Over the next couple of weeks, Max was busy with his business affairs. What they were, Liz had no idea. All she knew was, she rarely saw him. He sent for once or twice, and they would speak for a little bit before he became tired. She was worried that he wasn't getting enough rest. He brushed away her words, saying that he was fine.
Oddly enough, Liz found herself disappointed each time he did not call her. She tried to busy herself like he did, but she just couldn't help herself.
Max on the other hand, really was busy. He was constantly going to see his clients and it exhausted him to no end. He wanted to see more of Liz, but just couldn't muster enough energy to talk with her very long. One morning, he awoke to see that it was snowing. Outside, the world was covered in a thick blanket of white already. He was about to get dressed when he saw a figure outside. It was Liz.
Liz was enchanted by the snow. She had seen it falling when she was little, but she had always been forbidden to go outside when it was snowing. Once, she had sneaked out and played for a few minutes. She had never felt so free before that moment. Now, for the first time, she was truly able to run to her heart's content.
She spread her arms out and breathed in the crisp, clean air. She liked the snow. It seemed to hide the flaws in the earth that had been made by man. Suddenly, Liz felt something hit her in the back. Startled, she turned around to see Max grinning wickedly. "Mr. Evans?"
"One of the first lessons you will learn today is how to make a snowball," Max said with a smile on his face. "There's nothing really to it. You take a handful of snow and pack it in. I wouldn't make it too hard because it can hurt if it's packed too tightly," Max was demonstrating this to Liz while talking. "Then, all that remains is the throwing." With that, Max lightly tossed the snowball, hitting Liz directly in the stomach. She looked down and saw where the snowball had landed. Looking up, she said with mock indignation, "Mr. Evans! I cannot believe you just did that!" she said, before a snowball exploded in her face.
"Can you believe I just did that?" she heard Max's teasing voice.
Quickly wiping the snow off her face, she immediately began scooping snow into a haphazard ball and threw it at Max. To Liz's dismay, it fell apart before it even reached Max. Max roared with laughter and pretended to taunt Liz, "Your snowball is supposed to stay in one piece to hit me!"
"Oh really? Thanks for the information," Liz said, trying to bite back her laughter. "Come on, it's my first time."
"Well, seeing as it is your first time, I'll stand still for a minute and let you hit me as many times as you can from there. But, judging from your first throw, I don't think I have too much to be worried about," Max said with a smirk on his face.
"We'll see now, won't we?" Liz was determined to make her shots come. This time, she was careful to pack her snowball tightly so it wouldn't fall apart. Her first throw hit Max in the shoulder and he applauded her. "Wow. You got it. Not bad. Let's see if you can do it again."
Liz smirked and said, "Watch me." Now that she knew what to do, the snowballs came hurtling at Max in a flurry. "Stop! Stop! What have I done?" Max cried, trying to shield his face. "I've created a monster!" Liz shrieked over, "No moving! You have to stay still for a minute!" She was laughing hysterically and could not remember when she had more fun.
"I lied!" With those two words, Max came charging at Liz with snowballs of his own. They ran around trying to chase and evade each other. Before they knew it, they were both soaking and freezing. The snow had let up slightly.
"Do you surrender, sir?" Liz said. Max was defenseless and Liz was poised, ready to throw her last snowball at him. Suddenly, she saw a look in his eyes and knew something was about to happen.
"Never!!" Max roared and charged at Liz. He knocked her over and the two of them fell in the snow. He wrestled her snowball away and pinned her arms down. "The question now is, do you surrender, Miss Parker.
Liz struggled for a moment longer but knew she could get away. Besides, she was acutely aware of how close Max was to her. Their breaths were warm on each other as their faces were only inches away. Liz nodded and Max slowly got off her. When they were both standing he said to her, "Your hair is soaking, Liz. We should go back inside where you can warm up again."
Once inside, Liz quickly changed into dry clothes and dried her hair as best as possible. She went back outside to Max's office, where he was gathering papers. "Are you going somewhere?"
"Yes. Unfortunately, I have another meeting away. I won't be back until later so don't prepare any dinner for me."
"But the weather's still horrible."
"I know, but it can't be helped. This meeting is important."
Liz reluctantly said, "Okay. Be careful though."
Max looked at her with a twinkle, "I will. I know how much you want a rematch." He gathered all his belongings, put on a coat and left saying, "I'll see you tomorrow morning."
Liz nodded 'good-bye' and watched him go. She went through the rest of the day smiling. Never had she had so much fun. Later in the evening, she noticed that the snow had changed over to freezing rain. Hopefully, she thought, Max would stay the night where he was. It was too dangerous outside for him to be traveling in weather like this.
A few hours later, as Liz was about to go to bed, she heard Max's horse trot by. She waited a few minutes before going to open the door. She was freezing with the wind blasting through the open door, but she still didn't see Max. She scanned the darkness, trying to catch a glimpse of him.
Suddenly, she saw him staggering. She started to smile but saw his face. Something was wrong. His color was pale and he looked like he could barely stand. He managed to stagger to the door, leaned against the frame, and looked at Liz. He said weakly, "Liz," before collapsing toward the floor.
I just wanted to thank all of you who leave feedback! I know I never really personalized this by leaving messages and I should have from the beginning. Sorry! Take heart in knowing that there is a happiness insurance on this story (meaning there will definately be a happy ending). I need to go through a few more things before that happens though, so please be patient! Thanks to everyone who has enjoyed this story!
