The One Where The Lines Get Kinda Blurry

The One Where Life Moves Forward

Jen had smiled as she read his text. She'd immediately typed out a lengthy reply and hit send just as she was called back on set, smiling widely as she made her way across the Chicago park which was bathed in mid-summer sunshine. She honestly couldn't remember a time in her recent life when she had felt this light and free. Her friendship with David was mending, not totally mended as yet, but it was definitely mending. They had been messaging and calling each other once or twice a month since she had bitten the bullet and visited him in London in the spring and for now at least, it was enough. She had recently begun filming on her latest movie, ironically called The Break Up, with Vince Vaughn, who was like a breath of fresh air for her. He was funny, he was incredibly kind hearted, he was a gentle giant and somehow, she already felt the sparks flying between them might lead to a bit of rebound romance. She wasn't ready for anything serious as yet, her mangled heart was nowhere near mended enough for that to be on the agenda, but she could definitely use a bit of lighthearted and flirtatious fun in her life again.

And as it turned out, that flirtatious fun did indeed lead to romance. Nothing heavy, nothing long term, they both knew that from the outset, but he helped her. He had allowed her to breathe, and relax, and emerge from the tormented shell of a woman that began the movie to the more confident, more upbeat, and more determined woman she exited as. Unlike with Brad, she hadn't spent hours on end comparing him to David, she had just allowed their connection to be what it would be. No pressure, no expectation and no long-term plans. That was her new long term life plan, to make no long-term plans and she felt good about that. The only goal she had right now was to work hard, possibly play a little harder, and to enjoy the glorious lifestyle she had somehow managed to acquire.

After her oh so public and dramatic split with Brad, she had moved out of the stunning but not altogether comfortable mansion they had shared, and holed up in a small, cosy, beachside chalet in Malibu. Whilst she missed the space of the other place, she loved her bright, fresh and welcoming little home. She especially loved that she was able to furnish it completely in her more comfortable, homely style rather than the modern, artistic look she had been sucked into with Brad. And above all she adored the sound of the waves lulling her to sleep every night. It was calming; it was soothing; and it reminded her of the beautiful sleep CD which David had lovingly put together for her which she still treasured dearly and she still listened to regularly.

Her new best friend, Norman the Welsh Corgi-Terrier who she had adopted as soon as she moved in, and her had spent many happy and almost carefree hours walking on the beach together, delighting in the semi-freedom she found away from the prying eyes of the world. Sure she was still papped most days, but after a while they had got bored of taking the same photos of her doing the same mundane and routine thing so the pressure did begin to ease a little. As rumours had begun to grow of her budding relationship with Vince, the chase had been on for them to be pictured together, but for once Jen didn't completely hate that. She wasn't doing anything wrong so she didn't feel the need to hide and run, and in a way it was a huge signal of 'fuck you' to Brad and Angelina, who had barely waited two minutes before posing for pictures together with her children, parading as the perfect happy family together. That had hurt Jen more than she could possibly have imagined it would. Regardless of how torn her heart had been between Brad and David, she was definitely invested in having a baby of her own, and she had been devastated when it hadn't happened as easily as she had hoped. So, for him to step into what seemed like the perfect ready made little family less than a couple of weeks after swearing blind to her that he hadn't cheated or crossed a line, well that was a pretty low blow and one that she was sure would wound her for quite some time.

Anyway, her time with Vince had come to an end now, so the paps wouldn't be getting any more pictures of them out and about as a couple no matter how hard they tried. They'd had their year of fun together, they'd partied, they'd travelled, they'd laughed and she had healed more than she thought possible in that time, but they had both agreed that it was time to move on and bid each other farewell; him back to a life that didn't involve being followed by the media twenty four seven and her to sit in a more comfortable silence with her thoughts for a while, and work out where and with who she wanted the next stage of her life to be, although in her heart she still knew the who part of that conundrum.

It was another sunny Tuesday afternoon in LA and Jen was sat watching the waves crash onto the shore from her semi-private little deck area when her cell phone started to ring. "Hey Schwimmer!" she greeted him happily. She was so glad that they had gotten back to a point where they could talk again. Not often, and not deeply, but they were connected again and that made her happy, and she hoped it did him too.

"Hey Jen, how are you?"

"Yeah I'm doing good thanks, how are you?" she replied, noticing a lot of noise in the background, "and where are you? That sounds like some party!"

"Haha yeah, I'm in a bar in the West End in London. That's kind of why I'm calling really because I've got some news and I wanted you to hear it from me first."

"Oh ok, spill....."

"Well, I met a girl, Zoe, who works in this bar a while back now and we have been dating, I'm just waiting for her to finish her shift now actually. Anyway, I thought it was just going to be a casual thing at first because she's a lot younger than me and well, obviously she lives in London..... but it's actually turned into something pretty special...... and I ...... I asked her to marry me last week and she said yes."

Jen felt her heart stop momentarily as she sat reeling at David's news. She always knew setting him free came with the huge risk that it would be forever and now her fears were coming true.

"Honey I'm so happy for you!" she exclaimed as brightly and cheerfully as she could muster into the handset, "that's so exciting."

"Thanks...." David's silence lasted a few seconds longer than usual and Jen knew. She knew that he was internally saying goodbye to her; and she knew that he knew, she was going to end the call and burst into tears. "I'm sorry....." he added finally, "I'm sorry that we didn't get our happy ending."

"I'm sorry too" she sighed, "I guess with us it really was the classic case of right person, wrong time."

"I guess it was."

Jen heard voices approaching down the phone and a loud squeal of excitement which she assumed was probably Zoe and her friends.

"Listen honey, I've got to go and let Norman out before he has an accident because he's jumping and bouncing around all over the place here, but honestly, I hope you  are both so happy together." She took a deep breath before adding with more than a hint of melancholy in her voice, "I always said you'd make the best husband. I hope Zoe appreciates you the way you should be appreciated and treats you better than I did."

"Thanks Jen..... and listen, I don't want this to change things between us again okay. We're still friends right?"

"Of course we are. We've come too far and shared too much to mess that up again."

"Right. Ok, well I'd better let you go and see to the dog then..... bye Jen..... take care."

And with that he was gone. Totally gone from her grasp forever. Jen curled her legs up under her body and wiped away the couple of tears that had already begun to sneak out from her eyes. She stared over to where Norman was fast asleep in his bed, dreaming doggy dreams and the only care in his world being when his next walk was or if his belly needed attention. "Looks like it's just gonna be you and me boy" she murmured, "just you and me against the world."