The next day, Jackie came out of Roger's bedroom with her hair down, rubbing her eyes. She saw her brother sleeping with his girlfriend on the couch and tried not to make too much noise. She walked into their small kitchen to see if there was anything to drink. Since there was only water, she grabbed one of the chipped mugs and poured the water into it. She then started to roam around the kitchen to see where everything was. She was just passing the coffee pot when she saw a small bottle of medication labeled " AZT ". Jackie put her water down and picked up the bottle. Staring at it, she hardly noticed that Mark had just walked out of his bedroom. Quickly, she placed the bottle back down on the counter and walked over to the small table and sat down. Mark sat down in the opposite chair of Jackie.
" So, um just in case you didn't know, my names Mark." Mark said reaching his hand out in front of him. Jackie placed her mug on the table and shook his hand. She then ran her finger through her hair in the same fashion as Roger. She then out of nowhere talked to Mark for the first time.
" So, would you mind telling me who everyone else is? I know that's Mimi." She said pointing behind her where she was sleeping. " I mean, I got to know who everyone is if I'm going to live here right?" Mark smiled and shook his head.
" Well, Collins is the Black dude who is always happy. He comes by everyday but he doesn't live with us anymore. He works at NY University. So he gets us our food once in a while. Joanne and Maureen are a couple. Joanne is the black one. She's a successful lawyer and has her own house. Maureen is the white one. She use to live with us too but ever since she dumped me and moved in with Joanne, she only drops by now and then." Mark said. Jackie smiled and nodded.
" Okay I think I got it." She said. " There is just one thing I have to ask you though." She said leaning back in her chair.
Mark shrugged his shoulders and said, " shoot." Jackie closed her eyes leaning her head back off the chair and smiled.
" Did Maureen really dump you to become a lesbian?" she said. Mark laughed and shook his head.
" Yea, its true. Roger though it was hilarious when I first told him. He actually thought it was a joke at first." Mark told Jackie while she was drinking her water. Jackie choked on her water and stared to laugh along with Mark. They quickly stopped laughing, forgetting that Roger and Mimi were there only to see them still sleeping in each other's arms.
" Hey Mark, I got one more question to ask you." Jackie said causally. Mark nodded his head.
" Alright." Mark replied. Jackie looked around at her brother to see that he was still sleeping and leaned in closer to Mark.
" Are you HIV positive too?" She said quietly. Mark looked at Jackie and noticed that she had a deep look of concern in her face. Then Mark nodded no and Jackie continued to talk. " Who else is HIV positive?" she said still looking at Mark in the same expression. Mark continued talking in the same tone.
" Mimi, Collins…." He began but before he could continue, Jackie butted in.
" And Roger?" she said staring at Mark with her eyes wide open. Mark studied Jackie's expression and realized that she hadn't known about Roger's sickness. Slowly, Mark nodded yes and looked over at Roger and Mimi. Jackie stared at the ground and breathed deeply. Just as Mark was about to say something to Jackie, Collins slid the door open. The door made such a big noise that it woke both Roger and Mimi up.
" Sorry Roger didn't know you were still sleeping. Sorry Mimi" Collins said chuckling. Roger yawned and smiled at him while Mimi laughed and got up to hug Collins. Roger walked over to where Mark was sitting with his sister. He saw Jackie staring at the ground, which she did often, to hide her expression. Mark got up and gave Roger the newspaper and then walked into the bathroom to clean up. Collins and Mimi walked over to the table laughing. They then sat at the table with Roger and Jackie.
Then Collins said " Hey Jackie, I know I didn't really get introduced last night, so I'm Collins. Old friend of you brothers." Jackie looked up at Collins who was smiling. His face was full of happiness and joy that there was no way Jackie couldn't smile back. Mimi noticed that she had the same smile and expressions as Roger.
" So Jackie, where did you come from?" Mimi asked sweetly. Jackie smiled at the act of kindness Mimi was presenting her. Out of habit, she ran her finger through her hair and answered Mimi's question.
" Well, I lived in Philadelphia in a apartment with my mom and dad. I lived just off the Ben Franklin Bridge, so I was really close to all the city stuff." She paused for a moment and then continued. " I went to a local school and had some friends who were ok. Sometimes, I would just go off by myself." She said looking at the ground again. " But when I did get the chance to hang out with my friends, I had a great time. We'd go to the shops in the city or we would hang out at the school. Nothing special." She finished shrugging her shoulders. Mimi nodded her head and looked at Roger who was reading the paper.
" So what things do you like to do?" Collins said, trying to keep the good conversation going.
" I like writing love notes, curling my hair and long walks on the beach." she said sarcastically. Everyone laughed at the remark. Even Roger smiled slightly. " Well, what I really like to do is draw and I'm ok at playing the guitar." Jackie said. Collins got up and knocked on the bathroom door.
" Hey Mark, did you die in there" Collins joked. Inside you could here Mark laugh sarcastically and curse at Collins. Laughing, Collins returned to the table and sat down.
" Oh I almost forgot," Collins said reaching into his pocket. " Here's that AZT you wanted me to pick up Mimi." He said throwing it across the table. Roger's expression fell as he heard what Collins just said. Jackie stood up and quickly walked to the sliding door. Opening it fiercely, she walked out of the apartment and slammed the door behind her. Mark was just walking out of the bathroom when he saw what happened.
" What was that about?" Collins asked Roger. Mimi looked at Roger and saw that he knew what happened. Mark walked up to the table and started to talk.
" I might have had something to do that." He said guiltily." I told Jackie that you were HIV positive." Roger slammed his fist on the table, knocking over the mug of water.
" Goddamn you Mark!" He shouted.
" You mean she didn't know you are HIV positive?" Mimi screamed at Roger. Roger looked at the ground, trying to avoid Mimi's eyes " Don't you dare blame this on Mark!" She screamed, "This is all your fault Roger Davis!"
" Calm down Mimi, shouting isn't going to help." Collins said in a hard tone. " Roger your going to have to talk to her. You owe her an explanation." Roger didn't response. Mimi threw her hands in the air and screamed something in Spanish.
" Fine be that way." She said stiffly. " I'm not going to do anything in your bed with you until you apologies." Roger shrugged his shoulders and returned to reading the paper. Mimi nodded her head and headed out the door with Collins following her. Mark looked at Roger one more time and followed Mimi and Collins out the door of the bitter cold apartment.
Authors note: Well how do you like it? Reviews help a lot! Thanks for the wonderful suggestions. Hope you liked it. Another chapter will be up shortly.