Did She Really Mean It?

Ross rang again in an hour.

'She's still not here, Monica, I don't know what to do.'

'Have you asked her relatives?' Monica assumed that these were the only other people Emily knew in New York.

'Yes I have. Her uncle said no. He asked me what I'd done to her now,' Ross said mournfully. 'Her cousin was even worse.'

'Oh Ross, it's not your fault,' Monica said. All Emily's relatives had blamed Ross over the wedding and each of them had let him know in their various ways what they had thought of him. Emily might have felt nervous in dealing with Ross's family but he had every reason to be nervous in dealing with hers.

'Well I'm worried Monica. She's run away before. Twice. This time, she might not come back to me. Monica, what am I going to do?'

'But who says she's run away?' Monica said. He had to get a grip.

'I don't know,' Ross said, 'But that's what I'm scared of. She's not here Monica and I can't think of a single reason why she shouldn't be here unless she's run away. I just can't help thinking that maybe you know, when she said she didn't mind about Rachel, she was just being polite, like she knew you were friends and didn't want to hurt your feelings.'

'I don't know Monica, that just sounds too easy. When I hinted to her, just hinted, about things, she went all quiet on me. She wouldn't give up so easily.'

'I'm not saying it was easy, Ross,' Monica said.

'See!' Ross exclaimed, 'You did push her into it.'

'No I didn't,' Monica said, 'Look after what Rachel said – '

'You never told me that Rachel was there. What did she say?'

'She told her how things really were between you. Ross, Emily acted like she believed her. She said to Rachel's face that she wasn't going to keep you away from her.'

'Maybe she didn't really want to say yes. Maybe she felt pressured into it,' Ross fretted, 'You there, Rachel there, pressuring her...'

'I told you, I didn't pressure her,' Monica said, 'I just explained things.'

'Well it's a bit of a coincidence that she's missing, right after she had this non pressured conversation with you and Rachel.'

'I'm sorry Ross,' said Monica, beginning to feel aggrieved, 'But it really isn't my fault, or Rachel's fault. I'm sure there's another explanation for Emily not being home yet. You don't have to assume that she's sitting at the airport, on stand-by.'

'The airport, oh my God, I've got to get there! What am I doing, talking to you?' Suddenly he hung up.

Monica turned to Rachel.

'She still hasn't come home. Ross really thinks she's run away. He's gone to the airport.'

'She's taken her things?' Rachel asked.

'I don't know, he didn't say. I just think he's rushed off there without checking.'

'Maybe we should go and meet him there,' Rachel said, standing up..

'You shouldn't meet him there,' Monica said. 'You're the last person she should see waiting with him there.' Rachel sighed.

'Well you go, and I'll wait here, in case he rings.'

'Good idea. Who knows, maybe even Emily might ring.'

Monica found Ross at the airport.

'I don't even know where to being looking,' he said helplessly.

'Where did you look?' Monica asked.

'Everywhere!' he said, waving his arms around. 'Come on then,' he said.

'What?' Monica asked.

'We'll search everywhere again, you go this way, I'll go that way,' he said, pointing like a railway signal. Monica restrained him.

'Ross, how could she be here? How's she going to fly to London without her passport and an air ticket? How do you know her passport isn't sitting at home, wherever it is that she keeps it?'

'If she's not here, where could she be?' Ross asked.

'She might be at home already,' Monica said.

'I've been ringing, no-one's picking up. All I hear is my own voice on the machine saying that Ross and Emily can't come to the phone any more. Oh man. I'm going to have to change it. Ross the pathetic person who's failed twice in marriage...'

'Stop it!' Monica ordered, 'Stop that right now! Look she may have met someone she knows. It's wrong of her not to call but it happens, people forget.'

'Who could she have met? She doesn't know anyone.'

'Maybe some of her old English friends, wasn't there that guy...'

'Liam.' A shadow crossed Ross's face. 'Oh God.'

'Hey,' Monica chided him gently, 'You're doing the same thing she was, jumping to conclusions.'

'Yeah I know but I can't help it.' A horrified look across his face. 'Oh God, Monica, I've thought of something worse. Oh I'm an idiot. Something bad has happened to her. Someone from the hospital could be ringing me, right now, but it won't do any good, because I'm not there to take the call. Oh my poor baby!' This possibility had been at the back of Monica's mind and she said,

'Go home Ross.'

'You're right, I've got to call the hospitals.'

'No Ross, you keep the lines open for her. I'll go home and start calling the hospital,' Monica said. She did not trust her brother to be coherent. 'And,' she said bravely, 'Maybe she'll have arrived home by the time you get there.'