Chapter Text
dessert
“You sure you’ll be okay to go to Thanksgiving with your family on your own?” Joan asked. “If you really want me to come, I can. We can drop Kevin off at Roger’s on the way.”
“My mother and sister still think that we’re just very good friends who are raising our kids together, and I intend to keep it that way,” Peggy said, buttoning the baby’s jacket up to her neck.
“If you’re sure,” Joan said.
Peggy looked hesitant.
“Maybe we could tell them you really wanted to try Anita's multekrem,” she offered finally.
Joan smiled.
“That could work.”
locate
“What did the invitation say exactly?”
“June 23rd, 3PM, Calvary Church.”
“Are you sure?” Joan asked, looking around at the vacant pews. The church was eerily empty, especially for a Saturday.
“I’ve got the invitation right here, it says-” Peggy paused. Joan saw her face go white as a sheet.
“Peggy?”
“Calvary Baptist Church,” Peggy said quietly, unable to meet Joan’s gaze.
“Come on,” Joan sighed, shaking her head and laughing a little. “Maybe we can still catch the vows.”
“Knowing Don, they’ll already be divorced by the time we get there,” Peggy said, stuffing the invitation into her purse.
mouse
“What if it goes into the baby’s room?” Peggy asked, staring at the tiny hole the mouse had disappeared into. “What if it bites her? What if she gets the plague?”
“Peggy, it’s 1978,” Joan said, amused. “We’ll put traps down and catch it. The baby will be fine as long as we keep her in her crib and keep the door closed.”
“What if it slides under the door and jumps into the crib?” Peggy asked. “They can climb, I’ve seen them.”
Joan put a comforting hand on Peggy’s back.
“She can sleep with us until we catch it.”
island
“Why is it called Coney Island if it’s not an island?” Kevin wondered.
“It used to be an island, but it was filled in years ago,” Peggy told him. She pointed to the nearby Nathan’s Famous. “When I was fifteen, a whale washed up on the beach, and they decided to display right there. When it started to smell, days later, they paid the mafia to blow it up with dynamite in the middle of the night.
“Awesome!” Kevin breathed.
Peggy looked at Joan, who was pushing the stroller and looking disgusted.
“First rule of advertising: don’t work with animals.”
skate
“I shouldn’t have bought him that skateboard,” Joan said. “What on earth was I thinking?”
“It’s not your fault,” Peggy said, soothingly. “It was the guy in the car’s fault. He was drinking.”
“I at least should have made him wear a helmet,” Joan said tearfully, pulling another tissue from the box that the nurse had given her.
“It’s not your fault,” Peggy said, linking her fingers with Joan’s. “He’s going to be fine. You heard what the doctor said.”
Joan sniffled again, but managed a smile.
“Thank you for being here with me. I couldn’t have done this alone.”