Chapter 43: Honey Bunny

"Fiorello, you rotten cat," Angela said with a laugh as she glanced down at Tony.

"What does that mean? Who's Fiorello?" Katie asked confused.

"Wait a sec; wasn't Fiorello Mrs. Rossini's cat?" Sam asked as she remembered a cat darting in and out of the living room when they celebrated Thanksgiving in Brooklyn all those years ago.

"He was," Tony said nodding as he gave Angela a knowing look.

"What does a cat have to do with you two?" Jonathan asked trying to remember why his mom and Tony would be referencing a cat of all things in the retelling of their story.

Just then Sam snapped her fingers and said, "Yes; now I remember! Dad housesat for Mrs. R when she went on a cruise, and somehow the cat got out. Oh wait, Angela, you went to visit Dad or something, and it was you who accidentally let the cat out and then had to spend the night there hoping it would come back."

Looking between her dad and Angela, Sam continued, "C'mon that's not the real story or at least not the full story. You both were very tightlipped when you came home. Now that we know some of what was going on right under our noses, there has to be more to that weekend."

"Really Sam, we were very concerned for the cat," Angela began knowing that the kids weren't going to buy that as a full explanation. She remembered that night as if it were yesterday. It started off innocently enough…

Angela thought back to the ribbing her mother gave her when it became apparent that even though Tony had only left for Mrs. Rossini's a few hours earlier, she was already missing him. She shook her head as it was so like her mother to try and push her and Tony together at every opportunity.

Sometimes Angela wished she'd confided in her mother about what was really happening between her and Tony over those first seven years. But, who knows what her mother would have done with that information? And, if she had known, then what happened in the spring of 1990 could have ended up far worse than it ultimately did. Her mother may have had a special knack for pushing her daughter's buttons, but she also wouldn't stand to see Angela hurt no matter who or what was the cause.

Angela shivered involuntarily as she forced her thoughts back to a much more pleasant memory, her unexpected night with Tony in Brooklyn. Her mother had been right. Angela was missing Tony especially since it was Saturday night, otherwise known as their movie night. An event that was becoming more and more frequent, since neither one of them was dating or actually taking any interest in wanting to do so.

Even though she wasn't prone to impromptu decisions, after her mother told her that Tony was all alone in Brooklyn with Vinny and Tiny in Atlantic City, she decided that was enough of a sign that she should pay him a little visit. She would pack up the ingredients for a cozy but simple dinner and then maybe they could find something on Mrs. R's TV to watch for a while and talk about their day before she came back home to Fairfield later that night.

When she got to Brooklyn though, everything went haywire. Walking in on Tony, Dennis, and Ginger and Lynn, who were both visibly pregnant, was a bit of a shock. But they couldn't have been nicer to her, and she remembered, in the conversation that followed, how Tony again reiterated his desire to have another child. That seemed to keep coming up between them throughout those first eight years, so when she thought about it now, it made her even more grateful that she'd been able to fulfill that wish for both of them.

Of course, that conversation was what initiated the very vivid dream she had when she laid down on the couch, once Tony left with his friends, after she had made the mistake of letting little Fiorello outside. She was still so thankful Fiorello came back on his own. She didn't know what would have happened if they'd had to tell Mrs. Rossini that the cat was lost or possibly worse.

To this day, she still remembered the dream like it had just occurred. Yes, it was over the top and completely outside the realm of possibilities, but it brought to the forefront a couple of issues that had been percolating in the back of Angela's mind as she and Tony grew closer and closer. The idea of another baby being one of them and the other being her role as a working mother. She knew Tony had been raised with a pretty traditional view of gender roles. That made her wonder if he would really be ok being with a woman who had a time-consuming career and who would most likely always make more money than he did.

Angela knew that just by taking the job as her housekeeper, Tony was able to see beyond some of those stereotypes, but that was completely different than being in an actual relationship with someone who was about as untraditional as one could get. She, though, had watched his views expand the longer he lived with her; whether it was realizing that he wanted more in a woman than just a Gina or admitting that he'd be happy if Sam grew up to be like Angela. Still, she knew he was a proud man, and the money thing would be a big issue if they ever did actually get together. Angela had had to use all her feminine wiles to get him to agree to let her help him buy his new car. But again, he did acquiesce in the end, so maybe there was hope in that department as well.

Angela remembered waking up from that intense dream and then asking Tony to join her on the fire escape; their "usual spot" which had confused the hell out of him and just reinforced to her how lifelike some parts of her dream had been. It was only years later that she told Tony about the dream and why she asked him such pointed questions that night. She remembered how relieved she was to hear him say that he didn't have a problem with both the husband and wife working even going so far as to suggest a way for them to do it and still spend time together.

Hearing him talk like that lifted her spirits so much that once they climbed back inside, she couldn't help but ask him if he wanted to dance nodding towards the record player in the corner. Angela suddenly felt the need to feel Tony's arms around her and sitting together on the couch watching a movie wasn't going to cut it.

"Looks like Mrs. R has a lot of big band albums and some Sarah Vaughan. What's your pleasure?" Tony asked with a wink.

"Definitely the Sarah Vaughan," Angela answered, smiling as Tony set the needle on the record before coming over to take her hand in his while resting the other one between her shoulder blades.

The only light came from the little lamp over by the window, and soon Angela had nestled her head onto Tony's shoulder as they slowly danced around the room.

"I'm really glad you came to Brooklyn, Angela," Tony said softly. "As I said earlier, it would have been more fun if you'd come out with us, but I really appreciate you staying here for the cat. I couldn't ask for a better best friend," he said teasingly.

"It actually has turned into a fun evening," Angela said, letting a yawn escape. "Your friends are great. So warm and welcoming."

"That's Brooklyn for you. It gets a bad rap sometimes, but the people are genuine. It's getting late though, so maybe we should call it a night," Tony said as he realized it was almost midnight.

"You're right. I need to head back, so Mother doesn't think you've kidnapped me," Angela said with a wink.

"Ay-oh-oh-ay, I don't think Mona would mind a bit if I did kidnap you!" Tony said rolling his eyes in jest. "But seriously, you can't drive back to Fairfield at this time of night. I'll take the couch, and you can have the spare bedroom."

"Are you sure? I don't want to overstay my welcome," Angela said, a teasing tone in her voice.

"Funny, Angela. Of course I'm sure," Tony said as he released her and walked over to the record player and turned it off.

"Goodnight then, Tony" Angela said a bit reluctantly. It felt so good dancing together after their talk that she really didn't want the night to end. She gave him a quick kiss on his cheek and retreated to the bedroom. Once inside, she sat on the edge of the bed replaying the night in her mind while debating whether she should sleep in her clothes or just go for it and sleep naked. It would be the more comfortable of the two options. She had just reached up to start unbuttoning the top buttons of her dress when there was a knock at the door.

"What is it, Tony?" Angela asked as she opened the bedroom door.

"I, uh, I wanted to bring you a glass of water in case you get thirsty during the night," Tony responded a bit bashfully.

"Oh, how thoughtful. Thank you. Is that all?" Angela asked softly taking the glass and placing it on the little bedside table.

"Yeah," Tony said reluctantly. "Goodnight Angela."

"Tony wait," Angela said putting her hand on his arm as he started to close the door behind him. He looked into her eyes and saw the same look of longing that he was sure she was seeing in his. They took a step toward each other, and the next thing he knew she was in his arms and his tongue was in her mouth. They stayed like that for a while, kissing with abandon, until Tony started to slowly maneuver them towards the full-size bed.

"Tony, wait, what about the tightrope?" Angela managed to say in between kisses. "We're about to fall off again."

"I think we just did," Tony whispered as he started kissing her neck while his fingers slowly began to unbutton the top buttons on the front of her dress.

"I guess it's too late now," Angela whispered back as she arched her back to give him better access.

It didn't take long for Tony to have all the buttons and her belt undone as he slowly slid the dress off her shoulders and down her body while his lips followed, placing butterfly kisses all along her shoulders and down her chest.

Angela moaned when he reached her breasts, and he took his time nibbling at her taught nipples, one and then the other, through the lace of her bra before continuing to work his way down. Soon her dress, bra and panties were in heap on the floor as were Tony's clothes as they fell onto the bed together.

Tony slowly explored her body before letting his lips settle on her breasts while his hand stroked her down below. Angela meanwhile was caressing and kneading the firm muscles of his chest and arms before grasping his manhood and stroking him up and down.

"Tony, I. I'm going to…," Angela said breathlessly realizing that it wasn't going to take much more for her to reach orgasm. She had wanted him like this, since their night in St. Louis and was still in a little bit in awe that it was happening again.

Tony reached up to capture her lips with his before pushing deep inside. He too didn't think this would happen again so soon, but then again, when were they ever alone in a place where it could?

As they laid together in the afterglow of their lovemaking, letting their bodies cool, Tony gathered Angela in his arms and whispered, "Welcome to Brooklyn."

Giggling, Angela ran her hand across his chest before responding, "I think I like it here. Maybe we should move. I can picture it: you working at the fish store, me home with the children, maybe even twins, with a cantankerous mother, not happy to be living in one of the five boroughs, and Sam and Jonathan as two Brooklyn-raised kids."

"Angela," Tony growled. "That's not how it would be. I liked what we discussed earlier; there's a way to make it work where both spouses can have a career."

"I agree, Tony. It would be wonderful," Angela said as she drifted off to sleep.

With a smile, Tony kissed the top of her head before closing his eyes and succumbing to sleep as well.

"So, you all did spend the night together!" Sam said. "I knew it. When we didn't see you that Sunday morning, Angela, Mona made up some excuse about how you'd come home very late yet gotten up early to go into the City to get some work done."

Angela smiled because although she and her mother never discussed that weekend, she knew her mother knew something had happened. She obviously though didn't want to get the kids' hopes up that it actually might mean something at that point. "Oh Mother, how I miss you," Angela thought to herself.

"As I said before, you all were so lucky that you never got caught over those first seven years!" Sam said shaking her head.

"So, what came next?" Katie asked quickly not wanting to think too much more about exactly what had transpired between her parents in Brooklyn.

Tony felt Angela tense up as he realized that she must be thinking about his little dalliance with his professor, Joan. It really hadn't been much of anything, but it was enough to create the first cracks in his and Angela's resolve to wait till they were both ready…