Chapter Forty-One: Church Friends

On Sunday morning, Tony sat up against his pillows. He wondered when Angela would see his additions to her pros and cons list. A week earlier, when she told him outright that she wanted to have a baby in the near future, he hadn't been able to form a coherent thought around the idea. He didn't feel close to her, didn't know if she had intended to cheat on him, didn't know whether she would continue working with the man who had either violated or charmed her. The pendulum had swung the other way. He didn't have a good idea of when they could accomplish it, but he wanted to be a real family.

A sixth family member could be the biological link between the other five. That was something that could never be taken from them, no matter where they lived or how their relationships evolved. That child would be their shared legacy, with little things in common with each of them. Mona had another forty years of life on the high end, and whenever she departed, they would all miss her dearly. He wondered if Jonathan had inherited his brown eyes from Angela or Michael. Tony didn't know much about Michael's family, certainly not enough to guess whether he carried a recessive gene for blue eyes. Angela must. It was possible, but unlikely, that the boy would end up having a child with Mona's eyes. That was just one trait. A new baby would give them another genetic remix. Maybe something would come through from his parents or from Angela's father.

It had been a comfort to have Sam after Marie passed away. It was still delightful to observe the echo of his late wife in their daughter alongside the traits passed down from him. If anything ever happened to Angela, his grief would be soothed by a shared child.

There were other, more joyous reasons in the pro column. He wanted to have the full experience of raising a baby into an adult with Angela. She was a wonderful mother. Being in Arizona had given him more opportunity to witness that. The world could use more wanted and loved children, who would become welcoming and loving adults.

They were still young and energetic and could expect to remain so for another twenty years or more. Although each of them had become parents in their twenties, maturity conferred the benefits of patience and wisdom that they were unable to give their older children as babies.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt there was room for two additions to the family. The little ones could be close in age like Sam and Jonathan. They'd probably keep Sam from risking pregnancy until she was older. He could wait another ten or fifteen years for her to get married. And it was important to him that she be married before she made them grandparents.

Angela stirred, interrupting Tony's contemplation. He reclined and scooted closer to her. A smile grew from ear to ear as he ghosted kisses around her face. She blinked open her eyes and gazed at him. "Good morning, my love," he said.

"Waking up with you will never get old," she told him. "And going to bed with you is…."

"Going to bed with me is what?" he asked. They had spent an extended period in congress the previous night and he made sure that she got off more than once before he pursued his own climax.

"Thrilling, wonderful, dreamy," she started. "It makes me wonder how I got so lucky," she continued, a lump forming in her throat.

"We're both lucky to have this together," he told her. A tear came to his eye. "Did you know it was going to be like this when you decided to move?"

"I hoped we could be together someday. I had hoped for that even before. It happened so much faster than I expected, but even if we had just stayed friends, it would have been worth coming. I couldn't imagine not having you in my life. Or not raising our children together." She bit her lip as if she'd said too much.

Tony searched Angela's wide eyes. He wanted to talk about what he'd just been contemplating. He mirrored her in a deep breath, then started talking. "Speaking of raising children together," he started before realizing she had also begun to speak.

"I saw what you wrote."

"You did?" His heart was pounding. "Well, what do you think?" he asked in a shaky voice.

"It seems like something we both want. It's just a question of timing."

"There's never going to be a perfect time, but with me starting school and your job situation up in the air, I think we need to wait a little while."

"I agree," she said. "I told my OB/GYN I would come back before I tried to conceive, anyway."

"Maybe we should practice," he joked, pulling the covers down to reveal her breasts.

"I think we've got it down to a science," she said lightly, pushing the covers even further down.

"Remember in the motel, when we said three times a week?" he asked, rolling on top of her.

"We've really blown right past that, haven't we?" she laughed. They joined and began moving in harmony.

"I'm looking forward to seeing you pregnant," he said.

"That makes one of us," she responded. "But it'll be worth it." He kissed her long and deep, picking up speed for a while.

"I love this," he panted.

"Having sex?" she huffed. "I've noticed."

"No, the talking." He moved his hand between them and eased his pace, concentrating on her needs. "Planning our future together."

"Mmmm hmmm," she agreed, unable to respond more intelligently. After an initial climax, she grew introspective "We can't let anyone or anything get between us again."

"No," he agreed. "God, it's good with nothing between us," he groaned.

"Give me every drop," she encouraged him, resting her ankles over his shoulders. His sweaty belly slapped against the backs of her thighs a few more times before it was over. "Church?" she asked, still folded in half and accommodating him.

"Yeah, we'll go to church today," he said, spent and happy.

x

After the service, the Morettis and the Woodmans chatted for a while. Sam hopped from foot to foot in boredom before she spotted a cute boy across the room. He caught her staring and smiled before turning his attention back to the woman he was in conversation with.

"Thanks, Sheila. We'll see you all for dinner at six," Angela called to her friend.

"Bye Jess. Bobby. Jen. See you tonight," Sheila said in response.

"Huh? What's happening, Mom?" Sam asked. Tony walked ahead while Angela put her arm around the girl.

"I saw you looking at that boy," she teased. "Chris is going to the mall with Seth. He wants to find a birthday present for Dad."

"Dad's birthday isn't for a month. What's he planning to get?"

"He won't tell me. Just says he needs to start looking now."

"Damn, he's gonna make me look bad," Sam complained.

"If you're going to use that kind of language, could you not do it at church?"

"Sorry, Mom."

"It's so damn hot!" Tony remarked a few steps after exiting the air-conditioned space. Angela gave him a look. "Sorry, Jess."

Sam went next door to hang out with Natalie when they got home. Meanwhile, Tony and Angela reviewed their monthly statements and talked over financial matters. With her starting as the acting executive director the following week, she would be earning half-again as much as him. He pushed aside the reflexive insecurity, remembering that she more than deserved it. She had already spent four years in college, two in grad school, and twelve in the business world. Her new salary wasn't even a quarter of what she was earning as President of Wallace and McQuade.

"It'll certainly make things easier," she said of the extra income, "but I don't want to rely on it. Let's just stick to our plan and save the rest."

"My frugal bride," he teased. "I'm proud of you," he said, giving her an affectionate little punch on the arm.

"For not spending money?" she asked incredulously. "I hate to break it to you, but I am going to need more clothes, whether I stay at the district or go to the Department of Education."

"Hey, it's a learned skill that you didn't exactly have six months ago," he told her. "You've grown a lot, honey. The cooking and cleaning and household management? You're really good at it now. I mean, if we go back, you probably won't even need me," he said forlornly.

"I do need you, wherever we are," she said with a serious expression. "You've grown, too, and you're about to embark on your big adventure in education. How do I know you won't become some pretentious intellectual?" she teased.

"Maybe I will change in college. I hope I do, actually, but I'll still be me underneath it all. Just like you're still you, even if you could pass a home economics class now."

"Mom is still Mom, even if she bakes and has a steady long-distance boyfriend and a job."

"Exactly. Where is she, anyway?"

"At the pool," Angela answered. She couldn't persuade her mother to attend church outside of holiday services.

"So we're alone?" he confirmed.

"You are insatiable!" she cried. She wondered how he would handle the inevitable weeks of abstinence surrounding the birth of a child.

"Not that," he countered. "I just thought we could dance. We've hardly used the sound system we got last month." He sprung to his feet and grabbed an album from the wood cabinet, placing it on the turntable and gently lowering the needle. Frank Sinatra's "Come Dance With Me" album started playing, and he pulled her to her feet. They spent the next half hour dancing close, casually turning and spinning occasionally. When the needle ran into dead wax, he shut down the sound system.

"I forgot how much fun we used to have dancing together," she said.

"After that first Christmas, I always tried to find an excuse to dance with you," he admitted.

"I know." Tony had enticed her into short dances along with The Tonight Show, several movies, and even a few commercials. She started expecting it after a while, making eye contact with him when there were other people in the room preventing them from extending the invitation.

One night in early December, they'd kept swaying together long after the musical portion of the show had ended. Neither spoke, instead concentrating on resisting the magnetic pull between them. At one point, Angela was ready to kiss him. She leaned in and lost her nerve at the last second, landing right at the corner of his mouth. They hadn't slid into a real kiss, but they were slow to pull away, thinking it could be a long time before something like that happened again. If it ever happened again. How could they have known they'd be enjoying all the perks of marriage less than a month later?

The doorbell rang and Tony dashed to the front door to answer it. "Come on in," Angela heard him say. Jonathan bounded through the house and threw himself on the couch.

"We were just doing our financial review. Let me get these papers out of the way," she said, gathering everything up in a folder. "Take a seat. We actually haven't started dinner yet," she said nervously.

"Oh, we're early. If you're not set up, we can head home now," Linda offered.

"I just need to put the mostaccioli in the oven," Tony explained. "Wine?"

"Just one bottle!" Josh joked.

"None for me, thanks," Sheila said. "I really overdid it last time."

"Wanna come see Ronald Reagan?" Jonathan asked Seth.

"Yeah!" The two boys ran upstairs together.

"I hate that name," Angela muttered.

"I think that gecko looks a lot like the president," Tony argued.

Upstairs, Seth was reading Chris' latest creative writing assignment. "I thought your dad made movies in the jungle," he said. "Now he's a major league baseball player?"

"It's all made up. That's what we do in fourth grade English," Jonathan explained, shaking his head.

"I think your real dad is pretty cool. My dad is cool, too," the happy-go-lucky eight-year-old said.

Mona entered the living room from her suite, looking perfectly presentable. "I thought you were at the pool, Mom," Angela cried.

"I came back over an hour ago. Don't worry, I was talking to Ricky, not watching you dance or whatever," Mona received Angela's incredulous stare. "What? I heard Frank Sinatra and assumed."

"Would you mind going next door to get Jen, Cassie?" Tony interrupted.

"Thank you!" Angela called after her mother.

After finishing a bottle of wine and rounding up the stray children, the five adults sat down to a family-style Italian meal, letting the kids eat on the couch in front of the TV. They discussed all the events going on in their lives, but glossed over the verboten awards dinner. Coincidentally, Sheila was also up for a promotion at work, and Angela insisted on giving her interview tips.

"Have a good week, everyone!" they all wished each other as they parted ways.

"Why didn't you tell her, honey?" Josh asked his wife on their way to the car.

"I feel weird about telling people," Sheila said. "I mean, who gets pregnant at fifty-four?"