by
Anakin
(anakin_skywallkr@hotmail.com)
Mr. Sheffield descended the back stairs at a light step. Fran was in the kitchen preparing something to drink.
"Good afternoon Miss Fine!"
"Good afternoon Mr. Sheffield... You know, the kids are at school, Niles is shopping, we could... do it...!"
"All right... Hi... Fran..."
"Hi, Max..." She said, smiling from ear to ear.
"You look beautiful, Fran..."
"Oh, over forty and you can say it again so quick!"
They leaned closer, and were about to kiss when Brighton barged into the kitchen through the back door.
"I'm home!"
They pulled apart in a hurry.
"Err... Eyelash right there Miss Fine...!" He said as an excuse.
But Brighton wasn't fooled: "Good cover up there, Max..."
"Who told you about the first name thing?!" Fran said, outraged he new although she had said nothing to anyone.
"The guy that owns the fruit stand!" He replied upon leaving the room, while Niles entered with a bag full of groceries.
"I'm making Ambrosia tonight!" He said, almost triumphantly, lifting the bag to show the fruits inside.
Right at this time, Gracie entered the kitchen.
"Fran, guess what?"
"What?"
"My friend Billy invited me to spend term grade with him and his family in San Francisco!"
"Great!'
"You know what sweetheart, his father is one of the big heads in Silicon Valley...!"
"Oh can I go Daddy? Brighton and Maggie are going away..." She asked expectantly.
One single look at Fran made him decide.
"Of course sweetheart, you may go." He smiled.
"Thanks!... I'm gonna call him right away!" She kissed her father on the cheek and exited the kitchen.
Fran and Maxwell remained alone in the kitchen. Fran smiled and encircled his waist.
"You know what this means?" She said, smiling enticingly.
"No... Tell me..." He replied winking.
"With all the kids out of the house, we can call each other Fran & Max in every room of the house!"
Max' face fell a little. "Well Fran, we're trying to put a show on, and I'm afraid I'll have a lot of work to do..."
Fran's arms fell to her sides. "Yes I know... But still..." She left the room, obviously very disappointed.
Max sighed and exited the kitchen in his turn.
He was already in his office when C.C. came in.
"Maxwell, the show will have to be postponed: we won't have an available theater until next month..."
"What?!" He almost shouted, popping out of his chair like a Jack in the box, taking his glasses off at the same time.
"The show that is running before ours is going on one more moth, and there's no available theater this size before at least three weeks, so we'll have to deal with it... Anyway, I guess the manager of that theater will now be called Mrs. I gave him such Hell, it was a real pleasure!"
"But... what are we going to do in the meantime?!"
"Nothing... Actually, I was going to say I'd like a little vacation if you don't mind, I'd like to take care of myself..."
"At last, someone will! Hurrah!" Niles interrupted her as he entered, bringing the tray for tea.
"Watch it Mrs. Doubtfire, I could do to you the same thing I did with that lousy manager!... So, Maxwell, what do you say?"
"Well, C.C., since we don't have any particular business to do for the next 15 days at least, you can go."
"Thanks, then I guess I'll just leave OK?"
Niles held the broom, which was just outside the office to her.
"Don't forget your vessel, and mind the chimneys and the electric wires."
C.C. looked skywards, shaking her head slightly. "Niles, don't you sometimes come up with something new?"
"Well I'm trying to match my target..."
C.C. preferred not to answer, and headed for the door. "Well, see you all in 2 weeks!"
Niles smiled, and served the tea, then he waited expectantly.
Maxwell took his cup and started sipping his tea, while shuffling through a few papers.
Niles didn't budge. Maxwell put his cup down and looked up.
"Is there something you'd want to tell me Niles?"
"Well Sir, actually, there is..."
Maxwell put his pen down and leaned on the back of his chair.
"All right, what is it?"
"Well, my mother sent me a letter recently, asking when I was going to visit... I just figured that since the children will be away, and you won't have too much work..." He trailed.
Maxwell sighed.
"How long?"
"About 10 days, time for me to get there, getting over jetlag, enjoy my time, then come back..."
Maxwell sighed again. "All right, you can go..."
Niles's face brightened. "Thank you Sir!' He stared towards the door.
"You're welcome..." Then suddenly realization hit him: with Niles, C.C., and the children gone, that would leave him and Miss Fine... alone!!! He was suddenly scared. "Ni..." But his butler was already gone, and he would need a Hell of a good reason to make him stay. He sat back in his chair. After all... Maybe that little time alone with her could help him sort things out between them... So maybe it was not such a bad thing...
"We're now boarding passengers from seats 10 to 23"
Grace stood up, as well as Fran and Maxwell.
"Be good sweetie, OK?"
"Sure Fran, bye Daddy!" She went to kiss both on the cheeks, then she walked through the boarding gate, and she was gone.
"We'd better head back now Miss F... Fran..." Maxwell said with a smile.
"Yes..."
Some 45 minutes later, they were back at the mansion. Maxwell closed the door behind them.
"Well Fran, I'll go check my mail, then I'll change into something more casual, then we can do something together if you like..."
"Great!... I need to call Val anyway, so take your time."
She headed for the kitchen, his eyes following her until she disappeared from his sight. He shook his head slightly, smiling.
Some 20 minutes later, he climbed the stairs to his room where he changed into a short sleeved shirt and beige pants. He went back down and called Fran.
"Miss Fine! I'm ready to go!"
Hearing nothing, he went to the kitchen where he found her reading 'People'.
"Ah there you are!... Fran, it's almost 11.30, I thought we could prepare a small picnic and go to Central Park, what do you say?"
"Oh Max, that's a great idea!"
She stood up, and gave him a light peck on the lips. He smiled.
"What was that for?"
"For having such good ideas!" She winked.
They prepared a few sandwiches, and headed off.
They chose a nice shadowy spot and lay a cover on the ground, before sitting down and enjoying their picnic.
"You know Fran, I was a little afraid, but I must admit I enjoy this little privacy we have together..."
For once, she was speechless: the very fact that he was able to admit it was already something in itself, but that he would confess it to her was even more unusual.
"Wow, Mr. Sheffield!... I guess you've had a little too much sun on your head!" She said, playfully.
He chuckled. "I mean it!"
"Me too!" She winked.
He brought his hand to stroke her cheek lightly, then sat up straight. "You know what? Why don't we pack all those things, put them in the car, and take a walk around the park?... I'll buy you an ice cream..."
"Then I'd say you've got yourself a deal, mister!"
They stood up, Maxwell packed their picnic quickly, and after putting everything in the car, they went touring the park. At first, he was only holding her hand, but then, he put his arm on her shoulder, and she put hers around his waist.
It felt so right to hold her this way, like he held Sara a long time ago... But there was something new about this: he didn't feel like he was cheating anymore, he didn't feel guilty anymore... He realized that the last of his inner walls had fallen. He loved Fran. Plain and simple, he loved Fran.
They had been silent for a while when realization struck him. He stopped. She looked at him with her brown eyes wide open and full of expectations. He turned to face her, and slowly brought his lips to hers in a sweet and tender kiss.
She was definitely caught by surprise once again: let alone he would kiss her spontaneously (although this seemed to have been more frequent lately), but in the middle of Central Park!
When the kiss ended, they resumed walking peacefully. They enjoyed the rest of the afternoon walking around Central Park, and window shopping on 5th avenue. They had such a great time that they did not realize that the Sun was going down. They were back to Central Park.
"Oh! Miss Fine, look at the time!..."
"Well, time runs fast when you're having a good one..." She said, tightening her grip around his waist.
"Chinese?"
"Mmm... You know me well!"
He chuckled and squeezed her shoulder, before giving her what should have been a peck on the lips, but which transformed into a deep and passionate kiss.
They ended up at a Chinese restaurant They had a long discussion about Brighton and how he had improved his grades so much that he was now entering his last year before college, with a great serenity concerning his range of college choices; Maggie who seemed to be doing great in her specialty; and Gracie who, as usual, was impressive for her age. They drank coffee having small talks about Miss Fine's extended outrageous family, then finally headed back home.
Maxwell closed the door behind them. She turned to face him beaming. He stepped closer.
"Well Fran, I want to thank you for this day: I had a very good time..."
"I should say the same Max..."
She raised her arms and put them behind his neck, before kissing him. He put his hands behind her back and crushed her body to his. The kiss deepened. He started trailing soft kisses along her cheeks, her neck, her ears,...
She sighed, abandoning herself in his arms.
He pulled back, slightly panting.
"Fran I..."
She looked him straight in the eyes, with a determined look.
"Max, I love you, and nothing else matters."
He was shocked: he had always thought he would be the one telling first, although they both knew how the other one felt, but yet, she had.
"I know you want this, and I want this... We're both adults..."
He interrupted her with a kiss. "Oh Fran I love you so much!"
He carried her up the stairs to his room, where they slowly started disrobing themselves.
Maxwell led her to the bed, and they unleashed 5 years of sexual tension and unbounded love. Finally, they discovered they were really made for one another, and that their love was genuine.
He tried to make as slow a discovery of her body as he could, with his fingertips, and his lips. She was mesmerized by his touch: she felt like she was the most precious person in the world, and somehow she was, at least to the man she had loved for several years already. He wanted to learn everything about her, pay the ultimate respect to her body, and make up for all these lost years... If he had known earlier, much earlier, if he had been a little less afraid...
The stars blinked as the two lovers reached their own private land. He encircled her exhausted body with his arms and pulled her to him. They were both silent, breathing heavily.
She felt at peace, in the right place. She cuddled to him.
"I wonder how I managed to wait all that time..." She said, smiling, and running her fingers on his chest.
He stroked her bare shoulder, chuckling silently.
"You tell me?... I'm the guy here, I'm supposed to be the one running on testosterone...!"
"Well, you must have had problems with the hormones production department then, Mister! Do you know how many times I fantasized about you and me doing just that?" She replied playfully.
"I had absolutely no problem with the 'hormones production department' Fran, as you put it... You want to know how many times I fantasized?"
She raised on her elbow. "All right, let's clear this properly Milord... Whenever you want, with the weapons you want, wherever you want, I'm your woman!"
He laughed softly, hugging her strongly.
"All right, what do you think of this: tomorrow, wedding band, Town Hall... Atlantic City...?"
She closed her eyes as her heart wanted to leap out of her chest, she tried to remain cool, but her voice was trembling. "Elope?..."
"Yes..."
"How can you be so sure I'd say yes?" She said playfully.
"Because if you don't, your mother is going to ring your neck, and I won't be far behind!" He said, making her face him. He gently pulled her face and kissed her lips.
"So, what do you say?"
She kissed him very thoroughly, then looked at him. "Is that enough Mr. Sheffield?"
"More than enough, soon to be Mrs. Sheffield!"
"Mmm... I guess you have a pretty wrong definition of my 'enough' Mr. Sheffield..." She said, her hands igniting spots on his body he hadn't suspected she knew so well already.
He chuckled.
"You devil!... And I'm definitely, and hopelessly doomed..." He added before kissing her. "I love you Fran..."
Blissfully, it was another few days before the kids and everybody would be home again...
The End
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