Everybody and anything familiar belong to Janet. Mistakes are solely mine and there might be more than usual.
"How is Olive three-years-old already?" Julie asked, finishing a braid she had wrangled her thick hair into.
"I'm going with someone fed caffeine to the clock in the delivery room to make Olive's time with us fly by too fast," Stephanie decided.
I agree. It's hard to believe Olivia has only been in our lives for three years when she's completely altered every aspect of it and how we love the people in it.
"I still can't picture you in a delivery room," our eldest said to Stephanie. "You seemed so against reproducing, and now you're doing it all again."
"Don't remind me. I like the kid I got, but not how she got here. I'm not really looking forward to that part, but you and Olive make me anxious to meet the little guy your Dad and I made."
My daughter's perfect little nose crinkled in an impending objection. "Can we please stick to how great my little sister is and not mention how she was 'made'?"
"If you'd like," I told her.
"I would. I really, really would. I love that you love each other, but I don't need to think too hard about that or picture it."
Steph nodded. "I said the same thing the other day to your Aunt Val about Uncle Albert. But your Dad and I are way less cringy than those two."
"Not to me. You guys are my parents. That's where my thoughts of your relationship end."
"Jeez, Jules. I figured you were made of stronger stuff than that," Steph teased.
"Nope. Wait … is that Olive? I think she's awake."
"Nice deflection," I told her.
"It is, but really … the birthday sleepyhead is finally up."
"You two played hard yesterday after you got here," my wife reminded her, as we left the brand-new upstairs bathroom and headed back down the short staircase to Olivia's room. "She barely stayed awake during her bath."
"I can't help it if I'm fun. She missed me."
"She did," I agreed, dropping an arm across her shoulders so I could hug her to me. "We also missed you."
"I know. I'm good to have around."
An understatement if I ever heard one. The only person I've missed more is the woman I'm married to.
"I get awake," our youngest stated from the disaster her bed became as she twisted and rolled while she regained consciousness.
"There's Mama's birthday girl."
"I get reals big," she said, holding her arms out.
"You do keep getting bigger. But in the meantime, turning three-years-old means Mama gets three kisses and three super-big hugs before your big day starts."
"Wouldn't that make a 'six' total … three kisses and three hugs equal six displays of affection," Julie pointed out.
"There's no place for normal math here. I want three of everything, and the only thing it equals is making me happy. Daddy might want that too. So … take a big breath, Olive, and then let the kisses and hugs fly."
Our baby took this assignment very seriously. Not only did Stephanie get smothered in our daughter's love, Julie and I also ended up being pulled onto Olive's bed, which left Gunny and Mo distraught at not being able to join us on the already too-small surface.
"Okay," my wife told us. "Now we can get on with our happy day. Do you still want to wear your birthday dress? Or are you feeling like shorts and bunny sneakers today? We'll be inside most of the day but it is hot outside."
"I weared my pardy dress."
My wife nodded. "Alright. I think we're good to go then."
I volunteered for the less challenging job, and after getting my last hug and kiss from the birthday girl, the dogs and I headed to the kitchen to start breakfast while Steph got Olive dressed and I bet Julie does something with her sister's hair. It's going to be interesting to see how she bonds with her baby brother once he arrives. He likely won't have much hair to fuss with.
I believed I had the easier assignment of the morning, but my instincts knew better. Stephanie, Ella, Aideen, and Edna … plus whichever man walked by at the wrong time, spent the last three days decorating the second floor where the party was to be held. So, I was almost expecting the knock on the door that brought my parents into the mix.
My mother kissed my cheek, and I exchanged a hug with my father before I was waved away.
"Go get those sweet girls of ours," my father said. "Your mother will take care of breakfast."
And that's how the rest of the day went, except on a larger scale. As soon as we left our apartment, Stephanie and I appeared to be just in the way of every person in the building who wanted to spend time with our daughters.
Which is why I was able to continually check my cell every time it buzzed when someone new pulled up to the security gate. I can also access all the cameras in the garage and on every floor except the sixth one. My wife was also looking for something to do now that our daughter is completely submerged in people, balloons, snacks I didn't clear, while trying to make off with a brightly wrapped gift or two when she thought no one was looking.
She'll learn soon enough that there is always someone looking.
I felt the tip of Steph's elbow work its way in between my ribs. "Are you seeing what I am?"
"Your sister and her family getting out of their vehicle in the garage?"
"Yes, but you're not focusing on the important details. Kloughn was driving and he's still carrying the keys. Val never lets Albert drive, let alone take his car instead of hers somewhere."
"Are you saying one conversation with you fixed their marriage?" I teased.
"No, but I am seeing a few differences in how they're doing things. The camera showed Kloughn was unbuckling Lisa from her booster seat, not Val. It was such a dad thing for him to do … something Valerie would normally take care of without even thinking of Albert being right there next to her."
I honestly don't understand the Valerie/Albert union, but I trust this insider's take on it. If my wife believes there's been a SOP change, I'm not in any position to argue. I don't spend my time dissecting other people's marriages when I could use that time enjoying my own.
Which is why I took advantage of her being distracted - and the kids busy - to move in close and skim my lips across the nape of her neck that she left bare by corralling her curls into a ponytail, anticipating the need to be streamlined today.
I felt her body melt into mine and a smile form even though my mouth is still centrally located where her shoulder met her neck.
"Dad!" Julie called, being one of those chaperones with eyes on the back of her head. "You promised. No kissing during the party."
"If you'll remember, I did not agree to that."
"But I did," Steph told her. "Sorry. We'll try to behave ourselves for your future therapist's sake."
"I've been to a lot of therapists because of Scrog, and I'm pretty sure nothing they told me will cancel out seeing you two making out."
"I never saw my parents make out," was Steph's reply, "and I needed therapy because of it."
Our daughter rolled her eyes but did flash a grin at us. She's disgusted witnessing any PDAs between me and Stephanie but is also happy to have a goal to strive for. I completely understand. My parents couldn't keep their hands off each other, and while I remain to this day embarrassed by their affection … I recognized what I felt for Stephanie because of what I'd witnessed between them.
I'm hoping one day … Julie, Olivia, and our son will reap the rewards from how we love, support, and protect each other.
"Your mother was a manipulative control freak, Steph. That's why you needed therapy."
"If I could drink champagne, I'd toast you for that one."
"I'll mark that as a raincheck. We'll likely need a quiet night out after a few weeks of having three kids."
"Hey!" Julie interrupted. "I basically take care of myself. You don't need a break from me."
"We don't need a break from any of you," my wife replied. "But we like each other just as much as we love our kids."
"I suppose that is nice to know. Mom and Dad are like that too, but they act more like Grandpa Frank and Aideen than you and RangeDad."
Now Stephanie appeared grossed-out picturing her father in a romantic state. "That was payback, wasn't it?" She asked our eldest.
"No … but yes."
Three minutes later, Angie confirmed Stephanie's suspicion when she reached us before the rest of the Kloughns could. "I think Mom's pregnant again," our niece told us.
"Why do you think that?" Steph asked her. "You think pregnancy is contagious or something?"
She shook her head. "No. Mom and Albert are just acting weird."
"Weird how?" Was my follow up question.
"Super nice. They went out on a date last week. A date! They're married, they don't need to start dating again."
"I disagree. Like I was just telling Julie, Uncle Ranger and I go out on dates all the time. We like spending time together, maybe your Mom and Albert feel the same way."
"I guess … but what changed? They've been together for years."
"I'd like to think they both realized what they wanted and decided how to keep it."
"She had been extra snippy with him. I had to tell her and Albert what she says to me and Mary Alice whenever we're bickering … get along or take a break from each other." Her eyes widened. "Do you think they were thinking of taking a break ... like getting a divorce?"
"Ummm, I don't think so," my wife answered. "You said this lovey-dovey stuff happened overnight, so maybe they both just had a come to Jesus moment at the same time."
"You sound like Aunt Shirley."
Steph's features twisted in indignation. "That's just mean, take it back."
Angie didn't retract her observation, but both she and Steph were smiling. As was Valerie when they stepped out of the elevator. Since Albert was busy with Lisa, Val waved two gifts at us.
Steph pointed to where Kane decided to stand and guard the gift tables. He'll joke that he deserves a paycheck for patrolling the party, but it wasn't beyond my notice that from his position, he could watch Harper watch where Angelique is running next. True to prediction, once Angel got on her feet … she showed no fear just like her daddy.
My cell buzzed again, but I was distracted when Olivia came running over with a tutu she wanted to tie over the skirt of her dress. When I was done fastening the bow, my eyebrow raised as I looked over at my wife.
Her hands went up in defense. "I swear she pulled that off a decoration. I didn't plant any added accessories throughout the floor."
I almost believed her.
My phone rang this time, so it was harder to overlook.
"Ah, sorry to interrupt, Boss," Zero said into my ear, when I stepped away to answer the call, "but there's someone here who would like a word with Stephanie. I wanted to say that Steph's busy at the moment, but the woman has a little girl with her. Everyone we know with kids is with you already, so I thought this might be work related. And Steph would kill me for turning someone important away."
I understand his concern. Stephanie's temper is legendary. She can take all kinds of shit thrown at her but will go apeshit if someone else is treated the same way or is pushed away when they're looking for help.
"Give me a minute and we'll meet you in the lobby."
"Will do."
He disconnected and I located my wife talking to Aideen, Amari, and Aubrey. "Our daughter?" I asked her.
She pointed to where Julie was with Olive and Lisa trying to cajole Tank into giving the younger kids the decorations purposely hung well above their reach.
"Zero said there's someone downstairs here to see you. A woman and a little girl. Am I right in saying it's your kidnapping case?"
"They're not a case, but it does sound like Fallen stopped by. She said she might, but she's been trying to recapture the time she lost with Halina … so I didn't think she'd show up for another couple of weeks. I'm happy to be wrong this time."
I signaled to Julie to come back over to us so we could talk. Olivia, however, had other things and objects on her mind so Julie aborted her plan to bring her sister with her and left her with Tank and Mabyn.
"Hey, Rangeparents. What's going on?" Julie asked us.
"We're going to shoot down to the lobby for a few minutes," I answered. "Can you keep an eye on the birthday girl for us?"
"Sure. Anything wrong?"
"No," Steph said. "Just someone I wanted to see popped in. We'll be quick."
"Take all the time you need. If Olive gets bored, I'll just sic her on Atlas. Amari seems to like unsettling him."
"I love that woman," Steph said.
"And Atlas knows it. He's treading carefully so you two don't become 'besties'. He couldn't handle that plus the cat."
"Mado is a sweetheart," Julie pointed out.
"She is, but she likes to needle Uncle Atlas … with her claws," my wife added.
We left the party to the sound of Julie laughing, probably at Atlas' expression if he overheard the exchange.
"Farren?" My wife said walking quickly to the woman sitting in a lobby chair with her daughter tucked safely on her lap. "I'm happy you came by. This must be the famous Halina?"
The woman smiled. She has dark circles under her eyes and her smile looks more on the tired side than happy, but it's clear to us all that she'd go to hell and back all over again for her daughter.
"It is. Halina, this is Stephanie. The nice lady who kept Mommy company while you were away."
The honey-colored hair and light brown eyes are a carbon copy of her mother's. Even their height and weight weren't distinguishable from each other until they stood. And even then, Farren is only about a head-and-a-half taller than her daughter.
Halina smiled at us, but quickly buried her face in her mother's side.
Stephanie understood the shyness. "It's nice to meet you, Halina. I've heard so many great things about you. I know someone likes playing the piano and eating pizza only after sliding the cheese off. I used to do that too. I swear, it made the cheese double in size."
Halina risked another peek and small grin but didn't move far.
"Farren, this is my husband Carlos … aka … my Ranger. His company's the reason you got the ending you did so quickly."
"My wife is being generous," I told the ladies. "She worked day and night helping you. I was just providing the support."
"And about a bazillion dollars' worth of contacts, programs, and information."
"That statement is why doing the books isn't one of your many jobs here," I teased.
"Whatever you did or didn't do, I really do appreciate it," Farren told both of us. "There are no words I can say to explain how thankful I am for you and what you've done for me." She slid a hand over Halina's hair. "What you've done for us."
"Seeing you two together is all the thanks we'll ever need," Steph told her. "As you know, we have two daughters and a little boy on the way. I'd hope if I needed the same kind of help, someone would be there for me. You know, we're actually celebrating our daughter's third birthday upstairs right now. Why don't you join us? I know most parents don't enjoy the sugar high they have to deal with after they leave or the crankiness of a missing nap, but I think Halina will enjoy herself and you can relax while she does. Everyone here doubles as a security guard and experienced kid-sitter."
"Uh … I don't …"
My wife chose to ignore Farren's hesitation and continued with the hard sell. "I have to warn you though, to gain entrance to the festivities … you are required to apply a temporary tattoo of your chosen mermaid to your hand. We don't want anyone uninvited to sneak in. Our baby runs a tight ship."
"Babe."
"Okay, it's more because Olive likes seeing all the different colors on people's hands and really likes mermaids. I should also warn you that the theme is ballerina penguins. We understand that none of it makes sense, but tutus on penguins make Olive laugh hysterically … so that's what we went with for her party."
I felt sympathy for the woman. The ex-Mrs. Wauster appeared a little shell-shocked. "Things will only get more chaotic from here. I promise my wife will understand if you'd prefer to enjoy quiet time with your daughter."
"Mommy, look!" Halina said to Farren, pointing at a monitor Zero had turned on to check what's happening at the party.
"Oh … looks like Gunny and Mo joined the fun," my wife told Farren. "I knew it wouldn't be long."
The comment was unnecessary since both dogs are wearing party hats, which seems to have become a sort of tradition in our family. Julie or Olivia could individually or collectively be responsible for their party attire.
"Our dogs are well trained," I assured Farren. "Our guests not as much, but we promise no harm will come to either of you. You deserve a chance to relax as much as Halina deserves a chance to just be a kid."
I saw the moment she chose to trust us. Her shoulders went slack, and her eyes closed briefly. "Thank you. You've already done so much. You really don't need to invite us to your daughter's party."
Steph nodded. "You're right, we don't have to do anything we don't want to. We want you and Halina to join us or I wouldn't have asked."
"Sorry," the young mother said. "I'm trying to be less … protective, but it's going to take me a while to get back to where I had been before this happened."
I tried to give her a reassuring smile, which in turn embarrassed her and made her look away.
"Put the smile away, BatDad," my wife teased. "She's been under a lot of stress lately, Farren is not physically capable of handling one of your smiles at the moment. Zero, why don't you close up for an hour and come up with us? I think Rangeman will survive an hour of being closed to the public."
He visibly brightened. He was doing his job because he's a professional and wouldn't half-ass anything his name is attached to, even a lobby shift, but every person here loves Olivia and would rather be celebrating with her the day she entered our world.
Steph raised her eyebrows at me when she noted Zero's eyes darting to and away from Farren. One could say he's uncomfortable being in a confined space with someone he doesn't know, but I already know how my wife is going to read the situation. Though to her credit, she was right about Tank and Mabyn, Atlas and Amari, Raphael and Aubrey, and most recently Gene and Simone … who are just a few of the people who became couples in Olivia's lifetime.
