Back at baby central Maria and Max were trying to give an exhausted Liz a pep talk. “You’re doing great Lizzie, we’re almost there,” her girlfriend said. “Hang in there.”
“I’m so proud of you Honey,” Max said soothingly in her ear. He was nestled in behind her with her between his legs, reclining onto his chest after the last contraction. His hands smoothed through her hair, rubbed over her back, touching her wherever he thought he could bring her some comfort. His words were interspersed with sweet kisses pressed to her hair, the side of her face, and the hand that held his in a chokehold. “You’re so brave. I could never do anything like this.”
“You’re damn right you couldn’t,” Liz moaned as another contraction began to wrack her body. “Aaaahhhh…oh Max, it hurts so much,” she whimpered as it subsided.
“I know Baby, I know,” he cooed.
“Like hell you do,” she practically screamed as the pain returned quickly.
“This is it!” Maria called out excitedly. “It’s time to push Liz.”
“I can’t,” she sobbed as she collapsed back onto Max. “Please, I can’t do this anymore.”
“Yes you can,” Max coached. “You’re so strong and you’re doing so well. It’s almost over. We’re going to see our beautiful baby soon, my love. I can’t wait.” He took hold of both her hands and sat up with her still flat against him.
“OK Liz, I’m going to count to three and then you’re going to push for me,” Maria said. “One, two…”
“Three!” Max exclaimed with her as Liz valiantly mustered up the strength to follow Maria’s instructions. A flurry of activity followed for the next several minutes, until suddenly Maria’s voice, which had been so strong and authoritative, rang out with choked emotion. “She’s out! It’s a girl! Oh Liz, it’s a girl!”
Max cradled her limp body against him as his tears flowed freely. “I love you so much Liz,” he whispered between kisses placed on her cheeks and closed eyelids. “You were amazing. I love you.”
Liz’s eyes remained closed as she continued panting for air. “Max, go see…go help Maria…see if she’s all right…”
He extricated his body from behind her and then laid her back against the pillows. Placing a gentle kiss on her lips he moved to stand next to Maria who was laying the baby on a clean towel. “Max, do you want to cut the cord?” she asked him.
He was mesmerized by the site of his tiny daughter but understood he needed to tend to a few things first. “I think I can handle that,” he said, and reached over and took hold of it. He held it for a few seconds until it dissolved in his hand, and then placed one finger on the baby’s belly button and healed it closed. Maria smiled at him saying, “nice trick,” and then turned to clean up the baby. Max stepped between Liz’s legs and called to her in a soft voice. “Sweetheart, look at me. I’m going to heal you.”
Maria looked up quickly. “Max, she still has to…”
“Just one of the advantages of having me around,” he said to her, letting her know he understood her meaning. He looked back at Liz as he rubbed her thigh tenderly. “Liz, Honey, look at me.”
She pried her eyes open and tried to focus on him. Finally they connected, and he placed his hand low on her abdomen to cleanse and restore her womb. A warm tingling filled her belly as scenes of their recent life passed between them, culminating with Liz telling him she was pregnant. As the flashes subsided so did the sensations in her stomach, and he ran a hand over her entire tummy, scanning her before he was satisfied she was whole again. When he finished he looked up to see her beaming smile and hear her soft, “thank you.”
Before he could reply Maria was standing in front of him holding out a crying, squirming baby wrapped tightly in a white blanket. “Would you like to hold your daughter Max?” she asked with a smile.
Tears once again filled his eyes as he enfolded the bundle in his arms. “Thank you God,” he murmured as he absorbed every detail of her dark hair, scrunched face and her itty bitty hands. His large hand cupped her little head as he placed kisses across her forehead. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
Maria was now at Liz’s side, wrapping her in a hug. “Ten toes, ten fingers, and a great set of lungs. She’s perfect Liz.”
Tears of joy rolled down Liz’s cheeks as she embraced her best friend. “Oh Maria, it’s not possible for me to put into words what it means to me that you’re here. What can we ever do to thank you?”
“She’s right Maria,” Max said, moving next to them. “It’s an honor to have the wonderful person that brought my son into the world deliver my daughter too. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
“Now you guys are making me cry,” she said, wiping at her own tears. “I’ll give you guys a few minutes alone, and then I’ll bring Alex in, if that’s OK.”
“Of course,” said Max as he sat down on the bed next to his wife and lay the baby on her stomach. “She’s so beautiful Liz. So perfect. And she doesn’t have my ears, thank goodness!”
Liz giggled as she caressed her new daughter. “I love your ears. I love everything about you.”
He bent his head and kissed her, gazing into her eyes as he pulled away. “I adore everything about you too.”
“Max, I’m sorry I yelled at you and called you a…a…”
“Penis possessing son of a bitch was my personal favorite,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. “It’s OK Sweetheart; I think I would’ve used a few choice words if I went through what you just did.” He looked back down at his daughter, who was now sleeping peacefully on her mommy’s tummy, warmed by her daddy’s protective hand. “Thank you for the best Christmas present I will ever get,” he said, emotion overcoming them both as they kissed. They sat quietly for a while, marveling at the miracle of creation that God had gifted them with while they exchanged occasional kisses and words of love.
Out in the living room, Alex had Maria in a bear hug, happy for his friends but also worried that the birth could trigger her depression over her inability to conceive. “I love you, and I am so proud of you. You were unbelievable in there; so calm, cool, and collected. I’m in awe of you.”
“You should be,” she joked as she gave him one last squeeze before pulling away to look at him. “Max did pretty good too; actually a lot better than I thought he would. He didn’t faint or throw up- two things I was betting on! And he let Liz curse him out and beat him up. He did a good job.”
He cupped her face and looked at her intently. “Are you OK with everything?”
Maria knew exactly what he meant. “Yeah Honey, I am. I didn’t know how I was going to feel when this happened, but honestly, I’m so overjoyed for them right now that’s all I can think about.”
He kissed her and pulled her back into a hug for a moment, and then said, “so when do I get to meet my new niece?”
Grinning, she pulled away from him and took him by the hand, leading him down the hallway. “I have connections; I think I can get you in.” Arriving at the bedroom door she called out, “would you mind some visitors?”
“Of course not,” Max said as he stood.
Alex hugged him first and then bent down to kiss Liz before checking out the baby. “Oh, she is adorable. Look at those teeny tiny little fingers! And the little fingernails! And that bitty little nose. She’s beautiful guys, congratulations. Hey- how ‘come she doesn’t have one of those little hats on to keep her head warm?”
“Oh, I forgot it, wait…” Maria said as she routed through a bag on the dresser. “Here, I made one in blue and one in pink,” she said as she gently pulled it onto the baby’s head.
“Her first Christmas gift, thank you Maria,” Liz said with a smile as Max resumed his place sitting next to her on the bed.
“So, what about a name?” Maria asked. “Do you have any ideas?”
Max wrapped his arm around Liz’s shoulder and they both smiled up at her. “We were just discussing that before you came in,” he said. “We thought in honor of the day she has been born we’d go with Noelle. It means peace.”
“Oh I like that,” Alex approved. “That’s a very pretty name.”
“And for her middle name,” Liz said, beaming at her friend, “we’ve decided on Maria, after the most amazing woman she’ll ever have the pleasure of knowing.”
“Oh, you guys…” Unable to speak through her tears Maria kissed them both before turning into her husband’s arms. Just then the phone began to ring, and all four of them looked at each other and said simultaneously “Max!”
His father answered the phone by saying, “congratulations big brother.”
“Dad? Did she…”
“You have a baby sister, son.”
“Is Mom OK?” he immediately asked, still worried.
“They are both fine. Here, I’ll let you talk to your mom,” he said, and then handed it over to Liz.
“Hi Sweetie, you have a sister- Noelle Maria.”
“Noelle Maria?” her son repeated, causing Jackie to tug on his arm and ask, “she had a girl?” He nodded his ascent and she jumped up and ran to the kitchen where her parents were making them popcorn. “Aunt Liz had a girl! Noelle Maria,” she excitedly told them.
“Oh, that’s fantastic!” enthused Paula as all three rushed back into the room to sit by Max.
“Mom are you all right? How do you feel?”
“I’m fine Sweetie, really. Exhausted but fine. She’s so beautiful Max; she has dark fuzzy hair and long fingers just like you did. I can’t wait until you can see her tomorrow.”
“Yeah, I’ll be home early in the morning…hold on Mom,” he said and looked at Jackie who was trying to get his attention.
“Ask her if it would be OK if I come too,” she said. “I don’t want to stress her out if she’s too tired.”
“I’m sure it will be fine…Mom, you don’t mind if Jackie is with me, right?”
“Of course not Max, she’s one of the family,” said Liz, bringing a smile to his face.
“OK, well Aunt Paula wants to talk to you, so I’ll see you in the morning then Mom. I love you,” he said before handing the phone to Paula, who bestowed her best wishes quickly and hung up, understanding how tired Liz must be at the moment.
Jackie hugged Max and said, “do you feel better now that everything worked out OK?”
“Yeah,” he said, rubbing a hand over his haggard face, “but I won’t really feel good until I see my mom tomorrow.” He shook his head slightly as he continued. “I know you all must think I’m ridiculous, it’s just…for most of my life it was just us, and if anything ever happened to her…”
“You don’t need to explain anything to us Max,” Nick said. “I’ve been a nervous expectant father twice and I know all about those fears. I just hope we were of some help to you.”
“Oh, yeah, you guys have been great. I can’t thank you enough for putting up with me.”
“Max, I’ve known you since you were a small child and ‘putting up’ with you has never been a problem. You are always a pleasure to be around,” Paula said sincerely.
Max blushed at her compliment as Jackie whispered to him, “I’ll second that.”
Arriving home early the next morning he and Jackie found Maria and Alex in the front yard having a snowball fight. As he jumped from his Jeep a large wet mass of snow hit him square in the chest. He looked up to see Maria laughing and waving at him. “Welcome home big brother,” she said as they all made their way to the front door. “Wait ‘til you see her Homer; she’s so precious. Almost as cute as you were.”
That earned her a quick peck on the cheek before he asked, “how’s Mom?”
“Tired but thrilled; same as your dad,” Maria answered.
“I don’t think ‘thrilled’ quite covers how your dad is right now,” Alex said as they all finished taking off their snow boots and jackets and went into the house. “He’s on cloud nine.”
Maria led them to the bedroom where they found Liz asleep and the proud father in the rocking chair, cradling his daughter in his arms and singing to her in a hushed tone. “Daddy, someone is here who would like to meet his baby sister,” Maria said softly.
He looked up with a glowing smile on his face as his son stepped into the room, and Max knew he would never see his father happier than at that very moment. He knelt down next to the chair and peeked into the small opening in the fluffy pink blanket the baby was wrapped in. “Wow, she’s small,” he said as he watched her tiny hands waive around in the air. He tentatively stroked his finger over her arm and exclaimed, “and soft!”
Jackie, who was now bending over all of them, quietly chuckled. “That’s why it’s called ‘baby soft skin’ Max. She’s beautiful Uncle Max, congratulations,” she said and kissed him.
“Thank you,” he said, and then turned back to his son. “Do you want to hold her Max? You can sit here.” He rose from the chair and stepped to the side so his son could sit down.
“I…uh…” he stammered, totally unfamiliar with babies and how to handle them.
“Don’t be afraid,” Jackie said encouragingly. “She won’t break. Sit down.”
He did as instructed and held out his arms. His father gently handed her over, saying “just make sure you support her head Max.” He rocked with her for a few moments until the blanket slipped up a little and obscured her face from his view. Hooking one finger on the edge he pulled it down, brushing her lightly. She opened her teensy hand and grasped his large finger and held on, causing him to smile immediately. “Hi Noelle, I’m your brother Max. You’ve got a pretty good grip there!”
As they all fussed over her Liz began to stir and her husband moved to her side. “Max is home my love,” he said as he kissed her forehead. “Do you want me to prop up the pillows so you can visit or do you want to sleep some more?”
“No, I want to see him,” she said as she struggled to sit up. Her son got up, still holding the baby, and went to sit on the bed next to her.
“Hi Mom, how do you feel?” he asked as he leaned over to kiss her cheek.
“Still exhausted but otherwise just fine Sweetie. Your sister had us up every two or three hours during the night,” she replied as she caressed her daughter’s little head. “Unlike you, who hardly ever made a peep, this one was exercising her lungs something fierce.”
“Hmm, maybe she is related to Maria after all,” Alex joked, earning him an elbow in his side.
“Hi Jackie honey, Merry Christmas,” Liz said to the young girl standing next to Maria. “Did you have a nice holiday?”
Jackie laughed. “Well, we spent it trying to keep Max from climbing the walls, so it was interesting. She’s so cute Aunt Liz.”
Liz reached up and smoothed her son’s hair as she grinned at him. “Always my worry wart. Thank you for taking care of him Jackie.” She looked over at Maria, who was suddenly brandishing a camera. “Don’t you dare Maria, I must look like hell.”
“You are gorgeous,” her husband immediately said. “Maria, would you take one of the four of us?” he asked as he slid his arm around Liz’s back and their son leaned in.
“Absolutely. Everybody say cheese.” She took the picture and then said to Alex and Jackie, “why don’t we go make some coffee and stuff, and give them a few minutes alone.”
“So what do you think of her Sweetie?” Liz asked her son as their friends exited.
“She’s so little. And really cute,” he added as her mouth latched onto the finger that was tickling her chin.
“I think she’s hungry; you’d better give her to me so I can feed her before she starts screaming,” Liz said, reaching for her baby girl.
“Um, I’ll go out and help them with breakfast,” Max said, wanting to give his mother privacy so she could nurse the baby.
His father followed him into the hallway. “Max,” he said as he laid a hand on his son’s arm to stop him, “I just want you to know, that just because I’m here now, but wasn’t when you were…that doesn’t mean that I feel anything more for…” He trailed off, wringing his hands nervously as he searched for the right words to convey his emotions. Finally he looked up into his son’s eyes and placed his hand on his shoulder. “Max, I just want you to know that one of the biggest regrets of my life will always be that I wasn’t here to be a father to you. And that Noelle being born doesn’t lessen in any way what I feel for you…if anything I love you more at this moment than ever.”
Max couldn’t reply due to the overwhelming love he felt for his father at that minute. Instead he pulled him into a hug and whispered through their connection, // I love you too Dad.//
Having heard their entire exchange from her bed, a single, joyous tear rolled down Liz’s cheek and onto the head of a happily nursing Noelle. She closed her eyes and thanked God for the gift of her beautiful family and all that was right in the Evans’ world in that wonderful, perfect moment in time.
In Your Eyes Book Two- M&L, ADULT- Complete
Moderators: Anniepoo98, Rowedog, ISLANDGIRL5, Itzstacie, truelovepooh, FSU/MSW-94, Hunter, Island Breeze, Forum Moderators
CHAPTER 27- NC-17
Early evening on New Years Eve proud papa Max was waltzing around the living room singing to his daughter who was safely tucked in his arms. “Noelle, my belle…these are words that go together well, my Noelle…”
“That’s ‘Michelle, my belle’,” said Maria with a wink as she carried a plate of chicken wings out from the kitchen and set them on the coffee table. Max and Liz had invited the Whitman’s to ring in the New Year quietly with them, and the girls were putting some food out for them to nibble on. Their son had gone to pick up Jackie and bring her back to celebrate with them, as he still felt bad about missing Christmas night and the baby’s birth. That, and the fact that all of their friends had made other arrangements, were the reasons they had decided to hang out with his parents for the holiday.
“You should hear how many songs he’s inserted her name into,” Liz said with a smile, following behind Maria with a platter of shrimp. “Noelle is going to think every song ever written was done for her!” She put the food down and sighed happily as she watched her husband fussing over the tiny porcelain creature he’d being going gaga over since the minute she’d been born.
“OK baby hog, hand her over,” Maria said to Max, who kissed the tykes forehead before oh-so-carefully handing her to her Godmother. “Not that I don’t think your daddy’s singing is adorable,” she cooed to the little girl, “but let’s try something a little different.” She couldn’t help smirking as she began to sing, “Maria! I just met a girl named Maria…”
“Technically that’s also her name Honey,” Alex said as he threw another log in the fireplace. “Maybe you should try something with ‘Alex’ in it.”
“Mmm, these Buffalo wings are great Babe,” Max said to Liz as he licked some wayward sauce from a finger.
“Thank you,” she replied. “I only put half of them out so there would still be some left for Max and Jackie.”
“What time did he say they’d be coming home?” asked her husband before picking up another piece of chicken.
“I think it was something like 9:30 or 10 o’clock. It’s only 8:20 now, so pace yourself on the shrimp too. I didn’t save any of that.”
“Don’t worry, I brought two great big loaves of my homemade pizza bread, and there’s still stuffed mushrooms and meatballs and chips…there will be plenty of food for Homer,” Maria said.
“In that case, pass some of those shrimp over here please Max,” said Alex as he plopped down in a chair. “Your son doesn’t know what he’s missing,” he added before sinking his teeth into a jumbo shrimp.
“Mmm…you taste so good,” Max said huskily before he returned his mouth to his girlfriend’s breast, causing her head to roll back and a groan of pleasure to pour forth, not for the first time that night.
They hadn’t had the opportunity to be alone in quite a while, so when he suggested picking her up early so they could spend some time together by themselves, Jackie had jumped at the chance. He had driven to the beach not far from his home and parked, and after getting frustrated by the space between the two front seats they had climbed into the back. Now, despite the freezing temperatures outside, both had a slight sheen of sweat on their exposed torsos.
Moving back up to her mouth he kissed her hard while the weight of his body pushed her to lie prone on the seat. With his form stretched over hers and one leg wedged between her thighs, they kissed madly; moans and short breaths and stolen words of love the only things separating their lips. As his mouth started to wander over her body again she could feel her insides melting, and unconsciously began to slowly grind her core against his thigh.
Finally moving back up to kiss her Max groaned when he saw her head thrown back, eyes closed, and mouth parted open. He wanted- needed- to see her reaching for completion as he’d witnessed only once before. Placing small kisses on her jaw line he worked his way up to her ear and sucked on the lobe a moment before whispering, “I want to touch you so much.”
As his heated words registered in her brain she felt his hand move under her skirt and press against her center. She didn’t hesitate to answer. Or moan an answer, actually.
“Max…yes…”
As they kissed passionately he began to move his shaking hand over the silk of her undergarment, thinking he’d never felt anything quite as soft before. Until, that is, a wayward finger made its way under the material and encountered another kind of softness altogether.
Jackie gasped softly as she felt his first tentative action; the first such touch she had ever experienced at the hand of a lover. Quickly deciding she wanted more, she pulled upward on the denim of her skirt to allow him greater freedom of movement. He hooked his fingers in the waistband of her panties and paused before receiving a nod to remove them. She felt the cold night air against her skin only briefly before his hand returned to continue its exploration, making her sigh as her head fell back once more.
Max bit down on her neck as his finger traced her outer lips, his total inexperience keeping his movements slow. All he knew about stimulating a female sexually could fit in a thimble. He’d seen one porno movie at his friend’s brother’s bachelor party the previous year. He’d been embarrassed as hell, but he was a guy, and watching wasn’t exactly torture. So, while all the drunken guests hooted and hollered like idiots he watched the flick almost like a training video, figuring he might as well be familiar with the purpose of the parts in case a situation ever…arose.
When his thumb brushed over the small protrusion above her opening and her hips jerked up and she moaned loudly he figured he was on the right track. His meandering mouth swept down over her breast and settled on a rock hard nipple, sucking on it mercilessly as finger number two found her entrance and gently slipped inside. The answering cry of his name from her lips made him smile against her skin. ‘Right track, right train, right station,’ he thought wryly.
Jackie blindly grabbed at his hair, his arms, his back as his fingers and mouth worked magic on her body. As she spiraled higher and higher his name poured from her lips, causing him to increase the intensity of his attentions until a loud cry and the clenching of her legs around his hand announced her climax.
Max watched as her body convulsed; his machismo skyrocketing that he, Maxwell Jeffrey Evans, second generation alien hybrid with zero experience in the sex department, had brought his love such delectation. As she panted for air, he freed his hand from her intimate grip and held her while raining gentle kisses over her heated skin, suddenly acutely aware of the throbbing between his own legs.
After finally floating back to earth Jackie pried her eyes open; a slow, sexy smile spreading over her face when she focused on the large brown eyes that were shining with the love she felt in her own heart. “Max,” she breathed, “thank you.”
He returned the smile with his own breathy response. “You’re welcome. I love yuuhh…” He was unable to finish his sentiment when he suddenly felt her small hand grasping his hardness through his jeans.
“I love you too,” she said with a knowing smile, moving her hand to pop the button above his zipper open. “Now if you’ll sit back, I’ll return the favor.”
He quickly moved to a seated position, pulling her along with him until she was plastered to his side. As they kissed, she lowered his zipper and reached in to stroke him over the covering of his boxers for a moment before grasping the waistbands of both his pants and underwear. “Lift up,” she whispered, and dutifully his hips rose off the seat and she tugged his garments down to his knees. She wanted nothing encumbering her the first time she was to see and touch him.
In the dim light it took her a few moments to completely make out his aroused form, and when she finally did, she was shocked by the sight. ‘Do they all look like that?’ she wondered as her hand encircled his form for the very first time, causing his head to fall back against the seat and a whimper to escape his lips. Her eyes darted between his face and where her hand was slowly moving up and down over him, trying to gauge if what she was doing was pleasing to him.
She needn’t have worried. Max was delirious; almost unable to believe it was real and not another of his many dreams or fantasies that always starred her. His whimpering increased as her hand briefly left his rock-hard member to explore beneath and then returned to its previous task.
His helpless sounds of delight thrilled her as she debated to go further. She’d heard girls talk about ‘going down’ or ‘giving head’, but she had no idea of what she was supposed to…how she was supposed to…if she was supposed to… Then she thought about how he’d made her feel so special, so loved, so…good. She wanted him to feel that way too. Her resolved formed, she slid her hand down to the base of his penis and bent her head. ‘Here goes nothing,’ she thought.
“UUUHHH!” he groaned loudly and his hips bowed off the seat as he suddenly, unexpectedly felt her tongue swipe across the head of his shaft and then her lips encase the same. “Uh…Jackie…no, you…uh…”
She pulled away quickly, nervously glancing at him before saying shyly, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you, I thought…”
Her words were silenced by a ravenous kiss. When he pulled away he ran a hand through her hair, cupping her head and pulling it toward him to lean his forehead against hers while he pulled air into his heaving lungs. “You didn’t hurt me Baby. I just don’t want you to think you have to…do that…”
“I don’t, Max,” she whispered. “I wanted to make you feel good.” Her eyes timidly fluttered away from his gaze. “Did I…did it feel good?”
He half-smiled and chuckled quietly. “No.” She immediately tried to pull away from him, supremely embarrassed, but his firm grip would not allow it. “No, it didn’t feel good. It felt great. Unbelievably, incredibly great.” She chanced a look at him and knew immediately he was telling the truth. He leaned in and kissed her sweetly. “Jack just being with you makes me feel great,” he said earnestly. “But us, together like this? It makes me feel…like I’m flying.”
She couldn’t contain her smile. “I know exactly what you mean,” she replied before kissing him deeply. After a moment her hand resumed its ministrations, and a minute after that she pulled her lips from his and whispered to him. “Now, if it’s OK with you, I’d like to finish what I started.”
He swallowed and nodded before she lowered her head back to his lap. She experimentally licked and sucked at him while still holding him at the base, his hips slowly thrusting in and out of her mouth of their own volition while his moaning increased in volume and quantity. It didn’t take long for him to reach his peak, and as he felt his orgasm about to sweep over him he gently pushed her away and covered the head of his cock with his hand just as it began to explode.
Jackie’s hand remained wrapped around him as she watched him intently, studying the look on his face, the way his hips thrust forcefully upward, and the shuddering of his body. ‘I wonder if this is what I look like’, she thought, right before feeling the warm milky fluid that ran down from under his hand fall onto hers. “Oh!” she said, surprised and shyly curious.
Embarrassed, he quickly grabbed the discarded T-shirt he’d been wearing under his sweater and wiped his hand off on the corner before taking hers and cleaning it on the rest of the shirt. “I’m sorry…I’m sorry…” he muttered, chagrined that he’d made a mess of her hand.
With her free hand she grasped his chin and turned his face toward hers and placed short, slow, sweet kisses on his lips to calm him. “Don’t be sorry Max,” she finally said. “Seeing you like that, knowing that I could bring you…make you…I wanted to, Max. I love you.”
He stared at her intensely, wanting to keep her eyes from glancing down to where he was swiping his hand over them both to remove any residue, and then over the shirt as he tossed it to the floor. He quickly pulled up his pants so she wouldn’t notice his sudden state of cleanliness, and then gathered her in his arms. “I love you too.”
They cuddled together for a long while, alternating between amorous kisses and sweet sentiments. Catching the time on the dashboard clock, he reluctantly said, “it’s after ten, I guess we should go before the cell phone starts ringing,” and they headed off to his parents house.
“Hey you two, I hope you’re hungry; there’s enough food here to feed an army,” Maria said to them as they came through the kitchen door. “Here Homer, carry these meatballs for me if you don’t mind.” She grabbed a few things and they went into the living room to join the others.
“Oh good, now we have enough people to play Pictionary!” Liz said as she saw her son and his girlfriend. “That is, if you want to play?” she asked them.
“Yeah, I’ll play,” Jackie said while Max nodded in the affirmative. “Sure, why not?” he echoed.
They played games and talked until a few minutes prior to midnight, and then they all turned their attention to the TV to count down with Dick Clark as the brightly-lit ball descended in Times Square. “3…2…1…HAPPY NEW YEAR!” they exclaimed in unison, and then three very happy couples smooched their significant others while a tiny baby slept quietly in her bassinet in the corner, blissfully unaware of all the commotion, storing energy for all that lay ahead in the coming year.
Early evening on New Years Eve proud papa Max was waltzing around the living room singing to his daughter who was safely tucked in his arms. “Noelle, my belle…these are words that go together well, my Noelle…”
“That’s ‘Michelle, my belle’,” said Maria with a wink as she carried a plate of chicken wings out from the kitchen and set them on the coffee table. Max and Liz had invited the Whitman’s to ring in the New Year quietly with them, and the girls were putting some food out for them to nibble on. Their son had gone to pick up Jackie and bring her back to celebrate with them, as he still felt bad about missing Christmas night and the baby’s birth. That, and the fact that all of their friends had made other arrangements, were the reasons they had decided to hang out with his parents for the holiday.
“You should hear how many songs he’s inserted her name into,” Liz said with a smile, following behind Maria with a platter of shrimp. “Noelle is going to think every song ever written was done for her!” She put the food down and sighed happily as she watched her husband fussing over the tiny porcelain creature he’d being going gaga over since the minute she’d been born.
“OK baby hog, hand her over,” Maria said to Max, who kissed the tykes forehead before oh-so-carefully handing her to her Godmother. “Not that I don’t think your daddy’s singing is adorable,” she cooed to the little girl, “but let’s try something a little different.” She couldn’t help smirking as she began to sing, “Maria! I just met a girl named Maria…”
“Technically that’s also her name Honey,” Alex said as he threw another log in the fireplace. “Maybe you should try something with ‘Alex’ in it.”
“Mmm, these Buffalo wings are great Babe,” Max said to Liz as he licked some wayward sauce from a finger.
“Thank you,” she replied. “I only put half of them out so there would still be some left for Max and Jackie.”
“What time did he say they’d be coming home?” asked her husband before picking up another piece of chicken.
“I think it was something like 9:30 or 10 o’clock. It’s only 8:20 now, so pace yourself on the shrimp too. I didn’t save any of that.”
“Don’t worry, I brought two great big loaves of my homemade pizza bread, and there’s still stuffed mushrooms and meatballs and chips…there will be plenty of food for Homer,” Maria said.
“In that case, pass some of those shrimp over here please Max,” said Alex as he plopped down in a chair. “Your son doesn’t know what he’s missing,” he added before sinking his teeth into a jumbo shrimp.
“Mmm…you taste so good,” Max said huskily before he returned his mouth to his girlfriend’s breast, causing her head to roll back and a groan of pleasure to pour forth, not for the first time that night.
They hadn’t had the opportunity to be alone in quite a while, so when he suggested picking her up early so they could spend some time together by themselves, Jackie had jumped at the chance. He had driven to the beach not far from his home and parked, and after getting frustrated by the space between the two front seats they had climbed into the back. Now, despite the freezing temperatures outside, both had a slight sheen of sweat on their exposed torsos.
Moving back up to her mouth he kissed her hard while the weight of his body pushed her to lie prone on the seat. With his form stretched over hers and one leg wedged between her thighs, they kissed madly; moans and short breaths and stolen words of love the only things separating their lips. As his mouth started to wander over her body again she could feel her insides melting, and unconsciously began to slowly grind her core against his thigh.
Finally moving back up to kiss her Max groaned when he saw her head thrown back, eyes closed, and mouth parted open. He wanted- needed- to see her reaching for completion as he’d witnessed only once before. Placing small kisses on her jaw line he worked his way up to her ear and sucked on the lobe a moment before whispering, “I want to touch you so much.”
As his heated words registered in her brain she felt his hand move under her skirt and press against her center. She didn’t hesitate to answer. Or moan an answer, actually.
“Max…yes…”
As they kissed passionately he began to move his shaking hand over the silk of her undergarment, thinking he’d never felt anything quite as soft before. Until, that is, a wayward finger made its way under the material and encountered another kind of softness altogether.
Jackie gasped softly as she felt his first tentative action; the first such touch she had ever experienced at the hand of a lover. Quickly deciding she wanted more, she pulled upward on the denim of her skirt to allow him greater freedom of movement. He hooked his fingers in the waistband of her panties and paused before receiving a nod to remove them. She felt the cold night air against her skin only briefly before his hand returned to continue its exploration, making her sigh as her head fell back once more.
Max bit down on her neck as his finger traced her outer lips, his total inexperience keeping his movements slow. All he knew about stimulating a female sexually could fit in a thimble. He’d seen one porno movie at his friend’s brother’s bachelor party the previous year. He’d been embarrassed as hell, but he was a guy, and watching wasn’t exactly torture. So, while all the drunken guests hooted and hollered like idiots he watched the flick almost like a training video, figuring he might as well be familiar with the purpose of the parts in case a situation ever…arose.
When his thumb brushed over the small protrusion above her opening and her hips jerked up and she moaned loudly he figured he was on the right track. His meandering mouth swept down over her breast and settled on a rock hard nipple, sucking on it mercilessly as finger number two found her entrance and gently slipped inside. The answering cry of his name from her lips made him smile against her skin. ‘Right track, right train, right station,’ he thought wryly.
Jackie blindly grabbed at his hair, his arms, his back as his fingers and mouth worked magic on her body. As she spiraled higher and higher his name poured from her lips, causing him to increase the intensity of his attentions until a loud cry and the clenching of her legs around his hand announced her climax.
Max watched as her body convulsed; his machismo skyrocketing that he, Maxwell Jeffrey Evans, second generation alien hybrid with zero experience in the sex department, had brought his love such delectation. As she panted for air, he freed his hand from her intimate grip and held her while raining gentle kisses over her heated skin, suddenly acutely aware of the throbbing between his own legs.
After finally floating back to earth Jackie pried her eyes open; a slow, sexy smile spreading over her face when she focused on the large brown eyes that were shining with the love she felt in her own heart. “Max,” she breathed, “thank you.”
He returned the smile with his own breathy response. “You’re welcome. I love yuuhh…” He was unable to finish his sentiment when he suddenly felt her small hand grasping his hardness through his jeans.
“I love you too,” she said with a knowing smile, moving her hand to pop the button above his zipper open. “Now if you’ll sit back, I’ll return the favor.”
He quickly moved to a seated position, pulling her along with him until she was plastered to his side. As they kissed, she lowered his zipper and reached in to stroke him over the covering of his boxers for a moment before grasping the waistbands of both his pants and underwear. “Lift up,” she whispered, and dutifully his hips rose off the seat and she tugged his garments down to his knees. She wanted nothing encumbering her the first time she was to see and touch him.
In the dim light it took her a few moments to completely make out his aroused form, and when she finally did, she was shocked by the sight. ‘Do they all look like that?’ she wondered as her hand encircled his form for the very first time, causing his head to fall back against the seat and a whimper to escape his lips. Her eyes darted between his face and where her hand was slowly moving up and down over him, trying to gauge if what she was doing was pleasing to him.
She needn’t have worried. Max was delirious; almost unable to believe it was real and not another of his many dreams or fantasies that always starred her. His whimpering increased as her hand briefly left his rock-hard member to explore beneath and then returned to its previous task.
His helpless sounds of delight thrilled her as she debated to go further. She’d heard girls talk about ‘going down’ or ‘giving head’, but she had no idea of what she was supposed to…how she was supposed to…if she was supposed to… Then she thought about how he’d made her feel so special, so loved, so…good. She wanted him to feel that way too. Her resolved formed, she slid her hand down to the base of his penis and bent her head. ‘Here goes nothing,’ she thought.
“UUUHHH!” he groaned loudly and his hips bowed off the seat as he suddenly, unexpectedly felt her tongue swipe across the head of his shaft and then her lips encase the same. “Uh…Jackie…no, you…uh…”
She pulled away quickly, nervously glancing at him before saying shyly, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you, I thought…”
Her words were silenced by a ravenous kiss. When he pulled away he ran a hand through her hair, cupping her head and pulling it toward him to lean his forehead against hers while he pulled air into his heaving lungs. “You didn’t hurt me Baby. I just don’t want you to think you have to…do that…”
“I don’t, Max,” she whispered. “I wanted to make you feel good.” Her eyes timidly fluttered away from his gaze. “Did I…did it feel good?”
He half-smiled and chuckled quietly. “No.” She immediately tried to pull away from him, supremely embarrassed, but his firm grip would not allow it. “No, it didn’t feel good. It felt great. Unbelievably, incredibly great.” She chanced a look at him and knew immediately he was telling the truth. He leaned in and kissed her sweetly. “Jack just being with you makes me feel great,” he said earnestly. “But us, together like this? It makes me feel…like I’m flying.”
She couldn’t contain her smile. “I know exactly what you mean,” she replied before kissing him deeply. After a moment her hand resumed its ministrations, and a minute after that she pulled her lips from his and whispered to him. “Now, if it’s OK with you, I’d like to finish what I started.”
He swallowed and nodded before she lowered her head back to his lap. She experimentally licked and sucked at him while still holding him at the base, his hips slowly thrusting in and out of her mouth of their own volition while his moaning increased in volume and quantity. It didn’t take long for him to reach his peak, and as he felt his orgasm about to sweep over him he gently pushed her away and covered the head of his cock with his hand just as it began to explode.
Jackie’s hand remained wrapped around him as she watched him intently, studying the look on his face, the way his hips thrust forcefully upward, and the shuddering of his body. ‘I wonder if this is what I look like’, she thought, right before feeling the warm milky fluid that ran down from under his hand fall onto hers. “Oh!” she said, surprised and shyly curious.
Embarrassed, he quickly grabbed the discarded T-shirt he’d been wearing under his sweater and wiped his hand off on the corner before taking hers and cleaning it on the rest of the shirt. “I’m sorry…I’m sorry…” he muttered, chagrined that he’d made a mess of her hand.
With her free hand she grasped his chin and turned his face toward hers and placed short, slow, sweet kisses on his lips to calm him. “Don’t be sorry Max,” she finally said. “Seeing you like that, knowing that I could bring you…make you…I wanted to, Max. I love you.”
He stared at her intensely, wanting to keep her eyes from glancing down to where he was swiping his hand over them both to remove any residue, and then over the shirt as he tossed it to the floor. He quickly pulled up his pants so she wouldn’t notice his sudden state of cleanliness, and then gathered her in his arms. “I love you too.”
They cuddled together for a long while, alternating between amorous kisses and sweet sentiments. Catching the time on the dashboard clock, he reluctantly said, “it’s after ten, I guess we should go before the cell phone starts ringing,” and they headed off to his parents house.
“Hey you two, I hope you’re hungry; there’s enough food here to feed an army,” Maria said to them as they came through the kitchen door. “Here Homer, carry these meatballs for me if you don’t mind.” She grabbed a few things and they went into the living room to join the others.
“Oh good, now we have enough people to play Pictionary!” Liz said as she saw her son and his girlfriend. “That is, if you want to play?” she asked them.
“Yeah, I’ll play,” Jackie said while Max nodded in the affirmative. “Sure, why not?” he echoed.
They played games and talked until a few minutes prior to midnight, and then they all turned their attention to the TV to count down with Dick Clark as the brightly-lit ball descended in Times Square. “3…2…1…HAPPY NEW YEAR!” they exclaimed in unison, and then three very happy couples smooched their significant others while a tiny baby slept quietly in her bassinet in the corner, blissfully unaware of all the commotion, storing energy for all that lay ahead in the coming year.
CHAPTER 28
Liz and Maria struggled to the car, laden down with bags from their shopping excursion. It was a few weeks after New Years and while Max was home with the baby they spent the day hitting more than a few sales. “I can’t believe I found those shoes at that price,” Maria said as they filled the trunk of her car. “When I saw them two weeks before Christmas they were more than double what I just paid!”
Liz smiled at her friend’s enthusiasm. “Alex will be happy to hear that, I’m sure.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t buy any of those suits that were forty percent off. School starts next week, doesn’t it?” Maria asked as she slammed the trunk shut and walked to the car door.
“Yeah, on Wednesday,” Liz replied quietly.
“Why am I getting the feeling there’s more to this than you’re letting on,” Maria asked while she buckled her seat belt. When Liz didn’t answer she hesitated before starting the car. “Liz?”
Liz sighed deeply as she stared out of the windshield. “I don’t know. I’ve been thinking lately.”
When Liz paused Maria remained quiet, knowing when her friend was pensive like this it was best to give her time to sort out her thoughts, so she sat silently and waited for her to continue.
“When Max was born it was such a blessing to have you there to take care of him, because I knew I needed to go to school to get a decent job to support us. If it wasn’t for you living with us and basically raising him I would never have been able to go through college and graduate school in four and a half years, and I certainly wouldn’t have been able to teach at a university level.” When Maria chuckled a bit Liz said, “what?”
“I’m just remembering how you worked like a maniac and pushed yourself so hard so you could finish as fast as possible. You used to look like a train wreck on the weekends, remember? You spent the whole time in your pajamas, your hair would be standing up all over the place, and you’d be running between reading a textbook, typing a paper and changing Max. I don’t think you slept more than four hours a night. I remember you falling asleep at the dinner table one night, almost mid-sentence.”
“I know, that’s why…” Liz trailed off, once again gazing out the window at nothing in particular for a few moments. “I always felt guilty about that, about leaving Max. I felt like I missed so much. Do you remember the day I came home and he had taken his first step? I felt like someone punched me in the stomach because I hadn’t been there to see it. I can never get those moments back.”
“And now you’re worried about leaving Noelle,” Maria stated.
“Not exactly,” Liz replied cryptically. After a long pause she looked back at Maria. “What would you think if I didn’t go back to teaching?”
“I think that you should do what you think is best for your daughter and yourself. You know I’ll always have a spot for her in daycare if you ever decide you need it. What does Max think?”
“I haven’t said anything to him yet.”
“But I thought you guys had no secrets because your connection was completely open now?” Maria asked.
“No, that changed when the baby was born. I guess it was just some alien pregnancy safety system or something. I just started feeling this way the past few days, when I realized school was just around the corner and that I would have to leave her.”
“Let me ask you something. Do you think you could handle not working? You’ll be alone all day with no adults around, no academic interaction, nothing but dirty diapers and bottles. You’re not used to that Liz.”
“But I want to be,” she answered, her eyes large and sincere. “Max understands that I don’t want to chance another pregnancy at my age, so I’m not going to have any more kids Maria. If I don’t do this with Noelle I’ll never do it. I just don’t want to look back in five or ten years and say ‘I wish I’d chosen my child over myself’ because it will be too late. We don’t need the money so that’s not an issue. And I’m sure Max won’t care; in fact, I think he’ll be really happy.”
“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?” Maria asked pointedly.
“I guess I just needed to hear myself say it out loud. So do you think I’m making the right decision?”
Maria reached for her hand and held it between hers. “Liz, the years I spent with your son were incredible. Every time you look at your daughter I think you’ll know you made the right decision.”
Liz smiled at her friend before leaning over to hug her. “How is it that the total spaz I knew when we were kids turned into this calm, logical, brilliant person?” she teased.
Maria began to laugh. “I don’t think Alex would agree with the calm part!” She started the car and drove Liz home. When she pulled into the driveway she asked, “do you guys want to come over for dinner? No big deal, I just thought we’d get Chinese take out or something.”
Liz glanced at her watch. “Do you mind if we do it here instead, and around 6:30? It’s easier not to have to pack everything up for the baby. Also, that will give me enough time to work out, shower, and feed Noelle.”
“Yeah, 6:30 is fine. Weren’t you working out when I called you this morning?”
“Yeah but I wanted to fit in another half hour on the treadmill if possible. I’m trying to rev up my metabolism so I can drop the baby weight. I want to be more toned before Max and I…you know…” Blushing slightly she waved her hands in the air expressively.
Maria looked at her in surprise. “You mean you haven’t had sex since the baby? I thought Max healed you after Noelle was born.”
“He took care of the afterbirth and any damage that may have been done, but my body still has to recover. And I’d feel more comfortable if I was more toned and in shape.”
Maria smirked at her. “Liz. First of all, you’re as thin or thinner, if that’s even possible, than before you were pregnant. Second, Max would be attracted to you no matter what your size, and if you wore a burlap bag and dyed your hair purple. You have to know that. Third, how long do you really think you two can hold out? The way you go at it like rabbits I’m surprised Max hasn’t exploded by this point!”
“Maria!” Liz cried, embarrassed at her friend’s reference to their sex life. “We don’t go at it like rabbits.” Observing Maria’s raised eyebrows and bigger smirk, she relented. “All right, so we make love a lot. So what? We love each other and love being together…”
“And doing it until the bed breaks,” Maria interrupted.
“It was an old bed frame!” Liz protested before beginning to giggle along with her friend. “So 6:30, do you think you can pick up the food?” she asked, changing the subject back to dinner.
“Yeah, call me later and tell me what you all want. See you then.”
Liz grabbed her bags and waved goodbye before going inside her home to find her husband dozing in a chair, his arm stretched out and resting on the bassinet positioned right next to him. She quietly placed her bags down and went to observe him a moment before gently climbing onto his lap. He stirred immediately, and she told him to go back to sleep in between the kisses she was dropping on his neck. He murmured something incoherently, wrapping his arms around her even as he floated back to sleep. Liz sighed happily and closed her eyes, soon joining him and their baby in dreamland.
That was the way their son and his girlfriend found them over an hour later. “Your parents must be pretty tired, huh?” Jackie said, reaching to pick up the awakening child before she began to cry.
“I guess. Mom says she wakes up every two or three hours at night,” he answered, his finger brushing over his sister’s cheek. “I’m lucky; I don’t hear anything upstairs.”
Liz began to stir at the sound of their hushed voices and snuggled further into her husband’s embrace muttering, “Max, the baby’s awake.”
Her husband fought to awaken and slowly pried his eyes open to see Jackie holding his daughter and his son standing behind her, one hand on her shoulder and the other cradling his sister’s head. He observed them for a moment, wondering if he was viewing a scene in the couple’s future. ‘Hopefully a distant future,’ he thought to himself before clearing his throat to alert them he was awake. “Hey guys; I didn’t hear her crying.”
“She wasn’t Uncle Max; she was just waking so we picked her up before she started. She’s so cute!” Jackie said, cooing at Noelle.
“She looks like her mommy,” her proud father replied as he tightened his arms around his wife who immediately sighed in her sleep. “The two most beautiful girls in the world, and they’re all mine,” he added dreamily.
“She has your eyes though, Dad,” Max said as he checked out the baby’s large amber orbs.
“You know what’s funny?” Jackie said. “You look exactly like your dad except you have your mom’s eyes, and now Noelle could look like your mom but with your dad’s eyes. Isn’t that weird?”
“I’m just glad neither one of them got my ears,” Max laughed, causing Liz to rouse. “Hey sleepyhead,” he said with a kiss to her forehead.
“Hi everyone,” she said groggily. “What time is it?”
“Almost four,” her son answered.
“Oh, good, I didn’t want to sleep past four,” she said, stretching her arms while she sat up. “Maria and Alex are going to bring Chinese food over around 6:30, if you two would like to join us?” she asked him.
He looked at Jackie who nodded her agreement. “Yeah, OK.”
“Just let me know what you want so I can tell Maria when she calls.”
“Kung Pao chicken and an egg roll,” they said at the same time and then laughed.
“Well that’s easy to remember,” Liz said with a wink. “Here Honey, I’ll take her,” Liz said to Jackie as she stood up. “She’s going to want to eat soon, aren’t you Sweetie? I’m going to go feed her and then hit the treadmill, if that’s OK with you Babe,” she said to her husband. “Oh, would you mind grabbing my shopping bags and bringing them into our room for me?”
“Only if there’s stuff in them for me,” he replied with a smile before collecting the bags and following her down the hall. When they got to their bedroom Liz settled herself in the rocker to nurse Noelle while Max emptied the bags on the bed and sorted through the items. When he finished he looked at her and said, “didn’t you buy yourself anything Honey? All of this stuff looks like it’s for me, Max, or the baby.”
“No, the socks are for me,” she answered.
“Why didn’t you buy yourself any clothes for work? I thought you’d want some new stuff since you’re not pregnant this semester.”
Liz gazed down at the tiny creature in her arms, knowing instinctively that what Maria had said about making the right decision was correct. She knew that every moment spent with her baby would be joyous, and any one spent away would be downcast. The choice was easy. “I need to talk to you about that Max.”
“I’m all ears,” he said, sitting on the end of the bed facing her. She poured her heart out, telling him how she felt when she would leave their son when he was a baby, and how she wanted to be the one to wipe every tear and chase every rainbow this time around.
When she finished he remained silent for a while, making her nervous. Finally she asked, “do you think I’m crazy?”
Smiling at her, he kneeled down at her feet and began to rhythmically stroke his hand over their daughter. “How could I possibly think wanting to spend time with this precious gift from God is crazy?” he said softly. “I would never try to influence your decision on this Liz; but if I’m totally honest with you this is what I’ve been hoping for. If someone else watches her we’d always have to worry about her powers materializing in front of them. We’re wealthy; we don’t need the money. And I feel like this…it’s just a miracle and yes, I completely understand why you’d want to stay with her and I’m thrilled.”
Liz beamed at him. “You make it so easy to love you, you know that?” she said before leaning forward to capture his lips.
“I do, don’t I?” he answered back with a crooked smile.
“What, are you taking a page from Maria’s book now?” she said with a giggle.
“Speaking of which, do you know what you want to order? I have to call Alex anyway so I’ll let him know what we all want.”
A couple of hours later Maria and Alex arrived and the six of them sat down to enjoy dinner. As they were finishing Maria passed out the fortune cookies. “I wonder if mine will say something about always eating Chinese food so your baby will sleep through dinner!” Liz joked, as Noelle had managed to sleep through the entire meal, a first in her nearly four week old life.
Her husband discreetly rubbed his sock-clad foot up and down her calf. // I’ll bet mine says this is the best night of my life, // he whispered through their connection, immediately earning him a dreamy smile and a blast of loving thoughts regarding their first date. When dessert was finally finished he looked over at Alex and asked “do you mind looking at the computer now,” and they went off to troubleshoot the machines technical problems.
The girls began clearing the table and as if on cue a loud wail erupted from the baby’s room. “I’ll go look in on her Mom,” Max said as he rose from his chair. Jackie smiled to herself at how quickly and easily her boyfriend had taken to his little sister.
“He is cute with her, isn’t he?” Maria said to her as if reading her mind. “Wonder if he’ll be this helpful when you two have one.”
“Aunt Maria!” Jackie exclaimed, her face flushing at her aunts cajoling.
“Relax Sugarplum,” Maria replied, laughing. “I don’t want to hear anything about you having babies until you’ve graduated and worked a few years anyway.”
Jackie turned away, still blushing furiously. “Maybe I’ll go see how Max is doing with Noelle,” she said before exiting the kitchen quickly.
In the baby’s room nothing her big brother was doing would make her stop crying. Scratching his head he looked at all of the stuffed animals in the crib, checked the door to be sure it was closed, and then pointed at a pink puppy which immediately floated up and began dancing above her. She seemed to calm down a little, so one by one he levitated the different toys and then moved his finger around until they began to circle over her, eliciting contented sounds from her at last. “You like that do you Peanut?” he said, calling her by the pet name he’d adopted for her. “Is your favorite…”
His words were cut off by the loud gasp he heard coming from the doorway behind him, and he turned around to find Jackie leaning against the open door, white as a sheet as her eyes followed the floating objects.
Liz and Maria struggled to the car, laden down with bags from their shopping excursion. It was a few weeks after New Years and while Max was home with the baby they spent the day hitting more than a few sales. “I can’t believe I found those shoes at that price,” Maria said as they filled the trunk of her car. “When I saw them two weeks before Christmas they were more than double what I just paid!”
Liz smiled at her friend’s enthusiasm. “Alex will be happy to hear that, I’m sure.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t buy any of those suits that were forty percent off. School starts next week, doesn’t it?” Maria asked as she slammed the trunk shut and walked to the car door.
“Yeah, on Wednesday,” Liz replied quietly.
“Why am I getting the feeling there’s more to this than you’re letting on,” Maria asked while she buckled her seat belt. When Liz didn’t answer she hesitated before starting the car. “Liz?”
Liz sighed deeply as she stared out of the windshield. “I don’t know. I’ve been thinking lately.”
When Liz paused Maria remained quiet, knowing when her friend was pensive like this it was best to give her time to sort out her thoughts, so she sat silently and waited for her to continue.
“When Max was born it was such a blessing to have you there to take care of him, because I knew I needed to go to school to get a decent job to support us. If it wasn’t for you living with us and basically raising him I would never have been able to go through college and graduate school in four and a half years, and I certainly wouldn’t have been able to teach at a university level.” When Maria chuckled a bit Liz said, “what?”
“I’m just remembering how you worked like a maniac and pushed yourself so hard so you could finish as fast as possible. You used to look like a train wreck on the weekends, remember? You spent the whole time in your pajamas, your hair would be standing up all over the place, and you’d be running between reading a textbook, typing a paper and changing Max. I don’t think you slept more than four hours a night. I remember you falling asleep at the dinner table one night, almost mid-sentence.”
“I know, that’s why…” Liz trailed off, once again gazing out the window at nothing in particular for a few moments. “I always felt guilty about that, about leaving Max. I felt like I missed so much. Do you remember the day I came home and he had taken his first step? I felt like someone punched me in the stomach because I hadn’t been there to see it. I can never get those moments back.”
“And now you’re worried about leaving Noelle,” Maria stated.
“Not exactly,” Liz replied cryptically. After a long pause she looked back at Maria. “What would you think if I didn’t go back to teaching?”
“I think that you should do what you think is best for your daughter and yourself. You know I’ll always have a spot for her in daycare if you ever decide you need it. What does Max think?”
“I haven’t said anything to him yet.”
“But I thought you guys had no secrets because your connection was completely open now?” Maria asked.
“No, that changed when the baby was born. I guess it was just some alien pregnancy safety system or something. I just started feeling this way the past few days, when I realized school was just around the corner and that I would have to leave her.”
“Let me ask you something. Do you think you could handle not working? You’ll be alone all day with no adults around, no academic interaction, nothing but dirty diapers and bottles. You’re not used to that Liz.”
“But I want to be,” she answered, her eyes large and sincere. “Max understands that I don’t want to chance another pregnancy at my age, so I’m not going to have any more kids Maria. If I don’t do this with Noelle I’ll never do it. I just don’t want to look back in five or ten years and say ‘I wish I’d chosen my child over myself’ because it will be too late. We don’t need the money so that’s not an issue. And I’m sure Max won’t care; in fact, I think he’ll be really happy.”
“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?” Maria asked pointedly.
“I guess I just needed to hear myself say it out loud. So do you think I’m making the right decision?”
Maria reached for her hand and held it between hers. “Liz, the years I spent with your son were incredible. Every time you look at your daughter I think you’ll know you made the right decision.”
Liz smiled at her friend before leaning over to hug her. “How is it that the total spaz I knew when we were kids turned into this calm, logical, brilliant person?” she teased.
Maria began to laugh. “I don’t think Alex would agree with the calm part!” She started the car and drove Liz home. When she pulled into the driveway she asked, “do you guys want to come over for dinner? No big deal, I just thought we’d get Chinese take out or something.”
Liz glanced at her watch. “Do you mind if we do it here instead, and around 6:30? It’s easier not to have to pack everything up for the baby. Also, that will give me enough time to work out, shower, and feed Noelle.”
“Yeah, 6:30 is fine. Weren’t you working out when I called you this morning?”
“Yeah but I wanted to fit in another half hour on the treadmill if possible. I’m trying to rev up my metabolism so I can drop the baby weight. I want to be more toned before Max and I…you know…” Blushing slightly she waved her hands in the air expressively.
Maria looked at her in surprise. “You mean you haven’t had sex since the baby? I thought Max healed you after Noelle was born.”
“He took care of the afterbirth and any damage that may have been done, but my body still has to recover. And I’d feel more comfortable if I was more toned and in shape.”
Maria smirked at her. “Liz. First of all, you’re as thin or thinner, if that’s even possible, than before you were pregnant. Second, Max would be attracted to you no matter what your size, and if you wore a burlap bag and dyed your hair purple. You have to know that. Third, how long do you really think you two can hold out? The way you go at it like rabbits I’m surprised Max hasn’t exploded by this point!”
“Maria!” Liz cried, embarrassed at her friend’s reference to their sex life. “We don’t go at it like rabbits.” Observing Maria’s raised eyebrows and bigger smirk, she relented. “All right, so we make love a lot. So what? We love each other and love being together…”
“And doing it until the bed breaks,” Maria interrupted.
“It was an old bed frame!” Liz protested before beginning to giggle along with her friend. “So 6:30, do you think you can pick up the food?” she asked, changing the subject back to dinner.
“Yeah, call me later and tell me what you all want. See you then.”
Liz grabbed her bags and waved goodbye before going inside her home to find her husband dozing in a chair, his arm stretched out and resting on the bassinet positioned right next to him. She quietly placed her bags down and went to observe him a moment before gently climbing onto his lap. He stirred immediately, and she told him to go back to sleep in between the kisses she was dropping on his neck. He murmured something incoherently, wrapping his arms around her even as he floated back to sleep. Liz sighed happily and closed her eyes, soon joining him and their baby in dreamland.
That was the way their son and his girlfriend found them over an hour later. “Your parents must be pretty tired, huh?” Jackie said, reaching to pick up the awakening child before she began to cry.
“I guess. Mom says she wakes up every two or three hours at night,” he answered, his finger brushing over his sister’s cheek. “I’m lucky; I don’t hear anything upstairs.”
Liz began to stir at the sound of their hushed voices and snuggled further into her husband’s embrace muttering, “Max, the baby’s awake.”
Her husband fought to awaken and slowly pried his eyes open to see Jackie holding his daughter and his son standing behind her, one hand on her shoulder and the other cradling his sister’s head. He observed them for a moment, wondering if he was viewing a scene in the couple’s future. ‘Hopefully a distant future,’ he thought to himself before clearing his throat to alert them he was awake. “Hey guys; I didn’t hear her crying.”
“She wasn’t Uncle Max; she was just waking so we picked her up before she started. She’s so cute!” Jackie said, cooing at Noelle.
“She looks like her mommy,” her proud father replied as he tightened his arms around his wife who immediately sighed in her sleep. “The two most beautiful girls in the world, and they’re all mine,” he added dreamily.
“She has your eyes though, Dad,” Max said as he checked out the baby’s large amber orbs.
“You know what’s funny?” Jackie said. “You look exactly like your dad except you have your mom’s eyes, and now Noelle could look like your mom but with your dad’s eyes. Isn’t that weird?”
“I’m just glad neither one of them got my ears,” Max laughed, causing Liz to rouse. “Hey sleepyhead,” he said with a kiss to her forehead.
“Hi everyone,” she said groggily. “What time is it?”
“Almost four,” her son answered.
“Oh, good, I didn’t want to sleep past four,” she said, stretching her arms while she sat up. “Maria and Alex are going to bring Chinese food over around 6:30, if you two would like to join us?” she asked him.
He looked at Jackie who nodded her agreement. “Yeah, OK.”
“Just let me know what you want so I can tell Maria when she calls.”
“Kung Pao chicken and an egg roll,” they said at the same time and then laughed.
“Well that’s easy to remember,” Liz said with a wink. “Here Honey, I’ll take her,” Liz said to Jackie as she stood up. “She’s going to want to eat soon, aren’t you Sweetie? I’m going to go feed her and then hit the treadmill, if that’s OK with you Babe,” she said to her husband. “Oh, would you mind grabbing my shopping bags and bringing them into our room for me?”
“Only if there’s stuff in them for me,” he replied with a smile before collecting the bags and following her down the hall. When they got to their bedroom Liz settled herself in the rocker to nurse Noelle while Max emptied the bags on the bed and sorted through the items. When he finished he looked at her and said, “didn’t you buy yourself anything Honey? All of this stuff looks like it’s for me, Max, or the baby.”
“No, the socks are for me,” she answered.
“Why didn’t you buy yourself any clothes for work? I thought you’d want some new stuff since you’re not pregnant this semester.”
Liz gazed down at the tiny creature in her arms, knowing instinctively that what Maria had said about making the right decision was correct. She knew that every moment spent with her baby would be joyous, and any one spent away would be downcast. The choice was easy. “I need to talk to you about that Max.”
“I’m all ears,” he said, sitting on the end of the bed facing her. She poured her heart out, telling him how she felt when she would leave their son when he was a baby, and how she wanted to be the one to wipe every tear and chase every rainbow this time around.
When she finished he remained silent for a while, making her nervous. Finally she asked, “do you think I’m crazy?”
Smiling at her, he kneeled down at her feet and began to rhythmically stroke his hand over their daughter. “How could I possibly think wanting to spend time with this precious gift from God is crazy?” he said softly. “I would never try to influence your decision on this Liz; but if I’m totally honest with you this is what I’ve been hoping for. If someone else watches her we’d always have to worry about her powers materializing in front of them. We’re wealthy; we don’t need the money. And I feel like this…it’s just a miracle and yes, I completely understand why you’d want to stay with her and I’m thrilled.”
Liz beamed at him. “You make it so easy to love you, you know that?” she said before leaning forward to capture his lips.
“I do, don’t I?” he answered back with a crooked smile.
“What, are you taking a page from Maria’s book now?” she said with a giggle.
“Speaking of which, do you know what you want to order? I have to call Alex anyway so I’ll let him know what we all want.”
A couple of hours later Maria and Alex arrived and the six of them sat down to enjoy dinner. As they were finishing Maria passed out the fortune cookies. “I wonder if mine will say something about always eating Chinese food so your baby will sleep through dinner!” Liz joked, as Noelle had managed to sleep through the entire meal, a first in her nearly four week old life.
Her husband discreetly rubbed his sock-clad foot up and down her calf. // I’ll bet mine says this is the best night of my life, // he whispered through their connection, immediately earning him a dreamy smile and a blast of loving thoughts regarding their first date. When dessert was finally finished he looked over at Alex and asked “do you mind looking at the computer now,” and they went off to troubleshoot the machines technical problems.
The girls began clearing the table and as if on cue a loud wail erupted from the baby’s room. “I’ll go look in on her Mom,” Max said as he rose from his chair. Jackie smiled to herself at how quickly and easily her boyfriend had taken to his little sister.
“He is cute with her, isn’t he?” Maria said to her as if reading her mind. “Wonder if he’ll be this helpful when you two have one.”
“Aunt Maria!” Jackie exclaimed, her face flushing at her aunts cajoling.
“Relax Sugarplum,” Maria replied, laughing. “I don’t want to hear anything about you having babies until you’ve graduated and worked a few years anyway.”
Jackie turned away, still blushing furiously. “Maybe I’ll go see how Max is doing with Noelle,” she said before exiting the kitchen quickly.
In the baby’s room nothing her big brother was doing would make her stop crying. Scratching his head he looked at all of the stuffed animals in the crib, checked the door to be sure it was closed, and then pointed at a pink puppy which immediately floated up and began dancing above her. She seemed to calm down a little, so one by one he levitated the different toys and then moved his finger around until they began to circle over her, eliciting contented sounds from her at last. “You like that do you Peanut?” he said, calling her by the pet name he’d adopted for her. “Is your favorite…”
His words were cut off by the loud gasp he heard coming from the doorway behind him, and he turned around to find Jackie leaning against the open door, white as a sheet as her eyes followed the floating objects.
CHAPTER 29
Max panicked at the sight of his girlfriend frozen in the doorway as stuffed animals danced merrily in the air over his sister’s crib as if by magic. Jackie pointed a shaking finger at the toys circulating in the air and tried to warble out words that just wouldn’t come. “Wha…how…Max wha…”
His mouth flapped open and closed with no sound escaping. This was his greatest fear- that she would discover his secret before he was ready to divulge it. Before he was able to face the possibility of losing her to it.
Maria’s voice coming down the hall cracked the silence. “Jackie, Liz says that I should apologize for em…barr…assing…you…” Her staccato words hung in the air as she stood behind her niece taking in the scene. “Oh shit,” she muttered, realizing what was happening. She squeezed by Jackie, glancing at the young girls shocked face while she made her way over to Max who was still frozen in place. “Homer,” she said in a soothing tone as she lay a hand on his face to bring his attention to her, “you need to stop the runaway zoo here so we can talk to Jackie, OK?”
He jerked his head around, realizing the animals were still in full flight. They landed with a wave of his hand, and when he turned around Maria had an arm around his even paler girlfriend.
“Aunt Maria…how…how…”
“Sweetheart, come with me. We’re all going to go sit down in the living room and have a talk, OK?” Maria gently led her out past the kitchen, calling Liz to come out to join them as Max hurriedly went to get his father and Alex.
Maria sat next to Jackie on the couch, her arm still tightly around her shoulders while Max quietly informed the other three what his girlfriend had witnessed. Immediately Alex moved to sit next to his niece. The three sitting Whitmans looked up at the three Evans’, who stood before them wearing very serious expressions.
Like a mother bear protecting her cub, Liz watched an obviously frightened Jackie closely. She loved this girl and understood her confusion, but anything that threatened the hard won safety and tranquility of her family would not get by her easily. Finally breaking the shocked silence, she said gently but seriously, “Jackie, what did you see in Noelle’s room?”
“Max…making toys fly…on their own…” She looked up at her boyfriend who was obviously as scared as she, flanked on either side by a very protective parent who each had an arm wrapped tightly around him.
Maria squeezed Jackie’s shoulder. “Honey, you need to keep an open mind for what you’re about to hear. It’s OK, I promise.”
Her niece looked at her quizzically but remained silent as Liz continued. “Jackie, I know this is going to sound very far fetched, but Max is the son of an alien-human hybrid…”
“Me,” his father interrupted. “And because of that, Max has certain gifts, as you just witnessed.”
The young girl sat in stunned, disbelieving silence for a few moments before stating, “there’s no such things as aliens,” as if trying to convince herself.
“Yes Honey, there is,” Alex said before Maria added, “it’s true.”
“You two don’t really believe…” she trailed off.
“Not only do I believe it, I know it,” Maria stated. “And I’ve know it since I was sixteen years old.”
Jackie looked at her in shock as Liz jumped in again. “Jackie, when I was sixteen Maria and I were waitressing in my parent’s diner one day, and there was a disturbance and I was shot. Max was there and he used his powers to heal me. He risked exposing himself, his own life, to save me. If he hadn’t I probably would’ve died.” Liz felt a slight shudder go through her son, and she turned her head to give him a peck on the cheek. “That’s how we found out that Max was a very special person.”
“No,” Jackie stated emphatically. “There are no such things as aliens. I don’t know what kind of trick you’re all trying to play on me but it’s not funny,” she said in a huff, standing up quickly.
Still holding on to his son, Max reached out his other arm and waved his hand over a magazine lying on the coffee table, changing it into a candle. A snap of his fingers lit it, and then he pointed at a grouping of pictures on the wall and moved them around in a circle for a few rotations.
Jackie gasped and sat down with a thud, her aunt and uncle once again embracing her. “How…how…where did you come from? How did you get here?” she asked after a very long pause.
“You know we’re from Roswell, New Mexico, right?” he said, and she nodded. “Have you ever heard anything about a UFO crashing there in 1947?”
She nodded and said, “but that was a weather balloon or a secret plane test or something.”
“No, it wasn’t. A spaceship really did crash in the desert, and I was on it.”
She studied him carefully while absorbing the information. “How is that possible. You’re like, thirty-something years old.”
“I’ll be thirty eight this year. I wasn’t born yet when the ship crashed.”
Jackie shook her head as if trying to clear her thoughts. “Wait…what do you mean you weren’t born?”
“The ship was carrying a small crew and four…incubation pods, if you will. The crash killed everyone except the person who was to be our protector and teacher. He managed to get the four pods out of the ship and hide them in a cave not too far from the crash site before he was caught.”
“Caught by who?’
“The Government. If you’ve heard about Roswell you probably heard the rumor that an alien was caught. Of course the Government denied it, but it was true. He was caught and died in their captivity. It was thirty six years later, in the summer of 1983, after we matured that we broke out of the pods.”
“They looked like six year olds then,” Maria interjected. “They were found wandering in the desert by Mr. and Mrs. Evans. We met them in school that September.”
“Who’s ‘them’?” Jackie asked pensively, referring to the plural term.
“My brother Michael and my sister Isabel,” Max said.
“But you said there were four of these…pod…things…”
“Yes, there were. The fourth pod was damaged in the crash, and its occupant didn’t survive.”
“And where are your brother and sister.”
“My sister, who is married and has children, lives on our home planet now. My brother is dead.”
“Home planet? How…” Jackie trailed off again, not sure if she wanted to know the answer.
Max did not want to overwhelm her with technical information at this point so he kept his answer short. “There was a way to return there about twenty years ago, and we all went. I had the opportunity to come back here almost two years ago. There’s no way for travel between the two planets any longer.”
Jackie mulled this over while the five anxious people in the room watched her. Finally she looked up at her boyfriend, an unreadable mix of emotions playing across her face. “So you’re…”
Max took a deep breath and looked her in the eye. “I am the son of a human mother and an alien-human hybrid father. I have powers similar to his, but not as powerful.”
“What kind of…things…can you do?” she asked nervously, afraid that some kind of hocus-pocus had been used on her.
“Well, the thing you saw with the toys over the crib, and manipulating molecular structures- the candle thing,” he clarified when he saw the confusion on her face. “That lets me mend things that are broken, or break them apart. I can heal. And the three of us,” he pointed at his parents, “have what we call a connection, where we can telepathically speak to each other.”
“Wait- you said your mother was human. How can she do that?” she demanded.
“Our powers are human in nature. When my dad healed her he somehow activated something in her brain that allow her to do that," he answered, stopping as he heard his mother quickly send him a message.
// Don’t tell her I can do other little things Honey; it will only scare her at this point. //
More silence ensued as Jackie thought about things until Maria spoke up. “Sweetheart, I know this is overwhelming to you, believe me, I do.”
Jackie looked at her. “You’re OK with all of this?”
Maria snickered slightly. “Well, at the beginning I was anything but OK. I totally freaked out. But I came around, to the point that I was seriously involved with Uncle Max’s brother.”
Jackie’s head whipped around to look at Alex. “Did you know all of this?”
Alex’s hand gently rubbed over his niece’s back, trying to calm her. “Liz introduced me to Maria when Max was young. She lived with them, so we were all together a lot. One day at the beach Max changed a lump of sand into a spectacular castle, so I was let into the club. And yeah, it was weird in the beginning, but…”
“Once you get to know them, you know there’s nothing to fear about them,” Maria finished for him, her husband nodding in agreement. “Jackie you already know the character of these people. The only thing you didn’t know was important to keep from you.”
Liz jumped at the opportunity to bring up the safety issue. “Jackie, you’re a smart girl. You must understand how dangerous it could be for just anyone to know about my special family. If they were discovered and exposed, there’s no telling what could happen…what could be done to them…” She swallowed a quickly forming lump in her throat as her husband sent her a wave of love, making her smile at him before she continued. “Jackie, I hope I don’t have to tell you how much Mr. Evans and I like you. It’s my sincere hope that you’ll be able to accept my son for the amazing person he is- all of him. But regardless of the outcome of you finding this out, we need to stress how important it is that you cannot tell anyone about this.”
“She’s right Jackie,” her husband said, “you can’t tell anyone. Not your friends, not even your mom or dad. I know that’s asking a lot of you, but please understand, our very survival depends upon it.”
The young girl sat and pondered all that she had heard. She’d known these people for so long, and she trusted her aunt and uncle’s judgement, so she acquiesced to their request. “I promise I won’t tell anyone.”
They all breathed a sigh of relief- well, all except her boyfriend. As much as he was affected by her decision, there was something he was much more concerned about at the moment. “And us?” he asked simply.
His parent’s hearts wrenched at his desperate tone, and their arms instinctively tightened around his waist. Maria and Alex glanced from their friends anxious faces to their niece, who was wringing her hands. After a long, torturous pause she answered him just as concisely.
“I don’t know.”
Crestfallen at her words his head drooped. Liz darted a panicked look at Maria, who was obviously just as upset. Her niece’s quiet words broke the uncomfortable silence. “Aunt Maria, Uncle Alex, can we leave please?”
Another quick look between the friends passed and Alex said, “Sure Sweetie. We can talk more when we get back to our house.” He smiled encouragingly at his friends before guiding her out to the car, leaving Maria lagging behind.
“Homer, you have to give her some time to absorb this,” she said as she walked over to embrace him. “I understand how you feel, but she’s got to digest everything she was just told.” She threw her arms around his neck when she saw his watery eyes. “Don’t give up hope Honey. You are a wonderful person and she loves you. Just give her some time.” She gave him a good squeeze and a kiss on his cheek before finally departing.
Liz turned and embraced him. “She’s right Sweetie; Jackie needs time. What she ust learned is overwhelming. You ARE a wonderful person and I’m sure she’ll come around in time.”
He pulled away from her, head hanging low and his voice even lower. “Thanks Mom. I’m going to go upstairs.” Without a look back he exited, and as the door closed behind him Liz threw herself into her husbands arms. Their connection spoke louder than words could, both parents terribly anxious and upset about their son’s broken heart and their inability to do anything about it.
Max panicked at the sight of his girlfriend frozen in the doorway as stuffed animals danced merrily in the air over his sister’s crib as if by magic. Jackie pointed a shaking finger at the toys circulating in the air and tried to warble out words that just wouldn’t come. “Wha…how…Max wha…”
His mouth flapped open and closed with no sound escaping. This was his greatest fear- that she would discover his secret before he was ready to divulge it. Before he was able to face the possibility of losing her to it.
Maria’s voice coming down the hall cracked the silence. “Jackie, Liz says that I should apologize for em…barr…assing…you…” Her staccato words hung in the air as she stood behind her niece taking in the scene. “Oh shit,” she muttered, realizing what was happening. She squeezed by Jackie, glancing at the young girls shocked face while she made her way over to Max who was still frozen in place. “Homer,” she said in a soothing tone as she lay a hand on his face to bring his attention to her, “you need to stop the runaway zoo here so we can talk to Jackie, OK?”
He jerked his head around, realizing the animals were still in full flight. They landed with a wave of his hand, and when he turned around Maria had an arm around his even paler girlfriend.
“Aunt Maria…how…how…”
“Sweetheart, come with me. We’re all going to go sit down in the living room and have a talk, OK?” Maria gently led her out past the kitchen, calling Liz to come out to join them as Max hurriedly went to get his father and Alex.
Maria sat next to Jackie on the couch, her arm still tightly around her shoulders while Max quietly informed the other three what his girlfriend had witnessed. Immediately Alex moved to sit next to his niece. The three sitting Whitmans looked up at the three Evans’, who stood before them wearing very serious expressions.
Like a mother bear protecting her cub, Liz watched an obviously frightened Jackie closely. She loved this girl and understood her confusion, but anything that threatened the hard won safety and tranquility of her family would not get by her easily. Finally breaking the shocked silence, she said gently but seriously, “Jackie, what did you see in Noelle’s room?”
“Max…making toys fly…on their own…” She looked up at her boyfriend who was obviously as scared as she, flanked on either side by a very protective parent who each had an arm wrapped tightly around him.
Maria squeezed Jackie’s shoulder. “Honey, you need to keep an open mind for what you’re about to hear. It’s OK, I promise.”
Her niece looked at her quizzically but remained silent as Liz continued. “Jackie, I know this is going to sound very far fetched, but Max is the son of an alien-human hybrid…”
“Me,” his father interrupted. “And because of that, Max has certain gifts, as you just witnessed.”
The young girl sat in stunned, disbelieving silence for a few moments before stating, “there’s no such things as aliens,” as if trying to convince herself.
“Yes Honey, there is,” Alex said before Maria added, “it’s true.”
“You two don’t really believe…” she trailed off.
“Not only do I believe it, I know it,” Maria stated. “And I’ve know it since I was sixteen years old.”
Jackie looked at her in shock as Liz jumped in again. “Jackie, when I was sixteen Maria and I were waitressing in my parent’s diner one day, and there was a disturbance and I was shot. Max was there and he used his powers to heal me. He risked exposing himself, his own life, to save me. If he hadn’t I probably would’ve died.” Liz felt a slight shudder go through her son, and she turned her head to give him a peck on the cheek. “That’s how we found out that Max was a very special person.”
“No,” Jackie stated emphatically. “There are no such things as aliens. I don’t know what kind of trick you’re all trying to play on me but it’s not funny,” she said in a huff, standing up quickly.
Still holding on to his son, Max reached out his other arm and waved his hand over a magazine lying on the coffee table, changing it into a candle. A snap of his fingers lit it, and then he pointed at a grouping of pictures on the wall and moved them around in a circle for a few rotations.
Jackie gasped and sat down with a thud, her aunt and uncle once again embracing her. “How…how…where did you come from? How did you get here?” she asked after a very long pause.
“You know we’re from Roswell, New Mexico, right?” he said, and she nodded. “Have you ever heard anything about a UFO crashing there in 1947?”
She nodded and said, “but that was a weather balloon or a secret plane test or something.”
“No, it wasn’t. A spaceship really did crash in the desert, and I was on it.”
She studied him carefully while absorbing the information. “How is that possible. You’re like, thirty-something years old.”
“I’ll be thirty eight this year. I wasn’t born yet when the ship crashed.”
Jackie shook her head as if trying to clear her thoughts. “Wait…what do you mean you weren’t born?”
“The ship was carrying a small crew and four…incubation pods, if you will. The crash killed everyone except the person who was to be our protector and teacher. He managed to get the four pods out of the ship and hide them in a cave not too far from the crash site before he was caught.”
“Caught by who?’
“The Government. If you’ve heard about Roswell you probably heard the rumor that an alien was caught. Of course the Government denied it, but it was true. He was caught and died in their captivity. It was thirty six years later, in the summer of 1983, after we matured that we broke out of the pods.”
“They looked like six year olds then,” Maria interjected. “They were found wandering in the desert by Mr. and Mrs. Evans. We met them in school that September.”
“Who’s ‘them’?” Jackie asked pensively, referring to the plural term.
“My brother Michael and my sister Isabel,” Max said.
“But you said there were four of these…pod…things…”
“Yes, there were. The fourth pod was damaged in the crash, and its occupant didn’t survive.”
“And where are your brother and sister.”
“My sister, who is married and has children, lives on our home planet now. My brother is dead.”
“Home planet? How…” Jackie trailed off again, not sure if she wanted to know the answer.
Max did not want to overwhelm her with technical information at this point so he kept his answer short. “There was a way to return there about twenty years ago, and we all went. I had the opportunity to come back here almost two years ago. There’s no way for travel between the two planets any longer.”
Jackie mulled this over while the five anxious people in the room watched her. Finally she looked up at her boyfriend, an unreadable mix of emotions playing across her face. “So you’re…”
Max took a deep breath and looked her in the eye. “I am the son of a human mother and an alien-human hybrid father. I have powers similar to his, but not as powerful.”
“What kind of…things…can you do?” she asked nervously, afraid that some kind of hocus-pocus had been used on her.
“Well, the thing you saw with the toys over the crib, and manipulating molecular structures- the candle thing,” he clarified when he saw the confusion on her face. “That lets me mend things that are broken, or break them apart. I can heal. And the three of us,” he pointed at his parents, “have what we call a connection, where we can telepathically speak to each other.”
“Wait- you said your mother was human. How can she do that?” she demanded.
“Our powers are human in nature. When my dad healed her he somehow activated something in her brain that allow her to do that," he answered, stopping as he heard his mother quickly send him a message.
// Don’t tell her I can do other little things Honey; it will only scare her at this point. //
More silence ensued as Jackie thought about things until Maria spoke up. “Sweetheart, I know this is overwhelming to you, believe me, I do.”
Jackie looked at her. “You’re OK with all of this?”
Maria snickered slightly. “Well, at the beginning I was anything but OK. I totally freaked out. But I came around, to the point that I was seriously involved with Uncle Max’s brother.”
Jackie’s head whipped around to look at Alex. “Did you know all of this?”
Alex’s hand gently rubbed over his niece’s back, trying to calm her. “Liz introduced me to Maria when Max was young. She lived with them, so we were all together a lot. One day at the beach Max changed a lump of sand into a spectacular castle, so I was let into the club. And yeah, it was weird in the beginning, but…”
“Once you get to know them, you know there’s nothing to fear about them,” Maria finished for him, her husband nodding in agreement. “Jackie you already know the character of these people. The only thing you didn’t know was important to keep from you.”
Liz jumped at the opportunity to bring up the safety issue. “Jackie, you’re a smart girl. You must understand how dangerous it could be for just anyone to know about my special family. If they were discovered and exposed, there’s no telling what could happen…what could be done to them…” She swallowed a quickly forming lump in her throat as her husband sent her a wave of love, making her smile at him before she continued. “Jackie, I hope I don’t have to tell you how much Mr. Evans and I like you. It’s my sincere hope that you’ll be able to accept my son for the amazing person he is- all of him. But regardless of the outcome of you finding this out, we need to stress how important it is that you cannot tell anyone about this.”
“She’s right Jackie,” her husband said, “you can’t tell anyone. Not your friends, not even your mom or dad. I know that’s asking a lot of you, but please understand, our very survival depends upon it.”
The young girl sat and pondered all that she had heard. She’d known these people for so long, and she trusted her aunt and uncle’s judgement, so she acquiesced to their request. “I promise I won’t tell anyone.”
They all breathed a sigh of relief- well, all except her boyfriend. As much as he was affected by her decision, there was something he was much more concerned about at the moment. “And us?” he asked simply.
His parent’s hearts wrenched at his desperate tone, and their arms instinctively tightened around his waist. Maria and Alex glanced from their friends anxious faces to their niece, who was wringing her hands. After a long, torturous pause she answered him just as concisely.
“I don’t know.”
Crestfallen at her words his head drooped. Liz darted a panicked look at Maria, who was obviously just as upset. Her niece’s quiet words broke the uncomfortable silence. “Aunt Maria, Uncle Alex, can we leave please?”
Another quick look between the friends passed and Alex said, “Sure Sweetie. We can talk more when we get back to our house.” He smiled encouragingly at his friends before guiding her out to the car, leaving Maria lagging behind.
“Homer, you have to give her some time to absorb this,” she said as she walked over to embrace him. “I understand how you feel, but she’s got to digest everything she was just told.” She threw her arms around his neck when she saw his watery eyes. “Don’t give up hope Honey. You are a wonderful person and she loves you. Just give her some time.” She gave him a good squeeze and a kiss on his cheek before finally departing.
Liz turned and embraced him. “She’s right Sweetie; Jackie needs time. What she ust learned is overwhelming. You ARE a wonderful person and I’m sure she’ll come around in time.”
He pulled away from her, head hanging low and his voice even lower. “Thanks Mom. I’m going to go upstairs.” Without a look back he exited, and as the door closed behind him Liz threw herself into her husbands arms. Their connection spoke louder than words could, both parents terribly anxious and upset about their son’s broken heart and their inability to do anything about it.
CHAPTER 30
Early the next morning Jackie was sitting in the sunny breakfast nook in Maria’s kitchen, thinking about the same things that had kept her awake all night. She had talked with her aunt and uncle for a long time after leaving the Evans’, and the only thing that she was sure of at this point was the importance of keeping everything a secret.
Her knotted stomach growled and she pulled her bent legs to her chest, resting her chin on her knees. Max’s final words, ‘and us?’, echoed through her head. Her heart told her she loved him, but her head asked her which Max she loved. The person that made her heart flutter and knees weak, or the one who wasn’t who, or what she thought he was at all.
Aliens. How was it possible the stuff of science fiction novels was invading her little world? She was a simple girl- close to her family, good in school, attended Mass every Sunday. She didn’t drink or do drugs, loathed being the center of attention, and her dreams consisted of falling in love, having a family, and finding a career that would interest her without interfering in family life. She knew a lot of people would consider her boring and uninspired, but she didn’t care. Love and family became the center of her life on September 11, 2001 when she thought that her father had perished, and she would be happy to spend her life simply, quietly, surrounded by those that she loved. For the past six months, that had included Max. Now she felt as if she was lost in a house of mirrors, unable to find her way out of the maze.
She was so lost in her thoughts she didn’t hear Alex come shuffling into the kitchen. He stood for a moment and watched her. He loved all of his nieces and nephews, but Jackie had always been special to him. The first child to be born to any of his siblings, she was his god-daughter and from the first time he’d held her as an infant they’d had a special bond. When she was younger she would confide in him; as she matured she turned to Maria with things of a more personal nature, but that never bothered him. He was proud of her honesty, integrity, and intelligence. She was the daughter he and Maria would never have, and he would do anything for her. He desperately wished there was something he could do to help her now. Not wanting to startle her he cleared his throat before walking over to kiss her on the crown of her head. “Good morning Sunshine,” he said, eliciting a half-smile from her at the use of the nickname he’d given her as a little girl. “Would you like some coffee?”
“Yeah, that sounds good Uncle Alex.”
He started the machine and grabbed some mugs from the cabinet. When the coffee was ready he poured it out and carried it over, sitting hers down before he sat across from her. “Did you sleep at all Sweetheart?” he asked before taking a sip from his cup.
She wrapped her hands around the warm mug and stared into the dark liquid. “No, not really.”
Alex sighed deeply. “I wish there was some way I could help you with this Sunshine.”
She raised her tired eyes and simply said, “me too.” After a minute she whispered, “I hope Max is OK.”
Alex looked down at his coffee before responding. “Aunt Maria is on the phone with Liz now.”
As if on cue, Maria appeared and greeted them as she fixed herself a cup of coffee. Sitting down next to Jackie she leaned over and kissed her before asking, “how are you doing Honey?”
Instead of answering her question, she asked some of her own. “Did you talk to Aunt Liz? How’s Max?”
Maria sneaked a look at her husband before answering. “He’s not good Honey,” which was an understatement considering that Liz had told her he’d been crying all night long.
It was enough, though, to make Jackie break down in heart wrenching sobs. Maria quickly gathered her in her arms, rocking her back and forth trying to soothe her. “It’s going to be all right,” she whispered as she glanced at Alex who returned her worried gaze.
“I don’t know what to do Aunt Maria,” the young girl cried. “I’m so confused.”
Maria waited until the bout of tears subsided before speaking. “You have a right to be confused Jackie,” she said sympathetically while smoothing a hand through her nieces hair. “All I can tell you is to listen to your heart.”
Alex reached across the table to squeeze one of her hands. “And know that the two of us will always be here for you, no matter what. Always,” he added.
“Thank you,” Jackie answered in a choked emotional voice. She took a deep breath and let it out with a loud sigh. “I guess I need to go and talk to him.”
“Liz said he went out early this morning,” Maria said, “but I’m pretty sure I know where he is.”
*************
Max sat at the base of a large sand dune staring out at the ocean, thankful for the windless sunny sky providing more temperate conditions despite it being late January. He’d come over to the beach wanting to go for a run, but exhaustion from lying awake all night quickly convinced him to tuck himself in by the mountain of sand to watch the waves roll in to the shore. But even the crash of the breaking waters onto the beach could not drown out the three words that had run through his head since Jackie had uttered them the night before.
“I don’t know…”
As much as he didn’t want a negative answer to his question, he almost wished she’d given him one because hanging in limbo was worse. What was she thinking? Did she hate him now? Did she find him repulsive? Would she ever want to see him or talk to him again? Did he have any chance at holding on to her?
Mired in misery as he was, he didn’t hear the squeak of her sneakers across the sand. Pausing a few feet behind him she observed him, his forehead resting on the knees that were pulled up to his chest; his broad muscled back heaving under his audible sighs. Just as they’d done all night, her emotions vacillated between guilt at his being hurt and anger at his concealment of the truth. Now, standing behind the young man that had captured her heart when she was just an adolescent, she still didn’t know what she was going to do.
She finally moved to stand in front of him, and taking a deep breath, simply said “hi.”
Max’s head jerked up at the sound of her quiet voice. “Hi,” he returned, his heart immediately pounding as if he’d run a marathon. “How did you know I’d be here?”
“Aunt Maria,” she answered shortly. Words were too hard to come by at present to waste them on menial information. “May I sit down?”
“Of course.” He watched her gracefully deposit herself onto the sand about two feet from his position, making his heart ache. Wasn’t it just the day before that he had her plastered against his bedroom wall, their bodies smashed together while they kissed madly?
She rubbed her hands together, chilled despite being covered by mittens. He reached out his hand and said, “I can make those warm for you, if you want.” She flinched at his suggestion and his hand dropped immediately. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…I know you must think I’m a freak…”
“I don’t think you’re a freak Max,” Jackie said, feeling a pang of remorse for acting afraid. Maria and Alex had made her see that she had nothing to fear from Max or his father. After all, if he’d wanted to cause her any harm he could have done so in the dozen or more years they had known each other, or most certainly in the six months since they’d been dating. “And I’m not afraid of you,” she added. “It’s just…it’s a little strange.”
Max had to snicker at her comment. “That’s putting it mildly.” More silence followed until he said, “I’m sorry Jackie. For not telling you sooner.”
She looked down at her hands, trying to find the right words to illustrate her emotions. “To be honest, that’s what bothers me the most Max. I mean, I still have trouble…understanding…the whole alien thing…” The last part of her sentence was uttered softly, not wanting to make him feel bad, but she couldn’t help feeling weird about the turn of events. “I do understand why you have to keep it a secret, and that it must have been hard for you to figure out how to tell me.” She paused and looked up, staring out at the ocean. “But the bottom line is, you lied to me Max. And even though I understand why, it makes me wonder if you’ve lied about other things too.” She glanced down before looking over at him to see his red-rimmed, tired eyes riveted on her, waiting for her to continue. “It makes me wonder if I can ever trust you. Because right now, honestly, I can’t.”
Max turned to look out at the water but not before she saw the pain flash across his face. He wanted to refute her argument with one of his own, but how could he when he understood her logic completely? “I’m sorry Jackie,” he said once again. “I never meant to hurt you. You’re the only person outside of my family, Maria, and Alex that I’ve ever gotten really close to, and I didn’t know how to tell you. It’s just that this is so huge…and I was so afraid…” He left off the end of his sentence, but his meaning was quite clear. He turned to look at her again, trying to will her to believe him. “But you have to know that who...what…I am, that’s the only thing I never shared with you. I never lied about anything else. And I would never, ever do anything to harm you or your family…anybody…”
“I know you wouldn’t hurt me…like that…” she said. She was unsure of many things at the moment, but she wanted him to be reassured that she wasn’t afraid of him. The only thing he’d done to her was make her feel beautiful. Special. Loved. But that didn’t change the sense of betrayal she felt now.
“And I’m not lying now when I say that more than anything I want to be with you,” he added. “It’s all that matters to me.”
“I…I’m not…sure…” she stuttered, still torn about what to do.
His heart sank further at her reply. He swallowed the lump forming in his throat and asked straight out, “do you want to break up with me?”
Then he heard the three words that had haunted him all night once more.
“I don’t know.”
His chin fell to his chest as she wiped at the tears forming in her eyes. “I need time Max. To figure out if I can trust you again. If I even want to.” He nodded but remained silent as she stood up. “I need time Max,” she repeated.
“I’ll give you all the time you need,” he replied in a shaky voice. “I’ll wait as long as I have to for you.”
Tears cascaded down her face as she began to walk away from him, until the sound of her name made her stop and turn back to look at him. “Yes?”
“I love you.”
The tears became a torrent and after a short pause she choked out, “I love you too,” before turning and running to her car, leaving him to sob quietly on the deserted stretch of beach.
Early the next morning Jackie was sitting in the sunny breakfast nook in Maria’s kitchen, thinking about the same things that had kept her awake all night. She had talked with her aunt and uncle for a long time after leaving the Evans’, and the only thing that she was sure of at this point was the importance of keeping everything a secret.
Her knotted stomach growled and she pulled her bent legs to her chest, resting her chin on her knees. Max’s final words, ‘and us?’, echoed through her head. Her heart told her she loved him, but her head asked her which Max she loved. The person that made her heart flutter and knees weak, or the one who wasn’t who, or what she thought he was at all.
Aliens. How was it possible the stuff of science fiction novels was invading her little world? She was a simple girl- close to her family, good in school, attended Mass every Sunday. She didn’t drink or do drugs, loathed being the center of attention, and her dreams consisted of falling in love, having a family, and finding a career that would interest her without interfering in family life. She knew a lot of people would consider her boring and uninspired, but she didn’t care. Love and family became the center of her life on September 11, 2001 when she thought that her father had perished, and she would be happy to spend her life simply, quietly, surrounded by those that she loved. For the past six months, that had included Max. Now she felt as if she was lost in a house of mirrors, unable to find her way out of the maze.
She was so lost in her thoughts she didn’t hear Alex come shuffling into the kitchen. He stood for a moment and watched her. He loved all of his nieces and nephews, but Jackie had always been special to him. The first child to be born to any of his siblings, she was his god-daughter and from the first time he’d held her as an infant they’d had a special bond. When she was younger she would confide in him; as she matured she turned to Maria with things of a more personal nature, but that never bothered him. He was proud of her honesty, integrity, and intelligence. She was the daughter he and Maria would never have, and he would do anything for her. He desperately wished there was something he could do to help her now. Not wanting to startle her he cleared his throat before walking over to kiss her on the crown of her head. “Good morning Sunshine,” he said, eliciting a half-smile from her at the use of the nickname he’d given her as a little girl. “Would you like some coffee?”
“Yeah, that sounds good Uncle Alex.”
He started the machine and grabbed some mugs from the cabinet. When the coffee was ready he poured it out and carried it over, sitting hers down before he sat across from her. “Did you sleep at all Sweetheart?” he asked before taking a sip from his cup.
She wrapped her hands around the warm mug and stared into the dark liquid. “No, not really.”
Alex sighed deeply. “I wish there was some way I could help you with this Sunshine.”
She raised her tired eyes and simply said, “me too.” After a minute she whispered, “I hope Max is OK.”
Alex looked down at his coffee before responding. “Aunt Maria is on the phone with Liz now.”
As if on cue, Maria appeared and greeted them as she fixed herself a cup of coffee. Sitting down next to Jackie she leaned over and kissed her before asking, “how are you doing Honey?”
Instead of answering her question, she asked some of her own. “Did you talk to Aunt Liz? How’s Max?”
Maria sneaked a look at her husband before answering. “He’s not good Honey,” which was an understatement considering that Liz had told her he’d been crying all night long.
It was enough, though, to make Jackie break down in heart wrenching sobs. Maria quickly gathered her in her arms, rocking her back and forth trying to soothe her. “It’s going to be all right,” she whispered as she glanced at Alex who returned her worried gaze.
“I don’t know what to do Aunt Maria,” the young girl cried. “I’m so confused.”
Maria waited until the bout of tears subsided before speaking. “You have a right to be confused Jackie,” she said sympathetically while smoothing a hand through her nieces hair. “All I can tell you is to listen to your heart.”
Alex reached across the table to squeeze one of her hands. “And know that the two of us will always be here for you, no matter what. Always,” he added.
“Thank you,” Jackie answered in a choked emotional voice. She took a deep breath and let it out with a loud sigh. “I guess I need to go and talk to him.”
“Liz said he went out early this morning,” Maria said, “but I’m pretty sure I know where he is.”
*************
Max sat at the base of a large sand dune staring out at the ocean, thankful for the windless sunny sky providing more temperate conditions despite it being late January. He’d come over to the beach wanting to go for a run, but exhaustion from lying awake all night quickly convinced him to tuck himself in by the mountain of sand to watch the waves roll in to the shore. But even the crash of the breaking waters onto the beach could not drown out the three words that had run through his head since Jackie had uttered them the night before.
“I don’t know…”
As much as he didn’t want a negative answer to his question, he almost wished she’d given him one because hanging in limbo was worse. What was she thinking? Did she hate him now? Did she find him repulsive? Would she ever want to see him or talk to him again? Did he have any chance at holding on to her?
Mired in misery as he was, he didn’t hear the squeak of her sneakers across the sand. Pausing a few feet behind him she observed him, his forehead resting on the knees that were pulled up to his chest; his broad muscled back heaving under his audible sighs. Just as they’d done all night, her emotions vacillated between guilt at his being hurt and anger at his concealment of the truth. Now, standing behind the young man that had captured her heart when she was just an adolescent, she still didn’t know what she was going to do.
She finally moved to stand in front of him, and taking a deep breath, simply said “hi.”
Max’s head jerked up at the sound of her quiet voice. “Hi,” he returned, his heart immediately pounding as if he’d run a marathon. “How did you know I’d be here?”
“Aunt Maria,” she answered shortly. Words were too hard to come by at present to waste them on menial information. “May I sit down?”
“Of course.” He watched her gracefully deposit herself onto the sand about two feet from his position, making his heart ache. Wasn’t it just the day before that he had her plastered against his bedroom wall, their bodies smashed together while they kissed madly?
She rubbed her hands together, chilled despite being covered by mittens. He reached out his hand and said, “I can make those warm for you, if you want.” She flinched at his suggestion and his hand dropped immediately. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…I know you must think I’m a freak…”
“I don’t think you’re a freak Max,” Jackie said, feeling a pang of remorse for acting afraid. Maria and Alex had made her see that she had nothing to fear from Max or his father. After all, if he’d wanted to cause her any harm he could have done so in the dozen or more years they had known each other, or most certainly in the six months since they’d been dating. “And I’m not afraid of you,” she added. “It’s just…it’s a little strange.”
Max had to snicker at her comment. “That’s putting it mildly.” More silence followed until he said, “I’m sorry Jackie. For not telling you sooner.”
She looked down at her hands, trying to find the right words to illustrate her emotions. “To be honest, that’s what bothers me the most Max. I mean, I still have trouble…understanding…the whole alien thing…” The last part of her sentence was uttered softly, not wanting to make him feel bad, but she couldn’t help feeling weird about the turn of events. “I do understand why you have to keep it a secret, and that it must have been hard for you to figure out how to tell me.” She paused and looked up, staring out at the ocean. “But the bottom line is, you lied to me Max. And even though I understand why, it makes me wonder if you’ve lied about other things too.” She glanced down before looking over at him to see his red-rimmed, tired eyes riveted on her, waiting for her to continue. “It makes me wonder if I can ever trust you. Because right now, honestly, I can’t.”
Max turned to look out at the water but not before she saw the pain flash across his face. He wanted to refute her argument with one of his own, but how could he when he understood her logic completely? “I’m sorry Jackie,” he said once again. “I never meant to hurt you. You’re the only person outside of my family, Maria, and Alex that I’ve ever gotten really close to, and I didn’t know how to tell you. It’s just that this is so huge…and I was so afraid…” He left off the end of his sentence, but his meaning was quite clear. He turned to look at her again, trying to will her to believe him. “But you have to know that who...what…I am, that’s the only thing I never shared with you. I never lied about anything else. And I would never, ever do anything to harm you or your family…anybody…”
“I know you wouldn’t hurt me…like that…” she said. She was unsure of many things at the moment, but she wanted him to be reassured that she wasn’t afraid of him. The only thing he’d done to her was make her feel beautiful. Special. Loved. But that didn’t change the sense of betrayal she felt now.
“And I’m not lying now when I say that more than anything I want to be with you,” he added. “It’s all that matters to me.”
“I…I’m not…sure…” she stuttered, still torn about what to do.
His heart sank further at her reply. He swallowed the lump forming in his throat and asked straight out, “do you want to break up with me?”
Then he heard the three words that had haunted him all night once more.
“I don’t know.”
His chin fell to his chest as she wiped at the tears forming in her eyes. “I need time Max. To figure out if I can trust you again. If I even want to.” He nodded but remained silent as she stood up. “I need time Max,” she repeated.
“I’ll give you all the time you need,” he replied in a shaky voice. “I’ll wait as long as I have to for you.”
Tears cascaded down her face as she began to walk away from him, until the sound of her name made her stop and turn back to look at him. “Yes?”
“I love you.”
The tears became a torrent and after a short pause she choked out, “I love you too,” before turning and running to her car, leaving him to sob quietly on the deserted stretch of beach.
CHAPTER 31
Max pulled into the driveway and let out a loud sigh of thanks. It’d been a long day teaching and an accident had made traffic on his ride home horrible. School had been back in session for a few weeks, and while he really enjoyed his job, the best part of his day was always coming home to his wife and baby girl, and today was certainly no different.
He spied a light on in the workout room next to their garage and thinking someone left it on by mistake, made a quick detour to turn it off. Instead of an empty room, he found Liz riding the stationary bike. He watched her unnoticed, his hungry eyes feasting on her lithe body which was clad in a tight tank top and Yoga pants. His gaze swept over her, finally resting on her breasts, made much larger by the birth of Noelle. Her petite figure had always been perfection to him, but damn! The site of the full globes bobbing and heaving with her efforts was incredibly arousing, and the stirring in his loins reminded him how long he’d gone without intimate contact with his wife. He was trying his best to be patient, knowing she had needed time to heal after giving birth. Also, the feeling of exhaustion they both walked around with wasn’t exactly conducive to being in the mood. By the time their heads hit the pillow at night, they had just about enough time to say ‘I love you’ to each other before sleep claimed them both. It had been about six weeks since their baby’s arrival, though, and while he valiantly respected her boundaries, he couldn’t help but crave the closeness, the connection, the utter bliss that was making love to her. He was in heavy-duty withdrawal, and the drug he needed was spelled L-I-Z.
She climbed off the bike and turned to grab her water bottle and saw him leaning against the doorframe, staring at her with a heavily lidded, smoky gaze that could only mean one thing. The familiar swell of desire immediately swept through her and she knew she was ready to resume relations with him. And if he kept looking at her like that, it might happen right here, right now, on the floor of the garage.
Their eyes locked together as she moved toward him and then into his arms for a prolonged kiss. Her arms wrapped around his neck, his around her waist, as their lips silently greeted each other. After drinking their fill they rest their foreheads together and smiled at each other.
“Where’s the baby?” Max asked before stealing another kiss.
“I asked Max to keep an eye on her for a bit so I could get some exercise in.”
“How is he today?”
“The same,” Liz replied with a sigh as she tucked her head under his chin. “He’s so sad all of the time. It’s breaking my heart.”
“I know Honey,” her husband said, moving a hand to rub over her back. “But I don’t think Jackie has given him an answer yet. Things could still work out for them.”
“I hope so. It’s been a few weeks. I don’t know how much longer he can go on not knowing…”
“Well, maybe that’s a good sign; you know, that she’s not making a rash decision.”
“I hope so,” she repeated. They remained locked together, his roving hand running over her back in wide sweeps, dipping lower with each pass until it swept over her butt and stopped there. She lifted her head and whispered “Max,” before he took her lips in a kiss that inflamed her all over again.
Their kisses were all consuming, unleashing the pent-up hunger that had been building over the past weeks. His hands dove under her top while she yanked at his tie with one hand and tried to undo his shirt buttons with the other. They moaned into the others mouth at the feeling of abandon that was rushing through them, thrilling them with the prospect of a long desired coupling.
His lips moved from hers and slid down her throat to the top of her breast while his hand moved up to cup her fullness. Her head fell back, and as he nudged the material of her top out of the way and his mouth moved over the soft skin not covered by her bra his name floated from her lips in a contented sigh.
The sound of her husky, aroused voice always excited him beyond measure. He retook her mouth, wanting to consume the lips that could make the simple utterance of his name a sexual act. “It’s been so long,” he mumbled against her mouth.
“Mmmm,” was the only reply she could muster under his onslaught, but she really wasn’t interested in talking either. Her eyes popped open when he suddenly grabbed her behind and lifted her up, encouraging her to wrap her legs around him before he pinned her against the wall. She sucked his tongue into her mouth as he grinded against her core, her legs tightening around him, warning him not to stop his movements.
Liz shoved her hand between them, blinding searching for the zipper on his pants. Just as she located it a female voice could be heard calling from the driveway, “hello? Is anybody home?”
“Fuck!” Max swore, furious at the interruption. They disentangled themselves and quickly straightened their clothes as footsteps approached the gym.
“Hello?” the voice called again, and they finished just in time to see their son’s friend Sarah peek into the garage. “Oh, hi Mr. and Mrs. Evans,” she said, clueless as to what she’d interrupted. “I thought Max might be in here.”
“Hi Sarah,” Liz said, trying to appear calm when she felt anything but. “He’s inside, watching the baby for me while I get some exercise.”
// And what incredible exercise it would’ve been. // Her husband’s lustful voice shot through their connection, making her tingle and blush.
“Oh, Ok. Do you mind if I go in? I made him his favorite cookies and I wanted to drop them off before I went to work.”
“Sure, of course. That was very sweet of you Sarah,” Liz said genuinely.
“Well, he’s been so down lately, I just wanted to try to cheer him up a little. Jim was going to come too,” she said, referring to her boyfriend, “but I thought if Max wanted to talk or something he might feel more comfortable with just me. You know how guys are about getting emotional in front of another guy. Oh, sorry Mr. Evans,” she added sheepishly.
“No, you’re right Sarah,” he said. “So you guys all know about he and Jackie, then?”
“How could we not? The two of them have been moping around since school started. Jim and I were having lunch with him today at the Student Lounge and Jackie happened to come in. They both looked like they were going to cry. She turned around and left and he sulked off a few minutes later.” She shook her head as she continued. “I don’t understand what happened. I mean, they are obviously miserable without each other. Neither one will tell anybody why they broke up. It’s just so sad.”
Max’s arms encompassed his wife from behind as he felt her getting upset. “Jackie, why don’t you go upstairs and wait for him in his room. We’ll go in and tell him you’re there. This way you can have some privacy if you get him to talk,” he said.
“OK, thanks Mr. Evans. It was nice to see you both,” Sarah said before exiting.
He kissed Liz’s cheek and gave her one last squeeze. “Let’s go in and get the baby.” They departed hand in hand, informing their son of his visitor as they entered the house.
Max took the stairs up to his apartment slowly. It was the same pace he had been walking for over two weeks. The only reason to walk any faster would be to see his girlfriend. His possibly
ex-girlfriend.
He walked in and found Sarah waiting for him at the small table that was near the door. “Hey,” he said to her.
“Is for horses,” she replied, trying to joke him into making an expression other than the sullen one that had been painted on his face for so long. “I made Jim some cookies. I thought maybe you’d like some,” she said, holding out a plastic bag bulging with chocolate chip cookies.
“Thanks,” he said quietly as he took them from her. He and Jackie had made cookies together at Christmastime. She’d gotten flour on her nose and he’d licked it off before exploring other areas of her skin with his tongue.
“Max?” Sarah’s voice jolted him back to the present. “Are you OK?”
“Um, yeah. Yeah. Thanks for the cookies Sare.”
“You’re welcome,” she said, watching him. They’d been friends since they were kids and she knew him well. It was quite apparent everything was not fine. “Max? You know you can’t bullshit me, right? ‘Cause you’re obviously not OK.”
He looked at her, thinking he’d smile at her comment if he could remember how to do so. “It’s that obvious huh?”
“It’s obvious to dead people Max. What’s going on with you and Jackie? Both of you having been walking around in a daze since school began. I thought every was going great between you guys.”
“It was,” he said softly, diverting his eyes from his friend.
“Then what happened?”
Max remained silent. How was he supposed to explain the reason Jackie and he were separated?
Sarah took his silence as a reproach. “I’m sorry Max, but I just can’t stand seeing you both so miserable.”
“Jackie’s miserable too?” he asked. He’d been respecting her wishes and giving her distance, so today in the lounge had been the first time he’d seen her since everything blew up. To know that she was just as unhappy as he was made him feel…worse.
“Are you kidding?” Sarah answered. “She looks like she hasn’t slept in weeks. And I don’t think she’s eaten in that long either, she looks like she’s dropped ten pounds. I tried to get her to talk to me about it but all she said is that you lied about something and she’s trying to work it out.” Sarah paused, gauging his tired face to see if she could press him further. “Look Max, I don’t mean to meddle, but if that’s what happened…”
“I didn’t lie to her about anything,” he interrupted. “Well, not technically. I didn’t tell her something, something…important.”
Sarah pondered what he said. She knew better than to press her friend who was legend in guarding his privacy for more details, but she wanted to help the couple. “OK, so you concealed something from her, and I’m guessing she doesn’t trust you anymore?”
Max nodded and studied her for a moment. “If Jim did something like that to you, what would you do?”
“Well, I guess it would depend on what the ‘something’ was. If it was, like, that he robbed a bank, or cheated on me…”
“No,” Max quickly interjected. “It’s nothing like that. It’s about me, personally…medically…” He winced inwardly, not wanting to lie to her but wanting to give her a better idea of what they were talking about.
“Well,” she said, thinking out loud, “if that was the case, as long as my health wasn’t being jeopardized by not knowing, I could understand why I wasn’t told.”
“So you think you’d get over it,” he stated more than asked.
“Yeah, I think so. As much as I love him something like that wouldn’t affect how I felt about him.” She looked at him sympathetically. “Max I know it’s hard but just give her some time. Jackie’s no dummy, and she’d have to be to walk away from a great guy like you.” That earned her a shy half-smile and a “thanks.”
She gave him a hug and said, “I have to go to work now. Hang in there.”
“Thanks Sare,” he said as he hugged her back. “And thanks for the cookies too.”
“You’re welcome,” she responded with a smile and then exited, pulling out her cell phone as she walked toward her car. She hit the speed dial and after a few rings her intended recipient answered.
“Jackie? We need to talk.”
*************
Late that evening Jackie was driving home, deep in thought after meeting Sarah at the end of her shift. Her friend had told her about her discussion with Max earlier in the day, and that he’d felt that he hadn’t actually lied to Jackie as much as withheld some kind of important information that he didn’t divulge to her. Just as Max had, she asked Sarah what she would do if her boyfriend had done the same thing. Sarah gave her the same answer that she’d given Max, and after talking some more, she’d begged Jackie to eat something and get some sleep.
Jackie thought hard about what they’d talked about, and she admitted to herself that Max hadn’t really lied to her. But wasn’t concealing such monumental information for so long a period of time just as much as an infraction against the trust they’d built? She still felt confused and uncertain and wary about their future together.
The only thing she felt with any surety was that she had to make a decision soon. Valentines Day was a few days away, and she knew she couldn’t pass through the day set aside to celebrate love without coming to a final resolution.
Max pulled into the driveway and let out a loud sigh of thanks. It’d been a long day teaching and an accident had made traffic on his ride home horrible. School had been back in session for a few weeks, and while he really enjoyed his job, the best part of his day was always coming home to his wife and baby girl, and today was certainly no different.
He spied a light on in the workout room next to their garage and thinking someone left it on by mistake, made a quick detour to turn it off. Instead of an empty room, he found Liz riding the stationary bike. He watched her unnoticed, his hungry eyes feasting on her lithe body which was clad in a tight tank top and Yoga pants. His gaze swept over her, finally resting on her breasts, made much larger by the birth of Noelle. Her petite figure had always been perfection to him, but damn! The site of the full globes bobbing and heaving with her efforts was incredibly arousing, and the stirring in his loins reminded him how long he’d gone without intimate contact with his wife. He was trying his best to be patient, knowing she had needed time to heal after giving birth. Also, the feeling of exhaustion they both walked around with wasn’t exactly conducive to being in the mood. By the time their heads hit the pillow at night, they had just about enough time to say ‘I love you’ to each other before sleep claimed them both. It had been about six weeks since their baby’s arrival, though, and while he valiantly respected her boundaries, he couldn’t help but crave the closeness, the connection, the utter bliss that was making love to her. He was in heavy-duty withdrawal, and the drug he needed was spelled L-I-Z.
She climbed off the bike and turned to grab her water bottle and saw him leaning against the doorframe, staring at her with a heavily lidded, smoky gaze that could only mean one thing. The familiar swell of desire immediately swept through her and she knew she was ready to resume relations with him. And if he kept looking at her like that, it might happen right here, right now, on the floor of the garage.
Their eyes locked together as she moved toward him and then into his arms for a prolonged kiss. Her arms wrapped around his neck, his around her waist, as their lips silently greeted each other. After drinking their fill they rest their foreheads together and smiled at each other.
“Where’s the baby?” Max asked before stealing another kiss.
“I asked Max to keep an eye on her for a bit so I could get some exercise in.”
“How is he today?”
“The same,” Liz replied with a sigh as she tucked her head under his chin. “He’s so sad all of the time. It’s breaking my heart.”
“I know Honey,” her husband said, moving a hand to rub over her back. “But I don’t think Jackie has given him an answer yet. Things could still work out for them.”
“I hope so. It’s been a few weeks. I don’t know how much longer he can go on not knowing…”
“Well, maybe that’s a good sign; you know, that she’s not making a rash decision.”
“I hope so,” she repeated. They remained locked together, his roving hand running over her back in wide sweeps, dipping lower with each pass until it swept over her butt and stopped there. She lifted her head and whispered “Max,” before he took her lips in a kiss that inflamed her all over again.
Their kisses were all consuming, unleashing the pent-up hunger that had been building over the past weeks. His hands dove under her top while she yanked at his tie with one hand and tried to undo his shirt buttons with the other. They moaned into the others mouth at the feeling of abandon that was rushing through them, thrilling them with the prospect of a long desired coupling.
His lips moved from hers and slid down her throat to the top of her breast while his hand moved up to cup her fullness. Her head fell back, and as he nudged the material of her top out of the way and his mouth moved over the soft skin not covered by her bra his name floated from her lips in a contented sigh.
The sound of her husky, aroused voice always excited him beyond measure. He retook her mouth, wanting to consume the lips that could make the simple utterance of his name a sexual act. “It’s been so long,” he mumbled against her mouth.
“Mmmm,” was the only reply she could muster under his onslaught, but she really wasn’t interested in talking either. Her eyes popped open when he suddenly grabbed her behind and lifted her up, encouraging her to wrap her legs around him before he pinned her against the wall. She sucked his tongue into her mouth as he grinded against her core, her legs tightening around him, warning him not to stop his movements.
Liz shoved her hand between them, blinding searching for the zipper on his pants. Just as she located it a female voice could be heard calling from the driveway, “hello? Is anybody home?”
“Fuck!” Max swore, furious at the interruption. They disentangled themselves and quickly straightened their clothes as footsteps approached the gym.
“Hello?” the voice called again, and they finished just in time to see their son’s friend Sarah peek into the garage. “Oh, hi Mr. and Mrs. Evans,” she said, clueless as to what she’d interrupted. “I thought Max might be in here.”
“Hi Sarah,” Liz said, trying to appear calm when she felt anything but. “He’s inside, watching the baby for me while I get some exercise.”
// And what incredible exercise it would’ve been. // Her husband’s lustful voice shot through their connection, making her tingle and blush.
“Oh, Ok. Do you mind if I go in? I made him his favorite cookies and I wanted to drop them off before I went to work.”
“Sure, of course. That was very sweet of you Sarah,” Liz said genuinely.
“Well, he’s been so down lately, I just wanted to try to cheer him up a little. Jim was going to come too,” she said, referring to her boyfriend, “but I thought if Max wanted to talk or something he might feel more comfortable with just me. You know how guys are about getting emotional in front of another guy. Oh, sorry Mr. Evans,” she added sheepishly.
“No, you’re right Sarah,” he said. “So you guys all know about he and Jackie, then?”
“How could we not? The two of them have been moping around since school started. Jim and I were having lunch with him today at the Student Lounge and Jackie happened to come in. They both looked like they were going to cry. She turned around and left and he sulked off a few minutes later.” She shook her head as she continued. “I don’t understand what happened. I mean, they are obviously miserable without each other. Neither one will tell anybody why they broke up. It’s just so sad.”
Max’s arms encompassed his wife from behind as he felt her getting upset. “Jackie, why don’t you go upstairs and wait for him in his room. We’ll go in and tell him you’re there. This way you can have some privacy if you get him to talk,” he said.
“OK, thanks Mr. Evans. It was nice to see you both,” Sarah said before exiting.
He kissed Liz’s cheek and gave her one last squeeze. “Let’s go in and get the baby.” They departed hand in hand, informing their son of his visitor as they entered the house.
Max took the stairs up to his apartment slowly. It was the same pace he had been walking for over two weeks. The only reason to walk any faster would be to see his girlfriend. His possibly
ex-girlfriend.
He walked in and found Sarah waiting for him at the small table that was near the door. “Hey,” he said to her.
“Is for horses,” she replied, trying to joke him into making an expression other than the sullen one that had been painted on his face for so long. “I made Jim some cookies. I thought maybe you’d like some,” she said, holding out a plastic bag bulging with chocolate chip cookies.
“Thanks,” he said quietly as he took them from her. He and Jackie had made cookies together at Christmastime. She’d gotten flour on her nose and he’d licked it off before exploring other areas of her skin with his tongue.
“Max?” Sarah’s voice jolted him back to the present. “Are you OK?”
“Um, yeah. Yeah. Thanks for the cookies Sare.”
“You’re welcome,” she said, watching him. They’d been friends since they were kids and she knew him well. It was quite apparent everything was not fine. “Max? You know you can’t bullshit me, right? ‘Cause you’re obviously not OK.”
He looked at her, thinking he’d smile at her comment if he could remember how to do so. “It’s that obvious huh?”
“It’s obvious to dead people Max. What’s going on with you and Jackie? Both of you having been walking around in a daze since school began. I thought every was going great between you guys.”
“It was,” he said softly, diverting his eyes from his friend.
“Then what happened?”
Max remained silent. How was he supposed to explain the reason Jackie and he were separated?
Sarah took his silence as a reproach. “I’m sorry Max, but I just can’t stand seeing you both so miserable.”
“Jackie’s miserable too?” he asked. He’d been respecting her wishes and giving her distance, so today in the lounge had been the first time he’d seen her since everything blew up. To know that she was just as unhappy as he was made him feel…worse.
“Are you kidding?” Sarah answered. “She looks like she hasn’t slept in weeks. And I don’t think she’s eaten in that long either, she looks like she’s dropped ten pounds. I tried to get her to talk to me about it but all she said is that you lied about something and she’s trying to work it out.” Sarah paused, gauging his tired face to see if she could press him further. “Look Max, I don’t mean to meddle, but if that’s what happened…”
“I didn’t lie to her about anything,” he interrupted. “Well, not technically. I didn’t tell her something, something…important.”
Sarah pondered what he said. She knew better than to press her friend who was legend in guarding his privacy for more details, but she wanted to help the couple. “OK, so you concealed something from her, and I’m guessing she doesn’t trust you anymore?”
Max nodded and studied her for a moment. “If Jim did something like that to you, what would you do?”
“Well, I guess it would depend on what the ‘something’ was. If it was, like, that he robbed a bank, or cheated on me…”
“No,” Max quickly interjected. “It’s nothing like that. It’s about me, personally…medically…” He winced inwardly, not wanting to lie to her but wanting to give her a better idea of what they were talking about.
“Well,” she said, thinking out loud, “if that was the case, as long as my health wasn’t being jeopardized by not knowing, I could understand why I wasn’t told.”
“So you think you’d get over it,” he stated more than asked.
“Yeah, I think so. As much as I love him something like that wouldn’t affect how I felt about him.” She looked at him sympathetically. “Max I know it’s hard but just give her some time. Jackie’s no dummy, and she’d have to be to walk away from a great guy like you.” That earned her a shy half-smile and a “thanks.”
She gave him a hug and said, “I have to go to work now. Hang in there.”
“Thanks Sare,” he said as he hugged her back. “And thanks for the cookies too.”
“You’re welcome,” she responded with a smile and then exited, pulling out her cell phone as she walked toward her car. She hit the speed dial and after a few rings her intended recipient answered.
“Jackie? We need to talk.”
*************
Late that evening Jackie was driving home, deep in thought after meeting Sarah at the end of her shift. Her friend had told her about her discussion with Max earlier in the day, and that he’d felt that he hadn’t actually lied to Jackie as much as withheld some kind of important information that he didn’t divulge to her. Just as Max had, she asked Sarah what she would do if her boyfriend had done the same thing. Sarah gave her the same answer that she’d given Max, and after talking some more, she’d begged Jackie to eat something and get some sleep.
Jackie thought hard about what they’d talked about, and she admitted to herself that Max hadn’t really lied to her. But wasn’t concealing such monumental information for so long a period of time just as much as an infraction against the trust they’d built? She still felt confused and uncertain and wary about their future together.
The only thing she felt with any surety was that she had to make a decision soon. Valentines Day was a few days away, and she knew she couldn’t pass through the day set aside to celebrate love without coming to a final resolution.
CHAPTER 32
PART A
Max stood over his sleeping wife wearing a large smile. He loved to watch her- asleep, awake, walking, talking, sneezing, snoring, it didn’t mater to him what she was- or wasn’t- doing. The joy of finally living out his wildest dreams made him giddy on a nearly constant basis, especially on this day.
She began to stir and slowly fight to wake up. As her eyes popped open she saw him, and immediately the same smile filled with satisfaction and love that he wore lit her features.
“Happy Valentines Day my precious love,” he said softly as he bent down to kiss her. Her arms immediately wound up around his neck, pulling him down onto the bed with her. They kissed amorously, until he felt her pulling at his tie, trying to remove it. He stopped reluctantly and kissed her forehead with a sigh. “I’m already late for work Sweetheart.”
He pulled away, feeling her disappointment before viewing it on her face. Since their first attempt at making love since the birth of Noelle was foiled a few days prior, things just kept getting in their way and they still hadn’t consummated their passion. It was beyond frustrating for them both.
“Are you sure?” she asked, running her hand over his shirt covered chest, caressing his musculature.
He gently removed her hand a kissed it with another loud sigh. “Unfortunately, yes. I’ve got to leave now or I’m going to miss the first half of my first class.” She sat up in the bed and he gazed hungrily at her sleep-tousled hair, puffy just-kissed lips, and sultry eyes. His own eyes wandered down to her breasts that were barely concealed by her filmy nightgown. A nightgown that did nothing to cover her rapidly hardening nipples.
What was that he said about work?
“They don’t really need a teacher anyway,” he breathed before grabbing her head and consuming her mouth like it was his last meal. Her hands reached up to cover his, and they moaned into each other’s mouth as he lowered her back down onto the pillow.
Just as she was about to remove the still offending tie a wail sounded on the baby monitor sitting on the nightstand next to the bed. He ripped his lips from hers, muttering “is there a conspiracy against us or something,” making her giggle.
“No Love,” she said, running her hand over his cheek to calm him. “Just a hungry little girl.” She sat up again and let him assist her in climbing out of bed. Drawing her robe on she turned to him and said, “you’d better hurry or you’ll be late.”
He couldn’t resist another kiss. After pulling away he whispered, “tonight, I don’t care what else is going on, I’m going to make love to you. Repeatedly.”
A sexy crooked smile formed on her lips. “I’ll be waiting,” she said in return, and stole one last kiss before their daughter noisily reminded them of her needs.
“Is Maria giving her pointers on bad timing on something?” Max said with a sigh.
Liz laughed again and grabbed his hand, leading him out toward the door. “You’d better hurry Honey.” With another, but much shorter, kiss goodbye he left and she walked into the baby’s room.
“Good morning Baby Girl,” she cooed as she lifted the crying bundle from her crib. Liz kissed her head as she settled into the rocking chair next to the bed and began to feed her. As her daughter happily nursed Liz lovingly gazed at her, still awed by the precious gift that had been given to them. She loved staying home to care for her and didn’t regret the decision not to return to work one bit. She only felt bad that she hadn’t been able to do the same when her son was an infant.
The thought of him turned her mood melancholy. It was sheer torture for her to see him so sad all of the time. She’d bought him some silly little things for Valentines Day, but she knew they wouldn’t cheer him up. There was only one thing that would, and the young woman who was capable of doing so was taking a little to long for Liz’s liking. She sighed again and shook her head, knowing she was powerless to help. “Are you done Sweet Pea?” she said to Noelle, and then lay her over her shoulder to burp her. “How about we get dressed and go upstairs to wake up your brother for school. You always seem to be able to make him smile.”
Meanwhile, at another house, another mother was waking up her child for school. “Jackie, didn’t you hear your alarm go off? What time is your first class?” Paula said as she shook her daughter gently.
Jackie yawned as she struggled to sit up. “Yeah, I heard it; I just couldn’t get up. I’m awake now, thanks Mom.”
Paula exited as her daughter climbed out of bed and walked over to the window. Staring out at the winter landscape she yawned again and tried to psyche herself up to face the day. She’d finally come to a resolution late the previous night, and wanted to discuss it with Max before she lost her courage. She knew he had a break before her first class, and she hoped to catch him then. She moved toward the bathroom to shower, hoping her decision was the right one, knowing she held the power to crush both of their hearts in her two hands.
********************
Max walked slowly out of the science building, having just agreed to his dad’s request to babysit his sister that evening. His father apologized profusely but had just been able secure last minute reservations at his mom’s favorite restaurant. Max didn’t mind; in fact, it might help keep his mind off of the fact that he wasn’t celebrating Valentines with the one he loved.
He was walking with his head down and almost missed seeing Jackie standing outside. The sight of her standing there, nervously clutching a notebook to her chest and staring at him stopped him dead in his tracks. They had carefully avoided each other for the past weeks, so her deliberate appearance could mean only one thing. She was ready to talk.
His stomach knotted into a lead ball and he had to force his legs to move toward her, terrified of what her answer might be. When he reached where she waited he simply said, “hi.”
“Hi,” she returned nervously. “Um, I was wondering if we could talk.”
Oh boy. This was it. “Uh, yeah, sure but…I have a quiz in my next class and I can’t miss it.”
Jackie swallowed. “Uh, how about after that? We could meet out here?”
Max shook his head in the negative. “I’m sorry, but after this class I have to go right to work. Someone’s on vacation and somebody else just quit, so they needed me for the afternoon.”
“Oh,” she said. “Well, what about tonight? What time do you get off from work?”
“At six, but I just said I’d watch Noelle for my parents,” he said, now aggravated that he’d done so.
“Oh,” she said again, obviously disappointed.
“Well, if you don’t mind coming to my house and me having to watch her, you could come over,” he offered. “My parents are leaving at six thirty.”
“Um, yeah, OK,” she said, absently tucking her hair behind her ear. “So I’ll come after they leave then. OK. I guess I’ll see you then.”
“Yeah, I’ll see you then,” he said, watching as she hesitated before turning and leaving. Noelle, I hope you’re really sleepy after dinner tonight, he thought, and then left to get to his next class.
The afternoon dragged by for him at work, and when he finally got home his parents were ready and waiting. “Honey are you sure about this?” his mother asked.
“Yeah, of course Mom. You guys go and have fun; Noelle and I will be fine. Maybe I’ll teach her a few tricks,” he joked.
“Actually, her powers shouldn’t start to develop for a few years yet,” his father replied. “Since our powers are really just advanced brain functions, the brain needs to mature for our abilities to mature.”
“So the older she gets the stronger her powers will get,” Max said in understanding.
“Wow, I never thought of it in those terms,” Liz said to her husband, “but that makes total sense. Max’s powers manifested at three and a half or so, and got stronger as he aged. Very interesting.”
“Only for us scientific types, I’m sure,” her husband said with a smile.
“OK Max,” Liz said to her son, returning to the subject of his sister, “there are two bottles in the refrigerator. Warm them up but make sure you test them first so the milk isn’t too hot. You know where all of the diaper stuff is in her room. The number for the restaurant is on the table in case for some reason you can’t get us.” She tapped on her head to indicate their connection. “I’ll check in with you a few times. Do you have any questions?”
“How long do you think you’ll be?” he asked, with Jackie’s pending visit in mind.
“A couple of hours,” his father answered.
“Or less,” his mom added as she looked toward the nursery. “I’m just going to go say goodbye.”
“Again,” her husband said with a wink to his son. “I’d better go with her or we’ll never make it out of here.” He walked back to find Liz cradling the baby in her arms, whispering to her. “Honey, we’re only going out for a little while. She’s going to be fine.”
“I know,” Liz responded with a quiver to her voice. “It’s just…this is our first time leaving her Max.”
He smiled as he wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed the side of her head. “I know my love, but we’ll be home soon. And Max will take good care of her.” He reached up with one hand to caress his daughter. “We love you Peanut. We’re going to go out to eat but we’ll be home real soon, OK?” The baby waived a tiny hand in the air making him chuckle. “See Babe? She’s already waiving goodbye.”
Liz kissed her again and turned so Max could do the same, then laid her down in the crib. “Bye bye Sweetie,” she whispered, and her husband led her out of the room. When she saw her son she said to him, “are you sure about this Max? We could stay home…”
“He’s going to be fine Honey,” her husband said. “We’ll come straight home after dinner, and he can always connect with us if we need to leave earlier.”
Her son leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll be OK Mom. Check in with me whenever you want.”
With that, Max ushered his wife out to their car. He saw the still-worried expression on her face and reached over, turning her face to his. “Everything’s going to be fine Baby, really.” He leaned in for a quick kiss. “Let the next couple of hours be about just us, OK?”
She finally smiled and stole a kiss of her own. “You’re right, I’m sorry,” she said. “I’ve been looking forward to this all day.” She kissed him again and then added in a lascivious tone, “and especially to you fulfilling the promise you made me this morning.”
Max grasped the back of her head and feasted on her lips. When he finally separated from her they were both panting and a bit dazed. “If we don’t leave now,” he said as he forced himself to move away from her, “I’m going to take you right here in the driveway.”
Her giggles made him smile and he started the car, eager to get the night moving along.
PART A
Max stood over his sleeping wife wearing a large smile. He loved to watch her- asleep, awake, walking, talking, sneezing, snoring, it didn’t mater to him what she was- or wasn’t- doing. The joy of finally living out his wildest dreams made him giddy on a nearly constant basis, especially on this day.
She began to stir and slowly fight to wake up. As her eyes popped open she saw him, and immediately the same smile filled with satisfaction and love that he wore lit her features.
“Happy Valentines Day my precious love,” he said softly as he bent down to kiss her. Her arms immediately wound up around his neck, pulling him down onto the bed with her. They kissed amorously, until he felt her pulling at his tie, trying to remove it. He stopped reluctantly and kissed her forehead with a sigh. “I’m already late for work Sweetheart.”
He pulled away, feeling her disappointment before viewing it on her face. Since their first attempt at making love since the birth of Noelle was foiled a few days prior, things just kept getting in their way and they still hadn’t consummated their passion. It was beyond frustrating for them both.
“Are you sure?” she asked, running her hand over his shirt covered chest, caressing his musculature.
He gently removed her hand a kissed it with another loud sigh. “Unfortunately, yes. I’ve got to leave now or I’m going to miss the first half of my first class.” She sat up in the bed and he gazed hungrily at her sleep-tousled hair, puffy just-kissed lips, and sultry eyes. His own eyes wandered down to her breasts that were barely concealed by her filmy nightgown. A nightgown that did nothing to cover her rapidly hardening nipples.
What was that he said about work?
“They don’t really need a teacher anyway,” he breathed before grabbing her head and consuming her mouth like it was his last meal. Her hands reached up to cover his, and they moaned into each other’s mouth as he lowered her back down onto the pillow.
Just as she was about to remove the still offending tie a wail sounded on the baby monitor sitting on the nightstand next to the bed. He ripped his lips from hers, muttering “is there a conspiracy against us or something,” making her giggle.
“No Love,” she said, running her hand over his cheek to calm him. “Just a hungry little girl.” She sat up again and let him assist her in climbing out of bed. Drawing her robe on she turned to him and said, “you’d better hurry or you’ll be late.”
He couldn’t resist another kiss. After pulling away he whispered, “tonight, I don’t care what else is going on, I’m going to make love to you. Repeatedly.”
A sexy crooked smile formed on her lips. “I’ll be waiting,” she said in return, and stole one last kiss before their daughter noisily reminded them of her needs.
“Is Maria giving her pointers on bad timing on something?” Max said with a sigh.
Liz laughed again and grabbed his hand, leading him out toward the door. “You’d better hurry Honey.” With another, but much shorter, kiss goodbye he left and she walked into the baby’s room.
“Good morning Baby Girl,” she cooed as she lifted the crying bundle from her crib. Liz kissed her head as she settled into the rocking chair next to the bed and began to feed her. As her daughter happily nursed Liz lovingly gazed at her, still awed by the precious gift that had been given to them. She loved staying home to care for her and didn’t regret the decision not to return to work one bit. She only felt bad that she hadn’t been able to do the same when her son was an infant.
The thought of him turned her mood melancholy. It was sheer torture for her to see him so sad all of the time. She’d bought him some silly little things for Valentines Day, but she knew they wouldn’t cheer him up. There was only one thing that would, and the young woman who was capable of doing so was taking a little to long for Liz’s liking. She sighed again and shook her head, knowing she was powerless to help. “Are you done Sweet Pea?” she said to Noelle, and then lay her over her shoulder to burp her. “How about we get dressed and go upstairs to wake up your brother for school. You always seem to be able to make him smile.”
Meanwhile, at another house, another mother was waking up her child for school. “Jackie, didn’t you hear your alarm go off? What time is your first class?” Paula said as she shook her daughter gently.
Jackie yawned as she struggled to sit up. “Yeah, I heard it; I just couldn’t get up. I’m awake now, thanks Mom.”
Paula exited as her daughter climbed out of bed and walked over to the window. Staring out at the winter landscape she yawned again and tried to psyche herself up to face the day. She’d finally come to a resolution late the previous night, and wanted to discuss it with Max before she lost her courage. She knew he had a break before her first class, and she hoped to catch him then. She moved toward the bathroom to shower, hoping her decision was the right one, knowing she held the power to crush both of their hearts in her two hands.
********************
Max walked slowly out of the science building, having just agreed to his dad’s request to babysit his sister that evening. His father apologized profusely but had just been able secure last minute reservations at his mom’s favorite restaurant. Max didn’t mind; in fact, it might help keep his mind off of the fact that he wasn’t celebrating Valentines with the one he loved.
He was walking with his head down and almost missed seeing Jackie standing outside. The sight of her standing there, nervously clutching a notebook to her chest and staring at him stopped him dead in his tracks. They had carefully avoided each other for the past weeks, so her deliberate appearance could mean only one thing. She was ready to talk.
His stomach knotted into a lead ball and he had to force his legs to move toward her, terrified of what her answer might be. When he reached where she waited he simply said, “hi.”
“Hi,” she returned nervously. “Um, I was wondering if we could talk.”
Oh boy. This was it. “Uh, yeah, sure but…I have a quiz in my next class and I can’t miss it.”
Jackie swallowed. “Uh, how about after that? We could meet out here?”
Max shook his head in the negative. “I’m sorry, but after this class I have to go right to work. Someone’s on vacation and somebody else just quit, so they needed me for the afternoon.”
“Oh,” she said. “Well, what about tonight? What time do you get off from work?”
“At six, but I just said I’d watch Noelle for my parents,” he said, now aggravated that he’d done so.
“Oh,” she said again, obviously disappointed.
“Well, if you don’t mind coming to my house and me having to watch her, you could come over,” he offered. “My parents are leaving at six thirty.”
“Um, yeah, OK,” she said, absently tucking her hair behind her ear. “So I’ll come after they leave then. OK. I guess I’ll see you then.”
“Yeah, I’ll see you then,” he said, watching as she hesitated before turning and leaving. Noelle, I hope you’re really sleepy after dinner tonight, he thought, and then left to get to his next class.
The afternoon dragged by for him at work, and when he finally got home his parents were ready and waiting. “Honey are you sure about this?” his mother asked.
“Yeah, of course Mom. You guys go and have fun; Noelle and I will be fine. Maybe I’ll teach her a few tricks,” he joked.
“Actually, her powers shouldn’t start to develop for a few years yet,” his father replied. “Since our powers are really just advanced brain functions, the brain needs to mature for our abilities to mature.”
“So the older she gets the stronger her powers will get,” Max said in understanding.
“Wow, I never thought of it in those terms,” Liz said to her husband, “but that makes total sense. Max’s powers manifested at three and a half or so, and got stronger as he aged. Very interesting.”
“Only for us scientific types, I’m sure,” her husband said with a smile.
“OK Max,” Liz said to her son, returning to the subject of his sister, “there are two bottles in the refrigerator. Warm them up but make sure you test them first so the milk isn’t too hot. You know where all of the diaper stuff is in her room. The number for the restaurant is on the table in case for some reason you can’t get us.” She tapped on her head to indicate their connection. “I’ll check in with you a few times. Do you have any questions?”
“How long do you think you’ll be?” he asked, with Jackie’s pending visit in mind.
“A couple of hours,” his father answered.
“Or less,” his mom added as she looked toward the nursery. “I’m just going to go say goodbye.”
“Again,” her husband said with a wink to his son. “I’d better go with her or we’ll never make it out of here.” He walked back to find Liz cradling the baby in her arms, whispering to her. “Honey, we’re only going out for a little while. She’s going to be fine.”
“I know,” Liz responded with a quiver to her voice. “It’s just…this is our first time leaving her Max.”
He smiled as he wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed the side of her head. “I know my love, but we’ll be home soon. And Max will take good care of her.” He reached up with one hand to caress his daughter. “We love you Peanut. We’re going to go out to eat but we’ll be home real soon, OK?” The baby waived a tiny hand in the air making him chuckle. “See Babe? She’s already waiving goodbye.”
Liz kissed her again and turned so Max could do the same, then laid her down in the crib. “Bye bye Sweetie,” she whispered, and her husband led her out of the room. When she saw her son she said to him, “are you sure about this Max? We could stay home…”
“He’s going to be fine Honey,” her husband said. “We’ll come straight home after dinner, and he can always connect with us if we need to leave earlier.”
Her son leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll be OK Mom. Check in with me whenever you want.”
With that, Max ushered his wife out to their car. He saw the still-worried expression on her face and reached over, turning her face to his. “Everything’s going to be fine Baby, really.” He leaned in for a quick kiss. “Let the next couple of hours be about just us, OK?”
She finally smiled and stole a kiss of her own. “You’re right, I’m sorry,” she said. “I’ve been looking forward to this all day.” She kissed him again and then added in a lascivious tone, “and especially to you fulfilling the promise you made me this morning.”
Max grasped the back of her head and feasted on her lips. When he finally separated from her they were both panting and a bit dazed. “If we don’t leave now,” he said as he forced himself to move away from her, “I’m going to take you right here in the driveway.”
Her giggles made him smile and he started the car, eager to get the night moving along.
PART B
Max stared across the table at his wife as he held her hand, his thumb absently sweeping across the back of it while he watched her order her meal. When the waiter left them he lifted her hand to his lips and began kissing it. “Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?”
“Max,” she sighed happily. It didn’t matter how many times he said things like that to her, she’d never tire of hearing them. He constantly made her feel so special, so loved, whether by a kiss, a look, a word, a feeling. Now more than ever she wondered how she’d survived eighteen years without him and his ever-present affections.
“Your beauty would make Athena hand over her crown,” he said earnestly with another kiss to her small hand.
“Max,” she repeated as her cheeks flushed from his compliments.
“The only thing that surpasses your physical beauty is the exquisiteness of your inner self.”
“Max,” she breathed, now flying on cloud nine, “if you don’t stop I’m going to melt into a puddle right here.”
“Then I’ll just have to pour you into a cup and drink you.”
She gazed at him adoringly, swept away by his words, his feelings, everything about her husband that made him…him.
They sat in silence that way, their fervor for each other evident on their faces, Max kissing and caressing her hand that still lay clasped tightly in his. The arrival of the waiter carrying their salads finally broke their spell. “Newlyweds?” he asked them with a smile as he set their plates down, having observed their obvious amour.
“Perpetually,” Max said, winking at his wife who blushed deeper in return.
“Oh, how nice,” the waiter said. “Usually we only see newlywed couples who are as happy as you two obviously are. Enjoy your salads.”
“Are you going to let go of my hand so I can eat?” Liz asked Max with a smile.
“Do you want me too?”
“No,” she said, “but it would make it easier for me to pick up the fork!” He chuckled and finally released her hand. “Honey, do you think we should check in with Homer and see how things are going?”
“Well, now you’ll have to give me your hand again so we can talk to him together,” he said slyly.
“Oh sure,” she said with a mock roll of her eyes as she placed her hand in his again and he connected them to their son.
//Max, how’s everything going with Noelle? //
//Hi Dad; everything’s fine. We’re reading ‘The Fuzzy Friends’ book. //
Liz smiled at her husband at the mental picture of their son reading to his infant sister. //That’s so sweet Honey. Did she eat anything yet? //
// Yeah Mom, she finished almost the whole bottle and she’s looking pretty sleepy now. Oh, someone’s at the door, I’d better go,// he finished hurriedly, knowing it was probably Jackie.
//OK we’ll check in again later. Thanks again son.//
His father pulled out of the connection and looked at Liz as she resumed eating her salad. “I wonder who was at the door?”
Back at their house, Max quickly laid his nearly asleep sister in her crib before hurrying to the door to find Jackie standing there, nervously wringing her hands. “Hi,” he said as he opened the door and stepped aside.
“Hi, she said as she walked inside the house. “Where’s Noelle?”
“She just went to sleep so we’ll be able to talk.” He led her into the living room and they sat down on opposite ends of the couch, watching each other anxiously. “How have you been?” he asked, trying to break the icy atmosphere.
She finally looked up at him with large, sad eyes. “Miserable.”
“Me too,” he replied earnestly.
“I’m sorry Max; I wasn’t trying to drag things out, it’s just that…I needed to be really sure of how I felt. I was so confused…”
“I understand,” he interrupted. “I can’t imagine how it must have felt to find out that I’m…different.”
Jackie looked at him. “Max, I’m really sorry if I made you feel…like…self-conscious, or something.” She paused again, weighing her words. She didn’t want to hurt or offend him, but she knew she had to be totally honest with him about everything. “Please try to understand where I’m coming from.” She stood up and began to pace the room as she talked. “I’m not what anyone would call street-wise Max. My little sister had to explain to me that Eminem was a singer, not a piece of candy. I thought the expression 24/7 was an area code. I didn’t even know what a hemorrhoid was until last year.” She took a deep breath and raked her hand through her hair. “So imagine how it was to be dorky-ole-me, and to find out that not only are there such things as aliens, but that the person I’m in love with is one.” She looked up at him and said honestly, “I’m not gonna lie to you. It freaked me out Max.”
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly, not being able to meet her eyes.
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” she answered, causing him to quickly look up at her. “I mean it. I’ve thought about this
non-stop since you told me. You are who you are. I’ve known you almost all of my life, and you’ve never been anything but…amazing.” The last word came out quietly, and made him blush. “I truly don’t believe that you or your father would ever harm anyone, least of all me or anyone in my family. And Aunt Maria explained- very thoroughly, I might add- why you had to be careful about telling me. And I understand how important it is that I keep this secret, and I promise you, I will. But I do still wish you’d told me before…” she waived her hand absently in the air, “but it doesn’t matter now.”
“So, do you forgive me then?” he asked, watching her closely.
“I don’t think there’s anything to be forgiven.”
His large, deep brown eyes mirrored the hope that he felt in his heart for the first time since the whole nightmare had begun. “Do you mean…are you saying…are we back together Jackie?” His nervous voice betrayed his seemingly calm demeanor.
She moved back around to sit down on the couch again, this time a little closer to him. “That depends on how you feel about a few things.”
“What things?” he asked, feeling both elated and confused at the same time.
“Well, this whole…thing…is new to me Max. I’m going to need time to…adjust.”
“I understand,” he said eagerly.
“No, I don’t think you do. I mean, I’m going to need time…in all areas…like…” She swallowed, embarrassed, but determined to be very clear about her feelings if they were going to have a chance at repairing the damage to their relationship. “Max, in a way, I feel like I’m starting a relationship with an entirely new person. I know we were, that is, I was ready to…to…” Damnit! Why was she making this so hard? She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and then forged ahead. “Max, before this happened, I was going to tell you that I was ready to make love with you. And I can’t say that now.”
He sat in silence, knowing she had more to say, hoping that it would include a final affirmation that they were a couple again.
Jackie fidgeted with her fingers as she continued. “Max, I have to get used to the whole…alien thing. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to hurt your feelings,” she said quickly as she reached out and laid a hand on his arm. “It’s not you, Max; it’s me.”
“I understand. No, really,” he said as he witnessed her disbelief, “I do. I’ve spent my whole life knowing this, but you’ve just been blindsided by it. You, and every other living human being on the planet, thought aliens only existed in movies. I can understand that it’s going to take some time to…check things out.”
“Yeah,” she said with a slight smile, “to check things out. And I need to be completely sure that I trust…whoever…I eventually will take that step with.” She slid her hand down his arm and grasped his hand. “I want that person to be you, Max; but I need to be totally sure I can trust you. No more secrets. I don’t care how big they are. Because for me, without trust, there is no love. And I’ll never give myself to someone I don’t love Max. So I’ve decided…I want to wait until I get married.” She paused for a brief breath before surging ahead. “When I get married, it will be to the person I have trusted to reveal my whole self to. No one else will know me that well, or have the power to hurt me so much. I will have to be able to trust that person with…”
“Your heart,” he interrupted.
“Yeah,” she said quietly, staring down at the floor. “And if I’m going to give him that much of myself…I want to give him my whole self.”
“I understand,” he said simply, causing her to look up at him quickly.
“You do?”
“Of course. What, did you think I would say I didn’t want to date you anymore because you want to wait until we’re married to have sex?” he said, a little miffed that she might have that low an opinion of him.
A smile finally graced her features as she thought, ‘he said when we’re married’. “No Max, that’s not what I meant. It’s just…you know…it seems to be kind of a big deal to guys…”
With a wry look on his face he replied, “well in case you haven’t noticed, I’m not your average guy.”
They both chuckled for a moment, the tension easing considerably between them. “It’s more then just that, Max,” Jackie said finally. “I need to start over again…from the beginning…with us. Please, please don’t take this the wrong way, but…I’m still getting used to…the whole idea. It’s all still very new…and strange…to me.”
Max pondered a few moments before answering her. “Well, to be honest, I wish that it was easier for you to accept my heritage, but I can also understand where you’re coming from. So I’ll respect whatever boundaries you feel you need.”
Jackie’s heart swelled with love. He had been nothing but patient and understanding with her, laying all of her fears to rest. She squeezed his hands as her eyes misted over. “I love you Max. I do. I just have so many questions. There are so many things racing through my mind. I just need time to…get to know the real you, I guess.”
Max took both of her hands in his and looked her in the eyes. “Jackie, I love you. I am willing to do whatever it takes to make this work. If giving you time is what you need to have your questions answered, time is what I’ll give you. I told you I’d wait for you. I meant it.” Still holding hands, they sat smiling at each other until he broke the silence. “Would it be OK if I kissed you? You know, to celebrate?” he asked with a twinkle in his eye.
“I think I could celebrate a little,” she said, grinning and leaning in toward him.
They shared several soft, chaste kisses, and then he rest his forehead against hers, sighing happily. “Thank you for giving us a chance.”
“Thank you for being patient with me,” she countered before a sudden, loud cry erupted from down the hall.
Max sighed and muttered, “I’m beginning to understand why Dad said she has Maria’s timing,” causing Jackie to giggle. They both rose and went to retrieve his sister, who was letting everyone in the neighborhood know she needed to have her diaper changed. After cleaning her up, they carried her back to the living room and lay her across their laps as they watch TV together, Max draping his arm around Jackie’s shoulders as her head rest against his shoulder.
That was the way his parents found them an hour or so later, eliciting a gasp from a very surprised Liz as she entered her living room. Jackie self-consciously sat up quickly as Max picked up his sister. “Hi Mom, hi Dad. How was dinner?”
“Good…” his father answered, obviously as dumbfounded as Liz. “How was your evening?”
This made the two young people smile broadly. “Great,” Max replied.
“So you two…” Liz said, pointing her finger back and forth between them.
“Yeah,” her son said happily.
Jackie stood up and nervously tucked her hair behind her ear. “Uncle Max, Aunt Liz, I want to apologize if I offended you at all. I didn’t mean…”
“Jackie, you didn’t offend us and you don’t us an apology,” Max interrupted as he wound his arm around his wife. “I can’t imagine what it was like for you to find out about…to find out. It must have been very upsetting.”
“No sir, not upsetting,” she quickly answered. “Just confused. It’s all just so…”
“Far out,” Liz said with a smirk. “Believe me Jackie, I understand. I was in your shoes once. So was Maria, and Alex, too.”
“They told me. They really helped me to think things through.”
“So you guys are officially dating again?” Liz asked. “And you’re sure this is what you want Jackie?” She needed to hear that the girl who had won her son’s heart wouldn’t quickly change her mind and break it again.
“Yes Ma’am,” Jackie replied. “I love Max. We just need some time…”
“To work through things,” Max said as he stood and put his free arm around his girlfriend, signaling that he was OK and the questions could stop.
“OK then,” Liz said, taking the hint. She reached to take Noelle from her son. “Why don’t you two run along and try to enjoy the rest of Valentine’s Day then.”
“Thanks Mom,” her son said, kissing her cheek as he handed over his sister. He turned and offered his hand to Jackie who grasped it and followed him out, calling out her farewell as he tugged her along.
“Well that was quite a surprise,” Max said as he bent over to kiss his daughter. “I sure wasn’t expecting that when we came home.”
“Me either,” Liz said, “but I’m so glad. He hasn’t looked that happy in weeks, has he Sugar?” she said to Noelle as she tickled her chin. “What time is it Max?”
“Um, almost 9:30.”
“I’m going to try to feed her and see if she’ll go down a little earlier than usual,” Liz said, and immediately she felt a pair of strong arms encircle her waist from behind. Then a waft of cool air floated across her neck as he swept her hair over one shoulder. The soft, velvet kisses that followed belied wild jolt of desire that was surging through them both.
“I like how you think,” he whispered as his lips traveled over her skin.
“I like what you do,” she sighed as she leaned back into his chest.
Before things were able to get too carried away Noelle announced she was ready to eat.
“We should’ve never made her middle name ‘Maria’,” Max joked for the hundredth time since her birth.
Liz giggled, as always, and turned in his arms. “Why don’t you go and fix that hot bath that you promised me, and I’ll see about getting the princess here settled for the night.” They shared a quick kiss before they both hurried off in different directions, anxious to culminate their celebration of a holiday that was seemingly made just for them.
Max stared across the table at his wife as he held her hand, his thumb absently sweeping across the back of it while he watched her order her meal. When the waiter left them he lifted her hand to his lips and began kissing it. “Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?”
“Max,” she sighed happily. It didn’t matter how many times he said things like that to her, she’d never tire of hearing them. He constantly made her feel so special, so loved, whether by a kiss, a look, a word, a feeling. Now more than ever she wondered how she’d survived eighteen years without him and his ever-present affections.
“Your beauty would make Athena hand over her crown,” he said earnestly with another kiss to her small hand.
“Max,” she repeated as her cheeks flushed from his compliments.
“The only thing that surpasses your physical beauty is the exquisiteness of your inner self.”
“Max,” she breathed, now flying on cloud nine, “if you don’t stop I’m going to melt into a puddle right here.”
“Then I’ll just have to pour you into a cup and drink you.”
She gazed at him adoringly, swept away by his words, his feelings, everything about her husband that made him…him.
They sat in silence that way, their fervor for each other evident on their faces, Max kissing and caressing her hand that still lay clasped tightly in his. The arrival of the waiter carrying their salads finally broke their spell. “Newlyweds?” he asked them with a smile as he set their plates down, having observed their obvious amour.
“Perpetually,” Max said, winking at his wife who blushed deeper in return.
“Oh, how nice,” the waiter said. “Usually we only see newlywed couples who are as happy as you two obviously are. Enjoy your salads.”
“Are you going to let go of my hand so I can eat?” Liz asked Max with a smile.
“Do you want me too?”
“No,” she said, “but it would make it easier for me to pick up the fork!” He chuckled and finally released her hand. “Honey, do you think we should check in with Homer and see how things are going?”
“Well, now you’ll have to give me your hand again so we can talk to him together,” he said slyly.
“Oh sure,” she said with a mock roll of her eyes as she placed her hand in his again and he connected them to their son.
//Max, how’s everything going with Noelle? //
//Hi Dad; everything’s fine. We’re reading ‘The Fuzzy Friends’ book. //
Liz smiled at her husband at the mental picture of their son reading to his infant sister. //That’s so sweet Honey. Did she eat anything yet? //
// Yeah Mom, she finished almost the whole bottle and she’s looking pretty sleepy now. Oh, someone’s at the door, I’d better go,// he finished hurriedly, knowing it was probably Jackie.
//OK we’ll check in again later. Thanks again son.//
His father pulled out of the connection and looked at Liz as she resumed eating her salad. “I wonder who was at the door?”
Back at their house, Max quickly laid his nearly asleep sister in her crib before hurrying to the door to find Jackie standing there, nervously wringing her hands. “Hi,” he said as he opened the door and stepped aside.
“Hi, she said as she walked inside the house. “Where’s Noelle?”
“She just went to sleep so we’ll be able to talk.” He led her into the living room and they sat down on opposite ends of the couch, watching each other anxiously. “How have you been?” he asked, trying to break the icy atmosphere.
She finally looked up at him with large, sad eyes. “Miserable.”
“Me too,” he replied earnestly.
“I’m sorry Max; I wasn’t trying to drag things out, it’s just that…I needed to be really sure of how I felt. I was so confused…”
“I understand,” he interrupted. “I can’t imagine how it must have felt to find out that I’m…different.”
Jackie looked at him. “Max, I’m really sorry if I made you feel…like…self-conscious, or something.” She paused again, weighing her words. She didn’t want to hurt or offend him, but she knew she had to be totally honest with him about everything. “Please try to understand where I’m coming from.” She stood up and began to pace the room as she talked. “I’m not what anyone would call street-wise Max. My little sister had to explain to me that Eminem was a singer, not a piece of candy. I thought the expression 24/7 was an area code. I didn’t even know what a hemorrhoid was until last year.” She took a deep breath and raked her hand through her hair. “So imagine how it was to be dorky-ole-me, and to find out that not only are there such things as aliens, but that the person I’m in love with is one.” She looked up at him and said honestly, “I’m not gonna lie to you. It freaked me out Max.”
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly, not being able to meet her eyes.
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” she answered, causing him to quickly look up at her. “I mean it. I’ve thought about this
non-stop since you told me. You are who you are. I’ve known you almost all of my life, and you’ve never been anything but…amazing.” The last word came out quietly, and made him blush. “I truly don’t believe that you or your father would ever harm anyone, least of all me or anyone in my family. And Aunt Maria explained- very thoroughly, I might add- why you had to be careful about telling me. And I understand how important it is that I keep this secret, and I promise you, I will. But I do still wish you’d told me before…” she waived her hand absently in the air, “but it doesn’t matter now.”
“So, do you forgive me then?” he asked, watching her closely.
“I don’t think there’s anything to be forgiven.”
His large, deep brown eyes mirrored the hope that he felt in his heart for the first time since the whole nightmare had begun. “Do you mean…are you saying…are we back together Jackie?” His nervous voice betrayed his seemingly calm demeanor.
She moved back around to sit down on the couch again, this time a little closer to him. “That depends on how you feel about a few things.”
“What things?” he asked, feeling both elated and confused at the same time.
“Well, this whole…thing…is new to me Max. I’m going to need time to…adjust.”
“I understand,” he said eagerly.
“No, I don’t think you do. I mean, I’m going to need time…in all areas…like…” She swallowed, embarrassed, but determined to be very clear about her feelings if they were going to have a chance at repairing the damage to their relationship. “Max, in a way, I feel like I’m starting a relationship with an entirely new person. I know we were, that is, I was ready to…to…” Damnit! Why was she making this so hard? She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and then forged ahead. “Max, before this happened, I was going to tell you that I was ready to make love with you. And I can’t say that now.”
He sat in silence, knowing she had more to say, hoping that it would include a final affirmation that they were a couple again.
Jackie fidgeted with her fingers as she continued. “Max, I have to get used to the whole…alien thing. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to hurt your feelings,” she said quickly as she reached out and laid a hand on his arm. “It’s not you, Max; it’s me.”
“I understand. No, really,” he said as he witnessed her disbelief, “I do. I’ve spent my whole life knowing this, but you’ve just been blindsided by it. You, and every other living human being on the planet, thought aliens only existed in movies. I can understand that it’s going to take some time to…check things out.”
“Yeah,” she said with a slight smile, “to check things out. And I need to be completely sure that I trust…whoever…I eventually will take that step with.” She slid her hand down his arm and grasped his hand. “I want that person to be you, Max; but I need to be totally sure I can trust you. No more secrets. I don’t care how big they are. Because for me, without trust, there is no love. And I’ll never give myself to someone I don’t love Max. So I’ve decided…I want to wait until I get married.” She paused for a brief breath before surging ahead. “When I get married, it will be to the person I have trusted to reveal my whole self to. No one else will know me that well, or have the power to hurt me so much. I will have to be able to trust that person with…”
“Your heart,” he interrupted.
“Yeah,” she said quietly, staring down at the floor. “And if I’m going to give him that much of myself…I want to give him my whole self.”
“I understand,” he said simply, causing her to look up at him quickly.
“You do?”
“Of course. What, did you think I would say I didn’t want to date you anymore because you want to wait until we’re married to have sex?” he said, a little miffed that she might have that low an opinion of him.
A smile finally graced her features as she thought, ‘he said when we’re married’. “No Max, that’s not what I meant. It’s just…you know…it seems to be kind of a big deal to guys…”
With a wry look on his face he replied, “well in case you haven’t noticed, I’m not your average guy.”
They both chuckled for a moment, the tension easing considerably between them. “It’s more then just that, Max,” Jackie said finally. “I need to start over again…from the beginning…with us. Please, please don’t take this the wrong way, but…I’m still getting used to…the whole idea. It’s all still very new…and strange…to me.”
Max pondered a few moments before answering her. “Well, to be honest, I wish that it was easier for you to accept my heritage, but I can also understand where you’re coming from. So I’ll respect whatever boundaries you feel you need.”
Jackie’s heart swelled with love. He had been nothing but patient and understanding with her, laying all of her fears to rest. She squeezed his hands as her eyes misted over. “I love you Max. I do. I just have so many questions. There are so many things racing through my mind. I just need time to…get to know the real you, I guess.”
Max took both of her hands in his and looked her in the eyes. “Jackie, I love you. I am willing to do whatever it takes to make this work. If giving you time is what you need to have your questions answered, time is what I’ll give you. I told you I’d wait for you. I meant it.” Still holding hands, they sat smiling at each other until he broke the silence. “Would it be OK if I kissed you? You know, to celebrate?” he asked with a twinkle in his eye.
“I think I could celebrate a little,” she said, grinning and leaning in toward him.
They shared several soft, chaste kisses, and then he rest his forehead against hers, sighing happily. “Thank you for giving us a chance.”
“Thank you for being patient with me,” she countered before a sudden, loud cry erupted from down the hall.
Max sighed and muttered, “I’m beginning to understand why Dad said she has Maria’s timing,” causing Jackie to giggle. They both rose and went to retrieve his sister, who was letting everyone in the neighborhood know she needed to have her diaper changed. After cleaning her up, they carried her back to the living room and lay her across their laps as they watch TV together, Max draping his arm around Jackie’s shoulders as her head rest against his shoulder.
That was the way his parents found them an hour or so later, eliciting a gasp from a very surprised Liz as she entered her living room. Jackie self-consciously sat up quickly as Max picked up his sister. “Hi Mom, hi Dad. How was dinner?”
“Good…” his father answered, obviously as dumbfounded as Liz. “How was your evening?”
This made the two young people smile broadly. “Great,” Max replied.
“So you two…” Liz said, pointing her finger back and forth between them.
“Yeah,” her son said happily.
Jackie stood up and nervously tucked her hair behind her ear. “Uncle Max, Aunt Liz, I want to apologize if I offended you at all. I didn’t mean…”
“Jackie, you didn’t offend us and you don’t us an apology,” Max interrupted as he wound his arm around his wife. “I can’t imagine what it was like for you to find out about…to find out. It must have been very upsetting.”
“No sir, not upsetting,” she quickly answered. “Just confused. It’s all just so…”
“Far out,” Liz said with a smirk. “Believe me Jackie, I understand. I was in your shoes once. So was Maria, and Alex, too.”
“They told me. They really helped me to think things through.”
“So you guys are officially dating again?” Liz asked. “And you’re sure this is what you want Jackie?” She needed to hear that the girl who had won her son’s heart wouldn’t quickly change her mind and break it again.
“Yes Ma’am,” Jackie replied. “I love Max. We just need some time…”
“To work through things,” Max said as he stood and put his free arm around his girlfriend, signaling that he was OK and the questions could stop.
“OK then,” Liz said, taking the hint. She reached to take Noelle from her son. “Why don’t you two run along and try to enjoy the rest of Valentine’s Day then.”
“Thanks Mom,” her son said, kissing her cheek as he handed over his sister. He turned and offered his hand to Jackie who grasped it and followed him out, calling out her farewell as he tugged her along.
“Well that was quite a surprise,” Max said as he bent over to kiss his daughter. “I sure wasn’t expecting that when we came home.”
“Me either,” Liz said, “but I’m so glad. He hasn’t looked that happy in weeks, has he Sugar?” she said to Noelle as she tickled her chin. “What time is it Max?”
“Um, almost 9:30.”
“I’m going to try to feed her and see if she’ll go down a little earlier than usual,” Liz said, and immediately she felt a pair of strong arms encircle her waist from behind. Then a waft of cool air floated across her neck as he swept her hair over one shoulder. The soft, velvet kisses that followed belied wild jolt of desire that was surging through them both.
“I like how you think,” he whispered as his lips traveled over her skin.
“I like what you do,” she sighed as she leaned back into his chest.
Before things were able to get too carried away Noelle announced she was ready to eat.
“We should’ve never made her middle name ‘Maria’,” Max joked for the hundredth time since her birth.
Liz giggled, as always, and turned in his arms. “Why don’t you go and fix that hot bath that you promised me, and I’ll see about getting the princess here settled for the night.” They shared a quick kiss before they both hurried off in different directions, anxious to culminate their celebration of a holiday that was seemingly made just for them.
PART C- NC 17
“Mmm, that is delicious,” Liz purred. She was immersed in a hot bubble bath, sitting in front of her husband who kept one arm tightly wrapped around her waist as he fed her some of the expensive chocolates he had given to her for Valentine’s Day.
“Yes, you are,” he said before giving her a mischievous bite on the back of her shoulder.
Liz sighed happily. It seemed like it had been ages since they had been able to relax and be playful with each other. The new baby now occupied most of their time, so she was relishing every moment alone with her incredibly sexy husband. As he moved to get another piece of candy for her, she grabbed his hand. “You have some chocolate on your fingers Honey. Let me help you with that.” One by one she took each finger in her mouth and sucked the melted confection from his moist skin, all the while feeling his erection growing more insistent as it pressed against her from behind. Turning in his arms she said, “the chocolate definitely tastes better when served with you.” With a sexy smile lighting her lips, she leaned in for a kiss that was eagerly returned.
The feeling of their smooth, wet skin sliding together as they kissed was driving Max crazy. It seemed like every sensation was heightened between them, and he idly wondered if it had anything to do with the length of time it had been since they’d last been intimate. The thought was all but forgotten when her erect nipples brushed across his, and his groan separated them long enough to draw breath. His mouth fell to her neck as his hands rose to her breasts, her head falling back as he began to weave his seductive magic spell over her.
As he lovingly caressed her he once again marveled at the change in her breasts. They were so full and firm, and judging from her tightening grip and the sounds flowing from her throat, they were extremely sensitive as well. As he tilted her back slightly he trailed his tongue down her throat and over her chest to a nipple that was rock hard and begging for attention. Just as his mouth encased it he felt her small hand wrap around his rigid penis, and they moaned loudly in tandem.
Max was trying to concentrate on pleasing her, he really was; but it had been so long since he had a release, and her hand was pumping him faster and faster, and her own sounds were so exciting, and he was on a hare trigger, and…oh oh. He felt her other hand cup his balls and he could stem the tide no longer.
“UHHHHH LIZZZ!” He moaned out her name repeatedly as he came, then slumped back against the tub after finishing. After a minute he pried open his eyes to find his wife staring at him intently with smoldering eyes.
“Do you have any idea how magnificent you look when you cum? And how it makes me feel to know that I did that to you?” Her voice was deep and smoky and immediately stoked the embers of his desire to a new flame.
He reached out and dragged her roughly against him, devouring her mouth hungrily until a cry was heard from the baby monitor perched on the bathroom sink. “Oh no,” he groaned as he rest his forehead against hers. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Hopefully it’s just a diaper change,” Liz said. “Help me out of the tub and I’ll go check on her.” They climbed out and he dried her off before helping her into a red silk robe that he’d also given to her that morning. “Thank you,” she said as he finished tying the belt. “Why don’t you go in and turn down the bed and I’ll meet you there.”
Max could only nod his head. He was mesmerized by the way the silk accentuated every curve of her beautiful body, particularly the way it molded itself to her still damp breasts. Then she turned around and he caught his breath. How could anyone look so enticing from the front as well as the back? But this was his Liz, and he’d think she was gorgeous even if she was wearing a paper bag.
“Shush little one,” she said as she placed her squawking child gently on the changing table. “I know, I know; having a wet bottom is yucky. Do you want Mommy to change you? Huh? Does Mommy’s little pumpkin-wumpkin want Mommy to change her? Hmm, my little snuggly-buggly?”
Max wore a sappy smile as he entered his bedroom holding the baby monitor and listening to his wife coo to their daughter. ‘She is beyond amazing’, he thought to himself. ‘She’s sexy, sweet, sophisticated, simple…the best lover and the best mother…and she’s all mine.’ Looking around he decided to tweak a few things in their room to set the mood. ‘Red’, he thought, ‘is the theme of the day, so…’ He walked around and made alterations to several things in the room, then turned down the bed and changed the sheets to red silk. Just before climbing in he eyed the large wall space behind the bed and smiled as an idea bloomed in his mind. Pointing a finger he did some handy work, and when finally pleased, he climbed into bed to wait for his bride.
She made her entrance a short time later, stopping in the doorway and gasping at all of his surprises. “You’ve been busy,” she said, delighted as she looked around the room to see it filled with red roses and illuminated by a variety of red candles. A grouping of pictures of various people displayed on a dresser had all been changed to be just them, and the frames had been turned into red stained glass hearts. “More chocolates, yum,” she exclaimed when she saw several more of the small boxes of treats she loved scattered on her dresser. Her eyes locked on him as she sauntered over to the bed. “We’ll have to find a use for those later. Ooohhh, silk sheets, very nice,” she said as she fingered the material now covering her bed.
“I’m glad you like it,” he said in a low voice. “But you’ve missed one thing.”
“Oh?” she asked, looking around again. He pointed above his head, but all she could see in the dim candle light was something faint upon the wall.
“Maybe this will help,” he said as he touched the bottom of his artwork.
“Oh Max,” she said, choking up as the letters ‘M.E. + L.E.’ encased in a heart became illuminated. Her knees weakened and she sat down on the edge of the bed next to him. How did he always manage to top himself in the romance department? “You’re so…amazing,” she whispered to him.
“No, you’re the one who’s amazing,” he responded as his hand slowly moved up her silk covered arm, over her shoulders, and up into her hair before pulling her down to him. “Utterly…perfectly…marvelously…amazing,” he murmured between kisses. Leaving one hand to run through her hair, his other swept up and down her back, the feel of the silk covering between them enhancing all of the sensations that loving her engendered.
Inevitably, though, even the thin silk was too large a barrier between them and he managed to remove it from her without breaking their kisses. He clutched her tightly to his chest and rolled her under him, then began a slow exploration of her with his mouth and corresponding touches that drove her crazy. The attention he paid to her breasts nearly brought her to orgasm, but when he sensed that he moved on, smiling at her loud protestations. He kissed a circle around her nearly flat stomach, marveling that she could be so small after giving birth just seven weeks prior.
Liz felt a wetness on her lower belly and looked down to see a tear slip from his face onto her skin. //This is where our babies lay. // She heard his emotion-filled voice clearly in her head, and it resonated in her heart. She knew how strongly he was affected by her willingness to bear his children, and the love and adoration pouring forth from him brought tears to her eyes also. She reached out to run her hand through his hair, and when he looked up to find her gaze mirroring his feelings he moved back up over her.
“I love you so much,” he whispered before slowly descending to take her lips in a long kiss that start out slow and soft and quickly became passionate and hungry.
Liz was completely lost in him. Arms wrapped around his back, she clung to him as she lifted one of her legs and hooked it over the back of his thigh, trying to grind herself against his prominent shaft. When he tried to move away from her she protested immediately. “Max…”
“I want to taste you Liz,” he breathed as he tried unsuccessfully to pull himself from her grasp.
“Later,” she panted. “I need you…please Baby…now…please…”
Her final two words were whimpered desperately, successfully crumbling his resolve. He slid deep inside her, stopping when they were fully joined to lock his eyes on hers. “My Liz,” he said in a quiet voice that belied the emotion behind the words.
“My Maaaxxx…” she moaned in return as his body began to move. They savored every aspect of their joining, celebrating the precious gift of love that they shared. He murmured tender words of his devotion as he stroked in and out of her, and when they finally tumbled over the edge together, she could not hold back the tears at the feeling of sheer bliss that permeated every fiber of her being.
For a long time after they lay together with Liz stretched over his chest, safe in the cradle of his arms, quietly exchanging endearments and kisses. The inevitable sound of a baby’s cry rang out from the monitor finally, making Max chuckle. “I’ll go get her,” he said, placing a quick kiss on her forehead before sliding out from under the sheets. Liz propped herself up on one elbow to watch him leave the room. “What?” he said looking back, having felt her eyes upon him.
“Oh, nothing,” she replied with a saucy look. “Just checkin’ out the goods.”
“Oh really,” he laughed. “How good are they?” He made a show of trying to look at his backside and then flexing his pecs.
“Oh, they’re very, very good,” she giggled, making him leer at her and take a step back toward the bed. Just then, Noelle reminded him of her needs, and with a wink he turned and hurried off to collect her. He brought her back quickly, handing her over to her mother before he climbed back in the bed and settled behind them, encircling them both in his embrace. “I think she’s hungry,” he observed.
“Yeah, I’m not that surprised; I couldn’t get her to take much when I tried to feed her earlier.” Liz watched her daughter nurse as Max’s hand lovingly caressed the little tyke’s head. She sighed and leaned back into his chest, content in a way she would never have dreamed possible just a short time ago. “We are so lucky Max.”
“How so?”
“To have two beautiful children. To have found each other again after being separated so long. To have the most wonderful friends in the world. To have this life, together. There is so much for us to be thankful for.”
He kissed her hair before replying. “On Antar, there was a saying: ‘There is no luck, only God’s blessing’. That’s never been truer for me than it is now.”
“That’s beautiful,” Liz said, pressing herself tighter to him.
“Yes, it is,” he said, referring to much more than an old adage from a far away planet.
*******
The morning dawned and Liz rose before her baby stirred. Max had gotten up twice during the night so she could sleep, and she wanted to return the favor. After dispensing with feeding and changing Noelle she was able to get her back to sleep rather easily. Liz took advantage of the extra time and got her shower over with, and was toweling off her hair when she spied a lone chocolate resting on the corner of the tub behind a candle. She smiled as she reached for her robe, remembering the romance her husband had showered upon her. She had often overheard other women at work lament about their lackluster entanglements and loveless marriages- two adjectives that could never be used to describe her relationship with Max. ‘Only blessing’, she mused as she shut off the bathroom light before going back to their bedroom. How true that was for them.
She stopped in the doorway, the sight before her eyes making her draw in a quick breath. Her husband was lying on his back, still asleep after having apparently kicked all of the bedcovers off of his always warm body. He lay on display in all of his nakedness, and she allowed herself the luxury of perusing his glorious body. She started at his head and the mop of dark, thick silky hair she loved to run her fingers through. Then, on to his gorgeous face, wishing she could view the amber globes that were the windows to his beautiful soul. Her eyes took in his well-defined pecs and abs, and she smiled as she thought of how it felt to have those strong muscles encase her small frame. Moving lower her eyes skirted over his powerful legs before coming to rest on what lay between them. Immediately her pulse accelerated and her breathing quickened. She loved each and every thing about this wonderful man, but the thought of the pleasure that particular appendage could bring to her made her flush with embarrassment at her wanton desire to experience that pleasure again. And again. Now.
She silently let her new robe slip from her body before climbing into the bed and kneeling next to him. She bit down on her lip as she watched him sleep, formulating a plan of attack. Deciding to start out gently and build her offensive, she tossed her hair over her head and feathered it over his chest to tickle him. She loved to tease him about his fetish with her hair, but truth be told, one of her favorite things in the world was the feel of her beloved’s fingers stroking through her strands, making her purr like a pampered kitty. She bent occasionally to place light kisses on his skin, smiling when he would twitch from her touch. Eventually making it down to his manhood she began a more visceral assault, blowing on him, lightly kissing him, and dancing her tongue around his flesh. He emitted a quiet moan when she grasped his length gently, and it increased in volume when her mouth surrounded his flesh and took him in.
His subconscious was battling with his mind in a fight over waking or remaining asleep. ‘Wake up! Your wife is pleasuring you, numskull!’ his mind cried, while his dream-self fought back with ‘but if it’s a dream I wanna finish!’ The feel of a long, slow suction upwards followed by the battering of his blunt tip by her tongue finally forced his eyes to open. They snapped shut again when he spied her descending back downward, bringing the moan of her name to his lips. His hands tangled in her hair while his hips pumped into the moist, warm cavern of her mouth, the sound of her name becoming louder and more desperate as the pace of his thrusts increased. It became a woeful cry, however, when she suddenly stopped.
‘I’m going to have a heart attack’, he thought absently as he gazed up at her. She had risen above him on her knees and was peering down upon him while beginning to move her hands over her own body. Leaving one hand to play with a nipple she moved the other between her legs, once more biting down on her mouth as her finger parted her lower lips and slipped inside. He thrust up, his erection brushing against her behind, making her moan quietly and rub her backside over his slick shaft. He held on for another thirty seconds before he could take no more.
With a feral sound he grabbed her hips and pulled her up his body, his ferocity causing her to blindly reach for the headboard as she fell forward, coming to rest over him. “It’s later,” he growled, referring to her deferral of his desire the previous night. He yanked her almost roughly down onto his face and tasted her, wringing a loud cry from her immediately. Primed as she was from her teasing of him, it didn’t take long for his magic tongue to bring her to that ultimate pleasure, and she went over with a scream that made his rock hard arousal unbearable.
He scrambled out from beneath her, turned onto all fours and gently assisted her to lie on her stomach beneath him. He moved over her, dwarfing her with his size, and he wondered not for the first time how such a tiny little body could contain so much fortitude and strength. He began to kiss his way up her back, and as he reached her shoulders his erection brushed over her butt. Liz was so turned on she was unable to speak, so she thrust back into him and sent him an order.
//Now Max. Like this.//
“Yes,” he groaned out as he sunk into her. “Oh Liz,” he moaned helplessly into her ear before instinct dictated he begin moving.
//I know Baby, I know.//
He rode her fast and hard, not being able to hold on too long before he buried his head into the back of her neck to muffle his orgasmic cry. Not wanting her to be left behind, he worked his finger over her clit until the pillow beneath her covered more screams of contentment from her.
He managed to shift slightly to the side before crashing down onto the bed, partially covering her body. Long silent minutes afterward were spent trying to drag air into their heaving lungs while fingers still convulsively clutched at the sheets. Feeling a slight movement from her Max shifted off of her completely, resting his head on the pillow next to hers. He gently swept her hair away from her face to find her eyes still closed, making him smile. He scattered soft kisses over her cheek and forehead until at her sigh, he pulled back to find her eyes open and a very satisfied grin pasted on her face. “Good morning,” he said, smiling right back at her.
“More like ‘great morning’,” Liz purred as she snuggled close in his welcoming embrace. “How did we last so long without that Max?”
“Well, eighteen years of celibacy helped a bit, I think,” he said with a chuckle.
“I think these last two months were harder for me than all of those years,” she said reflectively. Noticing his questioning look she explained further. “Well, with the exception of five days a month, we’ve been making love daily for almost two years…”
“Sometimes more than daily,” he said with a smirk before starting to nip at her lips.
“Sometimes much more,” she agreed contentedly, enjoying his attentions. “And I guess I…ah…” She lost her train of thought as his lips began to move down her throat. “I guess I got used to it,” she finished quickly.
“It is easy to get used to,” he murmured, directing his assault over to her shoulder before he suddenly rolled onto his back while pulling her on top of him.
“Max, already? After that?” she asked, pushing up from his chest, astonished at his obvious state of arousal after such an intense session of lovemaking.
He gripped her hips and poised her just over his erection. “You said ‘sometimes much more’,” he reminded her just before pulling her down to meet his upward thrust.
“Yes,” she sighed as she began to ride him, “I did, didn’t I.”
Though their climaxes weren’t as explosive this time around they were just as satisfying, and later that night as the two exhausted lovers lay clinched together after a day that saw several more amorous encounters, Max cheekily commented that they must have set some kind of new record.
// The best kind, // Liz thought at him, just before slipping into a well earned rest.
“Mmm, that is delicious,” Liz purred. She was immersed in a hot bubble bath, sitting in front of her husband who kept one arm tightly wrapped around her waist as he fed her some of the expensive chocolates he had given to her for Valentine’s Day.
“Yes, you are,” he said before giving her a mischievous bite on the back of her shoulder.
Liz sighed happily. It seemed like it had been ages since they had been able to relax and be playful with each other. The new baby now occupied most of their time, so she was relishing every moment alone with her incredibly sexy husband. As he moved to get another piece of candy for her, she grabbed his hand. “You have some chocolate on your fingers Honey. Let me help you with that.” One by one she took each finger in her mouth and sucked the melted confection from his moist skin, all the while feeling his erection growing more insistent as it pressed against her from behind. Turning in his arms she said, “the chocolate definitely tastes better when served with you.” With a sexy smile lighting her lips, she leaned in for a kiss that was eagerly returned.
The feeling of their smooth, wet skin sliding together as they kissed was driving Max crazy. It seemed like every sensation was heightened between them, and he idly wondered if it had anything to do with the length of time it had been since they’d last been intimate. The thought was all but forgotten when her erect nipples brushed across his, and his groan separated them long enough to draw breath. His mouth fell to her neck as his hands rose to her breasts, her head falling back as he began to weave his seductive magic spell over her.
As he lovingly caressed her he once again marveled at the change in her breasts. They were so full and firm, and judging from her tightening grip and the sounds flowing from her throat, they were extremely sensitive as well. As he tilted her back slightly he trailed his tongue down her throat and over her chest to a nipple that was rock hard and begging for attention. Just as his mouth encased it he felt her small hand wrap around his rigid penis, and they moaned loudly in tandem.
Max was trying to concentrate on pleasing her, he really was; but it had been so long since he had a release, and her hand was pumping him faster and faster, and her own sounds were so exciting, and he was on a hare trigger, and…oh oh. He felt her other hand cup his balls and he could stem the tide no longer.
“UHHHHH LIZZZ!” He moaned out her name repeatedly as he came, then slumped back against the tub after finishing. After a minute he pried open his eyes to find his wife staring at him intently with smoldering eyes.
“Do you have any idea how magnificent you look when you cum? And how it makes me feel to know that I did that to you?” Her voice was deep and smoky and immediately stoked the embers of his desire to a new flame.
He reached out and dragged her roughly against him, devouring her mouth hungrily until a cry was heard from the baby monitor perched on the bathroom sink. “Oh no,” he groaned as he rest his forehead against hers. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Hopefully it’s just a diaper change,” Liz said. “Help me out of the tub and I’ll go check on her.” They climbed out and he dried her off before helping her into a red silk robe that he’d also given to her that morning. “Thank you,” she said as he finished tying the belt. “Why don’t you go in and turn down the bed and I’ll meet you there.”
Max could only nod his head. He was mesmerized by the way the silk accentuated every curve of her beautiful body, particularly the way it molded itself to her still damp breasts. Then she turned around and he caught his breath. How could anyone look so enticing from the front as well as the back? But this was his Liz, and he’d think she was gorgeous even if she was wearing a paper bag.
“Shush little one,” she said as she placed her squawking child gently on the changing table. “I know, I know; having a wet bottom is yucky. Do you want Mommy to change you? Huh? Does Mommy’s little pumpkin-wumpkin want Mommy to change her? Hmm, my little snuggly-buggly?”
Max wore a sappy smile as he entered his bedroom holding the baby monitor and listening to his wife coo to their daughter. ‘She is beyond amazing’, he thought to himself. ‘She’s sexy, sweet, sophisticated, simple…the best lover and the best mother…and she’s all mine.’ Looking around he decided to tweak a few things in their room to set the mood. ‘Red’, he thought, ‘is the theme of the day, so…’ He walked around and made alterations to several things in the room, then turned down the bed and changed the sheets to red silk. Just before climbing in he eyed the large wall space behind the bed and smiled as an idea bloomed in his mind. Pointing a finger he did some handy work, and when finally pleased, he climbed into bed to wait for his bride.
She made her entrance a short time later, stopping in the doorway and gasping at all of his surprises. “You’ve been busy,” she said, delighted as she looked around the room to see it filled with red roses and illuminated by a variety of red candles. A grouping of pictures of various people displayed on a dresser had all been changed to be just them, and the frames had been turned into red stained glass hearts. “More chocolates, yum,” she exclaimed when she saw several more of the small boxes of treats she loved scattered on her dresser. Her eyes locked on him as she sauntered over to the bed. “We’ll have to find a use for those later. Ooohhh, silk sheets, very nice,” she said as she fingered the material now covering her bed.
“I’m glad you like it,” he said in a low voice. “But you’ve missed one thing.”
“Oh?” she asked, looking around again. He pointed above his head, but all she could see in the dim candle light was something faint upon the wall.
“Maybe this will help,” he said as he touched the bottom of his artwork.
“Oh Max,” she said, choking up as the letters ‘M.E. + L.E.’ encased in a heart became illuminated. Her knees weakened and she sat down on the edge of the bed next to him. How did he always manage to top himself in the romance department? “You’re so…amazing,” she whispered to him.
“No, you’re the one who’s amazing,” he responded as his hand slowly moved up her silk covered arm, over her shoulders, and up into her hair before pulling her down to him. “Utterly…perfectly…marvelously…amazing,” he murmured between kisses. Leaving one hand to run through her hair, his other swept up and down her back, the feel of the silk covering between them enhancing all of the sensations that loving her engendered.
Inevitably, though, even the thin silk was too large a barrier between them and he managed to remove it from her without breaking their kisses. He clutched her tightly to his chest and rolled her under him, then began a slow exploration of her with his mouth and corresponding touches that drove her crazy. The attention he paid to her breasts nearly brought her to orgasm, but when he sensed that he moved on, smiling at her loud protestations. He kissed a circle around her nearly flat stomach, marveling that she could be so small after giving birth just seven weeks prior.
Liz felt a wetness on her lower belly and looked down to see a tear slip from his face onto her skin. //This is where our babies lay. // She heard his emotion-filled voice clearly in her head, and it resonated in her heart. She knew how strongly he was affected by her willingness to bear his children, and the love and adoration pouring forth from him brought tears to her eyes also. She reached out to run her hand through his hair, and when he looked up to find her gaze mirroring his feelings he moved back up over her.
“I love you so much,” he whispered before slowly descending to take her lips in a long kiss that start out slow and soft and quickly became passionate and hungry.
Liz was completely lost in him. Arms wrapped around his back, she clung to him as she lifted one of her legs and hooked it over the back of his thigh, trying to grind herself against his prominent shaft. When he tried to move away from her she protested immediately. “Max…”
“I want to taste you Liz,” he breathed as he tried unsuccessfully to pull himself from her grasp.
“Later,” she panted. “I need you…please Baby…now…please…”
Her final two words were whimpered desperately, successfully crumbling his resolve. He slid deep inside her, stopping when they were fully joined to lock his eyes on hers. “My Liz,” he said in a quiet voice that belied the emotion behind the words.
“My Maaaxxx…” she moaned in return as his body began to move. They savored every aspect of their joining, celebrating the precious gift of love that they shared. He murmured tender words of his devotion as he stroked in and out of her, and when they finally tumbled over the edge together, she could not hold back the tears at the feeling of sheer bliss that permeated every fiber of her being.
For a long time after they lay together with Liz stretched over his chest, safe in the cradle of his arms, quietly exchanging endearments and kisses. The inevitable sound of a baby’s cry rang out from the monitor finally, making Max chuckle. “I’ll go get her,” he said, placing a quick kiss on her forehead before sliding out from under the sheets. Liz propped herself up on one elbow to watch him leave the room. “What?” he said looking back, having felt her eyes upon him.
“Oh, nothing,” she replied with a saucy look. “Just checkin’ out the goods.”
“Oh really,” he laughed. “How good are they?” He made a show of trying to look at his backside and then flexing his pecs.
“Oh, they’re very, very good,” she giggled, making him leer at her and take a step back toward the bed. Just then, Noelle reminded him of her needs, and with a wink he turned and hurried off to collect her. He brought her back quickly, handing her over to her mother before he climbed back in the bed and settled behind them, encircling them both in his embrace. “I think she’s hungry,” he observed.
“Yeah, I’m not that surprised; I couldn’t get her to take much when I tried to feed her earlier.” Liz watched her daughter nurse as Max’s hand lovingly caressed the little tyke’s head. She sighed and leaned back into his chest, content in a way she would never have dreamed possible just a short time ago. “We are so lucky Max.”
“How so?”
“To have two beautiful children. To have found each other again after being separated so long. To have the most wonderful friends in the world. To have this life, together. There is so much for us to be thankful for.”
He kissed her hair before replying. “On Antar, there was a saying: ‘There is no luck, only God’s blessing’. That’s never been truer for me than it is now.”
“That’s beautiful,” Liz said, pressing herself tighter to him.
“Yes, it is,” he said, referring to much more than an old adage from a far away planet.
*******
The morning dawned and Liz rose before her baby stirred. Max had gotten up twice during the night so she could sleep, and she wanted to return the favor. After dispensing with feeding and changing Noelle she was able to get her back to sleep rather easily. Liz took advantage of the extra time and got her shower over with, and was toweling off her hair when she spied a lone chocolate resting on the corner of the tub behind a candle. She smiled as she reached for her robe, remembering the romance her husband had showered upon her. She had often overheard other women at work lament about their lackluster entanglements and loveless marriages- two adjectives that could never be used to describe her relationship with Max. ‘Only blessing’, she mused as she shut off the bathroom light before going back to their bedroom. How true that was for them.
She stopped in the doorway, the sight before her eyes making her draw in a quick breath. Her husband was lying on his back, still asleep after having apparently kicked all of the bedcovers off of his always warm body. He lay on display in all of his nakedness, and she allowed herself the luxury of perusing his glorious body. She started at his head and the mop of dark, thick silky hair she loved to run her fingers through. Then, on to his gorgeous face, wishing she could view the amber globes that were the windows to his beautiful soul. Her eyes took in his well-defined pecs and abs, and she smiled as she thought of how it felt to have those strong muscles encase her small frame. Moving lower her eyes skirted over his powerful legs before coming to rest on what lay between them. Immediately her pulse accelerated and her breathing quickened. She loved each and every thing about this wonderful man, but the thought of the pleasure that particular appendage could bring to her made her flush with embarrassment at her wanton desire to experience that pleasure again. And again. Now.
She silently let her new robe slip from her body before climbing into the bed and kneeling next to him. She bit down on her lip as she watched him sleep, formulating a plan of attack. Deciding to start out gently and build her offensive, she tossed her hair over her head and feathered it over his chest to tickle him. She loved to tease him about his fetish with her hair, but truth be told, one of her favorite things in the world was the feel of her beloved’s fingers stroking through her strands, making her purr like a pampered kitty. She bent occasionally to place light kisses on his skin, smiling when he would twitch from her touch. Eventually making it down to his manhood she began a more visceral assault, blowing on him, lightly kissing him, and dancing her tongue around his flesh. He emitted a quiet moan when she grasped his length gently, and it increased in volume when her mouth surrounded his flesh and took him in.
His subconscious was battling with his mind in a fight over waking or remaining asleep. ‘Wake up! Your wife is pleasuring you, numskull!’ his mind cried, while his dream-self fought back with ‘but if it’s a dream I wanna finish!’ The feel of a long, slow suction upwards followed by the battering of his blunt tip by her tongue finally forced his eyes to open. They snapped shut again when he spied her descending back downward, bringing the moan of her name to his lips. His hands tangled in her hair while his hips pumped into the moist, warm cavern of her mouth, the sound of her name becoming louder and more desperate as the pace of his thrusts increased. It became a woeful cry, however, when she suddenly stopped.
‘I’m going to have a heart attack’, he thought absently as he gazed up at her. She had risen above him on her knees and was peering down upon him while beginning to move her hands over her own body. Leaving one hand to play with a nipple she moved the other between her legs, once more biting down on her mouth as her finger parted her lower lips and slipped inside. He thrust up, his erection brushing against her behind, making her moan quietly and rub her backside over his slick shaft. He held on for another thirty seconds before he could take no more.
With a feral sound he grabbed her hips and pulled her up his body, his ferocity causing her to blindly reach for the headboard as she fell forward, coming to rest over him. “It’s later,” he growled, referring to her deferral of his desire the previous night. He yanked her almost roughly down onto his face and tasted her, wringing a loud cry from her immediately. Primed as she was from her teasing of him, it didn’t take long for his magic tongue to bring her to that ultimate pleasure, and she went over with a scream that made his rock hard arousal unbearable.
He scrambled out from beneath her, turned onto all fours and gently assisted her to lie on her stomach beneath him. He moved over her, dwarfing her with his size, and he wondered not for the first time how such a tiny little body could contain so much fortitude and strength. He began to kiss his way up her back, and as he reached her shoulders his erection brushed over her butt. Liz was so turned on she was unable to speak, so she thrust back into him and sent him an order.
//Now Max. Like this.//
“Yes,” he groaned out as he sunk into her. “Oh Liz,” he moaned helplessly into her ear before instinct dictated he begin moving.
//I know Baby, I know.//
He rode her fast and hard, not being able to hold on too long before he buried his head into the back of her neck to muffle his orgasmic cry. Not wanting her to be left behind, he worked his finger over her clit until the pillow beneath her covered more screams of contentment from her.
He managed to shift slightly to the side before crashing down onto the bed, partially covering her body. Long silent minutes afterward were spent trying to drag air into their heaving lungs while fingers still convulsively clutched at the sheets. Feeling a slight movement from her Max shifted off of her completely, resting his head on the pillow next to hers. He gently swept her hair away from her face to find her eyes still closed, making him smile. He scattered soft kisses over her cheek and forehead until at her sigh, he pulled back to find her eyes open and a very satisfied grin pasted on her face. “Good morning,” he said, smiling right back at her.
“More like ‘great morning’,” Liz purred as she snuggled close in his welcoming embrace. “How did we last so long without that Max?”
“Well, eighteen years of celibacy helped a bit, I think,” he said with a chuckle.
“I think these last two months were harder for me than all of those years,” she said reflectively. Noticing his questioning look she explained further. “Well, with the exception of five days a month, we’ve been making love daily for almost two years…”
“Sometimes more than daily,” he said with a smirk before starting to nip at her lips.
“Sometimes much more,” she agreed contentedly, enjoying his attentions. “And I guess I…ah…” She lost her train of thought as his lips began to move down her throat. “I guess I got used to it,” she finished quickly.
“It is easy to get used to,” he murmured, directing his assault over to her shoulder before he suddenly rolled onto his back while pulling her on top of him.
“Max, already? After that?” she asked, pushing up from his chest, astonished at his obvious state of arousal after such an intense session of lovemaking.
He gripped her hips and poised her just over his erection. “You said ‘sometimes much more’,” he reminded her just before pulling her down to meet his upward thrust.
“Yes,” she sighed as she began to ride him, “I did, didn’t I.”
Though their climaxes weren’t as explosive this time around they were just as satisfying, and later that night as the two exhausted lovers lay clinched together after a day that saw several more amorous encounters, Max cheekily commented that they must have set some kind of new record.
// The best kind, // Liz thought at him, just before slipping into a well earned rest.
CHAPTER 33
** THANKSGIVING DAY, 3 YEARS LATER **
“I want BoBo go too,” Noelle whined as her mother struggled to get the toddler into her coat. BoBo was her big brother; a name derived from him jokingly trying to get her to call him ‘Bro’. She idolized both Max’s in her life, and when she was told that one of them wasn’t coming along with her she was none too happy. “BoBo come pease?” she pleaded when he looked her way from the kitchen table where he was diligently working.
“I’m coming later Peanut,” he said sorrowfully. He absolutely adored the miniature version of his mother with the large amber eyes, and hated to disappoint her. “I have to stay here and do school work for now.”
“Pumpkin, he’s very busy,” Liz said with a final zip of her baby’s jacket. “We’re going to Aunt Maria’s now to watch the big parade. Jackie and her family will come later to have dinner with us. Your brother will come then too, after he’s done with his school work.”
Max had graduated from Riverton University that previous May, first in his class. He had enrolled in Riverton’s Master Degree program, intending on taking the normal two years to obtain the advanced degree he would need to teach college level science courses, gladly following in his brilliant parent’s footsteps. When his father found out the only other Astronomy professor was retiring the next year, he spoke to the Department Head who, being acquainted with the outstanding student of his two favorite employees, agreed to put Max first on the list for the position. The catch was that Max would need to have his Masters Degree completed at the time the job was offered, and commit to obtaining a doctorate degree in the near future. He figured if he attended both summer and winter break sessions as well as the regular fall and spring semesters and carried a heavy load of credits, he could complete the course of study in time. With his parent’s offer to financially support him for an additional year, he quit his job and delved into the mountain of work that left him little time for his family or his long-time love.
Liz lifted her daughter up and held her out to kiss her brother goodbye, then leaned over and planted one of her own on the top of his head. “Is Jackie spending the weekend at Maria and Alex’s Honey?”
“Yeah, that’s why I want to get this paper done before dinner tonight. I promised I’d spend Friday and Saturday with her, and I don’t want to disappoint her. She’s been so understanding about all of this,” he said as he gestured at the paperwork scattered over the table.
“She knows a good thing when she sees it,” Liz said with a wink. “And so do you,” she added earnestly. In the three years since Jackie had found out about the Evans’ special abilities, she had proved to be a worthy confidant. After her initial timidity about the subject she became eager to learn about their talents and their history, and spent many hours listening to Max’s father patiently answering her questions and regaling her with tales about a far away planet. While that had pleased Liz and her husband, what really earned their seal of approval was how much she obviously loved their son. They saw how Jackie came to admire the very qualities in him that they cherished, and how she’d been steadfastly loyal and supportive of his quest to speed up obtaining his advanced degree. Maria had also informed Liz that her niece had confided that she wanted to put off sexual intimacy until she married, which thrilled Liz. She wasn’t ready to be thinking about her baby boy having babies himself. Or practicing how to make them. Especially the practicing part.
“The car is all warmed up,” Max announced as he came through the door. “Are you ready to go watch the parade with Ree Ree and Alex Babydoll?” he said as he swept his daughter up into his arms.
“Me want BoBo to watch too,” she said, thinking that surely the daddy that jumped at her every word would make her brother go with them.
“He’ll come later to have turkey with us,” he said, echoing her mother.
“I love you Peanut,” her brother said. “And remember what we said about what you don’t do in front of Jackie’s family.”
“Me no make Teddy dance,” she replied dutifully as she hugged the stuffed bear tucked under one arm. Her powers were beginning to manifest, but so far she only seemed capable of moving relatively lightweight objects.
“That’s right Pumpkin,” her mother said. “We don’t let anyone else see that we can do magic.” Liz had taught Max to refer to his abilities as ‘magic’ when he was little, so if anyone ever overheard them discussing it nothing would seem out of the ordinary. It had worked well so they decided to use the same tactic with Noelle.
“No magic,” the little one repeated, her large amber eyes taking on the same serious look that her father’s did at times.
“OK Max, we’ll see you later. Don’t work too hard, it is a holiday after all,” his father said as the threesome left the house.
Max slogged through the research paper, typing at a furious pace, determined to be done so he would have two days free to spend with his girlfriend. Thinking of her made him sigh deeply. He missed her so much. Only catching short breaks between their classes together was not enough to satisfy him, but with his insane work load and her own heavy schedule it was all they had been able to muster since September. Two days of nothing but ‘them time’ had been long overdue. Later on when he arrived at the Whitmans for dinner he nearly ran to the house in anticipation of seeing her. She had been watching out the window and raced out the door to greet him, jumping into his arms as he met her halfway across the lawn.
Maria smiled as she glanced out the window over Liz’s shoulder. “Homer better cool his jets. I don’t think Nick would like to see him trying to suck the lips off of his daughter.” After a pause she added, “I’m so glad they found each other. They’re you and Max all over again.”
“Yeah, without the gunshot and space travel,” Liz joked back, waving at them as they made their way toward the house.
“BoBo look!” Noelle shrieked as she ran at him when he walked in the door. “Me pincess.”
“You mean ‘princess’, Peanut,” he said as he squatted down to her level. “Where did you get all of the feathers?” he said as he fingered the Indian style headdress made of paper and multi-colored feathers she was sporting.
“I got them at the shop,” Jackie said, referring to the interior design studio where she was an intern. When she had decided to major in interior decorating her father contacted the studio owner, a client of his for whom he’d litigated a messy divorce a few years prior. The woman readily agreed to take his daughter on as an intern. Now a college senior, Jackie was flourishing there under her tutelage. The owner had already told Jackie she had a job waiting for her the day after she graduated in May. “The twins taped them to the paper for her,” she continued.
“OK, everyone can come to the table; Max is here,” Maria called out from the kitchen. He swept his sister up with one arm and looped the other around his girlfriend’s shoulders to lead them into the dining room.
“Honey, you can seat Noelle here between your dad and me,” Liz said, gesturing to a chair as she placed a bowl of stuffing on the table.
The three families took their seats, and Alex cleared his throat to get their attention. “Well, in keeping with tradition, Maria would like to go around the table and have everyone say something they’re thankful for, starting with me. I’m very thankful for all of you here, and especially for my wonderful wife.”
“Thank you Sweetie,” Maria said, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. “I’m also thankful for all of you, and for Alex, of course. And for my business’ success.”
Nick smiled at his sister-in-law before beginning. “I’m always thankful for our great family and friends,” he said, smiling at the Evans’. “And for my three beautiful daughters. But this year I’m especially thankful that Paula’s health is better.” He was referring to a bout of serious stomach troubles Paula had gone through the previous year, which now seemed to be under control.
“I’ll second that last one,” Paula said with a chuckle. “And of course for all of my family and friends. And let’s not forget all of the Armed Forces that are far from their families today, just so we can celebrate in freedom. Girls, stop giggling,” she said, admonishing her twins at the sound of their twittering.
“You’re so corny Mom,” one of them said with a roll of her eyes before catching the disapproving look her father was shooting at her. “OK, OK, I’m thankful for all of that too.” Her sister was receiving the same fatherly look, so she quickly said “I’m thankful for my family and my babysitting job so I can make some money of my own.”
She smiled at Liz, who was sitting next to her, to prod her to start. “Oh, of course I’m thankful for all of you. I can’t imagine my life without each of you in it, and I don’t want too. And I’m thankful Maria did all of the cooking this year!”
“And I thank Alex for offering to do all of the dishes,” her husband added, making Alex snort “yeah, right.” Max smiled broadly at all of the people seated around him, knowing he could never explain to them how much it really meant for him to be included in their lives. “I’m thankful for the gift of you all, and most especially for the most amazing wife and two children in the world. Oh, and I’m thankful that the Giants beat the Cowboys last week.”
“Good one Uncle Max,” Jackie said when he finished. “I’m thankful for my family, my wonderful boyfriend, and for ‘Trading Spaces’ because it sparked my interest in design,” she finished with a smirk.
“OK Homer, you’re last,” Maria said.
“OK, I’m thankful for everyone, especially Jackie,” he started, his cheeks flushing slightly. “And that my parents have been so generous in helping me with school, especially this year. And that Aunt Paula made my favorite sweet potatoes!”
“Anytime Max,” she replied with a smile.
“How ‘bout you Noelle?” Alex said, smiling at the well-behaved tyke. “Do you have anything to add?”
“Uncle Alex wants to know what makes you happy Pumpkin,” her mother explained.
Quickly turning her head she looked at her brother and cried, “BoBo!” making him grin stupidly at her and the rest of the guests laugh.
Dinner was a festive scene; everyone talking at once, complimenting the cooks on the bounty of great food, telling jokes, and sharing stories. In the break between the meal and dessert Jackie and Max managed to slip outside undetected, both eager to be alone even if only for a few minutes.
“I miss you so damn much,” Max said just before kissing her passionately. Finally pausing for a breath he noticed her crooked smile and asked, “what?”
“I just remembered what Noelle said that made her happy,” she answered, her eyes drifting over his face. “I have to admit, the kid’s got good taste.”
He chuckled at her as his arms tightened around her waist. “What can I say, I’m a chick magnet.”
“You’d better not be,” she retorted, making him smile broadly.
“Don’t worry Babe, I don’t have the time nor the desire to look at anyone other than you.” His smile faded and he reached up to tangle a finger in one of her wayward curls. “I’m sorry that we never get to see each other and that when we do I’ve always got to study,” he said earnestly.
“Don’t be sorry Max; I understand why you have to push so hard. Getting a teaching position at Riverton is a huge deal, and if the shoe were on the other foot, I’d be doing the exact same thing. Before you know it you’ll have your Masters and I’ll have graduated. After that you’ll have lots of time to take me out on wildly expensive dates to make it up to me.”
His grin brightened again at her teasing and he leaned in to take her lips again, reveling in her scent, her taste, the feel of her in his arms. ‘Dating isn’t enough’, he suddenly thought to himself.
The implication of his musing made his ardor deepen and he made a promise to himself to talk to his father the next day. He was going to need some tutoring in the art of ring design. Soon.
** THANKSGIVING DAY, 3 YEARS LATER **
“I want BoBo go too,” Noelle whined as her mother struggled to get the toddler into her coat. BoBo was her big brother; a name derived from him jokingly trying to get her to call him ‘Bro’. She idolized both Max’s in her life, and when she was told that one of them wasn’t coming along with her she was none too happy. “BoBo come pease?” she pleaded when he looked her way from the kitchen table where he was diligently working.
“I’m coming later Peanut,” he said sorrowfully. He absolutely adored the miniature version of his mother with the large amber eyes, and hated to disappoint her. “I have to stay here and do school work for now.”
“Pumpkin, he’s very busy,” Liz said with a final zip of her baby’s jacket. “We’re going to Aunt Maria’s now to watch the big parade. Jackie and her family will come later to have dinner with us. Your brother will come then too, after he’s done with his school work.”
Max had graduated from Riverton University that previous May, first in his class. He had enrolled in Riverton’s Master Degree program, intending on taking the normal two years to obtain the advanced degree he would need to teach college level science courses, gladly following in his brilliant parent’s footsteps. When his father found out the only other Astronomy professor was retiring the next year, he spoke to the Department Head who, being acquainted with the outstanding student of his two favorite employees, agreed to put Max first on the list for the position. The catch was that Max would need to have his Masters Degree completed at the time the job was offered, and commit to obtaining a doctorate degree in the near future. He figured if he attended both summer and winter break sessions as well as the regular fall and spring semesters and carried a heavy load of credits, he could complete the course of study in time. With his parent’s offer to financially support him for an additional year, he quit his job and delved into the mountain of work that left him little time for his family or his long-time love.
Liz lifted her daughter up and held her out to kiss her brother goodbye, then leaned over and planted one of her own on the top of his head. “Is Jackie spending the weekend at Maria and Alex’s Honey?”
“Yeah, that’s why I want to get this paper done before dinner tonight. I promised I’d spend Friday and Saturday with her, and I don’t want to disappoint her. She’s been so understanding about all of this,” he said as he gestured at the paperwork scattered over the table.
“She knows a good thing when she sees it,” Liz said with a wink. “And so do you,” she added earnestly. In the three years since Jackie had found out about the Evans’ special abilities, she had proved to be a worthy confidant. After her initial timidity about the subject she became eager to learn about their talents and their history, and spent many hours listening to Max’s father patiently answering her questions and regaling her with tales about a far away planet. While that had pleased Liz and her husband, what really earned their seal of approval was how much she obviously loved their son. They saw how Jackie came to admire the very qualities in him that they cherished, and how she’d been steadfastly loyal and supportive of his quest to speed up obtaining his advanced degree. Maria had also informed Liz that her niece had confided that she wanted to put off sexual intimacy until she married, which thrilled Liz. She wasn’t ready to be thinking about her baby boy having babies himself. Or practicing how to make them. Especially the practicing part.
“The car is all warmed up,” Max announced as he came through the door. “Are you ready to go watch the parade with Ree Ree and Alex Babydoll?” he said as he swept his daughter up into his arms.
“Me want BoBo to watch too,” she said, thinking that surely the daddy that jumped at her every word would make her brother go with them.
“He’ll come later to have turkey with us,” he said, echoing her mother.
“I love you Peanut,” her brother said. “And remember what we said about what you don’t do in front of Jackie’s family.”
“Me no make Teddy dance,” she replied dutifully as she hugged the stuffed bear tucked under one arm. Her powers were beginning to manifest, but so far she only seemed capable of moving relatively lightweight objects.
“That’s right Pumpkin,” her mother said. “We don’t let anyone else see that we can do magic.” Liz had taught Max to refer to his abilities as ‘magic’ when he was little, so if anyone ever overheard them discussing it nothing would seem out of the ordinary. It had worked well so they decided to use the same tactic with Noelle.
“No magic,” the little one repeated, her large amber eyes taking on the same serious look that her father’s did at times.
“OK Max, we’ll see you later. Don’t work too hard, it is a holiday after all,” his father said as the threesome left the house.
Max slogged through the research paper, typing at a furious pace, determined to be done so he would have two days free to spend with his girlfriend. Thinking of her made him sigh deeply. He missed her so much. Only catching short breaks between their classes together was not enough to satisfy him, but with his insane work load and her own heavy schedule it was all they had been able to muster since September. Two days of nothing but ‘them time’ had been long overdue. Later on when he arrived at the Whitmans for dinner he nearly ran to the house in anticipation of seeing her. She had been watching out the window and raced out the door to greet him, jumping into his arms as he met her halfway across the lawn.
Maria smiled as she glanced out the window over Liz’s shoulder. “Homer better cool his jets. I don’t think Nick would like to see him trying to suck the lips off of his daughter.” After a pause she added, “I’m so glad they found each other. They’re you and Max all over again.”
“Yeah, without the gunshot and space travel,” Liz joked back, waving at them as they made their way toward the house.
“BoBo look!” Noelle shrieked as she ran at him when he walked in the door. “Me pincess.”
“You mean ‘princess’, Peanut,” he said as he squatted down to her level. “Where did you get all of the feathers?” he said as he fingered the Indian style headdress made of paper and multi-colored feathers she was sporting.
“I got them at the shop,” Jackie said, referring to the interior design studio where she was an intern. When she had decided to major in interior decorating her father contacted the studio owner, a client of his for whom he’d litigated a messy divorce a few years prior. The woman readily agreed to take his daughter on as an intern. Now a college senior, Jackie was flourishing there under her tutelage. The owner had already told Jackie she had a job waiting for her the day after she graduated in May. “The twins taped them to the paper for her,” she continued.
“OK, everyone can come to the table; Max is here,” Maria called out from the kitchen. He swept his sister up with one arm and looped the other around his girlfriend’s shoulders to lead them into the dining room.
“Honey, you can seat Noelle here between your dad and me,” Liz said, gesturing to a chair as she placed a bowl of stuffing on the table.
The three families took their seats, and Alex cleared his throat to get their attention. “Well, in keeping with tradition, Maria would like to go around the table and have everyone say something they’re thankful for, starting with me. I’m very thankful for all of you here, and especially for my wonderful wife.”
“Thank you Sweetie,” Maria said, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. “I’m also thankful for all of you, and for Alex, of course. And for my business’ success.”
Nick smiled at his sister-in-law before beginning. “I’m always thankful for our great family and friends,” he said, smiling at the Evans’. “And for my three beautiful daughters. But this year I’m especially thankful that Paula’s health is better.” He was referring to a bout of serious stomach troubles Paula had gone through the previous year, which now seemed to be under control.
“I’ll second that last one,” Paula said with a chuckle. “And of course for all of my family and friends. And let’s not forget all of the Armed Forces that are far from their families today, just so we can celebrate in freedom. Girls, stop giggling,” she said, admonishing her twins at the sound of their twittering.
“You’re so corny Mom,” one of them said with a roll of her eyes before catching the disapproving look her father was shooting at her. “OK, OK, I’m thankful for all of that too.” Her sister was receiving the same fatherly look, so she quickly said “I’m thankful for my family and my babysitting job so I can make some money of my own.”
She smiled at Liz, who was sitting next to her, to prod her to start. “Oh, of course I’m thankful for all of you. I can’t imagine my life without each of you in it, and I don’t want too. And I’m thankful Maria did all of the cooking this year!”
“And I thank Alex for offering to do all of the dishes,” her husband added, making Alex snort “yeah, right.” Max smiled broadly at all of the people seated around him, knowing he could never explain to them how much it really meant for him to be included in their lives. “I’m thankful for the gift of you all, and most especially for the most amazing wife and two children in the world. Oh, and I’m thankful that the Giants beat the Cowboys last week.”
“Good one Uncle Max,” Jackie said when he finished. “I’m thankful for my family, my wonderful boyfriend, and for ‘Trading Spaces’ because it sparked my interest in design,” she finished with a smirk.
“OK Homer, you’re last,” Maria said.
“OK, I’m thankful for everyone, especially Jackie,” he started, his cheeks flushing slightly. “And that my parents have been so generous in helping me with school, especially this year. And that Aunt Paula made my favorite sweet potatoes!”
“Anytime Max,” she replied with a smile.
“How ‘bout you Noelle?” Alex said, smiling at the well-behaved tyke. “Do you have anything to add?”
“Uncle Alex wants to know what makes you happy Pumpkin,” her mother explained.
Quickly turning her head she looked at her brother and cried, “BoBo!” making him grin stupidly at her and the rest of the guests laugh.
Dinner was a festive scene; everyone talking at once, complimenting the cooks on the bounty of great food, telling jokes, and sharing stories. In the break between the meal and dessert Jackie and Max managed to slip outside undetected, both eager to be alone even if only for a few minutes.
“I miss you so damn much,” Max said just before kissing her passionately. Finally pausing for a breath he noticed her crooked smile and asked, “what?”
“I just remembered what Noelle said that made her happy,” she answered, her eyes drifting over his face. “I have to admit, the kid’s got good taste.”
He chuckled at her as his arms tightened around her waist. “What can I say, I’m a chick magnet.”
“You’d better not be,” she retorted, making him smile broadly.
“Don’t worry Babe, I don’t have the time nor the desire to look at anyone other than you.” His smile faded and he reached up to tangle a finger in one of her wayward curls. “I’m sorry that we never get to see each other and that when we do I’ve always got to study,” he said earnestly.
“Don’t be sorry Max; I understand why you have to push so hard. Getting a teaching position at Riverton is a huge deal, and if the shoe were on the other foot, I’d be doing the exact same thing. Before you know it you’ll have your Masters and I’ll have graduated. After that you’ll have lots of time to take me out on wildly expensive dates to make it up to me.”
His grin brightened again at her teasing and he leaned in to take her lips again, reveling in her scent, her taste, the feel of her in his arms. ‘Dating isn’t enough’, he suddenly thought to himself.
The implication of his musing made his ardor deepen and he made a promise to himself to talk to his father the next day. He was going to need some tutoring in the art of ring design. Soon.