Chapter 4


"Hey, where have you been?" Mark asked Roger, as he came into the Loft.

"I was at the Life," Roger said, "and do you know who I saw there?"

"No," Mark said innocently, "who?"

"Bridget," Roger said. "She's living here in the village, and I didn't even know it. When do you suppose she would have bucked up the courage to talk to me, if I hadn't walked in today?"

"I don't know, Roger," Mark said. He looked up at Roger. "So, how was it?"

"Terrifying, and at the same time, a huge relief," Roger said, cocking his head as he spoke. He looked at Mark. "Mark, did you know she was back?" he asked, trying not to sound accusatory. Mark bit his lip and Roger eyed him suspiciously. "Well, did you?"

"Yes, Rog, I did," Mark said. "But she wasn't ready to see you or talk to you yet. Besides, at the time, you were with Mimi. I know Bridget was friends with Mimi down in Mexico and stuff, but don't you think it would have been frustrating for her to see you with Mimi?"

Roger considered that for a moment and then nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he said. "But I still wish you would have told me."

"Yeah, you're right," Mark said. "I'm sorry, Rog. But she's back now and things can get back to normal, right?"

"Yeah," Roger said, "but I don't know how long that'll take. I don't want to rush things with her this time, if anything even happens at all. Things got really fucked up the last time we rushed our relationship."

Mark nodded. "I know," he said, putting his hand on Roger's shoulder. "Just trust yourself, OK?"

"OK," Roger said, smiling at Mark.


That afternoon, Bridget walked up to the Loft and knocked on the door. It slid open to reveal Mark.

"Hi, Mark," she said, smiling at him.

"Hey, Bridget," Mark said, smiling at her. "How are you doing?"

"I'm good, thank you," Bridget said, smiling at him. "Is Roger around?"

"He's in the shower," Mark said. "He only got up about half an hour ago."

"Really?" Bridget asked curiously. "It's almost one in the afternoon."

"Yeah, well, it's risky to wake him up before Noon, except for him to take his AZT," Mark said, grinning. Bridget laughed, and Mark realized just how much he'd missed his friend's laugh, since she had left. "Do you want to come inside and sit down and wait for him?"

"Sure, thanks," Bridget said, and they went into the main living area and sat down. "So, is everybody else supposed to come around today?"

"Yeah, more than likely," Mark said.

"OK, good, I'd like to see Mo again," Bridget said.

"Yeah, she'll be excited to see you again, too," Mark said. "Ten bucks says she's been bugging Joanne about it since you came back."

Bridget laughed. "I wouldn't doubt it," she said. "Say, you know what we should do?"

"What?" Mark asked.

"We should look up Cat in Tampa and call her," Bridget said. "I mean, think about how much she's missed since she left after Benny dumped her?"

"You know, that's a great idea," Mark said. "Let's do it."

"OK. And maybe she can meet Alison," Bridget said.

"Maybe," Mark said. "We'll see how Benny feels about Cat being here in the first place, even if it's just a visit. Alison is pretty nice, if you get to know her, but Benny doesn't treat her very well, and Maureen and Roger hate her. They think she turned Benny against us."

Bridget's eyebrows rose. "Oh," she said, "and did she?"

"No, she actually defends us about Benny and his flopping leases, when she's not grieving over a dead dog," Mark said. Bridget looked at him, surprised, and he waved his hand at her. "It's a long story. I'll tell you later. Anyway, Roger and Mo still seem to think she's evil, because she's rich, which she really isn't, and they demonize her and Benny."

Bridget nodded. "That's too bad," she said. "I'd like to meet her sometime, too."

"OK, I'll tell Benny to bring her with him, if he drops by next time," Mark said.

"OK," Bridget said.

As they reached a pause in their conversation, there was a distraction. Roger had come out of the bathroom, dressed in nothing but a towel, on his way to his bedroom. He glanced at Mark, took one look at Bridget, and ran, blushing, to his bedroom.

As the door slammed, Bridget winced and giggled. Covering her mouth, trying not to laugh, she looked at Mark, who was grinning. "Oh no," she said, "I didn't want to see him again right away like that." She looked at Mark suspiciously. He was choking down a laugh. "Mark, did you know he would do that?"

Mark burst out laughing. "Of course, I knew," he teased her. "Roger always does that." Roger came out to the living room, his face still red. "Hey, Roger," he added innocently.

"That's the last time I come out of the bathroom naked again," Roger said, laughing as he sat down on the couch next to Bridget and put his arm around her. "Sorry, Baby."

"It's OK, Rog," Bridget said, laughing. "It was quite funny."

"Yeah, maybe for you," Roger teased. "Are you just stopping by?"

"No, actually, I get off work at Noon on Fridays," Bridget said, looking at Mark, "and I think Mark might have been in on that, too."

Mark grinned and Roger looked at him. "Oh, OK, I'll be sure to remember that when I wake up late again on a Friday," Roger said, laughing.

"Mark, do you have a phonebook?" Bridget asked.

"Yeah, but you might have to call an operator and collect call instead, to get a Florida number," Mark said.

"Yeah, you're right," Bridget said. "Is it OK if I use your phone? I'll pay whatever charge I rack up, when your bill comes."

"OK, thanks, Bridget," Mark said, smiling at her, and she went to make the call.


A few minutes later, she had Cat's number and was waiting for her to pick up. Mark and Roger listened to Bridget's side of the conversation, as she spoke to Cat for the first time in ten years. "Hi, Cat? This is Bridget… Yes, way… How have you been? I know, it's been forever… I'm sorry I didn't call, but things weren't working out for me for… well, a really long time… You're living in Tampa now, right? I'm in East Village, about a block away from Roger and Mark's loft… Yeah, you should definitely come visit… It'd be like old times… No, sorry, hon, Benny got married… Yeah, we'll save up and help you with that plane ticket, all right? Yes, I'll write to you, explaining everything… Oh, OK, I'll talk to you later, then, all right? Bye."

Bridget hung up and turned around. Roger and Mark were looking at her expectantly. "What?" she asked innocently.

"Well, what did she say?" they asked.

"Not much; just that she wants me to write to her and that she was really glad to finally have heard from me," Bridget said. She turned back to the phone, with her hand outstretched, but closed it again. "Damn… I forgot to apologize to her about Benny."

"Bridget, what have I told you ten times already?" Mark asked her. "I told you, Benny and Cat's breakup was not your fault."

"Yeah, well, I still feel guilty, though," Bridget said.

"Well, don't, OK?" Mark asked her.

"OK, OK, I won't," Bridget said. "So, can we call everybody and have them over?"

"Sure," Mark said, and he went to the phone.


Hey, everybody, thanks for reading. Like I said in the summary, Cat may return and Alison may appear. I only recently realized that I'd been misspelling her (Alison's) name for months! Oh well; instead of going back and editing it wherever it appears in stories, which usually ends up with me screwing up and stuff, I'll just make sure to correct it in the future.

Also, for future debate or discussion (and this is random), Mark's hair is red, not blonde! We'll se what kind of opinions and arguments that brings up, LOL. I have pictures to back up my 'red' side! Once you see it, it's obvious, and you'll never miss it again.

As always, don't forget to review. I love feedback.

Quick note to missxflawless: I'm not quite sure how you missed Bridget meeting Angel, since that was a big (about half or more) part of chapter 2. But yes, now the story is post Rent, in case you're confused, which means Angel is dead, since she does die in the movie and musical. However, since the producers said in the movie commentary, that Mimi would most likely only have a week after her miraculous recovery from her overdose, she always dies eventually in my post Rent stories. Sorry if you don't like that, but that's how I roll. Anyways, I hope I cleared up your confusion and that I continue to see your opinions and feedback in the future.

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07