"So, how are you guys working the logistics tonight?" asked Lorelai.
Rory knew exactly what her mother was referring to. Her and Jess's Friday night dinner with Emily.
"I am going to study at school, then I'm going straight to Grandma's from there. Jess is driving straight from work, and then he's driving me home," she replied.
"Home? Home here?" asked Lorelai, surprised.
"Yeah, he's gonna drop me off here."
"Well, I guess that makes sense."
"I thought so."
"Although, um, I don't know."
"What?"
"Are you sure that's the best way to do it?" speculated Lorelai.
She knew she wasn't going to be home that night and wasn't pleased with the idea of her teenage daughter and her boyfriend having an entire empty house to themselves.
"Yeah, why?" asked Rory.
"Well, it just means that you're coming home to an empty house," Lorelai explained.
"Well, that's your doing, not mine."
"Yeah, but it might get kind of lonely here. Did you think about staying at Mom's?"
"Overnight?"
"Yeah. They've got those fancy beds that don't sag and you're guaranteed a great Norma Desmond style breakfast the next morning. You don't have school, it works out perfectly."
"I'd rather just come home."
"Okay, sure," said Lorelai, but she was still racking her brains, trying to think of reasons why Rory should spend the night at Emily's.
"But you know, staying at your grandmother's would also mean that Jess wouldn't have to go out of his way at the end of the night to drop you off. It would be much more convenient for him," she said, but she knew she was grasping at straws.
"Our house is two tenths of a mile out of his way," Rory pointed out.
"Are you sure he's gonna have enough gas?"
"I'll make sure."
"But if you can't have a hold of him, it might be safer to plan on staying at Mom's. I mean, if you run out of gas, you're stuck. And at the mercy of the Orcs."
At that point, Rory had enough.
"Mom, why are you so freaked?" she asked frankly.
"This is not freaked," Lorelai argued.
"Is it because you won't be here and he will?"
"Uh, it might've crossed my mind."
"And what are you worried about happening?" Rory asked, even though she already knew the answer.
"Well, what you guys were on-ramp for up at Luke's the other day," said Lorelai, referring to the incident when she caught them making out in a horizontal position on the couch, "Your basic boy/girl stuff. Especially with this new boy/you girl stuff."
Rory knew exactly what she meant by that. She liked her first boyfriend Dean much better than Jess. Because it never lead there with Dean. They would kiss and even make out sometimes but that's where it always ended.
"Well, the boy is different, but I'm still me. That hasn't changed," said Rory
It was a lie and she knew it. It was way different with Jess than with Dean. Dean would kiss gently on the lips and hold her hand while they were out together.
Jess and Rory would engage much more scandalous PDA- making out until she was short of breath right there in the middle of the streets and not giving a damn who was watching. Their first kiss alone was ten times more passionate than all of her kisses with Dean combined. When Rory was with Dean, they'd never come over to each other houses while their parents weren't there. They were almost always supervised- except for the one time they innocently fell asleep in Miss Patty's dance studio after Rory's school dance. With Jess, she would go up to his appartment all the time and they'd make out on the couch. They hadn't gotten very far yet- the furthest was second base, because Jess's uncle Luke would come up there every ten minutes because he "forgot something", but Jess and Rory weren't dumb. They knew very well what Luke was doing.
"Yeah I know," said Lorelai.
"And I have so much on my mind, so many things going on in my life, that I don't even have time to think about that," Rory lied again.
She did have many other things on her mind- school, college applications etc. but she WAS thinking about that too. A lot, actually.
"No thinking at all?" asked Lorelai, not really convinced.
"None, I swear."
"Mmmm, sure."
Lorelai liked to believe that Rory was a saint, but it was time to face reality. Rory was eighteen. It was very naïve of her to think that Rory won't lose her virginity till she's in her 30s. But she liked to believe it wasn't going to happen until she's in college at least.
"And we talk about everything together, you and me, remember? So it's not like something will happen that you won't know about," Rory tried to reassure her.
She was one of the few teenagers that consider their Mom their best friend. Rory would always tell her everything that's happened on her dates with Dean. She even told her details about her first kiss! Some kids might consider it strange, but not Rory. Of couse she was going to talk to her Mom if something were to happen between her and Jess.
"Okay," said Lorelai.
Then she opened the top drawer on her nightstand and pulled out a box of condoms.
"Still, I'd really like you to have this," she said and handed it to her.
Rory blushed, but took the box.
"Um... thanks."
Despite them being best friends, they were still mother and daughter, which made moments like this a bit awkward.
A few days later, Lorelai was sitting on a couch in front of the TV when Rory walked in with take out. Lorelai enthusiastically dug into the paper bag.
"Ha! One of everything at Al's! Bless you, with your gluttony."
Rory didn't seem to share her enthusiasm.
"Aren't you hungry?" Lorelai asked.
"Yeah."
"Well, come on, dig in."
Rory was stilk hesitant. She set down on the arm rest next to her Mom.
"What's wrong?" Lorelai asked.
"Nothing. Um, listen."
"I'm listening."
Rory took some time to gather her thoughts until she finally said: "What I said before, that I was too busy to think about it, I realized now, that I'm not too busy to think about it."
Lorelai didn't get it: "Think about it?"
"About it.""Oh it."
"Yeah, it."
"Ha, it," said Lorelai awkwardly.
She really hoped that one day, when they'll have this conversation it won't be so awkward, since she raised her being her best friend first and mother second. But it was painfully awkward. For both of them.
"Nothing has happened yet," Rory broke the awkward silence, "but it might, maybe."
"Maybe?"
"Maybe... with Jess."
"Hm, with Jess."
Rory knew what that meant. Lorelai wasn't thrilled about Rory's choice of boyfriend.
"You still want me to tell you everything, right?" she asked.
"Yes, I wanna know."
"Well, nothing's happened."
"I heard."
"But it might."
"Okay. Um, could you tell me before it does?"
"Like right before? You want me to stop and call you up, like hey, I'm just about to do it?" asked Rory confused.
"Um, no, no. That would be weird and also kind of ruin the mood, I think," Lorelai rambled.
"Then what...?"
"I just thought you were the kind if girl who lives by a schedule and has everything planned, you know?"
"Well, I guess I am that girl, but not with Jess. With Jess, everything has been so spontaneous, you know."
"Right, right."
Another awkward silence.
"Mom?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, sure hon," replied Lorelai, "I'm just thinking that we should get you on the pill or a shot or something before anything happens."
"Yeah, that sounds reasonable."
"I'll make the appointment tomorrow."
"Okay."
"Just promise me not to do anything until you're on your birth control, alright?"
"But you've given me the..."
"Still. I just want you to be safe," said Lorelai.
The last thing she wanted was for her daughter to repeat her mistakes and her mother throwing it into her face every chance she'll get.
"Yeah, okay, I promise."
"Okay."
Another awkward silence.
"So it's settled then?"
"Yeah, it is."
"Okay well, let's eat."