"So what do you do for a living?" Mark asked Jan, as he threw bread crumbs
to the group of pigeons serenading them.
"Nothing too exciting. I have a job putting books away at the library," Jan shrugged. "What about you?"
"Um, I'm not really working at the moment," Mark said, blushing.
"Hey, nothing to be ashamed of. The only reason I started working was because Cary convinced me to get a job."
"Cary?" Mark said, confused.
"My ex," Jan explained. "We broke up about two weeks ago."
"Oh . . . and you feel comfortable dating again?" Mark asked, just to be sure.
"I just want to forget him . . . He made my life a living hell. He hit me once or twice near the end of our relationship."
"He did?" Mark clenched his fists.
She laughed. "Don't worry about it, Mark, he barely scratched me."
Mark shrugged and jiggled his camera up and down on his knee.
"So tell me about yourself. Twenty words or less." she said, leaning against him. Mark blushed as their shoulders made contact.
"Well, I live with my roommate, Roger, on the corner of Avenue B. His girlfriend recently moved in with us too . . . that twenty words yet?"
"I dunno. Wasn't counting," she laughed. Mark smiled.
"What'd Roger think about you coming to see me?" Jan asked, yawning.
"I didn't tell him," Mark admitted.
"Why not?"
"Because I can't stand that 'I-Told-You-So' attitude," he shrugged.
Jan laughed again. "I'm laughing with you," she assured him, smiling.
He nodded. "I know," he said, softly.
Jan snuggled closer to him and they were both quiet for a moment. "You want to do something tonight?" she asked, suddenly.
"Sure, I'd love to. What do you want to do?"
"Mmm, I don't know. Meet the in-laws, maybe?" she joked.
"Huh?"
"Your roommate. And his girlfriend. If you don't mind, that is," She added.
Mark shook his head, "No, it's fine. It's just he doesn't even know I'm with you. It'll give him a shock, but you'd end up meeting him sooner or later, right?" he said, smiling.
"I wish I had someone I could introduce you to. All I've got is an abusive boyfriend," she said, and Mark detected the sarcasm in her voice.
"That's fine. Besides, I'd rather know you rather than your ex."
She smiled. "Thanks."
"No problem."
They stared at each other, shyly for a moment. Mark moved his hand towards hers. When their fingers touched, they both froze, awkwardly, and separated, fixing their eyes on the birds beside the bench they were sitting on.
***
"I'd love to stay and chats with you kiddies, but I'm afraid me and m'lady have some other plans," Jimmy said, winking at Maureen. She smiled at him lightly, and when he turned away she rolled her eyes.
"Noooo problem," Roger said, forgetting to pretend to be polite. Jimmy waved to the unenthusiastic group as he left with Maureen and Joanne.
"Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out," he muttered under his breath. At that moment, Mimi and Daisha returned to the table.
"Where're the others?" Daisha asked as she sat down.
"They left," Roger replied, twirling his straw around in his glass.
"What a shame," Mimi said, flatly. Her eyes met Roger's, and they both broke out into sheepish smiles.
"You guys done yet?" Collins asked, impatiently.
"Yeah, I'm done. Let's go." Mimi hopped out of her seat and Daisha and Roger did the same.
Collins stood up and reached his hand out to Frankie. "Going up?" he said. She laughed as he pulled her to her feet.
"You might just have a career in being an elevator operator," she teased, tugging at his sleeve playfully.
"What can I say, I'm a man of many talents," he replied.
The five of them made their way down the sidewalk, slowly dawdling along.
"I hope Mark's alright," Roger frowned, as his hand slipped through Mimi's.
"I'm sure he's fine," Mimi assured him, not knowing how much longer she'd be able to keep Mark's whereabouts a secret. Maureen wasn't the only one with a big mouth.
"Shit," Roger said, suddenly, stopping.
"What is it?" Mimi asked, as she banged into him.
"An old friend," he pointed.
Making their way towards them was Benny, with a young girl beside him. Roger realized as they came closer that the girl wasn't Alison.
"Damn it," Mimi murmured.
"Why, hello, there. Long time no see," Benny greeted, with that obnoxious smile of his.
"Yes, we're so fortunate to have run into you," Roger said, sarcastically.
"Nice to see you two. Who's this?" Benny said, looking at Frankie, who had her arm linked through Collins's.
"His girlfriend," Frankie said, before Collins could say anything.
"GIRLfriend?" Benny exclaimed. "Since when are you straight, Collins?"
"Fuck you, Benny," Roger mumbled.
"I see you got a new dog," Collins said to Benny, looking at the girl next to him.
"Well, at least mine's housebroken," Benny sneered, and the girl smacked him on the arm, obviously not amused.
"What happened to Alison?" Roger asked.
"Alison?"
"Your WIFE," Roger said, impatiently.
"Ohhh. We broke up ages ago. There was always something for her to complain and whine about, whether it was a dusty floor, or her accusing me of cheating on her. Which was usually true," he grinned.
Mimi rolled her eyes.
"I see you haven't changed, Meemsy," Benny said, reaching out to stroke her shoulder.
"Don't TOUCH me," she snapped, jerking away from him. "And don't call me that."
"Whatever, Meemsy. I see you have a miniature with you. I'll only hope she doesn't take on after you." He looked at Collins. "So, how's life in the straight lane?"
"Benny, would you just shut up?" Roger snapped.
Benny ignored him. "I thought it might be of interest to you, since your previous lover killed my dog, that Alison also got a new dog. Another one of those damned Akitas. It barked all fucking night long. She called it Evita the 2nd."
"Angel killed his dog?" Frankie whispered to Collins, confused.
"I'll explain later," he said, under his breath.
"So, you've told her about Angel? How does it feel to know your loverboy was previously engaged with a Drag Queen?" he asked Collins.
"Don't talk about Angel like that,' Collins growled.
"Wouldn't dream of it. Let's go, Steph. Obviously we're not wanted here."
Steph obeyed, and they walked further down the street together, not looking back.
"Asshole," Collins muttered.
"It's alright, Col," Frankie said, softly.
"Don't let that prick get to you, Collins," Mimi said, still looking after him with a disgusted look on her face. "He's not worth it."
Collins shrugged. "I'd just rather him not refer to Angel as a."
"A Drag Queen?" Roger said, gently.
Collins nodded. "I hate labels. Angel was a PERSON. Like everyone else. Except for pricks like him."
The others nodded, understandingly.
"What a fucker," Daisha mumbled. They looked up, almost forgetting that she was there.
"Daisha," exclaimed Mimi.
"What, shocked? I learned it from you," Daisha replied, smiling sweetly.
Mimi rolled her eyes. "Let's hope that's all you learned from me."
Daisha laughed, and Mimi strutted forward, hand in hand with Roger.
"I'm serious!" she called back from over her shoulder, winking at her younger sister.
***
"I'm not sure if anyone is home," Mark said, as he jiggled his key in the lock to his and Roger's apartment door.
"That's fine," Jan assured him. "I could always meet them some other time."
"Maybe," he grunted, shoving the door open by bumping into it forefully.
Jan raised her eyebrows.
"Bad door," he apologized. He walked inside, with Jan right behind him. "So, nothing really out of the ordinary here. Kitchen, living room, bathroom, and the bedrooms," he said, pointing with his finger.
"Well it's nicer than my place," Jan said, following his finger with her eyes. "Can I see the bedroom?" she asked, half-joking.
"Um, it's sorta messy, but sure, if you want," Mark said quickly.
They walked into his room, and Mark nearly stumbled over last night's laundry crumpled in a heap in the doorway.
"The maid's on vacation," he told her.
"It looks like you're managing okay on your own," she said, laughing. She walked over to his bed and sat on it. "Nice sheets," she said, staring. "Thomas the train, right?"
"That's old," Mark said, quickly, shoving his pillow over so it covered the Train Engine's smiling face.
"Nothing to be ashamed of. I still sleep with Winnie the Pooh," she assured him, grinning.
"I thought you said you only had one ex," Mark joked, sitting down beside her.
She shrugged. "Well, you know."
Mark heard a key turning in the lock. "Lucy's home," he said, and the two got up to greet them.
"Hello?" Roger said, confused, as he opened the door. Mimi and Daisha peeked in from behind him.
"Hi Roger- you remember Jan, right?"
"Yeah . . ." Roger said, looking at Mark and raising his eyebrows.
"I know I didn't tell you where I was going, I just decided to get up early, before you two got up."
Roger frowned and turned to Mimi. "I thought you said you talked to Mark before he left?"
Mimi gave a sheepish grin. "Busted."
"You knew he was going out?" Roger asked, frowning.
"I told her not to tell. I didn't want you to say 'I-Told-You-So,'" Mark said, nudging him in the shoulder.
"Aren't you going to introduce me?" Jan joked, breaking the tension.
Mark laughed. "Sorry, Jan. This is my roommate Roger, his girlfriend, Mimi, and her sister, Daisha."
"Nice to meet you," she said, smiling, as she shook all of their hands.
"Mark's told us a lot about you," Mimi said, returning the smile.
"He has?" Jan raised her eyebrows. "I've known him for less than twenty- four hours." She turned to him, quizzically.
Mark blushed. "I sort of developed a crush on you after bumping into you that day."
"More like smacking into," Jan laughed.
"Sorry," he said quickly, his face turning redder.
"I'm kidding, Mark. Loosen up a bit." She poked him in the side with her pointer finger.
"I'm liking this girl," Mimi said, laughing.
"Well, I'll be here all week," Jan said, winking. Mimi and Daisha both laughed.
Roger decided to change the subject for a moment. "You missed Maureen's ex, Jimmy," he told Mark.
Mimi groaned. "Can we NOT talk about this now?"
"What was he like?" Mark asked.
"Honestly . . . he was a jerk. Really obnoxious," Roger said.
"Well, Maureen's known to have a weird taste in men . . . AND women," Mark said.
"Who's Maureen?" Jan asked him.
"My ex."
"So you DO have skeletons in the closet," she teased.
Mark shrugged. "We're still friends though."
Jan nodded. She glanced down at her watch, suddenly. "Crap, I've gotta baby- sit in a few minutes."
"Baby-sit?" Mark repeated, amused.
"Hey, I need all the dough I can get," Jan said, haughtily.
"You want me to walk with you?" Mark offered.
"Nah, it's alright. I'm a black-belt. If anyone tries to mess with me, I'll kick their ass," she said, doing a fake Kung Fu imitation.
Mark laughed. "Alright, if you're sure."
"I'll see you tomorrow?" Jan asked, looking hopeful.
Mark nodded his head up and down vigorously, poorly hiding his delightedness. "Yes, sure, of course!"
"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow then." She quickly blew him a kiss, and left.
"Marky's got a girlfriend," Mimi sang, teasingly.
Mark blushed. "Do not."
"Yes you do," she sang.
"Quiet," he laughed, thrusting his foot out towards her. Mimi dodged his foot, grinning mischievously.
"You're bad," Roger said, wrapping his arms around her waist.
***
"You coming to bed, Roger?" Mimi called to Roger, who was brushing his teeth across the hall. Mark was in his room, and Daisha was asleep on the couch.
"Coming," he called. He rinsed his mouth out and turned out the bathroom light, and padded into the bedroom.
Mimi sat up in bed, reading a magazine. She had a small pair of wire-rimmed glasses perched on the bridge of her nose.
"I didn't know you wore glasses," Roger said amused as he slid into bed beside her.
"They're only for reading," she replied, not looking up from the magazine.
"I've never seen them before."
"I don't do a lot of reading," she said, hiding a smile.
"What are you reading?"
"Nothing," she said quickly, pulling her knees in toward her to the magazine was pressed against her chest.
Roger snatched it from her and turned to the cover. "Bridal Weekly?" he said, raising his eyebrows.
"Give that to me," Mimi snapped, yanking it from his hand. "I was just looking at it," she said, quietly.
Roger chewed on the inside of his cheek. "So you wanna get married?" he asked, jokingly.
"I said I was just looking at it," Mimi snapped, her mood suddenly changing for the worst.
"I'm only kidding Meems," he said, resting his head on her stomach.
"I know," she sighed. Roger's head moved up and down slowly from the rise and fall of her breath.
"It's not like it's a totally stupid idea," he said, looking up at her.
She shrugged. "Roger, I can't breath- you're squashing me."
He sat up. "Sorry. All better," he said, lightly patting her stomach. He sighed and lay back against his pillow. "So, what'd you think of Jimmy?" he asked, "He was something, wasn't he?"
"He was something," Mimi said, softly.
"What's wrong?" he frowned, sitting up.
"Nothing, I'm just tired," she replied.
"Tell me," he pretended to whine.
Mimi shook her head.
"Then I'll get it out of you." He reached out and began to tickle her stomach, and then her neck. Mimi yelped, and tried to escape.
"You can't hide anything from me, Meems, I know you too well," he said, laughing.
"Roger, STOP!" she yelled, shoving his hands away.
"Jeez, sorry," he said, folding his arms under his chest. Mimi sat up and hugged her knees, sighing. "Jimmy reminds me of Joel," she finally said.
Roger sat up and slid over beside her. "Why?"
"Just the way he talks- the way he's obnoxious and rude. And also the way he was looking at me." She sounded embarrassed. "He used to look at me like that from across the dinner table, or just random moments like that. It creeped me out, you know what I mean?"
Roger nodded.
"And I just got a bad vibe from him. I just felt really uncomfortable around him. I know I'm probably just being paranoid,"
"You're not," Roger said softly, rubbing her bare shoulders.
Mimi shrugged. "Oh well. It's nothing to fuss about, right?" She didn't wait for an answer. "I'm tired, I'm just gonna conk out right now. Night." She laid back down and closed her eyes.
"Goodnight," Roger whispered. He gazed at her for a moment, and then reached for the lamp on the nightstand and switched it off.
"Nothing too exciting. I have a job putting books away at the library," Jan shrugged. "What about you?"
"Um, I'm not really working at the moment," Mark said, blushing.
"Hey, nothing to be ashamed of. The only reason I started working was because Cary convinced me to get a job."
"Cary?" Mark said, confused.
"My ex," Jan explained. "We broke up about two weeks ago."
"Oh . . . and you feel comfortable dating again?" Mark asked, just to be sure.
"I just want to forget him . . . He made my life a living hell. He hit me once or twice near the end of our relationship."
"He did?" Mark clenched his fists.
She laughed. "Don't worry about it, Mark, he barely scratched me."
Mark shrugged and jiggled his camera up and down on his knee.
"So tell me about yourself. Twenty words or less." she said, leaning against him. Mark blushed as their shoulders made contact.
"Well, I live with my roommate, Roger, on the corner of Avenue B. His girlfriend recently moved in with us too . . . that twenty words yet?"
"I dunno. Wasn't counting," she laughed. Mark smiled.
"What'd Roger think about you coming to see me?" Jan asked, yawning.
"I didn't tell him," Mark admitted.
"Why not?"
"Because I can't stand that 'I-Told-You-So' attitude," he shrugged.
Jan laughed again. "I'm laughing with you," she assured him, smiling.
He nodded. "I know," he said, softly.
Jan snuggled closer to him and they were both quiet for a moment. "You want to do something tonight?" she asked, suddenly.
"Sure, I'd love to. What do you want to do?"
"Mmm, I don't know. Meet the in-laws, maybe?" she joked.
"Huh?"
"Your roommate. And his girlfriend. If you don't mind, that is," She added.
Mark shook his head, "No, it's fine. It's just he doesn't even know I'm with you. It'll give him a shock, but you'd end up meeting him sooner or later, right?" he said, smiling.
"I wish I had someone I could introduce you to. All I've got is an abusive boyfriend," she said, and Mark detected the sarcasm in her voice.
"That's fine. Besides, I'd rather know you rather than your ex."
She smiled. "Thanks."
"No problem."
They stared at each other, shyly for a moment. Mark moved his hand towards hers. When their fingers touched, they both froze, awkwardly, and separated, fixing their eyes on the birds beside the bench they were sitting on.
***
"I'd love to stay and chats with you kiddies, but I'm afraid me and m'lady have some other plans," Jimmy said, winking at Maureen. She smiled at him lightly, and when he turned away she rolled her eyes.
"Noooo problem," Roger said, forgetting to pretend to be polite. Jimmy waved to the unenthusiastic group as he left with Maureen and Joanne.
"Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out," he muttered under his breath. At that moment, Mimi and Daisha returned to the table.
"Where're the others?" Daisha asked as she sat down.
"They left," Roger replied, twirling his straw around in his glass.
"What a shame," Mimi said, flatly. Her eyes met Roger's, and they both broke out into sheepish smiles.
"You guys done yet?" Collins asked, impatiently.
"Yeah, I'm done. Let's go." Mimi hopped out of her seat and Daisha and Roger did the same.
Collins stood up and reached his hand out to Frankie. "Going up?" he said. She laughed as he pulled her to her feet.
"You might just have a career in being an elevator operator," she teased, tugging at his sleeve playfully.
"What can I say, I'm a man of many talents," he replied.
The five of them made their way down the sidewalk, slowly dawdling along.
"I hope Mark's alright," Roger frowned, as his hand slipped through Mimi's.
"I'm sure he's fine," Mimi assured him, not knowing how much longer she'd be able to keep Mark's whereabouts a secret. Maureen wasn't the only one with a big mouth.
"Shit," Roger said, suddenly, stopping.
"What is it?" Mimi asked, as she banged into him.
"An old friend," he pointed.
Making their way towards them was Benny, with a young girl beside him. Roger realized as they came closer that the girl wasn't Alison.
"Damn it," Mimi murmured.
"Why, hello, there. Long time no see," Benny greeted, with that obnoxious smile of his.
"Yes, we're so fortunate to have run into you," Roger said, sarcastically.
"Nice to see you two. Who's this?" Benny said, looking at Frankie, who had her arm linked through Collins's.
"His girlfriend," Frankie said, before Collins could say anything.
"GIRLfriend?" Benny exclaimed. "Since when are you straight, Collins?"
"Fuck you, Benny," Roger mumbled.
"I see you got a new dog," Collins said to Benny, looking at the girl next to him.
"Well, at least mine's housebroken," Benny sneered, and the girl smacked him on the arm, obviously not amused.
"What happened to Alison?" Roger asked.
"Alison?"
"Your WIFE," Roger said, impatiently.
"Ohhh. We broke up ages ago. There was always something for her to complain and whine about, whether it was a dusty floor, or her accusing me of cheating on her. Which was usually true," he grinned.
Mimi rolled her eyes.
"I see you haven't changed, Meemsy," Benny said, reaching out to stroke her shoulder.
"Don't TOUCH me," she snapped, jerking away from him. "And don't call me that."
"Whatever, Meemsy. I see you have a miniature with you. I'll only hope she doesn't take on after you." He looked at Collins. "So, how's life in the straight lane?"
"Benny, would you just shut up?" Roger snapped.
Benny ignored him. "I thought it might be of interest to you, since your previous lover killed my dog, that Alison also got a new dog. Another one of those damned Akitas. It barked all fucking night long. She called it Evita the 2nd."
"Angel killed his dog?" Frankie whispered to Collins, confused.
"I'll explain later," he said, under his breath.
"So, you've told her about Angel? How does it feel to know your loverboy was previously engaged with a Drag Queen?" he asked Collins.
"Don't talk about Angel like that,' Collins growled.
"Wouldn't dream of it. Let's go, Steph. Obviously we're not wanted here."
Steph obeyed, and they walked further down the street together, not looking back.
"Asshole," Collins muttered.
"It's alright, Col," Frankie said, softly.
"Don't let that prick get to you, Collins," Mimi said, still looking after him with a disgusted look on her face. "He's not worth it."
Collins shrugged. "I'd just rather him not refer to Angel as a."
"A Drag Queen?" Roger said, gently.
Collins nodded. "I hate labels. Angel was a PERSON. Like everyone else. Except for pricks like him."
The others nodded, understandingly.
"What a fucker," Daisha mumbled. They looked up, almost forgetting that she was there.
"Daisha," exclaimed Mimi.
"What, shocked? I learned it from you," Daisha replied, smiling sweetly.
Mimi rolled her eyes. "Let's hope that's all you learned from me."
Daisha laughed, and Mimi strutted forward, hand in hand with Roger.
"I'm serious!" she called back from over her shoulder, winking at her younger sister.
***
"I'm not sure if anyone is home," Mark said, as he jiggled his key in the lock to his and Roger's apartment door.
"That's fine," Jan assured him. "I could always meet them some other time."
"Maybe," he grunted, shoving the door open by bumping into it forefully.
Jan raised her eyebrows.
"Bad door," he apologized. He walked inside, with Jan right behind him. "So, nothing really out of the ordinary here. Kitchen, living room, bathroom, and the bedrooms," he said, pointing with his finger.
"Well it's nicer than my place," Jan said, following his finger with her eyes. "Can I see the bedroom?" she asked, half-joking.
"Um, it's sorta messy, but sure, if you want," Mark said quickly.
They walked into his room, and Mark nearly stumbled over last night's laundry crumpled in a heap in the doorway.
"The maid's on vacation," he told her.
"It looks like you're managing okay on your own," she said, laughing. She walked over to his bed and sat on it. "Nice sheets," she said, staring. "Thomas the train, right?"
"That's old," Mark said, quickly, shoving his pillow over so it covered the Train Engine's smiling face.
"Nothing to be ashamed of. I still sleep with Winnie the Pooh," she assured him, grinning.
"I thought you said you only had one ex," Mark joked, sitting down beside her.
She shrugged. "Well, you know."
Mark heard a key turning in the lock. "Lucy's home," he said, and the two got up to greet them.
"Hello?" Roger said, confused, as he opened the door. Mimi and Daisha peeked in from behind him.
"Hi Roger- you remember Jan, right?"
"Yeah . . ." Roger said, looking at Mark and raising his eyebrows.
"I know I didn't tell you where I was going, I just decided to get up early, before you two got up."
Roger frowned and turned to Mimi. "I thought you said you talked to Mark before he left?"
Mimi gave a sheepish grin. "Busted."
"You knew he was going out?" Roger asked, frowning.
"I told her not to tell. I didn't want you to say 'I-Told-You-So,'" Mark said, nudging him in the shoulder.
"Aren't you going to introduce me?" Jan joked, breaking the tension.
Mark laughed. "Sorry, Jan. This is my roommate Roger, his girlfriend, Mimi, and her sister, Daisha."
"Nice to meet you," she said, smiling, as she shook all of their hands.
"Mark's told us a lot about you," Mimi said, returning the smile.
"He has?" Jan raised her eyebrows. "I've known him for less than twenty- four hours." She turned to him, quizzically.
Mark blushed. "I sort of developed a crush on you after bumping into you that day."
"More like smacking into," Jan laughed.
"Sorry," he said quickly, his face turning redder.
"I'm kidding, Mark. Loosen up a bit." She poked him in the side with her pointer finger.
"I'm liking this girl," Mimi said, laughing.
"Well, I'll be here all week," Jan said, winking. Mimi and Daisha both laughed.
Roger decided to change the subject for a moment. "You missed Maureen's ex, Jimmy," he told Mark.
Mimi groaned. "Can we NOT talk about this now?"
"What was he like?" Mark asked.
"Honestly . . . he was a jerk. Really obnoxious," Roger said.
"Well, Maureen's known to have a weird taste in men . . . AND women," Mark said.
"Who's Maureen?" Jan asked him.
"My ex."
"So you DO have skeletons in the closet," she teased.
Mark shrugged. "We're still friends though."
Jan nodded. She glanced down at her watch, suddenly. "Crap, I've gotta baby- sit in a few minutes."
"Baby-sit?" Mark repeated, amused.
"Hey, I need all the dough I can get," Jan said, haughtily.
"You want me to walk with you?" Mark offered.
"Nah, it's alright. I'm a black-belt. If anyone tries to mess with me, I'll kick their ass," she said, doing a fake Kung Fu imitation.
Mark laughed. "Alright, if you're sure."
"I'll see you tomorrow?" Jan asked, looking hopeful.
Mark nodded his head up and down vigorously, poorly hiding his delightedness. "Yes, sure, of course!"
"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow then." She quickly blew him a kiss, and left.
"Marky's got a girlfriend," Mimi sang, teasingly.
Mark blushed. "Do not."
"Yes you do," she sang.
"Quiet," he laughed, thrusting his foot out towards her. Mimi dodged his foot, grinning mischievously.
"You're bad," Roger said, wrapping his arms around her waist.
***
"You coming to bed, Roger?" Mimi called to Roger, who was brushing his teeth across the hall. Mark was in his room, and Daisha was asleep on the couch.
"Coming," he called. He rinsed his mouth out and turned out the bathroom light, and padded into the bedroom.
Mimi sat up in bed, reading a magazine. She had a small pair of wire-rimmed glasses perched on the bridge of her nose.
"I didn't know you wore glasses," Roger said amused as he slid into bed beside her.
"They're only for reading," she replied, not looking up from the magazine.
"I've never seen them before."
"I don't do a lot of reading," she said, hiding a smile.
"What are you reading?"
"Nothing," she said quickly, pulling her knees in toward her to the magazine was pressed against her chest.
Roger snatched it from her and turned to the cover. "Bridal Weekly?" he said, raising his eyebrows.
"Give that to me," Mimi snapped, yanking it from his hand. "I was just looking at it," she said, quietly.
Roger chewed on the inside of his cheek. "So you wanna get married?" he asked, jokingly.
"I said I was just looking at it," Mimi snapped, her mood suddenly changing for the worst.
"I'm only kidding Meems," he said, resting his head on her stomach.
"I know," she sighed. Roger's head moved up and down slowly from the rise and fall of her breath.
"It's not like it's a totally stupid idea," he said, looking up at her.
She shrugged. "Roger, I can't breath- you're squashing me."
He sat up. "Sorry. All better," he said, lightly patting her stomach. He sighed and lay back against his pillow. "So, what'd you think of Jimmy?" he asked, "He was something, wasn't he?"
"He was something," Mimi said, softly.
"What's wrong?" he frowned, sitting up.
"Nothing, I'm just tired," she replied.
"Tell me," he pretended to whine.
Mimi shook her head.
"Then I'll get it out of you." He reached out and began to tickle her stomach, and then her neck. Mimi yelped, and tried to escape.
"You can't hide anything from me, Meems, I know you too well," he said, laughing.
"Roger, STOP!" she yelled, shoving his hands away.
"Jeez, sorry," he said, folding his arms under his chest. Mimi sat up and hugged her knees, sighing. "Jimmy reminds me of Joel," she finally said.
Roger sat up and slid over beside her. "Why?"
"Just the way he talks- the way he's obnoxious and rude. And also the way he was looking at me." She sounded embarrassed. "He used to look at me like that from across the dinner table, or just random moments like that. It creeped me out, you know what I mean?"
Roger nodded.
"And I just got a bad vibe from him. I just felt really uncomfortable around him. I know I'm probably just being paranoid,"
"You're not," Roger said softly, rubbing her bare shoulders.
Mimi shrugged. "Oh well. It's nothing to fuss about, right?" She didn't wait for an answer. "I'm tired, I'm just gonna conk out right now. Night." She laid back down and closed her eyes.
"Goodnight," Roger whispered. He gazed at her for a moment, and then reached for the lamp on the nightstand and switched it off.