Chapter 4: Dinner and a Job

Monica nervously entered the darkened restaurant, Phoebe on her heels. She spotted Tom at the other side of the room. He smiled and approached them.

"Right on time." He said and then introduced himself to Phoebe, before showing them where all the cleaning stuff was, handed them each an envelope and left. Monica hoped that was a sign that he trusted them.

Monica and Phoebe quickly got to work. They cleaned the floor and the tables and chairs. They made sure everything was spotless. Monica was determined not to lose this job. She would make sure Tom kept them on. When the place was clean they turned off all the lights, locked the door and went 'home.'

They continued on like this for a few weeks, singing at the station most mornings, cleaning and what not in the afternoons and working at the restaurant at night. They managed to put most of their money from the restaurant away, and were amazing a fair amount, for them anyway. Together they were making about two hundred dollars a week. Monica was ecstatic. With this much money going away, she knew they would be able to afford an apartment eventually.

April came and they celebrated Phoebe's twentieth birthday very low key. Monica bought her a cupcake and managed to find a candle somewhere, which she lit and attempted to sing Phoebe's own version of the birthday song. Phoebe had done something similar for Monica's birthday in September.

After they had worked at the restaurant for three months, Tom called them into his office one night.

"I would like to start by saying I am very impressed with your work. We have not had one complaint about cleanliness since you started working here."

"Thank-you," Monica said.

Tom continued. "If you would like, I am willing to extend your responsibilities."

Both Monica and Phoebe nodded, willingly.

Tom smiled. "Good. I would like you two to not only clean the front and the bathrooms, but the kitchen itself, do the dishes, clean the counters, and all the cooking stuff. I would be willing to raise your wages to twenty-five dollars each, per night."

Both Phoebe and Monica agreed willingly and got right to work. It wasn't long before another three months had passed. Altogether, they had put away about seven thousand dollars, which they deposited into Monica's still existing bank account, for safe keeping.

On the one-year anniversary of Monica's life on the streets, she realized that she and Phoebe had enough put away that they could start looking for a small apartment. Together they looked at a few, but they were all too expensive. They wanted to make sure they were making enough to be able to pay for upkeep of the apartment.

Eventually they found something small, just one room, with a small bathroom off of it. The room had a window into a small courtyard on one side, and a small kitchen on the other. The kitchen consisted of a mini fridge, stove, sink and a couple cupboards. The bathroom had a small sink, toilet, and shower. Well, it wasn't really a shower, there was a faucet coming out of the wall, and the only thing stopping the water from going everywhere was a small lip on the floor. The whole thing was falling apart; the paint was chipping, and it had a weird smell, but for them, it was perfect. The rent was cheap, and if they didn't use hot water and used very little electricity, they would be fine, and even have some money left over.

Both Monica and Phoebe were ecstatic the day they moved in. They had no furniture and had to sleep on the floor, but it was better then the ground outside. After a few days of living there, they happened across a mattress being left our for garbage pick-up. They quickly carried it home. They found some nice dishes and a phone at the good will down the street and were able to hook-up the phone so long as they didn't make any long distance calls. They were beginning to feel unstoppable.

Monica was at the grocery store, picking up some cheap food, mostly stuff that was close to its expiry date, when she felt a familiar presence behind her. She turned around and smiled.

"Hey, it's you," she said.

"And it's you," Chandler answered, smiling.

They both laughed.

"So," Chandler started. "How have you been?"

"Good," Monica said truthfully, "you?"

"I can't complain," Chandler answered. "I graduated and just got an apartment in the city."

Monica smiled. "That's good. So, did you ever figure out what you wanted to do?"

Chandler shook his head. "Nah, but I got a pretty good job, just a temp job, mind you."

"Doing what?"

"Data processing."

"Oh, what do you do?"

"That's a good question," Chandler said smiling. "But apparently I'm good at it."

Monica laughed.

Chandler remembered the promise he had made to himself. "So, those reasons you had before, are they still there?"

Monica hesitated for a moment. "Yeah, but they're slowly being phased out."

Chandler felt his heart skip a beat, hoping that meant what he hoped it did. "Does that mean I can take you out for dinner tonight?"

Monica sucked in a breath knowing she couldn't say no. "Sure," she said. "But it can't be late."

"That's fine, how is six?"

"It's perfect."

"Uh, I'll pick you up, just let me know where you live."

Monica froze. She didn't want Chandler to see the apartment she lived in. Sure it was a million times better than the streets, but it was far from glamorous. "Uh, no, that's okay, you don't have to pick me up. I'll meet you wherever we go."

"Are you sure?" Chandler asked.

Monica nodded. They made plans and went their separate ways.

Monica paid for her items and made her way back home. She barged in the door, to find Phoebe sitting on the floor, staring at the wall.

"Pheebs, what are you doing?"

"Pretending to be watching television."

"Oookay." Monica had long given up any attempts to understand her best friend.

"What's up?" Phoebe asked. "You look flustered and your aura is all floppy."

Monica laughed nervously. "Oh, Pheebs, I did something stupid."

"What did you do?"

"I agreed to a date."

Phoebe screamed excitedly. "A date! With who?"

"Chandler, remember the guy I told you about?"

Phoebe nodded.

"Yeah, I ran into him at the grocery store."

"So why is this a bad thing?"

"Because," Monica said, like it was obvious. "I'm going to get attached and he's going to find out and freak out and I'll never see him again."

"Why do you think he'll find out?"

"Because, if you date someone it's inevitable, eventually he'll wonder why he doesn't know where I live."

"Okay, but why do you think he'll freak out?"

"Because he's so much better than me. He went to school, he has a job."

"Did you ever stop to think that he's s good guy and won't care about your past?"

Monica shook her head and sighed sadly. "Things like that don't happen to me."

"Well, maybe the universe owes you."

Monica smiled. Although she worried about Phoebe's sanity sometimes, she really was a good friend. She didn't know where she would be without her.

She was nervous as she waited for Chandler in front of the restaurant. She had on the best, cleanest, newest looking outfit she had, but she still felt underdressed, even though it was a casual restaurant. She spotted Chandler approaching, wearing khaki's and a sweater. He looked really good. He smiled when he saw her and gave her a quick hug. They entered together and were seated at a small table near the back. Monica ordered water and a small salad, claiming she had eaten a big lunch. Really, she didn't want to pay much if he didn't pay the bill, and she knew she had to offer. Chandler declined when she offered to pay. After they ate, they sat at the table for a few hours, talking. They had a great time and Monica was surprised when she glanced at her watch.

"Wow, look at the time," Monica said. She had to leave now if she was going to be on time for work. She was meeting Phoebe at the restaurant. "I really have to get going."

Chandler looked disappointed, but didn't pressure her to stay. "Can I see you again?" He asked, hopefully.

Monica hesitated. "Chandler," she started. "I like you, I really do, but I'm really not what you want."

"Can I be the one to decide that?" Chandler asked. He sighed. "I feel something towards you, I don't know what it is, but it's strong. I really want to get to know you better."

Monica sighed. "I want that, too."

"Then what's the problem?"

"Just…personal stuff."

"The same personal stuff from six months ago?"

Monica nodded.

"Whatever the problem is, I don't care. And if you can't tell me right now then that's fine. Please, just give us a chance. Please?"

Monica smiled, knowing she was crazy to do what she was about to do. She knew there was a huge chance of her getting hurt. It was almost inevitable. She took a deep breath. "Okay."

"Okay?" Chandler asked, not sure he had heard her.

Monica nodded. "Okay," she repeated. She smiled.