The Ring chapter 2
The family moved over to the sofa from the entryway. Mrs. Rossini, Sam and Jonathan sat down on the sofa, while Mona took the chair nearest to the kitchen. Angela sat in the chair by the front door, Tony sitting on the armchair of her chair, his arm wrapped around Angela's back. Angela was still holding onto her bouquet of pink roses, staring down lovingly at her beautiful engagement ring.
"How about we cut into that cake? I'm starving! Jonathan, can you help me get plates and the coffee?" said Tony. "Hold it bub! No one's going anywhere until you two start spilling it about being camp sweethearts!" quipped Mona.
"Why don't we do both? I think I'm going to need some chocolate courage to get through this one!" laughed Angela.
Tony and Jonathan went into the kitchen, Tony taking Angela's bouquet to put in the vase he bought her for Christmas a few years back. Tony handed Jonathan the plates, forks and napkins while he grabbed a tray with the coffee, cups and creamer.
"Thank you Jonathan for all your help today. I couldn't have done it without you", said Tony. "Of course Tony! You've been kinda like a dad to me for all these years. And I know you love Mom, so it was the least I could do" said Jonathan.
Tony patted Jonathan on the back before opening the kitchen door for them both. They placed the coffee and plates on the coffee table. Tony began pouring coffee and cutting the cake, giving the first piece to Angela.
Once everyone was settled and enjoying the cake and coffee, Mona wasted no time in getting back to the questions everyone wanted answered. "Okay you two… time to multitask and start spilling it!"
"Okay okay! Angela do you want to start?" said Tony. "Do I have a choice?" laughed Angela.
"Well… there's not that much to spill. Tony and I decided to go back to kissing rock to see the name of the girl he kissed. I started remembering more about that night as we headed to the rock, which thanks to my horrible sense of direction, took longer than it should have…"
"Wait a minute… what exactly did you start to remember?" questioned Tony. "I remembered the way 'Anthony' looked in the sleeveless shirt, thick wavy brown hair, tight blue jeans…" said Angela, with a dreamy look in her eyes.
"Why do I think this is going to make me lose my dinner!" said Jonathan. "Oh grow up dweeb! It's so romantic!" gushed Samantha.
"Anyway… as I started to remember more and more, I convinced myself it couldn't have been Tony. The logical part of me thought it just couldn't have been us. Once we finally got there, it didn't take long for Tony to find the carving. As soon as he said 'Anthony loves Ingrid', the whole facade I had convinced myself of came crashing down" said Angela.
"So, did you tell Tony you were Ingrid? And why Ingrid anyway?" said Mrs. Rossini.
"No, I didn't tell him. I was still so in shock, I don't think I could have even if I wanted to at that point. I told 'Anthony' my name was Ingrid so he wouldn't kiss and tell to all his friends. So I told him my name was Ingrid. I had just watched Casablanca three times and it was the first name that came to mind", said Angela.
"At that point, it started to rain, so we made a mad dash back to camp, but got lost and found that dingy motel. Of course, there was only one room available. It looked like something out of a horror movie. We were soaking wet and exhausted from everything that happened that day. I figured we'd be ok since there were two beds and we slept in the same house at home, it wouldn't be a big deal. I was so confused when Angela was making such a big deal about it, so I started to try and lighten the mood, joking about how it wasn't like I was alone with Ingrid…" smirked Tony.
"The look on your face when I told you I was Ingrid! It was a combination of disbelief and horror", laughed Angela.
"No kidding Angela! I mean what were the odds twenty years later I'd be working for Ingrid and then stuck in a small motel room, dripping wet, with her?" said Tony.
"So, what did you end up doing once you figured out it was the two of you?" said Jonathan. "I know what I would have done, but knowing the two of you I bet you did something ridiculous like try to separate the room in two", Mona said sarcastically.
Tony and Angela looked at each other, both their faces red, not knowing exactly what to say. "Wait, you didn't actually try and separate the room in two? You guys!" shouted Samantha.
"Samantha! We just discovered we were each other's first kiss. I had barely been working for Angela for a year, our emotions were high and being only dressed in a towel and fitted sheet..." Tony started to say before Angela gave him a stare followed by an eye roll.
"What?" the family managed to say altogether.
"We were drenched and freezing in our clothes. It's not like we had an overnight bag packed with changes of clothes. We made the best of it with what we had until that creepy staff guy came with a pair of his flannel pajamas for us to spilt. Let's just say it made sense at the time to try and put some separation between what we both knew was starting to brew between us", said Angela.
"So let me get this straight. You find out you are practically childhood sweethearts, thrown back together twenty years later by fate. You are half naked, stranded in a motel away from kids, nosy neighbors, etc. The electricity in that room I'm sure would have lit up ten small cities and it still took you over six more years to get together?" said Mona.
"Mother!" shouted Angela.
"Eh oh, oh eh! We both could have acted on our emotions that night, I know the thought crossed my mind, but we agreed things between us were good and we didn't want to risk what we had with each other or with the family we were building", said Tony.
"Although, we also agreed that night that the way things weren't between us would have been good, would have been great" Angela smiled before she turned and kissed Tony. "Yes, they are!" laughed Tony.
"So, you separate the room, share some creepy guy's pajamas, each sleeping in your own beds, nothing happening and then you end up back at Jonathan's camp the next morning?" questioned Samantha.
Again, Tony and Angela look at each other, speechless, not knowing how to explain the rest of that night's events. "Well, that's not exactly what happened…" started Angela. Four sets of eyes grew bigger and the family all simultaneously leaned in to hear more of what Angela had started to say.
"At some point later in the evening, the storm got worse. The rain got so bad, the roof couldn't hold it anymore and the ceiling caved in, right on top of my bed! Thankfully I wasn't in it at the time. One more sign from fate I suppose, but again neither of us wanted to think too much into it. Tony tried sleeping in the chair but fell out of it and hit his head."
"Yeah, I think I had a lump on my head for a few days after that!" laughed Tony.
"So, by that point, we knew the only thing we could do was share the one bed…" said Angela.
"And so started my practice at being the world's greatest monk…" laughed Tony.
"You two are unbelievable! Fate was literally trying to knock some sense into you even back then! Stunad Tony! yelled Mrs. Rossini.
"So why didn't you just tell us the truth? said Jonathan.
"We didn't want you kids to get the wrong idea. And we knew Mother always had it…" said Angela.
"Besides, it's been kinda special this being just between the two of us all these years. Anthony and Ingrid have always kept a special place in my heart. Each time there's a thunderstorm, I put on a pair of flannel pjs, someone's got an overpowering coat of Bug-off on or a stopwatch, I think of us" smiled Tony.
"Stopwatch?" said Jonathan.
Angela couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, a stopwatch. I'm laughing now about it, but I sure wasn't laughing that night. Apparently, Anthony over here had one of his friends hide in the bushes that night with a stopwatch and timed our kiss!" smirked Angela.
"Best fifty-seven seconds of my childhood! And I won the bet!" laughed Tony.
"Dad! How could you?" shouted Samantha.
"Eh oh, oh eh! I was a young eleven year old kid kissing the most beautiful girl I'd ever met. I needed proof for bragging rights! No one back at camp would have believed me'" said Tony.
"Alright everyone! Now you know the story of how we really first met and our first kiss. Let's clean this up and maybe we can watch a movie! Something old and in black and white!" said Angela.
"As much fun as that sounds, I've got to get back to my date. He said he'd wait all night, but why prolong the inevitable?" said Mona as she walked out through the back door to her apartment.
"I've really got to get back home to Brooklyn. Angela and Tony, thank you for allowing me to be here for such a special, beautiful moment between you two! I wish you only the best!" Mrs. Rossini said before she burst out into tears again.
"I'll walk her out to her car before I head back to the dorms. Love you both and congratulations again!" said Samantha as she hugged them both before heading out the door with a still crying Mrs. Rossini.
"I'm going to head over to Steve's house to finish up a science project and then watch a movie. Is midnight still my curfew?" pleaded Jonathan. "Eleven on the dot mister. That was a one-off exception", said Angela. Jonathan rolled his eyes before giving them a quick hug and leaving out the door.
"So, it's just you and I, Anthony and Ingrid- alone at last!" said Tony as he led Angela over to the sofa. "You still want to watch a movie?"
"I can think of a few other things I'd like to do instead. And you won't need a stopwatch this time" said Angela as she wrapped her arms around Tony's neck and started to kiss him slowly and then more passionately. After a few moments, they both pulled away breathless, still wrapped in each other's embrace.
"I don't know what I ever did to deserve you, but I intend to spend the rest of my life showing you just how beautiful, amazing, loving and beautiful you really are to me", said Tony.
"Right back at you Tony" said Angela, the light overhead hitting her engagement ring, making a thousand tiny sparkles dance across the room.
The End.