The Room, Unslept in
A/N: Time for Chapter 30! A dream of a honeymoon continued – filled with music and love and fun activities. This chapter delves further into The Story of Us, and the reveal of the songs that were selected as a wedding gift to each other. This chapter focuses on the second five songs that Angela selected for Tony.
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 or Spotify – you can find just about everything there.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Chapter 30: Once Upon a Honeymoon, VII, The Story of Us, Part 6
Thursday, July 8th, 1993 (continued)
Tony and Angela spent some time looking out at the rain. People were shuffling quickly from place to place trying to get out of the rain, even with their umbrellas. They couldn't see any of the horses that could usually be seen carrying passengers towards Central Park or back out from the Park to the front of The Plaza. Occasionally they'd see a child jumping through puddles, much to the consternation of the adult accompanying them. They both laughed at that scene, both knowing that would soon be them.
They went over to the little table still holding some pitchers of ice water to take a drink. Tony asked her if she wanted any of her chocolate, but still feeling full from their Afternoon Tea declined the offer. They both walked around the room smelling the still fresh pink roses that adorned their small suite.
Angela got the feeling that Tony was hesitating moving them back to the couch somehow knowing the next song wasn't going to be easy to read through or listen to. So, she grabbed his hand and led him back to sit down. She handed him the liner notes and picked up the remote control ready to move on.
"Angela, I know this isn't going to be easy for you either. Are you ready to go on to the next set of songs?"
"As ready as I'm ever going to be, Tony. This is our relationship – good and bad – and everything in between." Angela already knew what was written on those liner notes. She put her arm around Tony as he began to read the liner notes for the next song.
"All at Once, by Whitney Houston
I wanted a song that would convey the shock and sadness I went through when you decided to continue that relationship. I want you to know what it felt like to the depths of my soul during this part of our journey to be together When we left Jamaica, I believed there was a true "us" coming together. You told me you thought about us getting married. It was astounding to hear you say that, and yet it seemed so natural to me, too. Somehow hearing you speak those words sounded so right to me. We spent the next six months getting closer and closer … and then one morning, all at once, you weren't going to be mine any more. I know you still lived with me, but your smile didn't belong to me anymore. My heart did shatter along with my dreams. At that moment, I did not know how I'd recover from that pain or if I could recover."
They needed another break after Tony finished reading the song notes and listened to Whitney Houston sing her pain at losing her love. Tony understood completely how Angela could select this song. After the song ended, they held hands for close to five minutes with the CD on pause. Their heads were plastered together and their hands intertwined the entire time. Again, the box of tissues provided them with something to wipe their tears with.
When they had both regained their composure, Tony asked Angela if she was sure she was ready to go to the next song. She nodded and handed the notes back to Tony who had placed them on the coffee table in front of them.
Tony hesitantly turned the liner notes to the next song not knowing where Angela was going to go after the previous song. But instead of reading the notes for another desperately sad song, he started turning a bright shade of red. He turned to look at Angela who had sniffed the final tear from the previous song and had crinkled her eyes at him in a sly smile. Tony read.
"FEVER, by Peggy Lee
Tony, you talked Mother into taking me out, and she succeeded in getting me out of the house and my mind off of what was going on at home. Those jazz musicians helped bring out another Gear I wasn't used to expressing, and out came Gear 5 and that song. I wasn't expecting you there that night, but then I was glad you were. I could see your face watching me sing, and I noticed your tongue practically hanging out. It was the first sign that maybe I was breaking through your façade of a relationship. But I wasn't betting the farm on it, so I spent time with my new friends experiencing that new Gear that included singing in front of an audience – and YOU that night."
"AN- GE – LA! You taunted me in a very respectable alley singing that song to me. You followed me back into the club singing that song at me," Tony pouted.
"Tony, did little 'ol me give you fever? Angela asked him seductively, now knowing exactly the effect she had on him.
Tony slid slightly further over to the edge of the couch, but Angela followed him not giving him any leeway.
"…and what's the big idea of wearing all those backless dresses in front of me right after I saw you naked in that tub?" Tony went all the way back to the beginning of their relationship with that question.
"Now it all comes out – I seem to have given you a fever way back when … as I recall, you stuck a sewing needle in my back while wearing one of those backless dresses," she reminded him again with amusement in her voice, enjoying the taunting she was giving him now.
"Angela, you know I can't resist you. Yes, you gave me fever from the beginning. Let's move on to the next song." Angela couldn't help giggle at Tony's confession easing the mood in the room.
They both got up to take a bathroom break. They quickly returned to the couch to listen to the remaining songs that Angela had picked out for Tony.
"Lovin' You, by Minnie Ripperton
Tony, I went through so many songs to pick from to represent this moment in our relationship. This one stood out because it is so pure in the love that is sung about. It lets me tell you how much I love you and how easy it is to love you. It conveys the pure joy I felt that first night together. After so many years of waiting for you, it was so easy to go from friend to lover because of the pure joy I have in loving you and the love you gave back to me. This song is so beautiful like you are to me. In this case, there was no other song that I wanted to give to you to commemorate our first time making love together."
Tony was visibly moved by this song selection and reciprocated his feelings by pulling her into a hug and giving her a passionate kiss on her lips. No words were exchanged as they listened to this song. After Angela hit Pause on the remote, Tony took her into his arms again and gave her another kiss. Words were not needed to convey the two of them remembering that night together.
Tony was ready to move on to the next song, and he turned the liner notes for the next song.
"I Just Fall in Love Again, by Anne Murray
Our first year together was a rough one with so many changes and transitions. We went through so much together, and it wasn't all that pretty. But I knew deep down that you were having a difficult time with those changes and you were just being you only more you. For the first time in seven years, you were part of a couple again, then an engaged couple. You dealt with our little girl getting married, too. You never stopped supporting me, especially when my Agency was in trouble. It might not have been the way I'd have done it, but you were still there. Your whole life was changing just as you were graduating from college. But through it all, I kept falling in love with you, over and over again. In our times of being alone, you were always the thoughtful lover and friend, and the only one I wanted to be with."
"Angela, I was far from being the best person I could be for you – and for me. Thank you again for your patience and understanding the real me and being there for me. I couldn't have made it through that first year without you. I still can't believe that my baby Sam is a married woman. I'm so glad she had you as a role model growing up. She never once even contemplated leaving college to get married, and I know that you were the woman she looked up to help make that decision. You were there for everything for me, even making sure we didn't suddenly move from our house. You were there to support me for my whole time at college. Thank you for everything, Angela."
Angela picked up Tony's hand and brought it to her lips giving him a kiss.
When Tony turned the page, he laughed out loud when he realized that Angela had done the same thing he had done – she snuck an 11th song into the CD gift. "Angela, I bet you didn't have to beg Peter and Jon to let you have 11 songs instead of 10 like I did."
"You're right, Tony. They were more than happy to let me have the extra song. Now it's your turn to read the songs' liner notes."
"Here goes, Angela – the songs that brought us to this moment."
"Darling, Be Home Soon, by Cass Elliot & I'll Always Love You, by Taylor Dane
Tony, I don't think I can ever express the pain I felt during the two months we were apart. I've never felt a loss like that before for someone. It was so permanent. It was horrible not laying in your arms at night, not talking to you, not touching you. These songs are so intense that I hope it tells you how much I love and need you. I hope it tells you how much you've been a part of me for so long. I hope it tells you how much I wanted you to have a chance at your dreams, but I also need you, and I want to share those dreams with you. These two songs together are meant to show you how intense my love is for you. I'm also pretty sure these baby hormones helped me write this gushy note."
"Tony?" she said looking over at Tony as he finished reading this liner note.
"Yes, Sweetheart."
Tony, I shouldn't have encouraged you to go to Wells in the first place. That name doesn't have a good track record in my … in our lives. If you'll remember, that was Geoffrey with a "G"s last name," Angela said with a distant look in her eyes and a knowing whisper on her lips, seeming to realize this for the first time.
"Angela, it would take your heavy-duty analysis to link those names together," he hugged her as she couldn't help sniffing from the tears falling. Then they turned towards each other and laughed realizing the irony of it all and how much irony and fate kept creeping into their lives together. Tony reached over and got Angela another tissue.
"Angela, I felt that pain as well. It was while listening to that song on the car radio after the banquet that I realized I needed to come home right then and there. You picking Darling, Be Home Soon is so special to me because it means so much to me, too.
Tony hit Play on the remote and together they listened to the two songs that meant so much to each other. Then he hit Pause.
It was just about time to listen to the three songs they had selected together. Tony took the liner notes from Angela's gift and handed them to her. Tony still had his liner notes. Angela took a deep breath and asked Tony if he was ready. They knew they were going to enjoy the next part of the liner notes and songs because the songs had been picked out and agreed upon by both of them.
The End – Chapter 30 of The Room, Unslept In – Once Upon a Honeymoon, VII, The Story of Us, Part 6
Chapter 31 coming soon … the honeymooners continue their music reveal. It's time for Tony and Angela to listen to the songs they both selected and read the liner notes they each wrote to the other representing the three songs. Away we go …