Cruise

“Give Mama a kiss.” Mackenzie pecked her daughter’s lips in the entryway of her usual nanny’s home. “Love ya baby, be good, okay? I’ll be back tonight.” She bid her daughter goodbye.

“I will!” Lulu smiled, ready for a night of macaroni crafts and Disney movies with her favorite Nanny, Lisa.

Mackenzie settled back into the driver’s seat of her little Ford Taurus and heading down and out of the suburban neighborhood where Lisa lived and closer towards West Chester where she was meeting a Mister Max Talbot for dinner that evening. When the Montgomery women ran into Max at the park the past weekend, he took them to an ice cream parlor nearby and had a grand time listening to Lulu describe all of the different flavors in the case. By the end of their little get together, he had a phone number from Mack and a kiss on the cheek from Lulu.

Three days later, he called Mack, asking if he could take her out for a bite to eat that weekend if she wasn’t too busy. Mackenzie wasn’t always keen on the idea of leaving Lulu with the nanny, but she knew she would have a good time with Max and one night wouldn’t be so bad.

The twenty-two year old hadn’t been on an actual date in over a year and she only allowed Lulu to spend time with a babysitter maybe once or twice a month, so she didn’t feel guilty about going out and letting her hair down for a night.

Mack really didn’t know much about Max. She knew he was charming, had a great smile, a cute accent and killer thighs – but it wasn’t like she was looking for something serious. He was fun to be around and even more fun once she got him alone.

Parking outside of the authentic looking Mexican Cantina, she checked her makeup in the mirror and fiddled with the neckline of her top. She donned a sheer indigo button-down with her silver monogram necklace and a pair of fitted dark jeans. She remembered that Max wasn’t much taller than her, so she opted to wear a pair of gold-capped flats instead of heels. Her blonde hair was artfully curled in a careless way and she ran a hand through her hair before opening the door. Max was already seated a table on the other end of the restaurant, but he stood and pulled out her chair for her as she approached.

“Hi Max.” He took her hand a kissed the back of it, making her blush before she was seated.

“Lovely to see you, Mackenzie.” He all but purred. “I hope I’m not pulling you away for too long from Ms. Lulubelle.” He added.

“She is very excited to be at her Nanny’s.” Mackenzie smiled as he handed her a menu. They chatted about the menu, looking over a few things and the waiter came by to order drinks.

“I’m very glad you agreed to let me take you out tonight.” Max smiled.

“I hardly think it counts as you taking me out if I meet you here, Max.” She replied, making his grin spread even farther across his mouth.

“Well then maybe you will let me take you out another time.” He suggested. Mackenzie giggled with a cover of her mouth as the waiter came by again to take their order. There was a moment of an awkward silence after the waitress left, but it was broken by another waiter approaching their table, setting down a margarita in front of Mackenzie, something she didn’t order for herself.

“This is from the gentleman at the bar.” He nodded over to where an older man raised his own glass at her.

“Um, thank you.” Mackenzie smiled, feeling awkward as he looked over at Max whose mouth was hung open.

“A drink sent to my own date.” He shook his head. “Comment embarrassant.” He rolled his eyes that Mackenzie continually found to be more and more beautiful. “Excuse moi, sometimes I forget.” He brought his hand up to his head.

“It’s alright’.” She smiled, “I wish I could speak a different language.” She confessed, “I think I took like four years of Spanish between middle school and high school and none of it stuck.” She laughed.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how long ago was that?” He asked. Mackenzie blushed, knowing it was going to come up some time.

“I graduated high school four years ago.” She smiled, pushing the margarita off to the side and taking a drink of her pop instead. “I’m going to guess that maybe you graduated a few years before me?” She asked with a little grin. Max mimicked her expression.

“I think I technically graduated high school maybe… mon dieu, ten years ago? Eleven?” He asked. “I got my diploma a little later than most of my friends, I travelled a lot then and didn’t always have time for school.” He added.

“Travelin’ a lot?” She asked. “What for?”

“Hockey.” He replied, wondering if she knew much at all about the sport of the Flyers at all. He was a crowd favorite in Philly now that he had two season there under his belt and most people recognized him when he went around town – he even knew that the hostess had realized who he was when he walked into the restaurant that night.

“Like, ice hockey? Or like field hockey?” She asked, seeming genuinely interested in what he had to say. It was a refreshing change from what he was used to – girls that acted like they knew everything about them when they met because they had a laptop and knew how to use Wikipedia.

“Ice hockey.” Max replied, “I’ve been playing it since I knew how to walk, really.” He added.

“Y’know, that is so interesting to me. I never learned how to skate, but I remember when I was little, I always wanted to go skating at Rockefeller Center in New York.” She smiled wistfully. “Where I’m from, all anyone cares about is God, sweet tea and the SEC.” She grinned at his confusion. “College football in the south is like religion.” She added.

Their conversation flowed, the both of them curious about their different upbringings and they way they spent their time. Lastly, the obvious came up.

“And Lulu – she is quite adorable.” Max grinned as they both picked at a dessert plate between them.

“She’s the best, getting sassier every day.” Mackenzie laughed. “She still managed to get a big scoop of southern sass in her.”

“You two seem a lot alike.” Max insisted. “Look a lot alike, too.”

“She’s my little mini-me.” Mackenzie replied, not letting him notice the glance she took to see the clock on the wall back behind the bar. It was getting late, they had been talking for a quite a while and even the restaurant part of the establishment was slowing down. “And I did promise her I would put her to bed tonight.” She added.

“Well the last thing I want to do is keep that little girl waiting.” He replied. Max liked that she didn’t make a big fuss over him paying the bill – it seemed like women always insisted on paying half or their share now, and his father always raised him to be a gentleman. Walking to the parking lot, Max found himself wishing that their date didn’t have to end yet, but he knew she had a daughter and had to put Lulu first.

“Thank you for dinner, Max, I had a lovely time.” She smiled as they stood at the door of her little car.

“It was my pleasure.” Maxime smiled in return. “Please give Lulu my best regards.” He added. His cheeks turned pink as she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek, something that only his mother ever did.

“Have a good night,” She bid him goodbye before getting into her car. Max stood and watched her drive away with a wave before walking to his own ride.

- - -

Mackenzie watched as her little girl hummed to herself, swinging her legs from the kitchen counter and dropping blueberries into the pancake mix that her mother had just whipped up.

“You singin’ baby girl?” Mackenzie asked, cutting the tops off of strawberries and tossing them together with fresh cubes of pineapple as well. She wanted to get her fill of summer fruit before it went out of season. It was fast approaching September and she knew there was a few things she needed to do around the house to get ready for fall and the coming winter months.

Being a transplant from the south, Mackenzie never had to deal much with the winter, but when she moved to Pittsburgh she learned real fast that it got cold, snowy and windy. She bought her first actual winter coat when she was twenty years old.

“Mama, we can go to the beach? Lulu asked, still swinging her feet and shaking her head in time with her humming.

“Sorry baby girl but it’s not good weather for the beach today, it’s supposed to rain all day, see how cloudy it is outside?” She asked. Lulu sighed sadly as her mother starting browning sausage in the pan on the stovetop.

“Mama I want a puppy.” She sighed, making Mackenzie roll her eyes. Ever since they had run into Max and the dogs he was watching for the weekend two weeks ago, she had been talking nonstop about how badly she wanted a puppy.

“I know baby girl, but we just don’t have the time for a puppy. They’re a big responsibility and you have to walk them and feed them and give them lots of attention.” She explained. “Maybe we can get one when you’re a little older so you can take better care of it.” She added. When Lulu was silent she looked back over her shoulder at her daughter who quickly tucked her tongue back into her mouth. “I see you.” She pointed at her little girl.

“Breakfast time.” Lulu insisted, explaining that she was rather hungry.

Mackenzie rolled her eyes and started frying up pancakes for the two of them when the doorbell rang.

“Sit there, okay? No touching the griddle.” She instructed with a point of her finger. Lulu craned her neck to see the front door as her Mama answered it, accepting the big bouquet of gorgeous wildflowers from the deliveryman. Bringing the flowers back into the kitchen and setting them down on the counter beside her daughter, she took the little card out of the arrangement and couldn’t help but smile upon seeing the name at the end of the message first.

Thank you for dinner,
Have a great weekend with Lulu.
Max.
xo

“Who’re they from?” Lulu asked, smelling the flowers and smiling at all the different colors.

“These are from Max, remember him? From the park?” She asked.

“They pretty.” She stated, smelling a daisy and holding it up to her face. “I like Max.” She added, remembering that he let her play with his puppies.

“I like him too, baby girl.” Mackenzie smiled.