An old face (Maxine)

[lionel]

It was mid afternoon and it was an early spring day. The snow was gone but the cold wind still blew of Scriptor Bay. Lionel was standing outside enjoying the sun wearing a black hoodie and ripped jean. The morning had been busy, not that he could complain about it. But it was nice to know that people enjoyed his shop, even though it was the only one in town. He had seen old faces and new ones enter asking if they can to a routine check up or change the oil. And like always he greeted them with a smiling face and helping hand. He never really understood why he enjoyed vehicles so much. Perhaps it was a male's intuition?

But what ever it was it was nice to take a break and enjoy the day. He saw the town's people walking down the sidewalks in and out of restaurants and shops. He would occasionally wave Hi to some one or give them a warm smile. But nothing wasn't out of the ordinary until she saw an old truck slowly moving down the road and a familiar red head behind it. There was some smoke coming off from the truck to the point it caused Lionel to rush over to his garage and open up on of the garage doors.

He watched as the truck slowly made its way in and when the truck came to a halt he rushed over to the drivers side. Seeing who it was he gave a charming smile, "So I see your having problems ah Max?"

[MAXINE MCMANUS]

It was working fine when she got into it. The damn thing was fine when she started it up and headed towards the school after her morning walk. She never walked long in the mornings on a school day, only about twenty minutes, and then she got ready for school. Today, she had big plans for her class; they were going to start Faulkner's A Rose for Emily, a morbid story she knew they would love and have some fascinating discussions on. Halfway to the school, though, her truck started making some weird noises. And then there was smoke. Maxi felt like her stomach was going to fall out. Thank God Lionel's shop was on the way over to the school. She quickly made her way over, attracting a lot of attention with the smoke billowing thicker and thicker from under her hood.

When she pulled up, she barely made out Lionel rushing to open the garage door for her, and she made her way in as quickly as possible without running him over. The old green Chevy was sputtering when she finally screeched to a halt and quickly shut off the car. She was coughing when Lionel came to her door and she cranked down the window to see that charming smile. Years ago, that smile was enough to make her weak in the knees. Now, it was a simple comfort and a bit of an exasperation as he stated the obvious. "So I see you're having problems, ah, Max?" With a sigh, she nodded pathetically, before reaching out and pinching his cheek with a playful smile. "You're so observant, Lie," she teased with a wrinkled nose.

She popped the door open and slipped out of the truck, standing beside Lionel and watching the smoke billow and hiss from under her hood. She looked out of place in her navy blue dress with large white polka dots on the slightly flared skirt, her red cardigan keeping her arms warm with the chill in the air. A heavy sigh left her as she frowned at the damage. "Am I going to have to break down and get a new car?" she asked apprehensively. She hated the idea of getting a new car. They were so expensive and she loved her truck, but her visits to Lionel's shop were getting more and more frequent. She looked up at her ex with a wide, hopeful smile. "Or can you fix it?" she asked cheerfully, hoping he would say yes.

[lionel]

"You're so observant, Lie,

Lionel chuckled when she had made her comment. He couldn't help but find what she was wearing to look really good on her. He remembered the day were she would dress up for him like that when they were together. Perhaps she was doing this in hopes for him to help her. But then again she could being doing for her new bow in town. He closed the door soon after she got out and leaned up on the door waiting for what she had to stay this time.

. "Am I going to have to break down and get a new car?Or can you fix it?"

Lionel sighed as he looked over the Chevy. She was old but he knew back in the day these trucks could run for ever. Looking back at her he stated, "Perhaps I'll take a look under the hood. There might be hope yet for her." Then he gave a boyish smile as he reopened the door and popped the hood. Hearing the loud click, he shut the driver side's door and walked over to the front of the truck.

He grabbed his hoodie and quickly as he could opened the hood wide open. Some smoke came out but it wasn't to bad, enough to were he could see the engine and the rest of the goods. He tried to see were the smoke was mainly coming from and it was quite hard to pin point it. His first thought was it was the coolant wasn't working right. But he couldn't tell until the truck cooled down a bit more.

He popped his head out of the hood of the Truck and looked back at Max. He didn't have a happy nor sad face plastered on but a neutral. "Well Max I can't really tell you other then come back later. She's still to hot to test anything. But you do have my work that I'll try my best to fix her right up for you. Do you need to be some were right now? Perhaps I can have you barrow my car and just bring her back when your done. But I'm sorry Max."

[MAXINE MCMANUS]

"Perhaps I'll take a look under the hood. There might be hope yet for her."

Maxi gave a hopeful smile when Lionel smiled at her. He was such a sweet guy, really. Some guys, once you broke up, wanted nothing to do with you. Lionel had stayed one of her best friends, though, once the storm had passed, and he knew her better than most. When he opened the hood, she used her sweater to cover her nose and mouth and block out some of the smoke. He was used to it, it seemed, which was a little disturbing, but he took a good long look under the hood.

"Well Max I can't really tell you anything other than come back later. She's still too hot to test anything. But you do have my word that I'll try my best to fix her right up for you. Do you need to be somewhere right now? Perhaps I can have you borrow my car and just bring her back when your done. But I'm sorry Max."

Maxi sighed heavily, trying to figure out how she would get to work. She waved her hand when he offered to let her drive his car, shaking her head. "No, Lie, I couldn't take your car for the day. I'll be at work until 2:30," she said fretfully. Really, she would feel so bad. What if he had an emergency or something? She did come up with a plan, though. "Maybe you could just drop me off at the school and come get me at 2:30? That way you'll have your car all day and I've got a ride to work." Her smile brightened, looking hopeful.

"And then maybe this afternoon you'll have good news for me on my baby," she said playfully, frowning dramatically and sniffling. "Otherwise, I might just hang around the shop until you fix it. I'll have to call into work, though. It's up to you, but I'm not taking your car. I'd really feel bad." Maxi was too sweet for her own good most days, that much she knew. Still, she felt weird driving other people's cars, like she had to be extra careful and she was paranoid that something would happen to it while she was using it.

[lionel]

"No, Lie, I couldn't take your car for the day. I'll be at work until 2:30. Maybe you could just drop me off at the school and come get me at 2:30? That way you'll have your car all day and I've got a ride to work."

Seeing the smirk on her face he knew that she was trying not to get his car. To be honest he really didn't care about it what so ever. He knew that she wasn't going to go joy riding in his car. But he knew Max all to well and he knew that she would never be satisfied if she had his car.

"And then maybe this afternoon you'll have good news for me on my baby. Otherwise, I might just hang around the shop until you fix it. I'll have to call into work, though. It's up to you, but I'm not taking your car. I'd really feel bad."

He held his hand up to her and replied, "Max please I don't want you to miss out on work or school. You need them. How else are you going to get out of this hell hole. Some one has to." Then he gave her a small grin before he told one of his co-workers that he was going out a bit and that he would return soon after. Then he outstretched his arm towards the back door for her to go and then he fallowed behind her. Making sure that he opened the doors and such for her.

When they were out in the parking lot were the employee's parked. Lionel took out his keys and unlocked his car doors. There was a small chirping noise and his head light flashed twice before shutting off. He walked over to the passengers side and opened the door for her. Once she was completely in he shut the door behind him and then walked over to the drivers side and entered the car. Once his door was closed he turned his car on and started to pull out of the drive way. He looked at her and stated, "Towns collage or another one around here?"

He looked at her as she spoke to him. Once she told him he pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards her school.

[MAXINE MCMANUS]

"Max, please, I don't want you to miss out on work or school. You need them. How else are you going to get out of this hell hole? Someone has to."

Maxi gave Lionel a lopsided smile. He really was sweet. He always had been, for as long as she had known him. "You know I'm not going anywhere, Lie," she said playfully. "I'm stuck here forever, just like the rest of us." There was no sadness or bitterness in her voice when she said that. She loved Scriptor Bay. Studying abroad in Ireland for a semester in college had been enough to satisfy her wanderlust. She walked out towards the employee parking lot, smiling and waving to Lionel's coworker. She had seen him several times over the years, so it would be rude not to say hello.

When the car chirped, Maxi climbed in, smiling as Lionel closed her door for her. That was another thing he had always been: chivalrous. Sometimes she wondered why it hadn't worked out between them, why they weren't married now with a couple Blurr children, but she knew why. It had been 10 years or so since they had been together, and at that time neither of them really felt comfortable settling down. They were going to live a little while, and they needed to experience other things. Simply put, it had gotten too comfortable between them, even a little boring. Maybe it would work between them now, but now Maxi had August, and she had a good feeling it would never get boring with August.

When he climbed in he asked, "Towns college or another one around here?" Maxi laughed. "You know I'm teaching at the high school now," she replied good-naturedly. The last time she had taught at a college was towards the end of their relationship, but Lionel seemed to think she was still doing it. He had always encouraged her to get her PhD and teach college, but she like high school. At that age, they were still growing and finding out what they wanted, and she liked being a part of that decision making process.

When they started on their way, she smiled at him. "Thanks for doing this, Lionel. I really appreciate it," she said. Not that she would have expected anything else from him. He was always quick to help a friend out. She reached out and tugged at his hair playfully. "Are you ever going to cut your hair?" she teased with a laugh. He'd been sporting the grunge look since before they were dating, and it looked like he was actually bringing it back. It was funny how fashions recycled. "You look like Kurt Cobain." It made her laugh again to tease him.

[lionel]

You know I'm teaching at the high school now,"

Lionel thought about it for a minute and then started to chuckle. How foolish, he knew she worked at the high school and not the college anymore. He really didn't know why he asked her what college. He shook his head and turned right and headed into town further to were the high school was on the other side.

"Thanks for doing this, Lionel. I really appreciate it,"

He looked at her quickly and smiled. "Your welcome Max. You know I'll always be there to help you." He really couldn't help it, they had history together and Lionel was always fond of Maxine even still to this day. A woman who looked innocence and in reality she was adventurous. She was a girl who always wanted to do things and hated being in one place for very long. When they dated granted it wasn't the most adventurous but he remembered she was the one who got him out of his shell.

"Are you ever going to cut your hair?You look like Kurt Cobain."

He grinned at her, she always hated his long hair and often times would bug him to change it, shorten it was more like it. But to be honest he hadn't the time to get his hair done and he liked his hair the way it was. He shook his head and smiled with her not taking it to personally. "Why do I have this feeling that your going to break into my apartment and cut my hair in the middle of the night," he stated sarcastically and then placed a over dramatic worry look on his face.

[MAXINE MCMANUS]

"Why do I have this feeling that you're going to break into my apartment and cut my hair in the middle of the night?" The look on Lionel's face as he said that was priceless and Maxi let out a loud laugh. She settled back, tapping her finger to her lips thoughtfully. "Now there's an idea...Your locks are easy to pick..." she muttered as if she were really thinking about doing it. She gave him a wide grin afterward, letting him know it was a joke. With a giggle, she crossed her ankles and tucked them under her as she watched the city pass by.

"Your long hair has always been part of your charm," she sighed, smiling over at him. "I bet the ladies love it." It wasn't strange to talk about women with him. They had been broken up for so long, and it ended so amiably, that it just felt like she was talking to an old friend. At least, it wasn't weird for her. She never got the feeling it was weird for him either, but maybe he hid his real feelings about it from her. Then again, that didn't really seem like Lionel. "Are you still living with Nicole?" she asked, genuinely curious. She had known Nicole all their life, but she had never befriended her like Lionel had. They were just too different. Nicole liked to go out and party and hang out with the boys and flirt, where Maxi was much more low key than that. She would take a quiet movie night to a night of barhopping any day. The only reason she went out to the Jack Kit was because she was friends with Gavin.

She leaned back in her seat, smiling at him again. "How's that going? And how are you? I'm so rude, I didn't ask," she said playfully, giggling a little. She knew he would forgive her absent-mindedness. She played with her earring a little as she waited for his answer.