Slowly, Maureen turned around to see who had helped her to her feet. No, it couldn't be.
"Hey Maureen," Roger said. Maureen had a look of shock and confusion on her face as she and Roger embraced.
"Where, where am I?" she asked.
"You're in heaven sweetie," Angel replied from his seat in the kitchen. He got up, and gave Maureen a hug. "It's great to see you again girl." The events from a few minutes ago came rushing back to Maureen.
"Is Joanne here?" the diva asked her friends. Both men shook their heads.
"No, just the three of us, Collins, Mimi and April's here too," Roger replied. Maureen looked surprised that her old best friend was here.
"April's here?" she asked. "Never mind, Joanne should be here! We were in a car crash together. There's no way in hell that she could have survived."
"Maureen, Maureen, calm down. Joanne will be here. Calm down," Angel said as he wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder.
"Maureen!" April squealed as she came rushing into the main room. She had heard Roger and Angel talking, and decided to see who they were talking to.
Maureen spun around, and exclaimed, "April!" The best friends jumped up and down hugging when Maureen felt another person hugging her too. "Hey Mimi!" Maureen heard Collins chuckle, and for a mere split second, she forgot about Joanne. That moment, however, was short-lived, and the smile quickly faded from her face.
"Maureen, what's wrong honey?" April asked, gently rubbing Maureen's back.
"I'm worried about Joanne," she replied.
"Joanne? Who's
Joanne?"
"Joanne's my partner. We were out celebrating out
twentieth anniversary when we were hit by an eighteen-wheeler. She
should be here."
"Maureen, you're stressed out about
Joanne," Collins said. "We're all about to go to sleep. Your
room is free, why don't you go lie down?" Maureen shook her
head.
"I think I'll sleep out here tonight," she replied quietly. Everyone said their goodnights, and retreated to their own rooms.
Joanne was at the loft. She gasped and bolted upright. She saw a figure curled up in the chair, her chair. It was the chair she always sat in when doing work at home. Joanne got to her feet, ad walked over to her chair. Curled up in her chair, fast asleep was Maureen.
Mimi was on her way to the bathroom when she stopped by Maureen's room to see if she had changed her mind about where she was sleeping. The room was empty, except for Maureen's belongings, which had somehow appeared. Mimi was about to leave when there was a warm light that filled the room. When the light faded away, more belongings were in Maureen's room. Mimi picked up one of the books that had appeared, and looked at the title, Law at the Turn of the Century. Law at the Turn of the Century? That sounded like something that-. Mimi rushed out to the main room.
Joanne gently brushed a strand of Maureen's wavy hair out of her face, and stroked her cheek softly. Maureen stirred, and slowly opened her eyes. Mimi watched the scene fold out before her in silence.
"Pookie?" Maureen mumbled. Joanne nodded. "Oh, God, Pookie, you're here!" Maureen stood up, and threw her arms around Joanne's neck. "I was so worried! I knew you had to be here. Why didn't you come when I did?"
"It took a little longer for me to die, but that doesn't matter now." It felt weird to Joanne to be referring to her own death. Maureen took her lover's face in her hands, and kissed her passionately on the lips.
Mimi smiled to herself, and stole quietly down the hall. She opened the door to her room, and closed it carefully behind her. she slipped into bed, and kissed Roger quickly on the lips. Roger moaned slightly, and rolled over to face his girlfriend.
"Hey baby," Mimi whispered.
"What time is it?"
"Twenty to five in the morning. I went to the bathroom, and to check on Maureen."
"How is she?" Mimi wrapped an arm around Roger's waist, and rested her head on his chest.
"Joanne just arrived here."
"Joanne? We should go say hi." Mimi shook her head.
"No, she and Maureen are spending some time together; they don't know that I saw them. After all, they didn't get a chance to celebrate their anniversary."
"Okay," Roger said reluctantly. "But if we go out there in the morning, and they aren't wearing anything, I blame you."
"Nice to know baby, nice to know," Mimi replied as Roger wrapped his arms around her and the couple fell asleep. Meanwhile, Joanne and Maureen continued celebrating their anniversary together.
