Disclaimer: I own none of this. It all belongs to the WB and Amy Sherman-Palladino. I am simply a depraved fangirl who should be doing homework right now.
Spoilers: Wedding Bell Blues
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If the invitation had been for the vow renewal of Richard and Emily Williams or Richard and Emily Crawford, I wouldn't be here right now. But the invitation was for the vow renewal of Richard and Emily Gilmore, so there was no question about my attendance.
I knew she'd be here, obviously, so I wanted to come. I wanted to see her outside of school, see how she acted around her family. Maybe we'd talk, have a drink, act like normal people for once instead of sparring partners. She was pretty nice last week though, helping me with that stupid article. She seemed…different, like it didn't kill her to be around me, like she didn't want to slice my head off with a very sharp object.
I keep looking for her in the front pews, but I can't see anyone that resembles her. Of course she's here, I think, she has to be. Jill keeps trying to follow my gaze but I won't tell her what I'm looking for. She'll probably figure it out eventually, that is if I ever see Rory. The church isn't divided by bride and groom sides so it's even harder to tell where I might see her. Figures, what should be the easiest thing in the world is currently the most puzzling.
I let out a small sigh of relief when three people walk out from off to the side. One is Richard, the other is whoever is re-marrying them and the third is…Rory. She's wearing a full on, tailored suit that shows off curves I didn't even know she had. She takes her place next to Richard so I can only assume that she's the best man…if that's even possible. I knew she'd be at the wedding, I just didn't know she'd be in the wedding. She looks beautiful, sexy, even. Didn't know a girl could wear a suit and look that good. Leave it to the Ace to surprise me yet again.
Everyone turns to look towards the staircase at the back of the room, where a woman is descending. She's…well, she's hot. She's wearing this silver dress and really high, silver heels. Next to me, my mother whispers, "I can't believe Emily let her wear that."
"Who is she?" I whisper back, as the woman confidently strides down the aisle.
"That's Emily's daughter, Lorelai."
I nod. So that's Rory's mother. Wow. I can see where Rory gets her looks from. As Lorelai takes her place by Emily's side, she and Rory glance at each other, sharing a look that only two very close people are capable of sharing. And then Rory…well, she beams. I've never seen her look like that before. I've seen her laugh and smile and huff at me, but I've never seen her look this radiant, not even when we jumped off that scaffolding. Angry may work very well for her, but this look works even better.
She looks into the crowd and she looks in my general direction for a split second. I wonder if she even knows I'm here. She has to, right? Well, if she didn't know before, she'll know soon enough.
Everyone stands as Emily walks down the stairs. She looks as radiant as Rory and Lorelai do and I think that it must be a generational thing.
"Look at Emily," my mother coos. "She's a beautiful bride, isn't she? She looks just perfect."
"Sure. For a woman who's sixty and renewing her vows."
"Oh, stop it!" but she's too giddy for her friend and at the wedding in general to really be annoyed.
At the end of the aisle, Emily takes Richard's hand and they turn to face the judge together. As he starts to speak, this is where I tune out. I do have to admit, they look happy. I always thought they made a good couple and I remember being more than a little surprised when I found out that they'd separated.
Rory glances in my direction again, this time it's right at me. Yep, she knows I'm here.
"I'm on the paper with her," I whisper to Jill.
"Oh, that's your mystery person? Logan, she's wearing a suit."
"So?" I hiss back. "She's the best man, I think."
"Weird," Jill says, and laughs. I smile, too, just because the thought of Rory in a suit is a little ridiculous, especially because Richard and Emily don't seem like the type of people who would go for that sort of thing.
She puts her hand on my shoulder and I can see Rory suddenly become very affronted. This is driving her crazy, I can tell. She takes a deep breath and bucks up again, choosing to focus on her grandparents. Lorelai turns away for a second and looks out at someone with a big smile on her face. Who, I wonder.
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The ceremony is blissfully short. Richard and Emily have already done this once, so why waste time by doing it all the way through, again. They know that everyone wants to head for the reception and get drunk, anyway. But it wasn't a bad ceremony, it was actually pretty nice.
My parents put their things down at our table and walk off to make the rounds, leaving Jill and I to people-watch and chat. She talks about the sorority she's in and some science class she's taking that's really hard. I just kind of nod and smile, interjecting meaningless comments in between her sentences. After she finishes telling me about her latest mixer, I get up and to go get drinks. As I'm walking back from the bar, I think I see Rory out of the corner of my eye but I don't do anything, just continue on to the table. I take a sip of my drink and start telling Jill about the latest ugly girl that Colin hooked up with and we start laughing. My friends' embarrassing stories always make for excellent conversation.
We stop talking when the band leader announces Richard and Emily. They walk in, hand in hand, faces glowing. I honestly wonder if I'll ever look like that with someone. Once upon a time, I couldn't even imagine being married but the Gilmores make it look good enough to give me second thoughts. Richard starts explaining how he picked the song for their first dance and it's an honest-to-God cute story.
As they dance, Jill leans over and says, "That is so sweet!" And I have to agree with her. They really do make a good couple. The band leader invites anyone in love to dance and I see Lorelai take to the floor with a tough looking guy who must have been the recipient of that smile during the ceremony.
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Jill's getting refills on the drinks and I take the opportunity to look for Rory in the direction that Lorelai came from but there's no girl-in-a-suit to be found. I'm tempted to go try and find her but I really don't want to act like some lovesick puppy. After all, I don't really like her in that sense. Sure, she's very attractive and I'd probably sleep with her, but we barely know each other and she doesn't seem like a one-night stand kind of girl.
I turn my head for a minute, just to scan the room again, and suddenly she's here, right beside me as "Moon River" starts up. Her expression is more "amused" than "annoyed" and I'm grateful to avoid a possibly awkward moment in front of all these people. We banter for a minute and then she shyly asks me about Jill in the most absurd and roundabout way. I tease her for a bit and then admit that she's just a family friend. She looks down, probably trying to keep from hiding her happiness at Jill's "friend" status and then she looks up at me and asks me to dance. And I swear my heart skips a beat.
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Shit. What a way to ruin a moment. First her mom came in and yelled. Then her dad came in and yelled at me and then the tough guy came in and yelled at me. Not the best way to meet the parents. Rory had this great "dear-in-the-headlights" look about her, face flushed with her hair all messed up and her jacket and tie off. After Lorelai ushered the men out of the room, Rory ran off to compose herself, whispering only a hurried, "see you at school."
She was beautiful tonight, utterly beautiful and captivating. She was beautiful from the moment I saw her until the moment she hurried off to re-do her hair. She was possessed by some strange confidence—asking me to dance, about my feelings for her, proposing a no-strings attached relationship and then grabbing a bottle of champagne and kissing me in a dressing room. I told her I felt like I was kissing a guy and she didn't even flinch. She just gave me this, "ha, ha, very funny" kind of look and kissed me again. I have no idea what came over her, but I liked it. I only wonder if I'll see it again.