Savor the Rewrite: chapter 11 This Sold House
The following week, Tony accompanied Angela to her twelve week appointment. They were able to have another sonogram and hear the baby's heartbeat. They both were in awe of how much the baby was starting to look like a real baby.
"Look Angela! You can see the head and body! Hi there little one!" gushed Tony.
"I know! It's amazing how well developed they are already!" said Angela as she held onto Tony's hand. He bent down and kissed her as they continued to gaze loving at the screen.
"Okay! Everything looks great! We will send your bloodwork out and let you know by the end of the week the results. Otherwise, we will see you back in two weeks" said the doctor. Tony helped Angela up off the table and helped her get dressed. They headed out to the waiting room to sign out and then headed to the car to go home.
"I can't believe this is really happening! I can't wait to show everyone the sonogram!" said Tony as they came to sit on the sofa.
"I know… now that I'm almost in the second trimester, I think we need to start thinking about some of the logistical things. I was thinking we are probably going to need to get a new, bigger car eventually. We also need to think about the nursery. It's a pretty packed house even with Samantha being in the dorms" she said.
"I think my old room could be the nursery. Christmas break is coming up so maybe after Christmas we can start to plan how it will look. Maybe do a little shopping to see what's out there now. I bet there are so many more things than when Samantha and Jonathan were babies!" said Tony.
"I think that's a great idea! I'd love to plan all of this with you!" she said as she cuddled into his side, both their hands finding her small baby bump.
"I can't believe next week is Christmas already! Our first Christmas as a married couple and soon to be parents!" said Tony.
"Our best Christmas yet!" she said as she turned to him and kissed him. They spent the rest of the night planning Christmas and the new baby's arrival.
The next day, Angela headed to work and Tony tried in vain to study for his math final exam. He finally got so overwhelmed, he called Samantha to come over and tutor him. Samantha tried her best to explain the math to Tony but he just wasn't getting it. Both of them were secretly happy when the doorbell rang. Tony headed over to open the door and was surprised to see a stranger standing in the doorway.
"I'm home!" said the man as he put his arm on Tony's shoulder.
"No, no! I'm home… your lost!" said Tony.
"This, this is it! Ah! The banister! The fireplace, the bay window…" he said.
"Yeah and the muscular Italian who wants to know what you are doing in his house!" said Tony.
"Oh I'm sorry! I'm Jack Sanborn… I grew up here… it seems so much smaller… you mind if I look around?" asked Jack.
"Wait a minute! Hold on a second… how do I know you're not some kinda psychopathic killer?" asked Tony.
"I'm a lawyer…" he said as he handed a business card to Tony.
"It's worse than I thought Samantha!" said Tony.
"I really did grow up here. Look, the kitchen is right through that swinging door. There's a study around that corner and there are three little marks right inside the closet door!" he said as Tony followed him to the hallway closet.
"Wait a minute! How far apart are they?" asked Tony.
"Dad! I think he's okay!" said Samantha.
"It's where mom marked my height when I was growing up!" said Jack. He and Samantha got into a conversation about her childhood in Brooklyn, which resulted in her leaving to recapture her childhood, also leaving Tony without a math tutor.
"Look being here has helped me make up my mind about something. I want to buy this house" said Jack.
"Buy it? You know I'm not sure Angela is interested in selling it" said Tony.
"Oh so you don't own the house?" he asked.
"Well no but the owner and I are quiet close… see she's my wife. We just never got around to putting my name on the deed yet…" he said.
"Well maybe this will change her mind… have her give me a call. That's my offer and my phone number" he said as he started to leave.
"Wait a minute, which is which?" asked Tony.
"That one is my offer" he said.
"You're kidding because your phone number would be cheaper!" he said as he watched Jack head back to his car.
Tony came back into the living room and stared at the piece of paper with the offer so long he lost track of time. Finally, snapping out of his stupor, he went to the phone and dialed the number to confirm it was actually a real offer. Once he knew Jack was for real, he couldn't stop daydreaming of a new house for him and Angela and especially the new baby. A house they could bring the new baby home to, start their own memories with, free of their past, particularly of Michael. It would be the new start to their brand new life. He was caught in his daydream when Angela and Mona came home from work.
"Hi Tony! How's your day been?" asked Angela as she and Mona stepped into the living room, putting down her briefcase as Tony came over to help her out of her coat. He stopped to give her a quick kiss and caressed her bump.
"Oh pretty uneventful. A little vacuuming, a little dusting… almost sold the house…" he said.
"What?" said Angela as she couldn't believe what Tony had just said.
"This guy waltzes in here, says he grew up in this house and he… he made you that offer…" said Tony as he handed Angela the piece of paper.
"You're kidding! I don't know what to say!" said Angela.
"Ooh… how about sold!" said Mona as she saw the offer.
"Is this guy for real?" asked Angela skeptically. Tony told her about calling the Sanborn residence to confirm he was for real.
"I don't know if I want to sell the house. That's a lot to do and with the baby coming, we're going have a lot going on" said Angela as Jonathan walked in the house.
"We're selling the house?" he asked.
"Well… I got an offer…" said Angela as she showed him the offer.
"With that much money, we could get a bigger house! A new car… maybe even a sail boat!" said Mona.
"Mother! There are other things to think about besides how much profit we are going to make, right Tony?" she asked.
"Can we call it the Italian galleon?" said Tony.
"Wait a minute! They offered this much for our house? Don't sell…" said Jonathan.
"Aww you'd miss the place…" said Angela as she started to tear up.
"Get real! They obviously know something we don't… I'm talking about oil! Black gold! Texas tea!" said Jonathan.
"Okay that's it! No more Nick at Nite for you!" said Tony.
"Jonathan, there is no oil here!" laughed Angela.
"Well I do have a lot of great memories… there's the coffee table where I chipped my tooth and the stairs where I fell and broke my wrist. Ahh… and the fireplace where I burnt my hair off… dump this place! It's a death trap! Think of the new baby!" he said.
"Tony, what do you think?" asked Angela.
"Well… I'm kinda sitting on the fence. Which according to this is worth thirty thousand dollars!" he shouted.
"It really is tempting… but I don't know. I always loved this house. I mean it's the first house I ever owned. After Michael and I got married, we really had to sacrifice to buy it… but it was worth it! Worth every penny of it! You know the first time we saw it, we knew it was our dream house…" said Angela as she looked around the room.
"Well then, how can you leave your dream house right? I mean… we'll stay…" said Tony, the thoughts of Michael Bower ruminating in his head.
"Could we at least sell the fence?" asked Mona as the three of them rolled their eyes.
"C'mon Tony… think about bringing the baby home here… can't you picture it? Us cuddled up together on the sofa just the three of us. Teaching him or her to shoot hoops in the back…" she said as she placed her hand on her stomach.
"You're right Angela… we will stay" he said. Mona headed up to her apartment, while Jonathan and Angela headed upstairs before dinner. Tony sat back down on the sofa and tried in vain to study for his math final, but he couldn't help but be brought back to the offer and especially Angela's words about her dream house with Michael.
That night, Tony couldn't sleep. He kept tossing and turning thinking about all the memories Angela and Michael had in the house that didn't include him. Finally, he had enough and headed downstairs. He went to pour water into the kettle for a cup of tea, when he noticed the faucet was dripping. He found his wrench and was trying to fix it when Angela walked into the kitchen.
"Tony? What are you doing?" she asked, still half asleep.
"I'm fixing the drip…" he said.
"It's three in the morning!" she said.
"I know! All night long, drip, drip, drip… who could sleep?" he lied.
"How did you hear it all the way upstairs?" she questioned.
"C'mon Angela!" he said as he proceeded to give a laundry list of all the imperfections in the house.
"Well why is this suddenly bothering you now?" she asked.
"It's always bothered me Angela! I mean come on… this house it's… it's a mess! I mean the plaster is cracking, the wiring is old and… and there's graffiti all over this place!" shouted Tony.
"What graffiti?" she asked with a laugh.
"What graffiti?" he said as he ran over to the refrigerator and pulled it away from the wall, revealing the words Michael loves Angela written on the wall.
"Michael loves Angela" she said as she finally got why Tony was so upset.
"Michael loves Angela! Every day for seven years that's been staring me in the face!" he said with distain.
"You move the refrigerator every day?" she questioned.
"You don't get arms like this flittering around with a feather duster missy!" he said.
"Oh gosh Tony I… I'm really sorry. I didn't know you were this uncomfortable…" she said.
"Well, now that we are married and having a baby together, I don't know if I'm ever going to be able to think of this house as mine…" he said.
"Well Tony, this is your place! This is our place!" she said.
"Nah, nah! I heard you when you said 'the minute me and Michael found it, we knew it was our dream house'" he said with annoyance.
"Oh Tony that's all in the past! You are my future. You both are…" she said as she took his hand and placed it on her stomach.
"It just that, with us starting out a new life together, wouldn't it be great to find a place that we could call our own! Our dream house! A place were I could, I could carve not write, carve Tony loves Angela! And I wouldn't put it behind the refrigerator either!" he said.
"That does sound nice…" she said.
"You know maybe because this guy is coming in here, making this offer, it's fate! It's fate talking to us! What do you say Angela?" he asked with puppy dog eyes.
"Let's start looking tomorrow!" she said.
"You mean it?" he asked with a smile.
"Oh Tony… if I can do something that will bring us closer and make me a truck load of money, I'll do it!" she said.
"Oh bless your greedy little heart!" he said as he wrapped his arms around her body.
The next few days, Tony and Angela spent alternating between getting the house ready for Christmas and house hunting. Tony kept seeing 'the perfect house', until they'd look closer and he would inevitably find something wrong with it. Finally, he found the house he thought would be perfect. It was a beautiful house not too far from their current house. It had a newly renovated kitchen that Tony fell in love with plus it had it's own lake. He was able to sell Angela on the house. They had to do some negotiating, but soon the owner accepted their offer. They decided to tell the family over breakfast a few days before Christmas the big news about the house.
"Good morning! Did you tell them yet?" asked Angela as she walked across the kitchen to Tony at the stove.
"No, no I wanted us to be together when we told them" he whispered to Angela.
"Everybody! Big news! We put in an offer on a new house!" said Tony enthusiastically.
"Isn't that wonderful?" said Angela, equally as happy as Tony. The family just sat there, staring at them like they had six heads.
"You're not asking us?" asked Mona.
"How could you?" shouted Samantha.
"Thanks a lot…" said Jonathan.
"I wish we had a camera to capture their childlike joy!" said Tony sarcastically.
"There wasn't enough time! We had to put the bid in or risk losing the house!" said Angela.
"It's a great house! It's got everything including it's own lake!" said Tony.
They both spent the rest of breakfast letting them know all about the house and everything that came with the property including space for Mona and Samantha. The family came around and were over the moon excited as they finished up breakfast. Angela went to do some work in her study, while Mona headed back up to her apartment. Samantha, Jonathan and Tony remained in the kitchen.
"So this is really happening… it's hard to imagine not living in this house…" said Samantha.
"I know… I've never lived anywhere else… it's going to be weird…" said Jonathan.
"But imagine all the new memories we will create for all of us and for the new baby!" said Tony.
"Jonathan! Remember the first time we played basketball outside? You could barely shoot back then! Now look at you!" said Samantha.
"I know! I mean I'm not making the team or anything but I can at least make a layup! We will have to teach the new baby how to play! Does the new house have a basketball hoop?" asked Jonathan.
"Ahh no it doesn't…" said Tony disappointingly.
"Remember our first Christmas together? Tony played Santa and totally had me convinced he came down the fireplace! Then the two of them dancing to that corny music! It was so embarrassing!" laughed Jonathan.
"It was! But it's kinda grown on me! I don't expect you to throw Angela over your back this year, but you two will still dance together right? I mean it's tradition!" said Samantha.
"Of course we will! Just maybe a slow song, that's all…" said Tony as he remembered that first Christmas together.
"Good! Your swan song! The baby won't know the embarrassment of watching the two of you in your pajamas dancing in the living room!" laughed Samantha.
"Yeah… I guess not…" said Tony.
"C'mon Jonathan. We need to finish our Christmas shopping. Let's head to the mall" she said.
"Finish or start?" he chuckled as they headed out the back door. Tony sat at the table, lost in some of his memories of when the kids were small- all the firsts they experienced in this house as a family that, as he thought more and more about it, the new baby wouldn't get to experience. He was so caught up in his thoughts, he didn't hear Mona come back through the back door.
"Tony… Tony… Tony! Earth to Tony!" she shouted as she finally got his attention.
"What? I'm not deaf!" he shouted back.
"Well you could've fooled me! You were here but definitely not here… you okay?" she asked as she sat down at the table.
"Yes I'm fine. I just got to thinking about when the kids were small. All our firsts as a family in this house…" he said wistfully.
"Let me guess… thinking about all the firsts the new baby won't get a chance to have in this house…" she said.
"Yes… but we can make all those memories and more in the new house! Think about all the fun we will all have taking boat rides on the lake with the baby! I mean he or she won't be able to swim for a while and then we will have to be on high alert for a while to make sure they don't get out of the yard and near the lake without us…" he started to say as the reality of the situation was starting to set in.
"You're right Tony. You will make new memories in the new house. Besides, you said you wanted a brand new dream house with Angela instead of this old shack…" said Mona.
"This house isn't a shack! It's beautiful! From the moment I pulled up to the house, I was captivated by it! Then when it became my home, well our home, I just fell in love with it…" he said.
"Well… enjoy it while you can… it won't be ours for much longer…" she said as she stood up and walked back to her apartment leaving Tony once again to his thoughts.
The next day, they had Jack and the realtor over to go over the contract for selling the house, once Jack finally arrived at the house. They started signing the forms as Jack began to discuss his new plans for the house.
"I can't believe all of this is going to be mine…" said Jack.
"Well, remember not all of it! The blonde comes with me!" laughed Tony.
"You know I've got a lot of plans for this place…" said Jack as he flipped through the escrow paperwork.
"Oh really… what kinda plans?" asked Tony as he sat down next to Jack.
"Umm well first I want to get rid of the wallpaper and paint the room white" said Jack.
"I think you're a hundred percent right! I always hated this grandma wallpaper!" joked Tony as Angela tried to hide her irritation.
"I'll knock out that window and put in French doors to a new patio" he said.
"Well, wait a minute… that's where my herb garden is…" said Tony.
"Was!" laughed Jack. "Right off the patio, I'm going to put a paddle tennis court" he said.
"Is there room for that?" asked Angela.
"Yeah if you tear up the picket fence…" said Jack.
"No! I mean Jonathan and I we… we put that picket fence up together! I mean actually, I tricked him into whitewashing it! You'll never guess how!" laughed Tony.
"Well it's firewood now…" said Jack.
"I love that fence!" said Tony.
"You can build another one… sign!" said the realtor as she handed Jack a pen.
"No, no, no wait! Wait! Hold on a second! What other changes do you have planned?" asked Tony.
"Minor stuff! I'm going to gut the kitchen, tear down the guesthouse, push that wall out for a rumpus room…" said Jack.
"Wait a minute! That means you have to chop down the old oak tree…" said Tony.
"It's just a tree…" said Jack.
"Just a tree? What are you talking about? I mean first of all, it's old and second of all, Angela and I we used to sit on the swing under that tree and watch the sunset" he said.
"Well you won't be able to see it anyway once I put in the satellite dish…" said Jack.
"What are you talking about? Why do you want to buy the place if you're just going to change it all?" asked Tony.
"For sentimental value…" he said.
"I'm not letting you do that!" shouted Tony as he grabbed the escrow paperwork.
"Stop him please!" shouted the realtor as Angela stood up to try and stop Tony.
"No Angela! I'm not going to let him ruin our house!" he shouted.
"Our house?" she asked.
"Well yeah! It's our house! What do you mean chop down the oak tree and block out the sun! Where do you get off?" he said.
"Tony, do you realize you just said our house?" asked Angela.
"Yeah so what if I did? I… I did didn't I? Well, it is our house! Hey Angela! There's a lot of you and me in this house! I'm not going to stand by and let some yuppie cheese ball gut our memories…" said Tony. Tony and the realtor went back and forth over the selling of the house. Angela even brought up the new house they had just put an offer on, but Tony was resolved not to sell.
"This is our dream house Angela! This is it and I don't want to give it up! I love it here and I want the new baby to love it here too!" he said.
"So do I, I always have but are you sure you do?" she asked him once more. Tony responded by going over to the banister and kissing the wall before coming back over to Angela. They both let them know the deal was off. Jack tried to renegotiate, but they stood firm.
"No Jack, no more numbers, okay? This place may be your past, but it's our future…" said Tony as he placed his hand on her bump. Angela could no longer hold back her tears as she placed her hand on top of his.
"Home sweet home" said Tony after Jack and the realtor left the house.
"Oh Tony! We are going to have such a wonderful life here together!" said Angela as they hugged again.
"And think Angela, by the time the baby is old enough, he or she can help me repaint the fence!" he laughed as they headed into the kitchen.
Later that day, with a lot of begging and groveling, they were able to back out of the deal with the owner of the lake house. They anticipated the family being upset over the loss of the house, but they were pleasantly surprised when no one minded the house not being sold.
Tony went to great lengths the next day to make this Christmas Eve special for the family. Angela got back the results of the bloodwork and everything came back normal. While they were slightly disappointed at not having their own lake, it was mutually agreed upon that they were quite happy staying in their home. They spent their dinner reminiscing about previous Christmas Eves as well as planning the baby's first Christmas next year. By the end of the night, everyone had gone to bed, leaving Tony and Angela curled up on the sofa as the Christmas tree lights illuminated the room. A fire was going in the fireplace.
"Merry Christmas Eve Angela" he said.
"Merry Christmas Eve Tony" she said as they snuggled even further into one another.
"So are you really okay with not selling the house? You really think of it as ours?" she asked, still hoping his words from yesterday rang true.
"Angela… this house is not just our house. It's our home. It's where I started this brand new life for Samantha and I, where you took a chance on me, changing my whole life for the better. This is the place we raised our kids, where we became friends, then best friends and finally soulmates. This is the only place I want us to raise our baby together… this is our house Angela, now and forever…" he said as he leaned down for a kiss.
"That was beautiful Tony… I feel the same way. This may have been my dream house with Michael, but I'm living my dream with you in our home" she said as she took their hands and placed them over her stomach.
"Let's go to bed Angela…" he said as he pulled her up. He brought her over to the back door first, where the mistletoe was hanging. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close as he leaned in for a passionate kiss.
Christmas morning came and went as the family gathered around the Christmas tree, opening gifts and enjoying each other's company. Samantha loved her new leather jacket, new clothes and perfume. Jonathan loved his new Nintendo set and walkman. Mona was over the moon in love with all her gifts from the family, each one hand picked by Mona.
Tony and Angela watched their family with smiles on their faces as they pictured what next Christmas would look like with the baby joining in the festivities. They even continued their tradition of dancing to Tony's father's records, picking a slow song to dance. After all the presents were exchanged, meals were consumed and everyone was either in bed or on a date, Angela and Tony were once again left alone, this time in their bedroom.
"So Angela… I've got one final gift of Christmas for you. I hope you like it…" he said as he handed her a small box wrapped in red wrapping paper. She quickly opened it to reveal a beautiful heart shaped necklace with three sapphires inside the silver heart.
"Oh Tony! It's absolutely gorgeous!" she said as she held the necklace in her hand.
"I'd hope you'd like it… one sapphire for each of our children…" he said.
"I love it so much!" she said as tears ran down her face.
"Well I also have a present for you! Wait here!" she said as she got up and went to her dresser drawer and pulled out an envelope. She got back into bed and handed it to him. He quickly opened up the envelope and saw it was the deed to the house.
"The deed to the house? I don't understand…" he said.
"Read the last page…" she said. He read the addendum and stopped short when he got to the last line.
"Co-owners Angela Katherine Micelli and Anthony Morton Micelli?" he said as it was his turn to start to tear up.
"All we have to do is get it notarized and our house will officially be ours…" she said.
"Angela! This… this is unbelievable! Are you sure?" he said, not fully grasping that this would make him for the first time in his life a homeowner.
"Yes I'm sure Tony. This is our house, our home, and I want it to be that way in every sense of the word. I love you Tony, Merry Christmas!" she said.
"I love you too Angela… more than I can ever express… Merry Christmas sweetheart…" he said as they spent the rest of the evening expressing their love.