by Bridgid

Twenty four hours after he'd left, Mara wondered if she'd made him up. Perhaps he was a figment of her imagination. After all, he was a smasher in the looks department, he knew exactly what to say, when to say it and how to say it and he was a hell of a lover, far too perfect to be real. Evidence remained behind though. She had more money than she ever did in her life and he'd left the sweater on top of her dresser, the expensive wool one that he was wearing when she stumbled across him. Max Skinner did exist but just not in her world anymore. She'd done what she said she would though, lent him money and dropped him off at the airport to get the morning shuttle to JFK. So, as fast as he came into her life, Max Skinner was gone.

Mara had tried to convince herself that she didn't miss him but to no avail. Having another full day off before she returned to her shift was a merciless drag of time and reminders that made things worse. Perhaps when she got back to work her mind would be occupied and he'd be easier to forget.

The next day on the job went alright but a half a dozen people asked her if she was feeling okay. One of the firemen, Perez, even jokingly teased her about being jilted by a lover again and the glare she gave him told him he was treading somewhere he shouldn't be.  

"I'm sorry, Mara. I didn't know that's what happened to you."

"No worries, mate. It’s just the story of my life. This one just left to find himself is all."

"Was it that guy you brought back down at the museum?"

"Yeah." she shrugged. "Like I said …no worries."

Perez gave her a pat on the back. "He was probably an asshole anyway. You only knew him a couple of days. Its not enough time to really get to know someone."

"He is not an asshole!" she shot back. "Max Skinner is a wonderful bloke and that's all there is too it."

The fireman shook his head. "Me thinks the lady doth protest too much. If he left, he was unappreciative. That makes him an asshole in my eyes."

The claxon sounded and dispatch announced a wreck on the Schuylkill.

"Saved by the bell, Perez. Let's get to work."

This had to be one of those full moon days. Call after call came in until fourteen and a half hours later the shift finally got a break, if you'd want to call it a break. Supplies had to be restocked on the ambulance and there was plenty of hose from the engine company that had to be laid out and dried. It was Mara and Perez's turn to work the kitchen and in a way this was a bit of a break from the physical grind.

"Who did the shopping, mate. It looks like we've got a choice between chicken and ... chicken."

"Shake and Bake it is with yellow rice and green beans for sides." Perez began to set stuff out on the table as Mara pulled a chair over to the cupboard to bring the plates down. She'd just started to climb on it when she froze in position. Perez didn't think anything of it at first until he noticed her hand twitching.

"Mara, you okay?"

She didn't respond. Perez moved over to her and caught her just in time before she fell to the floor. He eased her down, noticing she was unconscious.

"I need some help out here!" he called to the others in the station. Mara began to seize and her body locked up. Perez pulled her away from the side of the cupboard onto the open floor. "I need help here!" he called again just as one of the other medics entered the room.

"She's having a seizure. Get the litter from the bus. God damn, Mara!" the medic scrambled and returned with the jump bag. He had plenty of experience with these things but this time it was one of his own who needed his help. It added and iota of stress to the matter. The medic called command at Temple hospital and got the order to administer five of valium to his fallen partner. Her thrashing subsided but she remained unconscious.

The rest of the crew worked like a well oiled machine and they prepared Mara to transport her to the same emergency room where she'd just dropped off a patient a half hour ago. Now it was her turn to be the victim. She could hear them talking about her but she couldn't respond no matter how she struggled. Her eyes were open now, her head throbbed and she had trouble swallowing. The oxygen they'd administered to her dried her nose and mouth but for some strange reason she felt as if she were drooling uncontrollably. Mara had no idea what had just happened to her and she was scared, frightened to death. She could hear the staff in the emergency room talking to her but she couldn't make out all of the words. It was if they were speaking some foreign language she'd never heard before. She was aware of the CAT scan they'd sent her for. She felt the needle when they drew blood from her but she didn't wince. This semi catatonic state seemed to have her in its grip for hours until she was finally able to say something.

"Thirsty." she rasped It was Perez who'd stayed with her. He reached for the pitcher at her bedside and poured a cupful of water for her. Tipping it against her lips, he held it there until the excess spilled from the corners of her mouth.

"Welcome back, Mara. You scared the hell out of me. What was that all about? If you didn't want to finish your shift you should of said so." he teased.

"Fuck off, Perez."

"Is that any way to talk? I'm insulted." he chuckled, knowing full well by her tone that her faculties were on their way to par.

"Sorry, what happened to me?"

"Not for sure, but you had a grand mal seizure. Do you remember ever having one before?"

"I don't think so. At the moment I don't remember much,"

"It's okay. You take it easy. I'll let the doc know you're awake. You'll be fine, Mar."

Perez wasn't sure if the last bit was true but he said it to comfort her. Sometimes seizures can be random events; people have one and never have another. Sometimes they could indicate the start of something more permanent. Time would tell. Perez knew that Mara would be off on leave for a while though. She'd have to have a diagnosis first and a medical release to return to work.

More tests were ordered for her by the doc in charge. The main one is called an EEG and it measures brain activity through electrical impulse. Not much could be said without the result of that.

**********************************

Max Skinner had arrived in NYC and he hit the ground running. The first thing he had to do was to secure a place to stay and although he had enough money to find decent digs, he preferred to ration the cash until he was able to increase the inward flow of it. He got himself and efficiency in Morningside Heights on the fringes of Harlem. It would afford him the best of both worlds. He was close enough to the business district of Manhattan to walk yet he could hook up with some of the element on the seedier side which would help him get something he needed desperately. ID. There was no way he could attempt to set foot on Wall Street without it.

Being a resourceful man, it didn't take long for him to acquire the proper paperwork but it did cost him a nice chunk of change. He not only secured ID but he got himself a sheepskin from the London School of Economics. With what he knew, no one would doubt the reality of the documentation. He was a master when it came to the fast talking bullshit department.

He spent some dosh daily on the Wall Street Journal, managed to join an investment club, made some connections through it and with those connections he managed to pass the General Securities Registered Representative Examination and then the Uniform Investment advisor Law Exam. This was the easy part actually. He had to get a foot in the door with a brokerage in a highly competitive market and it meant doing something entry level. Within a week of passing the exams he had a job as a runner with a firm called Empire investments. Imagine that, Max Skinner running from post to post on the trading floor to pass information along to the big boys. The frenzy and shouts exhilarated him though. He'd gather info on the market but he'd also gather info for himself as in where those big boys went to suck down their scotch after the closing bells. That's where he wanted to do some elbow rubbing. What better way to get his foot, lower leg and fine shaped arse in the door at a bit Wall Street firm than to dazzle J.P Somethingorother with his bullshit.

He had very little time to himself during this period but he did think of her. In the moments he allowed himself to wind down before he got his three hours of sleep at night he reminisced about the time he'd spent with Mara and it created a little melancholy for him. He never told her about his plan to bring her to the Big Apple once he made his fortune. He never told her how much of an impression she's made on him. He never told her or himself for that fact that he loved her. Max missed her but he only allowed himself to feel it during those short interim moments. The only way he could attain the success he felt was his right would be to focus, focus, focus.

It was a day after he'd purchased a navy blue suit to celebrate a promotion that he decided to call her. He found her number, scribbled on the back of a movie ticket from the South Street Theater and using his newly issued company Blackberry, he dialed it. It was disconnected. Perplexed, thinking, he called directory assistance for the non emergency number to the station she worked out of and called it.

"Station thirty two, Perez speaking. Its your dime."

"Hello. I'd like to speak to Mara Mackenzie please." Max didn't sound like a friend, he sounded as if he were all business.

"Mara?" Perez responded. "Buddy, she's not with us anymore. Who is this?"

"My name is Max Skinner. I'm a friend of hers. What do you mean she's not with you anymore?"

Perez went silent for a moment. The name Max Skinner rang a bell alright. As far as he was concerned, Max Skinner leaving Mara was the cause of her malady. He said one word before he hung up the phone.

"Asshole."

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