A/N: Yah! This is what I like to call an extended song fic, mainly cuz
it's so long. As always I credit Mr. Larson with everything in my life
even remotely connected to Rent. The song is called 'Where have you been?'
and for that I give credit to the Reel Big Fish. Please R/R.
**You called me up last night in tears and said you missed me after all these years.**
My camera light blinks happily at me as I capture the moment: Roger stroking a sleeping Mimi's head, just listening to her breath. A soft smile across her still face completes the picture. It has been a while since those two have been so happy. I hope it lasts.
And then, of course the phone rings loudly, wrenching Mimi out of her slumber.
Roger sighs sadly.
The call couldn't have come at a worse time. I continue the narration, "A perfect shot, a perfect moment. Perfectly ruined. We screen. Zoom in on the answering machine."
Our voices drone, "Speak-BEEP-Mark?" A sad feminine voice whispers, "Mark? It's me."
Maureen? I drop my camera without even turning it off to pick up the phone.
"This better be good," Roger rolls his eyes, completely exasperated, next to Mimi who was still groggy.
"Are you there? Mark?"
"Yeah, sorry."
"Hey." She's sniffling.
"Maureen, is everything-are you crying?" I'm stuttering. How great is that? Somebody calls me when their upset and I reassure them with my stuttering. I should start a business: 'Feeling down? Need an ego boost? Call Mark Cohen and you'll feel much better instantly because he is more pathetic than you. Guaranteed.'
"Yeah."
"What's up?" Everything was always a production if it involved Maureen. She was the resident drama-queen, but she never cried, at least not in front of others. The only times I'd seen her in tears were when she broke up with me, Angel's funeral, and when we thought we had lost Mimi.
"I miss you Mark."
"What?" The last thing I expected to hear. "Well, we haven't heard from you or Joanne lately. You can stop by anytime. You know that."
"No, Mark. I miss being with you." I hear myself swallow. "I really do." She missed being with me? Of all people, me? Is she hinting at what I think she is?
**You called me up last night in tears and said you missed me after all these years.**
My camera light blinks happily at me as I capture the moment: Roger stroking a sleeping Mimi's head, just listening to her breath. A soft smile across her still face completes the picture. It has been a while since those two have been so happy. I hope it lasts.
And then, of course the phone rings loudly, wrenching Mimi out of her slumber.
Roger sighs sadly.
The call couldn't have come at a worse time. I continue the narration, "A perfect shot, a perfect moment. Perfectly ruined. We screen. Zoom in on the answering machine."
Our voices drone, "Speak-BEEP-Mark?" A sad feminine voice whispers, "Mark? It's me."
Maureen? I drop my camera without even turning it off to pick up the phone.
"This better be good," Roger rolls his eyes, completely exasperated, next to Mimi who was still groggy.
"Are you there? Mark?"
"Yeah, sorry."
"Hey." She's sniffling.
"Maureen, is everything-are you crying?" I'm stuttering. How great is that? Somebody calls me when their upset and I reassure them with my stuttering. I should start a business: 'Feeling down? Need an ego boost? Call Mark Cohen and you'll feel much better instantly because he is more pathetic than you. Guaranteed.'
"Yeah."
"What's up?" Everything was always a production if it involved Maureen. She was the resident drama-queen, but she never cried, at least not in front of others. The only times I'd seen her in tears were when she broke up with me, Angel's funeral, and when we thought we had lost Mimi.
"I miss you Mark."
"What?" The last thing I expected to hear. "Well, we haven't heard from you or Joanne lately. You can stop by anytime. You know that."
"No, Mark. I miss being with you." I hear myself swallow. "I really do." She missed being with me? Of all people, me? Is she hinting at what I think she is?
