Chapter 26: Going to the Chapel

"Anyone need more wine?" Tony asked practically jumping to his feet. "I'll go ahead and open the bottle of Syrah and refresh everyone's glass," he said as he disappeared into the kitchen.

Angela was immediately behind him and heard Sam say as the door to the kitchen closed, "Was it something I said?"

"Tony," Angela said putting her hand on his back as he worked to uncork the wine bottle that was sitting on the kitchen counter next to the sink. "Are you ok?"

Sighing, Tony turned around before saying, "Angela, you know this isn't one of my favorite parts of our relationship to rehash. I mean, we only had a handful of really rough times; the Ferguson's wedding and the few months that came after it being the first."

"The others being Frankie, Kathleen, Christine and Iowa" Angela said frowning slightly. "I get it. And, we haven't gotten to those parts of our story yet. And even though it was so long ago…"

"It still, I mean, I still, that is…" Tony said tongue-tied again.

"It still hurts," Angela finished for him softly; acknowledging it to herself as much as to him.

"Yeah," he said; his eyes not quite meeting hers. "The wedding and what came after it with you and Geoff (he still refused to this day to call him Geoffrey) supplied some of those 'what if' moments for me even if I don't think about them as much as I do Tahitian Twilight," he acknowledged with a small smile.

Angela wrapped her arms around Tony and hugged him tightly as she thought back to how promising everything had started off when Paul and Isabelle had shown up at their door (by this point she had already started to think of it as "their" house); she just couldn't help it) to announce their engagement.

Before she knew it, they were thrown into the middle of the Ferguson's wedding planning and fell easily back into their relationship that wasn't a relationship that had basically been a little elusive ever since she had lost her job. Tony was her rock as her emotions careened all over the place while she was looking for a job, and he showed her how much he believed in her when he said that she deserved better than a job that was well beneath her. She didn't know what she would have done if he hadn't suggested, almost demanded, in only the way Tony could, that she think about starting her own agency. Knowing he had that much faith in her really was what pushed her over the edge to give it a go (and seeing her mother so excited for her in her Mona way).

All of that turmoil caused her and Tony to step back from pursuing any kind of romantic relationship which she was actually grateful for. Just as she had told Tony it would be, getting an advertising agency off the ground took a Herculean effort. But, once she was determined to do something, she wouldn't let anything stand in her way. So, they went back to their comfortable status quo at least until the Fergusons became engaged. She smiled to herself remembering how her mother had teased them the night that they'd "helped" Paul and Isabelle pick out their wedding invitations. She and Tony had gotten so caught up in the idea of planning a wedding that they almost forgot that it wasn't their wedding that was being planned.

Little by little the idea of "exploring" what was between them, as they had talked about in Mexico on their romantic sunset stroll, had started to creep back into both of their minds as they helped Paul and Isabelle with the wedding details. How could it not? Even though her first marriage hadn't worked out, Angela was still a romantic at heart and savored the idea of seeing two people pledge their love to each other in front of their family and friends.

She was thrilled when Tony asked her to be his date to the wedding although it was pretty much a foregone conclusion seeing as how they were the matron of honor and best man, and it really wouldn't have made sense for either of them to bring a date (not that either of them really had someone else to bring at that particular point in time).

The night began so wonderfully. Stealing glances at each other as they stood at the alter (only admitting to each other years later what they had actually been thinking about as the minister recited the vows). And then dancing together, so enthralled with each other that they didn't even realize when the band took a break. Angela's cheeks turned a little pink as she thought back to how Sam had caught them. Their flirty banter about whether either of them had thought about getting married again. Communicating in that special way they had where they could let the other one know what they were thinking without readily admitting it. And then Tony automatically knowing what she would want from the buffet. The night was almost too good to be true until…

"Angela," Tony said snapping her back to the present. "As much as I enjoy holding you in my arms, I think we need to go back into the living room before the kids wonder what's taking us so long."

"Are you sure you're ok discussing this with them?" Angela asked looking at Tony with concern.

"Hey, it's part of our story. But, at least I know how the story ends; I got the girl," he breathed giving her a tender kiss on the lips before grabbing the open wine bottle and heading back into the other room.

"Dad, Angela, everything ok?" Sam asked as she bit her lip. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, sweetheart," Angela answered walking over to squeeze Sam's shoulder. "It's just that the wedding and what followed was one of the rockier periods in our relationship, and like for any couple, it's still a bit painful to think about. But, you were right with what you said a few minutes ago. We were acting weird that night."

"What happened?" Katie asked. "I mean from what I've been told, you all went from basically looking and acting like a couple 'in love' to things turning extremely awkward towards the end of the reception."

"Yeah, you and Dad were in your own little world that night at least for a little while. And then something must have changed," Sam said; a confused tone in her voice.

Tony finished replenishing everyone's wine glass, and he and Angela settled back into where they'd been sitting previously. He felt Angela squeeze his shoulder as he thought about how to start.

"You're right, Sam. We got caught up in all the wedding planning, and after our talk in Mexico about possibly giving our relationship a go only to have to put it on the back burner while Angela figured out her career next steps, we had both started to think about it again. The Bower Agency was slowly but surely getting on its feet, and with, I guess, all the romance that a wedding can bring, we both started to feel that pull again; maybe it was time. But as you all know by now, one of my biggest concerns about a relationship with Angela back then was that I worked for her and couldn't really provide for her the way I would want to."

"It never mattered to me because I always felt that Tony could provide in so many other ways," Angela said her voice catching; emotional that even after all these years, Tony still felt insecure about where he was in life at that point.

"Mom," Jonathan sputtered as his cheeks grew hot. "Seriously, did you really have to go there?"

"That's not what I meant!" Angela said blushing. "I meant that his friendship, support, and yes his love even unspoken, provided me with so much back then."

"Anyway," Sam said rolling her eyes. "What happened to change the mood so drastically?"

"Fred and Ginger," Tony and Angela answered simultaneously.

"Who?" Katie asked.

With a sigh, Tony said, "They were this couple that we were sitting with at the reception. Mona felt the need to explain our relationship to them in only the way that Mona can, and unfortunately, they ended up reminding your mom and me exactly why we were so wary of taking that next step. Honestly, the truth is I let what they said get to me, and all the fears I had about starting a relationship with Angela came back in force that night."

"Then I basically put my foot in my mouth when I tried to talk to Tony about it," Angela said as she thought back to their awkward conversation by the buffet table. "Neither of us was willing to say what we were really thinking."

"And me, being the coward that I was, decided that I was too uncomfortable to keep talking about it, and told Angela that we were through," Tony said with a heavy sigh. He had only meant that they were through with the conversation for the time being, but Angela had taken it as so much more which thankfully they had talked through a long time ago.

"So, Angela, you thought that you and Dad were through at least with the idea of possibly dating. I guess I can understand that. And Dad, you really were an idiot for listening to Fred and Ginger from Buffalo and for not telling Angela the truth," Sam said with a dramatic sigh.

"But Angela, whatever possessed you to not only dance with that dufus Geoffrey but actually date him?"

Angela glanced down at Tony, who was looking back at her with a mixture of sadness and love playing across his face, and she took a deep breath before responding…