Tony Visits The Office...Again

Notes: This chapter is one of the seminal chapters of this story, the first fragment of it was saved to my email on October 8, 2012. I had to pause for a moment to wrap my head around just how long ago that was. Over the years I kept pushing it away to work on the rest of the story, and now that it was finally time to write it, it was so used to being pushed away that it didn't seem to want to be finished. I think I finally coaxed it out, hope you enjoy. Thanks for your patience and for reading.

May 1992

It was Friday and all the associates of The Bower Agency were assembled in the meeting room going over the details of the Froman's Fine Footwear account. Angela was standing at the head of the table, trying to rally the troops as their concentration was wilting on this beautiful spring day. She stood in front of the window, trying to obscure the beckoning sunshine. She had already put up as many charts filled with anthropomorphic shoes as she could, but some rays of light still shone through. As much as she hated to admit it, even she was affected by the weather, her own attention was wandering as well.

This was one of the few moments when it was difficult to be the boss. It was time to lead by example, she locked into her self-discipline, then rallied the troops, "OK, everyone," she pointed to the nearest flip chart, "for this print ad we have Sally Sneaker talking to Pamela Pump. Can anyone come up with anything better than Pamela sneering, "Sally, I know Roger Running Shoe is fit, but that's no reason to let your tongue hang out whenever he runs by.' Please; anyone?" Angela hated this whole campaign; but her client wanted to show that his shoes were fun, whatever that meant. So for the moment they were stuck with sophomoric jokes. Angela silently vowed that she was going to take this campaign apart over the weekend and make it into something she could be proud of.

Fate had other ideas concerning Angela's weekend plans. A couple of short knocks on the door announced an unexpected presence. Everyone looked toward the door, which did not open completely, barring Angela from seeing who the enigmatic interrupter was.

Leaning in behind the slightly ajar door, Tony smiled at Mona who was seated at the opposite end of the table from her daughter, "hey Mone, the boss lady around?" he asked loudly enough for everyone in the room to hear. Angela now knew who was at the door, even if she couldn't see him. Why he was choosing to not let her see him was a mystery she had yet to solve.

Mona grinned, it was obvious Tony had a plan which could only be good news for Angela. Why else would he show up at the office wearing his Dreamtone sharkskin suit? Whatever he was up to, she was game to play along; even if she was a little peeved with him for not including her in this surprise. She forgave him his trespass and answered, "sure, Tone," she whispered in mock fear, "but I must warn you, she's being her usual dull workaday self." She rolled her eyes and dropped her head into her arms on the table to reinforce the monotony of the day.

Angela decided it was time to bring the meeting back to her control, "Mother, do you and Tony have something you wish to share with the class?" she asked.

Mona may have answered with something to the effect of, "I think Tony would prefer you as the naughty schoolgirl rather than the prim schoolmarm, although he might have some fun thawing the schoolmarm, oh wait, never mind, you two already played that game for years," but as she didn't bother to raise her head, the words were muted, so Angela didn't hear the response. Lisa, seated next to Mona caught the aside and had to bite her cheeks to keep from laughing, she wouldn't put it past Angela to ask her to repeat Mona's quip. Mona pulled her head back up and watched her daughter, glad that she had such a good seat to watch this little game. She also made a mental note that the next time she went to Rhapsody she was going to pick up a naughty schoolgirl outfit for her daughter.

Angela had long put up with her mother's jokes and had learned that it was best to ignore her, which was the way she was dealing with this one. Angela's attention was also distracted by Tony, who had decided to open the door fully and lean against the frame. The effect this simple action had on Angela was one that she hoped she hid well from the office staff, her heart skipped a couple of beats and she had to touch a hand to the table to keep herself from sinking into her chair. The staff noticed, but they all valued their jobs too much to comment; no one even dared catch the eye of another worker. Even Mona refrained as she was having too much fun watching this mutual seduction.

Angela pulled herself together and crossed her arms, deciding to ask about his attire, rather than his presence at the office, "you have a concert you neglected to tell me about?"

"Nope."

"It's "Dress as You Were Day" on campus?" she tried again.

Tony only shook his head and grinned.

"You finished all your finals and want to celebrate by going out for milkshakes at Betty's?" Betty wasn't a person, Betty's was short for: Betty's Atomic Stardust Diner, a popular 50's themed restaurant in Fairfield.

"Yes, I have finished my finals; and yes, I do want to celebrate; but not with milkshakes." The look he gave Angela caused her to blush. "Any other guesses?" He looked around the room, inviting everyone else to have a try. No one else was interested as they figured that the quickest way to know the answer was to have Tony come right out and say it. Nor was anyone daring enough to state the obvious, that Tony was here to whisk Angela away for a weekend of romance.

Satisfied that he had built up the suspense, Tony then increased it by dipping his hand into the pocket of his blazer. He pulled a set of keys out of the pocket. "I've been car shopping," he said nonchalantly, then he casually tossed the keys up, they musical jangle they created as they settled back in his hand on their way down intrigued Angela.

Beguiled, but at a loss, Angela questioned, "car shopping? I didn't know we needed a new car."

"Oh, it isn't new," he tossed the keys again, "it's a 1957 Chrysler New Yorker," his timing here was perfect, he tossed the keys again and let them settle completely before he said, "convertible."

Angela had to hold back a gasp; how she kept herself from running to her husband and throwing her arms around him right then she never really knew. For her the mystery was solved: the Dreamtone suit, the car; Tony was making a dream come true for her. She couldn't believe he'd done this. A couple of months ago she'd been reading old entries in her journal. She came across her gushing review of "Tony and the Dreamtones" at Pitkin High and shared the diary with Tony. They'd had a few laughs over Angela's teen-aged reaction to the concert, but Tony was secretly thrilled that Angela had had such a strong response that night. Since reading the journal, Tony had taken to randomly bursting into "Rama Lama Ding Dong" while cooking dinner or during any other mundane task. She loved it when he did that and was more than satisfied that her dream had come true. It had never crossed her mind that Tony would take the image of them in the car together and run with it. Somehow she had a feeling that his clothes were going to be torn off tonight too.

Angela did her best to hide her emotions from her coworkers, she kept her breathing under control and her eyes locked on Tony, but she could not hide the strong emotion in her eyes which said, "I love you more than life itself." She wasn't completely under control and hoped that no one had noticed her involuntarily licking her lips. They did; but once again stayed quiet, still valuing their jobs. Their heads kept turning back and forth between Tony and Angela as though they were watching a tennis match.

Tony continued as though no silent conversation had been carried on between his wife and himself, "it's the kind of car required to be driven on a day like today. Of course it's also required to have a beautiful woman at one's side." He tossed the keys again, and looked her directly in the eye, "so, you want to go for a ride, Angela?"

She didn't break eye contact, if Tony thought that serve was going to turn into an ace, he was wrong. Trying to ignore everyone else in the room and the furious blush in her cheeks she decided to lob the ball back over the net. There was no doubt she was leaving the office for the weekend, everyone around the table knew it, in fact they knew it from the second Tony knocked on the door; but she wanted to retain some sort of professional decorum over the situation. "I can't, I have a very demanding boss," she answered ever so slightly flirtatiously.

"Let me have a word with this boss of yours, I have a lot of influence with her." Point for Tony.

All pretense was gone with Angela, she collapsed into her chair, engulfed in giggles, but she did manage to admit, "just a little and from day one."

An amused Tony smiled and casually dropped the next bit of information, "did I mention the picnic basket in the trunk with brownies in it?" Point, set and match for Tony.

Angela stopped laughing and looked up at him. A 1957 Chrysler New Yorker was nice, but brownies elevated the situation to the stratosphere. Knowing this, Jack, seated to her right, pulled the notes placed in front of Angela over to himself, "you will remember we have a client meeting at 1pm on Monday, yes?"

Tony answered for his wife by nodding, thereby taking responsibility for making sure that Angela showed up to work on Monday. He diagnosed the situation, "Monday; that leaves us only today, Saturday and Sunday. Not much time at all." Tony tossed the car keys again, "I guess I better be going if I am going to enjoy this weekend." He looked at Angela again, silently asking her if she was coming along. Tony showed a bit of restraint with his tease about leaving; his first instinct was to start singing "Rama Lama Ding Dong" but Angela's reaction to his appearance had already been so strong, he didn't want to cause Angela to lose control in front of her staff. Again.

"Have a good weekend, everyone," Angela said as she walked over to Tony, not even bothering to look at anyone but her husband. Moths to flames were less entranced than Angela was at that moment. When she reached him, she decided to have her own fun; "my mother warned me about boys like you and convertibles."

"Did she?" he answered.

"Mmhmm."

"I can't wait to hear this," was Mona's eager contribution, she was rubbing her hands together in anticipation.

"Me either," Tony agreed, " so, what did your Mother tell you about boys like me and convertibles?"

Angela leaned in closer to Tony and said, "she told me to always get into the car quickly."

Tony laughed and Angela felt victorious, "that sounds like something your mother would say," he acknowledged.

Mona was also laughing, "I've got some more advice for you, daughter: get out of the office now!" She pointed toward the front door of the office.

Wanting to keep the peace with his mother-in-law, Tony dropped the car keys into the right pocket of his blazer. He then put his arm around his wife's shoulder and led her out to the lobby. Angela didn't even turn around and wave goodbye.

Finally alone together in the lobby, Tony paused. Confused, Angela looked at him. He took his arm away from her shoulder which made her momentarily angry until he did something that made her catch her breath: he unbuttoned his jacket.

If Angela weren't already permanently seduced, this alone would have sent her equilibrium off-balance. She put her hands on her cheeks and gasped, "Tony! Not the jacket!" she pleaded in vain as she felt herself slipping into delicious oblivion. Tony had no mercy, he dropped the jacket off his shoulders and onto hers. He pulled her hair out of the collar, then put his arm around her waist and kissed her. Delicious oblivion became Angela's home, her knees went weak and she could barely stand.

Back in the shambles of the meeting Lisa announced, "that's it, I am so moving to Brooklyn."

"Forget Brooklyn, I want to see this car," Jack said as he almost jumped out of his chair in a hurry to get outside.

"Oh, good point," Mona agreed, gleefully pouncing out of her chair. The rest of the staff joined them in their quest to see the car.

Tony and Angela hadn't made any progress toward the car, they were still lost in delicious oblivion.

The staff of The Bower Agency stopped short in their zeal to see the car as they encountered the happy couple in the lobby.

Mona sighed loudly, "Angela, you do that after you get in the car, do I have to tell you everything?"

Tony and Angela stopped kissing, Angela glared at her mother briefly before settling her head on Tony's shoulder, leaving him the responsibility of answering her mother. Tony muttered a sarcastic, "thanks, Angela," before quickly kissing her hair, an action which only made Angela want to exit the office sooner. Tony turned to Mona and shrugged, "practice makes perfect," which sent Angela into a fit of giggles.

"Get out of the office!" Mona demanded, pointing even more sternly to the door.

"Yes, Mom!" Tony defended sarcastically. He pulled the car keys out of the pocket of the blazer while still keeping his arm around Angela, then he guided Angela out of the building. The rest of the staff followed quickly behind them.

Except Mona. Mona was left in the lobby shaking her head. She thought she was finished being exasperated with them when they finally established a real relationship, she had no idea she would be just as exasperated by their twee flirtation. She should be happy about this, she knew that; and she was, she only wished they didn't do everything by extremes. First they lived in denial, now they were so syrupy she couldn't stand to be near them. Maybe they were making up for lost time, she didn't know, she didn't care; she only hoped they would move past this honeymoon phase soon. Right now, she had to be the responsible adult and get Angela's purse for her, which she had forgotten in her frenzy to be near her husband. She didn't bother retrieving Angela's briefcase.

Outside, Tony graciously accepted the compliments of the staff while he continued to keep his arm around his wife. He had to, at this point she was overwhelmed to the point where she could barely stand. Angela gazed at the car still not quite believing it was real, and still awed that Tony had made this dream come true for her.

The car was even better in real life than it had been in her reverie. She had only had a glimpse of the car in her daydream, and from an outsiders perspective. Her point of view was from the street, looking at the front of the car as it drove toward her. Most of what she had seen was the windshield, Tony and herself. It wasn't much, but it was enough to fuel many fantasies which featured Tony in the past few years.

Just as it was in her vision, the top was down. Everyone was crowding around the car to see the interior. The upholstery on the seats matched the paint of the car, which had retained its original color of Seafoam Aqua. No more Sandalwood for Angela. A thin strip of white paint trimmed with chrome accented the length of the car from just behind the front tire all the way back to the glorious tail fins. The car even had white wall tires. It was sublime. Tony beamed over it like a new father.

Mona rushed out of the building, hoping she'd caught the lovesick pair before they cruised off into the sunset pretending the road was their own personal Route 66. She stopped short when she saw the staff impeding their departure, shocked that Tony and Angela were still standing on the sidewalk. Looking more closely, she saw that Tony was standing, Angela was leaning against him, her arms around his waist. It was time for the two of them to get out of the City.

"Why haven't you listened to your mother's advice?" Mona demanded, drawing the attention away from the car.

Angela managed to turn her head toward her, "what are you talking about?"

"Get in the car!"

The staff took this as their cue to disperse, they gathered on the sidewalk to bid farewell to the car. And Tony and Angela.

Angela, always being an obedient child, complied with her mother's request. Tony opened the door and Angela made her mother proud by promptly taking her seat.

"Hallelujah! It's about time," she declared. As Tony made his way around the car to the driver's side, Mona walked down to the car, making it obvious that she was bringing Angela's purse to her because Angela was too far gone to have remembered it herself. As she handed Angela's purse to her, she loudly intoned, "just in case you decide to check into a motel somewhere this weekend; you'll need your identification."

"Thank you," Angela smirked at her mother as she took the purse.

"You're welcome, have a nice weekend you two," Mona waved as she turned away.

"Thanks, Mona; we will," Tony answered as he started up the car.

Angela flicked the radio on. Tony had already tuned it to an oldies station, they pulled away from the curb to the dulcet tones of The Chords singing, "...if you let me spend my whole life loving you, life could be a dream sweetheart..."

Angela waved good-bye to her employees. The car had even managed to attract the attention of some of the difficult to impress New Yorkers who also had offices on the street. They shouted their approval out their windows, some not even bothering to use words, only whistles. Angela waved to all of them in acknowledgment, thrilled that this long-held fantasy of hers was even better in reality than she had ever dreamed it would be. She looked at Tony and smiled at him; he smiled back. She wasn't sure where he was driving to, but she knew that wherever Tony was taking her to would be wonderful. Not wanting to spoil any potential surprises for herself, Angela didn't ask any questions, she just sat back and enjoyed the ride.

Back at the office, the staff resigned themselves to an afternoon of footwear fruitlessness. It was a tedious day; made worse by the fact that everyone felt let down after the excitement of the car and of watching Angela melt from Corporate Executive to loving wife. Everyone liked seeing this new side to their boss, they were happy that she was finally happy. This happiness usually showed up in well-executed accounts. Usually. The exception was shoes; anthropomorphic shoes. They spent the afternoon making very little headway, except for deciding that open toed sandals were definitely the...serial daters of the bunch. A theory put forward by Mona; of course. Even that decision did nothing to spur their creativity as they weren't going to have a line of commercials starring a loose sandal.

After finally freeing themselves from the torture of New York City driving, which took far too much time for Tony's liking, the happy couple finally found themselves driving along the tree-lined streets of Fairfield. Angela's smile grew wider as she realized where they were going. It had been a long time, but it seemed the place had special meaning for Tony too, as he was driving them to their own personal Inspiration Point. The place Tony had taken Angela after staging a rescue he needn't have staged to get Angela away from the advances of a Snake. Unnecessary as that rescue was, Angela never complained about it as she was secretly thrilled to see Tony, and more importantly; the night ended rather well, for them.

Tony parked the car. Angela looked at him and smiled, her eyes sparkled with joy. "I can't believe you did this," she said, her voice a trembling mixture of gratitude and awe. She hadn't thought it possible for Tony to touch her heart any more than he already had in their years together, she was very happy to be wrong in that assessment. How could she have known he would take her confessed fantasy and bring it to fruition? And to create it so spectacularly? For not only had he given life to her vintage car dream, he'd combined it with a trip back to their own past. She was almost beyond words; she felt her heart somehow fall even more in love with him than she already was, which she didn't even think was possible as she loved him so much already.

She kissed him on the cheek, "thank you for making all my dreams come true," she whispered in his ear as she pulled away. They literally gazed into each other's eyes for a few moments, neither wanting to break the spell.

"Thanks for making dreams come true that I never knew I even had," he answered.

"I don't have a list today, but I don't think we need one," she said, referring to her former planned spontaneity.

"We don't need one, but I took the liberty of making one anyway," he leaned over to the glove compartment and opened it. He pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to his wife. Angela read the list which consisted of only one line, "One: kiss Tony." Angela smiled as they leaned in to each other as the paper fell to the floor. It was a sweet kiss, filled with memory and at the same time promise for the future. When they finally completed their new list, Angela leaned her head on her husband's shoulder, making the moment perfect.

"I could have stayed out here with you forever that night."

This was a surprise to Tony, "you could?"

"Yes. Tony you were the one who fulfilled the wish. Well, it wasn't so much a wish as a list. I'm not explaining this well. Maybe deep down it's what I wanted in the first place; to be out with you, but I was too afraid to put that on the list. It was a line we couldn't cross."

"Until we did cross it when we were out here, you mean," Tony said as his arm around her shoulder pulled her a little closer. She could hear the smile in his voice as she snuggled in, she smiled in response, "yes, and it was definitely worth crossing. You gave me such wonderful memories; making up for my past. Not only that night, but the night you gave me my prom too. To this day I don't know how I tore myself away from you; and I really did feel like I was literally tearing myself out of your arms...wanted nothing more to stay in them...not just that night, but always."

Angela was tearing up, Tony could sense it. He lifted her chin, then caressed his thumb over her cheeks to dry her tears. "I didn't know those nights meant so much to you," he said then shrugged, "I just thought you deserved a prom."

She looked him in the eye, "Tony, that dance was the most romantic gesture of my life; until tonight. I was sad when the clock struck its proverbial midnight and I went to bed alone. Then the next morning the room was back to its normal self, like nothing had happened. This Cinderella came home from the ball without even a shoe to show for it. Sometimes I wondered if it ever happened at all. We never talked about it."

"We never talked about anything along those lines, Angela."

"True," she agreed.

"And it did happen, I know because I was rushing to put the room back in order before Sam got home. I wanted to keep that night as our own secret."

"You should have let me help."

"Cinderella doesn't clean up, it's her job to grace the dance then disappear, leaving everyone to wonder if they will ever have a chance to witness such charm again."

"Tony," Angela sighed.

He hugged her, "I like that we have our secret."

"Me too. Thank you for giving me the prom I never had, and for completing my list."

"Completion is good," he smiled.

She smiled. Then, just to make sure their lists were well and truly completed, they went back to kissing.

The song on the radio changed, Angela abruptly pulled away, gasped and said, "Tony, please sing to me." Oldies station or not, she couldn't believe this song came on, now she could have another dream come true.

Tony obliged, he leaned closer, to be as near to her ear as possible, and just barely above a whisper sang, "earth angel, earth angel; will you be mine..."

Tony didn't get any further in the song as Angela was answering him with a most definite yes and he was unable to sing.

It was fortunate for Angela that she was seated because her knees would have buckled had she been standing necessitating Tony having to catch her before she hit the floor. If Angela had been in any state of mind to think of this tactic she would have filed it away for future use. As it was, she snuggled up to Tony as much as she could and seared the song, the kissing, the car and the summer atmosphere into her heart where she could revisit this moment anytime she wanted. The song ended and they were entwined in each other's arms, silently gazing over the lake.

Tony had been thrilled that Angela responded so well to not only leaving work; but to the car as well. He had taken a chance; Angela could have reacted negatively by yelling at him for buying the car and ordering him out of the office. It was a relief, for the most part; but there had been a thread of nervousness running through him all night. He kept telling himself it was absurd; he had no reason to be nervous, still there was doubt about another present he had for Angela. He could feel the weight of his class ring in his pocket, the ring he wanted Angela to wear. He told himself it was ridiculous to be nervous about giving it to her, after all, Angela was his wife; the woman who wore his wedding band. Why did he feel like he was a teenager unsure of his girl's feelings? It really was preposterous. Still, the fear that she might reject his ring was still there.

A voice interrupted his thoughts, "I still can't believe you did this," Angela sighed as she pulled his jacket more tightly around her.

The look in Angela's eyes spurred Tony's courage. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring, hiding it in his closed hand. Angela looked at him questioningly.

"Angela, um, I was wondering...I mean," he paused, disgusted with himself. He took a deep breath, opened his hand and blurted out, "would you wear my class ring?"

Angela looked at the ring in his hand; the ring he'd worked so hard to achieve and felt the honor of his wanting her to wear it. He'd poured so much of himself into his education; this ring was almost more precious than their wedding bands. Angela almost burst into tears at the sentimentality of the gesture, "of course I'll wear it, Tony," she said, a little sniffly, not quite able to hold back those tears of joy.

Tony moved the ring in between his thumb and forefinger. It was a gold ring, with a dark blue stone representing one of Ridgemont's school colors. The name of the college surrounded the stone. On one side of the ring a lamp of knowledge was pictured; on the other, the year of Tony's graduation. His initials were engraved on the inside of the ring.

Angela unclasped the gold chain around her neck. Tony made quick work of slipping the ring onto the thread of gold. Angela turned around and pulled her hair out of the way so he would have an easier time getting the catch to work. Tony took his time placing the necklace back in its proper home. He lowered the chain in front of her face and let the ring gently rest on her chest as he fastened the clasp.

Angela was overcome; never before had anyone given her his class ring, she touched the ornament, knowing how important it was to both of them. Tony didn't have a class ring in high school, so this one had been doubly significant for him. "Oh, Tony," she sighed.

Tony was gratified by Angela's reaction, but her bare neck enticed him, throwing any thoughts of a verbal answer out of his head. Instead he slid one arm around her waist and nuzzled in to kiss his wife's neck, enticing an even stronger, "oh, Tony," out of her.

He had planned this part of the evening's activities for later; but a plan is worthless if it doesn't have some flexibility in it, and Tony was willing to be flexible. Considering what was going on in the car, he'd have to be very flexible.

Angela leaned back into him, tilting her head away to grant him even better access than he already had. Tony seized this opportunity and indulged in full appreciation of the most sensitive areas of Angela's tender neck. After making sure he left no skin untouched on one side of her neck, he kissed his way around to fully appreciate the other side.

Angela ran her fingers through his hair, "don't stop, Tony; don't ever stop," she pleaded. He complied to the point of moving his hand up and under Angela's blouse which elicited a soft, "oooh," from her.

She wanted him, she wanted him right now; and she wanted him badly enough to delay brownies. Tony was so far gone at this point that he wasn't cognizant of much, but he was cognizant to the fact that his wife had unknowingly changed his plan for the evening; dinner was going to have to wait. He didn't mind, he'd rather nibble her earlobe anyway; which he did, causing Angela to sink even further into the seat of the car.

Tony unbuttoned her blouse, put his arms around her and kissed the ring resting on his wife's tender skin on his way down to the soft satin of her bra. His well-practiced hands unhooked the delicate article of clothing, leaving him free to indulge his mouth and hands in every whim they could conjure. Angela was happily lost. She and Tony were creating their own book of love, this current chapter was the completion of one started many years ago, started without Tony's knowledge even, but he was well read and caught up quickly.

Angela placed her hands at the back of Tony's neck and threaded her fingers up through his hair. She let herself be enveloped by bliss; she felt loved and she reveled in it.

"Love you, Tony," she whispered.

"Love you too," he answered, although it was a little muffled.

Angela refrained from ripping off all of Tony's clothes, although his shirt was a total loss. Tony didn't mind this for several reasons. Other than the obvious, the most practical was that he had packed clothes (albeit not very many) as part of his plans for the weekend included checking into a nice lakefront hotel. The hotel would wait while they made sure the car was well and properly christened. Eventually they even found time to eat the brownies; they had to, they wanted to keep up their strength.