"Morning Mark. How are you doing Mimi?" Gina said entering the loft with coffee from downstairs.
"How the hell do you think I'm doing? I'm going through withdrawal and I really need a hit." she yelled at her as Gina set the coffe mugs on the counter before taking out Mimi's AZT.
"Good morning Gina. Good luck. She's been like that since 4 am." Mark said grabbing his camera bag. "I should be back by noon. I have some editing to do." he told her before he ran out of the loft.
"Bye Mark. I know you do sweetie, why don't you have some coffee first and take your AZT and we'll talk about it." Gina said as Mimi lay on the couch sweating and shaking.
"Gina, I'm serious. This hurts like hell. I need a hit." she wimpered as Gina approached her caressing her head.
"I know sweetie. Come on. I brought your favorite." Gina said helping Mimi off of the couch.
"French vanilla?" Mimi said looking up at her.
"Of course. Nothing but the best for my favorite patient." Gina said as Mimi held on to her as they went to the metal counter.
"So how are you and Roger doing planning your wedding?" Mimi said picking up the mug and sipping from it.
"It's going. I mean, we just want to get married in city hall, but you know Maureen. She's like a dog with a bone." Gina told her as the ladies laughed.
"Yeah. She's a great person and I love her to death, but she does get overly excited about things." Mimi told her smiling up at her.
"I know. But we don't even know when we want to get married. I mean, we want to wait for you to get better so we can have everyone there." Gina said setting her mug on the counter.
"You don't have to postpone your wedding because of me, Gina. You and Roger have waited long enough to be together." Mimi said setting her mug down too.
"Mimi, we can wait a little while longer so you can come." Gina said reaching over the counter to hold Mimi's arm.
"You guys want me there?" Mimi asked surprised.
"Of course we do. You are one of our friends, right?" Gina said smiling as she picked up her mug to take another sip of her coffee.
"Well, yeah. But I would thought it might be a little weird for Roger to have me at his wedding to someone else." Mimi confessed looking down scratching something that was stuck on the surface of the counter.
"And this isn't weird?" Gina pointed out laughing.
"Well you got a point." she answered laughing with Gina.
"Hey Gina, do you know where my denim shirt is?" Roger asked entering the loft in a white tank top.
"It's hanging in the closet it the living room." Gina said getting up to greet Roger.
"Thanks Baby. I have to be there at 10 and I'm gonna be late. I'll call you as soon as I get out." he said leaning down to kiss her. "Oh sorry, good morning Mimi. How are you feeling?" he asked turning towards Mimi.
"Good morning Roger. Better now that Gina is here. Where are you off to this early?" she asked drinking her coffee.
"I have a job interview at this garage uptown." he told her looking down at Gina.
"Are you giving up on performing?" Mimi asked setting her mug down on the counter.
"No, I just need to get a day job. I'm still gonna play with the band when we get gigs." he told her leaning down to kiss Gina goodbye. "I gotta go. I'll call you up here to let you know how it went. I love you." he continued as he rushed out of the loft.
"OK. I love you too Roger. Good luck." she said as he shut the door.
"Wow. Roger's getting a real job?" Mimi asked as Gina sat back down at the counter.
"Yeah, he thinks if he's gonna be a married man, he should be working." Gina told her smiling.
"Roger really is different with you than he was with me." Mimi commented looking into her coffee mug.
"How so?" Gina asked picking up her coffee mug to drink.
"Well with me he was always afraid I was gonna die any day and we fought all the time over the drugs. With you he's... I don't know. Happy. I've never seen him like that. Ever." Mimi said looking up at Gina smiling.
"Mimi, we've known each other since I was 14 and he was 15. We just know each other better and I'm negative so there's no threat of my impending death. I'm sorry you never got to see the real Roger Davis." Gina said reaching ove the table.
"I'm seeing him now and you know what I realized? He wasn't meant to end up with me. He was meant for you. He was always yours. Even when he was with me. He loves you. I see that and you know what? I'm fine with it. You're a great person and you bring out the best in him." Mimi said with tears in her eyes.
"Mimi, you're a great person too you know. You just need to give yourself a second chance. Roger and I got a second chance. So it's possible." Gina told her smiling at her.
"Thanks Gina. I don't know how you do it, but you always make me feel better." Mimi told her smiling as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Who me?" Gina said laughing.
"Oh stop." Mimi told her laughing with her.
"So do you want to help me redo that cabinet today?" Gina asked getting off of the stool and going to the large cabinet covered in graffiti on the other side of the loft.
"Yeah, I guess. But I don't know how you're gonna make that thing into a work of art." Mimi said following her.
"You'll see. I have a way with old furniture. I redid your room, didn't I?" she said digging the sander out of the closet under the cabinet and looking for an outlet to plug it into.
"Yeah and you did an awesome job. When Roger was in there, it was always so dark and gloomy. You never knew when it was morning." Mimi said jokingly.
"Yeah, I know. Working with wood is just something I learned in rehab. Just keep sanding until your craving goes away. It helps, I swear." she told her plugging the sander in and hanging it to Mimi. "Put the safety goggles on. You don't want to get dust in your eyes. It's a bitch to get out." Gina told her putting on her own goggles and picking up her own sander.
"I can't wait to see how you fix this place up." Mimi said excitedly.
"You're gonna help me. Everyday we're gonna do a little at a time as long as you're feeling up to it." Gina told her smiling over at her.
"The guys are gonna be so surprised." Mimi told her laughing.
"Yeah, this place is actually gonna be liveable." Gina told her laughing back.
"So Mr. Davis, what do you know about cars?" the manager asked Roger as he sat in an office right off of the garage.
"Well sir, I used to work in a garage in high school and I rebuilt a 76 Mustang Fastback for my fiance. It's been a while but I'm a fast learner." Roger answered sitting crossing and uncrossing his legs nervously.
"Please call me Johnny. So how long has it been?" the Johnny asked looking at Roger.
"7 years. I haven't done it since I was a senior in high school, but I'm getting married soon and I need a real job." Roger told him fidgeting with his hands.
"Well kid, I'm gonna have you go out there and work with Cliff and see whatcha got. I'll go out and check on you in a little while." he said waving his hand instructing a man, presumably Cliff, to escort Roger into the garage.
"Thank you sir. Um. Johnny." Roger said smiling as he followed Cliff out to the garage where he gave him a work shirt to change into before going to his project. "Cliff, I'm Roger. Roger Davis." he said to the gentleman holding his hand out to shake it.
"Hey Roger, nice to meet you. Now let's tackle that tranny." Cliff said leading Roger over to an old car as they fiddled around underneath it.
"How's he doin Cliff?" Johnny asked about an hour later.
"He's not bad for a pretty boy." Cliff said giving Roger a smirk and a wink.
"Thanks." Roger said shyly as he stood in front of Johnny.
"Well kid, go call your fiance and tell her you got the job. You start today, you'll get outta here about 5. That good for you?" Johnny asked smiling at Roger.
"Thank you Johnny. I'll be right back Cliff." Roger said smiling as he tried to casually walk into Johnny's office to call Gina at the loft. "Baby, I got the job... yeah, I know... no he had me try out and he liked me, so I start today... Yeah, I get off at 5... OK Baby. How's Mimi?... Great... I gotta go Baby, I'll see you after work... I know it's wild, huh?... OK I love you so much too. Bye." he said excitedly as he hung up the phone.
"ROGER GOT THE JOB!" Gina yelled excitedly as Mimi put down her sander.
"That's amazing Gina. When's he coming home?" Mimi asked lifting her safety goggles.
"He gets off at 5." she told her smiling.
"He started today?" Mimi asked approaching Gina.
"Yeah, isn't that great?" Gina said smiling as she and Mimi hugged.
"That is great. Things are really coming together for you guys." Mimi told her genuinely happy.
"Yeah they are. We're getting married soon, we have all our friends around us. Life is good." she said as Mimi smiled at her.
"I am really happy for you guys." she told her just as Mark came into the loft. "Hey Mark, guess what?" Mimi asked running up to him.
"What?" he asked smiling at her as he put his camera bag down.
"ROGER GOT A REAL JOB!" Mimi yelled taking him by surprise.
"Roger what?" he asked taken off guard.
"He went uptown to a job interview as a mechanic and he got it. He starts right away. He just called." Gina said smiling at him.
"That's amazing. I'm really happy for him. Both of you." he said taking his coat off and hugging Gina.
"Roger sure has changed, huh Mark?" Mimi asked sitting on the couch.
"He's not the only one who's changed." Mark commented as he grabbed a glass from the cabinet and pouring some water in it for himself.
"What do you mean?" Mimi asked as she and Gina followed him into the kitchen.
"Well let's see, you're not only getting clean, but Roger's fiance is helping you and your actually happy for them." Mark told her smiling at her.
"Mark, I realized something. I never loved Roger the way he deserved to be loved and he never really loved me whole heartedly. Which is fine because he has the person he's always loved and they are getting their happy ending. I'm really happy for them. And unlike you, Gina has bedside manner." Mimi said smiling at Mark as Gina looked on laughing.
"She's got a point, Mark. Your bedside manner sucks." Gina said as she gave Mimi a high five as the two ladies laughed.
"Is it pick on Mark day again already?" Mark asked drinking his water.
"Sorry, it was actually pick on Roger day, but he just got a job so I think we should leave him alone today." Gina said as she and Mimi hugged each other laughing hysterically.
"You two are dangerous together." Mark said as he dumped his water in the sink and started walking into his room, which Gina had already redone the week prior.
"Sorry Mark. We're just playing around. But aren't you glad I'm feeling better." Mimi said still laughing.
"Yeah, over joyed." he muttered under his breath as he slammed the door to his room.
"Think he's pissed?" Gina asked laughing with Mimi.
"He'll be OK. Come on, I want to do some more of that cabinet. This is fun." she answered eyeballing the cabinet which was almost half sanded down.
"OK. Let's do it. Maybe we'll get it all sanded today and then we can start staining it tomorrow?" Gina told her excitedly.
"Cool. Then I want to do something about the couch and chair." Mimi said putting her safety goggles back on.
"Me too. I'll pick up some fabric and reupholster it." Gina said putting her goggles back on.
"GINA! GINA!" Mark shouted over the sound of the sanders as he came out of his room.
"What?" she said turning her sander off as she reached out for Mimi to shut hers off.
"Do you want to do something to celebrate Roger getting the job?" he asked with his hands in his pockets pushing his glasses back up on his face.
"I was thinking we'd call everyone and go to the Life. But not too late, he needs to go to work in the morning." she said raising her goggles.
"That's a scary thought. Roger at work early." he said laughing as the girls joined him.
"I know. But my Roger has changed." Gina said as Mark nodded.
"Yeah he has." Mimi added smiling.
"It looks like he's not the only one." Mark said looking at Mimi.
"I guess Gina's been good for everyone." Mimi said smiling at Gina.
"Mark, you go down to mine and Roger's place and call everyone and Mimi and I are gonna finish that cabinet." she said smiling as she put her arm around Mimi's shoulder.
"No problem Gina. I'll be right back." he said leaving the loft.
"Come on let's finish that hideous thing." Gina said bringing Mimi back over to the cabinet.
"Maureen, it's Mark. What do you and Joanne have planned for tonight?... Well cancel it. We're going out to celebrate... Roger getting a job... I'm not shitting you Maureen. Roger actually got a job... At a garage uptown... He started today... figure around 7?... OK you call Joanne, I'm gonna call Collins at work... OK Later." he said hanging up the phone. "Professor Collins please?... Thank you... Collins, you will never guess what happened today... Roger got a job... He's working at some garage uptown... No I guess they gave him the job on the spot because he gets off at 5... Yeah, we're celebrating at the Life at 7... OK see you when you get home... OK Bye." he said hanging up the phone again.
"So everyone's meeting us at the Life?" Gina asked as she and Mimi sat at the counter eating sandwiches.
"Yeah, is 7 OK?" Mark said sitting on the couch.
"Perfect. It'll give Roger time to get cleaned up and changed. I remember when he used to work at the garage back home when he was in high school. He used to get really greasy." she said remembering one particular time.
"I'm sorry I'm late Baby. I got out late. I was rebuilding an engine with Steve. Give me 10 minutes." 17 year old Roger said as Gina sat in his room waiting for him to get home.
"That's OK. I don't mind waiting for you. Plus I like when you come home all greasy and grimey. You look sexy." she said getting up to wrap her arms around his neck to bring him into a kiss.
"Baby, I don't want to get your clothes all dirty. Just give me 10 minutes and I'll be all over you." he said leaning down to kiss her without touching her clothes.
"OK, but don't take too long. We're gonna be late for the movie." she said kissing him one last time.
"I don't know why we pay for a movie we don't see. All we do is make out in the back row anyway." he joked unbuttoning his shirt.
"I know, but it's fun." she said as she flashed him a sly smile as he went into his bathroom to take a shower.
"He is sexy, isn't he?" Mimi said snapping Gina out of her memory.
"You have no idea." Gina told her laughing.
"You guys are almost done with that cabinet already?" Mark said changing the subject.
"Yeah, Mimi's having fun. I think we found her a new hobby." Gina said smiling at Mimi.
"And it's really helping with my withdrawal." Mimi told him smiling at him.
"Good. I'm really glad to hear it. You look a lot better than this morning Mimi. Really." Mark told her bringing her in for a hug.
"Thanks Mark. I think the worst is just about over." she told him hugging him tightly.
"And you have something to occupy your mind, so when you do get cravings, you can fall back on that if none of us are around. Which would hardly ever happen, but you can be independent and stay clean on your own." Gina told her smiling at her.
"Now that sounds great. I mean, Mark's got his filming, you have Roger and you can get back to your writing when he's at work and Collins has work. I would like to be able to help myself more." Mimi said holding on to Mark.
"Mimi, you're my friend. I don't mind taking care of you. Remember, it was my idea. Dont ever feel guilty about it." Gina told her hugging Mimi.