The Way You Look Tonight

A/N: Yes…well. Everyone's always talking about how they want a good Phoebe and Gerald story. So, this is a mediocre one for you all to read. You can say that it's a "sequel" to The Real Thing.

They never were expecting to see each other again after what had happened. It hurt too much for her to even think about him. It seemed like just yesterday they were still together, living in Boston in a big house. He, of course, was a basketball coach. And she was a psychiatrist. They lived comfortably together.

The last time they were out together formally was at the high school reunion. After that, things have started to crumble for about a year. But he was being crazy. He wanted to pursue a selfish dream and go to New York to become a talk show host.

She remembers that she called him an ignorant fool. They argued for what seems like forever. "What happened to the family we wanted, huh?" she shouted. "How can we do that if we start our lives all over in New York City?"

He left her that day. She remembers that the cab was already waiting outside their house. She waited.

He never came back.

Four days later she receives divorce papers in the mail.

Two days after that she sends him his personal items and burns his favorite suit.

She just hated the fact that her strong relationship with Gerald crumbled so quickly. They were married for just two years. Two measly years, and then they split. They've been apart for one year. And miraculously enough, during the year they've been apart, Helga and Arnold had been working on their own relationship and now they're getting married. And Gerald had become a talk show host within one year. He'd rised up to the highest of talk show hosts. He was said to be bigger than Jay Leno and David Letterman.

She could picture it all now. Every week a new girlfriend…every day a new girl in his bed. Helga told her that it was what Arnold told her. Arnold and Gerald had kept in close tact with each other in New York. Just like the way they used to.

Phoebe and Helga renewed their once strong friendship ever since the high school reunion. Phoebe was so eager to help Helga with the wedding. After all, she was the maid of honor. She would fly to NYC regularly to see her and help her plan everything. Though it didn't really matter. Helga had planned everything out so well in her mind. And she had all the money in the world to make it as extravagant as she wanted. They had the perfect life. Arnold, one of the richest men in the world, and Helga, one of the most well-known and critically acclaimed writers.

Phoebe longed to have a life as wonderful as theirs.

She remembered when she used to have a life as good as theirs when she was with Gerald. Those were the days.

"So. Phebes, what do you think?" Helga twirled around for her in her wedding gown, three weeks before the wedding. She let out a short breath and smiled. It was a satin dress with a ballroom gown-type bottom and spaghetti straps. The dress followed her every curve, and made her glow. 

"Oh, Helga," she sighed softly. "It's beautiful."

"You really think so?" Helga smiled happily and looked at herself in the mirror.

Phoebe nodded eagerly. Phoebe had already tried out her maid of honor dress. It was a pastel pink and called the Fleur di Lis. "I love it."

She remembered hers and Gerald's wedding day. She wore a simple white dress and they had only family and close friends and had the ceremony in the park. It was a lovely day. The cool breeze…the warm sun…it was the best day of her life.

Everytime Phoebe went to visit Helga, she would only see Gerald once every four times. Which was completely fine with her. He hadn't changed at all. He was still the same old Gerald she always knew and used to love. Why did he have to go? It was all her fault. She shouldn't have let him go. But if he really loved her, he would have come back. He would have come back…

Gerald couldn't get enough of her either. He felt so stupid for letting her go. He never intended on leaving her that day. Really, he didn't. It's just that he felt that if he sent her the divorce papers, she would end up calling him in tears, weeping, "Oh Gerald, I love you. I couldn't possibly do this." And he would whisk her up to New York and they'd live happily ever after.

What a fool he turned out to be.
In Boston, whenever Phoebe couldn't sleep, she would go downstairs into the big family room and watch some TV. She would just flip through the channels and often run into Gerald's late night talk show. It was awful to see him there. He was always making jokes about his past marriage with her, always joking about how she held him back. It made Phoebe a little happier to know that she wasn't married to him anymore.

Lately, whenever Phoebe had to eat a dinner with Gerald (only because Helga and Arnold were there too), she would never look him in the eye. His eyes always dazzled her. They always sent chills down her spine. Those brown eyes that captured her soul…her very heart. She couldn't let that happen.

As Helga's wedding day crept closer, Phoebe felt a little frustrated. What was she supposed to do for the whole wedding? Not look at Gerald? That would be stupid. He was the best man, she was the maid of honor…they have to stick together.

Phoebe checked into a hotel a week before the wedding. She would stay until the day after the wedding. All the other times she came to visit she would stay in Arnold and Helga's enormous mansion. But she didn't want to intrude on their last few days before marriage. The hotel room was nice. She stayed in the Ritz Carlton. That's where Helga and Arnold told all their relatives to stay for a night because it was so convenient to where they were getting married.

Phoebe walked down the halls angrily with her new pink shoes. She hated breaking in new shoes. They were so painful. If she were just taller, then she wouldn't have to wear her shoes because they were hidden anyways. She remembered how Gerald would let her step on his shoes with her bare feet when they danced.

She walked into her room and fell back on the large bed. "Ugh," she groaned. There was an annoying beep coming from her cell phone. She picked it up and listened to her voice messages. "Phebes, this is just a reminder that we have manicure appointments today at three…"

Phoebe looked at the clock on the wall. 2:45. She picked herself up and put on her sneakers and walked out the door.

Down the lobby, and into the elevator and to the lobby. Her shoelaces were untied so she bent down to tie them. When she got up, she didn't pay attention to what was in front of her and she ended up running into someone. "Oh dear," she exclaimed.

Just as she was going to fall over, he held her arms firmly so her knees were bent, close to falling. She chuckled softly and looked up at the man who held her up.

"Careful there Phoebe," he said warmly.

Quickly she regained her composure and looked at his feet. "Thank you Gerald," she said softly. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I decided to stay at the Presidential Suite here. Since, you know, it's so close to where the wedding is."

She nodded in understandment. "Now if you don't mind me, I have an appointment to go to."

"That's right. You never break any appointment."

"And you, Gerald, break everything," she retorted before walking out of the hotel.

Gerald groaned and looked up at the ceiling. That's right…you break everything.

But maybe it wasn't too late, he thought. Maybe he could fix it. After all, everything can be fixed, right? With just a little love here, a little compassion there…some sorries mixed in…and voila! You have yourself the remedy for a broken heart.

Ah, if only things were as easy as that.

He remembered the first week without her. He drank his heart out at the bar. Every night he would go home drunk, every morning have a hang over and find a beautiful woman in his bed. It wasn't fun to see another woman in his bed. It made him miss Phoebe terribly. He missed her scent of vanilla, he missed the way she wrinkled her nose when she got cold and when Gerald surprised her. He loved getting her gifts for no particular reason.

Those were the days.

***

Gerald watched as his wife talked happily with an old friend at the high school reunion. He sipped his punch and grinned. How he loved her. She glowed and lit up every room she walked into. But tonight he loved her the most.

She was wearing that short red dress that made him melt. Her petite size made her look beautiful and sexy. Which wasn't her usual look. Usually she'd hang around the house with a suit on, waiting for one of her patients. Or on weekends, she'd wear one of Gerald's big sweaters with shorts. 

Then, of course, they'd eat ice cream together on the couch while watching the TV.

Ah, he just couldn't get enough of her.

She glanced over at Gerald. She noticed how he was staring at her. Casually, she walked over to him and smiled. "Hi there."

Gerald greeted her with a brief kiss on the lips. "Are you having fun?"

"Yes, a lot." She smiled. "How about you? You're not too bored are you?"

"No…I'm very happy. I'm not bored at all."

"I forgot how much I missed New York," Phoebe sighed gently.

"Would you like to live here again?"

Phoebe shrugged. "I don't think so. We're too settled in Boston already. It would be such a hassle to move…"

"Because I was thinking," Gerald said, "that maybe we could move to the city. You know? So I can start something new."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you know, I've always wanted to be a talk show host. And I think to myself, why not now? Right? Before we've got any kids…before I get too old…it would be a great idea to come to the city and just give it a try!"

"Are you crazy Gerald? What about your job as the college basketball coach? And what about our house and everything we worked for for the past two years?"

"We can start all over," he said excitedly. "And Arnold knows he can get me a good agent."

"This is not rational at all. How can we just drop everything and go? I mean, it would be very stupid."

"C'mon, don't start that. Why is everything I say or wanna do stupid?" Gerald shot back.

Phoebe rolled her eyes. "Because it is!"

Then some old friends walked their way. "Can we talk about this later?" Phoebe said almost coldly.

Gerald just shut up. "Hi Eugene! Wow, it's been a long time!" he exclaimed.

After that, things have not been all that great.

***

Arnold exhaled deeply. "God, this is nerve wrecking," he whispered to Gerald who was standing next to him. He tapped his foot on the floor nervously as he kept rubbing his hands together.

"Don't worry, man. Just keep cool," Gerald whispered back.

They watched the last few people take their seats in the altar. It was embellished with lilies at the ends of each row of seats. There were candles surrounding as well with an assortment of colorful flowers set up nicely in the front of the altar where Arnold, Gerald, and the minister stood.

In front rows, there was Grandpa and Grandma. Helga's family was sitting on the other side. Except for her father who was going to walk her down the aisle.

Arnold looked up at the ceiling and looked back down at his feet.

Gerald knew very well what he was feeling. Chills ran down his spine.

There were probably well over 100 people at their wedding. Suddenly the music played. Everyone turned around.

Down came a little flower girl throwing rose petals on the ground happily. Everyone awed at her cuteness. It was Olga's daughter. Then came Phoebe in her pink bride's maid dress, followed by two other women in back of her. Gerald's mouth went dry. Phoebe was truly radiant. She was practically floating to the front of the altar.

Then the time came.

Helga and Bob appeared and everyone stood up. She was beautiful in her wedding dress and she held a bouquet of red roses and white lilies in her right hand, and her left arm was linked with Bob's left arm. She had never felt so close to him in her whole life. She couldn't think of anything else but Arnold.

Big Bob let Helga go with a kiss on her forehead. She could have sworn that there were tears dwelling in his eyes.

Helga smiled gently at Arnold, and gave her bouquet to Phoebe.

Everyone sat down and watched Helga and Arnold at the front of the room. They were holding hands and staring lovingly at each other's eyes.

Gerald stood there. Just watching Arnold and looked at Helga. He could see the happiness in her eyes. They reminded him of Phoebe's eyes when they got married. He glanced at Phoebe and saw sadness in her eyes. She wasn't the kind to cry at weddings. But she was…inside she was tearing up. And outside, she was barely showing it.

"…And you may now kiss the bride."

Helga let out a big sigh of relief and Arnold took her in his arms and kissed her. The whole altar was filled with cheers and claps. Arnold and Helga ran out of the church holding hands.

The reception was in a big hotel banquet hall. It was huge, and full of flowers and pinkness. Just the way Helga liked it. She and Arnold sat in a long table with all their family and surrounding them where other round tables with flowers as a centerpiece. There was steak and other orderbs being served by waiters. Each brides maid and grooms men (whatever) sat in different tables.

Everyone was having a blast and there was a band playing, too.

Then there was a chime of someone's glass when a song stopped. Everyone looked around and saw Gerald standing on the stage with a champagne glass in his hand and a fork in the other.

"Being the best man, I'd like to say a few words," said Gerald nobly. He looked at Helga and Arnold and grinned. "To Arnold and Helga…marriage is a very special thing between two people.

"Value those precious times you share together, they're too priceless to forget or to overlook. I know that this love you two share is really strong. Really. Hell, Arnold dumped Lila for this woman! Lila, the prom queen…Lila the one everyone except Arnold loves. Yeah, he wasted too many years on that woman. Now he has to make them up with Helga tonight." Everyone chuckled.

"Him leaving Lila at the alter was really the gutsiest, the craziest, and the smartest thing he has ever done. Well, the smartest thing would actually be accepting the position of executive CEO of Marcus and Bradley Advertising, but that's another story…" Every chuckled again.

"Anyway, I am very happy to be his best man a second time. This time, I hope it lasts because I am so not going to do it a third time.

"So now I'm wishing you two never ending love and a very happy marriage!" He raised his glass and took a sip. Everyone clapped and sipped from their cups also.

Then everyone pushed Phoebe up on stage. She held her champagne glass and bit her lower lip.

"Heh, um, unlike Gerald, I'm not very good at speaking in front of crowds," Phoebe admitted. She drew in a deep breath. "But for this special occasion I will certainly make an effort." She looked up for a second. "Sorry, I didn't have anything planned out to say."

Then she looked at Helga. "Helga, my dear friend – I remember way back when we were nine and how you would always torment and tease Arnold every single day. Who ever knew that it wasn't because you hated him, but on the contrary, loved him. It certainly took me by surprise," she smiled.

"After all these years of heartbreak and love, I am certain that the two of you are able to overcome and obstacle life puts in front of you. Take it from me, someone who has lost at an obstacle, you both have the passion, the love, and the fire to last forever. Right? Till death do you part. I only wish I had those virtues in my last marriage – if I did, I would still be very happy right now."

She raised her glass. "To the bride and groom!"

Everyone repeated her and sipped their champagne. Gerald let out a dry sigh. He uncomfortably fidgeted in his seat. Phoebe walked down to her seat, not even looking at Gerald. While he was watching her ever step, her every move as until she sat down in her seat. There was a sharp pain in his chest and he looked away.

"Now back to the music!"

Dan Hill's "Sometimes When We Touch" began to play. Everyone got up and began to dance. Gerald drew in a deep breath and got up and approached Phoebe.

She noticed that he was standing in front of her. She looked up at him. He smiled down at her.

"Would you like to dance?"

She smiled softly and looked at him fondly. "Sure. I'd like that."

He led her to the dance floor. It felt so nice, it felt so good…his hand on her waist, her hand on his shoulder. His other hand holding her hand. It was special. They hadn't danced like that since, it seemed like, forever. She glanced over at Arnold and Helga dancing gracefully and lovingly on the dance floor.

She and Gerald would never be able to dance like that again, she thought.

Arnold saw the two on the dance floor, and he casually danced towards them, bumping Gerald closer to Phoebe. So now Gerald was very close to Phoebe. So close, in fact, that he could feel her breath on his neck as she gasped. He could feel his own heart thumping faster. This was a feeling he hadn't felt in a while.

"You smell like peppermint," he whispered.

She nodded. "And you smell like your usual cinnamon. Do you still carry packs of cinnamon gum in your pockets?"

"Yeah. Always." There was silence. "This reminds me of our wedding…do you remember?"

"Of course I remember. Our first dance to Elton John. Everyone was so happy. The air was fresh, the night was clear…"

"And you glowed and glittered."

Phoebe nodded. "I remember that your Grandma left her dentures on Timberly's chair…" she giggled. "Ah, those were some nice times."

"I miss those times, Phebes," Gerald whispered into her ear. Then a new song came on and he rocked with her to the beat. "Someday," he sang, "when I'm awfully low, and the world is cold, I will feel aglow just thinking of – you. And the way you look tonight."

His rich, silky singing voice made Phoebe weak in the knees. It always did. She remembers those days when he used to sing to her when she was sad. Or when he was being silly. They would just dance to the sound of his voice.

"Please…Gerald…don't," she begged softly.

"Yes you're lovely with your cheeks so soft…" She layed her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. He continued to sing along with the music. "There is nothing for me but to love you…"

Suddenly Phoebe pulled away with a tear in her eye. "I can't, Gerald."

"Can't what?" he opened his arms.

She looked down. "I can't keep doing this…" She looked around the crowded room and walked out of the large banquet hall with her hands on her mouth.

"Phoebe," Gerald called out after her. He followed her out the door. He thought he lost her for a second, but found her standing in the lounge. "Phoebe," he said again.

Phoebe looked up at the ceiling and sniffed. "How can you do this to me, Gerald? How can you just waltz into my life again and play me like this?"

"Play you?" He repeated. "How am I playing you?"

"By making me fall for you all over again. But I can't…I can't…"

"Why can't you?" he asked urgently. "Didn't you like that feeling? Don't you want to be together again?"

"Of course I do, Gerald. You know I do."

"Then why won't you stay here? With me? We – we could start all over again. Maybe even start up a family."

Phoebe shook her head. "It's not that simple; I have a job. I have a steady career in Boston. I can't just leave it. It's where my heart is. You really don't understand that New York isn't my place. It's yours."

"We can make it yours…we can make it ours."

"No. We can't. I can't just leave my patients. And you know that. And I know that it would be too hard for you to leave your talk show."

Gerald stayed silent. He knew that it was true.

"Phebes, I've missed you," he said softly.

"Why didn't you come back, Gerald?"

"I didn't know you wanted me to…"

"Why did you give me those divorce papers?" she began to cry.

"I thought that that was what you wanted…" You could see the sorrow in his eyes. It tore his heart to see Phoebe cry. "C'mon…" he said, putting his arms around her, letting her tears soak is tuxedo.

"I-I just don't want another heartbreak," she cried.

"I can make it work this time. Really I can."

"How? You're needed in the city. How can we possibly raise a family here anyway? And I know it must be hard to leave all the women you sleep with…"

That hit Gerald's heart like a sharp knife. "I only do that because I'm so lonesome without you."

She looked up at him. Her big brown eyes watering. Suddenly he bent down and kissed her. He kissed her in such a way that made her knees weak. Never before has he kissed her like that. With such urgency, such passion…such need. It was salty with her tears.

"Please, Phebes," he uttered, "Please say you'll forgive me for causing you all this pain. Please say you'll stay with me."

Phoebe looked down and pushed him away from her. "I'm sorry, Gerald, but I just can't live through another heartbreak…" With that, she walked away.

A/N Right…please read and review.

 I think that this is the lamest story ever.