Chapter 6

Jonathan was loving his new after school arrangement. Every day, he'd follow Sam home on the school bus to Mrs. Randall's mansion in the super rich area of Fairfield. Once there, Tony would greet the children and make them an amazing snack that more than made up for Jonathan's mediocre lunches. Jonathan always ate voraciously, in an attempt to fill up before dinner, since that wasn't a meal he looked forward to much these days. After a large nourishing snack, the kids had their choice of going horseback riding, playing tennis, watching TV on a large screen, or using the indoor pool. Both children would rush through their homework assignments so they had more time to play after. And most evenings when his mom came to pick him up, Tony would slip her some extras that he had made for his dinner with Sam. Sometimes it was a side vegetable, such as garlic green beans sautéed in butter. Another time, it was a generous chunk of lasagna, or some pasta. But then his dad had returned two days ago and his mom had refused the dinner portion of veal cutlets smothered in mozzarella. Just watching those being prepared had made the little boy's mouth water.

"How come we can't take Tony's food anymore?" he had asked his mother in the car on the way home. "He cooks way better than you do!"

"Yes, Sweetheart, I know. But we can't take all of Tony's food from him and Sam. It wouldn't be right." Angela had explained.

"How come we could for two whole weeks, but not now? Is it because Daddy's back? Will he hit the food like he smashed the brownies?" Ever perceptive, Jonathan had picked up on the fact that his father was not happy about the after school arrangement at Tony's. But he had begged and pleaded after hearing his parents argue about it, fearing they might dump him back into after-school care, where all they did was study inside and eat a warm yogurt with apple juice for snack time.

"Jonathan, please," Angela had said, the fatigue in her voice making her words sharper than she intended. "Your father doesn't want to know about Tony's food. Just be glad he's letting you go home with Samantha after school, because he wanted to put you back in after-school care."

"But why?"

Angela had ignored the question, and focused on her driving instead. She felt badly for her son but she simply could not explain to a seven-year old that his father was jealous of their former housekeeper. Instinctively, Angela knew not to bring any food Tony gifted her back home. She probably should not have accepted the handouts over the previous two weeks, but she had been so tired and it had seemed like such a simple way to have a delicious dinner without having to cook.

Jonathan watched now as Tony prepared dinner and he decided to try a new tactic. "I could sneak the food," he suggested, the scent of rosemary roasted potatoes sending him to the edge of heaven.

"You want some of this?" Tony asked. "Jonathan, you don't have to sneak it out. I'm happy to give you some."

"You are? Okay, but I'll have to hide it from my parents, so make it a small package I can put in my school bag." Jonathan fumbled in the drawers for tin foil and cut himself a sizeable piece. "Here Tony, you can put some in here. I promise to eat it in my bedroom."

Tony tilted his head. "Why do you have to hide it from your parents? The food is for all of you, for your dinner. You know I've got lots. Sam and I can't eat all of this."

"But, Mommy said we can't take the food anymore because Daddy won't like it. I don't know why he cares if I eat it even if he doesn't like it. He can't like Mommy's food more because it's awful."

Tony sighed deeply. "Sorry Kiddo, you're gonna have to eat it here. I don't want your Daddy to get upset with you if he sees it." Tony did not know how to explain to the child that his father had a problem with him, but imagining Michael smashing his potatoes like he had done to the brownies didn't sit well with him.

"But that's not fair!" Jonathan began to protest. "You sound like my mom now."

Tony checked on his potatoes and went to sit at the kitchen table. He beckoned Jonathan to come sit next to him. "So Pal 'o Mine, I get the feeling that you're upset with your parents. Do you want to talk about it?"

Jonathan shook his head. "I don't get why they don't want your food. It's not like they know how to cook."

"Right, right." Tony nodded. "Sometimes, grownups do things that kids don't understand, but it doesn't mean they don't have a reason."

"My parents do lots of things that don't make sense," Jonathan admitted.

"Oh?" Tony leaned in closer and fixed his gaze on the child beside him.

"Like how Mommy hides in her study when Daddy comes home from work, or how Daddy shouts at Mommy when she leaves her storyboard on the coffee table. They're weird." Jonathan shrugged.

Tony was not pleased to hear about the shouting. He decided to investigate further. "Does your Daddy shout a lot, Jonathan?"

"I dunno," he mumbled back. "Kinda. Mostly about Mommy's work." Jonathan thought for a moment. "But he was real nice to her when she was sick."

"Your mom was sick?" Tony's head shot up and he fixed Jonathan with wide eyes.

"Yeah, like when she threw up. Daddy was so happy about that. He hugged her even though Mommy had barf in her hair. Gross!"

Tony blinked and processed. He stared at Jonathan for a moment, then stood up and circled the kitchen. "Your dad was happy that your mom threw up?" he asked.

"I told you they're weird," Jonathan stated.

"Does your mom throw up a lot?" Tony asked, dreading the response. He wondered if something was wrong with Angela. But if it was, then why would Michael be happy about it? The only reason a woman's vomiting could make a man happy was if … was if …. His thoughts took a sharp turn and he almost gasped aloud.

"Only when she smells coffee, or that time Daddy made bacon for breakfast. She usually throws up in the mornings, half-way through breakfast, but never during dinner. During dinner, she eats a lot, especially when it's the food you gave her. Your food is good for her. The other stuff makes her sick." Jonathan played with the table mat in front of him, twisting the edges together. "You don't think my mom is sick, do you? I figured it was her food making her throw up." Jonathan wanted his mom to eat, and as such, had extra motivation for taking food from Tony. "I'm sure she would eat your potatoes," he tried.

"Yeah kiddo, I'm sure she would. You know what? When she comes here to pick you up, I'll give her some, okay?"

"Alright! Thanks Tony. I'm gonna go find Sam. She was heading to the stables."

Tony watched Jonathan leave the kitchen and slumped down in his chair.

Angela could not believe that she was pregnant. She and Michael had barely tried; they must have succeeded on one of their very first attempts. And right now, she wasn't sure how she felt about it. While she had always dreamed of having a daughter, and part of her was hopeful on that count, she couldn't seem to get excited about the pregnancy. Michael had been over the moon upon learning the results of the pregnancy test. But it was early days still, and Angela asked him to keep the news to themselves. As such, she had not even told her mother. Angela had suffered two miscarriages in the past, one before Jonathan, and one after him, both at the twelve week mark. She wasn't going to announce this pregnancy to anybody just yet.

It would be difficult to keep quiet about it given that she was vomiting every single morning and felt exhausted all day, every day. Her breasts had gone up a size, she felt sure, and she wouldn't be surprised if she began to show early, it being her fourth pregnancy now. She dragged herself off the couch and got ready to pick up Jonathan from Tony's place. Tony. Angela inhaled sharply. He could not know about the pregnancy. Not now. She did not know why the thought of Tony knowing about the baby put her on the edge of panic. Her heart beat faster and she steadied herself. "I'm heading out to pick up Jonathan," she called out to Michael.

Michael came out of the kitchen where he'd been preparing dinner. "How come you didn't get him sooner? You've just been laying on the couch."

"I was resting," she said.

"Angela it's half an hour later than usual. By the time you get home with rush hour traffic, dinner will be cold. You should have picked him up as soon as you were back from work," he admonished her.

"I'm sorry, Michael, but I needed to rest. Pregnancy makes me tired," she reminded him.

"Yes, I know. That's why you should scale back at work right now. We've talked about this already."

"And you weren't listening to me. I told you that as President, I cannot simply abandon my duties. If Jim Peterson senses any weakness in me right now, he'll go in for the kill and take my job," she said. Angela grabbed her purse and car keys. "I'm going to pick up Jonathan now. Please keep dinner warm for us. Thank you." And with that, she was out the house.

During the drive over to Tony's, she replayed her words with Michael. Why didn't he understand that she was the President of a large advertising agency? Did he think she was merely a copywriter? She had been when they were first married, but she had risen so quickly in her career and instead of supporting her, Michael had complained. Angela shook her head, sighed at the amount of traffic and continued to replay all the recent fights she had had with Michael. By the time she arrived at Tony's, she felt mentally exhausted in addition to physically fatigued.

Tony greeted her warmly when she arrived, and she inhaled the rich scent of rosemary roasted potatoes lingering in his apartment. "Something smells divine," she told him.

"Yeah, rosemary potatoes", he said. "You want some?"

"Oh that is very tempting, but I'd better not. Michael has dinner waiting for us," she explained.

Tony studied her for a moment too long, and she looked away. "Here, let me just give you a small plate now. Jonathan is already having some in the kitchen. Come on." He led her to the kitchen were the kids were already seated and eating dinner. "You were late and Jonathan got hungry," he told her.

"I'm so sorry I'm late," she said.

"It's okay, Angela. You're a busy President. Jonathan is glad to be here and Sam and I are always happy to have him over." He felt he needed to reassure her because she did appear so chagrined by her own tardiness. "Now, how about some food while you wait for him to finish?"

Unable to resist the food's aroma, she replied, "Oh okay, uh, I guess I can have a small portion, thank you." She gave her son a kiss on the head and said hello to Sam. Angela's stomach was growling loudly now and she was sure that Tony could hear it. She was always hungry these days, once the morning sickness was over, she could stuff her face all day. She took a seat next to Sam and waited while Tony served her a plate. "There's some chicken here too, and salad." Without asking her, he filled her plate with all the food and presented her with a dinner too delicious to refuse.

"Oh, how I miss eating like this," she told him between bites. The plate had barely touched the table before Angela was shoveling the food into her mouth. "So good," she said.

"I'm glad you're enjoying it," Tony said with a smile.

"See Mom, Tony's food is the best," Jonathan told her, the olive oil from the potatoes gleaming on his mouth.

"Of course, Sweetheart. But you know, Daddy also made dinner. Oh my, I really need to save my appetite," she began to fret.

"Looks like you could eat two dinners at the rate you're goin'," Tony joked with her.

Angela put her fork down and bit her lip. She looked up at Tony with a worried expression. "I really do have to stop, or else Michael will have made dinner for nothing. Come on Jonathan, we need to get going." She left her almost empty plate on the table and motioned for her son to follow her.

"Awww Mom," he complained.

"I'm sorry Jonathan, but you'll see Tony and Sam tomorrow after school. Say goodbye." She rushed toward the door but before she could exit, Tony stopped her.

"Never worry about picking him up by a certain time. I'm real flexible, okay? And you can always eat here. You guys are welcome at our dinner table." He put a hand on her shoulder as he spoke to her.

"Thank you, Tony, I really appreciate that." They shared a small smile and she headed out the door.

Jonathan had been trying to sleep but his parents' loud voices prevented that. He followed the noise and went downstairs into the living room, where he could hear his parents arguing in the kitchen.

"So first you were late, and then our son informed me that you already ate at Tony's?" Michael yelled, incredulous. "Couldn't wait to spend some time with him, eh?"

"It's not like that; I was waiting for Jonathan to finish eating," she said, her voice low and tired.

"Because you were late. Because you take on too much work," he admonished her. Jonathan heard something go slam and he jumped back, then resumed his position by the kitchen door.

"Something's got to change, Angela. You can't keep working this many hours while you're pregnant. You can't forget about our son and leave others to feed him. Then stay and visit with Tony."

Jonathan blinked in surprise. His mom was pregnant? He was going to be a big brother. He wondered what Samantha would think about that.

He heard his parents' conflict volley back and forth, his mom stating she was the President and had to work, and his father yelling at her that she should be home to make dinner, and then something about Tony. Then he heard his Daddy use a bad word and something went thump. The last thing he heard was his Mommy begin to cry.