"DuGray!" She shouted to him from across the airport. Tristan turned and started walking towards her. She picked up her speed and launched herself into his arms, dropping her bag. She buried her face into the crook of his neck.
"It's okay." He told her with a chuckle. "You're home now." She felt his hand on the back of her head.
"I love you." She told him as he picked up her bag. He never let go of her as they walked to the car, his arm firmly around her shoulder.
"You must be exhausted." He said as he opened the door for her.
"Something like that." She said, climbing in. Even though he was driving, she refused to let go of his hand the entire way home, falling asleep as the lights of New York slipped past her window.
OOOOO
"You're really sure about this?" Lorelei asked, thankful for the decision, but questioning whether or not it was what Rory really wanted.
"Yeah, I am." Rory answered. "I've told all of my former employers that I'm off the market." She told her mother. "I think I'm going to try my hand at writing fiction. I've always thought a book would be a fun and challenging thing to do."
"You've read enough of them…" Lorelei said. Luke walked over and refilled Rory's coffee without being asked. Lorelei scoffed and pointed to her own cup.
"Luke!" Rory said, surprised by the action.
"Just this once, you won't have to fight."
"What about me?" Lorelei asked.
"You are going to kill yourself."
"But I'm the one who's getting you laid!" She exclaimed a little too loudly. Rory smiled as Luke walked away, completely embarrassed by his wife's actions. "So what does Tristan think of all of this?" She said, grabbing one of Rory's French fries and popping it in her mouth.
"He's supportive of whatever I choose to do. I think he worries that I'm making this decision because of him and not because I really want to stop. I was worried about his reaction. I don't want him to think I expect our relationship to progress just because I'm choosing to retire."
"Psh, you know that Tristan wants to marry you." Lorelei said, knowing the fact was true.
"But I don't want him to feel like he has to ask right away. I want to take our time. I want him to ask because he's ready."
"And when do you think that will be?" Lorelei asked.
"I don't know." Rory said, feeling self-conscious.
"By the end of the year?"
"You see him proposing in the next two months?!" Rory said.
"Would you say no?"
"I was with Logan for two years and it didn't work out. I've been with Tristan a little over four months."
"If he asked you, what would you say?"
"I don't know." She said honestly.
"You would say yes." Lorelei said, not believing her daughter for a second. "The minute that you left the country together, your fate was sealed."
"Why are we having this conversation?"
"Well, you're having dinner with his grandparents tonight aren't you?"
"Yeah."
"I'm just saying that it's going to happen eventually, so you might as well prepare yourself for the concept."
OOOOO
"Hey." Tristan said as he picked up Rory for their dinner in Hartford. "How was your lunch?" Rory rolled her eyes.
"That good?" He laughed at her face.
"My mom thinks that because I quit my job, the next logical step is to get married." She said, disdain for the concept evident in her voice. "She predicts we'll be engaged by the end of the year."
"What?" Tristan started laughing at the idea.
"I tried telling her that I don't even know how you feel about marriage. I've never asked you. I mean, you know that eventually I want to get married, but you've never really talked about your feelings on the matter."
"Someday, yes, I would like to get married." He smiled.
"But you don't see that happening in the next two months do you?" She asked.
"No." He laughed.
"Thank God."
"Ouch." He muttered.
"You know what I meant. I was with Logan for two years before we got engaged." She said. The smile on Tristan's face faltered a bit, but he put his attention back on the road in front of him, so Rory was none the wiser. "We've only been together for a few months! Getting engaged would be insane."
"I thought you wanted to get married someday?" Tristan said, trying to figure her opinions out.
"I do. Just not right away."
"So are you going to wait three years this time, see if it turns out better?" He half-joked. Rory could hear the edge in his voice, and he knew that his point was made.
"That's not fair."
"Well, I'm just trying to figure it out, I mean, you move in, you quit your job, you've been talking incessantly about moving forward with our relationship, and now you want to wait a few more years? Which is it?"
"Just because I don't want to get married tomorrow doesn't mean that I don't want to at all."
"That's what I want to know." Tristan defended himself. "I want to know where you see this relationship going. Can you see us married someday?"
"Maybe." She said.
"Maybe sometime in the next year? The next two years?"
"How can I know that?!" She said, raising her voice. "You want me to look into a future that doesn't exist yet and see what I would like to happen. Sometimes what you want doesn't happen, Tristan." She said.
"How do you know?"
"Because it didn't with Logan!" She yelled, her frustration breaking through the usual filter on her mouth. As soon as his name escaped her lips, Tristan turned pale, set his jaw, and never took his eyes off the road. Rory knew that she had crossed a line that she couldn't backpedal over, so she decided to look out her passenger window and remain silent for the rest of the trip.
OOOOO
"Hello you two." Janlan said as he opened the door. "How are you doing this evening?"
"Just fine." Tristan said, putting on his fake Hartford face. He had to get through this dinner in one piece, but he knew that if someone mentioned the word marriage tonight, all Hell would break loose.
"Hello, Rory. You look beautiful as always." Janlan said, a small but playful smirk planted on his face.
"Yes, what a beautiful dress." Claire complimented.
"Thank you." She said, smoothing out her dress. "I bought it for my birthday." She said with a smile.
"Oh, that reminds me. Rory, I've got an early birthday present for you." Claire said. "Follow me." She said as she started for her bedroom. Rory did as she was commanded. She watched as Claire took a velvet box off of her dresser and handed it to her. "This was my mother's and unfortunately, I didn't have a daughter or a granddaughter to pass it on to, but I wanted you to have it." Rory paused to touch the top of the box. "Go on, open it."
"Oh, Claire…" She gasped as she revealed the pearl necklace inside. "It's beautiful. But I couldn't accept this. It should stay in the family."
"Nonsense. It will." Claire smiled. "And even if it doesn't work out with Tristan, I would prefer that you take it." She said succinctly. "You are the closest thing to a granddaughter that we have." Rory touched her heart and smiled.
"You have no idea how much this means to me. Thank you." Rory said as she gave her a hug.
"Happy birthday dear." Claire said, patting her on the back. Rory let out a little sniff as her composure cracked a little bit. "Oh, honey, what's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong." She said, as her eyes filled with tears. "I'll be fine."
"This is not fine." Claire said as she sat Rory down on the bed and handed her a tissue.
"I quit my job, did Tristan tell you that?" Claire nodded. "I moved in with him, and I quit my job and now I'm wondering if it was too much, too soon. I want to live with him, I do. I love him and I'm so happy when I'm with him, but the only step left is marriage, and I've already been engaged once."
"Oh dear…" Claire said, remembering the rumors and the scandal of the time.
"And I can't get engaged again without being one hundred and ten percent sure that this is going to work because I can't get that hurt again. I can't. I won't survive it this time. I loved Logan, but I love Tristan more. And this family, you've been so good and kind, and every time something good happens, I can't help but think, don't get too attached, this could all end tomorrow."
"Rory dear, I love you like you were my own, but you have got to toughen up. Life is short, and the fact that you are scared isn't going to stop things from happening to you. In fact, it's the things that scare us the most that are usually the most worthwhile." Rory smiled and nodded. "Now I know Tristan, and he loves you more than anything. He's not going to give you up. But you've got to talk to him about this fear of yours. If he thinks that you don't want to get married, he's going to assume that it's because you don't want him. And yes, he is that egotistical." Claire smiled and Rory laughed. "Now, freshen up and we'll go back downstairs and have a good dinner, hmm?" Rory nodded.
"Thank you. For everything." Rory said.
"You're welcome."
OOOOO
Meanwhile, Janlan fixed his grandson a drink and sat down across from him in the living room.
"So, how are things at work?" He asked.
"Things are going well. I just finished the office building project that I was working on so I'm waiting for the next big project."
"And things with Rory?" Tristan nodded and took a sip of his drink to avoid having to say something right away. Janlan watched his grandson's face and smiled. "Uh-oh."
"What?"
"You were never a good liar, son. What happened?"
"Nothing, honestly. We're just at that point in our relationship where we are having a lot of big conversations."
"Such as?"
"Well, you know how Rory recently quit her job because she didn't want to travel anymore?" Janlan nodded. "She said she wanted to be here with her family and I guess I can include myself in that category. Anyway, in the past she has said that her job was one of the major barriers preventing her from settling down and that when she thought she was ready to do so, she would quit her job."
"And now she has." Janlan said.
"Right. And to me, and every other rational person, it implied that things were sort of getting serious between us. I mean, she moved in and things have never been better." He paused. "And the next natural step in our relationship is marriage, which we both agree will probably occur."
"So what's the problem?"
"The timeline." Tristan said bluntly. "She was engaged once before and it fell through and now she panics whenever someone even mentions the idea of an engagement. She wants to get married, but she dreads being engaged." Tristan shook his head. "Frankly, I don't understand it or her at this point." He added. Janlan chuckled at their youth.
"Do you want to marry her soon?" He asked, already knowing the answer.
"Not soon, but I could see us being engaged within the next year, yeah." He said. "She's saying that she can't imagine being engaged at all." He said, taking a sip of his drink.
"Well, it won't be the last time you're confused by a woman. I can assure you of that." Janlan smiled quietly as the girls came back into the room. Tristan looked up and saw that Rory's eyes were glassy and red, as if she had just been crying a moment before walking into the room.
"I'm sorry, we kept you waiting." Claire realized. "Let's move into the dining room, shall we?" Janlan, the quintessential gentleman that he was, pretended not to notice the difference and walked ahead of the young couple to the dining room.
"Are you okay?" Tristan looked concerned as he picked his drink up and stood up next to Rory.
"Yeah." She said. "I'll be fine." She said with a smile as she squeezed his hand.
OOOOO
Rory touched the lid of the velvet box as she set it down on the dresser.
"Have you tried it on yet?" Tristan asked as he watched her.
"I can't. It's an heirloom. It's just supposed to sit in the box and look pretty."
"Bullshit. Bring it here." Tristan said, reaching for the box.
"Tris," She said. "I am in my pajamas, about to go to bed." She said, pointing to her tank top and pajama bottoms.
"So?" He said, grabbing the box out of her hand.
"Be careful please?" Rory requested.
"Sorry." He placated her as he opened it up and took it out carefully. "Hair, please?" She moved it out of his way and he placed the necklace around her throat. "There." Tristan said as he finished clasping the necklace. He took a step back and she let her hair fall back into place. "It looks great on you."
"I still can't believe your grandmother gave it to me." She said as she touched the pearl reverently.
"She wanted to give it to you earlier, but I told her to wait until your birthday so you would be forced to take it."
"I almost didn't take it now." She said. "I told her she should give it to someone in her family."
"And what did she say to that?" Tristan asked, knowing it would be a good response.
"She told me that even if things didn't work out with us, she would want me to have it anyway. And then she said some lovely things that made me cry."
"I told you that they adore you."
"I know." She said, getting quiet.
"Ror, talk to me. What is going on?" Tristan asked. When she didn't turn around to face him, he stood up and walked up behind her. "Please?" She closed her eyes at the feeling of his hand on her elbow, sliding down her arm and back, caressing her skin, calming her nerves.
"I'm scared." She said.
"Of what?" Tristan asked softly, trying to be supportive. She looked hesitant. "You can tell me." He said.
"I'm scared of this." She touched the necklace around her neck. Tristan's heart dropped into his stomach. "I'm terrified that all of this is too good to be true. I'm scared because I love you so much and I could easily throw my life and all my plans away just to be with you. I'm not supposed to be that girl! And my job was the thing that kept me alive when Logan and I split. I buried myself in work. What if you and I were to break up? I wouldn't have you and I wouldn't have my job." Tristan didn't say anything.
"Do you honestly think that what happened to you and Logan will happen to us?" He finally asked, wanting to know.
"You don't have any doubts?" Rory asked, knowing that couldn't possibly be true. "You've never been scared about us?"
"I never said that."
"Tell me." She requested. "Please?" He was reluctant to admit his own doubts because for him, they weren't deal-breakers, but the look on her face made him cave.
"I'm terrified that you left your job, not because you wanted to, but because I'm your relationship do-over for Logan." He said quickly before he lost his courage. Rory closed her eyes.
"You could never…" She muttered.
"But do you know what is more powerful than that fear?" He asked. "It's you. I spend twenty seconds with you and all of those fears fade away. One touch, one glance from you and I don't have to worry anymore. My mind goes blissfully blank." He sighed. "I just want you to be happy. If you're not," he shook his head, unable to finish his sentence, "well, that is not okay with me."
"I really am happy. I just…" she paused to gather her thoughts, wanting to carefully choose her words. "In the past, the way I felt, as strong as those feelings were, they weren't enough to make it work." She said simply.
"What more is there?" He asked, wanting to know. She shrugged, not sure of what to tell him. He sighed. "Look, I'm here with you for as long as you'll have me. Hell, I couldn't leave you even if I wanted to." He admitted. "But you've got to let me know where I stand." She nodded and reached out for his hand. "If you feel like this relationship isn't going to last…"
"No." She said, cutting him off and reaching out a hand to bring him closer. "I know that I want to be with you. I know that you make me happier than I've ever been before, and all of my doubts are only because I care so deeply for you that I can't imagine it could actually be real."
"That I do understand." Tristan said.
"As for the talk about the future," she paused, "I want to be as sure as you." She said as she squeezed his hand. "I just need more time." She said, consciously working whatever she had to charm him over. She had to make him remember that she did love him. "Can you wait for me?" She asked. Tristan looked into her face and his heart melted. How could he say no to her? He nodded slowly.
"I can wait." Tristan reassured her. "I just don't want to." He said honestly, his lips twitching into the briefest of smirks.
"I love you." She told him as she threw her arms around his neck. "I'm sorry I'm so screwed up." She mumbled into his shoulder. "I don't deserve you." She said as she shook her head. She knew how selfish she was being towards him.
"Nonsense." He told her. "And you're not screwed up. Much." He added with a chuckle.
"Thank you for understanding."
"You're welcome." He kissed her slowly. When he pulled away from her, she was smiling. "What?" He asked.
"Blissfully blank." She pondered his earlier statement. "That's pretty accurate." His smile made her heart flutter in her chest. He kissed her again, this time a little more eagerly. Tristan could feel her body release the tension she had been holding in for the last week as she melted against his body.
"Feel better?" He asked as he held her face in his right hand.
"Almost." She smiled, extracting herself from his grasp. Tristan's confused frown didn't last long. It was replaced with his trademark smirk when the tank top that Rory had been wearing hit him in the chest. It was the only encouragement he needed.
