Somewhere between the previous chapter and this one is probably a good spot to throw in an actual episode from Season 8, "Tony Micelli, This is Your Life." It was probably a good idea to throw it in before the first wedding, but as Tony didn't know about the wedding, he couldn't let his anxieties get to him. However, they might a few days leading up to the second wedding; wondering if Angela is happy with her choice, but he has now come to terms with his past and is ready to be re-married.
Second Wedding: Let's Give the People What They Really Want (short of an M chapter)
Saturday, January 25th 1992
Although Mona's apartment never lacked for male visitors, today it hosted more than it was accustomed to as it was chosen as the pre-wedding gathering place for Tony and his friends. They were all there; Philly, Tiny, Joey, Eddie, Al, a lot of the staff from the Bower Agency, the male Dr. Ferguson, Herb, the Dreamtones, and of course his best man, Jonathan. Champagne flowed, hors d'oeurves were served and everyone was having a good time.
It could be said that the gathering was a substitution for Tony's bachelor party. The gang had tried to get Tony out of the house the night before, but Tony nixed the idea, claiming the fact that he longer qualified as a bachelor. True though this was, he did give the idea short consideration. The final decision hinged on this choice: a bunch of belching, back-slapping guys versus his sexy wife. The guys never really stood a chance.
The rejected guys were giving Tony a good-natured ribbing about it today.
"I can't believe you dumped us just to hang around with a beautiful woman," Tiny shook his head in mock sadness, "I think I'm hurt."
"Go figure," Philly said, "a guy gets married and all of a sudden we're history."
"Yeah, what's she got that we don't?" Joey said, obviously without thinking; then laughed at himself after he realized what he said, the guys laughed with him.
"Just remember, this is my mother you're talking about," Jonathan warned before praise could turn to vulgarity.
"And hopefully," Tony thought, "someone else's mother."
Philly raised his glass, "I'd like to propose a toast. Many, many, many years ago; we met Angie..." Tony shook his head at the third 'many' and Philly's informal was of addressing his wife, "...at a poker game. We've been waiting ever since then for you two to get together. It sure took you long enough; but we're glad you and Angie finally tied the knot." Philly did not neglect one of Angela's best qualities, "you got yourself a heck of a poker player there Tony."
Tony almost choked on his champagne, then recovered as he realized Philly couldn't possibly know just how well Angela had perfected her poker playing skills over the years. Philly's reference was to the game all those years ago and that's it; but Tony's eyes grew unfocused for just long enough for the guys to notice.
Tiny waved his hand in front of Tony's face, "yoo hoo, Tony; you with us, man?"
"What" Yeah, sorry...just..uh...what were we talking about?"
"Poker and Angela," the guys answered.
"Oh yeah," Tony smiled, once again losing focus.
"You're just as besotted by her now as you were then, Tony," Philly teased.
That brought Tony back to the room, "besotted? I didn't know you even know the word, Philly; and I was not besotted."
Joey protested, "Oh please, you were following her around like a puppy dog."
"I was not!" Tony defended himself.
"Yeah, you were," Eddie sided with the guys. The rest of the men in the room were enjoying watching Tony trying to deny the truth.
Philly wasn't done yet, "Tony, when she said good night, you were out of that kitchen so fast we thought the cards were going to fly off the table."
"I was being a gentleman, seeing her home."
"To the staircase? A bit too gentlemanly if you ask me," Joey threw in.
"Yeah, what do you know about being a gentleman?" Tony asked, then tried to close the conversation, "you guys were seeing things that weren't there." Tony was relieved that the guys didn't know anything about the way Angela defined the word 'gentleman'.
Philly wouldn't let it go, "oh, they were there and if you want to pretend they weren't; fine, we'll let you live under that delusion."
"Delusion? Philly, I didn't know you knew that word either. That's enough, guys. You had too much to drink that night and you were hallucinating."
"Your current state of matrimonial bliss would argue against that," Eddie pointed out, then continued, "face it, Tony; you've been crazy about her for years. It's all right, you're married, it's ok to admit it now. It would have been ok to admit it then too," he finished.
Dr. Ferguson was not at that poker game, but he had his own evidence to introduce into the trial of Tony's feelings. "Tony, when Isabel and I were married we not only thought it fitting to choose you two as our attendants because of the dinner party; but because we thought it inevitable that we would hear wedding bells for you and Angela soon afterward. Even at the dinner party the two of you were so in sync as host and hostess; it was like you were married already."
"We were not in sync."
"Tony, you haven't seen the two of you from an outsider's point of view," the doctor pointed out.
"We saw ourselves from a lot of outsiders' views at your reception, and the view...wasn't a pretty one."
There were times when thinking about that reception still stung Tony. They had been so close, then it all fell apart and he wasn't quite sure how it happened. Couldn't she see how he felt about her? It was one thing to argue against his friends' observations, but he acknowledged the truth to himself. Maybe she did see how he felt and dating Geoffrey was her way of avoiding confronting those feelings. It hurt so much on so many levels when Angela started dating Geoffrey with a G. He tried to move on with his own life, date other women, but it didn't work; and very fortunately, it didn't matter now.
Tony was distracted again, which all his guests chalked up to 'Angela fantasies'.
The guys continued to add more evidence; D J, his old Dreamtone pal, noted, "Tony, you called Angela up on stage to sing with you."
"In defiance of the majority rule," Satch contributed.
"And you gave her your Dreamtone jacket to wear," Benny said, as though that was the final bit of evidence to clinch their argument; which it was.
"Ay oh, I was just making a dream come true for Angela, that's all," Tony tried to defend himself.
A chorus of disbelieving, "uh huhs" echoed throughout all corners of the room.
"These two perfected the art of pretending there was nothing between them," Dr. Ferguson concluded.
"Tell me about it," Jonathan agreed.
"You too, Jonathan? My own best man."
"Sorry, Tony; but everyone is right. Sam and I had front row seats to the way you and mom avoided each other. We talked to each other about it, but after Sam went off to college and left the house, we gave up on the idea. We figured if it was going to happen, it would have happened already."
"Just how often did you and Sam talk about us?" Tony asked, thinking back to the kids' toast at their first reception which showed him how very closely the kids had been watching through the years. It also reminded him to hoard as many packs of tissues as he could in his pockets as the kids planned on giving the same toast at tonight's reception. He needn't have worried about it though, as when it came time for the toast, he and Angela would be long gone, leaving the rest of the guests to enjoy the tribute, which they did, sometimes to the point of raucous reaction.
"We talked about it a lot, I mean we never really understood why you stayed apart for so long." Jonathan could have provided the Inquisition Tony was facing with ample evidence, but he felt some things should remain private.
"Jonathan, there were practicalities to consider. I thought we should wait until I graduated from college, there was a time when your mother agreed with that. Obviously she changed her mind..."
"Aha! So you did talk about it!" Philly crowed triumphantly.
Tony was busted and he knew it, "fine, you guys win, I've been in love with Angela since the moment she opened the front door and I met her. Wait, no, I take that back; I fell in love with her when Mona showed me her picture."
"'Bout time you told us the truth," Tiny matched his own sarcasm to Tony's.
Tony threw up his hands at this whole conversation.
"Gentlemen," Dr. Ferguson defused the situation before it could devolve any further, "how about a toast to the happy couple? Tony, here's to you and Angela and many happy years together."
"Thank you," Tony said as the guys all raised their glasses to drink.
In the living room, Mona had finished supervising the arrival of floral arrangements, chairs and food. She wanted every detail to be perfect for this day. The fact that her daughter and son-in-law were having two weddings within a month made up for the overly long wait on the first wedding. This time around she was indulging in the fun of a wedding; she had to do a lot of work for the first wedding, some of it even when she wasn't on the clock at the office. It was worth it, but she was glad that Angela took care of the planning for this wedding and that she was only taking care of the final details so that Angela could spend time with her guests.
Angela was calm now, but this morning had been unsettling for her. Tony had, in her opinion, left far too early to head over to Mona's apartment to prepare for the day. She missed him, but he felt it was necessary for everyone to have a little space and he knew how frantic the house was going to be once the hairdresser, make-up artist, and most significantly, Mrs. Rossini, showed up. He wanted to be as far away from all of that as he could.
The family had had a nice breakfast gathered around the kitchen table as a moment of calm before the storm, and part of Angela wished for that serenity again. It was nice to have a party; it was even nicer to have such a wonderful reason for the party, but she missed her husband and longed for a time when they could be alone together again.
The preparations complete, the women who had arrived early gathered in the dining room to drink a lot of champagne and tease Angela. She was trying to be a good sport, but it was bothering her that feelings she kept hidden and private, even from herself, for so long were now out in the open for the whole community to comment on; and they were commenting.
Wendy was in rare form today, "attention everyone! For many years we have had a wager going on in our little town. In fact it's been going on for so long that half the people who have bets have moved away; but now that Tony and Angela are married we can finally award the money! The winner of this money will be able to live off the interest alone."
"You were taking bets on when Tony and I would be married?" Angela was shocked.
Isabel took over, "actually we took bets on when something else would occur; but you don't seem to want to give details on that, so we are going with the wedding date."
Angela was appalled; these were professional women, women raising impressionable children and they were betting on...things that were absolutely none of their business.
Isabel added, "of course should you wish to share that tidbit of information, we could award this money to the person it truly belongs to." Everyone leaned in to Angela, hoping she would spill one of the juiciest secrets in Fairfield; they wanted more details to Angela's vague answer of "September" that she gave them when she returned from her honeymoon.
"I don't know what you are talking about and I can't believe you would take bets on such a thing," was Angela's only response.
"Fuddy duddy," Wendy said, deflating into her chair.
"I could tell you," Mona dropped.
"You could not...how would you know?" Angela demanded.
Mona threw Angela's words back at her once again in an imitation of her daughter, "Tony grew up in Brooklyn, I'm sure he can handle the mean streets of suburban Connecticut."
Angela glared at her; her eyes begging her mother not to tell. This wasn't something she wanted to share with all of Fairfield; this was something special and cherished between her husband and herself.
Mona acquiesced, "sorry ladies, looks like my memory is slipping." It was only going to slip long enough to delay the spilling of the beans until later at the reception; and although the future recipients of that news were happy to hear it, they were all shocked at the relative recentness of the event.
"Darn it, you are such a tease, Mona," Wendy complained.
"Well, that's the first time I have been called that," Mona answered, honestly.
Sam could have told everyone the information they wanted to know; but also thought this was no one else's business and wisely kept her mouth shut.
Wendy went on to award the money, having already consulted the notebook, she knew the winner was in the room, "fine, if a wedding date is all we have to go on, then the winner is Mona Robinson," which surprised no one.
"Thank you, thank you," Mona said, gracing the party with a royal wave.
"Although I wonder if you should be disqualified for having inside information."
"Moi? I have no insight into the way those two minds work. If it had been as easy as picking a date and telling them to have at it, I would have done so years ago."
"Mother," came Angela's exasperated protest.
"She chose September 20th, Angela; a bet she updated every year and the closest guess to your actual wedding date. Any significance to the 20th that we don't know about?"
"No," Angela answered very quickly and very nervously. She looked at her mother and silently pleaded with her not to tell, and also silently cursed her for knowing her too well.
Samantha could have told her that the 20th was the day she and her Dad moved in; but she was doing her best to make herself invisible.
"Care to tell us how close she was, Angela?" Wendy was still digging for details.
"No, Wendy," then she turned to her mother, "I can't believe that you...my own mother...bet on if Tony and I would...you know."
"Not if dear; when. If you had any sense whatsoever this little pool could have been awarded years ago. Although I shouldn't complain, this the longer you two took, the more largess for me. Come to momma, pretty money."
Angela could only shake her head at her mother.
Lisa thought it prudent not to tell Angela that the office had a similar pool and that Mona had won that one too, using the same information; all in all Mona was putting together a nice nest egg for herself with all her winnings from betting on Tony and Angela.
Isabel decided to step in before the conversation between mother and daughter devolved into an argument, "Angela, we're all just glad that you and Tony are finally married," she raised her glass, "congratulations to the happy couple and may you have many blissful years together."
"Thank you, Isabel," Angela said as everyone raised their glasses.
Sniffling was heard in from one corner of the room as Mrs. Rossini was gearing up for a long afternoon of happy tears. Sam put an arm around her to help her pace herself.
Finally it was time; the guests were seated, Tony and Jonathan stood in front of the fireplace with the minister awaiting the arrival of the bride to be. Or was it bride to re-be? This whole second wedding was fraught with complicated silliness like that. One detail they didn't have to worry about was wardrobe, everyone was wearing the same clothes they wore for the first wedding. After all, why mess with success? There were some minor changes in the floral color scheme, pink roses were kept for Angela's bouquet and Tony's boutonniere; but Jonathan's boutonniere was changed to a cream rose to match Samantha's bouquet and the corsages for Mona and Mrs. Rossini.
The furniture was moved aside to make room for rows of chairs facing the fireplace. Tony seriously considered leaving the mistletoe up; but faced the reality that the holidays were over and that the Christmas decorations had to make way for wedding decorations. Greenery mixed with pink and cream roses twined down the banisters. There was no fire roaring in the fireplace as the table which usually held the space behind the couch was moved in front of the fireplace to hold one significant crystal vase filled with a beautiful arrangement of pink roses; a very specific detail of the wedding which Angela thought of and insisted on.
The officiant stood nearby, Revered Blaine; a man around 45 years old with straight black hair and blue eyes. Strangely enough, he was a friend of Mona's; which shocked everyone to begin with, but was later shrugged off as Mona's ability to know men everywhere.
"You got the ring, Jonathan?" Tony asked as he waited by the hearth with his best man.
"Yes, and it was a struggle to get mom to pry her engagement ring off her finger to put the rings together."
Tony smiled, "yeah, she wasn't crazy about doing that even when the jeweler insisted to ensure proper fit."
Tony hadn't been eager to give up his wedding band to Sam for safe-keeping just before the wedding, but knew it was for the greater good and spared his daughter any dramatic pining. This ring exchange would be slightly different from the first wedding. Sam would carry her Dad's ring to give to Angela at the appropriate time, while Jonathan held his Mother's to give to Tony. It was Angela's idea, she liked the symbolism of involving the kids as it tied the whole family together.
Jonathan shook his head at his mom's over-sentimentality regarding her ring; he wasn't sure if his mom and Tony finally being married was an improvement over their previous relationship. They'd gone from repression to barely acknowledging the existence of anyone else on the planet. It was almost too much of a change too quickly, and a little embarrassing; his mom was acting like a teenager in love. He was happy for her and Tony; but he was suffering as every teen did by being ashamed of his parents.
Jonathan's wandering thoughts were stopped by the start of the music for the wedding. Tony and Angela had made some changes in the ceremony now that they were in on the planning. For the 'wedding march' they asked the Dreamtones to sing a shortened, "Come Go With Me." They felt the song was a good reflection of their commitment to share their lives with each other.
As the bell-like 'duns' which started the song rang out, Sam came downstairs, beaming. Somehow she was even happier for this wedding than she was for the first, perhaps because she saw how well marriage looked on her Dad and Angela. She clutched her bouquet and her father's wedding band together tightly, overjoyed that she was now also playing a part in the ring ceremony.
Mrs. Rossini started crying. Wendy was put in charge of keeping her calm and was trying by patting her on the back, but there was no 'solace' for Mrs. Rossini.
The Dreamtones sang as Angela and Mona walked downstairs together:
"Well, love, love ya darlin', come and go with me.
Come with me, way beyond the sea.
I need you, darlin', so come go with me."
No one was quite sure if Angela's feet even touched the steps, she seemed to be walking on air. Angela looked around the living room which already held so many happy memories. In her mind's eye she could see Christmas mornings, family movie nights, and a very special prom for two. Adding a wedding to this room was the natural progression of these events and she was beyond thrilled that she and Tony were finally being married; or at least re-married here.
"Come, come, come, come, come into my heart.
Tell me, darlin', we will never part.
I need you, darlin', so come go with me."
Mona was almost losing her grip on her daughter in her eagerness to get to the altar. Mona thought that "I Only Have Eyes For You" might have been a good choice for an entrance song as well as it certainly fit Tony and Angela. Neither seemed to know anyone else was around as they looked at each other. Angela's eyes were sparkling with love and Mona had her pegged properly, she only saw Tony. Tony saw the love in his wife's eyes and smiled back at her; also not realizing that there was anyone else in the room.
"Yes, I need you, yes, I really need you.
Please say you'll never leave me.
Well, say you never, yes you really never
Oh, you'll never let me go."
The guys had to do a little lyric rewriting on the last two lines; but it made more sense for Tony and Angela.
Mona and Angela continued walking, reaching Tony just before the Dreamtones finished the final verse.
"Come, come, come, come, come into my heart.
Tell me, darlin', we will never part.
I need you, darlin', so come go with me."
The wedding guests burst into applause at the end of the song which was something the minister had never seen before; but he didn't disapprove. This song obviously suited this couple's style and the lyrics were very appropriate.
Mona had Tony and Angela right where she wanted them and she wasn't going to pass up another opportunity to put an emphatic seal of approval on this marriage. She took her daughter's right hand, then Tony's left hand and pulled them together. They closed their fingers around each other without any help from Mona. "It sure took you two long enough," Mona said, prompting laughter throughout the room and a glare from Angela.
"Are you finished, Mother?"
"Just as soon as you hand me your bouquet so you can hold Tony's other hand as well."
She had to hand it to her mother, literally; as Sam couldn't hold two bouquets and Tony's ring. There was, of course, the other detail of her wanting to hold Tony's hand, even if she didn't want to admit that to her mother. She handed the bouquet to her mother, who smugly smiled and motioned to her to pick up Tony's free hand. Angela faked exasperation with her and held her hand out to Tony, who met her halfway. They squeezed hands as a satisfied Mona took her seat.
"I can tell this is going to be very different from my usual weddings," the officiant said, creating another burst of laughter from the assemblage. Tony and Angela just continued to gaze at each other. Seeing as he had no objection from the happy couple, he continued; "although this is technically a vow renewal instead of a wedding, the couple wished to conduct the ceremony as though they were not already married."
"Figures, they stay apart for years, then get married twice in a month," Wendy whispered to Isabel, but loudly enough for Mona to hear it who nodded vehemently in agreement.
The minister continued, "dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join Anthony and Angela in the sacred union of marriage. This union is entered into with the deepest commitment and strongest love; creating a partnership in which each person supports the other on the journey through life; both as a couple and as individuals. The vows they take today will serve as the basis to build their marriage through the coming years."
Angela smiled at her husband to be, who was conveniently already her husband.
Reverend Blaine addressed Tony, "do you Anthony, take Angela to be your lawfully wedded wife? To love, honor, cherish, comfort and keep her until death do you part?"
Tony, now having almost a month to reflect on these ideas, gave an even more honest answer than the first time around, "absolutely, I do."
Angela's smile turned even more tender as they clasped each other's hands more tightly.
The Reverend hoped Angela heard his next words as she didn't seem to notice anyone beyond Tony, but he gave it his best shot, "do you Angela, take Anthony to be your lawfully wedded husband? To love, honor, cherish, comfort and keep him, until death do you part?"
"I do, absolutely," she answered with conviction so she must have heard the Reverend.
The rest of the congregation watched, some in awe. Although everyone knew that Tony and Angela loved each other; they'd never seen the full depth of this love expressed and openly acknowledged. These two were a team, always supporting each other through the tough times, and growing their friendship throughout the years. It was indeed a sacred bond between them and many guests felt honored to share in the consecration of this bond.
"Anthony, please reaffirm your vows."
Tony caressed Angela's hand with his thumb as he looked even more deeply into her eyes and said, 'I, Anthony, take thee Angela to be my wife; to have and to hold from this day forward; for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. To love and to cherish, forsaking all others, 'til death us do part."
Angela tried to blink back a few tears; but couldn't quite keep them at bay. Fortunately her beloved saw her distress and let go of a hand long enough to wipe away any errant moisture. He picked up her hand again as quickly as he could and she squeezed his hand in gratitude.
The Reverend hated to interrupt, but he did have a ceremony to conduct. He gently prompted, "Angela, please reaffirm your vows."
Angela nodded, "I, Angela," her voice was a little hoarse and shaky, but Tony held her hands a little more tightly and she took strength from that, "take thee Anthony to be my husband; to have and to hold from this day forward; for better, for worse; for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health. To love and to cherish, forsaking all others, 'til death us do part."
Reverend Blaine looked at Jonathan, "the ring please." Angela was only able to let go of Tony's hands because she knew it would only be a short separation. She watched as Jonathan gave Tony her ring and the joy she felt radiated from her smile, illuminating her entire being.
"This ring is sanctified as it travels from son to father to wife; uniting a family," the Reverend explained, "Tony, please place the ring on your beloved's finger and confirm your vow."
Tony picked up Angela's hand and touched the ring to the end of her finger. Angela felt her heart skip a beat; finally the ring which symbolized all those she cherished most would be on her hand where it belonged. She lost herself in the swirl of gold and diamonds that curved around her engagement ring. Tony slipped the ring down her finger and Angela felt the love of each person represented by that ring surround her. "Angela, I give you this ring as a reminder of my love and commitment. With this ring, I thee wed," Tony said, timing his words so that that ring reached its home as Tony finished his vow.
Angela smiled and turned to Samantha, who was just as eager to give her the ring as she was to accept it. Tony watched the precious women in his life in awe, feeling so lucky to be so blessed.
"This ring is sanctified as it travels from daughter to mother to husband, uniting a family."
Angela took Tony's hand in her own and before the Reverend even had a chance to prompt her, she slipped Tony's wedding ring back onto his finger where it belonged. "Tony, I give you this ring as a reminder of my love and commitment. With this ring, I thee wed."
Reverend Blaine knew he had to wrap this one up quickly, "congratulations, by the power vested in my by the State of Connecticut, I now pronounce you husband and wife; again. You may kiss your bride."
"Please kiss the bride." That quip could have been said by either her mother or Wendy, Angela wasn't sure as she was so focused on Tony that the rest of the world didn't exist.
Tony took a step closer to the woman he'd now married twice and put an arm around her, pulling her close, "I'm getting a sense of déjà vu, here," he said, leaving Angela no chance to react to his words as he kissed his wife. All their practicing for this moment paid off as they fully indulged in sealing their wedding vows with a very long kiss. Their guests were not disappointed, although they were later kicking themselves as no one thought to create a pool on the length of the kiss until it was too late. Suffice to say it lasted longer than 57 seconds.
Mrs. Rossini went through more tissues, sobbing, "anyone can get married once; but to get married twice...," and then she'd grab another tissue. Wendy continued to pat her on the back, but it was a distracted pat as she was more interested in watching Tony and Angela putting the 'love' part of their marriage vows into use. She'd waited a long time to see this and she wasn't going to miss any of it.
Sam and Jonathan watched as their parents continued kissing. Jonathan was close to wishing he could disappear; but Sam was watching something so beautiful all she could do was sigh and dream of the day she could stand in front of a minister and say her own vows.
Reverend Blaine tallied up the number of new wedding stories he was going to have to share with colleagues the next time they got together. He was going to be very popular.
Tony and Angela did finally finish sealing their vows; or at least they put the sealing on hold until later; much later, in the evening. There was a reception to attend and Angela found herself looking forward to seeing what her mother had planned and to share her joy with her family and friends.
As they broke apart, Reverend Blaine managed to work in, "ladies and gentlemen, may I present Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Micelli." A cheer erupted from the crowd as everyone celebrated. Mona hurried over to her daughter and son-in-law to hug them again. Mrs. Rossini also came over as did Sam and Jonathan; creating another family hug exactly like the one from the first wedding. An impromptu receiving line formed as friends moved forward to offer their hugs and congratulations.
Angela would never be able to choose which of her weddings she preferred, to her they were both perfect.
Tony was happy, and he was happy that Angela was happy; but now that the wedding was over, he was a little nervous about how she would react to a surprise he had planned for the reception.
Mona was in her element; she felt personally responsible for all this happiness and was basking in the glow of reflected joy; accepting congratulations from guests even though being the mother of the bride was no where near as fun as being the bride.
A couple of interesting comments were made by their friends as they passed by, Wendy noted, "just think, tomorrow will mark your one month and one day anniversaries." A quirk of the calendar which would make for some very nice future anniversary weekend observances.
"However will you celebrate that, Angela?" Mona asked, even though she knew not to expect an answer.
Angela turned around and glared at her. Mona put her hand over her mouth and shrugged, 'oops', even though she wasn't at all sorry. Wendy was a good comrade in arms to Mona and her schemes for Tony and Angela. Wendy and her husband Herb congratulated the happy couple and moved along the line.
The Doctors Ferguson stopped by next to hug Tony and Angela and give them their congratulations. "We knew you two would end up together someday," Isabel said, quickly followed by her husband saying, "it sure took you long enough though." Tony and Angela laughed off their remarks as the doctors walked away. Could they have spared themselves years of loneliness and heartbreak by getting together years ago? Possibly; but there was no way of knowing how their relationship would have turned out and there was no changing the past anyway, so there was no reason to dwell on it.
They didn't have much time for dwelling anyway as Philly was up next, "yo Angie," he started, which only caused Tony to roll his eyes and Angie to beam at once again being called 'Angie'. "Clear something up for me will ya? Tony claims that when he escorted you to the staircase after our first poker game here that he was only being a gentleman. We all think it was because he had a crush on you." The rest of the poker guys nodded in agreement.
Angela didn't have the answer to that question, only Tony could answer that; but Philly using the word 'gentleman' to describe Tony struck fear in Angela. She looked at Tony in alarm, had Tony been discussing gentlemanly poker with his friends? If he had this was going to be a very short marriage. Tony looked at her in shock, she couldn't possibly think he'd betray her in such a way, could she? He gave her one quick negative shake of his head which spurred Angela to put her arms around his neck and nuzzle in. "But Philly, if there's one thing Tony knows, it's how to be a gentleman. And how to play poker...and how to be a gentleman while playing poker," she was now gazing into her husband's face, "so I guess that's more than one thing Tony knows." Then she dropped her head back onto his shoulder and giggled.
She had to stop this; if she kept the flirting up any longer, Tony was going to blush.
Mona watched this exchange and her suspicions were confirmed; Angela and Tony really did play cards the other night, she doubted they played for long, but she had to hand it to her daughter for playing the game at all. Then she mentally patted herself on the back for being so right about Tony and her daughter in the first place.
Philly only shook his head...Tony and Angie...married, he was still trying to get used to the concept; and he still believed Tony had a crush on Angie during that first poker game, as did the rest of the guys, who made it known that they agreed with Philly on that theory. They continued to agree as they made their way out the door to the transportation to the Club for the reception.
Sam's old friend Bonnie was in attendance and greeted the even more newly-wedded newlyweds, "what a relief it is to actually be able to call you 'Mrs. Micelli'," she addressed Angela. Angela's giddy reaction to her new name returned and she giggled. Tony shook his head, "oh no, here we go again."
"What did I say wrong now?" Bonnie wanted to know.
Sam took over, as there was no way Angela was going to come down long enough to be able to answer, "nothing Bonnie; it's just that Angela really likes being called 'Mrs. Micelli'" She did choose to use the name again just to watch Angela's reaction; she didn't disappoint, she started giggling again, resting her head on her husband's shoulder. He put an arm around her to keep her standing up. Sam wasn't finished though, "you'd think that after almost a month she'd be used to being called 'Mrs. Micelli', I mean I've been called 'Micelli' my whole life, it's no big deal," she teased. If Angela was close to recovering, Sam's continued use of her new name sent her right back to her giggling state of being; she caught Sam's jest and touched her cheek, "it's a little different, Sam."
"I know," Sam answered and kissed her new step-mom on the cheek.
"Oh well, in that case; see you at the reception, Mrs. Micelli." Mrs. Micelli was gone again, cuddled into her husband's arms. "See you at the reception too, Mr. Micelli," she added, not wanting the man to be overlooked on his own wedding day. Mr. Micelli acknowledged her with a nod and she was on her way.
Angela looked up at her husband and pretended to pout, "you never call me Mrs. Micelli."
Tony took a deep breath, his wife was entering what he privately called, 'The Bedroom Zone' and things went on there that Rod Serling never dreamed of. Tony had to pull her back; they had a reception to attend; and the way they were going right now, they might not arrive until the dessert course was served, if at all. An idle thought crossed his mind, "what would happen if the happy couple didn't show up for the reception? That would cause quite a lot of talk wouldn't it?" He chased away the thought, he had to focus on putting Angela back on track to interacting with others.
"I thought you liked, 'honey' and 'sweetheart' and 'babe'," he said, which probably did nothing to further his goal of going to the reception.
"Oh, I do," she said as skimmed her fingers along the side of his face. She especially liked 'babe' because it sounded so Brooklyn to her, it went right along with 'Angie'. "Just say it for me once, pleeease," pouty Angela was still there.
"I'll say it once, then we leave for the reception, 'k?"
"ok," she nodded.
"Mrs. Micelli," he said, looking into her eyes.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him so hard he was almost knocked off-balance. If there was one thing Tony neglected in their agreement it was to define the length of time in between the saying of 'Mrs. Micelli' and their departure. It could be a while.
Sam, Mona and Mrs. Rossini watched them and smiled. Jonathan, however, was growing more embarrassed by the second, fortunately most of the guests had cleared out to make their way to the Club for the reception; but the photographer was still there, documenting every bit of this flirtation for posterity.
The reception – here's a surprise; turns out chapters 2 & 3 of "Uptown Girl" are the reception for this wedding. I wish The Muse had bothered to tell me that when I wrote them, I wouldn't have posted them. As it is, they seem to compliment "Uptown Girl," so I am leaving them there. Sorry for the inconvenience in reading.