Eyes Wide Open
Ranger's POV
Chapter 15
oOoOo
With all that wonderful karma and comeuppance in the Burg, it was very satisfying seeing how the Morellis were shafted and exiled. Retribution came in many forms. The beauty of all that? We were able to literally sit back and watch it all unfold and happen as we witnessed a reset of the Burg. Our hands were clean. We were not involved but we certainly enjoyed the consequences and the outcomes.
We purposefully kept tabs on Morelli. I still don't trust him. However, his downhill journey was interesting to follow. His life as he knew it imploded, all self-inflicted, of course. There was a shakedown at the TPD where the Chief was clearly trying to establish a new improved community profile and rapport. Cleverly, at Stephanie's suggestion, he had his staff be seen to work in community focused activities, which The Trenton Times promoted willingly, once the dirty Morelli dust settled.
The power of the press showed its integrity in getting it right. "If you wanted gossip," the editorial said, "read one of those glossy magazines out there where they really go berserk with false reports, celebrity slamming and those contrived alleged photos which were obviously copy-and-pasted from different sources, and then copiously photoshopped." Ridiculous and obvious. Outrageous shit. "How many times has this celebrity or royal, been reportedly pregnant, and months later still nothing." Such crap. There are so many options. Crazy that people go for that shit. I wonder if they dare include magazine "journalist" on their CV? No insult intended to the genuine journalists out there.
Rangeman is no longer in the skip tracing business. Our clientele are more refined and many are exclusive, with our security business booming. We have established long term relationships with much of our new business promoted by word of mouth. That's powerful stuff. Our original clients are pleased with the type of services and security we provide.
None of us do missions anymore as we have fulfilled and completed our contracts. This hasn't stopped the government from trying to lure us into "just one more" mission. We have accepted a number of jobs in assisting various alphabet agencies when called upon. Our research and investigation departments are highly sought after. Generally, Rangeman operates stateside. It's time for the young upcoming recruits to step up. For these, we are sometimes called in to run some specific skill training courses for various divisions, but we are selective.
I smiled as I heard Stephanie singing softly in Leticia's bedroom. I had to smother a chuckle while she was reading a story to her, as I watched Ricky commando crawling into her bedroom to listen to the story. It was a cross between caterpillar crawling and commando crawling. It was so cute. He has done that quite often, and then he falls asleep on the rainbow unicorn padded quilt that we placed there in readiness for his arrival.
Little Miss Camila started to fidget. She felt so comfortable snuggled in my arms with her head on my heart, while I gently patted her hiccups away, with those cute little windy smiles emerging. I was in the nursery in the rocking chair but decided to move to the children's play room waiting to observe my little commando. When I showed Tank, Lester and Bobby the video they beamed with pride at their little "Commando Dude".
I was so besotted with my children. Camila Estafania was only six weeks old and was a fighter, living up to her name as a little warrior. She arrived on time and was a placid baby from the outset. However, when they did the heel prick test she fought furiously, practically knocking the neonatal nurses and a doctor off their feet. It took a while to settle her. I dare say she was angry. Now she loves her feet being caressed. From experience I know that a needle in your heel is extremely painful. I had to calm and caress Stephanie as well, kissing her tears away. It was quite stressful.
Speak of the devil, here she is, gently scooping up Camila after she took a photo, to tuck her into her cot, while I went into Leticia's room and lifted Ricky off the floor. He snuggled into my chest with a sweet sigh and a whispered "Papa", as I carried him to his bed. Ricky was nearly three now, Tisha was eighteen months. I tucked him in and patted him on his back, saying our ritual, "Tuck, tuck," as I tucked him in.
"I saw that smirk on your face earlier," Stephanie chuckled. "What was that all about?"
"Trash."
"Trash?" She was confused, with that cute scrunched up expression on her face. It was not the answer she expected.
I nodded and elaborated. "Taking out the trash," I deadpanned.
She gave me that steely-eyed look with one hand already on her hip. One eyebrow was raised in question. I grinned. Finally, she's mastered it. She nudged me in the ribs for that.
"Trenton Trash. Just reflecting on the fallout since your bridge experience and all the repercussions and consequences of how the Burg has flipped their perspective on so many things, especially things to do with you, Babe, and your nemeses."
She smiled and settled into my open arms, reclining on the sofa comfortably. She sighed. This is a favourite part of our evening routine, after putting the little ones to bed. Their routine is so important. Making time for each other is also very important.
"That was a lot of unanticipated change since that bridge episode. I can't believe it myself. It was like the domino effect, the baddies going down one after the other, and some going down even further, like Morelli and Lula."
I waited while she was quiet for a bit before asking her next question.
"So, …Vinnie? Honestly, has he been seen since his rehab?"
"Honestly, Babe. The last sighting was of him heading south across the border into Delaware and on to Maryland. I think he is hiding from Harry the Hammer. However, what I do know is that he paid all his own debts before his final departure. Otherwise, I have no idea."
"Let's hope his final departure is a dry place, not somewhere like at the bottom of the Delaware, or shark bait at the bottom of the Atlantic."
I chuckled at her concern for that weaselly cousin of hers, and squeezed her tight. Vinnie's track record was not really a pleasant one as shown by our last encounter with him at the Bonds Office. There was no way I was going to spend any time or resources on tracking him.
We just lay there, side by side, calm and relaxing, enjoying the moment of peace and tranquillity, just touching and holding. I held her hand, kissing her wrist and then admiring her rings, kissing them reverently, which made her sigh. Stephanie relaxed completely, as she fell asleep in my arms. I indulged in the comfort and cosiness of her warm body next to mine. It had been a busy day, for both of us, coming back to Trenton for some family time. The children travelled well, with Camila so easily portable in her capsule. Ricky and Tisha were already seasoned travellers and knew how to behave accordingly. They make us so proud.
We spend our lives between Miami, with the warm weather, blue skies and beaches, and an estate between New Brunswick and Princeton, not too far from Newark and New York. Conveniently, there is an airstrip close by. It's a very secure gated community, with large substantial houses, in a picturesque semi-rural setting. Our neighbours are our closest friends, Lester on one side and Tank on the other, with Bobby across the road, diagonally. Ram, Cal and Hal have also joined our neighbourhood, and Hector, with his long term partner, Mauricio, who, much to Stephanie's delight, is a chef. We built a house for Ella and Luis, so they could be close to their family and our children. Being older, they retired a couple of years after our wedding. They are our neighbourhood watch and enjoy the semi-rural setting after many years living in an apartment. That went for all of us.
We are not retired, just "un-retired", monitoring the management closely by our well-established and trusted teams at Rangeman. Keeping ourselves fit and in prime form, was critical both mentally and physically, so we built a running circuit through the woodland around our properties. Our plans included an obstacle course, much like in the Best Ranger Competition, without the shooting and choppers. Climbing walls, ladders, rappelling and ziplining, and many more components were gradually added, all for strength and endurance. I know, we couldn't help ourselves. It had all the features of a training and endurance circuit to benefit and maintain our best form, especially considering our involvement in training programs at Fort Benning, now known as Fort Moore, in tactics and leadership.
Installing an indoor/outdoor Olympic-sized lap pool was considered but we decided to use local facilities, booking a lane or two to maintain our prowess in the water. For the children, the guys decided to make a mini Ninja Warrior circuit which will definitely be popular as they grow up, and with more children living in our exclusive Rangeman community. Stephanie had rolled her eyes at our excitement, "Men!" she gasped in mock exasperation, but agreed that she liked the mini Ninja Warrior circuit concept.
I smiled with that memory while I was still holding her hand, watching the diamonds sparkle, caressing her hand gently before placing it on her chest. Best decision ever. Frank was pleased for us, encouraging our elopement with his blessings, while taking Helen away for a break from the Burg on a Caribbean cruise. Or, was it to give the Burg a break from Helen? He read my mind and chuckled as we sat in his secret garage office, smoking a cigar, Cuban of course, sipping a rum to celebrate our upcoming nuptials.
That was the night when I proposed to Stephanie, in our apartment, nothing outlandish or over the top, no audience. It was private and we both respected our mutual need for that. It was just the two of us, as we sat on the sectional sofa, relaxing after dinner. I was massaging her feet, admiring the colour of her toenails from her spa day the day before.
"Which would you prefer?" I asked out of the blue.
She was still humming blissfully with her eyes closed, so I stopped the massage which had her popping her head up suddenly, resting her weight on her elbows. Her face had that curious quizzical look she gets as she replayed my question. I smiled. She was cute, like a blue-eyed puppy with her head cocked on its side just a bit.
"What would I prefer?"
I smiled, deliberately with a shrug, nonchalant and mysterious. I had her curiosity piqued.
"You know, you have pretty toes." I kissed them to distract her, massaging her instep and focusing on the sole some more. She groaned.
"Carlos? What's on your mind? You're up to something."
I smiled again, capturing those gorgeous blue eyes. Not that there was an elephant in the room, but I decided the time was right. So, I plunged headlong forward.
"I was just wondering where?"
"Where?"
I nodded.
"Where," she repeated.
"Here, or somewhere special …?"
She sat up capturing me with her smiling eyes which were now sparkling.
"Somewhere special, huh? Hm …," she smirked and chewed her bottom lip. I think she figured it out.
"Big or small?"
"Small. I like the idea of somewhere intimate and private," she replied with a sexy sultry tone.
"Somewhere intimate and private it shall be."
She nodded in approval, turning around and crawling up my body.
"When?"
"Soon."
"How soon?"
"I'm ready? Are you?"
"I'm ready, Babe. I think we should elope. I love you, Stephanie. Will you marry me?"
"I love you so much, Carlos. Yes."
Nothing more was to be said as we sealed it with a scintillating kiss. I carried her to our bedroom where we celebrated our proposal, many times.
The next morning, we flew down to Miami and made our arrangements, obtaining the marriage licence at the Miami-Dade courthouse. While we were there, we visited Julie, as well as the Rangeman office. Technically we were offline, Tank and Lester doing the official visitation duties. Ella and Luis, and especially Mary Lou, were flown down, with Lenny of course, leaving the boys with her parents, Mr and Mrs Molnar, who were all too excited. They assumed Mary Lou and Lenny were having a honeymoon, which they couldn't afford when they originally married. We arranged a hotel reservation for them, for which they were rapt, for three days, which they decided to extend to a week.
The ladies went shopping and had a spa day together, and some bonding girl time. Retail therapy was an essential element in the wedding preparations. Tank and Lester helped finalise the other arrangements with reservations in the Keys at a chosen resort, which had all the accoutrements that come with a beachside wedding. Lester suggested a simple wedding arch which the resort easily accommodated.
While Lenny visited his cousins in Old Naples, and another in Boca Raton, he was happy biding his own time, catching up each evening with Mary Lou. They called it their date nights. Luis went to visit his associate, Nestor, from the Miami office, enjoying the opportunity for a rare face to face contact, in person. Bobby joined us a day later, to review the physical evaluations of the Miami staff. Hector arrived with him in a similar capacity, meeting with his IT associate, Arturo. We kept the ulterior motive for our visit a secret.
Our beautiful wedding was a small intimate ceremony on the beach, at one of the resorts in Key Largo, in the late afternoon. We kept it simple, just how we wanted it, with Hector taking photos and Luis videoing the ceremony. Tank and Bobby were my groomsmen, all dressed in white shirts and linen pants, with a matching waistcoat in a stone colour - mine was embossed in gold and cream. Mary Lou and Ella were Stephanie's attendants, her matrons of honour, were wearing different tones of blue. Lester walked Stephanie down the aisle to me, both smiling radiantly. Kissing her on both cheeks, he proudly handed her to me before sitting with Lenny, each representing the two sides of our friends and family. Stephanie looked absolutely stunning in a white off-the-shoulders summer dress, showing off her lightly tanned skin and toned legs, with the flouncy hem just above her knees. She looked radiant and I think I fell in love with her even more.
I must have sighed with that memory causing her to stir slightly in response, making me smile at myself, and, without being able to stop myself, I rolled my eyes. She has subtly softened my cold, hard edges, enabling me to see the magic we have here, with our family, and our close friends. I feel blessed, forever indebted that she wriggled her way into my life, and completely into my heart. Now with my eyes wide open, I cherish this feeling so much, not ever having contemplated this kind of unconditional love and peace in my life ever possible for someone like me. "Stephanie Michelle Manoso. You have opened my eyes to an entirely new perspective, and I thank you," I praised her silently.
"Come on Babe, off to bed," I whispered softly, carrying her to our bed. She was so beautiful as I tucked her in. I went to check back on the little ones, leaving the nightlights on and checking Camila's baby monitor.
As I hopped into bed, Stephanie rolled over to me like a magnet, snuggling in, already warm and tempting. I love my children Ricardo, Leticia and Camila. I love my life, I love my wife. I love my family. I feel so blessed.
"Te amo, Carlos," Stephanie murmured in her sleep. "Te amo, Babe."
oOoOo
The End
Hers not mine, just playing with the characters we love, and some we love less, or not at all. They all got their dues.
Thank you for reading and all the wonderful reviews. Especially thanks to regular guests like JB. You all make my day, and many others. I appreciate them all.