Jess talks to a little girl
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction based on characters from the Warner Bros. television show 'Gilmore Girls'. I don't own any of it.
Author's Note: You guys rock my world. I've never gotten this many reviews for the first chapter of a multi-chaptered fic before… actually, now I think you guys have surpassed the most I've gotten for a single-chapter fic, too.
By the way, since I'm ever so unreliable and this seems so popular, I think I'll start a mailing list for this fic so leave a review, or email me and I'll add you.
Hope Chapter Two lives up to the first. I think the reason why this has taken too long to write is because it's too long. But I really, really didn't want to cut it.
Chapter Two – The Houses
There is a familiar male face hovering above her own. Rory is confused. She hasn't seen this face in years. She'd almost forgotten it, him. She passes it off as sheer exhaustion. This certainly hasn't been the best week of her life.
He says her name and she realises that he really is there, and he isn't just a figment of her over-active imagination.
She sits up, quickly, stupidly, and their heads crash together. She winces, and rubs her forehead with a hand.
She can tell he has just held back a swear word. She is glad. After all, Dani is around. The blood drains from her face. Dani. How long has she been asleep? She has left Dani unattended in a park full of crazies and loons, and people named Jess.
"How long was I asleep?" she asks.
Jess shrugs, and frowns at her. "She came with a half-melted ice cream cone. And she's been talking at me for the past half hour."
"Oh my God," she exclaims. "Where is she?" She peers around Jess and spots her daughter playing with a black pen.
Dani smiles at her mother. "Look, mommy. The nice man gave me his pen."
Jess scowls. "I did not give you my pen. You pilfered it."
"Dani, give Mr. Mariano back his pen."
"How come you know his name?" the little girl asks, still withholding the pen.
Rory shrugs, looking over at Jess who is now sharing her picnic rug. "We used to be friends."
Dani's mouth opens in comprehension. "Oh," she drawls. "Well, he's my friend now."
"Is he now?" Rory smirks, as she looks over at the uncomfortable Jess.
"Yup," the girl nods enthusiastically. "He said he likes me."
He knew that was going to come back and haunt him. He rolls his eyes, trying to indicate to Rory that he didn't really mean it, but that he only wanted to shut her up and not make her cry.
"Did he really?" Rory smirk widens.
"Right," Jess interrupts, standing. "Now that I've returned your daughter, I think I should go."
Mother and daughter both frown. Jess is just the distraction Rory's been looking for lately. And Dani seems to like him. Not to mention he did watch her daughter while she slept like the irresponsible woman she never wanted to be.
Rory grabs his hand and pulls him back onto the picnic rug. "Stay," she commands, sternly.
Jess scowls. "Why should I?"
"Because I want you to?" Rory offers.
Jess looks at her, indicating that this isn't really enough.
Rory pouts. "I haven't gotten to thank you yet for looking after Dani while I was asleep."
"Well you have now," he insists on attempting to stand once again. He can't. Rory still has a tight grip on his arm. "Rory," he pleads.
"Jess," she whines. "I haven't seen you in like ten years. And you're just going to go away? We used to be friends."
"Rory, I have to go."
"Where?" she asks.
"Home," he responds lazily.
"So you don't have to be anywhere."
Dani seems to realise her new friend wants to leave. She wanders over to Jess and takes his arm. "I'll give you your pen back if you have dinner with us."
Jess notices that both his arms have been taken hostage by Gilmores. "Thieves, both of you," he states.
Rory realises that this is a sign that he has given in. "You can come back with us," she says. "I'll make you dinner."
Jess scoffs. "Do I look like the kind of guy who enjoys food-poisoning?"
Dani frowns. "Mommy's the best cook in the world."
"Really?" Jess turns to Rory.
She seems to shift a little guiltily. But maybe he's just imagining that. "I took a few cooking classes."
"Well this, I have to see," he smirks.
"Good." Rory finally releases his arm.
He stands, and she looks up at him pitifully.
"Help me up please?" she asks, raising her arms.
He rolls his eyes, takes her hands and lifts her up.
"Me next, me next!" Dani exclaims, imitating her mother's position.
Jess frowns, but cannot refuse her. The little girl is lifted lightly to her feet.
She smiles brightly, then latches on to his hand.
Meanwhile, Rory is folding the picnic blanket, and has placed her shoes back on her feet.
"Just wait 'til we get home," Dani grins. "I'm going to show you my room. And you can meet Mr. Longneck."
"Mr. Longneck?" Jess queries. It sounds like a beer bottle.
"He's a giraffe," Dani smiles.
"My mom gave it to her when she was born."
"How is Lorelai?" Jess asks.
Rory shrugs, patting the now folded rug. "She's good. Don't pretend you don't know from Luke. I know you two still talk."
Now it is Jess' turn to shrug. "Well, he's my uncle. And he's the closest thing to a father I ever had. Jimmy's more of a friend."
"Come on!" Dani exclaims, interrupting any more meaningful conversation.
"We're coming," Rory replies. She now has the picnic blanket under one arm and the basket over the other.
Sighing, Jess takes the blanket and drapes it over one arm. Rory appreciates it, but doesn't say anything for fear of his reaction.
"Our car's this way," Rory indicates with her left hand.
"Well, I live just over there," Jess indicates. "I don't need a car."
"Never pictured you as they type to live somewhere like here," she smiles. They are surrounded by quaint family homes.
"I never pictured you anywhere but Stars Hollow," Jess countered.
Rory frowns a little. "We go back there about every second week."
"Come on!" Dani repeats, frustrated by the adults' inability to walk and talk.
They head to the car. It is a small blue sedan. A child's car seat is in the back and a blue blanket lies beside it. Rory opens the boot, and they place the picnic gear inside. Dani is buckled into her car-seat and the trio head for Rory's place.
"Mr. Merry-moron," Dani says, mispronouncing Jess' last name.
Rory laughs. "Mariano, sweetie," she corrects.
"Mary-mano?" Dani tries again.
"Just call me Jess," Jess tells her.
"Call him Uncle Jess," Rory says. "He's your Grandpa Luke's nephew. And your Aunty Jacqui and Brian's brother." Jess' half sister and brother lived in Stars Hollow with their parents, so it was understandable that Dani would know them.
"Just call me Jess," Jess repeats, glaring at Rory.
"Jess," she pronounces carefully. "What's your favourite TV show? I like Miss Sparkles' Tree-house."
Jess is silent.
Dani's eyes narrow. "Don't you have a favourite TV show?"
"I like to watch the news," Jess replies, finally.
"Bo-ring," Dani condemns it. "You're as boring as mommy. Have you seen an episode of Miss Sparkles?"
Jess shakes his head.
"Well, you can watch it with me today. I'll even teach you the songs."
Rory laughs.
"Watch the road," Jess grumbles.
Rory looks up. "We're here."
It is a modest townhouse. The perfect size for a family of three. Rory parks in the garage and leads Jess and her daughter up into the house through the back way.
Rory begins giving Jess the grand tour. "As you can see, to your right is the laundry. And the door beside it is the closet where we keep various cleaning supplies."
Jess nods as though he is interested by the idea of a closet where cleaning supplies are kept. "May I have a look?" he asks, politely.
Rory shakes her head and laughs.
"That's boring, too," Dani complains.
"Well," Rory says. "If you go through there, Jess, it's the lounge, there's books and a TV. I'm just going to take Dani upstairs to change out of her sticky clothes."
Dani looks put out.
"Speaking of stickiness," Jess says. "She dripped on me earlier. Where's the bathroom?"
"Through the lounge, you'll see the kitchen, turn around, go through the hall and it's the first door on your left. And you can put your jacket in the hall closet to your right."
"Thanks," Jess says, not quite sure if he really means it. Her instructions don't seem to make much sense, but he walks into the lounge anyway. If all else fails, he knows where the laundry sink is.
"Come on, Dani," Rory says, taking her daughter's hand and leading her up the nearby staircase. They head into the upstairs bathroom and a grubby three-year-old face and hands are washed. Dani whines the entire way through.
Rory grows fed up. "If you keep whining, Dani," she proclaims. "I'm going to lock you in your room. And that means no Miss Sparkles, and no Jess. I'll even take Mr. Longneck out."
"No!" Dani exclaims. "I'll be good."
Rory smiles. Her daughter is so easy to threaten. She'd never lock her daughter up in a room by herself.
Meanwhile, Jess discovers that Rory's strange instructions make sense when one is actually physically following them. He places his jacket in the closet, finishes washing up in the bathroom and heads straight for the bookshelf. He wants to see if Rory still owns some of the same books. There are several bookshelves covering the wall to his right. They span from the floor to the ceiling, covering the entire painted surface. Actually, maybe it hadn't been painted. Jess would have no way of knowing. The leftmost bookshelf is covered in legal volumes. Jess wonders if the entire collection of laws of the United States is housed on those shelves. Also on this set of shelves are thick hardcover books that appear to be mystery novels and political thrillers. These definitely aren't Rory's.
The next two sets of shelves are a large collection. Browsing them, Jess realises they are categorised by genre, then alphabetised by author's surname. He is amused when he looks at the Gs in the historical fiction section. There are three small volumes written by a Lorelai L. Gilmore. Jess doesn't remove them. He has read them before. Squatting to better observe the classics, he realises that the bottom three shelves in both cases are devoted to children's books. There are picture books, and activity books. There are also all the classics that he remembers reading as a child. He imagines Rory sitting by a bedside reading to a slowly dozing Dani. He smiles in spite of himself. Looking for Dickens, and Oliver Twist, Jess can't find it. He frowns, wondering where it is. He stands up again and observes the shelves higher than his eye line. It is a familiar sight. In a row, exactly as they had been arranged in her youth, are Rory's old paperbacks.
The covers are worn, and Jess knows that it is partly his fault because of his habit of placing borrowed tomes in his back pants pocket. The ink is fading off them. They look well-loved. He spies the familiar copy of 'Oliver Twist' and opens it to a page. A single pressed flower is marking a page and in his own handwriting is written "It's a facade. You only see him how he wants you to." Jess closes his eyes and thinks back to the time when he wrote those words.
He'd borrowed the novel from Rory. He'd even asked this time, since he knew it was one of her favourites. He had his own copy, of course. But he'd wanted to read hers. Even though she'd never left so much as a single pencil mark on the pages, it still felt of Rory. He could almost feel her thoughts and know what she was thinking as she read each sentence just by holding the book, and inhaling its essence. It was an enthralling experience. New thoughts came, a thousand a minute, and the pen in his hand had struggled to keep up with his eyes and his mind. Jess had felt similarly when he'd read her books before, but it was never more strongly than at this time. It was this feeling that had drawn him to Rory in the first place. When he'd first picked up her copy of 'Howl', it was merely to lose himself in good fiction to pass the time. But the book had drawn him in with its spirit, and it was distinctly Rory.
That is how Rory catches him. He is standing, looking between the pages of a worn novel that appears to be Oliver Twist by the shape and placement of the hole in her bookshelves. His eyes aren't focused and Rory wonders what he is remembering. There are a million memories. So much has happened in the ten years since she last saw him at Luke and Lorelai's wedding. And in comparison to how much time she's spent with Paul, she didn't know Jess for very long, or very well, really. But there are still a million very vivid memories.
"What book are you reading, now?" Dani asks. She is too young to realise that he is having a moment, and not reading the book at all. Too young to realise that she shouldn't interrupt.
Jess is momentarily startled. There is no place for little girls in his memory. "Oliver Twist."
Rory smiles. She was right. Perhaps she should feel ashamed that she knows her book collection so well, but she just feels content. She knows exactly what she owns. There is an inventory in her mind storing the titles, authors and genres, as well as who gave her which book, and how many Jess has written in. Thirteen she thinks hold his thoughts. They used to devour books back then. Now, Rory rarely has a chance to just read.
"What's it about?" Dani asks. "Can I see? Are there pictures?"
"No," he replies. "No pictures." He kneels down to her level and shows her.
"That's my mommy's book," she states. "You wrote in my mommy's book." She is upset that he would do such a thing.
"I wrote that a long time ago, Dani," Jess confides her. "Before you were even born."
Dani's eyes grow wide. "That book is really old!"
Rory chuckles to herself softly. "Come on, I'll put Miss Sparkles on." Rory heads over to the television and pulls a disc from the cabinet beside it.
Dani excitedly grabs Jess' hand and pulls him toward the sofa.
Jess spends a mind-numbing half hour watching as a fairy and a toad sing about friendship and cleaning up after yourself. Good clean fun for the under five. Jess was living in a nightmare. He excuses himself to the kitchen where Rory is busy cooking.
"What are you doing in here?" Rory asks.
Jess merely looks at her.
Rory grins. "Miss Sparkles got to you, huh?"
"No, that wasn't it at all," Jess says sarcastically. "Actually I came in to see you cooking."
The grin slides off Rory's face. "Yeah."
Jess looks around and notices that Rory is making pasta. The pasta has already been set to boil and she is carefully chopping vegetables to place into the sauce.
"You seem to be doing remarkably well so far."
"I told you, I took lessons."
"Packet pasta?"
"It's just about the only thing Dani will eat."
"Good cover," Jess acknowledges.
Rory grins again. "And I didn't even have to think about it."
"I'm bored!" Dani proclaims petulantly, wandering into the kitchen. She looks imploringly at Jess. "Do something fun."
Jess ponders this for a moment and Dani huffs in exasperation.
"Come on," she grabs his wrist and pulls him back into the lounge room. Jess can see that Miss Sparkles is still on the screen. She sits back down on the couch and crosses her arms. "I'm waiting."
Jess pulls his wallet from his back pocket and removes a quarter. He shows it to her. She tries to grab it, but he forms his hands into two fists.
"Which hand is it in?" he asks.
Dani's eyes are wide as she ponders each possibility. "That one," she decides finally, pointing to Jess's right hand. He opens his right hand and the coin isn't there. "That one!" She giggles as she points to Jess' left hand. Jess opens it and it isn't there. Dani's eyes are wide. "Where'd it go?"
"I'm not sure," Jess states. He pretends to notice something funny about her ear. "Hey, what's that there?" He reaches over and retrieves the quarter from behind her ear. "That's a funny place to put a coin, Dani," Jess says.
Dani is very amused. She claps her hands then grabs the coin from Jess and runs into the kitchen to her mother.
"Mommy! Jess pulled a coin from behind my ear!" Dani says this with wonderment in her voice, holding the coin up for her mother to see.
"Let me see that, honey," Rory says, wiping her hands on a tea towel. "That's legal tender alright."
"Legal tender?" Dani queries.
"Real money," Jess clarifies.
Rory looks at Jess. "I can't believe you pulled a coin from behind her ear."
Jess shrugs. "What can I say? I've been wanting to do that to a Gilmore since I met you."
"So how's it feel to have that dream fulfilled?"
"Pretty good. Pretty insert swear word here good."
"Mommy, can I keep the coin?" Dani asks.
"You'll have to ask your Uncle Jess." Rory smiles to herself when she sees the expression on Jess' face.
"Uncle Jess, may I please keep the coin."
"Yeah."
"Yay. And mommy, can I invite Sarah over so that Jess can pull a coin out of her ear?"
"Sorry honey, it's too late. It's nearly dinner time."
"Aw," Dani complains. "Can I invite her over tomorrow, then?"
"Sure sweetie. Now, let mommy finish making dinner so that we can eat."
"What is it?" Dani asks.
"Spaghetti."
"Yuck!" Dani makes a face.
Rory is surprised. Jess is amused.
"You loved spaghetti last time we had it."
"But Debbie says it looks like worms. And it does."
"You're going to have to eat it anyway, young lady."
Dani frowns and stomps out.
Rory rolls her eyes and frowns. "Can you go and make sure she isn't going to go hide in her closet and fall asleep? She needs to eat and she'll be ten times as grumpy if I have to wake her up."
"Sure you wouldn't rather do that? I can watch a pot of pasta."
"Are you sure you're qualified to watch a pot of pasta?"
"I have years of experience in the food service industry."
"That you do. But I'm watching the pot."
Jess rolls his eyes and wanders back into the living room. "Dani?" he calls.
She is sitting on the bottom step of the staircase. "I'm not hungry."
"Well, you can save your hungriness for dinnertime," he says. He considers each statement before he says it, worried that he'll say something to upset her. He has learnt that small children are volatile. "Do you want me to pull another quarter from behind your ear? You can give it to your friend."
Dani grins. He'll have to remember that the coin trick never fails to impress.
After an amount of persuading by her mother, and another couple of quarters (so that Dani now had one for each of her friends), Dani went to dinner without complaint and ate peacefully enough. After dinner, they watched a movie, and Jess started to think about going home. When the short animated movie was finished, Rory put Dani to bed while Jess channel surfed.
Rory comes down the stairs when Dani is settled into bed.
"Help me wash the dishes?" she asks her guest.
"Me? Do the dishes?" Jess stands to confront Rory.
"I bet you're the best dishwasher in this house," Rory states, crossing her arms.
Jess rolls his eyes. "Because you've never had a home-cooked meal made by your mother in your life?"
"And you have?" Rory queries.
"Touché," Jess acknowledges.
"Come on," Rory says, heading back into the kitchen. Jess can do nothing but follow her.
Rory is removing detergent and rubber gloves from beneath the sink. The sink is full of dirty dishes.
"How many pots do you need to make pasta?" Jess wonders.
Rory shrugs. "It's not that many."
"There are like five in there."
Rory looks sheepish.
"I have to admit you did quite well, though," Jess concedes.
Rory grins. "Thank you." She tosses him a pair of gloves while the sink fills with water.
Sighing, Jess pulls them on.
"So what do you do for a living?" Rory asks Jess, squirting detergent in.
"Latin teacher," he winces, knowing that she's going to tease him about this. There has already been too much making fun of Jess already today.
"Latin teacher," she repeats slowly, as though it is incomprehensible. It almost is.
"Yeah," he shrugs.
She shakes her head. "I can't picture it."
"So don't." He tries to change the subject. "I read your column, you know."
Rory is ignoring him. "How'd you get into that? I mean, no offence, you dropped out of high school. Why would you want to teach at one?"
He realises that he is not going to get away without an explanation. "A few months after I last saw you, my great-grandmother died. I'd never met her, but Jimmy, my dad, paid for me to go see her with him. Sort of like a bonding experience. So we went to Italy, where my dad hadn't been since he was left, a few years before I was born. I'd never learnt Italian, but after the few weeks we spent there, I was nearly fluent. Turns out I have a knack for languages."
"So, why Latin?" Rory inquires. "Why choose a dead language?"
"For the history, I guess. Some things need preserving."
Rory smirks. "Look at you, all emotional."
"Shut up." He is determined to make her as uncomfortable as he has just been.
"So, where is he?" he asks.
"He? Who?" Rory asks, genuinely confused.
"Your daughter's father. The man I'm assuming is your husband."
Rory sighs, and Jess notices that it's a tired one, not a frustrated one. "Paul. My husband, though it doesn't seem like it's going to last for very long, now." She trails a finger along the countertop's edge as she sighs. "We've been fighting a lot lately. About everything. He's at a conference in Chicago this week. He hasn't called since the day before yesterday. And we really need the space."
Jess is sorry for prying. He doesn't need to know the sad parts of Rory's life, but is glad that she still feels as though she can share them with him, instead of putting on a false façade of happiness.
He wants to get off the topic. "Uncle Jess?" Jess asks Rory.
"Why not?" Rory asks. "You're her second cousin-in-law. You're family." She hands him a pot.
"Because, Rory," Jess states, taking it and picking up a scrubbing brush. "I'm probably not going to see you again after today."
"You will," Rory states.
"How do you know that?"
"Because you wouldn't break a little girl's heart like that."
"I broke yours."
"I was six times her age."
"But I'm grumpy," Jess states. "I'm impolite, rude, and sometimes I can't stop myself from swearing."
"You're good with her. She adores you."
"I'm not the sort of person she should be adoring."
"She already does. Too late, you can't get out of it. You're a role model, Uncle Jess."
"Luke never let me call him Uncle Luke. I don't see why I should let her."
"Have you seen those baby blue puppy dog eyes?"
"Gilmores," Jess grumbles.
Rory grins. "There's the grumpy Uncle Jess we all know and love."
Jess smirks. "You love me," he teases.
"Shut up!" Rory exclaims, grabbing a handful of bubbles and blowing them into Jess' face.
The bubbles settle on Jess' nose and he goes cross-eyed as he looks at them.
"You're going down, Gilmore." He takes a handful of the suds and gently pops them against her face.
Liquid is now dripping down Rory's face.
Rory shrieks, and throws her sponge at Jess.
Jess retaliates by flicking water at her from the brush.
Rory grabs another handful of bubbles and makes for Jess' hair.
"You wouldn't dare," he states, looking at her.
"Try me," she teases.
He takes the pot he has been scrubbing and uses it to pull some soapy water from the sink. "If I go down, you're going down right with me."
"Fine, fine, I surrender," Rory says, wiping her gloved hands clean of bubbles.
"That's what I thought," Jess says, emptying the pot into the sink.
"Whatever you reckon," Rory picks up her sponge, noticing the mess they've made on the floor. "Look at the mess you made," she accuses.
"Oh no," Jess raises his hands as though he's the innocent victim. "Don't you pin that on me. That was all you, Gilmore."
"It wasn't," Rory frowns, turning toward the sink. "And my last name's not Gilmore."
"What is it, by the way?" Jess inquires.
"Bancroft," Rory states grimly.
"You could have done worse, Gilmore."
Rory lets the name slide this time. "I know."
Wanting to change the subject to something more light-hearted, Jess steers toward his sister. "Does Dani seriously call Jacqui 'Aunty Jacqui'?"
"Yes," Rory smiles. "Jacqui insisted."
"But she's nine," Jess protested.
"And that's exactly why you shouldn't complain about being 'Uncle Jess'."
"Because you're insane?"
"Too right."
The pair get back to scrubbing.
"I can't believe you know how old Jacqui is," Rory mutters to herself, not quite sure she wants Jess to hear.
"Excuse me?" Jess is offended.
"I'm sorry," Rory apologises. And she is. "I just never pictured you as the type to care that much."
"I love my little sister, and for you to say anything to the contrary is quite offensive."
"I said I was sorry," Rory protested, turning on the tap. Somehow they'd managed to finish all the dishes in the sink. "But you're never there on her birthdays."
"I send her a card and a present every year," Jess says.
Suddenly Rory realises something. "It's because of me, isn't it?"
"What? No!"
"It is," Rory states. "You stay away from your only sister's birthday parties because you know I'm going to be there."
"Not everything is about you, Rory."
"No, but in this case it is. I can't believe you. I've moved on. Why can't you?"
"Well, you don't seem to have moved on that well," Jess spat. "And I have moved on. This isn't about you!"
"You keep saying it, and I'm still hearing it. But it doesn't make it true."
"You know what Rory, fine!" Jess slams down the pot he was holding, waiting to put it under the tap. "I'm out of here."
He begins to remove a glove, but Rory stops him with a hand.
"I'm sorry, Jess," Rory says. "Really, I am. I just don't understand what would stop you from being there."
"I can't tell you, Rory," Jess says, solemnly.
"It's okay, I understand that, if not the other."
They spend a moment just looking at each other, pondering the new level of understanding they have just reached.
Jess really doesn't know why he is still here. He's been insulted and tease, and they've argued. And yet, here he was still.
"I'm gonna-"
The back door creaks open, and the pair turn to see who it is. Jess tenses defensively, but the person has a key and is therefore someone Rory knows. A tall, olive-skinned man with slightly wavy brown hair enters the kitchen. Jess recognises his face from the various framed photographs in the living room.
"Paul," Rory states, surprised. She had been hoping that he would be her mother and not her husband. She does not want to have to deal with him now, after having had such a stress-free day. It has been good seeing Jess again, she feels seventeen again. Young, and full of life. Even if it means petty arguments and stupid thoughts.
"Rory," he replies, looking pointedly at Jess.
"Oh," she says, and begins to gesture with her hand. "This is-"
"Jess Mariano," Jess states, removing a rubber glove and extending a hand.
Paul takes it, at the same time evaluating Jess in his gaze.
"Jess is an old friend," Rory states. "We ran into each other at the park."
"We haven't seen each other in years, so Rory invited me to dinner," Jess wasn't quite sure why he felt the need to explain himself. Perhaps he felt guilty about spending time alone with another man's wife.
Rory was thankful that Jess left out the part where she had only done it because she felt she owed him for looking after their daughter while she slept.
"We were just washing up," Rory adds, realising again that the floor is quite wet and covered with bubbles.
Jess removes the second rubber glove and places the pair beside the sink. "I should get home," he states. "It was nice seeing you again, Rory. Nice meeting you, Paul."
Paul just nods as Jess leaves the room. But he reacts when Rory goes after him.
Rory waylays Jess by the closet where he had placed his jacket earlier.
"How are you getting home?" Rory asks Jess.
"I'll take a bus," Jess replies.
"Do you even know when the next one comes? Where the bus stop is?"
"The bus stop's about two houses down. And if there are no buses, then I'll just walk."
"It'll take you like an hour, and this is New York."
Jess makes a face. "New York State. In the suburbs. And I grew up in New York City. Two years in Stars Hollow isn't going to change that."
Jess opens the front door. Rory stalks over and blocks the doorway.
"What do you want from me, Rory?"
"A phone number," she states simply. "And for you to let me call you a cab."
"You know my uncle. And if it comes to it, I can call my own cab."
It starts to rain lightly. Jess can see it through the screen door.
"Look, it's raining," Rory points.
"It's not going to kill me."
"Please, Jess?" she pouts. Jess is about to agree when Paul interrupts.
"That won't be necessary," he states.
The pair are slightly startled. They didn't notice that they were being observed.
Paul grabs his jacket from the closet and pulls keys out of the pocket. "I'll drive you."
"Really," Jess states. "I can make my own way home. It's no big deal."
"Let Paul take you, Jess. You know how spoilt I was. I always get my way."
Jess smirks. "And we wouldn't ever want the town princess to want for anything."
Rory shuts the door, finalising the arrangement, and Jess heads back toward the garage where they came in.
Paul unlocks his car and Jess gets in. He then turns to his wife, takes her hand gently and kisses her softly on the cheek. "I'll be back soon. Then we can talk."
"Drive safely," she replies.
Jess watches from the car as soft words and gestures are shared between the married couple. It was strange. Hadn't Rory told him mere hours ago that they'd probably be getting a divorce soon?
Paul gets into the driver's seat and starts the engine.
"So where's this house of yours?" Paul asks.
"Milton Avenue, Langley." Jess states.
"That's pretty swanky," Paul comments.
"Not my end," Jess returns.
They reverse out of the driveway and are now headed back down the street.
"So you're from New York City," Paul attempts to make conversation. He obviously hasn't heard about Jess from Rory.
"Yup."
"So how do you know Rory, then?"
Something tells Jess not to trust this guy. "I lived in Stars Hollow for a couple of years."
"So you got to know Rory pretty quickly, then?"
"Everyone knew Rory," Jess comments, evading the question.
"But you were friends, right?" Paul seems to be trying to determine the exact nature of Jess' relationship with Rory.
"When she wasn't pissed off at me."
"Rory doesn't get pissed off."
A smirk quirks a corner of Jess' mouth. "She was always pissed off at me."
"Why?"
"We had different values, I guess you could say."
"Why does she consider you her friend, then?"
Jess is getting tired of the third degree. "What does it matter?"
"Geez," Paul complains, loosening his grip on the steering wheel. "Can't a guy try to make conversation?"
Jess relaxed. "Guess Rory never told you how I don't converse."
"Something we have in common, then," Paul states. "Rory's always going on about how I don't talk to her friends."
"I never had much in common with Rory and her friends. Rory and I read most of the same books, and that was about it. Though we managed to have debates on the others."
"Were you and she ever together?"
This question has come out of nowhere and Jess blows up. "Where do you get off asking these questions?" He briefly glances out the window. "My house is that one." He indicates with his right hand.
Paul pulls into the driveway. When Jess tries the door he finds that it is locked. Before he can unlock it, Paul leans over and holds the switch down.
"I want to know." His voice is like steel.
"Rory will tell you what she wants to tell you. It's not my place to tell you."
"She's never mentioned you before."
"We haven't spoken in years. Maybe she forgot."
"We ran into a Logan Huntzberger the other week. She hadn't mentioned him, either. Turns out he was an old boyfriend."
Jess is put out. He wants to get out, but doesn't really want to divulge the details of that part of his life to Rory's husband of all people. He sighs and gives in. "We went out for a couple of months before I screwed up and ran to the West Coast."
"I hope you're not planning to make a move on my wife."
Jess grows defensive. "Territorial, aren't you?" He rolls his eyes and scowls. He doesn't want to give this to Paul, but it looks like this will be the only way to get out of this car. "Look. Her mother is married to my uncle. We're like cousins. I wouldn't dare."
This seems to put Paul at ease and he removes his hand. "Don't call her."
Jess frowns and unlocks the door. "Did you see me trying to contact her? I haven't in years. I'm not about to start. And she's always had the option of contacting me. She never did."
Jess gets out of the car and makes his way up his path to the front door of his house.
It is a fairly large three-bedroom home. It is too big for Jess alone but he hadn't been thinking that when he'd purchased it. Every time Jess entered it, he felt lonely and alone. Silence had always disturbed him and in his house, it abounded. He refused to sell it, though. He didn't want to live in yet another apartment.
This was the first house Jess had ever lived in. In New York City, he and his mother had drifted from flat to flat. And he and Luke had lived above the diner in what could barely be called an apartment, since it was really more of an office before the renovations. He hadn't really lived at Jimmy's. He never even had a bed there. And after that it was apartment to apartment once again. Though, he did manage to live in some quite large ones. Ironically, the biggest place he'd ever lived in was the only one he'd ever lived in alone.
Jess puts his jacket away neatly on a hanger in the hall closet. He doesn't bother turning the lights on and heads straight upstairs. It is a similar routine every night; the same one he's adhered to for nearly five years now.
As Jess lies in bed, he ponders his day and wonders if he'll see Rory Gilmore again in another ten years.
A/N: Erm… somehow this ended up being really long. And we haven't even gotten to Rory's conversation with Paul yet. There's a long way to go yet, guys.
By the way (if you didn't read the top author's note), there's a mailing list for this fic. So email me (shoes underscore blues at hotmail dot com) and I'll add you.
And the back-story for this fic, 'Jess meets his nonna', is out. It's all about Jess and his relationship with Jimmy, and a million little other questions you might have from this story are going to be answered there (if not later in this one). So read it, but it's not necessary.