Chapter 7 – A Peaceful Calm
After a little while, Tony pulled Angela out of their embrace and asked her if she was hungry. She nodded yes and Tony told her to stay in bed, that he'd bring her dinner.
As Tony left the room, Angela was left to herself and to her thoughts. As her eyes shifted around the room, her mind fought to control her thoughts and shift her mind back to that night of her assault. But she didn't let it. She continued thinking about Tony and the future they had together. They'd be married in two weeks, and she wouldn't allow herself to go back down that dark hole that she so desperately fought to escape from.
"You won't win this battle, Christopher." Angela whispered under her breath.
As she waited for Tony to come back upstairs with their dinner, she permitted her mind to drift to thoughts about Tony and their relationship. From the very beginning, when he came into her life that day knocking on her door regarding the housekeeper job, she knew there was no denying the instant "pull" that surrounded them. Sure, her mother had seen Tony at her apartment building and asked him to come over. If truth be told though, she was truly grateful to her mother for doing so. Sure, she didn't admit to her, but she was thankful for Tony coming into her life during that time. She thought about their closeness and their willingness to always be there for each other, no matter what. She thought about the times that they came close to losing each other to other people or other situations. She thought about them raising Samantha and Jonathan together, unspoken parents to both kids. She thought about them becoming closer later in their relationship and Tony telling her at the carnival that he loved her and not taking it back. She thought about how close they became once that barrier was gone, and they weren't afraid to show and tell each other how much they loved one another. She inwardly laughed at the "show and tell" aspect when they were together in Washington, DC. Oh, how forward she was, but it was for Tony. She thought about them moving to Iowa and trying to make a long-distance relationship work between them. She thought about how afraid she was to make that deep of a commitment and how she ran back to Connecticut like a scared puppy. She thought about their breakup and how much it devastated her. She thought about how she lied to herself, telling herself it had been Tony who didn't make it work and didn't love her. She thought about what she had to endure to get back to Tony. She thought about… No, she wasn't thinking about him any longer. He was in her past and would stay in her past. She focused on the future with Tony and their new relationship after being apart for three years. She thought about how that "instant spark" was there from the moment they saw each other in the airport. She thought about how they never stopped loving each other, even with being apart for three years.
Before she realized it, Tony arrived at her bedroom door carrying a wooden tray with two plates of dinner on it – Lasagna, a side salad and rolls with butter.
He carried it to her in bed and placed the tray over her lap as she sat up straighter in bed.
"Tony, this looks delicious. Thank you for bringing this to me. You didn't have to go through all that trouble."
"Nonsense, Angela. I love doing these things for you. Would you want to see if there are any movies on to watch while we eat dinner?"
As Angela looked over at Tony, who was sitting beside her in bed, gave him a small smile.
"I'd love that, Tony."
Tony grabbed the remote and began flipping through the channels, looking for an old movie that may be on, as Angela began eating her salad. Eventually, they settled on watching "The Shop Around the Corner" starring James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan from 1940.
As the movie came to an end, both Tony and Angela decided to get ready for bed and turn in early. Angela was clearly tired, and Tony knew she needed her rest.
"I'm going to take these dishes down to the kitchen and I'll be back in a few minutes."
"Okay, take your time."
Tony picked up the wooden tray with the dishes and took them downstairs and decided to wash them before he went upstairs to bed.
Angela decided to get ready for bed. She made her way into the bathroom to brush her teeth, wash her face and use the bathroom before settling in for the night. As she came out of her bathroom, Tony was walking back into her bedroom from downstairs.
As Tony went into the bathroom to get ready for bed, Angela nestled into her king-size bed and flipped through the channels to distract her mind. She knew she still needed to talk to Tony about her doctor's appointment and what she said to the doctor, but she wasn't quite sure how to bring it up.
A few moments later, Tony came out of the bathroom and glanced at Angela, who was already asleep in the bed. He quietly made his way around to the other side of the bed and pulled the comforter over him as he leaned over her and lightly placed a kiss on her forehead as she slept.
As the next week proceeded forward, both Tony and Angela were busier than busy with their upcoming wedding and all the plans for that. They also knew they needed to get things in order around the house for when they left and needed to finalize things with Angela's agency.
Throughout the week, Angela had tried numerous times to talk to Tony about her appointment, but the words never came. She was given ample opportunities to mention it to him but couldn't get the words to come out. She decided to talk to him this evening about it. She needed to talk to him before they were married.
That evening, as they were cleaning up from dinner, Tony was at the sink washing dishes as Angela was drying them. Now was her chance!
"Tony, uh…"
Tony turned and looked at Angela, waiting for her to speak.
"Yeah?"
"Uh…" The words wouldn't come.
"Dinner was delicious. Thank you."
Tony took a longer look at Angela, realizing that wasn't what she wanted to say. He knew she was struggling with something and stopped washing the dishes and washed his hands, drying them with a hand towel as he took her hands in his.
He led her to the kitchen table, and they sat down.
"I know you, Angela… and that's not what you wanted to say. Now, what is it? You know you can talk to me."
Tony was still grasping one of her hands in his, gently rubbing his fingers across her knuckles.
"Uh, Tony… I wanted to talk to you… about… about my doctor's appointment last week."
"Okay…"
"Um, you remember how I stayed back to talk to my doctor?"
"Yeah…"
"Well, I wanted to get his… opinion… on… when we…"
Her eyes shifted to Tony's eyes, and he instantly knew what she was trying to say.
"Hey, it's okay."
Tears threatened to spill over her cheeks as Angela quickly wiped the tears away, embarrassed that she was crying over something so trivial.
Tony scooted his chair closer to hers and took her in his arms.
After allowing her to cry for a few moments, Tony held her face in front of his and wiped her tears away.
"Listen, we will get through this, okay? It's something you and I have to work through as a married couple. We'll take our time and if you don't feel comfortable…"
"Tony, it's not that I don't feel comfortable around you… It's just… He's there all the time. I can't seem to escape from his grip."
"Have you talked to your therapist about this?"
"Yeah, I saw them two days after my doctor's appointment. She told me different exercises I could do to work my way through the traumatic memories. I just don't know how well they will work…when we…"
"Hey, we'll get through it, okay? This is just something we… especially you… must work through. And I'll be there for you all the way, okay? I love you very much, Angela, and I'm not going to let something like this break us apart."
"I love you too, Tony… thanks."
They leaned in and kissed each other as Tony held her in his arms, holding on to her a little tighter now that he knew what was going on in that pretty, little head of hers.
Later that night, as Angela was getting sleepy and began to doze off in her bed held in Tony's arms, she felt a sense of calm wash over her as drifted off to sleep.
As Angela's eyes fluttered open, she noticed she was in a bright room with the sun shining brightly through the blinds. As she moved slightly in her bed, she looked down and noticed she was lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to a few medical devices.
As she continued looking around the room, she noticed no one else was there with her. She wondered where she was and what happened to her.
She didn't have to wait long because she heard a gentle knock on the door and Tony's head popped in when the door opened.
"I'm glad to see you awake… Did you have a good nap, sweetheart?"
Tony shut the door behind him and made his way towards her bed.
"Uh…yeah. What…"
"Hey, don't worry. You did great. I'm so proud of you."
Tony leaned in and lightly pushed her bangs off her forehead as he leaned in and placed a tender kiss on her forehead.
"Um…thanks."
"I was downstairs grabbing some breakfast. I guess I need to call the nurse and ask if you can have something to eat. I'm sure you're starving after all that happened."
"Yeah…"
"Tell you what, I'll ask the nurse to get you some coffee and juice and I'll see if they have any Belgian waffles… I know they're your favorite…"
Tony laughed slightly at the memory that popped up in his head at the mention of Belgian waffles. He stood to push the call button and find a nurse to get something for Angela to eat.
"Uh, Tony…"
"Hey, are you in any pain? I forgot to ask. I'm sure the nurse can get you something for pain if you are. Have I said how proud I am of you?"
He leaned in and kissed her gently on her lips as they broke apart when they heard a knock on her door.
"Come in."
They both turned and saw the nurse making her way into the room, smiling, as she came to Angela to check on her.
"Good morning. How are we feeling this morning?"
"Uh…fine."
"Any pain?"
"No."
"That's good. I'm going to leave a pain pill here for you to take later, if you do experience any pain. Now, I'm sure you are starving after everything that happened. Would you care for some breakfast?"
Tony answered for her.
"Yes, if it's not too much trouble, she'd love a cup of coffee and a glass of orange juice and maybe some Belgian waffles."
"Oh, that's no trouble. I'll make a call to the cafeteria and see what I can do. I'll be back with it here after a while. If you need anything else, feel free to press the call button."
"Thank you."
"Uh…thanks."
As the nurse left, leaving Tony and Angela, he sat back down beside her in the bed and held her hand.
"You know, Angela… You've made me so happy. I just love you so much."
He leaned in and kissed her again on the lips, taking longer this time to appreciate the kiss between them.
Later that morning, her breakfast was brought to her, and she devoured the waffles quicker than she realized, clearly hungry, and enjoyed her cup of hot coffee and orange juice as she rested in her hospital bed.
Tony had went home to shower and told her he'd be back as soon as he could.
She heard a faint knock on her door as she looked up from her coffee cup and saw Tony coming back into her hospital room.
"Hey, gorgeous. Did I miss anything?"
Laughing, Angela shook her head no.
"How's the waffles?"
Tony winked at her as he smiled at the memory.
Angela laughed as well, remembering the memory that Tony was remembering between them. They had fell asleep together early on during the "awkward" stages of their potential relationship and had woken up together in bed in Samantha's bedroom. Clearly, nothing had happened, but they were both shocked at waking up together and at how refreshed they were after a long night of sleep beside each other. As they realized the error of their mistakes, Tony mentioned he was going to fix her favorite breakfast – Belgian waffles. At that moment, Angela let it slip how she just loved when he put whipped cream on them as Tony opened the door and they met face to face with a company there to interview Angela on how she starts her day. Clearly, they'd been caught doing something, but they were both quick to deny it. She never thought she'd live that down. Looking back on it now, they laughed it off.
"The waffles are good but not as good as yours."
Tony just continued to laugh as he sat down on her bed and took her hand in his, rubbing her knuckles slightly.
Angela continued sipping on her coffee, enjoying the quiet time between them.
"So, did they bring him in while I was gone?"
Angela stopped drinking her coffee, clearly confused about what Tony was talking about.
"Who?"
Tony, giving Angela a confused look, laughed slightly at her question.
"Who? You know who! What did they put in that coffee?"
"Tony, I don't kn-"
At that moment, another knock was heard on her door as a different nurse popped her head in and asked if it was okay to come in.
Tony answered for Angela and the nurse said she had a "special delivery" for them. Before Angela knew what was happening, the nurse wheeled in a bassinet that had a newborn baby boy sleeping peacefully.
The nurse wheeled the bassinet right up to Angela's bed so that the parents could enjoy some time between their newborn son. She left them and informed them if they needed anything, just push the call button.
Tony was a bundle of excitement at the sight of his newborn son. He quickly jumped up and went to the bassinet, running his finger across his little hand. His hand was tiny compared to Tony's hand.
Angela was unable to take her sight off of her newborn son. A son… A son that was half Tony, half Angela… As she looked at the newborn baby swaddled tightly in a green blanket, she noticed he looked exactly like Tony. He had his facial qualities and his dark brown hair.
Her heart swelled with love for this little boy. She didn't think she could love anyone as much as Tony but now, she was proven wrong.
As she reached out to touch her son, Tony smiled at her and asked her if she'd want to hold him.
"Can…can I?"
"Of course!"
He gently and quickly picked up his son, placing him in Angela's arms as he fidgeted slightly and yawned, falling back asleep in his mother's arms instantly.
Tears began to fall from Angela's eyes as she looked down at the handsome little newborn baby sleeping in her arms. She looked back up at Tony, who was now sitting right beside her in her hospital bed, his grin beaming large and proud at his wife and son.
"Tony, I…"
"Hey… I love you very much, Angela."
He leaned in and kissed her, making sure not to wake up their newborn son.
"I love you too, Tony. What's… what's his name?"
Tony smiled, reflecting on the memory from the day before, as he and Angela decided on a name that reflected their newborn son.
"His name is…."
Jumping up from her dream, Angela was awoken by a loud buzzing noise. She quickly realized it was her alarm clock going off, signaling the start of another day.
As she rubbed her eyes and looked around, she saw Tony lying beside her in bed, still asleep and sleeping peacefully. As she reflected on her dream, she reached out and ran her hand lightly through his dark brown hair and placed a light, tender kiss on his forehead as she gently got out of bed, making sure not to wake him up.
As Angela made her way downstairs, she turned on the kitchen light and began to fix a pot of coffee. She grabbed a glass of orange juice and sat down at the kitchen table, her mind on her dream.
Moments later, she was so lost in thought that she didn't hear Tony walk into the kitchen.
"Good morning, Angela."
"Oh, good morning, Tony."
"Did you sleep well?"
Tony walked over and poured her a cup of coffee, placing it on the kitchen table in front of her, as he went back and got him another cup of coffee, joining her at the kitchen table.
"Wonderfully."
"I'm glad to hear that, Angela."
As he began drinking his coffee, he stood up and placed a tender kiss on her forehead and walked towards the fridge, looking for something.
"You know, I just had a great idea. How about I fix your favorite breakfast this morning? Belgian waffles with whipped cream."
At that, Angela hid her laughter as Tony grabbed the ingredients and began to fix her breakfast. As she watched him fix breakfast, her reflections took her to her dream and how peaceful and serene it was, unlike her other dreams. She realized this was a turning point in her walk from being an assault survivor and grasped she was happy that Tony was with her every step of the way. She felt a wave of calm wash over her as she realized she was looking forward to being married to Tony and was ready to welcome anything and everything into their new life together as husband and wife.