CHAPTER EIGHT: DECISIONS
Sleep eluded Phoebe that night, although the first thing she'd said to Mike when they walked in had been "This has been a long day and I'm really tired. I think I'm gonna turn in". He'd been disappointed but said nothing.
Phoebe's mind was reeling. She wasn't married! She looked at the bedside table and saw that it was 3 a.m. It was only midnight in L.A. She rolled her eyes and sighed. She needed to stop trying to guess what Joey was doing at any particular moment, but it was hard.
She wanted so much to call him and talk to him about this, about them. She wanted to tell him how much she missed him already. She got a lump in her throat thinking that the previous night she'd gone to sleep with his arms around her. She closed her eyes at the memory to prevent her eyes from filling with tears.
She needed to figure out what to do about Mike. Mike. He was such a dear and she didn't want to hurt him, but she wanted a chance with Joey. Quietly she left the bed and went to the kitchen for a glass of milk.
As she sat on her couch, sipping the warm milk, her eyes happened upon her cell phone being charged. She hadn't taken it to dinner with her! She went to check it and noticed she had some missed calls from Joey.
With her heart beating erratically, she took the phone and nervously dialed Joey's number.
"Hello?"
"Hi. I'm sorry to call so late..."
"Oh God, Pheebs! Finally!!! I figured you'd call when you saw your cell. I have some news..."
"Oh my God! I do too" she excitedly interrupted him...
"I'm not married!" "You're not married!" Both said in unison and then:
"I know!" "I know!"
"Who told you?" "Who told you?"
"Stop, please" she finally said before softly giggling. Oh this felt good, talking to him. She could tell he was smiling too.
"Chandler called me today. No. Wait. Yesterday. When does the day begin? Oh who cares! He called to tell me Monica was pissed at me blah blah blah. Long story short. You're not married"
"I know" she said softly and then became quiet.
"Phoebe, I know we didn't get a chance to talk about what happened between us, but before you make any decisions, you need to know that, well, um, I'd like a chance to... um, you know..." As usual, he had trouble getting words out, but finally he just said... "I love you".
Phoebe's eyes filled with tears upon hearing that. She was so happy. She swallowed hard and wished she hadn't come back without talking to Joey.
"I love you too, Joey. You have no idea how much. I can't believe it took your moving away for me to realize that."
"I moving back to New York, Phoebe"
"What? What about your job?"
"I'll find another one. I can't stand that you're on the other side of the country."
"Oh my God. Joey, this is huge!! Are you sure? I don't want you to make any rash decisions. I still have things to sort out. I still don't know what to do about Mike. I mean I know what I want to do, but I need to figure out a way to let him down easy."
Joey didn't immediately answer. He knew things were complicated, but he wanted Phoebe to resolve her situation quickly so that they could be together. He felt sorry for Mike, but, damn, waiting wasn't something he did well.
"Joey? Are you there?" He'd been so quiet, Phoebe thought they'd been disconnected.
"Yes, Pheebs, I'm here. I was just...you know... thinking about how we could speed things along, but I guess there's no easy way to do this...huh?"
The pleading tone in his voice broke Phoebe's heart a little. She wanted nothing more than to do that, but she couldn't bring herself to hurt Mike like that.
"No, Joey, there isn't, but I will start working on it immediately. To me, you and I are already together. You're the only one I wanna be with. Trust that ok?"
Phoebe's words were reassuring and Joey felt less anxious.
"Phoebe, you know I trust anything you tell me, and anyway I have a bunch of stuff I have to do before I can leave L.A. Quit my job, sell my car, break the lease. It'll be at least a month before I'm in New York."
"I'll be waiting"
There was a pause in the conversation, which made Phoebe frown a little.
"I gotta ask you something"
"What is it?"
"Where will you be waiting?"
"Well, here in New York"
"Where in New York?"
"I don't unders..."
"Are you moving out?" he cut her off before she could finish and before he lost his nerve.
Phoebe was quiet for a minute.
"Joey... I can't just move out"
"I know, I know. I guess I just hoped...you know... since you guys aren't married... that..."
"I'm not gonna sleep with Mike, Joey. I told you. In my heart, I'm already with you. I couldn't do that to you"
He felt a little silly, being jealous, but he was also relieved. If there was ever a woman he could trust, Phoebe was she.
"I love you, Pheebs..."
"I know and I love you and this jealous side of you I didn't know you had. It's kinda sexy." She finished that sentence with a yawn. She was really tired now that she'd settle things with Joey. Tomorrow she would worry about Mike. Right now she was savoring the feeling of knowing Joey was hers.
I'll let you go" he said with some regret "I've kept you up yet another night"
Phoebe blushed slightly at his allusion to their time together. She was still amazed that Joey was the only guy that still made her feel a little shy.
"Goodnight, baby"
"Sweet dreams and Pheebs?"
"Yes?"
"Put in a good word for me with Monica ok? She's not as thrilled as you about her annulled marriage"
"Will do"
Phoebe sat on the couch for a spell longer, with a smile on her face, then the chill of the early morning made her get up to get a blanket, but she didn't go back to bed. She went back to the living room and lay down on the couch and immediately fell asleep.
It was the gently stroke of a hand on her cheek that woke her up.
"Joey?" she smiled, still half asleep.
"No, sleepyhead. Not Joey. It's Mike. Don't you have people to massage today?
Hearing Mike's voice woke her up instantly and she sat up, words failing her.
"What are you doing in the living room? Couldn't you sleep?" he asked with a smile, noticing the half empty glass of milk.
"Something woke me and I couldn't go back to sleep"
"Well, it's already after 8 a.m. and I have to go. Are you working today?"
"I don't feel up to it. I think I'll go see how Monica is doing with the twins"
"We need to talk about this marriage thing"
"Um... sure... we'll do that tonight"
"Ok. I have to go now"
"Well, you have a great day!" she said as she got up to go to the kitchen, the glass with the unfinished milk on one hand and the blanket on the other.
"Bye" said Mike, slightly confused by the cold send off, but he had other things on his mind, so he let it go at that and left.
As soon as the door closed, Phoebe sighed in relief. Things were going to be harder than she thought. She was uncomfortable around Mike and she hated that. She had told Joey she would immediately start on a solution, but she didn't know how to.
She was still tired. She hadn't had enough sleep, but she couldn't afford to go back to bed. She needed to work things out, but she needed help and Monica was just the person. Well, maybe not, but she needed to get Monica to stop being mad a Joey and Phoebe's situation was just the thing to distract her with, and Monica needed a distraction. What with the kids being sick and all, she probably needed help more desperately than Phoebe.
Just then, a thought occurred to Phoebe and she smiled as an idea started to take shape so she wouldn't have to lie to keep Mike at length and that at the same time would help her friend. It was a good idea. She just hoped it worked.
