"I was thinking…" Midge began as she placed her knife and fork on her empty plate, just her and Lenny left at the table after the kids had made a typically quick exit post-meal to watch television, "that we could invite my family over for dinner at the weekend."

Lenny quirked an eyebrow as he lit a cigarette.

Telling the kids about the baby had gone well (the girls were delighted with Esther certain it would be a girl, and Ethan was much more enthusiastic once he learned that even if it were a boy, he would not need to share his room), and then there was Imogene who had somehow guessed a month ago when she noticed Midge was using a different hairspray because she couldn't stand the smell of the old one (a lot of squealing and hugging had ensued); so now she was three months along, Midge decided it was about time to inform everyone else.

"I need to tell them about the baby, it'll be easier if they're all together," she explained to Lenny in the most appealing way she could. "And you know how much Kitty loves Mama and Papa."

"That is true," Lenny accepted; his daughter really did love Midge's parents an inordinate amount.

"I'll even make the kugel you like," she offered to try and sweeten the deal.

"The apple one?"

"The apple one," Midge confirmed with a smile.

"Well, we do need to tell your parents about the baby," Lenny agreed, tongue firmly in cheek.

"My parents, along with Noah and Astrid," Midge corrected, pausing before she got to the next part, knowing it was going to be an even harder sell. "And…Joel and Mei."

"There's no way we could just tell Mei and get her to relay the information to Joel at a later date of her choosing?" Lenny quickly retorted, gesturing in the air with the cigarette that hung between his fingers.

Midge gave her husband as stern a glare as she could despite her amusement at his comment. "I know you don't want Joel here; I'm not too crazy about it either, but he'll throw a fit if he's not included."

"Yes, he probably would," Lenny agreed reluctantly as he took a drag on his cigarette and let out a plume of smoke.

"You're free to invite whoever you want, you know. Your mother, Honey even…"

Lenny snorted. "Yeah, I'm not about to invite Honey; she can find out however she finds out. As for Ma, I don't think she'd be too thrilled to be dragged across the country to just find out we're having a baby. Hell, she didn't even bother to turn up when I nearly fucking OD'ed."

"That's not fair," Midge chided lightly. "You played it down, she had no idea how bad it was."

Lenny shrugged in reluctant concurrence. "I guess. But if you really wanna tell her in person, I think we'd need to be the ones taking the trip to her."

Midge pondered the thought. "Not a bad idea," she said as her mind worked over the possibility. "I'd like to get to know Sally better and it might be fun for the kids to have a vacation in California; see the beach."

"Yeah"—Lenny took another puff of his cigarette—"it could be nice."

"We could take a trip up there next month, it would be something for them to look forward to before summer break is over."

Lenny nodded as he stubbed out his cigarette. "But no matter if she tries to talk us into it, we are staying in a hotel and we are eating out. You have yet to be subjected to Ma's cooking; while my mother is many things, a good cook and hostess is not one of them."

"Bubbe Rose! Zaydee Abe!" Kitty exclaimed, running to Rose and Abe before they had even had a chance to remove their coats. Grabbing them by their hands, she dragged them in the direction of her room. "You've got to see the drawings I made!"

"Drawings that you drew, Kitty," Rose couldn't help but correct, earning herself a stern look from Midge. "But that sounds lovely," she added, throwing Midge a glance that was both an apology and a cry for help as she was pulled past her.

"Dinner will be ready in 30 minutes," Midge called after her mother, father and step-daughter. The fact that Lenny was standing beside her, biting his thumb in an attempt to hide his amusement as he watched the whole thing, did little to help Midge suppress her laughter.

When the next knock at the door came a few minutes later, Midge was already back in the kitchen, so it fell upon Lenny to answer it.

"Mei, nice to see you," he said warmly as he greeted her and took her coat. "Joel," he said, nodding cordially at the man whose demeanor was more one of a child being dragged along by a parent than that of an adult.

"Lenny," Joel reluctantly acknowledged as he handed him his jacket.

"Midge is just preparing dinner, which should be ready in 30 minutes, if you wanna wait," Lenny informed, gesturing towards the living area.

"Thank you," Mei replied warmly. "It was so nice of you to invite us, wasn't it, Joel?" she continued looking at her husband.

"Yeah, real nice," Joel muttered.

The tension was rising and Lenny already felt his patience growing thin, so he was only too happy when the next knock at the door interrupted them. Saved by the bell, he thought.

"Noah, Astrid, hello," he greeted them with relief.

"Oh Lenny, it's so nice of you to invite us!" Astrid said as she bustled past him into the apartment.

"Well, it was more Midge's idea than mine," he admitted.

"Well, whoever's it was, it's just lovely to be here," Astrid continued peppily. "It's just nice to have a night out away from the children!" she exclaimed before second guessing herself. "Not that I don't love being a mother, of course. It's one of life's greatest joys!"

"Right," Lenny said with a frown as he took Noah's coat, noticing the man was wisely staying quiet. "If you want to wait…" He indicated towards where Joel and Mei were already sitting. "Dinner will be ready soon."

"They're all here," he informed Midge as he entered the kitchen.

"How's Joel, is he awful?" she asked as she turned to him.

"Well, he's always awful," Lenny replied nonchalantly as he picked up and chewed a piece of carrot. "But Mei seems to be controlling him so far."

"Noah and Astrid?"

"Noah has got that same haunted look I saw on the face of prisoners of war when I was in the Navy," Lenny said with sarcasm as he chewed a second piece of carrot. "But Astrid is far better looking than those Nazi bastards, so that's something."

"Alright," Midge replied, only half listening as she checked on one of the pans on the stove, "it'll be ready soon, so go and…mingle or something."

"I can't just stay in here with you?" Lenny asked, looking at her pleadingly. "They've got each other, so I'm sure they'll be able to manufacture some mind numbingly boring small talk without my help."

"Fine," Midge relinquished, "but if you're going to stay in here, make yourself useful," she nodded towards the green beans on the countertop. "Those still need trimming."

"Your wish is my command," Lenny said with flourish, stopping to kiss Midge on the head before starting the task at hand.

Post-main course (brisket, naturally) but pre-dessert (the fabled apple kugel) was the time Midge deemed the perfect one to make her announcement. Standing, she rang her hands in front of her as she cleared her throat. "You might be wondering why we asked you all here today-"

"It's a divorce, isn't it?" came Joel's voice from the other side of the table. "I knew it wouldn't last."

"They're not getting divorced, Joel," Mei told him with an eye roll. "Why would they invite us here for that? Plus they've only been married for like, a year."

"Whatever," Joel mumbled, barely audible.

"No, it's not a divorce," Midge with a sigh.

"It's a baby," Lenny interjected, standing and discreetly taking Midge's hand in his. "Midge and I, we're havin' a baby."

Midge looked at him, and mouthed a silent "thank you", feeling lucky to be married to a man who knew her so instinctively. Lenny gave a small smile and a playful wink as the pair sat back down.

"Oh, what wonderful news!" Rose exclaimed joyously.

"Congratulations," Abe said with a nod as he reached and shook Lenny's hand.

"Yeah, uh, thanks," Lenny replied as he awkwardly shook the hand of his father-in-law, aware in a flash just how odd it was that Abe was essentially congratulating him on having sex with his daughter.

"That's just fantastic news! Isn't it wonderful, Noah?" Astrid asked, turning to her husband.

"That's great, really great," Noah agreed, finding it hard to get excited. He liked Lenny, but it would after all be his sister's third child.

"I can lend you the Hebrew baby names book if you need any inspiration," Astrid offered to Lenny.

"I think we're good, but…thank you."

"I should go and check on dessert," Midge said as she stood.

"Do you want any help?" Astrid offered.

"No, but thank you." Astrid really was a sweet person, Midge thought, if sometimes a little cloying.

It only took Joel mere seconds after Midge had left the room for him to declare he needed to use the bathroom. Lenny eyed him suspiciously as he got up from the table, far from convinced of his true intentions. When there was still no sign of either Joel or Midge a few minutes later, he decided it was time to go and investigate.

He didn't need to enter the kitchen to hear Joel's voice, and given the snatches he could already hear of the conversation, he slightly guiltily decided to hang back and hear Joel's unfiltered thoughts on him.

"You really want a baby with him?" Joel ranted, agitated. "Even if you get divorced, you'll always be tied together."

"Oh don't worry, I am painfully aware of that," Midge said flatly as she glared at him.

"He's a fucking junkie, Midge," Joel continued.

Midge sighed in exhaustion at Joel's incessance. "Lenny is an addict, yes, but he's been clean for three years now. He goes to meetings, he's doing well."

"Until he isn't and he drags you into the gutter with him."

"If the worst happens, I will deal with it - we will deal with it together because that is what a marriage should be."

"He'll screw around on you, you know. That's if he's not already fucking multiple women. Hell, who knows if it's just women! I heard some rumors about him, you know, about why he got kicked outta the Navy…"

"Joel, you do not get to lecture me on infidelity, or anything else for that matter," Midge told him firmly, her hands on her hips.

Joel shrugged from the doorway. "Just don't say I didn't warn you."

"Thank you for your sage advice," Midge replied as she watched him leave, her voice heavy with sarcasm.

Turning back to the oven, she jumped when Lenny placed a hand on her shoulder a second later.

"Jesus, Lenny," she exclaimed.

"I think I prefer the time I normally get to hear you say my name coupled with the son of God's; you know, when you're naked."

Midge rolled her eyes as she smirked in amusement.

"So, Joel is being typically…" Lenny pondered for a second, "Joel this evening."

"Yeah," Midge said with a shrug as she opened the oven to check the progress of the kugel. "Honestly, I have no idea how I put up with him for so long," she continued, shaking her head as she removed the dish. "I don't spend any time with him for a while and I forget how fucking annoying he can be, always…" She screwed up her eyes and shook her head. "Always sulking and…picking at some invisible thread. God, Mei deserves a medal for not murdering him in his sleep."

Lenny laughed, letting a silence fall between them for a second before speaking more seriously than before. "You know I wouldn't fuck around on you, right?"

Midge paused her cutting of the kugel and turned to him. "How much did you hear?"

"Just the part where he called me a junkie and said I'd cheat on you - with women and men."

Midge sighed. "We talked about all this..."

"I know, I know," Lenny agreed, nodding as he paced a couple of steps back and forward. Stopping with a sigh, he rubbed at the back of his neck. "But it just…" He glanced down for a second, shaking his head. "It still fucking smarts to hear it, especially from that asshole."

"Hey," Midge said, placing her hands gently on his shoulders and looking into his eyes. "I love you, and I trust you, and I don't give a fuck what Joel thinks. And for what it's worth, I don't see you like that"—she took a breath before gathering the courage to use the cruel term Joel had—"'a junkie'."

"I know," Lenny accepted sincerely. "But I am, I always will be. It's a fact."

"I know it is," Midge agreed. "But I also know how hard you work to stay clean and that if you were struggling, you would know who to turn to."

"You have more faith in me than I do."

"Someone needs to believe in you," she said, touching his face. "But even if the worst happened, if you slipped, we would get through it, you know that, right?"

"I do," he agreed. "I also know I'm so fucking lucky to have you, to have this life, and I never take it for granted."

"I know," Midge acknowledged, tears pricking behind her eyes. "I love you."

"I love you, too." He kissed her firmly, Midge's lips pressed lingeringly to his even as he pulled away. "Maybe," he offered with a grin, "we can finish that later."

"That sounds good to me."

As delicious as the apple kugel was, it didn't do anything to ease the tension as they ate. While Joel apparently had no idea Lenny had heard his conversation with Midge, he was still quiet and snippy even with Mei.

"Thank you so much for inviting us," Mei said cordially as she and Joel put their jackets on to leave, the other guests already dispersed. "And congratulations again."

"Thank you, Mei," Midge said warmly, even if somewhat pointedly towards Joel.

"Yeah, thanks," Joel reluctantly offered.

As Midge finally closed the door behind the pair, Lenny appeared.

"I gotta step out for a minute," he informed her as he quickly shrugged on his coat.

"Lenny…" Midge warned with a stare. "He's not worth it."

"I know, I'm just going to buy some smokes…" He held up his hands innocently. "Should I bump into Joel while I'm out"—he gave an exaggerated shrug—"who knows what might be said."

Once Lenny made it down to the lobby, he caught Joel and Mei just before they were about to head out the main door.

"Joel, can I talk to you for a minute?" Lenny asked as politely as he could muster.

Joel rolled his eyes, knowing this wouldn't be good. "Mei, wait in the car," he instructed his wife.

"You can't just order me around," Mei replied combatively.

"I know, I know, alright?" Joel said with a sigh as he rubbed at his temple, his demeanor softening as he turned to Mei. "Just let me do this alone, OK?"

"Fine," she agreed half-heartedly. "But don't be long."

"Go on then," Joel said, gesturing for Lenny to begin once Mei was out of earshot.

Lenny took a step forward, closing in on Joel's personal space and taking a steadying breath before he began. "I heard that shit you said to Midge in the kitchen. You've got no right to talk about me, but more than that, you have no right to speak to my wife like she's some schmuck who doesn't know who she married."

"Your wife," Joel scoffed. "She was my wife first, so I'll speak to her how I like."

"Yeah well, you gave up the right to that when you fucked another woman."

Joel huffed indignantly. "Like you're so fucking perfect. I can't believe I used to look up to you."

"Don't worry," Lenny assured him mockingly, "it's as embarrassing for me as it is for you."

Rolling his eyes, Joel let a disgruntled breath out of his nose.

"You just need to remember that Midge invited you here this evening when she really didn't fucking have to," Lenny continued, finger pointed at Joel's face. "And you also need to remember that she's really fucking smart - so much so I have no idea what she sees in me, nevermind what she ever saw in you - and she is more than capable of making her own choices."

"Whatever, man," Joel said defeated, already a step out of the door. "Good luck to you, that's all I'm sayin'."

"Thank you for your concern," Lenny retorted dryly after Joel as he walked the few steps down the sidewalk to his car. "But I think you're the one that needs good luck being as you're still so fixated on your ex-wife. Maybe it's time you started thinking less about Midge and more about the woman you're married to now."

The two men made solid eye contact as Joel stood with his car door open, Mei looking anxiously on from inside. Lenny saw him falter for a second, a tiny crack in the shield of his bravado. His quickly face stoney again, Joel just nodded solemnly. "Mazel tov," he offered flatly before getting into the driver's side and slamming the door shut behind him.

"I think I worked out while Kitty loves your parents so much," Lenny mumbled to Midge through a mouthful of toothpaste later that evening.

Midge looked at him via the bathroom mirror as she stood besides him applying her face cream. "Yeah?"

"They're the complete opposite of any adult she's had in her life until recently," he continued, pausing a second to spit the contents of his mouth into the sink. "Look, I was a fucking mess when she was younger, and Honey was always off doing God knows what. And then Ma… Kitty loves her, but she's not exactly the type of grandmother that's gonna be baking cookies and knitting sweaters."

Midge chuckled at the idea of Sally ever doing any of those things.

"But your parents… They're solid, they got their shit together." Midge looked at him skeptically. "They mostly got their shit together, but they really care. And I guess kids sometimes want boundaries; they want someone who would go crazy at them if they caught them smoking at 11-years-old."

"Personal experience?"

"When Ma caught me, all she cared about was that I buy my own smokes instead of taking hers."

Midge laughed, before narrowing her eyes as she contemplated for a moment. "When did you become so wise?"

"Eh, probably around the time I was in rehab for three months and had daily talks to a shrink."

"Whatever the reason," Midge reached out and touched his jaw, tilting his head down so she could kiss him, "I like it."

"Oh yeah, that turn you on, huh?" Lenny said with a grin, his left eyebrow raised.

"Oh, you bet," Midge agreed with a firm nod as she grabbed his hand and led him into the bedroom. "Now, about finishing what we started earlier…"