A/N: It's ALIIIIIIIIIVE! I finally got back into the groove. I don't know if anyone will even bother to read this anymore, but this chapter took a lot of thinking and work.

December 27h, 1991 10:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time

After a couple false starts, breakfast and getting ready, Maddie and I are finally ready to leave the Hilton. However, for once in my life, I want to make things right with my parents. I pick up the phone and dial their number. I'm so used to people screening their calls that I'm taken by surprise when my mom picks up the phone on the second ring.

"Hi, Ma," I say, my voice cracking a little.

"Mark! I thought for sure you'd given up on us."

"Nah. Mads and I are actually going back home soon, but we wanted to swing by and say goodbye. Is that all right? Has Dad cooled off yet?"

"I think so. Your sister and I both bawled him out after you left, so he should be civil. You might even get an apology."

"A Christmas miracle, huh? Anyway, I'll see you in a couple minutes."

I hung up the phone, and looked back up at Maddie. I notice that she's not wearing her wig.

"There's no use hiding it anymore, Mark. Your parents know, there's no use covering it up." I nod and shoulder my duffel bag of clothes. I forgot that Maddie and I weren't planning to be back until New Year's- I packed way too much.

We climb back into Maddie's car after confirming with the maitre' d that we're not paying for last night. Once again, I drive as Maddie's already taken her pills for the day.

"I can't believe I'm going back. I keep going back there, even though my dad always says such hurtful things to me. I thought I was smarter than that."

"Well, maybe sometimes your heart has to overrule your head," Maddie said wisely. "Still, it could be worse."

"Oh, really?"

"Your dad could have said those things to you sober." And, instantly, my life goes back into perspective.

"Mark? Has your dad ever… hit you? Y'know, gotten violent?"

I sigh. "…He's an alcoholic. He can't control himself. You saw him yesterday."

"I can't believe you're making excuses for him now…. Those marks on your ribs that I saw last night- are those from him?"

"Those are from the last time I came home. Five years ago. The day I dropped out of Brown. The next day I moved to New York."

"Damn. You still have marks from five years ago? What did he do to you?"

"It's not important now."

"No wonder you don't talk about him."

Suddenly, we're back at the house. This time, when we arrive at the house, my nephews aren't here to greet us. We go as fast as we can on the icy walk, holding each other up. I ring the doorbell, but we don't wait for my mom to open the door- I'm too worried about Maddie catching cold.

The house is pretty quiet. My mom comes bustling out of the kitchen. "Oh, good, it's you. Harry!" she calls up the stairs. "Your son is back." She turns back to us. "Come in, come in! Make yourself comfy!"

Maddie grins at me as we take off and hang up our coats. My mom leads us to my living room, where Maddie flop onto the old couch, which still looks and feels exactly the same way as I remember. (Knowing Ma, it's probably been in plastic wrap since the day I left.)

"I haven't gotten the chance to say mazel tov!" My mom beams from her seat across the coffee table from us.

"Th-thanks, Ma," I stammer, taken off guard.

"You're welcome. Now, I'd like to know a little more about my future daughter-in-law," she turned to Maddie, who looked the slightest bit uncomfortable.

"Well, um, you know the most important things about me. I'm a junior at NYU, I've had leukemia for three years… and I love your son very, very much." This last part came out almost as a whisper. I watched my mom soften- I really can't tell how she feels about Maddie yet.

"I know you must feel weird about me coming out of the blue and announcing that I was going to marry your son, and I understand that. But I really love him. I don't know how long I have, Mrs. Cohen, but I'd like to spend whatever time I have with him."

"Of course, dear," my mom says. I feel like she wanted to say something critical, but now she just doesn't have the heart. "Now, have you and Mark talked about the wedding?"

"Only very briefly," I answer, catching Maddie's eyes.

"When should it be? Next year? The year after?" She peered at Maddie, who probably had the most say on the matter.

"Well, I'm still in school, but… I definitely want to be married in the fall- September or October, when the weather's still golden… And I want to be married at home, just in case… my family can't get to New York." I knew what she was thinking, and she wasn't worried about her family. "…Is eight months too short a time to plan a wedding? A real, out-and-out wedding?"

"It shouldn't be," my mother conceded. I could see my tough old mom melting towards this bald stranger. I never thought Ma would trust anyone I brought home again after I made the mistake of inviting her to the loft and introducing her to Maureen, Roger and Collins. She left the loft, screaming in Yiddish, to hide behind the safety of my answering machine. But Maddie is different, a blind man could see that. Maybe my parents might see, too.

My mom suddenly stood up. "I'm going to see if I can convince your dad to apologize. Mazel tov again, Mark, Maddie." She hurried upstairs, and I could hear her calling for my dad.

"Mads, that was great!" I say, putting my arm around her and pulling her close. "I think my mom would marry you if she wasn't so worried about my sex life." Maddie rolled her eyes, giggling at me.

"She shouldn't be," Maddie whispered in my ear. I immediately turned twenty different shades of pink, especially when I saw my mother forcing my father down the stairs. Even though Dad's already passed judgment on my sex life, I still think it would be worse to flaunt the fact that Maddie and I are actually sleeping together now. I grab Maddie's hand, as a signal for her to stop. I learn over and whisper "I love you," before my father halts directly in front of me.

"Hi, Dad," I try.

"Good morning, Mr. Cohen," Maddie says, in her best perky voice. Dad acknowledges her, at least, with a grunt. At least she isn't ignored like his only son.

"Harry," my mother says, in her best Jewish-mother-guilt voice, "don't you have something to say to your son and future daughter-in-law?" Maddie and I exchange a glance there. It's not lost on my dad.

"What did you two come here for anyway?"

"Well," I clear my throat. I try to recall the speech I made up in the car. "I wanted you to know that I'd met someone, someone who I loved, and who loved me back. I wanted you to know to know I loved someone enough to marry them, even when there are major obstacles in our way. Maddie and I are going to build a new life together, if we can. And… I was offering you a way back into my life, my new life with that someone. I know we've had some major blowouts in the past. If you don't want to part of that new life, that's your call." I meet my mother's eyes. "But keep in mind that this is your last shot. If you'd like to continue our game of one-sided phone tag, then that's your call. Dad."

All of a sudden, I understand why Joanne's a lawyer. It's hard to deny the thrill of knowing you've won, that you've made the best argument. Maddie squeezes my arm- I can tell she's proud of me.

I watch my father squirm as he weighs his options, knowing where my mother's vote will fall. Finally he sighs.

"Son, I'm… sorry. For everything. I haven't been fair to you, and I certainly haven't been fair to your lady friend." I realize that Maddie's arm is wrapped around those scars on my ribs. I didn't even notice that they'd been bothering me until just this second. "Can you two forgive me?"

"I… I don't know, Dad," I say, honestly. "But I'm sure going to try." Maddie nodded.

"I'm going to try, too. Maybe I'll clean up my act. Your mother's wanted me to join AA for years." Dad rolled his eyes.

"My dad was in AA," Maddie says quietly. Dad silently stares at her, nods to himself. Finally I stand, pulling Maddie to her feet.

"All right, Dad, Mads and I are going to leave now. I'm glad we had this talk."

"Me too," he grumbles, more like the Dad I always knew. I smile at him, and give my mom a hug, lingering a little longer than I would have in the past.

"Call me," Ma says, looking me straight in the eye. "I mean it, Marky."

"I promise. We'll talk about the wedding." I can see my mother's thrilled about the prospect of seeing me marry. After standing for a moment in the foyer, enjoying the silence, Maddie and I turned and left my mother's house.

A/N: So, I hope anyone who reads this likes it. Please let me know. Next chapter should be Mark and Maddie back in New York, to break the news to the Bohemians. The Wedding shouldn't be far off. We'll see.