"Hey umm, now that your single, you free for dinner?" Tony smiled, extending his arm out to Angela.
Taking his arm, she grinned, "Maybe, but I should warn you, I don't kiss on the first date."
With a cocky smirk, Tony exclaimed, "We'll see," as they exited the judge's chambers, arm in arm.
Briefly searching for a place to catch an early dinner, they made their way towards a small Italian Bistro a few blocks down from The Ivey's Hotel, downtown Charlotte, where they were staying the night.
By the time they convinced the judge to grant them an annulment, it was too late to file the paperwork with the court clerk so they opted to stay an extra night and file the paperwork the next morning before heading back home to Connecticut.
Settling into a quiet corner booth in the dimly lit, family owned bistro, Tony and Angela admired the family photos and Italian artifacts that enhanced the Bistro's charm and old Italian family feeling.
"Benvenuto a Dolce Osteria, my name is Angelo and I'll be your server." A chipper, broadfaced, middle age Italian man with a slight accent, greeted Tony and Angela, presenting them with a menu.
"Buona serata," Tony replied in his best Italian. "Lo sono Tony e questa è Angela," motioning to Angela as he introduced themselves to Angelo.
"Tu parli Italiano?" Angelo inquired.
"Un po', sono Italiano," Tony replied.
"Meravigliosa, e la tua bellissima signora, anche lei è Italiana?"
"No, non la mia signora e non Itailain," Tony shock his head, a slight blush rising on his cheeks.
"Perché no, è bellissima?" Angelo raised an eyebrow to Angela, shaking his hand in front of himself as if fanning the heat off him with a grin. "Che bella coppia che fai!"
"Grazie, grazie ma siamo solo amici," the blush on Tony's face now fully undeniable.
"Would you two care to let me in on your conversation," Angela spat half annoyed, half intrigued by Angelo's gestures and Tony's blush. "I understood "bellissima" but that's as far as my Italian goes."
"Mi dispiace signora," Angelo smiled, "I was complementing il tuo signore on being in the company of such a beautiful woman as yourself." He took her hand in his kissing it as he bowed his head towards her in apology.
Giggling and beginning to blush herself now, Angela replied, "Well please, in that case, talk away!"
Angelo looked between Tony and Angela as Tony attempted to avoid eye contact with Angela, trying to control the blush that was still covering his face, "Bello, molto bello," he whispered, leaning down towards Tony prior to asking them what he could get them to drink while they looked over the menu.
Ordering a bottle of wine, Tony and Angela looked over the menu in silence, neither willing to concede to the others embarrassment yet.
Returning to take their order and serve up their finest bottle of wine to the newly, almost, unmarried couple, Angelo, popped the cork, startling Angela out of menu daze, pouring each a half filled glass of some of Italy's finest grapes.
"Un brindisi per le signorine?" Angelo hinted to Tony.
"No, no, non credo," Tony's blush beginning to return as he tried to shoo Angelo away.
"Tony," Angela broke their silence, "What exactly is it that Angelo keeps saying that has you so on edge?" A shy smile creeping on her lips.
"Oh nothing, just Italian silliness," Tony replied nervously.
"Silliness, huh?" She questioned.
"Ya, well, you know how us Italians are, always being silly." He chuckled nervously again. "How about a toast," he spat trying to change the subject.
Raising her glass, "Yes, a toast, that would be nice. What shall we toast to?"
Raising his glass to meet hers, "How about to us!" His eyes bulged out as he realized what he said.
"To us?" Angela inquired.
"No, I mean to us, I mean, to our annulment," shaking his head, "I mean to us no longer being married, I mean...Oh I don't know what I mean," a defeated look covering his face in embarrassment.
Pensively looking at Tony as he tried to avoid catching her eyes, Angela smiled, "To us!" Clinking their glasses together.
Feasting on their entrees of Vongole Veraci and Linguine Alla Genovese, Tony and Angela kept the conversation light, exchanging friendly banter, avoiding any topic related to them.
Clearing the dishes from their devoured meal, Angelo offered up dessert and an additional bottle of wine.
"Oh my, I don't think I can eat another bite," Angela leaned back, her hands covering her stomach as she exhaled a deep breathe.
"Not even for an Italian Tortino," Tony hinted?
Her eyes lighting up, she looked at Tony, a huge grin plastering her face, "You think it's as good as yours?" She whispered shyly.
"It's made with Godiva chocolate," he teased, "I think they might know what they're doing!"
"Will you split it with me? I seriously might burst if I eat another bite but...,"
"Angelo, one Tortino, per due, per favore," Tony interjected, knowing that Angela would never turn down a chocolate dessert, no matter how stuffed she was.
Winking at Tony, Angelo affirmed, "Per due eh?"
"Si, per due," Tony confirmed, an annoyed look on his face.
"Tony, give it up," Angela smiled, "What is it that has you so annoyed with Angelo? He seems like such a sweet man." She grinned.
Shaking his head in disbelief that he was about to open the can of worms he'd been trying so hard to keep closed, he finally fessed up, "Angelo won't let up on me about you and me, about us and how beautiful you are and why we're not together and what a good looking couple we make and on and on and on." He rolled his eyes in disbelief and annoyance.
A pensive, serious look suddenly washed over Angela's face, "Why aren't we?" She stared at Tony.
Confused and a bit panicked, Tony stared at Angela, uncertain of how to answer or what to say. Swallowing hard and taking a deep breathe, Tony locked eyes with Angela shock his head and mumbled, "I'm not entirely sure anymore." His voice uncertain and shaky.
"So, what do we do about it?" Angela questioned. "Just today, two total strangers have said we belong together, the United States government has said we belong together, the state of North Carolina has said we belong together, yet here we are, newly unmarried! You know what Mother would tell say to us?"
"Ya, some universal force wants us together," Tony interjected.
"I'm beginning to think she's right!" Angela shock her head in confirmation. "We keep dancing around the subject of us but never seem to get down to really discussing what road we're headed on. Are we just friends, are we more than friends, what are we Tony?" She looked into his eyes, "The lines of boss and employee have been blurred for a longtime Tony, we can't keep pretending there's nothing more to us than there is and if there's not, then we need to move forward, move on but this dance needs to end." She exhaled the breath she'd kept in while putting her whole life on the line.
"I..."
"Mi scusi, Tortino per due?" Angelo smiled as he laid the dessert plate between the two, handing each a spoon.
Looking down on the delicious dessert, neither could help but notice the heart shaped design of champagne cream sauce that covered the chocolate mousse.
"Grazie, Angelo, that will be all for now!" Tony clinched his teeth as he motioned for Angelo to leave.
Digging into the luscious dessert that lay between them, Tony was relieved to have a moment's distraction to gather his thoughts and emotions, hoping that the arrival of their dessert would distract Angela enough to postpone, even perhaps forget the conversation at hand.
Taking a bite of the Tortino, Angela moaned in delight and satisfaction as she licked the spoon clean of the mousse. Tony stared at her, entranced by her delight and pleasure at each bite she took. Every moan and sigh she released as she took bite after bite, began to turn Tony on as he watched her devour the dish between them. His lips perked into a grin as he rested his chin on his thumb, his arm perched up on the table, rubbing his fingers along his lips, wondering what her lips would taste like with the reminisces of the mousse upon them.
Noticing Tony's stare, Angela swallowed her last bite, shyly smiling at him "What? What are you staring at?" She inquired with a smirk.
"Just you and your utter delight in eating that dessert, it's kind of cute!" He grinned. "By the way, you have a little chocolate right, right..." he motioned to side of her lip, "there!"
Quickly brining her napkin to her mouth, she wiped away the last of the dessert looking down at the empty plate, "Oh my God, did I eat it all?" Her eyes bulged out, 'I'm sorry, Tony, I didn't even, oh my God, I can't believe I just ate all of that!" A shocked but satisfied look plastered on her face.
Laughing, Tony, placed his spoon back on the plate, 'It's okay, I think I rather enjoyed watching you enjoy it more than I would have enjoyed eating it."
Blushing, Angela placed her napkin down on the plate, 'Oh I don't know, it was quite something. I'm really sorry I ate it all."
"It's okay really, maybe I'll have some later." He smirked, bring both his hands up to his chin, cupping his face as he locked eyes with Angela, unable to break the trance they held on each other. "So, what do you want to do now," he asked wearily, certain that the topic of their unfinished conversation would most likely resurface.
"I think I need an intense work out after all this," Angela replied innocently.
Clearing his throat nervously, Tony's cheeks turned crimson as his mind immediately wondered into a workout, he would be happy to help Angela with. "Well, ah, what to you say we head back to the hotel, it's a nice little walk and I think I saw a lounge in the lobby, maybe they have a dance floor." Oh my God, he thought, he just opened the conversation again with the mention of a dance. Their continued dance in the figurative way in regard to their relationship rather than the literal dance he was referring too. Maybe she won't catch on, the continued his thought, his eyes darting around the room quickly to avoid contact with hers.
"Dance, huh," Angela cocked her head to the side, "Funny you should mention that, it's been a while since we've danced, although we do seem to do a lot of dancing around." She countered, a bit sarcastically.
"Mi scusi," Angelo interrupted just in time. Saved by the bell, Tony thought, suddenly grateful for Angelo's annoying presence again. "Can I get you anything else?"
"No, no, thank you Angelo, everything was wonderful, just the check now please." Grateful for another interruption to come.
"Si signore, un momento." Angelo disappeared again leaving Tony to find another way to "dance around" Angela's inquire.
Catching Angela starring at him, knowing she was waiting for his answer, Tony continued his dance by turning his attention to the weather, "Looks a little cool out there, I'm glad we have out jackets to make the walk back less chilly."
Annoyed by his continued avoidance of the subject, Angela huffed, "We don't need the weather to make us chilly, I think the air around us is cold enough!" She stood up quickly, "I'll be outside cooling off!" She turned and walked away.
"Angela, wait!" He jumped up to chase after her but stopped knowing he had to pay the check and knowing he better think of something quick to get back on her warm side.
Handing Tony, the check, Angelo leaned in and gave him some words of wisdom, "Amico mio, ricorda sempre, l'amore è molto simile al mal di schiena: non si vede dai raggi X, ma sai che c'è."
Confused, Tony looked at Angelo shaking his head, "I'm sorry, I don't understand!"
Placing his arm around Tony's shoulder, Angelo translated, "My friend, remember always, "Love is a lot like a backache: it doesn't show up on X-rays, but you know it's there.""
Taken back by Angelo's analogy on love, Tony thanked him for his service, as annoying to him as it may have been at times, paid the check and bid the Italian love guru a "Buona Notte."
Finding Angela outside, pacing the side walk, Tony tried to capture some warmth, figuratively if not literally by placing his arm around her shoulders as he tried to lead them back towards their hotel, "Shall we?" He smiled, trying to easy the tension he unintentionally, intentionally created.
The walk back to the hotel was uncomfortably quite, yet comfortably warm as Angela allowed Tony to keep his arm around her, both for the warmth of his body next to hers and for the proximity it allowed her to be to Tony for the short distance back the hotel.
Arriving back at The Ivey's, Tony leaned in and whispered, "How about a night cap?" His brown puppy dog eyes trying to make up for his continued dance around the topic of them but his unwillingness to allow them to part for the evening on bad terms knowing full well that eventually he owed her an answer.
"Okay I guess," she replied hesitantly, not really wanting to further subject herself to Tony's unwillingness to talk about them but also not really wanting to depart Tony's company for the evening.
Sitting at a loveseat like booth just off the small dance floor that was adorned with a beautiful baby grand piano, Tony and Angela ordered two dry martini's and continued their company with each other in silence.
As Tony sat there, pondering Angelo's words about knowing love is there even if it doesn't show up on an X-ray and thinking about the feeling he had watching Angela eat her Tortino dessert as well as every other feeling he always felt while with Angela no matter what they were doing or the circumstances surrounding them, Tony suddenly thought back to the feeling of loss he had in the judges chambers when he signed the paperwork that would annul his and Angela's accidental marriage. What if that feeling of loss became a permanent loss due to his inability or unwillingness to admit his feeling for her or at least give her the curtesy of talking to her about their relationship and where it was leading, if anywhere and stop the "dancing around" the subject as she so eloquently put it. God he loved to dance with her, he thought, but the dancing he enjoyed with her was the kind of dancing where he held her tight in his arms, their cheeks brushing against each others, their bodies pressed against one another. God, that was the best feeling in the world to him, he thought, as a smile creped across his lips.
Turning towards her, Tony took a deep breathe, rubbed his face with the palm of his hand, trying to easy the blush that was burning his cheeks and wiping the sweat that was beading over his lip,
"Angela," he nervously began, "Can we talk?" His palms now clammy and his leg bouncing uncontrollably.
"What Tony? I think you said enough by not saying anything, don't you think?" She spat!
"I did! No I didn't," he rambled, "I mean, no, I didn't say enough, at least not what I should of said, I think, I don't know, I'm really not sure what to say but I have to say something." His words not coming as freely as he hoped, making no sense to him, much less to her.
"It's okay Tony, you're not ready to talk about us and hell, maybe you never will be and I guess I'll just have to deal with it and decide for myself what to do. You're just not ready and I'm sorry I put you on the spot. I guess I just got caught up in all the emotions of today and other people's view of us. I just expected to much and I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable." She refused to look at him, fearing that eye contact would betray the tears that she was so valiantly keeping at bay.
It's time you man up Micelli, he thought to himself. It's now or never you idiot! You're about to lose her because you're a damn coward and you almost lost her once with that whole Kathleen mess and you're about to do it again. Get your shit together Micelli!
"I'm scared Angela," he blurted out, allowing the words to escape his lips before his thoughts caught up with his mouth.
"Excuse me?" She turned to look at him, shocked by his declaration. "Tony Micelli isn't scared of anything!" She tenderly replied, uncertain as to what he meant.
"Yes," he shook his head, "Tony Micelli is scared to death about losing the most important relationship and friendship he's ever had by risking everything and not knowing what will happen." Taking Angela's hand in his, his eyes began to betray the control of emotion he was trying to maintain.
"Angela, when I lost Marie, I never thought I could feel for another woman what I felt for her. She was my whole life. When I lost her, it killed something inside of me. I swore I would never allow myself to feel so much for someone, knowing it could be gone in a blink of an eye." His eyes began to swell.
"Tony, it' okay, you don't need to say anything, I understand." Her heart began to break seeing the pain in his eyes as he spoke of his beloved wife.
"No Angela, I need to say this. You deserve to have answers and the truth. catching his breath, he continued, "When I moved to Connecticut, I had no illusions of what my life would be like, I moved to give Sam a better life and that's all that mattered to me. I wasn't looking to find anyone to share my life with, I just wanted Sam to grow up in a better place and have things I never did, opportunities I never dreamt she could have before we left Brooklyn.
Yes, I dated, had girls but they never meant anything to me. None of them could ever fill the emptiness that my heart felt when I lost Marie until I started to realize something." His hands trembled in Angela's as her eyes swelled with tears and his eye turned red trying to hold back the tears that threatened to escape.
"You see, with Gina and Frankie and even Kathleen, none of them could fill that hole because that hole was already filled and no matter how hard I fought it, hid it, tried to ignore and bury it deep down, it always kept getting over full, so full I felt suffocated at times. My heart was no longer the empty, shallow hole I had become accustomed to but rather it burned with fullness and it scared the crap out of me because this time, I know that if I lose the one and only person that can keep it full, it might kill me so I've been unwilling to open it up, scared that I'm undeserving and worthy of having that kind of feeling twice in one lifetime.
"Oh Tony," her voice cracked.
"Please, let me finish, " he looked down at their joined hands. "But now, I think," he paused, "I feel that if I don't face it, embrace it and say it, I might lose it all for good and I can't risk that any longer. I can't risk losing you Angela." His eyes beginning to swell. " When we were there, in that judges chambers and he signed those papers, I suddenly felt empty, like I lost everything that meant the most to me in the world and it scared the hell out of me but I was still so uncertain of what it all meant that when you asked me to stop the dance, I panicked and it was easier to deflect and ignore again versus facing it but I can't keep up this dance with you anymore, I want a new song and a new dance and a new beginning with you." He took a deep breathe, "Angela, you fill my heart with everything I never dreamt possible after Marie. You give hope, you give my life direction, you make laugh, you make me want to be a better man, but it still scares me because we're from two complete different worlds. I have nothing to offer you but a shoe box of memories of a past life that I don't even recognize anymore. I never imagined or saw myself with someone like you but I guess life and love isn't about who you can see yourself with but rather who you can't see yourself without and Angela, I can't see my life without you!"
Tears streamed down Angela's face! Silence momentarily fell over them as Angela tried to process everything Tony said and Tony came to terms with the fact that he just laid his hearts desires out on the line, putting his life, his job and his heart on the dance floor of life for all the world to see, or at least for Angela to see, uncertain as to whether she would deck him, fire him or crush him.
Releasing her grip on Tony's hand, she reached up, wiped the solitary tear that escaped his eye as she stared deep into the face of the man that had changed her whole life seven years prior and who had just put his whole life on the line for her. Leaning forward, she captured his lips for a sweet, tender and slow kiss expressing every feeling she harbored deep with-in her heart. Breaking their lips apart, they leaned against each other, forehead to forehead, staring deep into each other's eyes. Breaking the silence, Tony smiled, "I knew I'd get a kiss on our first date," capturing her lips again for a deeper, more passionate kiss.
There they sat, alone in the Sophia Cocktail Lounge, sharing a new dance. As the melody to "Only Words," began to play, Tony stood, extended his hand to Angela and asked, "May I have this dance?"
"I would love to dance," she smiled, the tears beginning to dry as her heart filled with love for the man that her brought a whole new meaning to her life.
They swayed on the dance floor, arm in arm, bodies pressed tight against each other, cheeks resting softly against one another, hearts beating as one.
As the song played,
"Now that I've tried to
Talk to you and make you understand
All you have to do is close your eyes
And just reach out your hands
And touch me
Hold me close don't ever let me go
More than words
Is all I ever needed you to show
Then you wouldn't have to say
That you love me
'Cause I'd already know"
Pulling her face off Tony's cheek, their lips lightly brushing up against each other, Angela leaned in and whispered, "I love you, Tony!"
To be continued...
***Italian Translations***
Benvenuto-welcome
Buona serata- Good Evening.
Lo sono Tony e questa è Angela- I'm Tony and this is Angela
Tu parli Italiano- You speak Italian?
Un po', sono Italiano,- a little, I'm Italian
Meravigliosa, e la tua bellissima signora, anche lei è Italiana- Wonderful, and your beautiful lady, is she Italian?
No, non la mia signora e non Itailain- no, not my misses and not Italian
Perché no, è bellissima- Why not? She's beautiful!
Che bella coppia che fai- What a beautiful couple you make
Grazie, grazie ma siamo solo amici- Thank you, we're just friends
Mi dispiace signora- I'm sorry ma'am,
il tuo signore- your mister
Un brindisi per le signorine-a toast for the lady
no, non credo- No, I do not think so
per due, per favore- for two, please
Mi scusi-Excuse me
Grazie-Thank you
Si signore, un momento- yes sir, one moment Buona Notte- Good night***Disclaimer*** I do not own any rights to the WTB characters, stories, or episode dialog referred to in this story.