Chapter 9: If I knew then what I know now
Rory sat in Truncheon watching Jess work. It was his birthday yet he insisting on acting like it was any other day and he would work. She thought on how different living with Jess and living with Logan was. She didn't have to convince Jess every morning to go work; he willingly got up and went. This was still surprising to her, she couldn't wrap around her mind on Jess being responsible. At first she enjoyed that Logan would beg her to stay and blow off her responsibilities. It showed that he missed her but now she sees the sort of annoyingness of it. Jess encourages exploring the city to write what she sees, that way it would help her writing. She thinks of how bitter sweet the Yale Dailey News is going to be now that she has to take down her crown as Editor and pass it to someone else. And lastly she is still thinking about what Jess said on staying permanently in Philadelphia. They found the most perfect apartment it was like fate they didn't have to look long. She thinks about how her mom found all of the things for her wedding so magically. Yet none of those things got used. Was this too good to be true? She smiles at the thought of calling her mother and saying "What if I stayed in Philadelphia for more than a summer?" She knew her mother would pretend to act cool yet be frantically running around the house. Stars Hollow and Yale were her home, no matter how comfortable it felt to be with Jess. She also knew this was the last year she got to spend with mother before she would go be a correspondent or something grander. Then it dawned on her would be the last moments she would have Jess? She sees him turn around from a customer and smile at her. Silently telling her to wait a little longer for him to be done.
-Break-
April knew Luke and Lorelai had gotten married, her mother told her. For some reason it seemed that her mom didn't like Lorelai and she didn't understand why. Lorelai seemed nice; she even debated to tell her about the boy she met in the club at school. When she tried to talk to Luke about these things it just seemed awkward and her mom wasn't the most approachable person. At thirteen she couldn't wait to grow up and get away from her. It actually felt nice to be living somewhere away from her suffocating rules. She knew she should be upset that she wasn't at the wedding but she couldn't be. Her analytical mind didn't allow it to affect her. Luke sometimes felt more like a semen donor than a father, no matter how much he tried. She glanced over the mantle in the living room with all the picture of Lorelai daughter, she wonder how her life was growing up with such a cool woman like Lorelai. She started feeling guilty feeling this favoritism towards a woman she knew very little and decided to call her mom. It went to voicemail, drat. She dialed her grandma's number.
"Hi Grandma…Its April…your granddaughter… Anna's daughter…yes Anna has a daughter…anyways is my mom I mean Anna there?.. What do you mean she hasn't arrived?...the cops told you what?...Oh…"
She gulps as she hears her grandma drop the phone. They found her moms car…it almost lit on fire…she got hit by drunk driver… she is in the hospital. As the tears wanted to swell up in her eyes, she ran to Luke's.
-Break-
Rory thought about planning a party at the apartment but the realization that Jess didn't have much friends didn't shock her. Also Jess wasn't much of a socialist; he was more of a solidary individual. She thought of taking him to dinner but he insisted on doing what he pleased for his birthday. Somehow they ended up on the bridge in Philadelphia. Damn Jess and his bridges, this was one was much scarier than the one in Stars Hollow. As she looked down at how far they were up from the ground, she bit her lip. She thought about her conversation with Lane once about how Dean was comfortable and Jess was unexpected. Is that what kept her heart racing, her palms sweating and her feet never touching the ground. No no that was love. He leans in and kisses her, she asks "How is your birthday so far?"
He smiles and says "Best one so far"
He took out the book folded behind his back pocket, "I never thought you could find an original first edition copy of A Moveable Feast by Hemingway"
"Awe you've already folded it with your big old butt" Rory pouts
-Break-
Lorelai walked into Luke's, yelling "Coffee!" as she sat on the stool.
"I thought you needed to be at the inn"
"And I think we should make your coffee into pills or a shot. So I can have around me all the time" she smiles at her husband. He pours her coffee and says "I want you to last me and at this rate we may not have enough time"
She takes a sip "Enough time for what?"
"To have…" his sentence gets cut off as his cellphone begins to ring. He reaches over his pocket and begins to open it. Lorelai points at his sign at the diner about no cellphones allowed while gasping at the surprise of Luke breaking this rule. Then she hears Luke say "What do you mean what happened to Anna?...Your her nurse?...she told you to call me?...We're on our way…" he hangs up the cellphone. Anna is hurt, he needs to tell April. How is he going to tell April? He looks over at his wife when he hears the ring of the familiar diner door opening and there's April. His daughter has tears in her eyes.
"Grandma told me moms hurt" she says while breathing for air through her sobs.
-Break-
Rory and Jess lay in bed. Her head rest on his bare chest as she runs imaginary circles with her fingertips. If someone would've told her at nineteen that she would get back together with Jess at twenty one, she would've told them they were crazy. But this guy wasn't Jess; he was a much better version of him. Somehow keeping all her favorite things about him and tweaking all the other quirks. She knew, she wasn't perfect but she sure did try to be. Her paranoid mind begins to control her lips yet again "Jess what are we gonna do when I graduate from Yale?"
"We'll figure it out"
"But for now"
"For now we wait" he says as he kisses the top of her head. She felt satisfied enough with that answer. Like the time he said '22.8 miles.' But she hoped that this time the satisfaction wouldn't end and they would make it work. She knew marriage wasn't in the picture at least not for a while, but the picture didn't look so blurry. Actually she liked the way it was all coming together.
-Break-
After bringing Lorelai up to speed the three drove all the way down to New Mexico. Luke couldn't believe that Anna got so close to getting to her mom's house and then somehow this freak show accident happened. She felt bad for April who kept crying all the way over there, Lorelai tried to console her and even tried to distract her thoughts. She wasn't succeeded but it did bring a smile to her face seeing his two favorite women together. After almost two days of driving they arrived to the hospital and stepped into Anna's room. Nobody was there for her other than them. Did Anna really have no one? He knew she had a rough personality but really? Absolutely no one. Anna could only have one visitor in the room with her at a time. April went in first as Lorelai and Luke sat outside the room, Luke trying to avoid contact with the sick people. Hospitals always made him feel uneasy, Lorelai wandered for her addiction caffeine. April came out of the room and says "Mom wants to talk to you"
Luke opens the door and closes it behind him and says "Anna"
"Hey Luke" Anna tries to smile weakly, she looks burned and in pain.
"You sure you wanna talk now?"
"Luke they are taking me to an operation and if anything happens. I need you to know that I already signed papers leaving you April…My mom she isn't well…she's lost most if not all of her memories…it was hard enough to get her to write down what hospital I was in when I called. I also wanted to apologize, I shouldn't have kept April from you and I'm sorry"
"Anna its okay, you'll be okay" Luke didn't know what to say. Although he married the woman that had too much to say, he still had a hard time expressing feelings. Especially to someone who seemed in a stage of fragileness.
"Can you send Lorelai? I know she came with you"
Luke nods and directs Lorelai to the room. Lorelai walks in, not understanding why Anna wants to talk to her. She didn't know what to say to a woman she barely knew, a woman who seemed to have the stubborn mother attitude down just like her.
"Lorelai. Before you say anything. They are already going to get me ready for surgery. I just needed to tell you that April really likes you. She only knows you from her party but you're special to her. "
"She special to me"
"Good, I need someone like you in her life. Someone that can help Luke. In case-"
"Anna don't think like that-"
"Lorelai let me finish" Why is Lorelai arguing with a sick woman? Gosh she was sick sometimes. Yeah sick in the head she thought. "I just wanted to say Thank you for being so patient with Luke and I and April. I know it must have not been easy for you or your engagement. You sound like a good person and according to Luke a good mother. I hope life doesn't change you like it changed me."
The nurse walked in letting Lorelai know visiting time was over. She didn't know what to think as she stepped out of the room. Watching Anna being wheeled away. She looked over at April and knew she couldn't worry for long. She had to act strong for a young girl who has her mother hanging by a string. She wrapped her arm around her squeezing her arm tight. She wanted to laugh as she saw Luke sitting down staring at his shoes. This was her family and if her parents taught her anything you can judge each other all you want but in tough times you stuck together like glue. Even though she was sad for Anna, she was happy her life has somehow had came in a full circle for her. Rory was good and in school and doing everything they ever planned together. She had a man that loved her undeniably and somehow she got an adopted daughter. That reminded her so much of her own little nerdy sweet daughter.
AUTHORS THOUGHT: I'm debating to leave this as is and leave this as the last chapter. I kind of feel, the story has run its course. Do you think I should continue it or let it be?
