I ask again for you to review. I got a few reviews for the last chapter and it made me happier. But there still could be more! Remember, reviews are the food of life. Thank you for reading.

Peace

-elodie

Wisp

Chapter 06

Maureen couldn't help noticing the overwhelming smell of cinnamon in the loft as she waited impatiently for Joanne to pick up her phone.

"Oh, that bitch, screening her goddamn ca-Oh hi Pookie! Baby, I just wanted to… What? Tonight? Pookie… Really, I think we should just put it all behind us. It was just a silly fight! Darling, I miss you… It's not a lie! Really, I-Pookie! I-I love you… Yes, I'm serious. Well, you heard what Mimi said… No, this isn't just because of her. I really do lo-Pookie? Are you still there? You what, Joanne? You-You love me too? Wait, Pookie, don't hang…up."

Winnie peaked in from the fire escape, her cinnamon-scented candle cradled in her hands. Maureen hadn't noticed her yet. She felt guilty for eavesdropping, but Maureen was just so goddamned loud, she couldn't help it. She smiled softly. It was an endearing quality with Maureen. Only Maureen.

"Hey Maureen, have you seen Winnie? Oh, there you are." Mark walking in the door. Maureen turned and saw Winnie peaking in from the fire escape.

"You were here the whole time and didn't say anything?"

"Winnie, you shouldn't be outside. You'll get sicker."

Winnie shrugged and climbed back in, one hand gripping her candle, the other holding the blanket around her shoulders. In the two weeks since the funeral, she'd succeeded in catching the flu. Her shivering never ceased, even though her forehead was burning up.

She didn't feel like talking much. Her throat was sore from coughing. She just smiled sadly at Maureen and let Mark pull her to the couch with him.

"What were you doing outside?" Mark asked her, taking the candle from her shaking hands and setting it on the table. Winnie shrugged.

"Just needed some fresh air," She croaked.

"But it's twenty degrees out there. You've always got chills anyway."

Maureen broke in, "Mark, just let her be. She's obviously exhausted."

Mark shot her a look. "C'mon Winnie. Let's get you to bed." He helped her up on her feet and led her down the hall. As he tucked her into bed she looked up at him with her big green eyes and asked,

"Mark? Tell me about your family." She grabbed his hand and pulled him down beside her.

"Well, what do you want to know?"

Winnie shrugged. "I dunno. I've told you lots about my family. What's yours like? How did they make you into Mark Cohen?"

"Haven't you already had this talk?" Mark joked softly. "Sorry, I had to say it. Well, my father left my mother when I was ten for another woman. My mother was always obnoxiously perky. I'm sure you've heard the phone messages." Winnie nodded sympathetically. "I have an older sister, Cindy. She was perfect. The golden child. I always thought she was a snob but my parents loved her. That is, until she got pregnant at eighteen. She ended up marrying the guy but he left her two and a half years ago."

"Men are scum."

"Excuse me?"

"You're not a man. You're a boy."

Mark smirked. "And what difference does it make?"

Winnie turned her head so she could face him. "Boys won't hurt me, men will."

"What about Collins and Roger?"

"They're boys at heart." Winnie smiled and snuggled to him. He was always warm when she was cold. "Mark, what about you? What were you like?"

Mark snorted. "I told you, I was a nerd. I didn't have much of a life. I locked myself up in my room playing with my camera. Then I'd sneak out and film random people on the street. My first commissioned film was by Nanette Himmelfarb, the rabbi's daughter. She wanted to make a film for her parents' anniversary. So she asked me," He smiled lightly. "She taught me to tango and gave me my first kiss."

"I've never been kissed," Winnie murmured. "Boys didn't pay much attention to me in high school. I was brainy, weird and quiet. All guys fall for that, huh?" She laughed softly.

Mark reached out and stroked her hair. "I do."

Winnie smiled and closed her eyes. "What did your parents think of you?"

"My mother worries about me and my father hates what I'm doing with my life. He nearly disinherited me when I dropped out of college."

"Mark?"

"Uh huh?"

"You never answered my question."

"What question?"

"I'd asked why you were carrying around that razor."

Mark froze. He'd avoided telling anyone. When Maureen demanded an answer, he was purposely vague. "I'm lost…"

Winnie said nothing. She just reached out and brushed a lock of his hair that had fallen in his eyes. She decided to just let him get it out on his own.

"I don't know what I'm going to do when Roger… When he's gone. I don't know how long it will be. But I think it's getting closer. He's been getting so weak and sick. I think he's just about got full-blown AIDS. And I'm scared. My whole life for the past three years has revolved around him. Taking care of him when he's sick, reminding him to take his AZT, cheering him up, dragging him out of the house. When he's gone… I don't know what I'll do. Collins doesn't have much longer, either. Collins has had full-blown AIDS for more than two years now. Maureen… She and I aren't as close any more. And Joanne and I were never close."

Winnie traced his face with her finger while he talked, from his hairline to his jawbone, to his nose, his chin.

"What are you doing?"

She ran her finger lightly over his lips. "Memorizing your face. My brother and I did this once. I can remember him so vividly. I never want to forget you."

"I won't give you the chance." He reached out and began tracing her face. He traced along her forehead where there were a few dents left from past stitches, along her tiny slightly crooked nose, along her hollowed cheeks, her chin, her lips. She closed her eyes and he gently touched her eyelids.

"Will you take my picture some time?" She asked him.

"Of course. Why?"

"I need to be remembered as beautiful. Make me look beautiful."

"You already are."

"You're just saying that."

"No, I'm not."

Winnie sighed, loving the feeling of his finger running along her skin. "Why are you so good to me?"

Mark whispered, "Because I care."

"But why?"

"Because you're just as lost as I am. I figure we can find our way out of the abyss together."

Winnie smiled. "That's a nice way to put it. You'll be my knight in shining armor and I'll be your damsel in distress."

"No, I'll be your damsel and you be my knight."

"Only if you wear a princess dress…"

Mark chuckled. "Maybe."

Winnie grasped his hand, holding it to her cheek, relishing the warmth. "You've only known me for three weeks."

"Roger had only known Mimi for a few hours."

"I always thought it was a gradual thing."

"It doesn't have to be."

Winnie felt his hands knead into her shoulders, working out all her tension. She noticed that she hadn't shivered in so long. "I think we've found a path home."

Mark felt her begin to relax even more. "It's a long one, but I see our castle on the horizon. Our yellow brick road leads us to the Emerald City."

"We'll have to slay a dragon."

"Jump over the moon."

"Defeat an evil witch."

"Swim across the moat."

"But we'll be home."

"And I'll wear my dress."

Winnie smirked. "I'll wear my suit of armor."

His hands traveled farther down her back, working out every sore muscle. It felt so good. Everything tingled. Her toes, her mouth, her nose… She shivered, but not from cold. Still, she felt his arms close around her tighter.

"I'm not cold," She whispered. "Just happy and tingly. That feels good. I haven't gotten a backrub for years."

Mark massaged a little bit firmer, but still tried to stay gentle. She felt so fragile beneath his touch. "I used to give Roger backrubs after he was out late with the band. He'd be so sore. But that hasn't been for a few years."

"The band?"

"Yeah, the Well Hungarians. They played in a lot of bars and clubs. They'd reached their pinnacle about the same time I got here. Then they got into heroin and everything went downhill. Promise me you'll never do stuff like that."

Winnie smiled cheekily. "Start a band?"

"No, silly," Mark smiled and began to comb back the wisps of hair from her face. She'd pulled it back in a long braid. He untied the ribbon and unbraided her long red hair slowly, combing it with his fingers.

Winnie reached up and removed his glasses, placing them on the small table next to her bed. "Would you like to…?"

Mark's eyes widened. 'Like to what?"

"Nap with me? I'm sleepy. You've worn me out."

Mark smiled at his misunderstanding. No, his hope. "I'd love to."

She cuddled even closer to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face in his neck

Mark silently contemplated the situation. God, he hadn't gotten laid for two years. It was killing him to lie there with her. He felt her sigh against his neck. He couldn't see her so well. Everything was blurry without his glasses, but right now, he didn't care.

"Mark?" She whispered.

"Yes, Miss Winnie?"

"I don't think it's quite as gradual as I thought."

Mark smiled as he felt her lips touch his neck softly and he tightened his hold around her.

Follow the yellow brick road. We're off to see the wizard. To the Emerald City. We need a heart, a brain, a little courage and a home. Look! There, through the poppies, what's that? It's the Emerald City. We're here. But I feel so sleepy. The poppies…