Stephanie looked in the mirror and tugged on the v of her dress, trying to reduce the amount of cleavage showing. "Why now?" she asked, looking at the ceiling. She was frustrated with the fit. "Who knew fertility drugs would make my breasts grow a size?"
"Babe?" Carlos asked from the doorway. He smiled when Stephanie yanked on the fabric. "Do you need help?"
"No. It's the dress. I bought it a few months ago for the christening when it fit like a glove. Now, look at it. You can see too much boob," Stephanie whined. She got seven eggs harvested the previous day. There was no telling how many would become viable embryos.
"I'm not complaining," Carlos said, giving Stephanie a wolf grin.
"That's because you're a man," Stephanie snapped.
"Babe, I love you just the way you are. You look beautiful and perfect," Carlos said. He kissed the low part of the v where the swell of her breasts pushed against the fabric.
"Don't you think I'm showing too much cleavage?" Stephanie breathily asked. They didn't have enough time to have sex before the baptism. Carlos kissed up her neck and focused on the spot behind her ear. "Carlos, we have to leave before we're late."
Carlos groaned and took a step back. "You don't have time to change. Babe?" He offered his arm. Stephanie smiled and let her husband escort her from their bedroom.
"Lester, Sadie, it's time to go," Stephanie called. She wondered how long Lester and Sadie would have to live with them. Nicki had to leave for a few weeks for an emergency and couldn't foster Sadie. It didn't take long for Nicki to process the papers for Stephanie and Carlos to become her foster parents. Nicki said Lester could live in the same house, but Stephanie and Carlos were the primary caregivers.
Sadie approached Stephanie, who looked like a princess wearing a gorgeous blue dress and silver sparkly shoes. The heels made Stephanie as tall as Carlos. Sadie suddenly felt underdressed. "Do I look okay? I don't like dresses or heels."
Stephanie picked up on her nervousness about not dressing appropriately for the ceremony. "Neither does Mary Alice. Nobody would care that you're wearing pants, Sade," Stephanie replied. "I bet Mary Alice is wearing a similar outfit."
"Really?" Sadie asked, unsure if Stephanie knew with certainty. Stephanie plucked her phone from her purse to show Sadie the picture from Valerie. Sadie's smile grew as she zoomed into the shoes Mary Alice wore. They were black high tops like hers. "Oh. She's dressed like me."
"Yes. Lots of women wear pants to church. It isn't necessary to wear dresses. We don't care what you wear on your feet as long as you're comfortable," Stephanie explained. Sadie looked happier, knowing she wasn't the only girl wearing pants to church.
Carlos passed Lester an envelope when they got into the car, "Bobby dropped this by earlier."
"Is it?" Lester asked. Sadie stared at her fingers, then picked at the imaginary lint on her pants. She was nervous about the results. Lester's hands shook as he unsealed the flap. He carefully removed the documents. Bobby got his friend to run all the samples for comparison. They found other hairs in the brush belonging to Patrick, Lydia's husband.
"Don't keep us in suspense," Stephanie said.
Lester cleared his throat a few times. "Sadie is Sandra Worthington. Do you want us to call you Sandra or Sadie?" Lester asked.
Sadie wiped the tears off her cheeks. Stephanie passed Sandra the box of tissues they kept in the console. "Sadie," she replied. "Lester, are you going to raise me?"
"Yes," he promised.
"Then can I change my name to Sadie Santos?" Lester nodded, too emotional to verbalize his answer. "Are you going to adopt me?"
"I'm not sure it's possible, but we can try," Lester promised. He had to ensure Lydia's parents wouldn't get custody. The will assigning guardianship was ironclad. Sadie grabbed Lester's hand. She was happy to be in Trenton with the remarkable men and women.
Stephanie dabbed at her cheeks. She was thankful her mascara was waterproof, and she wasn't wearing other makeup. "My eyes are going to get puffy from crying," Stephanie complained. She turned in her seat to look at Sadie. "What's on your mind?"
"What if my biological dad wants me?" Sadie asked.
"You brought all the papers from home, right?" Stephanie asked.
"Only the ones my adoptive mom said were photocopies," Sadie confirmed. "Are they important?"
"Yes," Stephanie replied. "There should be something in the paperwork with your biological dad's signature. Even if he didn't use his real name, we have copies of his handwriting." Lester kept all correspondence from Lydia. She sent him the letters received from Patrick while they dated.
Carlos pulled into the parking lot of the church. He exited the SUV, then walked around to meet Stephanie. Lester helped Sadie from the vehicle. She held his hand as they walked into the church wearing matching smiles.
Mary Alice rushed over to meet Sadie, who wasted no time telling her friend her birth name. "Are you staying?" Mary Alice asked. It was all she cared to know.
"Yes. I'm living with Carlos and Stephanie until Lester gets custody," Sadie explained. "We have time to talk about my living arrangements later. Today is about Micaela and her baptism."
"Tia Jeanne Ellen is waiting for you, Aunt Stephie," Mary Alice said. She grabbed Sadie's hand and tugged her away from Lester, who grinned.
It was Stephanie's first time visiting the Catholic Church in Ewing Township. The building was considerably smaller than the one Stephanie's family attended in Trenton. "Welcome," the priest said as Stephanie approached. "Are you the godmother?"
"Yes. You have a beautiful church. I love the stained glass windows," Stephanie replied.
"Thank you. The windows are original to the church," the priest said. "I'm Father Jacob."
"It's a pleasure meeting you. I'm Stephanie. Are the others here?" Stephanie asked. Father Jacob led Stephanie to the others waiting in the church hall.
"Stephanie and Davin, I want you to carry the gifts to the altar. My assistant will let you know when to help," Father Jacob said before leaving them to catch up before mass started. He had a few things to prepare.
Stephanie hugged Ram and Jordan. "Where's Jeanne?"
"Nursing," Jordan replied. Stephanie smiled.
"And how is my namesake?" Stephanie asked. Jeanne Ellen and Jordan used the Spanish spelling for Stephanie Michelle by calling their daughter Micaela Estephania. Stephanie thought it was perfect.
"Eating," Jordan said, grinning. Stephanie giggled. "Mica is beautiful. She's a calm baby."
"She's gorgeous," Stephanie said. "How are you, Ram?" Her cousin shrugged.
"It seems strange to be Mica's godfather," Ram replied. Stephanie hugged Ram and promised everything would work out.
"Ram, if anything happens to Jordan and Jeanne, Carlos and I are raising Mica. Godparents don't mean you're responsible if the parents die. You're confusing godparents with guardians. It's a common mistake," Stephanie explained.
"But in the Italian community, it's the same thing," Ram argued.
"Coincidence," Stephanie replied. "Joe Juniak is my godfather, but if anything happened to me, I would have gone to your parents. Neither of them got assigned as my godparents."
"I didn't know," Ram said, raising an eyebrow.
"You didn't need to know. The role of the godparents is to raise the child in the faith," Stephanie reasoned. "Your only concern is getting married and having children. Mica would need to know your children are her biological half-siblings."
"Ram, Jeanne and I plan on telling Mica we used a donor to have her. We want her to know her biological father," Jordan said. "I believe in honesty. It's what my adoptive parents did for me. Since it was a closed adoption, nobody knew my biological parents' names."
"Oh. I wasn't anticipating that," Ram confessed. "You're Mica's dad."
"Guys, we got the test results for Sadie," Stephanie said. "She's Sandra."
"Jeanne figured as much," Jordan replied. "She arranged a party at Rangeman for Sadie. We're heading there after the baptism and gathering here." Jordan sent a message to Bobbie, sharing the news about Sadie. Bobby promised to go full steam ahead with the party since Ella was at the baptism.
Stephanie checked her watch. It was nearly time to begin mass. The assistant arrived to guide everyone to the church. Mica's baptism would happen before mass. Everyone got into position around the baptismal font. The Manosos sat in the pews closest to them. Mariana Manoso smiled and waved at her family. She was overjoyed to have a grandchild from her youngest daughter. Jeanne Ellen gave Mica to Stephanie to hold.
Mica opened one eye when the priest poured water over her head. She didn't cry. Stephanie grinned when Mica opened her eyes to glare at the priest. She imagined her babies and hoped the embryos would be ready to implant in a few days. Stephanie could hardly wait to start her family.
Mariana Manoso approached Ram after mass. She waited until they were alone before thanking him for helping Jeanne Ellen and Jordan build a family. "You're my honorary son," Mariana told him. Ram thanked Mariana for adding him to the Manoso clan.
She approached Stephanie and Carlos to ask when they would start having children. Carlos quietly explained to his mother why Stephanie didn't have children. Mariana looked at Jeanne Ellen and smiled. "Mama," Carlos warned. "She doesn't need your judgment."
"I'm not judging, mi hijo. It's pride. I'm proud of Jeanne for helping you create a family," Mariana explained. Mariana wiped a tear from her eye before it slid down her cheek. Her heart felt full of love for her children.
Sadie kept staring at Javier. She wondered why he was at the baptism. Lester caught Sadie narrowing her eyes. "Hey, what's wrong, Sade?" Lester asked.
"That man. Who is he?" Sadie asked.
Lester grinned, then explained, "Javier Manoso. He's Ranger and Jeanne Ellen's brother. Have you seen him before today?"
"In Miami. He bought my train ticket to New York," Sadie replied. "I never made the connection between Rangeman in Miami and here." Sadie watched Javier. He caught her staring and smiled. "Shit! He's coming here. What do I say?" Sadie asked.
"Be yourself and tell the truth," Lester replied. "Hi, Javi. It's been a long time."
Javier wrapped an arm around Lester and tapped his shoulder. "How are you doing, Sadie?" Javier asked. Sadie blushed as she stepped closer to Lester.
"I'm good," she replied. Lester put his hand on Sadie's shoulder, encouraging her to apologize to Javier for not calling. "Sorry for not calling. Stephanie said you were worried about me."
"I recall asking you to have your father call," Javier said, looking at Lester.
"Oh. Lester isn't my dad. I mean, not biologically," she rambled. Sadie couldn't think of how to describe her relationship with Lester.
"Sadie means to say I'm her guardian," Lester replied. "She got off the train in Trenton and ran into Mary Alice, Stephanie's niece. Mary Alice hid Sadie a few days before Stephanie and Carlos found her."
"It sounds like you had quite the adventure. I'll see you around." Javier thought Sadie was lucky to meet Mary Alice instead of the lowlifes near the train station. Things could have turned out differently.
"Wait," Sadie called when Javier walked away. He turned, then returned to hear what she had to say. "Thank you for buying me the ticket. I don't know what I would have done without your help."
Javier smiled at Sadie. "You should be thanking Stephanie. She asked me to keep an eye on you," he said, then walked away. It was time to drive his parents home, and Javier had a flight.
Sadie approached Stephanie, then grabbed her hand. Stephanie smiled and squeezed Sadie's hand. Sadie leaned against Stephanie. "Please excuse us for a minute," Stephanie said to Carlos and his sisters. She guided Sadie to a secluded corner to sit on the chairs. "Are you okay?"
Stephanie patiently waited for Sadie to talk. "How did you know?" Sadie asked.
"I have what my dad always called a spidey sense. Seeing you at the graveyard felt significant, and I wanted to keep you safe. I never had motherly instincts before, but I learned to trust when I felt someone needed protection. I'm not explaining this well. Sadie, I felt you needed help and guidance. I sensed a hint of danger if I didn't have someone watching over you. Javier was already in the area, so I asked him to keep you safe and offer assistance," Stephanie explained.
"What does your spidey sense feel like?" Sadie asked.
"When it's something really bad, I get goosebumps on my skin and the urge to run away. My stomach feels like it's flipping upside down, and I want to throw up. One time, I felt my body shiver. I knew it was dangerous. As a child, I've learned to listen to the message the universe was sending me to keep me safe," Stephanie explained.
"Oh. I felt like that after I got off the train. My stomach felt sick when I walked toward the apartments. I turned, then went in the other direction," Sadie said.
Stephanie smiled at Sadie. "Listen to those cues from your body. I believe it's your guardian angel redirecting your path." Stephanie caught Lester's eye and winked.
"How did you know about my birth mother?"
Lester approached upon hearing Sadie's question. "Stephanie and I were playing Mario Kart. She knew I needed to get something off my chest. That I needed to talk about something bothering me," Lester quickly added when Sadie looked confused. "Stephanie patiently waited for me to tell her about what your dad did to your mom. I was angry for a long time and searched everywhere for you."
"Then Stephanie found me in Miami," Sadie said. Lester and Stephanie nodded.
"I wasn't expecting to see you in the cemetery. Carlos and I planned to go the previous day, but I felt we should wait until it was almost time to go home," Stephanie explained. "I promised to put flowers on your mother's grave."
"Like the universe wanted us to see each other," Sadie said. "I never planned to visit the cemetery, but something made me go. Do you think my mom's my guardian angel?"
Stephanie hugged Sadie. "I have absolutely no doubt that your mother is your guardian angel. She brought you home," Stephanie said. Sadie cried into Stephanie's shoulder. Lester wrapped his arms around them. He kissed Sadie's head and thanked Stephanie.
Carlos raised an eyebrow as he walked toward his wife, friend and foster child. Stephanie smiled at him and released her hold on Sadie. Feeling Stephanie loosen her grip, he removed his arms from Stephanie's back. "Come on, Sade. It's time to go home, but we have to stop at Rangeman first," Lester said.
Stephanie held her husband's hand and entwined their fingers. They had already said their goodbyes to the Manoso clan. Carlos smiled when Lester and Sadie got into Valerie's car. "I'm proud of you, Babe."
"And I'm proud of you," Stephanie replied. Carlos raised an eyebrow. "You supported me when I asked to foster Sadie."
"I know fostering Sadie was not in the plans. Babe, I would do anything for you."
"Ditto, Batman."
They parked in the Rangeman garage. Stephanie grinned when they got to the conference room on the third floor. Sadie's smile was radiant. She never expected everyone to welcome her into the Rangeman family.