Chapter 13 - Well! I'll be…
SPOV - Rangeman 7th Floor
I was sitting on the couch snuggling with Rosie on one side, Julie on the other, and Bob at my feet while watching a movie. Ranger was downstairs working on some paperwork that needed to be completed. Julie had been living with us officially for the last week and we had all settled in nicely. Julie was much happier and her grades were already improving. Both me and Ranger rearranged our schedules so we could both be done with work by 5 and have family dinners. During the day Julie either sat in one of our offices, with Ella, or downstairs in Hector's office doing school work or assisting us in small tasks that needed to be done. Ranger then paid Julie a small allowance. We had a slight disagreement over the amount as he wanted to give her 30 dollars for every hour of work but I had to remind him that just because he had the money doesn't mean we should spoil her. Eventually I realized he just wanted to make sure she was happy so I told Julie to talk to him and they settled on fifteen dollars an hour which was the same rate she would make at the local grocery store.
The movie was about half way through when there was a knock on the door. Ella was the only one who ever visited and she always knocked once then came inside so when the second knock came I got up to open the door. Julie immediately took my place on the couch so Bob could jump up and join her, it was adorable. I always thought Ranger wouldn't be a fan of all the dogs we seemed to acquire and force them to spend most of their time on the fourth floor but once he saw that both of them were properly trained he warmed up to them. Bob was definitely a work in progress but Julie had an immediate connection with Bob. I opened the door to find Tank standing there looking a little nervous. I welcomed him in and directed him to Ranger's temporary office which Luis put up so that his old one could be turned into Julie's room.
"Hey Big Guy! I know we haven't gotten a chance to catch up since we got back. How is everything? Did everything work out with Tag?"
"Well good news first, Tag's Father, General Shaler arrived the same day you left to pick up his son. The core team reviewed all the evidence with him and then he went down to the holding cells. His father told him that he was going to be dishonorably discharged and that he was a disgrace to the family. He's now working on a farm in the middle of Ireland under the watchful eye of his uncle. General Miller sent photos from one of his contacts for confirmation." He picked up a small stack of photos that were sent to us. The first few showed Tag face first in a mix of mud and sheep feces. Another, showed him chasing a pig around a pen, and the last few showed him holding a chicken that was flapping its wings and looking very angry. It took me a few minutes to calm down from my laughing fit. I then placed the pictures on Rangers desk to show him later.
"Thanks for the laugh Tank. Now what about this bad news?"
"Well I guess it's both good and bad. I've decided to propose to Lula. I was planning to do it in the restaurant I took her to for our first date when we first rekindled our relationship but then the other day happened. We were out for a walk in a busy park and another man proposed to his girlfriend. Lula was happy for the couple but then she commented that she didn't want a big public proposal so there went my plans. Then I tried to ask the guys for new suggestions and they all had either over the top, way too simple, or highly inappropriate ideas. I've even tried going through the entire internet but I just can't figure it out." He was rambling at this point so I held my hand up to stop him. Then I walked around the desk and hugged him.
"Congratulations Tank. I'm so excited for you two. I;m flattered that you've come to me for help. Now let's get brainstorming. Has she ever hinted to you what she would want?"
"Not that I know of."
"Okay, Is there anything that she really loves?"
"Well she likes fried chicken, and donuts, oh and sex." With the last admission I could swear he blushed a little bit.
"Hmm well let's call those maybe's." I asked him a few more questions about Lula and their relationship but nothing really stood out to me as proposal worthy. So I asked. "Tell me what are some things that you two love to do together?"
"Well sometimes we volunteer at the local youth center near Stark street, we also go to a lot of concerts, and we enjoy cooking together."
"That's it! Oh it's perfect!" I exclaimed. He raised his eyebrow at me to continue and so I laid out the plan. I made a list of things he would need and then told him what stores he could get everything at. I could tell he wasn't about to waste anymore time so I looked up the store hours and told him he still had about 4 hours to get everything if he wanted to do it tonight. He got up and thanked me before rushing out the door.
A few minutes after he left Ranger came home and we went and joined Julie and the dogs back in the living room. It was almost time for their walk which we do as a family.
TPOV - Trenton
I was so happy that I went and talked to Stephanie this afternoon. I haven't been sleeping well since my first plan got derailed so I knew that I needed to do this tonight. On my way back to my house I stopped at the youth center, a party store, a floral shop, and the grocery store. I got everything set up and made my way to the bedroom to put on a nice pair of slacks and a nicer shirt. I had texted Lula that I wanted to have a night in and that I would be ready at 7:30. As always Lula showed up at 7:45.
"Tankie!" She bellowed my name after entering the house."
"In the Kitchen, Honey Bear." She walked around the corner wearing a tight pencil skirt and a light pink blouse. Surprisingly the outfit seemed to be in her actual size. "You look beautiful" I told her as I placed a light kiss on her lips.
"What are we making tonight, Tankie? The dining room looks lovely by the way." She would have had to walk through it on her way to the kitchen. I had placed several vases of different types of flowers in the colors of the rainbow around the room. I also set up candles and these table beads to add to the ambiance. I wasn't sure about the tablescape but Stephanie said it was perfect when I sent her pictures to double check I set up everything correctly.
"Well I thought we would make some Lobster Risotto and then for dessert we would have chocolate mousse with strawberries. Is that good with you?"
"Music to my ears." Where do you want me?"
"How about you get some pots and pans and a cutting board out and I'll get the ingredients." She moved over to the cabinets and started pulling out everything we would need. I put on some music from one of our favorite bands, Double Helix, they mostly played covers of various artists from the 70s and 80s but they mixed in their own originals too. I walked into the kitchen and got out the ingredients. I had arranged everything in the fridge with the chocolate mousse in the back so it would set in time.
We got the lobster and risotto cooking and I danced her around the kitchen as we waited for things to cook. Once everything was plated we brought everything to the dining room and ate our dinner. Once we cleared the dishes I asked her to grab the mousse and meet me in the dining room.
I quickly hung the banner that said "Lula, Will you marry me?" The kids at the youth center made it this afternoon and I picked it up on my way home. I had called Rascal the center's director when I was running around the stores and asked them to make a sign or something. The banner was a long string with triangle pendants each a different color and style with a different letter from the question. I noticed that each of the kids signed the backs of the pendants and wrote notes to us congratulating us. I finished hanging the banner and then I got down on one knee and waited.
She walked into the room eating a bite of the mousse off a strawberry in one hand and carrying everything else in her other hand. She set the bowl on the table exclaiming how good the mousse was before she looked up.
"Lula, Honey Bear, would you do the honor of making me the luckiest guy in the world and become my wife?"
"Well I'll be damned! YES YES YES Ahhh YES A MILLION TIMES YES!" She exclaimed as she practically launched herself on top of me. It's a good thing I'm a big guy or the fault would have hurt a lot more. She was straddling me in the middle of the kitchen plastering kisses all over my face. I reached over and picked up her left hand slipping to ring onto her finger.
"I love you Lula. Now what do you say to grabbing that dessert and taking this to the bedroom."
"Okay Tankie. This was just perfect by the way." She gave me one last kiss before lifting herself off me. I scooped her up after she scooped up the dessert and took her to bed, dishes and responsibilities be damned.