The hardest part of choosing Ranger over Joe was breaking the news to Joe. I had intended to choose a neutral place to tell him, but finding that place was difficult. It seemed that most of the Burg brought back memories of our relationship. So in the end, I had Joe meet me at his place.
Joe said he had sensed it coming, and that he had seen Ranger and me growing closer during my decision period. He was subdued, but hugged me goodbye and promised we'd be friends after he had a little time to recover. He even said I could borrow Bob whenever I felt the need for canine companionship.
Breaking the news to my parents was also difficult. My mother was upset that Ranger and I didn't have plans for children, or even a wedding for that matter. The great thing about Ranger and I was that we both agreed our lives were in the same place. We had each tried marriage once and didn't feel the need to do it again – and we certainly couldn't handle being parents with our crazy lifestyles.
To soften the blow to my parents, I offered Grandma Mazur the use of my apartment. My father was so excited to have her out that he volunteered to pick her up in the taxi whenever she needed to run errands. Grandma blended in perfectly with my eccentric elderly neighbors, and even had two or three boyfriends in the building.
I moved Rex and my cookie jar to Ranger's apartment. I was still chasing skips for Vinnie, and often teamed up with Jeanne Ellen. We both agreed that we worked pretty well as partners. Even though we had sworn off any more kissing scenes, Trenton still paid pretty close attention to us when we were together.
Ranger gave me the freedom to choose between working for Vinnie and working at Rangeman. I just kept track of my Rangeman hours on a time sheet and turned it in every week to payroll. I had the use of Rangeman resources to help me catch skips, which included an endless supply of handcuffs and vehicles, and I also received the full Rangeman benefits package.
And if things couldn't get any better, Ranger had told me over breakfast that he wanted me to pack a week's worth of clothes. He was handing over the helm to Tank for a full week so that we could escape for a vacation. When Ranger let himself into his apartment after lunch, I had two suitcases, a garment bag, a cosmetic case, and Rex stacked in the entryway.
Ranger raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Ready to go, Babe? It's just for a week, you know."
"Well, I wouldn't have had to pack so much if you had told me where we're going. I didn't know what to bring!"
Ranger's eyes turned dark. "All you need is yourself. Clothes are optional at the Batcave."
I jumped up off the sofa and shrieked. "No! Are you really taking me to the Batcave? The real, actual Batcave? The 'Batcave is forever' Batcave?"
Ranger swept me up in his arms. "Yep, that's the one. There's no going back now, Babe. You're mine forever."