Chapter 6:

Roger mounted the last of the steps leading to Maureen and Joanne's floor. He stopped outside their apartment and knocked on the door. He could hear the TV on inside. After a few seconds, Maureen answered the door.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey yourself."

"Listen, I want to talk to you about something. Could I come in?" Maureen stood aside and let Roger in. "Mo, I called my Mom last night." Maureen sat back down on the couch. "She wants to meet you."

"I can't. I just talk to my parents three days ago. This is too much too soon." Roger sat down next to Maureen.

"I'll be right there with you the whole time. I said that it would be a quick, small visit. I'll drive you out to my Mom's. All you have to do is let me know when." Maureen chewed on her bottom lip.

"Okay," she said reluctantly. "I'll go with you tomorrow afternoon."

"Thanks, Maureen." Roger gave Maureen a hug, got up and left. Maureen settled back on the couch and began to regret her decision.

The next afternoon, Roger picked Maureen up around noon. They borrowed Joanne's car and drove out to New Jersey. Maureen sat in the passenger's seat with her forehead pressed against the cool window pane.

"You nervous?" asked Roger. Maureen's head whipped around.

"What do you think!?" she snapped.

"Sorry, bad question. Don't be nervous, I'll be right there with you. Just let me know when you want to leave, and I'll get you out of there." Maureen smiled weakly. She leaned over and turned the radio on to a pop station. "Oh, no way." Roger changed it to a rock station. Maureen furrowed her brow and changed the radio back. "What do you have against rock?"
"It sucks!"

"Doesn't matter, driver gets control of the radio." Maureen snorted.

"Since when? Besides, it's my car!"

"No it's not. This, my friend, is Joanne's car, not yours." Maureen rolled her eyes.

"Joanne's my girlfriend, so it's my car too; it's part of living together. You call Mimi's loft and stuff yours, don't you?" Roger sighed. Maureen smirked. "Gotcha!"

"Fine, listen to your station."

"Say we listen to new stations and laugh at all the pathetic people?" Without waiting for Roger to answer, Maureen flipped on a news station.

Roger pulled into the driveway of his Mother's house. Maureen slowly got out of the car. She could feel her heart pounding like mad in her chest. She shoved her shaking hands deep in her pockets. Roger put his hand on her shoulder.

"Let's go," Maureen said. She and Roger walked up the stone pathway to the front door.

The second Roger rang the doorbell, the door flew open. Maureen felt someone wrap their arms around her and nearly smother her.

"Mom, Mom! Let go of her! You're hurting her!" Roger exclaimed. Mrs. Davis let go of Maureen.

"My baby's back," she sobbed. "Look at you, a beautiful woman." Mrs. Davis reached out towards Maureen, but the diva backed away towards Roger. Mrs. Davis withdrew her hand. "Come in, come in." Roger and Maureen followed Mrs. Davis inside.

Maureen stood uncomfortably in the living room with her arms wrapped around herself. All she wanted to do was curl up in a corner.

"Come sit here, Renee, there's so much for us to talk about," Mrs. Davis said. Maureen shook her head.

"I'm fine," she said. Mrs. Davis looked hurt by this. "I just had a thirty minute car ride; I want to stretch my legs some."

"Tell me about yourself, Renee." Maureen flinched openly at the name; it felt so strange, so foreign. Maureen chewed on her bottom lip.

"I live in the City with my girlfriend, Joanne," she started. Mrs. Davis stood up and approached Maureen.

"Your girlfriend? Oh honey, what have they done to you? What did they do to you, Renee?" she asked as she wrapped Maureen into a forceful hug. Roger could tell how uncomfortably Maureen was.

"Mom!" Maureen pushed Mrs. Davis away. This was just too much at once. "Mo…"

"My name is Maureen Johnson, not Renee," Maureen started slowly and deliberately. "'They' are my parents, they people that have raised me for the past twenty one years."

"Honey, they're not your parents. They've brainwashed you into being a lesbian and a, and a…" Mrs. Davis looked at Maureen's outfit. Her tight black pants hugged her hips, and her green shirt hung a little above where her pants started. "Tramp. Live with me; find out who you really are, Renee." Maureen backed away from Mrs. Davis.

"Don't call me that! That's not my name!" Maureen then bolted out the front door. Roger ran after her.

Maureen was leaning against the locked car door with her face in her hands. Roger went over and put his arms around her.

"I want to leave now, please," she begged. "She's asking me to do things I can't do."

"Here are the keys, I'll go talk to my Mom." Roger fished the car keys out of his pocket and handed them to Maureen before running back inside.

Mrs. Davis was sitting on the couch stunned from Maureen's sudden outburst. Roger quietly entered the room.

"Mom, you said that you wouldn't act like this!" he exclaimed. Mrs. Davis stood up. Roger toward significantly over the petite woman.

"But she's my baby!" she cried. "I couldn't help it! Those people have turned her into a freak. She's a lesbian, and look at how she dresses for God's sake!" Roger took a deep breath to calm himself down some.

"Maureen's one of my best friends. We've been through hell together. Lord only knows that we lived in hell together. I begged her to come see you, for you, not me. So, she comes, and you get her all upset! She's out there crying! One thing I know aobut Maureen, she doesn't cry easily. You've scared her; a girl who lived in Alphabet City for over five years is scared of you! You pushed things too fast!"

"All I want is my daughter back!" yelled Mrs. Davis.

"You'll never have her back!" Roger roared. "She's not Renee Davis anymore. She hasn't been Renee Davis for twenty one years! Now, she's Maureen Johnson, the lesbian who dresses as she wishes. That's the Maureen I know, and that's the Maureen that you're going to get. If you don't like that, then that's too damn bad for you!" With that, Roger left Mrs. Davis standing there, open-mouthed.

The ride home was silent. Roger gripped the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles were white. Before, Maureen was like his sister, but now she was his sister. Roger couldn't believe his Mother! She had pushed Maureen to accept things too quickly. Roger blamed himself too. He asked Maureen to do too much too fast. Roger looked over at Maureen. She was leaning against eh window wither eyes closed. Roger wasn't sure if she was asleep or not.

When Roger pulled into the parking spot below the apartment building, Maureen's eyes opened. She stretched a little before climbing out of the car with Roger.

"Thanks for the ride, Roger," Maureen said as she swung her purse over her shoulder. Roger shrugged.

"Don't mention it. I'm sorry about my Mom flipping out on you."

"Don't be, it's not your fault." Maureen looked at her watch. "I guess I'll see you later." Roger gave Maureen a hug and watched her leave. She was doing a damn good job covering up how she was feeling.