Part 5 ************ Max glanced at the clock that hung above the door in his classroom. It was almost 2:30 and school was about to let out. He wished the time to go faster, his mind making a mental check list of what he had to do. Liz was working till 5, but she her appointment with Dr. Walker was scheduled right after that. That gave him exactly 2 and a half hours to set things up. Liz was already under a lot of pressure, knowing how much the two of them wanted this pregnancy to be a reality. Max had tried to devise a plan to make things a little more comfortable for her when she got home. First, he had to stop by Amy’s to pick up Noah. Then he had to get home, start dinner, do a load of laundry, tidy up the house- His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the bell ringing. “Alright, I want everyone to read chapters 1 and 2 of the assigned reading by tomorrow.” A simultaneous groan was heard from the bustling students, desperate to leave school. “There will be a quiz on Friday, so I suggest you guys take this seriously. Quizzes account for 10% of your grade. I know that may not sound like a lot, but if you fail enough, you may run into some trouble. Do the reading, and you’ll be fine.” He grabbed his papers, stuffing them into his messenger bag. “I’ll see you all same time tomorrow.” Throwing the bag over his shoulder, he grabbed his keys, intending to head out the door, but someone was blocking his way. He looked up to see Angie smiling at him. “Angie, if you don’t mind, I really have to get going.” He pointed to the door, hoping she would get the hint, but she just stepped closer to him. Max stumbled back, watching as she advanced towards him. “Please, Mr. Evans? This will only take a minute.” Max sighed in defeat, offering her a seat. She sat down, smiling at him. She leaned her elbows on the table, leaning forward, giving Max an eyeful. Max moved further away, the uncomfortable feeling he got when he was around her returning. “What’s this about, Angie? I really have some important things I need to take care of. Isn’t this something that can wait?” “I was hoping you could give me some private tutoring sessions. I really suck in English. I’m so bad you’d think it wasn’t my first language,” she tried to joke. But Max wasn’t amused. All he could think about was the precious time he was wasting, standing around. All he could think about was Liz. Max rubbed his temples, willing his headache to go away. “I’m sorry Angie, but if you need a tutor, you’re going to have to find someone else. I can give you the names of some excellent tutors.” Angie pouted, batting her eyelashes at him. “But I thought it would work best if you were my tutor. I mean, seeing as you’re the one who knows all of the material.” Max bit his tongue, not wanting to vent his frustrations out on her. He really didn’t have time for this. “Angie, I’m willing to bend over backwards to help you during class time, but other than that, there’s nothing I can do for you. I have a family that I need to take care of, outside of class. Like I said, I’ll give you the names of some people, but that’ll have to wait until tomorrow. I really have to go.” Clutching his keys, he ran out of the door, heading towards the staff parking lot. Angie glared at the door that he just escaped from. She stood up, crossing her arms across her chest. She was about to leave, when she noticed a few picture frames on his desk. There were four in total. One with Mr. Evans, and seven other people. There was one of his son. And one of his wife. She picked that one up, looking at Liz’s picture. She stared at it for a long while before looking at the family portrait that was still on the table. She tilted her head at angle, noting the way Max held his family close. She turned her attention back to the picture in her hand, looking at her reflection in the glass. She smiled, tracing the outline of Liz’s face. She went to return the picture to it’s original position on the desk, when her hand let go ‘accidentally’. Holding a hand to her lips, she shook her head. “Oops!” She eyed the remnants of broken glass, snickering before digging her heel into it, her foot leaving an imprint on Liz’s face. “It was nice knowing you, Mrs. Evans.” **************** Max struggled with some pots and pans, as he tried to yell over the sound of the television. “Noah! Turn that thing off!” Noah turned his gaze away from the tv, to look at his father. He gave the tv one last glance, before shutting it off. He stood up, holding his toy airplane in his hand. He walked cautiously into the kitchen, watching as his father tried to get dinner ready. Max looked up, wiping the sweat from his brow. “Did you finish your homework?” Noah nodded. “Uh huh. Mrs. Valenti made me do it before she let play with Jade.” Max took a quick glance at the clock, knowing that Liz was going to be home any minute. He dropped the lid onto one of the pots, wiping his hands on his makeshift apron. He pushed Noah into the bathroom, taking the airplane out of his hands. “Wash your hands. Your momma’s gonna be here any second.” He ran into the laundry room, grabbing the folded clothes. He rushed up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. He distributed the clothes in the appropriate rooms, running back down the stairs. He untucked the dish towel from his pants, throwing it over his shoulder. He went into the bathroom to check on Noah, only to find him splashing soap and water everywhere. “Noah!” Noah turned surprised eyes at his father, hiding his hands behind his back. “I wasn’t doin’ nothing.” Max reached for Noah’s dripping hands, holding it over the sink. He ripped up a few paper towels, trying his best to mop up the mess. “Don’t lie to me. I already saw you, And besides, it’s not, ‘I wasn’t doin’ nothing.’, it’s supposed to be, ‘I wasn’t doing anything.’” Noah wiped his hands on the towel, looking down at his father. “Ok. I wasn’t doing anything.” He smiled. “How was that?” Max laughed despite himself. “Better, but that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. Go into the kitchen and get your momma’s flowers. She’s gonna- Max shut up the minute the front door flew open, revealing Liz. Her eyes closed as she took in the smell of food. Her eyes opened again, looking around the recently cleaned house. Her gaze landing on Max and Noah. Max stood up, pushing Noah towards the kitchen to retrieve the flowers. He wiped his hands on his jeans, walking towards Liz slowly. Noah ran in from the kitchen, presenting Liz with a bouquet of white roses. “These are for you, momma.” Liz felt her heart burst in her chest. She leaned down, taking the flowers from Noah. She kissed the top of his head, looking around the room, before pinning Max with her gaze. “What’s all this for?” Noah shrugged his shoulders. “Because daddy said we had to make everything just right, for you. Daddy cleaned the house, did the washing, and the cooking.” Liz felt her eyes tear up. “You cleaned, and did the laundry?” Max grinned at her, finally coming to move to stand in front of her. “You forgot the cooking, too,” he finished with a teasing tone. Liz sniffed back a tear, inhaling the delicious aroma of the food coming from the kitchen. She reached for Max’s hand, placing it onto her stomach. “Well, I hope you made plenty of food. Because according to Dr. Walker, I’m eating for two now.” Max’s jaw dropped, his eyes bugging out of his head. He didn’t say anything at first, afraid that he was just hearing what he wanted to hear. Liz looked up at him, her doe eyes twinkling. “That’s all you’ve got to say?” Before Liz got all of the words past her lips, Max lifted her into the air, spinning her around. He placed noisy kisses everywhere he could before letting her down. He grabbed her cheeks, landing a sound kiss on her lips before picking Noah up in his arms. He grabbed Liz again, hugging her to his body. “We’re going to have a little one.”