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There really was no place like home. Especially not after a month on the road. Midge eased off her heels, shutting the front door as softly as she could. The children in the apartment left the adults necessarily light sleepers and Midge didn't want to waken anyone.
She tiptoed through the corridor, peeking into the children's rooms as she passed. Ethan had fallen asleep with his comic book on his chest - the very same one he'd had Midge enthralled about on the phone only last night.
In the next room, Esther's little nose scrunched in her sleep, her lips pursed in a little bow. She was tucked securely under her favorite blanket, the celestial decals Lenny and Papa had spent hours securing still faintly glowing above her bed.
Kitty was starfished over the bed, her covers kicked off, blonde hair pulled back in twin perfect french braids.
Each one peaceful, quiet, and absolutely perfect.
Blowing each of them a kiss, just as she had for Ethan, Midge eased their doors ajar and crept further down the hall.
Lit by faint moonlight and the glow of the city, the blue walls of the bedroom seemed to glow as she walked in.
For the first time since coming home, Midge didn't need to keep quiet. That ship sailed as soon as she set foot in the bedroom - the creaky board by the door just sensitive enough to give warning.
Curls loose, face relaxed, Lenny looked peaceful as he shifted slightly in bed. A smile was already growing on his face, anticipation sparking in Midge's chest.
Sleep rough but warm, Lenny's murmur tripped with the house that was his alone. A Lenny Bruce show for one.
“Bitsy, I told you you can't keep coming over like this. My girlfriend's coming back any day now.”
Midge brought her voice up into a high-pitched breathy whisper. “But lover, I'm more fun than she is. And I bet she doesn't have show corsets like mine.”
Lenny laughed softly. “I wouldn't let her hear you say that, she'll rip your hair out.”
If Midge continued the bit, she'd say something about any man enjoying two beautiful women fighting over him. But it was late, even for two creatures of the night like they were, and she was tired enough not to mind not being funny.
Still, she didn't miss a beat in replying.
“And scratch out her eyes for looking at my man.”
Lenny's lips curled up into a mischievous smile. “Hell hath no fury like the upper west side.”
Midge nodded primly. “Exactly.” She perched on the bed beside him, running her fingers through the curls usually tamed by product. “Sisters, or is that wives? Hmm, we should never be jilted.”
Lenny laughed again, a sharp bark that lit up his eyes. He caught her hand, kissing the knuckles tenderly. “Welcome back, Mrs Maisel.”
“It's good to be back, Mr Bruce.”
“How was the tour?” Lenny asked, propping himself up in bed. “Are you too important and famous now to even be talking to me?”
“Never.”
Midge chatted happily about the tour. Where they stayed (as if Lenny didn't already have an itemised itinerary), what Susie had shouted at whom and when, how many times Susie had threatened to cut club managers' balls off. The usual ins and outs of the Maisel-Myerson comedy tours.
Through it all, Lenny just watched her going about her nightly routine, smoking his cigarette and humming encouragingly in all the right places. As Lenny always did.
Never jealous, never bitter. Her biggest supporter, championing her however she would let him. Asking nothing but what she gave freely in return.
It probably hadn't been easy for him. Staying in the city, playing shows and helping raise three young children. Dealing with Joel and his tantrums (dryly informing Midge that her ex-husband plumbed new depths of schmuckdom with every passing day) and sacrificing his personal time to entertaining her father. In Lenny, Abe Weissman had found a kindred spirit, much to the bemusement of both Midge and her Mama.
Nevertheless, Lenny was solitary by nature, and Midge worried. Not that Lenny might have fallen back on kicked habits, but that he had stretched himself too far dealing with Midge's insane family. No matter how much he claimed he truly enjoyed the company of her father.
She slipped into bed, for once forgoing the 'goo' Lenny was so bemused by her putting on her face. It was their first night together in weeks, Lenny had earned her goo-free.
“How are you?”
Lenny waved his hand. “Too important and famous to be talking to anyone.”
Midge laughed brightly, just as Lenny had wanted her to. But still, she wished he'd be serious for a moment. “Lenny!”
“Now that you're here? I feel sensational.”
Midge shook her head, biting back a smile. “Mama said I should watch out for the smooth talkers.”
Lenny snorted, covering his mouth with the hand not holding a cigarette. “Midge, if I was a smooth talker I wouldn't get arrested for half the things I say.”
“Only half?” Midge hummed thoughtfully, watching Lenny watch her. “Officer Peluso must be mellowing.”
A quicksilver flash of a smirk. “If I didn't know better I'd say someone bribed him with brisket.”
Joel needed Midge to bribe people with brisket for him, Lenny never did. He stood on his own two feet, facing whatever came head on. And even if he needed some help from time to time - which they all did…
“He doesn't deserve my brisket.”
Lenny's thumb stroked over the back of her hand. “Sweetheart, the Rabbi barely deserves your brisket.“
Only Lenny Bruce could say something so irreverent and make it sound like a devotion. It was one of the many reasons she loved him.
She stroked his face, feeling the crinkles of his smile. “Flattery will definitely get you places, Mr Bruce.”
Lenny leaned in to kiss her, again and again, pulling back to murmur against her lips. “Oh, God, I hope so.”
And just like that, the bit was over, the curtain fell, and there was no one in the world but her and the man who loved her. She was home at last.