Chapter 15

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A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! You all rock. And don't worry, there will be definite Mimi-age in the future, just hold your horses! Enjoy this chapter.

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"Sweetie, are you sure you're eating enough? You were so skinny the last time I saw you!"

"Yes, mom, I'm fine! I swear I'm eating," Mark tried to convince his mother. She had called five minutes earlier and had been scolding him about eating since then.

"Don't swear. Your grandfather wouldn't be very pleased."

"No, ma, I didn't mean I swear, I meant I swear… like, I promise."

"You'd better promise, young man. I'm sure grandpa's looking down from heaven, shaking his head at you right now."

Oh Lord. "Alright, mom," Mark laughed. "So, what's new? Why'd you call?"

"Can't I call my baby son to see how he's doing? And ask him to come to his big sister's birthday party this weekend?"

"Cindy's 25. I think she's out-grown the whole 'birthday party' thing."

"Don't talk like that! You can never outgrow birthday parties!" Mrs. Cohen replied seriously. "Besides, would it kill you to see your niece and nephew? They're forgetting what you look like."

"They're two. They don't even know who you and dad are."

"They do too. Please come, Mark. We all miss you," she persuaded him. "You can even bring that girl with you. Michelle? Who's that girl you're seeing—"

"Maureen."

"Her, too. We'll even pay for the rental car. I'll make up some nice meals that you can take home with you, because I'm sure your roommates aren't eating anything, either."

Mark sighed loudly. "Sure, I'll come."

Mark heard his mother clap her hands together. "Oh, good! Mark! I knew you'd come. Your father wants to see you, too." Murmurs were heard from her end of the phone, and Mark knew that it was probably his father complaining that she shouldn't have told him that.

"Tell dad I say hi," he laughed.

"He says hi back, sweetie. Oh, and Mark, do you remember your great uncle Abraham?"

"Nope."

"Yes you do. He's passed, honey. I'm sorry."

"I have a great uncle Abraham?"

"Yes, Mark. On your father's side. About two weeks ago. It's horrible, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess," Mark replied distractedly.

"Pretend you're sad," she whispered. "For your father's sake."

"Aw, shucks. Seriously? Uncle Abe?" Mark spoke sarcastically.

"I know, it's too bad, it really is. Well, he left you some money in his will."

Mark immediately perked up. "Money?"

"Yes. He left you and Cindy a thousand dollars to split between you."

"Sweet! Really?"

"Yes. Don't sound so excited. The man died, Mark. If you can't feel sad about that, feel sorry that I had to go to the funeral. It was long," she laughed quietly.

"Okay, okay. Sorry. I'd better go, but I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"I'm so glad you're coming home. You'll stay the weekend, won't you?"

Mark shrugged, even though he knew his mother couldn't see that. There was no use fighting with her, she'd get her way in the end.

"Sure. I'll ask Maureen to come, too."

"Okay. I can't wait to meet the girl my son's been shtupping."

"Mom!" Mark scolded his mother, surprised, as she laughed.

"I love you, honey. I'll see you soon."

"Yeah, love you too, mom."

Mark hung up the phone and tossed it onto the chair in the living room. He smiled at the thought of the money he had just come into, but wished he could feel bad for his great uncle. He stood up and wandered into his bedroom, picked up his camera, and lay down on the bed on his back. He flipped it on and watched the footage go by. He heard somebody come into the loft, and almost immediately, Maureen appeared in the doorway. Mark looked up and smiled, putting his camera aside for now. He moved over and made space for Maureen next to him on the bed.

"Missed you," he smiled.

Maureen smiled back and responded. "How are you?" she asked, laying down next to him.

"I'm good," he drawled. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she habitually rested her head on his shoulder. "I wanna ask you something."

"Shoot."

"Come with me to Scarsdale this weekend? It's my sister's birthday. It'll be fun. . . we'll get free food, cake, you can meet my family. . . my horribly over-protective mother. . ."

Maureen laughed and shut her eyes. "I dunno, Pookie."

"Why not?" Mark asked, poking her in the side. "You know you want to!"

Maureen laughed and pushed his hand away. She hated being so ticklish. "It's not that I don't want to, I just don't know if I should. I mean, rehearsals and everything."

"On Saturday?" Mark asked, skeptical.

"Yeah. We're starting our blocking, so I can't miss it," she replied. Mark shut his eyes, too, and rested his head on Maureen's.

"You sure?" he asked. "My mom wants to meet the girl I'm shtupping. She'll love you."

Maureen laughed a bit and snuggled in closer to Mark. "I can't miss rehearsals. Next time, okay? Maybe we can go see them next Friday. I think I'm good then."

"Sure. Tired?"

"Yeah. I just stood around all day, too," she laughed. "I never realized how tiring being bossed around was."

"Now you know why I love to sleep so much!"

"Hey!" Maureen playfully slapped Mark in the shoulder and shut her eyes again. "Go to sleep."

"Yes, ma'am." Mark shut his eyes, too, and hugged Maureen tighter. He could use a nap.

Maureen felt Mark's arms around her tighten and she realized how much he loved her. He wanted her to meet his family. He got so worried when he didn't know where she was. But if Mark was away in Scarsdale this weekend, she could go to dinner with Joanne and he would never know.

'I could just kill myself for thinking that. Mark doesn't deserve this! He deserves a girlfriend who is loyal and good to him, and I could be that. . . after one more dinner with Joanne, just to break it off."

She felt Mark's chest rising and falling slowly and she knew that he was asleep. She held onto his hands which were carefully placed around her waist and tried to fall asleep.

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Mark groaned and opened his eyes. There was no light streaming in from the windows, so he figured he must have slept for longer than he thought. He turned over and buried his face in the pillow, peeking at the clock on the wooden crate placed on its side next to his bed through the corner of his eye. 9:45. He sighed and turned over again. Maureen wasn't there, but he heard sounds of the TV in the next room so figured she had got up earlier than him. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and crawled out of the bed, still groggy. He stumbled out of the bedroom, flipping the overhead light on as he left.

As he entered the dark living room, he realized that it wasn't Maureen watching television, but Benny. He turned around from his seat on the couch when he heard Mark's door creak open.

"Morning, sunshine," he greeted, turning back to the television. He continued to flip channels to find something that wasn't grey and fuzzy.

"Hey," Mark replied, plopping down on the chair. "Where'd Mo go?"

"Oh, she left, like, an hour ago. She told me to tell you that she'd be home later but she didn't tell me where."

Fuck. "Oh."

The two men sat in silence watching Cheers and occasionally laughing along.

"I hate my fucking life," Mark whined, rubbing his face with his hands.

"What? Why?" Benny laughed, glancing over to his friend.

"Where the hell is Maureen? She's doing that thing again where she just up and leaves without saying anything. And what the fuck is Roger's problem?"

"Mimi's mad at me. I called her and she yelled a lot."

Mark snorted.

Benny started to laugh. "We're so fucked over."

"Yeah, we are," Mark replied, laughing now, too. "And to top it all off, I'm going to Scarsdale this weekend."

"Ouch. Good luck with that one."

Mark groaned. "I want to crawl into a hole and die."

"Awe," Benny sympathized. "Want to go get a drink?"

"Or twelve. . ."

"Or twelve?"

"Yeah."

The two put on their shoes and coats and left to get very drunk.

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