"Niles?" Max said softly as he sat down at the head of the dinner table. There were no other place settings other than his own.
"Yes, sir?" Niles responded, as he set a plate of food on the table in front of Maxwell.
Max stifled the sound of his sad gulp as the realization that he would be dining alone set in. "Where are they all? Where is Ms. Fine?"
"Well, Brighton is spending the weekend at his friend Tommy's, and Ms. Fine has taken the girls out for the night. I thought you knew."
"Thought I knew? How would I know? She's barely said a word to me for weeks!" Max crossed his arms in front of him, angry and frustrated at first, but quickly changed to hurt and feeling left out. He slumped back in his chair.
"I'm very sorry sir, I really thought you knew. But, come to think of it, I guess it makes sense that you didn't," Niles responded.
"They're coming back though, aren't they? Tonight?"
"Um, no sir, I believe she said she was taking the girls to dinner and a movie, then they were spending the night at her mother's. Sort of like a slumber party or something. Then they planned to do something together tomorrow as well." Niles looked Maxwell in the eyes and saw the sadness in them.
Max quickly looked away and down at his food. After a minute or two of silence, he picked up a fork and pushed the food around on his plate. He knew something was going with Ms. Fine and had been for quite some time. Usually it was because of something stupid or condescending he had said to her, but rarely would she have held a grudge for this long. And she usually came to him at some point to hash it out because she didn't like the negativity to last so long, either. He had wanted to go talk to her at some point, but every time he had the opportunity, she was nowhere to be found.
"Is the food alright, sir?"
Max looked up from his plate. "Yes, old man, I'm sorry. It's fine. I'm afraid I've just- I seem to have lost my appetite. I'm sorry."
"Why don't we go sit in the kitchen for a bit? I'll fix you a cup of tea." Niles reached for his plate and silverware and headed through the door to the kitchen.
Max knew what he was trying to do, and he appreciated it, but also felt bad that now Niles was having to deal with whatever misunderstanding or uncertainty was going on in the house. He got out of his chair and trudged slowly into the kitchen and flopped down at the kitchen table. One of Fran's fashion magazines sat on the table, just within reach of his fingers. He stared at it. He could just catch a faint whiff of the mix of perfume samples it contained, and which Ms. Fine must not have removed from it yet. He rested his temple against his fist and reached a couple fingers from his other hand toward the magazine, slowly working it across the table closer to him. Niles set his dinner plate into the oven and turned the oven on a low heat to keep the food warm, then started a kettle of water heating on the stove. He got two mugs from the cabinet, placed tea bags in them, and set them on the counter. He turned to get a look at Maxwell who was tracing a finger up and down the edge of the magazine.
"Niles?"
"Yes, sir?"
"This is different, isn't it? I mean, compared to other times she doesn't want to talk to me?"
"Oh, sir! I'm sure you're exaggerating. Maybe she has things on her mind that have nothing to do with you. Or she just forgot to talk to you. Or… or, something…" Even as he said it out loud, he knew. He lowered his head. "Oh, who am I kidding? I don't know. Something must be going on. She's been so quiet. She stays in her room during the day, or she leaves the house until the children come home. I don't think she's been eating much. At least not here. And I've heard- several times I've heard the children talking quietly upstairs. Like they're worried, too. I worry. She seems-" Niles stopped himself.
"Seems what?" Max asked, concern in his voice. His heart started pounding.
"Well, I've seen this in people before." He lowered his head again. "I'm worried she might be depressed. But not her usual short-term depression she can have for any number of reasons. This is like- like she's fallen into a depression that she is having a hard time seeing her way out of."
Max swallowed hard and put his head in his hands. "It wasn't something I may have said or anything?"
Niles shook his head slightly. "I don't believe so. Like you said, this feels different." The kettle whistled just then and Niles picked it up off the burner and turned off the stove. He poured the hot water into both mugs, set down the kettle, and brought the mugs, sugar bowl, milk and spoons over to the table and sat down. In silence, they both went through the motions of lifting the tea bags in and out of the water until it was dark enough, then taking out the tea bags and adding sugar and milk and stirring their drinks slowly, reflecting the sadness they were both feeling.
"What should we do?" Max almost whispered, looking towards Niles. Niles sighed, then shook his head.
"I don't know." He wrapped his hands around his mug of hot tea, as did Max. "I just don't know."
Max didn't drink his tea, either.
Max got ready for bed early because he didn't know what else to do. He still wasn't hungry. He paced the floor of his room multiple times, sat on his bed, then got up to pace again. He kept picking up the cordless receiver from the phone, then tossed it back on his bed. He was tempted to call Sylvia's to see if he could talk to Fran. But then remembered the girls were also there and he wouldn't be able to properly talk to Fran in such close quarters. What if he called Val? Was it too late at night? Would her parents be mad? He looked at the clock. It wasn't that late. He had, after all, gotten ready for bed pretty early. He looked at the cordless again. He had to do something. This not knowing was really killing him. He grabbed the phone and slowly dialed Val's number. His stomach was in knots as it rang several times on the other end.
"Mrs. Toriello? Hello, I'm so sorry to bother you, This is Maxwell Sheffield. I was wondering, perhaps, if Val might be there and if she is, would be possible to speak with her?" He listened as Val's mother told him of course she was there and that she would get her, and for him to hold on for a minute.
"Mr. Sheffield? Is everything okay?" Val's familiar voice asked.
"Val, hello, I'm so sorry to bother you. Are you busy?"
"Are you kidding? What's going on?"
"Well, I'm calling because, well, I'm worried about Fran." He hadn't even realized he had just referred to her by her first name. Val apparently didn't either.
"Oh."
Val's blunt response led him to believe she had noticed the weirdness too. "Do you know if everything is okay with her? I mean, has she said anything to you?"
"I haven't seen her in quite a while, Mr. Sheffield. I kind of wondered if she was mad at me or something, or just really busy. But yeah, she has been acting weird. Even on the phone. She's—"
"Quiet?" Max asked.
"Yeah," Val agreed. "Very quiet. She's never like that. Did something happen?"
"That's what Niles and I were trying to figure out. She let Brighton spend the weekend with a friend of his, and took the girls out for the night. And she's supposed to be doing a sleepover with them at her mother's. Did she say anything to you about that?"
"No, but I haven't talked to her since probably last week. I've been working quite a bit and just thought maybe she was mad at me that I couldn't go out. Did she tell you about the plans with the kids?"
"No Val, that's just it. Usually she would ask me those things or get my permission so I would know what was going on. I think she just mentioned it to Niles in passing. Niles assumed I knew. I don't know, Val. I know there have been plenty of times she has been mad at me, but she's never been quiet about it, and we always talk it out at some point. Something must be going on because this just isn't like her. Niles thinks that she might be in a depression. Has she ever acted like this before?"
"Oh my god Mr. Sheffield! A depression? No, she's never been like that. She's the one who always bounces back fast, no matter what. Oh, now I'm really worried too. Is she at her mother's right now?"
"I don't know. I guess she was going to take the girls to a movie and dinner somewhere, and then to her mother's. They could still be out somewhere. You know, come to think of it, Sylvia hasn't been over in quite a while, either. Does your mother talk to Sylvia?"
"Once in a while, if they run into each other they might catch up on gossip. I don't think they call each other on the phone or anything. I don't think my mother would have any info to help." They were both silent for a little while.
"I don't mean to upset you too, Val. I'm just worried and I don't know what to do. I'm tempted to go look for her, but she has the girls with her. And, well, Niles said he's heard the children talking to each other quietly, like they don't want anyone hearing what they are saying. And it's not like Brighton to go away to a friend's for a whole weekend. All of this is just- well, it's strange and makes me worry. And if Niles is worried too…"
"Yeah, Niles always knows everything that's going on, but if she didn't confide in him- or in me. Or even in you, Mr. Sheffield. She does go to you a lot when she's upset."
"Yes, I suppose she does. What do we do? I feel like I'm going to go crazy not knowing. I'm just imagining all sorts of things and I'm getting myself all worked up."
"I want to go over there. I'll go over there and if she's there, she'll have to tell me what's going on. Or I'll talk to Sylvia. Because now I'm really worried too. This isn't like her."
"Val, are you sure? What if she is there? Will she get mad? Oh, I don't even know if she is mad. Or sad. She's just been avoiding me completely and barely talking to Niles. I wanted to call over at Sylvia's but I just didn't know if that was the right thing to do."
"Don't worry, Mr. Sheffield. I'm going right after I hang up with you. If she has the girls and she's not coming back to your house tonight, then she has to go to her mother's. She wouldn't take the kids without you knowing where they were going to be. I'll wait for her if she's not there yet. Do you want me to call you later if I can find her and talk to her?"
"Oh yes, please Val! I'm worried sick about what might be going on with her! Don't worry if it's late, I'm certain Niles and I will both be awake. Thank you Val! Thank you for doing this. Maybe she will be more likely to talk to you if something's wrong. Please call me later, or have her call me. If she would even do that. Let her know we're worried about her, okay?"
"Absolutely. Okay, I'm going right now. I'll find her and talk to her. I'll call you back as soon as I can, okay?"
"Okay. Thank you, Val! Thank you! Goodbye." Max hung up with Val and grabbed his stomach. It was still in knots. He needed Fran there with him to give him a Tums and make everything better. He carried the phone to his bedroom door, he was headed downstairs because there was no way he was going to sleep tonight. He pulled the door open and there was Niles- pacing back and forth in the hallway.
"Oh, I was just, uh, I was looking for, uh-"
"It's okay, Niles. I'm going downstairs. I just talked to Val because I couldn't figure out what else to do." They both headed for the stairs. "Val is going to look for Fran. She's worried too because she hasn't seen her in a while or talked to her. She thought Fran was mad at her too, like I did. She said she would call me back later after she found Fran, or try to get Fran to call."
Niles stopped and looked at Max.
"What?"
"It's just that- you called her Fran. Not Ms. Fine." Niles smiled slightly.
Max stopped to think about it. "I guess I did, didn't I?" He grabbed his stomach again. They continued to the stairs. "Niles, do we have any Tums in the kitchen? My stomach is killing me."
"I'll get you some right away, sir."
Max sat at the kitchen table, flipping through the pages of Fran's fashion magazine. One foot frantically tapped at the floor. He kept glancing at the phone receiver that sat within arm's reach.
Niles was cleaning and re-cleaning the same parts of the kitchen counters and sink. He needed to stay busy, it was the only way he could feel like he was in control of something. He glanced over at Max, still flipping through the magazine. He felt awful for him. He also felt proud. Proud that Mr. Sheffield was finally really showing how much he cared for Ms. Fine. Whatever was going on was too big for him to ignore and too difficult for him to pretend that it didn't phase him. It completely consumed him. He knew they both had strong feelings for each other, and it was only stupid little things that were interfering and keeping them apart. If only they would talk about it and just try to take a step toward each other. But now- things felt like they were crumbling and he knew how awful Mr. Sheffield must be feeling, not knowing what was wrong with her or how he might make it better. Niles put away the spray bottles and sponges and washed his hands. He walked over to a cabinet near the French doors that led to the small patio. After pushing around a few things, he took out a flat, rectangular box and shut the cabinet doors. He walked over to Max who had just lifted the magazine up to his face. He was smelling one of the perfume samples.
"Find one you like, sir?" He tried to joke.
Max moved the magazine back a little ways from his nose. "That's the one that Fran wears. It smells really nice." Niles' shoulders slumped.
"Oh. I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to-"
"It's alright, Niles. I guess the reminders are everywhere. Everywhere." Max started tearing out the perfume sample card along the perforated edge and took it out, then closed the magazine. Niles sat down next to him and put the box on the table. It was a puzzle. He took off the lid and dumped out the pieces. "You going to do a puzzle?" Max asked.
"I don't know. I thought maybe… maybe we could just sort the pieces or something. I don't have anything else to clean."
Max tried a smile. "Okay." They both began going through the puzzle pieces slowly, looking for the edges and putting them in a pile, then sorting by color. They seemed to not want to start putting the pieces together, just the relatively mindless act of sorting seemed to help their anxiety. Max had stopped his foot tapping, but every once in a while he would pick up the perfume card and touch it to his nose, breathing it in.
"This all hurts you a lot, doesn't it?" Niles asked carefully. Max stopped reaching for pieces, then shifted in his seat and tried to sit up straighter. He seemed to be trying to find the right words.
"The helplessness, you know? Wondering… wondering if she's suffering. If she's hurting. And what could make her not want to talk to anyone, to reach out. It- scares me a bit." He reached for his nervous stomach again.
"Yes. I know what you mean." Niles shifted some of the piles of puzzle pieces around, not to sort them but to just do something. He moved a small pile toward himself and began to sort the pieces in that pile according to the type of pattern on them.
Max pushed the sleeve of his robe up and looked at his watch. "My god it's been nearly two hours since I talked to Val. What could be going on? Do you think maybe Fran and the girls weren't there yet? Maybe she had to wait for them to show up?"
"Sir, don't get worked up again. Yes, maybe that's what happened. I'm sure she wouldn't confront Ms. Fine in front of the girls. She might have to wait a while until the girls went to bed or they could somehow get them out of the room so Val could talk to her. And maybe if the girls did go to bed, she could end up having a long conversation with Val, if she finally opens up. We just can't know that, sir. Just try to be patient. Val will call. She's working on it. She'll call soon."
Max got up from the table and rubbed his hands over his eyes and through his hair and took a deep breath. He walked to the fridge and took out two bottles of water. He went back to the table and set one down for Niles, then began pacing around the kitchen. He took a few gulps of the water, then rolled the cold bottle over his eyes. Every little thing he looked at had some memory of Fran attached to it. "God, if I had an appetite and my stomach wasn't so torn up, I'd get out a bucket of ice cream and a spoon and would start chowing down, like Fran does when she's upset."
Niles managed a small giggle. "Yes. And I just restocked the M&M supply and got a new jar of maraschino cherries." His smile quickly turned into a pout. He leaned back into his seat and let his arms drop to his sides. "She should be here. At home. Where she belongs," he said softly.
Max leaned against a stool at the counter, his head down. "Yes. She should be here. This is her home." They were both very quiet and didn't move for several minutes, until the telephone rang and jolted the daylights out of the both of them. Niles grabbed the sides of the table, trying to keep himself from grabbing the phone before Maxwell could get to it. Maxwell shot around the counter and flew to the receiver sitting on the table- knocking puzzle pieces all over as he grabbed it in his hands. He pressed the button and his voice cracked slightly as he said, "Hello?"
"Mr. Sheffield? It's Val."
"Yes, Val, what's going on? Did you talk to her? Are you with her?"
"Mr. Sheffield, can you come over here right now? Can you come over here and get Fran and take her home?"
"Yes yes yes, Val, I'll do whatever. Is she okay? Please tell me she's okay."
"She needs you to come get her. She won't talk to us, so maybe she will talk to you, but please, you need to come get her right away. The girls can stay with Sylvia tonight, don't worry about them. They are in Fran's old room watching a movie, if they haven't fallen asleep yet. They're fine, they don't know all this is going on. But Mr. Sheffield, Fran's gotta talk to somebody. Something is going on and she can't seem to get it out. It's all she can do to hold back the tears. I've never seen her like this. She really needs you."
"Val, I'm on my way. I'll get the driver to take me up there to get her okay? Get her things together if you can, or we can just get them later. I'll get there as fast as I can. Tell her I'm coming. I'm coming for her. It will be okay. Tell her Val, alright? I'm on my way!"
"Thank you Mr. Sheffield! Thank you! I'll tell her! Okay, goodbye Mr. Sheffield!" And just that quick the waiting was over.
"Niles! I have to go get her! I have to go to Sylvia's and get her! Call the driver and get the town car to drive me up there. I've got to go get some clothes back on. I don't know what's happening with her but she needs me to bring her back. The girls will stay there tonight. Quick Niles!"
"Yes sir!" Niles grabbed the phone Max had just tossed on the table, and Max shot up the back stairs and headed for his bedroom to throw on some clothes and shoes so he could hurry to Fran. She needed him and he was not going to let her down.