A/N thank you all for great reviews! Wacky D, don't you worry about it, this chapter is all about Maureen. This diva needs her stage, remember?... Enjoy! Review!
Chapter Twelve
It was a beautiful day in the middle of the spring when Maureen and Mimi finally had the chance to spend a day together. They've been planning to do it for ages, but there were always millions of other things to do. Mimi slept most of her mornings after long and exhausting nights at work. They seemed longer and more exhausting these days than they used to be, probably as a result of her illness, and she needed more sleep. And when she did get herself several days off, Collins had moved in with Maureen and she was busy helping him unpack and settle in. Two more weeks had passed before they were able to go out as planned.
At first they thought of shopping and a movie in the nearby mall, but quickly realized they couldn't quite afford the mall, so instead they got on the subway and did the next best thing they could think of.
They went to NYC.
The streets were crowded with cars, the pavements were even more crowded with people, which seemed to be almost impossible. Everyone seemed to be going in opposite directions. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry. Different kinds of music were playing loudly from various shops everywhere. Everything was huge and enormous in NYC. That's what was so great about it. It was magical. And at night, with all the Broadway billboards, advertisments and electricity, the magic just grew impossibly stronger.
Maureen glanced at her petite Latina friend, who looked fascinated by the passersby, the enormous buildings that sorrounded them. She smiled. Mimi was such a sweet girl. Most of the time Maureen felt that constant uncontrollable urge to protect her from the horrors of life. Weird as it was, Mimi's innocence was still mostly preseved; she was still somewhat naןve, even after everything she'd already been through. Maureen knew exactly when she started behaving as an older sister to Mimi. It was ever since that long ago Christmas Eve when she and Joanne found the girl's nearly lifeless body in the park. They nearly lost her that night in the loft, but then, miraculously, she came back to them, all of them- not just Roger. And from that day on, by an unspoken agreement, Mimi was their angel. She was the closest thing to Angel Maureen could ever think about. Looking at Mimi now, Maureen couldn't believe that the sick girl she found that night in the park was the same energetic girl who was now bouncing up and down cheerfully with sheer excitment. It made her smile widen.
Mimi did three spins as she took in the sight of the buildings above their heads, then giggled. "Why couldn't we live in New York City?"
Maureen laughed softly. She was older, she had to be the one who smashed the illusion. She hated being the one who did that."Because we can't afford it, Meems, that's why."
Mimi's giggling stopped at once. "Oh, right. But it's nice to dreeeaaam!" she singsonged, flashing a beautiful smile at Maureen. Then she became serious. "And it surely is better from where I used to live, anyway."
"Where did you live?" asked Maureen. They've known each other for quite some time now but never really talked about these kind of things. Suddenly, she was very curious to hear Mimi's life story.
"In the worst places possible. I wasn't raised the way others were raised… the only memorable thing I've got from my so called childhood is my father. When I turned 16 I left home. I never got along with my mother after my dad left, so I ran. I lived on the streets until the owner of the Cat Scratch decided to give me a job and a shelter. I've been working there ever since."
Maureen looked at her, horrified. "16! Geez, Meems! I was about your age now when I left home, but you… you're so young! You shouldn't do all this! There is so much more in life than this, you know? You deserve so much more… you should finish school, go to college, BE someone, unlike the rest of us…"
Mimi smiled, then shook her head. "It's too late for all that now. But yes, I've always wanted to finish school, at least, but now I don't know. It's really hard to pay for these things nowadays. You finished school, didn't you?"
Maureen nodded, and smiled bitterly. "Are you kidding? My parents would have died of a heart attack if I didn't. Believe it or not, I even tried out college for some time. That's where I met Collins." Her smile widened as she remembered her best friend. "You should be more like Collins than any of us."
Mimi laughed. "Everyone should be more like Collins… or Angel… hey, look!"
Maureen followed her gaze to the pavement across the street, where three people were drumming on metal trash cans. There was a big crowd surrounding them. They sounded good.
"I miss her sometimes," said Maureen softly, "don't you?"
"I think about her all the time… especially when I hear a beat like that," she pointed at the drummers across the street. Their rhythm was hypnotozing. "There should be a major in banging on trashcans... and dancing, although it wouldn't be the type of dancing I do," she smiled, then looked at Maureen. "Did you try out majoring in music in college?"
Thinking about her parents' reaction to Mimi's question, Maureen laughed softly. "No… even though I wanted to. I've always loved music, and the spot light, but I had endless fights about it with my parents. 'Music or showbusiness is not the kind of profession a Johnson should aspire to have, Maureen,' that's what they kept telling me, so I took english literature as my major to satisfy them, and some drama courses, just for fun. But I still thrive on fame and the spotlight, as pathetic as it may sound."
"We all know THAT, chica," laughed Mimi, "But I don't think you're able to fight it, you were born to be in the spotlight, that's your style!" She noticed something just several feet away, and stopped. Maureen looked at her curiously as a new smile crawled across her face. "Speaking of style…" She said and pointed at a costume shop nearby, "It looks like someone collected everything from the reject pile and tossed it in this store. Let's go check it out!"
As was expected from a drama queen, Maureen loved dressing up. There was no wonder her favorite holiday was Halloween, ever since she was a small child. She loved these kind of shops. She grabbed Mimi's arm and the two entered the shop.
It was huge, as any other shop on the street, and it had an enormous selection of costumes and props, hats and wigs and whatnot. It was the perfect shop for Halloween, though it was many months away. Yet, at this time of the year, it was practically deserted, so Maureen and Mimi went to its far end and started looking through a huge crate full of funny hats.
Maureen put on a witch's black, pointy hat and turned to face Mimi. "How do I look?"
Mimi burst out laughing. "Ay, mamasita, this hat is so you! We should find you a broom, what a perfect match that would be!" she rummaged through the props and pulled a blonde curly wig over her own curly head. "Hey, looks like something Angel would wear…" she posed in front of the full length mirror. "Akita… Evita!"
Maureen laughed hysterically. "Oh my God! You look so ridiculous! Wait wait, I want one too!" she dropped the witch's hat to the floor and pulled a red wig over her head. She joined Mimi, who was still posing in front of the mirror. "Now we're like Thelma and Louise!" They both giggled, like they were eight-year-olds.
Mimi took off her wig, still smiling. "If only Roger saw me…" That brought some more giggles.
"Hilarious!" laughed Maureen, and then, without even realizing she was saying it instead of thinking about it, "I wish we had a came-" she stopped abruptly, suddenly very much aware of what she was doing. Her laughter stopped at once. She turned away from Mimi and started going through some dresses on a sideway hanger.
Apparantly, Mimi missed that remark. "What was that, honey?"
"Oh, nothing!" she snatched one dress from its rack, and held it against her body in front of the mirror. "Hey, how's this one? I'd say pink goes pretty good with green!" she said cheerfully in an attempt to change the subject. One glance at Mimi, and Maureen knew that her attempt failed. Mimi was looking at her suspiciously. Then she moved closer to Maureen and gently took the dress from her.
"I can never see you wearing pink and green onstage... or at home," she said slowly as she put the dress back on the rack. "Are you sure nothing is bothering you?"
"Oh please, Meems, what can possibly bother ME?" asked Maureen, as cheerfully as she could. She avoided Mimi's eyes.
Mimi shrugged but said nothing, as if she didn't want to push the issue any further. Instead, she took a cowboy hat from a nearby shelf, put on a matching vest and snatched a toy guitar.
"Hey Maureen, check it out! I'm Roger! 'you can see it in my eyes…' You know, I'm beginning to think that it's the only line he remembers from that song…" she giggled and looked at Maureen. She wasn't laughing. She didn't even look amused. She looked distant and distracted, many miles away from there, lost in some kind of a dream. All she saw in front of her was the photo of their day in the City… April's smile, Roger with the cowboy's hat… Mark behind the camera… She was startled when Mimi gently tapped on her shoulder.
"Something is wrong," it wasn't really a question. Mimi took off the costume and made Maureen look at her. "Are you okay?" she asked gently. Maureen didn't answer. "Mi hermana, digame su problema, you can tell me anything."
Maureen sighed. "I know, sweetie, it's just… you put that stupid hat on and I… it reminded me of…" her voice trailed off. She wasn't sure she wanted to upset Mimi with ancient history about Roger's ex.
"Reminded you of whom? Tell me!" insisted Mimi.
Maureen's voice was not higher than a whisper when she answered softly, "April."
She was surprised to see Mimi smiling, as if she remembered something herself.
"His dead girlfriend?" Maureen slowly nodded. "Did she use to dress as a cowboy?"
Maureen shook her head, smiling slightly. "No… you see, we had this photo... with a cowboy here in the City... it was right before she..."
"…died?" asked Mimi softly. Maureen looked away. It was difficult to relate April with death. Even after all that time. "Were you all very close?"
"Yeah, I guess you can say that. We were glue. We all lived together, which made us even closer. I guess it all started to fall apart right after Benny married Muffy, and April... well, you know..." her gaze wandered from Mimi to the entrance of the shop. A familiar sight caught her eye. She gasped and pulled Mimi down to the floor. "Oh shit, get down!" she whispered urgently.
"What? What?" asked Mimi, obviously startled, and tried to look up without being seen. Soon she could see what made Maureen drag her to the floor. Right beside the cashier stood Joanne, and right next to her, an unfamiliar woman, as elegantly dressed as Joanne. They both looked somewhat out of place in that costume shop. Mimi took a closer look at the strange woman, then snorted. "Ay, que puta," she muttered. Maureen's Spanish was a bit rusty, yet she knew exactly what Mimi meant. She snorted her agreement. "What is SHE doing in a place like this?"
"What is she doing here is not the question, Meems," whispered Maureen. "The question is, how can we leave unnoticed…"
It took couple of seconds before Mimi jumped into action. She grabbed a purple wig and held it to Maureen. "Here, put this on," she ordered as she pulled the blonde wig back over her own head. "Find sunglasses… and scarves… make yourself unnoticable…" she tied a Japanese kimono around her narrow waist. "And whatever you do… don't look at them!"
Maureen stared at her in amazement as she slowly stood up. She looked ludricrous with that kimono, the blonde wig and a flower-like scarf. "Unnoticable? Are you fucking insane!" she hissed, yet did as she was told. She grabbed huge sunglasses that looked like a reminder of the 80's, and put the purple wig on. That should do it, she thought. Her clothes looked different anyway, thanks to Collins, so Joanne wouldn't even think it was her.
"Now what, genius? We can't just leave!"
"Sure we can," replied Mimi matter-of-factly and walked towards the entrance. They both stopped dead on their tracks when they heard the cashier calling after them-
"Ladies! Ladies, you can't just leave with those, you have to pay for them! Come here and I'll ring you up!"
"Hmmm… maybe we can't…" said Mimi with a small smile. She grabbed Maureen's arm and started walking slowly towards the cashier. "That's okay, they'll probably think we're tourists…" her voice sounded weird, as if she was trying not to giggle. Maureen tried to remain calm and serious as she followed Mimi. She felt as if she was about to burst out giggling herself. They got really close to Joanne by now, but it was clear that she didn't recognize them. Maureen glanced at her through her huge sunglasses, then took a closer look at who she believed was Daisy what's-her-name from Legal B. Her eyes narrowed. She wasn't at all pretty, she wasn't even attractive. She was just… well, normal. Just a random woman from court. There was nothing special about her.
She grabbed Mimi and led her to the far end of the shop again. "Did you see that?" she whispered, "She dumped me for… THAT?" She wasn't insanely jealouse, which she thought was weird, considering the many tears she had shed over Joanne two weeks ago. She wasn't sure what was that she felt, but she definately wasn't upset. She had no doubts about that.
Mimi lowered her sunglasses to take a better look at the woman next to Joanne.
"Well, it's her loss, Maureen, not yours," she said softly.
Maureen didn't have a chance to answer. The cashier was leading Joanne and Daisy in their direction. "Shit, she's bringing them over here! Quick, talk Spanish! Say something! Anything!"
"Ay, mire ese sombrero…" stammered Mimi, who was trying to think of something to say as quickly as possible.
"Ay, que lindo," answered Maureen. Mimi raised an amused eyebrow. Maureen smiled apologetically. "I suck at Spanish…" she added in a whisper.
"Here you go, ladies, you'll find some more dresses and props here, and I'll go find you that cat suit right now, honey," said the cashier and disappeared again behind the hangers. Maureen and Mimi exchanged a panicked look. Joanne and Daisy stood right next to them and started rummaging through a wooden crate.
"My ex had a cat suit at home, we should have called HER," said Joanne suddenly. Maureen tensed. She detected the mockery in Joanne's voice. She grabbed an umbrella until her knockles whitened. She had to say something. How dare she use that tone while talking about ME?
"Cuanto para el sombrero?" asked Mimi before she had a chance to say anything. She shot Maureen a warning glare. Maureen nearly kicked herself. Joanne could have known them if she said anything… but then she realized that letting Mimi speak wasn't such a smart idea either. Joanne turned abruptly.
"What's the matter, Honeybear?" asked Daisy.
Maureen's eyes narrowed. HONEYBEAR? She grabbed Mimi's arm but said nothing.
"Oh, nothing, I just… that voice sounded so familiar all of a sudden," she looked around her for a moment without paying much attention to Maureen and Mimi. It was more as if she was looking through them. "Anyway, if she couldn't find you a cat suit I'll call to my ex and ask her to borrow hers for that party."
"Over my dead body you can…" muttered Maureen under her breath. She got more furious by the second. How DARE she!
Mimi pinched her arm and shot her a glare again. Then she turned to face Joanne, her hands on her hips. "Que? Usted tiene algo que decir? You... you has something you gots to say to me? Ha, chica?" she asked and winked at Maureen, who smiled weakly. Thank God for friends like Mimi, she thought.
Joanne turned her look from Mimi to Daisy, her expression confused and somewhat embarrassed. "Do I know you?"
Maureen watched the scene, amused. She said nothing. She let Mimi do the work. She seemed to enjoy it anyway.
"No no no! I not know you, I not know you anywhere... my name is... Ferrah Dalores, THE Ferrah, do you not know who I am, hmm? You better... how you say, recognize!"
Joanne stared at her, as if she tried to remember who she was. Her forehead wrinkled. "No, I'm sorry, I don't…"
"I think it's a, too late for Halloween, ay, but your girlfriend needs be cat, ha?" said Mimi, shaking her head this way and that. She dropped a colorful fan in the process and bent to pick it up. As she did, Joanne moved closer and pulled the wig off her head.
"Ay! mi pelo!" It took Mimi by surprise but she was quick to react at she put her hands oh her now revealed hair. She glanced at Joanne, who didn't look so amused.
"Miss Mimi Marquez," she said sternly, as if Mimi was her rebellious daughter. "I should have known."
"What gave it away?" asked Mimi with a small smile as she dropped the kimono to the floor. There was no point in wearing it, now that Joanne knew who she was.
"Your ass, mimi, I would have recognized it anywhere, with or without that silly costume…" said Joanne dryly.
Maureen watched it all but said nothing, though she was tempted to step closer and pull Joanne's hair out of its place. Mimi's ass! Did she use to look at it when they were still together!
It was then when Joanne glanced at her direction. She still didn't seem to recognize her though. "Who's your friend?" she asked Mimi.
Mimi looked puzzled, but only for a split second. "A girlfriend... not your kind of course... Sierra... Juanita... Juanita Sierra... I'm showing her around town. She's from… umm... Puerto Rico!"
Joanne gave her a look as if she was stupid, then raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Yeah, okay…"
Luckily, the cashier suddenly appeared. "Ladies, I think I found what you were looking for, will you follow me please?"
Maureen sighed with great relief as Joanne and Daisy followed the cashier. To her horror, Mimi just pulled her right after them.
"Meems, what the hell are you doing?" she hissed.
Mimi ignored her. She looked as if she had other things on her mind, finally she turned to face Maureen. "How are we going to pay for all these?" she asked, gesturing Maureen's wig, glasses and scarf.
"We're not... we're going to leave them here somehow and run before they'll notice us..." she took another glance at Daisy before she snorted. "She wouldn't fit into my goddamn catsuit even if she wanted to…" The bumping came out of nowhere, followed by a terrified shriek from Mimi's direction. "Oh shit!" Maureen found herself sitting on the floor.
Her sunglasses slipped somewhere along the way, so was her wig. She looked up to face a very angry but not very surprised Joanne, who was hovering above her.
She shot Maureen an icy glare, then shot the same glare at Mimi. "Is it really necessary for you to make a scene everywhere you go?" she used the same stern tone she used earlier to berate Mimi. And Maureen didn't like it much. Her eyebrows knotted together as she collected the pieces of her shattered ego from the floor, along with her sore body. "You are so childish."
Maureen couldn't stop herself. She just couldn't. The smile nearly cracked her face as she said sweetly, "Am not!"
It didn't work. Joanne remained as stiff as an iceberg. "Who do you think you are, following me around? It's over, Maureen, why can't you understand that?"
Ah, two can play the question game, thought Maureen. "Who do you think YOU are? Following you around! Oh, give me a break! I know it's over! I thank God every day and every night that it is!"
Joanne didn't look so convinced. "Is that the reason you're here beside me pretending to be Juanita Sierra?" she asked, shooting another glare at Mimi, who seemed as if she was making great efforts not to giggle.
"That was NOT my idea!" said Maureen defensively. Her gaze wandered from Joanne to Daisy, who was curiously observing her. "Who's YOUR friend, if we're into introductions? Cause I don't believe she can fit into that cat suit I have…" she said, smiling evilly at Daisy.
Joanne looked even more angry now, Maureen noticed with sheer satisfaction. She hesitated, then looked straight at Maureen as she said proudly, "Although it is NONE of your business, this is Daisy Kendel, my new POOKIE bear." Maureen rolled her eyes. Like I care, she told herself. "Now if you don't mind, I never want to see you again... so stop stalking me or I'll take you to court."
Maureen laughed. "Take me to court? Honey, don't over estimate yourself here, huh? I don't wanna see you ever again in my life. And you," she added, glancing at Daisy. She looked horrified. Should I warn her? "Just... oh, why do I bother..." she pulled Mimi towards the exit. "Let's go, Mimi."
The sun was still shining brightly outside as Maureen and Mimi made their way to a nearby coffee house. Maureen felt like dancing. She couldn't stop smiling. Guess I needed to see that for myself, she thought as she followed Mimi inside the cafי. They sat across from one another. Mimi still looked somewhat confused by her behavior. She kept glancing at her worriedly from above the menu, even after the waiter left with their orders.
"What?" asked Maureen cheerfully.
"Ummm… nothing! It's just… you're okay with all this? What just happened there? I mean, I thought you'd be pretty upset…"
Maureen thought about it for a moment. Was she upset? She didn't feel upset. Perhaps she should? After all, Joanne did dump her for that woman. She flashed a reassuring smile at Mimi and said, "You know what, I thought I'd be upset too! But I'm really, completely and absolutely okay with that! I don't understand what I found in her in the first place... ough... it's like... ough, like YOU were with Benny, I mean, what the hell were you thinking!"
She noticed Mimi wince at the mention of Benny. She wasn't sure what it meant so she just kept on talking. "Roger I can understand, I had a small crush on him myself before I realized what a jerk he was, but the yuppie scum?…" The waiter arrived with their orders, and disappeared quickly. She looked at Mimi, still waiting for her answer.
Mimi took her time thinking about it, but she finally said, "I guess… at the time, I thought I'd find someone that was caring and would take care of me…" then her tone changed completely as she smiled slightly, "And Roger is not a jerk! You know that!"
"Okay, not really a jerk, but... ah well, you know what I meant. It's just... you are right for each other. But this Benny thing... I think back of it and I still can't figure it out, ya know? You seem so... I don't know, different... weird combination..."
"You know Benny... he was the sophisticated kind... and yeah, I guess I can understand that. But I kind of wanted someone like that. To pull me away from what I was doing. I didn't know he would be a double-crossing, sex-craving maniac," she smirked and sipped her coffee thoughtfully. Then she remembered something and raised her head. "We weren't the only ones that were different. You and Mark... I would have never figured."
Maureen stopped stirring her coffee and looked up abruptly at the mentioning of Mark's name. Is there absolutely no way to avoid him? "Why is that?" she asked softly.
Mimi smiled. "Well because he's… he's... well Mark! And you're... you're, um... Maureen…" she sighed helplessly, as if she couldn't translate her thoughts into words. "I should have finished school…"
Maureen smirked. "Yeah, it wasn't really convincing…" She looked at Mimi seriously. "Mimi, there's more in this story than you can possibly imagine. The thing about Mark and me is... well..." her voice trailed off. How could she even start explaining all that to Mimi? How could she even describe their relationship? Where should she start? She sipped her coffee.
"Was there a lot of magic?" asked Mimi, ever the romantic. "Like how me and Roger are? I mean there must have been something like that," she added quietly.
Maureen couldn't help but smile. Mimi sounded so young all of a sudden, so unexperienced, even though Maureen knew it wasn't the case. Life taught her some tough lessons. She nodded. "Yeah, there was... it was... amazing... Mark is an amazing person, once you remove all these impossible dorkish layers. But then... someday... the magic wears off…" she said carefully. She didn't want to be the one who shuttered Mimi's romantic conception, not again.
Mimi looked at her, confused. "Wears off? That can't be true love then, can it? I thought true love was eternal... like a flame."
Maureen laughed bitterly. "You are hopelessly romantic, Meems, did anyone ever tell you that?" Mimi shrugged. "I believed it too when I was with Mark, but there's no such thing as eternity. We learned it the hard way when April killed herself. She was our flame, and she was gone."
Mimi looked at her, confused. "April? What she got to do with your love for each other?"
"She's not, I mean... not directly. I don't know. Everything just... kind of fell apart after she died. And we came to realize that nothing lasted forever, not even true love," she said quietly.
Mimi nodded her agreement. "Yeah, but you shouldn't depend your love on someone else..." she stopped suddenly and glanced over her shoulder. "Who said that? For a minute I sounded educated," she smiled, and then glanced carefully at Maureen. "I've been wondering... how did you go from Mark to Joanne? I hope that's not too bold," she added quickly.
Maureen smiled. Usually she would smack anyone who would dare asking her that, but since it was Mimi, she didn't care answering her. Maybe that would be her chance to answer herself as well. "I don't know. Joanne seemed like the right person for me at the time, it didn't even matter that she wasn't a man, as weird as it may sound. But then again when she dumped me, I suddenly realized that she was so much like Mark in a way... maybe I'm doomed to be attracted to these Mark Cohen types, I don't know..."
Mimi smiled fondly. "Mark's a sweet guy. I get worried about him sometimes. That guy needs to get laid!"
Maureen laughed softly at Mimi's sharp observation. "I guess you're right," she sipped her coffee. "I was his first, ya know? I'm kinda proud of that, in a perverse kind of way…"
"Awww, poor Marky!" cooed Mimi.
Maureen looked at her, pretended to be offended. "What do you mean 'poor Marky'?"
"Poor Marky as in at least he's not a virgin at 40, although I have to admit I thought that's what he would be at first…"
"I hope he has some more experience by now... for his sake of course... I wonder about him and that girl..." she said casually though her heart was racing. Would Mimi get it? She surely wasn't as stupid as Roger. Would she tell her what she wanted to know?
"Michelle? That chica can sing! She's nice... you don't think?"
The question caught Maureen somewhat off guarded. What did she think? "Ummm… yeah, I guess she is…" she stammered. "Is it serious?" she asked, glancing carefully at Mimi.
"What, Mark and her?" asked Mimi. Maureen slowly nodded. "Well... they've been going out almost every night for a while. He seems really happy." She raised her head to face Maureen, whose expression was unreadable. Mimi interpreted it wrong, apparantly, for she added quickly, "It's okay, she won't hurt him, she's so nice."
"I'm sure she is," said Maureen weakly. "So she probably... spends a lot of time there... in the loft, I mean."
"A bit. We play a lot of games together, like Yahtzee and Twister. Oh and it's so cute! Mark is trying to write a song for her," she squealed.
Maureen looked mortified. She hoped Mimi wouldn't get it. "He is WHAT?" She felt strange. A new and unfamiliar tingling feeling was creeping under her skin until it settled heavily upon her heart. Maureen tried to ignore that. She didn't have time to interpretations. She needed to know.
Mimi gulped her coffee slowly before answering. "Roger taught him a few things on the guitar... he looked so goofy... but then he started stringing some words together... the melody's not bad, but the lyrics are. You think as a writer, he'd actually write something nice, but it's a bunch of jibberish he's singing. Something about Odysseus and Homer. Tough rhyming Odysseus," she laughed.
Maureen felt as if someone was stabbing her, straight in her heart. "So it's THAT serious, huh? Well, his parents will start talking to him again, at least," she said bitterly.
Mimi looked up to face her. "Why? Did they stop talking to him because of…" her voice trailed off and she looked away. Nonetheless, Maureen knew what she wanted to ask.
She let out a long, sad sigh before she started talking again. "I was there once, when our relationship started to get really serious. His father hated me from the moment I walked through the door, his mother didn't dare to contradict him... the only person who would accept me was Cindy, his older sister. But then again, since it was Mark's father's decision eventually, he gave him an ultimatum- me or them." She locked her gaze with Mimi's. "He chose me. Which brings me back to my former belief that true love lasts forever."
"But then... but then..." Mimi stopped, as if she couldn't complete her thought. She looked at Maureen sorrowfully. "That's so sad. Mark's never talked about these things. Not even to Roger, I don't think. He tells me everything."
"Mark never talks," said Maureen softly, "He films. He takes pictures. That's what he does." For a split second she saw his image before her, his dorkish appearance in his stupid zebra pattered scarf, his glasses… she shook her head to make him go away.
"But then again, it won't happen with Michelle. She's everything I'm not, they'll adore her, like everyone else." She hoped she didn't sound too bitter. Mimi didn't seem to mind.
Maureen kept thinking about their conversation for the rest of the afternoon, even after she walked Mimi back to the loft and headed to her own building later. Her own statements about eternity and true love echoed in her mind, loud and clear as a bell.
She struggled with packages and paper bags up the stairs and sighed with relief as she finally reached her door. She was busy looking for her keys in her huge bag when she suddenly heard something that made her freeze on her track.
A woman giggled, just couple of feet away.
Maureen put her bags gently on the floor as she moved further away from her door and back to the hallway, to take a closer look. She leaned against the wall, as if she would merge with it, if she would only try hard enough. Several more steps and she could peer at the scene that took place short distance away.
Her legs suddenly felt like rubber. Her stomach flopped like after a really bad rollercoaster ride. Her head was reeling. She couldn't stay there, she couldn't watch that, but she was paralyzed. She felt as if she was glued to the floor, her feet didn't cooperate with her mind… so she had to watch.
Michelle was leaning against the doorframe, giggling, as Mark was nibbling at her neck. She had her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer, as if to encourage him… and then they kissed.
Maureen thought she would faint when she saw them kissing. It wasn't even a passionate kiss, it was sweet and lingering, but it was enough for Maureen. It suddenly dawned on her what was that strange feeling she tried to ignore hours earlier in the coffee house. It was pure jealousy that had just worsened by the second, as she kept watching them. Mark was obviously over her, he had Michelle, and Joanne had Daisy… and worse of all- Michelle had Mark… HER Mark…
And she was alone.
Oh God, how could he?
She couldn't watch it anymore. It hurt too much. She grabbed her keys and took her things from where she had left them a moment ago. She slipped silently into her apartment, where she leaned against her door and let out a desperate sigh she didn't even realize she was holding.
Was that possible? She didn't even realize she still wanted him before watching him kissing that… that…
"Reeney, is that you?"
Maureen's eyes snapped open as Collins approached her from his bedroom. "Yeah, hey," she managed to say. She hoped he wouldn't notice the fact that her voice was trembling.
Yeah, right. Collins eyed her suspiciously. "Hey, are you all right?"
She shook her head, dismissing his concerns. "I'm okay," she said, flashing a reassuring smile. He returned her smile, not completely sure. "Okay… I've got some good news for you, sweetie."
Is Michelle moving to Oklahoma? "What?"
"I ran into an old friend of mine today, and he had just got himself a new club. He said he was looking for a band and a leading singer and I told him a bit about you… he's willing to give you a one night show to see how good you are, and maybe some more in the future, if you'll do good…" the smile nearly cracked her face. Maureen knew he must have worked really hard to get her that gig, but couldn't think of anything except for Mark and Michelle, kissing in the hallway. She was haunted by that image, which whirled in her mind like an unrestrained tornado.
One tear rolled down her cheek before she had a chance to control it or hide it from Collins. Then another, then another… without further words she dropped her stuff on the floor and ran past Collins to her bedroom. She locked herself inside and dropped herself on her bed, ignoring his knockings from the other side of the door.
Michelle's perfect image slowly faded away as Maureen cried herself to sleep.