Chapter 10
"Mother," Angela called as she knocked on Mona's door. "Are you here?"
"What is it, Angela?" Mona asked, through the closed door, in a slightly irritated tone. "I was about to try on some new lingerie to get ready for my date tonight."
Rolling her eyes, Angela replied, "Tony and I need to talk to you. It's important. Can we come in?"
"Fine, fine," Mona said as she opened the door. She had a feeling that they were going to give themselves up. She had come to the conclusion a couple of weeks ago that her daughter and Tony had finally given into that intense attraction, that seemed to be so obvious to everyone but them, and were now going to admit that they were head over heels in love with each other.
"What is it, Dear?" Mona asked, feigning ignorance once they were all settled on the couch.
"Well, Mother, I uh, I mean…" Angela stuttered as Tony placed his hand supportively on her lower back.
Taking a deep breath, Angela decided to just rip the band-aid off, "I'm pregnant. And the baby is Tony's."
For a moment, Mona was actually stunned into silence.
"Well, well, well. You all certainly aren't wasting any time. From what I've observed between you two lately, it's obvious that something was going on. I just didn't think you'd get to this point quite so fast. Congratulations. Well done, Tony." Mona said, a broad grin spreading across her face.
"Thanks Mone," Tony responded sarcastically, shaking his head. "Ay oh, oh ay, what do you mean you knew something was going on?"
"There's been enough electricity between you two lately to light up a small city. It's obvious to me that you all have found something more entertaining to do at night than drink tea," Mona said, still grinning.
"Ah, Mother, that's not quite the case," Angela said, jumping in. "What happened between Tony and me only occurred once. This baby was quite the surprise. And, we've decided that we're going to raise him or her as co-parents and best friends just like we're doing with Jonathan and Samantha."
"Are you two out of your gourds?" Mona asked, genuinely shocked. "Let me get this straight. You finally manage to get it on, which results in Angela getting pregnant, and instead of doing the most natural thing in the world and actually admit that you belong together, you're going to keep up this farce of being just friends?"
"Ay oh, oh ay, Mona. It's not a farce. We are friends, best friends, just like Angela said. We're doing what's best for this family right now," Tony replied even though listening to what Mona had just said was making him start to rethink how he and Angela were handling this situation.
"Yes, Mother," Angela said as she too suddenly felt uncertain about their path forward but knew now wasn't the time to rock the boat. "We've spent a lot of time discussing this, and the simple truth is that even though, as you pointed out, there might be something more between us, now isn't the time to explore it. Tony and I make a good parenting team, and if we did allow for more and it didn't work out then where would that leave our family?"
"But Angela, what if it was good, really good?" Mona asked, trying to keep the exasperation out of her voice. These two were going to be the death of her.
"Mother, that's enough," Angela replied. "Look at how things turned out between me and Michael. I don't ever want something like that to happen with Tony. Jonathan, Samantha and this new baby deserve to have two parents who love them and who care about each other."
"I agree," Tony said, squeezing Angela's hand. "Angela and I feel very strongly about doing everything we can to protect this unique little family of ours especially now that it's about to grow."
"You two," Mona said shaking her head before deciding to drop the subject for now. "So how is this all going to work now that you've knocked up your boss?"
"Mother," Angela said, a warning tone in her voice. "Tony is still going to have the same responsibilities around the house. That's all I'm going to say about the decisions we've made regarding his employment status. But, he's also decided to go to college. In fact, he has his placement test tomorrow morning."
"Yeah, Mone," Tony said. "I admire you for going back at your age, so I'm going to give it a try as well. It's something I can do now so that I can provide more support for the family in the future."
"Good for you, Tony," Mona said, genuinely touched that Tony wanted to follow in her footsteps. "So, when is this miraculous child going to arrive? And since it doesn't sound like you all will be consolidating bedrooms, where are you going to put it? I hope you don't think one of the kids is moving in with me!"
"The baby's due in early April," Angela said, her hand protectively dropping to her abdomen. "And, we've decided that we're going to renovate part of the basement for Sam. Give her a little more privacy, now that she's a teenager."
"Speaking of the kids, I can't wait to hear how you explain this to them. I mean I would have thought you both would have known how to prevent it," Mona said, an unmistakable glint in her eye.
"Quite the night at that motel by Jonathan's camp wasn't it? I knew it," she continued with a wink having quickly done the math as to when this had to have happened, since Tony and Angela were rarely alone in the house.
"How did you…I mean…Oh never mind," Angela replied, her cheeks growing pink. "We're not getting into the specifics. Tony and I are going to tell the children at dinner tonight. You may join us, but, and I mean this Mother, you need to bite your tongue. They're still young, especially Jonathan, and Tony and I want to present this in the best possible way we can. We don't need a running commentary from you especially since it will probably be hard for them to understand, at first, why we're staying just friends."
"Speaking of dinner, I need to get movin' on that," Tony interjected, rising from the couch with Angela and Mona quickly following.
"Hang on, both of you," Mona said. "I know I'm giving you a hard time, and while I still think you're missing out on what's right in front of you, I want you to know that I'm happy for you. Angela, I know you've wanted another baby for a long time. Thank god though that you didn't let Michael get you pregnant again. You and Tony are a much better team, and this will be one lucky kid."
"Thank you, Mother," Angela replied, suddenly close to tears. Her mother could really surprise her sometimes.
"Yeah, thanks, Mone," Tony said engulfing her in a hug.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Mona replied. "I'm just glad to know that this is why you've looked like hell and started to get fat, Angela."
"Thanks, Mother," Angela replied drily, practically pushing Tony out of the apartment before closing the door behind them.
"Well, that went about as expected," Angela said as they walked down the stairs and back towards the house. "I'm sure that's not the last we'll hear from her on the subject."
"No kiddin'. But, we're doing the right thing here, aren't we?" Tony asked as Mona's diatribe echoed through his mind.
"Honestly, I don't know, Tony," Angela said once they were in the kitchen. Her mother's words had rattled her resolve as well. "But, for now, I think we need to just stick to our plan. At the end of the day, we have to do what's best for the entire family."
Tony nodded his head before saying, "One down, two to go. Dinner should be ready in about half an hour if you want to go lie down for a bit."
"Thanks. I think I will," Angela said. "After the conversation with Mother, I'm suddenly very tired."
A little while later, the family, including Mona, was seated around the dining room table. Tony had explained to the kids that it was an important night which meant dinner in the formal dining room.
"So, what's so important about tonight, Dad?" Sam asked once all of their plates were full.
"Angela and I have some news we want to share," Tony said haltingly.
"Oh no, you are sick, Mom, aren't you?" Jonathan asked worriedly.
"No, Sweetheart, I'm not sick, at least not like you're thinking," Angela responded quickly.
Taking a deep breath, she continued, "I'm pregnant."