“Oh, she went to bed,” Alex explained, plopping down on the sofa next to her, “She wanted to stay up with us, but she’s exhausted…she said she’d catch us next time.” He grabbed the remote from Maria and began clicking through the channels randomly.

“That’s a bummer…” Maria observed glumly, “…working on a Saturday really sucks.”

Alex stacked his hands behind his head, propping his feet on the coffee table and crossing them at the ankles. He lounged back against the cushions with a smug smile. “I wouldn’t know about that,” he sighed in satisfaction, “because I’m on vacation.”

Maria tossed him a disgusted look, slapping him in the chest with a pillow cushion. “You’re all heart, Alex!”

“Are you complimenting me or insulting me?” Alex inquired glibly. Maria responded by giving him the finger. Alex just laughed which provoked Maria into plucking the remote from his fingers, changing the channel he’d chosen. “It’s a shame Isabel is tired. Close Encounters of the Third Kind is coming on at ten. It’s an oldie, but a goodie.”

“Oh, she wouldn’t have wanted to watch it anyway,” Alex said lightly, snatching back the remote.

“Why?” Maria asked while trying to get back the remote, but Alex managed to hold her off successfully.

“I don’t know…something about movies like that trivializing the alien plight or something…anyway I guess it’s an alien thing.” Finally he wrestled Maria to the sofa and sat on her, halting her shenanigans. Maria flailed underneath him without results. “Do you want to compromise?” he asked, meaning the TV.

Maria cast a sideways glance at the television. “Friends,” she suggested, wriggling beneath him.

Alex countered with, “Gilligan’s Island.”

Maria grimaced. “How about a movie then? And get off me! You weigh a ton!”

Alex obliged her, settling back against the sofa. Maria hung over the edge, gasping for breath. “God, Alex! Jog much?”

Alex only smirked. “Okay, for movies we have Rocky I, II, and III.” He glanced at Maria, lifting his eyebrows and grinning, “How about it? Yeah?”

Maria leveled him with a bland look, her expression clearly saying, “I know you didn’t go there with me.” Alex rolled his eyes with a sigh of disgust. “Runaway Bride it is then.” While he got up to put in the tape he remarked casually, “So you and Liz seemed really chummy before she left…” He leveled Maria with a speculative glance.

“Oh, why don’t you just ask already!” Maria cried in exasperation.

“Fine,” Alex conceded, leaning back against his 45 inch screen television and crossing his arms over his chest, “What happened?”

“We talked,” Maria said with deliberate evasiveness.

“Duh!” Alex retorted, “Now what did you talk about? Did you tell her the truth about Max?”

“I didn’t have to…she already knew when she came here.”

Alex’s mouth fell open in shock. “Max…that idiot!”

“What about Max?”

“He came by a couple days ago asking me what he should do about Liz,” when Maria looked confused Alex explained, “Basically, he was feeling guilty about kissing you and wanted to tell Liz the truth.”

“And what did you tell him?” Maria inquired softly.

“I told him I thought it was a bad idea…not that he bothered to listen to me,” Alex finished with a touch of annoyance.

“Actually, he did,” Maria clarified, “Liz overheard us talking this morning.”

“OH MY GOD!” Alex exclaimed as understanding dawned, “She heard you tell Max that you were in love with him?” Maria nodded slowly. “And you’re still alive?”

Maria rolled her eyes. “Alex, you know Liz isn’t like that.”

“Well, what did you tell her? What did she say?” Alex wanted to know.

“I told her the truth and she forgave me,” Maria said simply, “I told her that while she was sick Max and I got close and I fell in love with him.”

At the last of her sentence Alex gave a noncommittal grunt. Maria frowned at him. “What was that for?”

“What was “what” for?”

“That sound,” Maria clarified crisply, “that sound you made.”

“I didn’t make any sound,” Alex denied.

“You did!” she accused, “You grunted when I said that I was in love with Max.” Alex grunted again. “See!” Maria cried, throwing up her hands in disgust, “There you go again!”

“I’m sorry,” Alex said, unrepentant, “but I can’t help it if I find the idea of you being in love with Max ludicrous.” He deftly dodged the pillow Maria sent flying his way as well as her shoe. “Hey, don’t kill the messenger! And watch my television,” he turned around to caress the screen lovingly, “This is my baby.”

“What you just said was really crappy, Alex,” Maria gritted out, “It’s like you’re belittling my feelings.”

“I don’t think you know how you feel, Maria,” Alex observed flatly as he turned back around.

Maria drew herself upright in righteous affront. “And what the hell is that supposed to mean?” She was an octave away from yelling.

Alex frowned. “Maybe if you took more time to analyze your feelings about Michael instead of convincing yourself you’re in love with your best friend’s husband you wouldn’t be so mixed up right now!”

“Fuck you!” she spat out in surprised hurt.

“Someone needs to get you to face the truth,” Alex said softly, “For one thing, I think you still have feelings for Michael and you’re just using Max as an excuse not to deal with them.”

“No, Alex,” Maria countered coolly, “I do have feelings for Max…I happen to hate Michael’s guts!”

“Hate is a two-sided coin, Maria.”

“Meaning what, Confucius?” Maria snapped in annoyance.

“Meaning in order to hate Michael as virulently as you do…deep inside somewhere you must still love him, too.”

“Alex, that is the biggest load of crap I have ever heard!” Maria choked a mocking laugh. “Michael Guerin left me alone and pregnant. He betrayed me, refused to marry me, wrote me a dear Jane letter…I haven’t heard from him in months and you think I still love him? Oh, Alex, whatever it is you’re smoking stop it now because it is obviously frying your brain cells.”

“Joke all you want, Maria,” Alex invited plainly, “Inside here,” he tapped at his chest, “you know I’m telling you the truth.”

For a moment Maria looked like she wanted to punch him and then her face went chillingly blank. She came to her feet. “I’m going home,” she announced coldly, “I’ll just go get my kids.”

“Maria, come on,” Alex cajoled, catching hold of her arm. She snatched it away and glared at him. Alex sighed, seeing that she was in no mood for reason. “At least leave Mickey and Adrienne here tonight…it’s late.”

Maria drove home fuming. Who the hell did Alex think he was? She didn’t know what made her angrier; that he dared to say those things or that she was driving home actually considering what he said. Of course she wasn’t still in love with Michael! What kind of spineless wimp would that make her if she was? The idea was ridiculous considering all that he had done to hurt her. And besides that she hadn’t thought of him in months. Of course, that was because she made herself not think about him. Even now, after so much time, she couldn’t even have a conversation about him without losing her temper. “Damn it,” she whispered, banging her hand against the steering wheel.

By the time she made it home Maria was bone tired, mentally, physically and emotionally. She entered her apartment with a weary sigh, not bothering to click on any lights. Stumbling around in the darkness, she began to remove her clothing, dropping the discarded pieces in the floor as she made her way back to her bedroom. What she needed was a good night’s sleep in her own bed, Maria thought, everything would look much clearer in the morning. Clad in only her bra and panties, Maria shuffled into her bedroom.