No, that was ridiculous, how could Emily be here, in Paris? That was a stupid question. If someone who lived in New York could come and live in Paris, so could someone who lived in London – in fact London was a lot closer to Paris than New York and she wouldn't even need a visa, would she? It was perfectly possible for her to be here, on her own account or on that of her husband. Now Rachel knew what had happened to her after that phone call. So, she'd married Stuart, it had somehow worked, despite the unfortunate beginning and now she was here, about to have a baby.

How different things would have been if her marriage to Ross had worked out. They would never know how it could have been, because of Ross's mistake, and then the airport, and then Emily refusing to trust him. Rachel tried to imagine it, but couldn't – it was all too long ago, and the details of the past were so hazy – everything had happened so quickly. What she did seize on, was that if things had worked out with them, there would have been no Emma, and there was no way she'd regret having Emma.

She called Monica. As soon as they'd greeted each other, Rachel said,

'Can you believe it? I think I'm living next door to Emily Waltham.'

'What? Her?' Monica exclaimed. If Rachel wasn't her friend, she'd have described that as a shriek.

'I think it was her. I heard her voice and it sounded an awful lot like her.'

'How could she be there?' Monica demanded.

'Because of her husband.'

'Oh, yeah,' Monica said, 'It sounds like Ross had a luckier escape that we knew.' Rachel had told her about the plate smashing the night before.

'Yes,' Rachel said.

'It will be terrible to have to live next door to her. You'll have to move,' Monica said. Well, she'd probably be going anyway, thought Rachel, to China with her husband or to England on her own, and it would only be a matter of weeks either way. It was a lot of trouble for Rachel to go to, in a foreign country, to move apartments. How would she be able to find somewhere so good so quickly?

'It's all in the past so why should it be terrible?' She didn't know how it would be. She was nervous at the thought of meeting Emily again and she had no idea how Emily would react when she saw her. Emily had hated her then, would she be any different now? Was she going to be cold and unpleasant? Or would there be an attack of some kind?

'She hates you,' Monica said. 'Or at least she did. However she feels, she's not going to be friendly, especially when she finds out that you and Ross had a child together.' She'd done it, she'd mentioned Ross. Of course Monica would mention him, he was her brother. She could hardly expect her never to mention him.

'That was a long time ago,' Rachel repeated, her voice sounding awkward to her ears. Would she ever be able to say Ross's name as though he was just another person? She had before, but right now, it seemed so difficult to believe that she ever would. 'Anyway, she might be moving. Her husband wants to go to China.'

'Oh.'

'Yeah, except she doesn't want to go.'

'She's just being the controlling bitch she always was,' Monica said. Someone else hadn't calmed down six years.

'Well, she is pregnant,' Rachel said, 'and nearly due. I wouldn't want to go anywhere if I was about to give birth either.'

'She's pregnant?' Rachel felt like asking if Monica's hearing was okay. Her own wouldn't be if Monica kept reacting like that.

'Yeah, well it happens if…' she broke off what she was going to say. It happens when a man and a woman have unprotected sex at the right time, but it would never happen for Monica and Chandler. 'You know.'

'I know,' Monica said. 'It happens for everyone else except me. Even people like her get to have babies.' Rachel didn't know what to say and was silent. 'Oh don't listen to me, I just get like that when I hear about other women being able to experience that magical feeling of a baby growing inside them.' It was true. Monica was able to cope with other people having children, but pregnancy often made her go silent.

'Tell me how Jack and Erica are,' Rachel said, and slowly, conversation got back to normal.

Somehow she was able to finish the conversation, calm enough to think about turning in for the night and getting some sleep. It was just someone, anyone living next door, someone who had no connection with her. Ross was out of her life, and anything to do with his exes doubly so. She didn't need to know and she didn't need to care. If they were moving in a few weeks, she wouldn't have to put up with it for long. In fact, they might be able to get away with not seeing each other, because they certainly hadn't met so far.

The phone rang as she was just about to go to bed. She was almost tempted to leave it, but she thought it just might be something about Emma.

It was Ross.

'Rachel?'

'Ross,' she said. What are you doing? Why are you ringing? But she didn't ask these questions and just let the silence linger.

'I just wanted to find out how you were. Settling into your new job and getting used to things over there, and – everything.'

'Yeah,' Rachel said. It was too soon to tell how that was going to turn out. Just because she'd had some negative first impression of it all didn't mean that it was going to be like that always. Probably not.

'That's good,' Ross said. 'And your apartment? Is that okay?'

'It's okay,' she said. Apart from the fact that your ex wife is here, and no I don't mean Carol. She didn't say that either. She didn't want to hear how his voice might change, or react, when he heard Emily's name. Although why she should care about that, when Emily was married, and probably looking like a beach ball, and when she had told Ross firmly that it was really all over between them, she didn't know.

'Okay for Emma?' he asked anxiously.

'Yes, there's somewhere for her to play, and there are big rooms in this apartment, and I've already got a place in a creche for her,' she said. There was another long pause.

'I'm glad things are working out for you,' Ross said, sounding miserable. 'I want you to be happy.'

'I want you to be happy too,' Rachel said.

'Yeah,' Ross said.

'You need to get out, do stuff, meet people,' Rachel said. 'Don't stay indoors – go out – it must be great over there.' Over there, her country, her city, her place – she had to stop thinking those things, because they didn't help her at all.

'Yeah,' Ross said. She wanted to say, forget about me. But that would raise a subject she had decided was finished and done with.

'Hey, I've got work tomorrow and its nearly midnight here, so I'd better go,' Rachel said at last, and rang off.

Why did she feel so bad?