Ranger - 5. The Visitors

May 2020

No rain had fallen yet, but it was coming. The previous day’s sunshine yielded to skies filled with angry, graphite clouds. Becoming darker as the day progressed, they promised a deluge by nightfall.

“I hope the downpour waits until I’m back in the City.” Cristina had offered to drive Brad back to Heroes Haven on Sunday. It meant taking US 50 to Delaware before joining I 95 for the remainder of the trip. A little longer than the direct route, but she insisted it did not matter.

“The forecast says not until late tonight.” Brad opened the back of the car and took the baby out of her seat. “We’ll get you on the road right after you feed and change the baby. You should be okay.”

Brad carried Carolina, and Cristina followed with the diaper bag. “Oh, I like the color,” she said when they reached Brad’s house. “It reminds me of your pretty green eyes.”

Brad tried to hide his flushing cheeks behind the baby in his arms. “It’s really small. Kinda cozy.” He held the door open as the kid ran a hand over his face.

“Braaad…” Carolina smiled and looked proud of herself.

If Brad was surprised, Cristina appeared to be even more so. She twirled around and gave the man holding her daughter a smile. “Oh my god! It worked. She learned it.” Brad had spent most of his time near the kid trying to get her to say his name.

His smile matched the mother’s. He kissed Carolina on the forehead. “Smart kid you got here.”

“We’ll see about that. She’s either smart or cunning. She knows she’s about to be fed.” Cristina dropped the diaper bag on the recliner and turned three hundred sixty degrees, inspecting the place. “I like it. And it’s so clean and tidy.” She moved towards the one wall without a window.

A black and white picture of Brad, his brother, Patrick, their mother and father, and their respective husbands dominated the space. Around it, half-a-dozen others showed Brad with various groups: one with soldiers in front of an armored troop carrier in a sandy landscape, another with President Obama and the other Squad members at CJ and Owen’s wedding, and one Carolina pointed at. “That has to be one of my favorites out of all Squad pictures my brother’s shown me.” Her daughter extended her arm further, trying to touch the framed image. “I think Carolina recognizes Chipper.”

“That’s when we were all in New York City. It was my last visit stateside before I lost the legs.”

“You all look good dressed up. Hey, make sure I get some of the ones from yesterday. Especially the ones of the three babies together.”

“That won’t be a problem. We’re all good about sharing pictures.” Brad shook his head and chuckled. “Well, except for me. I don’t take that many.”

Cristina held her arms out. “Give her to me. I’ll change her diaper and feed her. Can I lay her down on your coffee table?”

“Of course! Or you can use my bedroom if you want privacy when you feed her.”

“Bradley! Are you turning prudish on me?” Cristina chuckled for a moment before scrunching up her face. “Ughhh, how can breast milk and mashed fruit produce such smelly poop? I’m wearing a nursing bra. I can move things around and feed her without people actually seeing my boobs.”

He blushed again. Feeling flustered around the woman he had crushed on for years was embarrassing. “Oh… okay. Can I ask you something about your divorce?” It was a subject he had avoided over the previous two days.

“Ask away.” Cristina used wet wipes from a small pack to clean her daughter.

“Are you gonna get custody of Carolina?”

“I better.” Cristina placed the soiled wipes in the small plastic bag she had thrown the used diaper in and knotted the top. “You’re not going to want this smelly stuff inside your house. We need to toss it into a garbage can outside.” She applied a dollop of cream to her daughter’s behind before settling her atop a fresh diaper. “We’re asking for joint custody with me being the primary caretaker. I won’t keep her away from her father. For now, he’ll have visitation rights. Supervised at first. When she’s older, he can have her some weekends and whenever else he has time to spend with her. We’ll just have to figure some details out as we go along.”

Cristina married Damien Prado at the end of summer two years before. Brad had met the man a couple of times before and disliked him immediately. The consensus amongst Squad member who interacted with him was nearly identical: Damien was a pretentious jerk. Less than a year after the wedding, Carolina Marie Prado was born.

The new mother took an extended maternity leave but earlier in the year expressed her desire to return to work. The couple argued about it; Damien felt a woman’s responsibility was to take care of her husband and kids. He wanted Cristina pregnant again. When she resisted, the man forced himself on her.

In distress, she called her brother. Chipper’s rage threatened to derail his participation in a musical competition. Instead, he called on The Squad for help. Ethan Feldman, one of their close friends and an attorney living in New York City, stepped up to provide legal representation. CJ arranged for her to temporarily move into his family’s Upper East Side apartment.

“What do you plan to—” The front door opening after a quick knock interrupted Brad.

“Ooops, sorry. Didn’t know you had company.” Mark Strong stood frozen at the entrance to the house. Because Mark had vacated it so Brad could move in, he was told he was welcome anytime, and should simply walk in if the door was unlocked.

“Come on in. Don’t worry about it.” Brad made to get out of his chair, but Mark raised a hand to stop him.

“No, don’t get up. I just came by to see if you wanted to go play with the horses before it started raining.” The man grinned, staring at the baby. “Cute kid.”

“Damn! I’m being rude. Mark Strong, Cristina Prado and her daughter, Carolina.” Brad felt disconcerted; he had wanted to find out what Cristina’s plans for the future were. It did not feel right making a move on her while she was embroiled in a divorce, but he still had feelings for the woman. He hoped for a chance with her at some point in time. “This used to be Mark’s place. He moved to the dorms so I could experience what a resident does.”

“Hi, Mark.” Cristina finished dressing her daughter, stood, and held her out to Brad. “You hold her for a minute. I need to wash my hands.”

“Can I?” Mark extended his arms.

“Sure. She’s friendly with strangers.”

“We’re gonna have to work on her not to be so trusting.” Mark chuckled while Carolina inspected his face. “How are you cutie? Wanna go see the horsies?”

“Horshies…”

“That’s her second new word today!” Cristina sounded surprised. “Her vocabulary’s growing faster than I expected. Are these horses close by?”

“Yeah, at the end of the path. We’ve got stables and a small arena behind the main building.”

“Can we take her out there now? I’ll feed her afterwards and hopefully she’ll sleep the whole way to New York.”

“Is that where you’re from?” Mark bounced the baby in his arms eliciting giggles from her.

“Yeah… My brother went to high school with Brad in DC. That’s how we met. We were all in Washington for a college graduation, and Chipper—that’s my brother—was supposed to ride back to Manhattan with us. He decided to spend a couple of extra days with his buddies, so I offered to bring Brad back.”

“Well, come on, then. We’ll check out the horses and the chicken coop.”

“You keep chickens too?”

“It’s new. It gives some of the residents something else to do, and we get fresh eggs. Win win.”

Mark led the way, carrying Carolina and talking to her. Brad, not pleased with his friend interrupting his time with Cristina, followed a few paces behind with her. When she interlaced their arms, he decided to continue their conversation. “I was gonna ask you what your plans are after the divorce’s final.”

“I want to go back to work as soon as possible. I’ve put out my resume, and I hope to land something in the next few weeks. Once this mess’ over, I’ll have to find a place to live. I told Damien he could keep his apartment. That I wouldn’t ask to stay in it as long as he funded a down payment on something for me and Carolina. But I may end up renting for a bit. New York real estate’s crazy expensive.”

“Listen… I’m… I’m gonna be here until sometime in September. The plan’s to film for six months, do post production work after, and release the documentary at the beginning of twenty twenty-one. Once the primary editing’s done, and the script’s written, I’ll be in New York City for a few days. They don’t think it’ll take very long to record the narration. Maybe we could grab dinner one night?”

“Definitely!” Cristina’s quick agreement pleased him. “But I expect to talk to you frequently before then. I want regular reports on what you’re doing. And if you need a place to stay…”

“Thanks, I promise regular updates.” Brad was ecstatic about her interest. “Once I know more, you’ll be the first to know. Seeing you would be a priority.”

A week after Cristina’s visit, CJ and Owen made a day trip with their daughter. The visit was part of their commitment to the documentary and a chance to spend a little time with Brad.

Carson Sawyer dropped in to see him the subsequent weekend. The recent graduate had gone home for a few days and was returning to Washington to look for a place to live. Carson worked part time at the DC mayor’s office while in school and had accepted an offer of full-time employment.

“That’s cool you’re growing vegetables in between the houses.” Carson had offered to drive Brad into town when he mentioned missing the shuttle van.

“He ain’t growing shit! Superstar’s too busy entertaining the parade of visitors to get his hands dirty.”

“Fuck you too, Henk.” Brad was used to his next-door neighbor’s acerbic personality; a smirk accompanied the comment.

Henrik Green had staked a protective perimeter around his place to keep individuals involved in the documentary’s production away. When the lean, tattooed man decided to plant donated seeds between the two houses, Brad suggested he use the entire strip of land between them. It was an attempt to connect with the reclusive veteran who refused to participate in the film project.

“The only reason I’m not on my knees staking tomato plants with you is you won’t let me.”

“And that’s because I don’t want those stupid cameras that follow you around all the time near me.”

“He’s camera shy,” Brad said, laughing.

Carson waited until they were in the parking lot out of hearing range. “Your neighbor’s not as friendly as the other guys I’ve met. What’s his problem?”

“Henk’s alright… I mean, he has some trust issues, but he’s a good guy. Hell, he already said whatever he doesn’t eat or can he’ll share with the other residents.”

“Man, he needs to mellow out. I realize I have no idea what goes through veterans’ minds, but he needs to let go and chillax.”

“Easier said than done, Carson. He may not have lost limbs like I did, but the demons plaguing him are just as destructive. You can’t see his wounds like you can see mine, but they’re just as painful.”

Shaking his head, Carson held the car’s door for Brad. “I hope he finds peace, man. And I’m glad you’re dealing with your experience so well.”

“Ha! I have my low moments too. But his snarky comment about me having a parade of visitors’ probably the reason I’m coping with civilian life better that he is. Having my family and The Squad’s support helps ground me. We all handle adversity our own way. I think the gardening, getting dirty growing something, helps him deal with being isolated. Next time you run into a vet, be kind. You have no idea what darkness haunts them.”