"Ida, will you stop pacing?" Martin asked. "Brenda promised she would bring Rhoda and Mary back here as soon as they got in."
"Yes, but I haven't seen Mary since that time she came to surprise Rhoda. You remember that?"
"Rhoda swore us to secrecy about that trip she was taking with Joe. How could I forget that?"
"You don't think I've done something to upset Mary, do you?" Ida asked. "You know how Rhoda gets sometimes…."
"Ida," Martin said, getting up and taking her hands in his. At last, she stopped pacing. "I'm sure Mary isn't mad at you. But she does have that important job at the TV station. She was probably just busy."
"I hope you're right." Ida loved Mary like her own daughter. Even a bit more than that, since Mary didn't seem to speak her mind as freely as Rhoda did.
On the other side of the door, Rhoda turned to her sister. "Couldn't Mary and I at least drop our bags off in my apartment first?"
"Ma made me promise, in no uncertain terms, that I'd bring you two here as soon as possible. And you know how Ma is," Brenda replied.
Rhoda rolled her eyes, obviously about to respond, but Mary gave her friend a look that clearly said, "Calm down." Rhoda wondered how Mary could be so patient.
"Ready or not, here we go," Brenda said under her breath as she opened the door.
The door flew open, and before anyone could say anything, Ida wrapped Mary in a tight embrace. "It's so good to see you! You look wonderful!"
"Thank you, Mrs. Morgenstern," Mary said politely, when Ida let her go. Ida led Mary by the hand, taking her over to Brenda's bed. Mary sat down next to her. "So, Mary, long time no see. What's new in your life?"
"Well, I was just fired," Mary replied sadly.
"Uh, Ma, aren't you going to say anything to me?" Rhoda asked. "I mean, I'm here too."
"I know that, Rhoda, but I saw you last week. I haven't seen Mary in, what, almost three years now."
Rhoda looked at Mary as if to say, "You see? It's starting already."
Ever the peacemaker, Mary smiled. "It's nice seeing you all again. Being fired has taken quite a toll on me, so I thought it might do me some good to get out of Minneapolis for a while."
"Well, Marty and I are glad you're here. Aren't we, Martin?"
"Yes, of course," Martin said, coming over to kiss Mary on the cheek.
Ida turned to Mary as soon as her husband had sat back down. "So, Mary, we know what's happened to your career, but what about your love-life? Is there any special man in your life?"
"Ma, Mary did not fly all the way out here so you could give her the third degree!" Rhoda said immediately.
Mary ignored Rhoda's outburst. "Actually, Mrs. Morgenstern, I haven't been doing well in the dating world, either." She couldn't help sighing.
"Well, there are plenty of attractive, single men here in New York," Ida said, clearly perking up.
"Yeah, Rhoda and I can vouch for that," Brenda said. "Ma's fixed us up with most of them. Even some of the not-so-attractive ones."
Ida gave Brenda a glare, letting her daughter know she didn't like that remark.
Rhoda sighed, seeing that this conversation could go on all day. "Ma, now that you've seen the two of us, do you think we could go to my apartment now? It's been a long flight, and I'm sure Mary doesn't need to tell you everything about her life in Minneapolis."
"Rhoda, I only ask because I care about Mary. Is that such a crime?"
Mary looked at Rhoda and saw that her friend was quickly losing patience with her mother. "Look, Mrs. Morgenstern, we did have a long flight, and I'd really like to get settled at Rhoda's if that's all right. But why don't we all have dinner together? There must be a nice restaurant around here, right?"
She looked at the others, seeing that Rhoda and Brenda were both less than enthusiastic about the idea.
"Well, Mary, that's very sweet of you. Rhoda and Brenda never invite us to dinner," Ida said.
"Then it's settled. Just give me and Rhoda, say, half an hour to put our things away, and then we can meet you back here, OK?"
"Oh, great," Brenda said, not quite hiding her sarcasm. "So Ma and Pop will wait here then. With me." She forced a smile.
Mary and Rhoda picked their bags back up and walked out of the apartment. It was painfully clear that Rhoda and Brenda weren't on board with her idea. But even an awkward family dinner was better than thinking about her job and the uncertain future that lay ahead.