Chapter 25: What Makes a Family? (IV)

"Mexico?" Tony asked when he looked up and saw the faraway look in Angela's eyes.

"Yes," she said smiling back at her husband. "I guess our trip to Mexico is what came next in this long, strange tale of our family."

"That was some trip," Sam interjected. "I'm so glad that you didn't stay mad at Dad for too long after we got back, Angela. And, I think I'm starting to get the gist of what you two were doing right under our noses all those years," she said giggling.

"Samantha," Tony stammered. "It wasn't like that, I mean it wasn't just that," he said tongue-tied; his ears suddenly feeling like they were on fire.

"I think what your dad means to say," Angela said pointedly, "is that yes, there was a little bit of romance here and there, but we were also doing a lot of talking, both as parents raising two children together and as friends who, even though we didn't see it or maybe it was that we didn't want to admit it at the time, were slowly building our life together."

"Yeah, ok, we get it, Mom," Jonathan said with a grin and a shake of his head. "Can we get back to the trip to Mexico?"

Angela thought back to how auspiciously the trip had begun even though she had almost talked herself out of going in order to not miss the creative presentation for the Super Soft account. But Tony's influence on her had been steadily increasing over the past two almost three years. She decided that it was past time to allow herself to actually do something besides living and breathing her work and to leave the presentation in the capable hands of her senior management even if that did include Jim Peterson.

When Tony picked her up and threw her over his shoulder to make sure that she didn't chicken out, she was certain she made the right choice. Their flirty banter began almost immediately and after their recent anniversary night discussion (damn why did his appendix have to choose then to burst!), she was eager to see what might be next. And she realized that in one way or another, they probably did need to continue the discussion about who they were to each other, especially in light of Tony's unconscious confession and because it still felt a bit like there was an elephant in the room.

Tony made sure that she had fun once they got to the resort even though she tried to sneak in a little work here and there. But, by the second night, she had relaxed and was enjoying herself immensely. She shook her head and smiled when she thought about the two of them doing the Mexican hat dance. How lucky was she that Tony cared enough back then to make sure she was actually living her life? Angela gave a small shudder when she thought about how her life might have turned out if Tony and Sam hadn't come into it when they did.

By the third day, she had completely let go, and allowed herself to just be; whether that was laying on the beach talking with Sam about boys and life, splashing in the waves with Tony, or building a sandcastle with Jonathan. It was that night that she and Tony found themselves alone after dinner. The kids were both tired and had gone back to the villa while Mona was in the hotel bar being Mona. Tony asked her if she wanted to take a sunset walk on the beach, and of course, she said yes. She remembered their conversation almost as if it were yesterday.

"Tony, this has all been so wonderful. Like I said the other night, thank you for making me see it now," she said nodding at the setting sun as they strolled down the beach their shoulders almost touching.

"It's so nice to see you so relaxed and having fun, Angela," Tony said with a grin. "I know how important your work is to you and you deserve all the success you've had, but I've enjoyed getting to know this other side of you. The one that likes to play," he finished with a wink.

With a laugh, Angela said, "Yes, I guess serious Angela is really what you see at home most of the time."

"True," Tony said, "unless it's her birthday and she's had a bit to drink and starts a flour fight," he said with a sly grin.

"Stop it," Angela answered swatting his bicep. "That was as much your fault as mine! And what an interesting rest of the night it made for," she said a bit shyly. Then, taking a deep breath, she realized that now was as good a time as any to bring up their anniversary night conversation.

"Tony," she said as she gestured for them to sit on a nearby log. "I think we need to talk about the elephant in the room when it comes to my birthday night and well some of the more recent, umm, things that have occurred between us."

"We never did finish our conversation from the night of the anniversary, did we?" Tony said quietly.

"What were you going to say if we had made it over to the fireplace?" Angela asked softly.

"Honestly, I don't know, Angela," Tony answered truthfully. "I guess I was caught up in the moment, and we'd both had a couple of glasses of champagne. It just seemed like the right move," he finished with a shrug.

"That's just it, Tony. There's obviously something between us, and I know in the past, we've both been reticent to explore it for so many validated reasons but look where that's gotten us. We never really talked about Valentine's Day or what happened in the jazz club. I mean, are we going to keep having these little dalliances and just go on about our lives in between?" Angela asked; her cheeks turning red immediately.

With a long sigh, Tony said slowly, "I know. I know. There is something between us; that's pretty obvious. But, Angela, I'm your housekeeper. I never went to college. I flamed out of the majors before I could really make a go of it. I just don't know how this would work. Not that I wouldn't want to try somehow…" he said his voice trailing off.

"Maybe we just see?" Angela asked looking at him hopefully. "I mean, we're both so conscious of the reasons it couldn't work, but what if it could? I think we should explore what this is while being conscious of the fact that we don't want to do anything that will break up our little family."

Tony was still having a hard time picturing himself in an actual relationship with a woman like Angela, but maybe he didn't need to picture it. Maybe he just needed to let it happen naturally and take a little bit of a leap of faith like it appeared that Angela was willing to do. He had no doubt that if it worked out, it would be good, really good.

With a warm smile, Tony placed his hand on top of Angela's and leaned over to give her a kiss on the lips. "Maybe we should," he said. "But, I think we should keep this to ourselves at least until we see where it goes."

"Agreed," Angela said before leaning over to kiss him; an opened mouth kiss that allowed them the opportunity to explore a little before Tony pulled her to her feet. They walked hand-in-hand back to the resort only releasing their hands when they got close to their villa.

"Wait," Sam said incredulously interrupting Angela's thoughts. "You all actually did date behind our backs when we got back from Mexico?"

With a small shake of her head, Angela said, "No, honey. Fate was not on our side at this point. Umm, when I lost my job after we got back, my whole world was turned upside down. And I just, and I think your dad agreed although we didn't talk about it at the time, I just wasn't in a place to handle a relationship. All my focus went into finding a job and then, of course, starting the agency. Honestly, if your dad and I had really started a romantic relationship then, I'm not sure it would have survived. Above everything else, I really needed, and was so grateful for, his friendship," she said as she leaned down to squeeze Tony's shoulder.

"Yeah," Tony said nodding his head. "Angela and I actually talked about this a lot over the years, and I'm afraid if we had given it a shot back then it would have been over and out before it even started. We were a family first. And, after all, families stick together," he said echoing what he had told Angela that day in the kitchen when she had finally allowed herself to be vulnerable in front of him.

"So close yet so far!" Katie said shaking her head. "I mean I totally understand, but still, another five years?"

"Well, this sort of explains why you all acted so weird at Marci's dad's wedding a few weeks later," Sam said with a chuckle.

Tony immediately looked up at Angela and they locked eyes. Paul's and Isabelle's engagement and wedding probably couldn't have come at a worse time. It turned an already confusing time into something else immediately. Something where they started to second guess their mutual, if silent decision, to keep to the status quo…