by
Anakin
(anakin_skywallkr@hotmail.com)
Maxwell held her a little before getting inside.
"Miss Fine, I guess I have to explain a little what happened in the plane…"
"Oh, don’t worry about it, I…"
"No, no, I insist…" He interrupted her. "Miss Fine… I don’t want to be rude or anything, but… Let’s not be hasty… If you don’t mind, I’d rather keep what happened a secret." He looked at her, a silent plea in his eyes.
She had dropped his arm and put her hands on her face with a rather shocked expression.
"You mean… You didn’t mean what you said?!"
"No! That’s not it!… Miss Fine… How could I put that into words?" He wondered out loud. "I meant what I said, it’s just that… I was not prepared to say it that soon."
"I didn’t force you…!"
"It’s not you Miss Fine, it’s me… I have to… ‘Digest’ the thing a little before going out and shouting it on the roof tops."
He took her hand, looking down, then looked up into her eyes again.
"I… I love you Miss Fine" He said gently "Please, say you understand?…"
Fran thought about it then sighed.
"Okay… Does this mean we’re back to Miss Fine and Mr. Sheffield, and we act as if nothing ever happened?"
"Something did happen Miss Fine. I’m not denying it, I’m only asking you to give me a little time to come around it myself." He said gently, squeezing her hand and concluding with a smile.
She looked at him, her eyes a mixture of sadness and uncertainty.
He smiled reassuringly, rubbing his forefinger against her cheek gently, and then lay a gentle kiss on her lips. "That’s for the road…" He murmured, leaning his forehead against hers.
They went inside and were greeted by three happy children, an even happier Niles (thank God he was through with keeping an eye on them, which was preventing him from snooping on and torturing Miss Babcock), and a very angry C.C…
"Maxwell, what the Hell were you doing ?! We have some work to do, far more important than wandering the streets of Paris, playing Romeo with the Nanny, and supposedly talk some sense into your brother’s head for God’s sake!"
"C.C., what I do during my days is not your bloody business. I’m a grown man, entitled to do whatever the bloody Hell I like, and I believe you are forgetting that I am your employer too…"
C.C. gave a sheepish smile.
"… We traveled for about 18 hours, we didn’t get much sleep in the plane due to unexpected turbulences" he glanced briefly at Fran "and to tell you the truth, I’m still trying to get over that damn jet lag!… It’s four o’clock in the afternoon, I don’t think I can be of any help to you right now, tomorrow’s Sunday, I’ll see you Monday morning…"
"But Maxwell…!"
Mr. Sheffield cocked his eyebrows at her, leaving her no other choice than to sigh and exit through the still opened door mumbling.
Maxwell put down his bags at last, and smiled at his three children.
"So?… How have you been for these past few days?…"
Happy and enthusiastic chatter filled the room. Niles prepared some tea, and the whole Sheffield household reveled in a "family moment" -- as Miss Fine would put it -- they had dinner afterwards, and then each headed to his/her own occupation.
Maxwell headed to his office, while Fran headed upstairs, to her room.
He had been absently staring at the wall in front of him for about 15 minutes, when he lowered his eyes, and fell on the picture of his family ‘before’. He took it in his hands, smiling gently, and caressed Sara’s figure with his forefinger. Then he looked on his right to find the picture of he and Fran a passenger had taken during their cruise on the Galaxy, a few months ago. He loved that picture. He had his arm around her waist, and both were radiating with happiness. His spin with her on the dance floor had left him beaming stupidly for hours afterwards. He loved dancing with her. Dancing was something he had always liked and since Sara’s death, he had seldom had the opportunity to do. Fran was a pretty good dancer. She knew how to send butterflies in his stomach just by moving her body against his when they happened to be dancing… And most certainly raise his temperature a few degrees…
He sighed, looking alternatively at both pictures in his hands, a mixture of emotions coursing through his heart, and thoughts racing his mind. Would it be possible to love Fran as much as he loved Sara?… His confession had made him realize something for sure. Loving Fran didn’t mean he did not love Sara anymore. Fran and Sara where two different people, and he loved them both without restrictions. The love he devoted to Sara was different than the love he devoted to Fran, like a new plant may grow again from a cutting of a bush. His heart was not split in two, his heart was alive and full of love: what were the chances in the life of a man to find true love only once already? And what were the chances that the same man found it twice?… He was a lucky man…
Sure, Fran was not of his class -- as his mother had icily pointed out once -- but who cared?… Love was what made their matching perfect. Fran a gold digger?… The three, almost four years, she had spent with his family had proved him the contrary on many occasions. Fran had her own ways for sure, and sometimes, she really did make him lose his temper when she messed up his business deals or did things only a child would do, but she was made of the same wood as Sara -- again. Hypocrisy was simply not her way, it was a give & take person, and when she took or gave, it was entirely, and without any condition. He liked her "Queens logic", he liked her simplicity, and most of all, he would be forever thankful to her for giving him back his children, for making them grow in a loving atmosphere, replacing their mother with her feminine influence, transforming them from dysfunctional children into wise and thoughtful teenagers.
He smiled again, then put back the frames on his desk and exited his office.
He realized he must have stayed in his lair quite some time, since there was only one small light in the deserted lounge, that showed Niles’s thoughtfulness. He went to the kitchen to see if anyone was there, but the ground floor was deserted, so he climbed up the back stairs.
He reached the landing. The first room there was Brighton’s, then Maggie’s, Grace’s was next to his own on the other side, and at the end of the corridor was Fran’s. He went straight to her door and softly knocked.
"Miss Fine?" He said softly.
He heard muffled sounds, then the door opened, revealing her. She was probably getting ready for bed, since she was in one of her funny robes and slippers,
"Mr. Sheffield?"
"May I come in?"
"Sure…" She said, stepping backwards to allow him inside.
He shut the door behind him and took her hands smiling, slightly kissing the top of them, then he went to sit on her bed, drawing her with him.
"Miss Fine… Fran…"
He traced her lips with his forefinger lightly, and she could not resist kissing it. He smiled, and placing his hand on her cheek, drew her head to his to give her a tender kiss.
"Fran, thank you. I know it’s hard for you but I appreciate very much what you’re doing. I have done some thinking in my office and…"
"I did some thinking too…" She interrupted him. "Mr. Sheffield…"
"Maxwell." He corrected her.
She smiled a little, then resumed.
"Maxwell, right now, I’m a little afraid to tell you the truth… The logical thing for me to do right now would be to run away actually, but that would be stupid because I love those kids of yours, and I love what I’m doing with them… And Ma would probably ring my neck…!" She added with a weak smile.
He looked at her frowning.
"Run away?… Why"
"Oh Mr. Sheffield look at you and then, look at me… Yes I want to be married, but I’m a simple girl, and you’re a Broadway producer, how can it ever work out between us? I’ll always get in the way, I’ll always mess up with your business deals, and you’ll always run after me afterwards… For the first two years, yeah, it may be interesting and stimulating to do that, but what will that be in ten years?… I don’t want to force you into anything, the kids would be the first ones to suffer, and we’d be both unhappy… What happens in the fairy tales seldom happens in real life. I was thrilled when you said you loved me, I was… Well, never mind what I was…"
"I do mind… What were you?"
She looked at him sadly.
"Mr. Sheffield… I really think it’s best if we both stay like we are right now…"
"What?… Fran, I love you…! I guess what you have to sort out is how you feel about me… How do you feel about me Fran?"
She looked him in the eyes.
"How do you feel about me Fran?" he repeated, lower.
She lowered her eyes.
"I like you as my boss but…"
He lifted her chin with his finger. Tears had appeared in her eyes. This was probably the most difficult thing she had ever done. Here she was, with the man of her dreams pouring his heart to her, and yet, she had to turn him down… Oh God! Why life had to be so difficult?
"Fran, tell me to my eyes, that you don’t love me…"
"I… I… I can’t!" She leant onto his shoulder, hiding her face.
He smiled lightly, and stroked her back gently.
"Fran… I thought I was the one who was scared of commitment, but I can see we were both afraid of the consequences of it… Fran, I know I love you, and I know that it will be inside of me until the day I die. I’m lucky to have you, if I didn’t know better, I would think you are a fairy or a magician. You turned this dull house into a place where everybody is happy. I’m proud of my children but they would never have made it this far and this good without you… there was probably somebody watching on us that day when you came to my house selling cosmetics… Somebody that inspired me to hire you despite your résumé written in lipstick and despite all the logical and good reasons that came to my mind screaming then…"
She looked at him, her eyes full of questions.
"Do you think it could work?"
"I think love can make it work, Fran… I love you… Do you love me?"
He held his breath a second, afraid that she really meant what she said, and that she had never actually really loved him. She looked frankly into his eyes.
"I love you Maxwell…"
He smiled and hugged her deeply. "Then I think we can take the plunge, Fran…" He pushed her back a little to stare into her eyes. "What do you say I took you out on a date, then see where it leads us?"
"When?" She said, smiling at last.
"As soon as I recover from jetlag… Right now, I’d like to sleep…"
"Oh…" She said, a hint of disappointment in her voice.
He smiled mischievously.
"Hey, I didn’t say I wanted to sleep in my room!" He winked, to witch she beamed.
He leant to kiss her deeply, and laid her onto her bed…
"I love you, Fran…", "I love you, Max…", they both sighed as the secret path lovers shared unfolded before them…
The End
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