Chapter 7

"I don't know where to start," Angela said once she and Tony were comfortably settled on the couch sitting close but not too close together.

"I don't either," Tony replied. "How're you feelin'?"

"Not great, honestly, but I made it through the train rides and the presentation this morning, so I'll take that as a win. I also made an appointment with my doctor, but his office can't get me in until next week."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Tony asked tentatively. He didn't remember going to any of Marie's appointments when she was pregnant with Sam. Of course, back then, he was on the road a lot with the Cards, and it just wasn't something that men did on a regular basis. But he wanted to be a full participant in Angela's pregnancy journey especially since he'd missed so much the first time around.

Angela had started to think about this on the train. Michael had never accompanied her to any of her appointments both because he always seemed to be out of town on some wildlife assignment and because it just wasn't done. But now, Angela knew from some of Wallace and McQuade's younger employees, as well as from a couple of friends who had babies in the last few years, that the tide seemed to be turning and more men were coming to the appointments and even seemed eager to be as much a part of the pregnancy process as possible.

"I want you to do whatever you feel comfortable with, Tony. Michael never bothered to come, but as I said last night, this baby is as much yours as it is mine, so you're welcome to," Angela said as she started to warm up to the idea of having Tony right there by her side especially if there ever turned out to be difficult news.

"I want to support you as much as I can, Angela," Tony replied as he reached over and squeezed her hand. "I missed a lot the first time around with Sam."

"Speaking of Jonathan and Samantha, this is going to affect them in so many ways, so I think we have to be as prepared as possible with what we're going to tell them and when," Angela said as she bit her bottom lip. "I thought a lot about this on the train home this afternoon. I know we don't want to lie to them, but I also don't think we want to give them false hope. I have a feeling that once they get over the initial shock, they're going to ask if we're a couple or even if we're getting married."

Taking a deep breath while forcing herself to hold Tony's gaze, Angela continued, "I care a lot for you Tony. You've become my best friend and the best parenting partner I could ever have. And, as we've talked about before, I know neither one of us wants to lose what we have. As much as we know there's something more between us, I just don't think now is the right time to explore it," she finished as she looked down at their hands that were still joined.

Tony squeezed her hand again before saying, "Ay oh, oh ay, I think you're right. Just because we're having a kid doesn't mean that we should get together. Before we knew about this baby, I know that's what we had decided, and I think it still makes sense. I don't want to lose my best friend or the best surrogate mom that Sam could ever have."

Angela felt her face grow warm as she thought about what the kids would say or think when they found out that their unmarried parents had sex and as a result were now expecting a baby. Closing her eyes briefly, she looked back over at Tony and said, "I know neither of us want to set a bad example for them, so I think we tell them that we're best friends who both wanted to have another child while we still could, so we decided to do it together. I'm sure they'll have questions on how this happened, Sam more so than Jonathan since she's 13 and taking that Human Health and Development class this semester. I think Jonathan is still at the age where he knows that it takes a man and a woman to have a baby, but not much more beyond that. I just hope that's all and that he hasn't listened too closely to anything Mother has said on the subject," Angela finished with a shake of her head.

"Ok, Angela. We can start with that and see how it goes. I can, or both of us can, have a further discussion with Sam if she does have more involved questions. But, I agree, we need to make sure they understand that, while we do care for each other, there's not going to be a wedding," Tony said his voice trailing off as he and Angela looked away from each other; both wondering if "their" time would ever come.

"As far as when we tell them," Angela said bringing them back to the present. "I want to wait until I'm 12 weeks along or as close to that as we can get. After the first trimester is generally when it becomes safer in the pregnancy to announce it."

"Sounds good to me," Tony replied. "What about Mona? Not for nothin', but I have a feeling we'll be lucky to keep her in the dark for that long." Tony didn't want to say it, but almost from the day he and Sam moved in, he noticed how Mona routinely criticized Angela especially when it came to her appearance. He knew Mona loved her daughter, but she just didn't seem capable of showing it without throwing in a put down or two. And he had surmised that Angela's issues with her weight when she was younger stemmed, at least somewhat, from Mona.

"I know," Angela said interrupting Tony's thoughts. "I have a feeling that I'll start to show much earlier than I did with Jonathan, and I'm sure Mother will at least suspect something is going on. But, let's just cross that bridge when we come to it. I don't have the energy right now to think about everything she's going to say."

"Whatever you want to do, Angela," Tony replied as he, too, could almost hear some of what Mona would have to say about how and why this baby came to be and their decision to remain friends as they raised this kid along with Sam and Jonathan.

"Angela, there is something else that we need to discuss now," Tony said taking a deep breath. "I quit."

"What?" Angela replied, immediately pulling her hand back from Tony's to cover her mouth in disbelief as her eyes grew wide.

"I don't mean that like it sounds. I just can't continue to take a paycheck from you now that this has happened. That doesn't mean that I don't want to continue to take care of things around here, but I have to find another actual job."

"But Tony," Angela started to say before he raised his hand to stop her.

"No, Angela. Let me say this. Like I said, I want to be able to support you and this baby as much as I can. But, I can't do that in good conscience while you're paying me. It just doesn't feel right. I can find another job in Fairfield as a housekeeper or doing something else while also keeping up my responsibilities around here. And," he continued looking down at his hands, "I've also thought about maybe going to college. It was something I wanted to do if baseball hadn't worked out, and after seeing Mona do it, I want to give it a try. Maybe with a couple of night classes. I know it will take me more than four years to get a degree, but I'm willing to put in the work. For our family."

"Oh Tony, I don't know what to say," Angela said as a tear trickled down her cheek. "I understand and respect why you don't want to work for me any longer, but why then would you and Sam continue to live here?"

"What if nobody else knows?" Tony responded. "I mean, to the outside world and even for the kids and Mona, nothing has to change. They don't have to know I'm not the actual housekeeper anymore. I'll continue to do the cooking and cleaning, which, not for nothin', doesn't take that many hours during the day. We can tell them that because I have so much free time, I decided to extend my cleaning empire while also wanting to expand my education with going to school," Tony finished with a sheepish grin.

"Wait Tony," Angela said as a thought began to form in her mind. "I think I have a better idea. What if you went to school full-time in addition to continuing your responsibilities here? I won't pay you. I'll pay your tuition instead. We'll set up a tuition/household account that can cover all of that which you'll have access to," Angela said hoping that Tony would understand that the account would be enough to also support his and Sam's needs.

Tony caught her meaning and immediately wanted to say no, but something stopped him. It hit him like a ton of bricks that with all the compromising that Angela was going to have to do with carrying the baby and then after the baby was born, and how that would impact her career and life in general, that he needed to do some compromising as well. He had to admit that her suggestion made sense and would keep everything as normal and stable as possible for the entire family. And, the idea of actually graduating from college with a degree in four years felt like such a relief.

"Ok, Angela. We'll do it your way. I want this to work out, so I can live with that," Tony said quietly.

Just then, Sam and Jonathan came charging through the front door.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" Jonathan asked, surprised to see her home in the middle of the afternoon. "Are you sick again?"

Tony and Angela exchanged a look as they realized that any further discussion would have to wait until later.

"No, Sweetheart, I'm fine," Angela responded. "I just decided to work from home this afternoon where I can have some peace and quiet, so I better get to it."

Both Angela and Tony stood up from the couch. With one final look between them, Tony exited to the kitchen while Angela grabbed her briefcase and headed to her study. Both lost in thought about their new reality and everything that was in store for their unorthodox little family…