Roswell Fanatics

Hey, sorry I didn't label # 30 but you read it so here's 31.

Carolyn and Katy: Yep, alls' well in Evansville and moving right along let's go!!!

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Chapter: 31

The next morning the alarm went off way too soon to suit the newlyweds. It seemed like they had just fallen asleep…and in truth they had. Liz managed to roll over to her side of the bed and crawl out with a big fat groan and Max reached over and pulled her back in next to him. She cuddled for a minute, gave him a peck on the cheek and told him she really needed to get up and take a shower. Max wanted to know if she needed some company…Liz checked the clock and then gave him a big smile and said “You betcha!” And with that Max was hot on her tail. They enjoyed a nice leisurely shower together, playing with each other and loving every minute of their time together…but all good things must come to an end.

While Max was drying off he asked Liz if she wanted a PB&J for lunch…she said sure so he quickly put his jeans on and headed over to Maria’s to make some coffee and to pack Liz some lunch. The furniture would be delivered this morning and he would be pretty busy all day so Liz would either be eating at the office or finding someone to eat with and since she would be taking off Monday afternoon it would be better that she stayed in to make sure everything was current for Diane, Kyle and her.

Besides Liz felt this would give her a chance to talk with Diane and Jody regarding taking some time off and hiring a temp to do phones while she was gone on a honeymoon if that’s what she and Max decided to do. She hoped things worked out so that she and Max could take some time off to go somewhere, it really sounded like a great thing to do.

Once he started working at the hospital it would be close to impossible to take any time off for at least a year, maybe more. And if they continued with their plans for the medical building it would really be next to impossible to make any plans for any extended vacations.

‘Where should we go?’ she wondered as she dried her hair. Anywhere with Max sounded like fun. Oh well, maybe they could talk about it more this weekend

*~*~*

Liz arrived at the office just before 8:00 a.m. and Jody had already finished the morning tasks and had Liz’s messages laid out on her desk in the order of importance. She definitely needed to talk to Diane about a raise for the girl. She was turning into a very valuable asset and they certainly didn’t want her to decide to leave them for any reason whatsoever.

When Diane arrived around 9:00 a.m. she stopped in to see Liz as she always did and Liz told her that the furniture would be delivered today and Max would be overseeing the delivery. She also told her how he and Michael had unpacked all of the small kitchen appliances and washed all of them, how Max had cleaned the entire apartment and did the laundry including changing the sheets on the bed.

Diane just sat back and listened to Liz talk about Max as though he was the greatest thing since wheel and she had a tough time hiding a giggle or two but she couldn’t hide the twinkle in her eyes.

She was so very proud of her son and sooooo happy that he finally realized his feelings for the ‘girl next door’. Liz continued to go on about Max’s virtues and then finally looked at Diane and realized that she had been monopolizing the conversation for the last 20 minutes, she looked at her mother-in-law and apologized profusely about her ramblings and Diane just smiled at her and said…

“Liz, you have no idea how happy it makes me to see you so content with my son and that you are so happy in your marriage. Honey, don’t ever apologize to me for being happy…it’s just too wonderful to see.”

“Oh Diane, thank you so much…you have no idea how truly happy I am and how truly blessed I feel. It’s just wonderful.” Liz was beaming…

“Good, now do we have any business to discuss before I head on over to my office?” Diane replied as she took in the happiness exuding from her daughter-in-law.

“Well, yes, there are a couple of items I would like to talk over with you. One or two are personal and affects the office but first…I would like to run this one by you. I think Jody needs a raise. She’s becoming quite an asset and I wouldn’t want her to feel she could ever do better anywhere else. What do you think?”

“I think I agree with you there and I will leave the particulars up to you…now about the personal items, what are they?”

“First things first…I have an appointment with a gynecologist on Monday, Michael actually, and would like to take the afternoon off and then there’s a honeymoon. As you know, Sister gave Max the month off and then he will be starting his position at the hoapital which will probably mean there will be no vacation time for at least a year and I know you have his graduation party planned for next month and although Max and I haven’t really talked seriously about it the subject has come up. I just wanted to know how you felt about it before we make any definite plans. We could always hire a temp while I am out and Jody could cover the transcribing. As far as research goes I don’t think that it will be a problem for a week or two. What do you think?”

“Well, you know you have Monday afternoon off with my blessings and as for the honeymoon, go right ahead and make your plans. You are right though, a temp will be a good idea. As I said before Liz, I trust you completely to keep things running smoothly around here and you haven’t failed me yet so go, enjoy your life with my son with my blessings.”

With that Liz got up from her desk and walked around to the other side and gave Diane a great big hug and a kiss on the cheek…Diane just smiled at her. ‘Life was far too short to not take moments for yourself.’ (She learned this too late when she lost Philip.)

*~*~*

Meanwhile back at the apartment Max and Michael had moved all of the new electronics into the spare bedroom and started unpacking it while they waited for the delivery truck.

It was shortly after nine when the doorbell rang and the men were ready to haul stuff in. They wanted to know where everything went and Max told them to put the patio table and chairs in the dining area, the couch and chairs in the living room along with the coffee table and end tables and the bedroom set went into the bedroom across the other side of the apartment with the exception of the armoire which would be put in the living room for the time being. The guy checked it all out and said they would be back with the bedroom first. That way they wouldn’t have to walk around the other furniture. Made sense to Max and Michael…so they just stood in the kitchen with a cup of coffee and waited for things to be put in place.

When the men put the bedroom furniture in the room Max and Michael went to the linen closet and got the mattress pad, sheets, pillows and pillowcases out and proceeded to make up the bed. They had been doing this for years since they shared an apartment all through college and medical school; they were old pros at this stuff. When they finished Max found the comforter they had purchased in the top of the closet with the matching shams and he and Michael made short work of those as well. When they were finished with the bed they stood back and surveyed the situation…it really looked quite nice and they turned and gave each other a high five…

”It really looks nice Max. Liz did a great job of choosing something that was nice but not too feminine.” Michael said with a grin…

“I think so too Mike…Liz bought some kind of panel or something to hang from the posters but I think we should let her do that. I ‘m good with the basics but I don’t think I know what to do with the rest of it.”

“Do you want me to go get Maria?”

“Nah…this is fine. Let’s just get the lamps out of the closet and put them on the night stands and call this room done…what do you think?”

“I think it looks great and I’ll bet that Liz will think so too. Has she said anything about Monday?”

“Only wanted to know if it was going to hurt…told her I didn’t know because I’ve never had it done to me…she punched me for that one but I think she’s a little nervous.” Max said with some concern. He just had this gnawing in his stomach…oh well, he was nervous too.

“You didn’t say that to her, did you?”

“Yeah, I really did.”

“Shit Max, she’s probably ready to cancel now.”

“Nah, she’ll be there…she knows this needs to be done.”

“Okay, if you’re sure…I can talk to her if you want me to.”

“Seriously Mike, she’s fine…I’ll make sure she’s okay with it. Let’s check out the living room and see if everything is there.”

So, the young doctors headed into the living room and sure enough the men had just brought in the last of the pieces and everything was sitting in the middle of the floor just waiting for them. Max took a quick survey of the delivery receipt and made sure everything was delivered, signed it and the guys were on their way. Then the two of them got busy with the rest of the apartment.

They started with the dining room first since it was just a table and 6 chairs to unpack. After they had all of the cartons broken down Max stood back and had a good look at the color. Liz really had a good eye. The taupe color looked really nice with the beige color of the couch and chairs and he remembered the curtain panels that Liz purchased for the windows and thought how really nice they were all going to look together. The patio set was an excellent idea for a temporary set up, and the “monster refrigerator” fit in the kitchen quite nicely…Liz’s term for the refrigerator…and it looked nice with the ‘red’ also.

Now the living room; Max and Michael both looked a little puzzled and then thought about it for a minute and decided that, after listening to their parents discuss focal points for years, they should have paid more attention. Max asked Michael where he thought the couch and chairs should go in respect to the TV and the fireplace. Michael looked at Max like he’d lost his mind and Max just grinned at him.

“You know Mike, if we don’t make this look right this time we WILL be doing it over… right?”

“You certainly are right about that Maxwell…so…let’s think about this logically. If we set the TV up with the couch then you can fall asleep more comfortably while your favorite team wins or loses…and…you can use the chairs for a good book in front of the fireplace, no?”

“Great, do you think Liz will like the idea?”

“Hey dude, she’s your wife.” Michael stated, letting Max know that he would know the answer to that better than he would.

“Well let’s do it and hope for the best.” Max wasn’t quite sure their idea would work but it was worth a try.

So they started on the living room and about lunchtime Maria came over to see the progress. She was carrying a rocking chair with her and when Max saw it he smiled at her and told her to find a place of honor. With that she went right over to the corner of the room, placed the odd candle table Liz had purchased next to the chair and Max and Michael both grinned at her. Neither man knew what the hell the candle table was for but now it all made sense and it looked very nice. Max thanked her and asked her what she thought.

“Max, I think Liz is going to be very impressed. It looks just beautiful. Where are you going to put the TV?”

Michael and Max had only set the chairs up in front of the fireplace and hadn’t placed the armoire against the far wall yet so Maria was confused about the placement of the furniture. Michael explained to her that they decided to have two focal points in the room, one for the fireplace for cozy evenings and one for the TV for comfort. Maria raised one eyebrow and with a twinkle in her eye she said,

“Focal points?”

“Well, yeah…focal points. You know, we have the fireplace and we have the TV and we can’t ignore either so we are going to make two focal points.” Michael defended.

Maria gave a little nod and then asked if they were hungry…both men said they were and that they would probably be the rest of the afternoon setting up all of the electronics in the armoire so they headed on over to Maria’s for some lunch. After they were finished they headed back over to the other apartment leaving Maria to finish up her day on the computer. But first things first, as soon as they were out the door Maria had to call Liz,

“Liz, you are not going to believe what Max and Michael are doing! You are going to be so impressed that you will be overwhelmed.”

“Why Maria, what’s going on?”

“Well, they’ve finished the bedroom, kitchen, and dining room and now they are creating ‘focal points’ in the living room.”

“Focal points?”

“Yeah, you know…the fireplace is one focal point and the TV is another focal point. Liz, I think they are getting in touch with their feminine sides, and Liz…it really looks nice.”

Liz started giggling and said,

“God, would I love to be a fly on the wall for this. Thanks Maria, I will be sure to tell them how much I like it. Oh, Alex delivered the proofs of the wedding today and some of them are really nice. I don’t know how I can choose just a few. Maybe we should have some pizza tonight, you and Michael can come over and we can hang out…what do you say?”

“I say it sounds great. What time do you get off?”

“Around 5:30 tonight, probably be home about 6:00 or so.”

“Great, I’ll call in the order for delivery around 7:00. That will give you time to say hello to your sexy husband, no?”

“Yeah Maria, thank you so much; love you.”

“Love you too girlfriend. Talk to you later.”

*~*~*

Back at the Evans’ apartment Max and Michael moved the armoire against the far wall and proceeded to bring out the TV, DVD/VCR and stereo equipment. They pulled everything away from the wall and started hooking things up, Maria and Liz’s tool box really came in handy. By the time they had it all finished it looked great and then they placed the couch at a nice distance from the cabinet to make the TV easy for watching.

They then decided that they needed a table or something in back of the couch since it was free standing and because it looked a little vacant there. Also, Max needed to call the car upholsterer to fix the tear so they needed to hide it. They decided to pull the dresser out of the bedroom and put it behind the couch. It matched the armoire and really looked great. That left the chest of drawers in the bedroom and a mirror with no dresser.

“Max, that looks great but where in the hell are you going to put your clothes…in the living room?”

Max reached up and scratched the back of his ear and then got a grin on his face,

“Maybe I’ll just leave them at Mom’s.” He said,

“Oh for God’s sake Max, get real here, you need to have someplace to put your clothes.”

“Well, Liz has the dresser in the other bedroom and then there’s the chest of drawers that I can use. In the meantime we don’t have to buy anymore furniture until we see where we are going to be living permanently.”

With that Michael gave him a sideways look and grinned…

“Has that estate lady called you back yet?”

”What estate lady?”

“Yeah, right… what estate lady? We saw how Liz reacted to that house and we saw the look on your face just watching her. Are you going to buy it?”

“If I can.”

“Good for you man. Now all of this furniture makes perfect sense. Maria and I both thought that’s what you had in mind when you started buying up all of these pieces.”

“Boy, you guys really have me pegged don’t you?”

”It’s okay Max, we think it’s wonderful, you deserve to be happy.”

“Thanks Mike, I really appreciate it… and I also appreciate this” Max raised his arm and circled the room… “All of this help, I couldn’t ask for a better friend.”

Mike just smiled at his old friend and waved him off.

*~*~*

Around 5:30 Liz went into Diane’s office to say goodnight…

“I’m going to head on home and check out the focal points.”

“Focal points?”

“Yeah, Maria called me earlier and told me that Max and Michael were setting up the living room with two focal points, one for the TV and one for the fireplace. Why don’t you come over when you get off and have a look at their handiwork? We are going to have pizza around 7:00 and look at wedding proofs. How does that sound?”

“Liz, that sounds great but do you think I should be looking at your wedding proofs before your Mom and Dad see them?”

“Oh for God’s sake Diane, we’re all grown ups here, come over for some pizza and see the place. I can’t wait to see what the two of them have done and I think you should take a look at the wonderful man you have raised and see what he’s capable of.”

“Well, alright then…I’ll see you around 7:00…can I bring anything?” Diane said excitedly.

“Just yourself…oh, and don’t tell anyone you’re coming. We only have 6 chairs and not a lot of room.”

“Great, mums the word, bye honey and drive safely.”

“You too, see you later.”
*~*~*


When Liz arrived home, to say that she was impressed would be an understatement. The apartment had been transformed into a thing of beauty. All she needed to do was add some accessories and it would be picture perfect. She could only stand in the entryway and smile. Max took her into his arms and gave her a huge hug…

“Well, what do you think? Do you like it?” He was so excited to see what she had to say…

“Oh Max, it’s just perfect. You did a beautiful job with everything but where are you going to put your clothes?” Having recognized the dresser behind the couch…

“I’m going to use the chest of drawers and we moved the dresser from the spare bedroom into our room and you can keep your clothes in there for the time being. What do you think?”

Liz was flabbergasted…what did she think? …

”I think you are a genius. That’s what I think.” And she reached around her husbands’ neck and planted a great big noisy kiss on his mouth, which started to turn pretty steamy with the passing of each second. By the time they broke away for some much needed air Liz told Max that she really needed to get changed because his Mom was coming over for pizza along with Michael and Maria.

“Alex brought the proofs of the wedding pictures by the office today and we are going to look at them.”

“Well, what time are they supposed to be here?”

“In about an hour…How about a quick shower? Sound like fun?” She said with a grin…

“Of course it sounds like fun…let’s get to it then.”

So after some fun in the shower our two lovebirds got busy and put some clothes on and headed out to the kitchen. Liz had almost forgotten about “monster refrigerator” and took notice to how really nice it looked and it fit just perfectly. Not an inch to spare though. She asked Max if he thought they should order some soft drinks to go with the pizza or should they run out and get some. Max said he would run to the grocery store and pick up a couple of bottles of wine while he was at it. Liz looked at him and winked…

“Better get some wine glasses while you’re at it. I don’t think we have anything to drink wine out of. I’ll make a pot of coffee while you’re gone and set up the table for the pizza. Be careful and see you in a few…”

Max bent over and planted a kiss on Liz’s forehead and asked her if he should pick up some milk while he was at it just in case they wanted some cereal in their own apartment in the morning. Liz said sure and then got busy in the kitchen.

Around 7:00 Michael and Maria met Diane in the hallway and they all headed over to Max and Liz’s together…when they walked in Diane was flabbergasted.

Liz had told her of Maria’s phone call but she had no idea just how beautiful everything would be. Michael and Max had placed the coffee table in front of the couch and used the end tables at the fireplace with the chairs. They had strung an extension cord under a throw rug to one of the tables and they had used another of the table lamps in the back of couch on the dresser that was substituting as a library table.

There was a smaller lamp on the table next to Liz’s grandmother’s rocking chair and Liz had lit all of the lamps to brighten everything up. Diane was very impressed as was Maria. Maria had only seen it in the planning stages and she was amazed, the guys had done a marvelous job.

Liz then took Diane into their new bedroom and Diane started grinning…

“So, you didn’t buy all of that living room furniture for just the living room?”

“No, we knew we were going to use the armoire in the living room for the time being but Max and Michael decided that the living room needed “two focal” points and they took the dresser out there to use behind the couch because it matched the armoire. I am going to continue to use my old dresser for my clothes and Max will use the chest of drawers, actually it worked out quite nicely, don’t you think?”

Diane continued to smile and told Liz that she thought it worked out more than just nicely; it was wonderful. Liz just kept on smiling. She was so happy she could hardly contain herself.

Soon the pizza was delivered and Max showed up with some wine glasses and beverages and everyone sat down to dinner. Liz had explained to Diane earlier that they hadn’t found a dining set that really impressed them and since they had no idea what type they wanted they bought a patio set instead. They would always be able to match it up with other patio furniture some day and in the meantime it would work out just fine. Diane couldn’t agree more. So far their purchases have been very wise and the way it was laid out it looked very nice.

After they finished with their dinner Liz and Maria cleared off the dishes and Liz got the envelope of proofs out for everyone to look at.

Max had only had a chance to take a quick look at the pictures and he was very impressed with what he had seen but now, looking at them and taking the time to enjoy them, he could see why Liz thought it was going to be difficult to choose from them. He decided that they should buy all of the proofs and then they would only have to decide what to use for the relatives announcements. The parents should get to choose the ones they want and that way they wouldn’t have to make any decisions. Doesn’t get any easier than that,

“When did you get so smart Max?” his mother asked. They all laughed at that statement and then Diane told the kids she thought she would head on home. It had been a long day and she was looking forward to spending some time with Isabelle before going to bed. Alex had to go to a wedding tonight and although he had asked Isabelle to go along she opted to stay home and get some work done on one of her own projects.

“When do you kids think you might be coming over to share pictures with everyone else?” she asked before leaving…Max looked at Liz and she just shrugged her shoulders and suggested they call her Mom and Dad tomorrow and see what they were doing in the evening.

“Let me check it out for you and I’ll get back with you tomorrow, maybe we can have a bar-b-que tomorrow night or something at my house…yes?” Diane asked…

“That sounds great; we’ll wait to hear from you then.” With that Max and Liz both hugged Diane and bid her good night after telling her to drive safely. She was just so happy with them that she couldn’t wipe the smile from her face the entire trip home.

After Diane left Liz asked Maria what her plans were for the morning and Maria wanted to know…

“How early in the morning?”

Liz just giggled and said “Not too early; maybe a quick trip to the yardage shop to get some fabric to make up some throw pillows and pick up some silk greenery. Max and I really need to do some grocery shopping so it won’t be an all day affair. What do you think? ”

“Fine, how about 10:00 or so that should give you plenty of time to pick out some fabric and greenery…yes?”

“Great, 10:00 it is unless you want to make it around 11:00?”

“Okay, somewhere between 10:00 and 11:00…call me when you’re ready ok?”

“Sure…see you then and thanks Maria.”

“You bet girlfriend…anytime.”

Liz winked at Michael and he knew he could carry out his plans for his evening very nicely. He gave Liz a hug and kissed her on the cheek…Liz whispered in his ear “thank you Michael, you guys did a beautiful job.” Michael smiled at her and said “Anytime Liz, anytime.” And with that he and Maria headed to their own apartment.

*~*~*

Max led Liz into their bedroom and asked her, “Do you have any idea just how much I love you?” As he sat down on the end of the bed and took her into his lap.

“God Max, if it is only half as much as I love you I think I’m in good shape for about the next 50 years or so.” Max just heaved a big sigh and held her close, life couldn’t be any better. He was holding her for what seemed like an eternity and didn’t want to let her go when he suddenly realized that her breathing was becoming very even and shallow.

(And the old mans eyes misted over as he remembered.)

“Liz? Are you sleeping?” he whispered…

“Hmmm…” Was her only reply … Max started to chuckle to himself and stood up with his wife in his arms. He laid her down in the middle of the bed and then he took her shoes off and proceeded to unzip her jeans and remove them from her body…He decided to let her sleep in her tank top and panties. She looked so peaceful and beautiful…his heart was just bursting with love and pride for this beautiful woman and she was all his. He turned down her side of the bed and moved her under the covers and walked out into their lovely new living room and turned the TV on to catch the evening news. ‘This is just too wonderful’ he thought, life is really good.

Katy: I think they'rr both lucky...can you imagine growing up with your best friend next door and then carrying it out to the ultimate, marriage, family, friends. It's a dream world that's for sure!!!
Eve: Hope you've had a chance to get all rested up!!! Some changes, for sure!
Carolyn: hey, I would have loved to have spent a honeymoon like that. I did my world travels way after I was too old to enjoy the kind of activities these two are going to enjoy...

*~*~*

*~*~*
Chapter: 32 And life goes on!

The next morning Liz was awake at 7:00 a.m. and Max was already awake just lying there watching her sleep. She moved over into his arms and gave him a drowsy smile and cuddled up next to him and Max reached up and cupped her chin to look at him…”No kisses yet Max…morning breath is a bitch…especially after pizza and no toothbrush last night, remember?”

“Ok, but you have exactly three minutes to get back here.”

“Well, what about you?”

“Oh, I’ve already done the deed…I’ve just been waiting for you.”

“Well, in that case I’ll try to be back in two minutes…hold that thought.”

With that Liz scooted out of bed and made a beeline for the bathroom. She squeezed some toothpaste onto her toothbrush while she sat on the pot for her morning relief…she kicked her under panties in the general direction of the hamper and when she had finished on the pot she held her toothbrush between her teeth in her mouth while she washed her hands and then finished brushing her teeth. She removed her tank top and bra and threw them in the hamper with her under panties and headed right back into the bedroom to join her husband who was sitting up in bed acting like a timekeeper with the clock in his hand. Liz looked at him and grinned, made a sexy pose at the foot of the bed and then jumped right in on top of him.


“Mmmph!%!@” came out of Max…

“God this is fun Max.” Liz giggled.

Max growled into her hair and said, “You (kiss)…are (kiss)…my (kiss)…fun (kiss).” And with that remark out of the way Max pulled Liz into a very loving and caressing hug while he started planting kisses all over her body. She didn’t remain idle either and soon they stopped their silly antics and settled down as Max scooted down under the sheets between Liz’s legs and continued his journey until he had her moaning so loud he thought Maria might break the door down to see what was happening in there…

By the time they finished ravishing each other it was 9:30 and they reluctantly made up their minds to get up and get busy. Liz reminded Max to tell Michael to pack Maria’s toothbrush and her favorite body wash. “There are some unopened bottles in the bottom of the linen closet, that way she won’t become suspicious” …Max told her they would do a good job and to just have fun. Liz asked Max if it would be alright if she bought a sewing machine and he told her to get whatever she wanted.

“You’re just too good to me Max.” She held him around his waist with her head on his chest and Max smiled…

“No sweetie, this has nothing to do with being good to you. I have seen what you can do with a sewing machine and I think it is a necessity in our home not a luxury, it gets filed right under refrigerator.”

“Well, thank you Max. I hadn’t realized that you were that impressed.” She said with a sly grin…

“Oh, trust me on this one Liz; I am very impressed with everything about you.” He said as he wiggled his eyebrows at her.

“Ahhhhh, you are just too sweet. And now that most of the stuff is in here and it all fits I guess we don’t have to be too worried about where to put it do we?”

“No we don’t. The spare bedroom closet still has plenty of room for storage even with all of those empty boxes in there…so if you find the iron, ironing board and sewing machine you want we can always store them in there.”

“Great, I didn’t know you saved all of those boxes. What a great idea.”

“I just figured it would be easier to move the stuff if we had the original boxes to pack it in when the time came.”

“Good thinking, now I have to get busy and take Maria out for a couple of hours. When we get back maybe we can go finish the grocery shopping before your Mom calls. I thought about the pots and pans over the last couple of days and you know Max, I think I would rather go with the stainless steel. I have always liked cooking in stainless, what do you think?” Max chuckled as he remembered Michael’s remark…

“Well, Michael and I were talking about that the other day and you know he and I had a skillet, two pots and a can opener so I guess if you want stainless steel that’s what we should go with because I am certainly no expert on that subject.”

“Great, we’ll get the supermarket specials then. They really are good quality you know.”

“I trust you, now go. Get Maria and then I’ll go over and make sure Michael gets the right bath gel in the suitcase. You have a good time angel, and get whatever you want, ok?”

“You know what Max; I already have what I really want. The rest is comfort food.” She said with a sly little wink…

“Liz, you have to stop that now, you know you have to go…so go already.” He was almost sad to see her leave.

“Okay sexy, but I’ll be back.” And with that she sashayed her little behind out the front door with a wiggle.

Max just stood there with a smile on his face watching her walk over to Maria’s…how did he ever get so lucky?

As soon as the girls left Max went over to Maria’s and told Michael what Liz told him about the bath gel and Michael agreed. A new bottle would be the best way to go. Michael wanted to know if Liz liked their handy work and Max told him she was as pleased as punch. She was going to get a sewing machine this morning and then when they got back they were going to head back to the super market that had all of those promo’s going on and Michael laughed…out and out laughed.

“What else does she need Max?”

“According to her pots, pans, a couple more plates some flatware and a set of good knives…that should do it.”

“Well, we’ll see.” And with that both young men laughed outright.

Michael continued to pack Maria’s overnight bag as Max sat on the edge of the bed and kept him company…then Michael proceeded to take his own suitcase out of the closet and got a look on his face that Max wasn’t sure about and said,

“Max, you want to run over to my place with me while I pick up some clean clothes?”

“Michael, call Maria and see what she thinks about us just moving your stuff over here while they’re gone. We can use Liz’s truck and then we can put your stuff in the extra bedroom until you decide what you want to do with it. How does that sound?”

“Do you think that’s the way we should handle this?”

“Hell yeah, why pay rent on two places. You’re never there anyway.”

“Okay, give me a minute.”

So Michael called Maria on her cell and she told him she thought that was a bitchin idea and to go ahead and do it.

“What did she say Michael?”

“She said that was a bitchin idea and to go for it.”

“Great…I’ll go get the keys to the truck and you get that suitcase in your car.”

“Right. They might get back before us.”

And so the young doctors headed over to Michael’s and proceeded to pack his stuff into boxes that they had stopped by the shipping company and bought. Things were starting to work out well for Michael as well as they had for him…both young men were elated and so happy to be neighbors. Max started to take the TV and accessories apart while Michael tracked down the landlord to give him his notice. He was walking on cloud nine…he loved waking up with Maria next to him.

*~*~*

Liz and Maria got to the yardage shop and were looking around when Liz spied the sewing machine she had wanted last year on a clearance table. She had thought that it was a little pricey at the time but now it was half price and she couldn’t be happier. It was the floor model but she didn’t care. It was a gem! She immediately found a sales lady and had her put a sold sign on it while she shopped for fabric. She also found a beautiful iron on the same table and put that in her cart as well. ‘Boy am I getting lucky today’ she thought as she found one of those 5 step cake plates on special for $4.95 each and decided to get 6 of them…they really were versatile. Then she found Maria around the corner and told her about the machine and made the remark that maybe they should have brought the truck and Maria said,

“No way Liz, Max and Michael are using the truck right now.”

“What do you mean Maria?” Liz looked puzzled and scrunched up her eyebrows…

“Well, they are moving Michael into my apartment as we speak.” Maria grinned.

“Oh Maria, how wonderful…oh this is so good…this is too good. I love this day!”

Liz wanted to jump up and down with joy…Maria just looked at her friend and smiled. When Liz was happy the world was happy, that was part of her beauty. But…she was right…this is really a good day.

Michael had called Maria once again when he and Max got to his place to check and see if she wanted any of his furniture for the extra room.

“Use your own judgment Michael. If you think we can use the bedroom stuff then bring it on over but make sure to bring the computer station…it’s a lot nicer than the one I have.”

“Okay and I’m going to bring all of the electronics. Anything I decide not to keep I’ll just call the Salvation Army to come and pick it up…how’s that?”

“Sounds great Michael, I’ll see you when we get home. We should be done soon, Love you spaceboy.”

“Love you too sweetheart…bye.” And they hung up.

*~*~*

When Liz and Maria got back to the apartments they found Max and Michael unloading the truck and both girls went over to see if they could help the men with anything. Both Max and Michael told them they had things under control and to just give them a minute and they would help them unload the car too. The girls gave their guys a quick peck on the cheek and each took an armload of silk flowers and fabric with them to Max and Liz’s apartment.

When Liz opened her door she noticed the answering machine flashing and immediately went to pick up the message. Diane wanted to let her know that the bar-b-que was on for this evening and for them to come over anytime they were ready. Maria told Liz that she thought that sounded like a really fun evening and Liz, not wanting to arouse any suspicion on Maria’s part about Michael’s plans for this evening asked her if she would like to go with them. Maria told her that Michael wanted to take her out to dinner this evening since they hadn’t had a real date in quite awhile and she really wanted to do that. Liz couldn’t agree more and tried to keep the smile on her face to a minimum…it was tough though what with knowing what was going to happen this evening. She hoped Maria had a good time; Michael was trying so hard to make this a special occasion.


Liz then offered Maria a soft drink or some tea and Maria suggested that they go over to her apartment and make some lunch for everyone since Liz and Max hadn’t done their refrigerator grocery shopping yet. Liz looked at Maria with a sly grin and Maria said,

“NO…no peanut butter and jelly Liz, I want food. Come next door.”

Liz just giggled and told her to wait a sec until she called Diane to let her know they would definitely be there as soon as they finished their chores.

With that they headed to Maria’s to make some sandwiches and a salad while the guys unloaded everything, it didn’t take them too long to finish up. They had brought Michael’s bed, dresser, nightstand and his computer station along with the electronics. They left the clothes in the dresser drawers and put the hangers and all into a large wardrobe carton…it worked out really well.

After they had their lunch they emptied Liz’s purchases out of the car and then Max and Liz headed off to the super market to finish up their food shopping and pick up the rest of the dishes and stuff for the kitchen. By 5:30 they were on their way to Diane’s for dinner. Liz scooted way over in the seat and laid her head on Max’s lap during the drive and by the time they arrived she was sound asleep. Max hated to wake her up but they still had a busy evening ahead of them and he had no choice.

“Liz honey, we’re here.” Max said with a smile on his face.

“We’re where Max?” Liz asked confusedly.

“Come on baby…we’re at Mom’s, dinner remember.”

“Oh yeah…ok, I’m awake.” She said, trying to come alive.

“Poor baby, you really are tired aren’t you?” He said with a little concern in his voice. ‘She really has been going strong for the past couple of weeks’ he thought to himself.

“Yeah but I’ll be okay…just give me a second or two and I’ll be as chipper as all get out.” She didn’t sound very convincing though.

“Okay sweet, take all the seconds you need.” And with that he lifted her up and tilted her chin up and placed a kiss on her nose, God how he loved her, ‘she is the sweetest person I have ever known’ he thought to himself.

Liz got herself together very quickly and ran over to her Mom’s to say hello before they all headed over to Diane’s. She hadn’t seen them in what seemed like forever and couldn’t wait to share the wedding pictures with them. Grandma Claudia was so happy to see her that she almost tripped getting to the door. Liz giggled at her grandmother and gave her a great big hug and kiss on the cheek, her Mom and Dad were elated to see her. Diane had told them about the pictures and they wanted to know if she had them on her…she nodded, smiling from ear to ear, and they all headed into the dining room for a quick prevue.

When the pictures of Max and Liz taken in the den came up they all gasped. Alex was right, they were beautiful. Nancy asked her daughter how she was going to choose and Liz told her that Max said they were going to buy all of the proofs and that way they would only have to choose a few for the announcements and thank you notes.

“Oh, and Mom…Dad…you choose the ones you want and you too grandma. We are letting the parents and grandparents decide which ones they want.” With that Max and Liz headed over to Diane’s to help Alex and Isabelle.

Jeff, Nancy and Claudia all but cried when they heard that they were to choose the pictures they wanted, but like Liz and Max, they didn’t know how they were going to choose either.

All too they had to put the pictures back into the envelope and get over to Diane’s…they were sure that the bar-b-que was ready to go so they all wandered next door.

Isabelle and Alex were on the patio already while Max had started putting the meat on the bar-b when the Parker’s arrived. Liz and her mother went to the kitchen and started helping carry dishes and food to the patio while Isabelle busied herself making drinks for everyone. It was so nice to have things like this; after Philip’s death Diane hadn’t had the chance to really take the time for things like this and she had missed these special little gatherings with loved ones. Yes, they definitely had to do this more often she thought as she shook the lonesome feeling from the back of her mind.
“You know Nancy, we don’t do this often enough and I miss it.” Diane said.

“I agree Diane, maybe since Jeff is in remission and Isabelle is planning on returning to the states permanently we can do it more often. Things have seemed to settle a little for both of us and I feel so much more relaxed lately…more so than I have in a long time.”

“I know what you mean. After Philip’s death I felt so out of it for so long and then when Liz came to work for me it seemed to put me back into a place that I had been missing for a long time. She is so helpful and has taken on so much of the administrative as well as a lot of the executive work from me and freed me up to do more important things. Then she helped find Kyle Valenti to replace Jeremy and he is wonderful. He has a kind nature and is really a hard worker without bringing tension to the job. He is a lot of fun to work with and to be around too; he keeps all of us laughing all day.”

“Oh Diane, you don’t know how happy it makes me to hear that. I know you miss Philip, God; I would have been devastated had it happened to me. I know that Jeff is in remission but we never know how long that will last and at least I have some warning, but sometime I don’t know which way is best.”

“There is no best way Nancy…to quote the kids, it all sucks”

They both laughed a little at that remark…”It’s time to change the subject…it’s getting a little heavy for a fun filled evening, don’t you think?” Diane said…

And with that the two old friends hugged, picked up some more supplies from the kitchen and headed on out to the patio to join in the fun and look at some wedding pictures.

By the time the evening was ready to wind down Liz suggested everyone come over to the apartment tomorrow after Mass for some lunch. She and Max had picked up some food trays at the deli and they thought everyone would have a chance to take a look at what they had accomplished so far. They all agreed that was a great idea and with that the two young lovers headed on home for some much needed rest.

*~*~*

Eve: Yeah, wouldn't it be nice if real life was like that, but keep remembering, when it's all said and done we mostly remember the good times, hopefully there were some!
*~*~*~*~

Chapter: 33 While they were getting ready for bed Max noticed all of the cake plates on the counter and asked Liz just what she planned on doing with all of them.

“Wait until you see how versatile they are Max. I am going to use them tomorrow for our luncheon with the folks. This is going to be so much fun…we can turn them upside down, inside out and backwards if we want to…just look at the pictures on the box.”

“Upside down, inside out and backwards huh?” Max said with a grin, his eyes sparkling all the while.

“Yep, just you wait and see. Here, help me take them out of the boxes, we can stick them in the dishwasher now and they’ll be ready for assembly tomorrow when we get up. We can put the food on them and then store them in the fridge before going to Mass.” After they unpacked the 6 boxes they decided they had better wash two of them since only four fit in the dishwasher at a time, what with those huge lids aka bowls.

“Okay, but I think you should try and get some sleep tonight. What do you think?” He said with just a little concern on his face.

“Yeah, you’re probably right…but this will only take a minute or two with both of us working. We’ll just put the boxes in the spare bedroom…I plan on putting the plates back in them for storage.” She said as she busied herself getting ready for tomorrow’s company.

Max stood back and smiled at her for a second and then grabbed the boxes to help her finish up so she could get to bed. She really did look tired. After they had emptied all of the cartons Max headed over to the spare bedroom closet to put the boxes away and Liz turned on the dishwasher and headed to their bathroom.

She closed the door, which is something she had never done since they had gotten married and she reached into a bag she had placed in the back of the cupboard earlier; she was going to take an EPT test before her exam on Monday. She knew they weren’t 100% but she was still curious. Max came back to the master bedroom side of the apartment and noticed the closed bathroom door but didn’t think too much of it…it was strange to see but he didn’t give it a second thought.

Liz completed her test and it was negative…she wasn’t really sure how she felt about the results. She knew it was possible and the timing wasn’t the greatest but still, she sort of wished. Oh well. She finished up preparing for bed and headed on out to their room. Max was sitting on the edge of the bed reading a magazine waiting for her…

“Is everything ok?” he asked, just a little concerned.

“Of course…why?” She replied with a smile.

“Well, you never close the bathroom door and I was wondering if you were ok?” then he looked up and saw her in all of her naked glory and sort of swallowed deeply and grinned at her.

“It must have been a force of habit Max…I didn’t even think about it. Probably from being at the folks’” and she grinned right back at him.

Max stood up and took her into his arms and started exploring her body with his lips and she started to melt right into his arms. It didn’t take them long to crawl under the covers and explore each other for the next couple of hours and then they snuggled down for some much needed rest. They would be attending 12:15 mass tomorrow that’s for sure.

*~*~*

When they woke up around 9:00 Liz crawled out of bed and headed for the bathroom as fast as she could. Max sat up in bed and wondered what in the hell she was in such a rush for and then he heard her…she started to pee and it sounded like a waterfall. He started to chuckle to himself. That’s what you call a real emergency…was she ever going to stop?

“Hey Liz, what did you drink yesterday?” he chuckled…

“Hell, I don’t know. I didn’t think I was going to make it.”

“I can tell.”

“Come in here and join me, we can take a shower together and save time.” And she really giggled at that remark. Who was she trying to kid…save time…yeah, right.

Max had to laugh too, “turn the water on honey, I’m coming.”

After their mutual shower they put their robes on and headed out to the kitchen. Max got the cereal boxes out of the cupboard and Liz set the table for breakfast.

Max put a pot of coffee on and got the juice out of the fridge and before you knew it they were ready to assemble the “cake plates”.

Liz turned one base over, letting it rest on the plate side and then turned the lid over and fit it into the base of the overturned plate that worked as a receiver for the lid.

She then used another upside down plate to make a platter for the vegetables and placed the dip in the stand of the dish that actually served as a small bowl.

Max covered it with some plastic wrap for the time being since the cake top was a little high for the fridge. After he put the plate in the fridge he pulled out the meat tray and Liz sat the next cake plate right side up, took the lid off, and transferred the various cuts of meat onto the platter and covered it with plastic wrap as well…they would put the lids on the plates later.

She sat it in the fridge next to the vegetables and then she took the bag of crushed ice from the freezer and turned the lid to another plate over to use as a big bowl. She turned the base upside down and used the pedestal of the plate, which served as a dip bowl on the other plate, as a receiver for the upturned lid on this plate. She placed the handle of the lid into the bowl of the upturned plate and sat a wine glass inside of the cake plate lid.

She filled the upturned lid with crushed ice all the way to the top and put the entire assembly back into the freezer to put the shrimp on later. She took the next plate and turned it over and then sat the lid inside the foot of the plate exactly the way she did for the shrimp bowl, and used it for a fruit bowl.

Max watched her in amazement…he asked her what the next one was for and she went over to the pink boxes sitting on the counter and started opening all of the pastries she and Maria had purchased at the little teashop. Max’s eyes got really big and a cheesy grin appeared on his face.

“When did you have time to pick those up?”

“Oh, Maria and I stopped by on our way back from shopping. Nice?” she smiled…

“Very” as he reached over to help himself… Liz smacked his hand and told him he had to wait…he pouted and she laughed and held out the platter for him. He almost passed up the chance but changed his mind very quickly and had a very rich looking poppy seed roll in his mouth in no time at all. Liz just giggled and put the lid over the pastries…it was the only cake plate that was used as a cake plate.

Max wrapped his arms around her waist and planted a kiss on her neck as he smiled over her shoulder and looked around their first kitchen. It looked beautiful, she looked beautiful and he felt beautiful. Life was grand.

“I am so proud to have you for my wife Liz. You have no idea just how happy I truly am.”

“Oh Max…thank you. You know I feel the same way…I just can’t find the right words to tell you how happy you make me. You are my reason for being on this Earth. Thank you for loving me.” Max was almost in tears by now…but they had to stay on track…they were having their first family gathering this afternoon and he knew that Liz wanted everything as nice as they could get it.

She had saved the last of the cake plates to use as a punch bowl and she was very pleased with the way everything was turning out.

She had purchased a few bouquets of flowers for the tables and asked Max if he could go over to Maria’s and get some vases. She told him where they were and while he was gone she started to unwrap the bouquets and getting them ready to cut. She had purchased two-dozen white roses for the coffee table and some colored mums for the dining room in shades of purple, yellow and white. She thought it would look nice with the taupe table and chairs. But after looking at them she thought they were just okay but she felt they could have been nicer. She wished she had stayed with the white roses for everything. Then she decided to split them up. She would use the purple ones in the bathroom. That would jazz that up a little and the rest would look nice elsewhere, ‘good show’ she thought.

When Max returned with the vases he watched Liz work her magic with the scissors…she had the roses laid out in a square squatty looking bowl for the coffee table and they really looked elegant. Then she took some greenery and the purple flowers and put them in a smaller vase and sent him to the guest bathroom to put them on the counter. When he returned she had cut and trimmed all of the other flowers and used one of the stainless steel pots for a vase for the table in the dining room. He raised an eyebrow at that one and she looked up at him and giggled…”improvise Max…improvise.” She had to laugh at his expression, it was priceless…”why did you have me get vases if you were going to use a pot?”

“Well, I didn’t know I was going to use the pot at the time…what do you think?”

“Actually, it looks great. Let me put it out there for you. We should probably start getting ready for Mass. Do we have everything we need as far as food is concerned?”

“Yep…I will just run over to Maria’s and get a couple of baskets for bread and crackers and we’re good to go. I picked up some paper plates yesterday so we have plenty of extras. We have enough glasses and cups for everyone; I think that should do it. What do you think?”

“I think everything looks great…now let’s get ready for church.” He gave her fanny a little swat as she walked past him and she gave her tush a little wiggle for his benefit and they both headed to their room to get dressed.

“Oh, Max…I talked to your Mom about getting away for a week or two and she thought that was a fantastic idea…have you given anymore thought to the subject since our last conversation? I can’t think of any one particular place I would like to go to can you?”

“No, I haven’t thought about it that much but let me check some things out on the Internet and see if anything really impresses me, ok?”

“Sure, sounds like a plan. I’ve thought about a cruise every once in awhile, but I’m not so sure that is what I really want to do for a couple of weeks. I think I would rather see something besides the ocean and seaside villages right now.”

“That’s interesting; I was having the same thoughts. Let me have a look tomorrow morning while you’re at work and we’ll see what I can find, ok?”

“Great.” Liz walked out of the bathroom with a little makeup on and her hair all done up nicely. All she had to do was find something to wear and they could be on their way.

“Oh, I need to leave a message for Michael and Maria to come over when they get home. How do you think things went?” She said as she found a pen and paper on the nightstand.

“I know they went beautifully…there isn’t any other way they could have gone.”

“You’re right. Now let’s get to Mass…I need to see that jolly old ‘fella’ that married us. I don’t know why I am so drawn to that man; he is just too sweet for words.”

“Yes he is.” Max had to agree as he followed his wife out of the apartment with a big cheesy grin on his face.

*~*~*

When they got to Mass Michael and Maria were already there and Liz made her way into the pew next to Maria who could only give her a big grin and hold out her hand. Liz grabbed it and smiled through tears and then gave her friend a great big hug. Max looked over the heads of the two girls and gave Michael a knowing nod and Michael looked back at his friend with the same look. He looked so happy that it made Max tear up a little too. Both men gave a ‘thumbs up’ and then acknowledged their fellow doctors with a nod and soon Mass began. Father came out into the chapel and noticed his new friends sitting together and gave them a nod as he proceeded to begin Mass and before you knew it, it was over and everyone was exiting the chapel. Liz grabbed Max by the arm and held him back and whispered,

“Max, see if Father would like to come over for lunch…I’ll catch Sister when she turns around.” Max nodded and went up and knocked on the sacristy door. Father came out, half dressed in his vestments, and gave Max a smile and asked,” How’s it going Max?”

“Great Father, Liz and I were wondering if you would like to come over to our place for some lunch. We are having the rest of the family around two this afternoon…if you’d like to come we would love to have you.”

“Well Max that sounds like a great idea. I have a couple of calls to make here in the hospital before I leave. Some patients were having tests this morning when I made my rounds and I would like to see them before I leave but I would love to come over. Here, write your address on this tablet on my desk and I’ll be there sometime around 2:00.”

“Around two then Father. We’ll be looking forward to seeing you.”

In the meantime out in the chapel Liz caught Sister Margaret and asked her to join them as well and she was elated. She told Liz of course she would like to come and she would be looking forward to seeing their new place. Liz explained that the furniture had just been delivered on Friday and that Max and Michael had arranged everything to perfection and how happy she was with all of it but she still hadn’t had a chance to put curtains and accessories around yet…but it was coming along. Sister smiled lovingly at the young woman and told her she was sure everything was lovely and she was coming to see them not the window dressings then Sister asked if she could bring another nun with her. Sister Agnes lived with Sister Margaret and was getting on in years and didn’t get out much.

“Of course she’s welcome. Please bring her. She could have come to the wedding also if you would have said something.”

Sister smiled at Liz and told her she felt that it would have been too much for her to handle but lunch would be nice.

“Well good…and the next time we do something like this please don’t even ask, just bring her along if you think she’s up to it.”

And with that the two women hugged and Liz went out of the chapel to find the rest of her group.

When the four friends left the chapel they met Fowler out in the lobby. He had waited until they had a chance to talk to Father and Sister before saying his helloes. Max and Liz both asked him to lunch but he had to decline. His wife was waiting for him at his home…she had made some plans for the two of them this afternoon. He did mention that he would like to get together in the next couple of weeks to talk about the future and Max and Michael agreed that it would be a good idea. Max explained to him that he and Liz were planning to get away for a while on a honeymoon but Michael would definitely get in touch before they started their jobs at the hospital. Then Fowler mentioned that he was glad they accepted Sister’s proposal. He felt that it was most fair and was very happy to have the time to decide what he really wanted to do with his future. Max told him not to make any major decisions before they had a chance to talk and Fowler smiled and said great…he wouldn’t. With that conversation over with they all headed for their cars, but not before Max took a look at Maria’s ring. It was a beautiful one-carat emerald cut diamond surrounded by baguettes on two sides and set in platinum. It really was gorgeous. Liz could only look at Maria and smile, and Maria was ecstatic.

Liz then told Michael and Maria about lunch…she explained the note on their door …and Maria said they just needed a minute to put their things away and they would be over to help. Maria wanted to know if Liz needed anything and Liz told her she didn’t think so. They’d have to wait and see once she started setting up the buffet. Maria suggested some extra chairs and Liz thought about that for a minute and said probably. This luncheon was growing by the minute, just like everything else she ever planned.

Max and Michael gave each other a knowing smirk and said they’d better hurry up if they had to start moving furniture again. Liz and Maria laughed at that remark but did start moving toward the door a little faster.

They got back to the apartment about 1:15 and Liz immediately started putting bread and crackers into the breadbaskets and then started setting the table. She had a lovely white tablecloth that she had purchased awhile back and she pulled it out of her bottom dresser drawer and put it on the table. She had used a couple of the matching napkins to line the breadbaskets with and set them along one side of the table. She then started taking out all of the cake plates and placed them down the center of the table with the flowers taking direct center. When she had completed the project the table was beautiful…the various heights of the cake plates, all matching, made a very nice picture.

When Max and Michael showed up with the extra chairs they were both impressed with the effect that Liz had created and although the foods were all deli foods the presentation was really nice. Liz used some of her wine glasses to put condiments in and then she made her shrimp bowl. The wine goblet that she had set in the middle of the overturned cake lid worked out quite nicely. She put cocktail sauce in the wine glass and placed all of the shrimp on top of the ice in a circle and it looked great.

Max nuzzled her neck and told her she was a genius and that Alex was right…she did need to become a party planner. She looked at him and laughed…

“Sure Max, just what every journalist wants to do…be a party planner. I only like to plan OUR parties. They are less work. I don’t have to put up with other people when I plan our parties.” Max nodded his head and said, “I see.”

About this time the doorbell rang and Max found his family and Liz’s all standing on the other side of the door. He wanted to know if they came by bus and they all laughed.

“Only when you’re paying for it son.” Jeff said. Max gave the man a hug and said,

“I like the sound of that.”

“I do to Max, I’ve always felt you were a part of our family and now you truly are and I love it.”

Both men smiled at each other and joined the ladies in the apartment. They were already taking the ‘cooks tour’ and Max led Jeff to the kitchen and asked him if he would like something to drink. He had beer, wine, coffee, iced tea, hot tea, milk, juice, water and he thought Liz made some punch, which would be in one of those “cake plates” on the table. Jeff smiled and said a cup of hot tea really sounded good and then looked at Max and said,

“Cake plates?”

“I’ll explain later…but take a look at the table and all of the ‘cake plates’. Your daughter had a field day with a cake plate sale. I’ll have the tea in a jiffy and what kind would you like? Liz managed to buy just about every kind of tea known to God and man and you definitely can have your choice.”

Jeff laughed and told him just a plain old-fashioned cup of black tea. Max pulled out the Lipton teabags and set them on the counter; both men gave a knowing grin and got on with the tour of the apartment.

When they finally got to the living room Isabelle asked Liz what she needed as far as gifts and Liz looked at Max with huge brown eyes and said

“Nothing. Why?”

“Well, there are some relatives waiting for announcements and they have all been asking questions.”

“Well Izzie…as you can see we pretty much have our needs covered and then some…don’t you think?”

“I certainly do. You must run around like wonder-woman or something.”

“Oh Iz, I didn’t do any of this. Max and Michael put all of this together…honest. I had nothing to do with it.”

Isabelle raised an eyebrow and looked at her brother and his friend in disbelief as did the other women. They were all taken aback at what Liz had just said.

About that time the doorbell rang again and it was Father, Sister Margaret and dear little Sister Agnes. Liz thought she looked darling…she was in a pair of bright pink slacks and a bright pink, blue and white plaid shirt. He gray hair was cut into a very short stylish bob and she had on bright pink lipstick. She didn’t look anything like a nun and Liz had to stifle a giggle…she was the cutest thing she’d ever seen posing as a nun.

She was quite a contrast to Sister Margaret who was all dressed in her pretty print dress, sensible shoes and a nice linen blazer. Liz ushered them into the apartment and introduced Sister Agnes to the rest of the family and they all adjourned to the dining room to have some lunch.

When Sister Margaret saw all of the food displayed so elegantly she asked Liz where she found all of those serving pieces and Liz explained to her that they were all cake plates.. really cheap cake plates at that. She found them on sale at the yardage shop and she only wished she had purchased a few more.

“You can use them for punch bowls, serving bowls, flower vases and, as you can see, so many other things as well. I think I may go back and see if they have anymore of them. They really are inexpensive…I got them for $4.95 each…can you believe it?”

Sister got the biggest kick out of this young woman…she had absolutely no phony airs about her at all…she was a jewel among women that’s for sure.

“If you go back to get more will you get me a couple as well. I will pay you for them. We can use these in the convent.”

“Of course…how many would you like?”

“Oh, I don’t know…how about we buy all they have and you keep a couple and I’ll take the rest.” Sister smiled at Liz and Liz nodded her head and smiled right back. They were both on the same page here.

Max and Michael were talking to the Priest and Max managed to sneak a peak over at Liz and Sister and wondered what in the hell they were so animated about. They looked like two kids that had just discovered a cookie jar. Women…it didn’t matter what the calling, they were all alike.

Grandma Claudia had captured Sister Agnes and they were sitting on the living room couch talking to each as though they had known each other all of their lives. Sister Margaret and Liz both smiled when they noticed them and then Liz looked over at Sister Margaret and said…

“Please feel free to bring her anytime, even if you just want to give her an outing.” And Sister Margaret looked at the young woman in awe and said “I will Liz and thank you.”

They smiled at each other and started to mingle.

*

Max asked Father if he would bless their home for them and Father smiled and told him he would be happy to. The family all bowed their heads in prayer and then Father led the grace before meals and everyone dug in.

They were all impressed with the pastries… then Liz and Maria told them about the Tea Shoppe they had found on one of their yard sale excursions and how to find the place. They just knew they would all love it.

Everyone agreed with them after sampling the desserts Liz had purchased and the afternoon turned into a very successful and enjoyable little party.

Grandma gave Liz a great big hug and told her how proud of her she was and what a lovely homemaker she was going to be. Liz told her she could only hope so, and grandma assured her that she knew so.

As the afternoon wore on everyone decided to call it a day. They thanked Max and Liz for a lovely luncheon and told them they would see them soon. Liz told Sister that she would have Max go over to the yardage shop tomorrow morning and pick up the rest of the cake plates and he could take them over to the hospital sometime during the week. Sister told her that would be fine and she reached out and gave Liz a nice warm hug. She normally didn’t do that but it just seemed right. Father bent down and kissed the young woman on the forehead as well and Max just stood back and smiled at his gracious wife. He just knew that he was definitely the luckiest man on earth.

After everyone had left Liz and Maria started to put leftovers in zip-locks and Max and Michael took the extra chairs back over to Maria and Michael’s apartment. By the time they had returned Liz and Maria had the sink full of soapy water and were washing the ‘cake plates’ and putting them back into the boxes. Max asked,

“Liz, are you sure we need more of these?”

“Yes Max…they are so versatile and if they get broken over the years we will always have backups. They are just too handy not to have around. We can even use them for Christmas decorations, colored Easter eggs; Max…they’ll be beautiful!”

“Okay sweetheart. How many more do you want?”

“I think we need two more but Sister wants all the rest the store has…so if you take the truck over to the yardage shop and buy all of them we can deliver them to her at the hospital…okay?”

“Okay baby, whatever you say. Are you sure she wants all of them?”

“Yes Max, that’s what she said. They are only $4.95 each…buy them all!”

“Okay…all it is.” Max rolled his eyes at Michael and Michael told him maybe they should go all over town and find every damned cake plate around and sell the things for $35.00 each…Max looked at him and smiled…maybe they should.

Liz and Maria looked at the two of them like they’d lost their minds.

“They can always peddle them on the street if things got tough.” Marie said, and then they started to laugh about it all. They were right, but the plates really were a good deal…’weren’t they?’

*~*~*

Soon everything was put back in order and Liz asked Maria what her plans were for the evening. Would they like to watch a movie or something and Maria said she thought she would just like to unpack and relax. It really was a big night even if they didn’t do anything spectacular.

“What do you mean, not spectacular Maria? Michael has had this planned for months and wanted it to be so special.”

“Oh Liz, that isn’t what I meant at all. But it was more a mental spectacular than a physical spectacular, although that was good too…don’t get me wrong there…but it was a really big thing and very emotional.”

“I can imagine. Well you go home and get some quality time before you have to start another workday tomorrow. I know working out of the house is supposed to be easy but it’s still work and I personally know just how hard you do work. I will see you tomorrow evening and maybe we can plan something fun for dinner or something…over here okay?”

“Sounds good to me…see you later girlfriend.” With that the two girls hugged and Michael gave Liz a kiss on the head before leaving…

“Later Maxwell, Liz, lunch was really great honey and I really love the cake plates.”

With that Liz gave him a sock on the arm and Michael feigned pain as he left the apartment laughing. Liz yelled out after them…

“Maria, do you want a cake plate?” Maria answered,

“It’s okay Liz, I’ll borrow yours.”

With that the two of them giggled some more and Liz closed the door and walked into her apartment where she was greeted with her husbands waiting arms.

Max picked her up and carried her over to the couch and sat her down on his lap and proceeded to ravish her. She leaned into his kisses and sighed with delight. Max smiled into her lips and hugged her so tight she thought she was going to break.

“God I love you…you do know that right?”

“Pretty much…I love you right back though so I guess it’s mutual?”

“You bet it is. What would you like to do this evening? Would you like to go to dinner and a movie? You know we have never really been on a date.”

“God Max, you’re right…we haven’t. Well, maybe one big date. Our wedding could be considered a date, maybe?”

“Yeah, I guess it could, but we’ve never actually gone out together just the two of us and spent the evening looking at the stars and planning our future.”

“Well sweetie, I think we’ve been too damned busy living our future to take the time to plan it, and so far I think things have been pretty bright…what do you think?”

“I think you’re right. Anyway, to get back to the original question…do you want to go out on a date tonight?”

“Nah…I like it right here, how about we boot up that computer of yours, surf the net for some great vacation spots and eat leftovers. Later we can have each other for desert. What do you say to that big guy?”

“Oh I think that could be arranged. Let’s just finish what we started here and then we can talk vacations.” With that last remark Max slid Liz’s hand down between them just to make sure she understood where he was coming from and to say she was impressed was an understatement. She wondered how long he had been sporting that behind his zipper. She let her hand rest there for a while and then Max lifted her up and carried her into their bedroom where they could really enjoy each other. It was about 5:00 p.m. when they got started.

*~*~*

Carolyn: Well, this story is winding down, aren't you glad!!!! And yes, Max does have some great memories and the one coming up I really enjoyed the second time around.
Katy: Your sister and her husband probably have a whole other existance other than the one you observe...don't kid yourself. And I'm sure it's not all sunshine and roses, just like everyone else, but we tend to remember the good stuff when all is said and done. Honest...
Eve: Those cake plates really do exist....I bought one for my daughter years ago, they're manufactured by Anchor Hocking and are the most versatile things I have ever seen. I'm only sorry I didn't get myself one at the time (don't know where in the hell I would have put it) but my daughter went back and did buy 4 more. Honest!!!
*~*~*

Chapter: 34


When Max rolled over and looked at the clock on the nightstand he noticed that it said 5:00 o’clock. What the hell…did the battery run down or something? Then he noticed it was dark outside.

Holy shit…he and Liz never got back up once they had lain down. I guess they wore each other out. He lay there looking at his beautiful wife all sprawled out next to him. Her hair was covering her face and she was as beautiful as he had ever seen her in all her naked glory. She had her head resting on his arm and her left leg was draped over the top of his right leg and her left hand was resting on his chest. He just laid there and smiled at her. What a sense of peace it was to wake up like this.

He tried moving without disturbing her but it was beginning to be a problem. He really needed to get to the bathroom soon so he tried to slowly inch his body away from her, she gave a soft little moan and he placed a kiss on her forehead and just got up…no preamble, he was a man on a mission. Liz looked up through dazed eyes and saw her husband’s backside running to the bathroom and she started to giggle…and he had the nerve to make fun of her when she had to go…payback, that’s what it is, payback.

Liz lazily rolled herself out of bed and wondered over toward the bathroom and noticed the time. She too had the same reaction as Max had had at first and then realized that it was now 5:00 a.m. and they had slept the night away. Well, not totally slept, but you know what I mean. She really felt quite refreshed, she needed a night like that, making love and sleeping. It was great. She would have to thank Max for a wonderful ‘date night’.

She heard the toilet flush and made her way into to the bathroom to take her turn while Max washed his hands and brushed his teeth. He came over to her and planted a kiss on the top of her head and then continued to brush and pointed to the shower. Liz looked at the clock on the counter and shook her head “No” and Max grinned, finished brushing his teeth and headed back to the bedroom. It wasn’t a couple of minutes later that Liz joined him for some morning fun. Around 6:00 they decided to get up and take a shower because Liz had a busy morning since she was taking off this afternoon. She asked Max when he would like to plan on taking a vacation and he asked her what she thought.

”Well, I think we should do it as soon as possible, don’t you?” I mean the month is about half over and that doesn’t leave us much time.”

“You’re right Liz. I’ll get on it as soon as I pick up the ‘cake plates’.” With that Liz rolled her eyes at Max and they both started to laugh.

“I wonder what Sister plans on doing with all of those cake plates.”

“Hell Liz, I wondered what you were going to do with all of those cake plates until I got a look at the table. I’m sure those nuns have large gatherings and can use them quite a bit.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Maybe she’s going to use them in the hospital…what do you think?”

“Why didn’t you ask her?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t think of it at the time.”

“Oh. Hey, what time do you think you’ll be home? I can have lunch ready for you.”

“Oh, I don’t know, I’ll leave at noon so I guess 12:30 or so.”

“Okay, lunch at 12:30 or so. What do you want?”

“Leftovers are fine. Everything is in zip-locks so we can just have a sandwich and some vegetables. It will be fine.”

“Great…do you want me to get out the fancy plates for presentation?” Max said, with a little chuckle behind the words and a twinkle in his eye…

Liz punched him in the arm and told him that zip-locks would be fine. He laughed at her antics and headed to the kitchen to make some coffee. “Do you want anything besides cereal for breakfast?”

“No…you know what I think I would like…a pastry.”

“Wow that does sound good; I think I’ll join you, how about some juice with it?”

“No, just some hot coffee and a pastry sounds really good. I’ll be finished in a minute or two. Just have to put something on and I’m done.”

“Great…see you in the kitchen in a few then.” And Max left the bedroom with a big grin on his face.

*~*~*

Liz finished up her last typing job and shut her computer down for the day. She made sure that everything Jody and the crew needed was handy and bid them all goodbye until tomorrow.

Diane walked her out to the elevator and gave her a hug and told her not to worry about the exam. It wasn’t even uncomfortable as long as she relaxed and she was sure that Michael would do a pap smear while he was at it and not to be concerned over it either. Neither test was painful. Liz gave her a smile and a hug and thanked her. She explained to her that Max had told her he had never had it done and therefore he didn’t know how it felt. Diane rolled her eyes heavenward and looked at Liz with a concerned look and then they both started to giggle.

“What are we going to do with him Liz?” She asked and Liz looked at her with a cheesy grin on her face and said,

“Let’s just love him.” Diane smiled right back at her daughter-in-law and said,

“Yeah, let’s do.” With that Liz boarded the elevator and headed on home.

*~*~*

When Liz arrived home she found the dining table set with place mats, napkins and the leftovers all set out in dishes and bowls on the table. Max had set a beautiful table for their lunch and Liz was very impressed but she couldn’t find him. Soon he came through the front door with a small bouquet of white roses for her and he gave her a warm hug and a kiss on the forehead before putting the roses on the table. He had moved the mums to the kitchen for the time being…he wanted her to feel special and relaxed for her first visit to the gynecologist…he noticed that she really needed to relax…he was beginning to feel her discomfort at having Michael as her doctor and he only hoped she got over it and soon! VERY soon. He was sure she would but he still couldn’t get rid of that gnawing in his gut. Oh well, the time was almost here and they would find out what his problem was soon enough.

He and Liz sat down together to enjoy their lunch; the conversation was light, if not downright quiet and then it was time for her to get ready. She headed over to their bathroom and when she entered it the entire place was lit with candles and had fresh flowers everywhere. She turned and looked at Max and she started to get really teary eyed. He smiled at her and held her close …

“I just wanted you to feel comfortable and relaxed sweetheart. Just get in the tub and enjoy it and I will be back in a few minutes to rub your back for you. Oh, and honey, just put a pair of slacks and a tee shirt on, you’ll be taking everything off and it will be easier.”

She smiled up at her beautiful husband, nodded in understanding and started taking off her clothes, how did she ever get so lucky was the only question she had on her mind right now.

Max headed back out to the kitchen to clean up after lunch and Liz started soaking in the tub. It wouldn’t be long before she would be propped up on that horrific looking table with Michaels face plastered in her privates. ‘Oh God…What a thought!’ ‘Relax Liz, relax’…she kept repeating to herself.

*~*~*

Right around 1:45 Liz and Max arrived at Dr. Jefferds; Michael and Max had talked about it earlier and decided that it would probably be best if they went separately, Liz was only too happy to hear this as she was nervous about the whole thing anyway.

Dr. Jefferds nurse led Liz to an examining room and told her to take everything off and put the blue gown on, open at the front. Liz went into the tiny dressing room and did as she was told, wondering where in the hell they bought these paper things that barely covered anything and then she came out and sat on the table, ‘there’s no use trying to be modest about anything around here, this damned paper gown is a joke’ she thought to herself.

There was a paper throw of sort folded on the table which she unfolded and draped over her lap… Shortly Max came in and sat with her while they waited for Michael to come in; they sat in silence once again, it was deafening.

Michael showed up in a nice button down shirt and blue slacks and Liz was very impressed. He was very professional looking and she would be sure to tell Maria just how comfortable it made her feel to think that Michael would be so thoughtful toward her.


Michael nodded to Max and Max gave him a slow smile and then he told Liz to lie back on the table. Then Michael took a seat on the roll around stool and lifted the stirrups on the sides of the table and told Liz to put her feet in them and he raised the blanket up over her knees. She looked at Max and her eyes were as big as saucers.

Max took her hand and patted it and tried very hard not to smile. He knew this was a very serious moment for her but it was so routine to the doctors that it never occurred to him that the women didn’t take to it as easily as they were led to believe.

This was a very good lesson for both Max and Michael.

Michael explained to Liz what he was about to do and the instrument would probably be a little cold and to “please, just relax and it will all be over shortly”. Liz just looked up at Max and said, “mm-hmmm.” and chewed on her lower lip. Max gave her hand a squeeze and smiled at her genuinely now. And soon Michael motioned for Max to come and take a look. Max patted Liz’s hand and tried to hide the concern on his face, let go of her hand and took a seat where Michael had been.

Max looked at Michael with a strange look and mouthed “Jefferds?”…Michael nodded and left the room. Soon Dr. Jefferds came in and took the seat from Max. Now Liz was getting just a little bent out of shape and said, just a little testily…

“You know Michael…if you invite one more person in here for this ‘peep show’ I am going to start charging admission!”

She was on the verge of being hysterical and words started spewing from her mouth like an auctioneer at a beef sale.

Max grabbed the back of his head and turned to the wall…Michael stifled a laugh and Dr. Jefferds got up and walked out of the room slowly and gave a large guffaw as he closed the door behind him.

“Okay, you two jokers…what in the hell is going on here?” She all but yelled at them with a little more irritation in her voice.

Max took a look at Michael who was red in the face and nodded his assent to Max, who finally looked at Liz said, “Honey, your uterus is tipped and we are going to have to run some tests to figure out what our options are here.”

“What do you mean by “tipped” Max? Is that a really bad thing?” She had been concerned from the minute Max took Michael’s seat.

“Well, it could be if you’re pregnant, but we’ll do a pregnancy test and make sure one way or the other and if you aren’t we can do a very simple procedure and fix it and if you are we will try exercises. Let’s just wait and see what we find out, okay?”

“Well, I did an EPT on Saturday and it was negative…” she said.

“What? You took an EPT? Why honey, have you missed your period?”

“Well, I don’t know because I never really kept track of it before… you know. It always came and went and I never paid too much attention to it one way or the other.” She answered slightly nervous.

“Okay, so it was negative, but we still have to do a standard pregnancy test…the EPT is not always accurate.” Michael interjected and looked at Max for confirmation…

“All right, if that’s what we need to do. Where do I go for it?” Liz was starting to get into her ‘let’s get this show on the road mode’.

“Right next door to the bathroom but first just let Michael do a standard PAP while you’re on the table and then you can get dressed and give us a urine sample…okay?” Max said to his wife lovingly but with a matter of fact tone in his voice.

“Okay, whatever you say.” She looked at Max and gave him a small smile…she was starting to get scared again…

With that Liz laid back down and shut up for the time being and Michael finished up the job at hand then Liz was on her way to the ladies room with her little cup.

“What in the hell did they need the entire medical staff in that room for?” She mumbled to herself. Doctor Jefferds heard her and had to stifle a laugh…’what a character’ he thought to himself.

Dr. Jefferds met Michael and Max in his office and told Max he had a real gem in that one…Max replied,

“Don’t I know it, there’s isn’t anything she won’t say to anyone and people just seem to gravitate to her.”

Dr. Jefferds said, “I can certainly see why.” Michael just sat back and smiled…they were both right. Between her and Maria God knows what their lives were going to be like, but it was going to be an interesting ride that’s for sure.

Liz finally came into the doctor’s office and Dr. Jefferds stood and introduced himself. Liz held out her hand and gave him one of her drop dead gorgeous smiles and told him,

“Well, it’s very nice to meet the face that goes with the top of that head.” He chuckled at her remark and told her he was glad to meet her as well.

Michael explained the seriousness of her condition should she be pregnant and she was extremely concerned and serious at this point. She was alert and tuned right in on his every word. Max and Dr. Jefferds as well as Michael suddenly noticed the difference in her demeanor and proceeded to explain the possibility of miscarriage at 5 ½ months should she be pregnant and how they hoped they could tilt the uterus back into place with simple exercises. Liz asked if there was any literature on the subject and all three doctors said,
“Yes” at the same time. Dr. Jefferds called his nurse on the intercom and told her to bring all the available literature on tilted uteruses to his office for him and she was there in a flash.

Liz flipped through some of the literature and then put it all into her purse and asked if there was anything else she could be doing in the meantime. They all assured her that they needed to wait for the test results before making any decisions regarding treatment and to just relax.

‘Yeah, relax.’ Liz thought. ‘If I am pregnant I’ll be damned if I am going to relax until this baby is born and I will do everything in my power to keep it’, but she didn’t say any of this out loud…only a silent prayer to Our Blessed Lady to please let this not be true this month. With that Liz asked if there was anything else they needed her for and Michael and Dr. Jefferds told her “Not at this time.”

Michael told her to go home and relax, he would see her later and he would go over all of her options then. She thanked both Michael and Dr. Jefferds and grabbed Max’s hand and bid them goodbye. Max nodded to the doctors as Liz practically drug him out of the office…she didn’t give him an opportunity to shake hands with Jefferds or to say so long to Michael…she was out of there.

“What do you want to do honey?” Max asked when she finally slowed down as they neared the car.

Liz just shook her head and said she would like to go home and read some of the brochures that she had and Max said fine. So he took her home and dropped her off and then headed over to the hospital with all of those damned cake plates…12 altogether, he couldn’t believe it. He found Sister Margaret in her office and asked her where she would like him to take the plates and she told him to take them to the cafeteria.

She felt the place could use a little class and asked Max for the receipt. Max told her to forget it…the plates were on him and with that he headed over to the receptionists desk to ask her for the guy from maintenance to come up with a dolly…he had a delivery to make.

The receptionist looked at him like he had two heads and Max assured her he had a delivery for Sister Margaret that needed to be taken to the cafeteria. She said fine and called maintenance.

After Max gave the plates to the maintenance man he headed over to the chapel for a quick visit…he needed to talk to the “Man, the big Man, the one way upstairs”.

He knelt down in the front pew and said a silent prayer that Liz’s test would be negative so they could take care of her before any complicated pregnancies could take place and at the same time that Max was saying his prayer Father came through the back door and saw the young doctor kneeling there.

“Hi Max. Is everything okay?” the old priest asked.

“Oh, Hi Father. Yes and no. Liz had her first female exam today and it was discovered that she has a tipped uterus, which is not a serious thing unless she’s pregnant. It could become complicated if she is. We have to wait a couple of days for the results, and I am hoping that the test is negative so that we can fix her up and insure a healthy pregnancy at a later date but if she is we will deal with it.” Max said, without even blinking an eye.

“I see. Do you think she might be?”

“It’s very possible Father. We knew it could happen and we discussed it the night we got married and made the decision to just let things happen one way or the other. We both want kids and decided that it didn’t matter when it happened…we would take them as they came.”

Father thought about that for a minute and then looked at Max and told him not to worry about it. If she is and she loses it that is what was meant to be.

“That’s easy for you to say Father, you don’t know Liz…this would have a terrible affect on her.” Max rubbed the back of his ear and looked at the old priest.

“Maybe so Max, but she is a very strong young woman and she will deal with it. I know this.” The old priest said.

“Yeah, I guess so. I just don’t want her to have to deal with it Father, she is such a good person.”

“Max, none of us want our loved ones to have to go through the rough spots but that’s what makes the good spots so great.”

“You’re right Father…I’ll try to be more accepting of things as they come, but when it’s Liz I have a little trouble dealing with trouble…you know?”

“I know Max. I will remember you in my Mass tomorrow and you relax…ok?”

“Sure Father…and hey, how about coming home with me…we can pick Liz up and go have some dinner somewhere. We haven’t eaten yet and I am sure you would like something besides cafeteria food. What do you say?”

“I think that sounds like a fine idea. It’s 4:30 now; do you think I can be back no later than 8:00 p.m. for rounds?”

“Oh, I am sure you’ll be back in plenty of time.”

And with that Max and the old priest headed out to their cars to go back to Max’s and pick up Liz for dinner. Max didn’t call Liz to let her know he was bringing company home…as a matter of fact he never gave it a second thought.

*~*~*

Back at the apartment Liz had laid out the brochures on the coffee table and was studying all of them very conscientiously. She finally came upon one that had these numerous exercises in it and she went into the bedroom and retrieved a pair of shorts and put a tank top on and headed back out to the living room, she called Maria over to take a look at them to see what she thought. She turned the TV on and pushed the coffee table out of the way and assumed a position on the floor that put her ass high up in the air while she was lying with her chest on the floor. She managed to get herself into a position where she could turn her head and see the TV but this left her fanny facing the front door, Maria chuckled at this sight and told her she was doing great and that she was going home to cook Michael some dinner. Liz told Maria so long and maintained her “frog like” position on the floor.

This is exactly how Max and Father O’Brien found her when they entered the apartment.

Max walked in and saw the scene in front of him and could hardly stifle a laugh and tried to stand in front of the old priest to shield his wife but it wasn’t working, the old priest being at least 4 inches taller than Max. Father’s eyes had the look of a screwed up ‘kewpie doll’…he couldn’t help but chuckle…


“Liz, baby, what in the hell are you doing?” Max all but yelled.

“Go ask Michael Max…this is one of the exercises that is supposed to tip my uterus back…Max, are you alone?” she thought she heard a strange voice.

“Uh, no Liz, Father is with me.” Max stifled a laugh and scratched his ear.

“Well, HOLY! SHIT! MAX!, take him over to Michaels for a minute…Hi Father.” Liz felt like crawling into the walls…but she couldn’t get herself up.

(And the old man chuckled in the quiet of the room and kissed his wife’s frail hand once more.)

”Hi Liz.” The old priest answered and Max grabbed the old man by the sleeve and led him out of the apartment and headed over to Michael and Maria’s. Father Mike was having an awful time containing his laughter.

Although Max had a key to Maria’s apartment he figured he’d better ring the doorbell because Father didn’t need to hear Maria if he caught her off guard, God, catching one of the “Bobbsy Twins” in one day was enough.

“You have your hands full don’t you Max?” Father said with a chuckle.

“Oh Father, you have no idea and it’s just the beginning.” Max started to apologize and Father told him not to, it wasn’t necessary … after all he did work in a hospital and he recognized immediately what Liz was doing.

“Yeah, but Father, we didn’t tell her to start the exercises yet…we don’t even know if she’s pregnant.”

“From what I’ve observed Max, you won’t have to tell her what to do. I think she will find out what to do and do it without any urging from anyone.” He said with a slight chuckle in his voice.

“I guess you’re right Father.” Max said with a grin on his face.

About that time Michael came to the door and smiled when he saw Father and Max there. Maria had already told Michael how she’d left Liz not 15 minutes ago and he had a pretty good idea why they were over here. He stepped aside, stifling a laugh, and the two men made their way into the apartment.

Maria was in the kitchen getting ready to prepare dinner when Max told her to put the stuff away. As soon as ‘frog’ got her fanny up off the living room floor they were all going to go to dinner.

Maria started to out and out belly laugh at that one.

“Caught her in the act did you?” she yelled from the kitchen.

“What! You saw that action?” Max asked.

“Oh yeah, she called me over to take a look to see if she was doing it correctly. Was she?”

“Well, from what I could tell she had her heart and soul into it and a few other parts as well.” Max said with a chuckle.

About that time Michael started to guffaw, “Welcome to ‘Evansville’ Father…never a dull moment. And if you think she’s a case you should see this one and her together. Never a dull moment…let me tell you.”

Father just smiled and said, “I can just imagine.”

Maria walked out of the kitchen and saw the old priest standing there…”Oh My Gawd…Father did you see that? And Hi by the way.”

“Hi Maria, and yes, I saw all of that…quite cute actually.” The old priest grinned.

About that time Liz came through the front door, beet red and apologizing to Father profusely. He just smiled and told her it was perfectly alright. “Maybe Max should have called before showing up with company.” He remarked.

“Do ya’ think?” and she gave Max a look...”I certainly agree with you there Father, but it isn’t everyday that I would be in a position like that it’s just that I don’t want to wait to start those exercises. What’s up anyway?” She said, as she seemed to relax a bit.

“Well sweetheart, we are all going to go out to a nice dinner and Father is going to join us. How does that sound?” Max leaned in and kissed his wife on the temple…stifling a laugh as he did.

“Sounds great…and how nice do I have to dress? How about you Maria?” Liz said as she leaned up on her tiptoes and planted a little kiss on her husband’s lips.

“Okay ladies, nothing fancy…nice slacks will be fine. We’ll decide where to go while you get ready.” Max said as he gave Liz a little squeeze around the waist.

“Sounds great…only take me a minute and I’ll be right back…get a hurry on Maria, can’t keep the guys waiting you know.”

“Right you are girlfriend.”

Father looked at the two young women and smiled, then he looked at the two young doctors and said, “You two are very lucky, you know that don’t you?”

They both answered together, “We know it Father.” And they both smiled contentedly.

*~*~*

The group headed to one of Max’s favorite steak houses and Father followed behind them just in case things went longer than he had time for. When they arrived the place was just beginning to fill up so Max had Liz and Maria run in to put their names on the list while he parked. Michael took this opportunity to discuss the possibility of Liz’s pregnancy test being positive,

“You know Max, if Liz is pregnant we will do everything in our power to take care of her and the baby.” Michael said with a concerned look on his face.

“I know that Michael, but let’s not talk about it until we know. I don’t want to upset Liz anymore than she already is, and she is concerned. Let’s just keep it light tonight.” Max reached over and grabbed his friend around the shoulder and squeezed…

Michael agreed with Max and the two young men headed to the restaurant.

Father had already joined the ladies since he had a handicap license plate, he had bad knees, now they were only waiting for Max and Michael before being seated. As soon as Max and Michael showed up the hostess seated them immediately and they were well on their way to enjoying a nice relaxing evening.

Father started to tell them some stories about his younger days as a priest in Rome and the kids were in hysterics.

It seems the Passionist priests usually wear long brown robes and leather sandals with no socks and are a very poor order. Well, on one occasion, he and one of his friends were dying for a good meal and had saved money from their allowances for months to go into Rome to one of the nicer restaurants for dinner. While they were in there enjoying their meal a few of their fellow Passionists came through with their tin cups begging for donations, the old priest said there was nowhere for them to hide and they wanted to die…

The entire meal was spent listening to the old priest entertain them with these types of stories; he was a delight to be around and the kids fell in love with him.

No wonder that little chapel was becoming so popular on Sunday mornings. It was getting so they had to open the doors to the lobby to make room for all of the people attending Sunday Mass.

Around 7:30 Father bid the group farewell and told them he would be seeing them at the hospital. He had to get back by 8:00 in order to make his evening rounds. He blessed them and took off.

*~*~*

Carolyn: Your Bob sounds like my Don...he would have done the same thing!

*~*~*~*\

Chapter: 35
Max, Liz, Michael and Maria all decided to see if the “Tea Shoppe” was still open for some dessert. It was only 7:45...maybe they would get lucky. So they headed out to the other end of town.

As they rounded the familiar corner Liz turned her head to watch “the house” until it was out of sight and the other three didn’t miss this action at all. Max raised an eyebrow to Michael in the rearview mirror and Michael only nodded…Then Maria jabbed Michael in the ribs and pointed to the house next door. It was up for sale and looked to be in as good of shape as the one Liz was in love with. Michael nodded his acknowledgement and did a double take as well. Max didn’t miss any of this as Liz just kept looking at the yellow house. It had to be close to one hundred years old and it was gorgeous. They continued on their way to the “Tea Shoppe” and found it to be open. They were all ecstatic.

They piled out of the car like they were on a mission to save the universe and no one was going to stop them. When they entered the Shoppe the proprietor recognized them immediately and told them to seat themselves. She was going to close early but since they were there she would take care of them. They thanked her and told her that they could just get something to go but she assured them that would not be necessary, it would be a pleasure to serve them.

They all smiled and found a table and were presented with menus. Liz couldn’t make up her mind what she wanted since she was still full from her dinner but it still all looked so good. She asked the lady to choose something for her, the proprietor told her to just call her “Emmy” and she would be more than glad to.

When Emmy brought their dessert orders back to their table Liz mentioned the two older homes in the neighborhood that were for sale. “Is there something going on in the neighborhood that people are not aware of?” Liz asked.

Michael, Max and Maria all gulped at that one…they hadn’t given it a thought that maybe things were being rezoned or something. Liz wouldn’t have either if it hadn’t been for the house next door to the one she was so taken with being on the market too. Maybe the people that owned the yellow one also owned the one next door.

“Well, not that I’m aware of…usually we get notices about things like that…but if you’re interested you know you can always have those old places designated as historical homes and then they can’t be touched.” Emmy said.

“I see,”…said Liz. “So you haven’t had any official notices from planning commissions or anything like that?”

“No, and I don’t think anyone else has either.” Max and Michael both looked at each other with knowing eyes. Something to look into tomorrow, Max would have to call the estate lady immediately.

After the group finished their desserts they bought some pastries to take home for breakfast and headed on out. They were going to have to watch it or they would all have to join a gym. They all told Emmy goodnight and wished her well, she smiled at the four young people and bid them goodnight as well.

After the group exited the Tea Shoppe they decided to take a walk past the old homes and see if they were as nice from the sidewalk as they looked from the road. They ambled by quite a few older homes and fell in love with the entire neighborhood. It was so quaint and quiet and Liz kept feeling more euphoric the closer she got to the house. There was something about it that seemed to be calling to her…it seemed to radiate love and comfort to her.


Max could sense these feelings coming from her and it was becoming intoxicating. Michael and Maria felt it too and then they noticed that the house next door seemed to have the same aura about it. Michael now knew how Max felt about getting the house for Liz…he felt the same way about the white one next door, without even seeing it. He wrote the number of the real-estate agent on a slip of paper he had in his wallet and kept on walking. Max couldn’t take his eyes off Liz, she was enthralled.

*~*~*

After they got back to their apartment complex they bid each other goodnight and Liz kiddingly chided Michael for giving her those exercise pamphlets too soon. Michael laughed and told her “Thanks.”

Liz looked at him and said, “For what?”

“Oh, Liz, you have no idea how much fun you have brought to my day.” He said with a twinkle in his eye.

She punched him in the arm and said, “Don’t mention it…PLEASE…don’t mention it…ever again.”

With that they all started laughing and headed to their own front doors.

When they got into their own apartment Max lifted Liz off the floor in a big bear hug and smiled into her hair. She smiled at his antics and nibbled the bare skin on his neck and he shivered in response.

“Liz, you make my life so much fun. Everyday is an adventure with you…thank you sweetheart…just thank you.” And he squeezed her just a little tighter because it just felt good to hold her.

Liz giggled at that and asked, “What are you planning on doing with me Max. Carry me around all night or did you have something else in mind?”

Max growled in her ear…”I think I have something else in mind tonight Liz.” And with that he walked into their bedroom and deposited her in the middle of their bed where he promptly crawled up next to her and laid down. He laid his fingers across her cheek and drew over to her ear and placed some stray strands of hair behind it. He looked into her eyes and smiled. It felt so good being with her; it was like an answer to a prayer. Liz scooted closer into his arms and reached around to the back of his head and pulled him in for a kiss. Not an urgent passionate kiss but a slow come here and let me show you that I love you kiss. Max was melting and Liz wasn’t far behind. When they came up for air Liz scooted down off the bed and headed for the bathroom out of necessity.

“Where are you going?” Max wanted to know.

“Max, I really need to do this…I’ll be right back…take your clothes off lover and set the alarm.”

Max chuckled back toward the bathroom and said in a loud tone, “Yes Maam.” Before he hung his jacket in the closet he removed a bag from his pocket and put it in the nightstand drawer.

After taking care of the necessities in the bathroom and brushing her teeth Liz joined Max in their bed where he was eagerly waiting for her. It didn’t take her long to join him and before long they were in a very steamy session of love making when Max reached over to the nightstand and retrieved the package. He removed a single foil package from the box and proceeded to open it.

“What’s that?” Liz asked, knowing full well what it was.

“I thought we’d better take a little precaution until we know what is going on for sure…don’t you think so?”

“Well, don’t you think that it’s a little late to be thinking about that?”

“We don’t know that yet and until we do I think we should be careful.”

“But Max, I really don’t like those things…it’s not the same.” She started to blush profusely.

Max took her hands in his and said, “Liz, I don’t particularly like them either but I feel certain that, if you are not pregnant we would like to keep it that way for a little while longer. What do you say?”

“Oh. All right Max, if you insist. I guess it’s better than nothin’.” She said with a fake frown.

Max pulled her into him and growled into her hair…”You’re driving me crazy, you know that?”

“No, tell me all about it.” She said as she giggled into his shoulder.

And Max proceeded to show as well as tell her all about it.

*~*~*

The next day Liz took off for work and Max straightened up the apartment and made a few phone calls regarding some property in the old section of town. He left a message for the estate lady and when she returned his call he answered,

“Hello, this is Doctor Evans.”

The estate lady, Sherry, was taken aback for a second and then asked, “Is this Max Evans?”

Max answered, “Yes it is and you are?”

“Oh Dr. Evans, I didn’t know you were a doctor. This is Sherry…Sherry Weingarde the lady handling the estate you were asking about.” She was very impressed right now…he just seemed like any ordinary good looking young man when they met a few weeks ago. Will wonders never cease?

“Yes Sherry, I hope you have some good news for me, and also, are you the one that is handling the property next door as well?”

This question suddenly sent the young woman into a defensive mode and she wanted to know what the young doctor was questioning the property next door for.

“Doctor Evans, what is your interest in these properties? Yes, they are both listed with our firm but if you have other interests besides living in these homes please take your business elsewhere. We do not want to ruin the integrity of the neighborhood in any way.”

“Oh believe me; I have no intention of ruining the integrity of the neighborhood. My wife is in love with the house we were in and our friends…Doctor Guerin and his fiancé are interested in the house next door. I was wondering if we could meet and go through them at your earliest convenience since my wife and I are planning a vacation in the next few days and will be gone for a couple of weeks. I would like to buy the house for her as a birthday present next month. What do you say to that Ms. Weingarde?”

“Well Dr. Evans, I see you are pretty direct in your approach to things. How about we meet at the properties this afternoon at 1:00 p.m.? Would it be possible for both you and Dr. Guerin to be there?”

“I am positive that Dr. Guerin and I will be there, if Dr. Guerin can’t make it I certainly can and I will take a look at the house for him. How does that sound?”

“You can look at a house for another person?”

”Yes, in this case I can, I assure you.”

“Great Dr. Evans, I will see you then.”

“Oh, and Ms. Weingarde, now that we have established our territories it will be all right for you to call me Max…Dr. Guerin is Michael…never Mike mind you…’Michael’ and we will call you Sherry. Is that all right with you?”

“Yes Max, that’s fine. I’ll see you at 1:00 p.m.”

Max smiled as he hung up the phone and went next door to pay Michael and Maria a visit. He knew that Michael could get away and only hoped that Maria didn’t have any conferences set up for this afternoon.

Then Max headed back to his apartment and set his laptop on the table in the dining room and started to check out various vacation packages and tours, that’s when he had a brainstorm. Isabelle still had her apartment in England and it was just across the channel from France, which was only a hop from Rome via air. What a thought. Max called Isabelle immediately and asked her what she thought of his idea and she told him it was a wonderful plan and to run it by Liz…she knew she would be elated.

As soon as they hung up Isabelle phoned her secretary in England and told her to see to it that the cleaning people went in and gave her apartment a thorough going over because her brother and his wife were going to be staying there for a few days, fill the fridge with drinks and make sure her car was detailed and filled with gas. She was so happy to be able to do this for them, oh life was grand.

*~*~*

At 1:00 p.m. Michael, Maria and Max pulled into the driveway of the old house on Chestnut Lane. It was as grand today as it was the day they first looked at it. It had a charm equal to none and Max loved everything about it. They were met by Sherry who was already inside waiting for them. Sherry held out her hand to all of the young people and told them to take their time and she would be glad to answer any questions they had regarding the property.

Not many young people were interested in these older homes and she was really surprised that they would be interested in both of them. Max and Michael smiled at the woman and told her that they happened to be in love with two of the most unique young women on the planet and their interests would shock about anyone. Maria just smiled at that remark. She liked being singled out as the love of Michael’s life and she knew that Liz would feel the same way.

Maria asked Sherry if she would take her and Michael next door while Max roamed around in here and Sherry smiled and said she would be glad to. With that the three exited the old house and left Max to do his own exploring.

Max headed for the front of the house, right to the front door, and proceeded to start from there, as if he had just walked in.

The place was now void of furniture and Max could use his imagination and start to visualize how it would be to live there with Liz and a family. It would be wonderful, warm, inviting, loving and beautiful.

He looked toward his right and saw the living room with all of its’ old charm and newly finished hardwood floors high baseboards lining the floors and the crown molding surrounding the twelve foot ceilings. It was beyond grand, it radiated elegance, just like Liz.

To his left was another smaller version of the living room, Max figured there was a word for it but he could only envision it as a less formal living room. Not a den per se’ but a smaller version of the living room…directly on the other side of the smaller room, through a set of French doors was the dining room. It was very large, large enough for the entire family if you had a specially built dining room table, or maybe two pushed together…there’s a thought. They could probably use all of those damned cake plates in this room…and he chuckled to himself.

Off to the right of the dining room was the butler’s pantry that led into the kitchen. Max’s mind was running wild and free with thoughts of a family in this house; he could almost hear the laughter of kids. He hoped he read Liz’s face correctly…Nah, he did…this wasn’t the time to be second-guessing himself.

In the entry hall, looking in from the front door of the house, there was a huge stairway that went up eight steps to a platform and turned up another 10 steps to the second level. You could look straight up and see the stairway that led to the third story from the floor of the entryway. It was huge!

Straight ahead past both the entry doors to the living rooms there was a doorway leading to a small hallway that went to the left into the dining room and to the right into the kitchen. There was a stairway leading to the lower level directly under the stairway coming down from the back of the house from the upper level off the second hallway. This was directly off to the right of the kitchen entry.

When you walked into the kitchen you were met with the most modern kitchen setup on earth. Whoever designed this kitchen had to be a genius with old homes. This kitchen lacked nothing. It had a huge industrial sized stove with six burners, double ovens situated against an entire wall of real brick and next to a brick-warming oven there was something that looked like a pull out convenience of some sort under it. Max went over and opened it up and lo and behold it was a freezer. Max couldn’t believe they would put a freezer in this space but it certainly looked like it would be convenient. Liz would know more about that.

There was a large island with a sink situated in one end of it and what looked like an electrical cooking unit next to it, maybe it was used for heating up stuff or just keeping it warm. There were electrical outlets all along the perimeter of the island just under the overhang of the counter. It looked convenient anyway. All of the counter tops were black granite and the appliances were stainless steel. The new refrigerator would fit quite well in this kitchen. They could probably fit another one right next to it, something to think about at a later date.

Max walked around the island and into a small room off the kitchen and was surprised to find a real walk-in pantry with a window looking out into the back yard. How cute it looked. The pantry was lined with shelves on the left hand side of the wall and the surrounding walls had a work type counter with shelves above and below it. All of these shelves were open, no doors on any of them. Max wasn’t sure he liked the idea but then he was no expert on this type of thing. There were plenty of cupboards in the huge kitchen so I guess the openness of the pantry wasn’t a problem.

From there Max turned and saw another long type hallway leading out to the back yard. It looked like a mud- room and he just smiled. It was large enough to put a bench for taking off boots and hooks to hang coats. He loved it. After leaving the kitchen Max headed to the entry again and decided to head to the basement to see what was in store down there. It was completely finished and it seemed to have been left up to the discretion of the owners to use it however they saw fit. The main room was huge; it took up the better part of the entire floor and could be used for a media room, a game room or extra sleeping rooms.

Beyond the large room was the laundry room with a nice counter that could be used as a folding table along the back wall and plenty of storage for clothesbaskets, ironing and other laundry needs. There was actually a laundry chute and a dumb waiter. ‘Too cool’, Max thought.

On the other side of the laundry room was the mechanics room. There were three water heaters, a furnace and an air conditioner. Max checked it out and it was a five- ton unit. That didn’t seem large enough to Max…he would ask Sherry when she got back with Michael and Maria. If the place had three water heaters it had to have more heating and cooling than this. After his tour of the lower level Max headed back up the stairs via the back staircase just to check out the solidity of it and it felt very stable, he was happy to find that out. It looked like nothing was wrong so far.

He headed on up to the second level from the kitchen and wound up in the hallway at the end of the second hallway upstairs; the one that led to the extra rooms once past the master suite off the main stairway. There were two bedrooms on each side of that hallway and these rooms had a Jack and Jill bathroom between them, they were all done very nicely with hardwood floors, crown molding and high ceilings. The ceilings downstairs were 12 feet high but the one’s upstairs seemed to be about nine feet high. They all had large walk-in closets and they had plenty of windows for lots of sunlight. What a wonderful place this was.

Max headed on down the hall to the main hallway and turned to his left into the master suite. It was huge to say the least. There were two large walk-in closets, one on either side of a hallway that led into the master bath. It had crown molding everywhere… and there was a fireplace against one wall and built-in shelves on either side. On the other side of the room was a doorway leading to a small sitting room type of a room. It could be used for a nursery, an office, a sewing room for Liz or just about anything they would want to use it for. Across the hall from the master suite was another bedroom, just a little smaller than the others and a bathroom that had access from the bedroom or the hallway. Max counted them, 6 bedrooms in all…would that be enough…Christ, he only hoped so. There was also a total of 4 bathrooms up here…he then headed to the stairway that led to the attic and he wasn’t disappointed…another huge room with plenty of storage built in…another walk-in closet and another bathroom…and lo and behold another mechanics room with another furnace and air conditioner. Max stood and chuckled…. he should never have doubted it. Max started thinking about the main floor…he never saw a bathroom on the main floor…there had to be one…he headed back down the stairs toward the entry and noticed a door under the platform of the main staircase and opened it. There it was…just a toilet and sink with plenty of artificial light and storage to be comfortable. Now he was a happy man.

He headed on over to the white frame house next door to see how Michael and Maria were doing with their walk through only to find the couple standing at the kitchen island filling out papers to turn in a bid on the place. Maria looked at Max and didn’t have to say a word. He could tell she had found her place on earth next to Liz. Michael and Max both nodded and Max asked Sherry if she had anymore of those forms on her.

She was dumb struck… she thought she was really going to be stuck with these two monstrosities forever. No one wanted homes this big anymore, especially these old homes. Granted they were jewels but they definitely were old and huge.

Max and Michael both knew that these places were white elephants to most of the population and they made their offers very fair but they were anything but over the limit either. Younger people didn’t want to live in these older neighborhoods…they wanted to be where the action was and they were too much for older people to take care of. Max and Michael wanted to be where they felt their families would be safe. Sherry looked at the bids and raised an eyebrow at both of them. Max and Michael both assured her the bids were fair and if she didn’t feel like presenting them to the sellers then they would deal with someone else. She looked at the two young men and said,

“Are you two sure you’re doctors?”

Maria laughed at that one and said, “Yes they are but his family are lawyers.” As she pointed to Max.

“Oh.” was Sherrie’s only remark. She assured them she would turn in the bids and get back with them as soon as possible. Max said thanks and told her that he and Liz would be in Europe until the end of the month and if she needed anything else to contact Evans Ltd. She assured him she would and bid the young people good day.

Michael and Maria took Max on a quick tour of the home they were buying and Max could only smile through the entire tour. The similarities were uncanny. The same builder had to have done both homes. The only difference between the two homes was the west side. There wasn’t any. When you walked through the front entrance the smaller living room to the left was absent and the dining room was directly off the entry hall and there was no butlers’ pantry but a downstairs bathroom instead. There were four bedrooms on the second floor instead of six, the attic was finished and so was the basement. Other than the size of the place they were practically identical. Max smiled at Michael and gave Maria a huge hug and asked her if she was happy…

”Oh Max, you know I am and if you think I’m happy wait until you see Lizzie’s face. She is going to shit her knickers!” And with that Max could only laugh and he said, “God I hope not.” They all laughed; they were as giddy as teenagers and they felt so good they practically floated out the door. After Michael and Maria left Max headed home to call his Mom. He wanted to let her know that he had put a bid in on a house and what his plans were for the next two weeks.

Liz had already filled Diane in on the ‘tipped uterus’ problem and Max assured her that if Liz was pregnant the trip would not hurt her.

His Mom felt better about that and then Max reminded her not to say anything about the house to Liz…it would be her birthday present if the deal went through and if it didn’t he didn’t want her to be disappointed. Also, he had not talked to Liz about Europe yet so mum was the word on it as well.

Diane smiled through the phone and assured her son that she definitely would not say anything to anyone. She knew what it was like to have to deal with relatives and answers when there were no answers to be given. She asked how he was doing and Max said he was great; things just couldn’t be any better. Then Diane did the unthinkable…

”What’s the house like Max?” She just had to ask. Max chuckled and told her that if they got them they would put them on the historical list.

Then Diane asked, “Them Max?” And Max chuckled again, “Yeah Mom, Michael and Maria put a bid in on the one next door.” Diane out and out laughed. “I swear Max; sometime I think the four of you are joined at the hip.”

“So it would seem Mom, so it would seem.” With that the mother and son said their goodbyes and hung up.

Max settled himself with his laptop again and proceeded to check out points of interest on the Internet and then ran off some pictures for Liz to look at when she got home. He was getting very excited about taking a trip…this would be wonderful. He could route their departure from New York and they could go to a show there before flying overseas and they could return home through another city and spend a night there before flying back…Oh this was going to be great.

In the meantime…earlier that day Liz had passed a beauty supply house on her lunch hour and decided to try waxing herself for her ‘honeymoon’… she went in and bought some bikini wax complete with instructions…’oh is Max going to be surprised’ she thought.

After that purchase she headed on over to Victoria’s Secret and purchased some very sexy thongs and lacy teddies. She was going to make this the best honeymoon ever!

*~*~*

Carolyn: Yep, it certainly does and had I still lived in Pa. when that place came up for sale I would have bought it...it was the house I grew up in minus the extra wing I added to the right of the entry way. Honest!
Old, old, old. Have you ever heard of those houses Sears sold in the catalogue way back in the late 20's and early 30's...that was it. Yellow brick, 5 bedrooms, large, large country kitchen, walk in pantry, huge living, dining and family rooms. Dark oak all over and I loved it. Oh well, it was torn down to make way for a highway, route 51, along with all of those other big old places that the young wouldn't want.
Eve: It really wasn't that difficult to keep up, at least when I was younger I didn't think so. Now I would agree with you. I don't even like to take care of the smaller home I live in now, all on one floor no less. Oh well, time changes everything.
Katy: Definitely know that I will add your brother-in-law's name to my prayer list and you have to let him know that I say "thank you" from the bottom of my heart, God bless.

*~*~*~*
Chapter: 36

Liz returned home at her usual 6:30 and Max had already started dinner and set the table. There were candles all over the living room and Liz couldn’t imagine what was going on…Max came out of the dining room with a dish towel thrown over his shoulder and Liz raised one eyebrow in question and Max just grinned at her.

“How does Europe sound?”

Liz looked puzzled for a minute and then the lights came on …

“What part of Europe?”

“England, France and Rome.”

“Seriously Max…that sounds awesome. Can we do that?”

“Of course, I thought we could fly into New York, spend the night and see a show…then head on over to England. Isabelle said we could stay at her place for a few days and use her car…then fly over to France and spend a couple of days then head over to Rome for four or five days. We can return home to Boston, Atlanta or another big city and spend the night before heading home. We can really get a lot of sight seeing in and have a great time in about 2 ½ weeks…don’t you think?” He was so animated that Liz thought she would have to tie his hands down.

“Max, that sounds wonderful…when do you think we should leave?”

“I will contact your grandmother’s travel agent tomorrow and we can make our plans from there. We will need a hotel in New York, France, Rome and one on our return. We will stay at Izzie’s in England. I am sure it will be nice, knowing Izzie.”

“I am sure you’re right. Oh, and Max…I am not pregnant, I started my period today so I guess we can have Michael write me up the prescription and I can start taking it this week. I don’t know if I am happy or disappointed, I can’t explain how I feel.”

“Oh honey, c’mere.” Max reached out and brought her into his arms and held her close.

“You know Liz, this really is for the best. If you had been pregnant you probably would have lost it and now we can take care of the problem and you will have many healthy pregnancies because of it.”

“I know Max, but I don’t want my life to be that structured…I want my pregnancies to just happen, not really planned right down to the minute the baby will be delivered. I want spontaneity, okay?”

“Okay, spontaneity it is and when you are ready to quit taking the pill we will be spontaneous, but we can still practice can’t we?”

With that Liz snuggled her head into Max’s shoulder and giggled… “Oh, I like practice.” Max held her and smiled, God how he loved her. All he wanted to do was make her as happy as she made him.

They were going over to see Michael and Maria as soon as they had their dinner. This would be a good TV night since Liz was out of commission for a few days anyway. Max just shook his head and headed to the kitchen to finish up dinner and Liz went to the bedroom to change her clothes and ponder a trip to Europe with her beautiful husband. ‘How wonderful this all sounded’. She would have to tell Diane tomorrow and get a temp in and trained before next week…things really moved fast in this household that’s for sure…she wondered if it would always be like this.

Then she opened her purchase from the beauty supply and proceeded to read the instructions…this didn’t seem too difficult…not difficult at all.

Liz followed the directions, using the melting pot she had purchased to melt the wax in. The sales clerk told her it was the best way and she would always have it, so she bought the electric appliance to melt her wax.

When the wax was of the correct consistency she applied it and after the allotted time she attempted to peel the wax off according to the instructions. She took hold of the edge of the cooled wax and started to pull… that action brought tears to her eyes immediately…

’Good gawd almighty this hurts’ she thought to herself; she stopped instantly. Then she crossed her legs! Why? She didn’t know why. Maybe it would stop the pain…then she tried taking an edge and started rolling it off, it still hurt like hell, Now she was dancing around the bathroom…’oh shit, oh dear, what now?’ she thought as the tears rolled down her cheeks in a steady stream. She was now flapping her arms up and down as if it would help, it didn’t and then she thought…’am I going to have to wear this shit forever?’

She tried slowly rolling the wax again, the pain was indescribable…then she tried gently tugging…everything stung like a bitch and the tears kept getting worse with each attempt at removal of the offensive goop that was stuck to her in the most tender of places… this was unbelievable. “How did women do this? Oh Dear God” she pleaded. This was awful.

About fifteen minutes later Max went looking for her and found the bathroom door half ajar and called out…

“Liz honey, are you all right?”

“Hmmm…” A high-pitched squeak came from the bathroom…

“Can I come in?” Max asked

Then he heard another high pitched squeak, almost like a cry, and he went barreling through the bathroom door only to find his beautiful wife standing there naked from the waist down with a small mirror placed strategically on the bathroom counter. Her legs were crossed and she was doing something that resembled a ritual dance and when she turned around she had tears in her eyes and he had to really control himself when he saw what was going on.

‘God Max, just don’t laugh’ he told himself.

“Sweetheart, what in the hell are you doing to yourself?” He managed to get out with a straight face.

“Oh God Max, you have to help me here…I thought I could give myself a wax job and, oh… God…, it hurts like hell.”

“Okay honey, but what do you want me to do?” ‘Oh please don’t laugh’ he told himself…’please God don’t let me laugh!’
“I don’t know Max, go to the hospital and get some Novocain or something and pull this ‘shit’ off.”

Max was still trying like hell to keep a straight face, “Liz, sweetie, you know I can’t do that. Now seriously what can I do to help you?”

“Max, I’m going to close my eyes and you take hold of this shit and pull it off. Okay?”

“Are you sure that’s what you want me to do?” Max was still trying to control a laugh…

“Jeeezus Max, just do it already. It’s got to come off and there’s only one way to do it…right?” Liz was dancing all over the bathroom by now…
“Whatever you say honey… hang on to the counter and close your eyes,” Max didn’t want any reflex jabs to his body when this shit came off, and with that he gave a yank and Liz gave a yell and she damned near passed out…but she had a great bikini wax… even if the skin was a little red it would heal.

Max looked down at her and then brushed away her tears and told her to look at herself…”Pretty sexy huh?” he said with a grin…stifling laughter…

“Yeah, well take a good look Max Evans because that’s the last bikini wax you’ll ever see on this body.” She wailed…

Max wrapped her in his arms, trying very hard to hide the smile on his face, and just held her close.’ God, she couldn’t see him smiling, not now. Will the surprises ever stop?’
*~*~*

After dinner Max and Liz went next door to see Michael and Maria who had just settled down with a movie and some popcorn. Maria and Liz headed to the kitchen to get some sodas and while they were gone Max told Michael the news about Liz not being pregnant, he figured he’d better keep the bikini wax to himself for the time being but knowing Liz she would tell Maria who he knew would tell Michael.

Michael was as relieved as Max about the pregnancy scare. The marriage was too young to be putting her through an almost certain miscarriage. Now they can correct her problem with some minor surgery and in a few months, if that is what they want to do, they can think about children. Michael smiled at Max and Max raised an eyebrow and looked at him in question…”what?” And Michael just shook his head and thought for a minute before speaking,

“You know Maxwell, it seems that your life has taken on monumental changes in the past month and neither one of you seem to be phased by it. You just keep moving forward with each day as if nothing else is happening around you. I’m not sure if I’m explaining myself correctly here…but things just keep working out right for you without any effort or thought on the subject. Do you two worry about anything at all?”

“Michael, I don’t know how to put this, but you’re right and wrong. We discuss just about everything but we don’t dwell on it. I don’t think I can explain what it’s like with Liz. We talk about things but it seems the decisions are mutual without discussion…does that make any sense at all. It doesn’t to me, but that is really how it is.”

“Yeah, Maxwell, I think it does make sense. You two are so in tuned with each other that you almost speak telepathically…right?”

“Jeezus, Michael…when you put it like that it’s downright scary, almost alien.”

“I know what you mean Max, but that’s what it seems like.”

“Well, I don’t think it’s telepathic really. We do seem to be in tune with each other and I don’t know if we will ever disagree on anything, but I hope we can deal with it the way we deal with life right now because it definitely makes the rest of living a lot of fun and enjoyable. It’s kind of like tonight…we came over to tell you about the pregnancy, to get a prescription filled out tomorrow and we are going to watch a movie with you guys. It doesn’t matter which movie it is as long as we are enjoying the evening together.”

“Yeah, I see where you’re coming from old man and have you talked to your Mom about the vacation yet?”

“Yes, and she’s all for it. They are going to hire a temp for the phones and Jody will take over transcribing until Liz gets back. Mom said any research that needs to be done can wait for a couple of weeks. Oh, and I told Mom about our bids and she said we are ‘joined at the hip’.”

Michael laughed heartily at that one…”You know Max…I believe she’s right.”

With that both of the young men laughed…it was true. Maria and Liz came into the living room with a tray of drinks and found their significant others laughing and having an enjoyable conversation and Liz asked,

“Can anyone join in or is it private?”

Max grabbed Liz around the waist and swung her into his lap and kissed her soundly on the lips then told her she could join in anything she wanted and Maria and Michael both started laughing at them. Max got a little red and said…”Well, almost anything.” Liz replied…”Boy am I glad you qualified that statement…you had me worried for a minute.” Then they all laughed and Michael flipped the button on the remote and they watched their movie in silence. Life was great.


*~*~*

Katy: The wax job is a true story...you should hear my daughter tell it, it's a riot...except she had to work that stuff off herself, she was home alone. When she called me for advice I was laughing too hard to be of any help...besides I hadn't a clue. You'd have to know my daughter, you'd love her...honest!
Carolyn: Me too!!!
Eve: I think, when you're getting your hair done and you see this stuff on the shelf yelling out at you just how easy it is to do this, and you're naieve enough to believe what you read, you might be tempted to try it! Apparently some people are because they still sell it. I see it when I go in for a hair cut.

*~*~*

Chapter: 37

The next morning Max got on the phone with the travel agent after seeing Liz off to the office and started making travel arrangements. They both had passports but he needed to verify the dates. Max was sure his was still valid and he was sure Liz’s was as well since their parents had taken them to South America when they were younger. Max was certain his Mom had taken care of his renewal when the time came and knowing Nancy and Jeff, Liz’s was also taken care of, he could only hope…otherwise Europe was out of the question. He called his mother to verify this information before proceeding any further and Diane told him that both his and Liz’s passports were current and they were both in the office safe. She would send them home with Liz, so armed with that information Max continued making the arrangements.

The travel agent was happy to be helping Max with his plans, as a matter of fact she was very interested in the way he wanted things laid out. Most people wanted to leave and return by the same route…this was very interesting; allowing time to be spent in two different cities. It would also cut down on a lot of jetlag; being able to rest after the long overseas flights.

She was also interested in their accommodations in England and wanted to know where they planned on staying while they were there and Max explained that his sister lived there and they would be staying at her apartment and using her car for their time there although they would need hotel accommodations in France and Rome and he would like them to be the best.

Grandma’s travel agent was impressed with the young man’s insistence that they had the best there was.

“It doesn’t matter if the accommodations are the most expensive…that doesn’t always mean the best…I definitely want the nicest available.”

She smiled into the phone at his remark and told him that she would see to it that they were booked into the nicest hotels that were available. She had traveled extensively in Europe and she was sure that she could come up with the most pleasing rooms available. Max thanked her and gave her his e-mail address to forward the itinerary and confirmations and bid her good-bye.

After the travel agent and he hung up he proceeded to check the Internet for weather conditions and maps to points of interest. Then he thought, why not invite Isabelle and Alex over for dinner this evening and they could go over his and Liz’s plans. Maybe Isabelle would offer some suggestions to make the trip more fun. With that thought in mind he called Liz.

“Hi Jody, is Liz there?” He asked when Jody answered the phone.

Jody immediately recognized Max’s voice,”Of course Mr. Evans, I’ll put her right on.”

“Oh Jody, please call me Max, and thank you.”

“Of course Max, one sec.” Max heard the phone click and then Jody said into the intercom, “Liz, Max is on line 2.” Liz smiled at the phone and told Jody thanks and picked up her handset.

“Hi sweetheart…can’t get enough of me can you?” She said with a giggle in her voice…

“You know it baby.” Max growled…”Hey, I was wondering how you feel about inviting Isabelle and Alex for dinner this evening. Maybe Izzie can give us some ideas about what to see, how long it takes to see stuff and things like that, what do you say?”

“Oh Max, that sounds like a marvelous idea…you are just too smart…you know that?” She smiled into the phone and Max felt a warm glow all over his body…
“Yeah,” he chuckled, “anyway, what do you think we should have? I’m ok with steak and potatoes but I’m not so sure about other things in the kitchen yet.”

“Hey Max, steak sounds great…make sure we have French bread, and salad makings. I will fix those when I get home and get a nice bottle of red wine. Whatever sounds good, do you think Michael and Maria would like to come over as well?” She queried.

“Well, I’m not so sure that this dinner would be the kind that they would be interested in since we want to discuss vacation plans. What do you think?”

“You’re probably right. I don’t want to hurt their feelings though.” She said thoughtfully.

“Oh my God Liz, why would we hurt their feelings by inviting my sister to dinner?” Max was really surprised at her remark.

“I don’t know…just a thought.” She was a little puzzled herself, this was all new to her, she and Maria always did things together.

“Okay sweetheart, just relax, no one is going to be hurt. Just get your pretty butt home on time and don’t forget the passports. Mom said they are in her safe and she would give them to you…they are current so we don’t have to worry about that.”

“Okay Max, I will see you about 6:30. Tell Izzie and Alex to be there between 7:30 and 8:00 p.m. That will give me time to change and make a salad and some garlic bread. We can use the white tablecloth that is hanging in the spare bedroom closet. It will look nice…no?”

“It will look nice yes…I love you and I’ll see you around 6:30” Max was really starting to feel good about this vacation.

“Bye Max, love you too.” They both smiled as they hung up their phones, each one getting busy with what needed to be done.

*~*~*

Liz arrived home at 6:30 just as predicted and Max met her in the hallway with his hands full of groceries. Liz asked him if there were anymore in the car and he said,

“No…have it all right here. Oh, and I picked up a couple more plates.” Liz giggled at that …always the planner; soon they would have enough dishes to service the entire apartment complex.

“Good, let me get the door for you.” And Max leaned over and kissed her on the forehead, she giggled at that maneuver, and it was a maneuver, as she held the door for him. They both headed for the kitchen and after setting her purse on the dining room table Liz helped Max put the groceries away and then headed for the bedroom to change clothes, Max followed right behind her.

“Need any help?”

“As much as I would love for you to help me I am still out of commission you know.” She said just a little disappointedly.

“I know that, but I would if you want me to.” Max reached out and pulled her to him so he could nuzzle her neck,

“How’s the bikini wax?”

“Oh Max, I’m sure you would but that just seems too yucky and the wax job is doing just fine.” She added with a little sarcasm.

Max continued to nuzzle and said, “Okay sweetie, but should you ever change your mind I’m right here for you.” as he continued to nuzzle her neck…

“Thanks Max, but right now I don’t think I will…maybe someday but not yet.” She said with a sigh…God; she almost wished she didn’t feel this way, ‘the things this man does to me have to be positively sinful… Forget it’ she told herself and proceeded to change her clothes.

After Liz had changed into her jeans and pink tank top she headed out to the kitchen with the tablecloth and napkins from the spare bedroom and set them on the table in the dining room after removing her purse and putting it in the hall closet with her coat. She then headed to the kitchen where Max was already getting the marinade for the steaks and getting them ready to put in zip-locks for the time being. Liz went to the refrigerator and took out the vegetables for their salad when she noticed fresh green beans.

“Are these for dinner as well Max?” She asked as he turned around and looked at her. He had to concentrate…he was turning into a puddle of goo again…she looked so cute with her hair in that high pony tail, those jeans and tank top and those goofy bunny slippers on her feet. ‘How long is she going to be out of commission again? Down boy, down’, he chastised himself.Max looked at Liz questioningly and Liz pointed to the beans in the fridge…”Are these for dinner?”

“Oh, yeah, I thought they looked good…what do you think?” he said with a smile and a wink.

“I think that they aren’t the only things you think ‘look good’ right now.”

Liz could see the problem rising behind Max’s zipper and smiled. “I can take care of that little problem for you if you want me to.” She offered nonchalantly as she retrieved a salad bowl from the cupboard.

Max stifled a laugh and said, “Little? Since when?”

“Okay Studly, you know what I mean.”

And then she started blushing…Max pulled her into a tight hug and told her he was fine and to just get on with the salad, which she did, with her head very low on her chest.

She really didn’t mean to insinuate that Max was little, never! Max just grinned at her and got on with the task of cleaning the potatoes and getting them into the oven. ‘She is just too cute’ he thought but he’d better keep his mind on dinner, God he wanted her in the worst way.

Right at 7:30 Isabelle and Alex arrived at the apartment and were greeted with two smiling newlyweds ready to welcome their dinner guests. Liz invited Isabelle into the living room where she had some red wine resting in a carafe and Max invited Alex into the kitchen where he was ready to put the steaks onto the stovetop bar-be-que. Alex remarked to Max that he thought, for an apartment, this place was really nice. Max had to agree, it was very comfortable and he and Liz both liked it. Then Alex produced a large box that neither he nor Liz had noticed when they came in. The wedding pictures…Oh Liz will love this.

“Liz, you’ll never guess what Alex brought with him.” Liz turned around to see a very smiling Max standing behind her and she then noticed the box…

“Are they the pictures Alex?” She asked excitedly…Alex smiled at her and handed the box over to her…Isabelle was overjoyed that her brother and his wife were so happy, it took so little to please them she thought to herself.

Liz opened the box and laid the pictures on the coffee table for all of them to see. They were wonderful. Alex had chosen three of his favorites and made a collage of the informal poses in the family room where the two were looking at each other, and had it blown up and framed for them as a wedding gift. Max and Liz were speechless…the picture was beautiful…they couldn’t believe it was them. Apparently they didn’t see what other people saw when they were together…it looked just like them.

Max lifted the framed picture and walked over to the fireplace and sat it on the mantle. It was just what the room needed, it radiated love, and he looked over at his bride and smiled a smile that came from the depths of his soul. Isabelle looked on in disbelief…was there ever a man more in love than her brother? Liz looked over at Max and melted…he was the most beautiful person on this earth, how did she ever get so lucky?
On that note Max said he had to check the steaks and Alex was right behind him. Isabelle asked Liz if there was anything special she wanted to do while in Europe and she said,

“No. The idea of being with Max for 2 ½ weeks without interruptions sounds positively heavenly. I would like to see the normal tourist attractions of course…but I think I would also like to do some unconventional things as well.”

“Well, what I was thinking, how about taking a car on an overnight excursion through the countryside of all three cities? The outskirts of London are an entirely different atmosphere than the city as are the outskirts of Paris. You won’t have my car in France or Rome but you can rent these little scooters in Rome that have saddle bags on them that you can carry a change of clothes and some toiletries in or you can take the train to Florence and see the statue of “David”…don’t go on Monday though, the museum is closed on Monday…found that out the hard way.” Isabelle went on, hardly taking a breath of air.

Liz giggled at Isabelle’s enthusiasm…she seemed as excited as Max and her.

Liz said that it all sounded wonderful and why didn’t they wait until the guys joined them and then they wouldn’t have to repeat their thoughts and have things get lost in the shuffle. Isabelle agreed and Liz started to tell Isabelle about the temp they hired today for when she was gone.

Isabelle was impressed with Liz’s description of the girl…it seemed she was having trouble finding a full time job in her field, fashion, so she had been working as a temp for various firms in town. She just graduated from UNM in December; she was an early grad and had moved back home until she could find steady employment.

Isabelle said she would stop by the office tomorrow and have lunch with her mother and look the girl over. Maybe she would be able to find something for her with her firm. Liz smiled; she knew she was on the right track when she gave the girl the job at the firm for the next month. Always looking out for the other guy…that was the essence of Liz Parker Evans.

The girls joined Max and Alex in the kitchen and started setting food on the table; Max had taken the steaks off the bar-be-que and the potatoes were sitting on the same platter…Liz put the garlic bread under the broiler to toast it and removed the green beans from the steamer and lay them onto a nice flat serving dish and Isabelle got the salad from the fridge along with a container holding three kinds of salad dressings.

“Where did you get this Liz…its darling.” Isabelle said, pointing to the salad dressings.

“Oh, I found it at the linen shop where Jody gave us the gift certificate. It’s actually a jelly dish but I think it works quite well as a salad dressing server, no?”

“Yes, quite well in fact. I think I’ll stop by tomorrow after lunch with mother and get one for myself. Has mother seen this? I’ll bet she’d like one too.”

“No, I don’t think she has, but if you think she would like one let me get it for her. I never know what to get her for ‘just because,’ and this would be something cute to just show up on her desk.”

Max and Isabelle both looked at her and smiled…

“What?” Liz asked.

“What’s a ‘just because’?” Isabelle asked.

“Oh, sometime I just feel like giving her something because she makes me so happy and I have trouble finding some little thing that she can use without having to just find someplace to put it.”

“Oh, and do you do this very often?”

“No, not real often, but she does things that make everyone around her happy and she deserves a ‘just because’ present.” Liz smiled as she went about her business getting dinner on the table.

Max, Isabelle and Alex all smiled…she truly was a unique individual that was for sure and Max’s heart did a little squeeze as he watched his wife cut into her steak. He was beginning to believe that what he felt for Liz went beyond love. There didn’t seem to be a word to describe how he felt right now, but it definitely made him happy.

As the group ate their dinner Isabelle started to tell Max about her thoughts on using her car to take a side trip along the countryside of England and side trips in Rome and France as well.

Max continued to eat in silence and listened to his sister go on about the regular sights being important but the actual lifestyle of the people was just as important. Max agreed and said that they would go over the printouts he had done this afternoon and maybe she could help him get time slots and itineraries. Isabelle said she thought that was a great idea and Liz told Alex how happy she was with the wedding pictures.

“Maybe we can stuff the announcements that we’ve been working on tomorrow and get those in the mail before we leave on Friday.”

“Friday? You’re leaving Friday?” Isabelle said in astonishment.

“Yes…if we want to get maximum vacation time in before Max has to be back at the hospital we need to leave as soon as possible.” Liz said.

“Well, all I can say about you two is, you certainly don’t waste any time do you?”

“No…no need to; if you’re going to do it then do it. Right Max?”

“Right on sweetheart. Can’t let any grass grow under our feet…so the saying goes.”

And Max looked at his sister and grinned…no need to try and explain…he and Liz both agreed on this and Liz was right. If they are going to get maximum time out of this trip they needed to start it as soon as possible. And so the evening progressed to looking at printouts that Max had from his internet search that afternoon and Isabelle explaining the length of time to visit the places of interest and distance between them. All in all they had a very pleasant evening and Max and Liz were almost sorry to see the evening end. Isabelle was extremely interesting and helpful and Alex was a lot of fun. He had a very dry sense of humor and was constantly cracking jokes, and… he was also an extremely talented photographer.

Isabelle and Alex bid their farewells around 10:30 and Liz told Max that they had time to stuff the pictures into the wedding announcements, which were already made out and addressed, and the thank you notes to everyone as well. It shouldn’t take them long at all. Liz had already put postage stamps on everything and if they stuffed them now they could put them in the mail tomorrow and that would be one less thing, actually two, they would have to worry about. Max just smiled at her and told her to go get them.

He turned the TV on to get the local news while Liz was gathering up the envelopes to put the pictures in and as he sat and pondered the last month he started to understand what Isabelle was talking about at dinner. They certainly didn’t waste a lot of time thinking about things, they jumped right in and did. Very interesting he thought…even the house…he didn’t think twice about getting it, if it goes through great, if not they will find something else. Of course, not all young people starting out have the advantages he and Liz have had but he felt that, even without the family they have, things would be the way they are.

Soon Liz returned to the living room and sat next to her husband who pulled her close to him and gave her a small kiss on the temple. Liz looked up and smiled at him as she sat the box of announcements and thank you notes on the coffee table for them to finish up, she had put checks into the ones for the Choir and Father and included a picture for Father and Sister Margaret. She felt this would be a nice gesture since they went out of their way to make their wedding so special. And so it went, they were happy and content and one day closer to Friday.

*~*~*

katy: Smart girl!!!
Carolyn: There are so many versatile pieces of kitchen things out there it's unreal...and this honeymoon should be the "be all that ends all" Grandma Claudia would agree.
Pandas2001:/b] It's really great when we can find a use for things that otherwise just take up space and the fact that it's on your desk is a double gift because you can remember the person that gave it as well as finding a use for it. I like that. Oh, and thank you for reading...I really appreciate it.

*~*~*

Ch.: 37-a



The rest of the week seemed to fly by and soon Liz and Max found themselves sitting in the airport with Maria and Michael by their side. Max silently chuckled to himself, yes, they definitely were joined at the hip; his mother was right. They had already checked their luggage and found some seats outside the gate to sit and relax in before heading into the gated area. Maria and Michael sat quietly while Max and Liz looked over their itinerary the travel agent had printed out for them and Max had printed a copy for Michael and Maria in case they needed to get in touch with them for any reason. None of them could think of any good reason to get in touch with each other but you never knew for sure.

Soon Max took Liz’s hand in his and nodded toward the escalator and Liz smiled up at him and stood…she grabbed Maria’s hand and squeezed it...

“I’ll see you in a couple of weeks Ria, behave yourself while I’m gone. Save the fun stuff for me too.”

“You know I will chica, now go enjoy yourself, don’t think of anything except keeping Max happy.”

Liz smiled and said she would and then Michael grabbed her into a great big bear hug and made her promise to have a good time. Max hugged Maria and then he and Michael gave each other a hug and pat on the back.

“Have a great time Maxwell, you two deserve it.”

“Thanks Michael, I know we will and take care while we’re gone…okay?”

“You know it Max and I’ll take care of anything important that comes up…just relax and have a good time.”

“You can count on it.” And with that Max and Liz headed toward the secure area of the airport to check in.

They were through the x-ray machine in no time and then had to take a shuttle to their gate for the first stop of their journey…New York City.

There was a limo for them at the main gate waiting to take them to their hotel. Isabelle told them that the limo service wasn’t too much more expensive than a taxi was and it was much nicer on such a grand occasion and Max couldn’t have agreed with her more. It was very nice to have the car waiting for them and Liz certainly was impressed, she reached up on her tiptoes and gave him a nice big kiss on the lips and finished it off with a big smile. The limo took them to their hotel where the honeymoon suite was ready and waiting for them. It was just as nice as the one they had spent their wedding night in and they planned on initiating this one in almost the same manner as the other with one exception…they would leave the room for some dinner and a show.

They both giggled when they walked in and looked over their accommodations, “You like?” Max asked.

“I love.” Liz answered.

Max told her they had a couple of hours until their dinner reservations and asked what she would like to do first…Liz looked up at him then over to the bed then up at him again and he winked as he grabbed her into his arms for a nice, long romantic kiss and then he eased them to the bed with all the smoothness of a lion stalking his prey. Liz just smiled into Max’s mouth and sighed…he chuckled into her hair and they proceeded to take advantage of the huge bed in the center of the room. Oh, this was going to be one fun honeymoon.

As the sun started setting across the city Max and Liz made love to each other, taking their time to enjoy every part of each other’s bodies and reveling in the touch of each other. Their world consisted of just the two of them, this room, this bed, this time and life was beautiful. They had become very attuned to each other’s needs and the exploration taking place left them in a state of ecstasy that words could never describe. When they had reached their climaxes they were weak from the pleasure of it all, and when it was time to start getting ready for their night on the town they weren’t sure they really wanted to go. But they convinced each other that they really should get up and take advantage of their overnight stay in New York, so they got up from their romantic place on the bed and headed to the shower for another round of ecstasy.

By the time they left the shower they really had to hurry if they were to make it to the restaurant in time for their reservations. Max chuckled as he told Liz that they should start showering separately if they were going to start making it to meetings on time and Liz answered, “Never, they can wait.” Max laughed out loud at her as he grabbed his wallet and watch and answered the phone…their limo was waiting for them…they had just made it.

They arrived back at their hotel around 11:30 p.m. and made short work of getting undressed and into bed…time was of the essence since they had been toying with each other all evening getting each other aroused in the most public of places, this was going to be a great honeymoon, they both knew it…neither had packed anything to sleep in…naked was the uniform of the night. They didn’t have to be at the airport until 5:00 p.m. Saturday evening so they practically had all day to get ready for their trip abroad.

They got up fairly early on Saturday, around 8:30 a.m. and decided to shower (together) and then head on out to see some of the city. They called the limo service for pick up around 11:00 a.m. and they went to the hotels’ restaurant for breakfast. When the limo arrived they loaded all of their luggage into the back and told the driver they wanted to go sight seeing…and if there were any places they could get out and see and still make it to the airport by 5:00 to please let them know.

The driver was more than happy to oblige the young couple…they were two of the most beautiful people he had ever had the privilege of escorting and their personalities were even more beautiful than their physical appearance.


The driver took them over the Brooklyn Bridge, through central park, along Broadway, past Rockefeller Square, past the Empire State Building. He explained, if they wanted to get out and take the elevator up to the top of the Empire State Building it would take a couple of hours and Max looked at Liz and they both shook their heads ‘no’, maybe another time, so they headed to the United Nations Bldg. and then for an early dinner.

Their driver took them to Little Italy and they all enjoyed Italian Food at a little hole in the wall restaurant that served some of the most delicious Italian food Max and Liz had ever tasted. The driver was elated that he could do this for them and told them if they ever came to New York again to please call him…he would see to it that they got special rates and would definitely make sure their visit was all they hoped it would be. Max and Liz thanked him and gave him a huge tip when he dropped them off at the airport.

So far their trip was everything they had wished for and then some. Of course they had no idea that it was they who were making it this way, no one else.

*~*~*

When they got into the airport they checked their luggage and found their way to the security gate and stood in line with all of the other travelers waiting to get checked through. They took their shoes and jackets off, put their belongings into the tray provided and worked their way down the line. Before they knew it they were on the airport shuttle that would take them to their gate where their plane was sitting there waiting to take on passengers, this was starting to get very exciting! Liz looked up into Max’s eyes and he pulled her close and winked at her, then leaned in and kissed her softly on the temple. They took a seat on one of the available benches for two and Max asked,

“Excited?”

“Oh God Max, I think I might pee my pants.”

“Oh God Liz, please don’t” Max chuckled and Liz just wiggled in her chair. Max reached out and took her hand in his and started telling her about the places he had read about on the Internet. Liz listened to the soft drone of his voice, put her head on his shoulder and began to relax immediately.

He had a way with her that no one else ever did…it was uncanny.

Soon their flight was called and the babies and wheel chair bound were loaded …then first class, that was Max and Liz. They had very little carry-on. Liz put a small bag together with a change of underwear, toothbrushes and toothpaste, her newly filled prescription which she started taking yesterday morning and a couple of crossword puzzle books, pencils, and her purse. Max only carried his laptop in a briefcase along with their passports and itinerary, Izzie’s address and her suggestions for some sight seeing excursions on their own and the GPS he had rented at the airport at home. They were ready to start their trip. This was very exciting.

*~*~*

The trip across the Atlantic was uneventful…they had movies and music available to them along with their own viewing screens, blankets and pillows and practically around the clock food. All in all the time passed fairly quickly and the two of them were very contented just being with each other.

Their stewardess noticed how much in love the two young newlyweds were and couldn’t help but enjoy their enthusiasm with life and each other. They were definitely unique.

They managed to get some sleep and when their stewardess walked past the two young lovers she could only smile at the sight. They had lifted the arm rests between their seats and Max had pulled Liz over to his side where he had turned towards her and she was nestled in his arms so comfortably that it looked as though she had been born to be a part of his body, her back to his front in a spooning position. Other passengers smiled as they walked by and noticed the two of them sleeping so soundly together. It was truly a beautiful sight to behold.

They landed in London on Sunday and it didn’t take them long to find their luggage and as they headed out of the airport to hail a cab they noticed a sign with their name on it. Max went over to the young woman holding the sign and introduced himself and she introduced herself to him as Isabelle’s secretary, Jane, and told them she had brought Isabelle’s car for them. She told them they could just drop her off at a local bus stop but Max insisted they would take her home, which they did of course after loading their luggage into Isabelle’s gold colored Rolls…talk about impressed.

After Max dropped Jane off he keyed Izzie’s address into the GPS he had rented and they were on their way to Izzie’s apartment. He had some adjusting to do getting used to driving sitting in the right side of the car but it wasn’t too bad and they made it without incident. Liz was very impressed with her doctor to say the least, she was also impressed with the apartment building located in Knightsbridge…it was quite swanky and when they passed Harrods department store she almost dislocated her neck, that was one place she definitely had to visit before leaving. Max looked over at her and only smiled, it looked like some shopping was in store for them very soon.

When they arrived at Izzie’s apartment building they were very impressed indeed. It was swank, modern and upbeat. They were extremely surprised and wondered why Isabelle chose to live in a posh place like this when she could be living in her own home…I guess it’s none of their business how she chose to live and they decided they would just enjoy the accommodations while they were there, very nice indeed, they must call her and let her know how much they liked it.

When they reached the apartment Liz made a beeline for the bathroom and when she got to the door she came to a screeching halt. The place looked like it was lined in gold; all of the fixtures were brass that had been polished to such a high sheen that they literally looked like they were gold…she yelled,

“Max, come here.”

Max literally ran to the bathroom to see what, if anything, was wrong and stopped dead in his tracks…

“Good God Liz, do you think it’s really gold?”

“No, but I don’t think Iz spends all of her time polishing this shit…I bet she pays a pretty penny to keep this stuff looking like this. My God Max, just how much money does that sister of yours make anyway?”

“I haven’t a clue. I knew she was well paid but this borders on ridiculous…I‘m going to have to ask her why she would consider leaving a job that made it possible to live like this.”

“Boy, I don’t blame you…I think I’ll add my two cents worth to that conversation.”

With that Max and Liz proceeded to check out the rest of the apartment and were surprised at the provisions in the kitchen. There were fresh fruits and vegetables as well as a pantry full of canned and dry goods and a freezer full of meat. There was a fully stocked bar and a wine rack that had been freshly stocked with some of the finest red and white wines available. Max looked at Liz and raised an eyebrow…she smiled and nodded in assent and Max took out his cell and called his sister,

“Hello Max, arrive safe and sound?”

“You bet we did and we are standing in the middle of your kitchen wondering what in the hell you did?”

“What? Isn’t everything to your liking?” She was a little puzzled…

“You know it is and then some. Did you think we would never leave the confines of these rooms Iz?”

“Well, if you decide not to leave you are going to be well provided for that’s for sure.” She said with a giggle.

“One question Iz, why in the hell would you leave a job that paid you enough to live like this and come back to the states? This place is a dream.”

“Oh Max, it isn’t mine, it belongs to the company. It’s used to do a lot of entertaining as well as being my residence, one of the perks of the job. If I was going to live there permanently I would definitely buy a place before paying the rent on that place.”

“Glad to hear it Iz, I thought you had lost your mind for a minute there. Are you sure it’s ok for us to be here?” Max was a little concerned now…

“Of course it is…it is my apartment after all and you are certainly welcome to stay there. Besides, as long as I’m not there it isn’t used, since I make all of the entertainment plans for the company.”

“Good to know…just wanted to let you know we are impressed and we will be here until Friday evening when we take the small plane over to France…will talk to you later Iz. Tell everyone we arrived safe and sound and send our love.”

“Will do Max and have fun, okay.”

“You can count on it.” With that Max hung up and Liz handed him a nice tall cool glass of cherry coke and proceeded to go over to the large window overlooking the city and look out. The view was as awesome as the apartment and Max just stood and looked at Liz…he thought she looked more awesome than the city below and as he started to get that warm feeling that he was beginning to get used to he sat his drink down on the glass coffee table and walked up to his wife and wrapped his arms around her waist and started to nuzzle her neck. She leaned into his chest with her back and sighed a huge sigh and smiled as she turned her body around to face him. He was busy working his way down the front of her blouse and she moaned into his ear as he moved his hands around and up and down her back…then she whispered to him,

“You know Max, we haven’t checked out the bedroom yet and I’ll just bet it is as impressive as the rest of this place…what do you think?” as she sort of rubbed against him very suggestively.

Max mumbled an, “Mmmmm-hmmmm.” He reached down and put his arm beneath Liz’s knees and lifted her effortlessly into his arms and carried her into the bedroom for some serious lovemaking. They had forever together and it was time to make another memory. After a long and leisurely round of playing with each other Liz and Max fell asleep…and they didn’t wake up for hours…they had no idea just how tired they were until they awakened.

They made it to the bathroom and took a long and playful shower and since it was still pitch black outside they went back to bed for some more fun and games and another nap. They awoke when the sun was just coming up over the city and they arose to watch from the beautiful living room window. They stood with Liz’s back to Max’s front and admired the beauty of their surroundings. Life was beautiful and they said a silent prayer of thanks that they were allowed to be a part of this. It was Monday morning and time to start sight-seeing…that is why they came, wasn’t it?

*~*~*

After having breakfast and cleaning up the kitchen Max took out his briefcase and retrieved his computer printouts and the notes he had made with Isabelle’s help. Liz sat next to him on the couch and they went over the notes together and after deciding where they would like to go today they headed out to the car and programmed an address into the GPS for Buckingham Palace, it would be their first stop of the day, and it looked as though it was going to be a beautiful day at that.

They were armed with the usual camera’s, backpack and notes to assist them with the days adventures and Isabelle’s suggestions for restaurants and various sights not normally visited by tourists but were as interested in the very popular tourist attractions as well. Max suggested to Liz that they visit the fashion house of Isabelle’s employment also and Liz thought that was an excellent idea. They made the 10:00 a.m. tour of the palace…had lunch and then went back for the 1:00 p.m. tour in another part of the palace and then headed to the fashion house.

They were extremely impressed with the place and so glad to have put it on their list of things to see. When they entered the main lobby Isabelle’s secretary, Jane, recognized them immediately. She was relieving the receptionist and told them she would gladly give them a tour if they would just have a seat and wait for a couple of minutes. They were very happy to oblige and promptly found a comfortable place to sit while they waited.

Max took hold of Liz’s hand and placed a kiss on her fingers and she gave him a very big smile and melted right into his shoulder…this did not go unnoticed by the people in the lobby who had been watching the young couple since the minute they had entered the lobby. Most of the people were employees or designers and thought that Max and Liz were models.

Soon Jane joined them and before she started to show them around she introduced them to the staff that had been milling around to see who the beautiful young people were.

Everyone was impressed when they found it was Isabelle Evans’ younger brother, the doctor and his new wife, what a beautiful couple they made…of course Isabelle was quite a looker herself.

Jane took them through the entire upper floor where the designers’ all had their spacious offices and showed them Isabelle’s office as well. It was very impressive and Max saw a picture of their families all together at one of the holiday gatherings. Liz was quite surprised that her family would be a part of Isabelle’s display…she felt really privileged knowing that Isabelle thought enough of them to display them in her office along with her own family. Max was very pleased as well, he had no idea Isabelle would have a picture of any of them let alone all of them; it was very nice of her.

Jane showed them where they held their impromptu fashion shows, where they held their hush-hush meetings and then she took them to the cutting rooms where the miracles happened. This was really impressive…Liz couldn’t believe the size of the cutting tables and the bolts of fabric that were stored everywhere. There were mannequins that looked almost like sticks…did they really believe that women were that skinny…God, this had to be an advertisement for anorexia, no one could be that skinny and still be alive, could they?

Max noticed the look on Liz’s face and started to chuckle…”Honey, they’re just mannequins.”

“Yes, Max, but my God, healthy women aren’t that skinny…not even unhealthy women are that skinny…these mannequins represent the dead for Chris-sake!”

With that remark Jane burst into laughter…she had never heard it put quite like that but when you think about it she was right…then she explained…”Mrs. Evans…” and Liz interrupted her immediately…” Jane, call me Liz, please.”



“Liz, the mannequins are that thin because they are used for test runs and it doesn’t take as much fabric to make samples. It gives the designer a chance to see if the design will work in reality.”

“Oh…thank God, I was really getting concerned about the health of your models.”

Jane continued to giggle as she moved to another section of the building. Max gave Liz’s hand a squeeze; he too was a little relieved to find out that they didn’t starve their models to death.

By the time they had finished touring the fashion house it was getting close to dinner and Max and Liz invited Jane to join them if she had no plans. She explained that she was going to spend the evening with her boyfriend and Max suggested that he join them as well if she wanted to. Jane said it would be wonderful and did they have any particular place in mind and Max suggested that they go to a restaurant that Isabelle had suggested; Jane was very impressed and asked what time should they meet and where?

“I don’t know Jane, what would you suggest…should we make reservations? That would give us a better handle on the time, don’t you think.”

“Yes, it would…wait right here.” And Jane excused herself and went into another office and made what looked like more than one phone call, after which she came out and asked Liz to come with her for a minute and told Max to relax and read a book or something. Max raised one eyebrow in question and Jane told him it would be all right…they would only be about 30 minutes. With that she took Liz toward the elevator and when they got off on the fourth floor Liz saw racks of ladies dresses in just about every style and color imaginable.

There was a woman dressed in a very prim dress and full body apron waiting for them and Jane introduced Liz to Mildred. Mildred took Liz by the hand and headed over to a rack of gorgeous semi-formal evening dresses and took a color chart from a shelf and held it up to Liz for a minute and the next thing Liz knew she was practically stripped down to nothing and had on the most gorgeous rose colored dress she had ever seen in her young life. Mildred took Liz’s hair and wrapped it around her hand a couple of times and pinned it up high on top of her head and turned Liz toward a wraparound full length mirror.

Liz just gasped; she couldn’t believe this was her staring back at her. The dress had a fitted bodice with spaghetti straps and the fullest skirt in yards of the softest fabric she had ever felt and it was layered from the top layer down to the last layer graduating from the darkest of rose colors down to the lightest pink imaginable for the final layer next to the lining. All in all the skirt had to have at least 7 or 8 different colors under the rose color. Liz had never felt anything so soft in her life, and it seemed to hug her hips and show every curve of her body, she wondered how this was possible with all of that fabric. This had to be the finest fabric ever made…it was almost as thin as saran wrap. She felt like a princess in it…she looked at Jane and asked…

“What is this for?”

“It is a gift from us to you…do you like it?”

“It is the most beautiful dress I think I have ever seen, but I can’t accept this.”

“Of course you can…it is one of Isabelle’s creations and I think I know who she had in mind when she designed it…don’t you agree.”

“No, Isabelle would design a dress for me at home…not here…for the company.”

“Of course she would, when our designers start out with a thought or idea they usually have someone in mind that they envision the finished product on…don’t you think? The minute I saw you I knew she had you in mind for this. Mildred confirmed it with the color chart, now it is yours…please take it with our compliments.”

“Let me pay you for it then…please.”

“Oh no, a gift is a gift, is it not?”

“Well, yes…I guess it is. Thank you.”

“No, thank you for letting us see just how perfect this design will work. Trust me; we will be able to sell many of these now that we know who we need to show it for us.” Liz was catching on to the fact that Jane was just a little more than Isabelle’s secretary.

“Well, thank you Jane. Now should we get back to Max before he thinks you have kidnapped me?”

“Of course.” And with that Jane had the dress wrapped in a garment bag for Liz while Liz put her jeans and top back on and both girls headed back to Max who had been patiently waiting for them.

“Well Max, the reservations are all set for 8:00 p.m. and the car will pick you up at Isabelle’s around 7:30. John and I will already be in the car and we will head out to dinner from there. After that I thought we could go to some of the clubs, does that sound like fun?”

“Of course it sounds like fun Jane, but we didn’t want to take up all of your evening with your boyfriend.”

“Don’t be ridiculous Max, you are actually making our evening an enjoyable event since we didn’t really have anything planned…now we have a wonderful evening planned and it’s going to be great fun.”

“So it would seem.” Was Max’s only reply.

With that Max took Liz’s hand and looked at the package with a raised eyebrow and she just shrugged her shoulders at him and handed him the garment bag to carry…and they headed out the door to the car.

When Max and Liz arrived back at the apartment the doorman looked at the garment bag in Max’s hand and smiled…the young couple had been to Miss Evans’ place of employment…he hoped he got to see what the young Mrs. Evans would be wearing, he just knew it would be a beautiful sight if Miss Evans attire was any indication of what was in the bag.

Max and Liz proceeded to take their showers and Liz still had not opened the bag for Max’s viewing…she wanted to surprise him, she was still a little dumbstruck by it all and didn’t know what to tell him…so she decided to just show him what they gave her.

She spent some extra time on her hair and did it up the way Mildred had done it…very casually lifted to the top of her head…she left a few tendrils down and then she applied just a little more makeup than she usually wore and when she was finished she went to the closet to retrieve her only pair of stilettos, which by some magic were just the right color pink for the dress. A pink thong was her only underwear and when Max went to the bathroom to finish getting ready she unwrapped the dress and stood in the middle of the bedroom waiting for him.

Max walked out of the bathroom ready to go except for his jacket and when he caught sight of Liz; he almost passed out. His knees buckled and he sat on the bed and stared and stared…he couldn’t say a word. Liz slowly turned around and asked. “Do you like it?”

Max didn’t say a word…he just kept staring.

“Max? Honey, say something.”

Max gulped…”God Liz, you are the most beautiful vision I have ever seen in my life. Where did you get that dress?”

“It’s one of Isabelle’s designs, they gave it to me…it’s mine. I wanted to pay for it but they wouldn’t hear of it. They said they now know who she had in mind when she designed it and they gave it to me. Can you believe it?”

“No. Yes. God. I don’t know what to say. It’s positively gorgeous, as if it was made for you, and I guess it was…was it the right size?”

“Yes, they pulled if off this rack, stripped me down to almost nothing if you can believe it and put it on me. I just stood there in disbelief Max. You have to feel this fabric…it feels like it isn’t even there, that’s how fine it is. I can’t believe it. I feel so elegant in it Max. I don’t think I have ever felt so pretty in my life.”

“Oh Liz, you are always beautiful, but that dress does look positively awesome on you. The color, the style…everything is beautiful. I am going to have to lock you away if you look any better. God, you look good enough to eat.”

“Well, I am going to hold you to that one lover…just you wait.” Max just chuckled at her…he really didn’t want to wait but he knew he would.

About that time the house phone rang and the front desk told Max their car was there for them and Max escorted his gorgeous wife down to the lobby where the bellhops had all been waiting for their arrival. The doorman had told them about the garment bag they had with them when they got back from their day out and they knew they were in for a treat…and boy were they. Every eye in that lobby followed the young couple out the door. To say that Max was proud of his wife was an understatement. He was the envy of every man in that apartment complex and he knew it; there was an extra spring in his step that evening and he knew exactly why it was there.

When they exited the building there was a black stretch limo waiting for them and Jane and John were seated in the back waiting for them. Jane introduced John to Max and Liz and John had to do a double take. Isabelle Evans was a beautiful woman but this petite brunette could hold her own with anyone on earth…she was a vision to behold. Max took notice of John’s double take and felt very proud of his wife and his sister for that matter. It seems she must be held in very high esteem where she worked to be able to have a relative treated with such high regard. Yes, he was proud indeed.

They went to dinner in a very nice section of London and the restaurant was extremely posh. They had a lovely time and when Max requested the check from the waiter he was informed that it had been taken care of already. Max looked at Jane and she smiled and said it was on the company and to relax and enjoy the evening…it was their pleasure to be able to treat Isabelle’s family for a change. She was always doing things for everyone else and now it was their turn. Max wasn’t really sure what Jane was talking about but apparently Isabelle was being repaid for kindnesses that he and Liz were unaware of. So Max and Liz decided to just relax and let them treat them like royalty.

After leaving the restaurant the limo drove them to a very nice nightspot where there was live music and dancing and the four young people had a very good time visiting with each other, learning about some of the cultural differences of their countries and some of the slang. Some of it was almost like speaking a foreign language…all four of them laughed at the various uses of words and the more they drank the funnier they seemed to get.

They finally arrived back at their building around 3:00 a.m. and thanked Jane and John for a lovely evening. Max told Liz that they would have to send Jane some flowers tomorrow and Liz said she agreed and they also needed to send a thank-you note to someone…but she didn’t know to whom. They would have to call Isabelle and ask her, but Max had a promise to keep first, remember?

“So Max, do you remember our conversation before we left?”

“Don’t you know it, c’mere.” Max reached out, undid her zipper and let her dress fall to the floor and there she stood in her little pink thong and those pink stilettos, Max gulped and told her the dress might have been beautiful but it didn’t have a thing on the sight before him right now.

Liz giggled, kicked off her shoes and said, in a very sultry voice…“ I think one of us is overdressed.”

With that remark Max quickly got out of his clothes and lifted his lovely bride up into his arms and made a quick retreat to the bedroom. He lay her down in the middle of the bed and started working his way up her body starting at her ankles with very hot lingering kisses, working his way up to her inner thighs with his hands, drawing tiny little circles over her hips as he worked his way up to her breasts.

When he reached the top of her legs he brought his hands down to the elastic on her thong and reached under and pulled it off in one easy movement and threw it over the side of the bed. He then took his thumbs and spread her lower lips to reveal the hard little nub resting there in wait for him…he looked up into Liz’s beautiful eyes that were half closed, watching him, and he placed a kiss on her inner thigh and then kissed her in the place he knew would send her into the throws of passion. It didn’t take her long to reach down and take a handful of his hair and play with it as her legs automatically spread wider for him.

He felt wonderful and he was doing such wonderful things to her body that she could hardly wait…she moaned and whispered his name into the air. Max smiled at her responses to his ministrations; she made him feel like a giant and he loved her.

Liz was very relaxed and it didn’t take her long to pull her husband up her body and place a long and passionate kiss on his mouth and whispered…”I love you so much that it scares me.”

“Don’t be afraid Liz, I’m right here and I’ll always be right here.”

And with that Max started to love his wife as passionately as before and soon they were both writhing in the pleasure of each other’s bodies; life was just beautiful for these two, just too beautiful.

*~*~*

Katie: Yep, this Isabel is not a princess but a hardworking designer, loving daughter and sister. An over achiever but still all of the above.
Eve: Wouldn't we all But there are some good ones out there, I think!
Carolyn: I'm going to have to remember that...I sleep in tank tops and pajama bottoms, my robe hanging on the wall on a hook in back of my bathroom door and I wash it every once in a while. I'm one of those people that get out of bed, take a shower and get dressed before I ever leave my bedroom. I don't know what I would do in a situation like that..most likely grab my jeans and a sweat shirt and leave. I do keep a t-shirt handy, usually one that matches my pj bottoms. Sexy lingerie has never been my thing...pj's are it.

*~*~*~*

Chapter: 37b

Liz and Max both slept the sleep of contented babes and when they awoke the next morning it was almost noon. They didn’t get to sleep until around 5:30 and they were close to exhaustion by then, but now, six and a half hours later they felt pretty refreshed. Max wanted to know what she wanted to do today and she said maybe a tour bus would be nice since they were getting such a late start. They could catch the two o’clock bus and take the extended tour…get off and on when they wanted to and just spend a leisurely day letting someone else do the driving.

Max thought that was a great idea and then suggested they call Isabelle and ask her who to send a thank-you to…

“Great idea Max, and tell her about the dress and ask her if I should have it cleaned and returned.”

“Great idea, but Liz, I think they meant for you to keep it.”

“I know, but I just don’t feel right about it.”

Max leaned over and kissed Liz on the nose and promised to ask, and then he picked up his cell and dialed Isabelle.

“Hi Iz, need to ask you a question…we had dinner with Jane and John last night and according to Jane the company picked up the entire tab…Iz, I don’t feel right about this and also, they gave Liz a dress from the designer’s room and she wants to know if she should return it?”

“Oh Max, I am so glad you got to go out with Jane and John, aren’t they the most fun? And as for the dress, it belongs to Liz. I actually designed that dress with Liz in mind now we will get to see what it looks like, how does it look? As for the thank you, just send it to Jane she will take care of it. Other than that how are things going?”

“Things are going wonderful…we went to Buckingham Palace yesterday and took two tours then stopped by the fashion house just to see where you worked and Jane spotted us and the rest of the day was spent with her. She gave Liz this gorgeous dress and then showed up at the apartment with a stretch limo, which we took to dinner and then clubbing. It was fantastic and Liz looked positively bewitching. Thank you.”

“You are very welcome Max…just keep on enjoying…what are your plans for today?”

“We are going to take one of those tour buses that you can get off and on anytime you want to, Liz said we should take a leisurely tour through the city and if we want to spend some time going through anything we can just get off and take a side trip.”

“Sounds like a great idea Max. Make sure you visit at least one of the china shops along the way, not that you need to buy anything but they are something to behold. There are copies of the queens’ china in some of them as well as a lot of the older china patterns that are extremely interesting. Take the time to see as much as you can up close and personal Max…it is a wonderful experience.”

“Thanks Iz, we’ll send some flowers to Jane and a thank you before we do anything…and oh…do you know what her favorite flowers are?”

“I know that John is always sending her white tulips…maybe you could send her a mixture, that way you won’t be stealing John’s thunder.”

“Gotcha, will do and thanks for everything Iz…love you and tell the rest of the family we send our love as well.”

“You’re welcome Max, and I certainly will.”

Max snapped his cell phone shut and smiled at Liz who was coming out of the bathroom with a couple of towels in her hand and he told her the dress was hers. She smiled back at Max and squealed… “Oh goodie!” Max just laughed at her and then asked…

“Are one of those for me?” pointing at the towels, and Liz just smiled and shook her head yes. With that piece of information Max was up and grabbing his naked wife around the waist and planting kisses everywhere he could find a spot that wasn’t covered. Liz giggled into Max’s shoulder and they headed for the shower.

After a leisurely shower Liz headed for the kitchen and got some cereal out of the cupboard and milk from the fridge…sliced some fresh fruit out of the fruit basket and made some toast. They had a nice breakfast in the dining room in front of the window that overlooked a park and enjoyed ‘people watching’ while they ate. Liz cleaned the area and did the dishes while Max found a florist in the phone book and ordered Jane a very large display of colored tulips and soon the two were on their way to the tour bus stop that they had spotted yesterday while they were on their excursion about the city.

Soon they were sitting in the upper deck of the bus with their little maps on their laps listening to the guide speak in a perfect “king’s English” accent. They enjoyed the tour guide as much as the tour. They had paid for a three-day excursion, which didn’t cost too much more than an all day excursion just in case they wanted to disembark too many times today. They thought this made more sense than coming back tomorrow and paying again.

*~*~*

After their tour bus excursion on Tuesday our young newlyweds decided to continue with the bus on Wednesday as well since it was a whole lot nicer for Max not having to drive and miss half of the sights and a whole lot cheaper than parking and they were seeing a whole lot more with a tour guide pointing out things they were not aware of and otherwise would have missed by doing the driving themselves.

All in all they were very happy with the tour bus idea…it was working out quite well. They spent a few hours in a museum; they stopped and went through the tower of London, took pictures in front of Big Ben and enjoyed the many churches and cathedrals along the way.

They took the tour of Westminster Abby and stopped at a park with street vendors and spent a few hours eating fast food and walking through the park. On Thursday they decided to take a side trip through the countryside and spend the night in a little inn that Jane had told them about. It was on a par with a bed and breakfast in the states and Max and Liz thought this sounded very quaint.

Jane had explained that the drive through the countryside to get there was beautiful and she was sure they would like it. It was only about 70 miles away, which would give them a nice drive without being too tiring, and the Inn had a very nice hiking trail around the area.

Max and Liz thought this sounded wonderful, so, on Thursday they had a leisurely breakfast and headed out of London around 2:00 p.m. in the afternoon toward the Cotswolds. It was a sunny afternoon and the drive was positively breathtaking. The villages with their thatched roof cottages and lovely market towns had a tendency to take you back to a time that you thought only existed in fairytales. Isabelle was right…the countryside was beautiful and Liz and Max were too enthralled with the scenery to take the time to talk about it, they just enjoyed it...

Max and Liz took picture after picture and stopped many times just to soak in the beauty. What memories they would have for the rest of their lives, Max reached out and wrapped his arms around his wife’s waist, his back to her front, and he melted as he stared out at the space before them. How beautiful life was, and he thanked God for all of his blessings once again.

*~*~*

They arrived at their destination about 4:00 p.m. and the Inn was everything Jane had said it was and more; Max and Liz were given a very lovely room overlooking the hills behind the Inn. The hiking trail started just beneath their bedroom window and seemed to disappear into the side of the surrounding forest. It was all too quaint for words, and then Liz noticed a church steeple off to the left and pointed it out to Max. “I think I would like to go over there and have a look at that small church Max.”

“Well then let’s get ourselves downstairs and go check it out.”

With that the two of them left their room and headed down to the main room of the Inn and asked if they needed reservations for dinner and the desk clerk told them absolutely not…just make themselves at home and when they were hungry to go into the dining room and sit anywhere they wanted to. Max said thank you and with that they headed over to the road that lead to the church.

They walked down the side of the road and enjoyed the surrounding scenery…there was a rock wall surrounding an old cemetery to left the side of the road next to the old church and when they arrived at the old building they found that it was very well kept. The name of the church was situated on the side of a little framed sign post and the times of Sunday services were listed. Liz went up the four long steps leading to the front door and found it to be open; she motioned to Max to follow her and they went inside.

It was very old, the pews were well worn and the aisle leading to the main altar was also worn but well kept and very clean. The stained glass windows were old and beautiful and Liz felt a certain nostalgia as she took a seat toward the middle of the old building and looked all around at her surroundings.

She was in awe at the obvious age of the building and how long it held a place of honor in this little community. Max sat beside her and took her hand in his as he too observed the old place. They hadn’t noticed the old man sitting in silence toward the front of the church but he noticed them. He was surprised to see the young strangers visiting his church…he usually didn’t see anyone until Sunday services so he arose and approached the young couple.

“Are you new to our village?” The old pastor asked the young couple.

“No sir, we are spending the night at the Inn and will be headed back to London tomorrow afternoon…is it alright that we visit here for awhile?” Max answered.

“Of course it is. I don’t usually see anyone in our church except on Sunday and I hardly ever see a tourist in here. Have you traveled far?”

“We are here on our honeymoon from the United States, we’re headed to France on Friday and then over to Rome for the last leg of our journey on Monday. We wanted to see some of the outlying areas of England before leaving. My sister works in London and she suggested that we take a side trip in each country to experience the lifestyle of the general population.” Max told the old man.

“Sounds like you have a very smart sister young man. After all not all of our countrymen live in places like London.”

“You’re right about that, just as not all American citizens live in cities like New York, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles and the like. The majority of us live in small communities and work very hard for a living, such as yourselves.” Max replied.

“Very true, and what are your names young man?”

“Oh, this is Liz and I’m Max…Max Evans, what should we call you?”

“You can call me Reverend Timothy Max and what are your plans for the rest of the evening?”

“Well, since we drove over from London we thought we would just have some dinner at the Inn this evening and then tomorrow we would take advantage of the hiking trails. Do you have any other suggestions Reverend?” Max asked.

“Well, if you’re interested, we are having a book club meeting this evening in the local pub; it’s about 3 miles down the road and we would love to have you join us if you are in the mood. One of our new authors will be there to read from her new novel.” Reverend Timothy told Max.

Liz looked at Max and nodded yes and Max then asked the old man…”Have you had your dinner yet Reverend Timothy?”

Timothy looked at Max and saw the sincerity in the young man’s face and replied “Why no, not yet.”

“Great then, come join us for dinner and we can go to your book reading together in our car.”

Timothy agreed and with that the three of them exited the church and headed across the road and back up to the Inn for dinner. Max and Liz had many questions about the little community and asked Timothy if he had always lived there…

”Oh dear me no, I came over from Scotland many years ago as a young minister and have had many parishes through the years. Although, I do believe that this is my favorite, but we learn at a very young age to not get too attached to one place. We may be ‘shipped off’ so to speak at any given time. Therefore, it is always a wise idea not to get too settled in.” Timothy spoke almost reverently about his lifestyle. Max and Liz looked at the old minister and almost felt sorry for him to not be able to get settled in and enjoy your surroundings. Max felt that Timothy should be permitted to choose where he would live out his remaining years. He seemed like a very old man to Max but Max didn’t want to ask about retirement and such…he felt he would be overstepping his boundaries so he kept the conversation light and talked mostly about the area in general, the age of the church, how old the community was and what did most of the people do for a living around this part of the country.

Liz kept a close eye on the old minister and decided that, on closer examination, he wasn’t quite as happy as she thought he should be but she kept her observations to herself.

He certainly wasn’t anything like Father Mike, that’s for sure. But of course Father Mike worked at the hospital for a living and had his own apartment and did what he pretty much felt like as long as he carried out his duties at the hospital. What a difference, even though Father Mike told them that he was a Passionist Priest and they were a poor order Father did not live on a bread line. He had a car, clothes and had days off to visit his sister and took vacations all over the world. He pretty much lived the good life, whereas this old minister seemed to like where he was but was afraid to ‘unpack his bags’ so to speak. What a difference. Liz felt sorry for him and would remember to include him in her daily prayers that she managed to fit into her schedule. She wondered if Max made time to pray. She would have to ask him about that.

The three new friends finished their long leisurely dinner and it did not go unnoticed in the Inn that the new arrivals had made a friend already, and then they proceeded to take Isabelle’s car and head on over to the pub for some literature. This sounded like fun…something the two young people had never done before. It just goes to show you, it pays to be friendly to people.

When they walked in with Reverend Timothy they were all greeted with smiles and Timothy made introductions all around and soon Liz and Max were seated at a table right in front of the dais with a pint apiece and Rev. Timothy had joined them after saying hello to everyone there.

The author eventually took her place on the dais and welcomed everyone, including the newcomers, and proceeded to thank the people for having her back to her birthplace. She thought it was wonderful of them to make her feel welcome after all of these years and she only hoped that she would make them proud of her.

They applauded her intro and then she started to read some selections from her book aloud. She had a marvelous voice and held the audience spellbound for over an hour. Max and Liz were both impressed with her and wanted to know where they could purchase a copy of her book and she informed them she had a box with her and then Max had an idea.

“May we purchase all of them from you?”

The woman looked at them like they were nuts and they explained.

Max said, “We are on our honeymoon and feel almost obligated to purchase souvenirs for everyone and we don’t want to give them useless trinkets…” Liz popped up with “But your book would be something special to us and meaningful to all of them as well, what do you say?”

“Well, I guess I can do that…why don’t you give me your name and address and I will ship you a case of them and that way you won’t have to tote them around with you.”

“That will be wonderful; we can pay you now and then you can just send them when you contact your publisher.”

“Oh no, I will send them to you C.O.D., that way your money won’t be tied up and I know that you will receive them…now if you give me your name and address and a list of the recipients I will autograph them for you as well.”

“Oh, that will be wonderful.” Liz replied and she took a business card out of her wallet and handed it to the woman and told her to give her a minute and she would write a list of names for her, Liz was smiling so brightly that it looked like the sun had come out and chose to shine from her face.

The pub owner gave her a tablet to write on and Liz proceeded to list the people they wanted to give the book to and when she had finished she asked her if she could ship two cases; they all laughed at her and said of course. And so the evening progressed and the young couple made a room full of new friends and about 11:00 p.m. they asked Timothy if he was ready to leave and he said of course. With that Max and Liz bid everyone a goodnight and drove back to the little church and dropped Timothy off before going back to the Inn.

When they got back to their room they were surprised to find their luggage had been placed on the luggage racks next to the bathroom and their beds were turned down.

There were two thermos’s sitting on the table by the window…one with tea and one with coffee…there were two cups turned over on two saucers along with a basket of biscuits covered with a napkin sitting next to the thermos’s. They noticed a jelly jar with a spoon next to it and a note regarding breakfast. It would be served from 7:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. Max smiled at Liz and told her they would have to send another thank you note to Jane, this place was absolutely wonderful.

Liz had to agree and then she went over to the window and drew the blinds shut and motioned for Max to join her in the bathroom which it didn’t take him long to do.

They had a nice long leisurely shower together and headed for their bed…what a surprise…the entire bed was nothing but down. The mattress, the pillows, the comforter and even the blanket under the comforter seemed to be down. Could they get any luckier they thought.

This bed was like sleeping on a cloud, oh the fun of it all…they both giggled in warm contentment at the feel of all this soft bedding…how wonderful…boy are they going to make some memories in this place…WHOOPEEEE!

Max reached over and pulled Liz into him, nuzzled his head into her neck and growled as he held her, remembering all of the wonderful experiences they had so far and relishing the thoughts running through his mind. The more he thought the tighter he hugged his wife. He didn’t have to say anything to her because she knew what he was feeling…she was having the same thoughts and they were wonderful.

She snuggled down into the warmth of her husband’s body and started drifting off…this was almost too much for one human to handle.

When they awoke in the morning the sun was trying to peek its’ way through the shades on the window and Max looked down into Liz’s eyes and noticed that she was watching him as well.

“Looks like we were a little more tired than we thought last night, no?” He asked as he pulled her closer, if that was possible.

“Oh, I don’t think it was so much tired as it was a feeling of euphoria…I can’t ever remember feeling so at peace with the world or myself. It was wonderful just being in your arms and feeling loved and protected.” She said.

“That is exactly how I felt. I wanted to keep you in my arms forever and just preserve the happiness that I was experiencing. I didn’t want to ever let you go Liz, I still don’t. I love you with my whole heart and soul.” He placed a kiss on her forehead and smiled down at her lovingly…

“Oh Max, if you love me half as much as I love you I will feel cherished forever. Promise, you will always be with me, always.”

“Oh sweetie, you know I will…don’t even think thoughts like that, ok?” He squeezed just a little more…
“Okay…it’s a deal.” And with that Max rolled over taking Liz with him and planted a great big kiss on the top or her head and told her he had better visit the bathroom before they had to pay for all of these feathers. Liz giggled and let go of him…but she told him it was only for a minute…he agreed…but then she had to meet him in the bathroom with the same problem and soon they were back in the shower, only this time it was playtime.

After they left their room, around 9:00 a.m., they headed to the dining room for some tea and toast before heading out on their walk. They decided to take their luggage out to the car so the maid could clean their room and get it ready for the next visitors but they told the desk that they wouldn’t be back for their car until sometime after noon.

The clerk smiled and told them to take their time and to be careful…there were a lot of cattle roaming the hills and although the path was fenced it didn’t mean that a frisky young heifer couldn’t work her way to greener pastures if she wanted to. Max and Liz both chuckled at that and said they would keep an eye out for any strays. If they should find some what should they do…and the clerk said to ignore them…it was the owner’s problem to take care of his stock. Max nodded and they left on their hike.

After a few hours of walking through the countryside and taking picture after picture they reluctantly headed back towards the Inn for some lunch and then back to Isabelle’s place. So far they had had a marvelous time…and as hectic as it might seem it really had been very relaxing. To say they were a couple of very happy young people was an understatement.

They arrived back at Isabelle’s apartment around 6:30 p.m. and decided to have dinner in the apartment and relax before their excursion to France in the morning. The flight wouldn’t be very long but they had to make their way through a foreign speaking airport and were not really sure just how good their high school French had stuck with them. So they settled in and had a light dinner of canned soup and sandwiches made up of the provisions in the refrigerator and Liz sliced some fresh fruit and vegetables and made a platter of finger foods to munch on. They opened a nice bottle of wine and had dinner in the dining room with the lights turned down and the drapes pulled all the way open. Max found a CD that he knew they would both enjoy and they had a very quiet, romantic evening just enjoying the scenery and each other.

Around 11:00 p.m. Liz started cleaning up the dining room and Max lifted their luggage onto the racks in the large walk-in closet and started to pack his belongings away. He came out and asked Liz if she would like to do a load of laundry while they cleaned up and she thought that would be great since Isabelle had a laundry room in the apartment. So Max gathered up the laundry and started the washing machine while Liz was putting the dishes away. Max came out to the kitchen and told her she could go in and pack her things and he would finish cleaning up since he had finished packing his bag.

Liz suggested that they wrap the bread and perishables in zip locks and put them into the freezer for when Isabelle returned. Max thought that would be a great idea and told her to go on…she could come back out and help him when she had finished packing…she gave him a quick peck on the lips and told him she would hurry, he just gave her a grin and kept on working.

By midnight the two of them had finished with all of their chores and were ready for a good night’s sleep but first they had to try out that bathtub…it looked like a miniature pool…Liz lit all of the candles in the bathroom and found some very nice bath oil to put in the tub and then she called Max in to join her…he took one look at the room and made short work of his clothes and crawled right in with her, they were really going to enjoy this…Max reached out and pulled Liz to him, allowing her to straddle his lap and wrap her legs behind him.

He reached out and retrieved a sponge laying in a dish on the side of the tub and used the bath gel next to it to lather it all up and proceeded to wash Liz’s back for her and as he rubbed around her shoulders and down to her waist she leaned in and rested her head on his shoulders and rubbed his chest with another sponge she had retrieved from the same dish. Soon she was lathering a very prominent part of Max’s body that he wasn’t ready to be lathered, or so he thought. Liz let go of the sponge and started a very nice rhythm with her right hand, while her left was busy rubbing the back of Max’s neck.

She continued to rest her head on Max’s shoulder and soon she started blowing little puffs of air into his neck. Max was finally too engrossed in what was happening between their bodies and he dropped his sponge and reached around and started massaging Liz’s breast and slowly working his way down to her core…he found her nub and started rubbing circles, applying more pressure as Liz’s performance started making him very hard…soon Liz moved her body into position over Max’s very prominent erection and slid right down on top of him…she was now holding on to his shoulders with both of her arms and moving in a very sensual rhythm over his body…Max couldn’t take his eyes off of her…she was so beautiful, her long dark hair hung in soft waves around her face and it was as though she was in another world where only she existed.

She was concentrating so hard on pleasing Max that she hadn’t even noticed that he had moved his lips towards her breasts…she just continued to rock him to completion…and it didn’t take her long.

When she felt him release his juices she picked up the pace and it didn’t take her long to follow suit…Max felt her contract around his erection as she continued to milk him dry.

He thought they had experienced about every type of pleasure there was but this was something else. Just watching her work over him like that was one of the most sensual experiences he had ever had. He took her into his arms and held onto her for what seemed like forever. After they came down from their high Max finished washing Liz’s body as she did for him; they exited the bathtub with a newfound appreciation of each other and headed for the bedroom. They would clean the bathtub tomorrow.

*~*~*

It was about 9:00 a.m. when the two lovebirds awoke and decided to be a little lazy this morning. They didn’t have to be at the airport until 2:00 so they had quite a bit of time to laze around and straighten up the apartment. They didn’t have that much to do but they would have the breakfast dishes to clean up and the bed to strip. They knew a cleaning crew would be coming in but they didn’t want them to think Isabelle’s brother was a slob. So they stayed in bed and talked for a good hour about their trip so far and the wonderful people they met and the things they had done. They talked about what they would like to do when they returned home and also a little bit about the medical building and hiring Maria to run the corporate end of the business; nothing really heavy but just ideas running through their minds.

About an hour or so later they got up and stripped the bed down and put the sheets and pillow cases in the clothes hamper and folded the comforter and laid the pillows on top of it. They went into the bathroom and Liz ran water in the huge bathtub and rinsed it out while Max brushed his teeth and headed for the shower. Liz brushed her teeth and was soon in the shower with Max and they just looked at each other and laughed.

“Do you think we will ever be able to shower alone again?” Max asked.

Liz only giggled and said…”God, I hope not…why would we want to? This is so much fun.”

“You’re so right.” Max chuckled and they started washing each other off with big smiles on their faces.

Soon they were packed and ready to leave…they did one more check of the apartment to make sure all of the food was stowed, they had all of their belongings and everything was put back where it belonged…then they were off. The cab they had called was waiting for them when they arrived in the lobby and the doorman bid them goodbye and told them it was a pleasure having them as guests. Then he asked when Miss Evans was going to return and Max told him that she was working in the U.S. facility for a little while and he was sure it wouldn’t be too much longer before she came back…the doorman thanked him and told him and Liz to have a great time in Paris and Rome. They both thanked him and Max gave him a nice tip and they were off.

*~*~*

Eve:My grandmother was born in Ireland but lived in England until she was 7 and she talked about it until the day she died...she loved it there. Glad you thought the part was romantic... , remember, it is all memories.
Carolyn: About two years after my husband passed away my brother and I toured the Eastern state via car and every big city we went to we took the tour buses. We found that driving by these places not only made it impossible for the driver to enjoy but we were passing places we didn't recognize as having any significance at all. There was one place outside of Boston where they have the first marine research submarine and I really wanted to go back the next day and see it but it didn't work out. It was the fourth of July and what a nightmare. I remembered the significance of that submarine from when I was a kid and my brother had no recollection of it all...amazing isn't it...sometime I don't even remember what I had for dinner last night. SAD huh? Of course it wasn't anything monumental either.

*~*~*~*
Chapter: 37c

Upon their arrival in Paris Max and Liz had a tough time finding gate 35…they followed all of the signs and wound up in a large holding area for luggage carts and gate 35 was nowhere to be seen.

They spotted a man with an electric cart that looked a lot like a fork lift with the forks mounted sideways moving the luggage carts and they approached him and asked him where gate 35 was and he indicated he didn’t speak English…Liz quickly started counting in French in her head and came up with ”trois” and then held up five fingers since she was getting her French and Spanish mixed up in her head, the man immediately got a smile on his face and pointed to what looked like a solid wall across this large room and Max and Liz both looked at him with a puzzled look on their faces and he smiled at them and shook his head yes…

Max and Liz headed toward the wall and the closer they got they realized that it was actually a small wall with a hallway behind it; it was like an optical illusion or one of those Chinese doors with a barrier to keep out evil spirits, Liz giggled at the thought. On the other side of it, through a pair of sliding doors and up some steps was gate 35. What a relief.

They showed their passports and had them stamped and then they were permitted to pass through. They finally found their luggage and proceeded to head out of the airport and into the sunlight. What a beautiful day…they hailed a cab and gave the driver the name of their hotel and were on their way. The trip from England to France didn’t take any time at all and they were amazed at how energetic they both felt. It was probably adrenaline but they felt great whatever it was.

After checking in at the front desk of the hotel they were lead up to their suite and were very pleased with their accommodations. Grandma’s travel agent had done very well…the suite was beautiful, consisting of a large sitting room/dining room combination and a beautiful large bedroom with an adjoining bath and a huge walk in closet. They could look out their window and see the Eiffel Tower off in the distance and the bustling on the streets below seemed never ending and very inviting.

They unpacked their suitcases and made a quick stop in the bathroom before leaving their rooms and headed for the streets in front of the hotel. They decided to walk around tonight and stop at a random café or restaurant when they got hungry. They passed a pastry shop that looked like something out of a painting…it had some of the most delicious looking pastries they had ever seen. They would have to buy some of them before they left for Rome.

Max pulled out his map he had printed from the Internet and started to mark off where they were in respect to where they were headed when Liz suggested an evening sight seeing tour. Max thought this sounded like a great idea…after all it was the city of lights. He checked the map for a tour bus station and sure enough there was one two blocks ahead of them so they walked the two blocks and only had to wait twenty minutes for the next bus. As they waited they enjoyed ‘people watching’ as they held each others hands and snuggled close.

The sights were glorious…our two honeymooners sat and enjoyed the sights like two children turned loose in a candy store…they held hands, pointed out the sights to each other and all in all had a glorious time. When they spotted “Maxims” they asked the tour guide if they could disembark, have dinner and catch another bus later and the guide told them of course. The guide explained that the last bus would be by around 11:00 p.m. and to make sure they were out here by then. Then Max asked the big question, do we need reservations here and the guide raised an eyebrow and said, “It would be a good idea.” Max looked at Liz and she smiled and shook her head and said “Maybe we better wait until tomorrow for this place, and isn’t it kind of a famous fancy place?” Max agreed and they stayed on the bus.

They had a wonderful time…the guide had pointed out a lovely little restaurant that she was sure the couple would enjoy and told them the food was very good and the bus would pick them up right at this spot when they were finished with their dinner and they could continue on with the tour. Max and Liz thanked the guide and Max gave her a generous tip. She thanked him and the two disembarked and headed for the restaurant.

The guide had not made a mistake, the food was delicious and Max and Liz were very grateful to the guide as they were hungrier than they realized and enjoyed their meals tremendously. Liz told Max she was glad they had not gone to Maxims since she would like to wear her new dress again and Max agreed and told her he would make reservations tomorrow and hopefully they would be able to have dinner there before they left.

She smiled at him with a gleam in her eye and he asked her, “What?”

“Nothing.”

“Come on Liz, what?”

“It’s only that, I can’t explain it, I love you so much and sometime I just need to smile because it makes me feel so good just being with you.”

Max looked at her and almost started to cry, his heart actually felt like it was going to leap right out of his chest…she was, without a doubt, the most beautiful creature on God’s earth. How did he ever get so lucky? He reached over and lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the top of her knuckles and smiled, he couldn’t say a word or he would cry on the spot.

Their waiter was headed to their table and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the look on the two patrons faces, he had seen many lovers come and go in his time but this young couple took your breath away. There was something about them that left you speechless. He decided to wait before approaching them with a dessert menu and to leave them to their own little world.

Soon the honeymooners were back on the tour bus and headed for some nightlife and lights. It was only 9:00 p.m. so they disembarked again and headed for a little bar where they heard music. They decided it would be fun to have a drink and check things out up close and personal before being dropped off at their starting point. They stayed for about an hour or so, danced a few dances and spoke with some other American travelers who were also on vacation and about 10:30 they headed back to the bus stop and waited for the final bus of the evening. On their way back to the hotel they walked past the pastry shop and found that it was still open so they went in and purchased some very fancy breakfast rolls before heading back to their hotel. They giggled at each other over this and agreed if this kept up they would have to definitely join a gym when they got back home. Between the pastries at their favorite Tea Shoppe and this vacation they were not only going to need a gym they were going to need new wardrobes as well.

When they reached their rooms they discovered their bed had been turned down and an array of coffees and teas had been placed in the dining area on the buffet along with some very fancy pastries that looked as though they may have come from the pastry shop they had visited not 15 minutes ago. They looked at each other and started to giggle again…oh well…they would know better tomorrow wouldn’t they.

Soon they were in the very large shower enjoying each other very much and when they had dried each other off they headed for the huge bed that sat waiting for them in the other room and Max proceeded to show his wife, again, just how happy he was that she was his.

The next two days were spent sightseeing, eating, and enjoying each other’s company…they saw all of the usual tourist attractions and they did rent a car and drive through the countryside although they did not spend the night. They merely took a very long drive and had packed some cheese and bread, fruit and pastries and some bottled water and a nice bottle of wine in case they decided they wanted something besides the water. They were very happy they had taken the time to take this little side trip…Isabelle was right, it was beautiful. They spent many hours holding hands in very comfortable silence just enjoying the scenery and the relaxing drive…life was beautiful.

Soon their time came to an end and they found themselves in the airport again and on their way to Rome. They only hoped that it was as wonderful as the last week and a half had been…

*~*~*

After they arrived and hailed a cab to their hotel, which again the travel agent had really managed to come up with some beautiful rooms, they unpacked and readied themselves for another busy evening of touring and eating.

Their hotel was just across the street from the train depot and the main tour bus depots and they were also within walking distance from shopping and restaurants. They were very pleased with the locale and happy to find out that a very nice continental breakfast was served in an extremely elegant dining room every morning from 6:00 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. They weren’t sure if this was a good thing for their waistlines or not but it certainly looked nice.

After they freshened up a bit they headed out of the hotel and started walking through the streets, which were much narrower than they had expected, but it was fun taking in the sights and enjoying the people. There were a lot of scooters and scooter rental places just as Isabelle had told them and they stopped by one of the rental places and checked out pricing and overnight availability. Everyone they came in contact with spoke very good English and this made their lives a whole lot easier.

Soon they passed a very nice restaurant that was made completely of glass…the walls, roof, doors…everything was glass. You could see the people seated around all of the tables that were set in white linens and waiters dressed in tuxes and Max and Liz decided they were hungry, again. They looked at each other and started laughing and nodded; Max placed his hand on Liz’s back and led her into the restaurant for their evening meal.

Max ordered a pasta dish and Liz ordered a chicken and potato meal because she figured she would be eating a lot of pasta for the next couple of days and when they brought their meals to them both Max and Liz were elated. They shared portions of each other’s meals because they both marveled at the taste of their food. Liz had never had a potato taste so good in her life. It looked like it had been fried but it was also extremely light. That was the only way she could describe it, like a puff of air. Max tasted it and had to agree with her, it was definitely one delicious potato.

After enjoying their meal they walked some more and lo and behold they were standing in front of the Trevi Fountain. It was beautiful but it surprised them that it wasn’t as big as the movies made it look; they were not disappointed just surprised. They threw their coins in and made their wishes and Max put his arm around Liz’s waist and gave her a peck on the cheek, she looked up at him with that special smile and his heart started to swell again. He took her hand and they continued on with their walk, taking in all of the sights along the way, not doing a lot of talking, just enjoying being together and being in love.

They arrived back at their hotel around 11:00 p.m. and the desk clerk smiled at them as they walked in. Everyone noticed the two young lovers…there was something about them that drew people to them and made them smile. It wasn’t just their physical beauty, and they had plenty of that, it was something ethereal.

When they got to their rooms they headed for the bathroom which was completely covered in one-inch white and black tiles, the floor, the walls, the shower…everything was covered in these tiny white tiles and were trimmed in tiny black tiles…it made a very striking looking room. It wasn’t something they would want in a home or anything but they were impressed at how clean it looked, not antiseptic but nice. Liz told Max that she was getting an education in interior decorating as well as geography and history and he looked at her with a puzzled look and then he started to chuckle…”only you would come up with something like that Liz.”

She laughed right along with him as she removed her makeup and proceeded to get undressed…then she said, “It’s true Max, we have been in four different countries in the past week and a half, if you include the U.S., and just think about it. We have stayed in several different hotels and Inns and each and every one of them have had a unique décor, then add to that all of the famous sights we have seen and isn’t a wonderful way to learn history and geography, up close and personal.”

Max grabbed her around the waist and brought her close to him as he nuzzled her neck…”you’re right Liz, it is a lesson in history and geography…and just wait until tomorrow when we continue with our education, it’s going to be wonderful just like you.”

Liz melted into her husbands embrace and reached between them and started to unbutton his shirt…it didn’t take him long to figure out what she wanted and he was only too happy to oblige.

Way out in the distance they could hear thunder and see lightning and Liz couldn’t get close enough to Max…he chuckled into her hair as he hugged her close to him and told her that the Romans were marching out to war. She giggled into his chest and started moving her body in a very suggestive manner and it didn’t take Max long to catch on to what she wanted to do to take her mind off the weather. Oh life was just too grand.

*~*~*

The next morning they awoke to the sun shining through the window and there was no rain in sight…everything was beautiful. They lay in bed and snuggled with each other and talked about unimportant things and the sights they had seen so far and the sights they were going to see. Liz reveled at being in Max’s arms and Max never felt so content in his life.

They sort of lost track of what day it was and while trying to make a decision as to whether they should go to Florence today or tomorrow, they decided tomorrow for Florence since today was the day they had the tickets for the audience with the Pope and they certainly didn’t want to miss that. They could take the Vatican tour after the audience and do some shopping for some souvenirs while they were at it. Tomorrow would be a good day for the Florence trip to see the statue of David and the next day they would take a tour bus of the city. Things were starting to come to an end and they weren’t too sure whether they were ready to go home or not. They decided they didn’t like that conversation and turned their attention to each other…after all isn’t that what honeymoons are all about?

Upon arriving at the Vatican they got in line with all of the other people and found seats that seemed like a very long way from the podium but when the Pope made his appearance he rode around through the audience in something that looked like a golf cart and waved to all of the people. He passed by Max and Liz so close that they could have sworn they could reach out and touch the man…it was awesome. When the speeches were finished and the prayers had been said everyone seemed to scatter in all directions.

Max and Liz found their way through the gates to start their tour and found that they were able to join another group and their guide; this made things a whole lot easier than reading the map and looking for the various points of interest. The tour guide was very informative regarding the history of the various popes from Peter on down and some of the points of interest actually brought chills to the body.

The one thing that amazed them was the size of the Sistine Chapel…it wasn’t very big at all, the paintings were breath taking but the size of the place was a big surprise. It’s amazing how pictures can be so deceiving.

The Vatican guards were “cute” to quote Liz…all dressed in their colorful ancient uniforms. They looked like something out of a Shakespearian play. Max just looked at her and smiled when she said that…she was the one that was cute, just too cute for words.

To say they were impressed was an understatement. They loved the tour and then when they left the tour they went through some of the little shops that were located outside of the Vatican.

The religious icons were positively beautiful and Liz fell in love with a crèche and told Max that they should get one as a remembrance of their trip and he agreed. They would have one for Christmas anyway…so why not have one from Rome. The only difficult part was choosing which one, they were all so beautiful.

“Max, how big should we go? Are we going to display it under the tree or have a special place of honor for it? Maybe we should get a large one and a small one…what do you think?”

Max looked at his lovely little wife and smiled…pulled her in close and kissed her temple and said, “Liz, get two…one big, one small and one in between if you want. I’m sure we can use them with all of those cake plates.” And then he started to laugh…but really…in that big house they probably could use all of them but she didn’t know that.

With that remark Liz elbowed Max in the ribs and he faked a double over in pain position and when he looked at her she saw the gleam in his eye…’oh was he going to get it later’. So, without further discussion Liz chose a small set complete with shepherds, angels, wise men, sheep and the entire village to go with it to put under a Christmas tree and then a larger version to set in a place of honor somewhere else in a house. Max just watched her and smiled…she was certainly having fun, no doubt about it. They made arrangements to have the items shipped home for them and then they were on their way.

They purchased some smaller items for the family and friends and headed out to catch a tour bus back to the city. They had a set of earphones with a tape player that explained the sights as they passed them and when the bus headed down a little side street they noticed a lot of people heading into a small restaurant.

This was a good sign that the food was good so they disembarked and walked into a very old but very clean large room packed with tables and patrons. You got in line and placed your order first and then a very pleasant elderly man seated them and took their drink orders…he spoke broken English but was easy to understand and he had no problem understanding them either. Liz noticed the couple at the next table were eating a hardy bowl of some kind of soup and asked the waiter what it was…he explained that it was potato soup and asked her if she would like to try some and she gave him her killer smile and said of course.

Max noticed the old gentleman was very taken with that smile, as were most people, and Max could only sit there and grin at his reaction, she was just too beautiful for words. Liz tasted the soup the gentleman had brought her and she ordered a bowl with her lunch. It was delicious.


After they had their lunch they went back outside and waited for the next bus to come by and proceeded on their tour. They got off at the coliseum and again joined another tour group that spoke English and walked all through the ruins. The coliseum itself was very large but the arena, again, was smaller than the Hollywood version. It was amazing how it was built in so many stories, and for the most part was still intact. We should take some lessons from the ancients Max said and Liz agreed…in more ways than one.

After getting back on the bus they made a few more stops and eventually wound up back at the main depot where they headed over to the train station to check out schedules for their trip to Florence in the morning…off to see David in all of his glory.

When they made their reservations…not too early…they headed across the street for their hotel to get ready for dinner. They decided to take a little nap before showering and Liz got completely undressed while Max was in the bathroom and when he came out he started to melt…they had made love that morning when they awoke and then again before they got dressed for their tour but here she was in all of her naked glory and his body was sending him some serious messages that he couldn’t ignore…

“God honey, look at you, you’re driving me nuts over here.”

“Well then, just come on over here lover and we’ll work on your ‘nuts’ for you.”

Max took one look at her and crossed the room to where she was standing and grabbed her into his arms and started to laugh, “Liz, is it going to be this way forever?”

“Oh I hope so.” was her only reply as she started to unbutton his shirt and jeans. He lifted her effortlessly onto the bed and started to devour her with kisses and she melted…she couldn’t get enough of him, plain and simple.

After they finished with the fun and games they cuddled up and fell asleep for a few hours and when they awoke it was dark out. They took their time showering and getting ready for dinner and Liz decided to wear her “Isabelle” creation one more time. She did love that dress…she took it out of the closet and hung it over the door and when Max exited the bathroom he saw his lovely wife standing there in her pink stilettos and pink thong and his body started to come to attention one more time…he had to control himself and try to ignore the beauty before him…”Liz, can I help you put your dress on?”

Liz looked over at him with a puzzled look and said, “Sure, if you want to.”

Max looked at her with hooded lids and replied, “Liz, you have to put your dress on now or we are not going to leave this room, maybe never.” He could hardly stand it…

“Oh. Okay Max. You can zip me up, How’s that?”

“That’s fine but let’s do it quickly.”

“Right you are big boy, one dress over the head.” She said as she pulled her dress over her head.

Max gulped and Liz turned around so he could zip the dress…God he didn’t want to.

He whipped her around and planted a very sensuous kiss on her lips and then let her go just as quickly and grabbed his jacket, wallet and keys and escorted his lovely wife out of the room.

When they entered the lobby they ran into a couple they had met on the tour bus earlier and the lady asked Liz where she got that beautiful dress. Liz answered, “It’s an original by Isabelle Evans, have you ever heard of her?”

The woman raised an eyebrow and said, “Yes I have, and she does extraordinary work doesn’t she?”

Liz smiled and answered, “She certainly does, we are all very proud of her; she’s my sister- in-law.”

The woman got a strange look on her face and then looked at Max who only smiled an acknowledgement in the woman’s direction, he wasn’t sure he liked her or not. She looked as though she didn’t believe Liz. Max didn’t care if anyone knew Isabelle was his sister or not but he didn’t want anyone thinking his wife would make up something like that. Liz noticed the look as well and just smiled at her sweetly and told her to have a good night. Max took Liz by the arm and nodded to the woman and her husband and escorted Liz through the hotel doors and they started their short walk to “Alfredo’s”.

The woman walked over to the desk clerk and asked if he could give her the name of the couple that just left. The desk clerk smiled and said, “That’s Dr. and Mrs. Maxwell Evans.”

He had witnessed the exchange of pleasantries and was sure that Max and Liz would not mind him giving out the information to her, he used the doctor on purpose, it was on Max’s passport and he felt the woman needed to be put in her place…she was so obviously green-eyed about Liz being the sister in law to a designer who was very well known throughout Europe. The desk clerk smiled at her and the woman’s husband took her by the arm and led her to the elevators. He turned and nodded to the desk clerk with a knowing smile and disappeared behind the elevator doors. The desk clerk thought to himself, boy did she have that one coming.

Max and Liz arrived at Alfredo’s shortly thereafter and were pleasantly surprised at the size of the place. It wasn’t a large fancy restaurant at all, it was very clean, very well lit and the waiters were all in white jackets and black pants but the restaurant was not overly decorated.

The tables were placed along both sides of a long room and another row down the middle. There was a long table across the back of the room as well and there were two elderly men entertaining the patrons. One had an accordion and one played a guitar and sang it was very homey and inviting.

They were greeted by the host and seated in the center of the room on the left hand side slightly away from the other tables. Taking notice around them they saw that all of the patrons, so far, had been seated in such a way to afford them some privacy during their dining. Max and Liz both smiled at the host and began to read the menu. When the waiter came back to take their order they asked what he would suggest and of course he explained that Alfredo’s was famous for its’ fettuccini Alfredo and of course that is what they ordered.

They were very surprised when their waiter, accompanied by the chef, brought a large platter of pasta and several cups of different cheeses and began adding these to the hot noodles right at their table. It didn’t seem like they had spent hours making a sauce…it was all of these cheeses mixed into the hot noodles and it was delicious. Liz told Max that she and Maria were going to have to check this out on the Internet…they had spent hours making different sauces and had ordered this same dish in America but it never tasted like this. Max smiled at his beautiful wife and told her that he was sure that hers was delicious as well.

“It’s good Max, but this is so different.” She smiled

“Yes, this is different, but isn’t that why we’re here, to enjoy the difference?”

“You’re right Max, but wouldn’t it be great if I could do this at home?”

“Well, you’ve just seen them do it and it didn’t look all that hard to me. All you have to do is figure out the combination of cheeses and you’ve got it made.”

“You know what, you’re right, but I’ll bet we can’t get these cheeses in America.”

“Probably not, but I’m sure you can come close. Now what did you think of the conversation you just had in the lobby of the hotel?”

“You noticed that? I thought it was my imagination…what a bitch!”

Max chuckled at that description; perfect…he couldn’t have put it any better had he tried.

“Do you think she thought I was lying to her Max?”

“I don’t know Liz, but it surely looked that way. Anyway, whether you have on an I. Evans original or not, she’ll never look as good as you honey no matter what she has on.” And with that he gave her a killer smile and a wink as he continued to enjoy his pasta.

Liz blushed at Max’s remark and said a shy “Thank you, Max. I love you.”

“Welcome baby and I love you too. Now let’s talk about what we are going to do tomorrow.” And with that they dropped the subject of the ‘bitch’.

After leaving the restaurant they found a little Irish Pub, if you can believe it, and went in for a drink. Everyone in there was having a wonderful time and Max and Liz found a vacant table and sat down to enjoy the festivities. They stayed there for a couple of hours and met some very lovely and interesting couples from various parts of the world and had a very enjoyable evening.

They arrived back at their hotel around 11:00 and the desk clerk nodded as they came in.

He motioned for Max to come over to the desk and he told Max about the woman wanting to know their names and hoped that Max didn’t mind that he gave her the information. Max smiled at him and told him not at all, and asked him if he was sure that he emphasized ‘Evans’. The desk clerk grinned at Max and told him, “absolutely…’Doctor Evans’.” Max grinned at the young man and nodded his appreciation and then took Liz and headed for the elevator.

“What was that all about Max?” She queried.

“Nothing important honey, he just wanted to wish us a goodnight.”

“Oh, how nice of him.” Max smiled as they exited the elevator on their floor and led his lovely wife to their rooms. (Sometime a little ego felt good.) They had a long day ahead of them tomorrow and if he wanted to get Liz out of that dress they needed to get busy.