Anything for Love
Chapter 10: The One with the Unsupportive Friends
It was hard for both Joey and Phoebe to leave each other the next morning, especially having enjoyed making love in the shower, but Phoebe had massages to give and Joey had to get to the studio, so they left with a promise to get together when they both got out of work. They were both eager to tell their friends about their engagement. Surprisingly, no one had called either of them. Then again, their friends were always busy in the morning between taking care of the kids and getting off to work.
Joey and Phoebe hadn't really had time to call them either.
It was an uneventful work day for both of them, and they were happy to reunite after work. No one had called them yet, so they decided to have a quiet dinner together in Joey's room at The Plaza.
"I guess I should be giving The Plaza my notice that I'll be moving out. I'm kind of going to miss it here, being waited on hand and foot and having a menu full of all my favorite foods to eat whenever I want," Joey admitted.
"Are you having second thoughts about moving in with me?" Phoebe asked.
Joey shook his head. "I know I'll have even more fun living with you."
Phoebe grinned. "Honestly, the last time I lived with you, I wasn't thrilled. I hated the smell of your apartment, and I wasn't thrilled with you bringing women home all the time."
"I promise you I have gotten much better with my hygiene, and of course the days of bringing women over all gone. You're the only woman I need now. I've got the best, so who needs the rest?" Joe asked.
Phoebe giggled. "That is true."
Joey grinned. "Are you sure you don't want to move into a house or at least a bigger place?"
Phoebe nodded. "I'm sure. I know it sounds silly, but I really feel like my grandmother's spirit is in my apartment, and if I leave the apartment, I'll lose her."
"I think her spirit is with you no matter where you live, Phoebs," Joey assured her.
Phoebe nodded. "I know. I just… I can't explain it. I don't want to move."
Joey placed his hand over hers. "Well then you don't have to. I meant what I said before, I'll be happy living anywhere you are."
"We can still have a night at The Plaza here and there just for fun," Phoebe said with a grin.
Joey nodded. "That is true!"
They finished their meal, and then Phoebe's cell phone rang just as Joey's room phone rang.
"That must be Monica or Rachel," Phoebe said about her phone call.
"And that must be Chandler or Ross," Joey said.
"I'll take my call in the bathroom," Phoebe said, heading there.
Joey picked up his call while sitting on the bed. He and Phoebe had agreed to not tell their friends about their engagement until the next time they got together in person. However, telling them about the rest of their Valentine's Day, was just fine to talk about.
"Monica and I are both here. We got you on three-way calling. So, how was it? Did you two finally do the deed?" Rachel asked.
Phoebe grinned. "Hell yeah we did!"
Rachel and Monica both squealed with excitement for her.
"How was it?" Monica asked.
"Let me put it this way—Joey is the best lover I've ever had!" Phoebe said proudly.
"Really? Joey?" Rachel asked surprised.
"Oh yeah!" Phoebe bragged.
"Hm. Who would have thought?" Rachel asked.
"I'm suddenly kind of uncomfortable with this conversation," Monica said. "I see Joey as a little brother. This is grossing me out more than I thought it would."
"Heck, if he's that good, maybe I should have slept with him after all!" Rachel joked.
"Rachel, don't make me break that perfect little nose of yours," Phoebe warned.
Rachel laughed. "Relax, Phoebe! I was only joking. You know how much I love Ross. Sheesh. So violent. He really must be good!"
"He's amazing, and I love him more than I ever did before," Phoebe confirmed.
"Well, we're really happy for you," Monica said. "How did the rest of Valentine's Day go? What did he do?"
Phoebe told them about the carriage ride and dinner and dancing. She also told them about the hot air balloon ride, of course leaving out the part about the engagement.
"It's pretty bad when Joey starts becoming more romantic than Ross!" Rachel said. "Don't get me wrong, I love him and all, but Ross' idea of a Valentine's gift was a stuffed dinosaur holding a heart that said, 'You make my heart saur'. Granted he gave me a heart shaped box of chocolates and a pretty heart necklace, but I'm pretty sure it was costume jewelry. At least he took me to a wonderful dinner, and the sex was great after, so that made up for it. Though, I'm beginning to think yours was even better," Rachel said with a teasing tone.
"At least you guys had a decent Valentine's day," Monica said. "Work was so swamped I had to stay later than I had originally planned. By the time I got home, Chandler and I were both too wiped to make love. The twins did not want to go to bed and had him running around chasing them most of the night. I had warned him not to give them all that Valentine candy, but he didn't listen. We want to have a do-over night, but it is hard trying to find a time. Ugh! We were both busy with work all day today. There's just never any time for anything once you have young kids. Not that I'm complaining. Their worth every busy moment. Still, it would be nice to have a break once in a while."
"Well don't look at me. I may want kids, but I don't do other people's kids," Phoebe said.
"I wasn't hinting," Monica said with a tone that suggested she was probably rolling her eyes. "Anyway, today was another busy day at work and I have a killer headache right now, but what do you say we celebrate your birthday tomorrow, all of us?"
Phoebe smiled. "I'd love that!" She was eager to tell them about hers and Joey's engagement.
"How about that new Italian restaurant that opened up, Pasta Italiano?" Rachel suggested.
"That sounds good! I've been wanting to try that place out," Phoebe agreed.
"Say six o'clock?" Monica asked.
They both agreed.
They chatted a little more, and then said their goodbyes and got off the phone.
Phoebe smiled she could hardly wait!
"It wasn't weird at all. After what happened with Rachel, I was secretly afraid it would happen with Phoebe too, but it didn't. It was natural," Joey told his friends while Phoebe was on the phone.
"Please don't remind me of when you and Rachel were a thing," Ross said.
Joey smirked. "You were not fine."
"Haha…" Ross said, knowing Joey was mocking his temporary mental break down when he found out that Joey and Rachel were dating. He had acted crazy all the while saying he was fine when he clearly was not.
"I'm really happy for you, Joseph! It seems you're finally growing up!" Chandler said to him. "My little Joey is in love with his best friend. Who would have thought?"
Joey smiled. "I wish I hadn't wasted so many years without her when I could have had her. Then again, I don't think she was interested in me back then."
"You still had growing up to do," Ross quipped.
"He still does," Chandler joked.
"Shut up, Chandler!" Joey said. "Seriously, had I known Mike was going to turn out to be a cheater, I never would have set her up with him. I should have just gone out with her myself that night. Then maybe we would have been together sooner."
"At least now Phoebe can learn to appreciate you even more," Ross said.
"Mike seemed great to us too. Who was to know? Some people you just don't know how they really are until they show their true colors," Chandler reasoned.
"Still, setting her up with a stranger that even I didn't know was a bad idea," Joey said.
"At least he wasn't abusive. He cheated on her yes, but he was still good to her other than that," Ross said. "He never beat her or verbally abused her."
"I'd have killed him myself if he had," Joey said.
"And we would have helped you," Chandler replied.
"Well, I better go. Rachel and I have a date night, but she mentioned something about getting together tomorrow night for dinner to celebrate Phoebe's birthday. I'm sure Phoebe will tell you about it," Ross said.
"Phoebe's birthday! Shoot!" Joey said.
Chandler laughed. "You forgot your own girlfriend's birthday? Nice!"
"What am I going to do?" Joey asked.
"Get her a present or it's not going to be a very nice first birthday as a couple," Ross quipped.
"I better go too then," Joey grumbled.
"See you tomorrow, Joe. Good luck!" Chandler said.
"See you tomorrow," Joey grumbled before hanging up.
Phoebe came out of the bathroom a moment later. "We're having dinner tomorrow night at six at Pasta Italiano. Is that okay?"
Joey smiled, and pat the bed beside him. "That's perfect."
Phoebe sat down beside him and he pulled her in for a kiss. Soon, he had her underneath him on the bed. Tonight, he would concentrate on Phoebe. Tomorrow, he would have to try to get out of work early so that he could quickly get Phoebe a present and save his butt!
The next night at dinnertime, Joey was worried. He still had no gift for Phoebe. He hadn't had time on his lunch break to get it, and his work day had run late, so he had only had enough time to go back to his room and get dressed for dinner. He didn't want to admit to Phoebe that he had forgotten her birthday. Now that they were dating, he also knew he couldn't just ask to have his name added to one of the gifts the others were giving her. He had to give her something more special than any past gift that he had given her.
When Phoebe showed up at his door, he opened the door and whistled. She was wearing a very sexy red dress that was slightly revealing and made his knees weak. "How you doin'?" he asked her.
She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and giggled.
Joey pulled her closer and kissed her passionately. "Happy birthday, Baby."
"Thank you!" she said with a smile. "You look handsome." She admired his suit and straightened his tie for him. "You clean up nicely! Then again, you always look sexy no matter what!"
Joey grinned. "I know, right?"
Phoebe laughed.
"So do you," Joey then added.
Phoebe kissed him in response.
Joey tried to lead to by the hand to the bed, but she stopped him.
"There will be plenty of time for that later. I don't want to be late for dinner. I'm eager to tell the others about our engagement!" Phoebe said.
Joey pouted, but followed her out of the hotel, really wishing that he hadn't forgotten her birthday, and that he had had time to find her a gift.
They arrived at the restaurant and they all wished Phoebe a happy birthday. Rachel, Ross, Monica, and Chandler all hugged Phoebe, and then they all sat down, the guys holding out their lady's chair.
They looked over the menu and ordered. Joey announced he was paying for all their meals. He enjoyed doing that now that he had money. He wanted to pay Chandler and everyone else back for his always having to mooch off of them back in the day.
Once they were waiting for their food, Phoebe was given her gifts.
Rachel got her a new pair of boots she had been dying for, Ross and Chandler had gone in together and gave her a very generous gift card to her favorite store, and Monica gave her a new watch with an amethyst band. Amethysts were her birthstone.
"You guys! These gifts are all so great! Thank you so much!" Phoebe said.
"I'm going to give you your gift when we get home," Joey said, knowing he was going to have to get creative and fast. At least for now, he had all of dinner and dessert, and the way back home to think of something.
Phoebe grinned. "Oh, it's that kind of gift huh? Rar!" She fake cat clawed. "I can hardly wait!"
It hit Joey then. A cat! There was a stray cat always hanging around The Plaza that the cooks would throw out scraps to occasionally, but no one wanted to take the cat home for various reasons. Phoebe loved cats. He could snatch the cat and give him to her! Perfect! She didn't used to be allowed to have cats at her apartment, but he remembered her saying pets were now allowed as long as they were quiet and the tenants cleaned up after them. He inwardly sighed a sigh of relief now that he had a plan.
They all chatted and caught up on each other's lives then. Monica told funny stories about her customers she had, and Ross told ones about his students. Their food came, and they continued to eat and reminisce.
When the birthday cake they had surprised her with arrived, Phoebe decided it was the perfect time to tell them about hers and Joey's engagement, while they were celebrating.
She blew out the candles after they sang to her, and after the waiter cut the cake, severed them all, and left, Phoebe spoke up. "My wish already came true."
"Oh yeah? What was it?" Chandler asked her.
Phoebe and Joey smiled at each other and then Phoebe held out her left hand. She had just turned the heart right side up underneath the table. She had been concealing the heart in her hand, and had worn other rings on that hand and her other hand so that her friends wouldn't notice her engagement ring until she showed them. Now, she displayed it for them in all its glory. "Joey and I are engaged! He proposed to me in the hot air balloon on Valentine's Day night!"
The friends all looked at each other, and then Monica spoke. "Isn't it too soon for that?"
Rachel nodded. "Yeah, I mean, you guys have barely been dating a month!"
Chandler snorted. "After all, this is Joey we're talking about. He goes through more woman than I can count!"
Ross laughed. "That is true!"
He and Chandler high-fived.
Phoebe and Joey both looked at their friends in horror. Neither had respected that reaction!
"I would hope that my best friends would be happy for me," Phoebe said.
"And I would hope that my best friends would stop making fun of me," Joey added.
Phoebe nodded.
"We're not trying to be mean. We just don't want you guys to rush into anything; that's all," Monica said calmly.
"We just don't want either of you to get hurt," Rachel added.
"Joey, be honest. Can you really commit to just one woman? I mean, look at Alex and how much you loved her. You never could get yourself to marry her," Chandler said gently.
"She wasn't right for me. Phoebe is. I know it in my heart," Joey said. "I've grown up a lot since moving to LA. It forces you to grow up fast."
"Dating is entirely different than marriage. You've both only been dating for a month. You're still in "the honeymoon phase" as they call it," Ross said. "Maybe you guys could try living together for a year. Give your relationship more time to get used to."
Rachel nodded. "Yes! Get to know what each other is like on a more constant basis. Living with someone can help you to see things you didn't see before."
"You know, that's great advice!" Monica said with a nod.
"It helped Monica and me" Chandler piped in with a nod.
"We're not in the honeymoon phase. Joey and I have known each other for years," Phoebe reminded them.
Joey nodded. "And years!"
"But honey, being friends is totally different than dating," Rachel said.
"You and Ross were friends before you dated, and look how in love with each other you are now!" Joey said.
"Do you not remember all the ups and downs we had? It ruined us for a while," Rachel reminded him.
"But you two got through it," Phoebe stated.
"Not until we grew a little. We had to spend some time apart to really learn to appreciate each other more," Ross explained.
"Well, Phoebe and I spent three years apart when I was in Los Angeles!" Joey reasoned.
"But you two hadn't been dating prior to that," Chandler said.
"What difference does that make?" Phoebe snapped.
The bill came then, and Joey took out his credit card so that he could pay right away.
As soon as the waiter left to run the card, Phoebe spoke again.
"It really disappoints me that you all can't just be happy for us. Here I was so excited to tell you all, thinking you'd be thrilled for us, and then all you do is try to discourage us," Phoebe said.
"And I guess none of you were sorry after all. The last time you all made fun of me, I was able to forgive you because you apologized and I really thought you meant it. Now you're still making fun of me and judging me because of my past. You all changed. Why is it so….so…" Joey turned to Phoebe. "What's a good word to use?"
"Unbelievable," Phoebe filled in for him.
Joey nodded. "Yes! Thank you." He turned back to his so called friends. "Why is it so unbelievable that I changed too?"
The waiter returned with Joey's credit card and the receipt.
Joey took them both and then handed him a fifty for his tip. "Thank you."
"No, thank you!" the waiter said. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"
"No thanks," Joey said. He looked at his friends. "I believe we're done here."
"We're just trying to help!" Monica said.
"Yeah, well you have a funny way of showing it!" Phoebe said as she got up and Joey helped her with her coat.
"Guys, please don't leave like this. Come back!" Rachel called out.
Joey and Phoebe both ignored her, and headed out to Phoebe's cab. Who needed their friends anyway when they had each other? Besides, with friends like those, who needed enemies?
Joey informed Phoebe that he had her birthday present at The Plaza, and so she picked up a bag of her things at her place to stay the night at his, and then headed over to The Plaza with Joey.
"You go on in ahead," he instructed.
"Okay," she said, finding it a little weird, but being too upset over the way her friends had acted to care. She had turned her cell phone off. She didn't want to hear from them.
As soon as she had gone inside, Joey searched the usual area by the dumpster that the cat was seen, and he was thrilled when he saw the cat sleeping by one of the huge dumpsters. In a flash, he snatched him up.
The cat let out a startled cry.
"It's okay. It's too cold for you to be out here anyway. I found you a nice new mommy," he said to it. He carried it into The Plaza.
The manager at the front desk was immediately alarmed. "You can't bring stray cats in here, I'm sorry."
"I'm adopting it," Joey said. "Besides, he'll only be here for a night, and then my fiancé will be taking him to live with her."
"All right, but if he stays any longer than that, I'm going to have to charge you a monthly pet fee," the manager informed him.
"That's fine," Joey agreed.
"Do you have a little box and litter for him?" the manager then asked. "We can't have him going all over the floor."
Joey winced. "I hadn't thought of that."
"If you'd like, I can have the concierge take care of it and bring a litter box, litter, and a bed up for him," the manager offered.
Joey grinned. "That would be great! Can you bring him some food too? And I guess some bowls? Just put it all on my tab."
"Will do, Mr. Tribbiani," the manager agreed. At The Plaza, they were willing to please—especially when it came to celebrities and guests with money, which of course, Joey was both.
Joey then headed up to his room with the cat, and he knocked on the door.
Phoebe opened the door and smiled big when she saw Joey holding the cat. "Is that my present?" she asked.
Joey nodded. "It is!"
"Is it a boy or a girl?" Phoebe asked.
Joey lifted the cat up to look. "Definitely a boy."
Phoebe took the cat from Joey and kissed it. "Aw! I always wanted a cat! He's so cute! Thank you, Joey!"
The cat nuzzled her neck and began purring, as if he knew he had a nice warm place to live now.
Joey grinned. "You're very welcome!" He had gotten away with forgetting her birthday. He couldn't believe it! He shut the door behind him. "You'll have to keep him at your place, but he's allowed to stay the night here with us."
"Did you get a litter pan and litter? Or food for him?" Phoebe asked.
"Uh… It is being delivered later tonight," Joey said.
Phoebe raised an eyebrow. "So late?"
"Sometimes the mail comes late here," Joey said; getting a little nervous.
Phoebe smelled the cat. "Wooh! This smells like an alley cat. He's a smelly cat for sure!" She then raised an eyebrow at Joey. "Did you forget my birthday and snatch him for me as a last minute present?"
Joey flushed red. "No, I…. Okay! I can't lie to you. How did you know?"
Phoebe smirked. "Woman's intuition. Plus, I've seen him walking around the building before. Don't worry. I know with Valentine's Day and the whole proposal thing you must have been a little distracted."
Joey nodded. "I was!"
"You did so well on Valentine's Day, I'm going to let this one slide." Phoebe shot him a look. "But you do not want to forget my birthday next year—especially if I'm your wife by then, which I plan on being."
"Or what?" Joey asked, swallowing hard. He wasn't challenging her; he just wanted to know.
Phoebe smiled sweetly. "You don't want to know, Sweetheart."
"I'll definitely remember next year," Joey said.
Phoebe grinned, and pat his shoulder. "That's a good boy."
Joey grinned.
"I have to hand it to you though, for being a last minute panic gift, this is a pretty creative and awesome gift! I love him already even though he is in major need of a bath," Phoebe stated. "I'll have make him a groomer appointment ASAP, and I'll also have to see about getting him neutered."
Joey winced. "Ouch!"
"He won't feel a thing, Silly! He'll be put out, and then he'll come home and recuperate with his momma." She kissed the cat.
She and Joey both got ready for bed, and the concierge delivered the cat supplies within the hour.
Once they were all set up and the concierge had left with his tip, the cat cuddled up into his new bed and went to sleep.
"Good!" Joey said.
"What?" Phoebe asked.
"I didn't want to make love to you with the cat watching the whole time," Joey admitted.
Phoebe laughed. "Me neither, but I'm too upset to get frisky with you tonight."
Joey pulled her close and kissed her neck. "Don't worry about out friends. They'll come around."
"What if they don't?" Phoebe asked, tears in her eyes.
Joey kissed the tears away from her eyes. "Then screw them! I'll never leave you."
"And I'll never leave you," Phoebe assured him.
"Is that all that matters then? That we have each other?" Joey asked.
Phoebe smiled, and rested her head against his. "Yes, it is." She kissed him softly at first, and then more passionately. He picked her up and carried her to the bed, and turned the lights off. Then, he got on top of her and made her forget all about their unsupportive, cynical friends.