After All This Time

Chapter 5

Chandler's POV

Katelyn and I finally arrived at our restaurant, Marco's. It was a restaurant I had been introduced to a few years ago.

I got out of the car and walked to Katelyn's door, opened it, and held out my hand, a playfully snobby look on my face.

Katelyn laughed and took my hand.

We walked in the front door. The place was exactly how I remembered it. Small chandeliers hanging over each table, white leather chairs that matched the tablecloth.

We went up to the front desk and the man sitting behind look up and smiled at us.

"Hello," he said. "Welcome to Marco's. How many?"

"Two," I responded. "And I actually have a reservation."

"Wonderful," he said and opened a planner in front of him. "Last name?"

"Riggs," I answered.

The man'a eyes widened a little and he looked up, taking a close look at me and Katelyn.

"Wait," he said and pointed at us. "Aren't you Carl and Enid from The Walking Dead?"

I put on the face that I always put on when I get recognized: a simple smile.

"Yeah," I answered. "We are." I leaned closer to him. "But we're kinda trying to keep a low profile tonight."

Realization crossed his face and he nodded. "Oh, of course," he whidpered. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," I said, laughing.

He smiled and continued to look through the planner.

After a few moments, he pointed to a spot on the page. "Ah," he said and stood up. "Right this way."

Following him, I looked back at Katelyn. She smiled a little and shrugged.

God, I missed her.

Finally, we came to our table. I pulled Katelyn's chair out for her before taking a seat.

Once Katelyn was seated, she chuckled and said, "Man, for this being simply an outing between two co-workers, this is awfully fancy."

I breathed out a laugh. "Hey," I said, pointing at her. "You're not just my co-worker, you're my best friend."

I could've sworn that Katelyn's face became sad and grim, but I blinked and she was back to normal. I decided that I was just imagining things.

We continued talking until the waiter came up to take our order. I got a burger while Katelyn got a salad.

When the waiter walked away with our order, Katelyn said,"Oh, yeah, Chandler, there is something I forgot to tell you."

I raised my eyebrows, willing her to continue.

She chuckled and said, "I deleted all of my pictures with James off of my account."

At first, I didn't know what she was talking about, but then remembered the night we broke up.

I gasped. "No!" I said guiltily.

Katelyn started shaking with laughter. "It's okay," she said, a huge smile on her face.

I covered my face with my hand. "God," I said. "I was such a jerk."

Katelyn took a moment before nodding. "Yeah," she agreed. "You were."

She sounded serious but when I looked up at her, she was chuckling.

"I'm so sorry," I said. "For everything I said and...did that night."

Her face softened and she reached over, putting her hand on top of mine.

"I know you are," she said gently. "You've told me about a million times. But hey, it's been 6 years; I'm over it."

I lightly chuckled and the wait or came out with our food.

We proceeded to stuff our faces. I was instantly reminded of the says she would come over to my house and hang out with me and my family. We would order 3 boxes of pizza, one cheese, one mushroom, and one pepperoni, and watch Survivor.

I did miss those days, but in the end, I didn't regret proposing to Monica. She was funny, understanding, smart, caring, independent, and gorgeous.

"Am I ever gonna get to meet this Monica?" Katelyn asked, bringing me back to reality.

"Huh?" I asked.

She smiled. "I think you were thinking out loud."

I put my face in my hands, wanting to die from embarassment.

Katelyn chuckled.

"I'm sorry," I said, chuckling myself.

"So am I gonna get to meet her?" she repeated.

I hesitated. "Do you want to?"

"Of course," she said, as if it were obvious. "She seems really great. And she obviously makes you happy."

I smiled,at happy with her answer. "Then I think that could be arranged," I responded.