"Hello, Sebby!" Maureen sang, as the group entered The Life Café.
"Christ almighty," said Seb, when he saw them. "Are you guys trying to get me fired???"
"Now, whatever gave you that idea?" exclaimed Maureen, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. "We'll take the best table you have, sir. Only the best for our little Rock Star."
"Who's the Rock Star?" Seb smirked.
Mimi gave an unenthusiastic wave from behind Roger.
"MIMI?" he exclaimed, looking skeptical.
"Gig' this Saturday at ten thirty. It's at CBGB's," Maureen said, before he could say anything more. She patted him on the arm. "You'll be there"
"Oh um . . . sure."
"Good," Maureen smiled. "Big tippy for you! Lead the way, Sebastian!"
Seb led them to a table in one of the dim lit corners of the building. When they were all settled into their seats, and their orders had been taken, Mark finally spoke up, his camera in hand, of course.
"So, Mimi," he said, zooming in on Mimi, who was leaning against Roger. "How's life as a diva going for you so far?"
"I'm HARDLY a diva, Mark," Mimi replied, rolling her eyes. "I'm not even that good."
"Aw don't exaggerate," Roger joked.
Mimi shot him a look.
"I'm just kidding Meems. You're amazing." He kissed her on the cheek.
"Well, you would know," she said, teasingly.
"I've gotta piss," Collins suddenly said, standing up. He turned to the others. "I'll be back in a few."
"Take your time," Roger said, "We can't have you eating with a full bladder, now can we?"
"Thanks for understanding," Collins laughed. He turned and left for the Men's Room.
"I can't believe it, Mimi," Maureen continued, "Is this your first time singing in public?"
"Yeah," said Mimi, "I've never sang in my life before, really." She turned to Roger. "When was the first time you performed?"
"Well . . .," Roger said, slowly. "I had a garage band back when I lived in Scarsdale. I was the lead singer and I played guitar."
"YOU were in a garage band?" Maureen said, amused.
"Yup. When I was about sixteen. It pissed my folks off though. Now that I think about, we really sucked. We thought we were awesome, though. We never got out of the garage anyway." He turned to Mark. "You remember that, Mark? My mom used to come downstairs and scream for us to be quiet."
"Yeah," said Mark, chuckling, "She said that you were keeping Rachel from sleeping."
"Rachel?" Mimi said, confused.
"My sister," he explained. "She was probably three or four around then. We were never really close."
Mimi nodded. She hadn't seen her own sister, Isabella, in about two years.
"Were you in the band, Mark?" asked Joanne.
Mark smirked. "ME? God, no. I just shot tapes of them playing, and sent it out to different people, hoping to get them gigs. No such luck." He paused. "Hey, Roger, you remember what you guys called yourselves?"
"No," Roger said, too quickly.
"You don't?" Mark laughed, "I don't know how you could forget a name like that."
"What was it?" Mimi asked, curiously.
"It was "Metal Magnolias," Mark said, before Roger could say anything.
"Metal Magnolias?" Maureen repeated. "What the hell is that?"
"The drummer's girlfriend thought it up," Roger grumbled. "We thought it was cool at the time."
"Yeah, you also thought the band was cool at the time too," Mark laughed.
"Shut up Mark, you thought we were good too," Roger protested.
"Well, you know," Mark shrugged.
"I bet you were good Baby," Mimi giggled.
Roger sighed. "Alright, let's stop talking about it. Forget I brought it up, okay?"
"Sorry Roger," Mark said, trying not to smile.
"Right." He tried to change the subject. "You think Collins is alright? He's been in the bathroom a long time."
Just then, Collins emerged and sat down next to Maureen.
"Hey, what took you so long?" Mark asked, "Everything come out alright?"
"Um, yeah," Collins was blushing.
"It's okay, we all have our accidents," Roger said, winking at Mark.
"No, it's not that . . ., it's just- I met someone."
"In the bathroom?" said Maureen, frowning.
"No, not in the bathroom. When I came back outside."
"Well, how about that," chuckled Roger. "Does this someone have a name?"
"Yeah," said Collins, fidgeting in his chair, nervously. "It's Frankie."
"Well, where is this Frankie? Should we invite him to join us?"
"Well, actually," Collins said, slowly, "It's a SHE."
The table was silent for a moment.
"But, aren't you um, you know . . .," Mark stammered.
"Well, you know, Angel sort of taught me to look at different things from different perspectives," Collins said.
Maureen and Mimi nodded, understanding. Roger and Mark were still shocked. They'd known Collins for almost three years now, and he'd never been attracted to women in that whole time.
"So . . . you get her number?" Maureen said, breaking the silence.
"Yeah, I told her she could come over to my place. I wrote down my number for her."
"Wow," said Mimi, raising her eyebrows, "Sounds like you two are getting close pretty fast."
"Yeah," he said, a faint smile coming over his lips.
"Collins, does she know about . . ." his voice trailed off.
"Angel? I didn't tell her."
The group looked at him, quizzically.
"I will, when the time's right," he said, quickly. "I just don't want her to be turned off right away, you know?"
Slow head-nods answered him.
"Well, we're all looking forward to meet her," Mimi assured Collins, bringing a pleased look to his face.
"Are you going to bring her to the gig?" Roger asked.
"Eventually I'll lead up to that- it'd be like a first official date, you know?" he sighed. "I can't remember the last time I dated a girl. Must have been back in High School or something."
"Regina?"
All heads turned to Mark, confused.
"Remember? Her name was Regina. She was the one with the cornrows and those baggy T-shirts?"
"Yes," Collins said, smiling, "I remember her."
"Taking a trip down memory lane, I see?"
It was Benny.
"Benny, what are you doing back?" Roger asked, disgusted. "I thought Muffy and you moved away."
"ALISON and I have decided to separate for the time being," Benny snapped. Mimi shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
"I wonder why she kicked you out," Roger smirked.
"Actually, it was my decision. On top of her bitching twenty-four seven, she got another dog. One of those damn Chihuahua things. She's calling it Evita the 2nd."
Collins snickered.
"So I hear you've decided to look at some new fish?" he asked Collins, smirking.
"Fuck off, Benny," Roger grumbled. "Don't you have some clients to tend to?"
"Nah, I'm taking some time off. Guess I'll see you guys around then." He winked at Mimi, who gave him a fiery look, accompanied by her middle finger.
"Tough crowd," Benny muttered. He got up and left the table.
"Asshole," mumbled Roger, putting his arm around Mimi.
"I thought he was gone for good," complained Maureen.
"Well apparently MUFFY is too good for him," Mark snickered.
Collins sighed. "Oh, well," he said, "Anyone up for desert?
***
The group went their different ways once they'd finished. Maureen, Joanne and Collins walked down the street to their apartment, and Mark, Mimi and Roger walked the opposite way to theirs.
"So, you just crash?" Roger asked Mimi, as they stepped inside Roger's bedroom.
"Actually," she said, smiling, "I had another idea."
"Oh?" he said, pretending to be surprise.
"Yeah," she said, slipping off her coat. "Remember, you said we had a rain check?"
***
The next morning, Roger woke up to the sound of the phone ringing. He groaned, and sat up, bumping his head on the bed post. Mimi stirred beside him.
"You gonna get that?" she grumbled, her curly hair all tangled up.
"Yup." He rubbed his head with the back of his hand, and stumbled into the kitchen. He didn't remember paying for the phone bills. Collins must have fixed it somehow, he thought, as he swiped the phone out of its cradle.
"Hello?" he grouched.
"Good morning to you too."
"Chad?" Roger rubbed his eyes with his fist.
"Who else would be calling you this early?"
"What do you want?" Roger demanded, not in a friendly mood. Mimi had gotten out of bed, and walked into the kitchen, standing next to him and yawning.
"Well, I just heard from the guys yesterday that Candace is back."
"How about that," said Roger, rolling his eyes.
"What is it?" Mimi asked, tugging on his sleeve. Roger held up his finger and put the phone back against his ear.
"Where was she?"
"How the hell would I know? Here, there, New Jersey, Chelsea. That girl's all over the place."
Roger nodded, forgetting that Chad couldn't see him.
"So anyway, now she's saying she still wants to do the song."
Roger groaned. "What'd you tell her?" he asked.
"What do you think? I told her the truth. I told her that your girlfriend was going to be subbing for her for this once gig. She didn't take it too well. She's all screwed up with her drugs right now."
"Right," said Roger. "So what are we going to do about her?"
"Well, first of all, I'm not gonna let her onstage in her condition. She'd probably belch into the microphone and then end up falling asleep in some guy's lap. Second of all, compared to Mimi, Candace is horrible. I mean, the only reason we had her in the first place was because we were desperate, and she was the only girl willing to sing for the band. But Mimi . . ., she can REALLY sing, Roger."
"I know," said Roger, restraining a smile. Mimi tapped her foot impatiently, waiting to find out who was on the phone. It's Chad, he mouthed to her. Mimi frowned.
"So what are we going to do?" Roger repeated, scratching his head.
"That's the thing. If I say no, she's likely to make an unforgettable appearance anyway. And you know how pleasant THAT would be. I dunno, maybe we could pay her to stay away or something?"
"Chad. It's CANDACE. Money won't cut it with her. She needs what she wants."
"Well . . . there is ONE thing that she said would satisfy her enough to stay away on Saturday. But you're not gonna like it."
"Tell me."
"You know that little friend of yours with the glasses? Who practically has a camera growing out of his ass?"
"My best friend? Mark? Yeah," Roger snapped, angrily.
"Well, she saw him at the last show, and thought he was pretty cute. She said that if you could hook the two of them up for tonight, she'd leave you alone."
"WHAT?!" Roger exclaimed.
"Hey, I'm just repeating what Candace told me. She's nuts, I agree, but I think we should do it."
"Chad, Mark's not going to go out with some Crack Whore," Roger said, exasperated. Mimi gave him a 'What the HELL?' look.
"Well, think about it, Roger. It'd only be for one night. And then we could still have the show, and Mimi could sing. It'll be worth it."
"That's easy for you to say. You're not going to be the one whom Candace will be harassing the whole night."
"Just consider it, okay? Practice is tonight at 8:30, and it's either going to be Mimi or Candace at the mike. I'll talk to you later, okay Roger? You don't have to do this if you don't want to."
"Right," Roger said, coldly. "I'll talk to you tonight Chad." He dropped the phone back into its cradle and groaned loudly.
"What did he say?" Mimi asked, who had become extremely impatient. Roger told her what Chad had told him.
"That BITCH," Mimi exclaimed. "Who the hell does she think she is? Besides, Mark wouldn't even go down the hall and back with her."
"He might do it for me," Roger said, lamely. Mimi blinked.
"We don't really have a choice, Mimi. You still wanna sing, right?"
"Well, yeah," she admitted.
"Then I'll tell Mark what's going on, and see what he says. If he says no, then we'll just take it from there."
"Roger," Mimi said, carefully, "It's alright if Mark says no. I don't want this THAT badly. I don't want Mark to suffer on my account."
"I'll see what he says," Roger repeated. When Mimi didn't answer, he wrapped his arms around her small shoulders for a hug.
"It'll be fine," he assured her, running his fingers through her curly hair.
"Okay," she said, tonelessly into his pajama top.
"I'll ask Mark when he gets up."
"Ask Mark what?" Mark had appeared in the kitchen. His glasses sat crooked on his nose, and his pajamas were rumpled. Roger and Mimi exchanged glances.
"I'd think you might want to sit down for this one, Mark," he sighed.
"Christ almighty," said Seb, when he saw them. "Are you guys trying to get me fired???"
"Now, whatever gave you that idea?" exclaimed Maureen, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. "We'll take the best table you have, sir. Only the best for our little Rock Star."
"Who's the Rock Star?" Seb smirked.
Mimi gave an unenthusiastic wave from behind Roger.
"MIMI?" he exclaimed, looking skeptical.
"Gig' this Saturday at ten thirty. It's at CBGB's," Maureen said, before he could say anything more. She patted him on the arm. "You'll be there"
"Oh um . . . sure."
"Good," Maureen smiled. "Big tippy for you! Lead the way, Sebastian!"
Seb led them to a table in one of the dim lit corners of the building. When they were all settled into their seats, and their orders had been taken, Mark finally spoke up, his camera in hand, of course.
"So, Mimi," he said, zooming in on Mimi, who was leaning against Roger. "How's life as a diva going for you so far?"
"I'm HARDLY a diva, Mark," Mimi replied, rolling her eyes. "I'm not even that good."
"Aw don't exaggerate," Roger joked.
Mimi shot him a look.
"I'm just kidding Meems. You're amazing." He kissed her on the cheek.
"Well, you would know," she said, teasingly.
"I've gotta piss," Collins suddenly said, standing up. He turned to the others. "I'll be back in a few."
"Take your time," Roger said, "We can't have you eating with a full bladder, now can we?"
"Thanks for understanding," Collins laughed. He turned and left for the Men's Room.
"I can't believe it, Mimi," Maureen continued, "Is this your first time singing in public?"
"Yeah," said Mimi, "I've never sang in my life before, really." She turned to Roger. "When was the first time you performed?"
"Well . . .," Roger said, slowly. "I had a garage band back when I lived in Scarsdale. I was the lead singer and I played guitar."
"YOU were in a garage band?" Maureen said, amused.
"Yup. When I was about sixteen. It pissed my folks off though. Now that I think about, we really sucked. We thought we were awesome, though. We never got out of the garage anyway." He turned to Mark. "You remember that, Mark? My mom used to come downstairs and scream for us to be quiet."
"Yeah," said Mark, chuckling, "She said that you were keeping Rachel from sleeping."
"Rachel?" Mimi said, confused.
"My sister," he explained. "She was probably three or four around then. We were never really close."
Mimi nodded. She hadn't seen her own sister, Isabella, in about two years.
"Were you in the band, Mark?" asked Joanne.
Mark smirked. "ME? God, no. I just shot tapes of them playing, and sent it out to different people, hoping to get them gigs. No such luck." He paused. "Hey, Roger, you remember what you guys called yourselves?"
"No," Roger said, too quickly.
"You don't?" Mark laughed, "I don't know how you could forget a name like that."
"What was it?" Mimi asked, curiously.
"It was "Metal Magnolias," Mark said, before Roger could say anything.
"Metal Magnolias?" Maureen repeated. "What the hell is that?"
"The drummer's girlfriend thought it up," Roger grumbled. "We thought it was cool at the time."
"Yeah, you also thought the band was cool at the time too," Mark laughed.
"Shut up Mark, you thought we were good too," Roger protested.
"Well, you know," Mark shrugged.
"I bet you were good Baby," Mimi giggled.
Roger sighed. "Alright, let's stop talking about it. Forget I brought it up, okay?"
"Sorry Roger," Mark said, trying not to smile.
"Right." He tried to change the subject. "You think Collins is alright? He's been in the bathroom a long time."
Just then, Collins emerged and sat down next to Maureen.
"Hey, what took you so long?" Mark asked, "Everything come out alright?"
"Um, yeah," Collins was blushing.
"It's okay, we all have our accidents," Roger said, winking at Mark.
"No, it's not that . . ., it's just- I met someone."
"In the bathroom?" said Maureen, frowning.
"No, not in the bathroom. When I came back outside."
"Well, how about that," chuckled Roger. "Does this someone have a name?"
"Yeah," said Collins, fidgeting in his chair, nervously. "It's Frankie."
"Well, where is this Frankie? Should we invite him to join us?"
"Well, actually," Collins said, slowly, "It's a SHE."
The table was silent for a moment.
"But, aren't you um, you know . . .," Mark stammered.
"Well, you know, Angel sort of taught me to look at different things from different perspectives," Collins said.
Maureen and Mimi nodded, understanding. Roger and Mark were still shocked. They'd known Collins for almost three years now, and he'd never been attracted to women in that whole time.
"So . . . you get her number?" Maureen said, breaking the silence.
"Yeah, I told her she could come over to my place. I wrote down my number for her."
"Wow," said Mimi, raising her eyebrows, "Sounds like you two are getting close pretty fast."
"Yeah," he said, a faint smile coming over his lips.
"Collins, does she know about . . ." his voice trailed off.
"Angel? I didn't tell her."
The group looked at him, quizzically.
"I will, when the time's right," he said, quickly. "I just don't want her to be turned off right away, you know?"
Slow head-nods answered him.
"Well, we're all looking forward to meet her," Mimi assured Collins, bringing a pleased look to his face.
"Are you going to bring her to the gig?" Roger asked.
"Eventually I'll lead up to that- it'd be like a first official date, you know?" he sighed. "I can't remember the last time I dated a girl. Must have been back in High School or something."
"Regina?"
All heads turned to Mark, confused.
"Remember? Her name was Regina. She was the one with the cornrows and those baggy T-shirts?"
"Yes," Collins said, smiling, "I remember her."
"Taking a trip down memory lane, I see?"
It was Benny.
"Benny, what are you doing back?" Roger asked, disgusted. "I thought Muffy and you moved away."
"ALISON and I have decided to separate for the time being," Benny snapped. Mimi shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
"I wonder why she kicked you out," Roger smirked.
"Actually, it was my decision. On top of her bitching twenty-four seven, she got another dog. One of those damn Chihuahua things. She's calling it Evita the 2nd."
Collins snickered.
"So I hear you've decided to look at some new fish?" he asked Collins, smirking.
"Fuck off, Benny," Roger grumbled. "Don't you have some clients to tend to?"
"Nah, I'm taking some time off. Guess I'll see you guys around then." He winked at Mimi, who gave him a fiery look, accompanied by her middle finger.
"Tough crowd," Benny muttered. He got up and left the table.
"Asshole," mumbled Roger, putting his arm around Mimi.
"I thought he was gone for good," complained Maureen.
"Well apparently MUFFY is too good for him," Mark snickered.
Collins sighed. "Oh, well," he said, "Anyone up for desert?
***
The group went their different ways once they'd finished. Maureen, Joanne and Collins walked down the street to their apartment, and Mark, Mimi and Roger walked the opposite way to theirs.
"So, you just crash?" Roger asked Mimi, as they stepped inside Roger's bedroom.
"Actually," she said, smiling, "I had another idea."
"Oh?" he said, pretending to be surprise.
"Yeah," she said, slipping off her coat. "Remember, you said we had a rain check?"
***
The next morning, Roger woke up to the sound of the phone ringing. He groaned, and sat up, bumping his head on the bed post. Mimi stirred beside him.
"You gonna get that?" she grumbled, her curly hair all tangled up.
"Yup." He rubbed his head with the back of his hand, and stumbled into the kitchen. He didn't remember paying for the phone bills. Collins must have fixed it somehow, he thought, as he swiped the phone out of its cradle.
"Hello?" he grouched.
"Good morning to you too."
"Chad?" Roger rubbed his eyes with his fist.
"Who else would be calling you this early?"
"What do you want?" Roger demanded, not in a friendly mood. Mimi had gotten out of bed, and walked into the kitchen, standing next to him and yawning.
"Well, I just heard from the guys yesterday that Candace is back."
"How about that," said Roger, rolling his eyes.
"What is it?" Mimi asked, tugging on his sleeve. Roger held up his finger and put the phone back against his ear.
"Where was she?"
"How the hell would I know? Here, there, New Jersey, Chelsea. That girl's all over the place."
Roger nodded, forgetting that Chad couldn't see him.
"So anyway, now she's saying she still wants to do the song."
Roger groaned. "What'd you tell her?" he asked.
"What do you think? I told her the truth. I told her that your girlfriend was going to be subbing for her for this once gig. She didn't take it too well. She's all screwed up with her drugs right now."
"Right," said Roger. "So what are we going to do about her?"
"Well, first of all, I'm not gonna let her onstage in her condition. She'd probably belch into the microphone and then end up falling asleep in some guy's lap. Second of all, compared to Mimi, Candace is horrible. I mean, the only reason we had her in the first place was because we were desperate, and she was the only girl willing to sing for the band. But Mimi . . ., she can REALLY sing, Roger."
"I know," said Roger, restraining a smile. Mimi tapped her foot impatiently, waiting to find out who was on the phone. It's Chad, he mouthed to her. Mimi frowned.
"So what are we going to do?" Roger repeated, scratching his head.
"That's the thing. If I say no, she's likely to make an unforgettable appearance anyway. And you know how pleasant THAT would be. I dunno, maybe we could pay her to stay away or something?"
"Chad. It's CANDACE. Money won't cut it with her. She needs what she wants."
"Well . . . there is ONE thing that she said would satisfy her enough to stay away on Saturday. But you're not gonna like it."
"Tell me."
"You know that little friend of yours with the glasses? Who practically has a camera growing out of his ass?"
"My best friend? Mark? Yeah," Roger snapped, angrily.
"Well, she saw him at the last show, and thought he was pretty cute. She said that if you could hook the two of them up for tonight, she'd leave you alone."
"WHAT?!" Roger exclaimed.
"Hey, I'm just repeating what Candace told me. She's nuts, I agree, but I think we should do it."
"Chad, Mark's not going to go out with some Crack Whore," Roger said, exasperated. Mimi gave him a 'What the HELL?' look.
"Well, think about it, Roger. It'd only be for one night. And then we could still have the show, and Mimi could sing. It'll be worth it."
"That's easy for you to say. You're not going to be the one whom Candace will be harassing the whole night."
"Just consider it, okay? Practice is tonight at 8:30, and it's either going to be Mimi or Candace at the mike. I'll talk to you later, okay Roger? You don't have to do this if you don't want to."
"Right," Roger said, coldly. "I'll talk to you tonight Chad." He dropped the phone back into its cradle and groaned loudly.
"What did he say?" Mimi asked, who had become extremely impatient. Roger told her what Chad had told him.
"That BITCH," Mimi exclaimed. "Who the hell does she think she is? Besides, Mark wouldn't even go down the hall and back with her."
"He might do it for me," Roger said, lamely. Mimi blinked.
"We don't really have a choice, Mimi. You still wanna sing, right?"
"Well, yeah," she admitted.
"Then I'll tell Mark what's going on, and see what he says. If he says no, then we'll just take it from there."
"Roger," Mimi said, carefully, "It's alright if Mark says no. I don't want this THAT badly. I don't want Mark to suffer on my account."
"I'll see what he says," Roger repeated. When Mimi didn't answer, he wrapped his arms around her small shoulders for a hug.
"It'll be fine," he assured her, running his fingers through her curly hair.
"Okay," she said, tonelessly into his pajama top.
"I'll ask Mark when he gets up."
"Ask Mark what?" Mark had appeared in the kitchen. His glasses sat crooked on his nose, and his pajamas were rumpled. Roger and Mimi exchanged glances.
"I'd think you might want to sit down for this one, Mark," he sighed.