Maria carefully shut the door to her room and threw herself onto her bed.

The best thing to do would be to forget about it. Pretend it never happened.

Never happened.

Never happened.

Never happened…

Why had she broken down like that in his apartment? And, how pathetic was it that kissing him made her feel more alive than she had in months? She couldn't bear the thought of it. It was too awful.

Never happened. Never happened. Never happened.

***

The steak was cold, and the salad had carrots. He hated carrots. It probably wasn't her fault, but he blamed her anyway.

So, he threw the food in the trash and walked to the new canvas he'd hung on the wall. Before he knew it, he was painting. Really working. Creating.

It wasn't Isabel he saw staring back at him, it was her. The waitress's eyes were glaring down at him from the wall. Green eyes, haunting. He'd been inspired by unusual things before, so it didn't really mean anything.

When he was done, he stood away from the wall and looked at his own work, feeling pride for the first time in months. He actually liked what he'd done. Amazing.

The clock on the wall read that it was midnight. Feeling slightly exhausted, he threw himself down on the sofa, and for the first time noticed the cash sitting on the coffee table. Sh*t. He'd put it there after she had gone to the bathroom, and he'd forgotten to give it to her after she came out. Well, he'd just have to run it in to her tomorrow. For some reason, the thought of seeing her made him nervous.

***

Maria hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. Her neck ached, and her feet were sore. It was only noon, she still had nine hours to go. She was tempted to go home sick, but she really couldn't afford to. So far she'd been lucky, he hadn't shown his face yet, but knowing her luck he would at any moment. How could she face him? How could she have kissed him? Why had he kissed her? The thoughts tumbled through her brain as she moved mechanically through the lunch hour, and were still present when she realized he was sitting at the counter. She hadn't even noticed him come in.

Never had she dreaded waiting on him as much as she did at this moment. He sat and stared at her as she brought him a Cherry Coke.

"Uh, I forgot to pay you last night," he said, as he shoved a twenty across the table at her.

For a moment she was lost. She hadn't expected him to speak to her. It took her a little while to process what he was saying, but when she finally did, she stared down at the twenty. Twenty. Not exact change. She grabbed it and walked over to the cash register and pulled out the $6.25 he was owed.

She set the change down in front of him carefully, and she saw him staring at it. He pocketed the quarter, and then laid his hand solidly on the bills and moved them across the counter towards her. Glancing up at him, she raised her eyebrows and used her finger to push the bills back at him. Instantly he met her gaze, and narrowed his eyes into a glare. Dropping his fist onto the money, he shoved it back at her.

Maria didn't know what had gotten into her, before she had been scheming ways to avoid the guy, and now she was locked in a battle of wills with him. Meeting his eyes again, she carefully picked up the bills and held them in front of his nose, then she released them so that they fluttered down into his lap.

He looked enraged, but she was through taking his crap. Of course he wouldn't look down at the money, just continued to glare at her. Slowly she drew out her order pad and began writing.

Saturday...lunch, tuna melt...

"You don't know me," he said tersely, as if she had claimed that she did.

"Whatever."

"Take the goddamn money."

"Not a chance in hell," she was amazed at the steel in her voice.

"I don't want a tuna melt."

"Ok, what do you want then?"

He looked frustrated, and his brow was furrowed as if he was trying to figure something out.

After staring at her a little longer, he let out an exasperated sigh, "Oh, just bring me the stupid tuna melt."

"Fine."

" Fine."

She walked to the order window and handed in his order.

***

"Hey Tess."

"Michael," she said with a small smile as she reached up to hug him.

This sort of thing always made him feel awkward, so he carefully patted her back a couple of times and then pulled away. Her smile was amused as she watched him.

"Uh, where's your stuff?" he asked gesturing into the empty entryway.

"Well, my bags are in the bedroom. The rest of my furniture and stuff is going into storage on Monday, I hired movers. Not that much of anything was mine," she laughed softly.

"So, I'll just go get your things then," he said moving past her toward the bedroom in the back of the apartment.

"Thanks, I'll have to help, there's quite a bit."

He moved through the living room and down the back hallway, noticing that most of the pictures had been taken down. They were probably all hers. There were boxes littering the hallway, and in the bedroom, he saw several more.

Break ups, they were all about dividing lives. Everything that had co-mingled during your time together had to be separated. He remembered the boxes he'd taken over to Isabel's. Things he'd found in his old apartment. Some of her CD's, a few pairs of underwear and bras, the espresso maker she'd insisted on leaving there, her running shoes, her umbrella…

"Michael?" Tess's voice brought him out of his reverie.

"Yeah?" he asked as he turned to see her standing in the doorway of the bedroom.

"Are you sure this is all right? I don't want to get between you and Max. Believe me, if I had anyone else…" her voice trailed off as she sighed.

"No, no. It's fine. I was just thinking. You know - about break-ups. Dividing stuff," he looked at her and shrugged.

She nodded slowly, "Isabel…"

Tess had been there through the whole Isabel ordeal. To begin with he'd had a hard time being around Max, because he was her brother. Really, it was Tess who'd spent the most time with him over the first few weeks. She'd helped. Michael remembered that at the end of the first week, during one of his real low points, she came over to his place while he was out and cleaned it up. He'd arrived home to the smell of something baking, she'd made him cookies. At the time the gesture had touched him very deeply. It was nice to know someone still cared.

Did Tess need something like that? He wished he knew how to help her. It was Saturday night, maybe he should take her to a movie or out to dinner or something.

"So…" he said, raising his eyebrows as he grabbed her largest suitcase and two of the duffles.

She smiled as she grabbed what looked like a make-up case and the last duffle, "So…"

"Uh, wanna' go?" he asked, not knowing what to say.

"Lead the way," she grinned, and he walked out of the bedroom and down the hall.

***

Maria couldn't help but smile when she saw the cute guy sit down at her section of the counter. He had dark hair and eyes, and was dressed nicely. She wagged her eyebrows at Liz and nodded her head toward the guy. Liz's mouth had formed an impressed 'o' and she'd grinned back at Maria. Too bad he had to wait until her shift was almost over to show up.

"Hi," she smiled, "can I get you something to drink?"

"Oh, ah, no thank you," he looked up at her as if he were confused, but then he smiled, "wait, what am I saying? Um, coffee. Please."

Her smile turned into a grin as she got him a cup of coffee. Sunday mornings were generally busy, but it was half past 11, so things were calming down. Normally this was her day off, but Agnes had asked for someone to cover the 6-12, and she'd immediately stepped up - she needed to the money.

"Here we are, one cup of coffee," she set the cup down in front of him. "Did you get a chance to look at the menu?"

"Oh, no, not yet. Actually, could you tell me what would be fast? I'm sort of waiting for a friend."

"Well, we could have an omelet ready for you in five minutes or less," she winked at him.

"Ok, sure. Can you make it a Denver?"

"Absolutely," she smiled again as she walked to the order window.

God, he was cute. It had been so long since she'd flirted with a guy she hoped she could remember how. She moved back into his area and pretended to be wiping the counter.

"So, have you worked here long?" he asked her.

She smiled at him, "Uh, yeah, about a year and a half."

"Oh. So is waitressing tough?"

"Well, you know, it's work, but I like it. Get to meet a lot of interesting people," she smiled again. He seemed easy going, he had beautiful brown eyes…And, was it just her imagination or was he flirting back? No, surely not…

"Do you do this full time? You look like a student."

She was amazed. How could he tell that she wasn't a 'lifer'?

"Well, actually, I'm not in school anymore. I'm going back as soon as I can though."

"What were you studying?"

"Oh, I hadn't declared yet - just was doing the req's, but I was leaning toward advertising," she blushed slightly, "I know it's corny, but there's a lot less math than business, so…"

He laughed, "I'm in advertising."

"You're joking," she gave him a grin.

"No, I really am," he was grinning back.

She couldn't believe it, for the first time in what felt like years she was having a conversation with a guy.

The bell over the door jingled. Of course. Who else could it possibly be? She'd been enjoying herself, so naturally he would have to walk in.

"Max," he said, looking at the guy in front of her.

Oh, no. This couldn't be the 'friend'.

The dark haired dream turned around to look at 'no tip', "Michael."

Great. Naturally. She would be flirting with a guy who was friends with the wacko. The wacko she'd sort of kissed. Now he'd tell 'tall-dark-and-handsome' that she was a slut.

***

Michael sat down next to Max, "Why didn't you just come in?"

He looked up at the girl. She didn't work Sundays.

Max glanced up at the waitress and then back at him, "Um, I was about to knock on your door when I heard Tess's voice inside. So, I decided to call and have you meet me over here."

"Oh. Didn't she tell you she was staying with me?"

"No," Max looked at him carefully.

"Max, come on. I'm practically the only friend she's got, and she can't move into her new place for a week. She couldn't afford to stay in a hotel."

"Yeah, I figured it was something like that. Sorry. Just didn't expect her to be there. How is she? Is she even upset?" Max asked, looking down at the coffee cup in his hand.

"Of course she's upset. Why wouldn't she be upset?" Michael asked, glancing up at the waitress, wondering why she hadn't brought him his Cherry Coke yet. She was scowling at him, so he scowled back and pointed at the soda machine. She rolled her eyes and moved away.

"What was that?" Max asked, gesturing at the blonde who was now standing in front of the soda fountain.

"She's getting me a drink. So, why wouldn't Tess be upset?"

"Well, she's the one that broke things off," Max said, still glancing between him and the waitress.

"Really?" Michael said, genuinely surprised.

"Yeah, didn't she tell you?"

"No," Michael said, "nobody told me anything except that you'd broken up. You, I got drunk. Her, I offered a place to stay."

The waitress slammed the drink down in front of him and crossed her arms. He ignored her.

Max was looking back and forth between him and the girl with a strange look on his face, "I'm sorry about him," he waved his hand in Michael's direction, "he was raised by monkeys."

The girl laughed. Michael couldn't help but look up at her. He'd never heard her laugh before. It sounded so free, as if she'd abandoned herself to it. She was smiling down at Max.

"That's ok," she said lightly, "I know him."

"Oh, really?" Max said looking up at her with a dumb grin on his face.

She sighed and nodded her head, grinning back at him.

Dear God, they were flirting. Max was flirting with the waitress.

Michael slapped him on the shoulder with the back of his hand, "Geez, do you need to do that? Tess is right across the street. What if she were to walk in and see you flirting with the waitress?"

Max didn't break his gaze from the blonde. She was actually looking him in the eyes. But, she never looked anyone in the eye.

"I'm sure that - uh, what's your name?" Max raised his eyebrows at the girl.

"Maria," she said soflty.

"Right, Maria. I'm sure that Maria would agree with me that we were just having a very nice conversation," Max smiled knowingly at her.

"Of course…" she replied with a wink.

Michael was fuming, "Knock it off."

Max looked at him and grinned.

"Maria," the brunette waitress walked up to them holding a plate, "is this omelet yours?"

Michael was fairly sure that the girl's name was Liz. She wanted to be a molecular biologist or a marine biologist or something.

"Oh yeah, thanks Liz," Maria seemed slightly embarrassed, "it belongs to this gentleman."

"Ok," Liz smiled slyly as she laid the plate in front of Max, then walked away.

"Great job you're doing there," Michael said sarcastically, smirking up at the blonde.

She narrowed her eyes at him.

Max cleared his throat, and covered his mouth with his hand – but not before Michael caught sight of the smile he was trying to hide.

‘Maria’ walked away, and Michael glanced at Max, “So, what exactly did happen between you and Tess?”

“I proposed. She started crying and said it would never work,” Max’s voice got soft and his eyes glazed over slightly.

“Never work?” Michael asked, raising his eyebrows. “What does that mean?”

“I don’t know. She just said ‘it would never work’ and that there really wasn’t any point in staying together any longer. So, I left. The strangest part was that I was sort of relieved.”

“What do you mean ‘relieved’?”

“I don’t know, Michael. I walked out the door, after she told me it was over, and I felt like this weight had been lifted off my shoulders,” Max shook his head as if to clear it. “Don’t get me wrong, I was upset, extremely upset - you saw me the other night – but, I was also relieved. It was so weird. One minute, I’m asking this woman to spend the rest of her life with me, and then I’m almost glad when she says she doesn’t want anything to do with me anymore.”

Michael was a little stunned. He’d had no idea that Max had planned to propose. Of course, if he had known, he never would have guessed that Tess would turn him down. Or that Max would be happy about it. They’d always seemed so perfect together…

“Maxwell, that is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” Michael said.

“I know,” Max replied, taking a bite of his omelet.

“So, you’re not going to try to patch things up?” he asked, genuinely curious.

“No. She made it clear that it was over. And, like I said, I’m not really as broken up about it as you’d think,” Max shrugged as he took another bite.

Michael couldn’t understand Max’s reaction. He’d always thought the guy was madly in love with Tess. Well, maybe not madly, but they’d always seemed to fit together. Weird. Five years.

“You’ve got problems, man,” Michael said.

“Yeah,” Max said sincerely over a mouthful of omelet.

Out of the corner of his eye, Michael saw the blonde walk out the door. Her shift must be over. He noticed that Max was watching the girl as well. The brunette walked up to pour Max some more coffee.

Max turned to Michael after the girl was fully out the door, “What was up with you and the waitress?”

The brunette laughed and leaned on the counter, looking at Max, “Aren’t they something?”

Nodding, Max turned to look the girl in the eye, “The minute he walked in the door, it was… electric.”

Michael glanced back and forth between them. What were they talking about?

“I know,” ‘Liz’ said conspiratorially, “customers are always asking me what their story is.”

“ Really?” Max raised his eyebrows and glanced amusedly over at Michael.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” Michael muttered angrily.

Liz laughed, and jerked her chin toward Michael, “I tried to ask her about it once, and she reacted just like that.”

Max was grinning now, “I’ve never seen anything like it. Is that what you call ‘chemistry’?”

Liz nodded rapidly, smiling her head off at Max.

They didn’t know what they were talking about. There wasn’t anything between him and the blonde - ‘Maria’. She wasn’t even his type.

Max was now heavily in conversation with the brunette. Flirting again. He really must be getting over Tess. It sort of reminded him of Isabel. They were definitely related.

Disgusted, Michael stood and tossed a twenty onto the counter, “See you ‘round, Max.”

Max just watched him curiously as he left the diner.

***

Damn him. Damn him and his stupid timing, and his lousy attitude, and his smirks and his not tipping…

Her feet pounded the pavement on her way home. She knew she needed to have her anger vented by the time she got there.

Maria walked into the apartment and found Kyle and Abby sitting on the couch watching cartoons.

“Hey guys,” she said.

“Hi,” they replied together, not taking their eyes from the screen.

“Uh, what would you say to getting out of the house on this lovely Sunday afternoon, Abby? It’s not very warm, but the sun is shining. I thought we could head over to the park, maybe play on the swings?”

“Ok, Aunt Maria,” Abby smiled.

“Go get your coat, kiddo,” Kyle said.

“We’ll be back in half an hour or so,” Maria told her brother.

He smiled and grabbed his crutches. She watched him hobble over to his computer and sit down. Seeing him in front of it made her feel guilty. If she couldn’t come up with some money within the next few days she would have to ask him to pawn it. Of course she’d gotten an extra shift at the diner, but it wouldn’t be enough.

“Ready to go,” Abby said behind her.

“Good,” Maria smiled and reached out for her niece’s hand. Some time in the sunshine would be good for both of them.

***

Michael didn’t really know where he was going. All he knew was that he couldn’t go back to his place because Tess was there. And of course he couldn’t go back to the diner.

He just started walking aimlessly down the block, jamming his hands in the pockets of his jeans to keep them warm in the cool fall air. This was his favorite time of year. The weather was always unpredictable, and he liked that.

Thoughts about Tess and Max were unavoidable. He didn’t know why their break up was bothering him so much. It wasn’t as if he believed in the whole ‘happily ever after’ thing. There was just something about the look on Max’s face…it was so Isabel. Was this what she’d said to people after their break up? That she was relieved? Of course she must have been relieved. She’d been f*cking another guy for crying out loud.

As he crossed the street, he noticed that his shoe was untied and looked around for some place to sit down. There were benches in the little park on the next block, so he picked up his pace, heading for one of them.

He’d just sat down when he spotted her, walking out of a building across the street. She was holding a little girl by the hand. Yep, he knew she had to have at least one. Her uniform was still on, and he wondered if she was cold with her legs bare in the chilly air.

The little girl was cute, brown hair, big eyes. Didn’t really look like her, though. She was jumping up and down, pointing at the swings not far from where he was sitting. After a moment, the blonde followed the little girl’s excited motions with her eyes and she spotted him. No real emotions passed over her face. He knew that she saw him, but she didn’t really acknowledge him.

It didn’t occur to him to get up and leave. He was fascinated. Watching her outside the diner. She sat the little girl down on a swing, and then she pushed her to get her going. There was a smile on her face. A happy smile. He’d seen polite and amused before, but never happy. Somehow it changed her looks, taking her from drab to bright.

After the girl was pumping and swinging on her own, she moved over to the bench and sat down next to him. He wasn’t really sure why she did. Maybe she was just trying to prove that she wasn’t afraid of him. She’d been a little touchy lately.

“Why are you here?” she asked, keeping her eyes on the little girl.

“I was here first. Why are you here?”

“I would think it’s perfectly obvious why I’m here,” she nodded in the direction of the swings.

“Well, I don’t need a reason. I’m just here,” he leaned back on the bench, stretching out his legs and crossing his ankles while crossing his arms over his chest. It was the same cocky position he’d always assumed in high school when the teacher started picking on him.

She looked over at him. Looked him up and down, head to toe. He almost shivered under her gaze. It was so probing. Sighing softly, she smoothed her hair back with her hand and turned back to watch the little girl.

It took every ounce of strength that he had not to look at her. Instead, he watched the little girl. She really didn’t look much like the waitress.