Chapter 62
"Roger?" Cass whispered, tickling his face along the edge of his goatee with a chunk of her hair. "Roger." She whispered again.
He got a small grin on his face as he brushed her hair away from his face as he rolled over an opened his eyes. "Mark! Get that damn camera out of my face!" He yelled, throwing a pillow at him.
Cass, who was kneeling beside the bed right next to Mark, started to crack up as did Mark.
Roger sat up in bed against the wall. "You two are so not funny."
"Oh you love us and you know it." Mark said zooming in on the still groggy Roger.
"Uh huh!" Cass told him, crawling onto the bed next to him. "Come on you have to get up." She bounced up and down on the bed.
"Yeah Rog! You gotta get up!" Mark said stepping onto the mattress and bouncing up and down.
"Cut it out! Both of you! God you two are definitely spending too much time together."
"Okay Grump!" Mark told him, stepping off the bed. "I'm going to try and sort some of that mess out."
"Just go!" Roger threw another pillow at him. "It's too early for this. What time is it?" He laid back down, pulling her with him.
"Early! It's almost 1:30! Nobody told you to sit around drinking with Izzy all night after you guys finished up!" She laughed at him. "Come home at five in the morning, drunk off your ass, thinking your gonna get some. Ha! Then complain about it being early. Now that's funny Davis." She teased him.
"So did I get some or not?" He teased back, pulling her close.
"Ahhh! No you did not! As if you didn't know! Besides you stink like the Iguana."
"The bar?"
"No the reptile dummy."
"You're cute when you're annoyed, you know that?" He rolled her over, pinning her to the bed. "You want to hear something funny? I forgot about are temporary move to the second floor and walked all the way up to the fourth floor last night."
"You're kidding! You were drunk off your ass!" She started laughing.
"Don't laugh at me. I've lived on the fourth floor of this dump for a lot of years."
"Hey we own this dump. Remember?" She sat up. "Well the good news is Mark and I got most of the rest of our stuff at least packed if not moved down here. The clothes, the few thinks from the kitchen, stuff like that. Everything else is bagged up to keep the dust out when they take down the walls in the old loft and after they start to sand the new drywall."
"Cool, but it's going to be weird when it's done. What's left to do up there?"
"Well, considering this place is so small in comparison, Mark and I are kinda on holiday from work for awhile. We had to bag up two of my computers and all Mark's editing equipment." She sat up in the bed.
"Mark's gonna run a bunch of phone line and cable out the window later today. We got just about everything else done. We just need to move the TV and the couch, but we'll do that after you leave tonight.
Roger sat up. "No you won't. I don't want you moving anything else. Especially the couch down two flights of stairs. I can't believe Mark let you move all the stuff you already moved."
"God Roger, I'm pregnant, not helpless."
"Just don't move anything else okay?" He got up out of the bed. "I mean you just got out of the hospital. Just be careful. Please?"
"Okay Baby, if that's what you want." She followed him out of the room.
Mark was in the kitchen and he poured orange juice into a cup, sliding it across the counter to Roger who sat down on one of the stools they had brought down from upstairs. "What the hell are you doing making her carry all that crap down here from our place?"
"I figured it was good for her. Later today I'm going to strap the couch on her back and have her bring that down too." Mark told him sarcastically. "Give me a break Roger, like I let her do anything. Remember who we are talking about here please."
"I know, I know. I'm sorry. I mean she just got out of the hospital you know?"
"Uh, yeah, I was in the hospital too. How about a little concern for me?"
Roger laughed. "I got concern for you. If you let her do that again, I'm concerned I'll have to hurt you."
"Okay, deal."
"What is that?" Roger asked looking up at the ceiling.
"Oh. I think its Ginny working out. She said us staying below her place was a great chance for her to show us how noisy we really are."
"Well, deal with it." Cass said, wrapping her arms around Roger's neck. "We're just lucky this apartment vacated two weeks ago. Otherwise I don't know what we would do while the contractor rips apart our place. And besides, right now you only have to climb one flight of stairs and we get to live right next door to Jen!" She kissed him on the lips.
"Oh joy we get to live right next to Jen and below Nurse Super Bitch."
"And I get to sleep in the living room." Mark added dryly.
"Yes but we also have heat and more hot water." She told them.
"Speaking of which, I'm gonna go take a shower." Roger told them. "You wanna come with me?" He asked her, wrapping his arms around her waist.
Cass just gave him a look. "We don't have that much hot water Babe." She laughed.
"Whatever." He squeezed her tight, kissing the back of her neck.
"Um, Rog?" Mark started cautiously as Roger looked up. "Um, your mom called last night."
"What did she do that for? She knows the band plays on Sunday nights?"
"Well, um, I think that's why she called then. She wanted to talk to me."
"For what?" He asked suspiciously.
"Well, you wouldn't tell her if you were coming up for Thanksgiving or not, and it's only three days away, so she asked me. Wanted to know what I thought you would do."
Roger's arms stayed around Cass, but now in a more protective way. "So what did you tell her?"
"That I'd talk to you and you'd call her."
"Oh."
"Come on, it could be fun. We could go to Pub Night."
"What's that?" Cass asked.
"It's a bar that everyone who graduated from our high school goes to on Thanksgiving night. It's sort of a tradition." Mark explained.
"Why are you so excited to go to Scarsdale all of a sudden Mark?"
"Um, well, Cindy is going to her in-laws and my parents are going to my aunt's in Albany."
"What Marky, I don't get to hear your mother call me everything but my name?" Cass laughed.
"So?" Mark looked to Roger. "What are we doing?"
"I don't know Mark! Let it be!" He got up and walked back into the bedroom, dropping onto the bed.
Mark and Cass exchanged looks before Cass followed him into the bedroom. "Roger? You okay Baby?"
"Yes. No. I don't know what to do." He pulled her down on the bed next to him.
"What do you want to do?" She asked, fingering the tattoo on his upper arm.
"I don't know. What do you think we should do?"
"It doesn't matter what I think, but I'll tell you what I think you think." She sat up some more, leaning against the wall.
"What?" He looked up at her as he rested his head in her lap.
"I think you want to go, but you're scared. Scared of what she'll say and think. Scared of what everyone will say and think."
"Maybe." He sighed as he looked away.
"But it doesn't matter what they think Baby. Because I love you. And Mark loves you too. And we know the truth about you. And if they can't see how great you are, then it's their loss. But either way I know you want to see her." She told him as she ran her fingers through his bleached hair that the roots had started to show through.
"Yeah, I guess. But I don't know if I'm up for the whole family Thanksgiving thing though."
"So you call her, tell her that, and go see her some other time alone."
He sat up. "But I want you to come with me."
"Well Baby I will, I mean when she was alone."
"Oh. I don't know. Maybe it would be easier to just get it over with, see all of them at the same time." He laid back down. "I do want to see her. And I want her to meet you." He looked up at her.
"Me too Baby." She told him as she lightly touched his cheek.
"I guess we could go up for the day. Have real food. I did promise you Thanksgiving dinner."
"Yup! You did. And you'd look awful funny trying to cook me a turkey in that little kitchen." She grinned at him.
"Especially considering I have no idea how to cook a turkey." He laughed
"Well that settles it then. You call her later and tell her. Right now, get up and take a shower. The baby's hungry and wants a tofu scramble from Life Café."
"The baby does huh? I think it's you. No baby would ever want to eat something as nasty as that tofu scramble thing you get. Yuck!" He kissed her belly and then just stared at her for a second.
"What?"
"Nothing. You know I love you right?" He asked her. "It's just, maybe if we go, maybe we shouldn't mentions the baby just yet. Would that be okay?"
"What ever you want Roger. You know I'll do whatever you want."
"It's not that I don't want to tell her, I just don't know if I'm ready to do all that just yet." He told her hesitantly.
"I know Baby. It's okay. It's going to be a big enough day without bringing that up too. I understand Roger. We'll do whatever you want Baby."
"I love you Cass." He leaned up and kissed her. Both of you. Mommy."
Cass smiled at him. "We love you too Daddy."
********************
Cass heard the beeping of Roger's watch and tried to pull the pillow over her head. Unfortunately uncovering it only made it louder. "Roger. Roger wake up. Take your pills. And we need to get up."
"It's too early." He tried to bury his face in her neck and hair.
"Uh-uh. You have to get up. You promised her. And me. Come on." She pulled on him.
"Okay, okay." He got up and let her pull him into the living room.
"Ewww. Good morning sleeping beauty." Mark joked from the kitchen. "You want some juice?"
Roger mumbled something inaudible and dropped onto the twin mattress Mark was sleeping on in the living room.
"Here Baby, take your pills." Cass handed him the juice and his pills.
"Come on Rog, wake up. We got to go soon or we'll be late." Mark told him.
"Maybe this isn't such a great idea." Roger told them, as he sat up on the mattress and took his pills. "I mean you guys just got out of the hospital."
"Two weeks ago Roger, nice try thought. Now get out of my bed."
"You feel okay Cass. You look kind of greenish." Roger told her. "If you're going to get sick every ten minutes we should stay home."
"Roger Jackson Davis I haven't thrown up in a week and you are stalling! Now get up!" She pulled at him.
After a tremendous amount of stalling they were finally ready to leave. Cass packed them a bag in case they spent the night. Mark picked up the bag with their stuff and handed Roger his guitar.
"Okay are we ready?" She asked.
"Yeah, we got his pills, your vitamins and all our stuff. So let's go before he comes up with another reason we need to stay home."
Cass laughed as Roger grumbled. He opened up the door. "Maybe we should go say goodbye to Jen."
"Jen and Jason and Collins left last night. They'll be at Collin's parents house till Saturday." Mark told him.
"We should say goodbye to Mo then."
"She's gone too sweetie. She left for Washington yesterday. She and Joanne are meeting Joanne's parents at some Senator's house for dinner." Cass told him, pushing him out the door.
"Yeah, I'd love to be a fly on the wall for that dinner party." Mark laughed. "Come on, you can sleep on the train." He told Roger.
They finally made it to Grand Central Station. Mark bought the tickets as their train was coming in. After they got settled into their seats Cass turned to Roger. "Relax Baby, it'll be okay. And no matter what, Mark and I will be with you the whole time." She leaned in and kissed him. "And just think, this time I get to see something of Scarsdale besides the inside of our hotel room. Right Mark?"
"Yeah I guess." Mark sort of laughed and felt his face get hot.
Roger looked from one to the other. "Oh that's real helpful, both of you." He told them annoyed.
"Sorry Roger." Mark laughed.
"Sorry Baby." She kissed the knuckles of his hand she was holding. "Why don't you take a nap. Try and relax Baby."
"Okay." He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close, closing his eyes. Forty-five minutes later Mark was waking him up. He couldn't believe he actually fell asleep.
"Rog, wake up, we're there."
He opened his eyes and looked out the window. It had been a really long time since he'd seen that train platform, but it still looked the same.
"Thank God, get me off this train." Cass said.
"You okay Baby?" He asked her.
"You know, same old thing. Subways and trains are just not my favorite mode of transportation at the moment."
"Okay let's go." Mark picked up the bag and helped Cass up, handing her backpack to Roger. "It's about six blocks, you'll feel better after we start walking."
As much as Roger didn't want to get off the train at that moment, he wanted to make Cass feel better and he knew Mark was right. He wrapped an arm around her waist and walked her off the train to a bench on the platform.
"We should have brought some crackers for you. Maybe the Deli Queen will be open. We might be able to get you some there, on the way." Mark told them.
She could see the look of fear and worry in Roger's eyes. She swallowed hard and stood up. "I'm fine. Let's just go. I'll be fine by the time we get there. And remember Mark," she looked at him, "even if I'm not, just let everyone think I've got a stomach thing."
Mark nodded and they slowly started to walk to Roger's old house. "God it's freezing out here. It's a lot colder than in the city."
"Uh huh."
"Baby, it's okay." She leaned up and kissed him as they rounded a corner. The further they walked the slower he got and the tighter his arm became around her waist.
Roger stopped walking and looked at Mark. "This is a really bad idea."
Mark stepped in front of him to keep him from bolting. He almost whispered in his ear he was so quite when he spoke. "Roger you can do this. I know you can." He just stood there for a second, looking into Roger's eyes. Mark knew in the old days there would have been no way he would have been able to stop Roger from taking off, if he had ever been able to get him this far in the first place.
"Come on it's going to be okay." Mark looked toward Cass and Roger's eyes followed him. "Look, Cass is freezing, and we got to get her something to eat." He looked over Roger's shoulder. "Besides, it's too late. They already know we're here."
Cass looked toward the house they were in front of just in time to see the curtains on the front window move.