Mary Dates Lou
Chapter: 8
Pairing: Lou/Mary
Rating: PG
It had been a little over an hour since Mary had left work and come home. The whole scene with Sue Ann kept playing over and over again in her mind like a broken record. Of all the reactions she envisioned Sue Ann having her actual outburst wasn't even close. She had acted like a child instead of an adult.
Since Mary had been home the phone had rang a few times and she stubbornly decided not to answer it. She needed some time. She sat down on the sofa and began flipping through the channels, landing on a rerun of the Happy Homemaker. She turned the television off and flung the remote in the chair across from her. Mary never imagined the problem at work being another person instead of not being able to separate personal from professional. She and Lou had worked together well as they started going over the budget.
There was a knock on the door in the distance that brought her back to reality. "Who is it?" she called from her position on the sofa.
"It's mom." Dottie said. "Come on, open the door, sweetheart."
Mary got up and let her mother inside the apartment. "Hi, mom." she said, looking down at the floor. "How did you know I was here?"
"Well I called the station and Murray told me that you went home." she explained. "I figured you must not being feeling well so I brought you some soup." she crossed the room and sat the container down on the counter. "It's frozen so you'll have to unthaw it on the stove top."
"I'm not hungry." she replied, heading to the sofa to sit down. "I'm not sick either."
"Oh, Mary." she breathed out. "You've been crying." she was at her daughters side within seconds. "What's the matter, darling?"
"It's nothing." she lied. "I just need some time to myself that's all."
Dottie instinctively knew that her daughter's predicament involved a man. "You can talk to me, Mary." she told her. "I'm always here for you, you know that." she didn't think she had ever seen her daughter so upset. Not even when she left Bill and moved to Minneapolis. Dottie wrapped her arms around her, pulling her close. "Come on, baby, tell me what's wrong."
Mary took comfort in her mother's loving embrace. And for several minutes she said nothing at all. Dottie gently stroked her hair. "It's about a man, isn't it?" she asked her daughter. "Are you in...trouble?"
She looked up at her mom. "You mean...pregnant?"
"Yes."
"No, mom." she replied. "I'm not pregnant."
"But you are upset over a man." she concluded. "If you tell me what happened you might feel a little better."
"Oh, okay." Mary agreed, sitting up. "I've been seeing someone."
"Anyone I know?"
"Yeah." she breathed out. "Lou."
"Lou Grant?" she questioned, pausing to ponder her thoughts. "I never really thought the two of you together, but I could see where he would be a good match for you."
"And he is." Mary couldn't help but smile when she thought about him. "I feel like he's my equal in every way."
Dottie nodded. "How long have you been seeing him socially?"
"Oh, about a week." she replied. "Everything has been going really great. We've been to dinner and we've gone dancing, and on Saturday he even took me to a baseball game. And I actually liked it."
She could see the happiness in Mary's eyes, the way they lit up and almost danced as she spoke about Lou. She instantly knew that her daughter was head over heels in love. "If everything is going so well then why have you been crying?" she asked. "You can't deny it, your eyes are red and puffy."
"This morning at the station Sue Ann Nivens found out about my relationship with Lou." she explained. "Sue Ann has kind of always had this thing for him. Anyway she didn't take it very well at all. She made a huge scene in the middle of the newsroom and stomped out like a child."
"And that's why you've been crying." Dottie concluded.
"I know it's dumb..."
"No." she replied. "It's not dumb at all."
"It's just that when I came into the office this morning everyone was talking about what a great mood Lou was in, how happy he was." she told her. "Then long came Sue Ann, barging into Lou's office, and ruined the entire thing."
"Sue Ann's a big girl and she'll get over it."
"She's one to hold a grudge." she replied. "Lou and I were doing so well at keeping out professional life separate from our personal life. At least in the few moments that we were given the opportunity. I was a little hesitant about how things were going to go work wise and now I don't know how it can work."
"If you want it badly enough, Mary, you'll find a way to work it out."
"I don't know, mom." she said. "Not after this morning."
"So you're just going to take the easy way out?" she asked. "You're going to let Sue Ann ruin your relationship with Lou?"
"It's not that cut and dry."
"Of course it is." she insisted. "If you really care about Lou and you want your relationship to work then you won't let anyone stand in your way. Not even the happy homemaker."
~WJM~
Murray knocked softly on Lou's door and poked his head inside. "Hey Lou." he said. "Can I come in?"
Lou never even bothered to look up from his desk. "Sure."
He walked inside and shut the door behind him. "I thought that maybe we could talk." he said, sitting down across from him. "But we don't have to if you don't want to."
"Okay, what would you like to talk about?"
"What happened this morning..."
"Oh, that." he exhaled. "You were here for that little show. Sue Ann came in spouting off about something she had no idea about, made a huge scene, upset Mary, and then stormed out of my newsroom."
"Look, Lou, I'm not going to force you to talk to me about you and Mary." he told him, getting up. "Or about what happened this morning. I just thought you would like someone to talk to, that's all."
Lou exhaled heavily. "No, you're right." he agreed. "I do need to talk to someone about it."
Murray sat back down. "I'm here to listen."
"I've been seeing Mary since last week.' he started. "Things have been going really great. She's the kind of girl a guy dreams of having. She even liked going to the baseball game with me. Being with her makes me feel alive, it makes me feel young again." a smiled played on his lips but then faded. "Everything was going fantastic and then Sue Ann barged in with her high school theatrics and everything blew up."
"You seem so happy, Lou."
"I am." he said simply. "These past few days with Mary have been incredible."
"Don't let Sue Ann's temper tantrum ruin what you and Mary have." he said. "Especially if your relationship is serious."
"Yeah." he agreed. "Right now I just want to fix things. I hate when Mary's upset."
"Have you tried calling her?"
"Twice." he replied. "I didn't get an answer. She said she needed to be alone and I don't want to invade. I don't want to make things worse."
"I don't think you'd make things worse." Murray said. "I think she would be happy to see you."
"Yeah." he breathed out. "Maybe I should go over there."
Lou knocked on Mary's apartment door and waited patiently for her to answer. Instead he was greeted by her mother. "Hello, Lou." she smiled warmly. "Won't you come in?"
"Uh, I don't want to intrude."
"Oh, you're not." she replied. "I was just leaving."
He stepped inside the apartment. "Is Mary, okay?"
"Yes, fine." she answered. "She's in the bathroom getting ready to go back to work."
He nodded. "I guess she told you about what happened."
"She did." she replied. "We had a nice long talk and I think things are going to be just fine."
Lou smiled. "You don't know how happy I am to hear you say that."
"I think I have a pretty good idea." she smiled back at him. "Mary loves you very much."
"She told you that?"
"She didn't have to." Dottie replied, opening the door. "A mother just knows these things." she told him. "Goodbye, Lou."
"Bye."
Lou made his way into Mary's bedroom to find that she was still getting ready. He sat down on the edge of the bed and waited. It wasn't long before the door opened and she emerged, looking absolutely beautiful. She immediately smiled when she saw him. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I thought I would surprise you." he held out his hand to her. "And I wanted to make sure that you were okay."
Her hand slid into his. "I'm fine." she replied. "You didn't have to come all the way over here."
"No." he said, pulling her toward him. "But I wanted to."
Mary sat down next to him on the bed. "I'm glad you did." she replied. "I've been doing a lot of thinking and I think maybe things would be better if we didn't work together."
Lou nodded. "I think so too." he replied. "That's why I decided to take the promotion they offered me."
"Promotion?"
"Yes." he said. "Station manager."
"But, Lou, you've tried that job before." she reminded him. "You hated it."
"Well now there are new owners." he explained. "And with new owners come new ideas. They're willing to let me take the job and make it my own."
"When did they offer you this?"
"Last week." he replied. "I told them I would think about it. And seeing how our relationship has evolved I told them I would take the job, but under one condition."
"What's that?"
"That you're executive producer." he told her. "What do you think? Would you like a promotion?"
"I would love to be executive producer." she told him. "Not but not if it means that you're going to be doing a job that you'll hate."
"I'm not going to hate it." he assured her. "Things are going to be different this time. And besides I really don't think I can continue working with you side by side day in and day out."
Mary arched an eyebrow."Why not?"
"Because." he said, pulling her closer to him. "I have this overwhelming urge that involves you and the top of my desk. And I'm afraid that I'm going to want to act on it..."
Mary laughed. "I think you handled things pretty well this morning."
"Luckily for us, Sue Ann interrupted." he swept the hair away from the side of her neck. "So what do you think?" he asked. "Will you accept the promotion?"
"I don't know." she said, leaning into him. "Are you sure you're going to be happy as station manager?"
His lips grazed the side of her neck. "I think I can be, yes."
"I want you to be happy." she rasped, closing her eyes.
"I am happy." he mumbled against the soft skin of her neck. "I've never been happier."
"Then, yes." she replied. "I want to be executive producer."
Lou pulled back. "I think this calls for celebration."
"What did you have in mind?"
He started undoing the buttons on her blouse. "Well, I was thinking dinner at one of those dimly lit restaurants, some champagne, perhaps a little slow dancing." he said, pushing the silky material off of her shoulders. "Then back here for dessert."
Mary's lips met his in an all consuming kiss. "If that's celebrating then what's this?" she asked as they parted for some much needed air.
"Lunch."
tbc...
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