Chapter 16
Tony and Angela headed back into the house and were greeted by their friends and family. They made their rounds, taking time to talk to each guest. Paul and Isabelle joked that they couldn't believe it took another three years since their wedding for them to finally come to their senses. Wendy was in mourning over Tony coming off the market, to the irritation of Herb. She also made it a point to reiterate about five times how no one had considered her for the matron of honor job.
Next, they moved onto Tony's friends. Philly and Tiny had brought dates with them; much to everyone's surprise, they seemed nice and personable. They weren't without their own jokes about wild man Micelli finally being tied down. Mrs. Rossini had roped Al into being her personal assistant as she started serving the appetizers, followed by the main course. Soon, it was time for their first dance as husband and wife.
"Attention everyone! Before our parents share in their first dance, the dweeb… I mean Jonathan and I would like to say a few words! We wanted to thank everyone for coming, especially on such short notice! Today is really just a formality- in so many ways, this just makes official what we've known and been living for the past six years. Our family may not be traditional, but it was built on the love and support from both our parents. We love you both and wish you a lifetime of happiness" said Samantha as she stepped aside to let Jonathan speak.
"Sam pretty much said it all but I just wanted to say how happy I am that my mom has finally found someone who loves her the way she deserves to be loved. Welcome to the family Tony! We love you both! Cheers!" said Jonathan as he raised his glass for the toast. All the guests toasted the newlyweds, not before wiping away their own tears at the kids' beautiful words.
"That was beautiful you two! We love you too!" gushed Angela as she came over and hugged them both. Tony was right behind her, giving them each a hug.
"Alright you two! Dance time!" said Jonathan as he set up the record player. The first notes of Frank Sinatra's 'It Had to Be You' came through the player as Tony took a hold of Angela, walking her over to the makeshift dance floor. He spun her around before settling into a rhythm. The world could have ended right then and there for all they cared. They alternated between dancing cheek to cheek and with their foreheads pressed against one another. Their hands were intertwined against their chests as the other found a home against each other's backs. This time when the music stopped, they stopped dancing as the room erupted in applause.
"Alright everyone! It's time to cut the cake!" said Mrs. Rossini as she carried in Tony's cake. He had made a three tier chocolate cake with pink buttercream icing. He had ordered a cake topper along with edible pink roses that he placed around the cake.
"Oh Tony! I love it! It's perfect!" she said as she was handed the knife by Mrs. Rossini.
"It did come out pretty nice if I do say so myself!" he said as they began to cut the cake. He picked up a fork and put a piece of the cake into Angela's mouth. The look she made and the slight moan that came out of her mouth led Tony to realize they needed to make an exit from their wedding as soon as possible. Angela reciprocated, feeding him a piece of cake. Their guests all started clinking their glasses to get the newlyweds to kiss, something both of them were happy to oblige.
"Okay Angela… I think it's time we start saying our goodbyes and start to head into the city…" he said as he pulled her closer to him, rubbing her lower back.
"No dessert first?" she said coyly as she took a piece of the cake with her finger, teasing him before placing it her mouth. The look on Tony's face made her laugh.
"Oh we are having dessert Angela! Just behind closed doors…" he said as he could no longer resist temptation as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her breathless.
"Go get a room already would ya Micelli!" yelled Philly as the guests all laughed and whistled at the couple. It was still a few more moments until they reluctantly pulled back. Angela laughed at how quickly Tony dragged her around to all the guests to say their goodbyes. They stopped the longest for the family, although Tony even kept those goodbyes quick. Before they headed out the front door, Angela threw her bouquet over her shoulder. It landed right in Samantha's hands as Al looked over with a large grin on his face. Tony almost headed back over to them to destroy the bouquet when Angela caught his arm, effectively pulling him out the door.
About an hour later, the valet was taking the jag's keys from Tony as the bellhop grabbed their bags. Angela was able to check into the hotel as Tony's hands never left her body. She was never so thankful for a room key in her entire life. They barely made it into the elevator before their hands were once again all over each other. Once the elevator stopped on their floor, Tony practically threw their luggage out as Angela fumbled with the key to open up the suite.
Once they were securely in the suite, Tony put the do not disturb sign on the door. If they had eyes for anything other than each other, they would have seen a beautiful arrangement of pink roses next to a bottle of champagne resting on ice in the stand. Instead, they practically ran to the master bedroom, their clothing leaving a trail to the bed.
The next morning, after spending most of the night losing each other as friends over and over and over again, they awoke wrapped up in each other's arms.
"Good morning Mrs. Micelli…" said Tony as he kissed her good morning.
"Good morning Mr. Micelli… you sleep well?" she asked as she pulled herself flush up against him, already knowing they barely slept all night.
"In your arms… always…" he said as he began rubbing her back.
"I'm glad we were able to have this night Tony. Once I start the medications for the egg retrieval tomorrow, that means no more sex. I really wish we didn't have an appointment tomorrow on our honeymoon…" she said.
"Eh oh, oh eh! Whatever we have to do to make sure this happens, I'm in! I spent the first five years taking cold showers… what's a few weeks?" he chuckled.
"It will be longer than that Tony. I don't know once I have the surgery if and when I'll be healthy enough for sex…" she said as the tears started to fall.
"It is what it is Angela… I will wait for as long as it takes for you to be okay. What are we talking about anyway? We promised no sad talk on our honeymoon! Tomorrow's appointment will be here but until then? You and me have room service to order because we are not leaving this room anytime soon!" he chuckled.
"I love you Tony… so very much…" she said as she wiped away her tears as their lips joined once more in a passionate kiss.
As promised, they never left the room and ordered all their meals from room service. By the following morning, they decided they needed to get moving, getting in a joint shower before heading to Angela's monitoring appointment. By the time they got there, they were seen right away. Everything looked good so she was given the go ahead to start the injections that night. She was given strict instructions not to overdo it and avoid all strenuous activities. Angela was scheduled to come back in on Wednesday morning and every three days after that until the retrieval.
"How about we head back to the hotel and find a place to eat something other than room service?" he asked as he wrapped his arm around her waist.
"Sounds good Tony…" she said as they headed back towards the hotel. They found a cafe around the corner from the hotel and headed inside, getting a table by the window that overlooked Central Park.
"What a gorgeous view Tony! I'm in the city almost every day and never get the chance to really see it" she said as she looked out over the park.
"I know what you mean but I think my view tops yours…" he said as she turned back around to see him looking right at her. She could feel the blush start to creep in her cheeks as she leaned over and gave him a kiss.
"I know this isn't exactly what we had in mind for a honeymoon but I just wanted you to know how much these past couple of days, no months, have meant to me Tony. I love you so very much…" she said as she tried to hold back tears.
"Eh oh, oh eh! Anytime spent with you is a win in my book! Once things calm down a bit, we will start planning a long getaway but this is our honeymoon! I couldn't have asked for anything better…" he said as he took her hand in his own and gave it a gentle kiss.
They were able to order their breakfast, opting to share a few dishes since neither could decide what they wanted. After they had finished and paid, they decided to walk through the park. They stopped at one of the stone bridges that overlooked the southeast side of the park to watch some of the ducks in the pond. A chilly breeze started to come up behind them, so Tony came around behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. They stood there like that for a while before deciding to walk back to the hotel. Their check out time was pushed back so they decided to make the most of their alone time one last time.
By the time they got home, they were both exhausted but happy. Someone, probably Mrs. Rossini and the kids, cleaned up the house so no signs of the wedding were visible. The house was empty, with a note from Mona stating the kids were staying at her place tonight.
"I guess we still have the place to ourselves! How about I see about making a quick dinner before we turn in for the night?" he asked as he went to check the messages.
"Sounds good to me…" she said as she looked through the mail.
"Hello this message is for Angela Bower. We were able to schedule your pre-surgical testing appointments with the pulmonologist and cardiologist for Thursday at 10:00am and then at 11:30am in our office building, suite 405 and 311. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach back out to our office" said the voice on the machine.
"That was quick…" she said as she stared at the machine long after the message ended. She finally snapped out of it and grabbed a pen and paper to jot down the information as she listened to it again.
"I will go and start dinner Angela…" he said as he headed into the kitchen. He could feel the panic start again and didn't want her to see him upset. He was able to make dinner despite his nerves being on high alert. They enjoyed the meal in relative silence, both worrying about her injection shots they needed to start that night. Once dinner was finished and cleaned up, they headed upstairs to prepare the needles for the medications.
"Alright Tony… I think everything is here and ready. I've read and reread all the instructions a few times. Do you have any questions?" she asked Tony as he stood against the doorway of their bathroom.
"No…. I think I am good. You know Angela… I think we need to redo this bathroom and bedroom. I'm pretty secure in my masculinity but this is a lot of pink…" he said as he looked around the bathroom.
"I suppose it is a lot of pink! Alright we can think about that after the surgery. C'mon let's get this over with…" she said as she turned back around to the sink.
"I think we can start making plans now! I could do the remodeling, save us a ton of money!" he said as he started to walk around the room, eyeballing measurements.
"That has disaster written all over it! If we are redoing anything we will get a crew in. Which needle should we do first? It says it doesn't matter. There are three to do" she said.
"Angela! I could totally do it! Maybe I'll hire Al to help! Even Jonathan can pitch in! We could have it remodeled in a week! What do you say?" he almost pleaded to her.
"Let's just get this done first and then we can talk about it" she said as she handed him a needle.
"I really think it could be…" he started as she interrupted.
"Tony focus! We need to get this done! You are still on board doing this right?" she asked as she saw some of the color drain from his face.
"Yeah, yeah I am… it's just…" he said as he turned away from her.
"It's just what? It's a little late to be having second thoughts about this but if you are we don't have to do this…" she said as she bit her bottom lip, trying not to cry.
"No! I want this it's just… I don't want to hurt you! You've been in enough pain! I don't want to add to it okay!" he said as he turned back to face her.
"Oh Tony… it's just going to be a few pinches, nothing more I promise! I'll barely feel it. It will be okay" she said as she came over to him, placing her hand on his cheek, leaning in for a kiss.
"Alright Angela… let's get this over with…" he said as he took the necessary supplies. He was able to administer the medications, with little pain to Angela. His heart still broke thinking he was inflicting any pain on her, even if she didn't act like it hurt.
"There! All done! It didn't even hurt Tony! C'mon let's get to bed so we can start planning the renovations…" she said as she disposed of all the needles and supplies. They were able to get ready for bed; Tony headed downstairs and made them two cups of tea as they snuggled together in bed, making plans to redecorate their bedroom.
The next few days went by as normally as possible. Angela was able to work a few extra hours at night to make up for the time lost from her appointments. Tony made sure she had dinner waiting for her once she got home. He was able to catch up on some school work while he waited for her to get home and even started preparing for his finals in about a month. Wednesday morning, she was able to go back to the clinic for more monitoring. She convinced Tony not to go with her as it was just bloodwork and a sonogram. By Thursday morning, they were both up early getting ready for her pre-surgical appointments.
"Good morning Angela! Morning Dad!" said Samantha as she came in through the kitchen door. She grabbed herself some juice before sitting down at the table.
"Good morning sweetheart! Are you ready for your history exam today?" asked Angela as she flipped through the newspaper.
"As ready as I will ever be! What time are your appointments?" asked Samantha as Tony put down a plate of eggs and toast.
"The pulmonologist is at 10:00am and the cardiologist is right after that at 11:30am. I was able to make an appointment with the regular doctor at 3:00pm today so I get to have all three done today thankfully!" she said as she sipped her coffee.
"Well that's good it's all done in one day. Do you think you will know soon when the surgery will be?" she asked as Jonathan came into the kitchen.
"I don't know. Assuming I have clearance from all my doctors, I assume they would want me to have the surgery as soon as possible. I would think sometime right after Thanksgiving" she said.
"That's two weeks away…" said Jonathan as he sat down.
"I know sweetheart but I know they want to operate soon in case… in case I need follow up treatments. They won't want to wait too long. And besides, if it happens then, hopefully I will be feeling better by Christmas" she said as she looked up at Tony for reassurance.
"You bet you will be good by Christmas! We have our Lindy tradition to uphold!" he said as he put Jonathan's breakfast down in front of him.
"Mom… do they still think it could be something bad? Like cancer?" asked Jonathan as he pushed around his eggs with his fork.
"Oh sweetheart they really don't know. They said that the mass is a bit larger than they had thought but that it could still be nothing bad. Cancer is still a possibility though but whatever it is, they are optimistic I can fight it" said Angela.
"It's a sixty percent chance it is something bad though right? That's more than half the chance it's cancer…" said Samantha as she pushed her plate away.
"Eh oh, oh eh! Who told you that?" asked Tony as he sat down at the table.
"Mona did last week. I knew something happened at that appointment to make you move the wedding up so I asked her on the train. She didn't tell me much beyond that and that you two would tell us in your own time… which you didn't!" she said, shouting the last part as she fought off tears. Jonathan was already silently crying.
"I'm going to strangle… never mind. I didn't want to worry you two until we knew more and I didn't want us to be sad for the wedding. Aside from the odds, that really is all we know, right Tony?" she practically pleaded to him to back her up.
"That's right! Sixty percent isn't one hundred percent. They won't know until they operate and that's the truth! Your mom and I didn't want to worry you with numbers and stats that they don't even know to be true. If… if this is cancer, they did say that with her being in good health, it gives her every chance to beat it" he said, the feeling of panic starting to creep in again.
"I… I don't want you to die Mom…" he said through tears as Angela jumped up and over to him, wrapping her arms around his shaking body. She pulled back one arm to grab a hold of Samantha as she pulled them both close to her body, her own tears flowing. Tony just stood there, a paralyzing fear taking over his body. After a few minutes, when the crying subsided, Angela pulled back slightly, still keeping a hold on both kids.
"I'm not going anywhere do you two hear me? Whatever this is, I'm prepared to face it head on. It was wrong of us to withhold it from you. I promise from now on, you two will always be kept in the loop, no matter what…" she said as she hugged them both again.
"Okay Angela… I love you…" she said as she gave her one last hug, wiping away her tears.
"I love you too Mom…" he said as he went to eat his breakfast. Tony just turned around, pretending to tackle the dishes. The kids left for school a few minutes later, leaving the two of them alone in the kitchen.
"Tony… I think we need to talk…" she said as she came over to the sink, watching him scrub the life out of the frying pan.
"There's nothing to talk about Angela! Now, I need to get some homework done before we head out. I'll be in my old room if you need me…" he said as he quickly dried his hands, giving her a kiss as he ran out of the kitchen. She knew what he was doing but had no idea how to make it better.
Angela was able to get some work done before it was time to leave. Tony had made himself scarce up in his old bedroom. She had thoughts of going up to talk to him, but she had a feeling he was hiding just how close to losing it he really was. They were able to head over to the doctor's office and head into the pulmonologist's office, where she was handed a stack of forms to complete. Soon, they were led into an exam room, where Angela's vitals were taken. The doctor came in shortly.
"Good morning! My name is Dr. Westin. I have read over your chart and I don't anticipate there being any issues barring any major findings. I will send you for a chest x-ray first, then some additional testing to make sure you are taking in enough oxygen. The nurse will come in to finish up the family history" said the pulmonologist.
"Can I come with my wife for the testing?" asked Tony as he thought back to her MRI testing.
"You can be there for the spirometry test but for the chest x-ray she will need to be in there alone. Don't worry, it won't take too long" said Dr. Westin.
"I will be fine Tony, I promise…" she said as she gave his hand a squeeze. Just then, a nurse came in to take Angela for the chest x-ray. She was led to a small room and given a gown to change into from the waist up. The whole procedure took no more than a few minutes and she was back with Tony in the exam room. The doctor came back in and performed the spirometry test. She was glad when that test was over; she was starting to panic having the clip on her nose and the tube in her mouth to breathe in order to measure her respirations. She was able to hold onto Tony's hand during the test. Once it was over, she gave him a long embrace. She was finally taken back into the room to complete the family history before meeting once again with the pulmonologist.
"Everything looks good Angela! Assuming we get the results of your bloodwork and there are no abnormalities, we will give you clearance for surgery. If you have any questions, feel free to call the office" said the doctor as he shook her hand and headed out of the room.
"That's great news Angela! One down, two to go!" he said as he pulled her in for another hug.
"Yes that's definitely good news! C'mon let's go see if the cardiologist is ready for me…" she said as they walked out of the office. She was able to be seen early by the cardiologist, who performed similar tests and gathered a family history as well. She was put through a stress test, which she absolutely hated but passed with flying colors.
"My uterus might be shot but at least my heart seems to be working fine!" she chuckled as Tony helped her off the treadmill. The look on his faced showed her he didn't find her joke amusing.
She was given clearance from the cardiologist as well as they headed out of the office building. Tony had an early afternoon class that Angela forced him to attend so she dropped him off before heading off to get some fresh air. Tony had packed them lunches but due to the length of the appointments, they didn't have the chance to eat together before his class. Angela opted to take her lunch to her favorite local cafe in town to grab a coffee to go. On the checkout line, she heard two familiar voices behind her call her name.
"Wendy! Isabelle! What are you doing here?" she asked as she gave her best friends a hug.
"Your Italian god of a new husband let us know you would be here and thought you might need some company…" said Wendy.
"But how did he know I was going to be here?" she asked, half expecting him to pop out from around the corner.
"I think he just knows you pretty well by now! So how are you holding up Angela?" asked Isabelle as they found a table by the door.
"I'm sick and tired of doctor's offices already! Between the pre-surgical testing and the fertility clinic appointments, I never want to see the inside of a doctor's office ever again after this is all said and done! Which I know is unrealistic, but still…" she said as she took a sip of her coffee.
"Tony said you have one more appointment this afternoon. Hopefully all goes well and you can get the surgery date soon" said Isabelle.
"I hope so too. Tony has been an absolute rock for me but I know this is taking a big toll on him. I tried to talk to him about it this morning but he just shut down" she said.
"That's men for you! If they can't fix it, they don't know what to do with it! He'll come around though! I was thinking… once you are back on your feet, we should do a girls trip! Just the three of us, maybe Mona too! Somewhere tropical where the cabana boys are scantily dressed!" laughed Wendy.
"It's a date! Somewhere tropical sounds wonderful right now! I am hoping once things settle down, Tony and I can have an actual honeymoon together. He deserves it…" she said.
"So do you Angela, so do you…" said Isabelle as she put her hand over Angela's. Wendy followed suit until all of their hands were intertwined, holding onto more than just each other. Angela gave them each a long hug before heading back over to the school to pick up Tony. The smug look on his face as she pulled up to pick him up let her know just how involved he was in setting up her impromptu lunch date. They headed back over to her regular doctor for her final pre-surgical testing appointment. Because she had already been seen by the other specialists, this appointment didn't take nearly as long. She was given the finally clearance and sent home.
The following week, Angela received notification that she was officially cleared for surgery. If everything continued to go as scheduled with her egg retrieval process, she was scheduled for surgery the Monday after Thanksgiving, giving her one full week to get everything in order. She would need to go for one final sonogram and bloodwork the Saturday before the surgery for final clearance.
Tony spent the three days before Thanksgiving preparing the biggest feast Angela had ever seen, especially for only five people. He baked five different pies, bought a twenty pound turkey, prepared eleven different side dishes and bought a ham to go along with everything. She could tell his anxiety was growing with each passing day as he continued to take stress-cooking to a whole other level. She was determined to get through to his tough and stubborn Italian facade before he had himself a nervous breakdown.