Hey guys, bear with me as I know nothing about fashion. So just go along as I 'narrate' the story. Hope you are all willing to hang on to this one. Read and review, as always. Thanks :)
"And this is how you do the in seam when no design is for certain" Claudia demonstrated her skills in front of Rachel. "This way there's always room for what the customer wants to make the dress look unique"
"That's really great" Rachel shook her head in amazement. "Oh Aunt Claudia, I'm learning so much from you" She said as she took the large piece of semi stitched cloth and put it infront of her own body to see how it looked.
"I'm glad" Claudia said while taking a sip of red wine from her glass.
"Really, thank you for this opportunity. I've been here only two weeks, and I feel I already know so much more about fashion, what is in, how long is it gonna trend, it was still just a dream to me in the States" She hugged her aunt "Simply wonderful over here in Paris"
"Well Rachel darling, I hope you can cash in on this experience when you work for real as some big shot fashion executive" Rachel laughed.
"Oh that is way into future. I need to complete college and let's face it, my first job is not gonna be that of an executive"
"But I know you're gonna make it. I can sense that" She took another sip. Rachel smiled gratefully "Talking about the future, Sandra tells me you have a boyfriend back in New York" Rachel smiled and nodded. "She hinted how serious it was-"
"It is.. Yeah. His name is Ross. He works at the Metropolitan Museum of Natural History. He's really amazing, the sweetest. Very understanding. Sometimes I can't believe that I've found my one true love at the age of 21, but it feels so good to know that somebody is waiting for me back home" Rachel said, blushing a little. Claudia could see her niece's eyes shining the whole time.
"Ahh.. young love" Rachel laughed at her aunt's words. "Let's drink to that" Rachel picked her own glass of wine and clinked with Claudia's.
Ross was hanging out at Monica and Chandler's with Joey, Phoebe and Mike. He was working on his laptop until Monica finished cooking. They were all supposed to have dinner together. This was the first time that Monica had taken up all on herself to make dinner for her friends and play the perfect hostess. So there she was, meticulously chopping the vegetables in the kitchen. Since Chandler was also the host, she had strictly instructed him to be in charge of the drinks and coasters for the night.
Joey was just about to keep his bottle of beer on the table before Chandler came running and slid the coaster right on time before the moisture from the bottle could reach the surface of the table. Chandler wiped his forehead, symbolic of his hard work. Ross noticed that and smiled, only Chandler could bear with his sister's neurotic nature.
Mike and Phoebe were on the big chair whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears. A few seconds later, something Mike said earned a big laugh from Phoebe, almost contagious. Ross noticed that and could not help but be reminded of a similar sound. Rachel's laugh. How she used to giggle whenever he nuzzled her neck. At first, he was not so amused by that, but over time, he understood it was just another one of her traits. One he cherished greatly.
As if on cue, the phone started ringing, and he smiled at the name on the caller ID. He shut his laptop and excused himself, walking over to the balcony for privacy.
"Hey Rach. I was just thinking about you"
"Aww.. You're missing me. I told you to come with me" Rachel said as she hugged Rossy, the teddy bear more tightly. Ross smiled.
"How are you?" He leaned on to the railing.
"Oh I'm good. Aunt Claudia is making me work my ass off" She said in a funny voice, making him laugh. "But you know, I couldn't be more thankful to her to let me have this opportunity"
"I understand. You're gonna have to work hard. After all your grades for the semester depend on this internship too" He reminded her. It was a special case. Dr Greene had used his contacts and convinced the University to permit Rachel to earn international credits in Paris through this internship and attend some lectures at the Parisian Institute of Fabric and Apparel Science. (I don't even know if it exists)
"Yeah I know.. its just hard without you" Ross could sense sadness in her voice. He hated that he could not do anything about it.
"Uh, Rach?" He asked for her attention, he was afraid and Rachel could feel it, but the reason was unknown.
"Yes?"
"I don't know if I should tell you now, but.. you may not be able to reach me the next week"
"What?" Rachel was confused by his statement.
"I'm gonna be travelling"
"What do you mean by 'travelling', huh Ross?" Clearly not happy with his nature of not cutting to the chase.
"You remember my research? Well I need to fly down to San Francisco this tuesday for the potential carbon footprints" He scratched his hair with his index finger.
"Oh.. but why can I not reach you? Are you not taking your cell phone with you?" She asked, obviously curious as to why her boyfriend was going to be away for a week.
"Oh no, I am. But the area is secluded and, its in the periphery of the city. The service is often poor, I've heard" He explained.
"I don't know what to say" She said, now running her fingers down the glass of his framed picture, which she had kept on her night stand of her bed in Paris as well.
"You could say you love me too when I say I love you" She smiled at how sheepishly he could sway her mood by his goofyness.
(...)
"Who is he talking to?" Joey asked.
"Duh.." Phoebe made a face. "Rachel, of course"
"How can somebody talk on the phone for too long?" Joey asked again.
"The answer to your question, Joe, is Love.. something you won't understand" Chandler quipped. Joey was still clueless, so got up and walked towards the little kitchen while speaking.
"Well I am hungry. Monica how much time do you take to cook a goddamn meal?" Monica turned around and shot Joey a look. The vein in her forehead popped and Joey was almost instantly frightened by the anger.
"Good God Joe. Don't anger it" Phoebe scoffed, hiding her mouth moving, under her hand.
Joey went near Monica to see what was the status and tasted the curry. Before Monica could warn him about how hot it was, he had already taken a spoon full into his mouth and reflex had him spit it back into the bowl, making the whole curry a waste. He screamed and jumped like a child.
"JOEY!"
(...)
"What was that?" Ross and Rachel heard Monica's voice. Ross turned around to see Monica pointing the knife at Joey, and by what it seemed like, she was yelling. "Ross, where are you?"
"Huh.. oh, I'm at Mon's. Everybody is here actually. Yeah, Monica is making us dinner" He answered as he walked back into the living room and Mike filled him in with what happened. He laughed and Rachel got intrigued. He told her and she almost felt like she was with all of them.
"Well there goes everybody's chance at having a delicious dinner" Monica threw the apron on the dining table. To say she was disappointed was an understatement.
Chandler walked over to his girlfriend and made her sit on the chair. "Hey, it is all right. Don't be sad"
"You don't get it. The hostess is supposed to have everything under control" She said in a squeaky voice.
"I know. And everybody here knows that only you have the potential to be the perfect hostess" He kissed her on the forehead. Joey looked at the couple embarrassed.
"Yeah Mon, Chandler is right" They all heard Rachel's voice from Ross' phone. Apparently, amidst Chandler consoling Monica, she had asked Ross to put her on speaker.
"Rachel?" Monica smiled faintly. It seemed like it had been ages since she had last heard from her.
"Yeah. Cheer up. Its just a sign, Mon. Don't you dare host your first dinner without me" Everbody laughed. Rachel decided to take charge. "Phoebe, please feed Mon some of your heavenly oatmeal raisin cookies. I know you must have some in your bag" Phoebe smiled as if it was the brightest idea and went to her big bag to get the box out
"But what is everybody going to eat? Its too late to start preparing for another meal" Monica said concerned.
"That's easy... Joey, would you be a sweetheart and treat everybody with a Joey special, its friday night after all" Joey grinned like a child and took his phone out to order the pizzas.
Ross smiled gratefully and whispered a "Thank you. You're amazing"
"Tell me something I don't know"
Ross chuckled. "Umm.. I love you?" Rachel laughed at his goofiness, like she did not already know how much he loved her.
"So maybe we could find out what species were endangered in that particular area at that point of time to conclude for certain" Ross suggested to the board of members. It was a week later, and he was in San Francisco. He had collected his data and was now presenting in front of the MET decision-makers for further suggestions, since they were funding his research.
"That's resonable" "Pretty much possible" "I don't see why we can't" These were some replies he got. Ross sighed with relief.
"Well then, Mr Geller, if everything happens as per your hypothesis, that would would be quite a catch for the Museum as well as the field of archaeology. Not to forget your professional growth" Dr Sutherland commented. Ross smiled gratefully.
"Thank you, Doctor. I won't let you down" He assured the board as he shook hands with Dr Sutherland.
"So Ross, would you like to join us old lads for some drinks tonight?" One of the other members asked.
"I would love to, but I fly back to New York tonight" Ross reasoned. "I'm actually heading to the airport directly"
"Well then. We certainly could have used a new company. Anyways, you have a safe flight"
"Thanks"
"Yeah, and don't hesitate to give us a call if you need anything"
"Will remember that"
Ross sat on the bench, doing a crossword puzzle, in the lounge waiting for his flight to be announced. It was delayed due to weather.
'Would have been better to join those professors, than waiting for the damn flight' He thought.
All of a sudden, a little boy, not more than 6 years old, came running towards him and collided with him, making his pen and newspaper fall.
"Andrew!" came a voice of a man from behind "What did we talk about running at public places?" Probably his father, he came and stood in front of the boy.
He sheepishly smiled. "See, you disturbed this good man. Would you apologise to him?" He said sternly, picking up Ross' stuff.
"No, no. It's fine, really" Ross interrupted.
"Sorry" He held his ears for a moment and ran again to the other bench, started playing on his playstation.
Ross smiled.
"Hey, I'm Adam"
"Ross" They shook hands.
"I'm sorry about my boy. He's so excited to see his mother" He explained.
"It's okay. Where is his mother? If you don't mind me asking" Ross asked politely.
"Well, she's in Paris with her family. Yeah, she's french. We met during an exchange program, fell in love and got married right after college" Adam shared.
Ross let a "Wow"
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bore you with my love story. It's just that I'm going to see Amelie after a whole month. She had to go because her dad a heart attack, and little Andy here had just started school" Adam explained looking at his son. He turned back to Ross "This is the longest we've lived away from each other after getting married"
The last statement was all Ross needed to be reminded of a certain blue-eyed girl who had taken his heart away.
"Uh-oh.. I did it again, didn't I?"
"What? No.. It's just... got me thinking" Ross assured.
"Where is she?" Adam asked.
"How do you know I'm thinking about a girl?"
"Well, I know those eyes" Adam pointed at Ross' eyes. "I've had those eyes for Amelie"
Ross smiled. "Her name is Rachel. She's actually in Paris, for an internship. Uh, she has been there for almost for a month now, and we've not seen each other since"
"When is she coming back?"
"Not for another four months" Ross said with a frown.
"She chose career over you?"
"Oh, no. She was giving it away. I forced her to go. I didn't want her individuality to fade away. I mean, she's so good at what she does. She designs such beautiful dresses" Ross informed him, proud of his girlfriend.
"Well, you could always go to Paris to surprise her. I used to do that all the time too for Amelie" Adam smiled remembering his relationship from the earlier days.
Before Ross could say anything, Andrew dropped his playstation and it was not switching on again, so he came to his daddy to fix it. "Oh Andy, you have one slippery pair of hands, don't you?" Andrew gave a notorious smile to his dad.
"I must tell you, you have an adorable son" Ross commented. "He looks so much like you"
"Thanks. Amelie is so jealous 'cause he is all me, but he takes her personality" Then he whispered softly "A little too careless with the objects" Obviously refering to the playstation that won't go on.
"So are you gonna go to Paris?" Adam opened the little thing to take a closer look.
"Well, I guess I could. It's our one year anniversary in two weeks, so.." This got Adam's attention, and he turned to Ross, forgetting the playstation.
"Wait, so you just met her last year?"
Ross nodded.
"And you guys are so devoted to each other?"
Ross smiled and nodded again.
"Oh man, that is good to know that true love still exists out there" Ross smiled knowingly. Then they heard the flight announcement for Paris.
"That's us. Come on, Andy" Adam called his son. "Nice to have met you, Ross. Maybe I'll see you in Paris, who knows"
Ross smiled "Nice meeting you too" They shook hands. "Bye buddy. Fly safe" He talked to Andrew.
"Goodbye, Ross"
"Oh no no, Phoebe. I am not falling for one of your traps again" Rachel said while typing something on the computer in the boutique. Phoebe had just told her that Mike had proposed to her, and she wanted her to design her wedding dress, which would happen once they graduated college.
"What? You don't believe me?" Phoebe asked somewhat dejected.
"Pheebs, I'm not saying I don't have faith in your relationship with Mike, but a proposal is just too soon for you guys" Rachel reason taking a sip from her cup of coffee.
"Well Rachel, I wish I could show you the ring for real" Rachel could sense disappointment in Phoebe's voice.
"Hey, cheer up. I'll keep the designs ready. I'll even consult Aunt Claudia for it"
"Now that's like my best friend. Don't forget your maid of Honor dress, okay?" Phoebe warned playfully.
"Really Pheebs?" Rachel's hand went to her chest. "You want me to be your maid of Honor?"
"Of course, Rach. You've been my best friend for three years now. It feels like I have known you forever. There's nobody else I would want" Phoebe explained a little too emotional.
"Thanks. I'm flattered, really" Rachel said with a sob. "Congratulations. I'm so happy for you guys"
"So now you believe! Grandma is right, girls can't see straight when they get a spot in the wedding" Phoebe said dramatically making Rachel laugh.
"You do know I'm gonna give you a hard time when you tell me that you are engaged" Ever the melodramatic Phoebe went too far.
"Oh Pheebs, you are so mean"
"But seriously, Rach? How are things with Ross?"
"As good things could be, when we are an ocean apart from each other. I mean, not that he has proposed to me but.. we did have a talk about our possible future before he went to Cairo. It's something that keeps reassuring me that what we have is for real" Rachel said reminiscing about that day in the park.
"But do you want to get married to him?" Phoebe asked.
"Well, I love him, so much. But a wedding? I don't know. It would be too soon. I mean, don't get me wrong.. At this point, I cannot even think of a future with anyone besides Ross. And he is it, you know. He's the one. The right one" She said thinking about him. "I guess I would know if I'm in the moment"
"That makes sense, I guess"
"Yeah. Okay Pheebs I gotta go. I have to get to my lecture in an hour, and I still have some work here at office"
"That's okay. Bye, Rach" They hung up.
Rachel let out a sigh, lost in her thoughts. She shook her head, smiling. 'Too soon to think about that, Rach' She thought to herself.
"Chandler Muriel Bing?" Ross asked bewildered. Monica nodded, and Chandler just hid his face in his hands. The company had just got some visiting cards printed for Chandler, and due to a misunderstanding, they printed his middle name instead of his first name. Monica found one in his coat pocket.
"Dude, your parents never gave you a chance, did they?" Ross shook his head, still looking at the card. Chandler smiled embarassed. Monica went back to her kitchen to let the two friends catch up. Ross had returned a day before, and was having lunch with them.
He calmed himself as his cell phone started ringing. He excused himself.
"Hello?.. Yeah that's me.. Yep exactly a week from today.. how about I text you the address, so there's no error? Great, thanks" he hung up. He walked back over to the table while typing on his phone. He sat on the chair as Chandler asked, recovered from the embarassment.
"So that was the courier company" Chandler and Monica looked at Ross, expecting him to continue. "I'm sending something to Rachel for our one year anniversary" He said smiling.
"You know you make me proud, big brother. Your dedication towards Rachel is just.. incredible" Monica set the dishes on the table and kissed him on the cheek to show her appreciation.
"I agree. Very few people can sustain long distance relationships like you guys have. So.. beautifully. Kudos to you and Rachel" Chandler toasted with the bottle of beer in his hand. Ross smiled thinking about his amazing girlfriend and remembering last year of pure bliss spent with her.