A Situation

by BinBagBrain

Maggie gets stood up, and Fran and Max find themselves in a situation after helping Maggie through it. More chapters on the way!

1. Chapter 1

Fran peeked in Maggie's door after knocking. She wanted to check to make sure she was okay after a night of crying her eyes out.
"Maggie?" She whispered. "You okay?"
"I'm sleeping," she snapped. Her voice muffled under the pillow she had over her head.
"Are you coming down to breakfast?"
"No!" She rolled over under her covers in the darkened room. Fran sighed, then quietly closed her bedroom door. She headed to the stairs and jogged down, then noticed a car pull up outside. It was Brighton's friend Tommy and his parents. Brighton was going with them to their house on Long Island for the weekend. Fran hurried to the door and stepped outside and waved to them.
"Hi! Brighton's just finishing his breakfast, I'll run and get him!" She said, and hurried back inside, then turned past the stairs and jogged to the dining room. Max appeared at the top of the stairs and jogged down after her, then headed for the dining room as well.
"Hey B! Tommy's here! Get your dishes to the kitchen before you go, okay? You got all your stuff in your backpack?"
"Yes, I do!" He stuffed the last two bites of food in his mouth, jumped out of his chair, and grabbed his breakfast dishes and ran to the kitchen to put them in the sink.
"Gracie, are you finished? I can go walk you over to Maddie's now if you're ready."
"Don't you want to eat your breakfast first?" Gracie asked, then finished off her orange juice.
"I can eat after you go, no biggie. But I know how excited you are to go over there."
Max came into the dining room as Brighton burst through he door from the kitchen.
"Whoa, easy does it Brighton!"
"I'm sorry, but they're waiting for me, I gotta run!"
"I'm ready to go, too, I guess. But you don't need to walk me over there, Fran. I can cross the street myself," Gracie added.
"Oh, I know, but I just want to make sure you get there alright."
"Ms. Fine, why don't you have a seat. I'll walk them out there, and make sure Miss Grace gets across the street in one piece. I know you were up late last night, so come have a seat. Ms. Grace, don't worry about your dishes. I'll get them when I come back. Is your bag ready to go, too?"
"Yep, it's by the stairs!"
"Well, go get it, Gracie! They're waiting for me! Come on!" Brighton urged from the doorway to the hall.
"Well, hang on, aren't you going to say goodbye?" Max asked.
"Bye, daddy!" Grace jumped from her seat and put her napkin down, then grabbed her father and hugged him, then ran to Fran and hugged her. "Bye, Fran! See you tomorrow!"
"Okay, sweetie! Best behavior, both of you guys, okay? And call if you need anything or have an emergency, okay?" Fran said.
"We will, Fran. Bye you guys! Be back before dinner tomorrow. Now let's go!" Niles followed the children from the room, and Max turned around to retrieve the pot of coffee as Fran walked over to her chair.
"Coffee?" Max asked her. She flopped into her chair.
"Yes! Please. Thank you." He poured her a cup, and then filled his own, and he set the cream and sugar between them, then sat down at the table.
"So, ah, you were out late last night, too?" He asked. Max had spent a late evening working at the theater and hadn't been home, and nervously wondered where Fran might have gone.
"I was up late, but I didn't go out."
"No?" He asked. Fran shook her head and quickly stirred the cream and sugar into her coffee and lifted it to her lips for a sip. It was then that Max looked over and realized Maggie's place settings were still at the table. Niles came back into the dining room and walked around the table to the buffet to get their plates filled.
"Ms. Fine," Niles asked, turning around. "Do you know if Miss Margaret will be joining us for breakfast?" Fran slumped a bit, then looked at Max. He was wondering the same thing.
"Um, no, she won't, but if you could keep some warm, and maybe we can take a tray up to her in a while?"
"Oh certainly, I can do that." He went back to filling their plates, and Max raised his eyebrows at Fran.
"Is there something going on with Maggie?" He asked.
Fran sighed and nodded. "Yeah. I need to talk to you about that. And I think it would be a good idea if you talked to her, too. She had a rough night."
"A rough night? What do you mean? Wait- she had a date last night, didn't she? Oh my gosh, please tell me-"
"It's okay, it's not what you might think." Niles set their plates down in front of them, and then excused himself to go find a tray in the kitchen for Maggie.
"Well, please tell me what's going on. Is she alright?"
"She's not okay now. She's really upset. I stayed up with her pretty late last night. She was crying her eyes out."
"What happened?!"
"She was supposed to have a date last night. She got stood up."
"Oh dear." Max said, and he leaned back in his chair.
"Yeah. She was all dressed up, too. They were supposed to go to a restaurant. She waited and waited for Peter, and of course, she worried something happened to him. So she called his house, and I guess she spoke to his father, because I don't think his mother would have- well, exposed him like that."
"Exposed him? What do you mean?"
"Well, I guess his father picked up the phone, and so Maggie asked for Peter, and his father said he was on a date. So of course Maggie said they were supposed to be on one at that Italian restaurant, but his father said, no, he went to the new burger place on fifty-second. I forget what the name was. But I guess Maggie got a bad feeling, so she didn't press it. She called information and got the number of the restaurant and called over there."
"Oh no…"
"Yeah. Well, it was a girl or a woman who answered, so Maggie asked her if there was a young blond guy there, maybe at a table for two. She said she was supposed to meet up with him and wanted to know if he was there yet. So the girl told her yeah. There was a young blond guy there, in a sweater, with a brown leather jacket. With someone else. A young girl with dark hair. So Maggie tried to keep her composure, and asked if she could speak with him quickly. Told the girl his name, just to make sure she had the right guy, and to tell him it was urgent." Max leaned over and put his hand over his forehead. He knew what was coming. "Yeah, I guess you can figure out what happened next."
"What excuse did he have? Did he even give her one?"
"Well, he was caught red-handed. I heard her yelling from her room. She said she was waiting for him so they could go on their date, and she'd called his house, so he knew he was dead meat. From what Maggie told me, she said he'd been acting weird lately. Like he wasn't so enthusiastic about things. She thought tonight they might be able to sort it out, like maybe he was stressed out or something, and last night they could relax. But he said he'd meant to talk to her sooner, he wanted to break up with her but didn't know how to tell her. She screamed at him pretty good and hung up on him. Needless to say, he didn't call back. I went up to her room to see what the heck was going on." Fran got quiet and shook her head, then began to eat her breakfast.
"That little twerp! I should have known…" Max seethed.
"How could you have known? I don't think I ever got that kind of vibe from him. Not at all. I mean, sure, he's a young kid. Maybe he'd go off to college and break up with her for that or something, but I never figured him for a two-timing loser. And I never thought Maggie'd be on the other side of that. Boy, she was really blindsided."
Max shook his head and poked at his food, then took a bite. "What do we do? Is there anything we can do for her?"
"Well, I might be talked out. I don't know that there's anything else I can tell her, other than time will help. But there is one thing-"
"What?"
"I think it would be a good idea if you go and talk to her for a while. Maybe you can bring her breakfast to her? Take the tray up, see if she'll let you in. I think she could use her daddy right now." Max looked over at Fran fondly. He was sure glad she was there to help him, and the children, with situations like this.
"You think she'd talk to me?"
"Yeah, she might. Maybe after a good, long hug. I think she mostly needs to know she has a lot of support to help her get through all this."
"She absolutely has a lot of support. Especially with you. Thank you for helping her last night. I don't think I would be so- so-"
"Calm?"
"Yes. I might have gone to that burger place myself, and let that other girl know who she was on a date with. I'm sure I would have had some heated words with him."
"I bet you would. I was ready to do the same thing myself. But Maggie is the priority. We have to help her through this. I never wanted her to ever have to go through something like that. She's pretty strong, and I think she's a good judge of character, but boy, I don't think anybody could have seen this coming." They were quiet for a while, and went back to eating their breakfasts and drinking their coffee.
"What do I say to her?" Max asked. Fran thought for a moment.
"I don't know. Maybe just start slow, see if she opens up to you. She might not want to rehash everything. I think the hug is the most important thing. She might need a lot of those for a while, and a lot of reassurance. She needs to know all guys aren't like that."
"True. I don't want her holding a grudge or having a chip on her shoulder about men forever. I don't want her to get into a bad pattern."
"Oh, neither do I! But there was one other thing I was kind of thinking about," she said, and got up to get the coffee pot and pour herself another cup. She set the pot on the table in case Max wanted some, too.
"What were you thinking?"
"Well, Brighton and Gracie are gone for the night. And I have a feeling Maggie won't want to leave her room if she doesn't have to. I was thinking of maybe calling a few of her friends and explaining the situation to them, and see if maybe they could come over and stay with her. Maybe for the night? Like a sleepover intervention or something. We can order them pizza or whatever they want, maybe get some movies for them. But movies that don't have anything to do with relationships."
Max thought the idea over for a bit. "Do you think she would go for it? Having her friends come over?"
"Well, I wasn't planning on telling her they were coming over. Maybe I can call them when you're talking to her, and see if they can come right away. Maybe pack a bag and bring a sleeping bag, and come over to give her some support. Would that be alright, if she had a sort of a slumber party tonight?"
Max smiled. "I think that might be a really good idea. If it can keep her from dwelling on it in a bad way, and like you said- see that she has a lot of support- that might be a really good idea."
"I hope so. But just know that it might take her a while to get over it. She might have things come up that just bring it all back, so there's always a chance we need to give her some comfort again and again. And expect that she might say she's fine when she's not. Just hug her, and don't force her to talk about things if she doesn't want to."
"Alright." He poured himself some more coffee, and they finished their breakfasts in silence. Niles came out of the kitchen and set the tray on the dining table, then picked up Maggie's place settings from the table and set them on the tray. He poured a glass of orange juice and set that on the tray, then went back to the food and prepared a plate for Maggie. Fran and Max glanced over at each other, and Fran gave him a smile. He really looked worried, and a bit nervous.
"It'll go fine, Mr. Sheffield. We'll get her though it." Niles wondered what they were talking about, but didn't ask. He brought the plate over to the tray and then set a cover on it.
"Ah, NIles? Would you be opposed to possibly having a bunch of teenage girls here today, and over night?" Max asked.
"Teenage girls?"
"Yeah, Niles," Fran added. "Maggie is kind of having a rough time, and I thought maybe if I can get some of her friends to come over and help her out, that it might do her some good."
"Oh, I see. That should be fine. Will they be needing anything from me?"
"Maybe just ordering some pizza or something. Or maybe, now that I think about it, maybe nothing Italian. And no burgers. Well, we'll just see what they want. But that'll be really helpful."
"That's no problem, I'm sure."
"And Niles, I'll take that up to Maggie. I need to see how she's doing. Well, I think I'm done with breakfast. So, you'll try to call her friends while I'm up there?" He asked Fran.
"Yeah. I have their numbers. I just need to decide how many and which ones, and see who can come over. So if you can get her out of bed and get her some food in her. She didn't eat last night, so she's gotta be hungry. And then maybe get her to shower and get dressed. Let her know she doesn't have to come out of her room if she doesn't want to, but to at least get herself together before her friends get here. But don't tell her they're coming!"
"Okay, I won't. Are you going to tell her that part?"
"Maybe. Maybe I'll come up once I know what's going on, and I'll see if she wants me to come in, too. So, are you ready? You want me to help you get that tray up there?"
"I think I can manage it. Is her door unlocked? In case she won't open it for me?"
"Yeah, it was when I checked on her before I came down." Max swallowed the last of his coffee and got up from his chair, then went over to the tray of food and picked it up.
"Alright then," he took a deep breath. "Wish me luck."
"Good luck! You'll do fine. Remember, the hug is the most important part, okay? Then let her talk if she's ready."
"Alright." He headed out of the dining room and made his way to the stairs.
"Um, Ms. Fine?" Niles asked. Fran looked over at him.
"Yeah, so uh, you remember Peter, right?" Niles sat down next to her and she told him the whole story.

Max knocked lightly on Maggie's bedroom door. "Sweetheart? It's me. Can I come in?"
"I'm trying to sleep!" Maggie grumbled. Max reached for the knob and quietly turned it and opened the door.
"Sweetheart, let me at least bring this food in to you, you must be starving." Max went into her room, and turned on the light and shut the door behind him. "Here, Maggie, why don't you sit up so I can give you this." Max stepped over next to her bed and tapped his shoe against the side of it.
"Daddy! I'm not in the mood."
"I'm sorry, sweetheart. But I do think you should eat something. And I promise to leave after that. Can you at least do that for me? Come now, come sit up so I can set this down."
Maggie thought about it for a moment, She could smell the pancakes and bacon, and thought that it did smell pretty good. Maybe she could eat a little. She huffed and pulled the pillow off of her head, then rolled over and sat up, pulling the covers up against her. She pushed her pillows back against the headboard and sat back, then tried to fix her hair. She glanced at her father and quickly looked away, sticking her bottom lip out. Max set the tray across her lap and sat down on the edge of her bed next to her. Maggie reached over for a piece of bacon and took a small bite.
"So, ah, Fran told me what happened last night. I'm very sorry, sweetheart. You didn't deserve to be treated like that." He patted her hand. Maggie slumped down and put her piece of bacon back on the plate.
"I hate him so much, daddy!" She covered her eyes and started to cry, and Max reached over to give her a hug, then got a tissue and handed it to her.
"Come here, darling. I'm so sorry. I never figured he was the type to behave in such a way. You deserve to be treated so much better than that." He squeezed her tightly and she hugged him back, and tried to cover her eyes so he wouldn't see her tears.
"I was waiting and waiting. He acted like he didn't even remember that we were supposed to go out last night. We planned it weeks ago. I mean, I knew he was being kind of weird lately, but I thought he was just tired from working a lot, and school. But that wasn't it." She choked up again and wiped her nose with the tissue and Max gave her another squeeze.
"What he did was wrong, Maggie. No one should be treated that way. I wish I could say something to you that would take all this pain away, but I'm afraid I don't know what that would be."
"It's okay, daddy. I know. Why do guys do things like this? Why couldn't he just break up with me a long time ago? And just tell me he wasn't feeling it anymore, then go find some other girl? Why would he lie to me?"
Max leaned back with her against her pillows and kept an arm across her shoulders. "Immaturity, I suppose. Maybe trying to impress his friends, if he has the kind of friends who behave that way, too. Maybe he did want to break up with you but didn't know how. If he met someone that caught his interest, maybe he wanted to make sure she was interested in him before he let you go. So it could be his own insecurity at being alone. But whatever the reason, it was wrong, and I'm sure he knew it." Maggie reached for the piece of bacon again and ate the whole thing, and Max stroked her shoulder, trying to comfort her.
"Daddy?"
"Mmm hmm?"
"Before you and mom got together, did you date a lot? I mean, was dating back then like it is now?"
Max had to think of the right words before he had this kind of discussion with her. "Well," he started tentatively, "I suppose it was a bit the same. In some circles, it was definitely a bit more sexist, maybe even aggressive. That part I didn't care for. I'm glad I wasn't raised around that. I mean- aside from my father being a cheater. And, well, I suppose he should have broken things off with my mother before he decided to look elsewhere. But I can assure you I was never like that, in case you were wondering. I was a bit more… I guess you could say I was a bit more on the needy side. It took a lot for me just to ask a girl out, so if she said yes, I suppose I would go a little overboard. Smother a bit too much. And a lot of girls back then, they were looking for careers, they didn't necessarily want something so serious. I think all I wanted was a serious relationship. A permanent relationship."
"Were you like that with mom? Needy?"
"Well, I was a little older then, I think I was just trying to be cool about it, but yes, I suppose I was still a bit anxious. I think I tried to do everything right. But thankfully, she kept me at arm's length for a good while. She wasn't interested in some man following her around like a puppy. I think I had to learn how to not do that, and learn to treat her like an equal. She never wanted to be put on a pedestal, she wanted to be treated as my equal. As my friend. She kind of taught me how to be that to her- her friend- and I think it really helped us to get to know each other well, before we got more serious. And I knew I wanted to be around her a lot, and she seemed to enjoy my company, too. So if I may give you any advice for the future, when you feel you're ready to open yourself up to a new relationship, hold back a little bit. Make sure he sees you as a real person, and that he might need to be more careful with you. You need to know you can trust him, so you may have to tell him about this situation. Tell him that anything like this is a deal breaker. If he can't be fully committed to you, then you aren't interested. You need to know the both of you can be best friends, and that you want the best for each other. Even if the relationship didn't work out, you would still wish each other well. Find somebody who can be man enough, honorable enough, to look out for you, and to let you look out for him." Maggie leaned her head against her father and thought about what he said.
"That kind of sounds like you and Fran," she said softly. Max was a little stunned.
"What?"
"You guys do that for each other- look out for each other. I know you have issues, daddy, that you worry. And maybe it really did take you a long time to get over losing mom. But Fran watches out for you, and you look out for her, too, even though you try to pretend you can't be bothered with all her stuff. She looks out for you, and she looks out for all of us. She loves all of us, too, and that includes you." Max got quiet. He didn't know how to respond.
"We're talking about you, now, Margaret. Not me, not Ms. Fine." Maggie sat up and pulled the tray closer to her and took a few bites of food.
"But it's been a long time since Mom died, and you haven't had a girlfriend at all. Is it because you're scared to? That you'll get hurt somehow? I mean, how long does it take for the hurt to go away?" Max gulped.
"Well, that depends. It depends on the kind of hurt. The kind of relationship. But it also depends on the person. Some people get over things faster than others, or at least pretend they do. I think in our family, we might be more on the sensitive side. But I think that's a good thing."
"You do?"
"Yes, of course. But unfortunately, it can mean things hurt us a lot more." Maggie clutched his arm.
"I'm sorry, daddy." He reached for her hand on his arm and stroked it for a moment.
"I just want the best for you, sweetheart. I knew at some point you might get your heart broken, but I really hoped it wouldn't be this bad. I hate seeing you hurt, it just makes me feel helpless."
"It's okay, daddy. There isn't much anybody can do. I'm trying to look at it like what goes around comes around, and he'll get his someday. But it doesn't stop me from wanting to throw things at him, and tear up all the pictures and stuff like that." Max gave a soft chuckle and patted her hand.
"I wouldn't expect anything less." Maggie took several more bites of food, then gulped her orange juice. "Is the food helping at all?"
"Actually, yeah, I guess it is. I need to get my strength back so I can seethe some more."
"Well, maybe not seethe. That won't help you very much. But you are going to need a good bit of time to recover. So I don't think you should even think about dating someone new for quite a while. And make sure you get them approved by your friends, alright? And maybe us, too. Make sure he wants to go out with you because he truly enjoys being around you, that he likes you as his best friend. Alright?"
"Yeah, okay. I get it now, I get why that's important. I'm just glad he didn't humiliate me in front of people, that would have been so much worse. But I kind of wonder if that other girl even knows what he did. If I knew who she was, I'd be tempted to go tell her."
"Well, now, be careful with things like that. I'd rather you focus more on yourself right now."
"Yeah, I know. I'm just thinking too much. And I think it might make me sick if I saw anybody who had anything to do with him, anyway."
"Yes, you might have to deal with that, too." Max watched her finish her breakfast, and was happy that she was talking to him about everything. He was worried it was going to be a very difficult talk, but now he was feeling some relief, just as she was. When she finished her breakfast, Max picked up the tray and moved it to the end of her bed. He reached for her to hug her again. "Are you feeling a little bit better?" He asked.
"Sort of, I guess. At least for the moment. We'll see how it goes. God, I'm glad he doesn't go to my school! Can you imagine?"
"Oh, goodness, no. That's another reason to be careful who you go out with, and where you may meet them."
"Yeah. But I guess that means no more shopping at the GAP for me, too." Max chuckled. "So… daddy?" Maggie looked over at him.
"Mmm hmm?"
"You didn't really answer me before. About why you haven't dated anybody since mom. Have you thought about that at all?"
"About dating? Well, sure. Maybe. But I guess I just haven't- well, I mean, I guess I'm pretty particular now. And it's- well, it's a bit strange, you know? I'm older, and I don't want to go through all that nonsense that can happen."
"Like what I'm going through now?"
Max chuckled. "Yes, maybe that's part of it. Maybe part of me- maybe if I feel it won't be serious, then it's not worth wasting my time on. I don't want to date casually. I suppose I would rather that I could just step into that role, you know? Be certain of everything, know that we both want the same things, and the friendship, too. The whole package."
"Well, daddy, don't you have that already?" She pulled the covers over her and crossed her arms in front of her.
"What do you mean?" Maggie just stared at him, waiting for him to catch on.
"Are we back on the subject of Ms. Fine?" Maggie kept staring at him. "She works for me, Margaret." She continued to stare. Max got flustered and had to look away.
"Why don't you call her 'Fran'? You know that she'd love it if you did. We call her by her first name."
"It's just- well, I never called a nanny by her first name. It just- it doesn't seem right."
"She's more than a nanny, daddy. You know that. She's better than a nanny. She loves us. All of us. None of the other nannies did. And you said yourself that it was a good idea to keep someone at a distance first, then make sure you could be best friends. You don't want anything casual, and you'd like to just step into the role, right?"
"Margaret, I don't think this conversation is something we should be- well, that we should be having with each other. It's rather… personal."
"So? Are you waiting to see if it's okay with us? Because it is, daddy. We wouldn't let you go out with just anyone. And we already love her, and we know she loves you. And everybody knows how much you guys like each other."
"What? I beg your pardon? What are you talking about?" Maggie gave him a look and stared at him again.
"Stop lying to yourself, daddy. Didn't you just say that a couple should want the best for each other? That they should look out for each other, and really like being around each other? That's you guys. Fran wants what's best for you, even if you don't come around and see that what might be best for you is right in front of you. And she's been there for quite a while now. And I know you would want what's best for her, and if you get jealous at the thought of her going out with some other guy, and that she might end up leaving for some other guy, then you better do something about it. Right? Because if you ask me, what's best for her has been here all along."
Max could feel himself blushing, and his heart was racing. "Margaret, darling, I appreciate your concern, but that sort of thing really isn't any of your business. And it's making me uncomfortable talking about all this with you."
"Well, good. You should be uncomfortable. Then maybe you'll do something. Like maybe just trying to use first names with each other. That's a start." Max got up from the bed.
"Are you finished with this?"
"Yes."
There was knock at the door, and then Fran opened it and peeked her head in.
"Is it okay if I come in? Is everything going okay?" Fran asked.
"Yeah, you can come in. I just finished breakfast," Maggie said.
"Ah, yes, I was just going to take this tray back downstairs," Max said awkwardly. "Oh, um, did you-" he looked at Fran to see if she had news about Maggie's friends.
"Yes! So, uh, Mags, I have great news, but I don't want you to be mad at me for doing it."
"Why, what did you do?" Maggie got worried.
"Your friends are coming over, and they're bringing sleeping bags. I thought you could really use your army to help you get through all of this. Are you mad at me?"
"They're coming over? When?"
"Pretty soon. But you should have time to get showered and all that. And you guys can order food and we can maybe go get you some movies if you want. In case you guys run out of things to say about certain dumb jerks." She gave Maggie a smile, and it made her grin a little.
"Okay. Thank you. Yeah, maybe I could use some time with them. I guess I'm kind of tired of sulking by myself, and feeling sorry for myself. Thank you, Fran. And daddy. Thank you for the talk."
"You're welcome, darling. And just know that there's lots of hugs for you here, anytime you need one. Alright?"
"Yeah, thank you. I might need some." Fran looked at the interaction between father and daughter, and it made her feel so good.
"Okay, well, we'll let you get up and get ready for your sleepover. And let one of us or Niles know what food you guys want. Oh, hey-" she swatted Max's arm. "You want to run over to the video store in a bit, see what we can find for them?"
"Sure, we can do that."
"Oh, crap, Fran- I just thought of something!" Maggie interrupted.
"What is it, sweetie?"
"Um, Peter still has some of my stuff. But I don't think I ever want to see him again. What do I do?" Fran thought about it a little.
"Do you have any of his stuff?"
"Actually, yeah, a couple things."
"Well, get his crap together, and write down everything you can think of that he might have. I'll make sure it gets taken care of, okay? Don't worry about it."
"You will? Oh, thank you, Fran! You're the best!" Maggie got up from the bed to hug her.
"Okay, now go get yourself together, and get me that stuff when you're done. Your father and I can go out after your friends start showing up and we'll see what movies the video store has."
"Thank you, Fran, and daddy. Oh, no rom-coms, okay? Or anything like that."
"Promise!" Fran smiled. Fran and Max left Maggie's room, and they headed back downstairs together to take Maggie's breakfast tray to the kitchen.
"So what's your plan? With getting her things back?" Max asked.
"Oh, I thought you and I would take care of that when we go out to get the videos. I know where he lives."
"What? You mean go over there- to where he lives? Is that, um, appropriate?" He was getting nervous. Max set the tray down on the kitchen counter for Niles.
"Absolutely. Maggie's still underage, and we have to watch out for her. It's too much for her right now to do this one thing. I mean, if she was a grown adult and was married or something, and got treated like this, we'd help her then, too, right?"
"Absolutely. But the police might have to be there in case I felt like doing what I really wanted to do to the jerk."
"Mr. Sheffield! I'm liking this side of you!" Fran laughed, and Max had to shift out of his brief flash of anger and back to his calm, cool, and collected demeanor. Niles even got a kick out of it. "So, Niles, the girls should be over soon, and I told Maggie to let one of us know what food they wanted to order when they were ready. We're gonna go out once the girls start showing up and see if we can find some movies that won't remind her of everything."
"Oh, good! I'm glad you invited her friends over, I know she really could use a good boost in her mood, and know she's got a lot of support behind her. As long as they all don't plot that Peter's downfall, it should help her a lot."
"Oh, I totally expect they'll be plotting a lot of things, Niles. But yeah, we gotta make sure they don't talk each other into doing anything stupid. She just needs to cut her losses and be glad that she found this out about him now, and not further down the line when she was a lot more invested in the relationship." Niles picked up the tray and removed the dishes, and Fran flopped down on one of the kitchen chairs.
Max looked over at her, and thought about what Maggie had said. Was she right? Could they really be what's best for each other? He knew he was fond of Fran, and certainly knew he was attracted to her. They did take quite a while to get to know each other. But did she really feel that way about him- the way Maggie said? That she loved him? He felt a rush of heat through his cheeks and realized that he better start thinking of something else, quick.
"Ah, Ms. Fine? How far away does Peter live? Do we need to call the driver?" He asked.
"Oh- yeah. We better do that. He can drive us there, then I guess to the video store. We can walk back from there if you want."
"Alright. That sounds fine. A walk might be good, after all that- whatever it may end up being."
"Aw, don't get too worked up over it, okay? We're just dropping off his crap, and getting Maggie's stuff back. We don't even know if he'll be there. If he isn't, then I guess we just give her list to his parents or something to give to him. Then he can figure out how he'll get the stuff back to her." Max nodded.
"Would you both like a cup of coffee while you wait for the girls to show up?" Niles asked.
"Yes, please!" Fran said.
"Yes, thank you Niles. But just one more cup. I'm already a bit high strung," Max said, then sat down at the table next to Fran. Niles plopped the folded newspaper onto the table in front of them, then walked around the island to start a new pot of coffee brewing. Max unfolded the paper as Fran looked him over. She patted his hand and spoke softly to him, out of Niles' earshot.
"It'll be fine, I promise!" She smiled. The reassured look on her face made Max feel so much better.
"If you say so."