Re: Mayflowers: Jack & Max
[Hearing Max laugh like that would have sealed things for him if nothing else had. It had been a rarity before she disappeared for the five years absence, and it showed what had changed about her more than any flower shop.
He let her slide through his fingers and hit the lights for the shop. There was Amanda, sitting at the table. Those five years were all there in the toddler he'd known, now up doing her homework at the back of her mom's shop. When she greeted him, he smiled back.] Amanda. [Max was already moving upstairs, so there would be time for talk later.
The apartment above was more sprawling and lavish than Jack had expected. Clearly Max was retired, but she'd saved thoughtfully from the jobs she'd done before officially turning away. Then up further still, and he stopped beside her on the top landing.
The efficiency was compact but comfortable, separated from the apartment below only by that steep set of stairs. Nestled into the top of the building, there was something close and comfortable about it that felt right. One way in and out, well above street level. There had been a time when he didn't think about how safe a place was to stay in, how removed and difficult to access, when being too out in the open hadn't disquieted him. That wasn't the case anymore.
He stepped inside.] How's the food at this place? [He turned around to face her again. He liked it. He could have slept almost anywhere, and he didn't need much space for his few remaining things. He'd moved so many times in the last few years that it was all condensed down to a few small pieces in storage and a suitcase full of clothes. He would have a difficult time filling even this space with possessions.]
Amanda sounds just like you. [It was strange to him, how like her mother she sounded, more than the ways she looked like her.
Then he extended a hand to Max, and he smiled a little.] Come here. I want to give you the grand tour of my new apartment.