Chapter 22: What Makes a Family? (I)

"Mmm, it all smells so good as usual, Tony," Angela said as she sat on the kitchen counter just to the right of the sink like she had on so many past occasions while Tony was cooking. She had offered to help make dinner, but Tony insisted on doing most of it himself. She had to admit the kitchen at their house was a lot smaller than at their condo in Brooklyn Heights, where they did cook together often now, so it would be hard to have two people moving around prepping a meal without continually bumping into each other.

"Would you expect anything less?" Tony said teasingly as he leaned over and gave his wife a quick kiss on the lips. "You do get to be the official taste tester as soon as things are ready." He had opted to make his specialty tonight, Rigatoni a la Tony with a Caesar salad, and per Angela's request, brownies, double fudge with walnuts of course, for dessert. Shaking his head and smiling, he thought to himself that some things will never change.

After he and Angela had stopped at the market in Fairfield on their way back to the house, Jonathan had graciously brought over a box of cooking supplies before retreating to his apartment to make a couple of phone calls and snag a couple bottles of wine and some glasses.

"Everything smells wonderful, Dad," Sam said as she came in the back door. Catching sight of Angela sitting on the counter as her dad stood at the stove made her smile; it was as if everything was frozen in time. How many times had she walked into the kitchen to see them like that especially after they finally became a couple?

"Hi honey, how are our amazing grandchildren?" Angela asked as Sam took a seat at the kitchen table. "Settling in ok with Joe and Fran?"

"They're doing great. They were in the Thomopolous' pool all afternoon. Maria even asked if we could build one here," Sam said shaking her head.

"Maybe that's not such a bad idea," Angela said. "I still feel bad that all those years ago, I promised you and Jonathan one when we got back from Mexico, and then never delivered."

"Hey," Tony said quickly. "It wasn't the right time after what happened with Wallace and McQuade. And ay-oh-oh-ay, in addition to being expensive, pools are a safety hazard that we didn't need back then!"

Leave it to her dad to immediately jump to the potential safety issues of having a pool, Sam thought sighing inwardly.

"So, that's the real reason that you never put one in?" Sam asked rolling her eyes. "You actually listened to Dad about the safety thing?"

"Well yes and no. He was right, but also, by the time the agency was on its feet, and I could possibly think about spending that amount of money again, you and Jonathan had kind of outgrown your pool phase. But, I don't necessarily think it would be a bad idea to put one in now for the kids. They're at perfect ages to enjoy it, they're both good swimmers, and after everything they've been through, it could be a welcome distraction."

"Enough about a pool," Tony said with a roll of his eyes. "How was the rest of the afternoon?"

Sam thought back to her conversation with Jesse when she had literally run into him at the Ridgemont Student Union a little while ago. He'd been in a bit of a hurry as he was on his way to pick up his six-year-old daughter from his ex-wife. But, they had caught up briefly, as he told Sam that he was now a lawyer for a pesticide manufacturer. Upon seeing her shocked face, he couldn't keep the charade going, and admitted that he actually had his PhD in environmental science and had been working as a consultant for several government organizations followed by a couple of NGOs. Starting this summer though, he had taken a year off to teach some environmental science courses at Ridgemont for a bit of a change of pace, and to be closer to his daughter, since his normal work schedule had him traveling a lot of the time. He had been shocked to hear about Hank but happy to hear that Sam had just moved back to Fairfield and not surprised to learn that she had stepped in to help run The Bower Agency. They had exchanged cell numbers before they parted ways with a promise to meet up again sometime soon for coffee.

Opting to keep her run-in with Jesse to herself for now, Sam answered, "It was fine. Fran and Joe said to tell you all hi, and that they're looking forward to having everyone over next weekend."

"That will be nice," Angela said. "We haven't seen them, since…" her voice trailing off. "Well, since everything with Hank. They're good people, and I know how much Mattie and Maria love them."

Tony smiled to himself because while it hadn't been an auspicious beginning to his and Angela's relationship with their future in-laws, over the years, they had become friends who shared an occasional dinner from time to time before the grandchildren came along and then all enjoyed spending time together with their grandchildren. Tony was also happy that Sam had such a good relationship with them so that Mattie and Maria could form lasting relationships with both sets of their grandparents. And he knew now how important that would be for them in the future since Joe and Fran would be a crucial link to their father.

"Hey everyone," Katie said as she came through the swinging door from the living room into the kitchen. "Something sure smells good, Dad," she said smiling.

"Katieface, one of us would have come and gotten you from the station," Tony said frowning.

"All good, Dad," she answered. "I just grabbed an Uber. I knew you, and possibly Mom would be busy cooking since it took me a little longer to get back." With a slight blush, she thought back to how she and Nico had finally taken that shower, after Ashley and her mom had left, and then one thing led to another, and well, it had been a productive afternoon. She also made a mental note to herself to mention to her parents that Ashely's mom, err Kathleen as she had insisted that Katie call her, had broached the subject about all of them having dinner together one of the nights while she was in town. They could all talk about that tomorrow.

"Hey guys, hope a bottle of Cabernet and a bottle of Syrah sound good," Jonathan said as he came in the back door. "And man, I'm hungry!"

"Sorry that Tobin wasn't able to make it back today, Sweetheart," Angela said glancing at her son. "Hopefully, he'll be home in time for dinner tomorrow night before we head back to Brooklyn."

"He should be, Mom," Jonathan said. "He said to tell you all hi and that he was sorry to miss the family sleepover."

"Speaking of which," Sam said coyly. "Where did we leave off last night? Oh that's right, I think it had something to do with Angela pimping Dad out to one of her clients, and I think I know which one…"