Hi guys!
The day of the wedding is here. It's going to be a loooong wedding day. :)
Sorry for any typos and obvious grammar mistakes.
I'll try to keep this updated often, but with my Friends Instagram account becoming so popular ( friendsextended) and real life to take care of, it's going to be difficult not to have delays. I hope you enjoy this!
HONOLULU –THE WEDDING DAY
4.00 p.m.
"Ok, the bride is ready."
Gina had a huge smile on her face. She felt very proud of herself.
She hadn't been a hairstylist in a while, at least not since she'd started working for Bobbie. However, today she felt like she had accomplished something great.
Rachel exited from the bathroom looking like she was coming out of a fairytale.
She was stunning in her wedding dress, and with her hairdo she was even more beautiful.
She had chosen a casual strapless knee size length wedding dress, with a narrow belt of silver beads encircling her waist. The layered A-line skirt was embellished with little sapphire flowers matching the blue roses of the bouquet as much as the white dress matched the white lilies.
Her hair wasn't as long as it used to be when she was younger, for example when she and Ross had got married in Vegas, but Gina had folded it into a loose low chignon and secured it with a few bobbies.
"Oh My God, Rachel, you are wonderful…" Phoebe cried out, immediately tearing up.
"Really?" she asked.
"I think my brother will have a stroke." Monica confirmed.
"Gina, you did a wonderful job!" Alex patted her best friend's back.
"Still the best in the business!" She grinned.
"Thank you so much, Gina." Rachel was very grateful for Joey's sister help.
"Ok, time to go guys. We need to be sure that your brother doesn't do anything stupid." Alex stated.
"Oh, I appreciate that, thank you." Rachel squeezed Alex's hand. The blonde girl smiled at her and exited from the room with Gina.
"Oh, Rachel, you look so beautiful…my little girl, finally getting married…" Sandra had tears in her eyes.
"Mom, are you crying?" Rachel asked, surprised for her mother's behavior.
"Oh, come on, a mother is allowed to get a little emotional for her daughter's big day!"
"But you didn't cry when you saw me wearing my first wedding dress when I was marrying Barry!"
Sandra thought about that day of eleven years before.
"She cried when you ran away, though." Jill interrupted them.
Rachel glared at her sister. Amy snickered, thinking about that huge unexpected accident that had changed her sister's life forever. They often had a good laugh during family's dinners when they re-invoked that day.
"Well…I think we should probably go…"
"Maybe you should." Rachel scolded her sister Jill. "Just be sure that the guests are all comfortable, please."
"That I can do." Jill promised.
"See you out there, sweetie." Sandra kissed Rachel's cheek.
"Oh, and Mom, please check on Emma." Rachel asked.
Rachel, Monica and Phoebe were left alone in the bedroom.
"Where's Emma, by the way?"
"With Carol and Susan, she wanted to spend the morning with Ben. I guessed with two women to take care of her appearance, I can expect her to be the most beautiful girl at the wedding." She smiled lovingly.
"Rach…before leaving, we've got something for you." Phoebe caressed her huge tummy and took a bag that she and Monica had kept hidden behind a chair.
"Wow, presents? Already?"
Monica laughed, "Well…let's say we couldn't forget about an important tradition."
"This…is your something new." Phoebe smiled, taking a package from the bag.
"Wow! So this IS presents time!" Rachel clapped her hands in excitement, taking the bag from Phoebe's hands.
Monica smiled while her best friend opened the first gift. Rachel was not wearing any accessorize yet, and that box contained a bracelet.
"Oh my God…" Rachel murmured.
"It's a white golden bracelet. Look at the pendant."
"The infinite symbol…Something tells me that this isn't from you, guys…"
Phoebe and Monica shared a knowing look and shook their heads, "No, this is Ross's." Phoebe admitted. "It fits, doesn't it?"
Rachel looked at it with the cutest smile on her face, thinking about the wedding ring that was waiting for her, probably already secured inside Chandler's pocket.
"Yeah, it's lovely. Help me?"
Monica helped Rachel putting the bracelet on, and then Phoebe took out the second item.
"Something old."
Phoebe was holding two dried out roses (one red and one orange).
"These are from our weddings bouquets. We kept them until this very day because we thought they may bring you good fortune."
"Oh Pheebs…thank you." Rachel said, touching the flowers with gentleness.
"Ok then, something borrowed." Monica took a necklace from the bag. "I know you love this very much, but I WANT IT BACK!"
Rachel chuckled, "I promise. Thank you honey." Monica helped her to wear her silver necklace.
"Finally, this is your something blue." Phoebe concluded. "For a wedding by the sea, you can't miss a pair of blue earrings."
Rachel opened the last box revealing a couple of blue pearl earrings.
"Oh my God, guys! You are crazy!"
"You won't exchange them?" Monica asked.
"Are you kidding? These are gorgeous…Thank you. I love you both so much. And I'm so glad that you are here with me, today."
The three of them held each other, all crying happy tears.
At that moment, Judy Geller peeped out from behind the door.
"Rachel? Can I come in?"
"Of course…" she sniffed. "We are almost ready to leave."
"I'm gonna take off, Mike and I will check on the band to be sure that everything's ok with the music."
"Thanks, Phoebe."
"I'm going to freshen up a bit…fortunately, Gina used waterproof make up!" Monica noticed.
Monica walked to the bathroom and Judy looked silently at Rachel, smiling for her lovely attire.
"Rachel…" Judy took her hands. "You look like a floating angel."
Rachel sighed. Judy was the first one saying this to her, like she had always wanted to hear.
"Thank you…" she embraced her.
"I'm so happy for you, guys. You and Ross, finally getting married. I've been waiting for this day since you first got together ten years ago."
"Really?" Rachel smiled, tenderly.
"Well…when he was young, I kind of knew that Ross had a crush on you. I remember the night of your prom, when you and Monica were waiting for your boyfriends…"
Rachel felt her heart beating faster when she heard Judy mentioning one of the fondest memories she had of her relationship with Ross.
"…when Chip Matthews didn't show up, at first Jack and I tried to convince Ross to take you to the prom."
Rachel felt tears forming at the corner of her eyes.
"Ross was so sad when he saw you get away with Chip, instead. He was so shocked, that he stopped talking. He went upstairs, took off Jack's tux and didn't speak for two days. Monica never realized why he was so bummed up."
Rachel squeezed her eyes, "Monica never knew that Ross had feelings for me?"
Judy shook her head, "I think she suspected on some levels, but Ross concealed it very well. Monica was mostly unaware, she noticed that Ross was geeky and shy whenever you came home, but she thought he was like that around any other girl."
Rachel chuckled, "Me too."
"Sweetheart, I always hoped for you two to get together. When it finally happened, Jack and I were so thankful. Then you and Ross broke up and it was really hard, I was afraid he would never find love again."
"Oh, Judy…" Rachel squeezed her hand.
"You've got to know…when he got engaged with that English witch…" They both smiled. "We were happy, of course, but it wasn't the same. We had never the courage to tell Ross that we thought he was rushing things. When he said your name at the altar, it wasn't such a surprise. We wondered whether it was our fault, if we were bad parents…but as his mother, I knew that Ross was just showing his true feelings for you."
"You probably understand that sooner than I did!" Rachel noticed. "I never thought that you supported us so much…not until Ross told me that when Emma was born you brought him your mother's engagement ring."
Meanwhile, Monica slightly opened the door, but when she noticed her mother and Rachel involved in a deep conversation, she decided not to interrupt them and she started listening to them.
"I was really hoping that Ross would ask you to marry him."
"It wasn't the right time, Judy. I know you really wanted us to get back together sooner, but you must admit…that we are finally getting our happy ending." She smiled.
"Yeah, you're right." Judy smiled.
Judy was almost leaving, but Rachel stopped her. "Judy, may I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"You know how much I love Monica. I mean, I love my sisters in a conventional way, but as you can see, none of them is my maid of honor. Monica is the sister I never had, and so is Phoebe. I've got to know this. Why have you always loved Ross more than Monica?"
Monica silently thanked Rachel for asking such a hard question to her mother. She really wanted to hear her answer.
Judy sighed. "You know, Ross asked me something like that a few times, but not so frankly. Truth is, I always had a harsh attitude towards my daughter because that's how my mother dealt with me. She taught me competitiveness, ambition. My life was never easy. I think that sometimes I preferred Ross because he was my first son, or maybe because he was a boy."
Rachel tried to put herself in Judy's shoes and so did Monica. Weren't there moments in which she enjoyed spending more time with Jack? Was she becoming like her mother? Or maybe that was just a common behavior between mothers and sons?
"I know that Monica felt I was…kind of aloof. But she was my girl, I expected so much from her growing up. You think she had a hard time dealing with me?"
Rachel shrugged dramatically, "Well..."
"I hope she knows that I love her just as much as I love Ross. I'm proud of her, she's my daughter, she's accomplished so much in life!"
Rachel smiled, "She's amazing. I don't know what I would have done without her."
Monica smiled to herself, secretly glad that she was eavesdropping that conversation.
"Yeah…and I'm trying to make amends, you know? Being there for the twins, spending more time with her and Chandler…"
"I think she's happy for that. But you should tell her how you feel."
"It's not easy." Judy confessed.
"I know; I don't think it's easy talking with my parents either. But you want a suggestion? Try more. Monica loves you and Jack, she deserves to know how much important and special she really is to you."
Judy's lips turned into a soft smile, "I'll try. Thank you, Rachel."
Monica mentally thanked her best friend, too.
"And please, let me tell you that today more than ever I'm feeling like I really had two daughters. You've always been like Monica's sister; the third child of the Geller family."
"Oh, Judy…I was so spoiled and shallow back then, a young cheerleader going out with the most popular guys in high school!"
Judy took her hands again, "You were so much more than that. You've always been Monica's best friend, even when she was bullied for her weight. It never mattered to you if you were popular and she wasn't, if she had attended a fat camp as a child and nobody really appreciated her. I was so grateful for that. Today Jack and I are going to see our son getting married…but also our daughter."
Rachel was crying now, so Judy wiped her tears away. She also caressed her belly.
"We are happy for Ross, but also for you. And let's be honest, this wedding erases all the previous ones."
"Like a Day-Zero?" Rachel asked, chuckling. "Oh, my…Thank you again, Gina, for using water proof make up!" she sighed.
"Well, mine is not. So I'm gonna take off. Jack was waiting with the twins; we'd better call a taxi and leave."
"Thank you, Judy, for everything."
Rachel waited for the woman to get out and watched her best friend coming out of the bathroom. She looked at Monica askance.
"How much do you love me today?"
Monica's eyes were still red for the tears, "So much that I want to convince you to run away and marry me instead of my brother."
"That WOULD cause him a stroke." Rachel commented, hugging Monica.
"Ok, the band is ready and most of your family is here."
"Thanks, Mike."
Ross and Chandler were waiting in the courtyard of the restaurant, which was close to the location of the wedding.
"Phoebe and Monica?" Chandler asked.
"Phoebe's just arrived; Monica is coming later with Rachel. Sandra got here with Jill and Amy."
"How's Emma doing?"
"She's great; she's playing on the beach with Ben." Mike explained.
Ross grimaced, "Monica won't be happy if she covers the carpet with sand when she walks down the aisle."
Chandler smiled, "I'll tell her that it's all wedding themed."
Ross smiled, "Man, you're so good in changing my sister's mind. You are a genius."
"You have no idea." Chandler chuckled.
"Ok, let's keep this thing going. Where's Joey?"
At that moment, their best friend showed up from behind a palm tree.
"Were you looking for me?"
"Yeah, tell me again what your speech is about." Ross asked.
"Ross, come on, I swear, I studied everything this time, would you stop worrying?"
"Joey, I just don't want you to say anything stupid about my relationship with Rachel, ok? We've done enough crazy things in our lives."
"Could that BE more true?" Chandler wondered.
"But…I got to talk about the divorce, at least?"
Ross's stare could have killed him.
"The break? The list? The letter? Emma's birth? What about me?" Joey joked, winking at Chandler and moving his elbow to urge his best friend; Chandler just shook his head when he noticed Ross's disappointment.
Ross glared at them both, "I'm serious guys, I'll let you free with your toasts after the ceremony, but please, just try and behave normally now. Ok?"
"Ok, Ross, I was kidding. I have everything under control, I promise." Joey said.
"And hey, Ross. Just remember, when Joey asks you to repeat after him, I, Ross, take thee, RACHEL…please, don't forget what you told us about the crazy things."
Ross scoffed, "Don't worry; if I said her name when I was marrying someone else, there's no way I wouldn't say it today."
Chandler and Joey laughed along with Ross and patted him on the shoulders.
"So, I guess this is it, man. You guys are getting married. For real!" Joey was incredibly happy and thrilled.
"I know. I've been waiting for this day for half of my life." Ross confessed.
"So did we." Chandler grumbled.
"Do you mind if I cut in?"
The three friends turned around. Leonard Green was looking at them with a weird expression on his face. They all immediately lost their smiles.
"Good luck, bud." Chandler whispered so that only Ross could hear him.
Leonard Green walked towards Ross and examined his appearance. Monica had chosen three very casual dresses for him and the best men. Ross was wearing a very sophisticated white shirt with a blue rose and a pair of khaki linen trousers. He was definitely masculine and charming, with a perfect attire for a wedding by the sea.
Leonard took the rose with his fingers and adjusted its position on Ross's shirt.
"Well, Geller, I must say I never thought that Rachel would actually agree to marry you, in the end."
"Well, how sweet, thank you." Ross complained.
Leonard smiled and slapped him playfully on the cheek. "Don't screw it."
Ross nodded with respect, "I won't." His tone was low and solemn.
Leonard walked away, but Ross stopped him. He'd been dying for years to know something and this was his chance to find out. He was alone with Leonard Green; he might never have another opportunity like this.
"Dr. Green!"
"What?"
"You remember that night that you came to my house and met my girlfriend, Mona?"
Leonard sighed, "I try not to think about it, Ross."
Ross put a hand on his mouth, "I'm sorry" he replied, nervous, "What I meant is…that night…you accused me of dumping Rachel."
"Yeah."
"Why did you think I dumped her?"
"Because that's what Rachel told me." Leonard answered.
"What?" Ross asked, shocked.
"She never really explained what happened, she said that you dumped her because you didn't love her anymore."
Ross couldn't believe what he'd just heard.
Another example of how perfect Rachel was. She had never told her father that he'd cheated on her. Ross smiled to himself, trying to figure out the reason why. Maybe she wanted to defend the troubled relationship that the two men already had. She had made up an excuse with Leonard not to make him dislike Ross more than he already did. And Ross didn't need to ask to figure out why. Because she still had hopes for them to get back together, even back then.
Yet, Ross felt that this wasn't fair to Rachel. He loved her so much that her father deserved to know the truth before giving her away.
"Dr. Green, I'm sorry, but I need to confess you something, and you won't like it. The reason Rachel and I broke up back then…"
"Yes?"
"Well, there's no easy way to say it. I cheated on her."
Leonard was flabbergasted.
"I know this is terrible and you probably don't want to hear it today, but I think you need to know the truth. Our previous relationship was difficult and precarious. When I started to distrust her, I made the biggest mistake of my life, a betrayal that I will always regret. But I never stopped loving your daughter, ever."
Leonard nodded with a contrite expression on his face, still out of words.
"Later on, Rachel found it in her heart to forgive me. She is the strongest woman I know; I can't even begin to explain to you how much I love her. I know that you are going to think even less of me now, but at least you know the truth. Perhaps Rachel will tell you more about it."
Leonard shook his head. "I don't need to hear anything else. That's all way in the past now. You guys moved on, and I must admit, I've never seen Rachel happier than she is since you got back together last year."
Ross nodded in approbation.
"Anyway, thank you for your honesty, Geller. I bet this wasn't easy."
Ross looked down at his wet hands, "No, no…this was…uhm…am I fainting?"
Seeing Ross's pale look, Leonard slowly took his left wrist between his fingers to check his pulse.
"You know, Ross, I never really liked you in the beginning, with your jelly hair and your weird sense of humor. When you guys had Emma and you weren't even together as a couple, I liked you even less."
"Good to know that our second baby will be born with two married parents." Ross joked.
Leonard ignored him, "Then you and Rachel came visiting me the day I had the heart attack. And even if you behaved like a perfect idiot…I saw you two kids together and I realized that my daughter wasn't much smarter than you."
"What do you mean?"
Feeling Ross's pulse getting back to normal, Leonard let his hand go.
"Come on, she has two sisters, two best girlfriends and a roommate, but when she needs somebody to rely on after her father has a myocardial infarction, who does she go to? Her former cheating boyfriend?"
Ross smiled for the irony of the situation. Even Rachel's father had understood the strength of their relationship before them.
"You two have been acting like crazy for years, this is what should have happened years ago, even if I'm not your greatest fan."
"Thank you, Dr. Green. So, we are…good about what I told you before?"
"Hey, I know that people make mistakes. Sometimes a break up is what two persons need. They stay away from each other and realize that they can't live apart. It's much better than be together in a marriage without love to try to save a sinking ship until you are obliged to get a divorce."
"Is…Is that what happened with you and Sandra?" Ross asked, carefully.
Leonard nodded and sighed, "You'd better ask what didn't happen between me and Sandra."
"Do you regret it?" Leonard stared at him with stern. Ross kept talking, "The divorce, I mean?"
"Well, I'm not an example of perfection. My wife left me because I wasn't a good husband. That's why I won't judge you for you past mistakes, Geller."
Ross nodded, finally convinced that Leonard had still feelings for Sandra.
"But as a father, I ask you to respect Rachel and to love her, no matter what. Don't leave her anymore. And please, try growing your children with care and dedication."
Ross nodded solemnly.
"Though, I have the feeling that you don't need this particular recommendation, because I look at Emma and I see that you are a good father to her. I have no doubt about it."
Ross smiled for the first time in his life for a compliment that Dr. Green had addressed to him.
Leonard moved away from him, "Ok, I'm going to get Rachel. See you at the altar."
Ross was so delighted that he wanted to scream.
"You betcha."