Part One: Where Were You When Everything was Falling Apart?
- You Found Me, The Fray
Ch. 1 - POV: Lily.
"Is there anybody going to listen to my story?"
- Girl, The Beatles
I played with the ring on my finger, absently, ignoring the other people in the coffee shop as they walked by. It was so busy I was pushed to one of the far tables, near the back window, and I occasionally looked out to see if it had stopped snowing yet. It hadn't, but at least I was letting up. The shop was busy and loud, but at least it was warm. I tuned out the noise around me – it was easy when I was looking at that ring.
"Excuse me? Hello?"
I quickly looked up, finally roused out of my trance.
The man standing across from me smiled. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."
I shook my head, forcing myself to smile back. "You didn't," I assured him, as well as I could manage.
"Can I sit here?"
I quickly glanced around the shop. There were clearly no other seats, or at least not many. How could I say no? Besides, he looked harmless.
The man sat across from me after shrugged off his coat and undoing his scarf. He started to sip his tea.
"I'm Lily," I said after a little while, not wanting to lapse into an awkward silence.
"Mark," the man said, holding out his hand across the table.
I shook it, smiling. He was cute. "So, Mark… what brings you to Cate's Coffee at noon on a Tuesday?"
I watched as his took another sip of his tea, the blue in his eyes magnified behind his glasses.
Mark shrugged, setting down his cup. "Just something to do."
"Taking a day off?"
"Quite as few days, actually," Mark said, smiling again.
I raised my eyebrow, curiously.
"I'm from New York," he said, as if that explained everything.
"So, what brings you to Chicago?"
He thought for a minute. "The tea," he said goofily, taking another sip.
I sipped my coffee, too, and smiled back. "That it?"
Mark shrugged. "I just needed to get away for a few days, I guess."
I recognized the look on his face – he did not want to elaborate, but my curiosity got the best of me. I knew I shouldn't have said it, but I did anyways. "Get away from what?"
Mark just shook his head, giving me a little, forced smile. "It doesn't matter, you don't really want to know."
I twisted the ring on my finger, wondering how I let the conversation get this heavy so soon. But I went on. "Yes I do."
Mark sighed, as if preparing himself. "You sure?"
"Positive."
He leaned back in his chair, stretching out his legs under the table, getting comfortable. "Then prepare for a story."
I nodded, pushing my hair back behind my ear.
"There were five of us who lived together," he began. "Me, Maureen, Roger, Benny, and Collins. Benny got married and moved away." He looked up at me, as if silently asking if I was sure I wanted him to go on. You sure about this? I hated that look – she used to do it all the time. But, when I said nothing, we went on. "Then one of our friends died… suicide," he murmured, softly, "… her name was April."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
Mark just shook his head. "It gets better," he muttered, sarcastically, "Roger – that was her boyfriend, my best friend – he and April were into heroin… they both had AIDS."
My heart stopped. I was beginning to wonder whether or not I should have asked about this. I was worried Mark might start crying or something… but he seemed oddly detached from the whole story, denying himself the chance to get emotional.
He continued. "Then Roger got clean met Mimi, and Collins and Maureen met Angel and Joanne. And for about a year, it was just the seven of us… well, plus Benny. He'd married into money and was our landlord."
I laughed lightly. "That's kind of ironic."
Mark smiled, too, a little sadly. "Yeah. He and Mimi… they had a thing, I guess. It tore Roger up, even if it was mostly in his head. Mimi was into heroin, too… and it didn't help anything when Angel died." He got very quiet and I leaned in to make sure I didn't miss a word. "She died of AIDS, too… and Mimi and Collins had it. We were all really... scared. It just kept takign more and more from us."
I swallowed, my brow furrowed. It was almost horrifying how easily he was able to tell me these tragedies… the fact that they all happened to one person was devastating.
Mark inhaled deeply, staring blankly at the table in front of him. "Joanne moved up to Detroit and she and Maureen broke up - they had always had a rocky relationship, but this time it was for good. Then Mimi died. Roger took it really hard. Really hard. He got back into heroin… he's in rehab right now. Maureen moved back into the loft – that's where most of us lived," he explained, "and now Collins is teaching at Boston University or somewhere like that… God knows where everyone else is."
Mark looked up, finally finished his story.
My heart was beating out of my chest.
"And then I came to Chicago. Just to get a way for a while."
"I'm really sorry, Mark."
He sighed. "Don't be." Again, he sipped his tea. "Not like you could have changed anything."
I felt the dreaded lump in my throat and hope my voice wouldn't crack. "Still…"
"We've all got sob-stories," he sighed.
I decided to wait until I shared mine. Although Mark was somehow disconnected from his story, he still seemed a bit too shook up for me to share anything. Besides, even though he had just poured his heart out to a stranger, I wasn't exactly willing to recipricate.
"So, uh, when do you go back?" I ventured to ask.
"Three weeks. Roger comes back home in a month, if everything goes according to schedule. I'll be there to help Maureen with him. There's only us."
"It must have been really hard on Roger…" I mused, more to myself then Mark.
"It was… It is."
I sighed. "I'm sorry, Mark. I didn't mean for you to have to-"
He shook his head, interrupting me. "Don't think of it…" He gave me a little smile. "I wanted to tell."
"Well, then… I'm glad I could help, I guess."
"Me, too."
For a while we were both quiet, drinking absently.
"So… why are you at Cat's Coffee?"
"Cate's," I corrected him, with a little smile.
"Cate's," he repeated. "So, why are you here?"
I sighed, trying to stay upbeat, especially after what he'd told me. "I am currently unemployed. I have to find some way to fill my days."
"How does someone who's unemployed afford a four dollar coffee?"
I gave him a weary smile. "That story's for another day."
He his head a little shake, as if he knew something I didn't. "No day but today," he said, softly, smiling to himself.
Pondering what that could possibly mean, I glanced down at my wrist watch. "I've gotta go," I muttered, "… doctor's appointment."
Mark laughed. "You don't need to lie. You can run away if I scared you."
"You didn't scare me."
"Well, usually people don't meet a pretty girl and tell them their life story… especially a life story like mine."
I tried to laugh. "I really do have to go, but you didn't scare me," I insisted. "How about I prove it? Meet me here tomorrow… say, three o'clock?"
Mark smiled. "Okay. I'll be here."
"Great." I grabbed my coat and bag from under the table and stood up. "Bye, Mark."
"I'll see you tomorrow, Lily."
As I left I threw a last glance over my shoulder, grabbing a last look of him drinking his tea. Fiddling with my ring again, I could help but smile. He thought I was pretty.
But that thought melted away quickly as I remembered where I was going. And how badly I needed to get there.
