At work, Chandler tried his best not to think about Joey, but he remained troubled and easily distracted. Sitting in a meeting with his boss Steve and other bigwigs at the advertising agency, he couldn't help noticing that one of the people speaking was named Joe something, and the ad campaign under discussion was for a new sandwich at a fast food chain, which reminded him of Joey's love of sandwiches. Chandler's mind soon wandered off from the meeting, and he fixated again on the memory of kissing Joey last night. On his writing pad, where he was supposed to be taking notes and brainstorming ideas for the campaign, he instead absently scribbled Joey's name over and over.

"So what do you think, Chandler?" Steve asked him suddenly.

"What? Huh?" Realizing that he'd spaced out, Chandler blushed and felt everyone glaring at him. He might have tried to bluff his way out of the predicament, but he remembered the disastrous results when he fell asleep in a work meeting and inadvertently agreed to move to Tulsa. "Uh, I'm--I'm sorry." He cleared his throat nervously and stammered, "I didn't hear... I mean, I'm, uh, sleepy. Another late night with the twins, you know?"

"I see." Steve was annoyed, but he cut Chandler some slack, given his domestic situation. "Well, try drinking more coffee before meetings, and don't let it happen again. We need everybody to be sharp on our team."

"Yes, sir." Chandler nodded and strove to pay more attention as Steve moved on to someone else for comment. He knew that Steve generally liked him and had recommended him for the job of junior copywriter after his internship, but Steve could only grant him so much leeway before he would have to stop being a nice guy. This agency was no place to goof off and evade work, like at his old job in data processing. Chandler was starting over in a new career and he had to prove himself.

After the meeting concluded and everyone dispersed from the conference room, Chandler returned to his cubicle to get back to work. But then he spotted an envelope lying on his desk, with his name "Chandler Bing" written on it. He recognized it as Joey's handwriting and felt a chill run down his spine.

Chandler gulped and glanced around the office anxiously, wondering if Joey was anywhere in sight. Joey wasn't, but a mail clerk was passing by, so Chandler asked him who delivered this envelope, which had no address or stamp on it. The clerk replied that some guy had left the envelope with the receptionist in the lobby, and that the receptionist asked the mail clerk to deliver it to Chandler's cubicle.

"Oh. Thanks." As the mail clerk moved on with his cart, Chandler slowly sat down in his chair and stared at the envelope as if it were a ticking bomb. His throat felt dry, and he even considered throwing the envelope away, given his decision to have nothing to do with Joey anymore. But curiosity got the better of him, and he finally opened the envelope.

Inside, there was a check for $2000, along with a note from Joey.

"Chandler,

Look, I'm really sorry about last night. I don't know what got into me. I guess it was just the beers we had and not getting enough sleep, like you said. I get kinda carried away sometimes when I'm drunk, and besides, I was all excited and hugging you because I was so happy about getting to move in with you. It's been a long time since we lived together, you know, and I miss you so much.

Anyway, I guess things are too weird right now for me to move in with you, or even for me to come by for a visit this weekend. I hope I didn't freak you out too much, and that you can forgive me. I'm really sorry, Chandler. Call me when you feel okay about seeing each other again, alright? Oh, and I remembered how you said that you and Mon need some money now, so I wrote you this check. Let me know if it's not enough, and I'll send you some more.

Joey"

Chandler was touched by this gesture, especially given how much Joey had tried to convince him to give up the house in the suburbs. He almost picked up the phone on his desk so he could thank Joey, but then he realized what a bad idea that was. If he called, Joey would think that Chandler wanted to see him again, or at least wanted more money. Also, just hearing Joey's voice would be a big temptation, probably stirring up memories of their kisses and making Chandler fall even deeper in love than he was now. It certainly wouldn't help him to stop missing Joey and move on from him. So Chandler let go of the phone.

But he bit his lip and wondered what he should do about Joey's check, in that case. Call Monica and tell her that she didn't need to get a loan from her parents, because Joey had changed his mind? But then Monica would expect Chandler to forgive Joey and make up with him, wouldn't she? They'd have to see each other again, unless he could come up with a better lie.

While Chandler still stared indecisively at the check, his phone rang and startled him. He faltered and was too stunned to answer it, until his co-workers in neighboring cubicles peeked in at him, wondering if he'd spaced out again or fallen asleep.

Chandler avoided their eyes and finally picked up the receiver, hoping that his voice didn't sound too strained and weird. Surprised to hear Phoebe greeting him, he replied awkwardly, "Oh, Pheebs. It's you. H-h-hello."

Chandler's inquisitive co-workers retreated to their own cubicles.

"Hi," she repeated, and noticed how distracted he sounded. "What's wrong? You busy doing some important advertising stuff?"

"Uh, yeah." He reluctantly pushed the check aside on his desk and tried to focus on the conversation at hand. "I mean, no, I've got a minute. What's up?"

"Well, I just called to tell you that it's over between me and Mike. We're getting a divorce."

"What?!" Chandler sat up and couldn't believe this announcement.

"Yeah, um, Mike's staying at his sister's now, and we're getting lawyers and everything." Phoebe even managed to laugh and joke. "So I'm on my way to catching up with Ross's record of divorces!"

Chandler assumed that she was masking her pain and misery with humor, as he had so often done since his childhood. "Oh, that's terrible, Pheebs. Awful! I-I thought you guys were so happy together."

"Yeah, well, not anymore." She sighed wearily. "It's just gone all floopy and chaotic and--ugh! Eh, let's not get into it. Anyway, I'm kind of glad it's over finally. At least we split up before we actually started a family or anything. Boy, that would have been a mistake!"

Chandler grimaced and felt a sharp pang of guilt about the twins again. He had a wife and kids! He shouldn't be in love with Joey. He shouldn't be like his father. "Uh-huh."

Phoebe added, "Anyway, I'm gonna try to call Monica at home too, but you guys hardly ever pick up the phone in Westchester, you know, so I may have to just leave a message on your answering machine again. Feel free to fill her in about the divorce when you get home tonight, or have her call me if she gets a minute. Okay, my next massage client is in like five minutes, so I gotta go now. Bye, and I'll talk to you and Mon later!"

"Yeah. Bye."

Chandler hung up the phone and picked up Joey's check again, feeling hopelessly torn. He tried to talk himself into ripping it up and throwing it away, but then he wondered whether he and Monica might still need the check, if the Gellers didn't come through with a loan. Monica had chickened out of asking her parents for money before, and the Gellers had thoughtlessly spent her wedding fund without telling her, after all. So Chandler stuffed the check and the note back into the envelope. Then he tossed the envelope into a desk drawer, telling himself that he was only keeping it, just in case.

With an anguished sigh, Chandler finally got back to work and tried to catch up on his day's assignments. But his thoughts continually strayed to the envelope in his drawer, and he didn't ask himself why he kept the note, and not just the check alone. His heart couldn't bear to part with this last memento of Joey, just as it couldn't bear to let go of the foosball players in Joey's room.

---

When Monica called her parents to let them know that she was coming for a visit that evening, her mother was her usual critical self.

"Just you, dear?" Judy Geller sounded unenthusiastic on the phone. "Why can't you bring our grandchildren along too? We haven't seen them in over a month!"

Monica replied, "I'm sorry, but they aren't good with long car rides, mom. Remember how much they cried when we moved to Westchester? And they screamed both ways when we brought them to visit the last time, and then they were fussy all night."

"It's probably because you don't hold the bottle right when you're feeding them," Judy blamed her. "It leaves them gassy, and you don't burp them well enough afterward."

Monica grit her teeth and got defensive, "That's not true, mom! They're just fine when they're at home with me, and-and I've even been able to breastfeed them too."

"Oh really? Well, it's nice that you keep us informed," she spoke sarcastically.

Monica bit her fingernails and was reminded of just why she didn't like keeping her mother informed about Erica and Jack. Judy would inevitably nitpick and make even milestones and triumphs seem like failures. "I-I told Chandler to mention it, when he sent you the baby pictures."

"Oh, those things," Judy responded dismissively. "Grandparents need more than just photos, dear. We need contact! We should be able to see them in person, and spend time with them, like we do with your brother's children. If you can't bring your babies to us, dear, the least you can do is invite us over to your house again. We can spend the night and leave the next day, since your father's not allowed to drive after dark anymore." She pointed out, "You haven't invited us over in three months!"

"I-I know. I'm sorry, mom. We will definitely invite you again soon. It's just that we're busy right now..." Monica didn't dare let her mother see how untidy and unfinished the house was. The house had to be perfectly decorated and immaculate to meet Judy's approval. "And we need time to prepare a proper guest room for you."

"Don't you have a room ready and waiting for Joey? He's not even related to you!"

"Uh, yeah," she answered nervously. "But that's just because he's so attached to us, like--like family, and won't let go. I mean, he drops by every weekend, eats all our food, and messes up the house, let alone his room! He's a big overgrown kid, you know, and wants to visit us even more often than the birthmother does." She knew she was lying, and that Joey had actually been a great help around the house, but she needed an excuse to put off her mother from trying to visit. "I promise we'll invite you over once we get Joey to stop being so demanding on our time."

"Well, you shouldn't have encouraged him with his own room. He's a grown man, and real family should come first."

"Right, I know. It was Chandler's idea." Monica hurried to wrap up the conversation. "Anyway, tell dad that I'm coming to visit tonight, okay? I should be there around six, depending on the traffic."

"Very well." Judy sighed, with an air of resignation.

"All right, bye." Monica hung up the phone and groaned loudly to relieve her frustration. Then she went over to the playpen and picked up the babies again, to make herself feel better. At least babies gave unconditional love.

After a moment, the phone rang, but Monica decided to let the answering machine get it, while she took the babies into a quieter room for another feeding. She rocked them and cuddled them, trying to relax and ignore how messy and incomplete her house was. Life in the suburbs would eventually get easier. Right?

Later, when Monica checked the message on the machine, it turned out to be Phoebe announcing that she and Mike were getting divorced. Monica felt sorry for her, but a small, selfish part of her was also kind of pleased that someone else besides her was having trouble keeping up a perfect domestic life.

---

Phoebe left a quick message for Monica, then put away her cell phone into her purse. The massage chain had a policy against employees' cell phones ringing and disturbing the clients during massages, so Phoebe had to leave her phone in the silent mode and only check her messages at lunchtime, or in between massage clients.

After she finished working that afternoon, Phoebe picked up Gladys from Joey's apartment, then informed Ross and Rachel about her divorce too. They were sad for her, but not very surprised, given all the fighting for the past couple of months. They hugged her supportively, and Ross gave her the number of his divorce lawyer.

As she left, Phoebe asked them if they had any idea what was wrong with Joey; both Ross and Rachel said no, but promised to check in on Joey tonight and try to find out why he was upset and moping.

When she finally returned home and hung Gladys on her wall again, Phoebe smiled and felt glad to finally have Mike out of the apartment at last. Things had just grown too bitter between them, and their constant fights left an oppressive air of negative energy all over the place. Now she felt free and refreshed, ready to start over.

Being single again wasn't so bad, really, and Phoebe had numerous friends to comfort her and set her up on dates. She could also spend some free time babysitting the triplets for Frank and Alice, and maybe someday she would meet the right guy and have babies of her own too.

Joey's rejection of her today had hurt somewhat, but she understood and sensed that something was seriously bothering him. She wondered what had happened, and hoped that she or their other friends could cheer him up somehow. Or maybe all he needed was just to visit Chandler again this weekend.

---

That evening, Chandler got home from work, desperately hoping that Monica wouldn't bring up Joey again and try to nag him into making up with him. He was too weary to fight.

She didn't notice his dread and discomfort, though, simply shoving Jack and Erica into his arms. "Great! You watch them while I go get freshened up." Then she hurried upstairs to shower and change clothes, so that her parents wouldn't know just how disheveled and sweaty she got after a long day taking care of the babies.

So Chandler watched the kids and brooded in silence.

When Monica came downstairs, she grabbed her coat and put it on while telling Chandler that dinner was in the fridge for him to heat up. "And try to clean up around the house a little too."

"Uh-huh," he muttered listlessly.

She just grabbed her keys and hurried out the door.

Then Monica got into the Porsche and started driving over to her parents' place. Jack and Judy Geller no longer lived at the old house in which Ross and Monica grew up, and Monica still missed the place somewhat. But at least she got proof of her parents' love when her dad gave her his beloved Porsche. That was why she hoped that she would be successful in asking them for a loan tonight.