The little girl cried from her pushchair,crying for attention from her mother who was trying to figure out how to connect the television to the right cables, 'Ok sweetheart, I'm coming now...' She shouted in from the front room, she carefully placed the cable into the television hoping for the best. 'Tada!' she congratulated herself as the television flickered on. 'See...we'll be just fine Emma, if mummy can connect up the TV then theres nothing I cant do...'.She laughed, making her way over to her daughter who was trying to climb out of the pushchair.
Rachel was overall quite pleased about the apartment they had been given, it was acceptable for now and just the right size for herself and Emma, there was only the one bedroom for them, but it was quite spacious and they even had a veranda where the city of Paris could be overlooked. Rachel had only just settled in really, all the boxes were now empty again and everything was in the right place,the only thing missing was a telephone which was a bit of a pain as she was dying to speak to her mother and ofcourse the friends she had left behind in New York, and her cell hadnt been working for a few days since they arrived.
Work hadnt yet begun for her, she had agreed to start work on Monday and it was Saturday now, she had 2 more days to get everything sorted out with Emma, she would have to find a perfect nanny to look after her daughter, that was the thing she dreaded as she didnt trust many people with Emma, especially in a unfamiliar country. 'Just you and me now Emma, now Mummy is going to be working some days and you will be with another lady for the day who I will make sure will look after my little girl, is that ok Emma?' Rachel said to her daughter as she fed her breakfast,aware of the television fuzzing in the background. She sighed. 'I'll have to get somebody in to fix that by the looks of things, I thought I could do it by myself but sometimes Mummy just gives in Emma...' Rachel shared with her daughter.
Not once had Rachel thought properly about Ross, each time he entered her mind she had pushed it to the back of her mind straight away, she was too afraid to even think about it, she was too busy concentrating on her new life in Paris which she was so excited about, she couldnt just ignore all that just for the possibility of a happy ending with Ross, they never could get it together and she couldnt quite imagine them ever getting it together. The one thing she couldnt ignore was the worry of how he was doing back in New York without her and Emma, she knew that they both were the world to him nomatter what and she could never forget that, sometime soon they would be meeting again whenever he came over to Paris to see Emma, but she knew most of his trip would be an awkward mess because of the situation. She thought maybe ringing him would be best, straightening things out over the phone before they went ahead and planned for him to come over, but she wasnt quite sure what there was to straighten out, he had told her that he loved her and she had walked away leaving him heartbroken, not one day did she deny that she loved Ross, but she didnt want to think about that right now. It was too complicated, she needed to get her life sorted out first before she threw herself into a serious relationship again which mightnt even last, she wasnt sure she could drop everything for that.
Her daydream was soon interupted by a light knocking on the apartment door, she had no idea who it would be, she nervously stood up to answer it leaving Emma in her highchair and happily eating her food, 'You stay there Emma sweetie...' Rachel told her daughter, stroking her hair before walking towards the door.
'Bonjour Madam...'. A middleaged woman greeted her as Rachel opened the door. She had long blonde locks with a friendly smile on her face, she looked a little too happy to be true in Rachels eyes, maybe that was what people were like here she wondered.
'Hello...I dont speak much French' Rachel laughed. 'Are you my neighbour?' She asked, hoping the woman understood english.
The woman held out of her hand and offered Rachel a handshake, 'Its lovely to meet you Madam, I am the person living in the next room wea, I saw you yesterday with your daughter and I thought it would only be kind of me to give you a welcoming my dear' She smiled, shaking Rachel's hand.
'Why thank you, your ever so nice...would you like to come inside? I havent got much groceries in yet but I could make us a nice drink if you would like one?' Rachel offered.
The lady nodded. 'How very kind of you, we can get to know eachother as we have our drink wea, and may I say dear, I love your summer dress, you must have the men falling over you!' She laughed. She spoke english quite well, Rachel was pleased. She laughed. 'Not yet, mind you...I havent had the chance to see any French men here yet!' She laughed. She opened the door, 'Please come in...please excuse the mess' She said, closing the door behind her, feeling positive already about her move here, atleast she had found a person who may become a friend for her.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The thought of leaving the bed forced him to pull the cover over his face, trying to convince himself that it wasnt morning time and he didnt have to get up and face another day in New York with the thought of being alone, ofcourse he wasnt really alone as he had his family and his son still in the city, and Joey and Phoebe were only a matter of time away but they wouldnt want him around everyday, dwelling over Rachel.
Phoebe had told him that he was welcome to come and see her anytime and Joey had said the same, but being alone was somehow the only way to gather his thoughts, not like had many, they all were about Rachel and ways of trying to get her back, but he knew he didnt have a chance as if she felt the same way as he did, she would have stayed.
He rolled over on his side, his eyes fixated on the photograph on his nightstand, the photograph was taken only a few months ago when he and Rachel had taken Emma out for the day, they had so much fun that day and not once did they feel uncomfortable or aware of the fact that it was that easy to be a family, because that wasnt ever the problem. The problem was always them, both of them could never admit their true feelings even when they were dating, Ross had hoped that they would one day get it together, but that was before she had dropped the bombshell of leaving. For him, it was the only time to take a chance and show her that he wanted to real thing again, and he had thought so too when they had shared that night together 8 days ago, waking up next to her had made him feel sure that there was a possible future for them, how wrong he was. He sighed as his alarm went off another time, he would have to get up sooner or later, but his day didnt consist of much as Saturdays were never lively, but usually he would have the pleasure of seeing his best friends, but now he didnt have much to do, the biggest challenge everyday would be to get up and face each day, but he guessed he would soon get over it and pull his life back together again.
He missed Emma already, it had been over a week since he had seen his beautiful daughter smile and that was what hurt him most, it had always been hard not seeing his son everyday but it was different with Emma, he had been there throughout her birth and the early stages of childhood and now she was on the other side of the world with Rachel, and sooner or later she may well meet her step dad, probably another man in Paris who Rachel would fall for and then he would soon be forgotten, already he felt like Rachel had forgotten he existed as she hadnt bothered to call him since she had got to Paris, Monica had been the person who had the job of letting Ross know they had landed safely, otherwise Rachel wouldnt have called him, probably too uncomfortable to talk anyway.
He rose from the bed, leaving an imprint of his body in the sheets and a visible dip in the pillow where his head had been lying for the past 13 hours. He rubbed his eyes and stretched, for the first time ever he felt old, he felt like his body was giving in already and there wasnt much left to look forward to. The last bit of energy he had in his body, she had taken with her, she was the only hope for him to have a future anyway. He would be kidding himself to think any different.
He heard the ringing of the phone in the front room, he would let the answer machine get it. After three rings he listened closely for the message, it would probably be Monica, or maybe Carol, or his Mother. He slipped on his slippers as he waited to hear the message.
'Ross, Its Rachel...Pick up'. He stopped what he was doing for a moment and listened again, it couldnt be Rachel, it just couldnt be. He got up from the bed, feeling a headrush as he did so. 'Ross please pick up...I need to talk to you'. She said again. He walked across the floor, into the front room seeing the flashing on the telephone, he would have to pick it up now. It sounded urgent, maybe something was wrong, or maybe she was calling to shout at him for confusing her feelings.
He picked it up. 'Hello..'.
He heard her breathe quietly, 'Ross...'.
'...Its me, I was just...just in bed, whats up?' He asked her. Pleased to hear her voice again, but also nervous for what she was going to say.
He heard her sigh. 'I thought you wouldnt pick up, I just need...need to talk to you'.
He gave a small smile. She sounded calm. 'Ummm, ofcourse Rach, what is it?'. He asked, acting oblivious to what she obviously wanted to discuss, but he didnt want her thinking that was the only thing on his mind, even though it really was.
'I just need to talk about last week, I just dont know how to...ummm'
'Rach, please dont...your there now, I'm here...forget what I said, you obviously dont feel the same way and we should just be adult about it...' He interupted her, he hoped that she didnt think he was being mad at her, because he wasnt. He just didnt want to discuss it, he felt stupid already.
'I...I just wanted to speak to you, because well...its you Ross, I just want you to know that I didnt mean to...well I didnt mean to...ummm'.
'You dont have to explain stuff to to me Rach, I understand...I was silly to think you would stay just for me'.
She didnt say anything. Afterall, there was nothing to say that could make him feel better, 'Ok...Well, should we ummm...arrange a time for you to come and visit us?' She said, quickly changing the subject.
'Yeah sure...how is Emma anyway...I...well, I miss her...' He told her. He was now sat down, and strangely feeling comfortable talking to her, atleast she wasnt mad at him, and she was certainly keen on seeing him again.
'I know...She misses you too'. She said. Ross wondered whether it was only Emma who missed him, but she probably wouldnt tell him anyway if she did, and he thought it would be best to not tell her that he missed her, it would only make her feel worse, he didnt want that. He wasnt angry at her, just disapointed.
'I can come next weekend maybe...'.
'Next weekend?' She asked, sounding surprised.
'Would that be...ok?'
'Umm, well...I think I might be...'.
'Busy?' He cut in.
'Yes...Im not sure we will be settled in by then and I thought maybe you could come in about 2 weeks when I'll be a lot more settled in...'
'I see...'.
'I do want you to come Ross, I just think it would be better in 2 weeks and maybe you could stay for a few days so you and Emma could spend time together...'.
'Ok..'.
'Ok then..'.
It went silent.
Ross wasnt mad for her putting him off, but he was pleased he could stay a few days in just 2 weeks time, she was being reasonable, whether that would last, he didnt know. 'Listen I should go now...'. She said. 'Emma wants my attention...' She laughed.
'Give her a kiss from me..' Ross said.
'I will do...'.
'Bye then..'.
She didnt say goodbye, he just heard the sound of Emma calling out and the phone going off. She sounded rushed off her feet. If only he could be there to help her. He switched off the phone, and for the first time in days he felt hungry. Maybe it was the relief of speaking to her, he didnt know, but a nice bagel sounded ideal right now.
