Karen stood in the doorway, speechless. She had heard Mort say, on more than one occasion, that he never informed Amy about moving into Alex's home, the marriage, or anything, really.
A fan? She could be a fan trying to meet him, couldn't she? She could just hope that I would believe her. Unsure of how to handle the situation, Karen decided that she should tell Mort right away. "Can you wait here a minute?" she asked as politely as she could.
"Sure," Amy – or this person who said she's Amy – replied.
Karen left the doorway and quickly made her way to Mort, who Julia had convinced to play pin the tail on the donkey. "Mort, I have to talk to you."
"What's wrong?" he asked, noticing the worried look on her face.
"There's…" She lowered her voice. "There's a woman at the front door. She says that she's your ex-wife, but I thought that since you hadn't told her anything, she could just be a fan or something."
Convinced that the latter was the correct explanation, Mort said, "Thank you. I'll take care of it." He made his way to the front door, nearly falling over when he saw her. "Amy?"
"Mort!" She stepped just inside the doorway and flung her arms around his neck desperately. Mort's arms stayed at his sides for a moment – then he gently pushed her away.
"Amy, what are you doing here?" he asked.
"You didn't tell me you moved again," she said, ignoring his question. "And only a mile or so from your other…"
"Why are you here?" Mort glanced behind him. "I'm busy at the moment."
"I'm…I'm sorry, I just…"
I'm sorry. The phone call echoed through his brain. "You called this morning, didn't you?" Amy looked away. "You called in the middle of the night too, didn't you?" She nodded. "Any, what's going on?"
"I…I've been missing you," she said softly.
Mort's eyes widened. "You what? Amy, I think I've spoken to you once in the last year."
"I know. I…I tried calling the number you gave me, but…well…"
"Where's Ted?" Mort asked – not a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
"Home."
"You're a long way from home – from Ted, Amy. Why are you here? I mean, really?"
"Daddy!" Julia ran into the foyer. "Come pay!"
Karen ran in after her. "I'm sorry, Mort, she got away from me."
"That's all right, Karen," he said, picking up Julia. Karen understood and walked away.
"You…you have a…" Amy quickly did the math. Unless he had an affair as well, this little girl couldn't have possibly been his - unless he met someone and things progressed at an unworldly rate…or an "accident" occurred. "She's a toddler," Amy said, as if Mort wasn't aware of this.
"Two today, actually," he said. "And no, she's not mine. Well, not genetically speaking."
"Oh," Amy said, an all too noticeable sigh of relief coming from her. She then noticed the wedding band on Mort's finger – it wasn't the one she'd picked out for him. Of course it's not. Why would he be wearing that? "You're…um, you're married?"
"Yeah."
"The woman that answered the door. Was she…"
"No, she's my sister-in-law. My wife's – she doesn't need to know you're here because you 'miss me.'" His voice wasn't cold; it was more "matter-of-fact." "So, what's the real reason, Amy?"
Amy nervously pushed her hair behind her ear, letting Mort see an engagement ring on her finger. "That is a big part of it."
Julia started to squirm. "Duce…"
Mort put her down. "Honey, ask Uncle Steve to get you some juice – Daddy'll be right there." Julia scurried off.
"Mort, I didn't know. How could I have known? Why didn't you tell…"
"Look, do you need something or not?" His patience was thinning.
"Is there a better time?"
"For what, Amy?"
"To talk. Please?"
Mort sighed. "Do you have a cell?" She nodded. "Give me the number and I'll work something out."
"Thank you, Mort," she said getting a piece of paper from her purse. She scribbled down her number as she said, "I'm sorry for interrupting." She handed him the paper, then turned and left as quickly as she could.
Married? I can't believe he's married. And that little girl…she called him "Daddy." His or not, he has a child. Good for him, Amy. You should be happy for him…he deserves it. He does…doesn't he? Yes. Yes, he has the right to be happy…to have a new life. I shouldn't be here…but I need him.