One Weekend in 2022


"Pick up, Emma. Come on, pick up, pick up!" Rachel muttered under her breath, iPhone glued to her ear as she paced around the store.

"Hi, you've reached Emma Geller. I'm unable to answer the phone right now, but please leave your name and number, and I'll return your call as soon as I can. Thank you." Her daughter's recorded voice greeted her on the other side, her tone friendly but also professional.

"So much like her father." Rachel thought to herself, an inevitable smile curling her lips.

But since she had already left her two messages and several texts earlier in the day which remained utterly ignored, Rachel hung up instead and focused her attention back to the many dresses in front of her – and the saleswoman waiting on her with an expectant look plastered on her face.

"I'm sorry, I just don't want to make this decision without consulting her." She apologized and sighed, while she tried to think of another solution. "OK, let me try just one more thing."

And then she proceeded to dial another number, which was answered quickly.

"Hey mom."

"Leo, honey, hi. Is your sister home yet?"

"No. Did you try calling her?"

"She's not picking up."

"Oh, she must be driving then. You know, you guys are always lecturing us about how dangerous it is to use the phone while driving, maybe she actually listened."

"Yeah, and I hope you will too when you start driving, Mister. OK, well, please have her call me if she gets home within the next few minutes, OK?"

"Will do."

"And please please remember we need to be out the door by six thirty, OK?"

"Sure, I'm just going to play along and pretend I'm the one who always makes us late."

Rachel scoffed but knew she couldn't argue with that.

"Well, OK then. I'll see you later, hon."

But before she could hang up, she heard noises on the other side of the line and their dog Unagi barking excitedly. Rachel knew exactly what that meant.

"Hang on, mom. Emma just walked in."

"Perfect. Can you put her on, please?"

"Hey Ems, mom wants to talk to you." Leo shouted on the other side.

"Jesus, did you seriously just grow another foot over the past few weeks?" She heard Emma ask her brother and chuckled. It really did feel like her boy was getting taller by the minute – outgrowing all his clothes lightning speed.

"Oh shoot, Leo, I forgot to ask if you've given your blazer and dress shoes a try this week. I want to make sure they fit."

"They fit."

"That's not what I asked, young man. Did you try them on this week?"

"No?"

"Please go do that now while I talk to your sister then. I'm picking something out for her now and I can get you something if you need it. Now please go."

"Ooookay."

"Thank you."

"Hey mom." She finally heard Emma on the line.

"Hey, sweetie. I called you like seven times already today, is everything alright?" Rachel tried to sound more concerned than annoyed, Emma hadn't exactly been at her most amiable lately.

"I was driving. Some of us actually care about safety behind the wheel, you know?"

Again, so much like her father.

Rachel held her tongue though, knowing the offhand offense was caused by the stress Emma has been under. The twenty-year-old was wrapping up her second year at Cornell University and had just recently landed an internship Rachel knew was a big deal, but it was an opportunity that didn't come without added pressure on her already heavy shoulders.

"OK, that's great, sweetie, but I've been calling all day – all week for that matter. Couldn't you have called your old mom back?"

"I just walked in, mom. Besides, I'm trying to cut down on my screen time, it's not good for my mental health."

Rachel sighed.

"Are you OK, honey?" She asked with genuine concern.

"Yes. So, what's up?"

"Well, I haven't heard from you about what outfits you want me to get you. I sent you all those pictures earlier in the week, did you get a chance to look at them?"

"No, mom, sorry. I've been busy. But, you know, choose whatever you want. I trust your judgement."

What Rachel heard, however, was a resounding "I don't really care", which honestly kind of hurt. Sometimes she got the impression that her daughter found her work in the fashion industry silly, with her Ivy League education and prestigious internship.

"OK." You could have told me that on Monday, but whatever – she wanted to add, but didn't. "Well, can you go check and see if your brother will need me to get him anything?"

"Sure." She heard her walk up some steps. "Dimps, mom wants to know if you'll need anything."

"Shoes! And a blazer!" She heard her son shout back on the other side, muffled by his closed door.

"Did you get that?" Emma asked her mother.

"Yeah."

"Oh, and pants!"

Rachel took a deep breath. Might as well get him a couple of new dress shirts too.


Traffic was pretty bad on the way home, but at least Rachel could see the way back to the city looked much better. Even though she'd left work early that day, all the errands she had to run afterwards ended up taking longer than expected and now she only had about two hours to get home, get ready and then leave again for the big dinner. For the average person that would be more than enough, but this was Rachel Geller and on this particular Friday night she knew she would need all the extra time she could get to conceal her tired eyes, especially for such an important occasion.

When she pulled into the driveway, she noticed they were all already home: Ross' SUV was parked beside Emma's hybrid hatchback and Noah's electric scooter right behind. She struggled to get everything out of her backseat by herself – two dresses for Emma, what seemed like a completely new wardrobe for Leo and some other items she picked up at the dry cleaners – and then walked in through the front door of their beautiful house.

"Little help here, guys!" She shouted from the entryway and was quickly welcomed by their little brown Pomeranian, whose excited jumps made Rachel scared she would trip and fall, closely followed by Leo and Emma's long-time boyfriend.

"Hi Mrs. Geller. Here, let me." Noah, ever the gentleman and already dressed for the occasion, readily took everything from her hands and started organizing them neatly on a nearby console table, while Leo enveloped his mother into a hug.

"Thanks mom!"

Rachel smiled to herself. She knew the boy didn't want to hear it about the close call of almost not having anything to wear tonight – or tomorrow, for that matter – so he was already trying to charm his way out of a lecture.

"You're welcome, honey."

She broke the hug and smiled up at her son. At fifteen he was already taller than her, but despite his height inside he was the biggest goofball with an even bigger heart. Rachel might be biased, but boy was he turning into a handsome young man. With brown hair and hazel eyes, Rachel really thought he was the perfect mix of his parents' features.

"Next time beware I'll make you wear short pants and tight shoes." She added because she didn't want him to think he could get away with everything. She wanted her son to grow into a responsible and mature man, not a helpless self-entitled boy. She would actually love to teach him a good lesson one of these days – and she would have tonight were this weekend not so special for their family.

"Are those the dresses?" Came Emma's voice from the adjacent family room, where the boys had come from.

Rachel shook her head, picked up two shopping bags and approached the doorway to find her first born sitting on the couch in the family room by herself.

Emma's business attire made her look a bit older, as did her long bob haircut, and Rachel guessed she came home straight from the office even though she had promised she would take the whole day off. Since she'd moved away to college, seeing her now always brought up a mix of emotions to Rachel.

On one hand she was so proud to see her daughter becoming this beautiful, amazing and independent young woman. Oh, the other, God, having her leave the nest had been so hard, even if she visited relatively often since her university was a 4h drive away – doable for the occasional weekend visit. Sadly, those were a lot less frequent now than they were on her first year away.

"Oh hi. It's nice to see you too, Emma. Me? Oh, I'm doing well, thanks for asking." Rachel's words were loaded with sarcasm.

Emma pursed her lips and smiled weakly.

"We just talked on the phone."

"Yeah, that's the same thing." Rachel retorted, her tone making it clear she was not letting her off the hook that easily. "It's been, what, four weeks since you last came over?"

"Hi mom." Emma finally played along.

"OK, these are the ones I got." Rachel pulled a knee-length bright blue dress from one of the shopping bags and a more romantic, long lilac one from another. "What do you think?"

Emma made a face.

"I'm not so sure I like the lace on that one."

Rachel lowered both dresses and sighed.

"Are you kidding me right now, Emma?" Rachel asked in true disbelief. Emma softened up, finally realizing how she's been treating her mother all evening.

"Mom…"

"First you don't care what I pick and now you have opinions, do you? If only I had designer dresses brought home to me like this when I was your age. A little appreciation would be nice."

Emma pouted slightly, remorse evident in her big blue eyes. Looking at her like this, Rachel realized she could act like her father as much as she wanted to, but at the end of the day on the outside she was still a true copy of her mother, in both appearance and mannerisms.

"I'm sorry." She came closer and threw her arms around her, kissing her shoulder. "I'm sorry, OK? Thank you."

Emma squeezed her dramatically hard, and Rachel couldn't help but give in.

"You're welcome, sweetheart."

"You're the best." Emma said truthfully.

"I think they're beautiful, Mrs. Geller." Noah said walking back into the room and Rachel almost laughed. Even though they had been dating for four years now, the boy continued to act as if he was still working on earning every bit of care and trust they had for him. She'd even given up asking him not to call her that a long time ago, it was a lost cause.

"Thanks Noah."

Rachel watched as the couple returned to the couch and Unagi jumped up to nestle on Emma's lap. They picked up his phone, put on one air pod each and hit play on whatever it was they were watching together before her arrival. Why did they even bother having a big TV in the family room, Rachel wondered.

It was weird, but in a way they reminded Rachel of herself and Ross, or what they could have been if she'd given him a chance in high school. Not in a gross way, like Emma was dating a guy like her dad, but the subtle similarities were there.

Rachel thought it was best not to dig deeper and turned her attention back to her son, who she could see through the open door still standing on the entryway going through the bags of things she'd brought him. He pulled a shirt out from one of them and looked at his mother with furrowed brows.

"Purple?"

"Leo, I swear to God-"

"I love it!" He quickly added with a wide smile on his face.

Rachel huffed and smiled back. He son did like to charm her – but he also knew when he absolutely shouldn't even try.

"Hey." Ross announced as he walked down the stairs running a towel on his hair, obviously fresh out of the shower.

Rachel smiled warmly at the sight of her husband.

"Hi honey."

He walked up to her and they kissed softly, as they still did every single night when they got home from work.

"Remember we need to be out the door by six thirty."

"I know. I was just about to remind these guys." Rachel said pointing to the kids.

"Yeah, because they're the problem." Ross teased.

Leo snickered and Rachel shot them a look.

"OK, great. I could have been home two hours ago, but sorry I was too busy picking out outfits for everyone instead of being here getting ready myself. I picked up your suits from the dry cleaners too by the way." She directed that last part to Ross, who raised his eyebrows in alarm and gulped.

"Mm, thank you, sweetie."

"Thanks, mom." Leo added.

"Well, now if you'll excuse me, I'll go and try my best to be ready on time." Rachel said as she began gathering up her things to head upstairs.

"Oh, mom, before I forget." Leo begun.

"Yes, honey?"

"I got asked to prom in a couple of weeks. Then afterwards a few of us are heading out to this party at Jason's place. Is that OK?"

They heard Emma snicker from the family room, obviously overhearing, and Leo rolled his eyes. His sister was always teasing him for being "popular".

"OK, sure, honey." Rachel answered.

Leo smiled, but Ross furrowed his brows.

"Awesome! Thanks, mom!"

Rachel retrieved some of her shopping bags and started making her way to the second floor with Ross following her. Once in their master suite, she threw the bags on the bed and started looking through them.

"Shit, where are my new lashes?"

"Rach, shouldn't we talk about this first?"

Rachel furrowed her brows.

"My lashes?" She asked him, confused.

"Leo. Leo and prom and this party he's been invited to."

"Oh. What's there to talk about?"

"Well, for one I'm not sure he should go."

"Why not?" When he didn't answer right away, she looked back at him to find him staring at her like the answer was so obvious he didn't need to elaborate on it. She sighed heavily for what felt like the umpteenth time that evening. "Honey, do you really want to be one of those controlling parents who overprotect their children?"

"Rachel, you know there's going to be alcohol at this party."

She almost laughed in disbelief he'd actually said that.

"I've been to parties in high school, Ross. I know how they work."

Ross shot her a look, displeased with her comeback. She knew both of them had had completely different experiences back in high school.

"And do you think that's appropriate considering he's only fifteen?"

"No, but I'm sure he'll find a way to party and drink either way, Ross, like we did."

"Like you did."

Rachel took a deep breath in.

"Are you really going to pretend that you didn't have a fake ID yourself, Mr. Alvarez? Please, Ross, I've heard the stories."

"Not at 15."

"I'm just saying. As a teenager, he's going to be up to all sorts of things and we're not going to be able to stop him."

"Wow, what a great parenting advice. I mean why should we even bother having any rules at all in this household?"

Rachel narrowed her eyes, her patience beginning to truly run thin now.

"OK, Ross, can we please have this conversation another time? I'm really tired, I'm getting a headache, I need to get ready and I don't want to spoil tonight, OK?"

"Fine."

"Thank you."


They headed out the door at exactly seven o'clock, but traffic was even quieter now, so they eventually managed to get to the restaurant reasonably on time. Leo and Emma were able to read the room very well and did not even attempt a joke about it, instead carrying a conversation on the back about the latest shows they've been watching, while their parents remained silent on the front.

But they did also notice when halfway through the ride one their father's hand left the wheel to reach across the arm rest and rest on their mother's thigh. A second later, she covered it with hers, and there it stayed until the first turn he'd had to make, when they reversed roles and her hand went to him.

Emma squeezed Noah's hand on hers and smiled at her younger brother, who rolled his eyes jokingly but smiled back.


They stepped out the elevator together and walked towards the rooftop terrace until they found the sign telling them they were in the right place: "Madison Chen & Ben Geller-Willick-Bunch's rehearsal dinner". They all smiled without having to say anything, well knowing Ben's last names were a long-standing joke among him and his friends because he proudly wanted to use all three whenever possible. Between his moms and his family on his father's side, he didn't want to exclude anyone.

Carol and Susan were the first to spot and come over to greet them. Rachel couldn't help but smile when Carol and Ross shared a long heartfelt hug, and she heard his ex-wife say to him:

"Can you believe our boy is getting married?"

It was truly hard to believe, but they couldn't be happier for him if they tried.

The evening was already taking a turn for the better.


Yes, so this happens in the same universe as "Consequences" because I like the way that one lead the way towards their future together. Turns out they did not have another kid but did move to the suburbs eventually. This will be a four-chapter story, which is mostly written by now, so I truly do mean it this time. Oh, and am I going to ignore Covid altogether? Yes, I will. And FYI, "Home is not a place" has not been forgotten, it's just moving slowly.

Lastly, I want to thank lightchaser and AnistonFaniston143 for their amazing words, which really helped with this idea. Thanks for keeping the love for these two alive.