All recognizable characters belong to Janet Evanovich, I'm just playing.
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Chapter 20 – Ranger
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I look around the church, checking to make sure nothing is amiss. The decorations are simple and understated, the pews are filled with family and friends. I see many of my employees and their girlfriends and wives; as soon as the date was announced I had the foresight to schedule contract workers and bring in one of the Boston managers to oversee things.
This is our fifth Rangeman wedding. I guess technically the sixth; a few months back, Tank and Jocelyn made a trip to her native Barbados to visit family and came back married. They have not announced it yet and I doubt they will. It's entirely possible he's still trying to deny that Steph set him up, that he's dating, that they're together. People accuse me of being secretive, but I've got nothing on my second in command. Steph has invited Jocelyn out with her friends, so it likely won't remain a secret for long.
Less secret was the quiet ceremony between Hector and Felipe soon after his impromptu visit. At the last minute, they invited Steph and me to be their witnesses. They took no time off and instead celebrated by moving into a small house on the edge of Hector's neighborhood. We've all been happy to have Gez back in the office, and so far his health is holding and we had a quiet few months before the effects of Operation: Cupid rippled in.
The first marriage in this wave was actually Hal and Kate. He left on a Friday, stressed and short tempered with Santos. He returned to work on Monday, happy and more relaxed. It didn't take much for Steph to coax out of him that he'd asked Kate to marry him, hence his nervousness the previous week. Less than two months later, we were all invited to their engagement party at a farm to table place in Lawrenceville Township. But instead of a party, we were treated to a surprise wedding and reception. Once we were all gathered at the main building, we were introduced to Hal's parents and Kate's family and friends. Then we were herded outside to a garden set up with a fifty-foot table set for dinner. Kate and Hal walked a bit further to an open area at the end of the table, and it wasn't until an officiant stepped forward that we understood what was going on. Kate later explained that neither of them likes being the center of attention and they wanted something simple but memorable. It was definitely that. No-fuss clothing, good food, hanging out with friends. They had the right idea.
Cal and Evelyn were the second marriage. Her cousin and his brother joined them at city hall for a civil ceremony and then they hosted a rocking party at The Chop House, the restaurant where they had their first date. Cal, dressed up in a grey slacks and vest combo over a white shirt, couldn't take his eyes off Evelyn in her strapless ivory dress with her tattoos on full display. It was a good thing that The Chop House is in the lobby of a hotel, since the party went on until nearly 4am before several of the men not on duty or on the schedule stumbled upstairs to their rooms.
The organ music changes, and I'm shaken from my musing. The doors at the back of the church open and I suck in a quick breath at the sight of Stephanie standing at the end of the aisle. I was a little surprised by her bridesmaid dress when she got dressed earlier; navy blue, strapless with tiny little floppy sleeves. It's loose and flowy, but Steph still looks amazing. In her hands is a bouquet of sunflowers, which are apparently the first flowers Binkie ever gave Maggie. Steph slowly starts moving up the aisle, aiming a wink in my direction when she passes by. She was a little surprised that Maggie and Binkie asked her to stand up with them, but Maggie pointed out that without Steph setting Binkie up on a date with her old high school friend Christy, and Christy bailing, they probably would have never met.
As soon as she's up front, all eyes return to the back of the church, where a cute little girl holding a basket can't decide if she wants to start walking… or start running in the other direction. Up front, Binkie crouches low and makes a come here gesture with his fingers and the little girl starts walking. I watch him mime tossing flowers and the little girl smiles before throwing out handfuls of petals at the guests sitting in the aisle seats. Binkie laughs and shakes his head. If memory serves, this is his niece. She makes it to the front, where she matches Binkie's offered fist bump before she skips her way over to a pew to sit.
Steph's dress makes a little more sense when the matron of honor starts her walk up the aisle. Her pregnant belly is quite visible, despite the flowy dress and the sunflowers. It's impressive that they managed to find something that makes both her and Steph look good. Her walk up the aisle is slower and when she's at the front, she leans closer to Steph and whispers something that makes her smile. I look to the row behind me, and see Ramon place a hand on Lina's barely-there baby bump. They combined households after a few months of dating and their dogs getting used to each other. Adding in a human baby will be chaos, but I've never seen him smile more.
The music changes, and everyone looks to the back of the church and a smattering of laughs sound out. Maggie's son Jack is dressed in a tiny tuxedo and wearing mirrored shades, with the coiled wire of a security earpiece visible. In his tiny little hands is a black lockbox with RING SECURITY emblazoned on the front. Behind him stand Zip and Zero, dressed in black suits with matching shades and earpieces. Little Jack is quite serious about his job as he walks up the aisle with his entourage. When he gets level with me, I can see he's also wearing the Rangeman badge that Santos made for him after his first visit to the office with Binkie.
When they get to the front, Zip and Zero break apart and head to the sides of the church while Jack carefully opens the lockbox and offers the contents first to Lindsey, the matron of honor and Maggie's cousin. Maggie takes out a ring before Jack presents the box to Nick, Binkie's brother and best man. Once he's ring free, Jack's serious face breaks into a triumphant smile before he turns to Binkie, exclaiming, "I did it, Dad!"
Binkie swallows before crouching down to Jack's level and offering a fist bump. "You did awesome, Jackaroni!"
Maggie was slow to introduce Jack and Binkie, but they embraced the all-in not long after. Before he proposed, Binkie asked Jack if he was ok with it, and in return Jack asked if Binkie was going to be his dad now. Last I heard, they sign the adoption papers a week or so after they get back from their honeymoon in the Poconos.
Jack takes his place next to Nick and we all stand and look back down the aisle one last time. The doors open and Maggie, looking lovely in a lacy, fitted dress, is standing with her dad. Binkie shifts back and forth on his feet, emotional, as they make their way down the aisle. When they meet up, Maggie's dad clamps his hand down on Binkie's shoulder before gruffly stating, "Been waiting a long time for her to find a good man that deserves her."
With a head nod, he moves over to his spot in the front pew, and after a couple minutes, Jack walks over and crawls up in his lap. The ceremony is standard and over in 30 minutes. I spy Steph stealthily dabbing at her eyes with a tiny square of tissue just after the vows are exchanged. When they are pronounced husband, wife, and son she smiles with the rest of the guests. We all laugh when Jack yells out, "Yay!" and runs up to the couple. Binkie kisses Maggie again before leaning down to pick up Jack. The new family walks down the aisle and at the end, Santos chucks a handful of petals at them, making Jack cheer again.
I see Bobby and Alayna talking to Les and Holly as they all exit the back row. Bobby and Alayna started out strong but broke up for a few weeks early on before getting back together. All Brown will cop to is saying something stupid. They seem stronger than ever and are looking at houses together. He reaches for her hand and Alayna smiles when he places a kiss on her palm.
Les and Holly have had a similar bumpy path; I think that's just what happens when you pair two strong willed people together. I've seen a maturity in my cousin that I wouldn't have expected but I think it's a combination of being ready to settle down and finding the right person. I know those two things made all the difference for me. Like Bobby and Alayna, they've had to navigate uncertain schedules and personality clashes, but they also seem to have settled into a good place.
As more people exit the pews to head outside, I spy Vince and Charlotte talking to Woody and Deanna. Vince is another one taking things slow; in fact, they are heading off on their first vacation together after Binkie gets back from the Poconos. Vince is unwilling to call it a test, but no one has lost sight of the fact that a vacation is what caused his break-up with Amy or Steph's ensuing matchmaking attempts. Charlotte suddenly let's out an excited shriek and looks sheepish before reaching forward to grab Deanna's left hand. There's an unmistakable sparkle of a diamond and Woody's smile confirms that his proposal was successful. I heard a vague rumor that the intended proposal included a goat as a throw-back to their meeting, but I'm pretty sure Steph was able to talk him out of it on the off chance that something went wrong, and the goat picked the garden clean again.
That means that, between them and Zero and Jenny, the string of Rangemen weddings will continue. Zero proposed the day after Jenny successfully defended her thesis. I didn't get the full story from Steph, but I'm fairly certain she was being serious when she said Zero hid the ring in a plate of asparagus. Probably a story there, and I'm not sure I want to know the details.
Ram and Kelly are nearby, both looking tired. Their little Jack was soon joined by baby brother Mason, and this might be their first foray out of the house without him. Standing next to them, waiting to exit the church and head to the reception are both Kong and Ann and Junior and Belinda. I can't quite get a bead on either couple; both seem to be happy with what Kong describes as casually exclusive and Junior calls committed casual. Both seem to mean the same thing. I think.
By the time it's my row's turn to exit, the wedding party has circled back around and are gathered at the altar for more pictures. Steph shoots me another smile as the photographer positions them, making sure to get the poses that Maggie requested. They get as many group pictures as they can before the lose the cooperation of the flower girl and ring bearer and finally, the kids are released. While they line up just the bride, groom, and attendants, Sailor, the flower girl, wanders over to me with her thumb in her mouth. When she gets to my aisle, she lifts her hands up, waiting for me to comply with her silent request. With a sigh, I lift the little girl into my lap, where she snuggles in. My eyes narrow as Steph leans forward to whisper to Binkie. I know what's going to happen before the photographer starts moving. I let him snap a few pics before shooting a half-hearted glare at an unrepentant Steph who laughs with Maggie.
After photos, and me handing off a sleeping toddler to her mother, Steph joins me in the vestibule as we watch Binkie and Maggie, with Jack between them, run a birdseed gauntlet on the way to the limousine that will take them to the reception. Steph grabs my hand, and I run my thumb over the diamond infinity band on her left ring finger. "Do you wish we'd done it this way?"
Steph laughs. "Not even a little bit. Our wedding was exactly what I wanted."
She gives my hand a squeeze. Our wedding was a mix of Cal and Evelyn's party and Tank and Jocelyn's secret elopement. After a visit to the Miami office and to introduce Steph to my family there, we headed of to St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands for a quiet beach wedding and a much-needed vacation. Steph figured it was easier to ask for forgiveness than permission and to soothe hurt feelings, she allowed her mother and grandmother to arrange a small reception at the Polish National Assembly Hall. When my mother got involved, small became bigger than wanted, when all was said and done. It was a curious mix of Italian, Hungarian, and Cuban foods, dancing, and drinking. For once, Helen Plum didn't care what the Burg thought and enjoyed herself. Steph's favorite photo from the night was one of our mothers out on the dance floor, drunk on mojitos and feeling no pain.
As the limo carrying the new family pulls away from the curb, Steph lets out a sigh when her stomach grumbles. "Come on, Babe. Let's get to the reception and feed the beast."
"I don't suppose we can hit a drive thru on the way? There's still, like, an hour before they start serving the food."
I start to say something, but she butts in. "Seriously, just fries and a Coke." I smirk when she adds, "You want me to keep my strength up, right?"
Right. With a headshake I lead her out into the sunshine and in search of sustenance. As everyone scatters to head over to the reception, I think back to ours. I never told Steph, but Morelli put in a short appearance. I spotted him while we were on the dance floor; he stayed at the back of the room, hugging the shadows and didn't cause trouble. Instead, he shot Steph a look of longing and me one of begrudging acceptance before he disappeared. Two months after the reception, Steph passed his number off to a woman she met at Holly's coffee shop. As far as I know, they're still together, and that was one of Steph's last Cupid moves. Other than a request from the men in Miami to send her down their way, she's mostly retired from the set-up game. As I look around at a good number of my men paired off, I have to admit she did a pretty good job aiming her arrows. I should have known things would work out; after all, she never disappoints.