Stay Gold

six

chapter ninety six ~ the one where matteo turns two
Joey's POV

Things were turning out great for everyone because for some reason, their lives were just working out perfectly. Ross and Rachel were happier than ever, both in their careers and also in their personal lives because they were working super hard and spending time with Emma. No one had dared to mention their feelings for each other which were very obvious but they knew eventually that someone would confess. Monica and Chandler were waiting to hear from the agency, their letter of recommendation had been mailed and now was the waiting game, waiting to find out if a pregnant woman somewhere in the country would choose them to give her unborn child to. It was a tricky process but they had the ball rolling and there was nothing stopping them now. Phoebe and Mike were officially taking their relationship to the next level and had gotten engaged; something that no one had seen coming but were more than happy about. Not only did this mean that Phoebe was settling down but it also meant that there was another wedding to plan and that made everyone excited. But that was sometime in the future, right now there was something else to celebrate; Matteo was turning two!

Heather and Joey had been on a long journey to get to where they were now but things were paying off and they were more than happy that their son was growing up, even if it was happening faster than they had imagined. It felt like only yesterday that they had come home from the hospital with their little baby and got straight into parenting duties but now he was walking and talking and was turning two. Next thing you know, he'll be starting school and then his parents would feel much older than they were. They had decided to hold another party at their apartment, which was feeling a lot smaller than usual when full of guests but they didn't want it to be as crucial as the first birthday had been. This party was much calmer and more relaxed because it was a chance for Matteo to have fun and he preferred things quieter. Their closest family and friends had been invited over to the house and there were platters of food ready for the guests to consume but Heather and Joey wanted to just have casual conversations with their guests. Not working too hard, especially not when Heather was pregnant.

The first guests to arrive were obviously the friends from across the hall; Monica and Chandler brought extra refreshments as they knew that they were housing all the Tribbiani family and needed as much food as possible. Ross and Rachel brought Emma with them to the party, knowing that she would need to nap during the gathering but using the day as an excuse to put her in another frilly party dress and a large bow in her hair. Phoebe and Mike were happy to help with decorations as they hung banners across door and tied balloons to anything that would hold them down; having fun because that was what these occasions were for. There was a pile of presents on the coffee table which Matteo would enjoy opening when the guests had left but each time a present was placed down, Mozzarella would investigate; before taking himself into the bedroom to sleep. As sociable as he was, he was lazy and didn't want to keep tabs on every guest in the apartment. Matteo had been dressed in his best clothes for the party and Heather had attempted to fix his messy dark hair but no matter how many times it had been combed, it looked just as unruly as before.