The following week had been a tense one for everyone in the Bower/Micelli household. Tony and Angela couldn't stand to be in the same room as each other for more than a few minutes at a time, Mona played secret keeper, and the kids were left guessing.
Samantha was the first to notice something off, her father distant and distracted even when Angela wasn't home (especially when Angela wasn't home). Jonathan picked up on something different after a day or so, noticing a glaring absence of his mother and Tony making gooey eyes at each other from across the table when they thought no one was looking. Soon enough, they ate separately. Usually, it was Angela who made the excuse to skip dinner or eat in her study.
"Did you talk to him yet?" Jonathan asked Sam one morning when they were alone eating breakfast.
"No," Sam answered with a shush. "Keep it down, he's just in the living room."
"What are you waiting for? Nothing's getting better."
"It's getting worse," she agreed. "I've tried a couple of times but I don't get much out of him. Have you tried talking to Angela?"
Jonathan shook his head. "She's always working."
"Not a good sign…"
Tony came in before they could work out a game plan. The kids went back to their breakfasts, Jonathan silently encouraging Samantha to say something. She shook her head, stuffing a fork full of food into her mouth and ignoring his nudges against her leg.
"What're you two up to?" Tony questioned from the sink when he heard the scuffle behind him.
"Nothing," they said in unison.
He turned around. "Which means it's something."
"Sam wants to ask you something," Jonathan said quickly.
"Rat," she muttered.
Tony shrugged when nothing else came. "Well? What is it?"
"Well… we just noticed that things have been kinda weird around here lately."
Muscles stiffening, he said, "Oh?"
"What happened with you and Angela?"
"Nothing," he answered as quickly as they had a minute before.
"It's something," Jonathan mocked.
"Come on, Dad," Sam said as she stood and walked over to her father. "I think we have a right to know. You've looked miserable, Angela's looked miserable… What gives? Even Mona's been quiet."
"And she tells us everything."
With a sigh, Tony put his hand on Samantha's shoulder and shot a glance at Jonathan. "Look… I'm sorry that things have been so awkward. It's mine and Angela's problem. I don't want either of you worrying about us and I'm sure she feels the same way."
"You're our parents, of course we're going to worry."
"Did you have a fight?" Jonathan asked.
Taking it a step farther, Sam added, "Does it have to do with that woman that's been calling you all week?"
They got their answer when he looked down, saying nothing.
"I knew it."
Clearing his throat, Tony said, "Aren't you guys late for school?"
"Not yet."
"Then I guess I'm late."
Jonathan and Samantha shared a worried look, ending with Sam signaling him out of the room. Once he was gone, she reapproached Tony.
"Dad, what's going on? Really."
"There's nothing to worry about, Sam. Angela and I are fine."
She crossed her arms. "I know you both said you haven't decided on marriage yet, but it seemed to all of us like it was going to be sooner rather than later. Now all of a sudden you've got a girlfriend?"
Tony dragged his feet over to the table and sat down. He'd known it was only a matter of time before the kids found out, he'd just hoped things would be more stable between him and Angela when it happened. Samantha hovered over him as he spoke.
"Things with Kathleen were unexpected. I told Angela, though. We talked about it."
"What did she say?"
"A lot of stuff."
"What kind of stuff?"
"Nothing I'm going to be sharing with you kids."
"I can take it."
"Forget it."
"So…" she said, suppressing her frustration, "you're just going to go on not speaking to each other anymore?"
Guiltily, Tony said, "Last time we talked, I might've made things worse than they would have been if I'd left well enough alone."
Samantha rolled her eyes. "Not surprised."
Squeezing her arm, he said, "I know it's been a strange week. And it's probably gonna keep being strange for a little while. But how you and Jonathan are feeling now is one of the main reasons why Angela and I haven't gotten together yet. There's too much at stake. For all of us. Things… you know, they're better this way. Me and Angela being just friends."
"It just seems weird that you guys went from shamelessly flirting with each other, going out to dinner, going dancing, meeting other couples, even going on trips together to you dating someone else and not speaking."
"Aye-oh, she's dating someone else, too." He ignored the rest.
"Who? That Peter guy?"
"Yup."
"Was that before or after you started dating Kathleen?"
"… after."
"Can you blame her then?" she asked sympathetically. "It's no secret she's crazy about you. If all this happened out of nowhere, I'm sure she just wants some company."
"It doesn't matter anymore."
After a pause, Sam asked, "How do you feel about Angela? That used to be obvious, too."
"That doesn't matter, either." Standing up so fast that he nearly knocked over the chair, Tony said, "Get a move on. You and Jonathan gotta get to school and so do I."
"All right," she conceded in a breath. "Are you okay, though?"
"I'm fine, Samantha. Promise."
She'd kept her eyes on Tony as she walked into the living room and was startled when she bumped into Jonathan on the other side of the door.
"What'd he say?"
Putting a hand on his head, she started leading him outside as she whispered, "We'll talk in the car."
. . .
"Well?" Jonathan finally spoke after spending half the ride to school in silence.
"Well what?"
"Spill it, Sam. What's the matter with Mom and Tony?"
"I'm still thinking about it," she said. "They're dating other people."
"Yeah?"
"That's it."
"They're not talking because of that?"
"Dummy," she sneered, resisting all urges to smack him. "Where have you been?"
Jonathan rolled his eyes. "Obviously they like each other and all, but they weren't going out or anything. I mean, not really. They always say they're friends."
"You are so naive. They might as well be a couple. They spend all of their time together. And don't you remember when I told you they'd talked about getting married? You saw them in Jamaica. Tell me there isn't something more there."
He shuttered. "Ew, don't remind me."
"Oh, grow up. If you ask me, they play things down for us. They had some kind of plan worked out. Now it's messed up."
"They have dumb arguments all the time," Jonathan reminded. "They'll get over it. Why are you so worried, anyway? You're going to be living in a dorm in a few months if it ends up lasting that long."
"I don't know. It feels more serious this time."
"What if it is?" he questioned, starting to feel worried the more he watched Sam's nervous expression.
"What if Dad quits and moves out? Or your mom fires him?"
"Fire Tony? That'll never happen."
"Maybe… I guess that is a little extreme. It just feels like there's more he isn't telling me."
"Like what?"
"You ask a lot of questions. Save a few for your mom. Try talking to her tonight and get her side of things. You know how stubborn Dad can be. She'll say more."
"I'll try," he scoffed. "It's probably pointless, though. Everyone still treats me like a kid. She'll probably say more to you than she will to me."
Probably true, she silently agreed.
"Trust me," Sam said as she pulled into the first parking spot she could find, "in a year or two, adults will be saying all sorts of things in front of you and you'll miss this simpler time."
He opened his door. "Well, until then, can you at least talk to her with me?"
"Fine."
They grabbed their bags and started toward the school. For once, Samantha didn't walk ahead of Jonathan, nor did Jonathan find some way to humiliate her. Instead, they stayed together quietly, not looking up to seek out their friends. Before they got too near to the door and would have to go down separate hallways, Jonathan asked a final question.
"Sam?"
"Yeah?"
"If you and Tony do move out… will you still drive me to school?"
Unable to suppress her smile, she reached out and tousled his hair. "Just until college."
. . .
Angela smiled when she saw Samantha and Jonathan sitting together peacefully on the couch. What a relief it was to be finished with the incessant arguing they went through at the start of the school year. She had to do a double-take. They weren't even fighting over the phone! At least something was going right.
The endearment was short-lived, however. After her 'hellos', she noticed the serious stares they were giving her. Suddenly, she felt like this was an intervention.
"Is everything all right?" she asked, taking a couple of slow steps toward them.
"Can we ask you something, Mom?"
She looked between them. "Both of you?"
They nodded.
It was easy to assume what they wanted to discuss.
Sitting on the arm of the sofa next to Jonathan, Angela stroked his hair. "This is about me and Tony, isn't it?"
"Yeah," he answered. "We want to know what's going on."
"Everything is fine."
"Fine?" Sam echoed.
"All right," she gave in. "Things could be better."
Jonathan continued. "Are you really dating other people?"
She shrugged. "I wouldn't say I'm dating Peter… not… entirely."
"Aren't you going to some party with him tonight?" Sam questioned. "The guy who left a message on the machine?"
"Yes, that's Peter."
"But what about Tony?" asked Jonathan.
Keeping her voice light, she answered with the pre-rehearsed lines she'd prepared for these inevitable questions. "Things change. You both know me and Tony's relationship has some blurred lines. We never were 'dating' even if we happened to go out and do things together. Us seeing other people... it's nothing to worry about."
"Really?" Sam challenged. "Because you've hardly said a word to each other in a week."
"I didn't say it's been easy. We need to adjust."
"Adjust? You won't even look at each other," Jonathan pointed out.
With a sigh, Angela said, "Sweethearts… I know things have been tense, and I'm sorry you two had to pick up on it."
"That's what Dad said."
"You've talked to him?"
"Tried," Sam said. "You're being just as stingy with the details as him. All we know is that he met someone."
She looked down at her feet, which had been shuffling nervously beneath her the entire time. "He did and we talked about it. That's as much as I'm going to say."
"Come on, Angela, we're dying to know!"
"I'm sorry," she said as she stood, "but this is really Tony's place, not mine. If he isn't saying anything, I need to respect that."
"What if I send her out," Jonathan gestured to Sam with his thumb. "Will you tell me?"
Angela laughed. "I'm sorry."
"Can you answer one thing?" Sam asked.
"Depends."
"Are things going to be okay with you two? As friends?"
"Yeah," Jonathan emphasized. "What's going to happen if you stop talking altogether?"
With a sad smile, Angela answered, "I want everything to be okay. Right now, though, I think it's best that he and I give ourselves some space from each other. Life's been hectic for both of us outside the house. He's busy with school and I'm busy with work. I adore Tony, but for now, maybe it makes sense that we see people who are running in the same circles as we are."
Neither of the kids had a reply for this beyond understanding nods.
"Well… if that's all," Angela said, her voice high from nerves, "I've, uh, got to go change. Will you let Peter in when he gets here?"
"Sure," they said.
"We tried," Samantha said once Angela was upstairs and out of earshot.
Jonathan nodded. "Grandma's right, I'm going to be in my twenties by the time they get together."
She laughed. "It looks that way." Then she stood, nudging his arm. "Wanna go grab a burger?"
His jaw dropped. "With me?"
"Yes you, you goon."
"Now I know this is bad."
Rolling her eyes, she said, "I can be nice when I want to be."
"Does that mean I can get a milkshake, too?"
"Don't press your luck."
