Pryce comes in to see Bertram (who's totally watching a soap opera, heh) and says he hears he's not attending the dinner. Bertram: "I wouldn't have told Roger if I planned on it remaining a secret." Nice. I love the idea of Roger being the yenta of the office. He'd probably hang out with the girls a lot more if it weren't for restraining orders. Pryce settles into a chair and offers sympathy, saying he's been to dinners like these before, and the elder members are always equally unenthused about them. "It's painful, I imagine." Bertram archly replies that he didn't get to where he is by dwelling on the past, so Pryce runs with that, saying he should think of the future, and their clients, employees, and the press. "Enjoy the fruit of your longevity." Bertram is unconvinced by this admittedly weak effort, but Pryce shows us he knows what he's doing when he suggests that if Bertram doesn't come, people will think it's because he's ill. Bertram's head swivels at that remark, but upon seeing the lugubrious, laid-on-thick expression on Pryce's face, he chuckles, causing Pryce to break into a grin. Conceding the game, Bertram asks how Pryce knew he was vain, and rather than scoff good-naturedly at how obvious it is, Pryce...oh, wait, that's exactly what he does.
Betty finally hears the damned keys jingling in the dryer, like thanks for finally recovering your ability to hear, hon. She gets them out and, realizing what they are, heads into the study...
...wherein she unlocks the fateful drawer. In it she finds photographs of Don's childhood, including one that's marked "Dick and Adam, 1944," and also a twin sets of dog tags (we know he put his "Dick Whitman" one on the real Don Draper, but according to Wikipedia, at least, you get a second copy), his discharge letter from the Army, the deed to the house in Long Beach in Anna Draper's name, and the certificate of divorce between him and Anna. How clearly she understands what this all means is uncertain, but to say that she's stunned would be quite the understatement. She and Skyler over on Breaking Bad should get together and compare notes sometime. Just then, she hears the back door open and drops Don's Box of Secrets in surprise, and when she hears Sally's and Carla's voices, she gets up and moves to the doorway, from which she tells Carla to take the kids and not come back until dinnertime. If Carla thinks this means Francis is coming over to, er, schedule another fundraiser, she doesn't show it, and Betty closes herself back up in the study to figure out just what will be an appropriate response to this mess.













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