Carrying a small wooden picnic basket, Max went into his new garden on a very hot summer day. He was impressed with how it was looking. He noticed Roxanne, wearing a summer straw hat, a white strapless bikini top and tight blue jean shorts, was kneeling on a kneeler before a flower bed and planting new beautiful colourful flowers in them. "Wow, Roxanne! This is a paradise!"

Roxanne turned to face Max and got up. "Oh, hi, Max! And thanks for saying that. I used to do this when I was living in Spoonerville, but I haven't kept it up since I moved to Dallas. I'm doing my best, but I hope I'm not out of practice."

"You're not," Max said. "You still got it. And you're doing better than your best. And can I say that you look absolutely gorgeous with that lovely tan on you?"

Roxanne blushed as she laughed. "Oh, Max. I'm so glad you moved in with me and Jimmy. You make us feel so good about ourselves. And what's this?"

"A little something to celebrate."

Roxanne gasped. "You mean, you got that job at the gym?"

"I wouldn't have bought anything as special as this if there wasn't anything worth celebrating."

"Oh, Max, that's wonderful!" Roxanne hugged him.

Taking off his red shirt and black shoes off and leaving on only his grey shorts, Max set the blue picnic blanket on the shiny green grass and got out the picnic food they sat down. There were sandwiches of all kinds, a salad, a chocolate cake and a lemonade bottle. He bought these special items as well as other groceries on his way back and put the special ones into the old picnic basket that belonged to Goofy, who gave it to his son.

Taking off her hat and shorts off and wearing only her strapless white bikini, Roxanne joined him on the picnic blanket and they all enjoyed their delicious picnic. As they ate, Max told her how impressed the gym was with his resume and his positive and hardworking attitude and how each of the references he chose, the C.E.O. at the Children For The Future office and the head of the orphanage, sang his praises and how he was to start work first thing tomorrow, but he promised he would be able to take Jimmy to his friends wherever they would be at either the kids' activity center, which was where he was right now, the orphanage or Forksville Elementary School when it was time to start.

Max was still sad that he had to leave the charity office and he wouldn't be able to spend much time helping the orphans as much as he used to, but he knew he couldn't have everything he wanted in his life and he promised everyone at the charity that he would continue to volunteer for the charity whenever he could.

"Oh, before I forget, Max, this came from the mail." Roxanne handed him some papers. They were from Peg who told them about that she had managed to sort out all of Jake's properties and put the money into Jimmy's trust fund. There was a letter from her saying thanking Max and Roxanne for trusting her with Jake's properties and how lovely it was to see him again after all those years since she and Pistol left Spoonerville and how she was looking forward to seeing him, Roxanne and Jimmy again during their quick vacation trip in a few weeks.

Max was impressed that Peg had managed to sell or rented out all of those properties since her visit to the penthouse in Dallas just over a month ago. During that time, he, Roxanne and Jimmy had been very busy. Max was busy going to interviews for jobs, moving out of his old apartment and helping Roxanne and Jimmy move into the house Peg recommended and sold to them. Roxanne was busy too. She was so successful with the meals at the children's charity hospital that when the head chef retired, they gave Roxanne the job. She was also busy trying to sort Jimmy into Forksville Elementary School and she had also arranged reading clubs for the children looked after by the charity on some nights every week. She had never been so busy in her life, but she had never been happier or felt so good about herself helping others. And Jimmy was busy helping Max and Roxanne with the house and garden as well, but he always managed to find time for all the friends he made. Though neither of them could volunteered as often as they used to, Max and Roxanne continued to volunteer whenever they could like at events at weekends and on certain trips with orphans. Recently, there was a barbeque event hosted by the charity in Forksville Park, where Roxanne oversaw all the food going on and Max took care of the coconut shy.

Max sighed. "This is the life. I never imagined I would have anything as excellent as this or anyone as wonderful as you and Jimmy."

"And Jimmy and I are so lucky to have a terrific guy like you in our lives, Max," Roxanne said. "Hey, Max, there's something I want you to know."

"What's that?" Max asked.

Roxanne held his hand nervously. "I want you to know that I will always need you in my life. Even if our renewed relationship doesn't progress further and I might find someone else, I can't live without you in life. You, not someone like you because there will never be anyone else. I lived six years without seeing you at all to know that for certain."

Max held her hand back. "I feel the same way as you do, Roxanne. In all the time I've been away from you during that time, I have never found a woman so wonderful, so beautiful and so kind as you and I know for certain I never will. And I want you to know that the last thing I want to do to you is make you miserable and keep you trapped like Jake did."

"You are nothing like him," Roxanne said. "You are better than him in every way. You are smart, you have a good heart, you are very considerate about others and you never let success, money or popularity get through to you. Even when back in high school and you became popular with your talents, you never forgot the important things in your life: your family and your friends. You are one of the few people who doesn't make decisions for me; you let me make my own decisions and when it comes to making decisions together you make me feel part of the decision."

"I have to ask you, Roxanne," Max said. "I am grateful to met you when we first did and I am grateful for you being with me whenever I did, but I have to know –"

"What do I see in you?" Roxanne asked.

"Yeah. I mean, you were very popular at Spoonerville High School. You could have been with any boy –"

"Before I met you, I did try with a few boys including Chad, but I didn't feel a connection. I kept feeling like they used me to become popular or just to hang around with a beautiful girl; they never wanted to know me for who I was or what my talents and interests were. To be honest, I tried to show interested in them, but they were boring, boastful and too self-absorbing.

"I won't lie to you, before I met you, I always felt sorry for you because of how most of the other kids were treating you, but on that day when you laughed and did your Powerline stunt later, that's when I thought you were amazing. And the more I spent with you and learnt more about you, the more interesting and amazing you became.

"I think I was popular because of two reasons. The first one was because I was the best friend of Stacy the student body president and the second one was because all the boys thought I was beautiful, but that it was all they were interested in: my beauty and nothing else. I didn't earn the school's respect like you did with your talents with your singing, dancing, acting and sport activities."

"But when I was doing those activities, I couldn't have done with your support," Max said. "You watching me and cheering me on was better cheerleading to me than all the cheerleaders did. Even when you told me you couldn't physically see me but you would be thinking of me was supporting me enough."

"And I always bet the head cheerleader always wanted to spend time with you," Roxanne said.

"But I always told her some white lie saying I was too busy because I always wanted to spend time with you whenever I could," Max said. "Because you were more important to me."

"I keep telling all of my friends how wonderful you are," Roxanne said. "And they keep telling me we're a better married couple than they are, even though we're not married. Stacy had always been saying since we started dating in high school and she said we were more of a married couple than her own parents were.

"You've always made me feel good about myself and make me feel more confidante about myself, Max. And you are a better dad to Jimmy than Jake ever was. Jimmy told me so himself. On the day we were sorting to get Jimmy in elementary school, we popped into the prison to see Jake when it was visiting times. As you know, the judge has allowed Jimmy visiting rights to see his dad."

"Let me guess," Max said. "You and Jimmy waited for a long time for Jake to come to see you, but he never did."

"Correct," Roxanne said. "That's why you're the dad Jimmy needs and that's why I'll always need you in my life, even if we don't get married. You'll never just be a friend; you'll always be one of my special friends. Please promise me no matter what happens we'll never be out of each other's lives ever again."

Max smiled. Though he never imagined he would live with children, he enjoyed living with Jimmy and hoped he would be a good dad as much as Goofy was, without the goofy awkwardness. "I promise, Roxanne. And I need you in my life just as much as you need me."

"Thanks, Max. And thank you for everything good in my life."

"And thank you for everything good in my life as well."

Then they wrapped their arms around each other and kissed each other.

"So how excited is Jimmy for our vacation trip?" Max asked.

"Very excited," Roxanne said. "He can't wait to see Stacey, Bobby, PJ and his beret girlfriend. And he's looking forward to seeing your cousin Debbie and her girlfriend. And so am I, for that matter. And you know he thinks very highly of your dad."

And they continued to enjoy the sunshine, the blue sky and their conversations as they awaited for what the future had in store for the both of them.