Chapter 61: Our Dream House

Tony rolled his eyes as he remembered the "fight" he and Angela had over Jonathan finding his first real job. Tony had been a firm believer in providing a helping hand if you were in a position to do so. That's why, at first, he just could not understand Angela's reluctance to help Jonathan find a job, whether that was at her office or through one of her many contacts. But now, after many years of teaching, he had come to appreciate Angela's point of view. He had seen way too many kids who were handed golden opportunities by their parents or others and just squandered them away because they hadn't had to work for them. In the end, he was just glad that things had worked out for Jonathan, more or less, without causing a major disruption in his and Angela's relationship.

Angela's thoughts, meanwhile, were miles away as she hadn't thought about the job situation with Jonathan in such a long time. She remembered being so lost in thought on the train ride home, after her fight with Jonathan on the phone when he'd called and asked her for a job at her office, that she had pretty much ignored Tony's romantic advances as she walked in the front door. Beyond the fact that she believed that Jonathan needed to work for the things he wanted, after all, she had worked tirelessly to climb the corporate ladder to the point that it had contributed to the end of her marriage to Michael, she just couldn't believe that Jonathan was 16 already. Where had the time gone?

Sam was already out of the house, and Jonathan would soon be close behind her, and then it would be just her and Tony with the occasional appearance from her mother. She felt like she had blinked, and Sam and Jonathan had gone from the two adorable kids who had run away to Brooklyn together to self-sufficient adults just starting their own lives. Angela immediately heard her biological clock ticking louder than ever. She had always wanted a second child yet was forever grateful that she'd stood her ground with Michael. He had started bringing it up after they had moved to Oak Hills Drive when Jonathan was a toddler. At the time, she couldn't fathom the thought of having another child with him. Their marriage was already hanging on by a thread as it was. But now, deep down, she knew how much she wanted it with Tony. Had they waited too long, though? Only time would tell since he had said he wouldn't feel comfortable trying for a baby until they were married or very close to it.

"Angela, anybody home?" Sam said, reaching over to tap Angela on the knee. "We were just talking about how ironic it was that you were willing to give me a job but not Jonathan back then."

"Yeah, mom, why was that? You obviously weren't against nepotism then," Jonathan said teasingly.

"Hey, Jonathan, if it makes you feel any better, Mom was no better with me!" Katie said with an eye roll. "She made me officially apply to her office and everywhere else for every job or internship I ever had and wouldn't pull any strings. But, in the end," Katie continued with a smile, "It was worth it. It definitely gave me more confidence in my own abilities."

"Thank you, Sweetheart," Angela said, leaning over to squeeze her daughter's shoulder. "But with Sam, it wasn't quite the same thing. She was only 13 when she began working for me on Saturdays. Plus, I was in a real pinch at the time. And, the second time, it was a high school program, and for whatever reason, no one else wanted the advertising agency internship."

"I get it," Jonathan said. "I was just teasing. I'm over it and am just glad everything has worked out for all of our careers. And, of course, that I wasn't really the cause of the Mets' tailspin that year."

Tony and Angela smiled at each other as their thoughts turned to the next big issue the family had to deal with when they had almost sold the house on Oak Hills Drive.

Angela remembered how she had been against it at first. That is until she woke up that night to find Tony's side of the bed empty. After she'd found him "fixing" the kitchen faucet and they'd talked, she had come around and was actually excited about the prospect of her and Tony finding their own dream house to mark the beginning of their new life together as a married couple. Plus, if anyone else did come along, it would be wonderful to build those memories in a place that was completely their own.

"Are you sure you're ok with this?" Tony had asked after they'd both gone back up to bed. "I know how much you love this place and all the memories it has, especially for you and Jonathan."

"That's true, Tony. But not all the memories are happy ones, especially those from the last couple of years with Michael. A clean, fresh slate does sound appealing."

"And I can't wait to christen a whole new house with you," she whispered, leaning over to give Tony a lingering kiss reinforcing that they were both on the same page. Before long, any thoughts of houses, old or new, had been forgotten, at least for the moment.

"So, I guess I never understood fully why we didn't end up moving?" Jonathan asked. "You all really did seem excited about the prospect of it."

"We were, and it probably would have worked out fine," Angela said. "But what we realized is that we had already started to build a lifetime of memories as a family in this house, starting from that very first fall day that we all came together and up until we received the offer on the house. There was already so much of Tony, me, you, Sam and Mother in this house. Those memories far outweighed any of the less-than-pleasant ones that nonetheless are a part of our story and this house."

"Your mom's right, Jonathan," Tony said as he looked around the living room slowly. "We started to really think about leaving all those memories behind: the foyer where we all met, the fireplace right here where we spent so many cozy nights, just like tonight, telling all those 'juicy stories,' the kitchen where we bonded over all those breakfasts and dinners to become a family and then this living room where Angela and I took that step that had been more than seven years in the making and got engaged; not to mention our wedding in the backyard when we finally united this family forever. All of that, along with so many other memories, turned this into our family's home before we ever realized it."

"Oh Tony, that's so sweet," Angela said, leaning down to peck him on the lips. "I wouldn't have had it any other way and am so glad that we were able to raise Katie in this house as well."

Tony smiled at his wife before saying, "Gang, what do you say we take this party into the kitchen? I need to get dinner started, but figured we could keep talking while I task you all with helping me," he finished with a grin.

"So, what happened next?" Katie asked as they all got up and began moving towards the door to the kitchen.

Angela and Tony gave each other a look as neither one of them looked forward to rehashing those next couple of months in their relationship…