Chapter 8
The next few days passed quickly in the Bower household. Tony and Angela were trying desperately to maintain a sense of normalcy for the sake of the children and for the sake of their own fraying relationship. The baby had become the elephant in the room, and they found that if they ignored that particular subject, they could pretend that nothing had changed.
But suddenly, it was Saturday, and Tony was driving to Manhattan to see Frankie and begin to figure out how they would make this all work. Once he found a parking spot on Frankie's street, he got out of the van and slowly looked around at what would become the Upper East Side neighborhood his kid would call home. It felt like a world away from Brooklyn and even Connecticut, for that matter. Well-kept brownstones lined the block with Frankie's large apartment building on the corner, offering beautiful views of the East River and Roosevelt Island.
Tony nodded at the doorman as he walked briskly through the lobby toward the elevators. He pushed the button for the top floor, and soon, he was standing outside the door of her penthouse apartment. He took a deep breath and rang the doorbell.
"Hi Tony," Frankie said warmly as she opened the door. She looked as beautiful as ever in a loose-fitting, off-the-shoulder purple sweater and black leggings, her dark brown hair in loose waves that cascaded down her back.
"Hey Frankie," he replied as she gestured for him to enter.
"Still lookin' pretty clean," Tony said with a nervous laugh as he sat down on her oversized white sofa.
"Can't let all that great work you did go to waste," Frankie replied, sitting beside him. "Plus, I know I'd never hear the end of it if I didn't at least try to live up to the Tony Micelli standard!"
"So, ah, how ya been?" Tony asked, deciding not to beat around the bush and just dive in.
"Not great," Frankie said with a sigh. "This morning sickness, actually all-day sickness, is no joke, as is the constant tiredness. Today is the first day I've felt human in the last few days."
Tony nodded at her admission, knowing that he was partially to blame for her symptoms.
"Sorry 'bout that," he said somewhat awkwardly. "Is there anything I can do?"
"Well, now that you mention it," Frankie began slowly, "I'm not sure how long this all will last or what else this little 'angel' has in store for me, so I was thinking that it would be good to have you around a bit more as this pregnancy progresses. I know that's not going to be easy with you and Sam in Connecticut…" she finished, her voice trailing off.
"Yeah, Frankie, about that," Tony responded. "I've been thinkin' that I need to be around more, too, especially once the baby is here. And, I talked to Angela, so she knows that me and Sam are going to eventually have to move out and find a place closer to here. She's good with us staying on until we can work all that out. I also don't wanna to pull Sam out of school until I absolutely have to."
I bet she's fine with you staying, Frankie thought to herself. She knew she needed to get Tony away from Connecticut and especially Angela, if there was ever going to be a chance for him to realize that he belonged with her, the mother of his future child. He had started to open his eyes to that possibility when he spent the weekend cleaning her apartment, but all that flew out the window when Angela called. Frankie had no doubt that if she could get him to focus on her and their impending baby, he would come to his senses and realize they deserved to be a family.
"Tony, what about you and Sam moving in here, at least temporarily?" Frankie asked, holding up her hand to keep him from outright rejecting the idea. "I certainly could use the support and have more than enough room. Also, it would be easier to eventually look for a place for you and Sam that would also have room for the baby part-time."
Tony had to bite his tongue to avoid immediately blurting out, 'No way'. What Frankie was proposing made sense for the short term as long as she understood that they weren't going to be a couple.
"Are you sure?" he finally asked after thinking about it for a few minutes. "You and me livin' here as friends with Sam once I have things more squared away with my responsibilities in Connecticut?"
"Yes," Frankie said emphatically. "There's so much that needs to get done before the baby comes. And I really want to get to know Sam. I have no doubt that she will be an amazing big sister to this little one," she said, dropping her hand to her still flat stomach.
"Ok," Tony agreed, slowly nodding his head. "Like I said, it's going to take a little time to figure out all the details, but it does make sense, at least for the short term."
"Great," Frankie said as she tried to stifle a yawn. "That's one piece of this puzzle figured out, and as much as I'd like to keep discussing things, I'm starting to have trouble keeping my eyes open."
Tony glanced at his watch and saw that it was already after 5. It was past time for him to head to Brooklyn and Mrs. Rossini's.
"No problem," he said as he stood up. "I should be gettin' on to Mrs. R's before she sends out a search party."
"Please tell her hi for me," Frankie said as she rose from the couch. "And Tony, thanks. This isn't easy for either of us, but I appreciate you trying to make the best of it."
"Ay oh, oh ay, Frankie, we're bringing a kid into the world. No matter the circumstances, that's an incredible thing," he said, pulling her in for a hug.
Forty-five minutes later, Tony stood outside Mrs. Rossini's door, almost afraid to knock. He knew he would have to tell her what was happening; otherwise, he was sure she would hear it through neighborhood gossip eventually and box his ears for not telling her first. Here goes nothing, he thought…
Angela had retreated to her study to try and get some work done shortly after Tony left for Frankie's. She'd had difficulty concentrating ever since Tony told her about the baby, and now she was behind on an important new campaign. However, as much as she tried, she still couldn't keep her mind on her work. She kept thinking about the two of them together in Frankie's probably magnificent-looking and very clean penthouse apartment, talking about their baby and their future.
How could she compete with that? Tony loved children, and even though this was a less-than-ideal situation, Angela knew he would be head over heels for this baby. She surmised that it was only a matter of time before he felt that way about Frankie, too. Sure, he had basically confessed that he didn't love Frankie because he was in love with her, but deep down, Angela couldn't help but feel that this situation was the one thing that could push them together forever.
Sighing, Angela pushed her chair back, stood up and stretched. Glancing at her watch, she saw that it was only 3pm. It was going to be a long night, especially since Saturday evenings had become de facto movie nights for her and Tony. It had been going on for a couple of years, and they both found that they relished the simple closeness that this uninterrupted time provided them, even when they were dating other people. She realized they probably didn't have many of these evenings left before everything changed.
Angela shook her head, deciding that she'd let her self-pity party go on long enough. The children both had plans tonight, as did her mother, and all of a sudden, she was determined not to be left sitting at home all alone. After all, as she had told Dr. Bellows in her recent emergency therapy session, she was a bright, attractive, and determined woman who owned her own home and business. Surely, there was somebody out there who could appreciate those qualities! Her first thought was to give Isabel and Wendy a call, even though it was a bit last minute, but then she realized she would probably end up confiding in them about what was happening with Tony, and she knew she wasn't ready for that yet.
Just then, another face popped into Angela's mind. It had been a while, but they were in such different places now, both in their careers and personal lives, that she couldn't help but wonder...
Before she lost her nerve, Angela picked up the phone receiver on her desk and dialed the number that she still had memorized.
"Hello," a voice said after a couple of rings.
"Hi Grant. It's Angela. Angela Bower…"
