522 (CC/UC, AU, Adult, COMPLETE, 09/01/13)

[April]

Leila: Very nice strategic move, with the emoticon.

I have to admit I enjoyed the banter between Isabel, Maria and Tess.

Yes, that stuff is very fun to write.

So Miley's outburst didn't surprise me. Though Isabel wasn't directly connected with that situation, she made it to cause trouble.

And wouldn't Isabel just be delighted to know what Miley yelled at Maria?

Ellie:

I don't think Miley is going to take this lying down though. She is afterall, Maria's daughter ...

Yeah, she's got a little stubborn streak in her, so we'll see how that turns out.

for Maria to make out with Michael in front of Isabel. I can't wait to see Isaboo's reaction to it!

Isaboo? Another new nickname for her in this fic.

BB:

MIley is very precocious, she's only, what? Two? and already she's throwing the hate word at her parents. Most people are at least fourteen before they play that card.

Well, she's almost three, but yeah, it's pretty darn early for her to be using that word and having all this drama. I think she may be three going on thirteen.

I'm kind of looking forward to Isabel's speech.

Oh, me too. Me too.

Proof, if it was needed, that Liz has completely sold out. She really thinks this is all about money and that her parents wouldn't have any other reasons for not attending her wedding to the lying, cheating, self serving, manipulative, raping a-hole that is Max Evans.

Yeah, it definitely has nothing to do with money, and somewhere deep inside, Liz might know that; but she doesn't want to admit it.

Karin:

Liz should kiss Maria's feet for even being there, actually thinking Maria should be happy that Liz is marrying the guy who raped her geez dumb much?

Liz's day just keeps getting worse (which is arguably deserved), and listening to Isabel and Maria bitch it out isn't helping.

Novy:

Max's best friend is Alex. Wow. That's interesting. But bonding over a common enemy will do that I guess.

Yeah, they're not best friends for the same reasons Kyle and Michael or Maria and Tess are. They're not best friends solely for the sake of being friends. They're friends because life tossed Alex a curve ball and he became Max's brother-in-law, and they have that "common enemy" in Isabel.

dreambeliever:

Can't wait for some bitch-slappin, hair-pullin', knee-scrapin' fun....am I close?

You might be.

Krista:

Tess has gotta be my favorite character. Hands down.

I think that's what you said during 521. Good to know some things never change.

Yes, you and Christina are very similar. I love you both.

Christina:

And if it has to do with that magazine article, I'm guessing Liz doesn't know about it.

Hmm, more on that later.

I really hope that Liz grows a lot during this fic. Cause I really don't like her now, and I want to.

I'm already starting to like Max though. I think it's mostly from the whole Garret thing.

Well, I can't make any promises with Liz. I have a storyline for Max and Liz that is going to take them on quite the journey and has the chance to make them better than they've been or worse than they've been, depending on how you look at it.

Oh man, Isabel's warning about the speech she's going to give has me nervous/scared.

I think her speech will be in Saturday's update, and if I do say so myself, it really is one heck of a speech.

Rodney:

I wouldn't invite Isabel to my yard sale much less my wedding

You're a guy, though, so I think if she really wanted an invite, she'd seduce you and get one.

I'm a little shocked at how Maria freaked out and how she was going to run away from Isabel.Never knew she was that scared of Isabel.i always figured Maria would be the punch her in the nose type!

Yeah, I think it's pretty clear that Maria is a bit more insecure in this fic than she was in 521, and Isabel is one of those insecurities. Isabel almost convinced Maria to get an abortion, and the fact that Maria almost went through with it shows how powerful Isabel can be. That scares Maria a little bit, but not enough to back down.

What's up with him and the color gold?

It must be a superiority thing.

Neve:

Poor Miley. I think that Maria and Michael handled the situation badly.

It probably would have been better for them to calm down and have that conversation with her at home instead. But sometimes instinct takes over, and unfortunately Maria's instinct to forbid her daughter to be friends with a boy led to the h-word every parent dreads hearing.

I really, really hope that Isabel doesn't find out about what Miley said although she is Isabel so she probably knows already.

I wrote these parts so long ago, so I can't remember if she finds out or not!

Nat: Girl, I didn't know you were reading! Thanks for taking the time to assess all the characters like that. I think you're spot-on about a lot of things. I hope that Max's journey in this fic satisfies you. I think his upcoming storylines may surprise some people.

Maria definitely needs some penis. I don't know if she's necessarily weaker this time around; I think having two kids and being a great mom at a young age and making the decision to go back to school probably makes her stronger. But she's definitely more insecure. She feels like she can't be that wild, immature college girl anymore. Even though that girl had all the confidence in the world, she had no self-restraint. And now that she has children to think about, she has to restrain herself sometimes (like restraining herself around Isabel), because she knows that anything she does reflects onto Miley. As for Michael . . . I know you prefer the raw manly-Michael. I'll contend that the most manly thing I guy can do is be the rock for his family, and that's what Michael is. But he's definitely more reserved than Michael was on the show or usually is in fanfic. I promise that even he will go on quite the journey throughout this fic. It won't really happen for awhile, but it will happen, and it may shock some people.



Thank you so much, as always, for the feedback, everyone. Really, when the day starts sucking, I hop online and see what you guys say about this fic, and it makes me feel better. Awww.

It works out great that I'm not updating tomorrow, because when I update, I wake up an hour early to get it done. Tomorrow's my birthday, though, and I'm excited to sleep in.








Part 11








“Dammit!” Maria swore, slamming the door to the VIP suite shut. She flopped down on the bed, feeling like a failure as a mother.

“What’s wrong?” Tess asked. She was at the dresser, standing behind Liz, attaching her puffy white veil to her tiara. When Maria didn’t answer, a look of horror crossed her face. “Oh god, what’s wrong? Is it Isabel?”

“No, her son,” Maria replied.

“Garret?” Liz said. “He’s a sweetie.”

“Yeah, and he’s also Miley’s new best friend. She met him at daycare, and he taught her the worst swear word in the book.”

“Cunt?” Liz guessed.

“No, fuck.”

“Oh.” Liz shook her head. “Garret doesn’t talk like that.”

“Well, apparently he does.” Maria threaded her hands through her hair. It was falling flat now. All that work Tess had done on it this morning had been for nothing. “I just got done telling Miley she can’t be friends with him, and she told me she hates me.”

“Oh, Maria, you know how kids are,” Tess said. “That’s just what they say when they get mad. She doesn’t mean it.”

“I know. But it’s still really hard to hear.”

Liz reached up and adjusted the tiara on her head. “See?” she said. “My wedding day’s miserable for everyone.”

“Hey, Negative Nancy, just . . . shut up,” Tess snapped. She hooked the last part of Liz’s veil to the tiara and flipped it over her face. “There,” she proclaimed. “So pretty.”

“This veil’s so big,” Liz complained. “Just like the dress. It’s all so Cinderella. You know, without the Prince Charming and the happy ending.”

Tess rolled her eyes. “You are so pessimistic, I can barely stand it.”

“Sorry,” Liz apologized.

Maria sighed, happy that at least this wasn’t her wedding day. Her wedding day was going to be much better than this. No Isabel, Liz, or Max in sight. No Garret. Miley would have better friends by then.

She supposed she was being unfair to the kid. She didn’t know him . . . but then again, she didn’t care to know him. He had some very bad DNA, and that wasn’t his fault, but . . . it was what it was.

The door to the suite opened, and Isabel strolled in, looking as high and mighty as ever. “You know,” she said, “I find it absolutely hilarious that we’re all married or about to get married . . . except for Maria. Why is that?”

Maria rose to her feet and spoke with authority when she said, “Tell your son to stay away from my daughter.”

Isabel held a hand to her chest. “Excuse me?”

“Your son, the kid you wish was Michael’s . . . he’s not allowed to be anywhere near my daughter. He’s not allowed to speak to her. He’s not allowed to look at her. They’re not friends.”

Isabel laughed. “Chill out. They’re not having sex; they’re playing dinosaurs.”

“I don’t care. Keep him away from her.”

Isabel narrowed her eyes at her. “He’s not a bad kid.”

“No, but you’re a bitch, and unfortunately he has to live with that.”

“Garret can be friends with whoever he wants. I’m not paranoid.”

“You know what, Isabel?” Maria mimicked Garret when she grunted, “Go fuck yourself.” The poor kid had undoubtedly learned the phrase from his mom.

“Hmm, already did,” Isabel said with a smirk. “And I thought of Michael the whole time.”

Maria clenched both hands into fists at her sides. This bitch drove her completely insane. If she said one more thing, Maria feared she might go over the edge and do something she’d regret.

Luckily for her, the groomsmen came into the room, forcing her to keep herself under control.

“Hey, boys,” Isabel said. “About time you came up here.”

“Oh, Maria, Tess, this is Jimmy, Max’s personal assistant,” Liz introduced, referring to a skinny, pimply, nervous-looking boy who couldn’t have been more than a day out of college, if that. “Maria, you’ll be walking with him. And Tess, this is--”

“Roger Lanton,” a fifty-something grey-haired man cut in, extending his hands towards Tess. “I manage Evans Hotels’ Tucson branch.”

“Oh, I see.” Tess shook his hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

He grinned at her suggestively. “Not as nice as it is to meet you.”

“Uh . . .” She quickly pulled her hand away from him, trying to smile despite her obvious disgust with him.

“And you guys both remember Alex, right?” Liz asked.

“How could I forget?” Maria smiled at him. “You’re my hero.”

“I am?”

“Yeah. You were the one to expose your wife as the deceitful slut she is.”

“Watch it, bitch,” Isabel grunted.

Alex put a hand on her shoulder to restrain her. “Hey, not here.”

“Alex, I don’t think I’ve ever met you,” Tess jumped in to ease some of the tension. “Hi, I’m Tess.”

“Hi.” He shook her hand as an usher poked his head in the door.

“Forgot this one,” the usher said, urging Garret into the room.

“Mommy!” he ran towards Isabel, and Maria tensed and looked away. Tess seemed nervous.

“Hey there, Gare-bear.” Isabel scooped her son up into her arms, and for a moment, she seemed almost human. “Ready to go?”

He nodded. “Yep. Where’s Miley?”

Maria pressed her lips together to keep from swearing.

Isabel smiled. “Yeah, Maria. Where is our lovely flower girl?”

“She’s with her dad.”

“Yeah, that’s where I’d be if I were her.”

“Okay!” Liz practically shrieked in interjection. “Let’s go over some stuff. Tess and Roger will walk in first, followed by Maria and Jimmy, Alex and Isabel, and then Miley and Garret.”

“Can Jimmy and I go first?” Maria asked. She really couldn’t bear to stand next to Isabel.

“Sure,” Liz agreed. “So do we need to try it out or . . . I know this is all really last minute, but do you guys get it?”

“It’s not rocket science, Liz,” Isabel pointed out nastily. “I think we get it.”

“Good.” Even though her veil was covering her face, the tears brimming in Liz’s eyes were obvious. “Then can everyone act happy to be here?” she practically whimpered. “Please?”

But Maria wasn’t happy to be there. Not at all. She wished she were anywhere else.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Max couldn’t remember the last time he’d had sweaty palms. Probably when he’d asked Liz to marry him. But other than that . . . sweaty palms were a sign of nervousness, and nerves weren’t his thing. Still, as he took his place at the altar next to the round, ancient minister, he had to wipe his hands against his sides. Everyone was looking at him, for now at least. Once Liz walked down that aisle, they’d all be looking at her.

“Almost time,” the minister said, smiling. “Are you ready?”

Max looked around the church. His side was packed, while Liz’s side was only about half full. It would have been virtually empty had they not decided to seat all the non-family members over there. “As I’ll ever be,” he replied, steadying himself. For a long time, he’d never pictured himself as husband material, but somehow, with Liz . . . it just felt right.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Where’s Jimmy?” Maria asked, slightly panicked. “We’re supposed to walk out, like, now.”

“He’s got a nervous stomach,” Liz informed her as the entire wedding party minus Jimmy waited out in the lobby. “He’s probably in the bathroom.”

Roger shrugged and held out his arm to Tess. “I guess that means we’re up then.”

“Oh, uh . . .” Music wafted out from the church, and Tess linked her arm with Roger, sending Maria an apologetic look as they started down the aisle.

Great, Maria thought, now I have to stand next to Isabel.

“Trust me, I’m not any happier about it than you are,” Isabel said as though she’d read her mind. “You smell like jealousy.”

“You smell like whore,” Maria shot back, relieved when Jimmy came bounding out of the bathroom. “There you are.”

“Sorry,” he apologized. “My stomach . . .”

“Let’s go.” She hooked her arm with his, and they walked together into the church. She felt so odd, walking with a relative stranger, and she suspected Jimmy felt the same. He’d probably been expecting to walk with one of Liz’s cousins or something.

Maria sucked in her stomach as she walked down the aisle. She hated that everyone was looking at her, looking at her hair, at what she was wearing. How come nobody ever looked at the groomsmen?

She located Michael and Kyle sitting in one of the middle pews, and she felt better. They weren’t looking at her critically; they were looking at her encouragingly. Especially Michael. He smiled at her, and she smiled back at him, wishing she could just fall into his arms and not be a bridesmaid. It’d been a mistake to agree to this. She knew that now.

She and Jimmy parted ways at the altar, and he went to stand on the men’s side. She took her spot next to Tess and held in the vomit as Isabel came down the aisle next. Her head was high in the air, her self-righteousness nearly suffocating. And what was more, she actually appeared to have tugged down on her strapless dress a little bit, just enough to reveal an inappropriate amount of cleavage. She clutched the lilies in her hands tightly and glanced at Michael out of the corner of her eye as she passed him. He just ignored her and gave Maria a knowingly annoyed look.

Miley and Garret came out last upon an usher’s urging. Miley walked much faster than Garret did. All his steps were the same space apart, and smooth. He’d clearly been practicing. Miley sort of skipped down the aisle, throwing flowers as she went.

“She looks like a skank,” Isabel sang softly through gritted teeth.

“He looks like his dad,” Maria quietly snapped back, knowing a remark like that would really get under Isabel’s skin. She felt Tess inconspicuously nudge her side, though, and she knew she had to quit.

Miley stopped by Michael and tossed about five flowers over his head. He laughed and told her to keep walking. She and Garret ended up arriving at the altar about the same time, and Maria shuddered as she envisioned the two of them standing at the altar twenty or so years from now, not as flower girl and ring bearer, but rather as . . .

She pushed the thoughts away. They were kids. She was overreacting.

“Good job, honey,” Maria said, placing her hands on her shoulders. She expected Miley to stand in front of her the way Garret was standing in front of Alex, but Miley shrugged her hands off and stood in front of Tess instead, pouting angrily. Tess looked at Maria sympathetically and shrugged.

Liz started down the aisle when the wedding march began to play. In typical Evans fashion, it wasn’t just an organist playing, but rather a small orchestra set up near the organ. There was a piano player, a violin player, a cello player, and even a triangle player. All eyes were on Liz, though, as she approached her groom. She was trying to smile, but Maria knew it had to be hard not having her dad beside her, walking her down the aisle. No matter how bad Max could be, that was the way it should have been.

Her wedding dress trailed behind her. It was a huge dress, and she looked very uncomfortable in it. The tiara started to fall off her head, and she had to readjust it as she was walking so that it would stay on. By the time she got up to the altar, she looked relieved. Max took her hands in his, and had Maria not known him, she would have thought he was a decent guy. He looked that way when he was looking at Liz.

The music stopped, and the minster’s voice rose up. “It is with great pleasure that we gather here today to witness the joining of two souls in holy matrimony.”

Assuming Max has a soul, Maria thought, rolling her eyes.

“Max Evans and Liz Parker have fallen in love so deeply and completely that today they choose to unite in a sacred covenant before God and their respective families and friends.”

Liz tensed.

“These families and friends each form a circle of love--”

“Yeah, why don’t you just skip that part?” Max suggested.

The minister nodded, seemingly slightly confused. “We ask our honored guests assembled here to take a moment to exchange a greeting of peace.” He smiled at the groomsmen and bridesmaids. Alex was the first to extend his hand. “Peace be with you,” he said to Jimmy.

“And also with you,” Jimmy returned dutifully. “Is that what I’m supposed to say? God, my stomach hurts.”

Isabel turned around and shook Tess’s hand. “Peace be with you, journal thief,” she said before plastering a fake smile on her face when she shook hands with Maria. “Peace be with you, bitch.”

“And also fuck you,” Maria grumbled, fake-smiling right back at her. Once the greetings of mutual hatred and contempt were through, the minister continued on.

“At this time, we would also like to honor those would could not be with us today. We offer a special remembrance of Phillip and Diane Evans. Although they are not here with us physically, they are with us in spirit, and for that we are blessed.”

Isabel clutched one hand to her stomach as though she were about to hurl upon hearing that.

“Let’s take a moment of silence to honor their memory.”

The entire church fell silent, and some of the Evans family members folded their hands, bowed their heads, and prayed. Maria watched them in horror. She’d never met Phillip Evans, but from everything she’d heard, she gathered he was the root of all evil.

Max laughed during the moment of silence, and everyone looked at him in disbelief. “Sorry,” he apologized.

The minister shook his head, apparently beginning to understand what kind of people he was wedding. He read a verse from the Bible, and then he said, “In the presence of God and all witnesses here, I will ask Max and Liz to state their intentions. Max and Liz, have you come here freely to give yourselves to each other in the state of holy matrimony?”

Max and Liz both looked at each other, then answered, “Yes,” in unison.

“Please face each other and join both your hands and your hearts.” He turned to Max and said, “Please repeat after me: I, Max Evans, take you, Liz Parker, to be my lawfully wedded wife.”

Max cleared his throat. “I, Max Evans, take you, Liz Parker, to be my lawfully wedded wife.”

“To have and to hold, to love and to cherish.”

“To have and to hold, to love and to cherish.”

Maria smiled at Michael. Someday soon, they’d say these vows. Well, not these vows, exactly, but something to this extent. She wanted them to write their own vows.

“For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer.”

“For better, for worse . . .” Max swallowed hard. “For richer, for poorer.”

“In sickness and in health.”

“In sickness and in health.”

“As long as we both shall live.”

“As long as we both shall live.” He squeezed Liz’s hands, and she looked relatively happy for the first time that day.

“Liz, please repeat after me,” the minister said, turning to her. “I, Liz Parker, take you, Max Evans, to be my lawfully wedded husband.”

“I, Liz Parker, take you, Max Evans, to be my lawfully wedded husband.”

Why? Maria wondered. Was it a money thing? Because if it was a love thing . . . she’d never understand it.

“To have and to hold, to love and to cherish.”

“To have and to hold, to love and to cherish.”

“For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer.”

“For better, for worse, for richer, for . . .” She laughed a little. “Well, for richer.” Their guests laughed a little, too.

“In sickness and in health.”

“In sickness and in health.”

“As long as we both shall live.”

“As long as we both shall live.”

They’ll probably outlive the cockroaches, Maria thought. Or at least Max will.

“Do we have the rings?” the minister asked.

Garret held up the pillow with both wedding bands on it. Alex took the bands and handed them to the minister. “Lord, bless these rings that Max and Liz are about to exchange. May these rings forever remind them of their covenant with one another. May their compassion and kindness for one another always be like these rings, with no beginning and no end. If either ring begins to tarnish, may they joyfully undertake the sacred duty to make it shine brightly again.” He handed Max Liz’s ring and said, “Please look into the eyes of your beloved and place the ring, a symbol of your love for her, on her hand, and say, ‘With this ring, I thee wed.’”

Max smiled and said in a cheesy voice, “With this ring, I thee wed,” as he placed the band on Liz’s left ring finger.

“And Liz, please look into the eyes of your beloved and place the ring on his hand, and repeat after me: ‘With this ring, I thee wed.’”

Liz held Max’s left hand in hers and placed the ring on his finger. “With this ring, I thee wed.”

The minister smiled. “Now that you have heard Max and Liz recite their marriage vows and exchange their rings, does anyone object to this sacred union?”

Isabel coughed loudly, and Liz turned to look at her in horror. Even though it looked as though she really wanted to say something, Isabel smiled and said, “Carry on.”

Liz breathed an audible sigh of relief.

“Do you, their family and friends, promise from this day forward to love and encourage them, to help guide them in being steadfast in the promise they have made? If you agree, please say, ‘We do.’”

Everyone mumbled the words, and upon an urging look from the minister, said it more loudly. “We do.” Maria only mouthed the words. She figured if she didn’t say them out loud, she wouldn’t have to keep that promise.

“Sheep,” Isabel grunted.

The minister raised both his arms at his sides and put the finishing touches on the ceremony. “Max and Liz, with the support of your families and friends, by the vows you have made to one another, by the strength of your covenant and in the presence of God, it is my pleasure to pronounce you ‘Husband and Wife.’ You may kiss the bride.”

Max grinned, pulled back Liz’s veil, and kissed her deeply as the orchestra played again. Everyone in the audience stood up and clapped, and Maria forced herself to clap along with them. She supposed if Max and Liz really were happy together, there was no harm in it. For Liz’s sake, she hoped he wouldn’t make her too miserable. There was nothing holy about this matrimony, but it was matrimony nonetheless.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tess was surprised that she actually felt excited for Max and Liz. She knew what it felt like to be a newlywed—it was exhilarating. She looked out and met Kyle’s eyes, and he was gazing at her warmly. Both of them clapped for Max and Liz, but Tess blushed and smiled as memories of her own flooded back to her.

****

“Oh, I love Hawaii!” Tess exclaimed as she and Kyle walked along the beach hand in hand. She loved the feel of the sand beneath her toes, loved the sound of the waves crashing to shore. “I’m so glad we finally got to come here. Totally makes up for last year’s awful spring break.” Her senior year spring break was definitely the best she’d ever had.

“I think Michael and Maria are enjoying it,” Kyle put in.

“Yeah, enjoying the hotel room.” She supposed they had to take advantage of their alone time while the grandparents were watching the baby, but they hadn’t even ventured outside yet. And they had plans to go scuba diving? Yeah, right.

“Oh my god, I’ve always wanted to put my feet in the ocean!” She giggled, let go of Kyle’s hand, and bounded towards the water, unable to resist the allure of it anymore. She waded about calf-deep and jumped up and down excitedly. “Look at me, I’m standin’ in the ocean,” she declared happily. “‘What’re you doing, Tess? Oh, nothing, just standing in the ocean.’” She ran her hands through her hair and stuck her arms in the air. “Kyle, come on!” She whirled around, and when she saw him down on one knee in the wet sand, a ring poised out in front of him, all thoughts of the ocean vanished from her mind. “Oh,” she said, suddenly gasping for air. “Kyle.”

He smiled at her and simply said, “I think you’re an angel. Will you marry me?”

She wasn’t an angel by any means, but she loved that he thought that about her. “Kyle!” she yelped, throwing her arms around him, hugging him.

“Is that a yes?”

“Yes!” She held out her hand, and he slid the engagement ring onto her shaky finger. It fit perfectly. It was so beautiful. She kissed him with all the love stored inside, and he rose to his feet and hoisted her up into his arms. She wrapped her legs around him, hugged him, and nuzzled her face against his neck as he stroked her hair. They were going to get married.

****

Tess smiled. For a year and a half now, she’d been his wife, and she still loved him more than anything. Hopefully Max and Liz would be so lucky.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Isabel stuffed some extra padding into her strapless bra and grinned. Her breasts were large enough as they were, but there was never such a thing as too big. Not when it came to breasts or cocks.

“So that was boring,” she remarked, waiting for Tess and Maria to say something. They had all been herded back to the VIP suite along with the groomsmen while Max and Liz went to make out somewhere before the reception. The boys were all talking about sports or Megan Fox or something else boy-like. Maria and Tess were talking to each other, and they didn’t seem to be listening to her at all.

“You’d better not eat any cake at the reception, Maria,” she advised, trying to get some kind of reaction. “You can’t afford any extra pounds.”

No reaction.

Isabel frowned in frustration. She couldn’t just be invisible to them. If she couldn’t annoy them, what could she do? “I noticed Michael was looking at me the whole time I was standing up there,” she boasted. “Maybe he was imagining his wedding day to me. Or the honeymoon.”

“Would you shut up?” Maria finally roared, spinning around. “You’re no longer annoying; now you’re just pathetic.”

Isabel looked over at her husband. He was quickly taking Garret out of the room. Jimmy and Roger followed.

Isabel crossed her arms over her chest and pointed out, “I was with the guy for two years.”

“But you cheated on him, and you had to lie about your kid’s paternity just to try to win him back. Desperate much?” Maria huffed. “And even that didn’t work. It’s been three and a half years—years, Isabel—since everything blew up in your face, and he hasn’t even mentioned you. Not once in all that time. He doesn’t talk about you. He doesn’t think about you. He doesn’t even care if you’re alive.”

Isabel’s jaw felt tight as she tried to hold her emotions in. She didn’t want to give Maria the privilege of knowing that she’d gotten to her. But when she said something like that, something about Michael . . . did he really not care?

“Excuse me,” she said, hurrying out the door. She heard Maria and Tess laughing on her way out.

She ran down the hallway and into the bathroom. There were three stalls, so she charged into the handicapped one and swung the lock into place.

“Dammit!” she yelled, kicking the door. It moved on its hinges, but didn’t fall off. She dug her fingernails into her scalp and paced back and forth in the stall, breathing heavily. How could he not care about her? She loved him.

She sat down on the toilet seat, feeling utterly defeated. She hadn’t felt so defeated since the day she’d given birth to Garret with Alex at her side. She felt the sobs wrack her body, and she couldn’t stop them. She hated crying. Hated it. She hardly ever cried, because crying was weak, and she was strong. She was a strong woman.

She clasped one hand to her mouth to muffle her sounds and let the tears fall. They burned her cheeks, and she felt like she could barely breathe. She had to get a hold of herself. She couldn’t be like this, especially not when Maria was around.

Forcing the tears to cease, she took several deep breaths to try to calm herself. She wiped the tears from her cheeks, stood up, and unlocked the stall door. Enough of this.

She went to the sink and looked at her reflection. Her face was red now, and her eyes were shiny. She looked . . . like a girl. Like a sad, pathetic girl. She didn’t want to look that way.

Her bottom lip trembled, and something in her snapped. She slammed the side of her fist against the mirror, and it cracked. She stumbled backward as tiny shards of glass embedded themselves in her skin, and when she looked at her reflection again, it was distorted. Now the mirror was as broken as she was.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming, Mr. and Mrs. Max Evans!”

Max and Liz entered the hotel ballroom to a roar of applause from their wedding guests. They waved at everyone, and their wedding party followed them in. Alex held his son’s hand, even though he was supposed to be walking next to Isabel.

Garret tugged on his tuxedo jacket and asked, “Where’s Mommy?”

Alex looked around the reception area, confused. “I have no idea,” he admitted, but he was sure that, whenever she got there, she’d make sure she was noticed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Trails of red blood swirled down the drain of the sink. There wasn’t much of it, but enough to notice. Isabel washed off her hand under scalding hot water. She could barely even feel it. Nothing felt painful to her, except for Michael’s not caring.

Once she was satisfied that the cuts were sufficiently clean, she dried her hand off with paper towels. Everything was fine. Except the mirror. It was still cracked. It would have to stay that way now.

She stared at herself in the mirror, and she looked good, not nearly as messed up as she really was. Time to go to the reception.

When she arrived downstairs at the ballroom, Max and Liz were already having their first dance. All the guests were standing in a circle watching them, so Isabel took the opportunity to slip off to the bar.

“Everclear,” she told the bartender decidedly. She was in the mood for a strong drink, and that was about as strong as it got.








TBC . . .

-April

[April]

Thanks for all the happy birthday wishes, everyone! I had a great birthday.

Krista:

You know, I've never had Everclear straight. Just mixed. And that was enough to make me need to sit on the floor because all the chairs were too far off the ground.

Really? Wow. That stuff is no joke then. I've heard stories about it from friends.

Ellie:

So glad some of the DeLuca fire came back to Maria! You go girl! She really gave it to Isabel with that cutting remark about how Michael doesn't think about her. LOVED IT!

I'm glad you loved it. I had it planned that Maria was going to say those things to Isabel for awhile.

I got really happy when she called Alex her hero, if only she knew how far down the rabbit hole of life her "hero" has gone though

Yeah, she has no idea that some of Alex's problems are problems he brings on himself.

BB:

Oh, I don't know if angering the beast is a good idea. It's only going to make her even more vicious and nasty.

Isn't there an expression that goes, Don't poke the tiger? Because Isabel is kind of tiger who shouldn't be poked, although it's fun to poke her.

I was feeling sorry for LIz until the for richer comment. Does that mean she'd bail if Max lost his money, because she never said poorer. I wonder what Max made of that.

It was just a joke that was in kind of bad taste.

lilah:

I know you said that Isabel has layers....and maybe she does but they all seem to contain the same amount of psycho

Some of her less psychotic layers won't appear for a long time.

Novy:

Wow. I wonder if Isabel is the person that will be getting really drunk.

I think that's a safe assumption at this point.

I thought Diane was a live and just not there?

Nope, she's dead and you'll find out how she died in this part.

I wonder if Isabel would ever kidnap Michael or something crazy like that.

I don't think she'd stoop to that level of crazy, although it's a valid question where she's concerned. Besides, all she wants is for him to love her, and I think kidnapping him might be deterrent to that.

Rodney:

You know when I first read the part about the broken mirror and glass I at first thought Isabel was going to cut her wrist in the bathroom.But than I got thinking about how much Isabel loves herself and it made me go "Nahhhhh!"

Yeah, she loves herself too much to do anything that would make her permanently physically scarred. Plus, she's got enough emotional scars already, so . . .

Neve:

Hello Roger, how did you make it back into the fold?

I promised this jerk would be back, didn't I?

Miley is really channelling Maria, pre-Michael Maria anyway. She's a little madam.

Yep, and that's exactly what Maria doesn't want. Miley is, for the most part, a Daddy's girl, wants to be just like her dad. But there's a certain Maria-ish-ness about her, too, even at such a young age.

dreambeliever:

I'm a little confused about Liz. Is she really that into Max's money or was she trying to be funny?

She was just trying to be funny.

Leila:

I like it that you always write a dislikeable Liz. Thank you.

You're welcome. If there's one thing you can rely on me for, it's dislikable Liz. I guess that's better than Mary Sue Liz.

Not a typical Max reaction. I don't think he reacted that way because the word 'poorer' is a foul taste on his tongue. I think, he has serious business problems. In an earlier part you mentioned that he had to fire a lot of people in a short time or that he became used to it. Hmmm...the golden boy is probably going down. If everything would be alright, he would have said the same vow like Liz did.

That's some interesting speculation.

In addtion, a drunk Isabel is a bigger threat than being sober and crazy. She probably will let out some dirty secrets about the people there.

Yep, she probably will.

Christina:

Secondly, Isabel freaks me out so much. She seems almost normal on occasion when she's with Garret, but whenever she's not around her son she's just a flat out bitch. And whenever she's around Michael, she's a freakin' nutbag.

It almost seems like she has a few split personalities or something. She's really going to freak some people out with the things she says/does in this fic.

And I've never had Everclear, at all. I imagine my reaction would be similar to Krista's. Just like our minds are.

Even your names sound sort of similar.

Maiqu:

Congrats to Liz & Max or getting married & surviving the ceremony

Now there's the matter of surviving the reception . . .

Nat:

Isn't Miley too young to be having a teenage moment?

Yes!


Thanks so much for the feedback. As for this part, there is a lot of . . . conflict. Just a lot of different conflicts that all sort of intersect. Which is fun.








Part 12








Once Max and Liz finished their first dance as man and wife, the wedding announcer said, “Ladies and gentlemen, we invite you all, at this time, to join our newlyweds on the dance floor.”

Maria cocked her head to the side. “Wanna?” she asked Michael.

He rolled his eyes and pretended to think about it. “Sure.” He held out Macy for Tess and asked her and Kyle, “Will you guys watch them?”

“Gladly,” Tess replied, lifting Macy into her arms. Miley sat down at their table next to Kyle.

Maria pulled Michael out onto the dance floor. There was so much space to dance. They were in a freaking ballroom. She looked around at the marble tabletops, the ice sculptures, and the skylight ceiling. Max had way too much money for his own good.

She placed her left arm on Michael’s shoulder, and he wrapped his right arm around her waist, pulling her close. They both held their other arms out to the side and linked hands. She rested her head against his chest, breathing in his scent. He was so warm, and his arms felt so strong around her. Whenever she felt bad about anything, she would hold onto him like this, and he would make her feel better. He didn’t even have to say anything or do anything; he just had to be there.

“So we survived the wedding,” he remarked. “Now we just gotta get through this reception.”

“Yeah,” she agreed, thinking about it. And then an idea occurred to her. “Or . . . do we?” She lifted her head and peered at him questioningly. “I mean, we could just leave now. I’ve done my duty.”

“Yeah,” he acknowledged, “but then we’ll miss out on cake.”

“Ooh, I like cake. Damn.” She brought her head back down to rest against his chest again and pulled both their outstretched arms inward so that she could kiss the back of his hand. He had such amazing hands, made such amazing artwork with them. “I think when we get married, we should write our own vows,” she told him.

“Me, too,” he agreed.

She smiled. “You know, most guys would dread that idea.”

“Well, I’m not most guys.”

No, he wasn’t. “Thank God for that.” Michael wasn’t perfect—she knew that, and she knew he hated having to try to live up to everyone’s expectations that he be perfect. But he was pretty damn close to perfect, about as close as anyone could get.

As they danced slowly in a small circle, she looked over at their table and saw Miley. Kyle and Tess were trying to talk to her, but she was just looking down at her feet, pouting.

Maria sighed. “She’s not gonna talk to me for the rest of the day.”

“It’ll all work out,” he assured her, rubbing the small of her back. His touch made her shiver with delight.

When she saw Isabel sitting at the bar watching them, her tempestuous eyes boring holes straight through her, she tilted her head back and gazed up at him through half-closed lids. “Kiss me,” she said, mostly because she wanted to feel his lips on hers, only a little because she wanted Isabel to watch.

He smiled and leaned forward to cover her mouth with his. She arched her chest up into him and kissed him back, feeling the brush of his tongue against her bottom lip. Then smiled against his mouth and returned to dancing with him. She didn’t bother glancing over at Isabel again, but she knew she was fuming, and that was nice.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Miley, you did so good today,” Tess raved in a desperate effort to get her eldest niece to say something. “Best flower girl ever, that’s for sure.”

Miley just kept pouting.

Tess shot a panicked glance over at Kyle, and he just shrugged helplessly.

“Are you excited to be the flower girl when your mom and dad get married?” she asked, cringing when she got the same silence in response.

Finally, Kyle leaned over and gave it a try. “You know, Miley,” he said, “when Aunt Tess and I got married, you were only a year and a half old.”

“Yeah, you were little,” Tess added. “Even littler than you are now.”

“I’m not little, I’m big,” Miley finally mumbled.

Better than nothing, Tess thought. She’d take that over the silent treatment any day. “Right,” she said. “We know that.”

“Mama don’t,” Miley grumbled.

Tess sighed. Michael and Maria looked like they were off in their own little world right now. She and Kyle could entertain Miley, make her feel better . . . couldn’t they?

“Hey, I got an idea,” Kyle announced suddenly. “You wanna dance with your uncle?”

Tess grunted. “Please, my uncles are disgusting. One of them smells like tuna, and the other smells like . . .” She trailed off when she noticed the way Kyle was smiling at her. “Oh, you were asking Miley,” she realized, feeling stupid. “Got it.”

“I still love you,” he promised, getting out of his chair to kneel down in front of Miley. “What do you say, kid? Dance?”

Miley started swinging her feet back and forth, and gradually, her frown transformed into a smile. She nodded vigorously.

“Yeah?” Kyle said. “Alright, come on.” He took her tiny hand in his and led her out to the dance floor.

Tess stayed seated at their table, holding a still-sleeping Macy in her arms. She smiled and watched as Miley stepped up onto Kyle’s feet. He danced from side to side, holding both her hands in his, causing her to giggle loudly. When she hopped down off his feet, she started to mimic his embarrassing moves. Tess laughed.

A guy who was good with kids was so attractive.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Max and Liz both held onto the cake cutter and sliced through their wedding cake together. It was a shame to see it cut into. It was a diamond fruit cake that had apparently cost Max over two-hundred and fifty thousand dollars to have made. He definitely wasn’t sparing any expenses for this wedding.

Everyone laughed when Liz smashed a piece of cake to Max’s face. All of his employees hollered loudly as though they had been waiting a long time to see something like that happen to their boss. If anyone else had done that, they wouldn’t have gotten away with it, but since it was his wife . . . Max just nodded and took it in stride.

“New look for you,” Alex joked as he bypassed his friend on the way to the bar. He sat down on an empty stool next to Isabel, remembering the night he’d met her. They’d been at a bar, just like this, only he’d been younger and richer and much more naïve.

“What’re you doing?” he asked her.

“Imitating you.” She swirled the liquid in her shot glass around, then raised it in the air and proclaimed, “Cheers.”

Alex snatched the glass from her.

“Hey!” she yelped.

He sniffed it and made a face. “What is this?” He brought the rim of the glass up to mouth and took a sip. “Is that Everclear?” he whispered in horror.

“Yeah, so?”

“Are you crazy? This is the strongest alcohol out there. It could kill you. How many shots have you had?”

She shrugged. “Three or four.”

“Three or four?” he echoed, setting the glass down on the counter. “Don’t you remember what happened to me the one and only time I got drunk on this? I ended up in the hospital gettin’ my stomach pumped.”

“That’s ‘cause you’re a lightweight,” she said. “I have a lot more experience with bad behavior.”

“Nobody’s experienced enough for Everclear.” He slid the shot glass down the counter towards the bartender and said, “No more for her.”

“Are you cutting me off?” she shrieked a little too loudly. A few guests turned to look at her. “Well, isn’t that just like a man.”

He sighed and resisted the urge to lecture her some more. It probably came off sounding very hypocritical, and he was aware of that.

She reached up to rub the side of her head, and it was as she did that that he caught sight of the side of her hand. It was all cut up. “What happened?” he asked.

She quickly lowered her hand and covered it with her other one. “Oh, I . . . tripped and fell.”

“On what, broken glass?”

She stared straight ahead. “Yeah.”

He followed her gaze, and it didn’t take him long to connect the dots when he saw Michael and Maria dancing together. Isabel had a strong temper, especially when it came to things she wanted and didn’t have.

“Mommy, Daddy!” Garret exclaimed, bounding towards them. “This is so cool! Now that Uncle Max and Liz are married, are they gonna have kids?”

Isabel snorted. “Let’s hope not. Their kid would be Satan.”

“What’s Satan?” Garret asked.

She smiled and patted him on top his curly head. “The devil, honey.”

His eyes grew wide, and he looked fearful.

Dammit, Isabel, Alex thought. Now he’s gonna have nightmares. “Uh, Garret? Why don’t you go get yourself some cake?” he suggested.

Garret nodded and ran back to his uncle.

“Lots of frosting!” Alex called after him.

“Great, just what he needs, more sugar,” Isabel mumbled.

“Why’d you tell him that?”

“What, the Satan thing? Because it’s true,” she replied simply. “Liz should get her tubes tied like I did, otherwise the world as we know it will end.”

“Well, Max and Liz aren’t as bad as you think,” he told her. “You, on the other hand, are a piece of work.” He stood up and forced himself not to wave down the bartender and ask for a drink. Not today. He could drink tonight, but not today. He’d promised not to screw this up for Max and Liz. But of course Isabel hadn’t made that same promise.

“Try looking at something else,” he suggested, garnering a glare from her. Her eyes settled on him for only a moment, but then she returned to looking at Michael. Alex walked away, not sure why he even bothered. If there was one thing the past three and a half years should have taught him, it was that, as long as Michael Guerin was in front of her, Isabel would never look at anything else.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Okay, Macy, we’re doing good,” Tess said as she changed her niece’s diaper. She brought the front flap of the diaper forward and taped it to the back flap around Macy’s little waist, making sure it wasn’t too tight. She checked to sure the ruffles around her legs were out in order to prevent leaks and smiled. “I’m pretty good at this.” She placed the soiled diaper in a small, plastic bag and sealed it, and then she threw it away and put all the diaper changing supplies back in Maria’s purse. It wasn’t technically her purse; it was Macy’s gigantic baby bag, formerly Miley’s. It might as well have been Maria’s purse, though, since she had it with her all the time.

“Ta-da!” she announced, proud of herself. She’d changed diapers before, lots of them, in fact. But every time she did, she felt giddy. It was a messy job, but she didn’t mind doing it.

Three older woman entered the bathroom just as she had finished up with Macy. They were all grey hair, perms, and perfume. They weren’t wedding guests, so they must have been regular guests in the hotel. One of the women stopped what she was doing and walked over to the changing table while her friends ducked into the bathroom stalls.

“Oh, what a cute baby!” she exclaimed. “What’s her name?”

“Macy,” Tess replied.

“Macy. That’s a pretty name. How old is she?”

“Six months.”

“Oh, they’re always so fun at that age,” the woman said nostalgically. “Is she your first?”

Tess blushed a little. “Oh, actually . . . she’s not my daughter. She’s my niece,” she clarified.

“Oh, I see.” The woman smiled and nodded. “She’s very beautiful.”

“Thank you.” Tess lifted Macy off the changing table as the woman ducked into the third bathroom stall. “You hear that, Macy?” she said in her baby-talk voice. “You’re beautiful. Yeah!”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Isabel waited until the bartender was busy with a crowd of guests at the far end of the bar to lean over the counter and grab one of the whiskey bottles stored underneath. She smirked, sat back on her stool, unscrewed the lid, and brought the bottle up to her lips. She was well aware of how hypocritical this binge of hers was since she’d specifically warned Alex not to get plastered, but to be honest, she didn’t really care.

“Mmm, Garret,” she said when her son approached.

“Mommy, are you okay?” he asked, his voice as high-pitched and adorable as ever.

“Yeah,” she lied. “Come here.” She patted her lap, and he reluctantly climbed up to sit with her. She wrapped one arm around his waist and laughed for no particular reason. He made a face and turned away when he smelled her breath.

“I got a job for you,” she told him. “Two jobs, actually. You up for it?”

He seemed nervous but nodded anyway.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Michael smiled as he watched Miley dance with her uncle. They were doing the chicken dance to a Josh Groban song. Whatever worked for them.

He sat with his arm around Maria, her head on his shoulder. She was tired. It had been a long, emotional day for her, but she’d handled it well. He wasn’t sure how she’d managed to put up with Isabel, but she had, and he was proud of her for that.

“Can I take your plate, mister?”

When he glanced to his left, he came face to face with Garret. Maria sat up straighter, too, and neither of them knew what to say. Garret just kept looking at him expectantly, waiting for an answer.

Plate, Michael registered. Right. He’d eaten cake. He had a plate. He reached back onto the table and handed it to the little boy. “Thanks,” he said, his throat dry as a bone.

“You’re welcome.” Garret took the plate and pranced off.

Maria shook her head. “If things had gone differently, you would’ve been his father.”

Michael tightened his arm around her as snapshots of his life years ago came back. He remembered feeling Garret kick in Isabel’s stomach, decorating a nursery for him, looking over the forged results that said he was the dad. That felt like a different life, one he was happy to not be living.

He kissed the top of Maria’s head as she leaned against him again, and when he looked up, he saw Isabel seated at the bar, staring at him. She had a bottle in her hand and a devious smirk on her face, and he knew she’d sent Garret over there on purpose. What she hoped to accomplish by that was beyond him, but if her purpose had been to make him feel weird and unsettled . . . mission accomplished.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Uncle Kyle stopped dancing, panting for air. “Whoa, Miley,” he said, bending down to brace his hands against his knees. “What’d you eat for breakfast, Energizer batteries?”

She didn’t even know what those were. “Cocoa Puffs.”

He shook his head. “I can’t keep up with you.”

“You’re old,” Miley chirped. She felt like she was old, too, but not as old as her uncle.

“I’m not old,” he denied. “I’m . . . outta shape. Just let me catch my breath.”

She sighed and waited for him to recuperate. She hoped he would start dancing with her again soon. She liked dancing, and he looked really funny when he danced.

Aunt Tess came up to them, and he stopped to talk to her. Miley listened in.

“Hey,” Aunt Tess said. “Guess what I just did. I’ll tell you. I changed Macy’s diaper.”

Uncle Kyle laughed. “Ooh, I’m jealous.”

“I was really good at it.”

“You’ve changed diapers before.”

“Yeah, but not in a public restroom.”

Uncle Kyle made a face. “What’s the difference?”

“I don’t know, I’m just having a moment, okay?”

“Okay.”

Miley watched in interest as Aunt Tess reached out and held Uncle Kyle’s hand in her own. “Will you save a dance for me?” she asked, leaning in.

“Maybe,” he replied.

Miley frowned. Why were grown-ups always touching each other? Sometimes her mama and daddy had their hands all over each other. She’d walked in on them once, but they hadn’t seen her.

She spun around when she felt someone tap her shoulder. She beamed when she saw Garret.

“Hi, Miley,” he mumbled, looking down at the floor.

“Hi.”

He held his hands behind his back and shifted from side to side. “My m-mom told me to dance with you,” he stuttered.

Miley glanced over at her parents. They were looking at each other now and talking instead of watching her.

“My mama told me not to talk to you,” she told Garret.

He looked sad.

Miley smiled and grabbed his hands the way Aunt Tess grabbed Uncle Kyle’s. She started to dance side to side with him, not caring if she wasn’t supposed to. He was her friend.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Isabel slid down off her barstool and scampered over to her husband, her whiskey bottle still in hand. He was talking to Jimmy, sounded like they were talking about business.

“Alex,” she said, grabbing him by the shoulder. “Look.” She pointed out Miley and Garret on the dance floor. They were twirling each other around and looked to be having a great time.

Alex rolled his eyes and took her arm, pulling her away from Jimmy. “Dammit, Isabel,” he swore.

She grinned. “You think she’s our future daughter-in-law?”

“What’s wrong with you?” he demanded in a whisper. “They’re just kids. Leave ‘em alone.”

But they weren’t just kids. The sooner Alex figured that out, the better. Garret was and always had been her secret weapon, and she was so proud of him in that moment.

He was her way in.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Maria was engrossed in talking about possible wedding locations with her fiancé when Tess and Kyle clamored through the crowd and came to stand in front of them.

“Don’t freak out,” were the first words out of Kyle’s mouth.

“What?” Maria was immediately freaked out.

“It’s either really adorable or really horrifying, depending on how you look at it,” Tess added.

“What is?” Michael asked. “Where’s Miley?”

Tess and Kyle looked at each other, then stepped aside, revealing a sight that shook Maria to the core. Her daughter, her not-yet-three-years-old daughter, was dancing with a boy, with the one boy she wasn’t supposed to be dancing with.

“Oh . . . my god,” she said dramatically. She didn’t hesitate. She bolted out onto the dance floor and grabbed her little girl’s arm. “Miley!” she shouted. “What’re you doing?”

Miley frowned and jerked her arm away, trying to walk past her.

“Don’t you walk away when I’m talking to you!” Maria shouted too loudly. Her tone cause Miley to stop in her tracks, but it also caused everyone in the ballroom to turn and look at her. She froze, ashamed that all those people had just heard her yell at her daughter, ashamed that she had yelled in the first place. She rarely ever yelled at either of her kids.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized, her voice quieter, but Miley didn’t seem to want to hear it. The little girl ran towards Michael and threw herself onto his lap, burying her face against him.

Maria sighed and looked down at Garret. He gazed up at her with wide, fearful eyes. He didn’t even know who she was, but he was probably worried she’d yell at him, too.

“Wow,” Isabel said, making her way through the crowd. “You’re such a great mom.”

Maria felt like shoving her fist into her face, all the way through. But she’d already drawn enough attention to herself. She ran through the crowd and out of the ballroom, needing to be away for a moment. It was suffocating in there. All those people, all those phony, judgmental people . . . she didn’t know how Liz did it.

She ducked into the nearest bathroom and paced around outside the stalls. She ran her hands through her hair and tried to breathe deeply. Now was not the time to get worked up, not when Isabel was around. She needed to keep it together. She needed to be strong.

Tess came into the bathroom a minute later. “Hey,” she said, slipping inside quietly. “You okay?”

“No,” Maria confessed. Wasn’t it obvious? “I can’t believe I just yelled at her in front of everyone.”

“You didn’t yell; you . . . growled.” Tess made a face as she tried to be comforting.

“And what’s with this boy drama anyway, huh? She’s a toddler, for crying out loud. We’re not supposed to be dealing with boys for, like, at least a decade.”

Tess shrugged. “I guess she takes after you in that way.”

Maria felt her chest constrict. “That’s not a good thing.” She’d made so many bad, reckless choices in her life. If Miley went down that same path someday . . . no. Couldn’t happen. She had to be like Michael.

“Maybe it’s time for us to leave,” Tess suggested.

Maria nodded in agreement. “Yeah. Just give me a minute to get myself together.” She didn’t want to go out there looking all teary-eyed.

“Sure,” Tess said. “Michael’s calming her down right now, so . . . I’ll just go monitor the situation.”

“Thanks, Tess.”

Tess smiled supportively and opened the door to leave. Before she did, though, she pointed to one of the mirrors above the row of sinks. “Did you do that?” she asked.

Maria looked at the mirror. It was cracked. “No,” she said, “it was like that when I came in.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Here we go, Isabel thought when she saw Alex rise to his feet and walk up to the microphone. She remained seated at the bar, downing the rest of her alcohol.

“Excuse me?” Alex said, tapping the microphone as he tried to get everyone’s attention. “Excuse me?” Finally, the crowd quieted down and looked at him. “Hi,” he said.

Isabel made a face. Hi? Her husband did not know how to command a room. Not like she did.

“I’m Alex Whitman,” he introduced himself, “the best man. I guess I’m required to . . . give a speech. I’m not the most eloquent speaker so . . . bear with me.” He smiled at Max and Liz and started in. “The truth is, even if I wasn’t required to give a speech today, I’d probably give one anyway. For this couple . . . I would.”

So he’d gone the cheesy route. Isabel grunted, unimpressed.

“Max and Liz are amazingly in love with each other,” he went on. “Sometimes I see them together, and I’m in awe of the bond they have. Maybe even a little jealous.”

Isabel rolled her eyes exaggeratedly. She knew that was a jab at her, but her and Alex’s degraded relationship wasn’t her fault. They’d had a decent relationship until he’d lost all his money.

“Max Evans is my boss,” Alex said, “my brother-in-law, and my best friend. He’s given me a job, a home, and a place in this town. But most importantly, he’s given my son a really good uncle to look up to. I know a lot of people probably think of him as the hotel guy, running his empire and making his millions. But there’s a lot more to him than that. He’s deep.”

Isabel almost choked on her own saliva. Max was deep? Since when?

“He helped me out from the moment I set foot in this town, and he hasn’t wavered once.” Alex just continued to brag Max up. “I know that Liz is his motivation for everything he does. She makes him be the best version of himself, and he’ll be the first to admit that.”

Yeah, right, Isabel thought. He’d never give Liz credit for anything. Guys like him couldn’t give credit to women.

“So for any doubters out there, prepare to be surprised. These two are in love, and now they’re in marriage, too. Max, Liz, I love you guys, and you deserve all the best.” He raised his wine glass towards them, and everyone else raised their glasses in cheers. Most people took a drink. Alex only took a small sip. He was just so committed the sobriety thing today. At least one of them was.

Everyone applauded Alex as he went to sit back down next to Max. Isabel rose from her barstool and staggered towards the microphone, holding the now empty whiskey bottle in her left hand. “Attention!” she called out. “Attention!” It didn’t take any time for the guests to quiet down like they had for Alex. All eyes were immediately on her, and that was how she liked it.

“I have a speech of my own to deliver,” she announced. “I am the maid of honor, after all. It’s only appropriate.” She smirked. “I’m Isabel Evans . . . Whitman. I’m Max’s sister. As if you don’t already know that. I just wanna start off by saying how absolutely thrilled I am . . . that my mom and dad aren’t here today!” She squealed and jumped up and down a few times. Her breasts almost fell out of her dress. “Where are they? Well, Dad’s in hell, that’s for sure. And Mom’s probably wherever Carlos is.” She saw some of her family members giving each other confused looks, and she felt it only proper to clarify for them. “Oh, yeah, Carlos? Her personal trainer. She ran off to Mexico with him a couple years ago. And remember how Max and I told everyone she died of the swine flu? Actually, it was a heroin overdose.”

Everyone gasped.

She shrugged. “Details.” She looked over at Max and loved the panicked expression on his face, as well as the horrified one on Liz’s. “Carlos died with her,” she went on, letting the alcohol formulate her words for her. “It was so poetic. Two years she’s been gone now. So Mom, Dad, if you’re listening . . .” She looked up at the skylight ceiling, pretending she was talking to them. “I don’t miss you at all. Especially you, Daddy. And Carlos, if you’re listening . . .” She grinned. “Call me.” She laughed at her own joke. “Oh, but enough about them. This day is about Max and Liz. ‘Cause it’s always about Max, right? Doesn’t matter if his sister’s smarter, better, more business-savvy. He’s the one who gets everything ‘cause he’s a boy and ‘cause Daddy’s a dumb-ass.” She was surprised she wasn’t slurring her words. Or maybe she was, but she just couldn’t hear it. “And Liz . . . it’s not like she has any talent. She didn’t do anything to deserve all this, all this money and-and lavishness. Not like I did.”

Alex finally got up and approached her. “Come on,” he said, grabbing her arm, trying to pull her away from the microphone.

“No, no, let me finish,” she said, shaking her arm free from his grasp. “I wanna address a few things my husband here said in his speech. A speech which sucked, by the way. First of all, he called Max deep.” She made a face. “Deep? Seriously? He’s about as deep as . . . yeah, that’s about how deep he is. And Alex thinks they’re gonna last?” She snorted. “Yeah, right. They’ll be divorcing each other within the year. Look around, people. The bitch’s family isn’t even here.”

“Get her out of here, Alex,” Max growled, obviously fighting to remain calm.

Alex grabbed her arm again, but Isabel kept pulling away from him. None of them could tell her what to do.

“And why should they be?” she went on. “Their daughter married a monster today.” She watched as Aunt Linda shook her head. “You don’t believe me? How many of you know how Max and Liz’s ‘epic romance’ started? ‘Cause I sure do. They had an affair.”

Another collective gasp. Liz lowered her head in shame.

Isabel pointed a finger at Tess. “He was dating her and fucking his precious Liz Parker behind her back! So you see? They’re not good people. And I don’t understand why you’re all so willing to bow down and kiss their feet. For God’s sakes, people, Max isn’t a hero; he’s a rapist!”

She said the last word so shrilly that Aunt Linda literally screamed and Alex clasped his hand over her mouth, wrapped one arm around her midsection, and hauled her away from the microphone. “You’re done now,” he said.

She dropped her whiskey bottle on the hardwood floor. It shattered, and she used both her hands to pull Alex’s away from her mouth. “He’s probably gonna rape his wife tonight!” she shouted.

Max rose to his feet and roared, “Shut the hell up, you miserable bitch!”

She laughed, happy that all his employees and family members got to see him lose control just a little bit. She took one last look at the one man in that ballroom who really mattered and noticed he wasn’t looking at her. “Bye, Michael!” she hollered, waving to him drunkenly. He just shook his head and didn’t look at her. She frowned and let Alex carry her out of the ballroom.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Michael stood, fed up with everything that was happening at that reception. He had two kids to think about. It was time to get them out of that hostile environment and get them home where they belonged. “That’s it, we’re leaving,” he decided.

“Daddy?” Miley gazed up at him questioningly.

“Come on, honey.” He bent down and lifted her into his arms. Tess took Macy in her carrier, and Kyle took Macy’s baby bag. They were all on their way out of the ballroom to get Maria when Maria walked back in.

“What’d I miss?” she asked.

“You don’t wanna know,” Michael assured her.

“It was quite lively,” Kyle added. “Like a train wreck, and I just couldn’t look away.”

“You ready to go?” Michael asked.

She breathed a sigh of relief. “So ready.”

They walked past Max and Liz, and Tess was the only one to stop and say, “Congratulations,” before leaving.

“Thanks, Tess,” Max muttered. Liz didn’t say anything. Her eyes were brimming with tears.

Once they walked out into the parking lot, Michael felt like he could breathe again. He didn’t want to set foot in any Evans hotel for the rest of his life, and he didn’t want to be around those people. Maria’s gut instincts not to go to this wedding had been spot-on. They should have stayed away.

“Okay, that was officially the most horrible wedding I’ve ever been to,” Tess said as they made their way to the car.

“What happened while I was in the bathroom?” Maria asked.

“Isabel was drunk,” Michael explained.

“And bitter,” Kyle added.

“And way too honest.” Tess shuddered.

“What’d she say?” Maria inquired.

“I’ll fill you in when we get home,” Tess told her.

Michael pressed the unlock button on the electronic keypad, and the car doors unlocked. He had just opened the door to the backseat when he heard a familiar voice shouting.

“Hey! Happy family!”

He didn’t even have to turn around to know it was Isabel. He set Miley down in the backseat and rubbed his forehead tiredly.

“Oh, crap,” Maria muttered. Michael turned and saw Isabel zigzagging her way towards them, Alex chasing after her.

“I’ll take care of this,” he said. “Just get the girls in their car seats.”

Maria nodded, and she, Kyle, and Tess got to work on that as quickly as they could. Michael faced Isabel, more annoyed with her than anything else. She’d managed to make Max and Liz’s wedding day all about herself. She had no idea how classless she was.

“Michael!” she exclaimed, flinging her body against him.

He backed away from her. “Get your hands off me.”

She grinned. “That’s not what you used to say.” She grabbed his upper arms and felt them. “Have you been working out? You look so good.”

Her jerked away from her and ground out, “Stay away from me. Stay away from my family.”

Alex finally caught up to her, sounding out of breath. “Michael, I’m so sorry about this,” he apologized.

“Get her under control,” Michael told him.

“He can’t,” Isabel proclaimed proudly. “No one controls me. I’m the puppet-master.”

“Keep your son away from my daughter,” he ordered, looking at both Isabel and Alex when he said, mostly Alex because he knew he would be the only one of the pair of them to make an effort.

“I’ll try my best,” Alex promised.

“Don’t try; do it.”

Alex nodded, and Michael turned back towards the car. Miley and Macy were both in their car seats now, Macy facing the back, Miley facing the front.

“Michael, don’t go!” Isabel cried.

Michael got into the driver’s seat, Maria in the passenger’s. Tess was squeezed in between the two of them, and Kyle had to sit in the back with the kids. It was the only way they could all fit in the Mercury Sable together.

“Hey, bitch!” Isabel shouted, glaring at Maria.

“Just ignore her,” Michael advised. They were all ready to go now. They could drive away and forget about this day.

Maria clenched her jaw, looked at Michael apologetically, and got out of the car. She walked right up to Isabel and opened her mouth to say something, but before she could get a word out, Isabel’s hand shot out to slap her.

“Hey!” Michael shouted, springing from the car, ready to do whatever he had to do to defend Maria.

She held up one hand to stop him from coming any closer, and then she just smiled at Isabel. “I was so hoping you’d do that.” She threw herself at Isabel, pouncing on her, and the two of them fell onto the parking lot pavement.

“Whoa, catfight,” Kyle said, getting out of the car. Alex just stood there watching, dumbfounded, and Michael tried to pull Maria away from the brawl. The back of her dress ripped open, and she pulled on Isabel’s hair.

“Mama!” Miley cried as Isabel curled her hand into a fist and swung at Maria’s face.








TBC . . .

-April

[April]

Okay, first off, nobody commented on this, but Max and Liz's wedding cake that was mentioned in that last part was called a diamond fruit cake and I wrote that it cost two-hundred and fifty-thousand dollars, I believe. That shit is real. I didn't make that up. There are really cakes that cost that much and possibly more. I researched this stuff, people. I thought it was interesting and ridiculous. Anyway . . .


Ellie: You used the emoticon strategy, too. Sly girl.

Fantastic update, although I want more ... is that wrong - of Isabel's cattiness - of me? The girl definitely knows how to self-destruct and it's fun to watch!

Oh, that's not wrong of you. A little twisted, sure, but we're all a little twisted here.

Krista:

Call me crazy, but somehow, I feel a lot of hope for Max and Liz as a couple. Mostly because of Max and not because of Liz, because she's a pussy.

Just the fact that Max and Liz have been together for over four years now, considering how messed up they both can be, is cause for hope.

Leila:

Awesome update. it was hilarious. I couldn't stop laughing during Isabel's speech.

I knew you'd like it.

I might say I'm a tiny bit proud that Alex restrained himself to drink. I hope he keeps it up and won't get back to his drinking like he used to.

I wouldn't get your hopes up. Alex didn't drink yesterday because he didn't want to ruin Max and Liz's wedding day. Without that motivation, that restraint goes away.

dreambeliever: I'm glad you liked the fight. Thanks for reading!

Novy:

I know this Garret thing is a special case. But I just hope that Maria figures out a better way how handle Miley and boys because if she ends up like Maria and Maria can't get through to her it's just going to be miserable for everyone involved.

Yeah, something is going to have to be done. It's one thing to struggle to discipline her when she's a toddler, but just imagine when she's a teenager. Forbidding her to be friends with someone isn't going to work.

lilah:

what Maria should have done considering her children were in the car and could see her behavior is call the police the second Isabel put her hands on her. She would have won that case considering there were 4 adult witnesses

That would have been a smart thing to do. Maria was governed by her emotions and not her brain in that last part, though. Really, the best thing to do would have been to leave that wedding right after it was over or to not go in the first place, but Michael and Maria thought they could handle it. They didn't know how crazy it was going to get.

BB:

I was looking forward to Isabel's speech, but actually it was horrible and nasty. It was so over the line that it wasn't funny.

Whoever the groom is and whoever the bride is, it's simply not right to say those things about anyone on their wedding day with all their family in attendance. But she's Isabel, and drunk Isabel at that, so of course she has no filter.

Maria has done so much growing up and maturing and she's a wonderful mother but she's got to stop letting Isabel get inside her head. Maria won. She has Michael and his two daughters. She has a lovely home and soon she's going to be married to Michael. Isabel is stuck in an unhappy marriage and shagging Maria's unwanted ex on the side. Isabel has nothing for Maria to envy or be afraid of. So she should just ignore Isabel's provocation.

She should. But of course that's easier said that done. Maria's already kind of grappling with some insecurities, and Isabel knows exactly how to target those insecurities because she's an evil genius.

Rodney:

"That girl is freaking bat shit insane!"

Well, spoiler alert: Somebody will tell Isabel that she's batshit insane (and use those exact same words) in the near future.

beautifyldreamer: Hey, there! Thanks for reading my fic. I'm glad you like it. I hope to see more of you around here.

I don't know how Maria restrained herself so long from knocking her flat on her ass.

I know! I think I might have knocked her out the moment I saw her, which I'm not exactly proud to admit. But then again, I don't have kids to think about.

Maiqu:

Poor Liz!! I may not like her but no one deserves that!!

I agree. You could argue that Max does, but as annoying as Liz may be, I don't think she's done anything to deserve her maid of honor calling her a bitch, telling everyone she and her new husband will divorce within the year, mocking the fact that her family isn't there, revealing that their relationship started with an affair, etc, etc.


Thanks as always for the feedback!

There is some information in this part about a place called Kamalame Cay. I've never been there, but I actually tried to get as much factually correct information about it as I could, using their official website: http://www.kamalame.com/about.htm Just wanted to give credit to my source so that I'm not plagiarizing anything!

I feel like, after being focused on the wedding for a handful of parts now, this chapter is a bit scatterbrained, but whatever. There's some important stuff in here.









Part 13








Sitting on the edge of her bed, Michael gazed down at his little girl. Only she wasn’t so little anymore. She was still a kid, but she was already growing up. It was hard for him to imagine that she’d be starting elementary school in a few years. If the school administrators deemed her ‘gifted,’ she’d start a year before all the other kids her age. She’d probably be in Garret’s class. She’d probably grow up to have lots of boyfriends, and he’d have to threaten to murder each and every one of them if they did anything to violate her.

He smoothed his hand over her hair as she slept. She was hugging her Miley Cyrus pillow to her chest, and Frank was curled up behind her knees. Michael smiled at the sight. Miley’s best friend had always been her dog, and he was happy to keep it that way.

He bent down and gave her a kiss on the forehead, then got up and left the room quietly. He walked down the hallway to his and Maria’s room and stood in the doorway for a moment, watching her as she sat in front of their dresser mirror. She kept turning her face from side to side, examining the swollen, bruised flesh around her left eye. She held an icepack up to it and groaned. “Look at me.”

He stepped into the room and shut the door. He bent down, placed both his hands on her bare shoulders, and spoke into her ear, “Now we both have black eyes.”

“Yeah, but yours is faded. Mine’s fresh.” She set the icepack down on the dresser. “Besides, black eyes make men look tough. They make girls look trashy.”

“You’re not trashy,” he assured her, rubbing her shoulders, slipping his fingers beneath the spaghetti straps of her pale blue pajama top. “You can cover it up with makeup. Or pile a lot of eyeliner onto your other eye and show up to class tomorrow looking like a raccoon.”

“Oh, yeah, the raccoon look is the look every girl strives for.”

He smiled, pressed a kiss to the side of her neck, and sat down behind her, his legs on either side of her. She turned to the side and draped her legs over his thigh. “I can’t believe I let her get to me today,” she mumbled, looking down at her lap. “I haven’t had a catfight in years.”

He smoothed one hand up and down her spine. “Well, you gotta stand up for yourself once in awhile.”

“But not in front of Miley. Not like that. How could I fight with Isabel in front of my own daughter?” She shook her head, seemingly disappointed with herself. “I’m her mother; I’m supposed to be a role model, set a good example. Now she’s gonna grow up thinking it’s okay to throw down like that every time a girl pisses her off.”

“But Isabel was doing a little more than just pissing you off,” he pointed out. “She started it. She slapped you, Maria.”

“Great defense.”

“I’m serious.”

“There’s no excusing what I did,” she said. “I set such a bad example today. I’m seriously, like, ashamed of myself right now.”

“Don’t be.”

She sighed. “It wouldn’t be so bad if it hadn’t been in front of--”

“You’re a good mom,” he cut in. Maria never seemed to understand what a great mother she was, never gave herself enough credit.

“Thank God you’re here,” she said, smiling at him. “You always know what you’re doing.”

He laughed a little. “No, I don’t.”

“You do. You never freak out like I did today.”

“Oh, I was about to,” he assured her. “When I saw her slap you . . . it took everything I had not to slap her right back.” He wasn’t proud to admit that. He definitely wasn’t the type of guy to hit a girl, but if that girl hit his girl, all bets were off.

“How’re we gonna explain it to Miley?” she asked. They had effectively avoided talking to her about the fight she’d witnessed ever since they’d gotten home. She had spent most of her afternoon and evening playing with Frank.

“We’ll talk to her about it tomorrow,” he said, “make sure she knows fighting isn’t good.”

“That won’t keep her from fighting with us, though,” she said. “Or at least with me.”

“She’s mad at both of us.”

Maria shook her head. “No, she’s not. She didn’t say she hates you; she said she hates me.”

“But that’s just the Daddy’s Girl thing. You know how she is.”

“Well, it’s not fair,” she complained, frowning in distress. “From here on out, whenever we lay down the law with her, you’ll get to be the good cop and I’ll have to be the bad cop.”

He hadn’t thought about it like that. The tone in her voice made him wonder if she was blaming him for that. “Are you mad at me?” he asked.

“A little,” she admitted. “You could step up and be the disciplinarian sometimes.”

He nodded. “I could.” It was just so hard for him to be strict with Miley when she gave him that look with those eyes and that bottom lip. “I will. I’m sorry,” he apologized.

“No, I’m not really mad at you,” she assured him. “I’m just frustrated, ‘cause she’s such a little girl, and she’s already got this big drama; and I’m exhausted, and I’m embarrassed about the fight, and my eye hurts.” She whimpered.

He stroked his thumb over the swollen eye and smiled at her affectionately. She never failed to look pretty. “I think you pulled a clump of Isabel’s hair out,” he told her.

“Really? That makes me glad.”

He laughed lightly, hooked one arm under her knees, and wrapped the other arm around her waist. He lifted her up and carried her over to their bed. They practically collapsed onto the mattress, her on top of him. They weren’t all the way up at the pillows. His feet were dangling off the foot of the bed, but he didn’t have any energy to move upward, and she didn’t seem to, either.

“Miley’s gonna have to go to work with you tomorrow,” Maria murmured, cuddling against his side, her head on his chest.

“What?” Having a baby at the gallery was one thing. Having a toddler who needed to be constantly entertained was another.

“Yeah, we can’t send her to daycare. He’s gonna be there.”

He sighed. “You’re right. I don’t know if I can watch over her and Macy and get any work done, though. We’re gonna have to find a new daycare fast.” Out of all the day cares in Santa Fe, Garret had to attend the same one Miley attended, of course. Fate liked to screw with all of them like that. “Maybe she can go to work with Tess tomorrow,” he suggested. “She has a lot of fun at the studio, and Tess won’t mind. You think that’s a good idea?” He paused, waiting for an answer. “Maria?” When he looked down at his chest, he saw her asleep already. She was so tired. He just smiled and closed his eyes as well. The bedside lamp was still on, and he doubted he could fall asleep when it was glaring so brightly. But with the way his girl looked in that moment, he wouldn’t have moved to save the world.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“What a day,” Tess groaned as she pulled the blankets back.

“You can say that again,” Kyle said as he set the clock radio alarm to go off in the morning.

“What a day,” she repeated. She climbed into bed and sat back against the headboard, pulling the blankets up to her lap.

Kyle yawned and got in beside her. “I’m beat,” he said, lying down.

“Yeah,” she agreed, thinking back to the few good parts of the day. “Hey, you know when I was changing Macy’s diaper, this woman came into the bathroom and thought she was my daughter.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I told her she’s my niece, and she was all, ‘Oh, she’s so cute.’”

Kyle smiled. “She is cute,” he agreed.

“Yeah.” She lay down slowly and asked, “You ever wonder why they usually only put changing tables in women’s restrooms?”

He shook his head. “Can’t say I do.”

“Well, what if someday when we have a baby, you take her somewhere and you have to change her diaper in a public restroom. But there’s probably no changing table in the men’s restroom. What would you do?”

“Hmm.” He seemed to be seriously contemplating it for a moment, but when he answered, he was joking. “I could cross-dress.”

She laughed lightly.

“Alright, I gotta get up for work tomorrow.” He leaned over and gave her a goodnight kiss, then reached up and turned off the light. “‘Night,” he said, turning over on his side to fall asleep.

“‘Night,” she returned, staring at his back. She wasn’t sure if she’d been dropping subtle hints just now or not, but if she had been . . . Kyle sure wasn’t picking up on them.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Max and Liz flew in Max’s private jet to a Bahamian airport that evening, then traveled to their honeymoon destination, Kamalame Cay, by private ferry. They didn’t arrive at the Cay until midnight, but once they did, Liz’s face lit up. She stepped out of the boat onto the white sand beach, and Max watched her, happy to be able to make her happy. He was sparing no expense for this honeymoon. He was dropping more of his own money on the Cay than he had on anything in his life, besides his house and his wedding cake. It was going to cost him well over one-hundred thousand dollars to stay there for a week. Well over.

“The Bahamas,” Liz said, taking off her sandals. She dug her toes into the sand, and Max stepped out of the boat. Upon first glance, this place lived up to its reputation. It was a 96-acre private island with three miles of beach just off the cost of Andros Island. It boasted the third largest barrier reef in the world and claimed to be the perfect blend of romance and adventure. Max surveyed the private villas dotting the beach and nodded his head in approval. It looked like he was getting his money’s worth.

“It’s so pretty here,” Liz remarked.

He reached out and stroked her hair as the resort coordinator came down the beach to greet them. He didn’t look Bahamian at all, and when he opened up his mouth, he sounded more American than anything else. “Mr. Evans,” he greeted. “We were told you were coming. Mrs. Evans,” he added on as an afterthought.

“Hello,” Liz greeted, holding Max’s hand.

“My name is Clarence. It’s nice to meet you.” The resort coordinator shook both their hands and then said, “Come with me,” as he lead them into a building he called The Great House. They left their luggage on the boat for the staff to bring to their room.

“Seems kinda quiet around here,” Liz said.

“That’s ‘cause we’re the only people around,” Max told her. “I rented the island.”

“You rented the island?” she echoed in disbelief.

“Yeah.” Was that so hard to believe? “Just you and me and the staff.”

Clarence chuckled as he stepped behind the check in desk. “There are a handful of other guests, but for the most part, you two will spend your honeymoon week in total privacy.”

“Wow,” Liz said. “That sounds nice.”

She has no idea how nice it sounds, Max thought. He was around people all the time at work, and even outside of work, he rarely ever had any time to himself or time alone with her. This was much needed.

“Your husband loves you very much,” Clarence told Liz.

She smiled. “I know.”

They went through the check-in process, and Clarence gave them the key to their private villa suite.

“Do me a favor,” Max said, handing the man one of his credit cards. “Two bottles of wine and some Caribbean cuisine for the lady.”

“Max, I don’t need all that,” Liz said.

“And some whipped cream for the sex play,” he added.

She blushed.

“We can have sex on the beach this week,” he told her. “And in the ocean. I don’t even care if the sharks bite my ass.”

“I assure you, there aren’t any sharks around here,” Clarence promised as he swiped the credit card. “I’m sorry, sir,” he said, “your card has been declined.”

“Hmm.” Max took the Visa back from him and pulled a newer Visa out of his wallet. “Try this one.”

“We should really do stuff while we’re here,” Liz said. “You know, besides each other. Like scuba diving. I’ve always wanted to go scuba diving.”

“Wanna do something kinky with the snorkel?” He grinned.

“Ew, gross!” she said, whacking his arm, then quieted down and mumbled, “Maybe.”

That’s my girl, he thought, feeling horny. Sex was definitely his top priority this week, but there was a lot of other stuff for them to do, too. Windsurfing, fishing, tennis, golfing, swimming. Plus, there was a spa he was sure Liz wouldn’t want to miss out on. And he’d already arranged for the two of them to have a private, candlelit dinner on the beach tomorrow night.

“I’m sorry, sir, this card was also declined,” Clarence apologized.

Max exchanged the second Visa for a third.

“Why don’t you just pay cash for the room service?” Liz suggested.

He turned away from her and peered down into his wallet. It was completely devoid of cash.

“Ah, approved!” Clarence announced. “Very good, sir.”

Max smiled. “See? Very good,” he said. “Let’s go be husband and wife.” He bent down and scooped her up into his arms, snatching their room keys in his free hand. She squealed as he carried her back out onto the beach.

He carried her all the way to their villa suite. It was called Silver Top, and it was a three-bedroom suite perched atop the highest point of the Cay. Even though there were only two of them, Max liked the idea of three bedrooms—more rooms to have sex in. There were also two large bathrooms with large soaking bathtubs. He envisioned lots of sex happening in there. Liz loved water.

“Oh my god,” she gasped as he carried her over the threshold. The staff had already brought their bags up. “This is amazing.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. Their first bedroom was circular and encased by a thatched roof. The bed itself was a king-size and adorned with every pillow imaginable. A ceiling fan circled, and moonlight shown in from outside. A large veranda and both a front and back patio gave them the perfect venues to enjoy the view. And what a view it was. They were overlooking Blanket Sound. Max could hear the waves rolling to shore.

He set her down on her own two feet, and she peered up at him with wide, astonished eyes. “I’ve never seen anything so beautiful,” she said.

He placed his hands in the curve of her waist and pulled her closer. “I have.” It was a cheesy thing to say, but he was a married man now, and a certain amount of cheesiness was required on a night like this.

She rose up on her tiptoes to meet his lips in a kiss, and he moved inside her that night, hoping she’d always love him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The only morning Isabel could remember feeling so horrible was the morning after trying cocaine with Billy for the first time. That and the morning after she’d given birth to Garret. That was the morning she’d had to wake up knowing she’d lost Michael.

She groaned and rubbed her head. She had a throbbing headache as part of the hangover party pack. She didn’t regret getting wasted, though. She probably wouldn’t have delivered such an unforgettable maid of honor speech had she not.

She rolled over onto her side and buried half her face in her pillow. She sensed that someone was watching her, and when she opened her eyes, she found herself face to face with the only person she loved as much as she loved Michael. Garret just stared at her, not saying anything. She didn’t say anything, either. He shouldn’t have to see her like this.

He turned and ran out of the bedroom, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She was probably going to run into the bathroom and puke in a few minutes. At least he wouldn’t see that.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Alex used a spatula to scoop all the eggs out of the frying pan and onto his son’s favorite Scooby Doo plate. “Alright, here you go,” he announced as Garret came bouncing down the stairs and sat down at the table. Alex set the plate down in front of him and announced, “Scrambled eggs.” Then he reached into the toaster and pulled out two slices of bread. “And toast,” he added, frowning at how blackened it was. “Burnt toast.” He’d failed at breakfast. “Sorry about that.” Usually Isabel got Garret ready in the morning, but . . . not this morning.

Garret picked up the burnt toast and made a face, setting it aside on his napkin. “Why’s Mommy still in bed?” he asked, tilting his head to the side curiously.

“Oh, she’s just tired,” Alex lied.

“She talks in her sleep,” Garret revealed. “She keeps saying Michael. I don’t know who that is.”

Alex tensed. Isabel’s intense infatuation with Michael Guerin had never been a secret, but he didn’t need Garret to start suspecting anything. “Eat your eggs, okay?”

Garret picked up his fork and immediately delved in. “Mommy was like you yesterday,” he said, chewing with his mouth full.

Alex reached into the refrigerator, took out a beer, and unscrewed the lid. “What do you mean?”

“She was drunk.”

Alex froze with the bottle just below his lips. He felt horrified. Was that was his son saw when he looked at him, a drunk? He shouldn’t have even known what the word meant.

“Am I going to daycare today?” Garret asked.

Alex inconspicuously took a drink. He needed it. “Uh, I don’t know, buddy,” he replied, setting the beer back down in the refrigerator.

And all of a sudden Isabel was there, standing at the bottom of the stairs. “Yes,” she decided without reserve. “That’s exactly where you’re going.” She met Alex’s eyes, and he worried, not for himself, but for his son. If history was any indication, Isabel wouldn’t be afraid to use Garret to get what she wanted.

“Can we talk?” he asked her.

“No,” she replied simply, marching back upstairs.

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “Eat your eggs,” he told Garret again. He could do a little drinking on the drive to work.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Isabel pulled the car to a stop in front of Happy Hearts daycare and shut it off. She leaned against the steering wheel and ran both hands through her hair. She still couldn’t believe that bitched had pulled a clump of her hair out. She had a small bald spot going on now. Luckily, it wasn’t noticeable. She’d just have to be careful whenever she put her hair up in a ponytail.

“Mommy, are you okay?” Garret asked.

“Yeah,” she answered quickly. “Let’s go.” She got out of the car, got him out of his car seat, and she held his hand and led him towards the building.

“Is Miley gonna be here today?” he asked.

“I hope so.” She squeezed his hand excitedly. “I’m glad you have a friend.” In her head, she thought, I’m glad you have that friend.

When they walked inside, Isabel immediately stopped and surveyed the kids. Where was that girl? She should have been there by now.

“Hi, Isabel. Hi, Garret,” Pam greeted as she approached them. “Are you gonna hang out with us again today, Garret?”

“Where’s Miley?” Isabel cut in.

Pam just stared at her dumbly.

“Miley Guerin. Where is she?” she demanded.

“Oh, it turns out she won’t be coming here anymore,” Pam explained. “Her mother called this morning to let us know they’re looking at other daycares. I’m not sure why.”

Isabel’s entire body clenched like a fist. This was her one chance to have some kind of a connection to Michael, and if Maria took that away from her . . . a black eye would be the least of her problems.

“Can I go play now?” Garret asked.

Isabel let go of his hand, realizing she’d probably been squeezing it too tightly. “Sure,” she said, trying to smile.

He hugged her legs, then ran into the main room to join the group of boys playing with the beach ball. Isabel watched him for a moment, disappointed in this turn of events. Still, she had the day to herself, and she knew what she needed to do with it: Billy. That would make her feel better.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tess held up a roll of maroon fabric and made a face. It was time to throw that away. She’d bought it back when maroon curtains were all the rage for bedrooms, but that most certainly wasn’t the case anymore.

“Look, Aunt Tess!” Miley exclaimed, bounding towards her with a piece of paper flapping wildly in her hand.

Tess took the paper from her niece and surveyed the scribbled drawing of a child’s bedroom. It actually wasn’t that bad, considering how young she was. “Wow, Miley, that’s really good,” she complimented. “Are you sure you wanna be an artist? ‘Cause you’d made a very good interior designer.”

Miley giggled. “No, I wanna paint like Daddy.”

“Okay, I suppose. But for today, will you be my assistant?”

Miley’s eyes lit up as she exclaimed, “Yeah!”

“Awesome. You know what? Since Liz isn’t here, you can sit in her desk. I'm sure you'll do a much better job than she ever has.”

“Cool!” Miley ran over to Liz’s desk and crawled up into the chair.

Tess tacked Miley’s drawing up onto her inspiration bulletin board and ran to pick up the phone when it rang. “Valenti Designs, this is Tess Valenti speaking.” When someone asked for Patsy, she sighed disappointedly. “I’m sorry, you have the wrong number.” She hung up the phone, sorry that she’d let herself get her hopes up. “Hey, Miley, while you’re here, do you think we could use your cuteness to lure in some customers?”

Miley wasn’t listening. She had pulled open one of Liz’s desk drawers and was now holding up a strip of condoms. “What’s these?” she asked.

“Oh my god,” Tess gasped. Liz probably kept those there so that she and Max could have sex in the office . . . “Ew!” She ran over to Miley, seized the condoms from her, and shoved them back in the desk drawer, closing it.

“Mama and Daddy have those, too.” Miley looked utterly confused.

“Yeah, but your Mama and Daddy don’t use them very well,” Tess muttered. “Say, how are things between you and your mom?” She was desperate to change the subject. “Did you two talk about stuff?”

Miley crossed her arms angrily over her chest. “No, I’m mad at her.”

“Sweetie, she’s just trying to look out for you.”

“Nuh-uh. She hates my friend.”

“She doesn’t hate him,” Tess assured her. “She hates . . .” She bit her bottom lip, struggling to explain. “Do you remember that woman who stood up at the wedding reception yesterday and gave that God-awful speech before attacking your mom?”

Miley nodded.

“That’s Isabel. That’s Garret’s mom. That’s who Maria hates.”

“So? He’s not like her,” Miley protested.

“I know, but your parents just don’t want you anywhere near her. Try to understand where they’re coming from, okay? They love you so much.”

“I guess,” Miley muttered. “Aunt Tess?”

“Hmm?”

Miley gazed up at her questioningly. “Why don’t you have kids?” she asked. “Mama says you should be a mama. I think so, too.”

Tess smiled. Miley was a smart girl. Young, but smart. If she thought kids were a good idea . . . well, then they probably were.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“I can’t believe some people already know where they wanna student teach,” Maria ranted as she and Lucinda left their morning class. “And did you hear that girl in front of us? She’s like, ‘Yeah, I knew where I wanted to teach back in preschool.’”

“She’s a bitch,” Lucinda agreed. “Don’t worry, I’m in the same boat you are. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“See you.” Maria waved goodbye to her class companion and fellow ‘old girl,’ and readjusted her heavy backpack on her shoulders as she crossed the street. She skirted around the whirling sprinklers near the sidewalk, and as she approached the library, she saw Marty skipping towards her. “Brother!” she exclaimed.

“Sister!” he mimicked.

She hugged him. “What’re you doing here?”

“Just checking out the new meat,” he replied. “Are freshman boys always this . . . pimply?”

Maria nodded sadly. “For the most part.”

“Was Michael pimply when he was a freshman?”

“No, he was always flawless.”

“He was dating Isabel,” Marty pointed out.

“Except for that one major flaw,” she acknowledged. “Speaking of Isabel . . .” She took off her big black sunglasses and Marty gasped.

“Oh my god! What the hell happened?”

“Isabel. Catfight. In front of Miley, no less.”

Marty held a hand to his chest, looking shocked. “When? Where was I?”

“I don’t know where you were, but we were at the wedding.”

“The wed—you bitch!” he shouted, stomping his foot angrily. “You got married and you didn’t invite me? You invited Slutabel? What’s wrong with you? Have you been body-snatched?”

“Not my wedding, Max and Liz’s wedding,” she clarified. “It was a disaster.”

“Oh, I’m sure. Why the hell did you go to that? Did Kylie drag you along?”

“No, actually, I was a bridesmaid.”

Marty’s eyes bulged.

“Yeah, and Miley was the flower girl.”

His eyes bulged even more. “Faints!” he said, whirling his arms in the air dramatically. “WTF?”

“Dude, you are so out of the loop, it’s not even funny.”

“How about we go get brunch and you can fill me in?” he suggested.

She nodded. “Sounds good.”

“Okay. Oh, but before I forget, Mom called me last night. She and Ed are gonna be here next weekend.”

“The whole weekend?” Maria asked.

“I don’t know, she just said next weekend.” He shrugged as they resumed walking.

“Crap,” she muttered, “I have a research paper to write next weekend.” She’d have to find time during the week to get an early start on it.

“I’ve got the club,” Marty added. “We should really throw mom a post-bridal bridal shower, though, don’t you think?”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “Maybe Tess can take the reins on that. She lives for that sort of thing.”

“Yeah. Oh my god, is Tess really my stepsister now?”

“Yep.”

Marty laughed. “Oh, what a tangled web we weave. I love it. It’s totally 90210.”

“Luke Perry!” Maria exclaimed. That man was the first thing that came to her mind when she thought of that show.

“Luke Perry!” Marty howled in agreement.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Billy wiped his nose with the back of his hand after snorting another line of coke off the CD in his hand. “Man, Lorenzo got the good stuff.”

Isabel sat next to him in bed, smirking and smoking a cigarette. “Hmm.”

“What?”

The bed sheet slid down from her naked chest, and she didn’t even bother to pull it back up again. “I was just thinking about how drugs destroy brain cells,” she said. “That’s not a problem for me, ‘cause I’ve got such a big brain. But you’ve gotta be nurturing, like, one lone brain cell at this point.”

He chuckled. “Bitch.” He leaned forward and snorted more of the drug. His eyes rolled back into his head for a moment, and then he was normal again. “So you really called Max a rapist at his own wedding, huh?”

“It’s true,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, but that’s shrewd. I like it.”

Isabel inhaled another puff of smoke and blew it out. “If Liz was smart, she’d divorce him, take half of everything he’s got,” she said.

“They ain’t got a pre-nup?”

“Nope. Isn’t Max stupid?”

“Yeah,” Billy agreed. “You really think she’d do that to him, though?”

“No, not really. She’s in love with him, God knows why.” She made a face of disgust. “They’ll get divorced for some reason or another, though. Mark my words.”

“Maybe he’ll cheat on her,” Billy suggested. “You Evanses are cheaters.”

“Maybe.” Isabel thought back to the night she’d cheated on Michael. She’d met Alex on spring break, dragged him back to her hotel room, and they’d screwed in the shower. All night, she’d lain awake thinking about Michael, wondering if she’d just made the biggest mistake of her life. And she had. She knew that now.

“I’m so fuckin’ high,” Billy said randomly.

“I can tell.”

“Want some more?” He held out the coke-covered CD to her.

She shook her head. She’d already had enough. In between the drugs and the hangover, she was feeling pretty damn screwed up. But that was nothing new. “He looked so cute yesterday, Billy,” she said, smiling fondly.

“Who, your kid?”

She laughed snuffed her cigarette out in the ashtray on her lap. “No, my Michael.”

Billy hung his head and set the CD on the bedside table. “Oh.”

“His kid and my kid are gonna be lovers, you know.”

“What the hell you talkin’ about?”

“Michael.”

“Well, quit talkin’ ‘bout him,” he snapped suddenly. “He ain’t here, is he? I’m the one who fucks you.”

“Yeah,” she acknowledged, “but Michael fucks me in my dreams.”

He crawled on top of her. “I’ll fuck you right now. Let’s go.” He spread her legs apart with his hands.

“No, you cum so quick when you’re high,” she groaned, sliding down in the bed and elevating her hips nonetheless.

“It’s his loss, Isabel,” Billy told her, guiding his cock to her entrance. “My gain.” He started thrusting right away, and she held onto his shoulders and thought about what he’d just said. It was a lie. Not being with Michael was her loss, and it always would be.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tess ventured outside that evening as the sun was setting. Kyle was in the front yard, watering the flowers with the hose. The previous owners of the house had planted flowers all over the front yard, and since Tess loved them so much, Kyle had promised her to take care of them for her.

“Dinner’s gonna be ready in a minute,” Tess told him. It was a late dinner since he’d had to stay at the gallery so late.

“Oh, yeah?” he said. “What’re we eating?”

“Hot Pockets.”

He grinned and nodded. “Nice.”

She shrugged, pushing aside perverted role-play fantasies of him as a gardener. He could water her garden with his hose anytime.

“So are you gonna take charge of Amy’s bridal shower?” he asked her.

“Yep. Maria’s busy with school and parenting, so . . . I figure it’s the least I can do.”

“I guess that means Michael and I should throw a bachelor party for your dad, even though he’s no longer a bachelor.” Kyle’s eyes lit up with a mischievous gleam. “Yeah, we could get a stripper.”

Tess shot that idea down immediately. “No stripper.”

“Damn.” He stepped up to the side of the house and turned the knob so that water quit pouring out of the house. He coiled it on the ground and wiped his hands against his sides. “So your birthday’s coming up,” he remarked. “You haven’t told me what you want.”

“Oh, you know how Maria and I usually have our joint birthday party.”

“I mean as a present,” he clarified. “Anything you want, I’ll give it to you.”

Her heart fluttered. “Anything I want?”

“Yeah.”

She felt the words rising up within her, felt her lips gently parting to let them escape. Kyle just looked at her expectantly, and nerves got the best of her as she reminded herself she had no clue how he would react. “Socks,” she blurted. It was the first lie she could think of.

“Socks?” he echoed confusedly.

“Yeah, socks. All of mine have holes in them.” She couldn’t believe it. Socks? Out of all the potential birthday gifts in the world, she’d asked for the most common and unexciting?

“Okay, socks,” he said, nodding. “Think of something else and let me know.” He smiled at her, turned, and headed inside. She stood in the front yard and sighed, wishing she was brave enough to tell him what she really wanted.








TBC . . .

-April

[April]

Am I the only one who can't believe we're only on Part 14? I feel like we should be on Part 100 already.


Ellie:

O.k. Don't know why I'm just reading this and maybe I'm the only one who feels this way, but you both are just so ... WRONG! (don't hate me for saying that, but I'm sitting here and I'm just shaking my head and I can't keep my feelings back any longer).

Liz was way past due for it.

Well, I'm glad that she gets such a strong reaction out of you! Liz has by far been pointed out to me as the majority pick for the least favorite character in this fic both here and at CID, so I don't expect anyone to feel sorry for her. I do have some sympathy for her, and maybe that's because I'm writing her. At the same time, I'm not overwhelmed with sympathy for her, either.

I can't condone Liz's behavior, past or present, and short of a miracle - I will never like her or think she deserves anything peaceful in her life.

I suspect that nothing that happens in this story will change your opinion of her, which is fine. During 521, I made it clear to people that I wasn't going to try to redeem Max for his mistakes, and I won't do that with Liz during this fic, either. If some people end up liking her and finding her redeemable, that's fine, but if not, that's okay, too.

Rodney:

Ohhhh Tess hon I love you but let me let you and all the ladies here in on a little fact about us men.We don't get hints...sorry but they just go over our heads and than we go back to whatever it was we were doing and still having no clue what you wanted of us.As men you have to either just come out and tell it too our face so we'll get it...or....beat it over our heads a million times in order for us to understand.

I think I'll take your word for it.

Ohh I forgot to add that it cracked me up at how fast Tess shot down Kyle's idea for a stripper
Did she do it because Kyle is her husband...or her dad was going to be there...or both?

Probably both. Kyle has a mini-fascination with strippers and porn that gets mentioned throughout this fic.

Leila:

I think Isabel doesn't realize so far what she got into with Billy if she keeps him longer around.

Oh, yeah, it's pretty obvious that Isabel and Billy are on different wavelengths in this "relationship."

What really shocked me is that Max, the money hungry whore, doesn't have a prenup. I was really shocked. He must have faith in his marriage or he was stupid. I really can't believe it.

Max is actually a little nervous about his marriage. He knows (or at least hopes) that Liz isn't marrying him for his money, but he's still nervous. He's nervous about a lot of things right now and doing his best to hide it.

lilah:

Looks like Liz may not be getting her "For richer" after all.

So maybe I threw that little line into Liz's vows for a reason.

Awful little story I must throw in. When Miley found the condoms in the desk drawer (oh so inappropriate for work btw) and said mommy and dadddy have those too....all I could think of was when my oldest son was 2 and taking a nap in my and my hubby's bed I walked in to check on him and he was holding a strip of condoms and told me they were for "Daddy's Christmas" couldn't stop laughing and this just brought it all back.

Ha, ha! Things like that happen, I guess.

Novy:

It's interesting that Isabel isn't afraid to turn out like her mom and overdose on something. She seems to try and know her limit but I wonder if that will ever become a problem for her.

Drugs will be a chronic problem for Billy, but not for Isabel.

I can't wait to see what Amy is like as married woman.

And a grandmother! You'll get your first glimpse of her in this part.

Christina: You have a new icon! How cute!

Anyway, funny that Max spends all this money on Liz. I can't help but remember back in 521 when all he got Tess for Christmas was... what, a 30 dollar gift card? Something really really cheap. He must be really afraid Liz is just with him for his money.

You know, Max actually has quite a few insecurities that are going to be explored in this fic. He's kind of similar to--oddly enough--Maria in that way. In 521, they were both very confident, self-assured people, for the most part. And now they've both grown up, and they're not quite as confident about things anymore.

That whole part about him hoping she would love him forever was... awkward. I can't picture Max being that vulernable with anybody, and I guess I didn't realize how much he loved Liz before now.

Yeah, he loves Liz just as much as Michael loves Maria. It's definitely a different kind of love, but it's real, true love, and he's not afraid to admit it.

Exactly! I think I actually mentioned before that this 522 Liz is the second most selfish character next to Isabel. That is definitely why I'm having a hard time liking her. I suppose part of it is that she's been so focused on the wedding, and the other part is that we haven't really seen much from her perspective (other than her stressing about the wedding.)

Liz was fairly selfish back in 521, and in this fic, she's now married to a millionaire, so it makes sense that she's a bit self-centered and I'm glad that's coming across. But I do see how that makes it difficult to like her. Once you do see more things from her perspective . . . I can't honestly assure you that it will make her any less selfish.

BB:

Michael is so sweet and wonderful, especially in the way he takes care of Maria. No wonder Isabel is so psycho for him. Can't really fault the woman's taste.

I know, right?

Garret is a sweetheart, despite both his parents and his genes. I worry for him.

Me, too. Becoming corrupted at a young age is never a good thing. Luckily he has Max, but Max has a lot of other things going on right now.

dreambeliever:

2 out of 3 cards declining. And neither one of them picked up on this. I would totally freak if one declined.

So would I. But Max has, like, a dozen credit cards, so Liz isn't concerned.

beautifyldreamer:

I know most everyone else on here can't stand Liz and Max - but I actually kind of like them. They have their flaws. They're abnormally rich - but still human on the inside. They made their mistakes and now seem to really be trying to move past them.

They're very challenging to write, but it's good to know that not everyone hates them. Really, if there wasn't some division on whether or not Max and Liz are redeemable characters in this, I would have failed as a writer. Max is actually one of my favorite characters in this fic to write, though, just like he was in 521. There is a lot of dark humor about him that I really enjoy piecing together.

I think its interesting that Max's cards were declined. Hmmm forshadowing perhaps? Maybe the forshadowing was in the joked about wedding vows.... I sense something big might be coming up for these two that will really test the waters.

Well, I do enjoy a good foreshadow.

Sam:

Marty is absolutely hysterical. It is like 90210.

I put that line in there, because sometimes I'll sit back and watch 90210 on SoapNet in the afternoon, and I start to criticize it. Then I think about it a minute and think, 'Wait, I shouldn't I criticize. I'm doing the exact same thing in 522.'

Maria and Michael are so solid right now. They are absolutely perfect for each other. It's hard to imagine that Isabel can break them up.

Maybe she can't.

Max's cards were declined. Not good. I wonder if he loses his precious company. If he had a choice between money and Liz, what would he choose now?

Well, obviously in 521, he had that choice and he chose money/career. If he has that choice now (and I'm not saying he will), I think he would choose Liz without skipping a beat.

Neve:

How much for a wedding cake? Are there real diamonds in it or something?

Yeah! Isn't it ridiculous?

If Max can afford that cake and have his own private jet, then he can't be too badly off yet. Or he's living way beyond his means and is about to take a massive fall. (I'm hoping for the latter because I want to see how Liz will react when 'poorer' becomes part of the equation.

Hmm, well . . . you'll find out soon.

Maybe it's a good thing that Michael and Maria are laying of the baby-making activities for a while so. Cute and all as their chidlren are, they really don't need a third one just yet.

That's right. Especially Maria. She has things to do before she has another kid, like graduate and get a job.

Krista:

I just wanted you to know, I had a freaking dream about this fic last night. Omfg.

What was the dream?

I can see where this is going... Max is gonna be in financial woes and Liz is not even gonna notice that he's worrying about it and then she's gonna sleep with Roger.

Was this the dream? Ew, Roger?! He's old! No! Even I can't write that.

So I also wonder what will push her to sleep with someone else... or is April just making us think she sleeps with someone else in her promo, but she really doesn't? She's got a very twisted mind sometimes, after all.

You'll have to wait and see!

Even though it seems clear that they love each other (to me, at least), I think that it's still so very one-sided. When I read this, I very much feel that Max loves Liz more than anything else in his life and would do anything to make her happy. I can't say the same for Liz.

That's interesting, and I kind of agree. Maybe they both love each other, but Max loves Liz more. That would make sense. After all, Max is . . . well, Max. Maybe there's a limit to loving him.

Farrah:

Maybe she sleeps with someone else to help Max get his money back? Like an Indecent Proposal kind of thing?

I don't think this Max woul want her to do that - but I think the old Max who picked the company over Liz would be willing to go along with it. So maybe she does it for him - without consulting him first?

I love that movie!

You guys are going to be speculating about this for a loooong time.




Thank you all for the feedback! I've said it before and I'll say it again that I always learn more about my own stories when I hear what you all think.









Part 14









Michael swiped his brush against the wall, taking a step back to survey the work he’d done. Over the past week, he’d spent what little spare time he had painting all the formerly brown walls of his art room white. His plan was to paint a mural over every wall, and his first order of business was to paint a family portrait of himself, Maria, Miley, and Macy. He’d painted out their vague shapes so far, but Macy was looking a little too . . . Stewie Griffin.

“Daddy, look.”

He spun around with paintbrush in hand and saw what Miley had painted on the opposite wall. Down near the bottom was a little portrait of a pug. His nose and ears were black, and she’d used yellow for his body.

“Hey, that looks like Frank,” he said.

“It is Frank, Daddy!”

He smiled and set his paintbrush down. “It looks just like him,” he said, walking towards her. “Wow, Miley, you’re really outdoing your old man in the art department.” Granted, her work was the work of a toddler, but it was still impressive that she was beginning to paint at such a young age. He hadn’t even picked up a brush until he was five.

Miley used red paint to try to sign her name next to Frank’s picture. She made it through the first three letters shakily, but then stopped when she got to the ‘e.’ “Will you help me?” she asked.

“Sure.” He squatted down next to her, took her little hand in his, and helped her finish writing her name. She’d started teaching herself how to write two months ago. She was probably going to be able to write her entire name—first, middle, and last—by the end of the year at the rate she was going.

“There,” he said. “Perfect. This whole wall can be yours, okay? You can fill it up with your paintings.”

“Cool!” she exclaimed, reaching up to scratch her cheek. As she did so, she smeared red paint on her skin.

“Uh-oh, look at you now,” he said. “You just got paint on your face.”

“Sorry,” she apologized quietly.

“Come on, let’s go get you cleaned up and ready for bed.”

“But I’m not . . .” She paused and yawned. “. . . even tired.”

He chuckled and led her out of the art room, through the master bedroom into the master bathroom. He lifted her up to set her on the sink, and he used a wet washcloth to clean her cheek. “There you are,” he said. “Did you have fun with Aunt Tess today?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah? Well, you might be hangin’ out with her the rest of this week while your mom and I find a new daycare, okay?”

She pouted, and he realized he’d struck a nerve.

“You’re not still mad at us, are you?” he asked.

“I’m mad at Mama.”

He frowned and dried off Miley’s cheek with a towel. “Why just at her?”

“‘Cause she’s meaner.”

Michael sighed. “Alright, I wanna tell you something: Your mom is the best mom in the whole wide world. She loves you and your sister more than anything. She and I are both just looking out for you.”

“That’s what Aunt Tess said.”

“Well, if Aunt Tess said it, it must be true,” he tried to joke. “Listen, Miley, I’m sorry it’s not gonna work out for you to be friends with Garret. It’s not your fault and it’s not his. There’s just too much bad blood between the parents.”

“Bad blood?” she echoed, scrunching her forehead up in confusion.

“Yeah, bad blood. That’s when people don’t like each other. Well, actually, his mom really likes me, but . . .” He shook his head. “That’s beside the point. The point is, I think it would be really grown-up of you to go apologize to your mom for saying you hate her.” He’d used the ‘very grown-up of you’ tactic before, and it always seemed to work. “I know you don’t really hate her, but it kind of hurt her feelings to hear you say that. You know, she’s done a lot for you over the years.”

“Like what?” Miley asked.

“You really wanna know?”

She nodded.

****

“Oh my god, Michael,” Maria gasped, digging her head into her pillow. “This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”

He wished there was something more he could do for her. He felt useless standing next to the hospital bed while she was dealing with contraction after contraction, sweating and panting and going through so much agony. She’d already been at this for hours. “You’re doin’ great,” he assured her. “You look beautiful.”

She shook her head. “Don’t lie.”

“Okay, you’ve looked better,” he acknowledged. “But you’re still beautiful.” She opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off. “And I’m not lying.” He smoothed her hair away from her face and said, “You’ll feel better once they drug you up again.”

“I think my epidural wore off,” she said, sounding close to tears. “I need another one. It hurts so bad.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, feeling guilty. He was the one who’d knocked her up. “Do you still love me?”

“Yeah, I’m just never letting you near my lady business again.”

He laughed a little. “Yeah, you say that.” He had a feeling as soon as she was cleared to have sex again, she’d pounce on him, though.

“Oh, thank God!” Maria exclaimed when her doctor came back into the room.

“Dr. Watson, she needs you to up her epidural,” Michael said.

Dr. Watson lifted up the sheet covering Maria’s legs, and a smile spread across her face. “Okay, Maria,” she said. “Do you want the good news or the bad news first?”

“Good news,” Maria whimpered.

“The good news is that you’re at the point where you can start pushing now. The bad news is, you’re beyond the point of anoter epidural.”

“What?!” Maria shrieked. “But it wore off! I’m serious, it wore off! I-I can’t do this! Michael!”

“I’m right here, baby,” he assured. “You want Tess to get in here?”

“Tess!” she shrieked at the top of her lungs.

Tess scurried into the room and rushed to Maria’s side to hold her other hand. “I’m here, I’m here,” she said. “Is it coming?”

“Ah!” Maria screamed, clamping down her grip.

“That’s it, Maria,” Dr. Watson coached as the rest of the delivery team filtered into the room. “Push in whatever way feels natural.”

“I can’t!” Maria yelled.

“Yes, you can,” Dr. Watson insisted.

“No, I can’t!”

“Maria, Maria, Maria.” Michael touched her face and got her to focus on him. “Listen, after all this is over, we’re gonna have a daughter. We’re gonna have this beautiful baby, and you’re gonna be able to hold her in your arms. And she’s gonna love you. She’s gonna love you so much.” This was going to be hard on her for sure, but he believed in her. She was tough as nails, tougher than she thought she was. “You can do this,” he assured her. “Okay?”

She gazed at him with tear-filled eyes and nodded unsurely.

“Push, Maria,” Dr. Watson said.

Her death grip bore down hard on his hand, but he knew it was nothing compared to the pain she was feeling. She screamed, and he kept reminding her that it would all be worth it.

****

Michael took a moment to gauge Miley’s reaction. She looked stunned and disgusted, and he doubted he’d gone into enough detail for her to understand everything. But he could tell by that look in her eyes that she understood the need to apologize for what she’d said to her mom.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yawning, Maria flipped the page of her textbook. It was a dry read, and she was tired. She’d been doing homework all afternoon and evening, and the sad part was that there was still another chapter to read that she was going to have to read before class tomorrow morning. Or maybe she’d just choose not to read it and pretend she had. College had never been her strong point.

She glanced back over her shoulder when she heard someone coming down the stairs. Miley was sliding down slowly on her butt.

“What’re you still doing up?” Maria asked. Michael had taken her upstairs to paint awhile go after he’d put Macy down, but it was nearly 9:00 now, and that was way too late for a toddler.

When Miley got to the bottom step, she stood up and ran into the living room. She hopped up on the couch and threw her arms around Maria, hugging her.

“Miley . . .” Maria hugged her back, surprised and unsure what to say.

“I love you, Mama.” Miley gave her a kiss on the cheek, then hopped down off the couch and ran back up the stairs, even though she wasn’t supposed to go up and down stairs by herself.

Maria smiled, touched. Hearing ‘I love you’ was so much better than ‘I hate you.’

After she was done studying, she joined Michael upstairs in the bedroom. He was still awake, sitting up in bed and browsing through a modern art catalog. Maria leaned against the doorway and said, “Okay, what did you bribe her with?”

He set the catalog down. “Nothing, I just talked to her.”

“Really?” That sounded so . . . simple. She slipped into the bedroom, shut the door, and crawled into bed beside him. “What’d you say?”

“I just explained the agony you went through when you gave birth to her.”

“What?”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “So I guess I kinda guilt-tripped her.”

“Well, it worked. She hugged me and kissed me and told me she loved me. It was very sweet.”

“That’s good. See, I work in mysterious ways.”

She laughed. “You’re like God.” But then again, she’d always thought that. “So did you actually tell her how babies are born?”

He nodded again. “Yep. So you know what that means, don’t you?”

She gave him a perplexed look.

“When it’s time for her to hear the ‘How Babies Are Made’ talk . . .” He pointed to her. “That’s on you.”

Her eyes widened at the mere thought of having that talk. “No,” she said. “We’ll make Kyle do it.”

“Ky—Kyle?” he spat. “No way. He doesn’t even know how babies are made.”

She laughed and sank down under the covers, pulling them up over her head.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Throughout their week at Kamalame Cay, Max and Liz enjoyed being something they never got to be at home: carefree. They went scuba diving and snorkeling, windsurfing and kayaking. Liz lounged at the spa while Max went fishing, and they even spent an entire day alone together on an offshore deserted island. Sex was a big theme.

By Friday night, Max could tell that Liz was upset that their honeymoon couldn’t last forever. He arranged for them to have a private candlelit dinner on the beach again, and it seemed to please her. She sat down across from him wearing a short, coral-colored strapless dress. Her hair billowed in the breeze, and she smiled at him. The chef took their order and left them alone.

“Have you had a good honeymoon?” he asked.

She took a sip of her champagne. “The greatest. It sucks that we only have tomorrow left. But I’m sure you’re eager to get home and get back to work.”

He shrugged. “Not really.” In fact, work was one of the things he was dreading returning to. “So we never talked about the wedding.”

She attempted to smile. “Because it was so bad. In between my absentee family and Isabel’s drunken everybody-sucks-but-me speech . . .”

“I’m sorry.” He knew girls dreamed about their wedding day, and with all the money he had, he should’ve been able to give Liz that perfect day. But sometimes all the money in the world wasn’t enough.

“It’s not your fault,” she assured him.

“Yes, it is.” He traced his fingers around the rim of his glass and shook his head, angry with himself. “If your family had shown up, we could’ve avoided all the drama. But they didn’t show up because of me.”

“Let’s just forget about it, okay?” she suggested. “Who cares if my family has this unfounded grudge against you? That’s their problem.”

“It’s not unfounded,” he blurted, ashamedly lifting his eyes to stare straight into hers.

She blinked confusedly. “What do you mean?”

He had to tell her sooner or later, and he’d already waited long enough. “They hate me,” he said, sighing in defeat, “because of the article.”

Everything about her froze momentarily, and then a look of disappointment covered her face. “Dammit, Max,” she swore, rising to her feet. Her chair tipped backward in the sand, and she turned and ran back to their villa. He sat on the beach and let her go, knowing that she was going to want to be alone for awhile.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Frank whimpered as he pawed at the door. Michael plodded downstairs, yawning as the morning settled into him. “Everyone wants to keep the dog,” he grumbled. “Who gets to let the dog out?” He opened the door, and Frank ran out into the yard. Michael was about to step out onto the porch, but someone was blocking his progress. There, standing before him, poised to ring the doorbell was none other than Amy DeLuca.

“Michael,” she said, smiling at him. “Come here!”

“Oh!” he gasped when she threw her arms around him, hugging him almost painfully. “Hi, Amy. What-what’re you doing here? We weren’t expecting you until tonight.”

“Oh, Ed and I caught an earlier flight,” she explained, releasing him, “and we thought we’d surprise you. Surprise!”

Her shrilly excited voice nearly deafened him. “Oh, wow,” he said, knocking the base of his hand against his ear. “My eardrums.”

“Ed’s visiting Tess and Kyle right now,” she said. “It’s so great that they bought a house and you all are neighbors again. You don’t think he’ll walk in and interrupt any sex-having, do you?”

“Uh . . .”

“Do you remember when I barged in on you and Maria in bed together?” She laughed.

He nodded, blushing. “Yeah, it’s hard to forget when you remind me every time you see me.”

“I know, right? Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

“Oh, right.” He stepped aside. “Sorry about that.”

“That’s okay.” She sashayed inside and sang out, “Now where are my girls?”

“Sleeping,” Michael replied, holding the door open while Frank skittered back into the house.

“Sleeping?” Amy echoed.

“Yeah, it’s 7:30. It’s Saturday; it’s our day off.”

“Oh, piffle, that’s not early,” she dismissed. “What’s the point of sleeping your life away? Oh, beautiful ladies . . .” She started up the stairs, and he followed her. She stopped in the hallway next to the nursery and peeked inside. “Can I see her?” she asked.

“Yeah, come on. Just be quiet.” He slipped quietly into the nursery and turned on a dim lamp.

“Oh, Macy. You gorgeous little girl.” Amy peered down into the crib affectionately. “She’s gotten so big since I last saw her.”

Michael nodded in agreement. Amy had seen Macy three months ago, but there had been drastic changes since then. It never ceased to amaze him how fast kids grew.

“Has she said her first word yet?” Amy asked.

“No, but she’s making lots of sounds, so we think she’s gonna soon. It’s gonna be Dada.”

“Wasn’t that Miley’s first word?”

“Yeah. Easier to say than Mama.”

Amy reached down into the crib and stroked Macy’s forehead. “Maria’s first word was Arty.”

“Arty?” he echoed, confused. “Oh, like Marty?”

Amy nodded.

“That’s neat.” He glanced up when Maria came into the room. She was rubbing her eyes, and her hair was tossed all about. “Hey, we were just talkin’ about you,” he said. “Look who’s here.”

“Mom?”

“Hi, sweetie!” Amy hugged her.

“You’re here early,” Maria remarked.

“Honey, it’s 7:30. It’s not early.”

Maria backed away and shrugged. “I think it’s early.”

Amy reached out and smoothed down her daughter’s hair. “How have you been?”

“Busy,” Maria replied. “But you’re the newlywed. You’re much more interesting.”

“I brought plenty of pictures. You’ll feel like you were there,” Amy assured her. “I gotta go see Miley.”

“Okay, but be quiet. She’s still asleep.”

Michael put his arm around Maria’s waist, and they followed Amy to Miley’s bedroom. Frank squeezed in with them and hopped back up onto Miley’s bed, curling up near her feet.

“Oh, look at her.” Amy sat down on the side of the bed and stroked her eldest granddaughter’s hair. “She’s such an angel. Michael, she looks more and more like you all the time.”

“Hence her being angelic,” he joked.

“Do you think she remembers me?”

“Yeah, of course,” Maria assured her.

“Well, I don’t know. I haven’t seen her since May.”

“She remembers. She’s a little genius.” Maria laughed.

“She is,” Michael agreed. “When she starts school, she’s probably gonna do the gifted program.”

“She got that from you,” Maria said. “So, Mom, do you want some breakfast?”

“Sure,” Amy said, “but I’ll go ahead and cook it. A family breakfast for this wonderful family.” She stood and practically skipped out of the room, singing, “Good morning, good morning! La-da-de-da-da-da, good morning, good morning, to you. And you and you and you!”

Michael shook his head at her chipper demeanor. “I swear, every time I see her, she has a new personality.”

“I know,” Maria agreed, “it’s creepy.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Anyone who didn’t know Amy would have thought she was an Iron Chef with the way she whipped up French toast and piled three slices high onto everyone’s plates. “The eggs are coming, people,” she promised. “Just give me a minute.” She stood at the stove, alternating between both frying pans. She was making scrambled eggs, by far Maria’s favorite because they were both the tastiest and easiest to make.

“I could’ve cooked, Mom,” she said. There had been a time when both she and Michael had been rather challenged in the kitchen, but they’d taken a few cooking classes before Miley had been born, and now they both had culinary skills.

“It’s no problem. I don’t mind,” Amy said before she went back to humming her ‘Good morning’ song under her breath.

Maria shrugged, figuring she’d enjoy feeling useful when she was a grandparent, too. She turned her attention to their breakfast guests. Kyle and Tess had come by with Ed, so the kitchen table was full. “So, Ed,” she said, taking a sip of orange juice, “what do you think of your daughter’s new house? Pretty swanky, huh?”

“It’s very nice,” Ed agreed. “And I like the pool in the back yard.”

“Oh, Maria, you haven’t seen it since we filled it up,” Tess said excitedly. “It’s so pretty. You can actually swim in it now.”

“Oh, what do you say about a wet and wild birthday party then?”

“I say heck yes.” Tess grinned.

Miley poked at her French toast and asked, “How old you gonna be, Mama?”

“Twenty-five,” Maria mumbled.

Miley giggled. “That’s old.”

“Hey!” Tess yelped. “I’m gonna be twenty-five, too, you know.”

“Old,” Miley repeated. Maria just shrugged it off. She supposed twenty-five did seem old to someone who wasn’t even three yet. Hell, twenty-five seemed old to her. In some ways, it seemed like just yesterday that she’d been a twenty-one year old college student begging Michael to let her live with him.

“Oh, I remember my twenties,” Amy said, sighing. “Faintly.”

“Yeah, Grandma Amy and Grandpa Ed are really old, Miley,” Maria joked.

“Not too old to have a sex-filled honeymoon,” Amy chirped.

“Ew, Mom!”

“Yucky mental images!” Tess shuddered.

Kyle just grinned and slugged his father-in-law in the arm. “Good job, man.”

Michael cleared his throat. “Uh, Amy, that’s actually one of the words we try not to say in front of . . . certain people.” He tilted his head to the side to indicate Miley.

“What, sex?” Amy asked.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“What’s sex?” Miley asked innocently.

“That’s why.”

“Oh, great,” Maria muttered. They were trying to prolong that talk as much as possible, but that was hard to do with such an inquisitive child.

“Now, speaking from parental experience, sheltering the child does nothing to deter sexual activity,” Amy said as she turned down the heat on the oven. “Isn’t that right, Maria?”

“Okay, Mom, can I talk to you for a minute?” Maria pushed her chair back from the table and went into the living room. Michael got up to finish making the scrambled eggs, and Amy joined Maria.

“Are you high?” Maria asked her quietly.

“What? No.”

“Okay, well, you’re, like, really out there right now,” Maria informed her, “and no one should be this awake at . . .” She glanced in at the microwave clock. “. . . 8:00 in the morning. I don’t care what you say, it is early.”

Amy smiled. “When are you and Michael getting married?”

“What?” Where had that come from?

“You’ve been engaged for two years now,” Amy pointed out.

“A year and a half.”

“So I rounded up. That’s a long time.”

“We’re gonna get married after I graduate,” Maria told her.

“After you graduate?” she echoed in horror. “Honey, that’s such a long time from now.”

“It’s just next spring.”

“But why prolong it?”

“I’m just too busy with school right now,” she explained. “This is, like, a really intense semester, and I have to student teach next semester, and I don’t have time to plan a wedding.”

“I could plan it for you,” her mother offered.

That sounded horrible. “Mom, if it’s up to you, I’ll end up with Elvis as a preacher.”

Amy looked down.

“I’m . . . I’m sorry,” Maria apologized. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Ed and I just didn’t feel like making a spectacle of it—second marriages and all,” Amy said, “but your wedding should be spectacular.”

“And it will be,” Maria promised. “Just . . . be patient, okay?” After she graduated, she’d have more time. She could plan the perfect wedding, and she and Michael would be married by the time she started her teaching job. Her students would call her Mrs. Guerin.

“Okay,” Amy said. “I’ll try. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be so . . .” She trailed off. “I’m just happy to be here.”

“Well, we’re happy to have you,” Maria assured her. “Amy Harding.”

Amy blushed.

“Alright, so just calm down a bit, and no more mentions of sex in front of Miley. It’s bad enough she already has a boy friend.”

“A boyfriend?” Amy shrieked. “You’re letting her date already?”

“No, a . . . friend who’s a boy. Except we’re not allowing her to be friends with him because he’s . . .” She laughed angrily at the ridiculousness of the situation. “He’s Isabel’s son.”

“Isabel,” Amy echoed. “The Isabel?”

“Is it really necessary to put an article in front of her name?” That made her sound like she was the Messiah, which she most certainly wasn’t.

“I didn’t know she was still living in Santa Fe,” Amy said.

“Oh, she’ll never leave as long as Michael’s here.” Maria rolled her eyes. “I mean, it’s not that bad if we don’t have to see her, but . . . that’s why we can’t let Miley and Garret be friends, ‘cause then we’d have to see her all the time.”

“Right. I think that’s wise,” Amy said.

“Anyway, just don’t mention any of it to her. It’s still kind of touchy subject. I don’t think she really gets where we’re coming from.”

“I won’t say a word,” Amy promised.

Tess’s voice rang out from the kitchen, interrupting their conversation. “Maria, Amy,” she called, “get back in here! Your food’s getting cold!”

“Alright, are you calm?” Maria asked.

“I’m calm,” Amy said. “Let’s go eat.”

When they returned to the kitchen, Maria overheard Kyle talking to Miley. “Sex is a kind of cake, Miles,” he was saying. “It’s a kind of cake.”

Maria made a face. A kind of cake? What a flimsy lie. Kyle just shrugged exaggeratedly.

“Does it taste good when you eat it?” Miley asked, digging her child-sized fork into her eggs.

Tess and Kyle both grunted and answered at the same time, except that Kyle affirmed, “Yes,” while Tess replied, “No.” They both shot a confused look at each other, and Maria had to stifle a laugh.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Liz strolled along the beach, enjoying the feel of the sand between her toes, the breeze blowing through her hair. She was wearing a loose-fitting white cover-up over her bikini, and she felt sexy. There was only one thing missing, and that was the person she liked to feel sexy with.

She found him in the water. He was back-paddling inward with the current. She crossed her arms over her chest and watched him, wondering how the boy she knew and loved could be the boy who had given Corporate magazine something so horrible to write about. Sometimes she forgot what Max was capable of.

When he noticed her, he stood up, the water hovering around his waist. “Are you still mad at me?” he asked, smoothing his wet hair back.

“Are you naked?” she asked.

“Yeah.” He walked forward in the water, showing off the goods.

“Get back in there,” she told him, reaching down to pull her cover-up over her head. She tossed it down onto the sand and pulled her hair up, securing it in a messy bun as she waded into the ocean.

“If this is mad,” he said, eyeing her up and down, “I like it.”

She sank down into the water, swirling her arms around, and apologized. “I’m sorry I gave you the silent treatment last night.”

“Silent and sexless,” he pointed out, sinking under the waves for a minute before coming back up again.

“I just hate that article.”

“No, you don’t.” He moved towards her. “You hate that it’s true.”

She sighed. “Yeah. All this time, I thought my parents didn’t like you because of your money, so it was easy to blame them and call them selfish. But now I know they have a legitimate reason to hate you.”

He slipped his knee in between her legs and wrapped his arms around her waist. She looped her arms around his neck and clung to him, trusting him to hold her up in the water.

“Do you think it’s possible for one article to ruin our lives?” she asked fearfully.

He shook his head. “No. Not if we don’t let it.”

She liked the sound of that. Smiling at him, she decided to try her best to be supportive. She leaned in and kissed him, and his hands roamed over her backside, pulling her closer. The waves crashed to shore all around them, but in that moment, the only sound Liz could hear was the sound of her own heart beating. Despite all of her shortcomings, she loved Max more than anything, and nothing he had done in the past would change that. Nothing.








TBC . . .

-April

[April]

Just so everyone knows, I may not update again until Monday, since this is Easter weekend and all.

And also just so everyone knows, Boston Rob was voted off of Survivor last night and it was tragic. I have offiically lost all motivation to watch the rest of the season. Oh, well, he's still the greatest, funniest, smartest. And hottest. And I still have his autograph. Shazam.

God, I'm such a dork.


Leila:

Whoa, Max really went through some changes. I don't wanna say that he's a better person because he's still Mr asshole in my books but I believe that some of his views about life changed. Like you said, he's nervous about so many things. It's a matter of time until everything breaks down.

Yeah, he's definitely still Mr. Asshole, but you're right that he's gone through some changes over the years, and he's going to go through even more changes as this fic goes on.

Ellie:

Hell, I did when I was reading Passion. OMG ... wanted to kill Maria after each chapter. Needless to say, I may never re-read Passion again (I've just got my hair growing back).

I think this is the only fic (and 521) where I have had such a strong dislike of a character as I do with Liz

You know what, I can actually take pride in that. My worst fear would be writing a character that people feel absolutely ambivalent about. So hate is better than nothing at all.

Miley is such a budding genius! Damn, she puts me to shame. I don't think I learned how to spell my name until I was about four.

I think I was about three.

Rodney:

My dad used to be like Amy when it came to coming over too my house.He's an early morning person who thinks getting up at four am on the weekends is normal He would be like "It's six am everyone should be out of bed by now! It doesn't matter if its the weekend!"

That sounds horrible! I don't even know what 6:00 a.m. is because I haven't woken up that early for years. Although today I woke up at about 6:45 because I couldn't sleep.

I think both Kyle and Tess are going to be both right and wrong when it comes down to this kid fight.

I think you're so right.

Guel:

guys, do we know what was in that article? i cant remember it?

You don't know yet. Trust me when I say that what is in the article isn't nearly as interesting as how it got there or the ramifications it will have.

BB:

So what's in that damn article?

It might be something new about Max, or it might be something you already know about him. That's all I'll say about that.

Max and Liz are sort of sweet together, in their own way. They love each other despite their (many) flaws. Many, many flaws. Many, many, many flaws.

Ha, ha!

Novy:

What is in that article? I'm dying to know. It must be something horrible. What ever it is, I think it's even more interesting Liz totally doesn't seem have troubles forgiving him for it.

It's something inarguably horrible. Like I said to Guel, though, how it got there and what it ends up causing might actually be more interesting than what it actually says.

dreambeliever: Thanks for reading!

Krista:

My dream was really random actually. It was like... Liz is having twins and she was upset at Max because of the article. And they were flying to a hotel in New York. And Alex meets them there and he's staying in the same hotel. And Liz is so pissed at Max that she wants to stay in separate rooms. And then Isabel does something to upset Liz and she goes into early labor. And then I woke up. And I was like "Seriously?"

Uh, yeah, needless to say, that was not a prophetic dream.

Sam:

They might really dislike who she is marrying but disowning her will not solve the problem. She still married him. And if things don't work out between them, Liz will be all alone (because her family turned her back on her).

I hadn't thought about it like that, but that's a really interesting point. She married him anyway, so now instead of having a husband and parents, she basically just has a husband. If their goal was to lure her away from Max, it had the opposite effect.

Neve:

I really hope that the cooking classes Maria and Michael attended are amongst the flashbacks because there's no way that wasn't a scream!

I hadn't intended on writing a flashback like that in, but I might have to now that you mention it!

Isabel's reaction to losing her one link to Michael shoul d be interesting. The woman is already unhinged. Who knows what she'll do next.

She'll probably try to find another link.

Christina:

Yeah, my icon is my cat. He's seriously the most photogenic cat I've ever known. He's also pretty chill. Most cats hate when you put hats on them. But nope, not Mojo. He loves it.

Mojo? Aw, that's such a cute name!

I'd venture to say that Amy is the most changed character from 521.

I agree! All she needed was to get laid!

Oddly enough, it seems like Max and Liz have a good relationship. Which is funny compared to the drama-filled one from back in 521. Looks like they've actually come a long way.

Definitely. Just the fact that Max actually settled down with one woman and got married speaks volumes about how in love they really are. It's definitely a darker kind of love than what M+M or Tess and Kyle have, though.

lilah:

So is Max going totally broke??

It certainly seems that way, doesn't it?


Thanks so much for all the feedback!

Hopefully I'll get some writing done this weekend, because I've written up to page 717 and you guys are already on 179! You're catching up to me slowly but surely. I think I will be completely isolated from all human contact for a few days because my mom's flying off to Vegas to get married and it'll just be me and the dogs out in the country. Should be relaxing.


This part is the second update in a row with no Isabel. And there's also no Max and Liz in this part. And it probably contains one of the most exaggeratedly comedic moments of this entire fic. So enjoy!









Part 15








“Do you know where Max and Liz are right now?”

Maria smoothed the hot iron over her favorite pair of jeans. “I really don’t care.”

“They’re in the Bahamas.” Tess pouted and flopped down on the couch. “I wanna be in the Bahamas.”

“That’s so unfair,” Maria lamented. “They’re not even good people and they get to relax in one of the nicest places on earth. And where am I? Oh, I’m right here, ironing.”

“Yeah, but would you rather be here with your iron or there with Max?”

“Huh, good point.” She set the iron upright and lifted her jeans off the ironing board, holding them up to see if she’d gotten all the wrinkles out. Good enough. “So how wired was my mom this morning?”

“Seriously, did she drink a lot of coffee or something?”

Maria shrugged. “She said she’s just happy to be here.” She laid out Michael’s favorite at-home t-shirt and wondered if she could just get by with ironing it with her hands. He wouldn’t care, would he? She sighed and resigned to the iron.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if she and my dad move back here someday,” Tess said.

“God, I hope not,” Maria grunted.

“Why not? I’d love to get to see my dad on a regular basis.”

“That’s ‘cause he’s mellow, low-stress,” Maria pointed out. “I love my mom, I do, but in specific time intervals. Holidays, birthdays . . . births. And other rare special occasions. That’s it.”

“I’m just kidding,” Tess said. “They love Vegas. I doubt even grandchildren are enough to lure them back here and away from the slot machines.”

“Good to know,” Maria muttered. “So what’ve we got planned for tonight?”

“Oh, you know, some games, some food, some gossip. Bridal shower stuff.”

Maria ironed out one of the wrinkles near the collar of Michael’s t-shirt so hard she almost burnt through the fabric. “Do you think the guys are getting a stripper?” she asked.

“No, Kyle is strictly forbidden, and that’s not Michael’s type of thing,” Tess said.

“Maybe we should send Miley over there, just in case,” Maria suggested. “They can’t have a stripper if a kid’s there.”

“Ooh, you’re an evil genius,” Tess remarked. “That’s a good idea. I like it.”

“Hmm.” Maria flapped the t-shirt out and laid it down atop her jeans. Having kids came in handy sometimes.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kyle stared at the text message on his cell phone and shook his head. “Oh, that’s evil,” he said. “That is pure evil.”

“What?” Michael asked.

“Tess just ruined my secret stripper plans. You know what this means? We’re gonna have to tone down the whole bachelor party. Sorry about that, Ed.”

“Oh, that’s okay. To tell you the truth, I wasn’t even looking forward to a stripper. My wife is all the woman I need.” The new groom walked around the C4 gallery, surveying some of Brandon Hughes’s work.

“That’s from our newest artist,” Michael said. “I think his stuff’s good, but we haven’t sold anything yet.”

“If I only had more money.” Ed smiled.

“Well, the price isn’t that unreasonable, is it?”

“No, no,” Ed assured him, “it’s just that . . . my money’s going somewhere else these days.”

Michael frowned in confusion. Before he could ask him what he meant, Kyle jumped back into the conversation, but he was still focused on the strippers.

“It’s not just the fact that they take their clothes off,” he said. “It’s the fact that they’re young and . . . nubile.”

“Amy’s very nubile for her age,” Ed assured him.

“Uh, okay, that’s my future mother-in-law you’re talking about there,” Michael reminded him, immediately grossed out.

“Sorry,” Ed apologized.

Kyle leaned in and nudged the older man’s arm. “Go on,” he urged.

“Kyle.” Michael gave him a look.

“What? Come on, you gotta admit, she’s definitely a MILF,” Kyle mumbled so that Ed couldn’t hear.

“Oh, god.” Michael rubbed his forehead. Amy DeLuca was about the least MILF-like woman he knew, but that was mostly because she scared him half to death. When she’d walked in on him and Maria having sex together years ago, she’d had a knife in her hand, thinking she was going to protect Maria. It was still an image that gave him nightmares on a monthly basis.

Kyle clapped his hands together once and finally got his mind out of the gutter. “So, Ed, how’s the gallery look? Better than the last time you saw it?”

“Yeah, not that it looked bad the last time I saw it,” Ed replied. “Looks great, though. You guys are doing really well.”

“Yeah, business is good, so . . .” Michael trailed off, hoping he didn’t just jinx it.

“That’s good,” Ed said. “It makes Amy and I feel relieved to know that our daughters are taken care of.”

“Well, they take care of us, too,” Kyle admitted.

Michael nodded in agreement. “Always have.” Maria seemed to be under the impression that he was the rock of their family, but he’d always thought she was. She was the one who kept things running day to day, the one who made the tough decisions when it came to discipline. She was awesome.

“Amy takes care of me,” Ed said, staring at a painting Brandon had done of a cemetery.

“What made you guys decide to get married out of the blue like that?” Michael inquired.

Ed turned around. “It wasn’t really out of the blue,” he said. “The timing just seemed right. We figured we’d waited long enough.”

“You hear that, man?” Kyle said pointedly.

Michael nodded. “Yeah, loud and clear.” He and Maria had been together about as long as Amy and Ed had, and engaged longer than that. He got the hint.

“You’ll love being a husband, Michael,” Ed assured him. “There’s only one thing in the world that’s more rewarding.”

“Oh, yeah? What’s that?” Michael asked.

Ed smiled. “Being a father.”

Michael nodded. Being a dad was definitely cool. He glanced at Kyle to see if he got that hint, but his friend was texting a message back to Tess and no longer listening.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Once Alex’s phone had finally quit ringing, he was able to sit back and breathe a little. He hated it when he had to work Saturdays. It was supposed to be optional, overtime pay, that sort of thing. But when Max Evans said something was optional, it was more than likely mandatory.

He spun his chair around in his cubicle, wishing he had more space. When Max had first hired him, he’d promised that he’d have an office within the year. But so far, it’d been over three years, and he was still in the same cubicle.

He leaned back and peered into the supervisor’s office. The customer service supervisor was on maternity leave, so Roger had settled into her office for the week. Alex still wasn’t sure what Roger was doing there, though. He was supposed to be concerned with the Tucson branch. All he could figure was that Roger was holding down the fort while Max was on his honeymoon.

Alex surveyed what was going on inside the office. Roger had neglected to pull the blinds, so it was pretty obvious that he was firing the woman sitting across from him. Her name was Cynthia. She was a thirty-something full-timer, struggling to work her way up the corporate ladder. Alex felt sorry for her. In addition to being his cubicle neighbor to the left, she did her job well and didn’t deserve to be fired. But Max must have given Roger permission to fire her. No one could do anything to that company without Max’s permission.

Cynthia came out of the office a few minutes later, crying uncontrollably. She ran to her cubicle and started packing up her things.

“Cynthia.” Alex rose to his feet and went to comfort her. “Are you okay?” Stupid question, he thought. Clearly she wasn’t okay.

“Six years,” she cried. “For six years, I’ve busted my ass for this place, and how do they repay me? By firing me. Can you believe it?”

Alex glanced back into the office. Roger was smoking a cigar and looked completely unfazed. “I’m sorry,” he apologized, looking around. He’d noticed that there were fewer and fewer people in the customer service department for awhile now, and from what he’d heard in the floor five cafeteria, that seemed to be the case in all the departments. Lots of people thought the big-wigs were just thinning the herd. Anxiety loomed large, and for the first time, Alex started to feel it. He gave Cynthia an encouraging pat on the shoulder and ignored the ringing phone on his desk as he slipped into the office to confront Roger.

“What do you want?” Roger grumbled, kicking his feet up onto the desk.

Alex shoved his hands in his pockets, wishing Max were back. They had a friendship and a good rapport, but Roger chose to look at him as though he were a maggot.

“Do you remember me?” Alex asked. “I was the best man at the wedding.”

“Oh, that’s right.” Roger smirked, exaggerating the wrinkles that age had granted his face. “Nepotism.”

Alex made a face, taken aback. “Excuse me?”

“Well, it’s true, isn’t it? The only reason you work for the Evans company is because you married the boss’s sister. Very sly of you.”

“That’s not why I married her,” Alex denied. “I . . .” He stopped himself before saying he loved her. That had been a long time ago. “I had a child with her.”

“And we all know Max loves his nephew.”

“I got a job based on my own merit, not based on my wife or my son.” He could say it, but he couldn’t quite make himself believe it.

Roger just smirked and puffed away on his cigar. He looked like an older, less intimidating version of a mafia don. But still intimidating. Alex happened to know for a fact that Max hated the guy, mostly due to the fact that he was a leftover of the Phillip Evans days of Evans Hotels. But even though he was hated, Roger had somehow managed to win a position of prestige and power in the organization. Intimidating.

“Listen, speaking of jobs . . .” Alex tried to get to the point. “I can’t help but notice how everyone’s losing theirs. It’s starting to get pretty empty out there. I don’t know if it’s budgetary or if you guys are restructuring or--”

“I’m not at liberty to discuss that,” Roger cut in quickly.

“Um, okay. I guess I just wanna make sure that I’m gonna have a job. That’s all.”

Instead of giving him the confirmation he was so desperately looking for, Roger replied, “Take it up with the boss when he gets back.”

Alex frowned. “What’s going on?”

“If you really wanna keep your job, maybe you should go out there and do it,” Roger suggested condescendingly, motioning towards the door with his cigar.

Alex sighed, feeling more nervous than he had when he’d set foot in there. All he could hope was that when Max was back, it would be better.

He turned and sulked out the door. When he got back to his desk, the phone was still ringing. He picked it up and answered with the same rehearsed answer he always gave: “Evans Hotels Customer Service. This is Alex speaking . . .”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Red liquid trickled out of the wine glass and into Amy’s glass. “The bride needs more booze,” Tess said, smiling.

“Oh, that’s enough. Thank you, Tess,” Amy said.

“Maria?” Tess held up the nearly empty glass. “You sure you don’t want any?”

Maria shook her head, glancing up from the paper she was typing on her laptop computer. “Nah, you never know if I’m pregnant.” She’d quit drinking once she was pregnant with Miley, and she’d never found a reason to start back up again.

“That reminds me, when are you and Michael going to have another baby?” Amy asked out of nowhere.

“Another?” Maria shrieked. “I just gave birth to Macy not even seven months ago. Am I supposed to be pregnant all the time? You know, I have goals and aspirations other than motherhood.”

“Oh, sweetie, I know,” Amy said. “It’s just . . . never mind.” She took a sip of her wine.

Maria swung her legs out onto the coffee table and readjusted her computer on her lap. “Tess is the one who wants a baby, not me,” she grumbled.

“Maria!” Tess shrieked.

“What? It’s obvious.”

Amy’s face lit up in delight. “Oh my god, are you and Kyle trying?”

Tess made a face. “What? No. No, not even. We haven’t even talked about it. But maybe someday not too far down the road . . .” She trailed off and shrugged. “Maybe.”

“That’s wonderful,” Amy said. “Oh, you girls are so grown-up.”

“We are,” Tess agreed. “But tonight is not about being grown-up. Tonight is about letting loose and having a good time. Just us girls.” She cast a sideways glance at Maria. “Only some people are too busy doing homework.”

“Twenty-page paper due Monday morning. Give me a break,” Maria shot back. There was nothing wrong with a little multitasking. She could enjoy the bridal shower and get half her paper typed up. No problem.

“Okay, let’s play the first game, shall we?” Tess suggested excitedly. “It’s called ‘How Well Does the Bride Know the Groom?’ and it’s self-explanatory. Amy, I’m gonna ask you a few questions about my dad, and we’ll see if you get them right.”

“Oh, so it’s a quiz,” Maria remarked. “You get quizzed at your bridal shower.”

“But it’s fun,” Tess insisted, picking up a small stack of note cards. “Okay, here we go. Question number one: What was Ed’s first pet and what was its name?”

“Oh, it was a collie named Lassie,” Amy answered quickly.

“Ding, ding, ding! Correct!” Tess exclaimed.

Maria grunted. A collie named Lassie? “Wow, your dad really thought outside the box there, Tess.”

“Creativity is not his strong point,” Tess acknowledged. “Question two: How old was Ed when he lost his virginity? Yuck, I can’t even believe I know this.”

“Hmm.” Amy tapped her chin as she contemplated it. “Twenty-three, right?”

“Wrong. Twenty-four.”

“Twenty-four?” Maria shrieked, once again distracted from her paper. “Good lord.”

“It was with my mom,” Tess expanded. “She was . . . not a virgin at the time. Oh, it’s like me and Kyle.” She smiled. “Anywho . . .” She flipped to the next note card. “Question three: Who is Ed’s favorite musician?”

“Oh, I know this. Barry Manilow,” Amy answered.

“Yes!”

“Ugh.” Maria made a face.

“Okay, he doesn’t have good taste,” Tess admitted. “Except for his good taste in women, of course.”

“Thank you,” Amy said.

“Last question.” Tess cleared her throat. “What is Ed most afraid of?”

“Well . . .” Amy set her wine glass aside on the end table next to the couch. “He always says his worst fear is that something bad will happen to you.”

“Aw. I wrote down snakes, but you’re probably right.” Tess splayed the note cards out on the coffee table. “Congratulations, you passed.”

“Yea.” Amy clapped her hands softly. “What’s next?”

Tess reached into her oversized purse and pulled out a can of purple Play-Doh. “Anybody feeling artistic?”

Fifteen minutes later, Maria’s laptop was closed and set aside on the floor. She held up the Play-Doh penis she had sculpted. Hers was blue. Amy had used the purple, and Tess had used orange.

“Oh my god.” Maria rotated the penis in the palm of her hand. “That actually looks real. Except for being blue. What do you think?”

Tess nodded. “That does look real. Is that modeled after Michael’s penis?”

“Heck yes.” Maria grinned. And what a good-looking penis it was. When Tess had suggested this game, she had been skeptical, but now . . . she was horny for her man.

“I’m done,” Amy announced, holding up her sculpture.

“Amy, that’s puny!” Tess cried.

“Oh, girls, it’s not a man’s size that matters; it’s what he does with what he’s got,” Amy explained. “And one thing Ed sure knows how to do . . .”

“Ah! Don’t tell me, please,” Tess begged, covering her ears.

“. . . is please a woman,” Amy finished calmly.

Maria laughed. “Mom, do you realize we wouldn’t have been able to have this conversation a few years ago? You were so uptight.”

“I know, sweetie,” she acknowledged. “But I’m cool now.”

“Well, I wouldn’t go that far, but . . .”

“Here’s mine!” Tess interjected, proudly setting her Play-Doh sculpture down on the coffee table. “Or, Kyle’s, more precisely.”

Maria chuckled and shook her head. “Wide as ever.”

“My god, Tess, you’re so tiny.” Amy stared at the object in astonishment. “I don’t even know how that . . . fits.”

“Amy!” Tess gasped.

“Well . . .” She shrugged.

Maria laughed. “Oh, this is nice,” she said. “Reminds me of the good old days of being a pervert.”

“Speaking of pervs, what do you think the guys are doing right about now?” Tess asked. She got to her feet and peeked out the front window over at her house.

“They promised no strippers, right?” Maria rehashed.

“Yeah, but you know they’re still doing something lewd and obnoxious.”

Amy frowned. “You think? Even with Miley there?”

“Amy, it’s a bachelor party,” Tess said emphatically. “There’s no way they’re just sitting around playing board games.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kyle, Michael, and Ed sat quietly in Kyle’s living room, surrounded by board games. They had just finished The Game of Life. Kyle had ended up with more money, but Michael had ended up with more kids. Ed had opted not to play and was instead reading the newspaper. Miley was asleep, her head on Michael’s leg.

Once Kyle put Life away, he gave Michael a questioning look and asked, “Whack-a-Mole?”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“So I told him I’d had a great day, and I was about to leave the hotel room when he grabbed my hands, looked right at me, and told me he was going to kiss me. And then he did. And it was perfect.” Amy blushed and smiled fondly as she recalled the memory of her and Ed’s first kiss.

“Aw, that’s so sweet,” Tess cooed. “My dad is such a prince.”

“Yeah, he is,” Amy agreed. “I fell in love with him right then and there.”

“Who next?” Maria asked.

“I’ll go next,” Tess offered. “Okay, Maria already knows this story . . .”

“It’s hilarious,” she cut in.

“But my first kiss with Kyle . . . I barely remember it, ‘cause we were both hammered.”

Amy’s eyes enlarged.

“Yeah, we were in his apartment, and we were dancing around to Britney Spears.” She laughed. “And then we, uh . . . we kissed, and then we did a little more than kissing. Kyle still doesn’t remember a minute of it.”

“He was a virgin,” Maria added.

“Oh, that’s right. He was a virgin.” Tess shrugged innocently.

Amy looked stunned. “Wow,” she said. “I don’t think I’ll be telling Ed that story. That’s very . . .”

“Not romantic, I know,” Tess said. “Your turn, Maria.”

She leaned forward in her chair. “Okay, my first kiss with Michael was super romantic. We were at a frat party . . .”

“You went to frat parties?” Amy cut in.

“All the time, Mom. Anyway, it was New Year’s Eve, and Tess wasn’t there ‘cause she was moping over Max.”

Tess rolled her eyes.

“Anyway, I was hanging out with this Brad guy, and we were counting down ‘til midnight. Ten, nine . . . you know the drill. And right at midnight, Michael comes up to me, spins me around, and just plants one on me out of nowhere. Like out of nowhere. And after he’s done, he just smiles at me and says, ‘Happy New Year,’ all sexy like that. And then he just leaves the party, and I was just, like, standing there like an idiot, ‘cause I couldn’t even move. And that was the start of that year for me.”

“Yeah, that kiss definitely wins the award for most epic,” Tess said. “To think, six weeks later, he got you pregnant.”

“Hmm.” Maria smiled. “We didn’t waste any time.”

“Oh, girls, this is so fun,” Amy said. “I love getting to hear all these stories.”

“Even the drunk fuck story?” Tess asked.

“Sure, it’s funny.”

Maria smiled and got up when there was a knock on the door. “I’ll get it,” she said. When she opened the door, Marty was on the other side. “Hey, you!” she exclaimed.

“Hey, girl.”

“Marty?” Amy called from the living room. She sprang to her feet and ran towards him. “Oh, come here! Hi, honey!” She threw her arms around him and hugged him.

“Hi, married woman,” he returned.

“How are you?” she asked. “Are you okay?”

“I’m good.”

“Has Francis--”

“No,” he replied before she could finish. “So listen, Maria told me about this bridal shower tonight, and we all know I’m a sucker for a good bridal shower. So I closed down the club early, and I decided to pop in.”

“We were hoping you’d come,” Maria told him. Marty always knew how to make a party better.

“Well, here I am. And . . . I brought some friends.”

Maria winkled her forehead in confusion.

Marty grinned, tossed his head back over his shoulder, and hollered, “Bring it in, boys!”

Boys? Maria thought. Before she knew it, three muscular men dressed as shirtless firemen danced into the house. One of them was carrying a boom box blasting “Sexyback” by Justin Timberlake. The best-looking one hopped up onto the coffee table and started to swirl his hips around.

“Oh my god!” Tess exclaimed. “Oh my god!”

Maria laughed, almost falling over. Leave it to Marty to show up with male strippers.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Michael winced when Kyle slammed his mallet down atop Michael’s hand. “Dammit, Kyle,” he swore. “I hate this game.”

“I think it’s the best game ever,” Kyle declared.

“Yeah, ‘cause you always win.”

“Well, yeah.”

Michael tossed his Whack-a-Mole mallet down onto the floor. “This is by far the most pathetic bachelor party I’ve ever been to in my entire life.”

“What, like you’re some expert?” Kyle snapped.

“Hey, I planned yours, didn’t I?’

“Yeah.”

“And it was awesome.”

“It was awesome,” Kyle conceded. “I’ll give you that. But what’re we supposed to do without any strippers?”

“I don’t even like strippers,” Michael said. “It’s objectifying.”

“Ooh, Mr. Feminist over there,” Kyle teased. “Ed, you’re from Vegas. You’d be the expert on strippers. What do you think, is it objectifying?”

Ed set his newspaper down for the first time that evening and shrugged. “I imagine it would be, for some.”

“See?” Michael said.

“But for others, it may be quite liberating.”

“Aha!” Kyle exclaimed triumphantly. “I knew it.”

Ed chuckled. “Maybe you two should go spy on the girls, see what they’re doing,” he suggested.

“I guess we could get some better game ideas,” Michael said.

“Better than Whack-a-Mole?” Kyle shook his head. “Don’t count on it.” He headed for the door.

“I’ll stay here with Miley,” Ed volunteered.

“Thanks.” Michael carefully got to his feet, placing a pillow under her head so she could continue sleeping.

As they crossed the front lawn, Michael heard music coming from his house.

“What do you think they’re doing?” Kyle asked.

“Sounds like they’re dancing.” As he walked by his own front room window, he froze, and his mouth dropped open. “What the . . .” He peered inside and saw half-naked men gyrating in his living room. Amy was standing on the coffee table with one of them, dancing, and Maria and Tess were dancing with another one in the living room. Marty was in the kitchen, practically manhandling his stripper. Those guys were just wearing . . . thongs! Male thongs!

“No way,” Kyle said. “Oh, that is wrong. That is so wrong!” He marched towards the front door and practically kicked it open. “Hello, hypocrites!” he hollered, a crazed look on his face. Amy immediately climbed down off the table.

“Kyle!” Tess shrieked.

“Michael!” Maria pushed the sweaty male stripper away.

Marty cackled. “Here,” he said, “have a Play-Doh penis!” He tossed a blue sculpted penis at Michael. At first, Michael didn’t want to touch it. He let it land on the floor. But when he looked at it, it looked sort of familiar. “Hey, wait a minute . . .” He bent down to pick it up and gave Maria a look. What kind of bridal shower were these women having?

“Uh-oh, do I hear Macy crying?” Maria said, backing towards the stairs.

“I don’t hear anything,” Michael said.

“No, but I do. Ears like a dog. I’ll take care of it.” She turned and ran upstairs, probably just to avoid the confrontation.

“Maria!”

“Let her go, Big Boy,” Marty said. “The strippers were my doing.”

“Yeah, none of us girls even knew about it,” Tess said, attempting to smile.

But Kyle was having none of it. He stomped his foot in frustration and complained, “This is so unfair!”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The rest of the night was a frigid one for Kyle and Tess. He sulked around, once in awhile muttering a lecture about equal availability of strippers, and Tess waited for him to get over it. They lay in bed at midnight, and he was still mad.

“Kyle,” she said, staring at his back. “Kyle. Ky—this is ridiculous. How long are you gonna ignore me?”

“I don’t know, how long did you dance with naked men tonight?”

“They weren’t naked,” she said. “They were wearing thongs.”

He grunted.

“Baby, that doesn’t matter, though,” she insisted, “‘cause right now, there’s only one naked man I wanna dance with.” She smoothed her legs against his, hoping to entice him.

He rolled over onto his back and pointed out, “Your dad’s in the guest room. It kinda kills the mood.”

“We can be quiet,” she whispered.

“Nah, I’m too pissed off.”

“To have sex?” That was rare.

“Is that so hard to believe?”

“Yeah, you love sex.” She grazed her left hand along the lines of his chest and tried another tempting tactic. “I wouldn’t make you wear a condom.” Kyle was a sucker for the natural feel.

“Really?”

She nodded eagerly. Condoms were . . . not her biggest priority anymore.

Even though he looked to be considering it for a minute, he shook his head. “Nah, knowing my luck, I’d get you pregnant.”

She tensed.

He rolled back over onto his side, mumbling, “Maybe we should just go to sleep.”

She clutched the sheets tightly to her chest and quietly agreed, “Yeah, maybe we should.” The urge to have sex had come and gone.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Michael gazed at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. He wasn’t quite as muscular as those strippers, but he thought he looked pretty good. He tied his bathrobe tightly around his waist and pumped himself up. “It’s showtime.” The sex drought was ending tonight.

He stepped out of the bathroom and into his bedroom. It was dark and he could hardly see anything, but he could make out her frame lying on the bed. “Hey, Maria?” he said. “You’re not asleep yet, are you?”

She stirred but didn’t say anything.

“I hope your male strippers didn’t wear you out,” he said, untying the bathrobe, “‘cause I’ve got big plans for us tonight.” He dropped the bathrobe to the floor, only slightly embarrassed that he was wearing tight, crotch-grabbing briefs. Usually he wore looser fitting boxers, but once in awhile if he was trying to seduce his girl, the briefs came in handy.

She pulled the covers up over her head. It was so dark in the room that he heard her do that more than he saw her.

“That’s it, hide your blushing eyes,” he teased as he swayed from side to side. “You know you want it.” He tossed the covers back, and she moaned sleepily. He crawled into bed beside her and moved in close to her. “And baby, you know the real thing’s better than Play-Doh.” He wrapped his arms around her mid-section and spooned up behind her, but something felt . . . weird. Very weird. Since when were her hips shaped like that? And why did her hair feel shorter? And since when did she wear that perfume? She smelled like . . .

His eyes widened in horror, though it wasn’t until the woman in his arms moaned, “Mmm, Ed,” that he panicked.

“Ah!” he screamed, flinging himself onto the floor.

“What, what, what?” Amy shot up in bed and turned on the light. “Michael?”

“Oh my god!” he yelled, feeling sick to his stomach. “Jesus Christ . . .” He dove for his bathrobe and put it on, suddenly feeling way too exposed.

“What just happened?” she asked. “I was asleep. I thought you were Ed.”

“I thought you were Maria!” He felt like crying; he was so freaked out. He shook his head, trying to convince himself this was some horrible nightmare, and he marched downstairs. Maria was lying on the couch reading a book for one of her classes.

“Maria.” He peered down at her, crossing his arms over his chest. “Why the hell is your mom in our bed?”

“Because she has a bad back. She didn’t wanna sleep on the couch,” she explained simply.

“Well, you could’ve told me that.”

“I just did.”

“I mean before I . . .” He trailed off, afraid to say the words.

She propped herself up on her elbows, suddenly seeming intrigued. “Before you what?”

He bit his bottom lip, wondering why it was that he always had to embarrass himself horribly when Amy was around. “I spooned with her,” he confessed.

She just stared at him for a moment, then burst out laughing.

“I’m serious,” he said.

“Good. It’s funnier if it’s true.” She rolled all around on the couch, clutching her hand to her stomach as her laughter multiplied. “Why did you spoon with her?”

“The lights were off. I thought she was you!” he replied dramatically. “I was going on and on, doing my sexy dance . . .” He cringed, and she just laughed harder. “Why’re you—this isn’t funny!” he cried. “I’m traumatized! I’m scarred for life!”

“Oh my god, were you naked?”

Thank God for small miracles. “Not quite.” He untied the bathrobe to show her that he was only wearing the briefs.

Spit flew from her mouth and her book fell to the floor as she dug her head back into the pillow, howling. He plopped down on the floor, leaning back against the couch, shaking his head angrily. This kind of thing never happened to her when she was with his parents. It had to be future son-in-law syndrome. Kyle had told him about it, how future son-in-laws were prone to doing stupid and embarrassing things in front of the very people they were trying to impress.

“Oh my god!” she exclaimed, laughing so hard that she was crying. “You almost had sex with my mom!”

He just kept shaking his head. Neither Amy nor Maria would ever let him forget this one.









TBC . . .

-April

[April]

I hope everyone who celebrates Easter had a great holiday. Mine was pretty decent.


Ellie:

You definitely didn't disappoint. I don't know which was funnier though ... Michael finding a replica of his penis made of Play Dough (btw, Maria definitely has some artistic abilities as well ), the first kiss stories that were traded, the guys bachelor party (filled with board games) or Michael spooning Amy (thinking she was Maria). Dammit ... I can't stop laughing now!

Like I said, it was one of the more comedic parts. I'm glad you liked it.

Gotta love Marty! I hope you tell us what happened with Francis.

I promise I will.

By the way, I can't help but notice your sig. Who was Squeaks?

Leila:

I assume Ed's and Amy's marriage is rushed because they have a secret. I think Ed is ill...but I'm not sure so I wait what you got for us in store.

That's an interesting theory. I don't think anyone else has come up with that one. There is definitely something strange going on, and the next few parts will hint at what it is.

BB:

I definitely think that Kyle is right on the whole baby issue, he's still far to juvenile to be a father.

He is more juvenile than Michael, Maria, and Tess.

And why are the newly weds sleeping in seperate beds in seperate houses anyway? Interupting candy nookie, how very dare they!

They should have just gone to a hotel and let M+M have all the sex they wanted to.

Rodney:

And I don't know why Michael is so upset over spooning Amy for I agree with Kyle....she's one hot MILF....uhhh did I just say that outloud?

Of course you would think that!

You know as much as it pains me to say this.....but Tess has grown some since 521 but in some areas she's still the same. Much like she was going to hide the fact Max kissed her,in 521,from Kyle she's also hidding her want for a baby.

And that didn't go so well when she tried to keep a secret from Kyle in 521, so apparently she hasn't learned her lesson. I think she wants to tell him, but it's just hard to find the right time, because every time she starts to work up the courage to do it, Kyle says something like he did in the last part about not wanting to get her pregnant.

lilah:

I was guessing that Amy is pregnant too...that would be beyond awful for Tess and kind of weird for Maria, it would be like "here's my sister, yes she's younger than my child" hmmm...

Yeah, that would be really weird for both Tess and Maria.

Novy:

I didn't even know that was bridal shower game.

The penis sculpting game? I found it online and thought it was funny, so I decided to use it.

Perhaps they are waiting to fire Max and Alex at the same time. Roger must be in on what might be going on.

Roger is in on what's going on, but he doesn't have the authority to fire Max. Max is in control of everything. For now, at least.

dreambeliever:

here I was thinking that we were gonna get some candy action and then.....NOT!

That's how I roll, you know.

Sam: I'm glad you found the last part funny!

Maiqu:

Long Live Marty..just saying

Nobody livens up a party like a flambouyant gay man does.

Christina:

Us girls are gonna do either a spa day, a pole dancing lesson, or both.

Ooh, a pole dancing lesson! Definitely! No, both would be fun.

Can't wait for more, especially finding out more about Max's company and what that magazine article said.

You'll get a few more hints in this part.

Neve:

I love this side of Amy, definitely an improvement from the uptight, judgemental Amy we first met back in 521. Is she pregnant?

There's definitely something going on. Pregnant? I don't know, maybe. She's not too old yet.


Thanks so much for all the feedback!

This part includes some talk about a place called La Petite Academy. It's a real place, though I've never been there. I got all the information about it from their website. I'm not plagiarizing.









Part 16










The Evans mansion smelled like cleaning products when Max and Liz arrived home on Sunday. Kamalame Cay already felt like a distant memory. Max wished they had taken a longer honeymoon. He was in no hurry to get back to real life.

“Home sweet home,” Liz said, wrapping one arm around his waist.

“Yep,” he agreed, putting an arm around her shoulders. “Yolanda?”

Their maid came scampering out of the kitchen. “Mr. Evans, Miss Liz,” she greeted cheerily.

“Mrs. Evans now,” Liz corrected.

“Oh, si, si.” Yolanda hugged Liz and shook Max’s hand. “Everything here is wonderful,” she proclaimed. “How was your . . .” She paused for a long time as she struggled to come up with the word. “Moon of honey?”

Liz laughed. “Honeymoon. It was great. We loved it. Didn’t we, Max?”

He would have answered sooner, but he was distracted by the familiar man walking around in the back yard. Roger was circling the pool, talking on his cell phone.

“Max?”

“Hmm? Yeah. Yeah, we loved it,” he echoed. “Yolanda, how long as that guy been out there?” He motioned to Roger.

“Twenty minutes, Mr. Evans.”

Yep, Max thought, the honeymoon’s definitely over. “Excuse me,” he said, unwrapping his arm from Liz. He traipsed through the house and slipped out the double doors onto the back veranda. Roger put his cell phone away and said, “About time you got home.”

Max glared at him. “You look like the Grim Reaper,” he said. “Have I ever told you how much I despise you?”

“Every day.” Roger smirked. “I took care of some . . . business while you were away.”

Max nodded. Business. Business wasn’t as fun as it used to be. “Is anyone asking questions?”

“Just your brother-in-law.” Roger took out a cigarette and handed one to Max.

“What’d you tell him?” Max asked, waiting for a light.

Roger sparked his cigarette with a lighter. “I told him to get back to work.”

Max nodded, waiting for Roger to hand the lighter to him, but he never did. He stuck the unlit cigarette between his teeth and stared out ahead of himself. They had a great view from this house. It overlooked the whole city.

“It’s only a matter of time, Max,” Roger said.

He knew that. He’d known that for awhile now.

****

Even though he wanted to hang his head, Max stared Roger straight in the eye. The older man strode into the office for the first time since Max had fired him three years ago. He still looked like a virgin.

“You know it’s bad when Max Evans asks for my help,” Roger said, sounding pleased with the situation.

“I despise you,” Max told him flat-out. “Long time no see, Rog.”

“Since you fired me.”

Max slapped the latest issue of Corporate down on his desk. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that a business aficionado like Roger had read it cover to cover three times already. “You get me outta this mess, I make you manager of the Tucson branch,” he promised.

“You make me manager of the Tucson branch and I’ll try my best,” Roger corrected.

“Done.” Max knew a strong incentive when he offered one. There was no way Roger could resist this.

Roger grinned and opened the magazine, pretending to skim through the article as though he hadn’t read it before. “How many girls?” he asked.

“I don’t know.”

Roger raised an eyebrow.

“A lot, okay?” He hadn’t exactly kept count.

“Does your girlfriend know about this?”

“Fiancée,” he corrected. “And yes, she’s known for years.”

“And she stayed with you, huh? Must be love.”

“Must be,” Max agreed. “She just doesn’t know it’s in print.”

“Well, you’d better tell her,” Roger suggested. “I’ll do my best to keep this low-key, but . . . it’s only a matter of time until she finds out, Max. I suspect you know that.”

He knew. Somehow, he’d always known his past would come back to haunt him.

****

Max flicked his cigarette onto the ground. Telling Liz about the article had been the easy part. Telling her and Alex about its ramifications . . . that was what he really dreaded.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Maria and Amy took Miley and Macy to the park that afternoon. Amy invited Michael to tag along, but he avoided all eye contact with her and declined.

“Did you get your paper done?” Amy asked. They sat on the bench with Macy’s stroller in front of them. She was awake and smiling. Miley was playing in the sandbox with her Malibu Barbies.

“Most of it,” Maria replied. “I just gotta make some edits.”

“That’s good.” Amy reached down into the stroller and let Macy grab her index finger. “Honey, I’d like to apologize,” she said.

“For spooning with my man?” she joked. “Sorry, couldn’t resist.”

“Well, for that, obviously,” Amy said, blushing, “but also for asking you when you and Michael would get married and have another baby. I don’t mean to pressure you. You’ve already accomplished so much at such a young age.”

Maria nodded, unconvinced by that. “Right, I’ve accomplished so much, yet I still haven’t graduated college or gotten a real job.”

“Oh, but you have a job,” her mother assured her, “and it’s the most important job in the world. You’re a mom.”

“But I’m so close to being able to say I’m a teacher, too. Sometimes it just feels . . . unattainable.”

“You’ll get there.” Amy placed a hand on her shoulder. “You know, sometimes I think of the mother I’ve been, and I’m amazed you turned out so well.”

“You were never a bad mom. You just had all these unrealistic expectations of me, and it took you awhile to accept Marty for who he is. But you’re better now.”

Amy sighed and hung her head. “I’m better.”

Maria frowned. Sometimes her mother seemed so happy, and then just like that, she seemed sad about something. “Are you okay?” she asked.

“I’m fine,” she said. “I just hope you know . . .” She pointed to Miley. “That little girl right there is the most important student you’ll ever have. And this one, too.” She nudged Macy’s stroller with her foot. “The lessons you teach them shape who they’ll become.”

Maria laughed a little. “But no pressure.”

“Oh, you’re doing a great job,” Amy assured her. “I’m so proud of you.”

Maria smiled. “Thanks, Mom. That means a lot.” When she saw tears brimming in Amy’s eyes, she quickly tried to lighten the mood. “Don’t be so emo, okay?”

Amy laughed. “I don’t even know what that is, but . . . okay.”

“Okay.” Maria surveyed her mother skeptically. Something was definitely up with her. Hmm, she thought. Must be menopause.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tess flipped on the light switch of her design studio and ushered her father inside. “Here it is, same as the last time you saw it,” she said. “Only with fewer customers.”

“I’m sure business will pick up.” Ed touched Miley’s drawing on the bulletin board. “Is this your work?” he asked.

Tess laughed lightly. “That’s Miley’s.”

“Oh. She’s quite good for her age.”

“She’s the best,” Tess agreed.

Ed smiled at her. “She’s lucky to have such good godparents.”

“Well, you know, since Kyle and I don’t have any kids of our own to spoil . . .” She trailed off and shrugged.

“Have you two talked about that?” her father asked.

“What, kids? No,” she replied quickly. “No, why-why would you even ask?”

“Well, I just notice the way you look at Miley and Macy, and I wonder if you ever think about it.”

She smiled softly. It seemed as though that was all she could think about lately. “I do think about it, sometimes,” she confessed. “But I don’t think Kyle does. We’re still young. We don’t have to rush things.” Even as she said that, the desire tugged at her heart. “Although . . . if it did happen . . . it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. We’ve been married for a year and a half now. We have a house, steady jobs, good families. I bet we’d be good parents.” Their kids would be cute, too. Adorable, lovable. “But, like I said, we haven’t even talked about it, so . . . this is a weird conversation to be having with my dad.”

“Who else could you have it with?”

“Um, Maria. Maybe even Liz.” Babies entailed sex, and she never felt comfortable discussing sex with her father.

“Liz, the girl who works for you?” Ed approached Liz’s cluttered desk.

“Yeah.”

He picked up a picture of her and Max. “Did she ever marry him?”

“Last weekend. I was a bridesmaid.”

Ed gave her an inquiring look.

She shook her head. “Don’t ask.”

He set the picture back down. “I was never a fan of Max Evans.”

“Hmm, neither was I.”

“I can’t say I felt bad when the two of you broke up. It’s hard to believe that anyone would marry him.”

“Well, she loves him . . . somehow.” Tess had given up trying to figure out Max’s and Liz’s dysfunctional relationship a long time ago. The best thing to do was stay out of it and hope they managed to bring out the best in each other, if there was such a thing as a best to bring out.

“He had a hotel in the works just off the Strip, but . . . I guess something changed, because apparently it’s gonna be another Trump building now.”

“Hmm. Yeah, I really don’t understand the business world beyond this little studio,” Tess admitted.

“It may be little, but it’s a great place, sweetheart.” He made his way to her side and wrapped an arm around her. “I’m so proud of my little girl.”

She looked up at him and smiled. He was a great dad.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Isabel didn’t even pretend to be interested in what Anne Jenkins, the preschool director at La Petite Academy, was saying. She and Alex sat in her office, and even though Alex seemed genuinely interested, Isabel knew the bitch was just trying to sell the preschool to her. Everything she was saying was so cheesy and rehearsed.

“Here at La Petite Academy, everything ties in to our philosophy: play with a purpose. We view every activity that your child engages in as an opportunity for teaching and learning.”

Isabel picked up the silver letter opener off her desk and dangled it in front of her face. Anne gave her a peculiar look but kept going.

“Our programs are continually updated to incorporate the latest research in early childhood development and the latest in kindergarten readiness standards. We have an education team of experts with over fifty years of combined experience in early childhood education, and what we try to do is combine those expert theories with the country’s leading education resources to improve our programs.”

Alex nodded. “That sounds . . . good.”

Isabel rolled her eyes. That sounds good? He was the one who had dragged her here, and now she understood why: He was so clearly out of his league.

“What really makes La Petite Academy so special is our deep commitment to both the children and their parents,” Anne emphasized. “We recognize that, as parents, you play an integral role in your child’s development. We strive to keep the lines of communication between the Academy and parents very open; because the way we see it, we’re all educators, and we all want your son to succeed.”

Isabel had had enough of that crap. “That’s great,” she cut in impatiently, setting the letter opener back down on the desk with a clank. “What’s it cost?”

“Isabel,” Alex said, his voice cautionary in tone.

“What? Somebody’s gotta ask the serious questions.” If she left it up to Alex, he’d just sit there and nod and talk about how good everything sounded.

Anne smiled pleasantly, but Isabel recognized it immediately as a shark’s smile. “Typically we run around one-hundred and sixty dollars per week.”

“A hundred and sixty dollars?” she echoed, huffing. “A week?” She had to laugh. It was so ridiculous.

“That’s greatly reduced if either of you has had military experience,” Anne added on pointedly for Alex.

“Oh, please, like he could hold a gun,” Isabel scoffed. She looked at her husband and asked, “Are we done here?”

“Just . . . hold on. What kinds of programs do you have?” he asked. “I mean, like, educational stuff.”

“Eloquent, Alex, really. Let’s just leave.”

“We gotta start thinking about this stuff. Why not sooner rather than later?”

“Preschool’s just a waste of time and a waste of money.”

“Actually, it’s very beneficial,” Anne cut in, “and all the kids are very happy here.”

Isabel grunted in disdain. “They probably just sit around and glue things together.”

“Actually, they paint and sing songs and even read.”

“All things I can do with Garret at home for free.”

Anne wouldn’t let up. “But at the Academy, he has the added benefit of being around his peers and learning in a social setting. He would be part of the preschool program until he advances next year to the pre-kindergarten program for four and five year-olds. And as a returning student, he’d receive a discounted tuition rate.”

Tuition was for college students and private school kids, not preschoolers. “Let’s go, Alex.” She shoved her chair back from the desk and turned to leave.

“Thank you for meeting with us,” Alex said quietly as he followed her out the door.

Isabel marched down the hallway, her heels clicking on the tile floor.

“What the hell’s your problem?” Alex called.

She whirled around. “My problem is that preschool’s pointless and you’re stupid enough to wanna spend thousands of dollars a year on this place.”

“Not necessarily this place. This is just one option.”

“Not for us. We don’t have that kind of money.” She saw that he was about to open his mouth and protest, but she cut him off. “And don’t even mention Max.” She hated having to rely on her prick of a brother so much.

Alex licked his lips, taking a few calming breaths. “If we sent Garret to preschool, you could get a job,” he said. “Joint incomes . . .” He must have noticed the appalled look on her face, because he said, “What, is that really so crazy?”

She wasn’t above working a job so long as it was a job she was passionate about. Such as running Evans Hotels. “What am I gonna do, be a waitress?”

“Sure, why not?”

She rolled her eyes again, feeling as though she were totally above that. “Garret needs a parental influence.”

“Yours?” Alex shook his head angrily. “You drop him off at daycare half the time anyway. Why not bring him somewhere where he can actually learn something?”

“Even if I had a job, it’s still too expensive. Besides, La Petite Academy? It sounds like they spew out gay little automatons. No thanks.” She had bigger plans for her son. She turned around again to continue on her way down the never-ending hallway, but Alex said something that stopped her.

“You’re lying.”

She froze and slowly turned around, glaring at him. “Excuse me?” She marched back towards him, fuming. “What does that mean?”

“It’s not the money. It’s not the fact that you don’t like preschool. You wanna hold him back.”

She threw her arms in the air. “Why would I wanna do that?”

“Isn’t it obvious? You want him to be in Miley Guerin’s class.”

Inside, her heart sped up, but she tried not to show it. “Like I’m that twisted.”

He stared at her. “You are.”

Well, well, well, she thought condescendingly, for once you’re right about something. She smiled decisively. “He’s not going to preschool, Alex. That’s final.” She whirled around and stomped down the hallway. She was just looking out for her son. That was what she always did. If he ended up in a class with Miley, would that be so bad? They were friends, after all, and friends were a good thing.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Amy trudged down the stairs that night, raking her hands through her hair. It didn’t matter how tired she was; she still had trouble falling asleep.

She saw that the living room light was on. Michael and Maria were both still awake. They were curled up on the couch together watching TV. Amy stepped on a creaking floorboard, and they both looked up at her.

“Hey, Mom,” Maria said, pushing herself up into a sitting position. “What’re you doing up?”

“Oh, you know . . . couldn’t sleep.” She sat down on the arm of the couch and noted the way Michael refused to look at her. She laughed a little. “Michael, you don’t have to be so embarrassed around me,” she told him.

“Yes, I do,” was his hasty response.

Maria ran her fingers through his hair. “I don’t know what’s funnier, the fact that you spooned with her or the fact that that’s the most action you’ve gotten in months.”

“Uh, there’s nothing funny about either of those things,” he informed her.

They’re such a good couple, Amy thought, smiling at them both affectionately. She was so thankful that Maria had Michael. He was such a good young man, so good to her and the kids.

“Hey, Mom, you mind if we ask you something?” Maria inquired, patting the empty cushion beside her.

Amy slid down onto the couch. “Go ahead.”

“Okay, well, we’ve been up all night talking about whether or not we should get Miley onto this accelerated education track. All these education specialists think she’s, like, gifted—and we agree—and they want her to start school a year early and graduate when she’s, like, seventeen. But we don’t know if that’s a good idea. What do you think?”

Amy nodded slowly, contemplating it. “So she’d be in kindergarten when she’s five?”

“Yeah. It’s just a year earlier, but . . .” Maria shrugged. “We don’t know.”

“My parents are all for it,” Michael added, “but we’re not sure if it’s a good idea to rush her into school.”

“Well, have you talked to her about it?” Amy asked.

“Yeah,” Maria answered, “but she doesn’t really know what school is. She’s just so little. I don’t know if I’m ready. But at the same time, I don’t want her to miss out on an opportunity.”

“Well, it’s a tough decision,” Amy acknowledged. “Important decision. Are you two leaning in either direction?”

“We have no idea,” Maria confessed, “but it’s September, so we kind of need to decide soon.”

“Well, you’ll make the right decision,” Amy assured both of them, “whatever you feel is best for Miley. But trust me, you really don’t want my advice. I wasn’t exactly Parent of the Year.”

“I wasn’t exactly gifted,” Maria said.

Amy frowned. Her daughter was gifted. Maybe she hadn’t started school a year early, but she was gifted in so many ways.

Maria turned to Michael and asked, “Are you ready to go to bed?”

“Yeah, I’m tired.”

“Okay.” She took his hand, and they got up. “Goodnight, Mom.” Maria bent and gave her a kiss on the cheek, and then she and Michael headed upstairs. Amy sat alone in the living room once they were gone. She turned off the TV with the remote and decided to sit outside for awhile. She needed the fresh air.

She shut the front door and sat down on the steps of the porch. It was a beautiful night, not too cold or too warm. The moon was nearly full, and there were fireflies buzzing around the front yard.

She had been sitting outside for about five minutes when she heard movement next door. She glanced over at the Valenti House and saw Ed making his way through the yard. She smiled at her husband, and he sat down beside her.

“Couldn’t sleep?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Nope. Either I’m too tired or I’m too awake. I can’t seem to find that happy medium.”

Ed swallowed hard and nodded. “Have you told them yet?”

A chill traversed Amy’s spine. “No,” she whispered. She’d just had the perfect opportunity, but . . . it was too hard.

“You’re gonna have to come clean eventually,” Ed pointed out.

“I know,” she said, “but I don’t want to.” The moment she told Michael and Maria what was going on with her, everything would change. And she liked things the way they were.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Garret made a face as Isabel ran a comb through his hair. “I need a haircut.”

“No, you don’t.” Isabel set the comb down on the dresser. “Curly hair’s great. Girls like to run their fingers through it.” She ran her fingers through his dark brown locks to demonstrate.

“Mom!” He giggled, talking to their reflections in the mirror. “Am I going to daycare today?”

“I think so.” She thought about Billy, about the feel of his cock inside her. “I have some things I need to do today that won’t interest you.”

“But nobody plays with me,” Garret groaned. “I miss Miley.”

Isabel closed her eyes for a moment, envisioning her son and that little girl holding hands and running through meadows together. “Me, too.” She picked up the comb again and started to run it through his hair, but she stopped mid-strand. “Garret?” she asked. “Who’s your best friend?”

He thought about it for only a second, then replied, “Uncle Max.”

She stiffened at that admission. Her son’s best friend was a monster.

She had to do something to change that.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There he was, working away inside his art gallery. Isabel stood outside the building, peering in through the window. He looked even better than he had at the wedding. He was in his element when he was surrounded by art. He was practically a work of art in enough himself. Her girl parts tingled at the sight of him.

Her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. She quickly took it out and saw a text message from Billy. He was wondering what was taking her so long. She dropped her phone into her purse and took a deep breath as she entered the art gallery.

“Welcome to C4 . . .” When Michael looked up and saw her, his expression fell. Clearly she wasn’t just any ordinary customer. “What’re you doing here?”

She smirked. “I came to buy some art.” She circled around a sculpture of a naked female and traced her fingertips across its breasts. “Some of this is actually in my price range.”

Michael just glared at her. “Leave.”

She would do no such thing. “This is a public place, isn’t it? I have every right to be here.”

“No, normal human beings have every right to be here. You don’t qualify.”

She pouted. “That’s mean.” Though in a way, it was a huge compliment. Who wanted to be normal when they could be extraordinary? “Where’s your sidekick?” she asked, sauntering towards him.

He gave her a confused look and stepped back behind the front desk.

“Kyle,” she clarified. “Is he here, or is it just the two of us?” She really hoped it was just the two of them. She had rape fantasies that played out like this.

“Macy’s in my office,” he said.

Hearing that name felt like a knife in the heart. Miley was fine because she and Garret were friends. Macy, though . . . she was of no use to Isabel, so she only served as a constant reminder of the fact that Maria had two parts of Michael Isabel would never have.

“Two kids before the age of twenty-five,” she said, setting her purse down on the counter. “A lesser man would have crumbled under the pressure. But not you.”

“Flattery gets you nowhere,” he informed her.

“It’s not flattery; it’s the truth.” He was amazing, and he had to know that.

“Why are you here?” he asked again, clearly impatient.

“We need to talk.” She rubbed her thighs together, trying to create a little friction between her legs.

“What could we possibly have to talk about?”

“Romeo and Juliet.” She smiled. “Our kids.”

“I don’t wanna hear anything you have to say.”

Too bad. Nothing was going to stop her from saying it. She cleared her throat. “I asked Garret who his best friend is. He said Max.” She shook her head. “That won’t do. Miley and Garret clearly need each other. It’s important for kids to form friendships at an early age. Friendships with their peers, not their rapist uncles.”

“And if Garret was anyone else’s son, that wouldn’t be a problem.” Michael shrugged.

“It’s not fair to make him pay for what I’ve done,” she pointed out.

“You’re right, it’s not fair, but that’s just the way it is.”

She hated to think that Garret would live in her shadow. It was a huge, dark shadow, and he deserved to shine. “He’s a good kid.”

“And I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt,” Michael said, “but I’m not willing to overlook the fact that you’re batshit insane.”

She grinned. Insanity could be a beautiful thing. If only he would realize that. She turned and found herself staring at a picture of Kyle and Tess on their wedding day, standing at the altar together as he placed the ring on her finger. That one wasn’t for sale. “Did Kyle paint that?” she asked. “Or did you?” She squinted at the signature in the corner. It was Kyle’s. “You know,” she said, “I’ve often wondered why you and your bitch of a girlfriend don’t just tie the knot already.”

“Don’t call her that,” he growled.

“You live with her, you impregnate her, but you don’t marry her.” She turned and gave him a confused look. “I wonder why that is. Here’s a thought: Maybe you haven’t married her because you don’t want to. Maybe you’re still holding out hope for us.”

He tossed his head back and laughed. “Wow.”

“You’re not denying it.”

“Because anything I say goes in one ear and out the other with you. You only hear what you wanna hear.”

That wasn’t true. She heard everything he was saying and everything he wasn’t.

He turned his back on her and headed back to his office. Apparently he was hoping she’d decide to go away, but she couldn’t, not when something on the front desk caught her eye. It was a folder, identical to one she had. It said La Petite Academy on the front and had a picture of the exact same building she’d gone to explore the day before. She opened the folder and saw an application for enrollment. The wheels of her mind immediately started turning. She grabbed the folder and marched back to his office.

“La Petite Academy, huh?” she said, stopping when she saw him. He was walking around in the office holding Macy while she drooled on his shoulder. He looked more perfect than ever. Alex had never been a dad like this.

“You’re not allowed back here,” he said, clearly fighting to keep himself calm.

She held up the folder. “Isn’t Miley a little young for preschool?”

“She’s gifted,” Michael informed her proudly. “They wanna put her on an accelerated education track.”

“Really?” Jealousy swarmed through her veins. How come they didn’t think Garret was gifted? He was her son. He had to be gifted. “Good for her,” she said, swallowing her pride. “You know, she’d probably be even smarter if her mother’s stupidity genes weren’t holding her back.”

“That’s it. Get the hell out,” Michael snapped. His sudden harsh tone caused Macy to start crying. He rubbed her back and bounced her up and down gently. “You’re only embarrassing yourself by being here.”

She sensed that she’d said everything she could. Still no progress on the Miley-Garret front . . . but there had been progress in another sense. She dropped the folder onto the floor and headed back out into the studio. She waited until she was back out onto the sidewalk to retrieve her phone from her purse and dial the number of La Petite Academy.









TBC . . .

-April

[April]

Ellie: Sorry about Squeaks. I know from recent experience that it's hard to go home and not see your pet there the way you're accustomed to seeing them. They really are a part of the family. At least he lived a long time for a cat, though. I don't think I've ever known a cat that lived that long, so you and your family must have taken very good care of him.

And the fact that there are some women out there just like Liz ... it's sad. Isabel isn't the only one with issues/problems. Whenever she does check into the nearest mental health facility, I strongly recommend that Liz have a bed beside her as well. The both of them are just ... Cuckoo for Coco Puffs!

That's actually a really good point. With the girls in this fic, there is sort of spectrum of issues on which they all fall, with Isabel obviously having the most and the other three going in some kind of order after that, probably with Liz leading the way.

Great update April. O.k. I'm going to get back to work cause I've taken already more than 1/2 an hour to read and write this feedback and I'm starting to get nervous that I will get found out soon by manager and/or director.

Don't get fired!

Leila:

Could it be that Alex found his balls over Easter??? I'm surprised that he faced Isabel like that.

Once in awhile he manages to stand up to her, but whenever he does, she usually finds a way to turn the tables back around on him and re-gain the upper hand.

BB:

Michael is right, she really only hears what she wants to hear. She's completely deluded if she thinks that Michael is still holding out for her.

I'm not sure if she said that because she really believes it or if she said that because she wants to make herself believe it. Probably a combination of both. You're right: craz-ee!

Rodney:

PS....I see with the Tess and her dad talk that daughters hate to talk about sex with their dads as bad as us sons want to have the same conversation around our moms

I've never known my dad so I thankfully never had to have that conversation with him. It just seems like sex-talks are one thing that should probably remain gender-segregated.

Novy:

Yep, so the creep factor definitely went up few hundred pegs after reading that. lol She wants to rape Michael. Ewwww!

Either that or she wants to be raped. I don't know, either way, that line was a creepy, disturbing line to write.

I have a bad feeling that Amy is very sick! That's not good. I really hope I'm not right. She's finally close to her kids and grandchildren. But perhaps that's what sparked Ed and her to get married like then did. I sure hope I am very wrong.

I hope you're very wrong, too.

Krista: Vegas, huh? That's cool. My mom was just there from Thursday-Tuesday at MGM. She was getting married.

lilah:

So I know there was no "almost" Guerin-DeLuca action in this part I still have to say it...Maria always says she doesn't drink cuz she could be pregnant...but how?? They never ever get to have sex...please fix this April its sad for them.

I know, she should just go on a bender, shouldn't she? There's no risk right now!

Sam:

Seems like he will be downsizing/ losing the company. I think it's nice of Max to consider Alex. They have an interesting friendship.

They do have an interesting friendship. They're definitely not at the "bromance" level that Kyle and Michael are at. In fact, if they didn't both care about Garret and detest Isabel, I'm not sure they would be friends. But they are.

dreambeliever:

Ooohhh, The article...maybe Max settled out of court, that's how come he's losing $$. Or Maybe not

More to come on that. Lots more.

Neve:

The sad thing is that Alex is going to think he's got his own way this time without knowing he's played right into her hands.

Exactly.

I hope that Amy and Ed are ok and that whatever it is they're hiding is good news. Tess and Maria deserve it.

Oh, if it was good news, though, I don't think they'd be hiding it.



Thanks so much for the feedback! Things start to amp up again in this part.








Part 17








Max paced back and forth in the nearly empty parking lot, smoking. If he was lucky, he’d die of lung cancer before everything in his life went to hell.

“Max!”

He looked up and saw Alex coming towards him. Max dropped his cigarette onto the pavement and snuffed it out with his foot.

“Hey,” Alex said, “I forgot you were back today. How was the honeymoon?”

“It was great,” Max replied. “Expensive.”

Alex chuckled. “It’s probably just pocket change to you.”

Max tried to smile. “How are things around here?” He knew exactly how things were, but he wanted to get Alex’s take on it.

“Honestly?” Alex shook his head. “Not so great. Roger went on a firing spree while you were gone.”

Max swallowed hard. “I told him to.”

Alex frowned in confusion. “You told him to fire half of customer service?”

“Not the better half.” Max grinned. “You’re still here.”

“For how long?” Alex seemed genuinely worried. “I’m not gonna lose my job, am I?”

Max shoved his hands into his pockets, nervous. “No, of course not.”

“Okay.” Alex breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. That’s all I needed to hear.”

Max looked away, unable to look him in the eye.

“Well, I’d better get home. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Drive safe,” Max called after him, feeling as though he’d just been punched in the stomach. He’d just lied to his best friend.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The moment Alex set foot in the house, Garret leapt in front of him and exclaimed, “I’m goin’ to preschool, Daddy!”

“What?”

“Mommy says I’m goin’ to preschool.” Garret shrugged and ran into the living room to watch cartoons.

Before Alex could ask him about it anymore, Isabel called down to him from atop the stairs. “Oh, husband?” She was wearing a leopard-print robe cinched at the waist. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

He kicked off his shoes and headed upstairs. He followed her down the hallway and into her bedroom, formerly their bedroom until they’d decided to sleep in separate beds. She had candles lit, and there was soft music playing.

“I enrolled Garret at the Academy today,” she said, untying her robe, letting it fall to the floor.

A lump rose in his throat as he gazed at her. She was wearing a white silky slip, spaghetti strap, short enough to reveal all of her long legs. Sometimes when he looked at her and just concentrated on her outside beauty, he remembered why it had been so easy to fall in love with her.

“Huh?” he finally managed to spit out. “La Petite Academy?”

“Mmm-hmm.” She pulled back her sheets and crawled into her bed, sitting back against the headboard. “The enrollment deposit was only sixty dollars, so I took some money out of the emergency fund.”

Alex got his hormones under control enough to think logically. “So you just all of a sudden decided to enroll him?”

“No, not all of a sudden. I had all day to think about it. It took me awhile, but I finally realized you were right.”

He grunted and sat down on the side of the bed. “First time for everything.”

She used the middle finger of her left hand to drag the thin strap of her slip down over her shoulder. “I was holding him back,” she admitted, “but not for the reasons you think. I was . . . scared of sending him out there into the real world. I wanted to shelter him. But I know I can’t do that. Not forever.”

Alex nodded in agreement, trying not to stare at her smooth skin. He could barely even hear what she was saying; he was so distracted.

“I did all the calculations,” she went on. “Money’s gonna be tight, but if you work a little overtime, we can make it work.”

Overtime? He didn’t exactly like the sound of that. But with the way she looked in that moment, he would have jumped off a bridge if she’d asked him to. He hated that she still had so much power over him.

“What do you think?” she asked.

“I think . . .” His mouth felt dry. “I wish this was a decision we’d made together. Maybe we should’ve looked at some other preschools.”

“I like that one,” she said quickly.

“What happened to the ‘gay little automatons’ spiel?”

She laughed. “I can’t be held responsible for what comes out of my mouth when I’m menstruating. Besides, it’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind.”

But Isabel wasn’t just any ordinary woman, and her mind wasn’t just any ordinary mind. He knew that, and he couldn’t help but feel as though she were up to something.

“Hey, come here,” she said, tugging on his shirt. He leaned in, she leaned in, and they kissed. He couldn’t even remember the last time they’d kissed. The nagging feelings of suspicion vanished the moment her lips touched his.

She pulled away just slightly and smiled. “This is a good thing.”

It seemed good. He hoped she wasn’t up to anything.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Maria and Tess trudged downstairs that evening after checking on Amy.

“Why’s your mom asleep at 7:30?” Tess asked.

“I don’t know, she’s either really tired or really awake these days. I think she’s going through menopause,” Maria answered.

Tess made a face. “Oh, that sucks.”

“Mmm-hmm.” They walked through the living room where Ed and Kyle were watching a football game on TV. Miley was still awake, playing on the floor in front of them with her favorite stuffed animals. Maria stopped near the kitchen and stood back, watching as Michael gave Macy a bath in the kitchen sink.

“Yeah, you like your bath, huh?” he said. She splashed him, and his voice went into high-pitched baby talk mode. “Splash!” He gazed at her lovingly.

“Oh my god, that’s so adorable!” Tess exclaimed in a whisper.

“I know.” Michael’s wonderful parenting was one of the sexiest things about him. “He’s such a DILF.”

Tess laughed.

Maria continued to watch Michael and Macy, but out of the corner of her eye, she could see Tess glancing into the living room at Kyle. She looked contemplative, like there was something on her mind that she wasn’t saying. Maria decided to take the initiative. “Have you told him yet?” she asked.

“Told who what?” Tess asked.

“Told Kyle you want a baby.”

“Shh!” Tess hissed.

“So it’s true.” That was the closest she’d gotten to a confession.

“It is not . . . I never even said . . .” Tess sputtered her sentences.

“You didn’t have to,” Maria informed her. “I think I knew before you did.”

“I don’t wanna have a baby,” Tess denied quietly. “I just wanna stop taking my birth control pill and . . . have sex without condoms.” She cringed.

“You’re such a dork,” Maria teased.

“Fine, I want . . .” Tess rolled her eyes and lowered her voice even further. “I want a baby. Maria, that’s . . . that’s the first time I’ve ever said those words out loud. Can we go outside?”

“Sure.” Maria led the way through the kitchen to the back door. She stopped and rubbed Macy’s head. “You’re so cute,” she cooed. Then she spanked Michael on the butt and told him, “You’re cute, too.”

He smirked. “I know it.”

Once they were out in the back yard, Maria sat down on one of the swings of Miley’s swing set. Tess paced back and forth in front of her, chewing nervously on a fingernail.

“You know, it’s weird,” she said. “I thought I’d be pregnant already.”

“Why’s that?”

Tess sat down on the other swing. “Because we always do things together. So when you got pregnant junior year, I told myself, ‘Buckle up, Tess. You’re next.’ I thought I’d have a baby before I got married. I mean, I’m glad I didn’t—not that there’s anything wrong with that.” She groaned and rolled her eyes. “I’m saying everything wrong.”

“Don’t sweat it.”

“It’s just . . . I don’t know how to tell Kyle.” She hung her head. “He hasn’t even mentioned it.”

“Doesn’t mean he hasn’t thought about it.”

“Yeah.” Tess pushed her feet against the ground and swung backward slightly. “You’re not gonna say anything, are you?”

“Of course not. I won’t even tell Michael,” she promised.

Tess smiled in relief. “You’re a good friend. A good stepsister.”

“I try my best.” She looked Tess up and down, trying to imagine what she would look like when she was pregnant. “Oh my god, I can’t wait to see you get all big and round.”

“I can’t wait to get all big and round,” Tess said.

“Yeah, you say that now, but trust me, there’s nothing fun about pregnancy.”

“I think it’ll be a blast,” Tess chirped.

“No, it sucks,” Maria reiterated. “But the end result is definitely worth it.”

“Definitely worth it,” Tess agreed, staring into the kitchen window as Michael lifted Macy out of the sink and wrapped her in a towel.

I’ll be an aunt, Maria thought happily. She wondered if she would have a niece or a nephew. The sex of the baby didn’t really matter, though. Tess was going to be a great mom no matter what.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Just as a watched pot never boiled, a watched clock never ticked. Liz sat in the lecture hall of her microbiology class watching the minute hand gradually tick by for what seemed like forever. Finally, the class was over, and everyone gathered up their things and started to leave.

“Have those three chapters read by next week,” the professor reminded everyone as they walked out the door.

Liz trotted down the steps to the front of the lecture hall, clutching her book and binder to her chest. “Professor Grancer?”

The balding man glanced up at her for only a moment, then returned to sorting through the stack of papers and assignments scattered over the lecture stand.

“Hi,” she said nervously. “Great lecture today. I mean, they’re good every day, but today was . . . really exceptional.”

“Thank you,” he said, apparently knowing it. “What do you need?”

“Um, I wanted to talk to you about the exam I missed,” she replied. “See, I was on my honeymoon, as you know, and school wasn’t exactly the first thing on my mind. So I was just wondering when I could take that exam.”

Professor Grancer stacked all his papers together and slipped them into his briefcase. “Where’d you go?” he asked. When she gave him a confused look, he elaborated, “On your honeymoon.”

“Oh. Kamalame Cay. It’s in the Bahamas.”

“And did you have Internet access there?”

She didn’t like where this was going. “Yeah . . .”

“The exam was online.” He smirked. “You could’ve taken it.”

She was appalled. “On my honeymoon?”

He shrugged. “Sure.”

That sounded unreasonable. A honeymoon was a once in a lifetime experience . . . usually. It was supposed to be an escape from the real world, which was exactly what it had been, for the most part.

“This is grad school, Liz,” Professor Grancer said coldly. “If you can’t handle it, drop out now.”

She grunted in disbelief at his total lack of caring. She’d had her fair share of shitty professors in her day, but a guy like this really took the cake. There was no way she was about to take an incomplete on an exam worth a fourth of her grade, though. No way.

She reached into her purse and pulled out her checkbook, quickly scribbling out a check to him. That was a nice little handful of zeroes. That had to be enticing. She handed the check to him and asked her question again. “When can I take the exam?”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“And he still wouldn’t budge?”

“No, can you believe it?” Liz dug her hands through her hair, looking panicked. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do, Max. It’s gonna be almost impossible for me to pass the class without the exam.”

Max sat down on the bottom stair step, impressed that she had at least attempted monetary bribery. Liz usually resisted cheating . . . at least when education was involved. “How much did you offer?” he asked.

“A thousand dollars.”

“Well, there’s your problem. Professors make a lot of money. That’s not enough to sway him. When I was an undergrad, I had to pay my professors at least three-thousand to pass me.”

“So I should offer him more,” she concluded. “Okay. I can do that. He’s got office hours going on today. I’ll go do that right now.” She whirled around and scurried towards the door.

“Wait, wait, wait.” He shot up from the stair and ran in front of her, blocking her progress.

She gave him a confused look. “What?”

He licked his lips, trying to dance around the issue this presented. “We just had a very expensive wedding and an even more expensive honeymoon. Maybe we should try to be frugal for awhile.”

“Frugal?” she echoed as though she’d forgotten he meaning of the word. She laughed.

He forced himself to laugh with her, but then added, “I’m serious.”

She rolled her eyes. “Max, this is a big deal, and I know it’s technically your money and not mine, but . . . actually, half of it's mine now. Please?” She gave him that wide-eyed pleading look, the one that always got him.

She can’t write that check, he thought. They would have even more problems to deal with if she did. “I’ll take care of it,” he volunteered.

“Really?” She smiled, seeming relieved. “Thank you.” She rose up on her tiptoes and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

He tried to smile, and she brushed past him and headed upstairs. He closed his eyes once she was gone and tried to figure out how he was going to do this. He used money for everything.

A half an hour later, he entered the professor’s office on the university grounds. The old man was grading papers, and those papers were bleeding with red ink.

“Professor Grancer?” Max said. “Hi, I’m Max Evans.” He extended his hand in greeting, and Professor Grancer shook it, eyeing him suspiciously.

“I’m Liz Evans’s husband,” he explained.

“Who?”

“Liz Parker.” It bothered him that not everyone knew she was his.

“Oh, I see. Are you here to bribe me?”

Max chuckled. “No, actually, I’m here to talk some sense into you.” He hoped this would work. In the absence of bribing, appeal to reason. It seemed worth a shot. “The girl was a newlywed in the Bahamas. You can’t possibly expect her to think about a test when she’s having sex with me. For one week, she got to be in paradise. She shouldn’t have to come back to a hell-hole.” And that was exactly what Santa Fe felt like. At least that’s how it felt to him.

“You’re really not going to offer me money, are you?”

Max shrugged. “Can’t.”

The professor narrowed his eyes at him. Max couldn’t tell if he was disappointed, intrigued, or impressed. At last, though, he decided, “She can take the exam tomorrow. I’ll send it to her in an email attachment.”

Max smirked and leaned forward against the desk, trying to appear unshaken, though he was internally breathing a sigh of relief that he’d been able to pull this off without spending a dime. “See?” he said. “That wasn’t so hard.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Maria yawned as she pushed open the door to her house. It had been a long day in class. Her hand was cramped from note-taking, and her brain was fried from trying and failing to comprehend all the information.

“Mama!” Miley ran through the living room.

It was amazing how much better she felt when she came home to her kids. “Hey, girly,” she said. “How was your day?”

“Bad,” Miley answered. “Grandma’s sick.”

“What?” Just then, Maria heard sounds coming from the downstairs bathroom. It sounded as though Amy was throwing up. “I’ll go check on her, okay?” she told Miley, patting her back.

Miley nodded and skittered back into the living room to play and watch TV. Maria set her backpack down at the bottom of the stairs and went to the bathroom apprehensively. She waited until the puking sounds died down, cringing, then knocked on the door and said, “Mom?”

“Just a minute,” Amy croaked out.

Maria wrung her hands together nervously. Something seemed . . . not right here.

When Amy opened the door, it was obvious that she’d been crying. “Hi, sweetie,” she said, attempting to smile. “You’re done with class today?”

“Yeah,” she replied, studying her cryptically. “Yeah.” She motioned to the toilet and asked, “Something you ate?”

“I wish.”

Maria definitely sympathized. Leaning over the toilet while your body just took on a mind of its own was . . . oh. Her mouth suddenly felt dry, but she had to ask the obvious question. “You’re not . . . pregnant, are you?”

“No,” Amy replied emphatically.

“Oh, okay, ‘cause I just thought . . . with the puking and stuff . . . I’ve been there.”

“I’m not pregnant,” Amy repeated, scratching her head.

Maria bit her bottom lip, contemplating whether or not she should venture another guess. She had to. “It’s menopause, isn’t it?”

Amy bristled, folding her arms across her chest. “What makes you think that?”

“You know, the nausea, the insomnia coupled with the fatigue . . . not to mention the fact that you’re shedding, like, everywhere.” She reached into the bathroom and brushed her fingers against the rim of the sink, pulling up strands of brown hair that could only belong to one lady in the house. “That all sounds like mid-life stuff to me.” She smiled supportively and waited for a response. “Mom?”

“Uh . . .” Amy looked dazed. “Yeah, you’re right. It’s . . . it’s menopause.”

“Oh, Mom . . .” She opened her arms and hugged her. “I don’t know why you didn’t just tell me. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Happens to every woman eventually.”

“Right.”

Maria stood back and stared at her. “Don’t worry. Ed will always think you’re a hottie.”

Amy laughed a little, tears springing to her eyes. “I hope so.”

Maria sensed that her mother needed a little pick-me-up, so she quickly thought up something to boost her sagging spirits. “Listen, I know you were planning on leaving this week, but it’s my birthday Friday and Tess and I are having a pool party. You might as well stay. It’s gonna be fun.”

Amy nodded. “I’d love that.”

“Okay. Gosh, we’re getting spoiled having you and Ed here. You’re good babysitters.” It worked out perfectly since they couldn’t send Miley to Happy Hearts anymore.

“I love being here,” Amy practically whispered, sounding choked up again.

Those mood swings must be killer, Maria thought. It was scary to think that she’d be going through the same thing in about twenty-five years.

“So have you and Michael made a decision about the preschool yet?” Amy asked, changing the topic entirely.

“You know what?” Maria said. “I think we have.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Isabel combed through her son’s curly hair, smiling at him. “You look so handsome,” she complimented him. “Like a little leading man.” He was dressed up in his little khaki pants and a brown sweater.

“I don’t like this shirt,” he complained, tugging at the collar. “It’s itchy.”

“No, it’s perfect.” She set the comb down on the dresser and turned him around to face her. “Everything’s perfect.”

He pouted.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

He lowered his head and muttered, “Daddy says preschool makes you learn things. I just wanna play.”

She knelt down in front of him and patted his shoulder encouragingly. “You can play and learn at the same time. It’s part of their philosophy.”

“Why can’t I stay here?”

She sighed, disappointed by his resistance. “Because, you have to be there.” He’d feel better once he saw Miley. She was sure of it. “Sweetie, you’re just nervous. That’s all. But once you get there . . . you’ll realize you’re supposed to be there. You gotta trust me. I wouldn’t have you go there if I wasn’t sure you belong.” She smiled excitedly and asked, “Do you trust me?”

He nodded.

“Good.” He was ready, ready to go see his leading lady. “Let’s go.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

La Petite Academy was bustling with activity. Isabel accompanied Garret to his classroom and sat down with him at one of the kiddie tables. He kept fiddling with his sweater. She kept staring at the door, watching as dozens of little kids and their parents—mostly mothers—filed into the classroom. But not Miley.

Some mother Maria is, she thought disapprovingly. She can’t even get her kid here on time.

“Doesn’t this look fun?” Isabel asked her son.

Garret grunted. “No.”

“Well . . . it will.” Isabel swallowed a lump in her throat as the teacher came into the classroom. They couldn’t possibly be starting the orientation yet. Not all the students were there.

“Alright, parents, kids, we’re going to move downstairs to the rec room,” the teacher said with an over-enthusiastic grin on her face.

No, Isabel thought, no, we’re not. She got up, grabbed her son’s hand, and pulled him out of his seat. “Excuse me,” she said, marching across the room towards the teacher with Garret in tow.

“Oh, I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure of meeting this one,” the teacher exclaimed. “Hi there. What’s your name?”

Garret turned and buried his face against Isabel’s leg.

“His name’s Garret,” Isabel answered for him.

“Hi, Garret. I’m Mrs. Palmyra. I’ll be one of your teachers. It’s nice to meet you.”

Garret still didn’t move or say anything.

Isabel laughed nervously. “He’s usually nicer to meet. He’s just a little apprehensive.”

“That’s normal,” the teacher assured her.

She cleared her throat, glancing out into the hallway expectantly. Still no sign of them. “I was just wondering where Miley Guerin is. She’s one of the students and I don’t see her here.” She noticed a list in the teacher’s hand and assumed it was a roster. “She’s in the class, right?” she asked, trying to sound nonchalant. “Because I specifically told them to put Garret in a class with Miley Guerin.”

The teacher glanced at her roster. “Um, no, she’s not on the list,” she said. “Is she the same age as your son?”

“She’s a few months younger, but she’s supposedly gifted, so . . .” She rolled her eyes. Garret was probably the truly gifted one. Intelligence was hereditary, after all.

“She could be in another class,” the teacher supposed.

“But that won’t do. They’re supposed to be together. They need to be together.” Isabel felt herself losing control. She let go of Garret’s hand, afraid that she was squeezing it too tightly, and seized the roster out of the teacher’s hand.

“Uh, ma’am . . .”

She flipped through all the class lists, frantically searching for the name. “She’s not on any of these lists!” she cried.

“Then she must not be enrolled at the Academy.” The teacher seized the list back from her and headed downstairs into the rec room, glaring at her as she left.

Isabel stood alone with Garret, watching the parents and their privileged little brats congregate. This wasn’t the way it was supposed to be. Why did nothing turn out the way it was supposed to? Why didn’t anything go her way?

“Fuck!” she shouted, stomping her foot in anger.

Garret scrunched his face up and began to cry.

“No, baby, don’t.” She knelt down in front of him, regretting her shrill tone. “Don’t cry.” She stroked his hair, her own breathing coming in shaky pants. “I’m not mad at you.”

He kept crying.

“Sweetie, don’t let them see you cry,” she whispered in a rush, noting the way the parents and students alike downstairs were watching them. “We can’t let them see us cry.” Tears were a sign of weakness, and neither she nor her son were weak.

“I wanna go home,” he whimpered.

“I know.” She pulled him into a hug. “I know.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“So, yeah, after hearing your horror stories, we decided we’d rather wait a year before we have her start preschool, and we’ll send her somewhere else.”

Lucinda laughed. “I didn’t mean to scare you off.”

“No, I’m glad you told me,” Maria assured her. “It sounds like that place cares more about making money than it does about the kids.”

“Well, that was my experience.” Lucinda shrugged, then asked, “What are we supposed to be doing right now?”

Maria flipped open her textbook to a random page. “Discussing the reading, I think.”

“Oh, I didn’t even read it.”

“I know, it’s like who cares, right?” Maria glanced down at the text briefly, but only briefly. Her gaze traveled upward when the door to the classroom swung open and an all too familiar monster paraded into the room. What the hell was Isabel doing there? Maria sank lower in her seat, trying to be invisible in the lecture hall. But it was no use. Isabel saw her and shouted, “There you are, you stupid bitch.”

Everyone fell silent, and dread coursed through Maria. Whatever this was about couldn’t be good.

“Can I help you?” the professor asked to no avail.

Isabel ignored him and marched up the steps, looming over Maria’s seat like a thunder cloud. “So you found out Garret was going to the Academy and you pulled Miley out.” She shook her head, pursing her lips together angrily. “I should’ve known you’d be that selfish.”

Maria sat up straighter, willing herself not to look intimidated. “What’re you talking about?”

“He’s just a kid.” Isabel’s voice wavered emotionally. “He’s a good kid. He’s your daughter’s friend. Why do you hate him so much?”

“I don’t hate him; I hate you,” Maria corrected. This was so embarrassing. Everyone was watching and listening. This was disrupting the entire class.

“You think I’m just gonna give up?” Isabel’s eyes flared. “This is only a setback. I’ll get over it, and so we’ll Garret. We’ll be stronger than ever for it.”

Maria stared at her in disbelief. Was she hearing the words that were leaving her mouth? She sounded like a crazy person. “You need medication.”

“I mean it, Maria,” she snapped. “You wanna take me on? Be my guest.” She leaned forward, bracing one hand on the back of Maria’s chair, and growled, “I will bury you.”

Maria recoiled a bit. She couldn’t help it. That blazing anger in Isabel’s eyes, the contempt in her voice . . . it sent shivers up her spine.

Isabel whirled around and marched out of the classroom. The professor and all the students all stared at Maria, wide-eyed and confused, clearly wanting some answers. But Maria couldn’t even speak. She could barely even breathe after that.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The gallery had never felt so good. Maria breathed a sigh of relief when she walked inside.

“Hey, Maria,” Kyle said. He stood on a stool, trying to hang a medium-sized painting on the wall.

“Hey,” she returned. “Is Michael here?”

“He’s in the back.” Kyle hung the painting and climbed down off the stool, eyeing her. “You okay?”

“No.” She hurried back to Michael’s office. He was sitting at his desk, looking over some paperwork. He looked up when he saw her and smiled. “Hey, what’re you doing here?”

She shut the door to his office and came right out and said, “Michael, I’m freaked out.”

“Why?” he asked, sounding concerned. “What’s wrong?”

“I was sitting in class, just another day . . . and then all of a sudden Isabel walks in.”

His eyes bulged.

“Yeah, I don’t even know how she knew where to find me.” Sometimes she swore the girl had psychic powers. “And she just went off on me in front of my entire class.”

“About what?”

“Like, not sending Miley to that preschool or something. Apparently she was sending Garret there.”

Michael bit his bottom lip and looked away from her.

“What?” She sensed that he was holding back on something.

He shook his head regretfully. “She probably enrolled him after she came by this place and saw the folder we had.”

“What?” Her voice rose about three notches. “She was here? Like here here?” All of a sudden she was picturing Isabel in that gallery, and she didn’t want to touch anything. “When? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t think it was important.”

“Isabel Evans stops by your art gallery and you don’t think that’s important?”

“No. She was just being Isabel, talking, annoying.” He shrugged. “I didn’t see any point in stressing you out about it.”

She realized his intentions had been good, and she forced herself not to harp on him about it. “You should’ve told me.”

He stared at her and apologized. “I’m sorry.”

She sighed, running her fingers through her hair. “Thank God we didn’t enroll Miley there. I mean, can you believe Isabel would use her own son to try to get to us? Or to you, more precisely.”

He stood up and opened his arms. “Come here.”

“No, no, I’m too on edge right now.” She turned away from him. “And pissed. And embarrassed. And scared.”

“Scared?” he echoed.

“Yeah.” She wished she wasn’t, but she was. She wrapped her arms around herself and grumbled, “She threatened me.”

A look of alarm found its way to Michael’s face. “What?”

“She said she’d bury me. I know it’s just a saying but . . . it makes me nervous. You can never tell with her.”

“Come here.” He hugged her, not allowing her to slip away this time. She rested her cheek against his chest, and he rested his chin atop her head. “I’m so sorry you have to deal with her.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“Yeah, it is. She’s my ex.”

“I swear, she’s, like, obsessed with you.” She lowered her hands and hooked her fingers into his belt loops, standing back to look up at him. “What do we do?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted.

“You always know,” she whined. “Michael, she really freaks me out.”

“Don’t worry, she’s all talk,” he assured her.

She frowned. “My deceased black eye begs to differ. And I’m worried about Miley, too. It’s like Isabel thinks of her as a means to the end.”

“Hey . . .” He held onto her shoulders. “I promise, nothing’s gonna happen to you or Miley.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll be fine. We’ll all be fine,” he promised, and he sounded so sure. “She’s just a miserable pain in the ass, nothing more.”

“She still scares me,” Maria confessed. “And up until today, she just annoyed me, but now . . .” She shuddered. “You didn’t see her, Michael. That look in her eyes . . . I get shivers just thinking about it.”

“I’ll take care of it,” he said.

“What’re you gonna do?” She had no doubt that he could protect her, but she wanted to know how.

He leaned forward, kissed her cheek, and whispered in her ear, “I’m gonna get you the best birthday present ever.”

She smiled. That sounded nice. But what the heck did her birthday have to do with the Isabel sitch? She scrunched up her forehead in confusion and asked, “Huh?”








TBC . . .

-April

[April]

Okay, I'm running a little bit late today because I'm unfortunately having to deal with a Professor I have aptly named Professor Fuckface. So in order to get this update out before class, I'm going to forgo the feedback to feedback and just say THANK YOU to:

Leila
Ellie
BB
Novy
dreambeliever
Krista
Rodney
Neve
Sarah
Lilah

Seriously, guys, after reading these condescending, patronizing emails I've gotten from Professor Fuckface over these past few days, it really helps to read your feedback to this fic.

Ooh, and hello, there's music today, a song I love called "Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt" by We Are Scientists. Click on when you see it if you'd like to give it a listen.

There is a bit of a discrepency between this fic and 521 on when Tess and Maria's birthdays actually are. Not a big deal. Just roll with it.









Part 18









“I hate that fucking bitch!” Isabel threw her hands down at her sides and paced around Billy’s bedroom. She knew she was the picture of frustration, and most men would have told her to shut up. But not Billy. He listened as though he were actually interested. “She ruined my life,” she lamented.

“I thought Alex ruined your life,” he pointed out.

“Him, too.”

“And Max?”

“Definitely.”

Billy chuckled and shook his head.

“What?” she spat. What was so funny? She was telling the truth. Everyone ruined her life.

“You’re so quick to assume people are plottin’ against you, babe,” he said. “But from what I hear you say, they never knew Garret was gonna be there.”

“So?” That totally wasn’t the point. The point was that Garret was there and Miley wasn’t.

“So when they chose not to send their kid to that place, it had nothin’ to do with you or your boy. They had other reasons.” He shrugged. “You went off on her for nothin’.”

He had a point. He had a very valid point. It was so unlike Billy to say something intelligent that she didn’t even know how to react. “Billy, this is a rant,” she informed him. “It’s not supposed to make sense, so just . . . shut up.”

“Sorry.”

She rolled her eyes and resumed her pacing. She felt like she wanted to slam her fist through a wall or pull her hair out or do something fast and violent.

“They make you crazy, don’t they?” Billy remarked.

She glared at him out of the corner of her eye. Wasn’t it obvious?”

“Screw ‘em,” he said. “Think about somethin’ else.”

“Like what?”

“Like me.” He held out his hand, and she reluctantly walked towards him.

“You remember what happened a year ago today, don’t you?” he asked.

She swung her legs over his lap and sat atop him. “How could I forget?” Cupping his face in her hands, she kissed him, sliding her tongue against his. He kissed her back, eagerly, but she wasn’t done ranting yet. “You know what the worst part is?” she said, pulling back suddenly. “The enrollment deposit.”

He groaned.

“Seriously, it’s non-refundable. Sixty bucks, right out my ass.”

“I love your ass.” He cupped her backside in his hands and pressed her hips down atop his.

“Billy . . .” He didn’t get it. He lived without a care in the world. He didn’t have to think about all the things she had to think about, like money and family and Michael.

He lay back on his bed, reaching over to open the drawer of his end table. “Here,” he said, pulling out a wad of five dollar bills. “I made that on the road.” He handed the money to her, and she quickly counted it. Eighty dollars. Nice.

“People actually paid to hear you sing?” she teased.

“Why not?” He grinned at her. “You did.”

That much was true. She had. She gazed down at him, and her mind brought her back to that day.

****

She had never seen a better looking man. Isabel stood down the street from the C4 art gallery, watching as Michael helped the movers unload paintings from the back of a moving van. He was wearing jeans, a paint-covered white t-shirt, and a smile. He would have frowned if he’d known she was watching him.

It took everything she had to turn and walk down the sidewalk in the opposite direction of the gallery. Her car was parked blocks away, and it was already 5:00. She wanted to get home before the muggers came out.

When she turned the corner, she was bombarded with the horrible lyrics of a song. A scruffy guy was sitting on the sidewalk, strumming his guitar and singing to a crowd of no one.

“Mariaaaaaaa!” he bellowed at the top of his lungs. “I like the way you fuck me!”

Isabel’s stomach churned. It was a horrible song. No wonder the guitar case lying open in front of him was nearly empty, only a few dollars dropped in.

“Mariaaaaaaa! I like the way you fuck me!”

She walked on past him, not caring.

Suddenly, he strummed the guitar in a different key, and he started to make up lyrics on the spot. “Oh, beautiful blonde girl,” he sang, “with the nice rack and hot ass.”

She stopped, turning her head just slightly to the side.

“Yeah, I’m talking to you,” he kept on singing.

She turned around, giving him a semi-intrigued look.

“You are a beautiful woman, and I wish you would stay. So I could sing and write songs about you . . . today.” He smiled, looking almost . . . adorable. Not as adorable as Michael, but . . . hell, nobody was as adorable as Michael.

“A serenade,” she remarked. “Wow, those might be the worst pick-up lines I’ve ever heard in my life.”

He smirked. “Got your attention, didn’t it?”

She couldn’t deny that. “Anything’s better than that ‘Maria’ song,” she said. “I kinda hate the name.”

“Why’s that?”

She didn’t know him near well enough to tell him that story. She moved forward, took a quarter out of the front pocket of her jeans, and held it over his guitar case for a few seconds before dropping it in.

“Thanks,” he said, laughing a little. “What’s your name?”

She figured there was no harm in telling him. “Isabel.”

“Isabel,” he echoed, letting it roll over his tongue. He strummed a chord and sang her name. “Isabel.”

He actually had a good voice when he wasn’t wasting his lyrics.

“I’m Billy,” he said.

She held up her left ring finger, just so he wouldn’t get the wrong idea. “I’m married.”

He just stared at her. “I don’t care.”

Her heart sped up. Maybe he was just like her.

****

Isabel balled up Billy’s shirt in her hands. “That was the best day of your life,” she said, tearing it where it was supposed to be unbuttoned.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “And a year later, here we are.”

She smoothed her hands over his chest, loving the feel of being on top of him, straddling him. She swirled her pelvis against his, his hardening length pressing up into her. “Dance with me,” she said, needing him inside her.

His eyes darkened with delight, and he slipped his hands underneath her shirt. She threw her head back and smiled.

****

Isabel tossed her head back and downed her tequila.

“Damn,” Billy said, seeming impressed.

“What, you think a pretty girl can’t drink?” She set her empty glass down on the table and looked around the club. He had taken her to a place called Grunge. It was in a very low-rent district and was filled with classless people, many of whom were having an orgy out on the dance floor to the beat of a techno song.

“So, Billy,” she said, tilting her head to the side as she studied him, “why do you write such crappy songs?”

He made a face. “They’re not crappy.”

“They’re pretty bad.” Or at least the one she’d heard was.

“Maybe I just need some inspiration,” he said, eyeing her up and down. “Or some drugs.”

“Oh, so you’re like Kurt Cobain,” she concluded. “The higher you get, the better the music becomes?”

He shrugged. “I guess.”

“Hmm. Kurt Cobain was sexy.”

Billy took a sip of his drink and belched. “Suicidal.”

“But still sexy.” She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. “Besides, I think he was murdered.”

Billy’s mouth dropped open. “I love you right now.”

( )

She laughed as the song changed to a more up-tempo rock song. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

She lazily traced her fingertips around the rim of her glass. “What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done?” He gave her a confused look, so she explained, “You can learn a lot about a person when you hear their most dastardly deeds.”

“Well . . . I’m out on a date with a married woman right now,” he pointed out. “That’s pretty bad.”

“It’s not a date,” she informed him. She wasn’t quite sure what it was, but it felt good.

“Nah, I, uh . . . did some date-rapin’ in college,” he admitted shamelessly.

“You and my brother would get along great then.”

He squinted at her questioningly. “That don’t freak you out?”

She shrugged. “Sometimes the bitch deserves it.” Maria certainly had.

“Wow,” Billy said in astonishment. “You’re the perfect woman.”

“You think?” She happened to agree with him, but she wanted to hear more.

“I don’t know,” he said. “What’s the worst thing you done?”

“You have done,” she corrected. “Somebody needs to go back to grammar school.”

“I’m southern, babe,” he drawled. “It’s a thing.”

“Well, in that, case . . .” She took a deep breath. “I cheated on a boy once.”

“That ain’t so bad.”

“It is, though,” she insisted. “This boy’s an angel.”

“An angel,” he scoffed. “I take it that ring ain’t his, though.”

“Nope.” She flexed and un-flexed her fingers, watching as the small diamond failed to shine. “He has a baby with someone else and another on the way.”

“That sucks.”

“Yeah. His name’s Michael.”

“Hmm.” Billy leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “I know a Michael.”

“I know a Maria.” She stared at him for a moment, and then it dawned on her. Billy. Billy. She’d heard of a Billy before, one who wrote crappy songs like this guy. “Oh my god,” she said. “We’re totally talking about the same people. I can’t believe I just now realized it.” She laughed. “Maria DeLuca got pregnant and wanted you to pretend to be the father. ‘Cause she was too freaked out to tell Michael. And meanwhile, I was conning Michael into thinking he was the father of my baby.” She realized she’d just let Billy know that she was a mother and expected his interest to wane, but if anything, he appeared even more intrigued. “He told me about you,” she said. “He hates you.”

“I think Maria hates you,” Billy returned.

“Oh, she does.” Isabel grinned, delighted by this chance encounter. “Small world, huh?” She’d always wanted to meet the infamous Billy, the loser who made Michael’s blood boil.

He leaned forward, completely focused on her. “You and me, meetin’ like this . . . must be destiny.”

“Or coincidence,” she offered.

“You don’t believe in destiny?”

“I’m destined to be with Michael.” It was as simple as that.

“Hot and psycho.” He nodded. “I dig that.”

“I’m not a psycho.” She frowned. “I’m just determined.”

His lips curled upward, and his eyes never left hers. He was really . . . quite good-looking.

She glanced back out onto the dance floor. It was all sex out there. The girl closest to her was bent over, one leg extended in a near arabesque behind her as a beefcake pounded into her behind. A man in front of her shoved his cock into her mouth.

“Wanna dance?” she asked Billy, just to get a reaction.

He shifted in his seat and reached down to loosen his jeans. “I don’t know, that’s pretty intense out there,” he pointed out. “You think you can keep up?”

She laughed and got out of her seat. “Watch and be amazed.” She picked up his glass and downed the remainder of his beer. When she slammed the glass back down on the table, he looked mesmerized by her. She traipsed out onto the dance floor, right into the middle. She didn’t pay attention to anyone. She didn’t need to. There was only her, the music, and the way her body moved to it. And Billy’s eyes on her, his hand on the bulge in his jeans.

She twirled in a circle, her head thrown back and her arms out to either side. She whipped her hair about her face and rubbed her breasts with her hands. The orgy swirled around her, and the heavy smell of sex entered her nose.

She moved her hips around in a circle, swayed them from side to side. She undulated her upper body and waltzed her hands through her hair. She felt like an animal, an animal surrounded by animals, but she was the most ferocious of all.

The crowd around her parted, and she locked eyes with Billy. She made the ‘come here’ motion with her fingers, grinning seductively, and he got up from the table and came to join her. When his arms slipped around her waist, her breath caught, but she didn’t stop dancing. He moved with her, side to side, close contact. His forehead pressed against hers, and she grabbed onto his shoulders, clinging to him. She could feel his erection pressing insistently against her stomach, and it thrilled her. No, they weren’t having sex out there like everyone else was, but somehow, this felt so much more intimate.

****

Billy groaned as he spent himself inside her. Isabel’s own body was still quivering from the orgasm she’d just had. She wrapped her legs around him and sat with him on the bed, still connected to him. He held her, and she actually felt safe.

“Happy anniversary,” he said, stroking her bare back.

Anniversary. It was a bit too serious of a term for what they had, but she was exhausted, so she didn’t bother to correct him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tess traipsed into her studio and was surprised to find Liz already there, sitting on the couch with a laptop on her legs.

“You’re here early,” Tess remarked, tossing her purse down on her work table.

“No, you’re just late,” Liz said, her eyes never leaving her computer screen.

“Are you watching porn again?”

Liz grunted. “I wish. I’m taking a test.”

“Hmm. Anything I can help you with?”

“It’s biology, so probably not.”

Tess made a face. “Ew, I stopped paying attention in biology after we covered the sex organs.”

“And it’s microbiology,” Liz added, “so it’s really bad.”

Tess stared at Liz, wondering why she still couldn’t figure her out, even after all these years. “You know,” she said, “the fact that you like science baffles me.”

Liz finally glanced up. “Why’s that?”

“Because, science is all about, like, reasoning or something. And you’re one of the least reasonable people I know.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“What’s the point of grad school anyway? You’ve already got a degree and you haven’t done anything with it.” Tess didn’t want to sound harsh, but it was true.

“Grad’s the new undergrad,” Liz quipped. “Everybody knows that.”

“I guess I’ve just never understood why it’s so important for you to have a job and go to school when you don’t really need to,” Tess elaborated. “I mean, let’s face it, you married up in the world. Financially, at least.”

“Yeah, but I don’t wanna have to be totally dependent on Max for everything,” Liz replied as she typed out the answer to one her test questions. “Granted, I enjoy spending his money, but at least this way I can sort of provide for myself, if I ever have to. I mean, if I wanted something really badly, I’d hate to have to rely solely on Max to get it. You know?”

Tess let that thought roll around in her mind. What she wanted was something she had to rely on Kyle for. “Yeah, that would suck,” she muttered. “What about, like, kids, though?” She scratched the back of her neck and averted her eyes, hoping she was asking the question casually. “You kind of have to depend on him for that.”

Liz’s eyebrows peaked. “Okay, first off, Max and I haven’t even thought about kids. Second . . . kids are different. You have to be completely united on that, otherwise it’s bound to be disastrous.”

Tess nodded slowly. “Hmm.”

Suddenly, Liz changed the topic. “Hey, am I invited to your birthday party or what?”

Tess rolled her eyes. “Sure. Just don’t bring Max. Or your maid of horror. I meant honor.”

Liz laughed. “Don’t worry, I won’t. Do I have to get you and Maria presents?”

“Well, you know, it’s customary . . . among humans,” Tess replied.

“What should I get her?”

Tess shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Of course you know. You’re her best friend.”

“No, I mean, I think Michael’s getting her everything she wants.”

“Oh.” Liz grinned. “Okay, then.”

“No, it’s not as perverted as it sounds,” Tess assured her. She knew what Michael was in the process of securing for Maria, and it was something she needed. Something they both needed.

“What do you mean?” Liz inquired curiously. “What’s he getting her?”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

That evening, Tess and Ed accompanied Michael, Maria, and Amy for dinner. Kyle was working late at the gallery. Tess went home right after dinner, but Ed stayed and volunteered to help do the dishes. He dried while Maria washed.

“Ed, you really don’t have to do this,” Maria assured him as she rinsed off a plate and set it down on the right-hand side of the sink.

“I don’t mind,” he assured her, picking it up and drying it off.

“Okay.” She’d take the help if it was offered to her. “Listen, I just wanna let you know, I really appreciate you and my mom watching Miley and Macy this week. I know they can be quite a handful.”

“No, they’re fine,” he said. “Now Tess was a handful when she was little, always sneaking out of the house to go play with you.”

Maria smiled. She and Tess had always been mischievous, always going on adventures and getting into trouble as kids.

“Amy and I enjoy spending time with those girls,” Ed told her.

“I know. It’s just not much of a honeymoon for you.”

“We already had a great honeymoon,” he said, setting the dishtowel down for a minute. “Just being with your mom, watching her smile . . . it’s one of the greatest joys in the world for me.”

Maria rinsed off another plate and set it down in the sink, noticing the tears that suddenly brimmed his eyes. She didn’t say anything, but it puzzled her.

“After Tess’s mom died, I thought I’d never open up my heart again,” he went on, his voice cloaked in sadness. “But I did. For Amy.”

Maria wasn’t sure what to say, so she attempted humor. “Gee, are you going through menopause, too?” She laughed, but he didn’t.

“Menopause?”

“Yeah. I figured it out, asked her about.”

Ed frowned.

“You’d better dote on her a lot,” she suggested, “because my guess is she’s feeling pretty undesirable right now.” Maria knew a thing or two about feeling undesirable since she was still so self-conscious about her retained baby weight.

“Maria, she’s not . . .” Ed trailed off and shook his head. “Excuse me,” he said, giving her a pat on the shoulder as he headed out of the kitchen. Maria watched him go upstairs, more confused than ever. Maybe Ed was having sympathy menopause symptoms. She didn’t know why else he would be acting so weird.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

You’re such a perfect baby, Amy thought as she peered down into Macy’s crib. The little girl lay on her side, asleep in her Big Bird pajamas.

“Amy.”

She pressed her right index finger to her lips to hush her husband when he entered the nursery. “I changed her diaper,” she said quietly. “Did I ever tell you about how hard it was to change Maria’s diapers? She’d kick and scream. Marty, too.”

“You said you were going through menopause?”

She sighed. Even before Ed had said anything, she’d been able to tell by the look on his face that he was displeased. “I couldn’t tell her the truth,” she said.

“You have to.”

“I can’t.” As loving of a husband as he was . . . he didn’t understand how hard this was. How could he? He was going through this with her, but he wasn’t really going through it.

“If you don’t tell her, I will,” he said. “I don’t want it to have to come to that.”

She didn’t want it to come to that, either. But her time in Santa Fe was running short, and she didn’t know if she could gather up the courage fast enough. The truth was waiting in the wings . . . and it was going to have to wait a little longer. She wasn’t ready.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The pool party was a good idea.

Maria slipped out the sliding door of Tess and Kyle’s house into the back yard. She carried a bottle of Ginger Ale in her hand, amazed that the punch kept running out so fast. It was a hot day, and everyone at the party was in need of liquids. Mostly, the people in attendance were neighbors. Michael and Kyle had invited a few of the artists on exhibit at their gallery, and Tess invited Liz. Maria had invited Lucinda, but she couldn’t attend on account of her oldest son’s soccer game.

“Great party, Maria.”

“Thanks,” she chirped, unaware who it was that had spoken to her. It was a chorus of music and voices out there. And splashing. The pool was a big hit, mostly with the neighbor kids. They were all older than Miley, so Kyle was swimming with her.

“Maria.” Tess skipped towards her. She was wearing a bright pink bikini and matching sarong around her waist. “Oh my god, you were right, the neighbors are super nice. I just met Rosita form across the street. She told me to come over some afternoon so we can make empanadas.” She beamed.

“Mmm, they’re so good,” Maria informed her, pouring the Ginger Ale into the drink cooler along with the punch mix. She especially loved Rosita’s cooking around Christmas: She brought everyone on the street a basket of homemade fudge. It made Maria’s mouth water to think about it.

“I just love this,” Tess exclaimed. “I feel like a desperate housewife.” She squealed, clapped her hands excitedly, and pranced off.

Maria smiled and tossed the empty Ginger Ale bottle into the nearly full trash can next to the punch table. Tess wasn’t the only one having a good time. This was a great birthday for her, too. She still hated that she was now a quarter of a century old, though.

She stirred the punch, put the lid back on the drink cooler, and went to find Michael at the grill. He was grilling up burgers and hot dogs for everyone, and he was doing a damn good job of it.

“You’re a man of many talents,” she said, slipping her arms around his waist. He was wearing knee-length navy blue board shorts and a white tank. The outfit reminded her of how he dressed when they’d gone to Hawaii for spring break. They’d had so much sex in Hawaii.

“Hey,” he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “You enjoying your party?”

“Yeah. It’s nice not to have a care in the world.”

He nodded in agreement as he flipped the burgers onto their other sides. “Does this stuff smell good?”

“Smells great,” she told him. “About half as good as you.”

He grinned. “We’re havin’ sex tonight, aren’t we?”

“Shh!” she hissed. She didn’t want the neighbors to hear.

“Baby, at this point, it’s been so long I wanna shout it from the rooftops.”

“Don’t you dare!” She giggled and punched his arm playfully as he continued to grill.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tess sat with her legs in the pool, watching as Kyle and Miley swam in the shallow end. She was adorable with her Finding Nemo inner tube and floaties on her arms. She was kicking her little legs and flapping her little arms, trying to make some progress in the water.

“Good job,” Kyle said, helping to push her along. “You’re a good swimmer. You gonna be in the Olympics someday?”

“What’s that?” she asked.

“Never mind.” He lifted her out of the water into the air, and she laughed. Then he set her back down on his knee and asked, “You wanna go under?”

She shook her head vigorously.

“You wanna practice holding your breath?” he asked, demonstrating by tilting his head downward to cover his nose and mouth with water.

She shook her head again.

“You wanna go to your grandma?” he guessed.

She nodded.

“Okay.” He lifted her out of the pool, and she ran towards Ed and Amy, leaving tiny wet footprints in her path.

“My husband the swim instructor,” Tess remarked as Kyle waded towards her.

He shrugged. “I try.”

She stretched her leg out and touched his stomach with her big toe underneath the water. “You’re really good with kids, you know that?” she said.

“Good with those kids.”

“Just . . . good with kids in general.” She felt her stomach start to clench as the words percolated on her lips. “You know, lately I’ve been thinking . . .”

Before she could finish, a heavy-set kid yelled “Cannonball!” and ran towards the pool. He jumped in, creating a gigantic splash. Tess yelped as the water hit her. She’d done so well staying dry up until this point.

“Oh!” Kyle laughed, tugging on her legs. “Get in here.”

“No, Kyle, my makeup,” she protested. “My hair—ah!” She quickly held her breath as she felt herself being pulled into the water. When she resurfaced, she could only pretend to be angry. “Kyle!”

“You’re all wet,” he teased.

She smoothed her hair back from her face and took his hands in hers, dragging him into deeper water. “I always am when I’m around you.” She leaned in and kissed him quickly, deciding it was best not to put on a huge display of public affection around all the neighbors she’d just met. She splashed water up into his face and laughed, swimming away.

“Oh, you’re gonna get it!” He chased after her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Isabel slept in that day. She was always exhausted after she and Billy had powerhouse fucks. It was already 1:00 by the time she brushed her teeth. She was in the bathroom doing just that when Alex walked in.

“You wanna tell me why I just got a phone call from that preschool asking why Garret’s not enrolled there anymore?” he asked.

She spit in the sink and ran her toothbrush under water. “Because he’s not enrolled there anymore.”

Alex flapped his arms at his sides and stood in the doorway. “Why the hell not?”

“Because I finally saw that place up close, and I wasn’t impressed,” she lied easily. “Preschools are like hotels, Alex. You turn on the special lights and you see all the germs. Besides, he was crying and acting nervous. He’s totally not ready.”

He seemed to buy that for the moment. “So, what, we’re gonna wait and have him go next year?”

“Maybe.” It all depended on what Miley Guerin was doing. “I’ll handle it.” She opened the medicine cabinet and took out her floss. When she closed it again, she was struck by the disappointment in his eyes as he gazed at her reflection in the mirror. “What?” she asked.

He shook his head, clearly sensing her ulterior motives. But he didn’t say anything. He turned and headed out of the bathroom, and she shrugged. Alex wasn’t completely gullible. He knew what was going on, but still he let her wear the pants in their family. That was just fine with her.

On her way to Billy’s place that afternoon, Isabel drove down Alvarado Street. She drove down that street whenever she could, because it reminded her of the things she didn’t have. The house with Michael. The life with Michael. Reminders were a good thing. They motivated her.

She slammed on the brakes when she noticed activity going on at the house next to Michael and Maria’s. Tess and Kyle’s new house. Liz had told her they’d moved in a few weeks ago. The car behind her nearly rear-ended her, and as the driver drove around her, he shouted, “Watch where you’re goin’, you crazy woman driver!”

She ignored him and rolled down her passenger side window. She could hear music. She could hear conversation. And then it dawned on her: It was Maria’s birthday.

Hmm, she thought, smirking. My invitation must’ve gotten lost in the mail.

She let up on the break and whipped a U-turn on the wide residential street. She needed to go get Maria a present before she made an appearance.








TBC . . .

-April

[April]

Today's update is a little late because . . . I suck. There really is no better reason.


Ellie:

April - Man oh man ... I couldn't deal with crap like that and from a professor no less? With my temper, I'd get expelled. I kid you not! I hope things get resolved and the situation gets better for you. {{{hugs}}}

Thanks, I'm meeting with him after class on Tuesday. I doubt I'll get him to change his mind on the issue we're having. His head's so far up his ass, I can't even try to get it out. At least I'll know I tried.

I have begun to formulate the opinion that ... I think Kyle realizes what it is that Tess wants. And he's doing what Tess is doing - leaving not so subtle hints as to his feelings on the matter. And Tess, like Kyle, is just not listening! These two need some help. This will most likely be the biggest test of their marriage yet and that has me a bit on edge.

Hmm, I haven't thought about it like that, but you might be right. Because let's face it, for every "I want a baby" hint that Tess drops, Kyle drops the opposite kind.

Leila:

I don't know what to say about Isabel's and Billy's meeting. It was like an accident. You don't want to see it but also can't look away. It was scary.

I had fun writing that meeting between the two of them. Because, like you said, it really was like an accident. And I kind of loved the fact that she met him while he was singing his 'Maria' song.

Yet it's obvious that Isabel will soon have a problem with Billy. He sees more in their sexcapades than she does.

Yep. Definitely.

BB:

Isabel and Billy's relationship is bizzare and disgusting. They're perfectly matched though. Is he the present she's going to bring to the party.

No, he's not the present, although that would have been pretty explosive. Isabel's gift for Maria is mainly just bitchy.

(I can't believe it's only been 18 parts. So much has happened already.)

I know, right? I feel like we should be on part 100 already.

Novy:

If Alex suspects about the preschool situation and isn't saying anything perhaps he suspects about her having an affair too. I wonder if he has ever had one.

Hmm, it's possible.

I feel so down with the sickness. That's my phrase for being aware of what's current in the world today lol.

Down with the sickness? I love that! I should include that phrase somewhere in this fic as a dedication to you!

lilah:

Alex.....please, please, please grow a pair and knock Isabel off that damn pedestal she has herself on. Seriously one good whack she have her falling oh I'd say 50 feet to the ground and then she'd be so broken.. wouldn't that just make everyone so sad????

I wonder if anybody can knock Isabel down off her pedestal or if only she herself can do that.

Rodney:

Tess needs to just come out and tell Kyle everything about wanting to have kids.The way I see it if she can't even tell her husband about her wishes than maybe she's not ready.

Ooh, that's a really good point. If she was truly ready to have kids, then coming clean about her wishes wouldn't be such a big deal.

Krista:

Like... seriously. What does Isabel have? She needs to be put on meds, stat.

She's gotten a lot crazier since 521, hasn't she? She should be put in a straitjacket and sedated.

dreambeliever:

I think she already has them and just doesn't take them

Funny.



Two updates in a row with music attached. Today I'm recommending "Reverse of Shade" by The Windupdeads, which is probably one of my favorite songs of the past three years. Click on when you see it if you'd like to listen. (And yes, I'm linking it to my own video because I'm a bit egocentric at times. And also because my video is the only album version of the song on Youtube. I think it's blocked in Germany, though. Sorry, Leila! I don't know why so many of my videos end up being blocked in Germany.)









Part 19








Maria followed Michael upstairs, and he pulled her into Tess and Kyle’s bedroom. “Michael, what’s going on?” she asked, liking the feel of this little slip-away from the party. He shut the door, and she grinned. “Are you trying to seduce me?”

“Not quite,” he said. “Close your eyes.”

She sat down on Tess and Kyle’s bed and shut her eyes, mumbling, “I think you’re trying to seduce me.” She heard him open the closet and begin to rummage through it, and her curiosity got the best of her. She opened her eyes.

“Quit peeking,” he said without even glancing over his shoulder.

“I can’t help it,” she said as she watched him lift what appeared to be a very heavy bag off the top shelf. “What’s that?” she asked. When she saw the bag more closely, she saw that it was brightly colored and had Happy Birthday written on it. “A present!” she exclaimed.

“Yep.” He grimaced at the weight of the gift.

“Careful,” she cautioned.

He kicked the closet door closed and carried the bag towards her.

“Why was it in Tess and Kyle’s closet?” she asked.

“I needed some place to hide it. I know you like to snoop.” He set the present in front of her and sat down beside her. “Happy birthday.”

“Thank you,” she said.

“You haven’t even opened it.”

“Thank you in advance.” She bent forward and pulled open the sack. She took out the tissue paper and threw it backwards. He laughed as he dodged it.

“Oh my god, this is heavy,” she groaned as she lifted a weighty book out of the sack. No, not a book. A photo album. It was so thick that it was practically a bookshelf. She set it down on her lap, and her face lit up when she saw the front. Engraved on the cover was M+M . . . and M+M. “Oh my god, Michael,” she whispered, touched. She’d been harping on him about putting all their pictures in a family photo album for a year now, and he’d done it.

“It’s every picture I could find from the summer you were first pregnant until now,” he said. “And there’s a few empty slots in the back for some pictures for today, so . . .” He whipped out a digital camera and held it up in front of them. “Say cheese.”

“Oh, cheese.” She leaned in and smiled, a big, goofy grin, and he snapped the picture.

“That’s a good one,” he said. “You like the album?”

“I love it,” she told him. “That must’ve taken you so much time.”

He shrugged. “I worked on it while you were asleep.”

“You’re so sneaky.” She flipped open the photo album and immediately loved it even more. It was a very nice album. There were lines next to each picture to write a short description of it, and Michael had indeed done that. Towards the binding of the book were slots for the negatives so that they could make more copies of the pictures if they wanted to. She laughed loudly at a picture of herself during her third trimester with Miley. “Look how huge I was!”

“Yeah,” he agreed, pointing out another picture of the two of them standing in the living room of their old place. “Look, there’s the apartment.”

“I miss the apartment.” She flipped a few more pages and took a moment to look over the photos of the two of them in the hospital room right after Miley was born. She looked horrible in those pictures, all sweaty and exhausted and concerned. There were pictures of Miley in intensive care, too. She’d been born a month early, and her lungs hadn’t been fully developed. It had been a nerve-wracking couple of weeks hoping and praying that she would be okay. Maria still remembered how the doctors had pricked the bottom of her foot every day to draw blood, and how she had cried as they did so.

( )

“You’re so thoughtful,” she said, shutting the album. “Thank you. I’m gonna look at the whole thing tonight.”

“After we have sex,” he pointed out.

“After that.” She nodded affirmatively. Nothing could get in the way of birthday sex. Nothing. “I love you,” she told him, bending to put the photo album back in the sack.

“I love you, too.”

When she sat back up, he kissed her. Out of nowhere. And it wasn’t just a cute, quick peck on the cheek. It was a hungry, forceful, animalistic kiss. She gripped his shoulders and returned his intensity. God, she’d been on fire for him all day. Now she felt as though she were exploding. He gripped her waist and pulled her in close, and she felt more carefree than she had all day.

“Wait a minute, what’re we doing?” she gasped in a rush, tearing her lips away from his. “This is our friends’ bedroom.” Tess and Kyle would be pretty pissed off if they ever found out about this.

He just stared at her in acknowledgement of that fact and licked his lips. His eyes were a darker shade of brown.

“Oh, screw it,” she decided, throwing herself against him. She captured his mouth and pressed her body against his. She needed to feel him. She needed to feel all of him.

His hands were everywhere on her body, underneath the back of her bikini top and down the back of her denim shorts. She moaned into his mouth and looped her arms around his neck, burrowing her hands in his hair. She lay back, and he crawled on top of her, settling in between her legs. She could easily feel his cock protruding through his shorts and pressing against her thighs. She reached down in between them and gripped it and squeezed. He grunted and nibbled at the side of her neck, and she smiled dazedly. Happy birthday to me.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Oh my god, Kyle, these burgers are the best. You’ve gotta try ‘em. I’m swear, Michael’s, like, the second coming of George Foreman.”

Kyle would have loved to try a burger, but his mind was elsewhere. He saw a car pull up out front, and he saw the person who was driving that car. She was like a hurricane, and she was about to hit. Hurricane Isabel.

“And these hot dogs . . . best thing I’ve ever had in my mouth,” Tess kept on raving. “Well . . . second best.”

“Tess?”

“What?” She stood beside him and looked around the side of the house to the front yard. She immediately tensed when Isabel got out of the car. “Oh, no,” she said. “Where are Michael and Maria?”

“They’re upstairs.” Michael had said he was going to give her her present. This was horrible timing for Isabel to show up. Not that there was good timing. “Should I get them?” he asked.

Tess bit her bottom lip nervously and began to yell. “Michael! Maria! Maria!”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Maria could faintly here someone calling her name, but she was so caught up with Michael that she could barely react to it. “Mmm,” she moaned, squirming on the bed with him. “Is that Tess?”

“Uh-huh.” He kissed his way down her cheek to her neck and licked and sucked at her skin.

“What does she want?” She grazed her legs against his sides, scrunching up his shirt.

“I don’t know.” He sat up and yanked his shirt over his head, tossing it onto the floor.

“Mmm,” she moaned again, rubbing her hands all over his bare back as he kissed her. She felt his palms against her breasts, beneath her swimsuit top, and it almost felt too good. But at the same time, she kept hearing Tess’s yelling.

“Maria! Michael!”

“Wait, wait, wait,” she said, pressing against his chest to push him away just slightly. As hot as this moment with Michael was, she got the feeling that something was going on down at the party.

“You guys, get down here!”

She gave Michael a confused look, and she immediately assumed the worst. Miley. Macy. Something was wrong with Miley or Macy. She and Michael both got out of bed. He picked up his shirt and tossed it over his head on his way down the stairs. She readjusted her top and made sure her shorts were fastened. When they returned to the back yard, Tess was right there waiting for them.

“What’s wrong?” Maria asked worriedly.

“Um . . .” Tess gestured helplessly towards the grill. Maria curled her hand into a fist when she saw Isabel there. Kyle was talking to her and saying, “You need to leave.” All the neighbors seemed to have fallen silent. No one knew what was going on.

“Happy birthday, girls!” Isabel exclaimed, waving at Maria with her free hand. She had a Styrofoam takeout box in her other hand.

“Not here,” Maria said warningly, marching towards her.

“Right here,” Isabel countered.

Maria shook her head. She was having a great birthday. No way was this miserable witch going to ruin it. She grabbed Isabel roughly by her hair and pulled her around to the side of the house.

“Ow!” she yelped.

“Everybody just . . . carry on,” Michael told the party guests as he followed her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Let go of me, you bitch!” Isabel finally managed to pull free of Maria’s death grip once they were out of eyesight from the rest of the party. She smoothed her hair back down and said, “Sorry I didn’t R.S.V.P. I’ve had a lot going on. But here.” She held out the takeout box and opened it. It was empty inside. Maria gave her a confused look. “A gift from me to you,” she explained. “Since you like screwing my leftovers.”

Maria rolled her eyes and swatted the box aside. Isabel frowned. She’d gone through a lot of hard work to get that empty box. It had taken a good five minutes to convince the waiter at The Olive Garden to give her a takeout box when she hadn’t even eaten there.

“Here.” Maria reached into her back pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper, handing it to Isabel. “A gift from Michael to me. Take a look.”

Isabel took the paper from her, doubtful that it would amount to much. He’d probably named a star after her or something. She wasn’t jealous. She unfolded the paper, and her confidence immediately vanished when she read what it had to say. “You’re kidding me,” she said. “A restraining order?” That had to have been Maria’s idea. Michael never would have done that to her.

“Yep,” Maria chirped. “Best birthday present ever.” She puckered her lips and Michael leaned down to kiss her. Isabel had to look away, but the only other place to look was at that piece of paper in her hand.

“That requires you to stay five-hundred feet away from both of us and Miley and Macy at all times,” Michael informed her. “And you also have to stay five-hundred feet away from our house and my gallery.”

Maria wrapped her arms around Michael’s waist and leaned against him. “In other words, you’d better leave unless you wanna be hauled off by the cops.”

The restraining order fluttered in Isabel’s hands. It was bad enough seeing Michael as infrequently as she did, but now she was legally not allowed to see him? To be anywhere near him? It wasn’t fair. Restraining orders were for sociopaths and abusive husbands. She wasn’t either of those things.

She threw the restraining order down on the ground and ran back towards her car, the smug look on Maria’s face permanently imprinted on her brain. She stumbled off the sidewalk and practically fell against her car, gripping the hood tightly. She gasped for air, feeling as though she couldn’t breathe. Why did this happen to her? Why did she never get what she wanted? Maria hadn’t done anything to deserve Michael. Liz hadn’t done anything to deserve money. Max hadn’t done anything to deserve the company.

It wasn’t fair.

She dug her fingers into her scalp and loathed the tears that sneaked out the corners of her eyes. She hit her knee against the side of her car, feeling no physical pain. All the pain she felt was inside. She had a heart, despite what some people thought, and it broke more and more each day. And every time she tried to put it back together, something didn’t go right. The day care, the preschool, and now this restraining order . . .

It was all Maria’s fault. That bitch needed to be knocked down a few pegs.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Okay, this is officially the best birthday ever.” Maria was a flurry of excitement as she pranced in the house with her mother in tow. “Or, second best, ‘cause remember my tenth birthday when you rented that pony and I got to ride him up and down the street? I loved that.”

Amy smiled.

Maria sighed wistfully and put her hand over her heart. “Oh, Mom, you should’ve seen the look on her face. She was like, ‘Oh, no, now I can’t stalk Michael. Whatever will I do to pass the time?’” She laughed and turned around, dancing into the kitchen, hoping to catch a sneak peek of the birthday cake. “And here I thought the restraining order itself was gonna be the best present; but no, it was her reaction to it that really takes the cake. I swear, this day can’t get any better.” She had just opened the refrigerator and peeled back the covering up the chocolate cake Michael and Kyle had ordered when her mother blurted out a sentence she’d never expected to hear.

“Maria, I have cancer.”

She turned around and froze with her hand on the refrigerator handle, thinking she couldn’t possible have heard her right. She smiled a little, and said, “What?” but Amy just stared at her in response. She shifted uncomfortably and shut the door to the refrigerator, mumbling, “That’s a weird joke.” She waited for some kind of punch line, but it never came. Worse, she saw tears welling up in her mother’s eyes. “It is a joke . . .” she said, “. . . isn’t it?”

Amy shook her head. “No,” she whispered. “I have breast cancer.”

Maria felt her eyes widen in horror. She immediately glanced at her mom’s chest. Everything looked fine.

“I found out a month ago,” Amy said sadly. “I was doing a self-exam, and I felt a lump. Right here.” She lifted up her right arm and touched a spot on the side of her breast. “The doctor said there was no reason to be alarmed. But they tested it, and it’s cancer.” She swallowed hard and nodded, apparently just accepting that fact. “I’m sorry to spring this on you today of all days, but I finally found the courage to tell you, and I had to just say it. I know it’s bad timing.”

Maria wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. Her mind kept telling her this wasn’t real, that this couldn’t possibly be happening, because her mom was healthy and she wasn’t even old. But she knew it was real. Deep down inside, she knew it. “Are you gonna be okay?” she managed to ask, barely holding back tears.

Her voice was faint when she replied, “I hope so. It’s serious, but not hopeless. I’m doing chemo.”

Maria flinched. Chemo?

“That’s why I’ve been acting so strangely. It’s not symptoms of menopause; it’s side effects of chemo. Nausea, insomnia, fatigue . . .” She paused before stuttering, “H-hair loss.” She reached up and ran her fingers through her hair, and Maria noticed several strands fall out effortlessly. She had to look away. She felt horrified.

“I’m sorry I lied to you,” her mother apologized. “I just wasn’t ready for you to know.”

“Does Marty know?” she asked.

“Not yet. I’m gonna go see him and tell him tonight.”

Maria didn’t understand. Just the other night, her mother had been dancing with male strippers and making Play-Doh penises. She was fine.

“Ed knows,” Amy said. “Up until now, he was the only one who knew.”

Maria lifted her head up abruptly. “Is this why you guys got married?”

“What?”

“Is this why you’re here right now?” She could hear the accusatory tone in her own voice, but she couldn’t stop herself. “The cancer. Are you saying your goodbyes? Are you . . . fulfilling your bucket list?”

“Bucket list?” Amy echoed in question.

“The things you wanna do before you kick the bucket, Mom!” she shouted, near hysterical. No, she actually was hysterical. She had started crying and hadn’t even realized it. “Mom . . .” Her voice came out high-pitched and whiny, desperate and child-like. “You’re giving up!”

“No, I’m not,” Amy assured her. “I’m fighting hard.”

“No, you’re not,” she cried. “You’re giving up. That’s why you’re here. That’s why you want me to get married, ‘cause you think . . .” You think you won’t be here much longer. Maria couldn’t believe this was happening. It was coming out of nowhere, and it was just too much, too much for her to deal with. “How could you?” With tears streaming down her face she ran out into the backyard to find Michael.

“Maria!” Amy called after her, but she didn’t stop.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

That evening, Michael sat at his kitchen table with Kyle and Tess. They weren’t saying much of anything. They were all just sitting there, thinking. Miley and Macy were asleep upstairs.

Kyle was the first to break the silence. “This isn’t real.”

Michael wished it wasn’t real. Maria had confined herself in their bedroom. She’d been up there for hours, and he wasn’t sure if she was still crying or not.

“Where’s your dad?” Kyle asked his wife.

“Um, he went with Amy to tell Marty,” Tess answered, her voice cloaked with sadness. “She was pretty upset after . . . after her talk with Maria.”

Kyle nodded slowly, then turned to Michael and asked, “Are you gonna tell Miley?”

“Kyle.” Tess gave him a don’t-go-there look.

“What? Somebody’s gotta ask the questions.”

“It’s just not the right time.”

“No, he’s right,” Michael interjected. “I have to tell her.” He ran one hand through his hair, stressed out just thinking about it. “God, how am I supposed to explain cancer to a little girl? She doesn’t even know about death or anything.”

Tess leaned forward, placing one hand atop his. “Then maybe . . . maybe you shouldn’t tell her. Amy’s probably gonna be fine. Why worry Miley?”

“Right.” Michael nodded, though he could barely comprehend anything about the situation, let alone whether or not to tell his daughter about it.

“So don’t tell her unless . . . unless something happens,” Tess suggested. She glanced upstairs, obviously thinking about Maria as much as Michael was, and told him, “You should go be with her.”

He sighed, worried about her. She hadn’t taken it well at all. Tess was right. She needed him.

He left his friends in the kitchen and headed upstairs to the bedroom. He found Maria curled up on her side, facing away from him. When he entered the room, she didn’t give any indication that she’d heard him walk in. He made his way around to the far side of the bed and climbed on to lie beside her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, just holding her, waiting for her to say something. And finally she did.

“I can’t cry anymore.” She sounded tired.

“You can cry if you want,” he assured her. He’d be her human Kleenex; he didn’t mind.

“No, I mean, I don’t have any more tears left,” she explained.

He stroked her back and admitted, “I cried, after you told me.” Even though Amy wasn’t technically his mother-in-law yet, he thought of her that way. “She’s gonna be fine,” he assured her.

“She has cancer. That’s not something that lets people be fine.”

“But your Mom’s not like normal people,” he pointed out. “She’s tough, like you.”

“I don’t feel very tough.” She tilted her head back to look him in the eye. “What’re we gonna do?”

He wished he had all the answers, but he didn’t. “I don’t know,” he said. “I think all we can do is trust that she’s taking care of herself and that her doctors are taking care of her. And we need to be supportive and encouraging, ‘cause this is a really hard time for her.” He immediately noticed tears shoot to her eyes. “What?”

She moved in closer to him, wrapping one of her legs around one of his. “I yelled at her,” she confessed quietly. “I accused her of giving up and basically blamed her for having cancer. What kind of daughter does that make me?”

“You’re a good daughter,” he assured her, stroking her hair. “You’re just scared.”

“Are you scared?”

He was terrified. Breast cancer wasn’t a small thing. It killed women every day, and Amy was suffering from it.

“Say no,” she pleaded.

He’d lie to her, if that was what she wanted. “No,” he said, “I’m not scared.”

She breathed a sigh of relief and cuddled against him. He felt her tears dropping down onto his chest, soaking through his shirt, but he didn’t care. He’d hold her forever if it would take away some of the pain.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tess rolled over onto her back and stared at the ceiling. She felt as though she’d been lying in bed for days, but when she propped herself up on her forearms to glance at the bedside clock, she saw that it had only been a little over an hour. She flopped back down and groaned as her head hit the pillow. “Kyle. Are you awake?”

He lay on his side, not moving as he grumbled, “I am now.”

She ran one hand through her hair. “I can’t get to sleep.”

“No, I can’t, either,” he admitted, rolling over onto his back.

“I can’t stop thinking about the news.” It sounded better to say it that way instead of saying cancer. “Maria and I thought she was going through menopause.”

“I bet she wishes she was.”

She turned onto her right side and placed her hands beneath her head, her wedding ring pressing against her cheek. “What’s my dad gonna do if she dies?” she wondered, afraid for him.

“You can’t think like that,” Kyle said.

“Why not? I’m sure she has.” It was horrible to even think about Amy dying, but it was kind of inevitable now. “I mean, he was always an awesome guy, but before he was with her, he was so lonely. He loves her.” She could only imagine how broken her heart would be if anything ever happened to Kyle. “He’s already lost one wife. I don’t know if he can handle losing another.”

“That’s not gonna happen,” Kyle assured her, reaching out to stroke her shoulder.

“My mom died of breast cancer,” she reminded him, holding back tears. “I barely even remember her. I don’t want my stepmom to meet the same fate.” She’d known Amy all her life, and in recent years, she’d come to view her as a mother figure.

“She’s gonna be fine,” Kyle promised.

“Moms are important, you know? Really important.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “I haven’t seen mine since she and my dad divorced.”

The fact that she had never met Kyle’s mother was disconcerting. Were they becoming an endangered species or something? “I’ll be a better mom than that,” she vowed, imagining taking her kids to the park and watching them graduate high school, and doing all sorts of other great stuff with them. She wondered if maybe this was the right time to bring up the idea of a baby, or if it was the wrong time. Would there ever be a right time? “Kyle . . .” The words were there, in the pit of her stomach, slowly rising up but not rising fast enough. She lost her nerve and smiled softly instead. “I love you.”

He moved his thumb in small circles over her skin. “I love you, too.” And with that, he rolled back over onto his side in an effort to get to sleep. Tess wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her head against his back. She doubted sleep would come easy to her, not with all these thoughts running through her mind. Thoughts about death . . . and about life, too.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Michael held Maria all through the night. She cried a lot and clung tightly to him, and it wasn’t until 6:00 a.m. that she fell asleep. He had to go to the bathroom so badly, but he wasn’t about to move. Not yet. Maybe not ever. Or at least not until Miley and Macy needed him. They’d both slept through the entire night. It was as though they knew their mom needed rest.

At 7:00, there was a soft knock on the door. Amy came into the bedroom.

“Shh,” he whispered. “She just fell asleep.”

Amy shut the door quietly and sat down carefully on the side of the bed. “How is she?”

He gazed down at the girl in his arms. “Not so good. She cried all night.”

Amy shook her head regretfully. “I shouldn’t have told her on her birthday. I should’ve told her sooner.”

“No, I think it’s good you didn’t. She really enjoyed having you here this week. I don’t think she would’ve enjoyed it so much if she’d known.” He felt Maria stir, but she didn’t wake up. He kept his voice quiet and asked, “You’re gonna be okay, right?” He could assure Maria as much as he wanted to, but the fact of the matter was that he wasn’t sure.

“I hope so,” she choked out. “I wanna see my grandkids grow up.” She smiled, laughed a little, and wiped tears from her eyes. “What’re you gonna tell Miley?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?” she echoed. “I think you should tell her everything.”

It was the exact opposite of what Tess thought. Now he didn’t know what to do.

“I hated keeping it a secret from Maria,” she explained. “I don’t want you to keep it a secret from your daughter.”

He kept one arm wrapped around Maria and rubbed his forehead with his free hand, trying to ease the stress headache. “She’s just a little kid, though.”

“She still deserves to know.” Amy shrugged and offered, “I can tell her, if you want.”

He could tell how hard it had been for Amy to tell Maria. She didn’t need to have the burden of telling Miley, too. “I think I can do it,” he said. “She’d better hear it from me.”

Amy smiled at him. “You’re such a good father. Such a good man. You don’t know how comforting it is to know Maria has you.”

“Yeah, she has all of me.” He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

“Do you think she’s mad at me?”

“She just wants you to be okay. We both do.” He felt Maria moving again, and this time she opened her eyes and sat up. “Hey,” he said, “go back to sleep. You were only out for an hour.”

She stared straight at her mother, tears gleaming in her eyes, and Michael was struck by how young she looked. It was easy for both of them to forget how young they were. They were parents themselves, but at the same time, they were still kids. Maria was Amy’s kid.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized, her voice wavering. “I didn’t mean what I said, about you giving up.”

“Oh, sweetie, I know. I know you didn’t.” Amy opened her arms and moved forward. “Come here.”

Maria practically threw herself into her mother’s arms and hugged her. The two of them cried together, each for the same reason: They were afraid. Michael slipped out of the room so they could have a moment and so that he could call his own parents and let them know how much he loved them.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After the cry-session, Maria and Amy sat at the kitchen table, each with a full breakfast plate in front of them. Amy had made waffles, but Maria wasn’t hungry, and Amy said she felt nauseous. Maria felt a little nauseous, too, but not because of chemo; rather, because the more her mom told her about the cancer, the more she wished it didn’t exist.

“So . . .” She swallowed hard. “There are different stages of breast cancer?”

Amy nodded, pouring herself a glass of orange juice out of the carton. “Yes.”

“What stage are you in?”

“Stage IIB.”

Maria made a face. “Is that bad?”

“It’s all bad.” Amy took a sip of her orange juice and cringed at the taste. “But it could be worse. IIB means that I have a tumor larger than two centimeters, but smaller than five. And it spread to my axillary lymph nodes.”

“What’s--”

Amy lifted her arm up and motioned to her armpit. “Right here.”

Maria nodded dazedly. “Oh.” That was a long way for it to spread.

“I’m gonna have a lypectomy,” Amy said, sounding forcefully cheerful. “That’s where they remove the tumor and some of the tissue around it.”

“Are you gonna . . .” Maria hesitated, not sure if she should be asking the obvious question. “Are they gonna remove your breast?”

“I hope not. But if it comes to that, I’ll do it.” Her mother shrugged. “It’s just my body. It doesn’t change who I am inside.” She must have noticed the alarmed look on Maria’s face, because she quickly added, “But let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

Maria wrapped her arms around herself, trying to imagine what it would feel like to be a woman and have only one breast. Or maybe to have neither. Oh god. She blinked back tears and asked, “Do you have to have chemo for the rest of your life?” She felt like she was asking stupid questions, but she didn’t know much about cancer, and she wanted to understand.

“No,” Amy replied gratefully.

“Is it hard?”

“It takes its toll.”

Maria could tell. Looking at her mother now, she was surprised she hadn’t suspected something this serious before. She looked so tired. She looked . . . sick. “Are you sure you wanna go back to Vegas today?” she asked.

“We have non-refundable plane tickets. I kind of have to.”

“No, you don’t. You could stay here.”

“Honey, my doctors are in Vegas. My house . . . it’ll be good for me to be back there. It’ll be good for you, too. You can . . . get back to normal.”

This was normal now. From now on, she had to wake up in the morning with the knowledge that her mother had breast cancer. Even if the cancer went away, the fear of it would always be there.

“Maria, I want you to promise me that you won’t let this dominate your entire life. Focus on yourself, your kids . . . your Michael.” She smiled. “I’ll be fine.”

“Will you keep me updated on what’s going on?”

“If you want me to.”

“I do.” She didn’t want any more surprises sprung on her.

“Then I will,” Amy promised. “Honey, I need to hold you to another promise: My doctor told me that twenty-five percent of all breast cancers are hereditary.”

Maria bristled at that word. Hereditary?

“Now, I’ve found a lot of conflicting statistics about that,” Amy went on, “so I don’t mean to scare you. I just want you to get yourself tested. I’m sure you’re fine, but . . .”

Maria held up one hand to get her to stop. She understood the importance of what her mother was saying, but worst case scenarios played through her mind. What if she had breast cancer, too, and what if she died? Michael and Miley and Macy . . .

Amy seemed to get the point as she simply said, “Okay.”

She moved her waffle around on her plate, breaking it into pieces with her hands. “Are you still gonna be back for Miley’s birthday next month?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

That wasn’t what she was asking. She knew Amy would be there . . . if she really was there.

“I’ll be here,” Amy said, sounding determined.

“You promise?”

She smiled. “I promise.”

I’m gonna hold you to that, Maria thought. She was twenty-five now, but still way too young for her mom not to be there.








TBC . . .

-April

[April]

Ah, 522's first pruning. I made sure to save everyone's feedback.

Wish me good luck today, guys. I'm meeting with that wretched Professor Fuckface after class to try to talk some sense into him. It's like debating with a brick wall, though. He doesn't budge, can't admit he's wrong. Anyway . . .



Ellie:

I know no 25 yr old wants to think about their own mortality, I totally understand. I'm predisposed to cancer because of my great-grandmother and my grandmother just having died from it. It's friggin' scary as hell! So, I hope Maria takes it seriously and starts having all her regular check ups, as I do. Never leave anything to chance.

Exactly. It's scary to have to think about it, but it's better to think about it now and take every precaution you can. Better safe than sorry.

Michael was such a sweetheart. Her pain really became his pain.

This is one of many times in this fic that Michael will step up and be the rock of his family, taking care of everyone.

And no Max and Liz in this part - even better!

There is minimal Liz in this part.

Rodney:

April you take up to a good high with Isabel getting bitch slapped like than only to fall down like that learning of Amy with her cancer....I feel like I'm on a rollercoaster with my stomach going UP and than DOWN!

Well, I do always say that my fics are like rollecoasters.

Krista:

And it sucks, but all you can really do is remain positive. Maria can't be having thoughts of the worst, she needs to keep seeing the best outcome.

Definitely. Thinking negatively won't get you anywhere.

I'd also like to let you know that if you have Michael and Isabel hook up in any way, shape, or form, I will boycott the rest of this fic.

Now why would I do that?

Leila:

Oh crazy fucked up Whoreabel, I love you. Seriously, her present cracked me up and I thought that it's pretty original.

Well, it's actually not that original. I stole the idea from One Tree Hill. It seemed like a bitchy Isabel thing to do.

When you're young, you believe that nothing can harm your parents. They're like superheroes for you and when they get ill, it's like a bit of your world cracks. Then you have to realize that they're human as well and they won't be there forever.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Novy:

It's so sad to know Miley has to learn this so young. But there is never a good time to learn that lesson.

Poor Miley kind of has to grow up fast sometimes.

I think I might have to join this train of stern disapproval that Michael and Maria still can't have sex. The poor dears.

The poor dears indeed.

Cool song and great video! The video made me miss the show. I haven't pulled out my Roswell DVDs in a long time.

I've been rewatching every episode. It's fun.

Sam:

Michael really is a great husband

Except he's not even technically her husband yet! Although he may as well be.

BB:

Maria's reaction was so sad, she was a little girl who thought she was going to lose her mother. Their relationship is so beautiful now compared to how it used to be.

Becoming a mother herself definitely changed Maria's relationship with her mother. Now they're very close.

Maria bitch slapping Isabel with the restraining order Michael had procurred for her birthday was the best moment of the fic so far. It's going to take a lot to top that.

The Candy sex may top that.

dreambeliever:

That part with Isabel thinking everything is Maria's fault......A little worried about Maria here. Isabel is one crazy bitch!

Isabel's a loose cannon. There's no telling what she'll do.

lilah:

Aww poor Isabel. She's so mistreated and put upon. I mean now she can't even be within 500 ft of her dearest and truest love and the woman who so unfairly stole him?? Does anyone hear tiny violins playing somewhere?? No? Well that must mean she is just bat shit crazy then

You just articulated exactly how she feels right now, though. In her mind, she's the victim. She's convinced herself that Maria is the villain of the piece, even though it's the other way around.

Amy has to get better, just because I deem it so...can I do that?

Hmm, no.



Thanks for the feedback!








Part 20







It took everything Michael had not to get emotional as he watched Miley and Amy say goodbye. He hadn’t told her about the cancer yet, and he still didn’t know how he was going to, or even if he was going to. But judging by the way Miley was hugging Amy, it seemed as though she almost knew something was going on.

“Bye, Grandma,” she said.

“Aw, bye, sweetie.” Amy was crying quietly. “You be good for your mom and dad, okay? I’ll see you next month.”

Michael moved forward and gave his future mother-in-law a hug. “Take care of yourself, Amy.”

“I will.” She hugged Kyle and Tess, then held Macy for a moment before hugging Marty and Maria. They all seemed reluctant to let go of each other, but finally they did, and Amy got into the car with Ed, and the two of them drove off. And just like that, they were gone. Michael could see the distress on his fiancée’s face, and he was so worried about her.

“Mama, can I go swimming?” Miley asked.

“Um . . .” Maria snapped herself out of her thoughts. “Sure, if that’s okay with your aunt and uncle.”

“Yeah,” Tess said. “Come on, Miley. We’d better get in before it rains.” She took Miley’s hand, and the three of them walked across the lawn to their house.

Michael glanced up at the sky. He remembered long discussions in high school literature classes about how weather set the mood for novels, and that dark clouds and thunder foreshadowed trouble. He couldn’t hear anything thunder, but there were plenty of dark clouds. It was a gloomy day.

“Amy thinks we should tell Miley about the cancer,” he said, patting Macy on the back as he held her.

Maria dismissed the idea quickly. “No. I don’t wanna freak her out. She’ll have all sorts of nightmares.”

“But it might be good for her to know, just in case something does happen.”

Maria looked at him accusingly. “You said she was gonna be fine.”

“She is. It’s just . . .” He couldn’t articulate himself. “Marty, help me out.”

“I’m kinda numb right now, Big Boy,” Marty said as he held his arms out for Macy. Michael handed his little girl to him and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

“She doesn’t even know what cancer is, and I don’t want her to,” Maria said. “Not yet.”

“But doesn’t she deserve to know?” Michael argued.

“No. We’re not telling her. Period.” Maria turned and walked away, up the sidewalk towards their house. She stopped just short of going inside, though, and started pacing back and forth.

“Maria--”

“You wanna tell her? Fine, you tell her. But I don’t wanna be a part of it. I’ve got enough to deal with right now.”

He sighed, wishing he hadn’t even brought this up. Maria was right, she was dealing with a lot. He hadn’t meant to pile this issue on her, too.

“Don’t take it personally,” Marty said quietly.

“I know.” If Maria needed to get a little angry at him to feel better, then he welcomed it. “Baby, I won’t tell her anything,” he said to her. “Your mom, your decision.”

Maria walked back up to them, shifting uncomfortably. “She wants me to have a mammogram,” she admitted. “Something about breast cancers being genetic.”

“What?” Initially, Michael couldn’t disguise his alarm. He couldn’t bear having anything happen to Maria. He loved her so much.

“I know, it’s scary,” she said.

Don’t be scared, he told himself. Maria needed him to be strong. “Well, you’re fine,” he assured her. “You don’t have any lumps. I should know. I feel your breasts all the time.”

She managed to smile a little at his lame attempt of a joke. “It’s weird,” she said. “Four years ago, I couldn’t stand the woman, and now I can’t imagine life without her.”

“Yeah,” Marty agreed. “Same here.”

Michael stood with them, trying to ignore the few raindrops he felt land on his face. But when thunder rippled through the sky, he couldn’t help but shudder.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

What a shitty little hole in the wall, Isabel thought as she approached Tess’s design studio. If she’d had her own business, it would’ve been huge. Nation-wide huge. If she’d been the one in control of Evans Hotels, she’d have eaten Donald Trump’s empire for breakfast.

When she strode into the studio, she saw only Liz, no sign of Tess. And Liz wasn’t doing much. She was sitting at her desk uploading wedding pictures onto Facebook.

“Where’s your bitch of a boss?” Isabel asked.

Liz startled. “God, Isabel. What’re you doing here?”

“Just exercising my rights.” She took the god-awful restraining order out of her pocket and glanced over it. “It doesn’t say anything about staying away from this dump.”

“Is that what I think it is?” Liz said. “That’s hilarious.”

“Any moment I’m sure to laugh.” Isabel ripped the paper in half and dropped it into the trashcan beside Liz’s desk. “I can’t pester Maria, I can’t salivate over Michael, and I can’t get anywhere near my son’s little girlfriend. So I figured the next best thing is to annoy Tess. Where is she?”

“She’s not here,” Liz said, stating the obvious. “I’m holding down the fort.”

And what a crappy fort it is to hold down, Isabel thought as she walked over to Tess’s desk. “This must be the easiest job.”

“At least I have a job,” Liz shot back.

Isabel sat down and picked up a framed photo of Kyle and Tess, one taken of them on their own wedding day. Michael and Maria were there with them, and so was a much younger Miley. “Did she stay home?” she asked, staring at the people in the picture enviously. “Is she having boring married sex?”

“They have some family issues going on.”

And suddenly, Isabel’s interest was piqued. “Like what?” she asked, slamming the picture face down on the desk. “Divorce? Incest?”

Liz made a face. “No. Maria’s mom . . . she has breast cancer. They just found out.”

“Oh my god.” Isabel held a hand to her chest. “That’s so . . . awesome.”

Liz gave her a look of disbelief.

“For me, I mean,” she clarified. “Cancer’s stressful. Maybe it’ll drive Michael and Maria apart, and he can throw himself into my awaiting arms.” She grinned. “Or into other parts of me.” Michael had a great cock, and she’d never forget how good it felt inside her.

“Do you even hear what you’re saying? A woman has breast cancer and you’re happy about that,” Liz said. “All you think about is Michael Guerin, and the irony is, you’d probably still be with him if you hadn’t cheated on him. You screwed it up. You’re such a loser, Isabel.”

“I’m a loser?” She knew she’d made the biggest mistake of her life by cheating on Michael, but that didn’t mean she was a loser. “Take a look at yourself and the man you’re married to.”

“Don’t bring Max into this.”

“You don’t know what true love is. I do. This upsets you.”

“What?” Liz shrieked.

“You’re jealous.”

“Jealous?”

“Mmm-hmm.” Isabel stood back up. “You always have been. That’s why we’ve never gotten along. You hate the fact that I feel something for Michael you’ve never felt for Max.”

Liz rose to her feet as well. “Obsession? I think I’ll pass.”

“You know I’m right.” Isabel stared down at Liz, loving that she was so much taller and more intimidating.

“Or maybe you’re the jealous one,” Liz hypothesized, “because you’re poor, and I’m not.”

Isabel rolled her eyes. She loved money, but she loved loving Michael more. “Would you love Max no matter what?” she wondered. “No matter how hopeless things got? Because what I feel for Michael is unconditional.”

“Unconditionally insane.” Liz laughed and sat back down. “Get out of here, Isabel. And consider yourself restrained.”

Isabel looked around. There was nothing much she could do here. If Tess wasn’t around, there was no point. She’d be better off spending her day with Billy. “Alright,” she said, heading for the door. She stopped on her way out and added, “But let me point out that not one of those words was, ‘Yes, Isabel, I’d love him.’” She left Liz to mull that over when she walked out the door.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Maria wasn’t even sure how she’d managed to get to her 9:30 class the next day. She’d gone another night with very little sleep, but she had a test to take, so she’d dragged her ass out of bed for that sole purpose. She totally wasn’t in a test-taking mood, though. She doubted she was going to do very well, but any grade was better than a zero.

“You look dead,” Lucinda remarked as the professor entered the room.

“Huh?” That word sent a shiver up her spine.

“Dead tired, I mean. Have you slept?”

Maria shook her head. “No, not really.”

“Did Michael keep you up all night?” Lucinda grinned.

“Huh, I wish.” Just when it had been looking like she and Michael would have the chance to have sex again, cancer happened.

“Is everything okay?” Lucinda asked.

“Not really.”

“Did you have a bad birthday?”

Maria tensed. For the rest of her life, she was going to remember her twenty-fifth birthday as the day she found out about her mom’s diagnosis. It had been a horrible day.

“Everybody ready?” the professor asked the class before Maria could begin to dump her problems on her friend. “Pencils out, notes away.”

Notes? Maria thought. What notes? Maybe some people had had time to take notes, but not her. She’d hardly studied at all for this.

“This is such a bad day for a test,” she groaned, taking a number two pencil out of her backpack. “Can I cheat off you?”

Lucinda looked at her helplessly. “I was planning on cheating off you.”

“Oh, we’re screwed then.”

Fifteen minutes later, when Maria was only halfway through the test, her pencil broke as she was filling in the A circle on the answer sheet. And the hits just keep on coming, she thought as she bent down to rummage through her backpack for either a handheld pencil sharpener or another pencil.

“Maria, stop that,” the professor barked, apparently thinking she was trying to cheat.

She froze. “I’m just looking for a pencil. Mine broke.”

The professor approached her, drawing the attention of most of the other students in the room. “I can’t let you look through there,” he spoke quietly.

“I’m not cheating,” she insisted. “I just really need a pencil.”

“I’ll get you one,” Lucinda offered, reaching down to pick up her purse.

“No one should be looking through their bags,” the professor reminded the class loudly.

Maria was starting to get fed up, but she tried to speak as calmly as she could. “Okay, I can’t finish my test unless I have something to write with.”

“You should’ve brought a spare,” the professor suggested condescendingly.

“Oh, why didn’t I think of that when I was stressing about my mom’s breast cancer?” The moment the words left her mouth, everyone turned to look at her, and suddenly, it all became too much. The broken pencil was a small deal, but with everything else that was going on, it felt huge. “I . . . I’m sorry,” she stuttered apologetically. “I’m really sorry. Look, I just need a pencil.”

Lucinda resumed looking through her purse. “I can’t find one . . .”

Maria felt her bottom lip trembling, and she knew she was going to lose it. She looked up at her professor, and he didn’t seem sympathetic at all. She looked around at the faces staring at her, most of them younger and probably a lot more carefree. “Excuse me,” she said, shooting to her feet. She ran out of the classroom, embarrassed that she’d made such a scene. She sat down in the hallway and tried to cry as quietly as she could, but surely they could all hear her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kyle said he had everything under control at the gallery, so Michael decided to stay home with his kids that day. They still didn’t have a day care to send Miley to, so it worked out well. He spent the morning making her breakfast, getting her dressed, and doing her hair. Yeah, her hair definitely looked a lot better when Maria fixed it, but she looked cute no matter what.

He was sitting on the couch watching Sesame Street with her while Macy slept in her playpen when he heard Maria’s car pull up in the driveway. He frowned. She had a break in between classes, but she hadn’t mentioned she’d be coming home. Moments later, she burst through the door, crying hysterically.

“Mama?” Miley squeaked out.

Michael got up off the couch and rushed to her side. “Hey, hey, what’s wrong?” he asked, smoothing her hair back from her face. “Are you okay?”

She shook her head vigorously.

He glanced back at Miley. She looked scared. She probably couldn’t remember seeing her mom like this.

“Okay, come on,” he said. “Come with me.” He ushered Maria up the stairs and said, “Miley stay down here. Watch the rest of the show. I wanna know what happens.” He practically carried Maria up the stairs into their bedroom and shut the door. “What happened?”

“Everything,” she cried. “Everything just piled up on me and I couldn’t handle it. I didn’t know the answers to anything on the test and my stupid pencil broke, and I’m tired and I’m worried about my mom.” Her whole body shook with sobs and she leaned against him.

“Shh,” he said, rubbing his hands up and down her back. He hoisted her up into his arms and carried her over to the bed. Maybe if she could sleep, she’d feel a little bit better. Just a little bit.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

That night, Michael tucked Miley into bed. She’d been quiet all day. “There you go,” he said, pulling the blankets up to her chin. “Warm enough?”

She nodded, then asked, “Where’s Frank?”

“He’s . . . somewhere.” Michael looked under the bed, and there he was, sprawled out on his back with his legs in the air. “There he is. You want him on the bed with you?”

“Yeah.”

He reached under the bed and pulled Frank out by his collar. “Come on, you big lug.” He grimaced as he lifted him onto the bed. “God, what’re we feeding you?”

Frank wagged his tail, then circled around on the foot of the bed a few times before plopping down.

“Alright, you don’t need me to check for monsters, do you?” Michael asked. “You got over that?”

Miley smiled proudly. “Yep.”

“Good girl. Alright, goodnight, sweetie. I love you.” He bent down and gave her a kiss on the forehead, then turned to leave the room. But she stopped him.

“Daddy?”

He turned back around. “What’s up?”

She frowned. “Why’s Mama sad?”

He had a feeling that was why she’d been quiet all day. She was worried about her mom. “Oh, you know . . . people get sad sometimes.” He sat down on the side of her bed and placed one hand atop her leg. “Remember when Frank ran away that day this summer? You were really sad. But when he came back, you were happy.”

“But why’s Mama sad?” she asked again. “Frank’s right here.”

“Um . . .” He was usually good at talking to Miley, but this wasn’t something he’d ever envisioned talking about. “Mama’s worried about somebody she loves as much as you love Frank,” he said, trying to frame things in a way she would understand.

“Mama loves you,” she said. “And me and Macy and Frank.”

“Yeah, she does,” he said. “She also loves Grandma Amy. The person she’s worried about . . . is Grandma Amy.”

“Why? Did she run away?”

“Um . . .” The decision was made for him. He wasn’t keeping this a secret from her. “Miley, your grandma has this thing called cancer. Have you ever heard of that?”

She shook her head.

“Well, it’s kind of like . . . like when you get sick with a cold. Do you remember the last cold you had?”

“Yeah. I sneezed.”

“You sneezed a lot,” he agreed. “Cancer’s kind of like a cold, only it’s a really bad cold. Amy might not be sneezing as much as you did, but she gets really sick. And she has doctors who try to make her feel better, but sometimes doctors can’t help people who have cancer. Sometimes they stay sick, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.”

“Then what happens?”

He sighed. She was so full of questions. He wasn’t sure if he was giving the right answers or not. “Sometimes people die from cancer. Do you know what that means?”

She thought about it for a second, then shook her head.

“Do you remember when we talked about God and heaven and Jesus?”

She smiled and nodded.

“Well, when people die, they go to heaven, remember? And when they’re up there, we can’t see them anymore, but they’re still with us in our hearts.”

“Grandma Amy’s in heaven?”

“No. No, she’s still here,” he assured her. “You’re gonna see her again on your birthday.”

Miley clutched her blanket tightly and nibbled on it with her teeth. “I don’t want Grandma Amy to die.”

He didn’t want to promise that she wouldn’t, because there was a very real possibility that she could. But he didn’t want to scare her, either. “I think she’ll be okay,” he said. “I hope she will be. She wants to see you and Macy grow up. She loves you, you know.”

“I know.” Miley folded her hands over her lap, closed her eyes, and announced, “I’ll pray.”

He stared at her, in awe of the fact that someone so little could know enough to do such an amazing thing. “Good idea,” he said, placing his hand over hers.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Maria’s eyelids felt like they weighed ten pounds, but she forced them open when she heard Michael in the bathroom. He came out a moment later shirtless and clad in tan sweatpants, towel-drying his hair.

“Hey,” he said when he saw that she was awake. “Was I making too much noise? I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

“You didn’t.” She rubbed her eyes and glanced at the clock. “Is it 10:00 in the morning or 10:00 at night?” It was hard to tell when the blinds were closed.

“At night,” he replied. “You slept all day.”

“Hmm, I needed to.”

He tossed his towel back into the bathroom and crawled into bed beside her. “Do you feel better?”

“A little.” She felt a lot better when she curled up against him. He was so warm, and when he had his arms around her, she felt like everything was going to be alright. “Are the girls in bed?” she asked, circling her fingers around his bellybutton.

“Yeah. And if Macy needs anything tonight, just let me take care of it, okay?”

“Okay.” She wasn’t about to turn down Michael’s nurturing. He was so good at taking care of her, of all of them.

“Listen, Maria . . .” He bit his bottom lip. “Miley asked me what was going on. I told her everything. I think she understands.”

I’m glad she does, Maria thought, because I sure don’t.

“I’m sorry, I know you didn’t want her to know.”

“No, you did the right thing by telling her,” she said. “I was just too nervous to do it myself. You’re so much tougher than me.”

He chuckled. “No, I’m not. You’ve had two kids. That’s bad-ass.”

She smiled, proud of herself for that. “It is, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

She clung to him and inhaled the scent of his skin. “We’re gonna get through this, right? And my mom’s gonna be okay, just like you said?”

“Just like I said.”

“And that mammogram I have to have . . . that’s gonna be fine.” She couldn’t deny being super nervous about that.

“Of course.” He kissed her forehead lovingly, then cupped one of her breasts in his hand. He touched her through her clothes, but it wasn’t mean to be erotic. It almost seemed as though he were checking for lumps for her, doing a little self-exam. He smiled when he didn’t find anything.

“Mmm.” She rubbed her legs against his beneath the covers and said, “We never got to have birthday sex.”

“That’s okay.”

“No, it’s not.” She snaked one hand beneath the covers to brush against his manhood, but he wasn’t hard. He was probably too tired, but she decided to offer it up anyway. “We can do it right now, if you want to.”

He shook his head. “I don’t know how anyone could have sex with everything else that’s going on.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tess squirmed beneath her husband, trying to bring her nether regions into contact with his. “Oh, Kyle,” she moaned, clawing at his shirt, trying to tug it down off his shoulders. “Take your pants off.”

“Alright.” He grinned and sat back to unfasten his jeans. The zipper was stuck, though, keeping him confined. “Oh, that won’t stop me,” he vowed, getting to his feet. While he worked on the zipper, she reached over, pulled open the drawer of the end table, and reached into their ever-decreasing box of condoms. They only had a few left. She took one out and stared at it, then stared at Kyle. She wondered what would happen if he didn’t wear one, if maybe, just maybe . . .

She dropped the condom back into the drawer, pushed herself up into a sitting position, and blurted out the desire she’d kept suppressed for awhile now: “Kyle, I wanna have a baby.”

Kyle had removed his jeans and shoved his boxers down to the floor. When she said that, he halted momentarily, then bent down and pulled them back up. “What?”

She’d been thinking that it would be some epic, undeniably perfect moment when she told him, but instead, it was just a spur of the moment thing. And it felt right. It felt right to let him know. Still . . . “I can’t believe I just said that,” she whispered in a rush.

“I can’t, either.”

She sighed and walked on her knees toward the edge of the bed. “Look, Kyle, it’s something I’ve been thinking about for awhile now. I just haven’t said anything. But here we are, about to have sex; and sex is about more than just feeling good, you know? It’s about life. It’s about creating life. We can do that, if we want to.”

He stared at her. “And . . . you want to?”

“Yeah, don’t you?” She swung her legs over the side of the bed and smiled excitedly.

“Well, yeah, eventually.”

“Eventually?” Just how soon was eventually? Couldn’t eventually be today?

He sat down beside her and admitted, “To tell you the truth, I haven’t really thought about it.”

She frowned. “Why not?” How was that possible when it was all she’d been thinking about? “We’ve been married for over a year now. And maybe you don’t think about it because you’re a guy and you can still have kids when you’re really, really old; but my biological clock’s ticking!”

“It’s not ticking that fast.”

“Michael and Maria were twenty-one when they got pregnant with Miley, and they managed,” she pointed out. “They did more than manage. They have this great family.”

“And we’re part of that family.”

“I know, but . . .” She trailed off, feeling tongue-tied. Couldn’t he just . . . get it? “I shouldn’t have said anything.” She shook her head and scurried out of the bedroom.

“Tess.” He followed her downstairs into the living room. “I’m not mad, okay? I’m just a little taken aback. This is coming out of nowhere.”

She whirled around. “Out of nowhere? Did you not catch any of my subtle hints? Do you not see the way I light up around our god-daughters? Do you really think I wanted socks for my birthday? I wanted a baby.”

“Then why didn’t you say something sooner?”

“Because I was afraid you’d react like this.”

“Like what?” He threw his hands up in the air. “I’m not saying I don’t wanna have kids with you. Of course I wanna have kids with you. I just . . . I’ve got the gallery, and you’ve got your studio . . . and with the news about Amy’s cancer . . . I’m just not sure it’s the right time.”

“It’s the perfect time,” she insisted. “We need some happy things. Babies make everyone happy.”

“But we’re still pretty young,” he pointed out.

“Not that young.” Maybe she was just being dramatic, but it seemed like every girl her age was becoming a mother. She plopped down on the couch, feeling discouraged. She should have waited to say anything. She should have stopped taking her birth control pill, and then it could have happened ‘by accident.’ Although that was a bad way to go about it. That would’ve done more harm than good.

“Okay, look . . .” Kyle sat down next to her, licking his lips as he clearly fought to stay calm. “I need a little time to let this sink in. But once it does, we can talk about it some more and make a decision together. Okay?”

She breathed in deeply and nodded. “Okay.” That sounded . . . better than a no. At least he wasn’t totally dismissing it. He wasn’t agreeing to it the way she’d hoped he would, either, but . . . this was better than nothing.

“Okay.” He gave her a kiss on the forehead, then stood up and headed back upstairs. “Goodnight.”

She frowned. By telling Kyle she wanted a baby, she’d turned a sex-filled night into a sexless one. That didn’t seem right.








TBC . . .

-April