Chapter 11

It wasn't that she'd meant to leave work late. The display really wasn't coming together as Rhoda had hoped. It was uninspired, sloppy, not her best work and yet it was taking her ages to build. She'd notice how horrible one piece was and then she'd undo her hard work to put it back together again only to hate it and Mr. Nichols didn't look much too pleased.

And so she left late.

Mary had stopped her incessant calling about 3:30. While Rhoda felt relieved, she also felt somewhat upset, as if it was all broken and smashed into pieces before it had even begun.

And it wasn't that she'd meant to miss her bus stop. She was very aware of her surroundings, of the streets as they passed by.

It was only that when she came to her stop and she could see that tall, white building which she called home, she also saw a familiar car sitting out front. Instead of rising from her seat, she stayed put. She stared down that car as if it were the man himself.

But what ground did she have? To be staring at this car. Or this man for that matter?

Peter Lawson was probably inside of Mary Richards' apartment and he was fighting for her. Which was more than what Rhoda was doing. Rhoda was a coward. Sitting on the bus, avoiding Mary's calls, avoiding confrontation. Because Rhoda didn't think she had the grounds to ask for what she wanted. What she wanted felt impossible.

"End of the line, lady." The large, expressionless bus driver was hovering over her, breaking her from her thoughts.

Just great, now she'd have to wait for the next bus back. She hoped Peter would be gone by then.

Stepping into a gas station, Rhoda bought a bag of donuts and a coffee and sat on the curb eating away her feelings. Her fingers itched for a cigarette but she'd already over-indulged enough that day.

Was Mary Richards worth all of this?

She was nervous until the bus rounded the corner and she saw, clearly, that Peter's car was gone. She walked in the darkness of the evening to the front door, opening and closing it as silently as possible, silencing her heels on the stairs as she made her way up, hoping and praying that Mary wouldn't catch her on her ascent.

She didn't let out a breath until she was safely inside her apartment, door closed shut behind her. There was a feeling of relief followed by a tight pain in her chest. She collapsed on the bed, mind racing wildly from the caffeine, twisting until she felt a migraine growing. Sleep came spottily through the night, peppered with intermittent phone calls that kept disrupting her.

Couldn't Mary leave it well enough alone?

There was a knock at her door the next morning. A frantic knock.

Rhoda covered her head with the pillow but the woman on the other side wouldn't go away. Even if she held her breath and pretended she wasn't there.

"Rhoda!" But it wasn't Mary. It was Phyllis. "Rhoda! I've been calling you all night. Mary's in the hospital. Rhoda?"

Rhoda's heart starting clamoring about in her chest. Mary was in the hospital?

She flew out of bed, grabbing at her coat, opening the door. "What do you mean, Phyllis? Why didn't you tell me? Where is she?"

"St. Matthews. I'm not sure what happened but that male friend of hers took her to the hospital last night. I've been trying to call you."

"Oh, Phyllis." Rhoda groaned, tossing clothes about before deciding that dressing was fruitless. She was still in her clothes from yesterday anyway. She pulled the coat about herself and dragged a comb through her bedraggled hair. "Can I borrow your car? I've gotta get there."

Phyllis looked a little put-off at the thought of Rhoda driving her car. But it was not the morning to play their normal cat and mouse routine. No, this morning was different and Rhoda needed to get to Mary. Phyllis seemed to sense this. "Alright, but you pay for whatever you do to it."

"Of course, go get the keys!" Rhoda shoved her out the door and steadied herself against the doorframe.

How had this happened? Rhoda had thought Mary was calling about her (so selfish of her to assume!) but instead she'd been dealing with something bigger! Had she been hurt all day? Had she lost the baby? Oh God. And Rhoda had done her usual disappearing act and that damn Peter had been there. God, Rhoda was a mess. A total mess.

She made it to the hospital in Phyllis' precious car, unscratched and unscathed - for she really was an excellent driver - and raced into the hospital.

"I'm looking for Mary Richards. What room is she in?" She asked the nurses frantically.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but visiting hours aren't for another thirty minutes." One nurse spoke.

Rhoda clinched her fists. "I'm her sister. I need to see her."

"Sorry, ma'am. You'll have to wait. There's a sitting room over there." The nurse pointed in the direction of a little room.

Rhoda glanced to the room and then saw who was sitting there, waiting. There he was, nestled perfectly beside her parents. She couldn't possibly go sit there. Not when they were all there. Not when they knew.

"Uh, I'll wait outside."

Rhoda made a hasty retreat wondering just how she'd get to Mary because obviously something had happened with the baby and she needed to know, needed to be there for her. And in light of not being able to do anything she paced back and forth on the sidewalk.

When some nurses passed by Rhoda stopped them. "Hey you got a smoke?" One of the nurses obliged despite the fact that Rhoda knew she looked like a homeless person pacing crazily with unkempt hair and smeared make-up.

She allowed the smoke to calm her. She would just have to go in. She needed to see Mary, she needed her to know that she was there no matter what, despite what had happened the previous day. Rhoda just needed to see her. She checked her watch for the time, paced more, pulled at the cigarette. Unsettled. Uncertain.

But she knew, deep down, she knew Mary needed her. And she was going to go in there and see her.

Making her way into the hospital again, Rhoda strode into the sitting room as if she belonged there. Mary's parents looked up as she entered, Peter seemed confused.

"Rhoda," Dottie smothered her surprised displeasure at seeing Rhoda with a plastered on fake smile. How similar that feigned smile was to Mary's own. "How nice of you to drop by but I'm quite certain we have it handled. Go on home." She caked on the sweetness, thick. Appearances. Always damn appearances with the Richards.

"With all due respect, Mrs. Richards," Rhoda opted for formal, "but I would like to be here. I know Mary would want me to be here."

"I don't think it's necessary, dear. We will call you once we know more." Dottie sneered through a smile. Walter placed his hand on his wife's arm, as if afraid for what she might do.

"No, no. I'm staying right here and you can't stop me." Rhoda sat down on a chair across from them. The three of them. All against her. And she did feel like the odd man out but...Mary. She needed to see Mary. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Is she okay?" Rhoda demanded.

"She's in the hospital, what do you think?" Dottie shot off.

"Please," Walter spoke calmly towards his wife.

"Is it...is the baby okay?" Rhoda whispered the words, knowing Mary would want her to at least be discreet in that.

"That's certainly of no concern to you." Dottie crossed her legs in the other direction.

Peter, for his part, remained quiet. Rhoda couldn't even look at him. She hated him in that moment. Hated him for knocking Mary up, hated him for his ability to sit next to Mary's parents as if he belonged there, with them, in their family.

"Mr. and Mrs. Richards, you can see your daughter now." A nurse appeared in the sitting room.

Dottie and Walter rose from their seats. Rhoda jumped to her feet, determined to get to Mary.

A hand caught her arm and she turned to find Peter looking at her. "Why don't you lay off? I know you're her friend, but let her family be here for her. Go on home." And with that Peter turned and followed Mary's parents down the hall.

A friend, huh? Just a friend? It infuriated Rhoda, made her hands clench, her body tense. She sat right back on down and waited. She waited for what felt like an eternity, for ages and ages. She glanced up at the clock and found it had only been thirty minutes. That was enough "family time" wasn't it?

Rhoda stood and inquired again as to where Mary was, and then was on her way down the hallway. Her heart racing, her fingers aching to touch, her arms wanting to hold Mary. But as she rounded the corner to slip inside the door she knew that none of that would be possible. There was Dottie doting on her daughter, Walter examining the medical findings, and Peter pacing dutifully at Mary's side. The picture-perfect family. Rhoda felt sick.

Until Mary looked up from her conversation with her mother. Her blurry, watery eyes and down-turned, annoyed look dissolved into a delighted smile upon catching sight of Rhoda - unkempt, desperate, wild Rhoda - standing in the hospital doorway.

"Rhoda, I said we would call later." Dottie spoke first.

Rhoda ignored her, ignored everyone else in the room for no one mattered at all except Mary. Mary laying there in the hospital bed looking so deliriously happy to see Rhoda.

"You came." Mary whispered, and it was as if they were the only two in the room.

"Yeah, kid. Of course I did." Rhoda stepped shyly forward, hands uncertain, folding into one another again and again, wanting desperately to reach out but she held them back, opting to stand there platonically at Mary's side.

But Mary reached out and took Rhoda's hand, holding it tightly. Rhoda smiled, holding on just as tightly.

"You okay?" Rhoda spoke quietly. Her hand betrayed her as she smoothed back Mary's hair.

Mary nodded, "Everything's fine. Now."

"What happened?"

Dottie huffed and stood from her daughter's other side, moving to stare angrily out the window. Peter stopped his pacing and stared at the two women. Rhoda could feel his eyes on her.

"Oh, I don't want to...it was only a little..." Mary was trying to play it down but Rhoda was giving her that stern look, the one that reminded Mary she could take it, could understand. "There was a little blood and I...I fainted."

"Thank God I was there," Peter moved to her other side, as if he belonged there. "I got her to the hospital quickly."

"You want me to throw you a congratulation party or somethin'? Get you an award?" Rhoda snapped.

"Rhoda," Mary held her hand a little tighter.

Rhoda glared at Peter until she felt Mary tugging gently at her hand, trying to ease the tension in the room by getting Rhoda to look away from Peter. Rhoda looked down again at Mary, at her pale face, her sad eyes and Peter disappeared. "How's the baby?" For that and Mary were all that really mattered.

"It's okay." Mary nodded. "Still alive and kicking."

Rhoda smiled, "that's great, kid. Real great." Rhoda clasped her hand with her other. She wished they were alone without this strange audience about them.

"Mary, I really think there are too many people in the room. You should be resting." Dottie had replaced Peter.

"Yes, mother, you're probably right. Thank you and daddy for coming, but I'm okay. Really. You can go on home and I'll call if I need anything. And Peter, you don't need to stay."

Dottie seemed a little perturbed that her daughter should ask her to leave, but Mary was holding firm to what she wanted. "Please, mother. Leave."

It took more coaxing and convincing and Rhoda could feel the anger dripping off Dottie as she left while Rhoda stayed on. It was finally Walter that grabbed his wife and pointed her to the door. Thank God for Mary's father. Peter was not so easy to get rid of. A nurse interrupting with a work call for him finally pulled him away.

"You're missing work." Mary exclaimed to Rhoda as soon as they were alone.

"I think this is more important. The store will understand." Rhoda perched herself atop the bed at Mary's side.

Mary played with the blanket, as if suddenly shy in Rhoda's presence. "I didn't think you'd come."

"What? Kid, of course I came." Rhoda looked at her hands fidgeting in her lap.

"Why wouldn't you take my calls?" Mary's voice was small.

Rhoda sucked in a breath of air, bit her lip, rubbed at her forehead. "Mare, I..." what was there to say? She'd freaked out, she got spooked, she was scared. Rhoda bit the side of her finger, searching for words. "I – uh, got a little scared, honestly. You know me, kid, things never work out for me and I didn't want to get my hopes up that this could really work out and I guess, I…" she stumbled over words, still unable to look up at Mary. "Well, Peter is the better choice, really. And I don't know if there really is a position for me to move up to at work so I might have lied to your father and that's not so good and I just don't…I'd probably screw it up. If I haven't already screwed it up I'm quite certain I would find a way to screw it up in the future, you know, I'd do something…"

"Rhoda." Mary covered her fidgeting hands with her own. Had she been trying to get her attention during her entire rant? Rhoda looked up then to find Mary staring intently at her. "Rhoda, I think that I…I might have done it all wrong. I didn't sleep last night, not at all, and the whole night I kept thinking about how wrong it was of me to tell my parents I loved you before I'd told you and I want you to know that I…I'm mad about you Rhoda."

"I didn't know, kid, I didn't know." Rhoda sniffled back tears. "I'm not good with the love stuff. I'm good at going on bad dates, really, really bad dates, and running away when things get too close but…but this is Mary Richards, this is you, perfect little you and I'm going to mess it up. I already did."

"Rhoda, I'm not perfect." Mary sighed. "If I were perfect I wouldn't have slept with Peter. I would have just…admitted to you, to myself, that I wanted you."

"You wanted me even then?" Rhoda looked up again.

Mary nodded, eyes downcast. "I hadn't considered it an option, but then you…you were always so attentive, always there, and perhaps I took advantage of that without you really knowing how I felt. And for that I do apologize."

"Oh," Rhoda felt her heart pounding. If they weren't in a hospital with nurses wondering in and out at odd moments she would pull Mary into her arms and kiss her right then and there. But just as she felt a burst of excitement, of bliss at the idea of Mary loving her so much, for so long, she also felt her chest tighten. "Mare." Her voice waivered.

"Rhoda," Mary seemed to know just what Rhoda was feeling. "Rhoda, we'll get through it. You won't mess it up. I've already done enough of that for the both of us."

Rhoda squeezed Mary's hand tighter, not wanting to be so far apart from her, wishing she could just climb into the hospital bed with her and wrap their bodies together as they did at night when the world wasn't watching.

"Mary, it's not going to be easy. Does Peter…does Peter know about –"

Mary shook her head. "Mother didn't mention it to him, just put the pressure on to get me to say yes."

Rhoda wiped at her eye, fighting off the tears. "I want what's best for you. And for this baby." Rhoda spoke gently.

Mary clasped her hand tighter. "That's you, Rhoda. No matter what. I need you with me. I want you with me."

Rhoda smiled. Never in her wildest teenage dreams would she have imagined she'd end up with an upright, knocked-up, Midwesterner, ex-head cheerleader. The thought baffled and relieved her. The reality was more perfect than anything she could fantasize or make up.

"I'm here. I'll always be here." Rhoda lifted their combined hands and kissed the back of Mary's hand, her eyes affixed permanently to Mary's rosy face. They smiled at one another. "As long as you want me."

"Oh, you." Mary shook her head.

Thanks to everyone who is reading! I haven't been leaving little comments on here but I appreciate all who have found this little work and have left reviews on it. Thank you so much! Hope you enjoy - we've got a long way to go!