[Well, I am still mulling over David's last name, but I have decided to make Don's last name Brendan. According to behindthename.com, Brendan means "prince", which reminds me of Monica's wedding vows about her prince and her soulmate. Plus, there was apparently a Saint Brendan, a 6th-century Irish abbot who supposedly crossed the Atlantic and arrived in North America with other monks.]
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So Phoebe spoke to Monica the next day, asking if she remembered Soulmate Don, and Monica laughed with surprise and recognition. Phoebe often referred to her friends and acquaintances by descriptive nicknames such as Crematorium Chris, Cilantro Larry, and Stabby Joe, but this particular nickname was one that Monica wasn't likely to forget.
"Phoebe!" she scolded. "I told you, he's not my soulmate. I don't believe in that stuff, and even if I did, Chandler's the love of my life."
"Yeah, but what else am I gonna call him, Wants-To-Live-In-A-House-Of-Cheese Don?"
"You could try calling him by his actual name, Donald Brendan."
Phoebe grinned at being proved right. Monica did remember Don's name, all on her own. "So you do remember him. Great! Well, listen, I was just talking to him last night, and he wants to have dinner with you soon."
"What?" Monica tried to digest all this. "Don was talking to you last night? When? Weren't you having a play-date for the kids?"
"Yeah, but this was after I took Frannie home. Anyway, I told him about you working at Javu's now and having a kid, and he said he was very happy for you. In fact, he'd like to see you again and congratulate you face to face."
Monica pondered that cautiously. "Well, that's very nice of him. But I don't think I should do that, especially with how jealous and insecure Chandler got the last time I spent time with Don. I don't want to give Chandler an excuse to harp on Don the way he harps on Richard."
"Oh come on! Chandler's not that bad. Trust me, it won't bother him at all."
"Are you kidding me? Remember me having lunch with Richard before Vegas? Or Chandler getting all obsessed about that sex tape that he found at Richard's apartment? He just won't let go, and if I have dinner with Don, Chandler's definitely gonna freak out."
"But--"
Monica shook her head. "Look, Pheebs, can you just call Don back and tell him, um, that I'm too busy for dinner, but if he stops by Javu's some night, then he can maybe say hello or something? That oughta be safe."
"Well, Don's already dropped by Javu's before, but it's always so busy and crowded that he didn't want to disturb you 'making your culinary masterpieces.'"
"Really?" Monica flushed with pleasure. "He said that?"
"Yeah. Come on, Monica, you work too hard at that restaurant anyway! How about I make sure that Chandler won't get jealous? Then you can go out with Don, and have a nice relaxing evening away from work. You know you want to! Think of how much fun it will be to see Don again. You guys can catch up and talk shop about food and stuff."
Monica felt really tempted. "But how are you gonna make Chandler not be jealous? It's not possible."
"Yes it is. I could, like, tell him to fly out to L.A. and visit Joey."
"What? Really?"
Phoebe nodded. "Yeah, in fact he could go away for the whole weekend and have some guy time with Joey. Me and David could babysit Danny for you."
"Daniel," Monica corrected, before the full impact of Phoebe's words hit her. Then she gasped excitedly. "Oh my God, that's brilliant, Phoebe! That will definitely work! He'll never even know that I had dinner with Don. Oh, thank you, thank you!" She jumped up and down and hugged Phoebe.
"You're welcome," Phoebe said.
"Wait! Are you gonna be able to keep a secret this time? You didn't keep my lunch with Richard a secret in Vegas."
"I know, I know! But I can keep a secret. I kept Ross's non-annulment a secret for weeks, you know, and plenty of other secrets besides."
"That's true. But I just don't want this to come back and bite me in the ass later."
"It won't. I promise, Chandler's gonna be so excited about seeing Joey again that he won't even care about anything else. I mean, you know how depressed Chandler gets around the holidays, from thinking about Joey. It's like the two weeks from Christmas to Joey's birthday have become his new Thanksgiving."
"Yeah, you're right. He should get out of town."
"Right, so you go arrange for one of the other chefs to work Javu's this weekend, and I can tell Don when to come meet you for dinner."
"Okay. Thanks, Pheebs! Oh, and remember to get Chandler to go to L.A."
"Don't worry, I won't forget."
***
With Phase Two of her plan complete, Phoebe started work on Phase Three--making sure that Joey was ready for Chandler to win him back. This would be tricky, since Phoebe had to do all her manipulation over the phone, instead of face-to-face.
She called Joey for the first time since she gave birth to Frannie a few months ago. "Hi, Joey!"
"Uh, hi Pheebs." Joey sounded surprised and guarded. "What's up?"
"Nothing. Just keeping in touch. Oh, thank you for the present that you sent for Frannie. She plays with it all the time."
"That's nice," Joey said, with sadness in his voice. It obviously hurt him to miss out on the family life of all his friends in New York. His self-imposed exile had been necessary, but left him very lonely indeed. "So, um, how's everybody else doing? Are Ross and Rachel busy with their wedding plans?"
"Yeah, that and taking care of Emma. Jill, Amy, and Rachel are trying to get their parents to get along so they won't fight at the wedding. Rachel's all, 'Come on, Chandler's parents were at least civil to each other for his wedding, and it was really embarrassing when none of you showed up for Emma's first birthday party!'"
"Oh yeah," Joey answered. "Well, good luck getting the Greens to stop bickering for a moment! They might need to have two weddings, like Rachel's two birthday parties."
"That's an idea. If they did, would you come to one of the weddings?"
Joey immediately made his excuses. "Nah, I can't. I-I gotta film another movie..." He trailed off, then cleared his throat. "What about Mon and Chandler? Are they having another baby yet, or moving to the suburbs?"
"Nope, they're still just hanging out here in New York. Monica's worked too hard to give up the prestige of working at Javu's yet. She doesn't wanna take maternity leave again for quite a while."
"Oh, okay." His voice got quiet and wistful again. "I hope they're happy. I really... um, uh, I should send Danny another birthday present, right?"
"Yeah, in just a few months more, he'll be two years old. Hey, Joey, are you seeing anybody right now? When are we gonna hear wedding bells for you?"
Joey avoided the question uncomfortably. "Ah, you know me, Pheebs--I can't settle down. I'm a lone wolf, an outlaw... I'm having too much fun here with all these Hollywood girls!"
His attempt to sound carefree didn't quite work. Phoebe could tell that this was mere bravado, not at all like his genuine enthusiasm for sleeping around in New York.
"And besides," Joey spoke somewhat more seriously, "things didn't work out with Kate, so I gotta move on. I'll be all right."
"Okay, honey, but you call me anytime that you need to talk. If you don't wanna talk to me, you can tell your troubles to the chick and the duck. Right, guys?" She pointed the phone to the birds who were playing around in the living room.
"Hey, guys!" Joey called out, and they immediately responded with quacks and clucks. Joey laughed and seemed cheered by the fact that his birds remembered his voice.
Smiling, Phoebe put the receiver to her ear again. "Hey, Mr. Big Shot, with you being all busy filming and dating the hot chicks, are you gonna be home at all this weekend? I was thinking about sending you a surprise in the mail."
"Really? What kind of surprise?"
"It won't be a surprise if I tell you!" she admonished. "No, it's just something really important, and I want you to be there to, um, sign for the package and everything."
Joey remained rather puzzled and curious. "Uh, is it like some cookies from my mom? Or, ooh, did you find some way to send a lasagna through the mail?"
"Joey! You'll find out when it gets there. Just don't go out and spend the weekend with one of your bimbos, okay?"
"Okay, I guess so. Don't want the food to spoil."
"Right. Bye now." Phoebe hung up and checked off Phase 3 of her plan. She wondered whether she should send Chandler with a cheesecake from Mama's Little Bakery in Chicago, just to fulfill Joey's expectations of food. But then again, Chandler might get nervous and pig out on the cheesecake during the flight to L.A.
So Phoebe decided to move on to Phase Four, getting Chandler ready to fly to L.A. She should prep him to make sure that he could convince Joey to stop fighting destiny and come home to New York. The puppet master's work never seemed to end.
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So Phoebe spoke to Monica the next day, asking if she remembered Soulmate Don, and Monica laughed with surprise and recognition. Phoebe often referred to her friends and acquaintances by descriptive nicknames such as Crematorium Chris, Cilantro Larry, and Stabby Joe, but this particular nickname was one that Monica wasn't likely to forget.
"Phoebe!" she scolded. "I told you, he's not my soulmate. I don't believe in that stuff, and even if I did, Chandler's the love of my life."
"Yeah, but what else am I gonna call him, Wants-To-Live-In-A-House-Of-Cheese Don?"
"You could try calling him by his actual name, Donald Brendan."
Phoebe grinned at being proved right. Monica did remember Don's name, all on her own. "So you do remember him. Great! Well, listen, I was just talking to him last night, and he wants to have dinner with you soon."
"What?" Monica tried to digest all this. "Don was talking to you last night? When? Weren't you having a play-date for the kids?"
"Yeah, but this was after I took Frannie home. Anyway, I told him about you working at Javu's now and having a kid, and he said he was very happy for you. In fact, he'd like to see you again and congratulate you face to face."
Monica pondered that cautiously. "Well, that's very nice of him. But I don't think I should do that, especially with how jealous and insecure Chandler got the last time I spent time with Don. I don't want to give Chandler an excuse to harp on Don the way he harps on Richard."
"Oh come on! Chandler's not that bad. Trust me, it won't bother him at all."
"Are you kidding me? Remember me having lunch with Richard before Vegas? Or Chandler getting all obsessed about that sex tape that he found at Richard's apartment? He just won't let go, and if I have dinner with Don, Chandler's definitely gonna freak out."
"But--"
Monica shook her head. "Look, Pheebs, can you just call Don back and tell him, um, that I'm too busy for dinner, but if he stops by Javu's some night, then he can maybe say hello or something? That oughta be safe."
"Well, Don's already dropped by Javu's before, but it's always so busy and crowded that he didn't want to disturb you 'making your culinary masterpieces.'"
"Really?" Monica flushed with pleasure. "He said that?"
"Yeah. Come on, Monica, you work too hard at that restaurant anyway! How about I make sure that Chandler won't get jealous? Then you can go out with Don, and have a nice relaxing evening away from work. You know you want to! Think of how much fun it will be to see Don again. You guys can catch up and talk shop about food and stuff."
Monica felt really tempted. "But how are you gonna make Chandler not be jealous? It's not possible."
"Yes it is. I could, like, tell him to fly out to L.A. and visit Joey."
"What? Really?"
Phoebe nodded. "Yeah, in fact he could go away for the whole weekend and have some guy time with Joey. Me and David could babysit Danny for you."
"Daniel," Monica corrected, before the full impact of Phoebe's words hit her. Then she gasped excitedly. "Oh my God, that's brilliant, Phoebe! That will definitely work! He'll never even know that I had dinner with Don. Oh, thank you, thank you!" She jumped up and down and hugged Phoebe.
"You're welcome," Phoebe said.
"Wait! Are you gonna be able to keep a secret this time? You didn't keep my lunch with Richard a secret in Vegas."
"I know, I know! But I can keep a secret. I kept Ross's non-annulment a secret for weeks, you know, and plenty of other secrets besides."
"That's true. But I just don't want this to come back and bite me in the ass later."
"It won't. I promise, Chandler's gonna be so excited about seeing Joey again that he won't even care about anything else. I mean, you know how depressed Chandler gets around the holidays, from thinking about Joey. It's like the two weeks from Christmas to Joey's birthday have become his new Thanksgiving."
"Yeah, you're right. He should get out of town."
"Right, so you go arrange for one of the other chefs to work Javu's this weekend, and I can tell Don when to come meet you for dinner."
"Okay. Thanks, Pheebs! Oh, and remember to get Chandler to go to L.A."
"Don't worry, I won't forget."
***
With Phase Two of her plan complete, Phoebe started work on Phase Three--making sure that Joey was ready for Chandler to win him back. This would be tricky, since Phoebe had to do all her manipulation over the phone, instead of face-to-face.
She called Joey for the first time since she gave birth to Frannie a few months ago. "Hi, Joey!"
"Uh, hi Pheebs." Joey sounded surprised and guarded. "What's up?"
"Nothing. Just keeping in touch. Oh, thank you for the present that you sent for Frannie. She plays with it all the time."
"That's nice," Joey said, with sadness in his voice. It obviously hurt him to miss out on the family life of all his friends in New York. His self-imposed exile had been necessary, but left him very lonely indeed. "So, um, how's everybody else doing? Are Ross and Rachel busy with their wedding plans?"
"Yeah, that and taking care of Emma. Jill, Amy, and Rachel are trying to get their parents to get along so they won't fight at the wedding. Rachel's all, 'Come on, Chandler's parents were at least civil to each other for his wedding, and it was really embarrassing when none of you showed up for Emma's first birthday party!'"
"Oh yeah," Joey answered. "Well, good luck getting the Greens to stop bickering for a moment! They might need to have two weddings, like Rachel's two birthday parties."
"That's an idea. If they did, would you come to one of the weddings?"
Joey immediately made his excuses. "Nah, I can't. I-I gotta film another movie..." He trailed off, then cleared his throat. "What about Mon and Chandler? Are they having another baby yet, or moving to the suburbs?"
"Nope, they're still just hanging out here in New York. Monica's worked too hard to give up the prestige of working at Javu's yet. She doesn't wanna take maternity leave again for quite a while."
"Oh, okay." His voice got quiet and wistful again. "I hope they're happy. I really... um, uh, I should send Danny another birthday present, right?"
"Yeah, in just a few months more, he'll be two years old. Hey, Joey, are you seeing anybody right now? When are we gonna hear wedding bells for you?"
Joey avoided the question uncomfortably. "Ah, you know me, Pheebs--I can't settle down. I'm a lone wolf, an outlaw... I'm having too much fun here with all these Hollywood girls!"
His attempt to sound carefree didn't quite work. Phoebe could tell that this was mere bravado, not at all like his genuine enthusiasm for sleeping around in New York.
"And besides," Joey spoke somewhat more seriously, "things didn't work out with Kate, so I gotta move on. I'll be all right."
"Okay, honey, but you call me anytime that you need to talk. If you don't wanna talk to me, you can tell your troubles to the chick and the duck. Right, guys?" She pointed the phone to the birds who were playing around in the living room.
"Hey, guys!" Joey called out, and they immediately responded with quacks and clucks. Joey laughed and seemed cheered by the fact that his birds remembered his voice.
Smiling, Phoebe put the receiver to her ear again. "Hey, Mr. Big Shot, with you being all busy filming and dating the hot chicks, are you gonna be home at all this weekend? I was thinking about sending you a surprise in the mail."
"Really? What kind of surprise?"
"It won't be a surprise if I tell you!" she admonished. "No, it's just something really important, and I want you to be there to, um, sign for the package and everything."
Joey remained rather puzzled and curious. "Uh, is it like some cookies from my mom? Or, ooh, did you find some way to send a lasagna through the mail?"
"Joey! You'll find out when it gets there. Just don't go out and spend the weekend with one of your bimbos, okay?"
"Okay, I guess so. Don't want the food to spoil."
"Right. Bye now." Phoebe hung up and checked off Phase 3 of her plan. She wondered whether she should send Chandler with a cheesecake from Mama's Little Bakery in Chicago, just to fulfill Joey's expectations of food. But then again, Chandler might get nervous and pig out on the cheesecake during the flight to L.A.
So Phoebe decided to move on to Phase Four, getting Chandler ready to fly to L.A. She should prep him to make sure that he could convince Joey to stop fighting destiny and come home to New York. The puppet master's work never seemed to end.