Roswell Fanatics

Roswelllostcause: I know you're right...the girls have known each other practically all of their lives and I believe Isabelle has a soft spot for smaller sizes.
Eve: I believe you're right. I think Isabelle has a certain body type in mind when she does a design and Liz just happened to fit the dresses she had perfectly.
Carolyn: I think they had a great time shopping too. Thank you for the well wishes and you're probably right about going to bed too early on 12/31.
I hope your New Year celebration with your family turned out well...God bless

Let's Hope I Copied the Correct Chapter This Week!!!!

Chapter: 41

The girls arrived at the stadium in plenty of time to find the men and say hello to everyone before the game. Liz got to meet June and Jane, Olivia’s twins and her sons and husband and even had time to talk to Anne, Katy, Marge and Susan about having the boys in the wedding. The women looked at Liz as though she had lost her mind.

“You’re sure about this…Max didn’t twist your arm or anything?” Katy asked. Liz laughed at her and said…”Katy, it was totally my idea and Max thought it was great…he can’t wait to see them all dressed in their tuxes…honest, it was totally my idea. I really want them.”

“Well, if you’re sure about this I can’t see why not. Maybe you’re right.” Then Katy looked at the boys all running around like little hooligans and thought to herself ‘Liz is nuts…totally and irreversibly nuts!’ Liz followed her line of vision and thought to herself ‘isn’t that the most precious sight you’ve ever seen? God, I hope my kids are that happy someday’ and she smiled to herself. ‘Yes, they will make the wedding perfect…’

The Philly’s won another and now were two away. The stands went wild as did Liz and everyone was elated.

Max was a little quiet at dinner that night and when they all headed to bed and things were quiet Liz draped her arm up around his neck and nuzzled in. “Scared?” she asked.

Max put his hand over her arm and said, “Yeah, a little. This is really big you know.”

“Yeah, I know but ‘one day at a time’ remember. You can’t fret about something that hasn’t happened yet, as hard as that may seem. I told you before…no one is a loser at this point, whatever happens.”

Max rolled over and pulled her in closer…”I know love…but it’s still scary.”

“Okay, you’re allowed to be scared for a minute…then shake it off and think about something else.” Liz scooted up Max’s chest just a little.

“Yes maam. Oh, by the way, how did the shopping trip go? Were you able to find anything?” Max planted a kiss at Liz’s temple…

“Yes, as a matter of fact…we are all outfitted to the nines and are ready to go.” Liz rubbed little circles on Max’s chest….

“Really! All of you? Even mom?” Max smiled into Liz’s hair…

“All of us, even Mom…and guess what? My dress…it’s an ‘Isabel’ design.” Liz was still drawing little circles…

“No shit…she does wedding gowns too. Or did you decide to wear something else?” Max just hugged and smiled…

“No, it’s a wedding gown…apparently she designed a couple just for the fun of it and they were picked up. I love it Max…I love it as much as the dress I got in New York. I told her that we were going to have to work out a deal with each other if I was going to continue to buy only her designs. She seemed very pleased that I liked her work so much. It is beautiful Max. And Isabel and Maria chose beautiful matching dresses in different colors…oh, and Max, wait until you see your mom…she’s a real knockout.”

Liz leaned up to look at Max now… “She bought her outfit at the first place we went to and then the rest of us got ours at the department store by the Liberty Bell. At first I thought I had the address wrong but it was definitely located in the department store. The owner leases the space for her shop. She said it’s less expensive than anywhere else.” Liz was really getting excited about the entire day now…

“So, do you like the dress?” Max smiled…

“Yes…it’s in the attic along with the rest of our dresses so don’t go exploring okay; although the ladies and I are going up there in the morning to look around. That place really looks interesting. Oh, Max, what is above that one garage out back?” She asked as she now positioned herself atop Max’s body to continue their conversation…

“Oh, that’s an apartment. I believe they had it for the chauffeur at one time. I’ve never really taken a good look around, just peaked in when we first looked the property over. Why do you ask?” Max wrapped both of his arms around Liz and smiled …

“Just curious. That’s what we thought it was too but weren’t sure.” She continued to look Max in the eyes with a tiny grin on her face…

“I see…are you getting tired yet?” Max grinned back.

“Yes, do you feel better yet?” Liz smiled,

“Yes, now let’s get to sleep. Tomorrow’s another big day.” And Liz scooted off Max and took her place next to him.

“Yes it is…” Max held Liz’s head up to where he could reach her lips and gave her a very sweet goodnight kiss and our lovebirds both went to sleep with smiles on their faces.

Down the hallway there were three other women almost as happy as the young woman wrapped up in her fiancés embrace. Happiness was contagious.


*~*~*

The next morning all the women headed for the attic together along with Olivia as the men headed out to the golf course for a quick nine holes before getting ready to head out to the ballpark. Olivia couldn’t wait to see what they had purchased yesterday.

She had been up to the third floor many times to dust and vacuum and to make sure that all of the stored items were in good condition, but she never knew what Max was going to do with all of this stuff and she never thought to ask him. If he was going to start a facility for children he just might need all of these beds and linens she thought. Then the elevator opened and the women all stepped out into this huge room.

Liz went over to the clothing rack and started to remove the garment cover from her dress and Olivia just stood there in awe. “Oh Liz, it’s positively beautiful…” she said in a very low voice…

“Oh, and Liv, Isabel designed it which makes it extra special.” Liz was smiling so big that she had everyone smiling…it was contagious…

“Oh My! Isabel, I knew you were a designer but this goes beyond my wildest imagination. It is out of this world.” Olivia was awe struck.

Isabel was starting to get embarrassed with all of the compliments so she went over to her garment bag and showed Olivia her purchase just to shut her up and then Maria joined her in kind.

Diane just stood there and smiled…”I’m not sharing today. I’m keeping my dress a surprise…not because I think it’s so great but if I take it out of that bag I will definitely want to show it to Philip and I’m just not going to do that until the day of the wedding. So it will stay right where it is. But I definitely agree with Olivia, you will all look radiant…I can guarantee it.”

They all looked at her and smiled and said thank you. And they all knew exactly how Diane felt about her dress, it was beautiful, and she looked beautiful in it.

After the ‘oohing and ahing’ was all over with the women departed the attic and headed to the kitchen to see if they could help Olivia with anything. She informed them that she had it all under control and to go enjoy themselves.

Liz excused herself and went up to her room to take a nap, she had no idea what in the hell was going on with her system... she slept fine last night. She would just check in with her GP when she got home.

Home she thought…she really had to give some thought to getting back to Connecticut….and that thought really made her tired. She never wanted to go back there, ever again, and yet there was a part of her that couldn’t wait to get back to the lab and start on a couple of new projects. The one for the company Mr. Jarred had told her about and then some for herself. Her mind was working double time and she finally calmed down enough to go back to sleep.

When Max and the men finished up their nine holes it was almost lunch time and then he would have to head out to the park again. They all came in through the back door talking and joking and then split up to find their significant others.

Max checked out the library, living room, sun porch and the gym before heading to the kitchen to find Olivia…”Have you seen Liz anywhere Liv? She seems to have disappeared.”

“She’s upstairs napping Max…I think the excitement is taking its toll on her and she just needs some rest.” Olivia replied…

Max looked at his trusted housekeeper and said thanks and took the back stairs two at a time. ‘I hope you’re right Liv’…he thought to himself and then he entered his room and saw her all curled up in a little ball under the throw that had been lying on the chair. ‘She looks so tiny’ he thought …’Please God, just let this be a tiredness, okay.’ Max prayed silently and then he slipped off his shoes and lay down next to her. He reached over and brushed the hair away from her face and smiled. She looked so peaceful and …’OH! No Boy …Down’…she didn’t need him all over her now. He scooted over and put his left arm under his head and reached out with his right and pulled her in closer to him. He kissed her forehead to see if she was fevered, she wasn’t, and then he just held her and fell into a light sleep of his own.

Diane walked past the two sleeping quietly and pulled the bedroom doors closed just in case any noise carried up from the lower level of the house and continued on her way.

A little while later Liz started to awaken and felt Max lying next to her; a small smile appeared on her lips as she opened her eyes and found herself looking into Max’s chest. ‘Oh how nice she thought’ and then Max opened his eyes and met hers…”Are you feeling alright Liz?”

“Yes Max, of course, I’m just worn out from all of the running around, excitement and company. I’m not used to all of this activity, I haven’t been this active in my entire life…I don’t think, at least not in a very long time anyway. It’s usually get up, go to work, come home, eat, go to bed and start all over again the next day. You have to admit that this has been a very busy few weeks for me; an exciting very few weeks at that.”

“Well, if you’re sure you’re okay then I’m okay. Would you like to stay home today…maybe watch the game on TV?” Max asked with concern in his voice.

“Are you NUTS!$#@! I wouldn’t miss this in a million years…hell no I don’t want to stay home.” Liz practically shouted to the roof tops…

“Whoa…okay…you don’t have to stay home. I was just trying to help.” Max was a little surprised at her reaction…this wasn’t like her at all and then he chuckled, it was funny, really.

“Oh Max, I’m sorry…I know that…c’mere.” And Max did as requested and soon the boy was at full mast again and Max allowed him to reign supreme. Max was one happy man. After their little make out session both young people headed for the shower to get ready for the game and soon they were all off for more excitement.

Mr. Jarred even called Liz and told her to congratulate Max. He had heard through the grapevine that Liz and Max had gotten engaged and wanted to know when Liz would be back…She assured him that she would be back in the office on Monday morning bright and early and she definitely would stop in before heading to her lab.

He smiled and thanked her and asked her if it would be alright to set up a press conference on Monday. She told him it would be fine and she would see him then. Then Mr. Jarred had an epiphany…

“Oh, Liz, what about the series…don’t you want to see it through?”

“Yes and No…I am so excited about the whole thing that I think I just might come unglued. Max doesn’t know this but I am really close to screaming with anticipation. I don’t know if I can handle much more.

“They only need one game and they are headed out of town. I know it shouldn’t make a difference but the home team usually does have the advantage if for nothing else but the fan support. I don’t think I can take much more of this…it’s all so overwhelming. I would love to see the end but I don’t think I can handle it.” Liz assured Mr. Jarred.

“Well, if you want to go you let me know…we can survive until you get back. Let me know okay?”

“I will Mr. Jarred and thank you.”

“You’re welcome Liz…”

Then Liz had a brainstorm…”Mr. Jarred, would you and your wife like to come to the games?”

Mr. Jarred only took a nano of a second to answer…”Yes…”

“Good, when you get to the stadium you just give them your name…your tickets will be there waiting for you…I am so sorry I didn’t think of it before. You can sit with us and get to meet everyone…I know you will like them.” Liz rushed out…

“It’s okay Liz…if I would have thought of it I would have asked. Thank you. I will see you on Saturday.” Mr. Jarred said with a smile in his voice.

“Oh good…see you then.” And the two hung up. Liz felt like a fool not thinking of this sooner.

Roswelllostcause: Helen, you are so smart!!!
Carolyn: Hope all the celebration went as planned and the birthday was a success.
As you will note with this chapter, Liz has allowed her mind to wander in a goofy direction for an intelligent woman but the chief made her take a look at herself. She and Max will have some free time to get used to the idea of marriage. I think Max takes a little turn in the direction of a little off balance this chapter but he'll be fine.
Eve: Hope you had a great birthday. As for Liz, I think she'll be fine as soon as all of the excitement is over with. We'll see.
Smileeuk: No, Liz doesn't need to go back to work but it is part of who she is...she really wants to do her studies, not so much for the recognition she gets but for the help she is able to provide for people. I think Phillip is going to be pleased beyond words when he see Diane.


Chapter: 42

It was none too soon that the Philly’s took the pennant and Liz was able to get Max to go to a printer and choose some invitations to get in the mail. After they made their choices and found a calligrapher to do the addressing Max called his dad. He had some very important business for him to attend to before doing anything else.

*~*~*
When Liz got back to Connecticut she called and made an appointment to see her regular doctor. She knew she was just overtired but wanted to make sure that was her only reason for feeling so sleepy before making any more plans. She was right, nothing really major going on, but she did have some news for Max that would have to wait for a one on one visit.

*~*~*

Liz was planning her new project and getting her crew ready when she decided to ask Mr. Jarred about transferring some of her crew with her when she made her move to Philadelphia. She no longer went through her immediate supervisor for anything … she went straight to the top.

It was no secret to anyone in the company that she was now the fair haired girl and it had nothing to do with her fiancée. It was all on her merits and the major breakthrough on her last project. She had proven herself in the short time she had been with the company and was well recognized in her field of work.

Mr. Jarred listened to the young doctor present her case and then asked her if she had asked anyone if they wanted to move.

“Well no, not yet…I thought I should find out if it was possible before presenting the idea to any of them.”

“Well Liz, I know you are excited about your pending marriage and I really don’t blame you…but you must realize that the people working here are more or less happy with their quiet life style.

“Philadelphia is a much larger city than Farmington, Connecticut and I’m not so sure they would want to move. You can certainly ask them and of course they will be permitted to transfer but don’t be disappointed if they don’t want to. And besides Liz, the people in Philadelphia are very well trained in what they do also. You can give them a chance you know.”

“Yes, I know, but I am so used to working with this group that I thought it would be nice to take them with me.”

“I am sure you can get just as used to the new group should you need to. Now, will it be better for you to wait until you get to the new Lab before starting your work?”

“Yes. And I also have a wedding to get taken care of in the next few weeks. I pretty much have things settled here as far as my properties are concerned. I am going to rent my home and keep one of my apartments vacant for when I have to be here.

“Other than that everything seems to be coming right along. Why don’t I head on out to Philadelphia tomorrow and visit the new lab and introduce myself to the people there and see how it goes. What do you think?”

“I think that’s very wise of you…in the meantime I will let your crew know where you are headed and then I would like to discuss a new crew chief for this facility. Do you think there is anyone available in your lab that is capable of advancement?”

“Give me time to think about that Mr. Jarred. I can think of several but I would want to be fair to them as well as you…it should be the best and the best is not always the most obvious.”

“This is very true Liz…so you go to Philly tomorrow and give me a call and let me know how things are going. I don’t expect to see you back until after your wedding…okay. You can plan your new project around the Philadelphia office. I don’t plan on giving it to anyone else.”

“Thank you Mr. Jarred…I won’t let you down…I’ll see you at my wedding won’t I?”

“I wouldn’t miss it Liz and good luck.”

“Thanks.”

And so Liz was on her way home and called Max to tell him that she would be arriving later on this evening…he was elated to say the least. “I’ll see you soon sweet and I love you.” “Love you too Max…soon Love…bye.”

And then Liz had a brain storm…she drove right over to the county mental facility and walked right in the front door and asked to see Tess Harding.

Liz was led to a pleasant looking room with bars on the windows and a locked glass door. There was a solid door that closed over the glass door but the glass gave the feeling of less confinement. She took one look at Tess and her heart ached. Tess saw Liz and couldn’t believe her eyes…

“Liz, what in the hell are you doing here?”

“Well Tess, I’m marrying Max in a couple of weeks and I wanted to come to see you before I moved. I didn’t come here to gloat because gloating has nothing to do with my visit. I wanted to tell you that I am so sorry that you have to be in a place like this and to tell you how sorry I am that you couldn’t have received help long ago. I hope that someday you will be out of here and be able to find someone to make you happy and to live a happy normal life. God Tess, whatever possessed you to think the way you did?”

“I don’t know Liz…it just seemed so right at the time. It all made so much sense to me. They have me on some kind of medication in here that makes everything that I did seem so insane. Was it really that bad? My behavior, was it really as bad as I think it was?”

Liz giggled…”Yeah, it was pretty bizarre sometime. But maybe you can eventually get off the medication and start thinking normally without it…only time will tell, but at least you’re getting some kind of help. I just wanted to make sure you were okay and being treated right Tess. You take care and I’ll be thinking of you.”

“Yeah Liz, you too…and thanks for coming to see me.” Tess walked over to the window and looked down at the children playing in the park and smiled…’maybe someday’ she thought to herself.

*~*~*

Liz hurried home and packed a couple of suitcases, grabbed all of the toiletries from her bathroom and threw them into a box, grabbed her dirty laundry, a brief case full of important papers and loaded her car up with everything that would fit and headed out of town. She would call the movers tomorrow and she and Max could meet them here on Saturday morning and get this over with. By 11:30 p.m. she was pulling into the driveway of the estate and Max was there to greet her with a great big smile on his face and a dozen white roses in his hand. She turned into a puddle of big happy goo. God how she loved this man.

“Welcome home angel…did you have a good trip?”

“Yes I did, thank you…God you look good.”

“Mmmm. So do you…do you need any of this right now?”

“Nope.”

“Good, lock it up and let’s get inside.”

Liz pointed her keys toward her car, pressed the lock button and Max had her in his arms and halfway up the stairs before she could catch her breath. To say they were happy to see each other was the understatement of the millennium.

By the time they were undressed they were practically uncontrollable. Max was planting kisses all over Liz’s face, neck and body and she was as animated as he was.

Their first session was speedy and hardly controlled but enjoyable just the same. The next session was slow, deliberate and full of ecstasy. They loved each other’s bodies as passionately as any two people had ever made love and when they were finished they slowly started all over again. By the end of the third round Max felt as though his body had left him for another planet and his soul was just hanging around for the ride. Liz couldn’t speak…she was completely sated and breathless.

Good Lord, could life get any better than this Max thought…and then Liz remembered…she didn’t want to just blurt it out but she really needed to share this with him so she crawled up his chest and looked him right in the eyes as she lay draped over him…Max Looked at her and grinned….

“Oh sweetheart…I don’t think I can do this again; not right now.”

Liz giggled and then took his face in her hands and smiled…”Max, I have something I need to share with you.”

“Oh, well then go ahead and share sweet…I’m listening.”

“Max, you’re going to be a daddy.”

Max looked at Liz strangely for a second or two and then it dawned on him what she had just said…

“Are you sure?”

“Pretty much…at least the doctor is pretty sure. I went to see him because I was so tired and he agreed with me, it was all of the excitement and everything that was going on that was causing it. It wasn’t the pregnancy because it was way too soon for that to be affecting me, but, yes, I am... Surprise!”

Max grabbed Liz into a fierce hug and kissed her senseless. “Oh baby, you have no idea how happy I am about this…when do you think it will be.”

“I’m not really sure Max. We’ve only been intimate about five weeks so let’s just figure from there…okay, I figure nine months from October is about July.”

“July…I don’t think I can wait that long…”

“Max, you’ll have to wait that long. This isn’t something we can control like the temperature in the pool…we have to wait. Let’s just enjoy the experience okay and don’t share it with anyone until after the third month. Anything could happen between now and then and we don’t want to have to deal with people along with that if we don’t have to.”

“Oh God Liz, don’t even talk like that, of course everything is going to be fine. Now, what do you want? A boy or a girl?”

“I want a healthy baby Max…sex doesn’t matter.”

“Oh, me too Liz, me too…Oh God Liz…this is so cool…we can put a nursery in the office and I can move my office downstairs so we won’t make any noise…and we can even put another nursery downstairs. Liz, this is so great. I can call the contractor tomorrow…or do you want to have a nursery in here?…We can have it anywhere you want it Liz…where do you want it?”

“Max, calm down for God’s sake…the baby is no bigger than a thumb tack right now…there’s time for all of this…besides…let’s just get married first and then we’ll do baby stuff…okay?”

“Okay Liz…if it’s a boy what are we going to name him?”

“Oh God Max, I’m almost sorry I told you…go to sleep already.” Liz was almost to the point of hysteria…

“Oh, okay…good night Liz…” Max kissed Liz on the forehead and she curled up and just started to doze off when Max sort of shook the arm that was wrapped around her…”What Max?”

Max whispered…”Can we name him after my grandfather?” “

“Yes Max and my grandmother too…goodnight.” She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry…

“But if it’s a boy how can we name him after your grandmother?”

“We’ll think of something …please, goodnight Max.”

“Goodnight Liz.” And Max finally allowed Liz to sleep, but his mind was on a roll…if happiness was in the dictionary as a picture it would have Max Evans depicting the word. HAPPINESS EQUALS MAX EVANS in big bold letters; and Liz slept on.

Roswelllostcause: Helen, so sorry about the bad day but I really appreciate the fact that my little fic. brought some sunshine into your life. Here's another B.S. chapter but it does give some insight into what Liz will be doing in Philly. As for having a great boss, it's my dream ... would have liked one like that myself...and having been in the position to be a boss, trust me, it's not an easy place to be sometime.
Eve: So glad to hear your birthday was a success, it helps when we start getting to a certain age to have nice memories. Here's another fill in and I'm not so sure Max is controlling so much as just plain happy.
Smileeuk: See how nice it is when everyone is in agreement. Even I agree
Carolyn: That last sentence is the icing on the cake...they are going to make great parents, I just know it.

*~*~*
Chapter: 43

The next morning Liz was up at 7:00 a.m. and trying to be very quiet. She knew Max hadn’t gotten to sleep as soon as she had and she was really tired. She made her way into the bathroom and closed the door to allow him to sleep and took a shower and did everything she needed to do before going back into the bedroom to get dressed.

When she had gone back to Connecticut she hadn’t taken any of her clothes with her, why move them twice, so she put on one of her new skirts and blouses with matching shoes…changed her purse over, grabbed her jacket and was down the stairs by 8:00 a.m.

She ran into Olivia just as she was headed out the back door and the older woman gave her a huge welcome home hug which Liz returned and Liz told her she would most likely be back by 10:30 or so. She explained she had to go to Philadelphia to the new lab she would be working at and get acquainted with everyone and to see how things were set up. Olivia smiled at her and told her she would see her when she got back…Liz smiled and bid her goodbye. Then she made her way to the garage…

She would use the Jag this morning only because her car was still packed with all of the stuff she had brought with her yesterday. She grabbed her briefcase from the front seat and took it with her just in case she might need something out of it and drove off.

Max rolled over and started reaching across the sheets and found the bed empty…he couldn’t imagine what was going on and then he saw the note on Liz’s pillow…just like he had left for her.

Max,
Gone to work for a bit…see you in a few….

love you,

Liz.

Max smiled and lazily rolled over to his own side of the bed and got up to face the day. He had a lot to do before she got back so he’d better get busy.

After he took his shower and was dressed he made his bed. A bad habit he picked up from Liz…then he went into his office and called his father.

When Margaret, his dad’s receptionist answered he asked if Philip was in. “Of course he is Mr. Evans, one moment please.”

Philip was on the line almost instantly…”Max, how are you son? Is everything okay?”

“Everything is fine dad…Liz came in last night and brought a car load of stuff that I’ll unload as soon as we’re through here. Did you have a chance to talk to Jeff yet?”

“Of course I did Max…he is definitely coming to the wedding and is trying to convince Nancy that she should come as well. She is seeing a therapist but things are going slowly. Jeff has even got their pastor working in conjunction with the therapist to help her realize just how wrong her conception of religion is. We can’t totally blame her Max…her parents were as bad with her as she was with Liz…let’s hope it isn’t hereditary.”

Max groaned at that…God forbid…

“Anyway, Jeff will definitely be there. Have you told Liz yet?”

“No, not yet. I wanted to talk to you first. I guess she will be transferring to Philly…that’s where she is right now.

“She went over to the new facility to meet the head of the place and to check out the lab and the people she will be working with. We didn’t go into things in depth last night but she said she asked Mr. Jarred about having some of her crew from Connecticut move here and he basically told her it would be okay but he would like her to meet these people before moving perfectly happy people into a new environment. Makes sense to me but Liz likes her crew. She’ll like the new ones too…I’m sure.”

“So am I Max…I’m surprised she wanted to do this. It’s bad enough that she’s moving let alone taking a bunch of people with her. That doesn’t sound like Liz…not at all.”

“Well Dad…she is kind of under some stress right now…I doubt that she’s giving a lot of deep thought to anything. Mr. Jarred told her not to report back to work until after the wedding…at least one of them is thinking clearly.”

“It sounds like it. Anyway…we are dealing with the Jeff and Nancy situation here and we will be flying in on Wed. before Thanksgiving. Amy and Jim are also coming and Jeffery for sure. Hopefully Nancy will be with him. So we will see you soon Son…give Liz a big hug for us and take care. Oh, have you got the suit sizes for the Tuxes?”

“Yeah, mom e-mailed them to me the other day…it’s all taken care of…we will be fitted on Friday morning and then have rehearsal on Friday evening and dinner afterwards. See you then Dad and thanks.”

“Love you son, til’ thanksgiving… stay cool.” And the two men hung up.

*~*~*

Liz pulled up to the non-descript building and found a parking place way in the back of the parking lot away from heavy traffic and walked to the main entrance.

It was a fairly large place when you were standing outside looking in, much larger than the Connecticut facility was. She made her way inside and walked up to the receptionist’s desk and was ready to announce herself when the girl took one look at her and smiled…

“Good morning Doctor Parker…we’ve been expecting you.” And she handed Liz a badge with her name and picture on it and Liz was flabbergasted to say the least. She was ready to identify herself and present her credentials but apparently none of that was necessary. “Mr. Appleby will be with you shortly, please, have a seat.”

Liz smiled at the girl, nodded, and walked over to the comfortable looking lounge area and waited. She figured someone would come and get her and take her to Mr. Appleby’s office since he was, after all, the head of the entire facility. Soon a pleasant looking gentleman in a very expensive business suit appeared at her chair and Liz looked up and recognized the man instantly…Mr. Appleby in person. She got up from her chair and held out her hand which he took immediately and smiled.

“Liz, it’s so nice to meet you and I am so happy that you will be working here with us. Let me show you around.”

Then he took her over to the receptionist and introduced her to Joyce. Joyce would be the first person she would speak with at any time she called the building…unless of course she used private numbers. Mr. Appleby was very familiar with the fact that Liz had Mr. Jarred’s private number and wasn’t really sure how he felt about that but he would give the young doctor the benefit of the doubt.

Liz smiled warmly at Joyce and told her she would be looking forward to working with her…this impressed Mr. Appleby…maybe she wasn’t a prima-Dona like he thought. Of course he had no idea how the private phone number got into Liz’s hands in the first place…he shouldn’t be so quick to judge. Then the two colleagues were in the elevator and on their way to the basement. This was where all of the work was performed. It was sheltered from the rest of the world and all very private.

When they got off the elevator Liz was shocked at the atmosphere. It wasn’t at all like she thought it would be. It was all very clean and sterile of course but without being sterile looking. The labs were all sectioned off behind glass windows and the walls were painted a very nice warm golden color with the counters and cabinets all color coordinated in various shades of yellow, gold and brown. All in all it was a very nice warm atmosphere…there was even piped in music. Liz turned to Mr. Appleby and smiled…”this is very nice Mr. Appleby, very cozy and warm. “

Mr. Appleby was truly pleased that she thought so and told her “Thank you.”

“Let me introduce you to some of our technicians Liz…they are all anxious to meet you. You will be choosing your crew from any number of them and they are all looking forward to working with you. Some of them know a few of your crew from Connecticut and they are all impressed with your work. We hope you will find them to your liking.”

“Oh my God Mr. Appleby, you make me sound like some potentate or something. I’m just a person that conducts experiments…I am sure that all of the people down here are more than qualified to work with me, please don’t make it sound like some sort of a contest or something…I am sure I will be happy here. I know I’ll be happy here, after all I’m getting married in a few weeks and that happiness is enough to last me a life time…this is just the icing on the cake.”

Mr. Appleby smiled at Liz and then realized why Mr. Jarred insisted that he conduct this tour himself. The man was a genius. This young woman has absolutely no idea of her worth to this company.

“Liz, let’s just put it this way…I will give you a small background of everyone down here that wants to work with you. You take the information home with you…read it over and then when you start work…let’s say in January…you will have an idea what the people are capable of before you even work with them and what their various strengths are. That should help you decide who you want on your team.”

“Oh Mr. Appleby, that sounds wonderful but do you think I should wait that long to return…how about the new project and then…I have a couple of ideas I would like to present to you as well.”

“The new project will be here when you get back and don’t worry…if there is something you want to work on we will work it out. You have a great holiday season, a lovely wedding and we will see you after the New Year. Is that okay with you?”

“Oh my word Mr. Appleby…it’s more than okay. Thank you…and I will see you in January.”

“Very good Liz, now let’s get back upstairs before Joyce thinks we kidnapped you.”

Liz giggled at that remark and when they reached the main lobby Liz bid Mr. Appleby good bye and then went over to Joyce and handed her a personal business card and told her she could call her on her private cell if anyone needed to talk to her. Joyce in turn handed her a folder that Mr. Appleby’s office had prepared for her and soon she was on her way home to her husband to be. She was one happy doctor.

*~*~*

Roswelllostcause:Helen, you are so right about Liz being clueless as to her worth, Keep in mind, with parents like she had and then the jerk she married she never had anyone let her know she was worth anything, Therefore she did the best she could and came out the winner afterall.
Eve: Hey, wouldn't it be great if we were all so blessed?
Carolyn: She is kind and caring, maybe, deep down she's giving what she always wanted.
Smilieuk" I think I touch a little on how Liz feels about her mum and dad this chapter. It's not bad but I think it's realistic.

Chapter: 44

When Liz arrived back at the estate Max was in his office working away. He saw the Jag pull into the gate and immediately shut down his computer and headed out toward the back door to greet his fiancée.

She got out of the car and met him with a great big smile on her face and he immediately lifted her up off her feet into a nice big hug and asked her how she was feeling.

“Great actually…I don’t have to be to work until January and I am feeling positively ecstatic. Why…did you have something in mind?”

“No, I was just wondering how you felt. Do you have any plans? And if so I hope they include me…” And Max waggled his eyes at Liz in anticipation. She laughed, she didn’t think she had ever been this happy in her life.

“I’d really like something to eat.” She said between giggles.

“I think I can handle that.”

So off to the kitchen they headed with Liz’s purse, brief case and jacket in her hand.

Olivia looked at the two of them and smiled as they came through the back hallway.

“I’m so glad you’re here Liz…he was becoming a real pain.” Max looked at Olivia in disbelief…

“I was not...” he said indignantly…

“Oh yes you were…and you’re never a pain…but you were becoming one…in the worst way.”

“Oh” was all he said as he looked at her and grinned…then added,

“Well, maybe just a little pain?” He questioned as he made a sign with his thumb and forefinger indicating ‘small’ for emphasis.

“No. Maybe a big pain…” she teased back and Liz smiled at both of them. It was so good to be home.

Then she said in all seriousness…”Max, can you drive back to Connecticut with me and help me get ready for the movers on Saturday? I’m going to leave the place furnished and Hank will take care of renting it for me but I have to get my personal things packed up and gone before I can even think of renting it. Then it will have to be cleaned and brought up to rental standards.”

“Of course Liz…when do you want to leave?”

And as she ate her cereal she thought for a minute. “As soon as possible…you know what, why don’t we check out that space over the garage and see if we can’t just put all of that junk up in there until I have time to go through it all.”

“Well, we can do that if you want to…but don’t you think you would rather put it in here somewhere. Wouldn’t it be more convenient? Let’s check out one of the classrooms. We could have it set up as a private office for you and you would be right here in the house if you were needed.”

“God Max, that’s a great idea…I keep forgetting there is a whole section of this place that isn’t even used. We’ll take a look later and see what can be done with it. Maybe I can even bring some of my furniture with me…we’ll see. If I bring my desk and file cabinets, computer and other things like that it would sure save a lot of sorting and packing. What a brilliant idea…remind me to thank you more properly later.”

“Oh, you can count on it baby…” And Olivia pretended like she hadn’t heard a thing.

So, after Liz finished her meal of cereal, juice and toast she went upstairs and kicked off her high heels and put on the fluffy slippers she loved and pulled her blouse loose from her skirt for some added comfort. Then she and Max headed to the other end of the building and checked out the classrooms…they were ideal. Max took Liz’s hand and pointed to a small area that would have been the instructors office and smiled…”a mini nursery no?”

“A mini nursery yes…It’s perfect Max…thank you.” And Max pulled Liz in closer to him and kissed the top of her head…this is going to be absolutely the most wonderful experience in the world; he could hardly wait for it all to happen.

When they got back to the kitchen where Olivia was cleaning up from breakfast Max told her to call in a crew to clean up the classroom…she smiled and told him she would do that and then asked…”Are there any special instructions regarding the room?” Max and Liz both assured her that all it needed right now was a good dusting and cleaning. Liz assured her that she would decide what she wanted done with the place once everything was in there. Olivia smiled and then asked…”when are you heading to Connecticut?”

“Just as soon as we’re packed actually, I really do need to take care of some last minute business and it will take me a day or two. Max can help me unless he needs to stay here.” Liz told her as she grabbed a couple dishes from the counter and headed to the sink.

“No sweet, I can go with you…there’s always telephones. Is there anything we need to take care of as far as the wedding is concerned?”

“Nah…the wedding planner can take care of all of that and Olivia can answer any questions if they come up…I trust her to know what to do.”

Olivia looked at Liz like she had rocks in her head. “Liz, for God’s sake this is your wedding…you should be handling every little detail.”

“No Olivia, everything that I wanted is taken care of…I wanted Max, I have him…I wanted a wedding gown, I have it…Everything else is just fluff and either you or Kathy can deal with it. The invitations have all been mailed and if someone calls and is put out because they weren’t invited give them to Kathy and let her send them one…hell I don’t care who comes really as long as Max shows up.”

Olivia looked at Max…Max shrugged and then he and Liz took off up the back stairs to get packed.

“Liz, you are kidding about the wedding arrangements aren’t you.”

“Not really Max…I have you, we’re going to have a beautiful baby in about eight months and it doesn’t get any better than that. The wedding is all superficial. I know it will be beautiful…God knows we are paying enough people to see that it is. I trust them to do what they are being paid to do. I answered all of their questions…told all of them what I wanted and now I have to trust them to do their jobs. If it doesn’t suit me Max…you can believe that they will not be paid. It’s as simple as that.”

This was a side of Liz that Max did not recognize. She was dead right of course but she definitely seemed different since last night. “Liz, has something happened since last night that has you in this mood?”

“Yes and no Max…this morning I had to drive across town, meet new people check out a new facility and prepare myself to work with an entirely new group of people who seem to be taking my arrival as some kind of contest to be won to see who works with me.

“I’m not quite sure how to wrap myself around this actually. I have a brief case full of data on people and I have to choose from these pages who I want to work with. I would rather meet all of them face to face, to actually see who I am compatible with, who I can work with in comfort and trust to do as I instruct without questioning me.

“I’m not sure about any of this and the only real thing I am sure about is that I want to be your wife. So if I seem indifferent right now…please…know that I’m not. I just don’t know what to think about first and whether there are enough place settings in a reception hall is not upper most in my mind.”

Max pulled Liz into a fierce hug and held her as close to him as he could without squeezing the life out of her. And then he chose his words very carefully…he remembered the other guys on the team talking about their pregnant wives so he wanted to be sure to say this the way he meant it and not upset her.

“Liz, I know you have an awful lot on your mind. Getting married is a big step even if it is what we’ve always wanted, at least I did. So, even though you aren’t changing companies it is almost as though you are changing jobs. You are moving to a new city…meeting new people and really you are starting a new life and not only are you going to be a new bride…honey, you are going to be a mother as well.

“I just want you to know that if any of this starts to be too much, we can fix it. You really don’t have to work if you don’t want to…you can even do your own research here at the estate. We can set up a lab for you here in the house…up over the garage or even build you a separate building. We can hire a crew for you…You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do anymore. You have earned the right to be your own person so please…relax and enjoy life…it’s time Liz.”

“Thank you Max…you know I just might give what you said some consideration…now let’s get busy and get to Connecticut. The sooner we get there the sooner we can get back.”

It was just an hour later that the Jag was on its way down the highway and our two young lovers were discussing the scenery, a wedding and the ‘magnificent seven’. How they came into the conversation was very interesting…Liz decided that she wanted them to escort her down the aisle. Now it was Max’s turn to get antsy…

“Uh, Liz…about that…honey, your dad is coming to the wedding, whether or not your mother will be there remains to be seen. She is currently seeing a psychiatrist and the parish priest is also helping with her therapy. She has all kinds of emotional problems and right now your dad is being a real trooper about all of it. He had no idea that your life was such an ordeal and he really feels terrible for letting your mom control things the way she did. But Liz, he does love you and are you sure you don’t want him to walk you down the aisle?”

Liz felt like she had just been hit by a train…

“Max, why didn’t I know any of this until now? When did all of this happen?”

“Honey, I haven’t been trying to keep anything from you…I wanted to tell you this face to face…Dad had lunch with Jeff a couple of weeks ago and filled him in on what your life has been like. Dad was ready to clean Jeff’s clock so to speak after that phone call from your mom. Jeff had no idea any of this was happening nor did he know that your life with Don was so unhappy.

“Of course none of us knew that but let’s not go there…Anyway, according to dad, Jeff put an ultimatum to your mom…’seek help or get out’ she chose to seek help. Apparently she has realized for a long time that she needed help but didn’t know how to go about getting it. I think maybe she just might be feeling a little guilty…I don’t know for sure but maybe. So, don’t you think you would like your dad to walk you down the aisle?”

Liz thought about that for a moment and then said quite sincerely…

“Max, I know the ‘magnificent seven’ better than I know my own dad…I don’t want to be mean or cruel about this and I don’t really give a shit about propriety…but at this moment in time I want the kids. Give me time to digest this new information and I will consider it but trust me on this…as forgiving as I am I’m really not so sure about this. And when you get right down to it I don’t think it has anything to do with forgiveness really and at this point…I wish them both well. I don’t want anything bad to happen to them and even though my mom has problems my dad didn’t and doesn’t, so give me time on this one okay?”

“Okay sweetheart…we will do whatever you want to do, believe me, I know how you feel and trust me…I love you.” Max’s heart ached for her…and he would see to it that her every wish was met no matter whose toes got stepped on…they would just have to suck it up.

“Thank you Max…now let’s talk about fun things…what’s your grandfather’s name by the way?”

Max looked at her and grabbed her hand and squeezed as he continued to drive,

“Are you ready for this?” he said with a twinkle in his eye…

“Yes…now what is it?”

“Rufus!”

“WHAT!!! NO MAX…NO!!!”

And Max practically had to pull over to the side of the road he was laughing so hard…Tears started clouding his vision as he was trying to keep the car on the highway.

“Liz, I swear, Rufus Gerard Evans.”

“Well, let me just say right now Maxwell Philip Evans…we can name a son Gerard but I’ll be damned if he will ever be called ‘RUFUS’…NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS.”

“Liz, I’m kidding…why do you think my dad’s name is Philip? Grandma felt the same way even if she did love Rufus she never called him that…she called him Reggie…for RG. Honest honey…I agree with you. Seriously.”

“Good…” and Liz sighed and looked out the window…Max chuckled and kept on driving as he reached over with his right hand and gave hers a little squeeze. Liz just looked over at him and giggled…”Rufus? Really?”

*~*~*

By late afternoon they pulled into Liz’s driveway. The backdoor window had been repaired and the lawns had been raked by the gardener. Max was very impressed with the nice sized home in a very well-manicured neighborhood.

“This is nice Liz…how long have you lived here?” Max was very sincere when he spoke to Liz about her home.

“Oh, almost two years now. As I told your dad…it belonged to one of our employees whose husband was being transferred. I merely took over the existing loan, bought some furniture and moved in. I really like it here…It’s nice and quiet and I’ve always felt safe.”

Liz opened the garage with the remote she had put in her purse before leaving Philadelphia and Max pulled in and removed their luggage from the trunk…Liz’s neighbor looked out her back door to make sure everything was okay and Liz waved over to her to let her know things were fine and then she headed for the back door dragging her suitcase with Max close on her heels bringing the rest of the luggage.

Liz opened the door and Max walked into a very pleasant but small mud room before walking into the nice sized kitchen. Liz took Max in through a hallway that led into the living room and then up to an open stair case to the second floor. Max was very impressed and told Liz as much.

“Thank you Max…it’s not the home of the rich and famous but it has its comforts.”

“It certainly does Liz…you can be very proud of yourself. Are you sure you want to rent it?”

“Of course…it would be a shame to just have it sit vacant. Someone needs to enjoy it.”

“You’re right. Now where do we put the luggage?”

“Oh, follow me” and with that she took the smaller of the suitcases and Max grabbed the other two and followed her up the stairs to her room.

When they got to her room Liz instructed Max to just put them on the bed and then she opened her closet and hung her jacket up and took Max’s from him and hung it right next to hers. She showed him around the upstairs and then they went back down to the main living area. There was a large sized living room with a nice sized formal dining room just off it and then at the other end of the hall she showed him the smaller den and her home office next to it.

There was a laundry room, off the kitchen and the kitchen had an island that had four barstools placed around it for informal dining then there was a small dinette off to the left with windows facing the back yard…the yard was landscaped like a small English garden. All in all it was very homey and Max said as much. “It is a reflection of you Liz…very cozy and very comfortable.”

“Thank you Max, I’m glad you like it.”

Liz opened a package that she had brought with her and removed a half thawed container that Olivia had packed for her and she proceeded to place it in the microwave….

“What’s that?” Max asked…

“Our dinner, Olivia sent it with us.”

Max chuckled to himself. One thing he could count on…between Liz and Olivia no one was going to go hungry.

After Max and Liz finished their meal Liz took Max out to the garage and retrieved some empty boxes that she had instructed the movers to leave and they headed back to the house. Max wanted to know if she would just rather wait until in the morning to start sorting through stuff and she said “sure…but at least we won’t have to get dressed to come out here”…and then she said

“Hey Max, would you like to take a tour of our city. It isn’t very big and it won’t take long…What do you say?”

“I say let’s do the tour sweetheart…let me run up and get our jackets…I think I remember where you put them.” And Max was gone in a flash.

Liz smiled when he came back down the stairs carrying their coats…he seemed so at home here; he had no idea that she simply needed to get away. Maybe they could stay at the apartment and come back tomorrow and pack…There were too many memories of the criminal that tried to end her life…’thank God he’s locked up for life’ she thought.

“Max, get our luggage. We aren’t going to stay here tonight; I don’t want to sleep here ever again.”

Max didn’t say a single word…he went back upstairs and came down with all of the luggage and they headed back out to the Jag and took off.

“Do we need to get a motel or something before it gets too late Liz?”

“No, we have alternate living quarters Max. I’ve kept my apartment as well as this place. Sometime I would just stay there rather than come home when I had to work really late or the weather was bad. And sometime I just didn’t want to be here so I never rented it out. It’s still furnished and looks the way it did before I ever married the jerk.”

“Are you sure you wouldn’t just rather stay in a motel?”

“No, I really want to stay there…it represents a happier time in my life and I need that right now okay?”

“Okay love…now where do I go?”

“Oh just turn left at the intersection…we’ll pass by the lab on our way and you can see where I’ve worked for the past couple of years.”

And so they were off. It wasn’t but half an hour before Max pulled up to a beautiful area with green lawns and private entrances. Each apartment had its own little carport and gave the appearance of small cottages. Max was very impressed.

“Liz, this is positively beautiful. I can see why you like it here. Which one is yours…or which one do you occupy I should say?”

Liz smiled and thanked Max…”I have the end one Max…just pull into the driveway and I’ll open the garage.”

“There’s a garage?”

“Yes, I had the carport enclosed when I bought the place because I left a lot of papers in my car occasionally and wanted to make sure they were safe…just hold on a sec. okay.”

“Okay…” And Liz got out and keyed in a code on the side wall and the garage door opened for Max. Her remote for this garage was in her car in Philly.

When they entered the apartment Liz turned on the light and Max was immediately greeted with a very warm and cozy little space that radiated Liz.

The furniture was adorned with throw pillows of bright pinks and mauves and there was a throw on the back of the couch in varying shades of pink and gray. The dining area was directly off the living room and led to a u-shaped kitchen.

Through a door on the right of the living room you could see a small hallway and Liz took Max in that direction to put the luggage on the nice king sized bed in a fairly large bedroom. She had one double dresser and two night stands in the room and then off to the left of that was a walk in closet…it was practically bare but there were some jeans and casual clothes in there. On the other side of the hallway was the one bathroom…a very nice sized bathroom with a separate stall shower as well as a bathtub.

Max was suddenly overcome with a feeling of great pride for this sweet young woman he was marrying. She had managed to take care of herself quite nicely without the help of anyone. It was a very good feeling really…he knew that if anything ever happened to him that she would be quite capable of making it alone although he prayed this would never happen it was still comforting just the same.

Liz looked up at Max and gave him a big smile and said “Well, what do you think?”

“I think I am very impressed with you my love…come here and let me show you just how impressed.”

Liz didn’t hesitate, she was in Max’s arms in a split second and he had her up in his arms and was making his way to that nice big inviting king sized bed in no time. Liz couldn’t wait…this is what her dream had been since she first laid eyes on that bed and now it was happening.

Even though it was still early evening our couple stayed right where they were and initiated that bed a few times before finally falling to sleep.

After the third time Max couldn’t have gotten out of that bed even if he wanted to. This was one of the best nights of his life…right in this little one bedroom apartment with the woman he loved at his side.

The next morning Liz made a pot of coffee and retrieved some granola bars and a can of mandarin oranges from the pantry and they ate a very light breakfast, light by Max’s standards, before heading over to the house to get busy.

While they ate they talked of the wedding, a honeymoon, family, work, and the team party for the series winners coming up next week and the magnificent seven. Max sort of raised an eyebrow when the kids came into the conversation and Liz just looked at him and shook her head no…meaning she didn’t want to talk about her parents and Max understood. Then they took off.

Soon they were passing the small church Liz attended, there was a school sitting just behind it and Liz pointed out the park and playground down the street.

The shopping center wasn’t too far from there and soon they were headed to ‘the suburbs’ as Liz called them. Actually the housing development was about four miles from town and the ride was very pleasant.

It was a rural area and Max liked it a lot. He took in the few farm houses that had not been sold to major developers yet and was glad to see that some of the old remained intact, it was just too beautiful to ruin with modern day homes and shopping malls.

When they got back to the house Liz’s neighbor poked her nose out the back door again to make sure the intruders were supposed to be there and Liz waved once again and said “Good morning Mrs. James…this is Max, my fiancée…we’re going to be working around the house today, hope Mr. James is feeling better.”

“Good morning Liz…I was hoping that was you and not another intruder. Mr. James is doing just great thank you and hello Max. I hope to see you before you leave. Congratulations by the way…I saw the papers, cute pictures.”

Liz giggled…”Thanks Mrs. James…I will stop in before we leave on Saturday. You take care now.”

“Will do, now don’t work too hard.” And the elderly woman went back into her own home.

Max smiled at Liz and asked…”Just how old is she?”

“Oh I don’t know. Her husband has been quite ill for some time now and their daughter comes by every day to check in on them. She’s really a sweetheart… always looking out for me and bringing me homemade goodies. Just what I need…but she needs something to keep her busy so she bakes.”

“Good neighbor.” Max said. Liz smiled at him and they went in, rolled up their sleeves and got busy. They started upstairs and Liz went to work on her closet first.

If she hadn’t worn it in a year she put it in one box…if she absolutely loved it she put it in another box and by the time they sorted through the contents of the clothes closet she had two boxes to go and four to take to the goodwill. Then they headed to the dresser…that one wasn’t as big a job as one might think…she put her underwear from the top drawer in a suitcase from the hall closet …her pj’s and nighties were in the second drawer down…she threw all of them into the suitcase with her undies with the exception of one really pretty set which went into the goodwill box…Max didn’t have to ask what it was…he knew by the look on her face…and then they started on the third drawer. Everything in that drawer went into the box to be moved. It was full of photo albums and journals along with yearbooks and mementos.

One box contained an old corsage that had been flattened and when Max really looked at it he recognized it as the one he had given to her for their prom.

The woman saved everything. And then he noticed a particularly nice picture frame and when he picked it up there they were, all dressed in their prom finery smiling into the camera as though they were the only two people on earth. Why hadn’t he ever noticed this before? They were in love with each other back then and were too immature to say anything. Maybe it was for the best…God knows where they would be now had they acknowledged each other so many years ago. Probably neither would have pursued their goals. But they were together now and that was all that mattered.

Roswelllostcause: Helen, this Max is the perfect guy for everyone, he's a figment of my imagination after all...
Carolyn: I wouldn't mind having an Olivia around myself...although my daughter would put her and Liz to shame I think...the kid (woman) makes me tired just thinking about her. And you're right about Jeff and Nancy, really sad but I think they wake up. Let's hope it's not too late.
Eve: I agree with you wholeheartedly, this is a side of Liz that Max needs to find out about. Maybe this extension of the chapter will show a little of Max that Liz didn't know either...it's cute, I hope.


Chapter 44B

It was around noon when they decided to take a break and head out to one of the local café’s and have some lunch…

Max parked in front of a nice looking café and it seems the Jag was really getting some extra attention. Liz hadn’t even thought about it until she saw some teenage boys slowing down to have a better look. Then, when they came into the café their eyes became saucers. Liz looked over at Max who looked up from his menu to see what the sudden silence was about and noticed an awfully lot of people staring at him. He smiled at all of them and then motioned for the boys to come over…

“Hey guys…like the ride do ya?”

“Oh God yes.” Replied one of the youngsters…”Can we?” and he handed his note book over to Max…Max grinned and said “Sure, what’s your name?”

“Tom.” Said the boy and Max wrote him a nice long message and handed it back to him and the other boys just stood there agape…

“Would you guys like an autograph as well…it will probably be worth something someday.”

They all laughed including Liz and handed Max their notebooks. Max wrote each one a message and signed it with his name and World Series 2008 under it…they practically floated to the counter to get their lunch.

All of the patrons took note of the athlete’s kindness and all were impressed. They recognized Liz from being in the café before but had no idea that she was the one engaged to the baseball player from Philadelphia. How nice they thought.

Max and Liz finished their lunch and then Liz took Max over to the lab to introduce him to her crew…Mr. Jarred was just coming out of the building as they were going in and he stopped and shook hands with Max and gave Liz a hug.

“Have you had a chance to decide who I should replace you with yet?”

“No Mr. Jarred…it’s a tough call really. They are all qualified and when it comes right down to it I think you should get to know all of them and make the decision for yourself. There are some people that we are more in tune with than others…and I truly believe that you should make the decision based on personality rather than qualifications…because all of their qualifications are exemplary.”

“I see. I never thought about it like that Liz…if you feel that is what I should do then I will spend some more time in the lab and get to know them based on compatibility rather than ability. Very good Liz. Enjoy your day. What are you doing in town anyway…don’t you have a wedding to prepare for?”

“Well, I’m letting the wedding planner do what she’s getting paid to do” and Max snorted at that remark… “and Max is helping pack up my personal things for the movers on Saturday. We are going in to see the crew and to bid them good bye actually.

“I met with Mr. Appleby and he doesn’t want me to start until after the first of the year. He has given me backgrounds on the technicians to read over…but like I told you, I would rather work with them first before making any final decisions.”

“Good, good…what did you think of Mr. Appleby?”

“Well, actually I was shocked that he was the one to show me around. I found him to be very personable and very helpful. I felt as though they were having a popularity contest to see who would get to work with me…and this was a little discomforting but I’ll get past it.”

“Yes, I’m sure you will…Well you two take care and I will see you at the wedding in a couple of weeks, and don’t overdo it…you want to enjoy your party.”

“Yes I do, and thank you for everything Mr. Jarred.”

“No Liz, you don’t seem to realize…it is we who thank you. God bless and I’ll see you soon.”

Max could have flown of his own accord he was so proud of her…she didn’t have a clue, not one inkling as to her importance.

When they entered the building the lobby was full of employees waiting to see her. The receptionist had called all of the departments and told them that Dr. Parker was outside talking to Mr. Jarred and was headed in. Everyone applauded her and Max as they entered and Liz was simply overwhelmed. She smiled and waved at everyone and then someone handed her a portable mike...

“Hi guys…I’ll be moving on Saturday and most likely won’t be seeing you for awhile. I wanted to come by and tell you how much I have enjoyed working with all of you. Although we will be working for the same company we will be worlds apart.

“My work will bring me here occasionally and I will be seeing you but in a different capacity so know that I sincerely thank each of you from the bottom of my heart for all of your help. Without all of you I would never have been able to complete my work. Oh, and I brought someone very special for all of you to meet. This is Max Evans…SUPER BASEBALL HERO…and my fiancée. Max, take a bow.”

Max turned fifty shades of red and looked at her as though he would cheerfully throw her into a duck pond full of shit right now and she just ignored him and threw him a big kiss…the place went nuts.

This was a side of Liz they had never seen before and Max was wishing that they had never had the privilege at any time, then or now. And then Liz stood on her tiptoes and gave Max a kiss on his beet red cheek and handed the mike back to the fellow standing next to her and took Max’s hand and introduced him to everyone individually.

They all shook Max’s hand and wished him well and soon the couple was back outside and on their way back to the house.

“Liz, I don’t think I have ever been so embarrassed in my entire life. What in the hell has gotten into you anyway?”

“I really don’t know Max…one minute I was on the verge of tears and the next I just had this overwhelming need to put you on display. That’s why they were all there anyway, why not gloat?”

“Oh Liz, you have no idea why they were all there do you? Honey, those people have you on a pedestal so high that the tower of Babel wouldn’t hold a candle to it.”

“Oh get real Max…” and Max just kept on driving,

“Oh Max…that’s where Tess is.”

“Oh Liz.” Max said with the same influx as Liz. “I hope that’s where Tess stays! You can visit her and be nice but trust me…I don’t care if I ever hear her name mentioned again…okay?”

“Oh Max,”

“Don’t ‘oh Max’ me Liz, I mean it…please just don’t say it.” And Max was very determined to keep it that way.

“Okay love…I won’t…now, do you know how to get back to the house?”

“I think I can handle it… what are we going to do for dinner?”

“Oh, stop at the grocery store and I’ll pick up some salad makings and fresh vegetables. I have some steaks in the freezer and some chicken as well. We just need to finish up whatever we can before Saturday…anything that’s left in the refrigerator we can move over to the apartment.”

“Fair enough, is the market on the way or do I have to do some maneuvering?”

“It’s on the way. You won’t recognize it though…I’ll point it out.”

And sure enough Max would have driven right past the little building with the front porch and a small sign saying ‘GROCER’S’. Max smiled and pulled up in front and parked. Liz hopped out and was in the store before Max even had the keys out of the ignition. Does she ever slow down?

When Max entered the little grocery store he was taken back in time to when life was simple. There, in bushel baskets sitting on the floor under a large table full of fresh vegetables were potatoes, corn, apples, and oranges. Off to the side of the table was a meat refrigerator with slabs of uncut meat waiting to be put through the large meat cutter located behind the showcase. On the other side of the room was a bread rack that held fresh bread and then another refrigerated case that held some beautiful pies and pastries.

Liz was talking to the elderly gentleman behind the counter as she picked up one of the biggest heads of lettuce Max thought he had ever seen…then she squeezed a couple of tomatoes before settling on two of those and she also picked up a very long cucumber and some carrots and celery. Max couldn’t believe the vegetables. They were beautiful.

Liz noticed how he was looking everything over and asked him if there was something he especially wanted and he only asked…”Where do they get this stuff, it’s all beautiful.”

“Oh, they are all locally grown and hand picked daily. Mrs. Johnson makes the bread right in the back room there and also the pies. Max, they are to die for…do you want to try one for dinner?”

“Do I want to try one, are you nuts? Buy them all, we’ll take them home with us.” Max’s mouth was watering so badly that he couldn’t believe it!

Mr. Johnson started to laugh…”Max, we will be glad to take an order for you…would you like to pick some up before you leave town…Hazel will bake them fresh for you.”

Max looked at Liz and she shook her head yes…”Oh, Mr. Johnson, have her bake more than one…we will freeze them when we get back to Philly okay.” She said while looking at Max.

“Sure Liz…do you have a large enough freezer?” It was Liz’s turn to laugh…”of course we do Mr. Johnson…You just have Hazel put a dozen pies together for us and we’ll pick them up on our way out of town on Saturday. But in the meantime what kind do you want tonight Max?”

“Which one is the best?”

“Just pick one Max…you will like all of them, I can guarantee it.”

“Oh, okay, blackberry?” Mr. Johnson smiled…his favorite also.

“We can have these for thanksgiving…everyone will love them.”

“No Liz…we aren’t sharing these pies…they’re our pies…” Max was adamant.

“Maxwell Evans…you shithead…what’s gotten into you…we will share the pies.”

“No Liz, we won’t share the pies…” and with that Liz turned around and looked at Mr. Johnson and said…

“Make that two dozen okay?” And Liz shook her head in disbelief.

“Of course Liz…two dozen it is…do you want a couple of pumpkin as well?”

“No, just the fruit…my friend Amy bakes a delicious pumpkin and we don’t want to rain on her parade. Thank you and we’ll stop on our way out of town for the order.”

“Have a good day you two…enjoy the pie.” Max smiled at Mr. Johnson and asked if he had a fork he could borrow…Mr. Johnson laughed and waved the two out the door.

“Max, I hope you were kidding back there…”

“I was not…Liz, I know that Liv bakes a great pie and so does Amy, but my God…those pies are made with fruit just picked fresh from bushes and trees. Can you imagine how good that is?”

“Max, I don’t have to imagine, I have eaten those pies and trust me they are heavenly but we can share…honest.”

“No we can’t Liz…some things are just plain sacred and those pies are heaven sent.”

Liz didn’t know if Max was serious or not…she couldn’t believe what she was hearing…he had to be kidding. Max just wasn’t like this, he would give the shirt off his back if someone needed it he surely wasn’t serious about a pie. My God…this borders on insanity. Nah…he’s kidding me, I know he is.

“Hey Liz, do you have any ice cream?”

“Yes Max, I have Ice cream. Now let’s get back to work okay.” And so Max headed back to the house so they could finish the upstairs and tomorrow they would tackle the downstairs. Actually things were moving along quite nicely.

Liz took her cell phone out of her purse and gave Olivia a quick call and told her to make sure there was room in the freezer for two dozen pies…Olivia almost asked what the occasion was and then she thought twice and figured Max found something he liked on his little excursion and she told Liz she would make room. Liz looked at Max, he nodded and smiled…”we shall have pie for quite awhile I think.” Max smiled and kept on driving…life was good.

They were back in Philadelphia by Saturday afternoon and things were moving right along and the two weeks were here in nothing flat.

*~*~*

Roswelllostcause: Thank you Helen, I think this one is sort of a personality picker upper too>
Carolyn: Lordy, lordy you certainly right about that!!!


Chapter: 45

On Monday before thanksgiving the estate was ready for the filling up with people and Liz and Max were as happy as two people could possibly be. All of the rooms were decorated with autumn foliage and colorful flowers and Max told Liz that if she didn’t stop ordering flowers they would be putting the local florist out of business.

She laughed at him and suggested he just curl up with a book and enjoy the scenery…he shook his head and kept helping her with all of the work that he usually hired out. She was a bundle of nervous energy and could hardly sit still for a single minute and he needed to keep her healthy and happy.

They had made an appointment with an OB/GYN for that morning and Max was so excited he couldn’t keep his hands off her…She was beginning to get a little irritated with him but he couldn’t help it. He just had to touch her…hug her, grab her hand, squeeze her as she walked by him. Even Olivia was getting concerned with his behavior. He was attentive before but the last couple of days he was becoming obsessive and she told him so. Max just grabbed her and gave her a big hug too, this brought on the giggles for Liz.

”Boy Liv, I’d watch it if I were you…he’s on a roll.”

Olivia just shook her head and told Liz to take him upstairs and let him clean the bathrooms or something. Liz giggled again and said she’d find something to occupy him so she suggested they go work out for awhile, since all the manor was cleaned and shined from one end to the other…so they headed off to the gym for awhile. Olivia rolled her eyes and said ‘thank God’…

She and Liz had gone over the menus for the week…made tons of potatoes for Mr. Evans’ hash browns and she had plenty of room set aside for Max’s 24 frozen pies as well. Liz told Olivia to take a couple home to her family for the holidays but Olivia wasn’t so sure she should. Liz told her it would be perfectly alright since she knew Mrs. Johnson and could very easily have a couple pies couriered here anytime Max felt the need for a sugar hit. Olivia laughed and agreed, she was sure her family would enjoy the fresh fruit.

The pantries were full and Liz was perfectly satisfied that they had more than enough to feed the army they were expecting.

She still wasn’t sure if her mother would come but at this point she really didn’t care …it wasn’t important enough to her and besides this wasn’t about her parents. She had sat Max down and made it quite clear to him that the ‘magnificent seven’ would escort her down the aisle, end of discussion.

Her Dad could have his place in the pew set aside for the Bride’s family but that was the extent of his participation. He never participated in anything in her life before and she wasn’t ready to get to know him at this late date. She would work on that another time, but not now.

Max understood and went along with her wishes. She was right. Jeff had been very wrong and time would heal all wounds but it definitely wasn’t going to be this week. They were too happy to have anything upset them. So, on Tuesday morning the young couple headed to the doctor’s office for their first official visit.

Liz had brought her medical records with her from Farmington and the doctor sat down with the young couple and read Liz’s history before doing any exams of her own.

She talked with Liz about how far along she thought she was and Liz told her it couldn’t be any more than five weeks or so because she had not been intimate before that time. The doctor raised an eyebrow at Liz and Max had to interject a word at this time. “Liz was a virgin up until six weeks ago doctor.” And the doctor looked almost shocked…Max smiled and nodded to the doctor acknowledging that he understood how she felt.

“Almost unheard of isn’t it?” He said…the doctor smiled at Max and shook her head in agreement. Liz looked at the two of them and couldn’t believe that they were making so much out of her virginity…it was a scientific fact that women started out that way, what’s the big deal.

“There are a lot of virgins out there.” Liz said…

”Not at your age there aren’t.” Max said.

And Liz said…”have you ever heard of nuns?”

Max chuckled…”Well, I’m not even sure all of them are virgins Liz.”

“Maxwell Evans, wash your mouth out with soap!” Liz was shocked and Max and the doctor both laughed.

Max pulled Liz into him and kissed her forehead…

”You are priceless sweet…please never change…okay?”

And then the doctor had Liz change into a gown…”I’m sure you know the drill Liz…everything off and in this case leave the gown open in the front for me…I’ll be right back” and Liz took her little gown that was the size of a postage stamp and proceeded to get undressed.

Max held her clothes for her and she sat up on the examining table and put the paper blanket over her lap and waited. She sat there swinging her legs back and forth as she waited and Max sat on a chair next to the table and smiled.

Soon there was a knock at the door and the doctor came back in wearing her white jacket and took her seat at the foot of the table. She pulled the stirrups into position and had Liz lie down, scoot forward, and put her heels in the stirrups. Then she took out the long tool for the exam and Max about passed out. The doctor took one look at him and immediately got a concerned look on her face and asked,

“Are you alright Max?” then Liz looked over at Max and almost started to laugh…but she knew better…she let the doctor deal with him.

“What are you going to do with that thing?” Max asked.

“What? This?” and the doctor held up the tool…

“Yes, that. What the hell is that?” And the doctor smiled.

“Liz, do you mind if Max has a look with me?”

“No, not if it will make him feel better…go right ahead.” The scientist in her had no qualms about Max checking her out.

So the doctor had Max pull his chair around and when she inserted the instrument into Liz’s vagina Max got a firsthand look at what the doctor was looking at and why.

She explained everything she was looking for and told him that everything looked very normal…and when he and Liz got back from their honeymoon they could schedule another appointment and they would take their first look at the baby with a sonogram. Max was thrilled…he had no idea just how interesting all of this would be to him and he could only kiss Liz on the toe, the only really modest part of her that was available to him at the time.

The doctor was elated that Max was as interested as he was and she smiled at him. On the toe, that was a first. Most men didn’t want to see any of this…some of them actually got sick from it. Not Max, he wanted in on every bit of it…it was his baby too and he couldn’t wait. That was the worst part of all …the waiting…he really wanted it to be now. Poor Max.

After they left the doctor’s office Max wanted to know if Liz needed or wanted anything and she told him she was fine. “Let’s just head on home Max. After all everyone should be arriving shortly and we really should be there to greet them.”

“You’re right Liz…let’s just get on home then. Should we plan lunch for everyone or just wait for dinner?”

“Max, will you please relax. They will probably eat lunch on the plane…we’ll have dinner in the dining room tonight just like we planned and tomorrow we will have brunch around 10:00 and dinner around 5:00. I figure with all of us it will probably take a good two hours or more to have a meal and I have hired some girls from the university to come in and serve it for us and clean up afterwards.” Max turned his eyes on Liz and she answered his question before he could speak,

“I know, I’m not into hiring people to do things we can handle ourselves, but in this case I think it’s warranted. I called the college and some of the students that weren’t going home for the holidays are going to come and spend the week-end with us. I had Olivia and Margaret help me clean out the apartment over the garage and we set up four of the beds from the attic with Charley’s help. The girls are going to be here until Sunday afternoon and they are tickled pink to have someplace to go besides the dorms. I told them that when they were finished with the serving and cleaning up that they could have use of the swimming pool and skating rink. I figured your dad would want his golf course and fishing pond for himself so I told them that these two places were off limits.

“They all seem very nice… I told them that we just needed them for dinners and they were free to eat here as well, all they had to do was set the meals out and clean up afterwards.”

Max couldn’t believe it…she actually hired someone to do dishes. He looked over at her and smiled a great big smile and she said “What?”

He grinned as he said, “you’re starting to act like ‘one of the rich and famous’.”

Liz looked at him and squinted her eyes, frowned a bit, thought about it for a second longer and said “Shut up.”

Max laughed.

Roswelllostcause: I think Liz is learning to ignore some of his antics, which maybe are just an act? Maybe! Let's hope so anyway, otherwise I'm wit you.
Eve: I am so sorry to hear about your friend Eve, but I must tell you...when it's my turn I hope it's like that and not a long drawn out, suffering process, but I guess God doesn't give us those choices. God bless you and I hope he helps you get through this trying time.
Natalie: I'm glad you're enjoying them, that was my intention but sometime things don't always work out like we plan. I hope you continue to enjoy...I still haven't worked on completing the third story, trying to get through the first two with some dignity. The third one is mostly written, it just doesn't have any chapter breaks or continuity....maybe I'll just post is as random thoughts someday. Who knows, shit, I don't.

Chapter: 46

When they arrived back at the estate Olivia informed her that the girls had arrived and she had them waiting in the small living room for their instructions. They all arrived in one VW and Liz got tickled when she saw it parked out back…it was a little red bug and looked so cute sitting out there next to three garages.

When Liz and Max went into the living room to introduce themselves the girls were beside themselves. They all stood and shook hands with their two employers, almost unable to speak. They were shocked to see whose home they were in since everyone in Philadelphia was on the Philly’s band wagon. They recognized Max immediately.

Liz tried to control the giggles and keep them to herself and when she was sure they had calmed down enough to concentrate she took them to the kitchen and explained what she wanted for this evening and tomorrow evening. Olivia showed them where the dishwasher supplies were, the trash containers and any other cleaning items they would need to do a good job. Then Liz took them to the butler’s pantry and told them how she wanted the table set…how many people to set up for and what china pieces and silverware to use.

When she was satisfied that they were in tune with what was expected of them she took them to the apartment above the garage and showed them where they would be staying for the week-end. Then she pointed out the ice skating rink that was about a half mile through the path down to the right and explained that the swimming pool that they could use was through the back door of the house and turn left…

“you can’t miss it...The heaters on the outdoor pools have been turned way down and set up for winter so if you want to swim you can do it inside. Just make sure you take your towels to the laundry room with you so they won’t just lay out back and get moldy.

“Oh, and there are plenty of new bathing suits in the dressing room so you don’t have to worry if you didn’t bring one, if you use one it’s yours.” To say the young women were impressed was an understatement.

They just stood there with their mouths open and their eyes wide. Liz looked at them and smiled…”it’s a bit much huh. But in all honesty it’s just a house…we make it a home.” They all looked at her and smiled…they were told by Olivia that they would like her and she was right…they did.

“Oh, and girls, there is also a library in the house if you would like to read or something, and…Mr. Evans has a tremendous selection of DVD’s that you can take over to your place if you want to…and if you want snacks or anything for the evening just help yourselves. OH, except for those damned pies in the freezer…He is very selfish about those pies…don’t touch okay. I don’t know if he’s serious or not but we don’t touch his damned pies.”


The girls actually laughed and Liz laughed with them…she nodded her head and said “really” and they laughed harder.

“Well, I’ll just leave you to get settled, the key to the skating rink is hanging on the wall in that little cupboard by the garage door…it’s labeled and there are plenty of skates and also music. Make yourselves at home. Olivia has stocked your refrigerator and pantry for you but if you don’t see something you want just come over and we’ll take care of it. I have to get ready for the arrival of all of the company coming in from out of town so I will see you later. We will be eating around six this evening so I will expect to see all of you around 5:00…that should give the four of you plenty of time to set the table and get ready to serve.”

“Bye…” They followed her down the stairs and headed to the little VW to get their luggage. They couldn’t believe the set up they had for the week-end and to get paid for it besides. They were determined to make an impression on this couple because they definitely wanted invited back.

While they were busy getting their luggage a very nice young man came by driving a leaf sweeper and asked them if he could be of any help…they all looked at him and then one of the girls, Joanne, recognized him as a fellow student.

“Do you live here?” And Charley’s son blinked and looked at Joanne and said, “yeah…over in the gardener’s house by the east gate. What are you doing here?”

“Oh, we’ve been hired to help with a couple of dinners over the holidays and we’ll be staying up there.” Joanne pointed to the apartment over the garage. Johnny looked up there and said “cool… you’re in for a treat working for these two. They’re really nice people.”

“Yeah, we already figured that out. What are you doing tonight…do you want to come over and watch a movie or something. We figure we should be back around 9:30 or 10:00 and we were told that when the cleanup was finished we were free to do whatever we wanted.”

“Really, then how about I invite a couple of buddies over and we go ice skating. The rink is beautiful, what do you say?” The girls all looked at each other, had a little discussion about that idea and decided that since this was a working week-end that they really shouldn’t be partying. They all agreed not to do that. Johnny said okay, he would see them at school and put his lawn sweeper away and headed down the path toward his home.

Joanne really would like to get to know him better but decided that this was neither the time nor the place for it and headed up to the apartment to get settled in for the week-end. All four girls felt the same way…some other time, but not now.

*~*~*

Liz had just stepped out of the shower when she heard the ruckus downstairs…her heart stuck in her throat for just a minute. She had no idea whether her mother had come with her father or not…When she spoke with her dad last night he still wasn’t sure if Nancy would be coming with him. Jeff told Liz that he wasn’t sure if she was feeling guilty or if she was on one of her holier than thou kicks. She was still fighting old habits in a lot of ways and now that Jeff was aware of what these actions were all about he was learning which to ignore and which to fight. He chose not to fight this battle, it was Nancy’s to win alone.

Either way Jeffery Parker was going to be there, in Philadelphia, to be with his only daughter. They had a lot of fences to mend and there was no time like the present to get started. It was good that there would be so many people around…it wouldn’t be uncomfortable for either of them this way.

Max greeted everyone out front at the limo just like he always did and he was beside himself with happiness and pride when he saw his family and all his friends. He was so happy to have a place big enough to make everyone feel welcome and to be comfortable that he was practically dancing with joy. It just didn’t get any better than this. Amy DeLuca almost wet herself at the size of the place and Jeff Parker was speechless. He had no idea that Max was this successful.

“Good God Max, are you printing your own money?” Max took Jeff’s hand and smiled…

”No…not really but sometime I look around and think maybe I should start.

“Liz is still getting changed…she hired some college girls to help out this week-end and it took a little longer than anticipated to get them settled in. She’ll be right down. Come on in…we don’t need to stand out here on the porch.” And Max led them all into the main hallway… Amy, Jim and Jeff all stood there gaping like a bunch of displaced persons and then Max grabbed Amy’s arm and said…”For God’s sake Amy, it’s just a room.”

“No Max, this is hardly ‘just a room’…get real here kid…this borders on a hotel lobby.”

Liz was walking down the stairs in her jeans, sweatshirt and fuzzy slippers and started to laugh. “Honest to God Amy, it is just a room.” And then Jeff took one look at his daughter and started to tear up. She looked so beautiful and so comfortable with all of this wealth and not the least bit intimidated by any of it. He was so proud of her he could have flown.

And then Liz caught sight of her dad and she gave him a great big smile and when she got to the bottom of the stairs she walked over and gave him a great big hug.

“I’m so happy you came Dad…it’s so good to see you.” And Jeff’s heart broke…how he had ever allowed that woman to mistreat this beautiful girl was beyond his wildest imagination. Max was so proud of her too, but for reasons of his own. He finally knew that she was not doing what she wanted to do on Saturday to hurt this man, she was doing what she wanted to do because it was her right and suddenly Max was comfortable with it.

Everyone hugged everyone else and then Liz told them they could either go up and get settled or come into the living room…they all wanted to go up and get settled after their long plane ride so Liz took Amy, Jim and her Dad up in the elevator to get them settled in their rooms since everyone else knew where they were headed and when they got off the elevator Amy started in again about hotels. Liz just giggled…

”Amy, it’s a long story and I will fill you in on how Max came to be the owner of this place…believe me it’s not as impressive as you might think, well it is but the story behind explains a lot. He bought it for back taxes and we think we are going to make it into a home for mentally challenged children.

“It will take quite awhile to get it operational but that’s what we are thinking of doing with it. In the meantime we can continue to have large family gatherings without giving it a second thought. It really is nice to be able to have all of you here under one roof and to know that you are all comfortable.”

“Comfortable is an understatement Liz…this borders on insanity. I didn’t know people really lived like this, I thought it was all stories in a book or some magazine at the beauty parlor.”

“Well, keep in mind that it was once an ice skating school for young girls and each one of these bedrooms was a dormitory…then you will understand how it came to be.”

Jeff just stood and took it all in…he couldn’t believe that his daughter lived in a place like this. Then Amy piped up and said…

“I understand that you have a few places of your own in Connecticut.”

“Oh, I don’t have anything like this…I have two apartment complexes…each one has 12 units and then a four bedroom home in the suburbs. We are going to rent out the house until I decide what to do with it and I have one apartment that is close to the lab where I worked that I kept for myself. We are going to keep that one just as it is for when I have to go to Farmington on business. It’s a small one bedroom with a garage but it is very comfortable. I lived there before I bought the house.”

To say that Jeff was impressed with his daughter was an understatement. He was so proud of her and to think, he didn’t even know her. But that was all going to change.

Liz put Amy and Jim in the room next to Michael and Maria and she set her dad up in the room she had when she first arrived. Everyone was all settled in where they were supposed to be and then Liz excused herself and headed for the back stair way to oversee the girls she had heard come in.

Olivia was in the process of showing them the various refrigerators and which foods that would be served for this evening’s meal when Liz showed up in her fuzzy slippers. The girls all gave her a big smile and she did likewise and then Liz told Olivia that it was time for her to get home to her family and start her own holiday celebration. Olivia gave Liz a great big hug and told her to relax and have a good time with her family. Liz assured her she would and then told her that she would definitely see her on Saturday…Olivia told her she could count on that and then she bid the young crew of girls good bye and told them to enjoy their stay.

They said they were sure they would and then they got busy. They went directly to the butler’s pantry and started getting the linens and setting the table…Liz stood by and watched for a minute and when she was happy with what was going on she took herself off to the living room to join in the fun. Philip looked at his daughter-in-law to be and said…”Liz, I’m disappointed in you…I don’t get to set the table?”

“Oh Philip, I am so sorry…I’ll bet Joanne and the group would be more than glad to have you help them if you want to.”

Jeff, Amy and Jim had no idea what Philip was talking about and then Alex piped up and said that Liz makes everyone pitch in with the chores and the guy that sets the table gets to choose where you’re going to eat. They all started to laugh at Alex and then Isabel said, “No, it’s the truth…she works your ass off…seriously.” And then they really laughed.

“Then what are we all doing in here if there’s work to be done?” Jeff asked.

“Oh, she hired some young college girls to help this week-end.” Max added…”but I think we have to do breakfast…right honey.”

“Right, so be prepared … tomorrow morning you all get to work your asses off.” And there was more laughing as people started to relax…relax being the number one priority since none of them were quite sure how the Liz, Jeff meeting would go. It didn’t bother Liz in the least but none of them knew that.

Soon Joanne came into the doorway and motioned to Liz who excused herself,

“Liz, the table is all set and we’d like your approval before we go any further.”

Liz followed Joanne to the dining room, looked around, and it looked positively beautiful…Joanne had even taken the flowers out of the entry and put them on the buffet because they matched the arrangement on the table. Liz smiled at her and told her…

“Everything looks wonderful Joanne…I am glad you are enjoying this. I know I went nuts the first time I discovered that pantry. You go right ahead and do your own thing…we will enjoy the fruits of your labor.”

“I just wish we could use more of those serving platters in there…God, how can you stand not using all of this stuff…it’s wonderful.”

“I know, isn’t it? It was all here when Max moved in…can you believe it.”

“Honest…wow…who lived here?”

“It was a girl’s school if you can believe it…and what a school huh? I never went to any school like this.”

“God, me either. Anyway let us know when you’re ready to eat…we’re all set in the kitchen.”

“Okay…give me a minute to gather them all up and I’ll come and get you.”

“Hey, we found a bell…you want to use it?”

“Hell no, I don’t want to be ringing any bell for God’s sake. The only reason why I’m having help this week-end is because there are a couple people that are not family and I’m not comfortable putting them to work yet…but tomorrow is another story all together they are all going to help get thanksgiving dinner ready…and you girls are welcome to come over and help if you want to. My dad and my friend Michael are both excellent cooks and Amy is a wonderful pastry chef so if you want to come and join in you’re welcome…we’ll probably have breakfast about 10:00 and then start dinner right after that…what do you say…”

“Sounds like a great idea to me…but when do you want to eat tonight?”

“We’ll be right in, start putting the plates on the table now if you want to.”

“Okay…see you in a minute and no bells?”

“No bells…” and they both laughed.

Liz called everybody to the dining room and soon they were all seated and enjoying a beautiful meal courtesy of Olivia. The girls did a beautiful job serving and then Liz had the girls bring out the warm blackberry pie and ice cream…Max actually looked like he was going to drool. Joanne looked at his face and then at Liz and had to leave the room…she knew what Liz meant about the pies. When Cynthia served Liz her pie Liz whispered in her ear…”You girls have to try some of this… it’s great.” And Cynthia gave Liz an ‘are you sure’ look and Liz nodded her assent…Cynthia smiled and headed back out through the dining room door with a big grin on her face…they were going to try Max’s pie.

*~*~*

Roxswselllostcause: I think Jeff is really trying to make up for some bad choices...let's hope it works out for all of them.
Eve: Thank you, so glad you enjoyed the chapter....

Now for a little request to all of you who are reading along. Carolyn's husband is having some health issues and could use a few prayers. His name is Bob Waddleford and I know "sweet Carolyn" would really appreciate some help from us. She really is a sweetie.

*****


Chapter: 47

When Liz woke up on Thanksgiving Day she tried to be very quiet so as not to wake the rest of the house, including Max, but to her surprise she was alone in their room. It was only 6:30 a.m. and no reason for anyone else to be up and about. She went to the dresser and got out some clean underwear and headed to the shower. After she had finished her morning routine she put a clean pair of jeans on and an old sweat shirt…donned her favorite fuzzy slippers and headed down the back stair case. There in the kitchen were five men…all wearing huge white aprons and hats fixing breakfast. Jeff had brought the aprons and hats with him as a joke…now he was glad he had.

Philip was making orange juice…Max was making coffee…Alex was at the toaster and Jeff was at the stove preparing eggs, bacon, sausages and pancakes short order style. Michael had a big bowl going making the stuffing for the turkey which was sitting in the sink located in the counter still packaged up. Twenty five pounds was going to take some time to cook…so early in it was.

Liz looked at all of them and started giggling, it was a sight to behold and then Joanne, Cynthia, Bernadette and Claudine all came in from the dining room carrying large trays with serving platters.

Liz looked at the girls and they all gave her a big smile and pointed to the dining room…she went in and was amazed; the table had been extended to seat 16 and the buffet was all set up with various pastries from the pantry and the beautiful flower arrangement they absconded from the entry hall was parked right in the center of it all.

Diane and Izzy were carrying in a chair each from the storage room off the laundry room and Amy was right behind them along with Maria each carrying their own chair.

It was decided that the young four from college needed to be a part of the celebration too. They could do the clean up but they also needed to join in the fun. Liz was elated and wondered why she hadn’t thought of this…Oh well, maybe it was because she was so busy thinking of everything else.

“I’m not even going to ask what I can do to help…I’m just going to let you guys do your thing.”

Liz ran to Max’s office and grabbed the digital camera and started snapping pictures like a wild woman. ‘God, this is just too priceless, our first thanksgiving together and it is wonderful’. After she snapped enough pictures to fill an entire album she turned around and headed right back to the kitchen to get her morning kiss from Max and hugs from the rest of her men. Life was good.

Philip gave her his big bear hug and her dad was right beside him waiting his turn…Oh this was wonderful, Liz couldn’t remember ever being this happy on a holiday. ‘Oh God…just wait til’ Christmas, this is going to be so great.’ And then she smiled her signature smile and looked at Max…’oh just wait til Christmas’ she shivered with excitement and scrunched up her little shoulders and headed for the kitchen table to take it all in. She had the five chef’s pose in their aprons and hats and she just couldn’t keep the smiles off her face.

After they had all eaten their fill and the students had excused themselves to clear away the breakfast remains Michael went to the kitchen to dress the turkey and put it in the oven.

Liz asked if anyone would like to take a walk around the estate and enjoy the gardens…of course Amy, Jim and Jeff were all for it as well as Maria. Maria had not seen any of the outdoor areas either. When she was here before there wasn’t any time except for ball games and wedding dress shopping. So they all bundled up for a nice walk before starting in on the Thanksgiving cook-off as Liz was now calling it.

In the meantime the girls were in the kitchen cleaning up and were enjoying themselves tremendously.

“Have you ever seen such a place in your life and in a private residence no less? It’s like playing ‘Barbie’ and you’re the doll.” Cynthia said.

“I know…it almost makes me want to change my major to home economics…my mother would lose her mind in a place like this.” Joanne added...

“Hey, do you think they would mind if we made a couple of dishes of our own for dinner. I have a great cranberry mold recipe of my grandmother’s that I’ll bet everyone would like and everything is here that I would need…do you think I should ask?” Cynthia was really serious…she wanted to try out this kitchen in the worst way and there was one particular serving dish in that butler’s pantry that she knew would be perfect for what she had in mind.

Joanne told Cynthia that she would run down the path and ask Liz if it would be okay for them to make some dishes for dinner and then grabbed her jacket from the hook by the back door and took off on a dead run.

Soon she was jogging next to the group of sight seers and stopped next to Liz and motioned for her to stop for a minute. Liz looked over at Max and he nodded his understanding and kept on walking. He wanted to make sure everything was okay so he sort of slowed down just in case he was needed and as soon as Joanne explained what she wanted Liz motioned for Max to keep on going…

Joanne explained the reason for her impromptu visit and Liz looked at her and grinned. “Hard not to stay out of there isn’t it?”

“God yes, if I lived here I would be cooking all day and exercising all night…

“Anyway, Cynthia wants to make her grandmother’s recipe for cranberry something or other…I have a delicious recipe for a light vegetable platter and Claud and Bernie both want to do their favorite recipes as well…Claud wants to do the yams and Bernie has a soup that her family likes to serve with some sort of homemade noodles…Can we?”

“Of course you can…you figure it out and have a ball. Then when you’re ready we can all come down and have an ice skating party for a couple of hours before dinner. How does that sound?”

“Liz, I think this is turning out to be one of the best thanksgivings of my life, that’s what I think.”

“Good, we’ll see you when the tour is over…enjoy.”

And with that Joanne started back to the house on a dead run. Liz just stood there and watched her…she is definitely an athlete…I wonder what sport she’s in? Liz thought. And then she in turn jogged up to the group and joined in the chatter along the path.

When there was a lull in the conversation she announced to the entire bunch to walk slowly because they were going to be ‘busting their asses’ later. Amy, Jim, Jeff, Michael and Maria looked at her like she had lost her mind and the rest just groaned…They knew what she had planned and Max grabbed hold of his best friend and hugged her close and whispered…”is it safe?” She smiled and nodded yes and he was happy once again. Life was great and getting better all the time.

*~*~*

Meanwhile back in the kitchen Joanne informed the girls that Liz had said they could make whatever they wanted to make and all four of them headed to the refrigerators, pantries and cupboards. They had pots, pans, plates, cutlery and everything under the sun out and on the island. They never dreamed last week that they would be having this much fun.

They were all working to save enough money to get home for Christmas and each had put their names on a bulletin board in the hallway leading to the cafeteria and also at the main office of the University for part time work never dreaming that something like this would come their way.

This was a dream come true.

Cynthia found that silver tray she had her eye on that held a clear crystal plate in the center and she grabbed it up before one of the others spied it. She could use it for her cranberry mold.

Claudine found a gorgeous soup tureen to use for her noodle soup after making sure there was enough chicken in the freezer for soup stock. She also decided to make her own egg noodles since there was a great La Machine in the pantry; oh this was like dying and going to heaven!

In the meantime Bernadette went searching for the ingredients she needed for her mother’s favorite pumpkin roll and found everything right there in the pantry…this place was like a super market…all you had to do was start opening doors and stuff magically appeared.

When the hikers arrived back at the house there were wonderful smells permeating through the entire building. Max looked at Liz and raised an eyebrow in question…

“The girls wanted to know if they could make some stuff for dinner…I told them to knock themselves out…it seems they took me at my word. I believe we are in for a treat, don’t you?”

“It certainly smells like it…shall we check it out?”

“Sure, let’s all go see what they’re up to.”

And so the entire entourage headed for the kitchen to see what surprises the girls had in store for them.

In the glass enclosed refrigerator there was a beautiful cranberry mold setting up nicely in a beautiful crystal bowl…Four large pumpkin rolls were displayed on a beautiful crystal platter and a vegetable platter displaying a large variety of fresh vegetables carved into beautiful patterns with a scrumptious looking dip sat in the center of all of it. The entire island was covered in home made egg noodles drying out.

There was one humongous pot of chicken and vegetables cooking on the back burner and Liz couldn’t believe her eyes…

“Have you girls left anything for us to do?”

“Well, you said Amy made great pumpkin pie and the potatoes need peeled for the mashed potatoes…we have the yams in the oven baking and then we will make the candy for them, the giblets and the neck, which we got away from Michael just in time, are cooking for the gravy. I think that should cover it…oh, and the green bean casserole.”

Liz looked around at the rest of the group and decided to just let the girls finish up the dinner…there would be a very nice bonus on their pay checks for this and then she said…”Do we really need green beans with all of this?”

And everyone said “Yes!!!”

“Okay then, green beans too…now can we grab a sandwich or should we call out for pizza?”

The girls giggled and said “What kind of sandwiches do you want? We can make them for you.”

“You just relax and continue what you’re doing; we’ll take care of lunch.”

She headed to refrigerator number one and took a platter of cold cuts from it and headed to the sun porch…Max headed to the walk in pantry on the other side and grabbed paper plates and napkins and Isabel took a tray and got the condiments from the fridge while Philip got the bread. Alex got a tray and went to the walk in and grabbed a large bunch of grapes and some bananas and followed the group to the sun porch. Jeff, Jim, Michael, Maria and Amy followed the rest of them in silent wonder and Diane just smiled at the whole group.

Now Jeff knew what Isabel meant about Liz working their asses off…she really didn’t but it certainly made life easier when everybody chipped in.

When they were all seated Liz motioned for the girls to come and join them and they all gave her a shy smile and did as requested. Then Liz had to ask…

“Joanne, what sport are you involved in?”

Joanne looked at her a little surprised and said “The swim team. How did you know?”

“Oh, no one runs the way you do unless they are an athlete…you weren’t even winded when you caught up with us and then you took off like a deer. I knew you had to be involved in some sport.”

Joanne looked at her and then around the table… “We are all on the swim team. We all have scholarships and are working this week-end so we can go home for the Christmas holidays. I live in Montana, Cynthia lives in Arizona, Claudine hails from Nebraska and Bernie hails from Oklahoma.

“We met at the University our first semester and have become fast friends. We thought we would be totally lost this week-end but you have made it a pure pleasure for us and we want to thank you so much for including us in your celebration.”

“Oh girls, we are only too happy to share with you. What year are you in?”

“We are all sophomores. We really don’t have a lot of time for socializing since we are doubling up on some of our units in order to finish school sooner and to get on with our careers.”

This sounded so familiar to Liz…”What are your majors?”

“Well, I’m leaning toward the medical field, I haven’t really decided where to go with it yet but that seems to be my goal at the moment.” Joanne answered…then Cynthia piped up and said she thought she would be going into psychiatry or psychology…she wasn’t really sure, it all depended on the scholarships and finances.

Bernadette took her turn and said she was also interested in the medical field as well but thought she would like to concentrate more along the lines of psychiatric nursing. Claudine was also interested in the medical field as well but she leaned more toward research.

Liz looked at Max and they both knew what they had to do…these girls definitely needed to be able to attain their goals without worrying about finances. What goes around comes around they were told and they knew they were looking at some serious young women here; wonderful serious young women. Philip, Diane, Alex and Isabel all had the same ideas as Max and Liz and they knew with all of them working together things would work out fine for all of these young people.

After Lunch everyone grabbed something and put it away…Liz gave her dad a trash can liner and Jeff promptly started putting the paper plates and napkins in the trash and the rest all headed to the kitchen…Cynthia took the yams out of the oven and sat them on the counter to cool and then they all headed to the ice skating rink for a fun afternoon. It was now about 1:00 so they figured they should be ready for dinner around 7:00 or so.

Joanne got Liz’s attention and asked if they could invite Johnny to join them and Liz said of course… “Why not ask Charley and Margaret as well?” She gave a call over to the gardener’s house and found out that Johnny had some friends over from school who hadn’t gone home for the holidays either and Liz asked all of them to join them for some ice skating.

The rink was packed with people of all ages and everyone was having a wonderful time. Especially the young college students who had thought they would be working all week-end never dreaming that this would turn into one great holiday.

Liz was so happy they were able to do all of this that she was almost in tears and Max was just happy as she was; having her in his life was the ultimate. They held onto to each other and skated as the music played in the background, each in their own little world, looking forward to so many more years of family and friends.

*~*~*

"Roswelllostcause" You at least got to tear up bread, I didn't even get to do that and as for TV., I'm older than dirt here, we didn't get one until I was about 14 and I don't ever remember watching a parade. We had an antenna on the roof and 3 channels on the tv. It was mostly snow on a good day...honest. I really can't remember what I did on thanksgiving besides enjoying a meal with the family, which we did every night. I either went to a movie or roller skating at the roller rink. Boy what memories...and I walked the 3 miles to the rink and from the rink, or 1 mile to the movies. Max told Liz once that she was his dream girl...well these fics are my dream life.
Eve: You are right about the menu for holidays. The only bad part about these meals is you wind up eating the food for a week. I once remember once taking every leftover from thanksgiving dinner and freezing it and serving it for Christmas. Honest. We only had and aunt for the thanksgiving holiday and were expecting a house full for Christmas so I fixed a huge dinner and froze it. It worked out great, I really enjoyed that Christmas as did all the other women who were here.

Carolyn: So happy to see you back and I will be sure to keep hubby in my prayers.

Hey everyone, sorry I'm so behind in my posting...was gone for a while and left my flash drive at home. I thought about all of you though. Happy week-end to all.


Chapter: 48

Back in Roswell the pastor of the Catholic Church noticed a lone woman sitting in the back of the small chapel that sat alongside the main body of the church. He had come in to check the candle situation and recognized Nancy Parker immediately. She was sitting there all alone and he suddenly felt very sorry for the woman. He knew of Nancy’s problems because he was working with her along with the therapist she was seeing.

She really couldn’t be held totally responsible for her actions since her mother had treated her practically the same way that she had treated Liz. It was the guilt she felt for having given in to Jeff the night of her prom and it triggered everything else and sent her totally over the edge.

She really did love Liz she just never knew how to show her. The priest sat down in the pew in front of Nancy and asked her what she was doing here on thanksgiving…shouldn’t she be with her family.

She looked up at the kind old gentleman and started sobbing uncontrollably. She told him that Jeff had flown to Philadelphia to be with Liz and Max’s family for the week-end. She told him of the wedding plans for Saturday and she told him that she just couldn’t face her daughter knowing what she had done to her and how wrong she had been. The old priest got up from his seat and moved in next to Nancy and hugged her close and let her cry it all out. When she had finished sobbing he gave her the handkerchief out of his pocket to wipe her eyes and said…”Do you feel better now?”

“Yes father, some. I just wish I had the courage to face her, to tell her how much I truly love her and how sorry I am.”

“Well, I don’t know Liz that well anymore Nancy but I did know her a long time ago and I don’t think she could have changed all that much. I am sure, if you go to her, that she will accept you. You say Jeff is in Philadelphia?”

“Yes, he flew out Tuesday with the Evanses and Valenitis.”

“Have you heard from him?”

“Yes, he called last night and told me he wished I had gone with them. He said Liz looks wonderful and I really should see her lifestyle. Apparently Max is quite a wealthy young man, which really doesn’t surprise me. Most athletes are.”

Father smiled at her and said…”Aren’t you the least bit curious about her?”

“Of course I am father… but not about her lifestyle really. After the past few weeks I have thought about her constantly. About how wrong I have been with her and when you get right down to it just how wrongly I was treated. Father, I can’t believe how stupid I have been all of these years.”

“Well Nancy, when you don’t share your thoughts with other people you can’t expect to know that what is normal or abnormal. It seems to me that you have led a very lonely existence…not socializing with others or having close girlfriends to share your thoughts with only left you with what you were taught. Be it right or wrong it is all you’ve ever known.

“Now you are working toward a healthier life and you will be happier, trust me. How about you come with me and join us for thanksgiving dinner. I am having a group of friends over and after that we will talk some more about this pending wedding, okay?”

“Yes father, I think I would like that.” And so Nancy went to dinner with the kind old priest and felt much better than she had an hour ago, as a matter of fact she felt better than she had in her entire life.

* * *


Back in Connecticut Kyle made his way up the steps of the large hospital carrying his bouquet of autumn flowers and when inside he headed to the front desk.

“Hi, I’m here to have dinner with Tess Harding…I set It up earlier this week with the administration and they said it would be fine.”

“Of course Mr. Valenti, Tess is expecting you… go right up.” And Kyle headed for the elevator that took him to the third floor.

When he arrived at the desk he saw Tess sitting in a chair by the desk waiting for him. She was dressed in a nice dress and her hair was all done up, she even had some make up on. He was truly happy to see that she had taken time to fix herself up. He went right over to her, leaned down, and gave her a kiss on the cheek then handed her the flowers. She smiled up at him said

“Thank you Kyle, they’re beautiful.”

Kyle returned the smile and said “You’re very welcome Tess. You look really nice today.”

She smiled again, stood up and took his hand and led him to the dining room at the end of the hallway. It was surrounded by three walls of windows and overlooked a lovely lawn that was well cared for. There were benches situated here and there out on the lawn for seating and privacy and it was all very inviting. The dining room had been set up special for today since a lot of the other inmates had family and friends visiting them for dinner as well. Tess led him to a small table that had been set up for two; he held a chair out for Tess and then seated himself.

Kyle was so pleased that he had asked permission to do this; she deserved to have someone with her for Thanksgiving…He truly felt sorry for her and she could see it in his eyes…she took his hand and smiled again after they were seated…

“Kyle, was I always this nutty?”

Kyle looked at her in disbelief…”Tess, I never thought you were ‘nutty’…”

Tess started to giggle…”I guess you brought out the ‘normal’ in me then.”

Kyle started laughing in a low tone too… “I guess.”

And with that little conversation breaking the ice they had a very nice meal and visit…Kyle felt quite good when he left the hospital and so did Tess…maybe someday she would be able to figure out just why she acted so weird…but right now she was just glad to be getting help.

*~*~*

Back at the estate all of the ice skaters returned to the house about 5:00 p.m. and started for the kitchen…Joanne and the girls stopped all of them dead in their tracks.

“Huh-uh…we’re going to do this for you now go and relax and we’ll take care of everything…okay?”

“Well, okay, but if you need any help with anything just let us know.” And with that Liz told everyone that she was going upstairs to soak in a vat of hot bubbles. They all laughed and then the rest of the women got these strange looks on their faces as they remembered the silver baskets full of bubble bath and oils on the tubs in their suites and they all headed for the stairs at the same time.

The men stood there watching a retreating body of women and headed to the living room and the big screen TV…they would bet any amount of money there was a football game on somewhere.

Liz snuck down the back stairs carrying four bottles of very expensive bubble bath and sat it on the counter…

“Hey girls…you can treat yourselves to some bubbles if you want to.” They all looked at the bottles and said “Thanks…we will.” And as soon as Bernie and Claud had the potatoes peeled and on the stove they headed over to the apartment over the garage for their baths…leaving Joanne and Cynthia to finish up the green bean casserole and the yam casserole.

After Bernie and Claud returned all cleaned up and ready for dinner Joanne and Cynthia headed over to get their bubble baths as well. After they got a whiff of Bernie and Claud they could hardly wait to try this stuff out. Bernie told them they were in for a real treat; the smell was one thing but the way the oils made you feel were something else.

Oh they liked this place more and more by the minute.

*~*~*

After Liz got out of the huge tub she wrapped a towel around herself and headed for the bed for a little nap, she was feeling just a little drowsy again and it wasn’t long before she was out. Max left the men in front of the TV and headed up the stairs to check on Liz and when he peeked his head in their room to make sure she was alright all he saw was a small figure all curled up under the covers. He kicked off his shoes and joined her.

He lay down on top of the covers and pulled her in closer to him and nuzzled her head under his chin and fell to sleep right along with her.

His mom walked past on her way down the back stairs and saw the two of them cuddled up and she reached over and pulled the bedroom door shut so they wouldn’t be disturbed and continued on her way to the kitchen. This was becoming a regular habit with her and she smiled.

When she got to the kitchen she noticed all four of the girls had changed their clothes and were dressed quite nicely and were ready for dinner. She was very comfortable with the fact that they had everything under control.

She told them that she wished they lived in Roswell, she would love to have them work for her and they all smiled and thanked her. It meant a lot to them to know that their work was appreciated even though it didn’t seem like work at all; as a matter of fact it was actually a lot of fun.

Diane entered the living room a short while later and found Philip dozing in one of the chairs and Michael stretched out in a recliner, she smiled to herself and shook Philip’s shoulder, grabbed hold of Michaels shoe and shook him awake also and told them that dinner would be ready shortly. Both men got up, still a little groggy, and headed for the stairs. Neither one realized that they had been left alone with the TV blaring and Diane just smiled. Michael tracked down Jeff in his room and told him that dinner would be ready shortly and Jeff smiled and told the young man thanks. It had been a long day and they still hadn’t eaten dinner but by 6:45 everyone was showered and ready for the feast the young women had prepared.

*~*~*

By 7:00 p.m. Cynthia was ready to put the soup into the tureen and serve it up. She had placed the soup bowls next to the soup tureen for Liz to ladle out and pass around the table. That way it wouldn’t get too cold. Liz was very impressed with the girls and told them as much.

The table was beautifully set and the silver and crystal looked positively elegant. And the smells, God the smells coming from the kitchen were heavenly. The young women had prepared a feast fit for a king.

Jeff had only one wish, he truly wished that Nancy would have come with him. He understood why she hadn’t but he truly wished she was here.

Before Liz ladled out the soup she asked everyone to hold hands and then asked Philip if he would say the blessing. Philip was honored and said as much and then after their prayers of thanksgiving they all sat down and Liz took the lid from the tureen and started passing bowls of soup to the guests at her table.

She looked to the other end of the table and smiled, this was one of the happiest moments of her life and she wanted Max to know this. She blew him a kiss and everyone smiled, they were beautiful together…and further more they hadn’t argued all day.

The rest of the evening went perfectly and the food the young women had prepared was out of this world. The cranberry mold tasted as wonderful as it looked…the vegetable tray, with all of its carved designs was positively awesome as was the turkey, dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes and even the green bean casserole. The yams were perfect and the pumpkin roll was as good as any pumpkin pie ever made. Everyone complimented the young women…they couldn’t sing their praises enough.

When dinner was over and belts were loosened they all retired to the large living room to watch a movie together.

The girls came in and joined them for awhile and then told them they thought they would head on over to the apartment and wished them all a goodnight.

Bernie spoke up for the group…

“We want to thank all of you for making this day wonderful. Now we have a great story for our folks when we get home for Christmas. I’m quite sure they won’t believe a word we say but it’s going to be fun trying to make them believe it.”

Liz giggled as she told them to come over for breakfast...”I’ll make sure you each have a CD to show your folks to corroborate your story.”

“If we’re up.” Cynthia answered with a grin…and then they were off.

Liz felt good. Good about everything , good about hiring them, good about thanksgiving, good about seeing her father and just plain good about life.

The girls fit right in with everyone too and it was so nice to have been able to share the holiday with them.

It wasn’t too long after the girls left that Liz bid everyone goodnight as well and kissed Max on the forehead. “I’ll see all of you tomorrow.” Max looked up at her and said…”Nah…I think I’ll come with you. Good night everyone and thank you all so much for coming and sharing this holiday with us. It is wonderful to have all of you here. See you in the morning…not too early I hope.” And they all said goodnight and wished them well.

When they got to the stairs Max lifted Liz into his arms and carried her all the way to their room and laid her on their bed and helped her out of her clothes…

“I was hoping you would come up with me.” She said and smiled at Max.

“You were huh?” He answered with a crooked little grin. God how he loved her, “Well I’ve been waiting for you to decide to come up here for quite a while …”

“Why didn’t you say something? I would have come up after dinner if you would have told me.”

“Well I thought we should act a little civil, don’t you agree?”

“Yeah, I guess. Now, don’t you think one of us is just a little over dressed?”

“Well, maybe just a little.” And with that Max stripped out of his clothes and was under the covers with Liz in no time at all. “How are you feeling?”

“Just a little tired but fine…and I don’t think the baby has me tired…I think it’s all of the excitement. I loved the breakfast uniforms…they were priceless.”

Max chuckled…”yeah your dad really surprised all of us with those…I thought they were pretty cool myself.”

“Wait til you see the pictures…I’m doing an album for everyone with the help of Alex…he’s going to stop at the hobby shop tomorrow when you guys are out getting your tuxes and work on them later in the afternoon before the rehearsal. Do you think we should invite the girls to the wedding?”

“Yes, I think they would like that…maybe we can let Charley take the escalade and they can all ride together…I think Joanne would like that, don’t you?”

“Oh you caught that action did you…I think you’re right. Give him a call in the morning and ask him before we suggest anything okay?”

“Okay...” and then Max pulled her in closer and kissed her forehead as his hands started on a journey that promised a mountain of pleasure.

He took his time; he cherished every inch of her body and she enjoyed each and every caress and kiss he gave her. She was far more aware of his touches now than she had been a few weeks ago and she chalked that up to the pregnancy. She definitely was enjoying Max’s ministrations more and more every day.

If today was any indication of what their life was going to be like it definitely was going to be wonderful. She could hardly wait to get started on married life, although it shouldn’t be too much different than it had been the past few weeks, which were the happiest of her life.

*~*~*

Roswelllostcause: Helen, I think you're right and hopefully Nancy will come through on time.
Eve: About those lives, I sometimes wonder...thank God for books and the library.
Carolyn: Guess what? These meals I write about make me hungry also, honest. Hopefully I make it through this update before stopping for something to eat. I have cheese and crackers if I can't make it through a cut and paste.
Natalie: I like the way you think...I love Christmas, more food...cookies and everything!!!
Smilee: Thank you, I think most of my stories are like this because anything else is just real life and I don't need to write about that. Honest!

Chapter: 49

The next morning was a repeat of yesterday’s breakfast only it was a little later in the day…not at 7:00 a.m. thank God!

Liz’s dad was in full cook mode with his apron and hat as was Michael. They had music coming in from the stereo system and Philip was taking care of the juice…he had proclaimed himself the official juice man of the house and Alex was the official toast man.

The four girls were busy setting the table in the dining room because, honestly, they had fallen in love with the butler’s pantry. The rest of the women were having their morning coffee on the sun porch and enjoying watching the squirrels play in the trees.

Max motioned Liz over to him as he filled the coffee pot for the second time and she of course sidled up to him, stood on her tiptoes and got her morning kiss…He smiled down at her and then whispered in her ear to go in and talk to the girls about coming to the wedding…she smiled in return, nodded, and headed right into the dining room.

“Hey guys good morning. The table looks beautiful and, by the way, you probably know that Max and I are getting married tomorrow over at SS. Peter and Paul’s cathedral at 6:00 o’clock and then there’s a nice dinner dance planned at the Hilton. We were wondering if you would like to come as our guests. Charley, Margaret and Johnny will be glad to have you go with them if you would like to come.”

Joanne looked at the other girls and then they looked terrified…Joanne understood exactly what the problem was and she immediately said…”We don’t have anything to wear to something like that Liz…we would be like fish out of water.”

“Nonsense…if that’s all that’s bothering you let me take care of it for you…You go to the boutique in the mall after lunch and tell them who you are…they will be expecting you and you pick out something that you would never buy for yourselves.

“And I insist that you do not look at the price tags on anything…you just have a ball choosing something and get the accessories that go with it. Consider it a Christmas gift…you have more than earned it. And I won’t take no for an answer…we really want you to come and share in our happiness…will you do that for us?”

The four girls looked at each other and wondered what in the hell they landed into and just where the hell was the yellow brick road…no one in their right mind does this for perfect strangers.

Liz read their expressions pretty well and told them straight out…

“Look, when I was your age I was in college on scholarships with no one, and I mean no one but Max to talk to…I do not want anyone to ever have to live like that, ever. If I can bring some happiness and joy into someone else’s life then I will do it. I only hope that I am always in a position to do it…now will you come to my wedding and share in my happiness with me and if all it is going to take is the price of a dress to get you there then so be it.”

The four girls looked at the tiny young woman standing there and all four approached her and gave her a big hug…”Of course we’ll come to your wedding but we’ll go over to the dorm and get something that we already have…okay?”

“Only if you want to because I truly want to give you a Christmas present, and I would be honored if you would go to the boutique and get something.”

“No, we’ll wear our own clothes…and we will be honored to attend your wedding. Tell Charley we’ll be ready to leave when they are.”

Liz smiled and said great.

About that time the dining room started filling up with people carrying all kinds of food and soon everyone was seated and enjoying another meal at the Evans’ home. Liz thought to herself that it seemed as though that’s all they did around here, cook and eat and she started laughing.

Max looked at her and wondered what in the hell got in to her this time but didn’t bother asking. He’d find out later and sat himself down to enjoy the fruits of everyone’s labor.

After breakfast the men all headed to the showers to get ready for their fittings at the tux shop…Liz and the ladies all headed up to the attic with the ironing board and iron and the four college students headed to the kitchen to clean up after breakfast.

After the dishes were all loaded in the dishwasher and everything had been washed down they headed over to the apartment and got their coats and purses and were off to the dorms to get some dressy clothes.

They all had nice dresses for special occasions and were quite certain that they had something that would be suitable for the occasion all they had to do was get them.

They headed back to the estate to get ready for a late lunch, they were informed that there would be no formal dinner this evening and they could just heat up leftovers.

Or, they could make something different for themselves if they wanted to because the whole group had rehearsals at the cathedral at 7:00 and they would be eating after that.

They decided to make a nice lunch for the entire group with the leftover turkey and soup. Soup and sandwiches with cranberry mold and leftover veggie’s really sounded good…so when the women came down to the kitchen to start on some lunch the girls had beat them to it.

Liz smiled at them and asked if they had a chance to go the dorm and Joanne smiled and said “mission accomplished” and Liz just grinned at her and mouthed a nice big ‘thank you’.

All four of the girls smiled and got busy setting the table once again. Liz told them they didn’t have to use the dining room for all of the meals and they all said as one, “but we love it in there”…

“Well, if you love it in there then so be it…we will eat in there. After all it is a house rule that the person setting the table gets to choose where we eat….”

Amy looked at her and said…”You have rules?”

And Liz grinned at her and said…”You have to have rules Amy.” And everyone laughed… so true as long as everyone played by them.

Soon the familiar noise from the back hallway alerted Liz that the gate was opening. Amy looked startled and said “The security system.” …sure enough it wasn’t five minutes later than all the men came in with their tuxes hanging on hangers. Liz smiled at all of them and pointed to the elevator…then she said…

“Max, where are you going to sleep tonight?”

Max stopped dead in his tracks and said “HUH!”

Everyone started laughing at him and then Maria popped up and said…”Michael and Max can share and Liz and I can share”…

Max looked around and said “Like hell…” and the place was in mayhem…

“But Max, you can’t see me before the wedding….” Liz wanted to laugh

“I won’t see you before the wedding Liz…but the wedding isn’t until 6:00 p.m. and if you think I am going into hiding until 6:00 p.m. tomorrow night you’re nuts…Now we’ll have no more talk of Michael and me sharing a bed…is that clear…does everyone understand this…”

“Yes m’lord.” And Liz curtsied…. Then Max looked at her with a very serious expression on his face and said “You” and he pointed at her, “you just cut that out. It’s not funny Liz.”

“Yes m’lord.”

With that Max handed his tux to his dad and Liz took off on a dead run, the only route available was up the back stairs…Philip opened the elevator door and took the tuxes and hung them on the rail and led everyone out to the pool…

Isabel, Alex, Diane and Philip knew what was coming but the rest just followed, wondering what the hell was happening. Joanne and the girls followed Philip and the rest, just as curious as the others.

Liz ran through the upstairs hall, down the large stairway in the entry and pretty soon she passed all the others on a dead run with Max hot on her heels.

By the time the others caught up with them Max had Liz over his shoulder and she was screaming and laughing while beating Max about his back and his ass at the same time…

“I’m sorry Max…honest; I won’t do it again…”

“You said that the last time Liz and I let you get away with it but not this time”

And into the pool she went only this time Max got a big surprise…Liz grabbed hold of his belt and he went flying in with her.

Philip applauded…”Way to go Liz” and Max came up sputtering right along with her.

“Truce you big bully.” And Liz was laughing so hard she could hardly get herself to the side of the pool…Max looked at her in shock and then he was laughing right along with her… “Truce. Chalk one up for you…now let’s get dried off and eat some lunch.”

Jeff couldn’t believe the playfulness of these two…Philip was right, they belonged together. If only Nancy could be here to enjoy this. He really loved his wife but he would most certainly keep better track of what went on in their lives. No more being the odd man out so to speak.