#marcer

When Max left the bathroom she went to the closet to choose her clothes. She meditated a little. "It's just a coffee," she said to herself. After that she chose the clothes and started getting dressed. When she was ready set up on couch with her breakfast and TV on to watch some news before leaving. Finished the breakfast, she got ready, she turned off the TV and went to work. "I hope this morning does not become so endless," she thought as she took her bag and closed the door behind her.

The anxiety of both made the morning the opposite of what they expected: it felt extremely long and heavy. Max had to deal with two classes where the children seemed to have been possessed by hyperactivity. It took a lot of effort to get them to focus and do the class activities.

In his side, Spencer had to face a box full of records from previous cases that Emily urgently asked him to review in order to present it in an inventory of expenses in front of other area heads of the bureau during the afternoon. It was a tedious and not very challenging task for him, but he knew that Emily needed help fast and who better than someone who is able to read at the rate of 10 pages per minute.

The clock struck 2:10 p.m. and Reid had already finished his task. He went to Emily's office to report his findings. As he knocked on the door and after Prentiss let him in, he began to "spit out" information.

“Of all the cases involving more than a single suspect, the costs in human and monetary resources rise to over 30% and that correspond to 45% of the cases we had last year. In those where a direct alliance was made with the local police before arriving, the costs were reduced by 10% and the cases that were in the DC area had an increase in the resources of the bureau by 25%. The average work time per person was 2.3 days per assigned case...” Prentiss looked at Spencer in amazement and not because she did not believe everything he said, but because his "speed" was higher than the average she was used to.

“Reid… stop… do you have all this information in a written report?”

“Yeah right. I was going to give it to you now” he handed her a folder with a two-page report of all his work. Prentiss started laughing.

“What…?” Spencer said somewhat misled.

“You could have just handed me this and I'd be happy. You didn't have to do a dissertation on the data” Emily pointed out.

“I thought a summary would be useful before reading it” he said convinced.

“Yes, I really appreciate it. But you just "spit out" everything out faster than you usually do. Something happens?” Emily could read Reid as well as J.J.

“Ehhh, no ... it's just that I have to go now. I must be at 3:00 p.m. in ... a place...” Emily knew she was right, something was happening to Spencer.

“So ... why didn't you start there? It's already more than 14:20. Go away!” Emily said after checking her watch. Prentiss had no idea what Spencer's plans were, but she was sure it was important to him.

“Do you need anything else?...” Reid asked anxiously.

“Spencer, go now!. You're late” Prentiss ordered.

“Okay. Thank you!” It wasn't long before Spencer ran out of the office to take his belongings. Prentiss couldn't help but laugh at seeing him leave in such a hurry. "Spencer 'running away' from work at this time on a Friday?... Oh boy, it must be something really big" she thought, then returned to her own job.

It was 2:59 p.m. and Spencer was standing outside Max's school. He took advantage of that extra minute to adjust his tie and adjust his blazer. On time, he saw Max come out through the main gate. She saw him and smiled. Spencer thought he was going to melt right then. He saw her approach to him and thought "wow! she is so beautiful!”. It had only been a week since he met this woman and he was as stunned as a teenager.

Max went out the school looking among the people and saw him standing by the gate. Perfectly ordered in a suit that "fit him perfectly," she thought. “But look at those eyes, Max” she told herself. “Michelle was right ... he really is handsome ...". When they made eye contact, they both gave each other an open smile. Max approached him repeating inside her head “don't look nervous... don't look nervous... don't look ..."

“Hey! Just in time!” Max said when she was already in front of Spencer.

“Hey! Hi. I had just arrived” Spencer replied, not knowing if that greeting was enough. He wanted to kiss her on the cheek, but they weren't close enough to his judgment to do that.

“Well ... Where will we go for our coffee?”

“I know a place that I think you will like and it is relatively close in this neighborhood, we can go on foot if it doesn't bother you” Spencer said.

“I think it's great. I like to walk” Max said with enthusiasm.

“Me too. Come on then...” Spencer gestured for Max to start walking first.

“Let’s go...” Max said starting the walk.

They walked a few blocks and Spencer stopped in front of a place called "The Biggest Art Coffee". Max looked at the premises and exclaimed with enthusiasm.

“Hey! Whenever I passed by here I saw this place, but had never had the opportunity to enter” Max said cheerfully.

“Okay, now is the time. We get inside?” Spencer asked. Max nodded.

The place was tight at the entrance, but passing a second door opened a large room where in the center is the barista's bar and around tables and benches to sit. The walls were decorated with pictures that emulated paints of great artists in landscape and portrait painting. Max was fascinated. Her eyes sparkled. Spencer couldn't stop staring her and he was truly delighted to see her so excited.

“It's fantastic. It's like being in a mini museum!” she exclaimed.

"I knew you would like it" Spencer said with satisfaction.

“Yes, very much” Max looked at Spencer and gave him a smile. “Shall we order?” she said pointing to the barista's bar.

“Sure” Spencer said. “What do you want to drink?”

“Double espresso with a whipped milk bud" Max said confidently and without thinking twice.

“You know very well what you like...” he pointed out. Max laughed at the observation.

“I hope it's not a bad thing...” Max said.

“Of course not! Is a good thing indeed. After saying this, Spencer went directly to the bar to order the coffees, while Max sent herself to a table located in a corner, which allowed her to observe the place in greater detail. When Spencer returned with the coffees, he sat across from her passing what she had asked for.

“Thank you...” Max said enjoying the smell that came out of his cup. Spencer couldn't help but watch her and examine how she took her cup, how she slowly blew and tried to drink sips of her coffee without getting burned. While she was talking about the photos and pictures that were on the walls of the place. He could bet she knew the history of all those paintings.

Suddenly Max realized that Spencer was looking at her almost without blinking. “Is something wrong?” she ask. At the time Spencer realized that he didn’t have been very discreet when looking at her.

“No. It’s ok. Very well, in fact ... I was listening to you carefully” Spencer said.

“Excellent” Max said smiling. Then she took her cup and held it up to Spencer's cup. “For our first date” she said making a toast. He responded by doing the same.

“For our first date” they toasted and each took a sip. "You know... it's funny..." Spencer started to speak. Max looked at him closely.

“What it is funny?” Max asked.

“Well, I'm not going to deny that I'm nervous about this” he said this referring to him and her. “Well, since the fact I didn't know how to invite you out. I rehearsed it a thousand times on the plane when I got back to DC”. Max was watching him intently, she didn't want to interrupt him “…And well, I finally ended up calling you. You know, I think it's funny that we have been talking for a week and this is our first... ‘date’”.

“Does the word "date" complicate you?” Max asked. Spencer shook his head not knowing if to say yes or no. “We can use another word if you feel uncomfortable...”

“No, is not that. It is the opposite, in fact. I like it ...”. Max was somewhat confused.

“Ok, let's clarify this. I think we are getting a little complicated” she said. “We are going to start with the essentials: Why did you invite me out in the first place? Did you feel forced by the message I sent you?” said Max.

“No no no. I invited you out because I wanted it... I like to talk to you ... and if it is in person, better”

“Ok... so, we agree that this is natural and that it should happen...”

“Yes...”

“What I am saying is that it is normal for people who have just met and have been in contact for a few days want to see each other again at some point. I think this needed to happen” Max said. Spencer nodded. Max continued with her idea. “Ok. I understand that you're a little nervous. I am also nervous right now” she confessed. Spencer looked at her and grimaced.

“Are you?... I could say that you hide it much better than me” he sentenced. Max started to laugh.

“Good, thank you. I thought it was more evident” they both laughed. Max continued: “Do you agree if we make this... I don't know... more relaxed? I think it is a nice symbol of what it was like when we first met. No pressure. Let's take things slow and see what happens”

“Take things slow… yes of course. I can do that. It is not my intention to do otherwise. I think you may have noticed by now that I'm not the ‘fast’ type” Spencer shrugged. Max smiled.

"I like that ... despite how solemn you are when invite someone out for coffee" Max joked.

“Solemn. Yes that's me” Spencer smiled as he drank his coffee.

“So ... did we reach an agreement?” Max asked.

“So is. We go slowly seeing how things turn out. No pressures” Spencer said.

“Excellent. We agree. Let's make another toast then…”. The toast was broken by a cracking sound that Spencer felt in his stomach and made him wince. Max noticed. “Did you have lunch?” she asked.

“Ehh, no... I passed the hour at the office” he explained.

“And have you been hungry all this time?” Max reproached.

"I hadn't really noticed I was hungry" said Spencer.

“No, no, no sir. You're not going to faint on our first date. Come on, let’s go” Max said getting up from his chair to leave.

“Where are we going?” Spencer asked.

“To feed your poor stomach. I know a good place” Max stated.

They headed out to the place Max had in mind so Spencer could eat. They walked a few blocks near the park where they were first met. During the walk Max reproached Spencer for his unhealthy habits.

“Okay, I'm not the example of a healthy person, but at least I avoid skipping meals. I don't know how someone could think fatigued, it doesn't work for me” Max said.

"I think in my case it would be worse to try to think without caffeine..." said Spencer.

“I give you that one. I agree. It happens to me too. Anyway, I think if a person is going to have bad habits, let them be the least”. Spencer nodded.

"I don't smoke and I don't drink," Spencer said. Max looked at him raising an eyebrow.

“Don't you smoke ... nothing? ... you never drink alcohol...?” Max asked curiously.

“I don’t smoke. Nothing. I drink alcohol only on very special occasions... that is, almost never...”. He thought with a grimace.

“Ok, I'm thinking that maybe the one with the least healthy behavior is me...” Max laughed.

“If I had said it before... would I have avoided this whole speech?” Spencer asked looking at Max reproachfully.

“Maybe...”. Max said with a shrug. “Okay, here we are”.

They had reached a local food restaurant. It was similar to a food truck, but it was slightly larger and had a hallway with a bar where people could sit. They approached the inn and the tenant asked them what they were going to eat. Without asking Spencer, Max asked for the house special burrito and two bottles of water. Spencer watched as Max made the request and said nothing to him. When it was time to pay, Spencer approached to take the account, before which he received a pat from Max in his arm.

“What are you doing? I invite you. You paid for the coffee, it's fair for me do this”. Spencer wanted to insist, but he sensed that perhaps it was not a good idea to argue with Max about it. In addition, his eyes fell quickly on the burrito that was provided to him for the tenant. In that minute he realized that he was really hungry. They took the food and sat at the bar.

“What am I about to eat?” Spencer asked as he pulled the paper out of his burrito.

“The best burrito you will eat in this city. I am not going to say that it is the best in the country, considering that you surely know more cities than me. This burrito is the precise balance between meat, bread, and dressings. It will leave you feeling itchy but very pleasant”. Spencer took his burrito and took his first bite with enthusiasm. He chewed and chewed, savoring exactly what Max had described.

"Wow!... This is... really tasty" Spencer took another bite as Max took sips from his water bottle and looked at him with satisfaction.

“I like to come here when I feel I need a good burrito. The better thing is that you can order to take home”. Max said while Spencer just nodded and decided to finish his burrito in one last bite.

“Really ... delicious. I must say that you were absolutely right about this”. Spencer said removing residue dressing from his mouth with a napkin and taking a sip from his water bottle.

They decided to stand up from the bar and continue walking, since the place began to fill up with people. Near the place there was a small square with benches. They decided to go there to be able to sit down.

“Your look better now. Do you see that it is necessary to eat?” Max said as she sat down on one of the benches.

“You can be sure that now I won't faint. But you have created a new need for me with that burrito” Spencer said. Max smiled.

“Nothing is perfect. Sorry” Max said with a shrug.

“The truth is… if we speak about perfection is risky to say it because each person can judge only for they own what they considered as perfection. Independently we have ideas of what perfect is, though there are studies that say empathy could finally generate a shared canon...” He realized he was rambling and  Max was looking at him with a raised eyebrow. “Ok... but it is clear that what I am saying is not relevant now…”. Max laughed out loud.

“No, is not that. I'm sure it does make sense. What's more, I could give you my opinion on that if you're interested, of course...”. Spencer looked at Max curiously and nodded. Max started talking: “you are a scientist, correct ?, that is, you believe in scientific facts rather than myths and legends...”

“Yes, although many myths and legends interconnect with scientific observations of the world...” Spencer said.

“Totally agree. But well, what if someone, with whom you empathize a lot, I don't know, could be a family member, a friend... if that person told you that he/she had a scientifically unorthodox experience, would that give more credibility to his/her story than if it were someone who didn't you know”. Spencer thought for a bit.

"No ..." said Spencer.

“Would you make him/her notice...?” Max asked counteract.

“Probably…”

“Even if that means a conflict between you?”

“In that case, maybe not”

“That's my point! I don't think there is a shared canon between people thanks to empathy, but rather that empathy is rather ‘accepting that the other is looking for something different’. And many times it is accepted to avoid conflict and the possibility of ‘not fitting in’”. Spencer was speechless. He just nodded. Max's reasoning was very reasonable even though it was in a completely different paradigm than his.

"Wow, that makes a lot of sense" said Spencer.

“It is not that I am very studious on the subject, but it is what I see in children. And we know that children's behavior teaches a lot”.

“You're right. In fact, our first social interaction is in childhood and that says a lot about how our future experiences might or might not be…” said Spencer. Max nodded.

Spencer was very pleased to be able to discuss things like this with Max. They were like his sociology classes, but applied to real life. It seemed that her experience in life and her work made her very accurate in her observations and very pedagogical in her explanations. He liked that. He certainly liked it.

They were talking for a few more hours when they realized that it was already getting dark. Max winced at her watch.

“It's getting late, I think I better go”

“Yes me too. Will you walk to your apartment?”

“No, I will take a cab. My apartment is not close to here.

“I'll go with you until you take it”

"Fine, thanks" Max smiled as they walked toward the corner of the street.

"I hope I lived up in this... first date" Spencer said as they waited for a cab to come. Max nodded at him.

“I had a great time with you Spencer today. Thank you” Max gestured to a cab that was coming a block away.

"Special credit to the burrito you bought me" Spencer said and they both laughed. The cab stopped and Spencer opened the door for her.

“Goodbye Spencer” Max said giving him a farewell smile. Before getting on the cab Spencer stopped her for a second taking her arm.

“Ok, It's my turn...”. He bent down a little to kiss her on the cheek. “Good night Max...”. Then he helped her to get into the cab. She smiled, staring at him and grimacing.

“Good night...” Max said before closing the door of the taxi and starting the way to her house.

This time Spencer didn’t want to walk to his apartment. He stood on the sidewalk for a while until he stopped a cab for himself. He was pleased. “Not bad for a first date” he told himself. “Alright Spencer. Achievement unlocked” he concluded saying to himself with a satisfied smile on his face.