Chapter 2
When Chandler and Colleen arrived at Joey's apartment, Colleen gave Joey a big hug and kiss and then made herself at home in his recliner. She loved Joey's place. It was like a second home to her. She even had a few of her toys and a couple of outfits there since she occasionally spent the night, sometimes with her older cousin Emma Geller.
"Colleen, would you like some milk or juice?" Joey asked.
She shook her head.
"Mommy's coming later," she informed Joey.
"Great. Ross and Rachel are, too."
"Are Emma and Jake comin'?" Colleen asked.
"Yes, they are."
"Excellent," Chandler said. "We'll make an evening out of it. Where would you like to go to dinner?"
"How about if we just order in?" Joey suggested. "It'll be easier."
"I know what we can eat," Colleen said, her eyes lighting up. "We can have the Joey Special!"
"Yeah, baby. Works for me."
"Yay! Uncle Joey, can I go into my daddy's old room? I wanna get my crayons and some paper."
"Sure. Go ahead."
"Honey," Chandler said, "why don't you color in there? I need to talk to Joey about something, okay?"
"Okay, Daddy."
She scrambled out of the chair and ran into the bedroom. She started to close the door all the way, but then she decided to leave it slightly open. She wanted to hear if her daddy could help Joey feel better.
"If you want to talk," Chandler said, "I'm here to listen."
"I just...I found some things of Natasha's today. I thought I'd gotten rid of all the reminders, and then I found an outfit and some shoes of hers on a shelf in my closet. It brought back so many unpleasant memories."
Chandler gave his best friend a much-needed hug.
"I'm so sorry, Joe."
"I want to know what happened. One minute, I'm waiting at the altar for her, with my whole family in attendance, and the next thing I hear is that she's run out on me! And I haven't seen or heard from her since. What did I do to make her flee? What scared her so badly that she couldn't go through with the wedding?"
"You didn't do anything, my friend. She's the one who flaked out on you."
"But why? What happened? She was one woman I could see myself spending the rest of my life with. I thought we were going to be as happy as you and Monica and Ross and Rachel are, and instead, she leaves me without a trace!"
"I feel so bad for you. I wish there was something I could do to help."
"Visiting me like this helps. It's going to be great to see Monica and Ross and Rachel and their kids, too."
"Well, if there's something else I can do, you just let me know."
"Thanks. Tell me what's going on with you."
"Not much, although when I called Monica earlier, she said she has something important to tell me tonight."
"Any ideas what it might be?"
"I haven't given it much thought. All I know is she sounded very happy."
"Daddy," Colleen said, "can I show Uncle Joey the picture I made?"
"Of course."
She ran from the room to Joey, who was sitting on a stool. He picked her up and placed her on his lap.
"I drew this for you," she said proudly.
"Wow, Colleen, this is very nice. You draw really well. Look at all that detail and vibrant colors. I'm very impressed."
"You know she gets her creative genes from me," Chandler said.
"Daddy tells Mommy that all the time, and Mommy just rolls her eyes," she said and giggled. "Let me tell you about the picture, 'kay?"
"Okay, sweetheart," Joey said. "I'm listening."
"That's you and me," she explained. "We're walking to the swings in the park. You're holding my hand. You're happy, Uncle Joey."
"I love it," he told her sincerely. "I'll take you to the park again soon before it gets too cold. And I am going to display this on my fridge so everyone who comes here can see it."
"Okay!"
Just then the buzzer sounded.
"Maybe that's Mommy!"
"I think it's too early for Mommy," Chandler said. "Maybe it's your Uncle Ross and Auntie Rachel with Emma and Jake."
"Oh boy, I hope so!" Colleen squealed.
A few moments after they buzzed, Ross and Rachel, with seven-year-old Emma and four-year-old Jake in tow, entered Joey's apartment. Hugs and kisses were exchanged all around.
"It's so great to see you guys!" Rachel said. "Where's Monica?"
"She'll be here in a little bit. She's still at work."
"Come on, Colleen," Emma said, taking charge. "Let's go into Uncle Chandler's old room and play."
"Okay."
"I wanna play, too," Jake said.
"Mommy, does he have to?"
"Yes, Emma," Rachel said. "Remember what we talked about in the car?"
"All right. C'mon, Jake. You can play, too."
Once the children had settled down in the room, the adults were able to relax and talk freely.
"Talk to us, Joey," Rachel said. "You know we're here for you."
"Thanks, guys, but I'm feeling better. Really. I found some things of Natasha's this morning, and it set me off. But I'm better now."
"Honey, we're so sorry that you don't know what happened to her on your wedding day. But you know she's the one who's the loser in all of this, not you."
Joey gave her a wan smile. "Thanks, Rach. That's what I keep telling myself."
"Well, you do that because it's the truth."
"You know, Joe," Ross said, "if you want to find out what happened to her, you could hire a private detective to try to track her down."
"I thought about that, but I don't know."
"Think about it," Chandler encouraged his friend. "From what I understand, they report to you. I don't think you have to pursue anything, if you don't want to."
"That's right," Ross agreed. "Maybe it would just give you some peace of mind if you finally know what happened to her."
"I'll consider it," Joey said. "But I'm not sure, at this point, if I even want to know where she is. Let's talk about something else. Okay?"
Respecting Joey's wishes, Chandler decided to ask about Phoebe.
"Joey and I were talking earlier about Phoebe. Have you guys heard from her?"
"No. Last we knew she was in Europe."
"She gave us an E-mail address," Ross added. "I sent her a note, but I never heard back. I hope they're all right."
"That's what Joe and I were saying, too. It's not like her to be out of contact for this long."
"I can try the E-mail address again. Other than that, we'll just have to hope she gets in contact with one of us."
Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of yelling in the children's room. Rachel ran to see what the problem was.
"Mommy, Emma won't let me play!" Jake cried.
"Emma, your father and I told you that you have to let your brother play with you."
"But he's too young, Mommy," the young girl, who looked exactly like Rachel, tried to explain. "He doesn't know what we're doing."
"Yes, I do. I can play school with them. I know my ABCs and how to count."
"Of course you do, honey. Emma, let your brother play with you and Colleen or we're going home."
"Okay."
"You always get your way," Emma said to Jake, when their mother had left the room. "Just because you're younger. I wish I was an only child like Colleen."
"Emma, you shouldn't say that," Colleen said. "I love my cousin Jake. I would be happy if I had a brother or a sister."
"You say that because you don't have one," Emma said, with all the wisdom of a seven-year-old.
"C'mon, let's play."
"If you love Jake so much, then Auntie Monica and Uncle Chandler should take him home to be with you."
"Emma, don't say that. You're making your brother feel sad."
Colleen hugged Jake, who had the same dark hair and eyes as his father, and told him that his sister didn't mean what she said.
"Yes, she does," Jake said. "She says it all the time."
"Because you always get your way, and I always get into trouble."
Colleen sighed uncomfortably as she listened to her cousins argue. If I had a baby brother or sister, she thought, we would never fight.
When Monica arrived and more heartfelt greetings had been exchanged, they ordered pizza. The grown-ups chatted easily while the kids finally calmed down and watched a video in Joey's room.
"Mommy," Colleen said, "can I stay here tonight? Please?"
"I don't know. You have to ask Uncle Joey."
"Is it okay if I stay here tonight?"
"Of course."
"Yay!"
"Mommy," Emma said, "I wanna stay here, too? Can I? Please?"
"Honey, you can't. You have piano practice early tomorrow morning."
"I never get to do anything fun," she complained.
"You have your recital coming up," Ross said to her. "Remember that, all of you. Plan to be there, okay?"
"We wouldn't miss it."
"Oh, and plan to spend a few of your Friday nights and or Saturdays at the high school football field because Ben made the team."
"Wow, that's great, Ross!" Monica said. "I have to call him."
"I know he'd love to hear from you."
"Mommy, Jake fell asleep on the bed," Emma said.
"Okay. It's time we were heading home. Put your shoes on, Em."
"I'll go get Jake," Ross said.
"Colleen, you behave for Uncle Joey, okay?" Chandler said.
"I will."
"This'll be great," Joey said. "I'll make her pancakes in the morning, and then we'll go to the park."
"Sounds good," Monica said. "Thanks so much, Joey. Just call when you want us to pick her up, or if she's giving you any trouble during the night, call and we'll come get her."
"She won't give me any trouble, but I will call when she's ready to go home."
"Bye, Mommy. Bye, Daddy. I love you."
Colleen hugged and kissed everyone goodnight, and then she waited with Joey while he said goodbye to his guests.
"Good luck at your practice, Emma. Let me know when the recital is, okay? I'll be there."
"Okay. Bye, Uncle Joey. I love you."
"I love you, too, sweetheart. I'm sorry you couldn't spend the night. We'll make it another time."
"Okay."
Colleen got ready for bed and then sat on Joey's lap in his recliner.
"Uncle Joey? Tell me again how you married my mommy and my daddy."
Joey laughed. "You always want to hear that."
"I love the way you tell it. You're so funny."
Colleen fell asleep listening contentedly to the story of her parents' marriage. Joey placed her in the bed in the spare bedroom and after brushing the dark tresses from her forehead, he gave her a kiss goodnight. After climbing into his own bed, he couldn't help but wonder if he would ever have a child of his own.
*~*
"So, is that was you and Ross were like?" Chandler asked with a grin, after he and Monica had gotten comfortable in their bed.
"You mean the way Emma and Jake acted tonight?"
"Yes."
"No. Well...maybe, but it was the reverse. I felt badly for Jake because that's how Ross treated me."
"There are times when I am so glad I'm an only child. There was enough fighting in my house. I didn't need a sibling to compete with."
"Ross and I had our fights, but we had good times, too. I'm sure Emma and Jake will, too. He just has to get a little bit older, and then Emma won't be able to boss him around."
"I'm glad Colleen acted as peacemaker tonight instead of getting in the middle of it."
"She would make a great older sister, don't you think?"
"Sure. I guess so. But why are you talking about...wait a minute, is this about the important news you were going to tell me?"
"Yes," Monica said, turning on her side to face her husband. Her eyes had come alive. "I went to the doctor today, and she confirmed the news. Guess what, honey? In about seven months, you and I are going to have another baby!"
When Chandler and Colleen arrived at Joey's apartment, Colleen gave Joey a big hug and kiss and then made herself at home in his recliner. She loved Joey's place. It was like a second home to her. She even had a few of her toys and a couple of outfits there since she occasionally spent the night, sometimes with her older cousin Emma Geller.
"Colleen, would you like some milk or juice?" Joey asked.
She shook her head.
"Mommy's coming later," she informed Joey.
"Great. Ross and Rachel are, too."
"Are Emma and Jake comin'?" Colleen asked.
"Yes, they are."
"Excellent," Chandler said. "We'll make an evening out of it. Where would you like to go to dinner?"
"How about if we just order in?" Joey suggested. "It'll be easier."
"I know what we can eat," Colleen said, her eyes lighting up. "We can have the Joey Special!"
"Yeah, baby. Works for me."
"Yay! Uncle Joey, can I go into my daddy's old room? I wanna get my crayons and some paper."
"Sure. Go ahead."
"Honey," Chandler said, "why don't you color in there? I need to talk to Joey about something, okay?"
"Okay, Daddy."
She scrambled out of the chair and ran into the bedroom. She started to close the door all the way, but then she decided to leave it slightly open. She wanted to hear if her daddy could help Joey feel better.
"If you want to talk," Chandler said, "I'm here to listen."
"I just...I found some things of Natasha's today. I thought I'd gotten rid of all the reminders, and then I found an outfit and some shoes of hers on a shelf in my closet. It brought back so many unpleasant memories."
Chandler gave his best friend a much-needed hug.
"I'm so sorry, Joe."
"I want to know what happened. One minute, I'm waiting at the altar for her, with my whole family in attendance, and the next thing I hear is that she's run out on me! And I haven't seen or heard from her since. What did I do to make her flee? What scared her so badly that she couldn't go through with the wedding?"
"You didn't do anything, my friend. She's the one who flaked out on you."
"But why? What happened? She was one woman I could see myself spending the rest of my life with. I thought we were going to be as happy as you and Monica and Ross and Rachel are, and instead, she leaves me without a trace!"
"I feel so bad for you. I wish there was something I could do to help."
"Visiting me like this helps. It's going to be great to see Monica and Ross and Rachel and their kids, too."
"Well, if there's something else I can do, you just let me know."
"Thanks. Tell me what's going on with you."
"Not much, although when I called Monica earlier, she said she has something important to tell me tonight."
"Any ideas what it might be?"
"I haven't given it much thought. All I know is she sounded very happy."
"Daddy," Colleen said, "can I show Uncle Joey the picture I made?"
"Of course."
She ran from the room to Joey, who was sitting on a stool. He picked her up and placed her on his lap.
"I drew this for you," she said proudly.
"Wow, Colleen, this is very nice. You draw really well. Look at all that detail and vibrant colors. I'm very impressed."
"You know she gets her creative genes from me," Chandler said.
"Daddy tells Mommy that all the time, and Mommy just rolls her eyes," she said and giggled. "Let me tell you about the picture, 'kay?"
"Okay, sweetheart," Joey said. "I'm listening."
"That's you and me," she explained. "We're walking to the swings in the park. You're holding my hand. You're happy, Uncle Joey."
"I love it," he told her sincerely. "I'll take you to the park again soon before it gets too cold. And I am going to display this on my fridge so everyone who comes here can see it."
"Okay!"
Just then the buzzer sounded.
"Maybe that's Mommy!"
"I think it's too early for Mommy," Chandler said. "Maybe it's your Uncle Ross and Auntie Rachel with Emma and Jake."
"Oh boy, I hope so!" Colleen squealed.
A few moments after they buzzed, Ross and Rachel, with seven-year-old Emma and four-year-old Jake in tow, entered Joey's apartment. Hugs and kisses were exchanged all around.
"It's so great to see you guys!" Rachel said. "Where's Monica?"
"She'll be here in a little bit. She's still at work."
"Come on, Colleen," Emma said, taking charge. "Let's go into Uncle Chandler's old room and play."
"Okay."
"I wanna play, too," Jake said.
"Mommy, does he have to?"
"Yes, Emma," Rachel said. "Remember what we talked about in the car?"
"All right. C'mon, Jake. You can play, too."
Once the children had settled down in the room, the adults were able to relax and talk freely.
"Talk to us, Joey," Rachel said. "You know we're here for you."
"Thanks, guys, but I'm feeling better. Really. I found some things of Natasha's this morning, and it set me off. But I'm better now."
"Honey, we're so sorry that you don't know what happened to her on your wedding day. But you know she's the one who's the loser in all of this, not you."
Joey gave her a wan smile. "Thanks, Rach. That's what I keep telling myself."
"Well, you do that because it's the truth."
"You know, Joe," Ross said, "if you want to find out what happened to her, you could hire a private detective to try to track her down."
"I thought about that, but I don't know."
"Think about it," Chandler encouraged his friend. "From what I understand, they report to you. I don't think you have to pursue anything, if you don't want to."
"That's right," Ross agreed. "Maybe it would just give you some peace of mind if you finally know what happened to her."
"I'll consider it," Joey said. "But I'm not sure, at this point, if I even want to know where she is. Let's talk about something else. Okay?"
Respecting Joey's wishes, Chandler decided to ask about Phoebe.
"Joey and I were talking earlier about Phoebe. Have you guys heard from her?"
"No. Last we knew she was in Europe."
"She gave us an E-mail address," Ross added. "I sent her a note, but I never heard back. I hope they're all right."
"That's what Joe and I were saying, too. It's not like her to be out of contact for this long."
"I can try the E-mail address again. Other than that, we'll just have to hope she gets in contact with one of us."
Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of yelling in the children's room. Rachel ran to see what the problem was.
"Mommy, Emma won't let me play!" Jake cried.
"Emma, your father and I told you that you have to let your brother play with you."
"But he's too young, Mommy," the young girl, who looked exactly like Rachel, tried to explain. "He doesn't know what we're doing."
"Yes, I do. I can play school with them. I know my ABCs and how to count."
"Of course you do, honey. Emma, let your brother play with you and Colleen or we're going home."
"Okay."
"You always get your way," Emma said to Jake, when their mother had left the room. "Just because you're younger. I wish I was an only child like Colleen."
"Emma, you shouldn't say that," Colleen said. "I love my cousin Jake. I would be happy if I had a brother or a sister."
"You say that because you don't have one," Emma said, with all the wisdom of a seven-year-old.
"C'mon, let's play."
"If you love Jake so much, then Auntie Monica and Uncle Chandler should take him home to be with you."
"Emma, don't say that. You're making your brother feel sad."
Colleen hugged Jake, who had the same dark hair and eyes as his father, and told him that his sister didn't mean what she said.
"Yes, she does," Jake said. "She says it all the time."
"Because you always get your way, and I always get into trouble."
Colleen sighed uncomfortably as she listened to her cousins argue. If I had a baby brother or sister, she thought, we would never fight.
When Monica arrived and more heartfelt greetings had been exchanged, they ordered pizza. The grown-ups chatted easily while the kids finally calmed down and watched a video in Joey's room.
"Mommy," Colleen said, "can I stay here tonight? Please?"
"I don't know. You have to ask Uncle Joey."
"Is it okay if I stay here tonight?"
"Of course."
"Yay!"
"Mommy," Emma said, "I wanna stay here, too? Can I? Please?"
"Honey, you can't. You have piano practice early tomorrow morning."
"I never get to do anything fun," she complained.
"You have your recital coming up," Ross said to her. "Remember that, all of you. Plan to be there, okay?"
"We wouldn't miss it."
"Oh, and plan to spend a few of your Friday nights and or Saturdays at the high school football field because Ben made the team."
"Wow, that's great, Ross!" Monica said. "I have to call him."
"I know he'd love to hear from you."
"Mommy, Jake fell asleep on the bed," Emma said.
"Okay. It's time we were heading home. Put your shoes on, Em."
"I'll go get Jake," Ross said.
"Colleen, you behave for Uncle Joey, okay?" Chandler said.
"I will."
"This'll be great," Joey said. "I'll make her pancakes in the morning, and then we'll go to the park."
"Sounds good," Monica said. "Thanks so much, Joey. Just call when you want us to pick her up, or if she's giving you any trouble during the night, call and we'll come get her."
"She won't give me any trouble, but I will call when she's ready to go home."
"Bye, Mommy. Bye, Daddy. I love you."
Colleen hugged and kissed everyone goodnight, and then she waited with Joey while he said goodbye to his guests.
"Good luck at your practice, Emma. Let me know when the recital is, okay? I'll be there."
"Okay. Bye, Uncle Joey. I love you."
"I love you, too, sweetheart. I'm sorry you couldn't spend the night. We'll make it another time."
"Okay."
Colleen got ready for bed and then sat on Joey's lap in his recliner.
"Uncle Joey? Tell me again how you married my mommy and my daddy."
Joey laughed. "You always want to hear that."
"I love the way you tell it. You're so funny."
Colleen fell asleep listening contentedly to the story of her parents' marriage. Joey placed her in the bed in the spare bedroom and after brushing the dark tresses from her forehead, he gave her a kiss goodnight. After climbing into his own bed, he couldn't help but wonder if he would ever have a child of his own.
*~*
"So, is that was you and Ross were like?" Chandler asked with a grin, after he and Monica had gotten comfortable in their bed.
"You mean the way Emma and Jake acted tonight?"
"Yes."
"No. Well...maybe, but it was the reverse. I felt badly for Jake because that's how Ross treated me."
"There are times when I am so glad I'm an only child. There was enough fighting in my house. I didn't need a sibling to compete with."
"Ross and I had our fights, but we had good times, too. I'm sure Emma and Jake will, too. He just has to get a little bit older, and then Emma won't be able to boss him around."
"I'm glad Colleen acted as peacemaker tonight instead of getting in the middle of it."
"She would make a great older sister, don't you think?"
"Sure. I guess so. But why are you talking about...wait a minute, is this about the important news you were going to tell me?"
"Yes," Monica said, turning on her side to face her husband. Her eyes had come alive. "I went to the doctor today, and she confirmed the news. Guess what, honey? In about seven months, you and I are going to have another baby!"