Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2005 7:39 pm
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CHAPTER 10
True to her word, Isabel arrived to pick up Stephanie at exactly eleven in the morning. She hopped out of her car, Starbuck’s cup in one hand, and her wedding planner in the other. With so little time left until her big day, every single moment had to be accounted for. Unfortunately, her hands were too full to bother unlocking the door, so instead she nudged the doorbell and leaned back against the wall.
Stephanie had heard all of the jokes about Isabel’s ‘Nazi’ side when it came to planning events, so she’d made sure she was ready half an hour early just in case. She practically bounced down the stairs, actually excited to be taking part in the upcoming nuptials. When she opened the door, a smiled spread across her face seeing Isabel attempting to juggle way too many things, considering her wedding organizer was getting bigger than she was, and generally looking nervous. Stephanie knew this situation had to be difficult for Isabel, especially on top of all the wedding details, but she was determined not to be a bother and to help in any way possible.
“Are you ready?” Isabel asked her as Stephanie unloaded the large book from her arms. She wanted so much for everything to turn out as well as she had planned, however, Alex hadn’t given her much hope. He thought she was just asking for trouble and refused to see why this was so important to her. It was the first time since she’d started planning the wedding that she’d really wanted to kill him. But Isabel was still holding out some hope that things would work themselves out. She’d known Liz for the better half of her life and hoped Liz would never cause trouble during her special time. As for Stephanie, while she didn’t know her very well just yet, she didn’t seem like the type to randomly start a fight. Yes, one way or another, things would go off without a hitch.
“Yep, I’m ready to go if you are.” Quickly, Stephanie grabbed her purse, and turned back to face Isabel. “As long as you’ll let me carry something.” She was still holding the wedding organizer but Isabel was already reaching for it.
“Are you sure you don’t mind?”
Stephanie smiled and shook her head. “Not at all. Besides, aren’t people supposed to be catering to your every whim? After all, you are the bride.” Stephanie winked when Isabel looked at her.
Isabel was starting to realize her brother hadn’t given this girl enough credit…she had more guts than he was aware of. “I think my brother underestimates you…you’re not as naïve as he’d love to believe you are.” Isabel had a newfound respect for Stephanie now, which made her want to get to know her that much more. “Ok. What do you say we get out of here?” Without waiting for an answer, Isabel opened the door and headed toward her car with Stephanie following closely behind.
They both climbed into the car and Isabel realized she really knew nothing about the woman sitting next to her, and if she was going to be a part of the family, she wanted to know everything.
“So, tell me about yourself and don’t leave any of the juicy details out.”
Stephanie glanced over at Isabel and the slightly devious smile covering her face. In that moment, the resemblance between her and her brother was much more obvious. Stephanie’s life was an open book as far as she was concerned, but she wasn’t sure where to begin. “Well, I was born and raised in Georgia, and then moved to Florida after my mom died.”
“I’m so sorry.” Isabel responded sincerely.
“It’s ok. It was a long time ago. My parents got divorced when I was still very young, so my mom raised me by herself…it wasn’t until after her death that I went to stay with my dad. Before then, I didn’t know the man.”
“How old were you?” Isabel couldn’t imagine what that must have been like for a young girl, but she was certain it had to have been hard. Isabel had been very lucky; she’d never had to go without her mom or dad.
“I was fifteen, so it was a big adjustment…for both of us. He’d gotten remarried years before, but they were unable to have children so I was the only one.”
“Do you like your step mother?” Most people she knew didn’t.
“Well, I lived with her and my dad for five years. She wasn’t my mom, but she was always nice and loving to me. So yes…I like her. They both absolutely adore Max.” She smiled, knowing Max was the one thing they seemed to give their approval on. Then again, Max was the only part of her life she wanted her father’s blessing on.
“Do they live close to you and Max?”
“Yes,” she smiled again. Whenever she didn’t find him at home, it was almost always a guarantee that he was with her parents. “Max is always over there helping my dad fix something or helping Cheri with something…like I said, they adore him.”
“How did the two of you meet?”
“It’s kind of funny that you should ask. Before I tell you, please understand that I’m not a heavy drinker and I certainly don’t make a habit out of spending all of my time in bars.” Stephanie said defensively, suddenly embarrassed by the story.
“Stephanie, you were both young…it’s ok.” Isabel reassured her, and then waited for her to continue.
“Well, we met one night at City Walk in Orlando. It was the hot spot to hang out and one of my friends had recently ended a long relationship so we were there a few nights a week. I’d seen your brother come into this piano bar I liked several times, and I’ll admit I started looking for him when I went there. I still remember the first time I saw him.” Stephanie closed her eyes, and for an instant she was there again. “He was so handsome and he always came in alone, but I could never approach him.”
“Why not?” Isabel questioned, a little confused.
Stephanie thought about it for a second, and then answered her question. “Because he always looked so sad, and so distant. It was obvious his mind was somewhere else, so I admired him from afar. Then one night he walked up to me and started talking to me as if we’d known each other forever.” She didn’t realize it, but her voice broke off in a whisper. She remembered those nights like they were just yesterday. She used to watch him from across the bar, sipping his drink, and staring down into it as if he were looking for something. Occasionally, he’d come in with some guys he worked with, but his demeanor was still the same.
“How long have you known him?” Isabel couldn’t help but be curious if it was the full ten years or less.
“It’s been about eight years now. Initially, we started out as friends and it gradually turned into something more. We never planned for it to be that way, but that’s what it turned out to be.”
“Well when and how did he propose?” Isabel didn’t mean to seem nosy, but Max had been gone so long…Stephanie was the only window into his life that she had. “I’m sorry, Stephanie. If I am prying or pushing you too hard you can tell me to back off. I’m just trying to get to know you better.” Isabel said apologetically.
Stephanie smiled at her knowing her motives were innocent. “Isabel, I don’t mind telling you anything you want to know. I understand that it must’ve been hard for you, not seeing Max and not knowing where he was. Then, as if that weren’t enough, I just show up like...oh here I am! I mean here I come disrupting what little you do know about Max and end up stirring up more problems. Now I know I should’ve stayed home. I just wanted to meet you all, to know where he came from…it was important to me. Here he has this family, this wonderful family, something I never had, and he willingly walked away from it. I had to understand why. I want you to know that before I came here he’d never explained any of it to me. I didn’t really know about Michael, and I sure didn’t know about Liz Parker. All I knew was that he’d walked away and I didn’t understand why. But now I know how hard it was for Max and now I can understand how difficult it was for you and your family being in the dark…and I know it’s hard for Liz too. I can see how much Max means to her, and I know he still cares about her, but I also know what Max means to me. I won’t lie and tell you I’m not scared, Isabel. A few days ago I was planning my own wedding and future with the man I love, and now…”
Isabel had pulled into the mall parking lot, found a space, and parked. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to say to Stephanie. She knew what Max felt for Liz, but she’d also seen the way he looked at Stephanie. “I believe he loves you, Stephanie. Yes, he still has feelings for Liz, he always will, because she was his first love, but he loves you, he’s with you, and that has to count for something.” They sat in silence looking at each other for a moment before Isabel spoke again. “Come on…we can’t fix all of this right now, but we can go find you a dress that will knock his socks off.” She reached down and pulled Stephanie out of the car and into the mall.
As soon as they walked in, they met up with Maria and Liz, and everyone exchanged pleasantries despite the awkwardness between them all.
“Stephanie…I hear you’re staying for the wedding, right?” Maria, although she knew Max and Liz belonged together, was going to be supportive and try to get to know her.
“Yes, Maria. I’ve decided to stay. I’ll be leaving to go home the day after the wedding because I have to get back to work. Although, I’m not sure what Max’s plans are or when he has to be back for work. I know he’d love to stay and visit with you all longer, we just haven’t really talked about it.” Liz said nothing, but she secretly hoped Max would stay longer without Stephanie.
“So Liz, aren’t you a teacher?” Stephanie figured she should be nice, and attempt to make conversation.
“Yeah, but I took the week off. I have so much sick leave acquired, so why not take it now. You know, so much to do and so little time to do it in. I’m sorry but I can’t seem to remember…what is it that you do?” She was hoping Max had landed a job bum who went from one job to the next carelessly or at least someone that only worked in sales.
“Retail.” Stephanie answered.
Liz smiled, she knew it! Stephanie didn’t have half her class and even at her age was still going form job to job. “Really? What store?”
Stephanie looked at her funny, but answered her regardless. “I work for a high end department store. I help pick out the clothes for our site.” Isabel and Maria’s heads turned rapidly.
“So, are you the purchaser or the consultant?”
Stephanie smiled and shook her head. She knew exactly what Liz was trying to do. Fortunately for her, she was proud of what she did. It had taken her a few years to get there, but she loved it. “Actually, I’m head of my department at the store in Florida. I make sure we have everything we need, and if we don’t I get it from headquarters.” She watched as Isabel and Maria’s faces lit up, and watched as Liz stood there stunned
“So what store do you work for?” Isabel was on her toes. Shopping was her life!
“Saks.” Stephanie said simply.
Isabel whipped her head around practically giving herself whiplash. “As in Saks 5th Avenue?”
Stephanie smiled. “That’s the one.”
Maria and Isabel were both in shock, and pleased to no end! They had a new shopping partner, one who knew all the latest fashions and trends before they ever hit. This, they were going to love.
“Yeah right.” Everyone turned toward Liz.
“Excuse me?” None of them were sure they’d heard correctly, so Stephanie wanted to clear the air. She was sure it was a misunderstanding.
“Yeah, you work for Saks and I’m Santa Clause.” While Liz may have found it funny, no one else did.
“Well, Liz, I do work for Saks, so ho ho ho.” Stephanie turned away from Liz to face a rack of dresses, while Maria watched in shock and Isabel tired to muffle her own laughter.
Liz was fuming. Who did she think she was? She couldn’t just come in here and take over everything Liz had worked for. “Well then, something in this lowly store wouldn’t be up to par for you…why don’t you have someone ship you a dress.” Liz crossed her arms over her chest and stood there like a pouting child.
Maria didn’t understand what had come over Liz but she grabbed her by the arm. “Liz, stop this…now.” Liz ignored her and yanked her arm free as she waited for Stephanie’s response.
“You know, Liz, I enjoy shopping at what you call lowly stores, and by the way, Macy’s isn’t lowly.” She kept her eyes focused on Liz. She didn’t know where Liz’s little tantrum had come from, but she was getting tired of being treated this way.
“Whatever.” Liz looked around at her friend’s faces and saw the looks she was receiving. Why weren’t they on her side? “I have to go.” She announced and started to walk away when she realized Maria wasn’t behind her. “Maria?” She called after her and Maria looked Stephanie with sympathy in her eyes.
“I’m really sorry.” Stephanie understood the predicament she was in and smiled. Then, Maria turned to Isabel. “I promise I’ll call you later.” Maria turned and took off after Liz who already had a large head start.
Stephanie and Isabel stood there for a second before Stephanie turned to her. “Isabel, if it’s ok with you I think I will just have my step mom ship me something from home. I’m sure I have something appropriate for your day, and maybe this wasn’t such a good idea…I don’t want to make anymore waves.” Isabel nodded her head. At this point what could she say to make what had just happened right? One thing was for sure, Liz Parker was going to get a piece of her mind tomorrow.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Max, Diane, Phillip, and Alex were setting the kitchen table when Isabel and Stephanie walked into the house. With both of them empty-handed Diane gave a questioning look to Isabel as Stephanie headed upstairs.
“What happened?”
Isabel sat in the chair, blew her bangs across her face, and sighed. “What didn’t happen would be a much easier question to answer? We were in Macy’s and Stephanie was trying very hard to make nice with Liz, well Liz got an attitude and insulted her, and after that Steph just wanted to come home. Once, just once, I wish she could just shut her mouth!”
Max looked from his sister to the stairs. “I’ll be right back.”
Max headed up the stairs, taking two at a time, finally stopping in front of Stephanie’s door. He gently knocked, and then he opened the door. There she was, lying on the bed facing the wall. Slowly, he walked into the room and walked over to the bed. Without saying a word, he lay down behind her and pulled her close to him.
“Are you ok?” He heard her sniffle and shake her head. He knew this was hard on her, and Liz wasn’t making it any easier. He pushed her hair out of her eyes and waited for her to talk to him.
“She hates me, and I understand why, but that was ridiculous.”
Max held her tighter and kissed her temple. She turned so she was facing him and as he looked down at her he saw everything about her that had made him fall in love with her. “I love you, Steph.”
Stephanie cupped his cheek and smiled. They were words she would never get tired of hearing, but until he was more certain of his feelings, they brought pain with them also. “I know.” She lay there looking up at him, and then leaned forward until her lips met his.
“I know this is hard on you, Steph, and I want you to know I love you for staying here.” She shook her head slowly giving him an easy smile, and then her stomach rumbled causing them both to laugh.
Max sat up, pulling her with him. “Come on…I’m starving.” He held onto her hand as they headed downstairs together. Half way down, they could already hear the laughter coming from the kitchen.
“Ok gang, dinner’s ready! Isabel, don’t forget the mustard.” Isabel reached in the fridge, grabbed the mustard, and took off for the table.
Diane saw Stephanie come into the room and smiled. “Welcome to Evans’ Chinese night! Eat all you want!” Stephanie nodded and scooted in the booth next to Max who was filling a plate for himself with one hand and handing her one of her own with the other.
Dinner was full of good food, good conversation, and a lot of laughter. As each person finished their plate Philip handed them a fortune cookie, and then made an announcement. “We have a tradition in our family, Stephanie, that each of us shares our good fortune with everyone. So, you break it, and read it to everyone. Alex, you go first.”
Alex always loved to go first and somehow managed to get the best fortune. He broke the cookie in two and grabbed his fortune. He cleared his throat and began. “Ok, mine says everyone at the table secretly agrees that Max’s ears are too big for his head." Everyone stopped to look at Alex when he starting laughing at his own joke. “Your ears are too big for your head!” He huffed and wiggled his head from side to side in a mocking manner.
“Ok, smart ass, what does it really say?”
Finally, able to control his laughter, he opened the piece of paper and read. “You or someone close to you will be married before the end of the year.” He threw the paper down and Max laughed.
“You were right the other one was better.” Max teased and they all laughed. Now it was Max’s turn. He picked up his cookie and broke it into two large pieces and began to read it. “The road to hell is paved with…pink flamingoes.”
They all looked at Max and Alex shook his head. “Dude, you suck at this! You always sucked at this…some things never change.” Alex reached over and took the paper from Max and read it himself. Laughing, he looked at Max. “You don’t have to think of lame ones, they come to you.” He threw the fortune on the table.
“Ok, Iz, what does yours say?” Diane asked.
Isabel cracked the cookie and took out the piece of paper. “Patience is not your virtue.” She frowned and everyone laughed knowing very well that it was Isabel to a tee.
Max looked at Steph and smiled. To most it would seem like a stupid tradition, but not to her, she was loving every second of it. “Steph, it’s your turn. Tell us what you have.”
She cracked her cookie and looked at Max. “What? Three servings of chow mien wasn’t enough for you, tubby?” She looked at it funny, and then everyone erupted into laughter. She threw the paper at Max and leaned back against the bench. “I always get good fortunes, and today I have the bad one. You cursed me!”
Max laughed at her words and kissed the side of her face. Philip was next, and as he and Diane read theirs, laughter filled the room. They all finished a wonderful family meal, and Stephanie offered to help Diane with the dishes. While the two women started to pick up, Philip, Max, Isabel, and Alex went into the dining room to play Monopoly.
“So…tell me about today?” Diane was clearing the table, while Stephanie loaded the dishwasher.
“I don’t know where to start. It just wasn’t a good day.”
“Honey,” Diane walked over and placed a gentle hand on Stephanie’s shoulder, “if you think I’m going to blame you in any way because I’ve know Liz longer…that’s just not who I am. It sounds like you could use a friendly ear to listen.”
Realizing that was exactly what she needed, Stephanie opened up. “I thought I would at least try to make the best of a difficult situation, I mean I know how Max feels about Liz, but it was my decision to stay and fight for him…I love him, but fighting for him never meant beating her down or belittling her in any way. It just meant I wasn’t going to walk away silently after all the years we’ve shared, you know? So I decided the only way I was going to get through this was to try and be nice to Liz. At first we seemed fine, but then we started talking about where I work, and the instant I told her she got an attitude and basically told me that I was a liar, and then moved on to tell me I’m too high class for Roswell when she figured it out that I wasn’t making it up. I can’t win no matter what I do and I feel bad that people are trying to be nice to me, and getting themselves in trouble with her. Why does everyone have to choose sides? Isn’t this between the three of us?” Stephanie rambled on.
Diane looked at her and smiled. Everything she said made perfect sense. It pleased her to see that Max had chosen another wonderful woman. “What do you do?” Ok, so she was curious. She hadn’t talked to Max about it and she wanted to know.
“I work for Saks 5th Avenue. Actually, I’m head of my department and I love what I do. I work in the office, not on the floor, so I order all the clothing for the store. I started as a sales girl, went to school, got my degree, and worked my way up. It wasn’t easy, but I earned it.”
“That’s…nice.”
Stephanie heard the hesitation in Diane’s voice. “But?”
“But nothing. I think it’s a wonderful job and you obviously seem to enjoy it. I think Liz expected something different. I think she wanted you to be beneath her, and you aren’t. You wouldn’t be even if you worked at the McDonalds on the main drag. It would have made her feel higher…like Max had stooped lower. You know,” Diane washed her hands, dried them, and then led Stephanie over to the table, “none of them ever got over losing Michael. They never had a chance to heal. I think if they’d stayed and faced it together things would’ve been very different, but all of them ran away from it. But you see, while everyone else was running away, Liz stayed right here and closed herself off from everyone and every feeling she had. It’s made them all hard, hard to each other, hard to others. They’ve all suffered equally, Max probably more, but Liz just shows it more than the others. While the others have dealt with it and learned to move on, Liz is stuck in a world where she did something she wasn’t proud of and that plagues her. She hasn’t moved on from that and she knows it.”
Stephanie sat there listening to everything Diane had to say. This time she knew it wasn’t someone simply making an excuse for Liz, but instead trying to help Stephanie understand, and finally she did. She realized maybe the only way to deal with this was to get Liz to talk to her.
TBC
CHAPTER 10
True to her word, Isabel arrived to pick up Stephanie at exactly eleven in the morning. She hopped out of her car, Starbuck’s cup in one hand, and her wedding planner in the other. With so little time left until her big day, every single moment had to be accounted for. Unfortunately, her hands were too full to bother unlocking the door, so instead she nudged the doorbell and leaned back against the wall.
Stephanie had heard all of the jokes about Isabel’s ‘Nazi’ side when it came to planning events, so she’d made sure she was ready half an hour early just in case. She practically bounced down the stairs, actually excited to be taking part in the upcoming nuptials. When she opened the door, a smiled spread across her face seeing Isabel attempting to juggle way too many things, considering her wedding organizer was getting bigger than she was, and generally looking nervous. Stephanie knew this situation had to be difficult for Isabel, especially on top of all the wedding details, but she was determined not to be a bother and to help in any way possible.
“Are you ready?” Isabel asked her as Stephanie unloaded the large book from her arms. She wanted so much for everything to turn out as well as she had planned, however, Alex hadn’t given her much hope. He thought she was just asking for trouble and refused to see why this was so important to her. It was the first time since she’d started planning the wedding that she’d really wanted to kill him. But Isabel was still holding out some hope that things would work themselves out. She’d known Liz for the better half of her life and hoped Liz would never cause trouble during her special time. As for Stephanie, while she didn’t know her very well just yet, she didn’t seem like the type to randomly start a fight. Yes, one way or another, things would go off without a hitch.
“Yep, I’m ready to go if you are.” Quickly, Stephanie grabbed her purse, and turned back to face Isabel. “As long as you’ll let me carry something.” She was still holding the wedding organizer but Isabel was already reaching for it.
“Are you sure you don’t mind?”
Stephanie smiled and shook her head. “Not at all. Besides, aren’t people supposed to be catering to your every whim? After all, you are the bride.” Stephanie winked when Isabel looked at her.
Isabel was starting to realize her brother hadn’t given this girl enough credit…she had more guts than he was aware of. “I think my brother underestimates you…you’re not as naïve as he’d love to believe you are.” Isabel had a newfound respect for Stephanie now, which made her want to get to know her that much more. “Ok. What do you say we get out of here?” Without waiting for an answer, Isabel opened the door and headed toward her car with Stephanie following closely behind.
They both climbed into the car and Isabel realized she really knew nothing about the woman sitting next to her, and if she was going to be a part of the family, she wanted to know everything.
“So, tell me about yourself and don’t leave any of the juicy details out.”
Stephanie glanced over at Isabel and the slightly devious smile covering her face. In that moment, the resemblance between her and her brother was much more obvious. Stephanie’s life was an open book as far as she was concerned, but she wasn’t sure where to begin. “Well, I was born and raised in Georgia, and then moved to Florida after my mom died.”
“I’m so sorry.” Isabel responded sincerely.
“It’s ok. It was a long time ago. My parents got divorced when I was still very young, so my mom raised me by herself…it wasn’t until after her death that I went to stay with my dad. Before then, I didn’t know the man.”
“How old were you?” Isabel couldn’t imagine what that must have been like for a young girl, but she was certain it had to have been hard. Isabel had been very lucky; she’d never had to go without her mom or dad.
“I was fifteen, so it was a big adjustment…for both of us. He’d gotten remarried years before, but they were unable to have children so I was the only one.”
“Do you like your step mother?” Most people she knew didn’t.
“Well, I lived with her and my dad for five years. She wasn’t my mom, but she was always nice and loving to me. So yes…I like her. They both absolutely adore Max.” She smiled, knowing Max was the one thing they seemed to give their approval on. Then again, Max was the only part of her life she wanted her father’s blessing on.
“Do they live close to you and Max?”
“Yes,” she smiled again. Whenever she didn’t find him at home, it was almost always a guarantee that he was with her parents. “Max is always over there helping my dad fix something or helping Cheri with something…like I said, they adore him.”
“How did the two of you meet?”
“It’s kind of funny that you should ask. Before I tell you, please understand that I’m not a heavy drinker and I certainly don’t make a habit out of spending all of my time in bars.” Stephanie said defensively, suddenly embarrassed by the story.
“Stephanie, you were both young…it’s ok.” Isabel reassured her, and then waited for her to continue.
“Well, we met one night at City Walk in Orlando. It was the hot spot to hang out and one of my friends had recently ended a long relationship so we were there a few nights a week. I’d seen your brother come into this piano bar I liked several times, and I’ll admit I started looking for him when I went there. I still remember the first time I saw him.” Stephanie closed her eyes, and for an instant she was there again. “He was so handsome and he always came in alone, but I could never approach him.”
“Why not?” Isabel questioned, a little confused.
Stephanie thought about it for a second, and then answered her question. “Because he always looked so sad, and so distant. It was obvious his mind was somewhere else, so I admired him from afar. Then one night he walked up to me and started talking to me as if we’d known each other forever.” She didn’t realize it, but her voice broke off in a whisper. She remembered those nights like they were just yesterday. She used to watch him from across the bar, sipping his drink, and staring down into it as if he were looking for something. Occasionally, he’d come in with some guys he worked with, but his demeanor was still the same.
“How long have you known him?” Isabel couldn’t help but be curious if it was the full ten years or less.
“It’s been about eight years now. Initially, we started out as friends and it gradually turned into something more. We never planned for it to be that way, but that’s what it turned out to be.”
“Well when and how did he propose?” Isabel didn’t mean to seem nosy, but Max had been gone so long…Stephanie was the only window into his life that she had. “I’m sorry, Stephanie. If I am prying or pushing you too hard you can tell me to back off. I’m just trying to get to know you better.” Isabel said apologetically.
Stephanie smiled at her knowing her motives were innocent. “Isabel, I don’t mind telling you anything you want to know. I understand that it must’ve been hard for you, not seeing Max and not knowing where he was. Then, as if that weren’t enough, I just show up like...oh here I am! I mean here I come disrupting what little you do know about Max and end up stirring up more problems. Now I know I should’ve stayed home. I just wanted to meet you all, to know where he came from…it was important to me. Here he has this family, this wonderful family, something I never had, and he willingly walked away from it. I had to understand why. I want you to know that before I came here he’d never explained any of it to me. I didn’t really know about Michael, and I sure didn’t know about Liz Parker. All I knew was that he’d walked away and I didn’t understand why. But now I know how hard it was for Max and now I can understand how difficult it was for you and your family being in the dark…and I know it’s hard for Liz too. I can see how much Max means to her, and I know he still cares about her, but I also know what Max means to me. I won’t lie and tell you I’m not scared, Isabel. A few days ago I was planning my own wedding and future with the man I love, and now…”
Isabel had pulled into the mall parking lot, found a space, and parked. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to say to Stephanie. She knew what Max felt for Liz, but she’d also seen the way he looked at Stephanie. “I believe he loves you, Stephanie. Yes, he still has feelings for Liz, he always will, because she was his first love, but he loves you, he’s with you, and that has to count for something.” They sat in silence looking at each other for a moment before Isabel spoke again. “Come on…we can’t fix all of this right now, but we can go find you a dress that will knock his socks off.” She reached down and pulled Stephanie out of the car and into the mall.
As soon as they walked in, they met up with Maria and Liz, and everyone exchanged pleasantries despite the awkwardness between them all.
“Stephanie…I hear you’re staying for the wedding, right?” Maria, although she knew Max and Liz belonged together, was going to be supportive and try to get to know her.
“Yes, Maria. I’ve decided to stay. I’ll be leaving to go home the day after the wedding because I have to get back to work. Although, I’m not sure what Max’s plans are or when he has to be back for work. I know he’d love to stay and visit with you all longer, we just haven’t really talked about it.” Liz said nothing, but she secretly hoped Max would stay longer without Stephanie.
“So Liz, aren’t you a teacher?” Stephanie figured she should be nice, and attempt to make conversation.
“Yeah, but I took the week off. I have so much sick leave acquired, so why not take it now. You know, so much to do and so little time to do it in. I’m sorry but I can’t seem to remember…what is it that you do?” She was hoping Max had landed a job bum who went from one job to the next carelessly or at least someone that only worked in sales.
“Retail.” Stephanie answered.
Liz smiled, she knew it! Stephanie didn’t have half her class and even at her age was still going form job to job. “Really? What store?”
Stephanie looked at her funny, but answered her regardless. “I work for a high end department store. I help pick out the clothes for our site.” Isabel and Maria’s heads turned rapidly.
“So, are you the purchaser or the consultant?”
Stephanie smiled and shook her head. She knew exactly what Liz was trying to do. Fortunately for her, she was proud of what she did. It had taken her a few years to get there, but she loved it. “Actually, I’m head of my department at the store in Florida. I make sure we have everything we need, and if we don’t I get it from headquarters.” She watched as Isabel and Maria’s faces lit up, and watched as Liz stood there stunned
“So what store do you work for?” Isabel was on her toes. Shopping was her life!
“Saks.” Stephanie said simply.
Isabel whipped her head around practically giving herself whiplash. “As in Saks 5th Avenue?”
Stephanie smiled. “That’s the one.”
Maria and Isabel were both in shock, and pleased to no end! They had a new shopping partner, one who knew all the latest fashions and trends before they ever hit. This, they were going to love.
“Yeah right.” Everyone turned toward Liz.
“Excuse me?” None of them were sure they’d heard correctly, so Stephanie wanted to clear the air. She was sure it was a misunderstanding.
“Yeah, you work for Saks and I’m Santa Clause.” While Liz may have found it funny, no one else did.
“Well, Liz, I do work for Saks, so ho ho ho.” Stephanie turned away from Liz to face a rack of dresses, while Maria watched in shock and Isabel tired to muffle her own laughter.
Liz was fuming. Who did she think she was? She couldn’t just come in here and take over everything Liz had worked for. “Well then, something in this lowly store wouldn’t be up to par for you…why don’t you have someone ship you a dress.” Liz crossed her arms over her chest and stood there like a pouting child.
Maria didn’t understand what had come over Liz but she grabbed her by the arm. “Liz, stop this…now.” Liz ignored her and yanked her arm free as she waited for Stephanie’s response.
“You know, Liz, I enjoy shopping at what you call lowly stores, and by the way, Macy’s isn’t lowly.” She kept her eyes focused on Liz. She didn’t know where Liz’s little tantrum had come from, but she was getting tired of being treated this way.
“Whatever.” Liz looked around at her friend’s faces and saw the looks she was receiving. Why weren’t they on her side? “I have to go.” She announced and started to walk away when she realized Maria wasn’t behind her. “Maria?” She called after her and Maria looked Stephanie with sympathy in her eyes.
“I’m really sorry.” Stephanie understood the predicament she was in and smiled. Then, Maria turned to Isabel. “I promise I’ll call you later.” Maria turned and took off after Liz who already had a large head start.
Stephanie and Isabel stood there for a second before Stephanie turned to her. “Isabel, if it’s ok with you I think I will just have my step mom ship me something from home. I’m sure I have something appropriate for your day, and maybe this wasn’t such a good idea…I don’t want to make anymore waves.” Isabel nodded her head. At this point what could she say to make what had just happened right? One thing was for sure, Liz Parker was going to get a piece of her mind tomorrow.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Max, Diane, Phillip, and Alex were setting the kitchen table when Isabel and Stephanie walked into the house. With both of them empty-handed Diane gave a questioning look to Isabel as Stephanie headed upstairs.
“What happened?”
Isabel sat in the chair, blew her bangs across her face, and sighed. “What didn’t happen would be a much easier question to answer? We were in Macy’s and Stephanie was trying very hard to make nice with Liz, well Liz got an attitude and insulted her, and after that Steph just wanted to come home. Once, just once, I wish she could just shut her mouth!”
Max looked from his sister to the stairs. “I’ll be right back.”
Max headed up the stairs, taking two at a time, finally stopping in front of Stephanie’s door. He gently knocked, and then he opened the door. There she was, lying on the bed facing the wall. Slowly, he walked into the room and walked over to the bed. Without saying a word, he lay down behind her and pulled her close to him.
“Are you ok?” He heard her sniffle and shake her head. He knew this was hard on her, and Liz wasn’t making it any easier. He pushed her hair out of her eyes and waited for her to talk to him.
“She hates me, and I understand why, but that was ridiculous.”
Max held her tighter and kissed her temple. She turned so she was facing him and as he looked down at her he saw everything about her that had made him fall in love with her. “I love you, Steph.”
Stephanie cupped his cheek and smiled. They were words she would never get tired of hearing, but until he was more certain of his feelings, they brought pain with them also. “I know.” She lay there looking up at him, and then leaned forward until her lips met his.
“I know this is hard on you, Steph, and I want you to know I love you for staying here.” She shook her head slowly giving him an easy smile, and then her stomach rumbled causing them both to laugh.
Max sat up, pulling her with him. “Come on…I’m starving.” He held onto her hand as they headed downstairs together. Half way down, they could already hear the laughter coming from the kitchen.
“Ok gang, dinner’s ready! Isabel, don’t forget the mustard.” Isabel reached in the fridge, grabbed the mustard, and took off for the table.
Diane saw Stephanie come into the room and smiled. “Welcome to Evans’ Chinese night! Eat all you want!” Stephanie nodded and scooted in the booth next to Max who was filling a plate for himself with one hand and handing her one of her own with the other.
Dinner was full of good food, good conversation, and a lot of laughter. As each person finished their plate Philip handed them a fortune cookie, and then made an announcement. “We have a tradition in our family, Stephanie, that each of us shares our good fortune with everyone. So, you break it, and read it to everyone. Alex, you go first.”
Alex always loved to go first and somehow managed to get the best fortune. He broke the cookie in two and grabbed his fortune. He cleared his throat and began. “Ok, mine says everyone at the table secretly agrees that Max’s ears are too big for his head." Everyone stopped to look at Alex when he starting laughing at his own joke. “Your ears are too big for your head!” He huffed and wiggled his head from side to side in a mocking manner.
“Ok, smart ass, what does it really say?”
Finally, able to control his laughter, he opened the piece of paper and read. “You or someone close to you will be married before the end of the year.” He threw the paper down and Max laughed.
“You were right the other one was better.” Max teased and they all laughed. Now it was Max’s turn. He picked up his cookie and broke it into two large pieces and began to read it. “The road to hell is paved with…pink flamingoes.”
They all looked at Max and Alex shook his head. “Dude, you suck at this! You always sucked at this…some things never change.” Alex reached over and took the paper from Max and read it himself. Laughing, he looked at Max. “You don’t have to think of lame ones, they come to you.” He threw the fortune on the table.
“Ok, Iz, what does yours say?” Diane asked.
Isabel cracked the cookie and took out the piece of paper. “Patience is not your virtue.” She frowned and everyone laughed knowing very well that it was Isabel to a tee.
Max looked at Steph and smiled. To most it would seem like a stupid tradition, but not to her, she was loving every second of it. “Steph, it’s your turn. Tell us what you have.”
She cracked her cookie and looked at Max. “What? Three servings of chow mien wasn’t enough for you, tubby?” She looked at it funny, and then everyone erupted into laughter. She threw the paper at Max and leaned back against the bench. “I always get good fortunes, and today I have the bad one. You cursed me!”
Max laughed at her words and kissed the side of her face. Philip was next, and as he and Diane read theirs, laughter filled the room. They all finished a wonderful family meal, and Stephanie offered to help Diane with the dishes. While the two women started to pick up, Philip, Max, Isabel, and Alex went into the dining room to play Monopoly.
“So…tell me about today?” Diane was clearing the table, while Stephanie loaded the dishwasher.
“I don’t know where to start. It just wasn’t a good day.”
“Honey,” Diane walked over and placed a gentle hand on Stephanie’s shoulder, “if you think I’m going to blame you in any way because I’ve know Liz longer…that’s just not who I am. It sounds like you could use a friendly ear to listen.”
Realizing that was exactly what she needed, Stephanie opened up. “I thought I would at least try to make the best of a difficult situation, I mean I know how Max feels about Liz, but it was my decision to stay and fight for him…I love him, but fighting for him never meant beating her down or belittling her in any way. It just meant I wasn’t going to walk away silently after all the years we’ve shared, you know? So I decided the only way I was going to get through this was to try and be nice to Liz. At first we seemed fine, but then we started talking about where I work, and the instant I told her she got an attitude and basically told me that I was a liar, and then moved on to tell me I’m too high class for Roswell when she figured it out that I wasn’t making it up. I can’t win no matter what I do and I feel bad that people are trying to be nice to me, and getting themselves in trouble with her. Why does everyone have to choose sides? Isn’t this between the three of us?” Stephanie rambled on.
Diane looked at her and smiled. Everything she said made perfect sense. It pleased her to see that Max had chosen another wonderful woman. “What do you do?” Ok, so she was curious. She hadn’t talked to Max about it and she wanted to know.
“I work for Saks 5th Avenue. Actually, I’m head of my department and I love what I do. I work in the office, not on the floor, so I order all the clothing for the store. I started as a sales girl, went to school, got my degree, and worked my way up. It wasn’t easy, but I earned it.”
“That’s…nice.”
Stephanie heard the hesitation in Diane’s voice. “But?”
“But nothing. I think it’s a wonderful job and you obviously seem to enjoy it. I think Liz expected something different. I think she wanted you to be beneath her, and you aren’t. You wouldn’t be even if you worked at the McDonalds on the main drag. It would have made her feel higher…like Max had stooped lower. You know,” Diane washed her hands, dried them, and then led Stephanie over to the table, “none of them ever got over losing Michael. They never had a chance to heal. I think if they’d stayed and faced it together things would’ve been very different, but all of them ran away from it. But you see, while everyone else was running away, Liz stayed right here and closed herself off from everyone and every feeling she had. It’s made them all hard, hard to each other, hard to others. They’ve all suffered equally, Max probably more, but Liz just shows it more than the others. While the others have dealt with it and learned to move on, Liz is stuck in a world where she did something she wasn’t proud of and that plagues her. She hasn’t moved on from that and she knows it.”
Stephanie sat there listening to everything Diane had to say. This time she knew it wasn’t someone simply making an excuse for Liz, but instead trying to help Stephanie understand, and finally she did. She realized maybe the only way to deal with this was to get Liz to talk to her.
TBC