A/N: A break from Shirley! I'm racing to catch this story up to Thanksgiving. Your reviews fuel me!

Chapter Fifty-Five: Au Clair de la Lune

"Mom, can I invite Lucy to the movies?" Jonathan asked after dinner on Tuesday while Sam loaded the dishwasher.

"Sure, honey. What movie? I can look up the showtimes."

"Sleeping Beauty. It's playing at the second-run theater at eleven-thirty and one-thirty on Saturday." He didn't want to waste his money on a new release unless the girl from band was a keeper.

"I'd be happy to take you to either showing, or your dad can take you to the later one when he gets out of class."

"Thanks, Mom! I'll let you know."

Later that night as they cuddled on the couch, Angela caught Tony up. "It's our little boy's first time asking a girl out on a date. You don't think she'll say no, do you? That would crush him."

"He's got some of my swagger now. Girls love confidence, right? And even if she does say no, he's got to learn to deal with rejection."

"Oh, I hope she likes him. How could she not? He's such a bright, sensitive boy. And they're in band together. You know, he gets his musical talent from me."

Tony rolled his eyes while Angela stared into the middle distance, no doubt daydreaming about headlining a concert at Carnegie Hall. He'd heard from Mona how she'd had to bury the cello in the attic after the cancellation of a beach bonfire. Apparently, Angela's type A personality did not extend to cello practice.

"He also has your eyes, darling." He reminded her, drawing her attention back to him. "Personally, I find them quite entrancing," he said in an exaggerated mid-Atlantic accent.

"I like your Brooklyn accent, but whatever this is seems to be working, too."

"Naturally," he said, brushing a kiss across her lips. They managed to move the heavy petting upstairs just in time to avoid Mona's wrath.

x

Wedding photo proofs were delivered personally by the photographer on Thursday evening. "Just fill out the worksheet with the ID numbers on the back of each print, and I'll have your album done within four weeks."

Angela sent the kids upstairs to finish their homework after dinner and delved into the process solo. She laid out the prints in chronological order first, choosing some favorites from each stage of the proposal, wedding and reception. Next, she sorted them by object, making sure to request documentation of the flowers, the church, the banquet room, the cake, and the getaway car. The next sort was by person, and she concentrated on finding the best pictures of each family member and the best pictures of each grouping. Several unflattering angles of herself were captured, and she put those prints back in the box to ensure they wouldn't end up in an album.

There were way too many pictures to put in an album of the size they'd originally ordered. Angela wondered if they could still upgrade and choose a few more prints. The other option was to pare down the selection and get more framed photos. She needed Tony's input, and he was going to be braindead by the end of class. She decided to go into the upstairs office to get ahead on the next day's tasks instead.

On Friday, with a date secured for the early movie, Jonathan surprised Tony by bringing Lucy to the car at pickup. "She usually walks home," he explained. "Can she come over and practice with me?"

"Sure, she can come over for an hour or so, as long as she calls one of her parents to let them know," he told Jonathan. "Hi Lucy. It's nice to meet you. I'm Chris' dad, obviously. You can call me Bobby."

"Hi Bobby," Lucy said shyly, sliding into the back seat with her flute case and backpack. True to her word, she called her mom at work when they got to the house.

"Why don't you practice out here in the living room?" Tony suggested. "I'll be in the office studying." He escaped and found his earplugs, grateful that Sam was working on a group project and Mona and Angela were both at work.

"What do you want to play?" Lucy asked.

"I have that Au Clair de la Lune duet upstairs. Let me bring down the sheet music and my music stand." Jonathan left his little friend and went to find the song in his room. His mother had alphabetized his sheet music and books by author, and he had no idea where the French folk song was filed. After pulling the scores out one by one, he realized she had either used Traditional or Unknown. He picked up his music stand by the rack, and the support fell to the floor with a clatter. Tony was oblivious to all of this, down the hall listening only to his own thoughts.

Lucy perused the photos on the table. There were some great pictures of Chris' dad wearing a tux at somebody's wedding. He didn't look like other dads, and he definitely didn't look like the boys at school, or even their older brothers. She wanted to study his face and figure out what made him so attractive. A crash rang out upstairs. She figured Chris was about to return with his music stand. The boy was a total klutz. On impulse, she slipped a closeup and a full-body picture of Bobby into her backpack.

"Sorry that took so long, Lucy," Chris said, startling her. She zipped the bag closed and held her flute ready to play while he set up the stand. They sat next to each other playing for the next half hour or so. Tony pulled out his earplugs and heard silence. He went down to check on the kids just as Lucy's mom arrived to pick her up.

"If we go to the later showing on Saturday, will you drive us, Bobby?" Lucy asked.

"Sure. That's cool with you, right Chris?"

"Uh huh."

After Angela came home from work, having picked up Sam on the way, the family had dinner together. "The sooner we choose the pictures, the sooner we can get the album back," Angela told Tony. "If you don't have anything urgent for class tomorrow, could we work on it tonight?"

"I've already been working on it, honey. Let's put your list next to my list and see what we can do," he responded cheerfully.

x

"I don't understand it. We both wrote the same number down, and there doesn't seem to be a print with that ID. How could we both have gotten it wrong?" Angela asked.

"I'm not sure. Does it seem like there are more pictures of you than me?" Tony asked.

"Well, I am the bride," she replied haughtily.

"Even if you don't count the bad ones you hid."

"I didn't…." Angela was flustered but couldn't deny the accusation.

"Look, sweetheart. I know you, and I know when you're going to think you look fat in a picture. You don't. Not by a longshot. But I want you to feel beautiful whenever we look through this album, the way I see you. So, if you want to destroy some of these proofs, go ahead."

"Oh. You really do know me." She sighed. "I don't want to destroy anything. Not when I'd kill to see all those terrible pictures of me and Jonathan when I hadn't lost the baby weight yet."

"You will. We're going to get home," he promised.

"There was a time when I didn't want to go home anymore. Things were good between us here, but it still felt like a fantasy. Now that we're married, I find myself thinking about it more and more."

"I feel the same way. It's nice being married to you, finally."

"Finally?" she asked. "We've only known each other two years unless you count camp."

"Yeah, but we've been living together that whole time. It's almost like you should count our relationship in dog years." At his mention of her species, Libby ran over and jumped into Tony's lap.

"I always wanted a sister. I just never thought she'd be so short," Angela joked. "Or so close to my husband."

"You have nothing to worry about, honey. I learned my lesson with the Benedetti twins."

On Saturday, just after noon, Tony rushed in the door. They had to be at Lucy's at one, and he didn't know what state of mind his son would be in. The boy's mother was also a cause for concern. He hoped she wasn't having one of her gushers.

"Don't forget to bring a light jacket. You know how cold those theatres can be. And make sure you use the restroom before the show. If you get candy, offer Lucy some, and don't hog the popcorn."

Almost as bad, Angela was standing with one arm across her midsection and the other finger pointed in the air, nagging Jonathan with helpful hints. "Hey buddy. You look great. I'm going to borrow Mom while I change, alright?" Tony said, pulling his wife out of the doorway and down the hall.

"Angela, give the kid some space. He can figure things out on his own," he advised, throwing his casual school clothes on the end of the bed in favor of a pair of khakis and a button-down shirt.

"Oh yeah? I didn't learn any lessons the easy way. I had to screw up and be a social outcast year after year after year until I finally got wise."

"When was that, 1983?" Tony joked. Angela's face crumpled. "I'm sorry, baby. I was just teasing."

"Well, teasing hurts, especially coming from someone like you."

"Like me?" he asked, slipping on a pair of loafers.

"The popular guy. The jock. The kind of guy who would never look my way."

"Hey, I only look your way."

"Yeah, now."

"You were the one I picked out of the group at camp, Ingrid."

"Before my awkward phase, which lasted about fifteen years. You weren't far off when you said 1983."

Tony put his hands on Angela's shoulders. "You're anything but awkward now," he said with a gentle kiss. "Can we put the focus back on our son? It's his big day."

"You're right. Thank you for taking him."

"Hey, I'm just glad it's not time for the sex talk yet. Whatever happened to that banana, anyway?"

"You ate it."

Tony grimaced in disgust.

x

Jonathan came into the house, slamming the door behind him, and went straight to his room.

"What happened?" Angela asked.

"The movie went fine, but when we dropped Lucy off at home, they had a little moment on her porch," Tony explained.

"Yeah?" She was about to go full mama bear if that girl hurt her son.

"Well, I think Lucy thought she was going to get a kiss, and I thought he was going in for a hug, but he ended up snapping her training bra."

"Oh no!"

"Well, Lucy slapped him and started yelling about how immature he was. And then we came home."

"Is he OK? Where would he get an idea like that?" Angela asked in horror.

"He's fine. Where did the idea come from? Well, he's a kid. He's around other kids. It's a time-honored tradition."

"Not where I come from!"

"You think your neighborhood was too posh for adolescence?"

"Well, I was probably at the Montague Academy during that phase. It's an all-girls' school."

"That explains it. Look, if you feel like talking to him, go for it. I already struck out."

"No, I'll let him come to me when he's ready."

"Wow, look at you, letting things go, not needing to be in control of the situation."

Angela grinned. "I'm trying to pick my battles."

"Hey, I'm really proud of you, honey," Tony said sincerely, rubbing his hands over her upper arms.

x

On Monday after band, Jonathan went up to Lucy and apologized. "I'm sorry I snapped your bra. I just thought you liked me, and I've never done that before."

"I did like you before I found out how immature you were. Why can't you be more like your dad?"

"Like my dad? Cut me some slack. I'm not even ten yet."

"Well, you're not what I'm looking for," she said, picking up her binder and spinning on her heel. The photos of Tony flew out and fluttered onto the floor.

"Lucy! You stole these from my house. My parents have been looking for them!"

"I, I, I," she stammered. Her cheeks turned scarlet and she sprinted out the door.

That evening, Jonathan handed the missing photos to his mother. "I don't think either one of us is mature enough to be dating," he said, settling next to her on the couch. She put an arm around him and leaned her cheek onto the top of his head.

"That's alright, sweetheart. Some of us are just late bloomers. It won't define your whole life," she promised.

Later that night, Tony and Angela were able to finalize their wedding album, enclosing a check for the upgrade to a larger volume along with the request form and dropping the stamped envelope in their outgoing mail. They hoped Mona wouldn't be too upset at the inclusion of Ricky, but he had been a big part of their special day.

Memories, even painful ones, should not be destroyed, Angela thought as she tackled the long-overdue task of adding photos to their family album, beginning with the pictures of Sam before her dance and herself before the Department of Education awards dinner.