Chapter Five: Ready
On their last full day in the motel, Agent Miller spent some time administering readiness evaluations. Everyone passed the knowledge test with flying colors. They were given multiple choice tests to determine their emotional stability, which Mona complained was a ridiculous method. Then they had mock interactions, individually, and in various teams, with the agent roleplaying as employer, coworker, teacher, classmate, neighbor, banker, store clerk, and server.
Bored with the hours of appraisal, Mona persuaded Miller to allow her to roleplay with him. They were fellow parents mingling at a PTA benefit. With many of the basics covered in previous scenarios, he dove deeper into parenting issues. "What worries you most about your kids growing up?" The kids in question were reading, just across the open doorway, so all four kept their voices low.
Angela spoke first. "I don't want Jen to be bullied or feel insecure like me. Of course she's a very pretty girl, and she makes friends easily, so I'm probably just projecting."
"Jess, don't forget, I met you when you were Jen's age. You were already becoming an enchanting young woman even back then," Tony told her, truthful aside from the names. She gave him a soft smile and grasped his hand.
"Bobby is so sweet to me, just like my Dad was to Mom," Angela told the pair sitting on the other bed. Mona heartstrings were tugged by the comparison.
"Jen can be a little headstrong and boy-crazy. I just don't want her getting in too much trouble. Of course, she has a fantastic role model," he said, looking at Angela.
"Yeah, she takes after her grandma," she chuckled, with Tony throwing his head back in a silent laugh. "But seriously, I do hope that she finds herself in as happy a life as I have." She leaned over to Tony and met his lips in a short peck. They had finally gotten comfortable with this kind of G-rated affection, and it was becoming very believable. "As for Chris, he's always been my baby, and maybe I've been too easy on him. I want him to be empathetic and know the value of hard work, like his dad."
"Don't worry, honey, he's still so young," Tony said, putting an arm around Angela and squeezing her close. "I guess what I worry about with Chris is that he's a little different from the average boy. I hope he finds people who encourage him to be his truest self. I mean, who he is, deep down inside." It was a struggle for Tony to avoid breaking character and explaining that he didn't mean that he wanted Jonathan to share his real name and background.
Agent Miller was impressed with how instinctive Tony and Angela were in their roles. Mona was used to their co-parenting and wanted to move on to juicier topics. "So, how often do you two do it?" she asked.
"Hardly ever, maybe three times a week," Angela replied, smirking at Tony.
"Constantly, I'd say three times a week," he retorted, looking back at her with a glint in his eye. It could almost pass for the exchange of a couple who were continuing a years-long argument, but the loving tone and eye contact put it firmly in the territory of an inside joke.
The two had watched Annie Hall together several months earlier. It was a bit different from their usual fare, but it had brought up some interesting discussion of a personal nature. Both of them had agreed that three times a week was a reasonable frequency, but not something they had experienced in their own lives. With one partner traveling for long periods, it had been more sporadic. Feast and famine, in Angela's words. He remembered the awkward time when he had been living in the house during her final feast with Michael.
"You're pretty convincing," Agent Miller admitted.
"Who knows what's been going on at night?" Mona said with a raised eyebrow.
"Nothing untoward, Mom. We've had a child in the room," Angela protested, oblivious to her implication that a chaperone was the only thing keeping them apart. Bobby and Jess had, of course, been giving each other little kisses in front of Chris and Jen, but they had never let it get outside the realm of friendship.
"Oh, so you have been sleeping together? That's very good." The agent added a line to his notes. "I think you're ready. I'll be back at seven in the morning to escort all of you to your destination."
They had little to pack, not even the clothes that they had left the house wearing. Each family member had been supplied with essential clothing, basic toiletries, and anonymized prescription medications. Angela's new hair straightener was the most valuable item in their collective possession, as their jewelry had been confiscated and put into storage, along with all their personal property from the house and apartment.
The house would be left vacant for a year, then rented out if they were unable to return. Mona's and Angela's financial assets were placed in trust, but they wouldn't be able to access them. Tony had none to speak of. His meager checking and savings accounts were liquidated and would be transferred in an envelope at their destination.
The three adults bid the agent farewell and went into the other room to talk to the kids. "They're resilient," the agent had told them. "Children change schools all the time. They can make new friends. What's important is that they feel their caregivers always have their best interests in mind."
"I can't wait to go back to living in a real house, like normal people!" Jonathan cried.
"Chris, we've talked about this before. There are normal people living in motels all over this country."
"Sorry, Dad." Jonathan had consistently been addressing Tony this way since he was informed of the plan.
"Poor people are not any different from us, sweetheart. You're about to learn how to live within your means."
Sam was quiet. She was looking forward to having more privacy, but the truth was that this pair of motel rooms wasn't much different from the one-bedroom apartment she'd been living in with her dad until fifteen months ago. Even in Connecticut, she'd been aware of all the things her dad couldn't afford to give her. Angela's generosity was sometimes indulged, sometimes rebuffed, and never counted on.
"I'm looking forward to the weather. Jen's going to be my wing-woman at the community pool," Mona said.
"Grandma Cassie's still got a bangin' bod," Sam said, waving her hand side to side with a flopped-over wrist to indicate heat.
"Jen!" Angela scolded Sam.
"Sorry, Mom."
"And Mom, be a little more mindful about what you're teaching your granddaughter."
"Sorry, Jess," Mona mocked. "Hey, who wants to watch the movie with the creepy crawlies tonight?"
"I do!" the kids yelled in chorus.
"I kind of wanted to watch 'The Way We Were' on the other channel," Angela whined.
"I'll watch it with you," Tony offered.
Later, when the last three bags of microwave popcorn had been popped, Mona locked herself in with the kids. She had surreptitiously gotten their toothbrushes and PJs together to ensure an uninterrupted conjugal visit in the adjoining room.
When Angela and Tony discovered their children had been locked away, they retaliated by locking their door, as well. The motel had started feeling safe and snug, a far cry from the first few days, when it had been a claustrophobic prison of angst. They sealed their conspiracy with one of their signature G-rated pecks, then got comfy on the bed with their popcorn and sparkling waters and turned on the TV.
"Can I put my arm around you, babe?" he asked.
"Of course, Bobby," she answered, cuddling into his side. Tony had been wearing a different deodorant, something chosen at random by a government employee, and she was already starting to associate the scent with her husband of fourteen years, rather than her employee of just over a year. It was strange to be falling in love with someone who mainly existed on paper, but she had been given a hell of a push by her friendship with and undeniable attraction to Tony. Meanwhile, Jess didn't feel like a separate entity from herself. Jess didn't feel like anything yet. She wondered if that would change when she started her job as an office drone. There would be no fashionable wardrobe, no voluminous blonde hair, no fancy car to hide behind. It made her wonder if Jess Moretti would be more authentic to her real self than Angela Bower had been.
Tony luxuriated in the contact Bobby was getting from Jess. Even now, their boundaries were far different from Tony and Angela's. Jess looked like a grownup version of Ingrid, oddly enough. Angela had refused to have her hair dyed its natural color, instead reverting to the lightest shade of her adolescence. She wore simple clothing and no jewelry, and her main purpose was mother to their children. Her ego and assertiveness had softened, and he wasn't sure if he liked it. Bobby was an enigma, an ordinary man in a way that Tony had to admit he was not. Bobby simply grew up in a small town, married his high school sweetheart, worked a forklift, and fathered two children. He didn't cook or clean, aside from straightening up beds and gathering laundry for the fluff and fold service. He had never played the majors or experienced tragedy or cared for a daughter on his own. He certainly would never have taken a job as a housekeeper.
When the popcorn was gone, the two huddled even closer, neither sure whether this was Tony and Angela's last night in existence or Bobby and Jess' first. They kept the TV on after the movie was over, each feeling drawn toward the other.
