In a matter of three weeks Max had been alienated from some of his closest friends. They stopped coming around his house anymore, ignored him at school, hurried past him on the docs where most of them spent their afternoons earning some income for their lower middle class families, and all because Max had made a choice to change the path his life was taking. Means justifying the ends no longer made sense to him. He looked at his father, hardened by seasonal, unreliable work in construction and factories in a new light. He had always respected his father but had also always wondered why his father never accepted offers to work in "the Office" as the Boston Irish Mob was called. It meant a nice house, good food, good shoes on all the kids and security for the rest of his life. But it also meant a lot of dirty work. Max's father was an honest, hardworking man. He would have thought it disgraceful to provide for his family by destroying the families of so many others. Like Hamlet's mother, he would have handed bills to a storekeeper and seen the blood of those who died for it dripping from the worn green edges.
When I asked Max how he was able to gain the trust of those in law enforcement after such a…street wise childhood, Max just smiled and looked across the bar counter to the picture of Jordan's mother we had admired hours ago.
Boston: 1959
Max Cavanaugh huffed and puffed his way home from work. It was some of the worst heat the city had ever known and though the walk home wasn't far, his house seemed like a speck; an unreachable mirage where his mother stood on the step smiling, a pitcher of lemonade extended toward her son's waiting, sunburned hands. He grabbed a blue handkerchief from the back of his overalls and mopped it over his sweaty brow in almost the same pattern as he mopped the sticky, smelly docks every day. He often wondered if he didn't make mopping motions in his sleep. He would have to talk one of the boys into watching him a night or two just to satisfy his curiosity. '
John would probably do it', he mused as he dragged himself down the street, a tin lunch pail bouncing against his aching legs as he trudged down the bumpy brick sidewalks of his town.
Just as his house was becoming larger then a speck, Max heard a young woman's scream from the back of the row of homes across the street to his left. He stopped instantly, a chill running down his spine in spite of the humid air. He listened for it again.
"Please!! Help!! Someone Help!!" Max didn't even think. He dropped his pail and nearly leapt across the street with his 19-year-old, six foot five body. He was at the alley behind the houses in a length of time that would probably break the world record and he charged, hollering at the younger, weaker boy he was sure he could hammer like a railroad spike into the ground. The boy spun on his heels from where he stood pressing a young woman against the hot brick wall. Max only chased the boy to as far as where the girl was still pressed against the wall in shock. Max looked down at the ground in front of him when a putrid smell hit his nose. He almost had to suppress a smile when he realized the puddle a few inches from his feet couldn't be from rain, as Boston hadn't had any in nearly a week.
He hurried to the aid of the young woman and gently laid a hand on her shoulder.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He asked heaving to catch his breath.
The girl nodded, her breath escaping in ragged gasps as the terror of what might have happened to her was slowly dawning on her. Max told her to take a deep breath and that he didn't imagine the boy would be back anytime soon unless he had a dry pair of shorts sitting on the step around the corner for him. The girl steadied herself on Max's arm. She assured him that she was not hurt and Max just nodded and allowed her a minute to gather herself.
"Thank you…thank you so much…I …I …can't imagine what might have come of me if you hadn't shown up." Max raised his eyebrows and muttered,
"Unfortanately, I CAN imagine, miss." Max said and began to walk slowly down the alley, steadying the girl with one large arm.
The girl's breathing began to steady. Max looked her over, checking to make sure she was definitely okay as well as sizing her up. He was a young man after all. She wore a knee length sundress and clean white sandals. The dress was as yellow as the lemonade Max had been fantasizing about and it fit her in what his dad would say were, ' all the right places'. Her hair was raven black and Max entertained the thought that if she were Irish, she was most definitely that Black Irish he had always heard about, but saw little of in his neighborhood. And since he was thinking about it, Max deduced that by her appearance and accent, she was most definitely not from his side of town.
"So what brought you down to this part of town if you don't mind me asking Miss?" Max asked kindly as they continued down the alley and back out onto the main street. Max scooped up his lunch pail but continued to hold onto the girl's arm.
"is it that obvious that I'm from up town?" She asked shyly, her eyes still moist from crying. Max just smiled and looked her over.
"Uh huh." He said and they both chuckled, the ice now officially broken.
"Max Cavanaugh." He said taking her hand softly in his large rough one. "The watchdog of South Boston." He said with a wink and tipped an imaginary hat to her. The girl smiled.
"Emily Burns." She said sweetly, "And thank you again Max, you may have saved my life back there." Max shrugged his shoulders.
"I think that's stretchin' it a little. Your innocence, yes. Your life…I don't think he woulda killed you…just some little punk kid who can't talk to girls." Max said with a pained smile. Emily just nodded slowly.
"Well, in any case…thank you Max." She said and then asked if Max would walk her home. Max's thoughts returned to that pitcher of lemonade and he suggested that maybe he just take her to his house and let her call her parents from there.
"Oh…my father's going to kill me…though it's his own fault I ended up running out like I did…you see…he wouldn't allow me to go visit one of my girlfriends until my summer reading was finished for the day…so we were going to all meet down here where he'd never expect and well… He's very strict about academics and all…"She said and Max smiled, the recognition of her name finally occurring to him.
"Well, I imagine he would what with being the headmaster at Harvard and all." He said with a smirk and Emily, shocked that Max hadn't said anything, swatted his arm playfully.
"Why didn't you say anything?!" she asked teasingly and Max smiled.
"Your name just now dawned on me when you mentioned your 'strict, academic roots'. I've heard your family's name in the paper from time to time." Max said playfully as they neared his yard. Emily laughed nervously and looked down at her feet.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to not tell you… I just…it isn't important. I don't want people to like me just because of who my father is…or hate me." She said self-consciously and Max smiled.
"Well, then I guess it's a good thing that I liked you before I realized who you were." He said and Emily smiled shyly and tightened her grip of his arm.
"How old are you Emily?" Max asked curious as to whether it was within the realm of possibility for him to see this girl socially. It never even occurred to him that age was not the only thing that could separate them.
"I'm sixteen." She said and Max nodded as his mother came out onto the step and Megan ran out behind her and jumped into Max's arms. Max nodded making note of their three year difference and introduced Emily to his sister.
"Miss Emily Burns, this is Miss Megan Cavanaugh." He said and Emily smiled at the little girl.
"She's adorable Max, how old is she?" Emily asked playing with the ends of the child's long blond locks.
"I'm 5…are you sure you're old enough to see my brother?" Megan asked innocently and Max rolled his eyes.
"Are you sure you're old enough to be asking questions about things that don't concern you?" Max asked teasingly and put Megan down. He turned to the porch where his mother stood waiting to be introduced to Max's new friend.
"Ah, Ma, this is…Emily Burns, I just sort of met her on my way…" Emily interjected and went right to the steps where Mrs. Cavanaugh stood.
"Oh don't be silly Max, Mrs. Cavanaugh, your son here just about saved my
life today!" Emily said and Mrs. Cavanaugh gasped.
"Oh my goodness! What happened Max?" She said laying a hand on the girl's shoulder.
"Ahhh…she was havin' some trouble with one of our local juvenile scum is all…anybody woulda done the same…" He said and patted his young sister's head.
"Oh, you don't know how many people would have looked the other way, Max, not everyone in this city is as kind and helpful as you." She said with stars in her eyes and Mrs. Cavanaugh raised her eyebrows at Max. He shrugged and gave a goofy smile to his mother.
"Well, Miss Burns, I imagine people are out looking for YOU by now…so why don't you come on in and rest yourself and you can give your father a call to come pick you up." Mrs. Cavanaugh said with a knowing smile. Having been a woman 'once upon a time' as she liked to say, Mrs. Cavanaugh could see that this poor little rich girl was the type who went for those downtown, rough neck, boys of which her charming heroic son was a part of. She suspected there would be talk about the city in the near future.
'Yes,' she thought as the pretty young girl crept bashfully past Max to the door, ' talk indeed.'
Boston: Present Day
"So what happened when her father came?" I asked wiping up the excess water that had dripped from the glasses I had just finished cleaning. Max threw his dishtowel under the counter and then grabbed a bottle of whiskey and two glasses.
"Oh, he played the role of the thankful father. Very gracious and kind, thankful to me for helping his daughter. But I could tell that he wasn't happy with Emily at all. He stayed just long enough to make like he cared about the poor dock-working kid who was at the right place and right time to save his prodigal daughter. As they left, I winked at Emily. She knew it wouldn't be the last she'd see of me."
Max rounded the bar and took a seat on a stool. I watched as he placed the glasses down and slowly turned the cap of the bottle off. He wordlessly filled both glasses halfway and I took the hint, joining him at the bar and taking one of the glasses.
"So was it?" I asked with a smile as I took a small sip of the whiskey, letting it burn slowly down the back of my throat. I snuck a peek at my watch. It was quarter after ten.
Max looked at the ceiling trying to remember what the last thing he said was. He remembered with a smile and glanced sideways at me.
"Well, what do you think Casanova?" He asked with a smirk. He had caught me peeking at my watch.
South Boston: 1960
It had been six months and a change in the decade before Max got the nerve to check up on how is damsel in distress was doing. He was trudging through the snow one January night, returning from the drug store with some medicine for his little sister, when his feet decided to take him uptown. He had passes by her house once or fifteen times since that summer, but this was the first time he ever ventured up the steps to the large mahogany front door. He gently lifted the polished silver doorknocker and knocked three times. A few seconds later Emily pulled open the door and smiled brightly.
"Max! How are you!? I'm so glad you've finally come to the door…er… stopped by!" She said hurriedly and rushed me inside the house. Max smiled and turned down the collar of his coat and removed his hat.
"I'm doin' okay…how have you been?" He asked glancing nervously around the house.
Emily picked up on his hesitancy.
"Oh you don't have to worry, he's not home…no one is actually." She
said bashfully and nervously rubbed the back of her neck. Max raised his
eyebrows, not sure what else to do and said,
"Oh." There was a moment of awkward silence and then Emily invited Max to the kitchen for some coffee. He smiled sweetly and began to remove his coat.
"I thought you'd never ask." He said and Emily took his coat with a chuckle.
An hour later, the two still sat at the kitchen table, laughing and sharing stories of their very different lives. Max looked at his watch.
"Well, I think I better be movin' on…my mother's probably got a search party out looking for me by now." Max said with a snort and stood from the table. Emily stood as well and they walked to the front door together. Emily took Max's coat from the rack and held it open for him. He smiled and slipped his arms in. When he turned to face Emily, she threw his scarf over his head, one hand holding onto each end. She didn't let go when it was on, just let her hands rest against his broad, adult chest. Max looked down into Emily's pretty hazel eyes and her lips curled into a seductive smile. Max cleared his throat. Emily just continued to hold onto the scarf.
"Well, I…I hope it won't be another six months before I see you again Max." Emily said and Max leaned closer to her face.
"I'll come any time you want…or any time you need…" He whispered in his deep voice. He leaned forward and Emily pulled on the scarf, forcing their cautious lips to meet. Max kissed her deeply, wrapping his arms around her petite frame. Emily's arms came up around Max's neck and her hands weaved through his short blonde hair. Emily pulled back first and through heavy breaths whispered,
"You better hurry, I think I hear the search party bells ringing…"She said, her forehead resting against Max's. Max chuckled heavily through his own jagged breaths.
"No, no…I think those bells are just in our heads." He said and pulled back to look into Emily's eyes. She leaned forward and kissed him quickly again. Max took her small face between his hands.
"You know this is gonna cause a boat load a trouble if anyone finds out?" Max warned and Emily shook her head.
"I don't care…do you?" she asked hesitantly and Max smiled.
"Not worth a damn." He said confidently and pulled his hat over his head. Emily opened the door and Max turned back to Emily with a newfound comfort. He stepped forward and kissed her warm lips tenderly one last time.
"Call me tomorrow?" Max asked walking backwards down her front steps. Emily bit her lip and smiled. Max narrowed his eyes playfully at her and she nodded enthusiastically. He waved and took off running down the street as soon as Emily closed the door.
Max calmed himself down before entering his house.
"Max is that you!?" His mother called from upstairs as he slowly closed the front door.
"Yeah, Ma, it's me." Max
called back as he began to remove his coat and scarf.
"Bring that medicine here! You're poor little sister can hardly breathe
through her nose!" Mrs. Cavanaugh yelled from the upstairs. Max palmed the
bottle of cough syrup and bounded for the staircase. Then he caught sight of
himself in the mirror and stopped mid jump to wipe the lipstick off his face.
When he turned back to the stairs his father was standing at the foot of the staircase, a folded newspaper in his hand, which he was pretending to read. Max stood frozen, watching as a bemused smirk crept to his father's lips.
"MAXWELL!" Mrs. Cavanaugh hollered and He quickly replied.
"I'm Coming!" and hurried for the first step.
"So's February!" little Megan's nasally voice called down. As Max hurried past his father he heard him quietly say,
"Nice perfume, son."
Max stopped at the top of the stairs and looked back at his father with a
smile. His father raised and eyebrow and finally looked from the paper up to
his oldest son.
They shared a moment of understanding before Max's mother called for him once again and he strolled, lighter than air into his sister's room.
The next Friday was the last Friday of the month and the only Friday Max ever had off of work. He lounged around the house paging through some law enforcement books he had been taking interest in and imagined how he might look in a police uniform. Hell, he wondered if with his juvenile reputation the police force would even let him walk in the academy doors without patting him down. He glanced at the phone for the hundredth time in a few hours and sighed.
"Expecting a call?" his father asked from the couch where he had been sitting since he came home from work 15 minutes earlier. Max cleared his throat.
"Uh-huh." He said casually and continued to flip through a book. His father nodded his head and suppressed a smile.
"So…ahhh….you getting pretty serious with this girl Max?" His father asked finally looking over to his son silently demanding the young man's full attention. Max put his book aside and shook his head.
"Ah, I dunno Pop. We haven't even gone out yet, I …I just went over her house the other day and ya know…" Max said and he could feel the blush rising to his cheeks.
His father finished the sentence for him. "…Necked a little?" he said and Max nodded. His father shook his head and smiled up at a picture of he and Max's mother in their early 20's and shook his head.
"Youth is wasted on the young…" He said shaking his head with a nostalgic smile. Max looked at the picture and smiled.
"I'm working on it Pop, it's just…it's a tough situation." Max said and picked up one of the books again. His father nodded.
"Tough enough to keep you from runnin' over her house the second you put that receiver down?" He asked glancing between Max and the Pats playoff game. Max smiled and looked at his father out of the corner of his eye.
"Nah." He said and the phone rang as if on cue. Max lunged for it. But little Megan popped out of no where and snatched it first.
"Hello?" she said running in circles with the cord wrapping around Max. Their father wasn't watching, but Max knew the older man's focus was not on the game his eyes were watching.
"Guess who?" a sweet, honey smooth voice asked teasingly. Megan rolled her eyes and held out the phone.
"It's for you Maxy Max…it's Emily…AGAIN!" She said and Maxed snatched the receiver and pushed his little sister onto the lounge chair and sat on her.
"Oh, Hey…" he said unwinding himself and only half paying attention to the squealing child under his back side. he looked at his feet as if Emily were standing right there in front of him.
"What are you doing?" Emily asked casually and Max deadpanned.
"Sitting on Megan." He said and Emily scolded him and he got up letting Megan scurry to her father's lap.
"So…my parents have this alumni banquet to go to on Sunday…and…I have to go to it." Emily said sadly and Max laughed.
"Wow, I''m sorry to hear that…I'm sure it must be a drag to have to get dressed up in something a year of my paycheck couldn't afford and eat hot delicious food cooked by the best chef's in the city." Max said teasingly and Emily laughed.
"Oh, well then I guess you
wouldn't wanna join me at this fancy-shmancy banquet then huh?" Emily
teased back and Max was silent.
"Max?" Emily said cautiously. "Are you there?"
"Yeah, uhhh….no that…that sounds great…I don't think I have anything appropriate to we.." Emily cut him off.
"Just come over my house around 5 on Sunday, my parents are going to be at the banquet early. I don't have to show up until around 7." She said and Max hesitantly agreed.
There was a moment of quiet as Max uncomfortably imagined trying to fit in with
Emily's crowd.
"You'll do fine don't worry…" She said reassuringly and Max gave an unsure 'okay'.
"So…"Emily said searching for another subject. "Were you waiting by the phone all day?" she asked and Max could hear the smile in her voice.
"Nah…just…you know…half or so…"He said and Emily reminded him that he
might do better to wait until after 2:30 when her high school let out.
"Oh…yeah…forgot about that." Max said and Emily laughed.
"So…"Max said warily and picked at a loose thread on the couch.
"So…" Emily mocked and Max could hear the smile in her voice. "You coming over now or what?" she blurted out suddenly and Max smiled widely.
"Sure…I mean…yeah….ah, yes, yes I can do that." Max said and Emily chuckled. "I'll be there in a little." He said and after a last chuckle Emily said see you then and hung up the phone. Max held the receiver to his ear a little longer and then slammed it down. He turned to his father who was holding out the house keys.
"Don't wake us up when you come in." He said and Max grabbed the keys with a 'thanks Pop' as he ran out the front door.
"Boy you'd forget your head if it wasn't screwed on!" Max heard his father yell as he bounded off the last step to the house and spun on his heels. His father was standing on the porch, a cigarette hanging out the side of his mouth and holding Max's coat out to him. Max reached out for the coat to be thrown to him and his dad smiled and threw it to him.
"Thanks Pop." Max yelled again and took off power walking down the street. His father yelled you're welcome and shook his head amused before walking back into the house.
Emily was waiting on the front porch when Max got to her house. She met him at the bottom of the steps and he stepped up so that his feet were right at the edge of the bottom step. Emily leaned forward and placed her lips softly on Max's. He smiled against her lips and she smiled back against his. She looked around at the neighbor's houses and then smiled at Max and hopped down onto the sidewalk. He offered her his arm and she took his hand instead.
"So where are we going?" Max asked as he let Emily take over leading the way down the spotless street.
"I thought we might go look at a nice suit for you." Emily said as they headed into a section where high priced merchandise and clothing lined the windows of every store.
"oh, but…well I can't afford the stuff in these places…I'll just…" Emily cut him off.
"Swallow your pride Cavanaugh…we'll call this payback for you saving my innocence." Max smiled and wagged his eyes.
"Only to take it away at a later time…"He said playfully and Emily swatted his arm.
"Yeah, we'll see…if you keep talking like that." Emily said and Max bent to kiss her. He felt a swell of pride when she didn't even glance around to make sure no one was looking before kissing him.
They continued to walk and Emily stopped in front of a men's store and pointed out a suit in the window. Max smiled and shrugged his shoulders. Emily rolled her eyes and pulled him into the store.
The manager recognized Emily immediately and offered his hand to Max.
"And who's your friend?" the nicely dressed manager asked offering a strong hand to Max.
"Mr. Winters, this is my
boyfriend Max Cavanaugh." Max wasn't prepared for the title he had been
given and smiled goofily at Emily as he reached for the man's hand.
"Oh! Well, nice to meet you Max, you've found a wonderful little lady
here." He said taking note of Max's clothes and rough worker's hands. Max
just smiled away at him, his infectious all-American boy smile getting the best
of the shop owner.
"So what can I do for you today Miss Burns?" the man asked with the not-so-genuine enthusiasm of someone just looking to make a buck.
"Well, we've come looking for the perfect suit for Max to wear to the Alumni dinner this weekend." Emily said holding more tightly to Max's hand. She pulled herself close to him and Max smiled politely.
"Well! Then you've come to the right place! Why don't you come with me Miss Burns and I'll sit you down over here where you can take a look at your beau in all the wonderful suits he's going to try on!" The man said pulling Max's coat off as they headed toward a curtained dressing area.
"Suit-S?" Max said emphasizing the plural form the word had taken as he disappeared behind the curtain and Emily laughed.
"So, whadda ya think of this one my dear?" Max said standing tall and strolling toward Emily like he was on a runway. Emily laughed and the manager tried not to look appalled at Max's butchering of the English language. He took the coat off and threw it over his shoulder, the dark burgundy tie swishing back and forth across his chest as he did so. Emily chuckled and nodded her head approvingly.
"You look very handsome, Max." She said and nodded to the manager that this was the suit they would be taking.
"Did you see the look on the priss's face when he got a look at me!?" Max said as he and Emily strolled down the street back to her house laughing like school children. Emily nodded, wiping her eyes to get rid of the tears of laughter there.
When they reached Emily's porch, Max looked up into the living room window. Emily's father was standing there watching them together. He puffed on a pipe between glaring at his daughter's new boyfriend. Max watched him and raised an eyebrow.
"He looks like Sherlock
Holmes." Max said with a grin and Emily smiled.
"Ignore him, he ignores me most of the time anyway so why should he care
who I see?" She said wrapping her arms around Max's middle and laying her
head on his chest. Max pulled back a little and lifted her chin. He smiled and
bent his head down to her and kissed her lips tenderly. When he pulled back
Emily whispered.
"4 o'clock." And then opened her eyes and smiled.
"What?" Max asked confused and furrowed his light brow.
"I'd said to come over at 5 on Sunday…but…come over at 4…" She said and Max smiled knowingly. He nodded and kissed her one last time, her father's glare nearly burning a hole in the back of his head and walked off down the street. Emily watched him go then turned unhappily toward her front door, knowing that she was going to face her father's wraith as soon as she entered.
