Chapter Twenty-Six: The Waiting Game
A/N: I know! I know! It's been forever since I last updated! I'm really sorry but school has been so crazy and recently I've been in such a creative writing mood (that may have come from doing two creative responses for school) and I had such a dull day today, I just decided to finish this. I do love reviews! They make me happy!
I also started a Gilmore Girls crossover with Six Feet Under called Mourning Rory Gilmore. There are two chapters up at the moment but I've really lost momentum for that story so if no one looks at it any time soon, I'll probably delete it. Go check it out and let me know what you think
Waiting was pure agony for Rory Gilmore in the weeks that followed the newspaper interviews. She knew that she had made a good impression at The New York Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer. She had also applied and had interviews at other newspapers but they weren't nearly as interesting. It was so difficult for her to pick just one newspaper to work at. Waiting to hear if she had gotten the job at any newspaper was horrendous. She irritated herself and those around her with the waiting game. Rory continued to work at The Connecticut Daily News but she had lost interest as she waited to hear back from the prestigious newspaper organisations. Somehow both cities reminded her of Jess Mariano. Where New York reminded her of Jess, Philadelphia had brought her to be with Jess. Where she had always wanted to work at The Times and live in New York, she only considered Philadelphia as an option because of Jess. She'd promised herself that she would never make a career decision based on a guy. Why would she break that promise now? Rory could suddenly hear her biological clock ticking, as she knew she wasn't getting any younger. She had wanted a family and her mother had her when she was sixteen. Rory could barely remember when she was sixteen and could hardly imagine having a grown up kid with Dean. Rory pushed the 'family' thought aside and set back to work at The Connecticut Daily News.
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Lorelai Gilmore and Lane Kim, the two pregnant women of Stars Hollow, sat upon Lorelai's bed watching Rosemary's Baby. Despite the fact that Sookie had warned them against watching that movie while they were pregnant, Lorelai managed to persuade Lane into watching it now. As they watched Mia Farrow run away from the Satan-Worshipping Freaks (as Lorelai so affectionately named them), Lane held onto her pillow tightly while Lorelai sat there gleefully. Eventually the movie ended and Lorelai switched off the television. She looked over to Lane, whom she considered another daughter, with a wide smile. Lane looked back at her with a horrified expression.
"Oh, come on. It was not that bad." Lorelai said as she rolled her eyes at Lane's expression. Lane's mouth dropped in shock as she hugged the pillow tighter.
"Are you kidding? I think Sookie's right. That is the worst movie ever to watch while you're pregnant." Lane said and Lorelai shook her head in disagreement. "Can we watch something happy now? How about The Odd Couple?" Lane suggested and Lorelai sighed as she struggled to get off the double bed. Eventually finding the right tape next to the video player, she sank back down next to Lane.
"Have you seen Rory much since the trial?" Lane enquired, realising that she hadn't heard much from her best friend. Although Rory was normally a quiet person, Lane had only felt neglected on that one night when they were sixteen during the snow storm. Lorelai, on the other hand, smiled widely, as she thought of her beautiful and successful daughter, grown-up-hooligan-dating aside.
"Well, it's her trial's fault that I'm so stressed out apparently. Apart from her trial, I haven't heard from her much. She's been travelling around the country for job interviews at various newspapers. I don't know why she still has her job at the Connecticut Daily News. It's probably for money for not doing anything. She's come down the Hollow to try and visit you as well. Apparently, you've been a busy bee. Where have you been?" Lorelai turned to Lane, who looked a little guilty.
"Yeah, I know she's tried to visit me but always on days when I have to go get cleaning supplies or I have to take Steve and Kwan out somewhere. We should organise for her to come visit her pregnant mother and best friend." Lane decided and Lorelai laughed at the idea. Turning back to the television, Lorelai and Lane continued to dig into the healthy yet obscure food. "After having Steve and Kwan, I developed a greater understanding of Oscar Madison." Lane announced and Lorelai smiled at her.
"He's such a pig. Rory sometimes calls me Oscar." Lorelai said.
"And you call her Felix," Lane finished her sentence for her and Lorelai nodded in agreement.
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As Rory typed away furiously on her article, grateful not to have any interruptions from bosses hitting on her, she kept glancing at the clock. She knew it was only a day away until she found out about which jobs she got. Although she had applied at quite a few newspapers with plenty of great job interviews, she really only cared about The New York Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer. If she only got one offer that would make life easier but not necessarily better. Rory, once again, tried to push this out of her mind as she wrote an article for her current job. It was only a few minutes later that her mobile phone started to ring. Not recognising the number, Rory picked up the phone with a little hesitance.
Rory: Hello?
NYT: Hello, is this Rory Gilmore?
Rory: Yes, this is Rory.
NYT: This is Anna Peyton from the New York Times. We had an interview a couple of weeks ago. How are you today?
Rory: Yes, that's right. I'm fine, thank you.
NYT: That's great. I'm calling to let you know that you have been successful with your interview and we are offering you a writing job here at the New York Times.
Rory: Wow! That's great! Thank you so much! I am curious to hear about how I did with a couple of other papers though. When do I need to get back to you?
NYT: Oh, maybe in a week. If your other interviews were around the same time, then they should be contacting you soon.
Rory: Well, I will definitely think about it and let you know next week. Thank you so much.
NYT: You're welcome. You're a great writer and I look forward to hearing from you.
Rory hung up the phone with a wide smile on her face. She had finally received a job offer at The New York Times! It only took years of working crappy jobs like the Obama Campaign and the Connecticut Daily News to get to this point. There was still the Philadelphia Inquirer to hear back from too. What if she didn't get that one? Would she have to have a long distance relationship with Jess? Completely confused, Rory dialled the familiar number but instantly regretting it with each dial tone.
Jess: Hello?
Rory: Hey, it's me.
Jess: Hey there. How's Hartford?
Rory: Dull. I was calling because I just got a phone call from the New York Times. They offered me a job and I thought you should know.
Jess: Huh… well, that's great. Congratulations. When do you think you'll hear from the Inquirer?
Rory: Hopefully soon. What if I don't get that one? Do we try long-distance?
Jess: We're already doing long-distance.
Rory: Right, well, I don't know what to do. I think I should wait for the Inquirer though.
Jess: I agree. Oh, I have to run. I think Matt's losing his patience with the poet. I'll talk to you later?
Rory: Yeah, sure. Bye.
Jess: Bye.
Rory hung up the phone and settled back into her work, which was not stimulating at all.
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Lorelai Gilmore was bored of bedrest. However much she always liked the idea of staying in bed for two months, it was officially boring. It was even more boring on her own, which was why she had invited Lane over in the first place. Lane, however, was Rory's age and the idea of pregnant mother and daughter frightened her dreadfully! Lorelai always loved Lane as a second daughter but that loss of mutual blood eased her. Rory wouldn't be home until the weekend and Emily was planning on moving their Friday Night Dinners to Lorelai's bed. There was no escape from Emily Gilmore! Now that Lane had gone home, feeling happier after The Odd Couple, Lorelai was bored. She tried to watch Casablanca but that did not entertain her for long. Lorelai eventually gave up on bed rest and managed to get out of her bed. She didn't remember being this big when she was pregnant with Rory. After the pain in her ankles eased, Lorelai managed to waddle around her bed and slowly down the stairs. She was determined to get out of the house! Pain shot through her legs but Lorelai didn't care.
"Why, hello there living room. It's been so long. We really must catch up at some point!" Lorelai said sarcastically at the room as she waddled down the stairs. She sighed when she realised that no one was there to share this feat. Lorelai breathed a sigh of relief once she had made it all the way downstairs. Grabbing her jacket, Lorelai kept her momentum and headed out of the house. Before Lorelai had completely closed the front door, she heard the unwelcome screech of Babette's voice.
"Sugar! What are you doing out here? You need to go back to bed!" Babette screeched as she ran over to Lorelai, who was hiding her face and cringing. Slowly she turned around and assured her neighbour that she was perfectly fine.
"Look, I'm just going to go to Luke's because the house is boring," Lorelai insisted and Babette then offered to drive her. Reluctantly, she agreed and so Babette took Lorelai's keys and they walked over to her Jeep. Throughout the relatively short drive to Luke's, Babette peppered questions at Lorelai who answered them in a nonchalant manner. She was relieved to see that small yellow coffee mug that read: Luke's. Lorelai quickly thanked Babette and would've jumped out of the car had it not been for her swollen ankles and large stomach. Lorelai slowly waddled to the front door of the diner and stumbled through the door. Luckily Luke had arrived at the door to welcome her. He led her to a nearby empty chair before kissing her on the lips.
"Hello crazy lady. What are you doing here? You're supposed to be on bed rest!" Luke said after they parted. He couldn't be completely mad at her, as he had missed her over the last few weeks since Rory's lawsuit.
"Well, after a while, the same four walls get a little boring. At least in prison, they can occasionally walk outside with no difficulty. Being pregnant is like its own special prison." Lorelai complained before begging for a cup of coffee with caffeine.
"You can only have decaf coffee." Luke told her sternly and Lorelai pouted in response.
"Please?" Lorelai begged and Luke simply left her to go back to the counter. He returned with a mug of coffee and Lorelai pouted as she drank the decaffeinated coffee. "So, what's it like in the real world that isn't a bedroom?"
"Well, if you mean by the real world, in this diner I serve food, Kirk bugs me and occasionally I get to see my pregnant wife." Luke said as he looked at Lorelai as if she was the only person in the room. At this, she coloured a little as she sipped at the coffee. She was only just starting to get used to the taste and this began to irritate her.
"Well, back in my bedroom, Lane and I watched Rosemary's Baby" Lorelai started before being interrupted by Luke who agreed with Sookie that this was a bad movie to watch while you were pregnant. Lorelai simply laughed before continuing: "And then we watched The Odd Couple to cheer Lane up because she freaked out. Don't know why." Lorelai smiled at this and suddenly Zach appeared at the table. He was filling for Lane as per usual when she was pregnant or busy with newborns.
"Hey, Luke, man. There's a woman complaining about there being no chips and we have to get back to work, man. It's just not rock 'n' roll like this. We have to work hard." Zach complained and Luke rolled his eyes at Lorelai who smiled back. Suddenly noticing Lorelai, Zach turned and quickly greeted her before dragging Luke away.
"Hey, before you go, can you please get me a cheeseburger with onion rings and some pie for dessert!" Lorelai called out and Luke nodded at her. Lorelai smiled widely and sat back in her uncomfortable red chair. "It's so good to be back." She said to herself as she looked around at the other townsfolk.
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Half an hour later, with her article finished, Rory took this opportunity with Angela to get a cup of coffee at the local café. They had not gone there since before the lawsuit and both women were caffeine deprived. This place had excellent coffee and great donuts. It wasn't Luke's but it was close enough.
"Hey, I just got a job offer from The New York Times" Rory announced and Angela jumped up and down in excitement. She stopped when she realised that Rory wasn't doing the same.
"Isn't that exciting? Why are you not happy about this? Isn't this what you've always wanted? Wasn't working at the CDN your stepping stone to The Times?" Angela enquired as they each carried a cup of coffee to a booth in the corner.
"It's very exciting," Rory agreed unenthusiastically. Angela raised an eyebrow at her so Rory continued: "It is what I have been working for or what I thought I was working for. I want to work at The New York Times because I think it would be exciting to work there and live in an apartment. I also really want to work at the Philadelphia Inquirer because of Jess. I don't like this long-distance thing between us." Rory explained as they sipped their coffee.
"This is Jess, your step-cousin?" Angela enquired and Rory rolled her eyes.
"We don't like to think about it otherwise it get's awkward. It doesn't help when Mom and Luke point it out though." Rory replied.
"Well, in a hypothetical situation you get offers from both, which would you rather choose?" Angela asked but Rory shook her head.
"I can't choose but I will have to. Right before my graduation from Yale, Paris and I were talking about whether our careers or our relationships were more important. The consensus ended up being our careers being more important, no matter how much I tried to deny it. That was when I was twenty-two. Now I'm twenty-eight. I'm almost in my thirties. What twenty-eight-year-old lives in an apartment in New York? They have boyfriends or fiancés at this stage." Rory rambled while Angela patiently listened.
"We have boyfriends. We do not sit at home knitting tea cosies surrounded by cats. You'll be fine anywhere. People are getting married later and later these days." Angela assured her and Rory's mind wandered back to Logan.
"I wonder what my life would be like had I decided to marry Logan after graduation. I probably wouldn't be in this dilemma. I may not even be speaking to Jess, let alone dating him." Rory sipped at her coffee, which was going cold at this point.
"That's called cheating." Angela joked, "look, you'll be fine. You just need to stop panicking and calmly decide between the New York Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Shall we change the subject?"
"Yes, how's Marty?" Rory enquired and soon they delved into a fluffy girly conversation about their men before heading back to the daily grind.
It was only a few days later when the other phone call came. Rory arrived at the Connecticut Daily News a little late and was about to enter a staff conference when her phone number began to ring. Once again, it was an unfamiliar number but a different one to the previous one.
Rory: Hello?
PI: Hello, is this Rory Gilmore?
Rory: Yes, this is she.
PI: Hello Rory, this is Mrs Kwan from the Philadelphia Inquirer. We had an interview a couple of weeks ago.
Rory: Yes, I remember.
PI: Well, I'm calling to tell you that you have been successful for a job offer here at the Inquirer.
Rory: Really? That's great! Thank you so much.
PI: You're welcome. Just let us know sometime next week if you want to come with us definitely. You sound very enthusiastic.
Rory: Yes, I'll definitely let you know then. Thank you so much.
PI: You're welcome. I look forward to hearing from you next week.
Rory hung up the phone with a wide smile on her face. She spun around and danced happily in the newspaper office. She barely noticed other reporters watching her before Angela led her back to her seat.
"I got an offer at The Philadelphia Inquirer!" Rory announced happily.
"Congratulations. Does that mean you've made your decision?" Angela asked and Rory shrugged.
"I don't know. I think it's time for a famous Rory Pro/Con list." Rory said before they hugged and jumped up and down like high school girls. After they parted, Angela went back to her desk and Rory quietly filled out an application to leave her job. Rory hid it out of everyone else's view so they would not ruin her happiness in filling it out.
Mr Henderson was sitting and working at his desk. Without a word, Rory sat down in a chair on the opposite side of his desk.
"Hello, Ms Gilmore. How is your article going?" He enquired and Rory assured him that it was done. A little confused, Mr Henderson then asked how he could help Rory.
"I would like to tell you that I am quitting this newspaper and this job. I quit and this is my application and my two weeks notice." Rory said a little happily as she presented the filled out form. "I would like it to be effective immediately but I can wait two weeks. I have just received two job offers: One at The New York Times and another at The Philadelphia Inquirer." Rory announced.
"Congratulations on your job offers. This newspaper won't quite be the same without you. You're going to go on to The New York Times, right?" Mr Henderson said and Rory shrugged.
"Maybe. I don't really know." Rory said, before continuing about her resignation: "So, can we make it effective? I'd really like to go back to Stars Hollow and see my Mom while I make a decision." Mr Henderson scratched his head at this and decided.
"Yes, we can make it effective immediately." Rory Gilmore and Mr Henderson shook hands before she skipped out of his office. She immediately ran for Angela and pulled her into another hug.
"Please keep in touch, wherever you are!" Angela squealed and Rory promised to do so. Rory took the box out from under her desk. She had kept it there, knowing that she would not be at The Connecticut Daily News. Immediately she dropped all her personal items into the box, with the picture of her and Jess on top of the other random stuff. On her way out, she waved 'goodbye' at Angela and at Mr Henderson as she passed his office. Once she reached the elevator with her box, Rory took out her cell phone and called Jess.
"Hey, guess what? I just got offered a job at the Philadelphia Inquirer." Rory told her boyfriend as the metal elevator doors closed once she was inside.
A/N: Hmmm… which newspaper? Well, I hope you liked it. I'm sorry for the wait. I only have one more month of school left *excitement* and after that, I don't know how often I'll be updating. Next year, I'm planning on doing a Bachelor of Creative Writing, so I can hopefully be a better writer.
Please review!