"Where have you been?"
Angela jumped when she heard Michael's voice upon entering the dark bedroom. With a hand pressed against her chest, she took a breath before responding. "I could ask you the same question."
"I told you I was coming home today."
"Yes, but that doesn't mean I know where you ran off to."
"I think I can guess where you were," he said coldly.
She turned on a lamp, staying in the light long enough so Michael could see her look of contempt. She opted to hold her tongue as she dressed for bed.
"You're not even going to deny it?" he asked when she came back into the bedroom from brushing her teeth.
Angela shrugged. "I have nothing to hide. I was there to see Samantha, not Tony."
"I'm glad to know my feelings mean so much to you."
"And what about mine?"
"Hey, I'm not the one involved with my housekeeper."
She'd been about to sit down, but stopped short at this, rising to her feet again. "I am not involved with Tony!"
"There's got to be something going on for you to go against my wishes. Did you spend the weekend with him? I thought dinner was yesterday."
"You don't own me, Michael. You could at least ask me why before making assumptions."
"I don't think I need to."
"Oh!" she said with mock delight. "Then you know all about Sam running away because she's so furious with me for abandoning her that she couldn't stand the thought of having dinner together. I'm glad I won't need to be going into any further detail."
Looking genuinely stunned, he stammered his response. "I… that's a little extreme, don't you think?"
"Not when you're twelve years old."
He sighed, though more from aggregation. "Look, I'm sorry about Sam, but she isn't your responsibility."
"Saying things like that is what perpetuated all this. She is my responsibility. I love that kid and I never should have cast her aside. Tony, either, for that matter. I can understand why you wouldn't want me to see him. If not for Sam…" She stopped, thinking of the way Tony had nearly been in tears when she'd left Brooklyn — how they could communicate without words and sense what the other was feeling. That kind of connection usually took years to build. She certainly hadn't reached that point with Michael. With Tony, it happened in a matter of months. At least for the moments that mattered most.
Shaking her head, she backtracked. "You know what? Regardless of Sam, I should never have pushed Tony aside. We should have come to a compromise. At the very least it shouldn't have let all communications end. You chose to leave. Tony helped pick up the pieces you left behind. He supported me in a way you've never been capable of doing. Being romantically involved never entered the picture."
Getting out of bed, Michael stood as well. "What are you saying, Angela?"
"I'm saying that something needs to change beyond the attempts you and I both have been making. They haven't been genuine. We both want this marriage to work, but it might be time to face the fact that it's not going to. You need to be able to take off and leave when you want to and I need to know there's someone to come home to that's willing to share in my successes and failures. I need to be able to work when I want and need to and not feel guilty. You need to get away from the mundane office life. We aren't ourselves when we're together and we are beginning to resent one another. I love you Michael, and I want to keep it that way."
His brow furrowed as he tried to process what she'd said. She wasn't wrong. He'd come to his own conclusions that this life wasn't working out for him, either. But Angela kept bringing him home. He wanted that touchstone.
"Isn't there some other kind of compromise?" he finally asked.
"What do you suggest?"
He thought again but came up with nothing. "I don't know. Nothing that will appease both of us."
"I'm sorry, Michael. And I'm sorry if I haven't handled this thing between you and Tony well, either. I've let everyone involved down."
With an exasperated sigh, Michael crossed his arms. "So, I guess if we divorce you'll be hiring him back."
She shrugged. "I don't think so. Not with the way things are between me and Samantha. It took a lot to finally get her to sit with me. It's going to be a while before she trusts me again."
Plopping down on the edge of the bed, he said, "Still sounds like she's being over-dramatic."
"She's been through a lot," she said bitterly. "I'm not going to explain her actions."
"Fine, whatever."
Angela paced the room a moment, clearing her head as much as she could before turning back to him. "So… are we in agreement?"
"About getting a divorce?"
She nodded.
"I guess so. I have nothing better to offer."
Moving to sit next to him, she linked his arm through his. "This has been building up for weeks. We both know it. This was just the thing to push us over the edge. We gave it a good try, don't you think?"
"It might've been better without that Italian."
"Damn it, Michael!" She moved back from him. "Tony has nothing to do with this, do you understand? The fact that you can't trust me is grounds enough to file the papers."
"I trust you. It's him I don't trust."
Biting her tongue, she said, "I can't help that. I can only give you my word. If that's not good enough…"
"Then we've got to call it quits."
"I guess so."
"I think I'm going to take a walk," Michael said, standing again.
"At this hour?"
"I'll be back."
She shot him a doubtful look.
"I'll be back," he said in earnest. "I want to tell Jonathan together."
"So do I."
"I suppose… you ought to keep him."
"A child will chain you down more than a wife."
"Can I visit?"
"Absolutely. We both will insist on that." She smiled, hoping to change the tune.
Michael wasn't ready to bite. "I'll try and be better about that."
With a breath, Angela walked over to where Michael had paused in the doorway. Touching his cheek, she brought her lips to his, lingering there for a moment before pulling away.
"We still have a lot to talk about," she said. "Let's not do it all in one night."
He agreed.
"This doesn't need to be a bad break."
"I don't want it to be."
Dropping her arms, she pushed him toward the door. "Go talk your walk. I'm going to take a quick shower."
"Do you think we could, you know, say goodbye when I get back?"
Angela smiled. "I think that would be appropriate."
