Roswell Fanatics

Chapter 21: Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer

During their courtship, David Parker had called Claudia Meuser a ‘shining star’. She commanded every room she entered, her natural light impossible to resist. The moment Claudia stepped through the doorway at La Casa de la Vida, arms spread wide and a brilliant smile on her face, she was swarmed.

Parker kid after Parker kid (including her own son) raced into Claudia’s arms. “Oh how I missed all of my babies!”

David Parker stepped in the house behind his wife, shutting the door behind him. Spotting Max and Isabel off to the side, he went over to introduce himself. “Claudia can be a bit overwhelming at first meeting. Actually, she can be overwhelming at every meeting, come to think of it. I’m David…Jeff’s father and grandfather to these hooligans.” David motioned to the large group behind him without turning around, his thumb resembling a hitchhiker’s.

Max took his hand first, then Isabel. “I’m Max Evans and this is my sister Isabel. Michael’s my-”

“Roommate, I know. And you, Isabel, would be Liz’s roommate, am I right?” At Isabel’s surprised nod, he added, “We’re very close to our grandchildren. They keep us abreast of any and all changes in their lives. If they didn’t, knowing Claudia, she’d hunt them down until they told her every last deep, dark secret they had. She always has had a singular effect on people.” David Parker had an ease about his manner that Max and Isabel found to be instantly comforting. He reminded them of Jeff and in smaller ways, each of the Parker kids.

“So you used to run Parker Vineyards?”

David nodded at Max. “I did. I handed the reigns over to Jeff just before he married Nancy. His love for this vineyard rivals my grandfather’s, I’ll tell you that. And I wasn’t wrong either. This vineyard has flourished under his care.”

“DAVID!”

“I believe that scream is for me.” David winked at Max and Isabel and walked over to his wife. “Yes dear?”

“Didn’t you notice?” Claudia motioned frantically in the general area of her grandchildren, and had David spent any less time married to Claudia, he probably would have had no idea what she was getting on about.

“You mean the three casts? Or were you talking about the stitches? Or are we talking about Michael’s rather strange decision to grow his hair out. I have to confess Mike, I like it better short.”

“Yeah? It is lower maintenance that way.”

“I think it suits you. You have to be careful with the length of your hair. Although you can pull it off much easier than Kyle and Alex can.”

Alex nodded. “It’s true. I start to look like a hobo if my hair gets too long. Kyle looks better than I do with longer hair.”

“You think?” Kyle ran the fingers of his left hand through his short hair.

“Definitely.” Liz nodded, scrutinizing the brother nearest to her.

“Are we done?” Claudia was tapping her foot impatiently, waiting for the makeshift sketch in front of her to end. They all knew they had pushed the limit and stopped, smiling. “Now, does someone want to tell me what happened and why my grandchildren are encased in plaster?”

Michael threw up his hands and went to stand by Max and Isabel. “Well that eliminates me. I’m not plastered or stitched.”

Liz rolled her eyes. “Thanks so much for the support, big brother.” Michael winked in response, knowing full well that avoiding a Grandma Claudia interrogation was akin to an executioner saying, ‘I’m sorry sir. Someone mixed up the paperwork. Guess you’ll just have to sit out the firing squad this time.’

He was bound to face her eventually about something or another, but this round he got to watch.

“Kyle…you want to start? Yours is easier.”

Kyle nodded at Liz. “I got a hairline fracture of my wrist in practice. I’m supposed to go to the doctor today so he can re-evaluate it. Depending on how quickly I heal, I may get my cast off today. It was a regular training accident. It won’t affect baseball. I have no other injuries.” Claudia looked Kyle up and down, as if scrutinizing his words. Satisfied he had told the truth, she waved him away. Kyle breathed a sigh of relief and turned wide eyes to his sister as he walked away. It was Liz’s turn. If anyone could keep up with Claudia, it was Liz.

This was going to be fun to watch.

Claudia and Liz stared each other down, questions and answers coming as quickly as machine gun fire. It was clear, if anything, that this wasn’t the first time at the dance for either woman.

“Soooo…” Claudia raised an eyebrow.

“Car accident. How long are you staying?”

“Just today. We leave tonight. When?”

“The twenty-sixth. How was your trip?”

“Still on it. So far so good. Was it your fault?”

“No, no ones. Man who hit us had the sun in his eyes. Did you have a nice Christmas?”

“Yes. Missed all of you. What about Alex?”

“Passenger seat. I was driving. What did you see?”

“The Eiffel Tower was lovely. Beautiful construction. What about the stitches?”

“Same accident. My head hit the steering wheel. Alex’s hit the door. Also have stitches in my side. Had surgery. Spleen removed. I’m fine. Did you speak French while you were there?”

“Naturally. When are the stitches removed?”

“Forehead, a few days. Side, about nine. Did you bring us back anything?”

“Of course, I’m a grandmother. Glad to know you’re okay.”

Claudia and Liz nodded in time, the conversation done. They turned away from one another to regard the remainder of the group and found them all looking at the two of them with expressions varying from amusement to astonishment.

Alex leaned toward his twin and muttered, “Thank you. She still scares me a little.”

“My pleasure. Although, you are twenty years old, Alex. One of these days you’re going to have to face your fears.”

“I’ll take base jumping over a Grandma Claudia interrogation any day.”

Liz laughed at him and walked over to Max and Isabel. “Grandma…may I introduce Max and Isabel Evans? Max…Izzy…this is our grandma Claudia.”

Claudia eyed each of them in turn, but swept Isabel into her arms first. After a semi-startled Isabel was released, Claudia held her at arms length, clasping the younger woman’s hands in hers. “Gorgeous. Lizzy…you told me she was beautiful but you didn’t even scratch the surface. I bet you’re talented too. What do you love to do?” Isabel stuttered, searching for her answer. “Oh never mind me, I’m just an old lady who’s too nosy for her own good. Or anyone else’s for that matter.”

Kyle muttered under his breath, his eyes searching the floor. “No kidding.”

“Kyle Edward…are you sassing your grandmother?” Claudia raised an eyebrow at him.

“Absolutely not. I have a much larger sense of self-preservation than that.”

“I thought so.” Claudia turned her attention back to the Evans siblings, the corners of her lips raised in a small smile. She winked at them and looked at Max for a moment before pulling him into a hug. He had been expecting it, so he wasn’t nearly as startled as Isabel, but there was something about someone you didn’t know hugging you at first meet that kept Max just a little off-center. When Claudia pulled away, she asked Max, “So you’d be Michael’s roommate?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Oh sweetheart, don’t ma’am me. It makes me feel old.”

David came up behind his wife and placed a hand on her lower back. “Honey…you are old.”

Claudia turned to look at him and smiled, sighing softly. “But it’s been one heck of a life, hasn’t it?”

“The best.” David closed his eyes and kissed his wife softly.

“Why don’t we all go out for lunch? Kyle, your appointment is at eleven, right?” Kyle nodded at his sister. “You can go to your appointment and then meet us at…how does Antonio’s sound?” Liz looked around the room and anyone who had an opinion nodded.

Alex’s stomach growled and he looked down. “Speaking of food…Mike?” Alex turned pleading eyes to his oldest brother and Michael laughed.

“What would you all do if I weren’t here to cook?”

Jeff clapped a hand on the right shoulder of his oldest son and squeezed lightly. Michael turned his head to the left to look at his father. “Most of our food would be burned, flavorless and probably unfit for human consumption. I’d imagine we’d eat a lot of sandwiches.” Michael smiled at his father.

Truth was, Jeff was a fair cook in his own right. It was simply that Michael enjoyed cooking so much, Jeff had handed off the duties to his son years ago.

He had done it, in fact, just about a month after Nancy died. Jeff had sensed that Michael was a bit adrift; searching for his role in the family again after life had sent all of them in an unexpected direction. One suggested lunch turned into breakfast every weekend and breakfast every weekend turned into dinner every night. It had never been forced and it had never been enforced, it was simply the way it had grown to be.

It didn’t take long before it felt as if it had always been that way.

“Okay Al…your choice. What are we having?”

-:-:-:-

“No…it’s true! I swear!”

The entire table was shaking with laughter, remnants of fruit salad and egg sandwiches on white plates pushed toward the center of the table. Max was shaking his head, his left hand resting on the table in front of him. “No way, Alex. Uh uh. No way that’s true.”

Kyle was laughing too, but found a space between his laughs to say, “He’s telling the truth Max.”

Max looked to Michael, expecting his roommate to give him the truth. And he did, nodding as he himself laughed, but it wasn’t the answer Max had wanted. No way was what Alex had said true. “Alex may be many things-”

“You know…I’m not quite sure whether I should be offended by that or not.” Alex scrunched his forehead in thought.

Michael continued to laugh. “Alex may be many things, but a liar isn’t one of them. He’s telling the truth Max. The song Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer could have been inspired by our grandma.”

The whole table erupted again, some of its residents barely able to contain themselves, and Claudia decided that enough, at this point, was enough. This debate could go on forever. “I’m afraid it is, in fact, true. In one of those freakishly hilarious moments you only hear about in a David Letterman monologue, I was once run over by a reindeer walking home from their house Christmas Eve. I believe Liz and Alex were six years old at the time. Their grandpa spent days attempting to convince them that Santa wasn’t trying to kill their grandmother.”

Liz’s head dropped to rest on Max’s shoulder, her words partially muffled by Max’s shirt and partially by her laughter as she said, “We were so upset…do you remember that Alex?”

“Remember that? It took days for grandpa to persuade us that Santa wasn’t some evil twit who was hell-bent on killing off grandmas as part of some world takeover.”

Kyle laughed as he stood. “Okay, as fun as this is, I have to go see a man with a large saw about an arm. I’ll see all of you later at the restaurant.” As Kyle walked out the door, the rest of the younger people in the room stood, grabbing the plates. Michael did his part cleaning up the table, clearing his own plate and glass and those of the person nearest him before he silently slipped out the kitchen door and into the family room.

When Kyle came down the large staircase about ten minutes later, he spotted Michael leaning on the wall by the front door, waiting for him. Kyle could have been surprised but he wasn’t. Actually, Kyle had expected it. Michael had always been known for his protector instincts, even before their mom had passed, and he hadn’t been there when Kyle had fractured it. He just wanted to be there to make sure everything was okay, perhaps assuaging his own guilt a little for living so far away from his brother.

Michael waited for Kyle to walk through the front door before he too walked through it. Neither brother said a word as they climbed in the car and Michael turned the key in the ignition, starting the engine.

-:-:-:-

The seven person party walked down the sidewalk, the restaurant a few blocks away their destination. The day was nice, chilly but nice, and the family had decided to walk. Alex and Isabel led the front of the pack, Alex’s legs swinging as his crutches propelled him forward.

They were locked in a conversation about something or another and every once in a while Liz, who was walking behind them, would catch one of them looking down at the other’s hand, wanting to hold it but knowing the idea impossible. As if to compensate, as they walked they moved closer and closer to one another until finally Isabel was as close as she could get without tripping over Alex’s right crutch.

Liz and Max were next. As soon as they had exited the car, Max’s hand had reached for Liz’s, consciously wanting to be connected to her in some way, however small. They were walking as close to one another as possible, content to walk together in silence. Max brought their joined hands up and held them against his chest as they watched Alex and Isabel in front of them and smiled.

Behind them Claudia sighed, her right arm looped through her son’s and her left through her husband’s.

“Mom…you alright?” Jeff turned concerned eyes to his mother, who was staring at the two groups walking in front of them.

“I was only blessed with one child, and I couldn’t have asked for a better one.” Claudia looked into her son’s eyes, a bittersweet smile gracing her lips. “But I like to think if I had been lucky enough to have more, that they would have ended up something like your children. I know I say this every time I see you, but they are amazing creatures sweetheart.”

Jeff smiled, tightening his hold on his mother’s arm. “Thank you. I am indeed a lucky man.”

“And they’re in love, aren’t they? All of them?”

“I can say with absolute certainty that three of them are. The fourth will come in time, I think. If I’m guessing right, we won’t have to wait long for him to catch up.”

“And how does it feel?”

“Truly amazing.”

The three smiled widely and walked on. They were stopped moments later when Liz called out, “Tess!” Tess waved widely, smiling, and looked both ways before crossing the street, joining Liz and Max.

“So I hesitate to ask, but…”

Tess nodded in understanding. “It’s okay. She’s back home in Atlanta with our mom and dad. Grandpa gave her a thorough verbal lashing. I think she’ll be under house arrest for a few months at least. I started to feel bad for her but then I remembered all the other things she’s gotten away with over the years and I just couldn’t help but feel happy that she was caught. Maybe now she’ll start to learn there are consequences to her actions.” Liz and Max nodded. “You know Liz…once again I just want to tell you how sorry I am.”

Liz shook her head. “Tess, it’s really not necessary. It’s not your fault your sister’s a…brat.”

Tess rolled her eyes and snorted. “Brat? You’re entirely too nice. I was going to say heinous bitch.”

“Okay…that too.” The three of them laughed as the large group reached the restaurant to find Maria standing outside. They all greeted her and Maria smiled, black purse dangling from her right hand.

“Thank you so much for inviting me.” Maria looked around subtly, but Alex caught it. She should have remembered that few things got by the Parkers. It was possible to sneak something past one of them, maybe even two, but once you reached the third, you were bound to get caught.

“He went with Kyle to, hopefully, get his cast off.” Alex smirked and Maria blushed slightly, fumbling her words a bit.

“I…I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Looking for a change in the direction of the conversation, she was pleased to see David and Claudia standing there as well. When Liz had called to invite her, she hadn’t mentioned that her grandparents were in town. “Hi David…hi Claudia. It’s nice to see you again. You probably don’t remember me. I’m-”

“Oh sweetheart…we’d never forget a lovely pixie like you.” Claudia and David walked over to Maria and wrapped her in a hug, making her smile instantly. “We’ve missed you. Walk in with us and tell us how you’ve been.” Maria, flanked by the elder Parkers, walked into the restaurant.

“You know…I wonder sometimes if there’s anyone who can turn around a conversation as well as grandma.” Alex turned to his twin and Liz nodded.

“She is a master at picking up human emotion. It’s probably why she excelled as a grief counselor for so long.”

Isabel turned to Liz, surprised. “She was a grief counselor? Wow. That must have been controversial for the time.”

“My mother’s never been one to follow convention, Isabel. And she has always loved helping people. It just seemed natural to her to help people in their worst moments, I suppose. My mother has the biggest heart of anyone you’ll ever meet.”

Isabel smiled and was about to respond when the group heard, “You know…I realize that I’m special, but you didn’t have to stand outside in the cold, waiting for little ‘ole me.” Kyle and Michael walked up and all eyes turned to Kyle’s right hand.

Kyle wiggled his fingers and his eyebrows, stepping up onto the sidewalk, and kissed Tess. “Look at me…plaster free!”

“He hasn’t shut up for the last five minutes about it. It’s a good thing the doctor’s office isn’t any further away or he may not have made it here in one piece.” Michael rolled his eyes and walked past them into the restaurant.

“Not to burst your bubble, Kyle, but we weren’t waiting for you. We were just finishing a conversation. Sorry honey.” Tess pecked Kyle on the lips and followed everyone else as they walked into the restaurant, leaving Kyle to take the rear.

Kyle opened the door, pausing before walking in, and called out, “Yeah…something tells me you aren’t that sorry!”

-:-:-:-

The lunch was fully underway, the Parker family in rare form. Apparently, David and Claudia were just as versed in the Parker way of conversation as Jeff and his kids. Maria, having spent time with the Parkers as a child, needed just a few minutes to tune up and was soon completely comfortable, swimming right along with the Parkers.

Though Tess had had little to no contact with the rapidity and sheer volume involved in a Parker conversation, she had always considered herself open to new experiences. And this was a new experience. Though she wasn’t comfortable, she wasn’t uncomfortable either, and she knew that comfort would come with time. Since she was expecting to know the Parkers for a very long time, she figured she wasn’t in any sort of a rush.

Isabel, for her part, may still have found herself daunted by the lively conversation going on around the table, but she was determined to jump in. Jeff’s philosophy was bouncing around in her head, asking her again and again ‘Why not try?’. Why not indeed?

Max, the last of the so-called non-Parkers, was feeling no such dread. Why would he when he had Liz’s small, warm hand in his left and the comforting reassurance of Michael’s presence to his right?

“I heard it tickles to have your cast sawed off.”
“Hey Lizzy…I need your help with a song.”
“So…anything new to report about the vineyard, Jeff?”
“I swear…it was the strangest thing. She actually apologized. I thought I’d died…or that maybe I was on one of those shows like Punk’d.”
“Speaking of songs…Maria, are we ever going to hear you sing?”
“Sure…what do you need?”
“It does…which I’ve always thought was a bit strange. I mean, it’s a saw…shouldn’t it hurt?”
“Claudia…I heard you were a grief counselor. That’s amazing.”
“Soon. Hopefully soon. I think I may be invited into a songwriter’s showcase.”
“I’ve finally decided to plant some Petit Verdot. I thought it was time.”
“Maybe she’s just growing up.”
“I want to hear a woman sing it. I don’t think it’s meant for a man’s voice, but I won’t know until you sing it.”
“I guess.”
“It was a wonderfully fulfilling time in my life Isabel. It isn’t the job for everyone, but it brought me such joy to help others.”
“That’s amazing, Maria!”
“I’d be happy to help.”
“That should add an exciting new dimension to the wines.”
“Yeah…maybe. But I wouldn’t hold my breath.”
“Any idea when that would be?”
“You know Isabel, you strike me as someone who would be good at grief counseling.”
“That’s the idea.”
“Is the song done?”

-:-:-:-

The group of eleven exited the restaurant, chattering happily. Claudia and David turned to the group, sad smiles on their faces. It was time for them to go.

“Liz…Alex…Michael…Kyle…walk us to our car, would you? Jeff…sweetheart…we love you.” Claudia and David pulled their son into a hug before hugging everyone else. When they had finished, they walked down the sidewalk and away from the now dwindling group, leading their grandchildren towards the rental car. Jeff stayed behind with everyone else, waiting for his children to return.

“You’re probably wondering why I wanted all four of you to walk us to our car.”

“Actually, I stopped wondering about your requests a long time ago.”

Claudia turned on her eldest grandchild. “That sounds like sass, Michael Andrew.” She paused and Michael wondered exactly how much of a tongue lashing he was in for. “But since it’s also most likely the truth, I’ll excuse it. This time.” She raised her eyebrow playfully and turned back around. Michael exhaled deeply and rolled his eyes.

“Kyle…would it be accurate for me to say that you’re in love?”

“Yes ma’am, it would.”

“Excellent. I hope you and Tess are very happy together. She seems like a wonderful woman.”

“She is.”

“Liz…I believe I might reasonably say that you, also, appear to have found your soul mate. And Alex…I think Isabel is it for you. So I just have a question for Michael.” Claudia turned on her heel, once again facing Michael, who had his eyebrows raised in question. He wasn’t terribly fond of where this conversation was inevitably going to lead, but he didn’t suppose he had much choice in the matter.

“Why are you dancing around Maria?”

Yep…that was the question he didn’t want to answer.

Michael vacillated and looked away, taking his time in answering his grandmother. Claudia, tired of even seconds of waiting took her grandson’s face in her hands, forcing him to look at her. “Listen to me. I want all of you to listen to me.” Though her hands were still firmly planted on either side of Michael’s face, she was looking back and forth at all of her grandchildren.

“When you find a love this honest, this true, this real…you hold on tight and you don’t let go. Love…like the kind your grandfather and I have…like the kind your parents had…is so rare. And I never want you to settle. Any of you. You deserve so much more than that. Promise me you’ll never settle.”

They all nodded in response and Claudia kissed and hugged them goodbye before stepping into the passenger side of the rental car. David watched her and paused a moment before he drew each of his grandchildren into a hug. Then he started to walk away but paused, turning back to face them.

“Ditto.” He winked at them and stepped into the driver’s side.

The Parker kids waved as their grandparents drove away, watching them until their car could no longer be seen.

“I’ll say it again. She’s scary.” They laughed, long and loud.

“Yeah…scary good.”

Chapter 22: Heeeee Yahhhhh!

Michael Parker had always known good advice when it was staring him in the face. In this case the advice had been holding his face in its hands, but the point was still there. Independent, discerning and careful as he was, Michael knew what to do with good advice.

That might have been the explanation for why Michael, after sleeping on the advice, had decided that he was going to get to the bottom of why Maria didn’t laugh like she used to. Or it could have been that the problem had been niggling at the back of his mind for a while now, and his grandmother had simply done her part in pushing him to action. Michael’s grandmother, nosy though she may be, just wanted her grandson to be happy.

Michael wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but he didn’t suppose that mattered much anyway. The trouble was that though Michael knew he wanted to do something about Maria, he didn’t quite know how to go about it.

Michael wandered slowly through the house, eyes focused down on his feet as he mentally paced. His hands were jammed in his pockets and he dragged the toes of his feet a little as he walked.

If only he could come up with some sort of answer to his problem.

He came upon the media room and stepped inside, curious to what the noise he had heard from the hallway was. The second he figured it out he wished he hadn’t, because it would be a fairly safe assumption that any older brother, were he to walk in on his best friend kissing his little sister, would not be a happy man.

Max and Liz didn’t seem to notice him standing there, or if they did, they didn’t care. They continued to kiss, oblivious to Michael or the grimace on his face. Liz was seated on Max’s lap, her right arm around his shoulders and her left resting on her thighs.

Max’s left hand was fisted in Liz’s hair, keeping her mouth on his as he pulled her lower lip into his mouth. His right hand was inching further and further up Liz’s outer thigh and Michael coughed. He was not about to watch Max feel up his little sister in front of him.

“Do you guys mind?” Michael dropped his body down into the sofa, extending his legs to rest on the coffee table in front of him. Max and Liz broke apart smiling, but Max kept his right hand where it was, preventing Liz from moving off his lap. Liz understood. If Michael didn’t want to see the kissing, he probably didn’t want to see that either. Liz giggled a little, picturing Michael’s reaction.

“What’s so funny?” Michael turned his head to look at his sister, who was shaking her head.

“You know, for a guy who wanted us to end up together, you sure don’t want to see us together.”

“I like the idea in the abstract. I don’t like my little sister sitting on anyone’s lap, no matter how much I may love the guy.”

“I have a feeling you may need to get over that particular problem soon.”

“Yeah.” Michael drew the word out, tasting the letters on his tongue before rolling his eyes back and dropping his head onto the back of the sofa. “I know.”

“I’m getting the feeling that my kissing your sister isn’t the main problem here Mike.” Max’s left hand traced gentle circular patterns on Liz’s back as he looked at his best friend.

“It isn’t. He’s puzzled about Maria. He wants to help her but doesn’t know how.”

“Maybe he should try just…I don’t know…talking to her. Simple but effective.”

“Ehh…I don’t know. In most cases I’d agree, but I think just coming out and saying it may cause Maria to run. He has to be careful she won’t close up on him.”

“That’s true. And anything gimmicky would just be lame.”

Liz nodded. “MmmHmm…it has to be honest, whatever he does. Michael has always had trouble pulling off dishonest.”

“There’s something very surreal about sitting next to your sister and your best friend while they discuss what you should do with your life.” Michael lifted himself a little off the couch and turned mildly annoyed eyes to the couple to his left. “I need to buy some shampoo. Do you want to choose the brand for me?”

“Making any headway?” Michael took in Liz’s soft voice and sympathetic eyes and sighed.

“No. I’m at my wit’s end here, Lizzy. I want to be careful, but if I spend too much time planning I’m afraid she’ll be gone when I finally do have the perfect plan.”

Liz considered for a moment before saying, “I believe you may be over-thinking this.”

“Yeah?”

She nodded. “Maria’s going to be difficult at first, but that’s to be expected. She’s probably not going to be happy with you. Maybe it’s more about being prepared for anything instead of going into it with some highly structured game plan.”

Michael nodded slowly, Liz’s words making sense as they floated around his mind, creating expected scenarios. “Yeah…you’re right. I think I may have been going about this the wrong way all along. Doesn’t mean I know when to approach her about it, but it does help.” He exhaled deeply. “Thanks Lizzy.”

“My pleasure.” Michael smiled and stood from his seat on the sofa. Michael walked in front of the couple, resting his hand on the top of Liz’s head briefly before he let it fall away and walked out the media room door.

Liz watched him walk out and then turned her eyes to Max, who was looking at her with an expression she couldn’t place. “What?”

“He’s completely different around you than he is around me.”

“He can’t be that different. I mean…he’s Michael. No matter what…he’s Michael. He’s never really been fond of changing himself just because he’s in different company.”

Max ran his left hand softly over Liz’s forehead, brushing some of her hair back from her face. He tucked the stray strands behind her ear and traced her jaw line with the pad of his thumb. “I think he forgot I was here for a moment. He would never have said those things to me about Maria. I think he likes to keep certain things very close to the vest.”

“That’s true. He’s always been a bit…”

“Closed off?”

“No, more like…careful. He doesn’t like to let too many people get close, that’s all. He doesn’t like to say goodbye.”

“You have that in common with him, huh?”

“I think we all do.”

“So Lizzy…let me ask you something. While you’re playing Super Girl and solving the world’s problems, who’s solving yours?”

“I don’t have problems.” Liz leaned forward, smiling, and kissed the tip of his nose.

Max nodded his head slowly as if he agreed, but his words betrayed his actions. “I…don’t…be…lieve…you.”

“Okay, so I have problems. Everyone does, Max. But mine aren’t any larger than anyone else’s.”

“Who do you talk to? Who do you tell these problems to?”

“Why are you suddenly so worried about that?”

“Lizzy…please. Humor me, okay?” Max looked at her with earnest eyes and Liz couldn’t help but be honest. She knew he was simply concerned for her, that he wanted the best for her, and she had never been one to shirk a good thing.

“No one.” He sighed, and Liz wasn’t certain but she felt as if somehow, her saying that had let him down.

But Liz should have known better. Max had not been sighing because Liz had let him down, but because he felt she was denying herself one of the most important things in life: someone to tell it to, whatever that it may be. “Talk.”

Liz knit her eyebrows together in confusion. “Max…I don’t-”

“Nice try. Talk.” Max pulled Liz closer, trying to physically make her understand that he was here for her.

So Liz did. “I’m having trouble with my major.” Max nodded, letting her know he was listening, and waited for her to continue. “I love photography, but it’s such an uncertain field that I’m having second thoughts.”

“Maybe you need to ask yourself whether it’s more important that you make less now and do what you love or make a little more and settle for something less. Is it more important for you to be creatively happy or for you to be financially secure?”

Liz groaned. “Oh…why can’t I be both? Why does this decision have to be so hard?”

“Well…maybe there really isn’t any decision to make at all. Maybe you can have both.”

“How do you mean?”

“You love photography.” Liz nodded, though it wasn’t a question. “So do it. Just jump in. Your work is amazing Lizzy. I believe in you…your brothers believe in you…stick to your guns and people will notice. There’s nothing worse than a dream half-lived because the dreamer is too afraid to try. Maybe the security doesn’t come from secure finances or a secure job but something…deeper.”

“You know Max, I think I like telling you my problems.” She smiled and leaned in to kiss him.

She was less than an inch away when Max breathed out, “The care and concern you give to others amazes me. You amaze me, Liz Parker. Thank you for trusting me.”

And what could Liz do but kiss him with everything she had in return?

They broke apart briefly, but their eyes remained closed, their minds memorizing the details that come only in darkness. “Have I ever told you I have this fantasy of you?”

He felt Liz smile against his cheek and she said, “We’ve only been together a few days and you already have a fantasy? Do tell.”

Max kissed her softly in between each word. “You…me…a…closet.”

“Hmmm…I think that can be arranged.”

-:-:-:-

“Isabel?”

“Yeah?”

“I really like kissing you.” Isabel giggled.

“Me too.”

“You like kissing yourself?” Isabel giggled again and swatted his arm gently and Alex laughed in return. They were seated outside on the porch swing, Isabel’s legs swung over Alex’s lap. Alex rested his left hand on the back of her neck, pulling her lips in to meet his. When Michael walked outside a minute or so later, that was what he found.

Michael flopped down into the swing on Alex’s left side, startling the two people kissing. Alex looked at Michael a moment, then at Isabel, then back at Michael, who had yet to speak or even acknowledge their existence.

Alex spoke slowly, his right eyebrow raised. “Hey Mike…what’s up?”

“I don’t know how to talk to Maria about this ‘not talking’ thing.”

Alex muttered under his breath, “Yeah…no kidding.” Isabel swatted Alex’s arm. “Ow…must you keep hitting me?”

“You’re not helping. Michael has a problem and he’s asking for your advice.” Isabel turned to look at Michael. “She may be angry at you initially, so you’ll probably need to be prepared for that.”

Michael turned his body to face Isabel, both looking at one another over Alex. “Yeah I know…I’m going to try to be prepared for anything. Hell…she may cry. I have no idea how she’ll react. I’m not used to girls, I’m used to Liz.”

“So I’m guessing you already talked to Liz then?” Michael nodded. “Okay…so I think what we need is a good situation.” Michael started to reply but Isabel held her hand up and said, “Not the perfect situation, just a good one. One where she’s comfortable. We don’t want her to automatically run away.”

Michael nodded in time, Isabel’s words making complete sense to him. Leave it to girls to know what to do about other girls. He stood from the swing and walked over to stand in front of Isabel, looking down into her eyes. “Thanks Isabel…that helps.” He smiled and walked away.

He was almost to the French doors when Isabel called out, “You’re welcome!” He smiled again and walked inside, closing the white doors behind him.

Isabel smiled and turned to meet Alex’s eyes, which were bright and full.

“What?”

“You’re perfect.”

Isabel blushed and looked away. She stuttered out, “I’m…not…I mean…I’m not per…perfect.”

Alex sighed and looked at her, adoration oozing from his pores. “No…you are. You’re perfect. It’s easy to see why my family loves you.”

Isabel looked at him, wide eyes conveying her shock. “Your family loves me? But they barely know me. How can they love me?”

“They know all they need to. It’s amazing the way you’ve opened up since you’ve been here. You would have never been so forward with Mike had he asked the same question the day you got off the plane.”

“But I really didn’t know any of you then.”

“Nice try. You met Michael before you got on that plane to California, which basically means you would have had a superficial idea of who Kyle was. And Liz is your best friend, so that means you would have known me too…well, it means you would have had a pretty good synopsis of who I was, anyway. I’m impressed Izzy…impressed and flattered.

“You are in-”

“Alex! Stop kissing your girlfriend and get your ass inside! Dad wants to talk to us.” Alex wondered briefly if Michael knew just how far his voice could carry. Or that it gained an almost nasal quality when he increased the pitch.

“Leave it to Michael to break another moment. And I was all ready to give you this big speech about how great you are.” Alex grumbled and sighed.

Isabel giggled. “You can give me the big speech later if you want.”

“No…the moment’s passed us by. I’m not emotionally available anymore.” Alex pouted, though Isabel could see from the twinkle in his eyes and the smile threatening to break on the corners of his mouth that Alex was trying desperately to keep from laughing.

“Alex! Ass! Inside! Now!”

“You know…Michael has this wonderfully gentle way about his manner, don’t you think?” Isabel laughed as she swung her legs off of Alex’s lap. Alex stood and grabbed his crutches, letting Isabel lead the way to the doors so that she could open them.

The two stepped inside to a pacing Michael and a Liz and Max that were just settling down into the couches. Kyle, Tess and Jeff were still missing.

“Ya know Mike, when you say dad needs to talk with us, it’s usually a good idea to make sure dad knows that too.” Michael gave Alex a look. It was the look that told Alex Michael wasn’t in the mood for it today and had Alex cared, he would have stopped. But Michael had just interrupted some serious kissing time and this…this was his penalty.

“Where is dad? Or for that matter, Kyle and Tess?” Liz spoke from her seat next to Max on the couch, her head resting on his shoulder.

“I don’t know. I called them. Maybe they didn’t hear me.” Michael cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted. “Kyle! Get down here! Dad needs to talk with us!” He brought his hands down and asked in his normal voice, “Do you think he heard me?”

Alex rolled his eyes at his older brother. “Mike…everyone in the tri-county area heard you. I just hope I can regain my hearing soon. Does anyone else hear a ringing?” Alex moved his jaw around, yawning as if he were trying to pop his ears.

“Very funny. I’m going up to get him. Does someone else want to find dad so we can get this over with?” Michael took the stairs two and three at a time and Liz stood to find their dad.

“What’s up with him, Alex?” Max craned his neck to look at Alex, who was standing behind the sofa he was sitting on.

“No clue. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s this whole Maria thing that’s bugging him. But that’s only a guess. Lizzy and Kyle can read him much better than I can.” He shrugged, and Max got the sense he wasn’t really telling the entire truth, but chose to leave it alone. He figured it was one of those ‘quadruplet things’ Jeff had been talking about.

Tess came walking down the stairs about thirty seconds later and was met with inquisitive stares. “It looked like he needed to talk with Kyle, so I excused myself. They’ll be down in a minute.” She looked around the room before her eyes settled on Alex. “If Jeff needed to talk with you, shouldn’t he be here?”

“Thank you!”

-:-:-:-

Kyle sat on the edge of his bed and leaned back on his hands, watching his twin wear a trail in the carpet as he paced quickly in front of the bed. Something was bothering Michael and Kyle could pretty much guess what that was, but he was waiting for Michael to be the one to say it. It was not Kyle’s place to bring it up.

And so he waited. And waited. And waited some more.

If Michael thought that Kyle was going to make it easy on him and just flat-out ask, well, he obviously didn’t know his twin as well as he thought.

But Michael hadn’t thought that, because Michael did know Kyle that well. He had just been wasting time while he tried to figure out how to say what he needed to say without sounding like the most gigantic idiot on earth.

Michael sighed, dropping his body into Kyle’s desk chair. “I’m jealous of you.”

Kyle raised an eyebrow. “Me?”

“And Alex. And Liz. And I’m an ass.”

“Yes, you are. You have no reason to be jealous of us.”

“Yeah? You have Tess, Alex has Isabel and Liz has Max. Dad had mom…Grandpa has Grandma…who do I have? I’m fuckin’ jealous, man.”

Kyle leaned forward, his upper arms resting on his thighs. “Mike…what the fuck’s wrong with you? You have Maria…beautiful, amazing, talented, funny, charming and unique Maria.”

Michael’s words came out quickly and he stood again, pacing once more. “But that’s the problem…I don’t have Maria.”

“And that’s your fault. You’re waiting for some perfect situation to come around and I’m here to tell you it’s not gonna happen.”

“Why not? God…that would make my life so much easier.”

“Why are you so obsessed with taking the easy way out? So you have to put in a little more effort this time to get what you want. You’re a Parker, asshole.” Kyle stood. “Parkers aren’t afraid of hard work. So deal with it. Deal with the fact that she may run away from you at first. Deal with the fact that she’s not one of those girls that throw themselves at you. Because that’s one of the things that you like about her.

“Deal with it all. Because you know and I know that no one…no one…has ever affected you like Maria before.”

Michael stared at his twin for a long time before he asked, smirk firmly planted on his face, “Are you done? Or do you want to kick me in the nuts now?”

“Nah…we’ll save that for another day.”

“Sounds good.” They nodded at one another, not breaking eye contact as wide smiles graced their faces.

Most would say that Michael and Kyle were complete opposites, and it would appear at first glance that they were. Michael was tall, Kyle was short. Kyle was an athlete, Michael was a chef. Michael had brown eyes, Kyle had blue. The list could go on and on, but it was superficial, all of it.

Michael and Kyle, though fraternal in all the ways society noticed, were identical in all the ways they didn’t. They were identical in all the ways that mattered. They were both protectors, both honest, both forgiving. They both had a love of silence. They both knew how to grieve.

It was a cruel trick in a way, this trick nature had played on them. And in another way entirely, it had become a blessing. They had been allowed to grow separately without even so much a possibility of growing apart. Nature had made them different enough that they could grow into being as similar as twins could be, without the undue pressure of being identical.

The two wordlessly started toward Kyle’s door and as Kyle’s hand found the knob, he said, “If you don’t talk to Maria soon, I may just kick you in the nuts. I hope you’re aware of that.”

Michael clapped his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Kyle…if I don’t talk with Maria soon…I promise to kick myself in the nuts.”

“Now that would be an athletic achievement.”

The two walked down the stairs, neither in a hurry to reach the bottom. It wasn’t that they were avoiding the conversation with their father that awaited them, it was simply in Kyle’s nature to take his time. And for Michael’s part, a heart-to-heart with a sibling, no matter the intensity, always served to calm him.

“Nice of you boys to join us.” Jeff nodded to his two eldest and they took seats on a vacant sofa.

“Okay dad, you’ve got us all here, what’s up?” Michael leaned back into the sofa.

“Family meeting, that’s what’s up. We have some things on the agenda that need to get covered.” The Parker kids all nodded, obviously used to the idea. “Okay, first order of business. Lizzy…where’s the bet money going this year?”

-:-:-:-

Max and Liz stood, hands entwined, staring through the window of a shop in the heart of Napa. To their right Isabel was giggling about something Alex had said, her laughter filling the spaces in the air above them all, and Max and Liz smiled. It was nice to hear Isabel laugh like that.

Kyle, enjoying the feeling of a right hand without a cast to weigh him down, had been using that same hand to do everything, including the pattern he was currently tracing on his girlfriend’s back. Tess smiled at the gesture, turning her face away from the window she had been looking in to kiss her boyfriend softly.

Michael was turned away from them all, scanning the other side of the street. Cars drove by every so often, briefly impairing his view. He spotted a sporting goods store and turned back to the group. “I’m going across the street into Walker’s. Anyone want to come?” Michael thumbed in the direction of the store behind him.

Max kissed Liz on the temple and released her hand, joining Michael. Alex was bouncing up and down, looking at Isabel with eagerness, and Isabel couldn’t help but compare him at that moment to a five year old she had once babysat named Dante. She shooed him away and he kissed her quickly with a grin, following his eldest brother and Max as they started to cross the street.

Kyle turned to Tess and said, “I really should look into new batting gloves and a new mitt. Mine’s beat.” She smiled, rolling her eyes, and pushed him gently on the lower back toward the store. He shot her a smile over his shoulder and jogged across the street, carefully looking both ways as he ran.

Tess turned to the two other girls and rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “Boys.”

“I have always wondered what the obsession is with a sporting goods store.” Isabel looked at both girls and Liz smiled in response.

“No clue. They always go running, even Alex. It’s like the car thing. Must be the smell of new leather.” The girls giggled and walked down the street. Isabel stopped at a window to look in at a dress while Tess and Liz continued on, chatting. As soon as the group was done here, they had all decided to see a movie, and the girls were debating their choices.

Suddenly, Liz and Tess heard Isabel say loudly, “Please…don’t shower on my account.”

The beauty of a man like Paulie Romo was that though he was a lecherous asshole, he did have some semblance of limits. He may talk a good game, but when push came to shove, he knew when to back off. It would never be considered respect, per se, but maybe it indicated that whatever had been previously thought of Paulie, he did have some semblance of logic. Logic dictated you did not assault women in the middle of the day on a very public street.

But the man currently enclosing on Isabel did not have Paulie’s sense of logic and Liz was dismayed to see that as she watched, shocked beyond belief, the man had gotten right up next to Isabel, his arms trapping her against the stucco wall behind her.

Isabel had nowhere to go.

“Oh come on baby…you know you want it.” Isabel had previously been spouting smart line after smart line but now with him this close, his smell nauseating her to her very core, she could think of nothing to say. The sheer proximity of him had shocked her into silence. “Come on baby…I promise to be gentle. At first. You’ll like what I can do to you.”

The man felt a tap on his right shoulder and turned, his eyes focusing enough to see a hand flying up to his face. The heel of the hand hit him in his nose, breaking it instantly and bringing tears to the large man’s eyes. He stumbled back, the unmistakable taste of copper sliding down his throat, and shouted, “What the fuck, man?” He looked down and into the eyes of an extremely pissed off brunette.

Isabel breathed a prayer of thanks for Liz’s timing and moved behind the smaller girl and away from the large biker on his knees.

“Sorry, I’m afraid I’m all woman. Now if I were you…I’d leave now, before you find out what I really do to assholes like you.” The man was obviously not stupid enough to wait around for Liz to do anything further to him and he stood, staggering a little as he ran away, not looking back.

The boys had seen the tail end of some sort of conflict from across the street and came running, wide eyes and expectant looks on their faces.

Max looked between Liz and Isabel and asked, “What happened?”

Tess, who had simply watched the exchange from a bit of a distance, said, “She kicked his ass, that’s what happened. Broke his nose.”

Max turned to Liz with wide eyes. “You broke his nose? How did you know how to do that?”

“She’s a black belt, Max. One would hope she can defend herself.” Max looked at Kyle, eyes still wide.

“Really?” Kyle nodded.

Liz laughed softly and smiled. “Kyle is too, Max.” Max turned his attention again to Kyle, who looked at Alex.

“So is Alex.” Alex looked at Michael.

“So is Mike.” Michael nodded and shrugged.

“So you’re all black belts?”

“Yep.”
“Yep.”
“Yep.”
“Yep.”

“In what?” That was Isabel.

“Tae Kwon Do.”
“Tae Kwon Do.”
“Tae Kwon Do.”
“Tae Kwon Do.”

Tess laughed. “Geez…is there anything you guys can’t do?”

The Parker kids looked at one another for a while, brows furrowed, honestly searching for an answer to that question. Tess rolled her eyes in exasperation.

“That question was rhetorical.”

Be sure to check the last page for acknowledgements on your feedback. Love you guys.

Chapter 23: Full Disclosure

“So I heard about what happened today.”

Max looked up from his seat at the kitchen island where he was reading the front page of the Chronicle and into Jeff’s amused eyes.

“I also heard you were a bit shocked when you found out Lizzy was a black belt.” Jeff took a sip of his coffee and sat down opposite Max, a laugh threatening to spill from his throat.

“It is a bit of a shock to find out your girlfriend can kick your ass if she needs to. I wonder why she didn’t mention that, though.”

“Well to be fair Max, you and she have only been going out a very short time. When was she going to tell you? In between your makeout session this morning and your makeout session this afternoon?”

Max’s face started to turn a rather interesting shade of white and he struggled to find his words. “I…I, uh…Je…Mr. Par…uh…”

“A father sees all, Max.” Jeff laughed and decided to put the poor boy out of his misery. “Max…it’s okay. Really. Liz, no matter how much I may like to pretend, is not a little girl anymore. She’s a grown woman. She can kiss whomever she pleases. Though I do have to say I instantly prefer you over the Pompous Ass.”

“Uh…thanks?” Max didn’t really have any idea what to say about that, but he felt incredibly flattered none the less.

“Yes, I suppose that isn’t the highest compliment I could give you. I mean, I would prefer a lamppost over Daniel, so…” Jeff trailed off, lifting his eyebrows quickly, and Max laughed.

“It just seems like the sort of thing you tell someone when you’re dating them.”

“And how many dates have you actually been on with my daughter, Max?” Max sheepishly held up one finger. “All those things will come with time. Before long you’ll probably know more about her than anyone.” Jeff sipped his coffee and eyed the younger man speculatively.

“I know, but…God, I’m sorry…it’s just that…no, never mind. It’s stupid.”

“You want to know everything there is to know about her now. You don’t want to wait.” Max looked up in surprise and Jeff added, “Hey, I fell madly in love with a beautiful woman once too. A woman an awful lot like Lizzy. I’ve been there son. But let me tell you this…it’s worth it.” Max leaned in toward Jeff and as Jeff spoke, he leaned toward Max. After a while, the scene appeared as if Jeff and Max were sharing a confidence. Maybe they were.

Max was enjoying every moment of it. He had waited his entire life for a man to talk with him the way Jeff was now, even if he hadn’t understood that before this second. And Max was more appreciative than ever for that drunk who had nearly pushed him into the fountain but instead pushed him into the Parker family’s arms.

“The wait…no matter how long…is completely worth it. The wait Max, makes all of the little things more special. Think about it…if you had learned she was a black belt, a photographer, that her favorite color was green and that she cries when she watches the movie Rudy all in one day, you wouldn’t have given each piece of information the treatment it deserves. You have to savor those small details, as if they were a fine wine.”

“Liz cries when she watches Rudy?”

“Bawl fest. But that’s beside the point.” Jeff laid his right hand on top of Max’s and squeezed gently. Max understood exactly what Jeff was saying with the gesture and nearly cried. What was it about this family? “Max…I know you’re already in love with my daughter.” Max opened his mouth to speak but Jeff silenced him with a raised hand. “It’s not an accusation, Max. It’s a blessing.

“The moment you walked into Michael’s life, you have been a blessing on this family. You have brought my daughter love, and if there is anything a father wants for his children, it’s that they’re happy. I have every confidence in you Max. I know you will continue to do anything in your power to make her happy.” Jeff stood and walked over to the apron front kitchen sink, rinsing out his coffee cup and placing it in the bottom of the porcelain basin.

He paused a moment at the sink before he walked back over to the kitchen island, stopping right next to Max. “So take your time Max, learning all those small things about my daughter. Because I have a feeling you’re going to be around for a very…long time.” Jeff rested his hand on the top of Max’s head before pulling it away and walking through the kitchen door.

Jeff had a point. Max was already in love with Liz and that wasn’t going to change anytime soon. So why not savor each and every moment with her?

Max knew the reason as to why he pushed for intimacy with Liz, wanting to know all he could, wanting to find another thing to make his heart beat faster. It just wasn’t something Max was in the habit of sharing. Did the world really need to know that Max only had the vaguest of outlines of what love really was?

He had Isabel…and Max reminded himself right then to thank her for existing. Had she not been there with him…well…Max didn’t really like to think about what kind of person he would have been without her.

It was silly, really. Liz was not his parents and comparing the two was akin to comparing elephants and monkeys. Liz was not going to tell him his dreams were silly or force him into a decision that he didn’t want to make about the rest of his life. If anything, his recent time with Liz had shown him that he needed to stand up to his parents; stand up to the ridicule and rigid rules of people who may have established the rules with their children but failed to live up to them themselves.

Max was tired. Tired of living by their hypocritical rules, tired of always playing the good kid to people who paid no attention to him anyway. What Max would have done to grow up like the Parker kids had.

Kyle walked into the kitchen and pulled open the right side door of the commercial sized stainless steel fridge. He stood there for a minute, the cold air hitting him lightly in the face as he perused the contents, screwing up his face in thought.

In the end Kyle reached in and chose a can of Classic Coke, flipping the tab as he shut the door with his left elbow. He turned, noticing Max for the first time and sat opposite him. Max’s eyes were unfocused and Kyle knew Max hadn’t even noticed him sitting there.

Kyle sat, amusement glittering his eyes, watching Max for a minute or so. When Max didn’t acknowledge Kyle, Kyle rapped his knuckles on the counter between them and Max’s eyes focused, seeking out Kyle’s face.

“Hey…sorry…didn’t see you sitting there.”

Kyle smirked. “I noticed. I’d say ‘a penny for your thoughts’, but maybe I don’t actually want to know.” Kyle looked down briefly at his soda before he looked back up at Max. “So…we kind of blindsided you today. You okay?”

Max laughed. “Blindsided…yeah, you could say that. I’m fine. There is something to be said for a girlfriend that can kick your ass if you ever get out of line. I have to confess, when she goes back to New York and I’m in Chicago, it does make me feel better. Knowing she can take care of herself…that’s a relief.”

“You know that black belt is the reason why Alex didn’t immediately decide to go to school in New York. And why Mike and I didn’t feel the need to transfer. And she needed that. She needed to know she could take care of herself without our long arms threatening to push any little threat away.”

“You’re a lot like your dad, Kyle.”

“He already talked with you, huh?” Kyle laughed.

“He did, but it’s also true. Man, you guys are good at that whole…insight thing. Do you guys take a special class or something?”

Kyle laughed, his light chuckle bouncing off the walls. “I think it comes as part of the package with the full disclosure policy my dad instated years ago.”

“Full disclosure policy?”

Kyle nodded. “You can guess what it means. We tell him everything, and he doesn’t judge. He always made sure it went both ways, though. He insisted that if we couldn’t trust him, then there was no point. That’s probably why. You can’t help but be insightful when you know pretty much all there is to know about your family.”

“Plus…there’s our twin things. Kyle…have you seen my Black album? I can’t find it.” Michael walked in the kitchen and stood next to Kyle, scratching his head.

“I borrowed it about four days ago, but I put it back. Did you try Alex?” Michael nodded.

“Yeah. Nothing.”

“What are we talking about? And what don’t I have?”

“Max and I were talking about the full disclosure policy. And Mike can’t find his Black album.” Kyle took a swig of his Coke, burping loudly.

Alex rolled his eyes and smiled. “Nice, Kyle. Ahhh…the full disclosure policy. Our great friend for oh so many years. And I don’t have your Black album.”

“We already established you don’t have it. Does the full disclosure policy really work?”

The three Parkers nodded, looking at one another. “It does. Believe it or not…it does.” Michael paused. “I wonder where my Black album is.”

“I have it.” Liz walked into the kitchen. “I borrowed it to download to my iPod. What are we talking about?”

“Full disclosure policy. Which reminds me…hey Mike, making headway?” Kyle turned his eyes to his brother, sipping from his soda can.

“Well…other than locking her into a room and eating the key…I got nothing. This is one of those problems I can’t seem to find a solution to.” Michael’s shoulders sagged and he shoved his hands into his pockets, shaking his head.

“Oh Mike…you’ll come up with something. Don’t lose hope.” Liz wrapped her right arm around her brother’s back, her fingers grasping the right side of his waist. Michael lifted his left arm up to let her mold a little into his side and brought it down around her shoulders, squeezing a little.

Liz’s phone rang and she reached her hand into the right front pocket of her jeans, pulling it out and flipping it open without checking the Caller ID. Michael pulled away from her a little. “Hello?...Hey Maria, how are you?...That’s good…Yeah…uh huh…really?”

As soon as Michael heard it was Maria he backed away from Liz completely, nervously pacing just a little. He desperately wanted to hear Maria’s voice but didn’t dare do what he really longed to do, which was rip the phone from Liz’s hand and ask Maria how she was doing. So he paced. Nervously.

“Maria…that’s so great! Yeah…uh huh…yeah…We’ll be there…Absolutely. Let me grab a piece of paper.” Liz reached for the pad of paper and pen near the house phone and awkwardly rested the phone on her right shoulder as she wrote. “Okay…yeah…yeah…I got it.” Liz stopped writing and held the phone against her ear. “We can’t wait…We’ll be there…Okay…Okay…Bye.”

Liz flipped her phone shut and turned to see four expectant faces, some it would be safe to say, more expectant than others.

“Well?”

Liz smiled at Michael’s nervous inquiry and said, “Maria’s performing in two days at Vinyl Castle’s Songwriter’s showcase. I told her we’d all be happy to be there.” Liz grinned widely, her smile directed mainly at Michael.

Michael thought for a moment, just a moment, before the light bulb went off.

Eureka.

Michael knew what to do.

-:-:-:-

Two nights later a seven person group arrived in the rain outside Vinyl Castle. Kyle spied his girlfriend smiling and waving near the front door and jogged up to her, kissing her quickly with a grin.

Max paused Liz before she exited the Envoy, wrapping her cast with his scarf to protect it from the rain. She smiled at him sweetly and he smiled back before he opened the door of the car, jumping out and grabbing Liz’s right hand. She jumped out after him and the couple ran through the swift rain hand in hand, laughing.

Michael buttoned his coat up tightly and Jeff did the same as the two men exited the vehicle. Alex was about to follow right behind when Isabel stopped him. “What about your cast? We don’t…I mean you don’t want it to get wet.”

Alex smiled fondly at her and pulled the leg of his jeans up slightly to reveal his cast, covered in a large sock. “There’s plastic under the sock. I’m good to go.” He put the tips of his crutches down on the wet ground and hopped out of the car, his right leg swinging. Isabel jumped out after him and shut the door soundly behind her. She squealed a little as the rain hit her, bending her head down as she ran by Alex’s side. They passed Jeff who clicked the button to lock the doors on his keyless entry keychain before running behind them.

When they were all under the overhang of the roof to Vinyl Castle, they greeted Tess with hugs and entered the packed room. The room was dimly lit but the light focused on the large stage somehow created enough light to illuminate even the farthest recesses of the space.

The group edged in further, searching for a table that would seat all of them. They lucked out, finding a table with a fairly central location, and sat down. A waitress came over shortly and after ordering their drinks the group settled in, pulling off hats and peeling off jackets.

“Hi everybody! Welcome to Vinyl Castle’s Twenty-Fourth Annual Songwriter’s Showcase. As many of you may already know, I’m Kirk Franklin and I own this little place.” The man paused briefly, looking around at the audience. “I want to personally thank all of you for making our showcase so successful over the years. Your support means the world to all of these singers; people courageous enough to stand up here in front of all of you and bare their hearts.

“I am certain that you are going to love what you hear. I am very proud to present this group of incredibly talented people tonight. They will wow you. So thank you…from my heart and theirs…and allow me to introduce our first artist…Naya Banks.”

The owner clapped as he walked off the stage, and all the Parker family had to do was wait. Wait for Maria to take their breath away.

-:-:-:-

Michael was getting more and more anxious to see Maria. Listening to all these other songwriters was a tease but Michael, if he were honest, would say he hadn’t really been listening to them anyway. He was a bit preoccupied at the moment.

And then he felt it. Maria was next.

It was foolish, this thought of his. She wasn’t Kyle; she wasn’t Alex or Liz. How on earth could Michael know that Maria was near? It didn’t make any sense. But though nonsensical, it was also true. Freaky though it may be, Michael somehow knew Maria would be on stage next.

Then the MC/Owner Kirk walked on the stage, microphone in hand, and announced Maria. Michael sat up a little straighter, his attention now focused entirely on the stage. Maria walked out, carrying her guitar by its neck in her right hand and sat down on the stool in the center of the stage. She looked down as she brought the guitar to rest over her right thigh and adjusted the fingers of her left hand around the neck. Then she looked up and into the packed audience.

Michael didn’t know how she did it. Sitting up there in front of a sea of strangers, willing to bare herself to them all, Michael was in awe of her. She sat in the center of the stage surrounded by an almost heavenly light and Michael wanted nothing more than to just stare at her, as she was now, forever…if she would let him.

Maria took her time, looking from one side of the room to the other, smiling slightly. She wanted to savor this moment. It would pass all too quickly, and a moment this life changing deserved a few more seconds of pause. This was the moment Maria DeLuca was daring to follow her passion.

She breathed in deeply and edged toward the microphone, her lips stopping just short of the gray and black mesh. She smiled, her heart threatening to rip her chest open and jump right out, and relished the feeling of her adrenaline forcing its way into her veins. She was ready for this.

“Hi, my name is Maria DeLuca.” She shook her head a little as she smiled and her blonde hair tumbled over her shoulders. “I know Kirk already thanked you for all of us, but I wanted to thank you again. Being here…with all of you…there’s nothing like it. My song is called Fools In Love. I hope you enjoy it.”

Maria started to strum, her eyes focused on the frets of her guitar, watching the first few chord changes. Then she raised her head and as her lips once again came to a stop just in front of the surface of the microphone, she opened them and sang.

The sound was unlike any other Michael had ever heard, Maria’s natural smokiness making grace even in the lightest of tones.

Fools in love, are there any other kinds of lovers?
Fools in love, is there any other kind of pain?

Everything you do, everywhere you go now
Everything you touch, everything you feel
Everything you see, everything you know now
Everything you do, you do it for your baby

Maria’s voice grew softer and the guitarist of Vinyl Castle’s backup band provided the harmony, making an almost dissonant sound.

Love your baby, love your baby
Love your baby, love...

Fools in love, are there any creatures more pathetic?
Fools in love, never knowing when they've lost the game

Everything you do, everywhere you go now
Everything you touch, everything you feel
Everything you see, everything you know now
Everything you do, you do it for your baby
Love your baby, love your baby
Love your baby, love...

Maria’s soft voice, full of yearning, reached out tendrils of understanding to the packed house and they sat in rapt silence.

Fools in love they think they're heroes
'Cause they get to feel no pain
I say fools in love are zeros
I should know, I should know

Maria paused a moment and sighed.

Because this fool's in love again

She lowered her head again, looking at her right hand as it strummed the worn guitar that had seen her through an absentee father, her teenage years and heartbreak.

Fools in love, gently hold each others hands forever
Fools in love, gently tear each other limb from limb

Heartbreak.

Everything you do, everywhere you go now
Everything you touch, everything you feel
Everything you do, even rock 'n' roll now
Nothing mean a thing except you and your baby
Love your baby, love your baby
Love your baby, love...

Maria’s voice, previously soft on the bridge, now grew strong, and she defiantly stared out at the sea of people, begging them to tell her she was wrong.

Fools in love they think they're heroes
'Cause they get to feel no pain
I say fools in love are zeros

But once again, Maria’s voice grew soft and she self-consciously looked back down at her guitar, singing almost to herself.

I should know, I should know

And as she looked back up, though it seemed an impossibility through the ocean of light in front of her, her eyes locked with Michael Parker’s.

Because this fool's in love again

Maria played the final four notes and let out a deep sigh. The weight of what she had just accomplished rose in the air around her and Maria, had she been asked, would have told you that nothing had ever felt so right to her.

It was then that Maria, though she previously had had her doubts, knew that this was where she belonged. And she would be a fool to think any different.

Suddenly a raucous applause sounded and the crowd rose to their feet, confirming that Maria’s doubts were unfounded. She stood, holding her beaten down guitar in her left hand, and walked to the front of the stage. She stood there for just a moment then bowed slowly, her head dropping down.

She stood there a while, allowing the loudest applause of the night to wash over her as she smiled. She gave the crowd a wave before she walked off the stage to her left, skipping down the few steps to the floor of the club and came face to face with Michael Parker.

Maria knew why he was standing there. She wasn’t an idiot. But she was too emotionally raw to deal with him right now.

She couldn’t give him what he wanted. Not after she had shown her heart to a room full of people. Michael Parker and his questions would have to wait.

Trouble was, Michael had never been known for his patience.

Maria looked up and into Michael’s eyes, eyes that held questions, answers and honesty. And Maria wanted that, all of that, but not right now. Right now she was not prepared for Michael or his honest eyes.

Maria went to move around Michael and he moved in front of her, blocking her path. She moved again and he mirrored his previous movement. She tried one more time and again she was rebuffed in her efforts to leave. She turned angry and slightly panicked eyes up to Michael’s and found him looking at her, patience and fondness clear in his eyes.

She put her right hand against his chest and tried to push him backward. His chest moved back a little but his feet stayed in one place. Maria started beating her right fist against his chest and screamed at him. “Why are you doing this? Just leave me alone.” She continued to beat her fist against his chest and he let her. He simply stared in her eyes, not saying a word.

“Why are you doing this?” Michael gently grabbed her right wrist in his left hand and pulled her behind him, leading her she knew not where. They came to the women’s bathroom and Michael pulled her inside. He glared at the one woman who dared to linger and she exited the bathroom as quickly as possible, not even bothering to properly dry her hands on the brown scratchy towels.

Across the room, Michael’s family had noticed the entire exchange and Liz leaned over to her remaining brothers and said, “Do you see it?”

Alex smiled. “Yeah, I see it.”

Kyle nodded, looking his siblings in the eyes. “Mike finally knows how to talk to Maria. We shouldn’t let anything get in their way.” Alex and Liz nodded and they stood, pulling the hands of their significant others. The three pairs reached the bathroom and sat nearby; not close enough to hear but not so far that they couldn’t prevent any interruptions. Michael needed this.

Michael checked each stall then turned back to the door, clicking the lock shut. He turned back to Maria and crossed his arms over his chest.

“What? What do you want?”

“I’m not him.” Michael’s voice was soft and Maria felt like crying.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Deny, deny, deny. It had become Maria’s favored mantra.

“You sang beautifully tonight. You were meant to be up there on that stage.” Maria turned shocked eyes to Michael. “Surprised?”

She snorted. “Surprised the stone wall can express his feelings? You think?”

Michael smiled and though there was no humor in his eyes, they held a special softness. “Just because I don’t like the entire world to know my business doesn’t mean I don’t know how to express myself. The people who matter know all about my problems.”

“Yeah…the guy with the perfect family has problems.” Maria shook her head and turned away from him, staring at the wall to her right.

“My mom died when I was eleven. There’s still one pie recipe I won’t make because it reminds me too much of the way she smelled. I worry sometimes that Kyle and I aren’t as close as Lizzy and Alex are, and that doesn’t seem right to me. When Liz was lying in that hospital bed, I finally understood what it felt like to want to kill another human being. I worry that I’ll never grow to be the kind of man my father is. I agonized for two years over my major.”

“Michael…what are you doing?” Maria turned tear-laced eyes toward Michael, who had stayed in the same position, leaned up against the door, arms crossed.

“These are my problems, Maria. You matter.”

It was not the most graceful of confessions but that hardly mattered. It was Michael…standing there with his strong arms and his frank manner and he was telling Maria she mattered. And somehow…somehow…she felt she owed him something in return.

“It meant the world to me that you came to see me play.”

“What’s his name?”

“What?” Maria turned confused eyes to Michael who, though he hadn’t changed position, now looked furious.

“I want to know his name so I can kick his ass for hurting you.”

Maria laughed softly. “Their names. You want to know their names. It’s about my dad, mainly.” She continued on and Michael listened, not wanting to break Maria’s sudden spurt of trust in him. “My dad always strung my mom along, making her think she could never find anyone better than him. It was a lie…and I think my mom really did know that somewhere deep down inside. He died, you know?” Maria lifted tear filled eyes toward Michael, who had moved off of the door. “He did. He died just after mom and I moved.

“I hated him more for dying then than I ever hated him when he was alive. It was like he kept making all these promises but when he died it made all his promises die with him and I hated him for it.” Maria stood staring at the wall, her eyes unfocused.

“What’s the other guy’s name?” Michael’s voice was as gentle as it got; a voice only previously used on Liz.

“Michael Parker.” Maria turned sad eyes to him. “That’s his name.”

Michael was honestly confused. What had he done to Maria? “Maria…I don’t-”

“Do you remember Jake Brown?”

“Kyle’s teammate? What about him?”

“I had the biggest crush on you when we were younger. I don’t think you ever noticed. We were all at your house one day celebrating because Kyle’s team had just won the baseball championship, whatever it was called. I was twelve…almost thirteen. I was following you round like a little lost puppy and Jake saw. He pulled me aside and said, ‘Do you really think Michael Parker sees you as anything other than some stupid little girl? Dream on.’” Maria looked into his stricken eyes, hers conveying a sort of sweet sadness.

“Okay, Jake Brown’s an ass. He always has been. That’s the first thing. Secondly…that’s it, isn’t it?” Michael came up close to Maria, standing in her airspace. It should have been uncomfortable but for some reason it didn’t feel that way to either party. “That’s the day you stopped laughing. I knew something was off with you that day. Then you moved like a month later and I never got to ask.”

“Wait…you noticed me?”

“Jesus Maria…didn’t I already tell you Jake was an ass? I always noticed you. You may have followed me around and basically annoyed the crap out of me but you were still you. You were never afraid to be who you were, no matter who you were around. I can’t talk to anyone outside my family and you could always talk to everyone. I admired you.”

“You admired me?”

“Hell yes. There’s no one else like you. And there shouldn’t be. God…I like you, okay? There…I said it.”

-:-:-:-

“He said it.” Liz and Alex turned to look at Kyle, all three faces sporting wide grins.

-:-:-:-

“You like me?”

“It wasn’t obvious when I kissed you over the table in my family’s backyard? It’s not like I go around kissing random girls, you know.” Michael ran a hand through his shaggy hair and paced a little, mostly to avoid looking Maria in the eyes. “Look…I more than like you and I would say exactly how I feel about you but I don’t think there’s actually a name for it. So can we just settle on I like you?”

“You like me.” Maria smiled.

“Yes! I want to tell you things and do things with you and Jesus…I’m turning into a girl.”

“Hey Michael?” Maria stood right in front of Michael, looking up into his eyes. “I like you too.” Maria grinned and then threw her arms around his neck, putting everything she had into her kisses. Michael wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her up so that her lips were more in line with his and kissed her with abandon.

When they had finished Michael set Maria back down on the ground and brushed her hair back, smiling. She bent down and picked up her guitar and the two walked to the bathroom door. Michael unlocked it and the pair stepped outside into the room and right into the group formed by the three other couples. They were looking at Michael and Maria in expectation, so Michael wrapped his arms around Maria and kissed her temple.

Jeff, who had been watching from across the room, smiled as he watched from his comfortable distance.

“Sir…can I get you anything else?”

“No…I’m good.” The waitress walked away. “I’m really good.”

Chapter 24: Just Remember to SING

“So…you said you had a surprise for me?” Max smiled as he kissed Liz lightly. He was seated on the edge of her bed and Liz was straddling his lap.

“Well, it’s the kind of surprise you have to unwrap.” She smiled and kissed him deeply. He laughed and his hands found their way under her shirt, his fingers soothing her heated back and sides.

Liz pulled back and shimmied a little and Max got the general idea. He laughed and his fingers reached for the bottom of her shirt as she raised her eyebrows suggestively. He pulled her shirt up and over her head and held it against her right side with his left hand as he kissed her deeply again.

As they kissed, Max’s tongue dueling with Liz’s, she moved his hand down to her left side. He pulled his mouth away from hers in surprise. “No stitches?” Max looked down at her stitches then back into Liz’s eyes. “No stitches?”

She grinned. “No more stitches. Alex went with me this morning and I got them removed. Full range of motion now.” She twisted her torso back and forth but Max kept his hand where it was, covering the scar on her left side.

Then he dropped her shirt and moved his left hand to the center of her lower back as he leaned down and kissed the scarred skin on her left side. He sat back up and left a gentle kiss on the scar on her forehead before his lips finally met hers again with a fire Liz had never felt before from him. His kisses were always like brands but these were possessive, as if he were daring the world to try and hurt her again. As if he was daring someone to try to take her away from him.

Max pulled her snugly against his bare chest and as chest met chest, Max smiled. Liz’s chest on his…what an incredibly familiar sensation.

Except he was fairly certain that his dream hadn’t felt like this.

His body was reacting to her quickly and his fingers reached for the clasp of her bra as they kissed. He took his lips from hers and kissed the tip of her nose as the clasp came free and he pulled away to look in his girlfriend’s eyes. She tossed her black bra away and kept her eyes on his, smiling. He didn’t want to look away from her but looked down and growled at the beautiful sight. What she did to him. She giggled and he raised bright, possessive eyes to hers, taking her mouth fiercely once again.

His hands, now moving almost independently of their owner, traced a slow path up her sides and brushed over the sides of her breasts. Liz sucked in her breath, arching her back slightly and Max smiled in her mouth. His thumbs ran slowly back and forth over her nipples and she arched even more into his hands, trying to force her body closer to Max’s, which right now didn’t appear to be all that possible.

Max bent down and took her right breast into his mouth and Liz groaned softly. His tongue traced circles on her nipple and Liz’s breathing became labored, every nerve ending in her body starting to react to Max. She curled the fingers of her right hand in his hair and pushed her still jean-clad center toward his, meeting his obvious arousal. Max groaned and switched to her left breast, his hands pulling her even closer as the fingers of his right hand dipped under her waistband and traced circles on her lower back. His left hand squeezed her bottom and she sighed.

Max lifted his head from its place on her breast and crashed his lips onto hers, pulling her bottom lip into his mouth. Liz’s hands cupped his butt and she pulled on him, trying still to get even closer.

“Liz!...Liz…where are you?” The voice was faint but both Max and Liz heard it and they broke apart panting, resting their foreheads against one another with closed eyes as they tried to control their breathing.

“There are way too many people in this house.” Liz giggled and kissed her boyfriend. “Liz?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.” It was just a whisper but it could have been a scream. Liz opened her eyes to find Max’s were already open and looking at her intently, waiting for her answer.

She smiled. “I love you, Max.” Max grinned and kissed her and Liz kissed him back. She pulled away quickly, though if she had a choice, she would stay here with Max forever. But Isabel would be coming up the stairs shortly, searching for Liz, and Liz was fairly certain Isabel did not want to see Liz and Max inflagrante delicto. So she forced herself to stop. Because if she didn’t, they would be going to a very, very naughty place very, very soon.

Not that Liz really had a problem with that.

She stood from her place on Max’s lap and reached for her bra and shirt on the floor and Max groaned, falling back on the bed. He sighed, his right forearm over his eyes, and said, “Once again…there are way too many people in this house.”

Liz giggled as she pulled her shirt over her head. “Aww…poor baby.” She walked over to his side and laid her hand on his still bare chest. “You want momma to kiss it and make it better?”

Max removed the forearm from his eyes and held her hand down tightly to his chest with his right hand, a twinkle in his eyes. “Not unless momma intends on finishing it.” Liz pulled her hand away and laughed as she reached down on the floor for Max’s button-down shirt, dangling it in front of him. He snagged it, smiling, and sat up.

Max stood from her bed, shirt on but unbuttoned, and kissed her gently. He tried to pull away but Liz pulled him back by the sides of his shirt, kissing him softly once before she pulled away and started buttoning up his shirt for him. When she finished they stared into each others eyes and Max hooked his right index finger into Liz’s grommeted black leather belt, keeping her where she was. This is what Isabel saw when she knocked briefly and walked into the room.

“Liz…I had-” She stopped. “Oh I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt. I can come back.” Isabel gestured to Liz’s door. Max and Liz continued to look in one another’s eyes, smiling, and Max reached out to brush Liz’s hair back behind her right ear. He smiled lovingly at his girlfriend but said to his sister, “No, it’s okay Isabel.”

Max traced his thumb down over Liz’s lips and rested it on her chin and leaned in one more time to kiss her. He was a hair’s breath away when he whispered, “I love you” and kissed her softly. Then he turned and walked out of her room, smiling at Isabel as he went.

Isabel watched him go and turned back to her best friend, who had a dazzling smile on her face. “My brother loves you.”

Liz turned happy eyes to the other girl. “Yes…yes he does. So what’s up Isabel?”

“Well…”

Liz shook her head slightly and admonished Isabel lightly. “Isabel…haven’t you learned by now just to say whatever it is you need to say?” Liz grabbed Isabel’s left arm with her right hand and looked into the taller girl’s eyes as she smiled. “Out with it.”

Isabel rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “You’re right, I should know better by now. Maria and Tess and I have a question for you.”

Liz pulled back. “Okay…shoot.”

-:-:-:-

Kyle sat in the middle of his blue yoga mat on the deck just off the family room, legs crossed in the lotus position. The gentle breeze tickled his face but he didn’t feel it, deep as he was in his meditation. The skies were gray and he would soon be forced inside, but for now he could breathe in the fresh air as his mind went blank.

Kyle had been practicing meditation for going on seven years now and his skill at blanking his mind quickly was testament to that. In fact, Kyle had been deep in his meditation for about nine minutes or so, and for the last five of those Michael, Alex and Max had been outside, talking quite loudly. And he hadn’t heard one word.

But Max didn’t know that.

“Uh guys…I don’t mean to interrupt, but shouldn’t we take this someplace else? It looks like Kyle doesn’t want to be disturbed.”

Michael shook his head at Max and dismissed him with a wave of the hand. “He doesn’t hear us. We could shout and he wouldn’t flinch. I’m not you, Al.”

“No kidding.” Alex rolled his eyes. “If you were, you wouldn’t have taken so long to talk with Maria.” He turned to Max. “And he’s right. About the only thing that’ll move Kyle is a sound smack to the head. Which I wouldn’t try, if I were you. I still have a rather noticeable scar on my left arm.”

“There’s other stuff going on there, Alex. It wasn’t easy like it was with you and Isabel. Apparently, I broke her heart. I’m pretty sure you never did that to Isabel.” Michael sat down catty-corner to his twin on the deck, crossing his legs in a position similar to Kyle’s.

Alex lowered himself gingerly across from Michael and next to Kyle, his cast making it much more difficult than Alex was accustomed to. “Wait…you broke her heart? You? Well…that certainly explains why she was difficult to track down after she kissed you. Who knew?”

Max lowered himself across from Kyle, completing the square. “How did you break her heart?”

Michael’s eyes rested on Kyle’s face, his twin’s serenity making him smile. “I didn’t really…but I did. Inadvertently. Basically…it was Jake Brown’s fault. The ass.”

Alex grimaced. “Jake Brown? Man I hated that kid. Thought he was God’s gift. Do you remember in high school when that new Mercedes he got for his sixteenth birthday mysteriously disappeared from the school parking lot only to reappear the next day with a brand spanking new, hot pink paint job?” Alex smiled wistfully and put his chin in his hand, his elbow resting on his knee. “Oh yeah…good times.”

“Let me guess…you had something to do with that?” Max chuckled and looked at Alex, whose face suddenly bore an innocently mischievous smile.

“He and Liz, actually.”

“Always suspected but never proven. Like Lizzy says…true prankster legends never get caught with their pants around their ankles. Mmm…that was a good day.”

Max turned back to Michael. “What does Jake Brown have to do with the whole Maria thing?”

“I guess he said something Maria took to heart and she’s been carrying it around for seven years.”

“Something about you, I’m guessing?” Max ran the nails of his right hand along his knee, lightly scratching the denim.

“Got it in one.” Michael nodded.

“So you broke her heart but you didn’t really have anything to do with it. I get it. Bit of a messed up situation, isn’t it?”

“That’s why she kept blowing you off?” Michael nodded at his younger brother. “What made you decide to lock her in a bathroom and force her to talk?”

“I didn’t force her to talk, Alex. She wanted to all along, she just needed an excuse. I may have locked the door but if she’d wanted to leave, I would have let her.” Michael shrugged.

Alex nodded as he thought over what Michael had just said. Michael, it was true, was not the type to ever force himself on anyone. He preferred to watch and wait; wait, Alex supposed, until he felt he was needed. It was who Michael had always been. Kyle, for his part, was much the same way. It must be something about being an older brother, Alex mused. It was something Alex himself would never really understand.

But at the same time, a part of Alex didn’t want to understand. He was comfortable in his role in the family, comfortable in his role in life. There was an ease in being a younger sibling to older brothers that kept their eyes on you but still knew how to keep their distance. And Michael and Kyle would never understand what it was to be a younger sibling, to grow in a seemingly endless shadow or to feel that no matter what you did, you would be protected.

Alex looked at Kyle who had remained undisturbed by the intrusion of the three other men. Alex wondered how Kyle did it, how he could remain so focused on nothing. Alex’s own brain was never at rest, constantly searching out a new melody, new equation, new practical joke. But that was Kyle for you…dedicated to the nth degree when he found something that mattered.

Kyle’s chest moved rhythmically up and down, his body completely relaxed. Alex continued to watch him until Max shifting his body next to Alex drew his attention away from his meditating older brother. “So which one of you got your black belt first?”

“Lizzy did.” Michael shifted his body, pulling his legs out straight in front of him and leaning back on his hands. The new position stopped the tingling sensation that had started up his legs. “Mom wanted her to be able to defend herself.”

“Really? I would have thought Kyle would have gotten his first.”

Alex nodded. “Yeah, it’s that whole ‘natural athlete’ thing he’s got going on. Everyone always assumes that. He was actually third. I got mine second. But time, as they say, makes all equal. We’re all at the same level now.”

“So your mom was concerned for Liz but not you?”

Michael shrugged, considering his words. “It wasn’t that. It’s just that mom knew Liz would face more of an uphill battle with life than we would. No matter how many people try to claim otherwise, being born male still gives you an advantage. And Lizzy…no matter how great she is, will always have people question whether she deserves something…anything.” Michael shrugged again and sighed. “It’s not fair, but that’s how it is.”

“And mom just wanted her to be prepared.”

Max nodded as he thought over their words and turned his attention to Kyle. “How long can he do that?”

“I think his longest is an hour.” Alex alternately tapped the fingertips of his right hand on the deck boards below him, unconsciously carving out a new rhythm.

“Actually, it was fifty-seven minutes.” Kyle opened his eyes and looked at the people around him.

“Welcome back to the land of the conscious, Yoda.” Kyle smirked at Alex and put on a voice that sounded remarkably like the small green Star Wars character.

“Oh…thank you I must.”

“How long have you been hearing us?” Kyle glanced out of the corner of his eyes at Michael.

“If I had to guess…I’d say about thirty seconds or so.” Kyle turned his head then to fully look at his twin and scanned him for a moment with his eyes. “And I missed something. Bring me up to speed.”

Michael angled his body so that it was facing Kyle and looked up before his eyes snapped back down into the blue that reminded Michael so much of their mother’s eyes. “Jake Brown said something cruel to Maria seven years ago and-”

“You inadvertently broke her heart.” Kyle nodded. “I figured it was something like that.” Kyle paused, looking out into the distance before his eyes fell back on his twin’s, a smirk firmly planted on his lips. “You have to hand it to the old lady, she has excellent timing. And uncanny insight.”

Alex stroked his chin in thought. “Do you think he would have ever talked to Maria if grandma hadn’t said something?”

Michael sighed loudly and rolled his eyes. “Al…I’m right here. Is it really necessary to talk about me like I’m not?”

“Hmm…necessary? No. Fun? Mais oui.”

Max laughed as Kyle said, “He would have, Al. It just would have taken him a lot longer. He would have brooded more.”

“I don’t brood!” Michael looked indignant and Kyle snorted in response, rolling his eyes. “I don’t. If anything I internalize.”

There was a long pause until Max broke the silence by saying, “Aren’t they basically the same thing?”

Alex giggled. “See? Even Max thinks you brood.”

Michael rolled his eyes. “If Max weren’t a member of this family, then I might care about his opinion.”

Kyle raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Oh who are you kidding? You wouldn’t care if it were a stranger’s opinion either.”

Jeff’s head popped out the door leading to the deck and his head swiveled left and right. He was obviously looking for something, and that something wasn’t the four boys seated on the deck. “Have any of you seen Izzy or Liz? I can’t seem to find them.”

Alex shook his head. “No, but then we haven’t been looking for them. We’ve been out here for about…” Alex drifted off as he glanced down at the leather watch on his left wrist. “Fifty minutes.”

“We’ll help you look, dad.” Kyle and Michael stood from their seats on the deck as Jeff’s head disappeared back inside the house. As Michael passed Alex, he rubbed the knuckles of his right hand into the top of Alex’s head. Alex swatted Michael’s hand away and the older brother laughed as he followed his twin inside.

Alex tried getting up, but that seemed to be much more difficult than sitting down had been and he grunted out of frustration. Max walked by behind him, following the same path Michael and Kyle had taken on their way into the house. Alex whined and grasped for Max’s ankle as he passed. “Max…be a gentleman and help a cripple up, would you?”

Max laughed and walked around the younger man so he was standing in front of him. Then Max grasped Alex’s hands, pulling him up onto his good leg and supporting him as he grabbed for the aluminum crutches lying on the ground. When Alex was supported once again, crutches under his armpits, he grinned widely at Max and said, “Max…you are a prince among men. Don’t ever let anyone tell you any different.” Max rolled his eyes good-naturedly and shook his head, following Alex inside the house.

-:-:-:-

“Liz…I don’t know.” Isabel had a worried look in her eyes and that was the last thing Liz wanted for her, especially given that that was precisely what Liz was working with her to fight. That was, in part, what all of this was about. That look on Isabel’s face, the idea that Maria could walk into darkened clubs without fear and Tess feeling safe when she walked the campus at night were the reasons Liz was standing here, in the middle of the Parker kids’ old playroom, barefoot, teaching them self-defense.

“Izzy…part of being able to defend yourself is honestly believing that even though you’re scared or smaller or outmatched, that there’s something you can do about it. It’s okay to be scared…it’s normal, actually. So be scared all you like, but don’t let your fear get in the way. You wanted me to teach you this, right?” Isabel nodded. “Good. Then we’re going to do this so many times, you won’t be able to help but defend yourself. We’re going to make it a habit, not a choice.” Liz’s voice was commanding but gentle and Isabel felt her spurred on hope instantly lift her mood. Liz had a way about her and Isabel was grateful for that.

“Okay.” Isabel smiled and Tess and Maria, who had simply watched the exchange, smiled too.

“Okay?”

“Okay.” Isabel nodded and though it was a tad unsure, the three other girls could tell she was sincere. “I’m scared, but I’d rather be scared and know what to do than be scared and completely in the dark.”

“That’s the spirit Izzy!” Maria came up behind Isabel and wrapped her arm around the other girl’s waist. She turned her attention to Liz and said, “Now…where do we start?”

“By running away.”

“Running away?” A confused Tess shook her head, her curls bouncing.

“When given the chance, always choose to run away first. If your attacker gives you that chance, take it. Self-defense is not about kicking someone else’s butt. It’s about keeping yours safe. There’s a difference between self-defense and assault. Remember that.”

“But what about that biker who was basically on top of Isabel? You broke his nose.”

Liz sighed. “Yeah…I assaulted him, and I shouldn’t have. Because I knew better. I’m a third level black belt in Tae Kwon Do, guys. I’m sure I know how to handle myself better than he ever will. But lucky for me he won’t press charges. It just happened to be one of those situations where I’m very lucky to be both female and incredibly small.”

“Now now, little Lizzy…there’s no need to insult yourself. I happen to have it on good authority that we like you just as you are.” Liz’s eyes drifted to the doorway where Kyle was leaning against the doorframe, smirking. Liz smiled and wondered just how much he had heard. The expression on his face was no indication and she couldn’t help but feel just a little bit curious. “Dad’s looking for you.”

“What for?”

“No clue. But he also mentioned he wanted to speak with Izzy, so why don’t I go get him? Bring Mohammed to the mountain, as it were.” Kyle winked and turned around, exiting the doorway.

About a minute later Kyle returned not only with Jeff in tow, but also Max, Michael and Alex, the last of whom lagged behind the others, no doubt owing in large part to those rather unwieldy crutches and the rather unforgiving stairs.

“There you girls are! I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“And here we are. What’s up dad?”

“I wanted to make sure that neither of you were doing anything tomorrow afternoon at two. Are you?” Liz raised her eyebrows and bit her lower lip in thought. She turned to Isabel and Isabel shook her head, indicating she had no plans set and Liz turned back to her father.

“Looks like both of our calendars are free tomorrow at that time. We’ll pencil you in. Wait…what are we doing?”

“Now that’s the surprise. Just be dressed like yourselves. And that goes for the rest of you too. Be ready to leave here at One Forty-Five.”

“Wait dad…all of us are going?”

“Yes Alex that’s right, all of you.”

Kyle scratched his head, furrowing his brow. “And what did you mean when you said ‘come dressed like yourselves’? Isn’t that implied? I mean, who else would I come dressed as? Count Chocula?”

“Oh man…I haven’t had Count Chocula in a while. We should totally put that on the grocery list.”

“Ooo…you know what I’m craving?”

“You’re only craving something because it’s so close to lunch.”

“I know why I’m craving something, Mike. But thanks for the lesson in logic anyway.” Liz shook her head. “A huge bowl of pumpkin ice cream.”

“Mmm…with some whipped cream and nuts sprinkled on top?” Kyle gestured eagerly with his right hand.

Jeff cleared his throat. “What I meant was, dress in a way that represents you best. What you’re wearing when you’re most comfortable.” Jeff clapped his hands once and said, “Okay…now that that’s done, I need to go speak with Paolo. See you all in…” Jeff trailed off and held his wrist up in front of his eyes. “A half an hour or so for lunch.” Jeff walked out the door, leaving behind a very confused group of people.

“What in the hell was that all about?” Michael looked in the eyes of everyone in the room, hoping in vain that one of them might be able to give some sort of reasonable answer to his question.

“No idea.” Liz shrugged.

“I think there’s a more important question here.” Kyle playfully tapped his lips with his right index finger.

“Oh?”

Kyle walked between the girls, weaving his way slowly across the room. “Mmm…Lizzy?” Kyle stopped in front of his sister and stared down at her feet. “Why are you standing in your workout clothes in the middle of our old playroom? The room that, may I add, we turned into our sparring room as we got older?” Kyle’s eyes twinkled and he fought to keep from laughing.

“Actually, I could use your help Kyle.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.” Liz got a look in her eyes and Kyle was suddenly slightly uneasy. He wasn’t particularly sure how he had done it, but he somehow seemed to have put himself into a bad situation. “Attack me.”

“Pardon?” She couldn’t have just said that, could she?

“Attack me. Grab me from behind.”

Yep…she’d said it.

And as quickly as it had taken that one thought to cross his mind, another one came calling.

So he grabbed his sister from behind.

The other girls watched, mesmerized, as Liz shouted, “No!” and stamped down on the instep of Kyle’s right foot. That action, even though Kyle had been expecting it, caused him to release her slightly. And when his arms slipped slightly, Liz took that opportunity to throw her elbow into Kyle’s stomach then up into his chin, knocking him away from her. But Kyle, though he had been knocked slightly off course, was not to be deterred. He grabbed his sister’s arm and as he pulled her back to him she put the icing on the cake, kicking him in the groin.

Kyle went down to the ground and Liz ran out the door and away from her “attacker”. About thirty seconds later she walked into the room slowly and over to Kyle, extending her hand for him to take. He clasped his hand in hers and she pulled him up off the ground.

Maria, wide eyed and open-mouthed, breathed out, “Wow. Kyle…I’m amazed you can stand right now. That looked like it hurt.”

“It would have if Lizzy didn’t have such good body control. She barely tapped me, Maria.” Kyle threw his arm over Liz’s shoulder proudly and squeezed lightly as he looked down at her.

Alex hobbled over to Isabel and asked, “So you wanted to learn how to defend yourself?”

She sighed a little and looked down self-consciously at her feet. “It’s almost all I can think about since that biker pinned me against the wall. I never want to be in that position again.” She looked up and into Alex’s eyes and he smiled at her in reassurance.

“I think that’s a great idea, Izzy.” His fingers caressed her cheek gently and Isabel leaned into his hand. “And Liz is the perfect person to teach you.”

Kyle smirked at Tess. “So you don’t trust me to protect you, huh?”

Tess rolled her eyes. “Tell me it won’t make you feel better to know I can defend myself if something happens to me after a late class.”

Kyle pulled Tess into his arms, smiling. “Of course it will. But I pity any man who thinks he can go up against you in a dark alley and win.”

Michel went to speak and Maria silenced him with a hand over his mouth. “You won’t always be around. You’re going back to school in Chicago and I’m staying here. And no matter what you may believe, you can’t kick someone’s ass for me over the phone.” Michael laughed and kissed the palm of the hand over his mouth. Maria pulled back in surprise and Michael laughed.

“If I put my arms around you, will you do the same thing to me?” Max’s lips were right next to Liz’s ear and she shivered.

“Hmm…why don’t you be a man and find out.” Max laughed, soft and low in his throat, and Liz soon felt a pair of warm arms wrap around her and pull her back against a hard body, one hand resting over her stomach. Liz leaned into Max and he tucked her head under his chin, the pair of them swaying slightly, as if they were dancing to inaudible music.

“As much joy as it gives me to watch someone kick Kyle’s ass, I have to go make lunch.”

“Why don’t we all help?” Tess looked around at the other occupants of the room. “It’ll go faster that way.” She received various head nods and versions of the word ‘yes’ in response.

Thirty minutes later, the lunch half over, Jeff set his glass of lemonade down and said, “You know, I was wondering what you girls were doing up there in the old playroom.”

Michael swallowed his bite of hot dog and picked up a handful of popcorn from the bowl in the center of the table. “Lizzy was kicking Kyle’s ass.”

“Oh is that all?” Jeff spared a glance at Kyle, who simply shrugged and took another bite of his hot dog.

“Actually Jeff, Liz is going to teach us how to defend ourselves. It’s good to be able to take care of yourself.”

“Yes it is, Isabel.” Jeff’s eyes caught his daughter’s for a moment before turning back to Isabel. “And I am terribly proud of you for taking the initiative. You have grown tremendously since we first met.” Isabel blushed and looked down and Alex could sense that though Isabel had grown, she wasn’t quite used to such attention just yet.

“Okay…so a troll, a hag and a leprechaun walk into a bar-” The bulk of the table groaned loudly.

“Aw, not this joke again.”
“Al…it wasn’t funny the first time.”
“Again?”
“Oh great.”
“You can’t be serious.”

Posted in two parts due to length.

Chapter 25: The Closet…Continued

“I wish I could play my guitar right now. This is so frustrating.” Liz pouted as she scratched the top of her plaster cast. “I want this off now.”

Alex raised an eyebrow. “And you think I want to keep this thing?” He pointed down at his right calf. “It’s a lot harder for me to get around now. You’ll be able to play it again in about a month.”

“I know. I’m whining. It’s just I look at you, sitting there with your guitar on your lap and I’m jealous. Can’t a sister be jealous of her more talented twin?” Liz grinned at him from her seat on the deck and Alex rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “Now where do you want to take it from?”

“Back from the top. I still say this is a song a woman needs to sing.”

“I’m not entirely convinced you’re right about that, but we’ll go with it for now. Okay…I’m ready whenever you are.”

Alex started to strum then looked up at Liz, waiting for her voice to enter.

It isn't very difficult to see why
You are the way you are
Doesn't take a genius to realize
That sometimes life is hard
It's gonna take time
But you'll just have to wait
You're gonna be fine
But in the meantime

Come over here lady
Let me wipe your tears away
Come a little nearer baby
Coz you'll heal ov-

Liz stopped abruptly, shaking her head and Alex stopped strumming shortly after. “What is it? I thought it was going really well.”

Liz continued to shake her head and furrowed her brow. “No, something’s still not right. I just can’t put my finger on what it is.”

“Well, I can only-”

“It’s not your lyrics, Al. Or the music. No…it’s something else. What I don’t know.” Liz, previously cross-legged, now fell backward so she was on her back and her knees were bent, bottoms of her feet flat on the deck. “Let’s try it again. Maybe I’ll finally get it. Do you really not hear it?”

Alex nodded lightly, conceding her point. “Yeah…I hear a little something.”

Liz stared at the clouds above her and felt her stomach sink a little. She closed her eyes briefly to ward off the stinging and when she opened them, focused on the cloud that, if you turned your head just the right way, greatly resembled a turtle. It didn’t help to ward away the small piece of sadness she was feeling, but she supposed it had been worth the effort anyway. Liz couldn’t remember the last time she looked a clouds like this with her mom. That was the real trouble. Their mom. Their mom would have known exactly what was off with Alex’s song. “Okay…go ahead.”

It isn't very difficult to see why
You are the way you are
Doesn't take a genius to realize
That sometimes life is hard
It's gonna take time
But you'll just have to wait
You're gonna be fine
But in the meantime

The song had started out the same, just Liz singing to Alex’s strumming. But as soon as the song transitioned to the chorus, another voice jumped in, a female voice, and though Liz continued singing, she sat up and looked across the deck at the woman leaning in the doorway with her eyes closed.

Come over here lady
Let me wipe your tears away

Maria.

She was providing beautiful, spot-on harmony.

She was what the song had been missing.

Come a little nearer baby
Coz you'll heal over
Heal over
Heal over someday

Liz closed her eyes...following Maria’s example...and just kept on singing. Maria seemed to know instinctually when to come in. She was undoubtedly a very skilled singer.

And I don't wanna hear you tell yourself
That these feelings are in the past
You know it doesn't mean they're off the shelf
Because pain's built to last
Everybody sails alone
But we can travel side by side
Even if you fail
You know that no one really minds

Come over here lady
Let me wipe your tears away
Come a little nearer baby
Coz you'll heal over, heal over, heal over someday

Don't hold on but don't let go
I know it's so hard
You've got to try to trust yourself
I know it's so hard, so hard

Come over here lady
Let me wipe your tears away
Come a little nearer baby
Coz you'll heal over, heal over, heal over someday

Liz couldn’t help but stare at Maria. It wasn’t entirely polite, but she didn’t seem to be able to form words in that moment, so stunned was she by Maria’s entrance. “Maria…that was-”

“Amazing. Perfect. Perfect and amazing. Exactly what the song was missing.” Alex shook his head in wonder, pick clasped lightly between the fingers of his right hand.

“You picked up the song so quickly.”

“Not that quickly. It was the ninth time you went through the song.” Maria shrugged and moved out of the doorway, walking over to Liz and plopping down onto the deck beside her.

“Man…we missed you.”
“Man…we missed you.”

Maria laughed, her head thrown back briefly before it snapped back forward, her bright smile matching the sun. She leaned back on her hands and said, “You know, I’d forgotten how accustomed I once was to your freaky-deaky twin thing. I missed that when we were at the commune. I missed you guys. All of you.” She laughed again. “It’s safe to say there is no other family around quite like the Parkers.”

Liz fell back so she was once again lying on the deck with her knees bent. “I think that was a compliment, but I’m not sure.” She laughed.

“Even if it isn’t, take it as one.” Liz lifted her head and watched Kyle hop down onto the deck, guitar in tow. “Hey Al…I think your song needs some more…uh…instruments added from the bridge. You know what I mean?”

“I think.” Alex started strumming from the beginning and Liz and Maria started singing again. When they reached the bridge, Kyle joined in and Alex grinned. Kyle was right.

When they finished, Liz said, “I have to admit Alex, you were right. This song is meant for a woman.”

“I’m glad you’re finally willing to concede my brilliance, but it wouldn’t have happened without Maria.” He turned to the blonde and said, “Thank you, by the way.”

Maria shrugged, smiling. “Glad I could help.”

Kyle shifted his guitar on his lap, resting his right forearm on the curved wood. “I think you should add a little bass and some drums. What do you think?”

“I agree. I liked your guitar, but I think it needs to be tweaked a little. Maybe a little softer…I don’t know.” Alex shrugged. “We’ll play with it. So what does everyone have planned tonight?”

“Michael and I are going to the movies. There’s that new thriller he wanted to see.” Maria shrugged.

“Tess and I are going to the movies too but since I picked the last movie we saw, she gets to pick this one. Truthfully…I have no idea what she’s going to pick.”

“Be afraid…be very afraid, Parker.” Tess walked over to Kyle, smirking. She leaned down for a kiss, which he readily returned.

“Speak of the angel. Hello honey.”

“What about you Alex? What are you and Isabel doing tonight?” Tess looped her arm around her boyfriend’s shoulders as she remained standing. Kyle wrapped his arm around her waist.

“Well, I was considering ice skating, but I think that might be a little difficult to maneuver now.”

“Ya think?”

Alex made a small sound in response and followed it with, “So I quickly vetoed that and decided to take Izzy out to eat and then to this play she’s wanted to see for a while now. So we’ll probably be home late.” Alex turned to look at Liz. “What about you, Lizzy?”

Max popped his head out the door and said, “We decided to stay in. I want to make Liz dinner and then we’re just going to chill out.”

Liz shrugged a little and thumbed in Max’s direction. “What he said.”

“Hey Kyle?”

“Yeah Mike?” Kyle turned to look at his twin, now taking up the other half of the doorway.

Liz sat up and turned her body to face Alex. “Our family has oddly accurate timing. Do you think we pass that on to other people?”

Alex set his guitar down gently on the ground and slid down from his seat on a deck bench to sit in front of his sister. “It does beg an interesting question…are we more a product of nature or nurture? And can we still be affected after our formidable years? This would be an interesting experiment to run. We’d need guinea pigs…probably family members to start with.”

“Ooo…guinea pigs!”

A throat clearing broke the dark-haired twins from their conversation and they turned sheepish smiles to Michael, who looked merely amused.

“Before I was so…interestingly interrupted…I was going to ask whether you and Tess wanted to go in the same car with me and Maria. And Lizzy…Alex?” Their body language was identical; two sets of shoulders hunched slightly and two sets of eyebrows up in question. “No way am I going to be your guinea pig.”

Liz and Alex shrugged easily and Kyle said, “Normally I’m down with anything we can do to help the environment…you know, spare the air and all…but you have to ask Tess what time our movie starts. I don’t know what we’re seeing. And you can count me out of your little experiment. The last time I was stupid enough to say yes I had to walk around with green hair for a month.”

Alex and Liz smiled wistfully at one another, both remembering the day they had somehow conned Kyle into using a “special” shampoo. Unbeknownst to Kyle, there had never been an experiment. Liz and Alex had simply wanted to see how much they could get away with.

“Hmm…Kyle, you should have left your hair green.” Isabel walked over to Kyle and cocked her head to the side, a smile starting to break free. “It would have really brought out the color of your eyes.”

“Izzy…” Liz breathed out, smiling proudly. “You told a joke.”

Isabel grinned, and where on previous days she would have blushed and turned away, now she was looking Liz in the eyes. “I guess I did.”

“Here you all are. I was beginning to think I’d have to hire a Sherpa to find you. Paolo and I have a meeting we need to get to tonight and I won’t be home until late.” Jeff walked onto the deck, his right hand holding the morning paper. He was still working on the crossword puzzle.

“Are you leaving now?”

He looked at his watch. “In about a half an hour, Mike. Just wanted to make sure everyone was squared away for tonight.” They all nodded. “Good. I’ll see you all tomorrow. Don’t wait up.”

“We won’t.”
“We won’t.”
“We won’t.”
“We won’t.”

-:-:-:-

Max jogged up the stairs to Liz’s room, cleanup from dinner completed. Liz had wanted to help, but Max wouldn’t let her lift a finger, saying he wanted her just to relax. In the end Liz had to concede, since Max seemed to be resolute, at least about this. So she simply smiled and told him she’d be upstairs when he was through.

He walked inside and looked around for a bit, honestly perplexed. Isn’t this where she said she’d be? He wandered over to her bathroom and looked in, starting his search for his missing girlfriend, when a throat clearing from the doorway stopped him. He turned around and smiled when he saw Liz leaning on the doorjamb, smiling seductively.

He growled low in his throat but stayed where he was, drinking her in. Her red, v-neck top wasn’t exactly like it had been in his dream but it was pretty damn close and Max smiled. She was gorgeous.

Liz cocked her head to the side, her dark hair falling over the back of her shoulder, and lifted herself from the door. She started walking toward him, almost achingly slow, and Max started toward her, unable to keep his hands from her much longer. It was killing him.

“So…tell me about this fantasy of yours.” Liz raised and eyebrow and Max smiled in an almost feral way.

“Well…you were wearing a red shirt…sort of like that one…and you put your hand on my chest.”

“Like this?” Liz gently laid her hand down flat against his upper chest and looked up at him.

“More like this.” Max put his right hand over hers and moved it down to rest more over his pectoral, closer to his heart, and grinned at her.

“Then what?”

“Then…you started walking me back into your closet.”

“Mmm…I’m liking this fantasy so far.” Liz started to walk him back and back and back into the closet until they reached the back of the closet. “Now what?”

“Now this needs to come off.” Max removed his right hand from Liz’s and put both of his hands on the hem of her shirt, slowly inching it up her body. Liz lifted her arms above her and Max lifted her shirt over her arms and off her body, tossing it on the ground to his left. “I have to say though, in my dream you weren’t wearing a bra.”

“Hmm…well, I think there’s something I can do about that.” Liz reached behind her and unclasped her bra, pulling the black straps over her shoulders and letting it fall to the ground in between them. Liz kicked it out of the way with her bare foot and inched closer to Max, bringing her lips right in front of his. “Is that better?” The whispered heat of her breath washed over Max’s mouth and he licked his lips a little before he crashed his mouth down on hers and brought her chest to his, his arms wrapped tightly around her smaller form.

Max planted gentle kisses along her jaw and then started down the column of her neck, leaving a wet trail as he went. He licked her collarbone and sent shivers down Liz’s spine and her right hand, fisted in Max’s hair, pushed his mouth closer to her skin. Max smiled as his mouth met her left breast and licked around her nipple, being careful not to touch it. He nipped the skin around her areola and Liz groaned, though whether it was out of joy or frustration, Max wasn’t sure.

“Max.” Liz’s voice was one part exasperated, one part harried and two parts turned on and if Max wasn’t already dying to get out of his pants, he was now. “Tell me you have a condom. Please tell me you have a condom. Or five.”

Max laughed as his mouth stopped just in front of Liz’s and said, “Five? Naughty girl.”

“You can call me anything you like so long as you tell me you have them.”

“Oh sweetheart…I’ve got more than five.” Max growled and lifted her up in the air, his left arm supporting her bottom and his right hand on the back of her head, keeping her mouth on his. Liz wrapped her legs around his waist, locking her ankles together and Max walked them slowly out of the closet.

The trip to Liz’s bed seemed to take forever but neither of them minded all that much, as fixated as they were on one another’s mouths. When Max reached the bed he sat down with Liz on his lap. They broke apart, chests heaving, and Liz smiled at him as she put her hand on his chest and pushed him down to lie flat on the bed. Max smirked at her. “Like to take control, do we? Mmm…I like that.”

Liz laughed and reached her hand into the front left pocket of his jeans, pulling out a condom. As she did, she inadvertently brushed her hand over Max’s fly and he groaned, his eyes rolling back briefly in his head. “Careful. Or I may not last very long.”

“Careful of what? This?” Liz ran her fingers up his groin and Max groaned loudly, his head straining back on the mattress.

He looked up at her and said, “Tease.”

“I think you need a little help, don’t you?” Liz bent down, her head close to Max’s groin and looked up at him, smiling. Her fingers popped the button of his jeans and slid the zipper down slowly. She slipped her fingers under the waistband of his boxers and started to pull them down but with a cast on her arm it was a little more difficult than it should have been, so Max helped her out, lifting his hips and using his hands to pull his pants and boxers off.

When Liz had them in her hand she tossed them off the side of the bed and stared at the beautiful man lying naked on her bed. He put his hands behind his head, letting her stare, and she took the opportunity.

“You know…someone’s wearing entirely too many clothes.” He sat up on his elbows, his feral grin making Liz’s breath quicken.

“Oh yeah? And what are you going to do about that?” Max slowly rose from the bed, moving to stand in front of her. He looked down at her and then brought his hands up to her shoulders, letting his fingers gently caress her skin as they moved slowly from her shoulders to her collarbone and down to her breasts.

When he reached her breasts he ran each finger over her nipple and they strained painfully, wanting to be touched further. He didn’t comply, running his soft hands along the undersides of her breasts and then down along her ribcage until they rested finally on her hips.

He let them stay there a moment, caressing her skin as his lips found hers and nipped gently, unconsciously asking permission for entrance. Max ran his tongue along her teeth and she opened them, running along his tongue with her own. As their tongues dueled, Max’s hands drifted lower and unhooked her belt before popping the button and pulling down the zipper. He put his hands palms down, flat against the skin of her back and as he kissed her, pulled her closer.

Liz’s hands reached for Max’s bottom and pulled him up against her, his erection pressed firmly against her stomach. They both groaned, aware of exactly what was happening. Max’s hands trailed down her back and under her underwear, cupping her bottom and squeezing gently. He flexed his wrists and started to walk her pants and underwear down her legs, his mouth leaving hers as he slid down her body.

Max kissed her belly button, dipping his tongue inside and trailed kisses down her right leg as Liz stepped out of her pants. Max then moved over to her other leg and kissed from the top of her foot up. When he reached her belly he nuzzled his nose on the skin below her belly button, his warm breath raising goose bumps along her skin.

Liz put her finger under his chin and he looked up into her eyes before standing up, never breaking eye contact.

Max breathed out, “So beautiful” and brought his hands behind her neck, his thumbs resting on her jaw, rubbing gently. He kissed the tip of her nose as his fingers moved in her hair and he walked them to her bed. Liz sat down on the bed and edged backward until she was lying flat on her back, looking up at him through hooded eyes.

A sound rumbled low in Max’s throat and he bent down between Liz’s legs. He pushed his hands gently against her knees and she got the hint, opening them wide for him. He brought his mouth to her center and let out a puff of air that caused Liz to shiver and writhe in anticipation. He blew out a long, cool breath and Liz sighed a little and groaned.

“Max…please.”

“Please what?” Max grinned. It was safe to say he was enjoying himself; enjoying being this close to Liz.

She groaned. “Touch me…please touch me.”

“If you insist.” Max parted her lower lips with his fingers and licked a long, slow path up to her clit. Liz’s hips jumped and Max laid his hand flat just in front of his face, pushing her down to the bed. Nearly every muscle in Liz’s body clenched as Max sucked on her clit and her mouth fell open as her head pushed into the mattress. She unconsciously tried to move her hips up to meet his mouth, her mind not recalling that his hand was holding her down.

Liz moaned and her right hand fell to Max’s head, holding his face against her. “Max.”

Max’s inserted his tongue in her and Liz cried out, her toes curling. His right hand came down to rub smooth circles on her clit as his tongue darted in and out, and Liz was starting to come apart. Max was incredibly skilled.

He built her up and up and up, her breath coming in short gasps, and she cried out over and over again. She was amazingly close to falling over the edge. She just needed that one final push.

“Max…Max…Max…oh God…oh God.”

Max removed his tongue and inserted a finger, then two, curling them a little as he moved them quickly in and out. Then he pulled her clit into his mouth, sucking gently. That did it.

Liz came quickly, screaming his name as the fingers of her right hand kept his face on her center and her toes dug into the bed below her. “Max!”

Liz’s body came down slowly, her breathing erratic as her hand fell off of his head, the pleasure making her limp. Max crawled up her body and took her mouth in his, his teeth pulling a little on her lower lip. They kissed languidly and Max rested his left hand on Liz’s right breast, taking a sort of sweet comfort in her body. Max reached over to his side where the condom had fallen from Liz’s hand and ripped the foil package open with his teeth. Liz reached down between them and closed her hand over Max’s penis and he groaned in response.

Max reluctantly turned away from her and rolled the condom down before reaching for Liz and pulling her on top of him. Their mouths came together and their kisses grew in intensity until Liz reached behind her, grabbing Max in her right hand. She lifted herself up and as she gently impaled herself on him, looking in Max’s eyes, they both sighed, glad to finally be joined.

They both took a moment to revel in the feeling, in the moment they had both been aching for. Liz knew then she had wanted this moment with Max as soon as she had set eyes on him, wanted to feel this close to someone. She also knew that no matter what, Max was the only man she would ever feel this close to, the only person to whom she would connect on such a level. There was a strength in that feeling, a warmth that Liz had never felt before and she smiled, comforted by Max and his very presence in her life.

Max took in the beautiful sight of the woman on top of him and felt his entire body come to rest, even as it hummed at the very sight of her. There was no way Max would ever get enough of her; no way his soul could ever really be parted from her again. And if Max hadn’t believed in soul mates before, he understood now. Liz was and always would be his anam cara. And there was nothing that had ever felt more real than that.

Liz slowly raised her body up and down, Max sliding in and out of her. Max put his hands on her hips, guiding her as she moved slowly, both wanting to take their time. Liz put her right hand on top of his left and clasped her fingers into his as she felt the pleasure within her start to build.

She increased her pace and Max lifted his body up, taking her mouth again in his. When neither could stand it anymore, they broke apart, their words coming out in between screams and pants.

“Max!”

“Liz!”

“Max…Max…Max!”

“Liz…Liz…Liz!”

“Oh god…I’m so close…I’m so close!”

“Ohgodohgodohgod.”

Then Liz let out a pleasure-filled scream and her body contracted, her orgasm washing over her. Liz’s scream was the last straw for Max and he swelled and felt his body release itself, his head falling back.

Liz fell against him, her head dropping to his shoulder and Max fell back onto the bed. Neither moved, both far too tired to care, and they laid there, torso pressed to torso. Max’s lips whispered words of love into Liz’s hair and she smiled sleepily. Right now Max was in her and below her and around her and Liz had never felt safer.

“Please tell me we can stay like this forever.” Liz’s words were murmured and Max could tell she was straddling the line between exhaustion and pleasure. She looked so beautiful that Max couldn’t help himself and Liz felt him stir inside her. She groaned as she smiled into his chest. “Already?”

He chuckled. “Sorry. I can’t help that I have a gorgeous woman on top of me completely willing to love me.”

“You do have a point there.” Liz put her chin on his chest and he raised his head to look at her, his hands caressing her back. Liz kissed him on the lips briefly before she raised herself off of him. Max slipped from her and they both groaned softly, immediately missing the intimacy. She walked along the side of the bed and placed her hand on his chest.

“Thank you, Max. For loving me.” It was unnecessary but Liz added it anyway, wanting to hear the words come from her own mouth. She liked the way they sounded, the way they fell off her tongue.

Liz leaned down and kissed him gently, her hair falling down off her shoulder and swaying between them. “I’m going to go take a shower. Clean up before everyone gets home.” She smiled at him over her shoulder one last time as she entered the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Max pulled off the condom, tossing it into the trashcan near Liz’s bed. He lay there on Liz’s bed for a minute or so, left hand on his stomach, right hand behind his head. He wasn’t thinking or processing or dwelling, he was just being; just being in Liz’s room with Liz’s things and Liz in the bathroom and Liz all around.

He was still lying there when Liz’s head popped out of her bathroom and said, “You know…as much joy as it gives me to think that when I get out of the shower you’ll still be naked on my bed, Michael and Kyle will be home from their dates in…” Liz looked at the digital clock across the room before turning her eyes back to Max. “Oh…forty minutes or so. And they’ll come looking for me. They always do. And if you’re here-”

“They’ll shoot me on sight.” He nodded and raised himself to a sitting position. “I know. I just wanted to stay as long as I could. Can you blame me?” He smirked and stood and had Liz not been determined to keep her eyes on his face, she might have pulled him into bathroom and forgotten all about any sense of self-preservation.

Liz looked at him with almost seductive eyes and crooked her right index finger at him, beckoning him nearer. Max smiled much in the same manner and walked slowly over to her, almost as if he were a lion stalking its prey. He stopped right in front of her and focused his eyes downward without moving his head, his warm breath washing over her forehead.

“Yes?”

Liz held up a large plastic bag and a rubber band, grinning. “Would you mind?”

Max shook his head and smiled before grabbing the bag and rubber band from her hand. He attached the bag over her left arm so it would be protected from the water and started to turn away.

He had his back to her when he said, “Oh, and Liz?”

She turned around, eyebrows raised, and Max, who had been halfway across the room, strode across the length quickly and determinately and pulled Liz to him, kissing her with as much passion as resided in his body. The hand cradling her neck stroked her cheek as the hand on the small of her back pulled her to him and when Max finally pulled away, Liz was out of breath and speechless.

Max whispered, “I love you” with a grin and turned, scooping his clothes off the floor before he headed out her door.

-:-:-:-

Her lips were so soft.

Michael usually considered himself a much deeper thinker than this, but he couldn’t help it. It was the only thing running through his mind.

Maria had incredibly soft lips.

So it must be true that not all men thought of sex every seven seconds because Michael had been kissing Maria for a good, solid ten minutes now. And all he could think about was Maria’s soft lips.

Well, he wasn’t sure of the exact amount of time. While he had stopped every once in a while to come up for air, it wasn’t as if he had thought to check his watch when he had.

Maria and her soft lips.

Maria had lips. And they were soft.

Yep…that was pretty much it.

Maria was leaned up against the side of her house, her right hand gripping the front of Michael’s button-down shirt as her left rested on his chest. Michael’s right hand was flat against the wall behind her, supporting his weight, and his left was behind her neck and tilting her face upward.

The porch light came on above them but neither noticed. Not that that was entirely surprising to the woman who had been watching them for the last nine and a half minutes.

She coughed.

They broke apart.

Amy didn’t say anything, just stared, foot tapping soundly on the front porch. She had an eyebrow raised but a smile on her lips. And she looked like an older version of Maria.

And still…she wasn’t talking.

It was unnerving, being around an older version of his girlfriend. It was unnerving, watching her standing there, not saying a word. And it was unnerving, not having any idea what to say. It seemed that both DeLuca women had a rather obvious effect on Michael’s vocal chords, albeit for very different reasons. Michael wondered briefly if all of Maria’s boyfriends had felt the same way.

“Amy…I…sorry…I…”

Maria rolled her eyes. It was a bit endearing, this strange trait of Michael’s. “I’ll be inside in a minute mom. Michael’s going home right now, I promise.”

“Oh sweetheart, that’s okay. Just make sure that if you’re going to go any further that you have a condom, okay?” Amy blew an air kiss directed at both of them and walked inside.

A dumbfounded Michael turned to Maria and said, “You’re mother’s weird. What…did she think I was going to take you right here on the porch?”

“With my mother you never know.”

“Jeez…your mom is like the Free Love Nazi.”

“Did you just compare my mother to a Nazi?”

“I’m sorry! But it’s your fault. Your lips are soft.”

“What do my lips have to do with anything?”

Michael groaned and shook his head. “Never mind.”

Maria, in rare Amy form, put her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrow, boring her eyes into her boyfriend’s. “Oh no Michael Parker, you’re not getting away with that. Explain. Now.” Maria tapped her foot rhythmically, waiting for Michael’s answer.

He sighed, realizing he probably wasn’t going to get away with not answering. “I got distracted. And when I get distracted I say things I shouldn’t.” He sighed again, falling back against the siding of Maria’s house. “Kyle says my mental filter has a hole.” He snorted, rolling his eyes. “And I was kissing you and then…I wasn’t and your mom was standing there and I…jeez…all I could think about were your lips, okay? And how much I wanted to keep kissing them. Happy, blondie?”

“Blondie, huh?”

“Oh man…tell me I’m not going to get in trouble for that too.”

“Actually…” Maria took her hands from her hips and walked toward Michael slowly and he straightened up a little. Maria stalked toward him, a sexy smile on her face and Michael breathed in deeply. This Maria…this Maria was anything but scary.

He didn’t wait for Maria to reach him as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tightly to him. Their kisses were long and deep and when they finally broke for air, Michael said, “I should probably go. I don’t want to prove your mother right.”

A breathless Maria asked, “What do you mean?”

“I’m pretty sure if we kept going the way we are, I would take you on your front porch.”

So Michael kissed Maria softly one more time and watched her walk inside before he turned around and jogged down the front steps, pulling his keys out of his pocket. As Michael walked back to the empty car, he breathed a sigh of relief that Kyle and Tess’ movie had started a half an hour earlier than his and Maria’s and that they had taken separate cars.

So take the fact that Kyle was most likely home already and that Alex wouldn’t be home for another hour or so and that meant that if Michael went home now, he’d have Liz all to himself. For a while, at least.

And as Michael turned down Maria’s driveway, he made a mental note to ask Liz how her night with Max had gone.

Chapter 26: Hit Me with Your Best Shot

Michael pushed the white door open, using his toes to force his boots off at the heels as he walked through the doorway. The door had been slightly cracked, sending out a sort of silent invitation for permission to enter. Michael turned and shut the door, walking over to the bed. He lifted the covers up, climbed in and lay there on his side, waiting for his sister’s eyes to open. It took Liz a minute or so to realize there was someone else in her bed and she opened her eyes, shifting her body to accommodate Michael.

Her eyes met her brother’s and she sighed. “Good date?”

There was something different about Liz, something Michael couldn’t quite name. He searched around in his mind for the word, but whatever it was, it was elusive. It was like one of those Whack-A-Mole games, and Michael wondered whether he’d should keep chasing the word or sit down and let it settle when it pleased. In the end he decided to let it straighten itself out without his help as he focused on the girl in front of him. “Yeah…but then it was weird.”

“Weird? Why?”

“Her mom interrupted us kissing on the porch.”

“Kissing or kissing?”

“Do you really want to know the answer to that question?”

“Scientifically? Yes. Psychologically? Yes. Actually? No, not really. And you must have been hit on the head with a very large, heavy object if you think otherwise. Tell me, but spare me the details.”

“The second one. And do you really think I want to give you the details? It would be like my asking Max how long he made out with you today. Just thinking about it makes me ill.” Michael flared his nostrils a bit and grimaced, his face taking on an almost unhealthy pallor.

“You wanted us together, Mike. Remember that.”

“Yeah well, hindsight and all. I do, I just don’t want to have to think about it.”

Liz rolled her eyes but inside she was just a little uncomfortable, as if she could feel something that didn’t belong working its way through her system. Liz was curious but not anxious to see how Michael reacted when he found out his best friend had slept with his sister. And he would find out. They all would. “Okay, back to your date. Were you-”

And Michael sent a prayer of thanks for the quadruplet thing and its many inscrutable powers for this one moment. As much as he loved his sister, he did not want to hear the words she was about to say come out of her mouth. “NO! Jeez…no, alright? Strictly PG.”

Liz nodded as she smiled. “So what’s the problem?”

“Amy looked at both of us and said that if we were going to have sex, we should make sure to use a condom. As if she expected me to throw Maria down onto the deck and do her right there. I couldn’t even say anything. I was a bumbling idiot.”

“But I’m sure you were an adorable bumbling idiot.” Liz smiled sweetly at him and Michael rolled his eyes.

“Very helpful, Lizzy. Thanks.”

She laughed and scooched her body a little, wiggling down into her mattress as she adjusted her body a bit closer to her brother. “Okay…so your problem is…what? That Amy interferes too much? Or that she’s different than dad? Or that you really did want to throw Maria down on the deck? Because I know I’m usually really good at this, but I’m a bit lost right now.”

Michael sighed, and it was the kind of sigh that only came from the mouth of someone who didn’t want to tell a secret, but was forced to. Their dad’s mouth had let go the same sigh eleven years ago at a certain ice cream shop. “I don’t like people.”

Liz simply nodded because had she responded with any sort of verbal recognition of Michael’s statement, she knew Michael would take that as some sort of permission to get off topic or run away from the truth and she wasn’t about to allow that.

And Michael knew that. So he looked into eyes that were like their father’s in a face that was like their mother’s and he told the truth-because he had no other choice but because he would have said it anyway. And because she was Liz and she cared and she was lying there, across from him, waiting on his words. And that mattered. It was what Michael imagined their mother would have done, albeit in different circumstances.

“I could only think of one thing when I was kissing Maria…and it wasn’t what you’re thinking.”

“And that was a first.” It wasn’t an accusation, merely a statement of truth.

Michael nodded. “Yeah…it was. All I could think about was how soft her lips were. You know…with every other girl I dated, I had other things running through my head. How great she looked or how much I liked kissing her or even once, when a paper was due. And yes…I thought about sex too. But not Maria.”

Michael shook his head and bored his eyes a little into Liz’s silently asking her to fill in the blanks in his head. She exhaled through her nose and looked off to the side briefly before her eyes snapped back to Michael’s. “Do you remember what mom used to say when something bad happened?”

Michael nodded, his hair pressed against the pillow making a rustling sound. “Let it. Then forget it.”

“You know…we’re lucky. Dad is…well, there’s not really one word for him, is there?” Michael snorted and shook his head lightly. “But he and mom were so in tune with one another that when mom died, he almost just…what’s the word?” Liz paused, searching for the truth in her own mind. “Assimilated who she had been to us, and we never felt the difference. Maria’s dad left when she was little and then kept coming back and leaving and Amy did the best she could under the circumstances.

“So you have to allow that while dad would probably just have rolled his eyes and smiled, completely confident in your choices, he wasn’t alone in raising us. We had siblings to take up some slack. Maria and Amy only had each other. So maybe Amy wonders sometimes whether she taught Maria everything she needed to know. Or maybe she just wants to stay involved in her life. I think you’re just going to have to accept that Amy is the way she is.”

Liz laughed. “And when worst comes to worst, just remember how much you love Maria, and that Amy’s responsible for how amazing she is.” As Michael opened his mouth to retort, Liz cut back in with, “And you do love her, Michael. I see it. We all see it. Maybe you don’t see that yet, but that’s okay. Because I don’t think Maria sees it either. Not yet. It’ll hit you, just like it has the rest of us. And when it does, then you’ll finally understand why all you could think about were Maria’s lips. And why you were a little insulted that Amy thought you respected Maria so little that you would sleep with her on a whim.

“So just do what mom said…let it…” She shrugged. “And forget it. I know this whole situation with Maria has you a little unhinged. You aren’t used to people putting you out of your element, but I think mom would be proud of you.”

“I just mastered speaking around Maria and now I have to figure out her mom?” Michael snorted softly and rolled his eyes, smiling quietly. “I used to think I could talk to women if I needed to. Benefit number four hundred ninety-seven of having a sister that you’re close to. Thanks Lizzy. You always know what to say.”

Liz nodded and Michael turned his body so that he was lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling. Liz continued to look at him, but in a softer way, as if he were just part of some larger picture. They stayed that way for a few minutes, listening to one another breathe, listening to Liz’s retro aluminum wall clock as it ticked the seconds away.

“So how was your night?”

-:-:-:-

Alex had been in his room for mere seconds when Michael came calling, knocking on the opened door to get Alex’s attention.

“Meeting in Kyle’s room. You can get changed first.” Michael left as quickly as he came.

Alex stared at his retreating back for a moment then said, “Hi Alex. How was your night? It was great Mike. Thanks. How about yours? Good. Thanks.” Alex hobbled over to the dresser and pulled out his pajama bottoms and a t-shirt, dropping them on the top of his dresser as he started to unbutton his shirt.

Seven minutes later Alex swung through Kyle’s door and headed for a seat on the bed. Kyle was already straddling his desk chair and Michael was pacing. Alex wondered how long Michael had been doing that. It looked like he was starting to wear away the sealer on the hardwood floor.

“Where’s Liz?”

Michael shook his head as he paced and Kyle said, “This is about Liz. Apparently.” Michael grunted in response and Alex groaned, throwing his head back as he spoke.

“Aw, man! Don’t tell me he’s resorted to grunting. I hate it when he does that. You’re the only one who can understand him.”

Kyle shrugged and waited for Michael to speak, since he had been the one to call the meeting in the first place. Alex and Kyle watched as Michael stopped, turned, then started pacing again. Alex grew tired of it and rolled his eyes, falling back onto Kyle’s bed.

About three minutes later he finally spoke, although it wasn’t so much a sentence but a jumble of words Alex had a difficult time decoding.

“He…I…kill…how…no…is…KILL!” On the last word he faced his two brothers, his jaw clenching.

Alex sat up and looked at Michael once before he turned to Kyle and said, “Huh?”

Kyle turned his head slightly and looked at Alex. “He’s upset because Max slept with our sister.”

“That’s what that meant?” Kyle nodded. “You don’t seem nearly as upset as he does.”

“You’re not upset at all.”

“Why would I be? I don’t have to have the ‘I-have-to-beat-the-crap-out-of-anyone-that-even-so-much-thinks-of-touching-my-baby-sister-so-keep-your-hands-where-I-can-see-them-or-I’m-coming-after-you-with-a-sledgehammer’ attitude. I get to be the sweet, supportive, slightly older brother with a wacky sense of humor who can finish all her sentences.”

Kyle nodded, closing his eyes briefly in understanding as he smiled. “Ah…yeah, Mike does a pretty good job of playing protective ticked-off older brother all by his lonesome, doesn’t he?” He chuckled and looked at his twin. “Is it just me, or does he have flames coming out of his ears?”

“I can’t believe you two! How can you just sit there, knowing that Max…AAHHH!” He started pacing again and Kyle and Alex glanced at one another before rolling their eyes in tandem.

“Someone’s being a drama queen.”

“What’s wrong with you guys? Max had sex with our sister! How can you be so calm about this? Don’t you have a problem with that?”

Michael waited for them to say something but only got crickets in response. He shook his head lightly and left the room, disbelief clear on his face. He was obviously the only one who had a problem with the situation.

Kyle stared after Michael a while, his gaze absently locked on the doorway. “He’s not going to let this go.”

Alex sighed and nodded, rising from Kyle’s bed to stand. He pulled his crutches under his arms and swung toward Kyle’s door but stopped when he reached the doorway, turning around to catch the eyes of his older brother. “You know…you didn’t answer the question.”

“Which question is that?”

“Why doesn’t it bother you? It should…you’re her older brother and all.”

Kyle smiled a little and looked down before he looked back up. “It did. It bothered me at first.” He thought a little before he said more, and though it seemed that he was trying to think of what to say, that wasn’t it at all. “I was the first person to know, you know. I was telling her about my date and I just knew she was different.”

“How?”

“Don’t know…all I know is she felt different, if that makes any sense. And it bothered me. Not as bad as Mike, but then no one overreacts about you two like Mike, so…” He raised his eyebrows and sighed before he said, “Then…I thought about it. And I looked at her. And I just…got it.

“Max loves her, Alex. And Liz loves him right back. You know how it works with us- Parkers only love once. He’s it for her.

“So do I really have any business having a problem with my future brother-in-law having sex with his future wife? Not so much…Although I really don’t want to think about it.” Kyle stood from his seat on his desk chair and stopped next to Alex. “Max loves her…that’s really the important thing here. And he won’t hurt her, I’m sure of that. So why should I have a problem?”

“If only Mike had your logic.”

Kyle shook his head vehemently. “No…then he wouldn’t be Mike. He may be a bit…overzealous…but he’s always been nails about protecting the two of you. He knows this is the worst kind of hurt someone could give Liz…and he wants to protect her from it.” He shrugged. “He just doesn’t see it yet.”

Alex nodded and swung out Kyle’s door, but just as Kyle was about to close it, Alex asked, “Hey…do you remember Greg Venkman?”

Kyle nodded. “Mike.”

“That’s why he never bothered me again?”

Kyle nodded again.

Alex shook his head and started down the hallway, towards Liz’s room. He heard Kyle quietly shut his door and Alex knocked gently on Liz’s door, entering when she said, “Open.”

Liz turned over and looked at the door, smiling when Alex swung through the doorway. “Hey…how was your date? Did Isabel like the play?”

When Kyle was right, he was right. Liz was different.

Alex shut the door and hobbled over to his sister’s bed, climbing in and squishing himself down into the mattress, rubbing his head down into the pillow until it formed into an acceptable shape.

Liz laughed. “Done adjusting princess?”

-:-:-:-

Michael shifted the basketball back and forth from one hand to the other, feeling the orange bumpy leather as it rolled over his fingers. His head was down, as if he was focused on the ball, but his attention was on Max, sitting at the kitchen island with the sports page.

Michael made a decision and stood, walking over to the other man. “Hey man…you want to shoot some hoops?”

Max looked up and into Michael’s questioning face and thought for a moment before nodding. “Sure. Let me get changed and I’ll meet you out there.” He hopped off the barstool and dropped the paper into a wire recycling bin on the floor against the wall before pushing open the door to the family room.

Five minutes later Max walked through the kitchen that led to the outside and jogged out to the half court to the far right in the large backyard. Michael was in the process of shooting the ball. His right hand followed through as his feet left the ground and he watched the ball swish through the basket, barely moving the net.

Max walked onto the court as Michael bent down and retrieved the ball, the slapping motion of his hand making it bounce. “You ready?”

Michael turned his head and said, “Yeah. You want to take it out first?”

“Nah…your house. You go ahead.” Michael nodded and walked to the top of the key before bouncing the ball to Max, who bounced it right back. Michael dribbled in one spot before he went at Max, then quickly deked left and dribbled to the basket, where he made an easy lay-up.

Michael raised cocky eyebrows to Max, who bowed slightly in return. “Now…it’s my turn.” Max picked up the ball from the ground and dribbled until he was standing at the top of the key and bounced it to Michael, who promptly bounced it back. They both crouched down and Max dribbled slowly and rhythmically in place, the ball making a thwap sound as it hit the pavement.

Thwap.

Thwap.

Thwap.

“You going to take all day princess? Or are you going to play?”

“What…you mean like this?” And just like that, Michel was staring at Max’s back as he made it to the basket in record time and dunked, pulling down on the rim before he released it and dropped down to the ground. He grinned at Michael, who just grabbed at the ball and grumbled as he walked back to the top of the key.

Max rolled his eyes but set himself as Michael bounced the ball to him, this time much rougher than before. Max furrowed his eyebrows as Michael turned aggressive, pushing his body at Max’s as he turned and dribbled, making his way to the basket. Max, though confused, hung in, pushing back against Michael.

But all that did was make Michael even more forceful and he threw an elbow at Max as he tried to move left, sending Max to the pavement. A startled Max watched as Michael tossed up another lay-up, the ball swirling around the inside of the rim before it fell through the white netting.

“Hah! That’s how you do it!”

Max pulled himself up off the ground and said, “Mike, man, what’s up with you? That was a blatant foul.”

Michael turned away from him, picking up the ball from the ground. “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

“Yeah you do…you’re playing dirty.”

Michael turned on him then, fury clear in his features and Max stepped back slightly, taken aback. When Michael spoke, the words were forced through clenched teeth. “You’re one to talk.”

A flabbergasted Max shook his head slowly. “What are you talking about?”

“Did you think I wouldn’t find out? Jesus…did you think I wouldn’t know? YOU SLEPT WITH MY BABY SISTER!” Michael threw the ball roughly at Max from where he had been holding it against his chest, catching Max off guard. “What the hell, man? I trusted you with her.”

“Did Liz-”

“She didn’t have to and you fucking know that. How could you?” Michael started to advance on Max but Max wasn’t about to back down. Not about this.

“How could I? You wanted us together, remember? I love her.” Max threw the ball back at Michael, who hadn’t been expecting it. Michael barely caught it before it hit him and he stumbled back a little with the effort. Max was the one with the furious face now. “What kind of a fucking game are you playing, man? You don’t have the right.”

Michael threw the ball off to the side and advanced on Max, getting in his face. “You do not want to make me angry.

“Oh get over yourself. This is not about you. Once you get it through that thick skull of yours-” Max put the fingers of his right hand against Michael’s forehead and pushed and Michael slapped them away. “Why are you so surprised that I love her? Is that really so hard for you to handle?”

Michael growled and went at Max, pushing him down to the ground. They had just hit the ground when Liz, Kyle and Tess came running outside, Alex swinging close behind. Kyle reached down and pulled Michael off of Max, stumbling back a little as he strained with the larger man’s weight. Michael struggled against Kyle’s hold but Kyle would have none of it and held him back.

Max stayed on the ground, looking up at Michael with confusion, hurt and anger. Liz crouched down next to him, laying her hand on his chest and looked at him with concern. “Are you okay?” He nodded and held out a hand and Liz pulled him up off the ground. She kept her back to Michael for a minute, then turned.

If Michael and Max had been furious before, it didn’t even hold a candle to the look on Liz’s face now; the look pointed directly at her oldest brother. She held his gaze for a minute or so before her head dipped down.

Michael stopped struggling against Kyle, his body losing its fight as he watched the top of his sister’s head intently, waiting for anything. As if to taunt him she didn’t move, save the even rise and fall of her chest. Her arms hung limp at her sides, her shoulders remained slightly hunched. The light wind that had kicked up about five minutes earlier sent her hair dancing gently in front of her face, masking her from view.

Then as Michael sent up a sort of silent prayer for Liz to acknowledge him in any way, her head rose and she looked at him.

But Michael hadn’t wished for this face. He hadn’t wished for the almost blank resignation. He hadn’t wished for empty eyes and an empty mouth. He wanted anger or sadness or frustration or any number of emotions that would have been completely normal in this situation. Michael wanted Liz to fight him, to tell him he was wrong, to say anything. He would have taken anything from her, so long as it meant she was talking.

But this…no…this wasn’t her. This wasn’t natural Liz. This wasn’t right.

But it was all he got. Because Michael had crossed a line. Michael had crossed a line he should never have even thought of approaching.

Liz turned and walked away and no one moved to stop her, five pairs of eyes following her as she opened the door to the kitchen and slipped through.

The air was silent as the wind moved around them, jostling shirt sleeves and tossing their hair. Though his grip was relaxed, Kyle’s arms remained around his twin brother. Kyle finally looked up at Max, whose eyes were firmly fixed on the kitchen door and said, “Max…I think you should go find Isabel.” Max looked as if he were about to object and Kyle cut in with, “Let our dad talk with her. He’ll know what to say. Just…let him.” Max nodded and walked into the house, head bowed slightly.

Alex started toward his brothers and Kyle held out a hand. “No, Alex. This one’s mine. Go inside.” Alex opened his mouth, but Kyle would not be moved. “Go inside, Alex. I got this.”

Tess moved to Alex’s side and touched his elbow. “Come on, Alex. I’ve been dying to hear you play. Would you play me something?” Alex gave his attention to Tess and nodded before he turned and started to swing his way to the door. Tess walked alongside him and as she stood at the door, turned and gave a small smile to her boyfriend, offering her support. Then she closed the door behind her, leaving Michael and Kyle alone.

“Are you okay?” Michel nodded shortly and Kyle released his arms from his brother. Michael rolled his shoulders back and slowly walked over to the side of the pavement where the ball had been thrown. Kyle watched him bend down and said nothing, giving him a degree of space. This was the only comfortable moment Michael was going to get, so he may as well enjoy the silence.

Michael righted himself and turned to face Kyle, the ball held loosely against his left hip. “You’re okay?” Michael nodded again, almost self-consciously. “Good…Good. Now…you want to tell me what you think you’re hoping to accomplish? Because if it’s taking care of our little sister, you’re way off base.”

Michael looked a bit startled and Kyle shook his head in response. When he finally spoke his register was deep and low, like the rumble of a wave far out at sea. It was so low, that even had someone else been standing in the backyard there was no way anyone but Michael, who was standing directly in front of his brother, could have heard him. “What the hell are you doing?”

Kyle wasn’t looking at him but off to the side, nostrils flaring as he breathed loudly in and out. Michael said nothing. Kyle, when he was in a mood such as this, was not to be trifled with. It had only happened twice before but it had never been directed at Michael. Kyle, while normally as calm as they came, became the opposite of calm when enraged. And he was well past enraged now.

Kyle turned hard eyes to Michael and said, “Do you even know what you’re doing to her? You’re breaking her heart.” Kyle’s voice cracked just a little on the last word as the register of his voice went up but his eyes remained stone-like. Michael’s mouth opened and closed slowly, though no words came out. He was a fish searching for water but Kyle would not help him out. Until Michael understood what he had done, Kyle would not so much as lift a finger to help.

“What…you thought I was going to be nice?” Kyle’s voice was incredulous and he shook his head in disgust. “Dad can be nice. Max, I’m sure, will find a way to be nice. Even Liz, when she forgives you, will be nice. But there’s no way that you deserve nice right now. You need someone to be honest. You need a good swift kick in the ass. And I’m the one who’s going to give it to you.” As the word ‘I’m’ came out of his mouth, Kyle jabbed Michael in the chest with one finger and got in his face, then walked away, taking a deep breath.

“What’s the matter with you? And be honest.”

“Maybe I was wrong about him.” Michael looked away, not able to bear looking into Kyle’s eyes. He was telling the truth, but it was only a half-truth. He could do better. They both knew that.

“You weren’t wrong about him. Try again.”

Michael bit back, his hackles starting to rise. “That is the truth. If you can’t accept that-”

“Don’t. Just…don’t.” Kyle turned and held up a hand, instantly making Michael silent. “There is no one on this planet who knows you better than I do. No one. I know what’s running through your head, because some of the same things are running through mine. That said…if you don’t start telling the truth right now , it’s really going to piss me off.”

Michael sighed and looked down, shifting the basketball slowly back and forth between his two hands. “You’re supposed to be on my side.” There was no anger behind his words, no accusation, but there was the smallest hint of sadness.

Kyle sighed and shook his head slowly. “Jesus Mike…you don’t get to act like a little kid because everything doesn’t go exactly the way you want it to. I mean, come on…you pushed Max to the ground. That is not the Mike I know.”

Michael’s voice, almost inaudible, floated on the wind that danced around Kyle’s face. “I know.”

“Do you? Really? Because I’m not so sure you do. You are drawing a big, fat line in the ground between you and Max and you’re asking Liz to choose. And newsflash? She won’t choose you.”

Michael frowned and kicked the ground beneath him, sending spare gravel skidding across the pavement. “She was ours first.”

Kyle looked at Michael for one long moment before he snatched the ball from his brother’s hands and started to dribble. The springy, hollow sound of the basketball hitting the pavement filled the air as Kyle walked back and forth in an almost comical mimic of Michael’s trademark habit of pacing. “I knew it was some macho territorial bullshit.” Kyle shook his head as he switched his dribble hand and started bouncing the ball with his left. “I guess I just hoped you were above all that.”

“I’m not exactly proud of myself. Do you think I like the way I’m acting?” Michael crossed his arms over his chest defensively. “But he crossed a line.”

Kyle turned quickly and threw the ball at his brother, who ducked just in time. “No Mike, you crossed a line. You crossed it the moment you even considered doing something that could hurt Liz. We have fought our entire lives to protect her and Alex from that.

“She loves him, Mike. Do you understand that?” Kyle started advancing on Michael slowly. “We all do. And the only person you have to blame for that is you. You brought him here and he’s family now. That’s not going to change. So you can either jump on board or you can break our baby sister’s heart.

“Now I don’t know about you, but that’s not really a difficult decision to make.” Kyle gave him a long look before he turned away and walked slowly toward the hoop. His back was to his brother when he said, “Jesus…who the hell are you?”

“Excuse me?”

Kyle turned. “You heard me. Max is your best friend. She’s your sister. I would think you’d be happy that she’d choose someone like him. He isn’t like any of the other guys she’s dated.”

“He’s going to break her heart.”

“No, he’s not! Do you hear yourself? This is Max, not Daniel.” Michael looked away and Kyle laughed shortly, finally understanding. “Oh…I get it. That’s the problem. You aren’t angry with Max at all, are you?”

Michael sighed a little and simply stared at his brother for what felt like an eternity before he shook his head and looked away. “I’m angry at myself and I lashed out at Max.”

“And tore a hole in our family in the process.” Kyle walked past Michael and onto the grass and Michael turned, watching his movements. Kyle reached down on the grass and picked up the basketball he had thrown at Michael earlier, tossing it up gently in the air. Kyle turned and walked back slowly toward his twin brother, all the while tossing the orange leather ball up and down. Up and down.

“What do I do, Kyle?”

Kyle stopped tossing the ball and looked at him. “You fix it. Any way you can. If that means you have to get down on your hands and knees and beg for forgiveness, then you get down on your hands and knees.” Kyle tossed the ball to Michael, who caught it with ease. “This family doesn’t work without you, Mike. It just doesn’t.”

“I’m sorry, Kyle.”

Kyle nodded. “Fix it.”

I love you all oh so much and I wish I had time to respond to everyone's feedback personally, but it is not to be. I'm in a bit of a time crunch.

That said...this was me as I was reading all your feedback:



I was positively rolling on the floor because:
A) I had no idea that chapter would be so controversial, and
B) I know how it ends. Which it does here.

Suffice to say you all kept me mighty entertained.

And I love you all to pieces for it.

Because I really really needed that.

So thanks.

AN: The song used below is by the oh-so-fabulous Ari Hest. (I just adore the crap out of him.) Its title is This Fight. No infringement intended.

Chapter 27: This Fight

“You threw a ball at his head?” Kyle nodded and smirked, loud laughter starting to tumble from his mouth. “What? Tell me that’s all you did.” An incredulous but smiling Alex adjusted his crutches more comfortably under his armpits.

“Actually…” Kyle laughed louder, tears springing forth in the corners of his eyes.

“Oh god…what did you do?”

“Well…it’s not so much what I did as what I said.”

“What did you say?”

“I think I said he was breaking her heart.” Kyle laughed as Alex groaned and dropped his head to his chest. “And somewhere towards the end of the conversation I may have said that he was going to have to get down on his hands and knees and beg for forgiveness.” Kyle shoulders started shaking and the rest of his body followed suit. Soon he was laughing so hard he found it difficult to stand upright and collapsed into the couch behind him.

“Drama queen, much?”

Kyle stopped laughing long enough to say, “Exactly,” grin spread from ear to ear.

“I’m not following.” Alex raised an eyebrow and sat down on the couch, facing Kyle. He dropped his metal crutches down on the hardwood floor as Kyle put his feet up on the coffee table.

“What does Michael do after a fight?”

Alex looked up at the ceiling before he looked back down, twisting his mouth a little as he spoke. “He broods. Well, he calls it internalizing.” Alex made air quotes and Kyle laughed.

“Exactly. And how long does he brood for?”

“At the most…a day and a half.” Alex shrugged.

“And normally, that wouldn’t be a problem. But considering what today is…” Kyle raised his eyebrows and looked at Alex and at first, Alex didn’t catch on. He searched his mind for what Kyle could possibly be talking about until he finally remembered.

“Dad’s surprise is today. And I’m guessing…you know what it is.” Alex nodded. “I get it.”

“MmmHmm.” A satisfied Kyle settled back into the cushions and crossed his arms.

“You played drama queen so Mike would see how ridiculous all of this was, thereby gently pushing him to make a reconciliation sooner. Masterful work, Parker.”

“Thank you.”

“Not sure you had to go to all that trouble, though. You know Liz. She likes to resolve problems right away.”

“I’m not so sure it’s the same this time. She looked…I don’t know how to say it…not herself, I guess.” Alex smiled a secretive sort of smile that Kyle had difficulty deciphering. “What?”

“Well…if I know Liz as well as I’m always saying I do…it’s not what you think.”

Kyle raised his eyebrows in expectation but when Alex didn’t elaborate, added, “Well?”

“My educated guess?” Kyle nodded. “She’s mad at herself.”

Kyle leaned forward. “Explain.”

“My guess is that she didn’t think about her actions having consequences. She forgot that her sleeping with Max affected the rest of us too, not just her and Max.”

“Which she figured out after Michael pushed Max.”

“Yep.”

Kyle nodded and settled back into the couch again. “Makes sense.”

“So you really threw a ball at his head?”

-:-:-:-

Jeff looked up at the computer monitor as he shuffled some papers around on his desk, searching for the file on Parker Vineyards’ distributors. A long, soft sigh came from the doorway and he looked up to find his daughter leaning on the white trim, her eyes downcast. Jeff removed his glasses by the left arm and twirled them a little before setting them down on the top of his desk.

Jeff looked at Liz for a while, watching her as she fidgeted and sighed. Obviously something was wrong with her. What, he didn’t yet know, but he’d find out. He spoke, his voice soft. “Hey squirt.”

Liz looked up. “Hi daddy.”

“You want to tell me about it?”

“Yeah.” Liz looked relieved.

“Okay.” Jeff slid back from his desk in his brown leather chair and stood, walking over to a leather couch set along an adjacent wall. Liz pushed off the doorway, walked over to the couch and sat down on one cushion, curling her legs underneath her. Jeff sat on the other cushion and angled his body toward her so that his lower back rested against the arm.

Liz didn’t say anything so Jeff waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

When he could no longer stand the wait, he shifted his body slightly in the leather couch and cleared his throat, saying, “Your mom and I didn’t wait until we were married, you know.”

“Uh, no…I didn’t know that.”

“When your grandpa Alan found out he…well…let’s just say I never realized I could run that fast.”

“He wasn’t happy, huh?”

“Understatement of the century, I’m afraid. But as soon as he realized I wasn’t going anywhere, he put Bessie back in her cabinet and welcomed me into the family.”

Liz raised her eyebrows. “Grandpa chased you with his hunting rifle?”

Jeff nodded, smiling. “Hence the reason I was all too happy to find out that I was a fast runner.”

Liz appreciated his gentle push, his story in the wake of waiting for her to begin, his open-armed invitation. She smiled and sighed softly. “I’m mad.”

“At Mike for pushing Max?”

Liz looked up in surprise and Jeff motioned behind him with his thumb. “You forget I have a window that looks over the backyard. I saw everything. Heard it, too.”

She nodded. “No, I’m not mad at Michael. Surprised would be the more accurate term.” She sighed and looked over her dad’s shoulder out the large picture window. “I’m mad at myself.” Jeff didn’t speak, just continued to look at her and Liz eventually turned her eyes back to him. “I screwed up, didn’t I?”

“Take out the last two words of the sentence.”

Liz laughed so softly, it came out more like a sigh. “I screwed up.”

“That you did.”

“And now I have to apologize.”

“That you do.”

Liz groaned, her head dropping down and her body bending over at the waist so she flopped over herself, her head dropping to her crossed legs. “I’m an asshole.”

“True. But you’re our asshole.”

Liz righted herself and grunted out of frustration. “Aahhh! How could I be so inconsiderate? I didn’t even think about how Michael would feel.”

“You guys have always had your fights. With as much time as you always spent together, it was bound to happen. But with one special exception, I never interfered. Do you know why?” Liz shook her head. “Because I wanted you to fight.”

“You wanted…us to fight.”

“That’s right. I wanted you to learn how to fight because I also wanted you to learn how to forgive each other. And the best way for me to teach you that was to teach myself how not to interfere.”

“You realize that could have completely backfired on you.”

Jeff smiled. “Hey…question my methods all you like, but the four of you learned how to take care of each other while you were also learning how to be your own people. That’s a huge thing.”

“Yeah…but this time I didn’t take care of him.”

“You know, Lizzy…there’s nothing really wrong with what you did. Inconsiderate? Yes. Wrong? No.”

Liz turned her head away and looked out the window, her teeth gently gnawing her lower lip as she thought. She stayed that way for a while and Jeff simply sat and watched. Then she turned her eyes back to him and said, “Okay…okay. I’m going to go find Michael and apologize.”

“Atta girl…way to be proactive.”

Liz leaned forward and kissed her dad on the cheek. “Thanks for listening dad.”

“My pleasure.” Liz stood and the moment she put her feet on the ground and stood, she realized that was a bad idea. Apparently her legs had fallen asleep.

“Ooo…pins and needles! Pins and needles!” She hobbled toward the door as her legs started to regain their feeling but stopped and turned when her dad spoke.

“Eleven days.”

“Beg pardon?”

“That’s how long I knew your mom before your grandpa Alan was chasing me out of the house with Bessie.”

“Wow. Dad?”

“Hmm?”

“I’m glad he didn’t catch you.”

-:-:-:-

Michael leaned in the open doorway with his arms crossed and watched Max as he walked out of the bathroom barefoot and shirtless, his damp, dark hair hanging down over his eyes. Max walked over to the closet where his black suitcase sat open on the floor as he rubbed a dark blue towel over his hair, trying to dry it a little bit more.

Michael was sure Max hadn’t seen him standing there. That was, until Max spoke. “I know you all think this is this…sudden thing. To you it seems like I slept with your sister even though I’d only known her for three weeks.” Max stood and turned around, so that he was facing Michael. He held the towel in his left hand and he was still barefoot and shirtless.

The way Max was looking at Michael made the oldest Parker kid mentally pause. There was blatant honesty there and intensity so severe, that any thoughts that had been running around in Michael’s head stopped what they were doing and sat down to listen too.

Max spoke slowly and softly, his eyes focused forward at Michael. “I have known her face as well as my own for just over three years now. I memorized the sound of her voice after two Saturdays of living with you. I hear her laugh in the strangest places. I know what she likes…and what she dislikes. I’ve known your sister, I’ve known Liz, for at least two years now. I just…hadn’t met her yet.

“So to you it may seem like I was moving quickly, but…I wasn’t.” Max shrugged and walked over to the bathroom, tossing the towel into a canvas and metal laundry hamper. He started to speak in the bathroom and his voice bounced over all the walls but he moved quickly back into the bedroom, where his voice regained its more natural sound. “I’m sorry, though. This is your home…and I didn’t respect that.”

Michael nodded and righted himself from his position in the doorway, walking over to the desk and pulling the chair to a rest a foot or so from the bench at the end of Max’s bed. He sat down and put his feet up on the bench, crossing his ankles and his arms. “I’ll take your apology if you take mine. I shouldn’t have pushed you.”

“It’s okay.”

“No…it’s really not. I’m not a physical person.”

“Yeah, but we’re guys. It’s different.”

Michael raised an eyebrow and smirked. “So you’re the sweet, quiet type who says little but feels oh so much.” Michael raised his hand mockingly to cover his heart briefly, then dropped it as he rolled his eyes. “Basically…you like being stereotyped.”

“What?”

“I may be a guy Max…but I’m also a Parker. Our family works so well because we talk everything out, not because we put on boxing gloves and duke it out. There was one time that Kyle and I were in the middle of a huge fight and we raised our fists to each other. But they never hit anything. Our dad got in the middle of us and pushed each of us back in opposite directions so hard, our brains rattled in our heads. Man…he was furious.

“He looked at both of us and said, ‘We never raise our fists to each other. Plenty of people will do that for you.’ We learned our lesson. The only time we fight physically now is when we spar.”

“In that case…I accept your apology.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Now…do you want to talk about why you pushed me? Because I don’t think it’s all about me.”

Michael stood and looked at Max. “Max…I may be a Parker, but you’re still a guy.” He smirked and walked out the door and Max shook his head smiling as he entered the closet in search of a shirt.

-:-:-:-

About five minutes ago Liz had found Kyle and Alex and apologized. They had thanked her for the sentiment but waved her off, neither feeling particularly inconvenienced or overlooked. They had figured it wasn’t really about them anyway and had told her as much. She had searched around the house for Michael and heard him from Max’s room so she walked away and waited somewhere else for him to be done.

Now Liz was lying on her back in the slightly damp, lush green grass, squinting as she looked up into the bright blue, cloud-filled sky. She twirled the stem of a dandelion between the thumb and index finger of her right hand, the bloom spinning slowly back and forth in front of her eyes. She felt a body settle down into the grass to her left but didn’t look. She knew full well who it was.

“I’m sorry,” Liz said softly. She continued to watch the weed move back and forth.

“I know. I am too.” He paused. “I didn’t like that look in your eyes, Liz.”

Liz turned her head to the left and found Michael’s head turned toward her. His eyes were searching hers openly. “I screwed up and I knew it when I leaned over Max. You pushed him, but I may as well have. I never thought about how you’d feel.”

“Apology accepted. I should have told you what was really going on instead of getting physical with Max. I’m sorry I pushed him.”

“Why did you?”

“Max asked me the same thing.”

“And what did you tell him?”

“That I may be a Parker, but he’s still a guy.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“You weren’t there for the rest of the conversation.”

“True.”

“Last night you told me I loved Maria. I don’t think I’m ready to say that yet, Liz.”

Liz groaned and closed her eyes. “Oh crap…did you feel like I was pushing you?”

“Yeah…it kinda felt like that.”

Liz turned her head back so that she was once again looking at the sky. “I am an asshole! I’m a crappy, jerky asshole.”

Michael laughed softly. “You meant well.”

“As they say…the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Michael laughed. “It’s not funny! I’m an asshole.”

“Look…you have this person you know you’re going to love forever. Kyle has found Tess and Alex, if he hasn’t already told Isabel he loves her, will do it soon. I’m not used to being the last one of us to do something. I’ve almost always been the first. And now it feels like you guys are way ahead of me…and I’m just trying to tread water.”

Liz turned her head once again to face him. “Do you feel like we’re leaving you behind?”

“It felt that way last night.” Liz sighed. “I like Maria a lot…and one day I have a feeling I’m going to love her…but for now, can we refrain from saying that I do?”

“You got it.”

“Thanks.” Liz handed over the dandelion in her hands to her brother and then leaned over to her right and plucked another one before turning back to him. “I know you love Max. I’d be an idiot not to see that. He’s wanted to meet you for almost three years, you know.”

“Yeah?” She’d needed to hear that from him, just as Michael had needed to say it. In reality it would have been silly for him to have a problem with Liz and Max. What kind of a jerk got two people together and then decided they were too close?

“Yeah.” Michael and Liz watched their dandelions in silence as they twirled them through their fingers. The sun was starting to move overhead and the siblings brought their forearms up into the air to shield their eyes. “Hey Mike? What was it mom used to say about dandelions? I can’t remember.”

“A dandelion may be lowly, but no one trusts a rose with their wish.” He crossed his eyes as the dandelion in his fingers stopped in front of his nose. “I don’t think that’s the exact wording, but it was something like that.”

“You want to make a wish?” Liz turned her head to look at him and he shrugged.

“Why not?” They each closed their eyes, taking a moment to let their separate hopes formulate in their minds and blew, short and hard.

Then the two opened their eyes and watched, watched as the pieces of their dandelions, seeds of their wishes, blew up and into the bright January sky.

-:-:-:-

Tess watched, leaning forward with her chin in her hand as Alex strummed his guitar and sang along. She was tapping her foot in time and as he finished the song with a strum, she smiled widely and clapped. “Alex…that was great!”

“Thanks. It’s not my favorite song, but it’s a crowd-pleaser. Easy to play too.”

“What’s your favorite song?”

“To play? I don’t really have one per se. It’s more like a top five.”

“I’d love to hear one of them.”

Alex thought for a moment. “Okay…I’ve got one.”

Rumors are flying through my ear
People are talking ‘bout you
How you been doin’
What you’ve been like
Ever since you started this fight

Honey, I would be all for tryin’ again
But I need to hear you admit
That you need me more
Each sleepless night
And that you’re the one who started this fight

You said I lied to you
But you have no proof
You left me howling at the moon
Maybe you’re tired of me
Or maybe you need some time
To release your fumes

Our friends down the hall
They knock on my door
They asked me if we’d like to eat
I tell them, “Thank you
For the invite
But no because she started a fight.

She says I lied to her
But she has no proof
She left me howling at the moon
Maybe she’s tired of me
Or maybe she needs some time
To release her fumes.”

I don’t know what she is looking for
All I can do is assume
And she calls me heartless
She even calls me trite
But she’s the one who started
I say you’re the one who started
I say you’re the one who started
This fight

Tess’ clapping was joined by a host of others as Max, Isabel, Kyle, Michael and Liz walked into the room. Tess leaned forward and Kyle slipped in behind her. Michael dropped himself down into a stuffed armchair with a plop and Max, Isabel and Liz took seats on a large, unoccupied couch.

Liz said, “I love that song. Every time you get to ‘Thank you for the invite but no because she started a fight’ I giggle. Loudly. Sometimes there’s snorting involved.”

Max pulled her legs over his lap and raised an eyebrow at her. “How very ladylike of you.”

“Oh just you wait buddy. I am a veritable bastion of ladylikeness.”

Kyle said, “So we’re all good now?”

“Yep.”
“Yep.”
“Yep.”

“Good.”

Jeff walked in the room and looked around at the group of twentysomethings in various states of relaxation and cleared his throat. “So I assume you’re all ready to go?”

About half of them looked down at themselves and looked back up, realizing they weren’t, in actuality, ready to go. They stood from their seats as quickly as they could, racing one another out of the room and to the stairs.

-:-:-:-

“So where are we going Jeff?” Isabel sat next to Liz in the backseat of the Envoy, fingers tapping her knee in anticipation.

Jeff looked at her through the rearview mirror and smiled. “That, my dear Isabel, is why they call it a…wait for it…surprise.”

Isabel rolled her eyes good-naturedly and looked at Liz, who shrugged and smiled.

About ten minutes later the car arrived in front of a building that was as nondescript as they came. They stepped out of the car and stopped in front of the building, staring at its blank exterior.

“Dad?”

“Yep…this is the place.”

“The place for what?”

Jeff grinned at them all and opened the door. “Walk on in and see for yourselves.”

I want to address a few things before I put the new chapter up.

A) Liz and whether she was overreating.

Let me tell you a story.

The other day at work, for whatever reason, it was like I had hands full of thums and two left feet. I couldn't seem to do anything right. I kept making drinks wrong (one I made wrong three times... ), I dumped pitchers full of liquid all over the ground...etc. You get the idea. The only thing I could do was this --> and keep calling myself "awesome". Did I really mean I was awesome? Not at that moment obviously. I was being sarcastic. Heavily, heavily sarcastic.

And so was Liz.

She didn't really mean she was an asshole. Nor did she think she'd really screwed up all that badly. But she was upset with herself for not seeing how her actions would affect someone else for the first time in her life. Remember...when her mom died, she became the caretaker. And sometimes that's a great thing and sometimes that's a not-so great thing, like in this situation here. It is, obviously, one of Liz's flaws.

I'm also only going to address the newbies to my story this time because I just don't have the time for everyone but know that I love all of you for challenging me and helping me with every chapter. Kisses everybody.

B) Mrs_BuffyAnneSummers: I'm so glad you found this and are enjoying it. I have so much fun writing the twin interactions that I'm afraid I get a bit carried away sometimes. It's easy to get caught up in Alex and Liz when they're having a silly conversation. Thanks again and I hope you continue to enjoy reading this.

C)Alien_Friend:

So, i've been meaning to read this fic since December

Appropriate, since this is A Parker Family Christmas...
I swear...that's the only wise-ass remark you'll get. I swear. What...you don't believe me? Shocker...

Reading how all the brothers interact made me feel bad for my brother, all he had growing up was me in the siblings department and i was 13 yrs younger than him and he couldn't rough house with me.

Well...in a way I'd consider you lucky. I have three siblings and it was great, but it was also...I don't think there's a proper word for it. Hell, maybe? It had its good points and its bad. My "little" brother is now 6'5", so I have trouble terrorizing him now.

You know...in retrospect your brother might think he wants a brother, but I bet he's more than satisifed he got you. My siblings and I had to grow into each other as we got older but we fit now, it's just different than it used to be that's all.

I love a good quote and I'm so going to start quoting you with this one here:

but sometimes we like to trick ourselves into thinking we have other options, if only to prevent the feeling of being cornered by life.

i just really liked that line. it's very honest and universal, everyone can relate to finding themselves in a similar circumstance.

Well thanks. I like that one too. And right now, for the life of me, I can't remember where that is in the story. Hmmm...

It was one of those lines I didn't have to coax out, one I didn't have to force. And as a result, one of my best. I've always thought the best writing was universal in some way, and so I guess it should follow that my best words can be universal. Thanks for the compliment.

Anyhoo to sum up my little rant here i'm madly in love with this fic and you definitely have me hooked and here to stay to see it through.

I'm so glad and I'm more than happy to have you along for the ride.

P.S. to All- My birthday was April 7th and you all were the best present I got this year. Hands down.

On to Chapter 28. Enjoy.

Chapter 28: The Parker Way

It was a photography studio. They were standing in a photography studio.

“Let me guess…a family portrait?” Kyle put on a bright, sarcastic smile and raised his eyebrows.

Jeff put an arm each around the shoulders of his two youngest, pulling them against his body and rubbing their upper arms. “Well, when Lizzie and Alex decided to get in a car accident-”

“That’s right, we decided to get in a car accident. It was number…what?”

Liz looked up, her eyes searching for an answer in the 1970’s acoustic ceiling tiles above her. “Three.”

“Yep…that’s right. It was number three on our To Do list of things to experience this vacation. We filed it right after opening presents and right before movie night.” Alex looked at his dad, whose face bore an amused smile with just a hint of exasperation. “I’m sorry dad, were you saying something?”

“If you’d allowed me to finish, I would have said that the two of you getting in that car accident made me realize we hadn’t had a family portrait done in a while. Six years, I believe. I thought it was time.”

Kyle nodded, tapping his chin with his right index finger, and said, “Oh yeah…it has been six years, hasn’t it? I remember that picture. We had it taken at the beach. Alex was fourteen. He hadn’t grown into his head yet.”

“Hey!”

Michael laughed and rubbed the knuckles of his right hand into the top of Alex’s head. “He’s right.” Alex tried to avoid Michael as best he could but his hurt leg was hampering his efforts.

“Damn broken leg. Get off!” Alex laughed and swatted Michael’s hand away.

“So why are we here?” Isabel gestured to herself, Max and Tess as she looked at Jeff, puzzled.

Jeff looked a little to the left and then a little to the right before raising his eyebrow and settling his eyes on the tall blonde. “Didn’t I say it was a family portrait? Because I really thought I had.” Jeff looked at Kyle and mock-whispered, hand up to his mouth, “Didn’t I say it was a family portrait?”

The Parker kids laughed as Isabel rolled her eyes and smiled. Alex wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him. “Aww honey…you’re so adorable when you’re mildly irritated.”

“Where’s Maria?” Liz looked at Michael who shrugged.

“Don’t know. She should be back in town. I called her cell phone but she didn’t pick up. Maybe she’s-”

“Right here. Sorry…I would have been here on time but Jim and I just got back. Stepfather stepdaughter bonding thing.”

Michael reached out for her and pulled her to him, giving her a light kiss on the lips. “How’d that go?”

“Good. We got in touch with our nature sides. Or Jim got in touch with his nature side while I refused to even recognize I had one. Either way, we both came to an agreement on at least one issue.”

“Which is?” Michael pulled back a little from Maria as she dropped her purse on a chair behind her and adjusted the collar of her jacket.

“Next time we camp in a hotel. Better for both our sanities. So…what’d I miss?” Maria looked around with eager eyes at each person. Liz opened her mouth to respond but soon furrowed her eyebrows. When she couldn’t figure out how to begin, she turned to look at Michael, who had a similar look of befuddlement on his face. But they weren’t the only ones. No one seemed quite sure how to go about answering that question.

So Liz looked at Michael who looked at Max who looked at Kyle who looked at Alex who looked at Isabel and when only Tess was left to answer the question she rolled her eyes and threw her hands up in the air, resigned to her fate. “You guys are unbelievable.” Tess turned to Maria with her hands on her hips and said, “Liz and Max had sex. Michael wasn’t all that happy about it. Michael and Max got into a fight. Michael pushed Max. Liz got angry at Michael. Everyone made up. That about summarize it?” Tess turned to look at the group to her right and they considered her question before they all nodded their heads.

Maria thought for just a second. “So basically…you guys are all idiots?” Michael, Liz and Max exchanged glances back and forth.

“Yep.”
“Uh…yeah.”
“Basically.”

“Good to know.” Maria rolled her eyes.

Just then a rather average sized man dressed all in black stepped in front of the large group. He had his hands in the front pockets of his cargo pants and he stood, simply waiting for them to notice him. He seemed to understand he had the sort of presence that imposed itself on others; the sort of presence that rock gods and movie stars had in spades.

The group seemed to know this too, or maybe it was just the sort of thing that you felt. At any rate, the group quieted down and came to attention, waiting for the man in black to speak.

He surveyed them all quietly, his eyes shifting smoothly from face to face. But even though there was ease in his very nature, as if what he was doing right at that moment was something he had done his entire life (maybe he had), there was still something utterly unnerving about standing in one place while someone looked you over. Maria suddenly felt a very strong kinship with every animal that had ever been housed at the San Francisco Zoo.

The man in black removed his hands from his pockets so fluidly he could have been in the middle of a dance recital and gestured lightly to himself, finally saying, “My name is Clark.” He pointed his right index finger at Michael- his fingers seemed unusually long for a man of his height, Max thought- and waited for Michael to respond.

Michael didn’t say anything at first- he seemed to still be affected by Clark- and the group turned to look at him. Clark was patient and kept his eyes on the oldest Parker kid before Michael finally came to his senses and said, “Michael. I’m Michael.”

Clark nodded and turned his body, pointing at the stool on the left side of the drape in the middle of his studio. “Michael…why don’t you take a seat on the left stool.” Michael nodded and angled his body so he could fit through the space between Liz and Alex, walking up to the stool.

Clark turned and pointed at Alex. Alex responded much faster than Michael had. “Alex.” Clark nodded and pointed to the other stool and Alex nodded back before swinging over to where Michael was.

When Clark’s eyes met Kyle’s, Kyle said his name and Clark nodded before directing Kyle. “Stand behind your younger brother.”

As Kyle walked over to his brothers Clark turned around and immediately set eyes on Liz. The corners of his mouth twitched and he cocked his head to the right just a bit. Liz took that to mean he wanted to know her name. “Liz.”

Clark held out his hand to her and she took it, letting him pull her toward her brothers. He stopped her just behind Michael and dropped her hand before walking over to the camera sitting on a tripod in front of the Parker kids. The lights above them reflected a little off the lens of the camera and Clark bent down to peer through the viewfinder.

He stayed that way a minute or so, still as a statue. No one spoke, an odd sort of tranquility heavy in the air. It was as if they expected nothing less of him than art, and they were schooling their own behavior accordingly. After all, did you scream in the middle of the Louvre? But if they wanted to be truly accurate, any one of them would have said it was the nature of the activity that was art, not the outcome. It was watching Clark’s ease, watching him create, that was quiet-inducing.

A tall, thin woman with pink cat’s eye glasses and acid green hair walked up to Clark, not looking once at any of the nine other people in the studio. Maybe she saw them…maybe she didn’t. Somehow it didn’t seem important whether she knew they were there at all. Liz had a feeling that the Pink Lady would act the same whether it was a bum or the Dalai Lama. That thought made her smile a little and she laughed under her breath, dipping her head just slightly and to the left.

The sudden flash of the lights overhead and the distinctive click of a camera’s shutter movement caught her attention and she looked up suddenly as Clark righted himself from his hunched position, turning immediately to the Pink Lady. She handed him something small and rectangular shaped and he pointed it at a corner of his studio. Music suddenly filled the studio and Clark turned to face the Parker kids once more.

“I hope you don’t mind.” Joan Jett’s raspy and distinctive voice lifted up to the ceiling and forced itself into the spaces between all the bodies in the room as the Parker kids smiled and started to nod their heads gently in time to the music.

No…it was a fairly safe assumption they didn’t mind at all.

Clark walked away from them for a moment and life found its way into their limbs. They started to move in their spots and soon they were dancing around. Alex took Michael’s vacated stool and set it in front of his body as he straddled the other. He started slapping the stool along with the Blackhearts drummer but soon moved into his own complementary rhythm, trusting his instincts as they led him.

Michael had his eyes closed and his hair whipping around him as he swung his head back and forth, playing chords he knew by heart on his air guitar. Kyle mocked the large, bowed arms of a bassist, making exaggerated movements as he plucked non-existent strings. Liz was singing along with Joan, eyes squeezed shut and fist up to her face as she faked a microphone.

And as they made their way through the first verse and into the chorus, no one noticed that Clark had moved back behind his camera.

And just as they didn’t notice that, they also didn’t notice the wide smile that graced Clark’s face, his eyes full and bright. He clicked away and the Pink Lady (they would learn later that her name was Charlene) stayed at his side, handing off a new camera and refilling his film at warp speed. He shot frame after frame, roll after roll. He took shots of the couples, shots of siblings and shots of the kids all together. He took pictures of Jeff with each of the kids and he took group shots.

He got a shot of Liz on Alex’s back, her arms tight around his chest as she laughed down at him. His face was turned toward hers, his mouth open in the middle of laughter. He had been kneeling on a large platform, his face turned in the opposite direction when she jumped on his back, catching him off guard.

There was a shot of Maria, seated on a stool and leaning in toward Michael as Michael’s hand was caught in the process of tucking a strand of Maria’s blonde hair behind her right ear, serene smiles on both their faces.

There was Max and Isabel, faces full of laughter as they danced. Isabel’s head was thrown back in joy as Max’s right hand held her right hand above their heads. He was spinning her and Isabel’s skirt was twirling, her hair floating.

There was Tess giggling as Kyle bent down on one knee in front of her, offering his hand up as if he were some ancient knight asking for his fair maiden’s hand.

And there was Jeff, seated on a stool leaning forward and grinning at the camera, his forearms on his thighs as his children, all eight of them, ran around him. When Clark developed the photo later, this would be his favorite.

A solid pillar of strength and laughter surrounded by streaks of life.

-:-:-:-

“Come on! Tell me there’s something you guys suck at.” The group laughed and shook their heads as Tess looked back and forth between various Parkers over the dinner table. Her blonde curls bounced as her head moved, making it difficult for anyone else at the table to take her seriously. In some ways, Tess seemed to resemble a life-sized doll.

Michael passed the bowl of coleslaw to his right and into Kyle’s outstretched hands. “Are you still on that?”

“Yeah…didn’t you say the question was rhetorical?” Alex smirked and raised his eyebrows as he lifted himself out of his seat slightly and reached for the ketchup bottle.

Tess sighed. “Yeah, okay…so I did say that. But it’s been bugging me, okay? Tell me there’s something you don’t do well.” Tess looked at Kyle who shook his head and lifted his hands in surrender.

“Don’t look at me. You know plenty of my faults.” Tess nodded. Her boyfriend had a point. She had, after all, seen him in his birthday suit. How much more exposed could you be?

No one said anything for a while as they focused on their food and Tess was beginning to think no one would say anything at all. But in the end Michael took pity on her and spoke, his fork paused halfway to his mouth. “Alex can’t cook to save his life.”

Michael put his fork in his mouth as Alex sighed ruefully and said, “It’s true. I burned water once.”

“Is it really possible to burn water?” Maria nudged Alex, who was sitting to her left, with her elbow.

Alex turned to face her and said, “Oh it is…I assure you.”

Tess laughed. “Oh no way!”

Liz nodded as she chewed her burger and after she swallowed, said, “Yep…it’s true. His one and only attempt at cooking.” She wiped her hands with her paper napkin and gestured across the table at Michael. “Mike is an average swimmer at best.”

“Really?” A surprised Maria looked at Michael, who simply shrugged as he reached into the center of the table to grab a handful of onion rings. “I didn’t know that.”

Michael shrugged again and said, “No secret. We all took lessons and I sucked at it. It would have come up when it came up.” He popped a small onion ring into his mouth. “I can do a passable freestyle but I suck at any other stroke. Basically it’s doggy paddle, freestyle or nothing at all.”

“So that’s why you always spent so much time in the shallow end of the pool.”

Tess let out a sudden trill of laughter and attempted to cover it up but obviously wasn’t quick enough. Everyone turned to look at her. “Sorry…I just got this fantastic mental image of Michel doggy paddling.” She started to shake with laughter and bent her head down to try and control herself. “I couldn’t help myself.”

“Obviously,” Kyle said, smiling at Tess. “Lizzy flunked her driver’s test twice before she finally passed it. Something about…what was it?” Kyle looked at his brothers who pretended to think, each cartoonishly tapping their chins with their left index fingers.

“Didn’t it have something to do with some sort of conspiracy theory involving the Russian mob and Japanese automakers?” Alex looked at Michael who shook his head.

“No. It was because she nearly killed her test examiners, remember?”

“Ahhh yes…now I remember.” Alex smiled wistfully and looked up at the sky above them. “Good times.”

Max raised both eyebrows and looked across the table at his girlfriend, smiling. “Remind me never to get into a car if you’re driving.” When Max realized what he had said, he blanched and stammered out, “Oh, god. I’m…oh geez…I’m so-”

Liz laughed. “I would be an idiot if I thought that accident was my fault. Am I an idiot Alex?”

“You are anything but an idiot.”

“There you go…no harm, no foul. But my brothers do exaggerate a little.” Kyle, Alex and Michael shook their heads as one.

“No we don’t.”
“No we don’t.”
“No we don’t.”

Liz laughed and shook her head. “I used to have a lead foot. That’s all.”

Kyle pushed the plate in front of him forward towards the center of the table and settled back a bit in his chair. “I was always sure that third examiner passed you simply because he never wanted to see you walk into that DMV ever again.”

Liz smiled devilishly. “Maybe he did.”

Alex laughed as he tapped the French fry in his left hand into an almost nonexistent puddle of ketchup near the edge of his plate. “Now Kyle…”

“Tess knows plenty of my faults.”

Maria picked up her soda can and said, “True…but Isabel, Max and I don’t. So go ahead Alex…spill.”

“Kyle…has a black thumb.”

“Isn’t the expression green thumb?”

Kyle nodded and leaned forward briefly to throw his wadded up napkin onto his plate before settling back again into his chair. “Yeah but Alex is the one with a green thumb. Mine is as black as…well…something black.”

“You mean like the relatively matter free, near vacuum of outer space?”

Kyle grinned at his younger brother. “Yeah Al…something like that. Bottom line? I kill anything I try to grow.”

Tess nodded. “It’s true. I once went to see my parents for a three day weekend and I asked him to take care of my plants. When I got back they were all on the critical list. I could only save one of them.”

Isabel raised her eyebrows. “How do you do that much damage to a couple of plants in a few days?”

“It’s a gift, Isabel. A rare…one might even say unique…gift.”

Isabel squirmed a little, even as she laughed. “I don’t know…I just don’t know how you can be so…”

“Flippant?” Liz raised her soda can to her lips.

“Ooo! Good word!”

“Thank you Alex.” Liz winked at him.

“Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of casual, but I guess flippant works too. How can you be so casual about things you’re bad at?”

Maria said, “Oh Izzy…you’ll get used to it. It’s the Parker Way.” The way she said it was so off-handed and matter-of-fact that Isabel was probably more confused than she should have been.

“The Parker Way?”

“It’s why Michael never gets too excited if he aces a final or Kyle doesn’t if he wins a big game. The Parker Way means you never get too high from your victories or too low from your defeats.”

Jeff turned to look at Isabel with a smile. “Maria’s been in this family long enough to know that. It’s the sort of thing you learn with time.” Jeff winked at Isabel, making her grin.

Michael shifted in his seat so he was leaning on the right arm of his chair and said, “Besides…I don’t think there’s really anything any of us are that ashamed of.”

Alex and Max pushed their plates away from their bodies slightly, the last two to finish their dinner. “Thanks dad. Dinner was great.”

Alex’s statement was followed by a flurry of appreciation and Jeff waved his hand in response. “You’re all very welcome. I like to think I can still grill a mean burger. Oh and before I forget…Clark is going to shadow us for the next few days. Frankly Lizzy, I’m tired of having stacks and stacks of great family pictures with you nowhere to be found.”

Liz nodded and shrugged and Kyle said, “Today was awesome dad. But I have to say that as far as your famous surprises go…this one barely registered. Frankly…you’ve done better.”

Jeff chuckled and looked down at his plate. “What have I told you about assuming, Kyle?”

“When you assume, you make an ass out of you and Uma Thurman. And poor Uma deserves better.”
“When you assume, you make an ass out of you and Uma Thurman. And poor Uma deserves better.”
“When you assume, you make an ass out of you and Uma Thurman. And poor Uma deserves better.”
“When you assume, you make an ass out of you and Uma Thurman. And poor Uma deserves better.”

Jeff chuckled again, this time at all four Parker kids. “That’s right. So Kyle…let me ask you one question.”

“Yeah?”

“Who said that was your surprise?”

A dumbfounded Kyle opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He took a look at his father, who was grinning widely, a twinkle in his eye. Jeff laughed softly and reached inside the right lapel of his jacket, bringing out a stack of envelopes. “Let’s see…Lizzy…here’s yours.” Jeff handed off the envelope to Isabel at his right, who started passing it down the row until it reached Liz at the end.

He did the same for the rest of the envelopes, passing them down until they were in the hands of their final owners. The group sat staring at the envelopes, staring at their names clearly printed in black letters, none of them quite sure what to do.

“Now…I want all of you to go to the lawn near the front door and open them together. After that…well…you’ll see.”

Michael said, “But dad, what about…” He trailed off as he gestured to the table full of the remnants of dinner in front of all of them.

Jeff waved him off and said, “Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of that.” When no one moved, he said, “Well? What are you waiting for?”

The group took a few seconds to let his words wash over them before they jumped out of their chairs and raced excitedly into the house. Alex, obviously more encumbered than the others, brought up the rear.

Jeff leaned back into the cushions of his chair and smiled. “And off to the races they go.”

He popped the last remaining French fry on his plate into his mouth.

-:-:-:-

The group of eight stood in a haphazard circle on the front lawn, alternately looking at one another and at their envelopes. Everyone wanted to start but no one wanted to make the first move. The anxiety in the air was clear as they all fidgeted in their own special ways.

Finally Liz groaned and said, “This is silly. Okay…on a count of three, we open them together. Ready?” They all nodded in response. “One…two…three.”

The group attacked the seals of their envelopes, some more forcefully than others. They each pulled out a single sheet of white printer paper with typewritten instructions. And each set of instructions was different.

Liz read the letter from her father, smiling widely every so often. When she finished she looked up to find that everyone else had either finished their letters too or were in the last stages.

Liz looked around, sensing everyone’s excitement practically brimming over, and smiled. “Well…looks like a good old-fashioned treasure map to me. And…it looks like I’m headed to the tasting room.” She walked through the circle and turned around just after she passed through the space between Michael and Maria. “Have fun everyone.” And just like that Liz was off with a grin, heading toward the first stop on the hunt for her surprise.

The group watched her as she walked away, no one moving as her form slowly became harder and harder to make out. Just before she disappeared completely Alex coughed, bringing everyone’s focus back to the group.

“It seems as if my hunt begins in the garage. I must bid you all adieu.” He smiled and made a bowing motion with his right hand before swinging away in the opposite direction from Liz.

One by one they left in different directions, different destinations in their minds. Michael was headed to the basketball court in the backyard, Maria to the Parker kids’ old playroom. Kyle was headed one way, Tess went the opposite. And Max and Isabel, though they would start out in different places, would end in the same, knocking on the same, hardwood door.

The hunt was on.

FSU/MSW-94- Well thanks, sweetie. I missed all of you too.
cassie- I'm so glad you liked it and thanks so much.
Alien_Friend-

Happy belated Birthday!

Thanks!
And I'm very happy to welcome you.
I'm glad you liked the scene with the photographer. Clark's a little weird, I think, but I like the guy.
LairaBehr4-

Dearest, dearest darling -

I missed you! I missed this story!

Welcome home.

Love,

Laira

Love you. Those are all the words I have.
bluebballjumper-

My last nice picture (school ones don't count) was in second grade. lol.

Come to think of it...I think mine was too.
Chrissie1218- Thanks for your good wishes.
sprayadhesive-

Congratulations on all of your wins, I was definitely pulling for you!!

Thanks! Your wins were totally deserved!

Hahahahahah, I'm so impatient.

Well...you can't be completely perfect, can you?
pandas2001-

you're back!

I'm back!
erinkatie- Hi ek, sweetie! Missed you!

I really want to see those pictures, too bad eh?

Yeah...I wish we had them too. But they live in my head, so maybe I do kinda sorta have them.
Luvya-

my new favorite fanfic. I'm adopting

Can I adopt you?
I'm honored.
Emz80m- Hi Emma! Thanks and you'll obviously find out here.
Natalie36 - No worries about that Natalie...that's why the chapter's so long. And when I say long...
clueless- Thanks clueless, glad it passed muster. And I'm glad to be back.
begonia9508- Thanks Eve!
behralicious87-

the Uma Therman thing cracked me up! I was laughing for a good 5 minutes.

Glad to hear it. It's something I say a lot. "Dammit dad, stop assuming! Look what you're doing to poor Uma!"
Ya know...something like that.

Hope all is well.

Everything is much, much better. Thank you for asking.
tequathisy- I affectionately refer to you as my Maria Nazi in my head. Hahahaha...I adore you. You know that.
Lorastar- You and I must have an achingly similar sense of humor because I laughed so hard when I wrote that line.
Glad to see you too. Missed you like crazy!
Cocogurl- Thank you on both counts.
nibbles2- Ahhh...my other Maria Nazi.
Love 'ya B. And thanks.
killjoy-

But in all honesty I do like Jeff Parker in this story and you should be proud of the award.Most stories have him as nothing more than an over protective father who hates Max.It's nice to see him from a different side.

I'm very proud of the award. It;s difficult to include the peripheral characters when you have eight mains to use. But I really wanted to use him in part because I believe sometimes those extra characters get overlooked. And this was the perfect place for him. I'm so glad everyone likes him. I like him too.
Thanks, KJ. Glad to see you too.
BehrObsession-

Jeff has set up a fun and interesting quest for each of "his kids".

Is it wrong that at this moment I wish he ahd set up one of these things for me?
Shadowlynxbehr-

You were very, very missed!

I missed you too! Just getting back into reading everyone's stories, including yours.

The descriptions of all the photos were wonderful, wish I could really see them!

If only I could give you a link into my head! Then you'd totally be able to see them.
DreamerMaxBehrian-

Why is it okay to be insane on this thread and not on yours?

Because Laira and I are equally insane? If we were inanimate objects and shared a wall, we'd be an insane condo.
I don't think that actually made sense.
Morning Dreamgirl-

Everyone can blame Laira for me now reading this fic - she ordered everyone off her thread and over here so I am forced to participate.

Well, I'm glad to see you. Thanks Laira!
SmileeUk-

Oh, you can't leave us there!

I'm not, I promise!
NUNARFEATHER00- Hi Joy! Welcome!
I hadn't thought about Mother's Day and it affecting this story at all, well at least at this point in the story, but you're right.

Sorry it took so long, but this chapter is loooooooooooooong. Really, really long. 28 pages in word, long. So long I have to post it in three parts long. But I didn't want to split up the hunt, so...

Thanks to everyone again for all your good wishes. I am much, much better. I will always miss Adam, but now it's the sort of feeling that sits inside my gut now, instead of all around me.

There are a couple of real people mentioned here, but I'll disclaim them fully at the end of the chapter, since I don't want to give them away at the moment. I also need to disclaim the song Smile. It's not mine either. But it's a brilliant song.

And now...one with chapter 29. Enjoy.

Chapter 29: Mr. Dependable

Kyle traced a familiar path to one of the Eastern vineyard buildings, the slowly growing wind whipping a bit at his face. The stone pathway was partially sheltered on either side by seemingly endless rows of towering redwoods and Kyle skipped a little in his excitement to reach the end of his hunt. He had already been to the kitchen, the garage and passed Liz on his way into the gardening shed. This just had to be the end of the road.

As Kyle reached the end of the path, a seldom played memory tickled the back of his mind. There had been a time, years before, when four children under the age of 10 had dashed down this path on a similar hunt, racing each other to see who would be the first to reach the door of the easternmost building of Parker Vineyards.

All four had known Kyle would be the winner (being a fast runner had always had its benefits) but it hardly mattered to any of them whether they won the footrace or not because the hunt was the thing, and walking would have built up the anticipation to an almost unbearable level. Seven year olds and nine year olds, it should be noted, are not known for their patience. But even so, Kyle waited until all his siblings had reached the door too before he opened it, considering it only fair.

Kyle remembered the weight of the door in his hand and struggling to pull open the heavy wood. He remembered walking out of the bright July sunshine and into a much darker, cooler building. He remembered the heady smell of fermented grapes and aged oak, the way it seemed to live in the air. And he remembered that when his eyes finally adjusted themselves to the light, that he was standing right in front of his smiling mother. But that was where the memory ended.

For the life of him, Kyle couldn’t remember what his mother had in her hands or why they had even been on that hunt at all. He couldn’t remember what had happened after that moment.

Kyle had always resisted going into this building, probably because it bothered him that he couldn’t remember any more of that memory, the small scene paused in his mind as if nothing had happened after that. But Kyle knew better and perhaps the problem really centered on the fact that every time Kyle opened that heavy wooden door, he expected his mother to be standing on the other side. She wouldn’t be there, and Kyle knew that too, but he would be disappointed all the same.

But this time, when Kyle reached for the handle he didn’t feel that same anticipation or the familiar accompanying dread. He slowly pulled the silver handle down and stepped inside the large building, walking across the room to a table in the center. The table had a TV with a DVD player sitting in the middle and a white envelope with his name on it and he slid his finger under the seal of the envelope, pulling out the sheet of white paper inside. Kyle sat on the edge of the table as he read, crossing his legs at the ankles.

Kyle-

I know you expected this to be the last stop on your hunt, but I’m afraid you have just a bit farther to go. Take the keys and drive one of the vineyard trucks to Elliot Field, that old baseball diamond you played your first game on. Your present is waiting for you there.

I am more proud of you than I could ever relate, but hopefully you’ll understand just how much when you reach the end of your hunt. Whether you decide to sign with whichever team drafts you or not - because you will be drafted, I’m certain of that - I want you to know that watching you play for all these years has provided a soothing balm to a spot in my heart. You play with such joy and have so much dedication that it’s easy to see why nearly every coach you’ve ever had considers you indispensable.

I love you Kyle.

Dad

P.S.- Turn on the DVD player.

Kyle smiled as he folded the paper up and slid it into the front right pocket of his jeans. He turned slightly to the left and pushed the button in that would turn the TV on before he turned his body completely and stood from the table to face the TV screen.

Hi Kyle. You know…what I said about all your coaches finding you indispensable is true. I asked every single one you’ve ever had, starting with John Morris your tee ball coach. Just in case you doubted your old dad. Jeff grinned at Kyle through the screen and Kyle shook his head softly back and forth as he smiled softly back.

Then I was talking with your coach from seniors…Coach Fletcher…and he told me that one of the things he always appreciated about you was that you had a sixth gear. I didn’t quite understand what he meant by that, but he explained it to me.

He said that was how he knew you’d be a good player at any level. That when the going got tough and everyone else started to fade, that you somehow found another gear, one that other players didn’t have. You ran harder, became more focused and somehow…had the singular power to turn a game around.

And then I remembered the game. You know which one I’m talking about.

Kyle knew, and he dipped his head a little at the thought.

Kyle was 16 and it was the championship game. Bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, two outs, Kyle’s team down by one run. McCaffrey was an average runner at third but Vazquez, who was at second, ran like the wind. All Kyle had to do was hit a single in the right place and Vazquez could score. It was the kind of situation that Kyle thrived in. Kyle went up to the plate with every confidence that he would win the game for them.

The pitcher for the other team wasn’t someone Kyle had faced a lot. So he took a few pitches to get accustomed to his arm action and speed. He wanted to wait for the right moment and found it with a full count. The perfect pitch. So Kyle swung.

And struck out.

Kyle…Mr. Clutch…Mr. Sixth Gear…Mr. Dependable…had lost the game for them.

I know that was the hardest game you ever played. But what stuck with me was what happened after the game, not during. The rest of your team had left but you still sat there on the bench with your head in your hands. I wanted to talk to you, tell you everything would be okay, but somehow…I didn’t think that was something you wanted.

But it didn’t matter because before I could do anything, Michael walked over to you and sat down. I have no idea what he said to you, but whatever it was it worked. You got up and got in the car and the next morning I woke up and looked out my window and saw you in your batting cage in the backyard, getting a head start on the next season.

And as I was thinking about that day, that’s when I realized…though I didn’t realize it at the time, mind you…that’s when I realized I was seeing your other gear. That’s when I realized you had something other players didn’t. That was when I realized you had learned how to pick yourself back up.

Good for you, Kyle. Good for you. I hope you always pick yourself back up.

Kyle turned off the TV and DVD player with the push of a finger and stood there in the middle of the room for a moment, staring at the blank screen of the TV as it reflected Kyle’s own image back at him. The image was distorted, Kyle’s head and legs pulled toward the corners of the TV slightly and he looked at himself and laughed. Why was he waiting? His surprise still waited for him.

Kyle grabbed the keys from the table, striding across the room to the door. He was just about to step outside when he turned on impulse to face the center of the room. Light was streaming in through the windows along the sides of the building, making golden rectangles on the floor. Kyle closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath, the familiar scent of fermented grapes and oak once again filling his head.

When he opened his eyes, he could see it. His mother had been holding four different sized white boxes in her hands.

Kyle laughed softly and looked around the room one more time, a large grin on his face. He hit his right thigh softly with the side of his closed right fist twice before he turned to walk out the door.

“Well…how ‘bout that?”

-:-:-:-
Tess wandered around the first floor of the house, the paper with her final instructions clasped in her right hand. She was on her way to the living room and by all rights she should have been moving faster; excited to reach the end of the hunt. But she was moving slowly, wanting to delay the inevitable; dragging out the surprise. She wanted the feeling of it all to last as long as it could.

Tess took in the house as she walked. It was bright and warm, light streaming in through all the windows. It had a comforting smell she couldn’t quite place at first, but as she stood in the light and warmth, allowing the scent to surround her, little by little she started to recognize it.

The reason Tess hadn’t recognized the scent before was that she had been mistaken from the start. It wasn’t one scent, it was many. Tess could smell them all.

She recognized Kyle’s ever-present smell of fresh grass and infield clay first. He carried it around with him even off the baseball diamond. But even if Kyle had never played baseball a day in his life, Tess knew with certainty that this was what he would smell like anyway: clean, warm and earthy. Kyle felt, she thought in passing, like a picnic on a spring day.

Next was the warm, old fashioned smell of leather, a smell she attributed to Jeff. He smelled the way fathers should. It was the way her own father smelled. If the word ‘safe’ had a smell, to Tess, this would be it.

A complex blend of spices suddenly made itself known and Tess smiled. Michael…most definitely Michael. How it happened that he smelled so different than Kyle was a mystery to Tess, but she supposed that part of what made them love each other so much was that they were different.

Alex and Liz were next, and Tess knew that right away because their scents were so similar but still, somehow, different. Playful, refreshing and just a bit on the sweet side, the two played off one another expertly but were just as strong and confident when alone. And though Tess couldn’t place exactly what the two scents were, she felt a little more lighthearted just being around them.

The next scent was confusing to her at first, mostly because it was so light, she almost didn’t notice it at all. But Tess took in a deep breath and yep…there it was. It was a flower of some kind. A lily maybe? Maybe. Tess didn’t know a whole lot about flowers, so it was difficult for her to place. But it was delicate, not showy at all, and Tess could feel its natural beauty. This…this was Isabel.

Then came a smell so strong, Tess wondered how she hadn’t smelled it to begin with. Maybe it had just been waiting its turn. Tess giggled a little at that thought, lost for a moment in childhood memories of lunch lines and theme parks. The smell was strong, confident and fiery and if that was anyone, it was Maria. Only Maria could smell so strong but still not impose.

The last scent was crisp…clean with a sort of natural quality driving it. It was like the ocean air or the smell of a forest of redwoods. Tess would never be able to pinpoint exactly what the smell was, but that was probably because this smell was Max’s, and it was more a feeling than a distinct smell anyway. There was no name for it.

Tess wondered, briefly, what she smelled like. She supposed that she’d never know. It wasn’t something you knew about yourself. And it wasn’t something Tess was ever going to ask.

Just as she started to walk again toward the living room doors just in front of her, she was hit by one more scent. It was complex, with notes of cocoa and cinnamon and still, it was earthy. Tess laughed. Who ever thought she’d recognized Paolo by his smell?

Tess shook her head as she opened the door to the living room. She closed the door behind her quietly and noticed a TV set up in the center of the room with a sign that said, “Play Me”. Tess obliged, picking up the remote and flipping the TV on. She pressed the play button on the DVD player and stepped back as Jeff’s face filled the screen.

Hi Tess. Why don’t you take a seat, sweetheart?

Tess looked behind herself for a chair and found one along a wall. She picked it up by the back and carried it to rest in front of the TV.

It took me a long time to come up with a suitable surprise for you. Jeff chuckled a little as he looked away from the camera, wagging his right index finger as he grinned. I admit…you had me stumped there for a bit.

Then I remembered something you’d said in passing a while ago. You want to be a reporter. And so, my dear, comes your surprise. WRAC, a station in Detroit, needs an intern starting in January. And you, Tess, are that intern.

Tess couldn’t believe what she was hearing. How did he know she wanted that internship? Sure…she had thought about it, hoped about it, dreamt she might be considered…but never in a million years did she think she’d actually get it. With one spot to give and over a hundred applicants, she hadn’t thought she’d had a chance in hell of landing it.

All the information is in that white envelope on the table in front of you. I just want to say Tess…from what your professors told me…you earned this.

I also want to say…sweetheart, there isn’t anyone on this planet that could fit Kyle better. You are a wonderful woman and I am proud to have you in this family. We are lucky to know you. From the bottom of my heart…thank you for making my son happy.

Jeff smiled once more before his face left the screen to be replaced by the graphic blue DVD player’s starter menu. She heard the DVD stop but paid it no mind, her eyes focused on the closed envelope in front of her.

No one had ever done anything like this for her before.

-:-:-:-

Maria was so focused on the piece of paper in front of her that she didn’t notice the sudden shadow fall across her path. But to be fair, the other person was focused on whatever it was they were doing too and didn’t see Maria. They bumped into one another and as soon as Maria saw a crutch flying to her right, she reached out to grab Alex, catching him just in time.

“Maria…don’t ever let anyone tell you that you don’t have excellent reactionary skills.”

“Alex! I am so sorry!”

Alex waved her off. “I wasn’t looking where I was going either. So…where you headed?” He eagerly looked down at her paper and she held it out for him to read. “Media room. Huh. No kidding?” He looked up at Maria who just looked confused.

“Yeah. Why?”

“Because that’s where I’m going too. See?” Alex held out his paper as he balanced on his crutches. Maria took the paper, reading the instructions.

“So we’re headed to the same place then.”

“Looks like. Ooo! I wonder if we have the same present.”

“We must, otherwise why would your dad send both if us there?”

“Well…it is dad. Hard to be sure of his actions sometimes. Well milady…shall we conclude our journey together?”

“Of course.” Maria grinned. “Hard to say no to the most handsome guy around.”

“It would be more gentlemanly of me to offer my arm, but I’m afraid I’m a bit encumbered at the moment.” Alex grinned at her and Maria grinned back.

“I’ll try to bear the loss.”

The two exited one of the western vineyard buildings and set off on a cedar path that would eventually stop near the house, but they had a while to go. For now they were content to walk alongside one another, enjoying the winter sun. Though it was cold (January, even though they were in California, was still January) they didn’t seem to mind.

Alex’s mind wandered, going over the hills and valleys of his life. Alex, though a goofball and always up for a good time, was also incredibly introspective. It was a trait all the Parker kids had, and it was a trait their father had in spades. His mind was all over the place today, one moment a picture of Isabel filling his mind, the next an old memory. He needed something to give him some clarity.

Alex swiveled his head around and noticed a building Parker Vineyards used mainly for events about 20 yards away. He grinned and took off, swinging his way quickly to the building. A startled Maria ran after him, slowing down to a jog as she reached his side.

“Alex…what are you doing?” Alex turned his head to face Maria and grinned.

“Last one there is a rotten egg!” Alex sped up and Maria rolled her eyes before speeding up too to run to the event building. When they had reached it and both were inside, Maria turned to Alex to ask him what they were doing there when he swung away from her and to a piano at the other end of the large space. Maria shrugged and followed him.

Alex sat down on the bench and set his crutches down with a loud clang on the floor. He ran the three middle fingers of his right hand along the wooden top covering the keys of the grand piano, smiling softly. Then he lifted the lid and started to run his fingers over the keys, closing his eyes every once in a while as he hit a key, allowing the sweet sound to fill his head.

Maria started to speak but stopped when Alex straightened his back, closed his eyes, and started to move his fingers over the keys in a more recognizable rhythm. After a moment he opened his eyes and smiled down at his hands as they lovingly roamed, pushing each key to the perfect depth.

Maria smiled as she recognized the old, familiar song. “Your mom used to sing this song everywhere.”

Alex looked up from the piano and smiled at her. “You remember. You know…there would be times when I wondered if she knew she was singing it at all, like when she was folding laundry or doing the dishes.” Alex smiled again and shrugged as he played on. “It’s my thinking song. If I have too much running around my mind, it always helps sort it all out.”

“So tell me old friend, what’s running around up there?” Maria leaned against the piano near the keyboard, her right hip flush against the piano as she rested her arm on the wood top.

“You and where you’ve been…Isabel…my newest song…Mike and his enchiladas…Kyle and whether he’ll be drafted…that I hate that Lizzy and I live so far away from each other…dad and the fact he’ll have to say goodbye to most of us soon…my major…etcetera etcetera etcetera.” Maria lifted her eyebrows and Alex shook his head. “A time or two through this song and all will be clear again. Always works. So Maria…why don’t you sing along?”

Maria shook her head. “Alex I couldn’t. This is your mom’s song. I always considered it…I don’t know…sacred.”

“You know what mom would say about that?” Alex continued to play and looked down at his fingers as they roamed.

Maria rolled her eyes and nodded. She knew. Of course she knew. “Maria…it’s not my song. Someone else wrote it. Stop being silly and sing.”

Alex smiled. “Yep…sounds like mom. So sing already, will ‘ya?”

Smile though your heart is aching
Smile even though its breaking
When there are clouds in the sky, you’ll get by
If you smile through your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You’ll see the sun come shining through for you

As Alex played he watched Maria sing. The song started to fill her and explode quietly out her pores. She was visibly glowing. And Alex couldn’t help but think that maybe, in that moment, he saw just a small piece of Maria the way Michael saw her all the time. She was, without a doubt, breathtaking.

Light up your face with gladness
Hide every trace of sadness
Although a tear may be ever so near
That’s the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what’s the use of crying?
You’ll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile

Alex started to play the instrumental interlude and Maria said, “I always thought this song was so bittersweet. And then your mom died and…”

Alex smiled at her as she trailed off. “I could have probably found the song sad, but I’ve always considered it a happy one. I was lucky to have her, Maria. We all were. And when I hear this song, or when I play it, all it reminds me of are good things.” Alex was done with the interlude then, and Maria came back in.

That’s the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what’s the use of crying?
You’ll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile

Alex trailed off and closed the lid; laying both his hands briefly on the wood top before he reached down to grab his crutches from the ground. He stood, balancing himself on his crutches, and Maria smiled at him as she walked around to his side. They left the building and started back down the cedar path to the house.

This time Alex felt no need to rush, no need for clarity. The song had worked its magic once again and his mind was full but he wasn’t overwhelmed, every thought giving him time.

Maria, by contrast, was starting to feel her thoughts collide with one another. Maria’s mom, because she was a single parent, had to work. So Maria spent afternoons at the Parkers, watched over by Nancy and Jeff. She remembered the way Nancy Parker had welcomed them home from school with brownies or sang to them as she went about normal daily chores, like laundry. Maria suddenly realized that this was the first time she’d thought of Nancy in a long while, and that thought made a large sort of pressure start to build in her chest. She could feel her eyes start to get a little misty.

“Maria? Are you okay?” Alex stopped and touched her arm out of concern and Maria laughed even as tears started to fall.

“Alex, I’m fine. I promise. It’s just that I realized I hadn’t thought about your mom in a while and she used to be such a huge part of my life that I felt guilty about it.”

“So I guess my trick did the opposite for you, huh? Sorry.”

They started to walk again and Maria said, “Not your fault. Why haven’t I thought about her, Alex? She was like my second mom and my aunt all rolled into one.”

Alex shrugged. “Don’t know. But where does it say that just because you aren’t actively thinking about her that she isn’t there with you anyway? You know…after the funeral, Grandma Claudia pulled me aside and told me that the people we love never really leave us. I dare you to say Grandma Claudia’s ever been wrong about anything in her life.”

They grinned at each other as the path changed from shredded cedar to stones, meaning they were closer to the house. “I would never dare. If Grandma Claudia said it, it must be true.”

“Well there you go. Everyone grieves in their own way, Maria. So it must be true that we all remember people we love in our own ways, too. Nothing will ever change the fact that you loved mom and that she loved you right back. Nothing.”

The back of the house was in sight now and they could both make out a pair of polka-dotted curtains fluttering upstairs in one of the windows. Liz had left her bedroom window open. Maria sighed. “Alex…can I confess something?” Alex turned his head to her and raised his eyebrows in response. “I always wished your dad was my dad.”

Alex looked confused. “But he is your dad.”

“I know, but I mean I wish he was really my dad. My dad…my real dad…well, you know how he was.”

Alex nodded even as he said, “Maria, a real dad is one who takes care of you. Who’s to say that dad isn’t your real dad? He loves you, he protects you, he counsels you. He’s always considered you one of his kids, Maria. He calls you his little bird.”

Maria smiled. “He does? I didn’t know that.”

Alex shrugged as they reached the back porch of the deck and opened the French doors. “He loves you Maria, same as he loves Max and Isabel and Tess. You may not share any genes, but you’re all his kids.”

Maria smiled and they were silent once more as they made their way down the hall and into the media room. Maria suddenly felt an easy lightness, the sort that comes only when something that’s been troubling you is gone, gone to be replaced with joy and understanding. She had forgotten this too, that Alex was this way. She’d missed his direct but always gentle advice.

The two moved forward into the media room and sat down on the couch in front of the TV. The coffee table directly in front of them had an envelope exactly like the ones they had originally received and a piece of paper with instructions to turn on the TV and DVD player. Alex reached for the universal remote and the two sat and waited until Jeff’s face came on the screen.

Hi kids. I’m sure by now you’re probably wondering why you’re in the same place. The answer is simple, guys. You have the same gift. But I’m going to ask you to wait to open the envelope in front of you until I say so, because I’m afraid you won’t pay any attention to me as soon as you find out what’s in that envelope.

Jeff laughed and dipped his head before bringing it right back up.

Alex…I have to admit I’ve always worried about you just a little bit more than your siblings, and it wasn’t just because you had the most difficult birth. I was worried because in many ways you’re the most like your mom, and I was afraid that you might feel if you were as true to yourself as you should be, that it would remind me too much of her. I know you worry about me, Alex. Even now, I know that.

Alex shook his head slowly. There his dad went, surprising him again.

If you really love computers, then stick with your major, Alex. But I don’t want you to give up your music or push it to the back burner just because you’re afraid of any old memories it might bring back for me. It’s incredibly considerate of you to care, but I would be inconsiderate if I let it affect your decision. You hear the music just like she did, and that’s a gift. You, Alex, are my gift.

As children, the Parker kids’ favorite bedtime story was how Nancy and Jeff met. The story went that Nancy was performing in a concert and Jeff was in the audience. According to Jeff, Nancy had only made it through the first verse before he knew that he’d marry her. He had tried to talk with her all night, but they kept missing one another. Then, in one of those Hollywood-like moments, Jeff saw her about to leave the parking lot and caught up with her car just before she was about to leave. According to Nancy, he stuck his head in through her open car window and asked her to give him a chance. She had and the rest, obviously, was history.

But even as he remembered that story, the star shine and magic of it all making Alex smile, he couldn’t quite gloss over the detail that their mother had given up her dreams of playing in packed concert halls and cutting records. She had given up her dreams for their dad and she had given up her dreams for them.

You don’t know this Alex, but I used to ask your mother…oh…once a month I think…whether quitting was something she really wanted to do. And I would have pushed her if I hadn’t been so sure she was telling me the truth. Dreams can change, Alex. That’s what she told me. Dreams can change. That’s how I knew she was telling me the truth.

So I’m going to ask you to promise me something, Alex. Just one thing. Don’t let your dreams fade away. Be the incredible, big-hearted, talented son I know, and be true to you and your dreams. And if you do all of that, everything will work itself out. I promise you that. I love you kid. So much. And I hope you always know that.

Alex smiled and continued to look at his father, who was looking down at his lap on the screen. Jeff was silent now as he composed himself, his shoulders drawn in just a little as if he were trying to wrap himself around his heart. Their dad had always been an open, affectionate man, but Alex reasoned that doing a tape for everyone as emotional as this had to wear him down.

Jeff looked back up and his face was open and clear again, his moment of necessary composure gone. Maria…my sweet, darling, lovely Maria. You are an undeniably amazing woman. I wish I could take credit for that, but your mom is as good as they get. And you are just like her…strong, independent, carefree and loving.

Watching you grow has been a great joy of my life. Not seeing you the last seven years was difficult, I admit, but sometimes we need to leave what’s familiar in order to become who we were truly meant to be.

I’m proud of you Maria. And I couldn’t love you more if you were my biological child. Your father was lucky to have a child like you. And I know that Nancy would be proud of the woman you’ve become.

You are a child of my heart, Maria, and there is nothing that can ever change my love for you.

Maria had to tear her eyes from the screen, no longer able to bear looking at Jeff in all his radiance. Sometimes words are so honest and heartfelt that we can’t help but be moved by them, as if the words themselves were lodging in our throats and settling in our chests. Maria finally looked back at the screen and at Jeff, whose eyes were shiny with tears, even as he grinned.

Okay…now you can open your envelope. Instructions are inside. Have fun, guys.

Maria and Alex looked at one another for a moment before both grabbed for the envelope, each holding an end. The pulled a little back and forth, neither wanting to give it up. In the end they realized just how silly that was, since whatever it was that was inside was for both of them anyway.

They both let go of the envelope at the same time and watched as it fell to the hardwood floor between them. They laughed at one another and Maria reached down to the floor to snag the envelope. She ripped open the seal and pulled out a sheet of white paper.

Alex and Maria,

There’s a limo outside for you. It knows where you have to go. Have fun.

Love you,
Dad

P.S.- Don’t forget your tickets.

“Tickets?” Maria opened the envelope back up and pulled out the tickets she had missed in her haste to pull the paper out, turning them over to reveal the writing.

Alex’s eyes grew wide as he read the name on the front of the tickets. “Oh…my…”

“Goddess.” Maria’s eyes grew wide to match Alex’s and they turned their heads slowly to look at one another.

“Pat freaking Benatar.”

-:-:-:-