"I've got a hot run here people." Normal waved a package in the air. "Don't all rush forward." His employees didn't even acknowledge his existence. "I don't pay you people to ignore me."
Max walked her bike into the entrance of Jam Pony, saw the parcel Normal was waving, grabbed it and walked back out without a word. Alec nudged Original Cindy. "What's up with Max? She hasn't stopped for a break all day."
Original Cindy watched Max climb on her bike and ride off down the street. "She's trying to keep busy. Logan's gone out of town to follow up leads on a story he's writing. I think she's missing him."
Alec had never considered Max having feelings like that. She always seemed so in control. "How long is he going to be gone?" The thought of Max being lonely was such a foreign concept.
Original Cindy shrugged. "Till next week I think." She had never seen Max so depressed. It was almost as if her friend had lost a part of herself. "I don't think sister girl's heard from him since he left."
Alec turned to his co-worker. "Depending on where he is, maybe he has no way of contacting her." He got the impression every time he saw Logan, that he would move heaven and earth to contact Max. "I'm sure she'll hear from him soon."
Max walked into her apartment as if the weight of the world were on her shoulders. "Hey." She slumped down beside Original Cindy on the sofa. "Any messages?" She asked hopefully.
Original Cindy shook her head. "Sorry sugar." She stifled a grin as Max rose and walked dejected to her room. When she heard Max's squeal of delight, she chuckled to herself. "Oh yeah, some flowers came for you a few minutes ago." She was pleased that her friend's mood seemed to have changed.
Max walked out, her face buried in the huge bouquet of flowers. "They're beautiful." Nobody had ever sent her flowers before.
"What's the card say?" Original Cindy spotted a small card tied to the stems of the flowers. She had to admit, Logan had perfect timing. She couldn't be happier for her friend.
Max frowned slightly. She had been so overwhelmed by the flowers that she hadn't noticed the card. With shaking hands she opened the card. A single tear trickled down Max's lovely face as she read the three words on the card. "I miss you."
Original Cindy was impressed. "The boy sure knows how to make a romantic statement. He may change my opinion on the whole three legged species."
Max stared at the card for a moment before trying to find something to use as a vase. "I wish I knew where he was." She arranged the flowers in an old jar. "God, I miss him." It was a strange feeling. She missed her brothers and sisters, but not like this.
"He'll be back before you know it." Original Cindy reassured her. "Then I suppose we won't see you for days, cause you'll have to make up for all that lost time."
"Yeah." Max's mind was elsewhere. It wasn't until Original Cindy waved her hand in front of Max's face, that she remembered her friend was still there. "I may need some help from you and Bling with something."
Original Cindy beamed. "This could be interesting. What do ya need?"
Over the week, Max worked her butt off during the day, but every night when she came home, she found a surprise from Logan. Each surprise came with a short note. First there were the flowers with the 'I miss you' note. Then came the violinist who handed her the 'I need you' note. Then there was the poem which brought Max close to tears with the 'I want you' note. The following day a cake arrived with the words 'I love you' iced on it. At the end of the week a note arrived simply saying 'I'll be home tonight.'
It was close to midnight when Logan finally walked into his apartment. He was exhausted, but his need to see or at least hear from Max was greater than his exhaustion. As he opened his bedroom door to drop off his bags he came face to face with hundreds of balloons. He burst out laughing when he realized each balloon had a message written on it in black marker pen. 'I miss you. I need you. I want you. I love you.' Each balloon had a different message. It must have taken Max ages to hand write each message on the balloons.
Dropping his bags, Logan ran over to the phone and dialed her number. When Max answered the phone, he couldn't believe how much he had missed her. Just the sound of her voice made him long for her. "So I went to put my bags away and I can't get into my bedroom because it's full of balloons."
Her giggle echoed down the phone. He could picture her standing there, the teasing smile on her face, the mischievous look in her eyes. He could almost smell her perfume as if she were standing next to him.
"You sound exhausted." Max loved how his voice flowed down the line. It was so soothing. He sounded so close. "Did you get your story?" She almost felt as though she could reach out and touch his face.
"Yeah, I got my story. It should be in tomorrow's paper." He wanted nothing more than to fall asleep in her arms. "I am pretty tired." He looked over his shoulder and saw the balloons were floating out of the bedroom, through the apartment. "You welcome home present is escaping my bedroom."
Envisioning the picture of the balloons roaming through Logan's apartment sent Max into a fit of giggles. "I had Original Cindy and Bling help me blow all of those balloons up. It's the least I could do after you sent the flowers, the poem, the cake and the violinist."
Logan had decided impulsively to arrange for the gifts to be sent to Max. Every morning that he had woken alone, without even the other side of the bed being warm from her presence, he felt the need to do something for her. Every night that he had fallen asleep without her in his arms, he would think up the idea of another gift. "I had to do something. I just about went crazy being away this last week." He was just about falling asleep on his feet.
"You need some sleep." Max would have ridden over to him in a matter of seconds if he hadn't sounded so tired. "I'll see you in the morning." She intended to be the first thing he was going to see in the morning. "I've gotta warn you though, you're going to have to put up with me all day cause I don't have to work tomorrow."
Logan couldn't wait until tomorrow. "I'll see you in the morning then." He hated to put the phone down. "I love you."
Max could have happily talked to him all night, but morning would come soon enough. "I love you too. Sweet dreams." She put the phone and turned to find Original Cindy grinning from ear to ear. "What?"
Original Cindy tried to look innocent. "Nothing. I was just thinking, Logan will be lucky if he gets to sleep past five am." She ducked into her room when Max threw a cushion at her. "I take it the only thing on his breakfast menu will be you." She called out from her room.
"That was the general idea." Max smiled as she headed for her own room. Tomorrow couldn't come soon enough.
THE END
