Angela found herself counting down the weeks, then the days until Michael's departure. While running into Tony at school morning drop-off the odd time and exchanging a few pleasantries before hurrying to work was a lovely way to begin her day, it was not enough. Shouting "Hello, how are you?" over the throng of lined up cars and rushed parents did not fulfill her in the least. All she knew was that he'd begun working in one of Mrs. Randall's office buildings a few days per week while preparing for College. Last he'd told her, he was in the mailroom, starting at the very bottom, getting to know the jewelry industry. She was impressed at how easily Tony could fit in anywhere, making himself valuable while continually growing.

As for Angela herself, she was swamped at work, juggling multiple accounts. And by all accounts, Michael was not happy with her.

"You brought work home again, Angela?" he admonished her on a rainy Saturday afternoon.

"I can't clear my backlog if I don't tackle some of it now," she explained to him. "I have a huge presentation on Monday with a new client and I haven't even finished my story board!" Her voice was tinged with slight panic, and she wiped at her brow while shuffling papers all over the living room table.

"Yeah but I'm leaving in three days," Michael reminded her. "Besides, you need to relax, so we can get some baby making in," he said with a wink. "Come on, Angela, your storyboards will always be here, but I won't be. Now's a good time as ever." He made puppy dog eyes at her and plucked the thick black marker out of her hand. "Put this down. You can work on it later. How about we go upstairs now, while Mona is out with Jonathan?" He sat next to her on the sofa and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Isn't making love more fun than making storyboards?"

Angela balked. "Now? You want to have sex right now? But I … but I …", she couldn't think of an excuse that didn't involve putting him off for her work.

"Yes now. Before Jonathan gets home. Come on, we only have about an hour until Mona returns with him."

They stared at each other over Angela's piles of work. Michael's smile was quickly morphing into a frown. Angela thought of the fight they might have later if she did not acquiesce to his demands. "All right. I'll meet you upstairs in ten minutes. Let me just tidy this up," she said.

"Atta girl, Ang. See you in ten minutes." Michael headed up the stairs and blew a perfunctory kiss at her.

"Sam, I need to use the bathroom. You think you could hurry it up a bit?" Tony knocked at their shared bathroom door. They had their own apartment in a wing of Mrs. Randall's house, complete with two bedrooms, a small kitchen, and a living area.

"Go away, Dad," Samantha replied, her voice quavering.

"What's the matter? Are you sick or somethin'?"

"No, but …"

"But what?" Tony's parental radar gave him an uncomfortable sensation deep in his belly. He had noticed Sam looking wan and tired the last couple of days.

No answer.

"Samantha, you're scarin' me. What's the matter?"

"I wish we were still living with Angela!" she suddenly blurted out. "I need her, Dad."

"You need Angela? In the bathroom?" Tony shook his head and banged on the door. "Let me in, Sam."

"Nooooo. Dad, I need a … I need a woman right now. Please go away. Can you call Angela?"

"What do you mean, you need a woman?" He heard his own words as he spoke them. "Oh, oh, honey, do you mean you got, er, you got, er?"

"Yes! And I don't know what to do. There's no stuff to use." Samantha's voice rang out through the bathroom door high pitched and frightened.

"I can ask Mrs. R."

"No, Dad don't. She's like a hundred years old. You think she has any idea what stuff women use in this century? Angela's only ten minutes away. Can you please have her come and bring the stuff I need? Please, Dad," a small sob escaped her, and she sniffled loudly. "I can't come out of the bathroom without the stuff. And you can't come in. You're a man. Oh my god, this is so embarrassing."

"Now, now, Samantha, there's nothin' to be embarrassed about. Growin' up is a normal thing," Tony said despite his own discomfort with the topic. Anything to do with puberty made him extremely uncomfortable, just as he had been when buying Sam's first bra. He knew he was out of his element now. "Ok, I'm gonna call Angela. Good thing it's Saturday, or she'd be in downtown Manhattan, eh?"

"Dad!"

"I'm goin', I'm goin'."

Tony practically vaulted to the phone and dialed but there was no answer. He got the answering machine and hung up. Worried about Samantha, he picked up the receiver and dialed again. This time he left a message. "Er, Angela, it's me, uh, Tony. It's about Samantha. We kinda need you right now so if you're home, could you please call me back right away? Thanks, and, er Angela, it's urgent." He hung up and waited.

On her end, Angela heard the message echoing loudly through the house. She and Michael were post-coital, lying in bed and Angela had not dared run back to her storyboard just yet, even though it was on her mind and had distracted her during sex. She only hoped that her husband had not noticed.

"Oh, I better call Tony back. He says it's urgent." She sat on the edge of the bed and quickly threw her clothes back on.

"What? Now?" Michael was aghast. "Angela, your former housekeeper can wait. How often do we get to make love in the middle of the day?"

She turned to face him and brushed the sweaty hair off his forehead. "Honey, it's about Samantha. I have to find out what's going on. She could be injured. Tony sounded a bit frantic."

"You're not her mother. Can't it wait?"

"He did say it was urgent. I'm going to call him back, okay?" She used her high, pacifying voice, the one she used with Jonathan when she was encouraging him.

Michael simply glared at her. "Fine, do what you want. I'm going for a walk." He turned away from her and pulled on his jeans. Before he could finish dressing, Angela was already in the living room dialing Tony. She could hear the alarm in his voice when he answered the phone.

"Oh Angela, thank goodness. It's you!" he blurted out.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

"No, I mean, yes, I mean, I don't know. Sam's locked herself in the bathroom and she won't come out."

"Did you two have a fight?"

"No, nothin' like that. Um, Angela, she needs a woman to talk to. She doesn't know what to do and we don't have any supplies," he explained.

For a moment, Angela was quiet while processing his words. As the situation dawned on her, an "Ooooooh" escaped her lips. "You mean she got her period?"

"Yeah, that. What you said," Tony answered. "Can you come over? She won't come outta the bathroom. I'm really sorry to bug you with this Angela, but Sam only wants you right now. She told me to go away."

"There's no need to apologize. Of course, she wants a woman to talk to. I'm flattered she wants it to be me. I'll be right over. And I'll bring supplies for her," she reassured him.

"Thank you, oh thank you so much. You have no idea what this means to us. Being a single dad with a young girl is kinda like walking around in the dark at times. I don't know anythin' about, er you know."

"Periods?" she finished for him.

"Yeah, those." Tony exhaled the breath he had been holding so tightly. "We'll be waiting for you.

"Of course, Tony. I can be there in ten minutes. Bye."

"Bye Angela."

She hung up the phone, unaware that Michael had been listening.

"You're going out?" he asked, his face pinched, eyes flashing.

"It's a bit of an emergency," she explained to him. "Samantha needs me."

"Hmf," was his only reply.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Angela grabbed her purse and her raincoat. She was planning a quick stop at the pharmacy to pick up some pads for Sam.

"It's funny, Angela. Funny how you're so quick to run out of here when Tony needs you. But I had to practically tear you away from your work to join me upstairs."

"You don't understand. Sam needs me," she repeated to him. "The poor girl needs a woman to talk to right now and it's a bit urgent. Tony doesn't know what to do."

"So, really, you're helping Tony."

"I'm helping them both! Come on Michael don't be like this. Tony and Samantha are like family. Of course, I want to help them." She realized the error of her words as they spilled out of her mouth and she couldn't pull them back in. They lingered in the doorway between her and her husband.

"They're family. Okay, got it," he said.

"Wait, I mean …"

"What do you mean, Angela? You know what? Just go. Obviously, there's no other person they could have turned to right now, and they're waiting for you."

Angela grabbed her things and rushed out the door before Michael could change his mind and call for her to stay. She tried not to think of the conflict that would be waiting for her upon her return. Jealousy was an ugly trait and one that Michael possessed. He had complained about Angela's former housekeeper on multiple occasions, angered by her choice of a man for the position. Now, he could not keep the bitterness out of his voice. "Don't hurry back," he shouted at her departing back.