Chapter Thirty-Two: Matriculation

Sam's team finished out the softball season in fourth place. She loved her team but she was secretly relieved to have more time for school. There had been some late nights and arguments with her parents. Angela told one unconfirmable story about a history paper that made Sam want to buckle down and get straight A's just to avoid such exhaustive tales in the future. Her dad took another path that was just as annoying: telling her how he broke his body to make a living because he hadn't studied enough when he was young.

There was a boy in science class who liked Jen. He had told his friend, who told his cousin, who told Natalie. He was cute, bearing a resemblance to Potsie from Happy Days, though his voice tended to crack. They ate lunch together a couple of times before he took a chance and touched his pinky to hers as they sat next to each other on a concrete wall. Sam didn't move her hand away, didn't do much of anything, just held her breath and waited for the bell to ring.

The acting AD role gave Angela plenty to do at work, and she started bringing projects home. She and Tony went furniture shopping together, dipping into their savings to purchase a desk and office chair, a task light, and a filing cabinet. It was meant for his studies, but once the spare room was converted, she couldn't help taking advantage of the private space. Jess and Nate went to lunch every Friday and spent many hours in his office together throughout the week. Angela was able to admit to herself that she'd had a crush on him only when it began to wane.

Tony kept up an even performance at the distribution center. He was well liked, managing to avoid resentment from his peers for working bankers' hours while other supervisors had more irregular schedules. He bought hand tools and supplies at a discount, making use of his time at home to do small projects with Jonathan. Linda let him come over and use Danny's abandoned power tools. The man had taken up residence in his young mistress' one-bedroom apartment, barely seeing his children despite living across town from them. Tony started spending more time with Patrick, changing the oil in their cars together. The teen started to come to his neighbor with girl problems and questions about life. Tony tried to pass along some of the wisdom he had gleaned over the years, advocating respect for women as an antidote to Danny's poor example.

Mona pined for Ricky for weeks, spending her hostess wages on an inflated phone bill and distracting herself by learning to bake. Angela and the kids happily consumed the cakes and cookies, while Tony managed to shun them. Cassie's pixie cut had grown into a neat bob, but she didn't dye it. Her long red hair was a beacon for men, and she still got plenty of attention at the restaurant. Anything more than her fitted uniform was bound to bring trouble to her fragile relationship.

Jonathan continued his programming class at school and asked if they could get a computer for home. It was an extravagance his parents couldn't afford, but they promised to send him to a day camp for coding over the summer. A leopard gecko and its habitat had been bequeathed to Chris by someone at church who was going on a months-long trek through Europe. There was still talk in the house of adopting a dog. They just didn't know how to fit such a needy animal into their hectic lifestyle.

One Sunday evening, Sam and Angela were painting each other's nails in the primary bedroom. It was a bonding ritual that they engaged in whenever time allowed. On this occasion, Sam's fingers and toes were electric blue, while Angela's manicure was a deep rosy pink. There was tension in the air, and the teen finally gave in before starting on a second coat. "Mom, I think someone's going to ask me to the school dance," Sam said with a warble in her voice.

"What's his name, sweetheart?"

"Jeff." Sam's answer triggered Angela's memory of the lawyer who'd cozied up to Tony and brought a girl for each of them to a sports bar behind her back. She'd sworn off Jeffreys after that. But it wasn't this boy's fault he shared a name with a player on the opposite side of the country.

"How old is he?"

"He's in my grade. We have science together." Sam smiled dreamily until Angela looked up at her.

"Do you know him well?"

"We've been eating lunch together. He's really nice to everyone, and he's a good student." The goofy grin came back. "He almost held my hand one time," she confessed. Her cheeks pinked up at the memory, and she was unable to hide the blush from her mom.

"It sounds like you like him. Maybe you should ask him to the dance, honey," Angela suggested.

Sam drew in a sharp breath. "I could never do that!" she yelped.

"It's up to you. But sometimes you don't get what you want unless you bring it up."

"Like when Dad told you he wanted to go back to school?" Sam replaced the top of the pink polish, careful not to disturb her own wet manicure.

"Yeah, I'm really glad he said something. It takes a lot of courage to change your path in life when you're older. He's the bravest man I know." Now Angela was the one with a silly smile across her face.

"I think you're pretty brave yourself," Sam said.

Tony walked through the open door. "Bedtime, girls," he told them.

"Awww, our nails are still wet, Dad!"

"You can stay up until they dry, but I get to hang out with Mom," he compromised. Sam kissed Angela and Tony on her way to her room. "Love you," he called after her. "Our son thinks he's too old to be tucked in," he complained to his wife.

"Oh, I won't stand for that!" she asserted, moving with her fingers spread in the air and poking her head into Jonathan's room. He was growing up, just like his sister, and she couldn't bring herself to violate his boundary. "Good night, darling. I love you," she told him.

"Night, Mom," he called. She pulled the door shut and sighed.

When Angela returned to her bedroom and shut the door, Tony was getting ready for bed. She reclined against her pillow waving her hands back and forth while she waited. He emerged from the bathroom stark naked, clearly proud of the results of his diet and exercise regimen. "There's my incoming freshman," she teased, but she couldn't hide her appreciative gaze.

"Something's going to be incoming, alright," he said, stroking himself for effect.

"Tempting, but I just got my nails done," she protested.

"You don't need to use your hands, baby," he told her, getting a laugh before he undid her pants and tugged them down.

x

Tony took his math and English placement exams. There was a problem with the scoring, but he successfully appealed, avoiding remedial classes. It was a huge relief not to waste a term on catch-up work. How would he explain that to Angela? Another reprieve was granted when he charmed the academic advisor into accepting Bobby's unofficial high school transcripts. If he transferred to a four-year university, he'd need to get the government involved, which would require a lot more lead time than he'd allowed for his junior college matriculation.

The registration process was a hassle. Bobby was given a date and time to report to the gymnasium, requiring him to take an afternoon off work. He prepared a few alternate schedules, then stood in a line for each department, waiting for a student worker to look up whether there was space left in the course he wanted. Luckily, he was granted a code for each of his preferred classes. Finally, he stood in the line for the computer operators who entered his codes and his summer schedule was printed.

Tony was going to be incredibly busy between work and school, not to mention home. There would be no more date nights for a while. Mona would be taking on childcare during the day and working evenings. It was too much to ask her to spend a night off babysitting. He and Angela had been together for nearly six months, and it was going well. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing, though.

After registering, he decided to pop by the school district. It was nearly quitting time, and he wanted to get a moment with Angela away from home. He parked and opened the door. Melissa called out to him. "Hi Bobby. Jess is with Nate. Why don't you wait in her cube?" The woman was gathering her belongings and getting ready to leave.

"Thanks, Melissa," he said, opening the door and sitting down at her desk. Paperwork was spread out in one area and piled in alternating orientations in another area. A magazine caught his attention. The current issue of Adweek was open to the Events section, and a September symposium was circled in pen. It was to be held in Phoenix. He looked through the stack of old issues, finding one from the beginning of the year that had been dogeared. A one-page write-up had been done on the untimely death of Wallace and McQuade's President and the succession of her replacement. Head shots of Angela Bower and Jim Peterson were printed side-by-side.

Tony ran his finger over Angela's face, finding it both familiar and foreign. He had seen her features express agony, ecstasy, and everything in between over the past half year. She still felt like a mystery to him. Why would she risk someone finding her true identity? He heard a door open and low voices floated through the empty office.

"Just think about it," Nate pleaded.

"It's not a good idea," Angela responded.

They were headed in the direction of Jess' cubicle. Tony put the magazines back exactly as he had found them and sat twiddling his thumbs.

"Your husband trusts you, Jessica," Nate said.

"And I'd like to keep it that way," Angela informed him. The two stopped outside her cubicle and Tony strained to discern their shapes through the translucent door. There seemed to be no space between them, and then he heard indistinct whispering from the other man. Tony didn't know whether to interrupt or wait it out. Angela let out a little hum and then acquiesced. "I'll think about it. Go home, Nate. I don't respond well to this kind of pressure," she warned.

The man continued out the front door before Angela opened the door to her cubicle. Tony wondered if Nate would recognize his vehicle, but he didn't recall any other time that he had driven the pickup to the district office.

"Bobby! What are you doing here?" Angela yelped.

"I registered for school, and I thought I'd come say hi," he explained.

"Oh, ok. I'm about ready to head out," she said, busying herself with papers and not meeting his eyes. "What should we make for dinner tonight?"

"Spaghetti and meatballs. That'll leave us time to talk. I have some questions for you."

"Maybe we should talk before we go home," she said. "Park?"

It was much too warm on this late afternoon for a leisurely walk around the park. "No, we'll take a drive," he said.

A/N: See M-rated story "Bobby and Jess Take Things Further" "Chapter Seven: Strut" for more, but only if you want to.