Chapter 7: The Grand Opening

'Lucy, there's a customer in your section who's been waiting to order for at least five minutes,' hissed Rachel. 'Move, move, move!'

'Yes, ma'am!' said Lucy, scooting out from behind the counter as if she was on wheels and had been pushed.

Was I ever that slow? thought Rachel to herself. Yes, in fact I was downright lazy, she admitted. But those days were gone. She had shaped up, she was the day manager most days now, and she could surely sympathise with Monica's complaints about incompetent or slow co-workers and having to do everything herself if she wanted it done right. She missed waitressing somewhat, and often sallied from behind the counter to take a pot of coffee round for fill-ups, or a cake that she had baked, to offer to regular customers. It gave her a buzz to have the ones she knew greet her and sometimes compliment her on how she was running Central Perk. She had even managed to increase the regular clientele a bit, to Terry's loudly expressed pleasure.

Casting a quick glance around, she felt that she could relax a bit: everything looked satisfactory. She allowed her mind to wander a little. Tonight was the grand opening of Monica's restaurant, after all the delays, and she had arranged to hand over to the night manager early, so as to have time to clean up and dress and be there in good time. She could hardly wait to see Chandler all dressed up as a maitre de – he had said that he would wear a tuxedo – and watch him at work. She thought she was over the feelings that she had begun developing for him, but it would be great to see him in a new light, all the same. Ross and Phoebe had promised to show; she was to share a table with them, in fact, and they were keeping a seat for Joey too. No one knew what he was doing, but he ought to show up. He and Monica had not been out together much recently, but they had not officially broken up either.

A voice interrupted her thoughts. 'Excuse me, may I talk to you for a minute?'

She focussed, to see a slightly large but stylishly dressed blonde woman, who had come in on several occasions recently, standing at the counter.

'I'm sorry,' Rachel said. 'I was miles away, thinking about my friend's opening night. How may I help you?'

'First off, may I compliment you on your dress sense?' the woman said. 'Every time I've come in you've been wearing a different outfit, and all of it well chosen and worn with flair.'

Rachel blushed a little. 'Thank you. I love clothes. I used to spend all my money on them, but I'm a bit more restrained now.'

'Have you been in this job long?' the woman asked.

'As manager, less than a month,' said Rachel, wondering why she was being asked this. 'But I was a waitress here for some months before that.'

'You don't sound like a natural waitress, if you know what I mean,' the woman said. 'You sound as if you've been to college.'

'Oh yes,' said Rachel. 'But, well … I had to get a job, and waitressing was the only one I could get. I wasn't qualified for anything.'

'Seems like there's a story there,' said the woman, smiling. 'My name's Joanna Waterman. I'm an executive buyer in Bloomingdales fashion department.'

'Bloomingdales!' gasped Rachel. 'Oh, I love Bloomingdales! Excuse me just one moment.' She gave the shop a quick once-over. Everyone still looked happy. She returned her glance to Joanna. 'Just checking up. I'm Rachel Green.' She held out her hand.

Joanna shook it and said, 'You're really  conscientious. I like that. Have you ever thought of working in fashion?'

'I tried out for a job at Saks a while back,' said Rachel. 'I thought the interview went well, but I didn't get it.'

'Who interviewed you?' said Joanna sharply.

'Barbara something,' said Rachel.

Joanna snorted. 'She couldn't pick a good assistant if her life depended on it.'

'But I'm not entirely surprised, looking back,' said Rachel. 'When I started off, I was lazy and rich-girlish, and I expect that came through a bit.'

Joanna positively beamed at her. 'Rachel – I hope I can call you that – I'd like you to think very seriously about taking as job as my assistant. I have a secretary, but she's not executive material.'

Rachel gasped. 'Me? Just on the basis of my clothes sense?'

'I've watched the way you run this place,' said Joanna, 'and brighten it up too. I think you could go far at Bloomingdales.'

'It's very tempting,' said Rachel. 'Very very tempting, but … I'd have to give them time to replace me here, and train the replacement. We ought to talk contracts too.' Inwardly, she felt proud of being so businesslike when her head was in a whirl at this fantastic offer, right out of the blue.

Joanna nodded. 'Sure. I can get by for a while with just Sophie, but I'll need to know if you're interested within three days. If you are, we'll have to interview you, but with my backing there should be no problem. You can certainly work out any notice here. Now, indulge my curiosity: what's this opening night? Does your friend act?'

Rachel explained about Monica's restaurant.

'Mm – intriguing,' said Joanna. 'Could I drop in to see you there? I'll have to talk to my superiors about possible terms for a contract, and I could bring that information.'

'Come as my guest,' said Rachel impulsively. 'Monica will be pleased: obviously, we want as many there on opening night as we can get.'

Joanna accepted the invitation in a rather regal manner, as if it was no more than her due, but Rachel did not feel offended. This was a great offer, after all.

Nothing else remarkable happened that morning, until Ross and Phoebe came in on their lunch break, as they often did, arguing as usual. It never ceased to amaze Rachel how they could argue constantly without ever losing their tempers, but they seemed to enjoy it. It also seemed amazing to her that Phoebe was now the true believer in science, while Ross had become much more open to suggestions of the paranormal and supernatural. Just as Phoebe read his books, he was now reading hers. He was quite capable of watching The X-Files without  pouring scorn on the whole concept, and had been heard to say that no one knew the whole story on that Roswell business and he wouldn't be surprised if there was something really weird behind it all.

On this occasion, as they came up to the counter, Ross was saying, 'Yes, but Pheebs, don't you believe the ancients could have known stuff that we don't? Look at what they could do, like building the pyramids.'

'All explicable if you have the time, the labour, and the resources to feed them,' said Phoebe. 'People are working out the mechanics. Hi, Rach. You're looking pretty chipper.'

'I just had a job offer, to work in fashion at Bloomie's,' said Rachel excitedly.

'Hey, that's great,' said Ross enthusiastically. 'You're gonna take it, I hope?'

'I think so,' said Rachel, 'though I'll miss Central Perk and the feeling of being my own boss, more or less.'

'Yes, you've really made a difference here,' said Phoebe. 'It has a very welcoming feel, like a good aura.' She smiled at her friends' surprise. 'I can still feel auras, you know; I just don't go on about them the way I did. Let's see, I think I fancy a large decaf and a muffin today, unless you have any cake?'

'All gone,' said Rachel, smiling. 'The customers can't get enough of it.'

'I'm not surprised,' said Ross. 'I'll take a large regular and a muffin. Okay, Pheebs, I'll give you the technological side, but what about other things? I know a lot of it is crap, but mightn't there be something behind astrology? If the moon can affect us, why not planets?'

'They're much further away,' said Phoebe tartly. 'Besides, hadn't you heard? The sun now passes through Ophiuchus as well as the traditional signs of the Zodiac, so where's all the stuff that's, like, predicated on there being only twelve signs?' She grinned triumphantly.

Ross laughed and threw up his hands. 'I can't beat her,' he confided to Rachel. 'She soaks up knowledge and arguments like a sponge. Always got her nose in a book now.' His tone was one of loving admiration.

'There's no end to what there is to know,' said Phoebe enthusiastically. 'And I'll never be able to thank Ross enough for turning me on to it all.'

'You came to it of your own accord,' said Ross. 'I just helped you along.'

They gazed lovingly into each other's eyes and exchanged a light kiss, while Rachel regarded them indulgently. Of all the possible pairings among their group of friends, this looked like the most solidly based. She was very happy for them both, as well as slightly relieved. The force of Ross's crush on her had sometimes felt almost oppressive. But she missed the sense of being especially cherished which it had given her, and which she had just begun to feel with Chandler, before he had taken up again with Janice. She was not at all sure where things stood between him and Janice now. Like Monica, he had been spending most of his free time on preparations for opening the restaurant, so much so that Rachel sometimes wondered why they did not get together.

None of the others came in, not even Joey, who was probably shooting another episode of Days Of Our Lives or some other work; he was constantly in demand for ads now, as an increasingly well-known face. There were plenty of other customers, though, many in a hurry and so inclined to be snappy or demanding. She handled them as diplomatically as she could, but felt increasingly impatient to end her shift and get away.

-----

In Monica's restaurant it was less than half an hour to opening time, and Monica felt she was staying on top of the situation only by prodigious efforts. At least, thanks to Chandler, much that could go wrong had been anticipated. She glanced at him as he moved about the restaurant dealing with last-minute stuff, a Chandler that she had never seen before, apparently suave and unruffled and completely absorbed in what he was doing. She thought he looked very distinguished in his tuxedo, and for a moment almost wished that she had got mixed up with him instead of Joey. In truth, she was wondering if she had a relationship with Joey any more. She didn't even know if he would come tonight; he had been irritatingly vague about it, just saying that he would make it if he could. At least her other friends would all be there, and Rachel had rung in to say that she would be bringing a guest, bless her. There was one big booking, too: at least the place would be fairly full.

Abruptly she snapped out of her rumination, to rescue a saucepan that was about to boil over. Her co-chef Paula should have got it, but she was completely involved in directing the temporary staff, who were preparing plates of amuse-bouches and mezé – they had decided on a predominantly east Mediterranean theme for the first night, to suggest a little continuity with Costas's coffee shop. Monica did not have the heart to scold her. She felt she was lucky to have lured her away from the Iridium restaurant, where they had had a harmonious relationship.

'Five minutes to opening time,' called Chandler.

'Oh wow!' cried Paula. 'Are we really gonna do this?'

'Too late to back out now,' said Monica, with a laugh in her voice. Now that the stressful period of setting up was over, she was beginning to feel excited. She wished Rachel was out there as her head waitress, rather than Wendy, but you couldn't have everything. She knew Rachel was enjoying her job as day manager at Central Perk, and doing well, by what she heard from Ross and Phoebe. She felt a twinge of guilt at having dropped in so little recently, but setting up the restaurant really had demanded almost her time.

'There are some eager-looking faces out there,' said Chandler, coming over to the counter. 'Can you handle it if I open a little early?'

'Go ahead,' said Monica. 'We've got enough starters to hold them.'

With a flourish Chandler unlocked the door, and almost immediately had to assert himself and make people wait in line to be seated. But he managed it with a seemingly natural authority and aplomb, causing Monica's opinion of him to rise even further. Maybe he really was made for this sort of job. Soon the temporary waiters were circulating with the complimentary amuse-bouches – falaffel with pitta bread, tzatziki dip with celery stalks, and other delicacies – and free glasses of wine, while Wendy was taking orders and Chandler was taking orders for drinks. Then the orders began coming in, and Monica and Paula set to work.

Three quarters of an hour later things had settled down. Those who had dropped in for the complimentary freebies had left, the serious diners were well into their main courses, and Monica relaxed for a moment to look around. The big booking was not due until eight, but over in a corner she saw Ross, Phoebe, Rachel, and a rather large, well-dressed woman, all conversing animatedly. She had put stuffed peppers on the menu especially for Phoebe, and was pleased to see her laying into them enthusiastically.

'I'm taking five to talk to my friends,' she called to Paula. 'Yell if you need me.'

'Okay, go!' Paula called back. 'We've got it under control here.'

Monica walked over to her friends' table, unable to stop herself beaming at them. 'Thanks for coming, guys,' she said.

'Mon, you look really cute in your chef's hat,' said Rachel, smiling at her, 'and this food is delicious. By the way, this is Joanna Waterman, who may be going to be my boss at Bloomingdales soon.'

Monica shook her hand, accepting further compliments from the others gracefully. Then Chandler came over.

'Everyt'ing hokay, sir and madams?' he said in an assumed foreign accent, and kept his face absolutely impassive as they cracked up.

'Chandler, you were born to be a maitre de,' Phoebe cried. 'And you wear that tux!'

'Doesn't he just!' said Joanna, smiling at him in a somewhat predatory way. Chandler allowed an answering smile to crack his professional mask.

'Not long till our mystery booking,' he said to Monica. 'You'd better be ready. There's at least eight of them, and maybe more, so I was told on the phone.'

'Have a little of our wine before you go,' said Ross. Chandler conjured a clean glass from somewhere, and Monica clinked glasses with them and said 'Yia sas!' as Costas had taught them to do. Then Paula yelled, and she tossed the wine back and hurried to the kitchen again. She was absorbed in simmering an order of Fish Plaki, intent on getting it just right, when there was a considerable commotion out front. She heard Chandler's voice raised in unprofessional excitement and the girls screeching, but despite her curiosity she would not look until she felt the fish was ready. Only then did she peer out. Her heart leaped. It was Joey, with a whole bunch of people from Days Of Our Lives including two of the stars. He beamed and waved when he saw her.

She beckoned. 'I can't leave the kitchen,' she called, 'but you can come in.'

He rushed over, and she cast all chefly aloofness aside to throw her arms round him and give him a good kiss. 'Oh Joey!' she said. 'What a wonderful surprise! I couldn't have asked for better. Thank you for doing this for me.'

'Mon, you look good enough to eat, all done up as a chef,' said Joey, smiling down at her.

'Well, I'm not on the menu,' she said, then, with an entrancing smile, 'but I could feature as a late-night dessert.'

His smile broadened. 'You got it,' he said. 'Now, what's good tonight, apart from you?'

-----

Much later, Monica was sitting with her friends, having a late glass of wine; otherwise, the restaurant was empty and more or less tidied up. She felt exhausted but exhilarated. It had gone very well: there had been no major upsets, no complaints about the food that could not be dismissed as ridiculously picky – Joey's guests had been unanimously enthusiastic – and publicity was assured. The word had got to the Village Voice that Days Of Our Lives stars were in her restaurant, and they had sent a reporter and photographer. Joey had gone off with his guests, but had promised faithfully to come to her later. Rachel's prospective boss Joanna had also left, but not before giving Chandler her card and a pretty broad hint that she would love to have a date with him. He and Rachel were chatting away about professional problems that they had in common, such as unreliable suppliers and difficult customers, and seemed to be getting on very well again.

Then Janice appeared. She was quite evidently far from sober. 'Chandler BING!' she cried, in full raucous Janice mode. 'How's my Bing-a-ling?' She staggered across, and almost fell into his arms as he got up. She turned an admiring face up to him. 'You look great in that tux!'

'Janice,' he said quietly, 'you're being a bit noisy.'

Her face fell. 'I'm sorry, Chandler, but I just can't keep it up. It's so not me, y'know, being quiet and refined.' She gave her machinegun laugh.

He sighed. 'You walked out on me at Central Perk, Janice, and when I phoned you couldn't make the dates I suggested. Now you want us to start up again, just like that?'

'Well, yeah!' she said rather indignantly. 'What'samatter, aren't I good enough for you, Mr. Head Waiter?'

'Okay, that does it,' he said decisively. 'I'm sorry, Janice, but I've explained to you why I find it difficult to enjoy being with you when you're like this, and you're not doing anything to make me change my mind. Dumping on my job doesn't help.'

'So?' she said, her face tensing as he gently moved her away from him.

'So it's over,' he said, his voice quiet and steady. 'I thought it was over already, when you made no real attempt to make up after that day in Central Perk. And before you ask, no, there isn't anyone else. I haven't been dating. I was waiting for you, but you're no longer the Janice I was waiting for.'

She stood in front of him, weaving a little on her feet, her face working. Then she slapped him hard across the face and turned to the others. 'Don't you take up with him, Rachel, Monica. He'll love you and leave you, just like me.' Tears were beginning to come, but when Monica, her soft heart touched, got up to try to comfort her Janice waved her down. 'I'll be okay,' she said. 'I will survive,' she sang off key. Then she turned on her heel and staggered out again.

Rachel jumped up. 'She needs a cab,' she said. 'Come on, Mon, we can't let her wander around New York in that state.'

They ran after her and caught her before only a few steps from the restaurant. She had broken down and was weeping loudly. Monica hugged her while Rachel kept a lookout for a cab. Janice made no attempt to get away from them, but rather seemed pathetically grateful, though she kept repeating, 'He'll love you and leave you,' in a voice that suggested she was trying to remember the words of a song.

When a cab finally pulled up she heaved a great sigh. 'Oh God, I blew it, didn't I?' she said. 'But I just couldn't keep the lid on the way he wanted. What should I do?' She looked at them in appeal.

'Maybe,' said Monica, 'you should try toning down just a bit at a time. Chandler tried to make you go cold turkey; looking back, that was a mistake.'

Janice tried to smile. 'Good advice. You running Central Perk now, Rachel?'

'In the daytime, most days,' said Rachel. 'Why don't you drop around for a coffee and a chat some time? Chandler isn't there much any more.'

Janice nodded, then looked at her slyly. 'I guess he may be around a bit more often now. Sorry to make a scene in your restaurant, Monica; I hope you won't ban me. I'd have come earlier, but I couldn't work up the nerve. That's why I drank so much.'

'Lady, d'ya want this cab or not?' said the cab-driver in an irritated voice.

'Yeah, yeah,' said Janice, 'in a second, all right? I don't see anyone else looking for a cab.' She turned back to Rachel and Monica. 'Thanks, you guys. I'll be seeing you, maybe. Good luck with Chandler, Rachel: you'll need it.' She got into the cab and lay back against the seat, not looking at them any more.

They walked back together. 'Poor Janice,' said Monica. 'She tried so hard.'

'Yeah,' said Rachel. She was looking pensive. 'Listen: do you think I have any chance with Chandler?'

'You carrying the torch for him?' said Monica in some surprise.

'Some,' Rachel admitted. 'But it looked like he was interested in Joanna.'

'Well, now might be a good time to get him interested in you,' said Monica encouragingly.

But when they got back to the restaurant, Chandler had gone.