A/N Hello! Just wanted to tell everyone that from this point on, time moves a lot faster. Before it was pretty much day to day or week to week. Now we skip ahead more often. You have to pay attention within the chapter and you'll be able to tell when it is in the calendar. For instance, the wedding was in January. Now it's April. So just pay close attention to things like that and hopefully, no one will get confused.
As usual, my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has stuck with me throughout.
Kelby
Chapter 82
"Jen?" Jason called out as he walked into the loft.
"Hey bro. Haven't seen you in days." Jennifer told him, pulling her clothes out of the dryer.
"We've been busy." He grinned. "God it's beautiful outside, why is it so cold in here?"
"Cass is hot, the A/C's running." She threw him an old sweatshirt of his she had acquired years ago that had just come out of the dryer.
"It's the last week of April, why is the A/C on?"
"She's eight months pregnant you dork." She laughed. "She's got an internal heater running at full blast."
"Oh."
"Yeah usually it's not this bad. She only turns it up this cold when Roger's not here. It's a fine line between cool enough for her and so cold he gets pneumonia or something."
"Yeah, I see where that could be a problem." He told her as Cass walked out of her room. "Hey Cass. How do you feel?"
"Agh! I wish people would stop asking me that! How do I look like I feel? I'm the size of a bus and it's hot as hell in here!"
"Um, sorry."
"Oh I'm sorry Jason. I didn't mean to yell. I'm just a little on edge."
"It's okay sweetie, I understand. Here this might cheer you up," he handed her the mail he brought up. "Looks like you got a letter."
"Thanks." She took the mail from him. "Roger just called, they were just hitting the tunnel, they should be here soon, they're going to pick Maureen up at work first."
"How's she doing?" Jen asked, closing the dryer.
"She's still nervous about the whole thing. Thinks Mark's mom hates her and stuff." Cass shrugged, going through the mail.
"Does she hate her?" Jason asked, hopping up on the counter.
"No. Not really. I mean unless he brings home some nice Jewish girl who's convinced him to give up his bohemian lifestyle and go to med school or something like that, they'll never be completely happy."
"What?" Jen laughed. "His ex-girlfriend, the former performing artist and lesbian doesn't cut it?"
"Not really, no." Cass shook her head, grinning.
"So what's going on with those two anyway?" Jason asked, opening up a pop tart package. "Are they dating again? Just sleeping together? Not sleeping together, but we don't think that's it."
" 'We' huh?" Jen gave him a look. "So you and Collins have discussed this huh?"
"Well, a little." He shrugged. "So what's going on? Collins can't even figure it out and he's known them forever. Come on Cass, spill it."
"I don't know. You have to ask them."
"Come on Cass. You know. You gotta know, you live with them."
"Honestly, I don't know. I don't even think Roger knows. If he does, he hasn't said anything to me."
"Would he even ask Mark?" Jen asked.
"I'm not sure. He may not want to know. I don't really see him coming out and asking him. So until Mark actually says something, guess we'll have to wait." She told them as she opened up the envelope a check feel out of the letter. Cass silently read it as the two of them continued talking. "That bastard!" Cass yelled, slamming down the letter she had just crumpled up.
"Honey, what's the matter?" Jen asked, startled at seeing her that upset.
"He's just such a bastard! I can't believe him!"
"What?" Jason hopped off the counter.
"You know what? I don't care if I ever talk to him again." She flung the letter at the trash before storming off to her room.
"Cass?" Jen called as she picked up the crumpled letter and started to open it up.
"Don't read that." Jason told her, snatching it away.
"How are we supposed to know what's wrong if we don't read it?" She pulled at the letter, the whole scene between the two of them somewhat reminiscent of when they were little.
"Well…" Jason was torn. He knew better, but he knew she was right too. "Oh alright."
She pulled it back and opened it up. "Oh he is a bastard."
"What's it say?" Jason leaned over her shoulder.
"Roger's not going to be happy about this."
"So we won't tell him, now read."
"Okay, 'Cassiopeia,' God he doesn't even start out dear Cass or anything."
"Oh give me that." He grabbed it back and began to read it to himself as Jen looked on too.
Cassiopeia,
I can't believe you would do something so foolish as to run off and get married. Did
you even bother to talk to a lawyer first? To set up some kind of pre nuptial agreement?
How do you know he isn't just after your money? I mean it's quite obvious neither of
Them has any money or any future potential to actually make anything of themselves.
Secondly, your uncle will be quite upset. The way you did it just looks bad to begin with.
Running off like that, none of us present. A large church wedding, with everyone in
attendance would have been much better. Even more so with a more appropriate person.
Your uncle would have preferred of course you not have married him, since you did,
he would certainly have preferred it be done correctly. Plus it would have made for a
very nice photo opportunity in the European papers. Especially with the latest bad publicity
your cousin has gotten with the crowd he had been running around Paris with.
Now if you are just doing this to punish us, fine, point taken. Now can we just resolve
this quietly? A lager settlement, no mess divorce or better yet an annulment. I would
take care of all the arrangements for you. You wouldn't have to worry about a thing.
However, knowing how you are, I doubt any of that will occur. I truly regret
that. I hope whatever you decide you are actually happy for a change. I enclosed a check
for you. I suppose you could consider it a wedding gift. I would prefer you use it as a
retainer for a good divorce lawyer, but if not, use it to buy yourself something you want.
At this point I have no clue what that would be.
Call me sometime. By the way, which one was Roger? The big one who threatened to
shove me through the wall or the short one that threatened his "lawyer" on me?"
Carlton
"What a cold bastard." Jen said, shaking her head. "What do we do now?"
Jason thought for a moment. "Well we don't tell Roger and Mark for starters. She wants them to know, she tells them, I'm not that brave."
"But they are going to be home soon."
"I'll talk to her." He shoved the letter and check into the envelope and walked toward her room. "Cass?" He knocked as he pushed the door open. "Can I come in?"
"Yes. It's okay Jason." She sat up on the bed, wiping the tears off her face.
"Are you okay?" He sat down next to her on the bed, setting the envelope down.
"Yes, I suppose. I guess I shouldn't have expected much more from them. I really think I might hate him."
"I can understand that. I mean I can relate sort of, at least on Roger's end."
"What do you mean?"
"Well just because Collins' family accepts the fact he dates guys now," he grinned, "doesn't mean they're all that thrilled when the guys he brings home are skinny pale white boys."
Cass smiled at that, wiping another tear off her face.
"I mean at least Angel was Puerto Rican instead of some mid western German – Irish half breed." He reached up and wiped her cheek off. "Look, whether they love me or hate me, that doesn't change anything between me and Collins. And it won't between you guys."
"I know."
"And I'll be the first to say, your father is just about the world's biggest bastard. He never should have said any of that stuff, but he did. So you might as well get over it. You're way better than him Cass. You deserve better." Jason stood up. "Don't let him get you down. Okay?"
"Yes. Thanks Jason." Cass smiled.
"You're welcome. Now quit crying before Roger comes home and beats me up, thinking it's my fault." He laughed, walking out to the living room.
"Is she okay?" Jen asked.
"Yeah, she will be." He sat down, picking up the paper.
**********************
"All I'm saying is maybe this isn't the best idea!" Maureen almost yelled as the three of them walked threw the loft door.
"Mo…" Mark began.
"Enough! Maureen for the last time his mother hates everyone. She doesn't specifically hate you, however I'm going to if you don't shut up about it!" Roger yelled at her, throwing his keys on the counter.
"Ewww. This'll be a fun weekend." Jason smirked.
"Ha ha. What are you doing here?"
"You know, the usual. Came to pester Jennifer, she was here. Ended up getting a two for one deal." He grinned.
"Great. Where's Cass? Jesus it's freezing in here."
"In your room. So why exactly are you going to your mom's this weekend?" Jason asked, turning off the air conditioner.
"Because I've lost my friggin mind." Roger told him, wrapping up the cords to his amp.
"We're going," Cass told them stepping into the living room, "so you can play with Randy and your high school band. Not to mention the fact that you blew your mom off for Easter."
"I had to work."
"Oh yeah, that mad Easter rush the Iguana has every year." Mark laughed.
"And you blew off you mom for Passover, her birthday and your dad's birthday." Cass told Mark.
"Yeah well…" Mark started as Roger and Maureen started laughing. "Okay smarty pants," he told Cass, I don't see you talking to your dad."
"Actually, I sent him a letter a little over a week ago. Told him we got married."
"You did?" Roger's head shot up. "What did he say?"
"He sent me a check and suggested I use it to get a lawyer and an annulment." She glanced at Jason and grinned as Roger just stared at her. "I think we should be a new couch. And a new bed. Maybe one that doesn't sit on the floor. What do you think?" She asked Roger.
"Whatever you want Babe."
"Okay. Next week, new bed. Thank God."
"What's that mean?"
"It means your bed sucks." She teased him.
"Oh yeah?" He backed her up towards the bedroom door.
"Yeah!"
Roger grabbed her, picking her up and tickling her before dropping her on the bed.
"Oh come on." Mark whined. "Don't start screwing around now or we'll never get there. And your mom's cooking pot roast."
"Mark get out." Roger laughed.
"And mashed potatoes."
"Goodbye Mark." Roger told him, kissing Cass' neck.
"Wait." Cass pushed Roger back some. "Mashed potatoes? With gravy?"
"Uh huh. And cherry cobbler for dessert. And tomorrow she said she would make chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast."
"Mark's right, we need to get going." Cass told him.
Roger rolled over onto his back. "What did you do?" He yelled at Mark. "Call ahead for a complete menu?"
"Come on." She pulled at his arm. "I could really go for mashed potatoes."
"Alright, alright. Let's go." He laughed at her as he followed her out of the room, grabbing their bag on the way.
******************
"Where have you guys been? Mom wouldn't let us eat till you got here." Mickey told them through a mouthful of peanut butter as he stuck the spoon back into the jar for more.
"Let's just say it's been awhile since Roger drove a stick shift." Mark said coming through the door and setting down the bags he carried. "Or any car for that matter."
"Shut up. Like you could have done any better."
"I couldn't have done any worse."
"Oh will you two drop it or I'm going to drive home." Cass told them.
Just then Joanie walked in. "Good you're here. Mickey's driving me crazy." She told them, taking the peanut butter away and giving him a disapproving look before turning back to Roger. She kissed him on the cheek before turning and hugging Cass. "How you doing Sweetie? How do you feel?"
"Big as a barn. And I think he's got the hiccups again. And if he doesn't stop wedging his foot into my ribs, he's gonna be grounded before he's even born."
Joanie smiled. "It'll get better. And you're not that big. Did you bring the pictures from the Bahamas?"
"Yes we finally remembered them." Cass laughed.
"Good. Well, come on in. Dinner will be ready in just a few."
Mark came the rest of the way into the room. "Um, this is Maureen. She's sort of living with us now."
"That's funny. Didn't you have girlfriend named Maureen that lived with you guys when you first lived there?" She asked, finishing up dinner.
"Um, yeah, same one." Mark blushed as Roger laughed.
"Well come on, let's eat. Mickey get Larry and Patrick."
Shelly came in from upstairs, said hello and started helping finish dinner as Cass and Maureen sat down.
"Finally. I'm starving. What did you guys do, walk here?" Patrick asked as he walked in.
"No." Mickey laughed. "Roger drove."
Patrick raised an eyebrow. "You bought a car?" He asked, handing Roger and Mark each a beer.
"No, it's my friend Izzy's. He keeps it at his sister's in Jersey. That's what took so long. We had to go with Izzy all the way there to pick it up."
"Patrick grab me a beer." Larry said, walking into the dinning room. "Hey slugger!" He said to Mark as he sat down next to him.
"Larry!" Joanie yelled at him. "I told I didn't want any of that brought up!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. End of conversation." He told her before leaning over and whispering to Mark. "Good shot. I've wanted to punch Jack square in the face for years."
"I heard that!" Joanie yelled at him causing Roger, Patrick and Mickey to laugh.
"Okay, okay. You heard your mother. Now everyone shut up about how happy we are about Mark beating the crap out of Jack." Larry laughed as Joanie glared at him with her hands on her hips. "Now can we please eat?"
"Oh you're terrible." Joanie told him as she turned back to getting dinner ready.
They all sat down and started dinner. Pot roast with mashed potatoes, just like Mark had said. When they had almost finished, the phone rang. Patrick reached back and answered it. "Yeah, they're here. Finally." He gave Roger a look. "Yeah come on over. Okay. Bye." He hung up the phone. "Randy is coming over. He said he wanted to see the music you had."
"Oh that reminds me, did you show them what you found in the basement?" Joanie asked Larry.
"Not yet." He laughed and got up. When he came back he dropped a stack of papers in front of Roger and a videotape in front of Mark.
"What is it?" Cass asked Roger who got a slight grin on his face.
"Some really bad stuff I wrote in high school."
"Oh this could be really bad Rog." Mark told him holding up the tape. "All it says is 'Band fall 10th'. That means like sophomore year."
"Oh yeah, we're watching that!" Cass said grabbing at the tape.
"No way!" Mark pulled it out of her reach, right into Maureen's, who grabbed it.
"Oh yeah!" Maureen grinned.
Shelly laughed watching them. "I vote for dessert and a movie in the other room!"
*****************
"Oh this is bad, so, so bad." Mark groaned, sitting down in the living room.
"Oh Marky relax!" Cass laughed.
"Yeah, relax Mark." Randy grinned. "This could be really funny."
"Don't laugh dickhead," Roger told him, "if it's the band your in there two."
Randy shrugged. "What do I care? Karla knew me back then." He laughed. "Besides I've been married to her for three kids and forever."
"Okay turn it on." Shelly handed out plates of cherry cobbler with ice cream.
Mickey pushed play and the tape started. The picture came up of Roger, in a garage tuning his guitar.
"Oh my God Roger! You're so skinny!" Cass laughed.
"Nice hair Rog." Maureen grinned.
"Hey it was the eighties." He laughed as they turned back to the TV.
"Okay are we ready now?" Roger asked. Off screen you heard people agree.
Mark's voice from behind the camera came through the TV. "Okay, what is it this week?"
"Wasted youth." A very young Randy answered from behind a guitar.
"I thought we were going with Dazed and Confused?" The drummer asked.
"We're still deciding on that." Roger answered to the camera
"God Mark even back then you were shoving a camera in someone's face." Maureen laughed.
"So what was the name of your band?" Cass asked.
"Ha! Which week?" Randy laughed.
"Yeah we had a few issues deciding on a new name." Roger explained.
"What do mean a new name?"
"Yeah Rog, tell Cass what the band's original name was. She'll appreciate it." Mark told him while giving them a look.
Roger got a slight grin on his face. "Originally it was Better Living Through Chemistry, but we couldn't play anything at school with that name. The vice Principe had 'issues'."
"So did your mother." Joanie told them from the love seat.
By then the band had started playing. Patrick nudged Roger with his foot. "Um, you have improved since then right?" He teased.
"He's right Roger." Maureen laughed. "You guys suck!"
"Hey, we were still looking for our grove." Roger said. "Granted, we're not as good as the Well Hungarians, which was the best band I ever had, but we were young, and well we…"
"Sucked." Randy agreed, nodding his head.
"Yeah, you pretty much sucked Roger." Mark laughed.
"Okay, okay," He laughed. "Your right, we sucked."
As the song ended a young whiny voice off screen started speaking. "Come on Mark you said I could film some of it!"
"Forget it. I never said that."
"Yes you did."
"No I didn't." Mark answered, still filming the band.
"Yes you did! Roger! Tell Mark to let me do some!"
"Mark let him play with the camera."
"Yeah!" Mickey said, sticking out his tongue as Mark turned the camera on him.
"Maybe it will shut him up and we won't have to lock him in the closet!" Roger snapped.
Everyone laughed at that. "God Mickey, what are you ten there?" Shelly asked. "Your such a little kid!"
"An annoying little kid." Roger added. "God you wouldn't leave up alone."
"Yeah Mickey." Mark laughed. "You followed us everywhere. God you were annoying!"
"Well he had to be around twelve." Joanie spoke up. "Look at the garage. It was after you guys built the loft, but before you caught the garage on fire."
"You caught the garage on fire?" Maureen looked at Mark wide-eyed.
"Not me! Roger and Mickey!"
"It wasn't me!" Roger protested. It was all his fault." He pointed at Mickey. "Idiot crushed out a cigarette on a stack of newspapers."
"They were your cigarettes!"
"Well I never told you that you could smoke them!"
"Luckily, I was home to take care of everything." Patrick told them.
"Please! You were washing your car and hosed down the papers. It wasn't that bid a deal Patrick." Mickey told him.
"The point was, none of you, especially you," Joanie pointed at Mickey, "should have been smoking."
"Like I said, luckily I was home to take care of everything. As usual." Patrick grinned.
"Like you did the weekend I left you in charge so Larry and I could go away. The weekend of the big party?" Joanie asked him. "I promise Mom, I won't have a party, I promise." Joanie imitated Patrick.
He started laughing. "That wasn't my party! Honest! It was Roger's!"
"Bull! You had just as many people here as I did." Roger yelled at him.
"Yeah, but you set it up. The whole thing was your fault!"
"No it wasn't! Mickey's the idiot who called Arron and Scott."
"Oh yeah, blame me, as usual!" Mickey gripped as everyone laughed.
"Well it was your fault!"
"Roger's right," Patrick agreed, "it was your fault!"
"See Cass," Joanie said, "this is why you'll need more than one child. That way they'll always have someone to blame. And you always know who did what, because the less guilty will always sell out the more guilty to save his own butt!"
Everybody laughed at that. "Well one will have to do." Cass told them laughing. "Besides, when ever anything happens we know who's fault it is."
"Who's?" Mickey asked.
"Roger's." Cass, Mark and Maureen all answered at the same time to everyone's laughter.
"Hey!" Roger protested.
"Oh come on Roger." Mark laughed. "Let's see, guitar strings in the vacuum cleaner, cassette tape in the vacuum cleaner, soap bubbles coming out of the washing machine, mud in the dryer, remote controls in toilet, red peppercorns in the coffee grinder…"
"Oh now your just making things up!"
"So moving on," Cass broke in, as she tried to keep Roger from getting upset. "So what happened at the 'big party'?"
"Nothing." Roger said.
"Nothing." Patrick agreed.
"Oh it was so cool!" Mickey jumped in as Roger and Patrick groaned.
"It was not 'cool'." Joanie said, taking over the conversation. "We went away for the weekend. One lousy weekend. I left Patrick in charge. Apparently to him that meant become social coordinator for the entire high school."
"I wasn't that big a party." Patrick said.
"Oh it was an awesome party." Randy laughed.
"That's because you got out of it." Roger grumbled.
"Got out of what?" Maureen asked.
"Well," Joanie began. "They decide to have a party. A big party. Patrick was a senior, Roger and Mark were sophomores and Mickey was like twelve. Anyway, half the high school was here."
"It wasn't that many people." Patrick cut her off.
"It was a lot of people Patrick." Shelly told him, laughing.
"Anyway," Joanie continued, "I'm sure Mickey was shunned from everything."
"We tried to lock him in the closet." Roger grinned.
"He kept getting out though." Randy laughed.
Joanie gave them both a look that said be quiet and then continued. "So he had someone to hang out with, he called his cousins, Cathy's boys, Arron and Scottie.
"Now I don't know what exactly went on during the party, but the twins, were what like fourteen? Well when they came stumbling in, drunk off their rears around two or three, Frank heard them."
"Yeah, that's when it hit the fan." Roger shook his head.
"Why what happened?" Cass asked him.
"Uncle Frank came over at like six that morning." He grumbled.
"God that day was bad." Mark added, shaking his head as Joanie continued.
"So Frank comes over at six. He finds Patrick and Shelly in my bed. Randy and Karla in Patrick's room. Roger and some red head in his room. Mark passed out on the couch and my twelve year old asleep on the love seat with his head hung in a waste basket."
"Well I wasn't gonna hold his head over the toilet all night." Mark told them bluntly.
"So what happened next?" Maureen asked.
"Uncle Frank woke us all up, has Shelly take all the girls and various stray people home and then called Aunt Cathy." Patrick told them.
"Oh Cathy was furious with all of you!" Joanie said. "Frank called, told her to wake up the twins and get them over here."
"What did he do to you guys?" Cass asked. "Oh it was miserable." Mark said. "We were all hungover, had like no sleep and Frank made us clean the whole house."
"Yeah, him and Aunt Cathy just sat at the table, eating breakfast, drinking coffee and reading the paper." Patrick said, finishing his dessert. "And every know and then Aunt Cathy would come through, inspect everything, and make us re do stuff."
"So you had to clean the house. You would have had to do that anyway." Maureen said. "If that's all that happened, you were lucky."
"But that wasn't all." Roger grumbled.
"Not by a long shot." Mark agreed.
"Oh yeah." Randy started laughing.
"What's so funny?" Cass asked.
"After we got the house cleaned I went home." Randy laughed.
"You mean escaped." Roger said.
"Hey he wasn't my uncle."
"Why, what happened?" Maureen asked.
"Uncle Frank took the twins, me, Mark, Patrick and Mickey back to his house and made us start sanding and painting his garage. All day. In the sun. With major hangover."
"Yeah, it was bad, all we wanted to do was go to sleep or throw up at that point." Patrick told them. "And Uncle Frank was standing right on top of us all day. Drinking beer and smoking those really stinky cigars."
"Oh God yeah." Mark made a sour face remembering the smell and how his stomach felt that day.
At seeing that Cass, Maureen and Shelly all started laughing.
"Well it served you all right. I may have been better off leaving you three with your father for the weekend."
"Not really." Larry finally spoke up.
"Now come on, Jack has his uses." Patrick told them.
"Yeah." Mickey jumped up. "Who do you think bought us the beer?"
Joanie just shook her head as everyone else laughed.