January is the hardest month of the year for Mark; life seems too slow and stunted. How can you go and film a city when it barely has time to wake up before it falls once again beneath the cold hard shell of night? New York in January is so cold, Mark's fingers freeze while he tries to hold the camera and the snow that falls and melts on everything makes him damp and leaves a lasting chill when he returns to the apartment. This is definitely a problem because of the lack of heat in the loft; his room is so cold at night there is no chance of overcoming the chill.
Roger is still under the umbrella of Mimi's death; things like being cold don't really affect him, but mentions of the smallest (and strangest) things in conversation will send him back to his room sometimes for days on end. It's only been three weeks; Mark doesn't blame his best friend for being so odd, but it is really starting to add to the overall air of depression this January. A week ago Collins stopped by with the very obvious goal of cheering Mark and Roger up, and it had really worked that night; the undeniable warmth of alcohol in his veins had Mark feeling better then he had since Christmas Eve last year. Unfortunately that had worn off quickly the next morning, with a headache settling in its place.
Collins really wasn't much better off then the rest of them, although he'd been able to get food and other supplies easily using his crazily rewired ATM. While he looked physically healthy and his clothes were actually warm and in good shape (as were Mark and Roger's, now that Collins had the flow), his sometimes not-so-subtle moodiness proved that he was hurting just as bad as Roger over the loss of Mimi and Angel.
The only people in their group of friends who were starting to get back on track were Maureen and Joanne, perhaps because they had one another. At Mimi's funeral they had been just as subdued and grief stricken as Collins, Mark and Roger, but only a week after Maureen had called Mark up out of the blue at 10 am (10 am?! really?! who had the strength or drive to do anything so early?) and asked if he wanted to go with her to check out the tent city that still occupied the lot next to the building that held the loft. When Mark had explained that he normally didn't get up till at least noon these days, and that he didn't really want to go anywhere but he might go film later, Maureen had sighed exaggeratedly and hung up on him. Mark had been glad; he was able to sleep for a few more hours before the afternoon sun through his window got too bright and he had to drag himself out of bed. Sleeping really was the easiest thing these days; he and Roger both went to bed before 11 most nights and slept until well past noon. When you were sleeping you didn't have to see other people or talk to them, so it was a good option.
While Joanne worked as a lawyer in corporate America, Maureen had become bored; her new mission was to help the people in the tent city that, in her mind at least, she herself had saved. (Mark wanted to set her straight on the fact that it had a lot to do with Benny and where he was now, but she was preoccupied with her own cause and he knew well enough to leave her alone.) Joanne wasn't too happy that Maureen was handing out food and blankets purchased exclusively with her salary, but all Maureen had to do was pout and Joanne let it slide. It wasn't that Joanne didn't want to help those who were down on their luck, but she wanted Maureen to find a job and put her time into both pursuits at the same time, making money while doing something useful. Either way, the tent city was thriving.
The welfare of the tent city was of course related to Benny. When Muffy (Alison, Mark reprimanded himself - too much time spent with Roger) had dragged Benny away from the future home of his beloved studio, his father-in-law expressed an intention to make Benny sell off the land he had once had intentions to build a studio on and Benny, in a sudden "fit of decency" as Collins put it, had made a decision himself to sell the land before his father-in-law had any say. One particularly chilly January morning Collins had bounded into the apartment, looking happier then he had in months. Roger was on the couch, Mark in the kitchen, and they both jumped a mile high when the door flew open. "Look at this!" he held the paper aloft with a huge grin. "I just got it in the mail!" Roger and Mark drew closer to view the document - the title to their building and the adjacent lot, and the paperwork that went with it. Roger gasped as he finished reading before Mark. "I don't believe it. Benny really had a heart after all, eh?" Mark got to the critical part of the paper and saw what had made Roger surprised and Collins so happy - the land and building were now the joint property of Roger Davis and Mark Cohen. Caught up in the happiness of his discovery Mark looked up with a huge smile on his face to meet Roger's eyes, and memories of the past few weeks flooded his mind again.
"Amazing" he said, subdued, and walked away to the window. He heard Roger and Collins follow him, and as they looked out together into the street from the big arched windows, he knew they were all thinking the same thing. If only Mimi and Angel were here to celebrate with them.
