Chapter 3

"Angela," Tony gasped jumping up from the couch. "What are you doin' home already? The kids aren't even back from school."

"Well, after Mother left early, I realized that most of what I have still to do today I can do from home. I thought it would be nice to be here when the kids do get home. Jonathan and I haven't had much time together lately, so I thought I'd spend the remainder of the afternoon with him before we catch that movie tonight," Angela replied, setting her briefcase down on the bench under the front window.

Tony groaned inwardly. He needed to get out of here and fast. It wouldn't take Angela long to realize that something was bothering him. They knew each other that well by this point. And, the movie was simply out of the question, now.

"Sounds good," he said. "I, uh, need to run to the market real fast. I forgot a couple of ingredients for dinner tonight. Be right back," he finished as he grabbed the keys to his van and rushed out the front door.

Angela shook her head in amusement. Tony was nothing short of a perfectionist when it came to his cooking. Seeing there was still a little bit of time until the children would be home, she picked up her briefcase and walked over to her study.

Tony tried to keep his mind on his driving not sure exactly where he was headed, since he really didn't need anything from the store. He just needed some time alone to try and start sorting through everything. Eventually, he pulled into the parking lot of a park a few blocks from Oak Hills Drive and shut off the engine.

What on earth was he going to do? He knew he didn't love Frankie, but now he was going to have a kid with her which would tie them together pretty much forever. Did he even want another kid? Sure, he and Marie had planned to have at least two more before she got sick. But, that dream died when she did. He'd never really thought about it again, well, not until after he'd met Angela.

He remembered when they had watched baby Clint together a couple of years ago. With their real-life role reversal, he had played the part of mother pretty well and, as he had told Angela, she would have made a great father. But, actually, he was impressed with how good of a mother she was as they played with the baby, took turns feeding him as well as getting him back to sleep when he woke up crying in the middle of the night. It didn't escape either of their minds that in another lifetime this could have been the two of them with their baby. Although Tony couldn't see a way that would ever happen, the seed had definitely been planted. Angela's acknowledgement that she would love to have another baby only reinforced it.

That seed continued to grow when Isabel and Paul got hitched last year with Angela and Tony serving as the matron-of-honor and best man, respectively. Walking down the aisle arm and arm and then dancing together had led to their roundabout conversation about how absurd it would be for them to even entertain the idea of getting together. But, they both knew that even while they were saying the words, it was what wasn't being said that mattered. For Tony, that was when he actually started to think about a relationship and maybe even a baby with Angela. He suspected the same thing happened with her and that played into her decision to put some space between them culminating in her dalliance with Geoffrey with a G.

But, now, here he was, having knocked up a woman that he cared about but didn't think he could ever love like he had loved Marie. He thought they had been careful but had to admit that there were probably a couple of instances when he hadn't done his due diligence and just assumed Frankie had it covered. She had told him that she was using something hadn't she? Moot point though, Tony thought to himself, ruefully.

So, what did need to happen now? He and Frankie weren't a couple, yet Tony knew he wanted to support her throughout the pregnancy. But, how could he do that from Fairfield? He had no interest in uprooting his daughter before the end of the school year. And, the thought of taking Sam away from Mona, Jonathan and especially Angela made his stomach drop. However, he also knew that living two hours away from the city wasn't going to work long term. He and Frankie should probably start spending some time together in the near future. Of course, once the baby came, they would need to be together pretty much all the time; at least at first.

Tony glanced down at his watch and realized that he'd already been gone almost an hour. Much longer than it would take to get to the market and back. He needed to get home, and once there, put on an Oscar-worthy performance until he and Frankie had this sorted out more. He wanted to kick himself for having already confessed to Mona, but something told him that she wasn't going to let the cat out of the bag. In fact, it might be wise to talk to her, again. She wouldn't sugar coat things and could actually be quite insightful when she wanted to be.

Walking in the back door, he was relieved to not find Angela in the kitchen; only Jonathan sitting at the kitchen table eating a snack.

"Hey Pal, where's everyone else?" Tony asked trying to sound natural.

"Mom's finishing up some work in the study then she's taking me to play mini-golf," Jonathan said with a sigh. "I'd rather play with my lizard."

"Jonathan, your mom came home early to spend some time with you, so humor her, please? For me?" Tony asked squeezing Jonathan's shoulder.

"Alright, Tony. I guess she can be ok sometimes," Jonathan said. "Sam's in the living room on the phone with Bonnie, and I haven't seen Grandma."

Tony let out a relieved sigh that Angela was going to be out of the house for a bit. He knew the kids wouldn't easily pick up on anything being out-of-sorts with him, but Angela would.

Just then, Angela poked her head through the door to the kitchen.

"Ready to go, Sweetheart?" she asked nodding at Jonathan.

"Sure, Mom," Jonathan replied and followed her into the living room.

A few hours later, the family was seated around the kitchen table eating dinner as they talked about their day. Sam and Jonathan were doing most of the talking. Mona was being uncharacteristically quiet as she observed Tony's and Angela's interaction or rather lack thereof. The teasing and flirtatiousness that had seemed to increase between them after Christy's and Lyle's wedding was nowhere to be found. Angela had said a couple of teasing things to Tony trying to get him to respond in kind, but he had just answered her succinctly.

After dinner, Angela had made her way back to her study to finish up the creative brief she'd been working on for a new client. However, her mind kept wandering to Tony. Ever since she had surprised him by coming home early, he hadn't been acting like himself. He'd practically run out of the house to go to the market, and then he'd been gone for much longer than it would take to just pick up a few items. And at dinner, the growing closeness between them suddenly felt like it had turned into a giant chasm. Not to mention the fact that he'd suddenly decided that he wasn't in the mood for a trip to the movie theater. Something was going on with him that was for sure.

Tony chose that precise moment to poke his head through the door to the study.

"Hey Angela, I'm not feelin' so hot, so I'm gonna turn in early," Tony said hoping he sounded believable, but she didn't take the bait.

"Tony, wait," Angela said as she got up from her desk and started walking toward him. "What is really going on?"