Chapter 2:
Angela ran all the way to her car and quickly jumped in the driver's seat. She was completely out of breath as she turned the key in the ignition. She started to feel horrible about running out on Tony; he was no doubt a nervous wreck right now, probably pacing in the apartment. She would have to worry about that later as she headed back to towards the expressway.
About twenty minutes from home, she pulled off an exit ramp and found a local twenty-four hour drug store. She headed into the store and headed straight for the women's section. The pregnancy tests had changed so much since she was pregnant with Jonathan. She grabbed two off the shelf. The brand, Clearblue Easy, made a big deal about it being easy to read and just a one step process. She grabbed the boxes as discreetly as possible and headed for the checkout. The teenager at the register gave her a judgmental look as he rang her up. She wanted nothing more than for the earth to swallow her up whole right that very moment, right after she smacked him in the face. Thankfully, he handed her the tests in a bag and she was on her way before either option could occur.
"Alright let's look at the instructions. Best to use first thing in the morning for the most accurate results. Are you kidding me? I have to wait until the morning?" she yelled out loud as she put the box back in the bag. She grabbed hold of the steering wheel and placed her forehead on her hands. Her mind was racing with all of the possibilities the results would offer. The only thing she knew for sure was no matter what the results, her life would never be the same.
Tony spent the night tossing and turning on the lumpy sofa. By the time the sun started to rise, Tony was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee. He couldn't for the life of him think what could have caused Angela to run out on him like that; if anything, he was hoping to recreate some of the magic from Jamaica. Maybe not the sex again- it would be weird having sex in Mrs. Rossini's apartment- but at least get to second base.
"Alright think Micelli! What were you talking about right before she bolted? Her dream I think- something about them being married with kids and him not being supportive of her wanting a career. She couldn't have been upset about that, could she? What else… think!" he yelled to himself.
Finally defeated, he gave up and started to think about more pleasant memories, ones that haven't left his brain in a month and a half. The feel of her naked body against his own, the smooth, silkiness of her skin as his hands ran all over her body. The pure ecstasy when they came together as one. He felt deep in his heart that something special had happened the night they lost each other as friends. Was that it? She was worried and freaked out that now that they had slept together things would change? If that was it, he needed to talk to her as soon as possible. He could hear Dennis and Ginger yelling from upstairs so he brought the spare key up to them and asked them if they could keep an eye on Mrs. Rossini's cat as he headed back to Connecticut.
Angela spent the night tossing and turning. When she finally did fall asleep, all she could dream about was her having a baby with Tony but things going wrong- Tony not wanting the baby, the family being upset, something being wrong with the baby. By half past seven, she quit trying to sleep and headed into the bathroom.
"Let's see how easy this really is…" she said out loud as she read the instructions. It didn't seem too difficult as she started the process. She used all four tests and set the kitchen timer for five minutes. If the strip was blue, she was pregnant. If it wasn't, neither was she. Angela started to pace back and forth until the bathroom became too claustrophobic. She collapsed on the bed, her face buried in her pillow, so deeply she barely heard the knock on her door.
"Angela? Angela? It's Tony… are you awake?" he asked from the other side. "Please Angela… I'm worried about you and I think we need to talk."
"Come in Tony…" she said as she slowly sat up on the side of her bed. He opened the door, slowly peeking his head inside before coming into the room.
"Are you okay Angela? Why did you leave so suddenly last night?" he asked as he sat down next to her. She looked like she got about as much sleep as he did.
"Yes I'm fine Tony. I'm sorry I worried you it's just…" she started to say as a lump started to form in her throat, the words refusing to come out.
"Look Angela… I think I know why you left…" he said.
"You do?" she asked, finally regaining her ability to speak.
"Yes I do. It's about Jamaica isn't it? We had been holding back all these years due to our fear of losing what we had between us- our friendship. Now that we crossed that line, there's no going back and that is really scary. Things don't have to change though! We are still best friends and we will always be best friends no matter what!" he said as he grabbed a hold of her hands.
"Oh Tony… things may have already changed forever between us…" she said as she began to tear up. Before Tony could answer, the timer in the bathroom went off.
"What was that Angela? You cooking something in the bathroom?" he chuckled.
"That's the five minute timer for the pregnancy tests. To see if I am pregnant…" she said as she watched Tony's face for a reaction. All she could see was a confused look on his face.
"Pregnancy test? Pregnant? What… what…" he started to stutter.
"Last night as we were talking about my dream, it hit me like a ton of bricks. The rundown fatigue, loss of appetite, bloating, nausea. Our moment of passion in Jamaica may have had more consequences than either of us imagined. I'm four weeks late Tony. I left last night to go get a pregnancy test. I was in too much shock to do anything else until I knew for sure. Which we will know as soon as my legs learn how to walk again and I go see the results" she said.
"Pregnant? You could be pregnant?" he said out loud again. Contraceptives were the last thing on his mind that night, but apparently should have been the first. He made a mental note to have another conversation with Jonathan about the birds and the bees.
"Yes Tony. Behind that door lies our future- one way or another…" she said as she started to stand up. Tony finally snapped out of it and gently pulled her back down to sit next to him on the bed.
"Wait Angela… before you go in there I think we really need to talk! This… this is going to change everything one way or another. How… how do you feel about this?" he asked, knowing he needed to take things slowly as not to upset her again.
"I… I don't know Tony. We aren't married or engaged… heck we aren't even dating! On paper we are still employee and employer! It's much, much more than that but still! A baby at my age is also terrifying! I'm almost forty with a teenage son who owns her own advertising agency! Things like this don't happen to people like me! But…" she started to say as the tears started to fall. He took a minute to hand her some tissues and have a moment to calm herself down.
"But…" he said, hoping to continue their conversation.
"But… there's something that feels right about having a baby with you. I won't lie and say the thought hasn't crossed my mind in the past. You are a wonderful father and any woman would be lucky to have you as the father of their child. A baby would mean we would all be connected together as one official family…" she said as she wiped her eyes again.
"It would be wonderful to have a little one around the house. Someone to help me do my chores… with my olive skin and your beautiful smile. There's going to be a thousand different things we will need to figure out if in fact we did make a baby together but there is one thing I need you to know. No matter what the test says, no matter what happens, I am here for you one thousand percent Angela. We are in this together… forever…" he said as he leaned over and gently kissed her lips.
"Okay, well I guess the only thing we need to do is find out" she said as she stood up.
"Can I come with you Angela?" he asked. She simply nodded her head as she grabbed a hold of his hand and headed into the bathroom. She took a deep breath as they walked up to the ledge of the sink to where the tests lay lined up neatly in a row. They both took another deep breath as they looked down at the four blue lines.
"I'm pregnant…" she said as she picked up one of the positive tests.
"We're having a baby Angela!" he smiled as he looked at the tests and then back up at her; they both had tears in their eyes as Tony pulled her into a deep, passionate kiss. Just like they had in Jamaica, they soon found themselves overtaken by the magnetic-like pull, Tony carrying her into the bedroom. He placed her down on the bed, undoing the tie of her robe to expose her silk nightgown underneath. She made quick work of his belt and tugged at his pants. He helped her by removing his shirt and slipping out of his pants. He took great pleasure in removing her nightgown, until they were left only in their underwear.
"I love you Angela! I've loved you for a long time… I should have said this years ago but know it's the truth. I love you will all my heart…" he said as he gently cupped her face.
"I love you too Tony… more than words can ever say…" she said as she pulled him closer to her body. Her need to be with him was more intense than ever before as the final barriers of clothing were removed, joining together as one. They finally collapsed into one another, Tony making sure he didn't put his full body weight on top of her stomach. He rolled off of her and pulled her close to his body, his hand finding her still flat stomach.
"Hi little one! I'm your Daddy! I'm so excited about you! We are going to have so much fun together! I'm going to teach you how to play baseball and basketball and any other sport you can think of just like I did your big brother and sister!" he said as he put his face next to his hand. Angela couldn't help the tears that started as she somehow managed to fall deeper in love with him.
"That was beautiful Tony! There's so much we need to figure out but just having you by my side right now is enough… more than enough…" she said as she drifted off to sleep in his arms. He pulled the blanket over them and soon he was asleep too.