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NAVIGATION
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Max fell in love with Lauren the moment he saw her. They were polar opposites but they learned the art of love together. How can you not love someone you fight with 24/7 but will die if she is not with you? That is what Max wants to know.
Ten years later a woman rang into his life and demanded attention, the trouble was she brought a daughter along. He did not fall instantly for Susan, but she found a way into his heart and refuses to move out.
Now Max must choose between the woman that takes his breath away and the one that promises him a breath of fresh air. They are so very different and yet he loves them both. |
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Who does Max really love? |
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Answer |
Votes (97) |
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Susan |
21% (20 votes)
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Lauren |
63% (61 votes)
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Incredibly he loves them both |
12% (12 votes)
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Neither |
1% (1 votes)
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I don't know the guy is weird |
3% (3 votes)
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Who do you want Max to end up with? |
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Answer |
Votes (120) |
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Lauren |
60% (72 votes)
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Susan |
36% (43 votes)
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Alone |
4% (5 votes)
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Thank you for voting, thank you for reading, and thank you for making us feel worthy of your praise!
Adria and Paty
**READ THE STORY BELOW!!!** |
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It was only supposed to take them one ring. One ring is all it took in the movies. Everyone knew that it was only supposed to take them one ring. How was she supposed to trust them if in real life it took them THREE??
“9-1-1 what is your emergency?” A female operator finally answered.
“I’m having a heart attack!!” The woman calling them desperately exclaimed into the phone.
“Alright, try to stay calm. Are you alone in the house?”
“Of course I am alone, if I wasn’t alone you think I would be the one calling you?!” The woman asked very irritated.
“I’m sorry.” The operator said softly “What is your name?”
“Donna, Donna Smith.” The woman answered a little calmer.
“Okay Mrs. Smith, I am sending an ambulance to you, can you tell me your address slowly?” The dispatcher requested from Mrs. Smith in a friendly tone.
“Don’t you have a computer or something that tells you where I am?! I am dying here and you want me to give you my address!!” Mrs. Smith screamed grasping her cordless phone tighter.
“Forgive me.” The operator apologized then quickly moved to the important matter at hand "Find a chair, sofa or bed and sit down. Do you have any previous history of heart failure?”
“No.” The woman responded.
“Any family members who have had heart attacks?”
“Not that I know of.” She said “My aunt Henrietta always said my uncle Robert died of a heart attack but that was not true, he died from an ulcer. A drunk, that’s what he was, couldn’t even hold a steady job.”
The operator was a bit stunned that the woman would suddenly steer off topic; if she was in such a bad state she would not be able to do that.
“Very well.” The operator told her “Mrs. Smith, can you tell me what makes you believe you are having a heart attack?”
Donna Smith was rapidly reminded of her previous condition and she returned to her hysterical state.
“I AM having a heart attack, I can feel it!” She told the operator “Oh Bob I am going to die! I’m going to die and I don’t even have ONE grandchild.” The operator tried to speak but Mrs. Smith’s loud and rapid voice made it impossible “But no, Susan did not want to marry Edward when he proposed and she still refuses to go out with the dates I find her.” The woman said “I am dying and my only daughter is at work wasting her life away when she should be having kids or at least trying to find a husband. I am going to die all alone and…”
Outside the siren of an approaching ambulance could be heard, but Donna Smith was too busy on the phone to notice.
“Excuse me!” The operator shouted
“Don’t scream young lady, I am having a heart attack I’m not deaf.” Mrs. Smith told her.
The operator suppressed a laugh.
“The paramedics are outside your home, can you go open the door for them?” She asked the woman kindly.
“Oh yes, certainly.”
Donna Smith walked hurriedly to the front door of her home and partially opened the door slowly. She held the phone to her ear with one hand and the door with the other. The space between her and the door was sufficient for her to see a man standing outside but not enough for him to come in through.
Donna blinked several times as she stared at the man before her eyes. He was looking away waiting for the door to open completely and playing with his lips as he waited. His dark hair and stunning tanned skin forced Donna to swallow loudly making a sound that made him turn toward her. His eyes, a combination of blue and green that seemed too unearthly to describe, sparkled as he smiled at her. Donna could hear the operator speaking through the phone but she would not understand a word she was saying. The man outside her house had taken possession of every one of her thoughts. He was tall, dark and GORGEOUS; exactly what Donna was looking for.
“Are you Mrs. Smith?” The man asked in a deep Scottish accent which made him more attractive than before.
“Why yes. I am.” Donna Smith answered without hesitation.
He smiled again and she returned his smile feeling like a teen again, which was a big statement considering she was close to 70 years old.
“Can you take a step back darling so I can come in and help you?” He asked still smiling.
This time Donna said nothing in response. She silently took a step back and watched as he carefully pushed the door open. He carried with him a large blue duffel bag with various emergency logos on it. He was wearing black slacks, a white shirt, black shoes, and a jacket that distinguished him as a paramedic, a member of the emergency team that had come to her rescue. He was followed inside by two other men dressed in the same manner but lacking every bit of the presence he unintentionally carried. The two other men helped Donna walk to a sofa where they sat her; she did not notice their hands on her elbows, her eyes were still glued to the man.
She saw him walk to her and extend his hand for the phone she still held against her ear.
“May I?” He asked her.
Still unable to speak, she gave him the phone and listened to him speak as he stared directly into her eyes in a friendly way.
“Hello?” He said into the receiver “Yes. This is Max Delacoure, unit number 3527. Everything is under control.” He told the operator as he winked at Donna “We can take it from here, thank you.”
He pressed the end button and put the phone on a nearby table. He then returned to her side and took out a pair of gloves from his bag. Max Delacoure, as he had said his name was, expertly put on the gloves and took out a stethoscope from inside his jacket and swung it around his neck.
“Let me see, where do you feel the pain?” He asked her standing above her, Donna had to throw her head back to look at him.
She put a hand to her chest indicating the location of her ache.
“How long has it lasted?” He asked as he inserted the earpiece of the stethoscope in his ears.
“About 20 minutes,” Donna said finally able to speak. “Yes twenty minutes or so because my soap opera was about to start when it first appeared.”
“I see.” Max Delacoure told her smiling down at her and putting the piece to her chest to listen to her heart. “Which soap do you watch?” He asked sincerely interested.
“Days of Our Gerry.” The woman answered.
“Is it any good?” He asked moving the stethoscope to her back.
“Oh yes its wonderful!” Donna said.
The man then pressed a bit roughly on her back making her moan.
“Oh, it hurts there.” She told him.
“Sorry.” Max replied “Now, I want you to take a deep breath and hold it until I say so, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Deep breath.” He instructed returning the stethoscope to her heart where he held it for a few seconds. “Let it go.” He said after “Excellent.” He praised her smiling when they were done.
Donna was still grinning at him when one of the other men came to his side.
“Should I get the stroller?” He asked Max.
“No, that won’t be necessary.” Max responded.
“Am I not going to die?” Donna asked him a bit stunned.
Max giggled lightly and patted her shoulder as he spoke.
“No Mrs. Smith, you are going to be fine.” He told her.
“Are you sure?” She asked.
“Positive.” He answered.
Donna watched him open his bag again and take out a notebook and pen. He began writing something on the notebook then turned to tell the men to call central station and inform them that it was a false alarm.
“Can I ask you a favor?” Donna asked Max abruptly.
“Anything.” He replied a bit distracted with his notebook.
“Can you call my daughter and stay here until she comes? She only works five blocks away; it will not take her long to get here.”
Max looked up from his notes and took a long look at her, the lines on his forehead becoming more visible as he frowned. But the woman’s pleading gaze was hard to overcome. She was only asking for a quick call, perhaps she did not want to be alone in case her ‘heart attack’ came back. It was the least he could do for her. He was trained to help those in need and at this particular time Mrs. Smith needed a call to her daughter.
“Sure.” He said to her returning to his notes “I will call her.”
“Can I ask one more thing?” Donna said looking guilt stricken.
“Of course.” Max said smiling amused.
Donna’s spirit was lifted by the man’s gracious smile, who knew a heart attack would give her the great idea that was forming in her head. If that was what she needed to have bright thoughts, then she hoped to have another heart attack real soon. Maybe then she would finally get what she has been asking Susan for all this years.
Max waited patiently for her to ask her question. He was done with the notes on the visit and looked up at her cheerfully.
“What did you want to ask me?” He said.
The woman gave him her biggest smile and asked;
“Are you married?”
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Susan Smith ran across the street, she was able to dodge two cars in the process but gained various honks from the drivers.
“You idiots, you could have killed me!” She screamed at them ignoring the fact that she had been jay walking and therefore deserved their anger.
She was panning when she got to her home’s front lawn where an ambulance was parked. Two paramedics stood outside talking and as she tried to walk pass them one of them held her by an arm.
“What is it with people these days?! Let me go you jerk!” She told him infuriated and trying to pull away from his grip.
“Can I help you?” The man asked her politely.
“I live here you moron. I just got a call from one of you, about my mother. Older lady having a heart attack that might ring a bell.” Susan sarcastically said.
“Ah yes,” The man replied releasing her “she is inside.” He told her completely disregarding his earlier behavior and returning to his conversation with the other paramedic.
Susan went inside her home and surprisingly found her mother sitting on the sofa talking to yet another paramedic. She had expected her to be deliriously asking for her or at least laying down. But it seemed she was actually not at all ill. Susan stood at the door looking at her mother and the man.
“Is that so?” Susan heard her mother ask the man sitting next to her on the sofa.
“For most people yes, that is correct.” The man answered unaware of Susan’s presence.
“Then how does a heart attack feel?” Her mother asked him deciding not to acknowledge Susan’s presence.
“It really depends…” The man started saying, but was interrupted by Susan’s voice behind him.
“Are you alright? You scared me half to death!” She told her mother a bit irritated and walking to her side.
The paramedic stood up and gave Susan enough space to sit by her mother. He looked briefly at her and then turned to Donna once again smiling.
“It’s okay honey, I am fine.” Donna told her daughter “It was a false alarm, only heartburn. This nice young man explained it to me already, didn't you Max?” She said looking at him.
“I tried to.” He answered shyly “Are you related to Mrs. Smith?” He asked Susan.
“I’m her daughter.” She answered dryly.
Max was a bit taken aback by her unemotional response, usually family members wanted to hug and kiss him after responding to a call where the victim was found to be safe and sound, but this woman seemed to be ready to bite him. She must take that from her father, Max thought, because there is no way Mrs. Smith can ever be that way, I can’t get her to stop smiling at me.
“Oh well then in that case,” Max told the young woman picking up his notebook from the coffee table “you can sign this sheet for me. It’s basically saying that I examined her and that there is no need to take her to the emergency room.” He said holding it out for Susan “She was going to sign it but she wanted to wait for you.”
The woman looked at him like he had grown antlers before her eyes. Max was left with his arm extended and the notebook and pen in his hands.
“Do you mind if we have a word in the kitchen first?” Susan asked him frostily.
He was a little shocked by her reaction. All she needed to do was sign the darn paper and that would be the end of that. But somehow Max figured this woman did nothing the easy way. He wondered how a woman like Mrs. Smith could have a daughter so strange and rigid. Yet that was none of his business so he answered her as politely as possible and followed her to the kitchen.
“Is there something wrong?” He asked her confused once they were far away from Mrs. Smith’s hearing range.
Susan took a deep breath trying to make it very obvious that she was preparing for a hard speech.
“I’m sorry if this offends you in any way, that is not my intention,” She said to him “I know you EMT’s are very capable and well trained, and if it wasn’t for you many people would just die and not have a chance, and of course you have to have SOME medical knowledge…”
“What is it that you wanted to tell me?” Max interrupted her suddenly anxious to get it over with.
“Oh.” Susan exclaimed a bit hurt “Sorry, I tend to speak too much when I am angry.” She told him raising an eyebrow.
“Right.” He replied not intimidated.
Susan shifted her weight on her feet and placed her hands on her hips without realizing it, she then at last voiced her discontent.
“Well, I wanted to ask you if you don’t think it would be better for a REAL doctor to look her over before deciding it was just heartburn.” She said to Max.
For a brief moment Susan could have sworn that the look on the man’s face appeared to be that of hurt, but if it had been so it quickly faded and he smirked arrogantly as he spoke.
“Ah,” He said to her “so you want the advice of a REAL doctor? I understand. Here,” Max told her taking out a paper from his jacket’s inner pocket “this is the card to Doctor Charles Green at University Medical; he is the best cardiologist I know.” Susan took the card and looked at it shocked “Call this number” He told her pointing at the card “and make an emergency appointment, tell the receptionist that Max Delacoure sent you, she’ll know how to get you in as soon as possible.”
“You don’t have to do that. My mother has a doctor already.” Susan quickly tried to correct him and return the card “I just meant that she might need to see him anyways.”
This time Max laughed at her and pushed the card back into her hand.
“No, no, no.” He said between his laugh “I do have to do this because if your mother dies from a heart attack I will be responsible. After all, it was I that told her it was just heartburn.”
Susan almost choked on a gasp; she was startled by his honest and spiteful response.
“Now, if you can excuse me, I have to go back to work.” He said walking back toward her mother.
It took Susan a few minutes to recover from the man’s awful reply, and when she did she crumpled the card in her hand and tossed it on the trash bin so forcefully that it bounced off and ended on the floor. Then she had to lean down and pick it up to throw it back into the bin. She should have done it more carefully to avoid having to do it twice, she hated when she had to repeat a task, it meant she had failed the first time and that was just unacceptable.
Susan walked back into the living room and saw the paramedic going out the door with a blue bag in his hand. He turned to look at her one last time and mockingly smiled and bowed his head. Susan forced herself not to shout an insult at him.
“Take care Mrs. Smith and try not to eat so much chili.” He said to her mother pulling the door with his free hand.
“I will.” Her mother called out from her seat “Good bye Max.”
The door closed behind him and Susan then walked back to her mother’s side. Donna was still looking at the front door as if she was hypnotized. Susan waved her arm in front of her mother’s face and Donna abruptly jumped to face her, she took hold of both her hands and shook them lightly in excitement.
“Isn’t he handsome Susan?” Her mother asked almost like a teenager would, Susan groaned in disagreement “And guess what...” Her mother said smiling and ignoring her previous response “He is NOT married!”
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“Are you ready to go?”
“Ready to go where?” Donna asked her daughter in a confused tone before settling back onto the sofa with her remote control in hand.
“Dear Bob, Mom! I have a paramedic call me at work and say that I need to hurry home because you are having chest pains and now suddenly you’re fine.”
Donna wrinkled her nose in amusement and turned her attention to the television which was playing the theme music from one of her soap operas.
“Are you just going to sit there watching your shows? What is that ‘Days of Our Gerry?”
“No, dear…It went off a little while ago. This is ‘The Bold and the Butlerful,” she answered, motioning for her daughter to move from her position in front of the set.
Susan huffed as she stormed over and snatched the remote from her aging mother’s hand. “Get up and go change clothes. We’re going to the doctor’s office.”
“Whatever for?”
Susan’s shoulders slumped in annoyance. “To get you checked out.”
“There’s no need for that…Max said that I was fine.
“So Max said you’re fine,” she repeated in a condescending tone. “Sorry if I don’t happen to trust the medical opinion of a paramedic. I’ll give you five minutes to get ready.”
Donna reluctantly rose from the sofa, flashing her daughter an perturbed glance before she rambled into the kitchen where she immediately saw the note left by Max.
“There’s no need to call Dr. Eckers. I want to go see this doctor…Charles Green,” she read from the crumpled paper. “If Max says he’s good then that’s who I want to see.”
Susan collapsed back on the recliner, causing it to nearly tip over. She shook her head ready to protest but one look at the determined expression on her mom’s face told her that it there was no need to argue.
‘Is this some sort of curse?’ she pondered with her eyes cast toward the heavens.
“Give me minute to try to get you in there. I’m thinking that Max can pull a few strings and get us valet parking once we make it over to the medical center,” she sarcastically suggested while Donna moved toward her bedroom.
“Maybe we’ll even bump into him while we’re over there,” she called out from the depths of her closet, causing her daughter to roll her eyes as she waited on hold with a receptionist at Dr. Green’s office. “Did you hear his accent? I’ve always thought men with Scottish accents were sexy. What about you? Didn’t you think he was a dream?”
“Oh yeah…a real dream,” Susan flatly replied. “And Mom…please don’t ever refer to anyone as sexy in my presence. I thought I was going to be sick.”
“You say you’re sick? Maybe if I call 911 they can have Max come back and take a look at you,” Donna suggested with her eyes opened in excitement.
“Yes, that will be fine. We should be there in less than 15 minutes,” Susan said into the phone while shaking her head in protest to her mom’s idea. “Thanks so much. We’ll see you then.”
Hanging up the phone, Susan turned to pick up her handbag only to have her mother suddenly lunge forward and place her hand on her forehead and cheek.
“Mother, what are you doing?”
“You are a bit warm. It’s better to be safe than sorry. I’ll just call for Max now.”
“No, I think it might be better if you call for the padded wagon. Have you lost your mind?”
“You’re my only child. I have to see that you’re in good health.”
“Yeah right! The only thing that you’re worried about is seeing grandchildren before you go to your grave,” Susan retorted. “Now come on or we’ll be late.”
“Is there anything wrong with an old woman wanting to see her child happily settled with a family of her own?” she asked. “Is a child or two that much to ask of a dying woman.”
“Mom, you aren’t dying. But if you don’t stop this foolishness I just might kill you,” Susan said, opening the door for her mother to step outside.
You just might but I’ll do whatever I have to do to get you married, Donna thought as she stepped through the door into the bright sunlight.
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The taxi turned into the parking lot of Boston University Medical and the driver asked the passengers where they wanted to be dropped off.
“Here is fine.” Donna said before her daughter could answer.
Susan turned her face to her mother while with her finger motioning the driver to wait.
“Mother the Cardiology department is on the seventh floor through the East entrance of the hospital, this is the West entrance. We would have to go all the way around and we have less than ten minutes to get there.” She told the older woman.
“But we will waste more time trying to find the East entrance. Let’s just get off here and go find a way around through the inside of the hospital.” Her mother responded.
“She is right.” The cab driver added without much enthusiasm. Susan lowered her hand tired of arguing. This was definitely not one of her best days.
“Okay, we’ll get off here.” She said to the driver.
Seconds later she was standing outside of the hospital’s Emergency Room door. Her mother was stretching her neck obviously looking around for her paramedic.
“He is not here mother.” She told her annoyed.
“Who?” Donna asked innocently.
“Max or whatever his name was. He might not even work for this hospital.”
“But he gave you the card didn’t he? That means he works here.”
“I would not be so sure.” Susan told her walking in through the double doors of the Emergency lobby. Her mother was trailing behind her.
Susan made her way to the receptionist and smiled amiably.
“Excuse me. Hello.” She said to the young girl behind the desk and glass “Where are the elevators?”
“I’m sorry; we don’t have elevators for the regular patients on this side of the hospital." The girl answered.
“How about stairs?”
“No.” She told Susan apologetically “We are completely disconnected from the regular clinics. The only way to get up there would be through the surgery elevators, but those are for staff and emergency patients only.”
Susan gave her mother an evil look and then raised her hand to look at her watch. They had exactly seven minutes to get to the seventh floor.
“Can you make an exception just this once?” Susan begged the receptionist “See my mother had been having chest pains all morning and the paramedics said she was okay, but she has an appointment with a cardiologist in five minutes and if we are not there she might not be able to see him again. I promise I won’t say anything.”
“I don’t know.” The said worriedly.
“Please.” Susan added.
After a few seconds of staring at each other the girl finally agreed.
“Alright,” She said “but you have to be fast so that no one sees you and if someone asks don’t tell them I opened the door for you.”
“We won’t.” Susan assured her “Thank you.”
The receptionist pushed a button under her desk and the doors leading into the examining rooms opened loudly. Susan grabbed her mother’s hand and led her through them.
“Go all the way to the end of the hall,” The girl said when she saw them walk in “take a left and you’ll be facing the elevators. On the seventh floor you have to take a right and you’ll be in the main hall of the cardiology department.”
Susan nodded and began walking. Donna pulled away from her daughter and went back to thank the receptionist. Susan smiled wondering what she had done to deserve such an entertaining mom.
“That was so nice of her.” Donna told her daughter returning her hand to her.
“Come on mother you have to hurry.” She replied walking a little faster.
“Okay.”
They were close to the end of the hall when suddenly the door they had entered through opened again and a team of EMTs pushing a stroller ran in.
“Clear the hall, incoming patient!” A voice with a familiar Scottish accent shouted. Susan pushed her mother against a wall to avoid being run over.
Two doctors came out of a nearby room and took position next to the stroller.
“What have we got?” One of them asked the lead EMT.
“Trauma to the head. Male, 24 years old, car accident, I have stabilized his breathing but there could be internal bleeding.” Max responded pausing slightly when as he saw Susan and Donna standing there. He gave them a quick glance then returned to his job. “He has been unconscious for about five minutes.” He told the doctor.
“That’s Max!” Donna happily exclaimed “Hi Max!” She said waving.
“Mother please.” Susan quietly complained. Max ignored her mother’s salute and continued reciting a list of possible injures that the patient could have endured. Bob this man thinks he is a doctor, Susan thought.
“He didn’t even say hello.” She heard her mother’s sad voice say.
Max and the doctors rolled the patient into a room and closed the door behind them. Donna sighted disappointed that the nice paramedic had ignored her.
“Come on; let’s get you to your appointment.” Susan told her unhappy mother.
They didn’t quite make it on time to the appointment but the receptionists said it was good timing since Doctor Green had just finished with his last patient.
“Donna Smith.” A nurse called out. Susan raised her hand and helped her mother to her feet. “Room 763.” The nurse told them pointing to a door.
The wait was not long considering they had been late. Ten minutes later a man of about fifty years old entered the room.
“Hello.” He cheerfully said “I am Doctor Green head of Cardiology here at Boston University. You must be Donna Smith.” He said to Donna and offered his hand to her.
“Yes, I am.” The woman answered taking his hand in hers.
The doctor then looked at Susan and smiled.
“I’m Susan, her daughter.” She told him smiling back.
He asked many questions as he listened to Donna’s heart and with each passing minute Susan grew more desperate. Her anxiety only incremented as the doctor finally gave his opinion on her mother’s case.
“Well from what you have told me I have to agree with the paramedic’s diagnosis.” He told them “Who was it that came down to your home Mrs. Smith?”
“Max Delacoure.” Donna quickly answered.
“Ah I see.” Doctor Green replied “Yes I do agree with him, he is very capable in distinguishing between real heart threats and not.”
For a moment Susan felt like she was being slapped by the man’s comment.
“But doesn’t she need any tests to confirm this?” She asked the doctor “How can you say she is alright from just listening to her heart with the… that thing that you used to listen to her heart?”
“The stethoscope.” The doctor responded “It is a very accurate little gadget, especially if you know how to use it.”
Susan nodded defeated.
“But if it makes you both feel more comfortable we can run some basic tests on you and see what those say.” He said looking at Donna.
“That would be better.” Susan answered for her mother.
“Are you sure Susan? We can’t really pay for things like that.” Her mother told her softly.
“Don’t worry about it they will be covered by your insurance company.” Doctor Green jumped in.
“In that case then, alright, test me.” The older woman said smiling.
“Good. I will send the nurse in to let you know how to get ready.” The doctor said picking up his documents and leaving the two women alone.
“Are you alright sweetheart?” Donna asked her daughter after seeing the distressed look on her face.
“Yes, I’m fine.” Susan told her not wanting to look at her.
She couldn’t tell her mother that she was scared that something might be wrong with her and that she could die. She wanted to keep her mother with her forever and if she was sick then one day Susan would be left alone. There was no one else that mattered to Susan, no one else she loved. Her mother was all she had.
“How long will this take?” Susan asked the nurse that had taken her mother to the testing rooms.
“About two hours.” The nurse answered.
“Two hours!?” She exclaimed shocked.
“You are welcomed to wait in our lobby or go home and we can call you when she is done with the tests.”
“No, I can’t go home I don’t have a car so I would have to catch a cab back and then it would be too dark out. Do you have a cafeteria around here?” Susan asked.
“Yes, on the second floor.”
Susan had been walking for a while when she finally accepted that she was lost. She wasn’t sure how to get to the second floor and the only elevators she had found were the very same ones she had used to get there and those she knew were prohibited to the regular patients. But she really did not want to sit in the lobby for two hours so she broke the rules again and got on the elevator. She pressed number two for the second floor and held her breath for take off, the start of an elevator descending always made her nervous.
But the drop was not strong since on the sixth floor the doors opened and in came a nurse with a pile of folders in her hands. Susan avoided he woman’s eyes she did not want to start a meaningless conversation with a stranger. As the doors were about to close a masculine hand suddenly held them open by pressing against them. To Susan’s surprise the very own Mr. Delacoure jumped into the elevator smiling like a kid.
“Hi.” He said raising his eyebrows. For a split second Susan had imagined the greeting had been for her, but when the nursed giggled and answered him she was left feeling like an idiot.
Max smiled at the nurse and Susan rolled her eyes disgusted. Oh please don’t tell me they are going to go at it here, not with me present, she thought. She was referring to them flirting, not THAT other IT.
Fortunately the nurse got off on the fifth floor and after saying goodbye to her, Max turned to face Susan.
“We meet again.” He told her leaning against the wall of the elevator and making it shake a bit.
“Don’t do that.” Susan told him petrified.
“Why not?” He asked amused and doing it again.
“You might break it. Besides, it scares me.” She confessed.
Max straightened up slowly.
“I’m sorry. I’m…”
“Max. I know.” She finished for him.
“Oh.” Max sounded surprise. “You know, for the record I am not…”
“Married.” Susan again hurried to add “Yes I know that too my mother has told me that so many times I am sure I will die and the last words I say will be ‘Max is not married.’”
His laugher was loud and pleasing, it made Susan smile.
“I can’t believe you just said that!” He exclaimed between breaths. “But no.”
“You mean you ARE married?!” She shouted shocked.
“No.” He said clearing his throat “I meant that was not what I was going to say.”
“Oh.”
“I was going to be very slick and tell you I was not following you.” He told her.
“I want to apologize for what I said to you earlier.” She abruptly replied.
“No need, it’s forgotten.”
“Just like that?” She asked suspicious.
“Yes.” He said “How is your mother doing?”
“She is having some tests done by Doctor Green. He…”
Her words were interrupted by the sound of the door opening on the second floor.
“Ah here we are.” Max said cheerfully “Well, duty calls. You are not so bad after all. Take care of yourself.” He told her exiting the elevator and walking out into the hall and out of her view.
“Not so bad?!” She called after him “What is that supposed to mean!?” There was no answer “Jerk!” She ended up saying to the closing doors of the elevator.
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Susan spent the bulk of her two hour wait sitting in the hospital cafeteria, watching the comings and goings of the staff as they shuffled in to quickly consume the less than appetizing buffet of meats smothered in an array of sauces. Just looking at the selections made her feel a little queasy.
’ It’s no wonder the cardiac unit is so full’ she thought, using her fork to push around the alleged chicken alfredo.
She chuckled slightly when a group of nurses came bounding into the room, giggling amongst themselves like a pack of teenagers. There had been a time when her father had encouraged her to enter the nursing field but that was before her father had left and basic survival had become the focus of her life.
“I’m working a 12 hour shift this weekend so I doubt I can make it,” a blonde nurse said as the group settled into a booth adjacent to Susan’s table.
“Can’t you get someone to cover for you…She’ll be so upset if some of us can’t go with her,” another of the woman pleaded.
“I’ll see what…Oh Bob here she comes…just don’t mention it right now,” the blonde whispered in a frantic tone.
They all turned to see the strikingly beautiful woman come confidently striding into the cafeteria. Susan found herself staring at the lanky red head as approached the booth. She was tall and thin with the kind of look that you expected to see on the cover of a magazine not in a hospital cafeteria.
“Hello ladies,” she said, motioning for them to slide over. “I take it that we are all up for our little trip tomorrow?”
They remained quiet while the she fumbled to remove the stethoscope that had gotten tangled in the mass of sleek hair that fell past her shoulders. Squinting her eyes, Susan could see that the name tag on her lab coat read ‘Dr. Lauren Alderman, Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery’.
‘Oh she’s a doctor,’ Susan suspected, continuing to listen in on their conversation.
“Ok so just who is going to go with me? You know how long I’ve waited to get the appointment. If I have to postpone then it’s hard to say when they can see me again,” she pouted with her lips pressed together in the most desperate attempt to render pity that Susan had ever witnessed.
“Well Lauren, I sort of had plans but…” one of the ladies began before she was interrupted by the overbearing doctor.
“Good, I’ll meet you at McTavish’s for brunch and then we can ride over together,” she said with a smile just as insincere as her pout. “Beth, I took a look at your schedule and with a little persuading I managed to get your supervisor to let you have the tomorrow off…but you’ll have to work the next three weekends in exchange.”
The blonde looked up with an expression of anger seared onto her face.
“That isn’t a problem…is it?” Lauren asked with a hint of irritation flashing in her icy blue eyes.
“Not at all,” the nurse responded flatly, casting a quick glance to the side to look at her colleagues who were attempting to avoid eye contact.
“So are you getting excited now that you’ve finally set the date?” another asked, clearly trying to lighten the tense mood.
“Well, of course. But there are so many things that need to be taken care of. Mummy and her friends are so helpful. If only I could get Del involved. He’s too wrapped up in his little world to give a flip about what I have planned. He’s in for such a rude awakening after the wedding,” she flippantly responded, taking a French fry from Beth’s plate. “He has so much potential and it’s about time that someone made him realize it.”
“So is he coming with us…to meet the designer?” Beth excitedly asked.
“He can’t see her in the dress before the wedding,” another of the woman interrupted, rolling her eyes at Beth’s question.
“No, that’s not it….like I believe in those stupid supersititions. He’s made some lame excuse but rest assured he’s going take an active role in planning this wedding if I have to resort to extreme measures,” she smirked, rising from the table. “Gotta get back to post op. I have a couple of patients who need to be cleared for release.”
“I guess we’ll see you tomorrow,” Beth said, looking up at Lauren.
“Don’t be late,” she reminded, slipping another fry from the plate. “By the way Beth, you might want to steer clear of those things or I’ll end up doing lipo on you….and you know I don’t work cheap.”
The other ladies at the table snickered at the comment yet Beth only grimaced, pushing back her plate.
Immediately, Susan flashed back to her high school years. She recalled the head cheerleader who had an uncanny knack of making everyone around her feel inferior, even her friends. Clearly, Dr. Alderman was well versed in the tactics of intimidation.
She shuddered slightly at the thought of those years which were so filled with self doubt and anxiety.
“She’s got a lot of nerve,” Beth grumbled. “She doesn’t have any of her original parts. I bet she has more plastic than a box of legos.”
The table burst forth in laughter.
“Maybe that’s what he likes,” one of them commented with her brows raised.
‘Oh now that’s shocking. She has a shallow boyfriend.
“Honey, if that’s what it took to land him then I say sign me up for every procedure available. He’s fine.”
“That’s the understatement of the year,” another chuckled. “He’s more than fine…he’s…he’s…I can’t even think of a word delicious enough to describe him.”
“Well he’s certainly finger licking good,” Beth chuckled, smiling from ear to ear.
“Amen to that.”
Geez,.. this place is just like high school
With a sigh, Susan picked up her uneaten tray of food and deposited it into the trash before attempting to locate her mother somewhere in the vast hospital.
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“See? Max was right.” Donna told her daughter as they walked out of the hospital and onto the parking lot.
“Yes.” Susan replied “You’ve said that already.”
An ambulance siren in the distance made Susan thank the heavens that her mother was perfectly healthy and that they would not have to visit the hospital again. Hopefully she will not be running into that awful paramedic anymore either.
From a window on the second floor of the building Max stood watching the two women as they walked across the parking lot. He was smiling and shaking his head thinking they were probably arguing about some irrational thing or two. If there was one thing he immediately knew about them it was that they liked to argue with each other. That to him meant they loved each other very much. It was strange but the arguing to him represented the idea that no matter how different their minds were their hearts still beat to the same rhythm.
The first time he saw Susan he had thought she was a monster, but after talking to her again he realized she was just as any other woman, simply a WOMAN. They all had their sudden bursts of illogical anger and malice but then there were the good times too. He had seen that Susan was no exception to this rule he had made up in his head long ago.
When the pair disappeared from his view Max turned away from the window and continued talking to Charles about Donna’s heart.
“So she is okay?” He asked the doctor.
“You know she is.” The man responded shaking his head and putting a spoonful of yogurt in his mouth.
“Yeah, I just wanted to make sure.” Max said smiling.
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A few hours later Max arrived at home, it was close to 8:30pm. He was exhausted and very hungry. He pushed the door open careful not to make a sound in case his parent’s were resting but his mother’s voice screamed from the living room as soon as he entered.
“Max?” She said “Maximilian come in here for a second darling!”
His mother was talking on the phone and motioning for him to get close to her. He walked over and saluted with a movement of his head, and then he saw his Dad sitting on the recliner reading a book.
“Hi Dad.” He said to him.
“Hello son. How was work today?” The older man asked putting down his book.
“Interesting…” Max answered ready to get into details.
“He’s here finally.” His mother interrupted handing him the cordless phone "Sweetie she wants to talk to you.” She said.
“I’ll tell you about it later Dad.” Max excused himself and dropped the mailman’s bag in which he carried his belongings on the sofa. His father nodded understanding and Max walked out of the living room and into the kitchen for some privacy.
“Hello?” He said into the phone while leaning on the kitchen counter and staring hungrily at an apple in the fruit basket in front of him.
“Bobness you are home at last!” A female’s voice replied “Didn’t your shift end at seven? Why did you take so long to get home?”
“Hello to you too.” Max answered rolling his eyes.
“Don’t be rude.”
“I was not being rude. You are the one that started this conversation with sarcasm.” He counter attacked.
“I don’t have time for a fight baby; please apologize so we can get it over with.” The voice said sweet but arrogantly.
Max’s mouth dropped open and he shook his head amazed at her overconfidence, but he smiled extending his head to grab the apple and bit into it forcefully, with a little imagination he could very well be biting her.
“I’m sorry.” He said between the pieces of apple in his mouth.
“I forgive you.” She said then quickly changed the subject “Now, the reason I called is that there’s this thing I have to go to tomorrow and I want you to come with me.”
“What time?” Max asked taking another bite.
“Around noon.”
“I have the early shift tomorrow, you know that.”
“But it will only take about an hour.” She insisted.
“A lot of people might need a paramedic in that one hour.” Max told her laughingly.
“Is that a no?” The woman asked annoyed.
“That’s a; change the time and I’ll be there.”
“I can’t. It was the only appointment I could get.” She said purring.
“What is it for anyways?” He asked throwing what was left of the apple away.
“The designer.” She responded.
Max groaned and dropped his head into his free palm.
“I told you I was not going to go with you to that thing.” He said pressing against his forehead.
“But I want you to.” She whined.
“Isn’t there a law regarding grooms not being able to see their brides in their wedding dresses before the ceremony?” He asked.
“No there isn’t and you are acting like a child!” The woman suddenly shouted.
“Oh I’m acting like a child?!” He asked stunned “I had already said no to going with you, why do you continue pushing it on me?”
“I thought maybe you would change your mind.” She said calmer.
“No. It’s still thinking the same way it did a week ago.” Max replied “Find one of your girlfriends to go with you.” He suggested.
“You are impossible you know that?!”
“Don’t be mad, this is the only thing I refuse to do with you.” He said very tired of the conversation.
“But it’s important to me.”
“What about what is important to me, have you ever stopped to think about that?”
“Okay I give up.” The woman said faking sadness.
Max was about to say something when his mother came into the kitchen.
“Dinner is already served Max, its getting cold.” She told her son.
“I’ll be right there Mum.” Max said to his mother as she turned around and headed back into the dinning room
The woman on the phone waited for him to speak to her.
“I gotta go eat something, haven’t eaten since this morning, it was a hectic day today.” He said “What time are you going in tomorrow?”
“I have the day off.” She answered.
“Okay then I’ll call you after I get off work and maybe we can catch a movie or late lunch.” He offered.
“Alright.” She said breathing loudly ‘But I’m still not very happy with you.”
“You’ll get over it.” Max said certain and smiling.
“Don’t be so sure.” She replied “I love you.” She added instantly.
Max threw his head back and answered.
“I love you too.” He said.
“Bye Del.” The woman said ready to hang up.
“Bye Lauren.” Max repeated still smiling.
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Susan was always up before dawn. It was a habit born out of years of delivering the local newspaper before she headed off to school for the day. Despite the fact that it was a routine there were mornings when she almost dreaded her feet hitting the floor. Sleepily she stretched in bed, letting her body savor the softness of her mattress before she slid to the side of the bed and put on her fuzzy house shoes which were always placed just under dust ruffle before she turned in for the evening.
Over the years she had allowed herself to become a creature of habit. Neatness and order were the two things that she could control in her world. Everything had it’s place and she was almost compulsive in her efforts maintain this personal mandate. Yet she knew that once she stepped out of her bedroom, she was once again at the mercy of the world.
Reaching over she picked up the sketch pad that had again been her nightly companion. She flipped through the detailed drawings of elaborate gowns, clothing that she dreamed of wearing as a child and of designing as an adult. She lingered for several minutes, studying the intricate bodice of one gown in particular. The wedding dress had been a vision that had slowly emerged after countless modification. Eventually she hoped that it would be the design that would garner her entrance into Boston’s School of Fashion Design. However, that dream was a little more than a distant prospect. The demands of everyday life occupied her every waking moment. Glancing over she caught sight of the stack of utility bills that were nearly overdue. With a sigh, she returned the pad to her nightstand.
“Someday,” she mumbled as she moved toward the closet to retrieve her standard uniform for work: jeans and a t-shirt. Her job required little in the line of fashion. The majority of her work day was spent toiling over tape measures and a sewing machine in back room of Boston’s most prestigious boutique.
**
“You really should try to do something with your hair. You’re such a pretty girl but who would notice in those clothes and with that hair all pulled back,” Donna complained, giving her daughter’s pony tail a flip as she walked past, placing another pancake on her plate.
“Mom, I don’t think it really matters all that much,” she answered, hastily gulping down breakfast for fear of missing the downtown bus.
“Of course it matters. Before I met your father, I made it a point of always dressing my best. I would never dream of going out looking like that,” she said wrinkling her nose in disgust.
“A lot of good it did you.”
“Just what is that supposed to mean, young lady?”
“If you hadn’t married him you might have ended up in some wonderful place with an entirely different life. Instead you gave up everything for him and what happened…he went off to work one day and never came home,” Susan reminded with her voice tinged in irritation. “Yep, he was quite a catch.”
Donna said nothing in response. She continued to mill about the room, packing a brown bag lunch for her only child.
“Mom you just need to stop watching all of those soap operas and face reality: Your story book concept of love doesn’t exist and people do not live happily ever after.”
Donna shook her head in disagreement. “Oh Sweetie, someday you’ll see that I’m right. Mr. Right will come walking through that door and your life will change forever.”
“I’m not holding my breath for that to happen.”
**
From outward appearances, the boutique was like all of the other shops that crowded Boston’s fashionable shopping district. Yet once inside the unimposing shop it was impossible not to lose your breath at the sight of the fabulous wedding gowns that lined the walls. Vera Lang had slowly built a reputation as one of the world’s top designers of wedding apparel. Born a Bostonian, she had vowed to maintain her headquarters in the city despite the world wide demand for her incredibly expensive creations.
Walking through the back entrance of the shop, Susan was greeted by a handful of other employees who slaved away in the back warehouse. Though they were often frowned upon by the uppity sales clerks who worked in the lavish showroom, it was in fact the seamstresses who kept the business afloat.
“Girl, I thought you were gonna call me last night and tell me how your momma was doin’,” one of the women called out.
Susan shook her head and closed her eyes, not feeling up to recounting the events of the previous evening. “Yolanda, she’s fine. Just a false alarm.”
“Next time you remember to call. You had me worried all night.”
“I will,” Susan promised. “Anything happen after I left?”
“No, nothing out of the ordinary,” Yolanda answered, then her eyes went open with surprise. “I almost forgot… those little witches out front are expecting some important client today. I hear that it’s one of those fancy pants politician’s daughters. They commissioned ol’ Vera herself to design a one of a kind gown for her.”
“Hmm, well that is something,” Susan replied, sorting though her stock of pins and thread.
“You want to know the best part of it?”
“What’s that?” she replied, paying little attention to her fellow seamstress.
“I hear that you’re gonna be the one in charge of actually making the gown.” |
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Max was up before the sun that morning, as he was already used to. It was the only way to implement some exercise into his life. He didn’t do much, just run a couple times around the block then a few push ups here and there, but it kept him healthy and energized for the day’s work ahead. It took him about an hour to return home not because he ran slowly, but because he stayed outside to watch the sun come up. It was a habit that he found entertaining, the promise of a new day and new adventures. Not that his life was that adventurous, but he always had some strange story or case to talk to his father about during dinner. That was as far as his adventures would go, and he would not have it any other way.
He liked his job, he enjoyed it very much. To Lauren and his mother it was an odd job, something not worthy or him, but Max loved it. Now with the wedding only six months away Lauren was more than ever pushing him to reconsider his profession. He felt she was ashamed to tell her friends at her father’s association that he was only a paramedic when she was a big time reconstructive surgeon. And although the bulk of Lauren’s clients were rich, pampered, obnoxious women seeking cosmetic alterations to their bodies, Max respected Lauren’s work. He never gave her a hard time about the shallowness he felt accompanied her career, he could not understand why she needed to constantly attack his.
“You want some breakfast?” His mother asked Max as he came through the front door.
“Huh?” He said a little startled by her. He looked at his watch and frowned “It’s too early mum, go back to bed.” He told her.
“Oh I can’t sleep anymore, you father is snoring again.”
Max giggled trying to get past her and into his room. But his mother moved in front of him and blocked his path.
“I have to go shower.” He said confused.
“Honey I think you should go with Lauren to the designer.” She told him smiling very motherly.
“Um?” He asked perplexed “Not you too mum please!” He exclaimed closing his eyes.
“Marla, leave Max alone.” His father’s voice shouted from inside their bedroom.
“Thanks dad!” Max shouted back.
“I am not so sure about him seeing the dress either.” The woman shouted in the direction of her bedroom with a frown. “But it seems to mean so much to her.” She said turning to look at Max.
“I bet it does.” Max said kissing his mother’s forehead and moving her aside.
“What happened to the old ways of planning a wedding? I liked them, they were just fine.” His dad screamed.
Marla groaned at her husbands comment.
“I like them too dad, and THAT’S why I’m not going with her.” Max said pinching his mother’s cheek.
“But Maximilian, you ought to think about it.” She insisted as he walked into his room.
Max was already taking off his shirt but he poked his head out to answer her.
“I’ll think about it at work mum. I’m going to be late.”
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“How are the wedding plans going?” George, a fellow paramedic, asked Max hours later.
“They’re going.” He answered concentrating on the oxygen masks he was arranging on a table.
George laughed and padded his back understandingly. As his colleague walked away another one came into the room. The two men exchanged salutes, George walked out and the other looked at Max confused.
“When did you get here?” Paul asked surprised to see him.
“I’ve been here since six.” Max responded.
“I thought today was your day off?”
“It was. But I had nothing better to do. Besides, I had to check the engine oil in the ambulance, it was your turn to change it last time and you didn’t.” He told the Paul grinning.
“Aw man, I forgot.” Paul said hitting his forehead with the palm of his hand.
“Well just don’t forget next time.” Max told him finishing with the masks.
“So are you going home now?”
“Naw. I’m going to stay here until it’s past one.” Max said walking over to a cabinet from where he took out bandages in a box “Otherwise my adorable fiancé will not believe me that I was working.” He said walking back to the table.
“You are not even married yet and you are already hiding from her?!” Paul replied laughing.
“I’m not hiding. It’s called survival.” Max answered.
“From what?” Paul wondered.
“Lauren.” Max said smiling wickedly as his eyes sparkled.
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“The big client is here!” Yolanda said running to Susan.
“Really?” She asked looking up from the sewing machine. Her eyes wide open.
“Yes, I just heard from Tony that she is the state governor’s daughter. She is getting married in the fall. Oh my Bob Susan and just think of it, YOU are making her dress!”
“Shut up Yolanda you are making me nervous. You don’t even know if that is true.” Susan said returning to the piece she was making.
“I am almost positive it is. I wonder if you’ll…” Yolanda was silenced by the manager’s entrance.
“Susan.” An older, impeccably dressed woman called her “Can you come up front for a second?”
“Mmmhhh, yes Gabrielle of course.” Susan responded standing up.
“Good luck.” Yolanda murmured as she passed by her.
Susan walked behind Gabrielle with her head down. Cheeses Crust please don’t tell me I’m fired, she thought. If I get fired I’m going to suicide my mother for making me run home yesterday.
But her anxiety was settled when her boss spoke.
“You will be commissioned a very important gown, and the client wants to meet the person who is making her dress.” She told Susan unemotionally.
“Okay.” Susan said relieved. She reminded herself to thank Yolanda for gossiping to her about the big client, if she hadn’t done so Susan would have probably screamed with joy as Gabrielle gave her the news. That would not have been very professional of her.
They were soon in the lobby of the store, Susan had been in there only once before when she first had come to ask for employment, and she remembered it to be very nice. The gowns hanging around her gave the place a light that made everything scream bridal elegance. Susan day dreamed of one day owning her own boutique and displaying her creations in such a way.
“ Susan?” Gabrielle called her.
Susan rushed to her side. Three women stood opposite from the manager of the store. Two blond girls, that looked ordinary and pleasant, and a striking red head that appeared to be dissecting Susan with her eyes.
“Susan this is Dr. Alderman.” Gabrielle said to her referring to the red head “Lauren, this is the girl I was telling you about.”
“Nice to meet you.” Susan said extending her hand toward the red head.
“Yeah.” The woman limited herself to a quick glance up and down Susan’s body “Well Gaby if you say she is good, then she can make it. I just don’t want an idiot sewing MY dress so that it falls apart during my reception.” The red head said unpleasantly.
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The last hints of sunlight were scattering across the sand as Max sat on the hood of his ’64 Mustang. The commute through early evening traffic had been light and he basked in the warmth of the early spring sun while driving the convertible down the Massachusetts’ shoreline. His cell phone had rung incessantly all afternoon but he was in no mood to deal with Lauren or her insane ranting.
Closing his eyes, the let the sound of the crashing waves wash over him.
‘Six more months and this kind of escape won’t be an option,’ an inner voice had reminded.
It was getting late and he knew full well that his mother had most likely tried to have an all points bulletin sent out to the authorities. He should call her but was in no mood to hear her complaints either.
Most of his friends thought that it was odd that he still lived at home. How many 35 year old men were still residing with their parents? Of course he remained there for the sake of his father. No mere mortal could endure her endless grumblings without losing their sanity. But somehow his father had managed for the last 37 years. A testament to Jean Delacoure’s incredibly patient demeanor. He had no doubt that anyone else would have killed her within weeks of their wedding.
The wedding.
The mere thought of it made him wince slightly. He had been with Lauren for over ten years. It was a natural progression but somehow he felt a nagging doubt deep within in heart.
I love her. Of course I love her or I wouldn’t have stayed with her for all these years.
They had met in college, the attraction almost magnetic. She was career driven and determined to make a name for herself in the world of medicine. At the time he possessed personal goals of his own. The need to prove ones self and pursue a career that would led to a life of wealth. It wasn’t until later that he discovered a deeper need. A desire to help others at their moment of crisis. He found his want was satisfied in the world of paramedics. He felt that he had grown and changed over the years. However, Lauren had become even more materialistic and shallow as the years passed.
‘But in time we’ll work things out,’ he repeated over and over until he eventually had total faith that she would come to value the things that truly mattered.
The sudden ringing of his phone pulled him from his world of contemplation. Not thinking, he instantly answered the phone only to be greeted by Lauren’s shrill scolding.
“Del, where the he** have you been all day?”
He paused, wanting more than anything to mimic the sound of static and end the call.
“I was at the station and then some things came up and…”
“And blah, blah, blah. I have to tell you that I was really disappointed that you didn’t show up today.”
“I told you I wouldn’t be there.”
A dead silence fell over the line for several seconds.
“So you said. You know…if I didn’t know better I would think that you didn’t want to get married.”
“Come one Lauren. You know that I… I love you. I just don’t want to spend my afternoons hanging around a bridal shop. I don’t ask you to go to the Red Sox games with me so don’t bug me about girl stuff.”
“Those silly baseball games are a waste of time. I’m talking about our wedding. Del, if you want to just postpone this whole thing I think you need to speak up,” she huffed. “I just don’t see why you gave me this ring if you didn’t want to see our relationship move to a new plateau.”
‘That darned ring had started the whole ball rolling.’ he recalled.
Lauren and her mother had spotted it while window shopping in the antique district. After ignoring numerous hints, he was shocked when her mother had gone so far as to purchase the ring and give it to him. There was little else he could do, aside from repay her with the bulk of his life savings. Yet to the governor’s wife a mere $45,000 was nothing. All that mattered to her was that her beloved Lauren was happy. So like any good boyfriend, he proposed on bended knee beneath the Christmas tree in the governor’s mansion.
“I notice that you aren’t too quick to reply,” she grumbled.
Momentarily lost to his recollections of the rather forced engagement, he stammered.
“I’m just..I’m… really tired…I want to marry you or I wouldn’t have asked. Besides who else would marry me?” he jested, hoping to improve her mood.
She chuckled.
“Ok, I forgive you. But I’m here at the mansion and mother is expecting you for dinner.”
“Oh now…I don’t’ know…”
“Be here by 7:00,” she simply commanded.
He sighed, wanting to come up with some excuse to avoid another dinner with her stuffy family.
“I’ll be there,” he finally conceded.
“Good. I have so much to tell you about today. You will not believe what happened.”
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“Thought you said it was just dinner with your parents?” Max mumbled to his fiancé when he saw that half of Boston’s aristocracy was gathered inside the Alderman mansion.
“Don’t be silly I never said that.” Lauren answered kissing his cheek “I said; mother is expecting you for dinner.”
“You could at least have warned me that all the state’s government officials, not to mention the millionaires, would be here. I would have stopped at home to change.”
“Yes, that I should have done.” She said looking at his clothes “But it’s only your fault for wearing those awful and insulting t-shirts and faded jeans.”
Max looked down at his brown t-shirt that read ‘THE MAN’ with an arrow pointing up, and ‘THE LEGEND’ with an arrow pointing do… (Ah, well, you get the picture), and smiled.
“I am trying to make various statements to the world.” He said to Lauren trying to control a laugh.
“The only statement you’re making is your lack of style Del.”
He rolled his eyes at her and pulled her into his arms.
“How come you never call me Max like the rest of humanity?” He asked into her ear.
“Don’t start with that you know I hate to call you Max, it’s so common.” Lauren answered pulling away “I would call you Maximilian but you refuse.”
“No, I prefer Del then, only my mother calls me Maximilian and I’ve hated it all my life.”
“Okay then it’s settled.” She quickly added “Be a sweetheart and go upstairs before anyone sees you are here already. There is a surprise waiting for you in one of the guest’s rooms.”
She walked away before he could answer and Max was forced to obey her. After opening three wrong doors he finally found what she was talking about. Stretched out on the bed of the room she had mentioned was an expensive black suit. Max ran his fingers down the sleek fabric and sighted realizing once again that he and Lauren had very different ideals.
Still, a few minutes later he had changed into the piece and went downstairs to join the dinner party. He entered the salon rubbing his hands together feeling very out of place. He wondered if it was possible to develop an allergic reaction to lavish garments since he was starting to feel a little short of breath.
“Oh, there he is!” Lauren’s mother exclaimed as she saw him. She was talking to a group of gentlemen and motioned for him to join her “This is my future son-in-law, Maximilian Delacoure.” She told the four men standing around her.
Max smiled courteously.
“A Frenchman huh?” One of the men asked.
“No, actually my father is the Frenchman.” Max corrected “I was born and raised in Scotland, that’s where my mother is from, and where my parent’s met.”
The men nodded as an answer.
“A strange combination that is, French and Scottish.” The same man added raising his martini glass to his lips.
Before Max could respond to his comment Lauren came up behind him and ran her hands down his arm. She obviously was trying to stop him from speaking up.
“Quite an exquisite combination I would say.” She said to all standing before her.
Laughter broke out among the group and Max was surprisingly relieved by her quick come back.
“Are you a doctor too?” Another of the men asked Max.
“Yes he is.” Lauren hurriedly answered.
“Actually,” Max corrected “I am a paramedic.”
“I too wish I had the time to do volunteer work.” The man added.
“Well, that is in fact my full time job. I am only a paramedic.” Max informed him.
“Oh. I had imagined you were a doctor like Lauren.”
“Del did graduate from Medical School but he decided not to practice.” Lauren jumped in.
“And why is that?” A third man asked curious while the one that had insulted Max’s heritage looked at him intensely and insulting.
“I don’t like the hypocrisy behind the practice; it’s almost too close to politics.” Max responded holding the stare of the first man that had spoken to him.
“Excuse us.” Lauren quickly said pulling Max away from the group.
She pushed him to a corner of the room where she waited until everyone appeared to be ignoring them to speak.
“Why did you say that to the State Congressman?” She asked angrily.
“I was not going to let them insult me for not being a doctor like you, they already insulted my parents!”
“They did not, and you are a doctor Del!”
“I don’t want to start a fight, not in front of all these people.” Max told her not wanting to make a scene.
“Then start acting like a civilized person.”
Max sighted knowing that he would not win over Lauren’s overfeed pride.
“You said you had something to tell me about today.” He reminded her changing the subject “What happened today that I won’t believe?”
“It’s not important now after what you just did.”
“You are not going to tell me then?” He asked
“No.” She answered pouting her lips like a child.
“Come on, I know you really want to tell me.” Max said ticking her side and kissing her nose.
“Okay.” She quickly agreed smiling. Max prepared for what he expected to be a long speech. That would be five minutes of his life that he would not get back and it was all due to Lauren’s need to replay all the events of her day for him. “Well I got to the boutique and you were not there.” She started “And I waited for over thirty minutes and you never showed up. Then the manager tells me that the designer was at some runway show in Paris. I was very upset for that.”
“Poor you.” He mocked her.
“Don’t make fun of me! Do you want to hear the story or not?!”
“Yes. Continue.” He said zipping his mouth shut.
“As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted.” She said resuming her tale “I was upset. But Vera, that’s the designer you did not want to meet, had at least left some drawings for me to look over, and I found the most stunning gown ever!” Max smiled at her enthusiasm “Immediately I told the manager that was the one I wanted. Then she tells me that Vera herself would not be making the dress. Instead they would have an ordinary seamstress making it. Of course I demanded to meet the woman, and when she came out she had the nastiest attitude ever. She refused to make my dress! Needless to say, I had her fired on the spot.”
“Why was she mean to you?”
“I don’t know. No apparent reason that I could see. But then she started crying about needing the job and this and that, and after she begged my forgiveness I eventually told the manager not to fire her after all. She should be thankful she is keeping her job after the way she treated me!” Lauren finished.
“That was nice of you to do.” Max told her moved by her consideration for the evil seamstress.
“I know.” His fiancé agreed.
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Max glanced around the opulent dining room, recalling his first visit to the home nearly ten years before. He remembered the mixture of awe and intimidation that he felt when Lauren drove them up the long tree lined drive that led to the three story Tudor style home. They had been dating for a few months and he was aware that she was from an affluent family but in no way was he prepared for the overwhelming luxury that the Alderman’s took for granted.
At the time, he thought there was nothing that he would want more to live in such a place with countless servants to attend to the daily tasks that he found so cumbersome. But since that day he had come to love the simple things in life and found the lavishness of their existence to be almost annoying.
“Tell us Lauren, what do you have planned for the wedding of the decade?” asked an older woman seated across from them at the table.
Lauren smiled, delicately wiping her mouth on a linen napkin.
”I don’t know that I would call it the wedding of the decade but I’m certain that Mummy and I will think of something to impress you.”
”Indeed” the woman replied.
”Betty, she’s being modest,” her mother chimed in from the end of the long mahogany table. “I’ve managed to hire Nathan Andrews as the wedding coordinator.”
A series of muffled gasps rose up from the ladies while the men seemed oblivious to the significance of having the nation’s top planner overseeing every detail of the affair. Max sat oddly curious about the extensive plans that she had for her eldest daughter’s wedding.
”Just today I heard back from the archbishop and he has arranged his schedule to allow us to use the cathedral for the ceremony. I’m just at a loss as to whether to host the reception in the grand ballroom of the Ambassador or on the back lawn of the mansion. Of course I’m sure I’ll be in contact with Del's mother regarding her thoughts on the subject.”
She leaned forward, smiling like a Cheshire cat which made Max want to snicker aloud. His mother wanted nothing more that to be taken in to the world of the Aldermans but he was aware of their underlying distaste for his blue collar family.
”I’m sure she will have lots of thoughts on the subject,” he managed to interject as the conversation continued on around him.
His interest in the topic quickly waned and he let his mind drift back to the events of the past few days. Work had been hectic but he thrived in the chaos of being on the front line of medicine. After graduating from medical school he had decided to specialize in emergency medicine yet it was during this internship period that he came to see the need to take a more active role. Eventually it was this thinking that pulled him from the ER and into an ambulance.
Suddenly he found that the dinner party was breaking up around him with the ladies filing off in the direction of the library while the men migrated toward John Alderman’s study to discuss the ins and outs of Boston’s political life.
”Why don’t you slip up to old room in an hour or so and we can? Well, you know,” Lauren whispered as she cornered him in the hallway.
He smiled slyly knowing that at least some things about her hadn’t changed.
”I don’t know? That’s all kind of strange? Here with the servants and your family wandering around,” he replied.
”Oh then maybe you can sweep me off my feet and take me back to that lavish two bedroom estate you share with your parents,” she sarcastically fired back in response.
”Why do you always have to have to ruin things?”
”I think I’m going leave? It’s late and I have the early shift tomorrow. Why don’t you?”
”No! You can’t leave. We have so many things to discuss. I have fabric swatches for the attendant’s gowns and then you need to decide who you’re going to ask to be groomsmen? Don’t even think about naming those thugs that you work with down at the station. I have a former Miss Massachusetts walking down the aisle and I don’t want one of your greasy pals drooling all over her,” she huffed.
Her words hit him like scalding water. He wanted nothing more than to tell her to shut up.
”I can’t talk to you when you’re like this. I’ll call you later,” he said, storming out the back entrance of the mansion.
He wanted nothing more than to turn around and see her standing in the doorway, wanting to make things right between them. Of course, he knew better than to expect for that to happen. She was too stubborn to ever admit that she was wrong and he would no doubt end up apologizing but not tonight.
’Let her simmer for a while’, he thought as he fumbled in his pocket to retrieve the keys to the Mustang.
Stepping into the back courtyard, he grimaced at the sight of his gridlocked convertible amid the fleet of European imports and limos. The waiting chauffeurs took notice of his distress but only shrugged, offering him no assistance in removing the vintage vehicle.
”Just take a walk,” he told himself, loosening the tight grip of the silk tie around his neck.
He strolled down the driveway and aimlessly began his listless exploration. Turning south he headed toward the tree filled McLosky Park that formed a border between the ritzy upper class neighborhood and the working class communities of Boston’s west side.
**
Susan sat on the park bench and sobbed uncontrollably even though it had been hours since her run in with the red haired demon. She had managed to make it home and maintain her composure while her mother conducted her nightly grilling about the events of her day. It wasn’t until she was alone that the magnitude of it hit with full force. Unable to remain in the confines of her tiny room, she slipped on her street clothes and quietly exited out the side door while her mother watched a rerun of ‘Desperate Housewives.’
There were few people in the park that time of evening which did not trouble her at all. She wanted solitude and there was no better place to find it than on a bench overlooking the still waters of the pond where she and her father once came on weekends to feed the ducks.
Fear no longer fueled her tears. Instead anger and embarrassment had taken its place. She could still see Lauren Alderman staring down at her as if she were little more than a snail waiting to be smashed. Instantly her memories of the afternoon came flooding back.
She was surprised when she emerged from the back warehouse to see Lauren Alderman standing in the middle of the showroom with a look of wary concern on her perfectly flawless face. Just behind her stood the two nurses that she had seen in the cafeteria the previous day. Continuing to survey the room she noticed a younger woman in the corner who was so deeply engrossed in her book that she barely looked up when Gabrielle made their introductions.
“Susan this is Dr. Alderman.” Gabrielle said to her referring to the woman “Lauren, this is the girl I was telling you about.”
“Nice to meet you.” Susan said extending her hand toward the red head.
“Yeah.” The woman limited herself to a quick glance up and down Susan’s body “Well Gaby if you say she is good, then she can make it. I just don’t want an idiot sewing MY dress so that it falls apart during my reception.” The red head said unpleasantly.
”She is our most talented seamstress Susan Smith," the manager declared. "Susan, this is Lauren Alderman. You will be in charge of constructing her wedding gown."
Susan felt a twinge of apprehension deep in the pit of her stomach when Lauren’s blue eyes met her own. She knew instantly that she was being scrutinized but decided that to put her teenage inadequacies in the past. Straightening her posture, she found that she was nearly as tall as the statuesque red head who continued to stare without making comment.
”It’s very nice to meet you Miss Alderman,” Susan said, extending her hand once again.
”Dr. Alderman,” she corrected, pausing for a moment before shaking the seamstress’s hand.
Gabrielle then went on to introduce the other ladies who were a small portion of the ten member bridal party. Aside from her co workers, Lauren had brought her sister Caitlin who continued to pour of the pages of her book, though she did glance up for a brief moment upon hearing her name spoken aloud.
Dismissing Susan’s presence, Lauren turned to the manager and continued to flip through the numerous pages of sketches that had been left for her by the absent Vera Lang. Flippantly she commented on each design, finding fault with some aspect of every gown.
”Perhaps if you take a moment away from the sketches, you can gain some new perspective on what you want for your gown?” Gabrielle flatly said, clearly annoyed by the woman’s attitude. “Why don’t you step up to the platform and I’ll have Susan get you measurements. We need get that out of the way and it will give you a moment to clear your thoughts.”
”Very well. Let’s be speedy about it. I have several other engagements this evening,” Lauren answered, removing her expensive jacket and stepping up onto the elevated platform which was encircled by mirrors.
Taking out her tape measure, Susan began the task of determining the needed sleeve length.
”I trust that you have some skill in this area?” Lauren asked.
”I’ve worked here for over eight years,” Susan replied, continuing her task.
”Good. I’m not sure if you know how important this dress is going to be.”
”Every dress that I make is important.”
”That’s a nice little sentiment that I’m sure you give all the other customers but this time you are working on something important,” she answered smugly.
Susan made no response
“Beth! Wake up and hold up the rest of those sketches and let me take a look at them. I can’t just be wasting time standing around here while this little sewing girl takes my measurements,” Lauren ordered, causing her startled friend to jump to attention.
The sudden outburst seemed to have pulled her sister away from her reading. She placed her book within a bag at her feet and stared up at the commotion in the front of the room.
Obediently, Beth held up sketch after sketch only to have her friend wave them away with a flick of her hand. Susan occasionally looked over at the designs, marveling at each of the incredible creations.
”Raise your arms please,” Susan asked, maneuvering herself around Lauren to get a bust measurement.
”Better put that one in pencil. It’s prone to change after every trip to LA,” Her sister called out, causing all of the women to laugh aloud.
Susan tried hard not to laugh but found it impossible when she had the offending items directly in front of her face. Eventually her pressed lips could not contain the chuckle within and she burst out laughing.
”Ladies,” Gabrielle managed to say between her own giggles. “Let’s get to work here. We need to settle on a design.”
The harsh tone of her employer enabled Susan to stifle her hilarity but when she looked into Lauren’s face she immediately saw that she had not found the incident to be amusing.
”What about this one?” Beth asked, holding up a design that differed radically from those that had been viewed.
”Bring it closer,” Lauren commanded after giving the seamstress a searing look.
Susan caught a fleeting glance out of the corner of her eye and nearly gasped when she saw the creation. Earlier that morning she had carried in her sketch pad to make copies of her latest designs. She liked keeping an on going record of each gown’s progress. In time she hoped to create a portfolio of each stage of the design before creating the finished product. Such a portfolio would be crucial to her acceptance at the fashion academy.
’Oh Bob! What have I done?’ She thought upon realizing that she had forgotten the sketch of her wedding gown on the copier lid.
In the frantic haste to prepare Vera’s sketches, the manager had inadvertently put Susan’s work in the stack.
“That’s it!” Lauren bellowed, taking the paper in hand to study the details.
Susan felt all the air rush from her lungs and she was convinced that she might faint. Yet looking at the arrogant woman fawning over her favorite creation was more than she could bear.
”You can’t have that,” she declared, snatching the sheet from her hands. “There’s no way in hell I would ever make that gown for you.”
Lauren’s eyes sprang open in surprise. “Who do you think you are?”
Susan wanted nothing more than to tell her that the design that she coveted was created by none other than the little sewing girl! But she held her tongue. Gabrielle would have been furious that she had used company time and resources on her private project.
”This dress would be awful on you,” Susan offered in response.
”I’ll be the one who decides that,” Lauren answered, taking hold of the sketch.
A tug of war then ensued over the document with neither woman willing to relent their hold.
”Ladies, ladies,” Gabrielle called out to no avail.
The nurses stood back in shock while Caitlyn watched the scene with humorous smile.
”Let go of that you little witch!” Lauren shrieked.
”I’d sooner die than give it to you.”
The intensity of their struggle escalated. Both tittering dangerously close to the edge of the platform until Lauren’s stiletto twisted, sending them both tumbling to the ground. At that point, an all out fight began with both of them rolling across the carpeted runway, tugging at each others hair as a string of foul language filled the air.
Finally the nurses managed to pull them apart though Lauren’s rage continued.
”I want that little witch fired this very minute,” she screamed. “I will have her arrested and this shop closed down within the hour.”
”Please, Miss Alderman,” Gabrielle implored.
”It’s DR. ALDERMAN,” she bellowed, smoothing her mangled hair.
”I’m so sorry. I can assure you that this matter will be dealt with harshly,” the manager replied, turning to give Susan a menacing look. “You can pack you things, Miss Smith.”
”NO! Wait? You can’t fire me. I need this job. My mother’s is sick and we won’t have insurance. Please don’t”
”That will be enough. You can pick up your check on Friday.”
”But please....I'm so sorry…”
”Wait a minute,” Lauren interceded, looking toward Susan. “There’s no need to fire her. It was a simple misunderstanding. My fiancée Del is always telling me I need to be more compassionate. I’m sure we can work through this.”
”If that is your wish, Dr. Alderman,” Gabrielle simply said. “Susan, I will speak to you later about this matter.”
Susan knew then that she had been dismissed from their. After collecting her things that had scattered across the floor, she began to walk toward the exit.
”Wait a minute,” Lauren called out.
Susan stopped, uncertain of what she would possibly have to say.
”I will be wearing that gown and you will be the one who makes it for me,” Lauren softly said with a look of vengeance in her frigid eyes.
Susan knew then that that was only the beginning of her problems.
She brought her hands to her face, wiping away the last of the tears. The street lights had come on while she was lost in her recollections, causing her look down at her wrist watch.
”Goodness, it’s getting late,” she mumbled.
”What’s your hurry, stranger?” a voice asked from the adjacent bench.
”Why in Bob’s name are you here?”
”It looks like I’m not the only one having a bad evening,” he replied with the overhead lights reflecting in his bluish-green eyes.
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Susan blinked several times wondering if she was imagining him there. Two days in a row she had seen him. He was suddenly like a plague that she could not get rid off; this had to be a nightmare.
“I asked you a question.” She told him annoyed at the stupid smile he was giving her. The man’s expression changed into a frown.
“I already told you I wasn’t stalking you. I’m escaping just like you.” He said to her looking down at his hands. Susan remained quiet and after a few seconds Max looked up at her. He saw the clear evidence of falling tears on her cheeks. “What happened?” He asked her concerned “Is your mother feeling ill again?”
“No. I had a tough day today.” She answered.
“Tough day at work?” Max asked without thinking. Susan nodded.
“I almost lost my job today.” She told him sad.
“Almost? What happened?”
“It’s a long story and I rather not talk about it. But I didn’t get fired after all, instead I got a pay reduction and a warning, not to mention my manager now hates me for giving her most important client a hard time.” Susan listed burying her face into the palms of her hands.
“I hate that stupid saying ‘the client is always right’, it gives them too much freedom to step all over you.” Max said standing and sitting next to her. He handed Susan the handkerchief that was stuffed into the suit he was wearing and watched her as she held it in her hand but did not put it to her face.
“Tell me about it.” She said staring down at the cloth.
Max’s eyes turned to the darkening sky and laughed making Susan turn to look at him confused.
“Well if it makes you feel any better,” He told her between laughs “I just got popped on by a pigeon.”
“Why would that make me feel better?!” She laughed with him as he took the handkerchief from her hand and tried to wipe the mess on his shoulder.
“I don’t know, maybe you can be thankful that at least your shirt is still clean.”
“Oh that won’t come off,” Susan said to him “and that suit looks expensive, I am so sorry.”
“Are you serious?” Max asked with his eyes wide open.
Susan smiled.
“No. Just take it to the dry cleaners they’ll know how to treat the wool.” She told him taking the handkerchief from him so that he would not rub it into the suit.
“You know about dry cleaners?” He asked marveled.
“Just a little about fabrics.” She answered handing him back his handkerchief.
Max re-stuffed the thing back into the jacket’s pocket.
“I would have just tried to rub it off with some detergent and water.” He said to Susan.
“Oh don’t do that you’ll ruin it.”
“Thanks.” He said sincerely as the ringing of his cell phone interrupted their conversation. “Sorry,” he apologized “I got to take this.”
She nodded understanding and looked away so that he could answer the call with some privacy. Not that it helped much; she was still able to hear his responses to the indefinable speech coming from the cell phone.
“Hello?” Max said into his phone. “No I did not.” He added soon after “I said I did not alright!” He shouted into the piece and Susan suddenly turned to him. He gave her an awkward smile “Tell her to stay there I am on my way.” He said ending the call.
Susan’s eyes followed him as he stood from his seat.
“Family issues.” He told her with an odd expression “I got to go.”
“It’s fine.” She responded standing too. “I have to head home myself.”
“It was quite nice actually talking to you.” Max said smiling. They said their goodbyes and walked in opposite directions. Max drove home mentally preparing for another feud with Lauren while Susan returned to her mother and her TV shows, both them thinking it would the last they saw of each other.
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After the argument he had with Lauren was blown out of proportion by his mother and Lauren herself, the next couple of days were a nightmare for Max. Lauren sure knew how to make his life miserable when she was angry with him. She had told his mother that he walked out on her during her father’s campaign dinner and that he hinted about not wanting to get married. It was useless that Max tried to deny her claims, his mothe | | | |
