Typical FF disclaimers apply. Thanks for reading.
"Babe, I know the house is big, but here's my proposal. First, the basement would make a great home gym. The three car garage has plenty of room for the Porsches and an SUV. The six bedrooms are more than we need right now, but if we use one, we set one aside for Julie and two for guest rooms, that leaves two. One can be our office and the other can be outfitted with a large screen television, surround sound, and all the other essentials for a great home theatre.
"The guest house can be filled by whoever we hire to do our maintenance and housekeeping, and if they know something about horses, even better."
"Were you planning on buying a horse too Carlos?" I asked as I laughed.
"No Babe, the house comes with two horses. It's in the brochure."
I rolled my eyes and said, "I must have missed that. I didn't really read the brochure."
I really liked the apartment, so I said, "Carlos, I really liked that apartment. I think if we're going to live somewhere, it should be there."
Carlos nodded and said, "How about this, I'll put in an offer of the asking price for the apartment in the morning. I'll put in a very low offer for the house as well, but if they come back for a higher bid, I'll pass. If they are crazy enough to sell for the price I offer, we'd be crazy to pass it up. The house will need a lot of work to make it ready for us to live there. We could end up being in the apartment for up to a year. Maybe by then, we'll want a bit more space."
I agreed to Carlos' suggestion and we went to bed that night content in our plan to move forward with our life together.
When Carlos and I walked onto the 5th floor the following morning, all eyes were on us. The guys were still curious if we were engaged or not, but neither Carlos nor I was saying anything. We both went our own way and I worked at my cubicle until my growling stomach forced me into the kitchen to get something to eat for lunch.
Carlos came in moments later and said, "Babe, I just heard back from Lynn. The owner of the apartment has accepted our offer. She has also gratefully accepted our admittance for her to access the roof. She did say that there was an alternate access that had been blocked off years ago and she'd be willing to pay for it to be opened again. I told Lynn that I would take care of that as soon as we exchanged keys."
I grinned and hugged Carlos. "That's great news. When can we move in? I have to give notice on my apartment and pack and stuff. And it's the holidays. Everything will be crazy and busy and..."
"Calm down Babe, we can't exchange the keys until the New Year. It will take us a little while to get everything arranged with the lawyers, but the apartment also has no furniture. We'll have to buy pretty much everything. I don't want to take the furniture from my 7th floor apartment because Tank will probably move in there and need it furnished."
I breathed a sigh of relief because moving in the near future would have caused a bit of a panic attack that would have taken a bit to overcome. I smiled at the idea of living with Ranger in our own place, but if we did this, it was as a precursor to marriage and we both knew it.
The afternoon went by relatively quickly. At 4:45, my cell phone rang and I looked down to see my sister's number. Val rarely calls me, and if she does, something is usually wrong. I answered a bit apprehensively, waiting to hear the bad news.
"Hey Steph, I just got off the phone with Mom and she says that you might be moving out of your apartment." Without waiting for me to reply, she went on. "Do you think you could put in a good word for us? We've been evicted from our house because the owner is selling and we don't have enough saved up to buy a house of our own."
"Calm down Val. Mom is right, I'll be leaving my apartment, but how will you and the girls fit into my apartment? It only has one bedroom and it's not very big."
"We'll make do. We managed with three of us in your old bedroom with Mom and Dad, we can adapt to this too."
"OK Val, I'll see I'll see you and the girls on Christmas day. We'll get to the house around one."
Once off the phone, I thought about Val's life and how hard it would be on the girls to live cramped in my apartment. It wouldn't be very fun for them and Val and Albert wouldn't get much privacy. I was still thinking about how to help Val when Carlos came up behind me and kissed me behind the ear.
"Deep thoughts Babe?"
"I just got off the phone with Val. The house where she and Albert are living has just been put on the market by the owner. They haven't managed to save for a down payment and since my mom mentioned that I was moving, she was asking about my apartment."
"They can't all live in your old apartment Babe. Maybe I have a better solution. I just got off the phone with Lynn and she says that the house is ours if we want it. They accepted the very low price I offered because they're desperate to sell so they can buy another property out of state. They're so keen to finish this that they're willing to pay for our lawyer fees to get it expedited before the end of the year."
I was overwhelmed by this and had no idea what to say. We went from looking at two beautiful properties to practically owning both of them within 24 hours. It was a lot to get my head around.
Carlos must have sensed my apprehension because he pulled me to my feet and led me to the elevator. Once we were inside his apartment, he sat down on the sofa and pulled me onto his lap.
"Babe, I have an idea that will help Val and her family as well as us."
I raised my eyebrows in question and he said, "Val and Albert can't save for their own house because they've been raising three girls and paying rent. What if we offered them the guest house rent-free for the next several months? We could hire Val to be our building project manager and you could work with her to furnish and decorate the house. That way they could save for their own house and have somewhere to live that is big enough for their whole family."
I smiled at Carlos. This was a wonderful idea. "I think this is the equivalent of us giving Mary Alice a horse for Christmas. We'll have to come up with something equally spectacular for Angie. I hope you have a good idea there. She's 11 years old, a book worm and very proper. "
The grin slipped ever so slightly from Carlos' face. "I never even thought of that. I'll have to ask Woody for some help with the horses. I'll call my sister Celia to find out if she has any ideas of what to buy Angie. She's a year older than Julie, so it shouldn't be that hard."
I laughed and said, "She's a hard kid to please. Last year I bought her a set of children's encyclopaedias and she turned her nose up at them and said they were for babies."
Carlos sat and thought for a few minutes and then started to grin. "I know, we'll get her a laptop that comes with all sorts of educational software and then make sure that the guest house is equipped with Wi-Fi."
"Oooh, that's a great idea. Good thing it's only the 23rd. We can go out tonight and pick up the laptop and then Hector can help load it with all the necessary security software."
"Actually Babe, why don't you let me go out and you stay home and talk to your sister. I just want you to find out if she'd be open to a job as a project manager for us, don't mention the house just yet. She would be able to keep Lisa with her during the day as long as she feels it is safe."
I narrowed my eyes up at Ranger. I could tell he was up to something but I didn't have a clue what that could be so I said, "I'll let you go pick up the laptop, but I will need to go out and pick up a few other last minute gifts. I'll call Val first though, and talk to her about the job. Good thing that shops are open late tonight. I'll see you back here when I'm done."
Ranger kissed me quickly and then head back to his office. I was pretty much done for the day so I shut down my computer and headed upstairs to call Val. I wasn't completely sure how she'd react to the suggestion of working for Carlos and me, even if it was temporarily. I also would try to avoid the whole apartment conversation because Carlos would talk to them more on Christmas day.
I sat on the sofa and dialled my phone, expecting to have a short conversation because it was getting near that time where Val would be getting dinner ready. When Val answered, it was quiet in the background and she seemed quite calm.
"Hey Val, I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time."
"No, it's actually a great time. Albert just took all three girls out to get some pizza for dinner. I was a bit stressed out about the whole house thing so Albert took pity on me."
"That's nice of Albert. I actually called to ask a favour Val, but if you can't, please don't feel bad."
"OK, this sounds ominous," Val said.
"Well, Carlos has decided to buy that house, but it requires a lot of work before it will be ready for us to actually live there. Most of the work is aesthetic, but we will need some building work to be done. The favour we'd like to ask is for you to be our project manager. Since Ranger and I both work full-time, it will be hard for us to manage all the work that is needed and we thought you might be interested. You will be able to keep Lisa with you and you and I can work together for the decorating parts of the job."
When I was finished, I sat and waited for Val to answer. She was silent for a long time, so I hesitantly said, "Val, are you still there?"
"Oh, yes Steph, I'm sorry. I was just a bit overwhelmed that you and Ranger would trust me with something like this. It's a huge responsibility and honour."
"It was actually he who suggested you for this job. And from now on, you can call him Carlos. Ranger is a name he uses for work only, not with friends and family. If you are interested, we can talk more on Christmas day. We'll likely have the keys to the house before the end of the year, so we can get an idea of the amount of work ahead of us. "
I could hear Val smiling over the phone when she said, "This really sounds fun Steph. I can't wait to see it and help you with the home you deserve."
"Thanks Val, I'm sure we'll have a blast working together. When Carlos first told me that his crazy low offer was accepted, I was overwhelmed and a little disappointed. The house is too big for us, but that might not always be the case. Now I'm actually getting excited."
I heard the door open and a rush of feet and sound assaulted me. The girls and Albert were back with dinner so I said, "I'll see you and your family on Christmas day Val. We'll talk more about the job then."
"Thanks Steph, and thank Carlos as well. I will see you guys in a couple of days. Bye."
Once I was off the phone with Val, I walked into the kitchen to get a snack. If I was going to brave the wilds of the shopping mall this time of night, I'd need fortification. After a quick snack, I headed down to the garage where I met Lester.
"Where are you off to Beautiful?"
"I'm going to finish my Christmas shopping. The crowds will be a bit crazy but I have a few last minute things to pick up."
Lester laughed and said, "That's where I'm heading. I haven't even started mine. Do you mind if I join you? Maybe we can help each other out?"
"Sure, that sounds more fun than my original plan."
I jumped into Lester's SUV and we headed off to the mall. Three hours later, the SUV was filled to the brim with gifts for mine and Lester's family. We carried all of our purchases into the conference room on the 5th floor and started wrapping them using the rolls and rolls of wrapping paper we purchased.
When I next looked at my watch, it was nearing midnight and I was exhausted. I looked up at Lester and said, "I'm going to have to finish the rest of this tomorrow. I'm tired and I want to get to bed."
Lester nodded and pulled in two trolleys that were usually used by Ella to transport food around the building. He loaded his presents onto one and I did the same to for the other. We both wheeled the trolleys to the elevator and went our separate ways when Lester got off on the 4th floor. I continued up to the 7th floor and called for Carlos when I wheeled the trolley inside.
Carlos didn't answer so I looked through the apartment to find that I was alone. I took the opportunity to hide the presents I bought for Carlos and moved the rest to the dining table and then returned the trolley to the 6th floor storage area.
By the time I got back to the apartment, Carlos was inside surrounded by his own pile of presents. He smiled up at me when I came in and walked over and wrapped me in his arms. "Hey Babe, I see you were as busy as I was this evening. Did you get everything you needed?"
"I think so. I still need to pick up one last gift for my father, but I can't do that until tomorrow night. I want to get him a Panettone but I want to get it fresh from the bakery tomorrow afternoon. I had to order it three months ago, but it won't be ready until tomorrow afternoon. You can usually buy the bread months in advance, but my dad prefers it fresh. HE said that after sitting, the bread takes on the flavour of the fruit and it ruins the bread."
"Let's leave the wrapping until tomorrow Babe. RangeMan is only fully up and running for ½ the day tomorrow so I'm just on call for the afternoon and evening. We rarely ever have any calls, so we should be able to have a quiet night in."
I liked the sound of a quiet night in because I knew that Christmas afternoon with my family was going to be chaotic at best. I took Ranger's hand and pulled him into the bedroom and when we finally fell asleep a few hours later, we earned our rest.
The next morning we awoke to a crisp and cold morning. So far this winter, the weather was much warmer than usual. It was nice to see frost and ice just in time for Christmas. Maybe we'd end up with a White Christmas after all. Carlos must have sensed my thoughts as I stood in front of the window and said, "The forecast says it is supposed to snow over night."
I smiled and picked up my cup of coffee. I took a sip and then placed it on the table and said, "Let's get downstairs. We don't want to be late today. I have a bunch of gifts to hand out."
"You didn't buy gifts for all of the men did you?"
"I did. All of them bought me the most wonderful gifts so I wanted to get them each something to show how much special they are to me. Unfortunately, I couldn't spend as much on them as they did on me, but I'm hoping they will like what I got for them. I tried to get something ideal for each of them."
"I'm sure they'll love whatever you give them Babe, just because it came from you."
I picked up a huge bag filled with over two dozen gifts and headed to the door. Just before I got there, Carlos grabbed me by the elbow and kissed me like it was the last chance he'd get in a while. When he pulled away, we were both breathless. Carlos smiled down at me and said, "Let's get to work Babe."
I took Carlos' outstretched hand and followed him to the elevator. We worked for a few hours and just before lunch time I took my huge bag and started playing Santa by giving gifts to all of the Merry Men.
Hal was chuffed with his punching men game. Lester roared with laughter when he opened his box of assorted condoms. Tank was very pleased with his box of cat treats and Bobby loved his DVD box set of his favourite movies. The other guys were not left out. Each man who gave me a secret Santa gift received a gift in return, and each of them was extremely grateful.
After wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, Carlos and I headed upstairs for a quiet afternoon and evening. Ella outdid herself. She prepared an extravagant meal for us to rival the one that would be prepared by my mother tomorrow. Carlos and I ate, drank and enjoyed our alone time together.
At midnight, Ranger and I exchanged our gifts for each other. We each held one back so we could open it with my family the following day. Carlos and I sat beside each other on the sofa wrapped in a cosy blanket. He handed me a large wrapped box and I handed him a box of similar size.
Carlos insisted that I open my present first, so I acted like a child and quickly ripped into the paper. Carlos laughed when he saw my enthusiasm and encouraged me to hurry. When I pulled the lid from the box, I gasped. Inside the box was the most beautiful dress I have ever laid eyes on. It was such a pale shade of blue that it was almost white. I pulled the dress out and held it up to myself and loved it immediately.
"Oh Carlos, this is beautiful. I can't wait to wear it."
"I thought it would work well on New Year's Eve for my family gathering. We always dress up for dinner and dancing. There's more in the box Babe."
I looked back in the box and saw a beautiful pair of nude FMPs and a small box that contained a beautiful platinum and blue topaz necklace. The jewellery would match the dress perfectly. I looked at the dress again and noticed that it was actually quite long. It was almost floor length, but it wasn't puffy like a lot of other dresses that length. It was A-line and had little flirty short sleeves that were made of translucent chiffon of the same colour as the dress. It was absolutely gorgeous and I really loved it.
Carlos watched me as I inspected the dress. He smiled and said, "It will look beautiful on you Babe."
I thanked Carlos with a long drawn out kiss, but pulled away before we both got a little carried away. I pointed to his box and he silently obeyed and started unwrapping. As usual, Carlos took his time and took care not to rip the paper. Once he finally pulled the paper away from the box, he opened his box and grinned.
Inside his box was a blue button up shirt. The colour wasn't quite dark enough to be considered navy, but it was darker that royal blue. The shirt was made out of very finely woven cotton and it had a pattern woven into the shirt. I had it made for Carlos with Ella's help. She knew his measurements and we used his usual tailor. It took us a few days to pick out the fabric, and once I selected the blue, I also decided on a maroon colour and a cream colour. He pulled each shirt out of the box in turn and smiled.
"They're beautiful Babe. They're exactly the colours I would have picked out for myself. Thank you very much."
I smiled at Carlos and leaned into him when he reached over for a kiss. I pulled back and smiled at Carlos. "There's more in the box Carlos."
Carlos looked down and pulled the tissue paper aside and found a small jewellery box. He opened it and gasped when he saw the tie clip and matching money clip inside.
"They're perfect Babe. I know just the tie to wear with this blue shirt tomorrow as well."
Carlos kissed me again and we set our packages aside and settled into bed for the night. Tomorrow was going to be a long day and Carlos would have an early start. I fell asleep after making love and the last thought on my mind was how excited I was to take Carlos home with me for Christmas.