"Blanche, you have got to get out of bed." Dorothy called through the door.

Sophia came out of her room. "Like a broken record in this house." She continued to the living room.

"Blanche." Dorothy repeated. "Blanche, its been a week. You have to go to work."

The door opened and Blanche, pale and drawn, unwashed and unmade up. "Just leave me alone, Dorothy. I don't want to go to work. I just want to be alone."

"Sorry, Greta." Dorothy said. "Life mist go on." She pushed her way into Blanche's bedroom and threw the light on. "My goodness, what a mess."

The room was a mess of used tissues, clothes, all manner of a depressive episode.

"First things first, you're going to take a hot shower. A long hot shower." Dorothy declared. "Wash your hair. Then put on some make-up, some clean clothes, and go to work. Me and Rose and Ma are going to clean this room up. You need to eat. So, shower, then eat."

Blanche remained rooted.

"March, missy." Dorothy ordered.

Blanche jumped and went for the bathroom.

When she came out her room was clean and an outfit was out on the bed. She put it on and went out to the kitchen.

"Good shower, honey?" Rose greeted. She put a plate of food and a cup of orange juice in front of Blanche at the table. Pancakes with chocolate chip eyes and a strawberry smile.

"Thank you, Rose." Blanche said awkwardly. She poured syrup over them and tucked in. "Can I have some coffee, honey?"

"Coffee isn't good for a pregnant woman, Blanche." Rose said. "I've been reading my Dr. Spock."

"My Dr. Spock." Blanche clarified. "And, I can have one cup of regular coffee a day."

Rose made a face but poured her a cup. "Just one."

"So, what are you going to do today, Blanche?" Dorothy asked.

"Go to work, like you ordered, General Patton in a pantsuit." Blanche answered gruffly.

"It'll do you a world of good." Dorothy said. "This break-up, it hurts now but it will get better. I remember when Stan finally left. I couldn't get out of bed for weeks. Ma had to move in with me and help take care of me. Then one day she came into my room and she told me I had to get up. I told her to leave me alone. Ma ripped open the curtains and pushed open the bedroom windows. The most beautiful sound came into the room."

"What was it?" Blanche asked.

"It was life." Dorothy said sagely. "I could hear birds singing, dogs barking, kids playing, the sound of wind through the trees, and I realized life really does go on and I could either go with it or die. I chose life."

Blanche nodded slowly, understanding. "Thank you, Dorothy." She squeezed Dorothy's hand. "Thank you."

"I have an idea." Dorothy said. "How about we take a little vacation? Maybe the Bahamas?"

"I saw a great brochure for a beautiful hotel." Rose said eagerly. "Tell you what, let me take care of everything. I have a great travel agent."

XXXXXXXXX

"I never want to travel again." Dorothy declared, letting them all in the house. "One shipwreck is enough for me, thank you."

"But, wasn't that Hyatt hotel just beautiful." Blanche remarked.

"I liked the all-you-can-eat ice cream bar in the cafe." Rose said brightly.

"Whoa." Dorothy said suddenly.

The living room had been redecorated to look Asian.

"Ma?" Dorothy called. "What on Earth is going on here?"

The kitchen door swung open and Sophia, dressed as a geisha, came out, followed by Toshiro Mitsumo, their gardener. She stopped and stared at them in shock.

"Ma?" Dorothy exclaimed.

"Konnichi wa." Sophia greeted seriously. "How was the Bahamas?"

"Oh, you'll never believe what happened." Rose began.

Dorothy waved her silent. "Ma, what are you doing dressed like that, and why is Mr. Mitsumo with you?"

Sophia took Mr. Mitsumo's arm. "Toshiro and I are in love."

"Kiss?" Mr. Mitsumo asked hopefully.

"No! No kiss!" Dorothy exclaimed. She plastered on a smile. "Mr. Mitsumo, thank you so much for all your hard work, we'll give you a call when we need you again." She gently escorted him to the door. "Thank you, Mr. Mitsumo." She closed the door behind him. "Ma?"

"Oh, why'd you kick him out, Dorothy, he and I were just about to have a great lunch." Sophia complained.

"Ma, go change your clothes right now." Dorothy ordered. "What have you done to the house?"

"Toshiro and I have been getting to know each other." Sophia said defensively.

"You know," Blanche said musingly, "I kind of like this new decoration scheme."

"We're not keeping it." Dorothy scoffed. "Blanche, its tacky."

"I guess you're right." Blanche sighed.

They all sank into the sofa.

"So, how was the trip?" Sophia asked.

They regaled her with their trip from Hell that had a better ending than it began.

"Sounds like you had fun, though." Sophia remarked.

"Yeah, about as much fun as anyone can have, six months pregnant and shipwrecked in the Bahamas." Blanche remarked. "The spa at the Hyatt was just lovely. The masseuse sent me to Heaven and back."

"Blanche, you said the massage was awful." Dorothy remarked.

"I know, but the masseuse is a different story." Blanche said with a coy smile.

"She's ba-a-a-ack." Sophia said quietly.

XXXXXXXXX

"...so you can just shove it, Mr. Allen!"

Blanche stopped as Eileen, her coworker and Mr. Allen's second secretary, stormed out of the executive's office in a huff. "Goodbye, Blanche." She stormed out of the office and jabbed for the elevator.

Blanche put her purse on her desk and went into Mr. Allen's office. "What on Earth happened with Eileen, Mr. Allen? She just stormed out of here like a cat with a mouse trap on it's tail."

"Oh, Eileen was under the impression that she was going to be given the open curator position in the French art room." Mr. Allen explained. "I never actually promised it to her but I guess maybe I should have done a little more to subvert her expectations."

"Oh, that's just awful, Mr. Allen, Eileen would have made a great curator." Blanche said unhappily. "She's been to France three times and speaks French fluently. Who did you give it to?"

"Missy Sanderson." Mr. Allen answered.

"Missy Sanderson? Your friend, Arthur's wife?" Blanche puzzled.

"Oh, the curator position." Mr. Allen said brightly. "I gave that to Floyd Andrews."

Blanche tssked at him. "Mr. Allen."

"Oh, now that Eileen is going would you put out feelers for a replacement position for her?" Mr. Allen requested. "With the banquet coming up you'll need all the help you can get."

"Of course." Blanche sighed. "Maybe whoever we hire can stay long enough for me to go on my maternity leave."

"Maternity leave?" Mr. Allen questioned. "You're pregnant?"

"Mr. Allen, why do you think I've gained weight?" Blanche asked with a smile.

"You've gained weight?" Mr. Allen remarked.

Blanche gave him a look and returned to her desk. He was right, the banquet was a huge undertaking, but she wasn't sure she could get someone trained in that short amount of time.

Mr. Allen came out with a new list of names to invite to the benefit. "When you find the time could you get these to the stationary store and get invitations made up? These are some of the best donors in the city and we definitely need them to come."

"I'll get to it." Blanche said. Mr. Allen returned to his office and Blanche reviewed the list. Her heart sank. Donald Bennet's name was on the list.

Of course he would be and you were just too stupid to realize it. She thought to herself. Of course you're going to have to cross paths. Miami isn't a large town and the intellectual community really is small. There are only so many glamorous, stylish, fabulous people in Miami but I guess I don't know a couple.

She got the names to the stationary store and returned to the office. There were so many messages. They were only on Day 1 without Eileen and she was already swamped.

XXXXXXXXX

A solution presented itself three very busy days later in Dorothy.

Her school system having made the switch to a year-round curriculum she would be out of work for ten weeks every six weeks and she was looking for a job to supplement her income.

"I can't believe her admitted that he slept with his friend's wife in the middle of the interview." Dorothy said as she and Blanche returned home that afternoon.

"It makes so much sense now." Blanche said matter-of-factly. "I have a feeling he was getting it with more than just Art Sanderson's wife. I have a feeling he and Eileen had something going on and he made her certain promises."

"Well, you won't have to worry about that with me." Dorothy assured her.

"Oh, I know," Blanche said cheerfully. "He only likes small, petite, feminine women. Like me." She smiled and went to the kitchen for a snack.

Dorothy heard the dog Rose had brought home from the supermarket barking on the lanai and sighed irritably. She went outside. "Rose Nylund, why is that thing still here?"

"That's not a nice way to talk about Sophia, Dorothy." Rose said, looking up from where she was on the ground playing with the dog.

Sophia made a rude hand gesture at Rose behind her back. "How did the interview go, Pussycat?"

"I got the job." Dorothy said, taking a seat at the patio table. "It should be nice. Blanche seems to enjoy it there."

"If you want, I can try and get you a job at grief counseling." Rose offered. "Its just such fulfilling work."

"Yesh, it'll make the wack-jobs of Miami feel so much better when Dorothy tells them her sobstory." Sophia remarked. "A divorced substitute teacher in her late-fifties living with a pregnant fifty year old and a woman who pretends to be a dog."

"Don't forget her mother." Rose supplied. "She also lives with her mother."

Dorothy exhaled slowly. "Thank you, Rose. Thank you, Ma. I'm going to take a shower. Maybe I won't drown myself."

"You can't, Pussycat." Sophia said. "You're too tall."

Dorothy waved her off and went inside as Blanche came out of the kitchen. "I swear those two are just the worst sometimes."

Blanche smiled. "Did one of them make a mean comment about those shoes?"

Dorothy groaned and went to her room.

XXXXXXXX

"I'm so nervous." Blanche said, standing before her mirror. "He's gonna be there tonight."

"Who?" Rose asked, sitting before Blanche'a mirror fixing her hair.

"Fidel Castro, Rose." Dorothy answered. "Blanche is worried he'll try and take Miami before dessert."

"Oh." Rose said innocently.

"Don, Rose." Dorothy said. "He was invited to the banquet and she's nervous about seeing him."

"I thought all you wanted was to see him again." Rose remarked questioningly.

"Not like this." Blanche fretted. "I wanted it to be private, intimate. I wanted to have a real conversation with him."

"Do you want him to take you back?" Rose asked.

"No, she wants to sell him a subscription to Amway, Rose." Dorothy said. She rolled her eyes. "I think you should just leave him alone, Blanche. I think it'll just be awkward and painful for both of you. A work function isn't the time or the place."

"You know, I was so happy to have someone to share Christmas with again, a man." Blanche admitted. "To think I'd have someone to kiss under the mistletoe again after so long."

"Blanche, you routinely pull out a sprig on unsuspecting men." Dorothy pointed out. "That's why you like Christmas in July so much."

"I know, but I meant a real special person at the right time." Blanche clarified. "Well, guess that one went belly up on me."

"It was your own belly." Dorothy said.

Blanche took two dresses from the closet. "Which one?"

"The black one." Dorothy said.

"But, the red one is so cute." Blanche whined.

"It's low-cut in the back and way too short." Dorothy stated. "You'll look ridiculous. Wear the black one."

"Oh, fine." Blanche grumbled. She went to the en-suite and pulled the dress on. It was a very simply black cocktail dress with 3/4 sequined balloon sleeves. Maternity clothes suddenly weren't that much fun.

She came out and stepped into her heels. "How do I look?"

"Lovely." Dorothy said.

"You say that, but you're the one who can wear whatever she wants." Blanche grumbled. She looked her friend up and down. "And, you chose that." She put her jewelry on. "Even all swollen and heavy I still look devastating."

They found Sophia waiting for them in the living room with her date, a man she knew from the senior center, Alfie Bannon, who was dressed in an ancient brown tux with a ruffled white shift beneath and Coca Cola bottle glasses.

"When are Sam and Bobby getting here, girls?" Blanche asked, fixing her lipstick.

The bell rang.

"Right now." Dorothy said brightly. She let her's and Rose's dates in.

They piled in two cars and headed across town to the banquet.

Blanche felt suddenly very shy and quite out of her element when they arrived and hung back behind Dorothy and Bobby.

"Blanche, Dorothy, this place looks fantastic!" Rose praised. "You two really outdid yourselves."

"Thank you, Rose." Dorothy said with pride. "It was a joy to work with my dearest friend to make this night special." She put her arm around Blanche's shoulder. "And, to honor you for your hard work."

Blanche blushed and smiled. "Thank you, Dorothy. And, I'm so glad you and I are friends again."

"Me, too." Dorothy agreed. She went off with Bobby to dance as did Rose and Sam and Sophia and Alfie.

Blanche went to their table and tore a bread roll into bits while scanning the room. She didn't see the person she was hoping to see and she felt a pang of disappointment.

"Blanche!" Mr. Allen came towards her with his hands extended. "You look lovely."

"Thank you, Mr. Allen." Blanche said happily. "Well, are you happy with everything Dorothy and I have done?"

"You gals did a fantastic job! Just fine." Mr. Allen boasted. "Now, we're not going to embarrass you this evening but we would like for you to make a little speech after we honor you."

"I'd be delighted." Blanche accepted. "Just a little one."

"Thank you, Blanche, you're just great." Mr. Allen said. He grimaced and started backing away. "I see Art and Missy Sanderson, better run." He retreated to the crowd.

Smiling and content, Rose and Dorothy and Sophia came to the table.

"Where are the boys?" Blanche asked.

"Getting drinks." Rose said. "Oh, Sam really is just a fantastic dancer."

"Bobby makes me feel beautiful on the dance floor." Dorothy said, preening.

"I'm just glad Aflie can stay upright long enough to dance." Sophia remarked.

Blanche felt a pang of jealousy and shoved the remains of her roll in her mouth.

After a delicious dinner of seafood and fresh greens, Mr. Allen stood and put his hand on Blanche's shoulder.

"This night could not have happened without one very important person. Well, two people, but we're here to honor one of them tonight: Blanche Devereaux. She's been my right-hand man for the last few years now and I can honestly say the whole place would fall apart without her. Honestly, I don't even know where she keeps the paper clips and the staples. Blanche, you've been the best helper a man could have. Thank you." He led them in a round of applause for her and helped her up.

Blanche laughed nervously and looked up. "I want to say, firstly, thank you to Mr. Allen for honoring me tonight. I'm as touched as could be and I'm so happy that my work has been noticed. I've so loved working with you and at the museum. Art is so important and it deserves people caring for it that really do care." She looked into the crowd and locked eyes with Don Bennett. Her knees grew wobbly. She took a deep breath. "I could not have planned this evening without my dearest friend and my supporter, Dorothy Zbornak, who went through more in the last couple weeks trying to keep the fact that tonight was in ny honor a secret from me. I love you, girl." She went to sit and stood back up. "Oh, and the staples and paperclips are in the closet next to the water fountain." She sat down amidst polite laughter.

Dorothy gave her hand a squeeze. "Thabk you, Blanche. You didn't have to thank me in your speech. I'm very touched."

Blanche smiled lovingly. "I could not have gotten through the last few weeks and months without you. You deserved it."

They embraced tightly.

"I love this." Sophia said with pride. "I love seeing my girls getting along."

After dessert and coffee Blanche allowed Mr. Allen to give her a quick turn around the dance floor before he had to hide from Arthur Sanderson again.

She felt someone touch her back and turned. "Oh. Don. Hi." She tried to smile.

"You look lovely, Blanche." Don said. "Are you well?"

"I am." Blanche said softly. "I hope you are."

"I am." Don affirmed.

They stood awkwardly.

"Is everything alright with your health?" Don asked. "And, the child?"

"We're just fine." Blanche answered. She touched her stomach gently. "How are things in your work?"

"We've just started a charity for underprivileged children in Dade County that's been taking up much of our time." Don said.

"I'd love to donate, will you send me the details?" Blanche requested.

"Of course." Don said quietly.

Blanche glanced across the room at Dorothy. "I have to go, I'm here with friends."

"Of course." Don said. "That was a lovely speech you gave. It was kind of you to share your honor with Dorothy."

"She's my best friend." Blanche said simply.

"You obviously admire her greatly." Don remarked.

"I do." Blanche agreed. "She's an inspiring person."

"Well, er, it was good to see you again, Blanche." Don said stiltedly.

"You, too." Blanche said quietly. She watched him go and was filled with regret.

TBC