A/N: Here's part two! I'm going to be updating about as often as it took between the last chapter and this one, but it could be longer or shorter, I don't know.
Disclaimer: Yeah, right.
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The café was filled with the cheers of the diners of the café. Those who worked there looked relieved the whole spectacle was over. Even Ben applauded enthusiastically. Maureen blew kisses, and Roger and Mark took several bows.
"Why didn't you tell me about this before?" Ben asked his father incredulously.
"Because," Benny mumbled into his palms.
"Well, no worries now, eh, Benjamin?" Roger said clapping his former friend on the back a little too hard, "We took care of it for you!"
"Thank you, thank you very much," Collins said in a very accurate impersonation of Elvis.
"Soundtrack now available from Bohemian Records. Music by Roger Davis. Music video by Mark Cohen, featured dancing by Mimi Marquez." Mark joked in a deep announcer's voice.
Just then, the bell over the door tinged as someone entered the restaurant, bringing a rush of winter with them. A further glance told the Bohemians it was Allison, Benny's wealthy wife and Ben's mother. She spotted her husband and son almost instantly, but her nose wrinkled when she saw who was next to them. As she approached, she said nastily, "Well, well, well, look who it is. The struggling lows of Alphabet City, in flesh."
"Hello, Muffy," Mimi said sweetly.Allison flushed. She opened her mouth to retort, but Benny jumped up, shrugging on his coat.
"Come on, Ben. We'll find somewhere else to eat."
Ben looked reluctant to leave, but he followed his parents dutifully, with a wave over his shoulder. Allison tossed one remark back.
"I hope you enjoy freezing this Christmas."
"I hope you enjoy freezing this Christmas," Joanne mimicked as the door swung shut. "Well, she's a nice woman!"
"Their son, Ben, isn't bad, though," Anna remarked, taking a bite of pasta.
"He's a Coffin man. He'll end up just like his father," Roger scoffed.
"Maybe so," Collins allowed, and the adult's conversations split.
"Wow. I didn't know my dad could sing or dance like that," Rachael said to Angie, "I mean, he was good! Witnessing La Vie Boheme was ten times better then just hearing about it."
"Totally," Angie agreed, "Ten thousand times better. And my mom was really rocking it, too! I've never seen her dance that…freely. Like she was nineteen again!"
"So…Angie. D'ya think Ben enjoyed himself tonight?" Rachael asked, grinning knowingly, "I think he liked the show."
Angie choked on a gulp of soda. "Rachael!" she chided, wiping her mouth with her hand.
"What? Everyone knows you liiiiike him!" her friend sing-songed.
"Shhh!" Angie warned, leaning in closer, "Everyone except my dad. And if he knew…" she shivered.
Rachael rolled her eyes. "Oh, come one, Miss Drama Queen, what would he do?"
"Hmm, let's see…give me an hour lecture and send me to my room for a year, maybe? Face it, Rach – my dad isn't as accepting of the Coffins as yours is. I don't know why. Besides, you can't honestly say your dad would be happy if you had a crush on Ben!"
"Well…no," Rachael admitted, "But you can't hide it forever! Wouldn't you rather tell your dad before he finds out himself?"
"Stop making sense, Rachael Cohen!"
Rachael grinned triumphantly. Just like her father, she could often be logical enough to get on people's nerves.
"Sorry, you're right. It's Christmas Eve! No bugging tonight, promise," Rachael said. Then she whispered, "Ben!" And burst into giggles as Angie glared. "Sorry, seriously, I'm done," she said, hiccupping.
Mimi beamed fondly at the teens. "I'm glad to see the girls are having a good time," she remarked, leaning against her husband, "This is Angie's favorite holiday."
"Rachael's too," Anna nodded, "But she loves Halloween almost as much."
"Remember when you didn't have kids? When we weren't even married – none of us?" Joanne asked, sipping her wine.
"How could we possibly ever forget?" Roger asked with a quirky grin.
"Remember New Year's?" Maureen asked.
"You and your catsuit…not exactly hard to remember!" Mark laughed, "Remember when Mo and Joanne got engaged?"
"And broke up?" Collins smiled.
"Remember Halloween?" Mimi asked quietly.
The table became solemn. Even Rachael and Angie, hearing the last bit, fell silent. The group couldn't escape from remembering Halloween every time they mentioned the past, particularly that one year.
"A toast," Maureen proposed, raising her glass, "To Angel Dumott Schunard. In loving memory."
"To Angel," the group chorused, and gulped their drinks.
"And to Gordon, Steve, and the others at Life Support who have passed away," Mark said, raising his nearly empty glass of beer. Gordon and Steve had died six months and eight months after that Christmas Eve.
"To Life Support," the others agreed.
"One more, while we're making toasts. To April," Roger offered.
"To April."
"No day but today," Collins murmured. Mimi squeezed his shoulder.
"So…time to move this party to the loft!" Mark said cheerfully.
This decision was met with unanimous agreement, so the group pushed back their chairs, gathered their belongings, and exited the café into the freezing air. Mark, Roger, Collins, Rachael, and Angie piled into Roger's car, and Mimi, Anna, Maureen, and Joanne climbed into Joanne's jeep.
They reached the loft at virtually the same time (Roger was better at getting through traffic) and climbed the stairs to the loft. Mark took a while fishing in his pockets for the keys, before they realized they hadn't locked the door earlier when they left. Laughing over this mistake, they opened the door.
A gust of chilly air took Mark's breath away, and he and the others stopped laughing abruptly.
"Geez, it's cold!" Maureen gasped, grabbing Joanne's arm, "Almost as cold as outside!"
Mark sprinted to the heater and fiddled with the dial. "It's not working!" he called.
Roger pulled the light switch. Nothing happened.
"That…that…idiot!" Mimi yelled. She began, once again, to shout in rapid Spanish.
"Meems, relax, it's okay!" Anna soothed her, "We'll just light a few candles instead."
Joanne nodded. "And we can use this trash can thing here to make a fire," she said, pointing to the rusting metal can.
"I'll go get some blankets!" Rachael offered brightly.
"And I'll help Anna with the snacks," Maureen smiled.
"See? No biggie," Roger said, kissing his wife on the top of her head. He looked concernedly at her. "Are you all right? You've been pretty uptight tonight."
"I'm fine," Mimi protested, brushing her husband's hand away, "Just a little tired." Then she smiled, "So, where are the matches? I'll light the candles."
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A/N: Review!!! And Happy New Year!!!
