Chapter XXVI
"The One Where Emma Turned 3"
April 4th, 2005.
Today was Emma's 3rd birthday. Rachel and Ross decided to have a birthday party for their daughter at Rachel's dad house in Long Island, the house Rachel grew up in. Rachel and Ross agreed to invite Joey to the party, after all it's Joey, Emma's favorite uncle. Even though Ross agreed to have him over, Rachel still felt anxious about the whole thing. I mean, the last time Ross saw Joey clearly ruined his mood for the entire day, and the least thing she wanted was for Ross and Joey to have a fight in their daughter's birthday party. She wanted this party to be perfect for Emma. Ross was driving their car, Rachel sat on the passenger seat, while Emma sat on her car seat while playing with her toys.
Ross took a glance to look over their daughter from the driver's mirror and immediately smiled.
"Look at her. I cannot believe she turned three today." Ross said to Rachel
"I know. Time flies. She's getting heavy nowadays, it's hard for me to hold her in my arms."
"Well, you know you shouldn't do that when you're eight months pregnant."
"I know, it's just sometimes she asked for it, and I couldn't say no to her. I mean, how can you say no to that face?"
Her eyes started to get teary
"Are you crying?" Ross asked, puzzled
"It's the hormones crying. My mood swing is getting worse these days." Rachel said as she wiped her tears.
"Yeah, tell me about it. I was just sitting on the couch yesterday when you started yelling at me."
She gave him a glare
"Oh please. I asked you to bath Emma three times that night and you just sat down lazily on the couch. Of course I yelled at you!" She yelled at him
"What? I just got back from work, I'm tired. I'm not being lazy, I was just resting." He explained
"You know what Ross? You're not the only one who works in this family. I go to work too and I have to carry our baby everywhere with me. I asked you to do one thing and now you're complaining about it?"
She sounds so upset and about to cry anytime soon.
Ross then brushed her hair gently.
"Look, I'm sorry for being a jerk. You're right, I shouldn't complain about little stuff when you're carrying our baby for all these months. I tell you what? I promise to do whatever you want me to do, and I'll do it as soon as possible. I'm sorry, don't cry, you'll ruin your makeup."
"You promise?"
"I promise." He slightly looked at her and smiled
"Thank you." She said as she smiled but tried to hold her tears at the same time.
"And Ross?"
"Hmm?"
"Can you do me a favor?" She bit her lips, hesitated to ask him.
"That was fast." He chuckled
"Ross, I'm serious." She whined
"Alright.. What is it about?"
"Can you please just for today be civil around Joey? I didn't ask you to be nice to him, just be normal around him. Can you do that? Please?"
"Okay, I guess I'll try." He replied
"Are you going to be okay?" She concerned about him
"It's okay, I promise I'll behave." Ross reassured her
"Thank you, that meant a lot for me."
After roughly an hour drive, they arrived at Leonard's house. They turned the backyard into a children's playground. There are bouncy princess castles, a cupcake stand, a unicorn piñata, and a lot of balloons. Rachel's dad insisted on inviting their neighbors and of course all the gang was there including Joey. It will be the first time Rachel and Ross met Joey in months.
Emma walked into the party with a rainbow princess dress she picked by herself and a little crown on her head. She was so happy that day and so are both of her parents, Ross and Rachel. Ross and Rachel each held Emma's hands as they walked outside to the backyard. The gang walked over them to congratulate Emma.
"There she is the birthday girl. Happy birthday sweetie." Monica said as she bent down and greeted her niece.
"Oh my God. She's so cute. Happy birthday Em." Joey said as he gently brushed Emma's hair
"I cannot believe she's turning three already. Don't you guys remember that day on her first birthday?" Monica said
"Well, I guess everyone remembers that cake." Chandler said
"Oh my gosh, you are right! The cake was something." Monica replied
"Where do you buy that cake, Rach? I wanted to order one for myself." Phoebe smirked
"What's with the cake?" Mike puzzled
Phoebe then whispered it to him.
"Really? And Ross turned it to a rabbit?" Mike asked Rachel
"Yeah, it's fine. The day after that I went to the shop and let's say they will never make the same mistake ever again." She said proudly.
"Oh yeah, I remember. That day I decided to never ever make you angry anymore." Ross said
"That scary, huh?" Chandler winced and asked
Ross nodded eagerly, earning him a stare from Rachel.
Chandler spotted a familiar figure just a few meters away from them.
"Is that who I am thinking it is?" Chandler asked
"Who?" Ross asked
"The woman with a red dress." Chandler pointed his finger at the woman
"Oh, yeah about that." Rachel started to scratch her head nervously
"No..no..no..no.." Chandler started to panic
"You invited JANICE?" Monica blurted
"What? Why? Why Janice?" Joey whined
"Her son is Emma's classmate and they're actually best buddies." Ross tried to explain it
"What? Why Emma? Why?" Joey asked Emma
Emma was puzzled, unsure what her uncles and aunts were talking about.
"What is it mommy?" Emma asked Rachel
"It's nothing honey." Rachel smiled at her, tried to reassure her daughter
Rachel then gave them an unpleasant look
"Knock it off you guys! Janice is actually very nice." Rachel said
"Well, I'm sure you're fine with it. It's not your husband's ex girlfriend we're talking about." Monica said sarcastically
"Hey! Ross hooked up with her once!" Rachel yelled at her
"You still remember that?" Ross scratched his head nervously
"You think? I remember every single woman you've dated." Rachel answered coldly
"O-okay." Ross shuttered
"Alright, that's enough! You guys have to stop this madness! Rachel is right, Janice is actually pretty nice." Phoebe said while waved her hands frantically.
"Aww. Thank you Pheebs." Rachel gave her a hug
"Alright, she's coming..she's coming.." Chandler warned them
"Smile people..smile.." Ross said
"I see the whole gang's here..." Janice greeted them
"Uh.. hi.. Chandler." Janice greeted him shyly
Chandler was puzzled by her shyness
"What?" He mumbled to himself
"So, who is this handsome young man with the cute baby? Janice hasn't met him before." Janice said as he looked at Mike
"Oh, this is Mike, my husband. And that's our daughter, Lily." Phoebe explained
"Ah, nice to meet you, I'm Janice."
She then placed her face near Mike and slightly whispered to him
"I've slept with two of those." She winked at him
Unsure what he just heard, Mike just smiling awkwardly.
Janice then let out her signature laughter making the whole gang laugh awkwardly.
"She's something, isn't she?" Mike whispered to Phoebe
"Yes, something that seems impossible to get rid of." Phoebe whispered
"Alright, I'll introduce the birthday girl to everyone. See you guys in a bit." Rachel said to them
She then turned around to Ross.
"Ross, could you get me a glass of lemonade?"
"With ice?"
"Ross..It's almost 80 degree outside and I'm 33 weeks pregnant and you asked me if I wanted some ice? Are you kidding me?" She raised her voice made him flinched
"A simple yes would be nice." Ross muttered to himself
"What?" Rachel snapped at him
"Nothing. I'll get you a glass of lemonade with a lot of ice."
He then gave her a kiss on her cheeks and left.
Ross then grabbed some ice and poured the lemonade in.
"Damn, hormones." Ross said to no one.
Joey saw him and decided to go after him.
"Ross? Can I talk to you for a second?" Joey said as he tapped Ross' shoulder letting him know he was standing beside him.
"I don't think I can talk to you right now." He replied coldly
"Look Ross. I don't know when we will meet again. I'm about to start filming a new movie. Can you just talk to me now? It's been months." Joey whined
"Not now Joey. Not now."
Ross tried to calm himself down
Ross sighed, "I'm sorry I have to go."
Just then Joey grabbed Ross's arms causing the lemonade poured all over Ross's shirt and made him wet.
"I'm so sorry Ross. I didn't mean it." Joey started to wipe Ross's shirt with his sleeve.
"You sure didn't mean a lot of things these days, aren't you?" Ross said sarcastically
"Hey!" Joey yelled at him causing the guests including Rachel looked over their direction
Joey quickly realized the scene he had caused and apologized to him shortly after.
"Look, I'm sorry, Ross."
But it was late, Rachel saw them and decided to confront them both.
"Too late Joey. She's here." Ross implied to Rachel
Rachel walked over their direction angrily and Ross can sense it from miles away. Ross sighed as he knew what was about to come. One thing he learnt from a pregnancy is that: never ever make your pregnant wife angry.
"What the hell is wrong with you two?" She quickly snapped at them both
"Look Rach, I'm sorry." Joey mumbled
She paused a bit and took a deep breath as she tried to control her anger.
"Just a day. I asked you both to behave for just one damn day. And you cannot do that? Is it so hard to do?"
Ross tried to reached her hands but she quickly avoided him
"And Ross. You promised me." She looked into Ross's eyes.
Ross can see her eyes started to shake and right that moment he knew he let her down.
"I'm so sorry. It's not Ross's fault, it's mine. I'm sorry Rach." Joey said
"You know what? If you guys want to fight and beat each other up, just do it. Just don't do it here. I don't care anymore." She sighed and left them both alone.
Monica then came over and brought her brother inside. Meanwhile Chandler brought Joey to sit down at the porch to calm him down.
...
Ross was changing his clothes at the guest room and Monica was there to help him.
"Great. Now Rachel is mad at me." He said as he slammed the door behind them.
"I'm sorry. You know how important today is for her. She has been busy preparing this party for weeks. She's just upset. I'm sure she didn't mean anything she said."
"I know. But it really seems she had enough of it and maybe." He sighed
"Maybe she just doesn't wanna care anymore." He sat down on the edge of the bed and looked down.
"Are you kidding me? Don't you know Rachel at all? She's been worrying about you all the time and I don't think she can just stop. She's just upset, that's all."
"She is?"
"Of course she is. She's been worrying about you. She said these days it seems like you have a lot of things going on in your mind, but she didn't know how to deal with it since you keep things for yourself. She was so upset about that." She sat down next to her brother and lightly patted his back
"I know. She talked to me that night." He sighed, "I promised her to be civil around Joey this morning. I guess I let her down."
"You should apologize to her."
"Of course, I will."
When he was about to stand up, Monica grabbed his hands and stopped him.
"And Ross?" Monica looked him in the eyes
"Yeah?"
"Do you think you can forgive Joey?"
"Uh, I don't know, honestly."
"Why?"
"WHY? Do you wanna know why? Because he's causing us a lot of troubles and he made Rachel cry! That's why!" He slightly raised his voice.
"But Rachel forgave him, why couldn't you?"
"I don't know. I just don't want to, I guess."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not sure I can tell you." Ross hesitated
"Come on Ross.. What do you mean by that?" Monica asked him once again
"Alright, you cannot tell anyone about this, especially Rachel. Are we clear?"
"I promised." Monica nodded
"Okay, I just don't feel comfortable around Joey anymore, especially when Rachel is around."
]Monica couldn't believe what she just heard.
"Are you talking about how Joey still has feelings for Rachel? Is all of this because of that? You're afraid Joey will take Rachel away from you?" Monica raised her voice
"Sss... Can you please try not to yell?!"
"Okay, I'm sorry. But did you hear yourself? It's ridiculous."
"Is it though? I mean they've dated before and don't forget, she used to have a feeling for him."
"Oh my gosh Ross. I swear if you're not my brother I'm gonna kill you!" Monica groaned in annoyance. She couldn't believe her brother was jealous over Joey.
Monica then took a deep breath and continued, "You've been married to Rachel for almost a year now. And you still don't realize that?"
"Realize what?"
"Urgh! I cannot believe you're this stupid!"
"Hey! I'm not stupid, I'm being rational." He defended himself
"No, you are not! You're stupid. Do you know why you're so stupid?"
"Why?"
"Because you cannot see that Rachel is madly in love with you. All these time it's only you. You should stop doubting her."
"I cannot help but doubt her. I mean, I admit it, deep down I know I am nothing compared to her. There were tons of other guys who are better than me and yet she chose me."
"And yet she chose YOU." Monica made her point
She sighed as she rubbed her temple, "You can be stubborn sometimes, do you know that?" She waited a beat before she continued, "She told me once, out of all of the guys she ever or will ever meet, you are the one for her, you are the love of her life. She said she regretted not admitting it sooner. She said she regretted not forgiving you sooner, for not having spent the last eight years with you, and for letting her ego take over her feelings. And she cannot imagine her life without you. Do you know that?"
Ross was stunned. All of what Monica said was true and he knew it, but instead all these time he let his jealousy cloud his judgment. He immediately regretted not seeing it sooner, for failing to understand how much Rachel loved him, and most importantly for doubting her love for him. He realized how stupid he was.
"Oh my god. I am stupid." He mumbled
"Yes you are! So stop being stupid, stop being stubborn, and stop doubting yourself! Go apologize to her right away. Like right now!" Monica yelled
"Alright, thank you so much Mon." He gave her a hug and left the room.
Monica sighed and shook her head.
"My stupid brother."
...
Later that night
Rachel, Ross, and Emma arrived at their apartment around 10 PM. They put sleeping Emma to her bed and they kissed her good night. The birthday party was a success despite a little drama happening between Ross and Joey. Emma was so happy and clearly exhausted because all of the running and jumping she's done. Meanwhile, Rachel hasn't said a word since the party was over. Ross wanted to apologize to her but he hesitated. Rachel was putting her pajamas and Ross watching her from their bed.
Rachel then laid down next to him, but chose to turn her body against him. Ross mustered up his courage and finally apologized to her.
"I'm sorry." He said softly
"Not now Ross. I'm tired." She replied coldly
Ross then flipped her body around to face him.
"Ross!" She yelled
"Look. I'm sorry. I need to do this right now. I'm so sorry I was being stupid. Please don't be mad at me."
She then sat down and placed her hand into her head as she tried hard not to scream at him and make their daughter awake.
She then took a deep breath, "Look. Ross. I'm tired. I'm tired of all this drama between you and Joey. Just for a day, I didn't want to think about it. But I guess it's too hard for you." She sighed
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being a jerk. I'm sorry I made you upset. I didn't mean to cause a scene." He then hugged her
"Please.." he whispered
She bite her lips, not knowing how to react.
He pulled his body away and took a good look at her.
After she saw the look on his face, she finally gave up.
She sighed, "Alright. But under one condition." She said
"I'll do anything. I promise."
"Promise me the next time we saw him, you'll talk to him. I said talk to him, not yelling at each other or splashing drinks at each other."
"We're not exactly splashing drinks at each other." He tried to explained
Rachel gave him an unpleasant look
"Okay. I'll do it. I will try to talk to him nicely. No yelling and no splashing." He smiled at her
"So are we good?" He asked
She nodded
"Okay, thank you so much." He gave her a hug
"You gotta stop being a jerk." She whispered
"I know. I'm so sorry." He whispered back