"Hey, Mom," Rose said, coming into Mary's apartment. "I got another gig down at Giggles. I was sort of hoping you could come -" Rose stopped short when she saw Rhoda and her mother sitting at the kitchen table laughing their heads off. Before them were a mess of photographs and letters. "What's going on?"
"Your mom and I were just remembering the first time we met."
"But what's all this?" Rose asked, pointing to the table.
"It's for my book," Mary explained. "Rhoda's helping me with it, since she was there for most of the important things in my life."
"Yup, I was there for the beginning of Mary's wonderful news career – and all of her bad dates!"
"Rhoda!"
"Bad dates?" Rose asked, sitting down. "No, wait, how did you guys meet? I'm not sure if Mom ever told me that story."
"She didn't?" Rhoda asked. "Seriously, kid?" She turned to Mary in mock horror.
"What can I say?" Mary shrugged. "Being a news producer can keep a person pretty busy."
'"So how'd it happen?" Rose suddenly found herself feeling curious. There was a whole other part to her mother's life that she knew hardly anything about.
"I threw her out of her own apartment," Rhoda said. "Or, at least, I tried to."
"Really?" Rose asked her mother.
Mary nodded. "I was looking at my new apartment, and when I opened the curtains, there was Rhoda, on the terrace, washing the windows. She came in and ordered me right out."
"And you guys became best friends?" Rose could hardly believe what she was hearing.
"Yeah, well, when you're thirty and single, you need all the help you can get!" Rhoda laughed.
"So, what about these bad dates?" The more Rose heard, the harder it was to believe that her mom had once been carefree and single. But she suddenly wanted to know everything she could about her mom's former life.
"How much time have we got?" Rhoda asked. "I had my share, too. I once asked a guy to dinner, only to have him bring his wife. That was unforgettable. But your mom probably had me beat."
"Really, Mom?"
Mary felt strangely embarrassed. She didn't know if her daughter should hear any of these stories. After Rose's teen years, they had finally become close, almost friends. But would Rose feel the same way after finding out all this? "Rhoda, I don't know if we should talk about this now. We really should get back to my book."
"The kid wants to hear a few stories. What's the harm?" Rhoda asked.
Rose nodded enthusiastically.
"All right," Mary agreed reluctantly. "But don't tell her any embarrassing ones!"
"Your mom once dated a short guy," Rhoda said bluntly. "She introduced him to me by saying, 'Rhoda, this is Eric Shrimp.'"
"Rhoda!"
Rose laughed. "So, what were some of the others?"
"Well, once, Mare and I joined a club for divorced people."
"Divorced people? Mom, you were only ever married to Dad."
"Well, we sort of lied and said were divorced," Mary explained. "I met a weird dentist who was in love with my teeth. And it turned out most of the club members were really single just like us."
"Wow, I never knew stuff like this happened in real life," Rose said in amazement. "It kind of makes my dating life not seem so bad!"
"Any date you've ever had, I guarantee we've had worse!" Rhoda said, gesturing to herself and Mary.
Rose nodded slowly. She now had a whole new appreciation for her mother. "Now I see why you were so happy with Dad."
"Your father was the best thing that ever happened to me," Mary said immediately. "Well, him and my career."
It was hard to picture her mom, the award-winning news producer, as being like her. But she smiled. "I think I get it now. Why you're doing this book. It's like when Dad ran for office. He always said he wanted to make a difference in the world. He wanted to help people."
Mary nodded sadly. "That was one of the things I loved most about him."
Rose got up and hugged her mother tightly. "Daddy would be proud of you," she said. "So am I."