Re: Marvel: Max & Ella
[Max was certainly different. Nearing forty, she looked even older. A life of living hard had drawn lines on her face, and things ached that she hadn't even known could ache a few years earlier. This decision, this shop, was about that every bit as much as it was about getting out of the business. She was getting old enough that coming home from missions wasn't a certainty anymore. In fact, it was even less than that, and Brandon couldn't raise Amanda, even if he did manage to not get killed by this ninja organization of his. This was safe, and she felt strongly that parents needed to be willing to make sacrifices for their kids.
She watched the girls as she rang up customers and issued discounts for missing flowers in red and white. She was sure Amanda was being too competitive about her flower knowledge over there, but she wasn't going to intervene unless someone yelled. It was more of that realization that she wasn't going to be around forever, and chances were good that Brandon would be around for even less time than her, and Amanda needed family that would outlive her parents. Amanda could figure out how to get along with her cousin on her own, so long as no one ended up impaled on a rose thorn.
The crowd thinned and thinned, and Max looked over at Ella when the line whittled down to two.] I have a girl starting her shift in five minutes. We can talk then. [A pause.] You look good. So does she. [She nodded toward Elizabeth, who was down toward the back of the shop with Amanda.]