Author's Note: Thanks for all the feedback on the first chapter! I look forward to hearing what you guys have to say about this chapter :)
Kathy's POV
The kids are adorable, singing their holiday songs on stage while dancing around. My niece is one of the snowflakes up there singing "Let it Snow" along with all of her classmates. Of course, I'd much rather be practicing for the audition I have tomorrow, but my brother asked me to come and how could I say no to my precious niece. The holiday show ends and we head over to greet my niece as she comes of the stage. She is deeply engaged in conversation with a blonde girl with bright blue eyes.
Suddenly, a boy comes running down the steps and knocks into the blonde girl. The boy laughs as the girl's anger is evident on her face.
"Jack!" The girl exclaims rushing to chase the young boy.
My niece sees us and walks over, a bright smile stretched across her face.
"Hey Bella you did such a great job!" I compliment her before asking, "who were those kids?"
The young girl giggles before responding, "That was Jack and Erica. They are twins and are super funny."
"Are they your friends?" I ask, for some reason I am very curious about the mysterious twins.
"Erica and I have been friends for like ever, and Jack is her brother so whenever I go over to her house I see him. She has three siblings and her dad is hilarious so I love going over there!" Bella answers smiling.
The blonde girl- Erica- is back, her cheeks flushed from running and excitement, "hey Bella, my mom wants to know if you wanted to come for ice cream with us?"
"Of course! But I have to ask my mom first" Bella replies, bouncing on the balls of her toes.
"Yay!" Erica yelps, "Mom, mom she said yes!" she shouts.
A raven haired woman appears and gives the blonde girl a stern look, "Erica, what did I tell you about yelling?"
"Only outside" Erica mumbles.
The woman smiles and walks the young girl back over to us.
"Hi Bella" she warmly greets my niece and I can't help but think that I know this woman from somewhere.
"Hi Monica!" Bella says.
The realization hits me out of the blue- that is Monica Gellar, Chandler Bing's friend. Monica shifts her attention to me and greets me with a smile. She clearly has no idea who I am, otherwise she would not be smiling at me like that. Not after what I did to Chandler. She sticks her hand out for me to shake and I reciprocate.
"I'm Monica, Erica's mother"
"Kathy" I reply and wait for the recollection but it never comes, "um, I am Bella's aunt"
A little boy comes over to Monica and pulls on her pant leg. She looks down at him and smiles.
"What's up buttercup?" she asks causing the boy to giggle.
"Daddy wants to know when we are leaving to go get ice cream"
She playfully rolls her eyes before saying, "well tell daddy to get his butt over here and ask me himself"
The boy giggles again and dashes off, presumedly to tell his dad what Monica had just said. For some reason the young boy reminds me so much of someone, but I can't put my finger on who.
"So, Bella tells me Erica has three siblings, that's quite a handful" I say awkwardly.
"Yes, I do have four lovable maniacs. You met Erica and heard Jack, that little boy was Daniel and my mom and dad have my littlest Ellie. They can be a handful, but I wouldn't change it for anything. So Kathy, what is it that you do?"
"I am an actress" I say growing increasingly uncomfortable. I'm waiting for the puzzle pieces to fall into place, but for some reason she doesn't put two and two together.
"That's cool, my husband's old roommate is an actor. He was on Days of Our Lives!" she says smiling and I can't help my eyes from growing wide, realizing who her husband is.
"Babe, Danny says that you told me to get my butt over here" a male voice says before a guy appears, kissing her.
They break apart grinning and there he is: Chandler Bing in the flesh. Who would have thought that I would run into my ex-boyfriend and his wife at a child's school play! Chandler shift his gaze to mine and his mouth drops open in shock.
"Kathy?" he asks startled and Monica looks at him, confused.
"Do you two know each other?" she asks genuinely puzzled.
Chandler gives her an incredulous look before saying, "Monica, that's Kathy, as in my ex-girlfriend Kathy"
Her blue eyes grow wide and her mouth forms an 'o' as she connects the dots in her head. Her face fills with recognition as her gaze shifts to meet mine.
"You" she says pointing angrily at me, "you broke my husband's heart"
I grimace but Monica's face suddenly transforms into a smile as she says, "thank you"
"Um, what?" I ask utterly floored and I can see Chandler also looks confused.
"Well, because you broke Chandler's heart, we were able to get together a year or so later. Had you two not broken up, I would not have found the love of my life and created this wonderful life with him"
Chandler looks at her with all the love in his eyes as I awkwardly reply, "well, you're welcome, I guess"
Monica and Chandler just give me wide smiles, oblivious to my discomfort. The little boy suddenly appears patting Chandler's leg in an effort to get his attention.
"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy" the little boy says.
Chandler turns to the child and says with a stern look, "What do we say about interrupting people?"
The little boy looks at his feet and mumbles, "say excuse me first"
Chandler smiles and ruffles the boy's hair, "very good, now what's up buddy?"
"Grandma and Grandpa are here with Ellie" he excitedly says bouncing up and down.
"What's your point little man?" Chandler asks.
"Daddy, I am not little!" he protests causing Chandler to chuckle.
"Oh right, I forgot you're a big kid pre-school student" Chandler says picking the boy up and tickling his sides.
Monica looks on the father-son interaction with a mixture of love and pride. Who would have thought that Chandler would make such a great father. I could lie and say that I knew it, but in reality I didn't. I was so focused on my career, and our relationship was so new when it ended that I didn't even think about having kids with him. Settling down was nowhere on my radar, as my career was my priority. In hindsight maybe that was a mistake, choosing acting over love but it made me who I am and it led Chandler to the love of his life.
It gives me joy to see Chandler so happy and in love after the hell I put him through. It actually helps to alleviate some of the regret and guilt I have for how I treated Chandler towards the end of our relationship. He deserved much better, but I was young and naive and I really didn't think too much about other people's feelings. Luckily, I would like to think that I have changed and that I am less obnoxious and self centered than I was all those years ago. Quite simply, I grew up and learned how to take responsibility for my mistakes.
Chandler and Monica excuse themselves to go meet up with their family. Bella follows Erica, after getting permission from her mom to go for ice cream with the Bing family. I watch as Chandler swings Daniel up to sit on his shoulders as the little boy shrieks with delight. Erica and Bella are entranced in conversation and I watch as Monica and Chandler link hands.
I watch as they disappear into the crowds of parents and children all excited after the performance. I turn to my brother and sister-in-law and follow them out the school doors. While if I could go back, I certainly would not cheat on Chandler I can't help but be a little thankful that I did. Because we broke up he found someone who makes him insanely happy and can give him everything he wants in life. Satisfied with how it all turned out, I focus on my ride home and push all thoughts of Chandler and the Bings out of my head. After all, I have an audition to prepare for.
AN: I figured that after all these years and four kids, Chandler wouldn't really be that angry at Kathy anymore so I made their interaction more pleasant. I also want to mention that I thought Kathy probably would feel regret and guilt so I made her have some remorse. Let me know what you guys think!