Stuck in Iowa
by OakHillsDrive aka Ilda Jensen-S
Chapter 2: First Base?
With the food finished and everything cleaned up, Angela leaned into Tony's shoulder and watched the sunset. "Isn't that beautiful? Do you remember that first sunset you made me watch in Mexico?"
"Of course, I do. I still remember how beautiful you looked dancing around the sombrero," he said taking in the last glimmer of daylight.
What a day this had been. It amazed Tony to think how just a simple "I'll take the job" could bring so many changes. This woman, his fiancée who he had loved for so many years, was sitting beside him. All seemed right with the world and yet, there was tomorrow. She had been willing to give up so many "todays" to make sure he had the "tomorrow" he'd always dreamed of. He wondered how many times she had, unknown to him, put his desires above her own. He put his arms around her waist and placed a small kiss on her temple. He was so excited about the prospect of the new job and yet he knew that because of it, moments like this would soon be few and far between. How had she come to love him, a has been ballplayer from Brooklyn? How had she seen past the facade and come to know and even some how fall in love with the real Tony?
"I love you." It seemed the most appropriate thing to say. He did and he wanted this "today" to last as long as possible. With their unexpected time alone, he worked up the courage to ask something he had been anxious to find out. "Hey Angela, I was just wondering. And you, can tell me if you don't want to talk about it."
"Tony, just ask me." She said, taking in the orange, yellow and pink rays of sunlight in front of them.
"Are you upset that we never got off 'first base'?"
"I thought we were at second base? Isn't that what that little square white thingy is?" She pointed over to the actual second base that was sitting just a few feet from them.
"No, Angela. The metaphor. . ."
"Ohhhh, that second base." She looked down trying to figure out what to say next. "Well, Tony, now that you mention it. I have wondered, about that myself."
"You have?"
"Well, I mean, I can't say I hadn't tho. . . thought about it." She was stumbling over her thoughts. "Honestly, I've thought about it alot. I mean, your you and I'm me. Gosh, I've thought it about it lots of times. In the Tunnel of Love, that night in my room, the night after in the hotel room, in the car by the lake. . . "
"Okay, so you've thought about it." He said a little annoyed. "Well then why didn't you say…."
She cut him off before he could finish. "Tony, do you remember the night. . . Of course you remember. The night at the ballroom, when you asked me if I thought we were moving too slow?
"Yes."
"And I said, maybe that means what we're doing is right?"
He knew what she was getting at, but wasn't entirely sure he wanted to hear the rest.
"Tony, I. . . I want you to know that I love you more than I have ever loved another man in my whole life. And every time I think of us together, really together, I think about it . . I think about the way I want that first time to be. I want it to be in a way that I can show you my love without any second thoughts, without any reservations or regrets and without any wondering what will happen the next morning when Mother finds out. I've realized that I love you much to much to let our first time together just be a spur of the moment thing. I want it to be a lifetime thing. 'So maybe that means what we're doing is right.'"
"I couldn't have said it better myself."
"Are you disappointed?"
"No, not when you put it that way."
"Cause if its any consolation, these past few months have been the most difficult of my whole life."
"You're telling me."
A little lost in the moment, Angela turned to him and smiled. "Have I ever told you how glad I am that you came into my life?"
"Not since the last time I did this!" Tony reached around her back and snapped her bra strap.
"Why you little!"
Tony jumped to his sock covered feet and started to run around the grassy field. Angela two steps behind, pulled off her jacket and began to chase him. In the dusk, she looked like a ghost in her off white dress floating toward her victim. She got with a few steps of him before he zigged and zagged out of her way. He was almost out of danger when with one of his zigs, she got close enough to grab his belt. She held long enough to catch him off guard and the jolt of her hold brought him down to the grass. Tony tumbled into a somersault.
"Tony! Oh my gosh!" Angela yelled frozen for a moment.
Flat on his back and a little out of breath, Tony lay with his eyes closed.
"Tony!" She yelled running towards him. She didn't notice his shallow breaths at first. Quickly, she fell to her knees and began patting him roughly on the cheeks.
"I'm awake! I'm awake!"
"Oh, Tony! I'm so sorry. I thought you were hurt!"
"I am now." he said rubbing his cheek.
"Mr. Micelli!" A voice shouted.
"What the. . . " Tony looked around trying to figure out where the voice was coming from.
"Do you want me to turn on the lights?" The voice became louder as it changed from a shout to boom over the field's P.A. system.
Tony yelled at the top of his lungs, "SURE BARNEY!"
"What was that?" Barney said.
"YES!!!!" Angela screamed it so loud that Tony was sure that the pigs in the next county over could hear.
"We'll do." The seven towers of lights that surrounded the ball field turned on one by one and within a minute the field was as bright as noon day.
"Wow!" Angela slowly spun around taking in every nook and cranny of the field. What a feeling of pride came over her. Tony, her Tony, would be the coach of this field. She knew there would be some adjustment, some sadness at not seeing him everyday, but right now, she was so happy. Happy, to give him this chance to let him know that she supported him in one of his dreams. She couldn't help but be a little prideful.
"What ya thinking?" He said, coming up behind her.
"I'm thinking that it's time to check your pocket." She had a surprise and now seemed like the perfect time.
"My pocket? But all I have are keys in there."
"Yes, and one of them is very special."
Out of his right pocket, he pulled out his key ring and the two new ones that Barney had handed him. He turned the new keys over in his hand. One he recognized as the master key and the other one had a shine to it he hadn't noticed before. He put the others away and took a closer look at the shiny one. It had the numbers 3344 etched on it.
"Angela, what's this?"
"It's a key to our house."
"But I already have one."
"Did you hear what I just said?"
"Yeah, it's a key to. . .our house."
"I just wanted you to know that even though you'll be here, 'our home' is waiting for you whenever you want to come back."
He hugged her tightly and kissed her forehead.
"How did you. . . "
"Don't worry about it. And now, put it away before you lose it and get ready to run. I was thinking it's time to play some ball."
"What?"
She pulled a baseball out of her pocket and tossed it up in the air.
"But Angela, we're not dressed for this."
"Batter up!" She said tossing it to Tony and running toward home base.
(Chapter 3: The Meatball Over The Plate Coming Soon!)
