Next Plane to London

Chandler stuffed his carry-on bag into the overhead compartment and then quickly slid into the row of seats beneath it, positioning himself against the window. He looked up at the other passengers as they filed into the plane. Watching them push and wait impatiently as they put away their bags and found their seats. Chandler hated everything about air travel except for the actual flight. He hated the waiting in line, the customs check, the tiny bathroom and uncomfortable seats. He hated the way his ears would need to pop after the plane landed and how he never knew what exactly he should do with the wrappers and empty soda cans when he finished having a snack. It was all very tedious.

He looked around and saw Ross a few rows down and gave him a nod as they made eye contact. He slid the magazine he planned to read during the flight into the pocket attached to the seat in front of him. He shuffled through some of the placards on plane safety already stored in there, but lost interest quickly and settled on looking out the window, mindlessly inspecting the activity on the tarmac.

"Hey, do you think I can get the window seat?"

Chandler, startled from his daydreaming, snaps his head around and sees Monica standing at the edge of his row of seats. "I thought I was sitting next to Joey. Where is he?"

"He ran over to that newsstand to grab an extra candy bar for the flight. I told him he should have thought about that before we started boarding, but he did some kind of weird food math and said he had to have one more. He better not miss this flight!" Monica's tone was one as if she were scolding an unruly child.

"Well, he did hit it off with the woman who checked our tickets out front, knowing Joe, he probably convinced her to hold the plane for him. I thought he had this seat. Am I in the wrong row?" Chandler takes out his ticket and studies it.

Monica gets her bag into the overhead compartment next to Chandler's and then looks back down at him. "You're in the right row. I switched with Joe. Can I get the window?"

Chandler just nods and lifts himself up from his seat as Monica squeezes into the row and rubs past him, settling into the window seat. "Why did you switch?" He asks.

Monica purses her lips as if contemplating her answer. "I feel like we haven't had a chance to just hang out and talk in a while and I thought this would be a good opportunity to catch up!"

Chandler looks over at her suspiciously. "Ross asked you to move because you were already bothering him about the wedding planning."

Monica looks down, sheepishly. "Maybe."

Chandler laughs. "You've got to let him handle this on his own. He and Emily will work it all out and it will be beautiful."

Monica waves her arms emphatically. "I'm a valuable resource! If I didn't send him to London, this wouldn't even be happening!"

"But when you sent him to London, didn't Emily come to New York. If anything, you made them miss each other." Chandler looks over at her smugly.

"That's beside the point!" Monica huffs and looks out the window. "I wasn't lying though. About you and me getting some time together."

"Really? Why? Is there something you want to talk about?"

Monica's tone becomes sincere. "I feel like we've been out of sync ever since the whole apartment switching fiasco. We weren't very nice to each other."

Chandler huffs. "Well, you stole my apartment."

"My apartment!" She shouts emphatically. "That was my apartment! I can't even believe you would go through with that!"

Chandler starts to become agitated. "What? Oh, so I guess if you guys had won you wouldn't make us get rid of the birds?"

Monica throws her hands up in frustration. "Those birds are a filthy menace to everyone in the building!" She then takes a deep breath. "Look, it wasn't just the swap. I feel like you were kind of being a jerk about it."

Chandler looks over at her and opens his mouth to retort but he stops himself and reflects for a moment on his behavior. His features soften. "I guess you're right. Maybe we overdid it with the gloating. You weren't exactly an angel yourself, though. And you were the ones who stole it. We won fair and square!"

"You were yelling at us anytime we tried to talk about it! You were acting like you used to before you ever moved into the building. You were being that jerk who Ross went to college with and not my best friend who lives across the hall." Monica folds her arms and blows a random strand of hair from her face angrily.

Chandler gestures with his hands for them to calm down. "Okay. You're probably right. I was short tempered for a few weeks. I think I was probably still bitter about all the Kathy stuff. I'm sorry if I took that out on you."

"I'm sorry too. I don't think I was any better. I know we still hung out, but the whole thing was just there, weighing over everything for me. Every time I saw you or Joey, I just felt so mad about it." Monica reaches over to gently touch Chandler's arm.

"Look." Chandler put his arm around her shoulder and squeezes her into him affectionately. "Everything is back to normal, right? We're all going to London for Ross and Emily's wedding. Let's just forget all about it and try to have fun. Neither of us has a date, so we can hang out at the rehearsal dinner and the reception and have fun like we used to. It'll be like Ross' first wedding all over again."

Monica tilts her head with a puzzled look on her face. "Joey isn't bringing anybody to the wedding either. What about him?"

Chandler looks off to the side, "Yeah, but I don't expect that to last. Waitress, bartender, bridesmaid, Queen Elizabeth, it really could be anybody."

Monica laughs, "Well, one of us could meet someone there. Maybe you meet a waitress and I meet a duke or a sir or something."

"Well, I'm just going with the odds." Chandler leans back in his seat and begins to adjust the headrest.

"I guess if we don't meet anybody, we can keep each other company. That might be nice, not to feel any pressure to deal with all that." Monica folds up her jacket and places it on her lap. "isn't this exciting?"

"Yes, I love sitting in a plane during a take-off delay in a cramped seat. It's so much fun!" Chandler smiles sarcastically.

Monica playfully slaps him on the arm. "No silly, I mean a destination wedding. A whirlwind romance! It seems so magical." She looks down at her hands for a moment. "I just have to convince him to put salmon on the menu."

"Salmon?"

"Yes! It is so elegant and perfect for weddings."

Chandler makes a face of disgust. "And gross."

"You're gross."

Chandler folds his arms. "I thought we were being nice to each other."

Monica raises her eyebrows and a look of admonishment falls on her face. "Being nice means agreeing with me about the wedding."

"Okay, just remember whose wedding this is."

"Trust me, my mother will do that plenty for both of us." Monica shakes her head as if she were removing the thought of her mother's nagging from her mind. "Do you have your speech ready?"

Chandler becomes giddy. "Got it right here!" He pats the inside pocket of his jacket. "I am going to kill with some of these jokes."

Monica sighs loudly. "C'mon Chandler. Don't tell any jokes. This is a wedding; it is supposed to be romantic!"

Chandler mock repeats her words in a whiny voice. Monica slaps his arm again. Chandler offers up an exaggerated, "Ow!"

They are quiet for a little while. Shifting in their seats. Getting comfortable. Chandler notices Joey making his way to his seat next to Ross.

"Did you set your watch yet?" Monica asks.

"What do you mean?"

She rolls her eyes. "London is five hours ahead."

Chandler shakes his head. "Monica. We haven't even taken off yet."

"I know, but it is always good to do it ahead of time, because when we get there we have to go to customs, and get our bags and a dozen other things that could make you forget. Then you'll get there and be on the wrong time and if you don't notice it could really mess you up. Here, let me do it." Monica grabs at Chandler's wrist and begins to fiddle with the buttons, setting his watch ahead. "There. Now you're on London time."

Chandler laughs at her obsessive need to change his watch right there and then and adds sarcastically. "Thanks. Now I'm on London time in New York. That should come in handy."