/Speeeeeak/
"Hey Marky, guess who's back in town? I got a ride back as
soon as I heard about the film. Great job man, we all knew you'd get
noticed someday. Anyway, let's get together, eh? I'm thinkin' the
Life this afternoon, it'll be my treat. I'm gonna try n' get everyone
together, just like the old days. You, me, Roger (you still with him
by the way?), Mimi, Maureen, even Joanne. C'mon man, you know you
wanna come. Call me back, ok?"
/You've reached Collins,
Tom Collins. I'm not in right now but if you're lucky I'll check this
and get your message./
"Collins, it's Mark. I'm free for the
Life later today; I'll bring Roger too (Yes we're still together,
three years and going strong). He said he wasn't working earlier
(would you believe he's got a cooking job now? Yeah, I know/our/
Roger cooking. But it's true, and he's not too bad either) and I'm
almost sure the band doesn't have practice tonight. How long are you
gonna be around? Long enough for me to show you the newest film I
hope, you oughta come and hear one of Rogers gigs, too." A
pause, "They've gotten better, I promise. Anyway call me back if
anything changes. Oh! Before I forget to ask, where're you teaching
at now? Are you even teaching at all anymore? Last I heard you were
doing that whole lecture thing- is that still going on? Yeah we
definitely need to get together tonight..."
/Speeeeeak/
"You know, Marky-boy, I still can't believe you have that
same old message. Eh, what can I shouldn't be /that/ surprised,
you've never been one to leave the past behind. Anyway, yeah, I'm
still lecturing (I've got a spot at NYU in a few days, think they'll
remember me?). Roger's gone into cooking, huh? That should be an
interesting experience. Why the fuck are we even going out if Mr.
Chef can just make food for us? Oh, since he's doing the whole
cooking thing, has he made you any romantic dinners on the roof or
some shit like that?"
/You've reached Collins, Tom Collins. I'm not in right now but if you're lucky I'll check this and get your message. /
"Hey, I LIKE the old message. Nothing's wrong with it, if you ask me. That's beside the point, though. You want Roger to make dinner? Are you sure about that, I mean he's good at what he does (haven't gotten any food poisoning anyway) but still...I dunno, let's just go to the Life, ok? Besides, I doubt he'll wanna cook right now with you back in town and all that. You still never said how long you're staying here, although if that thing you've got at NYU's in a "few" days I suppose that gives us three or four to mess around with, or maybe not I dont' know beacuse YOU didn't tell me. Look I gotta go get ready to leave, I'll see you there. Oh and yeah he's done it before, I'll tell you details later if you want."
/You've reached the office of Joanne Jefferson, I'm sorry
I couldn't get to the phone at the present but if you leave your name
and number I'll get a hold of you as soon as possible./
"Jo,
are you there ,pookie? I just got a call from Collins, he wants us to
meet him at the Life. We're not doing anything, are we? Even if we
are I bet we could cancel, I mean Collins doesn't come by that often
anymore. C'mon pookie, pick up! Look, I'm going over there as soon as
I clean up here. OH! You'll never guess who dropped by earlier!
...Have you guessed yet? Oh well, I'll just tell you. Mimi! It seems
like all the old faces are popping up lately. Anyway, call me back,
ok? I love you!"
/Maureen and Joanne Jefferson here!
We're nowhere near a phone, sorry about that, probably at work (the
shop just can't LIVE without me and you know Joanne, busy busy).
Yeah, anyway, leave your song at the beep, ok/
"Hey,
honeybear, I got the call from him, too. I said we'd meet him as soon
as we could. I've still got a few things to take care of at the
office but it shouldn't take that long. How's the shop coming along?
Everything's alright, I hope. You saw Mimi? What was she doing around
there? How was she, did she look ok? She's coming to the Life, right?
Collins said he tried to get a hold of her but he didn't have a
number. Bring her along if you can, ok? I love you, too."
/You've reached the office of Joanne Jefferson, I'm sorry I
couldn't get to the phone at the present but if you leave your name
and number I'll get a hold of you as soon as possible./
"Hey,
pookie, it's me. I'm getting ready to head out to the Life now, and
Mimi's here with me. I'm letting her borrow some of my stuff since
she was still in her work clothes. Oh, say hi, Mimi!" A
different voice, "Hi Joanne!" "That was Mimi. Anyway,
we're gonna walk up there together. Don't get too caught up in work,
ok? I know how you can do that sometimes. The shop's fine, everything
looked good when I left. We got the new shipment of dresses in this
morning, so I was busy sorting through that all day. I ended up
tipping over a whole rack earlier...Jo, get that look off your face,
I was careful to get everything back together safe n' sound. You've
got to trust me sometimes. Oh look, Mimi's almost ready. Gotta go,
love you!"
/Maureen and Joanne Jefferson here! We're
nowhere near a phone, sorry about that, but probably at work (the
shop just can't LIVE without me, you know! And you know Joanne, busy
busy). Yeah, anyway, leave your song at the beep, ok/
"You're
going now? It seems a bit early, doesn't it, oh well. Hi Mimi, hope
things are well. Glad to hear from you again. I can't help if I get a
little caught up now and then. People /need/ me, Maureen.
Anyway...you're /sure/ you got everything straightened out right?
You didn't miss anything/and/ yu put them in order again?" A
laugh. "Look who's talking about trust. I trust you, Maureen
but...look, I gotta go someone just walked in. I'll see you two at
the Life."
-
/If
you need to know my name I don't see why you're calling here. The
band has it's own line and anyone I'd even WANT to talk to at least
knows my fucking name...Leave a message after the beep./
"I
know your name, Roger Davis, now pick up the fuckin' phone before I
start calling Mark again...Hey, why do you two have different lines?
Whatever. I already talked to him about going to the Life but I'm
gonna tell you, anyway. Get your ass to the Life, man! Everyone's
meeting up there, Maureen's even gonna bring Mimi along. Mark said he
was getting ready and I think Maureen might already be going. Look,
you'd better show up or we'll all hunt you down and drag you there,
anyway. By the way, one day before I leave you'd better make me
dinner and no, pouring some Capt'n Crunch into a bowl does NOT
count."
/You've reached Collins, Tom Collins. I'm not in
right now but if you're lucky I'll check this and get your message./
"Why does it matter if we have different lines, if we want
different lines we're gonna have them! I already knew about the Life,
everyone else's been calling about it, too. Mark is getting ready and
I'm...ok, well, I'm just laying here but I'll do something sooner or
later. Mimi's coming? I didn't think she was even in New York
anymore; we lost contact a little while back. Why am I not surprised
Maureen tracked her down. Hate to cut this short but Mark's glaring
at me and pointing at the shower. Oh, and you know what? Fuck you, if
I wanna give you Capt'n Crunch, then I'll give you fuckin' Capt'n
Crunch!"
/If you need to know my name I don't see why
you're calling here. The band has it's own line and anyone I'd even
WANT to talk to at least knows my fucking name...Leave a message
after the beep./
"I swear, if you make me Capt'n
Crunch...You know what, nevermind! Look, I'm on my way out, just
gotta make one or two more quick calls. Yes, Mimi's still around New
York. Maureen says she got a job at a hotel somewhere. Says she wound
up with one of the guys who works there, too. I dunno anything about
it though, if you hurry up you can ask her about everything yourself.
So c'mon! You'd better not call me back until you're done with all
your shit."
/You've reached Collins, Tom Collins. I'm
not in right now but if you're lucky I'll check this and get your
message./
"Don't start, I'm already clean. Just calling to
say that we're getting ready to go. Mark's looking for his camera and
I'm trying to find a shoe. We should be there in about ten minutes or
so. She's in a hotel, eh? Well it's better than the Cat Scratch. I'll
bring it up later. You and I oughta' talk, too. Hell, let's face it:
everyone needs this little get-together."
-
/This
is Benjamin Coffin III, and I apologize for not being near the phone
right now. Please leave a name and number after the beep./
"Hey
Benny, it's Collins. I don't know on what terms you're on with
everyone else but we're all getting together at the Life tonight. You
don't have to stay long, in fact I'm not even sure how long we'll be
there, but you should try and drop by. So far I think everyone else
is coming and it would be great to have the /whole/ group there, you
know? It's cool if you don't come, no one even knows I called you
really, but I figured that maybe...look, just show up if you want,
there'll be a space for you. Gotta go now, I'm late."
/You've
reached Collins, Tom Collins. I'm not in right now but if you're
lucky I'll check this and get your message./
"Hello Collins,
nice to hear from you again. Um, about the Life...Look, I'm not sure
if..." There is yelling in the background. "You know what,
I'll be there as soon as I can. It'll be...nice to see everyone
again. How're you anyway? I myself am fine. Still with Allison."
There is more yelling. "Although, we're going through a bit
of...well, trouble. Thing's are fine though, we're getting over it.
I'll try to drop by though, even if it's just for a short while. I've
uh I've...well it's good to hear from you again, Collins."
-
That
evening the Life Cafe had a very special group come in. It was a
group of friends who hadn't been there in quite some time. They
pushed two tables together, much to the waiter's dismay, then
drank, ate, and chatted nearly the whole night long.
The seven of
them were laughing and still enjoying themselves when closing time
came around. One suggested they all return to his place and continue
their little get-together. As everyone gathered their things another
made a remark that seemed to catch everyone's attention. "Hey
guys, let's not wait another five years to do this, ok?"
So that night as they walked out of the Life Cafe, reveling in the old and new memories they had created, the seven of them vowed to not to let time slip away again and once again live life as "No day but today".