Couer de la Mer

Chapter Five

A New Day Has Come

"I was waiting for so long. For a miracle to come. Everyone told me to be strong, hold on and don't shed a tear. Through the darkness and good times, I knew I'd make it through, and the world thought I had it all. But I was waiting for you." Celine Dion- A New Day Has Come

Sitting with her mother and her mother's lady friends at coffee that same afternoon, Mimi watched a little girl at another table being directed on how to have her napkin in her lap. She listened to her mother as she jabbed about how she hated the color Mimi had chosen for the bridesmaid gowns, and realized she was that little girl, trapped by her mother into being perfection, excellence for whomever Joanne chose to be the right man for her.

Well Mimi decided for herself right then, no matter how little action she planned to take, that Joanne was very, very wrong. She nodded to herself and took a sip of coffee, set the cup back down with her saucer and felt her eyes widen when Angel walked in, looked around between her mother and the other women, who noticed the drag queen when she approached.

"Mimi, ladies. I'm terribly sorry to bother you, but may I have a word?"

Joanne offered a little smile, Mimi frowned, confused but realized no one could tell that this was Peter Schunard's long disgraced son, they all thought she was another gentlewoman. She held back a grin as her mother asked. "Hello, would you like to join us?"

"Oh no, sweetie." Angel smiled. "Coffee gives me the runs." She took Mimi's hand and pulled her outside, far away from the straining women's ears.

"Angel," Mimi tugged her hand away moments later and stopped running. "What's this all about? If it has anything to do with Roger, I don't want to hear a word, I made my decision and that's my final answer."

Angel studied Mimi very closely and looked around, pulled her into the Gym (making Mimi look to the spot she had pushed Roger away and shudder) and pulled off her wig, took Mimi by the shoulders and bent and kissed her. She pulled back. "What did you feel?"

Mimi was half appalled and half stunned, stared up at Angel with wide eyes as the wig was replaced. "N-nothing!"

Angel nodded, wiping her mouth with a disgusted face. "And do you ever feel that way when you kiss anyone else?"

"Well Benny. . ." Mimi froze, looked at Angel. "I mean uh, I mean . . ."

"Don't try to hide it, girlfriend." Angel said gently, taking Mimi's hands. "Look, he'll be around the bow, it's going on dusk. Go to him, Mimi. If you ever want to be set free from that cage, you should go to him. He loves you."

Mimi looked at her, familiar tears burning her eyes, and she nodded. Angel was right, and she wasn't about to start trying to deny it again. If nothing else, Mimi wanted to be able to love someone while she was on that ship. She hugged Angel and went out onto deck, made her way past several observation points and then through the gate leading to the upper bow section. She found Roger there, as Angel had said he would be.

"Hello, Roger."

He turned and looked at her, sad eyes lit up and studied her kind, smiling face. She approached somewhat hesitantly, and yet confident that he would still accept her decision. "I changed my mind."

He offered a soft smile of acknowledgment, and Mimi turned to point back to where she and Angel had been talking. "Angel said you might be. . ."

He moved forward and silenced her with a deep, smoldering kiss, took her hands into his as their lips locked and spread her arms in the air, then lifted her onto the rail so she felt as though she were free as a bird, flying solo. The smile on her face never really vanished even when the ship stilled on the monitors in front of Mimi Lliam.

"That was the last time Titanic saw daylight."

Angel laughed as Collins pulled her into the Wheelhouse, kissed him between bouts of warm, bubbly laughter. Her eyes opened into tiny slits to watch through the front glass as Roger lowered Mimi from the white railing, and suddenly Collins lips moved from hers but his eyes never opened. "Do you want me or them?"

She chuckled softly and kissed his lips lightly once, then again and again. God, they were soft. "I'm sorry, honey. Really, I'm all yours now." She assured him, pressing her lips to his again, feeling his arms tighten around her. The door opened and she squeaked her surprise, moved back from Collins and both wiped their mouths at once as one of the men from the Wire room stepped forward and handed Collins a piece of paper.

"What's this?"

"Ice berg warning, sir."

Collins nodded and the younger man took his leave. He sighed and logged the warning, turned back to Angel and saw her expression as she watched the paper fall into the trash. "Oh, don't worry baby. We get lots of those this time of year." He assured, moving to wrap his arms around her.

She nodded a little, an odd feeling beginning to churn in her stomach. She didn't know why and it was quickly forgotten when Collins lips descended onto her soft, mocha neck, she giggled and relished the feeling of him near her, forgetting any fear of being seen or any fear of ice bergs as the sun set below the water before them. Had Angel Dumott Schunard known tonight would be the last night all of her friends would all be together, maybe she would have pushed him off.

But that was very unlikely both ways.

In Mimi's room, at around the same time, Roger sat on a couch with his guitar and began to play very softly. The door to the adjoining room opened and he looked up at Mimi as she emerged in a lavender dress, her hair let down around her shoulders, bunches of paper in her hands, as well as a large velvet case.

"'s that?" He asked softly, nodding to it.

She handed him the paper. "I don't want another song about me sounding like some girl far away with her daddy's money." She dropped a silver dollar onto his lap and he smiled a little, shook his head and slid it into his pocket. "As a paying customer, I expect to get what I want." She said, opening the necklace box.

"Holy shit!" Roger exclaimed, reaching to touch the large blue jewel. "What is that, a sapphire?"

"A diamond," she replied softly. "A very rare diamond." She wet her lips. "Roger I want you to write a song about me like one of your Bronx girls. Wearing this."

He looked at her. "What does your clothes matter when I write a song about you?"

She leant to whisper in his ear. "Wearing only this."

33 minutes, twenty one seconds later in the midst of a steamed, darkened window of a very expensive Lexus, a hand pressed into the center and wiped away a trail from the sweaty remnants clinging to the window for survival. A moment or so later First Officer Tom Collins laid his head into the center of Angel Schunard's chest and caught his breath. The agile Dominican's small, beige hands ran over Tom's head after he kissed it softly.

"I love you."

Collins nodded and lifted his head. "I love you too." He said gently before leaning forward to kiss his lover again.

In the first class staterooms Roger and Mimi too consummated their love, and while Roger would have longed to hold her there for many moments more, she grew very fearful for them and hurried to dress, and suggested he do the same. No sooner had they dressed than Benny's manservent came in looking for Mimi and they darted off above deck, where they danced around on the wooden planks.

No sooner had they been there than had Angel, to Mimi's surprise dressed as a man and Collins come out onto the deck, kissing and laughing, smiling. Angel ran over to Mimi when he saw Roger and they hugged and congratulated each other. Collins and Angel returned to the Wheelhouse and Mimi turned to Roger, eyes glistening beneath the stars. "When the ship docks," She told him softly. "I'm getting off with you."

He laughed, kissed her softly. They continued to be warm and cuddly, radiant until the bell in the crow's nest sounded. Mimi looked over and saw a dark, large object ahead of the boat, very near to them. She and Roger ran into the Wheelhouse where an officer received a phone call from the Crow's nest. Collins ordered the ship hard to starboard, and engines full astern. He and Angel, Mimi and Roger ran out onto the Captain's deck and watched anxiously as the boat turned very little by little away from the berg.

"What are you doing??" Roger cried. "Go right into it, Coll! If you brush it from the side it'll cut in worse, you don't know what it looks like on the sides underwater! Fucking go through it!"

"I know my place, Roger." Collins said very lowly into his friend's face, Roger was silenced instantly and both Mimi and Angel shrieked when the boat slammed into the berg from the side. They were hugging each other tightly the whole way through as ice splashed onto deck and a screech sounded from below. Collins ran inside. "Close the watertight bulkheads!"

A signal was sent out. The captain arrived and the two young lovers were thrown out. Mimi and Roger went onto the deck and kicked some ice around briefly, but Roger was too concerned. "We hit too hard, you could feel it."

"So what can we do?"

He sighed. "Stay here, so we can get a boat quickly."

In his millionaire sweet, Benny pulled a note from Mimi from his safe.

"Darling, now you can keep us both locked up in your safe. Mimi."

He looked at the paper inside, a drawing of Mimi, nude on the couch, with their necklace around her neck. Maureen's signature was at the bottom but Benny had no clue as to who 'Maureen Johnson' was. Then there was another sheet and he looked at it. We, the modern day Rent fans know it as the lyrics to 'Your Eyes'.

Benny saw it as the most infuriating thing he had ever laid his hands on in his life.

In the room, where the crew was talking, the captain was informed that five watertight compartment were flooded, and that the ship could only stay afloat with four. The shipbuilder, Mr. Thomas Andrews also added that the ship had an hour to two afloat, and that everyone needed to get into lifeboats, as many souls as they could take.

The captain looked at the ship's owner, Mr. Ismay. "Well Mr. Ismay, I do believe you'll make your headlines."

Reviews????