An Andy Story
A/N: I really must thank Atlanta traffic for some of these stories. Sitting in traffic has led to many chapters and stories that I've written so far.
I always wondered how far Angela's relationship with Andy went. What were her thought processes making decisions about him?
September 1990
She was at a crossroads. She was sitting in Andy's apartment after a wonderful evening out. He'd taken her to see Les Misérables and then to eat an after-theatre dinner at The Russian Tea Room. Things were moving faster and getting further than she thought they would especially given how little time they actually spent together because of their busy careers. Not only that, she was now spending more time with Tony and little Billy getting him settled into his new life with them. Billy's first day of school had not gone well. She was frustrated and confused.
But here they were in front of his fireplace, with the long-lasting Dura-Log going and soft music playing in the background. They started kissing and getting more intimate by the minute. She was starting to playback the last six months in her mind.
Several Months Back
She had been devastated by Tony's relationship with Kathleen. It happened months after their intense, passionate talk and kiss in Jamaica, and it happened after she stopped looking for any other relationships, after they both seemed to stop looking for any other relationships. She could still taste that kiss on her lips. But Tony made the decision to continue to date Kathleen leaving Angela shocked and depressed. Tony's stunning choice had affected the entire family.
With nothing else to do after they both chose to broaden their horizons, she had decided to date again, the first being Peter who had comforted her that terrible night back in May. But he was moving too fast, so she broke it off and decided to keep their relationship business-only. Then there was Christopher, but he moved even faster than Peter had, asking her to go to Greece with him for a weekend. After what Tony did to her, she couldn't believe he followed her to that restaurant to spy on her and Christopher. And he had dragged Kathleen along, too! Still, even knowing this, she decided not to go to Greece with Christopher. She just wasn't ready for that kind of relationship yet. Soon after, Christopher was arrested for criminal activity leaving her even more depressed about her decision-making where relationships were concerned.
Even though it was HER house, seeing Tony there every day only served to remind her that the future she was starting to envision with him wasn't going to happen. She had needed to get out of the house as much as she could trying to take her mind off seeing Tony with Kathleen and was resigned to knowing that Tony's affections had gone to another woman despite his telling her that she was the one he saw in his future. She couldn't grasp how he could talk marriage on one hand with her while they were in Jamaica and then go off with Kathleen. The pit in her stomach she felt at the loss of what she thought was going to be her future shattered her. In fact, she hadn't felt this despondent since that night at the Brooklyn carnival when Tony went off with Frankie and then finding out that she had proposed to Tony. But she hadn't said she loved Tony out loud yet to anyone, least of all herself. The feeling of losing something was there, but the words weren't yet. But Kathleen was a whole new level of loss. It had been two years of carrying around her love for Tony by then, and it had almost come to a head while they were in Jamaica. They had been living together for five years by the time they were in Jamaica And then this happened.
Eventually, she met Andy, a surgeon she'd been introduced to while dining out with some clients in New York City. After the clients had left, Andy stayed and moved his chair closer to Angela to find out more about her. He had been intrigued by their conversation and wanted to know more he told her. She told him about her business and how her mother worked with her. She told him about Jonathan and how proud she was of him; but she decided to leave out the fact that Tony lived with them, not wanting to answer questions about that relationship. Andy was potentially a good match, the easiest man she'd dated in a long time. They hit it off instantly. They enjoyed the same things like dining out, Broadway shows, dancing, and even college football games. She hadn't had much luck with sailing, but Andy took it all in stride enjoying her company as much as she enjoyed his. He even took her living with Tony in stride once he found out that it had been both Tony and Samantha living with her and Jonathan.
Angela continued to run recent events through her mind. Angela couldn't believe that Tony had broken up with Kathleen and blamed it on "things" amongst some other points he listed. She had a hunch that she was the "things" he was talking about but didn't say it out loud. She smiled knowingly but had to tell Tony when he suggested they watch Singin' in the Rain together that she had a date with Andy. She left and continued seeing Andy.
As she left, she wondered what Tony breaking up with Kathleen was going to do to their relationship now that Tony wasn't seeing anyone. This time she was the one preoccupied with dating and maintaining a relationship. She had no intention of giving Tony the satisfaction he sought to start a relationship with her back up again after what he destroyed several months before. No, Angela decided she couldn't risk taking the chance she'd get hurt again. So, she continued to see Andy. She had to see this relationship through to wherever it was going to take her.
Back to the Present Evening
Angela realized that something about this night with Andy seemed very familiar to her. Then her mind went back even further to her relationship with Geoffrey with a "G." This current scene in front of the fireplace took her back to a winter night at the Fairfield Inn and she started to pull away from Andy.
Angela could see in Andy's eyes that he was wondering what was holding her back. She knew that he was certain they were getting along well and that she seemed to enjoy his company. They'd spent a lot of time kissing and holding hands, but somehow she knew he couldn't figure out what was preventing her from taking their relationship to the next level. Angela kept looking towards Andy's bedroom with a tenuous look.
He attempted to kiss her and take her hand to pull her up from the sofa, but she resisted.
"Andy, please, I'd rather not tonight," she gently requested sitting back up and rebuttoning her blouse.
Realizing that this night was not going to go any further, Andy figured it was time for them to end their evening together, and Angela watched as he got off the couch to get her wrap so he could take her home. While they were in the car, he told her about the tickets he bought for them to go to the Yale game together later that week. Angela enthusiastically thanked him for getting them and told Andy she'd love to go. She knew how difficult it was to get those tickets.
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A few days later, she and Tony went to Billy's school for a parents meeting. Finding out how much animosity the other parents had towards Tony and her, they listened intently to what Herb and Willa were telling them. When they got home, they found Billy with a broom aimed towards the upper fireplace and freaked out. Mona came into the living room at that exact moment and told Billy to put the broom down, which he did. Shortly after that, Billy left Tony and Angela totally perplexed in the living room by themselves telling them that he wanted to go live with Mona instead.
They were beyond stressed out when there was a knock on the door. Andy had shown up ready to take Angela to the Yale game, making her realize she had once again forgotten plans with Andy. They went outside to talk.
By the time she walked back into the living room, she was a free woman again. She told Tony that she and Andy would go out again "when things settled down" at home, but deep down she knew that was a lie and that Tony would know that, too. In fact, she had the feeling that he had known what was going on outside. She noticed he seemed to be out of breath by the time she reached the couch leading her to believe that he had been watching what was going on outside and then hurrying to the sofa when he saw her coming back inside the house.
After talking, they went upstairs to tuck Billy in – together.
The End … An Andy Story
Author's Note: In the end, Angela knew her heart belonged to Tony and she just couldn't bring herself to sleep with anyone else at that point. I do think she came closest with Andy after Geoffrey with a "G." I do think the show should've let Angela blow off steam at Tony for putting her through that Kathleen crap. As the audience, we would've found that more appealing and satisfying than her giving him a free ride after hurting her so much. But in the end, she just couldn't do it; she had too much of herself invested in Tony by then. At that moment, there was also Billy to think about, and when Andy confronted her about it, she chose Billy over him – Billy …and Tony. It's possible she was just afraid to put herself out there again.