Title: Holden Revisited
Author: Bess
Rating: PG
Summary: A look at a summer from the past
Authors Note: Okay, I was playing in the puddles on my driveway and this idea came to me, so I immediately rushed upstairs to my computer to begin typing.
Disclaimer: Have I ever owned anything? I mean, really. The only things I own are Eric, Holden Revisited, and the bookstore (oh, and the entire plotline…not to brag or anything!)
***
I don't know what I fell in love with first, her spirit or her herself. All I really know is that she's always been an angel in my eyes.
One of my most distinct memories of her was on our second official date. It had rained while we were in the restaurant, but by the time we got out it was just a very wet summer afternoon, and the humidity was killer. We had taken her car, but she insisted that we walk home, saying she'd just walk back and get it the next day.
When I asked why she wanted for us to walk home when it was so wet outside she responded by simply slipping out of her sandals and jumping into the nearest rain puddle. "We wouldn't want to waste all these puddles, now would we?"
I didn't even bother to respond. She was one of those people who could wrap you around her finger without even trying, and without even knowing she was. Her explanations didn't have to be logical, well, at least not to you. They were always logical to her.
***
The author saved the document and shut down his computer. Tears were welling up in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. It was not the time or the place. It had not been the time or the place for the past seven years. That was how long it had been since he last saw her. It wasn't that she'd died, and she hadn't even pulled the "I'm vanishing off the face of the earth while carrying your child" trick, no, they had simply broken up, going off to separate colleges. Separate futures. After all, they had separate dreams.
***
Two and a half years later, different town, different person…
***
"Hey Eric, is that this weeks book list?" Rory bounced down from her perch on the hammock in her backyard.
"It most certainly is!" He loved giving her the book list. Not only did it mean she smiled, it also meant he got a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Okay, let's see," she beamed, "Once, by Clarice Thomas. 'An aspiring writer discovers true love at a costume part in this new novel by an old favorite, Clarice Thomas.' Ooh! I can't wait to read it. What else is here? Believer, by Folke Taille. Great Pen name! 'Author Folke Taille weaves a story of truth in a world of lies. Echoes an oldie, The Giver, by Louis Lowry.' Also sounds good. I've always loved The Giver, or anything else by Louis Lowry for that matter. Holden Revisited: A Novel, by…" she paused in shock, "Jess Mariano. 'A somewhat true tale of newcomer Mariano's late teens, the novel reflects on first love, summer rain, and what it means to move on. A touching narrative sure to tug at the readers heart strings.'" Rory stopped talking and just stood in the backyard shaking. Eric noticed that her smile had disappeared, and his hopes of getting that hug and kiss diminished. Rory was upset.
***
Two years before, the same place we began, the same person we began with…plus someone else…
***
"What do you mean it's too unreal? The entire thing is pulled from real life!" Jess yelled.
"Well, what kind of child's dance teacher hits on everything male with a pulse?"
"Miss Patty—I mean Sally, Miss Sally."
"I just don't think it will appeal to readers."
"Readers gobble these things up. Characters so unreal they're real. Pulling at the stereotypes. I mean Stars Ho—Sunny Village is one big stereotype."
"…I guess you can leave in Miss Sally, but this Delilah person is gonna have to go. I mean, sure people get addicted to coffee, but not to such extremes. No woman would go to such an extreme as to offer a man her first born son in exchange for coffee."
"Clearly you've never met Lorelai," Jess muttered under his breath.
"Huh?"
"Nothing. Look, none of the characters are going to go anywhere. Every last one of them is crucial to the plot line. I mean, Delilah is Dee's mother for G-d's sake!"
"You're too stubborn for your own good, you know that Jess?"
"Yes, Michael, I'm well aware."
"So this is really based on real events?" Michael asked tapping the thick manuscript sitting atop the desk.
"Every last word."
"Wow. Tough life, kid, tough life."
"Yeah, well, someone's got to live it."
***
Two years later, still in Rory's backyard. (In case you haven't noticed, the scenes with Jess are in the past and the scenes with Rory are more current. Well, they're all in the future, but you know what I mean.)…
***
"Ror, you okay?" Long pause. "Ror?"
"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. When is this book coming out?" She glanced down at the sheet. "Today…we've gotta go." She grabbed Eric by the arm and dragged him to her car, hopping in, starting the engine, and tearing out of the driveway in mere seconds.
"Ror, are you sure you're okay, cause I don't know that I really trust you to drive. You've got your mother's shoe sale face on."
"I told you I was fine, Eric, now let me concentrate." Eric shut up, but he didn't release his death grip his seatbelt until the car had stopped completely and Rory had stopped the engine. He didn't breath either.
Rory tore into the store, Graham, Grant, and Geller. "Paris, hand the book over!"
"I don't know what you're talking about, Gilmore."
"The book. I want it."
"What book?"
"Paris."
"What book?"
"Paris."
"Fine, but I don't think you're going to like it."
"Just give me the book."
"Okay." Paris handed Rory a thick hardback. The cover showed the back of a bench with two blurry figures sitting on it and the words Holden Revisited: A Novel by Jess Mariano.
Rory immediately flipped to the first page…
I don't know what I fell in love with first, her spirit or her herself. All I really know is that she's always been an angel in my eyes.
One of my most distinct memories of her was on our second official date. It had rained while we were in the restaurant…
***
So, what do you think? Potential? No potential? Review s'il vous plait.
Bess