Chapter 11: A New Kind of Christmas
AN: I'm sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up, but I haven't been able to get onto the site for, like, a week. Anyway, it took me a while to get this chapter written. The next chapter will be up faster.
It didn't take long for the moving arrangements to take place. Joey and Phoebe were very happy for Monica and Chandler and decided that they, too, would move in together. So, Chandler moved into Monica's apartment and Phoebe moved into Joey's apartment.
Monica was ecstatic; she was in love, living with her boyfriend, and she had two amazing friends. But, as she had learned in life, if things were going well, they almost always went bad.
Monica was sitting in the dark, nervously. She was perched on the edge of the couch, playing with her hands. She jumped when she heard the door open.
"Hi sweetie," Chandler's familiar voice filtered through the room. He spotted her on the couch. "Is everything okay?"
Monica jumped up. "Yup! It's fine. Everything is f-fine. Nothing's wrong."
Chandler gave her an amused look. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Monica was about to assure him for the second time that she was, in fact, okay, when she saw the look on his face. She knew she couldn't fake being okay with him. He could always see through her.
"Okay," she relented. "I'm not okay. I'm a little nervous about tonight."
Chandler laughed. "Mon, you don't have to be nervous. It's just my mom."
"Exactly," Monica said, jumping up. "She's your mom. What if she doesn't like me? What if she hates me and tells you never to see me again. What if…"
"Monica, calm down," Chandler said, wrapping his arms around her small, shaking frame. He kissed her on the temple. "Everything is going to be fine, okay? She's just my mom. I know she will love you. And if not, who cares? She doesn't control who I am, or what I do, or who I love."
Monica looked up at him, an apprehensive look on her face. "Are you sure?"
Chandler nodded. "I'm sure I'm sure."
Monica nodded again and thanked him. She was still very nervous, but felt a little better that Chandler wasn't worried. He had been trying to convince her all week that meeting his mother wasn't that big a deal, but she still didn't believe him. Monica wasn't very good at interacting with people she didn't know, and she had heard horror stories about people screwing up when they met their boyfriend/girlfriend's parents. She could only image how badly this could turn out. What would his mom think when she finds out Monica had lived on the streets? She would probably convince her son that Monica was not nearly good enough for him that he should ditch her and find someone better.
Monica was pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of Chandler repeating her name over and over.
"Monica…Monica," Chandler repeated.
Monica snapped out of it and looked up at him. "What?" She asked.
Chandler laughed. "Are you in there today?" He asked sweetly, holding his hand against the side of her head, rubbing his thumb up and down the corner of her forehead.
Monica sighed. "Yeah, I'm here," she told him. "Good old me, freaking out again."
Chandler sat down on the couch, pulling her down next to him. "I promise you that everything will be okay, okay?"
Monica nodded reluctantly.
"I know how hard this must be for you, but you have to understand. My mom's not like normal moms. She doesn't get all involved in my life. I mean, she's getting married again, next month, and I'm meeting what will be my new stepfather for the first time tonight. It's just the kind of person she is."
"She's getting married? How many times has she been married?"
Chandler thought for a moment. "Well, including my father, probably four or five times, maybe more."
"Really?"
Chandler nodded. "Yeah, and sometimes I don't meet the guy until after they're married, or in one, case after they were already divorced."
Monica laughed. "Wow, she goes through guys fast."
Chandler continued nodding. "That she does, but don't worry. I didn't inherit that from her."
Monica gave him a sly smile. "You mean that you don't go through guys fast?" She asked sarcastically.
Chandler rolled his eyes. "Ha, ha, ha." He said. "You know what I meant. God, you've spent way too much time around me."
Monica smiled at his comment. "Well, I think that's a good thing."
Chandler smiled at her and kissed her gently. "Me too, now we better get moving. We have to be at the restaurant in an hour."
An hour later, Monica took a deep breath as the waiter led her and Chandler through the rows of tables to the one his mother and future stepfather sat at. She smiled at Chandler, who was holding her hand tightly. He was doing his best to reassure her. The waiter stopped at a table where an attractive woman sat with a good-looking, obviously younger man. The women appeared to be in her fifties, but wore a low cut dress and had her hair up. She looked like she was living in the past.
Monica felt Chandler drop her hand as he stepped forward to kiss his mother on the cheek.
"Hi, Mom," he said.
"Oh, hello Chandler, dear. How are you today?"
"I'm good, Mom." He paused for a moment. "I would like to introduce you to Monica." He stepped to the side slightly, allowing Monica to step forward.
Monica stepped forward and awkwardly held out her hand. She cleared her throat. "It's n-nice to meet you, Ms. Bing."
She laughed. "Please, call me Nora. I sound so old when people call Ms. Bing." She took Monica's hand, but stood up, pulling Monica into a quick, friendly hug. "You must be the girl my son has been talking about for the past year and a half."
Monica blushed, and looked down. She didn't know what to say to that comment.
Nora laughed. "Oh, and she's nervous. How cute."
Monica glanced up at Chandler, who was smiling at her. He stepped over to her and grasped her hand, once again.
Monica felt a new wave of confidence, and was about to respond, when Nora cut in.
"Oh right," Nora said. "Chandler, I would like to introduce you to my new lover, Edmond."
Monica saw Chandler nearly choke at the sound of his name, especially the way in which Nora pronounced it, like it had some importance.
"It's nice to meet you," Chandler told him, holding out his other hand.
"And you," Edmond told him, shaking his hand.
Monica and Chandler sat down in the two extra chairs, and Monica noticed that Chandler pulled his chair a little closer to her before sitting down. She was grateful for that, especially that he didn't let go of her hand. She was very slowly becoming more and more comfortable in her surroundings, but was still nervous. She glanced around. They were in a very fancy restaurant and suddenly she felt very underdressed. Chandler seemed to sense her dread and squeezed her hand gently. "You look beautiful," he whispered.
Monica smiled and took a deep breath. This wasn't as bad as she thought it would be.
The waiter came and took their drink orders and left. There was silence. No one seemed to know what to say. Monica was still too nervous to say anything to anyone, Chandler was eyeing his future stepfather, who couldn't be more than a few years older than him, and Nora and Edmond seemed interested in Chandler's reaction to Edmond.
Nora was the first to break the silence. "So, dear," she said turning to Monica. "What do you do for a living?"
Monica smiled. "I work at a restaurant downtown."
Nora nodded, smiling. "Oh, are you a waitress?"
Monica smiled, confidently. "No, I'm a chef."
Nora seemed surprised. "A chef! Wow! I don't think I've ever actually met a chef before." She paused. "How long have you been living in the city?"
Monica hesitated. "Well, I guess, about two and a half years."
Nora seemed to think for a minute. "You can't be any older than Chandler. How old were you when you moved out here?"
"Eighteen," Monica said. "Right after I graduated."
Nora nodded. "Needed to get away from the parents, huh?"
Monica attempted to laugh, but it came out as a half-laugh, half-choking sound. Luckily for her, the waiter arrived with their drinks and dinner menus. There was silence as they all read through the menus.
Monica cringed as she read through the menu. This was a very expensive restaurant and all of the meals were very expensive. And, even though she was a chef, she had never tasted many of the exquisite dishes. She glanced over at Chandler, who appeared to be reading through the menu with ease. She knew he had grown up eating at these kinds of places; it was like second nature to him. Monica shook her head at the prices; they were more than enough for both her and Phoebe to live on for a week when they had been on the streets. Personally, Monica would have been more comfortable with a hamburger.
Chandler scanned through the menu, looking for something to catch his eye. Personally, he hated these kinds of restaurants. In his mind there was no reason you should pay that much just to eat dinner. He glanced over at Monica, and knew she was thinking the same thing. She was good at hiding her feelings, but not good enough to hide them from him.
Chandler reached under the table to grab her hand. She glanced over at him in surprise, and smiled. He smiled back and squeezed her hand. He was so happy. She was being so brave for him, when he knew that inside she was terrified. Well, maybe not terrified, but she was sure scared. He hadn't told his mother anything about Monica's past, at her request, even though it didn't matter to him. In his mind, if it didn't bother him, it shouldn't bother anyone else. He was the one who was in love with her.
Chandler saw the waiter approach the table and everyone ordered, including himself. Again there was silence. He knew if no one said anything his mother would start in again, asking Monica questions and he didn't want Monica to be uncomfortable. Chandler took a deep breath and pasted a smile on his face.
"So," he began. "When is the wedding?"
Nora looked at him in surprise. She smiled and made a show of reaching over to pick up Edmond's hand, which they held together, about six inches off of the table. Why, Chandler had no idea. He never understood his mother.
"Well, actually, Edmond and I decided to get eloped."
"Oh," Chandler said. "When?"
"Next week," Nora told him, leaning over to kiss Edmond. She pulled away. "We made reservations to fly to Vegas on Tuesday."
"That's soon," Chandler said.
"Yes, well, we don't want to make a big fuss about it or anything. We just want to get married and spend the week in the hotel, if you know what I mean."
Chandler grimaced and nodded slightly. Why couldn't he have a normal mother?
Monica was taken aback by Nora's forwardness with her son. It was sure to be an interesting night.
A few hours later, Monica and Chandler found themselves strolling through Central Park, hand in hand.
They were both laughing at Chandler's impression of Edmond. Near the end of dinner Edmond had finally spoken up and had told Chandler that he would try to be a good father to him, and that Chandler was to respect him. The best part was when Edmond had told Chandler that he had the option of calling him 'dad' and that it could come with time.
"…oh, and if you're not comfortable calling me dad now, we can give it some time." Chandler broke off, laughing. Monica was laughing beside him.
Chandler stopped walking. "God, that guy was funny," he said, his laughter trailing off.
Monica stopped laughing and stared up at him, studying his face. She knew his mother's behavior hurt him, even though he didn't say anything about it. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, rocking gently back and forth. She felt Chandler follow suit and the two of them stayed there for a few minutes, neither saying a thing.
Monica finally spoke up. "I'm sorry," she told him softly, speaking into his neck.
Chandler pulled back slightly. "For what?"
Monica shrugged. "That you have to put up with that. I know you've told me stories, but I didn't think she was actually that bad."
Chandler smiled and kissed the tip of her nose. "She's not that bad," he said, then off of Monica's look, "she's a good person, she just doesn't seem to understand that she is an adult, and a mother."
"It's still not fair to you," Monica whispered, leaning forward, so she could rest her forehead against his.
Chandler sighed, sadly. "I'll admit that it does hurt, but I don't let it bother me anymore. It did when I was younger, but not now." Chandler laughed slightly. "Maybe this is why we're so close," he said.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, we both had crappy childhoods. We can commiserate with each other, we understand each other."
Monica smiled and pulled her arms back. She reached behind her and pulled his arms forward, lacing her fingers through his. She leaned in and placed a quick kiss on his lips. He smiled. Together, they walked home, and out of the cold, November night.
The next month flew by and soon it was Christmas time. Neither Chandler, Monica nor Phoebe had anywhere special to go for Christmas, so Joey invited them all to his family's Christmas party. They packed up and drove down on the twenty -third, planning on returning on the twenty-seventh. A bunch of Joey's relatives lived close together, so they would stay with one of them.
They ended up staying with one of Joey's sisters. Joey and Phoebe shared a room, as did Monica and Chandler. Christmas morning came fast.
Monica sighed happily as she slowly awoke from a pleasant sleep. She could feel Chandler's arms wrapped tightly around her waist. Her back was to him and there was no space between it and his chest. They had gotten the last room left at the house, with only a twin size bed. Chandler had immediately offered to sleep on the floor, but Monica assured him they could make this work, and they were. She loved being so close to him. She smiled to herself and snuggled even closer, closing her eyes, reveling in the feeling of being so close to him. She would have fallen back to sleep, but was startled by the door flying open and a very excited Joey running into the room, over to the bed. Monica sat up quickly, immediately thankful that she was wearing sweatpants and one of Chandler's old college sweatshirts.
"It's Christmas!" Joey exclaimed, happily.
Monica rolled her eyes. "Joey!" She said. "I thought something was wrong."
"Nothings wrong, Mon," he said, not understanding what she was saying. "But, it's Christmas! We have to get going."
"Get going where?"
"To open presents," Joey told her, as if in shock that she didn't know. He saw that Chandler was still asleep, so he pulled Monica out of the way, to wake Chandler up himself.
Chandler awoke to the feeling of being shook. He felt Monica being pulled away from him and instincts took over. He immediately reached out to pull her back to him and pushed the thing shaking him away. He opened his eyes, and saw that it was just Joey, so he relaxed. Monica ended up sitting beside him and Joey was standing beside the bed. They were both smiling at him.
He groaned. "What time is it?" He asked groggily.
"It's almost seven o'clock," Joey told him impatiently. "Now hurry up or we'll be late." He hurried out of the room.
Chandler groaned again and pulled Monica back down beside him. She lay down, wrapping her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest.
Chandler smiled and kissed her forehead. "Merry Christmas," he whispered.
"Merry Christmas," Monica whispered back. They stayed like this for a few moments before Monica sighed and sat up. "Okay, we have to get up."
Chandler shook his head. "No we don't."
Monica laughed and stood up. "Yes, we do, sweetie. Now come on, let's go."
Chandler's answer was incomprehensible.
Monica began pulling his arm. "Come on, sweetie. We don't want to disappoint Joey. Let's go."
Chandler groaned and rolled himself out of bed. "What do we have to wear?"
"Nothing," Monica said.
Chandler turned to her and raised an eyebrow.
Monica rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean. We're supposed to show up in out PJ's."
"Okay," Chandler said, grabbing her hand. "Let's go."
Monica closed her hand around his, but didn't move. "Uh, Chandler?"
He turned to look at her. "What?"
"We should probably brush our teeth first."
"Right."
Minutes later the gang found themselves staked out in a corner of a very large basement room, surrounded by a very large number of people of all ages. There was a tree in the center of the room. The tree was very large, but was almost hidden by the mounds of presents around it.
Monica sighed happily for the second time that morning. She leaned back, against Chandler's chest. He was leaning against the wall and she was leaning back against him, his arms wrapped loosely around her. Phoebe was sitting beside them, also leaning against Chandler. Her head was resting on his shoulder and her eyes were closed. Apparently Joey had woken up very early in the morning and had been up and ready for some time, keeping her from getting any sleep.
For the most part the adults stayed around the edges, leaving the kids to distribute presents, well, the kids and Joey, who was running around like a kid. Every once in a while one of them would be handed a present with their name on it. They had all been instructed to put their presents under the tree.
Monica was handed a present and felt Chandler move an arm back as she opened it. He wrapped it around Phoebe, who he suspected was asleep. Monica ended up opening a gift from Joey, which turned out to be another framed picture of the four of them. She smiled. Joey was definitely immature at times, but he could be very sweet. She snuggled closer to Chandler, and smiled as she heard Phoebe's regular breathing beside her. She scanned the room, smiling. She had never been part of a big family and had never felt a part of her own. She enjoyed being so accepted by such a large, friendly group of people. It was a nice feeling.
"This is nice," she said aloud.
"What?" Chandler asked, from behind her.
"Christmas morning with a big family. I never had this growing up."
"Me neither," Chandler replied. "I usually woke up to find both of my parents gone, and celebrated with the staff who were there to watch me, and when I was older, I was usually alone."
"That's horrible," Monica said. "I mean, my mom was never nice to me on Christmas and I got like a small fraction of what my brother got, but I was still with my family."
Chandler shrugged. "It wasn't so bad. I was happier without my parents. My mom celebrated with me one year. She told me it would be just, us and then invited her new boy toy. It was worse than being alone. They made out like the whole time and asked me to leave the room for a couple hours at one point. I don't even want to know what went on then."
Monica half turned to face him. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."
Chandler shrugged. "Don't worry about it."
Monica shook her head. "You always do that."
"What?"
"Act like it didn't hurt you. Like your parents didn't hurt you."
"Well, it hurt at the time, but there's nothing I can do about it now."
"Still, you're allowed to be upset about it."
"I guess. I just don't like to talk about it much."
Monica squeezed his hand gently. "Just remember I'm here for you, just like you are for me."
His arm tightened slightly around her shoulder. "I know, and thank-you."
There was silence for a few minutes.
"This is the best Christmas I have ever had," Monica said honestly.
Chandler smiled. "Me too."
Later that night Monica yawned as she entered her and Chandler's bedroom and shut the door behind her. It was late and they had gotten up early. She was tired, but happy. It had been a great day. She walked over to Chandler, who was standing by the window. She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her face into his back. She felt him gently pull her so that she was in front of him, his arms around her, and his head resting on her shoulder. They stood together, peering out the window before she yawned again.
"Tired?" Chandler asked.
Monica nodded. "Very."
Chandler kissed the back of her head. "Then I'll make this fast."
"You'll make what fast?" Monica asked, turning to face him.
Chandler smiled as he pulled a very small, wrapped gift out of his pocket and handed it to her.
Monica accepted the gift and smiled at him. She tore off the wrapping paper and opened a small box. She smiled at what she found. One by one, she pulled out three small charms. Chandler explained each one. There was a Christmas light to represent their first real Christmas together, and two charms to represent her best friend, Joey and Phoebe. Joey's was a mini statue of an Oscar award, to represent him as an actor. Phoebe's was a rainbow and cloud, to symbolize that she had been with Monica through good times and bad. Each had their name scrolled on the back. The year was scrolled on the back of the Christmas light.
"Oh, Chandler, this is so sweet. I love them. Now, I have to get your present." They had each saved one special present to give in private.
Before they knew it, Christmas was over and New Years fast approaching. Joey and Phoebe made reservations to go out to a fancy restaurant, and Monica and Chandler planned to spend the evening in.
Chandler finished setting the table and stood back to observe his handiwork. He sighed and nervously ran his fingers through his hair. Everything seemed to be ready. The table was set, the food cooked, and in the oven keeping warm, the extra candles were stashed strategically in the cupboard. He had planned everything.
Monica was working and would be home around eight. She would come home and see the wonderful dinner he had cooked and the suit he was wearing. She would then go to their room to change into something fancy. He counted on her closing the door so he would be surprised at what she was wearing. When she was getting changed he would get out the extra candles and set them all up. He smiled to himself. It was perfect. He glanced down at his watch. She would be home any minute. He began pacing nervously, glancing at the clock every couple seconds.
After a few minutes of this Chandler yelled inwardly and ordered himself to calm down. He sat down on the edge of the couch, playing with his hands. He only lasted a few moments before he began pacing again. He was relieved when he heard movement outside the door. It opened and Monica stepped into the room, a smile on her face.
"Hi Sweetie," she said as she dropped her keys and purse onto the side table and hung up her coat.
"Hey you," Chandler said, stepping closer to her and pulling her into a hug.
Monica rolled her eyes slightly and easily allowed herself to be enveloped into the hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck and sighed happily as he pulled her close to him. She loved the feeling of being in his arms. He held her for a few moments before pulling back and kissing her gently on the lips. He then leaned his forehead up against hers and sighed.
Monica was slightly concerned at his odd behavior. "Is everything okay?"
Chandler seemed surprised by the question. He began nodding quickly. "Yeah, of course. Everything if fine, great…wonderful. Yeah…nothing's wrong. Everything's fine," he paused for a moment. "Why? Are you okay? Is everything okay with you? Cause if something's wrong you can tell me…"
Monica cut him off by placing a finger on his lips. She laughed. "Chandler, calm down. You seemed stressed."
Chandler sighed and smiled at her. "I'm fine," he answered. "Just had a rough day and I'm looking forward to this evening."
"Are you sure that's all?"
Chandler nodded. "Very sure. Don't worry about me."
"Okay, well I'm gonna go get changed. Just give me a few minutes, okay?"
"Kay," Chandler said. He smiled and watched her walk across the living room and exit into their room. His smile grew as she closed the door behind her. He had guessed right. He waited a few moments, to make sure she wasn't coming back out, before springing into action. He pulled the candles out of the cupboard and hurried to set them all out and light them. He finished quickly and glanced around, making sure everything was perfect. He then made his way over to the bedroom door and waited for Monica to exit. He didn't have to wait long.
Monica exited and jumped slightly when she noticed him right in front of her. She was wearing a long sleeved, red shirt and a long, black skirt.
"You look beautiful," Chandler told her smiling.
Monica blushed. "You don't look so bad yourself."
Chandler smiled and took her hand, leading her forward. She gasped gently and stopped when she noticed the candles lighting up the kitchen and living room. She turned to face him.
"What's going on?"
Chandler smiled. He took a deep breath and slowly got down on one knee, while pulling a small, black velvet box out of his pocket.
Monica gasped when he went down and stood in front of him, her mouth gaping slightly.
Chandler cleared his throat. "Monica," he began. "I, uh, I felt something the first time I met you, and after we had coffee that day I promised myself that if I ever saw you again, I would never let you go. I love you, Mon, I really do and I want more than anything else to spend the rest of my life with you." Chandler paused for a moment, looking up, into Monica's eyes. He saw tears building in her eyes. "Monica, will you marry me?"
Monica was in shock. This was a complete surprise to her; she had never allowed herself to believe that he would ever want to marry her; that he would want to be with her forever. She swallowed and blinked, feeling tears of happiness stream down her face. She knelt down in front of Chandler. "Yes," she whispered before wrapping her arms around his neck. She felt his arms wrap around her waist and pull her in close. She stayed there for a few seconds before pulling back, smiling. "Yes!" She said again, happily, before planting a quick kiss on his lips. He smiled at her, his eyes never leaving hers as he took the ring out of the box and slid it onto her finger. He pulled her into another hug. They stayed in the embrace for a good couple minutes before finally breaking apart. Monica felt Chandler's hands slide up to her head and pulled her in to lean his forehead against his.
Monica smiled and laughed slightly. "I can't believe we're engaged! I mean it's so amazing."
Chandler smiled and closed his eyes, his forehead still up against hers. "I know. I love you."
"I love you, too, so much."
After a few minutes they picked themselves up, off of the floor and traveled over to the table to eat dinner. After dinner they settled on the couch to watch the countdown.
"5…4…3…2…1…Happy New Year," they yelled out together. When the ball dropped, they leaned in for a kiss.
"This is gonna be a great year," Monica whispered happily.
Chandler nodded. He planted a kiss on her forehead. "The first year of the rest of our lives."