Chapter 15: Becoming A Family (IV)
"Kids, we really should all turn in," Angela said as she stifled a yawn. "I don't think Tony and I thought we'd be rehashing our entire relationship tonight, as much fun as it's been, to see and hear your reactions to everything."
"Mom, the story of how you and Dad met and then how it took so long for you to actually get together reads like a bad TV sitcom," Katie said with a laugh. "Or maybe a good one as long as it doesn't actually take eight years for the main characters to get together!"
"Very cute, Katie," Tony said. "Trust me. We're able to look back now and realize that there were opportunities for us to actually admit how we felt a little earlier than we did, but something or someone always seemed to get in the way. At any rate, Angela is right; we really should get some shut eye, since it looks like we'll be continuing this discussion throughout the rest of the weekend."
"How about just one more; a bedtime story?" Sam said grinning. "Really, this has been such a much needed and fun night; I hate to see it end."
"Ok, ok," Angela agreed. "Sam, do you remember when your dad had all his poker buddies over the same weekend that my friend Emily came to visit?"
"Of course! The kitchen was a disaster the next morning when Emily showed up. I still can't believe you let it get that bad, Dad!"
"What was so special about that weekend?" she asked.
"Well," Angela said turning to look at Tony. "I think that weekend was the first time that your dad and I could actually visualize something working out between us at some point."
"Angela turned out to be one hell of a poker player that night," Tony said as he flashed back to that evening, remembering how impressed he was not only with her poker playing skills but also by her ability to handle his friends, who he had to admit to himself, could be more than a little rough around the edges.
Sitting next to her playing poker distracted him to the point that he definitely didn't have one of his better poker nights. The Valentine's Day kiss they had shared in the parking lot a week before had yet to be mentioned or referenced, so the electricity running between them was hard to ignore.
When Angela got up to go to bed and he followed her into the living room, there was no denying that they both felt it. No more so than when she mentioned that she thought his friends seemed to like her, and he immediately let slip what he was thinking "what's not to love?"
He would never forget the intense look between them that followed his little admission, and how it took both of them taking a step back to break the moment and not lean in for the kiss that he knew they both wanted.
Bringing himself back to the present, he couldn't help but smile at Angela and repeat his little declaration "What's not to love?"
Angela immediately blushed before giving Tony's hand a quick squeeze.
"What does that mean, Dad?" Sam asked quizzically.
Laughing, Angela answered with a slight blush, "It's just a reference to the fact that your dad was impressed that I managed to get along with his friends. But, I think where Tony was going is that in addition to seeing that I could be 'one of the guys,' we got a real-life example of opposites attracting when his friend Eddy and Emily, umm, hooked up the next day."
"What?" Sam asked incredulously. "In this house?"
"Well, not exactly. Tony and I caught them kissing on the couch, without them knowing we saw them, before they excused themselves to go to the drugstore for some hand cream or something that Emily said she needed. And once we realized they had returned, umm, the windows in Tony's van were quite steamed up," Angela finished with a roll of her eyes.
"OMG," Katie said. "How embarrassing. But, I think I get where you're going. They were definitely opposites, just like you and Dad, and yet there was something between them that could possibly turn into more."
"Something like that, honey," Angela said. "It opened our eyes a little bit more to the possibility of an 'us' at least potentially somewhere down the road."
Smiling, Tony stood up pulling Angela with him before saying, "Ok guys. That was your bedtime story. Let's get some sleep and I'll make a breakfast run in the morning, and we can decide our plans for the rest of the weekend. And maybe Angela and I will tell you about when she pimped me out to one of her clients…"