A/N: I use the Read Aloud function in Word to edit. I can't stop laughing when it says "gwacka-monkeys."

Chapter Twelve: Angela's Ex

Angela had barely made it inside after returning from the office when Jonathan came running down the stairs yelling "He's here!"

"Who's here?" she asked, taking off her coat and rubbing her sizable belly. She perched on the arm of the couch.

"Daddy!" Jonathan called over his shoulder as he ran out the front door.

"Daddy?" Angela repeated incredulously.

Tony approached her, rubbing his hands together and shifting from side to side. He kissed her chastely to buy time. "This may be a good time to tell you, Angela. Um, Michael called from the Fairfield Inn to warn you he'd be dropping by."

"Oh. Well, I can handle seeing my husband," she said, twisting her engagement ring absently.

"Ex-husband." Tony's stomach was in knots. Jonathan and Angela both seemed to be under Michael's spell, and he hadn't even shown up yet. What was this amnesia about? Didn't they remember how fickle the guy was? He had to get out of this room. "Dinner's almost ready," he said, excusing himself to the kitchen.

Michael came in carrying Jonathan. He took a sharp breath when he saw Angela, instantly flashing back to nine years earlier when she was pregnant with Jonathan. "Hello. You look like you've been taking care of yourself." He set his son down on the ground.

"Hello, Michael. It's actually Tony who's been taking care of me."

"Oh?" He wasn't surprised. After all, he was the one who went to Tony and asked him to take his job back. Of course, that was before anyone knew that the brief reconciliation had been fruitful.

Angela held up her left hand, palm in. "We're engaged," she announced, wiggling her fingers to allow the small diamonds to catch the light. It was a gesture she had done at least a dozen times in the past month.

So that's what she meant. Michael had to admit, she looked happy, if a bit defiant. Angela always did have a thing for men who were a little rough around the edges. She had even admitted to him once that she was fixated on a high school classmate named Jake the Snake.

"Congratulations," he said sincerely. "I actually came to tell you that I'm marrying a wonderful girl named Heather."

"Oh. Well, congratulations, Michael." Girl? Angela wondered whether her ex had found someone much younger, or if he was just being disrespectful toward a woman his own age.

Jonathan wandered into the kitchen to talk to Tony, since his parents seemed to have forgotten he was in the room. "My dad wants to get married again," he told Tony and Sam, who were in the middle of a debate about Sam's phone use.

"Dad, if I don't talk to Marci, I'll die," Sam argued. The stakes were suddenly very high. What if Angela married Michael again instead of marrying her dad? Everything would be ruined. She needed to get Marci's take, and maybe scream into a pillow.

"Walk over to her house," Tony relented. Then he opened the back door and pushed her out. His head was swimming. "Your dad wants to get remarried?" he asked Jonathan.

"Uh huh," he confirmed.

"Hey, can you finish setting the table, Jonathan? I need to talk to your mom."

Jonathan nodded and took the silverware from him.

Tony burst through the swinging door, catching Angela and Michael mid-embrace.

"Oh, good. We need to ask you something," Angela said to Tony. "How would you feel about going to California for a wedding?"

"That depends on who the bride and groom are," he growled.

Michael stepped away from Angela and pulled out his wallet. He flipped it open and approached Tony. "Her name is Heather," he said, pointing at the young blonde. "I want Jonathan to be my best man."

Tony softened. It wasn't as bad as he thought. Still, he had issues with the idea. "You want your son to stand up for you, Michael? What about your daughter?"

"I don't have a daughter." Michael's forehead wrinkled in confusion.

"You will," he replied, stepping behind Angela and framing her belly. She brought her hands up to cover his.

"I want you to be part of our little girl's life, Michael." Angela teared up but held his gaze. She gripped Tony's hands at her sides.

"OK, Angela. We can figure it all out later. Just bring Jonathan to California the week after next," Michael pleaded.

"Is that a good idea, Angela? Flying in your third trimester?" Tony prodded, releasing her hands and stepping to her side. He couldn't believe Michael's selfishness.

"You know I just got a clean bill of health, Tony." In October, they had started going to her OB/GYN every two weeks, and in December, she would have to go weekly. "I think the airlines only restrict flying after 36 weeks. And besides, I could take the opportunity to meet with my newest client, Guacamunchies!"

He knew that once she decided, there was no stopping her. "OK, but you're not taking Jonathan alone." He could already picture her struggling with luggage.

Michael excused himself to the kitchen to ask Jonathan to stand up in his wedding.

Angela turned to fully face Tony. "Why don't you and Sam come along?"

"I can't pull her out of school the week before Thanksgiving break," he complained.

Mona ran in the back door. "Angela! Is it true? You're marrying Michael again?"

"What?" they responded in unison. Tony had already forgotten the conclusion that he jumped to a few minutes earlier.

"I ran into Sam outside. She was extremely upset about Michael coming back and breaking up your engagement. I just dropped her off at Marci's."

"Mother, Michael is marrying someone else. Tony and I are still engaged,"

"Oh, thank God. So, what are you two fighting about?"

"We're not fighting. We're just trying to figure out the logistics of Jonathan being in the wedding in California. I can take him along on a Guacamunchies junket, but Tony doesn't want me going without him and he can't pull Samantha out of school right before Thanksgiving week."

"Sam can stay with me," Mona said, rolling her eyes.

"Really?" he confirmed. "That would actually be perfect."

"She's going to love it. Don't worry, I've learned from my mistakes with Angela," Mona said with a wink.

Sam opened the front door and found her three caregivers laughing and smiling. She was out of breath and on the verge of panic. "Marci…not…home," she huffed out. Tony immediately recognized her distress and remembered how he had heartlessly shoved her out the door.

"Sam. Sam, come over here. Sit," he insisted. She complied and was flanked by Angela and Mona. He sat on the coffee table and took her hands.

"Samantha, in two weeks, Michael will be marrying a young lady named Heather. Your father and I would like to bring Jonathan out to California for the wedding," Angela explained.

"Would you feel comfortable staying in Connecticut with me while they're away?" Mona asked her.

"Really? So Angela didn't dump you for him?" Sam looked at her father skeptically.

"Sweetheart, I would never!" Angela protested.

"You did before, didn't you?" Sam challenged her. "Michael shows up and all of the sudden we're unwelcome."

Angela covered her mouth and choked back a sob. Tony instantly moved beside her and put an arm around her shoulders. "That's not what happened, Sam. First, Angela and I were not in a relationship back then. And I was the one who stepped aside so I wouldn't be in the way. Angela wanted us to stick around."

"Your dad is right, Sam," Michael interrupted, as he walked in from the kitchen. He had sent Jonathan outside to play when he heard raised voices. "When I let him go, Angela was really unhappy about it. She used to lock herself in the den and cry. When I found her sleeping in your bed wearing his shirt, I figured out I was the one in the way."

"Michael," Angela breathed. She didn't know he had caught onto her one-sided emotional affair. As embarrassed as she was over the revelation, it no longer seemed to matter. The doomed marriage was over, Sam was home, and Tony had proposed. Maybe there was even hope for Michael's next marriage.

Sam mumbled apologies while giving hugs to Tony and Angela. Mona took her by the hand, saying "Let's find Jonathan and go to Bongo Burger."

Tony, Angela, and Michael shared a cordial meatloaf dinner and came up with a plan for the trip.

At Angela's thirty-four-week checkup, she was cleared to fly and given documentation for the airline. When she and Tony arrived home, there was a wedding invitation in the mail, along with an insert for the rehearsal dinner. They called to RSVP for three to both events, as it was too late to respond by mail.

Heather sounded lovely, if a little young. "I can't wait to meet you guys. And Jonathan, especially."

Michael paid for Jonathan's tux rental and Jonathan and Tony's flights, while Wallace & McQuade covered Angela's flight and two of four nights in an executive suite at the Beverly Palms. Angela bought a burgundy velvet maternity dress that she planned to wear again at the company holiday party. She insisted that Tony let her buy him a new dark grey suit. It was an investment that would last through years of special occasions.

On Wednesday afternoon, Jonathan, Angela, and Tony boarded the plane and found their seats in the extra legroom row. With the armrests up and out of the way, it was fairly comfortable. Angela took the aisle seat so she could get up and use the restroom, while Jonathan bounced around between the window, the middle, and Tony's lap.

Jonathan talked to Tony about his anxiety regarding Best Man duties while Angela prepared for her meeting. It was a ceremonial role, and Michael's buddy from work would be throwing the bachelor party and helping with day-of preparations.

When they arrived, they called Mona and Sam, giving them the room number of the suite. After a room service dinner, Jonathan went to bed. Angela stretched out on the couch and enjoyed a foot and leg massage, courtesy of Tony. Her feet had swollen on the plane, and she vowed not to take off her shoes on the way back.

Angela arrived at the Guacamunchies office by taxi at 9:45am on Thursday. "Angela Bower from Wallace & McQuade, here for Albert Benjamin," she said to the receptionist. "Is there a restroom I could use?"

After peeing for the third time that day, thanks to the baby head pressing against her bladder, Angela returned to the waiting area. She tried reading the brand-new issue of a trade magazine that was lying on the side table but got distracted by the baby's incessant kicking at her ribs.

At 10:10, the receptionist called her name. "I'll take you to Mr. Benjamin." Angela followed her to a glass-walled conference room with her portfolio.

"Albert, thank you for clearing your schedule for this meeting. Guacamunchies is a very exciting product, and I'd like to get to know your company better so I can make sure the services Wallace & McQuade provides align to your strategic direction."

"Angela, it's nice to meet you in person, after all our phone conversations. I need to get something out of the way, though." Albert paused and gestured at Angela's body. She held her hands in front of her belly, as if that would hide her condition.

"If you're concerned about continuity, rest assured. I am already getting my team up to speed. I'll be out from mid-December through March, but Jim Peterson will be running the agency in the interim and Scott Haynes will be the point of contact for your account." Angela was still confident that she could allay the man's fears.

"Well, I know from personal experience, that ladies don't come back to work once they have a baby. My wife didn't," Albert argued.

Angela was starting to get mad. "I have an eight-year-old and a thirteen-year-old at home. Being a mother has never interfered with my career."

"Well, maybe it should," Albert said under his breath.

"I work hard to make sure they are well cared for," Angela said in a monotone voice. She wasn't going to lose control with a client. "Not that it's any of your business."

"I'm sorry I brought it up," Albert said. "Let's continue with your presentation."

Angela did her best to forget the conflict. For the next ninety minutes, they discussed the company's packaging and channel distribution strategy. She gave feedback, jotted down notes, and made a plan to debrief her colleagues. Then Albert stood and escorted her back to the reception area. "Thank you for coming all the way out to LA, Angela. And give my congratulations to Mr. Bower."

"What?" Angela asked.

"Tell your husband I said congratulations on the baby," Albert clarified.

"Oh, right. Sure. Thank you," Angela accepted. Confusion hung in the air, but she was not about to explain her family structure.

Albert returned to his office and called Jim Peterson. He complained that he should have been informed of Angela Bower's pregnancy before signing with Wallace & McQuade. By the time he hung up, Jim had him convinced that she was a very shady character indeed. He enumerated the lies: she had one child, not two, she was very recently divorced, and she is engaged to her housekeeper, who may or may not be the father of her baby.

Albert called Angela's hotel suite and Tony answered the phone. "No, she's not back from her meeting yet. Can I take a message?"

"No, that's alright. Who is this, if you don't mind?"

"This is Angela's fiancé, Tony Micelli."

"Thank you," replied Albert. He hung up the phone without identifying himself.

Angela stormed through the door to the suite with tears of rage streaming down her face. "It was humiliating, Tony! These guys don't think I can do my job, just because I'm a mother. They're all parents, too, and nobody ever asks them where their kids are!"

Tony took her by the shoulders and sat her on the edge of the couch. He made a show of inhaling deeply and exhaling three times. She followed his lead and was calmed. "So, since we're on the subject, where's my kid?" she asked.

"He's at Michael and Heather's place, swimming in their pool. They're going to drop him off here on their way to dinner with some of her friends." He sat beside her.

"OK. I suppose I should get back to work," she said.

"Do you have to, Angela? If there isn't anything urgent, maybe you can relax a little. I worry about you getting so stressed." He put his hand on the back of her neck. "Do you want a neck rub?"

"That sounds nice, Tony, but it's not just my neck that's tight. My lower back is sore from the flight. I guess I can take a break now and get some work done before dinner."

Tony swung a leg behind Angela and started massaging her neck and back. After a few minutes, he said, "This suite has a fantastic shower. That might relax you." He kissed the side of her neck to make sure she got the hint.

Angela turned slightly and brushed her lips against his. "Let me pee first." She got up and ran to the bathroom. After a minute, she called out "I'm ready!" Her hair was up, the shower was running, and she was completely naked in the open doorway when Tony turned around. He stripped off his shirt and kicked off his shoes on the way to the bathroom and was ready to drop his jeans by the time he stepped onto the tile.

"I can't get over how sexy you are. Maybe I should thank Michael for putting a baby in you," he joked.

"Can't we just pretend it was you?" Angela responded lightly, aiming to salvage the mood.

They lathered each other in the shower, and then Tony pulled out the handheld shower head and started rinsing Angela off. He aimed the spray between her legs while he kissed her. "I've gotta sit down," she said, feeling faint. "I'm getting so warm."

He turned off the water and knelt on the shower floor, placing his hands on her knees. "Better?" he asked?

When she nodded and smiled, he slid his hands higher, gently pushing her thighs apart. He grinned and told her "California makes me hungry for a taco."

"Tony!" Angela laughed, but she shifted to the edge of the shower bench and spread her legs wider, inviting him to dive in. He was intent on pleasuring her, but after a few minutes, she started getting cold. They dried off and moved to the bedroom, where he took her from behind. Afterward he spooned her and they both fell asleep.

When they awoke twenty minutes later, they were starving. Tony went to the coffee shop in the lobby to buy sandwiches, leaving Angela to her work.