That way, when the restaurant is slow, we still get a little something extra from Kyle, and visa-versa when he's slow. And Isabel took just enough at first to help with her college
tuition as repayment for all the hard work that she put in up front with the decor when we were first getting ready to open. She's really great at it. And now she takes a little, as payment for helping out in the bar.... and she's always thinking of ways to improve things here and there. I guess, after fifteen years, the group 'one for all, all for one' mentality thing is just too hard to break, but it works for us," she explained.
Jeff shook his head in amazement. "You kids have always been incredible." He noticed that Molly's eyes were shut, so he brought her down off of his shoulder and just held her... and looked at her. "Maybe she'll go on to Harvard."
Liz linked her arm through his. "She will. She'll follow in Sammy's footsteps. He already has one foot in the door. His adoptive dad was a Harvard alumnus, and so is Simon Shapiro. He'll make certain that Sammy goes there. And Sammy will make certain that Molly goes there." Liz sighed gratefully. "At least money won't be a problem."
"Sammy is a nice boy. And you seem to have... um, well... accepted things," Jeff cautiously stated. He knew parts of what had happened from the journal and had originally come here with some misgivings. He didn't want to see his little girl hurt anymore.
"Dad, Max and I came to terms with all of that years ago. We had to or we wouldn't have made it together for all these years. Sammy is Max's son...and mine," she assured him and added, "and Molly's big brother."
"Yeah, like I said, a nice boy. I'm glad that he's a part of the family," Jeff told her sincerely. "So, what time is Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow at the restaurant and what can we do to help?"
"It's at three. And Max will be having the games on the big screen all day. As for how to help...well, Michael's cooking. And the best recommendation, I would say, is to stay out of his way. He gets really cranky with too many people in *his* kitchen, very territorial," Liz said with a laugh. "I'm glad that they're closing the restaurant tomorrow, and that it's just going to be just us. Although, I think Kyle has invited the McPhersons over for coffee and pie at 5:00."
"Yeah, I heard something about that... five kids? Kyle?" Jeff asked with a surprised look.
"Kyle is great with kids. He should be since he's never completely grown up himself. But that's Kyle and he's the kids' favorite uncle, hands down," Liz informed him with a smile.
Jeff looked at his daughter smiling gently and then down to his little granddaughter. Then he looked around the neat and comfortable little house that his daughter and her husband called home. It was not what he had imagined for his daughter when she was growing up. "Lizzie, are you happy? I mean really happy?" He thought he knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it.
"Yeah Dad, I am. I couldn't imagine my life without Max. As you probably know from the journal, we had our rough moments back then, and even more later on. But no, I wouldn't trade him or my life *with him* for anything," she told him and ran a finger along her daughter's cheek. "Not for anything," she softy reiterated.
~
Patrick McPherson sat the dinner table and stared at the guy that his mom had been dating. To say that he had some major misgivings about this would have been a generous understatement. Hell, the guy was only fifteen years older than he was himself! And now they're all meeting this guy's father? And let's not forget that his little
sister, Kelly, is dating this guy's nephew. This was just way too weird. "So Sheriff Valenti, as the sheriff of Roswell, New Mexico, I bet that you've got some interesting alien stories," Patrick asked, trying to be polite for his mom's sake.
Jim Valenti smiled and chuckled. "Oh if you only knew... but then I'd have to kill ya," he drawled and laughed. "You know, what with government conspiracies being what they are," he continued as the table chuckled at the joke. It was his standard reply to a standard question. "So Patrick, what are you studying in school?" he asked, so as to change the subject.
"Just core classes for right now, but eventually I'd like to transfer to the University of Montana, in Missoula and major in medicine," he replied and he sincerely hoped that it was the truth. It had been hard since dad had split on them, and he was the oldest. But Mom had refused to allow him to stop his schooling after he had graduated high school. She told him that the only way out of where they were was a college education, and he knew that she was right.
"I'm sure that you'll do well," Jim said kindly. He gave the youngest, six year old Ellen, a wink when he caught her staring at him and got her to smile in return.
"So Jim, how long are you in town?" Sandy asked.
"Just until Monday, then I'm afraid that duty calls," Jim replied.
"Oh, that's too bad. I was hoping we'd have more time to get acquainted," she said. "Your nephew, Sammy is such a nice boy."
"Yes, I'm sure that he is, if he's anything like his parents. Unfortunately, I haven't seen him since he was in diapers," Jim told them with a twinge of sadness.
"Will he be there tomorrow, when we're supposed to come for dessert?" Bobby, the ten year old, wanted to know. He hadn't met this Sammy yet, and he wanted to, so he could properly tease his older sister about him later on.
"Yeah, he'll be there, along with his new baby sister, Molly," Kyle informed him.
"Nobody else?" Kevin, age seven, asked.
"I do believe that Michael and Maria's four kids will be there too," Kyle told him.
"Who are they?" Kevin asked.
"Well, the Guerins are Molly and Sammy's cousins. Chase is nine, Ryan is eight, and Megan is almost seven, going on thirty. Oh, and little Alex, he'll be two in a few months," Kyle elaborated.
"Cool. It won't be too boring then," Kevin stated.
"Kevin! He... he didn't mean it. We can't wait," Sandra said hurriedly.
Kyle beamed a little. "I can't either." He raised his glass. "Here's to good friends and family getting together." he toasted.
~
You couldn't pry the grin from Max's face as he glanced back in the rearview mirror, and then to his right, to the front passenger seat. This was the first time that they were going somewhere as a family, all of them, him, Liz, Sammy and Molly. But they needed to make one quick stop first and it was just around the corner. He smoothly pulled the Jeep to a stop in front of the blue two-story house and turned to the back seat for a moment. "How's she doing?"
Liz grinned back at him. "She's fine, Max. Sound asleep. Now, go do a good deed," she told him, and watched as he got out and went up to the door. He looked so handsome in his tan Dockers and dark blue sweater.
Max knocked, and waited patiently as he heard shuffling nearing the door. He gave it his best warm smile as the door finally opened. "Mr. Emerson. How are you?"
"Fine. I'm doing fine. Mr. Evans," the old gentleman replied as he peered around Max at the car parked in front of the house. Then he looked back to the neatly dressed man in front of him. He approved. So many people these days didn't seem to want dress up for special occasions. It was nice to see that some folks still did. Even he did on days like today, even though he had no one to share it with. It was the principle of the thing. "What can I do for you, Mr. Evans?
"My family and I were wondering if you had any plans for the day?" Max asked the gentleman.
"Well..." Luke Emerson looked back over his shoulder at his empty house for a moment before turning back to his guest. "I was just going to heat me up a frozen dinner while I watched football and waited for a call from my son."
"How about watching football on a big screen TV? And I'm pretty sure that my partner can fix something a little better than Swanson's for dinner." Max paused for a moment to think. "And maybe you could forward your phone to another one?" he suggested.
Mr. Emerson studied the young man before him intently. "Why are you doing this?" he finally asked.
"Because we can, and we want to. Holidays are for friends and family, and we'd like to think of you as a friend... besides, my partner has been wanting to speak to you about a job opportunity." Max grinned. Even after Michael had gotten Mrs. Smithers' report from him, he still wasn't overly keen on the idea. It had take constant badgering by Megan, until Michael simply couldn't take it anymore for him to cave and agree to at least interview this Jason fellow.
"A job opportunity? I'm afraid that I'm not up to too much these days," Mr. Emerson replied frowning a little in puzzlement.
"No, but we understand that your son might be. Why don't you come to dinner with us and discuss it?" Max offered.
Mr. Emerson thought about it for a moment. He would do anything to help his son, and if he could get a job lined up for him then maybe... "What number should I forward my phone to?" he asked with a smile.
Max told him. Luke forwarded his phone, grabbed his best jacket and keys, and a few minutes later they were on their way.
"I didn't know that you had a baby sister, Sammy. She's adorable," Mr. Emerson said from the front passenger seat as they drove to dinner.
"I didn't when we first met. She's a rather new addition," Sammy kidded from his new position in the back with Liz and Molly. Molly was still sound asleep and oblivious to it all.
A chorus of, "Mr. Luke! Mr. Luke!" greeted their arrival at the restaurant, as the Guerin kids all clamored to show Mr. Luke around. Mr. Luke didn't even try to hide his amusement as little hands grabbed his and took him around on a tour, ending up at the bar with its big screen already tuned to the game.
"That him?" Michael asked as he came out from the kitchen to see what all the hoopla was about.
"Yep, that's him," Max answered as he watched the kids with Luke, while pouring brews and wines for the non-aliens in the crowd, and sodas for the rest. "Here ya go, Dad," he said, as Philip came over for a glass.
"Thanks, Max, " Philip replied.
"So, how's the new place? Didn't you close escrow yesterday?" Max asked as Michael scowled for a minute longer before disappearing back into the kitchen.
"Yep, it’s been a while since we bought property. You'd think that, in the computer age, there wouldn't be so much paperwork." Philip rolled his eyes and shook his head. He still had writer's cramp from signing his name and initialing the appropriate spots. "Your mother is already unloading some stuff from the truck and she's talking about making another trip to get some more stuff out of storage in Roswell." He smiled as his grandson came up to get a soda, and then looked around for his wife. He nodded at her to come over when he caught her eye, and smiled when she did and brought Liz too. "Max, Liz, since the townhouse is on the country club's golf course, it automatically included a membership for us to the club, and an option to buy an additional membership at a
pretty good discount. I thought it'd be good business investment for you two... plus I need a golfing partner,"
Philip said with a delighted grin as he handed the little cards and club information over to his son and daughter-in-law. "The monthly dues are paid through the end of next year," he added.
Max was dumbstruck. He knew that, even with a discount, the membership was thousands of dollars... the plus monthly dues. "Dad... Mom... I... I don't know what to say... this... this is too much! We can't accept it. Let us know what it cost and we'll make payments," Max offered.
"Don't be ridiculous," Diane said. "I hate golf and your father loves it, so don't you dare make me play golf with him," she sternly told her son as she shook her finger at him.
Max couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, okay. I won't do that to you. But Dad, I haven't played since... God, I don't know when. Maybe once or twice at the most since we left Roswell. So expect a ton of Mulligans!"
"Maybe I'll take it up. It might be a good way to work off this waist I still have," Liz mentioned.
Max looked at her. He rather liked some of those recently added curves.
"Well, it's not just golf. There are also a couple of very nice swimming pools, both an indoor and an outdoor, that the kids can use year around. And, in a few weeks, we're invited to the Christmas Ball. Max, that'd be a good time for you to make some of those business contacts that we discussed," the senior lawyer and businessman informed the younger. "In fact, Mr. Thomson, the club president, was very anxious to meet you. He's been here a few times for business lunches and he was very impressed."
"You haven't taken me dancing in years, Max," Liz accused.
Philip felt a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. "You mean not since the salsa dance contest in Mazatlan?" he teased. He saw Diane raise both eyebrows at that, while Max's cheeks reddened.
Liz bit her lip, but couldn't resist. "Actually, not even then. He took Maria dancing and while Kyle had to do the honors."
Diane looked at the three. "It looks like I missed a few stories. Now this one I want to hear. Max, a salsa dance contest...?"
"Um...it's a long story," Max mumbled, and he was relieved when Sammy came over for more soda and chips.
Seeing his grandson reminded Philip of something. "You know, Charles Thomson mentioned that his granddaughter was a junior in high school. I thought Sammy might know her." He paused to look at Sammy.
"Huh?" Sammy hadn't been paying attention.
"Do you know a... I think its Sherry Thomson? She's a junior," Philip asked.
Sammy tried not to scowl. "Uh...sort of," he evaded.
"Well, her grandfather is the president of the country club, and since we're new members, we are expected to attend their Christmas Ball. Besides that, he thought that it would be nice to have some other youngster around. I think it was so his granddaughter wouldn't feel out of place. What do you say? Care to attend a black tie affair for your grandpa?" he coaxed.
"Um..." Sammy trailed off looking a little lost. "This sucks," he thought. The last thing that he wanted to do was be stuck at some fancy-schmancy party thing with Cheri Thomson. She'd totally blow it out of proportion at school, plus he doubted that Kelly would be too happy. Hell, Cheri would blow it out of proportion, if for no other reason than to *make sure* that Kelly wasn't happy. Unless... "Grandpa, can I bring a date?" he asked with much more enthusiasm.
"How cute!" Diane thought which brought on a grin. "Of course you can, dear."
"It's all set then. The six of us, actually eight with Isabel and Jesse, have a date on the 18th for the Christmas Ball." Philip smiled proudly at the thought.
Liz critically eyed the bowl of chips and tray of sodas that Sammy was assembling to take over to the football-watching crowd. "Sammy, I think that that's enough snacking for now. Dinner is in just a little bit and I don't want you guys to ruin your appetites," the new mother admonished her son.
Sammy frowned at the tray for a moment. With only a small bowl of cereal for breakfast and no lunch since they were having an early dinner, he was starving. "Okay," he replied, hoping that dinner was as good as it smelled, as he carried the last round of snacks to his cousins and Mr. Luke.
Liz heard a baby cry and immediately scanned the crowd for whoever had ended up with Molly. Seeing the Sheriff holding her and trying to calm the sudden cries, made her smile. She knew he wasn't going to be successful though. She knew that cry by heart now. It was Molly's hungry cry. "Sheriff, I think that I need to feed her or she's not going to give anyone any peace," Liz said as she smoothly took Molly in her arms.
"She's beautiful, Liz. I'm glad... I'm glad that it worked out for you... for both of you," Jim told her with a warm smile. He had always liked Liz. She was smart and brave, but with a kind heart. It felt right that she should stand beside a king. It's where she belonged. And now she even had a little one. He didn't think she'd ever looked happier.
"Thank you, Sheriff," she said and blushed at his kind words. And then she turned to find that elusive diaper bag. It had also become her purse these last few days, much to her chagrin. But it was just easier that way. She finally spotted it next to the coat rack and made herself comfortable in a discreet corner as she fed her daughter some lunch.
Jim watched as Liz settled in a comfortable chair, pulled out a receiving blanket and threw it over her shoulder. Then he decided that he'd get himself a brew and see how Max was doing. It had been a long time and he was anxious to catch up a little. "Hey Max, how about one of those awesome local beers I hear you have on tap."
"Sure thing, Sheriff," Max grinned broadly at his one time old adversary, and now friend.... even family, as he poured a tall cold draft. "So how are things going for you in Roswell?"
"Good. Although I admit it got a bit boring after you kids left," Jim told him.
"What about...um, the uh...change?" Max asked and glanced over to see if Mr. Emerson, who was engrossed in the game with Kyle and had Megan sitting on his knee, was paying attention.
Jim's eyes followed Max's glance and he smiled at what he saw. Michael and Maria's brood were something else. They certainly were total pay back for all the hell that their parents had raised in their teen years. "It wasn't too bad. I took some personal time off, and Amy and I rented a cabin in the mountains for a month. I know I... inherited some sort of talent, but it seems to be pretty small potatoes. Mostly it's limited to sensing danger, sort of a heightened sixth-sense for trouble and trouble-makers. I've got to admit that it helped me get a good reputation for stopping crime, which helped me to rise back up to the post of sheriff pretty quickly."
Max smiled at that. "Good. I'm glad, especially because we cost you your job in the first place."
Jim shook his head. "No. I did what I had to do, to protect the good citizens of Roswell," he told Max and took a sip of his beer. "So, how are things with you and Liz? It's been a while, but if memory serves me right, sleep can be challenging with a newborn in the house."
Max laughed. "Yeah, you're remembering right. But she's worth it. Every last bit of it."
"They always are, Max," Jim assured him. "Nice place you kids have got here. It looks like you've done pretty good for yourselves. I'm proud of you, Max, of all of you," he told him sincerely.
Max was surprised and deeply touched by the comment. For two years, the sheriff had been the only adult who had known their secret. He hadn't needed to read Liz's diary to find out what they had all been through as teens, he had been there for a good portion of it. And he had lived much of it with them. He had become a surrogate father to them. He'd certainly acted like one when he'd caught them in Las Vegas in their junior year of high school. The memory of the sheriff standing there in that hotel room yelling at them for cutting school and taking off when it wasn't alien related, made him smile. He would always be 'Sheriff' to them. It was a sign of respect and love. "Thank you, Sheriff. Things have been dicey on more than a few occasions, but we learned a long time ago to pull together to survive, and we made it." He nodded towards the TV watching group. "Including Kyle. He's been great..." he held off on adding 'mostly' . One of Kyle's greatest pleasures in life seemed to be rankling him whenever possible, and he was damn good at it too. But Kyle would and had laid his life on the line for them all. They all had. They were family, bonded together by more than blood. It went deeper than mere biology. They were bound in spirit, by trust and friendship. And it was good to have a family reunion. "I'm glad things are finally quiet. It's good to have everyone here... it's been a long time in coming. We've missed you."
Jim nodded. "Same here," and raised his glass to Max's soda glass as they toasted each other.
"THAT'S IT! GET OUT! GET OUT OF MY KITCHEN!" Those words were bellowed out as Maria, followed by Amy, breezed into the bar from the kitchen area. Without a word Maria grabbed the best bottle of tequila, some mix, and pulled the blender out from underneath the counter. Staring squarely at Max she said, "Don't skimp on the tequila."
Max looked at the now closed door to the kitchen, he could still hear the yelling going on in there, then he looked back at Maria who was impatiently strumming her nails on the bar. Without a word he filled the blender 3/4 full of ice, poured in the tequila, Maria's annoyed expression told him to make sure it was a generous amount, then the mix, and hit the blend button. He poured Maria and Amy their margaritas, and decided to mix a few more. Just in case.
"What's going on in there?" Jesse asked with concern. He had been busy playing with little Alex and watching the game and hadn't seen Isabel for some time, but there was definitely a female voice doing some of the yelling in the kitchen. And it sounded like his wife. He started to go in there and see for himself.
Max put a hand on Jesse's chest to stop him and handed him a margarita. "Michael and Isabel seem to be having a...discussion," he explained and kept his hand where it was on Jesse's chest.
"What? They're yelling! I'm not going to let Michael yell at my wife," Jesse emphatically told them.
"He's not yelling at *your* wife. He's yelling at *his* sister," Max clarified.
Maria casually leaned against the bar and listened to the yelling coming from the kitchen. This sounded like a good one. "Mmm, take our word for it. You do NOT want to interfere in there. Isabel broke a solemn promise just now, and Michael is NOT going to let it pass," she calmly explained and frowned when she realized her glass was empty. She turned and handed it to Max. "A little more tequila in this next batch."
"GET THE HELL OUT OF MY KITCHEN!" Michael shouted and pointed towards the door. First he'd had Amy in here, which was okay. She hadn't lost her touch with the pies and he was delighted to see Maria helping. He hoped that she was learning how to make them herself. Then it was Nancy and Jeff deciding that he needed help. Again okay, he could deal. Even Diane stopping in to help peel the potatoes was tolerable, but then... Isabel?!
"Michael, I own a piece of this place too. And I was only trying to help!" Isabel shot back.
"HELP? HELP! HELL!" Michael rolled his eyes and threw his hands up in the air. "HELP! Need I remind you that the last time you *helped* in one of *MY* kitchens, YOU BLEW IT UP! And just so we're clear on things, the fire marshal thought that it suspicious, and who was it that was hauled in for questioning? HUH? That's right. ME AND MAX! Of course, Max wouldn't let you take the fall for it. So WE took the blame for YOU!"
"ONE LITTLE MISTAKE!" Isabel yelled back as she paced around. "I don't know why you're still holding that against me. Cal got you two a great lawyer, and had you sprung the next day!"
"That's right. THE NEXT DAY! As in, a night in jail because of YOU! And who was it again that got their asses chewed out by Cal afterwards? Certainly not YOU! OH NO! NOT THE ICE PRINCESS!" Michael retorted.
"LOOK, I said I was sorry. How many times do I have to keep apologizing?!" Isabel yelled back.
"I DON'T KNOW YET, BUT DON'T STOP ANYTIME SOON!" Michael countered.
Philip listened from behind the closed door and sipped the margarita his son had handed him. "She blew up a kitchen?" he asked his son with a raised eyebrow.
"Um... actually it was sort of this whole little restaurant in Missouri. Michael and I were working there, and he had gotten Iz hired on. She... uh... she wasn't used to using gas to cook with... and uh... well... yeah, she blew up the kitchen. Its a good thing that she was opening that day and no one was around or got hurt. After... after things settled down a bit, Iz solemnly promised Michael that she'd... uh, she'd never set foot in *his* kitchen again," Max lamely explained.
Jesse listened, as the kitchen suddenly grew quiet. "Should I be concerned?" he asked as he stood behind the closed door with the rest of them. He felt like he should go in there and rescue his wife, but at the same time... well, no one else seemed to think it necessary.
"Only if your new house has gas appliances," Kyle quipped as he decided to join the margarita party.
Mr. Luke watched it all with a bemused expression. He had immediately seen past the yelling match in the kitchen. Instead he focused on the knowing looks and amused expressions that most of the audience had been sporting. True, there had been some concern showing on the one that was the husband of the tall blond that Max had introduced as his sister, but eventually even he had relaxed enough not to go charging in there. The parents had seemed a bit perturbed at first, but did nothing except take Max's offering of margarita. The parents knew that their children were long grown and could handle themselves. The littlest children seemed pretty much immune to it. He saw that Megan had taken advantage of the guys' distraction and the TV was reset to some cartoon station. Sammy, he noted seemed worried at first, but was quickly was reassured by his father. They obviously had a lot of history together, close history. They were family. His eyes sparkled as he spotted the leggy blond casually coming around through the restaurant side, as if nothing had happened.
"What are all of you guys doing?" Isabel asked, as she saw just about everyone standing around the kitchen door drinking... were those margaritas? She gave each one a good stare as they mumbled lame excuses and returned to what they had originally been doing.
Michael popped the kitchen door open, smacking Max with it in the process. "Uh...dinner will be about a half hour late. I...was distracted for a bit," He informed them and retreated to the sanctuary of his kitchen where all was well once again.
"Uncle Kyle, I might need your help with something," Sammy said as he took a seat in the bar area in front of the big screen. The TV caught his attention for a moment and he briefly wondered why they were watching Sponge Bob, and then shrugged. He'd rather not know.
Kyle glanced up, frowned, and looked around to see where the remote had gotten to. "Shoot," he said to his nephew, as he continued to look. The remote had to be there somewhere.
"Um... I... uh... I'm going to ask Kelly to the Christmas formal at the country club." Sammy paused. " Grandpa wants me to go," he added. "And well...um, as you know, Kelly's family doesn't have a lot of money and... I don't want it to be a hardship for her family... so I was wondering if you could..."
"I'd be happy to," Kyle quickly cut him off. He liked Sammy. He was a good kid, and from what Sandy told him, Sammy made Kelly smile, which made Sandy smile. And Kyle liked to see Sandy smile. Kelly would be the bell of the ball, even if he had to max out his Visa to do it.
Sammy beamed. "Thanks, Uncle Kyle! I...I'll talk to Dad and get you some cash for..."
Kyle just waved him off. As if he'd let Sammy pay for Kelly's dress? It was the man of the house's place to do that. He paused in his hunt for that ever elusive remote to wonder just when he'd started considering himself the man of Sandy's house. He shook his head and put that thought aside for later consideration as he spotted the remote. Now how in the world had it ended up in the diaper bag?
Several tables had been scooted around and arranged to accommodate a group of 18 in the main dining area of the restaurant. The tantalizing aromas filtering in from the kitchen promised an incredible meal. The buffet area was laden with all the trimmings of traditional Thanksgiving Dinner, and then some. Mouths watered as the proud chef presented the golden brown piece-de-la-resistance, a 23-pound turkey. Michael beamed a rare grin as he expertly carved the bird and transferred it to the serving platter, sitting next to the ham, a pan of lasagna, and a ton of side dishes. From mashed potatoes and gravy to corn bread dressing. The children were helped first to the buffet. It was just easier that way.
Philip stood and tapped his water glass for attention as everyone took a seat around the tables after filling their plates. "I think I can speak for all of us here. Today we are truly grateful that we can be here with each other. It has been many years, too many, since we've all seen each other, and some of us are meeting for the first time. Now that..." he glanced at Mr. Emerson for a moment, "now that we all can be together, let's not let the years separate us again before repeating this event. Besides, who knows how many more may be added in the next year." He cast a glance at Kyle for a moment and smiled warmly at Luke Emerson, as he raised his glass. "Here's to friends and family, may we never drift apart."
A chorus of "Here, Here," sounded, followed by the clink of glasses, announcing the commencement of dinner.
Fortunate Son (Other/CC...TEEN) (Complete)
Moderators: Itzstacie, Forum Moderators
An hour later Michael was certain he was going to bust as he rubbed his hand over his belly, as if that would help it digest faster. He basked in the warming glow of praise of the excellent meal that he had prepared. Damn, it had been good.
Liz looked around and since they were all here, she thought it might be a good time to show them her ideas for the future. Besides, it'd give them something to do, other than watch football and if she wasn't mistaken, she'd spotted more than a few heavy eyelids, including her husband's. "Max, here. Hold Molly, please. I want to get my plans out and show them to everyone."
Max had to blink his eyes a few times as he took Molly. He hadn't realized that they had been closing. He smiled at his little girl. She had started that cooing thing recently and he was certain that she recognized him. He bet that 'dada' would be her first word.
"Guys!" Liz called out, after laying her sketches, and pens and notes, out on an empty table. Everyone gathered around. The six were all partners and knew that Liz was the planner for the group. Her plans had saved and improved their lives many times. They trusted her. The parents and Jesse, and even Sammy, were curious as well. Liz gave Mr. Emerson a warm smile as he automatically kept smaller kids busy playing a game in the bar area. She turned her attention back to her partners and other interested members of the family. "Okay, a few days ago Simon Shapiro, Sammy's investment lawyer, sent me over an interesting idea that I think we should explore. Now, I know that we've been reluctant to expand the business because it would mean borrowing a substantial amount of money to enlarge the restaurant and bar, and we don't want the added debt after getting so close to paying Cal back. However, I think we may be able to do something profitable for much less money." She unfolded the large sheet of paper of her over head drawing of the restaurant and bar, and surrounding property line. "This is what we have currently. Note how far out the property line is. We have plenty of room to grow. We're only 2 miles from the ski resort and we're the first place to eat and drink when people are coming back into town. We all know how swamped we get after the ski season starts, and even in the warmer months we do a brisk business with the fishermen and campers. So I think we should expand, but not by adding walls..." she pulled out her updated drawing, "but by instead adding an outdoor dining and bar area in the back. We could add outdoor heaters for the wintertime and host outdoor dances or live bands under the stars in the summer. And it wouldn't cost us nearly as much as adding new dinning rooms or a second bar. They have these in all the big resort areas, why not here?"
Michael studied the drawing. "What's that?" He pointed to a spot.
"A barbecue pit. And over here a small bar, and maybe even a coffee and dessert bar," she told him and quickly added, "but of course you'd need a good pastry chef and baker for that." She innocently blinked her eyes at Michael as he growled at that. But she knew she had him. Michael loved to barbecue.
"What's the construction? Redwood decking?" Kyle asked. He had to admit that it looked good on paper.
"Yeah," Liz replied.
"What about the tables and chairs? They'd have to withstand the elements. Redwood also?" Isabel asked. She loved the look of redwood patio furniture.
Max rubbed his chin. "That'd add up fast. We could get that polymer stuff that looks kind of like redwood. It'd be cheaper and more durable."
"Max, that's plastic. We are *not* getting plastic furniture," Isabel was adamant.
"Okay, fine," Max replied, trusting his fussy sister's tastes. "Liz, what are you thinking of in terms of costs?" he asked.
"At least seventy-five thousand. We can siphon about thirty-five thousand from the main account to reinvest. Simon is right you know, we really should be putting that money to work somehow, even if we decide not to expand," Liz told them.
"So where's the other forty coming from?" Michael asked. He was starting to warm up to this idea. Damn, a barbecue pit.
Kyle was trying to quickly run though his assets. The shop was doing well. He had money in the bank and minimal personal expenses. But he also had to look out for the future...and who it may include. "I could kick in about ten grand," he finally decided. He figured that'd still leave enough in the bank, just in case he decided to do something dumb, like buy a larger house with four, or even five, bedrooms.
"Dad, I could..." Sammy tried.
"Sammy, thank you, but no. I'm not going back on my original decision," Max told him firmly. He was not going to take a dime from his son.
"We could kick in the other thirty, Liz," Philip said and shrugged when they all turned to look at him. "We can only spend so much without wasting money and we have plenty in the retirement accounts."
"Thanks, Dad...Mom," Max told his parents.
Maria looked at the drawing and thought about what the area behind them actually looked like. It was partially wooded, but there was that God awful tire shop that butted up against their property line, and they tended to store their used tires right along there. Plus security. Everything would be out in the open. She tapped her finger along the perimeter of the proposed deck. "Liz, I hate to say it, but I think that you forgot something. Fencing. We're going to have to build fencing all around with a couple of gates. Of course we'll need to decorate all along it to make it more appealing. Possibly even include some open ground to keep a little green space."
Max looked again and immediately understood what she's saying. "She's right. That's at least another good twenty to twenty-five thousand. And before you offer Dad, no. We don't want you and Mom sinking that much into it. And based on the experience we had when we were remodeling this place to open it, we need to tack on at least another 10 to 20 percent for cost overruns."
Liz looked at the drawing and scowled. "You're right. Damn, I knew that it was too good to be true. So what are we saying? $120 thousand? We're still $50 grand short."
"Isabel and I could pitch in about twenty-five thousand," Jesse offered. He'd lived pretty simply in Boston and his bank account reflected it. And he liked the surprised and proud look that his wife gave him.
"Dad, before you say no...why not ask my Uncle Simon if he wants to invest? After all it was his idea," Sammy suggested.
Max looked at Sammy in surprise. "Sammy, the next time that I cut you off, remind me to shut up and listen. What does everyone think?" They spent the next hour going over what all it would take to bring this idea to reality. They'd need a find an architect for plans and drawings, contact city hall for permits, and a general contractor. It would all take time. They were looking at a summer opening for their outdoor patio at the earliest. But that didn't stop them discussing different options now. Max rather liked the idea of the open-air fire pit and lounge area. He doubted that they'd have the funds to do it this time around, but they could always add on more later on.
"Hello," Sandra McPherson called out from the entrance. She'd beamed a smile at Kyle as he immediately came over and took her hand, while her kids filed in behind. Kyle gave her a kiss and took her around to introduce her to everyone. Sammy latched onto Kelly as soon as she walked in and showed her around the bar area, and especially the
jukebox. A little music would be nice. A table was filled with a variety of pies and cakes, and ice cream.
Everyone quickly lined up to fill his or her sweet tooth.
"Mmmm, I've missed Men in Blackberry pie," Max said as Liz fed him a piece that melted in his mouth. Liz chuckled as she used a napkin to wipe a little blackberry filling from the corner of his mouth. "Thanks. Your turn," he said, as he fed her a piece.
Sandy sat a table with Kyle and Mr. Emerson, enjoying a piece of incredible pumpkin pie and coffee. "This is wonderful. I don't think that I've had anything like this since that little cake and pie shop in town closed some years ago." She thought for a moment and then looked up at the elderly gentlemen. "If I remember correctly, it was called Emerson's."
"Yes. I'm afraid that, after my wife's death...well, things just didn't work out and I had to close it. I had hoped that one-day that my son would take it over. He'd worked side by side with me when he was just a boy... but that dream fell apart too," he admitted softly.
Maria, who was sitting at a table directly behind Kyle, turned to her husband and smacked him on the arm. Her look spoke loudly and no words were required.
Michael scowled at Max who was enveloped in a world of Liz. Even after fifteen years, they could still pull off that star-crossed-lovers look. Did they really have to feed each other pie? He felt a sharp whack on his shin and turned to his own love-of-his-life. Her arms were crossed as she nodded towards Kyle's table. He grumbled as he grudgingly moved over and joined Kyle's table. "Mr. Emerson, I've been looking for a good baker and pastry chef and I understand that your son might be...available soon. I'd be willing to give him a try," he offered.
Kyle motioned for Sandy leave the table as Michael and Mr. Emerson started talking about baking and Jason Emerson. They headed over to the bar area, which had been commandeered by the younger crowd. "Sandy, I wanted to talk to you about something," he started.
"What?" she asked as she sipped the wine that Kyle had poured for both of them.
"Them," he nodded towards Sammy and Kelly as they talked quietly on the other side of the room.
Sandy looked over to her daughter and her beau. "Is there something I should know about your nephew?" she asked with some degree of alarm.
Kyle winced internally. "Only that he's totally smitten with your daughter... and he's going to ask her to a formal ball at the country club," Kyle told her.
"Oh," she replied, not sure where he was going with this.
"And..." he wasn't sure how to say this other than straight out. "And I'd be honored to assist with the purchase of anything she may need for the ball."
"Oh...OH!" she said when she finally got the implications. Kelly would need a new dress, shoes, evening bag, probably a wrap, maybe a manicure, oh and make-up. Kelly rarely wore make-up, but she'd need some for a formal. "Kyle, are you sure? I mean this will cost... well, depending on the dress and accessories, $300 to $500, at least."
"That's..." $300-500? Kyle's jaw dropped a little. A dress couldn't possibly cost that much,....could it? "That's fine," he finally got out.
Everyone turned when they heard loud clapping. It was coming from the stage area, from Jesse. They automatically wandered over to see what he was up to.
"Okay, now, as I understand it, once upon a time, six of us were on their way back to the US from Mexico when they ran out of cash in Mazatlan. And to get some cash a couple of them entered a salsa dance contest and won second prize and $250 so they could get home. Now since the rest of us weren't there to witness this, and no pictures were ever taken, it is only right that they... demonstrate the moves that won that contest, for us here today. Does everyone agree?" Jesse grinned like a madman.
"WOOHOO!"
"YES!"
"ABSOLUTELY!"
"NO!" Max yelled out, horrified. He wished to God he'd kept his mouth shut.
"Diane. Is your camcorder ready?" Jesse asked, ignoring his brother-in-law's objection.
Diane already had it in hand. She'd had no idea that this was going to happen, but she'd
come prepared and made a show of patting it. Indicating she was ready and waiting.
"Max...Maria...come on up!" Jesse told them with relish.
"No...no way," Max reiterated and remained rooted in his spot.
"Come on Evans, get your booty out there!" Kyle howled with laughter and gave Max a shove from behind. Catcalls and laughter followed him to the stage.
"Okay, for the record, it's been almost thirteen years and four kids since we did that. I'm not sure that I have the moves anymore," Maria said by way of greeting when she arrived on stage. "And I'm going to kill you for ever opening you big mouth in the first place, Max Evans," she whispered in his ear.
"Fine, kill me later, but right now remind just what the hell we actually did that night. I don't remember a thing," Max whispered back.
Maria took his hands and placed them on her hips, with hers on his shoulders. "Just watch my feet, but remember, you lead," she instructed.
Jesse stood by the jukebox, dropped a quarter in, and selected the perfect song...
Maria Maria
She reminds me of a west side story
Growing up n Spanish Harlem
She's living the life just like a movie star, oh
Max had no idea how Maria got her feet to do that. How in the hell was he going to do this?
"Fake it," Maria told him, as if reading his mind.
Maria Maria
She fell in love in East L.A.
To the sounds of a guitar, yeah, yeah
Played by Carlos Santana
Maria nudged Max to swing her around and then dip. He almost dropped her.
The whole place roared with laughter, with Michael's the loudest.
Stop the looting, stop the shooting
Pick pocking on the corner
See as the rich is getting richer
The poor is getting poorer
Se mira Maria on the corner
Thinking of ways to make it better
In my mailbox there's an eviction letter
Somebody just said see you later
The tempo changed a little and Maria did a little fancy footwork. Max was hopelessly lost and tried Maria's suggestion. He faked it as best he could.
Ahora vengo mama chola
mama chola (repeat)
I said a la favella los colores
The streets are getting hotter
There is no water to put out the fire
Mi canto la esperanza
Se mira Maria on the corner
Thinking of ways to make it better
Max silently congratulated himself when he managed to catch her as she did that spin and dip move again. He briefly wondered if he was getting the rhythm down.
Then I looked up in the sky
Hoping of days of paradise
Ahora vengo mama chola
mama chola (repeat)
Max wasn't sure why Maria's hands were now on his hips. There's no way he was spinning or being dipped.
Maria you know you're my lover
When the wind blows I can feel you
Through the weather and even when we're apart
If feels like we're together
He dipped her one last time as the song thankfully came to an end and they took a bow, which was greeted with a standing ovation.
"Max, I can honestly say that I now understand how you came in second place... it was a comedy thing. Right?" Jesse teased.
Chase and Ryan were on the floor in stitches. This was the funniest thing that they'd ever seen. And Sammy had tears in his eyes from laughing so hard.
Michael produced a roll of quarters with a dramatic flourish and laid them on top of the jukebox. "Encore! Encore!" he called out.
"Encore yourself, Michael," Max yelled back, but smiled. Michael laughed again.
Kyle fed the jukebox some of the quarters and more modern dance music began. "Would you care to dance?" He asked Sandy, and smiled as she took his hand.
Maria noticed Sammy's frown as Patrick came over and asked Kelly to dance. She tapped his shoulder. "Come on kid. If I can teach your dad to do a few moves that he wasn't designed to do, I can give you a pointer or two."
"Don't you want to dance with Uncle Michael?" he asked.
Maria laughed. "Nah, I'd rather keep my feet from getting black and blue. Come on," she encouraged. She found that he had a natural rhythm, and quickly showed him the basics.
Jeff and Nancy gladly agreed to hold Molly as Liz dragged Max over to the dance floor. It gave them time to gush over their little granddaughter. "She's going to have dark hair," Jeff remarked.
"Was there ever any doubt?" Nancy replied. They both couldn't help, but look over at Sammy, who was finally getting to try out some dance steps with Kelly. "He's a nice boy," Nancy commented.
"Yes," Jeff agreed. "Liz has made it clear that she considers him to be hers. I suppose that makes him our grandson."
Nancy thought about the young couple on the dance floor. "How many times did we see Max and Liz look at each other like that?"
Jeff smiled. "You do realize that, if he's our grandson then... we just might get great-grandchildren with your red hair after all."
Sammy was in heaven. Kelly seemed to just fit perfectly in his arms. He wished this dance would never end. But there were other dances. "Kelly, there's a Christmas Ball coming up at the country club and since Grandpa and my Dad just joined... we're all expected to go... and I was hoping that you'd go with me... as my date."
"Really?" Kelly asked in surprise.
"Yeah, really," he replied as he spun around the dance floor with her. He'd never been happier. Not only did he have the family he'd always dreamed about, but he had his dream girl as well. He was truly a fortunate son.
~
The End
~
The song Maria Maria is from Santana's Supernatural and is produced by Wyclef Jean & Jerry Duplessis.
Liz looked around and since they were all here, she thought it might be a good time to show them her ideas for the future. Besides, it'd give them something to do, other than watch football and if she wasn't mistaken, she'd spotted more than a few heavy eyelids, including her husband's. "Max, here. Hold Molly, please. I want to get my plans out and show them to everyone."
Max had to blink his eyes a few times as he took Molly. He hadn't realized that they had been closing. He smiled at his little girl. She had started that cooing thing recently and he was certain that she recognized him. He bet that 'dada' would be her first word.
"Guys!" Liz called out, after laying her sketches, and pens and notes, out on an empty table. Everyone gathered around. The six were all partners and knew that Liz was the planner for the group. Her plans had saved and improved their lives many times. They trusted her. The parents and Jesse, and even Sammy, were curious as well. Liz gave Mr. Emerson a warm smile as he automatically kept smaller kids busy playing a game in the bar area. She turned her attention back to her partners and other interested members of the family. "Okay, a few days ago Simon Shapiro, Sammy's investment lawyer, sent me over an interesting idea that I think we should explore. Now, I know that we've been reluctant to expand the business because it would mean borrowing a substantial amount of money to enlarge the restaurant and bar, and we don't want the added debt after getting so close to paying Cal back. However, I think we may be able to do something profitable for much less money." She unfolded the large sheet of paper of her over head drawing of the restaurant and bar, and surrounding property line. "This is what we have currently. Note how far out the property line is. We have plenty of room to grow. We're only 2 miles from the ski resort and we're the first place to eat and drink when people are coming back into town. We all know how swamped we get after the ski season starts, and even in the warmer months we do a brisk business with the fishermen and campers. So I think we should expand, but not by adding walls..." she pulled out her updated drawing, "but by instead adding an outdoor dining and bar area in the back. We could add outdoor heaters for the wintertime and host outdoor dances or live bands under the stars in the summer. And it wouldn't cost us nearly as much as adding new dinning rooms or a second bar. They have these in all the big resort areas, why not here?"
Michael studied the drawing. "What's that?" He pointed to a spot.
"A barbecue pit. And over here a small bar, and maybe even a coffee and dessert bar," she told him and quickly added, "but of course you'd need a good pastry chef and baker for that." She innocently blinked her eyes at Michael as he growled at that. But she knew she had him. Michael loved to barbecue.
"What's the construction? Redwood decking?" Kyle asked. He had to admit that it looked good on paper.
"Yeah," Liz replied.
"What about the tables and chairs? They'd have to withstand the elements. Redwood also?" Isabel asked. She loved the look of redwood patio furniture.
Max rubbed his chin. "That'd add up fast. We could get that polymer stuff that looks kind of like redwood. It'd be cheaper and more durable."
"Max, that's plastic. We are *not* getting plastic furniture," Isabel was adamant.
"Okay, fine," Max replied, trusting his fussy sister's tastes. "Liz, what are you thinking of in terms of costs?" he asked.
"At least seventy-five thousand. We can siphon about thirty-five thousand from the main account to reinvest. Simon is right you know, we really should be putting that money to work somehow, even if we decide not to expand," Liz told them.
"So where's the other forty coming from?" Michael asked. He was starting to warm up to this idea. Damn, a barbecue pit.
Kyle was trying to quickly run though his assets. The shop was doing well. He had money in the bank and minimal personal expenses. But he also had to look out for the future...and who it may include. "I could kick in about ten grand," he finally decided. He figured that'd still leave enough in the bank, just in case he decided to do something dumb, like buy a larger house with four, or even five, bedrooms.
"Dad, I could..." Sammy tried.
"Sammy, thank you, but no. I'm not going back on my original decision," Max told him firmly. He was not going to take a dime from his son.
"We could kick in the other thirty, Liz," Philip said and shrugged when they all turned to look at him. "We can only spend so much without wasting money and we have plenty in the retirement accounts."
"Thanks, Dad...Mom," Max told his parents.
Maria looked at the drawing and thought about what the area behind them actually looked like. It was partially wooded, but there was that God awful tire shop that butted up against their property line, and they tended to store their used tires right along there. Plus security. Everything would be out in the open. She tapped her finger along the perimeter of the proposed deck. "Liz, I hate to say it, but I think that you forgot something. Fencing. We're going to have to build fencing all around with a couple of gates. Of course we'll need to decorate all along it to make it more appealing. Possibly even include some open ground to keep a little green space."
Max looked again and immediately understood what she's saying. "She's right. That's at least another good twenty to twenty-five thousand. And before you offer Dad, no. We don't want you and Mom sinking that much into it. And based on the experience we had when we were remodeling this place to open it, we need to tack on at least another 10 to 20 percent for cost overruns."
Liz looked at the drawing and scowled. "You're right. Damn, I knew that it was too good to be true. So what are we saying? $120 thousand? We're still $50 grand short."
"Isabel and I could pitch in about twenty-five thousand," Jesse offered. He'd lived pretty simply in Boston and his bank account reflected it. And he liked the surprised and proud look that his wife gave him.
"Dad, before you say no...why not ask my Uncle Simon if he wants to invest? After all it was his idea," Sammy suggested.
Max looked at Sammy in surprise. "Sammy, the next time that I cut you off, remind me to shut up and listen. What does everyone think?" They spent the next hour going over what all it would take to bring this idea to reality. They'd need a find an architect for plans and drawings, contact city hall for permits, and a general contractor. It would all take time. They were looking at a summer opening for their outdoor patio at the earliest. But that didn't stop them discussing different options now. Max rather liked the idea of the open-air fire pit and lounge area. He doubted that they'd have the funds to do it this time around, but they could always add on more later on.
"Hello," Sandra McPherson called out from the entrance. She'd beamed a smile at Kyle as he immediately came over and took her hand, while her kids filed in behind. Kyle gave her a kiss and took her around to introduce her to everyone. Sammy latched onto Kelly as soon as she walked in and showed her around the bar area, and especially the
jukebox. A little music would be nice. A table was filled with a variety of pies and cakes, and ice cream.
Everyone quickly lined up to fill his or her sweet tooth.
"Mmmm, I've missed Men in Blackberry pie," Max said as Liz fed him a piece that melted in his mouth. Liz chuckled as she used a napkin to wipe a little blackberry filling from the corner of his mouth. "Thanks. Your turn," he said, as he fed her a piece.
Sandy sat a table with Kyle and Mr. Emerson, enjoying a piece of incredible pumpkin pie and coffee. "This is wonderful. I don't think that I've had anything like this since that little cake and pie shop in town closed some years ago." She thought for a moment and then looked up at the elderly gentlemen. "If I remember correctly, it was called Emerson's."
"Yes. I'm afraid that, after my wife's death...well, things just didn't work out and I had to close it. I had hoped that one-day that my son would take it over. He'd worked side by side with me when he was just a boy... but that dream fell apart too," he admitted softly.
Maria, who was sitting at a table directly behind Kyle, turned to her husband and smacked him on the arm. Her look spoke loudly and no words were required.
Michael scowled at Max who was enveloped in a world of Liz. Even after fifteen years, they could still pull off that star-crossed-lovers look. Did they really have to feed each other pie? He felt a sharp whack on his shin and turned to his own love-of-his-life. Her arms were crossed as she nodded towards Kyle's table. He grumbled as he grudgingly moved over and joined Kyle's table. "Mr. Emerson, I've been looking for a good baker and pastry chef and I understand that your son might be...available soon. I'd be willing to give him a try," he offered.
Kyle motioned for Sandy leave the table as Michael and Mr. Emerson started talking about baking and Jason Emerson. They headed over to the bar area, which had been commandeered by the younger crowd. "Sandy, I wanted to talk to you about something," he started.
"What?" she asked as she sipped the wine that Kyle had poured for both of them.
"Them," he nodded towards Sammy and Kelly as they talked quietly on the other side of the room.
Sandy looked over to her daughter and her beau. "Is there something I should know about your nephew?" she asked with some degree of alarm.
Kyle winced internally. "Only that he's totally smitten with your daughter... and he's going to ask her to a formal ball at the country club," Kyle told her.
"Oh," she replied, not sure where he was going with this.
"And..." he wasn't sure how to say this other than straight out. "And I'd be honored to assist with the purchase of anything she may need for the ball."
"Oh...OH!" she said when she finally got the implications. Kelly would need a new dress, shoes, evening bag, probably a wrap, maybe a manicure, oh and make-up. Kelly rarely wore make-up, but she'd need some for a formal. "Kyle, are you sure? I mean this will cost... well, depending on the dress and accessories, $300 to $500, at least."
"That's..." $300-500? Kyle's jaw dropped a little. A dress couldn't possibly cost that much,....could it? "That's fine," he finally got out.
Everyone turned when they heard loud clapping. It was coming from the stage area, from Jesse. They automatically wandered over to see what he was up to.
"Okay, now, as I understand it, once upon a time, six of us were on their way back to the US from Mexico when they ran out of cash in Mazatlan. And to get some cash a couple of them entered a salsa dance contest and won second prize and $250 so they could get home. Now since the rest of us weren't there to witness this, and no pictures were ever taken, it is only right that they... demonstrate the moves that won that contest, for us here today. Does everyone agree?" Jesse grinned like a madman.
"WOOHOO!"
"YES!"
"ABSOLUTELY!"
"NO!" Max yelled out, horrified. He wished to God he'd kept his mouth shut.
"Diane. Is your camcorder ready?" Jesse asked, ignoring his brother-in-law's objection.
Diane already had it in hand. She'd had no idea that this was going to happen, but she'd
come prepared and made a show of patting it. Indicating she was ready and waiting.
"Max...Maria...come on up!" Jesse told them with relish.
"No...no way," Max reiterated and remained rooted in his spot.
"Come on Evans, get your booty out there!" Kyle howled with laughter and gave Max a shove from behind. Catcalls and laughter followed him to the stage.
"Okay, for the record, it's been almost thirteen years and four kids since we did that. I'm not sure that I have the moves anymore," Maria said by way of greeting when she arrived on stage. "And I'm going to kill you for ever opening you big mouth in the first place, Max Evans," she whispered in his ear.
"Fine, kill me later, but right now remind just what the hell we actually did that night. I don't remember a thing," Max whispered back.
Maria took his hands and placed them on her hips, with hers on his shoulders. "Just watch my feet, but remember, you lead," she instructed.
Jesse stood by the jukebox, dropped a quarter in, and selected the perfect song...
Maria Maria
She reminds me of a west side story
Growing up n Spanish Harlem
She's living the life just like a movie star, oh
Max had no idea how Maria got her feet to do that. How in the hell was he going to do this?
"Fake it," Maria told him, as if reading his mind.
Maria Maria
She fell in love in East L.A.
To the sounds of a guitar, yeah, yeah
Played by Carlos Santana
Maria nudged Max to swing her around and then dip. He almost dropped her.
The whole place roared with laughter, with Michael's the loudest.
Stop the looting, stop the shooting
Pick pocking on the corner
See as the rich is getting richer
The poor is getting poorer
Se mira Maria on the corner
Thinking of ways to make it better
In my mailbox there's an eviction letter
Somebody just said see you later
The tempo changed a little and Maria did a little fancy footwork. Max was hopelessly lost and tried Maria's suggestion. He faked it as best he could.
Ahora vengo mama chola
mama chola (repeat)
I said a la favella los colores
The streets are getting hotter
There is no water to put out the fire
Mi canto la esperanza
Se mira Maria on the corner
Thinking of ways to make it better
Max silently congratulated himself when he managed to catch her as she did that spin and dip move again. He briefly wondered if he was getting the rhythm down.
Then I looked up in the sky
Hoping of days of paradise
Ahora vengo mama chola
mama chola (repeat)
Max wasn't sure why Maria's hands were now on his hips. There's no way he was spinning or being dipped.
Maria you know you're my lover
When the wind blows I can feel you
Through the weather and even when we're apart
If feels like we're together
He dipped her one last time as the song thankfully came to an end and they took a bow, which was greeted with a standing ovation.
"Max, I can honestly say that I now understand how you came in second place... it was a comedy thing. Right?" Jesse teased.
Chase and Ryan were on the floor in stitches. This was the funniest thing that they'd ever seen. And Sammy had tears in his eyes from laughing so hard.
Michael produced a roll of quarters with a dramatic flourish and laid them on top of the jukebox. "Encore! Encore!" he called out.
"Encore yourself, Michael," Max yelled back, but smiled. Michael laughed again.
Kyle fed the jukebox some of the quarters and more modern dance music began. "Would you care to dance?" He asked Sandy, and smiled as she took his hand.
Maria noticed Sammy's frown as Patrick came over and asked Kelly to dance. She tapped his shoulder. "Come on kid. If I can teach your dad to do a few moves that he wasn't designed to do, I can give you a pointer or two."
"Don't you want to dance with Uncle Michael?" he asked.
Maria laughed. "Nah, I'd rather keep my feet from getting black and blue. Come on," she encouraged. She found that he had a natural rhythm, and quickly showed him the basics.
Jeff and Nancy gladly agreed to hold Molly as Liz dragged Max over to the dance floor. It gave them time to gush over their little granddaughter. "She's going to have dark hair," Jeff remarked.
"Was there ever any doubt?" Nancy replied. They both couldn't help, but look over at Sammy, who was finally getting to try out some dance steps with Kelly. "He's a nice boy," Nancy commented.
"Yes," Jeff agreed. "Liz has made it clear that she considers him to be hers. I suppose that makes him our grandson."
Nancy thought about the young couple on the dance floor. "How many times did we see Max and Liz look at each other like that?"
Jeff smiled. "You do realize that, if he's our grandson then... we just might get great-grandchildren with your red hair after all."
Sammy was in heaven. Kelly seemed to just fit perfectly in his arms. He wished this dance would never end. But there were other dances. "Kelly, there's a Christmas Ball coming up at the country club and since Grandpa and my Dad just joined... we're all expected to go... and I was hoping that you'd go with me... as my date."
"Really?" Kelly asked in surprise.
"Yeah, really," he replied as he spun around the dance floor with her. He'd never been happier. Not only did he have the family he'd always dreamed about, but he had his dream girl as well. He was truly a fortunate son.
~
The End
~
The song Maria Maria is from Santana's Supernatural and is produced by Wyclef Jean & Jerry Duplessis.
To all the stuck with me throughout this story, thank you and I hope that you enjoyed it.
And a special thank you to Kzinti_Killer for acting as my beta and letting me bounce ideas off him and fill in some of the blanks (like I really know that much about fishing or what all you'd use to build a Halloween Coffin?). Thank you!
And to jane, who stepped in when K_K was swamped with other things and beta'd. Thank You!
Epilogue
He slammed the phone down. How dare they decline his credit card! “Well f*ck them! They can keep their crap!” He yelled at the offending phone, but no one in his luxury suite even noticed. They were too stoned to care. He didn’t need all that shit they’d gone on a shopping spree for at Neiman Marcus yesterday. At least now he didn’t have to hang around and wait for them to deliver their shit. He still had his cash in his pocket and a habit to feed, and friends to party with. He leered at that glassy-eyed blond who was weaving her way back to the bed again. Maybe he’d do some personal partying with her later on. He picked up the phone again and dialed his connection. “Yeah, it’s me, D. I need some party supplies…for an extra large party. I’ll be there in hour to pick it up.” He ordered and smiled at how eager his contact had been. Cash always spent well. He looked again at the blond…and the other two guys who had been doin’ her last night. “F*ck them,” he thought. They could have her again after he was done with her. He picked up the ratty t-shirt and threw at her. “Get dressed. We’re going out tonight.”
~
Cal sat back in his comfortable study and puffed on the cigar as he watched the cell phone light up with each ring. But he waited until the last ring before picking it up. “Yeah…”
“Hey Boss. He’ll be over in an hour.” The voice quickly spit out.
Cal remained silent.
The voice waited but when he heard nothing from the other end, it rushed on, “I held onto it until he called again just like you wanted and it’s all set. You want me to call you afterwards?”
“No need. I don’t know you.” He said curtly and slapped the thing closed. “Idiot,” he thought. Like he wouldn’t have people keeping an eye on things. He picked up the antique bell and rang it. He rather liked this old bell he’d found in a closet here. Maybe he’d pack it. “He glanced up when his aide silently appeared at the door. “Herman, call Eric. Have him get the plane ready and file a flight plan for LA. We’ll be at the airport in an hour.” He instructed and paused to look at the bell again. “And make sure you pack this so it doesn’t break. I’m rather fond of it.” He added. “Have the driver bring the car around. Time to catch a few rays of sun.”
~
It was two o’clock in the morning when Simon got the call. It was from the night manager of the Ritz Carlton telling him to come down immediately. There had been an unfortunate incident. Simon knew immediately whom it had to be about. David had made a point of letting everyone know where the party was and even the biggest of big cities was just a small town at heart. He declined Gary’s offer of accompanying him. He saw the City’s finest with their lights flashing as his taxi neared the elegant hotel. But he doubted the hotel was too thrilled about all of the attention. He introduced himself to the desk clerk and was immediately ushered up via the service elevator to the floor. He remained silent as he entered a scene that was straight out of some police drama. He ducked under the yellow ‘crime scene-do no enter’ tape which was across the door and took in the suite. Garbage was strewn about…along with bodies, four of them to be exact. He felt nothing. No worry or sadness. No anger. No relief. Nothing. Just…tired. It was over. He spotted the sole female body. She was partially dressed, her blond hair a mess, a tourniquet still wrapped around her upper arm and a dot of dried blood inside the elbow. He noted the syringe lying next to the spoon and matches on the coffee table that was being bagged by someone in a blue uniform. He glanced back to the girl. She was maybe…what? Twenty? What a waste. Simon saw him then, slumped in a chair with a needle still stuck in his arm. He shook his head. There sat the biggest waste of them all.
“Sir, sir, this is a crime scene. I’m gonna have to ask you to leave.” The detective said as he grabbed a hold of the man’s upper man.
Simon hadn’t seen the officer coming and was surprised when he felt a strong hand encircle his arm and start to pull him away from the macabre scene. “But, I was asked to come…the hotel night manager called me. I’m Simon Shapiro.” Simon protested. His eyes felt drawn again to the scene of the coroner zipping up the body bag that engulfed the now deceased David Connor. He briefly wondered if they had removed the needle from his arm before bagging him. Simon shook his head again. What a hell of a thought.
The detective followed the man’s stare. “You know him?”
“Yeah, I knew him.” Simon confirmed in a detached voice.
“Relative?” Detective Andrews asked.
“No…more of a nuisance. I can’t say I’m surprised that this happened.” Something occurred to him and he turned to the detective. “You called this a crime scene. Didn’t…aren’t these just drug overdoses? He questioned.
“Normally, but when you’re dealing with one of the heirs to the Connor fortune, well…you okay, Mr. Shapiro?” The detective asked when he saw the shocked look.
“Heir to the…” Simon glanced again as the black bag was wheeled past on a gurney. “He’d already inherited all that he was going to. I should know. I’m the executrix of the estate.” He explained and glanced around the room again. It was a mess with expensive clothes and toys intermixed with the garbage. “David Connor was an OD waiting to happen. That’s why he’d been cut off. He settled with the estate a couple months back…And from the looks of the place, I’d bet that his bank account is wiped out again.” He proclaimed with a sigh. Another mess he’d have to clean up for David Connor, but it was the last one. “Do whatever you have to and let me know when I can make arrangements for his burial.” He said and handed his business card to the detective. He wanted to be out of there. For some reason he felt dirty and couldn’t wait to get home and take a shower. He doubted he’d get any more sleep but he wouldn’t call Sammy until later. No use him losing any more sleep over his Uncle David either.
~
Sammy knew something was up when his dad didn’t seem to be in a hurry to get him off to school, even though it was a few minutes after eight when he ran down the stairs. “Dad, I’m going to be late…”
“Sit down, Sammy.” Max said and then took a seat at the table with him. He could tell that Sammy knew something was wrong just from the way he was looking at him. Max didn’t quite know what he felt when he talked to Simon this morning. On the one side he hated it when anyone died. On the other, he couldn’t think of a more deserving person. But he was Sammy’s uncle. “Sammy, Simon called this morning. He…Sammy, your Uncle David died sometime during the night apparently of a drug overdose…I…I’m sorry, Son.” He held his breath and watched his son carefully for any indication of how Sammy was going to take this and how this was going to play out.
Sammy was stunned. Uncle David was dead. His dad’s only brother dead. It didn’t seem right, that there was no one other than himself left. He couldn’t be alone. He very slowly lifted his still confused eyes to his dad’s. “Was he alone? Did he die alone?”
Max’s mouth dropped. Simon had been rather short on the actual details. “I…I’m not sure. I’m sorry.” Max sat in silence with his son as he waited for him to sort things out in his mind.
“What happens now?” Sammy asked in a whisper.
“Um, Simon’s going to check with the coroner and as soon as David’s… remains are released, Simon said that he’d take care of the burial arrangements.” Max explained.
“Burial…oh…” Sammy’s mind was clouded with feelings and he couldn’t think too clearly. All he could do was go with his feelings and the predominate one he felt was loneliness. He was the only Connor left of his entire family. He was alone. “Dad, is he going to be buried next to my…my other dad? He should…shouldn’t he? I mean he should be with…family. Not stuck off somewhere by himself. He shouldn’t be alone.”
Max was at an absolute loss as what to say. These decisions weren’t up to him. If they were, he’d have David Connor cremated and sprinkled over a dump somewhere…but it wasn’t his decision. It wasn’t really Simon’s either. Sammy was the sole surviving relative and should be the one to have the final say. “Sammy, do you want to call your Uncle Simon?”
Sammy nodded his head slightly. “Yeah. I guess I should. I want Uncle David buried next to my dad…and there should be a service or something.” He thought some more. “Dad, I should probably be there, shouldn’t I? For the service at least.”
Max nodded. He was right. It was the right thing to do, but he didn’t like it. “Yeah, we’ll work out the arrangements. Go ahead and give your Uncle Simon a call.”
~
A light snow fell on those assembled by the graveside. Simon wasn’t overly happy about burying David Connor next to Sam but Sammy had insisted saying it was what his father would have wanted. And he was probably right. Despite everything, Sam had always tried to help his brother, help guide him to a better life. Maybe now he could guide him to a better afterlife. The group was small, only the five of them, him and Gary, Sammy, and surprisingly Sammy’s Aunt Isabel and Uncle Jesse who had accompanied him, plus the minister. Cal had opposed Max coming, saying his picture was the most well known and his showing up in New York wouldn’t be a good idea. They had arrived late last night and were staying at the apartment since Cal was in LA for a few weeks. He didn’t think Sammy had slept much last night. The kid looked exhausted. He watched as Sammy grabbed a handful of dirt and snow and tossed it on top of the coffin with the rest following suit. There. It was done.
“Sammy, it’s time to go, Sweetie.” Isabel said gently as Sammy just stared at the coffin.
He let her guide him away but came to a standstill at the headstone that stood next to the new grave…
Samuel Connor Sr.
Beloved Husband to Carol
Beloved Father of Samuel Jr.
“Take care of him, Dad. Tell Mom hello.” Sammy told the headstone as he placed a kiss on the top of it before he let Aunt Isabel take him to the waiting car to go back to the apartment, where they were having a light brunch afterwards.
~
Isabel knocked lightly on the partially closed door before pushing it open the rest of the way. “Sammy, you should come and eat.” She paused for a moment to see if he’d react. He didn’t. She crossed the room to sit on the bed next to him and stroked his hair. “Sweetie, you should try to eat something.” She tried to coax him.
“I did the right thing, didn’t I?” He asked as he rolled over to face her.
“Of course you did. You…you showed him respect. And you honored your…father by doing what you knew in your heart he would have wanted you to do.” She assured him.
“But what if it’s a lie…what if that’s not how I really feel? I…I hated him. I hated what he was like…what he did to me. I hate him. He didn’t deserve it. Not any of it!” He shouted in an angrily sob.
Isabel wished her mother were here or even her brother instead. This just wasn’t her best talent. “Sammy…Sammy, listen to me. It’s okay. It’s okay to hate him. He…he was a bastard for neglecting and abusing you. But you showed how much of a man you are…and how grown up, by putting that aside and doing what you knew was right, what your father would have wanted. I…I’m sure your father’s proud of you. I know we are…all of us. But that doesn’t mean you have to love your uncle and make him into some kind of saint.” She told him as she brushed his bangs out of his eyes so she could look into them. “Okay?”
Sammy finally nodded and softly said, “okay”.
“Okay,” she said and gave him a hug. “We’re here for you. Now, do you think you can eat something? Anything? Please, for me?” She finally got him a come with her. But he only took a few bites of his sandwich before excusing himself for a nap.
“I’m surprised he’s taking this so hard.” Gary mentioned once Sammy had left the dining room. He remembered vividly every bruise and welt that he had seen from that night. “After everything that bastard did to him. I’d think he’d be…well, relieved…glad even.”
“He is,” Isabel told them after she returned from checking on Sammy. Sammy hadn’t been kidding about the nap. He was sound asleep. “He’s worried that it makes him a bad person.”
Jesse shook his head. He’d only learned about David Connor’s exploits recently but would have loved to punch his lights out for what he’d done. “No, it makes him human.” Jesse commented. He liked his nephew. He was a good kid. He would have been proud to have him as his son. “So what was the final ruling by the coroner?’ He asked the other lawyer sitting across from him.
“Accidental drug overdose. Same for the others.” Simon said with a twinge of sadness. He hadn’t known the others but judging by the company they kept, they probably weren’t much better. But the girl, she’d only been nineteen. Her life hadn’t even had a chance to get started. “Incredibly David had managed to blow over a million in less than two months. He was actually overdrawn at the bank and he’d maxed out his two credit cards, plus numerous store charge accounts that he’d just opened. Plus he owed almost thirty to the Ritz.” He shook his head.
Jesse whistled at the amount. “Didn’t he have any assets to help offset those? I mean he couldn’t have shot a million into his arm in that short amount of time and lived…I don’t think?” Jesse wasn’t certain of the going rate of street drugs but no way could it be that much.
Simon snorted disgustedly. “No, not all of it but a good portion did just that. The coroner said there were a lot of track marks on his arm. Anyway, he had a Jag that he’d bought and I’ve already sold, that took care of the Ritz and one of the credit cards. I sent some of the clothes and stuff that he hadn’t opened back to the stores. They weren’t happy about it but basically there’s no estate so they either take them back or they’re SOL. They took them back.”
“You’re not going to make good on the balances?” Jesse asked with a raised brow.
Simon took a sip of his wine and swirled it around his mouth, enjoying the flavor for a moment before swallowing. “Yeah, I probably will for no other reason than to protect the Connor name. But not until I’m sure everything of value has been liquidated and used to pay off as much as possible.”
“What about the others that were found with him? Are you going to help their families?” Jesse asked.
“Yeah, I already have. I figured Sam would have, so I went ahead. We gave each of their families twenty grand to cover funeral expenses.” He snorted again. “One of the families said they were going to sue his estate for wrongful death, stating that since David was the one supplying the drugs, he was responsible.” He snorted again at how money hungry some could be.
Jesse thought about for a moment. “Technically, they could have a case.” He pointed out.
“Oh, yeah, they could…against David Connor’s estate which is in no way connected to Sammy’s, and at last count was still over eighty thousand in the red. I told them to stand in line behind the other creditors. They didn’t believe me. So now there’s going to be a pending wrongful death suit against his estate. They’ll probably try one against Sammy’s as well but I made sure that the settlement document legally severed any and all responsibility between them. They’ll never see a dime. What a waste of the court’s time. They just saw twenty and thought they could get two hundred. They still don’t understand that we weren’t obliged to do anything.” Simon said with lingering disbelief.
Gary watched his partner. He knew that Simon had taken the brunt from several merchants and other creditors that were under the impression that David was an heir to Sam Connor’s estate and were expecting the estate to settle. There had been some vocal confrontations that had weighed heavily on Simon. The deal with that family had been the final straw. He decided to change the subject. “So when are all of you heading back?”
“Tomorrow night. We catch the red eye to Seattle and hop on a connector to Spokane first thing in the morning. I can’t miss too many days.” Isabel explained.
Simon smiled, “and then that nice four hour drive.”
“Five with snow.” Jesse had recently learned. They were going to be beat by the time they got home.
“How’s the newest little one? Molly, right?” Gary asked.
Isabel broke out into a big grin. “She’s precious. Just perfect. I’ve never seen my brother happier or more exhausted. Oh, and Max and Liz said to tell you again, thank you for the outfit and little jacket and hat set that you two sent. They’re absolutely adorable. Liz plans on having her wear it for Christmas Services, as well as the jacket and hat too. They’re a little big but won’t be for much longer. They really loved them. It came in handy too since they didn’t buy hardly anything like that beforehand. It…well, it was hard the previous times they’d done that. So...thank you, again.” Isabel told them. She was certain that her little niece was going to be the best dressed baby at Christmas Service as well as the only one wearing a Christian Dior baby outfit.
“You’re welcome. We’re glad she could use them. But something tells me that the lack of clothing items beforehand was more than compensated for afterwards.” Gary teased. Sammy had already told them how Grandma and Aunt Isabel loved to shop ‘til they dropped at the local baby stores.
Jesse laughed. “You got that right! I can only imagine what it’ll be like when we move to a bigger city with more stores!”
“Humph!” Isabel remarked. “She’s not only *my * niece but a princess and it’s important for her to always look her best. It’s something she should learn early on.” She said quite reasonably and her glare dared anyone at the table to dispute it. Fortunately, they were all educated men and didn’t.
Later that night Isabel sat with Jesse in the massive living room looking around admiringly. “I’m sort of glad Max didn’t come. I don’t think he would have been…comfortable with all of this,” Isabel noted.
“Not comfortable?” Jesse asked, confused. He was quite comfortable. Hell, who wouldn’t be? This place was large, had masterpieces on the walls, antiques all about, luxurious chairs and sofas, and a well stocked bar, he noted as he sipped his well aged scotch. How could one not be comfortable here?
“He wouldn’t be comfortable seeing first hand the kind of luxury Sammy was raised in compared to… now.” She clarified.
He didn’t know his brother-in-law all that well but he knew Max was sensitive and like any man, proud. Put it that way and yeah, he could see how he just might be uncomfortable here after all. “Sammy’s happy with him though. That’s what matters. Now come here.” He said and rose to wrap his arms around his wife as she studied the painting above the fireplace. “You know, we’ve only got tonight here and I noticed there’s a Jacuzzi tub. It’s not too large but I figure we could manage if we’re a little…creative.” He suggested. They decided that night that their new house in Seattle must have a Jacuzzi tub. It was essential.
~
The next evening Simon and Gary stood in the doorway of the apartment saying their goodbyes.
Things were still a bit awkward and Simon wasn’t sure what to say to Sammy without upsetting him. “So, are you going to be okay, Sammy?” He hesitantly asked.
“Yeah, I just…I just have some thinking to do.” He replied with downcast eyes.
“We’re still going to see you over New Years, though, right? Skiing?” Simon reminded him.
“Yeah,” Sammy answered without too much enthusiasm. He looked up suddenly with a thought. ”Are you both still doing that New Hampshire thing with Gary’s family for Christmas?”
“Yeah, that was the plan?” Simon was still having a hard time reading Sammy. His emotions seemed all over the place. “Aren’t you looking forward to spending it with your new sister and family?” he asked.
“What? Oh yeah…yeah, of course. I was just going to say that you could…I don’t know come there…to Idaho, if you wanted. If you didn’t have anything else planned.” Sammy clarified.
Simon frowned for a moment and looked over at Gary. They’d spent Christmas with Gary’s family for years. Christmas wasn’t a big deal to Simon since he was Jewish and it made Gary’s family happy to have him home for the holiday. But if Sammy needed them…Gary gave him a little nod. “Sammy, if you need us there we could change our plans.” He offered.
“Uh…no… I mean of course it would be great but I think you should be with Gary’s folks. I’m sure they’d be disappointed.” Sammy smiled a little, “And you’re right. I’ve got a ton of family. It’s going to be a blast with my cousins and grandparents and all.”
“Don’t forget a certain young redheaded beauty that we’ve heard about. Something about defending her honor?” Gary teased, causing Sammy’s cheeks to flame red.
Jesse toted the last of their luggage to the door and dropped them. “I think that’s it.”
Simon looked at the two suit bags, Sammy and Jesse’s, and the other four bags, enough for a week stay. He just shook his head. “Ms. Ramirez, you certainly pack enough for any occasion.”
Isabel looked at him as if he said ‘the sky was blue’. “Of course, one must be prepared for anything. After all, this is New York.” She stated matter-of-factly.
Gary and Simon gave Jesse sympathetic looks, and they heard a very faint chuckle from Sammy.
“Well, if you have everything, the car’s waiting downstairs. Have a good trip and we’ll see you for New Years, Sammy.” Simon said and gave Sammy a good hug, followed by one from Gary. Then they said their goodbyes to the Ramirezes.
~
The Assistant Director looked up from behind his desk as Agent Main and Fredericks came in. “Agents, you asked for this meeting. What’s this about?”
“Sir, we would like to transfer to the Special Unit.” Agent Main told him.
The AD’s eyes narrowed. “Special Unit?”
“Yes Sir, the Special Unit that had been headed by Agent Burns. Whomever is taking over, we’d like to be a part of that.” Agent Main clarified. He and Fredericks had agreed that he’d do all the talking.
“Agent Burns? Special Unit?” He asked, confused before it came to him. “Oh, you mean the Agent Burns who was coordinating the investigation with the Border Patrol for illegal aliens and that slavery problem that was popping up? I must say that I was very sorry to hear about them being overrun and blown up on that boat by those slave traders. Nasty business all around. Why would you two want to join them? I’m not even sure that they’re going to resurrect the joint task force. Last I heard the Border Patrol and Coast Guard were teaming up since so much of the trade is coming in from the Pacific Rim.” He carefully explained.
Agent Main and Frederick’s jaws dropped in unison as they stared at each other in shock for a moment. Agent Main finally recovered. “No Sir, it was about aliens, as in the extraterrestrial kind, and we had a lead on them. Agent Burns called it in and we were working the angle here. But that fire conveniently destroyed the evidence.”
“That fire was deemed accidental. There was a short in the surveillance system on the third floor that sparked the fire. The Fire Marshall has already confirmed it. Nothing at all suspicious.” The AD pointed out.
“Uh…yes, but… Sir, I talked to Agent Burns shortly before his death. He was chasing this Max Evans, whom he was certain was the ringleader of a group of aliens on Earth. He found a link to Samuel Connor Jr. and a Gary Wilcox. And when we brought them in for questioning….”
“You did WHAT?! Let me get this straight. You brought Samuel Connor Jr., the heir to Connor Investments in for questioning? Isn’t he just a kid? And who’s Gary Wilcox?” The AD asked with growing alarm.
“Uh…yes, Sir, we did. Um, Gary Wilcox had taken off with Samuel Connor Jr. to parts unknown, he claimed Mexico…but we got…well, they didn’t admit anything but we got a couple of pings on both of their interviews. It was just the day before the fire.” Agent Main explained.
“So you were looking at this Gary Wilcox for what? Kidnapping?” The AD asked.
“Uh…no Sir. Gary Wilcox is…Simon Shapiro’s significant other, and linked to…” Agent Main began.
“Stop. Let me get this straight. You brought in the heir to one of the biggest fortunes in the U.S., not to mention a minor child, for questioning because the partner of Simon Shapiro, who is the chair of the board of directors of Connor Investments took him on a vacation?” The AD almost yelled at the stupidity of such an action.
“Uh, yes Sir, but he also has some sort of link to Max Evans. Like I said, we got a hit off that name and we were going to send the tapes to DC for further analysis when the fire happened and destroyed them.” Agent Main tried to be more explicit this time.
“I don’t give a rat’s ass if Max Evans is from Mars. You are not touching Samuel Connor Jr. or Gary Wilcox. I’m surprised that Simon Shapiro hasn’t already brought harassment complaints against the Agency. Is that understood?!” This time the AD did yell.
“Y-Yes Sir.” Both Agent Main and Fredericks replied.
“Good. Now get the hell out my office and I don’t ever want to hear about some lame ass story about aliens again!” The AD ordered. He waited until the door was closed before calming down. He looked at the family picture that sat on his credenza and smiled. His little girl was an extra in that Roman epic that was currently filming in Malta. With luck the small part would lead to better things for his little girl, and make her dream come true. He’d do just about anything to make that happen for his daughter.
~
Liz watched him sleep for a moment. He’d arrived back from New York yesterday afternoon and went right to bed. Isabel and Jesse had been just as tired but they had stayed briefly and filled them in on things. Max had debated about sending Sammy to school this morning and in the end they’d agreed to let him stay home and catch up on his rest. But it was nearing noon and she was getting concerned. She gently shook him. “Sammy. Sammy, wake up. Sammy?”
His eyes felt like lead and his mouth tasted like it. He slowly opened them and looked up at Liz’s worried face. “G’morning,” he mumbled.
“Hmm, barely. It’s almost afternoon. I was getting worried. How are you feeling?” She asked as she sat on the side of the bed. He seemed to be waking up okay.
“So-so. Still tired, I think. I don’t know.” Sammy admitted as he rubbed his already irritated eyes.
“Is there anything you want to talk about?” She offered. “I’m a very good listener,” she added.
Sammy laid his head back on the pillow and thought about it. “Is it wrong to hate someone…even after they’re dead?”
A mental picture of a blond, blue-eyed murderess came to mind immediately. Liz may have sort of forgiven her for what she’d done with Max, but she would never forgive her for taking Alex’s life. Accident or no, she had the power *not * to do it and chose to do it anyway. Liz nodded her head. “Yeah, it’s okay to hate, even someone that’s dead. But the key is not to let that hate eat you up inside or rule you. Acknowledge it but then move on. Don’t let it dominate you, because if you do…you’ll give them power over you, even from beyond the grave. Do you understand?”
Sammy frowned as he concentrated on what she’d said. It made sense. He suddenly looked her in a new light. “How’d you get so smart?”
Liz smiled. “Born that way. Now, get up. Get dressed, and get downstairs for lunch,” she ordered and then mussed his hair playfully.
“Yes, ma’am.” Sammy replied as he brushed his hair out of his eyes.
“I think we’ll head to Supercuts after lunch. You need a haircut before the party plus the Christmas pictures.” She informed her son as she departed the room. And this time she meant it.
~
Michael stuck his ungloved hands into his pockets before they froze and looked over at his kids, throwing snowballs at each other. Jesus, he got chilled more just watching at them. “F*ck Maxwell, what’s taking so long?” He grumbled as he stood in the open by the shack at their practice field.
“Watch the language, Spaceboy.” Maria warned as she sipped her cup of coffee. It was the last cup from their thermos.
Ryan used his powers to make the snowball stay together as he made it larger and larger. Seeing his target had her back to him while she played with little Alex, he threw it with all of his might and grinned in victory as it nailed her right in the back of the head. “YEAH!” He yelled proudly as he high-fived his brother.
Megan turned around with her DeLuca-Guerin temper flaring in all its glory. Her hand tingled with angry energy as she raised it and let it fly. She was quite pleased when it still partially nailed both her brothers even as they both dive-bombed into the snow for cover.
“MEGAN ELIZABETH GUERIN! How many times have I told you not to zap your brothers?! Chase, I had better not see that hand glow in retaliation. Ryan, don’t even think of it!” Maria yelled in warning.
“She started it!” Ryan protested.
“I don’t care! I said NO! I want to see gloves on this minute!” the exasperated mother of four firmly stood her ground until her little darlings were once again harmlessly playing with just snow.
“That was a pretty good shot.” Michael quietly mentioned. Maria just turned and glared at him. Michael turned his attention to the road as he heard a car approaching. He frowned. Just Kyle bringing Isabel and Jesse in the four-wheel pickup.
“God, it’s cold. What’s this all about, Michael?” Isabel asked as they got out and joined him and Maria.
“Don’t know. Max just said that Cal wanted to meet with all of us this morning at 10:00 and to bring the kids.” Michael explained.
“That doesn’t make any sense. Max rarely has Cal around the kids.” Kyle remarked.
“Except Sammy.” Isabel reminded them.
Max had the Jeep in four-wheel drive and was going slow. They had had a major dumping of snow this past week and the little side road hadn’t been plowed yet, except by probably Michael he noted as he did his best to stay in the two grooves left by earlier tires. He glanced in the rearview mirror and smiled a little. Sammy was doing better these last few days. He wasn’t moping around as much. Of course it could have something to do with him and Kelly having pretty regular study dates at the restaurant after school. “How she doing?” He asked.
Sammy looked at his little sister all bundled up in something called a snowsuit. She looked like one of those teddy bears that had a dolls face on it. “She’s still sleeping.”
“I see we’re the last to arrive.” Liz commented as the practice area came into view.
“Not quite. Cal’s not here yet.” Max corrected.
“Well, it’s too cold to have Molly out. I’ll leave her sleeping in the car and just crack a couple of windows. I brought her monitor so we can hear if wakes up.” Liz told him as they pulled to a stop and got out. She made sure Molly was all set and still sleeping, and made sure the monitor was working before joining the others.
“So what’s the deal Evans?” Kyle asked as he blew on his hands for warmth.
“Not sure. Cal just said to meet him here at 10:00 today with the kids.” Max answered.
“So where is the bastard?” Michael grumbled. Damn, it was cold. He glanced over again at the kids and saw that Sammy had joined them. In fact, he had become their new favorite target.
“Speak of the devil.” Maria commented as a big black Cadillac Escalade roared into view. “You ever think the big cars he favors are to make up for other…short comings?” she pondered. There were chuckles all around.
“Cal, what’s up?” Max asked as he exited the car. He noticed that Cal’s personal assistant was with him and went around to pop the back cargo area.
Cal lit a cigar with a relish. It helped warm his alien lungs a little and it was cold, even for him. “How’s Junior? And the new little princess that I heard about?” He asked as he glanced around until he spotted Sammy playing with the other kids. He then kept looking until he saw an occupied car seat in the Jeep. Good they were all here.
“Sammy’s doing good and so is Molly. So tell me what this is about, Cal.” Max commanded. It was too cold for games.
Cal smirked. “Of course, Your Majesty.” He knew an order when he heard it. “Christmas, Max. It’s about Christmas. This has been a particularly good year and I decided to share it a little.” He turned as Herman came over loaded down with boxes. “Over there to that table.” He directed and Herman followed and then returned for a second load.
“You’ve got to be kidding me? You had us drive all the way out here on a Saturday morning, freeze our asses off so you can play Santa Claus!” Michael growled with his arms folding defensively, wanting nothing more than to start a nice fire…with Cal as the kindling.
“Yep.” Cal replied and then ignored him to turn back to the kids. “Hey Sammy! Bring those kids over here. I got them all PRESENTS!” He said with a flourish. He knew damn well, the parents couldn’t say no now that the kids knew about the presents. He smirked again as he heard another growl coming from the Second.
“Hey Cal, Merry Christmas.” Sammy greeted him warmly.
“Merry Christmas, Sammy. And to you too Ryan, and Chase, and Megan, and Alex.” Cal could see the reservations on the three older Guerin kids. They didn’t really know each other. It didn’t matter. They weren’t going to be forgetting him anytime soon. Not after today. And neither would their parents. “Now, since I’m a single guy. I’m not too versed on what little ones like but I got you each something you should enjoy. Why don’t each of you go over to that pile of presents and find the ones with your names on it?” Cal told them. He had to grin as their eyes lit up at the brightly wrapped packages. After some shuffling they returned each with a box, he saw that Sammy had helped Alex find his. The boxes were the same for the all Guerin kids but Sammy’s was much larger.
“Can we open them?’ Chase asked. He was dying to see what Cal would have bought them. Cal had never given them presents before and he had no idea what to expect.
“Absolutely!” Cal emphasized. He beamed as little hands immediately started ripping.
Ryan got his opened first. He was a little disappointed to find just a stupid card inside the box. Maybe Cal didn’t know that the card was supposed to go on the outside with a present inside. “Thanks,” he said politely.
“Open the card, kid.” Cal said between puffs of his old stogy.
And a special thank you to Kzinti_Killer for acting as my beta and letting me bounce ideas off him and fill in some of the blanks (like I really know that much about fishing or what all you'd use to build a Halloween Coffin?). Thank you!
And to jane, who stepped in when K_K was swamped with other things and beta'd. Thank You!
Epilogue
He slammed the phone down. How dare they decline his credit card! “Well f*ck them! They can keep their crap!” He yelled at the offending phone, but no one in his luxury suite even noticed. They were too stoned to care. He didn’t need all that shit they’d gone on a shopping spree for at Neiman Marcus yesterday. At least now he didn’t have to hang around and wait for them to deliver their shit. He still had his cash in his pocket and a habit to feed, and friends to party with. He leered at that glassy-eyed blond who was weaving her way back to the bed again. Maybe he’d do some personal partying with her later on. He picked up the phone again and dialed his connection. “Yeah, it’s me, D. I need some party supplies…for an extra large party. I’ll be there in hour to pick it up.” He ordered and smiled at how eager his contact had been. Cash always spent well. He looked again at the blond…and the other two guys who had been doin’ her last night. “F*ck them,” he thought. They could have her again after he was done with her. He picked up the ratty t-shirt and threw at her. “Get dressed. We’re going out tonight.”
~
Cal sat back in his comfortable study and puffed on the cigar as he watched the cell phone light up with each ring. But he waited until the last ring before picking it up. “Yeah…”
“Hey Boss. He’ll be over in an hour.” The voice quickly spit out.
Cal remained silent.
The voice waited but when he heard nothing from the other end, it rushed on, “I held onto it until he called again just like you wanted and it’s all set. You want me to call you afterwards?”
“No need. I don’t know you.” He said curtly and slapped the thing closed. “Idiot,” he thought. Like he wouldn’t have people keeping an eye on things. He picked up the antique bell and rang it. He rather liked this old bell he’d found in a closet here. Maybe he’d pack it. “He glanced up when his aide silently appeared at the door. “Herman, call Eric. Have him get the plane ready and file a flight plan for LA. We’ll be at the airport in an hour.” He instructed and paused to look at the bell again. “And make sure you pack this so it doesn’t break. I’m rather fond of it.” He added. “Have the driver bring the car around. Time to catch a few rays of sun.”
~
It was two o’clock in the morning when Simon got the call. It was from the night manager of the Ritz Carlton telling him to come down immediately. There had been an unfortunate incident. Simon knew immediately whom it had to be about. David had made a point of letting everyone know where the party was and even the biggest of big cities was just a small town at heart. He declined Gary’s offer of accompanying him. He saw the City’s finest with their lights flashing as his taxi neared the elegant hotel. But he doubted the hotel was too thrilled about all of the attention. He introduced himself to the desk clerk and was immediately ushered up via the service elevator to the floor. He remained silent as he entered a scene that was straight out of some police drama. He ducked under the yellow ‘crime scene-do no enter’ tape which was across the door and took in the suite. Garbage was strewn about…along with bodies, four of them to be exact. He felt nothing. No worry or sadness. No anger. No relief. Nothing. Just…tired. It was over. He spotted the sole female body. She was partially dressed, her blond hair a mess, a tourniquet still wrapped around her upper arm and a dot of dried blood inside the elbow. He noted the syringe lying next to the spoon and matches on the coffee table that was being bagged by someone in a blue uniform. He glanced back to the girl. She was maybe…what? Twenty? What a waste. Simon saw him then, slumped in a chair with a needle still stuck in his arm. He shook his head. There sat the biggest waste of them all.
“Sir, sir, this is a crime scene. I’m gonna have to ask you to leave.” The detective said as he grabbed a hold of the man’s upper man.
Simon hadn’t seen the officer coming and was surprised when he felt a strong hand encircle his arm and start to pull him away from the macabre scene. “But, I was asked to come…the hotel night manager called me. I’m Simon Shapiro.” Simon protested. His eyes felt drawn again to the scene of the coroner zipping up the body bag that engulfed the now deceased David Connor. He briefly wondered if they had removed the needle from his arm before bagging him. Simon shook his head again. What a hell of a thought.
The detective followed the man’s stare. “You know him?”
“Yeah, I knew him.” Simon confirmed in a detached voice.
“Relative?” Detective Andrews asked.
“No…more of a nuisance. I can’t say I’m surprised that this happened.” Something occurred to him and he turned to the detective. “You called this a crime scene. Didn’t…aren’t these just drug overdoses? He questioned.
“Normally, but when you’re dealing with one of the heirs to the Connor fortune, well…you okay, Mr. Shapiro?” The detective asked when he saw the shocked look.
“Heir to the…” Simon glanced again as the black bag was wheeled past on a gurney. “He’d already inherited all that he was going to. I should know. I’m the executrix of the estate.” He explained and glanced around the room again. It was a mess with expensive clothes and toys intermixed with the garbage. “David Connor was an OD waiting to happen. That’s why he’d been cut off. He settled with the estate a couple months back…And from the looks of the place, I’d bet that his bank account is wiped out again.” He proclaimed with a sigh. Another mess he’d have to clean up for David Connor, but it was the last one. “Do whatever you have to and let me know when I can make arrangements for his burial.” He said and handed his business card to the detective. He wanted to be out of there. For some reason he felt dirty and couldn’t wait to get home and take a shower. He doubted he’d get any more sleep but he wouldn’t call Sammy until later. No use him losing any more sleep over his Uncle David either.
~
Sammy knew something was up when his dad didn’t seem to be in a hurry to get him off to school, even though it was a few minutes after eight when he ran down the stairs. “Dad, I’m going to be late…”
“Sit down, Sammy.” Max said and then took a seat at the table with him. He could tell that Sammy knew something was wrong just from the way he was looking at him. Max didn’t quite know what he felt when he talked to Simon this morning. On the one side he hated it when anyone died. On the other, he couldn’t think of a more deserving person. But he was Sammy’s uncle. “Sammy, Simon called this morning. He…Sammy, your Uncle David died sometime during the night apparently of a drug overdose…I…I’m sorry, Son.” He held his breath and watched his son carefully for any indication of how Sammy was going to take this and how this was going to play out.
Sammy was stunned. Uncle David was dead. His dad’s only brother dead. It didn’t seem right, that there was no one other than himself left. He couldn’t be alone. He very slowly lifted his still confused eyes to his dad’s. “Was he alone? Did he die alone?”
Max’s mouth dropped. Simon had been rather short on the actual details. “I…I’m not sure. I’m sorry.” Max sat in silence with his son as he waited for him to sort things out in his mind.
“What happens now?” Sammy asked in a whisper.
“Um, Simon’s going to check with the coroner and as soon as David’s… remains are released, Simon said that he’d take care of the burial arrangements.” Max explained.
“Burial…oh…” Sammy’s mind was clouded with feelings and he couldn’t think too clearly. All he could do was go with his feelings and the predominate one he felt was loneliness. He was the only Connor left of his entire family. He was alone. “Dad, is he going to be buried next to my…my other dad? He should…shouldn’t he? I mean he should be with…family. Not stuck off somewhere by himself. He shouldn’t be alone.”
Max was at an absolute loss as what to say. These decisions weren’t up to him. If they were, he’d have David Connor cremated and sprinkled over a dump somewhere…but it wasn’t his decision. It wasn’t really Simon’s either. Sammy was the sole surviving relative and should be the one to have the final say. “Sammy, do you want to call your Uncle Simon?”
Sammy nodded his head slightly. “Yeah. I guess I should. I want Uncle David buried next to my dad…and there should be a service or something.” He thought some more. “Dad, I should probably be there, shouldn’t I? For the service at least.”
Max nodded. He was right. It was the right thing to do, but he didn’t like it. “Yeah, we’ll work out the arrangements. Go ahead and give your Uncle Simon a call.”
~
A light snow fell on those assembled by the graveside. Simon wasn’t overly happy about burying David Connor next to Sam but Sammy had insisted saying it was what his father would have wanted. And he was probably right. Despite everything, Sam had always tried to help his brother, help guide him to a better life. Maybe now he could guide him to a better afterlife. The group was small, only the five of them, him and Gary, Sammy, and surprisingly Sammy’s Aunt Isabel and Uncle Jesse who had accompanied him, plus the minister. Cal had opposed Max coming, saying his picture was the most well known and his showing up in New York wouldn’t be a good idea. They had arrived late last night and were staying at the apartment since Cal was in LA for a few weeks. He didn’t think Sammy had slept much last night. The kid looked exhausted. He watched as Sammy grabbed a handful of dirt and snow and tossed it on top of the coffin with the rest following suit. There. It was done.
“Sammy, it’s time to go, Sweetie.” Isabel said gently as Sammy just stared at the coffin.
He let her guide him away but came to a standstill at the headstone that stood next to the new grave…
Samuel Connor Sr.
Beloved Husband to Carol
Beloved Father of Samuel Jr.
“Take care of him, Dad. Tell Mom hello.” Sammy told the headstone as he placed a kiss on the top of it before he let Aunt Isabel take him to the waiting car to go back to the apartment, where they were having a light brunch afterwards.
~
Isabel knocked lightly on the partially closed door before pushing it open the rest of the way. “Sammy, you should come and eat.” She paused for a moment to see if he’d react. He didn’t. She crossed the room to sit on the bed next to him and stroked his hair. “Sweetie, you should try to eat something.” She tried to coax him.
“I did the right thing, didn’t I?” He asked as he rolled over to face her.
“Of course you did. You…you showed him respect. And you honored your…father by doing what you knew in your heart he would have wanted you to do.” She assured him.
“But what if it’s a lie…what if that’s not how I really feel? I…I hated him. I hated what he was like…what he did to me. I hate him. He didn’t deserve it. Not any of it!” He shouted in an angrily sob.
Isabel wished her mother were here or even her brother instead. This just wasn’t her best talent. “Sammy…Sammy, listen to me. It’s okay. It’s okay to hate him. He…he was a bastard for neglecting and abusing you. But you showed how much of a man you are…and how grown up, by putting that aside and doing what you knew was right, what your father would have wanted. I…I’m sure your father’s proud of you. I know we are…all of us. But that doesn’t mean you have to love your uncle and make him into some kind of saint.” She told him as she brushed his bangs out of his eyes so she could look into them. “Okay?”
Sammy finally nodded and softly said, “okay”.
“Okay,” she said and gave him a hug. “We’re here for you. Now, do you think you can eat something? Anything? Please, for me?” She finally got him a come with her. But he only took a few bites of his sandwich before excusing himself for a nap.
“I’m surprised he’s taking this so hard.” Gary mentioned once Sammy had left the dining room. He remembered vividly every bruise and welt that he had seen from that night. “After everything that bastard did to him. I’d think he’d be…well, relieved…glad even.”
“He is,” Isabel told them after she returned from checking on Sammy. Sammy hadn’t been kidding about the nap. He was sound asleep. “He’s worried that it makes him a bad person.”
Jesse shook his head. He’d only learned about David Connor’s exploits recently but would have loved to punch his lights out for what he’d done. “No, it makes him human.” Jesse commented. He liked his nephew. He was a good kid. He would have been proud to have him as his son. “So what was the final ruling by the coroner?’ He asked the other lawyer sitting across from him.
“Accidental drug overdose. Same for the others.” Simon said with a twinge of sadness. He hadn’t known the others but judging by the company they kept, they probably weren’t much better. But the girl, she’d only been nineteen. Her life hadn’t even had a chance to get started. “Incredibly David had managed to blow over a million in less than two months. He was actually overdrawn at the bank and he’d maxed out his two credit cards, plus numerous store charge accounts that he’d just opened. Plus he owed almost thirty to the Ritz.” He shook his head.
Jesse whistled at the amount. “Didn’t he have any assets to help offset those? I mean he couldn’t have shot a million into his arm in that short amount of time and lived…I don’t think?” Jesse wasn’t certain of the going rate of street drugs but no way could it be that much.
Simon snorted disgustedly. “No, not all of it but a good portion did just that. The coroner said there were a lot of track marks on his arm. Anyway, he had a Jag that he’d bought and I’ve already sold, that took care of the Ritz and one of the credit cards. I sent some of the clothes and stuff that he hadn’t opened back to the stores. They weren’t happy about it but basically there’s no estate so they either take them back or they’re SOL. They took them back.”
“You’re not going to make good on the balances?” Jesse asked with a raised brow.
Simon took a sip of his wine and swirled it around his mouth, enjoying the flavor for a moment before swallowing. “Yeah, I probably will for no other reason than to protect the Connor name. But not until I’m sure everything of value has been liquidated and used to pay off as much as possible.”
“What about the others that were found with him? Are you going to help their families?” Jesse asked.
“Yeah, I already have. I figured Sam would have, so I went ahead. We gave each of their families twenty grand to cover funeral expenses.” He snorted again. “One of the families said they were going to sue his estate for wrongful death, stating that since David was the one supplying the drugs, he was responsible.” He snorted again at how money hungry some could be.
Jesse thought about for a moment. “Technically, they could have a case.” He pointed out.
“Oh, yeah, they could…against David Connor’s estate which is in no way connected to Sammy’s, and at last count was still over eighty thousand in the red. I told them to stand in line behind the other creditors. They didn’t believe me. So now there’s going to be a pending wrongful death suit against his estate. They’ll probably try one against Sammy’s as well but I made sure that the settlement document legally severed any and all responsibility between them. They’ll never see a dime. What a waste of the court’s time. They just saw twenty and thought they could get two hundred. They still don’t understand that we weren’t obliged to do anything.” Simon said with lingering disbelief.
Gary watched his partner. He knew that Simon had taken the brunt from several merchants and other creditors that were under the impression that David was an heir to Sam Connor’s estate and were expecting the estate to settle. There had been some vocal confrontations that had weighed heavily on Simon. The deal with that family had been the final straw. He decided to change the subject. “So when are all of you heading back?”
“Tomorrow night. We catch the red eye to Seattle and hop on a connector to Spokane first thing in the morning. I can’t miss too many days.” Isabel explained.
Simon smiled, “and then that nice four hour drive.”
“Five with snow.” Jesse had recently learned. They were going to be beat by the time they got home.
“How’s the newest little one? Molly, right?” Gary asked.
Isabel broke out into a big grin. “She’s precious. Just perfect. I’ve never seen my brother happier or more exhausted. Oh, and Max and Liz said to tell you again, thank you for the outfit and little jacket and hat set that you two sent. They’re absolutely adorable. Liz plans on having her wear it for Christmas Services, as well as the jacket and hat too. They’re a little big but won’t be for much longer. They really loved them. It came in handy too since they didn’t buy hardly anything like that beforehand. It…well, it was hard the previous times they’d done that. So...thank you, again.” Isabel told them. She was certain that her little niece was going to be the best dressed baby at Christmas Service as well as the only one wearing a Christian Dior baby outfit.
“You’re welcome. We’re glad she could use them. But something tells me that the lack of clothing items beforehand was more than compensated for afterwards.” Gary teased. Sammy had already told them how Grandma and Aunt Isabel loved to shop ‘til they dropped at the local baby stores.
Jesse laughed. “You got that right! I can only imagine what it’ll be like when we move to a bigger city with more stores!”
“Humph!” Isabel remarked. “She’s not only *my * niece but a princess and it’s important for her to always look her best. It’s something she should learn early on.” She said quite reasonably and her glare dared anyone at the table to dispute it. Fortunately, they were all educated men and didn’t.
Later that night Isabel sat with Jesse in the massive living room looking around admiringly. “I’m sort of glad Max didn’t come. I don’t think he would have been…comfortable with all of this,” Isabel noted.
“Not comfortable?” Jesse asked, confused. He was quite comfortable. Hell, who wouldn’t be? This place was large, had masterpieces on the walls, antiques all about, luxurious chairs and sofas, and a well stocked bar, he noted as he sipped his well aged scotch. How could one not be comfortable here?
“He wouldn’t be comfortable seeing first hand the kind of luxury Sammy was raised in compared to… now.” She clarified.
He didn’t know his brother-in-law all that well but he knew Max was sensitive and like any man, proud. Put it that way and yeah, he could see how he just might be uncomfortable here after all. “Sammy’s happy with him though. That’s what matters. Now come here.” He said and rose to wrap his arms around his wife as she studied the painting above the fireplace. “You know, we’ve only got tonight here and I noticed there’s a Jacuzzi tub. It’s not too large but I figure we could manage if we’re a little…creative.” He suggested. They decided that night that their new house in Seattle must have a Jacuzzi tub. It was essential.
~
The next evening Simon and Gary stood in the doorway of the apartment saying their goodbyes.
Things were still a bit awkward and Simon wasn’t sure what to say to Sammy without upsetting him. “So, are you going to be okay, Sammy?” He hesitantly asked.
“Yeah, I just…I just have some thinking to do.” He replied with downcast eyes.
“We’re still going to see you over New Years, though, right? Skiing?” Simon reminded him.
“Yeah,” Sammy answered without too much enthusiasm. He looked up suddenly with a thought. ”Are you both still doing that New Hampshire thing with Gary’s family for Christmas?”
“Yeah, that was the plan?” Simon was still having a hard time reading Sammy. His emotions seemed all over the place. “Aren’t you looking forward to spending it with your new sister and family?” he asked.
“What? Oh yeah…yeah, of course. I was just going to say that you could…I don’t know come there…to Idaho, if you wanted. If you didn’t have anything else planned.” Sammy clarified.
Simon frowned for a moment and looked over at Gary. They’d spent Christmas with Gary’s family for years. Christmas wasn’t a big deal to Simon since he was Jewish and it made Gary’s family happy to have him home for the holiday. But if Sammy needed them…Gary gave him a little nod. “Sammy, if you need us there we could change our plans.” He offered.
“Uh…no… I mean of course it would be great but I think you should be with Gary’s folks. I’m sure they’d be disappointed.” Sammy smiled a little, “And you’re right. I’ve got a ton of family. It’s going to be a blast with my cousins and grandparents and all.”
“Don’t forget a certain young redheaded beauty that we’ve heard about. Something about defending her honor?” Gary teased, causing Sammy’s cheeks to flame red.
Jesse toted the last of their luggage to the door and dropped them. “I think that’s it.”
Simon looked at the two suit bags, Sammy and Jesse’s, and the other four bags, enough for a week stay. He just shook his head. “Ms. Ramirez, you certainly pack enough for any occasion.”
Isabel looked at him as if he said ‘the sky was blue’. “Of course, one must be prepared for anything. After all, this is New York.” She stated matter-of-factly.
Gary and Simon gave Jesse sympathetic looks, and they heard a very faint chuckle from Sammy.
“Well, if you have everything, the car’s waiting downstairs. Have a good trip and we’ll see you for New Years, Sammy.” Simon said and gave Sammy a good hug, followed by one from Gary. Then they said their goodbyes to the Ramirezes.
~
The Assistant Director looked up from behind his desk as Agent Main and Fredericks came in. “Agents, you asked for this meeting. What’s this about?”
“Sir, we would like to transfer to the Special Unit.” Agent Main told him.
The AD’s eyes narrowed. “Special Unit?”
“Yes Sir, the Special Unit that had been headed by Agent Burns. Whomever is taking over, we’d like to be a part of that.” Agent Main clarified. He and Fredericks had agreed that he’d do all the talking.
“Agent Burns? Special Unit?” He asked, confused before it came to him. “Oh, you mean the Agent Burns who was coordinating the investigation with the Border Patrol for illegal aliens and that slavery problem that was popping up? I must say that I was very sorry to hear about them being overrun and blown up on that boat by those slave traders. Nasty business all around. Why would you two want to join them? I’m not even sure that they’re going to resurrect the joint task force. Last I heard the Border Patrol and Coast Guard were teaming up since so much of the trade is coming in from the Pacific Rim.” He carefully explained.
Agent Main and Frederick’s jaws dropped in unison as they stared at each other in shock for a moment. Agent Main finally recovered. “No Sir, it was about aliens, as in the extraterrestrial kind, and we had a lead on them. Agent Burns called it in and we were working the angle here. But that fire conveniently destroyed the evidence.”
“That fire was deemed accidental. There was a short in the surveillance system on the third floor that sparked the fire. The Fire Marshall has already confirmed it. Nothing at all suspicious.” The AD pointed out.
“Uh…yes, but… Sir, I talked to Agent Burns shortly before his death. He was chasing this Max Evans, whom he was certain was the ringleader of a group of aliens on Earth. He found a link to Samuel Connor Jr. and a Gary Wilcox. And when we brought them in for questioning….”
“You did WHAT?! Let me get this straight. You brought Samuel Connor Jr., the heir to Connor Investments in for questioning? Isn’t he just a kid? And who’s Gary Wilcox?” The AD asked with growing alarm.
“Uh…yes, Sir, we did. Um, Gary Wilcox had taken off with Samuel Connor Jr. to parts unknown, he claimed Mexico…but we got…well, they didn’t admit anything but we got a couple of pings on both of their interviews. It was just the day before the fire.” Agent Main explained.
“So you were looking at this Gary Wilcox for what? Kidnapping?” The AD asked.
“Uh…no Sir. Gary Wilcox is…Simon Shapiro’s significant other, and linked to…” Agent Main began.
“Stop. Let me get this straight. You brought in the heir to one of the biggest fortunes in the U.S., not to mention a minor child, for questioning because the partner of Simon Shapiro, who is the chair of the board of directors of Connor Investments took him on a vacation?” The AD almost yelled at the stupidity of such an action.
“Uh, yes Sir, but he also has some sort of link to Max Evans. Like I said, we got a hit off that name and we were going to send the tapes to DC for further analysis when the fire happened and destroyed them.” Agent Main tried to be more explicit this time.
“I don’t give a rat’s ass if Max Evans is from Mars. You are not touching Samuel Connor Jr. or Gary Wilcox. I’m surprised that Simon Shapiro hasn’t already brought harassment complaints against the Agency. Is that understood?!” This time the AD did yell.
“Y-Yes Sir.” Both Agent Main and Fredericks replied.
“Good. Now get the hell out my office and I don’t ever want to hear about some lame ass story about aliens again!” The AD ordered. He waited until the door was closed before calming down. He looked at the family picture that sat on his credenza and smiled. His little girl was an extra in that Roman epic that was currently filming in Malta. With luck the small part would lead to better things for his little girl, and make her dream come true. He’d do just about anything to make that happen for his daughter.
~
Liz watched him sleep for a moment. He’d arrived back from New York yesterday afternoon and went right to bed. Isabel and Jesse had been just as tired but they had stayed briefly and filled them in on things. Max had debated about sending Sammy to school this morning and in the end they’d agreed to let him stay home and catch up on his rest. But it was nearing noon and she was getting concerned. She gently shook him. “Sammy. Sammy, wake up. Sammy?”
His eyes felt like lead and his mouth tasted like it. He slowly opened them and looked up at Liz’s worried face. “G’morning,” he mumbled.
“Hmm, barely. It’s almost afternoon. I was getting worried. How are you feeling?” She asked as she sat on the side of the bed. He seemed to be waking up okay.
“So-so. Still tired, I think. I don’t know.” Sammy admitted as he rubbed his already irritated eyes.
“Is there anything you want to talk about?” She offered. “I’m a very good listener,” she added.
Sammy laid his head back on the pillow and thought about it. “Is it wrong to hate someone…even after they’re dead?”
A mental picture of a blond, blue-eyed murderess came to mind immediately. Liz may have sort of forgiven her for what she’d done with Max, but she would never forgive her for taking Alex’s life. Accident or no, she had the power *not * to do it and chose to do it anyway. Liz nodded her head. “Yeah, it’s okay to hate, even someone that’s dead. But the key is not to let that hate eat you up inside or rule you. Acknowledge it but then move on. Don’t let it dominate you, because if you do…you’ll give them power over you, even from beyond the grave. Do you understand?”
Sammy frowned as he concentrated on what she’d said. It made sense. He suddenly looked her in a new light. “How’d you get so smart?”
Liz smiled. “Born that way. Now, get up. Get dressed, and get downstairs for lunch,” she ordered and then mussed his hair playfully.
“Yes, ma’am.” Sammy replied as he brushed his hair out of his eyes.
“I think we’ll head to Supercuts after lunch. You need a haircut before the party plus the Christmas pictures.” She informed her son as she departed the room. And this time she meant it.
~
Michael stuck his ungloved hands into his pockets before they froze and looked over at his kids, throwing snowballs at each other. Jesus, he got chilled more just watching at them. “F*ck Maxwell, what’s taking so long?” He grumbled as he stood in the open by the shack at their practice field.
“Watch the language, Spaceboy.” Maria warned as she sipped her cup of coffee. It was the last cup from their thermos.
Ryan used his powers to make the snowball stay together as he made it larger and larger. Seeing his target had her back to him while she played with little Alex, he threw it with all of his might and grinned in victory as it nailed her right in the back of the head. “YEAH!” He yelled proudly as he high-fived his brother.
Megan turned around with her DeLuca-Guerin temper flaring in all its glory. Her hand tingled with angry energy as she raised it and let it fly. She was quite pleased when it still partially nailed both her brothers even as they both dive-bombed into the snow for cover.
“MEGAN ELIZABETH GUERIN! How many times have I told you not to zap your brothers?! Chase, I had better not see that hand glow in retaliation. Ryan, don’t even think of it!” Maria yelled in warning.
“She started it!” Ryan protested.
“I don’t care! I said NO! I want to see gloves on this minute!” the exasperated mother of four firmly stood her ground until her little darlings were once again harmlessly playing with just snow.
“That was a pretty good shot.” Michael quietly mentioned. Maria just turned and glared at him. Michael turned his attention to the road as he heard a car approaching. He frowned. Just Kyle bringing Isabel and Jesse in the four-wheel pickup.
“God, it’s cold. What’s this all about, Michael?” Isabel asked as they got out and joined him and Maria.
“Don’t know. Max just said that Cal wanted to meet with all of us this morning at 10:00 and to bring the kids.” Michael explained.
“That doesn’t make any sense. Max rarely has Cal around the kids.” Kyle remarked.
“Except Sammy.” Isabel reminded them.
Max had the Jeep in four-wheel drive and was going slow. They had had a major dumping of snow this past week and the little side road hadn’t been plowed yet, except by probably Michael he noted as he did his best to stay in the two grooves left by earlier tires. He glanced in the rearview mirror and smiled a little. Sammy was doing better these last few days. He wasn’t moping around as much. Of course it could have something to do with him and Kelly having pretty regular study dates at the restaurant after school. “How she doing?” He asked.
Sammy looked at his little sister all bundled up in something called a snowsuit. She looked like one of those teddy bears that had a dolls face on it. “She’s still sleeping.”
“I see we’re the last to arrive.” Liz commented as the practice area came into view.
“Not quite. Cal’s not here yet.” Max corrected.
“Well, it’s too cold to have Molly out. I’ll leave her sleeping in the car and just crack a couple of windows. I brought her monitor so we can hear if wakes up.” Liz told him as they pulled to a stop and got out. She made sure Molly was all set and still sleeping, and made sure the monitor was working before joining the others.
“So what’s the deal Evans?” Kyle asked as he blew on his hands for warmth.
“Not sure. Cal just said to meet him here at 10:00 today with the kids.” Max answered.
“So where is the bastard?” Michael grumbled. Damn, it was cold. He glanced over again at the kids and saw that Sammy had joined them. In fact, he had become their new favorite target.
“Speak of the devil.” Maria commented as a big black Cadillac Escalade roared into view. “You ever think the big cars he favors are to make up for other…short comings?” she pondered. There were chuckles all around.
“Cal, what’s up?” Max asked as he exited the car. He noticed that Cal’s personal assistant was with him and went around to pop the back cargo area.
Cal lit a cigar with a relish. It helped warm his alien lungs a little and it was cold, even for him. “How’s Junior? And the new little princess that I heard about?” He asked as he glanced around until he spotted Sammy playing with the other kids. He then kept looking until he saw an occupied car seat in the Jeep. Good they were all here.
“Sammy’s doing good and so is Molly. So tell me what this is about, Cal.” Max commanded. It was too cold for games.
Cal smirked. “Of course, Your Majesty.” He knew an order when he heard it. “Christmas, Max. It’s about Christmas. This has been a particularly good year and I decided to share it a little.” He turned as Herman came over loaded down with boxes. “Over there to that table.” He directed and Herman followed and then returned for a second load.
“You’ve got to be kidding me? You had us drive all the way out here on a Saturday morning, freeze our asses off so you can play Santa Claus!” Michael growled with his arms folding defensively, wanting nothing more than to start a nice fire…with Cal as the kindling.
“Yep.” Cal replied and then ignored him to turn back to the kids. “Hey Sammy! Bring those kids over here. I got them all PRESENTS!” He said with a flourish. He knew damn well, the parents couldn’t say no now that the kids knew about the presents. He smirked again as he heard another growl coming from the Second.
“Hey Cal, Merry Christmas.” Sammy greeted him warmly.
“Merry Christmas, Sammy. And to you too Ryan, and Chase, and Megan, and Alex.” Cal could see the reservations on the three older Guerin kids. They didn’t really know each other. It didn’t matter. They weren’t going to be forgetting him anytime soon. Not after today. And neither would their parents. “Now, since I’m a single guy. I’m not too versed on what little ones like but I got you each something you should enjoy. Why don’t each of you go over to that pile of presents and find the ones with your names on it?” Cal told them. He had to grin as their eyes lit up at the brightly wrapped packages. After some shuffling they returned each with a box, he saw that Sammy had helped Alex find his. The boxes were the same for the all Guerin kids but Sammy’s was much larger.
“Can we open them?’ Chase asked. He was dying to see what Cal would have bought them. Cal had never given them presents before and he had no idea what to expect.
“Absolutely!” Cal emphasized. He beamed as little hands immediately started ripping.
Ryan got his opened first. He was a little disappointed to find just a stupid card inside the box. Maybe Cal didn’t know that the card was supposed to go on the outside with a present inside. “Thanks,” he said politely.
“Open the card, kid.” Cal said between puffs of his old stogy.
Chase already had his opened and was literally jumping for joy. “$500 bucks for Toys’R’Us! ALL RIGHT!”
“WOW! I got one too!” Megan cried and jumped up in excitement.
“Me too!” Ryan shouted and joined his brother and sister.
Alex ripped his and didn’t quite understand what was so great about the card but he joined his sibling’s enthusiasm anyhow. Mommy came over and collected his card before he lost it in the snow.
“What do you say kids?” Maria reminded them. She was smiling for her kids’ sake but inside she wanted to murder Cal. He had just handed her kids a total of $2,000 for them to spend at a toy store. Oh joy – NOT!
“Thank you, Uncle Cal!” was echoed from the exuberant group.
Cal beamed. He wouldn’t admit it but he loved that the kids had called him ‘Uncle Cal’. “You’re welcome kiddies. Now Sammy, aren’t you going to open yours and see what you got?”
“You mean it’s not a Toys’R’Us certificate?” Sammy joked as he sat at the table to open his larger box. He pulled the lid off and paused at what he found. He looked up at Cal, “How? Where did you find these? I looked for them after Mom and Dad died but Uncle David told me he’d thrown them out accidentally as garbage.”
Cal shrugged. “They were around,” was all he’d say.
Liz and Max came over to see what Sammy got and Liz pulled the richly bound book out. It was covered in a beautiful blue silk material with a baby picture in the middle and the name Samuel Connor Jr. embroidered underneath in white threads. She carefully opened the book and her eyes became misty as well. “It’s your baby book, Sammy.”
“Yeah, Mom kept it from the day they got me. And look,” he pulled out an ornate gold leaf frame, “it’s a print of the painting of me and Mom that we had done for my dad’s birthday. Cal hung the painting in my room in New York.” He paused as he pulled out the last item. “Mom and Dad’s wedding album. Something else that Uncle David said was lost.” Sammy felt Max’s hand on his shoulder. He wiped his eyes before he looked up at him. “I’m sorry, Dad. I…I didn’t think. Maybe…I can put them in the closet.”
“No, it’s okay. No reason to do that. And…maybe if it’s okay, I could read that baby book sometime.” Max told him. Sammy nodded and smiled as he began flipping through the photo album. Max turned back to Cal, “Thanks, for what you did for him.” He looked over at three little kids discussing what they were going to buy and already badgering their parents to go to Toys’R’Us that afternoon. “I supposed for that too. Although, I don’t think Michael and Maria see it the same way.” He said and smiled.
Cal reached in, grabbed a box from the pile and handed it to Max. “For the princess. One for Babies’R’Us.”
Liz took the box and smiled at him. “Thank you, Cal.” She told him sincerely.
“Ah, now for the rest.” Cal began.
“Wait…the rest. Cal the kids are enough…more than enough.” Max began.
“Now, never look a gift horse in the mouth.” He reached for another box and handed it to Isabel. “Princess for you and yours.” He said, clearly enjoying himself.
Isabel looked at Jesse. She had no idea what Cal could have possibly gotten her and Jesse. And she didn’t want to admit it but she was just as excited as the kids and was dying of curiosity. “Th-thank you.” She said and opened the box, then looked up at Cal a little confused. “Plane tickets to France? And what’s this letter?”
“I figured you two might want to get away for a bit. That letter is the address to my villa in the south of France and a list of dates when I don’t plan to be there. You’re both welcome there any of those times.” He told them with just a twinge of smugness.
Isabel couldn’t mask her excitement. “The south of France…in a villa…all to ourselves. Oh my God. Jesse, can you imagine?”
“Yeah. I can.” He replied with just a hint of suggestiveness. It sounded like the perfect place to maybe work on starting a family. He turned his attention back to this strange alien protector for a moment. “Thank you, Cal.”
Cal gave him a slight bow in acknowledgement and grinned. “And now, for the Guerins.” He said and handed another box to Maria.
Maria looked at Michael and then quickly opened the box. If he got a trip to France for Isabel and Jesse, she couldn’t wait to see what he got them. She stared at the letter and package of tickets that were tucked inside it. “Disneyland passes and some sort of voucher? And an address and list of dates?” She said and looked at Cal to explain further.
“The address is to my humble abode in LA that you can use on the dates that I don’t plan on being there. Along with 5-day passes for the family to the Magic Kingdom and a Disney voucher for a couple of grand so the kids can knock themselves out at the Disney stores.” Cal explained. “But, this is important, only those dates. Me and four kids on a Disney high do not mix. And you can make use of my driver and limo while you’re there. Just let me know when you decide to come and I’ll let my staff know.” He added. Damn, this felt good. Even the big gloomy Second was showing surprise and warmth for a change.
“Cal…” Michael started but didn’t get far.
“As for you Mr. Valenti. I understand you’re considering expanding your family status. That takes guts…and a lack of brain cells. I suggest you have Max give you a once over…maybe three or four times.” He remarked as he handed Kyle a box.
Kyle took the box with some surprise. His dealings with Cal had been marginal at best. Feeling a little off balance by it all, he opened the box and pulled out a couple of letters and quickly read. “These are some sort of letters of recommendation to…to the medical school at UM, Missoula for Patrick…and…and to Harvard for Kelly? Cal…”
“I have a few friends. I figured it couldn’t hurt. Go on though, there’re a few more things.” Cal coached.
“Educational Grants for Patrick and Kelly, and…U.S. Savings Bonds for their brothers and sister…and…” He pulled out the last document and was truly confused. “Some sort of Bill of Lading?”
“Ah, yes, a little something I saw at a car auction, a 1957 T-Bird convertible. I understand it needs a bit of work under the hood but the body and interior were in primo shape. I’m sure you could make use of it. It’s due to arrive at your shop by next Friday.” Cal told him and grinned at the shocked looked that his gift elicited from Valenti. He’d always secretly appreciated Kyle’s attitude, particularly towards Max. “And now, Your Majesty.” He said as he handed Max and Liz their gift.
Max carefully opened the tube-shaped box as if it might have been booby-trapped. Of course it wasn’t. He pulled out an ornate document and unrolled it. He recognized the symbols that adorned it, he’d seen many of them in Tess’s book but he had no idea what they said. He had never learned to read Antarian.
“Translation’s inside the tube.” Cal told them.
Max tilted the tube and some papers slid out. With Liz standing next to him, he read the document aloud…
“This hereby notifies King Zan of the death of Khivar, and with him the end of the reigning throne of Antar. A temporary ruling council has been established to govern until free elections can be organized within the next solar year. At which time, King Zan would be welcomed to return to Antar and run for office, if he so chooses. Or if he chooses not to return, the people of Antar wish him a long and happy life on Earth.”
Max had to pause for a moment before he could flip the page and continue reading, which he did silently since he could no longer trust his voice.
Liz was reading over his shoulder. “Khivar died in what was deemed an accident which gave the rebels a chance to seize power but they decided to establish a Republic and, from the sound of it, are going for a more democratic form of government.” Liz summed up and looked at her husband. “Max?”
A slow smile spread across his face. “I’m free. Free and clear. No more enemy aliens coming to hunt me down. No reason. I hold no power. Damn. It’s over, that part of my life is really over.” Max said and looked at Cal. “I guess this relieves you of your duty too.”
“I guess it does… but then life would be too boring if I wasn’t pulling your ass out of the fire every now and then.” Cal smirked and took a long draw on his cigar. “Well, I’ll be seeing ya around, kid. I gotta plane to catch to Hawaii. Nothing like fun in the sun for the Holidays.” He said as he headed back to his car. Damn, he’d enjoyed that.
“Merry Christmas, Cal!” Max called out. Cal gave him a dismissive wave in return but Max caught a glimpse of Cal’s grin as he climbed into the big SUV.
“I’ll be damned.” Michael whistled as the Caddy drove off. “Cal as Santa. No more being hunted. What’s next? Winning the lottery?”
“I’m not sure but you might want to buy a lottery ticket or two.” Kyle remarked. He was still reeling over Cal’s sudden generosity. And he was dying to get his hands on that T-bird.
“We better get going before the kids get sick out here in this cold.” Maria commented as she started to round her excited bunch up and herd them into the van.
“Yes, and a Christmas Ball to get ready for tonight.” Isabel said as she checked her watch. “God, it’s already 11:00. I am so running late. Jesse, we have to go or I’m never going to be ready on time!” She exclaimed as she hurried to their car.
“But the ball isn’t until 7:00 tonight!” Jesse pointed out as he rushed to catch up with his wife.
“She’ll be late to the ball.” Maria said and Liz nodded in agreement.
~
Liz smiled as she transferred the load of laundry from the washer to the dryer. She could hear her husband grunting as he lifted the weights on their workout equipment that shared the basement with the washer and dryer. After setting the dryer she turned to regard her husband. She’d noticed that he had taken up running a few mornings every week. “I happen to think a little middle-aged spread is sort of sexy.” She teased. The weights hit the ground with a thud.
Max glared at his wife as he picked the weights back up. “I’m not middle-aged and I’m not spreading. It’s just…well, that Jason guy is pretty good and Michael keeps insisting I try everything out, and…and, okay, I admit it. My pants are getting a little tight around the waist. But I am NOT spreading.” He adamantly proclaimed.
“Hmmm, too bad. A little love handle might give me something more to hold onto. Well, I’m off. I have a hair appointment. Sammy’s upstairs with the baby monitor. Molly’s asleep in her crib. She should be up in about an hour, and there’s a bottle in the frig. See ya!” She breezed up the stairs.
Max groaned. Did she have to mention love handles? He doubled his weight training efforts. After a half hour more he’d had enough and returned upstairs to find his son giving his daughter some lunch. “How are you two doing there?” He asked as he went to the frig for a bottle of cold water.
“We’re fine.” Sammy said as he gave his sister her bottle. “I zapped it for 3 seconds, just like you said and it was perfect when I tested it.” He said proudly.
Max grinned proudly. “See, I told you, you could do it. Maybe we can get out to the practice field a time or two during Christmas break and work some more on them.”
“Yeah,” Sammy agreed. He liked working on his powers and learning what all he could do. But the mention of the practice field reminded him of this morning. “Dad, does it bother you at all that…that you’re not a king any more?”
Max didn’t hesitate shaking his head. “No. I was never King Zan. Maybe it would have been different if we hadn’t crashed and everything got screwed up. But I’m Max Evans of Earth. That’s all I’ve ever been, and that’s all I want to be. I never had a desire to return. When I thought about it; and I did think of returning from time to time, it was always because of duty to help my people but never because I thought of it as home. It sounds like they worked things out for themselves just fine. So no, I’m not sorry one little bit. I like my life here.”
“Yeah, me too.” Sammy concurred. “Dad, why’d you think Cal did all that stuff? All those presents?” He wondered.
Max took a sip of his water. “Maybe because we’re the closest he has to family here on Earth. And he made it known a long time ago that he has no desire to return to Antar, so…we’re all he’s got.” He suggested. “Now, why don’t you let me finish feeding Molly, while you go take care of Jake. I don’t want him chewing up any more of my shoes because he’s bored.”
“Geez Dad, it was just one shoe. And you fixed it.” Sammy replied as he carefully handed Molly over.
“Yeah, I fixed it. But I didn’t know about the slobber inside.” Max pointed out as Sammy laughed and went to check on Jake.
~
It was almost six and Liz was staring at the person in the mirror. It’d been a long time since she’d gotten all dressed up, and she wasn’t sure who it was that was staring back in the mirror. She turned for a profile look. She ran her hands over the slight bugle of a tummy, but it wasn’t too bad. Her hands slid up over her breasts. Definite changes there thanks to Molly.
“I think that’s my job.” Max grinned at his wife from the doorway.
“Max,” she grinned at him. “My, my, my. You certainly look handsome in a tux. I’d forgotten how well you filled one of those out.” She teased as she pulled her husband closer by his lapels.
“You’re doing a nice bit of filling out there yourself.” He teased back as his eyes flashed her his interests.
“Mmm, maybe a little too much.” She lamented.
Max shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. You’re perfect just the way you are.”
“You too.” She leaned in and caught his lips with hers. She was surprised when he pulled back. He had a certain mischievous sparkle in his eyes. “Max Evans, you’re up to something.” She accused.
Max grinned and step out of her embrace and walked over to his dresser drawers and pulled out a box. When he had seen her dark royal blue dress that perfectly hugged her curves, he knew what he wanted to do with this. “Sit down, Liz. I want to tell you something.” He said as he guided her to the bed. “When Mom and Dad first brought Iz and me home, we still had a lot to learn and a lot of adjusting to do. It didn’t help that the relatives came out of the woodwork to meet us, and us barely able to speak. You get the idea. Anyway, one day some relatives were over and they were all asking us how we liked it there and saying how cute we were. They kept trying to get us to talk. It…it was getting overwhelming. And sudden this older lady, who had just been sitting and rocking in a rocking chair, asked me to come over and sit with her. She didn’t say anything, and didn’t expect me to say anything. I think she understood that it was all a little too much, and so we just sat and rocked for a long time. I remember she was wearing this pin that just sparkled. I kept staring at it at first, then touched it, and finally she took it off and let me hold it.’ He smiled a slightly sad smile. “She was my mother’s grandmother, my Great-Grandma Lucy, and it was the only time I ever saw her. She died a few months later.” He paused for a moment as Liz took his hand to comfort. “Anyways, Grandma Lucy had been an only daughter and her father had enjoyed buying both his wife and daughter jewelry, so she had a lot of it, especially after her mother passed on. And in turn she handed it down to her daughters and granddaughters, and great-granddaughters. I know Iz got a beautiful ring and necklace, but she left this to me.” He carefully opened the box, “I had it made into a necklace,” he said as he pulled out a beautiful necklace with a huge sapphire surrounded by a swirl of diamonds in a white gold setting, and placed it around her neck. “Mom has been holding it for me ever since I was six.” He told her as he carefully did the clasp.
“Oh.My.God! Max…it’s…it’s breathtaking!” Liz meant that literally as she had to gulp air a few times before she remembered how to breathe normally again. “Max, this…this is gorgeous. The way it sparkles and the design!”
Max beamed. “The jeweler here almost had a heart attack when he saw it.” He carefully turned it over and pointed to a tiny little indentation in the setting. “See that, he was able to identify it and did some research. It was a custom designed piece made by Tiffany of New York in 1893.” He told her proudly. Liz deserved to have something like this adorning her neck. “I guess even as a six year old, I had good taste!”
Liz chuckled at the jest as her finger traced the pendant. “I guess you did. Max, it’s beautiful and would have been, even if it were nothing but cut glass because it came from you. But this is extra special because it’s a family heirloom. Thank you.’ She felt her eyes moisten.
“You’re welcome.” He said as his forehead touched hers. He brushed a few tears away with his thumb.
“Oh damn. My make-up.” She said as she tried to stop the water works.
Max gave her a light kiss on the lips and then withdrew. “I’ll let you finish getting ready. You’re going to be the bell of the ball!” He said as he headed down the hall to check on how his son was doing with that bowtie.
~
“Okay Lizzie, get down here girl! I wanna see what all the fuss is about!” Maria yelled from the bottom of the stairs as she held little Molly in her arms. Her breath caught as her friend slowly descended the stairs. “Oh Lizzie! That dress, those shoes…THAT ROCK! Okay Lizzie, how’d Max pull that one off? Let me guess, he used mesquite charcoal this time?” She joked, as she got closer until she was inches away. “God, it’s gorgeous. You think Max could show Spaceboy that trick?”
“Maria…” Liz laughed. “Max didn’t, you know, make it. It’s an heirloom from his Great-Grandmother Lucy. Diane has been holding it for him all these years…but isn’t it incredible!”
“To say the least.” She stood back and appraised her friend. She was wearing a full-length dark royal blue gown, fitted at the bodice with spaghetti straps and a straight skirt, matching silk sash with darker royal blue embroidery running threw it, and a matching silk wrap hung loosely around her shoulders. All set off by on hell of sapphire rock surrounded by diamonds. “Babe, they aren’t going to know what hit them…for that matter neither is Maxy. So, how long has it been, huh?” She asked her best friend.
“Maria! I’m not going to…not since I got pregnant. We just couldn’t take the chance and…well, the doctor just gave the okay the other day but you know how busy the restaurant and bar is and Max has been working so much…and then Molly…”
Maria held her hand up. “Okay Chica. Auntie Maria gets the point.” She turned to the contented child dozing in her arms. “Molly, you’re about to have your first sleepover.”
“Maria, you don’t have to do that!” Liz protested.
“Sweetie, as a mother with a little experience under her belt, a word of advice. If someone is gullible enough to offer to watch your child, who’s still not yet sleeping through the night so you and hubby can have a good old nookie fest, you do not pass it up.” She turned to look, as the men of the house happened to appear. “And since if I remember correctly, you two are not the shy, quiet types in bed…Sammy, go pack your bags. You’re staying the night at Aunt Isabel’s.”
“I am?” Sammy asked in surprise.
“Either that or you can spend the night here listening to the sounds of nookie all night from your parent’s bedroom…did Max explain about the hour long orgasms?” Maria asked and bit her lip to keep from laughing as Sammy turned a shade of red she didn’t think was possible.
“Yes! And I’m not talking about it with you.” Sammy said in near panic.
“Why not? I could give you a woman’s perspective.” Maria offered, and almost lost it when she saw the expression on his face. Poor boy.
“NO! What are you trying to do? Scar me for life and ruin my sex life before I even get one? No! I’ll be right back. I need to go get my bag.” Sammy told them and ran upstairs, anxious to get away from his Aunt Maria.
They tried to keep it to just snickering so Sammy wouldn’t hear the laughter but it wasn’t easy.
“Maria, that was mean.” Liz said between snickers.
“What? I was just trying to help!” She protested and snorted.
Max was wiping the tears from his eyes.
“Let me get you a couple more bottles since it appears she’s staying the night.” Liz offered.
“So what if Isabel and Jesse plan on a night of nookie?” Max asked.
“I’ll call Iz and let her know he’s staying. They can have nookie anytime. They don’t have kids. Besides, he thinks talking about it is going to scar him? Wait ‘till he walks in at the wrong moment…that’ll leave lasting scars all around!” She spoke from experience.
~
Max’s Jeep pulled in behind Kyle’s car, parked in front of the apartment complex. “Go get your date, Sammy.” He said and grinned. Sammy looked a mix of overjoyed and terrified, both at the same time.
Liz watched him almost run up the walkway. “Wait ‘till he sees her. Sandy and Kelly spent a whole day with Isabel shopping with Kyle’s credit card.” She laughed. “Man, that’ll be the last time Kyle hands his card over to Isabel and gives her carte blanche to let them shop.”
“He asked for it.” Max laughed too.
“Maybe I should call Maria and see how Molly’s doing?” Liz reached for her cell, only to find Max’s hand taking it away. “Max…”
“Liz, it’s been fifteen minutes since we left. You know Maria can handle it. Why don’t you give her at least an hour?” He advised.
“Max, it’s…it’s just that this is the first time that…that I’ve left her with anyone.” Liz stressed.
“Liz, I know. But she’s fine. In fact, the phone will probably wake her up and then Maria will have her hands full getting her back to sleep.” Max reasoned.
“You’re right. And I know Maria can hand it. After having four of Michael’s kids, she can handle just about anything.” Liz consoled herself, but she swore in one hour, she’d be calling.
~
“Shhh Michael, she’s asleep.” Maria said as she tucked the blanket around the sleeping little angel. Alex had been quite excited to find out he was going to be sleeping with the big boys tonight so the baby could have his crib. They were going to have to buy him a youth bed soon, maybe after the first of the year. “Remember when Megan was this little?” She whispered as her husband came up behind her.
“Yeah. It seems like it was just yesterday. Now she’s busy terrorizing her brothers.” Michael said and felt old for some reason. His little girl was growing up. His boys too, but somehow it was different with his little girl.
“Alex was so excited about sleeping in Ryan and Chase’s room. I don’t know how I’m going to get him to sleep in his crib again. But I guess it’s just as well.” She sighed.
“Yeah, he’s growing up fast. I’ll just be glad when he’s out of the diapers.” Michael concurred.
“True, but then we’ll be starting all over again.” She said and fell quiet, waiting for his reaction.
Michael blinked several times as his brain worked out what his wife just said. “Uh…Maria?”
She turned and wrapped her arms around his neck and grinned. “Surprise!” He returned her grin and kissed her. Damn. Five kids. Never planned on that. “Megan’s not going to take it too well if it’s another brother.”
“I know. We had a hard enough time with Alex. She kept insisting we send him back and order a sister for her. I don’t know what she’ll do this time. But she’ll just have to deal. That’s part of growing up.” Maria told him as he held her.
“Yeah, I know. I just wish she wasn’t growing up so fast. Still, let’s cross our fingers for a girl.” Michael suggested.
“Deal.” Maria got out just as Michael’s lips met hers.
~
Sammy forgot to breathe as Kelly came into the small living room. Her hair was swept up with a few long loose curls framing her face. Her silk dress matched the color of her eyes. It was strapless and fitted nicely at the top and with a skirt made of several layers and lengths. It had a matching bolero jacket. He grinned and his eyes sparkled as her eyes shyly met his. She’d done something to them to make them even more noticeable. “Hi…you…you look incredible.” He finally got out.
“Thank you. You do too.” She said as her mother handed her, her coat.
“So you’ll be home about 2:00, right?” Sandy asked.
Kyle almost laughed as Sammy just continued to stare at Kelly. He came over and gave Sammy a friendly smack on the back. “Be back about 2:00,” he stated more than asked.
“Wha? Oh, yeah, 2:00. We’d better be going. My folks are waiting in the car.” He said as he helped her on with her new overcoat.
~
Kelly was nervous as they pulled up in front of the long driveway leading to the entrance of the country club. Her mom kept telling her that her manners were just as good as theirs and she’d know how to act just as long as she was herself. It sounded all well and good, but that club looked awfully glitzy. Before she knew it the car doors were being opened and the valets were helping them out of the car. She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, held her head high, and took Sammy’s arm. The look he gave her made her heart soar. She could do this.
With Liz on his arm Max walked into the large foyer with the high ceiling, huge chandelier and giant Christmas tree trimmed in red and gold. The coat check relieved them of their overcoats. He could hear the hum of the throng of voices speaking amongst themselves in the main ballroom just past the foyer. He glanced back and saw Sammy with Kelly on his arm, looking proud and completely relaxed. Large formal events weren’t all that knew to his son. No doubt he’d help Kelly get through it. She certainly looked lovely tonight. He gave Liz a smile. His wife was absolutely gorgeous. “Let’s go meet and greet.” He said as he guided her into the ballroom and looked for a familiar face, and quickly spotted his parents talking to another couple. His dad must have been looking for them and waved them over.
“Max, Liz, come. I’d like to introduce you both to Charles and Dolores Thomson. Charles, this is our son, Max, and his wife, Liz.” He waited until they shook hands and continued the introductions. “And their son, our grandson Sammy, and his date Kelly McPherson.”
“It’s very nice to meet you two. I’m glad that you could make it.” Charles Thomson said cordially. He scanned the room hoping to catch sight of their granddaughter but with no luck. “I think you both know my granddaughter, Cheri. I know she’d here somewhere with some basketball player.”
“I’m sure we’ll run into her eventually.” Sammy said evenly.
“I have to tell you Max, I’ve been dying to compliment you on your new dessert selection. My daughter-in-law and I stopped by for coffee and a quick bite the other day and had the most incredible tiramisu ever!” Dolores complimented.
“Thank you Mrs. Thomson. We recently hired a new baker who’s working out to be better than we could have ever imagined. He’s Luke Emerson’s son, of the old Emerson’s Bake Shop that closed up a few years back.” Max informed them.
“That’s it! I’ve been going nuts trying to figure out the last time I’d tasted anything that good, Emerson’s Bake Shop. Oh, I so hope you expand and maybe reopen a new one. I could give you tons of business!” Dolores told him.
“Actually we are looking into expanding with a new patio area with room for an outdoor stage by this summer. We’re working with an architect on the plans now. We hadn’t planned on adding in a bake shop but it’s something we might want to look into.” Max noted. Jason Emerson knew his way around an oven and even Michael was impressed. They had incorporated a slight change to the kitchen by converting some storage area into 2 new ovens and work area to better accommodate the increased demand for Jason’s rich desserts.
“Well, please do! And did you say outdoor dining? Will you be adding any sort of barbequing?’ She asked.
“Actually, yes we are. Michael; my partner and head chef loves to barbeque so it was a necessity.” Max said with a smile. Michael really was excited about that and kept calling the architect with changes and increasing the size of the barbeque pit area.
Dolores clapped her hands. “Then we’ll be talking. I’m on the planning committee for the City’s annual 4th of July picnic in the park and am in dire need of a good caterer. The club’s catering department isn’t much into barbequing. Please be sure I have your card before you leave. Oh and can you handle banquets?” Dolores asked. She was on many committees and some were getting rather tired of the club’s offerings.
“Yes, we have two banquet rooms. The smaller holds about 12, the larger 25 comfortably. And I’ll be sure to get you a card before we leave.” Max replied with a smile. He gave Dad a grateful look. Dad was right. This place was going to be a gold mine of new business. Michael was going to be ecstatic about the chance to do the 4th of July picnic. Everyone came to that. Talk about getting your name out there!
“Wonderful. She turned as her son and daughter-in-law, and granddaughter and date finally made it over. She quickly introduced her son, Roger, and daughter-in-law, Helen, and Cheri, and her date, Johnnie Erickson.
“I’m so glad you could make it Sammy.” Cheri said over-cheerfully. She forced her smile to remain when she spotted Kelly hanging on his arm, as if he was her meal ticket. “I was worried that you might still be in trouble over that fight you started in school.”
All eyes turned to Sammy, who wasn’t certain how to respond. Technically he had started the fight.
“Of course he’s not in trouble. He was defending a lady’s honor. Under the circumstances I didn’t see the need to punish him at all.” Max chimed in. Sammy had explained a little of how the rumor might have, if not started, at least was spread.
“Oh, how chivalrous of you. I so deplore people who start nasty rumors; I applaud you for being such a gentleman and defending a lady’s honor.” Helen said. She didn’t notice her daughter’s indignation.
“It looks like dinner is about to start.” Diane mentioned. They took their seats. Isabel and Jesse showed up and joined them around the Evans table. They listened to a rather lengthy speech about the club’s accomplishments and fundraising totals for that year. And it’s plans for the coming years. But the speech finally ended and all were allowed to dine on prime rib and salmon. After dinner, a band started playing some classic ballroom music.
Sammy was never so glad of the dance moves that Aunt Maria had taught him, as he was when he took Kelly’s hand and escorted her to the dance floor. She floated like a butterfly, and fit so perfectly in his arms.
Philip and Diane grinned at how cute Sammy and Kelly were as they glided across the floor, and soon joined them. Jesse and Isabel, and Max and Liz soon followed them.
Max grinned as he took Liz in his arms. He hadn’t been to a formal dance with her or anyone since their prom, and he’d rather not think of that night. She was dazzling as he spun her around in time with the music.
“I have to admit that I had some reservations about us joining a country club, but now I’m glad we did. I think this place is going to be good for us.” Liz told him as they danced. Max expertly spun her around the room. Suddenly her surrounding began to take on another life…
**Flash**
A small party occupied a portion of the ballroom, all decorated with dark blue caps and gowns. In among the family and friends, she saw Max smiling proudly as Sammy cut into the “Onward to Harvard!” cake, while Molly ran about. Was that a baby in Michael’s arms?
The room spun slightly….
**Flash**
A wedding reception. Kyle looked so handsome in his tux and Sandy in her cream-colored gown, and Patrick so proud as he toasted his mom and new official step-dad.
The room tilted again…
**Flash**
Happy 25th Anniversary! She and Max stood next to each other, surrounded by loved ones. Max had more gray now but was still trim. She noticed her hair was a slightly different shade, probably to cover her own gray. Ten-year old Molly had long flowing brown hair. Liz knew she wore it that way to cover her ears. Together she and Max blew out the 25 candles.
A touch of vertigo…
**Flash**
The whole ballroom was decked out in white and greens, as snow lightly fell outside. Everyone looked on as the bride began her trek down the aisle on the arm of her stepfather. Kyle never looked more proud. Her gown was pure white with delicate embroidery of green leaves and white roses on her white silk sash. Sammy’s eyes glowed with happiness and love. Beside him stood Max and then Simon and Gary. They’d grayed a bit but were still as handsome as ever.
**Flash**
They all stood for a family portrait, which she saw included Jesse and Isabel’s two children. Jesse was almost all gray but very distinguished. In Sammy’s arms she saw the reason for the gathering, a small squirming bundle with a shock of red hair.
Things settled then and she was back in Max’s arms. A still young Max with just a hint of the gray that was to come. She smiled and felt her eyes moisten.
“You okay?” Max asked with concern. For a moment he thought she might faint or something.
“I’m fine Max.” She assured him. “And I was right. This place is going to hold many happy memories for us.”
The End
“WOW! I got one too!” Megan cried and jumped up in excitement.
“Me too!” Ryan shouted and joined his brother and sister.
Alex ripped his and didn’t quite understand what was so great about the card but he joined his sibling’s enthusiasm anyhow. Mommy came over and collected his card before he lost it in the snow.
“What do you say kids?” Maria reminded them. She was smiling for her kids’ sake but inside she wanted to murder Cal. He had just handed her kids a total of $2,000 for them to spend at a toy store. Oh joy – NOT!
“Thank you, Uncle Cal!” was echoed from the exuberant group.
Cal beamed. He wouldn’t admit it but he loved that the kids had called him ‘Uncle Cal’. “You’re welcome kiddies. Now Sammy, aren’t you going to open yours and see what you got?”
“You mean it’s not a Toys’R’Us certificate?” Sammy joked as he sat at the table to open his larger box. He pulled the lid off and paused at what he found. He looked up at Cal, “How? Where did you find these? I looked for them after Mom and Dad died but Uncle David told me he’d thrown them out accidentally as garbage.”
Cal shrugged. “They were around,” was all he’d say.
Liz and Max came over to see what Sammy got and Liz pulled the richly bound book out. It was covered in a beautiful blue silk material with a baby picture in the middle and the name Samuel Connor Jr. embroidered underneath in white threads. She carefully opened the book and her eyes became misty as well. “It’s your baby book, Sammy.”
“Yeah, Mom kept it from the day they got me. And look,” he pulled out an ornate gold leaf frame, “it’s a print of the painting of me and Mom that we had done for my dad’s birthday. Cal hung the painting in my room in New York.” He paused as he pulled out the last item. “Mom and Dad’s wedding album. Something else that Uncle David said was lost.” Sammy felt Max’s hand on his shoulder. He wiped his eyes before he looked up at him. “I’m sorry, Dad. I…I didn’t think. Maybe…I can put them in the closet.”
“No, it’s okay. No reason to do that. And…maybe if it’s okay, I could read that baby book sometime.” Max told him. Sammy nodded and smiled as he began flipping through the photo album. Max turned back to Cal, “Thanks, for what you did for him.” He looked over at three little kids discussing what they were going to buy and already badgering their parents to go to Toys’R’Us that afternoon. “I supposed for that too. Although, I don’t think Michael and Maria see it the same way.” He said and smiled.
Cal reached in, grabbed a box from the pile and handed it to Max. “For the princess. One for Babies’R’Us.”
Liz took the box and smiled at him. “Thank you, Cal.” She told him sincerely.
“Ah, now for the rest.” Cal began.
“Wait…the rest. Cal the kids are enough…more than enough.” Max began.
“Now, never look a gift horse in the mouth.” He reached for another box and handed it to Isabel. “Princess for you and yours.” He said, clearly enjoying himself.
Isabel looked at Jesse. She had no idea what Cal could have possibly gotten her and Jesse. And she didn’t want to admit it but she was just as excited as the kids and was dying of curiosity. “Th-thank you.” She said and opened the box, then looked up at Cal a little confused. “Plane tickets to France? And what’s this letter?”
“I figured you two might want to get away for a bit. That letter is the address to my villa in the south of France and a list of dates when I don’t plan to be there. You’re both welcome there any of those times.” He told them with just a twinge of smugness.
Isabel couldn’t mask her excitement. “The south of France…in a villa…all to ourselves. Oh my God. Jesse, can you imagine?”
“Yeah. I can.” He replied with just a hint of suggestiveness. It sounded like the perfect place to maybe work on starting a family. He turned his attention back to this strange alien protector for a moment. “Thank you, Cal.”
Cal gave him a slight bow in acknowledgement and grinned. “And now, for the Guerins.” He said and handed another box to Maria.
Maria looked at Michael and then quickly opened the box. If he got a trip to France for Isabel and Jesse, she couldn’t wait to see what he got them. She stared at the letter and package of tickets that were tucked inside it. “Disneyland passes and some sort of voucher? And an address and list of dates?” She said and looked at Cal to explain further.
“The address is to my humble abode in LA that you can use on the dates that I don’t plan on being there. Along with 5-day passes for the family to the Magic Kingdom and a Disney voucher for a couple of grand so the kids can knock themselves out at the Disney stores.” Cal explained. “But, this is important, only those dates. Me and four kids on a Disney high do not mix. And you can make use of my driver and limo while you’re there. Just let me know when you decide to come and I’ll let my staff know.” He added. Damn, this felt good. Even the big gloomy Second was showing surprise and warmth for a change.
“Cal…” Michael started but didn’t get far.
“As for you Mr. Valenti. I understand you’re considering expanding your family status. That takes guts…and a lack of brain cells. I suggest you have Max give you a once over…maybe three or four times.” He remarked as he handed Kyle a box.
Kyle took the box with some surprise. His dealings with Cal had been marginal at best. Feeling a little off balance by it all, he opened the box and pulled out a couple of letters and quickly read. “These are some sort of letters of recommendation to…to the medical school at UM, Missoula for Patrick…and…and to Harvard for Kelly? Cal…”
“I have a few friends. I figured it couldn’t hurt. Go on though, there’re a few more things.” Cal coached.
“Educational Grants for Patrick and Kelly, and…U.S. Savings Bonds for their brothers and sister…and…” He pulled out the last document and was truly confused. “Some sort of Bill of Lading?”
“Ah, yes, a little something I saw at a car auction, a 1957 T-Bird convertible. I understand it needs a bit of work under the hood but the body and interior were in primo shape. I’m sure you could make use of it. It’s due to arrive at your shop by next Friday.” Cal told him and grinned at the shocked looked that his gift elicited from Valenti. He’d always secretly appreciated Kyle’s attitude, particularly towards Max. “And now, Your Majesty.” He said as he handed Max and Liz their gift.
Max carefully opened the tube-shaped box as if it might have been booby-trapped. Of course it wasn’t. He pulled out an ornate document and unrolled it. He recognized the symbols that adorned it, he’d seen many of them in Tess’s book but he had no idea what they said. He had never learned to read Antarian.
“Translation’s inside the tube.” Cal told them.
Max tilted the tube and some papers slid out. With Liz standing next to him, he read the document aloud…
“This hereby notifies King Zan of the death of Khivar, and with him the end of the reigning throne of Antar. A temporary ruling council has been established to govern until free elections can be organized within the next solar year. At which time, King Zan would be welcomed to return to Antar and run for office, if he so chooses. Or if he chooses not to return, the people of Antar wish him a long and happy life on Earth.”
Max had to pause for a moment before he could flip the page and continue reading, which he did silently since he could no longer trust his voice.
Liz was reading over his shoulder. “Khivar died in what was deemed an accident which gave the rebels a chance to seize power but they decided to establish a Republic and, from the sound of it, are going for a more democratic form of government.” Liz summed up and looked at her husband. “Max?”
A slow smile spread across his face. “I’m free. Free and clear. No more enemy aliens coming to hunt me down. No reason. I hold no power. Damn. It’s over, that part of my life is really over.” Max said and looked at Cal. “I guess this relieves you of your duty too.”
“I guess it does… but then life would be too boring if I wasn’t pulling your ass out of the fire every now and then.” Cal smirked and took a long draw on his cigar. “Well, I’ll be seeing ya around, kid. I gotta plane to catch to Hawaii. Nothing like fun in the sun for the Holidays.” He said as he headed back to his car. Damn, he’d enjoyed that.
“Merry Christmas, Cal!” Max called out. Cal gave him a dismissive wave in return but Max caught a glimpse of Cal’s grin as he climbed into the big SUV.
“I’ll be damned.” Michael whistled as the Caddy drove off. “Cal as Santa. No more being hunted. What’s next? Winning the lottery?”
“I’m not sure but you might want to buy a lottery ticket or two.” Kyle remarked. He was still reeling over Cal’s sudden generosity. And he was dying to get his hands on that T-bird.
“We better get going before the kids get sick out here in this cold.” Maria commented as she started to round her excited bunch up and herd them into the van.
“Yes, and a Christmas Ball to get ready for tonight.” Isabel said as she checked her watch. “God, it’s already 11:00. I am so running late. Jesse, we have to go or I’m never going to be ready on time!” She exclaimed as she hurried to their car.
“But the ball isn’t until 7:00 tonight!” Jesse pointed out as he rushed to catch up with his wife.
“She’ll be late to the ball.” Maria said and Liz nodded in agreement.
~
Liz smiled as she transferred the load of laundry from the washer to the dryer. She could hear her husband grunting as he lifted the weights on their workout equipment that shared the basement with the washer and dryer. After setting the dryer she turned to regard her husband. She’d noticed that he had taken up running a few mornings every week. “I happen to think a little middle-aged spread is sort of sexy.” She teased. The weights hit the ground with a thud.
Max glared at his wife as he picked the weights back up. “I’m not middle-aged and I’m not spreading. It’s just…well, that Jason guy is pretty good and Michael keeps insisting I try everything out, and…and, okay, I admit it. My pants are getting a little tight around the waist. But I am NOT spreading.” He adamantly proclaimed.
“Hmmm, too bad. A little love handle might give me something more to hold onto. Well, I’m off. I have a hair appointment. Sammy’s upstairs with the baby monitor. Molly’s asleep in her crib. She should be up in about an hour, and there’s a bottle in the frig. See ya!” She breezed up the stairs.
Max groaned. Did she have to mention love handles? He doubled his weight training efforts. After a half hour more he’d had enough and returned upstairs to find his son giving his daughter some lunch. “How are you two doing there?” He asked as he went to the frig for a bottle of cold water.
“We’re fine.” Sammy said as he gave his sister her bottle. “I zapped it for 3 seconds, just like you said and it was perfect when I tested it.” He said proudly.
Max grinned proudly. “See, I told you, you could do it. Maybe we can get out to the practice field a time or two during Christmas break and work some more on them.”
“Yeah,” Sammy agreed. He liked working on his powers and learning what all he could do. But the mention of the practice field reminded him of this morning. “Dad, does it bother you at all that…that you’re not a king any more?”
Max didn’t hesitate shaking his head. “No. I was never King Zan. Maybe it would have been different if we hadn’t crashed and everything got screwed up. But I’m Max Evans of Earth. That’s all I’ve ever been, and that’s all I want to be. I never had a desire to return. When I thought about it; and I did think of returning from time to time, it was always because of duty to help my people but never because I thought of it as home. It sounds like they worked things out for themselves just fine. So no, I’m not sorry one little bit. I like my life here.”
“Yeah, me too.” Sammy concurred. “Dad, why’d you think Cal did all that stuff? All those presents?” He wondered.
Max took a sip of his water. “Maybe because we’re the closest he has to family here on Earth. And he made it known a long time ago that he has no desire to return to Antar, so…we’re all he’s got.” He suggested. “Now, why don’t you let me finish feeding Molly, while you go take care of Jake. I don’t want him chewing up any more of my shoes because he’s bored.”
“Geez Dad, it was just one shoe. And you fixed it.” Sammy replied as he carefully handed Molly over.
“Yeah, I fixed it. But I didn’t know about the slobber inside.” Max pointed out as Sammy laughed and went to check on Jake.
~
It was almost six and Liz was staring at the person in the mirror. It’d been a long time since she’d gotten all dressed up, and she wasn’t sure who it was that was staring back in the mirror. She turned for a profile look. She ran her hands over the slight bugle of a tummy, but it wasn’t too bad. Her hands slid up over her breasts. Definite changes there thanks to Molly.
“I think that’s my job.” Max grinned at his wife from the doorway.
“Max,” she grinned at him. “My, my, my. You certainly look handsome in a tux. I’d forgotten how well you filled one of those out.” She teased as she pulled her husband closer by his lapels.
“You’re doing a nice bit of filling out there yourself.” He teased back as his eyes flashed her his interests.
“Mmm, maybe a little too much.” She lamented.
Max shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. You’re perfect just the way you are.”
“You too.” She leaned in and caught his lips with hers. She was surprised when he pulled back. He had a certain mischievous sparkle in his eyes. “Max Evans, you’re up to something.” She accused.
Max grinned and step out of her embrace and walked over to his dresser drawers and pulled out a box. When he had seen her dark royal blue dress that perfectly hugged her curves, he knew what he wanted to do with this. “Sit down, Liz. I want to tell you something.” He said as he guided her to the bed. “When Mom and Dad first brought Iz and me home, we still had a lot to learn and a lot of adjusting to do. It didn’t help that the relatives came out of the woodwork to meet us, and us barely able to speak. You get the idea. Anyway, one day some relatives were over and they were all asking us how we liked it there and saying how cute we were. They kept trying to get us to talk. It…it was getting overwhelming. And sudden this older lady, who had just been sitting and rocking in a rocking chair, asked me to come over and sit with her. She didn’t say anything, and didn’t expect me to say anything. I think she understood that it was all a little too much, and so we just sat and rocked for a long time. I remember she was wearing this pin that just sparkled. I kept staring at it at first, then touched it, and finally she took it off and let me hold it.’ He smiled a slightly sad smile. “She was my mother’s grandmother, my Great-Grandma Lucy, and it was the only time I ever saw her. She died a few months later.” He paused for a moment as Liz took his hand to comfort. “Anyways, Grandma Lucy had been an only daughter and her father had enjoyed buying both his wife and daughter jewelry, so she had a lot of it, especially after her mother passed on. And in turn she handed it down to her daughters and granddaughters, and great-granddaughters. I know Iz got a beautiful ring and necklace, but she left this to me.” He carefully opened the box, “I had it made into a necklace,” he said as he pulled out a beautiful necklace with a huge sapphire surrounded by a swirl of diamonds in a white gold setting, and placed it around her neck. “Mom has been holding it for me ever since I was six.” He told her as he carefully did the clasp.
“Oh.My.God! Max…it’s…it’s breathtaking!” Liz meant that literally as she had to gulp air a few times before she remembered how to breathe normally again. “Max, this…this is gorgeous. The way it sparkles and the design!”
Max beamed. “The jeweler here almost had a heart attack when he saw it.” He carefully turned it over and pointed to a tiny little indentation in the setting. “See that, he was able to identify it and did some research. It was a custom designed piece made by Tiffany of New York in 1893.” He told her proudly. Liz deserved to have something like this adorning her neck. “I guess even as a six year old, I had good taste!”
Liz chuckled at the jest as her finger traced the pendant. “I guess you did. Max, it’s beautiful and would have been, even if it were nothing but cut glass because it came from you. But this is extra special because it’s a family heirloom. Thank you.’ She felt her eyes moisten.
“You’re welcome.” He said as his forehead touched hers. He brushed a few tears away with his thumb.
“Oh damn. My make-up.” She said as she tried to stop the water works.
Max gave her a light kiss on the lips and then withdrew. “I’ll let you finish getting ready. You’re going to be the bell of the ball!” He said as he headed down the hall to check on how his son was doing with that bowtie.
~
“Okay Lizzie, get down here girl! I wanna see what all the fuss is about!” Maria yelled from the bottom of the stairs as she held little Molly in her arms. Her breath caught as her friend slowly descended the stairs. “Oh Lizzie! That dress, those shoes…THAT ROCK! Okay Lizzie, how’d Max pull that one off? Let me guess, he used mesquite charcoal this time?” She joked, as she got closer until she was inches away. “God, it’s gorgeous. You think Max could show Spaceboy that trick?”
“Maria…” Liz laughed. “Max didn’t, you know, make it. It’s an heirloom from his Great-Grandmother Lucy. Diane has been holding it for him all these years…but isn’t it incredible!”
“To say the least.” She stood back and appraised her friend. She was wearing a full-length dark royal blue gown, fitted at the bodice with spaghetti straps and a straight skirt, matching silk sash with darker royal blue embroidery running threw it, and a matching silk wrap hung loosely around her shoulders. All set off by on hell of sapphire rock surrounded by diamonds. “Babe, they aren’t going to know what hit them…for that matter neither is Maxy. So, how long has it been, huh?” She asked her best friend.
“Maria! I’m not going to…not since I got pregnant. We just couldn’t take the chance and…well, the doctor just gave the okay the other day but you know how busy the restaurant and bar is and Max has been working so much…and then Molly…”
Maria held her hand up. “Okay Chica. Auntie Maria gets the point.” She turned to the contented child dozing in her arms. “Molly, you’re about to have your first sleepover.”
“Maria, you don’t have to do that!” Liz protested.
“Sweetie, as a mother with a little experience under her belt, a word of advice. If someone is gullible enough to offer to watch your child, who’s still not yet sleeping through the night so you and hubby can have a good old nookie fest, you do not pass it up.” She turned to look, as the men of the house happened to appear. “And since if I remember correctly, you two are not the shy, quiet types in bed…Sammy, go pack your bags. You’re staying the night at Aunt Isabel’s.”
“I am?” Sammy asked in surprise.
“Either that or you can spend the night here listening to the sounds of nookie all night from your parent’s bedroom…did Max explain about the hour long orgasms?” Maria asked and bit her lip to keep from laughing as Sammy turned a shade of red she didn’t think was possible.
“Yes! And I’m not talking about it with you.” Sammy said in near panic.
“Why not? I could give you a woman’s perspective.” Maria offered, and almost lost it when she saw the expression on his face. Poor boy.
“NO! What are you trying to do? Scar me for life and ruin my sex life before I even get one? No! I’ll be right back. I need to go get my bag.” Sammy told them and ran upstairs, anxious to get away from his Aunt Maria.
They tried to keep it to just snickering so Sammy wouldn’t hear the laughter but it wasn’t easy.
“Maria, that was mean.” Liz said between snickers.
“What? I was just trying to help!” She protested and snorted.
Max was wiping the tears from his eyes.
“Let me get you a couple more bottles since it appears she’s staying the night.” Liz offered.
“So what if Isabel and Jesse plan on a night of nookie?” Max asked.
“I’ll call Iz and let her know he’s staying. They can have nookie anytime. They don’t have kids. Besides, he thinks talking about it is going to scar him? Wait ‘till he walks in at the wrong moment…that’ll leave lasting scars all around!” She spoke from experience.
~
Max’s Jeep pulled in behind Kyle’s car, parked in front of the apartment complex. “Go get your date, Sammy.” He said and grinned. Sammy looked a mix of overjoyed and terrified, both at the same time.
Liz watched him almost run up the walkway. “Wait ‘till he sees her. Sandy and Kelly spent a whole day with Isabel shopping with Kyle’s credit card.” She laughed. “Man, that’ll be the last time Kyle hands his card over to Isabel and gives her carte blanche to let them shop.”
“He asked for it.” Max laughed too.
“Maybe I should call Maria and see how Molly’s doing?” Liz reached for her cell, only to find Max’s hand taking it away. “Max…”
“Liz, it’s been fifteen minutes since we left. You know Maria can handle it. Why don’t you give her at least an hour?” He advised.
“Max, it’s…it’s just that this is the first time that…that I’ve left her with anyone.” Liz stressed.
“Liz, I know. But she’s fine. In fact, the phone will probably wake her up and then Maria will have her hands full getting her back to sleep.” Max reasoned.
“You’re right. And I know Maria can hand it. After having four of Michael’s kids, she can handle just about anything.” Liz consoled herself, but she swore in one hour, she’d be calling.
~
“Shhh Michael, she’s asleep.” Maria said as she tucked the blanket around the sleeping little angel. Alex had been quite excited to find out he was going to be sleeping with the big boys tonight so the baby could have his crib. They were going to have to buy him a youth bed soon, maybe after the first of the year. “Remember when Megan was this little?” She whispered as her husband came up behind her.
“Yeah. It seems like it was just yesterday. Now she’s busy terrorizing her brothers.” Michael said and felt old for some reason. His little girl was growing up. His boys too, but somehow it was different with his little girl.
“Alex was so excited about sleeping in Ryan and Chase’s room. I don’t know how I’m going to get him to sleep in his crib again. But I guess it’s just as well.” She sighed.
“Yeah, he’s growing up fast. I’ll just be glad when he’s out of the diapers.” Michael concurred.
“True, but then we’ll be starting all over again.” She said and fell quiet, waiting for his reaction.
Michael blinked several times as his brain worked out what his wife just said. “Uh…Maria?”
She turned and wrapped her arms around his neck and grinned. “Surprise!” He returned her grin and kissed her. Damn. Five kids. Never planned on that. “Megan’s not going to take it too well if it’s another brother.”
“I know. We had a hard enough time with Alex. She kept insisting we send him back and order a sister for her. I don’t know what she’ll do this time. But she’ll just have to deal. That’s part of growing up.” Maria told him as he held her.
“Yeah, I know. I just wish she wasn’t growing up so fast. Still, let’s cross our fingers for a girl.” Michael suggested.
“Deal.” Maria got out just as Michael’s lips met hers.
~
Sammy forgot to breathe as Kelly came into the small living room. Her hair was swept up with a few long loose curls framing her face. Her silk dress matched the color of her eyes. It was strapless and fitted nicely at the top and with a skirt made of several layers and lengths. It had a matching bolero jacket. He grinned and his eyes sparkled as her eyes shyly met his. She’d done something to them to make them even more noticeable. “Hi…you…you look incredible.” He finally got out.
“Thank you. You do too.” She said as her mother handed her, her coat.
“So you’ll be home about 2:00, right?” Sandy asked.
Kyle almost laughed as Sammy just continued to stare at Kelly. He came over and gave Sammy a friendly smack on the back. “Be back about 2:00,” he stated more than asked.
“Wha? Oh, yeah, 2:00. We’d better be going. My folks are waiting in the car.” He said as he helped her on with her new overcoat.
~
Kelly was nervous as they pulled up in front of the long driveway leading to the entrance of the country club. Her mom kept telling her that her manners were just as good as theirs and she’d know how to act just as long as she was herself. It sounded all well and good, but that club looked awfully glitzy. Before she knew it the car doors were being opened and the valets were helping them out of the car. She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, held her head high, and took Sammy’s arm. The look he gave her made her heart soar. She could do this.
With Liz on his arm Max walked into the large foyer with the high ceiling, huge chandelier and giant Christmas tree trimmed in red and gold. The coat check relieved them of their overcoats. He could hear the hum of the throng of voices speaking amongst themselves in the main ballroom just past the foyer. He glanced back and saw Sammy with Kelly on his arm, looking proud and completely relaxed. Large formal events weren’t all that knew to his son. No doubt he’d help Kelly get through it. She certainly looked lovely tonight. He gave Liz a smile. His wife was absolutely gorgeous. “Let’s go meet and greet.” He said as he guided her into the ballroom and looked for a familiar face, and quickly spotted his parents talking to another couple. His dad must have been looking for them and waved them over.
“Max, Liz, come. I’d like to introduce you both to Charles and Dolores Thomson. Charles, this is our son, Max, and his wife, Liz.” He waited until they shook hands and continued the introductions. “And their son, our grandson Sammy, and his date Kelly McPherson.”
“It’s very nice to meet you two. I’m glad that you could make it.” Charles Thomson said cordially. He scanned the room hoping to catch sight of their granddaughter but with no luck. “I think you both know my granddaughter, Cheri. I know she’d here somewhere with some basketball player.”
“I’m sure we’ll run into her eventually.” Sammy said evenly.
“I have to tell you Max, I’ve been dying to compliment you on your new dessert selection. My daughter-in-law and I stopped by for coffee and a quick bite the other day and had the most incredible tiramisu ever!” Dolores complimented.
“Thank you Mrs. Thomson. We recently hired a new baker who’s working out to be better than we could have ever imagined. He’s Luke Emerson’s son, of the old Emerson’s Bake Shop that closed up a few years back.” Max informed them.
“That’s it! I’ve been going nuts trying to figure out the last time I’d tasted anything that good, Emerson’s Bake Shop. Oh, I so hope you expand and maybe reopen a new one. I could give you tons of business!” Dolores told him.
“Actually we are looking into expanding with a new patio area with room for an outdoor stage by this summer. We’re working with an architect on the plans now. We hadn’t planned on adding in a bake shop but it’s something we might want to look into.” Max noted. Jason Emerson knew his way around an oven and even Michael was impressed. They had incorporated a slight change to the kitchen by converting some storage area into 2 new ovens and work area to better accommodate the increased demand for Jason’s rich desserts.
“Well, please do! And did you say outdoor dining? Will you be adding any sort of barbequing?’ She asked.
“Actually, yes we are. Michael; my partner and head chef loves to barbeque so it was a necessity.” Max said with a smile. Michael really was excited about that and kept calling the architect with changes and increasing the size of the barbeque pit area.
Dolores clapped her hands. “Then we’ll be talking. I’m on the planning committee for the City’s annual 4th of July picnic in the park and am in dire need of a good caterer. The club’s catering department isn’t much into barbequing. Please be sure I have your card before you leave. Oh and can you handle banquets?” Dolores asked. She was on many committees and some were getting rather tired of the club’s offerings.
“Yes, we have two banquet rooms. The smaller holds about 12, the larger 25 comfortably. And I’ll be sure to get you a card before we leave.” Max replied with a smile. He gave Dad a grateful look. Dad was right. This place was going to be a gold mine of new business. Michael was going to be ecstatic about the chance to do the 4th of July picnic. Everyone came to that. Talk about getting your name out there!
“Wonderful. She turned as her son and daughter-in-law, and granddaughter and date finally made it over. She quickly introduced her son, Roger, and daughter-in-law, Helen, and Cheri, and her date, Johnnie Erickson.
“I’m so glad you could make it Sammy.” Cheri said over-cheerfully. She forced her smile to remain when she spotted Kelly hanging on his arm, as if he was her meal ticket. “I was worried that you might still be in trouble over that fight you started in school.”
All eyes turned to Sammy, who wasn’t certain how to respond. Technically he had started the fight.
“Of course he’s not in trouble. He was defending a lady’s honor. Under the circumstances I didn’t see the need to punish him at all.” Max chimed in. Sammy had explained a little of how the rumor might have, if not started, at least was spread.
“Oh, how chivalrous of you. I so deplore people who start nasty rumors; I applaud you for being such a gentleman and defending a lady’s honor.” Helen said. She didn’t notice her daughter’s indignation.
“It looks like dinner is about to start.” Diane mentioned. They took their seats. Isabel and Jesse showed up and joined them around the Evans table. They listened to a rather lengthy speech about the club’s accomplishments and fundraising totals for that year. And it’s plans for the coming years. But the speech finally ended and all were allowed to dine on prime rib and salmon. After dinner, a band started playing some classic ballroom music.
Sammy was never so glad of the dance moves that Aunt Maria had taught him, as he was when he took Kelly’s hand and escorted her to the dance floor. She floated like a butterfly, and fit so perfectly in his arms.
Philip and Diane grinned at how cute Sammy and Kelly were as they glided across the floor, and soon joined them. Jesse and Isabel, and Max and Liz soon followed them.
Max grinned as he took Liz in his arms. He hadn’t been to a formal dance with her or anyone since their prom, and he’d rather not think of that night. She was dazzling as he spun her around in time with the music.
“I have to admit that I had some reservations about us joining a country club, but now I’m glad we did. I think this place is going to be good for us.” Liz told him as they danced. Max expertly spun her around the room. Suddenly her surrounding began to take on another life…
**Flash**
A small party occupied a portion of the ballroom, all decorated with dark blue caps and gowns. In among the family and friends, she saw Max smiling proudly as Sammy cut into the “Onward to Harvard!” cake, while Molly ran about. Was that a baby in Michael’s arms?
The room spun slightly….
**Flash**
A wedding reception. Kyle looked so handsome in his tux and Sandy in her cream-colored gown, and Patrick so proud as he toasted his mom and new official step-dad.
The room tilted again…
**Flash**
Happy 25th Anniversary! She and Max stood next to each other, surrounded by loved ones. Max had more gray now but was still trim. She noticed her hair was a slightly different shade, probably to cover her own gray. Ten-year old Molly had long flowing brown hair. Liz knew she wore it that way to cover her ears. Together she and Max blew out the 25 candles.
A touch of vertigo…
**Flash**
The whole ballroom was decked out in white and greens, as snow lightly fell outside. Everyone looked on as the bride began her trek down the aisle on the arm of her stepfather. Kyle never looked more proud. Her gown was pure white with delicate embroidery of green leaves and white roses on her white silk sash. Sammy’s eyes glowed with happiness and love. Beside him stood Max and then Simon and Gary. They’d grayed a bit but were still as handsome as ever.
**Flash**
They all stood for a family portrait, which she saw included Jesse and Isabel’s two children. Jesse was almost all gray but very distinguished. In Sammy’s arms she saw the reason for the gathering, a small squirming bundle with a shock of red hair.
Things settled then and she was back in Max’s arms. A still young Max with just a hint of the gray that was to come. She smiled and felt her eyes moisten.
“You okay?” Max asked with concern. For a moment he thought she might faint or something.
“I’m fine Max.” She assured him. “And I was right. This place is going to hold many happy memories for us.”
The End