The flight to California had gone as well as a flight with three children could, but it was still a relief when Lenny finally pulled the rental car up to their hotel in Santa Monica.

"This is where we're staying?" Midge asked, wide-eyed as she took in the modern hotel block, pool and surrounding bungalow suites of the Miramar Hotel.

"It is," Lenny confirmed as he stepped out of the car, automatically going around to open the passenger side door before he went to get their bags from the trunk, only for one of the hotel staff to step in to take over.

"Oh Mr. Bruce, it's so nice to have you here," the hotel manager gushed as he came to greet his guests.

"Mr. Bruce is his mother," Midge cut in as she climbed out of the car.

The hotel manager smiled blankly, looking between Lenny and Midge in slight bemusement.

"Lenny is fine," Lenny finally informed him with a smile.

"Right." The man coughed lightly as he stood himself a little straighter. "Lenny it is. And Mrs. Maisel!" he said with a cheerful nod of his head towards Midge. "Or should that be Mrs. Bruce?"

"Midge will be fine," she informed him, smiling tightly.

"Right, well…" the manager started, clasping his hands in front of himself. "If you would like to come this way, I'll show you to your bungalow." He glanced at the bellboy, a silent request that he should follow along with the bags. "Now there is the one double bed," he continued as he opened the bungalow door and ushered Lenny, Midge and the children inside, "and the two standard twins along with the extra one as requested, all ready and set up for you."

Kitty and Esther took off instantly to claim their beds, leaving Ethan to trail behind, forced to have whichever would be left.

"That's great, thanks," Lenny said curtly. Silence stretched between the three adults as they stood in the doorway, the hotel manager slow to take the hint to leave.

"Well, I'll let you get settled in. Anything you need, you know where to find me!" he told them brightly.

"We sure do," Lenny said, his patience growing ever thinner.

Finally, with a reverential nod, the man was gone, closing the door carefully behind him.

"He was…friendly," Midge said with amusement.

"Turns out, when you start writing for magazines, all of a sudden you're respectable," Lenny said, his eyebrow raised. "Who knew being in a publication that's known for pictures of chicks with their tits out was such a classy gig?"

Midge laughed as she walked further into the bungalow and took in her surroundings.

"Lenny, this is nice," Midge spoke with amazement as she looked around. "It's really nice."

"That pool over there," he pointed out the window, "featured in 'That Touch of Mink'."

"The Cary Grant and Doris Day movie?" she asked as she came to stand by him and take a good look at the pool.

"The very same."

"I don't know what to say…" Midge said, wide-eyed. "It's not…too much for you?" she asked him with a frown.

"What," he said with slight indignance as he straightened his posture, "I can't spoil my family?"

"No, you can. You absolutely can, anytime you want," Midge agreed vigorously, shaking her head, "it's just I didn't expect it. It's so…not you. "

"I'm not gonna have us staying at some dingy motel. Plus," he said with a shrug, "I knew you'd love it."

Midge smiled warmly and leaned in to kiss him. "Have I told you lately how much I love you? Because I really do."

"Hmm, I don't mind hearing it again."

"Now if you're really lucky, later I might even show you just how much."

"Oh yeah?"

"It's a promise."

The next morning, Midge awoke and glanced at the clock, relaxing in relief when she saw it was only just past 6:30am, meaning the kids wouldn't be awake for at least another hour. Her shifting positions must have woken Lenny because she felt his grip tighten as he pulled her closer.

"Your arms aren't going to fit around me soon," Midge mused with a smile as she closed her eyes.

"Eh, I'll work something out," he mumbled into her neck as he pulled her a little closer.

Midge had discovered early on in their relationship that Lenny was big on tactile touch in bed (something she had known little of before him), and that desire had, if anything, become even stronger since she had become pregnant.

As Lenny spooned against her, his hands wandered lower as they pressed against the slight roundness of her stomach. While it hadn't started out as sexual, the feeling of his touch so close to where she always wanted it had Midge guiding his hands lower.

"The kids will be awake soon," he said with surprise, and although Midge couldn't see his face, she could perfectly picture his curious expression just from the sound of his voice.

"Well then, you'll just have to be quick."

"I'll do my best, Mrs. Bruce," he said as his fingers began to explore. "But once I get started, I make no promises that I will ever want to stop."

"Hmm," Midge hummed in pleasure. "I make no promises I'll want you to either."

"Girls, be careful!" Midge called after Esther and Kitty, peering out from under her sunglasses and the large brim of her straw hat.

"It's alright, I know how to be safe!" Kitty called back as she took Esther's hand as they dipped their toes in at the water's edge.

"Mama, look at what we made!" Ethan said to his mother, pointing to the sandcastle he and Lenny had been working on; it was something of an elaborate structure that even included a moat that Ethan had diligently filled with five small pails of seawater.

"That's great," Midge told her son with a smile as she looked down at him from where she sat in her beach chair.

Lenny flopped down in the chair next to her, bare chested with his pants rolled up to his ankles. "That's it, I am officially done with sandcastle building for another 30 years."

"At least you know if the whole comedy thing doesn't work out, you've got a career in architecture."

"True, but given I can only do castles and moats, my options are gonna be pretty limited to 14th century Britain."

Midge smiled. "You're getting even more tan," she noted, as she reached out and ran her fingers over his shoulder.

"Well, that is normally what happens at the beach, unless you're shrouded under an umbrella, a hat and, in my opinion, far too many clothes," he said, eyebrow raised as he looked pointedly at the billowing maxi dress she was wearing over her swimwear.

"Trust me, you do not want to see the kind of sunburn I can get."

"I don't know, I'm a big fan of anything that allows me to spend time looking at your body," he joked with a smirk.

"Hmm, maybe I'll let you check for sunburn later; you can't be too careful."

Lenny smirked. "I look forward to it."

They sat in comfortable silence for a few seconds, watching as the girls played and the waves lapped at the shore.

"You did tell Sally we're going to see her tomorrow, didn't you?"

"You know, you've already asked me that twice today."

Midge adjusted her sitting position. "I know, I just want to be sure. There is nothing worse than announced guests."

"I know you think that because you like to have everything just so, but c'mon, you've met my mother, she's not about to be getting the guest towels out. Fuck, I don't think she's ever even owned 'guest towels'."

Midge nodded in reluctant agreement before biting her lip. "But you did tell her…"

"I promise you," Lenny assured her, "I told her, and she is very excited to see us."

"OK, good." Midge relaxed more into her chair.

"Look what I found!" Ethan said as he came running over, bright blue pail in hand; peering into it, Midge and Lenny saw it contained a crab not much larger than the size of a nickel.

"That's pretty cool," Lenny told him. "You know, when I was in Korea we saw crabs so huge you couldn't even imagine."

"Really, how big?"

Lenny held his hands as far apart as he could. "Even bigger than that. Saw one try to eat a Goddamn seagull once."

"Wow."

"I got a bunch of other Navy stories about a different kinda crabs, but I think they're best kept until you're older."

Glancing at Midge, Lenny saw her trying - and failing - to hide her amusement.

"How much older?" asked Ethan.

"Eh, come back to me after you've been to college, then maybe we can talk."

One of the first things Lenny had purchased from the earnings of his early comedy success had been a home for Sally. The 1920s bungalow in Los Angeles wasn't huge, but it was more than spacious enough for his mother - and Kitty when she lived there. Much to everyone's surprise - including her own - Sally had become quite the gardener since living there, caring for the rose bushes that dotted the property with uncharacteristic diligence.

When Lenny pulled the car up in front of the house, he saw his mother was already on the front porch smoking. After stubbing out her cigarette, Sally ascended the steps to meet Kitty as she ran towards her.

"Grandma!" she exclaimed with joy as embraced her grandmother.

"Hey, sweetie," Sally said, squeezing her tightly. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too," Kitty agreed as she was freed from her embrace.

"Look how you've grown!" Sally said with slightly hyperbolic amazement. "You're gonna be taller than me soon!"

The rest of the family having now also caught up with Kitty, Sally looked to them.

"Hey, son," Sally said with a smile.

"Ma," Lenny acknowledged as he hugged her.

"Hey, kids," Sally said, bending slightly to acknowledge Ethan and Esther. Midge's children had only met Lenny's mother a handful of times, so they were markedly more reserved than their stepsister, with Esther even clinging to her mother's skirt in embarrassment.

"Esther, you got to come and see my room!" Kitty said with excitement as she grabbed the younger girl's hand, sparking a smile and a nod of her head before Kitty pulled her towards the house.

"Midge!" Sally cheerily acknowledged. "It's been too long!" she continued as she embraced her.

"Far too long," Midge agreed.

"I love that dress," Sally commented of the orange and white striped shirt dress Midge was wearing, the boxy cut of which concealed her small but growing bump.

"Thank you, you look great, too."

"You know, I caught you last time you were on Gordon Ford," Sally said as she ushered the family around through a side gate and into the back yard. "You were great, that bit about beauty routines cracked me up."

"Thank you. I've got a tour coming up in October and I'm stopping in Los Angeles, you have to come."

"I wouldn't miss it!"

"The thing is though," Midge sat at the outdoor table, grateful for the large parasol for providing shade from the midday sun, "I'm going to look a little different then."

Sally was confused. "You're not getting work done, are you? I know Hollywood can get under your skin, but Midge, honey, you're still so young and beautiful..."

"Oh no, not that - although come to me in another 20 years and I'll probably have everything pulled so tight you won't be able to tell if my dog just died or I just inherited a fortune. But no, I'm…" She grabbed Lenny's hand. "I'm having a baby."

Sally was quiet for a second, open mouthed. "Well, isn't that just great?" she finally said, although her smile seemed painted on.

"I'm due in January, so I'll be pretty pregnant when the tour rolls around."

"You will," Sally agreed, her tone a little muted.

Midge could feel the tension in the air, and one look at Lenny told her he felt it too. While Sally wasn't usually one to mince her words, it was clear she was holding something back.

"I think I should go and see what Esther and Kitty are up to," Midge said as she stood. "Ethan, you can come too," she encouraged, reaching her hand out for him to take.

"But they're going to be doing girly stuff," he whined as Midge led him towards the house.

"Just do this," Midge told him discreetly, "and we can go out for burgers and fries later."

"Oh course you were going to have a baby," Sally started to ramble when Midge and Ethan were out of sight. "I mean, you're newlyweds, both still young…"

"I think if I was in New York right now I'd still be able to hear the 'but' coming."

"It's just…" Shaking her head and sighing, Sally lit a cigarette.

His mother was not usually at a loss for words and Lenny was getting frustrated. "Ma, spit it out."

She puffed out a cloud of smoke before beginning. "You're sure you want another kid? I know how much Honey had to persuade you to have Kitty, remember."

"I was a fuck up then, a junkie who couldn't picture ever getting clean." He stood and paced a few steps before stopping. "And Midge isn't Honey, you know that."

"I do," Sally said with a nod before taking a drag on her cigarette, "and you know I think Midge is great - a much better match for you than Honey ever was - but I also know you and I know how you get railroaded into things."

"Maybe before, but things are different now. I'll always be a work in progress, but being a real father to Kitty and hell"—he snorted—"even to Ethan and Esther, is the thing I'm more proud of than anything else. To do that again, but with Midge and to be fully present from the start, I can't think of anything better."

Sally narrowed her eyes as she looked at her son and considered his words. "Alright, I believe you," she said, her face softening and eyes crinkling as she smiled. "I just wanted to make sure, that's all."

Lenny nodded with satisfaction before he sat back down and reached for a cigarette and lit it.

"I've gotta say, it's gutsy as hell for Midge to go on tour when pregnant," Sally commented.

"Yeah, well, that's Midge for you," Lenny said with a laugh, dragging on his cigarette. "Kind of reminds me of someone else I know," he continued with a knowing glance at his mother.

Sally just smiled. "Yeah, she kind of does."