They entered the house and made their way to the living room, where Judith was sitting on a loveseat. Upon seeing the guys, she stood up. Kate (being the braver of the two of them) took this as a cue and stepped forward with Roger.

Roger turned on his 'charming' mode. "Roger Anderson." He took Judith's hand. "You must be Katherine's mother. I can see where she and Laura get her looks from." He smiled and kissed her hand, with enough charisma that made a seemingly cheesy action, classy.

Judith actually blushed a little. Roger turned to Ted and told him he meant the compliment innocently, and Ted waved it off, saying that it was fine.

"I hope we can talk more, especially concerning the engagement," said Judith, after her face returned to its normal shade.

"Of course." Roger threw in a winning smile.

Ted and Laura stepped forward, and Ted offered his hand also.

"Ted Vanderway." Ted gave her a light shake of the hand. "Your daughter is very unique," he said as an attempt to please Judith. Inspired by Roger, he also added, "She's very well-mannered, and I can see it's because of her mother." It was the hardest compliment Ted had ever given… it also didn't hit home. Judith smiled wanly.

Judith brought out snacks. She smiled at Roger and asked him what he'd like to drink. He replied that he was fine, and that she didn't need to waste any energy preparing a drink for someone who didn't need one. Such a lovely, thoughtful, young man, she thought.

"Are you sure you don't want gin.. with peter?" asked Kate. She and Roger shared a look and both concealed smiles.

"No, I think not," replied Roger, for the benefit of .

Judith asked her girls, and they both replied a glass of lemonade would be nice. Then she went to Ted, and he replied that he'd like a scotch. Though this was a perfectly harmless request, and Judith had asked him what he wanted, she was somewhat annoyed by his response, because Roger had acted much more like a gentleman, almost chivalrously.

While Judith was in the kitchen hunting for scotch, the others munched on sandwiches. Ted and Laura sat across from Kate and Roger. Ted motioned for Kate and Laura to lean towards him. "For some reason, I get the feeling your mother doesn't like me," he confessed. "Now why would you think that?" asked Kate with a smile. Laura replied along the same lines, although she probably meant it. Ted still seemed a bit uneasy. This time he consulted Kate only, because she seemed to be more rational than Laura. "Really though, I haven't done anything wrong, have I? Did I step on her flower bed or something?"

"Mother's always like this," replied Kate with a small sigh. "I told you that you had to get used to it. Normally, she'd ignore your 'flaws', since you're dating her dear little Laura, but with Roger around so set the example.." she trailed off.

Ted got the idea. "Not easy to win over, is she?"

Kate just shook her head. Ted leaned back into the sofa and finished off his sandwich. Judith soon came over with two glasses of lemonade, a glass of scotch, an iced tea, and a glass of water with a slice of lemon on it. She handed the drinks out, saving the iced tea for herself. When she handed Roger the glass of water, she said that he'd probably need something to wash down the sandwiches. He replied that she was too kind, and once again Judith tried to prevent color from flooding her cheeks.

While Roger sipped his water elegantly, the girls gulped down lemonade, and Ted drank generous amounts of scotch. Obviously, there were three empty glasses after a few minutes. Laura went to refill her and Kate's lemonade, and Ted went to refill his scotch.

Seizing this alone time with Kate and Roger, she eagerly asked about the engagement.

"Katherine, may I see your ring?" was her first question. With a small grimace, she showed her mother her hand. "It's beautiful," she gushed.

"It was my mother's," Roger added.

"I'm sure she was an elegant woman," smiled Judith. If only Joseph's mother was half as elegant, she thought, glancing at her own ring. Judith's ring wasn't 's mother's though; it was bought from a jewelry shop.

"Now," began Judith again, "when were you two engaged?"

"Valentine's day," replied Kate, forgetting for a moment where she was. She fondly remembered the moment when Roger slipped the ring on her hand.

"In beautiful England," finished Roger.

"Ah-you're British, I take it?"

"Yes."

"I thought that accent seemed British!" Judith thought she'd never be so lucky. "What do you do for a living? Forgive me if I seem a bit nosy, but it is my daughter you're engaged to!"

"No, not at all. I'm a chief journalist for the London Post." He threw in another smile to convince her.

At first, Judith seemed a little bit suspicious of his being a journalist. He seemed to be a gentleman, she mused, and his suit didn't look worn, rather, it looked almost new. If he was a journalist, he probably wasn't like the others, and he probably did enough work to afford at least a middle-class lifestyle. He was a chief journalist too, which had a better ring to it. And his smile seemed genuine.. it sealed the deal.

"That's wonderful!" Judith thought for a moment. "Maybe I'll have Katherine bring me a copy one day."

"Mailing it to you would be no problem for me."

"Oh, marvelous. When do you think we'll have the wedding? And where?"

Kate looked at Roger. "Summer..?" No, too hot, she thought. Roger shrugged, not totally for, but not totally against the idea. "Fall, then." Spring would be too early, and winter too cold. Roger nodded in agreement. "Where? Um.. London wouldn't be such a bad idea, would it Roger?" Roger nodded violently. His hometown would be excellent. Kate smiled and pronounced confidently, "Tell those DAR gossips that it's going to happen Fall 1964, in London, England."

Judith clapped her hands in excitement. "Oh, wait 'til Irene hears about this," she whispered with a mischievous air.