The Room, Unslept in
A/N: Time for Chapter 13! These two have quite a few plans to make in a short amount of time. Here's the first part of the planning.
PS – I don't own any of the characters from Who's the Boss? I also don't own the song(s) I use in this story. I also don't own the dialogue I sometimes use in the chapters. I've tried to pick songs that remind me of Tony & Angela and their relationship. If you'd like to hear them, check out YouTube – you can find just about everything there.
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Chapter 13: Making Plans, Part I
The family gathered in the living room. Tony and Angela sat close together on the couch on the end closest to the kitchen. Mona gathered on the cushion at the other end of the couch. Samantha and Jonathan took the side chairs, and Hank sat on the armrest of the chair Samantha was sitting on.
There were so many plans they all needed to discuss. Samantha started with the obvious one.
"Dad, when do you have to be back in Iowa to get your stuff?" Samantha asked. This was one subject that Tony and Angela had not broached the previous night. Angela knew they'd be separated again for Tony to go back to Iowa to pack up. She didn't want to think about not being together no matter how short the separation was going to be this time.
"I told Dr. Graham I'd fly back on Tuesday to sign my separation papers. I'll also need to pack up my apartment. I want to say good-bye to the boys, well at least the ones who stayed for the summer semester. I could be back on the road by Friday, stay one night about half-way back, and be back home next Saturday." Tony said matter-of-factly.
Hank volunteered to go back with Tony to help him pack up and drive back east. Angela had thought about going with them but then considered how much she really didn't want to go back to Wells again or sit in the car for 1,000 miles of boring roadway. Her stomach still wasn't settled enough to feel confident about sitting in a car for all those miles. In fact, just the thought of it was starting to nauseate her. Then her mind wandered to the next day.
Angela squealed with anticipation. Everyone turned to see what the excitement was all about. "Then you'll be here tomorrow and you can come to my doctor's appointment," Angela said with a giddiness the family hadn't heard from Angela in months.
"I wouldn't miss it, Sweetheart," Tony told Angela squeezing her hand that he was holding.
"Here we go again with the mushy stuff," Jonathan said rolling his eyes.
Mona told Jonathan to shush up and be happy about all the mushy stuff. "These two have been through so much to get to this. Let them be as mushy as they want to be," Mona nodded to Jonathan.
"Okay, okay, I'll give them a free pass. At least for a little while," Jonathan allowed. "But, please, not too much mush. A kid can only take so much mush from their parents."
Angela and Tony caught that last comment and rubbed shoulders in solidarity.
"Angela, when is the baby due?" Samantha said, remembering the question she asked in the kitchen had not been answered yet. She wanted to know everything about her new sibling.
"Mid-December," Angela offered.
"Oh, shit!" Samantha blurted out.
"SAMANTHA!" Tony reacted.
Samantha laughed at her dad's response and went on. "That certainly explains all your stomach upset recently, well, in addition to …," not finishing her incomplete sentence not wanting to bring a reminder of hurt back to Angela. She went in a different direction instead, "That explains some of those airsick bags I came across in some of the bathroom cabinets here."
"Oh, you saw them? Angela asked innocently.
"They were hard to miss. But then again, I also thought it was because you missed Dad. Angela, you kinda looked green a lot over the past two months."
Mona laughed remembering the comment she made to Angela during a recent conversation they had about how green she looked.
"It's not that easy to hide that green with make-up," Angela tried to lighten the conversation.
Then Mona got deeper into the conversation and asked the question she really wanted to know the answer to. "Angela, I never said anything about your engagement ring still being on your finger all these months, but can I presume that you and Tony are going ahead with your wedding?"
Tony excitedly started gushing with a purpose before Angela could answer. He wanted to make sure Angela knew he was coming home to stay. "That we are Mona."
Even though he and Angela hadn't specifically talked about that last night, he knew once he saw the ring on her finger, he knew that he had to marry her as soon as possible. He couldn't' wait one more day to be married to this woman and call her his wife. He didn't think she'd refuse him now.
But then he got off the sofa pushing the coffee table back a little. He got onto his knee taking her engagement-ring hand in his. He wanted to do this properly, even if it was in front of the family.
Angela visibly gasped realizing what Tony was about to do.
"Angela, I love you so much, and I don't want to be apart from you again. I don't ever want to lose us. Will you marry me and be my wife?"
Angela lunged at Tony hugging him and kissing his face until he lost his balance and fell over with Angela in his arms.
"I suppose Tony should take that as a 'yes,' Angela? Mona said.
"Of course, it's a yes, Mother. Do you even need to ask?"
They both got back up and sat back down on the couch. "Yes, Tony, of course I'll marry you." Angela made sure she gave Tony a "yes," and not rely on her mother answering for her.
Then they started talking about the when of getting married.
Tony chimed in and asked Angela how she felt about the upcoming Fourth of July weekend.
"July Fourth weekend is so soon, but it is a long weekend." Angela said she'd check into several places including the Club.
Tony asked her how she felt about using their backyard instead? This was going to be a small to medium sized wedding so the backyard was perfectly sized.
"Tony, I think that would be lovely," Angela began to visualize how right that felt for them. "Yes, the backyard with our big oak trees around us."
"Obviously, we'd want to wait until after Jonathan's graduation," Angela continued Tony's line of thinking about the when.
The look on Jonathan's face in that moment was pure relief! Tony noticed the look and nodded, telling Jonathan with a look back at him that he understood his meaning. "Jonathan, maybe later you can share your Valedictorian speech with me."
"Thank you, Tony, but I want to wait until you can all hear it in person at my graduation." Jonathan was so relieved Tony was going to make it to his graduation. He felt like bursting with pride at that moment.
They all continued to talk about Jonathan's graduation and began a rudimentary to wedding guest list. Eventually, they all parted to go about their Sunday activities.
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A few hours later, the doorbell rang. Angela went to open it. She found a florist delivery man standing there with two dozen pink roses.
Angela collected the bouquet. She heard Tony coming into the room, and watched him sprint to the door reaching into his pocket to offer the delivery man a tip.
"Thank you, Sir. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday," he cordially offered to Tony and Angela.
"Oh, Tony, they're beautiful!" she said walking the flowers into the living room while smelling them. He gave her a kiss and took the flowers from her and went to grab the Tiffany vase he'd given her. "Beautiful flowers for my beautiful fiancée."
"Angela, I'm going out to the supermarket to get food for dinner after I get these flowers ready for the vase."
"Maybe you should get Jonathan or Samantha to go out. I'm not sure if I want anyone else knowing you're back yet. I'm not ready to answer questions from nosey neighbors. The news can wait. I like only us knowing right now," Angela hinted to Tony.
"Sure, let me make a list, Tony said grabbing some paper and a pen from the drawer.
Jonathan," she called up to his room.
When he came downstairs, Tony asked Angela what she wanted for dinner. Jonathan was more than happy to go the market for the ingredients for that night's dinner. Jonathan was also happy not to be eating all that fried food anymore.
After thinking about it for a few moments, she told him she wanted an Italian feast, so Tony made the list, and Jonathan left for the market. Suddenly, she was famished. She felt like she hadn't eaten for months. She walked with Tony back into the kitchen to see what she could snack on to keep her full until dinner.
Tony put the roses on the counter to cut the stems. Angela sat down at the table with her snack. She sat there munching her snack while watching Tony cut the stems.
Then she got up and walked over to him and laid her head on his shoulder and put her arms around his waist.
"Angela, be careful, I've got scissors here."
"I know, but I can't believe you're standing here in our kitchen again." Tears started to well up in her eyes.
Tony put the scissors down along with the rose he was presently cutting. He turned around to look her in the eyes. "Angela, I don't know how I ever let you walk out of my office and come back here." They stood there holding each other reflecting on what they almost lost. "I don't know how I walked out of your office and came back here," she sniffled. Tony reached over to the paper towels on the wall and pulled one down tearing it from the others.
"This is the best I can do right now for wiping your face," Tony said handing her the paper towel.
"Thanks, Tony."
Angela, let me make us some tea." He went about making the pot of tea, getting a couple of mugs, and both of them sat down at the table enjoying the presence of each other.
By the time Jonathan got back with all the food, the tea was gone, and the roses had been cut and arranged in the vase. Tony put the vase with the roses on the dining room table where they'd all join together for dinner later.
Angela spent the next hour sitting on the counter watching Tony turn all the ingredients Jonathan brought from the supermarket into an amazing dinner.
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Dinner was a huge feast. It was the first time all of them had sat around a formal dining room table since they were in Iowa. Delicious food was passed around the table. The room smelled like an Italian restaurant. Angel had requested a feast and Tony delivered thoroughly from the garlic laden Italian bread to the delicious fettuccine alfredo with fresh alfredo sauce. Chicken parmigiana with fresh mozzarella cheese completed the dinner. And finally, Tony had made fresh cannoli for dessert.
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The family had offered to clean up after dinner giving Tony and Angela a break. Tony and Angela had excused themselves from the family reunion early in the evening. Everyone knew why, but in reality, both had barely slept the night before, and Angela had to go to work the next day and then go with Tony to Dr. Nicholas in the afternoon for her next appointment.
"Come here, you," Angela motioned Tony into bed with her.
"Who am I to argue with a command like that? But first, Angela, I want to do something else with you."
Raising her eyebrows in curiosity she asked what else he could possibly have in mind that she didn't already have in her own mind?
"Angela, I want to dance with you. I missed holding you. For all these years, it was the one thing we could do that wouldn't raise any eyebrows. It's part of who we were all these years, and I missed it terribly while we were apart."
Angela couldn't argue with him. He was right, for all these years, it was the most intimate they could be without leading to questions by the others surrounding them. And she told Tony the same, "I missed the intimacy and holding you for these past few months, too."
Tony switched the radio on to an Adult Contemporary station. Angela got out of bed and joined Tony in his arms. As they were getting settled in together, Sergio Mendes' Never Gonna Let You Go came on. The irony of the song didn't get by either Tony or Angela, and it only made him hold her closer as they spun gently around their bedroom.
I was as wrong as I could be
To let you get away from me
I'll regret that move
For as long as I'm livin'
But now that I've come to see the light
All I want to do is make things right
So just say the word
And tell me that I'm forgiven
You and me
We're gonna be better than we were before
I loved you then but now I intend
To open up and love you even more
This time you can be sure
I'm never gonna let you go
I'm gonna hold you in my arms forever
Gonna try and make up for all the times
I hurt you so
Gonna hold your body close to mine
From this day on we're gonna be together
Oh I swear this time
I'm never gonna let you go
Looking back now
It seems so clear
I had it all when you were here
Oh you gave it all
And I took it for granted
But if there's some feeling left in you
Some flickers of love
That still shines through
Let's talk it out
Let's talk about second chances
Wait and see
It's gonna be sweeter than it was before
I gave some then but now I intend
To dedicate myself to giving more
This time you can be sure
I'm never gonna let you go
I'm gonna hold you in my arms forever
Gonna try and make up for all the times
I hurt you so
Oh, so if you'll just say
You want me too
"Tony, I love this song, but I need to be let go. I need to run to the bathroom." Tony quickly let her go, and Angela rushed to the bathroom closing the door behind her.
"Damn," she said out loud to the empty, dimly lit bathroom, "I was hoping I'd be able to keep that incredible dinner down, but the baby seems to have other ideas." She changed nighties putting on a baby-blue t-shirt and short set and throwing the knee-length pink camisole-style nightgown into the hamper. Then she tied a blue ribbon into her hair taking straggly strands off her face.
She washed up and re-brushed her teeth. Then she swigged some mouthwash around. Looking into the mirror sideways, she could see a tiny, more defined, outline of the baby, and it made her smile despite just puking up a delicious dinner.
"Are you okay, Angela. Do you need me to get you anything?" Tony asked from the bedroom with concern in his voice.
"Some Ginger Ale and crackers would be nice," Angela said through the door.
She heard Tony open their bedroom door. A few minutes later, she heard the door re-open and heard a tray being put down. She opened the door to see a tray with two cans of Ginger Ale, some glasses, and a long packet of crackers on a small plate.
She came out of the bathroom sighing, "I guess the morning sickness is still around. And I did eat more tonight than I've been eating over the past few months. The baby must've rejected all that food."
Tony scowled in slight exasperation "Ay oh, oh Ay – no Micelli ever rejects Italian food. Ange, you look very cute in that outfit, by the way."
Angela couldn't resist laughing at his comment and told Tony once the baby was actually here, he could feed the baby as much Italian food as he wanted to when they were ready for it. "The one thing that I have been able to eat these past few months is Pastina. I'm so glad you introduced it to us all those years ago. The tiny star-shaped pasta has been easy to eat, and it was something I could cook without ruining. And, Tony, thank you for the compliment about my outfit," she blushed. Tony gave her a soft hug as he walked past her.
Tony went into the bathroom to shower and then joined Angela who was sitting at the window seat drinking the soda and nibbling on the crackers.
"Angela, I know you offered to demonstrate your ideas tonight about what I can offer in place of being your housekeeper, but we didn't get much sleep last night, and you just got over being sick. How about I take a rain-check and you can show me tomorrow night? Plus, you need to get up early for work."
"Tony, you take such good care of me…You're so sweet. I don't know how I was able to get through these months without you here. Tony, I've been so independent for so many years in my work life, but I've never needed anyone as much as I need you in my personal world." Angela thought for a moment about what she was telling Tony. "That's so hard for me to admit. Did you know that these past two months were the longest we were ever separated in the past nine years? It was so painful." She was curious to know if he realized the same thing she had during these two months.
"Yeah, Angela, I realized it one day while I was watching TV and daydreaming about us. It wasn't the happiest moment of my life when I realized it. We hadn't been separated that long since my trip with Samantha to Florida. You already know why I took that trip. I never stopped missing you after you left," he told her honestly. He took Angela's hand and walked with her back to their bed.
They laid back down under the covers. They kissed each other deeply not wanting to separate themselves from each other. But listening to what Tony told her earlier, Angela moved away first telling Tony good night. They both told each other "I love you." Angela turned to her side, and Tony spooned with her laying his hand on hers. It didn't take long for either of them to fall asleep both feeling so loved and not alone any more.
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The next morning, Angela woke up to find the other side of the bed empty. For the first time, she didn't panic when she saw a half-empty bed. She could smell breakfast drifting up the stairs beckoning her down to the kitchen. She sat up and put her legs up to her chin. She shook her hair and thought about how happy she was feeling. Thankfully, she didn't feel nauseous this morning.
She got out of bed and dressed for work. Then she practically floated down the stairs to the kitchen. She was happy to see Mona and Jonathan at the table while Tony made waffles and eggs for his family. Angela asked for some eggs and juice not wanting to tempt fate eating too much food before she got on the train. The plans were that Jonathan would drive Angela and Mona to the train station then go to school. Then she was going to have Tony sneak out of the house later and drive the Jaguar into the City, pick her up at the office, and walk to her doctor's appointment. She decided she didn't care if her employees knew Tony was back. None of them talked to her nosey neighbors.
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When Angela walked into her office with Mona that morning, everyone noticed the improved mood she was in. It was like sunshine walking through the door, but no one could figure out what changed her mood. They hadn't gotten any new accounts since the bagged salad account. They hadn't been nominated for any advertising awards that they knew about. For a change, Mona didn't give out any inclination to what was going on. Giving up at figuring out what the difference was, they went about their work.
As the morning progressed, they whispered amongst themselves out of Angela's earshot until a few hours later when Tony walked into the office to pick Angela up for her doctor's appointment. No one said anything, but everyone figured out what had happened over the weekend. They all exchanged knowing glances with each other. Mona tried not to notice, again not wanting to be interrogated by anyone in the office after Angela left with Tony.
"Tony, go on in, she's off the phone now," Mona told Tony.
"Thanks, Mone," Tony said as he walked into Angela's office.
"Hi, sweetheart. Are you ready to go, Ange?" Tony looked around the office missing being there the past few months. He walked around her desk to give her a kiss. He noticed the photos of Angela and him all over her desk and smiled.
"Give me a minute to enter some data into the computer for the bagged salad account," she said while typing on the keyboard entering more numbers in their respective columns on the spreadsheet.
Then they walked out of the office hand-in-hand and strolled the few blocks to the Brownstone that Angela led him to. Never detaching hands, Angela and Tony walked into the busy office. She checked in, and then they took a seat in the waiting room.
Angela was called back by a nurse and took Tony with her. Tony looked around the room at all the pictures of happy mothers holding their infants. He gulped at the overwhelming reality of what was happening setting in. Angela took notice and smiled an enormous smile. She was glad she wasn't facing him because she didn't want to make him self-conscious taking in what he was looking at.
A nurse came in to take Angela's vitals and wrote her findings into Angela's chart. The nurse gave Angela a gown to change into and left the room. There was a little dressing room to change into the gown. A few minutes later, Dr. Nicholas walked into the exam room. Angela, who was sitting on the exam table, motioned to Tony and introduced them. "I'd like you to meet my fiancé, Tony Micelli." Angela cheerfully introduced the two.
"I'm glad to meet you, Mr. Micelli. I'm glad you're here with Angela today." Dr. Nicholas noticed an amazing change in Angela's demeanor during the introductions. The weight of sadness she seemed to carry in her previous appointments was gone. Dr. Nicholas was relieved because she was beginning to worry about this patient and how stoic, how indifferent, she had been at her appointments thus far. Dr. Nicholas inwardly breathed a sigh of relief knowing that the last thing a high-risk pregnancy Mom needed was more stress in their lives. Tony stepped out of the room until the exam was over.
Dr. Nicholas did her exam and told Angela that everything looked great. Tony was invited back into the exam room. She asked them if they wanted to know the baby's gender and whether they wanted to have the amniocentesis. Looking at Tony, Angela told Dr. Nicholas that she'd let her know after she and Tony discussed it. Dr. Nicholas told them that it was best done at 14 – 20 weeks, so they still had a little time to decide. They were told they could find out the baby's gender from the procedure as well. The doctor concluded the conversation by telling Angela to return to the check-out desk to schedule her next appointment. She changed back into her regular clothes.
After making the new appointment, Angela and Tony walked out of the office leisurely walking back to The Bower Agency to pick up Mona. They stopped on the way at a pretzel cart, and Tony picked up a New York pretzel that he had thought a lot about while he was in Iowa annoyed that he couldn't have one of those hot, salty treats where he was. He grabbed an iced tea, too. He shared some of the pretzel with Angela as they went back to the Agency.
They continued to talk in between bites of the pretzel. Always a planner, Angela told Tony she did want to have the procedure to make sure the baby was okay. She also told Tony she didn't want to know the baby's sex.
"Angela, whatever you want, I'll support you to make sure our baby gets here healthy. I'm surprised you don't' want to know the sex, though, Ange. You're such a planner, I would've bet anything that you'd want to know."
"Do you want to know?" She asked Tony.
"I'll do whatever you want Angela. I'm still getting over the shock of coming home to a pregnant fiancée."
They were back at the Agency before they knew it with agreed upon plans to schedule the amniocentesis, but making the decision not to find out the baby's sex.
Angela went to look for Jack to let him know she wouldn't be in the office tomorrow, but he could reach her later in the day at home. Then they walked out with Mona and headed back to Fairfield.
Mona took her place in the back seat. She felt great satisfaction watching Angela smile and constantly glance at Tony while he was driving them back home. She had questioned herself over the past two months at how she could've been so wrong about Tony and her daughter. Now she sat back with gratification knowing how right she was all along.
The End – Chapter 13 of The Room, Unslept In – Making Plans, Part I
Chapter 14 coming soon