Mark, fumbling with his camera, followed a quiet Mimi, Roger and Collins though the community center doors. These weekly visits, the trips there and back again, often made in silence always hung heavy over Mark's head. After almost two years of attending the Life Support meetings, he was still the only regular member not afflicted by AIDS. They'd lost so many members in that short time that the threat of death touched Mark just as it touched everyone else, but in a very different way. Mark too needed Life Support, to keep him going when his friends eventually succumbed. He went to the meetings, seeking shelter from AIDS by plunging himself into the midst of it.
As he waited for the sudden fog on his glasses to clear in the warm building, Mark gave small smiles to the slightly blurry figures of the Life Support members. There were no hugs of greeting, no casual small talk. The group was fairly quiet most days, editing everything that came into their heads, deciding what to share.
Mimi had gone stir crazy the first time she attended with Roger. She said she couldn't stand the gloom. But Collins had explained to her what she was missing: that the gloom came from the outside, and slowly, though these meetings, it was forgotten. Mimi came back again. And again. And again.
Mark's favourite part of the community center was the chairs. Though he hadn't realized it at first, the chairs told more stories than the members. It was only after Angel died did Mark notice the name plates, one for each Life Support member who had passed on. Collins had made a special request for the love of his life. Only her first name graced the small plaque. No last name, no In loving memory of. Just Angel.
Slowly, the group came together, sitting in their customary circle. They welcomed someone new. This, Mark was sad about. A new person meant one more that was in such a place that they needed support. Collins reflected about Angel, lost just over a year ago. People shuffled. An hour passed.
As the meeting wrapped up, Mark found Paul coming towards him and his friend. A nervous kind of smile flickered on Paul's face, something that caught Mark off guard.
"Hey," said the Life Support leader to the four. "I thought you guys might be interested…I mean, it could make a difference…if you wanted." He took a breath and started again. "A woman contacted Life Support yesterday. Her 12-year-old daughter was recently diagnosed with AIDS. The girl got a blood transfusion with a surgery, and was given tainted blood. The mother was wondering if some Life Support members would come spend some time with the girl."
Mark glanced over at his friends. Mimi's face was twisted into a mask of pain and sympathy. Roger stood stony faced, not giving anything away. And in Collins, Mark saw frank determination, and knew that the anarchist with the huge heart had already made up his mind.
"I'll go," Collins said.
"Me too," said Mimi, squeezing Collins' arm.
Roger looked at his girlfriend for a moment before nodding too.
"Mark?" said Paul, looking up at him expectedly.
Mark felt taken by surprise. He had assumed the offer was only towards his friends. He was the only one not suffering from the disease, the only one unable to offer experienced support. But he also knew that he was living with AIDS just as the others were, in his own way.
"Sure, yeah, I'll do it."
Paul's face broke into a smile. "Thank you," he said. "Thank you so much."