A/N: This is an excerpt from an unfinished story, but I felt like it could be read as a stand-alone piece. Feedback is always appreciated! (For context, this is Season 7. Tony has broken up with Kathleen, but Angela is still dating Andy. Sam is in the dorms and Billy has not entered the picture.)
October 1990
Tony brought a large photo album down to the living room and flipped through pictures, mostly of Marie and Sam at first, then abruptly switching to mostly Sam and himself. Marie never wanted to pose for photos after she got sick, but she did a great job behind the camera. After that, there were a few pages of Sam alone and with her friends from the old neighborhood. She wore a serious expression that he had never noticed before.
The last third of the album was filled with happy memories of their time in Connecticut. He remembered the first time he had added a picture of just Angela and Jonathan, five years earlier. It felt strange to include in a family album at first, but when he looked at the pictures of Sam smiling with Jonathan and Angela, he realized it was justified. Over the years, various permutations found their places in the album.
One picture caught his attention. It was of Angela and himself, each with an arm around the other's waist, looking at each other with the same serene expression. The kids were standing in front of them grinning at each other. He remembered posing for the photographer during Family Day at the country club the summer after his ill-fated attempt to use Mona's apartment as his bachelor pad. Angela had really taken on a parental role with Sam, and he trusted her fully. Studying the photo, he noticed Angela's hand on Sam's shoulder and Sam's hand on top of hers. Jonathan was leaning into his legs and Tony's hand was laid over his ear, a couple of fingers landing on his face.
Tony ran his finger over the image. He recalled how close they were to starting something back then. Angela had broken up with Geoffrey and gone through a wild stage herself, culminating in a heated kiss in the van at Inspiration Point. They kissed again in the back row at 101 Dalmatians and made it to second base on the couch after watching Sabrina while the kids slept upstairs.
Then he had had a dirty weekend with Frankie. His relationship with Angela was reset to "just friends" for a long time after that. Tony flipped another page and looked at Sam's prom photo. Another time Angela went out of her way for his daughter, and another missed opportunity for him to say exactly how he felt.
Before he could finish his trip down memory lane, Tony heard Angela's key in the door.