A Connecticut Winter Graces Tony and Angela's Court Part 1
Sunday, January 5, 1992
Angela had never given much thought to the weather; she dealt with the hot, cold, rain, sleet or snow as circumstances dictated. It wasn't until she returned from a blissful honeymoon on a moon soaked beach to a bitter cold snow-covered Connecticut that the whims of Mother Nature hit home with her. Stepping off the plane from warm, sunny Florida into dark, chilly; no, not chilly; freezing Connecticut brought her back to reality in more ways than one. The honeymoon was over. Angela sighed a little inward sigh at this fact, sad that it was past, but very grateful for the very happy memories.
Her enthusiasm picked back up when she realized that her new reality could be just as good as being on a honeymoon in Florida; it was just...colder. Colder weather made for better cuddling weather anyway, she rationalized. Honeymoons in Florida did have one advantage though, they weren't subject to being interrupted by airport PA systems announcing where she could pick up her baggage. Fortunately Tony was paying attention to the required information as Angela was too busy gazing at her wedding ring. Glancing at her ring always produced the same effect, a smile that could light up Manhattan. Tony smiled surreptitiously at his wife and gently tugged her right hand to remind her they had responsibilities to take care of. How she was going to react to having to wear gloves he had no idea.
The rest of the family had returned earlier in the day and were already back at their respective homes; courtesy of a limo paid for by Angela, of course; whether she knew it yet or not, and she did not.
Tony attended to his husbandly duties of luggage gathering while Angela called home to make sure everyone was safe and sound. Fortunately the call was short and sweet so Angela could go back to splitting her focus between her wedding ring and her husband. 'Husband', how she loved to roll that word over in her mind. Just thinking it made her sigh. She looked over at her harried man pulling the last of their bags off of the luggage carousel and made her way over to him. He was opening up one of the side pockets.
"Tony, is something wrong? Is the zipper broken? If it is I'll have a few choice words for the airline..."
"Everything's fine, Angela; the airline personnel will be safe. It's cold, you'll need these," he pulled her gloves out of the suitcase.
She was touched by his thoughtfulness, but didn't want to cover up her ring. Tony saw the reluctance in her face, he enclosed her hands in his and gently stroked them as he said, "Angela, we aren't in Florida anymore. Your coat won't cover your hands, and we wouldn't want such soft," his eyes grew unfocused as he spoke, "tender hands to be beaten by a Connecticut winter, now would we?"
How was he always so good at getting exactly what he wanted? Well, beside the obvious ways he'd been getting exactly what he wanted from women throughout the years, that is.
A little smile appeared at his flattery, "ok," Angela sighed, her own eyes suddenly dreamy, "but only when we're outside, I'm taking them off again in the car." This did not surprise Tony as Angela had taken the term 'Newly Wedded Bliss' to new heights. Tony was almost worried that he might not be able to keep up with his new wife's penchant for indulging in marital bliss. Almost.
Glad that Angela would not be driving them home, as she was far too distracted, a fact he secretly preened over; he pulled his own gloves out of the suitcase. Now that his hands had something soft to touch, he didn't want to be thrown out of the game due to chapped hands. It was now his turn to be distracted as thoughts of Angela soothing his chapped hands with moisturizer waylaid him. This of course led to thoughts of Angela massaging him anywhere her hands desired; moisturizer, oil or cream optional. He couldn't hold back a grin as memories of Angela being his angel of mercy as he recovered from the 'championship bout' for the Parents' Association flooded his mind.
"Tony?" Angela asked quietly as she waved her hand in front of his face.
"Hmmm?" Tony slowly came back to the present.
"Everything ok?"
He smiled wickedly, "everything's great."
"Care to share what's so great?"
"Definitely; but I think it would get us arrested."
Angela could only blush and laugh in response.
Tony put his arm around his wife as they exited the baggage claim and headed to the car, "Angela, you think there's any Bengay in the house?"
Obviously the man had something in mind, and Angela wasn't going to spoil it for him, so she only shot him a questioning look and an arched eyebrow as an answer. They both knew this would be a subject to be discussed later. After they were home; and the kids, meaning Mona and Jonathan, were fast asleep. Fast, fast asleep.
Home. One of Angela's favorite words. She couldn't wait to be home with her new husband. It would be nice to see the rest of the family too. They picked up the car from long-term parking and arrived home not quite the same two people they were when they left. Although they certainly acted as though they were married before their trip to Florida; the little piece of paper they now had confirmed their commitment and conferred a status on them that Angela wanted to shout to the world. She was a married woman; again. For real this time, the game was over. No more hiding, no more pretending; their relationship would no longer be the subject of neighborhood suspicion. It wouldn't stop the gossips from speculating on their past; but Angela didn't let that get to her in the past and she wouldn't let it get to her now. They were Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Morton Micelli; for better or for worse. As part of the worse Angela would do her best to live with the 'Morton.'
Tony parked the Jeep in the driveway and started to unload the bags. Angela went inside to find the rest of the family. It was Sunday afternoon and Sunday dinner was on the agenda; weary travelers or not. Even if they only ordered in pizza, they were having dinner together; the food itself wasn't important, the family was.
"Mother? Jonathan? Samantha?" Angela called as she walked through the kitchen. She knew Sam was here somewhere, her car was parked in the street, and there was no missing it.
Angela swung the kitchen door into the living room to see her mother lounging on the couch flipping through a magazine. Mona could play cool all she wanted, but she was anxious to see her daughter and son-in-law; if only to see the newlywed stars in their eyes. She was not disappointed as she glanced up from the magazine she was supposedly engrossed in to say, "oh, you're back; we were getting used to not having you two around."
"It's nice to see you too, Mother. Where are the kids?"
"Upstairs," she answered as she tossed the magazine on the coffee table, "where's Tony?"
"Outside; why?"
"Why? I'm hungry. We've gone with out his cooking for 12 days now. Those are the twelve days of Christmas I do not care to repeat ever again."
"I apologize for our honeymoon disrupting your dining schedule." Angela looked around the room and made a mental note that it was time to take down the Christmas decorations, she took a moment to gaze wistfully at the mistletoe, wondering if they could start a new tradition and keep the mistletoe up all year.
"I'd say, 'don't let it happen again' but it would be in contradiction to all I hold dear," Mona's answer brought Angela out of her reverie.
Angela shook her head at her mother as the kids came downstairs; both of them reached Angela at the same time and wrapped her up in a big hug. Mona decided it was time to end the pretense and joined in. Tony entered the living room with the first of the bags and balked, "hey, who started the hugging without me?" he said as he dropped the luggage and put his arms around as much of his family as he could possibly hold. The five of them stood there, glad to be home again and basking in the warmth of familial love.
"We missed you," Angela said.
"The hell you did," Mona disputed, causing everyone to laugh.
"We did!" Angela protested, then added a little more honestly, "every once in a while, at least," creating a little more laughter. Angela fondly sighed and rested her head on her husband's shoulder, so content to be home and in the embrace of those she loved the most.
Sam enjoyed the sparkle that currently lit up Angela's eyes, it was beautiful. Both Angela and her Dad were so happy that it made her happy; at the same time, she was also overcome with a sudden wave of sadness, one which caused her to quickly choke back a sob. Everyone noticed and looked at her. "Sorry, all those years when you could have been happy..."
Angela touched Sam's cheek, "we were happy Sam, now we're just...happier."
"Happier? You two have been so...lovey-dovey, it's almost revolting," Jonathan stated; quite truthfully, "thank goodness Sam is coming home so I have an ally against all this schmoopiness."
"Schmoopiness?" Sam questioned.
"Can you come up with a better word?"
"Not really."
Angela's, "we haven't been that bad," was met with stares from the kids. It was only then that she considered her relationship with Tony from the point of view of the rest of the family; maybe they had been over the top and they didn't realize it. Not being the least bit serious, Angela then asked, "so you'd prefer it if we went back to our earlier relationship?"
"No!" a chorus answered, with Tony's voice being the loudest. Laughter rang out through the living room.
Thoughts of Sam moving back home had flitted through Angela's mind every now and then over the past week, but they didn't stay long as Angela's thoughts were usually being overtaken by a certain man wearing almost nothing. However when Angela did manage to hang on to a thought about Sam, she hoped Sam would follow through and move back home, she'd left the nest far too early. She'd love to have Sam come home, not only to have the family complete again, but now she could spoil Sam as much as she wanted. Visions of shopping trips danced in her head, but she needed confirmation of the plans so, fearing a rejection, she tentatively asked, "you've discussed coming home over the past week?"
"If I'm still welcome here," Sam answered just as tentatively; agreeing to this with Jonathan and Mona was one thing; but Dad and Angela had the final say.
"How could you not be welcome? This is your home." Angela was at a loss, why in the world would Samantha think she wouldn't be welcome in her own home? Did she think that the new relationship was exclusionary? It didn't even make sense.
"Some of my friends parents think that once you move out to go to college, there's no going back."
"That rule does not apply here," Angela's smile grew broader as her fears were gone, "I can't wait for you to move back, and I am sure your father already has the car mentally packed."
Everyone looked at Tony, "guilty as charged," was his delighted answer. They hugged each other a little more tightly then Tony said, "we'll discuss arrangements over dinner."
"Hallelujah, food!" Mona shouted. The hug broke apart with huge smiles on everyone's face. There was more luggage to be brought in and a lot of unpacking to do.
"How was Florida?" Tony asked as the family made their way to the kitchen.
"We could ask you the same question, but I hope you saw very little of it," Mona answered.
"Mother!"
Mona feigned innocence. Tony laughed, life at 3344 Oak Hills Drive had taken a turn for the better and life in the house would never be the same; thank goodness.
The family made quick work of unpacking the car and subsequently unpacking the luggage. Piles of laundry awaited Tony's attention, but he was spared the mountains for a while as he was in the kitchen working on a menu for the evening and making a shopping list for the rest of the week. In the midst of all this activity the doorbell started ringing; repeatedly and insistently.
Tony called out from the kitchen for someone to answer the door, but all he heard were choruses of "what?" coming from upstairs, where everyone had apparently retreated to work on turning Sam's room back into Sam's room.
Realizing that no help would be forthcoming, Tony hastened to the front door and opened it. Standing there were Wendy and Isabel looking slightly disgruntled and holding up invitations. It was time to face the music for their runaway marriage. Tony stepped aside and motioned, "come in, ladies."
"Thanks. Welcome home. Where's your wife? And how could you not let us in on this?" Wendy said all this in such a staccato burst that Tony couldn't react to all of it; but he did have an answer to the last question.
"Let you in? I didn't even know about it myself," Tony defended as best he could.
"You didn't?" Isabel asked, shocked.
Tony didn't want to get into this. There was so much to do, so many errands to run; and really, these were Angela's friends, gushing about a wedding with them was her department. He'd have his own friends to deal with soon enough. Philly should have a field day, he wasn't looking forward to it. To solve his current problem, he found a simple solution, "Angela!" he yelled upstairs.
Angela leaned down over the staircase, "what's the matter, hon?" she asked before noticing her guests.
Wendy very loudly cleared her throat and pointed to the little white card in her hand. "You run off and get married and you don't even tell us?"
"Oh hi, Wendy, Isabel; it was a bit of a surprise," Angela said as she made her way downstairs, coming to her husband's rescue.
"So your husband said," Isabel fixed her with a 'we want details, now!' look.
At the word 'husband' Angela blushed profusely. Wendy and Isabel looked at each other like the cats who were about to eat the poor canary.
Tony only wanted to get out of there, "obviously, you ladies need some time to talk, I'll just go...anywhere. You want some coffee?" he asked his wife.
"Sure, hon; thanks," Angela answered, she was longing to kiss him or at least take his hand, but knew either action would cause a reaction in her guests she didn't care to contend with.
"Do you have any brownies?" Wendy asked.
Tony scoffed, "do you think this household is ever without brownies? Of course there are brownies."
"Tony, you can't possibly have made brownies in the short time we've been home," Angela said, truthfully, but intrigued.
"Made 'em before we left and froze them. Took them out of the freezer first thing."
A half-smile quirked on to her face, "I knew there was a reason I married you."
"You married me for brownies?"
"Among other things."
"I want details on the other things!" Wendy declared. Isabel nudged her; she wanted details too, but she wasn't going to be that blatant about it.
Tony and Angela broke out of their nuptial flirtation to see their almost forgotten guests drinking in every nuance in look and word between them. Tony cleared his throat and excused himself to the kitchen to get the coffee and brownies. Angela gestured to her friends to sit down; to her dismay they didn't sit in the side chairs, they sat on either side of her on the couch.
Angela looked at each of them in turn. Hoping to stall them long enough so that they would forget the reason for their visit (not likely), Angela spoke, "so, anything interesting happen around here while we were gone?"
They answered by fluttering the invitations in her face. She walked right in to that one. Curious, but also very worried, Angela slowly took one and read it, "Mrs. Mona Robinson, Miss Samantha Micelli, and Mr. Jonathan Bower take great pleasure in announcing the wedding of the former Angela Bower to Anthony Micelli. Yes, you read that correctly; Tony and Angela are married. In celebration of this long, very long, so very very long, anticipated event, you are cordially invited to a reception on Saturday, January 25th, 1992 in the Mystic Room..." Angela trailed off reading as reality kicked in, "I know mother said the end of January, but that's just a couple of weeks from now."
"20 days to be exact," supplied Wendy helpfully.
"When did she have time to do this?" Angela looked at the invitation, still not really comprehending its validity.
"Who cares, Angela. Tell us about the wedding," Wendy prompted, she wanted answers and she was going to do everything in her power to get them. When she received the invitation she was so stunned she had to sit down; not by the fact that Tony and Angela were married, but by the audacity of their elopement. She'd always thought that when the inevitable happened, she would be there to witness the event. No matter how much Tony and Angela proclaimed that they were friends only, everyone else could see that their marriage was indeed inevitable. She felt cheated out an event she'd waited patiently for and she wanted restitution, so Angela was going to answer her questions, whether she wanted to or not.
"I don't know what there is to tell, it was a wedding. Flowers, sunset..." Angela started to drift away, lost in the happy memories.
"Come on, Angela; you can do better than that. You could at least tell us why you didn't let us know before you left for Florida," Wendy pried.
"When we left for Florida we thought that our family vacation was just that; a vacation. We had no idea Mother was springing a trap for us."
"You didn't know you were going to Florida to be married?" Isabel asked, trying to comprehend how this was pulled off.
"No. We never even told anyone we started dating."
"Obviously," Wendy commented, more than a little miffed.
The fallout from their secret keeping was continuing. Angela wondered where Tony was with those brownies; these two were like crazed shoppers at a sale. The brownies would be a good way to lure them away from thinking she was today's prized item; she hoped.
Isabel asked the question everyone in town wanted the answer to, "so, when did you two start dating?"
Everyone in town had their own idea about this and each one wanted to be proved correct, for gloating purposes.
Trouble was that this was the last question Angela wanted to answer; she was still coming to terms with their relationship being public with the family; public with all of Fairfield was a step she wasn't yet ready to take. Her feelings for Tony were her most sacred and she didn't want them to be ripped apart by neighborhood gossip. There was also the fact that she and Tony hadn't even discussed what they would share about their relationship with their friends and she didn't want to betray anything Tony didn't want shared.
Angela looked at both of them in turn, then toward the kitchen door. The door that might as well be a castle barricade at this moment, so unyielding did it look as it sequestered Tony from her. "Help!" she thought in a desperate attempt to have Tony come to her rescue. Maybe now that they were married he could read her thoughts. Yes, she was very desperate.
"Angela," Wendy waved a hand in front of her face.
"What?" Angela was suddenly very focused on the piece of paper still in her hand, "didn't Mother pick a nice invitation? Come to think of it, maybe Sam picked the invitation, I shudder to think of Mother's idea of an appropriate wedding announcement."
"Angela, if you think you are going to change the subject; forget it. We've talked of nothing else since we received the invitation."
Finally Angela's knight in shining armor came to her rescue by breaking through the castle door to lay coffee and brownies at her feet; or on the coffee table as the case may be.
"Tony!" Angela had almost never been so happy to see him.
Tony placed the tray bearing coffee and brownies on the table.
"Tony, have you read this?" his wife asked, holding the invitation out to him. "No," he answered as he took it from her hand. Glancing over it, he registered its words and handed it back to her, "so I guess we have plans for the 25th."
"I guess so."
"Unless you want them to hold the party without us."
Secretly Angela thought that was a very good idea.
"Don't you dare even think about skipping out on this," Isabel warned, "You deprived us of your wedding, you aren't depriving us of a reception too." She feigned annoyance, complete with over-dramatic hand to head, "my own matron of honor didn't even invite me to her own wedding."
"I'm sorry, Isabel; I wasn't in charge of the guest list, take it up with my mother."
Isabel answered, "I can't be too mad at her, she did manage what everyone else has been trying to do for years; unite you two as husband and wife."
At the word, "husband," Angela tilted her head to him and give him a beatific smile. Wendy and Isabel noted this look for future gossiping.
"Tony!" Angela gasped.
"What?" he answered, suddenly worried.
Angela jumped up from the couch and took his hand, "why don't we get married again?"
"Again?" He lowered his voice seductively, "once not enough for you?"
Angela bit her cheek to hold back the laugh; Tony's last words were bad enough, she didn't want any more testimony for Wendy and Isabel to preach to their neighbors. "Tony, think about it," she dropped his hand and walked toward the fireplace, seeing the whole ceremony in her mind as she excitedly pointed out the details, "we could have the wedding here in front of the fireplace, with all of our friends, the way I wanted it before Florida," she clasped her hands at the thought of a second wedding, "doesn't it sound wonderful?"
"Sure," Tony answered, if Angela wanted to be married again, he certainly wasn't going to argue. After all, how many couples have a chance for a second wedding night? Yes, Tony was all for this idea.
"Mother! Sam! Jonathan!" Angela yelled upstairs, unable to control her enthusiasm.
"What is it?" Mona called down, annoyed.
"Could you come down here please, we need to talk about the 25th."
"Now?"
"No, let's wait until the 26th."
Mona, followed by the kids, started down the stairs, on the landing she said, "Angela, being married has unleashed a strain of sarcasm in you that's rather unbecoming. You have no excuse to be irritable now."
Both Wendy and Isabel smirked, not even bothering to hide the smirks from Angela, who decided her best option was to ignore them and focus on the trio on the stairs. Deciding to have a little fun with her mother before dropping the latest news, she held up the reception invitation and pointed to it.
"Yes dear, the reception," Mona said as she stepped down a couple more stairs, "we talked about it at the...reception. Perhaps your mind is so newly wedded blissed out that you don't remember."
Angela was too happy right now to be bothered by her mother's sarcasm, no longer able to keep up her game as she was bursting with her news, she exclaimed, "Tony and I are getting married."
Mona stopped on the bottom step so quickly that Sam ran into her, then Jonathan couldn't stop fast enough to keep from hitting Sam. All three were confused, but it was Mona who tried to clear things up, in her own style, "no dear, you and Tony were married last month, remember? That's why we are having the reception."
Angela was doing a good job at ignoring everything that could possibly bother her, she clarified, "Tony and I are getting married again."
"Again?" Sam asked.
"Did you get another annulment recently?" Jonathan asked, mystified; when would they have had time?
"I almost had to drag you down that beach and now you want another wedding?" Mona was exasperated, but intrigued. Kids; you do what's best for them, then they come up with these crazy ideas. She walked over to sit in a side chair as Sam and Jonathan recovered from the shock and stood behind her.
"Yes," was Angela's simple answer. This would be perfect; a second wedding with all of their friends in attendance, and it even solved the dilemma of the bridesmaid's dress, instead of the usual 'one and done', Sam would have a chance to wear the dress a second time, "I don't see why you're complaining Mother; you can give me away all over again."
Mona was coming around to liking the idea very much. It was superfluous, but if her daughter wanted to spend her money on marrying Tony a second time, who was she to argue?
"You almost had to drag her?" Wendy asked incredulously.
"We'll talk," Mona answered conspiratorially.
"You'd better believe it," Isabel agreed.
"Mother is exaggerating Wendy, she did not almost have to drag me. When confronted with a surprise wedding it takes a little while to get used to, that's all."
"Uh huh," Mona crossed her arms in denial.
"Can we discuss the wedding, please?" Angela wanted a subject change, and quickly.
"I thought we were talking about the wedding," Jonathan asked, confused.
"Not the first one, the second one," his mother clarified.
"Oh, but I still want details on the first one," Wendy protested.
"I'm going to the store," others may have time for chat, but Tony had goals to accomplish, dinner was one.
"I'll come with you," Angela tried to make her escape.
"You aren't going anywhere, missy; park it, we want answers," Wendy patted a place on the couch next to her.
Isabel agreed, "you are not getting out of this, Angela; we've waited years for the opportunity to watch you blush profusely. Part of the reason we asked you two to stand up for us at our wedding was to put ideas into your heads."
"Yet another reason I should have been your Matron of Honor; your matchmaking didn't work," Wendy still couldn't let it go, even after all these years.
"Of course it didn't; they were both still being idiotically stubborn," Mona remembered, not at all fondly.
"I had no idea my relationship with Tony was so interesting to other people."
Jaws dropped around the room. There was no way anyone, especially Mona, was letting that comment pass, "Angela, either you really have your head in the sand or that's an outright lie. Your relationship has been number one on the gossip hit parade for years."
It's not that Angela didn't know that, but she always found solace in pretending she didn't know that. Having her mother point out the obvious almost ruined her very cheerful second wedding planning mood. Angela wanted to retort, but Tony caught her attention, "I have errands to run," discussing the past, especially the Ferguson wedding was not a topic he cared to cover, although he did allow himself a silent, "ha ha, Geoffrey with a 'G', you lost and she's all mine now." He smiled at that thought.
Angela's only acknowledgement of Wendy's invitation to sit was to drop the reception invitation on the couch as she walked over to her husband.
"You're deserting me?"
"You want to eat tonight?"
"Yes."
"Then I'm deserting you."
Unfortunately, Angela was so focused on Tony, she wasn't paying attention to their surroundings and didn't realize until too late that they were directly under the mistletoe.
"Ahem," Wendy loudly cleared her throat. Tony and Angela managed to turn and acknowledge the other people in the room. Wendy pointed to the ceiling, Tony and Angela looked up and for the first time ever were sorry there was mistletoe dangling above them. They were trapped. They looked at each other and silently decided a short peck wouldn't hurt, so they obliged their audience.
"Bzzzz!" Wendy did her best obnoxious buzzer imitation, "that's not a real kiss, especially for newlyweds. We haven't waited all these years to see that. Try again, or...," Wendy's eyes lit up at an even better idea, "carry Angela over the threshold!" She was almost bouncing off the couch in delighted anticipation.
"Absolutely not," was Angela's firm answer. Outwardly she was unwavering on that response; inwardly she was mad at herself for having forgotten that they were supposed to do that earlier. She made a mental note to make sure they took care of that detail later; it would be more romantic at night anyway.
"I have to get to the stores before they close, good afternoon Mrs. Wittner, Dr. Ferguson," Tony put his hand on the door to go into the kitchen. Angela gave him a 'I can't believe you're leaving me' look, he shrugged 'sorry' in response.
"I'll walk you to the car," was Angela's last gasp at escape.
"I'm sure Tony can find his way to the car by himself, Angela; he doesn't need you to guide him," her mother ever so helpfully stated.
"There are some things I need to add to the shopping list," with that Tony and Angela slipped into the kitchen, leaving the door swinging behind them.
"Whipped cream, chocolate, oysters and any other aphrodisiac she can think of; not that she'll need them," Mona said.
"Eeeew, grandma; I have to sleep here tonight, you know."
"Shh," Wendy quieted everyone, then rose from the couch and motioned for everyone to join her at the kitchen door. They lined up and pushed the door open slightly. Their subterfuge was rewarded as the newlyweds were locked in a kiss so intense it was as if Angela was sending Tony off to war instead of the grocery store. The flagrant spying cut the kiss short, as the happy couple could sense they were no longer alone, but that didn't stop the interlopers from bursting into applause at the end.
"Encore!" Wendy called; which prompted everyone else to yell the same word.
Angela shook her head and leaned against her husband, "please take me with you," she whispered.
"Sorry hon, she's your mother, and they're your friends; you are exempt from having to deal with my friends."
Angela's shoulders slumped, "fine."
Tony kissed her forehead and grabbed his coat off the back of a chair, "see ya."
"Wait," Jonathan called, "I don't want to be left here with nothing to talk about but weddings. Please take me with you."
Seeing Jonathan's dire situation, Tony waved him over, "c'mon kid; let's go do something manly like grocery shopping."
Jonathan ran for his coat.
"Desert me and take my son," Angela pouted, although she really couldn't blame either one of them for wanting to get out of there.
"Think of it this way Angela, two people going means the shopping will be done in half the time."
Logic, why did it have to be logic?
Tony gave his wife a quick kiss goodbye on the cheek, then he was out the back door. Jonathan waved as he escaped, happy to be free from the estrogen overload in the house.
Angela wasn't happy, she knew she was in for an afternoon of questions that would put the Spanish Inquisition to shame, but there was no getting out of it. Wendy and Isabel wanted answers, her mother wanted to gloat and Sam wanted to relive the whole wedding day; she had an audience impatiently waiting and this show had to go on, no matter how much she wanted to close it out of town.
"We're waiting," Wendy sing-songed.
Angela took a very deep breath and tried to psych herself up; this was her wedding she would be talking about, she should be gushing, bouncing off the walls with joy in fact; and inwardly she was, but she was still struggling. This was her heart they wanted to pry into; the most intimate, private parts of her heart. They wanted to delve into areas she hid from herself for years. Of course she didn't want to share the greatest secrets she had, she and Tony were still exploring them just between the two of them and that's the way she wanted to keep it. Hoping she could keep the topic focused on the weddings; both past and future, Angela finally turned around and went into the living with the rest of the group, feeling like she was being led to the guillotine
Sitting back down on the couch with Wendy and Isabel close beside her, Angela almost felt as though she were suffocating. Sam and her mother took up residence in the side chairs; all eyes were fixed on her.
"Brownies?" Angela picked up the plate.
"Thanks," Wendy took one, "now spill."
Angela put the plate back on the table; everyone was close enough to the refreshments to help themselves anyway, she didn't have to be a good hostess. "First, I have a question," she picked up an invitation and addressed her mother, "when did you have time to send these out? Did you bring them to Florida and send them out from there?"
"Like I would do that much work."
"It did seem a little implausible."
"The kids were in charge of the invitations," Mona satisfied her daughter's curiosity, "they were completed before we left and Jack had custody. I called him when the deed was done and told him to send them out."
"You involved the office staff in your little deception too?"
"It's not like they didn't know, Angela."
"You told them about Tony and me?"
"Angela, I didn't have to tell; it was obvious."
Angela blushed and reached for a brownie, suddenly she was almost dreading going to work tomorrow.
"How did we miss it?" Isabel wondered, "when did the 'us' finally come into being? Maybe it didn't register because we took it for granted so long ago."
Angela really didn't want to respond, so she took a bite of brownie as a tactic in avoidance.
"Angela, if you don't answer, I will; and I'll give details," her mother warned.
"What details can you give?" Angela sputtered.
"Not those details, just more details than you want to give."
Angela eyed her mother suspiciously, what information did she have that could be construed as details? Not wanting an answer, Angela blurted out, "September."
"Which September?" Wendy wanted to narrow this down to a specific year.
"What do you mean which September? Last September."
"That recently?" Wendy was incredulous, "no, I can't accept that answer, you have to be lying. Everyone has had you two together for years. You have to come up with something more plausible than that, no one will believe it."
"Sorry Wendy, it's the truth," Angela said.
For confirmation Wendy looked at Mona and Sam; they both nodded. Wendy had to take their word on it, although she still wasn't quite convinced. This private chat with Mona was going to have to happen soon, she could tell they weren't going to get much out of Angela and Mona obviously wanted to share as much information as she could.
"I agree with Wendy's shock," Isabel chimed in, "seven years is a long wait."
"Tell me about it," Angela said, then immediately winced that she'd let that slip; but it was too late, everyone pounced on her words and laughed.
"Don't feel left out ladies," Mona came to her distressed daughter's aid, "they didn't tell us about the change in their relationship either."
"It's private, ok? What were we supposed to do, take out an ad in the Fairfield Courier, "Hear ye, hear ye; Tony and Angela have started dating! Congratulatory gifts may be dropped off in care of Mona Robinson."
"The idea has been floated," Mona said.
Angela looked at her mother in shock, "don't you dare."
"There would be no point to it now."
"That's a relief," although Angela was still uneasy, just how close had she come to having her deepest feelings splattered all over the paper for the whole town to read? It was a disconcerting thought. She calmed a little when she realized her mother would never betray her like that, no matter how much fun she took in teasing her.
"If they didn't tell you, wasn't it rather audacious of you to plan a wedding?" Isabel asked.
"Mona's Sixth Sense regarding romance is never wrong," Sam provided.
Mona exuded nothing but self-satisfaction at the praise, "thank you, thank you; and I would also like to take full credit for introducing these two in the first place."
"We went through this a few years ago Mother, everyone needed each other, remember?"
"Nevertheless, I was the one who got Tony to this doorstep. A simple diamond bracelet will make a nice thank you gift." Mona held her wrist out to Angela, pointing out to her that her naked arm definitely needed adornment. Angela only rolled her eyes in response.
"Speaking of diamonds, nice necklace you're wearing Angela. New?" Isabel prompted. Angela did exactly as she hoped, she picked up the diamond heart around her neck with her left hand and lost herself in a dream, "yes, it's a Christmas present."
Wendy leaned in to get a good look, "nice. That rock on your finger is nice too."
"Oh! My engagement ring," Angela let the necklace slip back to its proper place and held her hand out in front of her to gaze lovingly at her engagement/wedding ring. "Isn't it beautiful?" she gushed.
Everyone indulged the bride with various assents; but Angela barely noticed them as she was thinking of how close she was sitting to the spot where Tony had proposed to her.
"Angela, where's your wedding band?" Isabel tried to draw her attention.
"It's being custom made, we've had a few meetings with the jeweler; but I didn't know I'd need it for Florida. I'll call him tomorrow and tell him to rush it if I want it done by the 25th, and I do."
"Those have become your favorite words recently, haven't they?" Mona teased.
"Among a few others," Angela answered enigmatically.
"Wait, wait, wait; let me get this straight; you and Tony got engaged, didn't tell anyone; all the while the rest of the family was planning your wedding and not telling you," Wendy sorted out.
"That sums it up, yes," Angela confirmed.
"How did you pull that off, Mona?"
"A phone call here, a phone call there..."
"All on the Agency's dime, I'm sure," Angela interrupted.
"Of course, dear. It also helped that Miriam at Bloomingdale's knows your size in every piece of apparel possible. She is expecting you to stop by sometime and show off your ring. A task I'm sure you'll hate."
Angela glared at her mother; but inwardly wondered if Miriam was working tomorrow.
"A secret engagement and a secret wedding; this household certainly knows how to keep things quiet," Isabel noted.
"When did you find time to get engaged? September to December isn't a long time to date," Wendy asked.
Angela gasped, she didn't realize until this moment that she had a whole new audience for her engagement story; and that was something she definitely did want to talk about. She sighed her way through the details of the proposal. Her listeners were enraptured by the romance and even though Mona and Sam had already heard the story, they were both quite content to hear it again.
"Can Tony come over and give Herb some lessons in romance?" Wendy pined after Angela finished the story.
Angela hoped she wasn't serious because there was no way she was letting Tony out of her sight long enough to school Herb in romance; Tony was a great teacher, but some things were just impossible.
"Now that we've heard about the engagement, I think it's necessary to hear about the wedding," Isabel said, quite rightly.
"What's to tell? Florida, sunset, beach; "I do's'..." Angela was starting to drift away in happy memories on the beach.
"And then you did."
"Mother."
"Pictures?" Wendy demanded.
"What?" Angela was taken aback.
"Beach, sunset, wedding...pictures."
Angela was relieved, for half a second she thought Wendy meant honeymoon pictures. She looked at her mother, "when will the pictures arrive?"
"The proofs will be here soon enough; but until then I have a set of prints from the pictures Mrs. Rossini took."
"You do? Why didn't you say so? Where are they?" Suddenly Angela's interest in wedding discussion was sky-high.
"I'll get them," Sam volunteered, she jumped up from the chair, then stopped, "where are they?"
"In my purse." Convenient as her purse was on the coat rack near the front door.
"Mother, I know you said the reception was booked for late this month, but I thought there would be some planning to do..." Angela
"Everything's done, Angela; or at least it was until you decided to throw a second wedding. Are you serious about that?"
"Of course! I can't wait, everyone here in the house..." Angela's eyes started to glaze over again at the thought of her second impending nuptials.
Mona smiled indulgently at her daughter; Wendy and Isabel grinned, Angela was even more besotted than they had hoped, and their hopes had been very high. Sam had retrieved the photos and was standing near Mona's chair, smiling at the lost in the clouds Angela. The pictures could wait.
Angela started planning, "First we'll need to call the guests and tell them of the new plans. We'll need flowers, a minster..."
"I'll be your bridesmaid," Wendy jokingly volunteered.
Angela smiled, "you'll have to wrestle Sam to the ground to keep her away from her duties."
Sam nodded in agreement.
"Oh sure; always a guest, never a...bridesmaid," the old saw didn't work quite the way Wendy hoped; but everyone laughed anyway.
"Angela, as wonderful as planning your second wedding is; I'd still like to see the pictures from your first wedding," Isabel hinted, not so subtly.
"Oh, that's right! Let's see them, Sam."
Sam handed the pictures over to Angela quickly as she was afraid Angela might pounce on her if she didn't.
Wendy and Isabel leaned in for a better look, the first picture was of Tony and Angela dancing, "aw," Wendy said, "you look so happy."
"Gee, what a surprise," Mona quipped.
"Beautiful dress, Angela," Isabel complimented.
"Thank you," Mona took credit where credit was deserved.
"More dancing, more dancing, more dancing," Wendy said as they flipped through the photos, "did she take a picture of anything else?"
"Angela, I have to say, your husband looks fine in a tux," Isabel said honestly.
"Not half as fine as he looks out of it," Angela covered her mouth, that comment slipped out so quickly she didn't have time to censor it. There was no way to pretend she hadn't said it, everyone was having a good laugh; all she could do now was laugh along with them; and blush...profusely.
"Oooh, Tony and Angela kissing; that's a nice shot," Wendy admired.
Angela looked at the picture, "when did she take that one? I don't remember it at all."
"Go figure," her mother rolled her eyes.
"Good one, Mona," Sam high-fived her. Angela took a short moment to glare at her mother's sarcasm.
"Nice cake," Wendy commented on the next picture.
"She wouldn't know, she didn't have much of it," Mona was on a roll.
"We had enough," Angela defended.
"I'm sure you did."
"Nice looking restaurant, where did you have the wedding?" Isabel commented.
"On the beach," a confused Angela answered; hadn't that been mentioned already?
"Tony better get home soon, I'm not sure how much longer she can go on without him. We had the wedding on Sanibel Island," Mona clarified.
"I've heard it's beautiful there," Isabel said.
"Oh, the sunsets," Angela sighed. Wendy and Isabel stared at her, hoping that they would now get their long-awaited details on the wedding. "The clouds...and the sun...and the water..."
"The husband," Wendy encouraged.
"Yes," she once again looked adoringly at her ring, "the husband."
"I give. Maybe we'll get details on the first wedding while we're at the second wedding." Isabel conceded.
This drew Angela out, finally she was in a mood to talk, "what else do you want to know? They surprised us; we agreed to their plans. You've seen the wedding dress, you'll see it again on the 25th...oh, I can't wait for the 25th!"
Mona looked at her watch wondering what was taking the menfolk so long. Her daughter barely even knew there was anyone else on the planet, she needed her husband home, soon. Fortunately Tony's timing was impeccable as it was at this juncture that they heard his car pull into the driveway.
"Tony!" Angela gasped as she threw the pictures onto the coffee table, jumped up from the couch and ran to the back door.
"Newlyweds," said everyone.
"I still want to watch Tony carry Angela over the threshold," Wendy pouted.
Isabel was more realistic, "we should be going. Mona, if you need any help with wedding planning, let me know."
"Me too," Wendy agreed, "maybe we can talk them into having a bridesmaid and a Matron of Honor."
"Drop it, Wendy," Isabel said.
"Flower girl? I'd be a great flower girl."
Isabel took Wendy's arm to pull her out the front door, "say goodbye for us."
"Will they even notice that we've left?" Wendy asked.
"Probably not; they haven't noticed the existence of anyone else on the planet for months," Mona answered, with a great deal of satisfaction.
After the visitors departed, Sam turned to Mona and asked, "do you think Angela's feet will ever touch the ground again?"
"I hope not," she answered very truthfully.
The kitchen door swung in expelling a disgusted Jonathan. He rolled his eyes, "all he did was talk about mom the whole time we were at the store. Newlyweds! Ugh!"
The three of them laughed and went back upstairs to their room cleaning task leaving Tony and Angela alone in the kitchen until dinner was ready. Somehow Tony and Angela managed to keep their hands off each other long enough to prepare dinner. More precisely, Tony prepared dinner while Angela donned her pink apron and gazed lovingly at him. Dinner that evening was one of the happiest ever; plans for Sam's move home were finalized and details for the second wedding were discussed; but Angela's greatest joy came from the fact that the family was united in a home defined by great love.