HONOLULU –THE WEDDING DAY
5.00 p.m.
"Oh My God, who the hell is that?" Gina asked Joey.
"That is…Russ."
"And who is he? Some kind of…Ross's cousin? Better, a lost twin?" Michael wondered.
"Nope. He's no relative at all." Chandler explained. "Uncanny resemblance, uh?"
"Yah-ah!" Gina yelled.
"Don't tell Ross, he hates it when you compare him to that guy." Joey warned his friends.
"Why?" Alex nervously questioned them.
"He dated Rachel for a while." Chandler concluded with a nod.
"Got it."
All the guests nodded in comprehension.
"Hey, Julie!" Chandler headed off to greet Ross's former girlfriend.
Joey had instead noticed Charlie arriving; she was walking not far from them, stunning as usual, with a short white dress and a blue sweater.
When Charlie caught sight of him among the crowd, she made a huge grin.
"Joey…"
"Charlie…"
They hugged tenderly, trying to convey all kind of emotions in that gesture.
"How great is this?" Charlie asked him in a whisper.
"Huge." Joey answered. "And I'm the minister, I'll be officiating."
"I know, Ross and Rachel told me. Tell me the truth. Are you really FIIINE?"
Joey burst out laughing and so did Charlie, with Benjamin who couldn't help but wonder what that conversation was about.
"So, how do you two know each other?" he asked.
"Well, Joey is the only non-paleontologist I've ever slept with." Charlie admitted.
Joey nodded at Benjamin Hobart with conviction and pride, while Charlie observed the two men shaking hands.
"And I was sure that the groom was her only ex-boyfriend at this wedding." He chuckled. "Are you a scientist, too?"
Joey started laughing even louder than before and pointed his finger at Benjamin, "He's funny, Charlie!"
When Joey walked away, Charlie sighed and looked at Benji, "I told you, Ross's friends are a little weird."
"More than Ross?"
Charlie thought about it for a second. "Well, Joey is like a man child. You'd enjoy studying his grade of evolution." She concluded with a shrewd smile.
Benjamin rapidly turned his head looking for Joey through the crowd, suddenly more intrigued by him.
"Gunther! You made it!" Phoebe screamed, running towards her favorite acquaintance, who was looking as if he was attending a funeral more than a wedding.
"Yeah…I still can't believe Rachel is getting married, though."
"Not over her yet, uh?" she asked him.
Gunther shook his head. "Tell me, is she beautiful"? He wondered, with his eyes and face suddenly lightened up with joy.
Phoebe fought a battle with herself, unsure whether she should tell him or not how wonderful Rachel actually looked.
"You've got to wait and see for yourself." She said in the end.
"Chandleeeeeer!"
"Oh God…"
Chandler turned around in time to see his worst nightmare showing up in front of himself.
"Janice!" he screamed. "Hi Sid!" he shook hands with Janice's husband, who still looked like one of the friendliest unfortunate men he'd ever set eyes on.
"I wouldn't have missed this for anything! Where is the bride? Not running again, is she? AH AH AH AH AH AH AH AH AH AH AH AH!"
Chandler put his hands on his years, noticing that many guests were watching Janice with dread.
"No…she's arriving in a few minutes with her father and Monica. Janice, can I ask you something for the other guests' safety?"
"What?" she smiled.
"Please, don't laugh until it's over."
"Okie-Dokie…"
She erupted in another nasal laugh and waved goodbye to Chandler, who shook his head in response. Yet, as he walked away from her, he couldn't help but smile, feeling that Janice being there felt right, in some weird way.
"Sam, is everything fixed?"
"Ready to start, Phoebe." The young singer replied.
"Good. I'm so curious to hear you, guys." Phoebe smiled at the family of musicians.
"Me too. Even if I'm pretty sure that all the attention during the ceremony will be focused on the bride, you know." Mike remarked.
"Oh, that is such a cliché. Why don't we focus on the matron of honor for once?" Phoebe grinned at her husband. The three sisters laughed at her statement while they fluffed up their typical 50s gowns.
"Hi Mom! Dad…" Chandler greeted his parents' arrival with an uncertain smile on his face.
He'd been surprised to find out that Ross and Rachel had decided to invite the Bings and the Tribbianis to the wedding, but they had insisted that they were part of the family, too.
"Hello, son." Nora welcomed Chandler into her arms, watching Charles doing the same a few seconds later.
"So, you shared a cab, uh?"
"Yeah, Nora was so kind to pay for the ride." Charles explained.
Chandler couldn't help but notice that his father's dress was shorter and much revealing than his mother's.
"Only because you forgot the purse with your wallet, sweetheart. Of course, had you worn pants like all the men of your age do, maybe you would have had it in your pocket."
Chandler grinned for his mother's joke. He left his parents on their own; Nora and Charles were very capable to handle one another.
"Aunt Phoebe!"
"Hey kids!"
Phoebe looked at the three seven-years-old children running towards her.
Chandler, Leslie and Frank Jr. Jr. anticipated the arrival of their parents; Frank and Alice were both smiling behind the triplets.
Phoebe held her nephew and nieces, "I'm so happy to see you guys!"
"We are honored to be here." Alice commented politely.
The kids had already run away to play along the seashore.
"Yeah, we couldn't miss a free weekend to Hawaii, how cool is this?" Frank chuckled. "Are Rachel and Ross that rich?"
Phoebe smiled at her brother's comment, "Rachel's father is paying for the guests' tickets and hotel rooms."
"That's why you need fathers at weddings." Frank remarkably noticed, remembering his wedding at the courthouse.
Phoebe nodded, "Yeah, for that and…you know, to walk you down the aisle."
"Who walked you?" Alice asked.
"Chandler."
"Oh." Frank was really surprised. "I would have thought Joey was the next best thing."
"Yeah, I asked him, he had to officiate though, because the minister was snowed in."
"Just like us." Alice remembered. She still felt very sorry for the fact that she and Frank hadn't been able to attend Phoebe's wedding because of that terrible snow storm.
Phoebe stroked her arm, "I showed you the pictures."
Frank chuckled, "That dog was hibernated!"
"Ma! Pa!" Gina cried, running towards her parents.
After a tender reunion between parents and daughter, Joseph and Gloria looked for Joey.
"Where is your brother? Busy reviewing his speech?"
"Ma, you know Joey. He's probably eating something before the ceremony." Gina stated with a cunning look in her eyes.
"Mommy!" Joey shouted as soon as he saw his parents.
"Joey! My big star making big in Los Angeles! I've missed you so much!" Gloria held her son.
"Ma, Gina and Michael live there, too." Joey replied.
"I have six other daughters at home but only one boy living in another country!"
Joey and Gina shared a look and nodded in agreement.
Rachel had kept Monica's hand in hers for the whole journey from the hotel to the location.
Leonard was sitting in the passenger's seat next to the driver; he had been silent for the majority of their trip. Monica was looking for signs of tension or fear in her friend's eyes, but she couldn't find any. Rachel was content and peaceful; her mood was mirrored in the outside weather of that lovely sunny day of July. Monica had never seen such a blue sky; there wasn't a single cloud in sight. The sea was calm and almost quiet.
When the car halted as it arrived to the beach, the two friends got out of it with Leonard's help.
Monica looked around and sniffed the perfume. The air was filled with roses and lilies smell.
"Everything feels perfect." She told Rachel.
She nodded, "It really does."
"Well, here we go. I'm going to check that everything's ready, then I'll get the girls. You just go and wait for us."
Rachel smiled, looking at her with teary eyes, "Ok. I'll see you in a few minutes."
Monica grinned again, "Yeah." She almost walked away, then she suddenly turned around and hugged her again.
"Remember what I told you when I thought I was leaving for Paris?" Rachel asked her.
"Yes." Monica whispered with her face still leaned on her friend's shoulder.
"I meant every single word. None of the amazing things that have happened to me would have happened if it wasn't for you. I love you so much."
Monica stared at her with another sweet smile, "Even if today you are going to marry my geeky older brother…because of me?"
Rachel chuckled, "In spite of that, yeah."
Monica laughed along with her, "I'm so proud of you guys. This is the happily ever after that the whole Ross and Rachel saga truly deserves."
"Yeah…But please, go now, I don't want to be late." Rachel urged her.
"Oh my God…you already are a Geller!"
Leonard had been incapable of talking during that whole exchange, astonished for the incredible bond that existed between these two girls that had grown up together.
He'd never really understood the importance of the Geller family in her daughter's life until the last couple of days. Now he did.
Rachel turned around to look at him and he finally managed to utter some words, "You are so beautiful Rachel. Your grandmother would be so proud of you."
Rachel felt a pang in her heart at the mentioning of her beloved grannie who had died the year before.
"You look very happy."
Rachel nodded in satisfaction, "I really am, dad. I'm surrounded by people that I love and this wasn't happening the day that I was marrying Barry."
"You don't need to justify, Rachel. Not anymore. It's been a long time. I think I finally understand what you were trying to say when you called me blabbering something about wanting to be a purse or a hat."
Rachel grinned at her father's memory and walked towards him for a hug.
Leonard kissed his daughter's forehead and caressed her arms.
"So, are you finally accepting Ross into our family?" she wondered, hopeful.
Leonard grimaced, "Don't rush it, sweetpea."
They both started laughing.
Ross and Chandler were standing with Joey at the end of the made up aisle. All the guests were sitting in front of them. Relatives, friends, colleagues.
Members of the Geller family occupied mostly the first rows: Ross and Monica's cousins Cassie, Frannie, and Nathan, who apparently still thought he was a man trapped in a woman's body, seeing that he was wearing female clothes. Sitting at his side, there were Aunt Iris, Aunts Lillian and Liddy.
Frannie's mom, Aunt Cheryl, was sitting with Aunt Marilyin (Cassie's mom), who still looked at least as much beautiful as her daughter.
Aunt Millie had already kissed Joey and Chandler, but Ross had managed to escape her clutches (for the moment). She was waiting for the bride to arrive with Aunt Lisa.
Aunt Freddie, who was on his own since Aunt Sylvia's death, was chatting amiably with Uncle Dan and Uncle Murray.
On the other half of the chairs, there were Rachel's sisters and Sandra in the front row and Ross's parents – entrusted with Jack and Erica's stroller.
Carol and Susan were sitting with Ben and Emma. Carol was ready to accompany the little girl at the beginning of the ceremony, seeing that she was the flower girl.
Behind the family, many friends coming from a lifetime of connections and bonds: Janice and Sid with their kids, Gunther, Julie and Russ, Charlie and Benji, Chandler and Joey's parents, Frank Jr. and Alice with the triplets.
Rachel's colleagues from Prada (Lillian, Gavin and his girlfriend Lara); Ross's colleagues from the University (Dr. Stevenson and Dr. Williams).
Last but not least, Will Colbert, still gorgeous as a cherub, was being pointed at from many girls among the crowd; Ross had also invited his former college classmates and members of the band – Paul, Brian and Larry.
There were dozens of people in front of him, but at that moment, Ross wasn't seeing anyone. He was in a bubble, waiting for Rachel to arrive. The only thing he could think about was that he was looking forward to see her.
That was the reason why his smile grew even more when he finally caught a glimpse of his sister approaching him from the end of the aisle. That was certainly the happiest expression anyone had ever seen on his face.
Monica was smiling too. "So, everything's ready?" she asked, looking at Chandler and Joey.
"Just waiting for the lady to arrive." Chandler quipped.
Monica took Ross's hands, "Are YOU ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be." He replied.
Monica kissed his cheek and the two siblings held each other tenderly. Judy and Jack smiled for that lovely moment between the siblings and Chandler felt tears starting to form at the corner of his eyes. 'Not yet!' he thought.
"Phoebe, shall we go?" Monica called her friend, who was still chatting with the band and Mike.
"Oh, of course! Guys it's time, you may start playing!" Phoebe told Sam.
As the singer gave her a thumb up, Phoebe followed Monica.
"Amy, Jill, let's go. Carol?"
"Coming!" Ross's ex-wife said, taking the flower basket in one hand and Emma's tiny little hand in the other, asking the little girl to follow her. Emma shrieked, looking forward to see her mother with the wedding dress.
Ross, Chandler and Joey watched the parade of those wonderful women disappearing behind a high floral arc made of blue roses and white lilies. Mike walked towards the groom and smiled at him, "Good luck, buddy. I have a feeling this could be the last."
Ross chuckled, "Thank you, Mike."
Then he took his place in the second row at Judy's side.
"Oh my God, Rachel! Aren't you beautiful?" Carol almost sighed at her sight.
"Oh…Thank you, Carol! Coming from you, that really is a compliment!"
Carol chuckled, blushing a little bit.
"And thank you for divorcing Ross, by the way."
All the women laughed out loud for Rachel's pleasant joke.
"Emma, you are so beautiful honey! Aunt Carol and Susan did such a good job with you!" Rachel hugged her daughter who was looking as beautiful as she was, wearing a lovely white dress with a blue belt.
"Thank you, mommy."
"Gotta go. Good luck!" Carol said goodbye.
"Thank you." Rachel mouthed.
"Ok, Rachel. Phoebe and I are going first with Emma. Jill and Amy, start walking after us. Remember to sit right…"
"Next to our parents, we got it!" Jill stopped Monica.
Rachel laughed when she noticed Monica's annoyed face.
"Fine, let's go!" Monica yelled.
In the meantime, the band had started to play to entertain the guests. Rachel recognized the background song as an acoustic version of Better Man.
She remembered distinctly the day that Ross had given a mixed tape to her, which contained a bunch of songs released in 1993 and 1994. Many of them were songs by Pearl Jam, which was one of the reasons why they both loved the famous band so much.
Ross had given her the tape with a written note.
You shouldn't think about the past in anger. Just forget it and remember how great you are.
Rachel had loved every single song in it. All the lyrics were meaningful.
Better Man, for example, was about a woman trapped in a bad relationship.
Ross was evidently trying to make her understand that she had done the right thing leaving Barry at the altar.
[ watch?v=hbpUfWz-rlc]
She lies and says she's in love with him,
can't find a better man
She dreams in color, she dreams in red,
can't find a better man
"Rachel?" Jill murmured, calling Rachel out of her reveries.
Monica and Phoebe were already gone.
"What?" she asked.
"There's something I need you to know..."
"What is it?" Rachel wondered.
"Ross gave me the best kiss I've ever had."
Rachel was stunned for a couple of seconds; she was trying to place her sister's words.
Then she burst out laughing.
"Hey, mine too!" Amy added.
"What?! You never kissed Ross!" Rachel complained.
"Of course I did, remember the day I bought that falafel from him?" Amy confessed.
Rachel stared from one sister to the other and kept chuckling with incredulity. They were weird and crazy, but oh, she loved them.
"Come here, you two!" she finally said.
The three of them hugged for a few seconds, and then Rachel let them go.
"I know we don't often behave like real sisters, but I'm glad you're both here with me today. This means a lot to me and Ross."
"I know…" Amy realized. "And I hate to admit it, but you look really wonderful, Rachel."
"Oh, thank you, Amy!"
Jill kept her arms crossed over her chest, the idyllic moment already over.
"Jill?" Rachel asked her.
"Whatever!" she replied.
Rachel smiled, watching her two sisters walking down the aisle.
It was finally time for her father to join her.
"They are waiting for us." He said to her.
Her blue eyes were sparkling when she answered, "Let's go."
Rachel emerged from behind the arc of flowers as a lovely creature coming out of one of Ross's best dreams. Her appearance suddenly reminded him of their former conversation.
"If you think I look perfect today, I can't wait to hear what you're going to say tomorrow when you see me in a certain dress, honey."
"God, it's true! But could you BE more perfect than this?"
And perfect she was, indeed.
As soon as they saw her ready to walk down the aisle, the musicians started to play a new song, something that Ross had intentionally asked to surprise her.
Rachel heard the tune and recognized the song as Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town.
Pearl Jam, again, just as Ross had requested.
Another instrumental version, but significant nonetheless.
She remembered listening to this very song in every moment of her relationship with Ross: while they were together, after breaking up with him, when he was in London to get married, when she was pregnant and finally after getting back together.
[ watch?v=g0pzDAd6TNw]
My God it's been so long
Never dreamed you'd return
But now here you are, and here I am
Hearts and thoughts they fade away
Rachel had been sure that when she would find herself walking down the aisle towards Ross, her whole life would flash in front of her eyes like in a movie.
Instead, her mind wasn't focused on the past, only on the present.
Here she was, approaching a milestone that would change her life forever. However, she wasn't afraid, only eager to reach the man that was waiting for her at the end of that journey.
Better, the man that had always been waiting for her.
And judging from the expression on Ross's face, the adult rational scholar had totally disappeared to leave place to the romantic emotional nerd that had met Rachel a couple of decades before.
Ross joined all the relatives and friends in a gasp of astonishment when he realized that Rachel, the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on, was going to marry him. It had taken years, heartbreaks, divorces, ex-boyfriends and girlfriends, pregnancies and flights all over the world, but everything had leaded them to this very day.
I swear I recognize your breath
Memories like fingerprints are slowly raising
Ross, in contrast to Rachel, kept recollecting memories about her. About them.
The first day he had met her when they were only kids.
The faithful day when she had dashed away from her wedding to reappear into his life.
The inner turmoil provoked by their first real kiss at Central Perk and the huge wave of emotions he had felt when she was watching the prom video.
As soon as he thought about that videotape, he smiled to himself, thinking about the night that they had spent together resulting in the conception of their wonderful daughter.
Emma, who had been just wonderful a few minutes before, dropping flowers all over the carpet with Monica's help. At the end of her task, she had run towards her father to hold him and Ross had felt the luckiest man in the whole world.
And now, Rachel was approaching him, even more beautiful than he thought she would be.
Chandler and Monica glanced at each other, both secretly remembering the day of their wedding. They knew very well how Ross and Rachel felt.
However, they could not deny the truth: this day was even more important to all of them, because nobody deserved closure as much as these two unfortunate lovers did.
Dr. Green and Rachel stopped in front of Ross and Joey, who was grinning in the cutest possible way, already emotional. Leonard kissed his daughter's cheek and shared a knowing look with Ross, who nodded in answer.
Rachel gazed lovingly at her father, she gave her bouquet to Monica and then she fixed her eyes on Ross, who took her hands in his.
"So?" she asked him, incapable to wait for a feedback.
"Floating angel, indeed."
Rachel giggled and, without letting go of each other's hands, they both turned their eyes to Joey, who was moving his head from one friend to the other.
He nodded in admiration, still grinning like an idiot. Rachel had never looked happier and Ross was ecstatic.
As they waited for the song to end, Joey leaned his head and spoke with a low voice so that only the six of them could hear him.
"I told you that you weren't just anybody to her."
Hearts and thoughts they fade away
Hearts and thoughts they fade away
Ross nodded and smile at the memory of one of his former conversation with Joey.
"Of course not, he's her lobster!" Phoebe interrupted them.
Ross and Chandler looked at each other and all the six of them shared a well-deserved laugh together.
As Sam concluded the song and stopped playing, Joey started his speech.
"Friends, family. Thank you all for being here. I'm sure none of you is regretting being in Hawaii for the weekend, uh?"
Michal, Gina and Alex chuckled silently, sitting together in one of the benches.
"The reason we are all gathered here today is to celebrate the union of Ross and Rachel…in holy matrimony. About time too!"
Ross squeezed Rachel's hands a bit tighter, still too emotional to speak.
"You know, when Ross and Rachel first got together, we all thought they were meant for each other, because there had never been a man on this Earth who has ever loved Rachel more than Ross – "
Dr. Green's annoyed cough filled the air.
"Romantically, of course." Joey corrected himself while Rachel took a glimpse of her father, who winked at her.
"As for Rachel, she reciprocated Ross's affection in every possible way. You could totally say that soon they would get married."
Monica and Ross shared a look with a surprised expression on their faces; they were both thinking that Joey might have really taken his part seriously, this time.
"But as you probably already know, things got in the way. These two souls lost their way and started travelling across two different paths, always in parallel, but never intersecting."
Rachel's eyes grew comically wide for Joey's choice of words and Ross almost laughed for her reaction. Monica and Phoebe were astonished and Chandler was incredulous.
"Until, one day…"
Ross and Rachel smiled at each other and turned their heads towards Emma, who was sitting right next to Ben.
"A very old condom and too many glasses of wine…"
Rachel grimaced and Ross shook his head, "There it is…" he whispered to Rachel, who nodded afraid of where Joey's speech was headed to.
Carol put her hands over Ben's ears while Susan was bursting out laughing.
"…were the beginning of a wonderful journey…towards the birth of their lovely daughter, Emma."
All the eyes of the guests rapidly looked for Emma among the crowd.
"Now, I want to be very clear on this point." Joey addressed directly the guests. "If it hadn't been for some crazy guy that made a disaster at the hospital, these two would have gotten together right after Emma was born."
Ross's lips turned into a smile; unexpectedly he was enjoying Joey's words immensely.
"And after that, well…there was some other little…bump in the way…but Ross and Rachel were always like two magnets. Attracting each other until they eventually collide."
Chandler could not hold it anymore, "Oh, come on, these can't be your words!"
Everybody turned to look at Chandler.
"As my good friend Chandler just observed, maybe I'm borrowing lines from a romantic comedy script that I've recently read."
"Thank you!" Chandler waved his hand, exasperated.
"Nonetheless" Joey kept talking in a solemn tone. "When I read it, I immediately thought that it was perfect for them. When I think about Ross and Rachel as a couple, words like love and passion come to my mind. And these two really get at it, believe me!"
Rachel let go of Ross's hands to put her own hand on her eyes. Ross glared at Joey and Samuel decided that it was a good moment to start playing a song in the background.
Chandler chuckled because Joey was finally behaving like the real Joey they all knew. Gina, Michael and Alex were laughing like crazy in the back.
Noticing murmurs coming from the guests, Joey tried to adjust his previous tone, "Uhm…What I was trying to say is that they care so much about each other, I mean…Ross ran to two different airports to prevent Rachel from leaving for Paris before she knew that he still loved her. And Rachel…"
"She got off the plane." Ross concluded for Joey, putting his hands on Rachel's cheeks and dragging her towards him to give her a chaste kiss.
All the people in the crowd gasped with affectionate ahws, recognizing all the tenderness in Ross's gesture, even if it was a bit unconventional. Monica was reminded of when Chandler had done almost the same thing with her when he was saying his vows. She looked at her husband with love.
Phoebe turned to look at Mike sitting behind Dr. Green, he had that lovely smile she'd fallen in love with.
"Ok! Let's go with the vows then. Rachel, you go first."
Rachel suddenly remembered that she hadn't really thought about her vows.
"You know what? I've been thinking for months, but all the words that came to my mind were repetitive and always insufficient to express how much I love you. I didn't want to recite all those conventional promises; like that I only want to spend my future with you, or…or that you're my prince and my soul mate."
"Hey!" Monica yelled at her, remembering that she had said something exactly like that during her vows.
Ross and Rachel chuckled, "Well, your vows were perfect, Mon, because you and Chandler are just perfect. But you know what? We are not. Ross here I am, today, confessing this to you. We've never been perfect."
The crowd began to murmur and exchanging looks.
"She's not over!" Ross shouted, glaring at all of them. He knew exactly that Rachel had something in her mind.
"You know, there's this song that says, True perfection has to be imperfect. I know that sounds foolish but it's true."
At that moment, as if by magic, Samuel started playing that very song with his guitar.
Rachel heard the melody of Little by little coming from behind her, so both she and Ross turned around to see him playing.
[ watch?v=tM1RS_5IAiE]
Not only he had recognized the lyrics, but Sam was also playing the song, improvising it.
"Damn, you are good!" Rachel grinned.
Chandler, Phoebe and Mike nodded in approbation while the three sisters smiled silently at Rachel's remark.
"Well, I know that you don't like listening to them anymore."
Ross nodded again, they both knew that Oasis were Emily's favorite band; everything associated with her was always a hard memory to Ross.
"But…you remember that we used to listen to them all the time when we first got together? You used to say that I was some kind of Wonderwall to you."
"Yeah…" he replied with a dreamy expression.
Rachel took his hands again, "Ross…our relationship has been far from perfect since the beginning. Since you put on your father's tux to take me to the prom and Chip Matthews showed up at the last minute. And later he hooked up with Amy Welch instead."
Ross scoffed for that man's stupidity.
"It was far from perfect when I came to Central Perk running from my wedding, and you were there, and your umbrella opened up as you were shaking hands with me. You know, I still wonder if that was some kind of bad omen. Like when you break a mirror and you have seven years of bad luck."
"Make it ten." Ross noticed.
"Shall we talk about Emma's birth? Our Vegas wedding? And please, don't make me even start on that infamous break."
"Which we totally weren't in." Ross reassured her, making everybody around them smile.
"Honey, we have always been imperfect, you and me. But in spite of all our flaws and of all the stupid things that we've done…we always found our way to each other. Because true perfection HAS to be imperfect, and now I'm sure of that."
Monica and Phoebe looked at each other with tears in their eyes. Joey was very emotional for Rachel's words, and so was Chandler.
"Life has a weird way of showing us who we are supposed to end with. For me, it happened after someone got me a Travel Scrabble and you were on the other side of the world."
Chandler and Joey looked at each other, remembering that faithful day when he had accidentally told Rachel about Ross's feelings.
"I've loved you since then, Ross. And I've never loved anyone else but you, you already know. That's why I'm marrying you today, you were worth the wait."
Ross couldn't resist and kissed Rachel again, this time with more passion.
All the people in the crowd were very touched by Rachel's speech, wondering if Ross would ever do better than her. They knew that he had a special gift, he was good with words, he always knew how to make them cry in every special occasion.
Today Ross was confident that he would not destroy their expectations.
"Well, Ross, now it's your turn." Joey stated.
Ross smiled in return and let go of Rachel's hands to take something from Chandler.
When Rachel recognized the yellowed papers in his hands, she gasped, "What…What are you doing?" she murmured.
He grinned in response, clearing his throat with a cough. Then he began to speak.
"My Dear Sweet Ross, I can't tell you how much emotion has swept across me in the last few hours. These past days have been such a roller coaster of feelings…all good!"
"Ross! What are you doing?" Rachel tried to take the papers from his hands, but Ross kept her away.
"If only I could erase these last few months of hell that I've been going through..." Ross kept reading Rachel's letter.
"Ross! Please!" Rachel felt already embarrassed for her silly words of many years before.
Monica and Phoebe watched the scene without knowing what to do, but Chandler glimpsed at his wife, letting her know that everything was fine.
"It's ok, Rach…trust me." Ross whispered.
The bride shot him a look that could kill him, but stopped her movements and crossed her arms over her chest.
"How can I express to you how I feel – please let the right words come to me – I want so much for you to understand, for you to know…There's a song I'm thinking about, you put it on that tape you gave me when I came to town, remember? It says…"
That was Samuel's cue to start playing again. This time, the song riff was well known by everyone in the audience.
"Don't let yourself go 'cause everybody cries and everybody hurts sometimes."
Rachel was listening to her own words, still not believing that Ross had chosen to read her 18-pages letter to their relatives and friends.
Ross turned a few pages to find another passage from her long tirade.
"And I know that what happened was all your fault" Ross raised his head from the papers and took a glimpse at the people around them, smiling "But I can't help it, I can't stop dreaming about a future with you. I still don't know what our children's names are going to be, but when I picture them in my head they are always these cute little babies with the ability to win my heart as much as you did when you first told me that I was your lobster."
"Ohhhh!" Phoebe gasped, surprised and touched by Rachel's words.
Rachel blushed, but Ross wasn't over yet, "I know, that day I pretended that I wasn't affected by your words, but the truth is that I keep it my heart as the beginning of a wonderful journey that leaded me to the best year of my entire life. I'll never love anyone as I love you now."
Rachel was on the verge of crying again, while the people around them were starting to realize the complicated and weird relationship that the groom and the bride have had.
Ross went straight to the last page of the letter, ready to ease the tension, "If you accept full responsibility...I can begin to trust you again. Does that seem like something you can do? Does it?!" Ross almost yelled.
The six friends shared knowing looks and Ross folded the papers to give them back to Chandler. Rachel was amused more than she would ever admit.
"It totally does." Ross finally expressed with his own words. "That's what I should have said back then." He cleared up for the oblivious people, who laughed in response.
"You surely should have." Rachel emphasized, with Ross taking her hands back in his own.
"After all we've been through…I never believed that one day we would be here, together, celebrating our wedding. You know that I kind of lost all hopes when you moved out and after our trip to Barbados."
"That letter has been such an important benchmark in our history that when I was making up my vows, I couldn't stop thinking about it. You were right, many things were written by a selfish childish ex-girlfriend who was trying to make her point. But if you read carefully between the lines, you can unravel fear and distrust. It took me almost eight years to gain that trust back, and it was no piece of cake."
Rachel shook her head, smiling in response, thinking about everything that had happened between them since she had written that letter.
"Since you came back from that airport in the best night of my life, I've learned that when two people are meant to be, there's nothing that can keep them apart. Life was so good to make me the gift of the most beautiful woman in the world. I mean, I look at you, Rach, and I can't begin to tell you how…smart, caring, funny and talented you are."
Everyone was quiet again, the only thing in the background was the soft sound of the guitar.
"But what I love the most about you…is your strength. Rachel, you were picturing our children's faces even if we weren't together, you forgave my past mistakes, you always accepted every aspect of this geek, even the most annoying. I won't stop wondering, what did I do to deserve you into my life?"
All the girls in the audience were visibly sniffing, with their partners watching at them with weird expressions.
"I love you so much, Rachel. You said in your letter that you would never love anyone like you loved me then. Well, I can love someone more. I will always love you more each passing day, because the love we share keeps growing. That's why today I'm giving back trust to you."
Ross was evidently referring to the inscription on their wedding rings, and Rachel knew.
Phoebe and Monica used tissues to wipe out their tears, Chandler cleaned his teary eyes with his hands.
"You know, years ago, when I was getting married to another woman, we all thought I said the wrong name. Turns out, I said the right one."
Rachel couldn't hold it anymore; she dragged Ross to her for a long awaited kiss. She didn't care if they were in front of dozens of people, she needed to let all those feelings flow out of her system to reach his soul.
While the audience clapped with approbation, she kept Ross close to her and whispered, "I thought you said your real vows on the beach."
"Oh, well…" he replied, giggling.
"All right, enough with the tears!" Joey interrupted them. "Chandler, the rings?"
The best man took the rings from his pocket and gave them to his friends.
"Ok, Ross, repeat after me."
Ross smiled, "It will be my pleasure."
"I, Ross."
"I, Ross."
"Take thee, Rachel."
"Take thee, Rachel."
A huge amount of relief gasps erupted from the crowd, Ross just glared at the people while Rachel was grinning for his predictable reaction.
A much less bothered Joey kept talking, "To be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part."
Ross and Rachel couldn't believe that Joey had actually learned all those lines. They looked at each other as Ross repeated.
"To be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish…till death do us part."
Ross put the wedding ring on Rachel's finger. She squeezed his hands soon after.
"Now, Rachel, repeat after me." Joey moved his attention to the bride.
"I, Rachel."
"I, Rachel."
"Take thee, Ross."
"Take thee, Emily."
Joey's eyes captured Chandler's in a worried expression. Phoebe and Monica, instead, were calm and had a huge smile on their faces. The music stopped.
It took Ross only two seconds to realize the absurdity of the joke and to burst out laughing. All the crowd started to laugh along with the six best friends.
"I've been DYING to say this since you proposed to me!" Rachel yelled with a huge grin on her face.
Ross was still chuckling, "God, I love you so much!"
"Me too…" she felt the touch of his warm hands on her face, then she turned her eyes to Joey.
"Ok, shall we do this again?" Joey asked her.
"Yep." Rachel stated, trying to become serious again.
"I, Rachel."
"I, Rachel."
"Take thee, Ross."
"Take thee, Ross."
"To be my wedded husband, to have and to hold, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part."
Rachel repeated by heart, not taking her eyes from Ross's unbelievably happy expression. "To be my wedded husband, to have and to hold, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish…till death do us part."
She helped Ross putting on his ring with her delicate manicured hands, then they looked at Joey in anticipation.
"Well…it looks like that's it. By the powers vested in me by the state of New York and the World Wide Web…I now pronounce you husband and wife…finally!"
Ross and Rachel were grinning as never before, waiting for Joey's final sign to kiss each other, but Joey wasn't speaking anymore. Chandler coughed at his best friend, "The kiss…"
"Oh, you may kiss the bride! Come on, you already know that!"
Ross and Rachel closed the distance between them and their lips sealed with the best kiss they have shared so far. His hands were wrapped her waist, her fingers moved on their own accord on his nape behind his neck.
The guests stood up to cheer for the groom and the bride, all incredibly happy for them.
Emma ran towards her parents and claimed their attention, so Ross immediately took her in his arms and hugged her tenderly.
"Ladies and gentlemen, let me present you for the first time – hopefully the last one – Mr. and Mrs. Geller." Joey ended his speech.
Chandler patted him on his back, "Well done, Joe!"
Monica hugged Rachel. "Welcome to the family, sister!"
"Thank you, Mon!"
Monica was walking away, but Rachel called her back, "Mon!"
"What?"
Rachel laughed, "Joey didn't forget about the rings. You owe me 50 bucks!"
Monica thought about it for a few seconds. "Damnit!" she yelled.
Author Note
I'm not completely satisfied with this chapter because it was the most difficult to write since I've started this story back in June 2018.
I had the whole wedding ceremony clear in my mind because the scenes flow as in an episode, or better in a movie, but this should have been such a descriptive moment that as usual my lack of style in English – which is not my native language – was a barrier to describe it to you.
As you read, the musical inspiration was very important to me. As a part time singer and musician myself, music is a fundamental part of a ceremony. That's why I spent so much time in describing that aspect: I felt I needed to show Ross and Rachel's feelings and thoughts about it.
I know that in television music is always a secondary aspect, it's a meaningful background (if chosen accurately) but never a foreground topic.
If you think about it, though, music is such an important aspect in our everyday life: music elevates us and is with us during our life, it's there for us to think about precious memories of our past. And that's why I decided to stress out this aspect by adding a live band which is also an autobiographical reference (see ch.11).
Second, it wasn't easy trying to be both original and realistic with Ross and Rachel's wedding. I've read dozens of fictions describing this moment. A few of them are set in Hawaii or Barbados, so a classic wedding by the sea (like mine).
To me, realism is very important, that's why I wanted to spend some time to list all the main guests (it's nice to know who's invited to the wedding) because with Mondler's wedding and with Phoebe and Mike we didn't actually see who was there (on the show). It's pretty absurd that Frank and Alice weren't there for Phoebe's wedding, even if there was a snow storm.
As for the originality, I wanted my vows not to be too much sloppy (maybe I failed there), that's why in the former chapters Ross anticipated some of his vows for Rachel.
I wanted to put the infamous letter here because the first sentences I used are real passages from the first page of that letter. You can find it on line or in Instagram (FYI, the real part ends at "There's a song I'm thinking about").
Rachel improvised her vows by quoting a song because she evidently has it in her (the letter is a proof).
Last but not least, I wanted Rachel to be the usual fun Rachel.
The "I, Rachel, take thee, Emily" was a joke that I had in mind since I started this fan fiction, this whole chapter was written to reach that point.
I've read similar jokes in other fictions (like Joey saying "take thee Rachel" in a very slow way, in one Rachel says "Take thee, Tom Cruise"…) but I'm sure enough that this joke is mine. I think it's quite funny, I hope you think so too.
Finally, I reaffirm the fact that this story is called "Close Encounters" because Ross and Rachel were intended to meet their former partners, but you won't see Emily. She's not contemplated. They discussed the topic, but we won't see her anymore because she was the one who almost ruined the lobsters lives.
I hope to write the next chapter soon. And I shall tell you, it will probably be the second to last.
RT
Songs:
Better Man - Pearl Jam
Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town - Pearl Jam
Little By Little - Oasis