Chapter 3:
Around 10:30 the next morning, Maureen came sauntering into the loft. Mark groaned from his position on the couch. He had forgotten that she was coming over today.
"Mark, what are you doing on the couch?" Maureen asked.
"Well, I was asleep until you came waltzing in here," he snapped. He sat up, and grabbed his glasses off the coffee table.
"I know that, but why?" Maureen sat down on one of the chairs, and folded her legs under her neatly.
"Roger's sister Taylor showed up yesterday in search of a place to stay, so she slept in my room last night."
"Taylor's here!"
"Yes, but please keep your voice down. She's still asleep, and Mimi had to work late last night, so she's pretty tired herself. Do you know if Roger's here?" Maureen shook her head.
"Doesn't he have to work?"
"Oh yeah. I still can't get used to the fact that Roger has a real job." Maureen laughed.
"If you all got my brother to get a real job, then you all are saints," Taylor said as she walked towards Mark and Maureen.
"Hey Taylor," Maureen said. Taylor smiled and gave Maureen a hug. Maureen saw the bruises that covered Taylor's arm. "Oh my God, Taylor, what happened to you?"
"My ex-boyfriend's what happened," Taylor replied with an icy tone. Maureen shut her mouth. She could tell that Taylor didn't want to talk about it.
Taylor and Maureen talked and caught up while Mark went to shower and change. Mimi came trudging out of her and Roger's room around 11:00.
"Hey Maureen," she yawned as she poured herself a cup of coffee. Her beeper went off, so she swallowed an AZT pill too. "Roger thought that you might want to go down to Life Support this afternoon, Taylor."
"Life Support? What's that?" Taylor asked.
"It's meant for people with AIDS, but I'm sure that you can find someone to help you out," Maureen replied. Taylor looked reluctant.
"I don't know if I'm ready," she said quietly. Maureen wrapped an arm around her. "I appreciate the offer, but I don't know if I'm ready to talk about it."
"I'll be there with you, and so will our friend Angel. You don't have to talk to anyone if you're not ready, but it might do you some good," Mimi explained.
"You sure you don't mind? You're not going out of your way to go to Life Support or something are you?" Mimi shook her head.
"We always go to down to Life Support. It's no big deal."
"I guess I'll go then."
Around 1:15, Angel arrived at the loft. He was wearing jeans and a white t-shirt.
"What happened to all your summer clothes?" Mimi asked him. Angel sighed.
"I woke up like twenty minutes ago, and all my summer clothes save for what I wore yesterday are still packed up from when we moved, and I didn't have time to find something to wear," he explained.
"Hi honey," Maureen said from her seat on the couch where she was talking to Taylor.
"Hey Maureen. How long have you been hanging around this dump?"
"She showed up around 10:30," Mimi replied.
"Wow, up before noon, Maureen. I'm proud of you." Maureen shot Angel a dirty look while Mimi and Taylor laughed.
"Joanne had a meeting this morning, and was running around our place at 7:00 looking for her other shoe cussing and screaming. She woke me up," Maureen explained.
"Sure," Mimi said. "Oh, Angel, this is Roger's twin sister, Taylor." Taylor and Angel shook hands.
"Nice to meet you," Taylor said quietly.
"Likewise. I didn't know Roger had a twin. How long are you visiting your brother?"
"I'm actually moving in here for a while."
"Oh good, it'll be nice for Mimi to have a girl to keep her company." Maureen looked at her watch.
"You all should get going," she said. "You're going to be late for Life Support." Taylor fished a key out of her jeans pocket, and placed it next to a piece of paper on the coffee table.
"Mark! My keys next to my address on the coffee table!" she called to Mark who was in his room.
"Got it!" he replied.
"Be careful!" Taylor wrapped the lightweight sweater Mimi had loaned her tighter around her, and followed Angel and Mimi out of the loft.
Taylor was an observer during Life Support. She sat back, and watched the meeting unfold. People talked about their current health status, how they've been coping with AIDS, and other topics. When asked by Gordon if she wanted to say anything, Taylor declined.
"I'm just here to watch," she explained. She wanted to get more comfortable with the group before she told her story.
When Taylor and Mimi got home, they found the loft unusually quiet. Mimi tossed her keys on the table.
"Mark? You back yet?" Taylor called as she slid off her sneakers.
"We're back here sweetie!" Maureen called from one of the bedrooms. Taylor followed the sound of Maureen's voice, and found her and Mark about halfway done with setting up her room.
"You guys got all my stuff! Thank you so much!" she exclaimed as she gave Mark and Maureen each a hug. Mark's hear skipped a beat when Taylor threw her arms around his neck.
Get a hold of yourself Mark a voice said inside of his head. She's Roger's twin sister. Mark returned the hug with a smile on his face. Inside though, his mind was a whirlwind of confused thoughts.