Joey’s Girlfriend
– part one, Walkaway
By Lucy Henson, teacherchez@hotmail.com
Disclaimer: I don’t own any of these characters apart from Lillie. I
also don’t own the song “Walkaway” by Geri Halliwell.
Okay, before you read this story, you are going to need a tiny
explanation. It follows on from “Loving Lillie”, which you probably should read
first. It takes place about three or four years afterwards.
Been holding back for years
There’s a mountain so high I need to
climb
To wipe away the fears
Lillie Geller stood outside the doorway of her room – her old room. The room she had lived in for nearly three and a half years. The room that she was leaving to go and live with her boyfriend.
As I’m turning my back on emptiness,
I leave them all behind
But actually, the timing couldn’t have been better. Her mother and stepfather were expecting twins – due in two months. So Lillie had been thrilled when her boyfriend had asked her to move in with him. Even though she was only twenty-two, she felt ready to make the commitment. She discussed it with her mother, stepfather, and the small, close-knit gang of friends that had formed around them. She still felt sad and a little unsure about leaving her mother, though.
Who knows just where I’m going?
Does tomorrow belong to me?
Lillie heard a sound behind her, and turned. It was Chandler.
“Lila?” Chandler asked, using his nickname for her. “You okay, honey?”
Lillie shook her head to get rid of the images of her room, her parents, and her old life. “Yeah, I’m fine thanks, Chandler,” she replied.
“Look, sweetie, I hope you don’t feel that we’re kicking you out,” Monica said, appearing behind her husband, and resting a hand on her large stomach.
“I don’t, Mom,” Lillie told her, trying to blink back the tears that threatened to fall. “I mean: most twenty two-year-olds don’t live with their parents, do they?”
“But you’re not most twenty two-year-olds,” Monica said. “You’re my Lillie… the baby I had. I can’t believe you’re big Lillie Geller, about to make a huge commitment to your boyfriend.”
“I know,” Lillie replied, using the expression she had picked up from Monica. Chandler did a slight double take – apart from Monica looking fatter, she and Lillie could have been sisters. Using the same expressions – now that was just surreal.
There was a knock on the door, and Rachel’s voice was heard. “Hey, guys!”
“We’re in here, Rache,” Monica called out.
Rachel and Ross entered the room. “I remember when this was my room,” Rachel said, looking around.
“I remember when you left,” Monica added, welling up.
“I remember how I comforted you,” Chandler told her, smiling mischievously. “I can do that after Lillie goes as well, you know.”
“Ew!” Ross cried. “Too much detail.”
“Yeah, Chandler, way too much,” Lillie said, wiping away the tears. “I don’t need to know about my mom’s, um, love life.”
“Good, cos you’re not going to,” Monica said, sternly. “Really, kids these days,” she added, jokingly to Ross and Rachel.
“Oh, please tell me Kimmy won’t be like that,” she said, worriedly.
“Sorry, no can do,” Chandler replied, laughing. “I think all teenage girls are like that.”
Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Lillie’s boyfriend entered the apartment. “Ready to go, sweetie?” he asked, eyeing her stuff. “This is going to be heavy,” he muttered.
As the others – with the exception of Monica, who decided to be co-ordinator – began to carry stuff over to Lillie’s new apartment, Lillie stood for a second in silence. “Bye room,” she whispered.
With my head up high
Walkaway
Just me and myself
She remembered her first night there – her head in turmoil after meeting her mother, learning about her conception, worried about how she and her newfound family would get on.
Nothing left to hide
It just feels right to
Walkaway
Then she remembered her second night there – happy because her mother had accepted her, thrilled to know she now had a real family, a mother, father, sister, uncle, niece, and two new friends to help her through anything.
When we were oh so young
Just one tender moment I cannot find
Well maybe I had none
Then she remembered another happy night – the night she had told Rachel about her birth. The night she had finally felt comfortable – everyone knew the truth about her background. That night, she had talked and talked with her new group of friends – they had talked so much that she felt as though she had a new family. She learnt everything about them – Monica’s cleanliness, so like her own; Chandler’s wisecracks and jokes; Phoebe’s beliefs and optimism; Rachel’s love of fashion, also like her own; Ross’ obsession with dinosaurs; and Joey’s passion for all women.
Although I feel afraid
She could remember another night – a less happy one. A night when one of her friends was taken ill, a night when the reaper named Death came and claimed Phoebe for his own. The night when Phoebe was taken to be with her Maker, the night when He decided He wanted back the woman he had given to the world so many years ago.
But I know it’s too late for this goodbye
There’s nothing left to say
Her next memory was of her first night with her boyfriend. They had known each other for almost a year when he made the first move. She had been scared, because he was a womaniser, but she had fallen head over heels in love. It eventually turned out that she did not need to have worried. He felt the same way.
Who knows just where I’m going?
Does tomorrow belong to me?
He came up behind her now. “You okay, sweetie?” he asked.
With my head held high
Walkaway
Just me and myself
“I’m fine, thanks, Joey,” she replied.
Nothing left to hide
Taking his hand, she sighed and walked away.
Walkaway