Author's note: So this is actually Chapter 11 - Part Two. This time my thanks go to stayathomemum - what would I do without you natives? - but I added quite a few sentences after proofreading, so don't blame her if you come across a mistake!

12

"Me?" Lynnie was almost shocked. "You want me as your maid of honor?"

"Yes," Angela nodded with a smile on her face, "I want you. Why shouldn't I?"

"Because...I mean...you know," Lynnie stammered. She still felt responsible for having pulled her father away from Angela.

"Lynnie, I know what you're thinking about, but forget it! Once and for all! I don't want this to be an issue between us ever again. Do you understand me?"

The girl chewed her lower lip, then nodded without saying a word.

"So? Are you going to be my maid of honor?"

Now Lynnie's eyes began to shine. With an ear-to-ear-grin she threw herself into Angela's arms, who took it as a convincing yes.

Tony's heart almost burst upon seeing Angela and Lynnie hugging, especially after what they had all been through together. Angela hadn't told him that she would ask Lynnie to be maid of honor, but he was sure that she had given it much thought. It made the whole thing just perfect. He would marry the love of his life, her son would walk her down the aisle, his younger daughter would be her maid of honor, and-

"Sam! How about you'll be my best man?"

"I'm a woman, Dad!"

"Then you'll be my best woman! Who cares? Angela won't be the only person in need of support on this day."

First Samantha frowned. The idea seemed a bit weird - best woman - but then she shrugged and said, "Okay, why not? It'll be fun. I could wear a tux."

"You may wear whatever you want, Sweetheart. I just want you right beside me when I marry Angela."

Tony shivered. It still stirred him up only thinking about it, although several days had already passed since the decision had been made and he should've been accustomed to it by now. But all these years of secretly longing for her when he had been the housekeeper, the years without her when he had been married to Kathleen, and the years together with his indiscretion's aftermath still standing between them, had left its marks on his soul.

"Show us your engagement ring, Angela," Sam demanded.

Angela held out her hand and let everybody have a look at the ring which meant so much to her.

"Aaaww," the women cried out in unison. They weren't told the ring's wonderful story though. Angela kept it to herself; she wanted it to remain Tony's and her little secret.

"I have a bottle of champagne in my refrigerator," Mona said. "It's a magnum Piper-Heidsieck!"

"How come you keep a bottle this exclusive in your fridge, Mother?"

"It's always good to have one at the right temperature. You never know who might drop by and demands to sip it out of your belly-button," Mona leered.

Angela sighed. "Why did I even ask?"

"Thanks for having me, Angela. I know that this was a very special moment for you, and I feel honored to have been allowed to share it. I've always dreamed of a big family such as yours. My parents' families aren't very big, I was an only child, and for a long time it was only Alexander and me. Until I met Jonathan. It's so nice to have people around you who care."

Angela and Emily were in the kitchen, taking care of the dishes. Angela had volunteered to take over that task, and Emily had offered to help. So the two of them worked hand in hand, loading the dishwasher, storing away the leftovers, and cleaning the lead crystal champagne flutes by hand.

"I can't believe the two of you were dating for six months without saying a single word to me!" Angela said, nibbling one of the chocolate cookies Alexander had spared.

"Jonathan only wanted to protect you. It's not really a mother's dream come true when she finds out that her only son is dating a woman who got knocked up by some unreliable and irresponsible jerk!"

"It tells me that life must've been tough for that woman. I would never judge her without knowing all the circumstances."

"Well, what it tells you is that my judgment of character is not very good."

"You found Jonathan, so your judgment of character isn't so bad after all," Angela replied and pride could be heard in her voice. "I guess you were in love with that man, Emily, and when you're in love your vision can be blurred. It happened to me too. My first husband wasn't the best choice I've ever made in my life either."

"Men! Have you ever seen one who really met his responsibility in a situation like this? Most of them just want to have fun, and when it comes to assuming obligation they simply back out! I guess they only exist in fairytales."

"Responsible men do exist, believe me!"

"One day, I'd like to meet one of those."

"You already did."

"Huh?"

"Tony."

"Tony?"

"Yes, Tony."

"Your Tony?" Emily couldn't believe it.

"Yes, my Tony," Angela repeated with a nod - my Tony, that sounded nice. Angela smiled.

"He still has more children other than Samantha and Lynnie?"

"No. He married Lynnie's mother when she got pregnant. The pregnancy wasn't something Tony had planned, it...well...it happened."

"Lynnie's mother got knocked up by Tony?"

Emily cringed. That had been a disrespectful way to put it. These might be her future in-laws, and she was talking about them as if they belonged to the lees of society.

"Not exactly." It had rather been the other way round. With Tony being cheated on about birth control - he had been the one who had gotten 'knocked up', not Kathleen - but Angela wasn't in the mood to go into detail.

"I'm sorry, Angela! I don't have the right to judge anyone. I'm only surprised. I thought Lynnie was your daughter too."

"She isn't mine, she's just Tony's."

"Wow! This really is a complicated family structure. When I asked Jonathan about his family, he always put me off, telling me it was too difficult to explain. Of course I didn't believe him, but he was right after all."

"It might look complicated and difficult to the outsider, but as a matter of fact, for us it isn't. We love each other, we care for each other, and we help each other out, regardless of being related or not. And that's what family is all about."

"Is it really that simple?"

"I didn't say it was simple. It can be tough at times. There is a reason why Tony and I haven't gotten married all these years."

"But now you are!"

"Yes. We've come a long way."

Now Emily helped herself to a chocolate cookie as well.

"Mmmmm, these are delicious...Can I ask you something personal, Angela?"

"It depends on what you want to know."

When Lynnie had asked Angela the very same question she had answered 'you can ask me anything', but that didn't apply to Emily who still was a stranger to Angela. She had instantly liked Jonathan's girlfriend. Emily spread an aura of empathy, warmth and sincerity, and Angela had the feeling she could trust her with personal details, but still, she wasn't willing to share her deepest emotions with her just yet. But depending on the question, she would answer her openly and honestly.

"Just say no if you don't want to talk about it, but were Tony and you a couple when this other woman got pregnant?"

Angela had an idea why Emily had asked her this particular question and where their conversation might end up. And although she would've preferred not to talk about it for it was rather personal, she decided to answer her.

"No, we weren't. We thought we were on the road to something, but there wasn't an outspoken commitment. So, he didn't cheat on me in the true sense of the word, if that is what you want to know."

"But you had feelings for him."

"Yes. I loved him."

"And did he love you?"

"He tells me so now, but at the time he hadn't expressed his feelings."

"Did you try to stop him from marrying her?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I knew him. He's a very conservative Catholic Italian, plus he's responsible and honorable. I knew he felt this was his obligation toward mother and child. This selfless and decent attitude is something I love about him actually. It just worked to my disadvantage in this particular situation."

"But the marriage didn't last."

"No. A marriage which is based on obligation rather than love is difficult to maintain."

"So would you say that in my case it was okay that Alexander's father didn't marry me?" There it was, the question Angela had expected.

"I don't know your case, Emily, but maybe it was best that the two of you didn't get married. If a man doesn't want to be a family man, it's no use forcing him. Sooner or later he will leave. But of course a father owes it to both mother and child to support them. Alexander's father could've stayed in touch with his son. This way, he let down both of you. And that's not very honorable."

"Jonathan helps me out a lot."

"He told me that he takes care of Alexander on Thursday afternoons."

"Yes. He takes him to the park or to the playground, he reads him goodnight stories, picks him up from his play dates if I don't have time. He's like a surrogate father to him."

Angela smiled.

"Tony stepped in after Jonathan's father had left us when he was barely six years old. My son knows how important it is for a little boy to have a male influence. I guess he's trying to pass on some of what Tony has given him. I'm very proud of him. He's a sensitive, warm and caring young man."

"Kudos to you, Angela. You've raised him magnificently."

"Oh, I wasn't on my own. Tony contributed his share. He is his role model, and I'm glad he takes after Tony and not after Michael, a rather self-centered and unreliable sort of a father."

"Jonathan, can I talk to you for a minute?" Tony asked.

"Sure."

"The women are still occupied in the kitchen." He knew exactly why Angela had volunteered to take care for the mess in the kitchen - she wanted to eat up the remaining chocolate cookies without being ogled by him, Tony would've put his money on it. With a slight chuckle he said, "Let's go outside, we'll have a beer in the backyard."

After all this sweet pastry and a glass of bubbly champagne, Tony needed something to fight the sticky, syrupy aftertaste. He handed Jonathan a bottle of light beer and shoved him out of the back door.

"What's up, Tony?"

"Emily seems to be a really nice girl," he started the conversation, carefully approaching the point he wanted to get to.

"Oh yes, she is! We get along very well."

"And Alex is pretty dotty about you."

"He's cute, isn't he?"

They sat down at the wooden picnic table under the huge oak tree.

"Yeah...he is," Tony said. "You like spending time with him, don't you?"

"Yes, I really do. I'm surprised about myself. Until now I've been rather clumsy with children, but with him it's easy."

"You seem quite close."

"We are, Tony. And not only Alex and I. Emily and I...uhm...we're also quite close."

Jonathan hoped Tony wouldn't ask him whether they had been in bed already, because it wasn't something he intended to discuss with him. Not because he was embarrassed about it - they had been dating for 6 weeks, they had both wanted it, they had been safe, and it had been wonderful - but because he knew Tony had his very own opinion about out-of-wedlock sex.

"What are your intentions, Jonathan? Are you thinking about marrying her?"

"I haven't thought about my intentions yet, to be honest. But I'm not taking advantage of Emily, if that's what you want to know. I really care about her. But why are you asking? I'd expect that question from her father, but not necessarily from you."

"Dating a mother is not like dating a single woman. You won't get Emily alone, you'll only get her and Alex as a pair, Jonathan. Don't ever forget that!"

"I know that, but what are you trying to tell me, Tony?"

"The little boy longs for a father figure, that's obvious. Just like you did when I first came into your house. Alex looks up to you. I think he's already hooked on you, Pal."

"So? That's good, isn't it?"

"It is. As long as things between Emily and you are fine. If you ever reach a point where you break up, you'd have to break up with him, too. And it would be tough for the both of you, I can guarantee you that much. I just want you to keep that in mind."

"Hmmm." Jonathan thought back to the Valentine's Day he had tried to pair off Tony and his mother. "I think I understand what you mean, Tony. Remember when I set up a date for you and Mom?"

Tony nodded. "Yes, that was exactly what I was referring to. If you got back a few years, you should be able to empathize with Alex."

"I was afraid I could lose you. There was this friend of mine who told me that housekeepers come and go, and I didn't want you to go. Never ever. So I thought if Mom and you got married, you would always be around."

"Try to recall how you felt about me when I married Kathleen. You weren't a little boy anymore and still it hit you to the core."

"I felt abandoned, as if I had lost a father once again."

"That's what I mean."

"So what are you trying to say? That I shouldn't let Alex come close? That I shouldn't bond with him?"

"No, of course you can bond with him, and I think you already did. What I'm trying to point out is that you have a relationship to Emily and one to Alex, and it's almost impossible to have one without the other. Why do you think your mother and I were so eager to keep our friendship platonic? Not because we didn't have any...er, feelings for each other. We were simply afraid we might lose you kids if we became a couple and broke off eventually. I want you to keep that in mind, Buddy, that's all."

"Thank you, Tony. I really appreciate it. You're my role model. Mom and you did well with waiting, although I feel a bit sorry for you that you lost so many years together. I mean the whole Kathleen-disaster wouldn't have happened if you had gotten together earlier. That was some kind of sacrifice Mom and you made for Samantha and me."

"Your happiness was sacred to us."

"What about your own happiness?"

"Well, we weren't unhappy. We had our wonderful friendship. I never had a better, closer friend than your mother, Jonathan. And we had our romantic moments, at least until..." Tony trailed off and took a huge gulp of beer to fight down the regrets which were threatening to make themselves felt every time he thought about the day he had broken off this wonderful friendship.

"Leave it, Tony. Today's not the day to think of the past, especially not of what makes us sad. Mom and you are going to get married, so I think from today's perspective, you can say that everything worked out just fine."

Jonathan smiled and held out his bottle to clink with Tony's.

"What a little cupid with a tooth gap and his mom's credit card once wished for has finally come to true," Tony pondered.

Jonathan giggled, "I embarrassed you so much when I told you to get over and done with sex to be able to get married!"

"Uh...well, yeah...you did!" Tony affirmed through clenched teeth.

"I didn't know what I was talking about, I only regurgitated what Sam had said, and I bet she hadn't known what she had been talking about either."

"I should hope so, too! You were kids for heaven's sake!"

"I know today that sex is nothing you get over and done with."

"At least not with the woman you really love. Uhm...Jonathan, you know what I've preached about out-of-wedlock sex, and you might be wondering why your mom and I...uh...I mean..." Tony almost lost his voice. As comfortable as he was having sex with Angela, he still wasn't talking about it, especially to his children. "You know we share a bedroom," he managed to paraphrase eventually, coughing his awkwardness away.

"Tony! Relax!"

Jonathan had to chuckle. Tony was so old-fashioned, but in a way it was also sweet that he thought he needed to confess being intimate with his mother, as if Jonathan was her father and Tony asked him for her hand. But Jonathan was willing to accept that role without the slightest hesitation. He had first felt the need to protect his mother when he had seen her in that hospital bed, utterly devastated and completely forlorn. At that particular moment he had vowed to himself to be there for her whenever she needed him, to look out for her and support her. When Tony had first come back and had kissed her in the living room, it would not have taken much for Jonathan to throw him out of the house in protection of her. But things had changed; on their wedding day he would give her away to Tony.

"I appreciate that you waited until Sam and I were out of the house, Tony. I bet it wasn't always easy."

Jonathan, who had already tasted the sweetness of physical intimacy, and not only with Emily, could imagine how tough it must've been for them to bottle up their desire for one another so long. But he was grateful that they had spared him, being an awkward and pubescent teenager at the time, the notion of his mother and her housekeeper having sexual intercourse next door.

Tony let out a sour laugh. The beer had started to loosen his tongue, which made him a bit more loquacious. "You can say that again!"

Jonathan smiled compassionately. "That you lived by what you had preached showed us that you were sincere about it. And by the way, what happened to you and Kathleen definitely worked like a deterrent! It made me refrain from only thinking about casual sex for years. I was afraid that one day I might also be obliged to marry a woman I don't really love because I knocked her up. So that actually worked better than your preaching."

"Great!" The irony in Tony's voice was unmistakable, "Good job, Tony!"

"I've never slept around, Tony, and I know neither has Sam. And the way you and Mom had set an example of what you thought was the right way to deal with love and passion contributed a great deal to it. And I also know that your intentions about her have always been honorable, so you don't have to justify anything in front of me."

"I just want to explain why I broke my very own principles, Jonathan. When your mother and I made up after my divorce, we were convinced that we would never marry, so waiting made no sense anymore. I pictured us living together unmarried for the rest of our lives. For a Catholic man like me it's not so easy to marry again after a divorce. And your mom was okay with it. For her a marriage is meant to be a hotbed for kids, and it was quite sure at the time that we wouldn't have any...I mean any more kids...the two of us...together."

"I know what you mean, Tony."

Tony cleared his throat. "Yes, sure you do! What I wanted to say is that although we had agreed on not getting married we wanted to live like a married couple."

"So many couples do that nowadays, Tony. It's nothing you have to be so uptight about. But why did you change your mind? Why did you propose to her anyway?"

"Hey, I'm an old-fashioned guy," Tony said, as if this explained everything.

"You don't say!"

"No kidding, Jonathan! I've always pictured your mother would be my wife one day. She deserves the whole gamut! She's a woman you want to marry, because you want to tell the world she's yours."

"That's so nice, Tony." Jonathan was touched by how fondly Tony talked about his mom.

"I only wished I hadn't caused her so much pain."

"I know, and she also knows. But what's done is done, you can't wipe the slate clean again."

"You're right, Jonathan. We live here and now, and here and now everything is perfect!"

They clinked beer bottles again.

"Lynnie, what about the biology paper you asked me to help you with? Everybody else seems to be occupied, we can deal with it now if you want," Sam offered her little sister. They were both sitting on the couch in the living room with having nothing to do.

"I have to ask you something else first, Sammy."

"Fire away!"

Lynnie didn't know how to start. She felt so flattered about being asked to be Angela's maid of honor. It would be a fairytale wedding, with Angela as the beautiful bride and her father as the handsome groom. She was looking forward to playing a decisive part in the ceremony, standing right beside them at the altar. She would be able to look into their eyes when they exchanged their marriage vows. It made her eyes watery just picturing it. Then she had a look at Samantha and couldn't help but thinking that she possessed prior rights to be Angela's maid of honor.

"I hope you're not angry with me because I'm going to be maid of honor."

"Why should I be angry?"

"Angela could've asked you."

"She could've asked a lot of other people as well. She was Isabelle's maid of honor, so Isabelle might think that she would be asked in return. Maybe she feels a bit insulted."

"Are you?"

"What?"

"Insulted?"

"No."

"Sure?"

"Yes, Lynnie! I'm sure! And hey...I'm going to be my father's best man!" She laughed. "That's gonna be fun. I really think I should wear a tux."

"I just thought because you've known Angela so much longer than I have."

"Oh, so you say that the longer you know someone the more you deserve to be maid of honor? Then Mona should be at the pole position, she knows Angela the longest!"

"Don't tease me, Sam, that's not nice! I simply don't want to disgruntle anyone."

"I understand. But look, Angela made that decision, and I'm sure she asked the person she felt would be closest to her at that moment. And it's okay for me that you are that person. There is no such thing as prior rights. A woman could ask many people to be her maid of honor; her bosom friend, her sister, or the one who introduced her to her future husband."

"But I did exactly the opposite! I pushed her away from Dad!"

"I guess she sees it differently."

"How could that be seen differently?"

"Well, I can't look into Angela's mind, but I can imagine that she sees in you the child she and Dad were never meant to have. And maybe it's also meant as a message for you to stop feeling guilty."

"Hmmm," Lynnie sighed.

"Just take it for what it is, Sis...a sign of affection!"

"You think?"

"I know! And I also know that Angela doesn't love me any less because she chose you!"

Lynnie gave Sam a bear hug. "It's so good to have a big sister like you!"

"I want to have a big sister too!" Alexander yelled from behind the couch where he had been playing with his toy cars, obvioulsy overhearing the girls' conversation.

Sam and Lynnie were completely startled. They hadn't realized that Alex was in the house, they had assumed he was outside with Tony and Jonathan. Sam was the one who recovered faster from the shock and answered him, "I'm sorry, Alex, but that's not possible."

"Why not? First my mom gets a big belly, then I get a big sister. I put it on my wish list for my next birthday," he grinned, feeling very clever because on his last birthday all of his wishes had been fulfilled.

Lynnie giggled, and Sam had to repress a smile. She didn't want to make fun of the boy who simply didn't know better, so she gave her best to explain, "First your mom needs a husband."

"She has Tojatan."

"But they are not married."

"Tojatan's mom and the man who baked the chocolate cookies are getting married. Why can't my mom and Tojatan?"

"Well, they can."

"And then I'll get a big sister!" Alexander clapped his hands.

"It takes a while for a baby to be made!" Sam pointed out, and Lynnie giggled again. At her age, she felt awkward every time an adult talked about sex, no matter how encoded the words were put.

"No problem. I can wait until Christmas."

Samantha sighed. The boy was much too young to tell him the story about the birds and the bees, but she also didn't want him to put all his hopes on a present like this for Christmas.

"Anyway, even if you got one, it wouldn't be a big but a little sister. And it could be a little brother as well."

"Oh no!" Alexander cried. "Why?"

"Because you can't order a sibling like a set of LEGO, Alexander. You'll never know what you get. You might even get two at a time." Sam explained.

"Seriously?"

Sam nodded. Alex looked at Lynnie, who also nodded.

"Then I rather have a set of LEGO. Santa will get me the one I want...the big one, not the little one." He picked up his toy car, turned around and slowly walked in the direction of the backdoor to join Tony and Jonathan in the backyard. Just when he had vanished from their sight, Sam and Lynnie heard him say, "And I might even get two! Alright!"

Lynnie and Sam looked at each other and burst into laughter.

"Now that was funny!" Tears were running down Lynnie's cheeks.

"He's so cute!" Sam began to understand why Jonathan was so crazy about his girlfriend's son.

"Did you think I was cute when I was so little? Lynnie asked.

"Oh yes! I didn't see you that often as long as Dad was married to your mom though. After their divorce he asked me to babysit you more often, and I always enjoyed it."

"So finally there's something I can thank my mother for."

"Like what?"

"Like treating Dad so badly that he moved out with me."

"You'd thank her for this?"

"Yes, because it brought me closer to you, and to Angela."

Samantha felt sorry for Lynnie, who still struggled so much with the mess her mother had thrown everyone into with her behavior. The thought made Sam come back to the discussion the sisters had had in her apartment some time ago.

"Have you decided yet about whether or not to file a petition of emancipation?"

"I don't think I'm going to do it," Lynnie answered. She had given it much thought for the past days and had changed her decision several times in the process. In the end she had come to the conclusion that arguing with her mother was more mature than excluding her from her life with the help of a family lawyer. She wanted to get to the bottom of things, she wanted to find out what kind of a person her mother really was, and this could only been done with talking to her. Filing a petition of emancipation would shut the communication canals down for ever.

"Oh, good." Sam was relieved, for she knew something like this would've stirred up the entire family once again, and right now they were at a point where they were supposed to share the wedding bliss instead of the frictions a mother-daughter-conflict in court would bring in its wake. "So, shall we deal with your biology paper now? What is it about?"

"Genetics," Lynnie told her with a grin.

"Angela, I know it's late, and your husband-to-be is waiting for you in your bedroom."

Mona and Angela were the only two people left in the living room. Jonathan and Emily had excused themselves by early evening. They had wanted to put Alex to bed on time for next day was a working day and he would have to get up early for another day at child care. Sam had left a little later. This time Tony had insisted to drive her to the station. When he had returned, Angela, Mona and he had drunk one last glass of red wine, each of them sitting in a huge armchair in front of the fireplace. Tony and Angela had been holding hands, which Mona had found particularly cute. It had touched her so much that she had even refrained from teasing them. After a while, Tony had also retreated after a long day which had started in the morning with early preparations in the kitchen. The women had emptied the bottle which left them both with another half glass of wine and some mother-daughter-quality time.

"I think I saw him scurrying upstairs with the rest of the champagne." Mona grinned mischievously. "I bet your belly-button will get sticky tonight, if you know what I mean!" She winked.

"Oh, Mother, won't you ever stop?"

"Why should I?"

Angela sighed. "Is there something else you wanted to talk to me about? Because if the answer is no, I'm going to leave."

Picturing Tony sipping champagne out of her belly-button made her want to instantly scoot upstairs, but of course she would never admit that to her mother.

"Can't wait to expose your tummy, huh?" Mona grinned.

'Darn, she can read my mind,' Angela thought but instead exclaimed indignantly, "Mother!"

"Okay," Mona complied, throwing her hands in the air, "I'll stop, I'll stop. There is something else I wanted to tell you anyway. From mother to daughter."

Her teasing attitude was completely gone, she was all sincere and earnest all of a sudden. Angela knew that state of mind in her mother, although she had only seen it very rarely in her life. But it had always been good moments - healing and uplifting moments, moments full of support and love.

"Listen, Angela" she whispered, her voice shaking a bit.

Angela looked at her expectantly, but her mother just glanced back with a tender smile on her face.

"What?" Angela asked.

"I can see that you're very happy, Dear. And it fills my heart with joy."

"Oh, I am happy. Now that we're engaged, I can't wait until we're married."

"That's wonderful, Angela. You deserve it! I wished for you to be happy like this for a long time. And I want to apologize for teasing you so badly earlier. I hadn't planned to destroy your special moment."

"You didn't, Mother. You were you, and I love you the way you are."

"The moment I saw that ring on your hand I knew what was going on. I just couldn't tame my curiosity any longer," Mona justified her behaviour this afternoon.

"You knew?"

"Angela! I'm your mother, your face is like an open book to me! And for the last couple of days there was a sparkle in your eyes I had only seen there once before."

"When I married Michael," Angela prompted.

"No. You're eyes were glowing when you married Michael, but sparkling when you carried Jonathan. I even began to like Michael, because he had been able to conjure a smile so full of bliss onto your face with getting you pregnant."

Angela thought back to the time her first marriage was still running smoothly. "I was so hopeful, wishing for a perfect family."

"And you got yourself a perfect family, Angela - only not with Michael. You had to hire an Italian housekeeper first to finally get your perfect family."

"I know you never really liked Michael."

"It wasn't so much a question of like or dislike, I just thought he didn't deserve you. You were too good for him."

"I loved him, Mother."

"Yeah, and he loved himself just as much as much as you loved him!"

Angela sighed. "Have you asked me for a talk to discuss my poor judgment of men?"

"You improved with your second husband," Mona grinned. "Well, you allowed yourself a little more time to decide whether to marry him or not," she blinked, "but that's okay!"

"I'm not the spontaneous type when it comes to giving myself to a man," Angela defended herself, "unlike you, Mother!"

"Your father was the only man I loved with all my heart, Angela. I'd trade all my men for just one more night with him."

"I know," Angela whispered. "Max was the only one who came close to Daddy."

"That's true. He would've also brought a child into our marriage, remember?"

"Yes, a baby girl. Catherine Anne. She was so cute."

"I wasn't sure whether I could cope with dating a man who had a small child. The more I admire you, Angela. The way you opened your heart to Tony's girl impressed me. That's something I've wanted to tell you for a long time."

"Thank you, Mother." Angela was touched. Moments like this were so rare, moments in which Mona let her have a look at her motherly side. "It's easy to love her, Lynnie's a wonderful girl."

"She is, but still, I don't think many women would've faced her with an attitude so open an unbiased like you have done. Asking her to be your maid of honor was very sweet. She was absolutely delighted."

"Do you think Sam might be a little sad because I didn't ask her?"

"She'll understand, and I bet she's happy for Lynnie. And by the way, she'll be a lovely best man," Mona chuckled. "A best man with boobs! Ha ha! Although smaller ones than if he had asked Tiny!" She burst out with laughter.

Angela only smirked. "It will be wonderful to have you all around. Tony and I decided on a small wedding, just the family and a few friends, which includes Tiny, I guess."

"And I will take you shopping, Angela. We'll get you a wedding dress that makes Tony gasp for air! And it will be on me."

"Oh no, Mother, I couldn't let you pay for it."

"Let me do this, please! When you were little, your father and I envisioned your wedding every now and then. He dreamed about what you would look like as a bride. He would've loved to walk his little princess down the aisle, and he would've liked to have paid for your wedding dress. And since he's not around anymore, I will do that. And I won't take no for an answer!"

Mona's as well as Angela's eyes got watery. Mona was on edge. Being so downright honest about her emotions, not hiding them behind one of her mocking remarks, exhausted her.

"Enough of this mushy stuff," she said, wiping a tear off her cheek.

Angela smiled.

"And now you mustn't let your Italian lover wait any longer. We don't want him to fall asleep before you show up...or the champagne to get warm," she said with one eyebrow raised and a mischievous grin on her face.

First Angela wanted to reprimand her once again, it was almost like an inward urge whenever her mother made a suggestive comment, but in a way it felt inappropriate this time. Maybe because this time Mona simply had voiced what Angela had been thinking. So she only pursed her lips.

"Aaaww, I know that look, although it's so unfamiliar on your face instead of mine!" Mona frowned. "Oh my god! Is the world turning the other way around? Are the rivers running upstream? Is Liz Taylor thin again?"

"Mother..." It was a loving reproof this time, no annoyed exclaim as usual.

"Have a good night, Dear. And tell Tony that fizzy champagne feels good all over your skin, not only in your belly-button!"

With this she stood up, turned around and left Angela alone in front of the fireplace.