The escape and the after... Chapter 1
A famous Spanish philosopher, Ortega y Gasset, wrote "I am me and my circumstances", in this story and in another one that is in preparation, I want to explore what changes Chandler's personality would have if his circumstances were different, either by his own decision or others, although Mondler will always be in his future.
In this story we have a somewhat different Chandler, he made a brave decision for his age and in the journey he undertakes he will be forced to forge a strong and mature personality, although his funny and sarcastic essence will not be lost. And after a few years the road will lead him to Monica. This was inevitable, at least for those of us who are Mondler fans.
I hope you catches de story, and you tell me your opinions, through them I know if I'm on the right track.
Remember English is not my native language, I hope the translation is correct, I check it, but sometimes I miss some incorrect, sorry.
I repeat, I am not the owner of the characters, I only rely on them for the sheer pleasure of
practice writing stories without any economic interest, and these two characters inspire me.
Chapter 1
Tomorrow will be Thanksgiving, this afternoon the cheerful young boys leave the boarding school while making jokes and pushing each other happy to leave confinement for a few days, everyone goes home for the family reunion.
Chandler is among them, he turned 16 years old in May. -
With two bags, one loaded with all his clothes and another smaller one with some books, he leaves the boarding school and heads to the subway that will take him to his mother's apartment, on Madison and 65th Street.
He is thinking about the tasks he must do, he can't forget anything, tomorrow is Thanksgiving and he knows that tonight he will be alone in the house, his mother is in Rome and will stay there for at least 15 more days, so he will only find the maid and it will be easy to get rid of her.
He enters the building, greets the guard, in the apartment he greets Nancy, the maid, and tells her to just prepare him something for dinner and that she can go with her family, since in the morning he will go to a friend's house to spend Thanksgiving with his family.
He clarifies to Nancy that his mother already knows.
But that's not the case, he knows that his mother will not call him, she's very busy with her presentation and her new lover, plus, when he called her a few days ago, he went ahead and told her that on Thanksgiving he would stay in boarding school with other friends who also had no family in the city.
That night, after dinner, when Nancy had left, he changes the clothes in his bag, leaving the boarding school clothes lying on the floor, and fills his bag with summer clothes and something warmer.
Additionally, he adds a couple more books in the other small bag.
He goes to his mother's room and opens the safe that is hidden behind a mirror. In the box there are several packets of money, but he only takes out US$1,000, if everything goes well he will not need more.
That night he sleeps restlessly, no wonder, the future worries him, but at the same time it attracts him.
In the morning, he already changed and with the two bags he leaves the apartment, he greets the guard and goes to the subway to go to Pen Station.
He buys a one-way ticket to Tampa (Florida), the train is scheduled to leave at 11 am, he has 24 hours of travel ahead of him, so he can relax and sleep, there is no turning back, nor does he want it.
Once on the train he knows that his life will change radically, he is free, and although he is clear that he will have to work hard, he is determined.
The only one he told that he was leaving was his best friend at the boarding school, but he didn't tell him where he was going in case they pressured him to confess, they agreed that he would call him to find out if they were looking for him.
He let a week pass and called his friend. Tom, upon hearing it, shouted, "¡You did a good job, old man!!! At the boarding school on Monday they thought you were with your mother, but since she had not told them anything, they began to doubt, it was only on Wednesday that they checked your room and saw that you had taken everything and realized that something was wrong, they tried to call your mother, but they couldn't locate her, then they tried with your grandparents and no one
knew anything about you. I heard dad tell mom that they didn't want to file a police report, you know how our families are, no scandals, but they hired a detective, so be careful."
"Thanks Tom, I'm trying to call you during the Christmas holidays to see if you're still looking for me."
"Ok friend, good luck and take care"
--
Three years later, as the sun is setting on a hot July afternoon, 19-year-old Chandler is sitting on a bench in Central Park eating a sandwich. His clothes are clean and ironed, but he looks different from what the boys wear in the city.
A few moments later, a tall, blonde, pretty young woman sits next to him, she is eating a fruit.
They begin to talk about the weather, about the games of a couple of children they see, and after a few moments of chatting they say their names, she tells him that her name is Phoebe and he tells her that his name is Chandler.
Phoebe asks him if he is living on the streets, since his appearance reminds her of one of her friends.
Chandler tells her… "No, I live and work in Tampa, I only came to NY for one day to put a flower on my paternal grandfather's grave, I couldn't come to his funeral."
Phoebe looks at him strangely, and tells him "I lived on the street for 3 years, since my mother vommitted suicide, but a little over a year ago my grandmother found me and now I live with her, but you know it's hard for me to adapt to living without the freedom that the street gave me, that's why I usually come to the park and stay late, and I don't know why but I thought you were a friend of the street."
Phoebe now asks him, "You're from Florida, you were born there."
Chandler, with his gaze lost in the park, answers, "No … when I was 16 I ran away from the boarding school where my mother had sent me after the divorce, and I went to live in Tampa."
"Wow, that's interesting, and how do you live in Tampa now?" Phoebe asked.
"When I arrived I lived in several suburbs around Tampa, but I never lived on the streets, I don't have the guts for that"
"At what age did you say you run away?" Phoebe asked, intrigued.
"When ran away I was already 16 years old, anything was better than the life I was leading, and I was determined to work, I had different jobs to be able to pay at least a room, and in some of then they allowed me to sleep in the attics," Chandler remained silent, remembering those days.
"And you still do those jobs?" Phoebe questioned him.
"No, a few months later, two years ago, I got a job in a plantation where they grow oranges and grapefruits. The job included a room inside one of the warehouses, and I'm still working there,"
Chandler said and continued.
"When I found out about the death of my paternal grandfather… I waited a reasonable amount of time, I asked my boss for a vacation, and with my savings I bought round-trip train tickets, but I can't afford a hotel for tonight, I arrived today at 1 p.m., tomorrow morning I go to the cemetery and take the train again that leaves Pen Station at 3 p.m., each trip takes about 24 hours."
"You must have loved your grandfather very much to take this trip!!" Phoebe said in amazement, looking wide-eyed at her new friend.
"Yes, he was the only one who really cared about me, I know my running away must have hurt him, but I had no other way and I'm sorry," Chandler answered with his sad eyes.
"Do you want to come sleep at my grandmother's house tonight, there is a very comfortable sofa in the living room," Phoebe invited him.
"And what is your grandmother going to say…?" Chandler exclaimed, surprised by the invitation.
"Nothing," Phoebe answered, smiling, "she's very open and she's also used to me bringing friends….
Of course, only friends …"
"Yes, don't worry, I like women, but I'm not a stalker," Chandler replied with his mischievous smile.
Do you want me to accompany you to the cemetery tomorrow so you won't be alone? Phoebe offered.
"Well, thank you, I could use your company."
Phoebe's grandmother was not surprised by the visit... in fact, this boy seemed like the best friend that Phoebe had brought to her house. He was polite, a gentleman, funny, but with clear ideas.
After dinner they stayed talking for several hours.
Phoebe told him that she worked as a waitress, that she had a twin sister who was also a waitress, but they didn't get along. She also told him that her grandmother was helping her pay for a masseuse course, which was a more profitable profession and would give her freedom of schedule.
Chandler in turn told her that the owner of the farm, Ronald, was a very good person, he had taken a liking to him and had convinced him to enroll and finish High School, since when he ran away he had a year and a half left, and the month last he had graduated. And he continued telling her...
"You know, now when I return to Tampa I am going to start a Bachelor's degree in Information Sciences since I am good at mathematics, and with that degree I will be able to have a job with a good income, Ronald helped me get the University scholarship"
"And if I have time left, at least in the summer, I would like to take an extracurricular course in literature since I like to write… ¿could it be that a crazy gene was introduced into my DNA? They both laughed at the occurrence and the way Chandler said it.
The next day Phoebe accompanied him to the cemetery, Chandler put a white rose on the grave and stayed in silence for a few moments, then from there they went directly to the station. Chandler thanked Phoebe very much for her help and they exchanged their phone numbers.
From that meeting onwards they called each other every month, so Chandler knew that Phoebe, a couple of years after their meeting, had moved in with a friend, and was working as a masseuse at a beauty institute.
And Phoebe found out about Chandler's progress in his bachelor's degree, about his graduation, and she also found out that he had gotten a job in a small company in Tampa, but he still continued helping Ronald on the plantation.
Sometime later, on one of the calls, Chandler was saddened because Ronald had died suddenly and his wife had decided to sell the Plantation, so he was going to move to downtown Tampa, closer to
his work. -
And so, between calls, time passed.
7 years passed since that first meeting, and during those years they had continued to communicate every month or one or the other called, but they never abandoned the friendship that had been forged between them that day.
At the end of June, Chandler, now 26 years old, called Phoebe to tell her that he was returning to NY, since, as he wanted to advance in his job, he sent out tons of resumes and a month ago he had traveled to NY for a couple of interviews and had he got a job in a computer company, the salarywas good, and with his savings he would try to rent a studio. -
Phoebe reproached him because he had not told her that he was coming to NY nor did he come to see her.
"Phoebe, don't be mad, I would have loved to see you, but I only went for two days, and on both days I had the interviews, they took me all day, they were long, exhausting, and at night I would go over the topics that they could ask me" and he exclaimed with joy "Couldn't this be better? "Now we can see each other whenever we want"
"Phoebe, the job is near Central Park, and I found out, but the rents in that area are inaccessible, that's why I thought I could find something cheaper in the Villa, you live there, right? and I can also help myself by giving computer classes " and continued
"Phoebe, I wanted to ask you a favor, I'm moving to NY in more or less 15 days, on August 2nd I start working, could you go looking for somewhere cheap to live, I'll call you and let you know the day I arrive"
Phoebe had become very fond of Chandler, he was a good boy and it was clear that he had suffered a horrible childhood like her and had managed to get ahead, she wanted to help him.
Then she came up with it. "Chandler wait, Ross, my roommate's brother, lives across the hall from us and has a free room, so you could be his roommate, you'll probably spend a lot less since you'll share expenses…"
"Phoebe, that would be great, but we have to see if he wants to…, he doesn't know me…"
"Chandler, I'll take care of that, we'll talk to each other."
That afternoon Phoebe arrives at Central Perk with a big smile, Monica is sitting on the couch next to Steven, whom she has been dating for a little over a month, and Ross is also there.
"I have wonderful news, I got you a roommate…" Phoebe tells looking at Ross.
"Phoebe, who told you I was looking for a roommate?" Ross answers.
"Ross, last week you were complaining about the expenses of the department, that it is difficult for you alone, what better than that to share it with a colleague?"
"And who is it?" asks Monica.
"He is a boy I met seven years ago…. He lives in Tampa, but he got a job here, and is moving, he wanted to rent something near his work, but the rents are very expensive there and he asked me to find him something here in the Villa and that's when it occurred to me that Chandler could share the room with Ross."
"And what does he work on?" Steven asked.
"He works in computing, he graduated from the University of Tampa two or three years ago, he was working there, but he wanted to improve, he sent resumes and after a couple of interviews they hired him here in NY" explained Phoebe
Look Ross, I think you're going to like him, he's calm, hard-working, studious, with a great sense of humor, humble, and I know he's a good person."
"Where did you meet him?" Monica asked.
"I went to Central Park to clear my head, and I sat on a bench to eat a fruit and he was sitting eating a sandwich, we started talking, he told me that he was from Tampa and that he had come to NY for two days to leave a flower at his grandfather's grave, since he had not been able to come to the
funeral," Phoebe said and continued.
"He can't be a bad person if he came to NY for two days just to put a flower on his grandfather's grave" "and since that night he didn't have money for a hotel, he planned to sleep in the park, so Iinvited him to the house, we talked for hours and he slept on the couch, the next day I accompanied him to the cemetery and then to the station."
"We exchanged phone numbers and from that moment on we have called each other every month, I told him about my things and he told me about his" Phoebe concluded.
Steven exclaimed, "Phoebe, you're trying to bring into Ross's house a guy you met just one day on the street seven years ago…"
Phoebe, very upset, replied, "Look, You think that before you judge or belittle a person, you have to get to know him, talk, it's true, I only saw him personally one day, but I've talked to him all the time for 7 years, and I know how he thinks, "You have no idea who he is."
Steven replied, "I think you do either."
Ross didn't like Steven, he was a conceited man who belittled his doctorate in Paleontology, which couldn't be a bigger offense to Ross.
In reality, Ross and Monica had met Steven at the hospital when Jack had had a heart attack, Steven was her cardiologist, and from the beginning he began to pursue Monica to get an appointment, and Judy literally went crazy for the candidate from her daughter.
Steve Dawson, in addition to being a cardiologist of about 35 years, belonged to a wealthy Long Island family, very prestigious in the region, and although he was somewhat conceited, for Judy he was the perfect candidate for Monica, so he pressured her until that Monica agreed to go out with him.
Monica had broken up with Richard several months ago and still hadn't completely gotten over him, and to make matters worse, she had seen him a couple of times in the hospital when Jack was hospitalized. And although he tried to ask her out, Monica refused, she had suffered too much with
her breakup, and neither she nor he had changed the way they saw their future.
Ross felt that Steven was meddling where no one was calling, and he made the decision for him.
"Phoebe, you're right, I don't lose anything by meeting him when he comes," Ross said somewhat defiantly.
Monica asked him, "Ross, are you sure?"
Don't worry, Monica, he's not going to live with you," Ross replied.
"Phoebe, when does he come?" Ross asked again.
"He told me in 15 days, mid-July, since his new job starts on August 2"
"In which company …?" Steven asked.
"I didn't ask him…" Phoebe answered with a grimace of annoyance at Steven's interrogation, she didn't like him either, he was a vain idiot and she didn't understand how Monica could go out with him.
