Story Title: No Way Back
Chapter Title: A Day in the Life
Description: Rory Gilmore gets tangled up in the other side of politics, but is she prepared to tangle with all it entails? Not if Tristan Dugrey has anything to say about it.
Rating: M
AN: The end is (finally) in sight. This isn't it, but it is an update, which has been a while in the making. I've been distracted lately, as shows have come back from their hiatus. I figure a few more chapters, to tie up some loose ends, and the ending is forming in my head, so consider this a heads up. On with new fic.
"What are you doing?"
Rory woke to the voice of her boyfriend, on whose couch she'd fallen asleep. It was disorienting, as she'd spent the better portion of her nap dreaming of him, and it took her a moment to distinguish her dream boyfriend from her real boyfriend that was calling her out of her sleep. When she pried open her eyes to see Tristan fully dressed in a suit and tie and a slightly annoyed look on his face, she instantly closed them to attempt to recapture the much preferred dream version. It was futile, though certainly worth the effort.
"Go away, just let me sleep five more minutes," she urged, trying to turn into the couch to aid her swift return to her dream.
Instead of pandering to her wish, he sat down on the arm of the couch, just over her head. "You weren't in bed this morning, so I assumed that you were upset, but I didn't think you'd taken up residence in my office. This is where I go to be alone and think."
"No, this is where you go to work, which is why I took a nap here. I got up early while you were still asleep because I had work to do. Once it was done, Jack told me to take a nap, so I did. And I'm not done."
"So this isn't about the house?"
She groaned and sat up. "If you want the house, then buy it."
He stood up and paced over to the middle of the room before turning and shaking his head in frustration. "I'm not buying that house for me."
She blinked. She felt as if there were cobwebs in her brain and sleep still in her eyes. "I thought you liked it."
"I like it for us," he said meaningfully.
"Okay," she began warily. She got the feeling he was growing tired of something concerning her and her lack of zeal when it came to house hunting. "I like the house. I told you that."
He laughed, but there was a biting tone underneath it. "I'm not sure what that's even supposed to mean."
She paused and eyed him carefully. "What did you say to Jack?"
He furrowed his brow. "What?"
"I went in and told Jack that I was only staying with him as far as his governorship, and I asked him what was going on between the two of you, and I don't think he told me the full extent of whatever you two discussed without me."
"You told him what?" Tristan asked, clearly upset by her actions.
She straightened up and did her best to tend to her hair. "You heard me."
"Why would you tell him that?"
"Because I'm staying in Hartford. Remember, we're moving in together and buying a house, apparently," she said with upturned palms.
"What is wrong with you? You act like you don't want to buy a house, even though you say you want to live with me, and you want to contribute to half a payment, but then you quit your job?"
Rory braced herself for the fight. "I didn't quit. I told him I was staying local."
"But you want to go to Washington."
"No, you and everyone else said that's where I'd end up, if I stayed with Jack."
"You can't turn down a chance to work for the President of the United States," he said emphatically.
"I already did," she said simply, playing off his fervor.
"Go tell him you changed your mind. He wants you on staff now and even more so in four years."
"How could you even know that?"
"Because that's what we talked about," he said, lowering his gaze for a moment before meeting her eyes again.
"What?"
"I thought you were going to quit, so I went in to assess the situation. We talked about the fallout from the debate and any future hits we might encounter. I asked him about your position on his team, and he told me he wants you in Washington. He never expected to have me past Hartford as his campaign manager, and so when I leave, it won't be harmful to his plan."
"When you leave," she began.
"I'm stepping down to start practicing law after the election," he informed her.
"But you were supposed to stay on staff during his incumbency," she said immediately, as if to correct him.
He nodded. "That was before."
"When were you going to tell me?"
"I'm telling you now. If I'm going to run, I need to go back to law and segue back from there. Even if I don't run," he began hesitantly.
"Then what?"
"Then I've already caused enough flux to Jack's campaign. With my family issues and now swaying your decision to leave. It's not in his best interest."
"You've never asked me to stay for you, I made that decision on my own," she reminded him.
"I'm never going to put you in the position to have to choose between your career and me."
Her eyes went wild as her mind raced ahead. "Then why go through all this about moving in together? Why even suggest buying a place together?"
He stared at her quizzically. "I thought that's what you wanted."
"To move in together and then have to leave everything to go to Washington without you?"
"You don't understand. I'm not saying I'm bowing out of the equation. I'm saying you can have both."
"No, I can't. I can't be in two places at one time. Don't you get that? If I'm in Washington, then I'm not here."
"We can split our time, we can figure it out," he argued. "We have four years to figure it out."
"No, I don't want that. I want to be with you, and not just some of the time," she said, realizing for the first time why Logan had declined her offer to do long distance after she turned down his proposal. "If you buy that house, I'm not going to Washington."
He appeared to have had the wind taken out of his sails. "You told me you need to keep working. If I buy that house and you quit working, you're going to start blaming me. There is no solution here, if you insist on limiting things."
"I'm limiting things? I'm being realistic. I can only live in one place. I can't buy something I can't afford. It might not be how you view the world, but I can't just live thinking that everything will be there for my taking."
"You think this is about money?"
"So far your answer for things is to throw money at them. I need a place to live, you're set to buy a house. Is that what you'd do, if I moved to Washington? Buy another house that you won't live in?"
"Who exactly do you think you're having this fight with?" he demanded. "Someone who plied you with jewelry and gifts and expected you to give him all or nothing, or the guy that is trying to be supportive of your career?"
"What's that supposed to mean? What jewelry?"
"Where'd you get the pearl earrings you wore to the luncheon the other day? Or that diamond bracelet you wore two weeks ago when we went out to dinner?"
She flushed. "Can we please have one conversation without bringing Logan into it?"
"I'd love that. If you realize that I'm not him, that would be tremendously helpful."
"I don't want to be with Logan! I want to be with you, but you're insistent on pushing me to go Washington without you, and I don't see why!"
"Because I want you to be happy. But maybe that's just asking too much," he said, taking the opportunity to leave his own office. She sat back, in shock, on his couch. All the other pressing matters she'd needed to discuss with him faded away as she tried to piece together exactly what it was they couldn't seem to agree upon. It didn't take her long to realize that she needed to show him what it was that she wanted, in no uncertain terms.
XXXX
"This is lovely," Emily Gilmore ranted as she stepped into the formal sitting room.
Rory smiled as she continued in step behind her grandmother. "I thought you'd like it."
"I'm so pleased you're looking at homes. And it's smart, getting a second opinion from someone who knows the market. I'm sure your realtor is qualified, but you can never be too careful when it comes to large investments. And you must have an inspection done."
Rory nodded. "I will. I just need to secure the financing first."
Emily smiled knowingly. "I already told you we'd be happy to help you buy your first home. Whatever you need, we're happy to give you."
"Lend," Rory corrected. "It's just a down payment. I have some of it already saved."
"But you should save some of your reserves. You need some cushion, just in case."
Rory shook her head. "I'm not worried about that."
Emily paused appraisingly. "Is Tristan giving you half the money?"
Rory bit her lip. "No. I'm doing this on my own, for now."
Emily paused to think again. "Your mother mentioned that you were considering moving in with him. And this house is rather large for just you."
Rory took a deep breath and looked around the lovely home. "I'm trying to make a point."
Emily nodded. "It does make quite a statement."
"I don't expect you to understand what I'm doing. And if you say no, I would completely respect that."
"Nonsense. I trust you. If this is the house for you, then I will write you a check."
Rory hugged her grandmother. "Thank you. I really appreciate this."
Emily prodded her. "Make the call. Get your house before someone else does!"
Rory pulled out her phone and began dialing. There was one problem solved, she hoped. If only the others she needed to deal with were as easily handled.
XXXX
"No."
"Tristan, come on. Just consider it," Rory began, standing in front of his desk. It had been six hours since their encounter in the same room, and since his return they'd not spoken of any of their personal matters in regard to them; only his reluctance to have Robert meet with his father as it pertained to the upcoming election.
"It's a bad idea."
"What did your mother say?" she pressed, acting on the hunch that Robert had known more than she did about that particular situation.
His cool blue eyes met her discerning ones. "Robert told you?"
She nodded, holding back her displeasure at how she'd discovered the information.
"I told her that if she came near you again, I'd make sure she was much worse off financially than just being disconnected from my money."
Rory paled slightly. "You threatened your own mother?"
He raised an eyebrow. "I don't want her coming near you. I also don't want Robert buddying up to my father. He's staying in jail, and that's the end of their attempt to spring him. Brockman will have to spin another angle, because I'm certainly not waiting to see where he and Ashley are registered."
"If we don't keep a close eye on Robert, he could go on his own," she hinted.
He gave her a bored look. "All the more reason to have kept him out of the situation to begin with."
"Are we back to that? Or are you just looking for a way to keep picking a fight with me?"
He put his hands on his desk and pushed himself up to stand. "I would love to stop fighting with you. Are you done trying to do exactly the opposite of everything I say?"
"We need to get this settled. Robert's agreed to meet with your dad tonight. We don't have much time to go over things."
"Rory, just let him go. He can say whatever he wants, but now that my mother is afraid of my grandfather cutting off all her money supply, they're shut out. We have actual work to do," he pointed out.
"I just gave Jack his speech to start going over for tomorrow morning. As of tomorrow, everything will go back to being focused on Jack. But I think it's important that we clear a few things up tonight. First, we meet with Robert. Then I'm taking you out to dinner so we can get a few other things straight. I'm not taking no for an answer on either thing."
He folded his arms over his chest. He looked almost amused, though she could only imagine that she was frustrating him at her steamrolling. "Fine."
She paused. "Really?"
"At this point, I'll settle for either of us agreeing with the other on anything. Even if it involves talking to Robert."
"Dinner will be nice," she promised.
"It'd better be. And I expect dessert afterward."
She flushed slightly, knowing he wasn't talking about food. It was the first real indication he'd given her that all was not at a total impasse between them. She stepped around the side of his desk. "We have a few minutes before we need to meet with Robert."
He raised an eyebrow. "Is this some kind of sneak preview?"
She shrugged one shoulder in a playful manner. "There's been a lot of discord," she said.
He barely nodded, but he kept his attention on her and her change of attitude. "There has been."
"Things have been tense," she said in a regrettable tone.
He swallowed as she took a step closer, coming to stand against his knees. He looked up at her. "Yes."
"We should go to Robert as a united front," she said as she slid her bottom onto his lap, letting her legs dangle over the side of his. One hand went to loosen his necktie as she gazed into his eyes.
"It would be best," he agreed as he slid one hand up her back.
She smiled as she leaned in and kissed him. "I don't want all this other stuff to come between us. Work. Your family."
"Nothing's between us right now," he noted as he slid his other hand up under her skirt.
She kissed him, taking her time and not offering to push it to the extremes. She wasn't feeling playful, though she knew it was how he was reading her behavior. This was much more needful than she was letting on, fueled by her impulsive actions earlier in the day. She wanted this to work, the relationship that had formed between them. She knew it would be easy to let herself keep getting in the way. They seemed to have different ideas about how to move forward, but she hoped to show him that she was willing to give it all she had.
"Did you lock the door?" he asked between kisses.
She smiled into their next kiss. "Of course."
He leaned just out of reach of her seeking lips. "So, you planned this?"
Her mouth formed a pout after the missed contact. "What?"
He appeared to have had an epiphany of sorts. "You're working me."
"I am not! I'm trying to have a moment alone with my boyfriend."
"At work. Before meeting with Robert. About my dad. You're trying to use sex as a way to placate me."
Her mouth dropped open. "I'm offended."
"You're saying you only wanted to have sex with me to relieve the tension between us, and not at all to get me in a more agreeable mood before this meeting?"
She hesitated, hating that he had her. "Why can't it be about both?"
He eased her up off his lap. "Let's just get this over with."
Rory frowned and straightened her skirt. "That's not the kind of thing a girl likes to hear."
He cut her a disproving look. "I'm talking about Robert. I'll have my way with you later. Without your little agenda."
She couldn't help but feel a little thrill at his words, even if it wasn't how she'd intended their interaction to pan out. "Robert's doing this for you."
He shook his head. "I forget how naïve you can be sometimes. Robert has never done anything for anyone unless he thought it was beneficial to him in some way, even just for his own amusement."
Rory smiled. "He may have mentioned that he was only doing it to witness the family drama. Robert's a pawn here, a source. Nothing more."
"There is no more drama. It doesn't matter what my dad wants. No one's willing to back him and his supposed change brought about by the prison's ability to reform him to aid his early release, and my mother knows that if she makes one false move, she's out of my grandfather's pity money. She doesn't want to risk losing that line of income. It's all that's keeping her in her house and from having to be out looking for a menial job. Being a trophy wife doesn't provide for marketable skills."
Rory crossed her arms. "Why hasn't Janlan cut her off? Surely he doesn't approve of her behavior."
He sighed. "She's still family. My grandfather is particularly hardheaded when it comes to family values."
She nodded as they made for the door. Before he unlocked it, she put a hand to his chest. "So, is he as put off by the idea of our moving in together as my grandmother is?"
He smiled. "You told Emily?"
She bit her lip. "It sort of slipped out."
He nodded knowingly. "Do you ever regret being so honest and forthright all the time?"
"I can keep secrets," she argued.
"Sure you can. Maybe it's best that you don't go to Washington, after all."
"Now you don't want me to go?" she asked, surprised at the ease with which he let those words fly.
He put a hand to her cheek, gently rubbing his thumb over her skin. "I never wanted you to leave me."
"Then why put up the fight about my telling Jack I was limiting my tenure?"
"I told you. I don't want you to give up your life to be with me."
"You said I could have it both ways. I want my life to be with you," she admitted, looking up at him through her lashes.
"And you don't think that will change in the next four years?" he asked, the space between them charged as he waited for her answer.
"I don't."
"You sound sure," he said, as if searching for underlying doubt.
"I'll show you how sure I am, after we meet with Robert. We'll make sure everyone's on the same page, I'll pledge my undying devotion to you, and then when we get to work in the morning, everything will be sorted out and we can get back to making sure Jack is elected."
He chuckled softly. "I was right before. You are naïve. But you're damn cute when you're all idealistic. It's almost contagious."
She patted his chest. "Get on board. It's smooth sailing from here on out."
He held back a smile. "And now I'm starting to think you're just delusional."
XXXX
Tristan paced in Robert's office, and Rory sat, watching him anxiously after Robert finished giving them the update from his father's lawyer.
"Do you see now?" Tristan asked Rory, who flinched at his volume and the fact that she realized that she had been delusional in her attempt to be optimistic, at least in regard to his family.
She furrowed her brow, not having an answer for Tristan, and turned back to Robert. "Why me?"
Robert smirked. "The man's in prison. I'm sure conjugal visits only go so far. He's bored and starved for new attractive females, and he knows his son has good taste. At least, that's my best guess."
"See, he gave you a compliment," Rory said to Tristan, who scowled at his companions.
"Actually, I was speaking for the old man. While I appreciate what I know of Dugrey's taste in women, I think he's far too discriminating. Especially since I know that Ashley flew in under his radar."
Tristan continued to glare at Robert, and Rory sighed heavily. "So, I'll go and talk to him."
"Over my dead body," Tristan said from behind her, not even causing her to turn to look at him.
"Robert is, unfortunately, probably right. He's probably bored and wants to mess with me a little. I'll go, find out his deal, and it's over."
"Exactly, he wants to mess with you. He's losing ways to get to me, and since Mom tried and failed, he wants his shot. He knows about the money and so he knows that we're not just dating. You're not going."
"What are you afraid he'll do to me? Scare me off? Get me talking?"
"Or worse, he'll realize that you think that there's a shred of decency in all humans," Robert supplied.
Tristan pointed at Robert. "That. As much as I hate to agree with Robert, who might I add, has no decency, is exactly what I'm afraid of. I love that you see good in people and that you work hard and you want the best for me, but I need you to accept that my parents and I have parted ways. There is nothing left to mend. He needs to stay in jail and you do not need to talk to him."
Rory paused in thought. "You really don't want me to go?"
Tristan nodded. "I really don't want you to go."
"Wait. You're still going, though, right?" Robert asked Rory.
Rory shot him a withering glare. "No. If Tristan is set against it, then I'm going to respect that."
"If I might interject," Robert said as he stood up. "I get that you two are in love and trying to be kind and gentle and respect the other's needs, but your father is not going to just sit back and let the opportunity pass. Parole only comes around every so often, and the man is tired of jail. I can't be the only person that sees that."
Tristan made warning eyes at Robert. "He has fewer avenues to explore this way."
"But he's not shut down. He's in prison, he's not dead."
"Well, then he hasn't pissed off the right people yet," Tristan muttered. "Can we go now?"
Rory put her hand on his arm. "Wait for me in the car. I just have one last thing to go over with Robert, and we can go to dinner."
"I'm fine waiting here," Tristan said, retaining his stance.
Rory widened her eyes and gave her most hopeful expression. "Please? It'll just be a second."
Tristan noticed Robert's smirk just beyond his girlfriend's lovely, if cloying, face. "I get the feeling I'll regret this," he said in a low tone as he stepped forward and kissed her cheek. "But I won't, right?"
"Absolutely not. Just a little shop talk," she promised.
He nodded, still not convinced, and took his leave of the office. Rory turned to Robert and raised an eyebrow. "Did he really ask for me?"
Robert nodded evenly. "He really did. Apparently I wasn't his favorite sparring partner. Word is he prefers sassy brunettes. I never did consider myself sassy."
"Did he say why me?"
Robert pointed to the door. "Tristan probably hit the nail on the head. He wants leverage, and you being the woman that his son is not only sleeping with, but moving in with and set to inherit his fortune in the case of his untimely demise, he figures you're his best shot. If he can find a weak spot through you, he'll use it."
"I can't go," Rory said with a sigh, but her mind still turning. "Unless we knew of a reason that I had to. If we knew exactly what he was up to, maybe, then I'd have to meet his demands to shut him down. I don't want him acting in retaliation of my avoidance or anything."
Robert smiled in a pleased, if not slightly creepy, manner. "I will do what I can. You will be at stump stops all weekend?"
Rory nodded. "Just text me. Not Tristan. I'll talk to him, when we know more."
"I'm sure he takes these annoyances better from you when you're naked than he ever would from me, whether or not I were clothed at the time of delivery."
Rory smiled. "He's going to be very happy later. I have a surprise for him."
Robert groaned. "Ugh, you monogamist types. What is it, a romantic candlelight dinner? God, you're not spawning are you?"
Rory smacked his arm. "No! I bought the house."
"You bought the house? The one he wants to fill with kids you don't want?" he uttered in surprise. "Jesus, what is the draw of the Dugrey men? It can't just be the money. Is it the judge thing? It has to be power related, because he's not that attractive."
"I love him. He wanted me to show him that I was on board."
"So you bought the house? On what, the promise that he'd spot you the money?"
"I have some money. And access to the rest of what it takes to get the house," she defended. "Tristan hasn't put any money into this yet. This is a gesture."
"This is insanity. But I never did understand you couple types. Go, have your romantic dinner. Make googly eyes at one another and make promises that are impossible to keep, like undying love and never-fading lust."
She eyed him carefully. "I'm always at a loss at whether or not you need a therapist or a hooker."
He smirked. "I tend to scare off both, actually."
She nodded. "That sounds about right. Have a good evening, Robert."
"Enjoy your boring couple sex," he called out as she left his office.
"I will!" she assured him as she shut his door.
XXXX
They walked along the quiet residential street, her having had him purposely park at the opposite end of the neighborhood from their new home. His arm was wrapped easily around her waist, and she leaned into him slightly as they walked along in the moonlight.
"Thank you for backing down, about meeting with my father. The idea of you and him in a room," he shuddered the tiniest bit.
"You don't think he's going to lash out in some other way, do you?" she asked.
"I'll handle that if it comes down to it. It's not something you need to worry about."
She nodded as they walked along the sidewalk in the crisp air. She couldn't wait to get their destination. "I have a surprise for you," she began as they rounded the block to their new street.
"Yeah?" he asked, his tone happy. It was music to her ears, after all the strained voices and fighting they'd been engaging in of late. Even the simplest of conversations had turned into debates.
"Yeah. I know you think I can't keep secrets, but I've been keeping this one most of the day."
"A whole day, huh? Must be big," he teased.
"It's pretty big."
"Bigger than a bread box?"
She nodded as he continued in a playful vein. "Bigger."
"Bigger than a car?" he continued.
"Even bigger."
He slid his tongue under his lip in thought. "Bigger than a house?"
"You're getting warmer," she said emphatically as they reached their destination.
He stopped when she did and caught her gaze. "You didn't decide you wanted to buy the house, did you? The MLS changed, the sale's already pending, I checked online after lunch," he informed her.
Her smile brightened. "I know."
He stared at her for a moment. "So you didn't want the house? Why are we here, then?"
"No, I do want the house. So much so that I'm the one that's buying it."
"What?" he asked, stunned to stillness.
"I put in an offer, and it was accepted."
"How?" he asked, not seeming as happy as she'd anticipated.
"The usual way, I guess. The realtor had me sign some paperwork."
"I mean, where did you get the money? Even for the down payment?"
She shrugged. "I used my money. And my dad gave me a little. He's always trying to give me money, so I asked him for a loan. And my grandmother pitched in."
He tensed. "I had this."
"I wanted to show you I was on board."
"But cutting me out?"
"No! By securing it. For us."
"You mean for you. With help from other people."
"The house is for us, and I will pay my dad and my grandmother back eventually."
"Where do I fit into all this?" he demanded.
She gaped at him and his hardheadedness. "The house is for us."
"So, I'm supposed to pay you my half like a landlord every month?"
"Isn't that what I would have done, if you'd just bought the house?" she turned it around on him.
"No! I would have put the whole amount down. You wouldn't have owed me anything," he said, shaking his head. "You signed contracts, and there are legal papers involved. I haven't brushed up on real estate law in a while, but maybe I can get Anita to retroactively add me to the sale and I can pay back your relatives before it goes into escrow. Did anyone co-sign for you?"
She crossed her arms. "I was trying to do something nice. I got the house, I don't need you to save me here."
"Legally speaking," he began.
"Stop right there," she cut him off.
"No, this time you're going to listen to me. If this is going to be our home, it's going to be in our names, with our money."
"But if you buy the house," she began.
"Then it's ours, meaning that both our names are on the deed. My money will be your money, nothing will be separate."
"You're not just talking about just moving in together," she said, feeling slightly dizzy and sick to her stomach all at once as a wave of realization hit her.
"No, I guess I'm not," he consented.
She faltered for words as she searched his face for signs that he was just teasing her. It only took her a moment to realize he was serious. It wasn't the first time they'd talked about a greater shared future, but it was still a big concept to be suddenly putting into action. "But, you don't mean… I mean, you can't want," she led without success. "Isn't it too soon? Everyone keeps saying that a lot can happen in four years. We've only been together a few months," she said, holding her hand to her chest, as if trying to calm her heart.
He put his hands on her arms and leveled his gaze. "I just want you to know what I'm thinking. But I guess it's good to know what you're thinking too," he said with less satisfaction.
Her expression softened. "It's not that I haven't thought about it. But the election isn't even over yet. There's so much going on," she explained.
"I don't want to put off our lives because of work or drama my family is trying to inject my life with. I want to move forward with you, on our own time."
"Maybe we can agree to get settled in the new house before we discuss anything else, though. We can't ignore work and our families, as nice as it might sound some days."
He nodded and looked to the house. "I can't believe you bought the house out from under me."
She slipped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest as they both focused on the house. "Can Anita really add you into the sale?"
"Is that okay with you?" he asked.
"I guess it makes more sense. I wasn't looking forward to Sunday brunch with Grandma for the next twenty years."
"I'd much prefer to spend Sunday mornings in bed with you," he said, kissing her hair.
"That sounds nice. We could spread out the Sunday paper on the bed."
"We could—but we'd probably just get covered in newsprint," he mused.
"Then we can fill up that big tub and get clean," she said, playing along with his vision.
"It's a good house."
"It's why I bought it."
"We could be there for a while," he added.
She inhaled and held the breath for a second. "We could."
"You're thinking about it?" he asked after another pause.
"It's been hard not to," she admitted.
"And these thoughts, are they good ones?" he inquired.
She smiled. "Yes. They are."
He smiled in return. "Good."
"We should go. Tomorrow's going to be busy."
"Right. We'll have plenty of time to think about things later."
She nodded and slipped her arm back through his as they walked back down the block toward his car.
XXXX
"So, you're what, pre-engaged?" Lorelai asked over the phone that night.
"No."
"But he wants to be?"
"It sort of sounds like it."
"And you want to be?"
"Maybe."
"Rory. You bought the man a house. You agreed to have Sunday brunch for the foreseeable future with 'Six-Inch-Tapers' Emily Gilmore to buy said house. If you don't want to marry him, why bother?"
"He's going to try to get me out of the brunch. He wasn't exactly so pleased that I bought the house without him."
"Well, it makes no sense, financially. The tax write off of him buying it outright alone makes it insane to go about it the way you did. But nice job, getting financing for a down payment that big in under an hour. Did you play the guilt card with Chris?"
"No! I simply asked for a loan. He's my father, and he's loaded. It wasn't that big a hardship for him. What do you know about tax write-offs and real estate?"
"I've been around a lot longer than you. And Luke, not to mention my father, blathers on about these things. We are land owners, not to mention business owners. We're not just two random yokels, despite the public we serve."
"I just didn't expect Tristan to be anything but happy. But he got all serious and annoyed and switched to lawyer mode then he delved into super-serious relationship talk. I was prepared to take this one step at a time, and he's leaping over me and dashing for some finish line I can barely see."
"So, he's dropped the whole thing about you moving to Washington?"
"I don't know. He doesn't want me to limit myself."
"It is a positive quality to find in a man," Lorelai acknowledged.
"At first I assumed he thought it could be an easy out for us. Now I think he honestly believes that I can do it all, which is frankly a lot of pressure."
"You are the Queen of Multitasking."
"I'm the Queen of Botched Gestures."
"Hey, you're still moving into the house. And apparently thinking about getting married."
"I'm thinking about what his father is so keen to meet with me about, and if Jack will be back to his best tomorrow at the stump speech. We have so little time left, and I need to be focused on work."
"Is that why you're not spending the night with your soon-to-be fiancé?"
"We have to be at different places at different times tomorrow morning before the appearance, and we both had prep work to do, so it just made sense to go back to our own places."
"Soon you'll be going back to the same place, no matter what."
"And soon Jack will be elected, and Tristan will be working for a law firm. Everything will be very, very different."
"But that's just how life is. It moves forward."
"Yes, but does it have to move quite so rapidly?"
"Do you want to get married?"
Rory bit her lip. "I want to be with him. The idea of getting married sort of gives me hives, but the idea of being married to him actually sounds kind of nice. Do you think you and Luke will get married?"
"Hey, no comparisons. Every relationship is different. Luke and I have been down that path, and what we have right now is good. It also took us eight years to start dating. You two have been together a few months have already dropped more money than some countries' GNP on a house to live in together. Besides, Luke and I are just two divorcees, shacking up. You two are young, urban professionals who still have time to procreate little Yuppie babies and get a nanny so you can still go out and look like people who don't actually have babies."
"Babies?" Rory yelped.
"Oh, dear. If you're not ready to discuss marriage, I guess babies are off limits, too, huh?" Lorelai cringed against the receiver.
"Why can't everyone just be happy for us, at the stage we're at? Isn't moving in together enough for now? Why is everyone in such a rush to marry us off and start having babies? What's after that, asking when we're going to die?"
"Only the people in line for the five million."
"It'll be less than that. We did just buy a house."
"Right, right. Well, I'm sure your future judge will earn some money to make up for the loss you incurred today. Though real estate is just another investment, so theoretically the money is still there and earning you a return."
"I think we'll survive, either way."
"You say that now, but you haven't seen how much your property taxes will be. Trust me, you want him to keep earning the big money. The first time you open your mailbox and find that treat waiting on you, you won't be pleased. It's expensive to even breathe in certain neighborhoods in Hartford."
"Speaking of mailboxes, did the town come to a decision?"
"Oh, yeah. They're installing the stupid lockboxes next week. But I have a feeling they won't last."
"Mom, what are you planning to do to the lockboxes?"
"Me? Nothing. Why do you ask?"
"I seem to remember the bells not lasting very long after they were restored. You were quite mum about how those got broken. And there was a rumor that you and Luke were seen sneaking into church the night they stopped."
"We got married?" Lorelai offered weakly.
"Sure you did. Just don't get arrested before the election, can you at least do that much for me?"
"You have my word. As long as you don't get married without telling me."
"I'm not even engaged!" Rory said crossly.
"Yeah, well, you bought a house without telling me, and enlisted your grandmother in the plot, so your actions are suspect as well."
"I told you, Tristan is going to co-sign and pay off my debt to Grandma and Dad."
"Just be prepared for my mother's wrath. She's at this very moment quite proud of herself for roping you into this arrangement. Finding out the deal is off and the news that you're not planning on becoming engaged to the man you're moving in with in a swift fashion are enough to seriously provoke her Queen of Mean side."
"Grandma is the least of my worries, thank you."
"What's that line, about famous last words?"
"I don't know, but these are mine. Good night."
"Sleep tight," Lorelai finished as they hung up.
Rory put down the phone and stared at her laptop. She opened it and decided to get more work done, because with all the things still weighing on her mind and Tristan across the street for the duration of the evening, she most definitely would not be sleeping tight that night.