Page 42 of The Reverse Cinderella
“I know I’m not much of a catch but I’m working on it. I’m employed. I’m working on bettering my situation. I’m not a creep or a crazy,” the back of Max’s hand pressed lightly against Piaget’s cheek. “It’s not easy dating in my situation. I haven’t actually asked anyone out in a long time, but I think that you’re pretty amazing.”
“I think you’re pretty amazing too,” Piaget said. She wondered what he meant exactly about exclusively. She liked that idea. “And I understand that things are hard financially. They’re hard for me as well.”
“What would you say, if in a year or two I did ask you to marry me?” Max wondered. He watched her intensely. “What would you say to your parents?”
Suddenly it was hard for Piaget to breathe. He was really serious here. Piaget didn’t know what to say. He was homeless, said her mother’s voice in her head and Piaget wondered, was she as much of a snob as her mother? “No one knows what’s going to happen in a year or two.”
He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers.
“I was thinking,” he said softly. “Maybe in a year or two, I might have my life back together. I might be able to help you with the bills so you’re not always so worried. I would be able to cheer for you when you graduated, with honors because I know you’re smart. I might wake up next to you each morning which would make my day.”
“It’s too soon,” Piaget blurted out, a little panicked. She didn’t know what she was thinking. If she was even was thinking. Part of her was afraid of making a mistake again, getting involved with a man who might hurt her like her husband Gary had. Part of her very much wanted to find out what being with Max would be like. Waking up next to him every day? The thought was both thrilling and scary.
“I can wait,” Max said, stroking her hair. “I’m very patient. We take all the time you want to get to know each other. I just want to put it on the table that I’m looking at a future with both of us in it.”
“It’s not that. It’s…” Piaget scrambled to say something. Anything that might not hurt his feelings but gave her time to examine her own. “I’ve only been a widow for a year.”
“Of course.” Max took both of her hands in his. “I entirely respect that. You must have loved him very much and I –“
Piaget snorted. She couldn’t help it. She briefly closed her eyes, embarrassed. “I’m not sure that I did. Well, I did at one point but not at the end. Gary and I… it was complicated. The thing is, I don’t trust my judgement with men.”
“Then we will take it slow. Snail pace slow and you will find that you can place your trust in me.” Max lifted her hands and placed a kiss on each of them. “We have all the time in the world. I know I’m ahead of you, thinking all this.”
Piaget’s hands reached up to cradle his face. She didn’t want to disappoint him, but she needed to be truthful too. “You are ahead of me, Max. I’m not sure what the future holds. I do know that I have a few hours free tonight and I do okay at making spaghetti if you’d like to come to dinner?”
Max smiled. “I’d like that.”
“Good. I’m sorry I dragged you into this. I put you on the spot and that wasn’t fair. She just… She was looking down her nose at everything. The neighborhood, where I work, what I’m trying to achieve and then she looked at you and Ed. She just made some remarks and I couldn’t let it go.”
Max raised an eyebrow and said dryly, “So, you held me up under her nose like a muddy frog?”
“No!” Piaget looped her arm through his and steered him toward the street. She needed groceries if she was going to make dinner tonight and he didn’t seem to mind her dragging him along. “Okay, maybe just a little like holding up a frog. She was just really making me somad. I don’t know why I still want her approval. I’m an adult. I should be fine with what I want.”
“All kids want their parents to accept them and their choices,” Max said quietly. “Sometimes we have to accept that’s not going to happen.”
“I shouldn’t have done it,” Piaget apologized. “I’m sorry.”
“Where are we going?” Max asked.
“I need a few things for the spaghetti. I like to add to the sauce so that it tastes better. There’s a market right around the corner,” Piaget explained. It was her go to place for groceries since it was so close and she was always walking. Nothing sucked more than having a bag break or carrying something heavy over a long distance.
“I have to ask, do you actually want me to be your plus one for the wedding or was it just to goad your mom and you rather I didn’t?”
Piaget was a little surprised by his insecurity. Usually he was Mr. Confident. “I want you to be there.”
She realized that she did want him to be there. It felt right to bring him to meet her family. Her mother wouldn’t like it, but it was past time Piaget stopped seeking her approval.
“Good.” Max dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “Besides, you need someone to buffer you from this Earle guy.”
Piaget laughed. “When you meet him, you’ll understand he’s absolutely no threat.”
As they entered the little corner store a woman stopped them and asked for a selfie with Piaget. Max was amused. “Does this happen often? Are you suddenly famous and didn’t tell me?”
Piaget sighed. “It’s this campaign for the mayoral race. Adam came up with this brilliant idea of anyone who supports me to take a selfie with me and post it to their social media accounts to tell their friends. I’m getting stopped all the time now!”
“That’s a good thing, right?” Max helped her get a jar of spaghetti sauce off of the top shelf. “It means a lot of people are supporting you.”
“True. However, I was almost late for class the other day,” Piaget grabbed some noodles. She wasn’t sure just how many she had at home. “Then there is all the paperwork and trying to memorize things for the debates. It’s like I’ve added another class to my schedule which is already full.”