Today is my birthday. Ranger should be home by now, but something is keeping him from returning from his latest mission. I'm in our house, the Batcave, attempting to bake myself a cake.
Ella spent many hours teaching me how to cook. I can make most of Ranger's favourite meals, but baking a cake is still challenging. Hell, baking anything is difficult. Today is the day. I'm feeling the happy birthday vibes. I can do this. It's not like anyone else is here to bake me a cake. Well, Ella will if I ask her to come over, but I need to do this for myself. I've been craving it for weeks.
I remove the recipe card box from the cupboard. Ella has Ranger's favourite meals in the "Cuban" section. Every recipe is in its place inside the metal box. I check the desserts section to find the recipe for the chocolate cake. There's a recipe for the fudge topping, but I plan to use the premade icing in the cupboard. It isn't as tasty as Ella's buttercream icing; however, I don't have the patience to make her version.
Inspiration hits me as I grab my phone to record my successful attempt at baking my birthday cake. After opening the camera app on my phone, I change the display to show me on the screen. "Welcome to Baking With Stephanie," I say, giggling. Today's episode is special because it's my birthday. I will make an amazing chocolate cake by following the recipe on this card." I set the phone on the counter to show me as I work.
My stomach grumbles as I collect the ingredients from the cupboards and refrigerator. I measure everything, placing them in the bowls to keep them separated until I mix them. Ella's trick to keep the ingredients in order helps as I mix the dry ingredients. Before I do anything else, I preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease the baking pans.
I drop the butter, then pour the sugar into the largest bowl, and mix them with the electric hand mixer. The eggs are in the bowl. I stop the mixer and crack them into the dish before pouring them into the butter-sugar mix, forgetting I should add them one at a time. As I add each ingredient, I explain the steps to my potential viewers.
"Oops," I mumble as I mix them more than necessary. Thankfully, the video isn't live, and I can ask Hector to help me edit out the cuss word. I add the dry and wet ingredients, alternating to ensure they mix thoroughly into the cake batter. I'm happy when everything is ready to pour into the pans. After shaking off the beaters, I eject them into the sink and unplug the appliance. I dip my finger into the bowl to sample the chocolatey batter. It tastes great.
I happily pour half into each pan and set them on the middle rack of the oven, following Ella's directions to the letter. After setting the timer, I rinse the dishes and load them into the dishwasher. My viewers will appreciate my tidying up the workstation. Deciding I have enough time to rest, I stop the recording, go to the living room and sit on the couch. I close my eyes and rub my baby bump. "Hang in there, mi hijo; Mama put the cake in the oven," I whisper.
In my dream, Ranger comes home and smiles as I eat the delicious chocolate cake I made without his or Ella's help. He bends over to kiss the chocolatey goodness off my lips. The kiss grows hot and heavy as smoke swirls around us. "Why does it smell like smoke?" I ask.
"Something's burning, Babe," Ranger teases. We continue kissing as the wail of an alarm awakens me as my dream gets interesting.
Smoke escapes from the stove as the realization hits me like a battering ram. I fell asleep while baking my birthday cake. Ranger is going to be upset I nearly set our house on fire. "Crap," I exclaim as men enter the Batcave.
My Rangeman family and the firefighters enter the house and rush to the kitchen to stop the fire from spreading beyond the stove. I'm staring into the kitchen as a fireman removes the smoking pans from the oven. His partner opens the sliding patio door to deposit them on the cement patio.
I feel my neck tingle as warm arms wrap around my torso, resting his hands on my expanding baby bump. "Babe, you never disappoint," Ranger says. I turn to bury my face in his chest and cry.
He kisses the top of my head as he soothingly rubs my back. "I'm sorry," I cry. "I tried to bake a birthday cake for myself. Instead, all I have is a birthday burn."
"Babe?" Ranger asks, gently lifting my chin with his thumb.
"I'm okay. The baby is okay," I answer, understanding he's asking about our well-being. "What took you so long to get home?"
Chuckling without humour, Ranger replies, "The military kept me for three days, hoping to convince me to sign on for another four years."
"Did you?" I ask.
Our conversation is cut short when Joe Morelli arrives at the scene. I roll my eyes as he talks to the firefighters about the incident. He looks outside and laughs, hooking my anger. Joe appears beside me, points to my baby bump and asks, "Are you two okay?"
"We're fine, Joe," I answer. "I fell asleep in the living room."
"Is something wrong?" Joe asks.
"Growing a baby is exhausting work," I confess. Joe nods despite not understanding how pregnancy always makes a woman tired. He shakes Ranger's hand and welcomes him home.
As he approaches, the firefighter says, "You don't have to replace the stove. The only casualty is the two cake pans."
"Is the cake edible?" I wonder aloud.
"No," the firefighter replies.
"Damn. I want chocolate cake," I whine. My stomach grumbles to accentuate its disappointment.
"Ella has one at Rangeman," Ranger says.
"I wanted my cake," I argue.
"Ella's cake has chocolate fudge icing," Ranger adds.
"Sold!" I holler since nothing beats Ella's cake with her special topping.
Ranger waits until everyone leaves our house to guide me upstairs. He removes our clothes, dumping them into the hamper. I watch as he enters our ensuite washroom to start the shower. Ranger tugs me inside the shower and wastes no time reconnecting with me. He washes me from head to toe, kissing my baby bump as he washes my legs and feet.
I smile as Ranger wraps me in a towel. He uses a smaller one to dry my hair. Once Ranger deems my hair dry enough, he uses the curl-taming products to cover every lock. I smile as he uses the wide-toothed comb to detangle my hair. Ranger kisses me before tapping my ass which is his signal for me to put on clothes.
"Did you sign on for another term?" I ask as I pull on my maternity pants.
"No, Babe. There are plenty of younger men wanting the job," he replies. "My place is with you and our son."
"And Rangeman," I laugh.
"Nothing is more important than you two. The others can concentrate on Rangeman," Ranger says, melting my heart. He passes me a wrap-around blue top to accentuate my eyes and show off my baby bump.
"You'll only retire from Rangeman when our son takes over," I laugh. He doesn't disagree. Ranger loves his job at Rangeman. He takes my hand after I slip on my shoes and tugs me from our bedroom.
Ranger texts someone as we exit the house and quickly says, "I told Ella to have your cake ready." He presses a hand at the small of my back and guides me to the passenger side of his Porsche. Proving chivalry is not dead, Ranger opens my door and helps me slip into the buttery, soft leather seat. He leans to kiss me before closing the door and running to the driver's seat. The engine roars and I feel the vibrations travelling through the seat.
We're quiet during our ride to Rangeman, and I wonder why Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Valerie forgot to send me birthday greetings. It's unusual for them to outright ignore my birthday unless… "Are the guys throwing me a party?" I query.
"What makes you think that?" he asks, without answering my question, yet confirming it with his redirection.
"My family never left me birthday wishes," I reason.
Ranger laughs, "You have to act surprised. They didn't want you spending the evening alone."
The only empty spot in the visitor's parking garage is the one Ranger uses when he's home. I wait for him to exit the Porsche before unbuckling my seat. He walks behind the car to get to my side. Ranger opens the door and offers me a hand. "I don't think we can use this car anymore," I sigh when Ranger helps me from the car. "The seat is all the way back, and it's hard to climb out without your assistance."
His eyes flick to his Porsche Cayenne. It provides more legroom, and it's easier to get in and out with my expanding baby bump. "Babe, we'll take the Cayenne home," he offers.
"Thanks," I reply. "It seems like this bump doubled overnight."
"That makes sense," he says, quickly adding, "You're seven months pregnant."
We enter the elevator. He pulls me until my back rests against his chest. Ranger's hands rest on my belly as our son kicks. "Did you feel that?" I ask, hoping he can finally feel our son moving.
"I did," he whispers. "Thank you, Babe."
"For what?" I ask.
"Giving me a second chance to be a father," he replies. "I missed out on everything with Julie."
"Speaking of Julie, how is she handling the news?" I ask.
"She's happy we're married and threw a tantrum after I mentioned the baby. Julie is fine knowing we're having a boy," Ranger replies. "She thinks having a girl will replace her in my life. I reassured Julie that wasn't the case."
"That's normal," I reason. "Julie will always have a special place in my heart."
The elevator stops on the third floor, where Rangeman has its largest conference room. I roll my eyes as the doors open. "They're too loud," Ranger laughs.
"So much for the surprise," I giggle.
Tank opens the conference room door as we approach. The second I step inside, everyone shouts, "Surprise! Happy birthday."
Mom pulls me into her arms and kisses my cheek. "Happy birthday, Stephanie," she says. She steps back to look at my belly. "Are you sure you're seven months?"
"Yes, Mom. I have the sonogram to prove it," I giggle. Mom disapproves of my marriage to Ranger, but she's happy I'm having a baby. She doesn't know it's a boy.
Dad hugs me next. He whispers, "Grandson?" I nod, which makes him grin. He kisses my forehead and lets the others give me birthday hugs.
I see Joe, Eddie, Carl, Big Dog and Robin. "So," Robin says, glancing at Ranger before returning her focus to me, "Did you really burn your birthday cake?"
"Unfortunately, yes. I fell asleep after putting it into the oven," I confess.
"Are you okay?" she asks.
"I'm fine, and this little one is fine," I reply. "But sadly, the cake didn't make it."
Robin and the others laugh at my attempt to joke about a potentially dangerous situation. I'm glad Ranger hard-wired the smoke detectors.
"We received the call and activated the internal cameras to see where the fire started," Lester says, approaching us. "I dispatched the fire and ambulance before heading over. You're lucky we got there before it spread."
Lester hugs me and kisses my head. "Thanks for responding quickly," I reply.
"Are you going to try baking a cake again?" Lester asks, narrowing his eyes.
"Nope. I guess the network should cancel the pilot episode for Baking With Stephanie. It didn't end with a perfectly moist cake," I joke.
Everyone laughs and disperses to get some food and drinks. I'm glad my Rangeman friends threw me a birthday party. They get to see for themselves that I'm perfectly fine. My son, Carlos Junior, is fine.
I have my health, my friends and my family. Ranger's gift of returning home is the best of the day. The second best gift is Julie. She flew to Trenton with her guard, Nico. Her arrival made my birthday the best one ever.