Chapter 2
Joey walked into his apartment after another disappointing acting audition and found Chandler sitting in the Barcalounger, staring at a blank TV screen.
"Hey," Joey said, dropping his backpack on the floor near the door.
Chandler swiveled the brown leather chair to face his friend, who look disappointed.
"Bad day?"
"Yeah. The audition was horrible. And I'm not doing that fake-out thing. It was bad."
"Sorry, man. I hope it's okay that I'm here."
"It's fine."
Joey was about to perch himself on one of the green velvet stools when Phoebe walked in and said "hi" before helping herself to a bottle of water from the fridge.
"Whatcha doing?" she asked, taking a seat next to Joey.
"Nothing," Joey said. "I had a really lousy day. What about you?"
"My day was okay. Hey, Chandler, I saw Rachel at the coffeehouse. She told me you guys talked."
"Yeah, we did."
"So, you know?" Joey asked, looking uncomfortable.
Chandler rose from the chair and stood in front of his friends.
"That Monica went on the cruise? Yeah, Rachel told me. I can't believe she went on our honeymoon cruise!"
"She needed to do something. She was driving herself and the rest of us crazy. Kinda like you are," Joey added, speaking low with his head down.
He quickly slid off the stool and moved towards the foosball table. He crossed his arms against his chest as if to ward off Chandler's perceived anger at his comment.
"I'm sorry, but I had to tell you that."
"I know I haven't been the best company. I've tried to stay away from you guys as much as I can."
"But that's not what we want!" Phoebe said. "Look, you and Monica said you needed time. Well, you got it. But being apart hasn't made either of you any happier. Why don't you try the being together thing again?"
"Yeah," Joey said, his brown eyes lighting up. "Give yourselves another chance."
"We haven't talked about getting back together," Chandler argued.
"You guys haven't talked at all!" Joey said.
"It's okay because I came up with the perfect plan," Phoebe said to Chandler.
"What?" he asked, casting a wary glance in his friend's direction.
"Look what I have."
She opened the top drawer in Joey's kitchen and produced Chandler's cruise ticket.
"It's perfect," Joey said.
He smiled and slapped his friend's arm.
"I think that ship has sailed," Chandler said, growing impatient. "Literally."
"We know that," Phoebe said, somewhat exasperated. "But I called the cruise line, and you can catch up with the "Coral Sea" in St. Thomas. What have you got to lose? If it should happen that you and Monica don't reconcile, I'm sure the vessel is big enough that you wouldn't have to see her."
"Give this a chance," Joey added. "At least to see if maybe the Caribbean can work some magic on the two of you."
Phoebe nodded. "Yes. Magic. Very good, Joey. I can see hanging out with me is finally paying off."
He grinned. "Thanks."
Chandler looked from Joey to Phoebe, unsure which one was scaring him more. "You guys make this sound so easy, but it's not. I can't just join Monica on the cruise."
"Why not?" Phoebe asked.
"Yeah, why not?"
"Because that's something you do when you want to give a good surprise to someone. We're not in that place. She might throw me overboard. This is not a good idea."
Joey laughed. "She's not going to throw you off the boat. You're paranoid!"
"She might," Phoebe whispered to Joey.
"I heard that!" Chandler said. "I'm not taking the risk. I won't. I can't."
"Do you still love her?" Phoebe demanded.
Chandler tried to avoid answering his friend's pointed question, but she wouldn't let him.
"Answer me, Chandler," she said, not breaking eye contact with him.
"I don't know."
"Your eyes tell me otherwise," she said. "You can't lie to me. You still love her."
"What if I do?" he challenged. "What difference does it make?"
"Because I know you still love her, I'm going to share something. Richard is on that cruise ship. Do you want to blow the one chance you might have to work things out with Monica? Do you?"
"No one told me Richard's on that boat!" Joey complained. "Chandler, you gotta do this. Here, take this ticket and figure out how to get to St. Thomas. Now!"
"Are you sure about this, Phoebe?" Chandler questioned. "Rachel didn't say anything about Richard. Did they plan this? Are they on the ship together? How do you know this?"
"I just do, okay? They didn't plan to be together, but do you really have to think about this? You and Monica deserve one more chance. Take this opportunity. You might never get another one."
Joey continued to hold out the ticket. Chandler stared at it for a long moment and then grabbed it from his hand.
"Way to go!" Joey said.
"Well, I never did cancel my vacation. I guess, subconsciously, I thought we would work things out and that we would be on our honeymoon. I owe this to Monica and to myself. I'm not going to make things easy for Richard. No way. Okay, Pheebs. What do I need to do to get to St. Thomas?"
**
After Phoebe gave Chandler the particulars and he left to pack for the cruise, Joey questioned Phoebe.
"How did you know Richard is on that boat?"
With an impish grin and a mischievous gleam in her hazel eyes, Phoebe wrapped a few strands of her long blonde hair around her finger.
"He's not. Well, not that I know of, anyway."
"What?!" Joey cried. "Then why did you tell Chandler..."
"Because," she said, interrupting, "Richard's name is the only thing that motivates Chandler into action. We want Monica and him back together, right? Drastic times call for drastic measures."
"He is going to be so mad when he finds out what you did," Joey warned.
Phoebe shrugged. "Let's just hope that he and Monica get back together. If they do, I think he'll forgive me, don't you?"
"Yeah," Joey said and smiled. "They'll have you to thank, right? You can't be mad at the person who caused you to reunite. But what if they don't get back together?"
"That's not going to happen," Phoebe stated emphatically. "They will get together again. They have to!"
**
Monica forced herself to eat dinner at her assigned table rather than in her room, as she had done the previous night. She waited for the late seating, hoping that not many people would be sitting with her. Elegance defined the dining room, Monica thought, as she admired the rich dark wood paneling and the sparkling crystal chandeliers. Fine white linen and bone China adorned each table. Flickering candlelight gave the room a soft glow. Soothing instrumental music completed the ambience. Happy couples sharing a romantic meal caught her eye. A deep sadness engulfed her as she realized that should have been Chandler and her smiling and laughing as they sipped their wine and tasted each other's food. But it wasn't, and she had to stop torturing herself with things that would never be.
Pulling her lavender chiffon wrap around her matching colored dress, she walked with determined steps towards her table where two couples and one male had already been seated. She pasted on a smile and joined them. The gentlemen rose and one man, who appeared to be alone, held out a chair for her.
"Thank you," she said.
She reached for her water glass and took a long swallow.
"I'm Monica," she said, in answer to their curious looks.
"Nice to meet you, Monica," an older lady said. "My name is Sheila, and this is my husband Ralph."
"I'm Victoria," a young brunette said, "and this is my husband Adam."
"My name is Daniel," the man who had seated her said.
"It's nice to meet all of you," Monica said, making eye contact with each of them. She found herself gazing at Daniel a tad longer than was necessary.
"Are you enjoying the cruise?" Sheila asked.
"It's been okay."
"You look like you got a lot of sun," Victoria commented.
"Some. The pools are fantastic. Swimming relaxes me."
And I need it, she added silently.
"If you enjoy the water," Daniel said, "you should sign up for snorkeling when we get to St. Thomas. The beaches are incredible."
"I saw a pamphlet in my room," Monica said.
"If you'd like," Daniel offered, giving her a dazzling white smile, "we can go together."
"Oh, I don't know. We just met."
"We have another day to get to know each other better before we dock in St. Thomas. Let's spend time together. After we eat, we can walk around and maybe have a nightcap. What do you say?"
Monica allowed herself a longer look at Daniel. What could she say? Her only other option was to spend the evening by herself, either in her room or staring at the water. He seemed nice enough, and his shaggy blonde hair and cat green eyes were just the distraction she needed. Why not? she asked herself. She could use a break from being miserable, and she knew she could do a lot worse than Daniel.
"Okay," she answered. "I'd like that."
Pleased with herself that dinner was not the ordeal she thought it would be, she extended her time with Daniel. She declined his offer of a drink but agreed, hesitantly, to walk through the casino on the way back to her room.
As soon as they entered the noisy area, her mind wandered to the trip she and Chandler had taken to Las Vegas. When the memories threatened to overwhelm her, she willed herself to concentrate on the present. Daniel was not Chandler. He did not deserve to see her obsess because she wasn't on her honeymoon.
"I feel lucky tonight," Daniel said. "Accompany me to play one of my favorite games. Please?"
"Okay," she said uncertainly. "Just for a little while, though."
"Great."
He led Monica towards the back of the room. When she saw where he was heading, she froze and vehemently shook her head.
"What's wrong?" Daniel asked, surprised.
"I...I can't go to that table," she said, visibly shaking. "I just can't. I'm sorry."
She turned to flee; Daniel's warm hand on her arm prevented her escape.
"Monica, you're trembling. What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she lied, her eyes pleading with him not to ask any more questions. "I just...I can't be here. I'm sorry."
Before Daniel could question her further or even find out when he might see her again, she was gone.
Once in the safety of her room, Monica collapsed on the bed. Must everything remind her of Chandler, she fumed. Seeing the craps table brought back their Las Vegas trip, which had started out so badly, but had ended happily with them deciding to move in together, even though their original plan had been to get married. As she stared once again at her bare ring finger, she couldn't help but wonder how different things might have been if they had gotten married in Las Vegas.
"You have to stop this," she scolded herself, out loud. "You might have had fun with Daniel, but you had to freak out. You can't keep doing this."
Growing impatient with herself, she rose from the bed and grabbed her nightgown and robe and headed for the shower. The warm spray helped to relax her. She tried to clear her mind, but as she slipped under the covers for what she was certain would be another restless night's sleep, she couldn't help but think about Vegas and, inevitably, Chandler.
When she woke up from yet another cold sweat-inducing dream, she derisively congratulated herself on being right about her sleep being restless and interrupted. Throughout the long night, whenever she did manage to fall asleep, huge red dice that had nothing but fours on them invaded her dreams.
Shaking the images of Chandler and Vegas from her mind, she punched her pillow and willed herself into a dreamless sleep. Tomorrow was a new day, and she vowed she would not spend one moment of it thinking about Chandler and what might have been. She'd come on this cruise to heal. The time had come to let the process begin.
Joey walked into his apartment after another disappointing acting audition and found Chandler sitting in the Barcalounger, staring at a blank TV screen.
"Hey," Joey said, dropping his backpack on the floor near the door.
Chandler swiveled the brown leather chair to face his friend, who look disappointed.
"Bad day?"
"Yeah. The audition was horrible. And I'm not doing that fake-out thing. It was bad."
"Sorry, man. I hope it's okay that I'm here."
"It's fine."
Joey was about to perch himself on one of the green velvet stools when Phoebe walked in and said "hi" before helping herself to a bottle of water from the fridge.
"Whatcha doing?" she asked, taking a seat next to Joey.
"Nothing," Joey said. "I had a really lousy day. What about you?"
"My day was okay. Hey, Chandler, I saw Rachel at the coffeehouse. She told me you guys talked."
"Yeah, we did."
"So, you know?" Joey asked, looking uncomfortable.
Chandler rose from the chair and stood in front of his friends.
"That Monica went on the cruise? Yeah, Rachel told me. I can't believe she went on our honeymoon cruise!"
"She needed to do something. She was driving herself and the rest of us crazy. Kinda like you are," Joey added, speaking low with his head down.
He quickly slid off the stool and moved towards the foosball table. He crossed his arms against his chest as if to ward off Chandler's perceived anger at his comment.
"I'm sorry, but I had to tell you that."
"I know I haven't been the best company. I've tried to stay away from you guys as much as I can."
"But that's not what we want!" Phoebe said. "Look, you and Monica said you needed time. Well, you got it. But being apart hasn't made either of you any happier. Why don't you try the being together thing again?"
"Yeah," Joey said, his brown eyes lighting up. "Give yourselves another chance."
"We haven't talked about getting back together," Chandler argued.
"You guys haven't talked at all!" Joey said.
"It's okay because I came up with the perfect plan," Phoebe said to Chandler.
"What?" he asked, casting a wary glance in his friend's direction.
"Look what I have."
She opened the top drawer in Joey's kitchen and produced Chandler's cruise ticket.
"It's perfect," Joey said.
He smiled and slapped his friend's arm.
"I think that ship has sailed," Chandler said, growing impatient. "Literally."
"We know that," Phoebe said, somewhat exasperated. "But I called the cruise line, and you can catch up with the "Coral Sea" in St. Thomas. What have you got to lose? If it should happen that you and Monica don't reconcile, I'm sure the vessel is big enough that you wouldn't have to see her."
"Give this a chance," Joey added. "At least to see if maybe the Caribbean can work some magic on the two of you."
Phoebe nodded. "Yes. Magic. Very good, Joey. I can see hanging out with me is finally paying off."
He grinned. "Thanks."
Chandler looked from Joey to Phoebe, unsure which one was scaring him more. "You guys make this sound so easy, but it's not. I can't just join Monica on the cruise."
"Why not?" Phoebe asked.
"Yeah, why not?"
"Because that's something you do when you want to give a good surprise to someone. We're not in that place. She might throw me overboard. This is not a good idea."
Joey laughed. "She's not going to throw you off the boat. You're paranoid!"
"She might," Phoebe whispered to Joey.
"I heard that!" Chandler said. "I'm not taking the risk. I won't. I can't."
"Do you still love her?" Phoebe demanded.
Chandler tried to avoid answering his friend's pointed question, but she wouldn't let him.
"Answer me, Chandler," she said, not breaking eye contact with him.
"I don't know."
"Your eyes tell me otherwise," she said. "You can't lie to me. You still love her."
"What if I do?" he challenged. "What difference does it make?"
"Because I know you still love her, I'm going to share something. Richard is on that cruise ship. Do you want to blow the one chance you might have to work things out with Monica? Do you?"
"No one told me Richard's on that boat!" Joey complained. "Chandler, you gotta do this. Here, take this ticket and figure out how to get to St. Thomas. Now!"
"Are you sure about this, Phoebe?" Chandler questioned. "Rachel didn't say anything about Richard. Did they plan this? Are they on the ship together? How do you know this?"
"I just do, okay? They didn't plan to be together, but do you really have to think about this? You and Monica deserve one more chance. Take this opportunity. You might never get another one."
Joey continued to hold out the ticket. Chandler stared at it for a long moment and then grabbed it from his hand.
"Way to go!" Joey said.
"Well, I never did cancel my vacation. I guess, subconsciously, I thought we would work things out and that we would be on our honeymoon. I owe this to Monica and to myself. I'm not going to make things easy for Richard. No way. Okay, Pheebs. What do I need to do to get to St. Thomas?"
**
After Phoebe gave Chandler the particulars and he left to pack for the cruise, Joey questioned Phoebe.
"How did you know Richard is on that boat?"
With an impish grin and a mischievous gleam in her hazel eyes, Phoebe wrapped a few strands of her long blonde hair around her finger.
"He's not. Well, not that I know of, anyway."
"What?!" Joey cried. "Then why did you tell Chandler..."
"Because," she said, interrupting, "Richard's name is the only thing that motivates Chandler into action. We want Monica and him back together, right? Drastic times call for drastic measures."
"He is going to be so mad when he finds out what you did," Joey warned.
Phoebe shrugged. "Let's just hope that he and Monica get back together. If they do, I think he'll forgive me, don't you?"
"Yeah," Joey said and smiled. "They'll have you to thank, right? You can't be mad at the person who caused you to reunite. But what if they don't get back together?"
"That's not going to happen," Phoebe stated emphatically. "They will get together again. They have to!"
**
Monica forced herself to eat dinner at her assigned table rather than in her room, as she had done the previous night. She waited for the late seating, hoping that not many people would be sitting with her. Elegance defined the dining room, Monica thought, as she admired the rich dark wood paneling and the sparkling crystal chandeliers. Fine white linen and bone China adorned each table. Flickering candlelight gave the room a soft glow. Soothing instrumental music completed the ambience. Happy couples sharing a romantic meal caught her eye. A deep sadness engulfed her as she realized that should have been Chandler and her smiling and laughing as they sipped their wine and tasted each other's food. But it wasn't, and she had to stop torturing herself with things that would never be.
Pulling her lavender chiffon wrap around her matching colored dress, she walked with determined steps towards her table where two couples and one male had already been seated. She pasted on a smile and joined them. The gentlemen rose and one man, who appeared to be alone, held out a chair for her.
"Thank you," she said.
She reached for her water glass and took a long swallow.
"I'm Monica," she said, in answer to their curious looks.
"Nice to meet you, Monica," an older lady said. "My name is Sheila, and this is my husband Ralph."
"I'm Victoria," a young brunette said, "and this is my husband Adam."
"My name is Daniel," the man who had seated her said.
"It's nice to meet all of you," Monica said, making eye contact with each of them. She found herself gazing at Daniel a tad longer than was necessary.
"Are you enjoying the cruise?" Sheila asked.
"It's been okay."
"You look like you got a lot of sun," Victoria commented.
"Some. The pools are fantastic. Swimming relaxes me."
And I need it, she added silently.
"If you enjoy the water," Daniel said, "you should sign up for snorkeling when we get to St. Thomas. The beaches are incredible."
"I saw a pamphlet in my room," Monica said.
"If you'd like," Daniel offered, giving her a dazzling white smile, "we can go together."
"Oh, I don't know. We just met."
"We have another day to get to know each other better before we dock in St. Thomas. Let's spend time together. After we eat, we can walk around and maybe have a nightcap. What do you say?"
Monica allowed herself a longer look at Daniel. What could she say? Her only other option was to spend the evening by herself, either in her room or staring at the water. He seemed nice enough, and his shaggy blonde hair and cat green eyes were just the distraction she needed. Why not? she asked herself. She could use a break from being miserable, and she knew she could do a lot worse than Daniel.
"Okay," she answered. "I'd like that."
Pleased with herself that dinner was not the ordeal she thought it would be, she extended her time with Daniel. She declined his offer of a drink but agreed, hesitantly, to walk through the casino on the way back to her room.
As soon as they entered the noisy area, her mind wandered to the trip she and Chandler had taken to Las Vegas. When the memories threatened to overwhelm her, she willed herself to concentrate on the present. Daniel was not Chandler. He did not deserve to see her obsess because she wasn't on her honeymoon.
"I feel lucky tonight," Daniel said. "Accompany me to play one of my favorite games. Please?"
"Okay," she said uncertainly. "Just for a little while, though."
"Great."
He led Monica towards the back of the room. When she saw where he was heading, she froze and vehemently shook her head.
"What's wrong?" Daniel asked, surprised.
"I...I can't go to that table," she said, visibly shaking. "I just can't. I'm sorry."
She turned to flee; Daniel's warm hand on her arm prevented her escape.
"Monica, you're trembling. What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she lied, her eyes pleading with him not to ask any more questions. "I just...I can't be here. I'm sorry."
Before Daniel could question her further or even find out when he might see her again, she was gone.
Once in the safety of her room, Monica collapsed on the bed. Must everything remind her of Chandler, she fumed. Seeing the craps table brought back their Las Vegas trip, which had started out so badly, but had ended happily with them deciding to move in together, even though their original plan had been to get married. As she stared once again at her bare ring finger, she couldn't help but wonder how different things might have been if they had gotten married in Las Vegas.
"You have to stop this," she scolded herself, out loud. "You might have had fun with Daniel, but you had to freak out. You can't keep doing this."
Growing impatient with herself, she rose from the bed and grabbed her nightgown and robe and headed for the shower. The warm spray helped to relax her. She tried to clear her mind, but as she slipped under the covers for what she was certain would be another restless night's sleep, she couldn't help but think about Vegas and, inevitably, Chandler.
When she woke up from yet another cold sweat-inducing dream, she derisively congratulated herself on being right about her sleep being restless and interrupted. Throughout the long night, whenever she did manage to fall asleep, huge red dice that had nothing but fours on them invaded her dreams.
Shaking the images of Chandler and Vegas from her mind, she punched her pillow and willed herself into a dreamless sleep. Tomorrow was a new day, and she vowed she would not spend one moment of it thinking about Chandler and what might have been. She'd come on this cruise to heal. The time had come to let the process begin.