TOW A Twist of Fate

Chapter Four

  "Hi," Chandler greeted the hostess at the restaurant hesitantly, clearing his throat as she glanced up at him and smiled, waiting for him to continue.  "Um, I'm meeting someone for dinner – can you tell me if he's here yet?  The reservation should be under Geller."

"Geller?" She quickly scanned the list, and stopped with her finger next to Ross's name.  "Here's the reservation – and no, your friend hasn't arrived yet.  Would you like to wait for him or be seated now?"

"Uh…I'll be at the bar?" he said, shrugging his shoulders as if to ask if that was okay.  She nodded and made a mark on her book, then gestured him on. 

"I'll let Mr. Geller know when he gets here."

"Thanks."  Chandler walked over to the bar and took a seat, ordering a beer from the bartender that appeared in front of him.  As he took a sip, his mind wandered back to what Joey had said earlier – that it was time for him to move on.  Easier said than done, he told himself, smiling ruefully.  It sounded crazy even to him – to spend his life hoping he would happen to run into a woman he barely knew…but one that had occupied his heart for two years nonetheless.  He had tried to explain it to Joey…It wasn't necessarily that he was waiting for Monica, it was more that he hadn't found anyone else in the past few years that compared to the image he had of her. 

Joey had stared at him in disbelief, then told him he was being crazy and lectured him for almost an hour on all the things Chandler was missing out on by "saving himself" – as Joey put it – for some mystery woman.  Then he had suspiciously hinted that Chandler might be using Monica as an excuse to cover up the fact that he was gay…

Chandler chuckled to himself.  Joey had lived to regret that conversation.  It had led to a major rebellion on Chandler's part…which had led to a party and lots of alcohol and a make-out session in a closet with one of Joey's seven sisters…Chandler still wasn't completely sure which sister it had been.  Needless to say, big brother Joey hadn't been too happy about it.  And after the dust settled, he didn't question Chandler again.  Not until today.

He was right, though, and Chandler knew it.  There were hundreds of thousands of people in New York City…and the chance of meeting up with someone by chance – twice – was miniscule.  Less than miniscule.  So was Monica really just an excuse for him?  After all, he told himself thoughtfully.  You're not even sure how much you really remember about her, and how much you've made up on your own.  She's probably nothing like the woman you dreamed up and made yourself fall for.

But he had told himself all of these things before – and he believed all of them.  So why was it so hard for him to let go of the dream?

He couldn't answer that question without crediting some master plan – and he refused to do that.  If there was a plan for him and Monica, then why hadn't they met up that night?  It just didn't pan out.  No matter how much time he spent going 'round and 'round in circles, there was never an answer. 

Except that maybe he had fallen in love with her that night…and maybe in spite of the circumstances he hadn't fallen back out.

But – well, that was practically calling it love at first sight, wasn't it?  And that went hand in hand with fate, and he couldn't get his mind around that. 

"Hey Chandler, sorry I'm late," came the voice from behind him, rescuing him from his own mind games.  He turned to Ross with a grin and stood up, greeting him with a hearty handshake and a slap on the back. 

"Hey, no problem.  I was just having a drink."  Chandler pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind, determined not to let them ruin this reunion.  He hadn't seen Ross in years – and he could tell just from looking at him that there was a lot to catch up on. 

They followed their waitress to their table and picked up their menus, studying the choices.  As usual, Chandler found himself scanning the menu and wondering if there was any chance that this was the restaurant where Monica was working – though he had quit asking at every restaurant he went to about a year ago.  It definitely hadn't helped things on the few dates he had been on…

There it was again.  Determined this time to forget about the perpetual circle of thought that occupied so much of his time, Chandler quickly chose a chicken dish and then looked up at Ross.

"So, Geller…what's been going on with you?"

"Ugh, I'm so bored," Rachel whined as she flopped onto the couch with a nail file and some polish. 

"Well, if you're really bored," Monica told her, a touch of irritation in her voice, "you could help me wash the dishes from the dinner you just ate."

"Ehh…" Rachel murmured, wishing she hadn't spoken up.

"It's okay," Monica assured her, rolling her eyes.  "I'm almost done.  So what is Ross doing tonight that's keeping him from entertaining you?" she asked, her tone tinted with just a touch of sarcasm.

"Oh," Rachel replied, ignoring her friend's tone.  "Dinner with some old friend he hasn't seen in years.  His old roommate from college, I think?  They ran into each other at the museum the other day – Ross was so excited."  Rachel shrugged, noncommittal.  "I don't get it.  If they were "such good friends" then why has it been like five years since they've seen each other?"

Monica turned to stare at her roommate, an ironic smile on her face.  "Oh, I don't know, Rach.  Maybe you should ask someone who didn't even invite her "best friend" to the wedding she ran out on?"

Rachel shot Monica a dirty look, and Monica shrugged innocently in response.  Deciding to let her friend off the hook for now, Monica turned the conversation back to its original topic. 

"College roommate, huh?  Oh, what was his name?  Something weird."

"I don't know…Chandler something. 

"Ch-Chandler?" Monica stuttered, stumbling over the name.  Yes, Ross's roommate's name had been Chandler – she remembered that now.  But surely…surely that was just a coincidence. 

"Yeah, Chan…"  Rachel stopped, suddenly realizing why Monica's face was pale.  "Oh Mon.  You don't think…?"

"No," Monica said quickly, turning to stack dishes in the cabinet.  "It can't be him.  It just…can't."  She took a deep breath and whirled around to look at Rachel.  "Do you think it is?"

Rachel studied Monica's face, remembering Monica's story about that night so long ago.  Rachel had never seen Monica so enamored with anyone – not even billionaire Pete Becker.  Monica had waited anxiously for weeks for Chandler to call, convincing both Rachel and herself that he would eventually remember that her number would be stored somewhere in the phone.  When weeks went by without a call, Rachel had watched as Monica slowly relinquished hope. 

 Monica had never been quite the same since then.  When Pete came along, Monica was reluctant to even go out with him at first – and Rachel had known that was because deep down Monica was still hoping that Chandler would appear from out of the blue and sweep her off her feet.  But Pete did the sweeping, and he had made Monica give him a chance.  And Monica had been happy enough… but Rachel had been apprehensive when the talk turned to the possibility of a marriage proposal.  She didn't her friend to be "happy enough" for the rest of her life.  However, they had all been wrong, and Pete's real "surprise" had ultimately led to their break-up, when Monica refused to stand by and watch him hurt himself week after week in his quest to be an "Ultimate Fighting Chamption". 

            "I don't know, Mon," Rachel said carefully, reluctant to get Monica's hopes up at all.  "I mean, there have to be thousands of "Chandlers" in New York City?  Don't you think it's a little – well, unlikely – that you would fall for Ross's old roommate?  Besides, didn't you ever meet the guy when they were living together?"

            Monica shook her head slowly, the hope that had gleamed in her eyes seconds before fading.  "No, I never met him.  You know how Ross and I were back then – any excuse to avoid each other."

            Rachel raised her eyebrows.  "Four years and you never met your brother's roommate?"

            Monica shrugged, realizing for the first time that there probably was something strange about that.  "Well…I was with you all the time, remember?  And from the way Ross talked about Chandler, he sounded like a big jerk.  It…it can't be the same guy."

            "Yeah…it's just too much of a coincidence," Rachel agreed, watching Monica with concern.  Monica didn't look like she was quite convinced.

            Chandler couldn't help but laugh as Ross chronicled the breakup of his marriage to Carol.  Somehow it was just so typical of his friend – to marry a lesbian and not even know it!  Ross brightened considerably, though, as he told Chandler about his son Ben, and he fairly glowed when the conversation turned to Rachel.

            "Wait – Rachel Rachel?" Chandler asked him, disbelieving.  "The same Rachel you drooled over the first two years of college?"

            "Yeah," Ross answered proudly.  "The same Rachel.  We've been dating for a couple of years now.  She's so great…" Chandler smiled distantly as Ross began to drone on about the virtues of his girlfriend.  He had heard all about Rachel Green before – many times, in fact – but he was happy for Ross.  All those years, and he had finally won the girl.  Maybe there was hope after all.

            "It was a little weird at first – Rachel living with my sister and all – but it worked out.  We're one big happy family now…"  That caught Chandler's attention.  Rachel he knew all about – but he had completely forgotten that Ross had a sister.  He fought with his memory, trying to remember details…though he wasn't sure why it was so important.  To his relief, a fuzzy image finally popped into his head – a picture Ross had kept on his desk of himself and his beloved Rachel, with a curly black head with a chubby face poking into the image from the other side of Rachel – a head that had almost been cut off to make the picture fit the frame.  Oh, what was her name?  Ross hadn't talked much about his sister – mostly just in relation to her best friend Rachel.  For the first time, Chandler wondered why.

            "So what about you?" Ross was asking as Chandler pulled his mind back to the conversation.  "What have you been doing since college?  Seeing anyone special?"
            "Hmm," Chandler answered with a short laugh.  "Nah.  Still looking, I guess."

            Still looking.  There was more truth to that statement than Ross could possibly know. 

            To Be Continued…