After Joey moved to L.A., Monica expected him to call home all the time, just as he had called Chandler constantly when he was in Tulsa. Chandler used to joke, "Joey calls me more than you do, Monica."
But Joey didn't call that much from California, and he never called Chandler. Instead he would call Phoebe and leave messages for her to pass onto all the friends. But after several weeks he made more and more excuses that he was busy filming some big movie, and his schedule was hectic. Gradually, the only news they had of Joey was from the movies that he starred in.
Monica found this rather rude, but Chandler reminded her that Joey had left to get away from all the happy couples here, and with Phoebe getting married soon, having contact with the gang was just a painful reminder of what he didn't have.
"Yeah, I guess so," Monica said. "Well, if you're not taking it badly, Chandler, then none of us should either. I hope he's happy in L.A. and finds someone to settle down with."
"Yeah."
As the months passed, Chandler tried to be strong and keep focused on Monica, but he kept thinking about Joey whenever he glanced at the white dog statue on the balcony. Whenever a Friday went by without a Joey special. Whenever Phoebe mentioned how the chick and the duck were doing, now that they were her pets. Chandler knew that he needed to let go of Joey, for the sake of Monica and their coming baby, but it was terribly hard to forget those kisses.
After Phoebe's wedding, the gang started to separate as well. Each couple became engrossed in their own lives and had less time to visit with the other couples. This was a natural progression, for none of them were single twenty-somethings anymore, but it was sad to drift apart.
Then Monica went into labor, and the gang gathered at the hospital for the birth. It didn't feel right for Joey not to be there, so Phoebe called him. Joey said he couldn't come, but he sent a large bouquet of flowers and said, "Tell them I love them."
Once the baby was home, Chandler found himself so busy with helping Monica take care of little Daniel that he had no time to pine for Joey anymore. Maybe Joey had been right all along; the feelings would fade and life would go on.
***
But after a few months, Christmas rolled around again. Chandler felt a pang of loneliness as he sampled the eggnog and saw Monica decorating with mistletoe again.
Remembering her prediction from last year, she smiled and said, "Well, if we're not one big family, we're at least one little family, huh?"
"Yeah." Chandler sighed and felt a lump in his throat.
Then New Year's passed and Chandler would have forgotten Joey's birthday if not for a celebrity birthday announcement on the radio.
It was a year ago today that they'd had one last hug goodbye; if only it had been a kiss. Chandler could also remember an earlier birthday, when he got wasted during the party and kissed everybody, including Joey's sister. What if Chandler had kissed Joey then? Would they have wanted each other and fooled around in the storage room, or would Joey have been the one to give Chandler a black eye?
Chandler pushed the hypothetical scenario out of his brain and decided that what he needed to do was give Phoebe the white dog statue as well. Call it a late wedding present or something. Monica would be more than glad to get the tacky thing off her balcony.
Phoebe gladly accepted the statue and considered it an additional pet rather than a part of her eclectic decor. "Wow! You sure you want to give him up? Joey gave him to you when you moved out."
"I know. I just..." he shrugged, "it seems more appropriate to be living here with the chick and the duck."
"Okay. But you can come visit anytime. --Except when me and the hubbie are doing stuff, you know." She giggled happily.
***
Then a few months later, Monica heard that Joey's new movie was opening and suggested that the six of them have a night out to go see the film together. How odd that the phrase "the six of us" no longer included Joey. Still, Chandler decided to go along, for his feelings for Joey had seemed to recede considerably lately, and the rest of the gang would find it odd if he didn't show.
So the three couples arranged for babysitters for their kids and/or pets, then they all met at the movie theatre. Phoebe looked positively glowing now that she was past the morning sickness phase of her pregnancy, and luckily, she was still able to fit into a seat.
"I guess in another month or so, I'll have to watch all my movies at home, huh?"
Then the previews ended, and Joey's movie began, so the friends stopped chatting to watch.
Chandler thought he was doing fine watching the film, which was as bland and mediocre as anything Joey had ever starred in before. Chandler thought he might even fall asleep like he did at Joey's movie premiere a few years ago. But then Joey had a love scene with a beautiful woman and Chandler sat up, wide awake at last. When he saw Joey half naked and in bed with his pretty co-star, Chandler bit his lip and felt a tingling sensation run all through his body. He couldn't help wishing that he had got to be kissed and touched by Joey like that.
Monica clearly liked the love scene as well, and Chandler pretended to jealously disapprove of her interest in Joey, until the others had to shush them. Desperately, Chandler said he had to go to the bathroom and hurried out in the darkness. In the bathroom, Chandler discreetly got rid of his erection, but couldn't face going back to join the others, so he just went outside the theatre and bought a pack of cigarettes from the nearest shop.
Chandler was still smoking when Monica and the others came and found him.
"Chandler! There you are. Ah!" She pointed and glared accusingly at the cigarette between his lips.
"I'm sorry." Chandler obediently dropped the cigarette to the ground and crushed it under his shoe. He also handed over the rest of the pack for her to throw away.
Rachel said, "You missed the whole rest of the movie. Were you that upset at Monica liking the steamy love scene? God, you're more of a jealous freak than Ross is!"
"Hey!" Ross protested.
"Was," she corrected herself and took his hand. Ross had actually got better about his jealousy since they reunited. That was why she had agreed to get engaged to him, and their wedding would be next spring.
Phoebe added, "If it makes you feel better, Chandler, all us women were turned on by that scene. What a hot body!"
Phoebe's husband raised his eyebrows worriedly, but Ross was easygoing about it. "It's just the same as when we see a hot woman half naked, like Princess Leia in the gold bikini."
"Oh." Phoebe's husband felt reassured, so he said goodbye to everybody and started to head home with Phoebe.
Then Ross and Rachel said their goodbyes too, leaving Monica and Chandler alone.
Monica folded her arms sternly. "No more smoking?"
"No more," he nodded and looked ashamedly at his feet.
"Okay, but I'll be watching you. We don't want Daniel picking up any of your bad habits."
"I know. I guess it was the temptation of being out of the house..."
She accepted that excuse for his relapse, and they headed home in the Porsche.
***
After several difficult nights, the images of the love scene faded and life returned to normal once again.
Ross and Rachel continued planning their wedding and wondered if they should invite Joey, just for old times' sake. But it might be awkward, given the history and the fact that Joey hadn't kept in touch. Monica advised them to send the invitation anyway and let Joey choose to say no if he wanted to. They did so, and got back the reply that Joey wouldn't come to the wedding. But he did send a nice wedding present and a card that said "Congratulations and have a wonderful life together."
Everyone hoped that Joey had found love, or at least some kind of happiness in L.A. All they knew was that his career was going well, but they had no idea about his personal life.
In a few months more, Phoebe at last went into labor. Phoebe's birthmom even came to the hospital, as did Frank and Alice, to see Phoebe give birth to a beautiful daughter named Frannie. Phoebe was especially happy knowing that this baby was hers to keep.
Even with most of her friends and family there, Phoebe still felt the absence of Joey. "Did anybody call Joey yet?"
They hadn't. "Oh, um, we figured that he wouldn't come, just like with the other stuff."
"Yeah, but we should at least tell him. You know, he said he wanted to know when big stuff happened."
"Sure, but we thought you guys would just send an announcement in the mail or something."
"No, no! I want to call him now. Honey, give me the cell phone." Phoebe's husband did so, so she looked up Joey's number and called him.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Joey, it's Phoebe. I just had a baby!"
"What? Oh! That's great!"
"Yeah. These dummies here should've called you as soon as we got to the hospital, but what can you do?" After babbling about the baby for a bit, Phoebe asked, "So how are you doing, Joey?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, but I can't come back for a visit--"
"I know, I know. I wasn't asking. Just, you know, how are you?"
He hesitated, then said, "I'm fine." He didn't want to elaborate.
"Hey, you wanna maybe talk to Chandler? He's right--"
"No, no! Don't. That's okay. Just, you know, say hi to him, and um, tell me when he and Monica have any other kids or move to the suburbs or whatever. I hope they're happy. I hope all of you are. I wish--"
"What?"
He sighed sadly, "I wish I could be there with you, but I can't. I just can't. I'm sorry."
"It's okay."
"So, um, congratulations, Phoebe. I'll send you something soon. Anyway, goodbye."
"Goodbye." She hung up and glanced at the others, who weren't surprised by his brush off. They just looked at Chandler and wondered why he wasn't even a little hurt that Joey didn't want to talk to him.
Chandler shrugged and said nothing to anyone.
to be continued...
But Joey didn't call that much from California, and he never called Chandler. Instead he would call Phoebe and leave messages for her to pass onto all the friends. But after several weeks he made more and more excuses that he was busy filming some big movie, and his schedule was hectic. Gradually, the only news they had of Joey was from the movies that he starred in.
Monica found this rather rude, but Chandler reminded her that Joey had left to get away from all the happy couples here, and with Phoebe getting married soon, having contact with the gang was just a painful reminder of what he didn't have.
"Yeah, I guess so," Monica said. "Well, if you're not taking it badly, Chandler, then none of us should either. I hope he's happy in L.A. and finds someone to settle down with."
"Yeah."
As the months passed, Chandler tried to be strong and keep focused on Monica, but he kept thinking about Joey whenever he glanced at the white dog statue on the balcony. Whenever a Friday went by without a Joey special. Whenever Phoebe mentioned how the chick and the duck were doing, now that they were her pets. Chandler knew that he needed to let go of Joey, for the sake of Monica and their coming baby, but it was terribly hard to forget those kisses.
After Phoebe's wedding, the gang started to separate as well. Each couple became engrossed in their own lives and had less time to visit with the other couples. This was a natural progression, for none of them were single twenty-somethings anymore, but it was sad to drift apart.
Then Monica went into labor, and the gang gathered at the hospital for the birth. It didn't feel right for Joey not to be there, so Phoebe called him. Joey said he couldn't come, but he sent a large bouquet of flowers and said, "Tell them I love them."
Once the baby was home, Chandler found himself so busy with helping Monica take care of little Daniel that he had no time to pine for Joey anymore. Maybe Joey had been right all along; the feelings would fade and life would go on.
***
But after a few months, Christmas rolled around again. Chandler felt a pang of loneliness as he sampled the eggnog and saw Monica decorating with mistletoe again.
Remembering her prediction from last year, she smiled and said, "Well, if we're not one big family, we're at least one little family, huh?"
"Yeah." Chandler sighed and felt a lump in his throat.
Then New Year's passed and Chandler would have forgotten Joey's birthday if not for a celebrity birthday announcement on the radio.
It was a year ago today that they'd had one last hug goodbye; if only it had been a kiss. Chandler could also remember an earlier birthday, when he got wasted during the party and kissed everybody, including Joey's sister. What if Chandler had kissed Joey then? Would they have wanted each other and fooled around in the storage room, or would Joey have been the one to give Chandler a black eye?
Chandler pushed the hypothetical scenario out of his brain and decided that what he needed to do was give Phoebe the white dog statue as well. Call it a late wedding present or something. Monica would be more than glad to get the tacky thing off her balcony.
Phoebe gladly accepted the statue and considered it an additional pet rather than a part of her eclectic decor. "Wow! You sure you want to give him up? Joey gave him to you when you moved out."
"I know. I just..." he shrugged, "it seems more appropriate to be living here with the chick and the duck."
"Okay. But you can come visit anytime. --Except when me and the hubbie are doing stuff, you know." She giggled happily.
***
Then a few months later, Monica heard that Joey's new movie was opening and suggested that the six of them have a night out to go see the film together. How odd that the phrase "the six of us" no longer included Joey. Still, Chandler decided to go along, for his feelings for Joey had seemed to recede considerably lately, and the rest of the gang would find it odd if he didn't show.
So the three couples arranged for babysitters for their kids and/or pets, then they all met at the movie theatre. Phoebe looked positively glowing now that she was past the morning sickness phase of her pregnancy, and luckily, she was still able to fit into a seat.
"I guess in another month or so, I'll have to watch all my movies at home, huh?"
Then the previews ended, and Joey's movie began, so the friends stopped chatting to watch.
Chandler thought he was doing fine watching the film, which was as bland and mediocre as anything Joey had ever starred in before. Chandler thought he might even fall asleep like he did at Joey's movie premiere a few years ago. But then Joey had a love scene with a beautiful woman and Chandler sat up, wide awake at last. When he saw Joey half naked and in bed with his pretty co-star, Chandler bit his lip and felt a tingling sensation run all through his body. He couldn't help wishing that he had got to be kissed and touched by Joey like that.
Monica clearly liked the love scene as well, and Chandler pretended to jealously disapprove of her interest in Joey, until the others had to shush them. Desperately, Chandler said he had to go to the bathroom and hurried out in the darkness. In the bathroom, Chandler discreetly got rid of his erection, but couldn't face going back to join the others, so he just went outside the theatre and bought a pack of cigarettes from the nearest shop.
Chandler was still smoking when Monica and the others came and found him.
"Chandler! There you are. Ah!" She pointed and glared accusingly at the cigarette between his lips.
"I'm sorry." Chandler obediently dropped the cigarette to the ground and crushed it under his shoe. He also handed over the rest of the pack for her to throw away.
Rachel said, "You missed the whole rest of the movie. Were you that upset at Monica liking the steamy love scene? God, you're more of a jealous freak than Ross is!"
"Hey!" Ross protested.
"Was," she corrected herself and took his hand. Ross had actually got better about his jealousy since they reunited. That was why she had agreed to get engaged to him, and their wedding would be next spring.
Phoebe added, "If it makes you feel better, Chandler, all us women were turned on by that scene. What a hot body!"
Phoebe's husband raised his eyebrows worriedly, but Ross was easygoing about it. "It's just the same as when we see a hot woman half naked, like Princess Leia in the gold bikini."
"Oh." Phoebe's husband felt reassured, so he said goodbye to everybody and started to head home with Phoebe.
Then Ross and Rachel said their goodbyes too, leaving Monica and Chandler alone.
Monica folded her arms sternly. "No more smoking?"
"No more," he nodded and looked ashamedly at his feet.
"Okay, but I'll be watching you. We don't want Daniel picking up any of your bad habits."
"I know. I guess it was the temptation of being out of the house..."
She accepted that excuse for his relapse, and they headed home in the Porsche.
***
After several difficult nights, the images of the love scene faded and life returned to normal once again.
Ross and Rachel continued planning their wedding and wondered if they should invite Joey, just for old times' sake. But it might be awkward, given the history and the fact that Joey hadn't kept in touch. Monica advised them to send the invitation anyway and let Joey choose to say no if he wanted to. They did so, and got back the reply that Joey wouldn't come to the wedding. But he did send a nice wedding present and a card that said "Congratulations and have a wonderful life together."
Everyone hoped that Joey had found love, or at least some kind of happiness in L.A. All they knew was that his career was going well, but they had no idea about his personal life.
In a few months more, Phoebe at last went into labor. Phoebe's birthmom even came to the hospital, as did Frank and Alice, to see Phoebe give birth to a beautiful daughter named Frannie. Phoebe was especially happy knowing that this baby was hers to keep.
Even with most of her friends and family there, Phoebe still felt the absence of Joey. "Did anybody call Joey yet?"
They hadn't. "Oh, um, we figured that he wouldn't come, just like with the other stuff."
"Yeah, but we should at least tell him. You know, he said he wanted to know when big stuff happened."
"Sure, but we thought you guys would just send an announcement in the mail or something."
"No, no! I want to call him now. Honey, give me the cell phone." Phoebe's husband did so, so she looked up Joey's number and called him.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Joey, it's Phoebe. I just had a baby!"
"What? Oh! That's great!"
"Yeah. These dummies here should've called you as soon as we got to the hospital, but what can you do?" After babbling about the baby for a bit, Phoebe asked, "So how are you doing, Joey?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, but I can't come back for a visit--"
"I know, I know. I wasn't asking. Just, you know, how are you?"
He hesitated, then said, "I'm fine." He didn't want to elaborate.
"Hey, you wanna maybe talk to Chandler? He's right--"
"No, no! Don't. That's okay. Just, you know, say hi to him, and um, tell me when he and Monica have any other kids or move to the suburbs or whatever. I hope they're happy. I hope all of you are. I wish--"
"What?"
He sighed sadly, "I wish I could be there with you, but I can't. I just can't. I'm sorry."
"It's okay."
"So, um, congratulations, Phoebe. I'll send you something soon. Anyway, goodbye."
"Goodbye." She hung up and glanced at the others, who weren't surprised by his brush off. They just looked at Chandler and wondered why he wasn't even a little hurt that Joey didn't want to talk to him.
Chandler shrugged and said nothing to anyone.
to be continued...