Disclaimer- Gilmore Girls and the characters associated with the show are not mine.
Chapter Fourteen: A Golden Ticket
When the movie ended, Rory was sitting on the floor between Jess's legs using him as her chair. He was leaning against the couch. Lorelai was leaning against Luke humming the Oompa Loompa's song, and Garret was quiet. He laughed to begin with, but the longer he watched, the quieter he became.
"It's surreal isn't it?" Jess asked, turning his head Garret's direction.
"I don't know what surreal means," Garret replied. Jess was getting ready to explain it when Rory spoke.
"It means strange, bizarre, fantastical, and odd. Not just weird, but dreamlike almost. The scene with the boat, it's surreal."
"Yeah, I guess it is pretty surreal then," Garret said.
"No," said Jess. "I meant your life. Right now it feels surreal. Right? It did for me. The first time I was here for any length of time. It was so different from what I'd lived before."
"Yeah. Surreal is a good word. It's more though. It's like in the movie. I've got the golden ticket and I don't know what it means," Garret said, quiet.
"It means, you're my brother," Rory said.
"It means you're as close to a brother as I'll ever have, since Luke is the closest thing I've had to a father," Jess added.
"It means I want to be your mom, even though I know you already have one. I really want you to think of me as a mom. You can have more than one. Lots of kids do these days. But it also means I'll be happy with whatever you allow," Lorelai said, taking Garret's hand, squeezing, and then letting go. He was uncomfortable with the handholding, but they all did it. Rory and Lorelai held hands with everyone, and Luke and Jess didn't seem to mind. He decided he'd have to get used to it.
"Garret, I don't know how to be a father. Jess was sixteen when he came, April was twelve, and truthfully, both of them were pretty much raised. Rory was the closest I ever got to seeing a child grow up, and I'm not sure she was ever young. Your already eleven, and I think you're like Jess, April and Rory. Pretty much raised. So I hope you'll work with me and we can, I don't know, find our way together. I can teach you what I know, but I hope you'll ask for help if you need it. Because I don't have the instinctive parent knowledge to know when you do," Luke said. Jess looked at him in shock. So many words, so little truth.
"Bullshit. Excuse my language Garret, but Luke, that's bull," Jess said.
"Jess is right," Rory added. "Don't you believe him, Garret. You're looking at the best father in Connecticut as far as I'm concerned. Luke, you have more instinctive knowledge in your big toe than my dad has in his whole body. You might not have the practice, but you always know the right thing to do." Luke ran his fingers through his hair.
"I don't know how you can say that. I threw Jess out. Gave him an ultimatum. Drove him away."
"No, you set boundaries and rules for me to follow, and you know you would have let me stay after you cooled down," Jess said, with a smirk. "You helped me every time you knew I needed it. And Garret, the golden ticket is what you make out of it. Diner owner, inn owner, journalist, editor, writer, artist. For me, my golden ticket is Rory, and I think it's time I get her to bed so she stays nice and shiny." Helping Rory to her feet, Jess watched as she leaned down and hugged Garret, then Luke and lastly, her mom.
"My golden ticket has been my family, and even this town. The support they've given me. At a guess, I'd say Luke's golden ticket is the same as mine. I'm glad you're part of our family, Garret," Rory said, with a smile as she and Jess walked out the door.
"It's funny," Lorelai said, standing. "At sixteen, my golden ticket was Rory. She gave me a reason to change, to become more than I was. Now, I think it might be us. The three of us. It might not be easy at first, but I know, we're in the Wonka elevator looking at all the possibilities. Like Luke said, we'll find our way together. You should head to bed. If you need anything, we're right upstairs." Luke watched as Garret stopped in the doorway of his new room and turned back to face them.
"What time should I get up in the morning?" he asked.
"I open, so I'll be up at five, but Lorelai won't get up till nine or so," Luke replied as Lorelai scoffed.
"It's Sunday! And I have it off. Why do I need to get up at nine? How about eleven?"
"If you want pancakes, you'll be at the diner before ten," Luke said, folding his arms across his chest and anchoring his feet, ready to do battle. Lorelai smiled.
"Nine it is then." Garret grinned at her easy surrender, and then tried to hide it when Lorelai raised an eyebrow at him.
"Thank you for taking me in, for everything," he said, almost too quiet for them to hear. Luke gave an abrupt nod.
"You're welcome. Get some sleep. Tomorrow's another day," Luke said as he steered Lorelai up the steps to bed. Garret turned into his room, took another look around and gave a half smile. Tomorrow was the first day.