Hope for All Chapter 16
The next week went by pretty smoothly for Tony and Angela. Angela was still feeling pretty normal, aside from bouts of fatigue. Tony made sure she didn't lift a finger and catered to her every need. He would bring up a cup of tea each morning to sip as she and Tony snuggled in bed before getting up.
One morning as they were snuggling up in bed, Angela suddenly grabbed her mouth and made a mad dash to the bathroom, getting there just in time. Tony ran after her and waited outside the bathroom until she stopped getting sick. He remembered from Marie that she needed her space and assumed Angela would be the same. He waited a few minutes before knocking on the door.
"Angela… sweetheart are you okay?" he asked from the other side of the door. All Angela could answer him with was another round of throwing up. Finally, she was able to stand up, walk to the sink to freshen up and answer Tony.
"I'm okay" she said unconvincingly as she opened the door to Tony. He took one look at her and knew she was anything but okay. He helped her back to bed and pulled the covers over both of them.
"Well… I guess it's safe to say morning sickness has begun. That just came out of nowhere. One minute I was fine and the next… no" she said.
"What can I get you? More tea? Ginger ale? Saltine crackers?" Tony asked as he gently rubbed her stomach.
"Some ginger ale would be good I think. Thank you Tony" she said weakly.
"No problem Angela. Okay little one… please go easy on your Mama while I'm gone okay?" he said as he kissed her stomach and left the room to head to the kitchen. Angela smiled at how attentive Tony was being and hoped she'd be able to start getting ready for work soon.
Tony was back up with ginger ale and some saltine crackers in case she changed her mind. He placed them down next to her on the nightstand. Angela was able to take some sips of the ginger ale and even tolerated a few crackers. She knew she was already running late for work, but the thought of getting ready and taking the train into work made her feel nauseous again.
"I think you better call out today or at least work from home. If this really is the start of morning sickness and it's this intense, you've gotta figure out a new schedule" said Tony with worry in his voice.
"Let's just see how it goes once I'm up and moving. I'm going to need a few more minutes before that happens though" she said as she closed her eyes and put her hand over her forehead.
"Okay sweetheart. Rest up a bit. I'm going to go downstairs and start getting the kids breakfast and get them out the door. Take your time alright?" he said.
Angela stayed in bed for another few minutes. The nausea subsided and she felt well enough to get dressed and ready for work. She hoped it was a one and done for the day, but she wasn't holding her breath.
Meanwhile, Tony was making breakfast for the kids and Mona when they came into the kitchen.
"Morning everyone! I hope you don't mind but today's breakfast will be oatmeal, toast and juice. Angela's morning sickness has officially began and I don't want her to have any reaction to intense smelling foods" said Tony.
"So we all have to suffer?" asked Mona sarcastically.
"Mona! Leave her alone okay? It's been a rough morning already and this could be our lives for the next few months or so. I have no idea how she's going to make it into work in the mornings if this morning is any indication of how things are going" he said.
The family was interrupted by a knock at the back door. Tony went to open it and it was Ernie, the water cooler man.
"Hey everyone! Tony, here's the new water cooler stand and refills. Boy, do I have something for you! Me and the fellas went out to the lake this weekend! Wait here, let me get it!" he shouted as he headed to his truck.
Just then, Angela walked into the kitchen, looking green. She sat down at the table and continued sipping her ginger ale.
"Geeze Mom, you look like death" said Jonathan. "Are you okay Angela?" asked Samantha.
"I'm fine. Morning sickness has started but I'll be okay" she said as she continued to sip her drink.
"Angela, you're clashing. The purple of your sweater really doesn't go with the green of your skin…" quipped Mona.
"Can I make you something light Angela? Some toast? More crackers? Tea?" Tony asked as the back door opened again and Ernie walked in holding a two foot long raw fish.
"Ain't it a beauty Tony? The biggest catch we ever had! Think of all the dishes you could make me with this big fella!" shouted Ernie.
With the exception of Ernie who was oblivious to everything but his pride over his catch, all four sets of eyes from the family turned at once to Angela. If it was possible, her face turned a deeper shade of pale green. She again put her hand over her mouth and ran out of the kitchen, heading towards the nearest bathroom.
"Ernie I could kill you right now! Who brings a fresh fish into someone's house at 8am?" Tony said as he ran out of the kitchen after Angela.
"What was that about? I thought he'd be happy about it! You think you know a guy!" said Ernie.
"Well Mom isn't feeling well because she's…" Jonathan started to say until Samantha put her hand over his face.
"She's getting over the stomach flu. It's hit the house again! You better be on your way before you catch it too! See you soon Ernie!" Mona said as she forcibly led Ernie to the door. Once he was out the door, Mona walked back over to the table and gave Jonathan a shove.
"Jonathan! What was that? You know we aren't supposed to be talking about Angela being pregnant! What's the matter with you?" shouted Samantha.
"I'm sorry I forgot!" said Jonathan apologetically.
"Please be careful Jonathan. If it gets out that Angela is pregnant before they are ready to tell people, all hell will break loose, okay? So keep your mouth shut, kid" said Mona as she sat down to finish her breakfast.
Tony ran up the stairs to check on Angela. He was surprised she made it all the way upstairs without getting sick along the way. He could hear her getting sick from outside their bedroom. He went in and saw her sitting on the floor, resting herself against the bathtub.
"Please tell me he is gone along with that fish…" she said as Tony handed her a wet washcloth.
"I heard the truck drive away, so I'm pretty sure we are in the clear. How are you feeling?" he asked.
"I've been better Tony. I didn't have morning sickness with Jonathan, just some food aversions. Maybe this one is a girl. Did Marie have bad morning sickness?" she asked as she placed her hand absentmindedly over her stomach.
Tony sat down next to Angela on the bathroom floor, taking the washcloth from her and began gently wiping her brow.
"Oh yes, she had horrible morning sickness. It was more of an all day sickness for the first three months or so. After that, she was fine thankfully. Maybe you're right, this one could be a girl!" he said with a smile.
When she was feeling strong enough, Tony helped Angela to her feet. She finished getting herself cleaned up and they made their way downstairs. Mona was waiting for Angela in the living room. They decided to drive into work in case Angela got sick again. Tony wasn't happy with Angela going in and made his opinion quite clear as he had a way of doing, but Angela needed to meet with a client in the afternoon.
"If you are not feeling 100%, make sure you come right home. Mona, you make sure she rests as much as possible and stays hydrated until she feels well enough to eat something. I made copies of what she needs to avoid eating and if she can manage to eat it, this list of healthy foods for a developing baby" said Tony as he handed Mona the lists. Mona looked at the lists and rolled her eyes. Angela quickly grabbed the lists before Mona crumpled them up.
"Thank you Tony for always looking out for me, for us. I love you!" she gushed as she walked into his arms for a hug and a kiss. Tony put his hand over her stomach and bent down to kiss the baby.
"Okay little one, Mommy has to go to work. Go easy on her would ya? Do it for Daddy okay? I love you little one!" he said in a voice about two octaves higher than normal.
Angela teared up at Tony's affection while Mona started making gagging noises.
"Alright Mother! Let's go- I'll see you tonight my love" she said as she walked out the door.
Tony started in on his chores around the house as well as tackling some homework. He was trying to distract himself as he was waiting for a package to come in the mail. Finally, by early afternoon, the package came to the house. He ripped open the envelope to see a beautiful resort on a lake with a pretty white gazebo on the cover. He quickly looked through the booklet and found what he was looking for- the wedding section.
He began reading the pages, jotting down information on a pad of paper. He wrote down the contact information for the resort as well as a bunch of questions to ask the staff. He quickly took all the information and brought it up to his old room to hide before making his way back downstairs to the kitchen to start dinner.
Angela and Mona walked through the front door right before dinner was to be served. Tony met them at the front door and took Angela's coat and briefcase. He walked her to the sofa and sat down next to her, leaving Mona standing there.
"What am I chopped liver? Not even a hello Mona, how was your day? I remember the days when the sun and the moon didn't revolve around Angela" she said as she walked towards the kitchen.
"You're important too Mona! Just don't touch dinner yet, it's not ready!" he yelled to her as she was already in the kitchen.
"So how are you feeling? The little one treat you okay for the rest of the day? Mona keep tabs on you like I asked?" he asked.
"I felt better as the day went on and could eat here and there, but the nausea just doesn't let up. I feel like I can never be more than a few feet from the bathroom, just in case" she said.
"Oh sweetheart… let's hope it starts to get better soon. I hate seeing you not feeling well. Do you think you are up to some dinner? I made spaghetti bolognese but I can keep the sauce off the pasta if you want" he said.
"That actually sounds good. Maybe just a little sauce and we can go from there. Protein doesn't sound good at all so the meat sauce will be good. C'mon, let's go before the baby has other ideas!" laughed Angela as they walked into the kitchen.
Dinner went pretty well- Angela only had to pause eating a few times but kept it all down. The kids offered to clean up so Tony and Angela could relax in the living room. They cuddled up together on the sofa and turned on the television.
"So Angela… I know we haven't talked about it since last week, but I was thinking maybe we could talk soon about… about getting married. At least a time frame for when you'd like to do it" he said.
"Yes we should start thinking about it. I think I'd like to be married before the baby gets here, well at least engaged, but it has to be when I'm feeling better. I can't even imagine feeling like this and walking down the aisle. Maybe sometime in the late spring?" she asked.
"That sounds good to me. We can figure the rest out as it gets closer to spring time. I would like to take you shopping for engagement rings sooner than that though… when you are feeling up to it" he said as he held onto her hand and fan his fingers over her left ring finger.
"I would love that Tony! Maybe one day after work you can pick me up. I'd love to go back to that jewelry store where you got me my necklace. They had some gorgeous pieces" she said.
"It's a date then!" he said as he leaned over and began kissing her on her lips. The kissing soon developed into something more as their hands began to pull at each other's clothing.
"I think we need to relocate this upstairs for some more privacy" said Tony as he stood up and pulled her up with him. Hand in hand, they walked up the stairs, focused only on each other.