Chapter 36: Around the Bend

As Angela slept, she couldn't keep her dreams from floating back to snippets of their life after Katie had come into it in a most dramatic way…

At Tony's insistence, Angela had agreed to take a full maternity leave from work with Katie. She had gone back to work much too soon with Jonathan mainly because she didn't want to lose her career momentum, and as she admitted to herself much later, because she wanted to prove to Michael that she could do it all. He had dropped many not very subtle hints, throughout her pregnancy with Jonathan, about how he could financially support them so that Angela could be a 'real' mother to their baby. Thank god she hadn't listened to him! When she looked back at their relationship, that really was the beginning of the end. With Katie, she was going to do so many things differently; starting with the fact that she was in love with a man who truly loved and valued her and respected her career.

Those first couple of months were almost a blur, but Angela's dreams replayed facets like an old home movie reel…

- The quiet moments at night in their bed, then later in Katie's room sitting in the glider, as she nursed. She wasn't sure that she'd be able to breastfeed Katie as it hadn't been easy for her with Jonathan, and she had stopped much too soon in order to go back to work. But there was an easiness with Katie, and they soon settled into a rhythm. Since Katie had come into the world in early January, Tony was still on his holiday break from teaching at Bridgeport Junior College, and they were able to tag team a little bit during those first weeks of sleepless nights.

- When it did finally come time for her to go back to work, she was pleasantly surprised that Tony had no objection to them hiring a nanny. Angela had thought that he might be uncomfortable with the idea because of how frugal he still tended to be sometimes, and finances were still not a favorite subject of his to discuss. He had reminded her though, when she first brought it up, of what he had said when they first got together and the money issue came to a head. She would never forget the look on his face when he said "he loved her enough to give it a shot." She could tell now that he had his own successful career that he felt more comfortable with the financial decisions they did make. When it came to their daughter, he was a bit of a Daddy Warbucks, willing to spend and do whatever was necessary to enhance her life. Luckily, they had found a wonderful older woman, recently widowed and whose children and grandchildren lived across the country, who was looking for something to fill her days.

- Of course, her mother, Sam and Jonathan helped out from time to time as well. And as much as Angela loved seeing her mother read to Katie from one of her favorite fashion magazines, Sam lovingly hold her and feed her while telling Katie about all the fun they were going to have as sisters and Jonathan learning how to take care of a baby, they had their own lives and for Sam and Jonathan, those lives were really just beginning. She had to admit too that she was relieved when Sam had whispered to her that Katie was the best birth control example. Sam had reinforced how much she loved Katie and enjoyed helping with her, but seeing how tired Angela and her dad were and all the work that went into taking care of a baby made her sure that she and Hank didn't need to have children anytime soon!

- Her favorite thing to remember had to be watching Tony with their daughter as she grew from a newborn into an infant. Angela always knew he would be an amazing father; he already was with Sam and with Jonathan. But, to get to see him snuggling their tiny baby girl as he sang to her or held her while watching football, hockey, boxing or whatever other sport happened to be on TV and explaining to her how the game was played, made her heart almost burst. She knew she had finally found the right man and her only regret was that they hadn't acted on their feelings sooner. She was now more eager than ever for them to make that lifetime commitment to each other.

Angela's dreams took her back to about a month after Katie had been born when Tony had broached the subject of the wedding. He would do whatever she wanted, but now that Katie was here, they should probably start thinking about it again. And, he had had an epiphany about a date if she was ok with it as well. Her mind played back their conversation as if it were yesterday.

"What do you think, Angela?" Tony had asked one day after he'd gotten home from work and found Angela up in Katie's room nursing her. "Whenever and wherever you want to do it, but we should probably start making some plans before too long. And, ay-oh-oh-ay, this time it's just about us and what we both want."

Smiling gratefully, Angela looked up into his brown eyes that were looking back at her earnestly and said, "Oh Tony. Thank you. I want us to plan it together, but I would like to keep it small; maybe not the chapel idea, since we just went through that with Sam and Hank. I really though want it just to be us and everyone we consider to be our family and close friends."

"I couldn't agree more," Tony said leaning down to kiss Angela on the lips. "I was way too caught up in planning a big shindig last time, but that doesn't matter to me at all anymore. You and Katie and our family are all that matter. On that note, I was thinking that September 20th has a nice ring to it doesn't it?" he asked with a mischievous grin.

Laughing, Angela responded, "I couldn't agree more. It seems only appropriate to celebrate our marriage on the day you and Sam walked into our lives nine years ago. And, I think by then, I'll feel more like myself again, and we won't be quite so sleep deprived."

The next few months seemed to fly by between Katie, the wedding planning and Jonathan's graduation from high school. Angela remembered beaming with pride as she held her infant daughter in her arms, with Tony's arm around her shoulders, and watched Jonathan walk proudly across the stage to collect his diploma. It was going to be so hard not to have him around in the fall, but she was happy to see him beginning to forge his own path. He had really loved Stanford when they visited and was extremely excited when he got his acceptance letter. Tony and Angela didn't love the idea of him being so far away, but they understood that he needed to build his own life in a place he felt comfortable. Jonathan had also mentioned that since he'd be in California maybe he and Michael could find a way to reconnect. That made Angela's heart swell because as much as she loathed the way Michael had treated their son as the years went on, she ultimately wanted them to have some kind of positive relationship. She knew though it would never hold a candle to the father/son relationship that Jonathan had built with Tony.

As the night wore on, Angela's dreams continued to take her back through time landing on that September day when she and Tony finally did become husband and wife.

It was a perfect fall day with a bright blue sky, warm yet crisp air and the beautiful reds, yellows and oranges that signaled the changing of the seasons in the Northeast. She and Tony had decided that since they were getting married on the day they first met that the most appropriate place to do it would be at the house, so the backyard had been turned into a celebration of fall. Strings of lights twinkled in the trees with pumpkins and lanterns lining the path to the makeshift alter that was adorned with beautiful fall flowers. Chairs had been placed on either side of the path for the small group of guests who had been invited. In addition to their immediate family, they had settled on Mrs. Rossini, her son Joey, plus Philly Fingers, Pee Wee, Tiny, Eddie and his wife Emily, Ernie, Isabel and Paul, Joe and Fran, Wendy and Herb, and per Sam's request, Bonnie.

Angela remembered walking down the aisle, clutching a stunning bouquet of vibrantly colored mums, in a beautiful off-the-shoulder lacy white dress that showed off her figure while still giving her a little room for adjustment. She had worked hard, after Katie's birth, to get her body to a place where she was comfortable with it. She wasn't as thin as before she'd gotten pregnant, but Tony had assured her over and over again, that she looked beautiful and healthy with a bit of a fuller figure. And she had to admit that it felt good not to be so restrictive in her day-to-day diet. So many things in her life had settled into place recently or were about to, and she realized that her intense scrutiny of her own body should be one of them as well. She was happy and healthy, with a wonderful family, a beautiful and healthy baby girl, an extremely satisfying career and was about to marry the man of her dreams. What more could she possibly ask for?

Her thoughts turned back to her walk down the aisle. Her mind couldn't recall a lot, but she remembered her gaze being trained on Tony, who looked so handsome in his black tux, as she made her way slowly towards him. His eyes, in turn, were trained on her, and she didn't miss the appreciative look he gave her as he took in how beautiful she was in her dress with her blond hair, styled with loose curls, blowing softly in the gentle early evening breeze.

With Mona and Sam standing next to her, as her matron of honor and bridesmaid respectively, and Jonathan and Hank standing next to Tony as his best man and groomsman respectively, Angela had taken Tony's hand in hers as they looked into each other's eyes almost forgetting that they had an audience. It had taken the officiant, the same judge who had annulled their surprise marriage years before, clearing his throat a couple of times to bring them back to the present. Angela though had no trouble remembering the vows they had said to each other.

"Angela, from the day Sam and I walked into this house, I have been entranced by you. You are beautiful both inside and out, and although it took us a long time to get here, it was worth the wait. I love you and I love our family, and I can't imagine my life without you."

"Tony, from the day Sam and you walked into our lives, I have never been happier. Falling in love with your best friend is a gift; one that I will continue to open forever. We were a family before we even knew it, and that bond has only grown stronger with the addition of Katie. I love you with all my heart, and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you."

The rest of the night had also been a bit of a blur, but she remembered the chairs being cleared out and replaced by a few tables and a dance floor as everyone celebrated under the stars and twinkling lights. She and Tony had danced to "Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore" by REO Speedwagon as their first dance (the cheeky song choice insisted on by their ever-patient family) before dancing to as many other songs as their feet would allow with Katie cradled in between the two of them for a few of the numbers. As the honorary flower girl, she was wearing an adorable little white gown embroidered with fall-colored flowers. Angela also remembered her shock, surprise, gratitude and love when Tony took the mic and sang "The Way You Look Tonight" to her as he held their sleeping daughter. She really did think her heart would explode after that.

The next thing she remembered was squeezing Tony's hand as they drove away in their Jag finally alone as husband and wife. It had been hard for both of them to leave Katie for the first time, but they knew she was in good hands with Mona, Jonathan and Sam and Hank. She had let Tony plan their honeymoon, and he had been very secretive about it. She was surprised when he pulled into the parking lot for the Fairfield Inn a few minutes later.

"Here?" Angela asked. "We're spending our honeymoon at the Fairfield Inn?"

"Not quite," Tony said with an amused grin. "We're spending the night at the Fairfield Inn before we leave on our honeymoon tomorrow. I could have picked a hotel closer to the airport, but I thought it was about time you and me christen this hotel together," he said seductively as the tips of his ears turned red.

"Oh, Tony," Angela said with a giggle. "I guess it would be nice to make some of our own memories here considering…"

And that's just what they did before leaving for Jamaica the next morning. Tony had whispered in her ear that he was looking forward to doing all the things with her that he'd wanted to do on their first visit including rescuing her from the ocean, topless of course.

Their brand new life around the bend had come full circle.