FIVE YEARS LATER:
October 31, 1997
"So the pretty boy front man finally comes home." Roger Davis smirked at his own thoughts. He'd been gone for six years and now he was back: A little bit smarter, a little stronger, and a new outlook on his life. Standing at 6'2" he was as handsome as he ever was. His blond hair to the top of his ears, his black jeans hugging tight in the butt and loose in the legs, under his beaten leather jacket he wore his favorite white t-shirt. He looked around the block and thought about the past.
The loss of Mimi had hit him hard: not because he loved her but, because he didn't love her. Everyone expect for him to be destroyed but it hadn't. He had cared for Mimi but he hadn't loved her. No his love was for someone else and that person could never love him.
Roger looked up at the top floor. Would Mark still live here? Hell, was he still alive? He was about to open the door when a ball of energy hit him knocking him down. Behind it he heard a voice that he'd know in his sleep, "ANGEL MAUREEN MIMI-JO COHEN."
The little girl looked about as spoke, "You forgot Jefferson." Roger looked at her. She was small but adorable with strawberry-blond hair in ringlets giving her a Shirley Temple look, startling blue eyes that were the color of Calfornia ocean and a cherub check face. She wore a green fairy costume with white wings her curls bouncing as she looked back at the man exiting the building.
"Fine, Angel Jefferson-Cohen." A man walked out in jeans, a black t-shirt, and blue flannel over it. "Benny?" Roger asked in shock. Benny reached down picking up the little girl. "Roger!" Benny exclaimed a grin breaking out on his face. "Uncle Benny who's he?" the little girl asked hiding her face in Benny's neck. Roger looked surprised at the little girl. Benny offered his hand to help Roger up. "Angel, this is your Uncle Roger: The one that's been gone a long time." Benny explained. The girl pursed her little lips as if trying to decide if she liked Roger or not.
"You look like the pictures Daddy has of you." Angel finally said. Roger grinned, "Well you look just like your Daddy, Angel." He ruffled her hair. "AHHH!" Angel covered her hair. "IT TOOK UNCLE BENNY'S FRIEND FOREVER!" Angel squealed. "Angel Cakes took Lucinda 10 minutes just to make your curls shine."
Roger turned towards the door and saw Tom Collins coming out. "That's for-ev-er." Angel said drawing out the word forever. Collins grinned kissing Angel on her temple and then turned to look at Roger, "Oh hi." Collins said with a grin. "Oh hi: after six years!" Roger laughed and pulled Collins into a hug. "How you doing, how are you feeling?" Collins asked. "Good, healthy, finally got my head on straight." Roger answered.
"Uncle Collins, I'm HUNGRY!" the little girl bounced in Benny's arms. "Oh yea, mustn't keep Tinkerbelle waiting for her food." Collins said smiling at Roger. "Come on Angel we'll leave them to catch up." Benny said then looked at Collins, "We'll be at Life." Benny and Collins kissed as Benny set Angel down and started walking as the little girl started asking questions, "Do we always have to go to Life? Is it cause we keep them in business? Would they close if we didn't ever go there again? That's what Daddy says."
"Curious little thing." Roger said smiling at Collins. "She's her mother all over again." Collins said shaking his head. "So you and Benny," Roger gave Collins a knowing grin. "Shut up, been back 10 minutes and the boy already gives me shit." Collins said grabbing Roger's bag. "Get your ass upstairs before you catch pneumonia." Collins ordered.
Collins ushered Roger into the same loft he'd left six years ago. "Tea: water: milk, or Coke?" Collins asked taking Roger's bags. "Coke," Roger looked surprised. Last time he saw Mark: Mark couldn't afford food let alone brand name soda.
"So where is our favorite filmmaker?" Roger asked. "At work, he'll be home in an hour. Hopefully, Benny can keep Angel busy enough that she'll be able to wait. Mark hates missing dinner with her." Collins said walking into the kitchen. "So where's his wife?" Roger asked. Roger waited for a response but when he got none he turned around and looked at Collins. Roger noticed the sadness in Collins' eyes. "What? What happen?" Roger asked. "You better sit down." Collins said motioning to the fairly new couch in the center of the room.
"Maureen and Joanna are dead?" an hour later Roger looked shocked at Collins. Maureen and Jo were dead. Mark was raising the child that he had helped create for them. Collins and Benny were together. Benny was H.I.V. positive from Mimi. The only thought that kept running threw Roger's head was Mark would be all alone in the end.
The loft door slide open as Mark walked in jeans, a dark tank top, his jacket slung over his shoulder and his hair a little longer the Roger's. He had new glasses that complimented his face and he had muscles, "He's gorgeous." was all Roger could think looking at his once best friend.
"The bonafied Sex God returns from a hard day of work." Collins joked. "Shut the hell up Collins." Mark said walking into the kitchen. "Does Benny know you got a guy over?" Mark snapped back. "Bad day," Collins yelled motioning for Roger to stay quiet. "You know all those bitching beauty queen and want to be actresses. All they do is whine, scream, pitch fits, and maybe for 10 minutes out of an 8 hour rehearsal we get good work done. I swear if Maureen hadn't gotten me so use to it I would've decked one of them by now." Mark bitched as he pulled out a bottle of water, "By the way, I'm assuming Benny has my girl seeing as she has torpedoed me yet." Mark called. "Yea they're on their way to Life." Collins reached over for a disposable camera and stood behind Roger.
If Roger would have, had to admit it he had not been pay attention to Collin and Mark's conversation. Roger had, had a great view of Mark's ass as he bent over to sift threw the fridge. Roger had been drawn back into the conversation when he felt Collins move behind him.
Roger had a great view of Mark as he turned around. "Dammit I thought I told you two not to feed her until…" Mark stopped as he turned around to see Roger sitting on his couch.
All Mark could see was a flash as Collins took a picture. He could hear Collins laughing but all he could do was look at Roger, he looked alive and healthy: at least healthier then when he left five years ago. Mark couldn't guarantee how long that was going to last though.
"You fucking asshole you have some God-damn nerve coming here after six years." Mark yelled at Roger. Mark heard Collins stop laughing. "You disappear after six years and come back now, when everything is finally settling down. But that's what you do isn't Roger, you disappear for months, years on end when life gets hard and then you come back? Well I don't want you back Roger. Did you ever consider that?" Mark yelled.
Roger had never seen Mark so angry. "I better go Collins." Roger muttered standing up. Collins glared at Mark who was still fuming. There seemed to be a silent communication between them. Finally Mark sighed, "FINE! He can stay but I swear Roger you screw this up and that's it. Your out and do me a favor stay away from Angel, she's too young and won't understand if you suddenly take off again." Mark said walking to his bedroom.
"He's been under a lot of pressure." Collins started but Roger interrupted, "No he's right to be mad. He has every right to be concerned about his daughter. But I'm not going anywhere Collins. I'm home and I'm not going anywhere. I've faced the truth. And now it's just a leap of faith to achieve it." Roger sighed.
"What were you running from Roger? What was so bad that you couldn't talk to us about it? You just up and left us all?" Collins asked. "Simple, I fell for Mark." Roger said leaning back thinking about that night:
Flashback
Roger sat on the kitchen table watching Mark as he edited film. Roger hadn't talked much in the weeks since Mimi had died but Mark wasn't worried about it. When Roger was ready he would talk to Mark. Till then Mark just had to be patient. Mark turned and looked at Roger saying, "I'm going to bed. Take your AZT and then you need to get some sleep." Mark ordered. Roger watch Mark walk over to the kitchen take two small pills knowing they were sleeping pills and then watched as Mark walked to his bedroom.
As much as Mark worried about Roger: Roger worried about Mark. Mark was taking sleeping pills every night. Roger was half afraid that Mark was becoming addicted to them but, that wasn't the worse part of Roger's worry. He couldn't shake what Mimi had last said to him before she died, "I'm not your song. I never was. You didn't miss my eyes." Mimi's voice had been weak but clear.
Roger sat in the same place thinking about Mimi's last night and then it hit him, "Oh my god, I love Mark. I do, that's what Mimi was talking about when she said she was never my song. She knew, she knew that Your Eyes wasn't about Mimi, it was about Mark. About Mark and his good-bye, Mimi knew that all of Roger's songs were about Mark and his undying devotion to the scrawny filmmaker. Roger walked into Mark's room. He watched the sleeping man clad only in pajama bottoms.
Roger didn't even remember walking to Mark's bed. He felt odd as he leaned over and kissed Mark's lips. Pulling back he watched the young man's face as it smiled. But he couldn't do it. Roger wouldn't do it. He wouldn't take Mark's heart and then die on him. He stroked Mark's hair as tears formed in Roger's eyes he whispered, "I love you Mark and I know you'll be mad at me when you wake up but it's too hard to watch you anymore and not have you." He kissed Mark one more time. He packed his bag that night and took the first greyhound he could afford.
Present
Mark sat on the fire escape smoking a cigarette his body slightly cold from October weather that was turning cold. Mark sighed as he heard the window open and close.
"That shit will kill you." Roger said looking at the man he had once called his best friend. "Yea well, everyone else is dying I figured I might as well too." Mark said cynically. "Why? You've got a beautiful daughter to live for." Roger said surprised at how cold Mark's voice was. "Don't mention Angel. You don't get to act like my best friend Roger. We needed you. I needed you. And you were no where to be found. I had two of my best friends killed and a daughter handed to me and my best friend was nowhere to be found." Mark sighed tossing his cigarette.
"Your right, I don't have a right to call myself a best friend. I let emotional baggage get in the way of our friendship. I'm sorry. I hope some day you can forgive me for being an idiot." Roger said. "Well hell if you're going to admit it I don't have a lot of choice." Mark grinned.
"How are you really?" Mark asked. "Good, healthier then I've been in a long time. I traveled all over the United States and South America. I'm better. I'm glad I went; cause no matter where I was it wasn't home. I may hate this city for what it did to me. But its home, you guys are home." Roger admitted. "So what about you: A beautiful little spitfire, an amazing new style what have you been doing?" Roger asked amazed at the man Mark had become.
"Lets see after you left I kept working off and on for Buzzline, hated it but it paid the bills. Then when Maureen and Jo were killed, I'm assuming Collins filled you in on that?" Mark stopped and looked at Roger. Roger nodded, "Yeah car crash, drunk driver, you nearly killing the other driver in court: Collins caught me up on all the drama." Roger answered.
"Yea, he's good for that. So after Mo and Jo were killed I had to get a real job. Filmmaking had to take a back seat so I had a friend hook me up with a job as a techie in an off Broadway theater. Well one day I was working on something and Sam, the director at the time, asked me to stand in as a reader to help cast the next show. Hell I knew I could use the extra cash so I did it. Sam liked me, he ended up casting me as the lead role but I had to put on muscle and no more skipping meals. So I did, paid well, gave me a boost up. Now I'm acting on Broadway in a musical as a supporting actor: allows me time with Angel and the guys." Mark finished up.
Roger nodded, "Wow Mark is an actor, who would've known." Roger thought and grinned. "So let's go meet this beautiful daughter of yours." Roger said as they made their way into the loft. Things weren't perfect but they were on they're way to being okay.
Roger watched the family interact, Benny and Collins played the spoiling uncles, and Mark was an amazing father with a balance of stern discipline and amazing gentleness when dealing with Angel. As for Angel, Roger could see Maureen's shining star in Angel's eyes and parts of her diva personality but there was a touch of Mark to soften Angel's edges. She could be very sweet when she wanted to but when it was necessary the Diva would take over.
Roger spent most the night observing was he watched Collins and Angel dance then Benny and Angel play Poker for candy. "After all Roger, it's not safe for me to go trick or treating in Alphabet City." Angel had informed Roger. Roger had grinned picking up the pint sized Tinkerbelle and asked, "Why's that my little spitfire?" "With this face, who wouldn't want to kidnap me?" Angel said as if it was an obvious fact. The guys had laughed so hard at that.
Roger had felt his heart strings tug as Mark had let him give Angel her bath then handed her over to her father. Roger watched, what was apartently a nightly ritual, Mark had two cups of hot tea sitting in Angel's pink and white room with the book The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.
"Their up to A Midsummer Nights Dream." Collins whispered as he caught Roger peaking threw the door. "You know most little girls get read Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty." Roger whispered with a grin. "What can we say; she's a Bohemian in training. I said he should've started her out on The Art of War. He thought that was a little severe." Collins said as he and Roger walked to the fire escape.
Five minutes later Mark joined Roger and Collins for a smoke. "She's out like a light." Mark said with a smile. "Yeah, well, Shakespeare always put me to sleep too." Roger said with a smirk. Mark flipped him off took a drag then looked at Roger with a smile. "I'm glad you're back Roger, still fucked up that you left: but I'm really glad you're back." Mark said. Roger smiled back at Mark as he spoke, "It's good to be home."