Chapter Sixteen: Last Christmas
Angela had a salon appointment at eight. She did her best to shave her legs, put on an ugly tent dress, and squeezed herself behind the wheel of her jag.
While her stylist applied bleach, two nail techs gave her a manicure and pedicure in blush to match her dress. As the color processed, her makeup was applied. After she was rinsed and given a deep conditioning treatment, she got a quick bang trim and a blowout. By 11am, she was paying the exorbitant bill, along with tips for everyone.
"Angela, you have to change!" Sam cried, meeting her at the door in her blue ruffled dress. "Dad's already dressed and he's helping Jonathan now."
"I know, Samantha. It'll just take a few minutes," she responded.
Sam perched on Angela and Tony's bed while Angela got dressed. Mona walked into the room wearing a low-cut purple dress with red and orange poppies. She carried a blue ribbon and a velvet box. "What's that?" Sam asked.
"Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue," she explained. "Her dress and shoes are new, and I was going to let her borrow these vintage earrings."
"And the ribbon?"
"It was hers from when she was 13. I kept it when she went off to college."
"Ooh, I have something she can borrow. Would you mind?"
"Not at all. But I hope it's handy because we have to leave in about five minutes."
"I'll be right back!" Sam said, scurrying into her room. She returned with a white handkerchief, embroidered with forget-me-nots.
"Samantha, this is beautiful." Mona admired, turning it over in her hands.
"My mom made it for me. Do you think Angela would want to carry it?" she asked, hopping from one foot to the other.
"Carry what?" Angela asked as she stepped into the bedroom.
"Looking good!" Mona yelled. "That dress is perfect. Sam and I were just discussing your something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue."
"Oh no, I completely forgot."
"It's covered, dear. Something old: these earrings." Mona handed the open box to Angela, who immediately started putting them on. "Something new: your dress. Sam has your something borrowed."
"My mom liked to do needlepoint. She got really good but gave almost everything away. This handkerchief she made specifically for me," Sam explained quietly, holding the fabric out to Angela.
"Oh, Samantha. Are you sure? It's so precious. I promise to be careful with it." Angela held back tears, not wanting to ruin her makeup or compromise their schedule. Sam nodded and sat back down on the bed.
"And this is your something blue," Mona said, offering the ribbon.
Angela examined it carefully. "This is the ribbon I was wearing when I kissed Tony."
"I figured. You wore that ribbon every day for years," Mona said. "Let us hold onto these until we get to the chapel."
Everyone made their way downstairs. Tony and Angela drove together, and Mona took the kids. He had left their luggage and the license documentation in the jag the night before. A plain band sat in the jewelry box in his pocket.
Sam finally made the connection in the car. "Mona, this ribbon…Angela said she was wearing it when she kissed my dad. But you said you've been holding onto it for years."
"Yes, Sam. There was a reason their first kiss stories sounded so similar."
Sam sat back with a sigh. "It's so romantic. I wonder if I've already met the boy I'm going to marry."
"Gross," Jonathan said from the back seat.
The photographer met the family at twelve-forty-five and took a few pre-ceremony shots. Mona wrapped the blue hair ribbon around the bridal bouquet, tucking the handkerchief into one of the satin folds. At one o'clock, Jonathan walked down the aisle, followed by Sam, Tony, and finally, Mona and Angela. Unlike at her first wedding, Angela wanted to be given away. They said the standard vows, having been much too busy to write their own.
The photographer shot the ceremony and some family pictures afterward. Once the paperwork was in order, the five shared a celebratory lunch near the chapel. Jonathan and Samantha made little speeches in honor of their parents. Then Mona took the kids home while Tony and Angela drove to a bed and breakfast in Newport, Rhode Island for the weekend.
After Jonathan went to bed that night, Sam and Mona stayed up for a little MTV and girl talk.
"Mona, why do people have sex?"
"Lots of reasons, sweetie. Sometimes they're trying to have a baby. Sometimes they're trying to be less lonely, like your dad said. Sometimes it's just something that feels good for your body. And sometimes it's a way to be closer to someone you love."
"Why did Angela have sex with Michael, when she could have just had sex with my dad?"
Mona swallowed. This kid was asking the hard questions. "Well, it's complicated."
"That's not an answer."
"OK, for one thing, Angela and Michael had history together. Sex requires trust, and my daughter doesn't trust many people. She felt safe going back to Michael." Mona explained. "And another thing about Angela is that she hates to give up or to lose. So when she thought she had a chance to save her marriage, she went for it."
"But Michael is such a jerk," Sam protested.
"He didn't always seem that way. Once you develop feelings for someone, it can be hard to admit you were wrong about them."
"Alright, but what about before Michael came back? Why didn't they do it then?"
"Kid, they weren't there yet. They were just getting to be good friends. You know how hard it is to find a good friend? It's not something you want to muck up with romance," Mona advised. "Plus they had their working relationship and you kids to worry about. What if it hadn't worked out? Angela couldn't risk losing you, and she couldn't risk Jonathan not having Tony around."
"I get it, Mona. I just wish that everything was more normal."
"There is no normal, babe. The only thing that matters is that we all love each other." Mona put her arm around Sam and they continued watching TV until the girl dozed off.
Angela and Tony checked into the B&B and found a boombox and bottle of sparkling apple cider on ice in their room. He put in the mix tape he had made for the occasion and poured the cider into flutes. "To our brand-new life," he toasted. "Care to dance, Mrs. Micelli?"
"I'd love to dance with my husband," she replied, setting down the flute. After a couple of songs, she said, "I feel like we have a chaperone" and pointed at her belly. Tony moved behind her and continued to sway.
"Your cleavage is so inviting," he told her, planting a kiss on her jugular. "Have I told you how much I like your hair like this?"
After they fell into bed, Tony ran a bath and helped Angela sit back against him. "I think I have a name. What about Rosemary Olive?"
"It's pretty, but I won't let you name our daughter after focaccia," he argued, pushing her hair out of his face.
"Maybe I'm just hungry," Angela admitted, "but I really like Rosemary as a name. Would you be OK with just choosing a different middle name?"
"Any particular reason you want that name?" he asked, though he suspected he knew the answer.
"Well, Rosie has been a godsend. Not just at work, but personally. And Mary is a variation on Marie, since Samantha already has Marie as a middle name."
"Two women of good character," he mused. "Let's get out and have dinner. We can talk about a middle name, as long as it doesn't come from the menu."
The next day, they toured The Breakers. It was a clear day with a high of fifty degrees, and Angela wore a long-sleeved maternity t-shirt with her shorts. "I feel too casual, Tony. This place is like The Great Gatsby," she whispered as they were guided to the next room.
"None of these tourists is going to judge you for dressing comfortably, Angela. Any good names from that book?" Tony asked. They had been on the subject since the previous night and rejected hundreds of possibilities.
"Let's see. Daisy, Jordan, Myrtle…no, nothing good."
"Angela. What about Paige, since you love literature so much? You know, page? Get it?" he asked, miming the act of reading.
"Rosemary Paige. Rosemary Paige Micelli. I like it!"
Angela and Tony returned to Fairfield Sunday evening, bearing gifts for the children. Tony had bought a 3D puzzle of a dinosaur in a cute little toy shop for Jonathan. Angela returned Sam's handkerchief cleaned, pressed, and mounted on acid-free paper in a shadowbox. The backing said "Made with love by Marie for her beautiful daughter Samantha" in calligraphy. Tony hung it on her bedroom wall the same night.
Angela didn't want to go to work on Monday. Her belly felt enormous, and there were only a few dresses that still fit. She barely made it to the train on time, and when she stepped into her office, she realized how unpleasant the atmosphere had become. She called HR to add Tony and Samantha to her insurance plan and give them a heads up about her impending name change. Her last day of work before maternity leave would be December twentieth.
Somehow, she got through the workday and was surprised to see Tony chatting with Rosie outside her office at five o'clock. "Hi honey. What are you doing here?" she asked.
"We're going shopping," he answered. "And then we have a birthing class."
"What about the kids? Mother has a date tonight."
"They're with Mrs. Rosini, and she's making dinner for all of us."
Angela was too surprised to argue. Tony dropped her off at Bloomingdale's to shop the maternity department while he parked. On the way in, he stopped by the infant department and filled out a checklist that would be used to create a gift registry.
"That took a while," Angela remarked. She was already at the register paying for two dresses and three pairs of tights.
"Sorry, had to find a spot big enough for the station wagon. Do you think those will get you through the next three weeks?" he asked, gesturing at the shopping bag.
"They should. The tights will help with a couple of dresses that are getting too short for this weather."
The couple went to the hospital community room and signed in for class. They mingled with seven other couples. "I'm the biggest one here," Angela complained.
"Better late than never," Tony replied.
"I don't know why this is even necessary. I've given birth before, and it was horrible. I'd rather not even think about it until I have to."
"Come on, Angela. Maybe we can learn how to make things better this time around," Tony implored her. "Will you give it a chance? For me?"
She couldn't deny him anything when he made those cocker spaniel eyes at her. After the class, she apologized for giving him such a hard time. They agreed to do breathing exercises, perineal massage, and kegels over the coming week and to return for the second half of the course.
Mrs. Rosini served veal parmigiana while Jonathan and Samantha chattered about all the things they wanted for Christmas. Tony and Angela looked at each other in horror. With everything going on, they hadn't done any shopping or decorating.
"Let me clear the table," Tony offered.
"I'll help you!" said Angela. Unfortunately, she dropped the one dish she picked up. "Sorry!" Tony stopped her from attempting to pick up the pieces.
"You're lucky Mrs. Rosini doesn't hold a grudge," he said, brushing shards into a dustpan. "I'm not so sure about the kids, if we don't do anything for Christmas."
"Maybe on Saturday we can all go pick out a tree, and then trade off decorating with the kids and shopping?"
"That works, but don't plan anything for Sunday." Tony cleared his throat and dumped the dustpan into the trash. "You need to take it easy is all."
Mrs. Rosini walked in to find the two kissing. "Aww, newlyweds. Let me just grab the tiramisu, and I'll leave you to canoodle."
"I'm sorry about your plate, Mrs. Rosini," Angela said, gently pushing Tony away.
"Well, it's really my fault. Tony said you've been breaking dishes from the first day you met."
"What else did he tell you?" Angela asked through gritted teeth, darting her eyes over to him.
"Don't worry about kissing your boss, dear. At least you have that fancy job to show for it," she said, grabbing the baking dish from the refrigerator and disappearing through the door.
"I'm going to kill you!" Angela hissed at Tony.
"Before you do, I have another confession," he whimpered. "I also told her that I saw you naked. I'm sorry, Angela, but we weren't even friends at that point. I was just venting about my crazy new job."
"Anything else?" she asked.
Tony fell back on his natural charm. "I told her I thought I was falling in love with you just about a year ago."
"You did? Was this before or after Trish?"
"I said something after that, but I think the reason I went out with her in the first place was that I was already developing feelings. Remember our dinner with Robaire?"
Angela nodded and bit her lip. She recalled feeling physically pulled toward Tony that night, seeking his approval of her appearance, and wishing that the fog in Boston hadn't lifted.
"After your date left, I poured the rest of the wine for the two of us, but I couldn't follow through. I knew I wanted to kiss you and I just couldn't risk it. So when Trish showed interest in me, I figured it was as close as I was going to get to someone like you. I was wrong."
"Oh. So when did you know for sure?"
"Last Christmas." An unspoken echo of mixed emotions passed between them.
"I didn't know you felt that way. I didn't even know I felt that way until Michael let you go. God, why didn't I know?" she cried. Tears of frustration sprung to her eyes.
"Hey, we're here now. Married, expecting, celebrating as a real family. Who cares what happened along the way?" He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers.
"Guys, I was sent in to break up the makeout session," Sam interrupted. "We're done with dessert."
The family said their goodbyes and went back to Connecticut.
Angela's 37-week appointment went well, and her doctor was relieved to hear that they had finally started birthing classes. "Try to take it easy these last few weeks. You need to save your energy for when the baby comes. Remember, 38 weeks is considered full term."
Tony knew Angela wouldn't slow down without his intervention. He worried that she would be running on empty before going into labor. This fear only intensified when she stayed at work until nearly 9pm on Friday.
On Saturday, the family piled into the station wagon and went to the tree lot. They picked out an eight-foot Vermont white spruce and tied it to the roof rack. Tony set it up once they got home, and Angela and Mona supervised the ornament hanging while Tony went shopping. When he returned, he handed the keys to Mona, and the two women went shopping. The kids continued decorating while Tony made dinner and prepared for the next day.
The last thing he did before bed was hang the mistletoe.