Savor the Rewrite: chapter 19 Tony and the Honeymooners
After the wedding, everyone decided to celebrate at a local diner near the chapel. Tony's hand barely left Angela's stomach throughout the whole meal. By dessert, Tony wanted nothing more than to take Angela home and show her just how attractive and sexy he found her. They barely made it home before he wrapped his arms around her and started passionately kissing her, to the disgust of Jonathan and Mona.
The rest of the week went by without any crises or issues. Bonnie and Al sent them a postcard the following week from their honeymoon down the Jersey shore. They were happy to hear from Samantha that they were back and settled into Bonnie's parents' garage apartment. Tony had a momentary thought that somehow the honeymooners would end up back at their house. He wondered how Bonnie would ever manage to sleep with the screamer she married.
By the following week, Angela was twenty-five weeks pregnant; she was starting to nest again and wanted to start on the nursery. Tony was trying to delay the process as her surprise baby shower was the following week and he wanted to make sure they didn't end up with duplicates of things.
By Saturday evening, he had managed to distract her throughout the day, allowing her to start planning how she wanted the nursery to look in Tony's room but not overdo it. That afternoon, he went out to Blockbuster and rented a few movies for them. Angela was curled up on the sofa when he walked back in the front door.
"Okay, okay Angelina! We're all set! Let's see… I got 'Aliens', I got 'City Slickers', and I got 'The Way We Were!' What do ya want to do? Scream, laugh or cry?" he asked as he fanned out the videos.
"I think cry!" she said.
"Oh good! Good! That sounds like fun! You know I'm glad you said cry because here's yours and here's mine!" he said as he tossed her a small box of tissues and held on to his oversized box.
"I haven't had a good cry since…" he said as he was at a loss to remember when he last cried.
"Since you thought Sam was getting married? Or when this little one kicked for the first time? Or last Tuesday when you saw that Hallmark commercial! Tony… you cry all the time!" she laughed.
"Well I'm a sensitive guy what can I say! I'm just glad all of that craziness is behind me…" he said as he put in the video.
"Me too… with everything going on with them, with our work and school, we haven't had a moment's peace. We don't have too much more time until we won't have any peace and quiet for a few years!" she chuckled as she rubbed her belly.
"Yeah well now that that has passed… it's time to get back to you and me…" he said as he leaned in, placing his hand on her stomach and giving her a gentle peck on the lips. Just then, the doorbell rang.
"And whoever is at the door…" he said as he got up, muttering some choice words of frustration in Italian as he walked over to open the door. He was pleasantly surprised to see Eddie and Emily standing in the doorway.
"Hi!" Emily and Eddie said together in unison.
"Eddie! Emily! Welcome! What are you doing here?" asked Tony as he welcomed them into the house, hugging them both as Angela stood up to greet them.
"Well… we were in the neighborhood and figured we'd stop by and show you this…" said Emily as she showed off an engagement ring and wedding band. Angela squealed in delight as she gave Emily a hug, which was met with more squealing. Tony had to put his hand over his ears, while Eddie just laughed.
"You're married? Way to go Eddie!" said Tony as he slapped him on the back. Tony led them to sit down on the sofa.
"Last night actually! We've kept in touch on and off ever since we met all those years ago. I've had more east coast trips scheduled within the last year or so and we always made a point to… see each other. I found out last week that I'll be an east coast resident! I decided to leave Stanford and received a job offer from NYU!" she gushed.
"Congratulations! That's wonderful!" said Angela.
"Yeah I figured since she's gonna be here now I'd make an honest woman outta her! Got hitched last night at a justice of the peace in the city! We're gonna move into our new apartment the end of next week!" he said.
"So we will be living out of suitcases until then. I was going to see about getting a room at the Fairfield Inn" said Emily.
"Nonsense! You can stay here! We have plenty of room! Sam's old room is empty now that she's in the dorms. We are in the process of getting my old room turned into the nursery…" said Tony.
"We couldn't impose on ya! Not with the new baby comin' soon!" said Eddie.
"He's right! We can just get a hotel room! It's not that big of a deal!" said Emily.
"You're practically family! It's not a problem, right Angela?" he asked as he looked over at her.
"No… of course not! You are welcome anytime! It's only for a week so that won't be a problem!" said Angela, with a hint of hesitation in her voice.
"That settles it! I'll help you get your bags in!" he said as he and Eddie headed to their car.
"So does Angela suspect anything about her surprise shower? Emily is so excited she's going to be here for it!" said Eddie.
"Not a thing! I've had to distract her the last few days! She's wanting to work on the nursery- she's really nesting! I want to wait until after the shower to see what we still need. Thankfully the shower is next Saturday!" said Tony.
"Well… we will be outta your hair by then! So Tony… we will try and keep it down at night ya know… boy I'm sure glad she went to grad school huh!" laughed Eddie.
"You and me both!" laughed Tony as they walked into the house with the suitcases. Tony made them comfortable upstairs. Angela had hoped they would still have time to watch the movie but by the time everyone was settled in, she could barely keep her eyes open.
The next day, Tony and Angela spent the late morning and afternoon with Emily and Eddie, catching up at the club. Emily and Angela decided to do a spa day and brunch while Tony and Eddie hit the golf course. They all came home by early evening in time for Tony to cook them dinner. Angela tried to convince Tony to watch one of the videos but he was preoccupied catching up with Eddie and the old neighborhood. Emily offered to watch one of the movies with her as they spent the evening enjoying each other's company.
By the start of the week, everyone seemed to get into a good routine as Emily and Eddie both headed into the city for work. Angela went back to work as well as Tony continued with classes and his part time job. Each night Angela came home from work, tired and exhausted and wanting nothing more than to cuddle up with Tony and relax, but the house was inevitably full of people and activities.
Monday night, Jonathan and his friends were over hanging out in the living room. Samantha and her college friends were in the kitchen. Tony had to make dinner for everyone, something she thought he would be angry about, but instead it seemed to invigorate him. Emily, Eddie, Mona and the two them ended up eating dinner in the dining room. What Angela hadn't seen was Sam and her friends helping put the final touches on the baby shower planning.
Tuesday night, she started to feel like an outsider in her own home. When she and Mona walked through the front door, it was just Emily and Tony sitting together on the sofa. She had the sense they had been talking about something else before she arrived and had switched conversations when they heard her come in.
"Hi everyone… how is everything? Where's Eddie?" she asked as she took off her coat and put her briefcase down.
"Good Angela! Good! Eddie… uhh… Eddie is…" he started to say as Emily jumped in.
"Eddie had a late call for an extermination. Some building had bed bugs and he and the crew needed to pull overtime to get it done" said Emily. Little did Angela know that Eddie and Jonathan were meeting at the club for the shower to bring the heavier stuff in early. Tony figured if Eddie could carry two kegs of beer over his shoulders, he could carry all the boxes and party supplies.
"Oh well… hopefully he will be home soon. What's for dinner?" asked Angela as she headed over to sit down next to Tony. It was getting more and more difficult to sit down without help as she was less than a week from her third trimester, so Tony helped her sit down.
"I told Emily this morning about how good of a veal rollatini I make and she wanted to try it! It should be ready in about fifteen minutes!" said Tony.
"Did you make any without the prosciutto? I can't have that while pregnant…" she said.
"I…I didn't… I'm so sorry Angela! I'll make something for you! Anything you want!" said Tony as he realized he was in the metaphorical dog house. He got up and headed into the kitchen, searching for something he could make quickly for her to eat. He was left with plain pasta and yesterday's leftovers. He shook his head, knowing she wouldn't be happy with either of those options as he came back into the living room.
"Ahh… so I have plain pasta and yesterday's leftovers… which I know don't sound appealing so I will run out and get you anything you want! Just name it!" he said as he saw the look on her face.
"It's okay Tony! I'll have leftovers! It was delicious yesterday so it stands to reason it will be delicious again…" she said.
"I'm so sorry Angela! I'll make whatever you want tomorrow for breakfast! And dinner too!" he said as he sat down next to her on the sofa.
Tony was able to reheat dinner for Angela, which was not as good the second time around. She tried to put a smile on her face, but Mona could see through her facade. As dinner was ending, Eddie and Jonathan came in; Jonathan made some excuse about a late night school event. Everyone raved about Tony's dinner, which Tony readily accepted their praise. Angela could feel the anger start to simmer as dinner finally concluded.
The next morning, Tony was up early and made what Angela requested, pancakes. She wanted blueberry ones, but he was all out. She came into the kitchen as he was at the stove flipping the pancakes.
"Good morning" she said as she walked over to him.
"Good morning Angela! I'm sorry but we didn't have any blueberries! I'll make sure I get some today!" he said.
"That's alright Tony… so Emily told me they will be in the city until late tonight signing the final lease paperwork… that just leaves you and me alone. Maybe you and I can get back to the way we were, if you get my drift…" she said as she wrapped her arms around him, causing him to let out a not so soft moan.
"Oh do I ever because I love the way we were…" he said as he leaned down and captured her lips with his own. He pulled her closer as he deepened the kiss, only interrupted by the baby kicking.
"Eh oh, oh eh! Listen little one! She's your mommy but she's my wife too! I get to kiss her whenever I want!" he chuckled as he felt the baby move.
"I think he or she is hungry! I'm starving!" she said as she sat down. Tony poured her a glass of orange juice. Jonathan and Mona came down shortly after, followed closely by Samantha.
"Hey Dad! You remember we have tickets tonight for the Knicks game right? My friend got court side seats! We can grab a bite to eat at Madison Square Garden!" said Samantha as Tony flung a pancake over his shoulder onto her plate.
"You have a game tonight? You didn't tell me that…" said Angela as she felt her good mood deflate.
"Oh yes I'm sorry! It totally slipped my mind! I can cancel if you want…" he said as he gave her puppy dog eyes.
"Uh… no, no… go ahead! Have fun… alright Mother let's get to work… bye sweethearts…" she said as she kissed everyone goodbye and headed into the living room. Tony went to the swinging door and waited until Angela and Mona were out the front door before turning back around.
"Great job Samantha! Okay! So I'll come over to the dorm tonight so we can put the final touches on the shower! We need to remember to keep the Knicks game on so I can pretend to know what happened in case Angela asks what happened!" he laughed.
"Are you sure she's okay with you not being here tonight? I got the feeling she was upset about tonight…" said Samantha as she continued to eat the pancakes.
"Of course she is! She's going to be over the moon with everything we have done for her shower! C'mon you two… I've gotta get to class so hurry up!" he said as he went into the living room to get ready. All Samantha and Jonathan could do was give one another a look that they had perfected over the years, one that meant one of their parents was clueless about the storm that was brewing in the family.
By Friday evening, Angela was exhausted. She was officially in the third trimester and feeling it. She left work early and met Tony at the train station. They headed to her doctors appointment and headed into the waiting room.
"So excited to see this little one! Thirteen more weeks! Can't wait!" said Tony as he rubbed her stomach. They were called back soon to the room. Tony helped Angela onto the exam table after her vitals were taken.
"Hi Angela! How are you feeling?" asked the doctor as he fired up the sonogram machine.
"Tired and huge but otherwise okay! Excited to be in the final home stretch!" she said.
"Alright then let's see this baby!" he said as he placed the gel and wand on her stomach. A profile of a baby came onto the screen. Both Tony and Angela teared up.
"Look at that Angela! I swear they have my nose… well before the breaks!" he laughed.
"I see some of Samantha's features in there too so probably! I guess the Micelli genes are stronger than the Robinson ones!" she chuckled.
"Maybe the next one will have the Robinson genes… just not from Mona okay?" he said as he looked back over at the screen.
"Next one? This one's not even here yet and you are thinking about the next one?" she asked in disbelief.
"Well yeah I mean we haven't talked about it but I thought maybe we'd try for a second one. I mean we don't have to I just thought maybe you'd want to. Look we don't have to discuss this now…" he said. Noticing the dropped temperature in the room, the doctor quickly tried to get the couple focused back on their baby.
"As you can see here… this is the spinal column, their arms and legs as well as the heart, which looks to be all normal. Let me print out a few sonograms for you. We will schedule your follow up appointments and testing before you leave…" he said as he finished up. Tony helped her up off the table as they made their way to the front desk where they made all her follow up appointments. They headed out to the car, Tony helping her into the car.
"Look Angela… we don't have to have another kid. This one is more than enough plus the two goofballs we already have at home! I just… I just pictured us with a big family but I'm fine with whatever we end up with I promise!" he said.
"Okay Tony…" she said as she looked out the car window, tears threatening to fall. He knew he was not going to make much headway with her, so he changed tactics.
"Alright little one! Mommy and Daddy got to see you today! You look so big already! We really can't wait to meet you! Daddy wants you to know you and you alone are more than enough for me! I've already planned out a whole bunch of things for us to do together! Even some stuff with your Mommy, your big sister and brother! I've gotta figure out how to convince your Grandma to get in on the fun too but that might need to wait until you get here and I can teach you the Micelli puppy dog look! It works well on the Robinson women…" he said as he rubbed her stomach and looked up at Angela with said puppy dog eyes. Angela looked down at him, tears now falling down her face.
"So little one… if you end up being the official baby of the family, I am more than okay with that! You just stay with your beautiful mommy for the next couple of months and then boy will we start having some fun! I love you baby!" he said as he kissed her belly.
"Oh Tony… I just don't know about a second baby. We've been so lucky so far with this little one- the amniocentesis coming back okay as well as other tests. I'm not young anymore and I don't know if we should risk it again…" she said.
"Then this little one is all we need. One and done… three makes perfect!" he said.
"Let me at least think about it… I think I'll have a better idea once I go through labor and delivery with this little one here and healthy in my arms…" she said as she placed her hands over his on her stomach.
"Let's go home Angela… how about I stop and get us a pizza? We can eat pizza and finish watching 'City Slickers!'" he said as he started the car.
"Sounds wonderful Tony!" she said as they headed to get pizza and then home. They were able to have a slice of pizza when Eddie came through the door, practically pulling Tony out the door, much to Angela's dismay. He promised he wouldn't be too long, but after being gone almost two hours, she decided to start watching the movie on fast forward. About two hours after he left, the door opened, Angela hoping it was Tony.
"Tony?" she said as she kept fast forwarding through the movie.
"No it's me…" said Samantha as she walked in the house.
"Oh…" said Angela disappointedly as she went back to the movie.
"Sorry!" said Samantha as she felt the disappointment in her voice.
"Oh that's okay… your father promised me he'd be back to watch 'City Slickers' with me" she said.
"On fast forward?" asked Sam as she took off her jacket.
"Well yeah I've gotta return the tapes in about an hour so we're just going to the good parts…" she said. The scene with the baby calf being born came on, causing them both to sigh. She quickly fast forwarded to the end of the movie.
"There we watched the whole thing!" laughed Angela. Tony, Eddie and a bunch of the guys came in through the front door as Angela was putting the tapes back into the cases.
"Hi Angela! Sorry I'm late! Eddie surprised me with the guys! We went out to shoot some pool and have some drinks!" said Tony as he stumbled into the living room.
"Just how many drinks did you have Dad?" asked Samantha as she looked Tony up and down.
"Just a few… then we lost count!" laughed Joey.
"Wait a minute… that's where you were?" asked Angela as her anger began to grow. She looked over at the movies that they never got to watch.
"Yeah Angela! It's probably the last time me and the guys will get to see each other before the baby is here!" he said as he stumbled into the side table, falling into the chair. Angela sat on the side arm of the chair, as best she could.
"Tony… I thought we were going to finally spend some time together one on one… I was just selfishly hoping to spend a little more time alone with you…" she said.
"Oh and we'll have it Angela! We will have it! Listen… tomorrow we have reservations at the club for brunch but then after that you and I will spend the whole day together! No interruptions! From now on, it's just you and me in paradise… like Adam and Eve…" said Tony as Emily walked in the door.
"Adam and Eve and Emily and Eddie!" he said as he burst out laughing, nearly doubling over. Angela just shook her head and headed upstairs. Angela didn't even bother to wait for Tony to come up as she got herself ready for bed, her emotions a mixture of anger, frustration and sadness.
"Yo Tony… I'm no expert but I think the little woman is upset…" said Tiny.
"No she's not! She's just tired! She's pregnant! Look I'm gonna tell you guys something. You're gonna learn something. I'm gonna give you a little advice about women" he said as his level of confidence about the opposite sex grew with the effects of the booze.
"Now let me tell you something. Most guys think they know something about women, but they don't! I, however, do… that's right! First of all, women stay mad longer than men" he said. Jonathan came into the conversation when Tony started his diatribe.
"How do you know that?" asked Jonathan.
"I timed them…" he said with an eye roll.
"Really?" asked Jonathan, legitimately thinking Tony was serious.
"No Jonathan! I just know! Experience has taught me well!" said Tony.
"Have you spoken to Angela lately Dad? With all the sneaking around you've been doing for you know what, I think she's felt neglected this week!" said Samantha.
"It hasn't helped us being here either I'm sure! We move out tomorrow and into our new place which will help" said Emily.
"C'mon guys… let's leave Mr. I Know Women to deal with his own woman! Let us know when the newest Micelli makes an appearance!" said Philly as the guys headed out. Samantha also headed back to the dorms as Jonathan headed into the kitchen to get a late night snack. Tony thought about what the guys and Samantha said, hoping he hadn't messed things up yet again.
Tony was up early the next morning; despite having all that alcohol, he felt surprisingly rejuvenated. He decided to bring breakfast up to Angela in bed to try and make up for the past week. He made her favorite- waffles and fruit with a side of whipped cream and orange juice. He carried the tray up to her, the smell of the food waking her up.
"Good morning sweetheart! I hope you slept okay! I made your favorites!" he said as he placed the tray on the bed.
"Hmmm… smells delicious! Thank you Tony!" she said as she got up to use the bathroom. She came back in and sat back down on the bed, digging into the food.
"Alright Angela! Are you ready for a day just for us? No interruptions from family, friends, the honeymooners or anyone else… just us…" he said as he started to lean over to kiss her when the phone rang.
"Well us and whoever is on the phone! Just one second… hello Micelli residence!" he said. His face grew serious for a moment until he saw Angela looking at him with a matching serious look. He put on a large smile and said a few parting words before hanging up.
"Tony… who was that and what's wrong?" she asked as she stopped eating to look at him.
"Oh nothing… nothing Angela! Philly forgot his wallet here last night! What an idiot! I said I'd meet him half way and give it to him. Just relax here and I'll be back in time to take us to brunch!" he said as he kissed her goodbye and ran out the bedroom door.
"So much for our day together…" she said as she pushed the plate of food away, no longer hungry.
Tony flew down the stairs and ran out the back door onto Mona's apartment. He knocked loudly until a tired looking man opened the door.
"Mo… umm is Mona there please?" he asked as looked the man up and down. Before he had a chance to answer, Mona appeared in only a silk robe.
"This better be good Tony! I still had another hour of beauty sleep!" yelled Mona.
"Yes it is! The club called and the there's a problem down at the club! I need to go down there now! Can you make sure Angela is distracted and gets ready? I'll be back in time to pick her up" he said as he ran back down and got into his jeep. Mona just rolled her eyes and shut the door, heading back in to get changed.
Mona managed to convince an angry Angela to get ready. She was waiting in the living room as Angela came downstairs wearing a beautiful maternity dress.
"Angela you look beautiful!" said Mona.
"That's it I'm changing!" started Angela as she went to head back upstairs. Mona was able to stop her and led her over to the sofa.
"Relax dear! You do look beautiful! Tony will be here soon and then you can actually spend some time together. If not, I'll personally knock some sense into him!" said Mona. Just then, Tony walked in the front door.
"I'm back! I made it! Give me ten minutes and I'll be ready!" he said as he ran upstairs. He was able to get showered and changed in record time and was back downstairs. Mona had already left as Tony helped Angela up and into her coat. She barely made eye contact with him or spoke to him the whole ride. Finally, as they were about to pull up to the club, he asked her what was wrong.
"Angela what's wrong? What are you doing?" he asked as he watched her clean out her purse.
"Cleaning… it makes me feel better!" she said.
"Since when?" he asked.
"Since it's the only thing I've seemed to do this week that's got your attention for more than two minutes!" she said.
"Alright… I think we need to talk…" he said as he pulled the car over.
"Why bother? Because the minute I start you're gone! Off to solve someone else's problem, spend time with someone else… it's always Tony to the rescue!" she said sarcastically.
"Hey that's not fair! I've had planning… I mean stuff to do this week that's kept me busy!" he said.
"Face it… you thrive on being involved in everybody else's life but mine. Unless it involves the baby, you've been missing in action…" she said.
"Wait a minute… okay I'm sorry I've neglected you this week. I let stuff get in the way of us. That all changes starting now! Let's start this day again! I promise you, you're gonna have a great day!" he said as he leaned over and kissed her.
"Thank you Tony. It's probably not as bad as I made it out to be… my hormones are just all over the place, even more so than before so I probably overreacted. C'mon let's park and head in! I'm starving! I didn't get a chance to finish breakfast this morning!" she said as he put the car back in gear and pulled up to the club. The valet helped Angela out of the car, Tony taking her arm and leading her into the main reception area. He gave the club staff his name and soon they were heading back through the restaurant to a back room.
"Where are they taking us Tony?" she asked as they headed into the room. A group of about fifty women yelled out surprise as Angela finally realized it was her baby shower.
"What… what's going on?" she said, completely taken aback by the situation.
"Surprise sweetheart! It's your baby shower! Mona, Samantha and I have been planning it for weeks! I hope you like it! You deserve it and so much more…" he said as he wrapped his arms around her, giving her a passionate kiss.
"Tony… I… I don't know what to say!" she said as she started to cry.
"No need to say anything! Go enjoy and I'll be back later to pick you up! Enjoy my love!" he said as he kissed her one last time before all the women came over to get the baby shower started.