"Aurgh," he yelled. "Joanne, where are the extra blankets?" he asked.
"In the hall closet," I called as I print on a document.
"Do we have any nails?" he asked from the bedroom.
I got up from my computer and went back to where he was trying to hang a blanket in front of the window.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"I need more darkness in the room to work."
"Use the front room. I was going to go to my office anyway," I told him
The office was frantic. Moreso then usual on my end without a paralegal. I was more then happy to drop everything to meet with Collins at lunch.
"So I hear that you were a paralegal at one time?" I asked.
"Yeah. That was a long time ago though," he said smiling ruefully.
"Come work for me," I pleaded.
His head snapped up and he laughed as he looked at me. "Yeah, right. Can you see me working for the "establishment?" he asked.
"No," I agreed, "but I'm desperate. I need a paralegal, my other one got messed up at a concert."
"Can't you go through a temp agency?"
"Collins, right now paralegals can't be had for love or money. With the way this city sues, those that want work have it."
"Those that want work," he echoed.
"Collins, please, it would only be for a month while Sara is on the mend. I need you," I said looking him in the eye.
"Fine, I'll do it," he agreed.
"You will? Oh thank you Collins. You will save me more than you know.
He laughed, shaking his head.
That night when I got home, there were boxes everywhere, bits of film scattered about that hadn't made it past editing, reels on the couch, on the coffee table. There were even boxes of film stacked in Gizmo's room.
"Mark?" I called. There was no response.
I dropped my briefcase and sank into the one chair that was uncluttered. I patted my stomach and looked around. It occured to me that if you took away the film, there were no indicators that Mark lived here too. The phone rang. Reluctantly I dragged my pregnancy heavy body up to get it.
"Hello?"
"Hey baby?"
"Hi Mark. Where are you?"
"I'm at the loft. The apartment is too small to get my work done, so I came back here. We're all going to Life. Are you up for it?"
"Sure, give me time to change?"
"Okay I'll see you in half an hour?"
"See you then." It wasn't that I didn't want to go to Life and hang out with my friends. I was just so exhausted.
I parked my car in front of the loft. "I'm here, come down," I yelled. I was in no mood to climb up all those stairs just to come back down them seconds later.
Mark waved, and came down, with Collins next to him. Roger and Mimi were after that holding hands, and behind them were Benny and Maureen.
"Oh pookie, you look so pregnant," she greeted me with a hug.
"Thanks a lot," I retorted.
"Pookie, it looks cute. Don't be so grumpy."
"I'm sorry Maureen, it's been a long day." The sounds of hammers clanged across the street, from a brownstone that to my knowledge had been vacated recently. The Board Of Health condemned it.
"Ah, the sound of progress," Benny cupped his hand to his ear, enjoying his symphony.
"Benny's completey renovating Camden," Mark explained.
"Without kicking the homeless out?" I asked.
"There will be affordable housing for them in the mix. It was Maureen's idea," Benny clarified.
I looked at Mark in shock, then looked back to Benny.
"I thought you didn't like the homeless," I commented..
"I threatened him with another protest," Maureen quipped.
We laughed as we walked into the cafe.
"The first through the third floors are going to be for carefully screened homeless tennants, the kind that won't pee in the doorways, becuase the fourth floor up is going to be fine living. Upscale apartments, with the finest amenities."
"How many floors are there?" I asked genuinely interested.
"Six," he replied, looking pleased with himself.
"Mark, let's buy a unit at Camden," I told him the minute we got home that evening.
"With Benny as the landlord?"
"Yes. Here, you don't have anywhere to do your work, unless I'm kicked out of my office. That's why I was so tired and grouchy earlier becuase I need to work at home becuase I'm pregnant, and you can only work if you have the front room, so let's get a bigger apartment where we can each have our workspace, and Gizmo can have her own room, and our other kids can have thiers and," I took a deep breath mid ramble. "What do you think?"
"It would be nice to live across the street from my friends," Mark said simply.
"We'd almost have built in babysitters," I smiled.
The next morning Collins reported for work in his usual ankle length coat and hat. Thankfully he was wearing a polo shirt and nice jeans underneath. By the end of the day he had engaged nearly every lawyer in the office including my boss into some debate or another.
When my boss called me into his office later that day, I fully expected to be fired. I was furious at Collins. Didn't he have the least bit of professional decorum.
"Joanne, that new paralegal you have is something else," my boss laughed.
"He sure is," I agreed.
"I just needed you to fill out the forms on him," he said, handing me a few pieces of paper. "How long is he going to be here?" he asked eagerly.
"About a month," I said, trying to brace myself for whatever was coming next.
"I like him, he really spices things up around here. Good work."
"I'll tell him you said so sir," I said, relieved I still had a job.
Sorry I've been so bad about updating. To be honest, my Hairspray fic has been all consuming. However I still want to finish this so please r&r, and I will become much better about updating, I promse!!!