I Could Rest Beneath Your Smile

Brooklyn shuffled from foot to foot as she watched the numbers on the elevator displaying what floor they were on increase. The elevator dinged as it reached the seventh floor, and Brooklyn navigated around a family that was in front of her, getting off the elevator.

She hadn’t expected to have to be facing Max again this soon. She had done everything in her power to avoid him, even going so far as to having her sister drop the twins off with Max. But, Jocelyn had called her this morning telling her that Sid had surprised her with a day-date since they were leaving that night for another road trip. Brooklyn had begged her to just quickly pick up the kids, and told her that she would even meet her at either her place or at Sid’s, but Jocelyn refused to budge on the matter.

Brooklyn had called Tia, even though she knew that she would say no to picking up the kids. While she and Tia had forgiven each other, Brooklyn still knew that Tia was firmly against the idea of her and Max being apart, and she was doing everything she could think of to get the two of them back together. Brooklyn had told her numerous times that she didn’t know if she’d ever be able to forgive Max for what he had done, and she had begged Tia to stop trying to get them back together.

So, now Brooklyn was walking towards Max’s hotel room, going to pick up the kids. She lightly knocked on the door, and Max opened it, wearing a pair of sweatpants, a shocked expression on his face when he saw that it was Brooklyn. “Brook,” he spoke. “Come on in,” he said, opening the door wider so she could walk inside.

Brooklyn couldn’t help but stare at Max’s bare chest. She took a good look at him and noticed that he wasn’t as fresh as he normally was. His hair was a mess, and he had a pretty full beard going on, even though they were nowhere near the playoffs. Brooklyn bit her lip when she saw that he was wearing his glasses, something that she found extremely sexy on him. “I came to pick up the kids,” she finally said, noticing the awkward silence that had taken up the room.

“I thought Jocelyn was going to come get them,” Max said. “Not that I don’t want you here,” he quickly added. “It’s nice to see you again Brook.”

“Sid planned some date with her for today before he leaves for the road trip,” Brooklyn said, wincing at the last two words, as she remembered what had happened during the Penguins’ last road trip. “So, I came to pick up the kids. Where are they?” she asked, looking around.

“They’re asleep in the bedroom,” Max replied, pointing down the hallway towards the bedroom. “I was hoping we could talk before you left with them, though,” he said.

“Is something wrong with the kids?” Brooklyn asked, scared that something had happened the previous night to one of them. They had thought that Elise had been getting healthier, but maybe something had happened last night. “Are they sick? Hurt? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong with either Noah or Elise,” he assured her. “I wanted to talk to you. About our marriage, our family.”

“Max,” Brooklyn began with a warning tone. She really didn’t want to get into a discussion with him on their marriage, or lack of one.

“Brook, please,” Max begged. “You can’t avoid me for the rest of your life. I know I messed up. You have no idea how bad I feel about that. I can’t believe I hurt you or the twins like I did. And, I would give anything to go back in time and change what I did, but I can’t do that. What can I do to make it up to you?” he asked. “I’ll do anything. Brooklyn, I need you in my life. You’re my wife, and I love you. I need you,” he repeated.

Brooklyn shook her head, tears springing to her eyes from his words. “You can’t do anything, Max. You ruined our marriage.”

“I want to fix it, though,” he continued. “Tell me what to do, Brook. Do you want to go to counseling? Do you want me to apologize in public for what I did to you? What do you want me to do?” he asked desperately. All he wanted was for his marriage and family to be restored, and he didn’t know what to do about it.

“Max, all you can do is give me some time. I don’t know when or if I’ll ever forgive you. I don’t know if we’ll ever have a marriage again or if our family is ever going to go back to normal. Max, I’m still furious at you for cheating on me. And, I’ve thought about it time and time again. I know that your cheating on me was my fault, too,” she began.

“No, it wasn’t your fault,” Max interrupted her. “It was my fault, all my fault. Don’t go blaming yourself because of it. I was stupid, and I made a mistake. I wish I could take it back, but I can’t.”

“No, Max, it was my fault, too. I understand that I pushed you to do that. And, I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to forgive myself for doing that to you, for pushing you that far,” Brooklyn continued.

“Just tell me one thing,” Max said.

“What’s that?”

“Do we have a chance? Any chance at all to reconcile?” he asked hopefully. She could see in his eyes that everything in his life was coming down to the answer he was going to receive.

“There’s a chance,” Brooklyn answered honestly. “How great that chance is, I don’t know. Max, I can’t tell you if we’ll ever get back together or if we’re going to end up divorcing. I really don’t know. I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to be with you again knowing that you slept with another woman while you were married to me. I just don’t know,” she repeated.

“But, there’s a chance,” Max said, a small smile on his face. “That’s all I need. Just a chance.”

“Can I just get the kids?” Brooklyn asked, not wanting to discuss the future of their relationship any longer. “Please?”

“They’re back here,” he said, motioning for her to follow him back to the bedroom. When she walked inside, she saw Noah and Elise both sound asleep in the crib, looking as peaceful as ever. She was grateful that they were young enough not to know what was going on around them. “Elise didn’t really want to eat anything last night,” he told her as he picked the little girl up. “And, both of them were fussy and didn’t want to go to sleep.”

“How’d you get them to finally sleep?” she inquired.

“I sang to them,” he answered, and Brooklyn looked over at him curiously, surprised at his answer. “What?” he asked with a laugh. “It worked.”

“It appears to have,” she said with a small smile.

“Call me if you need anything,” he told her as she walked out of the bedroom with a child in each arm. “Or if anything happens. I know I’m going to be in Toronto, but I want to know if anything happens with the kids.”

“I will,” Brooklyn assured him, nodding her head. “Good luck on the trip. I’ll see you later,” she said as she walked out the door.

“Brooklyn,” Max called down the hallway, and Brooklyn turned around to look at him. “I love you,” he said. He watched as she froze in place, not knowing how to respond.

“Bye, Max,” she said, and Max instantly frowned, sad that she didn’t say she loved him back. Just as she stepped on the elevator, she turned back around to look at Max, and he smiled at her, which she returned. He now only hoped that his marriage could survive this catastrophe and he could get his life back on track.