Rory opened her eyes and blinked a bit, to shake the sleep out of their corners. She rolled over to see her husband-to-be, Mark Haragon, sleeping quietly next to her, his chest rising and falling steadily.
She sighed, and checked her bedside clock. 5am. Holy crap, the one day she didn't have to wake up and her body clock had decided to go all Cinderella Stepmother on her. She shut her eyes, and tried to get back to sleep, but her mind was already up and whirring. Groaning, Rory slid her feet out of bed and padded across the bedroom, slid the door open and headed along the hallway to the kitchen.
She switched the kettle on, not even checking to see if there was water inside, and got a mug out from the cupboard. Three spoonfuls of coffee, then the kettle whistled, and she tipped the water in, stirring with one of those extra long spoons she had stolen from her mom when she left home. There wasn't much; she cursed herself for not checking the water levels; but she filled the remaining mug space with the last of the milk, and sat down at the kitchen table, sipping pensively.
The little two bedroomed apartment she shared with Mark had been her home for almost a year now, and she knew it so well that she hadn't needed to switch any of the lights on the entire time she had been awake. The small yellow bathroom, with the shower curtain covered in rubber ducks that Luke had given her for her twenty second birthday; the second bedroom, that was full of her mother's stuff because Lorelai was hardly ever not there; the kitchen-diner, with the appliances behind the counter, and the table, chairs, sofa and t.v in front of the counter. She and Mark often joked that the kitchen was like the one on Scrubs.
We watch way too much t.v.
Rory dipped her finger in her coffee, swirling the milk which had risen to the top. In two weeks she would be a married woman, no longer a Gilmore, but a Haragon. Rory Haragon. She'd have to have the marraige in the Times; she didn't want all her readers to think she'd been replaced.
She jumped as a vibration went off behind her. She'd left her cell on the sofa. She walked over and flicked it open.
One new message; Mom.
Rolling her eyes, Rory clicked the OPEN button.
Rory, for all that is holy, be awake, child, Luke is snoring and if you do not tell me how to stop it the Police will be over asking what's causing the mini earthquake coming from our house. X
Rory smiled; she was glad her mom and Luke were back together. Luke was a good guy.
Love you too, mom. How is everything? How's Kirk's baby? x
She took the phone back over to the table, flipping the light switch and picking up yesterdays paper from the floor as she went. She hadn't had a chance to read it yet; there was supposed to be quite a good article on the love life of Thomas Hardy. Also, she wanted to go and see a movie with Mark, and needed to pick.
After reading the article and selecting a James Bond, she scanned the rest of the paper. There was her article on the congress election; Mark's review of the latest Heroes season ("We have to buy it, Rory, it's actually amazing!"), the letters written in by random insane New Yorkers, the bestseller list-
The bestseller list; with a name that had just caught her eye as she was about to turn the page.
"Woah."
Man
of Many Means by
Jess Mariano
It was at the top, the number one space. Rory quickly scanned the review section again; yes, there it was, reviewed by Geoffrey Wolff. And it was a good review. Rory raised her eyebrows. Jess had come a long way, from the leather-clad riotous bad-boy he had been when they had dated, to this bestselling author.
"Morning, Rory…"
Rory turned and smiled at Mark, stumbling into the kitchen half-awake, rubbing his eyes and leaning on the counter.
"I made coffee." She said.
"Thanks," Mark said, scanning the kitchen. "where is it?"
"No,
I made coffee, so there's no water left in the kettle. You'll
have to refill it."
"I love that you're so thoughtful."
"I
love that too."
Rory took another sip of her own drink, which had cooled down some. Mark came and sat opposite her when his own mug was full, and passed her a doughnut from the half eaten box they had bought yesterday. She bit into it thoughtfully.
"Anything interesting happen?" Mark asked, inclining towards the paper.
"What? Oh, no, it's yesterday's." She slid him the paper.
Mark scanned the page. "That's a good book."
"Which one?"
"The new Mariano."
Rory raised her eyebrows. "The new one?"
Mark nodded, "Oh, yeah, Mariano's done a few. He's a good writer."
Rory scratched her head, nonplussed. "Guess what?"
"We are the only couple in the whole of New York who ever have doughnuts for breakfast."
"You need sugar to start your day. And, no, not that. Jess Mariano; I used to know him."
"You kid!" Mark looked surprised.
"Oh, yeah. My mom's dating his uncle. I went out with Jess, actually. He was the guy who convinced me to go back to Yale."
"Well,
that's a lot of new data for five thirty on a Saturday." Mark
said, grinning. "You should get back in touch; I'd really like to
meet him."
Rory shrugged. "I guess."
Her phone vibrated again, and the new message flashed onto the screen. The Kirkling is a strange strange creature. Stay away. Luke is awake now and hates you for making my cell go off. But mommy loves you because now she won't have permanent ear damage and will still be able to hear your lovely voice in her old age.x
"You know what I fancy?" Mark said, as Rory smiled and closed her phone.
"Me."
"Suddenly the whole world revolves around Rory Leigh Not-Much-Longer-to-be Gilmore."
"Yes, it does."
"But seriously. I want to go down to central park grab the early hours and a pretzel."
"Oooh, pretzels. I love pretzels."
"A really big pretzel."
"Rory want big pretzel, Mark!"
He grinned, and they stood up, heading back to the bedroom to change. Rory glanced at the paper as she passed it.
Jess Mariano. Jeez.