Fran and Daphne stood there, watching each other in awkward silence. "Would you like to sit down?" Fran finally asked.
"All right," Daphne replied, smiling politely. She and Fran sat opposite each other on the sofa and overstuffed chair in Maxwell's living room.
"So, Daphne, tell me about yourself," Fran said.
"Well, I'm originally from Manchester, England. But I've been living in Seattle the past few years. I live with Dr. Crane's older brother, and I look after their father. He was a policeman, but now he's retired. Bullet in the hip."
"Oh. Well, that's a shame." Fran said.
"Mr. Crane's a stubborn old sod, but I love him like was me own," Daphne said. She couldn't help smiling as she thought about the man who'd become almost like a father to her.
Fran nodded. There was an awkward silence. Then she leaned forward, as if about to reveal a secret. "Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?"
Daphne shrugged. "I suppose not."
"Are you...dating anyone?"
Daphne uttered a sarcastic laugh. "I spend most of me time with Dr. Crane's brother and his father. Doesn't really leave much time for a social life. But me friend Roz says-"
"Look, I don't want to be a yenta here -" At Daphne's confused look, Fran explained, "It's a Yiddish word. Means 'busybody.' Anyway, I don't want to be a yenta, but...well...I think your Dr. Crane in there has the hots for you!" Fran pointed in the direction of Maxwell's study.
"Why, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!" Daphne exclaimed. "He's newly separated from his wife. The poor thing's heartbroken and lonely."
"Before I came to work here, I was working in my boyfriend's bridal shop back in Flushing. It's a long story. I was basically surrounded by couples in love. These guys would be there, picking out tuxes, shirts, shoes, the works. You could tell most of them would rather be having root-canal work done. But every time they looked at their fiancee, they had this look on their face. You could just tell that they'd found the one. They would look at this girl like she was the most beautiful woman they ever saw. And, believe me, when people say 'love is blind,' they're not kidding. But that's a whole other story!"
"Why are you telling me all this?" Daphne asked.
"Because," Fran said. "It's the same look I saw Dr. Crane give you before. You look like a nice person, and I figure you should at least know."
"You don't know what you're talking about," Daphne said.
"I'm not telling you to go jump into bed with him!" Fran said, exasperated. "Although..." She winked at Daphne and laughed. The sound caused Daphne to flinch involuntarily. "Just think about it, all right?"