Savor the Rewrite- Chapter 5: Tony Bags a Big One
The following Wednesday morning, Tony was busy multitasking in the kitchen- making breakfast, studying for a final and making some additional wedding plans. Angela, Mona and Samantha went back for their alterations for their dresses during the week. They started getting responses back from their guests as the wedding was only three short weeks away. Just then, Angela walked into the kitchen and took a seat at the table. Mona walked through the back door a few moments later.
"Good morning sweetheart!" said Tony as he walked around the table to kiss Angela, completely ignoring Mona.
"What? No greeting for me? What am I chopped liver?" asked Mona.
"Sorry Mona… I'm just really busy right now! Angela, what can I get you for breakfast?" asked Tony.
"Maybe a little juice Tony. I'm really not hungry at all" said Angela.
"Some coffee?" asked Tony.
"No… the thought of coffee right now is enough to make me nauseous. Just some juice" she said. Mona had a smirk on her face that she tried to hide.
"I'll take her cup since she seems to not be interested in it this morning" said Mona as Tony put down Angela's juice, completely ignoring Mona again.
"Oh Tony I forgot to tell you! My biggest client, Reed Hamilton, offered us his apartment in London when we are there for our honeymoon! It's right in the heart of the city! How nice was it of him to do that for us Tony!" said Angela.
"That's wonderful! That will save us some money not having to pay for accommodations! That's going to be one heck of a honeymoon Angela!" he said as he leaned over the table to kiss Angela, again ignoring Mona.
"Hello? Are you two aware I'm even in the room?" she shouted as they pulled back from their kiss.
"Alright Tony, my cab should be here soon. Mother, you are in charge of the agency while I'm away. Tony, you're in charge around here" she said as she stood up and placed her unfinished glass of juice in the sink.
"Make sure you eat at the airport Angela!" said Tony as he walked with Angela into the living room, Mona shaking her head, following them through the swinging doors. Angela grabbed her stuff for her trip, turning around to see if she forgot anything when she saw Tony's outstretched arms. She walked right into his arms and cuddled into his embrace. They were interrupted by the taxi cab's horn.
"Tony… that's my cab. I really have to go…" she said.
"Oh… I'm going to miss you!" he said.
"Me too…" she said as he kept rubbing her back.
"I know, I know… that's why I packed you this…" he said as he got a framed photo of himself that he posed next to, twin dopey grins staring back at Angela.
"Oh Tony!" she said as she took the photo in her hands and pulled it close to her chest.
"Oh barf…you're only going to be gone two days!" said Mona as she finished getting things together for Angela's trip.
"Two whole days!" both Angela and Tony said simultaneously.
"Or about as long as it's taking you to say goodbye. Would you get going?" said Mona.
"Alright, alright Mother! Okay Tony- you need to call the florist and confirm the floral arrangements will be delivered, double check with the bakery that they have the cake order and call the tailors to confirm your tuxedo alterations" said Angela.
"Check, check and check! I'm going to miss you Angela!" said Tony.
"Oh I wish you were coming with me! " she said as she headed towards the front door.
"Eh oh… I wish I could go!" said Tony.
"I could be ready in ten minutes…" said Mona.
"Mother! You get to stay here and run the office" said Angela.
"Whoa! Clean living finally paid off!" said Mona sarcastically.
Angela rattled off a set of instructions for Mona, most of which Mona couldn't be bothered to remember, aside from the last message regarding Reed Hamilton. There was something about him that screamed Mona's name… or at least she thought he would should they ever meet in person.
"Mother… you stay away from him! I'll call you tonight at eight… I feel better just having you in charge here my big, strong man!" said Angela as she came closer to Tony and kissed him one last time.
"Do you really have to go?" said Tony in a whiny voice followed by a 'hasta la vista baby!' line to Angela as she headed out the door. Tony headed back towards the kitchen but stopped when he saw Mona just sitting on the sofa flipping through a magazine.
"Well she's gone… I guess you'll be leaving pretty soon to leave for work… I only say that because it sounds like you've got a lot of work to do down there…" said Tony. All Mona could do was utter the word 'yep' a few times.
"The only reason I brought it up was because Angela left me in charge!" he said.
"Excuse me! If you will remember, Angela put me in charge of the office, so I will decide when it's time to go to work…" she said as she went back to reading her magazine.
"Oh yeah well too bad because you're in the house now which is under my jurisdiction, which means I'm in charge of you!" he said.
"Fine… I will go and run the office and you can stay here and run the vacuum! Oh and Tony… I'd keep an eye on things around here… I have a feeling you are about to have some real big changes happen…" said Mona.
"Well of course Mona! We are getting married in three weeks! That's a huge change!" said Tony.
"A wedding… yes of course that's what I mean… have fun vacuuming… try not to get caught in the drapery attachment again…" she said as Tony jumped up to go after her- she was able to get out the front door just as he slammed it shut.
"Of course we have big changes coming! It's our wedding! Okay Tony… where is your to do list?" he asked himself out loud. He looked around but couldn't find it. Instead, he found one of Angela's files that Mona had left behind. He shook his head in frustration, grabbed his keys and headed out the door to bring the file to the office, knowing wedding planning would have to wait until later on in the day.
Tony arrived a short while later at The Bower Agency. He was so sure of himself when he handed her the file and was completely caught off guard when it was an old file. He was really caught off guard when Mona seemed to have things under control and then had the nerve to call him out on all the negative traits he thought she possessed. They were really starting to get into it when Reed Hamilton walked into the office.
"Ahh those lilting tones! That voice I've heard over the phone a thousand times… now the face! More beautiful than I ever imagined!" said Reed.
"Reed Hamilton… we meet at last! And by the way… ditto!" said Mona as she walked over to him, Reed taking her hand a placing a kiss on it. Tony couldn't believe what was happening after everything they had talked about earlier.
"So you're Mr. Hamilton! From Hamilton Detergents! The soap guy! Thank you so much for offering your apartment to Angela and I when we are in London! We can't thank you enough for it as well as your work here with The Bower Agency!" said Tony.
"Excuse me Reed… I have to discipline the Xerox boy…" said Mona as she dragged Tony away by his ear, Catholic school flashbacks prevalent in Tony's mind. They argued back and forth over Mona's involvement with Reed and how it could mess up not only the account but their accommodations for their honeymoon. Just then, Angela called.
"Oh hi Angela!" said Mona as Tony started jumping up and down like an excited child.
"It's Angela! Ooh let me talk!" he shouted.
"Beat it buzz head! This is a business call!" said Mona.
"Mother? Mother! Is that Tony's voice? Let me talk!" said Angela on the other line.
"In a minute! I have something important to tell you!" said Mona as she told Angela about the typo she caught that morning, saving her a lot of money. Mona was expecting a bit more gratitude from her daughter and was frustrated when all she really wanted was to talk to Tony. She knew her work for the day was done when she handed the phone to an impatient Tony. Their lovesick relationship was making her sick and tired so when Tony was fixated on his conversation with Angela, she knew it was her chance to get out of there… having Reed Hamilton's company an added bonus.
"So how are you feeling Angela? Were you able to eat on the flight? I know my stomach is always off when I fly!" he chuckled.
"Yes I am! I was able to eat when we landed in the airport. I'm feeling much better now! Were you able to run the errands we talked about? And why are you at the office?" asked Angela.
"Oh not yet sweetheart. I thought Mona left one of your files at home so I came in to give it to her but it turns out it was an old file. I'm heading out now to run the errands!" he said.
"Okay good! Alright my love I will talk to you tonight! I love you so much!" gushed Angela.
"I love you too sweetheart! Okay here's Mona…" he said as he turned around to an empty office.
"Ahh… I think she's in the bathroom! She will call you back okay! Alright love you!" he said very quickly as he hung up the phone. He muttered a bunch of words in Italian as he left the agency to head home.
Later that evening, Tony was glued to the front window waiting for Mona to get back from her date with Reed Hamilton. He planned on giving Mona a piece of his mind going against Angela's instructions. Unless the date went very well and he offered to pay for their hotel in Paris too… then he'd maybe consider apologizing… maybe.
"Aww! Home early! Way to go Mona!" he said out loud. His good mood was quickly dashed as he could hear the two of them fighting as Mona got out of his limo, antenna in hand.
"Are you crazy talking to him like that? That's Angela's biggest client!" he shouted.
"Ha! Not anymore!" she shouted as she held up the broken antenna.
"Couldn't you have just faxed your butt to Cleveland?" he shouted as she walked towards her apartment.
"Mona wait! He's going to pull out of The Bower Agency! And take back his offer for the honeymoon! What were you thinking Mona? Don't you know mixing business with a personal relationship is like the dumbest thing you can do?" he shouted.
"Isn't that what you and Angela are doing? At least I'm not marrying the guy…" she said sarcastically.
"No! It's completely different be…" he started to say as the realization hit him that was exactly what they were doing.
"I'll ask the questions around here!" he said as the phone rang. He had totally forgotten the time and Angela's promise to call him.
"Yeah what? Oh hi Angela! How are things over there?" he said as his angry tone turned soft.
"Well.. they're better than I thought! Wrapped up early today, which is a good thing because I'm exhausted! How are things over there?" she asked. Mona picked up the phone, trying to cover her tracks. Tony had a moment of compassion and decided to cover for Mona, lying and saying everything was fine. He hated lying to Angela, especially when all he really wanted to be was happy she was coming home a day early.
"Thanks for not telling Angela what happened!" said Mona.
"I didn't do it for you. I did it for her! I mean I didn't want to ruin her good mood! Plus she's been stressed enough with the wedding preparations. Now you get on that phone and you get in touch with Mr. Hamilton and you get that account back before she comes home!" said Tony.
"Not necessary! I know his type… believe me by tomorrow morning he'll be telling this boring story about how he dumped me and then he's going to be business as usual!" said Mona. The two continued to bicker over the best way to handle the situation until both got fed up with one another, Mona heading to her apartment and Tony heading upstairs.
The following day, Tony headed out to find Mr. Hamilton. His secretary told him about his favorite hunting spot, so Tony headed out to try and win him back. Tony was shocked that Mona was right… even down to the lies about him dumping Mona. He let out a sigh of relief when Reed confirmed that he wouldn't leave the agency and his gift for the honeymoon was still being offered.
Later that afternoon, Tony walked back in the house. Mona was sitting on the sofa watching a television show.
"Hey Mona! I… I ended up going to see Reed Hamilton…" Tony said as he looked down at his feet.
"Hmmm…" said Mona, not even bothering to look up from the television.
"And… and the thing is… you… you were right…" he mumbled under his breath.
"Excuse me?" said Mona. Tony mumbled again.
"I'm sorry I'm a little deaf in this ear. What did you say?" she asked, knowing fully well what he was trying to say.
"I said I was I was sorry alright! There I said it!" shouted Tony.
"Ahh that's more like it! Those words taste bad in your mouth? I told you that old geezer would come up with some lame excuse as to why he broke up with me. Maybe next time you'll listen!" shouted Mona.
"Next time? Next time! There shouldn't have even been a this time if you had just listened to me and not mixed personal with business!" yelled Tony.
"You're one to talk Tony! You've been mixing business and personal for the past seven years!" she yelled back. Just then, Angela walked in the front door.
"Hey! What is going on between you two?" she said as she got in between Tony and Mona.
"It's Mona's fault! If she had just listened to me then none of this would have happened in the first place!" said Tony.
"What happened?" said Angela.
"Me? This never would have happened if you had just butted out!" shouted Mona.
"Butted out of what?" asked Angela again, frustration building in her voice.
"Well you started this!" shouted Tony.
"Alright now stop this both of you! Now Tony, just tell me exactly what happened…" said Angela.
"Oh yes right ask Tony… you always pick him first…" said Mona.
"I don't care who tells me the story, I just want an explanation why my Mother and fiancé are at each other's throats!" shouted Angela.
"I'll tell it…" said Mona.
"Alright then well just stick to the facts!" he said.
"I intend to…" she said as she retold the story. At multiple points, Tony interjected and gave his side of the story. Finally, the whole story was told to a disbelieving Angela.
"Mother! Why were you blaming Tony when he was only trying to undo what you did?" said Angela.
"Oh please! This would never have happened in the first place if you had just listened to me… but no… nobody ever listens to me! You two are wrapped up in each other you never hear a word that I say! I'm probably going to have to repeat this!" said Mona. Tony and Angela gave each other a guilty look as Mona started to repeat herself again.
"We heard you…" he said.
"Well that's a first!" said Mona.
"I guess we have been ignoring you… I'm sorry Mother! How about we cuddle up on the sofa and watch a movie!" she said as she hugged Mona.
"Yes! Something old and in black and white! We can even find a musical! Sing along as we cuddle together… just the three of us!" said Tony.
"I'd rather be the diaper on a sumo wrestler…" she said straight faced.
"Is that a no?" asked Tony sarcastically.
"I can't believe that you think that I am desperate enough to actually want to be the third wheel on a romantic evening at home!" said Mona.
"Well, then what has this all been about?" asked Angela.
"I just wanted to be invited!" laughed Mona as she walked out to the kitchen.
"Awww Angela I feel awful!" he said.
"You know Tony, since we've gotten together and engaged, we have got to be more sensitive to the needs of people" said Angela.
"You know Angela, we've been so wrapped up in our wedding that we've only had eyes for each other…" he said as he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a quick kiss.
"We really do need to be more aware of others…" said Angela as she kissed him back, this time a bit longer.
"Awareness is good…" he said as he pulled her closer to his chest and deepened their kiss, their hands beginning to explore each other's bodies. Clothing started to come undone as they both came to the realization they needed to take it upstairs in case they were interrupted, practicing their new found awareness of others promise.
As they were heading up the stairs, the phone started to ring. They both were so wrapped up in each other that they didn't hear the voice on the answering machine.
"Good evening Ms. Bower. This is the pharmacy calling to check in to see how you were feeling. You should be done with your antibiotic by now but if you are still feeling sick, please contact us so we can put in a new prescription. Just a reminder that you still need to use alternative birth control means as the medication made it ineffective. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out. Have a good night" said the pharmacist as the line went dead and the message ended.