54. Growing Pains
The Evans' Residence
(2031) Max is 46, Liz is 45
She smiled as his arms wrapped around her waist from behind. The faint stubble on his cheek prickled her cheek as he placed his chin on her shoulder.
"Hey," he mumbled and angled his head slightly to place a kiss behind her ear.
"Hey you," Liz answered, putting the sliced cucumber into the salad bowl.
"Do you need any help?"
She shook her head. "Nah, I've got it under control. The lasagna is in the oven and I just have to cut up some tomatoes."
He covered her hand that was holding the knife. "Let me do that."
"Max, there's no-"
"You've been on your feet all day. Go and sit down, Parker."
Knowing that there was not really any idea fighting him, Liz nodded and let him take the knife out of her hand. She turned her head and kissed him softly and walked out of his embrace with a whispered "Thank you."
Sitting down on one of the black bar chairs, she watched the broad back of her husband as he cut the tomatoes into wedges.
"How did it go for Zoe today?"
Liz supported her chin in her hand. "She was perfect."
Max sent her a smile over his shoulder. "She always is."
Liz jumped off the chair. "Yep." She walked towards the oven, but only got halfway before Max grabbed her by the waist and spun her to face him.
Holding her tightly in his arms, he gave her a mischievous smile. "Where do you think you're going?"
Looking innocent, Liz replied, "Just checking on the lasagna."
Max bent down and kissed her slowly. Pulling back, his smile returned. "I thought I told you to sit down."
She bit her bottom lip. "I guess I'm not that good at taking orders."
"Ah," Max laughed softly and kissed her again. "A confession."
She locked her fingers behind his neck and leaned towards his lips. Nipping softly at them, she purred, "I've got some more in store."
"Really?"
Liz nodded and ran her tongue across his bottom lip. "Uh-huh."
He smiled. "Okay, so how about we-"
"Moooom. Daaaaaad."
Liz bit her bottom lip in a typical 'caught with her hand in the cookie jar' expression and briefly met Max's laughing eyes before turning her head to face her 13-year-old daughter.
Brianna looked appropriately annoyed at her parents' non-parental behavior, her hands at her waist and a stern look in her dark brown eyes.
But as soon as Liz was about to address Brianna, Jacob Aston stepped around the corner.
Following the redirection of her mother's eyes, Brianna sighed dramatically as she saw her best friend by her side.
"God, you're so embarrassing," she mumbled to Max and Liz. "Why can't you be like other parents?"
Liz laughed. "We've never been like other parents. Why start now?"
Brianna rolled her eyes and decided to put it behind her. "Is it okay if we take the bus to the mall?"
"What about food?" Liz asked.
"We just ate something at the CrashDown."
"Are you sure you want to do that, Aston?" Max addressed Jacob, a twinkle in his eye.
"Daaad," Brianna whined, a fresh blush spreading across her cheeks.
Jacob laughed. "I think I can handle it."
Liz subtly elbowed Max to silently suggest that he'd stop embarrassing their daughter. "You've got your phone?"
Brianna nodded. "Yeah, charged and everything."
"Good," Liz smiled and disentangled herself from her husbands embrace to pull her teenage daughter into a hug. "Have fun."
Max put a firm hand on Jacob's shoulder. "Look after her, okay?"
Brianna sighed. "Daaad. Pleease."
"Of course, sir," Jacob agreed.
Max shook his head. "I thought we'd been through this. Just Max. No 'sir'. Makes me feel old."
"No use denying what you are," Brianna teased.
"God, you've created a monster," Liz said to Max.
Max looked surprised. "I've created a monster? I thought we worked on that together."
Brianna sighed again. "Oookay. There we go again." Taking a firm hold of Jacob's sleeve she started pulling him out of the kitchen. "Let's go."
Max reached out and grabbed his moody teenage daughter by the hand. "Hey."
She obediently stopped, her eyes begging him to act normal.
He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "Bye Bribear."
Her face softened and she offered him a small smile. "Bye."
"Uhm…we're gonna miss the bus," Jacob mumbled behind Brianna and she nodded, pulling her hand out of her father's grip.
"Love you," she said to her parents, already halfway out the door.
Before they could respond, the door closed behind Brianna and they were alone once again.
Liz laughed and turned to smack Max over the chest. "You're so evil!"
"What?" Max laughed back, even though he knew exactly what she was referring to.
"She's a teenager now, Max. Right now you're not her cool dad anymore. She's becoming a young woman and as a result finds you pretty embarrassing."
Max put a hand over his heart in a display of hurt. "Are you trying to tell me that I've finally managed to make a girl not adore me?"
She nodded seriously, laughter hidden in the corners of her mouth. "Yes. And you're embarrassing her in front of Jacob."
Max rolled his eyes. "So what? He's known her for several years-"
"She has a crush on him," Liz declared and watched the color drain from her husband's face.
He started to shake his head. "No…no…"
Liz started to nod along with his shakes. "Yes…yes."
"But she's…she's just a baby."
Liz almost took pity on him. He had to start facing the rough truth; his girls were growing up. Even though he hadn't said anything out loud she knew how much it bothered him to have to face the ugly truth that his girls were entering that dangerous adult world. Especially the world of boys. Liz suspected part of his fears was because he used to be one of those boys, the ones that went after the girls. So he knew exactly the situations his daughters could end up in.
And it scared him to death.
Putting her arms around his waist, she pressed her cheek against his chest and let her hands run soothingly up and down his back. "Not for much longer."
Silence lowered itself over them for a couple of seconds, Max considering this new piece of information that his subconscious had already been suspecting but that he hadn't dared to face.
"You really think she has a crush on him?"
"It's obvious. She's so different around him."
"Maybe it's just the way she's around all of her friends."
"No, it's different. She puts on her nicest clothes. She had lip gloss on just now."
"Hmm…" Max mumbled, laced with worry.
"And she gets so flustered."
"Hmm," Max said again.
Liz leaned back to look up at his thoughtful face. "She's growing up, Evans."
He looked down at her, nodded and took a deep breath. "I guess so."
It was hard for him. Because even though Zoe was the oldest, she hadn't really hung out much with boys. Zoe was completely committed to her dance and was so focused on taking care of school and keeping up with her training that boys rarely cluttered her busy mind.
Brianna was the opposite of Zoe. While Zoe had been calm and quiet as a baby, Brianna had been a fire cracker. She had colic as a baby and would cry inconsolably for hours. As a toddler she painted the walls with her crayons and as she got older she would put animals in her sister's bed and cut the hair off all her Barbie dolls. While Zoe was more like a young Max, Brianna was more like a young Liz.
Zoe had gone through puberty much the same as the rest of the stages of her life; calmly. But apparently, Brianna was not to follow her sister's example in that part of her life either.
Knowing what was on his mind, Liz rose on her toes and kissed him. "She'll come back to us."
He nodded. "I know." But there was a fear in his eyes that she had never seen before.
"She's such a good girl," Liz added. "She's just does everything…more."
"And louder."
Liz laughed. "And louder."
Max looked down at her and it was visible on his face how he did his best to push away his worries. Concentrating on her again, he said, "I love you."
She smiled. "Right back atcha."
Straightening, he hitched his chin in the direction of the oven. "Shall we?"
Liz nodded. "I'll get Zoe."
He placed a quick kiss on her forehead. "Thanks."
Two hours later
"So, how was the show, peanut?"
Zoe put a wild curl of hair behind her ear and tucked a well-trained leg underneath her body. "It was good."
"I'm sorry I missed it."
She shrugged and gave him a small smile. "It was just a try-out, dad."
Max looked at his beautiful daughter regretfully. "Still. I wanted to be there."
Zoe's smile warmed. "Chill, dad. It's okay."
"Mom said you did really well."
A blush of modesty grazed her cheeks and she dropped her head, letting her curly brown hair curtain the sides of her face as she refocused her concentration on her homework.
"What are you up to?" Max asked, taking a seat on the bed next to Zoe.
"Just homework," Zoe answered.
"Oh," Max said, pushed her hair off her right shoulder so that he could rest his chin there.
Zoe laughed. "Did you want something, Dad?"
"No," Max answered casually. "Just hanging with my daughter."
Shaking her head, Zoe put her book to the side and scooted around so that she was facing her father. "What's up?"
"Well…"
"Is this about Bree?" Zoe asked, reading her father like an expert.
Max sighed in resignation. "Yes."
"Don't worry about her, Dad. She's doing okay."
"Do you know anything about her and Jacob?"
Zoe got straight to the point. "She's in love with him."
Max's eyes widened. "That's what Liz said."
Zoe shrugged. "Mom's right."
"What does this mean?"
Zoe smiled. "It means…nothing right now. Bree hasn't told Jacob how she feels and she doesn't know if he feels the same about her."
Max looked surprised. "She's told you?"
Zoe nodded. "Of course. We do talk, you know."
"I just didn't know you were so close…you're so different sometimes."
"She's still my sister."
"I know." Max sighed and raked his hands down his face. "Why can't she just be as easy to deal with as you are?"
Zoe laughed good-naturedly and put her arms around her father. "Stop worrying, Dad. We've raised her well. She's going to figure this out and come out on the right side."
"Ha. Ha. I've raised a funny girl."
"Soon you'll be talking to her about me, trying to figure out who I have a crush on."
Max pulled away and looked at his oldest daughter with wide eyes. " What?!"
Zoe giggled. "Stop looking so shocked. Just because I haven't dated yet doesn't mean I'm immune to guys."
Max looked even more shocked.
Before he had a chance to say anything, Zoe continued, "But if you have to know, there's no boy in the picture and I'm still daddy's girl."
Max shook his head and chuckled at his own ridiculousness. "Shit. I can't believe I'm breaking down like this. I'm the father. I should be listening to your problems, not the other way around."
"Nah," Zoe smiled. "I love our conversations. Besides, it's a two-way street."
Max's face softened with love. He was so proud of his daughter. Both of them. Even though one was a mystery to him at the moment.
Patting her knee he rose from the bed. "Don't study too late, butterfly."
Her smile assured him that, "I won't."
He kissed her forehead. "Good night, beautiful."
"Night."
An hour later
"Mike, get down."
Max held the bedroom door open for the dog who obediently left the bed and walked out the door. Closing the door behind the Labrador, Max started unbuttoning his shirt.
Liz, coming out from the adjoining bathroom in one of his football sweaters which reached her knees, started removing the excessive pillows from the bed while Max continued undressing.
"She's back home."
Liz smiled. "Of course she is. The mall closes at nine."
"Yeah, I was just-"
Grabbing one edge of the bed spread each, they pulled back the cover.
"Worrying," Liz filled in.
"Ever since you mentioned her having a crush on Jacob…"
She took a hold of the front of his boxers and pulled him towards her. "It's just a crush, Max. It's not like she's suddenly gonna have sex."
Max blanched. "Great… I hadn't really thought that far yet."
Liz looked slightly guilty. "Sorry, I thought that was why you were so upset about this."
"No…well, yes… I guess-"
"Baby," Liz whispered, kissing his words away. "She's kinda like me when I was young. She's a wild spirit."
Max sighed. "That's what I'm afraid of."
Liz cocked her head and looked at him incredulously, but with humor in her eyes. "What, big boy?"
"I remember quite clearly what you were like when you were young."
"Oh yes?"
"Yeah. And I really remember how that used to make me want you so badly. You being so…annoying…was a big turn-on."
She raised an interested eyebrow. "Your point being…"
"That her being a wild spirit is going to make guys even more interested in her. She'll be noticed. They'll see her as a challenge, someone that they want to tame and-"
"She's thirteen."
"She's gorgeous."
"But just a kid."
"You just said yourself earlier that she was growing into a young woman."
"Yeah, but that doesn't equal that she'll turn stupid. She'll still make responsible decisions."
"Like you, kitten?" Max asked, with a twinkle.
Liz rolled her eyes with a knowing smile. "Fine. So I wasn't the best judge of character and if you hadn't been there most of the time, I could've gotten myself into some big trouble. But I like to think that we've raised Bree differently. We've given her a solid foundation to stand on and supported her in everything she's done. She knows when she's out of line and she's a really smart girl."
Max relaxed a bit. "She is very smart."
"-And she has Jacob-"
Max's tenseness returned with full force. "And that's a good thing?"
"Jacob's her Max," Liz said with a soft smile.
"You know, the Max I knew lost his virginity around Jacob's age and wasn't shy about spending a lot of time with girls."
"The Max I knew always protected me. Was always there to stop me from making idiotic decisions and put up with me even though I was screaming at him."
"He also took your virginity in a less commendable state when you were eighteen."
Liz's eyes softened. Max had never really gotten over that night. He had explained to her time and time again how it had been the most special night to him, but at the same time his most horrific. Because he took something from her when she was vulnerable. Something he had promised himself never to do.
But that only made Liz love him even more.
"You can't stop it from happening, Max. Our girls are gonna grow up. They're gonna fall in love. They're gonna fall out love. They're gonna have their hearts broken. They're gonna get engaged, get married, have babies. And before they get to that state they might go through several boys. Some might not be so nice to them, other's might treat them like princesses. All we can do is to support them through it. Let them know that if they fall, they can always come back to us and we'll wipe their tears."
"And thirteen is a good age for all of this to start?" Max asked, thinking that Liz was bringing up some good points but that it all sounded too soon for his baby girl to be going through all of that.
She shook her head. "No. I don't. But maybe we should have that chat with her."
Max sighed, knowing exactly what 'chat' she was talking about. The Talk. They'd had it with Zoe, but it had run so smoothly that it felt like they hadn't even been talking about sex.
Brianna might be another deal altogether.
"Yeah, I think it's time," Max nodded.
Liz looked at him lovingly, brushed her hand down his tanned arm and let it land in his hand. Lacing her fingers with his, she pulled him towards the bed. "Relax, Evans."
A reluctant smile briefly grazed his lips before he crawled into bed next to his wife. Pulling her close, shaping his body around hers, he kissed the sensitive spot behind her ear. "What would I ever do without you, kitten?"
"You would still be amazing," Liz answered.
"I doubt it," he said. "You are what makes me who I am."
"Only because you showed me how."
He laughed. The laughter deep and throaty against her ear. "You've got a point."
Her head shook slightly, indicating the shaking of her head in disbelief. "You're not supposed to agree with me."
He kissed along the pulse down her neck. "Oops…Right."
Liz laughed softly. "Good night."
"Night, princess."
