Chapter 76
"Okay, Dave and Jason you're on the bar. Mark's running. Tina and the girls are on the floor and Krystal and Cass can float." Izzy explained, taking another piece of fried chicken.
"So what the hell am I here for?"
"Roger buddy, you get to bounce with me. And help Dave when he needs it."
"Oh, so in other words," Krystal said wiping grease off her hands, "while we're working our asses off, you two get to stand at the door flirting with every underager trying to get their hand stamped."
All the guys started laughing as Izzy tried to defend himself. "Come on Krystal, you know it's not like that baby."
"Izzy we're not going to have any problems till late. Why don't you put Mark on the door and let Jason run? At least until they start to get rowdy." Dave asked.
"If I do that, I'll have every eighteen year old in line showing him their tits just to get in."
"Hey!" Mark protested, turning red as Roger and Jason started laughing.
"Whatever, can we just stick with my plan for now? I mean I bought you guys dinner. What more do you all want?"
"To not have to work at all tonight." Tina whined.
"Yeah then I could spend tonight with my girlfriend Iz." Dave told him.
"First of all, all I heard form you last week was how you needed more hours." He told Tina. "And your girlfriend," he told Dave, "is working a party. So I don't want to hear it. Now get to work!" He stood up to head to his office.
"Hey Izzy?" Roger called to him.
Izzy turned around to face him. "What? I don't want to hear any bitching from you Davis. Your girlfriend is here. Half your friends are here. The other half of them will show up later and drink my beer for free. Plus you're abandoning me for almost two weeks. So what is your problem?"
"Um, nothing. I was gonna ask you if you checked the kegs yet?"
"Uh, no. Go check them." He stormed off.
"You harassing your boss again Rog?" Cass winked at him to let him know she was teasing.
"You know me," he took her by the hand leading her to the keg room and closing the door behind them. "Always causing trouble." He pinned her against the wall and started kissing her.
After a few minutes she pulled away from him. "Roger we need to go back out there." She laughed. "Izzy is going to open in a few minutes."
"Screw Izzy." He kissed her again. Just then the door flew open and Mark stuck his head in the keg room. "What?" Roger yelled at him.
"Sorry." Mark blushed. "Izzy's looking for you Rog."
"Tell him we're on our way." Cass smiled at him. "Let's go Roger."
Izzy opened the bar and people poured in. By 10 PM the place was full, including Collins, Ginny, Leslie, Jen, Joanne and Maureen, who was decked out in her special skin tight pink leather New Year's Eve outfit.
"What's going on with Mo and Joanne?" Cass asked a blurry eyed Collins as she put up a pitcher of beer.
"Well, they haven't really been talking all that much tonight. And it's not being helped by Maureen going on about the girls at the end of the bar throwing themselves at Mark."
"Yeah, he's in his glory." Jason laughed, walking by.
"What's up with the two of them Cass?" Collins asked her.
"Who? Mo and Joanne?"
"No. Mo and Mark."
Cass looked up at him. "I don't know. Maybe I should start paying a little more attention." She thought about it for a second and realized Mark and Mo had been acting strange lately. She had been so wrapped up in Roger she hadn't noticed really. Cass made a mental note to talk tot Roger about it.
The Iguana was hopping going into midnight. Cass took two beers and headed over to the door. "Hey Baby, I brought you a beer."
"Thanks." He hugged her. "What's going on at the bar?"
"Well, Collins is drunk and cracking everyone up, including Jason. Ginny, Leslie and Jen are making good time with the guys in the corner. Mark is getting hit on by the two barely legals at the end of the bar. I heard him telling them about being a filmmaker. I think they're aspiring actresses." She grinned.
"I told him if he learns how to work it that film thing could get him somewhere." Roger laughed.
"Well, as long as Mo doesn't scratch their eyes out."
"Oh man, is she doing the jealous bitch thing again? While she's sitting with Joanne?"
"It looks that way."
"Man, what are they doing?" He shook his head, sitting down and pulling her onto his lap. "How you doing Baby?"
"I'm okay. Just tired. How much longer?"
"Two minutes. Go sit down in the back for awhile if you want." He kissed her on the neck.
"No I'm okay. Did you take your pills?"
He nodded while still kissing her neck.
"Roger did you talk to your mom yet?"
He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "No. I was going to call her tomorrow."
"What are you going to tell her?"
"That we're getting married."
"Are you going to invite her?"
"I don't know. I have to talk to her. I sort of want her there, but I don't want all of them there. I sort of just want us there. Mark and Collins and everybody."
"Okay Roger. Whatever you want." She hugged him as everyone started the countdown.
Roger stood up, still holding her as they counted down.
"Four! Three! Two! One! Happy New Year!" The room exploded with noise and cheering.
Roger hugged her tight as he kissed her. "Love you Baby."
"I love you too. It's going to be a happy New Year!"
The words rang through his brain. He'd heard them before. He heard them from Mimi. Five years ago tonight. Five years ago almost to the minute. Five years. So many things had happened. So many things had changed. Here he was, marrying Cass. And happy. Very happy. He barely remembered every being this happy. Even with Mimi. Or April. It wasn't just that so many things were different, he was different. He grew up. He grew up and had moved on with his life, to a better place. Something both Mimi and April would have wanted. Would have made them happy.
He smiled at that thought and kissed her again. "You're right, it's going to be a happy New Year."
*************
"You guys done cleaning up?" Izzy asked, dropping the night's receipts into his lock box.
"Yeah. What do you want to drink?" Dave yelled to him.
"Give me another rum and coke and everybody else can get whatever they want."
"We already did." Roger said sitting down and putting his feet up on the table. "How did we do tonight?"
"Pretty damn good." He finished off his drink and reached for the new one Dave brought him. "Hey where are the girls?"
Roger laughed. "They've been asleep on the pullout in your office for an hour." He told him as Jason, Dave and Tina sat down with them. "Collins okay?" He asked Jason.
"He won't be tomorrow, but Joanne said she'd make sure he got home okay. Can't say the same for Mo though."
"Yeah, what was up with her tonight?" Tina asked Roger and Jason. "She was like almost nice to me, but damn was she vicious to those girls that were hanging on Mark."
"Where is Mark?"
"Asleep with the girls." Roger said. "What was going on with him and Mo?"
"She was acting like a jealous bitchy girlfriend. Unfortunately she was drunk and doing it in front of her current girlfriend."
"We're going to have to watch her. Joanne leaves for Washington again next week doesn't she?"
"Uh huh." Jason said, drinking his beer. "She's been a real pain in the ass since this whole wedding thing started. If she tells me one more time 'because I'm the maid of honor that's why' I'm gonna smack her." He laughed.
"You know Maureen."
"I still can't believe your getting married." Dave said shaking his head.
"Yup. In nineteen days." Was all Roger said.
"Trust me neither can anyone else." Jason laughed.
"And I'm getting crap from Krystal because they're getting married."
"Oh Izzy," Tina rolled her eyes at him. "What do you expect, nine years later?" She turned back to Roger. "So you guys are going away right?"
"Uh huh. We're going to the Bahamas. Paradise Island. Not exactly like the stuff Cass is used to, but it was short notice and I don't have a passport."
"I've been there. You'll love it." Tina told him. "You're not taking Mark are you?"
"No." Roger told her as everyone else laughed. "We are not taking Mark. Why does everybody keep asking us that?"
"No idea Rog." Jason laughed finishing his beer. "God it's after 4:30. I'm going home. You want to share a cab Roger?"
"Yeah, see if you can get one and I'll go wake those two up." He got up and went into the back. Cass, Mark and Krystal were all squished on the little fold out sleeper sofa in Izzy's office. It was always drafty back there and Krystal had Izzy's jacket over her to keep warm.
Roger stood there for a second and watched Cass and Mark sleeping. He could tell she had been cold by the way she was curled around Mark. He had an arm protectively wrapped around her. Roger knew Mark loved her. He always would. He also knew Mark knew how much Roger loved Cass. Mark probably loved her as much as he did. Mark loved her and still let Roger have her. Mark was his best friend. He loved Mark. He always had. But for bringing Cass to his life and then letting him love her, Roger loved Mark even more.
"Cass, Baby wake up. You too Mark. Come on you guys, wake up." He whispered, shaking them.
"What time is it?" Mark said groggily.
"Almost five. Come on wake up."
"Are we going home?" Cass curled into Mark more.
"Yeah, we're going home. Come on. Jason's getting us a cab." He pulled her up and helped her put her coat on.
"I don't suppose Izzy's ready to go yet?"
"Sorry Krystal I didn't mean to wake you up. But yeah, he's got to be getting ready to go soon."
"Thank God." She laid back down pulling another coat over her.
"Bye Krystal. I'll see you later." Cass said sleepily.
"Buy you guys. Happy New Year."
"Yeah happy New Year Krystal." Roger said moving Mark and Cass out the door. He realized he really meant it too.
**********
Roger yawned as he watched Cass and Mark talking. He looked up when he realized Jen was talking to him. "Huh?"
"I said wake up! What are you so tired for?"
"Hello? Some of us worked last night instead of trying to make time with a bunch of guidoes at the bar." He laughed at her.
"Well they were kinda cute." Jen said.
"And buying." Ginny pointed out.
"Because they thought they might get in your pants." Jason laughed at them. "He's right though, we didn't get out of there till almost five this morning."
"But definitely worth it." Mark threw in.
"Yeah we noticed." Roger laughed at him as he started to blush. "So did you tell those girls they can star in your next movie or what?"
"I was referring to the money. And I didn't tell them anything like that. Anyway they were pretty young."
"Not to mentioned scared to death of your psychotic lesbian ex-girlfriend." Jason laughed.
"Yeah well, that too…" Mark trailed off.
The food came and they all started eating. "What was her problem last night anyway?" Ginny asked.
"Who knows. Same shit as usual." Jason shrugged.
Just then Mark's phone rang. "Speak of the devil. Literally." He turned on the phone. "What's up Mo?" Mark listened for a minute before standing up. "Okay, hold on."
Mark walked out the door and they saw Maureen on the sidewalk with a very large suitcase.
"What the hell is he doing?" Roger demanded from a group of people that knew as much as him.
They watched Mark and Maureen talk for a few minutes. Maureen was more dramatic and animated than usual. They all watched as Mark pulled out his keys and handed them to her before coming back in and sitting down at the table, picking up his burger.
"What's going on Mark?" Collins asked slowly, the remnants of his hangover showing through.
"Yeah what the hell is going on?" Roger was getting excited. "What's she doing? And with that suitcase? She is not moving in! No way! Are you out of your mind!" He didn't even realize he was yelling at Mark or that everyone was just looking at him.
"What are you talking about? Why would Mo move in with us?" Mark was thoroughly confused.
"Well then what's she doing? And with the suitcase? You can't be serious Mark!"
Mark started laughing at him. "Oh relax! She's not moving in dumbass, she's doing her laundry!"
Roger suddenly realized he overreacted to the whole thing. "Laundry? Oh. Sorry." He tried to blow it off as Mark laughed.
"Oh the great Roger Davis, apologizes! And Mark without his camera!" Ginny laughed.
Collins decided the only way to save his throbbing head from his hangover was to move the conversation along and change the subject. "So did you tell your mom your getting married yet?" He asked Roger.
"Yeah, I told her today."
"You did?" Cass asked, surprised. "What did she say?"
"She was a little surprised." He laughed.
"She ain't the only one." Ginny snorted, sipping her beer.
"Yeah, so I told her we are getting married on the 19th. She thinks it's cool." He shrugged.
"So is she coming?" Mark asked.
"Um, no." Roger played with his beer mug. "I just sort of told her we were getting married. I didn't exactly invite her."
"Oh that must have gone over good." Ginny commented sarcastically.
"Don't you have a test to study for or something?" Mark snapped at her, shutting her up.
"I told her it was just us going. Cut me a break, I've been talking to her for like four months after not talking to her for like six years."
"Uh huh." Ginny said. "So Cass is your dad coming?"
"What are you nuts? I'd never tell him." She made a face. "He would try and ruin everything. Plus he and Andre would make me get a pre-nup."
"Now that would be funny." Jason laughed. "I could see it now."
"What?" Collins asked.
"Can't you just see Cass and Roger in divorce court? They wouldn't fight over money, it would be over custody of Mark!" He started laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes.
"Hey! What am I, eight?" Mark asked as everyone started to laugh.
"Oh please! Roger would never leave me. Because I would get custody of Mark." She joked, pulling Mark towards her.
"No you wouldn't." Roger teased, tickling her. "Mark would stay with me!"
"You two are perfect for each other." Mark told them, rolling his eyes. "You're both nuts! I'd move in with Jen!"
"Ha! Forget it film boy!" Jen laughed. "Cass does your dad even know your pregnant yet?"
"No. And I have no intention of telling him either. Maybe I'll wait a few years and then let the baby tell him."
They all laughed at that as they finished their dinners.