We start to make love again, when we wake up in the morning. It's a Saturday, so the whole day lies before us. In a way, the whole month does, although of course we'll need to take breaks to eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom, work, and school. And occasionally talk to other people.

Then I hear a yell from downstairs, "Angela!"

"It's my mother!" I exclaim, feeling like I'm a teenager who snuck a boy into the empty house while my folks were away.

"Should I hide under the bed?" Tony teases. "Or how 'bout the closet?"

"Tony," I scold.

"Come on, Angela, I think she could guess we'd probably get together while Jonathan's gone."

"Angela, I know you're up there! I'm leaving for the airport in ten minutes. And I'm guessing you're not going?'

"The airport?" Tony and I mouth at each other in surprise.

Then we scramble into our clothes. Well, I put on a robe and he puts on his shirt, jockeys, and jeans. I of course knock over the bowl of frosting and the glasses of t.j., so then we have to clean that off ourselves, and not the fun way either.

When we go downstairs, trying not to look too agitated, Mother is sitting on a couch arm, not looking like she's in any particular hurry herself, although I'm sure close to ten minutes have passed.

"Mother, why are you going to the airport?"

"I guess you haven't played Jonathan's message yet."

"His message?"

"Dear, I really have to be going, and you're obviously not ready. Oh, by the way, here are your shoes."

She hands me the black heels that I wore last night and Tony stuck in the toaster for verisimilitude. I blush and don't know what to say. And Tony hasn't said a word since "Let me get that stain. You'll spread it if you try to remove it like that."

"Ani meta alecha, Angela," she says and exits out the front door.

We stand there, still speechless for a minute, and then we race over to the answering machine. I hit play.

"Hey, Mom, it's me. Uh, things aren't working out with my visit to Dad. In fact, we had a big fight and I'm flying out on the red-eye to New York. Can you pick me up? It'll be Flight 232, Tower Air. I should get to LaGuardia around 10 a.m. Thanks! See you soon."

"Oh, my poor baby!"

"Uh, should we try to catch up with Mona?"
"No, I don't feel like explaining to her."
"Angela, I told you, she must've guessed."

"Oh, Tony, I'm such a bad mother!"

"What are you talking about? You're a great mother!"

"No, I neglected my child for my lover."

"OK, first of all, the 'child' is fifteen, and he's supposed to be under the care of his father."

"Yes, and I knew how irresponsible Michael is. And I trusted him with Jonathan anyway."

"Angela, just because Michael isn't exactly Father of the Year doesn't mean you're a bad mother for letting him see his son. And it's not like Jonathan's been injured or something. They just had a fight."

"A bad enough fight that Jonathan is coming home as soon as he can."

"Well, if you were such a bad mother, he wouldn't want to come home."

"But I won't even be there to greet him!"

"Angela, there's still time. We can hop in my Jeep and I'll drive us to LaGuardia."

"Thank you, Tony, but I think you and I need to talk."

"Talk?" He sounds nervous, so I take his hand and lead him over to the couch.

We sit down and I say, "It's been a wonderful week."

He smiles. "Yeah, it has."

"Especially last night. I feel like we've finally connected, not just with each other, but with all the bits and pieces of ourselves."

He nods. "Yeah, it was even better than I thought it would be."

"For me, too. And I'd hoped to have a whole month of it. But now we can't."

"Yeah."

"Tony, I know one of the big reasons you hesitated to be with me was because of the children. And I know that that's made a difference for me, too. We've always worried about how it would affect the kids. And even though they're older now, it doesn't necessarily make it easier. After all, they've invested a lot in our relationship, too."

He nods again. "They've always wanted us to be together. I mean, at least after the first year or so. And God forbid we break up, they'd be hurt."

"Yes. I don't think that's any reason to not pursue this relationship, but it is a factor. Also, well, I know that the No Fooling Around in the House rule exists for a reason. When Joanne Parker and other people used to spread gossip about us—"

I break off, but he immediately reads my mind. "Without even guessing about Anthony & Ingrid."

"Right. Even though we did our best to behave when we were our real selves, people still made assumptions. And now that it's true, well, we're going to have to proceed very cautiously."

"Yeah, it's not going to do Jonathan any favors if people know his mom's bangin' the housekeeper."

"Tony!" I'm shocked and hurt. "That's not how I see it!"

"I don't either, Baby. I made love with my best friend, the woman I love. But I'm just saying how some people will see it. And they may be a lot cruder about it than that."

"So what do we do, Tony?"

"Well, it may be a little late for this, but can we pretend to the outside world that we're not fooling around?"

"You mean, we're dating while living in the same house but we're keeping it clean?"

"Yeah, why not? I mean, yeah, some people won't buy it, but they'd think something was going on even if it wasn't. But it might make it easier on the kid. And Sam, too, although she's kinda got her own life now."

I sigh. "I was hoping we could be free to express who we really are."

"We will be. In private. The world doesn't have to know."

"But when can we be in private?"

"Angela, we managed to live mostly Ingrid-free 363 days a year for a few years."

"Yes, but it wasn't easy."

"Well, no. I guess if the pressure gets to be too much, well, we'll slip away for a weekend alone."

"And I'll take a business trip while you visit the old neighborhood?"

"Maybe. Or maybe we'll go as ourselves. But we don't have to advertise it."

I smile mischievously. "Those would be some fun jingles to write."

He kisses me and it's very tempting to go back upstairs, but Jonathan will be home in a few hours and I still feel too guilty. I think Tony does, too, because he says something about fights with his "old man." I never met his father, but I think the two men adored each other. I'm glad I was able to help Tony clear out his father's apartment years ago, after Matty's death. I didn't know Tony very well then, and it might not have been something I'd have done for other housekeepers, but I already wanted to be his friend, his good friend.

It won't be easy to be just affectionate, not sexual, with Tony now, but on the other hand, for a long time we couldn't freely be affectionate. Just being able to kiss Tony in front of the family is liberating.

Still, the tension may get unbearable at times. I don't want either of us to resent Jonathan's presence. This is his home and we both love him. We like having him around. It's not like he's some unkempt, sulky, foul-mouthed teenager. He's a good kid. OK, he's got a very sarcastic mouth, but that runs in the family.

Although I had hoped to say goodbye to Ingrid & Anthony as separate entities from us, by incorporating them into our holistic selves, it seems that's not yet possible. So if we have to celebrate another "anniversary," even if it ends up not being on "the right day," then we will.

I go upstairs and take a bath. I invite Tony to join me but he doesn't think it's a good idea now. He waits till I return, fully dressed, before he goes up and takes a shower.

I spend the time waiting for Jonathan by working on an account. I haven't been bringing home as much work this past week, wanting to be able to focus on Tony. But there's always something that needs polishing.

After his shower, Tony cleans up the kitchen and then does some homework. We don't sit too close on the couch, but we do look up and smile at each other now and again. When it gets close to noon and we start to wonder if Mother is indeed bringing Jonathan home, Tony goes to the kitchen to make lunch. I'm not surprised that he's planning some of Jonathan's favorites. Jonathan's homecoming is three weeks before we expected, but it is still welcome. Yes, we sometimes wish we were free, unencumbered singles, but part of our bond is our shared parenthood and sense of responsibility.

Before the food is ready, Jonathan and Mother enter the front door. "Sweetheart!" I cry and run to him. He doesn't object to my big hugs and kisses.

"I guess you don't mind that I cut my vacation short."

"Of course not, Darling! I'm, uh, sorry I wasn't there to greet you at the airport."

"It's OK. Grandma explained."

"She did?" Oh no!

"Yeah, how you were up late working on an account and you didn't hear my message till this morning and you were too groggy to go."

"Oh, yes, I'm sorry."

"It's OK. I enjoyed talking with Grandma. She really hates Dad."

"Mother!"

"Lighten up, Angela. I just let the kid vent about his father. He's a teenager. He needs that."

"Jonathan, sit down. Tell me what happened."

"Excuse me, I think I'll go see what Tony's making for lunch." Mother exits to the kitchen as Jonathan and I sit on the couch.

"Well, it was about me getting a summer job."

"Sweetheart, you're 15. You don't have to get a job yet unless you want to. Michael shouldn't have pressured you about it, especially when you're on vacation and he doesn't get to see you that often."

He shakes his head. "Mom, I want a summer job."

"Oh, you do?"

"Yeah, I'll be 16 in a few months and I'd really like my own car. Girls don't take you seriously in high school unless you have a car, and since I skipped a grade, the pressure is even worse."

"Oh, I see."

"Well, Dad didn't. I mean, he got the part about impressing girls, but he thought I should just be a 'beach bum' for a month. You know, swim, surf, have fun. And I wanted to do some of that of course, and it's not like there aren't girls on the beach. But there was also this chance as a busboy at a local restaurant, a few hours a week for a few weeks. And Dad said I was just like you."

I try not to laugh. "Oh?"

"You know, you work too hard, you don't know how to have fun."

"I see."

"I mean, I don't see you that way. I'm just saying what he said. And maybe you were that way before you met Tony, but you've loosened up a lot in the past seven years. I think I have, too, because of him and Sam. But we all, Sam and Tony, too, know how to work hard for what we want. Dad doesn't."

"Sweetheart, your father works very hard on his documentaries."

"I guess. But he also thinks you can just pick up and leave when something more interesting comes along. So I said, 'Well, I guess I'll just pick up and leave. Because I don't find you interesting anymore.' "

"Jonathan!"

"And then he said, 'Yeah, you're not the kid who used to dump buckets of water on people's heads.' So then I said, 'Well, here's a bucket for you. I'm going to catch the next flight back to New York.' And then he said, 'Great. I'll happily pay for your ticket.' "

Michael was never very good at deescalating an argument.

"I didn't want anything from him, but I couldn't afford to change my flight myself. So I went along with it. But Grandma said she'll be happy to reimburse Dad."

I'm very surprised. Mother doesn't usually pay for anything she doesn't have to. And I know I should encourage Jonathan to make up with Michael, but right now I can't help being glad he's chosen his life here and the values we've taught him.

And, yes, if deferring fun with Tony will set a better example, then that's the way it has to be.

Tony pokes his head through the swinging door. "Lunch is served."

"Great! I missed your cooking, Tony."

"Welcome home, Pal-o-Mine."