Author's Note: Just in case anyone was wondering, this story is set a year
after the show ends, and it is *not* in the same universe as LDH and AEE.
This is the light, funny, sappy Christmas chapter. . .please read it as
such. ^_^ Sorry it's been so long since I've updated, but I nearly died
studying for finals. Thanks to anyone who's stayed with me on this. I only
used one suggestion for this chapter because well. . .I just couldn't use
anymore. . .not to mention the fact that I didn't get *that* many more.
Anyway. . .yeah. . .Happy holidays to everyone!
Opening line: Contributed by latina155
Chapter 4: In Retrospect
~~~**~~~ December 24th
"'There's always a light at the end of the tunnel. Just make sure it's not a train.' Mark, what did I tell you about buying Christmas cards from street vendors?" Roger asked irritably, dumping the entire box of cards into the trash.
Mark flinched and looked sheepishly at Roger.
"But. . .the front one in the box was okay. . .and he sold me the whole box for fifty cents. . .I figured it was a good deal."
"Mark Cohen, it's beyond me how you can live in New York for your entire life and *still* not know better than to fall for that." Mimi sighed, entering the living room dressed in a pair of old torn up jeans, and one of Roger's t-shirts. "Why is everyone staring at me?"
"Because you look. . .well. . ." Mark trailed off.
"Well what?!" Mimi snapped.
"Well. . .ugly. . ." Mark ducked as Mimi threw a half-eaten chocolate bar from the counter at him. "Are you really gonna wear that for the party?"
"Mark!" Roger barked.
Mark threw up his hands and tried to inch his way out of the room.
"I'm gonna . . .um. . .go pick up some groceries now, okay?"
"No, not okay!" Roger snapped, "No one insults my girl and gets away with it!"
Mark glanced warily around the room, then grabbed a pillow, and threw it at Roger as though staving off an attack. It struck Roger in the head. He stood there for a moment, staring at Mark, trying to decide whether to be angry or to laugh.
"Earth to Roger. . ." Mimi called, waving her hand in front of his face.
Roger pretended to still be stunned, staring at her blankly and trying to choke down a fit of giggles that was threatening to escape.
"Roger!" Mimi tackled him, knocking him back against the sofa and straddling his lap.
Roger laughed loudly, then leaned forward and kissed her, his entire body still shaking with mirth.
"Will you two please take that somewhere else?" Mark asked disgustedly.
Mimi grinned back at him.
"Sure."
She grabbed Roger's hand and pulled him up, whispering something in his ear that caused him to snort loudly.
Roger lifted her into his arms and started to carry her toward their bedroom.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
"Damn!" Roger groaned, carefully setting Mimi back on her feet and going to answer the door.
"SURPRISE!!" Maureen shouted, shooting a cracker at Roger.
He jumped about a foot in the air, then stumbled backwards, bumping into Mark.
"God, Maureen. . .what did I tell you about loud noises?" Joanne chided, looking at Maureen like a mother watching a mischievous infant in a toy store.
Joanne gave everyone quick, crisp hugs, then glanced around the loft.
"Where's Mimi?"
"Changing." Mark answered, flinching at the look Roger gave him in response.
Mimi emerged a few minutes later, dressed in skin-tight black jeans and a short red tank-top, which exposed a small silver ring in her bellybutton. She wore matching hoop earrings, and her long brown curls were pulled up into a high ponytail, with a few loose wisps framing her face.
"Roger, stop drooling," Mark teased.
Roger smacked Mark on the side of the head jokingly, then went over and kissed Mimi again.
Mark shook his head.
"Oh, God, there they go again."
"When did you get that done?" Maureen asked, pointing to Mimi's bellybutton ring.
"In October." Mimi answered eagerly. "For my birthday. I was gonna get a tongue ring too, but then I figured it might, you know, interfere with things."
There was another knock on the door, and Benny entered, followed by the girl they'd seen him with in the park the week before.
She was short and thin, with long, flaming red hair and sharp gray eyes. She was wearing a long blue sleeveless dress that made her hair appear even brighter.
Everyone looked at Benny and tried to hide their amazement.
He was dressed in a cow-print silk shirt, and ripped, bleached, jeans. He looked strangely out of place and awkward.
"And. . .who is your lovely lady?" Maureen prompted eagerly.
Benny cleared his throat quickly.
"Oh, um, yes. Everyone, this is Kati. She lives in this very building, actually. . .We. . .we met by chance the other day actually."
Benny trailed off and continued to flounder around until he was saved by the doorbell ringing yet again.
Collins walked in this time, followed by a very unhappy looking Aimee. Mark ran over to her and eagerly offered to take her coat, but she refused, hugging it tighter around her small frame.
Roger cleared his throat loudly and looked around the room.
"Well, now that we're all here. . .umm. . .I guess we should decorate the tree?"
"Okay!" Maureen said eagerly, diving into the box of ornaments that had been set out on the table.
They spent the next half hour decorating the Christmas tree Collins had stolen for them with the hodgepodge of ornaments they had all collected over the years. There was tinsel that Mark and Roger had stolen from one of the street vendors the previous year, month-old popcorn that had been strung up on pairs of old shoelaces, and an old string of half burned-out lights that Collins had 'rescued' from the dump. Then there were all the homemade things that people had contributed. Maureen had made a motley assortment of papier mache animals that looked like something one might expect to find dumped in the gutter. Roger had strung a bunch of old guitar strings together into a kind of wire-mesh ball. Mark contributed all his old film from the previous year, saying that it gave the tree an artistic look. Finally, Collins climbed up on a chair and placed Angel's pickle tub at the top of the tree, since it was the closest they could get to the real thing. Everyone stood back and admired their work.
Mark forced everyone to pose in front of the masterpiece so he could film them with it. "Where'd Roger go?" Mimi asked curiously.
Mark and Collins exchanged secretive glances.
"Um. . .somewhere. He should be back soon."
Mimi shook her head and walked over to Kati, who was sitting alone on the couch.
"So how'd you and Benny meet?" she asked, sitting down next to the young woman.
Kati blushed slightly, then cleared her throat.
"Well. . .umm. . .to tell you the truth, it was really very strange. I moved in downstairs about a month ago. . .I just finished college. And well. . .things haven't been going quite as well as I'd hoped. And so when Benny came to collect my rent, I had to tell him I couldn't pay. And it was the strangest thing. He was so *nice* about it! Told me it was okay, then offered to take me out to dinner. . .and well . . .here I am."
Mimi nodded silently, trying to decide how to respond. As she'd suspected, Kati's story was incredibly similar to her own.
"Hey guys! Presents!" Mark called.
Everyone clustered around the tree to exchange gifts. Maureen gave everyone an article of clothing that she'd found at her favorite thrift shop. Every garment was equally hideous. Everyone loved them anyway. Collins received four books on philosophy and a yoga tape. Joanne, in typical Joanne- fashion, gave everyone gift certificates to stores perfectly suited to their temperaments. Mark handed out collages he'd made from the pictures he'd taken in the last year. Finally, everything had been unwrapped. But Roger was still missing.
Just as everyone was beginning to get concerned, he entered right on cue, carrying a bundle of rags in his arms.
Mimi gave him an odd look.
"What's that?"
Roger grinned at her.
"Your Christmas present. Sorry I couldn't wrap it better. Sit down and I'll give it to you."
Mimi obeyed, and Roger dumped the bundle into her arms.
"Open it."
Mimi eyed it warily.
"Is it alive?"
Roger's grin widened.
"You'll see."
Mimi began to unwrap the rags, then gasped in amazement. A tiny calico kitten stuck its head out and mewed at her.
"Oh, Roger. . .it's adorable!"
Roger blushed, then cleared his throat.
"Her name's Fender." He shrugged sheepishly. "Mark told me you went nuts over the kittens that old lady had in the park last week, so I figured. . ." Roger leaned over and kissed her.
Mimi patted Fender's head, and motioned to Mark. He jumped up suddenly and pulled a thick envelope out from under the tree.
"Roger, um. . .this is for you. We all pitched in to get it for you and I-I hope you like it."
Roger took the envelope from him, opened it, then stood there staring in shock. It contained two round-trip tickets to Santa Fe, and a card that everyone had signed.
Mimi grinned up at Roger, who was trying hard not to cry.
"I remember you told me you loved it there. . .so I figured you might wanna go back." Mimi handed Fender off to Maureen and stood up to hug Roger.
"God, Mimi," he whispered into her hair, "To think where we were a year ago. . ."
"I know. A year ago. . ."
Roger took a deep breath.
"The things that can change in a year. . ."
~~~**~~~ And there you have it my friends! Christmas!! Okay, *please* leave me some suggestions this time! I had a really hard time writing this chapter because I didn't get very many.
Things I need:
Activity Quotes Opening line Play for Maureen to be trying out for Random objects Places
Opening line: Contributed by latina155
Chapter 4: In Retrospect
~~~**~~~ December 24th
"'There's always a light at the end of the tunnel. Just make sure it's not a train.' Mark, what did I tell you about buying Christmas cards from street vendors?" Roger asked irritably, dumping the entire box of cards into the trash.
Mark flinched and looked sheepishly at Roger.
"But. . .the front one in the box was okay. . .and he sold me the whole box for fifty cents. . .I figured it was a good deal."
"Mark Cohen, it's beyond me how you can live in New York for your entire life and *still* not know better than to fall for that." Mimi sighed, entering the living room dressed in a pair of old torn up jeans, and one of Roger's t-shirts. "Why is everyone staring at me?"
"Because you look. . .well. . ." Mark trailed off.
"Well what?!" Mimi snapped.
"Well. . .ugly. . ." Mark ducked as Mimi threw a half-eaten chocolate bar from the counter at him. "Are you really gonna wear that for the party?"
"Mark!" Roger barked.
Mark threw up his hands and tried to inch his way out of the room.
"I'm gonna . . .um. . .go pick up some groceries now, okay?"
"No, not okay!" Roger snapped, "No one insults my girl and gets away with it!"
Mark glanced warily around the room, then grabbed a pillow, and threw it at Roger as though staving off an attack. It struck Roger in the head. He stood there for a moment, staring at Mark, trying to decide whether to be angry or to laugh.
"Earth to Roger. . ." Mimi called, waving her hand in front of his face.
Roger pretended to still be stunned, staring at her blankly and trying to choke down a fit of giggles that was threatening to escape.
"Roger!" Mimi tackled him, knocking him back against the sofa and straddling his lap.
Roger laughed loudly, then leaned forward and kissed her, his entire body still shaking with mirth.
"Will you two please take that somewhere else?" Mark asked disgustedly.
Mimi grinned back at him.
"Sure."
She grabbed Roger's hand and pulled him up, whispering something in his ear that caused him to snort loudly.
Roger lifted her into his arms and started to carry her toward their bedroom.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
"Damn!" Roger groaned, carefully setting Mimi back on her feet and going to answer the door.
"SURPRISE!!" Maureen shouted, shooting a cracker at Roger.
He jumped about a foot in the air, then stumbled backwards, bumping into Mark.
"God, Maureen. . .what did I tell you about loud noises?" Joanne chided, looking at Maureen like a mother watching a mischievous infant in a toy store.
Joanne gave everyone quick, crisp hugs, then glanced around the loft.
"Where's Mimi?"
"Changing." Mark answered, flinching at the look Roger gave him in response.
Mimi emerged a few minutes later, dressed in skin-tight black jeans and a short red tank-top, which exposed a small silver ring in her bellybutton. She wore matching hoop earrings, and her long brown curls were pulled up into a high ponytail, with a few loose wisps framing her face.
"Roger, stop drooling," Mark teased.
Roger smacked Mark on the side of the head jokingly, then went over and kissed Mimi again.
Mark shook his head.
"Oh, God, there they go again."
"When did you get that done?" Maureen asked, pointing to Mimi's bellybutton ring.
"In October." Mimi answered eagerly. "For my birthday. I was gonna get a tongue ring too, but then I figured it might, you know, interfere with things."
There was another knock on the door, and Benny entered, followed by the girl they'd seen him with in the park the week before.
She was short and thin, with long, flaming red hair and sharp gray eyes. She was wearing a long blue sleeveless dress that made her hair appear even brighter.
Everyone looked at Benny and tried to hide their amazement.
He was dressed in a cow-print silk shirt, and ripped, bleached, jeans. He looked strangely out of place and awkward.
"And. . .who is your lovely lady?" Maureen prompted eagerly.
Benny cleared his throat quickly.
"Oh, um, yes. Everyone, this is Kati. She lives in this very building, actually. . .We. . .we met by chance the other day actually."
Benny trailed off and continued to flounder around until he was saved by the doorbell ringing yet again.
Collins walked in this time, followed by a very unhappy looking Aimee. Mark ran over to her and eagerly offered to take her coat, but she refused, hugging it tighter around her small frame.
Roger cleared his throat loudly and looked around the room.
"Well, now that we're all here. . .umm. . .I guess we should decorate the tree?"
"Okay!" Maureen said eagerly, diving into the box of ornaments that had been set out on the table.
They spent the next half hour decorating the Christmas tree Collins had stolen for them with the hodgepodge of ornaments they had all collected over the years. There was tinsel that Mark and Roger had stolen from one of the street vendors the previous year, month-old popcorn that had been strung up on pairs of old shoelaces, and an old string of half burned-out lights that Collins had 'rescued' from the dump. Then there were all the homemade things that people had contributed. Maureen had made a motley assortment of papier mache animals that looked like something one might expect to find dumped in the gutter. Roger had strung a bunch of old guitar strings together into a kind of wire-mesh ball. Mark contributed all his old film from the previous year, saying that it gave the tree an artistic look. Finally, Collins climbed up on a chair and placed Angel's pickle tub at the top of the tree, since it was the closest they could get to the real thing. Everyone stood back and admired their work.
Mark forced everyone to pose in front of the masterpiece so he could film them with it. "Where'd Roger go?" Mimi asked curiously.
Mark and Collins exchanged secretive glances.
"Um. . .somewhere. He should be back soon."
Mimi shook her head and walked over to Kati, who was sitting alone on the couch.
"So how'd you and Benny meet?" she asked, sitting down next to the young woman.
Kati blushed slightly, then cleared her throat.
"Well. . .umm. . .to tell you the truth, it was really very strange. I moved in downstairs about a month ago. . .I just finished college. And well. . .things haven't been going quite as well as I'd hoped. And so when Benny came to collect my rent, I had to tell him I couldn't pay. And it was the strangest thing. He was so *nice* about it! Told me it was okay, then offered to take me out to dinner. . .and well . . .here I am."
Mimi nodded silently, trying to decide how to respond. As she'd suspected, Kati's story was incredibly similar to her own.
"Hey guys! Presents!" Mark called.
Everyone clustered around the tree to exchange gifts. Maureen gave everyone an article of clothing that she'd found at her favorite thrift shop. Every garment was equally hideous. Everyone loved them anyway. Collins received four books on philosophy and a yoga tape. Joanne, in typical Joanne- fashion, gave everyone gift certificates to stores perfectly suited to their temperaments. Mark handed out collages he'd made from the pictures he'd taken in the last year. Finally, everything had been unwrapped. But Roger was still missing.
Just as everyone was beginning to get concerned, he entered right on cue, carrying a bundle of rags in his arms.
Mimi gave him an odd look.
"What's that?"
Roger grinned at her.
"Your Christmas present. Sorry I couldn't wrap it better. Sit down and I'll give it to you."
Mimi obeyed, and Roger dumped the bundle into her arms.
"Open it."
Mimi eyed it warily.
"Is it alive?"
Roger's grin widened.
"You'll see."
Mimi began to unwrap the rags, then gasped in amazement. A tiny calico kitten stuck its head out and mewed at her.
"Oh, Roger. . .it's adorable!"
Roger blushed, then cleared his throat.
"Her name's Fender." He shrugged sheepishly. "Mark told me you went nuts over the kittens that old lady had in the park last week, so I figured. . ." Roger leaned over and kissed her.
Mimi patted Fender's head, and motioned to Mark. He jumped up suddenly and pulled a thick envelope out from under the tree.
"Roger, um. . .this is for you. We all pitched in to get it for you and I-I hope you like it."
Roger took the envelope from him, opened it, then stood there staring in shock. It contained two round-trip tickets to Santa Fe, and a card that everyone had signed.
Mimi grinned up at Roger, who was trying hard not to cry.
"I remember you told me you loved it there. . .so I figured you might wanna go back." Mimi handed Fender off to Maureen and stood up to hug Roger.
"God, Mimi," he whispered into her hair, "To think where we were a year ago. . ."
"I know. A year ago. . ."
Roger took a deep breath.
"The things that can change in a year. . ."
~~~**~~~ And there you have it my friends! Christmas!! Okay, *please* leave me some suggestions this time! I had a really hard time writing this chapter because I didn't get very many.
Things I need:
Activity Quotes Opening line Play for Maureen to be trying out for Random objects Places