Chapter 16

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A/N: Here's a fun chapter. You may or may not notice my small tribute to Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years in it. Anywho, enjoy and please review!

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Mark turned into the short paved driveway and parked behind the old station wagon that the family affectionately referred to as "The Toilet". He took the keys out of the ignition and opened the car door. He was surprised that he remembered how to drive a stick shift after so many years of not driving. It hadn't taken too long to get to Scarsdale since the traffic was light, but Mark still wished he had Maureen there with him to keep him company. He went to the back of the car and popped the trunk open. He pulled out his duffel bag and laughed as he saw his mother hurrying out the front door to her son. She was wiping her hands on her apron and opened her arms, embracing Mark in a tight hug.

"Mark!" she squealed. "My son! I've missed you!"

Mark pulled out of his mother's grasp long enough to slam the trunk shut, then was immediately hugged again.

"Ma, I can't breathe!" She pulled back, sniffing away her tears.

"Sorry, sweetie, I just… I can't believe you're here!" She linked their arms together and led Mark into the house. "Where's Melissa?"

"Maureen. She couldn't come. She had rehearsals for a play she's in."

"Oh, that's so exciting!" She shut the heavy wooden door behind them and took Mark's coat from him. "Your father's in the other room. Go say hello," she said quietly, nudging him in the ribs towards the living room.

Mark gently dropped his bag on the floor by his boots and peeked into the living room, creeping in carefully. In the corner of the room was a man sitting in an easy chair, reading the newspaper.

"Hey, dad."

The man looked up from behind his paper and smiled warmly.

"Mark," he said as he stood up, folding up his paper and dropping it on the seat. "How are you?"

Mark opened his arms and hugged the older man. He noticed that his father actually had tears in his eyes. He stifled a laugh and replied.

"I'm good, I'm good. How about you? It's been a while…"

"Yes, it has. I'm doing fine."

"Mark! Why don't you come here and help me with dinner!" Mrs. Cohen called from the kitchen. It wasn't really a question so much as it was a high-pitched, perky demand.

"You should go to her. She's been talking non-stop about you ever since she got off the phone yesterday," Mark's father laughed, sitting back down in his Lazy Boy.

"Mark?"

Mark threw a glance over his shoulder. "Yup?"

"It's good to have you home."

Mark smiled and walked through the foyer and to the kitchen. His mother was currently slaving over a hot stove. He didn't know people actually did that. She had oven mitts covering her hands and was pulling a large pot roast out of the oven. She looked up when she heard Mark come into the room and rested the food on top of the stove.

"Sweetheart," she hugged him again and kissed his cheek. "You're really here."

"Yeah, I am," Mark laughed. "I'm here. Can I help you out?"

Mrs. Cohen smiled again and handed her son a stack of seven plates.

"You can set the table for me. The dining room table. The glasses and silverware are out there, but you'll need to look for the kids' sippie cups."

"Sure thing, pretty lady," Mark smiled, kissing his mother on the forehead. She was a very small woman, so Mark had to bend down quite a bit to do this. She giggled and turned to a large pot soup on one of the burners.

Mark entered the dining room and placed the plates on the table. He set everything out, and even managed to find the sippie cups his mom was referring to without much trouble. He wandered over to the very full bookshelf, and studied the pictures in front. There were mostly photographs of him and his sister, Cindy, growing up. He and his sister used to be very close, but when he moved to New York they drifted apart. He had vivid memories of covering for her when she would sneak out of the house and crawl in his bedroom window in the early hours of the morning, or her helping him deal with his first hangover and trying to hide it from their parents. He laughed quietly and heard small knocking coming from outside.

Mark made his way over to the front door and opened it, seeing a toddler standing at the door, sucking her thumb. Her very light blonde hair was pulled into two pigtails on the sides of her head and she was wearing a pink dress and a tiny white pea coat. She pulled her thumb out of her mouth and her lower lip began to tremble as she started to cry loudly.

"Catherine," Mark said soothingly. He bent down to her level and smiled. "Cathy, it's me, Uncle Mark," he smiled, holding out his hand for her. The toddler ran back to the red mini van and pulled on a man's pant leg. The man picked her up and hugged her, kissing her forehead. He looked over at the doorway where Mark was still standing awkwardly. The man elbowed the woman who was currently struggling with another toddler, and she looked up.

"Mark!" she cried, grinning. She picked up the screaming and kicking child and cradled him in her arms. "Shh."

The woman quickly walked over to Mark, beaming. Her wavy dirty blonde hair flowed down her back, and she tried to untangle the young boy's hands from it.

"Jamie, stop," she complained as if the child could understand what she was saying. "Mark, I can't believe it's you!" she smiled, gratefully receiving the hug that Mark offered.

"I've been getting that a lot today," he grinned. "Happy birthday, you old hag." Cindy handed the baby to Mark, and he immediately settled against his shoulder, cooing.

"The men always had a thing for you," Cindy laughed, resting a hand on Mark's arm. "I'm so glad you're here!" she exclaimed as the two walked into the hallway.

The man standing by the van was now walking up the pathway, a baby bag slung over his shoulder, holding on to Catherine's hand. She clutched his pant leg with her free hand and looked at the door nervously. Mark smiled weakly, holding the door open for the two.

"Michael," he greeted the shorter man.

"Hey, Mark. Long time no see," he smiled, guiding the young girl into the house.

"Is that my favourite daughter I hear?" Mr. Cohen appeared in the doorway to the living room and hugged Cindy.

"Hey," she greeted, kissing him on the cheek, then continuing to take a now very calm Jamie from Mark's arms. "You feeling better, dad?" she asked, walking into the kitchen.

"I am," he called to her, carefully bending down and scooping Catherine up off the floor. "How's my little princess?" he asked, kissing her nose.

"Gampa!" she giggled, pulling his thin wire glasses off of his face and patting his cheek with her pudgy hand. Mark laughed and took her and Michael's coats, hanging them up in the closet.

"Dinner's ready!" Mrs. Cohen called from the kitchen.

"Shall we?" Mr. Cohen asked.

"No!" Catherine screamed, burying her face in her grandfather's shoulder.

"Yes," Michael laughed, patting her back. The three men sat down at the table and watched as Cindy wrestled with the once again crying Jamie, trying to get him into his seat.

"A little help, Mark? He seems to calm down for you," Cindy pleaded with him, pulling him up from his seat.

"Sure," he sighed, taking Jamie from her arms. Cindy disappeared into the kitchen and Mark got Jamie into his seat with ease. "I'm very agreeable," he laughed, plopping down next to the toddler who was currently hitting the top of his high chair, laughing.

Mrs. Cohen reappeared soon with Cindy, and they filled the others' bowls with soup and sat down. They all ate rather quickly and found themselves eating dessert before long. Mr. Cohen presented Cindy with a chocolate cake as the group sang "Happy Birthday" to her, and she blushed and buried her face in her hands.

"Mark, mom told me you're dating someone!" Cindy squealed as she tried to feed Cathy her cake without making too much of a mess.

"Yeah, I am," he laughed. "Maureen. She wanted to come this weekend, but she couldn't. Oh— by the way, she said she wants to come up and meet you guys this Friday. Is that okay?" Mark asked, looking to his parents for approval.

"I think that should be okay," Mrs. Cohen replied, nodding.

"That's fine," his father agreed.

"Is she Jewish?" Mrs. Cohen asked. Her husband's head snapped up and the other's began to laugh.

"Josie, did you really need to ask that?" Mr. Cohen laughed, stirring sugar into his coffee.

"You were curious, too!" she replied, trying to justify her question. The four others laughed for the next moment until she spoke up again. "Well? Is she?"

"No, mom," Mark laughed, pushing his empty plate away. "She's not."

"Well why not?" she exclaimed. "Don't you want to marry a nice Jewish girl and settle down soon?"

The four continued laughing, harder now, and the two toddlers laughed, too, not wanting to be left out.

"I like Maureen, I think I'll stick with her," he said, recovering.

"Come on, mom, let the kid date who he wants," Cindy tried to help.

"But you married a nice Jewish boy, and look where you are now! You've got a wonderful life and two beautiful babies!"

"She has a point," Michael laughed. "But if I wasn't Jewish, things'd probably be the same," he rationalized.

"Maybe. But Marky, remember Lisa Katz from down the street? I ran into her mother yesterday, and she's not seeing anybody either. She's a kindergarten teacher now, you know that? Just think about how nice those two would be together!"

"Mom…" Mark whined. "No. I'm with Maureen. You'll like her, I know you will."

"We'll see," Josephine replied, rolling her eyes.

"Out!" Jamie yelled, slapping at the plastic plate on his highchair. Michael stood up to take him out of his highchair, but when he did, Jamie screamed again.

"No!" He pointed at Mark and reached his arms up in the air.

"I got him," Mark laughed, standing up and placing his napkin next to his plate. He picked Jamie up and set him comfortably on his lap. Mrs. Cohen stood up and started collecting the now empty plates, and Michael stood up to help her.

"Thank you, sweetie."

"No problem."

"Marky, tell me more about this Maureen girl. Is she pretty?" Cindy prodded, lifting a yawning Cathy out of her highchair and cradling her in her arms.

"Yes, I hear from your mother that this is the girl you're…shtupping?"

"God…" Mark rolled his eyes and laughed. Jamie was contentedly clutching Mark's thumb and holding onto his foot. "She's very pretty. We've been dating a while now, actually. Almost a year."

"And you never told me?!" Cindy asked, surprised. "Where is your head, young man?"

Josephine poked her head out of the kitchen. "Cindy, did you bring back that Tupperware container from last time you were here? I want to send home some soup with you."

"Yeah, it's in the car. I'll go get it," she replied as she stood up, resting Cathy on her hip. "Come with me, Mark?"

"Sure," he agreed, standing up, too. Jamie took his hand and ran ahead into the foyer.

"Be back in a sec, dad," Cindy laughed, kissing her father on the cheek. He was currently flipping through the phone book, searching for Lisa Katz as ordered by his wife.

Mark helped Jamie put on his shoes and opened the door.

"Don't let him go in the snow," Cindy called after him. "He'll get sick."

"I know…" Mark said, chasing after his nephew. He picked him up and put him up on his shoulders.

"God, Mark! Be careful! He's only two, he can barely sit on his own! You're gonna give me heart attack," Cindy chided him, laughing. Cathy was comfortably set against her shoulder, dozing. She unlocked the middle door of her van and searched through it for the Tupperware.

"So how've you been, Mark? Really? Not the 'Mom-and-Dad-I'm-fine' stuff'."

"I'm doing okay. Frustrated, I guess. Remember Roger? I dunno if you met him, I'm pretty sure you did."

"Yeah, I think so—Here, hold her for me?" she asked, passing Cathy over to her brother. Mark took Jamie off his shoulders and held him with one arm, taking Cathy with the other.

"Well," Mark sighed. "He got married to this girl, April, and they're really…into drugs and stuff. So she's off in rehab and he's God knows where."

"Wow," Cindy replied weakly, pulling out a plastic grocery bag that held what she was looking for. "Really?" She shut the door behind her and leaned against the side of the van, taking Jamie from Mark. "Hey baby," she cooed at him as he giggled. Mark leaned against the van, too.

"Yeah, he's been gone for a while. But he's been a real big ass lately. He tried to get Maureen in bed when I was asleep in the other room." Mark shook his head and rocked a sleeping Cathy. It felt good to get everything off his chest to a biased party. Maybe now he'd get someone would realize his problem and not respond with 'Well, you know Roger.'

"God, really? Why are you friends with him?"

"I dunno. I'm not, I guess. He's just… some guy who lives with us. It's weird," Mark shrugged. "But anyway, enough about me. How about you? It's been too long…"

"Yeah, it has, assface," Cindy joked, nudging Mark with her shoulder. "I've missed you, eh? You never call."

"Yeah, well…"

"I know. Don't worry about it. I think mom does, though."

"She would," Mark laughed. "But she calls me often enough, so she shouldn't complain."

"That's our mother," Cindy smiled. "They miss you. They always talk about you when I see them."

"Really?" Mark asked, surprised.

"Yeah. I think they're really proud of you, moving out on your own and everything."

Mark shrugged. "Could have fooled me…" he mumbled.

"I'm pregnant," Cindy stated casually, not hearing Mark's comment.

"What?!" Now it was Mark's turn to squeal. Jamie laughed at this and returned to playing with his mother's hair.

"I'm pregnant!" she beamed.

"Wow! You're a machine."

"Mark!" she laughed. "Shut up."

"Have you told Mom and Dad yet?"

"No. I was going to do it today, since you're here, too. But I dunno if I can."

"Do it!" Mark prodded. "Do it! You'll have to do it eventually, and I don't want to miss the look on their faces!"

Cindy shrugged and turned, walking towards the door grinning. "We'll see."

"What do you mean 'we'll see'?!" Mark laughed, walking behind her.

"Be quiet. Don't mention it to them or I'll kick your ass," she whispered, covering Jamie's ears.

The two siblings slipped out of their shoes and entered into the living room where Mr. and Mrs. Cohen, and Michael were sitting, talking. Cindy set Jamie down on the ground and dug through the baby bag she had left near the door to find something for him to play with.

"Maybe I'll just go put her down so she can sleep," Mark suggested, motioning towards Cathy.

"Yeah. Thanks so much," Cindy replied.

Mark wandered up the stairs quietly and turned into the hallway. He walked two doors down and peeked into his old bedroom. He gently pushed open the door and looked inside. Everything was still exactly the same, but his duffel bag was placed beside his dresser. His dark blue and white striped comforter was still neatly made. His Star Trek action figures (not 'Man Barbies' as Cindy always referred to them) were still lined up along the top bookshelf. He examined it more closely, and found binders from his high school classes, books from his first year at Brown University, old yearbooks. He carefully rested Cathy on his bed and draped the fleece blanket that was folded up at the foot of his bed over her. He watched her shift positions so her thumb was carefully lodged into her mouth and her other hand was clutching the edge of the blanket. Mark smiled and searched through his bag for his camera then left his room, jogging down the stairs. He turned into the living room.

"Hey," he greeted. "She's in my room."

"Aw, the poor thing. All tuckered out!" Josephine laughed, seated on a chair by the idle fireplace.

"From a day of playing and eating," Michael agreed, putting an arm around Cindy's shoulders. The two were seated on the love seat in front of the bay window facing out onto the street. Mark took a seat on a free chair behind Jamie who was contentedly playing with wooden building blocks on the floor.

"That yours?" Michael asked, gesturing towards the camera Mark held in his hands. He wanted to get some shots of everybody tonight.

"Yep," Mark replied.

"Can I see it?" Cindy asked. Mark nodded and handed her the camera. "How do I watch the stuff in the thing?"

Mark laughed and turned it on and played the tape inside for her, then sat back down.

"Is this your girlfriend?" she asked, looking up at Mark.

"Brown hair?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, it is."

"She's hot!" Michael exclaimed before being slapped in the chest by Cindy. Jamie laughed loudly and repeated him.

"She's hot!"

"She's cute," Cindy laughed. "Stop corrupting my baby." She stood up and took the camera over to her father and mother, and they watched over her shoulder.

"She sure is a looker," Mr. Cohen laughed.

"Jacob!" Mrs. Cohen scolded him. "I suppose she's pretty."

"You're just mad because she isn't Jewish," Mr. Cohen laughed. Cindy shook her head and sat back down on the loveseat, still watching footage. Jamie slowly toddled over to Mark and crawled up onto his lap.

"He's adorable," Mark spoke, looking up at Michael and Cindy.

"Yeah, he is."

"I'm just so sad I missed watching him grow up. I mean, I missed both of them as little babies, then when they first learned to walk, and to talk…I just wish I could have seen it," he sad innocently.

Cindy shot Mark a look and he grinned mischievously.

"Do you two think you would want to have anymore children?" Mr. Cohen asked.

"Uh, we, yeah, I guess so…" Cindy stuttered, shutting the camera off.

"Actually," Michael said, looking over at Cindy who looked down at her feet. "We've been thinking…"

Cindy looked back up at her husband and he shrugged.

"Um, well…I am pregnant again," she smiled weakly.

Josephine jumped up from her seat and rushed over to her daughter, embracing her in her arms.

"Oh, really?" she asked, hugging and kissing Michael on the cheeks. Cindy nodded, laughing.

"Congratulations," Mr. Cohen spoke up, carefully getting out of his chair. Mark did the same, and the three congregated around the two parents-to-be-again.

"How far along are you?" Josephine asked, smiling.

"About a month and a half, but it feels like longer!" Cindy laughed as the men congratulated Michael. Everybody eventually got settled once again, and Mark filmed everybody talking and Jamie playing. A scream followed by a cry was heard from upstairs, and Michael hurried up the stairs returning with a content Cathy, drinking from her bottle. He put her on the floor and gave a bottle to Jamie, too, and the kids continued playing, taking toys out of their bag whenever they felt the urge.

Soon after, Cindy, Michael, and the twins left. They were both asleep when they were put into their coats and car seats. Mark was then left alone with his parents. They remained in the living room for longer, talking and catching up. Mark told them more about Maureen and his other roommates, but his parents were especially interested in how Collins was doing, as his family was good friends of theirs.

Mark eventually got to bed after telling his mother that he really wasn't hungry and was force-fed cake and milk. She then made sure that Mark brushed his teeth and flossed, and soon after he fell asleep in his old bedroom.

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Maureen smiled at Joanne and sat down across from her at the small table. She had just reached the restaurant after leaving the loft with much questions from Benny and Collins. She managed to dodge them while they were engrossed in eating and marking, and slipped out relatively unnoticed.

"Hey," Joanne smiled back. "How are you?"

"I'm alright. You haven't been waiting long, have you?" Maureen asked, frowning.

"Oh, no, I got here just before you did," Joanne reassured her.

"Good," Maureen took a sip of the glass of water in front of her place and zipped her sweater up.

"Cold?"

"I guess."

"You said on the phone you had something to tell me?"

Maureen remembered saying that to Joanne earlier in the afternoon. She had called her after Mark left and promised herself that she would break it off with her tonight. But when she saw Joanne sitting in front of her, she felt horrible and couldn't do it. Whenever she was with her, she wanted to stay with her, but then when she went home to Mark, so sure of herself and her need to break it off with him, she couldn't. She found herself wanting to stay wrapped up in his arms, huddled under the blankets in the shit hole they called a home.

"Honeybear?"

"What? Yeah, I… can't remember!" she giggled. "Sorry."

"That's okay," Joanne laughed.

Both women flipped open their menus and continued to make small talk until their waiter appeared at the end of the table. He smiled and introduced himself as Craig. He took their orders and came back with them quickly, even though it was a rather busy night in the restaurant.

"So your show's going well?" Joanne asked, starting in on her spaghetti.

"Yeah, it's a lot of fun. We're getting our costumes fitted next week. I get to wear this cool dress and everything," Maureen laughed. "You have to come and see me!" She picked up her fork and started to eat her salad.

Joanne nodded and took a sip of her wine.

"Maureen?"

"Yeah?" she replied, looking up from her plate.

"Where's… Mark tonight?"

"Oh, he's off in Scarsdale." She looked back down at her plate and pushed the lettuce around with her fork. "Visiting his family."

"That's nice…"

The two women turned back to their dinners and finished them up in silence, stopping to say something every once in a while. Craig came back to take their plates, served them coffee and gave them their cheque.

"You okay, Jo?" Maureen asked, gently bumping her foot against Joanne's under the table.

"Yeah, I just…" she trailed off.

"You just what?" Maureen gave a small smile and took a sip of her coffee. Joanne sighed and played with the handle of her coffee cup.

"When are you going to break up with Mark?"

The dreaded question. Maureen didn't know how to answer that. She couldn't say that she didn't think she wanted to, but she also couldn't say 'soon', because she knew that she wouldn't.

"I dunno, Pookie. It's hard. He's just so… innocent and nice, and I feel horrible for doing this to him."

"You feel horrible about being with me," Joanne stated.

"No!" Maureen almost shouted. "No, it's not like that," she said, quieter this time.

"Then what is it like?" Joanne asked firmly. Maureen could tell that she was sick of hiding the relationship and angry about not being able to spend any time together.

"I don't… I don't know…" Maureen lowered her eyes and stirred her coffee to preoccupy herself.

"I'm tired of all of this, Maureen. I just want to be with you, but I can't do that when you're still with your boyfriend. It's not fair to either of us, and you know it." Maureen opened her mouth to say something, but Joanne held up her hand and continued to talk. There was the lawyer in her.

"Either you want to be with me, or you don't. You need to break up with Mark or break up with me."

"Is that an ultimatum?" Maureen asked meekly.

"I suppose it is."

"Joanne, don't do this, You know I want to be with you—"

"Then why aren't you? You sneak over to see me, then you go home back to your boyfriend. That's not how a relationship works."

"I know… I'll end it, I will. I just need some time, alright? I can't just walk up to him and say that I'm leaving him for another woman."

"I know," Joanne replied, looking down into her coffee. "Sorry."

"Don't be, it's not your fault," Maureen shrugged. "Shall we?"

"Yeah, let's go." Joanne pulled out her wallet and left money for the meal. The two women stood up and put on their coats. They wandered out of the restaurant and out onto the street to Joanne's car. They both silently got in and Maureen sunk into the leather seats. Now she had a royal mess on her hands.

"Want me to take you back to the loft?" Joanne asked, slipping into her gloves.

Maureen kept her eyes glued to the cars whizzing by outside the window and shook her head slowly, turning back to Joanne.

"Let's go back to your place."

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Dun-dun-duuuuuunnnnnnnn!!!! Review, please?