It was around ten in the morning when they'd finally left Lenny's motel after Midge's 'wake-up call' for Lenny, and both of them showering, which really just turned into one shower that was so long the water turned cold about ten minutes before they even considered getting out. Midge wasn't nervous per say, well, that wasn't true, she was very nervous, she knew this whole conversation she was about to have wasn't going to be a good or fun one. But she wasn't second-guessing her decision at all, she knew telling her parents was the right thing to do, and she didn't want to hide it anymore. She was happy that she was married to Lenny and she wasn't going to act ashamed anymore. She knew she couldn't tell everyone yet, her kids, and probably Joel, deserved to be told first and in person, not to find out she remarried from reading the newspaper. So it was going to take a few more weeks, probably when the tour went back to New York for their big show before they went overseas.

Either way, she knew it was the right choice to tell her parents now, she didn't like lying to them, and she didn't like feeling as if she was doing something wrong because she got married. So when they got out of the cab she walked with her head high while holding Lenny's hand. After last night, it wasn't like that sight would be too surprising to her parents. Before they tried to find her mother and father, Midge set up everything she had to so that they could have their own room. Now that she knew Lenny was in town, she was sure it'd be best for everyone if they weren't sharing the same room, even if there were two beds in there. She finally found her parents by the pool eating breakfast before she got to her big revelation she put the key down on the table with a flourish, she figured it was best to ply them with what she knew they'd take as good news first.

"All set, here's your key, I had your luggage moved to your new room, so by the time you're done with breakfast everything will be all set." She said as she sat down in the empty chair and nodded at a nearby chair to tell Lenny to grab it. He did and pulled it over to sit next to her.

"Done with breakfast? Why would we ever be done with breakfast?"

"I'll be done with breakfast by the time I'm starting lunch," Abe agreed.

"Mama, Papa, we have to tell…" Midge tried but was cut off by Rose.

"Breakfast is perfect. This hotel is perfect."

"I slept like a baby," Abe once again agreed but clarified, "Not a fussy baby, one of those quiet babies."

"Papa…"

"I slept like I was on Seconal… because I was on Seconal." Rose agreed,

Lenny hid his surprised laugh by taking a drag of his cigarette.

Excitedly Abe said, "These pancakes have coconut in them! You have to try one." He said holding his plate out to Rose.

"I believe I will."

Midge knew her parents well enough to know there was only one way to get their attention when they were like this, she had to be loud and dramatic. So she stood up and slammed her hands on the table. Everyone, including Lenny, jumped at the sudden sound, even the table surrounding them. "Mama, Papa, listen to me!"

"Goodness, Mirium, no need to cause a scene, just say what you're going to say, we would have listened without the dramatics."

"Quite right, hurry up and talk so we can get back to eating our delicious breakfast and most importantly, not being around Moishe and Shirly," Abe said.

"Oh yes, that's my favorite part of this hotel too."

"Isn't it, though?"

"I think I…"

"We're married!" Midge yelled, tired of waiting for her turn.

Everyone froze, including the tables around them. Lenny sat up straight, not expecting her to spit it out like that, though, after a second thought, he decided he probably should have. Rose's eyes widened before looking back and forth between the two of them, Abe's did the same if it weren't for the situation they were in, Midge would think it was comical, in fact, she'd probably find a way to work it into her set anyway.

Abe's eyes went back and forth but landed on Lenny. If it was possible, he sat even straighter as he waited for Abe to speak. "You told me you two weren't together, that you didn't love her."

Lenny shook his head and corrected him, "You asked me if we were seeing each other. You never asked if I was interested or anything about love." Lenny waved away the words. "But we weren't together, and most certainly not married at the time."

"Then what's all this?"

Lenny shrugged, he had the thought that they probably should have planned this out more, he was pretty sure he wasn't supposed to say, 'Your daughter and I got so drunk we blacked out, woke up in bed together, found rings on our fingers, and decided 'hey why not? Let's give it a shot.' So he looked to Midge.

Rose spoke up before she could though. "No, nuh-uh, no Mirium, you're not doing this to your father and me. No. You're not telling us this, I won't hear it! It's some kind of dream, the Seconal must have worked too well and I'm still asleep because I know you wouldn't put us through this after everything else."

"Mama…"

"No!" She yelled, this time being the one to cause the scene. "You can't tell me you eloped, and with him. What was wrong with Benjamin? I accepted that you didn't want to get married so you called off the wedding but come to find out, you did want to get married, just not to the doctor, no, instead you got married to the man I bailed out of jail a few weeks ago, the man who makes his living by talking dirty on stage. I knew he was the reason you called off the wedding!"

"He wasn't Mama, I wasn't lying to you. Or at least, I didn't mean to, and if he was part of the reason it wasn't conscious on my part. I know how my lying to you and keeping secrets from you hurt before, I promised not to do it again and I meant it."

Rose looked placated but still upset. "Okay, say all that is true, say nothing was going on between you two only a month ago when we asked, why rush it? Why get married so fast? Why hide it from us?"

"Well, that's a funny story." Midge hedged.

Rose crossed her arms, "Oh I hope so, I hope this is all another one of your jokes I don't understand. Go on, tell us, I'm in need of a good laugh."

Midge opened her mouth but wasn't sure what to say, which was a first for her. Lenny decided to step up. "Alright, listen, I get it, I'm no one's idea of a perfect son-in-law. Much less two Upper West Siders who are looking for someone for their daughter who makes more in a year than I'll probably ever take home and doesn't have an arrest record as long as mine, isn't out on bail in multiple states, someone who hasn't talked about the pope fucking a three-legged duck on stage…"

Midge snapped her fingers a few times, "Lenny, you're losing them, circle back to the point,"

"Right, right, but I care about Midge, I'll never leave her or mean to hurt her, and I'll do everything in my power to take care of her, though by the looks of things, she'll be more likely to end up taking care of me because she's going to be a star, either way, I'll support her because I love her." He said as earnestly as possible.

Midge gasped, he never said that before, let alone to her. She really wished they were alone right now so she could show her proper appreciation, "Lenny…"

He turned to her looking a little sheepish, he got lost in his words and didn't mean to say that to her for the first time in front of her parents. He laughed a little awkwardly and shrugged as if to say, 'Well, it's the truth.'

"I love you too," Midge said with a huge smile on her face.

"Yeah?" He asked, sounding as if he couldn't believe it.

"Duh, of course, I do. I think I've been falling for you since we first met."

He stood up and took the steps separating them and wrapped her in his arms, "I thought you were just saying that so my mother wouldn't think you were easy."

She used one of the hands that was already hugging him to slap his back, "I did not! And I am not easy."

"Don't I know it?" He rumbled in her ear before he pulled back just enough to be able to see her and kissed her deeply.

They got lost in each other for a while until someone pointedly cleared their throat. When Midge broke the kiss to turn her head and see her parents with their arms crossed and eyebrows quirked she felt like it was Deja vu of the night before. She cleared her throat and pulled away a little but she was still close enough for Lenny to wrap his arm around.

"So, yeah, uh, that's all we wanted to tell you, we're married now and when we both get back to New York, we're moving in together."

"Moving in together? Does Lenny have any experience with kids?" Rose asked, spitting the name Lenny out, she really hated it and thought it sounded like a pansy's name.

"Well, I'd hope so, he has one of his own. She'll be coming to join us soon too."

"My full name is Leonard, you know if that helps at all." Lenny offered.

Rose perked up and looked much more happy, "Leonard has a child too, you say?"

Lenny cringed, not too fond of being called by his full name, he also had a feeling that was the only thing Rose would call him by for the rest of his life, "Yeah, her name's Kitty, she's excited to move to New York."

Rose looked at Abe and they had a silent conversation the way only two people who've been together a long time could, it went something along the lines of:

Rose: Can we force a divorce?

Abe: Don't be silly.

Rose: Well then what are we going to do?

Abe: Nothing. What other choice do we have?

Rose: Oh please, you're just so calm because you like him.

Abe: I'm just being practical.

Rose: Says the man who quit his tenured position

Abe: Are you ever going to stop bringing that up?

Rose: Eventually, but not until you've done the next thing that I can hold over your head.

Abe: Rose!

Rose: Okay, okay, let's deal with this first.

Midge and Lenny both watched them have their silent conversation, knowing what was going on but having no clue what was being said. Lenny couldn't get past the fact that Abe's face didn't change once during the whole thing, it was just a stony blank face but it was clear that somehow Rose knew exactly what he was saying. They both turned to their daughter and new son-in-law simultaneously looking at them seriously for long moments before speaking. They were staring at them for so long Lenny was starting to become nervous and fidgety, which wasn't a normal reaction for him, it just went to show how much this meant to him. He looked over at Midge to see she was staring back at them just as stoney. It seemed this was a normal thing for the family.

Finally Rose spoke, "When your tour is done we'll be doing a celebration because you stole another wedding away from me."

"Of course." Midge quickly agreed.

"Do your kids know? Joel?"

"I figured it was more of an in-person thing to tell someone."

"Usually yes, of course. Though, I'd suspect it'd be best for everyone just to mail Joel a save the date. It'd give him enough time to cool down so by the time you see him in person he won't stick his foot in his mouth any more than normal."

"Mama!" Midge yelled sounding delightfully scandalized.

Rose shrugged, "Well, it's true. Then again, he has the kids most of the time and he seems the type who's not afraid to poison them against you."

Lenny nodded his head, agreeing with her as he took the last drag of his cigarette and Midge slapped his chest. Midge defended, "Joel wouldn't do that."

She was surprised when everyone made the same disbelieving face at her, she could only sigh, she was still learning who the real Joel was, not just the person she made up in her mind when she was married and wearing her rose-colored glasses, "Well I hope he wouldn't do that."

"Alright, now that the news is out we'll leave you to your coconut pancakes," Lenny tried to make an exit, he should have known it wasn't going to be that easy.

"What? No, sit, sit. You have to try it, it's delicious." Abe said, turning his attention back to his meal.

Rose rolled her eyes and it was clear she was only agreeing because of her manners, though she agreed to accept the marriage, it didn't mean she was happy about it, at the very least, she needed some time to wrap her head around the wedding and who her daughter married, "Yes, of course, you must join us, we're all family now, after all."

Lenny and Midge had their own silent conversation though it was nowhere as in-depth as her parents.

Lenny: Please don't make me sit down.

Midge: Please play nice, they're my family, I'll make it up to you later.

Lenny: Alright but you better make it worth my while.

Midge: Don't worry, I will.

Midge ended with a wink before sitting down and Lenny felt the need to adjust himself before doing the same. It was insane to him that just the hint of being alone with Midge some vague time in the future was enough to drive him wild.

Both of her parents went back to their meals and happy moods as if their conversation never happened. Rose made a sound of enjoyment after another bite, "Dear God this is marvelous."

Abe nodded and pointed his fork at her in agreement. Though things had gone relatively smoothly, Midge decided to push her luck, "I have to say, it's nice to see you guys so happy and relaxed. Maybe you can try to stay that way for my show tonight."

"Miriam, you should try the coconut pancakes. they're delicious." Her mother said ignoring her daughter's words.

"I don't like coconut, you know that."

"You can't taste the coconut, it just tastes like pancakes, it's magic."

"Well, anyway, my show starts at eight, we can all have dinner after if you don't mind eating late."

"I can taste the coconut." Abe chimed in.

"Me too, there's definitely some coconut in there, " Lenny said making the woman look over and see that at some point Abe shared his never-ending pile of pancakes with Lenny.

"Can you? Maybe I should try it again." Rose said looking between the two.

"I put a great table aside for everyone." She nudged.

"Nope, I still can't taste it."

"Mama… Papa…" She said, once again trying to gain their attention. When they didn't answer she grabbed each of their plates and pulled them out of reach of her parents.

"Hey!" They yelled simultaneously.

"I gave up my room for you two!"

"Miriam…"

"It's cool, I was happy to do it, but in exchange, you have to come to my show tonight, you promised!"

"Question: are you going to talk about my…" Abe asked remembering the last show of hers he saw, nodding down to his pants.

"Absolutely not! The act is clean."

"Well, that helps me. Rose?"

"Rose shrugged and moved onto her grape fruit since her pancakes were stolen. "Mama, I think you'll be really proud. And after my act, you can see Shy perform, I'll even introduce you." She said, trying to sweeten the deal.

"I don't have anything to wear to meet Shy Baldwin," Rose responded, primly taking a sip of her juice.

"We'll go shopping. I have a work gathering in a little bit but afterward, we can hit the stores, it'll be fun."

"I can't spend money on clothes."

"That's true, we're on a budget. No fun at all."

"My treat!"

"Well…" Rose said, still unsure.

"Come on, Mama, please, it'll mean a lot to me."

"What about your husband?" Lenny cringed at the derision in her tone.

"Oh, I'm sure he'll find something to do, it's not like we're tied at the hip. We can spend a few hours apart, we're going to be spending a lot more than that after Miami, he's going back to New York."

"He'll be with me," Abe said, complete certainty in his tone.

"Oh, Abe, I'd love to but…"

"No. You married my daughter without my permission. I've been cheated of the right to vet you, I wasn't able to see your bank records, interview your family, see if you have a respectable number of books, if you're reading the right titles, hell, you haven't even filled out my questionnaire. The least you can do is give me an afternoon of your time to get to know you better."

"Perfect!" Midge answered before Lenny had a chance.

Lenny sighed in defeat, "Sure, Abe, sounds swell." He figured he was hiding his feelings on the situation way better than his new mother-in-law was, Rose was morosely playing with her grapefruit sighing to herself every few moments.

"Good. You'll meet me in the hotel lobby at 3 o'clock on the dot, I don't condone tardiness."

"Sure, I'll be there."

The rest of breakfast went well, relatively anyway. It was clear to everyone that though Rose accepted the marriage, she still wasn't sold on who her daughter married, which Lenny understood. He knew he wasn't the type of guy a lady brought home, he still wasn't sure why Midge decided he was worth the trouble but he wasn't going to question it, not again leastways.

The couples went their separate ways after breakfast, Midge and Lenny going to her room and her parents going to their new one. As soon as the door shut to her room, or their room now, she supposed, she turned to Lenny, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Oh and did I mention? I'm sorry!"

"Oh yeah? And why is that?" He asked even though they both knew why.

"I just thought 'This is a great way for them to get to know each other' and then my mouth opened before I had a chance to think it through, which, just so you know, is something you should probably get used to because you're going to be dealing with it for the rest of your life. I have a habit of sometimes talking before my brain has a chance to catch up."

"Midge, if you don't think I know that about you already, you're insane. I figured that out the first night we met, and it solidified in my mind the first time I got you high."

"First time? It only happened once."

"So far."

"Why Mr. Bruce, they tried to warn me about you, tried to warn me to stay away from you, I told them they didn't know what they were talking about. But they were right, you really are a bad influence." She said in a faux dramatic voice.

"You don't know the half of it, Mrs. Bruce," He said as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a heated kiss. He walked her backwards to the bed and just as he got her on her back and on top of her the phone rang. He knew well by now that she wouldn't ignore a phone call so he sighed and rolled off her. She gave him an apologetic look before getting up and walking over to the phone. Lenny went over to the mini bar and started looking through the alcohol selection.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Midge, do you want one?" He knew she liked to keep a clear mind when she had work obligations but offered anyway.

"Sure, thanks," She surprised him.

"Midge?"

Midge's back became ramrod straight when she heard the voice and she focused on the conversation. "Oh, Joel, hi, actually, I'm glad you called, I wanted to talk to you."

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

I don't know, that didn't sound like Susie. I mean, she has a deep voice, sure, but not that deep."

"Well, that's because it isn't Susy."

"Who is it?"

"Joel…" She warned.

"Alright, alright, but, you're okay, right?"

"Better than."

"Oh, okay." Joel knew it was a man in her room, and the voice rang familiar bells in the back of his brain but he couldn't place it, maybe if he didn't have to deal with the distortion over the phone. He was pretty sure it wasn't Shy though, the way the singer spoke was unique, it was almost as if he was still singing even though he was only talking. Joel knew he had no right but boiling hot jealousy filled his entire body.

Midge knew Joel well enough to know he was upset even though he was trying to hide it but truthfully, at this point, she didn't care. He had no right to be upset that there was a man in her room and she wasn't going to let his mood ruin her day. "Anyway, I was thinking you could bring the kids to Florida."

Lenny walked over and handed Midge her drink, he went to sit back on the bed and wait for her but not before leaning in and kissing her neck once, then another one higher, then one more behind her ear on that spot he learned about of hers on their first night together, while running his hand up under her dress, running his finger over her center and then pulling away. She let out a shaky breath before giving him a dirty look, he knew what he was doing to her while she was on the phone with her ex. He mouthed the word 'payback' reminding her that she volunteered him for an afternoon with her father.

"What?" Joel wasn't doing a great job of hiding his emotions.

She shook her head, shaking the lusty haze away and focusing again, "Nothing, sorry. Anyway, I'm in Florida, my parents are in Florida, I could get you a room and it can be a crazy family vacation."

"I can't come to Florida." He said sounding downright petulant.

"Why not?"

"I have a job, a life, and it doesn't revolve around you."

"Oh come on, just for a few days, it's not for you, it's for the kids."

"No, it'd be for you."

"Yeah, me and the kids. Plus it's fun, it'd be a vacation for you, you could just drop them off with us then go do whatever you wanted for a few days, bring the girlfriend."

"I told you, she's not a girlfriend."

"Joel. Come on."

"No. Where's your next stop?" He asked trying to calm himself down and be reasonable.

"Toledo."

"You should have led with Toledo so I'd consider Florida."

"Joel, I'm on tour all summer so the kids aren't going to the Catskills. They won't have their summer fun thing. This could be their summer fun thing, with reptiles." Midge looked over at Lenny when she heard him trying to hide his laughter, she saw at some point he picked up the newspaper her father must have bought that morning, and she decided later she'd have to ask what he could possibly find funny in the world news section.

Hearing the man in Midge's room brought his anger right back, "They don't need that because they're going to the Catskills."

"What?"

Joel felt a moment of regret when he heard the sadness underneath her confusion. So his voice was a little softer when he spoke, "I didn't forget to get the room this year, so I'm taking them."

"Oh, you can take them. Great."

"You can come visit us if you can get a day off."

"Uh-huh, but they would love Florida. They can have both. I mean, come on, let's spoil those little fuckers and then unleash them on the world." She knew her kids would have a blast, plus, she'd like to get a chance to broach the whole marriage thing sooner than later, now that she ripped the bandaid off with her mom and dad, she just wanted everyone to know then she could be done and the big ball of guilt that'd been constantly living in her stomach could be gone. It wasn't that she felt bad keeping the secret from Joel, it was the kids not knowing that was messing with her.

"I can't Midge."

"Two days, the weekend."

"My Father is taking Eithan to the Yankee's game on Sunday."

"Oh, he can miss the game," She used her hand to wave the problem away even though Joel couldn't see.

"I got him a mitt. He's not gonna want to miss the Yankee game."

"For Florida, he might."

"He won't trust me."

"Oh, so now I don't know what my son likes, is that it?"

"Midge, come on."

"Ask him."

"You really wanna hear Eithan say he'd rather go to the Yankee game than come see you?"

"In Florida, don't forget Florida, the sun, the beach, the humidity."

"He's five, he'd rather see a fire truck than you. Or me. Or anyone!"

"You won't even ask him?"

She could hear that the phone was no longer at his ear, his voice was further away, "Eithan would you like to go see your mother instead of the Yankee game this weekend?"

"No!"

His voice was louder and clearer again, Happy?"

"Way to lead the witness, Perry Mason."

"I don't know what you want from me. I have the kids, I'm taking care of them, they still have all their limbs. I stepped up, I'm here!"

"Oh, and I'm not?"

"No, you're not, you're in Florida."

"What are you implying?"

"That you're in Florida, following your dreams, on tour with Shy Baldwin, bringing God knows who up to your room every night, fuck, there's another one of your one night stands listening to you yell at me right now!"

"How dare you! And I've never had a one-night stand in my life!"

"Oh, so I guess you've somehow found the next love of your life while not being in the same town for more than a week or two at a time." He said sarcastically.

"Well if you must know, yeah, I have!"

"Oh yeah? Someone on the tour? I was right about Shy, wasn't I?" They were both yelling now.

Lenny wasn't reading anymore, he couldn't because he could hear both ends of the conversation they were both so loud. He wanted to get her attention and calm her down but didn't really think it was his place to. However, he knew Midge well enough to know that if she didn't calm down she'd end up saying something she'd regret.

"No! I wouldn't sleep with, let alone marry my boss!" And there it was. Midge gasped as soon as the words left her mouth and hoped Joel didn't catch the slip.

"Marry?" Fuck. They were both much calmer now but when Joel was angry and calm, like now, that was when it was the worst.

"Did I say marry?"

"You did."

"Huh, strange."

"Midge…" She heard someone talking in the background, it sounded like his assistant/second mother and when he spoke again she could tell he wasn't talking to her, "Can you tell them to call back?… Fuck, fine." Now speaking to Midge, "I have to go but we will be talking about this later. You better answer the phone when I call back."

Midge didn't have time for her anger to ramp back up because of Joel's demands since he hung up before she could even inhale to reply. She stared at the phone for a while, just taking in how much she just fucked up. She stared so long that she didn't stop until Lenny took the phone from her and hung it up himself. When she looked at him he could see that her eyes were shining as if she was holding back tears.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong? Yeah, sure, you kinda screwed the pooch there but it's fine. At least now the worst of it's over. Don't answer the phone for a few days till he calms down and you two can talk calmly."

She scoffed wetly, "You don't know Joel, he won't calm down, plus that isn't the worst of it, it'll be a thousand times worse when I tell him who I'm married to."

He shrugged, "That's the good thing about them being exes, you don't have to listen to their bullshit anymore. Let him be mad, you don't have to deal with it if you don't want to."

She looked at him as if she didn't understand the concept, as the thought of not dealing with Joel and his bullshit had ever crossed her mind. She shook her head, "No, I still have to, we share the kids."

"Yeah, you gotta talk to him about kid-related stuff, sure, but that's it."

It was a hard thought for Midge to accept, like some part of her brain couldn't comprehend that Joel's bullshit wasn't her problem anymore. When it finally clicked for her, she felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She knew it wasn't as easy as just ignoring Joel, at least until the tour was over, but the realization that she didn't have to go out of her way, to make her life harder just to make Joel's easier anymore, was an uplifting one.

"Wow, you're right."

"No shit, I can't believe you're just figuring this out. It's one of the only perks of being a divorcee" She smiled at Lenny before looking at her watch.

"Well, my dear husband, I have about an hour before I have to get ready for my work thing, and if I remember correctly, I owe you a treat for today."

"I was a good boy, wasn't I?"

She laughed and those were the last coherent words spoken for the next 67 minutes and they were both a little late to their next meetings for the day.