How Soon Is Now?
Monica steps out of her apartment and into the hallway. She checks the contents of her clutch bag one more time and then takes another look at herself before she pulls out her key and locks the door. She runs her hands down the length of her dress, smoothing it under her palms. The dark blue of the fabric swirls down her body, spiraling with hints of silver and white at the bottom. She shifts her feet and looks at her shoes, confident she made the right decision as she opted for a more comfortable pair of black kitten heels rather than the longer pair of pumps she had originally picked out. She reaches one hand up to brush some hair away from her face and lets out one last, long exhale to calm her nerves.
Behind her, she could hear Chandler open his own door as he joins her in the hallway. She turns around to greet him and allows a slightly impressed expression to wash over her face. He was wearing a smart looking tan suit with a powder blue dress shirt and a dark blue tie; the color an exact match for her dress. His hair was slightly rumpled, but it looked good on him. Almost as if it were purposely styled that way. It was summer, so the color was lighter than normal, which gave a boyish quality to his features that clashed with the sophistication of his outfit.
"You look very handsome tonight. I guess you are all ready for your date?"
Chandler slides one of his feet forward and shifts his weight from one leg to the other, appearing slightly apprehensive. "I think so. The reservation is in about an hour, but I thought I should head over now and get there early. I offered to pick her up at her place, but she insisted that we meet there instead."
Monica nods. "Oh yeah. You never meet a guy for the first time at your apartment. What if he turns out to be a creep or something? You do not want them to know where you live."
Chandler looks up, slightly confused. "Really? Is that a rule?"
"Yes. If you don't know him that well you don't want him to just show up unannounced. You men have no idea. Women always have to think about stuff like that."
They stand there quietly for a moment. Chandler looks up at her and offers a smile. "You look really pretty. I guess you're meeting your date at a restaurant too?"
She nods. "Of course. I'm also having only one glass of wine. I'll bet your date does the same. Because some men cannot be trusted. Who is she again?"
Chandler shakes his head. "Jennifer. She works at the coffee shop by my building. We've been kind of flirting for a few months and I finally got the nerve up to ask her out."
Monica screws up her face, looking slightly annoyed. "You hit on her at her place of work?"
Chandler eyes went wide. "I wouldn't say I hit on her. I made conversation. Is that another no-no?"
Monica sighs as she puts her hands down, holding her bag in front of her dress. "Women don't want to have to fight off unwanted advances from men every time they go to work. You shouldn't do that."
"Oh. Well, she didn't seem to mind."
Monica folds her arms and taps her foot. "Hmm. Okay. You still want to be careful about that though."
Chandler nods obediently. "What about you? Where'd you meet this guy? Don't tell me work!"
"I didn't meet him. Not yet." Monica looks down; an embarrassed sigh escapes her lips. "My mother set me up. It's a blind date." She instantly straightens up and jabs a discerning finger in his direction. "Don't you dare make a joke!"
Chandler puts his hands up in surrender and gestures for her to calm down. "Okay, okay. I won't. Well, you look great."
"You said that already, but thanks." Monica slips her key into her bag and snaps it shut. "Who knows. Maybe I'll get lucky this time."
Chandler wiggles his eyebrows. "I hope we both get lucky."
Monica shakes her head and smirks. "Not like that you pig. I mean, maybe this guy will turn out to be pretty decent. I deserve a win. We both do, don't you think?"
"A win is 'pretty decent'? Way to aim high there." Chandler plays with his keys, swinging them around on his finger.
Monica glares at him but can't help herself and lets a slight smile spread across her lips. "It would be nice if maybe one of these guys turned out to be boyfriend materiel. I'm really getting sick of the non-stop string of lousy first dates."
Chandler nods, but then his eyes open wide with discovery. "Oh man, I'm someone's lousy first date, aren't I?"
Monica just laughs. "No, just be yourself. Well, maybe not totally yourself. You don't want this girl joining a convent!"
Chandler laughs sarcastically. "Okay. Want to walk down together?"
Monica shrugs her shoulders. "Sure, that sounds good."
Monica approaches the steps gingerly and Chandler offers her his arm for support and she wraps hers through the crook of his elbow and they descend the stairs side-by-side. Monica, without realizing it, squeezes his arm a bit whenever they reach a landing and turn to walk down each new set of stairs.
They finally reach the lobby, and as they walk past the mailboxes, they don't notice that their arms are still entwined. An older woman, heavyset, who looks to be in her sixties enters the building from the street and makes eye contact with Monica.
Monica smiles at her as they get closer. "Hello Mrs. Peterson."
"Hello dear. My, don't you kids make for a nice looking couple."
Monica and Chandler laugh and look down, finally noticing they are still linked up, arm-in-arm. They release their hold on each other and turn to protest but Mrs. Peterson had already reached the first set of stairs and disappeared quickly around the corner. They look at each other and shake their heads in disbelief.
As they step out onto the sidewalk, Chandler moves to the curbside to hail a taxi. "You want to share a cab? I'm going uptown."
Monica shakes her head and points in the opposite direction with her thumb. "Downtown. But I was going to walk anyway. It's only a few blocks."
Chandler nods and puts his hand up and out, signaling for a car to stop. "Okay, well then, have a good first date!"
She smiles and nods, "You too." She looks back at Chandler one more time; his attention already focused on the street in front of him. She then turns around and begins to walk away.
Chandler steps into the lobby of his building and is surprised to see Monica at the other end near the base of the stairwell, just about to start her ascent to their floor. "Mon?"
She turns to face him; he can already see an agitated expression on her face. "Hey." She stops to wait for him and they share a dispirited look. He offers his arm for her once more, and she flashes him a lopsided smile as she takes it.
"I take it, mom's taste wasn't so great?" He offers up in a light-hearted tone.
Monica lets out a frustrated sigh. "I don't want to talk about it."
Chandler nods as he presses his lips together. "Okay."
Against his body he can feel the tension from her small frame rising. "He spent the first hour talking about himself and his job, never once asking me anything; not about my work, or what I like. I swear, I don't even think he knew my name was Monica. Do you know he tried to order for me! Ugh! I do not want to talk about it!"
"Okay."
Her voice getting louder and the pitch higher as she becomes more aggravated. "And then, he spends the next half-hour trying to convince me that we should go to his place. But I don't want to talk about it."
Chandler rolls his eyes. "Okay."
Her grip becomes so tight on his arm that it feels as though she might snap it off. "I mean, he stared at my chest more than at my face! He said, and I quote, 'I can predict the weather, and I think you're about to get six inches tonight!"
"I thought you didn't want to talk about it."
"I don't! I just," she lets out a frustrated grunt and then looks at Chandler. "You know what I mean?"
"Mon. I'm not even sure if you know what you mean."
Monica shoots him a glare as they reach their floor. They separate and walk towards their own apartment, turning around to face each other while they lean against their door. "How about you? How did your date go?"
"I thought it was going well. I was making jokes. She was laughing. We had a glass of wine. Ordered dinner. Then this guy came over to the table out of nowhere and started talking to her. It turns out it was her ex-boyfriend. They broke up last week! They talked, she cried, and then they made up and decided to get back together just as dinner was being served. Then they both looked at me and asked me if I could leave and give them some privacy."
Monica lifts her hand up to cover her mouth. "Noooooo!"
Chandler raises his eyebrows as his eyes open wide and nods emphatically, "Oh yes. He even started eating my steak when he sat down!"
Monica, against her better judgment, lets out one loud laugh but quickly tries to stifle herself with both hands.
"I hope you like medium rare Charlie! Anyway, I guess I'm not getting coffee at that place anymore."
"What did you do after that?"
Chandler stiffens up, expressing mock pride. "I did what any self-respecting man would do. I bid them goodnight, went to the bar next door, watched the rest of the Knicks game and drank a few beers."
Monica looks down and shakes her head. "We are some pair, huh?"
Chandler looks down as well, shrugs his shoulders and nods. "I guess so."
"You think this is ever going to work out for us? Maybe we should have listened to Mrs. Peterson and just went to dinner with each other. We would have looked the part anyway. At least your tie matches my dress."
Chandler laughs. "Maybe. Although I might have stared at your chest too. You do look good. And I already know where you live."
Monica narrows her eyes at him and scoffs. "Pigs. I'm surrounded by pigs." She begins to fish around in her bag for her keys. "Did you eat yet? DO you want to come over? I have some food in the fridge I could heat up. Maybe there's a movie on."
Chandler nods. "Yeah, I could eat. Let me go change. Be over in, say, ten minutes?"
"Sounds good. I'll see you in a few." They both turn and begin to unlock their doors, each looking over their shoulder to make eye contact and share one more reassuring smile before disappearing into their respective apartments.
