Note: Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I'm glad you guys are liking little Maria and her interactions with Roger. She'll interact more with the other Bohos as time goes by. Don't worry, Roger and Benny won't be alone much longer... Also, on just a formatting note, the site's being all weird and not letting me put the horizontal division line in so for this chapter, I'll just bold the first word of each new section. Just as a lil "okay, we're switching places/people now"...make sense? Thanks for reading!

Mimi swung open the door to the studio apartment. She kicked off her shoes and shut the door behind her. The phone started to ring.

"Hello?"

"Hola, mi chica."

"Mama, hola," she said, smiling to hear her mother's voice.

"Why have you not called your madre?"

"I'm sorry, Mama. I've been working two jobs and I'm tired."

"Mimi-chica, you better be taking care of yourself."

"I am, Mama."

"When are you quitting that restaurant?"

"As soon as they find someone to replace me."

Her mother sighed.

"I'm all right, Mama."

"I know, I know. I just worry about mi hija."

"Well don't. Or try not to, okay? I'm fine."

"Mimi, you just make sure you take care of yourself."

"I will, Mama."

"Okay then."

"I gotta go make some dinner, though, Mama."

"Okay. You call me one of these days."

"Yes, Mama. I love you."

"And I love you."

"Bye."

"Adios."

Mimi hung up and rubbed her eyes. She hated working two jobs, but it was a necessity at the moment. The café alone didn't pay enough and the camera shop was only a part-time thing. She sat on the second-hand sofa and rummaged through her coat pocket for the business card from Angel. Angel Dumott Schunard.

Two months into the new school year, Maria turned six. She informed Roger that she wanted to spend her birthday the same way she always did—first a special trip with Uncle Benny and then time with Daddy before a party. She'd even asked Roger if Mrs. Cohen and Mr. Mark could come.

Right on schedule, Benny arrived at the Davis house, knocking loudly.

"It's open!" Roger called.

Benny swung open the door and looked around. "Hey man, just me."

"Uncle Benny!" Maria squealed, running down the hallway. Benny smiled and swung her up into his arms.

"Hey there, munchkin! You ready to go?"

"Aw-most."

"Okay, well, why don't you go get ready while I say hi to your dad?" Benny suggested, setting her down.

Maria scampered off down the hall towards her room.

"Roger?"

"In here, man," he called from the kitchen. Benny wandered in and found his friend washing dishes.

"How you doin'?"

Roger shrugged. "Okay."

"You got anything planned for her birthday?"

"Oh yeah, meant to tell you. We're gonna have a cake here Saturday afternoon. Two o' clock."

"Great. I'll be here."

"I'm ready, Uncle Benny!"

"Come say goodbye, Mar," Roger said.

Maria ran in, slowing to a stop as she saw them. "Oops! Sorry, Daddy."

"All right. Come give me a hug," he said.

Roger leaned over and hugged her tightly.

"You listen to Uncle Benny, okay?"

"I will."

"And behave yourself."

"I know, Daddy."

"And don't talk to any strangers."

"Daddy! I knowed all that," she sighed.

Roger laughed and kissed her cheek. "Okay. You have fun with Uncle Benny."

"Okay. Love you, Daddy."

"Love you too, princess."

"We'll be back 'round eight."

"Sounds good. Enjoy your birthday date, Mar."

"We will. I've got a couple of surprises for my girl," Benny said, winking at Roger.

Maria giggled and held Benny's hand.

"You two have fun. Mar, grab your coat."

"It's by the door, Daddy."

Roger nodded and walked them to the door. When he'd waved them off, he returned to the kitchen and sighed. Six years old. Six years since April had died. Roger sat down at the table and put his head in his hands.

Angel sat at her desk, staring at the design in front of her. The phone rang.

"Yes?"

"Ms. Marquez for you on line one," the secretary said.

"Put her through."

A minute later, Angel heard Mimi's voice came through the line. "Angel?"

"The one and only. How is my Mimi-chica?"

"Great! I quit the diner."

"Oh good! I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks."

"You still coming down to the studio tomorrow?"

"Yeah, long as you still need me."

Angel laughed. "A designer always needs her muse."

"Then of course I'll be there."

"Great," Angel said, glancing at her office clock. "Oh! Damn, honey, I'm gonna be late for a meeting."

"Oh, I'll let you go then. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Kisses, chica."

"Kisses."

Mimi hung up and smiled. Angel had been such a help. She insisted on paying Mimi for sitting for her. She said it was the same as any other model who'd come in. Mimi loved hanging out with Angel, both in and out of the studio. Life felt like it was finally going right.

Maureen wandered into the den and found Mark reading. She loved watching him. He always had the same look on his face when he read: eyebrows scrunched, lips dropped into a slight frown that looked almost like a pout. Now as she watched, Maureen saw his lips barely moving along with his eyes, mouthing the words.

"You're confused," she said.

"Huh?" Mark looked up, startled by her presence.

"You're confused."

He blushed slightly. "That obvious?"

She shrugged. "You only mouth the words when you're rereading something. And you only reread something if you don't understand the first time."

A corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. "You know me too well."

"And yet I still love you," she teased.

Mark laughed and set the book down. "Come here," he said.

"What?" she asked, crossing the room.

"Just want you to sit with me," he said, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her down to him.

Mark kissed her and pulled back. "Hey, I almost forgot to tell you. Roger called. He's having a birthday cake for Maria."

Maureen nodded. "Mar told me all about it. She insists that we come and begged me to make Mr. Mark come too."

Mark laughed. "She's adorable."

"Yeah…I worry about Roger though."

Mark frowned. "Why?"

"He just seems…lonely, you know?"

He nodded. "Yeah…he hasn't dated since April died."

"That's six years."

"Well he's been raising his daughter. Hasn't exactly had the time."

"He needs to make the time."

Mark shrugged. "Maybe now that Maria's getting older…"

"Oh! You know what we should do?"

"Oh no…"

"We should set him up!"

"Maureen…."

"No, I'm serious! We should totally set him up. It would be good for him."

"Roger may not like that."

"Well there's no harm in trying."

"And who do you propose we set him up with?"

Maureen shrugged. "Don't you have some colleague or contact who's single? Your secretary or someone?"

Mark thought for a minute and shook his head. "No…"

"Oh! Wait, what about that social worker?"

"What social worker?"

"The lady you meet with every month. She was supposed to come for dinner a couple weeks ago but had to cancel…I can't remember her name."

"Joanne?"

"Yes! What about her?"

Mark thought for a minute. "I could ask her. See if she'd be interested."

Maureen clapped her hands together, giggly. "Goody! This will be fun."

"Well, while you're in such a good mood, I've been thinking…we both love having Maria over and Cindy's kids too…"

"Yeah?"

"So, um, what if we had some?"

"Some what?"

Mark smiled, trying not to blush. "Kids."

"Like a family of our own?"

"Yeah."

Maureen's eyes widened, darting around the room. "Wow, baby, um…I don't know… that's a big…I think we should think some more about it."

Mark nodded. "Okay…"

The oven buzzer went off and Maureen jumped from his lap. "We'll talk later, baby."

As sprinted to the kitchen, all Maureen could think was how much she didn't want to have that conversation.