Disclaimer. I don't own the characters. There is no more gain than the writing practice that is done here
Chapter 12: What's New – Disney Vacation
The next day, the first thing Chandler did was write an email to Monica, he had to notify her of the transfer, it was his obligation and no one else's, he only asks Rachel to send it from her phone, he didn't have the phone Monica didn't even want to know.
"I inform you that the agency offered me a transfer to Hawaii a couple of months ago, under optimal professional and financial conditions. Before deciding to travel with the children to Honolulu to see if they liked it and if they would be willing to live there, and make it clear to them that this move would imply being away from grandparents, uncles and cousins. Since they loved the place, they agreed to the transfer. We saw several schools and we decided on the Lolani school, I am attaching the link for you to see it, they liked it a lot, the school is both day students and boarding schools, but obviously they will go to day school. Buy a house, I'll have Rachel send you the address. We moved on September 5th. When you come to pick up the kids for the holidays, I think it's from August 18 to 28, right? they will be waiting for you at your parents' house. - Ah, the house hasn't been sold yet, I leave a power of attorney for Ross to sign for me if the sale comes out when we left. I also let you know that we are going to travel to NY the week of Thanksgiving, and then 10 days until Christmas. If you come to NY at that time, you can spend as long as you want with the kids, I just want to spend New Year's Eve and receive the year with the children, the rest you handle. That's all"
Rachel forwarded the email.
Monica was in Berlin when she received the email and her blood ran cold. They were moving to Hawaii….
She immediately dialed Rachel's number.
"Hi Rachel, I just got an email from Chandler, well I guess it's from him, although you sent it to me. What is that about moving to Hawaii, and what happens with the visitation regime," Monica said almost screaming
"Hello Monica, calm down, let's see, first of all, what visitation regime are you talking about... you decided to go live in Paris, you've been there for months and obviously it's impossible for you to comply with the extensive visitation regime that you agreed with Chandler, and when you had the opportunity to spend a month with your children, you preferred a trip to Europe and you reduced your vacation with them to 10 days"
Monica was silent on the other end of the phone, her face was seething with her, what Rachel said was true, but she would never admit it.
"Besides Mon, he worried about going on vacation first to see if the kids liked it, another father would have taken them whether they liked it or not" "And also nothing prevents you from going to Honolulu as many times as you want to be with your children"
"Ok Rach, I see that you totally agree with Chandler, surely everyone does, I'm the bad guy in the movie"
"No Mon, you are the one who abandoned the movie in the middle of filming"
"It seems that Chandler's sarcasm has rubbed off on them" "Well, we'll talk another day,"
"Ok Monica, we'll talk."
Monica was upset, so much to find out about the move…. Why did they have to go so far? She was also annoyed by Rachel's defense, as well as by the coldness of Chandler's email, which seemed more like a military statement, cold and devoid of all manners, not a hello, not a goodbye, nothing.
She didn't deserve that treatment, she had only followed her dream…. and she knew that he had never dreamed of going to work in Hawaii, …
Of course Hawaii was not Tulsa…. and she was no longer waiting for him at home.
A few seconds later, she wondered why she bothered him so much? … She had chosen her path without consulting anyone and behind his back… but now she felt that he was taking revenge by taking the children as far away from NY as possible to complicate her life.
Or was he just over her ….. he was starting a new life…. without her, and this made her feel even worse… .. although she didn't have to, she had chosen Richard… Richard….
Besides, it wasn't true that she would have preferred traveling around Europe to being with her children…Rachel didn't know how things had been, though she admitted to herself that she had agreed to reduce her time with the children so as not to argue with Richard, but that was it a topic that had also bothered and hurt her a lot, he had no right to change plans, he had disappointed her and it was the last time he would.
On the other hand, she was also annoyed that Chandler was moving to Hawaii, … full of young, beautiful, bikini-clad women…
Monica shook her head," what is happening to you!" she told herself, "because I have to care about that, the life that Chandler leads now should not interest me... it confuses me, it scares me, it's dangerous for my dreams that I think about him"
But she still had a knot in my stomach.
When Richard arrived, she showed him the email, and the only comment he made was "I don't understand Chandler, because he needed the approval of two 6-year-olds kids, when you have an opportunity like that, you don't have to ask the children, you take them." and period, he gives those children too much influence in important decisions, that's stupid, a father must be strong and determined and children have to abide by his decisions, …. where they have been seen to be consulted... he always seemed to me to have a weak personality, good is his life."
And after the speech he went to the kitchen to prepare a coffee.
Monica was left thinking that out of all the email Chandler had sent her, the only thing she'd agreed to was him making sure the kids were happy with the change.
Chandler was not an authoritarian father, but he was not a weak man either, as Richard described him with contempt, a comment that annoyed her, on the contrary, Chandler had strong convictions about raising children, where love should prevail, the presence, the protection, listening and trying to understand the feelings of the children, things that he had lacked and that he would never let his children lack, he and she had talked so much about it…. and from the beginning they had agreed...
It now became more apparent to her that she and Richard did not think alike about parenting, and she was beginning to wonder if they didn't think differently about other fundamental aspects of life as well.
Obviously she and Richard weren't on the same page about children.
On August 17 Monica and Richard flew to NY. The next day Monica went to her parents' house to pick up the children to prepare them for the flight to Orlando.
Richard stayed in the car, since he knew he was persona non grata in that house, well, and in none of Monica's gang.
Judy hugged Monica with happiness, she wanted to see her daughter, even though she did not agree with her decision, that did not mean that she did not continue to love her.
Monica noticed that there were piles of clothes on the dining room table, which she never did with Judy.
"Mom, what's with those clothes, you have them to donate..."
"No, it is the clothes that we are selecting to pack for the trip"
"What trip mom, where are you going on vacation?"
"Well it's half vacation half company, we're going with Chandler and the kids to Hawaii."
"What?
"Look, Chandler invited us to accompany them to facilitate the adaptation of the children to the changes, school, home, a lady to take care of them when they return from school when he is working"
"He is aware that even though the kids are very excited about the move, the fact that the three of them are alone can be difficult. On the other hand, with us there, they will all feel more accompanied and supported by their grandparents who love them "
"And until when are you going to stay there?" ask Monica
"I suppose, until Thanksgiving, since that week we will all travel here"
"Your father is very excited because a few meters from the house is the Club House and a golf course, your father is taking his clubs"
"Wow," Monica said, "seems like a lot of movement around here…" "I hope you enjoy it."
"Mon when you come back you have to bring the children to me"
"Yes, I know mom, I'll let you know when we're arriving"
"Good", Judy kissed the children and wished them a beautiful holiday. -
While they were waiting at the airport for the flight, Jack asked how long the plane would take to get to Disney, Monica explained that it was almost 3 hours, that the plane landed in Orlando and then they went to Disney by car.
"Only 3 hours" is a super short flight, we to Honolulu take 11 hours.
"Well love, Hawaii is so much further, on the other side of the country and beyond"
"Jack," said Erica, "we're going to have plenty of movies and books on the laptop that dad brought us."
Then Richard energetically delimited "at night in the hotel you have to sleep, not watch movies"
"My daddy leaves us" Erika answered somewhat angrily and looking at Richard out of the corner of her eye.
Monica, to soften things up, told the children "look at the morning, you have to get up very early to be able to go to the different rides and there are fewer queues, it's better to sleep early"
"OK mommy", they both answered.
The first two days were difficult, Richard didn't like the place, he didn't like the queues, it annoyed him when the kids wanted to buy something or eat some sweets, you could tell he wasn't in the mood, and this affected the children.
On the third day Monica told Richard that for the remaining days he should stay at the hotel, or go for a drive around Orlando, she and the children would have a better time without him grumbling all the time.
She already had enough that he had shortened her vacations with the kids so now having to put up with her bad smoke had already tired her out, and it was ruining her already short time with her children.
Richard didn't like Monica's decision, but deep down he was relieved that he didn't have to be in that horrible, noisy place.
The days that followed Monica and the children enjoyed all the activities in the park and Monica is happy to see her children so happy-
At one-point Jack commented "How much fun Dad would have had with us if he had come, I miss him."
Monica didn't say anything, she just ran her hand through the boy's hair as Chandler usually does, but her stomach clenched, really felt that with Chandler the four of them would have enjoyed a lot…. "Enough Monica, don't go down that road." Monica told herself.
The days flew by, and they were back in NY
Monica took the children to her parents' house, she said goodbye to everyone and left, but out of sight of all of them she began to cry, this pain was not part of her dream.
Richard, with his decisions and his behavior, had ruined the wonderful vacation that she had planned with her children... and she didn't understand why?
