Roger glanced over his shoulder at everyone else. Mimi pulled the blanket tighter around her. She didn't like being in front of these people in only a blanket.
"Do you know your name?" Roger asked. Mimi shook her head. "How about what happened to you?"
"No, I don't. Stop asking me these things!"
"We're your friends, we're only trying to help," Angel explained.
"No you're not! I don't know any of you." Roger reached over to comfort Mimi. "Stay away from me!" Mimi pushed past everyone and ran to the closest room she could get to, her and Roger's bedroom. Everyone looked at Roger. Joanne wrapped her arm around Maureen's waist in a source of comfort. Angel went to go try to talk to Mimi.
Mimi slammed the door closed behind her and slid to the ground. She couldn't stand to be with those people out there. They all stared at her as if waiting for her to remember things she didn't. Mimi drew her knees to her chest and began to cry. A knock on the door caused her to jump.
"Mimi?"
"Go away! Leave me alone!"
"Chica, we're only trying to help. I know that you're scared, and we're only trying to talk to you. You have to trust us." Mimi squeezed her eyes shut to try to block out the person's voice. She also felt a pounding headache coming on.
Angel tried in vain to coax her way into Mimi's bedroom. Roger ran his fingers through his hair. Collins was the first to speak.
"Are you sure about not calling 911?" he asked.
"I'm sure. I don't want to traumatize Mimi anymore. I'll, uh; I'll take her to the free clinic in the morning." Angel returned to the group. Collins wrapped his arms around her.
"I'm sorry, Roger," Angel said. "I tried."
"It's not your fault," Roger said sadly. He tried to understand how something like this could have happened to Mimi.
Opening her eyes, Mimi stretched her arms over her head. She was lying on the floor against the door. Mimi got up and began to look around the strange room. She looked at various photos littered across the room. Sunlight danced across the images as Mimi looked at them. Some were just of her, but most were of her and those strange people from the night before. Mimi began to dig through the dresser drawers in search of something to wear.
When the bedroom door opened, Mark looked up. he was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in his hands. After sleeping on the rancid couch all night, Roger was in the shower.
"Good morning," Mark said. Not knowing what to do, Mimi simply stood there in a pair of shorts and a tank top. "Would you like some coffee?"
"I guess so," Mimi replied. Mark got up and grabbed the coffeepot off the hotplate.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Yes." Mark handed Mimi a blue mug filled with coffee. "Thanks, uh…"
"Mark, my name's Mark." It was difficult for Mark to see Mimi like this. She stared at him as if he was a complete stranger, not one of her best friends. Mark could only imagine how Roger was taking this. His lively Mimi, the one thing that held him together, was gone.
Mimi sat on the window seat cradling a full cup of coffee when Roger came out of the bathroom, fully dressed for the day. He was about to give Mimi a kiss when he remembered the events from the previous evening.
"You know, the floor in this dump probably breaks every single health code," he said. Mimi looked up.
"Huh?"
"The floor; you didn't need to sleep on the floor. I saw you when I went go get some clothes."
"I'm sorry I locked you out of your room."
"It's your room too, and it's not the first time you've locked me out."
"I'm sorry; I have no idea what you're talking about." Roger got himself a cup of coffee. "Do you live with me?"
"I'm your boyfriend, Roger."
"Roger," Mimi repeated slowly as if getting a feel for the name. "How long have we been dating?"
"A year and a half," Roger replied. His beeper went off. He got up and grabbed two small pills off of the counter. He handed one to Mimi. "Here, take this." Mimi simply stared at the pill.
"Why? What is it?"
"It's your medicine. Please, just take it."
"After you tell me what it's for!" Mimi argued.
"It's for HIV. You're HIV positive." Mimi's face fell. She silently took the pill and swallowed it dry. "I'm going to take you to the free clinic in about an hour or so, so you should get changed." Mimi stood up.
"My clothes are all in there?" Roger nodded. Mimi put the coffee mug on the window seat and brushed past Roger to get to the bedroom.
Letting out a sigh, Roger picked up Mimi's mug and put it in the kitchen sink. Mark finished off his coffee.
"Are you okay, Rog?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I really should get ready to go." Mark didn't push the matter at the moment. Now wasn't the time to get into an argument.
Nearly an hour and a half later, Mimi sat on an examining table at the free clinic while Roger told the doctor what little information he knew about what had happened. Mimi simply stared at her feet as they dangled over the side of the table.
"Well Ms. Marquez, how are you feeling today?" the doctor asked. Mimi didn't look up. "Ms. Marquez?" Mimi looked up. her brown eyes were hooded by her long eyelashes. She looked confused.
"I'm sorry, were you talking to me?"
"Yes, how are you feeling today?" Mimi shrugged.
"Okay, I guess. I have a little bit of a headache."
"That's understandable; you have quite a bump on your head." The doctor examined Mimi before taking Roger out in the hallway.
"How long will she be like this?" Roger asked.
"There's no way to tell; could be days, could be weeks, could be months. All I can tell you is to surround her with familiar sights and be as patient as possible."
"What are the chances of her getting back her memory?"
"There's no way to tell." Roger said goodbye to the doctor and went to go get Mimi.
On the way home, Mimi wrapped her arms around herself and stared at the ground in front of her.
"Do you want to go get something for lunch?" Roger asked her.
"I dunno," Mimi replied.
"Come on, let's go." Mimi followed Roger over to the Life Café. "We come here all the time." The manager shot Roger and Mimi an annoyed look as they walked to a table in the back.
"Why did that man give us a look?" Mimi asked as she and Roger took their seats.
"When we come as a big group, we have a tendency to get up on the tables and dance." Mimi smiled.
"That sounds like fun." Mimi's smile wiped off her face as quickly as it had appeared. "I wish I could remember!"
"You will," Roger assured. Inside, he longed for the old Mimi; the Mimi he would make out with while they waited for their food. "You know, we had our first kiss here."
"Really?"
"Yeah." Roger proceeded to tell Mimi about their first kiss. Somehow, reliving those moments made Roger feel better.
After a late lunch/early dinner, Roger and Mimi continued on their way back to the oft. Mimi was as alert as ever.
"Are you okay?" Roger asked, even though he knew that it was a dumb question.
"No, I'm not," Mimi snapped. She and Roger stopped walking. "You keep telling me these amazing stories about all the crazy things we used to do, but those stories aren't about me. They're about who I used to be; a person I don't even remember. What if my memory doesn't come back?"
"Then we'll learn to deal with that."
"Maybe you will, but I won't. I don't want to completely rebuild by life!" With that plea for help still hanging in the air, Mimi bolted down the street. Roger tried to chase after her, but she was too fast. Besides, it was too late, Mimi was gone.