Peter's mother calls him while he's with a date and announces she's coming over to stay for a while because of the paint fumes in her apartment. They say they have dinner plans and she plays the martyr, telling them to go out. She then inspects the apartment and takes a phone call from one of Peter's girlfriends, informing her Peter is out with his wife. She has Greta exhausted doing housework during the day and Peter's social life is in ruins. Peter suggests they need to be alone and his mother mentions her doctor and implies she doesn't have long to live. Peter checks with her doctor who says his mother is a hypochondriac. She finally packs to leave and as Peter kisses her goodbye she can feel he has a fever. She decides she will stay and nurse him back to health. The man-in-the-middle attempts to set up a sun chair on his fire escape landing.