Spring 1992
Strangely, Angela found that her new state of being made interactions with the rest of the family easier. Her lack of emotion took away the pain. She now talked with Tony, Jonathan, and her mother with a breezy, yet shallow, attitude. Tony was confused, but he considered this Angela to be a step in the direction of a more communicative Angela, so he welcomed the change.
The only person Angela was still having trouble with was Sam. Something held her back from calling. Several times she'd have her hand on the phone only to be stopped by the darkness of insecurity in her mind. Angela chided herself for her lack of bravery, but this didn't motivate her to pick up and dial. Then, one Saturday in March, it was too late. Sam dropped by to introduce everyone to Hank.
"Hank?" Angela rolled the name around in her mind, still trying to come to grips with the fact that Sam was obviously crazy about this guy. How had she completely missed Sam having a new boyfriend? Angela felt the loss of Sam even more keenly, she was no longer her confidante. Angela pushed the sadness away and thought back to vacation, Sam hadn't made any phone calls home, she didn't complain about being separated from 'Hank', so it wasn't likely he was part of her life then. So, Angela concluded this relationship was recent, but she was still floored; as was the rest of the family.
Everyone was gathered in the living room, sizing up Hank from various points of view. Mona saw the brash naivete of youth, but nothing objectionable. Jonathan decided to put off making a conclusion until he saw how long this guy stuck around. Angela was still grappling with bewilderment. All Tony saw was an interloper; a complication their lives did not need now...or ever. He chalked Hank up to another guy passing through his daughter's life. He wasn't crazy about the number of guys passing through his daughter's life, but he also knew that putting his foot down about it was a sure fire way for there to be even more guys in his daughter's life.
Sam was draped on Hank, her arms were around his waist as though if she let go one, or both, of them would disappear into the ether. They were embarrassingly lovey-dovey; wanting to show off their bliss to the rest of the world, even if the rest of the world wasn't interested.
Tony was going to need a trip to the dentist because he was grinding his teeth so much.
"So, Hank," everyone, but Hank, was surprised that it was Angela initiating conversation, "what are you studying?" If her mind added a silent, "besides Sam" to this question, it was not unreasonable.
Hank tore his gaze away from Sam only long enough to say, "it was medicine, now it's puppetry."
"Puppetry?" Angela mouthed. She looked at Tony and they shrugged.
Tony found his equilibrium, he couldn't have heard this kid say he was going from medicine to puppetry, could he? "Come again?"
This time Sam managed to tear herself away from her beloved, "relax, dad; he's picking up puppetry as a way of working with kids, he's going to be a pediatrician. And it wouldn't matter if he did drop medicine, I can get a job and support both of us, I've had a great role model in that." She nodded at Angela.
"Sam, that's not the lesson I hoped you'd learn. I want you to be self-sufficient, not unfulfilled because you are spending all your time supporting someone and doing something you hate. Don't sell yourself short before you've even had a chance to live."
"Angela, this is my choice to make and I have made it." Sam looked at her beloved. He nodded enthusiastically. Sam managed to pull her gaze away and announced, "that's why we are here today, to tell you we are getting married."
"Married?" everyone said almost simultaneously. This little tidbit of news changed everything. Tony was having a difficult enough time just meeting this Hank. "No way, Sam. You aren't bringing a guy in here for the first time and tell me you are marrying him." How Tony managed to not cross the room, separate this man from his daughter, and throw him out, Angela never knew.
"Agreed," said Angela, finding her voice as Sam's maternal presence once again. Tony looked at her and nodded his appreciation of her standing with him on this.
"Sam, have you even decided on a major yet?" Angela asked.
Sam didn't even look away from Hank as she answered, "no, but now I will have help in the decision."
Angela's mind was reeling, this was not the way this was done. Choosing a husband before a major could only lead to disaster. Angela tried another tactic, "Sam, might it be...prudent to reflect on this life choice a little longer?"
Still focused on Hank, Sam said, "you were married young."
"And divorced young."
Sam finally turned toward Angela, "we don't have the pressures on us that you did. We'll work together, not be at odds with each other."
"If you say, 'we can live on love', I'm marching you up to your old room and locking you in," the maternal presence continued. Tony nodded in concurrence.
Another maternal; or semi-maternal presence chimed in, "maybe you can live together for a while?" Mona suggested.
"I. Don't. Think. So," was Tony's almost growled response.
"And that's exactly how I expected dad to react. See, dad, being married is the better option, even you agree, so we are getting married next week," Sam said.
"Next week?" Was the shocked, unison, response.
"Sam, may I see you in my office?" Angela asked, although it wasn't really a question.
Sam's first instinct was to say no, but she caught her dad nod ever so slightly out of the corner of her eye. Figuring this might be a positive step with Angela, she said, "of course."
"You're leaving me here alone with your dad?" Hank protested.
"Think of him as your soon to be father-in-law," Sam patted his arm as she started to tear herself away from him.
Tony's glare and crossed arms in response did nothing to calm Hank's fears. Fortunately, the doorbell rang before Sam and Angela could leave the room. Jonathan ran to answer it because he wanted something to diffuse this situation. Unfortunately, Jonathan opened the door to find two strangers.
"Tony Micelli live here?" the man asked gruffly.
"Dad!" a relieved Hank ran to the door, thus answering the question to the identities of the strangers.
"Yeah, I'm Tony Micelli, come on in and join the party," he said from across the room. Hanks parents entered the room and Jonathan shut the door. Angela put on her best corporate demeanor. She walked over to Hank's parents and held out her hand, "hi, I am Angela…"
"Angela, it's so nice to finally meet you. I'm Fran and this is Joe."
Tony reflected that now he had names; the revelations of the day just kept coming.
"Finally? You know about me?" Angela asked as they finished shaking hands. She started to turn to ask Sam, but Fran effused, "oh sure, Sam talks about you all the time." Angela didn't have time to wonder if that was a good thing or a bad thing because all she could wonder about was the relationship between these strangers and Sam. Wanting clarification, she asked, "you've met Sam before today?"
"Of course, she's been over to dinner several times," Fran answered.
Angela felt her world crumbling; it wasn't bad enough that their family life had fallen apart, Sam's ability to forge a relationship with another family sent a pain of loss through her heart. Jealousy also introduced itself. Sam had chosen these strangers over her own family. Moments of previous Sunday dinners flashed through her head; memories that were only relics of a fading past.
"Ay oh, oh ay; Sam, I thought you and Angela were headed to her study?"
Angela silently thanked Tony for pulling her thoughts back to the situation at hand; one she could still do something about if she just focused. "Excuse me," she said to Fran and Joe as she walked in Sam's direction and held out her hand to her. A bright spot in her day was that Sam took it. Angela left the hosting duties to Tony, so as she walked to the den, she ignored Joe saying to Hank, "you left a message, 'come to this address for big news!' what kind of a message is that?"
"Have a seat," she heard Tony say before closing the door to her den and shutting out the commotion. Whether that was directed to Hank or his parents or all three, she wasn't sure.
Corporate Angela stayed; she blocked out any and all conversations previously held in this room with members of the Micelli family. She asked Sam to sit on the window seat, which she did, but Angela did not sit. Nor did she pace. She looked directly at the woman in her office and said, "Sam, you are so young."
"Your parents, Hank's parents, and my mom and dad married young. From what I can remember, they were happy. Hank makes me happy."
"You are the only person who can make you happy. Happiness doesn't depend on a man; often times it's just the opposite." Reflecting that that might have been a bit harsh, Angela backed up, "I am sorry. I see no reason for you to be married right now," She paused for a moment then said, "is there?"
"No, Angela, there is no reason like that."
"That's a relief. Your father will be a wonderful grandfather someday, but I think he'd like to graduate from college first. To say nothing of the way he would treat Hank."
"Angela, I want...life, I want to live the joy everyone talks about."
"And that's wonderful, honey, but at your age, love can easily be confused with...other sensations."
Sam refrained from any sarcastic response, but did say, "I know the difference."
"Then compromise; set a date for after graduation. After residency, even. It's difficult enough to do a residency as a single person, but with a wife and maybe a child or two? Sam, please rethink this."
"I don't want to compromise with my life, Angela."
"Sam, life, and especially marriage, are all about compromise."
"I understand that. I know that Hank and I will disagree, I know that at times we will struggle, but I know we can work through things, so why wait?"
"Being impetuous doesn't lead to happily ever after."
"Neither does waiting." Sam wished she could have those words back. Corporate Angela stayed in place without even flinching. Sam, ashamed of her gaffe, tried to gloss over it, "Angela, we've discussed everything, and this is our decision."
"Sam, you don't decide to get married because you are bored on a Saturday afternoon. You get married because you want to spend the rest of your life with this person."
"And I want to spend the rest of my life with Hank."
"How long have you known him?"
"Met him in class first day of this semester."
"That's no more than two months ago. Sam, you bestow your heart so beautifully, but it wasn't so long ago that you were engaged to Matt."
"Matt was a disappointment."
"How are your expectations of Hank different from your expectations of Matt? Don't expect anything from any man. Even if you think it's not possible for him to disappoint you, he will. You knew Matt longer, yet you seem to think that Hank won't disappoint you. Honey, please take more time..."
Sam was sure they weren't talking about Hank at the moment, but she was more interested in her own relationship, and didn't have a chance to change the conversation anyway as Angela kept on.
"How do you know Hank is really the one?"
"You don't know him, come talk to him and you'll see."
"I'm not concerned about how much I don't know him, I'm concerned about how much you don't know him. Sam, I can't speak to your parents' marriage, but I know that my parents had some very difficult times." An idea struck her, "talk to my mother, please."
"Fine."
Angela went back out, Tony looked at her in hope, Angela shook her head. She'd let Tony down, but she was bringing in reinforcements. She caught her mother's attention through the raucous conversation going on in the living room and waved her over. Mona walked quickly, glad to be out of the storm, as Hank's parents took the wedding news about as well as Tony did. Jonathan wished he had an out. He was surrounded by a situation which affected him, but not to the extent where he could voice an opinion on it. Although, if he did, he'd side with Sam. He was tired of the bickering and maybe Sam being married would bring a positive change in the house. He wasn't sure how that would happen since Sam didn't live there, but at this point, he welcomed any change.
Angela closed the door again, although it did little to block out he noise in the living room. Sam found herself in a room with the two women she loved most in the world, but instead of a cozy chat, they were standing in front of her, ready to tear her dreams apart. But Sam had faith in her love and herself, she straightened her back, preparing to defend her knight in shining armor against all foes.
Knowing it was her turn, Mona started, "so kiddo, spring fever?"
Only Sam's respect for Mona kept her from rolling her eyes. She was in love with a capital LOVE, couldn't they see that? Instead she said, "I thought you would be all for this. You married young, and you were happy."
"Yes, Sam, we were, but I knew Sam, I just knew."
"Can't I 'just know'? You still see me at that little girl who walked into your life years ago."
"It wasn't that many years ago," Mona pointed out.
"Long enough that I am not a little girl anymore. This is my life, I am an adult. I am going to marry Hank."
"Why?"
"What do you mean, why? I love him. Why shouldn't I have the joy of sharing my life with him?"
"Sam, expectations in marriage are...fraught with misinterpretation." Mona sat down on the bench and took Sam's hand, "since you are no longer that little girl, I am going to tell you something I am not proud of. When Angela was little I started to resent the time Robert spent away from us. Instead of being grateful to him for being a good husband and father, I wanted more attention. And I got it. It just wasn't from Robert."
Angela drew herself away, back toward her desk, this was not a subject she'd ever expected to be brought up again, and it was one she still wanted to avoid. Of course, pulling herself away from one conversation only brought up snippets of another past she'd like to forget. There was Tony, in this room, trying to rationalize, and her letting him get away with it. Her focus was waning as she saw the ghosts of the past.
Sam's shocked voice mercifully brought her out of this, "what exactly do you mean?"
"I mean I found a neighbor who willingly fulfilled the vacant post of husband. It started off so simply. We talked. We laughed. We spent more and more time together. And then, I made the mistake of betrayal. I chose proximity and infatuation over stalwart love. I regretted it, but regret is no substitute for a clean conscience." Mona paused and took a deep breath, "Robert and I fought. I put him through something he never deserved to go through, and, eventually he forgave me. Whether I have ever truly forgiven myself is another matter. The only experience I have had in life more difficult than this was when I lost Robert forever."
Sam absorbed all of this, "but I can't imagine cheating on Hank."
"And I didn't go into my marriage thinking I was going to cheat."
"Mona, I empathize, but this has nothing to do with my getting married."
"What I am saying is that there are unexpected stresses in married life."
"There are unexpected stresses in plain old life, too. I've coped before, I can cope again."
They were at an impasse. The noise from the living room permeated the quiet of the study.
"If you will excuse me, I'd like to join my fiance before dad subjects him to any more grilling from his own personal Spanish Inquisition." Sam then departed to rescue her love from the rack.
"This feels so wrong," Angela noted.
"I agree, but I don't think there is anything we can do about it," her mother responded.
They left to rejoin the fracas in the living room. It was out of the frying pan and into the fire for Sam. She now had another set of parents to deal with, and the allies that Hank's parents had previously been had now become adversaries.
"Thank goodness you're back," a very relieved Hank said as he welcomed her back into his arms. They sat down on the couch, the center of attention. Fran had taken Tony's suggestion and sat in the chair close to the staircase. Joe paced behind her. Jonathan had brought the chair from the desk over and placed it in between Fran and the couch, but so far, it remained empty. He held himself out of the group, leaning against the staircase railing, his grandmother opted to stand near him. Tony, far too agitated to sit, paced near the chair close to the dining room. Watching both his father and Tony pace at the same time created an amusing effect for Hank, but he buried any laughter deep down. Angela chose to stand near Tony.
"Are we ready to discuss this calmly," Tony stopped pacing and started speaking.
Sam shrugged, "there's nothing to discuss, dad. Hank and I are getting married, end of discussion."
"There's plenty to discuss," Joe sided with Tony.
Hank spoke, "I say we take a poll. How old were you when you got married?" He felt on safe ground with this as he already knew the answers. "Mom and dad?"
"We were twenty," his mom acknowledged, a little unwillingly.
"I plead the fifth," was Mona's reply.
Sam looked from Mona to Angela, her response was, "too young, it was a mistake," hoping that was enough to cause doubt in Sam. Instead, Sam moved on to her father, "Dad?"
"You know the answer to that."
"You never had a problem discussing it until now. Is it so much more difficult now that the shoe is on the other foot?"
"I knew your mother longer than you've known Hank. Far longer."
"Wouldn't she understand? Wouldn't she want me to be happy?"
The room was still, Tony took a very deep breath, then very quietly and slowly said, "do not use your mother like that."
Sam knew she had crossed a line, she nodded at her father and looked down.
Fran tried to create a bridge, "Sam has told us about her mother, we are sorry for your loss." Joe and Hank nodded, sending their silent condolences.
"Thank you," Tony said.
The room was quiet. After a respectful silence, Hank stood up. He gathered his courage, "Mr. Micelli...sir...you expected Sam to get married someday, yes?"
"Yes, some day; twenty years from now."
"Dad."
Tony gave a quick nod acknowledging the absurdity of his answer.
Hank continued, "then why am I being vilified for knowing that Sam is wonderful and having the sense to marry her now?"
"He's got you there, Tone," Mona said.
Again, Tony and Angela were in unison. "Mona," was all Tony said with his glare, but Angela added a, "you're not helping" to her own glare.
At this point Jonathan decided he'd had enough, and that he was thirsty. He started to make his way to the kitchen.
"Jonathan, where are you going?" his mother stopped him.
"This really doesn't concern me," he answered. He paused and directed a, "good luck," to Sam and Hank. He continued on his way, leaving his mother surprised and the door swinging behind him.
"The kid has a point," his grandmother said as she made her way to the kitchen, "this is a problem for the six of you to deal with."
"Our wedding is not a problem," Sam retorted, but the swinging door had no response for her.
In the kitchen, Jonathan was pulling some lemonade out of the fridge. His grandmother took out two glasses from a cabinet, "fill 'er up, kiddo." Jonathan complied and they sat down at the table. They weren't there for long when two more people came into the kitchen with such force that the poor old door almost swung off its hinges. It was Sam and Hank. "I declared a time out, and banished myself," Sam said in response to the silent questions on the faces of Mona and Jonathan. "Are there any brownies around?" she asked.
"Is it a day that ends in y?" Jonathan answered.
Sam motioned for Hank to sit down, she took out a couple more glasses and the brownies, then sat down herself. Hank poured the lemonade as she stuffed a brownie in her face, "do you believe them?" was her muffled question.
"Parents, what are you going to do?" Mona said as she lifted her glass in a mock toast.
"Funny, Mona," Sam said through another bite. She swallowed and turned to Jonathan, "you've been quiet, I thought you'd be happy for me...I thought everyone would be happy."
"I have to get beyond shock before I can consider happy."
"Do you think you could maybe move through the shock a little faster, I need someone on our side."
"Sam, I will always will be on your side, no matter what."
Sam smiled, "right back at you." Sam and Jonathan touched glasses.
Mona smiled.
Jonathan said, "although I am still surprised by such a short engagement."
"I don't want to make the same mistake dad and Angela did."
"Ah, there it is," Mona wisely noted, "Sam, don't make decisions about your relationship based on theirs. Theirs has always been...weird."
"It's unfulfilled, Mona, they could have had something really special, but now they have nothing."
Mona agreed, "we should have locked them in a bedroom years ago and not let them out...until they didn't want to come out."
"Hey, I gave it my best shot," Jonathan said.
"And it was a darn good one, too bad they were so stubborn. Hank, do you have any idea what we are talking about?" Mona asked.
"Sam has told me a lot, was this Valentine's Day?" he answered.
Sam couldn't help but laugh, "Yes, they tried so hard to get us to believe they hadn't been out together." They all laughed, but the laughter faded quickly as the current state of the Tony and Angela relationship intruded.
Mona wouldn't be distracted. She put her psychology degree to work, "so, are you doing this to have something to cling to in the chaos of their relationship? Searching for stability?"
"Yes...maybe...no. I see what you are doing, this doesn't have anything to do with dad and Angela."
Mona raised her eyebrows, "if you say so."
Sam's ire was up, "Like dad and Angela have any right to lecture us about relationships. Hank and I love each other. We are getting married next Saturday." An idea struck, "unless we elope first."
Jonathan's shock continued, "Sam, you get married without Mrs. Rossini there and you will never hear the end of it. She'll probably even haunt you from beyond the grave."
"Mrs. Rossini! That's it! C'mon, Hank!" Sam jumped up and grabbed Hank's wrist. He got up from the chair, "what's it?"
"Mrs. Rossini, she'll be on our side, we're going to Brooklyn!"
"To Brooklyn!" Hank agreed as he grabbed another brownie on his way out the door.
The parents in the living room heard a car leave. Tony tore himself away from the strategy meeting to pop his head into the kitchen. "Where'd they go?"
"Don't put me in the middle of this," Jonathan answered.
"Where do you think?" Mona said.
Tony thought. "Brooklyn," was all he said. He went back to the living room, called Mrs. Rossini to warn her and then Tony, Angela, and Hank's parents piled into Tony's car and headed to the City.
"They could have at least said goodbye," Mona said sarcastically.
"I'm sure you'll really miss them," Jonathan answered, just as sarcastically.
"Ha. Want to go see a movie?"
"Sure, grandma." And off they went.
Mrs. Rossini started her own preparations. Food was first on her list. She calculated the time of the journey from Fairfield to Brooklyn and by the time she heard the knock on the door the table held close to a Thanksgiving level of food. She answered the door so quickly that she interrupted Sam and Hank kissing. She pulled them inside. "Get in here, sit down, and eat," she said as pointed toward the table.
Sam was so shocked she didn't move, "how did you know...dad called, didn't he?"
"Never mind about that, are you going to introduce me to your fiance?" Mrs. Rossini punctuated that by slamming the door shut and crossing her arms.
Sam smiled tightly at her father's interference, "of course, Mrs. Rossini, this is Hank. Hank, Mrs. Rossini."
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mrs. Rossini, Sam has told me so much about you." Hank held out his hand, but Mrs. Rossini must have forgotten how to uncross her arms as they didn't move. Hank tried to cover by suddenly finding his fingernails very interesting and then moving his hand away.
"Funny, she's never mentioned you to me," still crossed arms Mrs. Rossini said.
"Well, I was just waiting for the right time."
"So the right time is a week before your wedding?"
"How long a phone call was this?"
"Long enough. I said sit down and eat."
"Yes ma'am," both kids said as they scurried over to the table, sat down, next to each other, of course, and obeyed. Mrs. Rossini finally moved her arms, but it was only to pile food on their plates while asking them the same questions their parents had. She had a similar reaction. It wasn't too long before there was another knock on the door. Mrs. Rossini answered and admitted four more people to her home. Not wanting the same nudge on manners that Sam endured, Hank jumped up to introduce his parents to Mrs. Rossini. Her civility had returned enough to shake their hands. They had been informed of her importance to Sam while en route.
Angela looked around the room in awe, "Mrs. Rossini, how did you do all of this in such a short time?"
She answered with just a flair of her hands.
"Smells delicious," Joe said.
"Thank you, sit down. Eat. Nothing was ever settled on an empty stomach."
Everyone sat down. Fran sat across from Samantha, Joe across from Hank. Tony sat at the head of the table nearest the kitchen. Angela sat at the other end of the table, near Sam. Mrs. Rossini had a chair in between Tony and Hank, but spent little time in it.
Sam addressed her father, "how could Jonathan betray me? He just said…"
"Jonathan didn't betray you," he answered.
"Mona?"
"Do you think I couldn't figure it out for myself?"
"Fine."
There was more eating.
"This tastes as delicious as it smells," Joe complimented.
"Thank you."
A very uncomfortable silence settled in the room.
Finally, Mrs. Rossini could no longer refrain from comment. "What do you think you are doing? Thinking about getting married now? You have your whole life ahead of you!"
So much for finding a port in the storm, Sam thought. She sighed, "we have been over this a million times. Hank and I are getting married next Saturday, end of discussion."
"You are too young," Mrs. Rossini added her opinion, making it sound like the final word.
"But…"
"But nothing, Samantha Marie Micelli, I know from experience. It's spring now, but in the fall, he'll be running out on you." She glared at Hank, who suddenly wished he was several inches shorter. He tried to defend himself, "I would never…"
"You're a man; therefore untrustworthy." It might be said that Mrs. Rossini was still a little bitter from the divorce.
Angela didn't say anything, but her own bitterness agreed with Mrs. Rossini whole-heartedly.
Fran had another point of view, "my Joe and my Hank are both trustworthy men. They are respectful and kind. Don't lump them in with the men you know."
"So, you are for this?" Mrs. Rossini asked.
"They could both be in far worse places than this. If they feel they have met the person who can be their help mate through life's storms, then, yes, I am ok with this."
"Was that a remark against Brooklyn?" Mrs. Rossini would take no insult against her home town.
"What?"
"You said they could be in worse places. You know Sam is from Brooklyn."
"Don't be so defensive, I didn't mean physical location. I meant they aren't on drugs, or some other dark path. I would welcome Sam as a daughter-in-law."
Sam lit up, "thank you."
Another pang of jealousy threatened to shatter Angela's corporate demeanor.
"So, you have come around to this?" Joe asked his wife.
"I'm not entirely comfortable, but I don't see a way to stop it, unless they both come to their senses.
It wasn't a ringing endorsement, but both Sam and Hank would take it.
"I am not comfortable," Tony stated.
Now Sam rolled her eyes, "of course."
"Don't take that attitude with me, Sam," her father warned.
But Sam had had enough, it was father versus daughter; stubborn versus stubborn, "we could always ditch everyone and catch a flight to Vegas," she dropped.
"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph," Mrs. Rossini prayed, as she crossed herself.
Tony closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calm, he had to remain calm. Fran and Joe looked apoplectic.
Angela gasped, "elope? Sam, don't even joke about such a thing. I never thought I wouldn't be at your wedding."
Sam looked at Angela and saw the pain in her eyes. There was now fresh pain there in addition to the hurt she'd seen in Angela's eyes for months. She felt sad that she had caused Angela more pain, it wasn't her intention to do so. Sam made an "I surrender" gesture and the tension dissipated.
It was quiet again, Tony even managed to stop glaring for a moment.
A thought occurred to Corporate Angela. Sam wasn't exactly known to be a thoughtful planner, and if she could work that angle, that might delay, or hopefully, cancel, the nuptials. "Sam," she started, "have you given any consideration to the license, the officiant, the venue, the guests, the gown, the rings?"
"No," Sam cheerfully answered.
"And when do you think you might pay attention to these minor considerations?"
"Oh, Angela, stop worrying, it will all work out."
"I'm not worried, Sam. I'm pointing out that your lack of preparation is a corollary to your lack of thought about this marriage."
Tony wanted to run over and kiss Angela for this, but, as always, refrained.
"That seems a little unfair, no one makes wedding plans instantaneously," Sam defended.
"But you wish to be married as close to instantaneously as possible. Do you plan to invite friends?"
Sam looked at Hank, it was obvious they had not discussed this or any of Angela's other bullet points.
Angela continued, "venues have to be booked well in advance, officiants also. What about a photographer? Musicians?"
Sam had told Joe that Angela was an excellent businesswoman; seeing her put those skills to use was something he was inwardly applauding.
The gaze between Hank and Sam was wavering, but then Sam had what she thought to be a brilliant answer, "the frills aren't important, all we need is each other, and didn't you put together a wedding for your cousin in a week?"
"Dammit!" Tony thought.
Angela, however, remained Corporate. "Yes, however, Lyle and Christy were older. And if you remember, Christy ran out on the wedding."
"But she reconsidered, and they married soon after, and if I am not mistaken, are still happily married."
"Yeah, that's 'cause no one else wanted them," Tony muttered.
"Dad."
"All right, all right; yes, they are still married," he conceded, very unwillingly.
"So, there is another marriage to add to the plus side. Now, as age doesn't matter in the time it takes to plan a wedding, we can put this together by next Saturday," Sam declared.
Joe saw that Sam had learned quite a bit from Angela in corporate demeanor.
Sam continued, "First, the venue, we can do as Lyle and Christy planned and be married at the house. "Wouldn't that be lovely, Angela?"
Angela was now on the spot. She looked at Tony, "kitchen?" He nodded and they excused themselves to the room.
"Eat!" Mrs. Rossini ordered to those left behind.
Now Angela paced, "Tony, this is not the way I'd pictured Sam's wedding. If I say yes, it's as good as condoning the wedding, and I just can't; but if I say no, she'll find someplace else."
"Wait, back up, you've thought about her wedding?"
"Of course."
Tony wondered why he was surprised by this, he shouldn't have been, really.
Angela's eyes lost focus as she saw the events in her mind, "I thought we'd go dress shopping, and we'd have the wedding at the club, and the cake would be sky high. There would be a band…," she slumped into a chair. "This isn't the way this is supposed to be." Her dreams of indulging Sam with every wedding extravagance were dying along with the family.
Tony jumped on this, "we can put the idea of a grand wedding out there. Then, when this relationship ends, and it will, we'll only have lost some deposits."
"You heard her, she doesn't care about the details. Just Hank. That's wise, but this is still a mistake. Tony, what are we going to do?"
He also slumped into a chair, "I don't know." He was at least gratified that he and Angela were working as a team on this. Angela turned her head away and brushed away a tear, Tony, lost in the current chaos of his thoughts, didn't see this.
An anguished Angela said, "I just can't say yes to this." She turned to Tony, "does that make me horrible?"
"Of course not, it makes you sensible."
"But on the other hand, I want to do what I can for Sam. This is impossible. How can I deny her the chance to be married where she grew up?"
"Too quickly; she grew up too quickly," Tony noted.
"Yes, too quickly. What do you want me to say to her?"
"I think the same thing you do; no, but saying no won't accomplish anything."
"And saying yes won't either."
"Exactly."
"Which leaves us nowhere."
"We can punt."
"Punt?"
"Kick the ball back to her, steer the conversation to the other necessities. If she doesn't have those, venue doesn't matter."
"I like that idea. Let's punt." They shook hands and went back to the table.
Tony took the lead, "Sam, there will be no decision on venue at this time."
"When do you think a decision might be made?" she asked.
"When you've gotten your head out of the clouds. There are practicalities to be dealt with: license, officiant, guest list," he ticked off on his fingers.
"We've already started. Date: March twenty-eighth…" Sam effused.
"Might as well wait a few days as April first might be more appropriate."
"Funny, dad."
Angela bit her cheek to keep from smiling. She jumped in, "what about the license, Sam?"
Sam was intrigued by the team approach. If this is the way they wanted to play it, she'd go along. Maybe, just maybe, she thought, working together against her wedding would help them with their relationship. "Can't do anything about it until Monday, so we will take care of it then. And we'll make inquiries about finding someone to marry us. Next."
"Gown," Angela stated, "they have to be ordered. You can't get one by Saturday."
Sam had an answer for that, "Mrs. Rossini, didn't my mom borrow your wedding gown?"
"She did, but I got rid of it after...a certain person decided to ignore his wedding vows," she glared at all the men around the table, silently accusing them of crimes they did not commit.
"Maybe Mona, then."
"Sam, mother gave away her dress after my father died."
"I'm sorry, Angela." Sam went so far as to place her hand over Angela's in sympathy.
"You can wear my dress," Fran said.
Sam clasped her hands together and beamed at her. At the loss of a comforting hand another wave of jealousy came over Angela. Once again Fran was offering Sam something she couldn't. Even if she hadn't gotten rid of her own gown years ago, she wouldn't offer Sam a dress from a wedding that had ended in divorce and would have required too much altering anyway. Angela's sense of loss intensified. She was watching herself being excluded as Sam formed a new maternal relationship. In desperation she said, "Sam, how about we postpone from the twenty-eighth? I'll see what dates are available at the club, we can go dress shopping. We'll have all the fun we're supposed to have in wedding planning."
Tony was shocked, hadn't they just decided against this tactic?
Sam saw right through this. It pained her, because she feared she might hurt Angela, but she said, "no thank you, Angela. It's a clever idea. You and dad put this carrot in front of me in the hope that I will cancel the wedding, but I'm not falling for gilded plates and small boxes of truffles."
Angela looked at Tony in silent apology.
Inspiration hit Tony, "ha!" he clapped his hands, "honeymoon. You can't go on your honeymoon in the middle of the semester. So, you see, the future wedding idea has that going for it as well."
"Nice try, dad, but we don't really need to go on a trip."
Now Tony was sorry he brought up the subject.
Hank leaned over to talk to Sam, "well, it would be nice to go on a honeymoon someday."
"Sure, someday, but it doesn't have to be right now. We can plan something for the summer."
"Scheduling might be difficult."
"We'll work it out."
For the first time since he'd heard the wedding news, Tony saw a glimmer of hope. He leaned back in the chair and let the kids discuss this little problem of theirs. At this point he'd take any crack in the facade.
"Will we?" Hank asked.
"Of course, but it's not a discussion we need to have right here and now."
Hank took Sam's hand, leaned even closer, and whispered something in Sam's ear. She giggled in response. Mrs. Rossini was out of her chair and in between them in a second. "That's it, buster, you're grounded, hands on the table!" He complied in sheer terror. "You too, Sam, hands on the table!" She also complied, but shot an angry look at her dad as he was obviously enjoying this too much.
Hank was flustered, "um, you can't ground me, Mrs. Rossini, you aren't my parents and...I am an adult."
"I've grounded Sam plenty of times."
Sam nodded her head in agreement.
"And if you are going to act immature, then I will treat you as such, stunod!" She made the gesture of almost smacking him on his head with the back of her hand. Fran saw this and was incensed.
Sam looked at her hands on the table. She lifted them and the world didn't come to an end. She leaned around Mrs. Rossini and said, "Hank, why are we here?"
"Is it really the time to be existential?" he answered, his hands still glued to the table.
"Nothing is going to be resolved tonight. It's Saturday night, we are in New York City, let's go have some fun."
Hank smiled at Sam, "I'm game!"
"Let's go!"
And with that, Hank found that he could lift his hands, too. They almost ran out of there, Hank making sure that everyone saw him put his hand at the small of Sam's back as they made their way to the door. Those left behind saw Sam smile beatifically at him as the hallway light beamed on them.
They were gone.
Mrs. Rossini demanded, "what are you going to do about this, Anthony Morton Micelli?"
"Morton?"
"Not in the mood, Joe. I'm open to suggestions, Mrs. Rossini."
But Mrs. Rossini was too busy surveying the table, "they didn't even finish the food on their plates. Waste. Wasted food, wasted lives. You should lock Samantha up somewhere until she comes to her senses."
"I'm fresh out of towers."
Fran had had enough, she rose from her chair so forcefully it almost tipped over backwards. "How dare you threaten to hit my son. Sam has a good practical head on her shoulders. If she's made her choice, then it's an insult to her to question it; and it's an insult to my son. Joe, I have had enough of Brooklyn and would like to leave now." Mrs. Rossini's arms now crossed again and her eyes flashed.
"We all came in one car," he sorrowfully reminded her.
"We are in New York City, too, there are other places to be and plenty of ways out of Brooklyn," she sneered the last word.
Mrs. Rossini almost jumped over the table to confront her. Tony broke the tension by standing up and putting an end to this fight before it came to blows, "we can head back to Connecticut. Sam was right, nothing is going to be resolved tonight."
Everyone started gathering their things to leave, Joe looked forlornly at his plate, "but I haven't finished my food either."
Mrs. Rossini's demeanor changed immediately, she smiled, dropped her arms, and said, "I'll wrap it up for you, and load you up with more to take home." As she disappeared into the kitchen, Joe's face lit up. Fran's face most decidedly did not, "and now you insult me by bringing home her food?"
"I'm hungry and I don't want the food to go to waste."
Now Fran's arms were crossed.
Joe was resigned to his fate, "so I either insult you or her."
"Better her than your wife," his wife warned.
Joe addressed Tony, "I guess we are leaving foodless."
"We'll take home food to Jonathan, he's a teenager, he can pack it away," Tony stated. When Mrs. Rossini returned from the kitchen, she was carrying a pile of containers taller than her head. Joe graciously accepted them, keeping Mrs. Rossini happy, and his wife quasi-happy. As he knew he wouldn't get to eat any of the contained delights, he was not happy.
The trip back to Connecticut was long and quiet. Plans were made to meet the next day to see if anyone had come up with any ideas over night. The house was silent as Tony and Angela entered the kitchen and put all the food in the fridge.
An equally silent living room awaited them. Angela looked at the fireplace. If all didn't go well, it could wind up as the back drop for a wedding in less than a week.
"No note from Mona or Jonathan," Tony said.
"What?" Angela turned to him.
"Mona and Jonathan, no phone message, nothing."
"Wherever they are, I'm sure they're having more fun than we are. Tony, are you ok?"
"No, you?"
"No," was her barely audible answer. Then Angela did something that shocked Tony; she burst into tears. "Tony, what are we going to do?" she sobbed.
Tony's instincts took over, he put his arms around Angela, and she sank into them.
"She can't, she just can't go through with this."
"It's going to be ok, Angela."
"Do you really believe that?"
"I don't know what to believe anymore."
Angela looked up at him. The pain he saw in her eyes prompted him to guide her over to the couch and they sat down. He grabbed a box of tissues then put his arm back around Angela. She was grateful for both the arm and the tissues. "Tony, I'm sorry. Here I am upset, and I know you are hurting even more than I am."
"I'm not seeing a way out of this, Angela."
She started crying again, "we can talk and talk and tell them not to do this crazy thing, but they won't listen. Why won't they listen?"
"They are young and in looove?"
"How do we get them to see that isn't enough?
"We can't issue an ultimatum, we can't dig our heels in, they won't listen to reason."
"They won't listen to anything...or anyone. There has to be some way out of this." Angela tried to control herself, but wound up crying again. She dropped her face into her hands. Tony drew her closer and she dropped her head on his shoulder. They were quiet for a while as Angela continued to work the tissue box. Finally, she pulled herself together enough to say, "when I got up this morning I had no idea the day would end this way."
"That's life for you, always throwing curve balls. This one beaned both of us."
"Beaned?"
"Hit us in the head."
Angela's response was a wry laugh of agreement.
They were quiet again. Angela didn't want to admit it, but she was tired, exhausted really. She wanted to go to sleep, but doing so meant leaving Tony's embrace, and that meant losing the comfort she was experiencing. It was so nice to be on the same team with him again. She'd missed it so much. She closed her eyes for what she thought was just a moment, but was soon asleep.
Tony felt Angela nod off, and even though he knew he would have to at some point, he decided to put off waking her. Instead he took comfort in her measured breathing as he went over the stress of the day. His already tumultuous life had three new people thrown into it today; one who could very well be his son-in-law far too soon. Son-in-law. The phrase kept running through his head, but he still couldn't wrap his mind around it.
His thoughts were interrupted by the kitchen door being closed. The sound woke Angela up. It took her a moment to realize where she was. She gasped and pulled away quickly, far too quickly for his liking. They were now both bereft of comfort. Jonathan entered the living room.
"Where have you been?" his mother asked gently.
"Out with grandma. I can see by your faces that Sam still wants to get married."
"She does," Tony affirmed.
"Jonathan, is there anything you can say to Sam to persuade her to give up this idea?"
"Sorry, mom, she doesn't listen to me either. She's a worldly college student, and I am just a high school kid to her."
"C'mon Jonathan," Tony said, "you're more to her than that, you grew up together."
"And she has grown past any need to seek my opinion...at least she thinks she has. If I had any ideas on how to stop her, I'd tell you, but I don't, sorry."
"Oh, honey, we didn't mean to put any pressure on you. We're just so...overwhelmed."
"Yeah, it's been a long day. I'm going to turn in," Jonathan said.
"Of course." Angela rose from the couch and went to hug her son tightly. He wasn't surprised by the extra maternal attention. It was to be expected that if she felt herself losing one child that she would cling to the other. She let him go with a kiss on the cheek. He bid both of them good night.
"I'm going to turn in, too. Good night, Tony."
"Good night," he said as he took leave of the couch and started shutting down the house for the night.
Neither Tony nor Angela slept well that night. They both tossed and turned, but Tony's thoughts went beyond Sam and Hank. He was also tortured by having Angela back in his arms for far too brief a time. Even under such stressful circumstances he was glad to hold her again. But his brief moment of happiness was marred every time he remembered the look on her face as she pulled away from him. It was a mix of surprise, and even though he couldn't be sure, revulsion, like she couldn't wait to be away from him. He spent most of the night trying to figure it out, never realizing that is was plain old heartbreak. It was the pain Angela felt at the knowledge that his arms were not hers to find solace in.
On Sunday morning, the curve balls kept on coming. Tony was serving pancakes for breakfast, having even cajoled Angela into having some, when the phone rang. He deftly answered it, while still flipping cakes onto plates. He almost dropped one when he realized it was Fran on the phone. He held the receiver out so Angela could hear what she had to say, too. It wasn't good news, she called to say that she was canceling the meeting for today and that Sam was on her way over to her house to try on the wedding dress. Angela's appetite for pancakes evaporated. Fran invited everyone over, but Mona and Jonathan declined. Mona had a lunch date, and Jonathan would rather be anyplace else. Tony and Angela headed out as quickly as they could.
At Fran and Joe's house they were greeted with a vision. There in the sunken living room were Fran and Joe, no Hank as he was observing the 'no seeing the bride in her gown before the wedding' rule. Sam was twirling around, showing off the gown. Fran beamed. Sam beamed. Angela...didn't. She felt usurped; forgotten.
The dress was a mixture of Regency and Camelot, with a final touch of early 1970s kitsch. The skirt was basic, long, not very full, no train, made of satin. The bodice was high, in the Empire style, with a square cut neckline. It was made of lace over satin. Angela hoped she was hallucinating when she saw that the neckline and the seam between the skirt and bodice were embellished with daisy chain trim. The sleeves were dramatic, close fit satin that ended in a point over each hand, fortunately trimmed with some small twisty thing, and not daisy chain. But it was the over-sleeves that went fantasy Guinevere, made of lace, they draped from the shoulder, as if they had been split open from the top. The fullness tapered down to a point, ending at knee length. To top it all off, Sam wore a small satin cap which also came to a point, an elbow length pouffy veil was attached, both veil and cap were trimmed with daisy chain.
Angela didn't care for it, but that was probably her jealousy talking.
"I made it myself," Fran said proudly.
Somehow this didn't surprise Angela. She was dismayed; but remembered all those years ago when she had tried to impose her taste in dress on Sam. This time she kept her mouth shut, as Sam was obviously pleased with the dress.
"Dad, what do you think?" Sam said, while holding out the skirt.
"You look beau-tee-ful," he managed to say happily, even though inside he was nothing but turmoil.
She ran over to hug him. "Saturday, dad, just a few days and it will be your turn to give away the bride."
Her eyes were so full of joy that he could deny her nothing. "Of course."
She turned to Angela, a little worried about bringing up the subject again, "have you made a decision about the house, yet, Angela?"
Everything inside Angela still screamed no, that she had to do everything she could to stop this wedding.
"You can always have the wedding here," Fran said.
Sam started to look her way, but Angela caught her hand. She turned back. Angela said, "you can have the wedding at the house." No way was Fran getting Sam as a daughter-in-law and the honor of hosting the wedding as well.
Sam jumped for joy and hugged Angela. Angela held her tightly wondering where that little girl had disappeared to.
That former little girl effused, "I'm going to change now, then we can meet up with Hank and do brunch and make more wedding plans," as she ran out of the room.
Angela watched her go, wondering if she had betrayed Tony. She dared a glance at him, but he looked just as helpless as she felt.
The week was a whirlwind, the license and rings were obtained. Sam's friends threw together a bridal shower on Friday. Sam contacted her old friend Bonnie who came home for the weekend for the big event. After the shower, Sam returned to Oak Hills Drive to spend her last night as a single woman in her former room. Tony and Angela would have been thrilled to have her home if they could have just stopped time and not have the calendar flip to Saturday. But Saturday dawned and Sam flew on air downstairs to a family breakfast. She greeted everyone with big hugs, then sat down to breakfast, "Can you believe it? Today is my wedding day," she beamed.
Only Jonathan answered her, "still in shock to be honest."
Tony continued cooking, still wondering if there was some way to talk Sam out of this.
Mona and Angela tried, but couldn't get a word in edgewise as Sam continued to chatter on about Hank, the wedding, the decorations, more Hank, the dress, the breakfast, the weather, and even more Hank.
Jonathan was relieved when Sam decided she'd had enough breakfast and that she was heading upstairs to start her wedding preparations. Angela and Mona left to start theirs not long afterward. Jonathan had decided to do what he could to help Tony through the day, so he stayed and helped Tony clean up breakfast. Tony appreciated the company, even if he wasn't much of a conversationalist this morning. Breakfast ended Tony's food preparation for the day, as Mrs. Rossini declared she was going to provide food for the wedding. This decision made Joe happy, a state of being he wisely chose not to express to Fran.
Alone in her room, Angela paced, still trying to think of a way out of this while putting on the clothes she had chosen to wear to the wedding.
Alone in his room, Tony paced, praying for any solution as he put on his tux.
Angela heard a knock on her door. She opened it to find Sam in her wedding gown. "Could you zip me up," she asked. Angela let her in. She closed the door and took the opportunity given to her.
"Sam, you can still postpone," she said as she zipped.
Sam turned to Angela, "you are so important to me. I can't even express how much." Sam was starting to tear up, "I value your opinion, but I am not changing my mind."
Angela resigned herself to the inevitable, she had no more cards to play. So she did what any heart broken professional woman did on her housekeeper's daughter's wedding day, she opened a box she had set on her dressing table.
Sam gasped, "your pearls."
"I certainly couldn't let you be married without wearing them."
Sam threw her arms around Angela, and she responded in kind. There were now both trying to hold back tears, "thank you, Angela, for everything." They held each other for a moment or two, then Angela had to let go before she lost the battle with the tears. She guided Sam over to the full length mirror and then fastened the pearls around her neck. They gazed into the mirror together.
"Still perfect together," Sam said.
Angela smiled, "just perfect," she said, referring to Sam. Sam gave her another quick hug then flew back to her room. Angela watch her go, memories of those pearls flooding back to her; the prom, the dress, and most of all, the private dance Tony gifted her. It was a moment she'd treasured for years. It was only a few months ago that she'd wrenched it away from her happy memories and filed it under, "Scraps Tony Threw His Wallflower" consigning it to her mental trash heap. She shut away all thoughts of that night. She couldn't let anything seep into her consciousness; today would be difficult enough to get through as it was. There was a part of Angela that envied Sam, she'd made this decision so easily, her relationship was so uncomplicated. She hoped it stayed that way.
The doorbell started ringing and never seemed to stop. Hank's parents arrived. The friend of Sam's with an interest in photography and volunteered to take pictures arrived. The newly ordained friend of Hank's arrived. Mrs. Rossini arrived with an army of Tony's friends to set up the food. Hank arrived; looking no worse for wear from his bachelor party, with Sam's bouquet, boutonnieres, and corsages. He also brought along the "musicians", a CD of wedding music.
The living room was cleared, chairs were set up. There were vases of flowers placed on the mantel, and white ribbon twining down the staircase rails. It wasn't much in the way of decoration, but it made Sam happy.
Time flew by, and sooner than he had hoped, Tony Micelli escorted his daughter down the stairs she'd so often descended. He tried not to think of Christmas mornings, first day of school mornings, in short, every morning that Sam had bounded down those stairs. They were gone, and now he was facing an aisle, at the end of which was a man who saw nothing but his daughter. Sam's face somehow lit up even more at the sight of him. Tony felt himself walking, but it was almost an unconscious act. Sam reached out and took Hank's hand. Tony kissed his daughter on the cheek and sat down. Before he knew it, his daughter was a married woman.
The party commenced, even if Mrs. Rossini did cry her way through it. Bonnie was of two minds, she held an unexpressed thought that Sam and Hank were too young; but she also thought it was cool to have a friend who was married. Hank's friends made jokes about him no longer being a free man, but they might have been tinged with a bit of jealousy.
Angela tried to be a good hostess, but every once in a while she had to escape to her den for solitude. She did manage to keep her vow about alcohol, keeping the toasting with champagne to a minimum, so she was proud of herself for that. Still, the desire to knock back another flute or ten was there.
Mona was of course the life of the party. Jonathan looked around the room and thought back to the day Sam had entered his life. He'd never expected then that some day he'd attend her wedding in the same room. He knew he should be happy for her, Hank was trying his best to include him in their life, but this was all still too new for him. Joe snuck off to the dining room as often as he could, and Fran held court accepting congratulations from her friends.
The cake was cut, the bouquet thrown. Bonnie caught it. The party started to disperse when Hank's friends decided to move the party to the dorm. Mrs. Rossini loaded them up with food, then she and the Brooklyn contingent left. Hank's relatives and Bonnie made their ways out soon after. Sam went upstairs to change into a better traveling outfit, even though they were only traveling to the Fairfield Inn for a one night honeymoon.
When Sam came back downstairs, she saw only family. Fran and Joe hugged the newlyweds, then departed for home. Sam then hugged Jonathan and Mona. They lingered by the staircase. Angela was next on her hug parade. She gave Sam a kiss on the cheek and wished her well, then stepped back.
Sam gave her dad a big hug, "thanks, dad! You're the best!" she said as she kissed him goodbye. He even managed to shake Hank's hand, then they were gone. Tony shut the door and stared at it. The quiet after a day of frantic energy threatened to overwhelm him. Jonathan quickly departed for the serenity of his room. Mona left for a date with someone she'd met at the reception.
Angela stood nearby, "I think there's some champagne left."
"Alcohol is probably not the best choice for me right now."
He was trying so hard to hold himself together. Angela wanted to reach out to him, but was having difficulty crossing the abyss. He was blinking back tears. Angela found enough courage to touch his hand.
Tony spoke in a hoarse voice, "I always knew the day would come when Sam would be married. And I knew Marie wouldn't be here to see it. It's one thing to know it in your mind; but it's a whole other ball game to experience it. I've been too busy trying to prevent the wedding to think about it; but now...what would Sam's life be like if Marie was here? I failed her. All I wanted to do after she died was protect Sam, give her a happy life."
"Tony, I have no doubt that Marie would be so proud of you and all you've done for Sam."
"Couldn't keep her from marrying too young. One of the reasons I wanted to get her out of Brooklyn was so she wouldn't wind up married and uneducated."
"But she's not uneducated, and I don't think anyone could have kept her from being married."
"She could still wind up divorced with a couple of kids by twenty-five."
"If she is, we'll kick mother out of her place and Sam can move in."
Tony wanted to laugh, but the tumult of the week was still too raw. He did manage a small smile. Angela, still desperate to comfort him, had run out of words. A sudden inspiration hit, she squeezed his hand, "want to shoot some hoops?"
Tony scoffed, "I don't think we are dressed for it."
"It's part of the fun."
Tony looked at her, "you're on."
Outside they went, hand in hand, to once again play basketball in formal clothes. The game was working, they even managed a couple of laughs, until Angela slipped and realized that playing basketball in heels probably wasn't the wisest choice. She offered to lose the shoes, but Tony pointed out that it was too chilly for that, it would be best for her to go inside. Sensing his need for solitude, she went. Tony stayed out for a bit longer. Angela peeked at him through an upstairs window, wishing there was something she could do to ease his pain.
The house, which had been so forlorn, somehow now seemed even emptier.