Chapter Ten: Truth or Dare
"Oak Hills Drive," Sam shared, holding her breath. She waited for Robin Fraser to pass judgment. The girl was popular enough to get away with being materialistic. Truthfully, Robin's house was pretty fantastic. It wasn't much bigger than Sam's home, but everything about it looked more expensive. Robin shrugged off compliments, saying something about how it pays for politicians to have connections in the private sector.
"Nice neighborhood. Your dad must be loaded," Robin responded.
"He really cleans up," Sam muttered. Marci gave her a look.
"Do you have any siblings?" Bonnie asked.
Sam could feel the warmth and earnestness of Bonnie's question. Unfortunately, it turned out to be difficult to answer. Her situation was not typical of an only child, yet she didn't have any real siblings. Jonathan was a little pest whom she cared a great deal for. Her dad had committed to coparenting Angela's baby. What did that really mean? She couldn't figure out a response that didn't feel like a lie.
"I have a little brother and a little sister on the way," she said.
"That's cool. Your parents have got to be excited about the baby."
"We're all really happy," she said sincerely. The girls continued sharing their backgrounds, and before long they had moved on to discussing boys.
Tony and Angela planned a surprise slumber party for Sam's 13th birthday. She was growing up too quickly. Tony could have sworn her last birthday was only eight months earlier. With Marci's help, they invited all of Sam's new friends to bring sleeping bags and PJs on Friday night. Tony would make snacks for the group. Mona would bring the Ouija board and the activity ideas. Jonathan would escape to Peter's house well in advance of the party.
Friday arrived, right on schedule. Around 6pm, the doorbell rang and Angela and Tony followed behind Sam as she went to answer the door. The girls all jumped up and down shrieking for a minute before remembering their manners.
"Hi Mrs. Micelli. I'm Julia."
"I'm Robin."
"I'm Bonnie. Thank you for inviting us."
"You're welcome girls. By the way, my last name is actually Bower."
Tony introduced himself to the girls. "Angela, can you pour the first round of sodas while I move the furniture out of the way?"
"Sure!" she agreed, walking to the kitchen.
Tony pulled the coffee table aside and scooted the couch and console table back enough to accommodate five sleeping bags in the middle of the living room. Meanwhile, the girls chatted.
"How come your mom's name is Bower and your name is Micelli?" Bonnie asked.
"Oh, she's a bigtime advertising executive, and she already had a professional reputation under her old name."
"Really?' Robin tested. "She couldn't have been out of business school by the time you were born."
"Oh, she's even older than my dad. Besides, she was successful really early on. I guess you could call her a phenom."
Tony eavesdropped. He was disappointed at Sam's lack of transparency. At the same time, he understood how hard it was to lose a parent and not fit in with your classmates. He pulled a small item from the China hutch and went into the kitchen. Angela was just about to lift the tray of sodas off the counter.
"Hey, leave that for a second." She made a show of taking her hands off the tray and turned to him.
"I overheard something out there that I think you need to know," he told her.
"What is it?"
"Well, Sam is leading her friends to believe that you're her mother."
"Oh." She wasn't sure how upset he was over this transgression, and she didn't want to make things worse. It was kind of sweet that Sam was pretending to be her daughter. She looked up at the ceiling and bit the inside of her cheek while she soothed her swirling emotions by rubbing her belly.
"I know it's wrong and Sam knows it's wrong. But is it really so far from the truth? Look, I want to let her have a 13th birthday without embarrassing her. So what do you say, Angela? Will you be my wife?" Tony had dropped to one knee.
"Alright, I'll do it," she said, intending to keep up the charade until morning. When she looked down, he was holding a ring box with a sparkling band nestled inside. "Oh, Tony!" she gasped.
"I'm going to try to make you happy," he promised.
"I suppose you're gonna kiss me in front of the kids now," she laughed, trying to keep from getting too emotional.
"Every day," he assured her.
"I can't wait to marry you, Tony," she said through tears. He slipped the ring on her finger and kissed her sweetly and slowly.
Mona had brought the Ouija board through the back door in time to hear her daughter's last statement. She pumped her fist victoriously, and quickly realized Tony and Angela were too caught up in each other to notice her presence. She continued through to the living room.
"What's taking your mom so long with those drinks?" Robin complained. Mona assumed the girl was referring to Angela.
"I don't know. Maybe I should check on them," Sam replied, turning toward the kitchen. "Oh, Mona. Hey."
"Mona Robinson," she introduced herself to the girls. "Not your typical grandma."
Angela came through the kitchen door and held it for Tony, who was carrying a tray of sodas.
"Oh, we're playing Truth or Dare," Julia announced. "Wanna join us?"
The girls didn't wait for a response. It was Bonnie's turn to issue the challenge. "Truth or dare: When you two met, was it love at first sight?"
"No!" Angela cried reflexively.
"No," Tony replied thoughtfully. Angela was slightly offended until he clarified. "I thought she was beautiful the first time I saw a picture of her, but I had to get to know her to understand how beautiful she is on the inside. That's when I fell in love."
"Awwww," the girls cooed in unison. Mona was impressed at his candor.
"I should open presents," suggested Sam. She was unsure whether she was getting away with her dishonesty.
The girls gathered around Sam, bouncing on their toes as she opened her first gift. It was a locket with Tony's picture on one side and Marie's picture on the other side. Mona and Angela watched from a distance, knowing that the gift, chosen with great care, was likely to reveal Sam's lies.
"Who's that? She's beautiful," Robin asked, gesturing to the picture of the woman.
"She's Sam's aunt," Tony interceded, pulling the locket out of her hands.
"No, she's not, Dad." She took the locket back. "That's my real mother," she said to her friends. "She taught me to always tell the truth." Sam sat down with the locket and reflected. Tony and Angela sat down on either side of her. Angela put her right arm over Sam's shoulder, placing her left hand on her knee.
Julia was lost. "If that's your mother, then who is Mrs. Bower?"
Sam started "The truth is, she's my dad's…." She trailed off and looked down, catching sight of the ring. She looked up at Angela and continued "fiancée?"
Angela nodded, trying not to cry. "I'll be so lucky to call Samantha my step-daughter."
Tony squished Sam and Angela into a big hug. "Alright!"
The girls were unbothered by the revelation. Mona offered to continue supervising the sleepover, allowing Tony and Angela to go out for a bite to eat. When they came home, they wished the girls good night and retreated to Angela's bedroom. Mona made sure to initiate a loud lip synching competition to cover the sound of any additional celebration upstairs.
Jonathan refused to come home until all the girls were gone the next morning. Angela went into his room to help him unpack and have an important talk.
"Jonathan, how would you feel if I got remarried?" she broached.
"That would be bad," he said. "I really like the way things are now."
She was heartbroken. She couldn't go through with this against her son's wishes. "You don't want me to get married? Ever?"
"I want Tony and Sam to stay," he explained. When you got back together with Daddy, they left, and it sucked."
"Language," she admonished. "What if I got married and they didn't have to leave?"
"How is that gonna work?" he questioned her.
"Jonathan, Tony has asked me to marry him."
"Really?!" He clapped his hands together in glee. "That's awesome!"
"Really," she confirmed. "There's something else I wanted to ask."
"What is it, Mom?"
"What if I adopted Sam? Would that be alright with you?"
"Would that make her my real sister? That would be rad!"
"You're a wonderful kid, Jonathan. You know that?" she asked. "Can you keep that last part quiet? We haven't talked to her about it yet."
"Sure, Mom," he promised.
Angela hugged and kissed him, then went to find Tony, who was cleaning her bathroom. "It's a go," she told him. He put his rubber glove-covered hands behind his back and leaned over to kiss her lightly.
Jonathan immediately went next door. "Happy Birthday, Sam! Did you know my mom is gonna marry your dad?"
"Yeah, how crazy is that? I freaking told you they were a thing," Sam gloated.
"Are you going to be nicer to me when I'm your real brother?" Jonathan asked hopefully.
"Stepbrother," Sam corrected.
"Not after the adoption!" he cried out. "Oh no! I wasn't supposed to say anything."
"What adoption, Jonathan?" she asked. When he cowered, she repeated "What adoption?"
"My mom asked me if it would be cool with me if she adopted you," he explained.
"You're terrible at keeping secrets, twirp. And no, I'm not going to be any nicer," she answered.
"So you want my mom to be your mom? Even if it's forever?"
"Jonathan, your mom is the biggest dork I've ever met. Of course I want her to be my mom."
Angela and Tony had been eavesdropping in the hall. They entered Sam's room quietly and were inundated by hugs from their kids who were ecstatic about becoming a real family. They decided to make reservations at a nice restaurant to celebrate the anniversary of Tony and Sam's arrival the following weekend.