"Max!" Alec hollered as he entered the house.
"In here!" came the reply from across the house. Alec walked into the room to find Max up to her elbows in grease and her Motorcycle in parts all around her. "Where've you been?" She asked absent-mindedly brushing some hair off her face leaving a black streak behind.
"Doing a couple of chores. Hey, I got you something." He said rummaging through his bags. He finally came up with a little jewellery box and tossed it to her nonchalantly. She caught it in one blackened hand and examined it.
"What's this?" she asked.
"Open it." He said seemingly uninterested but his hands were shaking. Max opened it cautiously and gasped when she saw two identical silver rings. On the inside of one of the bands the word Alec was engraved and in the other the word Max. She looked up at Alec questioningly.
"Long story." He burst out. "I was in a jewellery store and the shop girl kept hitting on me. I kept telling her that I had a beautiful girlfriend who I was very much in love with but I guess she didn't believe me. Anyway, she wouldn't stop and I couldn't take it anymore so I said that I was there to look into engagement rings. That shut her up, but then she started showing me all of these rings and I felt guilty so I bought a pair. Then she asked me what I wanted engraved in them and I couldn't think of anything so I told her to engrave our names. Besides, I've heard that if you have a ring on your finger you can use it to deter unwanted advances."
"Alec are you asking me to marry you?" Max asked.
Alec hesitated. He tried to say yes but "Nah, I just thought that you might like it. Besides I can't give it to anyone else can I?" Came out of his throat instead. Alec cursed himself.
Max nodded trying to hide her disappointment. She took one of the bands out of the box and slipped it on her ring finger. Then she snapped the box shut and tossed it back to Alec who caught it easily.
"Thankyou Alec it is very nice." She said.
"Good, I'm glad you like it. I'll go put the groceries away." Alec said flicking open the box and turning to go.
"I do have one question though." Max said. "Why didn't you just leave the jewellery store and go to a different one?"
Alec froze as much from her words as from what he saw in the box.
"And why were you in a jewellery store in the first place?" She continued.
Alec stared down at the box. Engraved on the ring inside it was the word 'Max'. *Maybe. * He thought. Alec turned around slowly. Max didn't think she had ever seen him look that scared.
"I was looking for a ring." He said softly.
"But you said."
"I lied Max. I want to marry you." He stepped forward and took her hands in his. "I want you to want to marry me."
"If you ask nicely I might consider it." She said stepping closer towards him.
Alec swallowed the lump in his throat.
"Max, will you." Alec never got to finish. Scarlet rang and cut him off. " You'd better get that." He said.
"What!" Max said irritatedly into the phone.
"Miss Guevera?"
"Yes?"
" This is Bertha from the Psychiatric Ward at Harbour Lights Hospital. We have some forms that you need to fill out so that we can admit Mr. Cale. Would you mind coming down here to pick them up?"
"No not at all." Max said her voice saying otherwise."
"Good. The sooner they are filled out the sooner Mr. Cale can begin treatment."
Max hung up the phone. She turned to Alec. " We have to go back to the hospital." Max grabbed a rag and rubbed of the grease as best she could.
Alec nodded. Without a word he pulled the ring out of the box and placed it on his finger. Then he headed towards the door.
The woman at the reception desk didn't even look up as Max strolled up to her. She continued typing out whatever she was working on and completely ignored Max.
"Hi," Said Max, trying to get the woman's attention. "I'm here for some forms I have to fill out."
The woman kept on typing. Max noticed that her nametag said Bertha. It was the same woman who had called her.
"Excuse me." Max said again. " I think you called me earlier and told me to come down here and pick them up."
The woman grunted noncommittally.
"Hey, don't ignore me! You called me." Max said getting frustrated.
"Ma'am, there is a line." The receptionist said. "Now if you'll please take a seat."
Max grumpily sat down on a hard plastic waiting room chair. She looked around. The room was empty. *Line, my ass. * She thought.
Alec walked up to Max and handed her some vending machine coffee.
"Did you get the forms?" He asked.
Max shook her head. "The receptionist is ignoring me."
Alec smiled. "Leave it up to me." He sauntered over to the reception desk and with in 2 minutes had the forms they needed.
Max looked back as they left to see the receptionist about to melt like a puddle over Alec's retreating form.
Back at the house Max stared at the stack of papers on the table. It was huge. " How many forms do you have to fill out to have someone committed to a mental institution?" She asked rhetorically. "Apparently 1027 fun filled pages of difficult and purposeless information." Alec answered. "Well we'd better get this started then." She said pulling out a pen. "Name." She read off the paper. "See Alec, this isn't that difficult." She wrote Logan Cale down on the paper. "Actually Max," Alec said leaning over her shoulder. "It says here, they want the last name first. So, it's actually Cale, Logan." Max scratched out Logan Cale and replaced it with Cale, Logan.
"Ok, next question." She said.
"But what about his middle name?" Alec asked, "Do we know it?"
"Does he have one?"
"How should I know? He's your ex-boyfriend."
"That doesn't mean I know it. Do you think I could make one up for him? Would that work?"
"Maybe."
"Ok.How about Michael?" Max said pulling a name from thin air.
"You're kidding right?" was Alec's response.
"What's wrong with Michael?"
"Nothing's wrong with Michael. I just thought that you were joking. I mean really Max, what kind of a name is Michael?"
"A very common one?"
"Wow, there are a lot of cruel parents in the world." Alec said. "How 'bout leaving that space blank for the moment."
"I just don't see what's wrong with Michael."
"There is nothing specifically wrong with it. It's just like all the other names you give people, Max."
"So you're saying you don't like your name now?"
"No that wasn't what I said at."
"Then what were you saying?"
"That Michael is just a bit blah for my tastes. I mean it's sort of boring and regular and uninteresting."
Max just looked at him.
"And perfect for Logan." He finished. "Ok. Moving on to the next question."
"Insurance number."
3 hours later
"Max, I want Logan locked up in the mental hospital as much as the next guy but we need to take a break."
"Shh.Alec don't bug me I'm trying to figure out Logan's shoe size."
"How exactly?"
"Well there is a simple mathematical formula that should give me the average shoe size for a man of Logan's height."
"Good, because Logan's height is my next question."
"Well, that's the problem. I don't really know."
Alec threw the form down in frusteration. "Max, there is no way that anyone actually fills out these entire forms. It's not humanly possible. Besides I don't even know ¾'s of these answers about myself. How about we go out for a little while, relax, eat and then come back and finish these." Alec said slowly taking the pen out of Max's hand.
"But they need to get done as soon as possible." Max said.
" We'll get someone else to do them."
"There is no one else." Max said glumly.
"What about Sumo?" Alec suggested as their rodent companion lumbered into the room.
"Can Sumo even read?" Max asked.
"Sure he can." Alec assured her. "Sumo can you read, right?"
Sumo grunted and looked offended.
"I'll take that as a yes. How would you feel about filling out these forms for me?"
Sumo jumped up on the table took one look at the papers and shook his head in disgust.
"Logan's middle name Francis." He said and began to scribble furiously.
"In here!" came the reply from across the house. Alec walked into the room to find Max up to her elbows in grease and her Motorcycle in parts all around her. "Where've you been?" She asked absent-mindedly brushing some hair off her face leaving a black streak behind.
"Doing a couple of chores. Hey, I got you something." He said rummaging through his bags. He finally came up with a little jewellery box and tossed it to her nonchalantly. She caught it in one blackened hand and examined it.
"What's this?" she asked.
"Open it." He said seemingly uninterested but his hands were shaking. Max opened it cautiously and gasped when she saw two identical silver rings. On the inside of one of the bands the word Alec was engraved and in the other the word Max. She looked up at Alec questioningly.
"Long story." He burst out. "I was in a jewellery store and the shop girl kept hitting on me. I kept telling her that I had a beautiful girlfriend who I was very much in love with but I guess she didn't believe me. Anyway, she wouldn't stop and I couldn't take it anymore so I said that I was there to look into engagement rings. That shut her up, but then she started showing me all of these rings and I felt guilty so I bought a pair. Then she asked me what I wanted engraved in them and I couldn't think of anything so I told her to engrave our names. Besides, I've heard that if you have a ring on your finger you can use it to deter unwanted advances."
"Alec are you asking me to marry you?" Max asked.
Alec hesitated. He tried to say yes but "Nah, I just thought that you might like it. Besides I can't give it to anyone else can I?" Came out of his throat instead. Alec cursed himself.
Max nodded trying to hide her disappointment. She took one of the bands out of the box and slipped it on her ring finger. Then she snapped the box shut and tossed it back to Alec who caught it easily.
"Thankyou Alec it is very nice." She said.
"Good, I'm glad you like it. I'll go put the groceries away." Alec said flicking open the box and turning to go.
"I do have one question though." Max said. "Why didn't you just leave the jewellery store and go to a different one?"
Alec froze as much from her words as from what he saw in the box.
"And why were you in a jewellery store in the first place?" She continued.
Alec stared down at the box. Engraved on the ring inside it was the word 'Max'. *Maybe. * He thought. Alec turned around slowly. Max didn't think she had ever seen him look that scared.
"I was looking for a ring." He said softly.
"But you said."
"I lied Max. I want to marry you." He stepped forward and took her hands in his. "I want you to want to marry me."
"If you ask nicely I might consider it." She said stepping closer towards him.
Alec swallowed the lump in his throat.
"Max, will you." Alec never got to finish. Scarlet rang and cut him off. " You'd better get that." He said.
"What!" Max said irritatedly into the phone.
"Miss Guevera?"
"Yes?"
" This is Bertha from the Psychiatric Ward at Harbour Lights Hospital. We have some forms that you need to fill out so that we can admit Mr. Cale. Would you mind coming down here to pick them up?"
"No not at all." Max said her voice saying otherwise."
"Good. The sooner they are filled out the sooner Mr. Cale can begin treatment."
Max hung up the phone. She turned to Alec. " We have to go back to the hospital." Max grabbed a rag and rubbed of the grease as best she could.
Alec nodded. Without a word he pulled the ring out of the box and placed it on his finger. Then he headed towards the door.
The woman at the reception desk didn't even look up as Max strolled up to her. She continued typing out whatever she was working on and completely ignored Max.
"Hi," Said Max, trying to get the woman's attention. "I'm here for some forms I have to fill out."
The woman kept on typing. Max noticed that her nametag said Bertha. It was the same woman who had called her.
"Excuse me." Max said again. " I think you called me earlier and told me to come down here and pick them up."
The woman grunted noncommittally.
"Hey, don't ignore me! You called me." Max said getting frustrated.
"Ma'am, there is a line." The receptionist said. "Now if you'll please take a seat."
Max grumpily sat down on a hard plastic waiting room chair. She looked around. The room was empty. *Line, my ass. * She thought.
Alec walked up to Max and handed her some vending machine coffee.
"Did you get the forms?" He asked.
Max shook her head. "The receptionist is ignoring me."
Alec smiled. "Leave it up to me." He sauntered over to the reception desk and with in 2 minutes had the forms they needed.
Max looked back as they left to see the receptionist about to melt like a puddle over Alec's retreating form.
Back at the house Max stared at the stack of papers on the table. It was huge. " How many forms do you have to fill out to have someone committed to a mental institution?" She asked rhetorically. "Apparently 1027 fun filled pages of difficult and purposeless information." Alec answered. "Well we'd better get this started then." She said pulling out a pen. "Name." She read off the paper. "See Alec, this isn't that difficult." She wrote Logan Cale down on the paper. "Actually Max," Alec said leaning over her shoulder. "It says here, they want the last name first. So, it's actually Cale, Logan." Max scratched out Logan Cale and replaced it with Cale, Logan.
"Ok, next question." She said.
"But what about his middle name?" Alec asked, "Do we know it?"
"Does he have one?"
"How should I know? He's your ex-boyfriend."
"That doesn't mean I know it. Do you think I could make one up for him? Would that work?"
"Maybe."
"Ok.How about Michael?" Max said pulling a name from thin air.
"You're kidding right?" was Alec's response.
"What's wrong with Michael?"
"Nothing's wrong with Michael. I just thought that you were joking. I mean really Max, what kind of a name is Michael?"
"A very common one?"
"Wow, there are a lot of cruel parents in the world." Alec said. "How 'bout leaving that space blank for the moment."
"I just don't see what's wrong with Michael."
"There is nothing specifically wrong with it. It's just like all the other names you give people, Max."
"So you're saying you don't like your name now?"
"No that wasn't what I said at."
"Then what were you saying?"
"That Michael is just a bit blah for my tastes. I mean it's sort of boring and regular and uninteresting."
Max just looked at him.
"And perfect for Logan." He finished. "Ok. Moving on to the next question."
"Insurance number."
3 hours later
"Max, I want Logan locked up in the mental hospital as much as the next guy but we need to take a break."
"Shh.Alec don't bug me I'm trying to figure out Logan's shoe size."
"How exactly?"
"Well there is a simple mathematical formula that should give me the average shoe size for a man of Logan's height."
"Good, because Logan's height is my next question."
"Well, that's the problem. I don't really know."
Alec threw the form down in frusteration. "Max, there is no way that anyone actually fills out these entire forms. It's not humanly possible. Besides I don't even know ¾'s of these answers about myself. How about we go out for a little while, relax, eat and then come back and finish these." Alec said slowly taking the pen out of Max's hand.
"But they need to get done as soon as possible." Max said.
" We'll get someone else to do them."
"There is no one else." Max said glumly.
"What about Sumo?" Alec suggested as their rodent companion lumbered into the room.
"Can Sumo even read?" Max asked.
"Sure he can." Alec assured her. "Sumo can you read, right?"
Sumo grunted and looked offended.
"I'll take that as a yes. How would you feel about filling out these forms for me?"
Sumo jumped up on the table took one look at the papers and shook his head in disgust.
"Logan's middle name Francis." He said and began to scribble furiously.