When the doorbell rang the next morning, Angela had to answer it although she was just out of the shower. Mrs. Hiller always claimed that answering doors was a butler's job and she was busy enough cleaning the house and cooking the meals. And Jonathan was busy playing with his snake. (A gift from Michael, the last time he was home. Michael thought that gifts made up for his absences, and poor Jonathan never complained, as much as he missed his father.)

Angela did ask Jonathan to see who was at the door, but all he did was peek through the curtains and report that it was some man. Angela had her hair in a towel that matched her pink robe but she had no choice but to go downstairs. Mrs. Hiller wouldn't leave the kitchen while she was making breakfast and Jonathan apparently wouldn't open the door.

To her surprise, Tony Micelli was on her doorstep.

"Hey, sorry to drop by without calling first."

"How did you know where I live?"
"I asked your secretary. I said you'd told me it was Fairfield but forgot to tell me the exact address."

She was going to have to have a talk with Rosie, who was probably dazzled by Tony's looks and charm. He did seem like a nice guy, but what was he doing at her home?

"If this is about the commercial, I'd really prefer to discuss it at the agency."
"No, it's about the apartment."
"The apartment?"

"The one over the garage. I thought it over and it would be great to get Sam out of the city. And this is a very pretty town."
"Well, thank you. But I was just kidding about renting to you."
"Oh."
"I thought you knew that."
"Would I be here if I did?"
"Mommy, who's at the door?"

"Hey, is that your kid?"

"Uh, yes, please come in." Even though he wasn't an invited guest, she couldn't leave him standing on her doorstep, especially considering what a gossipy neighborhood this was.

"Thanks. Gee, I'm really sorry about this."
"Never mind."
"Mommy, do you know this man?"
"Um, sort of. Jonathan, this is Tony Micelli. He did a commercial for me yesterday. Tony, this is Jonathan."

Tony came over, knelt, and shook hands with Jonathan. "Nice to meet you. Hey, cool snake."
"Thank you. That's Wilbur. My daddy gave him to me."

"Mrs. Bower, did you invite someone for breakfast without telling me?" Mrs. Hiller was standing in the kitchen doorway, looking sterner than usual.

"Thanks," Tony said cheerfully, "but I already ate before the drive."
"Uh, Mr. Micelli, why don't I show you the garage?" She felt like she couldn't deal with all three people, and Wilbur, at once.

"Yeah, sure."

She led him out the door at the back of the living room rather than through the kitchen and past Mrs. Hiller. She wished she were wearing more clothes, but fewer neighbors would be able to see her than at the front of the house.

"Great house."
"Thank you."
"Uh, so are you gonna rent the garage to me after all?"
"No, I just wanted to get you alone." He raised his eyebrows and she blushed. "I mean away from my son and my housekeeper."
"That's your housekeeper?"
"Unfortunately, yes." She led him across the driveway and up the stairs to the space above the garage. "We can talk in here." She opened the door and saw that the place was more run down than she remembered.

"This will need fixing up."
"I, this is crazy, I'm actually considering renting to you."
"Aw, you just feel sorry for me driving all this way."

"No, it's not just that. You seem very nice."
"I am very nice."

"The thing is, besides needing to be fixed up, there's really only one bedroom, on the next floor up."
"Well, I'll be on the road most of the next six months."
"But what about after?"

"I could sleep in the living room. I'm used to that."

"Well, maybe I could convert the sewing room into a bedroom for your daughter. And that way she'd be able to go to the local elementary school before the apartment is fixed up. Of course, I don't know where you'd stay."

"I'll stay with friends in Brooklyn when I'm playing in New York or have time off. You'll have this apartment done by the time of the World Series, right?"
"When is that?"

"Usually October." He looked amused at her sports ignorance.

"Oh, yes. No problem. Will your team be playing?"
"Uh, it's a little early to be sure."
"Of course." She shook her head. "This is so crazy. I hardly know you and we haven't discussed rent or anything."
He shrugged. "Whatever you think is fair. Charge me less when it's just Sam renting a room."

"Of course."

"And if it ends up not working out, well, Sam will at least have gotten some fresh air for a few weeks or months. And you could always rent this apartment to someone else, right?"

"Yes, I suppose." It wasn't like she needed the money. She couldn't explain that she wanted him around. It wasn't that she was interested in him. It was more that it would be good to have a more pleasant adult to talk to than Mrs. Hiller. Of course, Tony wouldn't be around much till October. But maybe that would make Grant accept the situation more, if they were still involved in the Fall.

Yes, the neighbors would gossip, and she had no idea what Michael would say when he found out. But maybe Tony being a single dad would make the situation look as innocent as it was. It wouldn't be like she was renting to a swinging bachelor. And it wouldn't be like Tony would be living in the main house.

"You'll have your own privacy of course. You can come and go as you please."
"Thanks." He sounded amused again.

"I mean, of course you can visit Sam in my house. But you and I will be living separate lives."
"Yeah, I figured."

"And of course you'll be on the road with your job while I'm— Oh, gosh, I'm going to miss my train into the City!"

"I can drive you down. I happen to be going back to the City."

"That's very kind of you."
"No problem. You should be able to get dressed and have breakfast with time to spare."
"Oh, I don't really eat breakfast. Just juice and coffee."

"Is the housekeeper that bad a cook?"
"No, it's just I'm not really a breakfast person."
"It's the most important meal of the day."
"I'll get pastries at work."
He looked like he wanted to scold her, but he just said, "OK."

When they went back to the house, Mrs. Hiller was standing in the living room with her arms crossed. Jonathan and Wilbur had left the room.

"Mrs. Bower, your son informs me that you're going to be renting the space over the garage to this man. Is that true?" Mrs. Hiller glared at Tony.

Scared as Angela was of Mrs. Hiller, she decided to hold her ground. "As a matter of fact, it is."

"Mrs. Bower, when I started working here, you said that it would only be you and your son that I would have to look after."
This was also true. Angela hired her after Michael left and Angela decided to divorce him.

"Hey, you don't have to look after me," Tony said. "I can clean the apartment when I'm home. And there's a kitchen so I can cook for me and Sam when I'm not on the road."
"Who the devil is Sam?" Mrs. Hiller demanded, looking pretty devilish herself. "Mrs. Bower, are you going to be living with two men?"

"No, Samantha is his eleven-year-old daughter."
"And she's a real easy kid to take care of," Tony said.

"You expect me to look after two children? On my salary?"

Angela realized this was her golden opportunity. Mrs. Hiller would quit and Angela wouldn't have to get up the courage to fire her. "Is there a problem?" Angela said icily.

"Yes, I demand a raise! One hundred dollars more a month."

"Oh." It wasn't even an unreasonable demand. Angela couldn't really say no. "Yes, fine." Not that it was about the money, and Tony's rent would cover it. If only Mrs. Hiller had asked for enough that firing her, or convincing her to quit, would've worked.

"Fine. Do you want your juice and coffee now?"
"Uh, no, I'd better get dressed so that Tony, Mr. Micelli can take me to the train station."

"What about Jonathan?" Tony asked.

"He's already had his Crunchy Crawlers," Mrs. Hiller said with a sniff.

Tony made a face and Angela wondered if Tony knew that that was a brand of cereal. It did sound more like something Wilbur would eat. Then Tony said, "I meant doesn't he need to get to school? Or do you take him?"

"I'm not the chauffeur!" Mrs. Hiller said indignantly.

"Tony, would you mind if we dropped him off on our way?" Angela asked.

"Hey, no problem. Where is he?"

"He's upstairs with that hideous snake."

Angela felt like defending Wilbur. He wasn't her favorite housemate, but she certainly preferred him to Mrs. Hiller. However, it had already been a stressful morning. "Tony, Jonathan and I will be down in a few minutes."
"Great, I'll go wait in the van."
The van? Well, it would certainly be different than driving around in her Jaguar.