23

"Would you mind if I danced with my wife, Tony?" Michael smirked at his successor.

"Well, Michael, if you keep in mind that she's my wife and your ex-wife," Tony replied sourly. He would've preferred to simply forbid the two of them to dance with each other, but, of course, that wasn't appropriate. They were the groom's parents after all, celebrating their son's wedding. They should be allowed to dance. If only the band wasn't playing such a slow tune at the moment.

"Thank you."

Michael held his hand out to Angela who rose from her chair, throwing Tony a helpless glance.

After the pair had left for the dance floor, Tony crumpled the damask napkin which was lying on the table in front of him and clenched his teeth so hard that his jaw ached. He emptied his champagne in one gulp and waived the waiter to refill the glass. Then he felt Mona's hand on his.

"Tony, let him. He's no threat. Allow him to realize what he threw away all those years ago."

"I still hate him for that. How could he do such a thing to Angela and Jonathan?"

"Welcome to the club, Buddy! The first moment Angela introduced him to me, I disliked him. And my feelings have never changed; at least not for the better."

"Who does he think he is? We haven't heard anything from him in years, and now he waltzes back into our lives and plays the role of the loving father of the groom. And people keep congratulating him on his wonderful son. Hmfff," Tony grunted.

"Don't bother, Tony! The people who should matter to you know exactly that you've been more of a father to Jonathan than Michael ever was and ever will be."

"I guess you're right, Mona. Wanna dance?"

"Only if I'm allowed to kick him in the shin on the dance floor."

"Hmm, in that case, we should rather have a drink at the bar. What do you say?"

"I wouldn't mind causing a stir."

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of, Mone!"

They left arm in arm for the bar which was located at the opposite corner of the ballroom, as far away as possible from the dancing couple both weren't really eager to watch.

"This is a wonderful wedding, Angela. Very moody and romantic. You've planned it well," Michael started the conversation, holding Angela in a close position, slowly moving her about the dance floor.

"Emily's parents were very helpful. Well, and Jonathan and Emily also had their own ideas about their wedding, of course."

"Contrary to us back then. Our wedding wasn't really about us. Remember how we stumbled through our wedding dance? I think I've never danced a Viennese waltz after that again."

Angela chuckled. "Yeah, that was so odd."

If she compared her second wedding to her first, it was so much more meaningful and emotional. It had exactly been what she had always dreamed of: a celebration of love. Her first wedding had rather been a social event. The 'Robinson Wedding' had marked a high point of the year within their community, there had been no room for soppiness and romance - like the groom singing a love song for his bride. But Michael wasn't to blame. The wedding had been imposed on both of them by the social status of their families.

"Two newlyweds in their early twenties dancing such a stiff ballroom dance. I would've preferred a more sentimental piece than a three-quarter time, but Nana insisted on the waltz." Mona's mother had been very determined about her granddaughter's wedding dance.

"It's going to be a Viennese waltz, Angela Katharine Robinson, and nothing else!" she had said and had tolerated no dissent whatsoever.

"It has always been a Viennese waltz! I danced a Viennese waltz at my wedding, your mother danced a Viennese waltz at her wedding, you're going to dance a Viennese waltz at your wedding, and your daughter will dance one at her wedding as well. Tradition is important, young lady!"

Angela was quite convinced that her Nana would've insisted on a Viennese waltz this time as well, even if they were celebrating her son's and not her daughter's wedding. She would've missed dancing with Tony to a wonderful love song if she had stuck to her Nana's tradition at her second wedding. She was glad she hadn't. Emotion definitely was more important than tradition.

"Same here," Michael pulled Angela out of her reminiscences, "I was very much in love with you back then. Boy, you looked stunning in that wedding dress! All I wanted was to hold you, kiss you and make love to you."

"I see, that was why you skipped our wedding night," Angela couldn't help but accuse him; the cut still hurt.

"God, it was so dumb to let the guys tease me. Wasn't the only time I screwed up throughout our marriage."

"No."

"I wasn't there when Jonathan was born."

"That was your biggest mistake, Michael. Not only because you left me alone giving birth to your child, which definitely wasn't a walk in the park, but you missed one of the most beautiful experiences in a man's life: the moment you became a father."

"You're right. Well, it was just the beginning of a long list of failures being a father."

"At least you're perceiving your errors."

"You were both better off without me, I guess."

"Don't take the easy way out here! Jonathan and I had a very bad time after you had left. If Tony hadn't come into our lives..." Angela trailed off.

"Yeah, Tony," Michael hissed and pressed his lips together. He suddenly swirled Angela around in a few fast, flourish twists and embraced her bit tighter afterward. She couldn't help but grin. 'Good old vain Michael,' she thought, 'unable to tolerate anybody besides himself.'

"He saved us. Me!" Angela felt the urge to tell him.

"I know. But he also treated you badly. Worse than I ever did. I never cheated on you. I might have been away, but I never fooled around with other women."

The conversation was entering rough waters. Tony's indiscretion, albeit talked through many times, would always touch her when mentioned, but Angela wasn't in the mood to let it overshadow Jonathan's wedding. And because Tony and she had worked so hard and so deliberately in the past, not sparing the other any of the painful truth, she was now able to brush that topic aside as if she was talking about the weather.

"We've put that behind us, Michael, and neither do I want to talk about it now nor to you."

"You really mean that, don't you?"

"Yes. Sure. Tony and I are a couple for ten years now. We're married."

"And this marriage becomes you, I have to admit. You look great, Angela. Happy."

"I am happy."

"That's good." And because Michael didn't know what else to say, he did another quick twist with her. But then he looked at Angela again, for there still was one thing he wanted her to know. "I once told him to leave you in peace. The day I had to hospitalize you after your breakdown. Did you know that we met at the hospital?"

"Yes, Tony told me."

"He did?" Michael couldn't hide his astonishment.

"We talked about everything, Michael. It was the only way back to one another."

"Everything?"

"Yes."

"So you told him about us...uh, consuming our bygone marriage?"

"Yes...well, he more or less guessed it."

Angela had to think back to when she had been sitting with Tony in her study, pouring her heart out to him about how she had suffered while he had been married to Kathleen. (A/N: If anyone wants to read it, it's in chapter 23 of 'Two Lives')

"Uh-huh. So, how did he take it?"

"Michael, this isn't really any of your business, although it was you I spent the night with. I was glad it had been you, though. I would've never forgiven myself if it had been someone I had just met. I was in a horrible condition at the time."

"That's what I mean. And Tony was responsible for it. That's why I told him to butt out of your life for good at the hospital. I didn't want him to pay you a sickbed visit and stir your emotions up once again. Believe me, I hadn't misinterpreted our night, I knew that it had just been an attempt to soothe our hurt souls. I was a lousy husband to you, but I wasn't such a bad lover."

Angela blushed.

"And I still felt the need to protect you. Whether this is surprising for you or not, I knew I had let you down, but I've never been indifferent."

Angela now smiled at him. "Thank you for having looked after me that day, Michael. I appreciate it."

"But he didn't abide by our agreement," Michael stated.

"No, he didn't. And I'm glad he didn't, although rebuilding what once had been wasn't easy. But it was worth every single difficulty we had to overcome. I've never been in a better relationship in my whole life. I'm sorry to tell you, Michael, but that's the way it is."

"That's perfectly alright. I deserve it, I guess. I only hope you don't regret the years you spent with me."

"No, I don't. You were my first love, and the first is always special. And you gave me Jonathan, the biggest joy of my life." Angela gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Don't let your husband see that!"

"He knows how much I love him. Besides, he has his own first love who also happens to be the parent to his child."

"Do you regret that Jonathan is an only child?"

"He isn't. He has two sisters in Connecticut, plus one in California he only meets very seldom."

"You know what I mean. Haven't you and Tony ever thought of having a child?"

"How were we supposed to have a child? It was too late when he returned! What are you doing, Michael? Are you trying to make me miserable on our son's wedding day?"

"No, I'm sorry, Angela. That wasn't my intention at all. It's only that I still feel connected to you and want to know how you're doing."

"I'm doing fine!" she snarled through her teeth, "I'm married to the most wonderful man, I have a gorgeous son who's just married a very nice woman, and I have two adorable daughters. My life is perfect as it is!"

"Okay, okay! I got it!"

"Well, you asked!"

For the rest of the dance, they remained silent. Everything had been said anyway. Michael stiffened as if someone had thrown a bucket of ice-cold water into his face, and Angela was just longing for this dance to end. And like in so many other situations in her life, Tony came to her rescue just in time. He suddenly showed up behind Michael, tapped him on the shoulder, and asked, "May I cut in? Now it's my turn to dance with my wife if you don't mind."

It wasn't meant as a question, and he didn't really care whether Michael minded, so he didn't wait for his reaction but gently peeled Angela's hand out of her ex-husband's without deigning to even look at him. He embraced her very tightly, his right hand low on Angela's back where only a husband would dare to put it. And although he knew he was acting like a pubescent teenager, trying to impress his peers with his girlfriend, he kissed Angela on the mouth right there on the dance floor, being well aware that Michael's eyes were boring right through him. And it gave him a feeling of sweet triumph. The only thing missing was Bruce Weinberger hiding in the bushes to time the kiss - it would've been a new record.

"What was this for?" Angela asked breathlessly after the kiss had ended and Michael had turned around to leave them.

"Am I not allowed to kiss you in public?"

"You are. But this was some kind of kiss and I guess it wasn't a coincidence that Michael was standing right behind you."

"I couldn't hear what you were talking about, but I could see that you didn't like what he was saying, so I thought a kiss might do you good," Tony fibbed. He had wanted to make her feel good, true, but his main intention had most certainly been to show Michael that Angela belonged to him now.

"I see. Well, that was very kind of you."

"I'm a nice guy!"

"Yes, you are!"

Mona, who had been standing not very far from the scene, closely watching it after having sent Tony over, complacently rubbed her hands and mumbled to herself, "Winner by technical knockout: Mr. Tony Micelli!"

"You can stop grinning now, Mona!" Michael said when he passed her on his way back to the table.

Mona only shrugged. "Is it so difficult for you to accept that she's happy, Michael?"

"No, it isn't. It's only not so easy to see her with another man," Michael admitted hoarsely.

"Well, you had your chance and you screwed it up!" Mona knew she was a bit heartless, but she hadn't forgotten the pain he had put Angela through when he had left her and Jonathan.

"Do you really think I don't know that? But I didn't leave because I didn't love her anymore. I left because our ideas of how our life should be didn't fit together. We would've never made it. A clear cut was better for all of us than clutching to a fantasy which would've never come true. It would've made us all miserable."

"Oh, stop being so noble, Michael! You've run from your responsibilities, no more and no less. You could've tried to be a better father at least, if not a better ex-husband. Tony picked up the shards you had left behind."

"Yeah, Tony!" Michael sneered and rolled his eyes because of the recurrent lauds he had to listen to about the man who had followed him as Angela's husband. "I never imagined Angela would fall for one of her employees."

If he hadn't stood far enough from Mona Michael would've gotten a kick in the shin right now. He looked at Tony and Angela again as they were dancing cheek to cheek. It was hard to accept that an ex-ball player from Brooklyn had taken his place at Angela's side. He liked Tony, that was not it. Michael knew he was a kind man, decent and reliable. He had fulfilled all the fatherly duties he himself had so wantonly neglected. But Angela had been the well-protected daughter of one of Connecticut's most prominent families; elitist, and a bit uptight even. That she could end up dating the help had simply seemed unimaginable. Her family had always been guided by the social conventions, except for his mother-in-law maybe who had always had a mind of her own. He himself had almost been considered a bad catch, being a documentary filmer and no successful banker or respectable lawyer. If Angela's father had still been around when they had started dating, he would've tried to prevent the wedding, Michael was quite sure about it. Her mother had always openly shown that she had never really approved her daughter's choice. Little did he know that Mona's dislike of him had never had anything to do with him being a documentary filmer.

The Angela of the 1970s came to his mind. When he had first met her, she had just turned 22. She had been beautiful and very alluring, and so different from the girls he had gone out before. Michael had never met a woman who was so shy and insecure about herself and yet so strong and determined at the same time. He had been told how she had managed not only her life but also her mother's after her father's passing, how she had taken in being mocked and bullied by her classmates because of her ambition and weight. He hadn't believed her at first that she had once been an overweight, nerdy wallflower until she had shown him some pictures. Michael had kissed Angela goodnight at their first date, a few weeks later their dates had consisted mainly of making out, and another half year later they had decided to get married. They had celebrated their engagement with making love for the first time.

Michael couldn't help but think back to the good times, to their life as a newlywed couple. Angela had just graduated from Harvard Business School, and he had been a young but already quite acknowledged wildlife filmer, who had been offered interesting and exciting projects, some of them far away at isolated places. Angela, having still been a rookie in her business, had traveled with him quite a bit. They had spent a wonderful time together. They had waited behind the camera for the wildlife to mate and had made love themselves under the open sky in the meantime. Their life had been exactly like Michael had wanted it to be - boisterous, spontaneous, and thrilling. As far as he had been concerned, it could've gone on like this forever.

But it hadn't. Their married life had undergone a profound rearrangement the moment they had decided to start a family. Michael had also wanted to have a baby, but he had underestimated the devotedness and commitment Angela would put into her maternal role. He should've known her better though. What was important to her, she had always done one-hundred percent and becoming a family had been important to her. From the day she had found out that she was pregnant, her priorities had been redeployed from him and their life as a young couple to their unborn baby. For her, it had been the most natural thing. Angela hadn't had any problems putting her own needs aside in favor of her son. Much to the contrary, she had thrived being a mother, nursing and caring for her baby boy. For Michael, it had been a hopeless endeavor. Ceding his wife's beautiful body for the baby to use - first for being carried for nine months, then nursed for another six - had been difficult enough, but settling down, trading his exciting job behind the camera with a boring one behind a desk had simply been impossible.

With one thing Michael was right though: they would've never made it without making each other miserable. If Angela had agreed on leaving Jonathan with the nanny once in a while, going with him on his trips, it might've worked and their family might've still been intact. Only that her perception of what 'being a family' meant had been totally different from what he had understood by it. She had shaken her head at his suggestion to go with him to South America for an assignment. 'You don't really expect me to leave my baby with a stranger while I'm thousands of miles away, unreachable in case of an emergency? We are responsible for Jonathan, Michael! We are his parents! We can't go on with our lives as if he doesn't exist!'

Angela's own professional ambitions had only added to the problem, for she had expected from her husband to reduce his non-attendance at home to be able to cover hers. Her idea had been that at least one of Jonathan's parents would always tuck him in at night. And Michael had tried to do that at first, had tried to be there for his son, but it hadn't worked. The moment he had walked through the front door into the house after one of his trips, he had already longed for the day he would be able to leave again. He simply hadn't been made for the drab monotony of everyday life with a dull job at the office and a demanding family at home. He was an artist, a nature-lover, and adventurer. Angela had known from the start but had tried to change him anyway. If she had let him be who he had wanted to be, they might still be married having more than just one child.

But Michael wasn't a fool. He knew that the failure of their marriage was his fault. It wasn't fair to blame Angela. He had let his family fall apart and had let his wife walk out of his life just like that. Well, actually she had kicked him out of her life with sending him the divorce papers into the Amazon rainforest. If something was important to her, she did it one-hundred percent and wouldn't be deterred to file a divorce just because he was three thousand miles away.

How stupid had he been to believe that a woman like Heather would suit him better? He thought back to the day Angela had fainted in the Russian Tea Room, or rather to the night before. He hadn't regretted it the way Angela had. When he had woken up in the morning, finding her in his arms and smelling the familiar scent, the sensation of coming home had spread through his entire body. The night in bed had started out as a comforter for his hurt manly pride after having been dumped for a younger man by his second wife, yes, but in the morning he had realized how much he had missed Angela and how much he had wanted her back. Contrary to what he had just told her on the dance floor, Michael would've liked to see their unexpected intercourse as a new beginning. It could've been another fresh start after their attempt to repair their marriage years earlier hadn't worked so well. But he had known that the moment hadn't been right, that he would've taken advantage of Angela given the condition she had been in, and he wasn't so indecent after all.

Looking at it now, it had been his last chance. Tony had already been in the picture but not really a threat by then because of his indiscretion with this blond college girl. But when he had seen sincere feelings for Angela in Tony's eyes when he had talked to him at the hospital cafeteria. And the night before, he had heard between the lines of what Angela had told him that she had been missing Tony terribly. That had been the reason for Michael to ask him to butt out of Angela's life for good. Michael had wanted to secure the chance to win her back for himself. He remembered how his heart had convulsed when one day Jonathan had informed him that Tony had come back into Angela's life.

Michael threw another glance at the dancing couple. Angela had put her head on Tony's shoulder, and Tony constantly whispered something into her ear. Then, suddenly, Tony pulled away, looked at his wife, then took her hand and dragged her away from the dancefloor. Michael instantly knew what this was about. As a love-crazy adolescent, he had dragged along the chicks like this when he wanted to make out with them somewhere in private, and Tony obviously was up to the very same thing. Being a man, Michael understood Tony's mentality. Although it stung, Michael also thought these two were just too cute, both being in their mid-fifties but so openly acting on their feelings. And he envied them, for they wouldn't be alone when they got older. They would raise their grandchildren together, care for each other when age and its attending ills plagued them, enjoy their retirement walking in the park hand in hand or sitting by the fireplace cuddling under a blanket.

Michael sighed. He had been replaced by a housekeeper. His bruised ego still had problems accepting the fact, being well aware others would call him a snob because of this attitude. Only at moments of honest self-reflection - which were very rare in Michael's life - could he admit that Tony was the man Angela had wanted him to be, the man he had never been able to be. Tony not only loved her but supported her in all aspects of her life; he had helped her raise Jonathan and had backed her up with her career. And if Michael was really honest with himself, brutally honest almost, he'd admit that she was better off with Tony, that she deserved someone like him. They deserved each other. Tony had done a lot more to earn the right to be together with Angela, more than he had ever done. Michael didn't deserve the jackpot, and Angela was the jackpot.

After Tony and Angela had vanished from sight, Michael turned to his former mother-in-law. "So, Mona, wanna dance?"

"As long as you don't step on my toes like when we danced at your weddings."

"I'll do my very best."

"Okay, there's nothing to be said against dancing with my favorite ex-son-in-law."

"I'm your only ex-son-in-law."

"And you always will be," Mona said with a confident grin.

"Tony!" Angela admonished her husband, "Why are you dragging me outside?"

"What do you think?" Tony said while pressing her body against the wall on the patio with his. Then he put his lips on hers and kissed her passionately.

Angela reciprocated. How could she not? His kisses were simply too delicious not to be reciprocated, but she was also taken by surprise about his unexpected outburst of desire.

She giggled.

"What?"

"It's not like we're in our bedroom. There are all these people around."

"They are all inside, Angela! Nobody's out here except us," he said while caressing the sensitive skin behind her ear. Then he covered the crook of her neck with butterfly kisses. "God, you smell so good, Mama!" He couldn't help but press her to the wall even stronger. His libido reacted and he made her feel it.

"To-neee!" Angela gasped for air.

"You don't like?" he murmured into her cleavage.

Angela had problems staying on her feet. None of the men who had kissed her in her life had kissed her like Tony. Brian hadn't. Grant hadn't. Peter hadn't. Both Jeffreys hadn't - neither the one with a J nor the one with a G; definitely not the one with a G! And even Michael hadn't, although he had been a good kisser. But Tony was the master. His kisses were consuming and yearning, so full of physicality and desire and yet so soft and sweet. Angela forgot the world around her every time she was kissed by Tony, and so she did at this very moment.

"Mama like," she moaned and started kissing him back as fervently as he had been kissing her. And she didn't admonish him when she felt his hand on her breast but simply savored the sensation. No man had ever known how to make her let go as Tony knew. It could be called a miracle that despite being distracted that much, a disturbing sound still made it up to her ear.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Nothing," Tony breathed into her hair now.

"Shhh, listen!" Angela stiffened and strained her ears. "There's someone out there," she whispered.

Tony pulled back only reluctantly. All he heard was the blood rushing in his ears, and moreover, he didn't really care whether there was someone out there or not. The only thing he cared about was his alluring wife right in front of him. If someone caught them necking...what the heck? But then he also heard something. A silent but lusty moan, a smacking sound, and a girlish giggle. There seemed to be another couple up to the same thing Angela and he were up to.

"Benjamin," he heard a woman whisper somewhere behind the bushes, "we've just met!"

"So?" a deep manly voice answered, "Never heard anything of love at first sight, Samantha?"

Samantha? Tony mouthed his daughter's name, staring at Angela with eyes wide as saucers. He thought he might drop dead this very second. His libido reacted again, but completely opposed to how it had a little earlier.

Angela also held her breath. With one hand she covered her mouth, with the other she grabbed Tony's arm.

"Ben-ja-min?" Tony asked low-keyed. "Who's that guy?"

"It must be her table neighbor. Last week, when we were talking about the seating arrangements, Jonathan told me they planned to seat Samantha next to one of Emily's distant cousins who's supposed to be a very kind man."

"They're trying to pair them off?"

"All they did was seating them next to each other, Tony," Angela tried to calm him down a little. Another giggle could be heard from behind the bushes. "But it seems they like each other," she said and couldn't prevent chuckling.

"Angela!"

"What?"

"I don't want my daughter to throw herself at the first available man just because she doesn't want to be single anymore."

"Never heard of love at first sight?" Angela repeated what Benjamin had asked Sam just a few moments ago. "Not everyone takes it as slow as you."

Tony commented on the innuendo with a wry grin. "Anyway, how about dating a few times before you start kissing?"

"Tony, come on! Sam is old enough to decide what's right and what's not. A wedding puts everybody in a mood for romance, and it wouldn't be the first marriage instigated at a wedding."

"Angela! Aren't we jumping a little to conclusions here?"

"Maybe. But I'd be more than happy for her if this guy was her Mr. Right. He seems to be a really nice person, good-looking and polite. Jonathan told me that he's also been single for quite some time. So, why don't we leave them alone and let things take their course?"

"You mean we should let them neck out here as if they were a teenage couple on a prom night?"

"Uh, why exactly did you drag me out here?"

Tony raised his eyebrows. "Well,..." He coughed slightly. "So you really think we should let them continue?"

"I do."

"Hmf."

"Anything I can do to make you feel better, Pop?" She snuggled up close to him again.

"The mood is ruined, Angela!" Tony grumpily answered her approach.

"Are you sure?"

Angela grabbed Tony's arms and changed places with him, gently pushing him with his back to the wall now. She might not be as strong as he but equally determined like when he had first dragged her out there.

"I might be wrong." Tony swallowed hard when Angela pressed her body so close to his that he felt every single contour of her curves.

"You bet you are!"

Without ceding him a chance to answer, Angela engaged him in an intense kiss. Tony's tension instantly dissipated, he relaxed, and Samantha and Benjamin disappeared from his mind in no time.

"Lady, you know how to state your case!"

"Someone recently told me that you're never too old for love and passion."

"Really? That must have been a wise person."

"Definitely. And a good kisser, by the way."

"You don't say! He kissed you?"

"Uh-huh."

"Smart guy! Very smart guy!"

Tony once more changed places with Angela and made her lean against the wall again. They kissed, but not as wild as before. Especially Tony's mood had changed profoundly. As much as he had been turned on earlier, wanting to get physical with his darling wife, he now was very emotional and deeply touched. At some point, he pulled back and looked at Angela, who was still savoring his kisses, her head against the wall, her eyes closed.

"I love you, my Angel," he breathed.

"Mmmm, I know," Angela murmured.

"No. You don't have any idea about how much I need you. You're my rock, Angela."

She opened her eyes now, somewhat caught unawares by Tony's words.

"What?"

"You're so strong. You're the strongest person I've ever met in my entire life. The way you cope with what life puts you through amazes me. You were strong when your father died, you were strong when Michael left, you were strong when you lost your job,..."

"No, I wasn't. I cried in your arms, remember?" Angela interjected.

"You were strong enough to show me your weak side. Not very many people have the strength to admit that they're afraid or clueless or in need of help."

"This is the way you see me?"

"I've always admired this in you. I once told you at a volleyball field, and I'm telling you now again. The way you've forgiven me my...uh, faux pas" he cleared his throat, "shows how strong you are. You're indestructible!"

"No, I'm not," Angela replied. To her, it had always seemed to be rather the other way around. She felt so dependent on him with her happiness. The best years of her life were the ones she had spent with him, and the most terrible ones were the ones without him. "When you called off our friendship it almost killed me. I didn't feel indestructible when you left, believe me. I didn't know how to go on without you."

"I know. And there are no words to tell you how sorry I am and how much I regret what I did to us. At the time, I thought there was no other possibility but setting you free of me. Looking back at it now I can't believe how stupid I was. I had become a spineless wimp who did everything his wife demanded of him just to be at peace at the breakfast table. I contented myself with cleaning up behind my family. I had given up all my goals, like becoming a teacher or striving after the woman I really loved. But you," he looked at Angela with admiration, "you pulled yourself together, went on with your life, and built a multi-million dollar agency."

"Professional success doesn't compensate for a miserable private life."

Angela knew that this was only half true in her case. She had filled the hole Tony had left behind with work and had numbed the pain with working so much that exhaustion and distraction had superimposed every feeling of loss and sadness. At least during the day. But her working days had been long enough to reduce the time left to mope around to a bare minimum.

"True, but you accomplished something, Angela. All I did was raise my child. Not that this isn't an accomplishment, but I didn't advance with my life. I was completely lost and wasn't able to move on without you. I'm a lucky man because you let me come back and make up for my mistakes. Not very many women would've given me a second chance."

"Well, you used your second chance magnificently," Angela said with a tender smile playing around the corners of her mouth.

"Only a complete idiot would've screwed this up twice!"

He kissed her again.

"Tony?"

"Yes, Sweetheart."

"Would you do me a favor?"

"Anything."

"Let this be the last time we spoke about 'it', okay? It happened, we talked about it many times, and it was necessary that we did it, but now we're through. I want it to be over and done with, once and for all. There are so many wonderful things happening in my life, I don't want to spoil them with something that isn't of any importance anymore. You're here with me now, and that's all that matters."

Tony swallowed hard. He didn't know whether he would be able to bury 'it' ever, but he was willing to try. He was willing to do anything she asked him for.

"Like I said...you're a very strong woman."

"Said strong woman badly needs a hug right now, otherwise she'll completely discompose."

"Ay-oh, oh-ay, we don't want this to happen," Tony said while pulling her into a tight embrace.

They stood like this for a few moments until they heard another girlish giggle and a female voice both of them clearly recognized as Samantha's now. "Ben! God, let me take a breath once in a while!"

Tony and Angela looked at each other, then burst out in a silent chuckle.

"Shhh!" Angela put her hand over Tony's mouth. "They mustn't hear us!" she whispered. "Let's go back inside and give them some privacy. We better prepare ourselves to have a guy named Benjamin around. Or Ben. Perhaps Benny."

"I don't care what he's called as long as he makes Sam happy."

"Let's wait and see."

"Yeah, let's wait and see."

Tony held his arm out to Angela. "May I ask you for a dance, Mrs. Micelli?"

"As long as it's not a Viennese waltz, you may."

Tony didn't understand the meaning of what Angela had said, but he wasn't into a three-quarter dance anyway. He preferred a much slower tempo. Having been the master of slowness for most of his life, all he wanted was to hold Angela close, move about the dance floor to a classic love song together with her as if they were one, and never let go of her no more.

THE END