Max hit the button for the first floor and then rubbed Fran's shoulder. He was so happy to be back with her.
"I bet you'll never guess what I did," she said, playfully.
"Um- did you, maybe, fall asleep in the MRI?" He asked, teasing.
"Ding ding ding!" She said. "We have a winner!" Max laughed.
"For how long? Was it loud in there?"
"Well, I guess it was, but I had the earplugs. And the guy put this heavy, warm blanket on me and it was so nice! Like a big hug. I was a little nervous at first, but then I focused on the weird noises, and it was like they put me in a trance or something, and then I guess I was out. It didn't feel like I was in it very long. But that was just the first MRI."
The elevator door opened and Max pushed her out, then turned towards the signs for the cafeteria and gift shop and headed down that corridor.
"Did you only sleep for the first one?" Max asked, as he continued pushing her.
"Well, the guy moved me out after the first one and I hadn't realized I had fallen asleep and that the first part was done. But then he said it was time for the contrast dye, and he was going to use the IV port to put that in, so he explained what he was doing. And then I put the ear plugs back in, and the blanket went back on, and back in I went. So I tried to stay awake that time, to pay attention to the sounds and think about what part of me it was scanning, and then I guess I was back in the trance and out again, because suddenly he was bringing me back out. It was so weird. Do I look like I've been taking a nap?" She turned her head up towards Max for him to get a look at her.
"You just look a little sleepy, but you look fine," he told her.
"Oh, good, I wasn't sure. Oh, I have to finish that drink with lunch, but I can have whatever I feel like eating, and drinking."
"That's wonderful!" Max said, as they approached the cafeteria. There were several options- a standard cafeteria fare, a small pizza place, and a sub sandwich place. "You want to see what they all have, or is there something you know you want?"
"Can we go see what that cafeteria part has? I don't think I want pizza, especially if I'm probably having Chinese food when we go home," she said.
"You got it." Max headed for the cafeteria counter and they looked at the menu and what was on display. Quite a few hot meals, along with soup, premade salads, and sandwiches. He thought he would hold off on the latter options since Niles would be making that for dinner, and looked through the hot options. He saw a salisbury steak with potatoes and gravy that looked very good- especially for hospital cafeteria food. He decided he would get that. Fran looked back and forth between the options, trying very hard not to get anything similar to the Chinese food that waited for her.
"Oh, jeez. I'm so hungry I want a bunch of these!" She exclaimed.
"Oh, I should probably let you know I talked to Niles and he said he would make soup, salad, and sandwiches for dinner for the rest of us, so if you might want some of that later, there should be plenty." Max told her.
"Oh, well, then, I guess I can eliminate some of those options here. How about a cheeseburger and fries? Those fries look so good!"
"You got it!" Max ordered their meals and the server began to gather them together, then Max set them on the tray he slid across the rails. "What would you like to drink? Just your other drink, or do you want something else, too?"
"Oh- maybe a bottle of water, and can I have an iced coffee? I'm dying for some coffee," she said.
"Sure can, and a bottle of water for me and a hot tea," he told the cashier, who retrieved the drinks for them, and then rang them up.
"Do you need some help getting this to a table, or can you manage it?" The cashier asked.
"Oh, sweetie, I think I can get myself to a table if you want to carry the tray," Fran said.
"Are you sure, darling, even with that IV?" Max looked concerned.
"Yep- I'll do short strokes so I don't pop it out," she said, beginning to push herself away from the cafeteria line. Max watched her in amazement.
"Wow," he said to the cashier. "Was not expecting that!" The cashier smiled, and he grabbed the tray, stuffed full of their lunch plates, utensils, and drinks, and hurried behind her to a table. He set the tray down and helped her maneuver the wheelchair to the side of an empty table. "Do you want to stay in the wheelchair, or scoot over to a regular chair?" He asked her. She looked at her IV and how long the tube was that was attaching the bag to her.
"I better stay in the chair, for now. It's okay, remember I've been laying on the MRI table for an hour, so this wheelchair's not so bad." Max took everything off the tray and moved the tray aside, and set up everything for Fran.
"Oh, I forgot napkins!" Max ran back over to where the silverware and condiments were and grabbed a number of napkins, and got Fran some ketchup. He brought it all back to the table, and Fran smiled at the ketchup.
"Thank you for the ketchup!" She leaned towards him for a kiss, and he leaned towards her and gave her one. Fran took a big bite of her cheeseburger and closed her eyes, so happy she could finally eat one. Max smiled as he watched her begin eating. He dunked his teabag in the hot water and opened his water bottle, taking a big gulp. He hadn't realized how thirsty he was.
"Oh, that reminds me," He reached around Fran into the pocket on the wheelchair and pulled out her drink bottle that she still needed to finish. He set it next to her iced coffee. "Oh, if you want, I was thinking we could go wander through the gift shop after we finish eating, kill a little more time if we need to."
Fran wiped her mouth with a napkin. "Sure, we can see if they have anything interesting in there." She picked up a big fry and dunked it in some ketchup. Max took a bite of his own food and watched her savor each bite of hers.
"Remember, don't try to eat all of that. Your stomach isn't used to that much. Make sure you get a good bit of water, too."
"Aw, dammit. It's a really good burger, especially for a hospital! I wonder if I can take the leftovers with me?" She turned to try to see if they had any containers by the cashier. They did. "Ooh! They do have containers! Yea! Maybe I'll have whatever's left, plus some Chinese food for dinner. Oh, it's so good to be hungry!" Max laughed with her, and slid her water bottle over to her, encouraging her to drink some. Fran opened the bottle and took a sip. "So, you said you talked to Niles? Did you talk to Ma too?"
"Yes, yes I did." He looked at her more seriously. "She did talk to your father, said she told him everything. He might be feeling a little guilty he didn't come over yesterday. She said he went out for a walk this morning but hadn't come back yet when I talked to her. She thought he might have ended up at the bowling alley, but she figured he'd be back for lunch." Fran nodded.
"He goes to the bowling alley when he needs a break from things, or to think. I think he goes there for the kosher hot dogs, too." Fran smiled. Max reached for her hand and stroked it.
"I told her you would try to call her tonight. And she'll try to get a hold of Val to give her an update. She said to call her when you felt up to it. I told her to tell your father we were thinking of him, that you wanted to see him."
"Yeah, I do." She sat back and sighed. "I hope he's okay. He's not good with- with things like this. It's hard to know what he might be thinking." Max squeezed her hand.
"Oh, one other thing. Niles said the kids got to school okay. He said Maggie told Brighton what was going on last night. I guess he heard enough to be worried. Niles said he wanted to try to call home on his lunch break to see if there was an update about you. I told Niles what to tell him if he did call. And that we were getting copies of everything too."
"Poor B. I hope he's not so worried that it's going to affect his testing today."
"Well, at least it's not like a regular test for a class. They said these don't count so much in their schools. But yes, I hope he isn't getting himself worked up too much." They both got quiet for a little while, slowly eating their meals. Fran gulped down her iced coffee and stopped eating. Max recognized that she wanted to take the rest home, and patted her hand and got up to get her a container to put it in. He came back to the table and sat down, setting the empty container next to Fran. Fran smiled.
"You're reading my mind again, Max."
"I'm learning," he smiled. Fran put her leftovers into the container and closed it up.
"That really did hit the spot though. I needed that," She said. Max smiled. Fran took out her pill bottle and got her pill, took it with the last bit of her drink, then put the bottle back in her purse.
"I'm glad they had something you wanted. Do you want to stay here a while, or go wander a bit?" Max pushed the remnants of his plate away and swallowed the last of his tea.
"Let's go wander. Maybe go to the gift shop. Maybe they have something we can get the kids. And Niles."
"Maybe you, too," he added. She squeezed his hand.
"If you get me something, then I get to get you something. And not just Tums!" They laughed.
"Hey, I've done pretty well today. No Tums so far. Just deep breathing techniques. And a bit of TV. You know, one of the TV sets in that waiting area was showing the Dick Van Dyke Show. It made me think of you."
"Really? What episode was it?" Fran perked up and leaned towards him.
"I don't think I could tell you. I was having a hard time focusing. People were coming and going, I kept checking to make sure they didn't call my name." He stroked her fingers.
"You were worried, weren't you?"
He looked at her fondly. "I think it was more missing you than anything else. I didn't like being away from you, especially that long," he lifted her hand and kissed it. Fran melted. "Oh, and one other thing I should probably tell you…" Fran raised her eyebrows.
"What?"
"I ran into that man, Jeff- the cop that you knew."
Fran's eyes widened. "Well, that must have been weird. Did you talk to him or something?"
"Well, he saw me first. He just, well, I didn't tell him anything- anything about you. I just said I wasn't here for anything for me, I was just waiting, and he sort of apologized for intruding. He said he was here to talk to someone, for a case. I guess a victim he was waiting to go see. He asked if the theater business was keeping me busy. I told him I was sort of taking some time off from it, but I didn't say why. And then they called me at the desk, so I just kind of said goodbye I think and ran for the desk."
"So you didn't tell him about us?" She asked.
"No, I didn't think I should, I mean it was a bit weird and awkward. But now that I think of it, if he saw you come in when I was at that desk-"
"Oh! Yeah- if he saw, then I guess he got an eyeful." She smiled at Max and kissed him. "Thank you for telling me. I'm sorry if it was difficult for you."
"It wasn't so bad, I guess it just caught me off guard. But he wasn't a jerk or anything. I guess he was just trying to be polite." They organized their mess on the table and Max put everything back on the tray. "Be right back," He said, taking the tray to a garbage can, separating his mug and the utensils, and dumping the garbage out, leaving the tray behind. Fran gulped down the rest of her electrolyte drink and handed it to Max, and he tossed that away, too. Fran pushed herself away from the table and turned the wheelchair.
"You ready?" She asked.
"You betcha. To the gift shop!" Max said, and took hold of the handles on the wheelchair and pushed Fran out of the cafeteria. They rounded the corner and headed into the gift shop.
"Max?" Fran asked as they went in the doorway of the gift shop.
"Yes, darling?"
"Can I get up and walk? I mean, maybe I can push the chair around, since the IV is on here." She scooted up in the seat and turned to look up at Max.
"Well, I guess that's okay. You've had the IV, and a meal. You sure you feel okay?" Max touched her face. She didn't seem hot anymore.
"Yeah, I don't feel warm I don't think. I feel a lot better than this morning."
"Well, let's try. But don't let go of the chair, okay? Until you're certain you're steady on your feet." Max stepped to the front of the chair and helped her up. She stood and moved around to the back of the chair to hold on to the handles and use it like a walker. "You still feel okay?" Max asked.
"Yeah, good. It feels good to get up," Fran smiled. She started to push the wheelchair in front of her down one of the aisles. There were a lot of gift-type items in the shop- an entire side where the florist was, an area of boxes of chocolates and candies, the shelves of books and magazines and crossword puzzles- many things for visitors and waiting loved ones, and patients, to keep themselves busy. There were also a number of things that seemed to be souvenirs of the time spent at the hospital- though Max didn't understand why anyone would want to buy something like that. He kept glancing at Fran, making sure she was steady on her feet. Fran walked over to the books and magazines and began looking through them.
"If you see something you would like, just put it on the seat so you don't have to carry it. Oh, and don't lean over to get anything down low- let me get it for you, alright?" Max stroked her back.
"I will," she kissed him lightly, reassuring him. "Oh! This reminds me- I want to look at those photography books when we get home, maybe if we go have a rest this afternoon. We still haven't told Brighton about them yet, either."
"Oh yes, I still need to go get those old cameras out for him. But he might be preoccupied with everything else. At least for a while," he squeezed her waist.
"Well, maybe taking pictures around the city might be a good distraction for him. We might need to make sure he isn't obsessing on one thing and neglecting anything else. We need to talk to him some tonight, too."
"Yes, maybe after dinner." They browsed through the magazines some more, Fran picked out a couple of fashion magazines she didn't have. Max grabbed a magazine on antique British cars. As Fran continued to look, Max headed over towards the florist to see what kinds of fresh flowers they had. It smelled very nice there. He wandered through the rows of flowers and shelves of vases, over to the area where the stuffed animals were, and stopped in his tracks. He stepped closer to one particular stuffed animal on display, and smiled. He picked it up and looked it over and decided he would get it- if Fran wanted it. He was pretty sure she would. He looked over the other stuffed animals and trinkets and then turned around to rejoin Fran. She was now walking down an aisle with items more like toiletries and things. She was holding a couple of items in her hand. "Hey, you, did you find more things you want?" Max asked, coming up behind her. Fran turned to him and cleared her throat.
"Well, I grabbed some Rolaids in case you might need any, but also-" she looked back and forth, making sure no one was watching them, and handed Max something. It was a box of condoms. Max started coughing, a little embarrassed. "I was surprised they had those here- I would think they'd want to be discouraging that kind of thing on these premises," she smiled at Max. "We don't have to get them here if you don't want, I just thought, you know, they were here, so…"
"Um, yes, well, it might, um, save us a trip to a, um, to a drugstore or someplace later on…" Fran was sure he might be blushing. "But wouldn't that look, well, odd, if the cashier, I mean, you know, since you're in a wheelchair with an IV bag…"
Fran laughed. "We don't have to get them here, sweetie. It doesn't mean anything yet. Just a thought, you know, just in case."
"Yes, well, I see. Yes…" Max fumbled his words.
"So what else did you find?" She asked him, changing the subject..
Max smiled. "Well, I found you this little fellow, if you want him…" He pulled a large stuffed black dog around from behind his back and showed it to her. She took it in her hands.
"Oh! It's so cute!" She looked closer and her jaw dropped open. She looked back at Max. "You… have got… to be- kidding me!" She smiled from ear to ear. The dog was the size of a cuddly-sized teddy bear with wavy thick black fur- and a white patch of fur on the right side of it's forehead. She ran her fingers over it to the collar at its neck and turned the name tag around on it. Max, it said. She hugged it to her chest and Max held on to her waist, just to be safe. "Yes, he's going home with us! I love him, Max! I can't believe they had this here! That one even exists at all!" Max grinned as big as Fran did and leaned to her to kiss her. He rubbed her back and helped her move the wheelchair because she didn't want to let go of the stuffed dog.
"Do we need anything else? I thought maybe we'd go find someplace quiet to sit a while before we have to go back upstairs," Max said.
"Um, do you need a drink? We can see what they have. But no more caffeine for me, I'm waiting to get that Thai tea when we get home, if nobody swiped it yet," Fran said. They headed for a cooler with bottled drinks in it.
"I probably shouldn't have any more caffeine either, I might need a nap when we get back. If I can sleep." Fran put her arm around his waist and set the stuffed dog and the other two things on the seat of the wheelchair. "Hey- they have Gatorade and Powerade, but I don't really like those, but what about that Pedialyte? I mean, I know it's meant for kids, but it wouldn't hurt adults. I wonder if maybe we should keep something like that on hand."
Max looked over at it and opened one of the doors to take out a large bottle, then read the side panel. "It has a thing on here about how much is recommended for adults, along with children. So I guess it is okay. Do you want to get one, just in case?" Fran nodded. "Do you just want to get water to drink for now? Until we get home?"
"Sure, that's fine," Fran opened a door close to her and pulled out two bottles of water. "We all set then?" She asked Max.
"Looks like it." They headed for the register to pay for everything, and the cashier put it all in one large bag, but Fran wanted to carry the stuffed dog. Max put the bag in the seat. "You can let him take a ride if you want, so you can hold the wheelchair better. Unless you want to sit down, too?"
"Aw, alright, I guess I can let him sit for a while so I don't have to…" Fran made a little pouty lip at Max.
"Careful, or I might have to kiss that pout…"
Fran pulled him closer and kissed him first.
They walked slowly around the ground floor but couldn't see any place that was quiet, so they headed back up to the second floor. They figured if they couldn't find a more private area to sit and relax, then they could just hang out in the large waiting area where Max stayed when she had the MRI. As they walked around slowly, Fran pushing the wheelchair with Max close at her side, they saw another corridor with seating aimed at a long bank of windows. They looked at each other and agreed to head that way. They walked about halfway down the corridor and picked some seats. Fran parked the wheelchair on an end so she would be able to sit in a chair next to Max without pulling her IV line out. No one else was around.
"Hey, before you sit, come here," Max said. He turned her around gently and took her in his arms. He kissed her forehead and she wrapped her arms tightly around his middle, then rested her face against his chest. He rubbed her back.
"Nice of all these people to give us some privacy," Fran said. Max laughed lightly. She turned her head to look up at him. He gently pushed her hair back from her shoulders and they kissed. Fran sighed.
"How are you feeling?" He whispered.
"Physically, pretty good now, considering. Trying not to think about the consultation though. But I don't think there will be any surprises. We already know what's going on," she whispered back.
"Yeah. I suppose we do. Are you prepared if they want to show us the images? From the MRI and ultrasound?"
Fran took a breath and thought about it. "I don't know. But I need to see it, you know? I need to see it." Max nodded and she rested her face against him again. She took another deep breath and squeezed him around his waist with her arms, still being careful of the IV. Then she realized something. "Max?" She asked.
"Yes?"
"When I was having the ultrasound done, I couldn't see the screen," she paused. "Could you?" Max was quiet a moment.
"Yes."
Fran gulped, and hoped Max didn't notice. She wasn't sure she wanted to ask him the rest. She slowly leaned away from him to look into his eyes. They told her what she was wondering about. He did see it, on the screen. She reached a hand up to caress his face, then rested her forehead against his. He cleared his throat and they wrapped their arms around each other again. They stood there, in the corridor, holding each other for quite a while.
"Here, sweetheart, let's sit down for a bit," he took her hand and helped her sit, then sat next to her and put his arm around her. She leaned against him and wrapped an arm around his middle. He glanced at the IV bag. "Well, the IV bag is getting pretty low. That's got to be good. Do you think they will take everything out when we get up there? How many IV bags did you have the first time you came to the hospital?" He asked.
"Just one, and I think I was more dehydrated then. Well, I think I was- but with that fever, I don't know for sure. But I feel good, so I hope so." They were quiet again. They sat there, holding each other, while they looked out the window at the world going by. Fran reached for the watch on Max's wrist to check the time, and Max looked down at it as well. "What time do we need to head up there?" Fran asked him.
"Maybe 15, 20 minutes? I don't think we need to get there too early."
"Okay." Fran inhaled the scent of his cologne, like she was recharging her batteries.
Max stroked her shoulder with his thumb, brushed his cheek across her hair. He loved her so much. He loved it when she showed him affection. He'd always thought he might have difficulty showing her affection- and enough affection to suit her- but he wasn't finding that to be the case at all. He was finding it hard to give her everything he wanted to give her. He just wanted to wrap himself around her- to envelope her- all the time. He wanted to squeeze her as tightly as he could, but feared he would hurt her- that he might harm her near her tumor. He imagined kissing her all over- showing her how much he loved her in a more gentle way. Maybe later, when they were alone, he would do just that.
"Thank you for my doggie, Max. I love him." Fran smiled.
"You're welcome. I'm glad the gift shop had him. It's like they knew we were coming." Fran chuckled.
"Yeah."
Two elderly women walked past behind them, so Fran and Max stopped talking briefly. The women nudged each other as they went by, approving of this attractive, loving couple. Fran shifted in her seat and took hold of Max's hand that was draped over her shoulder. She kissed the side of his thumb. Fran looked over in the direction of the two women who had just passed, and who seemed to be in close conversation now. Fran wondered if the conversation was about her and Max.
"Sweetie?" She looked at Max.
"Hmm?"
"Have you noticed, these times we've been out together, as a couple- have you noticed a lot of looks from other people…"
"Looks?" He asked.
"Yeah, you know, like when people approve of what they see?"
"Oh…" He thought a moment. "Yes, I guess I have noticed some looks. At first I thought they might be checking you out, but there were a lot of looks from couples. Especially at the restaurants." He smiled.
"Yeah, I noticed that too. Made me feel good. And it felt good with the kids, and Ma and Val approving. I mean, I was pretty sure they would have, but still. It feels nice."
"That it does. It feels really nice." He squeezed the fingers of her hand that held onto his. "I think we make a pretty great looking couple, don't you?" He smiled at her.
"I do," she smiled back. They kissed each other firmly, then gave each other several light kisses. "I love you, Max," she whispered.
"I love you, Fran."
She cuddled up to him again and their eyes wandered back to the windows in front of them. Instead of looking down at the street outside, their eyes went up- up the buildings across from them- into the windows they were able to see in, at the architecture of everything they could see, at the bits of blue sky they could see between the buildings. Occasionally they would see someone come up close to a window and look out, then they would disappear back into the space. Max took a deep breath. Seeing the beautiful blue sky made him long to take Fran somewhere- somewhere beautiful. Maybe somewhere they hadn't been before.
"Fran?"
"Yeah?"
"Last night, when you had the fever, and you were starting to wake up- do you remember anything we talked about? When I was trying to get you to wake up more and talk to me?"
"Um, not too much. Not any talking, really. I remember- I remember the water. I remember your cologne for some reason." Max let out a small nervous laugh.
"I sprayed my cologne on that shirt you ended up changing into- I waved it under your nose and talked about it, to see if that would trigger anything to wake you up."
"You did?" She asked, looking at him again. He nodded.
"Something else we talked a little bit about- when you were kind of waking up, but you were really delirious, so you weren't making a lot of sense- we talked about a vacation. You said something about going to the islands, and so I said maybe we could plan a vacation when you were better," he looked over her face.
"You want to plan a vacation?" She asked.
"That might be nice. Maybe we can go somewhere we haven't been before. Someplace a bit warmer than what it is here now. And with blue skies. Go as a family, all of us. When you are better. As a real family. Officially. I mean, you've always been a part of the family, but now you're my partner. We're raising kids together, you know."
Fran grinned from ear to ear again. "I would like that very much, Max. That would be nice to think about. To plan for." Max lifted her other hand and kissed the back of it. Then he saw his watch and checked the time again.
"Oh, goodness, we need to get going." Fran and Max hurriedly got up from the chairs. "You okay to walk, or do you want to sit?"
"Well, if you're okay pushing me, why don't I get back in the chair. I don't know if I'm up for walking really fast."
"Okay," Max said. He picked up the bag and the stuffed dog from the seat of the wheelchair for Fran to sit, and then she wanted the dog back to hold on to. He hung the bag on one of the handles and then started pushing the wheelchair back down the corridor and over to the bank of elevators where they would go up one more floor back to oncology.