Chapter 14

The next morning Roger called Joanne and asked if he could borrow her car. "I have to pick up my sister from the airport." He explained. The thing that Roger loved about Joanne was that she didn't ask questions. She just agreed.

"I'll have Maureen drop it by the loft when she goes over to the lot today." The lawyer said. Roger thanked her and hung up as the door opened to admit Collins and Danni who were arguing animatedly and Angel who came in behind them looking perplexed.

"They've been going like this for the past three hours." She informed Roger.

The musician sighed. "I'm sorry to say it Angel, but better you than me." Apparently Collins won whatever the argument was about because he laughed in triumph and ruffled Danni's hair.

"Better luck next time kid." He said. "But you learn quick."

Danni stuck her tongue out at the professor and went to give her father a hug. It was the last thing Roger was expecting, but he quickly returned the gesture. "Where's Lizzie?" the teenager asked still in Roger's arms.

Roger pointed to the bathroom. "She decided that she wanted 'New Uncle Adam' to give her a bath this morning."

"Adam?" Collins asked. "Like your brother Adam?"

"I didn't know Roger had a brother." Angel said.

"Yep. He's twenty two." Roger told her. "My sister Nicole is thirty-eight and she'll be here today."

"It's a Davis family reunion!" Collins joked. There was a light tap on the door and the professor quirked an eyebrow. "Who knocks?" he wanted to know.

Roger smiled. "Micah." He intoned and went to open the door. Micah was on the other side. She had brushed her hair up into a ponytail and was wearing some old clothes of Mimi's. She smiled when she saw Roger.

"Hey, is it alright for me to be here now?" she asked. "Adam left already and…"

Roger cut her off by pulling her inside. "Come meet people." He said. "Guys this is Micah. She came in with my brother and they're both staying down in Mimi's old place. Micah this is Collins, Angel, and my daughter Danni who you saw yesterday."

Angel skipped over to the girl and gave her a hug. "Welcome chica." She gushed. "I love your accent and you look great in that shirt."

Micah flushed. "Thank you. It's just something that I found downstairs. I guess it belonged to Mimi?"

"Yep and I made it for her." Angel sang.

"Modest baby." Collins chuckled. "So where are you from Micah?"

"Oxford, England originally." The young woman answered. "I've lived all over this city though since I moved to the States."

"That's so cool." Danni practically gushed. "Why don't we ever go anywhere Daddy?"

Roger stared at his daughter. "Okay who are you and what the hell have you done with Danni?" he turned to look at Collins and Angel. "What did you do to her?"

Angel laughed. "Nothing it was that boy, what was his name Tommy?"

"Tobias I believe." The professor said with a wink at Danni. "He came by the house last night and the two of them talked for hours. When he left, Danni was like this. Quite an improvement wouldn't you say?"

"Hey!" Danielle protested.

Roger laughed. "He has a point. This new, less angsty, Danielle is amazing."

The girl hit her father on the arm. "Shut up. What are we doing today?"

"I have to get your Aunt Nicole from the airport and then I was thinking lunch at the Life or something. That sound good?" they all agreed that it was a good plan and went their separate ways for the day.

A few hours later the phone in the loft rang shrilly. Danni was sitting on the couch staring at her father and his brother. It was unnerving to the teenager to see this man who looked so much like Roger. She never expected to have so much family.

The two brothers were talking about old times and laughing when the phone rang. "SPEEEEEAAAK!" went the answering machine. Nicole's voice came on. "Roger I'm at the airport right now. I'm taking a cab to the closest hotel, a Holiday Inn I think. Pick me up from there in about twenty minutes Roger."

Adam snickered. "Same old Nicole."

"Seems like it." Roger replied. He stood up and stretched. "Danni, wake Lizzie up for me. You two can stay here while we go get Nicole."

Danni rolled her eyes and left the room. Adam chuckled again. "You know Rog, your kid is so much like you. It's almost creepy."

"Shut up." Roger retorted. There was a light tap on the door. "Come on in." Roger called. Micah slid the door open and stepped in. "Hey Micah."

"Hi." The young woman said. "I thought I'd come with you to get your sister. If that's okay with you."

"It's fine." Roger said quickly. "We'll leave in about ten minutes. Have you seen Mark? The dork with the glasses?"

Micah smiled. "I know who Mark is. He was outside filming last I saw. Should I go get him?"

"Nah, I've got it." Roger responded. He walked to the window and climbed onto the fire escape. "Mark!" he shouted. "We're getting ready to go!"

The filmmaker appeared around the corner. "Christ Rog. I think there's a few people in Queens who didn't hear you."

"Just hurry the fuck up!" Roger shouted back. "We gotta go!"

Mark rolled his eyes and hurried around to the front of the building where the car was parked. He was sure that Roger had to be nervous about seeing his sister again after all these years.