They both woke to the sound of the alarm clock early the next morning. Max let go of Fran to roll over and shut it off, and then reached up to turn on the bedside light since the sun hadn't come up yet. Fran covered her eyes and Max rolled back to her to spoon a little longer.
"Mmm…" she smiled as he slid his hand back around her bare belly and kissed her shoulder.
"Good morning, my love," he whispered. "Did you sleep well?"
"Mmm, I did. How about you?"
"Yes. I had some wonderful dreams," he mumbled into her back.
"I can tell." Fran laughed.
"Sorry, I can't help it…" he clutched her belly and moved himself away from her just a little. "Especially after those dreams…"
"Hey, I'm not complaining. And what kind of dreams were they?"
"Very nice."
"Sexy dreams?"
Max giggled.
"Aw, Max! Maybe we can try to reenact some of your dreams later…"
"Hmm, you think you can find a blimp that has a swimming pool in it?" Fran laughed out loud and rolled over to face him. He grinned at her and clutched her hip under the covers.
"What on earth were we doing in a swimming pool in a blimp?"
Max wiggled his eyebrows up and down. "Hubba hubba!" They both laughed again.
"I wonder what the psychologists would make out of that…"
"Hmm… Maybe that being with you makes me feel like I'm walking on air, the pool- maybe remembering how sexy you are in a bikini."
"Hmmm… I bet the blimp is suggestive, too!" She grinned at him. "What were you wearing in the dream?"
"Ah, I don't remember. Maybe nothing, considering…"
"Oh, Max! You're gonna get me going!"
"Okay." He smiled. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be saying things like that."
"Baby," Fran caressed his cheek. "We're engaged, remember? Of course you can talk to me like that. And I kind of like seeing this side of you…"
"You do?"
"Yeah. Because you're talking about me. You do understand that I'm crazy about you, right?" Fran grinned and raised an eyebrow. She ran her fingers along his side, down to his hip.
"I feel the same way about you, my love!" He rested his forehead against hers and wrapped an arm around her. "You know, last night- that was really special. I'm glad that we did that. It felt really good."
"Yeah," she smiled. "I think we really needed that, to be able to touch each other like that, get used to touching each other like that. You know, before we really got physical with each other. I think we really needed to touch each other that way."
Max nodded. "Yes. Maybe we did. Definitely, we did. Darling, come here for a minute, before we have to get up." Max rolled onto his back and Fran curled up with him, resting her hand on his chest. He had one arm wrapped around her shoulders, holding her close, and the other rested on her arm on his chest. He stroked her elbow and closed his eyes. "Your skin's so soft, Fran. I like this. And last night. I know I can get, well, a bit shy sometimes. But I do like it when you flirt with me. I want that special relationship with you. When it's just the two of us who can share things like that with each other, our little private moments. I like that."
Fran smiled and wrapped her arm around his waist. "I like it, too, Max. I really like it. And you know, I have to be a little brave to flirt with you. It's not always so easy. It's me taking a chance. Because I like you. I've always liked you. And now- us being engaged- I can't tell you how amazing- how incredible- that makes me feel! I never could have imagined I'd be so lucky, to be your girlfriend, your partner. I can't wait to marry you, Max! I don't think I'll ever come down off this high. It feels wonderful!"
"Doesn't it? It's wonderful! You're wonderful, sweetheart! Mmm, I wish we could just stay here in bed together. But then we wouldn't be able to get those pictures done in time for the engagement announcement to be printed."
"What about tonight?" She looked up at him.
"Tonight? Mmmm… sounds like a date! Speaking of dates… you're still my lunch date, right?"
"Absolutely! Where we goin'?" She grinned and rubbed his chest.
"Anywhere you want, baby! Anywhere you want! As long as we still make it to our appointment in time."
"Well, let me think about it a bit and get back to you."
"Alright."
Just then, the alarm clock went off again and Max reached over to hit the snooze button, then turned it off completely. "Argh. So who's taking a shower first?"
"I guess that's me, I take longer to get ready. It'll probably always be me unless we aren't in a hurry… or until we get to that point where, you know, we might share…"
Max smiled. He stroked her shoulder and looked into her eyes. "We have a lot to look forward to, don't we?"
"We do!" She kissed his collarbone.
"Now- how should we do this? You want me to grab your shirt, or a robe?"
"Oh yeah. Um, or you could close your eyes, if you don't want to see me this way…"
"It's not that I don't, because I do. I did, last night. But it was pretty dark, so, you know. But if… right now, that might be a bit cruel."
"Aw, baby, I'm sorry! I don't mean to tease you like that. Can you reach my shirt? I can just hold it in front of me. I still need to get my things from the closet."
"I can get it for you, just let me sit up here-" Fran clutched the covers to her chest and let Max sit up, then she sat up, too. Max leaned over and grabbed her shirt at the end of the bed between his fingers, then leaned back and handed it to Fran.
"Thank you, sweetie." She spread it out and put it in front of her chest and held it there as she got out of the bed and headed to the closet. She went in, and out of view of Max. Max rested back down on the bed and pulled the covers back up. He listened to Fran rustling around in the closet for what she needed. When she had her things, she came back out of the closet with her arms full and her shirt back on completely. She approached Max's side of the bed. "Max?" He opened his eyes to look over at her.
"Yes, darling?"
"Was that too much, last night? Me taking my shirt off?" Max looked over her, at her cute pajamas, and her bare arms and bare midriff, then remembered how she sat, straddled over him, and unabashedly pulled off her top and tossed it to the side. She was so beautiful.
"No," he shook his head and smiled softly at her.
"Okay. Good!" She grinned, then turned and bounced happily to the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Max sighed and rubbed his hand over his face, feeling like he might be blushing again.
Fran came out of the bathroom after her shower and Max was sitting on the bench, robe wrapped around him, as he watched the television. He smiled at her when she came out- with her fluffy robe on and pajamas in her arms. She stopped next to him to see what he was watching and he reached out a hand. She took his hand and wrapped his arm around the back of her as she leaned against him.
"Whatcha watching?" She asked.
"Just a news documentary. But there's some good cartoons on, too. Unless you want to watch the documentary…"
"Oh, no, that's too heavy for this early in the morning. The cartoons'll work for me!" She patted his shoulder and turned to head for the closet.
"Alright, I'll go grab my shower and be back out in a bit."
"Okay, sweetie. I'll be here." She waved to him from the closet doorway and he headed into the bathroom. She took off her robe and hung it up, then opened one of the drawers and took out a slip and put it on. She reached up and took down her dress, grabbed a pair of pantyhose, and picked up a pair of heels and brought them out to the bedroom. She set the clothes on the bed then came back to her dressing table. She took the towel off her head and dried her hair a bit more, then tossed the towel to the bench. She combed out her hair and turned on her hot rollers, then took out her perfume and dabbed it on, and took out her hair dryer and plugged it in. She began drying her hair with the diffuser, combing it out a section at a time. When it was dry, she checked the hot rollers to see if they were ready.
Max came out of the bathroom in his robe, freshly shaved with his hair wet. He smiled at her and walked over to her, thermometer in hand.
"Time to check, so we don't forget," Fran opened her mouth and let him put the thermometer in, then he kissed her forehead and headed for the closet. She began rolling her hair up in the curlers. And in no time at all, she had all of her hair up. She could hear Max fumbling around in the closet, so she got up, grabbed her pantyhose, and sat on the bench to put them on. She went back to the dressing table and started working on her foundation, and Max came out of the closet with a pair of shoes and socks, and set them on the chaise lounge. He had put on his undershirt and slacks and carried his jacket on a hanger in his other hand, then hung it on the closet door, and went back in to retrieve his shirt and tie.
Fran took out the thermometer from her mouth before she powdered her face and checked the temperature. "Hey, sweetie! My temp's normal!" Max came back out of the closet, set his tie with his shoes and socks, and put on his dress shirt as he walked over to Fran. He took the thermometer from her and looked at it.
"That's fantastic, darling! Let me go put it back in the bathroom." He leaned over and gave her a kiss, then went back to the bathroom.
Fran quickly powdered her face and then began to work on her eyes as he came back in, buttoning up his shirt, then tucked it in his slacks. Fran looked over at him, admiring him.
"Sweetie, that shirt looks good on you without a tie! I wonder if it still looks that good with the jacket?"
"Really? Well, let me put it on and see what you think." Max took the jacket off the hanger and put it on and sorted out his collar, then buttoned one of the buttons on the jacket. He turned to Fran to pose for her.
"That does look good! Hey, can we get pictures with and without the tie? See what looks better? I mean, they'll both look fantastic, but that might be nice to have more options."
"Absolutely, and it means I can wait to put the tie on!" Fran smiled at him. He took off the jacket and hung it back up, retrieved the tie and put it in a jacket pocket, then sat down to put on his shoes.
Fran turned back to her mirror and finished working on her eye makeup and blush, then picked out a lipstick and put it on. She checked herself in the mirror. Not bad, she thought. She decided to put her dress on before she took out the curlers, so she got up and retrieved it from the bench. Max watched as she stepped into it, and sorted her slip as she pulled it up and slipped her arms into the sleeves. She zipped it up part way.
"Hey, sweetie, can you zip me up?" She walked over to Max as he finished tying his shoe, and he stood up behind her and carefully zipped her up the rest of the way. He slid his arms around her waist and leaned down to kiss her neck.
"You're very beautiful, darling, I hope you know that. And you smell so good!"
"Aw, Max! Even with these curlers on? And you smell mighty fine, yourself!" She turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck and they kissed each other softly.
"You're cute with those curlers on. I'd love to kiss you lots more, but I don't want to mess up your lipstick, and we have to be downstairs soon."
"You can kiss me more, this lipstick is the kind that doesn't smudge off. I don't have to keep putting it on. And baby, your hair's still damp. I don't want you going outside in the cold if your hair is wet. Here, take my hair dryer in the bathroom and get it dry the rest of the way, and I'll get my hair finished so we can go downstairs."
"Alright. I can do that."
"Don't take the diffuser off or you'll and up with frizz instead of your gorgeous curls." She patted his shoulder as she handed him the dryer and he turned to go to the bathroom and dry his hair in there. She grabbed her heels and set them next to her chair, then sat down and began taking out her curlers as quickly as she could. She combed through the curls with her hair pick and then gathered up the sections she wanted to clip up and pulled them back. She picked up her hair pins from the table and stuck them between her lips, then one by one used them to keep her hair in place. She made sure to have just the right amount of curly tendrils hanging down, and made sure her look was not too formal. When she was satisfied with her look, she put on the charm bracelet Max had given her, put on some clip-on silver earrings, then slipped into her heels and fastened them. She got up and walked over to the full length mirror by the closet to check herself out.
As she looked herself over, Max came back into the room and approached her from behind, then rested his chin on her shoulder.
"You're so pretty!" He said.
"Aw, sweetie! So are you! Hey, let's practice some poses for the camera. Come here." She turned to the side and had Max stand next to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she wrapped one arm around him and rested one hand on his chest, showing off her rings and bracelet. They looked at the mirror and smiled. "I do like that collar without the tie. But I'm sure it looks really nice with the tie, too. Let's do this version first, then you can put your tie on, and we'll take some more. Oh, Max? Do you think I should put on that necklace?"
"I think you look just fine without it, you've got the bracelet and rings to focus on. Besides, I like seeing your skin a little. Here, let me have a look at you." He stepped back away from her and looked over her outfit and hair, then focused on her face and neck. "I think you're fine without a necklace, especially with this dress. If you had a formal gown on, maybe a necklace would be good, but I like this look. You ready to head downstairs?"
"Yes, I think so. Here, let me have a look at your hair- oh it's cute! You did a great job! Okay, baby, let's go see if anyone's downstairs yet."
They shut off the lights and television and left the bedroom, hand in hand, and headed to the back stairs to the kitchen to see if Niles was getting breakfast ready, and to see if Brighton was ready for their photo session yet.
"Good morning, you two!" Niles exclaimed, as he moved around the kitchen, preparing various things for breakfast.
"Morning, Niles!" Fran said.
"Good morning. Has Brighton come down yet?" Max asked.
"Well, he hasn't been in here yet, so I'm not sure. Oh, yes! He's taking the photos of you this morning! You both look very nice!"
"Thank you. We want to get them done before breakfast. Darling, let me just run out there real quick and see if he's out there, setting things up or anything, I'll be right back," Max said, squeezing her hand.
"Okay, sweetie, I'll be right here."
Niles was grinning from ear to ear, happy to see them so happy. "This is so exciting! I started working on the announcement. I should have that done later this morning. Once we have the photos back, I'll be the first in line in the morning at the newspaper to get it to them! And then we'll buy up all the copies of the sunday paper in a six block radius and start making scrapbooks!"
Fran laughed. "Oh Niles, it's good to see you so happy! And yes, we might have to have a truck deliver a load to Ma." Niles chuckled. He looked at her as she walked around to see what he was making.
"Oh, Ms. Fine- is there something you would like for breakfast? I was just making some of the basics, but if you want something different, I can make that for you."
"Oh, no, Niles. You don't need to make anything extra. Besides, I want to eat all the good stuff before this weekend, when I can't have any of it. But, maybe- maybe I should have some fruit, too. Just to be a good girl. Oh! We have pears here, do we still have any blueberries left? That might be good."
"Yes, we sure do! I'll get you some to go with your breakfast."
"Thank you, Niles."
Just then, Max burst back through the door into the kitchen. "Fran! Brighton's ready for us! He was just out there setting up the tripods. He's got two cameras so he can do black and white and color! This should be great!"
"Oh, wow! Okay, let's go! See you in a little bit, Niles!"
"Oh, wonderful! You both look fantastic! Have fun!"
Max took Fran's hand and they rushed out the door to the dining room and through the house to meet Brighton outside on the terrace. Brighton was outside and had his coat on and was attaching a camera to a tripod and then tilted it vertically to get the best portrait.
"Sweetie, how do I look?" She asked Max.
"Perfect, darling! Not a hair out of place. Do I look alright?" He asked, touching his hair.
"You're gorgeous, baby! You still have the tie, right? We can put it on you for the last pictures."
"Yes, it's in my pocket. Okay, let's do this so Brighton can get his breakfast and get to school." They went out the French doors to join Brighton and got into position on the other side of the cameras.
"Okay, B., tell us what to do," Fran said, smiling at him.
"Uh, well, okay. Now I guess what I was thinking was doing two pictures on each camera of each pose, that way you'll have color and black and white of fairly similar shots. I put the black and white in this one, the newer automatic, so hopefully it doesn't get screwed up and the settings are right. So, do you want to start like the way they do prom pictures? With you standing behind Fran, dad?"
"Sure, come here, darling," he took her hand and pulled her in front of him, then wrapped his hands around her waist, where she took them in hers.
"Here, let me show off the rings!" She said, adjusting their hands.
"Fran, can you step forward just a little bit, so the sunlight gets on you? And I might go pretty fast if I can, so you guys don't freeze to death out here." Fran stepped forward and Brighton looked in the viewfinder to set the shot. "Okay, here we go! Look at the camera!" He snapped a couple of photos, "Now look at each other!" He snapped a couple more, then stepped over to the other camera and did the same thing. "Now, face each other- Fran, switch sides with him so you can show off the rings, okay?"
"Oh, you got it!"
"Now, look at each other- I'm going to get a bunch of shots this way, okay?" They followed his directions and he snapped off more shots, moving the cameras a little closer to get better shots. "Okay, you can look at the camera," more shots on both cameras. "Now, can you kind of look at each other- but not in the eyes? You know, like you're just hanging out together? Fran, maybe if you closed your eyes, and dad, like you can maybe rest your head against her? Yeah, like that!" Snapped more photos, jumped over to the other camera and got more. "Okay, now Fran, can you turn around? Like those prom pictures again, only make sure your hand is over on this side, like holding your arm? Now, both of you look at the same thing in the distance. Is there something over that way you can look at? Oh, that street light! Look at that, and just smile a little, like you're watching something nice over there. Great, perfect!" More snapping of the camera shutters.
"Boy, it's cold out here!" Max said. "Fran, are you doing alright?"
"Yes, your arms help, but yes, it's cold! How are we doing, B.?"
"You're doing great, halfway there. Now, Fran can you kind of turn a little so you can look up at him? So it's comfortable, so you can look each other in the eyes. Act like he just said something to you that was nice or funny or something."
Fran leaned to the side and turned her face to look up at Max as he stood behind her, holding on to her waist, and Brighton took a couple more photos on each camera.
"Oh, B., before we run out of pictures, we also want to get a couple where your father has his tie on, and maybe one or two individual photos. Can we do that?" Fran asked.
"Sure we can, I just need to watch the exposures. Okay, now both of you turn towards me, dad- get behind her again. Now act like you're both hanging out, and sort of like when you were looking at the street light, is there something around here down low you can look at? Oh! This chair! Uh, look at the seat- let me see if that looks okay," he looked through both cameras and liked what he saw, and took more pictures. "Oh! Fran- do you want one where you stand behind dad? We can put this chair over there."
"Sure, let's do that quick, then we'll put his tie on."
"Sounds good!"
Brighton grabbed the chair near him and sat it down in front of the cameras. As Max and Fran got situated, Brighton moved the cameras back and lowered them down a little. He checked the cameras and adjusted the focus. Fran put her hands on Max's shoulders and waited for Brighton to give directions.
"Uh, okay, Fran- lean down some, put your arms over him, yeah like that. Now smile at the camera!" More shutters clicking. "Okay, now look at each other, make it natural, like you were leaning down to tell him something, and smile, got it!" More snaps.
"Okay, let's move the chair back and put your tie on," Fran said. Max got up and moved the chair to the side, and Brighton adjusted the cameras again as Max took out his tie from his pocket and let Fran help him put it on. He buttoned his shirt up and pulled the tie tight, then buttoned his blazer again.
"Now, let's see, if you guys have any suggestions, let me know. We're almost out of film, so only two of this pose, then the individual ones. Let's make sure I can see his tie, otherwise it won't really matter that he put it on." Max turned a little more towards the cameras and Fran got in front of him again.
"Hey, I'll lean over again and look at him, that way you can see his tie, and I can hold onto him with my left hand and show off the rings!"
"Great! That looks good, now smile like you just got good news!" They did, and Brighton snapped another photo with each camera. "Okay, let me move back just a little, let's do the regular prom picture thing again." Brighton set up the shot, and snapped the picture, then he took a camera off its tripod. "Okay, Fran, you first! Dad, you can come over this way so we don't make any shadows. Now, do you want a full shot, shoes and all? Or maybe knees up?"
"I'll leave that up to you, B. Whatever looks good," she said, turning from side to side until he found a pose he liked.
"Hey, we need something in your hands. Since you don't have a purse, we need to give your hands something to do," he looked around outside, trying to think of something she could hold. "Uh, dad? Is there something in your office? Like something long- like a flower or, I don't know, something like that?"
Max turned around and went back inside and looked around his office, then peeked out in the hallway and found what he needed. He ran to the nearby vase on the hall table and pulled out a long-stemmed rose. He shook the water off the end and ran back outside and handed it to Fran.
"Watch out for those thorns, darling. Will that work, Brighton?"
"That's perfect! Now, Fran, hold that with both hands, you can bring it up to your face, but don't look at the camera, you can kind of look off, away from the rose while you smell it. Yes! Like that!" He snapped a photo on one camera, then handed it to his father, and took the other camera off the tripod and snapped a photo with that one. "Okay, I think this might be the last one for you, Fran. Now- don't gross me out or anything, but this time look at the camera, and act like you're looking at dad."
Fran glanced over at Max and met his eyes, then smiled, then turned her eyes to the camera and Brighton quickly snapped a picture, swapped cameras, and took another one. "Okay, dad, you're up." Max handed the extra camera to Fran and they swapped places. Max stood there awkwardly, not knowing how to stand. "Uh, dad? Let's try to make this one a little relaxed. Lean back against the wall, like you're doing a catalogue shoot for whoever made your suit. Yeah, like that. Okay, now look back at that street light. Right there! Got it!" He snapped a picture, swapped cameras with Fran, and snapped another one. "Okay, now, loosen your collar and tie a bit, and unbutton your jacket. Okay, uh- hey, put your hands in your pockets. Now, act like you're still doing a photo shoot for the catalogue, only imagine Fran is taking the pictures," Max looked over at Fran and smiled. "Yeah- but look at the camera- got it!" He snapped a picture, swapped cameras with Fran, and snapped another one. He checked the cameras and wound them, and he still had a frame left. "Okay, you guys, there's another frame on these, but I don't know if I'll get a full picture of you or not, so pose however you want together and I'll finish off the film." Fran set the rose down on the table and went to join Max. Brighton set a camera down and got the one in his hands ready for a quick candid shot.
Fran went up to Max and put her arms around his neck as he wrapped his arms around her waist. They smiled at each other and Fran let her left hand start to slide down to his chest. They were still beaming at each other, so right when her engagement ring caught a glint of the morning sun, Brighton snapped the picture, checked to see if he could wind it further (he couldn't), then swapped cameras and raised the other one to his eye and moved over to a different angle. Fran clutched Max's lapels and they couldn't help themselves, so they went in for a kiss and Brighton snapped the picture.
"Okay, you guys, before this gets any more awkward, let's get back inside before we all freeze!" Brighton went to grab the second camera from the table and Fran grabbed the rose, then Max grabbed both tripods and folded the legs in as Brighton opened the door for them. They stepped into the office and Brighton shut the door.
"Whoa, that was cold out there! Oh it feels so nice in here!" Fran said. Max hurriedly collapsed the legs of both tripods for Brighton and they all headed back out into the living room, and Fran stopped to tuck the rose back into its vase in the hallway.
"So how do you think we did, Brighton?"
"I think it went well, I just really hope I had the settings right, and that nobody blinked when I took the picture. There has to be some good ones to pick from in there. But just in case, when we get the pictures back, if there aren't any good ones then we'll do another photo session this afternoon. But maybe inside this time." Brighton set a camera down and then rewound the film in the other camera, popped the back of the camera open, and took out the roll, then closed it back up and set it down in the camera bag that sat on a chair in the living room. He put the roll in his pocket, then rewound and removed the other roll from the second camera, closed it back up, put it in the bag and put the second roll in his pocket.
"Now, I don't know about you guys, but I'm cold and hungry!"
"Yes! Time for coffee! And breakfast!" Max agreed. They followed Brighton towards the stairs, where he hung his coat, and Max put his arm over Fran's shoulders as they walked to the dining room.