The next morning, Tony had woken up all stiff and sore, he had spent such an emotional night on his own he had fallen asleep on his sofa. It was 8am and the sun had been streaming through the curtains, but Tony just wanted to sleep without tossing and turning. finally it was the phone ringing that made him jump up and race to answer it. hoping against hope it was Angela, he really missed her, her smell, her voice, and especially the way they would cuddle and talk for hours, before and after they made love into the night. At times like now, when communication was very important, he really missed that personal connection they always had, the way they knew what the other was thinking or going to say. He had never shared that any with any other woman not even Marie, his first wife.

In those days a woman especially an Italian woman was supposed to be seen but her opinion not heard, and Tony having been raised by strong willed men, thought that was the right way, and never questioned it. Not until he met Angela had he ever dared to question it. Of course he did have Mrs Rossini, to help him take care of Samantha, but she was also "Old School Italian", and just went with the flow with her husband Joe being "The Boss", of her family.

Tony couldn't wait to see his little girl "Anna", he wanted to hug her and kiss her, and spend some quality time with her. But he also knew that would be up to Angela, at this point he didn't want to "Rock the Boat", and knew it was no good hurrying her, for it is a well known fact, the more you push someone the more they are likely to do the opposite of what you wanted. That had always been very true of Angela, and that was what frightened Tony most, the longer they were apart.

With thoughts of his little girl, and Angela, Tony's negative attitude quickly turned positive, and he rushed to the phone, with a giddy demeanour. Trying not to sound as nervous as he felt, Tony answered the telephone with a high pitched, "Hello this is Tony Micelli". After realising it wasn't Angela, Tony tried not to sound too dissapointed.

The person on the other end of the line said, "Hello mr Micelli, my name's Andrew Quinn, and I'm the lawyer, your wife "Angela", has hired to deal with "Michael Bower's ", will and his business affairs. She asked me to contact you about the date of the will reading and of course the funeral. So if you like I will give you the details now, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask me and we will set the wheels in motion, so to speak."

They talked for a half hour, with the lawyer telling Tony, Angela had arranged for Samantha to look after Anna, while Angela and Tony went to the funeral with Jonathon. He informed him, Rita, Jon's fiancée would meet them at the funeral home, while they spend some time talking to Jonathon, before they arrive there, to help him cope with the day's events. While everyone knew Mona, wouldn't be well enough to travel, and she never liked Michael anyway, she had none the less talked to Jon on the phone and told him she was thinking of him. Angela was grateful she couldn't make it, there had already been enough negativity in the air, and Angela didn't want her mother's pretend pity, to upset the day. The lawyer, finished off their conversation with a word about their daughter Anna, and how Tony could spend time with her before the funeral if he wanted. Tony couldn't believe she said "If", and as he hadn't seen her for days, he jumped at the chance, saying he'd arrive a few hours earlier, if it was allowed. When the lawyer said that, that was what Angela said he would say, Tony couldn't believe how in sync they still were.

The day of the funeral arrived and Tony had got dressed in a haze, if anyone asked him What he'd had for breakfast, or even his name at that point, he could not have told them. He had also put it down to nerves, not knowing how he'd be received by Angela, or Jonathon. Although he thought Jonathon at least, may not have been as hostile as his wife. Unknown to Angela, Jonathon had rung Tony to allay his fears, he said he didn't blame Tony about his father's death, and still couldn't for the life of him work out why Angela had. Angela hadn't talked of him or to him in years, and now all of a sudden she's blaming Tony, for an accident he had nothing to do with, and an illness that would have taken Michael's life if the car accident hadn't. Tony arrived at Jonathon's place, parked his car in the street, and walked up the steps. Each step he took, he could feel the strain, his tummy was gurgling and his lips were dry, but he was looking forward to seeing his little girl, and wasn't kept waiting for long. When she saw Tony she raced up to him flung her arms around him, as he picked her up and twirled her in the air.

"Daddy, Daddy, hooray your'e here, iv'e missed you so much".

Tony still twirling her in mid air, cried out,

"Oh honey!, Daddy's missed you too, give me a big kiss",

Anna put her little hands around Tony's neck, puckered her little lips, and kissed Tony with little butterfly kisses all over his cheeks, then Tony hugged her so tightly, the poor thing started turning red.

"Daddy, Daddy, I can't breathe, could you put me down now, I wanna tell Sam your'e here. And Daddy! I love you".

"Anna baby, I love you too, just remember always, that I'm always thinking of you and Mummy, and I can't wait for you to come home. Now go get Sam and see what she want's you to do. I'll wait for your Mummy and Jonathon out her".

"Okay Daddy, and I promise I'll be good for Sam, and then maybe we can move back home with you, cause I wanna go home, I miss you Daddeeee!."

"What make's you think your not already good?, your'e my precious little princess, and a wonderful daughter. You don't ever have to change, you've done nothing wrong!"

"Then why did I have to leave you? I wanted to stay with you , but Mummy said we were in an imploopapl situation. "

"Sweetheart, I think she meant Impossible, and she meant me and her, not you. I'm sorry you were caught in the middle, "

"Why do the children always have to suffer"?. Tony said out loud, forgetting little ears were still listening.

"Huh! Daddyyyy?" Anna asked, bewilderedly

"Oh nothing sweetie, it's just a phrase your grandmother used a long time ago, that I just remembered ".

"Huh, what's a phrase".? Anna asked with a very curious look on her face.

"Never mind, I'll explain it another day, when we have more time, just know, that no matter what happens between your mummy and me, you Sam and Jon are all top priority in our lives.

Now go and give Jon a big hug and kiss goodbye, after you v'e given me one and get your mummy. I need to talk to Sam alone, so tell her I'll wait in the car for her. "

After giving Tony a big hug and a few more kisses, Anna skipped into the house, happy about the talk she had with her dad. Had she been older and understood just what was really going on with her family, she may have felt alot more different. As it was when Tony returned to his car, his stomach started doing flip flops again, for he didn't know just how this day was going to end, and had he, he may very well have stayed in bed.

After tony had spoken to Sam for awhile, he drove Angela and Jon to the funeral, they were all lost in their own thoughts, but Tony was the one to break the silence. He asked Jonathon how he was doing, and immediately felt regret as the words left his mouth. As if she was reading his mind, Angela yelled at him "How do you think he is doing, he just lost his father in the worst accident possible, and all because some imbecile, had too much to drink. I know what you're thinking, that Michael ran that red light And don't think I'm not mad at him for doing that, but in the state he was in and suffering from his bad news, the police haven't ruled out Suicide. So now you see not only does our son have to go through the trauma of his father's funeral, but now he has to have the same feelings of guilt and shame that iv'e felt ever since it happened. I realise Tony your not entirely to blame for Michael's death, but in a way we all contributed, at least that's how I feel. And I'm sorry if that hurts you, but until someone can come up with a better explanation, that's the way it is for me".

Jonathon had been sitting listening in the back seat to his mother tearing strips off Tony, he couldn't take it any longer and said.

"Mum, that's enough, Tony has done nothing wrong here, he didn't make dad drive through the red light, he wasn't the drunk driver, and he definitely didn't give him cancer. Dad was an adult, with the ability to make his own choices, and the only one I blame him for, is causing this dissension between you and Tony, you love each other, and you need his support right now, so please stop blaming him and let's all start to heal. We've both gotta get through this day, and I don't know about you, but I'd sure love to have my "Dad ", to lean on today". Jonathon then gave Tony a smile that warmed his heart, and Tony turned partly around to Jonathon, placing his hand on his shoulder , and keeping his eyes on the road and sniffed, "Thanks Buddy, I love you too, and iv'e always considered you my son, So Angela, what do you say, how about I stop the car and we have abit of a chat, I think we need to talk before we get there so nobody notices the tension. We need to keep the day as stress free as we can for Jonathon's Sake , please!"

"Okay Tony, but only because it's best for my son, we still have alot to talk about, So Jonathon, we'll just be out here, stretching our legs, and talking about Anna, no other big issues, when we have to be there for you. Today it's all about your needs"

Jonathon let out a big sigh and said,

"Mum, I'm not 10 anymore, you've already started letting me cross the road by myself. So I think you can let go of my hand now".

"Jonathon, I will never let go of your hand, if I'm still around when your 60, I'll be holding your hand and worrying about you, that's a mothers job. And I'll probably be worse with Anna, so just be thanking your lucky stars, you were born a male. "

Angela turned around and took Tony's hand in hers, as Tony stopped the car and stepped out, he ran round to Angelas side opened the door, and helped her out of the car. They walked hand in hand towards a bench, sat down and for the first time In what felt like weeks, they had an honest heart felt conversation. Jonathon wasn't worried about being late, the funeral wasn't scheduled till 3.30pm, and it was only 1.00pm now. besides he figured the more they talked, in his mind at least, the more likely there would be a reconciliation. He didn't want the most important people in his life to be unhappy anymore, and if there was one thing Jonathon Bower, had learnt in his short life, these two people belonged together, and he would help make that happen any way he could. Little did he know, there was someone else with the same agenda on his side, he had been sitting right next to him on the car ride, and he was about to say goodbye to him twice. It was his own dead father Michael Bower, on a mission to get the two people he tore apart, back together, and to finally say goodbye to the son he never stopped loving. But could just never show.