A/N My usual thanks to all my readers as well as reviewers. Thanks to sticking with me this long. I think you'll be happily surprised by what goes on in this chapter!
To build me a star() – Yes we have picked up the pace. Collin was two years old in the last chapter. Like I said before, things are going to move fast from here on.
To pandapotato – Yes, two year olds can go to preschool. There are lots of different things from daycares to various schools. Good for you for picking up on that and asking though. I hate it when people throw in facts that are just so skewed that they can't be correct. Just a pet peeve of mine. But thanks for asking.
Just a quick reminder, Ginny and Leslie live on the third floor still, and Molly is Mark's little sister.
Chapter 90
"What do you say when Mommy looks that good?" Roger whispered in Collin's ear loud enough for Cass to hear as he walked into the hall carrying him.
"Ewww Baby!" Collin laughed.
"What's Mommy?"
"Hot stuff." He told Roger as he put him down.
"Thanks." She told Collin before looking at Roger. "So what are you going to teach him next? How to do shots?"
"Relax, we're only kidding around. Buy you do look pretty damn hot in that."
"Thanks." She smiled at him as he pulled her close for a kiss. "You look pretty good yourself."
"What 'bout me? I look cool?" Collin asked, tugging on her dress.
"You look awesome." She bent down and kissed his forehead, while straightening his tie.
"It's a tax, just like Daddy's."
"That's tux, not tax." Cass corrected him. "And you look just as good as your daddy."
"And Uncle Pookie too?"
"Yes and Uncle Pookie too." Cass stood up laughing, holding his hand. "Speaking of Uncle Pookie, how is he?"
"Fine. I gave him a few tequila shots to calm him down."
"Roger!"
He started laughing. "Relax, I'm just kidding. He's talking to Jason and Collins."
"But he's okay?"
"For Mark? And for a guy about to marry Maureen? Yeah he's doing amazing." He kept laughing.
"Will you behave? Please?" She tried not to laugh, even though she thought it was funny too. "I still can't believe they're getting married."
"You can't? How do you think I feel? I was there for the whole, long, drawn out thing. You've only been around for the last few years. And those have been surprisingly calm and peaceful years. At least in comparison to the first few years."
"Well it just shows everybody grew up." She smiled. "That's proven by the fact that not only are Maureen, Mark and Joanne still friends, but everyone, with the exception of both their parents, was able to handle Joanne and her current girlfriend coming to their wedding."
"I still say the whole thing is a little weird."
"What's weird?" Mark asked, walking up behind them with Jason and Collins.
"Um, nothing." Cass told him. "Are we ready?"
"Yeah. I guess. Ready as I'll ever be."
"What are you nervous about?" Jason asked him. "I mean you've known Maureen forever. And besides, if Roger can manage to get married, anybody can do it."
"Ha ha." Roger rolled his eyes at him.
"Okay then. You two go sit down." Cass pointed at Jason and Collins. "Please. Before Maureen's mother makes me crazy. She's already close to having a nervous breakdown. And Mark's mother is still fretting about the whole church thing now that she's here. So you two go do what ever you're supposed to be doing." She pointed to Mark and Roger. "And you," she knelt down next to Collin, "do you know what you're supposed to do?" Collin nodded. "What?"
"I don't know." He gave her a three-year-old whole body shrug.
Roger sighed. "What did I tell you before?"
Collin looked up at him thoughtfully. "Um, to be good or no cake!"
Everybody laughed at that. "What else? Where are you supposed to walk?" Roger asked.
Collin pointed down the church aisle. "That way to Grandma."
"Right." Roger picked him up again. "When Mommy tells you, you walk down there. Me and Uncle Mark will be down there. You come towards us then go sit by Grandma. You see her?" Roger pointed at his mom and Larry a few pews back from the front.
"Uh huh." Collin nodded, just as Joanie turned around and saw him. "Hi Grandma!" He yelled across the church, waving at her."
"Collin! Shhh!" Roger told him laughing. "Don't yell."
"That'll be good for your mom's nerves Mark." Collins laughed, joined by Jason.
Collin's lower lip jutted out. "Do I still get cake?" He asked, tears starting to form.
Roger looked at Cass who turned away laughing. "Yes you still get cake. Just be quiet." He laughed, putting him down. "Now wait for Mommy to tell you to go. Okay?"
"Okay!" The tears gone as soon as he found out he still got cake.
"Okay. Let's get going before Mo's mom comes out and yells at me again."
"That's all the encouragement I need to move." Collins laughed as he and Jason found their seats.
"Yeah let's go." Roger told Mark, heading him towards the front of the church. He turned back to Collin. "Remember, wait till Mommy tells you then go to Grandma. Okay?"
Collin nodded. Cass sat him in a chair. "Now sit here while I go get Aunt Mo. Don't move. I mean it."
"Okay Mommy." He told her, swinging his legs back and forth.
Cass got Maureen and the music started to play. "You ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be." Maureen told her.
Cass laughed, realizing it was the same answer Mark gave. "You'll be fine. And you look beautiful. Got your flowers." Maureen nodded. "You ready buddy?" Collin nodded and hopped down from his chair. "Okay here's your pillow." She handed him the ring pillow. "Now walk towards Daddy."
The music played and Collin stared down the aisle. Once he reached the people he slowed down as he looked around. Roger waved at him to keep him moving. He could tell he was nervous as he suddenly started moving real slow. When he got to the end of the aisle he stood there for a second, not sure what to do. He started to move toward Roger, who shook his head and pointed towards the side where Joanie was waiting for him. Everyone laughed as he smiled and ran over to her.
Cass came down the aisle, laughing at Collin. When she reached the front, the music changed and Maureen and her father started down the aisle. When she reached the front she stepped up next to Mark. The minister started to speak and the whole church, even Collin was quiet. When the ceremony was over and the minister told him, Mark leaned over and kissed Maureen. Collin, who was standing on Larry's lap watching intently, jumped up and down. "Yeah!" He yelled, clapping his hands as everyone laughed.
***********
Well that was pretty nice." Cass said dancing with Roger.
"Amusing to say the least." He spun her around.
"You're referring to Collin I assume." She smiled.
"Definitely." He kissed her. "But aside from that, it was pretty cool."
"Just 'pretty' cool?"
"Yeah. Nowhere near as good as our wedding."
"Oh really?"
"Yup." He kissed her. "Mark only got Mo. I got you."
"Not to mention Boy Wonder." She laughed.
"Not to mention." He laughed as well as Collins and Jason walked over.
"Hey can I cut in?" Jason asked.
"You want to dance with her, fine, but there is no way I'm dancing with him." Roger laughed, pointing at Collins.
"Forget it." Collins told him. "You're not my type."
"Hey why don't you go check on the kiddo."
"Okay." He kissed her. "He was with Joanne and her girlfriend the last time I saw him." He walked off with Collins.
Jason started dancing with Cass. "So it was a really nice wedding."
"Yes it was." Cass smiled.
"So I was thinking, now that Mark and Mo moved into the big apartment on the first floor, you guys must be a little lonely. It being so quiet and all."
"First of all between Roger and my three year old Roger wanna be, it's never quiet. And secondly, considering Mark still works up there, they do their laundry up there and they are there all the time along with everyone else, who's had time to miss them?" Cass laughed.
"Really?"
"Yes. Really." She grinned a little. "Sort of. Okay yes I do kind of miss them. Collin keeps wanting to know when Uncle Mark and Aunt Mo and coming home. When we tell him they aren't, they are staying down stairs he want to know what they did."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, when he gets in trouble he gets sent to his room. I think he thinks they're in trouble so we sent them to their room."
"That's pretty funny." Jason laughed, spinning her around. "So he's really a Roger wanna be huh?"
"You better believe it. Scary huh? I asked him what he wanted to be for Halloween, know what he told me?"
"Afraid to ask."
"Daddy." She laughed. "I told him he can be Daddy any time, what else does he want to be. He thinks about it and says a guitar player. With blue hair."
"Blue huh?"
"Yup. I mean I was thinking maybe Disney or something cute like that, but that's what he says he wants." She shrugged. "I don't know. He saw an old film Mark shot of Roger playing. Back with the Well Hungarians during his blue hair phase."
Jason laughed. "So what exactly is he going to be for Halloween?"
"A blue haired, bad assed, tough as nails guitar player." She smiled. "At least I don't have to try and make anything. Cut the sleeves off a tee shirt, wear his leather jacket, jeans and spray paint his hair blue. Then he can wear sunglasses and carry his Elmo guitar. Easy. Besides it's only the school party plus the building. That's it."
"That'll be cute. We'll have to be around to see that."
"What's going on Jason?" She asked him skeptically.
"Well, Mark did mention that the guy on the third floor was moving out of the big apartment."
"Uh huh. And your lease is up soon?"
"Well…"
"What's going on Jason? You guys didn't want to move in when the first floor place opened up. Why now?"
"We just decide it might be nice to move closer to everybody. You guys, Mark and Mo, Jen and the cop, Ginny and Leslie."
"You mean Jen and Rich. Like him or not, you better get used to him. They've been together almost three years. And he's a really nice guy Jason."
"Yeah, I suppose." He sighed.
"Jason?" Cass stopped dancing and looked up at him. "Is Collins okay? Is that way you guys want to move in?"
"Oh yeah. He's okay. I mean he says he feels fine. His meds haven't changed. But yeah, I think that has something to do with moving there. Kinda like moving home, sort of." He trailed off, looking over towards Collins and Roger laughing with a group of people.
"Good." She hugged him. "This way you don't have far to go when you finally leave our place." She grinned at him, pulling him over to Roger and Collins.
"Hey, I found the kid." Roger told her, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Where is he?"
"Sound asleep in a booth with my mom. Covered in frosting and cake crumbs, missing half his tux."
"I guess he had fun. Good thing the pictures are done."
"Definitely." Roger laughed.
Cass looked up at him. "So it looks like I rented the third floor apartment."
"To who? Please don't tell me Molly wants to move in with that idiot?"
"No silly!" She laughed. "Collins and Jason."
"Really?" He looked at Collins.
"Yeah, we talked about it and decided we wanted to slum it for a few years." Collins laughed.
"Loser! You wait till somebody decent owns the place, fixes it up and now you want to move back in! Now that there's heat!" Roger laughed.
"Well some of us do have our standards you know."
"Yeah right!" Roger laughed, throwing an arm around Collins shoulder.
********************
A/N – So? Were we all happily surprised? Little Marky happy at last? Mark and Maureen together in wedded bliss! I had to do it!
Now, I just have to tell you all this. First off, you did catch that Collin is now three years old? I think I'm going to post his age at the end of every chapter from now on to make sure no one gets confused about the passage of time.
Now to move on to the funny part. Please keep in mind, I wrote this chapter a good while ago. My son is 15 months old. He went to his first Halloween party on Monday. Now at said party there were a number of cute little animals, Disney characters, pumpkins and princess types. But there was only one bad assed, tough as nails guitar player with blue hair!
Okay, so Collin (my Collin, the real one) has this little leather Harley biker jacket. He wore that, his green plaid pants (couldn't find purple plaid), a tee shirt, his hair (what little of it there is) was in a blue mohawk and he had a little blue electric guitar that played a few notes, a few little songs and even had a wammy bar! He looked so cute! And people other than his mommy said this too!
But here's the even funnier part of the story. The husband and I were discussing Halloween a few weeks ago and I told him we had his outfit all set. He asked what he was going to be. I informed the husband/daddy that he was going to be a bad assed, tough as nails, guitar player with blue hair. The husband has never read Another Second Chance. He knows nothing about it. He's only seen Rent once. But he looks at me and says "So in other words, you're dressing him as that guy from RENT."
Now that was funny!