Chapter 30: Nora
While everyone was still speculating about who had kissed Ross, Craig from building maintenance knocked and entered, explaining that the power outage had been caused by the main circuit breaker blowing. An electrician wouldn't arrive until tomorrow morning, so they'd be without power for the rest of the night. He was going apartment to apartment letting everyone know.
After Craig left, Chandler said, "Well, at least we can rule Craig out as the mystery kisser!"
Ross replied flatly, "Very funny—and for the record, it was definitely a woman."
Monica said, "Who would've thought the first moment of 1995 would give us this mystery? Ross, you might want to use some mouthwash after swapping spit with a stranger."
Phoebe suggested, "Maybe it was a ghost from the 1800s who's drawn to your intellectual vibe."
Monica and Rachel both shouted "NO!" at the same time, cutting Phoebe off. "We're teasing Ross about a mystery kiss, not inviting ghosts into our apartment—we live here!"
The group continued joking about Ross's situation. Eventually, after the candles had burned halfway down, Rachel and Paulo were the first to leave, taking a candle with them as they headed to Paulo's place.
Ross watched them go, his expression troubled. Joey, noticing, said, "Would you rather we'd stayed here making fun of you all night?"
Ross stared at the doorway even though they'd already left. "Shouldn't they be staying here with everyone?" he asked.
Joey replied, "Pretty sure they had other plans—just like Audrey and I have plans in my apartment right now. Sorry Ross, catch you later!"
Joey grabbed a candle and left with Audrey for his place across the hall.
Grace leaned toward Bruce. "Should we have urgent plans too?"
Bruce smiled. "We can leave—I'll think of a reason on the way out."
He stood and offered his hand. When Grace took it, he picked up a candle, said goodnight to everyone, and they left together.
Grace spent the first night of 1995 in Bruce's apartment. Nothing happened—after all that wine, she barely made it upstairs before passing out on his couch.
Bruce carried her to his bed and took the spare bedroom himself.
In that moment, Bruce felt completely chivalrous—almost ridiculously so.
When he woke up, Grace was already gone. She'd left a note on the back of some scrap paper on the coffee table: she'd been called into the firm for an emergency, followed by several complaints about her boss ruining the holiday.
After reading it, Bruce remembered his own work: he needed to finish the script for Crazy Clerk Part Two based on the outline he'd completed a few days ago.
He showered, went downstairs to Central Perk for coffee and breakfast, and when he returned and turned on the lights, he realized the power had been restored sometime during the night.
Bruce worked at his desk until afternoon with only the ending left to write. Unsure about the conclusion he'd planned, he decided to leave it for now.
He stood up, thinking: what kind of "special" ending could this type of movie even have?
Bruce went down to Monica's apartment where everyone was lounging on the couch watching TV—some kind of talk show.
Monica called out, "Bruce, come watch—Chandler's mom is on!"
Although Bruce knew from his previous life that Chandler's mother, Nora, was a famous romance novelist, he had to act surprised. Claiming to predict everything would eventually make people suspicious.
So he sat down and said, "Chandler, I knew Nora Bing was a successful author, but I had no idea she was your mom!"
That seemed natural enough: knowing of Nora as a writer made sense, and since Chandler had never mentioned his mother to Bruce before, not knowing they were related was perfectly believable.
On screen, the host asked, "You're on tour promoting your new book—where are you headed next?"
Nora answered, "Tomorrow I'm going to New York. I hate that city, but my son lives there, and I adore him."
Everyone looked at Chandler fondly. Chandler said, "See? I have to find out my own mother's coming to town by watching TV!"
The following evening at Riff's on Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village, Chandler and his mother Nora sat with Bruce, Monica, Joey, Phoebe, and Ross at a table for the welcome dinner.
Nora ordered a round of tequila shots for the table, and after confirming everyone wanted one, Rachel and Paulo arrived. They spotted the group and hurried over to join them.
Rachel smiled apologetically. "Sorry we're late—we kind of lost track of time," while Paolo stayed close to her, acting like they needed to share the same seat.
Ross, watching them, muttered to Bruce, "That guy's always around—and he doesn't even know Nora. Why's he here?"
Bruce understood Ross's jealousy was showing, but said, "Technically, I don't know Nora either."
Ross replied, "You know that's not what I mean."
Bruce said, "Of course I do. And for what it's worth, I don't think he and Rachel will last—so try to relax."
Ross looked at him. "I hope you're right—because that guy doesn't deserve Rachel."
But when Paolo started being overly affectionate with Rachel during dinner, Ross's expression and body language gave away everything he was trying to hide.
What Ross didn't realize was that Nora caught it all. An experienced observer of human relationships, she understood the entire situation without anyone saying a word.
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