The lottery

I hope you like the story, and that you tell me your opinions, through them I know if I'm on the right path.

Remember English is not my native language, I hope the translation is correct, check it, but sometimes I miss some incorrect personal pronouns for the phrase, sorry.

I reiterate, I do not own the characters of Friends I only rely on them for the pure pleasure of writing stories without any economic interest, and Monica and Chandler they inspire me.

Chapter 4

The day after the girls left Chandler moved into apartment 20.

A cessation of loneliness flooded him, at times he looked at the table seeing himself sitting with his friends laughing, playing cards.

Chandler was clear, he knew it since he was a child, money does not bring happiness, at least it never brought it to him. The lottery allowed his friends to fulfill his dreams, it gave him the courage to quit his job, something unthinkable before, but he would miss them so much, the gang was the closest thing to a family he had ever had.

That afternoon he went to Central Perk, it looked so lonely, until Ross arrived with Emily, they both seemed very happy, then Phoebe arrived, with her belly growing bigger every day, the lively chatter, especially from Emily, distracted them enough.

On Saturday the four of them went to the movies and then to eat pizza, exactly at Joey's favorite place.

The following week Chandler went to see his uncle to help him invest his money reasonably. He was his father's older brother, a serious, prudent and honest man who gave him good advice.

Chandler told him that he wanted to write comedies, whether they were short stories, scripts.

"Son, if you manage your money well, you can dedicate yourself to whatever you want, look, I have a couple of clients who are theater, film, and television producers, I will contact you with them, bring them some of what you have written so they can see if there are possibilities, they are honest people, they would not be my clients otherwise, they would not steal your ideas."

The days, the weeks went by. A t first every two or three days Monica spoke with Chandler and Ross to find out how they were doing, and she told them about her experiences in Paris, she seemed very happy and enthusiastic about the course.

In the City, two or three times a week Chandler meets at Central Perk with Ross, Phoebe, and Emily when she is in the City.

The romance between Emily and Ross is working very well, Emily travels to the City almost every weekend to be with Ross, and he seems more and more in love with the English girl.

Chandler took his stories and scripts to the producers his uncle recommended, but he still had no response.

March is ending, Phoebe is already entering her 7th month and can't wait to give birth, one of those afternoons she goes to look for Chandler at apartment 20.

"Phoebe, you shouldn't be alone, even if it's two months away, being triplets they can get ahead of themselves. You don't want to move here, I could take care of you and accompany you to the hospital when the time comes. " Chandler was interested.

"Thanks for your concern, but don't worry, next week my mom will come to stay with me, it will be fun, we will get to know each other better..., although we never lived together, she is very funny."

"Better, I didn't like you being alone."

"Chandler, I was thinking, when we won the lottery I thought that after the babies were born I would move to Las Vegas or San Francisco…. but now, that I'm here, I feel like I miss the girls so much, Joey, and I realized that if I left it would be worse, I would also lose you and Ross, no matter where I moved I would be completely alone away from the people I love"

"Well, in a few months Monica will be back," Chandler said hopefully.

"I don't know, if she finds a French guy, she falls in love with him, maybe she'll stay there forever," Phoebe said.

Chandler's stomach clenched... "Yes, you're right, that could happen perfectly, she's a beautiful woman, the French will be after her," he said with a sad smile.

"Well, anyway," Phoebe continued, "I realized that I don't want to leave, you guys became my family, I miss you, if I leave I'll lose you two too, and I don't want to. I know I've always been a little critical of you and Ross, but it's my way of being, which doesn't mean I don't love you, you are my brothers."

"I love you too, you are a good friend, and a generous woman, what you are doing for your brother is enormous" …. "Have you thought about what you want to do after the birth?" Chandler asked.

"I want to open a beauty salon, where women can find everything they need, obviously receive massages, hand care, makeup, everything related, but I don't know how to do it, that's why I came to ask you for help, I have to find a location, see the devices that are needed, I suppose there will be permits…"

"Phoebe, count on me, tomorrow we'll start looking, first we can go to a real estate agency, maybe they know, for the type of business you want to set up, which is the most suitable location, see an architect for the renovations, we also have to see a lawyer to guide us in the authorizations and permits that will be required of us."

"Is it enough work…? Phoebe said seriously.

"Yes, but it will be fun, you see, even your mother can help us with the decoration" Chandler told him.

"Oh, yes, I liked that, doing something together…!

As Chandler and Phoebe began their search, one of the producers summoned Chandler.

After mutual greetings, the producer, whose name is Gilbert Andreau, began to explain.

"Mr. Bing, his short stories and the script he brought me are very good, you have a great sense of humor, ironic, sarcastic, it's very interesting." And continued

"The script interests me, it could be used for a television comedy, but there is still a lot of work to be done to present it with the possibility that someone will be interested in making the pilot, I will connect you with a group of scriptwriters who work for me, between you and they will be able to complete the proposal to make it interesting to some chain."

"I understand," said Chandler, "I'm willing to do what you suggest, it would be incredible if that script gave rise to a comedy series" and he smiled with satisfaction.

"Now," said Andreau, "As for the short stories, I find them very ingenious, but instead of being read, which requires making a book out of them, I think they would have a greater impact if they were part of a show. "Have you ever thought about doing Stand Up?"

Chandler looked at him with wide eyes, surprised "No…. I am not an actor… I just write…"

"Man, if you are capable of writing with such grace, with perfectly organized dialogues, I am sure that you are capable of telling them…"

"Mr. Andreau, I know that I am funny and I talk a lot in front of my friends, but in front of the public it is something different, in uncomfortable social situations I get nervous and I make jokes…"

"Boy, better yet, you will be uncomfortable and the story will come out better. Look, we'll do something, remember a couple of them and on Friday you tell them to me and a group of my scriptwriters, we'll see, if it works, I have a friend who has a theater dedicated to Stand Up. Even that background can it be used for the script proposal, what do you think?"

"Look, they pay you for each performance…" Andreau concluded.

"Well, that's the least of it," said Chandler, still surprised and scared with the proposal.

"Son, I don't think that for any writer or comedian, pay is the least important thing"

Chandler smiled, he wasn't a comedian, and the pay really didn't matter.

Chandler left Andreau's office with a whirl in his head.

The next day, calculating the time difference, Chandler calls Monica and tells her about Andreau's proposal.

"Chandler, that is perfect for you, you are naturally histrionic, you are handsome, friendly, funny, very intelligent, quick-thinking, you will never get bored doing it, it is the creative work you were looking for, you will love it, comedy is in your veins, I think what you should try"

"Thank you Mon, I needed to talk to you, you know I trusted your advice. I didn't ask you, since everything is out there... "Chandler didn't dare to ask if there was some romance on the horizon, he didn't want to know the answer.

"The course is fantastic, the city is very beautiful, although the French are not very friendly, but I didn't come here to make friends Chandler, I miss all of you very much, I miss you very much, but there's less to go…. "Take care of the apartment for me," Monica told him, laughing.

"Yes, I have it clean and neat," Chandler answered.

"And was there any girl? Monica asked, amused.

"No Mon, I'm not on that page, I'm helping Phoebe and her mother with the installation of the Beauty Salon, writing my stories, and putting up with Ross with his love sorrow when Emily returns to London. I will see later"

The conversation ended with him promising that the following week they would talk and he would tell her what happened with the stand-up audition.

When Chandler told Phoebe about Andreau's proposal she went crazy with joy, just as Monica told him that it was a perfect occupation for him.

But Ross didn't pay too much attention, since he was immersed in his relationship with Emily.

Friday arrived and Chandler showed up at Andreau's offices, and Andreau introduced him to several people, women and men of different ages.

Chandler was a bundle of nerves, so he moved all the time, and at Andreau's request he began his first monologue. At first his hands were sweating and he was unsure, but as he told the story, with his usual manner, his voice inflections, their timing, their looks, their smiles and mocking gestures, everyone really enjoyed the performance

When he finished, Andreau introduced him to Conrad Miller, who was the owner of the theater where Stand Up was offered, he had summoned him without Chandler knowing.

Miller told him that he had really enjoyed the monologue, and if he agreed he could start the following Friday, which for now would be the day on which the actuary, if the audience became enthusiastic, would probably have to do them on Thursdays or Saturdays as well.

On the other hand, Andreau introduced him to the team of scriptwriters who would help him complete the script, they agreed to meet every Tuesday and Thursday morning.

Chandler arrived at apartment 20 and only there he was able to do his happy dance, although at first he had suffered nerves and fear, as he progressed he realized that the monologue was so natural for him, he felt pleasure doing it, it was the first time in his life he felt pleasure in a job, of course for him it wasn't even a job, it was something natural, and he had no pressure to earn money, it was pleasure, pure fun. So many years resorting to that funny personality, using jokes and sarcasm to bury his difficult childhood and adolescence beneath them, but now so much loneliness had borne fruit for him, maybe he should thank his parents, he thought sarcastically.

The following week, Chandler was sitting in Central Perk, memorizing the monologue he would premiere on Friday, when Ross arrived with a pained face on his face.

"Man, this long-distance relationship thing with Emily is killing me, I want to be with her all the time, I hate when she has to leave…"

"And why don't you go to London some weekend…"

"I can't leave Ben, and it's a big cost, she can do it because her family has money…" Ross said with a sigh.

"Well, I can help with that, you know that," Chandler replied.

"I'm telling you the same thing I told Mon, I don't want a single piece of that money," Ross said.

"Oh god, you're so stubborn…" Chandler exclaimed.

"Actually, I'm thinking about proposing that she stay in the city, live with me, here she's sure to find a job, she's very intelligent," Ross said with a smile.

Chandler's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "Ross, how long have you been dating, it's not even two months and you're going to propose to her to live with you!

"I'm not like you who have a commitment phobia, I enjoy being in love and committing to the woman I love"

"Okay Ross, maybe I'm a afraid of commitment, let's say that the times I tried it didn't go well, but, in any case, even if you love commitment, it seems too early for a proposal like that. In these two months you haven't even been together all the time."

"Maybe you're right, but I miss her so much when she's not here…" Ross said with a dreamy face,

Chandler was concerned with Ross's ideas.

On Friday Chandler debuted with his monologues, it was Phoebe with her mother and Ross with Emily who had just arrived from London.

The presentation was very well received by the audience, they laughed a lot and at the end there was sincere applause. Miller was very satisfied and before leaving he told Chandler that next week he was waiting for him on Friday and Saturday, so that he could prepare more monologues.

"The next morning, very early, Chandler called Monica to tell her, she could immediately tell by his voice that his best friend was happy, and she felt happy for him, she congratulated him and told him that she couldn't wait to get home to go to see him"

That comment made Chandler's heart skip a beat.

This evening, Phoebe and her mother went to apartment 20 to resolve some of the pending issues with Chandler in order to open the Beauty salon.

When they were analyzing a plan where the architect proposed where to place the furniture in each area, the door to number 20 suddenly opened, and Emily and Ross entered, exultant.

"Guys, we got engaged, and we got married in 30 days, in London, on May 23, everyone is invited," Ross shouted.

Everyone was silent until Chandler reacted and got up to hug them, and then both Phoebes did the same.