A little over a year had passed since Bill's death and Mary and the children had begun settling into a routine. The children were thriving. Emily had just finished Kindergarten and Jake was about to begin his second year of Preschool at the Presbyterian Church she and the children attended with her parents. Mary found a source of comfort and support within their women's group as well. She also found to her surprise that she derived a great deal of satisfaction from her work and that she was also very good at it. Lou Grant was not one to hand out compliments but every now and then she could sense his approval of the work she was doing. She had been a little leary about working in an office where she was the only woman. She was used to working in a secretarial pool with several other women. She was worried about possibly being hit on constantly but to her surprise, it was like having a bunch of older brothers. They cared for her and always took an interest in her children. She had even been to Murray's house a few times with the children. It seemed they were all getting used to the new normal that was their life now. There was still the occasional mention of Bill and his parents had visited from Ohio once. The only thing Mary hadn't given much thought to was dating. She was too busy working and caring for the children that she hadn't let herself think much about it. She knew that most single men weren't in the market for an instant family and she was a package deal now. But there were nights, after the kids had gone to sleep, that she found herself longing for someone to hold her, tell her he loved her. She usually pushed that thought out of her head. Phyllis and Rhoda had been after her to go out. Phyllis wanted to introduce to a young single doctor in Lars's practice that she thought for sure was a perfect match. Rhoda kept after her to meet Steven Lacey, an accountant for Hemple's department store but she brushed them off. However, things could possibly be about the change.

Mary walked into the newsroom on a sunny Monday morning, "Good Morning, Murray." She said hanging up her coat

"Hey, Mare, how was your weekend?" Murray asked typing away

"The usual, Saturday morning cartoons, the park and church on Sunday. How about you?" she asked opening the drawer and putting her purse away

"I had an exciting weekend full of my wife's honey do list." Murray said putting a new sheet of paper in the typewriter

"Yeah, I have my own list, the Mary do list." She said looking over the production logs Lou had left on her desk

"Mare, you rent, don't you? Shouldn't your landlord take care of things?"

"Well, the owners live out of town and Phyllis looks after the place but the couple of times I tried to get her to have someone fix something, she never did. I just learned to do it myself," She explained, "I've snaked a drain, replaced a light fixture and grouted the tub."

"Hey, if I had known that I would have had you come over and do the work on my house." Murray quipped

"Hi, Guys." Ted said walking into the newsroom

"Hi, Ted." They responded in unison

"Oh, Mare, I, uh, was wondering if you'd be interesting in meeting a friend of mine. He's a great guy. I think you too would hit it off." Ted suggested

"No, Ted. I don't think so." Mary said

"Hey, Mare, why don't you at least consider it? It has been a little over a year." Murray said

"Murray, I'm not ready and besides, he'd probably run for the hills once he knew I had kids." Mary explained getting up to get a cup of coffee

"He's right, Mare. It may be time get back on the old horse." Ted said, "Besides I told him all about you and he said he'd like to meet you."

Mary smiled, "Thank you, Ted but I really don't think so." She walked back to her desk

"Well, if you change your mind, let me know." He said

Lou walked into the newsroom from the studio with a tall, attractive, dark haired man, "Hey Murray, I'd like you meet our new sportscaster, Andy Rivers."

"Hi Andy, nice to meet ya." Murray shook his hand

"You too, Murray." Andy replied

Ted walked over and shook his hand, "Ted Baxter, the anchorman."

"Yes, Ted, I know, nice to meet you." Andy said

Lou guided Andy over to Mary's desk, "Andy, this is our Associate Producer, Mary Phillips."

Mary stood up and extended her hand, "Hi, Andy, it's nice to meet you. Mr. Grant has told me a lot about you. I hope you like it here."

Andy smiled, "I think I will now." He said, "I mean, it's nice to meet you, Mary."

TBC…will sparks fly for Mary and Andy? Will she let her guard down and let love in…stay tuned