Chapter Seven: Blink
"You were where?"
Mark sat at his perch in the windowsill, knees drawn loosely to his body as he leaned his temple to the frigid glass before him. The sunglasses he usually donned were thrown to the side carelessly, a black heap on the couch. He had one hand hanging limply over his knees while the other brushed at his side where his camera sat, leaning. There was no particular reason for the camera to be there, just the presence of the object put a sense of comfort to everything and made things feel more normal.
Sitting across from Mark was Roger, the musician plastering on a large, sloppy grin on his face. He let his grin widen slightly as a hand ran through his brown hair, pushing his long bangs away from his eyes so he could get a better look at his best friend. Roger sat cross-legged in the windowsill with his guitar leaning against the seat next to him and a bowl of red Gummy Bears in his lap. "Haven't had these since I was twelve!" Roger exclaimed, tossing one in his mouth before swallowing and saying, "You want a red Gummy Bear?"
"Don't change the subject!" Mark half laughed half sputtered, waving the red candy away.
Grinning again, Roger stuffed ten more into his mouth and sucked his fingers childishly. "Collins brought em' over last night. He kept telling us not to keep eating Cap'n Crunch so he brings us candy! Do you believe that?" Roger laughed at Mark's blank expression. "You know, not that I'm complaining- About two nights ago, when Benny came up to order us some takeout, he brought ice cream from the store. Did I tell you? There's some vanilla and chocolate flavored in there; I know you hate strawberry, but Mimi loves the stuff."
"Yeah- but…I don-"
This is good, Roger thought to himself, laughing internally. He took the bowl out of his lap and placed it in front of him before pushing it along the cushion of the seat towards Mark's drawn up legs. "Try one!"
"Stop acting like a child!" Mark leaned forward and swatted the air in front of him, smiling as he successfully whacked Roger in the arm. He, very carefully, dropped his hand into the glass bowl beneath him and pulled out one of the bears as he said, "Here. Are you happy now?" before chewing the candy. "Geez, what's up with you today?"
"Good, huh?" Roger grinned, ignoring the question as he bobbed his head up and down while he stuffed more of the candies into his mouth. "You know, I was walking through the city last night after my interview and I was thinking about some food -weird, I know- and so I went to this candy store and I was looking at the Gummy Bears and I found out they made Gummy Worms! Now, I didn't have any money, so I couldn't by them, but I saw that they were multicolored! I think that means multi flavored too! Cool, huh?"
Without skipping a beat, Mark questioned, "Are you drunk?"
"What?" Roger recoiled slightly at the blunt statement, but was soon placing his hands on his knees, leaning forward to ruffle Mark's hair. "Oh! I get it! You're still in shock. That's okay. I think Collins and Benny are too."
Mark swatted the hand away from his head, this time not succeeding in hitting his best friend. He tilted his head so that his dominant ear was towards Roger's voice. "Wait, let me hear this correctly. Roger Davis signed up for an actual job?"
"Roger Davis got the job!" Roger laughed, leaning into the wall behind him as he held his side and laughed good-naturedly.
"Touché!" Mark shot back, laughing slightly. "Come on, seriously, what's with the turn?"
"I didn't turn! I've been going straight!" Roger laughed again. He hopped off the windowsill and poured the rest of the Gummy Bears into his mouth as he walked towards the kitchen and quickly placed the glass bowl into the sink. "C'mon ish been a'long time shinsh I shad an s'job."
"You are drunk! Jeez, it's only one o'clock in the afternoon! What in hell is up with you?"
Roger hopped back down in his seat and placed his hands back on his knees, looking as if he was a frog about to jump up. "I'm not drunk! Man, this is a natural high!"
Mark scratched his cheek idly. "Because you're working?"
Roger grinned. Last night, after Mark's third therapy session, Mark had gone to the Life Café with Benny and Collins to wait for Roger so they could have an early dinner together. However, Roger never made it there and when they went to the loft to see what had happened Mimi was there waiting for the three men. She explained: "He went out to look for a job. Not sure what it'll be, but that's what he told me to tell you."
"What's wrong with me working?" Roger questioned happily. "You and Collins have been nagging me for years to get off my ass and do something; so I did!"
"I just- geez, what can I say?" Mark rubbed his temple. "You got a job? That's- Ooff! Sorry!"
"That's what you get." Roger smirked as he grabbed at the pillow he hit Mark on the head with. "Stop acting so shocked!"
"It's just hard to imagine," Mark explained, smiling. He pulled his legs closer to his chest and set his chin on his knees. "Mimi's okay with it?"
"Basically pushed me out the door when I was about to change my mind. I didn't want to leave her because of the withdrawal," Roger explained, "but she told me the worst of it was basically over. I believe her. It wasn't horrible this morning, she was just emotional. She asked me if she could get out of the loft and I told her it wasn't a good idea going out alone-"
"You had a fight?" Mark confirmed with a nod. "Still, it's been about four months Rog; she's still going to need you."
Sighing, Roger pulled his guitar into his lap and strummed a few meaningless chords. "It's been more than four months, man. After I left for Santa Fe, she was on drugs for about two weeks before she ran out of money and went through withdrawal alone on the streets -not pleasant."
"It's still-"
"I spoke to her about it this morning, and she's more than fine with it. Thrilled even. She doesn't just need me, she needs everybody. Collins is here tutoring some students at the college, Benny is still working on that studio space, and Joanne and Maureen are here. They'll all help. We had this argument; do I need to have it with you too?"
"No," Mark heaved a long sigh. "I'm just a bit confused. Why look for a job now?"
"Please, man, I'd call you lucky that I'm actually working. It's not a horrible job like, I don't know…stripping for a gay club!"
"Wouldn't be surprised- Ooff! Hey!"
Roger smirked. "You deserved that one." He picked up the pillow and said, "Damn, your brain must've been knocked out of you head."
"Yeah, well, I wouldn't remember, would I?"
Shit. Nice job Davis! Whatever happened to thinking?
Avoiding eye contact, focusing mainly on his guitar, Roger said, "It's not a gay club. I'm going to be playing music at this new bar downtown. The Lounge."
"The Lounge?"
"It's something!" Roger argued. "It's new and I'll be getting fairly good wages. I'm thinking of getting a new band together soon, but for now I'm just going to do this solo."
"No offence, but, are they desperate or something?" Mark sighed. "They're just taking a solo artist right off the bat and they're going to pay with fairly good wages?"
Roger felt the heat rise to his cheeks as he avoided the question. "It'll be real nice. An hour of singing and an hour of helping with the sound equipment, but on occasional nights I'll need to stay to close up. That's probably going to start once they know they can trust me. I'll be starting in five days, April 25th."
"How'd you get the job?"
"I don't know what my schedule will be-"
"Rog?" Roger watched as Mark's hand blindly reached out and grasped his wrist, stopping him for his mindless strumming. "Is how you got the job that bad?"
"All right…all right… If you must know, Maureen helped me get it." Roger yanked his wrist back and frowned as Mark stifled a laugh. "What! It's a job, isn't it? I ran into Maureen as she was coming back from visiting Joanne at the office, and she decided to tag along. I couldn't get rid of her! We walked into The Lounge and this guy wouldn't give me a chance to audition-"
"I think I got it." Mark laughed. "Maureen helped you get the job."
"I swear the guy was drunk! It was just a kiss…" Roger dropped his head into his hands. "Tell Joanne and I'm dead."
Mark snickered, "Tell Joanne and she won't believe it was to help you. Didn't those two break up last week?"
"They're together again."
"Happy about that, huh?"
The two women were the definition of on-again-off-again relationships. Since Christmas, during Mimi's near death experience, Maureen had toned it down, but, as Mark had said during New Year's Eve, "You can take the girl outta Hicksville, but you can't take the Hicksville outta the girl." They had their patters and their "fair share" of breakups, but, still, the relationship stood.
Roger shrugged, watching Mark carefully. "Why not? Maureen's been hanging around here every night. Sure, she and Mimi have been having a grand time…"
"She's loud?" Mark nodded. "Yeah, I know, the walls are paper thin."
Roger, happy for a fraction of a second that Mark couldn't see, blushed as he thought of what else Mark had heard through the thin walls. He shook the thought of his head and said, "It's not like I hate Maureen; she's just…dramatic."
"At least she lets you and Mimi spend some time alone, when I'm with her she's practicing her protest speeches." Mark tilted his head toward Roger. "She's thinking about working on an environmental protest. Something about too many factories and waste management not doing their job… I'm not entirely sure myself."
Roger nodded. "Yeah, she told me about this costume she was fixing up. She'll be the globe. I can't imagine-"
"I think I can. She described it to me pretty well."
Shit, Roger stopped short, why can't I remember he can't see?
"Something wrong?"
Okay, Davis, let's try this again.
Shoots-
"No. It's nothing." Roger sighed… "Mimi, Joanne, and Maureen are having a girl's day so I'm basically free. What's on your agenda?"
And-
"Well normally I would be outside filming-"
Misses by a mile!
"-but since I can't, I'm as free as a bird."
Okay… Repair.
"How about you and I hang out? We haven't really been out of the loft together since November."
"I guess other things have been going one." Mark said.
Okay, missed again.
Throw me a friggin'' bone!
Roger sighed. "How about it?"
"I dunno…There isn't much I can do because of this." Mark frowned as he gestured to his eyes.
"We can think of something else, if you want. Aren't you itching to get out of the loft?"
"I guess…"
"Besides, Mimi and the girls are going to drop by here soon. They left a message on the answering machine when you were in the shower." Roger grinned. "Why didn't you let me help you?"
"Thanks, but I'm trying to save as much dignity as I can. It wasn't too bad."
Roger smirked as he watched the heat rise to Mark's cheek as the filmmaker turned his head. There was nothing sexual about Mark's feelings toward Roger, but that didn't mean he was all right with the fact that he needed help bathing. Understandably, Roger let Mark try to get back to the normal routine without his help; he understood that the whole aspect was humiliating to Mark.
Running a hand through his hair as he leaned his fender guitar against the seat and hopped off the windowsill seat. "Want me to play the message?" Roger's finger hovered above the black button of the answering machine.
"Why not?" Mark shrugged, picking himself off the windowsill to head towards the brown couch.
Beep.
"Hey Rog!" Mimi's voice shouted through the message as Maureen shouted her own ecstatic "hello!" and Joanne placed in a polite "hi" before returning back to Mimi's voice. "We're eating some lunch at the Life Café and then we'll be stopping by. We've got this surprise, a gift for Mark. I'll admit, at first I was a little hesitant, but, it's so cute! Tell Mark not to worry, he'll love it! Love you, bye!"
Beep. End of messages.
"Another surprise?" Mark shifted slightly as Roger plopped down onto the cushion next to him. "It's not my birthday; they know that."
Roger rolled his eyes, ruffling Mark's hair. "They love you. Deal with it. Besides, was the last surprise to horrible?"
"No." Mark sighed, thinking of the heated loft. "It was more of Benny's gift though; the girls helped clean up."
"Would you stop being so modest?" Roger laughed. "Just take the gift and stuff it in you room. Whatever."
Mark laughed.
"Knock! Knock!" Maureen's screech blasted through the air. "Anybody home?"
"Where else would they be?" Mimi's voice questioned from behind the door. "We called to tell them we were going to stop by with Mark's gift-"
"The best gift!" Maureen confirmed loudly.
"Maureen!" Joanne reprimanded. "Calm down!"
"Sorry Pookie."
"Roger!" Mimi's voice again, along with repeated knocks. "I forgot my key, love. Can you open the door?"
Usually the loft door would never be locked, but with the arrival of Benny he had confronted them about the high statistics of burglaries and murders in their neighborhood, most of which had to do with careless tenants keeping their doors and windows unlocked. Everybody was skeptical. They'd lived in the loft for close to seven years and nobody had ever broken in -with the exception of Benny himself. Only Collins took the bait.
"He's got a point." The anarchist had said. "Besides, what's the harm in it?"
True. There was no harm. Only good.
"What the hell?" Roger approved before jumping off the couch and locking the loft door. "No harm. No foul."
"Roger! Marky!" Maureen screeched again, "You're going to love this!"
Roger sighed, whispering to Mark, "See what I mean? Dramatic."
"Just open the door." Mark laughed, shoving Roger off the couch.
"Touché!" Roger mocked, hopping off the couch with a smile on his face as Mark's laughter drifted after him. It was nice to hear Mark laugh again. "Keep your pants on Maureen!" he shouted.
Maureen giggled something- "Ow! Sorry Pookie."
Roger unlocked the door and slid it open to find the three women. Joanne, dark-skinned lawyer dressed in her usual suit, had her arms folded across her chest looking anywhere but Maureen. Maureen, clad in tight black jeans and a leopard skinned top, in turn, held a petite hand on Joanne's elbow mumbling something about forgiveness and pity. Mimi, eyes glowing brightly with her arms behind her back, looked up to Roger with the most innocent face she could ever muster as she bounced up and down on her toes. She wore a causal pair of dark, blue jeans and a white blouse.
"Ahem." Mimi cleared her throat, elbowing Maureen as she did so.
"Oh! Sorry." Maureen turned her attention towards Roger and grinned up at him. "Are you going to let us in?"
Roger looked over his shoulders and found an amused expression lining Mark's face as his lips curved in an upwards arch. He turned his attention back to the three women on his doorstep and questioned, "What's the surprise?"
Mimi simply rolled her eyes before pushing past her boyfriend and heading into the loft. "You'll see!"
"Wait…" Roger eyed the burden Mimi carried with a suspicious eye. "You didn't…"
"Didn't what?" Mark questioned, cringing as Maureen fawned over him and Joanne yelled at Maureen.
"Maureen! Leave the boy alone!" Joanne scolded. She made her way toward Mark and placed a kiss on the top of his head, very motherly. "How are you feeling today Mark?"
"I'm fine." Mark replied, used to Joanne's mother hen ways. "So? What's the surprise?"
"Anxious?" Maureen questioned. "Well, you are going to love it!"
"So you've said…" Roger said, kneeling down to get a better look at the surprise. "How the hell did you afford this?"
"It wasn't expensive," Joanne stated. "The three of us chipped in."
"What is it?" Mark questioned, suddenly forgetting the modesty of getting a present. "Are you going to tell me or keep it a secret?"
Mimi bounded forward and grabbed Mark's wrist carefully. "Come here," she let him towards the gray box and cautiously made him kneel down on the black carpet. "Stay here. It really is a nice gift, Mark."
"What the hell?" Mark recoiled back slightly. "What is that smell?"
"Seems like your gift had an accident." Roger laughed as Mimi reached over to swap his arm. "Geez… this thing is going to make such a mess."
"Hello! Is anybody going to answer my question?" Mark shifted into an Indian-style position on the floor.
Mimi grinned as she opened the box and reached out to grab the gift. Squealing slightly, ignoring the look Roger gave her, Mimi reached over and promptly plopped the gift into Mark's lap. "What do you think?"
"A dog?" Mark asked incredulously.
Ruff! Ruff! The bundle of joy in Mark's arms yipped excitedly.
The soft fur was a dead giveaway. Mark had never had a dog before but he knew it couldn't be a cat, cat's had pointy ears and a different tail. This dog, Mark felt, was very bouncy and carefree. A tongue suddenly slipping over his face in sloppy, wet kiss as a very distinct nose nudged his cheek.
"Bingo!" Maureen chuckled at her own joke.
Roger fell from his knees and onto his butt as he scooted closer to the dog. "Please tell me you did not name the dog Bingo."
"Of course not," Joanne said. "Maureen wanted to at first but we decided that since its Mark's dog Mark should name him."
Mark laughed as the dog's paws dug into his chest and a muzzle nudged his cheeks with licks. "It's really all of our dogs. We can name him whatever you want. I am assuming it is a male?"
"Why don't you check?" Roger laughed, another whack from Mimi landing on his arm. He turned to her and frowned as he said, "You know you're stronger than you look."
Mimi stuck her tongue at him. "It's rightfully your dog Mark, you name him. Besides, he seems to have already taken to you."
Maureen patted the dog's head. "He was afraid of us when we saw him in the pound; it took a while for him to open up to us."
"Does anybody think "him" sounds like a great name? I mean- Ow! Okay. Okay." Roger scooted back slightly as Mimi raised her hand to whack him again. "Name the damn dog Mark before I get a bruise."
"Can you at least describe him to me?" Mark requested.
Joanne started, "A mixed breed. One large black spot on his back and another half-way on his tail. Smooth brown fur, not the kind that sheds, but soft nonetheless -as you can tell from the feel." She patted the dog's head and fingered his ears. "Large floppy ears, they go down to his cheeks."
Mimi picked up from there. "Large brown eyes, a deeper brown shade than mine. The usual wet, black nose-"
"He's so adorable!" Maureen cut in. "He comes up to your ankle- maybe a bit more. He's not too small but he's not too large either. We got him a blue collar and Joanne bought some tags to show where he lives if he gets out. We'll get another tag with his name on tomorrow!"
The dog yipped happily as Roger scratched the dog's stomach. "Well? What do you think?"
Roger watched Mark pause, scratching the dog's floppy ears thoughtfully. He only guessed that Mark was trying to imagine the brown eyes. The feel of the brown fur was anything but fluffy, more like smooth silk. Grinning, Roger smiled as Mark brought the dog closer to inspect him through his sightless eyes, a smile working its way up Mark's face as the dog licked his nose.
Mark grinned. "Blink. His name can be Blink."
"Blink," Maureen announced, giggling as the dog whipped his head towards her. "Oh, Marky, he knows his name!"
Mimi pecked Roger on the cheek before standing up, the other two women following her lead. "We'd better leave, there are still a lot of things we were planning to do. Can we leave Blink with the two of you?"
"It's a dog, not a baby." Roger rolled his eyes as he climbed off of the floor and cautiously grabbed Mark's arms to help him into a standing position, Blink still in his arms licking his face excitedly.
Joanne glared as she shoved a blue leash into Roger's hand. "Treat it as the same concept. This is a puppy, there may be a difference but there is still a similarity, be careful."
"It's no problem," Mark reassured the dark-skinned woman. "Roger had a dog. Right Rog? Skippy?"
"Ah, the hellhound Chihuahua," Roger confirmed and off Mimi's odd look he added, "He was frisky."
Maureen giggled. "I remember that story! You said something about Skippy and a Poodle!"
"Don't," Joanne stated sternly as she grabbed Maureen's wrist and dragged the woman out of the loft. "See you guys later! Take care of Blink!"
"See ya later." Mimi gave Mark a small hug and patted Blink on the head before moving on to trap Roger in an affectionate kiss. "You be good, love."
"Always." Roger whispered against her lips before letting her go.
"Thanks Mimi." Mark smiled as he shifted the dog in his arms.
"It's no problem." Mimi smiled softly, squeezing Mark's hand in her own. She pecked him on the cheek and gave Roger one last hug. "Well, I guess I better get going. We'll have take out for dinner, okay? Chinese, my treat."
The two men nodded and the girls were gone.
"So?" Mark sighed as he ruffled Blink's ears. "What do we do now?"
"Same thing we were going to. Go out."
"What about Blink? We can't leave him here alone."
"Geez, Mark, why the hell would we do that? It's a dog. We'll take him with us. Here, give em' to me for a second…" Roger clutched the leash in his hand as he walked up to the brown bundle in Mark's hands, reaching his hands to grab the dog-
Grrrr… Blink bared his white teeth, fully developed and very sharp. Ruff! Ruff!
Roger snapped back, Blink's bared teeth just inches away from his fingers. "Shit! That dog's got somethin' against me."
Mark laughed. He shifted Blink in his arms, smiling as the dog licked his cheek. "Give me the leash."
"Whatever." Roger rolled his eyes. "Just don't drop him. Mimi'd kill me if we killed that dog already."
Mark sighed; trying to keep his grip on the dog in his arm as he skillfully unraveled the leash and used his fingers to open up the head of it. Mark patted Blink's head before carefully slinking the leash over the dog's head. He pulled it securely and dropped the handle-half of the leash. "That good?" Mark tilted his head to where he thought Roger stood.
Roger simply stared.
"Rog? Hey, did I get it on right?" Mark furrowed his eyebrows in a confused manner. He held out the leash and placed Blink on the loft floor. "Rog? Can you hold this for a second; I need to get my coat and glasses."
Roger took the leash numbly, still staring stupidly at the place where Mark was standing. He watched Mark leave the room and chuckled slightly as Blink scrambled across the wooden floor to where Mark had disappeared to. Paws clicking on the wood, Blink promptly yipped and fell. Shaking his head, Roger questioned, "Damn, how'd you do that?"
"Do what?" Mark called from his bedroom, grabbing his jacket. No longer did he have the blood-stained corduroy jacket, his new one was a slick black one with brown stripes down the arms. "You mean the leash thing?" He turned the collar down and felt his way towards the arm of the couch where his sunglasses lay. "I don't know."
"How do you not know?"
Mark chuckled. "I dunno. I work with my hands. There are so many different buttons on my camera that I've gotten used to the fact that I don't need to look down to see everything that's there. I just know. The leash thing is sort of the same way; I use my sense of touch and feel what's going on around me. Stupid, huh?"
"No. I understand." Roger nodded, handing the leash back to Mark so he could get his leather jacket on.
"Really? You don't think it's crazy?"
"You're a lot of things Mark, but crazy is definitely not one of em'. Trust me on this." Roger shrugged, besides the more he thought about it the more he realized he was the same way with his guitar. The exact same way. He sighed, "Damn, why does it have to be so cold?"
Blink jumped onto Mark's legs and Mark bent down to pick the yapping puppy up. "It's always cold in New York. Get used to it."
"Whatever. I've got your camera, let's go." Roger scoffed, he moved to open the door and ushered Mark out. "You know, I think Blink is in love."
Mark glared from behind his sunglasses and let out a mumbled curse as Roger ruffled his hair again. They walked outside together, Roger keeping a safe arm on Mark's shoulder as Mark held Blink close to his chest so the puppy wouldn't get away.
Ruff!! Blink barked. Ruff!! Ruff!!
Roger cast a suspicious glance around their surroundings and found a suspicious man eyeing them carefully. Involuntarily, he squeezed the hold on Mark's camera and Mark's shoulder before picking up the pace. "Come on."
"Something wrong?"
"No. Nothing."
Roger looked over his shoulder to make sure the man was gone. Any other day, if Mark wasn't there, Roger probably would've stuck around to see what the man's deal was, but that wasn't the case. Mark was there, he was visually impaired, and Roger knew he couldn't make sure Mark was kept safe if the man had other friends somewhere. He knew he had to do what was best for both of them, Roger knew after all those years of Mark taking care of him it was now his turn to take care of Mark. There were no chances to take right now-
Ruff!!
Blink's bark made Roger snap his head up and freeze in his tracks. They almost ran right into oncoming traffic.
Way to go Davis. Roger thought to himself. You talk about wanting to help Mark and then you nearly get him killed. Yourself included.
"Rog? You okay?" Mark's meek voice echoed through his ear.
"Sorry." Roger hung his head, stopping as a car zoomed across the street in front of them. "I guess I kind of zoned out again."
"You okay?" Mark repeated.
Roger gave Mark a reassuring smile before letting it fall flat. He kept forgetting Mark couldn't see anything. "Yeah. It's nothing."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah." Roger said more confidently this time, patting Blink's head in silent thanks. "Let's get going."
Mark seemed content with this answer and let it go.
Roger sighed, "So…why Blink? I mean, you told us to describe the dog to us and you choose Blink?"
"Out of the limb, I guess." Mark shrugged. "Usually you've got the dogs that are named after what they look like: Fluffy if he's soft, Spot if he's got spots, and so on and so forth. Than there's the names of the dogs on how they act: Skippy, like your dog, because he was carefree, Speedy if he's fast, and others like that. Of course there are also the people that name their dogs after people or objects they resemble-"
"So Blink is for what?" Roger questioned, sidestepping a crack in the street and dodging two slow cars. "Something a dog does?"
"Not just dogs. Everybody," Mark confirmed, shifting Blink and pushing his sunglasses further up his nose. "Everybody blinks. It's such a simple function, the opening and closing of the eyelid… I don't know. I just thought that maybe I'd make some light out of… eyes." Mark paused. "Crazy?"
"Complicated," Roger said. "You're thinking too much."
"As opposed to…?"
"Shut up."
Mark laughed. "So, where are we going?"
"Going?" Roger smiled and held his arms out wide. "We're here!"
Mark sniffed the air. "Foul stench, gloomy air… Only one place I know that feels like that."
Tompkins Square Park. Once upon a time, Maureen's protests were mainly held in this area until a particularly bad night got ten people arrested and one man dead after he was trampled to death. -from then on protests were held in the space. Many homeless people camped on and under the benches of the park, scattered around keeping family-friendly people far away. This was even where Mimi was found.
"Why here?" Mark questioned, stepping over the curb and onto the uneven grass.
Roger smiled. "They're closing the park, did you hear? I heard they're thinking of relocating all the homeless people and everything is going to be reconstructed and reopened sometime next year. I thought we could spend one last time here, the way it used to be."
"Sensitive Roger? I'm impressed."
Roger laughed as he kicked an empty beer bottle away from Mark's path. "Whatever. I'm glad they're fixing this hellhole up. It's unsafe."
"When have you ever cared about that before?"
Roger shrugged uselessly, kicking another bottle. "This place has too many memories, ya know? Mimi was living here, we used to come here all the time to walk around, I took April here, and… I don't know- I just-"
"You wanted to say goodbye?" Mark filled in with a nod. "I understand. I've got a lot of memories here too." He kneeled down slowly and carefully placed Blink onto the grass, patting the dog on the head before letting him go run around the park. He gripped the leash tightly in his hand as he followed Blink.
Roger walked in step with Mark as he kept a careful eye on Blink. "What memories do you have?"
"I filmed here everyday, this was where I first met Maureen and April, and… Roger, didn't I tell you?" Mark hung his head. "I did tell you, right?"
"What? Did something happen here? I mean, I know you got mugged a tons of times but…" Roger's eyes widened. "Mark, you didn't get hurt here, did you?" He hoped to any forces in the world that he wouldn't have to elaborate on how hurt he meant.
"No!" Mark said a bit too quickly for Roger's liking. "No, it's not like that!"
Roger cocked a brow. "I'm not sure what you mean."
"Like Mimi, I lived here." Mark cleared his throat uncomfortably, pulling Blink's leash.
Placing his hands on Mark's shoulders, Roger stopped the blond man suddenly. Mark turned, zoning in on Blink's bark and not Roger's voice as his friend questioned, "You never told me this after the seven years I've known you? That night I talked to you, in jail, you said you were living with Benny…"
"I didn't know Benny was living here." Mark defended himself. "When I came here I didn't know anybody."
"How long?"
"Did I live here?" Mark scratched his cheek. "Maybe… A month… It wasn't that big a deal."
"A month!" Roger yelled, ignoring the yapping barks of Blink. "Jeezus, man…"
Roger surveyed the area. Tompkins Square Park was like a third home to the bohemians -the second being Life Café and the first, obviously, being the loft- and, although Roger held the park close to his heart, he couldn't even imagine living at Tompkins. Why the city never fixed it up sooner Roger would never know. Beer bottles, soda cans, empty cigarette packs and crumpled up papers flying everywhere -it was anything but a haven. Homeless people lined the sidewalks and drug dealers roamed the corners as children ran right by them as if they were nothing. So many murderers, druggies, poor people…
Nobody could live there.
"It really wasn't horrible," Mark stammered, fumbling over his feet as he walked through a particularly grassy area. "I had my camera and it didn't rain. It was more horrible for everybody else; I was lucky enough to run into Benny."
Roger squeezed Mark's arm, a silent gesture signaling the man to stop. Wiping a hand through his hair, Roger looked to Mark and frowned. "Just because you were lucky enough to find Benny doesn't mean it should've happened."
"I can survive out here for a few measly months. All it took was food and shelter to get me back on my feet. There are others who stay here for years, without food, they've got it worse off." Mark said, the seriousness in his voice and unbeatable expression lacing his frown making Mark's words seem real. "Besides, that's how I got the idea for my first documentary before combining it with AIDS."
"I thought Proof Positive was about us."
"It is. New York life with AIDS and the homeless, it's all part of our lifestyle. I guess it just depends how you look at it."
"Well you look into it too much." Roger laughed.
"Yeah…"
Roger seemed to notice his discomfort and frowned. "Come on," he announced, trying to change the sudden bad mood as he grabbed Mark's arm and dragged the blond towards a clearing in the park. "We can go over here!"
Mark rolled his sunglasses upwards as he tried to keep up with Roger, yet still keep a tight hold on Blink. "And what, pray tell, are we going to do?"
"Anything but reminisce. We've been having too many heart-to-hearts these past weeks." Roger ginned as he watched Mark laugh. "How about that? It's working already."
They ended up staying at the park for three hours doing anything they could think of: talking, walking, and filming. Blink had turned out to be a terrific companion that they could play catch with and be amused by his puppy antics. Roger was still having difficulty with the notion that his friend was blind and couldn't do what they would normally do. Still, whenever Roger looked to Mark it seemed that the blond had no problems with just hanging out in the park. It was as if nothing was wrong. He never even asked Roger for the camera, just told Roger "…hold it steady, straight, and make sure the image isn't blurry."
He's got no problems with his visual loss, Roger thought, holding the camera out in front of his eye as he watched Mark and Blink. Why do I have a problem with this?
"Rog?"
Mark's concerned voice echoed through his ears causing Roger to snap up with an intellectual, "Hmm?"
More concern laced his voice. "Are you all right? You're zoning out again. Are you going to tell me what's on your mind or not?"
"Nah." Roger laughed. "I think I'll keep ya guessing."
"S' not funny, you know?"
"Sorry." Roger sighed, letting the camera down as he walked towards his friend. "I guess everything from the past few weeks are finally catching up to me."
"Wanna talk about it? It might help."
"Shouldn't I be asking you that?"
"Maybe." Mark shrugged. "So, what's up?"
"It's just…" Roger shook his head, before adding, "Are you sure about this video deal?"
"What do you mean?"
"Dr. Cork said that your mind is fragile. Anything could happen and I just… I just don't want to see you come out of this worse than you already are." Roger looked to the New York sky. "I mean… visually."
Everybody knows your handling this well.
Too well…
Mark patted Blink's head thoughtfully. "I think it's a risk to take, don't you? My vision, it's either going to get better or it's going to get worse -there's no telling until I find out if it's really about my mind. Nothings wrong physically, it has to be mentally." Mark hung his head, freely letting Blink lick his face. "I'm hopeless."
"You said next week is when we watch the video. You've still got time to remember." Roger closed the distance and squeezed Mark's shoulders confidently. "You are never hopeless. You're stronger than you look Mark. Don't forget that."
"Another heart-to-heart?" Mark chuckled, climbing to his feet with Roger's aide.
Roger smirked. "I'm full of em'."
Mark laughed. "You're full of something. Hot air?"
Roger smacked Mark upside the head. "Let's get out of here, it's about to rain. Dark clouds."
"Murky air," Mark confirmed. "Guess this'll be the last time we're at Tompkins until next year."
"Yeah." Roger brought the camera up to his eye and cranked the handle. "April 21st, 5:00 PM, Eastern Standard Time. Roger Davis and Mark Cohen say their goodbyes to Tompkins Square Park. A place full of memories that could never be forgotten or replaced…" He brought the camera down again and turned it off. "Too cheesy?"
Mark smiled slightly as he picked up Blink and carried the exhausted dog back towards the loft. "Not horrible."
"Not good either. I'll stick to the guitar."
XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX
"Are you really that worried about him?" Mimi questioned, squeezing Roger closer to her as she tugged the blankets tighter around their bodies. "He seems be taking everything well, considering. Are you sure you aren't thinking too much into it?"
"You've known Mark for two years, Mimi." Roger said, letting out a deep breath. "I've known Mark for seven years. He always gets like this when something happens that he can't deal with. It happened when his father died…"
"I thought they weren't that close."
"They weren't, but Mark's father died just one year after Mark came to New York. He said nothing was wrong, went on as if nothing happened and didn't talk to anybody for three months. Those same three months he cried himself to sleep." Roger frowned and shook his head. "I didn't know him well enough to say anything about it, so I left him alone."
"You couldn't have known."
"He's not fine Mimi." Roger turned and brushed his finger down Mimi's cheek. "He's never fine. He blames himself."
"For what?"
"Not remembering."
Mimi frowned. "That's not his fault."
"It doesn't matter."
"He doesn't talk about it."
"That's the thing. Mark doesn't talk about his feelings."
"Sure he does!" Mimi cut in suddenly. "We talked the night after he got back from the clinic."
Roger moved his finger over his lips in unspoken silence. "You talked about his feelings or you talked about your own?"
"Well…it started out with him for a while. It didn't go anywhere." Mimi averted her eyes suddenly. "I see what you mean."
"He's subtle about it." Roger nodded. "It takes a while for Mark to open up, sometimes willingly, but, most of the time, it's unexpected. Today in the park was an exception, he worked things out without having to say much yet…things were still said." Roger furrowed his eyebrows. "Does that make sense?"
"Of course." Mimi smiled. "It's so cute too. You're like brothers, you and Mark. An unspoken language that passes between you two."
"Seven years," Roger emphasized. "It's hard not to get close after that long of a time." He shook his head. "How was your day?"
Mimi grinned. "Can't tell you."
"What?"
"Think of it as a Girl's Night Out Code. Nobody's business what anybody does." Mimi turned so her back was facing Roger. "Nothing happened. We had a good time hanging out together."
"Is that so?" Roger ran his hand up and down Mimi's arm. "Are you still having a good night?"
"Hmmm?" Mimi looked up and was suddenly locked in a kiss with Roger. She smiled against his lips before pulling away and placing a finger against his shoulder, "You should know love, I've been out all day and I'm dead tired." Mimi laughed at his frown. "If that wasn't so pathetic it'd be cute!"
"Fine." Roger flopped down on his back. "Good night Meems."
"Good night love." Mimi sighed. Sleep at last…
Suddenly-
"Mimi?"
"Yes Roger?" She mumbled into her pillow, not really paying attention.
"Why'd you three decide to get Mark a dog?"
Internally, Mimi rolled her eyes. Mark again? "He needs a companion. He may not open to us but he can open up to a dog -somebody who won't say anything back and won't judge him for what he says. A dog will love you for you, caring and loving."
"Oh…"
"Something wrong?"
"No… I guess."
Mimi turned around and found Roger staring up at the ceiling with the one of the most serious expressions lacing his green eyes. She turned back over to face him and placed a petite hand across his shoulder comfortingly. "Roger?"
Roger turned to look at her, a sudden loving, yet blank, expression on his face. "It was a good thing to do."
He is worried about Mark. There's nothing wrong though, Mimi thought as she just nodded to Roger's statement. He still looked too serious. Is there…?
"I love you." Roger whispered, stroking her cheek with his finger.
Mimi whispered back, "What's on your mind?"
"Everything…"