Chapter 20

"What has gotten you so excited?" Ida watched from her perch on the kitchen stool as Rhoda buzzed around the kitchen, cooking up a feast, an absolute feast.

"Ma, I'll tell you when Mary's here. And I've invited Hazel for dinner. I think you'll really like her. She's a wonderful woman. She's been so kind to me and Mary since we moved in."

"She's the owner of this house?" Ida questioned, munching on a stray carrot that Rhoda had left on the counter.

"Yes, she lives in the main house. Oh, she's just lovely."

"Sounds like I've been replaced." Ida quipped.

"Oh, Ma." Rhoda turned from the pot she was stirring and wrapped her arms about her mother. "You're irreplaceable."

"Well something certainly smells nice."

"Heya, Mare." Rhoda looked up from her mother upon hearing her wife's voice at the door – could she ever get used to calling her her wife? It sounded so foreign, so different, but she supposed that was what she was to her now. And it made her chest clench in inexplicable joy each time she thought it.

"Are we celebrating something?" Mary was trying her hardest to look chipper, but Rhoda could tell beneath the painted exterior and feigned merriment she was exhausted. Rhoda moved to wrap her arms about Mary, to plant a chaste kiss to her cheek, as she helped her out of her coat.

"Well, I suppose you could say that. Why don't you come in and sit down? Relax a little. Hazel will be over in a minute."

"A dinner party?" Mary questioned, neither excited nor displeased by this announcement, allowing Rhoda to help her over to the couch. Perhaps she didn't need the help, but Rhoda was insistent that Mary not overdo things. She already hated the fact that she was still working and would be up until the very tail end of the pregnancy. Mary was never one to sit idle. Even now she gave Rhoda a pouty lip at being treated like an invalid.

"Yeah, kid. And I'm throwing it so we know it will end well." Rhoda winked and Mary rolled her eyes. "I thought Ma might like to meet Hazel and we haven't had her over yet. Do you want your needlepoint?" Rhoda reached for the drawer of the table next to the couch but Mary patted her hand.

"I think I'll just sit and enjoy not being at work surrounded by imbeciles. I swear if Ted says another word about how cute I look or tries to talk to my stomach I'll…oh, I'll just…"

Rhoda laughed, Mary seeming to lighten up a bit for she was capable of getting out her frustrations about work. Ida inquired about her day, asking her how things were, worrying and fussying over her as any good mother might for Ida was equally uneasy about Mary still working this late into her pregnancy. Though as Mary tried to assure both Ida and Rhoda that she was just fine continuing on as she had been, the trio was interrupted by the doorbell. "That will be Hazel. Oh, Ma. I can't wait for you to meet her."

Rhoda pulled the apron from about her dress and moved towards the door. She opened it to reveal a smartly dressed woman on the other side with apple pie in hand. "Rhoda, you look lovely this evening." Hazel pressed her lips to Rhoda's cheek.

"Are you kidding? I just threw this on. You, you look stunning. Come in here. Come meet my mother. Ma!" Rhoda called but found the petite bundle at her side staring curiously at Hazel. "Ma, this is Hazel, Hazel this is my mother. Ida Morgenstern."

"So nice to meet you," Hazel extended her hand after Rhoda took the pie from her.

"Likewise." Ida politely extended her hand, in mocked symmetry. "Is that an apple pie?"

"It is." Hazel responded as she removed her coat.

Ida raised an eyebrow, as if she was somehow challenging the apple pie's existence. "I make an excellent apple pie, don't I, Rho?"

"Ma, come on. This isn't a competition. Please," Rhoda turned back to Hazel, "do ignore Ma. She's very competitive. Thinks you'll steal me away from her."

Hazel chuckled before glancing around the apartment. "I love what you two have done with the place. It feels like a real home." She was taking it all in, as if she'd never seen the place before. She surveyed all of Rhoda and Mary's decorations and little touches the two women had added to the apartment, looking very pleased indeed.

"Thanks." Rhoda grinned. "Dinner's almost ready, have a seat. Please. I'm just going to set this pie down."

Hazel nodded and moved towards Mary. "Hello there, dear. How are you feeling?" She patted Mary on the arm.

"Oh, Ms. Sanderson, I'm fine. Just fine. Exhausted, but fine." Mary smiled as the woman sat across from her.

"Mary, please call me Hazel. There is no need for formalities." Hazel chuckled.

"Mary is a proper young woman. So respectful. I wish she'd rub off on Rhoda just a little more." Ida commented as she finished setting the table.

"Ma, you only have yourself to blame if I didn't turn out right." Rhoda jabbed.

"Oh you." Ida shook her head.

"Dinner is ready." Rhoda exclaimed.

"Rhoda, you've outdone yourself." Mary spoke as she placed her hand gently on Rhoda's back on her way to the table.

"This looks delicious, dear." Hazel smiled as she sat down across from Ida.

"Rhoda certainly has learned to cook. Did you teach her, Mary?" Ida asked.

"Oh, I can't say I've contributed much to her culinary knowledge. I'm afraid she's learned it all on her own." Mary rested her chin on her hands and smiled at Rhoda from across the table.

Rhoda winked at her. The two exchanged an intimate glance, Rhoda suddenly realizing that she might be lingering too long, lost in Mary's eyes. She cleared her throat, looking away to find her mother staring curiously at her. TO salvage the situation, she decided to come out with it. "I want to make an announcement before we commence eating." Rhoda stood then. "I know things have been rough lately, and you all have probably wondered 'when will that good-for-nothing Rhoda Morgenstern ever find a job? She's a lazy louse who never does anything.'"

"Uh, Rhoda, no one thinks that." Mary sounded less than amused at her wife's self-jabs.

"Well okay, maybe you weren't thinking that. But, I have the pleasure of announcing to everyone that you are now looking at the brand-new head of the artistic department for CMJ Marketing. I just received the official offer today and I start tomorrow morning."

"Oh! Rhoda!" Mary clasped her hands together and stood, awkwardly. "Oh, congratulations!" She moved about the table and wrapped Rhoda in as tight an embrace as the baby would allow. "Oh, it's so wonderful. I'm so proud of you."

"Yeah? Thanks, kid."

"It's wonderful, Rhoda." Hazel chimed in.

"I knew it! I knew you'd gotten a job." Ida was beside herself.

Rhoda beamed. The rest of dinner was filled with excited questions. The air felt light again, all of the present worries slipping away because Rhoda had done something important, had taken her career into her own hands, was going to do something she loved, and it was serious. It meant something.

She caught Mary's eye halfway through dinner, the duo gazing at one another as Ida and Hazel spoke on about how delicious the food was, the weather, whatever it was they were talking about because Rhoda couldn't concentrate on the conversation when Mary was looking at her that way. With those hungry, contented eyes.

Rhoda shifted in her seat. "Is everyone ready for dessert?" She asked, standing from the table abruptly.

"Well, I suppose so. I can only imagine it will be as delicious as dinner, Rhoda. Thank you for inviting me for such a lovely evening. Let me help with the dishes." Hazel stood to help clear the plates away. They made fast work of the cleaning and soon the refreshed table was filled again with coffee and pie.

Rhoda didn't – couldn't - look at Mary again until they retired, sleepy and stuffed, to the living room.

"Would you like to see the main house?" Hazel was asking Ida.

"Oh, if you wouldn't mind. Girls, would you mind if I went to the main house with Hazel?"

"Not at all, Ma. Go ahead." Rhoda had collapsed on the chair across from the couch where Mary sat sipping decaffeinated tea, absently stroking her protruding stomach.

Rhoda couldn't bring her gaze to Mary's until they heard the click of the front door snap shut.

They sat in the relaxed silence for a moment, staring at one another. Mary's lips turned upwards. "I'm proud of you, Rho."

"Yeah?" Rhoda got up and moved to the couch, needing to be near to Mary, needing to feel her close.

"Yes. I think being fired from Hempel's was one of the best things for you." Mary turned so that she could put her arms about Rhoda, pulling her close so that their lips would meet. Their mindless kisses in the kitchen, the living area, the alcove, had become few and far between since Ida had arrived. Though they could touch at night, there was a restraint that they both felt acutely. A need to keep a respective distance. Now they pressed their lips together freely, pleasurably, in celebration.

"You think so?" Rhoda asked, her hand moving beneath Mary's shirt to ghost over the expanded flesh. She could feel the active baby beneath her fingers.

"Sometimes not getting what we want can be the best thing for us." Mary's fingernails grazed Rhoda's thigh.

"Yeah?" Rhoda sighed as Mary nipped at her neck with her teeth. "Oh, kid. Don't start something. Ma and Hazel…they'll…oh, they'll be back soon. The house isn't that big."

"We have a good few minutes." Mary's hand found its way up the hem of Rhoda's skirt, exposing her thigh as she went, pressing lips to where her mouth could reach.

"Mare," Rhoda sighed.

"I'm so proud of you, Rho. So proud." Mary whispered as she kissed Rhoda's lips.

"Oh." Rhoda whimpered as fingers twisted about her underwear and into her wet center. "You know," she panted, "if only Ma knew how insatiable you were she might…she might change her mind about wanting you to rub off on me."

"If only she knew how much I liked rubbing off on you." Mary's voice was thick with want.

"Mary!" Rhoda gasped in mock shock and horror. "She'd certainly change her mind if she heard you talking like that!"

"Oh yeah?" Mary stroked in that spot that made Rhoda mad. She smiled evilly as she did it. "She'd be mortified if she heard what your favorite word was during sex."

"Fuck, fuck, Mare." Rhoda gasped, hands clenching where they grasped at Mary's arms, holding herself steady as Mary worked her magic.

They almost didn't hear the door opening, the slight scrap of it before it was thrown open and a cold, frigid breeze from the evening rushed inside.

Rhoda shot up, pushing her skirt back into place, running a hand absentmindedly through her hair. "How was it, Ma? Did you enjoy your tour?"

Ida looked at her daughter. Could she see her flushed face, could she tell that her legs were quivering, her insides turned to mush? What was Mary doing? Was she giving away the fact that Rhoda was on her fingers?

"It's a beautiful house." Ida finally commented, with a look that said she would ignore what she saw. And for that Rhoda was relieved. More than relieved.

"I should be going. Thank you for dinner. It was a wonderful evening." Hazel kept her coat on.

"We should do it again soon." Rhoda moved to kiss her cheeks, feeling flighty, fluttery. She wanted everyone to go away, to leave so that she could be alone with Mary. If they had only had a few minutes more, seconds even... Her body hummed as she moved to clear the remaining dishes from the table, unable to keep up with the steady stream of conversation Mary, somehow, seemed capable of carrying on with her mother. Thank God for Mary and her clear thinking in situations such as these.

"I should be getting to bed. You see I have to be up early tomorrow morning. First day and all. I haven't had to wake up early for a few weeks now, so it's a little new for me again." Rhoda spoke quickly as she wiped her hands on a dishtowel, the kitchen sparkling clean.

She couldn't think of anything more than removing herself and Mary to the bedroom, closing the door on the world around them.

She made quick work of helping her mother turn down the bed, banishing Mary to get herself ready for bed. Once she'd kissed her mother goodnight, she made her escape, closing the door to find Mary without anything covering her behind, bending down to retrieve something from a low drawer. "You're a tease, Richards." Rhoda moved forwards, hand cupping the soft flesh of Mary's behind.

"Mmm, but you enjoyed it." Mary straightened up and pulled Rhoda closer to her, their lips melding together in a heated kiss.

"Finish, please." Rhoda gasped, walking backwards until her knees hit the bed. Mary unbuttoned her dress, pulling it from her shoulders, pressing her lips to Rhoda's collarbone, fingers covering exposed breasts. "Oh, Mare."

Mary climbed on top of her as Rhoda sunk into the mattress. Mary's hand was between their thighs, nearly masked by her protruding stomach. She could not lean forward to kiss Rhoda but she kept a steady tempo, her hand loving Rhoda where her lips could not reach.

"Oh, fuck! Mary, I love you." Rhoda whispered through biting her hand.

"Shh," Mary laughed.

Rhoda's body went rigid and she squeezed Mary's hand there between her thighs, careful as she twisted her body in release.

Mary rolled off of her, settling onto her side so that they lay together in the stillness of the evening. Her arm went about Rhoda's waist, lips pressed briefly to Rhoda's cheeks. "You're really something, Richards. You know that?"

"You're not so bad yourself, Morgenstern." Mary laughed and smacked her lightly with a pillow.

Once the laughter subsided Mary pressed her lips to Rhoda's shoulder sleepily. "I'm really proud of you, Rhoda."

"Thanks kid." Rhoda clasped onto Mary's arm, holding onto her as they drifted off into sleep contentedly together.

Thanks for all who have been reading along and reviewing! I really appreciate it so much. I am on a sort of schedule with posting, so will have more of this story usually on Thursdays and more of the other (Mary and Rhoda: The Unwritten Series) on Mondays, unless I am busy.

Also, this story will have 25 chapters total.

Again, thank you so much for reading and especially to those who review! I'm so happy you're enjoying this piece. 3