Author's Note: Thanks for 104 reviews, guys! That's awesome! Sorry about sucking with my updates lately. It's the end of the school year, but my classes are finally over and I'm into exams. I've only got two, so hopefully updates will be more frequent starting soon. I'm taking a course over the summer, but that shouldn't interfere too much with updates.

Thanks for sticking with me so far, you're all great.

Chapter 35

Mid December

"So we'll meet back here around three-ish, okay?" April asked the others as they walked through the glass doors into the mall, Mimi and Roger lagging far behind Maureen and April.

"Fine," Roger whined, sighing. "I can't believe you dragged me here."

"Me too," Mimi piped up. "I hate the mall," she grumbled.

April rolled her eyes. "Suck it up, you two. Only two hours, then we can go back to slumming it."

"That's all I ask," Roger replied, kissing April gently on the cheek. "See you later, baby."

"Say bye to Maureen," she whispered, tugging on the sleeve of his coat.

"Make me," he whispered back, pulling Mimi away from conversation with Maureen and continuing down the hall.

"What the hell!" Mimi shrieked, trying to regain her balance. "What was that?"

Roger sighed. "Rule number one if you want to hang out with me: there will be no Maureenage for you."

"But I like her," Mimi laughed. "She's fun."

"She's not fun," he corrected her. "I'm fun. She's not fun. She's slutty and mean."

"Not to me," she argued, shaking her head.

"Yet. Just you wait, one day she'll cry to Mark about how you tried to sleep with her and you'll be humming a whole other tune."

Mimi stopped and frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing," he laughed, grabbing her wrist. "Come on, I don't want you to get lost in the crowd. You're little. Your kind does that easily."

Mimi laughed. "My kind?"

"Short people. I lose April all the time."

"Your own wife?"

Roger shrugged and nodded.

"Whatever," she giggled. "So why are you walking so fast? Are you on a mission?" she asked excitedly.

Roger nodded seriously. "Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to help me pick out an engagement-slash-wedding ring for April."

"Ooh!" Mimi squealed. "I like jewelry!"

"I figured," Roger sighed. "So got any ideas?"

"A rock. A big, huge rock."

"So got any ideas that I can afford?" he corrected himself.

"Sorry, I've just got such expensive tastes," she giggled, pulling him into a nearby jewelry store.

Roger whispered, "What do I do?"

"You start looking," Mimi replied. "Do you like that one?" she asked him, pointing into a glass case.

He made a face. "I dunno, it's a little… ugly."

"Can I help you?" a saleswoman spoke up from behind the counter, eyeing the pair suspiciously.

Mimi looked over to Roger who shrugged. "We're looking for a ring."

"What kind of ring?" she asked, frowning.

"A, uh, wedding ring," Roger replied as Mimi walked away and began to wander around the store.

"Are you looking for a traditional band or a diamond ring?"

"Um…" he started, glancing around and looking for Mimi who was chatting with another salesperson. "Diamond, I guess?"

"A solitaire or a diamond band?"

Roger stared blankly back at her. "What?"

The woman sighed and pulled out a set of keys. She unlocked the back of the glass case and pulled out two rings.

"This one is a gold band with solitaire diamond enhancer, and this one is a diamond band," she told him, showing him the rings.

Roger looked around anxiously for Mimi and silently wished that she'd stop flirting with the salesman. He had never felt more uncomfortable in his entire life.

"The solitaires are more popular," the woman continued, "But personally I like the bands, better."

"Me too," Roger agreed, crossing his arms.

"What size are you looking for?"

He sighed. "There are sizes? I have no clue."

"Why don't you go ask your fiancée?" she asked as she motioned over to Mimi.

Roger laughed and glanced over to Mimi. "She's not my fiancée… But she is probably the same size," he thought aloud. "One minute."

He walked away from the woman and pulled Mimi out of conversation with her new friend.

"Can we go?" he whispered.

Mimi nodded and laughed. "Giving up so easily?"

"April can wait, right? She doesn't even really want a ring in the first place."

She shrugged. "I guess so. No offence, but you suck at being a husband."

They walked out of the store quickly and Roger sighed. "Yeah, I know."

Maureen and April walked through the mall having already accumulated a few shopping bags. April rearranged the bags and took them with her other hand, sighing.

"I've got presents for everyone except for Roger," she frowned. "He's so hard to buy for."

"And I've got tons of gifts for myself," Maureen giggled, "And one for Mark. I guess we're almost done… with twenty minutes to spare," she smiled, glancing down at her watch.

"Want to take a break?" April asked.

Maureen nodded. "Yeah. We could get a coffee."

"Sounds good."

Both women continued walking until they found a Starbucks. Getting into line, Maureen groaned and turned her back to the counter.

"Oh my God," she whispered to April, grimacing.

"What?" she asked obliviously as she looked up from her wallet.

"Why does this always happen to me?" Maureen frowned, looking down in an attempt to cover her face with her hair. "Good Lord."

April raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

Maureen sighed and shut her eyes. "Okay, long story short, one of the people I cheated with Mark on is over there."

"One of them?!" April asked loudly. Maureen shushed her, and she continued quieter. "Who?"

"Blue coat, black pants, looks like she has a stick up her ass…"

April stifled a laugh. "That's no good. Want to go somewhere else?"

She nodded quickly and the two women pushed their way through the crowd and out of the crowded coffee shop.

"Maureen?" Joanne called.

"Great. Great!" Maureen whined, stomping her foot on the ground. April made a face and patted her back gently.

"She's coming over here," she whispered, noticing Maureen's pained expression.

"What the hell do I do?!" she whispered back before turning around and finding Joanne standing beside her. April quickly spun around and pretended to be examining the exotic coffees neatly lined up on the shelf in front of her.

Joanne smiled weakly. "We have to stop meeting this way."

"I guess we do," Maureen replied bitterly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Look, don't get like that. I just came over to apologize. I was going to call you, but…"

Maureen smirked. "Apologize?"

"Yes," she told her. "And I guess it was just luck that I ran into you here. But listen, I'm sorry for what I said last week. It was rude."

"Yes, it was."

Joanne shrugged uneasily and leaned back on the heels of her shoes. "Well, that was it. I just wanted to make amends, you know, make sure there wasn't any bad blood between us."

Maureen nodded slowly. Joanne was actually making an effort to be nice to her now?

"No bad blood," Maureen reassured her, smiling slightly.

Joanne sighed and smiled, too. "Okay then. Have a merry Christmas."

"You too."

Joanne enveloped Maureen in a comforting hug before disappearing back into the crowd. April turned around and smiled.

"Aw, you're all made up!" she teased her friend, tugging on the sleeve of her coat as they left the Starbucks, both forgetting about ever wanting coffee.

Maureen sighed. "Shut up. It's not my fault I'm so damn loveable."

She laughed and passed her bags from one hand to the other.

"What time is it?"

"Quarter to three," Maureen told her.

She nodded. "We should go back and meet Roger and Mimi."

"Sounds like a plan. Hey, didn't you have to get that prescription filled?"

April looked down and shrugged. "Yeah," she replied quietly.

"Why don't we do that before we meet them, then?"

"Because I don't want to."

Maureen laughed. "Why not? It's just your AZT, right?"

"Not quite," she frowned.

"Then what?"

"Anti-depressants," April replied without hesitation.

"What? Since when?" Maureen asked.

She shrugged nonchalantly. "Since the psychiatrist said I needed them."

"But why?"

"Because I'm depressed," she snapped. "God, I don't know, Maureen."

Maureen bit her lip. "But you don't seem… you know."

Sighing, April replied, "Can we please stop talking about this before Roger hears you?"

"You're not going to tell him?!"

April shrugged.

"Why not? Won't he find out?"

"Not if I have anything to do with it," she replied, annoyed. She began to walk through the mall faster, Maureen trailing behind. "Nobody wants to married to a nutcase."

"You're not a nutcase, though!"

April shrugged and ignored Maureen, stopping when she reached the entrance where they were supposed to meet Roger and Mimi. She crossed her arms over her chest, holding on to her bags tightly.

"April," Maureen tried. "You're not crazy."

"Okay, I heard you."

Maureen stared at her friend for a long moment then turned away quickly, crossing her arms, too. After what seemed like hours, Mimi and Roger arrived. They walked to the parking lot in silence, Mimi and Roger not understanding the awkwardness of the situation.

"I still hate malls," Mimi finally broke the silence, trying to lighten the mood.

"Too crowded," Maureen agreed as they reached the car. April unlocked the doors after sliding into the driver's seat.

"Shotgun!" Roger and Maureen called in unison.

Trying to win, they both said it again.

"Shotgun! Shotgun!"

Roger glared at Maureen when Mimi tugged on his coat sleeve.

"What about rule number one?" she whispered.

He laughed. "Oh yeah. Fine, I'll take the back."

They all piled into the car, chatting, as April pulled the car out onto the street. While trying to keep her eyes on the road, she dug through her purse, pulling out a cigarette and a lighter.

"Smoking kills," Maureen informed her. "It makes you impotent."

"I don't have to worry about that, do I?" April retorted, rolling down her window.

"It does?!" Roger asked, startled. "Well I do! Put it out!"

She rolled her eyes and took a long drag of it, blowing the smoke out the window. Before long, they reached the Life Café. April parked the car and they all got out, hurrying into the restaurant from the cold.

"Marky!" Maureen squealed, skipping over to her boyfriend who was already seated at a large table with Collins. She flopped beside him on the booth and sat herself in his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him.

Collins laughed as the others reached the table, too. "Hey guys."

"Gross," Roger scoffed, sitting down at the table and pulling April with him. "So did you get me something nice for Christmas?" he teased.

She nodded. "Yup," she lied. "How about you?"

"Don't you know it," he covered. He flipped open his menu and they began to pick out something for their late lunch.

"How was shopping?" Collins asked, looking up from his menu.

"Alright," Mimi replied. "But I still hate malls. They're so crowded and stupid. I could have done all my shopping right here in the village."

"It's just nice to have a change of pace," April shrugged.

"It wasn't too bad," Maureen agreed. "Except for all the people."

April laughed. "Familiar faces."

Maureen kicked her underneath the table and cuddled up against Mark.

"What are you talking about?" Collins asked.

"Nothing," Maureen reassured him. "April's just a shit disturber."

"Ha ha," April laughed sarcastically as the waiter made his way over to their table.

"Hey guys, how are you?"

"Fine," Mark answered for the group. "You?"

"Oh, I'm Eddie. I'm always good."

The friends placed their orders, Eddie returning with them soon after.

"So did I tell you all about my plan?" Maureen asked, pushing her salad around the plate with her fork.

Collins shook his head. "What's that?"

"I'm going to become an interior designer! There's this centre where you can take classes."

"That's awesome, Mo!" Mimi smiled, stealing some French fries from Benny, who had joined the group earlier.

"Yeah," Collins agreed. "My aunt's a designer. Seems pretty cool."

Maureen noticed Mark roll his eyes and laugh.

"Mark doesn't believe me!" she fumed. "He doesn't think I'll stick with it."

"I do believe you," he laughed. "It's just… you don't exactly have a long enough attention span to go through with this."

"Do too," she pouted.

"Mark, that's not nice," April laughed, flicking the ashes off the end of her cigarette and into the ash try.

He shrugged. "Maybe. And since when do you smoke?"

"Since I felt like it."

"Smoking makes you impotent!" Mimi squealed, giggling. She collapsed against Benny who wrapped his arm around her and laughed.

"That's what I'm marrying," he joked, kissing the side of her head.

"And what I had to spend my afternoon with," Roger shook his head. "Where the hell were you guys when I needed you?"

Collins shrugged. "I already finished getting Christmas gifts, and Benny's just a jerk."

"I put the down payment on our new apartment!" Mark smiled.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," laughed Maureen.

April looked up from her meal. "What's it like?"

"So cool!" Maureen giggled.

"It's two bedrooms, one and a half bathrooms, and an open concept living room and kitchen."

"Holy shit," Mimi blurted out. "That's a big place."

Maureen shrugged. "Not really. Just perfect for us."

"When can we see it?" Collins asked.

Mark shrugged and looked over at Maureen. "Want to go and see it after we finish here?"

Everybody agreed that it was a good idea, and after they finished eating and added their meal to their very long tab at the restaurant, they hopped on the subway and took it to Mark and Maureen's new apartment.

"It's empty right now," Mark told the others as he unlocked the door. "But it'll probably be pretty cool when we get all our stuff in it."

They entered into a very small foyer with a closet on their right. After climbing two steps, they all stood in the empty living room. There were very large paned windows opposite from them, letting in much sunshine. On their left there were two doors, the first one being a washroom and the other being a bedroom (though it was going to become Mark's office), and on their right was the kitchen, separated only by a row of counters. Two more steps led up to a slightly bigger bedroom with an attached bathroom.

"This place is really nice you guys," April smiled while glancing around the apartment.

"Yeah," Benny agreed, sitting down on the floor next to Mimi.

Maureen and Collins joined them, and soon all the friends sat in the middle of the living room.

"Remember when we bought the loft?" Collins laughed.

"Yeah," Mark laughed. "Who was it that kept calling it a shag pad?"

Collins and Roger simultaneously pointed at Benny, who laughed and covered his face.

"I was young and naïve! Shut up!"

Mimi laughed and rested her head on his chest.

"That's what I have to marry," she mocked him. "Oh, so you guys will still be bridesmaids?" she asked April and Maureen who nodded.

"Of course."

"Which one's your best man, baby?" she asked Benny.

"Uh…" he replied, looking like a deer caught in headlights. "All of them?"

The men laughed.

"One of them can do it," Roger laughed. "I don't want to."

"Neither do I!" Mark whined, wrapping his arms around Maureen's waist. Everybody turned to Collins, who shook his head.

"I'm not doing it."

"Why not? It's an honour," Mark told him.

He shook his head. "Then you do it."

"Come on guys!" Benny pleaded. "I need a best man! You're all mean."

They all remained silent, except for the girls who giggled.

"Mark should do it," Mimi spoke up.

"Maybe I don't want him to do it anymore," Benny said sarcastically.

"But he won Inky Pinky Ponky."

Roger furrowed his eyebrows. "What the hell is that?"

"You know," April spoke up, poking him in the side. "Inky pinky ponky, daddy bought a donkey. The donkey died, daddy cried, inky pinky ponky."

"What?"

"Honestly?" Mark asked. "Never heard of it?"

He shook his head.

"Even I've heard of it."

"Shut up Maureen."

"You shut up. Jerkoff."

The group erupted into laughter. No matter how different things were, some never changed.