Midge woke up and inched her hand over, feeling her way across the bed, her smile falling when no one was there. She realizing that was more than enough to wake her up fully and that was when she remembered that Lenny left the morning before. The last week they spent together had been one of the best weeks of her life, and not just because she was living her dream job and doing so great at it that she was really making a name for herself. No, though that was spectacular in her opinion, the best part of the week was when she was off stage because it was spent getting to know her new husband better.

They spent most of the time that they were both off stage together in bed, and fuck, to say it was the best sex of her life would be an understatement but when they weren't lost in each other, they were talking, getting to know each other. She learned a lot about Lenny, and even more about Kitty, for someone who kept his daughter close to the vest, when he opened up about her he could talk for hours. Midge found it adorable, though she'd never tell him that. Midge told him about her kids, her family, anything she could think of, really. That was when he dropped the bombshell that he'd already met her parents. To say that the story threw her for a loop would be another understatement. She couldn't help but replay in her mind the memory of that night and early the next morning.

Three days ago

"So, what are your plans after your shows here are done?" Midge asked, Lenny's arm around her shoulders, her head resting on his, snuggling closer while they shared a cigarette in bed together after round number, well she lost count a while ago. She loved that he seemed to enjoy cuddling together after sex as much as she did, she wasn't used to that with any of her past partners.

"I'm stopping in LA to visit Kitty before heading home." That was when Lenny realized he still hadn't told his wife that for now 'home' was in Miami. He should probably get on that.

"Really? I'm heading to LA next too. How long are you going to be there?"

"Probably a week or two."

"Good, you know I have almost another week of shows here, but you should still be there long enough that we can spend some time together before I head to the next leg of the tour." She smiled when she felt him kiss the top of her head.

"Yeah, I think I could carve out some time for my wife. We don't know the next time we'll be in the same state." Though saying that, he supposed that meant it was time for another one of those serious talks. He never introduced Kitty to a woman in his life before, much less one who was her new stepmother.

It seemed Midge was on the same train of thought because she sat up and turned to look at Lenny with a serious face. They might have not been together long but he fancied himself an observer of the human race, Midge in particular, so he knew by now what her different facial expressions meant and right now she was about to bring something up that was very important to her but was also something she was going to tread lightly around because she didn't know how he was going to react. She hedged, "So, do you think I'll be meeting anyone important while I'm there?"

Lenny chuckled, "Probably, you're going to the land of famous Hollywood assholes with the biggest tour on earth right now. I bet you'll have famous important people begging for your autograph by the end of your stay."

"Lenny…" She said in a voice that made it clear she knew he was purposely misunderstanding her.

"Kitty wants to meet you too. She might be more excited to meet you than she is to see me."

"She knows about me?"

"Of course she does. Doesn't know we're married, mind, but she knows about my very beautiful, very funny friend who I care very much about. She also knows you're on tour with Shy and you've been on TV before, she wants to meet a famous person."

"Her dad's a famous person."

"Yeah but apparently, according to her, I'm not funny. Plus the shine dulls a little bit when you're the one that makes them breakfast in the morning."

Midge laughed, "Yeah, that's true. Mine didn't blink when I told them I was going to be on TV they only wanted to know if anyone famous was going to be there." She took another drag of the cigarette Lenny passed to her, "So, is she going to know we're married by the time I get there?"

"Yeah, figured that was news that should be given in person, I mean, if you're cool with that."

"I'm more than okay with that. When the tour finishes and we, you know, integrate our lives and all that bullshit, will Kitty be coming to New York?"

Lenny had been thinking about that a lot, of course, he wanted his kid close, wanted nothing more, really. But there were reasons he kept her with his Ma, yeah, a lot of it was the drugs but that wasn't the only reason and it wasn't going to be an issue anymore, he promised himself. Another problem was that he was getting arrested what felt like every other day and he couldn't leave her home alone while he spent a night in jail, sometimes longer if he couldn't get up the bail money. Another problem was the fact that being Lenny Bruce's daughter didn't earn her any brownie points, parents didn't want their kids anywhere near him and that left Kitty alone most of the time.

Though now he wouldn't be doing it alone, he'd have a partner, and Kitty would have people her own age, built-in friends and family. He could see it working, though he also knew he was probably the most unlucky fuck there ever was, and things never worked out for him the way he hoped. He shook his head, there was no need for him to go down a self-loathing downward spiral in his head. Things were looking up for him, and he chose to believe that they could stay that way.

"That'd be the goal. I did manage to go this whole week without being pulled off the stage by the boys in blue even once. And I wouldn't have to worry if she was at home alone and hungry 'cause her dad was locked up."

He said it jokingly but Midge saw the worry and truth in his words. She felt bad for him, she'd looked up to him for so long and wanted to be what he was when it came to comedy but she never stopped and thought about the downside of it, the consequences. She smiled and rested her head on his chest, making sure to snuggle in deeper and offer what comfort she could knowing that he wouldn't take it if she made it clear comfort was what she was trying to do.

"Hmm, well then it's good that we're in this together now, right?"

He took the cigarette from her, which was just a butt and an ember at this point, and put it in the ashtray before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. They laid like that until they fell asleep, which was good because they'd spent so much time lost in each other that night after their shows Lenny noticed that the sky was already starting to lighten up and he knew Midge's insanely early breakfast order would be coming in a few short hours.

Midge woke up and still, even though they'd slept like this every night since they'd first slept together, had her first thought in the morning to sneak off to the bathroom and get herself ready before Lenny woke up. She tried it the first morning they were together, well the second, but she didn't count the morning after their wedding as they were both hung over messes. She learned that morning that Lenny was a much lighter sleeper than any of her past lovers because he woke up as soon as she tried to move. Or it was less that he was a lighter sleeper than her ex-husband and more that she'd never had to detangle herself from Joel in the mornings, he was not a cuddler and even if they fell asleep touching, she'd always wake up with their backs to each other and on the opposite sides of the bed. She had a thought that maybe that should have been a sign for her that things weren't as great as she imagined they were.

Either way, her sneaking out wasn't an option and when she woke him up that first morning, she ended up admitting what she was planning to do and he proceeded to show her, many times how unnecessary that was and how attractive he found her even first thing in the morning with her hair a mess, no makeup on, and the marks on her skin still slightly there from her bra the day before. But even if now she knew sneaking into the bathroom to get ready wasn't necessary, old habits break hard so it was still her first instinct.

Now though, after that first thought in the morning, she snuggled up to her husband deeper and fell back asleep for another half hour before she was woken up again by her room service at the door. Lenny groaned in denial when she tried to detangle herself from him to get the door but eventually moved his arms so she could get up. She put on her robe and walked to the door. he sat up and lit a cigarette, cringing when he drank the last of his drink from the night before.

Over breakfast Midge thought over their conversation from the night before and smiled to herself, she was happy that it seemed they were taking the next step in integrating their lives and that she was going to meet his daughter. However, that thought brought her to the logical next step, him meeting her family. She wasn't worried about him meeting the kids, it was everyone else. She had a feeling her dad would like him well enough, especially with the strange mid-life crisis he was going through, her Mama, well she was a different story completely, and Joel, well he'd be happy up until the moment he realized he was meeting Lenny as her new husband and not his comedy idol.

"You're thinking awfully hard for this early in the morning, Mrs. Bruce."

She smiled again as she put jam on her toast, she liked it when he called her that, she had a feeling it was why he did it so often. "Just thinking through how it's going to be introducing you to my family, to my parents. It might not be the most fun thing you've ever done."

He waved her off, "It's cool. I've already met them."

She paused mid-bite before dropping her toast onto her plate and looking at him with her eyes wide. She quickly chewed and swallowed, she might be shocked but she still had manners enough not to talk with her mouth full. "What? No, you didn't, I feel like that's something I would know. When on earth would you have ever run into the Weismans? Oh, I get it, this is a joke, right?"

"Funny story, I met your dad the same way I met you."

"In the back of a cop car?"

Lenny nodded as he took another bite, smiling through it, finding the whole situation funny. "Yeah."

"No, I'm going to need more information than that." She said, still not sure if he was being serious or telling a joke she didn't understand. So he told her the story, and she asked him how she knew it was her bouquet her father was talking about. "Yeah but how do you know they were actually my parents? I mean it could easily have been the parents of some other girl you sent flowers to."

"Well first, after he brought up the flowers, your name joined the story, and two, other than Honey, I haven't sent flowers to anyone in over a decade. And believe me, I'll never forget her parents, or as I know them better, the devil and his wife, so it definitely wasn't him I shared a cell with."

Midge just stared at him for a few moments, stunned. "So Papa went to your show, tried to defend you, and ended up getting locked up too. And how did Mama join into this little adventure?"

"She bailed Abe out, I was surprised when about a half hour later I was told I was free to go too, turns out he convinced her to put up my bail too."

Midge couldn't help but jump a little when Lenny said her father's name like it was no big deal, she was having a problem accepting this. She wasn't quite sure if this change of events was a good thing or a bad thing. Papa must have liked him well enough or he'd have left Lenny in jail without thinking twice about it but liking him in a 'we're family now' kind of way was a completely different story. Oh well she decided, there wasn't much she could do at this point, they'd just have to accept it, just like she accepted that she'd be on her mother's shit list for the next decade for getting married without her.

"And then what?" She finally asked after taking another bite of her eggs.

He shrugged, "Then we walked out of the police station, much like the night I met you, and went our separate ways."

Midge surprised Lenny with her laugh, it was the only thing she could do, the whole situation seemed so insane to her that she had to laugh it off. He smiled at her laughter, he always knew she was beautiful but it was especially clear when she laughed. He liked that he no longer had to stop the impulse to lean over their plates to kiss her.

They had almost a routine down at this point, they ate breakfast together before taking turns showering, more often than not turning it into just one extra long one together, before getting ready for the day. Then they'd either go their separate ways until her show or they'd explore the city together. Midge was going to miss it when Lenny left though she comforted herself by realizing they'll make a new routine when they're back in the city. Today she had to do some stuff with the tour so after they were dressed and ready Lenny kissed her one more time before promising to be at her show tonight, even though he knew it by heart at this point, and heading off on his own.

Midge sighed as she watched him go, it was his last night in the city before he went off to LA, her following almost a week behind him. She felt insane and clingy because she didn't want to be apart from him for that long. It was especially insane considering the fact that after those three days in LA together, she didn't know the next time he'd see her, they had more stops in the States before the tour headed overseas but she couldn't expect him to follow her wherever her tour went. Although she could imagine the fun they'd have exploring all those new places, she had so much fun over the last week with him. She knew it wouldn't always be like this, just fun, laughing, spending time together, fucking.

She knew when she made it back to New York they'd have to start a real life together but she thought that they'd still have fun, still have this connection they seem to innately share, the love. She shook her head, she still felt like she was insane when she thought that word connected to someone she'd only been with for a little less than a week but it'd been growing for a long time. Maybe even since they first met, and although she wasn't ready to say it out loud, she believed it to be true.

Current day

She was snapped out of her daydream by a banging on the door, it was too early for her room service order, so she had no idea who it could be She put her robe on and started walking to the door but froze when she heard the voice on the other side.

"Midge, open the fucking door already, I know you gotta be up by now with your insane morning rituals and sunrise fucking room service order." Knock knock "Come on, open up, I can't find my room key!"

Susie, Midge thought with a ball of something growing at the pit of her stomach. Even though she was mad at Susie for leaving her alone in Las Vegas so she could go help Sophie Lennon of all people, she still felt terrible for lying to her. Well no, she wasn't lying, she comforted herself, she was just not telling the whole truth, or any of it, really. Susie knew nothing about Lenny coming to visit her, much less the impromptu marriage, she figured that was something you should share in person and it seemed like it was finally time to face the music.

She started walking again when Susie knocked louder, "I'm coming, I'm coming, shit Susie, I just woke up!" She yelled but didn't say anything else until the door was opened, "What are you doing here so early? I specifically remember the numerous death threats I've gotten from you over the last year any time I called in hours you deemed 'too respectable for you'."

Susie pushed past her and flopped on her bed which had been left largely untouched since she left, well there was that one time after a particularly good show when she and Lenny couldn't possibly wait the time it'd take to walk the extra five steps to her bed so they could devour each other. Midge decided that'd be something she'd definitely keep from her manager. "You don't even want to know the fucking bull shit I've been dealing with since I left. Sophie is… well you don't give a fuck about that and we're not getting paid for how my week went. What's really important is how you've managed since I left. Everything going good here? People still laughing at your jokes? Shy still smitten with you and all your perky bullshit?"

"Susie, we've spoken on the phone almost every night since you left. You know things have been fine here, great even."

"Yeah, but I know you."

"And what does that mean?"

"Means I know you've been hiding something from me when we were talking. That means it's something big, something bad."

"Why would you think that?"

"Because you tell me everything, things I don't even want to know, things I have no interest in. You talk so fucking much I'm worried I'll somehow go deaf from noise overload. So when you're not talking about something, I know it's big and usually bad." She sat up and looked at Midge in the eyes while she dug her cigarettes out of her pocket and lit one, she continued after she exhaled. "So go on, spit it out already, what'd you do? Is there a body we're going to have to bury? Rob a bank? Piss off our employer? What fires am I going to have to put out now that I'm back?"

Midge wasn't sure if she was getting angry because it seemed that Susie didn't think Midge could take care of herself for a week or if it was because Susie was technically right but either way, she was getting pissed off. She didn't think Lenny and the marriage were fires they'd have to put out but she knew damn well that there had always been rumors about them, rumors suggesting Lenny only helped her out because she'd sleep with him, that she wasn't funny and people only cared to listen because Lenny liked her. She knew that wasn't true and she worked hard to show that to people, it was working too but coming out with the marriage would have to be done carefully or she'd be right back at square one.

"Fuck."

"Fuck what?"

"You're staying quiet, that means it's really really bad."

"Listen, Susie, I've survived just fine without you for the first 25 years of my life, I can handle a week by myself now. Stop making it sound like I'm a child." She let her anger take over.

"Midge…"

"And you left! You shouldn't have left, I needed you, this is our big break and you left! If anything bad happened it'd be your fault anyway."

"What happened?" Susie asked, surprisingly calm. Normally Susie would get angry the more loud Midge became but she did kind of feel bad for leaving Midge here on their first stop of her first big world tour, though she'd never admit any guilt.

Susie's calm demeanor soothed Midge, which was good, she decided. What she was about to tell her manager was best told when they were both calm. "I called Joel and he came down to visit, which I one hundred percent do blame you for, I was lonely."

"Oh shit, what did the fuck wad do now?"

"Nothing too crazy, he was just being his normal asshole self. Try to make me feel bad for leaving the kids at home. It's fine, he apologized, I'm over it."

"…Okay, that doesn't sound too bad, even though I hate the fucker." Susie shrugged, "So that's it? He came for a night, you fought, he left?"

"Yeah, well that's all that happened with Joel anyway."

"Fuck, Midge, just spit it out already. Enough beating around the bush, I'm on the edge of my seat here." She said, gesturing to herself, literally leaning forward on the edge of the bed.

"It's okay, calm down, nothing bad happened. Why do I feel like I'm on trial right now?"

"Well, that's a fucking relief. Sounds to me like you might have a guilty conscience because I'm just talking, you're the one that's being defensive."

Midge wondered if Susie was right, she knew in reality she didn't do anything wrong but she also knew this was going to cause a fight, more than that she knew her manager was the type to flip her lid immediately and yell before she had a chance to think about it. So of course Midge was nervous, and when she was nervous, she had a tendency to babble.

"I'm not being defensive, it's just been a crazy week while you were away. I finally found my stride on stage and got people laughing, it's been good. No, great, and everyone, especially Shy has been happy with my work, even our friend from the mob makes sure to compliment me after every set, oh, did I tell you I met his mistress? Nice woman. Turns out she and the girlfriend are cousins, though the girlfriend doesn't know about the mistress and the wife is oblivious to everything. Actually, I'm not sure if that's true, she got that look in her eyes, you know the one, the one that says 'I know he's a cheating bastard but he buys me everything I want and my personal masseuse really knows how to work the tension out of me, if you know what I mean'."

Susie laughed, "I hope you're working that into your new material."

"Of course, I'm workshopping it into something, it's not ready yet."

"Probably for the best, you don't want to try it out for the first time in front of the guy, so save it for LA."

"Good point, wouldn't want to be kicked out of the hotel… or be responsible for another marriage ending."

Susie scoffed, "You know damn well you weren't responsible for your marriage going down the shitter, it was that fucking little…."

Midge interrupted before Susie could go through another one of her 20-minute soliloquies about how much her ex-husband sucked, "Anyway, so the night Joel came, we were having a good time until we started fighting, can you believe he accused me of sleeping with Shy?" Midge took a drag of her cigarette before shaking her head, she could go on for hours about how much of an ass hole Joel was that night, and she was sure Susie'd love every minute of it, she really didn't like Joel but that wasn't the point of the conversation. So after she exhaled she got back on topic. "I cursed him out and told him to leave, you'll never guess who walked up behind me not five minutes later."

"Santa fucking Claus? I don't know. Who?" Susie snapped her fingers quickly three times, "Come on Miriam, I've been up for over 24 hours, get to the point so I can try to get some sleep before I have to be up for your show."

"Why didn't you sleep on the plane?" She asked but regretted the question immediately, she remembered what Susie was like on the plane flying here, "Never mind, It was Lenny, he had shows set up here all week too."

"Oh? Is he still here?" Susie asked while trying to hide her excitement. She thought Lenny was one of, if not the best in the business and took any chance to see him live that she could, even if she'd never admit that to the man himself.

"No, he left yesterday but he'll be in Los Angeles, so you could probably catch a show there," Midge said reading right through Susie's nonchalance.

Susie's eyes narrowed as she took her last drag and put her smoke out, "Since when are you two the type to keep tabs on the other?"

Midge looked away, out the window, hoping the blush she felt rising on her wasn't visible to her friend, "Well, I am on tour you know, it's not strange that he asked me where we were headed to next."

"Midge…" Susie wasn't sure what it was but she was sure Midge was hiding something.

"So the night I found out he was here he asked if I wanted to get a drink, and of course I said yes…"

Midge was a very visual talker, she moved her hands as she spoke, and that's how Susie's attention was brought to the big rock her comedian had on her ring finger. Susie might not know much about jewelry, but she knew what having a diamond on that finger meant. She jumped up and grabbed Midge's hand. "What the fuck is this?"

Midge stopped her rambling and sheepishly answered, "It's a ring?"

"Midge, I might know shit about jewelry, and know there's no way to remember all the different diamonds, baubles, and bullshit you own but I know for a fact that is a wedding ring."

"So about that…"

"Yeah, why don't we start at the wedding ring and get around to explaining what the fuck kind of trouble you got yourself into. Jesus, Miriam, I was gone for a week!"

Midge had to work very hard to keep her anger in check, one, she knew she wasn't making a mistake and she wasn't in any trouble. And two, if she was in trouble, it'd be Susie's fucking fault, she was supposed to be there for Midge but instead, she ran off to New York chasing Sophie Lennon's coattails of all fucking people. Midge was working hard to get over that feeling of betrayal but apparently, it was still there. She took a deep breath to calm down before she spoke, then another when the first one didn't work. When she finally thought she could speak without flipping her lid she opened her mouth.

"There's no trouble you need to help me get out of." She said simply, not much in the mood to talk to Susie anymore. She turned around and put her attention on getting ready for the day.

It didn't surprise Midge when Susie followed a few steps behind her, talking loudly, "Nope, no way Miriam, you're not leaving it like that. Tell me what the hell the wedding ring is doing on your newly divorced finger. Has the ink even dried on that one yet?"

Midge froze, furious at her friend's words, before deciding to ignore them and continuing on with her morning routine. "Don't you dare ignore me, Midge, what are we, in grade school?"

"I'm not ignoring you, I'm just not going to converse with someone who is constantly insulting me. I'm not in the mood for it, and you'd already be up to date if you were here where you were supposed to be." Midge said as she walked in the bathroom, Susie on her heels but Midge managed to close the door in Susie's face.

"Midge, that's not fair and you know it!"

"No, what wasn't fair was accepting to be the manager of the woman who tried, and almost succeeded in ruining my career, if it wasn't for Lenny doing that show for me, I'd probably still be blackballed from the fucking Gaslight, let alone anywhere else. And then on top of working for her after all the shit she's pulled, you leave me on the first stop on my first world tour for a week to be with her!"

"Midge, come on, it's more complex than that! And hey, don't try to change the subject, you're the one strutting around with a fucking wedding ring on! I'm not the one that needs to explain herself!"

Susie waited for a reply and sighed in defeat while taking a step back when she didn't hear one. She was surprised when Midge slammed the door open looking freshly made not like she was just in her pajamas with face cream on and her hair wrapped less than a minute ago. She watched as Midge walked right past her and over to where her hundreds of shoes were, deliberating on which to choose. Midge didn't say another word until she was completely ready, her breakfast was delivered, and she put down her napkin after daintily wiping her mouth and finishing her meal.

At this point Susie was lying on her bed just watching her, almost amused, she knew her client was stubborn but she didn't know she was this stubborn. It'd been almost an hour without a word being said, Susie's anger long gone and now she was just interested, and worried.

"Yes, I got married. Yes, it was when I was drunk in Las Vegas, yes that's a cliché but no it isn't a problem or a mistake."

Susie sat up, making a show of looking for and lighting a cigarette before responding, she needed a second to take the information in and think it through, she had never seen this version of Midge before, the one that held out and kept her emotions at bay to the point where Susie felt like the emotional one in the relationship. She knew how to handle Midge well by now, it was a big part of her job but she didn't know how to handle a version of her she never met before so Susie knew she had to tread lightly. She wanted to yell something along the lines of 'What the fuck Midge, Are you insane? Are you planning on throwing away your career and going back to planning your weekly dinner schedules? Or am I responsible for figuring out a way to get you a quicky divorce?' But she knew that wasn't the right way to play it right now. So she inhaled the sweet sweet nicotine that she started needing a lot more of after she met her star client.

"To who? Joel?" She finally asked, as calmly as she could.

"Ew, no, not Joel. Believe me, that ship has long sailed and I'm so happy it's gone I waved at it merrily as it sailed away. Really, I made a bon voyage sign and everything, I think there were even streamers and one of Eithan's little sound maker toys, you know the ones, they're really fucking annoying unless you're the one that's celebrating."

Susie laughed while holding her hand up in a stop motion "Alright, alright, I get the picture. If not Joel, then who?"

Midge didn't ask when she reached over and took the cigarette from Susie's fingers, and took a drag. Susie felt disconcerted at the look Midge was giving her while inhaling, she felt like Midge was reading her, looking into her fucking soul and she didn't like it. Midge had a way of doing that but this felt different. Normally this was when she'd walk away and leave Midge to herself for a while but she needed this information, she needed to know what type of shit storm she was looking at. So she sat back, put on the most calm face she could muster, and quirked her eyebrow at her.

Midge stayed quiet until the smoke left her lungs, and then she simply replied, "Lenny."

All Susie's cool flew out the window, for about five seconds there was confusion, then disbelief, then her eyes opened wide, and then she was up, pacing up and down the space between their two beds, "What the fuck, Miriam, you're not fucking with me are you? Jesus Christ, I knew you two had a hard-on for each other but marriage? And you want to stay married? And Lenny fucking Bruce wants to stay married? To each other? Fuck. Okay, okay, calm down Susie, you don't want to give yourself a heart attack, you still have a few good years left in you." She stopped pacing and turned to look Midge in the eyes, "You're serious? You, the picture of the Jewish princess born and raised on the Upper East Side, and Lenny Bruce, origins unknown, the guy that gets arrested every other fucking week, are married to each other, and plan to stay that way?"

Susie snatched her cigarette back from Midge before she had a chance to reply, "Yes. There's no need to panic Susie, we've talked about it, we've spent the whole last week together… talking and we both want this. Sure, it wasn't planned and sure, there are a lot more plans to make but we're ready for it, and we're willing to put the work in for it."

"Jesus Christ, Miriam, I know you like him, and he's a great fucking comedian, one of, if not the best but do you know him?" She waved her hands in the air, trying to find the words, she wasn't great at this supportive friend shtick but she knew it was part of the job, "I mean do you know Lenny the person? Not just the comedian? I've heard some things about him, not all of them good."

Midge looked away from Susie, she didn't know specific details but over their days together, and especially their nights, after making love, Lenny opened up a little more to her. She knew that was a lot that she still didn't know but he told her some things and she was intuitive enough to gather the rest. She knew that there were some, let's say habits that Lenny had to work his way through but she also knew that he wanted to and was going to. "I know what you're hinting at Susie, and I might not know all the details but I know enough, and it'll be okay. I know it sounds naive but I believe him when he said he was over all that. I…I love him, Susie, I've been falling in love with him for a long time I just worked hard to ignore it. It was pretty hard to keep ignoring it when I woke up in bed with him, his mother's ring on my finger, and legal documentation of our promises to spend the rest of our lives together."

It was then Susie's turn to look deeply into Midge's eyes, reading the truth there. "Fuck, you do love him, don't you? And he, you know, feels the same or whatever bull shit you romantic types talk about?"

"Well no, he didn't actually say the words but neither did I. I know though, I can tell by the way he looks at me, I just know."

"Fuck…" Susie said, starting up her pacing again, she was quiet for longer this time, and much calmer. She was thinking instead of working through her shock. Eventually, she stopped in front of Midge, "Okay, okay, this could work. I can make it work. We just have to keep it quiet for a little while, maybe have you two out in public every once in a while, showing you two hanging out outside of the comedy circuit. Yeah, that'll work, friends to lovers angle, that's what we'll do. Midge, it wasn't easy getting those rumors to go away and it was harder working past them, for almost a year every time you had a show people asked if Lenny was going to come or if he got you the gig, or who else you opened your legs for to get such a good set. It'll happen again, you know that, right?"

"I had a feeling, I don't get why though, I'm already on a world tour, and I'm clearly making my way without him, Lenny and Shy didn't even know each other before this week so obviously it wasn't him that got me this job."

"Midge, you know half of the people coming to these shows think you're sharing your bed with Shy every night. Wait, you introduced Lenny to Shy? So have you two been out on the town together this last week?"

"Well, yeah. It was like our honeymoon," Midge reasoned.

"Fuck! Have there been any articles? Were you two all over each other in public? Humping like bunnies where people could see? And believe me, this will be the only time I ask about what you and Lenny Bruce do in private… or public, whatever you know what the hell I mean, I want to know no details about you and his' fucking."

"Susie, don't make it sound so dirty and bad, we're married you know, sanctioned by god and everything. Well, not my God but the minister did have a huppah and I sacrificed my mirror for the breaking of the glass, so it still counts. And no, there were no obscene scenes from us in public. Well… no, it was late and dark, and we made sure no one was around." She thought hard for a few seconds, there was a lot of sex over the last week. "Yeah, we're good, we held hands a lot though, and there were a few kisses but Lenny works hard at keeping a low profile when out in public I've noticed, so not many paid attention to us."

"Yeah well, I'll have to see about that myself. Just, you know, try to keep a low profile for now. I think this could be good though, he'll understand your need to tour, he won't mind when you talk about him on stage, and he gets the hours. It could work, yeah, this could work really well. When are you seeing him next?" Susie asked, sounding excited.

Midge looked at her strangely, she'd never taken this much of an interest in her love life before and Midge wasn't sure how she felt about it, especially because she didn't want to use their relationship to help her career. "Los Angeles, he's there now."

"Oh right, you said that, what's he doing there? Is he touring too?"

"No, he's visiting his daughter, just stopped here on the way for some work. I'm going to meet her when we get there." Midge said, clearly equally as nervous as she was excited.

Susie waved that off, she couldn't care less about that part of Midge's relationship, she was only apprehensive about how it'd affect her career, and even though she wouldn't admit it out loud, she didn't want to see her friend hurt. "Alright, alright, we'll talk about this more later, but I have even less time to sleep now than I did when I got here. I'm going to hit the hay, just promise me one thing."

"What's that?"

"That I get to be there when you tell Abe and Rose."

Instead of replying, Midge flipped Susie off before leaving the room to get started with her day. When the door shut behind her she breathed a sigh of relief, it probably could have gone better but considering who her manager was, she thought that went pretty well. Not the hardest person she'd have to break the news to but it was a good start. She smiled as she walked to the elevator, happy, content, and ready to kick some ass during her show tonight.