And Then (Part 1)

Chapter 17

I quickly got up to go freshen up as Harrison went to answer the door. I could hear them talking at the door downstairs while I was in the room. "Hello, I am Maxine Beaumont, Annie's friend. You may call me Max." Max tells Harrison. "Hello, I'm Harrison Fine. You can call me Harry." Harrison replies to Max. I grab my jacket and head down the stairs and see them shaking hands after they have introduced themselves to each other. Max looks a little shocked by who he is. I come around Harrison and Max's eyes light up "Annie!" She jumps at me and hugs me tight, and I hug her back. Harrison clears his throat. "Sorry, we haven't seen each other in years!" I explain. "Of course, that is understandable." We pull out of our hug and turn to Harrison. "Max and I went to school together when we were kids and then she moved back to France for High School and never came back." I squint my eyes at her to convey my annoyance at her physical absence from my life all these years. "I told her I was coming to Europe for a vacation, and she said that we have to see each other again since I am going to be so close, I agreed and here she is."

In her French accent, Max says, "I expect you to come and visit my home in Nice, Annie! You are too close not to. I will take you everywhere! You will love the south of France! The nightlife is the best for single women like us." She winks at me, and Harrison looks a bit irritated at that last part; I can't really blame him. "We'll see Max, let's take it one day at a time, why don't we enjoy tonight first. Where shall we go? Are you hungry?" She nods. We decide on a restaurant nearby that Harrison has suggested. "Then what would you like to do after dinner Max?" I ask her but Harrison jumps in with a suggestion, "Why don't you both meet me at Bobby's club after dinner?" Max lights up at his suggestion. "That sounds wonderful! I love to party!" Harrison does not look surprised by her statement, and I just shake my head and smile at her.

"Ok, it's settled, we will meet you over there after dinner." I state and we get up to go and I kiss Harrison on the cheek, but he quickly pulls me into him for a hug and kisses me on the lips. Oh my. Max clears her throat this time. My head is spinning; this man makes me lose all sense. I stammer out "Okay...um...let's go Max. We'll see you later Harrison." I say as I place my fingers on my lips, savoring the feel of his lips on mine. "Yes, Harry, au revoir!" Max waves at him as we walk out the door.

As soon as the door closes Max grabs my arm. "Ok, spill. What is going on? How did you end up here with that handsome man that I know you have been obsessing over for years?" I tell her everything that has happened as we walk to the restaurant. I look over at her and her mouth has dropped open in shock. I reach over and close it for her, and we both laugh; I have missed her so much. I really needed this, I'm so glad she's here. We go in and have dinner, it's a cute place and the food is pretty good. I'm glad Harrison suggested this place.

"I'm a little nervous to be apart from him; something almost always happens when we're not together." I confide in her. "Oh Annie! Stop being so melodramatic! We will be seeing him very soon. Will we not?" I take a deep breath, "Yes, we will, I just hope you're right." I still have a really bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, but I can't do anything about it and hopefully I am just being paranoid. We order a dessert and share it. "Annie I'm happy for you, he is really good looking, and I bet you love his accent. And you are both authors so you must have a lot in common, although that imbecile was an author, and he was a disaster. But you look really happy, and I must say that I am glad that you are rid of that last imbecile." She beams at me. "I am happy, and it's been a long time since I have been. And I must say that I am also glad to be rid of that imbecile." I smile but we both get quiet, remembering the past. "And it's about more than his cute accent and damn good looks." I say to lighten the mood and we both laugh. "Okay! Let's go dancing and see this man of yours." I can't stop smiling at her calling him my man.

The cab ride is pretty quick and we're there in no time. We try to go to the front of the line but there's a big crowd and it's a bit difficult to try to get by all these people. Joe, the bouncer, sees me struggling and yells for everyone to let me through. That's funny, it reminds me of back home with Teddy, except here everyone just gets out of the way and does not question Joe. I grab Max's hand, so I don't lose her. "Joe, it's really crazy today. What's going on?" I ask him. "There's a DJ battle today. You want in? Harry is already in there," he tells me. "Yes, thank you Joe! He's expecting us." He nods at me "You're very welcome beautiful Annie and her beautiful friend." Joe winks at Max and she blushes. "You are such a charmer Joe." I smile at him as we walk past him. Max leans into my ear and asks, "Annie, you know the bouncer by name?" I look at Max over my shoulder. "Yeah, I've been here a few times and I know the owner too." Max looks impressed at this bit of information.