Chapter 21: "Yeah, that's today, Mom. Jess and I kissed for the first time eight years ago today. Do you think he remembers?"
The week after Lorelai and Luke found out they were having a boy Rory and Jess went down to Stars Hollow for the weekend to share in their delight, but over the next few weeks were so busy with work they were unable to make any more trips there so Jess talked Rory into taking a few vacation days in May so they could spend some time there visiting everyone.
"Ror are you ready to go?" Jess called up to her as he set their bags near the door.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," she said as she came downstairs with her computer bag and purse on her shoulder, "Remind me again why we're going in the middle of the week and why we're leaving so early? It's not like we're trying to make it in time for Friday Night Dinner."
"We're going in the middle of the week so we have more time to spend with everyone and we're leaving now, not that's it's early because I thought we'd stop in the city first and maybe have lunch," Jess told her.
"Sounds good. Where were you planning to stop?" Rory asked.
"I know a place," he told her grabbing a suitcase with one hand and interlacing his fingers with hers with the other.
As it was nearing eleven o'clock they arrived in New York and found a place to park the car so they could walk around the city. They stopped first to get Rory a cup of coffee before walking to the spot Jess chose for lunch.
"Are we getting close, Jess? I'm starving," Rory told him as they walked hand in hand down the streets of New York City.
"Almost there," he told.
"Good and I better like this place with all the walking you're making me do," she said.
"You're going to love it Ror, trust me," he said, giving her hand a squeeze and kissing the side of her head as they approached the spot he had chosen for lunch.
"A hot dog stand?" she questioned, a little confused. She didn't mind hot dogs, but with Jess planning to stop in the city for lunch before they left she assumed they would be stopping at a restaurant he had made reservations at or getting another picnic lunch to take to their park.
"Yep. Two with everything," he told the hot dog vendor, "You don't recognize where we are?"
"Should I?" Rory asked looking around. She noticed a pizza place behind them and a flower stand a few buildings down. She hadn't been to this part of the city in eight years, but standing on that corner with Jess, it all came back to her, "This isn't the same cart?"
"Try it," Jess told her, handing her the hot dog the vendor had just handed him.
"It tastes exactly the same, Jess. I don't believe. How?" she questioned as they walked towards Washington Square Park.
"I knew the spot where the cart was and I did some asking around to find the same guy that ran the cart we went to when you ditched school to come see me eight years ago."
"Wow! You know that was this month, right? It was Mom's graduation and then a week later was Sookie's wedding and you moved back to Stars Hollow."
"I did know that. Why do you think I chose to stop here?"
"You're such a softie."
"Yeah, yeah. Come one, let's sit a bit and I'll read to you."
"What book?"
"Oh, I was thinking maybe a couple chapters of this," he said pulling out a completed and printed copy of Small Town, Life!
"You finished it?" Rory asked, "I can't believe it. When? Why didn't you tell me?"
"I wanted it to be a surprise. I finished the last of it when we went to Stars Hollow in March," he told her.
"Well, let's not waste anymore time. Get to reading," she said, snuggling into his side under the tree next to their bench.
"Alright. Two chapters," he said, placing an arm around her, "then we're back on the road. I'll read more to you later."
"I can't just read it on the way?" she asked.
"Nope. There is a specific way I want you to read this book," he explained.
"Okay."
After reading two chapters and getting Rory another cup of coffee, Rory and Jess were back on the road towards Stars Hollow.
"Thoughts so far?" Jess asked as they got back on the road.
"On the book or this trip?" she questioned.
"Hmm, I guess both," Jess said.
"Well, this trip just started, but so far so good. I love that you remembered the hot dogs. That was incredibly sweet," Rory said, "And the book...I think it may just be your best yet and I've only heard two chapters."
"Really? Best yet? Huh. All downhill from here then," he said.
"Neh, you've still got a lot of incredible words in that brain of yours," she told him.
"As long as my muse is always by my side, definitely," Jess said, reaching over to take her hand and kiss the back of it.
"Well if that wasn't the sappiest thing you've ever said, I don't know what is," Rory said, interlacing their fingers after kissing the back of his hand, "I love you Jess."
"I love you, too, Rory."
"Did you forget where Mom and Luke live?" Rory asked, noticing Jess had turned down the street heading for The Dragonfly instead of her mother's house.
"No, I didn't forget where they lived or the way to Luke's before you ask," he said knowing she'd question why they weren't headed to one of those locations as they always stayed at one of them when they came to Stars Hollow, "I got us a room at the inn."
"Why? We can stay at the diner or Mom's for free. Why spend money on a room at the inn?" Rory asked.
"I thought it would be nice to do something different and it's your Mom's inn. Do you really think I'm paying anything for it?" Jess asked her.
"Mom is willingly giving us a room? We're staying until Sunday. Surely this room could be used for a paying guest," Rory said.
"True, it could. I did offer to pay for it, but she said and I quote, "Having my offspring and the hoodlum boyfriend of said offspring home after many months away is payment enough." You're mother is insane," Jess said.
"Insane, hormonal. Same thing," Rory said with a laugh, "I guess it's sweet that she wants to do this for us. And incredibly romantic of you to want to get us a room at the inn."
"Eh, it's no big deal, really," Jess said as they arrived at the inn.
"Mom?" Rory called as they walked into the inn.
"I'll get our room keys and take our stuff up. You go find your Mom," Jess told her.
"Mom?" Rory called again as she walked into the kitchen to look for her, "Hey! Wow! Look at you."
"I know, I'm huge," Lorelai said as she hugged Rory who stepped back when she felt a small nudge coming from Lorelai's stomach when they hugged.
"Was that?" Rory asked.
"Your brother? Yeah," she told her.
"That's so cool," Rory said, placing a hand on Lorelai's stomach to feel a few more kicks, "He's got a good set of legs. Do you and Luke have a name picked out yet?"
"Well Luke hasn't said it, but I'm sure he wants to honor his father," Lorelai said.
"So, William?" Rory asked.
"I was thinking maybe for the middle name, but so far that's all I've come up with."
"I like it. Now you just need a first name that goes will William Danes."
"Yeah, but we've got a couple more months yet."
"True. Hey, Mom?"
"Yeah?"
"Where is Sookie?" Rory asked, noticing she wasn't in the kitchen like usual.
"I told her to take the day off," Lorelai told her.
"Why?" Rory asked.
"Her anniversary," Lorelai said.
"That's today?" Rory wondered.
"You were there, kid. Don't you remember?" Lorelai asked.
"Yeah, I guess I just hadn't realized it was the nineteenth, already. Wow! I can't believe they've been married for eight years," Rory said.
"Yep, eight years today. So what have you and Jess been up to today?" Lorelai asked.
"We stopped in New York on our way here and had hot dogs. Then we sat in the park and he read me a couple chapters of his new book," Rory told her.
"Hot dogs? You have all this money now and you ate hot dogs?"
"Yeah, from this little stand where we got them that time I went to see him in New York."
"When you missed my graduation?"
"Yeah, I'm still really sorry about that."
"Eh, it was a long time ago. I've over it. So he took you to a hot dog stand like he did when you were seventeen?"
"Not like it, it was the same one."
"Really?"
"Really. He tracked down the guy and got him to set up in the exact same spot. It was perfect. It was exactly as I remembered it eight…"
"What?"
"That was eight years ago. Your graduation was right before Sookie's wedding."
"Uh, huh. I remember."
"You know what else happened the day Sookie got married?"
"Well, there was all that drama with your Dad, but I don't think that's what you're talking about, is it?"
"No, do you remember me telling you about kissing Jess when I came back from Washington?"
"You said he moved back and you kissed at, at Sookie's wedding. Wow!"
"Yeah, that's today, Mom. Jess and I kissed for the first time eight years ago today. Do you think he remembers?"
"Oh, kid of course he does. Who could ever forget kissing a Gilmore Girl?"
"Good point. Alright, well I'm going to go find Jess and see what else he has planned for us."
"Okay, I'll see you later, sweets."
"Luke's?"
"Hey, it's me."
"Lorelai? Are you alright?" Luke asked, "Do you need anything?"
"I'm fine. I'll probably be by a little later, but I wanted to let you know that Rory and Jess arrived a little while ago," Lorelai said.
"They're here earlier than normal," Luke said.
"Yeah, they stopped in the city for lunch. Jess took Rory back to this hot dog stand he took her to when they were kids," she told him.
"Wow, that's unnaturally sentimental of him," Luke said.
"I know and not only that Rory reminded me of another piece of their history."
"What's that?"
"Well, you know Sookie's anniversary is today?"
"Yeah, and the day of the wedding was they day Jess moved back."
"Right, but did you know he came to the inn that day and talked to Rory?"
"He crashed Sookie's wedding?"
"Not exactly. He just sort of showed up and Rory saw him. The two of them talked. He told her he was moving back and she kissed him," Lorelai told him, "Which leads me to believe that today might very well be the day."
"What day?" Luke asked.
"The day, he, you know," Lorelai explained.
"Oh. Oh!" Luke said, "You really think so?"
"It explains why they came today and so early in the day, too. The wedding was in the afternoon so maybe he wants to do at the same time as their first kiss, you know," Lorelai said.
"That's possible. I guess now we just have to wait though until they tell us," Luke said.
"I guess. Alright, I've got to get back to work. I'll see you later. Love you."
"I love you, too."
"Jess have you completely forgotten your way around Stars Hollow?" Rory asked.
"No, of course not. Why do you ask?" he questioned.
"Because the bridge is the complete opposite way from where we're headed," she told him.
"Who said anything about going to the bridge?" Jess asked.
"Well, we always go to the bridge. It's where we read and you've got the whole rest of the book still to read to me," Rory said.
"True, and we'll get to the book. There's just one other place I'd like to go to first," Jess told her.
"And where exactly is that?" she wondered.
"You'll see when we get there," he said.
"Jess, the only thing that's in this direction is the…" she began, but stopped when the remnants of the Independence Inn were in sight, "the inn. Jess what are we doing here?"
"Recreating another piece of our history. Come on," he said, taking her hand and leading her to the tree next to the lake where she initiated their first kiss eight years ago.
"Oh, Jess. I can't believe... How?" she asked seeing the blanket and picnic basket set up under the tree.
"I snuck out while you were talking to Lorelai. It was already to go, I just had to bring it here," he said, taking a seat on the blanket and pouring them both a glass of champagne, "To us."
"To us!" Rory agreed.
"When I first moved here I didn't want to like it. In fact I hated it for the most part, with one notable exception."
"Me."
"Yes, you were that one exception. You made living here not so bad. You've made visiting here pretty good, too. I think I almost enjoy it now, even."
"Almost, please. You like coming here and seeing Mom and Luke and you know it. Besides, this trip was your idea, remember?"
"True. It was."
"Right, now how about the rest of that book?"
"Okay, but first I need to say something about it," he told her.
"What's that?" Rory asked.
"While this is a printed copy, it's not complete," he said.
"It's not?" she asked.
"No, it's almost complete. I just have to tweak the ending and I sort of need your help with that," Jess said taking a few pages out of his pocket.
"My help?" she asked.
"I wrote the last chapter a few months ago. The words appeared in my head so I got them down. This chapter isn't in the printed version. I wrote this chapter for you, but if it's okay, I'd like to include it in the book," he said handing her the pages.
As Rory read the words on the pages Jess handed her, he took this time to get his heart rate back under control. He was nervous. Of all the words he'd written to her, for her, and because of her, these were the most personal, but were also the easiest to write. The moment he thought them they just flowed.
"As they sat together in the place he felt they began; the place they first acknowledged their feelings; where she gave him the greatest first kiss he ever could have imagined, he looked into her eyes as he told her how much she's always meant to him," Rory began, as she read the last paragraph out loud, "He let her go once before and from the moment she came back into his life he knew he never wanted to let her go again."
"I love you so much, Lexi."
"I love you, too, Will!"
"Will you marry me?"
"Woah," Rory said, terrified to take her eyes off the page.
"Rory, look at me," Jess said as he knelt in front of her, taking her hand in his, "I love you."
"I love, you, too, Jess," she said, finally looking up at him with tears in her eyes as she took in the sight of him kneeling before her with the most beautiful ring she'd ever seen.
"Will you marry me?" he asked her.
"Yes. Absolutely. Yes," she said as he slipped the ring onto her finger before crashing his lips to hers, "I love you, Dodger."
"I love you, too, Book Tease," Jess said.
"I guess you were waiting for my answer so you could give Lexi the right one?" she asked.
"Yeah. I was hoping you'd say yes, but I didn't want to write it until I knew for sure," he said, "You like the ending?"
"It's perfect," she said, "This ring is perfect. And you're perfect."
"Well, I don't know about me, but the ring yeah, It's the perfect ring for you."
"Another trip to Tiffany's, huh?"
"It is one of your favorite movies."
"True. And it really is beautiful. I love it. Thank you."
"You're welcome."
After finishing their picnic at the inn Rory and Jess walked to the bridge where he read her a few more chapters of Small Town, Life! before they went to the house to share their good news with Luke and Lorelai.
"Mom!" Rory yelled as she ran into the house, "You'll never guess what happened!"
"What happened?" Lorelai asked, trying to hide her smile.
"This!" she exclaimed, showing her the two carat diamond and platinum, Tiffany Harmony ring that now resided on her finger.
"Wow! That's some ring," Lorelai said, "Excellent work Jess. Congratulations."
"You knew!"
"Of course I knew. We both did."
"Really?"
"Really, Ror. I asked Luke and your Mom for their blessing."
"Yeah, and Sookie prepared your picnic before she went off with Jackson."
"You really went all out for this, didn't you?" Rory asked Jess.
"Anything for you," he told her, kissing her on the cheek.
"Bleh, I think I'm going to hurl and it's not because I'm pregnant," Lorelai said.
"Sorry, Mom," Rory said.
"Yeah, sorry Lorelai, we'll try to keep the cutesy stuff to a minimum," Jess said.
"That's all I ask."
After spending the night of their engagement at the Dragonfly, Rory and Jess spent the rest of the weekend in Luke's old apartment. When Rory shared the news with Lane the two bounced with excitement. At Friday Night Dinner with the Gilmore's' they shared the good news with Richard and Emily. While Richard offered his congratulations, Emily went into planning mode.
"Do you know when the wedding is going to be?" Emily asked.
"We've barely been engaged for forty-eight hours Grandma. We haven't given it any thought yet," Rory told her.
"How long does it take to decide the wedding is going to be in Stars Hollow?" Jess asked.
"Stars Hollow, really?" Rory wondered.
"Yeah, I didn't think you'd consider anything else," Jess said, "Either the spot where I proposed or the bridge, maybe."
"The bridge would be perfect," Rory said leaning over to give him a kiss.
"Alright, so you've got a location," Emily said, "I'm not entirely sure where it is. I don't remember a bridge from my trips to Stars Hollow, but I'm sure it's lovely."
"It's wonderful, Grandma," Rory told her, "It's incredibly beautiful and filled with so many wonderful memories."
"It's the perfect place for us to get married," Jess said.
"Wonderful. Now we just need a date and we can get the rest of the planning started," Emily said.
"We'll think about it and get back to you Grandma," Rory said.
"Yeah, Mom, they just got engaged. Let them enjoy that before you go shoving wedding plans down their throats," Lorelai said.
"I'm only trying to help, Lorelai. After all I did help plan your wedding," Emily said.
"And I appreciate that, Grandma," Rory said, "But, I would like time to just enjoy being engaged before being overwhelmed with dates, dress fittings, and china patterns."
"Alright. I'll back off for now, but that's not going to stop me from thinking of ideas and saving them for when you're ready to hear them," she said.
"I look forward to it," Rory told her.
After dinner with the Gilmore's on Friday, Rory and Jess drove out to Boston on Saturday so they could tell Christopher and Gigi as well as Paris and Doyle. When they came back Saturday night they decided to share their good news at the town meeting to let everyone know at once. They also informed Taylor they wanted to get married in town, at the bridge and would let him know for sure when soon so he could approve whatever permits he thought they needed.
Sunday afternoon, they were back in Philadelphia. After unpacking, they headed out to have dinner with their friends so they could share the good news with them.
AN: And we have an engagement! And a middle name for the baby. I didn't want to call the baby William because it's what a lot of people use so I decided to use it as a middle name. Any ideas for a first name?