Having "lost each other as friends," several times into the wee hours of the morning, neither Angela nor Tony made any extra effort to answer the phone to her 7 a.m. wake up call, opting instead to curl back up into each other's embrace until the bright North Carolina sun could no longer be ignored penetrating through the extra-large window.
Kissing the back of her head, Tony whispered, "Good morning Angela."
Turning into his embrace to face him, Angela brushed her lips upon his, "Good morning Tony!"
"Sleep well?" He grinned.
"Better than ever before, you?"
"Like a baby!" He leaned in, capturing her lips again for a soft kiss.
They laid there snuggling in the warm embrace of each other's arms, neither willing to give up their newfound comfort but both unsure as to what to say next. So much had been said the previous night but the processing of their words and actions had yet to totally been absorbed.
Placing another kiss on Tony's lips, Angela broke the silence that had fallen between them, "I guess we need to get up and get ready," she sighed, "We have a flight to catch and," she hesitated, "uh, well, we need to go by the courthouse." Her words shaky and uncertain.
Studying her face, "Ya, I guess we better," he pulled her into him, her head now buried against his chest.
Feeling her slightly tremble, he paused and whispered, "Hey, you okay?"
"Ya," she sniffled, "I... I'm fine!" Her voice shaky.
"Ay oh, oh ay, what's the matter?" He brought her face up to meet his eyes, her eyes moist as if she was about to cry, "Angela, honey, what's wrong?
"Nothing, I'm sorry, don't mind me," her eyes feel from Tony gaze.
His mind suddenly spinning into a panic, "Ay oh, Angela, you got regrets about what happened between us? I'm sorry, maybe I should go?" Not giving her a chance to reply he began to un-shuffle himself from her.
"Woe, hey, Tony, no!" She grabbed his arm, "Not at all," she pulled him back into her. "Why would you think that? Tony, I love you and last night was amazing." She tried to reassure him. "Do you regret it?" She asked hesitantly.
"NO!" He exclaimed, "It was absolutely amazing! But if no regrets, why the tears?" His voice somber.
"Really it's nothing," she tried to console, "Silly really, I just got a little sad, I guess. Don't guess I want this to end, I kinda liked being Mrs. Micelli last night." Her cheek crimson.
Settling himself again next to her, he wiped the moisture from her eyes, gently caressing her cheek with his fingers, "I kinda liked it too." He leaned in, kissing her lips softly.
"Ya?" She smiled.
"Ya," he whispered "And if this is any indication of how much I liked it," he dropped his eyes to his lap, shifting the sheet slightly to reveal his lower half, "I was kinda wondering if maybe we could have a little repeat before we have to..." she crashed her lips onto his, not allowing him to finish his sentence, not wanting to think that their time together would be coming to an end soon.
"Mrs. Micelli, you sure know how to get my attention," he moaned, their lips still attached, his tongue licking her lips, searching to deepen their kiss.
"I like having your full, undivided attention," she reached to bring him tighter into her arms.
As their bodies joined in a last dance, the worries, and doubts of things to come had temporarily been put on hold.
Exhausted and breathless from their spin about the bed, Tony laid back against the headboard of the bed, Angela's head laying on his chest, his hand tenderly caressing her disarrayed blond hair, "I could get used to this," he exhaled a deep breath.
Pulling herself up against him, their chests pressed together, she searched his face for any signs of the insecurities she felt of what might the day and future bring once they left the safety of the room they had shared and returned to the real world. Taking a deep breath, she met his eyes, "I could too but, you know, the real world is out there and at some point, we need to talk about our future and our pending annulment."
A pensive looked washed over his face as the realization of what the last twelve hours might mean to their relationship. Could they face the real world together, as couple or would the world outside that room never be privy to what occurred with-in those walls? Could he go back to a world of not being able to hold Angela in his arms, not feel her soft lips against his, not be able to show her all the affection his heart felt for her? Could he still work for her, live with her and share a life with her as her housekeeper or would it be as her boyfriend or as her lover, what would that mean for them, for the kids, for the life they had made for themselves? What if the two worlds collided and it ruined everything, they had worked so hard to build over the last seven years? What if...
"Tony, we don't have to decide our lives today," noticing the washed-out look on his face and his lack of response to her statement," I just thought maybe we should talk about what we do next."
Returning to the moment, Tony hesitantly began, "Angela, when we were in that judges' chambers and you said you felt a bit sad after he signed the paperwork for us to file for our annulment, what made you sad?"
Surprised by his question and wondering where he might be leading with it, she bit her bottom lip as she threw caution to the wind and opened her heart fully to him, "I was sad that I might never know this moment with you. I was sad that I might not ever be a part of what you described as wanting for your wedding. I was sad that maybe I wasn't that appropriate person you had in mind to marry someday, when you were ready. I was sad that I might never again be Mrs. Anthony Micelli." She looked down, uncertain if she could contain all the emotions that were bursting their way through her.
Lifting her face to meet his eyes again, Tony tenderly replied, "And I felt as if I had just lost the most important, accidental marriage I had ever had." Taking a breath, "I know you caught when I nearly said your name, telling the judge that I didn't want to be married to someone just because I signed in somewhere as Mr. and Mrs. but rather because I loved you and cherished you," his words now deliberate and honest, "And I caught that you loved me enough to give me the time I needed to come to terms with my feelings even if you did kinda nudge me along during dinner," he laughed, " You, the judge, Angelo," he rolled his eyes, "Hell I'm sure Mona was sending telepathic vibes somehow also."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to push you into something you weren't," Angela interjected humbly,
Interrupting her interruption, "No Angela, you didn't push me, you loved me and you made me feel safe and made me realize that the only thing I've been running from all these years is myself. You love me for me and that has to be enough for me. To hell what the rest of the world thinks Angela, what matters most to me is what you think of me, how you believe in me, that you love me, Tony Micelli, ex-ball player, single father, current housekeeper from Brooklyn."
"Don't forget soon to be college graduate," she smiled.
"Yes, college graduate! And why, because you believed in me and supported me and loved me through everything, even when I gave you every excuse, specially this past year to walk away and never look back."
"I'll always love you Tony and I'll always support you, just as you always have me, we're a team and nothing will ever change that."
Wrapping his arms tightly around her, he kissed the side of her head, "Angela, this is going to sound crazy, but I want to annul our annulment. I don't want to file those papers today." His voice sure and confident.
Popping her head up from his chest, "Tony, what are you saying?"
"I'm saying I want you to keeping being Mrs. Anthony Micelli, at least on paper for now until we can have an appropriate wedding one day. I hate for such a thing as lack of intent to go on our permanent record, that could be just as bad as it saying, "Inability to perform husbandly duties!"
"Well we know that's definitely not the case," a suggestive tone to her, "I think you performed your husbandly duties extremely well, nearly perfect if I say so myself."
"Ay oh, oh ay, only nearly perfect?" A shocked look on his face.
"Well, practice does make perfect, you know. Always room for improvement."
"Oh, I love to practice," he growled, capturing her lips for a deep, passionate kiss.
Momentarily caught up in themselves again, Tony broke their kiss whispering, "So what do you say, how about we forgo the visit to the courthouse again, stay in bed a little longer and see where this marriage takes us?"
"I say, I do!" She pressed her lips to his, wrapped her arms around him and prepared to practice for perfection.