Roger sat on the windowsill, scribbling furiously into the notebook in his lap. Mark smiled to see him so inspired. Mimi was definitely a good influence on Roger. Of course, Mark knew the rocker was a good influence on her as well. She'd been clean for almost a month now.
The phone rang a few times before the answering machine clicked on. "Speak!"
"Okay, first, you guys seriously need to change that message. Second, throw down the keys bitches."
Mark laughed and got the keys from the table, then went to the fire escape. Roger, lost in his own thoughts, hardly noticed the phone.
"Somebody here?"
"No. Just thought I'd throw the keys down in case anybody wanted to come up."
"Ha ha, very funny."
The door to the loft slid open. Angel and Collins came in, arms linked.
"Hey, guys. What's up?"
"We have some planning to do. Roger, put that notebook down, honey," Angel said.
"Planning? For what?" Mark asked.
"Mimi's birthday."
Roger dropped his notebook, attention immediately refocused. Angel sat down beside him and grinned at Collins.
"Rog, you don't know your girl's birthday?"
He blushed. Angel patted his hand. "Mimi-chica doesn't really like to bring up her birthday."
"Why not?"
"She gets embarrassed."
"Embarrassed?" Roger was intrigued.
"Well because she's so young."
"Yeah but twenty….at least now she's not a teenager," Roger said.
Angel laughed. "Honey, that's not for a few years. What are you talking about?"
"Wait, what are you talking about?"
"Mimi. Your gorgeous Latina dancer girl."
"Yeah. She's nineteen."
Collins laughed. "In three years."
"What?"
"Rog, we thought you knew that," Mark said. "She told us you knew."
"Knew what?"
Mark and Collins exchanged a look Roger couldn't quite read.
"Angel, how old is she?"
"Today's her birthday."
"No shit. We've established that. How old is she?"
"Sixteen."
Roger's face paled. "I gotta go."
He darted down the stairs before they could stop him. Banging on Mimi's door, Roger tried not to panic. She wasn't sixteen. She couldn't be sixteen. If she was sixteen now, then she'd been fifteen when—no. No way could a fifteen year old do that.
Mimi slid the door open, grinning when she saw him. "Hey, baby."
"Hi. Can I come in?"
"Of course."
She stepped back to let him in. Roger started to pace the loft, unsure of where to begin.
"Baby? Everything okay?"
"Angel said, um, said that today's your birthday."
"Shit, she told you? I didn't want you to know…"
"That it's your birthday?"
"Yeah."
"Why not?"
Mimi looked away.
"How old are you?"
"What?"
"How old are you?"
Mimi didn't answer him. Roger ran a hand through his hair.
"Oh shit."
"Calm down, baby. It's okay."
Roger pulled away from her. "No. No, it's not. How old are you?"
"Today?"
"Yes. Today. Right now. How old are you?"
She mumbled something.
"What?"
"Sixteen."
"That means you…shit…I—you…when we…"
"I told you I'm old for my age."
"Meems, I thought….you told me you were nineteen."
"I was being sarcastic."
Roger's eyes widened and he shook his head. "I—I gotta go. Happy birthday."
He bolted from the loft before she could stop him.
Roger debated about going back to his own loft but couldn't face Collins and Angel, let alone Mark. This was bad. This was really bad. She was sixteen! That meant he'd had sex with a minor. A very mature minor, but a minor nonetheless. He hurried across the street to the payphone and dialed Joanne's number.
"Joanne Jefferson."
"Jo, it's me. I gotta talk to you."
"Roger? Calm down. What is it? What's wrong?"
"I—nothing. Everything. Shit. Jo, um, can you meet me at the Life?"
"Yeah, of course. Is everyone okay?"
"Yeah, yeah. I just, um, I need to talk to you and you alone."
"I'll be there in five."
By the time Joanne reached the Life Café, Roger's leg was shaking. He tapped the table incessantly, ignoring the annoyed stares of the other patrons. Joanne sat across from him and grabbed his hands to still them.
"Roger, what is it? What's going on?"
"I, um, I may have done something…"
"Pookie! Roger! What are you guys doing here?"
"I said alone!"
"I know. I didn't tell her."
Maureen pranced over to them and sat beside Joanne, kissing her cheek. "What are you two doing here?"
"I kind of needed to talk to Joanne alone."
"What are you doing here, Maureen?"
"Marky told me you'd probably be here. He said you were upset when you left the loft. Everything okay?"
"Damn…uh…not—not really."
"What is it?"
"I need some legal advice."
"What did you do?"
"It's—it's hypothetical."
"Right," Joanne said. "So what did you hypothetically do?"
"Well, let's just say that a guy my age, um, let's say he sleeps with a girl he thinks is over the age of eighteen and then finds out she's not."
"What guy would be that stupid?" Maureen asked.
Roger blushed.
"Oh God! Roger! They can put you in jail for that!"
"You think I don't know that? Why do you think I'm freaking out?"
Joanne shook her head. "Roger…I just…You're in a lot of trouble if the authorities find out."
Maureen stood up from the table enough to smack him upside the head.
"What the hell was that for?"
"For cheating on Mimi."
"I didn't cheat on Mimi!"
Maureen froze. "Oh no…Mimi's…how old is she?"
"Well apparently she's sixteen today."
"But you guys were together before today?"
"Yeah."
"Excuse me, sir?"
Roger turned when he felt the tap on his shoulder. A police officer who looked vaguely familiar stood glaring down at him. "Ye-yes?"
"Are you Roger Davis?"
"Yes."
"Sir, I need you to come with me."
"I'm his attorney. I have to ask what this is in regards to," Joanne said.
"It's in regards to reports that Mr. Davis has had a relationship with one Mimi Marquez."
"Oh God…"
Roger's head whipped around to Joanne. She shrugged at him. He turned back to the officer.
"Wh…what about my relationship with her?"
"Well she's a minor. Which, in the state of New York, makes your relationship illegal."
"She said she was nineteen!"
"So you admit to it?"
"Roger, don't answer him. Don't say anything here."
The officer glanced at Joanne, then at Roger. "Look, I don't want to embarrass you by cuffing you in the middle of the restaurant. Let's take this outside."
Roger nodded and let the officer take hold of his arm, leading him outside. Mimi, Angel, Collins, and Mark stood outside the café. They were grinning and Mark had his camera out.
"What's going on?" Roger asked when the officer released him.
"You know what today is?" Angel asked.
"Worst day of my life?"
Collins laughed. "April Fools."
"This year, I win," Mark said, laughing.
Roger spun to face the police officer. He pulled off his moustache. "Gordon?"
"Sorry, man. Cohen told me about this and I couldn't resist helpin' him out."
"Maybe now you two will end this stupid prank war," Maureen said.
"Hell no!" Roger said with a laugh. "I'm getting' you good next year, Marky!"
"Yeah, we'll see about that."
Mimi slipped into Roger's arms, still laughing.
"Wait—is it your birthday?"
Mimi shook her head.
"How old are you?"
"Nineteen."
"Swear it?"
Mimi laughed. "I swear it."