Visions of Angela had haunted Tony since Kathleen started talking about marriage. Normally, he welcomed daydreams of her; within reason nowadays, of course. Now they were more like nightmares – like Jiminy Cricket let all hell loose on his brain.

It hadn't been for nothing. The charade with Kathleen had come to an end. Yet again, he was faced with the realization of how much he'd messed things up. Mona claimed Angela would forget about Andy the second she heard he'd broken up with Kathleen. She did for all of five seconds. Then he watched her leave for her date. He started to get the sense this wasn't just a fling.

At least he wasn't forced to spend the night completely alone. Mrs. Rossini's neighbor boy had been spending a lot of time here these days. A bundle of energy even she couldn't keep up with. He was a sweet kid, even if he still hadn't gotten his name straight yet. Billy. It was definitely Billy.

Billy would be a better distraction than getting into another relationship. That much was certain.

Even now that Kathleen was behind him, he still tried to picture a future without Angela. It wasn't possible. And without having to fit Kathleen or anyone else into the picture, she stopped showing up as bizarre characters. She was by his side. They were a team.

How could he have ever denied how much he wanted to be with Angela? How had he sat back all summer trying to forge a blissful ignorance to all they'd built? Why had it taken her sobs to push him into a true apology? Why couldn't he have swallowed his pride then and there to make it up to her?

He didn't blame her for leaving tonight. If what he felt now was a mere fraction of the rejection she'd felt when he slept with Kathleen, he feared what else he had coming to him.

He wished it could be as easy with Angela as it had been with Marie. He never thought for a minute that it was wrong to love her. He didn't have to question why she might love him in return. There weren't any obstacles. They were from the same world and everything fell into place without a second thought. There was no need for discussions of their future, their wants, if they could ever make it. It was all a given. He'd look to the future and it was Marie standing with him. It never occurred to him he might lose her, least of all to cancer at her young age. Once she was gone, it didn't seem like anyone would fill that space again. Now Angela had, and he wanted to make sure everything was in place to ensure he wouldn't get hurt again.

He inwardly scoffed at the irony. To spare himself the pain, he'd put it on Angela. Now she was with someone else, someone who was treating her well, and it appeared to be something genuine. This wasn't like with Geoffrey where he had the ability to tell her 'no'. He couldn't say a word.

. . .

"Hi."

Tony turned around and glanced at Angela as she came through the kitchen door. "Hey."

"Couldn't sleep either?"

"Nah," he said, turning back to his mug. "Kettle should still be warm if you want some tea."

"That's probably better than the ice cream I came for."

He smiled, but couldn't laugh.

As she prepared her tea, she glanced back at him. "How are you doing?"

"Swell," he scoffed.

"It's going to feel empty around here without her," she said knowingly.

He was quiet until she joined him at the table. "I thought Sam being away all summer was going to make this a little easier. And it's not like she hasn't started school already, she's just moving into the dorm."

"It's a difficult time for any parent regardless."

"Yeah."

"It's hitting me harder than I expected, too. I know I missed the early years of her life, but I've become so attached. Like I've known her forever."

"You've been a terrific influence on her. I don't think she'd be off to college right now if we'd stayed in Brooklyn."

"No?"

"She wasn't an A student until we came here. There would have been too many distractions to keep her mind on her studies. I wouldn't have been able to keep an eye on her, either. She was already running around with the wrong crowd. And hey, 'til she met you it never occurred to her that she could be anything other than a Brooklyn bride."

"Really?"

"I remember one time right after moving in, she asked me how a woman could be as successful as you. You inspired her and opened up every door."

Fighting back tears, she said, "You're not making this easier on me."

He chuckled, patting her hand.

"I'm honored that you allowed me into her life and trusted me with her."

"And I'm thankful you took her under your wing. She needed a woman like you more than I realized… We both did."

She flipped her hand over and caught his before he pulled it away, squeezing hard as she let her emotions settle. When she was certain her words would come out smoothly, she asked, "Are you going to be okay tomorrow moving out her things?"

"Yeah. I refuse to make a scene. I did all that for New Mexico. This is supposed to be a happy day for Sam. I figure if I feel sorry for myself now, it'll be out of my system by sunrise."

Releasing his hand and taking hold of her cup instead, she stood up. "I'll leave you to it, then."

He nodded at her, letting her get as far as the door before he stopped her.

"Angela?"

"Yes?"

"If you're just going to drink that upstairs… could you drink it downstairs?"

Angela smiled, immediately going back to her seat. "Absolutely."

She hadn't expected him to say anything else, just sit together in their silent understanding. It was, or used to be, the same way whenever one or both of them was having a bad night. Tonight, he decided to break tradition.

"How's it going with Andy?"

Surprised, her voice wavered as she answered. "Things are… fine."

"That's good," he nodded. "Serious?"

"Why are you asking me this now?"

"As good a time as any. I haven't seen you that much since you've been with him."

"That hasn't been intentional."

"Oh, I know."

Angela sighed, letting the question hang in the air a bit longer before she answered. "It's not intimate if that's what you mean."

"No," he partially fibbed.

"… but it could be," she added, tugging on her teabag.

"Oh."

His sad tone made her equally happy and angry. "We'll see."

"I was just curious. You seem to like him a lot. Seems different than Peter."

She gave an uncomfortable shrug.

"Sorry. I know it's none of my business."

"Not really," she replied.

"Can we forget I asked?"

"That might be best."

Both turned their attention back to their cups and took long sips, both hoping to return to the comfortable, albeit sad, silence surrounding Samantha's impending departure.