Chapter 10:
Cassia sat curled up on the couch with Alex. His dad was in the next room working or doing whatever it was he did, so they had a little bit of privacy. Alex stroked her hair lovingly and kissed the top of her head.
"How's your mom doing?" he asked. Cassia shrugged. She willed herself not to cry, she couldn't cry right now.
"Alright, I guess. She's always in bed resting because of these terrible headaches. I'm really afraid that she won't get better. Everyday it's like she's worst than the day before."
"If you ever need to talk, please don't be afraid to call me. I don't care what time you call." Cassia looked up and smiled slightly.
"Thanks." Alex pecked her on the lips lightly. "I don't know what I'd do without you," she whispered. Their lips met again in a reserved kiss.
Maureen pulled her pillow over her head to block out any and all light in the already dark room. It felt as if her head was splitting in two. Maybe that would relieve all the pain, if her head actually split open. Every single day it felt as if she was in more pain than the day before. If only she could have this damn surgery and get it over with. She had painkillers from the doctor, heavy-duty stuff too, but it really didn't do the job. Nothing but surgery could get rid of this pain. The bedroom door cracked open.
"Honeybear, do you need anything?" Joanne cooed from the doorway. Maureen moaned. The next thing she knew, she felt Joanne's gentle hand rubbing her back.
"Make it stop," Maureen whined. She knew that she sounded like a small child right now, but she didn't have enough energy to act anyway else. "My head feels like it's going to explode."
"I know, baby, I know. Remember, we met with the surgeon and scheduled the surgery for in two and a half weeks. All you have to do is wait that long."
"I can't make it, Pookie, I can't do it."
"Yes you can." Joanne leaned over and kissed the exposed patch of Maureen's head. "You'll see." She smoothed the wild hair before leaving her alone to get some much needed rest.
Joanne emerged from the master bedroom to come face to face with Cassia, who was poking her head out of her bedroom.
"Is Mom alright?" she asked. Joanne went over and pulled her into a warm hug.
"She just needs some rest. Everything's going to work out, you'll see, sweetie," she assured. She knew that she didn't exactly sound convincing, but it was the only thing she could really do at the moment. "Are you alright?" she asked as she smoothed Cassia's hair out of her face tenderly.
"Yeah, I guess so."
"I'm always here if you need to talk." With a motherly kiss on the cheek, Joanne disappeared down the hall to supervise Paige and Tiffany playing with their dollhouse in the family room.
Mark was hanging out at the loft with Mimi and Roger when their phone rang. They all decided to ignore it in case it was one of their parents, which it usually was.
"Hey guys, its Joanne. Can I talk to you for a second?" In a flash, Roger was on his feet and grabbed the phone.
"Hey Jo."
"Hi Roger. I have a favor to ask of you." Roger leaned casually against the table and crossed his ankles.
"Sure, what's up?" Joanne sighed.
"You guys have done so much for us already, and I hate asking for more, but Maureen's getting worse every day."
"Worse? How so?" That got both Mark and Mimi's attention. They stopped talking to listen to what Roger was saying. They didn't have to ask who he and Joanne were talking about, they already knew.
"She can barely function now, and I don't feel comfortable putting her in charge of Paige all day without me or Cassia with her. I know you all are busy all day, but if one of you could please watch Paige. I'll pay you and everything, and it's only until Cassia gets out of school-"
"Joanne, Joanne, its fine," Roger interrupted. "Someone will be able to watch Paige. I don't blame you to be honest. Even if you want to leave her here with us until you're done with work so Cassia can have some down time, that's fine with us as well. And don't you dare think about paying us, it's our job to take care of Paige." Joanne let out a breath of relief.
"Oh Roger, thank you so much! What time can I drop her off tomorrow?"
"On your way to work is fine. Someone will be up."
"By someone he means someone other than him!" Mimi called from the background. Roger scowled, but he couldn't stay mad at Mimi, especially when she looked at him with her big, brown eyes.
"I really don't know how to thank you."
"Don't mention it."
"I'll see you guys tomorrow then."
"Bye." Roger hung up the phone and ran his fingers through his hair before returning to his seat on the couch. Mimi, however, took his seat, so he decided to get back at her by sitting on her.
"Roger, this isn't funny!" she exclaimed with her arms flailing out from under him. "You're so fat and heavy! Get off of me!" Mark only encouraged the situation by taking out his camera to film it.
"I'm fat!?" Roger repeated.
"Yes, now get off!" With one extra hard push, Mimi managed to shove Roger to the floor. Grumbling and swearing, he stumbled to his feet and plopped down on the couch next to her.
"That's for calling me lazy," he told her.
"Aww, come on baby, you know I love you," Mimi purred as she climbed onto Roger's lap and began to kiss his neck sensually.
"I think I'm going to hurl," Mark muttered bitterly as he got to his feet and retreated to the safety of his room where Mimi and Roger's exploits couldn't get to him.
The following morning, Mark made sure he was awake by 8:30 to watch Paige when Joanne dropped her off. It really wasn't a big deal to him since he was usually the first one up at the loft anyway. He put on a pot of coffee and made sure that there wasn't anything lying around on the floor that Paige would eat. They normally kept the loft fairly clean since Paige came around, but you could never be too careful. Just as he finished, there was a knock on the door. He slid open the door, revealing Joanne and a sleepy looking Paige.
"I really can't thank you enough for this, Mark," Joanne sighed as she handed over Paige. The child was way too tired to even understand what was going on. She simply rested her head on Mark's shoulder and closed her eyes with her thumb happily in her mouth.
"Joanne, its fine. We're more than happy to keep an eye on Paige. She'll be fine here." Joanne leaned over and kissed Paige's cheek softly, but she was out like a light.
"Bye, sweetie." With one last kiss, she handed over the diaper bag and left to get to work before she was late for work.
Mark shouldered the bag and took Paige inside. He then carefully laid her out on the couch and covered her up with a blanket before retreating to the kitchen to get his much-needed cup of coffee. Paige was still fast asleep on the couch, where she'd probably remain for another hour or so, which was perfectly fine with Mark. He settled down at the table with the newspaper and his coffee, waiting for his day to get started.
An hour later, Roger emerged from the bedroom he shared with Mimi. His hair was sticking up all over the place, and he still looked like he was ready to pass out at any moment.
He went to go flop down on the couch, but Mark exclaimed, "No! Paige is laying there!" Roger jumped up and looked down. Sure enough, Paige was still fast asleep on the couch. She looked like a little angel, fast asleep and totally innocent.
"It's too early for this," he grumbled as he trudged into the kitchen to get himself some coffee as well.
When Mimi woke up half an hour later, she found both Mark and Roger still drinking coffee and talking quietly. When she went over to check on Paige, she found her wide awake, giggling and cooing over nothing at all.
"Come here," she said as she picked her up and kissed her cheek softly.
"Mimi!" Paige exclaimed happily. Mimi went over and took a sip of Roger's now cold coffee.
"Here, take her," she said as she handed Paige over. Roger took her, which only thrilled her. Mimi grabbed herself a cup of coffee and stuck it in their secondhand microwave. Paige banged on the table and made a swipe at Roger's coffee.
"Oh no, that's the last thing you need. Let's find you something for breakfast." With Paige in hand, Roger got to his feet and dug around the kitchen for something to eat for her. It was easier said than done, but he eventually settled on some toast. It was going to be a long day.