Friends and Lovers
Chapter Fifteen
The family ate an early dinner before heading to the theater. The boys quickly started reorganizing the performance order while Fran introduced her family to her old friend, Christie.
"I can't believe you're not working anymore, Frannie!"
"I've got the kids to think about now, Christie."
"You had kids before, well, you had Anthony, wait, he's Michael now, right?"
"Yes, he wanted to drop his father's first name. I'm just hoping he hasn't overheard any of the things Maxwell and I have been talking about regarding Tony."
"Frannie, everyone knew. YOU knew, I'm sure he saw what was going on. You know, he asked me out before I met Billy."
"I'm starting to think he asked ALL my friends out."
"Well, that was the rumor, Sweetie. I'm just glad you ended up with Maxwell Sheffield. Now THAT is one yummy man. Wow, speaking of yummy, who is THAT?" She pointed to Niles.
"Who, Niles? He's our butler, and one of my best friends. He IS adorable, isn't he? He's also completely in love with Maxwell's business partner; I'm just not sure he knows it yet."
"So you played matchmaker, right?"
"You know me too well, girl. I didn't really play matchmaker, well, yeah, I did. I saw the way they looked at each other, but C.C. was so hung up on classes. She's something like a hundredth generation blue blood." She laughed softly. "I told her it would be a shame to miss out on the love of your life just because he worked as a butler."
"Good for you, Frannie."
"Well, look at me and Maxwell. I'm just this poor schlub from Queens."
"Yeah, and Billy's a poor schlub from The Bronx. You two crack me up, no matter how much money you make, or how successful you are, you stay so down to earth." She looked around the stage. "Have you seen Alexa?"
"She's with my girls. Denise, our nanny, took them into the green room to play."
"I think Billy's still with Max." She giggled. "He's going to give your husband a hard time about being in a show for him, but he came into this knowing he was going to agree to it. I told him from the beginning he was going to do this for you."
"Thanks, Christie."
"If your husband is anything like your boys, he'll be a joy to work with. They are so professional for only being eight."
"Not quite eight. We're very proud of them. Max gave them a little guidance, but this pageant is all them. Max convinced some of his regular backers to attend, and they're going to make donations to the school, so this fund raiser is really going to be a good one."
"We'll make a donation, too, Frannie."
"Oh, no, you're doing enough just being here."
"Fran, it will be our pleasure. Who's collecting the checks?"
"C.C. Babcock, Max's partner. She's also the business manager."
"-and the object of your butler's affections. That's so romantic."
"Mom! MOM!" The boys came running across the stage.
"What IS it, My Darlings?"
"Grandma and Grandpa Worthington just got here."
"Uh-oh, I'd better go find Maxwell."
"His parents?"
"His late wife's parents. Come on, I'll show you to the green room. You can wait in there with the kids. Denise will plotz when she meets you." The two women linked arms on the way to the backstage waiting room. Once she had Christie settled with the girls, she moved down the hall to find her husband. The sound of male laughter told her she'd found them.
She knocked on the door and called his name. Maxwell opened the door laughing. "Darling, Billy's agreed to do my next show."
"That's wonderful, Honey!" She walked over and gave Billy a hug. "Christie's in the green room with Alexa and our girls. I need to steal my husband for a bit."
"It's so good to see you again, Frannie, you look GREAT."
Max slipped his arm around his wife's waist. "Yes, she does, doesn't she?"
Billy laughed. "Easy, Max, I've got my own model." He patted Max on the arm before kissing Fran's cheek. "He's a good man, Frannie. We're so happy for you."
She leaned her head on her husband's shoulder. "Thanks." After Billy left the room, Max turned her around to face him.
"What's wrong?"
"What? I never said anything was wrong."
"You didn't have to, Darling. I've known you long enough to hear it in your voice. Now tell me what's happened."
"Sarah's parents are here. The boys just saw them come in."
"This should prove to be an interesting night. I can just hear my mother and Roberta now."
"I was worried enough about MY mother and Tony's mother being in the same room again. Max, you don't think they'd do anything to embarrass the boys, do you? I mean, I know the Worthingtons don't know Michael, but they wouldn't hurt Brighton, right?"
"It didn't seem to bother their daughter."
"Oh, God!" The nausea was back. "Max, not you, too. Not tonight."
He took her into his arms. "Don't worry, everything will be fine. Let's go talk to them; you haven't seen them in years."
"Not since the Christmas from Hell."
"They were at the funeral."
"Maxwell, I barely remember the funerals."
"That's right; I remember your mother had the children for quite a while."
"I felt like it was my fault, I wanted him out of my life so badly." She laid her head on his chest. "I also was dealing with the guilt of wanting to be right here then."
"You should have been. I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you. I was supposed to be your friend, and I just pushed you away. Can you ever forgive me, Darling?"
She sighed deeply. "I did that a long time ago. I knew you'd break down and talk to me eventually. It just took our sweet boys to give you a bit of a push."
"I'm so glad they did." He kissed the top of her head. "Ready to go out and greet our guests?" She nodded, and he led her out onto the stage.
"How's the lineup coming, boys?"
"It's done, Dad. Mr. Joel asked if he could do an extra song, though."
"What did you tell him?"
The boys exchanged glances. "I said that we were on a timed schedule, and that there was no way." Brighton snickered and nudged his brother. "Not really. I told him that anything he wanted was fine with me. Mom, did Christie really change my diapers?"
"She sure did, Baby."
"Oh, God." Michael buried his face in his hands while his brother fell on the floor laughing.
"Brighton, get up, you'll get your suit dirty."
"Sorry, Dad. It's just the he…the look on his face…." The boy started laughing so hard that he couldn't continue. His parents just smiled and shook their heads as they continued down to greet their grandparents.
After a tense few moments, the Worthingtons seemed genuinely happy for Maxwell and Fran, and completely ashamed of their daughter's behavior and the resulting consequences. Max and Fran assured them that they would be welcome in their home always. During the conversation, Grace and Irene found their way out of the green room and into their parents' arms. Fran introduced Irene to her new grandparents, and she immediately jumped from Max's arms to her grandmother's lap, smothering her with a hug and kisses. Grace followed her younger sister, and climbed onto her grandfather's lap. Suddenly, Irene leapt from Roberta's lap and ran toward the door.
"EEE EEE EEE! Bubby!" She jumped into Sylvia's arms.
Fran smiled. "There are my parents."
"There's my big girl!" Morty held out his arms to Grace, who was now running in his direction. When the couple carried the girls back to Fran and Max, they introduced them to Sarah's parents.
"Ma, Daddy, be nice. Just think about all the times Nay and I screwed up." She grinned, trying to lighten the mood.
"Yes, Darling, but YOUR screw ups didn't result in…"she paused and looked at Grace.
"Oh, no?" Fran cast her gaze to the stage, where Michael and Brighton were placing strips of tape on the floor.
"You were married at the time, Frannie."
"Ma! G'nug already! This is the boys' big night, and all the grandparents will be here." She looked at the four of them sternly. "I will NOT have my sons' pageant disrupted." She put her hand to her stomach, feeling ill again.
"I'll be glad when this thing is over with. The stress has really gotten to Fran. Girls, can you sit here and behave?" The girls smiled and nodded, settling comfortably into their grandparents' laps. He took Fran's hand. "Let's get you backstage to rest. We'll see you after our numbers; we're close to the end so we can help the boys out as much as possible."
"Give them our love."
"We will, Sylvia, thanks."
Fran went to lie down, and Max helped the boys make the last minute preparations. Soon, it was curtain time. The boys had decided on not announcing Billy Joel. They decided to simply place the piano in the middle of the stage with a single spot. Fran was bouncing up and down in the wings trying to shake her nerves. "Max, look out there, what was Niles thinking?"
Max looked to where she was pointing. There were Ernest and Roberta Worthington, Morty and Sylvia Fine, Anthony and Meredith Bergman, and Elizabeth and Nigel Sheffield all sitting together. "He's fired."
"Sir, I just thought it might make things easier on the boys, if they looked out and saw all their family sitting together."
"Yes, ordinarily, Niles, but these people are more likely to be at each other's throats before the night is over."
"It just got worse. Nadine and Barry just showed up with the girls."
"How could that get worse?"
"Barry and Anthony despise each other. Barry and Tony got into it at one of the kid's birthday parties once. Anthony tried to intervene; Barry punched him in the mouth."
"What did Tony do, hit on your sister?"
"How'd you know that?"
"I'm beginning to think there isn't a woman in New York over the age of fifteen that he DIDN'T hit on."
"I love you, Maxwell." She planted a kiss on his lips.
"What was that for?"
"Your middle name…Fidelity." He smiled and kissed her again as the lights dimmed. "Here we go!"
Billy started to sing "Piano Man" and the curtains slowly opened, a single spotlight illuminating the singer.
Billy sang the first two verses, and then a second spotlight shone on Michael. "Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Billy Joel."
Billy finished his trademark song, and then went right into "Still Rock and Roll." He finished with "You May Be Right", and received a standing ovation from the surprised audience. The boys snuck a glance at their headmaster, who was beaming with pride.
While the next acts took the stage, Max and Fran ushered Billy, Christie and their daughter to the back door and a waiting limo. Billy signed autographs for Maggie and the boys before giving Fran a hug. "You take care, Babe. Thanks for inviting me to your sons' party. They're great kids, you two should be so proud of them."
"Thanks, Billy, we are." She hugged Christie and handed her a card. "Here's our new phone number in Monroe. You'll have to come out and visit. Alexa will have a ball with the girls, and we just don't see each other very much anymore."
"Well, if you'd come back to work." Christie grinned at her friend.
Max slipped his arms around his wife's waist. "She'll have plenty of work to do getting this new house in order." Fran wrinkled her nose and the women both giggled.
"I'll definitely come out and visit. Tell C.C. it was great meeting her, and that I'm so jealous that she gets to spend so much time with you."
"Honey, we need to go."
She hugged her friend one more time. "Love you!"
"Love you more!" Fran watch her friend crawl into the limo and close the door behind her. Her eyes filled with tears as the limo turned the corner and disappeared from sight.
"You miss your friends, don't you? Do you want to go back to work?"
She leaned back against his chest, and he wrapped his arms tighter around her. "Yeah, I do miss them, but I don't want to go back to that life. I was never home, I missed the kids. I only worked so much to avoid Tony." She turned around to face her husband, wrapping her arms around his neck. "We've lost too much time already, Honey, I want to spend as much time with you as I can."
He leaned down and kissed her passionately, letting his hands begin to roam her body. They were so lost in each other that they forgot they were outside in the alley. They were interrupted when the stage door opened.
"Sir, it's almost time for you and Mrs. Sheffield to sing."
They rested their foreheads together and caught their breath. "We'll continue this at home." Max pulled back and looked over at his butler. "Thank you, Niles, we'll be right there. It's show time, Mrs. Sheffield."
"Oh, great. Max, I think I'm gonna throw up."
"You'll be fine, Darling, you can sing your numbers in your sleep."
"If you say so, Maxwell." She grinned and followed her husband back into the theater.
First up was C.C. and Fran. They did the song and dance number "Sisters" from White Christmas. Niles and Maxwell, sang "Guys and Dolls", and then quickly grabbed the props from Fran and C.C.'s "Sisters" number and did the Bing Crosby-Danny Kaye version, sending the crowd into fits of laughter. Niles found C.C. fuming backstage. He quickly changed into his costume for his duets with C.C., and pulled her on stage for "Me and My Shadow". They brought the house down with their rendition of "New York, New York".
Max and Fran took the stage for their duets. After their two numbers, Brighton and Michael stepped on stage with them.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it is our great pleasure to announce that two weeks ago", they announced in unison.
"My mother, Francine Fine", grinned Michael.
"And my father, Maxwell Sheffield", smirked Brighton.
"Were united in marriage." Maggie appeared on the stage with Irene and Grace; Michael handed her the microphone and hugged her tightly.
"Please join us in congratulating our parents, and wishing them a long and happy marriage." She started the applause, which quickly spread through the entire theater. "We are proud to present Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell Sheffield!" The children rushed to hug their parents.
Fran and Max both had tears in their eyes as they hugged their children. "You kids are just too much."
"It was Maggie's idea. She asked C.C., and she said you wouldn't get mad."
"I think it was a wonderful idea. Let me get your mother off the stage before she floods it." Max smiled at his wife, who now had tears streaming down her face. She wiped her eyes and took her husband by the hand, and they took a final bow before leaving the stage.
"Can you believe those kids?"
"They ARE something. Why don't you take the girls and go sit in the audience with the family? I have my two songs to do, and then Niles sings. I think that is the end, if I'm not mistaken."
"I love you, Mr. Sheffield." She picked up her youngest.
"Want Daddy."
"I love you too, Mrs. Sheffield. Irene, go with Mommy and Gracie. You can watch Daddy sing."
Max returned to the stage and watched his wife and daughters take their seats. "I can't tell you all how proud I am of my two sons, Brighton and Michael. They planned this show with little assistance from their mother or me. They suggested that since I was singing to their mother, that a song for their sisters might be nice, too, so Maggie, Grace and Irene, this song is for my little girls."
He began to sing "Daddy's Little Girl", which caused Morty Fine to get up from his seat and take Fran by the hand. He began to dance in the aisle with her as Max sang to their daughters. This brought the crowd to their feet with a thunderous applause. When Max finished, he waited for the applause to die down, then addressed the audience again.
"This next song has a special meaning for my beautiful wife. Darling, this is for you." The music started and Fran put her hands to her cheeks and began to cry. He was singing 'Moonlight Serenade', the song they danced to the night they confessed their love to each other. She hadn't heard him rehearse this; he must have practiced when he was at the theater. When he finished singing, he quickly made his way off the stage and into his wife's arms. "I love you, Fran".
"I love you more." He wiped the tears from her face and kissed her softly. They took the last two empty seats with the family, and watched the boys introduce Niles. His first song was "The Way You Look Tonight", and then he moved quickly to "The Very Thought of You". His gaze never left C.C., who had moved over next to Fran and was holding her hand tightly.
"Look at him, Frannie, he's wonderful. He can't want me."
"He's SINGING to you, Ceece! It's so romantic! What's he doing?"
Niles was pulling a CD from his jacket pocket and whispering something to the boys, who were grinning from ear to ear.
"I have one more song this evening that I'd like to dedicate to a very special lady. I've known her for what seems like most of my life, but only recently have I had the opportunity to really get to know her."
"My, God, Fran, what's he doing?"
"I think he's talking about YOU, C.C.!"
"He'd better be!" She grinned at her friend, and then looked back up at the man she adored.
"I always thought I'd be alone all my life, until this beautiful angel came along and stole my heart. C.C., I love you." The music started, and Niles started to sing.
L is for the way you look at me,
O is for the only one I see.
V is very, very extra-ordinary;
E is even more than anyone that you adore can...
C.C. leaned her head on Fran's shoulder and started to cry softly. "No one has ever done anything like this for me before."
"Well, I think you should get used to it, Ceece." They turned their attention to Niles, who was looking at C.C. adoringly.
Love is all that I can give to you,
Love is more than just a game for two.
Two in love can make it,
Take my heart and please don't break it,
Love was made for me and you.
When the musical interlude started, Niles hopped off the stage and moved quickly to C.C., pulling her to the stage steps.
"Niles, please, I can't."
He moved the microphone to his side. "I love you, trust me."
She grasped his hand tighter. "I do trust you, Niles, and I love you, too."
His smile lit up the room as he pulled her onto the stage and continued the song, his eyes never leaving hers. When he finished, the crowd was again on its feet, as C.C leaned in to him and kissed him, gently at first, becoming more passionate as he responded.
When the judges finished tallying the votes Niles and C.C. won the grand prize, with Max and Fran coming in a close second. They all agreed, you just couldn't beat the romance.
"Congratulations, Old Man, I'm glad everything worked like you hoped."
"Thank you, Sir."
"You KNEW about this, Maxwell? And you didn't tell me?"
"Sorry, C.C., I knew Fran would kill me."
"He didn't even tell ME, Ceece!" She threw a mock glare at her husband.
"I hate to cut this evening short, but Mrs. Sheffield has asked me to do some work at her townhouse tonight."
"You're sure you won't join us? We're all going out for dessert."
"I think I'm going to pass, too, Maxwell. If I go over and help Niles pack up the townhouse, we might get moved a bit faster."
"You're sure C.C.? We're going for cheesecake."
"I'm sure I'll find something good to nibble on at your place." She grinned at her friend.
"O.K., if you're sure. Be careful." She hugged her friend and whispered in her ear, "Have fun!"
"Thanks, Frannie. Good night, kids!"
"Night, Aunt C.! Love you!"
"I love you, too, Ree. See you tomorrow!"
"Morrow, Aunt C.!" She ran and hugged C.C., then ran back to her father. "Want up, Daddy, please."
He scooped the child up in his arms as he told his friends goodbye.
"He IS her father! How DARE you say anything different!"
"Oh, no, that's Ma!" They turned around to see Sylvia squared off with Roberta.
Grace heard the commotion and ran to her mother. "Mommy!" She wrapped her arms around her mother's legs.
"Well I know for a fact that SHE is NOT that child's mother!"
"Don't you DARE upset my grandchildren! My Frannie is the only mother that little girl knows. She took care of her after your daughter died. Let's not forget she died holding her boyfriend's hand!"
"If your daughter had stayed at home and been a better wife and mother, her husband would never have sought out my daughter for comfort!"
"And if you'd raised your daughter right, she never would have passed off another man's child as her husband's!"
"MA! That's enough!"
"Who's another man's child?"
"Maggie, let's go."
"No, Daddy, I want to know!
"This is YOUR fault!" Elizabeth Sheffield was on her feet and in Meredith Bergman's face. "I understand you KNEW of this from the beginning, and helped Sarah and Tony conceal the truth from my son and Fran. You should be ashamed of yourself.
Fran sank into a chair and put her face in her hands. She did NOT want her children finding out about this.
"Sarah and Tony?" Maggie looked at her little sister, still clinging to Fran's legs. "That's why he was at the house all the time while you were gone. Gracie's not my sister. She's Mikey and Reenie's sister."
"She's still your sister, Maggie. She's your half sister, just like she's a half sister to Mike and Ree." Max took his daughter in his arms.
"How long have you known this?" She began to cry.
"Not long, Honey."
"Known what?" The boys appeared from the stage. "We're all done backstage, we can get cheesecake now." They looked around and saw Fran and Maggie crying, and the angry looks on their grandparents' faces. "What's going on, who's in trouble?"
"Gracie isn't Daddy's daughter." She pointed at Michael. "She's HIS dad's daughter."
Michael began kicking the folding chairs across the room. Max handed Irene to Fran and grabbed his son. "Michael…Mikey, Son, stop, you'll hurt yourself."
"I hate him."
"You don't mean that."
"Yes, I do. He was so mean to Mom, and now this. Why couldn't YOU be my father?"
"I'm your father now, Son. Tony won't hurt you or your mother again."
"Unless you find out more secrets about him."
Max gathered the boy into his arms and held him tightly. "There is some good out of all this. Grace is your half sister, not just your step sister."
"So she's my really real sister?"
"She sure is."
"I wish Maggie and B were my real brother and sister, too."
"As soon as the adoptions go through, all your birth certificates will show your mom and me as your parents. That's about all we can do."
"I love you, Dad. Thanks for marrying my mom."
"I love you too, Son. Thanks for letting me marry your mom."
Michael looked up at him. "Sorry I was such a schmegegi."
"It's all right. You've had a stressful night. Why don't you pick up the chairs you kicked over and we'll go for dessert."
"Yes, Sir. Thanks."
"I'll help you, Mikey." Brighton was at his side.
"Me, too." Maggie appeared next to her brothers, and the three older children picked the chairs up together.
Barry turned to Tony's father. "You always covered for him. He hit on anything in a dress, and you made excuses for him. Look what it got you. Your grandson hates his father, your granddaughter will never KNOW her father, and someone I love very much, someone I'd die to protect has been hurt badly. Too bad you stopped me from killing him when he hit on my Nay."
Fran stood up and held her daughter tightly. "Everyone stop this. We're supposed to be a family. You all share grandchildren! My God, my KIDS don't bicker this much. We're taking our children for cheesecake, because we're very proud of Brighton and Michael. This pageant was the most successful in the history of the school, and all you so called adults can do is point fingers at each other. The people to blame are DEAD, hell, maybe Maxwell and I are to blame. If we'd both gone through with our divorces, things might be different. We can't change anything, but we can be a family. I will NOT have our children subjected to all this fighting. It's bad enough they had to learn the truth about their mother and father."
"Fran's right, we didn't want the children to know this until they were older, and better able to process it. You are all welcome to be in their lives, but as we've told you before, all the children must be treated equally, as if they are all full siblings."
"No more talk of the past, the affair, Tony or Sarah. I am the mother, Max is the father. That's what the birth certificates will say. Now, we're leaving, you're welcome to put on happy faces and join us." She turned to her children and smiled. "Ready for cheesecake, My Angels?"
"We're ready, Mom!"
Max took Irene from Fran and slipped his arm around his wife's waist. "I'm so proud of you, Darling."
Niles slipped his key into the lock and pushed the outer doors open for C.C. to enter. He stepped in behind her, pulled the doors closed and disabled the alarm.
"Ooh, it's cold in here!" C.C. wrapped her coat tighter around herself.
"I'll start a fire in the living room, but I'll also turn up the thermostat. Fran has it set low since no one's living here now, and there's no fireplace in the bedroom." He placed their overnight bags on the bottom stair and headed for the terrace doors.
She stood in the doorway, watching him collect firewood. "It will feel strange sleeping in her bed, Niles."
"Well, it's not really her bed anymore. She's getting rid of most of her furniture. She's disposing of her bed, and donating the rest of the furniture to charity." He tossed the logs into the fireplace and added newspaper before striking a match.
"Why on earth is she doing that? Oh, that feels good." She moved her hands closer to the fire to warm them.
"Most of the things she had when she was married to Tony. Her bedroom furniture was purchased when she got back from London. I believe the only furniture she's keeping belongs to the children. The rest is going to the women's shelter."
"What about all those great books?"
"Oh, she's having them packed up and put in the attic at the new house. She thinks that the children might appreciate them when they're older. Right now, I think Michael would burn them."
C.C. giggled. "I think you're right. I can't believe she's getting rid of that beautiful dining room set. That set has GOT to be over a hundred years old!"
"She bought it because Tony hated it. I think she's getting rid of all the bad memories."
"Well, she and Maxwell are both due some good memories."
"They certainly are." He took her hand and pulled her to him. "I think you are due some pleasant memories, too."
She looked into his hypnotic blue eyes and smiled. "I think you're right."
"Come with me, Babcock." He led her down the stairs to the kitchen, and then stopped and removed his handkerchief. "Hold still, and trust me." He began to cover her eyes with the handkerchief.
"Niles…."
"I said trust me." He kissed her gently. "Remember…I love you." He finished tying the handkerchief around her head, and led her slowly to the refrigerator. He opened the doors before helping her to sit on the floor in front of it. "Open your mouth."
"Niles!"
"C.C., open your mouth." She frowned and complied. He opened the plastic container and scooped out a finger full of chocolate pudding, and then placed it in her mouth. She smiled and giggled softly, causing a smile to appear on his face. "Shh. Try this, now." He moved a strawberry to her mouth, and watched her lips wrap around it.
"Where did she get strawberries this time of year?"
"They grow them in hot houses. Ready for something else?" She nodded. He looked around the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of boysenberry syrup. He tilted her head back and drizzled a fine line of the purple syrup on her lips.
She licked her lips and smiled. "Oh, that's good, tastes like liquid candy."
He found a jar of honey mustard and dabbed a bit on her mouth, then followed it with a sliver of ham. He continued trying different combinations of tastes on her, until he couldn't stand it anymore, he had to taste what she was tasting. He smeared the pudding on her chin and neck, followed by a dab of whipped cream, then attacked it with his own mouth.
"You're right, this IS good."
"Niles…" She leaned forward to find him.
"Oh, aren't we little Miss Impatient?"
She grinned at him. "You' not getting anything on my dress are you?"
"Your DRESS?" He pulled back and looked at her. With her eyes covered, he couldn't tell if she was joking or not.
She reached forward and grabbed him by his lapels. "Come here, Butler Boy!" She pulled him to her and found his mouth almost instinctively.
When they pulled apart, Niles grinned at her. "You could always take the dress off."
"Are you kidding? It's still cold in here."
He pulled the blindfold off her face. "Come with me. We need to get you cleaned up." He took her by the hand and led her up to the third floor, grabbing the overnight bags on the way.
"The playrooms?"
"This was originally the master bedroom suite." He opened the bathroom doors. "This was the master bath, complete with oversized Jacuzzi tub."
She looked at him and giggled. "Ni-iles…I wonder if the kids have any bubble bath." She looked in the cupboard under the sink, only finding bath toys and washcloths.
"Try up here, remember, Irene is still at that age where she likes to taste everything." He opened the cupboard and found several bottles of bubble bath, including some soft scented ones that must have belonged to Fran. He handed her a bottle of lavender scented bubble bath. "This one looks good." He closed the cupboard and began running the warm water into the tub. He began checking out the cupboard for the towels. He found two oversized bath sheets, and when he turned back around, he found C.C. sitting in the tub, covered with scented bubbles. "Still Miss Impatient, aren't you?" He chuckled.
"So are you going to just stand there, or come in here and join me?"
Niles removed his clothing quickly, while C.C. watched admiringly. She'd never paid attention to him while he undressed before. She hadn't noticed his muscular arms and legs, and toned abdomen. "Wow."
He slid into the tub behind her, wrapping his legs around hers. "What?"
"Maybe I should take up housecleaning. I never noticed how in shape you are!"
He nuzzled the back of her neck, then grabbed the washcloth and slowly began washing her back. He moved the cloth in slow circles, massaging her as he bathed her, then moved the cloth to her arms and up to her neck. As he began to move the cloth down her chest, she realized she'd been holding her breath, and let it out slowly. She carefully turned around and took the cloth from him, and began washing his chest and arms. He picked up another cloth and continued bathing her; massaging areas that made her hold her breath again. He stood up and wrapped a towel around himself, then helped her out of the tub. After blotting her dry, he wrapped the towel around her and picked up the overnight bags. He took her hand and led her up the stairs to the bedroom.
"Niles, when did you do all this?" They looked around the room. There were candles everywhere, and a book of matches lying on the dresser. A table had been set up, with strawberries and whipped cream sitting in a large bowl of ice. There was a bottle of expensive champagne on ice sitting next to the table.
"I didn't do this. Mr. and Mrs. Sheffield must have stopped by." He looked at the bottle. "This is her best champagne; I don't know what she was thinking."
C.C. picked up a note. "Oh, Niles, this is so sweet." She handed the note to him, and he read:
"May the two of you find the happiness that we have found. Thanks for everything. Love, Maxwell and Fran."
He set the note down with tears in his eyes.
"What's wrong, Niles?"
"They were so busy today, with the show and the relatives, and yet they still found time to come here and do this for us."
"Maxwell knew we were coming here to…to…I mean, I told Fran, but she wouldn't have told him, would she?"
"I told him. I asked his advice on the song tonight, about telling you that I love you in front of everyone. I was afraid you'd be upset."
"Upset? Why would I be upset that the man I love told me he loves me?"
"Well, I wasn't sure if that was the time to say it for the first time. Mr. Sheffield asked me what had taken me so long."
C.C. laughed. "Oh, that's GOOD, coming from the man who hid from the woman he loved for two years. So are you going to open that champagne or not?"
He popped open the bottle and offered her the first glass, then poured a glass for himself. He held it up to her. "To new beginnings."
She smiled and looked into his eyes as she touched her glass to his, then sipped her champagne. "Oh, this is good. Frannie has excellent taste."
"It was sweet of her to share it with us." He reached for a strawberry and dipped it in the whipped cream, then moved it to her mouth. "Now I know why she had fresh strawberries in her refrigerator."
She took a bite and nodded, then took another drink from her glass. She'd been with this man before, why did she feel so nervous now? Then it hit her like a ton of bricks. The time for casual sex with him was over. They were now a couple. This was a relationship. She drained her glass and set in on the table, looking into the eyes of the man she loved. "I love you, Niles."
He sat his glass down and took her into his arms. "I love you too, My Beauty." He led her to the bed and pulled back the covers. "Wait right here." He helped her into the bed, and then moved to the nightstand to begin lighting the candles that Fran had placed around the room. He clicked off the light and tossed his towel on the sofa before climbing into the bed next to her. They made love through the night and into the early hours of the morning before falling into an exhausted sleep.
They were awakened in the morning by a persistent knocking on the front door. Niles pulled back the curtains and peered out the window. "It's the moving company! They aren't supposed to be here until tomorrow!" He climbed out of bed and pulled a pair of sweat pants and a tee shirt out of his overnight bag.
"I'll call Fran." C.C. sleepily rolled over and reached for the phone.
"You'll probably wake them up. I'll be downstairs with the movers. Come down when you get off the phone and let me know what she wants us to do." He leaned over and kissed her softly. "By the way…good morning."
She smiled at him. "Good morning." She quickly dialed the number to the Sheffield home. "Denise? Hi, it's C.C.. Is Fran up yet? Oh, good, may I speak with her?" C.C. could hear the children laughing and playing in the background. Of course she wouldn't wake her up, Irene and Grace had probably done THAT an hour ago.
"C.C.? What's wrong? You and Niles should still be sleeping off last night!" She giggled into the phone.
"Well, we WOULD have been, but your movers are here, Sweetie!"
"Now? OK, let me tell Max what's going on, and get these girls settled down, and then we'll be right over. DON'T let them touch my wine!"
"Thanks for that, by the way. That champagne was divine!"
"I knew you'd like that. There's plenty more downstairs. We'll have to christen our new houses with it!"
"Sounds great. Hurry up and get here, I can hear Niles from here. I'd better get dressed and get down there."
"Sorry your morning was ruined, Hon!
"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad we're here."
Fran hung up the phone and went in search of her husband. She found him hiding in his office buried in paperwork. "Sweetie, it's SUNDAY…Besides, we have a problem."
"What's wrong, Darling, can't find the egg poacher?"
"Ha ha, very funny. The movers are at the townhouse right now, we've got to go over there."
"You're not serious."
"C.C. just called. Max, nothing's ready!"
"All right, Darling, we'll head over in just a minute."
"Dadeeeeeee!" Irene ran in and leapt into her father's lap.
"We can't very well take this one."
"No, I'll get Denise to take care of them. Breakfast is ready, by the way. I guess you and I will miss it."
"I'll take you to that little diner you're so fond of as soon as we're done with the movers. How does that sound?"
"Perfect." She grinned at him. "I love you." She pulled her daughter from her father's lap. "Come on, Ree, time to eat."
"Want Daddy! Want Daddy eat!" Fran tossed a disgusted look at her husband before exiting the office with her screaming daughter.
She carried her into the dining room and placed her in her high chair. "Irene Catherine Sheffield, you stop that right now. Daddy is working and YOU, Missy, need to eat your breakfast." Denise appeared in the room with Grace and the older children.
"Want Racy eat. Want Maggie eat."
Maggie sat down next to her sister. "Yes, Reenie, we're all going to eat together. Do you want some juice?" The toddler nodded her head up and down, bouncing her dark curls all over her face. Maggie laughed. "You need a barrette, Baby Sister."
"Uh huh…want rette!"
"Here, you can use one of mine." Maggie pulled one of the barrettes from her hair and pinned the toddler's curls away from her face."
"Pretty like Maggie?"
"Yes, Baby, you're pretty like your big sister." Denise smiled at her charges.
"Denise, will you please let Max's mother and brother know what's going on? I'm surprised they're sleeping so late."
"Then you haven't heard what happened last night?"
"Oh, no, not another fight."
Denise giggled. "Far from it. After you and Mr. Sheffield left with the kids, Nigel and Barry got together and announced that everyone was invited out for dessert. Let's see, it was your parents, Mrs. Sheffield, Nigel, Barry and Nadine, and the Worthingtons. I was going to head on home, but Nigel insisted that I come, too.
"Nigel, huh? So what happened?"
"Everyone went out for cake and coffee, and talked about how we're all a family, and we all need to do what's best for the kids. The Bergmans refused to come, and your mom, Mrs. Sheffield and Mrs. Worthington had a field day talking about Mrs. Bergman. They think it's terrible how…" she stopped and looked at the children. "Sorry, Fran, maybe we'd better talk about this later."
"Good morning, Love!" Nigel came into the dining room with a smile for Denise.
"Hi, Nigel." Denise blushed and smiled back at him.
"Is it safe to leave you two alone together?" Fran grinned at her nanny.
"Oh, good morning, Fran! How's my favorite sister-in-law this morning?"
"Nigel, I'm your ONLY sister-in-law, and I'm doing just fine, thanks. Well, except for the fact that we have to go over to the townhouse and get some things packed up for the movers who showed up a day early."
"Well, how about after breakfast Denise and I come over and help you."
"Nigel, I've got to watch the kids."
"We'll leave them with Mother."
"Oy, you really want her to hate me, don't you? I'm not leaving them with your mother, not with the mood Irene's in this morning." She looked over as Irene tossed her spoon at her brother. She looked at her watch. "Denise, we've really got to go. Kids, you behave yourselves, do you understand?"
The children all nodded as they continued to shovel food in their mouths. Irene looked up at her mother with tears in her eyes.
"Wanna go Mommy Daddy!"
"No, Sweetie, you're going to stay with Denise and Uncle Nigel." She kissed the top of her youngest daughter's head. "Be good, Honey, please? We'll be back as soon as we can." As she left the room she could hear her daughter screaming for her and Max. She tried to tune her out as she headed for the office.
"That isn't my sweet baby girl making that noise is it?" Max looked up from his desk as his wife entered the office.
"It sure is. Can we just go; I'm not sure how much more of that I can take this morning. She felt tears welling up in her eyes.
Max pushed his paperwork aside and got up from his desk. "What's wrong, Darling?"
"I don't know, I'm just feeling a bit emotional this morning. Maybe it's the move, maybe I'm just over tired. We have had a lot going on lately."
"Maybe you should stay home and let me handle the movers."
"No, I really need to get away from Irene's screaming right now. How soon until you can get away?"
"We can leave right now, Sweetheart. You're sure you're all right?"
"I'm just fine." She smiled, wishing she could tell him the real reason for being so emotional. There's no way I'm going to be able to keep this baby from him until Father's Day! She moved her hand to her abdomen protectively. How can I hide this pregnancy for another three months?
"Fran?" Max was holding her jacket out for her. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Absolutely, Honey. I can't wait to get all of us into that big new house. Wait till you see what C.C. has planned for a birthday present for Maggie!"
"You two haven't been plotting again, have you?"
"Us? No, Honey, not at all. C.C. just told me what she was buying Maggie, I told her that you would will kill her, and she said that she really didn't care." She giggled as Max helped her put on her coat.
"Of course, you didn't try very hard to talk her out of it, did you?"
"Uh, well, um, no, I didn't. I agree with her." She got into the car and watched her husband round the front of the car and get into the driver's seat.
"You agree with what?" Max started the car and headed for the townhouse.
"That Maggie is old enough for a horse of her own."
"WHAT? Fran are you insane? She's too young for that kind of responsibility."
"Maxwell, she really isn't, you know. She's almost a teenager."
"Fran, I can't believe you made this kind of decision without consulting me. She's not…"
"Don't you DARE say it, Mister!" Fran's eyes filled with tears again. "She's been more MY daughter than YOURS for the last two years. While you were hiding in your office buried in guilt and paperwork, she GREW UP! I had to deal with losing YOU, guilt over Tony and Sarah's deaths, raising FIVE kids almost by myself…oh, I forgot, I had your string of nannies to help me with two of them from time to time." The tears were flowing freely now, and she stopped bothering to wipe them away.
"We chose this house together; We LIKED the idea of a stable so the kids could have horses. You didn't seem to have any problem sailboat shopping with the boys. A sailboat is a HELL of a lot more dangerous and takes a LOT more responsibility than a horse, but you didn't feel the need to consult ME before buying one!"
Max rolled the car to a stop across the street from the townhouse.
"The boys are FOUR years younger than Maggie!" She got out of the car and slammed the door, giving Max an angry look. She stepped off the curb and hurried across the street, just as a large truck turned the corner. Fran froze as the truck raced closer to her, its horn blaring.