. I still have my wooden spoon."
Stephanie covered her mouth and looked at me expectantly. My mother had the same look.
Papa slapped me on the shoulder and chuckled. "Spit it out, mi hijo. You know she was not going to let it go."
I explained my casual thinking-out-loud proposal to Stephanie and our subsequent secret wedding with only Tank and Ella. She made no comment about it but raised her eyebrows. She admired our rings, pleased I was wearing a wedding band as well.
"So. No one else knew? Not even your own cousin, Lester?"
"No Mama, Papa. We just wanted to do it straightaway, without a lot of fuss and commotion."
She nodded thoughtfully. "Why?"
"Just so you, know all of our friends at Rangeman were also peeved and disappointed with our secret marriage. But in the light of the unusual circumstances, especially the drama and the danger, we didn't want to draw attention to ourselves unnecessarily. We were still being a bit guarded. Also, neither of us wanted a big wedding since we both are divorced and have done that route. Besides, we desperately needed a break from all the crazy drama around us since my mission went FUBAR."
"Ah, yes. Tank and Bobby explained how that sabotaged mission went and how you were targeted as part of a conspiracy by a jealous maniac from Trenton. How was that possible? Bobby said you were shot," Papa retold.
Mama gasped, as one hand clamped over her mouth, while the other hand went to her heart. Stephanie squeezed my hand at the memory.
"Yes, that is true. Prior to that I was reported MIA and then possibly killed in action, but my Babe, Stephanie here, remained optimistic. She held the line. When Tank told her to keep the faith, she told him that she didn't believe I was PKIA since she strongly sensed I was still alive. Despite the constant interference and many hazards, we were able to rescue our target. Everyone in my team was injured in some form, shot during the firefight as we ran for the chopper. Once we were airlifted back stateside under total secrecy, we still had to stay low while Rangeman tried to detect from where the threat came. It was a long drawn out affair, taking months. Stephanie was an integral part of the investigations."
Papa squeezed Mama's hand. I tried to temper it down without too many gruesome details. She was upset, tears welling in her eyes, but crossed herself to say praise and thanks to the Lord.
"Until Rangeman could identify the threat, my team and I had to remain hidden in a safe house. Secondly, was deciding how to neutralise the threat. Stephanie and Rangeman were being watched closely and we suspected that their communications were being monitored. Basically, we didn't know if one of my enemies was after me, whether we had a mole in the system, or in a government department. It was a dangerous and unpredictable period of time. While we were in the safe house we had good medical support, good food, using that time to rehabilitate and debrief. Secrecy was of the utmost importance."
"We understand that these secret missions often take many months, but I have to admit, it is so wonderful to see you Carlos, looking well, recovered, and especially, so happy." Papa's eyes danced between Stephanie and me.
"I see it. You two are soul mates, without a doubt. You knew. You felt it. You felt his presence, Stephanie!" Mama exclaimed reverently.
Stephanie confirmed with a nod, leaning her head on my shoulder. I looked at her and smiled, kissing her temple, squeezing her hand.
"Abuela was right. She knew from the time you helped rescue our granddaughter Julie. She sensed your connection, even though you maintained you were just friends and work colleagues. You just didn't realise it yet. Abuela said neither of you was ready to admit it, but you would, and it would be forever. Soul mates she said then."
Yes, my Abuela was very perceptive and intuitive about such things. With her scarves on she often looked like a gypsy, or a psychic, or one of those fortune tellers you see at the carnival. How she knew when I told a lie astounded me time and time again, until I learnt there was no point in telling even half truths to her. She always knew. She read me well. I was no longer the hot-headed, know-it-all, belligerent teenage grandson like when I first arrived. From her I learned a lot about maintaining self-control, balance and mindfulness.
Before leaving Mama and Papa, we promised to visit more often. No prizes for guessing what the next visit would entail. Mama handed Stephanie some containers of food to take home.
"Empanadas in this one, and arroz con pollo, (that's chicken and rice). Hold this one flat. It's Carlito's favourite dessert, flan." Stephanie smiled at the dessert looking at me. "Not gonna be a temple day, is it Carlos?" She chuckled.
We kissed our farewells in the customary manner, leaving a happy Mama and Papa, his arm over her shoulder, as they waved us goodbye.
On the way home Stephanie was very quiet. I placed her hand on my thigh, rubbing little circles on the back of her hand then brought her hand to my lips and kissed it tenderly.
"Soul mates," Stephanie said. I nodded.
When we arrived home, we sat together on the couch, Stephanie in my lap, reflecting.
"Abuela is very intuitive. She knew before we dared to believe we deserved each other, before we allowed each other to see and share our mutual, unconditional love for one another.
"Yeah," she chuckled. "We were such chicken shits." Her melodic laughter was infectious, both of us chuckling at our silly denial, the hesitancy to commit and the sheer stupidity.
"I know I was too scared to admit how much I loved you. I was scared I would ruin what we already had: a truly wonderful friendship. I was scared you would reject me if I admitted how much I loved you. You were my best friend. Once I admitted to myself, really admitted, that Morelli was such a jerk of an asshole, it was easy. He didn't deserve me. I deserved better. I can't believe how I allowed my mother and him to manipulate me so much. I didn't want that life, no matter how many times I told them. It was decided. Removing myself from their toxic tirades was a good move. Cal being my partner helped me so much in finding my inner strength. Training with the guys too. It all helped. You were always there for me. God, I should have seen it earlier. How stupid."
"Babe, I'm just as guilty and stupid. Don't beat yourself up. It took me a long time too. I was protecting my heart. I knew I loved you. You knew I loved you. I knew you loved me before you did. But I was worried about taking our relationship further. We both wasted so much time. Abuela was right. We weren't ready for forever then. We were both commitment phobic, hesitant and probably scared to take that all important final step. Dios. I'm so glad we overcame that hurdle. Water under the bridge. No regrets, Babe. No regrets."
"No regrets, Carlos."
I kissed her temple.
"You know, my men told me to pull my head out of my ass. They threatened to take me to the mats for stringing you along. They even threatened to woo you if I didn't make my intentions known and man up. Even Hector was prepared to make you swoon for him and romance you like you deserved. They gave me such a hard time. Initially they thought we were doing more than making out up on seven, before we planned for you to move in with me. By then, we were finally on the same page."
More of her gorgeous melodic laughter.
"They wanted to woo me?" she asked incredulously. "Hector too?"
"Oh yes, Babe. There was a queue for you. Don't ever doubt that. You are beautiful, inside and out. They all saw it. You are a ray of sunshine to us all. You were the epitome of what a man desires in a woman. You accepted, and defended our honour and integrity. You have no idea how rare that is in our experiences."
"Oh my." She chewed on her bottom lip, obviously humbled by their intentions.
"It was when Tank hit me with a right cross on the mats and said, "You know, you're just as bad as Morelli, toying with her," before he decked me, catching me unawares with that remark. I was shocked to hear that assessment. I came to in Bobby's infirmary. That was my reality check. I'm sorry Babe, I probably needed that."
"He knocked you out?!"
I nodded. "I made up my mind after that and pursued you. We were both on the same page by then. Dining together, mostly on seven, but we agreed to keep a low profile. It was none of anyone's business. I really wanted to take you dancing and go dating, but I held back. Not that I was ashamed of our blossoming relationship, no way. Our life already was like living in a fishbowl. Yours in particular. But, to be honest, I wanted to leap onto the tallest building and beat my chest in pride. I knew that would not win me any favours with you. I restrained myself."
With that declaration I took her lips in a deep, toe-curling kiss, my hands on both sides of her face.
She giggled. "Now that's a funny image, but you're right. Although … at the same time I was so ecstatic and elated with us together, having knocked down all our self-inflicted barriers, my Catholic guilt included. I wanted to squeal and yell it out loud."
"We're a funny pair. I'm yours, Babe, heart and soul, forever."
"So true, Carlos. I'm yours, heart and soul, forever." "Carlos," she smiled, catching her breath, "do you understand the meaning of restrained?"
We laughed. It was such a wonderful, comfortable feeling.
"Come to think of it, you yourself said something felt off, which made me review the mission plans. Partly because of that, Tank and I reviewed and changed our exit plan in case of a FUBAR scenario, hoping never having to use it. Just as well. I had to agree with you. But neither of us could nail it."
She straddled my lap which led to a tender kiss, going suddenly from chaste to fiery hot. Dios. I love this woman.
She hummed and snuggled on my chest.
"By setting up the Endgame, with only Tank and Ella knowing of our little ruse, for all appearances, to the Burg, you were still living in your apartment. Until that mission called me away earlier and then things went south."
"Tank and I agreed that Cal, being my partner should come with me to the dinner before six summons. Her face when she saw his tattoo, was hilarious. Then Morelli arrived. You know the rest. Cal and I left early and Daddy kicked Morelli out of the house."
She sighed.
"While you were in the wind, about a week in, I had a sudden strange feeling, odd in a different manner from my usual spidey sense. Something had not gone to plan. I told Tank about it. He said it coincided with your failure to report in. But, it felt like a part of me was with you. Granted, I was missing you. The guys kept me busy, and focused. Besides we had all that bullshit with Lula and then Morelli turning up at the oddest, coincidental times. That distracted me. But, at night I felt your presence very strongly, even when you were declared MIA. At the same time, I felt like part of me was missing. Like I wasn't complete, until you came home."
"Like a missing piece?" I asked curiously.
"Yes, just like that. I knew you came to visit my apartment, when I could smell your Bulgari, especially near the chair. I sensed you when that meth lab went kaboom. Then the nights we slept together. Oh, so wonderful. I felt whole again."
I grinned at her. "I was worried I might have lost you. I feared that your harpy of a mother and Morelli would gag up on you."
"Oh, yes, they tried. Double tag team. It was sickening and pathetic."
"I had the same sensation in the jungle – that I had a piece of me missing. You were the missing piece. Once we were stateside, against protocol, and common sense, I just had to see you. The sensation as soon as I walked into your room was so palpable. So profound and with it a remarkable sense of peace washed over me. But I knew I had to be cautious, to protect you especially, but also my team. We didn't know from where the threat came at that stage. But seeing you, breathing you in, watching you sleep, instantly made me feel whole again. Then later holding you in my arms was so unbelievably overwhelming, I could have cried. Making love to you was so validating, skin to skin. I missed you, querida."
We ate the delicious food from Mama for dinner with a glass of white wine. Eating the empanadas was tantalising. By the time we put things in the dishwasher, I was turning out the lights and dragging my wife to the bedroom.
A month later, our next visit to Casa Manoso was a huge family celebration for us. All my siblings were there with their spouses and children. It was a loud, wonderfully chaotic yet wonderful atmosphere, so warm and welcoming. For Stephanie this was an entirely new experience. She survived the sisters-in-law inquisition, but they conceded to having grilled Lester previously. They accepted her and took great delight in telling stories about me and showing photos. Having heard tales from Tank, Bobby and Lester, they already knew a lot about Stephanie. They loved her. Mama looked at her and then at me.
"Any other news to share, Carlito?" Mama asked expectantly, smiling at me and then looking pointedly at Stephanie.
"Not yet Mama, not yet. We are letting it happen when it happens."
She hugged me and rushed to do the same to Stephanie. Her stunned blue eyes looked at me and I just shook my head and grinned, my sisters and brother watching this little interaction closely. Stephanie walked over to me, into my arms.
"I take it Mama is hopeful?"
"Yes. I said it happens when it happens."
Suddenly Abuela was by my side, smiling.
"Pronto, (soon) mi nieto y nieta. Pronto." She winked and hugged us walking away happily after we kissed her. (grandson and granddaughter)
oOo
I smile to myself as I pretend to be asleep on the sectional sofa here on the wide veranda overlooking the ocean. It's peaceful with a light warm breeze. Little voices and secretive whispers with little giggles greet my ears, but I remain still. The click of a camera tells me someone is taking photos as the patter of little feet come closer.
"Sh. Papa sleeping, Mummy," little Ricky whispered not so quietly. I tried not to smile.
"Should we wake him, Mum," Julie asked. I could tell she was playing along.
"Papa! Wake up!" That was my cue from two year old Nita.
I leapt up with a growl chasing my children, laughing as Julie scooped Nita up and ran with her shrieking. It never gets old this Wake Up Papa game.
"You were tricking," four year old Ricky admonished with a grin.
Nita wriggled free from Julie's hands and leapt onto me.
"Jump on huggle!" she yelled as she ran with a leap of faith, knowing I would catch her every time.
"Happy Birthday, Papa!" they chorused with hugs and kisses, all piling on top of me on the sectional sofa.
Stephanie came around the table with a tray containing their gifts. Julie ran to the kitchen to bring in the tray with cold drinks and our picnic lunch to have in the garden.
But first I had to open my presents. Julie had wrapped a framed poem, My Dad, My Hero. Dios. It was amazing. I hugged her as her eyes welled with tears.
"I won a literary prize for that. It's about you, not Ron," she whispered. She showed me the certificate of commendation for her poem.
"Wow, Julie. I am so proud of you. This is wonderful. Thank you, querida. I will place it on my desk so I can admire your words every day. She smiled and hugged me.
Ricky was waiting, patiently, as he does. He was the image of me at the same age, just with curlier hair, wavy, rather than his mother's beautiful wild curls.
"I made this for you, Papa," he said as he handed me a picture he had drawn of my Porsche. "That's awesome, mi hijo. Thank you. It's beautiful. You are such a clever boy."
We knew he had a good eye for detail and this was really amazing. He handed me another gift which turned out to be a race track for fast cars. As I unwrapped them, I smiled seeing the Porsche was there, a black one, of course.
"The Bugatti is mine, but you can drive the Porsche."
I grinned. He already knew the names of fast, and expensive cars, and the blue and black Bugatti was his favourite.
Nita crawled onto my lap handing me a framed hand print and footprint first, and a picture she had drawn of Batman. This time my arms came from my head in her drawing – at least I had arms – previously it was just a head, a smile and legs.
Nita was confused when I opened my third gift from her. Her big blue eyes looked from me to Julie and then to her Mummy.
"That not gonna fit Papa!" she remarked indignantly, shaking her beautiful bouncy curls.
"Babe?"
Stephanie smiled at me with a hint of a blush, nodding. Of course. I should have guessed. I was so happy.
"What does it say, Julie?" Nita wanted to know the words.
Julie smiled and hugged her little sister as she held up the Nita-sized t-shirt.
"This is for you to wear, not Papa. It says I'm going to be a BIG sister," Julie said excitedly.
"I am?"
"Mummy? Julie is big sister. I thought me was little sister?"
Julie hugged Stephanie as Nita wanted me to put my birthday present on her. Ricky looked at his mother and ran to hug her. He figured it out. I jumped up with Nita, and we had a happy family group hug.
Julie now lives with us permanently, legally in my custody, officially adopted by the two of us. After a police sting, it was discovered that Ron went bankrupt after making some questionable investments of the money laundering kind. Julie's life was in danger from some of his "investors". She had called me and was almost panic-stricken, but then calmed to explain what she overheard. She was coming to us on the next morning for the school holidays, but I collected her that night with all her possessions. Perfect timing. We made it permanent with a court order. Rachel was also implicated as an accessory, so the children were going into foster care. No way was I having that for my Julie. I smiled at my family and kissed each one on the cheek.
"Maybe I'll get a little brother, Papa," Ricky said excitedly.
"That would be wonderful, Ricky."
Our picnic lunch in the dappled shade of the courtyard was joyful. Stephanie loved her frangipanis for their fragrance and the various colours. I placed a blossom behind her left ear, "Mine," and kissed her on the nose. Nita giggled.
Ricky and Julie were happily trying on new names for size. Julie dismissed some suggestions because they reminded her of some not so nice boys. So, they were figuring on a little brother too. I glanced at Steph. She shrugged a shoulder at me.
We cleared up in the courtyard and then tidied up the veranda, before getting ready for a swim and some games on the beach. Miami sunshine prevailed with a pleasant warm day. Glorious sunshine with barely a cloud in the sky.
I held my Babe's hand, pulling her close to me. I kissed her and gently rubbed her tummy.
"I am so happy, Babe. I love my life. I love my family. I love you so much."
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The End
I want to thank you, my lovely readers, for following and sticking with me. I really appreciate your wonderful comments of support and encouragement for my recovery. I will have another six weeks in a sling, which also means no driving! (banging my head against the wall)
My Muse has some other ideas, since we have more time for writing, albeit slowly.
I hoped you enjoyed this adventure, which was based on a song I heard on the radio, you know, when I could drive. It struck me as a perfect Ranger Stephanie story potential.
An Australian singer song writer, Missing Piece, by Vance Joy, 2021. Check it out.
You may recognise him from another song, Riptide.