Disclaimer. I don't own the characters. There is no more gain than the writing practice that is done here
Chapter 15: Return for Christmas - The Novelty - Bad Christmas Eve - New Year's Eve with the family - Relationship that deteriorates day by day -
Chandler and the kids returned to NY to spend the week of Christmas and New Years with the family. They arrived on December 20, the children had already forgotten how cold it was in NY at that time.
They stayed at Ross's house, the next day Rachel took the children to Judy's house where Monica would pick them up until December 30, as they had arranged the children would spend New Year's Eve with the dad and the family.
Rachel stayed until Monica arrived, she wanted to see her, they hadn't seen each other for months. They hugged, Rachel was visibly moved, but Monica was more tense, they only talked for a few moments because Richard was outside in a waiting taxi. But she gave Rachel time to tell her that the next day Phoebe was waiting at the house with the kids for a big lunch so everyone could see each other. Monica agreed. But Monica also noticed Judy's house in a bit of a mess, and when she was going to ask Richard, everything honked, so she picked up the children's bags and they left.
Phoebe and Rachel had arranged this meeting, since they could have a girls' day without separating Monica from the kids and without the risk of Richard showing up.
Once at Phoebe's house, the three of them resumed their conversation with the kids' uproar in the background.
Rachel asked Monica "Hey, where are you staying and where are you going to spend Christmas?"
"We're staying at Timmy's house, Jack and Erica sleep with Timmy's kids and us in the guest room. And for Christmas Eve and Christmas, Michelle comes with her family, they will stop at the house of Philip, Michelle's husband."
"What plans do you have for these days with the children?" Phoebe asked.
"I suppose we will go to Central Park, to see a movie, to take a walk, to the science museum that Jack always liked…. and I wanted to take them to the zoo, but it's closed" "Actually what I want most is to hug them all the time"
"Did you notice Mon how big they are, not only in height, they also seem more mature to me"
"Yes, my children are beautiful, and tanned, it is seen that they go to the beach a lot" said Monica
"Well, as we saw in the photos, they live on the beach, your mom told us that many afternoons they take them for a walk on the beach," Phoebe commented.
It was then that Monica commented. "Yesterday when I went to look for the kids at mom's house, I saw the house in disarray, and some boxes, are they about to do some repair, painting...?
Rachel and Phoebe looked at each other, surprised and worried, they thought that Judy would have already told her the news about they.
Monica noticed the discomfort of her friends and asked "What's up...?"
Rachel started…. "Mon, we thought your parents had spoken to you…"
"What did they have to talk to me about?
Phoebe intervened... "Mon, I think it's something they have to say, go to their house and talk to them."
"No Phoebe, I want to know now, we've always told each other everything, and I don't think you guys know any secrets about my parents that I don't have to. What's going on? "Rachel speaks!"
Rachel didn't know what to do, but it wouldn't be long before she knew anyway, and maybe knowing it for them would give Mon time to digest the news.
"Mon, your parents are moving to Honolulu with Chandler and the kids. They have the house for sale. They are disarming it since they are leaving on January 2 together with them."
Monica turned pale, her eyes and mouth open, it took her a few seconds to say "I can't believe it…. they went crazy, how are they going to move there, and Ross is sane?
"Mon, first of all, these are two grown people who decide to go live where they want and don't need Ross's or anyone else's agreement," Phoebe said firmly and she add
"On the other hand, I don't know if you noticed that your parents there have rejuvenated, they feel physically better, they made friends at the country club near the house, the weather is warm, they have serenity, they see the sunset over the sea in the afternoons, they found the paradise they weren't even aware they wanted"
"And Chandler is okay with them living with him…?"
"Yes, totally, they get along well, their presence is good for the children, and they can both live with him, since they have his own suite in the house, and if they want they can live in one of the other two houses" "But for now they said they stay in the main house"
Monica felt a knot in her stomach, "I'm going to talk to them…"
"My, you wanted to go live in Paris." Rachel said
"That? It's a reproach…" Monica jumped
"No Mon, don't be defensive, I'm just saying that you, with all your rights, wanted to go live in Paris, and they, with all their rights, want to go live in Honolulu. Everyone will be where they are happy"
Monica thought … I am where I am happy? …but she shook that thought from his head
Phoebe changed the subject by asking Monica about the cooking class. From then on the conversation softened, but Monica was darker, and also since they saw her they noticed that her eyes didn't have the sparkle that she used to have, and her smile was somewhat forced.
A couple of hours later Richard picked her up. Monica said goodbye to her knowing that she would not see her friends again for a while, and she regrets living so far away since she needed to talk to them, she had always helped her to be shown another point of view of her. And now they were right, she had no right to reproach her parents for anything, she had started the estrangement and now she had to accept the consequences of her decision.
Christmas morning Monica took the kids shopping on 5th. AV. they did a lot of walking and ended up sitting on the top deck of Mac Donald's to eat some hamburgers. The table was by the window and she suddenly saw Chandler standing on the sidewalk, talking to two men.
Monica froze, her legs going weak and her stomach clenching.
There was he…. talking animatedly to two older men, wearing one of their charming smiles, she could tell right away that his hair was lighter, probably from the sun, she thought, quite tanned, which was even more noticeable with how white all New Yorkers were, his shoulders they were wider, and while she had always found him very sexy, now her looks had heightened it.
She even notices that a couple of young women who walked past him turned to look at him.
God …. he looked so good! … She immediately tried to get those thoughts of her out of her head, and prayed that the children didn't see it, otherwise they would want to go say hi to him and she knew that he didn't want to see her or talk to her. Fortunately, the children did not look out the window.
She saw him leave with one of the men and get lost in the crowd and she felt an unsettling pain, something in her wanted to run to catch up with him …. she shook his head, what was happening to her, because she missed him so much…, she shouldn't feel like this… "
On the night of the 24th, Monica and the children had dinner at Timmy's house, Michelle was also there with her husband and her children.
Monica had met Michelle and Timmy's children during the trip and immediately noticed that they were different from her children, especially Michel's eldest, Julian, he was quite conceited, he annoyed his cousins, but no one in the family corrected him, on the contrary, he was praised all the time for his level of intelligence, Monica just hoped it wouldn't bother her kids.
However, since Michelle and her children arrived at Timmy's house, Julian began to bother and tease Jack and Erica, and this behavior was not corrected, and to top it off it was imitated by his brother and his cousins who until that day they had been friendly with Jack and Erica.
No one was hindered by the behavior of Richard's grandchildren, and Monica didn't want to start an argument with Richard's children that night.
What began to annoy Monica was that Richard was amused by his eldest grandson's witticisms, without caring how Monica's children were having a good time, and that attitude ended up infuriating her.
She thought him a nice man, why then he was bragging about her grandson when he was bothering her children, neither Chandler nor she would ever let her children act like that.
After the gifts were opened, Jack, Santa Claus, had brought him a robot from the series that he wanted, Jack went to the side to play with the robot when Julian took it from him, and saying that he wanted to investigate how it worked he took out one of his arms, causing Jack to start crying as Julian continued to take the toy apart. Jack and Erica ran to hug Monica, Jack crying.
Monica couldn't take it anymore, she got up from the sofa without saying anything and took her children to her bedroom.
After calming them down, promising Jack that he would buy a new one, and hearing Erica say that she hated those children, Monica made the decision, packed the children's bags and one for herself. As she did so, Richard walked over to see if Jack had stopped crying, and found Monica packing.
"Hey, what's up, why are you packing?"
"My children and I are going to a hotel, I am not going to allow your grandchildren to mistreat them."
"Come on Monica, they are just things between children, do not exaggerate, your children have to learn to defend themselves"
"Like Richard? ""Punching Julian like he deserves, making fun of all your grandkids, smashing everyone else's toys. - I'm sorry Richard, we don't educate our children to be the bullies at school, and I see that you encourage them with your laughs and expressions so that they continue to have that very funny behavior for you"
"Monica, please don't exaggerate…"
"They are my children and if I want to exaggerate I exaggerate" "Stay with your family to spend Christmas, I'm going with mine kids to a hotel until the 30th when I have to take them to my mother" "And I'll let you know, I'll I'm staying at the hotel until the flight to Paris leaves, if you want to spend New Year's Eve with your family, no problem, I'm not going to die doing it alone."
"Well, calm down, we'd better talk tomorrow when you calm down and I can pamper you" Richard told her with a smile, with your sweet caressing his cheek and a wink. Monica pushed him away with force
"Enough, Richard, don't treat me like I'm crazy, let alone making that face and that little voice, as if you were talking to a two-year-old girl, I assure you that with that attitude you won't calm me down"
"Okay, at least let me drive you."
"No thanks, stay here, enjoy the night, I'll call a taxi, tomorrow I'll tell you where I am"
Monica left with the children.
Jack and Erica were happy at the hotel, alone with their mom.
The next day Richard went to pick them up at the hotel with his suitcase, but found that Monica had taken a three-bed room and had no intention of letting him stay with them.
"Monica, what's happening, why are you doing this?"
"Look, you are very, very confused, the fact that I went to Paris never meant that I did not love my children, although many think so, and you are the first to think so, boycotting any way of relating affectionately to them when we are together like you did at Disney, or shortening my vacations with them without consultation." "I really didn't expect this from you"
Monica continued "leave me these days alone with my kids, not worrying if you're growling or not, and on the 30th decided if you want to spend it with your kids, because I really don't want to see them. I do not care"
Monica was already tired…. She felt that she was really tired of Richard, of her attitude with her children, with herself, no one had ever treated her like this, belittling her feelings and the feelings of her children…. Who had she messed with? Why had she put herself and her children in this situation?
She felt sad, disappointed, she would have to resolve this situation, but how...?
Monica spent the days after Christmas with her children, taking all kinds of walks and called Rachel to see if the three of them would meet the kids for lunch together.
They met at Pier 17 in the South St Seaport, they talked about everything.
Monica at one point told them that she had seen Chandler from MacDonald's window, and that she saw him very well, Phoebe said with a big smile "Yes, he looks physically incredible, more youthful and I even see him as sexy, how could he be?" if I knew him now I would shoot him" and she laughed out loud. Monica smiled and changed the subject.
When they brought up the subject of how she had spent Christmas with the kids, Monica hesitated to tell them, she felt that if she did, she would be agreeing with their first opinions, but she desperately needed to talk to her friends, she had already lost the three boys of the gang, especially one, only the girls were left to talk.
Monica told them what happened and how she had gotten mad at Richard for not defending Jack and Erica and that she had gone to a hotel with the kids.
Phoebe only told her that she was sorry for Richard's behavior but that she also thought that being older he has less patience with children.
Rachel told her instead. "Look after the Disney vacation, when Chandler and the kids had left, one afternoon Emma secretly told me that Erica had complained about Richard, that he was grumpy, never agreed with what they wanted to do, that sometimes they didn't like it, but they didn't tell you or Chandler because they didn't want to worry them."
Rachel continue "I think Mon that you are going to have to talk to him, so that he softens up with the kids, between the fact that they see you little and he bothers them, it seems to me that it is not good for your relationship with your children, or otherwise when you come alone for them and enjoy them well"
Monica thought for a few seconds "I told him something about that, but in the middle of a fight on Christmas Day, when I see him again I'll talk more calmly."
Monica said goodbye to her friends and Rachel told her "Mon on the 30th, bring the kids to my house, your parents have already dismantled their house and they are living with us until they leave.
Monica was a little relieved that she had shared some of her worries with her friends, although she didn't tell them everything she was feeling, about her doubts about the decision she had made months before, whether her dream had been a stupid mirage of which I was waking up... she was still early to tell them… she felt so confused….
When Monica left for the Hotel, Rachel and Phoebe went by car to Long Islam and were talking about how strange Monica looked, they were also surprised that she had opened up with Richard, she had always been defensive before for her decision and for Richard, but now she looked different, very vulnerable.
Phoebe commented, "Also, I don't know if you noticed, but during the few words she said about seeing Chandler, her eyes twinkled and she told it with a small smile."
"Phoebe, part of me wants her to realize the stupid dream that led her to go off with Richard, but the other part is afraid that when she realizes her mistake, she'll also see that she ruined everything she had, and I don't think that make her happy," Rachel said sadly.
On the afternoon of December 30, Monica went to Ross's house to drop off the kids. In the house were her parents and Rachel. Monica told them about the news of the move, but she did not reproach them for anything, she just told them that she was sure they would be happy in that city"
After a while, seeing that Ross did not appear, she asked for him, Rachel told her that he is with Chandler and Joey at Mike's house.
Monica said goodbye to everyone, with big hugs and tears in the eyes of the three women, she hugged her children and nephews and left.
They all spent New Year's Eve at Phoebe's house, with music and joy. Although Chandler was happy, especially for his children, his heart was broken, he couldn't believe how much his life had changed in the year that was leaving, what was different was New Year's Eve the year before, and when he entered that year Again, it did not occur to him that he would end it like this. It hurt to remember those days when he was still a fully happy man.
At twelve everyone kissed and he hugged his children tightly, he had to swallow the lump in his throat to keep from crying.
Meanwhile Monica went to dinner with Richard, he took her to a prestigious restaurant, and while Richard talked about Paris, about the Cooking Academy, without once mentioning his children or the fight, Monica was quiet, thinking! how much she missed not being able to hug her children at twelve! how much she missed old nights with her friends, since she had moved to the apartment 20, New Year's Eve she always spent with them, first Ross and Carol, then Phoebe and Joey and Rachel, and always, always Chandler …. God, she missed him…. It was absurd, she had made her decision being sure that she loved Richard, but now something had changed, she didn't know when, but now she doubted her decision, …she missed Chandler, but she shouldn't… . she had chosen Richard and dreamed of him…. she had no turning back.
Richard asked him: "Mon, are you hearing me…. what's happening"
"More or less, I was thinking about the children…"
Richard didn't say anything, but he realized that things between them weren't the same, he actually knew that they had never been the same as when they first dated.
