Fran and Max found a couple of arm chairs and brought them into his room, then moved the bench away from the end of the bed and put it in front of the chairs to act as a table and footrest while they watched the movie. They sat next to each other and enjoyed the first movie, laughing and elbowing and swatting at each other. Max was having such a nice time with her, he almost couldn't believe it. She was making him feel so relaxed. Or maybe he was letting himself feel relaxed. Either way, it was making him feel emotional. Here Maggie was learning about the hard times of having a relationship and going through a breakup, while Max was learning how to open himself up to Fran and was considering what the long term implications of that might be. Was he ready?
"Oh my god, that was such a good movie! I really needed that!" Fran burst out as the credits rolled on the TV screen. Max grinned at her.
"Yes, definitely! Things were getting too dour and serious this weekend, we needed a little levity."
"Yeah." Fran stretched her arms. So what are we gonna do now? We only have one other movie. You wanna take a break for a while?"
"Sure, we can do that. Should we check on the girls, or leave them alone?"
"Uh, probably leave them alone. Maggie knows we're here if she needs us. But I kind of think it's better if she focuses on having fun with her friends right now. And besides, I'm having a nice time hanging out with you."
"You are?"
"Mmm hmm."
"Well, I'm having a nice time hanging out with you, too." They smiled at each other. Max reached for the VCR remote and started rewinding the tape. "Anything you want to do? We can save the other movie for later, if you want."
"Yeah, that might be a good idea. Do you have anything you need to do?"
"No. You?"
"No. And it's cold outside, so hanging out out on a terrace or something might not be so good."
"Want to watch some TV? We could see what's on."
"Sure. We can do that. You want any food or snacks or anything? Or are you still full from lunch?"
"I'm not hungry at the moment, but if you are, you can bring it in here."
"I think I'm good. But speaking of food, what do you want to do for dinner? The girls are probably ordering again, but do you want to see if Niles can make something?" She asked.
"Hmm. I don't know." Max thought for a moment. "You know, we don't have to have Niles cook for us. We could put something together ourselves." Fran looked at him, and found herself looking more deeply into his eyes. He had a bit of a twinkle in them that she found intriguing.
"You want us to cook something together?" She raised her eyebrow.
"Maybe. We can see what's in the kitchen. Nothing too complicated. See if Niles is okay with us making a mess down there." Fran chuckled.
"Let's do it! I don't think we've ever done that before, have we? Cooked together?"
"No, I don't think we have. It's always easier to have Niles do it. Or go out to dinner."
"Yeah. But I think right now, staying here might be a better idea. At least for this weekend."
"Mmm hmm." The movie finished rewinding and Max got up to retrieve it from the VCR. He handed it to Fran and she put it back in its case, then he handed the TV remote to her.
"Any preferences?" She asked.
"Not a one. But maybe see if you can find something funny, or at least not so serious. I think I'd like to keep this buzz going for a while longer." Fran laughed. "But first- are you comfortable in that chair? Do you want to sit somewhere else?"
"Where else would I sit? On the chaise?"
"Well, sure, if you want to. But I was kind of thinking, well, if you don't mind- it might be comfortable back there-" he gestured to the bed. "I mean, I can get all the pillows set up, and we'd be able to stretch our legs." Fran looked back at the bed, then at the chaise, then back at the bed.
"Would that make you uncomfortable?"
"Well, no, not really. We're just using it like a big chair, or couch, to watch the TV. No big deal." He shrugged his shoulders. Fran thought it was cute.
"If you're okay with it, then I am. But if anything bothers you, please tell me."
"Oh, yes, sure. And the same goes for you." Fran got up from the chair, and they pushed both chairs out of the way and moved the bench back, making sure their view wouldn't be blocked from the bed. Fran followed his lead and he offered her the side closest to the bedroom door. She took off her heels, then crawled back against the pillows. Max kicked off his shoes and slid back on the bed, against the pillows and next to Fran. They looked over at each other and smiled, then looked back at the TV, and Fran began flipping the channels until she found something. It was the game show channel, and they were showing an old episode of The Newlywed Game. Fran looked over at Max to see if he objected.
"Too much?" She asked.
"Well, it's funny, at least. I suppose we could give it a try." Max could tell that made Fran happy. She sure loved her gameshows, especially the ones that made her laugh. And he sure loved to hear her laugh. Fran set the remote down next to her and shifted a little closer to Max. They watched the show play out for a while and laughed at the cringey comments and outdated stereotypes. Fran made comments about some of the outfits, and Max just smiled as he glanced at her as she watched the show. Fran laughed and swatted at his arm playfully, making him crack up, too.
They leaned against each other and watched as another episode came on, with new couples and new outfits, and new outdated commentary. They both groaned at several sexist comments.
"Just for the record, I would never say anything like that," he assured her.
"Oh, I know. You aren't crass like that. You're a gentleman, even if you're hanging around a bunch of men who aren't so much."
"Have I hung out with men who act like that?" He asked, turning towards her.
"Well, maybe not regularly. But yeah, some of those backers' parties, and even some of the guys who go to your club- there's a few like that. And they get worse when they get liquored up and get around each other."
Max thought a moment, then he remembered the behavior of a few men he knew. "Oh… oh yes… okay, I see what you're saying. Yes, I think I know who you're talking about." He had a serious expression on his face, then turned to Fran, and almost immediately they both started cracking up. "Don't worry, they aren't my friends. I only spend time with them if I absolutely have to!" He assured her again.
"I know, I know. I'm just teasing. Mostly." She elbowed him and they laughed again.
They went back to watching the show and got into it for a while, then Max began to get quiet. He was thinking about the children, and about Maggie especially. He hoped her friends were making her feel better. Then he thought about how they would need to tell Brighton and Gracie about what happened between Maggie and Peter. How would they do that? Was Gracie old enough to be able to handle it? She probably was. Would Brighton tease Maggie over it? He hoped not. But how would they make sure that he didn't? Max mulled everything over in his mind, and found it getting harder to pay attention to the television.
Fran noticed. She looked over at him and noticed the muscles of his jaw clenching over and over.
"You want me to change it?" She asked.
"What? Oh, no, it's alright. Really. We can keep watching it."
"You sure? I don't mind changing the channel."
"It's fine. I'm sorry, I was just thinking. We can keep watching it."
Fran looked at him seriously, then shifted her legs up and reached an arm across his shoulders. "Come here, talk to me," she said, patting his shoulder, almost like he was a young boy. "What are you thinking so hard about?"
Max was surprised that she wrapped her arm over him, but he liked that she did. He glanced up at her, then looked back at the TV.
"Well, I suppose I was thinking about Maggie again. I hope her friends are helping her feel better."
"Mmm hmm. I'm sure they are." She squeezed and patted his shoulder.
"And then I thought about Gracie and Brighton. How are we going to handle things when they come home? I think they need to know what happened, but I want them to be sensitive about it. I don't want Brighton to tease her at all. Should Maggie be the one to tell them?"
Fran rubbed his shoulder and thought about it a little. "Well, I think Gracie will handle it alright. She'll feel bad for Maggie, I'm sure. And I know what you mean about Brighton. But I have a feeling Brighton will understand how much it hurt her. But yeah, I do think Maggie should be involved in telling them, somehow. And I think it would be a really good idea if you were the one to talk to Brighton and make sure he knows exactly how you feel, so he never does anything like that to a girl. Not that I think he ever would, but you know- just in case. And that he should stick up for Maggie and not tease her because she was dumped. Do you think you could talk to him? I can be with Gracie when Maggie talks to her, if you want to do it separately."
"Separately? I hadn't thought of that."
"It might be easier on Maggie that way. Unless she says she wants to tell them at the same time. We can talk to her before they come home, and see what she prefers."
"Alright. Yes, maybe that would be best. Talk to her and see if she wants to handle them separately," his voice trailed off as he thought about it. Fran rubbed his shoulders some more, then rubbed his upper back.
"Anything else you're thinking about?"
"I guess that was it. I suppose I just want to make sure we're handling all of this well- the best way we can figure out. I don't want all of this having a really negative affect on Maggie- causing her any problems in the future."
Fran smiled. Max was such a loving and caring man. "You know, you're a really big softie. A real sweetheart. Those kids are lucky to have you for a father." Max was caught a little off guard. He looked up at her and caught her smile, and the look in her eyes. He felt it straight through his gut. He smiled bashfully back at her.
"Oh, I don't know about that. I just- I just don't like seeing any of them hurt, that's all. I don't want anything like this happening again."
"I know you don't. I don't, either. But if they're gonna get involved in relationships as they get older, there's always gonna be that kind of a risk. But I'm glad you want to talk to them all, and let them know how you feel about what happened. I think it really might help them in the future- help them make good decisions, and maybe help them avoid it happening to them."
"Maybe. I hope so. So, you'd be willing to talk with Gracie? If Maggie wants to do it that way?"
"Sure! Whatever she needs. So we'll talk to Maggie before the others get home, and see how she wants to handle it. And we'll do it right away, okay? We shouldn't prolong it at all."
"Okay. Alright." He looked back at her again. "Thank you. Thank you for indulging me on this. I know I think too much, and dwell. I'm just not used to this sort of thing. I don't want to get used to it."
"You're fine, sweetie! It's all part of being a dad. And you're a very good dad. Really good. I mean that. She'll get through it soon enough. She's a strong girl. And we'll give her lots of hugs." Fran smiled, and gave his shoulders a squeeze. Max liked it when she did that. "Now, let me change off of this Newlywed Game. Maybe there's something on Comedy Central." She picked up the remote and began flipping channels.
"You don't have to do that on my account. The game show was fine."
"Naw, I think it was time to change it. It's fun for a little while, but if any of those knobs kept on talking the way they were, that was gonna get on my nerves big time!"
Max laughed. "Okay, then. We can find something else."
Fran found the comedy channel and left it there, where they were in the middle of showing five minute clips of the latest popular comedians' acts. Fran pulled her arm off of Max's shoulders and leaned up next to him as they watched.
Max was feeling a little better about things, once again. He really liked how Fran was able to do that, and do that with everyone, it seemed. Just a brief conversation with her and he wasn't dwelling on any potential problems anymore. He was seeing how things would be getting better, and that the children would be fine, and he would be fine… and Fran would be fine. But he also felt something else- a feeling that was sneaking into the back of his mind, and slowly creeping into his thoughts again and again. As Fran chuckled next to him, her cheek resting against his shoulder, he was feeling more and more certain that he didn't want things to go back to the way they had been the day before, and the feelings had nothing to do with Maggie. He was feeling even more close to Fran than he had in a long while, and was realizing just how much she meant to him. He really wanted to hold her hand, or wrap an arm around her. Was it alright to do that? He wasn't sure. Her arms were crossed in front of her, her legs tucked up close. Then he suddenly realized that she might be cold. The weather had been pretty chilly outside that day. And after all, he was wearing long sleeves when she was wearing one of her dresses- her stocking-covered legs exposed.
"Hey- are you cold? Do you want a blanket? We can pull that one at the end of the bed up here," he said.
"Oh, uh, sure. Yeah, that'd be nice. Thank you." They both sat up and Max leaned down to the end of the bed and reached for the folded blanket, then grabbed the edge and pulled it up to her.
"Here you go. I'm sorry, I hadn't realized that it might be chilly in here. We might need to check the thermostat when we go downstairs, or maybe get a fire going in here."
"It's alright, it's not that bad. It's mostly just my legs that are cold. Probably shouldn't wear a dress on a cold day like today. But anyway, you're nice and warm, it's nice to cuddle up with you."
"Really? Well, here, it's alright if you cuddle a bit closer. If you want." He took his chance and reached an arm around her back, and she looked at him and smiled. As she pulled the blanket over her legs, she scooted up against him and let him put his arm around her. She rested her bent legs against his, then reached over for his other hand and held it in hers. It gave him such a rush, and she seemed to be getting one, too.
She was. Fran rested her head against him again, and gently stroked his hand with her fingers. She loved his hands. They were both strong yet soft, neatly manicured, but very masculine. She traced over his knuckles and along each vein that raised over the back of his hand. He tried to pay attention to the television, but found himself watching her fingers trace over his hand.
"Can I ask you something?" He said softly.
"Of course." She turned her head to look up at him.
"Last night- I heard you were up pretty late with Maggie. After midnight?"
"Mmm… yeah. I guess I was. Yeah, definitely after midnight. I think it was about one or so when I finally got to bed."
"Did you get enough sleep? I mean, you were up with the rest of us this morning, too."
"Well, it did take me a while to fall asleep. I was thinking about her a lot, and you know- all those things you think about that you might have to do or talk about to try to get her through. That's when I was thinking about maybe getting her friends to come over. I didn't want her just hanging on me all day today, feeling sorry for herself. Because that's probably what I would have let her do. But she couldn't do that if there were a bunch of people here she had to talk to."
"That was a really good idea. I'm glad you thought of it. And I'm sorry that you didn't get enough sleep. So if you need a nap or anything, that's fine. I can just help Niles keep an eye on the girls or something."
"I'm good right now, but thank you. I can catch up on sleep tonight."
"Alright. If you're sure." They got quiet again and watched the comedy acts on the TV for a while, until the commercials came on. Some of the ads were silly, and neither of them had seen them before, and they both laughed. Then an ad for chicken came on, and they both thought it looked delicious.
"Mmm! That looks good, doesn't it?" Fran said.
"It sure does." Max thought a moment. "Hey, do you think we have any chicken downstairs? Do you know if Niles got any? Maybe we could, if you want… maybe we could cook something ourselves tonight?"
"You and me? Cooking? Are you sure? Even with Niles here?"
"Well, sure. Nothing too crazy. And Niles is doing a lot today. Maybe once the girls decide what they want to order for dinner, then we can give him some time off. We could help out some, then make a meal for ourselves. I mean, since we already had takeout for lunch. That ad- that chicken they showed didn't look too difficult to make. Maybe Niles has some of that kind of seasoning in the kitchen. We could ask him."
"That could be fun. Us cooking," she smiled. "Sure, I'd be up for that. Then maybe we can watch the last movie afterwards. Sure!"
"Okay, wonderful! We'll see what's in the kitchen and figure out what to make."
They both smiled and Fran patted his hand, then they went back to watching the comedy on the television. Max was really feeling good.
"Where would Niles keep chicken, if he had it?" Max asked, as Fran dug out a skillet to use. She set it down on the stove and walked over to Max in front of the fridge.
"Check this drawer here," she said, pointing to an upper drawer in the fridge. "Lemme see if he may have put some in the freezer." She pulled open the freezer door as Max pulled open the drawer in the fridge, and they both shifted things around to see what they could find.
"Oh, here we go- these are breasts, is that what we want?"
Fran grinned. "Is that what you want?" Max missed her meaning until he looked over at her and saw her grin.
"Hey!"
"Sorry, I couldn't resist! But yeah, sure, grab that and let's see what else we can get together to have with it." She chuckled and elbowed him.
"Alright." Max set the package of chicken on the counter and Fran shut the freezer, then began to poke around in the fridge to see what leftovers there were. Just then, Niles pushed through the door from the dining room in a rush.
"Oh, hello you two!" He said. "Need any help with anything?"
"Oh, Niles," Max said, "We're just looking for some things to make for dinner. Speaking of which, since you've been helping with the girls so much, I wanted to give you a break and let you have some time off this evening. Once the girls have their dinner sorted, if you want to go out to eat or just have an evening out, go right ahead. We'll just be watching another movie later, after we've had our dinner."
"Oh, really? Well, you don't have to do that, but I appreciate it. Are you sure you don't need me to make something for you? It won't be any trouble at all."
"Oh, no, Niles. That's alright. We just happened to see an ad on TV for some chicken that looked really good. And that reminds me, where do you have all the spices? We want to see if we can make something similar."
"Yeah, Niles. It was a seasoning mix, not quite a shake-and-bake, but cooked in a skillet. And I think you can make gravy with it, too," Fran said.
"Oh, yes! I think I know what you mean. Here, right over here." He led them both to the back counter and pulled open a drawer that was packed full of spices. "Here are all the individual spices, and this row is mixed, but tucked right over here- see these? These are packets like I believe they have in that ad you were talking about. Is this the sort of thing you were looking for?"
"Yeah! Oh, great! That's perfect! Now how much chicken for this? Should we use that whole pack of chicken?"
"Oh, no, those chicken breasts are on the beefy side, if you know what I mean. Just use two breasts and one packet of seasoning, in the skillet with a bit of oil. And here, let me get you a bag to store the rest of the chicken in." Niles went over to the other side of the kitchen to retrieve a baggie for them.
"Now, Niles, if you were gonna make this- what else would you serve with it?"
"Hmm… well, there's a tub of leftover salad in the fridge. I might start with that. Then you could have a starch, like some kind of potato or rice, or bread. And if you want something else, then I might suggest another type of vegetable, or even a fruit if you want. We have some lovely fresh green beans that you could steam. Do you know how to do that?" Fran and Max looked at each other. "Well, let me just help you get everything out and show you quickly what to do, if you're certain you don't need my help making it all-?"
"No, Niles, but thank you. We thought it might be fun to try it ourselves. Do the girls know what they want for dinner yet?" Fran asked.
"Yes, they're writing it all down now. I just need to bring the cordless phone out there and get it all ordered for them, then I believe they'll be watching movies the rest of the night as well. I think they have those 'Alien' movies lined up for once the sun goes down completely."
"Oh, good! If they haven't seen those yet, they'll be screaming later!" Fran laughed, and Max and Niles both smiled. Niles fetched the pots and pans they would need, pulled out the green beans, a container of wild rice, and the bag of dinner rolls from the bread box.
"How is all of this? Now for steaming the beans, the water goes in this one, and set the beans in here, and cover. It may take the water a little while to heat enough, so factor that in. Then check the beans after about five minutes and see how far along they are. They should be bright green when they're done, and nicely tender."
"Oh, Niles? What about gravy? Can we make some with this?" Max asked. He had a craving for gravy, and it would go nicely with the rice and chicken.
"Yes, there should be instructions on that packet- and you know where the flour is, don't you?" He pointed across to the back counter where the big container of flour sat.
"Oh- yes, alright, then. Sounds like we've got everything! Thank you, Niles."
"Yeah, thank you! Now remember, take a break once the girls are sorted for food, okay? Go have yourself a nice, big meal somewhere. Let somebody else cook for you. And hey, maybe one of your friends isn't busy tonight- you could see a movie, too."
"Dinner, and a movie? Well, maybe I'll call around and see. That does sound fun. But are you certain you won't need me?"
"Don't worry, Niles. We'll check on them, and make sure they know to get their dishes and glasses into the dishwasher, and leftovers into the fridge," Max said.
"Oh, well, thank you. That would be a big help. Well, alright. Let me grab the phone and get their orders called in, then I'll see if anyone's around to go out for the evening. Thank you very much, sir!"
"You're welcome, Niles. And thank you."
"Yeah, Niles. Thank you for helping out so much with the girls. I know it's helping Maggie a lot, too, to have her friends over."
"Yes, I believe it is. I've seen her smiling and laughing with them a bit, so I do believe it's taking her mind off of things."
"Good! That's perfect. And those movies should help, too. Oh! I almost forgot, do we have enough towels for all of them?" Fran asked.
"Yes, plenty. I'll do that next, and I'll put them on Miss Margaret's bed. They're welcome to use the hall bathroom, too, if they need to spread out a bit."
"Oh, yeah, that's right. They might need to. And I'm sure they can use Gracie's bathroom too, if they need it. She won't mind. Okay, thank you again, Niles!" Fran hurried over and gave him a hug.
"Well, you're very welcome. And thank you again for the night off."
"You're welcome."
Niles nodded at them, and smiled, then grabbed the phone and hurried back out of the room. He was loving seeing the two of them together, getting all domestic and cooking together. He knew something was brewing between them.
"Okay, then. Now let's see- I would guess that we need to get the chicken started first?" Max asked.
"Um, yeah. That sounds right to me! Let me get the oil!" Fran said, and hurried to the cabinet. Max joined her in getting things ready, turning on the stove, and getting the chicken started in the skillet. They smiled at each other, and Fran lovingly patted his back as he tended to the chicken, then she went to the counter to get the rest of the food ready to cook.
"Well, I'm off! I'm meeting a friend for dinner. When I get back, I'll come in this way so I don't wake the girls if they've gone to sleep," Niles said, as he came through the door to the dining room and put on his overcoat.
"Alright. Well, have a nice time, and thank you again for everything," Max responded.
"Yeah, Niles, thank you for helping with the girls. Did you get their food ordered okay?" Fran asked.
"Yes, it'll be arriving at the front door, it's already paid for, and I've given Maggie some extra money for the tip, if that's alright with you, sir."
"Oh, yes! The tip. Yes, thank you, Niles. Well, have a good evening out, and we'll see you in the morning," Max flipped over the chicken in the skillet as Fran got out their plates for dinner.
"Oh, I'm sure I will. And I'll be up to get breakfast going in the morning as well. I shouldn't be out too late."
"Thank you, Niles."
Niles went out the back door and shut it behind him, then Max set down the tongs on the counter and turned around to lean against it. He watched Fran as she buzzed around the counter, gathering silverware and napkins and serving spoons. She hurried over to the table and set the silverware and napkins down and turned around to see Max watching her.
"What?" She asked, cocking her head and smiling at him.
"Nothing. Just… watching you. You seem happy." She stepped over to the sink in front of him and leaned against it.
"I am happy. I mean, aside from what Maggie's going through, I'm not happy she had to go through that. But otherwise, yes, I'm happy. What about you? Are you happy?"
Max thought a moment. "I'm happy right now, yes. Earlier I was pretty stressed out, I guess you could say. Upset for Maggie. But I think she's past the worst of it, so that makes me feel better. But, like you said, separate from that… yes, I'd say I'm happy."
"Good. I like it when you look happy. Your eyes are different."
"My eyes?"
"Mmm hmm. It's like they have a way of smiling, too, separate from your lips. You don't have to smile the regular way to tell that you're still happy. It's cute." Max felt himself blush. He turned and pushed the chicken around in the skillet and checked it, then set the tongs back down on the counter and looked back at Fran. She was still looking at him curiously, but he didn't mind.
"Can I ask you something?" He said, softly.
"Of course."
He held onto the counter behind him and looked down at his shoes for a moment, then looked back up at her. "Ah… when I call you 'Ms. Fine,' does it really- I mean, does it really bother you? Does it, ah, hurt you, when I say that?" Fran looked at him seriously for a moment, then found herself also looking down at his shoes, then back up at him.
"I don't know that I would say it hurts me exactly. Bothers me, yeah, a little. Maybe." They were both quiet. Fran went to get the dinner rolls and took two out of the bag, then came back and put them on the cookie sheet. Max stepped out of the way as she checked the oven temperature, then she set the tray inside and closed the door. She was close to Max now, and he turned around to check the chicken again. Fran checked the green beans and the rice, turned off the burners, and moved the pots over. She stepped over to the island to get the serving dishes, then brought them back to the stove. She put on the oven mitts, lifted the steamer basket of tree beans out of the pot, then dumped out the green beans into a dish. She put the mitts back on the other side of the stove, scooped out the rice from the other pot into the second serving dish, then looked up at Max, who was still glancing over at her.
"Chicken's nearly done, I think," he said.
"You know how to make that gravy? Or you want some help?"
"I think I know how to do it, but I wouldn't mind a little help." Fran smiled. She reached for two lids and covered the dishes of green beans and rice, then brought them over to the table. She got the dinner plates and brought them to Max to put the chicken on, then he used the spatula to scrape up everything on the bottom of the skillet. Fran stood next to him and helped him add the rest of the ingredients, and he mixed up a nice gravy. He lifted the spatula to taste it, then offered some to Fran.
"Oh, that's good! Is that what the chicken's gonna taste like?"
"It should. You ready to eat?"
"Yes! Okay, let's shut off everything. Here, I'll get the rolls, you take the plates."
"Alright." He finished sorting the chicken out, then brought the plates over to the table. Fran shut off the oven and brought the rolls to the table, and set one onto each of their plates as Max went back for the skillet and the gravy. "Okay, now, you want some gravy on everything?" He asked.
"Everything but the beans! Thank you!" She sat down in a chair and scooped some rice onto her plate, then onto his. Max covered their chicken and rice with the gravy, then put the skillet back on the stove. He made one last trip to grab the pitcher of tea from the fridge and brought it to the table and sat down next to Fran. He poured their drinks, then they began to eat. "Mmmm!" Fran said, after she tried the chicken. "That's really good!"
Max tried his, too, and then a bite of rice. "It turned out pretty good, didn't it?" He asked.
"Sure did! I need to get you to cook for me more often!" She elbowed him and grinned. Max laughed.
"Hey, I didn't do it all myself. And you came up with the idea, so thank you for that. I'm glad this worked out."
"Me, too!" They both took several more bites of food, then sips of their tea. Things got quiet again, and Max methodically cut up his chicken with his knife and fork, and Fran glanced over to watch. She elbowed him gently. "You okay?"
"Mm hmm. Sorry, it got quiet, didn't it?"
"A little. I was wondering if you were thinking about what you asked me before."
"About if it hurt you when I called you 'Ms. Fine'?"
Fran nodded.
"You said it bothers you, when I do that. And I guess- I guess that bothers me."
"It does?"
"Yes. I never intended for that to happen."
"It's okay, I understand why. I mean, at the beginning- I guess it was like… you know, if you go talk to your kid's teacher, you don't call them by their first name. But after a while, it wasn't really like that anymore, you know? We knew each other better, we spent a lot of time together. Hell, you've seen me in a bikini!" Max chuckled.
"You've seen me in less…" he almost whispered, and Fran elbowed him again.
"Yeah. So I guess, I mean- at that point, it sort of felt like maybe we should have made a change, you know? You were my friend, and I wanted to be yours."
"You were my friend. You are. And maybe by that point I was realizing that you were more than that, and for some reason I just clung to it to keep it more formal between us. I guess I got scared. Or nervous. Or something."
"Hey, it's okay. I know you did. I know I teased you sometimes. That was my defense mechanism, I guess. I guess if I get pushed away, I push back. I wanted us to be closer. I liked being around you. It's nice to be around you. I didn't want you to push me away."
"I'm sorry. I don't want to be like that. I don't mean to be. And I want you to know that I don't want to be like that any more." Fran looked up at him.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean maybe- well, I've done it a couple times today…"
"Done what?"
"Called you 'Fran.' And it wasn't so bad. It was kind of nice, actually." He gulped slightly and cleared his throat. "So I guess what I'm getting at is that maybe… maybe I should keep doing that. From now on. If you're okay with it?"
"With you calling me 'Fran'? Of course I'm okay with it! Please do!" She grinned and clutched his arm.
"Really? You'd be alright with that?"
"Of course I would, silly! I think that would be really nice!" Max grinned from ear to ear, then took another bite of food. "But now I have a question for you." He looked over at her, and she looked into his eyes.
"What is it?"
"What do you want me to call you?" Fran got nervous that he wasn't going to be ready for her to take an informal tone with him yet. He put his fork down and turned in his chair to face her.
"Well, Fran," he smiled. "If you're okay with me calling you that, then I think it's only fair for you to start using my first name with me, too. How would you feel about that?"
"I would love it! Can I really call you Max? Or Maxwell? What do you want me to call you?" She was tugging at his arm from excitement.
"Whatever feels right to you." She beamed at him.
"Max. That's what I want to call you." He put his hand over hers on his arm.
"Then Max it is." She laughed and hugged his arm, leaning her head against his shoulder, then she looked up at him again.
"Thank you for taking that step. It really means a lot. I mean it. It's hard to not be able to call you by your first name, especially since you're such a good friend. More than a friend." She smiled at him and let go of his arm to go back to eating her dinner.
"Well, you're more than a friend to me, too. And I guess, after everything today, and that conversation with Maggie, I guess it's been on my mind. It's like having all these signs telling me to finally do something about it- so I just have to stop fighting it. I mean, there's still a chance I might call you Ms. Fine, but I'll try to catch myself. So don't worry that I'm going back to calling you that. It just might take a little getting used to."
"That's okay, I might do that, too." Fran looked at him for a moment. "So, can I ask- what exactly did you talk about with Maggie? Was it more than the Peter thing?" Max hung his head, bashfully.
"It was the Peter thing. Then there was more. You know, general relationship things. I might tell you about the rest, sometime."
"Okay, I won't push. But you can talk to me about whatever, okay? Anytime."
"I know. I will. I think I'm still just- processing things, I suppose. It's been a whirlwind of a day."
"Oh, no kidding! It's a pint-of-ice-cream kind of day, at least!" They both laughed.
"Hey, do you know if Niles has any in there?" Max gestured towards the freezer.
"He does! And he might have some cookies stashed somewhere, too!" They both laughed again, then happily went back to eating their dinners.
"Okay, here let me hold that for you and you get under that blanket, it's still chilly in here and that ice cream will just add to it," Max said, reaching for her bowl of ice cream and cookies. She hopped up onto the bed and pulled the blanket over her legs, then reached for the bowl as Max handed it to her. He shut the bedroom door and walked back around the bed, then handed the remotes to Fran, set down his ice cream on the bedside table, then went to put the movie in the VCR. He came back to the bed and got comfortable next to Fran and she hit Play on the remote. He glanced over at her and smiled.
"What?" She asked, and elbowed him.
"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking."
"Thinking about what?" The previews began to play on the videotape, but they weren't that interested in watching them.
Max poked at his ice cream. "Well, a day ago, who would have even thought we'd be here, like this, right now? Watching movies and eating ice cream on my bed." He grinned. Fran smiled, too, and took another bite.
"Yeah. It's been a crazy day. It started kind of bad, but it's turning out alright, isn't it?"
"Yes. I'd say it's turning out nicely. And maybe not just for us, but I think Maggie's much better off now than she was last night."
"Yeah. Poor Maggie, though. She was such a mess before. But I'm glad her friends could come over and be with her. Really glad. And I hate to say it, but maybe we can thank Peter for sending us all in a better direction," she said, and Max gave her a look.
"Well, I don't know if I'd go that far. Thanking Peter, I mean. I think you deserve the credit for that, and not just for Maggie, but for this, too. With us." He smiled bashfully at her for a moment, and it gave her another rush. He was so cute when he did that, and she felt it to her bones.
"Well, I guess I just had to think on my feet, you know? Figure something out for her pretty quick. And I need to thank you, too, for staying home. Even if we aren't constantly with her, I think it helps her to know we're nearby, just in case she needs us. And I guess… maybe it helps me, too. Knowing you're here, in case something came up and I wasn't sure what to do."
"Really? You think that could happen? Because it sure felt like you had the answers, and I was just trying not to do anything wrong and make it worse for her. And of course I'm going to stay here. Once you told me what happened, I wouldn't want to have left and have her deal with it alone. Or even leave it all on your shoulders. I was worried about her. And I didn't know what to do exactly. But you made that so much easier."
"I did? I'm glad. Whatever I did, I'm glad it helped. I was nervous, too. Especially this morning when she didn't want to talk to me. That's why I sent you in." Fran elbowed him softly and he chuckled.
They both took another bite of ice cream, then a bite of a cookie, and turned to watch as the movie started. The movie was an action/comedy, and it was just what they both needed. The day had been fairly emotional, and they needed something to take their minds off of things. As Fran worked steadily on her dessert, Max tried to focus on the movie, but found his mind wandering back to her again and again. He glanced over at her legs under the blanket. It made him feel good that she felt this comfortable with him- comfortable enough to sit and watch a movie in his bedroom, and he was feeling very comfortable having her there, too. What if the situation were reversed? Would he feel this comfortable if he were in her bedroom, watching a movie? He thought he might not be, that would definitely make him nervous, wouldn't it? But she did have that way of making him comfortable, no matter the situation.
Fran laughed at something funny in the movie, and it jarred Max out of his trance. He smiled at the sound of her laughter, then turned to look at the TV screen to see what she was laughing at. When they both finished their bowls of ice cream, Max took them and set them on the bedside table, then scooted back over next to Fran. She shifted her legs under the blanket and turned towards him.
"You cold? This blanket's plenty big for both of us," she offered. Max was about to decline, but then quickly reconsidered.
"Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt. Maybe I can help you get warm," he said, then realized what he said. Fran glanced at him and grinned, then tossed half of the blanket across his legs. "I mean, well- I wasn't saying- I just meant-" he stammered.
"Shush, you're fine. I'm just laughing because of how it sounded. But come on, let's watch the rest of this movie," she patted the bed, gesturing for him to move closer, and she curled up against him as he adjusted the blanket over his legs. He felt like he must be blushing again, and he couldn't figure out why he kept getting himself into that state so many times that day. Was it because of his conversation with Maggie? Was it the time he was having with Fran? Maybe it was both. Whatever it was, he was finding himself seriously thinking about his feelings for her. If he could just get over his issues with crossing that line with an employee, maybe they really could have something together. She really was a good friend to him, and she loved his children. And he truly was smitten with her. He reached his arm over her shoulders, inviting her in closer to him, and she reciprocated. She pulled the blanket up higher over her and leaned against him, and it made him feel wonderful. He rested his hand gently on her shoulder, and they stayed like that for the rest of the movie.
As the movie ended and the credits came on, Fran sat up and stretched her arms and yawned. "That was pretty good. What'd you think?" She asked.
"It was pretty funny, and lots of action and excitement. That's always good." He realized what he said again, and turned to look at her, but she didn't seem interested in teasing him again, or maybe this time she didn't hear how it could have been interpreted.
"Here- let me take those bowls down to the kitchen. I can see if Niles is back and then check on the girls."
"Oh, alright. Are you sure? I mean, I can do that, if you want."
"No, stay, I got it. Hey, so what do you want to do now? It's not really late. I mean, I don't want to impose on you if you're ready to go to bed or something." She picked up the bowls from his bedside table and looked over at him.
"I'm not really tired yet, we can watch television, if you want. I, um, do you want to change or anything? Or would that not be appropriate?" He got up from the bed, too, and followed her around to the other side. She turned back to look at him.
"Change? You mean, like change into pajamas, or something?"
"Well, sure, maybe, you know- or something comfortable. Whatever. If you want." Fran tried to hold back a smile, but she couldn't. She loved it when he got bashful and uncertain.
"Sure, we can do that. Watch TV a little while, if you want. Um, you wanna go ahead and get changed, and I'll run downstairs first, and see how Maggie's doing, too."
"Oh, ah, yes, sure. I can do that. And thank you for taking the bowls down."
"No problem. I have a feeling Niles won't be back yet, so it's no big deal. Okay, then, get changed, and I'll get into my PJs when I come back up, and we'll see what we can find on TV."
"Alright. See you in a bit."
Fran hurried out of his room, and Max paused a moment, then rushed into his closet to try to find some appropriate pajamas to wear in front of her. Who was he kidding? They were all pretty appropriate. But he didn't want to wear any of his stuffy pairs of silk pajamas. He wanted to look casual- cool even. What could he wear that would be comfortable, not stuffy, and would be alright to wear in front of Fran? He dug through several drawers and found a pair of black cotton pajama pants he hadn't worn in ages, then found an old gray undershirt that didn't look too bad. He changed out of his clothes quickly, put on a pair of athletic socks, then grabbed a light black robe and put it on, then headed to the bathroom to brush his teeth.
Fran put the ice cream bowls in the dishwasher and noticed that the girls seemed to have cleaned up after themselves. The dishwasher was full, so she filled it with detergent, shut it, and started it running, then headed out into the living room to see how the girls were doing. They had just finished another movie, and were busy moving furniture and getting ready to set up sleeping bags. Fran caught Maggie's attention as she came out into the living room.
"Hey Mags! How's everything? You guys get plenty to eat?"
"Oh, we totally pigged out. I'm so stuffed! We've got one more movie, but we want to get the sleeping bags down here and get our pajamas on first, then we can watch the movie in the dark and go right to bed after."
"Oh, good! Speaking of which, did Niles tell you about towels, and bathrooms and all of that? You can have them use the hall bathroom, and even Gracie's too if you need it. I think he was gonna put the towels on your bed, so just make sure everybody's got one, and whatever else they might need, okay?"
"Sure. But hey, Fran? Can I talk to you a minute? I mean, uh, let's go upstairs, okay?"
"Sure, sweetie, whatever you need." Maggie tugged on Fran's arm and they headed for the stairs.
"Hey guys? I'll be right back. Oh, there's towels and stuff in my room, and we can get extra pillows, too, if we need them. And you can use the hall bathroom and Gracie's too, okay? I just gotta talk to Fran real quick." The girls acknowledged her and went back to moving furniture out of the way, and Fran and Maggie hurried up the stairs to the hallway outside the kids' bedrooms.
"What is it, Mags? Are you doing okay?" Fran asked, a little concerned.
"Yeah, actually. Surprisingly, I think I'm doing pretty good. I just- I just wanted to thank you for everything. For doing all this for me. You didn't have to. But it was perfect, it was just what I needed to help me stop feeling sorry for myself. Last night- it felt like the world was ending, but now it doesn't. I can still have fun, and I know I still have lots of friends I can lean on. Especially you. So thank you." She reached for Fran and hugged her tightly.
"Aw, Mags! You're gonna make me cry! You know I love you, right? And I was really worried about you last night. I'm glad getting your friends over here seemed to be the right thing to do. I wish I had the sense to do that when I was younger, maybe it would have helped me when I went through a hard time. But now we know, okay? I mean, I don't want anything like this to ever happen to you again, but I think we both know that it could. So this is what you're gonna do, okay? If I'm not there to help out, just call all your friends and have them come over for a slumber party and movies and junk food to help you get through, okay? And maybe tell them all that if they ever go through a breakup, that you guys will all do the same thing for them, okay?" She hugged Maggie again.
"I will. We were talking about that a little before, too. So I think this'll be our go-to for when somebody has a break up, or anything else that's hard to get through. It seems to work pretty good." Maggie stepped back from Fran, but kept her hands on Fran's arms. "So what about you and dad? Are you guys having a good time?" "Yeah, actually. We're having a really nice time. We just watched another movie. Oh, and we cooked dinner together! That was something we never did before."
"You did? That's awesome! Sounds like you're having a good date night…" she smiled knowingly.
"Date night? Naw, Mags. We're just hanging out, and watching movies and stuff. Just friends hanging out."
"Where are you hanging out?" She raised her eyebrow.
"Maggie, stop it, you know how your father is about all that. We're just watching movies and TV and stuff. And we didn't want Niles to have to make dinner just for us."
"Mmm hmm." Maggie grinned again, and Fran shoved at her playfully.
"Stop it Maggie, he's gonna hear you!" She pushed Maggie towards her room.
"Fran, it's okay. I already talked to him this morning."
"Talked to him about what, exactly?"
"You mean he didn't tell you yet?"
"Well, he said you guys talked. But I didn't push him too much, I didn't think it was any of my business."
"Oh. Well, we did talk. I guess I made him squirm a little. We talked about you."
"Me? Why were you talking about me?"
"He was saying things about relationships, how a guy should treat me. That the guy should see me like a best friend and want to be around me, that we should know each other really well. And, well, the way he was talking- it sounded like he was talking about you. Like he was describing how he feels about you, and what you guys have been through."
Fran was taken aback for a moment. "Really? He didn't tell me that part. That's really sweet though."
"Yeah. And I told him it sounded like what he has with you, and I guess that got him all flustered or something, and he said he wasn't comfortable talking about that kind of thing with me, and that we were supposed to be focusing on me. But I told him-" she stopped herself.
"Told him what?"
"I told him that I'm okay with you guys. That all three of us are, so not to use us as an excuse."
"An excuse?"
"Yeah. An excuse for why he's holding back with you. We all know how he feels about you. And that you feel the same way about him. And it's perfectly okay with us. As a matter of fact, we'd prefer it. Nobody likes it when you go out with other guys, but we understand why you have. And we all want to kick daddy for not getting off his butt and doing something about it. But we also know why he's been scared to. He doesn't need to be scared anymore. So, anyway, I just thought I should tell you that, too, since I told him this morning. We're all totally okay with it." Now Fran felt like she might be blushing, and she was gushing over Maggie telling her this. Maggie could see that Fran was getting mushy, so she hugged her again. "I gotta go find some pajamas, but can you go tell daddy I want to talk to him, too? Before I go back downstairs?"
"Oh, sure Maggie. I'll go get him. You know, you're gonna be just fine, Mags. You really are!" She squeezed Maggie's hands.
"And you guys will, too! And thank you again. Now, go get daddy and then you guys can get on with your evening and stop worrying about me, okay?"
"Okay! Go! Go get your pajamas. I'll go get him." Maggie went towards her room and Fran headed towards Max's room to find him. She cleared her throat and dabbed at the corners of her eyes to try not to look choked up. When she got to Max's room, she knocked on the partially open door.
"Come in," she heard his lovely, deep voice say.
"Hey, I still gotta get my pajamas on, but Maggie wants to talk to you for a minute. She's back in her room."
"She does? Oh, alright." Max got up from the bench at the end of the bed and tossed the remote back up towards the pillows.
"Find anything we can watch?" She asked.
"Oh, there's probably several things you'd like. You can flip through when we go back and see what you want to watch the most."
"Aw, that's sweet. You don't have to let me pick, it's your room."
"That's alright. You have pretty good taste," he said, as they left his room and walked back to the split in the hallway where Fran would turn to go to her room. "Did Maggie say what she wanted to talk to me about?" Max was feeling a little nervous.
"No, but she might just want to thank you. It'll be fine, don't worry," Fran encouraged, patting his arm. "I'll go get ready for bed and I'll meet you back there?"
"Sure." Max watched as Fran headed away, then he turned to go to Maggie's bedroom. Her door was part way open and her light was on, so he knocked.
"Hi, daddy!" She said, as she yanked the bedroom door open. "I was just getting my pajamas on." Just then, two of the other girls came giggling down the hallway. "Hey, guys. Go ahead and get what you need. One of you can use my bathroom and the other can use the one in the hall. Are the others coming up yet?"
"They said they'd wait until we came back down," the smaller, mousier girl said. Max was feeling self conscious as he stood there in his robe and pajamas.
"Okay, go ahead. I just need to talk to my dad a minute." Maggie turned her father around and pushed him down the hallway for more privacy.
"Is everything alright? Have you been having a good time with your friends?" He asked.
"Yeah. I was telling Fran that this was a really good idea, and I think we're gonna do something like this again if anybody goes through anything like a breakup again. It does seem to help."
"Oh, good! I'm glad. I'm glad Fran thought of it. She was really worried about you. So was I."
"Aw, thank you daddy. I know I was a little crabby this morning. I just didn't get much sleep, and I was still feeling sorry for myself. But I just wanted to tell you and Fran thank you for everything today, for letting my friends come over and stay the night, and for going over to his house to get my things. I don't know how I would have dealt with that, and I didn't want him coming over here at all. So thank you. Thank you a lot." Maggie reached her arms out to hug her father, and he hugged her back.
"Darling, you know I'd do anything for you. I'm glad we could find a way to help. I don't like seeing you hurt, and I don't want any of this to crush your spirit or sour you on relationships. You'll find someone better when the time is right. I just hope you never have to go through anything like this again."
"Me neither. I'll be careful, if I decide to go out with somebody else. And like you said, I'll tell them about this so they know that it hurt me. So they know not to do anything like that."
"Good. Good. So, do you have everything you all need?"
"Yeah. Niles put the towels and stuff on my bed. And we've got lots of food, and one more movie to watch. So we're good. So how are you guys doing? Are you watching movies, too?"
"Oh, ah, yes. We've finished watching our movies. We're going to see what's on the television now, and watch a little more until we go to bed."
"So, are you and Fran having a nice time?" Maggie raised her eyebrow.
"Us? Well, yes, we're having a nice time. The movies were pretty good."
"I don't mean the movies, I mean you and Fran hanging out together. You guys don't do that here very much. Is it weird hanging out in your room?"
"Well, a little, at first, it was different. But it's fine. The television is a good size for watching movies."
"Mmm hmm." Maggie crossed her arms in front of her, but it was Max who was more guarded. "You guys should talk. Instead of watching TV."
"We talk. We talked. Some. We're fine, Margaret. You don't need to worry about us."
"Did you really talk? I mean, about important things? Not about the movies you watched, or even about me, and what happened. Try talking to each other. I think you need to. I think you'll be glad you did."
"Are you trying to make me uncomfortable again, sweetheart? Because it's working."
Maggie grinned and hugged him again. "Sorry, daddy. But I love you guys, and I think you could have something really great, if you just got past all this other stuff. You said you didn't like all those games people play when they're dating, but it kind of seems like you're letting those exact kind of things stop you from taking a chance- you're already playing games and you haven't even asked her out yet."
"Playing games? What do you mean?"
"I mean, you clearly like being around her, but you find all these reasons to not let her get too close- or let yourself get too close. I know you had a good reason at first, you had to make sure she was worth getting close to. But now you know- she is, daddy. Everybody sees how you two look at each other. You guys have those moments all the time, but then you both back away, or she lets you back away, and then you both just look really sad. That's hard to watch. There's no reason for you to do that anymore, daddy. No reason at all. If you're scared, or nervous, or whatever, just tell her. She gets it. And maybe she feels the same way, too. She holds back because she's scared she might do the wrong thing and scare you off for good."
"What do you mean? She thinks she might scare me?" Max thought that idea was preposterous.
"Yeah, daddy. You do scare easily. But imagine letting her help you get through that fear. Really think about it. Because now I know some of that fear myself, because of what happened, and I can't let it take me over. That wouldn't be fair to the guy that I'm meant to be with. Would it? I can use it to my advantage, to protect me for a little while. It'll stop me from jumping into something new too fast, without considering everything. But at some point I'll have to let my walls down, and see if the guy will respect that. You know how Fran takes care of you when you're nervous about a show? Think about that. Because I've always thought that was pretty great of her to do. It's not part of her job, either. She just really cares about you, daddy. Anytime you're worried or suffering, she wants to take that away. She wants you to be okay. Just look at today. She could have come and hung out with us girls, and ignored you- let you go off and do your own thing. But she stayed with you, and you stayed with her. I know you guys were worried about me- you are worried about me. But I'm okay. I've got a lot of support around me right now. You can take a break, and focus on each other. Consciously focus on each other. Talk some more, okay? Even just a little bit. You'll both be glad you did." And with that, Maggie gave him such a look that it nearly melted him on the spot. Here was his baby girl, being such an adult. Even after a bad experience that should have left her crushed for days, even weeks, or months, with a little help she'd managed to get back up and dust herself off and find away to enjoy some time with friends. And now she was concerned more with Fran and her father's relationship than the end of her own. Max huffed for a moment to catch his breath, then wrapped his arms around her again.
"How'd you get to be such a wonderful daughter? I definitely don't deserve you, Maggie."
"I love you, daddy, that's all. And I love Fran, too. And so do Brighton and Gracie. We just want both of you to be happy, that's all. So get all that nonsense out of the way and start letting yourselves be close. Okay? Or one of these days we're all gonna gang up on you guys and crack some heads!" Max laughed and Maggie grinned.
"Alright, darling. Now why don't you get back to your friends. They must be wondering what happened to you."
"Okay. I love you, daddy."
"I love you, too, Maggie. Very much. And make sure you all don't stay up too late. You need some sleep."
"We won't. Jut one more movie."
"Okay. Good night, sweetheart."
"Good night, daddy!" She hugged him quickly and then turned and ran back to her room. Max was stunned. He leaned back against the wall for a minute to regain his bearings. What a strange day this had become! He ran his fingers through his hair a few times, then down over his face. He was lost in thought and was trying to shake himself out of it before he went back to Fran. He cleared his throat and took a few deep breaths and exhaled. Then slowly walked back to his room.
"There you are! I was almost about to come look for you. Is everything okay? Did she thank you?" Fran asked, coming towards him as he entered the bedroom. He shut the door behind him and looked up at her.
"Ah, yes. Yes she did. She was very sweet." He looked into Fran's eyes and found himself locking onto them, it felt impossible to look away. Fran could tell there was something else going on with him- something important. She wanted to know, but didn't want to push too hard.
"Hey, come here. Hop up on the bed. I found an old movie we can watch. Or not watch. It's in the middle of it, so whatever. You know. We can just let it play in the background, if you want."
"In the background?"
"Yeah. You know, if you wanted to do something else. Talk, or play a game. Play chess, or cards or something. Whatever." She cracked a tiny smile, which made Max smile.
"You want to play chess?" He asked, already knowing the answer.
"No." They both laughed, then got up on the bed from opposite sides. Fran sorted out the blanket again, tossing part of it over his legs and part over hers, then they both sorted out the pillows and got comfortable. They both looked at the TV for a moment, then glanced at each other, then looked away again. Fran took a breath and sighed, then shifted closer to him. "So, that Maggie, huh?"
Max gave a little huff, agreeing with her. "Yes, no kidding. It's like she grew up overnight or something!" Fran smiled and lat out a small laugh.
"Yeah. She stopped feeling sorry for herself real fast. I could never do that."
"No, I don't think I could, either. Especially so young."
"Yeah." Fran could feel the tension in the air, and she knew he had something on his mind, but she felt like she needed to let him decide if he wanted to talk to her yet or not. She was certain Maggie had said something to him again, and he had already hinted at it earlier. Fran felt pretty sure she knew what it was about, but would try to be patient and leave it up to him to bring up. They began to watch the characters on the old black and white movie playing on the television, and it seemed to help Max relax a little. When Fran shifted under the blanket, he reached his arm over for her to rest against it, and she did, and even curled up against him. She felt like he was looking for a little reassurance. His initial tension seemed to ease up, and they both relaxed back against the pillows.
"So…" he began, softly. Fran tilted her head just slightly so she could listen to him better, but didn't look at him. She thought that might be too much just then, and he might stop talking. "Maggie… I'll, ah, just assume she also had a certain kind of conversation with you, too, like she had with me. Not about what happened with her and Peter. But, well, when we talked about relationships in general… I was telling her how she deserved to be treated better. She deserved better. And then I sort of told her some things to look for in a partner." He went quiet for a moment, thinking.
"Mm hmm…" Fran acknowledged what he said, but still didn't push.
"How you want someone who has your best interests at heart, a good friend. So even if things didn't work out, for whatever reason, you'd still want the best for each other, no matter what. You wouldn't be out to get each other. That it was important to have that friendship. It took me a while to learn that, when I was her age. I told her I was a bit needy when it came to relationships. Clingy. Too clingy. I realized that could be a bit much, that I was too smothering. I'm sure that has a lot to do with how I was brought up. I didn't get much affection, so I thought that's what I should get from a relationship. That that must be where you got that from. And then, when I met their mother… with Sarah, she kept me at a distance for a good while. She needed to know if I was serious- that I really enjoyed being around her, and I wasn't just some man chasing after her, and that I wouldn't get bored of her and then go chase after someone else." He paused again, surprised he was even talking about this with Fran. He was trying to be careful with his words, but realized he didn't really need to be. He was just telling her how it was. "So, ah, Maggie asked why I hadn't dated since Sarah. I told her how I just didn't care for all that nonsense, I wasn't interested in going through all that again, that dating nonsense, the games. But just now- when we were talking, she said it seemed like that was exactly what I was doing, with you. Playing games." Now Fran had to look up at him.
"Playing games?"
"Yes. The way I keep you at a distance, maybe the way you try not to scare me. She said I scare easily, and that you wouldn't want me to feel that way so you're careful with me. Like how you look after me when I'm nervous, and that isn't part of your job. You just care, it's who you are. But I still keep you at arm's length. She says we let all this nonsense get in the way of us letting ourselves get close to each other."
Fran thought a moment. Maybe Maggie was right. "Hmm," she mumbled, then looked back at the TV.
"I hadn't ever thought of it all like that- like we were playing games like people do when they're dating. I mean, I know I've kept you at a distance. I genuinely worried about that- about behaving like my father, or anyone thinking I was. I didn't want to do any harm, or allow something to happen that shouldn't. It was a real struggle, Fran. I didn't know how to figure it out, and I didn't want to lose you. I don't want to lose you. So I suppose over the years, you sort of grew into being my partner, but without that romantic element. I could control things to a certain extent if we kept that line there. But I suppose we both know, that line in the sand didn't go very deep. We crossed it more than once. And I guess we still played the games to maintain a status quo."
Fran listened to him as he talked, and mulled over everything that he was saying. Did they really play games to keep from getting too close? Who was she kidding? Of course they did. She knew they had a spark between them, and when something happened between them, and he pushed her away again, it hurt her. So she got spiteful and tried to hurt him- by going on a date, or pretending she was. She wanted him to know that he could lose her if he didn't do something.
"I'm sorry. I know I did that. I don't think I really knew that's what I was doing, but looking at it now, that's exactly what I was doing. Maybe what we both were doing." Fran sighed, feeling guilty.
"It's my fault, really. I started it. Gosh, I should have been in therapy! I suppose I really was scared. I was scared of my feelings for you, and it caught me off guard. I really didn't think you would stay long. I expected you to be like the other nannies. But you were so different. And maybe it fed my ego a bit to have an attractive nanny living in the house. I liked that. I developed a crush on you pretty quickly, just like Brighton did. And in a way- in a very big way, it was like we were playing house. Only, since I already had the children, it was like I let you in as a partner. You took care of them while I worked, you looked after all of us, looked after the house, too. And maybe for you, it was like you stepped into a ready-made family. You didn't have to find a partner, and then work on having the children, and building a life. It was all right there for you. We both got a lot of what we needed from that, I'm sure. But there was that element that was missing, and I'm seeing how it bothered the both of us to not have it."
"You mean… the romantic part?" She asked, as carefully as she could.
"Yes." They were quiet for a while, not knowing what to say. Then Max spoke up again. "The games- Maggie called it the nonsense, that seems like it's the only thing in the way of us treating each other like actual friends- close friends who watch out for each other and want the best for each other. Because how can we do that if we're hurting each other? I don't want to hurt you, but yet I keep doing it. Then you push back, and that hurts, but I act like it doesn't. I don't want to do things like that, Fran. I don't want to be that person. I do want to be your friend. I need to be. I know I've been scared. But Maggie said- she said imagine what it would be like if I opened up and let you know I was afraid. How would it feel if you were there to help me through it- if you were the one to comfort me, just like you do when I'm nervous and you watch out for me, and do things to help me calm down and feel better. And when… when she said that- it just really got to me. It really got to me."
Fran sat up next to him and looked straight at him. It made her melt, too, so she wrapped her arms around his neck to hug him. "I don't want you to be scared, Max. Especially not of me, or even what I might represent to you. I care about you, a lot. I'd do anything for you! And I know I can't push you, because that's not right. But yes, I want to be the one to help you whether you're scared, or nervous, or anything. I can feel it when you feel that way, and it's so hard to not be able to just grab hold of you and squeeze you tight, and tell you it'll be okay. There's been so many times I've wanted to do that, Max. So many!"
"Really?"
"Of course. But I also didn't want to be the cause of you feeling that way. If you were nervous, you could blame it on the work, on the public pressure, and not on me making you nervous. But if you were scared of me- of getting close to me, I don't know what to do with that. So I guess it makes me hold back, even when it hurts."
"I'm sorry! I don't want to be doing that to you. It's not fair to you!"
"Don't be scared of me, Max! Please don't be scared of me. And I won't be scared of you, either…" She squeezed him again, and he let his arms envelope her, then slowly tighten around her. He buried his face against her shoulder and they continued hugging. They needed it, so bad. All the pent up frustration they had with each other was finally melting away, and they were realizing they could finally give each other the comfort they needed. Fran clutched him tightly to her and kissed the side of his head again and again.
"Fran? Can we make some changes around here? I mean, with us?" Max whispered. He leaned back and looked into her eyes. "I think I'm getting tired of that distance."
"Yes! Of course we can. I'd like that. I'd like that a lot!"
"So- this kind of thing- this would be alright with you?"
"You mean, hugging each other?" She smiled and stroked the back of his head. "Of course it's alright with me! I'll hug you any time you need it. Or just any time. All the time." She rested her forehead against his and they looked into each other's eyes. They both let out a deep sigh. "And if you ever get worried, or scared, or nervous… anything like that… please come to me. Tell me, if I don't pick up on it. I want to take care of you."
"I want to take care of you, too," he whispered. They hugged each other tightly again, and Max cleared his throat. Fran looked at him, wondering what he was thinking.
"What? What is it?" She asked.
Max grinned. "What a day!" They both chuckled.
"No kidding! Well, hey, come here then. Let's settle down some. Let's find something we can watch, and relax some more- now that we got all that out of the way!" Fran said, smiling at him and giving his shoulders a squeeze. They shifted the pillows around and laid back on the bed, then pulled the blanket up over them. Max offered her the remote again.
"You take it this time, see if there's something a little bit more subdued. Something that might settle us down a bit," she said.
"Alright. I'll see what I can find." Fran curled up next to him, her head on his shoulder and his arm wrapped around her. His head was propped up on a pillow and he began flipping through the channels to see if he could find something calm. There were several old movies, but they were a little too exciting, so he passed them by. He continued on until he landed on PBS and found an acoustic jazz band playing a concert in front of a small audience. He stopped to watch a bit, and Fran seemed to approve, so he left it there and set the remote down on the bedside table, then reached his arm back to Fran, who had stretched hers across his middle. He rested his hand on her arm and they settled in to watch the performance. It was a nice form of jazz, not too modern, and very soothing and happy. The musicians smiled as they played, and audience members tapped their feet to the beat. Max closed his eyes for a little while to listen to the music, and to let himself feel the wonderfulness of having Fran in his arms like this. He could feel her soft breathing, and liked the scent of her perfume. He noticed that her hand clutched his robe at his side, and it made him feel secure. He stroked her arm with his thumb, then opened his eyes again to watch the band play on the television.
After lying on the bed with her like that for a good while, he thought about how he couldn't remember having felt this relaxed in a long time. He hugged her a little tighter, then heard her exhale against him, like she was relaxing, too. He listened to her soft breathing, then realized she must have fallen asleep- her head resting on his shoulder. He smiled, then realized he had a situation to figure out. Should he wake her? Should he just let her sleep? He didn't want to disturb her by trying to pull his arm out from under her, and anyway, he liked having her there with him. Would it be alright if he just let her sleep next to him, for however long she may sleep? After all, they were friends. Best friends. He wasn't going to take advantage of her, he would never do that. He reached for the edge of the blanket and gently pulled it up over her arm, then carefully reached over to his bedside light and turned it off. The room was now dark except for the glow coming from the TV set. He clutched Fran to him as he continued to watch the band perform on the show, then after a few numbers he yawned and realized he was pretty tired, too, so he picked up the remote, turned off the TV, then set the remote on the bedside table.
Fran took a deep breath and exhaled again, tightened her grasp on his robe, then finally relaxed again. Max smiled. He could just faintly see her outline under the blanket from the light that came in around the curtains behind them. He thought over the events of the day, and couldn't believe where they ended up. But it was wonderful. The sound and feel of her soft breathing against his shirt comforted him, and settled him down. He closed his eyes and listened to her. He could just smell the fading scent of her perfume. He never wanted to forget that scent, or this time he was having with her, resting in his arms. The realization that this feeling was something he wanted in his life, all the time, began to come over him, and nearly overwhelmed him. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, and nuzzled into Fran's hair. He had to admit to himself that he was crazy about her. As he relaxed with her under the blanket, he let his mind wander off. He imagined all the times he and Fran could have together now, and thought about how he might ask her out. He smiled softly, and let the pleasant thoughts carry him off to sleep.