Chapter 13

Ravioli Gardens

So now starts the first of the actual factual updates. I can't sleep so I decided that I should write instead. Hope you like it!! and remember...Review!!

"So you get to spend the day at the Ravioli Gardens with your lover boy. That should be pretty fun." exclaimed a very giddy Lorelai to a somewhat sleepy Rory as they had their nightly chat before the younger of the Lorelai's went to bed.

"Well, if you would just stop calling it the Ravioli Gardens, it would be a lot more fun" joked Rory "I'm, sure it's pointless for me to tell you for the 15th time that they are the Tivoli Gardens. But yes it will be fun. I'm gonna be all touristy and take pictures and make Jess be in all of them and make sure that they are all off center and only catch the floor and part of his foot."

"Aww, well that's exactly how I taught you to take pictures so I am quite proud of you!" Lorelai laughed.

"Mom, I've got to get up really really early tomorrow so I am going to go to bed now. Love ya" said Rory, awaiting the protest she was sure her mother would attempt.

Much to her surprise, Lorelai simply said "Ok hun, I will talk to you later. Love you too."

Alarmed by the short answer, Rory quickly piped up "What, no attempt to get me to stay on the phone. Yesterday you told me the house had been overrun by mice and the only way to get rid of them is if I stayed on the phone with you forever."

"Yes, and as I remember you hung up on me. By the way, they set up camp in your room so I hope you like Italy a lot cuz I think you may be stuck there for a while. And while normally I would try and get you to stay on the phone I have had to go to th bathroom for about two hours now and I think my bladder is about to win the battle. So I'm gonna hang up now. Bye babe" and with that Lorelai was gone.

Since Rory had already talked to Jess earlier that night, she brushed her teeth and went to bed.

"Come on Jess Let's sing!!" exclaimed Rory as the bus began to pull away from the school. The trip was one of the excursions that were planned for the exchange students. Since it was such a small group, there were also members of the senior Art History class joining them. All together there were about 20 students and teachers on the bus. It was less than a month into the school year and this was their first trip. They had gone out to dinner twice and much to everyone's surprise most of them had picked up a decent amount of Italian, at least enough of the basic vocabulary that they could make small requests and have very short conversations.

"Let's not Rory" Jess said in a slightly agitated tone.

Rory obviously picked up on this and was offended "Sorry, what did I do to bother you?"

"Ah crap, there I go again, making her feel bad" he thought and then explained "It's not you, buses just sometimes give me motion sickness and you bouncing and singing won't help. But I promise you that once we get off the bus you can bounce and sing all you want. Of course I still won't participate, but you certainly can."

"Well I guess we don't have to sing yet. Do you hate buses all that much?" She asked and she leaned her body up against his so that he had to wrap his one arm around her. It was a comfortable position, one that they often fell into while watching movies. They typically preferred as much contact with one another as possible.

"Yeah" and then realizing the position he was in and the fact that his girlfriend was laying in his arms he reconsidered. "Well, I used to. But I think I might be growing fond of them now."

The pair dozed off for a bit and woke up with about an hour left on their journey. "Hey Jess," Rory said upon seeing that he was awake, did I tell you that my mom kept calling this place Ravioli Garden?"

"No actually you didn't, but I did hear Luke yell something about growing ravioli the other day when I called him. Now it's all starting to make sense." he said.

For the rest of the ride they chatted about nothing in particular.

"Ok everyone. We have arrived at the garden. Will my four exchange students follow me." said their teacher, Mr. Gardone, as he led them off the bus. Mr. Gardone was the teacher who organized the exchange program. It was a true testimony to his character that even Jess thought he was a decent guy. Once off the bus, he explained how the day would go. They had to take a short tour of the garden which would last approximately 45 minutes. After that they had three hours to explore the area on their own. However, they were to keep in mind the paper that would be due reporting about this trip. They had to include some sights that were not a part of the tour so the three hours should be used wisely. The tour wasn't bad. Rory and Jess even managed to pay attention to almost all of it. Once it was over, Jess pulled on Rory's arm, leading her to an area that he had noticed on the tour and wanted to explore a but more.

"Wow, this place is so beautiful. I just can't get over it" said an awestruck Rory. Jess sat down on a somewhat secluded bench and Rory followed suit. "What are we doing?"she asked.

Leaning in to her and kissing her, Jess managed to pull a copy of a book out of his bag. "I was talking to Dolores yesterday and I told her about the trip. This morning before we left she handed me this" Jess showed Rory the book, which happened to be The Secret Garden.

"I love that book!! Jess, will you please read it to me?" Rory squealed.

"Fine, but remember this the next time you convince me not to skip gym so we can makeout." Jess said, smirk and all.

Eying Jess with a suspicious gaze she asked, "When have you ever tried to get me to do that? Are you convincing me with your other girlfriend?"

"No, just testing to see if that was something you would considering. Judging from your face I guess not. Huh, well I better start working on that other girl, maybe she'd be up for it" he joked, loving the half-shocked, half-amused look overcoming his girlfriend's face. He opened the book and began to read, happy to have Rory again edging closer to him and at last finding her comfortable spot and settling in.

"CHAPTER I, There Is No One Left. When Mary Lennox was sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle everybody said she was the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen. It was true, too. She had a little thin face and a little thin body, thin light hair and a sour expression. Her hair was yellow, and her face was yellow because she had been born in India and had always been ill in one way or another. Her father had held a position under the English Government and had always been busy and ill himself, and her mother had been a great beauty who cared only to go to parties and amuse herself with gay people. She had not wanted a little girl at all, and when Mary was born she handed her over to the care of an Ayah, who was made to understand that if she wished to please the Mem Sahib she must keep the child out of sight as much as possible. So when she was a sickly, fretful, ugly little baby she was kept out of the way, and when she became a sickly, fretful, toddling thing she was kept out of the way also. She never remembered seeing familiarly anything but the dark faces of her Ayah and the other native servants, and as they always obeyed her and gave her her own way in everything, because the Mem Sahib would be angry if she was disturbed by her crying, by the time she was six years old she was as tyrannical and selfish a little pig as ever lived. The young English governess who came to teach her to read and write disliked her so much that she gave up her place in three months, and when other governesses came to try to fill it they always went away in a shorter time than the first one. So if Mary had not chosen to really want to know how to read books she would never have learned her letters at all."

And they continued like that for over two hours. Finally, Rory looked at her phone and realized that they only had 30 minutes before they had to be back on the bus. Quickly, she stopped Jess mid sentence and explained that she needed to take a million pictures. "Starting with this one" she said suddenly while snapping a picture of Jess staring at the book in front of him. And so the rest of their time went. Rory dragged Jess on a speedy tour of the Garden. Though he protested the pictures at first, he gave in and even smiled, well, smirked is more like it, for a few pictures. At one of the prettiest fountains of the area, an elderly couple asked the two teenagers if they would like to be in a picture together. Rory handed the man her camera and they got into position. Years later, the photo would still be a favorite of both Rory and Jess. In it, Rory stands against Jess. All hands are interlocked. Rory's eyes are directed upwards, an obvious attempt to glimpse the boy standing behind her. There is no mistaking that his eyes are looking down at the girl who he is falling in love with. A quick glance might suggest poor timing on behalf of the cameraman, but closer examination reveals a love so rarely captured by film.