Have You Met Max?
How I Met Your Mother fan-fiction
Tracy leaned over in the bed to check and see if Ted was still asleep. He was. She carefully slid out of the bed and placed her side of the covers on Ted.
Her future husband.
She smiled at the thought. She stood beside the bed and took another look at the diamond ring he gave her in promise of marriage. Technically, it was the first engagement ring she had ever worn. It certainly wasn't the first proposal. She remembered the last one from Louis. She stopped smiling at the thought. There weren't too many smiles on either end of that proposal.
She shook off the memory and proceeded to put on the very comfortable white terrycloth robe that the Inn provided. She went to the sliding glass doors that led to the suite's veranda. She opened the doors to a cool breeze. It had been so bright and sunny earlier in the day when Ted asked for her hand in marriage. Now at the edge of dawn, thick gray clouds loomed over in the sky. Of course, there could have been a hurricane yesterday and the moment would still be beautiful to her.
She hadn't felt joy like this for quite a while. It was a joy that had been previously whisked away in a heartbeat. Max. She had spoken to him on the night of her proposal from Louis. She was so full of doubt then. She needed to speak to him again about her second proposal with Ted. This time, she had no doubt.
She closed the doors and went to the wooden railing. She looked up at the dark grey clouds in the sky. She took a long breath and spoke softly.
"Hi, Max. Hope I'm not interrupting a ballgame again. Long time since we've talked. Well, I talked, you listened. That was the night of a marriage proposal from Louis. Yeah, that didn't take. But guess what? I have another proposal. I know, like how many proposals can a girl have in a lifetime?" She added a nervous chuckle.
"But listen, I said yes to this one." A sudden burst of wind blew in her face. "Ok, don't know if you approve or if you'll release the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man after me later."
No wind.
"All right. Moving on." She paused before she continued. "I think Ted is the one, Max. No, I believe he is the one. I know what we had was special, but unfortunately Fate had to intervene so we will never know how special it could have been. Louis and I were never in love. You would have known that from the start. It took his proposal to make me realize that. Maybe that was why I felt the need to talk to you first. I got back in the room with him and I just knew I had to refuse. There wasn't enough love between us."
"But being with Ted for the past few years, I know there is enough love between us. Not to belittle what we had together. You knew me better than anyone. But Ted gets me. He understands me better than anyone else. Now, I know how you hate clichés, but there have been many times when I'm with Ted that I feel like we are two halves of the same person.
You wouldn't believe the coincidences of us almost meeting and just miss each other in the past several years. He took my yellow umbrella that I took to that St. Patrick's Day party. I thought I'd lost it. Then it reappeared out of thin air in my apartment one day years later. You know who left it? Ted! He was actually dating my roommate at the time. And he pronounces Renaissance correctly, thank you. Plus, we have the same initials. I know, that's corny to you, but I don't care now. It's almost as if we weren't meant to meet each other until that exact time at the train depot."
She paused to reflect. "Max, I'm out here this morning because I think this is the last time I will talk to you like this. I think I've finally moved on. That's not to say you will always have a place in my heart. But I no longer need protection. I will be in good hands with Ted."
As if on queue, the sliding doors opened and out came Ted. He shut the doors and asked her, "Hey, what are you doing out here?"
Tracy stuttered. "Uh, I was enjoying the view."
Ted looked up at the sky. "Yeah, such beautiful dark clouds. And it turns out that you talk to them."
"Uh, sure. They're lonely."
"Yeah. You were talking to Max, right?"
"Uh..m..m..maybe."
"Tracy, you can relax. This isn't a confrontation."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be." He waited a beat. "So, what did Max have to say?"
"He really hasn't been in a talkative mood for a better part of a decade."
He allowed a space of silence until he said, "You know, when you told me that you sometimes speak to your dead ex, I assumed it wouldn't be an actual conversation."
She shrugged. "Some people do."
"From what you told me, the last time you spoke to Max was the night before Barney and Robin's wedding. Two years ago, I believe."
"Sounds right. What are you getting at, Ted?"
"Well, it was also the night that you refused marriage to Louis. You see where I'm connecting this?"
"Ted, I already accepted your proposal." She raised her hand that featured the ring on her finger. "See? Fits perfectly."
"Doesn't mean you're not talking to Max because you're having doubts."
She gave him an apologetic look and went to him so she could wrap her arms around his waist. "Oh, Ted, no. I have zero doubts about us. If I did, which I don't, I would tell you. Right now, I cannot wait to become your wife."
"Then why the talk with Max?"
She grinned up at him. "You do know you are jealous of a ghost?"
"I'm not jealous. I'm just concerned when my fiancée is speaking to that particular ghost as if he's still here."
Tracy tilted her head. "You know, that's the first time you referred to me as your fiancée."
Ted shot back, "And I know that won't be the last time you change subjects."
Tracy took a moment before uttering, "I was saying goodbye to him, Ted. I won't need to talk to him anymore. How much did you hear in there?"
"Nothing. I only heard you mumbling. I thought you were on your phone but it's on the dresser."
"No, I was talking to Max. He is special to me."
"Is? Not was?"
"Yes, Ted. He was my first love. True, I was young and naive, but it was still special. And heartbreaking when it ended suddenly. I compared my relationships to getting a winning lottery ticket. Max was a winning ticket but I lost it. Louis was a lottery ticket but with the wrong numbers...by a lot. Then I found you."
"Just another lottery ticket?"
"Oh no, Ted. You are the Willy Wonka Golden Ticket. The instant winner."
"Uh, excuse me, but there were five Golden Tickets. So there could be four possible other matches for you out there."
She sighed heavily. "You are impossible, Ted. But I love that about you. To make it more clear, I'm telling you now that I am done with finding anymore tickets. You are the one, Ted."
"All right. But can I ask you a question?"
"I believe you just did, but go on with your next question."
Without acknowledging her joke, he asked, "Will you ever be over Max?"
"Ted, how can you ask me that?"
"I think it's a fair question for a future groom to know if his bride won't be pining for a dead ex boyfriend years down the road."
Tracy let go of his waist and folded her arms. A sign to Ted that she was going to be serious. She said softly, "All right. Truth? There isn't a day that goes by when I don't think about Max at least once. And it's not about pining or regret. I know it ended abruptly and I've come to terms with that. Max will always have a place in my heart. But I've moved on. Which is exactly what I said to Max before you came out. So, no Ted. I don't think I'll ever be over Max. Can you accept that?"
It was Ted's turn to be silent for a moment. He finally said, "Yes, I can."
"Good. Can you ever be over Robin?"
Ted's eyes widened and he stuttered, "Wh-what? Tracy, Robin and I are friends."
"Really? Who's fooling themselves now?"
"I'm not. We've discussed this. Robin and I discussed this on her wedding day."
"Oh, you mean the day she almost ran away with you and dump Barney? And she bumped into me while running. A bit symbolic."
"No, it's not. Look, Tracy, the Robin ship has sailed long ago. But she is still one of my best friends. I don't see her as anything else."
"Then why do I still see you staring at her sometimes when we're all together?"
"Tracy, don't do this."
"Why not? I think it's a fair question for a future bride to know if her groom won't be pining for an ex girlfriend years down the road."
He edged closer to her and spoke in a soft, but serious manner. "Listen to me Tracy. Whereas you have had a few lottery tickets in your relationships, I have had several misfires of my own. For a decade I've been trying to find Ms. Perfect. I was this close to getting married to Stella until she left me at the altar for her ex-boyfriend. After that, I think what happened to me was that I got depressed. I kept hanging on to the idea that my perfect partner was still out there. And I could never find her. I admit that for a time I was clinging on to what Robin and I had once. She was my glimmer of joy and hope that I could be happy. Turns out, that joy burned out long ago.
"When she and Barney got together and then married, I saw their joy. And suddenly, it wasn't about me. I was experiencing joy through theirs." He noticed her arms unfolded and relaxed against her waist. He continued. "When you see me staring at Robin, it's not because of regret. It's admiration. She found her Mr. Perfect."
"Ted, Barney is so not perfect."
"Neither am I. Nor is Lilly or Marshal." He paused. "And neither are you. Yes, Barney is so far from perfect. But he is perfect for Robin. After they married I figured out that the key is to not go out searching for perfection. It doesn't exist. You have to find someone who is perfect for you. Flaws included." He reached out his hand to grasp hers. "After several misfires, I finally found my Ms Perfect For Me. And it is you, Tracy. I can't wait to become your husband."
Tracy held back her tears and said instead, "That's great, Ted. I understand about looking for perfection. I just didn't pursue it as much as you did. I was afraid to. But you put yourself out there. You tried. And I cannot imagine the heartache of being left at the altar. The most amazing thing is that you placed all those women in the rearview mirror of your past." She swallowed. "All except for one. And you still hang around her almost everyday."
He let go of her hand and breathed out hard. "Tracy, I don't know why you're still on this. Ok, I will admit that Robin has been in my life for a long time. I don't see that changing anytime soon, and I wouldn't want it to. Robin was my first love just as Max was yours."
"What are you saying, Ted?"
"Oh, I know you're loving this. Ok, truth. No, I don't think I'll ever get over Robin. Can you accept that?"
She suddenly grinned and said, "Yes, I can." She then raised her hand and in one quick motion she slapped it across Ted's face.
The momentum of her hit forced his head over to the right. He kept his head in that position and uttered, "We should have never told you about the Slap Bet."
Tracy, still grinning wide, tilted her head and said in a high pitched voice, "Too late."
He finally straightened to look at her. "You and Robin?"
"She said you would never admit you were over her. Lily acted as Commissioner and authorized it. She changed the rules a bit about who I could slap if I won."
"Great. So you set me up to use your slap."
"Oh, not just one."
"You are so devious. I love you."
She replied back, "I know."
Ted gasped. "And you quoted Empire. I really love you, now. So when you said-"
"Oh, shut up, Ted. You had me when you said you couldn't wait to be my husband." She immediately wrapped her arms around him and planted a kiss on his lips. He kissed back and accepted her embrace. They kissed for several minutes.
Unfortunately, Ted had to bring them back to reality. He tried to speak while still kissing her. "Uh, Tracy...as much as I am...enjoying this...we do have to pack...check out is at 10 a.m. And our train leaves at 12:15."
She stopped and said wryly, "Boy, you sure know how to kill a mood."
"Not kill. Rain check. Although, I do believe this is my first kiss, post Slap."
She smiled deviously again. "Don't worry. There will be more. When you least expect it."
"Looking forward to it. So you jumping in the shower first?"
"I guess so. I so do not want this weekend to end."
"We have several weekends ahead to top it. Oh, and don't forget they have complimentary coffee downstairs."
"See, you should have mentioned the coffee first before the shower. Because guess which one I'm doing first?"
"Got it. Mention coffee first." They both said in unison, "Always."
She let go of his waist and headed to the sliding doors. They kept their hands together until the distance was too great. She turned to him and asked, "You want to join me in the shower?"
"After the coffee."
"After the coffee." She opened the doors and entered the suite, leaving Ted alone on the veranda.
He looked up at the sky full of clouds that were brighter now that dawn arrived. He took a moment to think and then quickly checked the doors. He then looked back up at the sky and spoke softy.
"Hey, Max. Ted Mosby. You'll have to bear with me. This is my first conversation with a ghost. Is spirit more politically correct? Never mind. Heard so much about you. Baseball fan I hear. Yankees fan, too. I won't hold that against you. Especially when the Indians win the World Series. Someday. Anyway. Boy, we have a special girl here. I'm so sorry you couldn't continue a relationship with her. I have to tell you, she is my everything now. She still has the ukuele you gave her. I've never heard a more beautiful version of La Vie en rose in my life. You treated her right first. I thank you for that."
He took a breath, only half believing he was doing this. "I guess you know we got engaged. I don't know what I would have done if she refused. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to tarnish what you and Tracy had. Obviously, I have some big shoes to fill. So why am I talking to you? To tell you that she's going to be in good hands with me? Am I asking for your approval?" He hesitated and asked, almost to himself, "Or am I good enough for her." The clouds hovered in silence and there was no wind. "That's what I thought."
He headed back towards the doors. Before he opened them, a sliver of light shone behind him. He turned to see the clouds parting allowing the sun's rays to shine down.
Ted smiled and nodded. "I'll take that as a yes."
THE END