November 1989

When the doorbell rang, Angela yanked her finger back from the dish of marshmallow-drenched sweet potatoes with the speed and guilt of a five-year-old caught sneaking an extra cookie.

The kitchen was awash in all of the most traditional Thanksgiving scents, from turkey and stuffing to apple pie. Everyone was crowded around the tv watching the Patriots make mincemeat of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and dinner was on hold while the clock counted down the final two minutes of the game.

After quickly licking the sticky evidence from her fingers, Angela hurried into the living room in time to stop dead in her tracks as Tony opened the front door. The silence that fell over the room was deafening as everyone looked at Michael Bower standing on the doorstep. No one, including his son, had seen or heard from him in more than four years, not since his Malibu wedding to Malibu Barbie, as Angela had come to think of Heather. But now here he was, standing on their step on Thanksgiving as though not a day had gone by.

Michael was the first to speak: "Hello everyone, Happy Thanksgiving."

Angela stepped forward, "Michael, what are you doing here?"

"Angela, nice to see you. And Tony, I see you're still here." Tony nodded in response and stepped aside to allow Michael to enter. "Where's my little tiger?" he said, looking toward the couch where Jonathan was sitting between Mona and Sam.

Jonathan stood up and walked sedately over to his father, a notable change from his greeting five years earlier when he'd launched himself into his father's arms. "I'm not so little anymore, Dad. I'm thirteen." A pause, and then, "What are you doing here?" Angela's heart went out to her little boy, and following instinct, she walked over and put her arm around him in a gesture that spoke of both comfort and protection.

"I think we're all a little curious about that," she said. "Not a word in four years, and now you show up on Thanksgiving?"

Michael nodded, acknowledging the odd situation and seemed to resign himself to a full and public confession. "Heather left me, almost a year ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Angela offered, though she couldn't muster any actual surprise at the demise of his marriage. Either Heather had tired of being "Assistant to Michael Bower" or had found someone more impressive to assist.

"Thank you. Anyway, it's been rough. I've been bouncing around California, living in L.A., San Francisco, and most recently San Diego. I spent two months on safari in the Amazon, then took off to Tibet for a few weeks. But truthfully, nothing held any appeal. What can I say, I was lonely. So, when I got back last week, I wanted to be around people I know. I know showing up here today is pretty presumptuous of me, but I don't have anywhere else to go."

It was a speech the likes of which Angela never would have expected from her usually arrogant and self-serving ex-husband. While her feelings didn't run as far as sympathy, there was enough charity to have her extending an invitation to dinner. After all, he was Jonathan's father, and if her son only got to see his dad once every four years, she wasn't going to be the one to cut the visit short.

After a few more awkward moments, everyone moved to the dining room, the elation of the Patriots' victory was lost in the bewilderment of Michael's arrival. While the family was settling around the table, Tony cornered Angela in the kitchen.

"What's going on here, Angela? We don't see the guy in years, and he shows up here like the prodigal father?" Tony was apparently more than a little bothered by Michael's presence.

"I don't know Tony, but what was I supposed to do, kick out my son's father because it's uncomfortable?"

Tony seemed to accept that, but he was still worried. "It's just, every time he shows up, our lives get turned upside down." He didn't have to elaborate for Angela to know he meant Michael's firing of Tony five years before, as well as his attempt to gain custody of Jonathan a year later.

"I don't think we have anything to worry about this time. He'll probably just stay for dinner and then disappear for five more years. Let's just get through this for the sake of the kids."

Left with little other choice, Tony grabbed the turkey and made a characteristically grand gesture of presenting it to those gathered around the table before taking the seat next to Angela. For the most part, dinner conversation flowed smoothly, with Michael telling Jonathan and Sam about visiting both the Andes and the Himalayas. Tony and Angela seemed to do most of their communicating through eye contact, as Angela couldn't help but see that Tony was making every effort to assert his place in their home. She had never seen him quite so territorial, but considering that Michael had fired him once before, Angela conceded Tony's comments about heading up Jonathan's PTA and "the improvements we are making to the house" were probably justified. Still, she nearly choked on her Cabernet when he described "our vacation to Jamaica" in such a way that left room for doubt about the sleeping arrangements.

Mona, Angela noted, was surprisingly quiet during the exchange, and seemed content to sit back and observe. But when she chose to strike, her aim was true. When Michael mentioned his new assistant for a project on the night lives of bats, she quipped, "I'm sure she provides a full complement of valuable services for you."

Eventually, the meal wrapped up and the conversation slowed. While Angela stood to clear some of the dishes, Tony made the somewhat impertinent inquiry as to where Michael was staying. "I have a room at the Four Seasons, but before I leave, I was hoping to speak to Angela in private." He looked at her expectantly, but Angela was not interested in any sort of private conversation.

"To be perfectly honest Michael, this is my Thanksgiving with my family, and I'm not interested in leaving them to speak with you."

Taking a deep breath, Michael decided to lay his cards on the table. Undoubtedly aware of the five pairs of eyes on him, he began his second speech of the day. "Angela, I came back here to see if the sight of you still caused my heart to skip a beat, and I can say now, unequivocally, that it does. Maybe I lost my chance years ago, but I had to try one more time. Would you go to dinner with me tomorrow?"

The rest of the family visibly leaned forward in their chairs to hear her answer, and out of the corner of her eye, Angela could see, and feel, Tony staring at her with disconcerting intensity. She herself was stunned, and no amount of forewarning could have prepared her for what Michael had just said. While part of her wanted to rile and scream at his audacity and sheer presumption, she poured all of her energies into being as gentle and vague as possible. "Michael, I don't think that's a good idea, on any level."

"You're not seeing anyone, are you?" Though posed as a question, she got the distinct feeling he was stating what he assumed to be an obvious fact – and the inherent insult stung. Either way, she wasn't sure how to answer, if for no other reason than a firm belief that it was none of his business.

But before she could say anything, she sensed movement beside her and suddenly felt a hand close slowly and deliberately around hers. Turning, she saw Tony step into place beside her and listened, disbelieving, as he said, "As a matter of fact, she is."

Angela felt the heat creeping up her cheeks and her heartbeat pounding against her breastbone. Still, she held her composure, even as she looked at Tony with barely contained tenderness. "Thank you, Tony, but you don't have to …"

She did get any further.

"Yes, I do, Angela. This guy came between us once, when he showed up and wooed you back. I'm not going to let it happen again – from him or anyone else. This is our home and our family, and maybe we've been taking that a little for granted."

Michael and the rest of the family were forgotten as Angela turned to face the man standing next to her. Looking deep into eyes she knew so well and loved so much, she asked, "What are you saying Tony?"

"I'm saying I love you, Angela. I'm saying that watching him walk in here today like he still owned the place made me realize how much we have to lose. I'm not going to watch another man stand at your side because I was too scared to tell you how I feel."

Angela felt the tears running down her face as her heart fill with all the love she'd held onto for so long. With all eyes on them as Tony leaned in to place his lips on hers in a kiss that left them both weak with emotion, no one noticed as Michael slipped quietly from the room.