Chapter 16: Christmas Dinner (Part 3)
Traffic was starting to jam up, possibly because of the snow. Joey sat in the driver's seat, waiting for a chance to merge, the limo angled and ready to slip into the next gap.
Ross asked, "Do you guys remember the last white Christmas in New York?"
Bruce nodded. "I do. Two years ago. I'd just graduated and was renting a crappy apartment near NYU, not far from Washington Square. Snow started falling on Christmas Eve, and that night my heat went out. After freezing until dawn, I figured I'd turn into a popsicle, so I trudged through the snow back to my parents' place in Brooklyn."
"Must've been memorable," Ross said.
Bruce laughed. "You bet. And on my way to the subway that morning, I cut through Washington Square and saw this guy dressed as Santa completely wipe out and faceplant into a snowbank. Somebody grabbed his boots and yanked him out like pulling a vegetable from the ground. Not something you see every day."
The moment Bruce finished, everyone except Rachel exclaimed, "Oh my God, we were there!"
Bruce blinked. "What? You were where?"
Ross raised his hand. "In the square. All of us—me, Chandler, Monica, Joey, and Phoebe. Chandler and I were the ones who pulled Santa out."
Bruce looked around. They all nodded. Monica added, "Phoebe and I were in the crowd watching."
"That's incredible," Bruce said. "We were practically neighbors that Christmas. Makes the world feel so small. So Ross and Chandler rescued Santa, Monica and Phoebe watched—where was Joey?"
Ross grinned. "Let me paint the picture. Before you got there, Santa was sitting on a sleigh under the arch with three real reindeer. People were lining up for photos. Then suddenly the reindeer spooked, bolted into the square, whipped around, and launched Santa off the sleigh. He went flying and landed headfirst in the snow."
"I didn't see any reindeer," Bruce said. "Had they already run off?"
"Ask Joey."
Joey's voice came from the front. "Yeah, I was the one chasing them."
"Did you catch them?"
Joey sighed. "Nope. Three reindeer, twelve hooves. Me, two feet. Do the math."
Just then a gap opened. Joey accelerated and merged smoothly. After crawling for a bit, he turned onto 50th Street, passed Rockefeller Center, and picked up speed.
Twenty minutes later, they were on the Brooklyn Bridge. Joey glanced back. "Bruce, we're on the bridge!"
Bruce looked out at the cables sweeping toward the towers, then suddenly rolled down the window. Snow whirled inside, and everyone shrieked.
"Bruce, what are you doing? Close it!" Rachel yelled.
Bruce grinned. "Trying something!"
He leaned his head and shoulders out into the wind. Rachel's cry of "Bruce has lost his mind!" never reached his ears.
Five seconds later he ducked back in. "Joey, could you slow down a bit?"
"Sure thing."
Bruce leaned out again, felt the snow hit his face, and suddenly shouted, "New York, here I come! 1995, here I come!"
He slid back inside, grinning. "Anyone else want a turn? It feels amazing!"
Rachel frowned. "Why would you do that?"
"Saw it in a movie once. Can't remember which one."
"There's no scene like that in any movie I've seen. You probably dreamed it."
Bruce laughed. "So what? If it doesn't exist, I'll write it into a script someday. Come on, everyone—if you need to say something, stick your head out and tell the city!"
Monica moved across the seat. "My turn!"
She leaned out. "I want customers who appreciate good food and don't complain about everything!"
Monica ducked back in. Chandler stuck his head out next. "My New Year's resolution: find a job where the boss has an actual sense of humor!"
Ross followed. "This year I'm finding real love—something solid and permanent!"
Phoebe yelled, "The Statue of Liberty is waving at me! Hi, Lady Liberty!"
From the front, Joey called, "Hold on—stopping!" He hit the brakes, leaned out, and shouted, "This year, cast me for my face, not my butt!" Then he accelerated again.
Bruce turned to Rachel. "Your turn. We're almost off the bridge—don't miss your chance!"
Rachel moved to the window, took a breath, and leaned out halfway. "I'm not serving coffee forever—I'm going to make it in fashion!"
She ducked back in, wiped snow from her face, and smiled widely. "Wow, that actually felt incredible!"
Joey drove around while the six of them chatted and sipped champagne, until Monica suddenly announced, "We're out of champagne!"
Ross checked his watch. "It's almost four—this afternoon flew by!"
"Then maybe we should head to my parents' place," Bruce said. "First we need to pick up Grace and her roommate from Roosevelt Island."
Ross leaned forward. "Joey, did you hear that? Roosevelt Island first!"
"Got it—picking up Bruce's date!" Joey called back, steering toward the island.
"Don't say that," Bruce protested. "She's not my date. We'll see how things go when we meet."
He pulled out his notebook. "I should call and let her know we're coming."
Bruce dialed the number and when Grace answered said, "Hi, Grace, this is Bruce White—my mom gave me your number."
"Hi, Bruce. Your voice sounds so different from when we were kids!"
"You remember how I sounded back then?"
Grace laughed. "Of course. I remember everything about our playdates. Don't you?"
Bruce felt awkward. Truthfully, he barely remembered Grace at all. "Sorry, my memory's terrible. I've forgotten a lot."
"No worries. I'm two years older, so it makes sense I remember more. Anyway, your mom said you'd pick us up?"
"Yes, I'm on my way. I have some friends with me—my mom mentioned they're coming to dinner too?"
"She did. I'll wait in my apartment. Call when you arrive."
"See you soon."
After he hung up, Rachel asked, "Bruce, if your mom's setting you two up and you're interested, why didn't you invite Grace along this afternoon?"
"We haven't seen each other since we were kids—we're basically strangers. I couldn't just ask her to hang out before we've reconnected. She might have said no."
"First," Rachel said, "from that phone call, I'd bet she would've said yes. Second, you get familiar by spending time together. How else do two people become close?"
"I'm not exactly an expert at dating, but my plan is: if I like her tonight, I'll get her number, call her regularly for a few weeks, and then maybe ask her out to dinner—just the two of us."
Chandler smirked. "Brilliant strategy, Bruce. American dating law requires a mandatory three-week phone call period before asking someone out. Break it and you go to jail. You must be the only person who actually follows it."
Bruce laughed. "Thanks for that, Chandler. But seriously, I'm just... cautious about these things."
Monica interjected, "You were born and raised here. What are you talking about?"
Bruce shrugged. "Hard to explain. Sometimes I feel like there's another version of me who'd handle this differently."
Monica looked confused. Ross offered, "Maybe he's thinking like a character from one of his scripts."
Phoebe blinked. "Wait, what were we talking about again?"
Amid the chatter, Joey followed Bruce's directions to 560 Main Street on Roosevelt Island. Bruce called Grace to say they'd arrived.
Moments later, two young women emerged and looked around. Monica asked, "Which one is Grace?"
Bruce admitted, "Good question. I'd like to know myself."
He climbed out and waved. "Hi, Grace—over here!" His gaze flickered uncertainly between them.
The woman on the left—wavy brown hair, black leather jacket—smiled first. "Hi, Bruce. I can still see the kid you used to be."
Bruce grinned back, relieved. "Hi, Grace. Sorry I don't remember what you looked like, but we've definitely grown up, haven't we?"
"We have." She gestured to her companion, a woman with long dark hair in a camel coat. "This is my roommate, Audrey. Her mom loved Audrey Hepburn."
"Hi, Bruce, nice to meet you!" Audrey said.
Bruce opened the car door. "Hi, Audrey. I've watched several Audrey Hepburn movies—Roman Holiday, Breakfast at Tiffany's. Great films. Let me introduce everyone!"
After introducing all his friends, Joey started the engine and headed toward Brooklyn.
Forty minutes later, they pulled up to a house on 64th Street. Bruce climbed the steps and knocked. His father opened the door.
"Everyone, come in!" His dad stepped aside, welcoming the group inside.
Bruce and his father stood at the doorway, making introductions as everyone filed in.
Once inside, Bruce asked, "Dad, when did you get home? Thought you'd be at the restaurant."
"Your mom called me back to help with dinner. Don't worry—Ming's watching the place."
Ming was one of his father's employees.
Bruce's mother emerged from the kitchen, welcoming everyone and announcing dinner would be ready shortly.
Monica stepped forward and presented the cookies she'd baked, asking if she could watch the final preparations.
"Of course!" His mom said, leading Monica toward the kitchen. "Bruce, make tea for everyone."
As his parents and Monica disappeared into the kitchen, "Audrey" suddenly said in perfectly unaccented English, "Hi, Bruce. Looks like we need proper introductions."
Bruce's eyes widened as realization hit. "Wait—so you're Grace? Then she's Audrey?" He pointed at the woman he'd thought was Grace.
Grace slipped off her coat with a mischievous grin. "When you said on the phone you'd forgotten everything from childhood, I decided to swap places with Audrey and see how long it would take you to notice. Turns out you really had no memory of me at all."
Bruce laughed. "I completely missed it. And now I remember—you loved pranks as a kid."
The others looked confused. Chandler said, "Okay, you two need to fill us in because I'm getting seriously lost."
Bruce turned to everyone. "Let me re-introduce: this is Grace, and this is Audrey."
"What?" everyone exclaimed.
Grace took over. "Sorry, everyone. I pulled a prank—Audrey and I switched names when we arrived. I wanted to tease Bruce and ended up confusing all of you. My apologies."
Bruce shrugged. "No harm done. I thought it was funny."
Audrey shook her head. "Grace is a troublemaker who set this whole thing up just to mess with Bruce."
Joey leaned over and whispered, "Wow, Bruce—if you two end up together, life's gonna be interesting."
Bruce's father emerged from the kitchen carrying a platter. "Everyone, please sit—dinner's ready."
His mom and Monica followed with more dishes.
Once everything was set and everyone was seated, dinner began. The table was laden with roasted duck, grilled salmon, lobster, braised ribs, roasted chicken, vegetables, and more—a true feast.
Joey sighed. "The smell alone is incredible."
"Please, everyone dig in," Bruce's father said.
The meal passed in happy conversation. Grace sat beside Bruce, doing most of the talking while he listened.
But gradually, Bruce's eyelids grew heavy. He'd pulled an all-nighter finishing his script, hadn't slept all day, and had drunk wine with dinner. Exhaustion finally caught up with him, and the voices around him slowly faded away...
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