CHAPTER 56
A/N: Thanks for all the reviews for the last chapter! Like I said before, it's good to be back. You guys are too good to me, but keep it up. :o)
Just a small little note about their ages right now: Mimi already turned 22 back in June, and Roger turned 28 a few weeks before this chapter opens. Jaylynn is now 13 months, and Luke is 11 months.
* * * *
LATE OCTOBER 1998"Agh!"
Jackie practically skidded into the bathroom in her crimson stiletto heels. "What happened?"
"I keep accidentally burning the side of my forehead with the straightening iron. Dammit!" Mimi shouted out. She rubbed some water onto her head from the sink where it was slightly red. "I can't get the section on the side."
"Here. Let me try it again."
"How much time do we have left?"
"Ten minutes before the limo comes to get us." Jackie picked up the iron again and ran it through the pin straight sections of Mimi's hair. It had taken them both over an hour to straighten all of the curls, along with twisting it half up and half down.
"Who else is going to be in the limo with us?"
Jackie unplugged the straightening iron and sprayed the front section of Mimi's hair with hairspray. "You, me, Maureen's sister Monica, and Maureen's friend Kelly."
Mimi adjusted the straps on the burgundy bridesmaid gown and sighed. "Okay. So Roger and Mark have the kids?"
"No. Roger's mom took them both last minute. Roger had to drive them up there."
"Right. Okay I forgot."
Jackie grabbed Mimi's shoulders. "Mimi. Breathe."
"But I'm the maid of honor! I'm supposed to be freaking out right about now!"
"Freak out at the church." Jackie handed her the purse.
"What about the flowers?"
"They're in the refrigerator. At the church. We've talked about this."
"Sorry." Mimi peeked out the window. The sky was blue, and it had reached about sixty-five degrees that Sunday morning. Perfect weather for a wedding, but also unusually warm for late October. She glanced down at the curb, just as the black stretch limo pulled up. "Holy shit! It's here!"
Jackie linked her arm through Mimi's and locked the door behind them. "Ready? You have everything?"
"Yes."
"Okay. Let's go."
* * * *
"Never ever ever again will I do the conga line at a wedding. Ever," Mark slurred.
Jackie turned the lights on in the apartment and groaned. "Wow, that's a little bright."
"You think?" Roger walked in, his arm wrapped lazily around Mimi's shoulders. "Just a little bit bright? And what the hell time is it?"
Mimi, apparently the only sober one in the group of them, squinted at the numbers on the microwave. "4 AM."
Mark sat down on the couch and pulled off his suit jacket and tie. "As in dawn?"
"Yeah. Like the birds chirping in your window dawn," Roger added. He had kicked off his shoes and was resting his head on the coffee table.
"In case you haven't noticed before tonight, this is New York City. Instead of birds, we have garbage trucks. Very loud garbage trucks," Mark grinned sarcastically.
"And you can't start a morning without all the cars honking at each other." Jackie sat down on Mark's lap and curled up against him.
Roger yawned. "Did our wedding reception last this long?"
Mimi shook her head. "Nope. We were done by midnight."
"Well you weren't done," Mark laughed. "But the wedding was done."
Roger flipped him off and ignored the comment. "This was Maureen and Harvey's wedding. What the hell do you expect?"
"Definitely not Jac and the groom tearing ass up on the dance floor," Mimi snorted.
"Yeah really. We know you're both dancers but stop trying to rub in it!" Roger laughed.
Jackie rolled her eyes. "You and Mark seemed to be having a pretty good time in the conga line with your straw hats and fake plastic leis," she pointed out.
Mark shook his head. "Never again."
"Mark you know you liked it," Roger said.
"No. Definitely not."
"I think I'm going to bed. Coming?" Mimi stood up and shook Roger's shoulder.
"Yep. I'll be there in a second. I just have to take a really bad piss."
Jackie shoved him as she hopped off of Mark's lap. "Gross. Typical male."
"Actually, come to think of it, so do I," Mark laughed. "That's what drinking does to you."
"Oh because you drink so much," Jackie shot back. She carried her shoes into their bedroom and quickly changed into a tee shirt and pajama pants. Picking up the bridesmaid dress off the ground, she hung it up in the closet and shut the door. She picked up her cell phone off of the nightstand and noticed she had two new voicemails. One was from her mother, and the other was from Shawn. Both from Sydney.
Shawn had called her two weeks ago, letting her know that the Sydney ballet was holding open auditions for the summer season, which ran from early December through mid March. Auditions were being held the first weekend in November. Later that week, Jackie had booked two round trip tickets, one for herself, and one for Harvey. She had already talked to him about everything the day Shawn had called, and he had been interested in trying out, although somewhat reluctant to give up his position as a principle in the city ballet. Now the only thing left to do was tell Mark that there was a good possibility that she would be in Australia for the next four months—either with him or without him.
Mark walked into the bedroom. He quickly changed and joined her on the bed. "I'm calling out of work tomorrow."
"Yeah you should. Everyone's out of the office anyway," she replied as he kissed her forehead.
"So what are we doing next weekend?" he asked her as he stretched out on his back. Jackie sat up and ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. "We could just go out to dinner or something."
"Mark—we can't."
He shrugged and grinned. "Or we could just hang out here and have my mom watch Luke for the weekend."
"Mark I have to go to Sydney next week," she blurted out quickly.
He sat up. "What? Why?"
"I'm going to audition for the winter season of the ballet down there. It's fall there right now. They're holding auditions two weekends from now," Jackie told him. "Harvey's going with me."
"So the ballet here isn't good enough for you?"
"Mark. Of course it is." She rested her chin on her knees and looked at him. "I just, I haven't been home in a long time. Shawn thinks I should go for it, and so does my family. I'd be gone for-- four months if I get the audition."
Mark got out of the bed and started walking around the room. "Four months? What, are you serious? Did the fact that not only do I have a job, but we have a son together—who's only a year old—slip your mind? So what, you're going to leave us here while you go and live out your fucking dream like you're not attached to us?"
Jackie watched him pace and then stop near the door. She knew he had a few drinks in him. They all had drinks at the reception. "No, no of course not. God Mark I could never do that."
"Then what the hell am I supposed to do? Sit here and play Mr. Mom to Luke while you're a fucking ocean and a continent away?"
Jackie bit her lip and wiped away the tears that had formed in her eyes furiously. "No! But what am I supposed to do Mark? I'm getting all these opportunities from different people. They want me to dance for them! That's what I do Mark! That's all I've ever been doing since I was three years old!" She started to cry. "This is my last chance! This is one of the last chances I'll ever have to do what I love to do. I love you Mark, I really do, and I hope you know that. And most importantly I love our son. I'd give my own life for him, that's how much I love him. But Mark, I want to have another baby. This is my last chance. If and when I get pregnant again, I'm retiring. I can't dance and raise another baby, plus a toddler, at the same time. You can still make movies and preview your documentaries at film festivals. One day you'll probably even direct your own fucking film with Hollywood actors. I can't dance. They don't want someone who has two children at home. But they'll still want your films."
Mark walked over to her and kneeled in front of her. "I love you." He kissed her and wrapped his arms around her. "And I'll still love you, one ocean away and four months from now."
"I just, I don't want to sound like this is something I have to do, because it's not. I don't have to do it. I'd still be just as happy as I am now with you and Luke."
"But you're basically viewing it as your last possibility to do what you love to do. I definitely think you should go for. I mean, yeah, four months is a long time, but those will be four months well spent. But it's not like I won't see you or hear from you. I'll call and try to visit as much as I can. It's a long plane ride, but it's worth it." He wrapped his arms around her stomach. "And I don't know if you realize this, but you're good at what you do. I don't mean just general good either. You're talented. I don't expect you to drop your whole career just for me."
Jackie nodded. "Honestly, two years ago I would have never thought that I would have met someone like you, or had a son. Back then I expected to be dancing until I was thirty, then opening my own dance school and teaching until I was about sixty years old. I mean, I never really expected dancing to be my whole career. It's not even what I went to college for. How many people say they're planning to retire right before they turn twenty four?"
"What did you go to college for?" Mark asked her.
"You mean I never told you?"
"We really never talked about college. Or lack of," he laughed.
"I went to college for my nursing degree. I really wanted to be an OB nurse and just dance on the side. I had two years of my degree already completed, and if I didn't change my major last minute to dance, I would have started rotations in the hospital junior year. Now that I think about it, I probably really should have just stuck with it."
"So you should. Sign up for classes for the fall of '99. Or you can even re enroll for the summer session, and then take classes in the fall. I mean yeah, we'll be married and I'll have to watch Luke while you go, but it shouldn't be a problem. Then you could take your boards the summer of '99 and start working by that September. I think you should go for it," Mark rambled on.
"Yeah. Maybe I should look into it."
"You should."
" But I do want you to come to Sydney. After Harvey and I get there, I want you, Roger, Mimi, Jaylynn, Maureen, and Collins to fly down after the auditions are over. My dad's going to be in Perth with my step mom from Thanksgiving to Christmas, so we can all stay in his house. You know how big it is. You've seen it. It's right on the beach. It'll be perfect. Christina will give you off from work. You all really have to. I know Roger would want to go."
"Yeah by the time it's all over he'll be begging you to never make him come home to the city," Mark joked. "But he'd have a good time. Actually everyone would." He rubbed her back again. "So what do you want to do about Luke? Do you want me to fly down with him? Or do you want to fly down with him?"
Jackie shrugged. "It doesn't matter. Either way he'll miss one of us."
"How about you and Harvey fly down there. We'll book the other tickets before you and him leave. Then I'll fly down with Luke with everyone else."
"Are you sure Mark?"
"I'm sure. I want you to go to that audition," Mark
reassured her.
"Okay." She stood up and smiled. "Thank you!"
He glanced at the clock and climbed back into bed with her. "It's 5 AM and I have to be up in two hours to go to work."
She rested her head on his chest. "I thought you said you were calling out?"
Mark grinned again. "Yeah, but when you could be the next Steven Spielberg, I might as well get working on my next great documentary." He leaned over and kissed Jackie. "I'm just kidding. I am calling out. Plus, when you get back from Australia, we can start planning the wedding."
"I can start down there too, you know?" she laughed.
"I gotta give Roger the okay about the bachelor party. Wonder what kind of surprise I'm going to get—ow." He rubbed his ribs where Jackie had pinched him.
"Keep it up, Mr. Cohen."
* * * *
"You know what I realized?"
Mimi sipped her orange juice and looked up at her husband. "What?"
Roger glanced out the window and onto the airport tarmac. "That those moving walkways are so fucking cool. We should have them everywhere."
Mimi shrugged. "Okay?"
"Just a thought."
"You seem to have a lot of those," Mimi smiled.
Roger linked his hand through hers and kissed her. "Yes I do. And damn proud of it too."
Harvey and Maureen entered the small airport café and sat down at the table.
"Hey," Harvey greeted.
Maureen wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand and gave Roger and Mimi a watery smile. "Hi," she sniffed.
"You okay, Mo?" Roger asked her.
Mimi kicked him sharply under the table and shook her head.
"Ow?" He took another bite of the bagel he was eating. "Christ."
"So have you seen Jackie and Mark around here?"
Harvey shook his head. "Our flight doesn't leave until eight, so Mark just figured he, Jackie, and Luke should just walk around some more and talk before the plane boards." He glanced down at his watch. "Which won't be for another forty minutes tops."
"Oh," Roger replied.
"Plus Luke was being a little fussy so they figured that if they just walked around with him he'd calm down and maybe try to take a nap," Maureen added. Harvey ran his hand up and down her side as they all sat there in the booth.
"Fat chance, really," Harvey said. "He already misses his mom."
"Yeah," Mimi agreed. "Jaylynn's at Matt and Lisa's tonight and she threw a screaming fit when we all left."
Roger nodded his head. "I really wanted to pick her up and just hold her for awhile but she's got to learn that sometimes she just can't come everywhere with us."
"That must be rough on her." Maureen picked up the other half of Roger's bagel and started eating it slowly.
For the first time in a long time, Roger didn't even protest. Didn't even bother to start an argument with Maureen. Mimi noticed this and glanced at him curiously out of the corner of her eye.
"You know what I was thinking about the other day?" Roger spoke up about ten minutes later.
"What?" Harvey asked.
"How weird it is that we all have kids. Well, sort of all of us." He took a sip of Mimi's orange juice. "You two don't have kids yet, but I'm sure that'll happen soon enough. But really, if you asked me what I would have though would have happened two years from now, I wouldn't have said any of this. I probably would have said something stupid like fucking winning the lottery," he joked.
"Yeah that's true," Maureen agreed. "I didn't think I actually wanted kids. But being around Luke and Jaylynn, I kind of realized now that I really wanted to be a mom." She looked over at Harvey as she said this. "Eventually."
Mimi looked up at the digital departure and arrivals board. "We probably should go back to the gate now."
Maureen nodded. "Yeah."
* * * *
Jackie propped Luke up against her shoulder and ran her hand over his light blonde hair. He had fallen asleep about twenty minutes before when she was walking around the airport with Mark.
Mark walked away from the large window that looked out onto the runways and sat down next to her. "You have everything?"
She nodded. "Yeah."
"Okay."
Harvey and Maureen walked over to them, followed by Roger and Mimi. They all made small conversation for the next fifteen minutes, and then the familiar boarding announcement came over the intercom.
"Attention all passengers, we are now starting the boarding process of Flight 8075, service to Honolulu, Hawaii, with continued service to Sydney, Australia. At this time, we're asking all of our first class passengers to please present their tickets at the checkpoint. Thank you."
Maureen started crying again and leaned up against Harvey. They both retreated towards the windows, where Harvey tried to get her to stop crying long enough so he could say goodbye to her.
Jackie kissed a sleeping Luke goodbye before handing him to Mimi.
"You sure you have everything? Positive?" Mark asked as he pulled her close.
"I'm sure," she whispered against his chest. "I love you."
He kissed her and nodded. "I love you too. And I'll see you November fifteenth."
"I'll call you as soon as I get to my dad's." She then quickly hugged Mimi and Roger, before kissing Luke a final time. "Call me if he gives you a hard time."
Mark smiled. "I don't think he will."
"Yeah."
Harvey and Maureen walked back over, hand in hand. Maureen had calmed down some, although her mascara was streaked across her cheeks.
"Ready to go?" Harvey asked her.
Jackie nodded. "Yeah." She kissed Mark again as Harvey kissed Maureen. He then grabbed their carry on bags and waited for her. "I'll see you in a few weeks. Love you."
"Love you too."
Harvey and Jackie quickly passed through the checkpoint and down the hall. They both looked back only once.
"Long flight," Harvey voiced as he tossed the bags into the overhead compartment and took his seat. Jackie was seated by the window and staring out the window. The fog had started to clear, so hopefully the plane would depart on time.
"Definitely a long flight."
"We have a nine hour layover in Hawaii. We should go to the beach," he suggested.
"You just got back from Tahiti. Didn't you have enough of beaches on your honeymoon?" She nodded. " But yes, we should. We'd have to get a cab though." She started flipping through a magazine and sighed.
"Okay cheer up. We haven't even taken off and you're getting moody on me," he teased her. "And believe me, you're not the only one who misses someone. Maureen's probably still crying."
"Yeah." Jackie smiled over at him. "But if going to the beach doesn't put me in a good mood, then I don't know what the hell will."
"The plane food won't."
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