AN: I hope everyone is getting this update. I am not getting my notifications from this site, but I think they fixed it. In case anyone didn't get my last update, I published the last chapter earlier this week. I hope you like this update. PLZ R&R!
Disclaimer: See first chapter.
Chapter 37
Monica pulled into the Aldi parking lot as they saw Evan and Hannah standing near the entrance for them. They climbed out of the car and headed towards the couple as they all smiled at each other in greeting.
"So you had the talk," Evan smiled.
"This one was you need to start taking care of yourselves and stop relying on us to do everything for you," Chandler told them as they went to get a couple of shopping carts. "We've been preparing for when we move out for college, but I was taught how to be self-sufficient since I moved in with my dads full-time. Although I did have to be self-sufficient starting after my mom and dad divorced."
"We have heard stories about your background," Hannah spoke up.
"Please don't ask me about it," Chandler looked at her.
"He does not like to talk about it," Monica told them. "I can give you the website where he writes his blog."
"It's for school. I posted the first one last week talking about my childhood,"
"Whatever you're comfortable with," Evan told him. "So, do you have a budget? You have a shopping list?"
"We have a budget of fifty dollars for the week. It includes all meals eaten at home along with snacks."
"So, what are you having?" Hannah asked.
"Rice bowls with chicken and steamed veggies, tuna patties, pizza bagels, breakfast burritos, pasta salad…"
"You did your homework,"
"This one wants to be a chef," Chandler gestured to Monica. "So she's always watching cooking videos on YouTube."
"A lot of them talk about meal planning and prep, living frugally…"
"Nice,"
"What if I ask my dads if we can have a budget of a hundred dollars and we get enough for two weeks of meals?" Chandler looked at her. "It would mean less trips to the store and less money spent on gas."
"Text them and ask,"
"All right," Chandler took out his phone as they all started into the store.
Terry was skimming through pinterest trying to decide what the rest of the family would be having for supper that night. Charles came in as Terry's phone went off.
"It's Chandler," Terry read through the text. "He wants to know if they can use a budget of a hundred dollars if they buy meals for two weeks instead of one."
"It's still fifty bucks a week, so I guess that will be fine."
Terry responded back as they heard the door open, and a few moments later, Ross and Carol came into them.
"Hey," Carol smiled at them. "We hope that it's ok that we're here."
"You guys know that you're always welcome," Charles told them.
"We saw Monica's car gone," Ross said. "Where'd she go?"
"Her and Chandler went to the store," Terry told them. "We told them that they had to start making and purchasing their own meals now to prepare them for when they go off to college."
"They've been waiting for this meeting," Carol smiled at them. "Chandler has really thrown himself into researching everything in preparation for the baby."
"Hey," Joey and Phoebe came in. "You ready to help?"
"Absolutely," Carol told them.
"Help with what?" Charles asked the group of teenagers.
"We're starting on the baby's room," Joey told them. "Getting everything cleared out so we can start setting up the things that Chandler and Monica have already purchased."
"Before you start that, we wanted to talk to you guys," Charles told them, and they all sat down at the counter.
"What about?" Phoebe asked.
"Did something happen last night?" Terry asked them all. "Chandler was up early this morning. He usually sleeps in after he's been out late the night before. Did something happen after we parted ways last night?"
"It was my fault," Ross started.
"No, it wasn't," Carol cut in. "You didn't even know anything about it."
"Can someone please explain?" Charles said.
"Chandler was joking with me and called me an old man. I shot back that I could call him the same thing in a few months. He immediately got quiet and left the group." Ross explained to them.
"It's about the restraining order," Carol spoke up. "He knows that you guys won't be able to renew it anymore once he turns eighteen."
"Oh," Terry sighed. "Was he quiet the rest of the night, then?"
"No," Phoebe spoke up. "Monica tracked him down wherever he went. They talked for a while, and when they came back, he seemed to be in better spirits. Not fully Chandler, but better than he was when he left the group."
"I guess we'll need to talk to him,"
"Not today," Carol told them. "You know it takes him a few days to process things."
"Right,"
"So can we go get started on the room now?" Joey asked.
"Let's all go," Charles and Terry followed the group up the stairs and into the room that was for the baby.
Monica pulled back into the driveway after they had parted ways with Evan and Hannah. They opened up the back hatch and started to unload the groceries and take them into the house. They went through the garage and walked through the hallway to the kitchen, and started to unload their purchases.
"We're home!" Chandler called, and they heard some footsteps coming down the stairs.
"That doesn't look like it will last for two weeks," Charles told them.
"Yes, it will," Monica told them. "Maybe even a little longer than two weeks."
"We will prove you wrong," Chandler added.
"Ok," Charles raised his hands up in surrender.
"Chandler said that you guys have a lot of baskets and small storage bins that you don't use. Can we use them?" Monica asked.
"Of course you can," Terry came in. "You know where they are."
"Got it," Chandler walked towards the hall storage closet and started going through all the extra bins.
While Chandler was sorting through the storage closet, Monica started unloading their groceries and organizing them by the dish they were using them for. Chandler brought back a few small baskets and started washing them up. Charles and Terry left them to their meal prep and went back upstairs to where the others were in the room next to Monica and Chandler's bedroom.
"Should we really do all this work?" Joey asked. "I mean, they'll be leaving for college only a couple of months after the baby is born."
"The baby will still need someplace for it's clothes and books, and toys, and other things." Terry told them.
"Will they be finding out the sex of the baby soon?" Carol asked.
"I believe at the next appointment," Terry looked at Charles. "Will you be going to this one?"
"Yes," Charles sighed. "I do not want a repeat of what happened after their last appointment."
"Good," all the teenagers commented.
Chandler and Monica set to work starting to meal prep their meals for the week. Chandler had already rinsed off all the fresh fruit and was sitting at the table as he was cutting them up. Monica was steaming the vegetables as she got the bagels ready to make the pizza bagels.
"Wow," Ross came in. "You guys are really committed to this."
"Pretty much," Chandler told him as he slid in next to him at the table. "So, anything new on the home front?"
"It's pretty much normal. I mean, they complained about me leaving with you guys last night. Nana backed me up, though."
"That's good," Chandler put the last of the fruit in the large bowl. "Fruit salad is done."
"Label it with our names," Monica told him. "You know Joey."
"Right," Chandler found the labels and a marker.
"By the way, Nana is leaving today." Ross told them. "She's planning on coming over tonight to tell you goodbye. Charles and Terry said she could stay for supper."
"Sounds good," Chandler told him as he turned to Monica. "What am I doing next?"
"You can start scrambling up the eggs for the breakfast burritos," she told him.
"On it," Chandler got out the carton of eggs and the peppers and mushrooms.
"No hot sauce on mine," she told him, and he nodded.
"Food," Joey came in.
"Back off," Monica brandished a butter knife at him. "This is all for our food for the next two weeks at least."
"Relax," he backed away from her. "I'll just make a sandwich."
About ten minutes later, Chandler was finishing scrambling up the eggs with the veggies and assembling the breakfast burritos. Everyone else came in as he was wrapping them in plastic wrap and placing them in a freezer bag. Monica was placing the cooled-down pizza bagels in individual sandwich bags and placing them in the freezer. Chandler started putting some steamed rice in small bowls and some veggies and grilled chicken strips over top before placing the lids on top.
"I can see that you're eating more crow," they all heard Max's voice, and Chandler looked back to see Charles holding his phone up.
"Uncle Max?" Chandler smiled.
"Your dad told me about the meeting this morning, and what you were doing, so I had to see this for myself."
"I've known how to do all this since I moved in here," Chandler took the phone and saw his aunt and cousins crowded around. "So what's up?"
"I called to see what the plan was for Thanksgiving," Max told him. "Since you know your grandmother likes to have everything planned as early as possible."
"We just assumed that everyone would be over here Thanksgiving day," Chandler stated. "Just like always."
"Everyone on both sides wants to make a big deal since this is technically Chandler's last holidays in the house. Along with Monica now." Terry said.
"So you're going to host our mom with Terry's mom in the same place?" Max asked. "Everyone should take precautions now."
"They don't seem that bad," Monica said.
"Wait until they're in the same space for an entire day with their differing opinions and access to alcohol," Chandler told her.
"We'll discuss this later," Charles told him as he hung up with him.
"What are you making with the pretzels?" Terry asked as Chandler poured them into a bowl.
"We are putting Garlic and ranch seasoning on them for a snack," he told him.
"You are far exceeding our expectations on this,"
"You're the one who taught me how to cook when I was ten," Chandler looked at him. "Did you think that I would forget about it so easily?"
Monica sat down at the counter with the big bag of trail mix, several snack-sized ziploc bags, and a small measuring scoop. She started to divide the bag of trail mix into the snack bags for more of their snacks. Chandler got out a pot and began filling it with water, and placed it on the stove. He got out everything that he would need to make up a pasta salad.
"Impressive," Charles came back in.
"Surprised?" Chandler challenged him.
"No,"
"We may use this for longer than two weeks," Monica told them. "Since when we work, it's usually an open or close shift, and we get free meals when we do."
"She's right," Chandler added the uncooked pasta to the boiling water. "I'll make up the tuna patties if you want to make the homemade tartar sauce."
"Sounds good," she smiled at him as she finished placing the snack bags into one of the organizing baskets.
"Homemade tartar sauce?" Ross asked.
"It's healthier," Monica looked at her brother. "It uses just mayo and dill relish."
Chandler and Monica spent the next few hours finishing up their meal prep. When they were all done, they had plenty of meals that would last them for the next few weeks. Their menu included: rice bowls with steamed vegetables and grilled chicken strips, tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches (to be made fresh), breakfast burritos, tuna patties with homemade tartar sauce, fruit salad, spaghetti with buttered bread and salad, pizza bagels, pea salad, and they had things to make themselves sandwiches if they wanted something simple. Along with plenty of snacks like trail mix, garlic ranch pretzels, popcorn, granola bars, and energy bites.
After Ross and Monica's nana stopped by to have supper with them that night and to tell them all goodbye for now, Chandler and Monica went up to their room to finish their homework, and Chandler continued to work on his next blog entry. They both fell asleep instantly that night.
AN: So what'd you all think of this update? I hope you liked it. If anyone has any suggestions for me for what the title of Chandler's next blog post should be, please leave them in your reviews or you can PM me. Thank you for your support of this story. PLZ R&R!