Roger could feel someone watching him even before he opened his eyes. Maureen sat in the rocking chair, her legs folded beneath her. She smiled when he opened his eyes.

"What?"

"Nothing," she said.

Roger sat up, yawning. "Time is it?"

"Dunno. Noon-ish, I think. Mark went out filming."

"Mmm…What?"

"Nothing," she said, continuing to stare.

"Mo, why the hell are you staring at me like that?"

"No reason."

"Mo—"

She stood up from the rocking chair and went to his side. "How come you didn't tell me?"

"What?"

"When you found out about the HIV. When you found the note. Pick one. Why didn't you tell me?"

Roger sighed. "Maureen…It's complicated."

"Un-complicate it then."

"I-I don't know…It's just…we've been best friends since high school."

"Exactly."

"So, this is pretty heavy. I mean, it's…it's a death sentence. And, um, the-they don't really know a lot about it yet and a lot of people, um…a-a lot of people would…."

"You were afraid I'd ditch you?"

Roger nodded. Maureen's head fell to his shoulder.

"Davis, I've told you time and again, you're stuck with me. I don't care how much they know about it. We'll learn together. Read whatever shit we find about it."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It can be like…like a study party!"

Roger laughed. "A study party?"

"Yeah! Remember Mr. Gorrin's history class? We used to have study parties for that all the time!"

"Yeah, I remember…" Roger's face fell. "That, um, that was when….when we were together…"

"Yeah, so?"

Maureen read his expression and bit her lip. She shook her head. "Rog, that was before you met April…"

"I was using though."

"What?"

"Only once or twice. You knew about it, remember? Tommy Beecher's house?"

Maureen nodded slowly. She'd completely forgotten about that. When he'd told her, Maureen stopped talking to him for three weeks until he swore never to touch drugs again.

"Tommy and I…we shared the needle…I—there's no way for them to know when I got it, or how, or who from…"

Maureen couldn't look at him.

"So, um….God, Maureen….I-I don't know what to do…if-if you have it…"

"Roger, I'm sure I'm fine."

"Will you get a test, please?"

She hesitated, but nodded. "I'll go when Mark gets back."

"Go where when Mark gets back?" Mark asked, sliding the door to the loft shut behind him.

"Get tested."

"Maureen, it's only passed through bodily fluids."

"I know."

"You've never done drugs."

"I know, but Roger and I….in high school…"

"Yeah, but he got it from April."

"Probably. He probably got it from April. There's a chance that he got it from this other guy we knew. This guy he shot up with a few times."

Mark's eyes widened. "And after that…"

"Mark, I'm so sorry," Roger whispered.

Mark shook his head. "Don't apologize. It's okay. She hasn't even been tested yet. I'm sure she's fine. She's okay."

Maureen stood up and picked up her purse. Mark gave her a quick kiss.

"I'm going to go do it now. Get it over with."

"You want us to come with you?"

Maureen shook her head. "No, no. I think I need to do this alone. Besides, it's just the test. They don't get the results back right away."

Maureen hurried down the block to the free clinic. She tried to stay calm, but felt her heart racing. It'd been five years since she'd been with Roger, but he was right. If he'd gotten HIV from Tommy, she might….No, she wasn't going to think about it. Not until the results were back. For now, it was a blood test. Just a blood test.

She'd never regretted sleeping with Roger. He was a good lover, even if their relationship had only lasted another couple of months after their first sexual encounter. Now she might've ended up with….No. It wasn't that. She was fine. Never been healthier. He didn't get it from Tommy. He didn't. Maureen wished she still had his number. It'd be easier, she thought, to call him and make sure he was alive than to do this.

At the clinic, a young woman sat in the waiting room, calmly flipping through a magazine. Maureen marveled at the woman's confidence and calm attitude. Clearly she wasn't here for the same reason Maureen was. She leaned over the counter, not wanting the woman to hear.

"I, um…I need to get a test."

"Okay. A test for what?"

Maureen stared at her.

"Pregnancy?"

"HIV," she mumbled.

The blonde nodded and handed a clipboard across the counter. "Just bring this back up when you're finished."

Maureen nodded and sat down in the corner of the waiting room, hoping she wasn't drawing suspicion. She glanced down at the information sheet and began scrawling out her answers.

Name: Maureen Johnson

Age: 23

Date of Birth: October 3, 1965.

Are you pregnant? No

Are you sexually active? Yes

Are you currently using birth control? Condoms most of the time

Have you ever had an HIV test done before? No

Has your partner had an HIV test? Not that I know of

Does your partner have HIV or AIDS? Not that I know of

Maureen finished filling out the questionnaire and handed it back to the receptionist. A minute later, a nurse appeared in the doorway.

"Stephanie Ellis?"

The other woman stood up. She nodded politely to Maureen and followed the nurse from the room. Maureen sat fidgeting in her chair for another five minutes before the nurse returned.

"Maureen Johnson?"

"Yeah, yeah that's me."

She stood slowly, not quite believing she was here. The nurse led her to a small examination room and gestured for Maureen to sit at the table. She hopped up on the table, hating the sound of the crinkling paper beneath her.

"Okay, the doctor will be here in a minute," the nurse said.

Maureen nodded. Sure enough, the doctor appeared within minutes. Maureen said a silent prayer of thanks. Usually doctors, especially those in free clinics, took forever to get to a patient.

"Hello, Ms. Johnson?"

"Yes."

The doctor extended his hand to shake hers. "I'm Dr. Jacobs. I'll be treating you today. Seems you're here for….an HIV test."

"Yeah. Um…my-my friend, he, um, he was just diagnosed a couple days ago."

"I see. And do you engage in sexual relations with this friend?"

"No but I did. It was years ago but, um, he-he'd used drugs before and shared the needle with another guy so, um, he-he's not sure where or when…He thought it'd be best if-if I just come and, um, you know…"

"Ms. Johnson, please, relax. Now, I have to ask you a few routine questions. All answers are completely confidential. All right?"

Maureen sighed. "Okay."

"Do you now or have you ever used intravenous drugs?"

"No."

"Do you now or have you ever had unprotected sexual intercourse?"

"Yes."

"Okay….are you sexually active?"

"Yes."

"And do you and your partner use birth every time, but most of the time."

The doctor nodded and Maureen blushed.

"And how many sexual partners have you had?"

"Ever?"

"Yes."

"Three."

"Okay. In the last year?"

"One."

"And have you had any other symptoms? Any coughs or sore throats?"

"No."

"No fevers or lesions?"

"No."

"All right. Well, I'll send my nurse in to take your blood. The results should be back in about two weeks."

"Two weeks?"

"I'm sorry. I know it's a long wait, but it's the fastest we can do it. Someone will call you the instant the results are back, though."

"Thank you."

"In the meantime, use condoms every single time. No intravenous drug use."

She nodded. "Yes, doctor."