Page 31 of Out Of Time

To what?

Max:

To everything.

Remi:

I do love a good adventure.

Max:

Well, I don’t come with a road map, and I can’t say I’ll be easy to navigate, but it could be interesting if nothing else.

Remi:

Then, I guess I say yes.

Max:

Yes, to what?

Remi:

Everything, of course.

She said yes. And to be fair, he wasn't even sure what he was asking of her in that simple word, but she agreed to it, and now, he had to try to say yes back. He had to bury the past, face the future, and own up to the present.

Max:

Now that that's settled, I guess it would be a good time to tell you I’m home.

Remi:

What do you mean you’re home?

Max:

Why don't you come over and find out.

Max rushed to let Remi in. As he pulled open the door, he realized it was the first time he had let her into his home as a guest. He wondered if it was weird for her to have knocked on his door as a friend after months of punching in her code as a cleaner.

When he opened the door, he found Remi standing there, a single-dimple smile present, but not lacking a hint of pity for him, and for the first time in his life he didn’t want to think about hockey. In fact, he wouldn't mind Remi acting as a distraction from it for a while.

“Thanks for coming over,” he said, stepping to the side to let her in.

She reached down and removed her signature checkered Vans, and Max couldn't help but watch in anticipation to see what color her toenails were this time.

“Pink,” he said under his breath and then looked up to find her smiling at him.

“Pink?” she asked.

“Oh, it's just, they’re a different color every time I see you,” Max said, hinting at her feet.

“Oh,” she said, looking down, wiggling her toes. “Yeah, it relaxes me,” she admitted.

“Painting them different colors?”

“Well, just painting them in general. But I hardly ever do the same color twice in a row. I like to keep things interesting.”

---