These characters do not belong to me; they are the property of Fran Drescher, Sweetheart Productions, et. al. Any reference to real names or characters is unintended.

Leaving the Sheffield's

by

Jackie
(unmaven@netzero.com)

Fran had left the Sheffield’s almost eight years ago. She knew that Max loved her but he couldn’t commit to a relationship. After four years Fran had enough. She gave Max her two weeks notice telling him she needed to get on with her life. Max tried to convince Fran to stay but she said no. Before she left the family gave Fran a beautiful dinner party at her favorite restaurant. Max wanted to dance with her but Fran couldn’t, she knew it would be too painful. The next day she left while Max and the kids were out.

Fran had decided to change her life. She was moving down to Florida with her parents and got a small apartment near them. Fran also found a job almost immediately in a chain clothing store. The pay wasn’t much but she was able to live on it. A few months later someone left the store and Fran got a promotion to assistant manager. After that she felt more confident so she started going out. She met a guy at a club and they started dating. He worked in public relations which meant he was outgoing. He fit well with Fran’s perky personality. He told Fran that he had been married before, he had been too young and didn’t know what he wanted, but now he was more mature. They went out for six months then Don proposed, of course Fran said yes. She was so happy, really in love for the first time in her life, she practically forgot about Mr. Sheffield. Yes, she had been in love with him but since he didn’t seem to feel the same way about her Fran’s feelings for him lessened. Neither Fran nor Don wanted to wait long to get married. They decided they would have a small ceremony in South Beach.

When Fran told her mother that she was getting married her mother was ecstatic, but when she met Don she wasn’t sure if he was the right man for her daughter. Fran told her mother that she was over thirty years old so she could make her own choices. Her mother said nothing.

Three months later Don and Fran got married in a small ceremony. Some of Fran’s relatives came down from New York, as well as Don’s relatives from New Jersey. Fran was glad they both had lived in the same area. She hoped that having some things in common would help their relationship. After the wedding they honeymooned in Mexico where they had a fantastic time.

When they go back Fran was anxious to her start her new life. She moved into Don’s house, she tried to fix it up a little, but Don liked it just as it was. A few months later Fran found out she was having a baby. When she told Don he wasn’t that excited about it, but Fran hoped that would change. Towards the end of her pregnancy Fran had to stop working. She wasn’t sure if she would go back after she had the baby. A couple months later she had a girl. She was a big baby, weighing eight and a half pounds, with brunette colored hair. Her tiny legs were chubby just like her grandmother. They decided to name her Yvette. Yvette was a good baby but still it was putting a strain on their marriage. Don tried to spend more time with his daughter but Fran but he realized he wasn’t cut out for family life. Yvette was only eight months old when Fran found a note from Don saying that he left for good. Of course Fran was devastated. She had wanted this relationship to work out so much. Now she was all alone with Yvette. Once Fran got the divorce papers she realized she would have to move out of the house when Don sold it. After six months the divorce went through so Fran was kicked out of the house with her daughter. She had practically no money and nowhere to go. Fran ended up on food stamps living in a shelter. Her parents were living in a senior community so she couldn’t stay with them. Also she didn’t want them to know how horrible her circumstances were. She knew her mother had told her not to marry Don, she would have said I told you so.

When Fran was in the shelter she tried to see and call her parents as little as possible. When she did see them they always met at a neutral place. After a few months at the shelter Fran had more than enough. She pleaded with the social worker to get her out of there. The baby food that she got for her daughter was horrible; neither did she have her own crib. Yvette had been such a good baby, but now she was crying a lot, and she had a chronic cough. Fran hated the dirty bathroom, plus she couldn’t take a proper shower. Fran was even gaining weight since most of the food they gave her was fattening and Fran kept eating it. Finally the social worker was able to find a studio apartment and a job for Fran in a huge department store. Fran hated the work but at least she was out of the shelter. The job paid so little that she still needed food stamps to make ends meet. Fran loved her daughter very much but she hated the life she was living. She was depressed, wearing old ratty clothes; she didn’t know how she got into this situation. Fran was never very wealthy but she had never been this poor. She felt so depressed and worthless. Fran was glad she decided to leave Mr. Sheffield, she never wanted him to see her in the situation she was in now. Fran was at her at her job for almost a year. She felt she was making very little progress since she was still on food stamps; they were still living in the studio. Fran needed to do something to get more money so they could live a better life. She had heard some women working in the store were selling cosmetics on the side to make ends meet. Fran had done that in New York, so she thought she would try her hand at it. At the beginning Fran had to pay them money because she bought more cosmetics than she sold, but one weekend they held a seminar that Fran attended, she got some pointers and after that her career took off. Six months later the company was so impressed with Fran’s sales they hired her permanently.

After a year of working at Coral Beach Cosmetics Fran’s life improved a lot. She had a steady job with health insurance. Also for the first time in a couple of years she decent place to live. After another few years they promoted her to district manager. Now for the first time in her life Fran was making good money. She decided to buy a small house in Florida. She was thinking that she might go back to New York, but decided against it. Finally she and Yvette were living a decent life. She could provide well for her daughter. Now that things were looking up Fran she thought about Mr. Sheffield, she hadn’t though about him in a long time. She wondered if she hadn’t left there would her life be any better. She went through a lot of struggles but now at least she had overcome them.

After another year someone left the company so Fran got another promotion to regional manager. Fran was very excited by this but she also knew it would be a lot traveling involved. Then Fran decided that she didn’t want to live in her house anymore, she wanted to live in the city. She decided to sell it and buy an apartment. When she bought the apartment it ended up costing more than the house. She got a loan from her parents for the money she needed. She certainly didn’t want to take a loan from the bank. She was scared of losing everything again. Although by doing this she wasn’t in the clear either, she would have to pay her parents a certain amount of money every month. But she knew if she couldn’t pay them the exact amount it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

Shortly after settling into her new apartment that had two bedrooms, one and a half bathrooms, plus a terrace Fran had to start to travel for her job. The first trip was very tough; her mother came to watch Yvette. Sylvia was getting older so it was hard for her to take care of a five year old. The first time Fran traveled she was away a couple of days; besides feeling lonely she missed her daughter. When she came back she even gave her mother more money for taking care of Yvette. Since Fran was making a lot of money now Fran even decided to put her daughter in a private school. Fran was proud that her daughter seemed to be happy and well adjusted even though she got belligerent at times.

Later that year Fran had to go to a conference in New York. Fran was hesitant about it because you never know how you might see someone that you haven’t seen in a long time. Fran wasn’t sure if she went to New York that she wanted to see Mr. Sheffield. Of course she would always remember him; she was in love with him at one time. In fact she had not had any relationship with a guy in over five years; she didn’t want to expose her daughter to different men all the time. She knew that you just didn’t go out with one guy before you developed a serious relationship, and then you didn’t know if it would work out. She thought to herself, look what happened with Don, he was the first guy she met in Florida, that didn’t work out. One of the main reasons she stopped dating is that she had two failed relationships; she wasn’t looking for another one. Of course Fran knew she had to go to the conference. It would be difficult to leave her daughter with her mother for four days. If she were married Fran wouldn’t have minded as much – her father could have taken care of her. In the days before the conference Fran was so busy she barely had time to spend with Yvette. When Fran arrived in New York she couldn’t believe how much the city had changed in the last several years – there were no more World Trade Center towers and the city had a less rigid feel to it since a lot of the restrictions had been lifted.

The conference was exhausting but also Fran also did some fun things. On the third day there was a show for the attendees at night. After settling in Fran looked at the program; she couldn’t believe that Mr. Sheffield was the producer. This made her feel anxious, she was wondering if he was there; she hadn’t seen him in so many years. Finally Fran decided that she would say hello. She sat through the show impatiently although she thoroughly enjoyed it – of course how could she not like it, she had been in love with him once- she hadn’t thought about that feeling in a long time. When the show ended Fran knocked on his door and told the woman who answered who she was and she wanted to say hello. The woman told Fran that she would let him know that she was waiting for him. It took awhile but Mr. Sheffield finally opened the door, he was shocked to see Fran was actually there. He didn’t think he would ever see her again. After getting over the shock he went over to say hello, then they hugged each other. Fran really never left the Sheffield’s on bad terms – she just told Max she wanted to live a different kind of life. She asked him who the woman was that answered the door. He told her it was his new business partner/girlfriend. He told her that C.C. married Niles so she had left to be with him. Both of them didn’t work for him anymore but he still stayed in contact. Fran said she didn’t believe him, but Mr. Sheffield said it was true. Then Mr. Sheffield asked Fran if she wanted to out for a something to eat. Fran said that she didn’t have much time, but they could go for a bite. They found a place at the hotel Fran was staying. They sat in a booth and ordered. When they had settled in a little bit Fran pulled out a picture of her daughter and showed it to Mr. Sheffield. He was surprised that Fran had a child. He didn’t see a wedding ring on her finger so he asked her if she is married. Fran told him I was once, but not anymore. Shortly after she had the baby her husband left. Then Fran told him I went through some hard times after that, but that’s all in the past. You know the reason I’m here is that now I’m a regional manager for Coral Beach Cosmetics in Florida, the company you produced the show for. Mr. Sheffield said that he was very happy that she was doing so well. Then Fran asked him what is happening with him. He told her that shortly after C.C. left he hired a new assistant – but they had more of a relationship than he did with C.C. Then they spoke another few minutes then Fran said she had to leave. Mr. Sheffield asked Fran for her number – she gave him her business card – he was thoroughly impressed.

A few weeks later Mr. Sheffield thinks about Fran again, but Fran got Mr. Sheffield out of her thoughts. Besides she had a lot of catching up to do at her job. She also needed to spend some time with Yvette since she was away for a few days then she got involved with her work. Fran couldn’t believe that Yvette’s sixth birthday was approaching. That night when Fran put her daughter to bed she felt exhausted. The trip to New York, seeing Mr. Sheffield again and missing her daughter all caught up with Fran. The next day after work Fan picked up her daughter from the babysitter and she went to see her mother. They went all went out to eat then they back to her parent’s place. They only stayed a little while, because they both had to get up early the next day. A few days later it was the weekend so Fran tired to relax, but she felt lonely, a feeling she rarely had the last few years. She had kept herself so busy with trying to make a life for herself and taking on-line college courses that she barely had time to stop, but now that her life was better once in awhile she had time to take it easy. But she knew the reason she felt lonely was because she saw Mr. Sheffield the previous week. She really felt calling him but decided against it.

Meanwhile Mr. Sheffield had been very busy lately. Maggie was finishing college, but barely passing, she was out late many nights, Brighton also was acting out a lot of the time and his grades were also barely passing. Grace on the other had had very good grades but since Fran left she was back in therapy. Mr. Sheffield had a lot of work with the kids plus lately getting a production together had proved more difficult since the economy had taken a downturn and people went to shows less and investors were harder to find. At least working with his new assistant Cherie was easier than dealing with C.C. It was a cold lonely Sunday and he started to wonder what might have happened if Fran would of stayed. He was thinking of asking Fran to marry him before she left but she told him she wanted to do something else with her life – but he wondered why she had gotten married and had a child. She probably thought he would never step up to the plate. All of this thinking left him feeling very lonely and uptight. He wished Fran was here with him – she would probably make him feel better. He knew that she was very different from him with her energy, pizzazz; her closeness with family all made him still love her. He didn’t want to bother her on the weekend so he decided he would call Fran the next day.

He called Fran around lunch but she was in a meeting then he tried her late in the afternoon when she was ready to go home, even though she was in a rush Fran picked up the phone. She was annoyed about having to do more work she needed to get home to her daughter. When Fran heard Mr. Sheffield voice she was surprised. Fran asked him what he was calling about; he said he just wanted to say hello and find out how she was doing. Fran said that she was in a hurry to get home, so Mr. Sheffield said he would call her later. He just hoped that it wasn’t an excuse not to talk to him. Even though he really felt that he needed to speak to Fran they didn’t have a conversation till that weekend. After a long week Fran was glad to out to dinner with her parents and Yvette, it gave her a little bit of an outlet. That night though she just felt like getting home so she didn’t stay as long as she usually did. Even Yvette was tired and didn’t give Fran much trouble about going to bed. Just as she was starting to relax Mr. Sheffield called. They spoke so long that she didn’t get to sleep until after midnight. They next day Fran couldn’t believe that she felt better, just having a good friend to talk to made all the difference. Sometimes Fran went out with people from work or another mother she knew from Yvette’s school, but she really didn’t have that many friends.

After that weekend Fran got very busy again – her daughter got sick and she had to miss a couple of days from work. Yvette still wasn’t well enough to go to school so Sylvia took care of her. Taking care of Yvette was a lot was tiring for her mother especially when her daughter was sick. That weekend Fran had to work to make up for the days she missed – Fran still liked her job but sometimes it got too much for her with having to do everything, cook, clean, taking care of Yvette and do her personal shopping . Thankfully she was able to do a lot of that shopping online or she would have little time to buy anything including food. Sometimes when she was trying to juggle things Fran wished she had a husband again so they could do things together. Fran didn’t really want to get married again but sometimes she thought about it. After Fran finished her work that Saturday they went to a birthday party. They both had a good time since the parents also had a get together. The next day Fran took Yvette to lunch and the zoo. When she went to bed that night Fran felt depressed and lonely. She needed a friend – that friend was Mr. Sheffield. She called him, he had just come back from a business weekend with Cherie; he told her that he had an enjoyable time. Then he asked Fran how she was doing. Fran said she had been extremely busy. Her daughter had the flu and she had to take a couple of days of from work, then it took several days to catch up with the work she missed. Fran said she liked her job a lot but when you were a regional manager there was always something else to take care, it was very demanding. Max said he could tell, she sounded tired and down. He asked her what she was eating lately. Fran told him, a lot of cake and ice cream. When she told him that he knew that judged the situation correctly. He told Fran to try and eat a better diet, more fruits and vegetables perhaps that would help her. Fran said may he was right, if she ate better that might help her energy. Mr. Sheffield was concerned about Fran since they had started up a bit of a relationship again. He called her the next week and Fran didn’t sound any better – he could hear her daughter in the background, she was acting out. Fran began to think that her daughter might have behavior problems. Before she hung up with Mr. Sheffield she asked about Grace’s therapist, she was wondering if Yvette needed one also. Mr. Sheffield realized that Fran had a lot of things going on so he asked her if could come to visit her- he would make a long weekend out of it. Fran said it wasn’t necessary, but Mr. Sheffield said he would like to visit Florida. Fran couldn’t tell him no – so he said he would plan to visit her soon.

A few weeks later Mr. Sheffield came to Florida. He came on a Friday and Fran met him for dinner. She told her mother Mr. Sheffield was coming to visit her; right away she volunteered to watch Yvette. Of course Sylvia was hoping that they would get back together, but she told her mother, "Ma, he’s just coming down to visit Florida, he’s never been here, even with the kids. " Fran met Mr. Sheffield at a seafood restaurant for dinner. Naturally Fran had a surf and turf and Mr. Sheffield had a shrimp dish. During dinner they kept the conversation light. Afterwards they took a stroll hand-in-hand to her apartment. Fran asked him what he was doing the next day. He told Fran he was seeing her of course. They decided on a time, but before he left Mr. Sheffield gave her a kiss, then Fran held him tight, but then Mr. Sheffield pulled away but Fran started to cry. Mr. Sheffield asked her what was wrong. Fran said she didn’t know. Mr. Sheffield said perhaps she was tired, she should get some sleep and he would see her in the morning. Then Fran went into the apartment – her mother was waiting for her, she said that she heard Fran cry out in the hallway – what happened, was something wrong. Fran said it nothing was wrong; it was just the excitement of going out again after a long time. Of course her mother didn’t believe it. Fran just told her to go home because she needed to get some rest. Fran knew she had to relax since Yvette and her were going out with Mr. Sheffield in the morning. Once Fran got into bed and began to relax she realized that she was still in love. She may have buried those feelings for a long time but apparently they were never gone.

The next morning Fran and Yvette got ready to go out for the day. Yvette was really excited to meet Fran’s old friend. She even showed her some recent pictures of the kids that Mr. Sheffield sent her. Just as they were putting the finishing touches on their outfits Mr. Sheffield rang the bell. Fran introduced him to Yvette as "my former boss, Mr. Sheffield", but he told her, "Ms. Fine, we are friends now, just introduce me as Max, we don’t want Yvette thinking I’m a stuffy old guy". Fran said "Wow, that’s a change" are you going to call me Fran? He said, "Well, of course". Then he handed Yvette a doll and Fran a designer wallet. She was overwhelmed by the gifts. Then he whispered in her ear, "there’s a designer bag that goes with that but I didn’t want to excite your daughter too much". After putting everything away they went out for the day. Later that afternoon Yvette was getting tired so they went back to Fran’s apartment. Fran told Max she was glad they were all getting along so well. She was glad that she had some time alone with Max. She got some cool drinks for them and they relaxed in the air conditioning for awhile. They sat close then Max held her tight and they kissed then he felt her soft wavy hair. It now had streaks in it from the hot Florida sun. Fran put her head on Max’s chest and stroked him taking in the scent of his cologne. She closed her eyes just trying to savor the moment. Fran didn’t remember the last time she felt like this. She actually felt her stomach do flip flops. She knew she had to keep her emotions in check so things wouldn’t get out of control. Later they all went out to dinner where most of the conversation was about Max’s kids. When the evening ended Yvette was upset when Max went back to his hotel. The next day they saw Max again. This time they went to the beach for the morning. They didn’t stay long because he wasn’t used to the hot sun. Before they left they took a stroll on the beach. Max had one hand around Fran’s waist and with the other he held Yvette’s hand. They stopped when Yvette saw some shells she wanted to pick up. In the meantime Max released Yvette’s hand and he kissed Fran, she responded with a deeper kiss. Then she looked seriously into his eyes. He asked Fran what was on her mind. She told him she thinks she is falling in love again. Max stroked her cheek and said to her "I’m still in love, when you left I never stopped loving you". They held each other for a minute then Max pulled away and he went to grab Yvette’s hand because a big wave hit them and he didn’t want her to fall. Of course also held Fran’s other hand tightly. She felt lightness in her heart; a feeling she hadn’t had in years. She just hoped that Max meant what he said because she couldn’t get hurt a third time, her heart couldn’t take it.

After getting back to the apartment from the beach they all took a nap. Later they went shopping. Max at least had to buy some souvenirs for the kids. Fran didn’t buy much just a couple of things for Yvette, he was surprised. Later they went all went out to dinner again. Max said goodbye to Yvette because she would be going to school tomorrow so he wouldn’t see her again for awhile. When Fran met Max at the hotel the next day they did a little sightseeing. Lunch time came and they went to a fancy restaurant which they weren’t able to do with Yvette. After that Fran took Max to the airport, he was on his way back to New York. They embraced, saying goodbye. Max told her he would call – to be sure to take care of herself. He didn’t tell Fran he loves her, that was upsetting but she knew she had to live with it.

After that weekend Fran worked harder than ever. Sometimes she was away from the office five or six hours a day. When she got back she still had loads of work to do. Sometimes she even took it home since she had to get back to take care of her daughter. She even had to do work on the weekends occasionally so she hardly saw anyone except Yvette and her parents. Max and Fran kept in touch by phone and e-mail. When her birthday came around Max sent her a beautiful necklace that had all different colored stones. She couldn’t believe how much money he spent.

Before Fran knew it the Christmas and Chanukah seasons were approaching. She had decided to take some time off to spend with Yvette, besides she needed some time off from work. Fran was feeling run down lately. She hoped that wasn’t getting sick. With working so hard and being so stressed things were getting too much for her. One day she called Max – he didn’t like the way she sounded. He asked her what her holiday plans were – she told him she took the week off but so far that was it. Max said he was thinking of coming to visit her and bringing Grace, Brighton might come down with a friend or two. Maggie who had graduated from school had her own plans. Fran was excited about seeing everyone but she didn’t have enough room to accommodate them. Max said he would put something together for them all. A few days later he told Fran they were all going to Palm Beach, his treat. Fran couldn’t believe it; things were definitely looking up, here she was living outside Miami in a fancy apartment building, now she would be going to Palm Beach to see Max, his treat. Knowing she was going to have holiday plans Fran decided to treat herself and Yvette to some new clothes. Fran actually felt excited for a change.

Several weeks later when Fran and Yvette got to Palm Beach Max was already there with Grace. They hadn’t seen each other in almost nine years. Of course they hugged each other, after that they talked till Max interrupted them. He wanted to say hello to Fran. He gave her a quick kiss and a hug. Then Grace left, because even thought it was many years ago that Fran left she still thought that they had a chance to get back together. For the rest of the vacation they all spent time together. A few days later Brighton came to join them. Sometimes Fran left Yvette with Grace or Brighton so she could spend some time alone with Max. When the week ended no one wanted to go home. Yvette was crying she didn’t want Max to leave. Fran was upset about it also. He decided to go back with home with them for a day or two. He knew somehow they had to get back together, he needed Fran in his life – he knows he loves Fran; his kids needed her, as much as Yvette needed a father. Even though Max came to stay with them, Fran and Yvette had to get back into their routine. Fran had to get up early to help her daughter get ready for school. She made arrangements for Max to pick Yvette up from the bus when she came home. That day Fran went to work early so she could get home to spend some time with Max. Luckily it was a little slow at work so Fran didn’t have as much trouble leaving early, even though she still had crises to deal with. When she home Fran found Max helping Yvette with some homework. This almost made Fran cry; she couldn’t believe how good Max was with her daughter. Max heard Fran come in he got up to give her a kiss. Then Max finished up helping Yvette so he could spend time with Fran. They just talked for awhile then Fran made some dinner. It wasn’t anything complicated but at least it was a meal. Afterwards Fran helped Yvette get ready for bed. Before she went to sleep she gave Max a kiss goodnight, it almost made Fran’s heart melt. After that Fran seemed tired so Max just wanted her to relax. They watched TV but after awhile Fran feel asleep. Max woke her up and told her to go to bed. Fran said she wanted to stay up with him. Max then said to her that just coming to see her every few months wasn’t enough. He asked her "Fran, what about moving back to New York, I’m sure I could find you a job if you give me your resume". Fran said she didn’t know, she was settled here in Florida, besides she was worried about Yvette getting too close to him. Max asked her to think about it. Of course the next day Max had to go back to New York. He told Fran he wanted her to come to visit him there.

For the next few months Max and Fran kept in touch by phone and e-mail. Fran missed him almost too much. When she had a bad day she wished he would be there for her. She knew he asked her about coming to New York so finally she decided to take Yvette there for a few days for spring break. Yvette hadn’t been on a plane before so she was excited. When they got to New York there was a car to meet them at the airport. By the time they got to the Sheffield’s both Fran and Yvette felt tired from traveling the entire day. Max wasn’t home, even though he had planned to be, something came up with the production he was working on so he had to take care of it. Of course Grace was there, but Fran missed Niles and C.C. He still did some consulting work for people having parties but basically he was retired. After they settled in Fran gave Yvette a tour of the house, she was impressed. Of course there were some changes. Max had redecorated his office and had gotten an exercise room. The kids had changed some furniture in their rooms. Fran was relaxing when Max came in. They were happy to see each other. He said that he had finished up his business today so he would have time to spend with them while they were here. Of course Max took them to the tourist sights. Yvette was so excited by them; Fran remembered seeing them which made her feel homesick. This time Fran didn’t want to leave when the vacation was over. But she had to go back to work, she had bills to pay. Fran never wanted to get back in the situation where she was penniless again.

Of course after a few days after getting back home Fran was back in her routine. A couple of weeks later Fran felt stressed and exhausted again. One night Max called her she told him that she missed him could he come down to see her. Although he had a lot of things going on Max decided seeing Fran was important. His assistant Cherie would have to do some of the work, he knew had to change his life or he would end up being miserable. That weekend Max went down to Florida to see Fran. This time they didn’t do much. Fran took Yvette to spend the night with her mother then they went out to eat and walked on the beach. Fran just felt talking to Max helped her feel better. When they got back to the apartment Fran told Max that perhaps she would take a job in New York again. Max was thrilled about it. He definitely wanted her back with him but he didn’t want to push her. He told her he looked over her resume and was he couldn’t believe how much she did to improve herself since she left him. He didn’t know that she had finished college and even gotten a masters degree in business administration. He thought to himself that Fran had made the right decision to leave, if she stayed she probably would just made a career of shopping. When the weekend was over even Yvette said she wanted to spend more time with Max, could he move here with them. Fran said his work was in New York so he couldn’t move here but she was thinking about moving back to so they could be with him, would that be alright with her. Yvette said "that would be awesome", I loved New York, all those tall buildings, so many shows, Max could get us into them for free." Max said to her, "See I told you she wouldn’t mind living there. In fact a couple of weeks later Fran and Yvette went to New York for a quick weekend. Fran wanted to check out some schools for Yvette.

About three months after Max started to help Fran get a job one company seemed interested in her. When they called her she told them if they wanted to interview her they had to come to Florida, it was a very busy time so she wouldn’t be able to come up to New York. Since they had heard about Fran in the industry they decided to send someone to Florida to interview her. About a week later they called Fran that she had the job if she wanted it. Fran felt happy that this prestigious company was interested in her but she still wasn’t sure that she wanted to take the job. That night Fran called Max to tell him that she got the job he found for her. He asked her when she would be moving, should he get a real estate agent to look for an apartment. Fran told him to slowdown, she still had to think about it. This would be a big step she couldn’t just pick up and go. Max told her that she had changed, years ago she would of moved without hesitation, she did it once before. Fran told him that when she left she had thought about it for awhile, she didn’t do it on an impulse. After the discussion with Fran Max realized that he had to talk to Fran in person. He didn’t want to lose her again, if she didn’t move back he might even consider moving down to Florida even though it would be hard to produce shows from there. That weekend he went to see Fran. She didn’t want Yvette to sleep somewhere else for the night so they didn’t do any serious talking until she was in bed. Fran told Max that if she moved back to New York she didn’t want to sell her apartment here, if it didn’t work out she wanted to have a place to go back to but she was worried about paying for two places. Max told her she would be making a very nice salary in New York. Fran told him keeping up two places isn’t cheap. She wanted to put Yvette in private school; she couldn’t afford all of this. Max asked her how come she was so worried about money all of a sudden; years ago it didn’t bother her much, except that time she ran up a huge credit card bill. Anyway, she shouldn’t worry he would be there for her. Then Fran scrunched up on the couch leaning on Max, her eyes were tearing so he asked her what was wrong. Fran was shaking her head, she didn’t want to tell him, Max said "you can tell me darling, whatever it is we can work it out". Once Fran composed herself she told Max, "I told you that Don left a few months after Yvette was born. We stayed in the house about another half a year then he sold it. I didn’t get anything from it because the house was in his name. Basically after that I had only a little money to live on which quickly ran out". Max said "what did you do then"? Fran grabbed his hand, she told him "we ended up in a shelter for a few months, it was awful. "Yvette didn’t have a proper crib or decent food. I couldn’t even keep myself clean properly, you should have seen my hair - it looked like a wreck." Finally a social worker found me a job so I got a very small apartment that we lived in for about a year. I was still making very little money so it was hard to make ends meet. We were on food stamps for over a year. Sometimes we hardly had anything to eat, and I had to go to thrift shops to get clothes for us. It was so horrible I was even thinking of giving Yvette up for adoption. I didn’t want her to live her life in such miserable conditions. Then finally I heard about some women who were selling cosmetics to make ends meet. I tried that for awhile and was about to give it up till I heard about a seminar they were giving. After that I started selling the cosmetics. Then about six months later they hired me full time. After I got the job things finally started looking up. Max stroked her cheek, asking her "why didn’t you call me, Fran." She said, I left so I thought that was the end of our relationship, I would have been asking too much, I didn’t think it was right." Then Fran put her head on Max’s chest, and he pulled her close putting his arms around her body, then he kissed the top of her head. Max said to her "the thought of you suffering like that makes me feel very upset indeed. I wish I could have done something to help you. I don’t want anything like that to happen to you or Yvette again." We’ll work together, if you need any help I’ll be there for you." Then Fran holds him tight and says to him, "I’ll tell them I’m taking the job, I’m coming to New York."

Of course the next few weeks were very hectic. Fran had to find an apartment then she had to tell her parents that she was moving back to New York to be with Max. Sylvia asked if she meant they were getting married, Fran said, no Max had found an apartment for her. Her mother screamed at her she was crazy to move back to New York it didn’t make sense, giving up everything she had here just to start over again, if she was getting married that was one thing; but this was ridiculous. Fran told her mother that Max told her she should rent out her apartment in Florida for part of each month. She might even be able to come out ahead if they could get enough money for it. Sylvia said "with that arrangement he’ll never marry you" is that what you want?" She replied, "That’s fine, ma, I’m not interested in getting married again, it didn’t work with Don, neither did it when I was interested in marrying Max years ago, but I need someone in my life, ma, we love each other so that what counts right now. I’ve been lonely all these years down here at least he’s offering some companionship, besides he gets along with Yvette." Ma, I know you aren’t happy about this, but this time I know it’s the right decision. Then Sylvia said, "all right Fran, you’re old enough now, even past thirty-nine, do what you want." She said, that’s what I’m doing."

A few days before she was to move Max came down to help her. By the time Fran got to New York she was tired but she was excited about starting a new life with Max being part of it. When they got back to the house everyone was there to greet Fran. She felt overwhelmed. The kids basically had there own lives so she knew it took a lot of planning for them to be there. Before she knew it Monday came. Fran had to take Yvette to her new school before she went off to work. Since it was her first day Fran only worked a few hours but she could see that she had a lot of hard work in front of her. The person that had the job before her really didn’t do much work; it would take a big effort to straighten all out. Fran wasn’t thrilled about it but she knew she had to do it; she couldn’t disappoint Yvette or Max.

For the next several weeks Fran had to work many late nights. A few times she let Yvette sleep over at Max’s house. Besides she needed some tutoring because the school work was more advanced than Yvette had in Florida. Of course Grace helped her when she had the time but more surprising she even found Max helping her out on occasion. A couple of times when was Fran was busy Max went to the apartment to stay with her.

After about six weeks Fran finally caught up with the work, so she was able to reduce her hours. Fran was able to spend more time with Max. He even helped her fix up the apartment so it felt more like a home. Yvette was doing better school which impressed Fran; she must have gotten her smart genes from her father’s side of the family. Surely no one in her family was that smart. Fran even reconnected with Val. She was now married and had three kids. They didn’t have much in common anymore but Fran was still Val’s friend so they got together every few weeks. Since Fran only worked at home a few hours on the weekends now she was able to spend most of the time with Max. One weekend he was supposed to go away, but he cancelled it because he wanted to spend the time with Fran. Finally Fran was adjusting to New York again and Max felt he had a life now even though he didn’t see Fran all the time.

Several months later Fran hit a rough spot. Work was very busy she barely had any time for herself. Yvette had a cold; she also had a couple of bad days at school. One evening she missed Max and told Fran she wanted to see him. Fran told her that Max was working and that he wasn’t her father so she couldn’t bother him. Yvette kept on nagging her so she took her to see Max the next day. Later that week Fran’s mother called her to tell her she wasn’t feeling well, she had a case of the shingles. That just put Fran over the top. For the first time she wondered what she was doing in New York. It’s true she loved her relationship with Max but she was beginning to wonder if that was enough to keep her here. So she decided to take a couple of days off and go home to Florida with Yvette. When Fran got down there she opened the door to her apartment. She loved the changes that the realtor had made, she was thinking maybe she would stay down here permanently, she was sure she would be able to get some work with all her contacts. After she got settled Fran went to see her mother. Thankfully she was feeling somewhat better. That night Fran had dinner alone with Yvette. Later they watched television then went to bed. The next morning Fran woke up and she felt terribly lonely. She missed Max more than she thought; she couldn’t wait to get back to New York. Meanwhile Max didn’t understand why Fran took off the way she did. She just left him a phone message that her mother wasn’t feeling well and she had to go to Florida to see her. He was definitely worried, what if Fran decided not to come back, would he of lost her forever. Max even called Niles to speak to him about it. Niles said that Fran had been back in New York almost a year, why hadn’t he asked her to marry him, what could he expect of Fran without any commitment. Max said he never thought about marriage, but Niles said to him, "If you want to keep her in your life, then you should ask her". Max said he would think about it.

Luckily for Max Fran felt very lonely in Florida, in fact she told Yvette that she didn’t like it there anymore. Yvette said to her mother, "I know why you don’t want to stay here, you miss Max." Fran said no, "we’re used to living in New York now", but Fran knew her daughter was right. The next day when they stepped off the plane Fran went straight to Max’s house. When they arrived Cherie answered the door, she said to Fran, "thank goodness you are here, he’s been out of sorts the entire time you were gone." Cherie then went to the office to tell him that Fran and Yvette were back from Florida. He quickly ran out of the office to hug them both, but Yvette went upstairs right away. She knew her mother wanted to be alone with Max. In fact he took her in his arms. For a change he put his head on her chest taking in all her familiar scents; he lifted his head to put it on Fran’s lips kissing her more passionately than ever. Then he took his hand and put it under her top on the small of her back. It felt so soft and sensual. Fran felt her heart beat rapidly. Even though Fran was now in her early forties, she had never such a feeling before. She looked at Max, then for no reason he said to her, "I love you". Fran couldn’t believe he said that. In the few days she had been gone something Fran felt that something between them had changed. Max looked into her face - Fran definitely looked more relaxed than when she came in. At that moment Max knew what he had to do. Niles was right, so were the kids. He was going to marry Fran – and soon. Then he took Fran upstairs so they could be alone. Later after dinner Max was in his office again, Fran was asking him why he was working so late, Max said he was doing personal things – like planning his engagement to Fran.

The next few weeks were very hectic. Max was working on a production but he was also going to jewelers and restaurants. On top of that one weekend Maggie came home to tell her family that she was getting married again. Her first marriage to a guy named Michael didn’t work out so she got it annulled. This time she met a lawyer. She wanted to get married soon, could Fran help her with the wedding. Fran told her she had to think about it, she had so many things to do for herself, besides she wasn’t family. The next week Brighton told them he wanted to get married that summer when he finished graduate school. He knew Fran was good at planning weddings could she help them. Fran was overwhelmed; here everyone was asking her for help even though she wasn’t part of the family. On top of that she found out that she had to be out of town for four days the next week, her company was participating in a cosmetics expo. Fran was going to ask Max if he could watch Yvette for her. When she told him that, Max got very disappointed. He had wanted to ask Fran to marry him that weekend. Well, he would have to go back to the drawing board on some of his plans. But he decided to go with Fran to Arizona he wanted to be with her. Max decided he wasn’t going to sit around by himself and be depressed. At least they could spend some time together even if he couldn’t ask Fran to marry him as planned. When he told her that he would be coming Fran was thrilled. Of course Fran brought Max along when they had a company dinner. When they sat down Fran introduced Max to the table, as "my guy". The women sitting near her said "could you share him with us?"

When they returned Max told Fran the next weekend was his – he wanted to treat Fran. Grace would be home for a school break so she would look after Yvette. A few days later Max told Fran he wanted to take her to dinner that Saturday night, and to dress up. Of course Fran didn’t have to buy anything, she had lots of things to wear; she had been buying more since she came back to New York. If she saw something she liked and said it was too expensive Max usually bought it for her. Of course Fran decided to wear a little black dress with a jacket. She had stopped wearing sexy clothes years ago, but now went she went out she wore designer clothes. She still shopped at Loehmann’s but she also bought the real thing. He decided to take her to one of the fanciest hotels in the city for dinner. Fran loved the food, it was just right. Max even had them make a special lobster bisque soup. He knows how much Fran loves lobster but he didn’t want their clothes getting all messy from it. After that they had a beautiful Caesar salad. For the main course they had beef in wine sauce with garlic mashed potatoes and a vegetable medley. For dessert they shared a chocolate mousse. Then they went to the Carlyle Hotel to listen to some jazz music. Then during an intermission Max had a waiter bring out a martini for each of them. When the waiter put the drink in front of Fran, she asked Max, "This is a martini, why did you order that, you know I don’t drink them." Then Fran thought she saw something at the bottom of the glass. She put her finger in the glass and she felt something so she picked up, it looked like the most beautiful ring she ever saw. She couldn’t even think how many carats it was. When she had it in her hand, Max told her, "Darling, I love you so much, I want us to be together this ring is for you, will you marry me?" Fran was so flabbergasted she said yes, she didn’t even comprehend what she said. When the evening ended Max called the limo and they went to her apartment so they could spend some time alone.

When they got back and Fran changed her clothes she looked at the ring, she couldn’t believe she said yes when Max gave it to her. She wasn’t sure that she wanted to get married. Max was sitting on the couch feeling great but when Fran came to join him her face didn’t look as happy as he though it should. He asked "is everything alright darling". Fran said yes everything was great, meanwhile she was thinking, she didn’t want to get married and get another divorce, did she want to tell Max marriage wasn’t for her anymore. But what would it do to their relationship. Fran decided not to think about things, just enjoy the rest of the night. The next morning they had breakfast together, but after that Max went back home. He was worried about things it almost seemed that she didn’t want to get married. Right after Max left Fran called Val she needed to see her right away. Val said if she wanted to see her she would have to bring the kids. Fran said OK. They went to lunch in a neighborhood coffee shop. Val asked Fran what was wrong. Fran told her Max had asked her to marry him but she didn’t know if she wanted to. Val asked her if she loved Max, Fran replied, "What do you think". Val said, well you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t love him. What if you tell him, the engagement is off, do you think he’ll speak to you anymore? Fran said to Val, "Gee, maybe you are right, I can’t lose him again. I love him so much. Val said, so there’s your answer. If you marry Max it will be forever, you won’t get divorced again, I’m almost sure of that.

Right after that Fran went to the one of the best gourmet food market in the city to get ingredients for a dinner that evening. Before she went into the store she called Max and told him she wanted him over for dinner tonight, and to dress up. Then she rushed home took a shower and tried to prepare a fancy dinner. Of course Fran knew how to cook now but she wasn’t great at it. She called a friend she knew that had a cookbook out and asked her how to prepare the meal. Thankfully she had all the ingredients she needed. By the time Fran was done with everything she was tired, but she took a shower so she would look nice for Max. When the doorman announced him Fran couldn’t wait till he came up. She only gave him a quick kiss and told him to freshen up for dinner. After dinner was done he said it was one of the best meal she ever made him, but he was nervous, would she tell him it was over – now he knew how she had felt dating all those guys. The sat down on the couch and watched TV. Fran got close to him and told him she hoped that they would have many evenings together like this when they were married. He kissed Fran with such passion. She didn’t believe Max had that much feeling.

A few months later everyone was in Florida for the wedding. They rented an estate for the weekend from someone Max knew. The wedding was in the garden and there were one hundred fifty people and the reception which was under a tent. Fran’s parents were there as well as all the kids. Yvette thought this was the best day of her life. Now the two people she cared about most would be married. Both Maggie and Brighton had already gotten married in a civil ceremony but they would have a bigger wedding soon. Fran was wondering if Brighton’s wife was already pregnant. For their honeymoon Max and Fran were going to Paris and the French coast. She hoped that this marriage would be everything she wanted. Yvette was going to sleep away camp for the summer. She was excited but nervous about it too. She had heard about kids in her situation being sent away to boarding school. She hoped that wouldn’t happen because she didn’t want to go. All she wanted was for everyone to get along happily ever after.

EPLIOGUE: Fran woke up one morning in her apartment in Florida. She couldn’t believe that she was married to Max for twenty-five years. Max was now close to seventy-six years old so they couldn’t travel as much as they used to. Fran had retired about eight years ago, and they had traveled the world for a few years after that. They had sold the house in Manhattan a few years ago since it had gotten too much to manage. Now they divided their time between here and the apartment in New York. Fran couldn’t believe they had ten grandchildren between them. Maggie had two boys, and was an interior designer; Brighton had two girls and a boy and he worked at a major advertising agency, Grace had two girls and was a social worker and professor at a college, her daughter Yvette had two boys and a girl, of course she working in the cosmetics industry as her mother did. In fact they were getting ready to go back to New York to celebrate Maggie’s fiftieth birthday. When you enjoyed your life you couldn’t believe how quickly time passed. She couldn’t believe how great married life could be when you were with the right person. The only thing that bothered her in the marriage was that Max never adopted her daughter Yvette but he treated her as he did his own kids. She still called him dad. When Yvette had her first child she got in contact with her father to let him know that. He was pleased but showed no interest. Fran didn’t want to dwell in the past. She just wanted to enjoy the present and spend whatever time she and Max had left together loving and caring for each other.

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