Imogene had always been a little… intense. Midge and her had first met at a dinner party suggested by their husbands a few years back. From the moment Imogene walked through the door with Archie trailing behind, Midge knew that they were meant to be in each other's lives forever. Here was a woman that would finally keep Midge on her toes. A friend that would hide her harsh criticisms and opinions behind a tone that was as sweet as pie. Imogene's bright blonde hair and chipper demeanor offered a contrast to Midge's life that she hadn't even realised he was missing.

"None of these apartments sound the least bit suitable," Imogene sighed as she tossed another newspaper onto their pile in the middle of the kitchen table.

The two women had been searching through newspaper and local magazine listings for vacant apartments all morning. Midge really was at the end of her rope when it came to the Maisels, and she was desperate to live with her husband. There was no way she was going to be living in Queens any longer than absolutely necessary.

Luckily, Imogene was dying to a break from her overly loud house, and jumped at the chance to help her best friend troll through ads.

"I'm meeting Lenny tomorrow morning to look at a couple places in the city," Midge circled an address and then added it to their written list in her notebook. "I'm hoping that one of those ones is the place, because I can't spend another moment living with these crazy people!"

Imogene pursed her lips and reached for her glass of iced tea. She took a sip and thought for a moment. Midge could tell that she was trying to stop herself from saying something out of turn, and urged her to just come out with it already:

"Just say it."

"I just don't know why you don't move into your old apartment!" The blonde finally said. She lowered her shoulders and lifted her chin. Defiance Mode activated, Midge thought. "You loved that apartment so much, and it was beautiful! Not to mention convenient, and-"

"And part of my old life. A life that was torn apart and," she attempted to piece together her thoughts and feelings in a way that would make sense to more than just herself. She kept needing ways to communicate this specific point to people, but always seemed to fall short. So, she went with what seemed to work when she explained it to her mother for the fifth time: "I want a completely new start with Lenny. I loved that old apartment, so much, but it just seemed like one big coffin shaped box where my marriage died. I care too much about Lenny to let that happen again."

Imogene took a couple minutes to gather her thoughts before replying to Midge's reasoning.

"Well," she grabbed a new pen and pulled off the cap, circling an address with newfound vigor. "I don't know this Lenny Bruce, yet, but I can see that he makes you very happy."

"I am happy, Imogene."

"Then we need to find you a place, and-" there was a crashing sound from the sitting room, and Shirley's voice quickly followed, vibrating through the house and rattling the nearby windows. Imogene's eyes widened and she leaned forward to whisper as though Shirley would be able to hear her from across the house, "We need to get you out of here!"

Midge laughed at Imogene's whispers, but nodded her head in agreement.


After days of searching, it was Lenny that ended up finding them the perfect apartment. He called Midge from a payphone just outside the building he'd been looking at in the Upper West Side. He waxed lyrical about a second story and beautiful hardwood floors in a way that Midge never expected to hear.

When Lenny finally managed to get Midge out of Queens to see the place later that afternoon, she wondered why he hadn't mentioned the two-story, floor to ceiling windows. She had been surprised by the neighbourhood he chose, of course, but she was also surprised that there was no mention of the beautiful balcony off the master bedroom.

"I wanted you to be surprised!" He shot back while they stood in the master bedroom. They were looking through the balcony doors at their view of the park. "This apartment is perfect. It is even in your neighbourhood! I couldn't blow the whole load over the phone."

Midge bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from continuing his innuendo.

"Are you sure this is where you want to live? You've never been the Upper West Side, doorman, wife and kids at home, kind of guy." Midge walked around the room a bit, and looked out one of the other windows, and towards the skyline. Their view was beautiful, and she was surprised to find that she was getting a little teary. "I don't want you to have to give up everything for me."

Lenny came up behind her to wrap his arms around her waist. He bent to press a hard kiss to her jawline, then rested his chin on Midge's shoulder. He pressed a more gentle kiss to her neck, making a deep, warm blush rise up her chest to cover her face in red.

"I'm not giving up anything for you, Mrs. Bruce." He paused , and in the meantime, Midge turned in his arms so they could look each other in the eye. "I've never really had anywhere that I could call home before. Even with Honey… that didn't feel right. Then Kitty didn't come along until things had already fallen apart…" His expression was more serious than she had ever seen. There was a mixture of sadness and relief in his eyes that she wasn't expecting. "This neighbourhood makes you feel at home. It will make our kids feel at home too - all three of them. So as long as you don't mind sharing your home with me..."

She wanted to tell him that she hated it. The apartment wasn't for them. They could look a bit longer and find an okay place a little further downtown. Midge had already been married to a man that lied about what he wanted, and he left her for it in the middle of the night. She didn't want this marriage to end the same way.

"I don't want you to have-"

"Midge, do you like the apartment?"

"Of course I do! The apartment is beautiful!"

"Then we will take the apartment." He bent to press his lips resolutely against her slightly agape mouth. "We will build our life here together and I'll be so incredibly happy that I'll be the least funny Jew in the State!"

The landlord took their information and had them fill out what felt like a mountain of paperwork before they left. Lenny was worried that his reputation would ruin their chances of getting the place, but the man they spoke with seemed to be a fan of them both. If anything, the fact that Lenny Bruce would be living in his building was a plus that the man wasn't expecting to get out of the young couple.

"So, now that all of that is done," Lenny lit a cigarette as they stepped outside the building and started down the sidewalk. He offered an arm to Midge, which she gratefully took as they walked. "I'm starving."