Chapter 52: Wine, Execution, Death

"It wasn't too long after the Starlight Ballroom closed that we went to Italy, right, Dad?" Sam asked, remembering what an interesting and somewhat terrifying trip that had been.

"Oh, are you talking about the first time you all went?" Katie responded. She had grown up going to Italy with her parents on a somewhat regular basis to visit her dad's side of the family. She remembered how much fun she used to have running through the vineyards and olive trees and swimming in the family's pool. It had always been such a fun summer vacation, at least until her great Aunt Rosa died, and the family sold off the property.

"That's right," Tony answered. "That was definitely a memorable trip."

"I wish now that Grandma and I had tagged along," Jonathan said with a sigh. "But at the time, the description of Capiregio as the 'beach of sharp and painful pebbles' did not make it sound all that appealing!"

"Well, we definitely missed you all," Angela said as she thought back to what an intriguing trip it had been for her and Tony. After the night at the Starlight Ballroom and their talk that had followed, it finally felt like they had cleared the air between them, and they were able to comfortably fall back into their best friend status. They hadn't had much chance to be alone since that night, so the prospect of spending time together in a beautiful and romantic country like Italy was very alluring. Angela knew her heart still wasn't ready to take that next step with Tony, but learning about Tony's roots and exploring the town of his ancestors sounded like a good baby step in that direction…

And the trip had started out on a very promising note. On the plane, she and Tony were seated next to each other, with Sam and Billy in the row directly behind them. After spending a little while having their normal end-of-day conversation, Angela had laid her head on Tony's should and was soon fast asleep. When she woke several hours later, Tony had fallen asleep, and as soon as she had raised her head off his shoulder, his head came to rest on hers. She smiled to herself, thankful that their relationship had gotten back to the point where they were this comfortable with each other. Angela knew she was still in love with him; hell, it had been more than 3 years since she'd admitted it out loud to Dr. Bellows, but she was still scared that what had happened with both Kathleen and Frankie could happen again. She wasn't ready and truly didn't know if she would ever be to open her heart up to Tony that much. This trip, though, was a good chance for them to spend some quality time together as best friends.

And, for the most part, it had been, especially once everything got worked out with the townspeople and vineyard workers. Angela was very proud of Tony for how he had ultimately handled things, and she remembered how magical their last night in Italy had been. Aunt Rosa had decided to throw a big Italian feast in the courtyard of the house to celebrate the vineyard's new ownership by the workers. Angela and Tony danced and danced under the twinkling lights to the music provided by the string quartet Aunt Rosa had hired for the party and enjoyed the delicious Italian dishes and wine that was served.

Angela remembered Tony grabbing her hand and leading her off into the privacy of the vineyard. He laid down a blanket between two rows of grapes and produced two glasses and a bottle of Micelli wine which he quickly uncorked before pouring a glass for each of them.

"Cheers," Tony said as he and Angela clinked their glasses together. "I'm so glad you came along, Angela. Having your support through all of the craziness of this week has meant a lot."

"Oh Tony, I'm so glad as well. It's been such a whirlwind, but I'm so relieved things ended up the way they did. I'm so proud of you," she finished with a slight blush.

"Thank you," Tony said, feeling the tips of his ears grow warm. "It was disappointing to find out the truth about Uncle Aldo, so I'm glad that I was able to right some of his wrongs."

Taking a deep breath, he continued, "And to get spend time with you. I hope we have the chance to come back here someday." Angela didn't miss the emphasis he put on the word 'we'.

Smiling shyly but wanting Tony to understand that she knew what he was really saying, Angela responded with a soft "I hope so too."

Tony wanted nothing more than to pull her into his embrace for a long and lingering kiss, but he knew she wasn't ready, and he had promised himself that he would follow her lead while trying to prove to her that she could trust him again.

Instead, they both sat cross-legged on the blanket with their knees touching, sipping their wine as Tony regaled Angela with some of the funnier stories about his family that he'd heard from Aunt Rosa and cousin Dominic.

"Tony," Angela said after a while. "It's getting late, and sounds like the party is winding down. Plus, we have an early flight in the morning."

"You're right," Tony responded, getting to his feet before helping Angela to hers. He pulled her into a tight embrace and was pleased that she embraced him back. They stayed like that for a while until Angela sighed, grabbed his hand, and they walked hand-in-hand back to the house.

"So, nothing happened between the two of you in a romantic country like Italy?" Katie asked with astonishment.

"Sweetheart, I know it's hard to understand, but everything that was happening between us, from the night of the Starlight Ballroom on, was leading us to our forever," Angela said with a soft smile. "I needed this time to really figure out what I wanted and to…"

"And to make sure that I didn't act like an ass again," Tony said, interrupting her with a chagrined look on his face. "I was still in the doghouse and deservedly so."

"Tony," Angela said, rolling her eyes before giving him a wink. "You did get the girl in the end, so you can stop beating yourself up."

"So, what happened after you got back from Italy?" Katie asked quickly, wanting them to move on from what she could tell were wounds that were still a bit painful.

Tony and Angela gave each other a look because, after their return from Italy, they seemed to settle into the mundane for a while. Or at least, their priority and focus had to be on parenting; between them almost appearing to lose Billy when the social worker visited, to Tony's and Sam's competition for the campus sportscaster job, to Jonathan committing grand theft auto in Tony's car to impress a girl, to Sam coming back home when she was sick and manipulating Tony's and Angela's affection, so she could stay and not face reality. And finally, Tony taking on a teaching internship that left Angela at home to take care of Billy and the house. They were so busy handling the needs of their three kids that it left them almost no time to be alone except late at night when they would tiredly sit down for a cup of tea to recount and discuss their day.

Of course, all that changed the day they wound up in Marty Petersen's office…