Ross Geller pulled the collar of his coat around his neck. The brisk New England winds caused a chill to rise up off of Boston Harbor. He walked up the steps of the brick house situated in Cambridge. Somehow he liked that, being around the great minds of the academic world. As a new member of the faculty at Boston College, he needed to find a place to live. He spotted the sign in the window as apartment for rent. Knocking on the door, an elderly lady with a grandmotherly look answered it.
"May I help you?" she sweetly answered with a Bostonian accent. "Yes, I saw your sign and I was interested in seeing this apartment." Ross asked politely. The lady took the chain off the lock and then came out the door. "Right this way." The two of them walked down the hall and up the stairs. The door was solid oak and it had a stained glass pattern etched into it.
"This is extraordinary ." Ross said as he touched the fine craftsmanship on the door. "An artist used to live here. I thought it looked nice so I left it this way." The lady answered. She took her key and opened the door. "This is pretty much the way he left it." Ross walked in and began to survey the apartment."It is so nice. Nicer than New York , that's for sure." He laughed.
The older lady was now trying to find out about her newest tenant . "So you are from New York." She said. "And you came to Boston." She shook her head.
"Actually , I was transferred and now I work at Boston College. I am now the newest professor in the paleontology department." Ross said proudly of his new postion. The elderly lady took off her spectacles and stared at him in confusion. "Paleont- what?" she asked.
"Paleontology, the study of life and it's origins. Actually I mostly work with fossils and dinosaurs. I used to work for the Museum of Natural History in New York." Ross explained to the lady. The lady smiled and took her glasses and wiped them on her apron. "You seem like a nice and smart young man. The apartment is yours."
"Great , I will call the movers in New York and have my stuff shipped here today. All I have with me , is my suitcases." After the lady closed the door, he walked around and looked at his spacious new apartment , much bigger than the one he had. He needed to celebrate so he left his luggage and walked down the street. He spotted it , now it would feel like home.
The coffee shop had a more Revolutionary War feel to it , then the avante gard look of Central Perk. There were wooden chairs with hand carved arms and little tables. Ross sat himself down and immediately a waitress came over to take his order. The waitress smiled at him , after all he was an attractive single man.
"I will have a latte, skim milk." He said. "And do you have scones?" he asked. The girl smiled at him. "Yes we do, what flavor would you like?" "I think I will have a raspberry one." The girl wrote down the order . "Oh and by the way, I am Melanie. If you want anything else, let me know." Ross looked at his waitress. Now it did begin to hurt. He could remember the tastiest thing on the Central Perk menu , wasn't the food or the coffee, it was the cute little brunette who made a place for him in her bed.
The last thing in the world he needed was another relationship to screw up. He looked around to see the other patrons laughing and joking , that reminded him of his little group of friends and Chandler's jokes and Joey's flirting. He would make a new life for himself.
"Here you go. " Melanie said as she put down the coffee and the plate with the scone. She smiled at the stranger. "Thanks ." he said as he took out his wallet. "This is for you." He said handing her a five.
"Thanks, I can sure use this. I am in grad school." She said sticking the bill in her apron. "Oh really, for what?" he said as he sipped his coffee." For well , don't laugh , but my masters in theatre." She said almost ashamed.
"Don't ever be ashamed of your dreams." He said . "Listen , when are you done?" he said. She looked at her watch. "I guess in about five minutes ." Ross pulled out the other chair. "Listen , I am new to Boston and I don't know that many people , I want to have someone to talk with, and you seem like a very literate young lady. Please come and keep me company. I am not looking for a girlfriend, just a friendly face to talk to." Melanie smiled and then took off her apron and clocked out. Grabbing a muffin and a cup of tea , she sat down with her new friend.
"Yes , I do like Moliere and Shakespeare," Ross said as he talked about his knowledge of theatre. "Shakespeare can be so overrated and over done though." Melanie nodded. "But Shakespeare is universal and can be interpreted by the masses and also can be performed in any time period in history." Ross said thoughtfully.
"I like Tennesse Williams." She smiled. "His plays are filled with human emotion and colorful ethnic characters. It is my dream to someday play Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, or Blanche in Streetcar ." she said.
"You have a lot of ambition." Ross smiled at the young girl.
"No I have a lot of drive, coming here all the way from the Midwest." Melanie said determined. "Where are you from?" she asked Ross.
"Long Island, New York. I grew up there and then went to NYU and then got married and moved to Manhattan." Ross rattled off his facts with no emotion. He didn't want to turn this new friendship into the I miss my girlfriend litany of woe.
"You know an awful lot about art and theatre, for a guy who is mostly around science." Melanie marveled. "Just call me well rounded." He said shyly. Melanie made her decision. "I would really like to go out with you sometime. I can tell you aren't looking for a relationship , but I also know what it is like to be the new kid in town." She took out her purse. "Here is my number, call me sometime." She handed him a piece of paper with her number scrawled on it. She got up from her chair and then turned to him. "Bye Ross, it was nice meeting you. I hope we run into each other again." Her hazel eyes met his brown ones and it almost seemed like the two were making a connection.
Maybe once again it was time to grab a spoon.
Rachel had been sick for the last couple days. She had equated it to the stress of the breakup. She didn't feel like eating or anything, just sleeping. When she saw the note, she passed it off as good riddance to bad rubbish. He was gone and she would never have to deal with him again. Maybe the doctor could give her some antidepressants . to deal with the stress of the break up.
"I am just going to take a little blood, to make sure you are alright and then , we will give you a prescription for Prozac, that should make you feel almost back to normal." The doctor said as he left . A nurse came in and put the tourniquet around her arm and took a vial of blood.
It had been quite a while and the doctor came back in. He looked at Rachel and then sat down. "We found something when we were testing your blood." Rachel braced herself for the worst , cancer or something like that would explain why she was so rundown and tired.
"And what is that?" Rachel said panicky. "Oh no Miss Green, it's nothing like that." The doctor smiled. "In fact, it might even be good news. Miss Green , you're pregnant." Rachel ' s eyes widened in shock.