939A/N: Hehe, so when I was looking up baby names for Tank's and Jeanne Ellen's daughters, I came across one I really liked: Elena. Guess what it's a version of? Obviously, I couldn't use it, but I did love it.
Chapter Fifty-Two
Stephanie POV
We had just finished making love and were lying in bed, catching our breath, when Ranger said, "Babe, I need to go to Miami. Some things have come up at the Rangeman branch there that I need to take care of. I thought you'd like to come with me."
"What'll I do with Zoë?"
"I was thinking we'd bring her with us."
"When do you want to leave?"
"I've arranged for the plane for tomorrow morning."
"Okay, I'll get us packed up so we're ready. How long are we going to be gone?"
"Probably three or four days." He paused. "I was wondering. Would you like to meet Julie while we're there?"
I smiled. "I'd love to."
The following day, Lester drove us to the airport in his GMC Yukon, and I was surprised when he drove us directly to the plane on the tarmac. I looked at Ranger, confused, but he just smiled enigmatically and took my hand.
When we were all settled on the plane, I turned to him and asked, "Okay, what's up? Is this your plane?"
He chuckled. "No, Babe. I don't have my own plane. Yet. I borrowed it from a friend."
Zoë was looking around in interest, asking about everything she saw. This was her first time on an airplane. Ranger patiently answered all her questions and told her other facts about the plane she couldn't see.
He whispered in my ear when she was otherwise occupied, "Too bad we can't join the Mile High club on this trip, Babe."
I shivered as he licked the shell of my ear and gripped his thigh. "You are bad, Ranger."
The trip was uneventful, thankfully. Even though I always wanted to fly as a kid, I was never very good on airplanes. Zoë didn't seem to mind; she chattered excitedly for nearly the entire trip.
When we landed, there was a vehicle waiting there for us. We loaded our bags in the back, and Ranger drove us to Rangeman, a beautiful art deco building near the beach. On the top floor was a two-bedroom apartment he used when he was in town, and after settling in and eating lunch that Carmen, Miami's answer to Ella, made for us, Ranger went down to the control room while Zoë and I walked the two blocks to the beach for a few hours.
We came back to the building just before dinner. The man on duty evidently didn't know we came with Ranger because he didn't let us in the building, although he was polite. I texted Ranger from outside on the sidewalk next to the intercom, and he came right down and let us in.
"Hernandez, this is Stephanie and Zoë. Stephanie works for Rangeman Trenton. I expect full cooperation with anything they need or want while we're here. Babe, this is Hernandez."
"It's nice to meet you," I said.
"Many apologies, ma'am," Hernandez replied. "I was unaware of your visit."
"Stephanie, please. And it's fine."
We went upstairs to the penthouse, and I plopped down on the couch in the living room. Zoë imitated me, and I smiled at her. "Tired, Zo-zo?"
"I'm hungry."
"We should talk about dinner, then."
Ranger had been skimming some papers on the console table in the front hall but entered the living room as Zoë and I started talking. "Carmen's making dinner. It should be here in about twenty minutes if you two can manage to hold out that long," he teased.
"Ranger, what are we having for dinner?" asked Zoë.
"I think it's…spaghetti and meatballs."
Zoë's eyes widened, and she licked her lips comically. Ranger and I both laughed, and Zoë started giggling. When Ranger sat on the couch next to her and started teasing her about asking Carmen to make something else—and listing off every food Zoë hated—I was so content that I could have sat there listening to them forever.
The next day was Saturday, and Ranger had arranged with his ex-wife for us to pick up Julie at ten o'clock in the morning.
When we arrived at their house, I was nervous about meeting her and Rachel, his ex-wife. I knew they never loved each other or even slept together beyond the one night that produced Julie, but she was still a part of his past and the mother of his child. I was intensely curious about her and wondered what she was like.
When we approached the house's front door, Ranger took my hand reassuringly while Zoë skipped in front of us. Ranger reached out and rang the doorbell, and we waited briefly until the door opened, and a little girl about eight years old answered. She looked just like Ranger, so I knew this must be Julie.
"Hey, Jules," Ranger said, swooping down and hugging the little girl. "It's so good to see you."
"Hi, Ranger," she answered brightly.
"Jules, this is Stephanie and her daughter Zoë." Zoë had become shy again, as usual when meeting an older kid.
"Hello, Miss Stephanie. Hi Zoë," she greeted us.
"Hi, Julie. It's so nice to meet you finally. Ranger has told me so much about you." I almost called Ranger her father but remembered that Julie called him Ranger too.
Rachel, Julie's mom, was a surprise. She was pretty, but not in a drop-dead kind of way. She had mom written all over her, and I remembered she had two other children by her husband, Ron. "Hi, Ranger," she said warmly as she came up behind Julie.
"Rachel," Ranger greeted. "This is Stephanie, my girlfriend, and her daughter, Zoë."
Rachel stuck out her hand, and I shook it. "So nice to meet you, Stephanie. I'm glad you and Zoë could come to Miami. Is this your first visit here?"
"Yes, and it's beautiful. It's very nice to meet you, too."
Julie had been asking Zoë questions about what she liked, and Zoë was coming out of her shell, stepping closer to Julie as she did.
Rachel invited us in for a glass of iced tea, and we entered her comfortable-looking home. I looked around interestedly and saw many pictures of Julie and two other young children who must be her two younger siblings. We chatted amiably while we drank our iced teas, and when we were done, Ranger said, "We should go. We're going to an early matinee and then to lunch. Is three o'clock still okay?"
Rachel nodded. "No problem. Just text or call me if you think you'll be late."
We said our goodbyes and walked out to the car. Zoë was now hanging on Julie's every word, and she had clearly discovered her new best friend. Julie was great with Zoë, and they sat happily in the backseat while Julie told Zoë all about school and how much Zoë would love it next month when she got to start attending the first grade.
Ranger smiled over at me and took my hand, squeezing gently. Ranger bought us all popcorn and drinks, and we settled in to watch Elemental at the movie theatre, which both Julie and Zoë greatly enjoyed. After the movie ended, we went to lunch at a local old-fashioned diner, and Zoë was delighted because the waitstaff was on roller skates. I couldn't imagine carrying trays while on roller skates, but they were all pros, and I didn't see anyone have any troubles. After a silent standoff with Ranger, I paid for lunch and gave our waitress, Chelsea, a huge tip.
We walked along the boardwalk on the beach after that, holding hands while the girls skipped ahead of us, picking up shells. Ranger called to the girls about three twenty minutes, who were building a sandcastle. "Jules, Zoë! We have to go now."
After their chorus of "awws," we left to return to the car to take Julie home. She thanked us properly for a great day—my mother would have been so impressed with her manners—and skipped into the house, where Rachel was waving to us from the doorway.
It was a quiet, contented ride back to Rangeman.
After another great dinner by Carmen that night, I put Zoë to bed and sang softly to her until she fell asleep. When I tiptoed out of her room and closed the door behind me, Ranger was there in the hallway. He scooped me up in his arms and carried me to the living room, depositing me gently on the living room couch.
He sank down next to me, lifted my feet until they rested in his lap, and started kneading them. I groaned and wiggled my toes.
"Did you have fun today, Babe?" he asked.
"I had a great time. Julie is a wonderful kid, and I liked Rachel too."
"Julie liked you too. I'm sure Rachel did, as well."
"I'm glad. It'd be nice to see Julie more, wouldn't it?"
He nodded. "I'd love to see her more. We could come down to visit her."
"That'd be great." I moaned when his thumb hit a particular spot just below my big toe joint, and he pressed harder.
"Babe, remember when we talked about our future?"
"Yeah," I said thickly, feeling utterly relaxed and mushy.
"Have you thought about it any since our talk?"
"Not really."
"If I stop massaging your feet, can you focus enough to revisit the topic?"
"Maybe. You've got magical fingers, Ranger."
"I'll be glad to show you the entire range of their talent, Babe, in a little while."
"What's up?" I asked.
"I thought about it and decided I would like to get married, Babe, if you're up for it. Whenever you want."
"Really?"
"Yeah," he agreed. "I have an ulterior motive, though."
I opened my eyes to look directly into his. "What's your motive?"
"Someday, if you agree, I'd like to adopt Zoë. But we should be married for that."
"What made you decide you want that?"
"Babe, I love you, and I love Zoë. I want nothing more than for us to be a family forever and for both of you to know how much you mean to me. I can't think of a better way to do that than to make us a family legally."
A smile slowly crept onto my face while I thought about what he said. He loves us. "Okay."
"Okay?"
I nodded. "I'd love to marry you, and I'd love it if you adopted Zoë."
He stood up so quickly that it knocked me backwards, then laid on top of me, framing my face in his hands. "I love you," he said.
"I love you too," I breathed. "Now kiss me."
Epilogue
We decided to have a small ceremony on the beach at Point Pleasant, a favourite childhood destination of mine. I always felt free at the beach, staring out at the water. We didn't invite many people: only those closest to us. Since I wanted to avoid my mother attending, I couldn't ask my dad or Grandma Mazur. She would refuse to allow them to leave the house without her, and they didn't want to rock the boat. Our closest friends, my sisters, Ranger's family, including Julie, and some of the men at Rangeman we were close to were closest to were our only attendees. It was a perfect day and exactly what I wanted when I married the love of my life.
Valerie had her baby shortly after my wedding, and she and Hal named her Elizabeth after Hal's late mother. Val kept in contact with our mother, albeit on a limited basis, until Helen tried to have baby Elizabeth baptized without her parents' knowledge. Every church in town turned her down, and Father O'Riordan called Valerie to warn her. Since that day, Val has cut off all communication with Helen, and when our dad found out, he divorced her. He's living in a condo and happily dating a lovely woman named Susan.
Grandma Mazur also moved out when she married a man she met at the senior centre. She and her 'honey,' as she calls him, get up to all sorts of hijinks that I've tried not to consider.
Valerie and Hal are still living in Jeanne Ellen's house, though not for too much longer. Hal sold his condo, and they were looking for their own place. They're very happy together and expecting another baby.
Hector did some digging into Steve's whereabouts, and when he located him, Valerie had him served with a custody suit and child support requests. They went to court, and now Valerie receives regular payments. I think Hector may also have paid Steve a visit and encouraged him not to miss any payments.
Debra and I stayed in contact and became friends. Zoë and her sons grew close, and we see them regularly. Debra met a man through her parents at their country club, and after a year, they married. She still lives in Greenwich.
Richard's parents and I still visited each other on a regular basis. His brother, Robert, finally explained why he avoided me and apologized for his deception and keeping secrets from me. He explained that he tried to convince Richard to come clean, but when he wouldn't, he, Robert, couldn't betray him. He felt so guilty that he avoided me, but I didn't notice. I forgave him, but I've never gone out of my way to see him.
Tank and Jeanne Ellen were still our closest friends, and we spent time with them at least once or twice a week. Their daughters were coming up on their second birthday, and little hellions who kept their parents on their toes. But they were also adorable and very sweet. Tank had begun teaching them Spanish so they'd grow up bilingual.
Zoë was about to enter the second grade. Ranger adopted her shortly after our wedding, and we were pleased to become the newest Manosos. This morning, our lives changed again, and I worked with Zoë on giving Ranger a gift during dinner tonight. Wrapped in a tiny bundle was a plastic test and one word marked clearly in the little window: PREGNANT.
The End