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His eyes flashed a warning. “Just go and ask her.” He stepped back, tapped my butt and walked out of the kitchen.
I heard the pipes groan a couple of seconds later.
Guess we were going out.
*~*~*
I stumbled toward the door unsure of whether this was a good thing or not. Max hadn’t ever suggested that Miss Maggie watch Eli, he hadn’t hidden the fact that he couldn’t stand her. If he found out that we didn’t just talk to each other in passing, I didn’t want to think about how he would react.
I rapped my knuckles on Miss Maggie’s door and opened it.
“Miss Maggie?”
“In here, dear.” I shut the door behind me and twisted my fingers.
“You okay?” I asked when I walked in the living room.
“Yes, of course, dear.” She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head. “Are you okay?”
“Well, err…the thing is.” I sat on the edge of the couch.
“Spit it out.” she said with a roll of her eyes.
“Could you watch Eli for a couple of hours?” I looked anywhere but at her, Henry trotted into the room from the hallway and stared at me looked at the door and sat watching it.
“Sure.”
“Max wants to take me out, and he suggested I ask you to watch Eli,” I rambled on.
“That’s nice.” She patted my hand and I looked up.
She narrowed her eyes at me.
“You sure that everything’s okay?
” I stared at her with my mouth open.
I wanted to tell her that everything was changing. That my world no longer revolved around Max and Eli, that since I’d been working nothing felt the same. The thought of spending time alone with Max terrified me, I didn’t want to live the way that I had been living the last few years.
I wanted to feel like I was doing something good in my life and not just waiting around for Max to correct me when I did something wrong.
And Ty. I didn’t want to think about Ty.
But he was all I could think about.
I shook my head, closed my mouth and stood. There was no way that I would tell her any of that, instead I said, “Everything is fine.”
“Okay, dear, if you’re sure.”
“I am.” I smiled.
“Do you want to bring Eli over here?”
“Yes, I’ll give him some dinner then bring him over.” I kissed her cheek and let myself out.
Max was sitting next to Eli when I came back from Miss Maggie’s, he waved me off and told me to go and make Eli something to eat. I hesitated but when Eli smiled at me I left them to it. It was nice to see them bonding even if it was just watching TV.
They didn't get the chance often; more times than not Eli was in bed when Max came home. When Eli was a baby, Max had doted on him but, as the years went by, something had changed. Max barely talked to him now and as much as I wanted them to have a good relationship, I couldn’t help but feel it was better that Max was distant.
