Sam and the baby came home from the hospital two days later, and Tony arrived shortly thereafter, arms laden with cold cuts, spaghetti sauce, chicken and vegetable soup, a pork roast, grilled chicken, and a half dozen other dishes that got them through the first two weeks of parenthood.
While Tony and Angela tried to keep their distance and give Sam and Hank time alone with little Katie, as she was called, it was hard not to rush over to their house every morning. However, caring for their own new family did not leave an abundance of time for visiting. Regardless, Sam and Angela were on the phone nearly every day comparing the milestones their respective babies were achieving. Charlie was beginning to pull herself up to stand while Katie was holding her head up; Charlie was eating mashed potatoes and applesauce, and Katie was sleeping almost five hours a night.
Melissa's wedding shower was August first. Jonathan, Hank, and Tony were left to care for Katie, Charlie, and Billy while the women packed up the Jeep with favors and door prizes for the big event at the Plaza. Angela had used her agency's connections with the famed hotel to ensure royal treatment. She also had contacted a Manhattan printer who worked closely with the Bower Agency to get the couple top quality invitations for both the shower and wedding, as well as ceremony programs and even embossed napkins. Then, in the blink of an eye, it seemed, the wedding was almost upon them.
In a cruel calendar trick, Tony was scheduled to begin classes the Monday before the wedding. As if tying up a thousand loose ends before the Big Day wasn't enough, Tony was finalizing his syllabus for this history of sports class, revising the syllabi for this other two classes, and trying to meet his faculty and coaching obligations during orientation week.
Angela was both elated and overwhelmed when word crossed her desk that Sprint was looking for a new ad agency for its expanding cellular division. With the way the technology was growing, she was sure it was only a matter of time before every household in America had a mobile phone, and she wanted to be the one to market it. This could turn into a very long-term, profitable account that she couldn't afford to pass up.
So, Sunday night, exactly six days before the wedding, found Tony and Angela at the kitchen table hovering over their day planners. Billy and Charlie were asleep, and the house was quiet. Barefoot and clad in gym shorts and a tank top, Angela looked more like a teen-ager than a grandmother. Likewise, Tony still filled out his t-shirt far better than most of the young guys on his baseball team. With her glasses perched on her nose and a pencil tucked behind her ear, she met his eyes, a reflection of the frustration and fatigue in hers.
"Tony, I just don't see how we're gong to do it. I'm going to have to be in the city nearly every day this week except Friday, and it looks like the department has you booked into next year."
"It's orientation. You know I have to be there."
"Oh, heaven forbid you miss the Gatorade chug-a-thon." She was tired, and was desperately hoping he could make it possible for her to dedicate the time she needed to get the Sprint account.
"There's more to it than that," he said indignantly. "I have advising, faculty meetings, new baseball recruits to get settled. But I'll tell you what, I'll take Billy with me tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday if Mona can watch Charlie. He can play gofer for the team. Tuesday, you can work from home. You have fax, phone, and e-mail. What else do you need? And if you have to go into the city, I can be home by one."
"Okay, I can deal with that." She slumped back into the chair and ran her hands through her hair. "And don't forget," she continued, glancing down at her to-do list, "to pick up your tux Thursday; Mrs. Rossini's arriving Friday morning and staying til Sunday; we have to make the final payment on the flowers and cake; and the rehearsal dinner is set for seven on Friday."
Tony walked behind her and began massaging her shoulders, which felt more like iron than flesh. "Don't worry about it, sweetheart. It will all get done one way or another. Look on the bright side at everything that's already done. Your dress and shoes are upstairs and ready to go, the Sony deal finally closed, the intern you hired is covering Sam's job, Billy is registered for school, and we paid off the kids' cruise," which was their wedding gift to Jonathan and Melissa.
"Yeah, but if we're having this much trouble scheduling one week, what are we doing to do for the rest of the semester?" She had been worrying about childcare and scheduling for what seemed to be forever. It had been so long since she'd had to think about who would be home in the afternoons. From the time Jonathan was seven, she'd had Tony there, and it was odd to think that now she wasn't able to expect him to just be home as he had been ten years before.
They spent another thirty minutes working out day-by-day plans for the next two weeks, until Billy started school. A night class here, early business meetings there, and two days a week with Mona babysitting took some of the tension out of Angela's shoulders.
"Come on, let's got to bed. We've got a busy week," she concluded wearily. But as they walked hand-in-hand through the living room, Tony stopped her.
"Hang on a sec," he said, pulling her toward him. "You look like you could use a hug." And with that, he pulled her into his embrace before taking her hand in his and placing his arm around her back.
"Tony, what are you doing?" She said smiling, her body sliding into place next to his.
"Practicing. We've got a wedding coming up, and I want to make sure we look good on the dance floor."
With a natural ease that they'd felt since their first dance, they glided silently to music only they could hear. The tension melted out of Angela as Tony began singing "It Had To Be You," – the song they had danced to at their own wedding. His voice was warm and soft in her ear, and only heightened the tender intimacy that was quickly replacing the worry and frustration of earlier.
When she was little more than putty in the hands he stroked suggestively along her back, Angela murmured, "Tony, I do believe you're trying to seduce me."
"Whatever would give you that idea?" he replied, with a playful nibble of her ear. In an instant, he scooped her up in his arms and was heading toward the steps, with her laughter trailing behind them as he said, "Well, since you insist."