A/N: This is for people who may be confused by this. The Space equals the 11th Street Lot. I know everyone probably knows this, but I know somebody will get confused, so I'm telling you now. (That really only means you, Jenny) :)
The equipment wasn't working. It was Christmas morning and the equipment wasn't working. I was not happy.
"Maureen, I don't know what to tell you. I know nothing about theater and even less about theater equipment." Joanne said when I called her office.
"And I have an audition on Broadway that I can't miss." I was thinking aloud as I paced the livingroom. The lights on the small fake Christmas tree in the corner danced and played together, distracting me from my conversation with Joanne for a brief moment.
"I know, it's all you've been talking about for a week." She mumbled, annoyed. I ignored her. I was to excited about the audition.
"Who used to set up all of your equipment?" She asked with a deep sigh.
I could just imagine her pacing her office, cell phone in one hand and the other hand pinching the bridge of her nose to fight off the oncoming headache. I knew she was getting frustrated with me. She always got so frustrated with me.
"Mark." I answered softly.
"Oh." She didn't like Mark. I didn't blame her. I didn't exactly want to hear about all of her ex girlfriends.
"I guess I could always call him." I said with a defeated sigh. I hadn't talked to him in months. I didn't even know if he would answer the phone.
"You're not calling Mark." She said matter of factly. I rolled my eyes and bit back an angry reply about her not being my mother.
'There she goes again.', I thought with a small sigh. 'Always telling me what I can and can't do.'
"I'll go myself. I'm sure I'll be able to figure it out." She said, exasperated.
"I don't want you to have to leave work and go down to the space. Really, I'll call Mark. I'm sure he won't mind doing this for me. He hates Benny as much as I do." I sounded so confident.
I wasn't. For all I knew Mark would tell me to go fuck myself like he had done when I was still living in their building.
"No, I don't have that much to do today, so I'll head over to the space and see what I can do." She lied smoothly. My eyes closed slowly.
"Joanne..."
"I'm going, Maureen." She cut me off quickly. She was angry, but I wasn't going to keep arguing with her. I didn't have the time or energy.
"Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can. I love you." I was making my way to the bedroom to find an outfit.
"You too." And then she was gone.
I tossed the phone on the bed and pulled an outfit out of me dresser. I love the snow, but I hate being cold, so I have to wear so many layers, I feel all uncomfortable.
I took a shower and dried my hair, pulling it back out of my face for the audition. I thought maybe I would try something new, change it up a bit.
My eyes fell on the phone lying on the bed. I contemplated calling Mark. As much as I loved Joanne, I missed Mark.
No, I wasn't in love with him, and no, I didn't want to get back together with him. I just missed hanging out with him.
I sat on the bed and pulled my cowboy boots on, which were my favorite pair of shoes. I bought them with the money I made working on my first show in the city.
Grabbing the phone I dialed the number to the loft and held my breath.
"SPEEEEAAAAK" blasted from the other end of the line, followed by a small electronic beep.
"Hey Mark, it's me, Maureen. I was wondering if you could do me a favor. I hired Joanne as my production manager, but I don't think she knows what the hell she's doing. If you could come down to the space, baby..."
"Maureen, hey." My heart stopped. I hadn't expected him to answer.
"Hey." Was all I could manage as a reply.
"You're having some problems with the protest?" He sounded annoyed with me.
I wondered for a second if the only thing I was good at was annoying the people around me.
"Yeah, the mic isn't working again and I have no idea how to fix it and neither does Joanne." The words were coming out of my mouth in a hurried rush.
"I'll be at the space." His voice was full of disappointment.
"Thanks." My voice was full of a silent apology.
The line went dead and I sat listening to the dial tone for a few seconds. Maybe we could be friends.
I didn't know that Collins was home. I didn't know about Angel or Mimi. I didn't know that very soon we were all going to be a family.
My audition went well. I think I really impressed the director. He said I was different, which I hope is a good thing. When I got home I changed into a pair of sweat pants and Joanne's Harvard t-shirt. It had become my favorite item of clothing.
Picking up the phone off the bed where I had left it that morning, I walked out into the livingroom and dropped onto the couch. I dialed the number to the space quickly, hoping that Joanne was still there.
It rang a few times and while I waited for someone to answer I began to wonder what exactly Mark and Joanne were doing to keep them from answering the phone.
"Maureen?" She was angry. I bit my lip, hoping she wasn't mad at me. I racked my brain for a reason for her to be mad and came to a conclusion in record time...
Mark. Mark had most likely done something to make Joanne think I was out cheating and now she was mad at me again. Well if that was how he wanted to play, fine.
"Hey Pookie." I said happily, hoping that Mark could hear me.
It wasn't as though I was trying to make him feel bad or anything...Okay, I admit it. I wanted to make him jealous, if only to piss him off.
"Pookie? You've never called me Pookie." Once again, I fucked up. I only succeeded in pissing Joanne off even more. I started to really wonder what the hell they had been talking about.
"I know. It just kind of...slipped." I said with a giggle, twirling my hair even though she couldn't see me.
She knew that I had called Mark Pookie. Great, another reason for her to think I'm cheating. She just sighed into the phone.
"My audition went well. I'll know in a few days if I made the show." My voice seemed foreign to me. I sounded, bubbly, self absorbed, everything everyone already assumed I was.
"That's great." She said half heartedly. It was better than nothing, I guess. At least she was trying to seem interested.
"I just got home and I was planning on coming down to the space and checking everything out." I said, pulling my knees to my chest.
"Don't bother, we're patched." The line went dead before I had a chance to say anything else.
Instead of getting upset I pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and curled up to take a nap. It was easier than calling her back just to get into another fight.
It seemed like all we did these days was fight. Either she was in a bad mood or I was in a bad mood and then we would practically claw each other's eyes out. I don't know why we were always fighting.
Sometimes I thought leaving would be better for both of us. This couldn't be a healthy relationship.
But then she would wrap her arms around me and kiss my neck and I would melt. No matter how many times we fought, we loved each other and I was determined to make this relationship work. I didn't want anyone else. I wanted Joanne.
I was slowly drawn from my nap by Joanne's lips on mine. I feigned sleep for a few minutes before grabbing her by the collar of her jacket and pulling her down on top of me.
She squeaked in surprise and fell on top of me, trapping me between her body and the couch.
"I'm sorry." I whispered when she pulled away and rested her head on my chest.
"No, you don't need to be sorry. I just don't like thinking about you and Mark together and he was talking about you cheating and a whole bunch of stuff and...It makes me all jealous and uneasy." She said, looking up at me.
I kissed her nose quickly before capturing her lips in another kiss.
"I like it when you get uneasy. You get all cute and cuddly and..." She cut me off with another kiss. We kissed for a few more minutes before I pulled away.
"I love you." I said, slipping my hands inside her jacket and pushing it off of her shoulders, dropping it onto the floor.
"Love you too...honeybear." She sighed in my ear.
"Honeybear?" I couldn't stop the laughter bubbling up inside me from spilling out of my mouth.
"Hey, if you get to call me Pookie, I get a pet name for you. And I pick honeybear, for reasons you'll probably never know." She pressed her lips to my neck as I ran my fingers through her hair.
"I love you, Pookie." I said with a small giggle, which quickly turned into a moan when Joanne slid her hand up my shirt.
Sex with Joanne is always amazing. I've never been with another woman, but I can understand why Joanne's always been a lesbian. Nobody could make me feel the way I felt in Joanne's arms.
As we cuddled up under the blanket I ran my fingers through her hair and showered her face with kisses. She sighed and pulled me closer.
"You do know that hot, sweaty make up sex doesn't solve all of our problems, right?" I asked before pressing my lips to hers softly.
"What do you mean?" She asked, pulling away from me.
"I want to know why you're so afraid that I'm going to leave you." I said softly, looking into her eyes. They looked like two pools of melted chocolate, swirling with secrets she had yet to tell me about her past.
"I will. I promise. Just...not now. We have to get ready for your protest." She offered a weak smile to match her weak reply.
"I need another shower. Feel free to join me." I said, pushing on her shoulders. She sad up and I slid out from underneath her, walking naked to the bathroom. She followed right behind me.
An hour later, once we were both showered and dressed, we left for the lot, hand in hand. If Benny was planning on shutting me down, I wasn't going without a fight. He had no idea what he was in for.