@phoenixwrites @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels @actuallylorelaigilmore and anyone else interested in chatting
I was watching some clips of season 3, and I was at Abe ranting about Midge not getting married/too much clothes/breaking up with Benjamin. And he made a comment about Lenny (that’s a sissy name) and how he ‘wasn’t going to sit down with him.’ aka would never seriously consider him.
Then he goes see the show and gets arrested and thanks him for the flowers.
I want more Abe and Lenny. And then I started thinking ‘what if Abe did sit down with him?’ What if Abe actually considered Lenny and Midge? And accepted him? Imagine that meeting. That first meal of Abe and Rose and Lenny and Midge. Imaging Abe opening up enough to be tentatively accepting of Lenny, and Lenny’s reaction to parents of any kind knowing about him and being okay. The conversations Abe and Lenny could have. That Abe adn Midge could have about Lenny. That Rose and Abe could have about Lenny. That Lenny and Midge could have about her parents.
i’ve been obsessed with lenny + midge’s parents ever since they bailed lenny out of jail, mostly because the show ends that scene right there.
when we pick back up with abe in 3.02, he’s moved on to free speech as a cause with his new young friends, and we don’t see lenny again until he’s in florida. but we know that after their meeting in 3.01, abe knows much more about lenny now. what does he tell rose about him? what do either of them say to midge about having met him??
separation between the ‘lenny bruce’ and ‘parents’ parts of her life completely dissolves in season three and instead of following any of the threads of that we watch midge reunite with joel…again.
I’ve more or less decided that Abe and Rose are strong-arming Lenny into the family whether he likes it or not (spoiler alert: he does, secretly). Then they start trying to set him and Midge up. Hijinks ensue.
I’m done with angst in 2k20. This one needs to be found-family all the way.
Dead gods I love this so much. Rose making up her mind that Lenny is family is the best things ever.
@nothingeverlost @anextrapart Speaking of hijinks, I submit: Abe and Rose inviting Lenny over more, trying to hint to Midge that he really could use a stable influence in his life. Doesn’t he seem a little lonely? Wouldn’t a woman be just the thing? Somebody to keep him happy when he took time off the road, or somebody to keep him company on it?
Midge easily goes along with their dinner invites, and is skeptical that Lenny might want to settle down again, but she certainly does agree that he deserves happiness and enough stability to maybe keep him out of prison. It’s worth a try.
Abe and Rose don’t quite get the chance to celebrate their matchmaking efforts before Midge starts bringing her girlfriends along to family dinner nights. Her single girlfriends, only on nights when Lenny’s also joining them. Because it turns out that while her parents have decided to set her up with Lenny, she thinks they’re enlisting her help to set Lenny up with literally anyone else.
…meanwhile Lenny probably has all of their numbers and is just enjoying the show, and the home-cooked meals, and the chance to flirt with Midge while he figures out how to handle the idea of a real, honest-to-God future with her.
Midge mostly thinks its the matchmaking kick her mom has been on lately. Which, its such a Jewish stereotype but whatever. Keeps her mom out of trouble and from thinking too much about the change from their affluent lifestyle. Rose is actually kinda freakishly good at it too. but not for Midge. Lenny is great but Midge’s mom doesn’t really know her. Not really know her. Wont even watch her act. No man that her mom has approved of has actually worked out in the end. And sure, maybe Midge is a little curious after that night in Florida, but Lenny is just along for the ride. Humoring her mom for some free meals and maybe a few jokes to add to his set. So its a little weird but midge doesnt think that much of it.
Until there is an emergency while she is out of town. Maybe Abe has a minor health scare, collapsing at dinner one night. Lenny is out of his depth. He became a comic so he could avoid things like responsibility and people relying on him. But he can tell Rose is just barely holding it together so of course he has to help. And he’d never forgive himself if Midge came home to another heartbreak like losing her dad. So he steps up, talks to doctors, arranges for a room at the nearest hotel, bullies Moishe into bringing clothes and stuff for Abe and Rose all the way from Queens. He is the only one who can get Rose to sit down, drink some tea, take some rest.
Midge rushes back as soon as she can, fearing the worst. But when she gets to hospital things are surprisingly in hand. Abe is sitting up in his hospital bed, in his own dressing robe because he refuses to wear the hospital gown. He and Moishe are arguing (but not too empathetically) over something in the paper while Rose and Shirley play cards with Joel and Lenny, who very adroitly starts cracking jokes anytime all these strong personalities start striking sparks off each other. Keeping the atmosphere from getting too volatile for Abe who is still weak, and also so they dont get kicked out for screaming.
Midge freezes in the doorway in shock cuz its possibly the quietest she has ever seen her extended Jewish family. There is a bustle when everyone notices her, greetings and explanations and complaints about the thread count of hospital sheets. Lenny slips out while she is hugging Joel, figuring his help isnt needed anymore. Midge shucks her coat and purse and follows him into the hall.
She tries to thank him. He tries to demure. They are both too good at twisting emotional moments into jokes, but there’s nothing funny about what he has done for her, for her family, or how grateful she is to him for it. So they just stare at each other, comfortably, a lot of unspoken words in their eyes until the ding of his arriving elevator jolts them out of their trance.
You had me at Lenny slipping out before feelings could get involved because of course he would–just like of course Midge would make sure to catch him before he succeeded. What, she isn’t going to at least try and thank him? She knows the importance of what he did for her, and she knows he would do just about anything to avoid acknowledging it.
“That’s my ride,” he tells her, as neither of them moves.
“Where are you going?”
“I don’t know, I’m kind of hungry,” Lenny says with a shrug. As though they’re not in a hospital. As though this is just another night, just another bar, and nothing has changed between them. “Thought I’d grab a bite to eat. Maybe a drink.”
Midge reaches for his hand. “Lenny. Come on. Come back to the family.”
“Don’t you think there’s enough people stuffed into that room already? You don’t need me in there.”
“Says who?”
She tugs on his hand a little. “And even if I didn’t, what if I just wanted you there? Would that count?”
Lenny’s smile spreads slowly, but he gives in without further protest. “Fine. It’s your turn to referee Moishe and your father, though. I’ve had enough.”
When they return to Abe’s room with Midge’s fingers still laced through Lenny’s, nobody says anything about it. A lot of glances are exchanged, and Joel doesn’t look pleased, but there will be plenty of time for talking later.
It matters more that Lenny’s there with them, where he belongs. And if holding on is what it takes to keep him from running, Midge thinks, she can handle that.