The Room, Unslept in
A/N: Time for Chapter 15! More plans for the future, getting closer to getting home.
PS – I don't own any of the characters from Who's the Boss? I also don't own the song(s) I use in this story. I also don't own the dialogue I sometimes use in the chapters. I've tried to pick songs that remind me of Tony & Angela and their relationship. If you'd like to hear them, check out YouTube – you can find just about everything there.
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Chapter 15: Making Plans, Part III
Tuesday night
Angela had a difficult time falling asleep that night. It was the first time she had gone to bed in their new bedroom without Tony. The bed seemed extra big and lonely as she looked towards Tony's empty pillow. She moved closer to his pillow and hugged it to her arms as she fell into a restless sleep.
Her dreaming mind drifted back to several years before to that terrible summer of 1990, and a song that she had been listening to back then by Eric Carmen drifted back in. She could hear his mellow, haunting lyrics to Never Gonna Fall in Love Again.
No use pretending things can still be right
There's really nothing more to say
I'll get along without your kiss good night
Just close the door and walk away
Never gonna fall in love again
I don't wanna start with someone new
'Cause I couldn't bear to see it end
Just like me and you
No, I never wanna feel the pain
Of remembering how it used to be
Never gonna fall in love again
Just like you and me
At first we thought that love was here to stay
The summer made it seem so right
But like the sun we watched it fade away
From morning into lonely night
Never gonna fall in love again
I don't wanna start with someone new
'Cause I couldn't bear to see it end
Just like me and you
No, I never wanna feel the pain
Of remembering how it used to be
Never gonna fall in love again
Just like you and me
Never gonna fall in love again
I don't wanna start with someone new
'Cause I couldn't bear to see it end
Just like me and you
No, I never wanna feel the pain
Of remembering how it used to be
Never gonna fall in love again
Just like you and me
Never gonna fall in love again
I don't wanna start with someone new
'Cause I couldn't bear to see it end
Just like me and you
No, I never wanna feel the pain
Of remembering how it used to be
Angela woke up in a cold sweat not remembering where she was or what year it was at that moment. As she slowly woke up, she wondered if the past couple of days had been a dream. Then she caught sight of Tony's T-shirt and sweatpants hanging out of the dresser drawer where he put them that morning. She also realized she was in her bedroom and not the sofa in her office. She thought the baby hormones were driving her crazy wondering if she'd ever get a good night's sleep, especially without Tony next to her.
She turned over to look at the clock. The large, bold red numbers flashed 1:47 a.m. in her eyes. She turned on the light on her nightstand so she could see the numbers on the phone. She picked it up and dialed Tony at his apartment.
She could tell she woke him up since it was 12:48 his time. "Oh, Sweetheart, I'm sorry for waking you up," Angela apologized feeling guilty for the late-night call.
"Angela are you okay?" Tony rushed to panic mode not expecting a call from Angela this late at night.
"Yeah, she said groggily. "I had another bad dream, and I needed to hear your voice. I miss having you next to me."
"Me, too, me, too, Angela," Tony told her lovingly wishing he could go through the phone to hold her.
Then changing the subject, Angela wanted to know more about Tony's day back at Wells, not to mention that it would keep Tony's voice speaking to her. "How did your day go?"
"It went fine, Angela." Tony went over some of the details of his day once he and Hank landed back in Iowa. "I saw Dr. Graham and Candy. They both understood completely why I decided to leave Wells. Dr. Graham wished it had gone the other way, but he understood. Dr. Graham had a reference letter waiting for me when I signed the separation papers. I hope it was okay with you, but I told them about the baby, and they're so happy for us."
"Aww that's sweet Tony. Yeah, it's okay you told them. It makes it more real, doesn't it?"
"It sure does." Are you okay now?"
"Tony, I'm better now that I talked to you. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
Tony was glad to hear Angela's voice becoming calmer and less groggy. "Oh, before you hang up, how did your dinner go with Isabel and Wendy?"
"We had a great time. They're both so happy for us. They were shocked, of course. I got a sense they're also relieved. You know…," Angela paused for a moment, then went on. "Isabel, especially. She's known a long time about us. Well, you know..." Angela said frankly.
"I'm glad, Angela. I can't wait to see you on Saturday. Please get a good night's rest for you and the baby."
"Good night, Sweetheart." Angela grabbed Tony's pillow again and went back to sleep after hanging up the phone and closing the light by her bedside.
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Wednesday
Both Tony and Angela looked forward to their daily phone calls. They both had so much to tell each other, but kept the calls short and simple. There'd be plenty of time to talk when Tony got back on Saturday.
"Hi, Sweetheart, how was your day?" Tony eagerly asked as he sat on the couch in front of boxes both taped closed and half-full with opened flaps.
He and Hank were taking a much-needed break after working all day to get as much accomplished as they could. Hank had gone out to get them some take-out since they were both exhausted. He told Tony to let Angela know he'd speak to Samantha a littler later knowing she had a night class on Wednesdays.
"It was a really good day, no nausea today at all," Angela conveyed with a positivity that belied her loneliness for Tony. "There's someone coming in tomorrow to talk to us about doing a campaign for summer wear. They want to know if we can do a fast-track campaign for them since they waited until summer to do their summer advertising. Typical mistake for a newer, small company," Angela observed.
"Angela, that's terrific. I'm sure you'll win them over." Tony's support always added to her confidence when she pitched a new client.
Angela went back to talking about wedding plans. "Since we're so short on time, it's best we write out wedding invitations and have them hand delivered instead of mailing them."
"That's a great idea," Tony nodded even though she couldn't see him agreeing through the phone.
"Mother, Sam, and I each took part of the list and started writing tonight. We can send them out after we see Mrs. Rossini on Sunday. We can bring hers with us," Angela suggested to Tony.
Tony agreed that it would be a great idea to deliver Mrs. Rossini's and Billy's invitation in person in a few days.
"We got the books packed up today. I might've been wrong about Hank," Tony admitted sheepishly.
"I was hoping the two of you might bond while you were out in Iowa together. That'll make Sam really happy to see two of her favorite men getting closer. It's all she's ever wanted to see her husband and Dad getting along. You two didn't have much time together before you left for Iowa last year," Angela reminded him.
"Thanks, Ange, I'm going to go now and get the table set for dinner for when Hank gets back."
"Tony, I love you. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"I love you, too. Make sure you tell the baby I love him or her, too."
"Did you hear that, Baby Micelli, your daddy wanted me to tell you he loves you." Angela looked down to talk to the baby.
"Sweet, Angela. Talk to you tomorrow."
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Thursday
"We got the bedroom packed up today. Everything's been boxed up now. I also said my good-byes to the team today. We went out for a couple of beers; Hank came with us," Tony outlined his last day in Iowa for Angela.
"That's great, Tony. I know you're going to miss those boys. You made a difference in their lives, even if it was for a short time," Angela told Tony trying to lift his spirits.
"Thank you, Ange, that means a lot to me." Hank and I went to get the U-Haul today and hooked it up to the Jeep. We'll load it tomorrow morning. Some of the guys volunteered to help us get it loaded. That should cut down on the amount of time we'll need to leave tomorrow morning."
"We won the summer wear account today. I've got my team working on some design layouts for them to choose from. Lia Moore is coming back tomorrow to select the designs she wants to go with and what publications they want their ads placed in."
"I knew you'd win the company over! Hank and I are going to get an early start tomorrow, so I'm going to hang up now."
"Tony, safe travels tomorrow. Two more days …. Just two more days," Angela whispered as her voice got emotional and she had to stop speaking."
"Two more days, Angela."
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Friday
Tony and Hank had pulled into a hotel for the night after a long drive, most of it in the rain. They were exhausted. Luckily, the hotel had a restaurant downstairs that they went to eat in instead of going out somewhere. The burgers and fries they had hit the spot, and they happily went back to their room to call their significant others.
"Hi, Angela, we made it to Fremont, Ohio today, so we're half-way home."
Tears dripped from Angela's eyes thinking that Tony was just a day away from their forever. "I'm so glad, Tony. How was the drive?"
He sounded happy, yet there was still a hint of sadness she detected in his voice. She knew how difficult it was for him to leave his dream job. "Angela, the ride was a tough one today." He didn't elaborate on the leaving school part; he just told her about the rainy ride. "There were parts of the drive where it looked like the clouds were pouring buckets of rain on us. It's stopped now, though, and the weather looks sunny for the rest of the ride."
"Good night, Sweetheart," Angela kissed into the phone.
"Good night. See you all tomorrow, Angela."
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Angela was all aflutter Saturday morning. This was finally THE day. They had all kept busy that week so time thankfully moved quickly even though it felt like it moved like a turtle.
Angela had been able to cross off more items on her checklist for the wedding. The most difficult matter was trying to find a DJ on such short notice. Samantha saved the day by finding some friends from Ridgemont who could offer them those services. Angela was able to find an available florist who could do the flowers on short notice. Mona found a rental company that was able to provide the right number of chairs and tables for the backyard plus do the set up and tear down.
She'd have to talk to Tony that weekend about finding an officiant who could perform the ceremony. They also had to figure out who'd be catering the event. She had an idea who'd want to, but they'd have to discuss that tomorrow when they went to Brooklyn.
They still had to get wedding rings and clothes. Mona, Samantha, and she already had plans to go to some dress shops the next week. She and Tony could look for rings next week, too.
While all of these plans were being made, Angela was focused on ensuring everything was planned for Jonathan's graduation, too. That was an entirely separate checklist she had and was constantly reviewing with Jonathan. She wanted to make sure he didn't feel overshadowed by the wedding plans or the baby. In this moment, he was the most important person in her life, and she needed to make sure he knew that.
Still, throughout all of the chaos of the planning, she managed to take time to rest. She didn't want to cause any upset for the baby. She'd go up to their bedroom and sit at the window seat, sometimes drinking some tea and sometimes trying to get her fill of the amount of water she needed to drink on a daily basis.
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They'd all shared a pizza dinner so no one would have to cook anything or clean up after the long drive home. A Caesar salad and garlic bread completed their meal.
After looking at the U-Haul in the driveway, they agreed to leave everything until the next day to unpack. Hank, Samantha, and even Mona, offered to unpack Tony's things so he and Angela could drive to Brooklyn to surprise Mrs. Rossini and Billy.
Both Tony and Angela retreated to their bedroom around 10 that night. Everyone else had already gone to their respective spaces. They sat together on the bed. Angela had her head on Tony's shoulder, and he was holding the hand closest to him. Tony's suitcase was in front of the closet ready to be opened Sunday morning.
He turned slightly to her and took his other hand to rub the small baby bump he could feel protruding from her abdomen. "Tony, I have something for you," Angela said mysteriously.
She got up and walked over to her dresser and pulled on one of the gold handles on the lowest drawer. Once it was opened, she plowed through a pile of clothes until she found what she was looking for. She pulled out a Ziploc bag containing what looked like two plastic sticks.
She walked back to Tony and sat on his lap. One arm went around his neck, the other hand gave Tony the Ziploc bag. "I wanted you to see the pregnancy tests. You didn't get to see them last week when you came home."
He took the bag from her and opened it to pull out the tests. He studied them with a content smile. He put the sticks back into the Ziploc bag and slid the bag closed. He handed the bag back to Angela. She walked the bag back to her dresser and put it back where she got it back from not hiding it deep within the drawer again.
She went back to sit on Tony's lap again. "We did this, Tony," Angela expressed with an air of awe present in her voice and her cheek up on his.
"Yeah, we did, Tony answered back echoing his own awe.
They started kissing passionately and fell back on their bed, at long last ending what had been two of the worst months of their lives. Tony was home for good and they could start the next chapter in their lives.
The End – Chapter 15 of The Room, Unslept In – Making Plans, Part III
Chapter 16 coming soon…. although I'm attempting something new with the next chapter. It's going to take me some time to work through my idea. The Author Notes in the next chapter are going to be long, but I'm excited to try something new. I'm putting them at the end so as not to give anything away before you read the actual chapter. Happy reading.
