Last-minute airline tickets were bought, and soon, all of Mary's closest friends were in the same city at the same time. This hadn't happened in decades. Just like always, they gathered at Mary's apartment. It wasn't her quaint studio apartment back in Minneapolis, but even still, as they looked around the room, they were flooded with memories.

"How could this have happened?" Lou asked. "I mean, she's gone, just like that?"

"Lou, she was my best friend! I talked to her on the phone just the other night. Don't you think, if something was wrong, I would've seen it?!" Rhoda replied.

"Let's not do this," Murray said. "Blaming each other isn't going to help. These things happen. Remember Chuckles?"

Lou nodded. He could never forget. WJM's kid-show host had gone to a parade dressed as a peanut. He was crushed to death by an elephant. It was completely unexpected, which had made everyone see how fragile their lives were. "Yeah, I guess you're right," Lou replied. "I'm sorry. I just never thought it would be like this, you know? I haven't taken the best care of myself. I always assumed you'd all be here toasting me."

Murray nodded. He understood. "Well, if we were, you know Mary would be hugging all of us and saying everything would be OK. That's how she was."

"No one knows that better than me," Rhoda said. "She was there for me every time I got dumped. Which was a lot."

"No need to remind us of that," Phyllis said. "I mean, even Joe left you, right?"

Rhoda turned to Phyllis, giving her a look that said she had crossed a line.

"Please, don't fight!" The usually soft-spoken Georgette raised her voice. "We're here for Mary's sake."

"You're right, Georgette," Rhoda said. "Mary was the best friend I ever had. OK, so when we met, I was jealous. I wanted her apartment, her clothes, and of course her figure. If anybody had it all together, it was her."

The others nodded their agreement. But, after a moment, Lou spoke up. "Mary was wonderful. I'll never forget when she came in for an interview. She told me I was asking too many personal questions. She sure had spunk. But, I think if we're remembering her, we should remember her as she was. I mean, she threw terrible parties."

"Oh, yeah, who could forget that?" Murray asked. "Remember the time there was a power failure? We all sat there in the dark. Or the dinner party, when you took half the food?"

"Yeah, I think I remember that," Lou muttered.

"Or how about the time you ruined a party because you thought I wanted to marry your brother?" Rhoda said, pointing to Phyllis.

"Well, thank God my brother at least had more sense than to do that."

Rhoda opened her mouth, ready to remind Phyllis that her brother was, in fact, gay.

"OK, I know you two have never gotten along," Lou interjected. "But do you think you could put your differences aside for a minute? Mary has died. I didn't come all the way out here for this!"

For a moment, everyone was quiet. The memories of Mary were so vivid, it was almost as if she were right there with them.

"You know what I keep thinking?" Murray asked. "People die every day. I know that. But why did it have to be her? Why couldn't it have been someone else's turn?"

Georgette turned to Murray, compassion evident on her face. "I went through that same thing when Ted passed away. Asking 'why' didn't bring him back, and it's not going to bring Mary back, either. We just have to be grateful she was here."

Suddenly, Murray reached out and hugged her. For all the times he put Ted down, he finally realized the anchorman did something right in marrying Georgette.

"You know what I remember about Mary?" Phyllis spoke up. "I remember showing her that apartment. I knew it was perfect for her, and I had to make sure she got it." She glared at Rhoda for a moment, before turning back to the others. "She loved it, of course, and that was the start of everything. Her life, her career, all of it happened because of that apartment."

"Phyllis, don't you think you're giving yourself a little too much credit? I mean, you gave her a place to live. Fine. But the job? She did that part on her own!" Rhoda felt the need to defend her friend.

"Well, you remember it however you want. I'm just telling you the way I remember it."

"All I know is, I'm never going to forget her. Sitting there next to her in the newsroom…..sometimes I wonder if I could've stayed at WJM all those years without her," Murray said.

"Yeah," Lou said. "She sure made that place a hell of a lot better. She always said she wouldn't have made it if it weren't for me. But I never really told her how much she meant to me."

"Oh, Lou, she knew." Rhoda said. "I know we all wish we'd called her more, or told her things we didn't. I saw her every day these past few years, but still I wish I had said things. But I really think she knew how we all felt. It sounds crazy, I know. But, in my heart, I know it's true." Unexpectedly, Rhoda felt tears in her eyes. As she looked around, she saw she wasn't the only one trying not to cry.

"I think you're right," Georgette said. "Even if we hadn't seen her in years, or ever picked up a phone, there are just some things you can never forget. Love, that's what she cared about. That's what she'd want us to remember. It's what brought us all together, right?"

Slowly, everyone nodded their agreement. "Well, I guess we all know what we have to do now, don't we?" Murray asked. "The same thing we did after our last newscast." He opened his arms, and within seconds, he was wrapped in a small, yet very tight, group hug. Somehow, they all knew, it was exactly what Mary would have wanted.

The End