Chapter 20: Samantha

Sam hummed along to the radio as she weaved her way through the streets of Fairfield on her way to Hank's parents' house in Bridgeport to spend some time with her children before reuniting with the family tonight. She smiled to herself as she realized that the song Brand New Life was playing. She'd never forget the first time she heard it. It was playing on the radio in her dad's beat up old van as they drove into Connecticut to start their new life with the Bowers. For some reason, the tune had caught her attention then, and only years later did she realize how fitting and prophetic it was.

Now, as she made her way down the familiar streets of Fairfield and passed Ridgemont, she couldn't help but think back to the crazy time in her life when she and Hank had first gotten together. They'd met in a writing lab when they'd been paired up for a project. It seemed so odd that a premed student would be taking a writing elective until Hank confessed to her that he was in the process of switching his major to theater. It wasn't too long before she'd fallen head over heels for the sexy and smart guy who had realized that his career path wasn't to heal the sick but to entertain children.

Shaking her head, she smiled at how nervous she'd been to tell her dad about their engagement. Thank god for Angela. She was the best thing that had ever happened to her dad and to her as well. She and Hank had realized that the only way they could truly be together without constant grief from Tony was to get married. After all, she had tried living with a guy once before when she had inadvertently ended up sharing a house with Benjamin the year before to disastrous results. She and Hank knew they were a bit too young, but they also believed in what they had together, and Sam also knew that after watching her dad and Angela deny their feelings for seven years and then seeing how happy they both were once they finally got together, that she had to follow her heart from the start.

While she sometimes wished she could change the way their elopement had unfolded, she was still grateful that in the end everyone she loved had been able to be part of her wedding day. And, the fact that her dad and Angela had thrown her and Hank a belated wedding reception that summer, before her dad had moved to Iowa, was icing on the cake and reinforced to her that they did support her decision to get married.

As she eased her SUV onto the highway, she thought back to what a strange time it had been after they got married. Mona had been so gracious to give up her garage apartment to them for those first few months they were married. Even though it had been Tony's idea, Mona had told her in confidence that she wanted to make sure that they started out on the right foot and had the privacy that they needed. After all, she reminded Sam, she too had been married at the same age that Sam was. Sam had also never forgotten the rest of the advice that Mona had given her about starting a family. While Mona had confirmed that she would be forever grateful that Angela was her daughter, especially since she was never able to have more children, she did wish they had waited, so that she and Robert could have enjoyed their time as a young couple before they became tied down.

So, she and Hank had agreed that they would definitely wait to have children until at least their late twenties if not longer. Sam also knew that when they did have kids that she wanted her and Hank to be financially stable and be able to provide for them. She remembered how difficult it had been for her dad after his baseball career came crashing down and her mom had died. And even after he had taken the job with Angela, it was still hard to be surrounded by kids who had everything while they still struggled.

And when things started to go south with her dad and Angela because of his job at Wells, she was relieved that she was able to be there for both of them without a lot of other distractions. Then, once her dad had come to his senses and come home, and he and Angela had announced they were having a baby, that pretty much cured her of wanting her own child right way. She loved getting to be right there for Angela's pregnancy and then basically be a second mother to Katie once she was born.

She and Hank had been able to find and afford, with some help from Hank's parents, a cute little apartment not too far from Ridgemont or the house on Oak Hills Drive while Sam finished out her last two years of college before graduating with a degree in Communications. Hank's career had started to take off in New York as he grew from being involved in a lot of live theater, including on Broadway, to finally getting snapped up by Disney to develop children's programming.

They had a pretty blissful life throughout most of their twenties as Sam worked her way up in the ad agency world. She and Angela had a long talk, right after she graduated, where Angela confided that she would love to have Sam at The Bower Agency, and possibly become her successor as President/CEO someday, but that she felt that Sam needed to see what she could accomplish on her own before that. Sam agreed and had found success in various account management roles at several different agencies in New York before finally joining The Bower Agency when she turned 30. It was just a few months later that Disney offered Hank the job of a lifetime in Los Angeles. Without missing a beat, Angela found a role for Sam in The Bower Agency's LA office, and they had moved much to her dad's chagrin. Thank god her dad and Angela had Katie, who was only 10 at the time, to soften the blow of having a child move all the way across the country. Of course, it hadn't helped that Jonathan had chosen Stanford for college and then proceeded to stay in California after he graduated. But, it had done wonders for her relationship with her stepbrother, and she was grateful that they were as close as they were now and that he was such a wonderful uncle to her children.

As Sam navigated the streets of Bridgeport, an overwhelming sense of gratitude came over her. She knew how lucky she was to have not only her family, but also Hank's family, in her corner during this terrible time. She thought back to when she and Hank had finally decided that they wanted to have children. Her dad and Angela, as well as Joe and Fran, had basically stopped nagging them about it as she and Hank aged into their mid-30s. They really enjoyed not being tied down and being able to travel wherever they wanted at the drop of a hat. But, eventually, seeing how happy her dad and Angela were raising Katie, and the fact that Katie was no longer a little girl, made Sam start to think about having her own child.

Luckily, Hank felt the same way and before too long, Mattie had come along, followed in a bit of a surprise by Maria. She remembered what the doctor had said with how tough her pregnancy and delivery had been with Mattie. He had told her she would probably have trouble conceiving a second child and even if she did that it may not go to term. But, somehow, they had been graced with the spitfire that was their daughter Maria for which she'd be forever grateful. The only thing that she regretted about both her pregnancies and as the kids started to grow up was that both sets of grandparents were on the East Coast. Luckily, they were all able to visit on a regular basis through the years, at least until Mona got sick, and her dad and Angela had to take a step back. That made her even more grateful that she had this opportunity now, so that her children could be surrounded by their extended family on a permanent basis. She smiled as she pulled the car into the driveway of the Thomopolous' house, excited to see her children for a little bit before heading back to Fairfield.

"Honey, how are you?" Fran asked as soon as Sam made it through the front door.

"Actually, I'm doing ok," Sam replied. "Being at the house was hard at first, but as soon as the rest of the family showed up, and reinforced that I made the right decision, it got a lot easier. And, we had such a good night reliving old times. But, I think we put my dad and Angela through the wringer asking them all about their relationship when Jonathan and I were growing up."

Laughing, Fran said, "Your parents have such a unique story that I'm surprised it hasn't been turned into a TV show! Really though, I'm glad that you all had a nice time and that you're headed back there tonight. I know how much Tony and Angela missed being able to come see you all in LA these past couple of years. So, it's so great that you're getting to make up for lost time."

"Sam, Sam," Joe said as he came down the stairs and gave his daughter-in-law a quick hug. "Everything ok with the family?"

"Just fine, Dad," Sam answered back. "We had a good night of reminiscing, and I'm looking forward to the continuation tonight."

"Good, good" Joe said clapping his hands together. "I know how excited Tony and Angela are to have you and the kids back here."

"Mom, Mom," Maria said coming around the corner just then engulfing her mom in a hug. At seven and a half years old, Maria was looking more and more like her grandpa Tony with her dark hair, brown eyes, olive skin and cute expressive face sprinkled with freckles.

"Hi sweetie," Sam answered. "Have you been having a good time with Granpy and Grammy?"

"Their house is so neat! Mattie and I have been playing in the pool all afternoon. Can we build a pool at our new house?"

Sam snorted as she thought back to when Angela had almost put in a pool at the house. Of course, once she lost her job and decided to start her own agency, all disposable income had to go towards that, so alas, a pool never did materialize.

"We'll see, ok?" Sam said shaking her head. "Where's your brother right now?"

"Hey Mom," Mattie said as he came in the back door with a pool towel around his shoulders.

"Hi, honey," Sam said giving her son a quick hug. He was the spitting image of his father with his curly hair and dark eyes, and at eleven years old was almost as tall as his mother.

"Why don't I get you all a little snack?" Fran asked as she ushered them all into the family room.

Sam nodded as she sat down on the couch with her children on either side of her. The kids told their mom about everything they'd been up to the last 24 hours and asked all kinds of questions about Sam's night with Nana, Grandpa, Uncle Jonathan and Aunt Katie and when they'd get to see them.

"I promise; tomorrow I'll bring you over to the house and we'll all have dinner together and start discussing what you want your rooms to look like," Sam said as she put an arm around each of them. "But right now, I need to grab a few things before I head back over there, so that I can continue talking with your Nana and Grandpa about us moving in. We just need one more night of grown up talk."

"That's ok, Mom," Mattie answered. "Grammy promised that we could have smores and stream a movie tonight out by the pool."

"Thank you," Sam said to Fran with a grateful smile. "That sounds like a lot of fun. I'm sorry to miss it."

Before she knew it, Sam was back on the road to Fairfield with the small overnight bag she had packed. She was feeling very grateful that the kids seemed to be doing ok so far after their cross-country journey. Joe and Fran, while complete opposites of her dad and Angela, were wonderful grandparents who adored their grandchildren and felt beyond blessed that they would now have the opportunity to see them grow up close by.

As Sam passed back by Ridgemont, she had a sudden urge to stop at the Student Union for a coffee. She was starting to feel the effects of having stayed up so late last night, and it had been ages since she had been to Ridgemont.

The Student Union had changed a lot in the last 25 years, but it still had a familiar feel to it. She shook her head as she remembered the first time she had been here, when she was helping her dad get all his books at the bookstore before his freshman year, and she had met Andrew the graduate student. Her cheeks turned red almost immediately as she thought about how badly she had misread the situation with him.

She was so lost in thought about that embarrassing time that, as soon as she grabbed her drink, she turned and walked right into the person standing behind her.

"Oof," she stammered. "I'm so sorry. Did I get any coffee on you?" she asked as she looked up and into intense blue eyes that she had once known so well.

"Sam, is that you?" Jesse asked incredulously…