Mary loved having Lou in town. He'd surprised her at Steven's funeral, and had stuck around for a few days after. She didn't know what she'd do if he wasn't there. He'd never know how much it meant to her. And to Rose. Even though Rose had her friends, Mary knew that she liked having a man in her life. Especially after losing her father, who was very close to Rose. It helped the grief process be a little easier. But Mary knew that when she was alone again, there would be more tough times.

She had also heard from Murray a couple times after he called about Steven's death. He and Marie had sent the biggest flower arrangement Mary had ever seen. She had to smile at that, remembering how she always kept a rose on her desk.

Lou had taken them all out to dinner a few times while he was there. But she figured that she could return the favor for the last night he was in town and cook for him so they wouldn't go out. She knew she could do a simple meal.

"Are you sure?" Lou asked. "You don't exactly have the best track record when it comes to parties." He winked.

"Who said anything about a party? It's just a simple meal for four people. I think I'm pretty experienced with that!"

"Alright, if you want to," Lou had said. He was being really secretive. But Mary liked that he could make her laugh. Teasing and remembering all the stories from their WJM days made it easier. Mary was grateful for that. But she knew that Rose was getting a little tired of hearing about her mother's early days. She was a teenager, after all.

Mary had decided a simple meal of spaghetti might be good enough. It was small, but she didn't have to serve anything fancy. And they had plenty of food from mourners who had sent her meals. She appreciated their thoughtfulness, but after a while, it was a little too much. It was a reminder every time she received something. She knew Steven would be touched that people remembered him.

It was nearly time to set the table when the doorbell rang. Lou jumped up like nothing she'd seen him do before.

"What's going on? And who's at the door now, just as I'm about to put dinner on the table? Maybe I won't answer..."

"Oh, no, Mary. You'll want to answer this one. Come on." He grabbed her hand.

"Mooom, come on...I'm hungry," Rose called from the kitchen.

"I'll be right back, Rose. I..." And she stopped in the middle of her sentence when Lou opened the door and Rhoda Morgenstern was standing on the other side. At the sight of her best friend, Mary burst into tears. Rhoda came in and put her arm around Mary. "I know, kid, I know."

"How...what...?" She looked at Lou who just sheepishly shrugged his shoulders. "When Rhoda wasn't at the funeral, something told me that you needed her now more than ever. So I called in your fairy godmother, and here she is."

Mary didn't know what to say. Lou was right. She definitely needed her best friend.

"Mom! The dinner's getting cold!" Rose called.

Mary smiled through her tears. "You want to have dinner with us? You can meet my daughter too. Rose."

Rhoda smiled. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Kid, I'm so sorry about Steven. I...I know it must be the worst time in your life right now."

"Yes, but now that you're here, I know we'll all be ok."

Mary and Rhoda walked to the dinner table hand in hand with Lou behind them. "Set another place at the table, Rose."

Rose immediately and very noticably rolled her eyes. But she did as she was told. She shouldn't be surprised at people she'd never met before suddenly entering their lives. Her mother had had a whole other life that Rose didn't know about. But she was glad to learn that her mother had a lot of friends. And as she learned about her mother's former life with Rhoda and Phyllis too, she almost even forgot that her father wasn't there anymore. And that with a little love, she would definitely be ok.

The End