I'll Be Your Home

Monica angrily swings the door open to apartment 19, enters, and slams it shut behind her. Startled, Chandler stands up and spins around from his seated position on the couch where he was watching television. Monica begins to walk through the kitchen and into the living room. "Ugh! That woman is driving me crazy!" She storms over to where he is standing, letting frustrated grunts escape from her lips with each step. She snatches the beer out of his hand and drains it of its last drop. She hands the empty bottle back and plops herself down on the couch.

Chandler walks into the kitchen, places the empty bottle in the sink, opens the refrigerator and pulls out another beer. He returns to the couch and sits down next to her. "Hi honey. Hard day at the office?"

Monica narrows her eyes into an icy stare, seething angrily. "It's my mother. All she can talk about is Ross' wedding. Enough already! It's been over a year! Let it go woman! Other people have been married since then!" Monica darts her eyes around the sparsely decorated room, cataloguing every imperfection of his apartment in her mind. She then returns her attention to Chandler. "She must have brought five hundred pictures tonight. Every time she got to one of me, she had to mention how I didn't have a date, or how I'm still single now, how that might have been the only wedding she'll go to for one of her children. Then she complains about how I had my hair that night, or how I should have worn a shawl to cover my freckles." Chandler chuckles as a nervous reaction to her anger. "It isn't funny! She makes me so mad."

Chandler lets the smile fade from his face and flashes her a sympathetic look. "I know, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to laugh. You just have to try and not let her get to you. Just let that stuff go."

Monica folds her arms and huffs. "Yes. That's great advice. Tell me again how good you are with not letting your parents get to you, Mr. Jokey Jokerson! How is all that letting it go stuff working for you?" She swings her legs up and lays them across chandler's lap, placing her head down on the other end of the couch.

"Okay, maybe you have a point." Chandler twists off the cap of his beer, takes a sip and hands it to Monica.

She sits up to take a quick swig. "I am only twenty-two years old. Why does she try to put all this pressure on me?"

"You woke me up at the crack of dawn for a job interview I had later that afternoon. It might be hereditary."

Monica frowns at him, shakes her head, takes another drink and hands the bottle back to Chandler. "That was different. I was helping you."

Chandler chuckles again and takes a sip. "Oh. Wait, are you're parents still at your apartment? Did you leave everybody over there?"

Monica shrugs her shoulders and nods. "Yeah, but Ross and Carol are there, they won't notice I'm gone for a little while. No one even heard me when I said I was taking out the trash. I might as well be invisible." She looks over at the images on the television screen to hide the glum expression on her face.

Chandler places the beer behind him on the kitchen counter and looks over at Monica. He studies her face for a moment and he adopts a concerned look. He sometimes forgets that Monica has almost as tenuous a relationship with her parents as he does with his. Something else that has helped them bond over this last year since he moved in. He straightens up and gently places his hand on her leg. "Oh, well then, just hide out here tonight. We can finish watching this movie and have a few beers. You know I won't pressure you to do anything and I don't even think they remember I live in this building."

Monica looks back at him and smirks. "I can't hide in here all night!"

"Why not? It's easy. I've been hiding in here from my parents for over a year now." Chandler lifts Monica's feet and removes her shoes one at a time. He places them on the floor and begins to rub her feet. He squeezes gently and applies pressure to her arches with his thumbs. He goes back-and-forth between each one, twisting then lightly and carefully bending her toes.

Monica closes her eyes and allows herself to relax for a moment, enjoying the feeling of having her feet massaged. "Because silly, they are bound to notice I'm not there anymore at some point. Right?" She reaches her hand out and Chandler instinctively passes her the beer so she can take another drink.

"Maybe. At least you'll know it's safe here. You can take naps, eat on the couch, share a beer, and get foot rubs. I've got an amazing collection of take-out menus. It's a veritable paradise."

Monica raises an eyebrow skeptically and hands the beer back to him. She allows a light moan to escape her lips as Chandler finds a spot on her foot that she is most receptive to having worked on. "Mmmm. But it is such a smelly and dirty paradise."

Chandler takes a swig and laughs as he puts the bottle back down on the floor. "Not for long, because if you were hiding out here in the Bing relocation program, I'm pretty sure I would wake up tomorrow morning to an entirely different apartment. Flowers and fruit everywhere."

Monica shakes her head and smiles. "I think that is the only reason why you are offering me your place to hide out in. For the free labor."

Chandler gestures emphatically towards her feet. "What do you call this?"

Monica nestles her head back down into the couch. "That's a pleasure. My feet are adorable." Chandler sniffs at one and makes a mock face of disgust. Monica kicks him playfully. "Stop it! My feet smell amazing."

Chandler smiles and continues working on her feet. "What's the problem anyway? You always talk about wanting a boyfriend. Why does it bother you when your mom talks about it?"

"Because when I talk about it, I don't make myself feel like a failure."

Chandler looks over at her incredulously. "Yes you do."

Monica rolls her eyes. "Okay, but I at least have you there to cheer me up when I do."

"Oh. So it's my fault? Hey, you're the one who had a dinner party and didn't invite me over." Chandler drops her feet in his lap, folds his arms and pouts.

Monica laughs and wiggles her toes at Chandler, trying to signal for him to resume the massage, but he just takes another sip of beer and stares at the television. She pulls herself up a bit and tries to get his attention. "Wait? Does that really bother you? I mean, it was very last minute. I guess it was a family thing. I just didn't think you would want to spend the night with my parents."

"Right. Family. I sometimes forget that I'm not anybody's family."

Monica starts to nudge him in his side with her toes. "Chandler. Don't try to make me feel bad."

"No, I get it. I'm just the neighbor."

She tilts her head sympathetically. "You know you are not just my neighbor. You're my friend."

Chandler turns to face her and Monica can see that there is an authentic wounded look in his eyes. "I know, but I'm not a," he makes air quotes with his fingers, "come over to dinner with me and my family kind of friend." He drops his hands down to his lap again and places the beer back on the floor.

"I'm sorry Chandler. I guess I figured that how I feel about my parents was how you felt and maybe I thought I was sparing you a long night."

"It's fine. I'm really not that upset. I got to watch Point Break and drink a few beers and later on you'll bring me leftovers. What do I need human contact for when I have Johnny Utah?" He offers her a weak smile.

Monica sits up, pulls her feet under her and leans in towards Chandler, placing her hand on his cheek. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. You are my best friend and I would have loved for you to be there. From now on, you have an open invitation to every dinner at my place. I will come and get you and when my mom and dad are there you can make those sarcastic eyes at me behind their back when they say something ridiculous to make me laugh."

The tension leaves Chandler's face and he looks her in the eyes with a half-smile. "Thanks. I didn't mean to make you feel bad. I was just joking around. And look, anytime you need to hide away from everyone you can sneak over here and we can watch terrible movies together until the coast is clear."

Monica looks down and smiles. "Sounds like a deal. Why don't you come over right now for dessert? I have plenty." She gets up from the couch, slips her shoes back on and reaches her hand towards him. "C'mon Joey Idaho."

Chandler shakes his head. "It's Johnny Utah."

"Whatever. Look, after they all leave, I'll come back over and we can watch this movie tonight. Keanu has a cute butt, I'll call him whatever state he wants."

Chandler laughs and takes her hand as she pulls him up from the couch. "Okay, that sounds good." As they walk through his apartment towards the front door, Chandler pulls Monica back before she can reach the handle. "Wait!"

She turns around, startled by his sudden excitement. "What?"

Chandler reaches over to the refrigerator door and pulls a photograph out from underneath an oversized, novelty Florida magnet. "Look. Gandalf sent this to me." He hands it to her and Monica studies it for a moment. She can tell it is from Ross' wedding by the dress she is wearing. It is a picture of the two of them sitting at a table, talking. Monica has her hand up as if she was about to cover her mouth and laugh at something he was saying. Both of them smiling and looking genuinely happy. It appears to her that neither one of them knew the photo was being taken. She looks up at him puzzled. "See? Your mother is wrong. You looked beautiful at his wedding. I wouldn't have changed a thing about how you looked."

"Really?" Monica looks back down at the photo and smiles.

"Really. Look at you. You're positively radiant. And I think your freckles are cute." Chandler smiles proudly but then looks down at his feet.

Monica, still staring at the photo, can feel her eyes begin to water but is able to exert enough self-control to hold back the tears. She goes to hand it back to him. "Here."

Chandler pushes her hand back down gently. "No, you keep it. You will take much better care of it than I would. And now, anytime your mom makes you feel bad about how you looked that day, you can just take this out and remember how beautiful you are."

Monica slides the photo into her back pocket as she smiles up at him. "Thanks. Now come on, I have a tres leches cake I made waiting to get eaten."

Chandler stops dead in his track. "A Tray-blay what now?"

"Tres leches. It means three milks."

Chandler looks back at the television in his living room that is still playing the movie. "Maybe I'll just stay here and finish Point Break."

Monica lets out a hearty laugh and tugs him towards the door roughly. "Oh no, you can't back out now. Not after that sob story you laid out on me. You know, I came over here for you to cheer me up, not the other way around."

Chandler flashes her a wide smile. "Well, are you still thinking about your mom giving you a hard time?"

Monica offers up a reluctant "No."

"See, taking care of me makes you feel better."

Monica lets out a laugh as she exhales. "You know what, I think we do a pretty good job of taking care of each other."