Max waited in the hall for Avonlea. She returned a few minutes later. She wore jeans and t-shirt from a band he had never heard of. She had a purse and was pulling a rolling bag cart behind her. Her eyes were still red and puffy, her cheeks tear stained. It broke his heart knowing he was the cause of it, but if the results were her depending on him, then it was all worth it in the end.

They walked together in relative silence 2 blocks to the local grocery store. Avonlea looked around nervously down the street and over her shoulder watching and waiting for any sign of her possible stalker.

He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. "Relax, its broad daylight. You're walking with me. Nothing is going to happen."

"Oh no…what if he comes after you next?" She looked at him with wide eyes. His heart fluttered at the genuine concern in her eyes.

"I promise you, I will be fine. C'mon. Let's go get your food." He held open the door to the store open for her and followed her in.

She stood over to the side of the entrance near community bulletin board with her little cart and pulled out her planner. She had a list written in order of isle and food type. She pursed her lips and tapped them with her fingers as she mentally made a plan for a path through the store. She set out to her first destination and Max shadowed her. He watched her as she consulted her list and scanned the shelves. She read labels, compared prices and ingredients. Occasionally, he would reach things on the higher shelves for her when her tippy toes failed her.

"So, you like to have things organized?" he asked, pointing to her planner.

"No—I mean, it's not a 'like' per se. If I don't write things down, I won't know what I need to do. I get ideas for stories or start writing, and I completely lose sight of what I need to do. Cleaning, eating, paying bills…I forget about all of it when I am in my head… or I remember them at completely inconvenient times. I have to have my lists and alarms for everything. I'm a mess." She laughed and shrugged her shoulders.

"No, there's nothing wrong with that. If you were a mess, you wouldn't make your lists at all. It shows me that you have a good grasp of your strengths and weaknesses."

She smiled and they continued shopping. He asked her questions about her childhood. She regaled him with stories of being chased by roosters, sleeping in a tent in her backyard for the summers, being the weird kid in school, because her parents were loud and very open minded in a small rural town.

Soon, too soon for him, she had what she needed and paid for her things. She had pulled two bags in her cart and he carried the third. She seemed less anxious now. Someday, they would be planning meals and menus together. Shopping together. Arguing over whether the strawberries looked good or not. He smiled to himself.

He was pulled from his daydreams when she said, "So, tell me about your childhood, Max."

"Well, there isn't much to tell. My parents died when I was young. I grew up in the building with August. I mainly just tried to stay out of his way. I spent most of my time in the building. Sometimes there were other kids to play with but not always."

"That sounds kinda lonely."

"It was."

"Why aren't you married?" she blurted. "Oh god, I'm sorry." Her hand flew to her forehead. "That was really really rude of me. You don't have to answer that."

"No, it's okay. I was engaged once, but she decided this wasn't the life she wanted." I wasn't what she wanted.

"What? What's wrong with your life? I mean, you own prime real estate, you're your own boss, you're nice and easy on the ey-" She stopped herself and blushed.

He smiled at her admissions. She actually had a list of positive things to say about him. He knew she would be special to him, that she was meant for him. "Well, there is a lot of maintenance involved in an old building like this one, so there's a lot of complaints. She didn't want to deal with any of that. She wanted someone with a nine to five job separate from the home life. There was a lot of things she didn't like towards the end."

"Sounds like you're better off. How could she choose convenience over you?" She looked at him then quickly smiled at her shoes. "I just mean—It just sounds—crap. She sounds selfish. You deserve better than that."

"She was, and I am better off. But I guess that I just haven't met anyone since that… got me."

"I know how hard that can be." She laughed and bumped his arm with her shoulder. He felt his mouth spread into wide smile his dimples peeking through his short beard.

They reached their building and ascended the elevator. He walked her to her front door. She opened it and set the groceries just inside. She seem hesitant to cross the threshold. "Thanks again for going with me. I'm sorry I'm such a scaredy cat."

"Avonlea, you never have to apologize especially for something lets me spend time with you. Um…if you're up for it, would you like to go out with me tonight?"

"Yes. That would be wonderful."

"Great. I'll swing by around 7. What you're wearing is fine, but bring a light jacket in case it gets cool."

"What are we doing?" she asked.

"It's a surprise."

"Ok…"she said with a suspicious grin. "I'll see you later then."

"Yeah. If you need anything, anything at all, you call me ok."

"Ok. Thanks."

She closed the door. He knew exactly what he wanted to take her to. He needed to do his own shopping. He thought about checking on August before he went out again but decided against it. He was happy. He wanted this feeling to last a little longer.

Max looked at himself in the mirror. He ran his fingers through his thick hair. It was naturally messy but luckily, that was the style now. He wore a dark grey t-shirt, jeans, and some black shoes. He checked his watch. It was time. He could finally get Avonlea for their date. He snuck past August sleeping in his recliner and left his apartment.

He knocked on the door with a blanket and basket in hand. She opened the door. He noticed right away she had changed her clothes. Her t-shirt was replaced with a green flowing blouse with a camisole underneath and her tennis shoes with ballet flats. Her hair was pinned back away from her face with some bobby pins. She had a light jacket in her arms and purse over her shoulder.

"You look beautiful."

"Thanks. You look pretty good yourself." She winked then her eyes locked on the items in his arms. "What are we doing? Are you taking me on a picnic?"

"Not exactly. Right this way, Avonlea." He walked her to the elevator.

"Max?"

"Yeah."

"Why do you call me Avonlea? Everyone else just calls me Lee. It's okay if you do too."

He stared at the ground for a minute. "I think your name is pretty." He looked up into her eyes and said, "And I don't want to be just everyone."

She met his gaze. "You're not."

They stared at each other until the elevator opened. They left the building and Max hailed a cab. He opened the door for her and slid in behind her, the basket and blanket on his lap. He slipped a piece of paper to the driver with the address.

Avonlea craned her neck to see. "You're really not going to tell me where we're going?" She laughed.

"I said it was a surprise," he teased.

They rode in the taxi for a few minutes. It dropped them off a large park just outside of walking distance. Max exited the cab and helped her out of the car. He paid the driver and offered her his arm. She slipped her hand around his elbow and they started walking. It wasn't long before she saw their destination.

Further down the path there was a large open venue. It had a stage that was usually used for musical performances, but tonight, it had a large screen on it. Every so often, in the summer, the park would show movies, family friendly movies in the afternoon and classics in the evening. They found a vacant spot among other couples and a few families. He spread out the blanket and they both took a seat.

"We're watching a movie? With a picnic?" she asked.

"Yeah, I hope that's okay."

"Of course it is! What movie?"

He pulled out a flyer from his back pocket and handed it to her.

"Arsenic and Old Lace? Cary Grant is my favorite!"

He knew this, of course. He had seen her collection of his movies in her apartment. When he saw the flyer this morning at the grocery store he took it and hoped she would say 'yes'.

"I grew up watching a lot of his movies with August," said Max. "He really loves the classics." And showing him how real men acted. They took what they wanted. They never let a woman dominate them. Max was never able to cultivate the bravado his grandfather demanded. But he'd brave watching the movies that reminded him of his many failings as a man if it made her happy. Anything to make her happy.

"So, how is August? Is he okay or is he sick?" she asked.

"He had a stroke about a year ago and his health has deteriorated since. Before all that we were partners and made all the decisions together. "

"That must be hard on you… both of you."

"Well, he raised me so I owe it to him to take care of him."

"Must be difficult for him. He seems like he used to be a force to reckon with and to become so frail…"

"Frail?"

"For all his intimidating looks, he kinda looks like a strong wind might knock him down. I can't imagine a man like that would appreciate losing his strength. Sorry, I tend to make up backstories for people. Occupational hazard."

"It's alright. You're not far off. I guess I've just never seen him as weak before. But you're right. He is frail, and he's been angry with the world for the last year." As opposed to just me, he thought.

The film started playing. As Avonlea watched the movie light up the big screen, he pulled out food from the basket. Sandwiches from a deli. No mayo for her. She had mentioned her dislike of the condiment while shopping. Some chips and fruit salad cups. For desert, the iced cookies she had eyed but declined even though he had tried to convince she should treat herself. Two bottles of sparkling water because caffeine in the evenings interfered with her sleeping pills according to a conversation with her mother.

"Oh my god, Max! This is amazing. You didn't have to go through so much trouble." She laughed as she held up the containers of cookies. "Really? I was trying so hard to be good."

"You don't have to be good around me," he said, smiling. "And I wanted to do this for you. You had such a hard morning—"

Her body stiffened and she immediately looked around her hands wringing in her lap.

"Hey." He reached out and took one of her hands in his. "You're safe. You've got me. I would never let anything happen to you. And I spot at least 5 officers walking around monitoring the event."

Her shoulders slumped with a sigh. "You're right. Of course." She shook her head then looked at him. "This is so perfect, Max. Thank you."

They ate and watched the movie. She peppered him with trivia about the movie she had heard on dvd commentaries, gossip about the actors, and general history of Hollywood's Golden Age. He drank in her attention, occasionally chiming in with a question or two to keep her talking. She was lovely and animated when she was passionate about a topic. Her eyes sparkled, her smiles flowed freely, and her hands danced in the air, punctuating the story she told.

After the movie, they packed up and grabbed another taxi home. She leaned her head on his shoulder. He slowly moved his arm around her. He held his breath, waiting for her to reject his attentions. To his delight, she sidled up closer to him. The cab ride was too short. He took her hand once again to help her out of the cab. She didn't let go this time as they walked in to the apartment building opening the door for them since his other hand was still carrying their blanket and basket. She even pushed the buttons for the elevator. She didn't let go until they reached her door and she had to find her keys. He set their picnic things down and watched as she fiddled in her purse. She found them buried at the bottom and unlocked her door. She opened the door all the way, took a step in, and turned.

"I had an amazing time tonight. This was the best date I've ever been on," she said.

"It's technically not over." He took a step towards her closing the distance between them.

"It's not?" Her voice was breathy and light.

He cupped a large hand on her cheek the rough pads of his fingers caressing her soft skin. She leaned into his touch. "No, it's not."

He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. Her hands pressed against his chest and slid up around his neck and into his hair. He wrapped his other arm around her waist pulling her into him. She let her head fall back giving them easier access to explore each other. Their mouths opened, and their tongues intertwined. She let out a low sensuous moan against his lips. As the kisses deepened, their pace quickened. He picked her up and pressed her back against her open door. She wrapped her legs around his waist. Both bodies moving in rhythm with their kisses. He pushed into her with a gentle thrust. Her hips began to rock against him. He growled and broke the kiss. He set her down, took a step back. His hands rubbed his face roughly. He looked at her. Her eyes were still closed. Her cheeks were flushed and lips swollen. Her chin was pink from his beard rubbing against her sensitive skin. He kissed her on the forehead and sighed. Her eyes blinked open and she bit her lip.

"Goodnight, Avonlea," he said with a small smile. "Lock your door."

"Goodnight, Max." She reached up and gave him another kiss on lips. Then another and another until he smiled against her lips. She smiled at him one last time then shut the door between them. He waited until he heard the locks click before making his way to his apartment.