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“He’s a great pilot, a loyal brother, but one messed up kid is hidden in that man who has no clue how to handle a woman because he’s only seen what ‘messed up’ looks like in his life before he went to go live with a bunch of guys in barracks for much longer than he lived with me,” Reese paused and looked at her. “I’m not saying you should forgive him or what he did – whatever it was. I’m asking you simply to look past the initial kick in the ‘mental pants’ and look for the meaning behind it.”
“What are you talking about? Why is my alarm sensor…”
“He does the stupidest things with the best intentions behind it,” Reese chuckled. “He would probably tip an outhouse in order to fertilize the grass…”
“What?” she choked out, trying not to laugh, as she realized it was true.
The roses, the chocolates, the expensive pearls, the massive ring… all of it was to impress her, but he went about it in such a backward manner that it was staggering. If some other guy had bought her three dozen roses in a vase, she would have been touched, but Max had done the same, yet different. If someone had given her a box of Godiva chocolates, they would have been besties, yet Max gave her ‘droppings’ – chocolates designed to look like poo.
Who else would do that?
Max had arrived at the drop of a hat with the biggest diamond ring he could find, insisting they get married today because he wanted this and cared, she realized.
“He’s still doing it, too,” Reese said quietly, whispering. “Just look past him trying so hard and give the big dork a chance to explain… and please don’t shoot him.”
Both looked at each other as a plaintive ‘Oh no!’ sounded in the distance – causing Reese to start laughing as he shook his head.
“I told him this wouldn’t work.”
“What?”
“Go,” he ordered simply, smiling. “And welcome to the family, Elana.”
She stepped back into the house and heard the neighbor’s dogs barking, padding silently toward her bedroom, curious. Only to hear Max’s whispered curse word and the rattle of a chain.
“Dang it…”
And paused, shocked.
There, scattered all over her floor, were white Christmas lights and pink rose petals – everywhere. It looked like a tornado had torn through a florist’s shop, leaving chaos in its wake, and she covered her mouth as she spotted Max.
He’d handcuffed himself to the bed – again – but this time, there was a massive chain wrapped around his pants like a diaper with a padlock. A gleaming silver key was on his stomach, and he was undulating his tummy like a belly dancer trying to get the key to roll towards his mouth.
Stuck.
She couldn’t help herself – she laughed.
His eyes met hers, and he looked beside himself only to see a hand reach in the window, pressing a button on what looked like a radio.
“I told you timing was everything, and you’d need an extra hand,” Reese’s voice interrupted. “Have a good day, you two,”… and he slid the window shut just as the strains of a ballad she recognized began to play.
Max was lying there amidst twinkling lights and rose petals, with his lower region completely chained up like some modern Home-Depot-version of a chastity belt… for her.
He was doing this so she would trust him and he would keep his word. It was important to him that she gave him a chance to be a part of his life - again. It was moments like this that meant the world to her and caused everything else to fade away.
And he began to sing directly to her.
She listened, standing there in the doorway, as he sang the actual first verse and began to make up words in the second one. She realized he didn’t know the song as well as she did, but what he was doing was incredibly sweet.
Take my hand… be my wife.
I can’t move at all,
You’re my guiding light.
Don’t tell me to go awaaaay…
Don’t tell me that I can’t staaaay…
