A/N: Happy Thanksgiving! I'm off to a turkey trot.

Chapter Sixty-One: Leaving Mesa

Thursday after dinner, Sam sat on her neighbor's bed and told her about the impending move.

"What do you mean, you're moving to Connecticut?"

"My mom got a job in New York."

"That's a whole other state," Natalie remarked. She had never heard of someone living in one state and working in another.

"It's only an hour away and there's a train," Sam said a little too quickly for her Ohio-born-and-raised alter ego.

"Why does your mom change jobs so often, anyway?"

"She was overqualified for the job she was doing at the school district."

Natalie was skeptical. Her friend's mom was bright, but four positions in one year seemed odd. "What's your dad gonna do?"

"Maybe he'll go to college full time," Sam speculated.

"Patrick wants to go away to college. Our parents are fighting about the cost of out-of-state tuition."

"Bummer."

"I'll miss you. Will you write?" Natalie asked.

"Oh yeah, Nat, of course," Sam said.

x

"Ronald Reagan is all set up and the boys are playing chess," Josh said, poking his head into the bedroom. Sheila was lying on her side, with Angela in a chair next to the bed.

"Thank you, sweetie pie," she called to her husband. "Could you get us some more water?"

"He's so attentive," Angela observed, as he disappeared down the hallway.

"Yeah, he feels guilty for doing this to me," Sheila laughed, pointing at her belly. "Bobby likes taking care of you, doesn't he?"

"Uh huh, he's always been that way. I wish I could do the same for him."

"What are you talking about? You're bringing home the bacon and frying it up so he can get an education."

"It's only fair. I already got to go to college. I really hope he's able to get credits for his classes this term."

"It's too bad your new job couldn't wait a few weeks."

"We didn't get a choice, or I would have stayed through New Year's."

"That's kind of you to say, but I'll send a birth announcement. I can't promise it will be timely. At my age, I'll be lucky if I don't end up in the National Enquirer."

Angela laughed, suppressing a yawn. "It's getting late for the boys. I should take Chris home and get Jen from next door."

"Alright. Thank you for coming over. I'll have plenty of time to write you."

"I'll send our new address as soon as I can," Angela promised, knowing she'd have to explain her name change, as well.

x

Tony came into the house to find that Angela and the kids were still out. He knocked on the door to Mona's suite, knowing she would be there. She had quit her job at the steakhouse without notice. "I got more packing tape," he said, enticing her to open the door.

A receptive palm appeared through a small opening in the doorway. He handed over the tape with one hand and held the edge of the door with the other. "Unless you're indecent, I want in."

Mona opened the door wearing poplin pajamas. "I think you got that backwards, bud."

He was undeterred. "Have you talked to him yet?"

She crossed her arms. "What does it matter? It's going to be over sooner or later."

"Not necessarily. Why can't you find a compromise?" he asked.

"Where? Kansas City? Buffalo?"

"Not a place, an arrangement. Maybe you spend part of the year together. Or find someplace you both want to live."

Mona sat on the couch. "It's a moot point. I have a whole life Ricky knows nothing about. There's no reason to believe he and I are compatible."

"That's a load of manure. Cassie isn't completely made up," Tony said, taking the seat next to her.

"Easy for you to talk. You and your wife know everything about each other."

"We do now, but when we first came here, we were both pretending that being married was all a performance. Even when we were alone together, we couldn't let go of Bobby and Jess."

"That's because you're both cowards."

"So are you! You're afraid to tell Ricky who you really are because he might reject you."

"We're not supposed to tell anyone until we get back to Connecticut," she protested.

"Come on, he already knows more than he should. Just tell him the rest. We only have three more days here. Wouldn't you rather know for sure how he feels about you?"

"I'm afraid," she admitted.

"You think I wasn't afraid to tell Angela I had feelings for her before the move?"

Mona took a deep breath and sighed heavily. "OK, I'll go see him."

"Atta girl!" Tony said, patting her shoulder.

Angela ushered Jonathan through the door from the garage. "Go on up to bed, darling," she told him. He had nearly fallen asleep in the car. "Hello?" she called out from the base of the stairs.

"I'm here, babe!" Tony said, leaving Mona's suite.

"Hi honey," Angela said, kissing him. "Sheila and Josh send their love."

"How is she?" he asked.

"Bored, but feeling alright," she yawned. "I need to go to bed. Could you go next door and get our daughter?"

"Sure, baby. Your mom is going over to Ricky's."

"Oh yeah? Did they make up?"

"Not yet, but I feel good about their chances."

x

"Asleep already?" Tony asked, tiptoeing into the dark bedroom. Angela had been home for all of ten minutes, and she was in bed, facing away from the door.

"Almost," she mumbled into the pillow. "Sam give you any trouble?" she asked as she turned over, as if the teen was all her responsibility.

"No, she was ready to come home anyway."

Angela remembered that Tony had been in class earlier and became slightly more alert. "How was Statistics?" she asked.

"Good. I got to take the final exam early. I only need seventy-eight percent to get a passing grade in the class."

"What about Biology? Did you get a chance to talk to your instructor?"

"Yeah, he gave me until December sixth to mail in my term paper. Still need to go to class on Saturday, though."

"Is your History term paper done?" she asked.

"Already turned it in," he boasted.

"So Public Speaking is the only class you'll have to take again for sure?"

"Right. Three outta four ain't bad, huh?"

"You're such a good student. I want you to snuggle with me," Angela said sleepily. Tony lay down on top of the comforter and spooned her, stroking her hair and arm until she was out. He got up carefully, brushed his teeth, and disrobed. When he got back into bed, she was awake again. "I missed you," she told him, not caring how clingy she sounded.

x

On Friday, Sam had a basketball game, her last with the team. Angela rushed back to Mesa from her last day at work to meet Tony and Jonathan in the junior high bleachers. They cheered as Sam scored sixteen points against the weaker team thanks to all her teammates letting her have possession of the ball. Afterward, the family of four went out for Mexican.

"You turned in your textbooks, right?" Tony asked.

"Yep."

"And your library books?" Angela confirmed. She got a nod as Sam took a bite of enchilada. "Packed up your gym clothes?"

"Mmmm hmmm."

"How about you, sweetheart?" Angela asked Jonathan.

"I turned in all my books," he said. Tony gave Angela a look and shook his head. Later, he would tell her that their child had all his books in his backpack at pickup and had to be walked back to the classroom and library to turn them in.

"Tomorrow, we have to wash all the dirty clothes," Tony said. "Look under your beds for socks. Then we're going to pick outfits for the next two days and pack up everything else. Remember that it's going to be cold in Connecticut." Mid-November only required a light jacket in Mesa, and they frequently forgot that it was autumn.

"Are we going to be able to say goodbye to Ricky, Mom?" Jonathan asked. Mona hadn't returned home Thursday night, but it wasn't clear whether the older couple was making up or saying bon voyage.

"I don't know, sweetie," Angela said.

x

Mona put on a robe and took the two water glasses off the nightstand. She went to the kitchen for refills but got distracted by her hunger. She and Ricky had been in bed for most of the day, not bothering with any meals other than a cereal break at two. She opened the fridge and leaned down to get a stick of string cheese. Before she could stand up, he was behind her with his hands on her hips. She playfully backed into him and closed the refrigerator door.

"I don't share," she told him, opening the package and peeling off a strip of cheese.

"You're going to share with me," he insisted, peeling off his own strip and dropping it into his mouth.

"Oh yeah?" she taunted, pressing into him. "You want me to share? You wanna know who I really am?"

"God, yes," he said, putting his arms around her waist.

"Mona Rockwell Robinson, at your service." She put one arm around his neck and peeled off another strip of cheese with her teeth.

"Really? Your name is Mrs. Robinson? That explains so much. When is your birthday?"

"July twenty-ninth. I'm a Leo, just like Cassie." She chomped half the remaining cheese stick.

He chuckled. "Of course you are. And I'm a Sagittarius, so we're very compatible."

"You think so?"

"I do, Mona." He finished the cheese.

The sound of her name in his mouth was strangely intoxicating. She didn't want to leave him. "It would be a shame if I missed your birthday, wouldn't it?" she asked in a high, strangled voice.

"I'd love for you to come back and celebrate with me," he purred.

"How long would you want me to stay?" She couldn't manage to take a full breath.

He wanted to be bold, but not too bold. "Indefinitely." His word was up to her interpretation.

"How about three months to start?" she offered.

By Sunday afternoon, Tony was packing the truck bed with a load of boxes. There were more boxes in the house, labeled with their real names and the Oak Hills Drive address. The checklists had been completed and the documents signed. They had cleaned the house as well as they could, considering how much was being left behind. Angela called the airline and the airport shuttle operator to confirm their reservations while Tony, Mona, and Libby made a run to Ricky's place. The dog was staying in Arizona for the time being.

On Monday morning, Tony made omelets with all of the remaining food in the fridge. He handwashed the dishes and took out the trash. One by one, the five family members stacked their luggage at the front door. The car and house keys were left in a large manilla envelope. Finally, Tony and Angela slipped off their wedding bands and left them in a small envelope.

The airport shuttle pulled up to the house. "Do we have everything?" Tony asked his family before pulling the locked door closed behind him. An agent would be picking them all up at JFK in eight hours.

A/N: Thank you for joining me on this journey. I'm taking a break from writing, but I'll be back with a sequel called "You Can Go Home Again" all about the family's return to Fairfield. At some point, I'll be adding a few more M-rated chapters, too. I know some of you were curious about all the babymaking attempts.