~~~Ch 5~~~

Liz stood there, watching them walk away and wondering if she would ever see them again.  She watched as Max turned and looked back, catching her staring after them, then smiled and continued on his way to the bathroom.  She had a feeling that this would not be her last meeting with Max and his son. 

"Miss Elizabeth?" a voice behind her queried.

She spun around and came face to face with Trevor, an elderly British gentleman who had worked for her family as long as Liz could remember.  These days, he was mostly responsible for driving Liz wherever she needed to go.  Nineteen and they still don't trust me to drive myself anywhere, she thought bitterly.  She had her license of course, but her parents still insisted that she allow Trevor to drive her.  At first Liz had resisted and tried relentlessly to ditch Trevor, but she was never very successful.  The older man always seemed to know when she was about to sneak out of the house and gently reprimanded her, persistently asking that she follow her parents wishes.  Eventually she had given in and realized that if she had to be driven around, Trevor was better company than many of the newer workers employed at the Parker household.  They were mostly young and a few of them stared at her strangely, making her rather uncomfortable.  Trevor was more like a kindly grandfather, watching over her and allowing her to vent her frustrations about her parents without betraying her confidences. 

"Trevor!  What are you doing here already?" Liz asked.

"It's four-thirty Miss Elizabeth.  You told me that you would be finished at four-thirty, did you not?"

"Four-thirty?  Is it that late already?"

"Indeed.  Shall we depart then?"

"Uh…yeah in a minute…just let me grab my things.  I'll meet you in the parking lot."

"I'll be waiting…" he said as he turned and made his way to the parking lot.

Liz quickly jogged back to the locker room, changed out of her uniform and threw on an old worn out tee-shirt, that her mother particularly hated, and a pair of faded shorts.  She reached up and pulled her hair out of the ponytail she wore for the game and let her hair fall loose to her shoulders.  To her mother's utter horror, she strived to look as normal as possible and fit in with the other girls on the team…which meant dressing comfortably and not as if she were attending a country club social.  Giving herself a once over in the small mirror in her locker and being pretty satisfied with what she saw, she slammed the locker shut and hurried out to the parking lot where Trevor was sure to be anxiously waiting.

~~~

Max smiled to himself again, thinking about his encounter with Liz.  He had only talked with her briefly, and not about anything but Ryan, but still…he felt a connection to her.  It was as if she weren't really a stranger, but some long lost friend—finally found and not to be lost again.   

He glanced at his watch and wondered how long Ryan intended to stay in there.  At four years old, Ryan had maintained that he did not need any help and that his dad could wait for him by the door.  Impatiently tapping his foot, he again checked his watch.  Enough was enough… "Ryan," he said, pounding on the door, "what are you doing in there?  Come 'on already…"

Just then he heard the sound of the toilet being flushed and he saw the doorknob turn.  The door opened, revealing his small son.  "Geez Daddy…I was coming out…" Ryan said exasperatedly.

"Sorry…I thought maybe you got lost in there or something." Max said jokingly.

"Dad…"

"Okay okay…I'm sorry…"

"Where are we going now?" Ryan asked, reaching to hold his father's hand as the headed towards the parking lot.

"Well…we still have time before we are supposed to meet Michael and Maria, so…what do you think of stopping for some special birthday ice-cream?"

"Oooh can we?  Really?  Chocolate ice-cream?  With rainbow sprinkles?"

"Anything you want…it's birthday ice-cream after all," Max said as they finally reached the Jeep.

"Yay!" Ryan said, pulling himself up into the backseat and buckling himself in. 

Max hopped into the driver's seat, started the engine, and pulled out of the parking lot, heading towards the nearest ice-cream shop.

~~~

"Miss Elizabeth, you know you are just inviting an argument by returning home dressed that way…  Especially when you know that your mother's women's club is going to be at the house.  You know how upset she becomes if she thinks you are reflecting poorly on her in front of her friends."

"Of course I do Trevor.  But the fact remains that I am nineteen years old now and I may dress however I please in my own home.  And I happen to want to be comfortable.  This," she said, indicating her old tee-shirt and shorts, "is comfortable…as opposed to what mother wants me to wear most of the time."  Liz grimaced, remembering some of the many fights over her wardrobe.

"Alright…consider yourself warned then."

"Will do Trevor.  Now can we get going.  I'm beat and I could really use a nice long nap."

"As you wish Miss Elizabeth…" Trevor said, holding the car door open for her.

"Thanks," she sighed as she plopped down in the backseat of the car.

Trevor rolled his eyes at his young charge as he closed her door and opened his own.  Making himself comfortable and checking his mirrors before pulling out, he saw that Liz was already staring out the window, daydreaming with a slight smile on her face.  Wondering who had finally been able to make the young girl at least a little happy, Trevor pulled out of the parking lot and headed for home.

They hadn't gone very far when they stopped at a red light and Liz caught sight of Max and Ryan in a run-down old Jeep leaving a roadside ice-cream stand. 

"Hey it's them!" Liz said, surprised to see the pair so soon.

"Who?"

"Max and Ryan…" Liz started to say. 

But she never got to finish her sentence as right at that moment…as Max was pulling the Jeep into the intersection…a dark green van came hurtling down the street, weaving from side to side, and slammed into the driver's side of the Jeep.  She watched it happen almost in slow motion…too stunned to move. 

TBC…