Kitchen

"He said that?" Tony asked in shock.

"Yep," Della answered.

"And lived to tell?"

Della smiled, "oh, I'll get to that."

"What did you do?"

"Well, I fought back. I said, 'this was your idea, not mine. You're the one who asked me to be your secretary.'"

Den

"I told her that was to help her get over losing our son," the man ran a hand over his hand, "then I said, 'our son we wouldn't have lost if you had just asked for help to begin with.'"

Angela gasped, "Perry."

"Yeah, I went there."

Kitchen

"Too far," Tony said. "What did you do?"

"I told him I was going to the cabin and that if he wanted to live, he wouldn't join me. That he needed to find another secretary because I quit."

"Good for you," Tony smiled.

Den

"I knew she was serious and needed time. When she stormed out of my office, I saw Laura standing there, grinning."

"Why was she grinning?"

"Well, she enjoyed what had just happened. She walked over to me and said, 'some women just aren't cut out for the workforce or family life.' I asked what that was supposed to mean. She told me that she was so sorry that Della had cost me, my son. That she'd help me get him back after I divorced Della and married her."

"Oh, no," Angela said. "Did you go after Della?"

"Well, I told Laura that Della wasn't to blame for us losing our son. That the justice system didn't work for her. That it doesn't work for most women. That the judge's decision was wrong and if we could get a new judge, we'd be able to get our son back. Then I told her to get out of my office. To stay out of my life and away from anyone in my life. That if I had to, I'd get the LAPD to drag her out."

Kitchen

"Did you go to the cabin?"

"I packed as much as possible and went to the cabin."

"You spent the entire weekend alone?"

"I sure did."

"He didn't even try to call you?"

"No, because he was smart."

"I don't understand."

"He knew that if he didn't give me space, things would go from worse to horrendous."

Den

"Sunday night, I headed for the cabin. I have to admit, I'd never been so scared in my life."

"Because she might kill you?"

"No, because I might lose her."

Kitchen

"There was a knock at the door and I knew who it was. I opened the door and found your father looking worse than I had seen him in years."

Den

"I was surprised that she let me in and wasn't yelling."

"Then what?"

"We sat down and I told her how sorry I was, and everything Laura said. That I had threatened Laura and refused to help her. I told her that I would have arrived sooner, but I wanted to give her a few days. That I had gone way over the line and had no right to speak to her that way. I had no right to ask for her forgiveness, but I hoped she would forgive me and still be my confidential secretary."

Kitchen

"What did you say?" Tony asked.

"I told him that it was my fault. I had no right to make a decision about whether or not he took a case. That was his practice and it was not part of my job."

Den

"I said, 'let's both admit that we messed up and promise to never fight like that again. That we'd spend the week figuring out exactly how to get some alone time in.'"

Kitchen

"I told him we wouldn't have time. He told me he had closed the office for the week. That he gave the answering service a list of names they could put through. It was only for emergencies and there were only three people on it."

"Who?"

"Burger, Tragg, and Paul."

Den

"How did Della react?" Angela asked.

"She smiled and threw her arms around me. Suddenly, she left me and went to the bedroom. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to follow. She quickly returned with a small gift bag and handed it to me."

"What was in the bag?"

"A onesie that said, 'daddy may be a lawyer, but mommy's the boss.'"

Angela smiled and gasped, "she was pregnant."

"With Maureen," he smiled, "that's one reason she wanted to go away and was so angry. It was because she thought that if I couldn't make time for her, then I wouldn't be able to make time for a baby, and we'd lose another one. Now, I've told you my story. What are you going to do about that heartbroken housekeeper of yours?"

Kitchen

"Ma, Angela and I aren't a couple. We're friends and so it's different."

Angela and Perry walked in, "not really," she said.

"Angela, I'm truly sorry. I was trying to show off to the other housekeepers, and how much you trust me with things. I never, never, never should have made that decision. It wasn't mine to make."

"I never, never, never should have said those things to you or spoken to you like that. Just because I employ you, doesn't give me the right to disrespect you so."

"Well, I did go against your wishes."

"Not really," she said. "You knew deep down that I wanted to paint the Jag red, but I didn't feel it was right for me."

"You didn't feel it was right because you're a woman working in a man's world and they may not take you seriously with a car that stands out like that."

"You know me so well."

"You know me well too."

"Am I forgiven?"

"Am I?"

"Yes," they both said and hugged.

Perry put a hand on Della's shoulder. The woman looked up at him and smiled, "Laura?"

"Laura," he nodded.

When the hug was over, Tony and Angela turned to the couple. It was not lost on the older couple that the younger pair still had their arms around each other. "Thank you for helping us," Angela said.

"Yeah, without you two, this probably would have gone on a couple of more days."

Della took Perry's hand and stood, "what did you two learn?" she asked.

"That a person is more than their job title and you have to treat them with respect," Angela said.

"That you can't make a decision for your boss even if you're close with them," Tony added.

"Very good," Perry said, "now, Tony, let's start dinner. Ladies, out," he said. Perry kissed Della's temple.

Angela laughed, "come on, Della. Let's go sit on the couch and talk about the problems with men."

Della looked back and smiled, "that may take a while."

The two women left the room. "They're going to complain about us, aren't they?" Tony asked.

"Yes, son, yes they are. However, it's our fault for giving them so much to complain about."

Sam, Jonathan, and Mona walked in, "what a story," Mona said.

Tony looked at them, "you were eavesdropping?"

"Of course," Sam said.

"Young lady, it's rude to eavesdrop," Perry tried to be stern with his granddaughter.

"That may have worked when you got here, but not anymore," she smiled.

"Well, Samantha and I will join the other two women in listing our grievances about men."

Jonathan looked at the two men as the women left, "I guess you guys need to teach me about women so I don't make the same mistakes you've made."

Perry and Tony looked at each other, "that's gonna take a while," Perry said.

"We'd better get started," Tony said.

Things calmed down and everyone put the entire incident behind them. Tony had heard his parents fight before, but that fight was different. It was the closest they came to their marriage ending. They almost lost each other over something so small, and it was small. Tony and Angela had no idea where their relationship would go, but they knew one thing, they never wanted to lose the other.