New Beginnings

Chapter 5: Self Love

It had been almost a week since Monica and Chandler had broken up. They hadn't talked to or seen each other the whole time, although Monica knew that wouldn't be the case much longer because Chandler had only moved across the hall to Joey's apartment.

She didn't even know what to think about what had happened. Mostly, she just felt numb. There was one thing that kept creeping back into her mind, though, and that was Richard. Had her and Chandler really just ended a relationship partially because of him? It had been 2 whole years of dating, 1 year of being engaged, and Chandler still had insecurities about Richard. She thought it was completely ridiculous, especially after a year ago when Richard came back for her but she still chose Chandler. Of course, if Chandler knew what she was really thinking, he might have a right to be jealous. But he didn't know, so he didn't have a right.

  Monica's thoughts about Richard had become sort of a habit lately, especially since her and Chandler had been having relationship issues. She couldn't stop thinking about when Richard came back for her, almost a year ago. What if she had stayed with him, instead of Chandler? He'd even offered to have kids with her if it meant getting to be with her. It had been a year, but did that mean he still felt the same way? Last time she saw him, it had been four years since they'd dated, and three since they had that one week together. So, it was very possible he did feel the same way. But did she? "No, of course not. I was with Chandler for three years.", she told herself.

  She had laid in bed almost all morning, just running all these things through her mind. She felt like a crazy person, so she decided to get up and do something with herself that day. It was Saturday, so at least she didn't have to work. Maybe she could take herself out to dinner, because she didn't have, nor did she need a man to do it. It would be nice to take herself on a date. She decided that she needed some time to herself, to not focus on anyone or anything else until she was perfectly happy being alone. She knew that for the most part, she was, because she had been alone most of her life. Sure, she had been in several relationships, but she didn't really count them as such. Her first real relationship was with Richard, and when that ended, she was alone until she found Chandler. But there was still that small part of her that wanted to be in love. After all, she was almost too old to be having children, and that was what she wanted most in the whole world. She made herself a promise that she wouldn't enter another relationship until she completely loved herself, no matter what.

Monica eventually got up and took a shower and got ready for the day. She looked in the mirror while brushing her teeth. "Loving myself includes pampering myself, right?", she thought to herself. "Of course it does!", she decided. After applying makeup and blow drying her hair, she walked to the phone to call Phoebe and Rachel to see if they wanted to tag along. "No, Monica. This is about you. A day all to yourself.", she said to herself. She nodded her head as if to confirm her decision, and then she grabbed her purse, and walked out the door.

First, she went to the nail salon. She hardly ever had her nails done, so they were pretty much bare except for a few spots of old polish that had never worn off. She decided on just a plain manicure, and chose a bright red polish. Normally she wouldn't have chosen such a bold color, but she was learning more and more that change wasn't so bad.

After her nail appointment, she walked out of the building and saw a hair salon across the street. She thought about her hair for a second, and then shrugged her shoulders and walked across the street and entered the salon. "Hello, how are you today?", a stylist at the front desk said politely. "I'm just great.", Monica said, "How are you?" "I'm good, thank you. Did you have an appointment?", the girl asked as she looked through their appointment book. "No, I don't, actually. Do you guys happen to take walk-ins?", Monica asked. "Well, normally we don't, but we had some cancellations this afternoon so I think I could fit you in now if you'd like.", she said with a smile. "Yes, that would be awesome, thank you!", Monica said as she followed the girl back to one of the chairs. She sat down and looked through a book of haircut styles, before deciding on a layered look that would require a couple inches off of her hair. "This one looks good.", she said and showed the hairdresser. "Alright, lets see what we have to work with.", the girl said.

After about an hour, Monica's hair was finished. She thanked the girl and paid, leaving a generous tip because she was so kind. After leaving the shop, she decided to go home and get ready, because she had a very important date.
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Hi everyone!! First of all I'd like to apologize for being so inactive and hardly ever updating my story. Life has been absolutely crazy lately and it's not going to slow down any time soon, but hopefully I can start putting aside time to write. I really enjoy it and it's kind of a way to forget stress for a little bit. However, I can't promise anything.

I apologize for how unorganized this chapter is. It's pretty much a long chapter filled with basically nothing. I promise it's going to go somewhere, but I had to get this boring chapter out of the way.

GOOD STUFF IS COMING NEXT CHAPTER!!!

In the meantime, I have two other accounts that I have abandoned which both contain other stories.

One is dukesofhazzard_01 , and I have one story called Luke's True Love. It is a super long story, with 31 parts to it. I could probably add more to it but I don't really want to just because I haven't watched Duke's of Hazzard in forever and I just feel really unconnected to it, plus it is fine as it is. I am still proud of it as it was my first story, and it's still an interesting read if you guys want to check it out! :)

The other is monicarichardfan . It contains two stories, and the second is a sequel to the first. I was just unhappy with the stories and wanted a fresh start on a new account, and thus, this account was born. Nevertheless, both the stories could still be a good read and I would still appreciate so much if you guys wanted to read! They are called The One Where Richard is Back and The One With All The Happiness.

Thanks so much to everyone who reads any of my stories, I appreciate it more than you know.

Happy Reading!! xo