Mona was seated at the kitchen table, nursing a cup of coffee, ruing the fact that there was coffee made in the first place. Tony was downstairs already; which meant there had been no night of confessed love, no advance in his relationship with her daughter, no passion; nothing. She, Mrs. Rossini and the kids had left them alone at the carnival and they had nothing to show for their efforts. She wanted answers; details about last night; and she wanted them now. Mona was close to going upstairs, her patience was gone and she was going to get answers from her daughter even if she had to pry them out with a crowbar.
Angela was spared the bulk of her mother's ire by entering the kitchen, "morning Mother," she said as she made her way to the coffee.
"Don't 'morning Mother' me, what happened last night?"
Angela finished pouring her coffee, then turned to her mother and leaned against the counter, "what do you mean?" she said, then took a sip, the coffee was ambrosia to her this morning after such an emotional roller coaster of a night.
Frustrated, Mona dropped her head to her hand, then she composed herself and fixed Angela with a glare that could melt the arctic icecap, "You. Tony. The carnival. The watch. What happened? Don't be cute."
Angela winced at the mention of the watch, hoping her mother hadn't noticed. She had. Angela couldn't show weakness, there was no way her mother could know anything was inscribed on the watch; she was just being her usual pushy self.
"I'm not trying to be cute, mother," Angela said in self-defense.
"Angela, you had a perfect chance last night. Do you think I sent the kids away for nothing? I even spent time with Mrs. Rossini for you."
"I know, mother, thank you."
"What are you waiting for?"
"I don't know, the time just wasn't...right."
"Do you have any idea when the time might be...right?"
"Don't be snide, this isn't easy." This actually managed to silence Mona; Angela realized she had a chance to deflect her mother from offering any more 'help', "maybe it won't work for us," she offered.
Mona wasn't buying that for a second, "Angela, I'm experiencing deja vu; you said the same thing at the sock hop and the morning after Tony's operation..."
"So much for deflection," Angela thought.
"Since that morning you have had five more years together," Angela started to protest but Mona wouldn't let her, "you've weathered some harsh storms and still remained staunch in your friendship. When are you going to stop denying the obvious?"
"Why are you so adamant about this today?" Angela was exasperated, she had the situation under control; she hoped, and she didn't want or need any help from her mother.
"I'm tired of it, Angela. Tired of watching you two put so much effort into denial. If you put as much effort into your relationship as you did to denying it, you'd be blissfully happy for the rest of your lives. I don't want you to live in regret, Angela. Time could be running out, do something about it." With that, Mona stormed out of the kitchen, back to the sanity of her apartment. She called Sam to update her on the lack of an update and tried to come up with two plans. The first to get the two most stubborn people on the planet together; the second, to find out what Angela was hiding about that watch.
Now that her mother had left her alone, Angela put down the coffee cup and called the caterer.
Tony returned home after a long day of research at the library. He opened the front door to find a surprising scene. Instead of coming home to an empty house, he saw the little round table set for a candlelight dinner for two. This was definitely not what he had expected; also not in his expectations was the bottle of champagne chilling next to the table. It took him a moment or two to really register the scene; when he did, he noticed the present Angela had so desperately tried to keep away from him last night was placed on the dinner table as well. He looked questioningly at Angela, standing next to the table, she looked beautiful, but anxious.
His confused state of mind was further astonished by Angela's choice of dress: short, black and off the shoulder; it knocked any expectations he might have had concerning her wardrobe out of the park, assuming he had been able to form any expectations on the subject at all.
"Hi," Angela said somewhat nervously.
"Hi," Tony answered, still a little perplexed by the setting in front of him, "are you expecting company?" If she was she hadn't shared that little detail with him.
"No, just you," then she started stumbling over the words, "I mean not just you, you're not just a 'just'…I mean you're you…Tony…"
"What's the occasion?" he interrupted in order to put her out of her misery, but still not moving from his spot near the door.
Only a little relieved, Angela clasped her hands together for support, "I thought we could have a nice anniversary dinner."
"Angela, the anniversary was yesterday, we went to the fair, remember?"
Now Angela was starting to lose hope, this was her last ditch effort, if this didn't work she was going to chalk up the past seven years as a lot of fun, but just not meant to be for the two of them. "I know," she started, "but there wasn't much opportunity for fine dining there."
He couldn't argue that point.
"And you don't have to worry," Angela continued, "I had the meal catered."
Tony couldn't help a small smile, he looked in to her eyes and saw a mixture of emotions, everything from hope to fear was radiating from her being. He set his books down on the side table, "if I had known you were planning this, I would have dressed better for the library."
She managed a little smile of her own, "you like fine," she said. "As always," her mind impishly added.
"Thank you, but if you don't mind, I'll change into something more appropriate."
She shrugged, "suit yourself." She was starting to regret this whole idea, it sounded so right when she thought of it, but now it just seemed silly. Here she was trying to recreate a night that hadn't ended well for them the first time they tried it, what was she hoping to accomplish by bringing that evening up again? Well, she knew what she was trying to accomplish, it just suddenly occurred to her that this could be a very bad idea.
Tony ran upstairs to change as quickly as he could, he wasn't sure what prompted Angela to arrange this cozy tryst, but he wasn't going to let the opportunity slip by. The shock of seeing Angela in such an unexpected romantic setting had worn off and he was starting to see that maybe he hadn't been misinterpreting the hints she'd been dropping recently. Maybe, just maybe, tonight they would finally drop the pretense. It was a sobering thought, but he was bolstered by her choice to create an anniversary of an anniversary, it showed him that she might wish to confront something they'd ignored for so very long. As he practically flew back downstairs he concluded that if he could take a page from their past, why couldn't she? He only hoped he wouldn't wind up in the emergency room again.
Angela had been trying to calm her nerves by pacing. It wasn't working. Part of her couldn't wait for him to come back downstairs and part of her wanted him to forget the whole thing and stay upstairs for the rest of the night. She wasn't to be granted the easy way out, however, as she heard Tony's footsteps on the stairs sealing her fate one way or the other tonight. Her heart was racing as she tried to tell herself that this was just another dinner at home with Tony, they'd been through plenty of those. She could always choose to keep dinner platonic. After all, Tony didn't know what had been on her mind when she set this dinner up; and if she felt her courage wavering, she could keep it that way.
Angela was struck as a memory suddenly hit her; her mother calling her a chicken. Of course, she should have expected that. In referencing that night; all of the events of the evening would come rushing back. Angela steeled herself, she wasn't a chicken, she'd never been a chicken where Tony was concerned; they just had other priorities in their lives up to this point and had to put their relationship on hold. At least that's what she always told herself.
Tony reached the bottom of the stairs, she smiled at him. He looked good, of course he looked good, it just hadn't occurred to her that it would affect her so much more than usual tonight. They caught each other's eyes for a second or two, both searching to the 'are you sure you want to do this' question. Neither said a word or backed down.
So here it was, time to confront the fear that had suffocated any attempts of a relationship up to this point: would the reality live up to their fantasies? Or would finally stating the truth somehow diminish the emotion? They were concerns that crossed both their minds although neither would admit it. What if they tried and found that being in love wasn't as romantic as they had imagined it to be all these years? What if the height of their romance was the tension of 'what might be'-the tantalizing thought that maybe someday there might be more? What if their friendship couldn't survive a failed romance? How do they even go about transitioning from friends to lovers? Lovers. There was no word in the English language more fraught with unrealistic expectations than that one. Angela had always depended on Tony so much for everything, could she depend on him for love as well? And could she open her heart to him; really open her heart to him, let go of the vise grip she'd used to keep it safe from shattering during the past few years?
Now was the time to find out.
Angela then quickly turned to the table hoping to find some strength from what she didn't know. Tony admired her in the candles' glow and felt nothing but love, pure and simple. Here they were, the two of them, in a moment of domestic bliss. A quiet dinner awaited and he hoped to repeat this evening many times in the future for the rest of their lives.
"So…champagne?" Angela asked in sheer desperation, she knew she could certainly use a drink. Angela moved toward the bottle, but Tony cut her off and pulled a chair out for her instead. Gratefully, she sat down, relieved to be in the stability of the chair.
Tony then momentarily turned his attention to the patiently waiting champagne, the bottle opened with its customary effervescent pop and Angela shivered in anticipation. She had always considered that moment as one of her most favorite sounds. It was always magical to her, but tonight it was ethereal. There was so much promise for joy, laughter and love when champagne was opened, and she hoped tonight would be a night they would be able to revel in all three of those qualities.
Tony poured the champagne, thus creating another of Angela's favorite sounds, that of the fizz of the champagne as it filled the glass. She sighed in delightful satisfaction. Tony was amused by her reaction, he handed her the glass and Angela somehow managed to not drop it even though she was far from steady.
"Careful, don't want to spill and waste any of it," he said as he poured his own glass and sat down across from her. "So, what should we drink to?"
Now Angela was at a loss, she took a couple of moments, but inspiration did not strike, giving up, she laughed, "I have no idea."
Tony laughed in response, "how about 'happy day after the anniversary'?"
Angela smiled, for one could never celebrate an anniversary too much, "happy day after the anniversary," she echoed as they touched glasses, thereby creating yet another of Angela's favorite sounds, the delightful music of crystal meeting crystal. They each sipped, smiled and returned the glasses to the table.
Tony glanced to the side of the table, "do I get to open my present now?"
"Yes."
Tony reached for the gift.
"No," Angela panicked and reached out for the box as well.
Tony looked at her, his hand still on the re-wrapped watch box, "Angela, what's the real reason you don't want me to open this? Obviously, it has nothing to do with any part that didn't come, so what is it?"
"Nothing."
"You want to try that again?"
Angela's fear was overcoming her again. Tony saw it in her eyes and decided to take a step back, he took his hand off the present, "it's ok, Angela, believe it or not, I can be patient."
Relieved, but also disappointed in herself, Angela took her hand off the box as well.
They were both uncomfortable, it was too quiet. Pretending they were fascinated by their food wasn't working. Angela was once again rethinking this whole evening. There was a fine line between being assertive and making a fool of oneself and she wasn't sure which side of that line she was on right now. Worse, she didn't know how to land on the assertive side instead of the fool side. Why was this so difficult? She didn't have any trouble being assertive in her career, why was it so hard here with the person who always accepted her and was her strength when she needed it the most?
"Angela, if this is what you wanted as a celebration last night, why didn't you say so?" Tony attempted a shred of conversation.
"I don't know, you seemed so excited by the fair idea. Later I realized how unreasonable I was being, you couldn't have known I was hoping for something quieter." Although not as quiet as it had been for the past couple of minutes. "I apologize for last night, I wasn't much fun to be around and I ruined what could have been a fun night if I had let myself enjoy it."
Tony wasn't sure how to respond, this was one of those 'tightrope' moments. If he agreed with Angela, she might be upset, but he couldn't not say anything either, so he went with a non-committal, "ruined is a bit harsh, Angela. Last night was last night, let's not talk about it anymore." Which just left them at another impasse.
Angela could hear the clock ticking, they wouldn't have the house alone for very long, she had to do something or she would wind up spending another night being angry with herself. In a sudden move, she pushed the watch over to the other side of the table, "Tony, open the present." Surprised by the desperation in Angela's voice, Tony ripped the paper off the box before she could change her mind again.
The gleaming metal of the watch contrasted sharply with the darkness of the room. Tony stared at the watch, it was classic, sleek, elegant. What he couldn't understand was why Angela had been so hesitant about giving him the watch.
"It's beautiful, Angela, thank you," he said, pulling the watch out of the box.
Now Angela was terrified, there was no other word for it. She stood up from the table, clutching her hands, "there's an inscription on the back," she somehow managed to say, although barely more than a whisper.
"Oh yeah?" Tony was intrigued, he flipped the watch over and was shocked by the words.
Angela looked at him, trying to guess his thoughts by his reaction, but she wasn't able to draw any conclusions.
There was silence.
Again.
"Tony, say something...anything," she said in desperation, her heart starting to break.
But Tony didn't say anything, instead he set the watch on the table, pushed his chair back, stood up and pulled Angela into his arms and held her tightly.
"I love you too, Angela, you know that."
"I do?"
"'course, why do you think I hang around here so much?"
Angela laughed and snuggled even closer to Tony than she already was, just being in his arms gave her chills. They stood there for quite some time, both silently marveling at the fact that the words had been said and that the world had kept on spinning. The phone didn't ring, no one came rushing through the front door, no bolt of lightning hit the house from out of the blue. A simple statement of fact had been spoken, and even though this turned their world upside down, the rest of the world went about its business blithely unaware that such a seismic shift had occurred.
There was a precious silence in which two hearts finally touched and the barriers that had long separated these hearts disappeared, never to intrude on their lives again. Angela couldn't believe it, she really felt as though she was floating on air, she'd always thought that to be a cliché, she had no idea the sensation was real. Tony felt all the doubt of the past few years fall away. There had been so many times he thought they'd never reach this point, now it looked as though their journey together was finally one in which they would actually be together instead of just on a journey.
They continued to hold each other, each amazed that in the end it wasn't a crisis or even a discussion that brought them together, it was just a simple acknowledgment of the truth; one that they were both finally ready and willing to make.
"I love you, Tony," Angela tried the words out, still in awe that she was finally allowed to say them. Smiling, she pulled away from Tony just enough to smile up at him. He smiled back, then he kissed her.
This was definitely their best anniversary ever.
So far.
When he was finally able to tear himself away from her kiss, he scraped together enough coherence to ask, "why now?"
This was a valid question and he deserved an answer; it was the question that had permeated Angela's mind for the past couple of months, occupying her and persistently dogging her until she could ignore it no longer. So why was she having such a difficult time formulating a response? It wasn't as if she hadn't thought about what her answer would be if he asked this question, it's just that none of those answers seemed to be weighty enough for the occasion. But weighty or not, there was a simple truth that it was time to share with him, she took a step back and a deep breath, "I started wondering what we were waiting for. I know we used to have reasons; or as Mother would put it, 'excuses' for staying apart, but they don't seem to carry as much weight as they used to."
He nodded in assent to her characterization of her Mother and her classifying their continual separation as an excuse. Mona never agreed with their policy of abstention and took every opportunity she could to push them together. "Have our reasons dissolved, Angela?"
"I think so. We've sacrificed any possibility of an 'us' for years, we've put the kids as a priority, and I still feel that was the best decision."
Tony nodded in agreement.
"But at this point, no matter what happens between us, neither of us will lose Jonathan or Samantha. She's precious to me and for the longest time I couldn't bear the thought of losing her if I ever lost you. Now that she's grown up we have formed our own relationship that will survive regardless of any…," she didn't want to finish that thought, she looked to the ground and he helped her along by touching her hand. This brought her attention back up to him, they looked at each other intently, he nodded and she knew he felt the same way about Jonathan.
"I'm tired of waiting Tony. We've waited for so long. I was starting to be afraid I'd wake up alone seven years from now still waiting for the day we would be together. Then I realized that I had an even greater fear, what if we never gave us a chance? That terrified me. Even if it didn't work out, at least we could say we tried."
"Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all?"
"Something like that, yes; but Tony, there's an even greater fear than that…what if we work out even better than either of us could imagine? Then we will have wasted seven years. Seven years in which we could have been blissfully happy. That's a long time, Tony. I'd be so angry with myself over the lost time."
He closed his hand completely around hers, "Angela, you have to remind yourself of the reasons. We've had our chances before, we've always made the mutual choice to maintain the friendship. You can't question those choices now, or ever, by playing Monday morning quarterback." Not the most romantic choice of words, but apt. He squeezed her hand and continued, "we've spent seven years in a strong, honest relationship, it's probably better than most marriages just as it is. We've both been hesitant to let go; but letting go is the only way to try something new."
He wasn't saying anything she didn't already know, what did surprise her was that he was bound by the same fears she was. She took a couple of steps away from him, fear momentarily taking hold of her again.
"So here we are at the crossroads again, Angela. Which way should it be? Do we stay with the safe choice or do we explore the potential that has always been there?"
She looked at him and what she saw in his eyes took away her fear. She saw love. Love that had been suppressed for too long, love that had been hers for the taking had she ever been brave enough to seize the chance before. She hoped he saw the same look in her eyes; as it was she smiled a tremulous smile and held out her hand to him. He stepped toward her and held his hand out to hers. Their fingers touched, then closed around each other. Never losing eye contact, they each moved closer to the other, for what they saw in each other's eyes gave them both the strength to proceed without caution.
"I wouldn't have bothered with dinner if I was interested in maintaining the status quo."
He grinned, "good, because I'm not interested in maintaining the status quo either."
Remembering that their time alone was limited, Angela regretfully turned away from Tony and motioned to the table, suddenly wondering why she'd even bothered with dinner. What had she been thinking? She should have known that if they ever pursued this relationship the last thoughts in either of their minds would be about food. But, there was dinner, on the table, just waiting to be finished.
So lost was she in the delightful miasma of emotion, that Tony's whispered, "penny for your thoughts, Angela," almost made her jump halfway to the moon.
She shook her head to bring herself back to reality, "I'm sorry," she answered, still not really able to regain her equilibrium, "I was thinking about dinner, well, I mean, not really dinner, I mean not having dinner...I don't know what I mean."
Tony smiled, she was quite enchanting when she was flustered, it was a facet of hers that he liked to think belonged solely to him. Successful businesswoman Angela Bower was in control, a diligent professional with all her 't's crossed and 'i's dotted; intimate Angela let him see the vulnerability and tenderness she carried as well. He loved all the intricacies of her personality, but he had to admit, the ones he loved best were the ones most people did not even suspect, let alone be fortunate enough to see and revel in.
"As much as I hate to admit it, Angela, I am hungry; and anticipation is part of the fun."
"Tony, we have the 'anticipating' down pat, we've been 'anticipating' for years. No one in the history of mankind has 'anticipated' the way we have."
He laughed and pulled her into his arms. Oh, that wasn't going to make the decision to actually have dinner any easier. Holding each other made them both pause. Certainly they'd hugged before, but it had never felt like this. She pulled away, trying to catch her breath. Tony noted this and the blush in her cheeks, he'd never seen her quite like this before and he felt intoxicated even though he had only had one sip of champagne.
He walked over and pulled out a chair for her, she looked at him gratefully and sank into the chair still trying to control herself, which was a losing battle. They stayed at the table, basking in the glow of this new relationship, not speaking, but never losing eye contact either. Now all they had to do was figure out how to proceed, they weren't in a hurry to divine an answer to that dilemma, they hadn't hurried for the past seven years, why start now?
He looked at her, trying to find the correct words for a proper toast to this occasion, but her eyes were unfocused, he wondered how he'd lost her attention. If Tony had known Angela's thoughts right then he would not have needed to worry, for her thoughts were completely centered on him. In fact, if Tony had known Angela's thoughts at that moment his appetite for food would have disappeared instantaneously, for Angela was lost in the fantasy of bypassing the glass completely and just pouring the champagne onto Tony directly and licking it off him. It was indeed a pity that Tony couldn't read Angela's mind because dinner would have been left on the table in their zeal to grab the champagne bottle as they hastened upstairs.
As it was Tony cleared his throat in an attempt to draw Angela's attention away from…him.
Angela reacted, "hmm?" then remembered that now was not the time to fantasize about Tony, she'd wasted enough time on that in previous years, and if she didn't pay attention to him now then there was no way that particular fantasy was ever going to come true, and she desperately wanted it to come true. "Sorry, Tony, I was thinking about the many uses for champagne," she said somehow managing to make the words sound completely innocent.
Champagne had uses? Tony was confused, but decided against pursuing her comment. In his mind there was only one use for champagne, to drink, which he planned to do right now. If only he had known what Angela's 'other uses' were; well there was no use thinking about that now, he'd find out someday, highly possibly even tonight if Angela had anything to say about it, and she did.
Still at a loss for some words, any words to mark this occasion, Tony hesitated in another toast to them. How could seven years of love, laughter, joy, hurt, consolation and friendship be summed up in a few measly words? They couldn't. Angela, seeing his dilemma took the responsibility away from him, "Tony, five years ago we tried to define our relationship. We weren't able to then," he scoffed as he remembered just how unable they both were, "but I hope time has given us both a gift of clarity that we can use to mark this anniversary," she took a deep breath and let herself be vulnerable, "so, to the past seven years; and to the next seven, and the seven after that and the seven after that…"
Tony smiled and touched her glass with his, he joined Angela's toast, "and to the seven after that and the seven after that and the seven after that and the seven hundred after that. Happy anniversary."
Angela's face was a reflection of his own, each radiated love to the other; they were both lost in the joy of at long last being able to indulge in and celebrate their feelings instead of shutting them away in their hearts behind as many locked doors and barriers that they could possibly build. They had both been released and were grateful to each other for the opportunity to love and be loved. They each took a sip of champagne, Angela enjoyed the intoxicating aroma as the bubbles hit her lips, then the feeling of the bubbles dissipating on her tongue as the liquid slid down her throat leaving behind a delightful tingle in her mouth. She closed her eyes and sighed.
Then she took another sip.
Tony watched her savor the champagne and swallowed; hard. He'd seen her drink champagne before, many times in fact, but this time was completely different. He tried to not be affected, tried to come up with any other description in his mind, but there was no other word to describe the look on Angela's face, she was orgasmic. He recognized it because it was the same look that overtook her whenever she indulged in chocolate. Chocolate cake, brownies, fudge, candy; the variety didn't matter, they all produced the same effect. Of course he was always most pleased when the chocolate that evoked this reaction was anything he baked. Could be one reason he baked for her so often; just maybe. It was then that he realized dinner was going to be a very hurried event, and that maybe he wasn't as hungry as he thought he was.
Unfortunately he was hungry, and staring at Angela as she delighted in champagne wasn't going to satisfy that need. It might satisfy some other needs, no; it only intensified other needs, that's why he had to get her away from the champagne and on to dinner. After all, they both needed their strength; didn't they? Yes, yes they did.
"So, Angela," how about those Mets?" For the moment, Tony didn't care about the Mets; he knew for sure Angela didn't care about the Mets; it was just something, anything that would pull her out of her current reverie and back to their anniversary.
"Hmm, what?" Angela opened her eyes. "Tony, is baseball really something you want to talk about tonight? To say nothing of the fact that it isn't something I can discuss with you in any depth anyway."
"No, I don't want to talk baseball tonight," playing baseball was definitely on his mind, especially the fact that he could possibly hit a home run tonight that would be better than any he had ever hit in the majors, "I just needed you to stop being so alluring for the time being."
Angela hadn't realized she was being alluring and she rather liked being thought of in that sense. She put her champagne glass down and stroked its stem, an action not lost on Tony. He looked away and Angela felt a rush of gratification at being able to rattle him so; he was usually so unflappable, to see him even the slightest bit uncomfortable sent her confidence soaring.
"So, what should we talk about?" Angela asked far too coquettishly for Tony's equilibrium.
"No idea," of course he had no idea, if anyone happened to ask him at this particular moment what his own name was he wouldn't have been able to answer coherently.
Angela decided to give them both a break and started eating. Tony was relieved and starting eating as well; and even though the food was good, he barely registered what he was eating, let alone taking the time to truly appreciate it. Angela noticed this and inwardly smiled.
They had to talk about something though. Tony searched what was left of his brain to try to come up with a topic, any topic; that would carry them through dinner without the potential for innuendo. Then the fog cleared a bit and he realized he didn't have to stay clear of suggestive conversation. It was a revelation that threw open a whole new world of possibilities for them. He grinned at the realization; Angela noticed and asked, "penny for your thoughts."
His grin became even broader, "fine, Angela, although what I am thinking is worth more than a penny." She blushed and he felt on top of the world. He decided to cool things for the moment, "why the anniversary of the anniversary?"
"Well, Tony, I thought about a lot of options; but I kept coming back to this night as being very significant. I hadn't expected it to be when I planned it, I really thought it was going to be a whole family event. I was disappointed when the kids couldn't make it, and when Mother skipped out I was angry that she had pounced on an opportunity she had to have been waiting for even then…the chance to get us alone in the house."
"Yeah, she did make her expectations clear."
"Very, she's never bothered with subtlety where we are concerned. I was half surprised she didn't bother to turn down the bed sheets before she left."
Tony laughed at the truth of this statement, "speaking of Mona, you obviously didn't want her around tonight, so how did you keep her away?"
"I sent her to the Adweek banquet, told her a pack of lies about a friend. Jonathan is at a football game."
"Angela, I am impressed, skipping a work related event to spend time with me. If your mother knew she'd jump for joy."
"I know; that's why she doesn't know." The both laughed, then Angela pressed on in her explanation, "we were supposed to have a talk that night, but we never had it."
He remembered this far too well, "true, but I always thought that what we did end up with out of that night outweighed anything we could have said."
"Did it?"
"Sure," he said slightly mocking their former relationship, "words were spoken and ignored by both of us, it set up the pattern for the next five years."
Angela couldn't disagree with that point, "but they were important words."
"Very."
"Tony, I've always wondered what that talk would have consisted of."
He shrugged, "quite honestly Angela, I had no idea what I was going to say even as I picked up the champagne bottle."
"You didn't?" This surprised her, she'd always believed he was in complete command of his thoughts and actions that night, at least until the medication took over.
"Nope."
Angela laughed, then composed herself, "looking back on it, do you think you could recreate what you might have said?"
He shrugged, "it's an irrelevant conversation now, Angela. We're two different people now, and our relationship, even before earlier this evening, isn't the relationship we had then. But if you are interested in a current talk then I say we take what's left of this bottle of champagne upstairs and discuss the new aspects to our relationship."
She tried to keep herself from a full out grin, but it didn't work and she giggled instead, "maybe we should." To emphasize her point she decided that two chairs at this table were superfluous. Removing herself from her own chair, she walked over to Tony and sat down in his lap. Yes, this was a much more comfortable chair, she twined her fingers around his hand, caressed his palm with a finger, leaned in to kiss his cheek and then whispered, "or we could just skip the talking and explore the new aspects instead."
Tony closed his eyes and swallowed, "yes, Angela, I think that would be a good alternative option as well," he tried to make sound as nonchalant as possible. Then he tightly folded his arms around her and kissed her.
Dinner was definitely over.
Unfortunately, there was the minor detail of the clean up. Angela didn't want her mother or Jonathan to come home to the slightest shred of evidence that anything had happened here tonight. Like it or not, and she most certainly did not, they were going to have to restore the living room to its normal condition. Finally tearing themselves away from each other they faced the harsh reality that their 'anticipating' was going to have to last a few minutes longer.
But Tony wasn't going to let her go, even for a few minutes, without a final quip, "as conversations go, that one was pretty good."
"But I am sure we can do better," she answered, then shook her head, a tease like that wasn't fair to either of them. "Sorry," she said as she extracted herself from his lap, leaving both of them a little bereft and a lot unsatisfied. They both knew the only way out was through, so they set the room to rights in record time. All the extra food was stored in the basement fridge, as no one but Tony ever looked in there. The anniversary watch was safely back in its box and secure in Tony's suit jacket pocket. When they were finished they surveyed the living room, making sure no remnants remained anywhere.
Finally sure that they had covered their tracks, Angela looked at Tony, "well, that about does it."
"Certainly does."
"Got any other ideas for the night?"
"Can't think of a thing."
"Nope, me either."
"You want to continue with the pointless banter?"
"Nope."
Tony needed no further prompting, he picked up the champagne. Angela grabbed the glasses, although she doubted she would even bother with one.
"So, Angela, your room or mine?"
She laughed wholeheartedly in response, then kissed him. At this point she didn't really care whose room they went to, she didn't even care if they made it to a room at all, the hallway would be just fine, thank you very much. Olympic timers would not have been able to discern which one of them ran up the stairs faster. When they finally reached the landing, they paused for a moment.
Tony walked over to his soon to be former room and pulled the door shut, "when Jonathan comes home he'll think we've gone to bed...I mean sleep, he'll think we've gone to sleep."
Angela blushed, and started to smile; but the smile turned to fear as she heard the front door open. "It's Jonathan!" she whispered, "hurry, before he comes upstairs."
But it wasn't Jonathan's voice that wafted upstairs, it was Mona's. Angela stepped back toward the top of the stairs, trying to hear who she was talking to. If she had picked someone up at the Adweek dinner and left early, Angela didn't know what she would do, but it wouldn't be pleasant. Tony stood next to her. They heard Mona's every word. Angela was so angry with her mother, she wanted to run downstairs and have it out with her. Tony saw the anger in Angela's eyes and wisely put his arm around her waist, pulling her close, "let it go, Angela," he whispered in her ear.
The chills this sent through Angela completely tore her away from any thoughts about her mother, advertising, her own name, and any other coherent thought she may have had in her life. Angela turned her head to look at Tony, but wasn't capable of forming words. This was fine, as Tony saw everything he needed to see in Angela's eyes. They stood there silently until Mona left the house for her own apartment.
"Tony, I don't think I can walk."
Tony was gratified, "just lean on me, Angela."
"'k," she put her head on his shoulder, his arm was still around her waist, supporting her. Never had her bedroom door seemed so far away, but traverse the distance they did.
Finally.
*ahem* there may be those looking for a...continuation of this scene. It can be found in the M section, titled, "Anniversary Celebration".