Maxwell Sheffield was a wealthy man. He had come into the world of the very well to do in the country
of England. As a young man he had come to the United States to become a producer in New York. He
was finally making it on his own and had moved to a large mansion in one of the most prestigious parts
of New York City with his three children when his wife, the love of his life had gotten sick and died. His
world and the world of his children was destroyed with her death.
He loved all his children and his home and his work, but without Sarah he did not have the will to go on
with his life. There were the problems with Brighton who spent the day playing jokes, some of them mean,
on people. Maggie looked like she had nothing, even though she was a wealthy heiress. She dressed
with no color and moped around her room most of the time. Maxwell Sheffield did not know what to
do with her. She never got a phone call or he never saw any friends come by the house, or heard of
her being invited to any parties. She went to the best school in the city and was very pretty, or so
he thought. He just could not understand it.
Then there was Grace. She was the spitting image of Sarah, but she had so many mental anxiety
problems that she had a therapist on speed dial. She was the saddest little girl that Maxwell had ever
seen.
He hired Nanny after nanny and with no luck Maxwell and his butler and friend Niles were at their
wits end. Oh and he had an associate CC who was always telling them that the children needed to be
sent away to boarding school. With the exception of Brighton who she thought should be shipped off
to military school.
The children had everything a child could possibly want, the best clothes the best of everything that
could be bought. If they asked for it they got it for the most part. He now worked out of the house
so that they could be with him, and Niles was always there. But, something was missing, something
that kept the family from being a family. It was Sara and Maxwell knew it. But she could no longer
be with them and he knew that he had to face the fact.
Bedtime was the worst time of all. Sarah's pillow was empty and her side of the bed was never used
anymore. He missed the smell of her perfume and the warmth of her body next to him as they slept
together. It was a lonely life for a man in his thirties and contrary to CC s wishes he had absolutely
no interest in her as anything but an associate.
It was during one of the many times that the house was without a nanny that a lady named Fran Fine
had shown up her door. She was not anything like any nanny or any woman for that matter he had
ever met. She dressed very scantly and had a voice that would go right through you. It was kind of
a combination of a screech and a strong accent.
But he had given her a chance as he was desperate. From the moment that she had walked into his home
life had not been the same. One day as Fran was sitting on the couch with Niles folding clothes and watching
a soap opera, that Max had found that his house had become a home.
It is hard to explain, but the air had become lighter and everyone seemed to be a little brighter. For the
first time since his beloved Sarah had died the house was a place that he enjoyed dwelling in. Even Niles
had started to feel more comfortable. Just by the thanks of this lady he called Miss Fine.
Miss Fine had a mother that could drive you crazy, but after a while she did tend to grow on you. Whenever
she came over, Niles found himself cooking her something. That lady could eat you out of house and home
if you let her. Max swore that she could identify a food from three rooms away. One time when Fran was
not in the home and her mother came to help with the children, Max thought he was going to starve to death.
Every time Niles brought him something to eat Sylvia would show up and eat it. But she loved him and the
kids and Max was proud to know her.
Fran's father rarely showed up and when he did he would stay for just a short time and leave to go home
and watch tv. He was nice and did love Fran but Sylvia ran his house and that was it.
Her best friend was Val. She was as flighty as they came and always looking for a husband with Fran and
was well known for her dumb remarks that she made. But she was a kind lady and Max found her growing
on him as time went by. His world would not be the same would Val have left his home not to return. She
was always welcome in his home.
One night when the family was having some family time in the living room, Max had looked over to see
Grace and Maggie sitting on either side of her and he noticed that she had her arms around both of them.
The children looked so happy. Of course Brighton did not sit next to them, but he sat in the chair right
next to them and willingly joined in on the conversation. This was a totally different kind of atmosphere that
the home had before Fran came there. He really wanted this life to continue.
But the memories of Sarah were still right there at the front of his mind. He missed her everyday and was
still wearing his wedding ring. He knew that she had died over four years ago, and that he needed to move
on as his children had, but he could not. Every place that he went in the house reminded him of his beloved
Sarah.
It was one morning after he and Fran had been getting closer and closer that he thought of the kitchen and
how Sarah had designed every inch of it. Everything in the room was hers and Max knew that it was time
for a change in the home. He would never forget Sarah, but he would ask Fran to redecorate it.
When Fran was given the job of doing the kitchen over, she was thrilled. Her mother said that Max had
just asked her to redecorate the kitchen to remove from her mind the thought of romance. Fran was not
going to be outwitted that easily but for now she was happy with the new job that Max had trusted her with. She
would redo the kitchen and she would make sure that Max and the children loved it.
To Nile's surprise Fran had consulted him on the redoing of the kitchen. Fran and Niles had worked hard
on redesigning it and the kitchen did look good when they were done. Max was also very impressed with
the work and he liked the way the kitchen looked.
Slowly but surely the flighty lady that had come into their lives just a few years before wore at Max's heart.
He finally took his wedding ring and put it on his right hand . He was going to go out with a different woman
not Fran yet. He actually dated a lady that looked so much like Fran that Niles could not believe it. He had
grabbed CC as she had come into the house and introduced the new lady. CC had almost passed out when
she had seen his new girl friend. She saw her as the spitting image of Fran.
Max just wasn't ready for love, and he had a stream of different ladies that came and went. He was listed
as one of the most eligible bachelors in the city and got proposals on a daily basis. That drove him crazy
because he was a private man and still mourning his wife to some extent. It was getting a little easier for
him, but he missed her everyday. Max was sure that it would never change.
As life went on at the Sheffield house Max finally accepted the fact that he was attracted to Fran. He took
her out to one of the nicest restaurants in the city and then they had gone to the theater. Fran had thought
that he had meant that they were going to the movies, he had meant a play. The difference in their two
worlds showed sometimes, but she was wonderful kind and loved his family. No matter what anyone in
his family or CC said he knew that the two of them belonged together.
Remaining a gentleman was becoming a problem. He wanted very much to be with Fran, but did not want
to do anything disrespectful to the children. He would wait until marriage before he would even think of going
to bed with her. Each and every night, the two of them would spend the night with the children and Niles
and their love grew.
More and more Max would sit on the couch with Fran with his arm around her. He even did this in front of
the children and it was met by their nod of approval. One night Max had cupped Fran's chin in his hand and
had reached won for a kiss. The kiss was the first kiss that they had ever enjoyed together in the privacy
of their home, and Fran sat back and kissed him back passionately.
Niles was coming from the kitchen when he saw them on the couch. He stepped back and smiled. He knew
that the life at the Sheffield home was going to change. He had been trying to get Fran and Max together
for the past few years and finally something was happening.
Fran and Max included the children in almost all of their escapades and each and everyone of them accepted
their love and encouraged it as a matter of fact. Maggie who was the oldest loved Fran very much. She
remembered her mother well and remembered how her life had changed once her mother had died. Her
father had been so sad and living at the home was like living in a graveyard. Everywhere you turned there
was something of her mother's and it had made her sad. Fran had brought light into her house and for once
everyone was happy . Well, that was except for CC but she was going to have to get used to it. Fran was
going to be part of her family no matter what happened.
Brighton had been young when his mother had taken sick, but he remembered her well. She was so quiet
spoken and nice and he missed the smell of her perfume and the way that she used to take him in her arms
and hug him tightly. She had been nothing like Fran. She, like his father had been brought into a world of
wealth and dignity. His mother was as sweet as they came and he would always love and miss her , but
Fran was a wonderful woman and he had grown to love and respect her too.
Grace was the baby and had little memories of her mother. Her dad had brought out a tape of the family
that was taken shortly before her mom had died and she had remembered that day. Fran was the lady that
she remembered the most and she had come to think of her as a stepmother. She loved her and was glad
that her father loved Fran too.
Max was sitting at his large desk in his private study thinking about Fran. She was everything that he had
ever wanted in a woman. She was so different from the woman that he would have thought that he would
have loved. But, Fran had stolen his heart and there was no way that he was going to let her go. He had
played with her feelings enough and it was time to pop the question.
Max looked at some of the best jewelers in town and had found the ring that he wanted to purchase for Fran's
engagement ring. It was a large diamond on a yellow gold ring. Around the large diamond in the center there
were several diamonds on either side of the larger diamond. It was huge and he knew that she would love it.
Now, finding out what size she wore was fun. He had waited until Fran and Val had gone out shopping together
when he had snuck up to Fran's room. He took one of Fran's favorite rings to the jeweler so that they could
see her size.
He had gone out that morning confident that he would have found something that he liked and thought that
she would like to wear. It had been his hope that he would return in plenty of time to put the ring back without
Fran seeing him. But, of all times for the girls to stay away for a short time, this turned out to be one of them.
He looked at the driveway and saw the limo there parked. Max knew that Fran was home and that it was going
to be hard to put the ring back.
As Max came into the house, he came into utter turmoil. Fran and Val were on the floor and looking all over
the place for something 'Oh no she found that the ring was missing' he thought to himself Out loud he said
to them "Miss Fine , may I ask what is going on?'
Fran looked up from the floor with a panicked look on her face. "I cannot find my ring. I tore my room up and
now I am looking here in the living room. It has to be here someplace. Please help us look." she nearly cried
to him.
Max felt in his pocket and found the ring right where he had put it. Now, all he needed to do was to find it without
Fran seeing him put the ring down. While Fran and Val were on the floor Max took the moment and put the ring
next to the leg of the chair. He went over to the other side of the chair and acted as though he was looking. It
was then that Fran went to the chair and found the ring . She lifted the ring up with glee, "Here it is. But how
on earth did it land here?" she said mostly to herself.
Max breathed a sigh of relief and watched as Fran and Val headed up the stairs to go to Fran's room to do whatever
the two of them do there. Fran was always shutting the door and when he walked by he could usually hear them
laughing and talking.
That evening Fran's mother came over with Grandma Yetta. Now, Yetta was a person that you had to meet to
believe she was in her eighties and smoked like a chimney. She would forget what she was saying and sometimes
would forget where she was. However, sometimes Max knew that she was putting on a show for Fran and her
mother. There was the time that she had been brought to his house by the police. Yetta had whispered to her,
"don't say anything. the ride in the police car is free." It was then that he had fallen in love with her as well. He
had to face it he had fallen in love with the whole family.
But now it was time for him to make the big step. He wanted to make this night a special night for both him Fran
and his family. Max knew that both his children and Niles and her family would want to be there when he popped
the question to Fran and so he made the reservations at one of the most exclusive restaurants in town. He had
no idea that on that evening he would be mugged and the ring would be stolen. That evening he asked Fran to
marry him and she had said yes. He had used the top of a soda can for a ring until they could get back to the
jewelers this time together.