Chapter 13

Later that evening Roger was getting ready to put Lizette to bed when there was a knock on the door. He poked his head out of the girls' room in time to see Mark opening the door for Adam.

"Hey Adam." He greeted his little brother.

"Hey." The younger Davis came into the loft with a look of surprise on his face. "You know man, I never thought I would see you with a kid. It's pretty creepy."

Roger made a face at him. "It's not like I had a choice in the matter." He beckoned for Adam to follow him into his daughters' bedroom. "I called Nicole."

Adam's hazel eyes widened as he watched his older brother tuck in Lizette. "Nicole? Like our older sister Nicole? What made you do that?"

"I had to tell her about Dad kicking you out."

"The first time you talk to our sister in years and it's about me being a failure. Gee thanks Rog."

"That's not all we talked about." Roger assured him. "There was a lot in there about me being a failure. Trust me. Anyway, she's coming tomorrow."

"Damn." Adam said passionately. "This will be quite the family reunion." The two brothers came into the main room of the loft and sat down on the couch. "So are you mad at me?" Adam asked after a while.

Roger started. "Why would I be mad at you?"

"I don't know. I mean I fucked up and you had to come find me. Not only me, but me and some girl that I found. I can only imagine the plethora of things you could be doing."

"Yeah not a long list kid." Roger said. "I'd either be pretending to write a song, being berated by my oldest daughter, or worrying about my youngest." He shrugged and leaned his head back against the couch. "Looking out for you is a nice break." They were silent for a moment then, "Where did you find that Micah girl anyway?"

"Halfway between here and Scarsdale." Adam replied. "I was about to get on the subway when I saw her being pushed around by some guy. Rog, I think she used to be a prostitute."

"Why do you think that?"

"The guy, he was like her pimp or something. He was yelling about his share of the money and how he didn't care if she paid her rent or not. She slapped him good across the face and I pulled her on the subway with me. Once I assured her that I wasn't going to hurt her, we traveled together."

The door to the loft opened suddenly admitting Kirsten into the room. "Hey Kir." Roger greeted her. "You look great." And she did. Her hair was curled softly around her face and she was wearing a short black dress with fishnet stockings and calf high boots.

"Thanks Roger." She smiled at her friend and then caught sight of his brother. "Who's your doppelganger?"

"This is my little brother Adam." Roger introduced. "Adam this is Mark's girlfriend Kirsten."

"It's nice to meet you." Kirsten replied.

"And you." Said Adam. "Since when does Mark get girls this hot?"

"Since my sex god of a roommate got saddled with two kids." Mark answered as he emerged from his room. "Come on Kirsten. Let's go." He offered her his arm and she took it with a smile. "See you later Rog."

Once they were gone Roger shook his head and Adam stared at him. "Don't you go on dates anymore?"

Roger shrugged. "Once you've lost two girlfriends and gained two daughters, dating is not up on the priorities list." He sighed and stood up. "Do me a favor? Listen out for Lizette. Danni's spending the night with Collins and Angel and sometimes Lizzie gets lonely."

"Yeah sure. Where are you going?"

"Up to the roof. I need to think." Roger replied and headed out. He climbed the stairs that led up to the roof only to hear someone, a woman, singing softly. He pushed the door open slowly and there was Micah, sitting on one of the chairs that he, Mark, and Collins had put up there years ago. Her voice was light and soaring, singing a song that was both happy and filled with heartbreak.

"If I cannot fly, let me sing." Micah sang the final line and the last note drifted calmly on the bitter winter wind. "You can come out you know." The young woman said to Roger. "It's more your roof than mine."

The musician came further onto the roof and took a seat across from hers. "That was beautiful." He said. "Are you classically trained?"

Micah laughed bitterly. "Mr. Davis I started singing to block out the sound of people moaning as I screwed them for money. I'm sure Adam told you what he saw when he saved me."

"Sometimes the most beautiful music is brought from tragedy." Roger told her. "I tried for years to write a decent song but it took me nearly losing my girlfriend Mimi to AIDS to make it come together."

"I wouldn't call nearly losing her a tragedy Mr. Davis."

Now it was Roger's turn to be bitter. "Oh she died. Not right then, but Mimi died. Now all I have left is the anticipation of when I'll die and leave my daughters to the mercy of my friends." He sighed sharply. "And stop calling me Mr. Davis. It makes me feel old."

"I'm sorry Roger." Micah retorted in her accented voice. "Did this Mimi give you AIDS?"

"Not Mimi." Roger responded. "My girlfriend before Mimi…she was…we were junkies. And not very good ones. Long story short, she killed herself in my bathroom and left me a note that said 'we've got AIDS'."

"My God, I'm so sorry." Micah gasped.

"Eh, don't worry about it." Roger told her. "That was a long time ago and I've accepted it."

"I wish I could." Micah whispered.

"You?"

She nodded. "Me. I found out I was positive right before I tried to run away from my pimp."

"Maybe you should have told him." Roger mused.

"No. He would've killed me. It's better this way." She looked out over the city. "At least, as better as it can be."

Roger reached out and gripped her chin, forcing her to look at him. "It'll be better. Being here, it makes you forget that you've screwed up. Look at it this way, you already know my brother, but in addition I've got seven great friends, two kids, and my sister who I haven't seen in about twenty years will be here tomorrow. In all the chaos that we can provide in Alphabet City, you'll feel better in no time."

"Do you really believe that?"

Roger shrugged. "Sure. I mean either you'll get better on your own or my best friend Mark will hound you until you do."

Micah smiled at that and it was the first time Roger had seen it. It stunned him. Just be smiling all the sadness drained away from her face and her eyes lit up. She was beautiful. The two of them spent the next few hours up on the roof talking. Roger discovered that Micah was twenty-five, that she had been a prostitute since she was seventeen, she was born in Oxford, England but came to America when she was twelve with her cousin when her parents went through a messy divorce.

About three hours into their talk Roger started. "We've been sitting in the cold for a really long time. That cannot be good for us."

"No I suppose it isn't." Micah agreed. "Shall we go in?"

Yeah. You wanna come down to the loft and eat something? I don't think there's anything left in Mimi's old place."

"Do you have actual food in this building?"

Roger laughed. "My daughter Danielle makes sure that I actually get real food now."

"Then yes," Micah agreed. "I'd love to come."

They headed back down the stairs and to the loft. Roger pulled the door open and made a mock bow. "After you milady." He said.

Micah giggled. "Your accent is atrocious." She patted him on the cheek and entered the loft. Adam was asleep on he couch; curled up and looking so much like Roger. Micah said as much and Roger chuckled.

"Yeah he has some of my good looks I guess." He walked over to Lizette's bedroom door and looked inside at his sleeping six year old.

"She definitely has your good looks." Micah whispered as she gazed at the girl.