Fran woke up a couple hours later. It was beginning to get dark outside. She listened to Max's heart through his chest, and watched his chest rise and fall as he breathed. She saw the claddagh ring on her finger and smiled. He was so wonderful. Her boyfriend! She loved him so much. She carefully sat up, trying not to wake him, and got off of the bed, then hurried across the room to use his bathroom.
Max stirred with the click of his bathroom door and looked over to see Fran wasn't there. He nervously looked around for her and saw the light coming out from under his bathroom door and felt relief. He had always been attached to her on some level and worried about her, but she held so much more significance to him now. He sat up on the bed and tossed the comforter back the way it belonged, rubbed his eyes, then got up off the bed. It was getting dark in the bedroom so he turned on the bedroom lights. Just then, Fran came out of the bathroom and headed towards him, then reached her arms out to him, smiling. Max enveloped her in his arms and she buried her face in his chest.
"Sweetheart…"
"Mmm hmm?" She mumbled, squeezing her arms around his back.
"Would you like to bring some of your things in here tonight? Toiletries, clothes, makeup… whatever you might need for a while. Maybe we can get Niles to help move your dressing table in here."
Fran looked up at him. "You mean it? You'd be okay with me bringing my things in here?"
"Mmm hmm. As long as one of those things is you." He smiled.
"Aw, shucks!" She hugged him again and sighed.
"You feel cold, darling. Do you want to put on one of my robes?"
"Sure, okay. Do you have any that will fit me?"
"I'm sure I do, come here." He took her hand and led her to the closet. He showed her where the robes were hanging and let her go through them. "Hey, pick one out for me too, I'm going to run to the little boys' room!" He patted her hip and ran off to the bathroom.
Fran went back and forth through the robes and picked out one of the thicker, dark blue ones and tried it on. It smelled like Max's cologne. She wrapped it around herself and stepped over to the full length mirror to have look at herself. Yes, this one would do. She tucked it tightly around herself and tied it in front, then went back over to the robes and picked out a black one for Max to wear. She looked around the closet and imagined where she might put some of her clothes. She couldn't believe this was happening! He really wanted her to be with him, in his room! She walked out into the bedroom and shut the closet door as Max was leaving the bathroom. She handed him the robe and he put it on.
"So what do you think, dear? You think we can fit your things in here?"
"Well, might need a little shifting around, but we'll figure it out." She kissed him. He must have used the mouthwash, too.
"Are you feeling hungry at all?"
Fran thought for a moment. "Actually, yes. I still have that shake in the fridge I need to finish."
"Well why don't we head down and see if we can help Niles put a dinner together?"
"That sounds good. Hey- you think it's okay to show him the ring? Do we need to tell him to keep it to himself so we can tell everyone tomorrow?"
"Sure, I think we can show him. But yes, we might need to mention it to him to keep it under wraps so we get to tell the others." Max held her hands and looked down at her, lovingly. "So, Fran, do you like your ring?" He rubbed her finger.
"I sure do, Max! I love it! And I love you!"
"I love you, too, Fran." They kissed, and headed out of the bedroom holding hands.
"Hello, Niles!" Fran bubbled, as she and Max came down the back stairwell.
"Good afternoon, Ms. Fine, Mr. Sheffield! I'm just starting to get dinner sorted out. Can I get you two anything?"
"Is my shake still in the fridge?"
"Yes, it is." Fran skipped to the fridge and took out the remaining part of her nutrition shake from that morning and took a sip. Max wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and whispered to her.
"Remember, just a little at a time." She turned her head toward him and kissed him. It was cute how he looked after her.
"Oh Niles!"
"Yes, ma'am?"
"I have something to show you!" She took Max's hand and pulled him over towards Niles with her, then stuck out her left hand so Niles could see the ring.
"What's this? Oh! Ms. Fine! Is that what I think it is?!" He put down the spatula he had in his hand and wiped his hands on his apron, then took her hand to get a better look at the ring.
"Yeah. See which direction it's turned?"
"Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! I'm so happy for you two!" He hugged Fran.
"And did you see the stones? You know what they are?"
"No, tell me, tell me!"
"Garnet and topaz, our birthstones!" She looked back at Max, gushing.
"Oh! That's so wonderful! Did you get it today?"
"Yes, Max surprised me. Really surprised me." She pulled Max's hands around her waist.
"Oh, That reminds me Niles," Max said. "We might need your help moving Fran's things into my bedroom. I mean, our bedroom." He clutched her around the waist and kissed her cheek.
Niles stood there with his mouth hanging open. "You're moving in together, too?!"
"Yeah! You think you could help move my dressing table?" Fran asked him.
"I can do that right now, if you'd like!" Max and Fran laughed.
"No, Niles, that can wait until tomorrow."
"And I'll need your help with the closet as well, maybe consolidating things so Fran has room to put her clothes?" Max told Niles.
"Absolutely, sir! Just let me know when!"
"Well, we're supposed to go on our first date tomorrow, so maybe when we're gone then." Max smiled and Fran turned around to hold him around his waist.
"Oh! This just keeps getting better and better! I'm so happy for you two! Really I am! Can I get you both something to celebrate? A bottle of champagne or something?"
Fran and Max looked at each other, knowing why that wasn't a good idea but not wanting to tell Niles why.
"Thank you Niles, but no." Max said. "But we are hungry, is there anything we can help you with?"
"Oh, well, I've got the pork chops about ready to get started, and the apples are in the oven, baking.
"That sounds good, I haven't had baked apples in ages!" Fran said.
"Oh, good! I was trying to come up with another side dish, but all I could think of was maybe a salad or something? I wasn't sure you'd want anything like baked beans or not. If you'd like to look through the refrigerator and see if anything appeals to you." Max and Fran headed for the fridge and Fran took another sip of her shake and set it on the counter.
"Well, there's a protein and a fruit, so do you want a carb and a vegetable?" Fran asked Max.
"A salad might be a good idea. Let's get some of that out." Max reached for the large Tupperware bowl that had the pre-cut greens Niles had already made in it. "I don't think I want bread. What about potatoes?" Fran gave Max a wide-eyed expression of agreement. "Niles, is there any more of that batch of home fries you made?"
"Yes, sir. There should be a casserole dish in there with a glass lid. I can put that right in the oven with the apples."
Max found the dish and handed it to Niles, who put it straight into the oven. He went back to Fran who was still looking.
"You think I can have more soup?" She asked Max quietly. He glanced at Niles, then back at Fran.
"That might be alright. But maybe just a mug full this time. How about the salad, do you think you could eat a decent amount of that?"
"Fran thought for a moment. "Yes, and it would probably be a good idea to eat a bunch of that. It might help things. But what kind of dressing?" They both looked at each other, then into the fridge to see what dressings they had. They both knew dairy might not be good, so they settled on a light Italian dressing. Max whispered into her ear.
"Go easy on the pork chops, too. Maybe just a few bites, then a good bit of salad and see what else you might be able to handle after that. Does that sound okay?"
"Yeah, I think I can do that. But I definitely want some of those apples!" Max grinned at her enthusiasm and kissed her lightly.
"Yes, ma'am!" He chuckled. She grabbed her shake and sat down at the kitchen table, and Max went to get himself a glass, then grabbed a bottle of tea out of the fridge, along with a bottle of water for Fran. "Do you want a glass for this?" He asked.
"No, that's okay. That way I can save it if I need to."
The small TV set was sitting on the table, so Max switched it on and used the remote to flip through the channels. He came across an old film from the 1930s, replete with elegant song and choreographed dance numbers and amazing costumes. He put down the remote and watched. He couldn't remember the name of the film, but it looked familiar to him. He leaned back in the chair and Fran took hold of his arm, then leaned her head against his shoulder.
"Look at those dresses!" She said. Max smiled.
"Yes. And look at how big those sets are! I used to try to imagine how I could get a set like that to fit on a theater stage. How much structure it would take, and if a stage floor could take the weight. I imagined how I might be able to get a huge dance number like that on a stage, but if you didn't have those overhead cameras so the audience could see all of it from above, how could you give them the same kind of experience? The same kind of feeling…" Max was fondly reminiscing about some of the things that got him to love the theater, to love musicals and big choreographed numbers. Fran loved hearing him tell his stories. It was like he turned into a young boy again. And she wished she had known that young boy.
Niles glanced back at the two of them multiple times as he cooked at the stove. It made him so happy to see them together, to see Mr. Sheffield taking care of her, worrying about her. And committing to her. He was worried he'd never see that day come. But there was still something else- some kind of cloud hanging over things. Something they weren't telling him. But he wasn't going to let that bother him now. He checked the things in the oven and gave them a good stir, turned down the stove and put a lid over the pan of pork chops, then began to tend to the salad.
"Ms. Fine? Will you be wanting some more of the egg drop soup as well?"
"Oh yeah, Niles. I forgot to tell you. But just a mug's worth this time. I want to save room for the other goodies. Thank you!" Niles got out a mug, stirred the soup, and ladled some out of the tub into the mug, then covered it and put it in the microwave. He got out plates and silverware for all three of them, put the place settings on the table next to each of them, and then took out the potatoes from the oven. He set up the food near the stove, so they could come see themselves. He didn't want to pry about who got what or how much or why.
"Alright, dinner's on!" He exclaimed. "Please come get what you want, and I'll get the apples out in about five minutes. And Ms. Fine, I'll get that soup to you straight away!"
Max and Fran got up from the table and each picked up a plate. Fran put a single pork chop on her plate and a large quantity of salad, then shook the dressing and drizzled it on. Max got himself a pork chop, potatoes, and a smaller amount of salad. He had to admit, he was looking forward to the apples too. Niles got a soup spoon and removed the mug of soup from the microwave and stirred it a bit to get rid of any hot spots. He brought it to the table and set it down next to Fran.
"Be careful, this mug is hot."
"Okay, thank you!"
Then Niles fixed himself a plate and sat at the counter while he waited for the timer to go off on the apples. They all began filling themselves in silence, except for the old movie playing on the TV.
"Niles, you can come over here and sit with us," Fran turned around to him.
"Oh, that's quite alright, I don't want to get in the way."
"What way, come here, sit." Fran pushed out a chair with her foot and moved a few things out of the way.
"Well, if you insist," Niles slowly gathered his things and went over to the table. They all began eating again, watching the film on TV. "What an elegant production. They sure don't make them like they used to." He smiled.
"You've got that right. Gosh, it makes me feel like I need to reevaluate all my sets and costumes. I wonder if it's possible to capture all of that glamour nowadays," Max said, fondly.
"Well, if anyone could figure out how, it's you, sweetie," Fran patted his thigh and grinned at him, and Max reciprocated.
"Oh, Niles, I almost forgot. Can you arrange for a car to pick up the girls tomorrow? And we want Val and Sylvia, and Morty, too, if he'll come." Max looked at Fran and then they both looked over at Niles. "We'd like to have a family meeting tomorrow afternoon. Maybe you could call over there tonight and see if Sylvia can help out. And if Brighton isn't back before the car heads to Queens, we might need to call over at Tommy's and let Brighton know to come home."
"Of course, sir. I can do that for you, don't worry. Is there anything that needs to be done for- for this family meeting?" Niles was trying not to look worried.
"Not really," Max glanced at Fran.
"I don't think so. Maybe just making sure there are enough places for people to sit, in the living room. I suppose, after, if anyone wants to eat then we could just order delivery. But that might just be my mother that wants food." They chuckled quietly.
Niles was dying to ask for more details, but knew by their expressions that that would be a bad idea. "I'll call Sylvia and talk to her after dinner, and set up the car for tomorrow. I'll have it head over there at 2 o'clock, does that sound alright? Or would that be too early? Too late?"
"No, no, Niles. 2 should be fine. Do we have Brighton's friend Tommy's phone number?"
"Yes, we do. I'll call there at 2 if he isn't home yet."
"Thank you Niles," Fran patted Niles' sleeve.
Max finished his dinner first, he was surprised how starved he was. He wiped his face with his napkin, pushed his plate away, and put his arm across the back of Fran's chair. Niles finished his next and got up, taking Max's plate with him.
"Would you still like some of those baked apples, Mr. Sheffield?"
"Absolutely! I thought you'd never ask!"
"Oh, Niles, save a bowl and just put some for me in with his, will you? You don't mind, do you, sweetie?" Fran stroke Max's cheek.
"Not at all, darling," he kissed her lightly on the lips. "Are you finished with everything else?"
"I better stop now, or I won't have room for the apples." Max took her plate and set it to the side of the table. Niles took the apples out of the oven and dished some out into a bowl for Fran and Max to share, set it between them, then picked up Fran's plate and brought it to the sink. He then made a bowl of apples for himself, took a bite, and began cleaning up the dinner mess.
Max picked up his fork, speared a slice of apple on it, and gave it to Fran.
"Mmmm! That's so good, Niles!" She took the fork from Max, speared another apple, and fed it to Max.
"Mmm, that is good."
"What's in this, Niles, it's not just cinnamon, is it?"
"Well, I add a bit of nutmeg and brown sugar for extra flavor. That might be what you notice."
"Hmm, yeah, that might be it. Can you save some for Ma? She might want your recipe, too." Fran took another bite off the fork.
"I can," Niles said, smiling with pride.
Fran and Max finished the apples as they watched the final glorious number on the old movie on TV, then Max turned off the TV. They got up from the table and picked up the silverware, bowl, napkins, and drinks. Fran still had water in her bottle so she hung onto it. They set the items in the sink for Niles, said goodnight, and headed up the stairs. Niles turned off the water, took off his apron, and reached for the cordless phone.