The Next Morning

Breakfast on Friday morning was predictably routine. The kids were enjoying scrambled eggs and toast when Angela entered the kitchen, and by the time Tony handed her a fresh cup of coffee, Mona was walking through the back door.

Knowing his time was limited before everyone scattered for the day, he didn't wait long before casually asking the question that would serve as a first step toward acknowledging the change only they knew was hovering just below the surface. "Hey Angela, the Starlight Ballroom has a Big Band tribute dance tonight. You wanna go?"

No one so much as flinched at his question, even as Angela's head perked up and she met his eyes. But to everyone else, it was just another in a long line of unofficial, friendly outings.

But then Angela upped the ante.

"You mean, like a date?"

Despite knowing their conversation was partly a ruse, they both still felt the giddiness of this new territory. And suddenly, their exchange caught the attention of the rest of the family, which was the whole idea, but still caused them to feel quite self-conscious.

Tony shrugged his shoulders and tried to look casual as he replied, "Yeah, I guess it would be a date."

Mona's eyes, in particular, flicked back and forth between her daughter and housekeeper, sensing something as momentous as a date didn't happen out of the blue. What was the catalyst, she wondered.

But the kids took the bait without question. Before Angela could answer, Sam piped up, "Seriously, Dad, you're asking her on a date at breakfast? Talk about lame."

Tony turned his attention to his daughter, "Well, I suppose I could have walked to the payphone at the post office and called? Would that have been better, Sam?"

"Okay, okay," Sam conceded dramatically, "I see your point."

"So, are you gonna say yes, Mom?" Jonathan asked.

Angela looked at Tony and smiled, "How could I say no?"

The kids actually whooped in excitement as Mona clutched her chest and declared, "As I live and breathe!"

"Oh, cut it out," Tony chided them, "It's no big deal."

But one look at the smile on Angela's face belied his words.

Angela had just opened her chicken Caesar salad from the deli around the corner from the Bower Agency when Mona walked into the inner office from her usual place in the lobby. She had her own lunch in tow. She pulled up a chair to Angela's desk and began unpacking utensils and napkins before asking pointedly, "So, you and Tony are going on a date tonight?"

"Yes, it seems so," Angela replied lightly.

Mona narrowed her eye and didn't mince words, "Angela, forgive me if I don't believe for one second this is some random development. Something prompted this."

For all of her skill wooing clients and marketing products that bordered on unsellable, Angela lost all capacity to dissemble when facing her mother's knowing gaze. It was pointless, because very little got by Mona Robinson. The fact that this was the first conversation about Tony they'd had that week, given all that had happened, was nigh a miracle itself. And the whole point of the date was to be honest about the change in their relationship in a way that was appropriate for Samantha and Jonathan. So, Angela didn't lie, but she didn't spill everything right away either. She could have some fun herself, she thought wickedly.

"You're very astute, Mother," she offered cryptically, smiling as she took a bite of salad.

Mona's eyes widened as her mind raced with possibilities she had to reign in as she remembered who they were discussing. "Oh really? Do tell."

But Angela demurred. "I'm not one to kiss and tell …"

"You kissed?!" Mona interjected excitedly. "You and Tony?"

Angela turned beat red and returned her attention to her salad. "It's none of your business what we did or did not do," she deflected.

But Mona was hot on the case and not about to give up. "Spill it, Angela. What exactly did you and Tony do — and when? And how many times?"

"Mother!" Angela shrieked.

But Angela's face was a dead giveaway, and Mona had all the confirmation she needed.

"Oh my gosh, you really did! You and Tony!" Mona's mind raced back over the preceding week, knowing a secret this big couldn't be kept for long. But she came up blank. The only time they had been alone for more than an hour or so had been when Tony was working on the window wells, and for the life of her, Mona couldn't see how the mess they'd made in the basement could be related to what her daughter was not quite denying.

Suddenly, Angela's face softened and she began to radiate a sort of sappy happiness Mona wasn't sure she'd ever seen before. "Yes, we did," Angela confessed.

As happy as Mona was at this news, she was stumped at how something so momentous happened without her knowing. "I can't believe it," she whispered. "That's wonderful, dear, especially after all this time. But what happened? How? When? I think I deserve to know," she reasoned convincingly.

Angela was caught between a profound desire to share her happiness while also respecting her and Tony's privacy, which made her very cautious with what she decided to share — with her mother, no less!

"It happened last weekend, after we spilled the sealant in the basement …"

Angela recounted the surface details that led to her and Tony sharing an afternoon of long-avoided sexual activity, and as she explained, it suddenly sounded almost romantic. "One thing just led to another," she concluded haplessly.

Mona was speechless — for about five seconds. "I can't believe it," she repeated. "All these years, and all it took was getting your clothes dirty for you two to get down and dirty!" Despite her amusement, and Angela's eye roll, she made sure she added, "I'm so happy for you both. So, what now? Are you dating? Is he going to move into your room?"

Angela shook her head emphatically. "Definitely not that. At least until we're married."

Mona almost choked on her salad. "You're getting married!?"

"No! At least not anytime soon! But maybe … someday," she added wistfully. "But for now, we just want to enjoy this and see where it goes. We're going to keep it very respectable for the kids' sake."

"So, tonight is about letting everyone get used to the idea of you two being more that strictly platonic friends," Mona surmised.

"Yes, we figured that would be easier than some big declaration."

Mona nodded and offered her unconditional support. "I don't think you have a thing to worry about, dear. Everyone who's ever met you two knows you're meant for one another."

"Thank you, Mother, that really means a lot to me."

And then of course, Mona added, "And just let me know anytime you need me to whisk the kids away so you two can have some 'adult' time that isn't quite so respectable. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge!"

Angela rolled her eyes and flung a straw in her mother's direction. Then added slyly, "I'll keep that in mind."

Eight hours later, Tony held Angela close as they danced to songs older than they were. Most of the couples around them were in their sixties, but there were a few younger people enjoying music from what seemed like another era.

As the song ended, they walked out to the terrace to enjoy some air after being confined to the humid ballroom. It was time for some upgrades to the old Starlight, Tony thought, including air conditioning.

It wasn't the first time they'd attended a dinner-dance or social event together, but it was the first time Tony had presented her with flowers when she'd descended the stairs in her emerald cocktail dress, and it was the first time the kids had been conspicuously present when they'd departed, offering effusive well wishes for a good time.

Now, at the dance, they entwined their hands for the first time as they walked along the terrace, and Tony brushed his fingers across Angela's collarbone to move her hair behind her shoulder. It was also the first time she didn't have to resist the urge to lean in for a kiss when the urge overwhelmed her.

"Are you having a nice time," she asked.

"There's nowhere else in the world I'd rather be," he told her, then reconsidered, "Well, maybe one place," he corrected with a wink that made her blush.

"Me, too," she whispered, "but this is a close second."

"The kids seemed excited when we left. That's a good sign, right?" he said to lower the temperature between them.

"I think so," she agreed, "almost as excited as Mother."

"Mona's never exactly been subtle about wanting us to get together. I think she'll be pleased with the recent turn of events."

"She already is," Angela confessed.

"She knows?"

When Angela nodded, Tony continued, "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. She's a bloodhound when it comes to salacious gossip. How'd she figure it out."

"I kind of told her," Angela admitted, then elaborated, "She knew something caused us to go out tonight, that it wasn't just a whim. After she put that much together, I wasn't going to outright lie to her."

Tony nodded in understanding. "Of course not. Though it is a little weird to know she knows."

"Tell me about it," she deadpanned.

When the band began playing again, Tony took her hand and brought it to his lips as he asked, "Can I entice you to join me on the dance floor once again?"

"Nothing would please me more," Angela answered, clasping his hand and walking beside him back to the ballroom.

It was barely eleven o'clock when they pulled in the driveway, so neither were surprised when the lights in the living room window suddenly went dark as their headlights panned the front of the house.

"Mad rush upstairs?" Tony asked rhetorically.

"I got a dollar that says Mother is with them and orchestrating some grand eavesdropping scheme."

"Without a doubt."

As they walked toward the front door, Tony asked, "So, what do we do?"

Angela considered for a moment before responding teasingly, "I suppose we give them something worth eavesdropping on."

Tony raised an eyebrow but didn't object as he opened the front door and walked into the foyer.

"Thank you for a wonderful evening, Tony," Angela said just loudly enough for her voice to carry up the stairs. "I don't know the last time I've been on such a lovely date."

"My pleasure," he replied, taking her jacket and placing it on the hook.

When he turned toward her, she stepped toward him.

"We should do this again sometime."

They both ignored the soft gasp from the top of the stairs, where they were also pretending not to notice the audience of three that was peering down on them from the landing.

"Really? You didn't mind going on a date with your housekeeper?" Tony asked.

"You've always been more than just a housekeeper, Tony. Maybe it's time we admitted that."

They each drew out the moment, intently holding their gaze simply because it felt so good to anticipate the kiss they knew was coming, but also for the benefit of the eyes they knew were upon them.

Finally, Tony leaned in and brushed his lips against Angela's, lightly at first, and then fully but modestly. When her arms came around him and it was clear this was a real, true, solid kiss, a teen-age squeal of "Oh my god!" emanated from upstairs, followed by an excited "Yes!" and "It's about time!"

They broke apart and turned their attention to the landing, where Samantha, Jonathan, and Mona were emerging from behind the wall and rushing down the stairs.

"What's this, the Welcoming Committee?" Tony asked with somewhat mock incredulity.

Sam ignored him and took the lead in asking, "So are you two, like, going steady now?"

Angela was laughing as Tony tried to quell the excitement by pointing out, "Sheesh, it was one date, Sam."

"Yeah, but that was one doozy of a kiss," Mona piped up.

"Yeah," Jonathan agreed, "That was like right out of a movie!"

Tony was completely overrun with the family's enthusiasm and looked to Angela for help. "Would you mind chiming in here, Angela?"

After the initial excitement abated, everyone made their way to the sofa and arm chairs to continue discussing the new change in the household. As she took her seat, Angela answered Tony's question with one of her own, "And say what exactly? That we had a wonderful time together tonight?" she asked innocently.

"That's a good start," he confirmed drily.

"That's totally awesome," Sam confirmed, and added, "Mona's right, it's about time!"

Angela looked at everyone's smiling faces and asked, almost rhetorically, "So everyone would be okay with us maybe doing this again?"

"Totally."

"Absolutely."

"Yes."

The chorus of affirmations caused Tony and Angela to look at one another and conclude that was easier than they could have hoped for. But then a small voice from the youngest member of the family spoke up hesitantly.

"But what if you break up," Jonathan asked quietly, "like you and Dad did, and Tony and Sam have to move out?"

Tony and Angela's faces fell as they were confronted with their worst fear.

"That's something we need to think about, buddy," Tony acknowledged honestly. "Of course, we don't want that to happen, but I can't guarantee one hundred percent that it won't."

"But," Angela interjected, looking directly at Tony as she spoke, "Tony and I promise to take this very seriously, and we know that the choices we make affect this whole family. We wouldn't do this if we didn't think it was worth the risk. Do you understand, sweetheart?"

"I think so," Jonathan ventured tentatively.

Seemingly emboldened by Jonathan's question, Sam asked the other one that everyone seemed to wonder about, "Do you think you're going to get married?"

"Whoa, slow down everyone!" Tony exclaimed as Mona did her best to hide her laughter, and Angela buried her face in her hands in exasperation. "One kid has us breaking up, and the other is sending us down the aisle!" he said with a mixture of amusement and exasperation. "This is brand new to us, too. Angela and I have feelings for each other, as we always have, but we have a long way to go before we're ready to talk about marriage, okay? We just want to know you're all okay with us giving this a shot, especially since it's probably going to cause some gossip that we haven't even talked about yet," he pointed out.

"You mean because you're still the housekeeper," Sam concluded sagely, having already been on the receiving end of class-based ridicule.

Tony nodded and shifted his gaze from Sam to Angela. "That won't be easy, but the important thing is that you two know the five of us are a family and have been for quite a few years already. It doesn't matter what our roles are under this roof, we care about each other and look out for each other, right?"

Everyone nodded their heads.

"In that case," Angela concluded, "I think it's time to call it a night."

Sam and Jonathan got up and made their way toward the stairs before Jonathan stopped to ask with childlike disgust, "Does this mean you two are going to be kissing all the time and stuff now?"

Tony didn't miss a beat, "Only when you don't go to bed when we tell you to," he warned, as he dramatically spun Angela into a low dip and planted a kiss on her. The excitement of earlier turned into groans as they realized the new threat of parental PDAs, which sent the kids scrambling up the stairs as Mona headed for the patio door.

Tony and Angela would have noticed the tender last glance they received from the family as they retreated from view, but the new couple was too focused on each other and the kiss they weren't quite ready to end.