Chapter Five: Admissions
Monday, December 1, 1986
Angela dropped Tony and Sam off at the junior high and proceeded to the elementary school with Jonathan. "Why didn't Dad buy that Jeep he told us about?" he asked his mom.
Tony had caved and apologized after seeing the dearth of jobs he qualified for, but Angela was still upset. He ended up borrowing the jag and going to the dealership alone. When he got home, he said the vehicle he wanted was too expensive, and that he would look for something used. The couple wasn't exactly fighting, but the kids could tell they weren't too happy with each other.
"Dad isn't used to buying whatever he needs. He's always had to save for big purchases like a car. I'm trying to be sensitive about it and give him some time."
"Why?" Jonathan asked guilelessly.
Angela sighed. "Because he has his pride. He's used to being the provider."
"But you were making more money than him in Arizona," he pointed out.
"Well, honey, neither one of us is earning a salary right now, so it's probably not a bad idea to wait."
"What? You're not paying him?" he asked.
"No, I'm not paying him!" she said, feeing outrage well up. "He doesn't work for me."
"He cleans our house," he retorted.
"So do I, Jonathan!" she snapped. Indeed, Angela was doing more around her own house than she ever had before, despite her constant fatigue. "Dad does chores because he's part of our family."
The boy was confused. "I thought he was part of our family before we moved to Arizona."
She grew irritated at her son's relentless arguing. "He was part of our family because he lived with us. Now, he lives with us because he's in our family."
"Oh." Jonathan paused, giving his mother a brief moment of respite. "Are you going to adopt Sam?"
Angela rubbed at her temple in an attempt to ward off a headache. "I don't know, sweetheart. It hasn't come up. Why?"
"I think she's sad that I have a real dad and she doesn't have a real mom."
"Did she say that?" she asked with concern.
"No, but I don't think she likes my dad."
That was an understatement. Even Mona was giving Michael more grace than Sam would allow him. "Well, maybe we can talk about it. But don't say anything to her, please. No matter what happens, she'll still miss her real mom. She might not even want me to adopt her."
Sam's re-enrollment at her old junior high was a breeze. She had been listed as a transfer to an unspecified school, and Jennifer Moretti's academic record was accepted without question. Tony added Angela to the registration forms out of habit, nearly writing their aliases by mistake.
A counselor set Sam up with a homeroom and classes equivalent to the ones she'd been taking in Mesa. "You can go now, Mr. Micelli," the counselor said, walking them out of her office into a waiting area. "It'll just take a few minutes for Samantha to get printouts of her locker assignment, schedule, and textbook checkout form. Then she can go to class."
"Alright. I'm gonna walk over to the elementary school and find Mom."
"Love you, Dad." Sam set her backpack on a chair and threw her arms around her father.
"Love you, too, baby. Have a good day at school," Tony said. He waved goodbye as he walked out the door.
After a few minutes, the secretary called Sam over. "It looks like your dad put Angela Bower as 'mother' on these forms. When I tried to enter your updates in the computer, I saw that she was his employer."
'Oh, no. Someone must have entered it wrong before."
"I would have been the one entering it."
"Well, maybe my dad screwed up the old form. Angela is my mom."
"And you live with both of your parents?"
"Yep! One big happy family," Sam bragged to cover her nervousness.
"OK," the secretary said, letting her off the hook.
Angela leaned over the counter while Jonathan sat in a plastic chair in the corner of the waiting room. The secretary spoke in hushed tones. "Mrs. Bower, we can't re-enroll your son. He's been marked deceased, and his record was locked."
"Well, he's very much alive. Can't you see that?" Angela asked quietly, sweeping her arm toward Jonathan. She was already agitated from the previous day's unresolved conflict with Tony and the discussion in the car.
"I can see that you brought in a child."
"Not just 'a child.' My son, Jonathan Bower. He attended this school less than a year ago," she hissed. "People know him here."
"I'm sorry, ma'am. There's no way I can reactivate his profile in the system without the computer guy."
"Do you mean the system administrator?" she asked condescendingly.
The secretary sighed. "Yes, the system administrator. That's going to take a while."
Angela did her best to lower the temperature. "Listen, I used to work for a school district. Can you try making a new profile and asking the system admin to merge the records later?"
"I can see," she said, typing for a while. "Nope. It won't save a duplicate," she informed the demanding parent.
"Try leaving his social security number blank," Angela suggested.
"That worked!" the secretary said in surprise. "Now I can assign a fourth-grade teacher."
"No," Angela said, anxiety rising again. "When he switched schools last year, we skipped him ahead. He needs to be in fifth grade now."
The secretary was losing her patience. She raised her voice. "We can't just put a nine-year-old in fifth grade. He needs an evaluation."
"He's already been in fifth grade for almost three months!" Angela protested. "Here, I have his last report card," she said, pulling the paper from her purse.
The secretary took it and scanned it over. "This says Christopher Moretti."
"That's the name he was using at his other school."
"But the birthdate is different."
"I know the birthday is different!" Angela yelled.
"Ma'am, I feel like I should escalate this," the secretary warned. Just then, a door creaked open.
"Hi Dad," Jonathan said, as Tony entered the room.
"Hey, Jonathan. Yo Angela, I could hear you out in the hallway. What's the problem?"
She turned to him. "Oh, Tony. We're having some issues with re-enrollment."
Tony put a hand on his wife's lower back and addressed the secretary. "I'm Jonathan's stepfather. Is there something I can help with?" he asked, noticing Angela stiffen away from his touch.
"I was just telling Mrs. Bower that we can't enroll Jonathan in fifth grade without an evaluation."
"I get that. When can he be evaluated?" he asked.
"The school psychologist will be in tomorrow afternoon."
"That's great. Can he sit in on the fifth-grade class until then, or should we take him home and bring him back tomorrow?"
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to let him sit in for now," she allowed.
"Thank you!" Angela said, not directing her appreciation at either of them in particular. She went to Jonathan and knelt in front of him. "You're going to have a wonderful time today!" she said.
"You don't have to say that, Mom. I know I'll be the smallest kid in fifth grade and none of my friends will be in my class."
"Hey, pal. You made friends when we moved to Arizona, and you're gonna make friends in your class here, too."
"Sure, I am," Jonathan said, resigned to a miserable few weeks before Christmas.
When Tony and Angela left the school office, she was so worried, she started biting her fingernails. He put his hand on her forearm, hoping that she would accept his comfort and not bristle at his touch. The moment they stepped outside, she turned to him in tears. "Do you think he'll fit in? Is he going to have as much trouble with the material as he did when we first let him skip?"
"He'll be OK, honey. We'll deal with problems when they come up," he said, rubbing both of her upper arms through her coat.
"My baby is going to be a middle child," she sobbed, allowing him to pull her into an embrace. "That's a rough life."
"It doesn't have to be. He'll have a big sister to protect him and a little brother or sister to look up to him like a hero," Tony pointed out. "And he'll always have an amazing mom who remembers when he was the center of her universe," he said, pulling back and lifting up her chin with one curled finger.
Angela smiled through her tears. "And a dad who can teach him to look on the bright side."
"Hey, he's got two dads who love him. He's gonna be just fine."
With the kids in school, Tony was free to stop at Ridgemont for an application. It was a brisk, yet sunny day, and Angela held his arm throughout the walk across campus. "The way you sweet-talked the elementary school, I have no doubt that you'll be able to enroll in this university," she told him.
He slowed his pace for the conversation. "It blows my mind that you believe in me so much, sweetheart. I'm really sorry about our fight yesterday. It's just weird being back. Everything is the same, but different. I don't know how I fit in anymore."
"I can certainly relate to that," she said.
"You can? Because it feels to me like you're right back where you belong and I'm totally out of place. I don't know who I am or what I'm doing."
"It's not just you, Tony. I don't have any idea what's going to happen with my career. I've never really been unemployed before. And I'm just as disoriented when it comes to our relationship as you are."
"Really?" he asked, relieved to know she shared his concerns.
"Yes! I know we can make it work, but we need to find balance again." She swiped the back of her hand over her cold nose. "I really didn't think we'd be back here so soon, breaking the news to everyone that we're still alive. And by the way, we got married. And we're expecting. It's a lot."
Tony let out a heavy sigh, stopping to look into her eyes. "Yeah, it's a lot," he agreed, "but think about it. Would it be any easier if we came back a year from now with a baby? Or if we came back six months ago without getting married under our own names?" He was dangerously close to evoking the memory of her entanglement with Nate, and she shook her head in a silent plea. They may not have stayed together until recently.
"How would you feel about me adopting Sam?" Angela asked.
His eyes widened. "Um. I don't know. Where did that come from?" he asked noncommittally.
"Jonathan asked me in the car. He thinks she's jealous because he has you and Michael. I didn't have the heart to tell him that Sam just hates his dad."
"She doesn't hate him. She just doesn't trust him. For good reason, I might add."
"I have reason to mistrust him, too, but I'm trying."
"Sam is gonna come around once she sees him being consistent," he assured her.
"Consistent? That's not his way. I always had to be dependable enough for both of us. For a long time, I thought it was working, too. I didn't see how numb I had to become to keep from falling apart." She wasn't sure whether she was sniffling from the cold or the sudden emotion.
"Baby," Tony said, "I don't ever want you to feel that way again."
"I won't. I can't." She put her arms around his neck, pressing her lips against his. He held her tight to him and moved just enough to capture her bottom lip between his own. A cold blast of wind brought them to their senses, and they slowly pulled apart. "I love you too much to pretend I'm happy when I'm not," she said, pulling off a glove and wiping his upper lip with her thumb.
"I love you too much to let you be unhappy," he told her, not complaining that she'd gotten snot on his face. They finished the walk to the admissions office and pulled off their coats the moment they got inside.
"Can I help you?" a student worker asked, not looking up from his pile of papers.
"Jason?" Angela said uncertainly at the sight of her mother's young former boyfriend. His head snapped up and his eyes widened, gaze shifting between the two visitors repeatedly. He stood and nearly stumbled over his desk chair backing away and muttering unintelligible sounds. When he reached an interior door, he threw it open and slammed it shut. A minute later an older employee came out.
"Hello," he said. "Was someone else here just a minute ago?" he asked, looking confused.
"No, just us," Tony answered.
"Do you know the grad student who's curled up in a ball in the back mumbling about his ex-girlfriend?"
"Yes, and that would be my mother," Angela said. "Jason dated her a couple of years ago."
He looked skeptical but went with it. "Did your mother pass away?" he asked gently.
"No, Jason probably heard that she did, but she's actually fine."
"Huh. Well, I guess I'll let him know that. Is there anything else I can help you with?"
"I need an application," Tony said. "Is there any chance of getting admitted for Spring?"
"You'll have to apply for Fall. We only do late admissions under extraordinary circumstances."
"Oh, but these are extraordinary circumstances," Angela interjected. "You see, we just got out of the witness protection program."
The admissions officer laughed before realizing that the woman was making a serious assertion. "Really?" he asked.
"Yes, really," Tony said. "That's probably why Jason is freaking out."
"Our whole family was declared dead nearly a year ago, but we were really living under assumed names in another state," she explained.
"While we were away, I decided to get an education. I should have fifteen credits from a community college after this semester's grades come out."
"That is extraordinary. I'll tell you what. Bring your application packet directly to me by the end of this week." The man gathered some papers in a folder and tucked his card into the pocket.
"Yes, sir," Tony said, accepting the folder. He took Angela's coat off the rack and held it for her, then handed her the folder as he put on his own coat.
Jason cracked the door open and peeked through. He decided to speak up before they left. "Is Mona around?" he asked.
"She's staying with us right now, but she'll be going to Phoenix to live with her boyfriend soon," Angela responded.
"Oh, so I shouldn't ask her out," Jason said, disappointment plain in his voice.
"No," she said, "but I can pass along a message."
"Just tell her I said 'it was a lot of fun while it lasted.'"
"We'll do that. Take care," Tony said. He left first, holding the door open for Angela. "How about that!" he said to her.
"I feel terrible for scaring that kid," she said.
"Don't feel too bad. He did recover enough to think about trying to get a date," he said. "Hey, let's check out the student union."
"I could go for a bite to eat," she said.
"Let's get lunch. It's almost…" he looked at his watch. "…ten-thirty."
When Tony and Angela got home, there was a message from her doctor's office on the machine offering her an appointment. After calling to confirm, she began flipping through her Rolodex. Wallace and McQuade was her first point of contact. She stood in the kitchen, rolled her shoulders back, and smiled wide to prepare herself. "Hello. May I be transferred to Personnel?" she asked.
"Of course. Are you a current employee, a job seeker, or—"
"My name is Angela Bower. I'm a former employee and I'm interested in any openings that might be available."
"Is this some kind of a sick joke?" the receptionist asked.
"No, I'm a serious candidate," Angela responded. She knew it was unusual for a former president to try to get her foot in the door again.
"Angela Bower is dead. I don't know who you are, but using her name is very disrespectful," she said before hanging up.
Angela looked at the receiver and put her finger on the hook. She could have called Jim Peterson directly, but he was the last person she wanted to talk to. Sterling and Simpkin was a more appealing option. She flipped to the number and dialed the switchboard. "Hello. Personnel department, please."
A pleasant voice said, "Yes, ma'am. I'll transfer you."
"Sterling and Simpkin personnel. This is Mandy. How may I help you?"
"Hello Mandy. I'm an experienced professional looking for work in the field. Do you have any openings?"
"We have a copywriter position open," Mandy said.
"I'm looking for something more senior in your creative team. Or client services?"
"I'm sorry, but we don't have anything like that available right now."
"What about finance?" she asked.
"Do you have a degree in accounting?"
"No, but—"
"I'm sorry, ma'am. That's a strict requirement for the staff accountant position we're filling."
"Thanks anyway," Angela said.
She tried five more agencies, then got to Needham Harper & Steers. It was a shock to learn that it, along with Doyle Dane Bernbach, had been acquired by BBDO earlier in the year. "Well, is any division at Omnicom Group running an executive search?" she asked, referring to the new organization. "No, of course I understand that you're not taking applicants off the street," she said.
The next call was to her headhunter, Jack. He had brought her several of her Wallace and McQuade account executives in years past. "Listen, I'm in a bit of a pickle," she told him without identifying herself. "I took some personal time away from advertising, and now I'm looking to get back into the industry."
"What is your most recent title, and why did you leave that position?"
"I was Chief of Communications for the Arizona Department of Education before relocating back to the tri-state area."
"And your most recent role in advertising?"
"President of Wallace and McQuade," she said, her chest tightening in anticipation of a reaction.
"Angela?" he whispered.
"Hi Jack," she said weakly.
"I thought you died! You're telling me you just moved out west? Why would anyone leave Manhattan for the desert?"
"My husband witnessed a murder and we had to go somewhere we could keep our family safe."
"You're kidding," he said, sounding unimpressed. "Well, I'm not sure I can get you anything in the executive ranks right now. The industry is really in a period of consolidation."
"Yeah, I just heard about the Big Bang. How about Rosenfeld, Sirowitz and Humphrey?" she asked, thinking back to Tony's Geritol commercial reference on their honeymoon.
"You know Lawson went to Laurence, Charles & Free, right?"
"Yes, that happened right before I lost touch. Rumor was Humphrey didn't want to stick around too long. I thought maybe they'd be open to female leadership."
"Maybe, but they're really looking for Ogilvy & Mather alums. Look, you can either work your way up from copywriter again or go to a boutique agency for a more senior role. Or…have you considered going in-house on the client side?"
"I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Can you get me in front of Sterling and Simpkin for something? Copywriter, if that's all they have open."
"Sure. Can you fax me a resume?"
"I'll have to run out to the copy shop later today." She jotted down the number and went to her office to see if Tony was done using the word processor.
He looked up from the notepad he was writing on. "How's the job search going?" he asked.
"Pretty frustrating. There are all these mergers and acquisitions happening right now."
"What does that mean?"
"It means companies are buying each other."
Tony rolled his eyes. "I know that. I meant what does it mean for you?"
"It means there are more qualified people than jobs," Angela told him.
"Well, you're more than qualified, baby. You're the best there is," he said with a smile.
"My headhunter needs me to fax in my resume. Are you using the word processor?"
"No, I'm just trying to figure out what I'm going to write my essay about."
"Still? You've been in here for two hours."
"It's hard to face a blank page," he whined.
"You do have time this week. Why don't you get your mind off it while I type up my resume?" she asked, hinting for him to leave the room.
"Alright, honey, I'm gone. It'll be good to get a workout in." He gave her a kiss on the cheek as he left to change his clothes.
An hour later, Angela had created a decent version of her updated resume. She slipped the sheet of paper into a folder to keep it pristine on the trip to the copy shop and added a small stack of resume paper. Tony walked in the back door just as she came out of the office. He was dripping with sweat.
"Good workout?" she asked.
"Yeah, I did a hundred one-arm pushups on each side" he said, taking off his shirt and flexing obnoxiously. "Watch these babies boogie."
"Impressive," she said, letting her eyes roam his body.
"I haven't done hip thrusts yet," he said, taking a step closer.
"No? Maybe I could help you," she offered, closing the gap between them. She slowly skimmed one finger down his chest, past his navel.
"Mmm, yes please," he said, taking her hand and bringing it lower.
Suddenly, a red head popped up from the couch. "Could you two take it to the bedroom already?"
Angela yelped and yanked her hand away. "Mother! I didn't know you were here."
"I'm gonna go shower," Tony said, excusing himself and taking the stairs two at a time.
"Do I need an engraved invitation?" Mona asked.
"No, it's just that I thought we were alone," Angela said. She crossed behind the couch and set the folder on the desk. "Guess what. Tony and I saw your old beau, Jason, when we when to Ridgemont."
Mona popped up off the couch and ran over to her daughter. "You saw Jason? How did he look?"
"Scared to death! He asked about you, and I told him that you were going to move in with your boyfriend in Phoenix."
"Oh, right," Mona said, adopting a casual stance. She picked up an open envelope and changed the subject. "I came over to get the mail. Look what arrived." She unfolded an erroneous death case notice from the social security administration. There were four other matching envelopes.
"This would have been helpful earlier, when I was trying to get Jonathan into school," Angela said, taking the letter for a closer inspection. "I should make copies of these when I fax my resume," she said, slipping the other envelopes into her folder.
"I'll take ten," Mona said. "Now go do whatever it was you were about to do. I'll stay in my apartment," she said with a wink. When Angela's mouth dropped open, Mona steered her to the stairs. "Go! Get your skinny butt up there before he puts clothes on," she urged.
"Tony, I don't think I can move," Angela complained, turning her head toward him on the pillow.
He propped himself up on an elbow. "It was that good, huh?" he asked arrogantly, picking a strand of hair off her damp forehead.
"Phenomenal," she said, still in a state of rapture.
"For me, too, baby," he said, kissing her temple. "If you want, I'll go to the copy shop and pick up the kids."
"Oh, I should go. Just give me five more minutes," she requested, drifting off to dreamland with her next breath.
"It was awesome!" Sam told Mona over dinner in the dining room. "All the coolest guys in school wanted to talk to me and Todd Phillips asked me to go to the movies on Friday."
"Were you going to ask for permission?" Tony prodded.
"Oh yeah. Can I go to the movies on Friday?" Sam asked, taking another bite.
"Sure, sweetheart. Just be home by ten," Angela said. Tony gave her a look.
"What about the thing we wanted to talk about?" he asked through gritted teeth.
"It can wait until Saturday, can't it?" she hissed.
"Up to you, dear," he grumbled.
"If it's something you want me here for, Saturday works," Mona informed them. "I'm flying back to Phoenix on Tuesday."
"You are? So soon?" Angela asked.
"There's nothing for me here. No offense, kids, but I miss my dog."
"You miss Ricky," Tony said. Mona shrugged and rolled her eyes, but he knew he was right.
"Can I be excused?" Jonathan asked. "ALF is on tonight."
"I wanna watch MacGyver!" Sam said. "Wait, can I go out on my date, Dad?"
"Yeah, Sam, you can go out Friday. And Jonathan, you can go watch TV."
"Let's go over to my place and watch MacGyver, Sam," Mona said, picking up her plate.
"Alright!" Sam said, following with her plate.
Jonathan tried to pick up his plate, but nearly fumbled it and tripped. Both of Tony's hands darted out, one catching the plate, and the other keeping the boy upright. "I'll get that, son," he said, getting up.
"Thanks!" Jonathan said, running into the living room.
"It's going to be crazy with three of them," Tony said with a big smile, as he cleared the remaining dishes.
The phone rang, and Angela went to the kitchen extension, still laughing to herself at the idea of three kids running around the house. "Hello?"
"Hello. Is this Angela Bower?" a familiar voice asked.