Well, my birthday is this weekend, and as I've given you two updates in a week of this story, my weekend of complete and utter debauchery will not give way to another update. So, for those who do not read UMR (I assure you, you're missing out), don't expect an update to this story for another couple to few weeks. I suppose that gives you time to review.

UNEDITED.

PART TWO of THREE

Chapter 30

Whip Cream, Strawberries, Meat and Mallets

Mac tapped on the window and nearly fell over in laughter as Alexis turned to glare in his direction. She could not roll down the window as he was in possession of the car keys.

--- "Samantha, hold on—"

Sam apologetically looked at her father.

--- "Sorry… Mom—"

Alexis put her finger up to Mac who impatiently tapped his watch; she returned to her phone conversation.

--- "You listen to me you two foot tall munchkin, you had better have a damn near mental breakdown so loud that when you call me I will be forced to put you in Shady Brook—"

Sam was grateful she wore a headset as she gripped the steering wheel with one hand, and squeezed her father's arm with the other to keep herself from laughing hysterically at her mother's theatrics.

--- "You are seriously overreacting right now, Mom. Now, I'm hanging—"

--- "SAMANTHA—"

--- "—up. Have fun, and stop calling me."

She hung up the phone.

Alexis slammed her head against the headrest as Mac tapped once more.

--- "Lex, come on! Costco starts to get packed around this time; unless you want to spend your entire day here, I suggest you come out of the car."

She took a deep breath and muttered a variety of curses in the numerous languages she spoke before unbuckling her seatbelt and opening the door.

--- "I now see why you've been single all of these years Mac Scorpio. What the hell is THIS!?"

He winked at her.

--- "Perhaps you're right, but I am now curious, after spending an entire day with you and your family, how any one of you are alive."

She stopped in her tracks to stare at him.

--- "What is that supposed to mean?"

He grabbed a cart and pulled her beside him.

--- "Come on, Lex, don't dawdle."

He waved his arms in the air taking in the large warehouse they had just entered.

--- "THIS is what we call a step up from a supermarket; do you know what a supermarket is?"

She scowled at him.

--- "YES, I know what a supermarket is, Mac!"

He smiled at her frustration.

--- "Well, I was a bit concerned considering the fact that all you had in your fridge was spoiled milk, and stale marshmallows in your cabinets. Good grief, you didn't even have popcorn in there! God knows you have a sick addiction to the stuff. Aside from that, what do you feed your kids?"

--- "I feed my girls take-out. I figure that that is far more nutritious than what I could ever provide them."

She crossed her arms as she begrudgingly followed him passed the computers, movies, detergents, and clothes.

--- "Now, call me nuts, Mac, but I haven't seen one thing here that I could feed them; I might be a horrible cook, but I'm fairly certain that none of this is edible."

--- "Patience, Lex, patience!"

She rolled her eyes and stared at her phone willing it to ring.

--- "So, your idea of a date is a trip to Costco?"

He pulled her onto the escalator with him.

--- "No, my idea of a date is to stock your fridge and cabinets with food so that the next time a storm passes, you ladies will actually have something to eat, rather than the components for penicillin."

--- "At least we'd be prepared."

He chuckled.

--- "I'm a bit disturbed by that comment, but alright."

She softened slightly.

--- "There's more than one use for penicillin, you know. I mean I know what you're thinking, and it's completely inappropriate. I'll have you know that I have never in my life had reason to use that antibiotic which has, thanks to modern day gallivanting in the streets and doing God knows what in the bed, has become a taboo medication associated with promiscuity—"

He amusingly nodded.

--- "You're absolutely correct… watch your step."

In her rambles, she nearly failed to realize that they had reached the top of the escalator.

--- "Geez, thanks."

He nudged her before retrieving the cart from the attached escalator.

--- "Are you thanking me for saving you from an humiliating fall, or are you thanking me for stocking your embarrassingly empty kitchen."

--- "I suppose I should thank you for both, but there's a reason my kitchen is empty—"

--- "What, Viola hadn't yet gotten around to go grocery shopping?"

She poked him in the side, as she knew he was making fun of her for having a nanny of sorts for her daughters… well, for Molly.

--- "Well, that; and I don't like supermarkets. They're intimidating!"

He laughed aloud at her, prompting her to smack him hard on the arm.

--- "That's not funny!"

--- "Yes it is! You just admitted that you're intimidated by a store with food in it. Do you think the minute you step in there the food will revolt and start attacking you? You might want to seek help because this seems like a serious problem."

--- "I didn't say the market was intimidating; it's the people in it! 'Oh, I made the most glorious roast; the children loved it!' They make me sick! Well, let me tell you something, I ordered the most fabulous rack of lamb from the uber popular Metro Court, and my girls are still alive! Ugh, I can't stand them! The market shoppers are like a cult, Mac; they exchange recipes with one another and turn their noses down to people like me who would dare feed their children frozen meals."

Mac stopped in an aisle he knew she might enjoy.

--- "You do realize that all of this is in your mind? Of all the times I've been grocery shopping, not once have I ever traded recipes with another shopper, nor have they come to me with secret handshakes that reveal the next meeting."

She waved her hand dismissively at him as she walked about the aisle of junk food.

--- "Please, Mac! Look at how you're dressed! I sincerely doubt anyone would think that you'd be able to cook. They all probably think you're shopping from a grocery list your wife wrote… out… for… you."

She stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed a large box of popcorn; she excitedly grabbed it.

--- "What in the world?! Do you see this?! There are…"

She examined the box before whispering to the man as though what she had just noticed were a secret.

--- "Forty-five packets of popcorn in here! Do you know how long this will last in my house?"

He rubbed the side of his face as he calculated a number.

--- "Um, I'll venture a guess of fifteen days."

She threw it into the cart.

--- "Why would you say that?"

--- "Considering you can't cook anything—"

--- "First, I do know how to cook something; if you must know the other day I made dinner for my girls—"

--- "And I see they lived to tell the tale."

--- "Shut up. I'm not THAT bad. I had a recipe—"

He took a bag of chips and placed them into the cart.

--- "Undoubtedly from one of the cult leaders you encountered on your many trips to the grocery store."

She smiled at him as she grabbed a second box of popcorn. She noticed Mac frowning at her.

--- "What?!"

--- "ANOTHER box? You do know that there are other things in this world to eat beside popcorn. There's this thing called a food pyramid—"

--- "I happen to like popcorn."

He looked about the shelves.

--- "No kidding. Now, what kind of cereal do you and your girls eat?"

She tapped the box showing it to him.

--- "Excuse you, Commissioner Scorpio, you must be more observant. This is Kettle Corn; the other one is Original."

--- "Oh, please excuse my ignorance—"

--- "You're excused. Um, I eat Maple Pecan Crunch, Kristina and Molly like Apple Jacks and Honey Nut Cheerios."

He grabbed the boxes and placed them into the cart.

--- "And Sam?"

She smiled at his thoughtfulness.

--- "Well, she normally doesn't stay over, but we're changing that one stolen key at a time. She usually just eats whatever is in the house."

He opened his mouth to reply, but she threateningly pointed in his direction.

--- "Don't you make fun of my empty kitchen again, Malcolm; that's why we're here! We're rectifying the problem."

She said the final word in jest causing him to snicker.

--- "Yes we are!"

She shook her head as she handed him a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

--- "This is her favorite; her cabinets are stocked with it."

He nodded his head.

--- "Ah, so that apple fell far from the tree in this category; I suppose she gets this much from her frog."

She sighed; there would never be a day when Mati and Mac would get along.

--- "Mac—"

He put his arm around her and gave her a squeeze as they walked toward the fruits and veggies aisle.

--- "Sorry, Lex! Now, you didn't tell me what you cooked."

She beamed at the memory of her first successful accomplishment in the kitchen… aside from Molly.

--- "Spaghetti and meatballs!"

He was impressed.

--- "My, my, that was quite a feat! I was sure you were going to tell me you made hard-boiled eggs… oh, sore subject?"

She frowned at him for a moment until she realized to what he was alluding.

--- "You ass!"

She gave him a push and wiggled out of his arms; he laughed at her annoyance.

--- "I'm sorry, I HAD to do it! You were the one who rambled on about how few eggs you had left—"

--- "Probably because you insinuated that I couldn't have kids!"

He pulled her back to him as they continued to walk.

--- "I told you I was sorry, Lex. Forgive me?"

She raised an eyebrow at him.

--- "I suppose."

--- "GOOD!"

He gave her a kiss on the cheek, which she comfortably accepted; there was nothing awkward about this strange date.

--- "You know, I've tried to make them… but, I burned them."

He stopped in his tracks.

--- "You do realize that all you had to do was put the eggs in boiling water, don't you?"

She moved toward the produce.

--- "Yes, but I guess I may have thought that after a while the shell would soften?"

He covered his face to hide the tears welling in his eyes from the stifled laughter.

--- "Alexis, you have to unshell the eggs."

She rolled her eyes as she began tossing apples into a plastic bag.

--- "Well I didn't realize that until the water had boiled down, and the egg nearly exploded in the pot! I noticed the white stuff—"

He stepped away from the cart to take the bag of apples from her.

--- "Don't ever call it white stuff, Lex; they're egg whites. This is all wrong—"

To her surprise, he emptied the bag back into the pile from where she took them.

--- "What are you doing? I just picked those!"

--- "You don't just grab apples nonchalantly! You have to actually examine them; make sure they aren't rotten."

She watched as he picked an apple, looked it over, smelled it and handed it to her for further inspection.

--- "Um, I don't know what you think I'm supposed to see here."

--- "You're supposed to feel a large, hard, delicious—"

--- "Am I feeling an apple or something else?"

--- "Dear God, tell me it's the apple you're discussing, otherwise I will certainly vomit right where I stand."

They both turned around in shock.

Sam turned once again to her father after hanging up with her mother.

--- "I'm really sorry about that; she's throwing a tantrum."

Mathieu was quite amused at the prospect that Alexis might not be enjoying her time with Mac; he knew the man was incapable of getting anything right.

--- "She's miserable, non?"

She frowned slightly.

--- "Are you happy that my mother may be having a horrible time on her date? Because if you are, I have to tell you that I'm not—"

He took her free hand into his own.

--- "Cherie, no! I just knew that Mac was below your mother's standards—"

--- "But you don't even know her. You don't know what her standards are. God, you don't even know Mac!"

He had a tendency to be a bit more opinionated than most people liked; he hoped he had not offended his daughter.

--- "You're right, but I can see; I'm not blind. Mac doesn't know the first thing about making your mother happy. She might not go by Alexandra anymore, but that girl is still inside her. He doesn't know the first thing about bringing it out of her and showing her a good time. Alex likes bad boys; Mac is a cop. He's too sensitive."

Sam pulled up to the hotel.

--- "See, but that's where you're wrong, Da—"

She could not call him Dad. She felt her wall building up once more against the man. She did not want it to, but he was threatening her mother's happiness. This was unacceptable. Alexis was aside from being her mother, her best friend; they had gone through too much together to not be close. Sam wanted nothing but to see her mother happy; she would be damned if anyone, even her father, might impede that from happening.

--- "All the bad boys in her life hurt her—"

--- "Not all of them."

She thought about his comment and nodded.

--- "Maybe not, but the others have. I think Mac is great for her. I know you want a shot at what could have been, but she's moved on, Mathieu. And honestly, you've got a chance to work on what could have been and she's sitting in the car with you right now, but you're too worried about beating Mac. Geez, I'm right HERE! It's one thing to have had a love lost, but you've a kid lost… now she's found."

He took her face into his hands and smiled.

--- "And I cannot begin to tell you how grateful I am for this. I do not want you to think anything less than that. I have dreamt about this moment for so long; I will not let it go to waste."

She felt her eyes welling up with tears.

--- "So then leave Mom to her own devices. Dad, if it's meant to be for you to have been together it will happen. But you know what?"

He wiped the tear the rolled down her cheek. She hated that she was crying in front of the man.

--- "What?"

--- "I've never had a real father before; can't you be that? Can't you just focus on what we should have been with you as my dad and my as your daughter? I mean, I'm an adult now, and I don't need another parent to dictate my life, but I would like a dad I could, I don't know… pick locks with?"

She gave him a weak smile through her fallen tears.

--- "I would like that very much."

He gave her a kiss on either cheek feeling his heart well with pride. This was something that he was aware was extremely difficult for his daughter to do; she was not one to let her guard down so easily. Sure, she could have been giving him one of her Oscar winning performances, but he had a feeling that even if a part of her was looking to protect her mother, another part truly meant every word. That was enough for him.

--- "I tell you what, I know this might sound a little… je connais pas le mot en anglais…"

He tapped his head attempting to think of an equivalent word.

--- "Bizarre?"

Sam laughed at him. Bizarre was not a word that was typically used… at least not in her circles.

--- "Um, maybe you mean strange?"

He shrugged.

--- "Anyway, I know this might sound strange, but I would like to do with you everything that you've always wanted to do with your father, but never had the chance. I want to get to know you, cherie, and I want you to know me too."

She grinned widely.

--- "I'd like that very much."

He was overjoyed; this was more than he had ever imagined in his life. He had envisioned the day when he would see her daughter; here it was. She was giving him a chance.

--- "I have to teach you French."

She wiped the remaining tears that had fallen to her cheeks.

--- "Daddy, the extent of my French is, 'voulez-vous couchez avec moi, ce soir?'"

He handed her a packet of tissues.

--- "Well, no daughter of mine will be saying such filth! Especially when she's clearly dating a criminal—"

--- "HEY!"

He smirked.

--- "Samantha, I have been in this town for a week, and I'm well aware of the existence of Sonny Corinthos. Jason works for him."

Of course he was aware of the mob boss that owned approximately 85% of the property in the area. One would only have to be in Port Charles an hour and they would be made aware of Sonny's existence. Nevertheless, Sam was shocked.

--- "Oh—"

Mathieu tapped her chin.

--- "Ah, so my suspicions are correct?"

She pulled away from him.

--- "Wait, you didn't know?"

He shook his head.

--- "No, but you just told me."

She laughed at the fact that he had managed to con a con… former con.

--- "That was a cruel trick."

He tapped her on the nose before unbuckling his seatbelt.

--- "And yet, something tells me that you've done this many time to others… more specifically your mother."

He gave her a kiss on either cheek before opening the door.

--- "I'm not happy about what he does for a living, Samantha, but who am I to tell you what you can or cannot do. If your mother has found a way to accept this—"

--- "She tolerates, Dad; Mom doesn't accept this in any way shape or form."

He shrugged his shoulders and blew a slight raspberry typical of the French gesture of indecision.

--- "Well, I will follow her lead. However, if either he or his 'profession' hurt you, Samantha—"

--- "You will kill him."

He smiled and nodded.

--- "Je t'aime, ma belle. A demain."

She smiled back at the man as she watched him walk into the hotel.

Alexis wrapped her hands around her daughter's neck in playful jest.

--- "Ugh, what are you doing here?"

Sam rolled her eyes at her mother as she smirked. After leaving Mathieu, she decided to pay her mother a visit on her wonderful trip to… Costco. It was obvious that this store would soon make it on her mother's list of her most favorite places.

--- "I'm having daddy issues, Mommy; I think I may need to go to Shady Brook. And considering the conversation I just walked in on, I think electric shock therapy may be in order."

Alexis noticed that her daughter's eyes were slightly red; she knew she had been crying. She turned to Mac, but he already knew what she needed.

--- "Go, I'll finish bagging these apples for you—"

Sam interjected.

--- "I'm super happy you're being safe, Mac! You must ALWAYS bag—"

Alexis grabbed her daughter before she could complete her statement. It was quite evident that whatever had been bother her, it was not serious enough to stop the filth from oozing out of her mouth.

--- "Okay, excuse us Mac."

--- "Make sure you grab the hard ones, that's how she likes them. Any softness ruins them—"

She covered her daughter's mouth as she blushed.

--- "You need to stop. Mac, um, go deal with another fruit—"

--- "Oooh, yea…"

Even through her muffled mouth, Sam managed to make yet another inappropriate comment; Alexis quickly dragged her to the side.

--- "Dear God, Samantha! You're worse than a teenager!"

--- "Um, you're the one who kept calling me—"

Alexis folded her arms across her chest.

--- "I called you twice!"

Sam unconsciously made the same gesture.

--- "While you were on a date—"

--- "Technically, neither were made while I was on the date; I made the first BEFORE I left the house—"

--- "And the second?"

Alexis rolled her eyes. She placed both hands onto her daughter's shoulders.

--- "Fine, I made that one when I in his car. I'll give that to you; that was after the date began. Now, can you please tell me what happened to you?"

Sam noticed Mac gesturing to her.

--- "Um, you know what, Mom? Can we talk about this tomorrow?"

She frowned at her daughter.

--- "What are you hiding?"

Knowing her mother could read her more than she liked, she looked back over to Mac who was now talking to a familiar red head.

--- "Oooh, Diane!"

Alexis groaned in agitation; her daughter was hiding vital information from her, and now her best friend would undoubtedly make fun of her for the location of her date.

--- "This conversation is NOT over Samantha."

She took her mother by the hand and led her to where Mac and Diane were standing.

--- "I know that, Mom! I distinctly remember saying that I wanted to talk to you about this tomorrow, but you keep pushing me. Now… Hi Diane!"

The fiery woman turned around and smiled widely at Sam and Alexis.

--- "Hello there! I was just having a chat with the wonderfully dressed Mac, and he was explaining to me how he was teaching you, Lex, the finer points on grocery shopping. How gentlemanly of him."

She looked her friend up and down.

--- "Don't you look nice? I take it this was a surprise? Were you not expecting to spend your evening stroking zucchinis and bananas finding the best one suitable for your needs? Mac, I tell you, a little tidbit about my best friend here, she doesn't like ripe bananas, if you catch my drift. That soft stuff is for the old and feeble."

He immediately reddened.

--- "Um, I'll keep that in mind."

She poked him in the arm.

--- "You do that!"

Alexis covered her face wondering what she did to become friends with the woman.

--- "What are you even doing here, Diane? I didn't think Costco was a place you shopped."

Sam nodded in agreement.

--- "Seriously! Are you getting your week's case of wine?"

The woman whipped her neck around to look at the young woman.

--- "Have you LOST your mind? In no way, shape, or form, would I EVER purchase my wine from THIS store! I'll have you know that I have a wonderful relationship with the winery downtown—"

The young woman rolled her eyes as she looked through Diane's cart.

--- "Of course you do… Ah, jelly… and… [ahem] lifesavers."

Sam's ears burned as she recalled the last time she and lifesavers were in the same room as her mother. Alexis looked in the cart; Diane was not one for sweets.

--- "Jelly as in KY, and lifesavers as in LIFESAVERS."

Diane grabbed the boxes from the woman's hands.

--- "Excuse you, but I like to be prepared—"

Alexis smiled.

--- "Clearly; you've a lifetime supply in there! Are you buying the store out? Your cart is filled with only this stuff—"

Sam tapped her mother.

--- "Um, that's not true."

She moved the boxes of condoms aside to reveal cans of whip cream and chocolate syrup. Alexis was astounded.

--- "Geez, the other day you were talking about Max barely scraping minimum—"

The redhead pointed a finger at her best friend.

--- "My Max has NO problem scraping minimum; I'm surprised he's able to find pants that fit."

Sam made a gagging sound.

--- "That was more information than I needed to know, thank you."

Mac looked at his watch and pulled Sam over to him. Alexis watched as they quietly moved away and spoke to each other; it was obvious her daughter was in on this joke of a date.

--- "Di—"

The woman was too preoccupied with her own thoughts to be concerned with what Alexis' gnome and shield were up to.

--- "You know, Lex, it's as though someone removed the safety from Max's gun and now he's shooting up like a soldier in war! It's like Kamikaze soldiers explod—"

Alexis grabbed an apple and put it to the woman's mouth; she could not take one more word of her descriptive analysis of her sexual experience with Mac.

--- "T.M.I. Di, T.M.I. Now, look over there; those two are plotting."

Diane followed her friend's finger.

--- "Oh and they're standing next to the strawberries… SAM! Grab me a few cases of those… oh and get some for your mother as well!"

Diane handed Alexis a can of whip cream and chocolate, but the neurotic attorney quickly put them back into the cart.

--- "Will you STOP!"

Diane rolled her eyes.

--- "And THIS is why you're in COSTCO for your date! SAM, forget the strawberries for your mother! Just grab a few extra for me."

Sam shook her head at the woman, but returned to her conversation with Mac. Alexis was fed up with the secrecy. While she had been enjoying her time with the man, this was not exactly how she pictured a date with him. Then again, if her daughter was plotting, it could not get much worse; Sam seemed to, whether Alexis asked for it or not, always have her mother's best interest at heart.

Nevertheless, she decided to walk over and find out what was being secretly discussed.

--- "So, what's going on here?"

Mac smiled at her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

--- "Sam was just warning me that if I didn't show you a good time tonight, she would have to mash my potatoes."

Sam looked at him in avid disgust.

--- "Mom, I didn't exactly say that, but what I said wasn't too far from what he said. Now, I'm going to get out of your hair so you and Mac can continue this lovely little date."

She gave her mother a kiss on cheek before grabbing Diane's strawberries.

--- "I love you. Have fun!"

Although Alexis did not believe a word that came out of either Sam or Mac's mouths, she decided not to press the issue; it was not as though they could stay inside Costco all night.

--- "I love you too, Honey."

She watched as Sam grabbed Diane by the arm and pushed her and her shopping cart along. She turned back to Mac.

--- "Now, what in the world was all of that about?"

He shrugged innocently as he picked out several other items in the section.

--- "I believe you heard your daughter actually admit to guilt; that NEVER happens. I'd think you'd be happy to accept what she said as true."

She shook her head.

--- "Malcolm Scorpio, I'll allow that comment to slide as it seems obvious that you and she are cohorts in this."

He put the fruits into the cart, wrapped his arm around her, gave her a kiss on the cheek and led her to the meat section.

--- "Whatever you say. Now, what's your meat of pleasure?"

Alexis looked at him for a moment.

--- "Any type I can beat with a mallet."

After spending more than two hours shopping in the store, another hour on the line at checkout, followed by thirty minutes getting all of the items loaded into the car, they were finally ready to leave.

Mac held the door opened for a clearly annoyed Alexis. Aside from the annoying kitchen savvy shoppers, she was not a fan of long lines and loading her car. There was a reason she kept Viola around, and it was not to shuffle her youngest daughter around town; it was because she was not about to do something she hated every week. She would rather pay a person an exorbitant amount of money, than deal with the hassle.

--- "I'm really sorry about the delay, Lex. I told you that we needed to get into the store quickly. I guess I didn't expect to run into Sam and Diane."

She mumbled under her breath more expletives she had not thought to say when they had arrived earlier. Mac took a deep breath to calm his tickling throat.

--- "Come on Lex, this could NOT have been that bad. I thought you would enjoy this. I mean, now you've a kitchen full of food!"

She glared at him as he entered the car.

--- "I've a kitchen filled with food that I CANNOT cook, Mac! AND I'm pretty sure I pulled a muscle or something in my back because it hurts from all that heavy lifting. Just take me home, please."

She wondered if she had made a huge mistake by trying something out with a man whom she had always considered to be a professional friend. After the time she had spent with him, while she found him to be wonderful company, there was no question why he was single; he simply had no sense of what a woman likes.

Mac was saddened that she was so upset; he thought he had made a good decision. He never liked to conform much to societies standards; a date to Costco and a kind gesture of filling her cabinets seemed as far left as he could have possibly thought for a woman who grew up in luxury.

--- "Alright, but I do need to make a quick stop at my house."

She sighed and shrugged her shoulders as she looked out the window.

--- "Fine whatever."

--- "It's getting too dark for me to drive without my glasses on; I didn't expect for us to be out this long."

She did not even bother responding to him. She wanted nothing more than to go home and read a book to forget about another love boat that passed her by.

He nodded. They drove in silence. He wanted to bring up some random topic, but he figured it would do nothing but upset her more; he did not want to do that. He sighed and pulled into his driveway.

--- "Um, I'm not too comfortable leaving a little sitting in the car, so as mad as you are at me, could you come inside?"

Without a word, she unbuckled her seatbelt and followed him to the house. He put the key into the lock, but stopped.

--- "I'm going to apologize for the mess; I didn't expect any company."

She rolled her eyes.

--- "Why am I not surprised?"

He sighed and opened the door, stepping aside to allow her first entrance.

--- "Ladies first."

She shook her head.

--- "You said your house is a mess, Mac; I'm not stepping inside and tripping on one of your dirty sucks to sprain my ankle again. I suggest you go inside and make sure that everything is in the clear first."

He smirked.

--- "Whatever you like, Lex."

He stepped in and looked around before returning to the door.

--- "Alright, everything is in the clear. No torts liability here, not that I have the money to pay for any damages done to your pretty little ankle."

She pursed her lips to his compliment before walking into the living room to see a beautifully decorated dining table set for two.

--- "Oh, Mac!"

He smiled as he locked the door behind her.

--- "And for dinner tonight, we will be serving crow."

She smacked him in the chest before removing her coat and hanging it on the coat rack.

--- "Is this what you've been up to all along? That whole Costco trip was a decoy?"

--- "Yes and no. God knows your house was in dire need of some kind of food, and I just wanted to spend some stress-free time with you—"

She rolled her eyes.

--- "Yea, grocery shopping is NOT stress-free."

--- "Duly noted. We've been friends for years, and there's nothing more weird than moving from that category into the dating one; I figured doing something like that would kill the awkwardness."

--- "It killed something alright."

Just then Robin and Patrick came out of the kitchen with two dinner plates and a bottle of wine.

--- "It's about time you two got here! I was afraid that the duck would get dry in the oven!"

Alexis smiled from Mac to Robin.

--- "You made duck?"

The young woman shook her head.

--- "Actually, Uncle Mac prepared it, and texted us while you were out shopping to put it in the oven. He made everything, we just heated it up for him."

Alexis was quite impressed with the preparation he put into wining and dining her.

--- "I don't even know what to say, Mac—"

Patrick interrupted.

--- "If I may, Alexis, you can tell him to get changed into something more fitting and appropriate for the presence of his lovely dinner date."

Robin wrapped her arms around her husband.

--- "Aw, this is why I love you so much! Yea, Uncle Mac, hurry up and change."

Mac nodded and gave Alexis a kiss on the cheek.

--- "I believe they're right! If you'll excuse me Alexis while I change into something more… comfortable? Robin, Patrick, you may now leave. I thank you for your services."

The couple laughed as they placed the final items onto the table.

--- "No problem; we have plans of our own. Enjoy guys!"

Alexis could not help but feel like an idiot for the way she had reacted to Mac's choice of distraction. Nevertheless, she was grateful to have him in her life. She pulled her cell out to make one final call.

Sam picked up on the first ring.

--- "So, I take it you've arrived at your final destination Mother? How does your foot taste?"

She stared at the table in amazement of Mac's cooking and table setting skills.

--- "It tastes disgusting."

--- "Well, that's probably because you don't get them done enough."

--- "You shut up. Why are you whispering?"

It was true; her daughter was speaking uncharacteristically lower than her already naturally low speaking voice.

--- "Who, I was babysitting with Jason—"

She felt her blood pressure rise at the sound of the man's name in any closer proximity to her daughters than had been the day prior.

--- "Samantha—"

--- "He was on the couch, I was on top of him. We'll find out in a month or two about the baby."

Alexis blushed.

--- "SAMANTHA!"

She continued knowing her mother was turning as red as a tomato.

--- "My throat is a bit sore from all that screaming."

Mac came down the steps dressed in a pair of slacks and a nice polo top. He shook his head in amusement to find Alexis once again on the phone.

--- "I take it Sam is on the line?"

She nodded.

--- "How'd you know?"

He took the phone from the woman.

--- "Only she can make you turn this shade of red… Hello, Sam."

Sam smiled knowing that everything had gone according to plan.

--- "Hi Mac. I'm happy that my mother was surprised."

--- "As am I! I was sure she was going to snap my neck—"

She chuckled as she pulled stepped out of her car and manually locked the door. Mac groaned at the woman's dirty mind.

--- "You know what I mean! Anyway, everything is fine! I'm confiscating your mother's phone, so you shouldn't receive anymore phone calls."

She stepped into the car.

--- "Thank God for that."

--- "Enjoy your evening, Sam."

She started the car and reversed out of the driveway.

--- "You too, Mac, but remember what I told you—"

He smiled at Alexis who continued to stare at the table in amazement.

--- "Yes, yes, sure. I'll have my own scrambled eggs and sausage for breakfast. Gotcha."

She honked the horn as she passed the house.

--- "As long as we've an understanding."