The Bruce household was filled with racks of clothing that Lenny was sure he would have remembered seeing before. Midge had been so excited when they were delivered a couple days ago, and immediately wanted to dive in to pick out what she would bring with them on vacation.

"Where do they keep all of this?" Lenny asked mostly to himself, since he knew Abe was wholly distracted by his little toy U-Haul and car. "Surely there must be a warehouse somewhere filled with dresses."

Abe clicked his tongue and leaned back in his chair, clearly frustrated by his fruitless efforts. "I've learned not to ask too many questions about women and their clothing."

"You know we can hear you!" Midge called out from the living room. Her voice was muffled as she shouted over the rainbow of fabrics.

"It's only gotten worse over the years, and I expect it will continue that way," Abe continued as if he hadn't heard his daughter calling them out from the other room. "First Miriam became a teenager and we had to start getting a trailer. Then she got married and had children, and my nice small trailer has been getting bigger ever since."

"Maybe we can just get two smaller trailers," Lenny suggested in what he hoped was a helpful way. "Since we are taking two cars anyway."

The older man seemed to ponder this idea for a moment, then bent to his notebook to start writing down the measurements of a second trailer. Lenny felt a strange twinge in his stomach at the knowledge that he was able to help his father-in-law out, and that the man had actually taken his ideas into consideration.

For some reason, Lenny was always finding himself trying to impress Abe. He suspected that it probably had a lot to do with the fact that he wasn't good enough for Midge. Lenny needed to prove to himself as well as everyone around them that she wasn't foolish for taking a chance on him. It probably also had to do with daddy issues, if he was being blunt (which he always is).

Both men were broken out of their thoughts by Midge herself walking into the room with a few empty hangers in hand. She gave Lenny a peck on the cheek and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Have you figured it out, Papa?"

"No actually," he was filling in the drawing of the second trailer with smaller boxes. "Lenny's very helpful suggestion of a second trailer seems to have fixed the problem though!"

"Does that mean-"

"No Miriam, you can not bring more suitcases."

"More suitcases?" Rose's head appeared over one of the racks, Lenny could see her standing precariously on her toes. "Did someone say there was room for more sui-"

"No. No one said there was room for more suitcases." Abe got up from his seat and headed towards the kitchen. "Lenny was simply helping me solve the problem of how many suitcases we already have!"

"But Abe!" Rose hung up the dress she'd been contemplating back on the rack and glided into the kitchen to make her case.

"Have I ever told you just how handsome my husband is, especially right now?" Midge's lips moved against Lenny's ear as she tried to convince him of her scheme. Her thin fingers played with the hem of his shirt, nails running along the skin she'd uncovered.

Lenny rolled his eyes and gave her a harsh, but smiling kiss. This woman really would be the death of him.

"Mama?" Midge was clearly off one of the racks so that she could separate clothes she was planning to bring before packing them all away. Rose was doing the same, but much more efficiently it seemed. "How are we going to do this?"

"Do what, dear?"

"How are we going to deal with all of the staring and the… the whispering from people? Remember when Ethel Bernstein got remarried to that guy and-"

"You and Lenny are a very different situation from Ethel and Bertie." Rose had turned to look at her daughter now. Midge could see the twinge of concern on her face, but her mother was clearly trying to hide it behind reassurance. "Joel left you, not the other way around. You and Lenny are also both quite successful. You don't have to listen to what anyone says."

"Mama, I-"

"I still don't agree with what you do for a living, but I can't deny the life it has given you. I also can't pretend that your… career hasn't helped both your father and I out immensely."

Midge found herself momentarily speechless, which did not happen very often. Both of her parents had softened in the past year. In the past couple years, if she was really thinking about it. Ever since Midge found herself having to take control of her own life, her parents had begun doing the same. Rose had even cursed the new found confidence in herself that she's gained under her daughter's influence.

"You're stronger than any of us ever gave you credit for, Miriam." At some point Rose had taken Midge's hand and was squeezing it. "Don't let a bunch of busybodies tell you otherwise."

Midge listened to her mother with tears in her eyes. This was the love and support that she'd never come to expect from the woman that raised her, even if they had a truly loving household. There was always a veneer on their image. A piece of frosted glass between their lives and the lives of others in their community. She was glad to know that her parents really were on the same side as Midge was finding herself now.

She wanted to tell her mother what had been rolling around in her busy head for the past couple days. The news that she was nervous to tell Lenny, and the news that would shake up their lives in a way she wasn't sure she was ready for yet. Midge wanted an ally, and her mother's chilly fingers digging into her palm felt more secure than anything she had been feeling since her doctor's appointment earlier in the week.

"Mama," Midge's voice was low and small. She felt like a child under her mother's gaze sometimes, despite having children of her own. "I… I'm having another baby."

Honey still lived in the apartment they first rented when they were newly-weds. It wasn't in a great part of town, and it was a third floor walkup, but Honey had loved the apartment and now it was Kitty's home. Anytime he came here to pick Kitty up, the memories of the short time they were a small, less-than-happy family all flooded back in unwanted.

Despite the fact that he loved his little girl more than anything in the world, her conception had been Honey's remedy for their failing marriage. When that didn't work Lenny had to leave for the betterment of all involved. He didn't get to see his daughter as much as he wanted, but he had to be on the road to earn enough money to live, and then always send the rest to his now ex-wife.

There were many benefits of this new life he was living, but not the least of which had to do with the relationship he was now able to have with his daughter. He had a more stable income now that he and Midge owned their apartment. There was a bedroom for Kitty when she stayed with them now, which she was able to do more often and for longer. He may not have given Kitty the life Honey had clearly envisioned for them, but he hoped that the one he'd been trying to provide was making her happy.

Lenny had been nervous the first time Midge and the kids all met his little girl. She'd grown up so far very differently from the three of them, but he was happy to see that Kitty was quickly embraced and pulled in, in only the way Weissman's are apparently able. She fit into this new part of their family like she'd been there the whole time. Sometimes he would feel like the odd man out when it came to Midge and their children, but that was never something for which he could ever fault his wife. Especially when he knew how much she'd struggled with her role as a mother.

"Daddy!" Kitty swung the door to the apartment open excitedly, and so quickly that Lenny was sure she had been waiting for him right next to it.

"Kitty, what did I tell you about answering the door without me!" Honey sounded exhausted, as though she'd definitely told their daughter at least a dozen times. "You have no idea who is on the other side!"

"It's Daddy!"

Honey groaned and rubbed at her forehead. There were two small suitcases on the floor near the door with Kitty's treasured brown bear laying haphazardly on top.

"Has she been a handful?" Lenny asked as he picked his daughter up off of the floor.

"Let's just say I've been seriously considering letting you take her for the whole summer."

"Midge said there would be ice cream," Kitty reached up towards her father with chubby little hands. Lenny complied easily and lifted her up so they could meet eye to eye. "Will there be chocolate?"

"Of course there will be chocolate, what kind of place do you think this is, huh?"

"I put a list in her suitcase of everything that I packed for her, just in case you need something and can't find it. I let her bring a couple toys other than Bear, for rainy days or if she can't sleep or whatever," Honey looked a little teary, but her smile was far happier than Lenny had seen in a long time. "I'm going to miss this annoying little bean."

The plan was for Kitty to spend a few weeks in the Catskills with Lenny before coming home for a week and reassessing what they wanted to do from there. This would be the longest mother and daughter had been separated since Honey had given birth to her, and Lenny suspected there would be many long distance phone calls in his future.

"You know you're more than welcome to come up for a few nights too, Honey." Lenny voiced Midge's suggestion when he brought up the issue of his daughter's possible homesickness while they were away. "Midge said to just call the day before and we can get a room booked for you, or we can stick you in one of the kids rooms and they can all bunk together."

Honey scrunched her forehead and Lenny swore he saw her sifting through her work schedule to see if it would even work. "Maybe, we'll see with work. Thank you for the offer either way."

They all stood in calm silence while Honey tried her best to keep the tears from pooling and falling over her eyes. Kitty was oblivious to her mother's emotional state, and Lenny knew better than to call his ex-wife out. He wasn't sure what to say next, or how to prompt the party into breaking up so he and Kitty could head back to the apartment. Zelda was determined to make one more breakfast before she too had the summer off, and it was already getting late in the morning.

"Will they have sprinkles?"

Honey laughed loudly at the sudden question, and grabbed the little girl from Lenny to give a tight squeeze.

"You be good for Daddy and Midge, okay? I don't want to hear that you were being rude or not sharing with the other kids."

"I'm always good, Mommy!"

"You're not, and you get that from your father." Honey looked back at her ex-husband and gave him a knowing wink, with no hint of malice or the flirtation that they once held.

Lenny was glad that they were here. The years and a more comfortable life have made him more forgiving of the part she played in the downfall of their relationship. It has also allowed her to claim the part she'd had, where she was once adamant that the blame fell solely on his shoulders. It felt good to share the weight.

It felt good to be able to stand in the same room with a woman that couldn't stand the look of him not that long ago.

The knowledge that their separation wouldn't play a large part in forming their daughter's psyche was a comfort to them both. Unfortunately she was going to have to gain a sense of humour some other way. Maybe some sort of social disease would do the job. Or maybe she got some of his bad luck in the genetic bingo before she even came into the world.

Although his luck turned in the end, so maybe he didn't have to worry about his little girl too.

"Why are you always so…" Suzy waved one of her hands vaguely in Midge's direction as she got situated in the diner booth.

"Pretty?"

"Late!"

"We said 9, and I'm here at," Midge checked her watch and frowned at the time. "I'm only a couple minutes late. I didn't even know the diner was open this early!"

"Pretty easy when you never actually close."

Suzy didn't get down to business until their food had arrived, and Midge took a few bites. They both knew that she was a lot more open to new information if she wasn't thinking about food the whole time they were trying to talk.

"So I typed this up for ya," Suzy picked up a piece of paper she'd apparently been hiding on the seat next to her the whole time. She didn't even give Midge time to look it over before she started explaining what was on it. "I only have a few days set up for you while you're in buttfuck nowhere. I figured we didn't have to go as hard the first few weeks, but I tried to schedule them for the nights Lenny also has a gig, like you asked."

"I see you even let me have my party nights!" Midge complimented around a bite of fry.

"You didn't make as many demands as I thought you would, so it was a lot easier than I expected."

"Was that a-"

"No, that was not a compliment. It was an observation. You show up to those gigs with new material and then you can get the compliments."

"I'm about to spend three months locked in a resort with every Jew on the East Coast. I'm sure there will be plenty of material coming our way."

The schedule was far more detailed than Midge had originally noticed. Suzy had real potential in scheduling if nothing else; though that obviously came with her experience scheduling acts for the Gaslight. She even included nights that Lenny would be doing a gig too though, even though Midge was pretty certain she'd never asked for that information.

"I called your husband's agent for his schedule by the way. The man was more than tight lipped with that information. As if they wouldn't want to advertise that their client was going to be on The Tonight Show."

Midge had only ever heard about Lenny's manager, but the man seemed like a piece of work. He got the gigs though, no one could deny that. It seemed like most agents in the industry had a different shaped stick up their ass, and every social interaction wedged it further.

"You could have asked me, you know? At the very least I could have handed the phone off to Lenny himself."

"Do you really think he knows what his schedule is for the next millennium? He's talented, but I don't even think he knows that he has a gig next Tuesday."

Midge nodded in understanding and agreement, before folding over the paper and putting it into her purse. "Thank you for going through all this trouble Suzy. I know my going away is a pain in your ass."

"Hey, as long as your parents made good on that room, we are good to go!"

It may have been Midge's idea to get Suzy a room that she could use at the resort for a few days a month, but it was certainly her parents that pulled the strings. Luckily there was one free, and Suzy would also be able to enjoy a much needed vacation this summer. It was the least Midge could do after the crap she'd put her tired manager through. Especially after the Shy tour ended unexpectedly, without a new start date in sight.

Especially because Suzy was soon going to have a pregnant woman to manage, not that she had any idea it was coming. Midge was planning to keep that under wraps for as long as she could. Or at least until she told Lenny.

The trailers were finally packed tightly and the kids were fed without incident by the time Midge arrived back at the apartment. Lenny and Kitty were back as well, and he was busy making sure the kids had everything they needed before the family began the long drive upstate.

"You know, I don't think I've ever willingly taken a vacation" Lenny said as he cleaned up the jam from Ethan's face. "I'm actually really looking forward to this." He looked up at Midge, who was digging through the abyss of her purse to make sure she had everything.

"You have no idea what you've been missing," she replied back to him with a glowing smile on her face. When he stood up, Midge took the napkin he had been using on Ethan from his hands, and dabbed at the corner of his mouth. "I promise, the moment we leave at the end of the summer, all you'll want is to go back again."

"Even with all of the gossip hounds?"

"Especially with all of the gossip hounds. Imagine how much material we'll get out of this!"

"Are you kids ready to go?" Abe was holding his 'driving hat', which had been a constant of their summer drive upstate since before Midge can remember. Sometimes she wondered if he was born with that hat. "We need to get on the road, or we're going to be late!"

"Calm down, Abe! We'll hadly be late!" Rose was rolling her eyes even as she opened the front door.

Lenny pushed Ethan's back gently to make him follow his grandparents out the front door, then picked Esther up from playing on the floor. Midge reached to fix the little girl's hair, then leaned in to kiss her husband.

"Are you ready?" She asked them both.

Esther looked unphased, even when Lenny reached down to grab the hat Abe had bought him last week. They all knew he probably wouldn't wear it, but Abe had been too excited not to at least bring it with them.

"Is one ever ready to go into the nuthouse?" He carried Esther into the hallway and paused by the elevator to wait for his wife. "We're going to the Catskills, baby!" Lenny whispered in semi-faux excitement to Esther.

Midge said her goodbyes to Zelda, then grabbed her purse and followed her husband out the front door.

"We're going to the Catskills!"