Chapter 4:

It was the day before Joanne's birthday, but there was no drunken celebration at the Life planned. Maureen fell inside of herself, worrying the other Bohemians. Mimi pressured the diva into going over to the loft to get her mind off Joanne. Collins handed Maureen some vodka. Maureen stared at the paper cup, completely spacing out.

"Earth to Mo," Collins said. "Maureen."

"Maureen!" Roger yelled. Maureen came crashing back down to reality. She blinked several times, and shook her head.

"What the hell do you want Davis?" she demanded. Roger sat there open mouthed. How had this become this fault?
"You were totally spaced out honey," Mimi explained. "You okay?" Maureen nodded, and took a long drink of her vodka.

"Yeah, never better," she replied. Mark picked up his camera, and focused on the diva.

"Zoom in on Maureen who we'll get drunk tonight, and be forced to listen to her ranting about shit no one cares about." Maureen flicked the camera off.

"You can shove that damn extension of your body up your ass, Mark." Mark rolled his eyes, and put the camera away. Roger congratulated Maureen for getting the filmmaker to listen for once in his life.

Later, Maureen was still at the loft, but she wasn't drinking anymore. Collins, however, was almost completely wasted.

"You want to come over tomorrow and go shopping or something?" Mimi asked Maureen. The diva shook her head.

"I'm going to stay in tomorrow, but thanks," she replied. Mimi gave the diva's arm a reassuring squeeze.

"You doin' okay Mo?" she asked. Maureen shrugged.

"I think I'm going crazy, Meems. Today I saw someone who looked exactly like Joanne." Mark focused his attention to his lap. "This isn't the first time either. All this past week I kept seeing her, but by the time I realize it, she's gone." Mimi rubbed Maureen's back.

"Maybe you keep seeing women who look like Joanne, because you want to see her so much."

"Or maybe it is her," Roger suggested. The rocker glanced at Mark, making him feel even more uncomfortable. Mark was afraid that Roger was on to him. Mimi gave Roger a dirty look.

"Joanne's gone, and I've come to terms with that," Maureen replied quietly with tears in her eyes. She hadn't come to terms with it yet. Mimi pulled the diva close, and calmed her down. Mark watched the scene unfold. Guilt was eating him up on the inside, but he kept his mouth shut.

The second Maureen left, Mark retreated to his room to do something. He pulled out Joanne's number, and began to dial. Joanne picked up after several rings.

"Hello?" she asked.

"It's Mark."
"What can I do for you?" Always so formal.

"Maureen was just here. She's really depressed, and thinks that she's going crazy. You haven't been following her have you?"
"Not exactly. I've been going back and forth about going to see her. She probably saw me outside her building. I also had lunch at the deli across from the building, and I saw her there."

"You need to be more careful Jo! If you keep following her, I'm going to have to tell her!"

"Please don't tell Maureen," Joanne pleaded. Mark sighed.

"Can I tell everyone else?"

"Please don't tell Maureen." Mark could tell that the lawyer was on the verge of tears.

"Please go see Maureen then." There was a long pause; Joanne was thinking. "Joanne, you still there?"
"Yeah, I'm still here. I'll go see Maureen soon, I promise. As for telling everyone else-" There was a knock on Mark's door.

"You okay Mark?" Mimi asked.

"Yeah," Mark replied. "Listen, I've gotta go. I'll call you later, bye."
"Bye Mark." Mark hung up the phone, and went to go see what Mimi wanted.

Mimi was lounged across the couch with her legs draped over Roger's lap; talking to Roger and Collins.

"Okay, what's her name?" Collins asked Mark. The filmmaker joined his friends with a confused look on his face.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"You've been acting really weird lately," Roger replied. "So, what's her name?" Mark shook his head.

"It's not like that man."

"Then what's it like then boy?" Collins asked. "You've been acting weird ever since you went to the Life last week. What's with you?" Mark chewed on his bottom lip.

"Okay, I'll tell you, but you can't tell Maureen; not yet at least. I did meet someone at the Life-"

"I knew it!" Roger exclaimed, earning him a kick in the stomach from Mimi. The rocker grunted. "Sorry…continue."

"I saw, uh, I saw Joanne at the Life." Mimi sat up and folded her legs under her. Roger and Collins were both speechless. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I wanted to ask Joanne what she wanted to do. She's going to see Maureen soon, and doesn't want her to know."

"So you lied to us?" Roger asked rather coldly.

"Roger please. Mark was only respecting Joanne's wishes," Collins said. The anarchist turned to face Mark. "At least he told us." Mark stared at his lap.

"So how is Joanne?" Mimi asked. Mark shrugged.

"She's really regretting her decision to leave, and I don't think that I made it any easier on her when I saw her at the Life."

"When did you last talk to her?"
"Five minutes ago." Roger swore under his breath, making Mark mad at him. "Dammit Roger, what the hell is wrong with you?"
"You're what's wrong with me! You see Maureen suffering and still lie to her!" Mimi looked from Roger to Mark. Roger had always been protective of Maureen, like a little sister, but it was almost as if he and Mark had switched places.

"And I apologized!" Mark got up. "I have a headache, I'm going to bed." Everyone watched the filmmaker go back to his room.

As soon as Mark left, Mimi crawled onto Roger's lap. She gently ran her fingers through his hair, and whispered comforting words in his ear. The dancer knew how hurt Roger was that Mark had kept such a secret from him even if it had only been for a week. Roger held Mimi close as if afraid to lose her again.

The next evening, Joanne slowly walked down the hall towards her old apartment. She was so nervous she was almost shaking uncontrollably. Joanne stood outside the apartment for nearly a minute, deciding what to do. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door.