Chapter Thirty: Anticipation

December 22, 1990

"What do you think they're doing?" asked Jonathan.

"Best not to speculate," Mona advised.

"Can you believe this is actually happening? I thought we were going to have to wait for a deathbed confession," Sam joked. "Now I feel bad for lecturing Angela this morning."

"What did you say to her?" Mona asked.

"I told her to get her shit together and work on marrying Dad."

"I lectured her, too. A week ago, I beat her up a little bit and demanded she dump Andy," Mona shared.

"Well, on Thursday, I told her I would never move in with Andy. That has to be the reason she finally broke up with him." Sam and Mona exchanged a look, silently agreeing to let Jonathan believe he was the deciding factor.

"Definitely," they said in unison.

"Anyone beat up on Dad? I haven't yelled at him since before Halloween."

"I haven't been too tough on him. He was going through enough, having to watch Angela carry on with Andy. But I suspect she's been yelling at him in therapy," Mona opined.

"Does anyone else think it's weird that Tony didn't say he loves Mom?"

"I'll bet you a thousand dollars he said it to her first. She wouldn't be brave enough to say it in front of us if he hadn't."

"He did say it first. I heard them talking outside my bedroom early Thursday morning," Sam informed them. "Dad really put himself out there and said he was in love and wanted them to be together, and Angela kept pretty quiet." She withheld the part about making love. Jonathan didn't need to know that much.

"Wow," Jonathan said. "So do you think they're really going to date?"

"I think it'll be more serious than that summer they were sneaking around."

In the main house, Tony and Angela were still making out on the couch. When she came up for air, he asked, "Do you think they're coming back?"

"Maybe, maybe not. Do you feel weird about our kids knowing we're kissing?"

"Yes, but I think they've suspected it for a long time," he told her. "Should we maybe ease into it, now that we're being more open?"

"I was thinking about that. You know, every time we've fooled around, it's been so intense, and I think that's because we never knew if or when it would happen again. Now we know the next time is always right there, within reach. We don't have to rush. We can still work up to our first time together."

"Aren't you excited about it?"

"I am, but I don't want to let the anticipation go to waste."

"I'll give you anticipation," he whispered into her ear as he ghosted a thumb over her nipple. She gasped and looked down to see that her high beams were on. Then he moved her from his lap to the next cushion over. "Good things come to those who wait."

Tony got up and went to the kitchen, bringing back two glasses of water. He picked up the remote and turned on the TV. "Can I cuddle with you?" Angela asked, after drinking half her glass in one gulp.

"Only if you promise to keep your hands to yourself," he said. "Otherwise, I'm liable to take you right here on the couch."

"You're doing a terrible job of cooling me down, Tony."

"I'm sorry, Angela. I'll control myself," he said, putting an arm over the couch and inviting her to snuggle against him.

Half an hour later, Mona peeked in before allowing the kids to re-enter the house. "Is this all you've been doing?" she griped as they ran upstairs. "Good to see you've finally learned your lesson about an appropriate time and place for heavy petting," she said quietly. "I'm going home. Angela, remember, the walls are thin, and you are loud."

After a few parting kisses on the couch, a few more on the stairs, and a final goodbye in the hall, Tony and Angela went to their separate bedrooms.

Sunday, December 23, 1990

The next day, they did their best to act normal, but only succeeded in making googly eyes at each other during every interaction. When Tony took the grocery list off the fridge, Angela offered to go shopping with him. They were practically joined at the hip in the produce section, the dairy case and the baking aisle. He made a stop in the floral department and picked out a dozen pink roses, which she carried to the checkout.

Andy was just entering the store with an empty cart when he spotted them. Angela looked deliriously happy holding her bouquet. Tony was starry-eyed as well. He wondered how long this had been going on. Sudden anger rose within him. He had lost his beautiful girlfriend right before Christmas to a dumb, working-class guy with muscles. Turning around, he put his cart back in the corral and drove to a different grocery store.

After putting groceries away, Angela excused herself to make a couple of phone calls in her office. She came out after a few minutes and announced that she was running an errand. When she returned, the kids were starting a puzzle on the coffee table.

"What's this one?" she asked.

"Santa and his sleigh full of presents," Jonathan replied. " It's a thousand pieces. Want to help?"

"I'll help in a couple of minutes. I just need to talk to Tony about something. Is he around?"

"Working out in the garage," Sam said without looking up from her growing assortment of edge pieces.

Angela went to the garage and found Tony lifting weights. She watched for a minute before clearing her throat. When he heard her, he racked his dumbbells and approached her. His forehead was dripping sweat, so he lifted his tank top to wipe it dry. Her fingers landed on his abs. "Sexy," she remarked, letting her touch follow the contours of his muscles.

"Angela," Tony growled, tearing the tank top over his head. He pulled her close, and she felt his arousal growing. "Do you feel what you're doing to me?" he asked.

"All that's for me?" she asked in a small voice, moving her hands to his chest.

"It's here whenever you want it," he responded.

Angela's breathing had shallowed, but she squeezed out her invitation. "Let's go to Bermuda this weekend. I have a bikini you've never seen me in."

"The white one with the orange flowers and ruffled top and the string bottoms?" he asked with a gulp.

"I already picked up our plane tickets from the travel agent."

Tony finally kissed her on the lips. "Have I told you I love you?"

"Not for a couple of hours."

When they came back inside, Angela's silk sweater was creased from Tony's sweat and the pressure of their embrace. He had put a sweatshirt on after their makeout session. The kids were almost finished with the edge of the puzzle.

"Jonathan, Samantha, we have a little proposition. How would you like the house to yourselves this weekend?"

"Sounds great, Mom. Where are you going?"

"We're taking a little trip to Bermuda. We leave Saturday and return Tuesday."

"That's New Years' Day," Sam pointed out. "While you were at the store, Wendall called and told us that his parents want to invite all of us to their New Years' Eve anniversary party."

"Oh, you two can still go," Angela said. Tony was glaring at her. "Why don't you give me his number and I'll talk to his parents?"

Sam wrote down the number on a slip of paper and handed it over, ignoring her father's flaring nostrils. In the kitchen, Angela put a hand on Tony's chest and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I do not want her going to party at a boy's house while I'm out of the country."

"Don't worry. It's his parents' house, and she's going to be saddled down with Jonathan. I'm more worried about them driving home late at night than anything else."

Angela called the number, "Mrs. Gilbert? It's Angela Bower. We heard that you extended an invitation to our family?"

"Well, Tony and I are going on a last-minute trip and won't be back until New Years' Day, but the kids would still like to attend."

"Oh, really? That would be perfect. Thank you so much." She hung up the receiver.

"Wendall and Sandi each have two twin beds in their rooms. Sam and Jonathan can stay over after the party."

"That's even worse!"

"Sam in Sandi's room and Jonathan in Wendall's room, Tony."

"Oh. OK. Thank you." Tony's flush of anger began to fade.

"The kids are going to have a great time," she said. "And we're going to have an unforgettable time," she added, leaning in for a kiss.