Chapter Fourteen: Blush
After a bumpy return that resulted in Jonathan vomiting on a flight attendant, Angela was one of the first to deplane, followed by Tony carrying her drowsy son. They spotted Mona and Sam near the gate.
"Mother, I'm so glad to see you," Angela said, draping herself over the petite woman.
"Sounds like it was a rough trip," Mona replied, sparing her daughter the usual barbs.
"You don't know the half of it." Angela looked back to see that Tony had picked up Sam in his other arm. She kissed her dad's cheek, then squirmed out of his hold. He set both kids on their feet at the same time.
Angela released her mother and embraced her daughter-to-be. "How was everything while we were away?" she asked.
"Oh, you'll see."
Mona had Jonathan by the hand and was walking toward baggage claim.
"Tony, I'm afraid the dynamic duo has a surprise for us," Angela grumbled.
"Well, let's find out what theirs is before we tell them ours," he whispered into her ear.
Back at the house, Angela was still grouchy and demanding her own bed.
"Please, dear. Just one minute longer," Mona begged.
"Fine. What's the surprise?"
"Tony's room." The two were still sleeping separately most of the time. They found opportunities to be intimate but wanted to set a good example for the children. Of course, propriety had gone out the window in LA, but Jonathan was too distracted to worry about the sleeping arrangements.
Angela trudged up the stairs and flipped on the lights. The rest of the family scrambled up the stairs after her. When she opened the door to Tony's room, she was shocked to see that it had been completely redecorated. Tony went to her side while the rest of the family hung back in the hall.
Mona spoke up. "The baby's going to be here in a month, and you two have done nothing to prepare. So, Samantha and I designed the nursery, shopped for furniture and bedding, and cleared out all of Tony's stuff."
"Sorry, Angela. There are a bunch of boxes in your room," Sam admitted.
"I had some friends come over to paint yesterday," Mona explained. "They hung the art and moved in the furniture this afternoon."
Angela walked around the room touching things. "It's beautiful," she cried.
"I love the giraffes," Tony admired. "Thank you for doing all this." He scooped Mona and Sam into a hug, lifting them both off the ground momentarily.
"Thank you. I can't tell you how much I love it," Angela gushed.
"Now you have time to plan the wedding," Mona hinted.
"Well, Mother, we actually planned it this morning," Angela confessed.
Mona furrowed her brow. "You planned it this morning?"
"Right," Tony said. "Little Chapel of Love, this Friday at 1pm. Just the five of us."
"My personal shopper at Bloomingdales is getting some wedding gowns together for me. Samantha, I want you to be my Maid of Honor. I'll buy whatever dress you choose. Jonathan is going to be the Best Man, since he did such a good job at Michael's wedding." Angela winked at her son, who was already in the know.
Sam was jumping up and down and clapping. "Maid of Honor? Oh man, this is awesome!"
"Alright everyone, get to bed and go to sleep, or at least be quiet. Angela has to be at work in the morning," Tony ordered.
The kids went to brush their teeth and Tony went to fetch the luggage. Mona asked Angela, "What's the rush?"
Angela closed the door to the nursery. "Michael is giving up his parental rights to Jonathan and the baby. We want to make our family legal as soon as possible."
"That good-for-nothing jerk," Mona complained. Angela just shrugged in response. "Get to bed. We'll talk tomorrow."
Tony passed Mona as she left for her apartment. He dragged suitcases upstairs and into the primary bedroom, leaving Jonathan's small bag outside his bedroom door. Angela was pacing the bedroom and staring at a pile of boxes while brushing her teeth. She wore a white babydoll nightie.
"This is weird, the kids knowing that we're sharing a room," he said, staring at her legs. "I don't have a bed, though. And we are going to be married in five days."
She went to the bathroom to spit out the toothpaste. He followed and grabbed her butt when she bent over.
"Please don't. I'm not in the mood," she complained. "Besides, you just said it was weird to be sharing a room with me." She stalked back into the bedroom and buried herself under the covers.
Tony gave her space, quietly preparing for sleep. When he was ready, he slid in next to her. "You asleep?" he whispered.
"Not yet," she grumbled.
"I'm sorry about earlier. It's not weird. It's good," he apologized. "I'm looking forward to waking up with you every day for the rest of our lives."
Angela turned over to face him. "Me too. I have to warn you, though. I'm going to be really uncomfortable most of the time until the baby comes."
"Is there anything I can do for you right now?" he offered.
She thought about it. "Maybe rub my back?" she asked, rolling away from him.
"Of course." He massaged gently through the white fabric.
"A little harder."
He moved his hands under the nightie and spent some time kneading her bare back. Once she relaxed, he moved up to her shoulder blades.
"Thank you," she sighed after a few minutes. He slid his hand over her bare belly and snuggled against her back.
"Tony," she cautioned when she felt him grow firm.
"I can't help it, Angela. You look so cute in that little nightie," he complained. She covered his hand and slid it from her belly into her panties. He took the hint and began fondling her. "Thought you weren't in the mood."
"I'm getting there. Can we do it like this?" she asked, grabbing a throw pillow and putting it between her knees.
"Of course," he responded, pulling his boxers and her panties down and finding his way inside. He moved with purpose, sure to be gentle with her after everything she had been through.
"It feels so good from that angle," she said with a sigh. Every time he slid in, she could feel a ripple of pleasure. "You fit me so well," she told him. It was true. No other man had completed her like a missing puzzle piece.
"Feels good for me, too," he said, kissing her shoulder. He wasn't in a rush to come. If anything he wanted to commune with her as long as possible.
"I think we're going to have to get creative pretty soon," she said. Missionary was pretty much out of the question at this point.
"I don't mind," he responded, wetting two fingers in his mouth and stroking her with them
"Mmmmm, yes. Oh. Yes. God, keep doing that." Her voice started to rise.
"Shhhhh," he warned.
Angela turned her face into her pillow and muffled her vocalizations. Before she could reach her peak, her tone changed. "No, no, no," she muttered, shaking off his touch.
"Sorry!" he cried, pulling out. He wasn't sure what he had done wrong.
"I can't keep going. I'm getting Braxton Hicks contractions again."
"Oh." Tony had already inundated the OB/GYN with questions on the topic.
"And now she's kicking. This is how it's going to be from now on. Bet you wish you had your room back."
"I want to be with you, Angela. For better and for worse," he said, turning away unsatisfied.
"You can take care of yourself. I don't mind," she said.
"No, if you don't get yours, I can deal with not getting mine," he said, resigned to share her foul mood.
"I love you, Tony," Angela said. "I promise I'll be cheerful by Thursday."
"Love you, too, honey."
Angela took the train into work on Monday. She had barely started her day when Rosie buzzed her. "Mr. McKenna is on the line."
"Thank you, Rosie." Angela had to accept the call. "Mr. McKenna, good morning."
"Mrs. Bower. How was your vacation?"
"Well, sir, I wasn't on vacation. I went to California to meet with Guacamunchies."
"And I hear it was a disaster. They're threatening to walk. What did you do?"
"Nothing happened that would justify termination of the contract. It was a typical strategy meeting, although Mr. Benjamin did make some rude comments concerning my personal life."
"Well, what do you expect? We really can't have you showing up to client meetings eight months pregnant. It's unprofessional."
"Nothing I did was unprofessional, sir."
"Regardless, the client is upset. And so am I. You'll need to write up a justification of your travel expenditures by close of business."
"Yes, Mr. McKenna," Angela promised. Another task to squeeze into her day.
Before she did anything else, Angela placed a call to her attorney's office to inquire about step-parent adoption. She was given a phone consultation appointment for early afternoon. For the next three hours, she was productive, stopping only to give Rosie her lunch order.
"Chicken Caesar wrap and a coconut yogurt parfait? Got it. And do you want me to write up your expenses for McKenna?"
"Oh, Rosie, that would be great. I have the receipts here. Just be careful to show the portion that went on my company card and the portion I paid separately. I'll need to review the report before you send it over to him."
"No problem, boss." Rosie shoved the receipts in a file folder before calling in the lunch order. When the café told her it would be twenty to thirty minutes, she decided to start reviewing expenses. Immediately, she noticed that the hotel stay was in a two-bedroom suite. Policy limited executives to one-bedroom suites, so she called the hotel to get the price differential. "You're saying it was a free upgrade? Is there any way I could have that in writing?" She turned on the charm and gave the clerk the fax number. When she returned from the café with lunch, the documentation was waiting on the fax machine as promised. She added it to the folder and tapped lightly on Angela's office door, tiptoeing in to deliver her food.
"I don't think that will be an issue. He wants to sever his parental rights," Angela said into the receiver. "What do you mean, no more child support? He wasn't paying me anything!"
"Oh, I see. Well, he just got remarried, so I don't need to write any more alimony checks, right?"
"Great. And do you foresee any issues with me adopting my fiancé's daughter? Her mother unfortunately passed away years ago." Angela glanced up at Rosie, who was lingering next to her desk holding a paper bag.
"Good. One more question, while I have you. I'm due to give birth on Christmas, but Tony and I will be married by then. Can we just put his name on the birth certificate?"
"No, he isn't the biological father. Michael has been clear that he wants nothing to do with the baby. I'm sure he'd be happy to sign a waiver."
"OK, thank you for helping me get this rolling. I look forward to speaking with the adoption lawyer."
"Yes, I understand that you have to round up to half an hour, George. Goodbye."
Angela hung up the phone and grabbed the bag from Rosie. "Thank God. I'm starving!"
"When are you getting married, Angela?"
"Friday," she responded, shoving a spoonful of yogurt in her mouth. "We're off for the weekend anyway."
"Best wishes. It seems like you're really trading up. What kind of guy doesn't take responsibility for his kids?"
"Oh, he's ready to have a fresh batch with his new twenty-year-old wife. Poor thing." Angela finished the parfait and moved onto the wrap.
"Jesus," Rosie sighed. "So you and Tony are planning to adopt each other's children and raise this baby as your own?"
"Mmmm hmm," Angela answered with her mouth full. She had cried over the situation enough. It was time to look on the bright side.
"That's wonderful. I'm really happy for you and your family," Rosie said sincerely. "I'll have your expense report done within the hour. Is there anything else I can do to help? You must be so busy with wedding planning!"
"Actually, are you free this evening? I have a six o'clock appointment to try on dresses at Bloomie's, and I could use a helper."
"Sure! I'm just meeting this guy for dinner at eight."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Angela replied.
"Forget about it," said Rosie, flipping her hand in the air to indicate nonchalance.
Pete Willis scampered away from the cracked-open door before he was seen. His first stop was at Jim Peterson's office. "I've got more intel, Jim. A lot more," he said. This was definitely going to get him that promotion.
Angela reviewed and approved the travel justification Rosie had prepared. McKenna called within minutes of receiving the fax, wanting to know why her family had accompanied her on the trip.
"Mr. McKenna, as the report states, the company only paid the expenses I incurred for business purposes. My fiancé took care of my son during business hours, so I was free to work. I don't see what the problem is."
"How would anyone know if I was staying in a hotel with a man I'm not married to?! And why is that relevant?" Angela listened to McKenna's rant about Albert Benjamin calling her hotel suite and talking to Tony.
"I understand, sir. If that man doesn't want to work with me, Scott Haynes can handle the account starting right away." She heard the line disconnect and held the receiver in the air helplessly. "I'm losing my grip," she said to nobody. After a moment she replaced the receiver and picked up a box of tissues, knowing no work would get done until she had a good cry.
Angela managed to be productive until Rosie rapped on her door at 5:35. "We gotta go if we're going to meet your personal shopper on time."
"Oh, you're right!" she cried, pulling off her heels and tossing them in a leather tote in favor of a pair of Reeboks that were pre-tied loosely enough for her to slip on while standing. "Let's hit it, let's move it, let's do it!"
Rosie smiled at the adorable way Angela had taken on Tony's little sayings. The pair walked two avenues and four streets over to Bloomingdale's. Elsa, a maternity specialist, and had selected fourteen dresses for her to try. After rejecting only five, Angela fell in love with a blush-colored chiffon bridesmaid's gown with a V-neckline, long flowy sleeves, and an A-line skirt. Luckily it fit well and would only require hemming. Elsa had brought in a pair of blush-ivory t-straps to coordinate, and she marked the length while Angela stood wearing the dress and shoes.
"Thank you for coming along, Rosie. It was a comfort to have a friend with me," Angela said, hugging her secretary on the sidewalk. "I'm going to get a taxi to Grand Central. See you tomorrow!"
Mona picked Angela up from the Fairfield station after a call from the payphone. "Mother, I found the dress. Alterations will be done by Wednesday."
"That's wonderful, Angela. I have good news, too. I picked Sam up from school and took her to Macy's. She really liked this light blue satin tea-length number with ruffles all around the neckline. You owe me thirty-six dollars so far."
"So far?"
"We're going to shop for shoes tomorrow."
"Of course. Well, thank you for helping with that. Tony's wearing his new suit and getting Jonathan a suit rental from the same chain that supplied his tux for Michael's wedding. And I'm sure you will find something appropriate for yourself. So I think we're all set." Angela paused for a moment. "Can you believe I'm marrying Tony? Who would have imagined we'd end up together?"
"Me," Mona gloated. "I knew he was exactly what you needed all along."
"Fine. You knew. I'm sure you're only saying that because we're together now. What if he had worked for me for six or seven years and we'd stayed friends?"
"I'd say the same thing, Angela. You two are meant to be lovers." Mona raised her eyebrows and clocked Angela's red cheeks. "The sex is fantastic, right? When you two came back to camp, it was so obvious that you had satisfied your curiosity, and I don't mean about that dumb rock."
"That dumb rock is why we ended up sleeping together, actually," Angela admitted.
"How do you mean? Did Tony put the moves on you at Makeout Rock?"
"He did, in 1963. And again in 1985."
"Hot damn! So you were each other's first kiss?"
"It's like a fairytale, isn't it?"
"Except for the X-rated scenes."
"Mother!" Angela protested.