"Oh my god!" Lorelai exclaimed, skipping around excitedly, her phone in her hand, having gotten just off the phone with Rory.
"What?" Luke asked, as him and Leo were positioned in front to the TV watching the baseball World Series. It was the thing him and Leo connected on the most - both having a love for the game.
"Rory's coming!" Lorelai cheered.
"I know," Luke commented casually, his gaze still fixated to the TV screen, having gotten a call earlier from Celest to help her with some furniture. But instead of going on an IKEA run he'd said he'd help her get some stuff that was of better quality.
"You knew?" Lorelai noted offendedly.
"Hey, all I know is that Celeste asked me to help her get some furniture for the chief's house next week and I promised I'd do it. When she mentioned cribs I just made the logical conclusion, I figured Rory would call you yourself - and she clearly did," Luke explained, feeling like he'd done nothing wrong.
"Luke!" Leo elbowed him, gesturing towards the TV.
"What the…!?" Luke exclaimed, holding onto his hat - literally, finally realizing what was happening on screen. It was baseball history in the making - an underdog winning the World Series.
Lorelai could see how she was toned out by then - but nevertheless she observed the two look for words, taking the game far more seriously than she ever could. It was good seeing Luke share that with someone. And truth be told, they'd gotten so used to having Leo around, she could hardly imagine their life without him. Sure the start had been a little more rocky, but now - it was like he belonged there.
She knew that getting actual permanent custody of Leo would be a challenge - but maybe they should indeed begin to consider it. She'd set the topic on a shelf months ago, simply not seeing like there was point to entertain herself with the thought, to get either of their hopes up - but now, with the court date approaching at the end of the year - maybe now it was time to go for a consultation and to ask Leo what he thought. Well clearly not now - as the two men were cheering and jumping like they'd won the lottery or something, making Lorelai roll her eyes.
Rory coming, however, was special on so many levels as well. The distance between them had spun out further than ever - now there wasn't just the distancing or the physical distance, but also simply Rory being too preoccupied to even connect if she wanted to. Sure, they'd called and Lorelai had visited a few times, but it was just the surface that she'd been allowed to see. And she really couldn't blame her. Three under three seemed impossible to her, despite all the help Rory had. But at the same time she knew she needed to make this time that they had, count. And all that in a way that wouldn't feel like she was imposing herself on her.
She picked up her phone, and walked back towards the kitchen, beginning to make arrangements concerning her work week - she didn't want to spend every day at work only to see her daughter on a couple of evenings. She wanted to help out, get to know the girls and spend time with Finny. And she had a feeling that with Logan away on business, Rory did really need that - even if that just meant giving Rory some free time. That's what grandmother did, right?
"Hey, Gigi!?" Rory came to look for her. Mostly she'd just text, hardly really going up to the 6th floor, but as G hadn't replied to her last text in an hour, she thought she'd just see what her sister was up to. Taking care of the kids was a lot, but she also sort of felt responsible for keeping an eye on her. It was not like they hung out overly much, now with the babies and Gigi's school, that time had diminished even more - occasionally having dinner, which really wasn't very formal or regular in this household.
Getting no response, Rory peeked the door to Gigi's apartment, seeing a low light on in her bedroom. It was late, but not that late - she doubted she'd be asleep and it didn't seem or sound like she had visitors either. Yes, the big sister had considered that as a possibility.
"Gigi?" she called out again.
That she heard, and the rapid movement that began as a result - pulling off her earphones and wiping her cheeks into her sleeve, folding down her laptop cover, were of clear indication to Rory that she'd been up to something.
"Hey, sorry, I tried texting you. I need to talk to you," Rory said.
"Yeah, sorry, I was watching a movie," G apologized, sitting cross legged on her bed, wearing a grey Boston sweatshirt that Rory knew to have belonged to their father.
"Everything okay? You look upset," she noted, taking a seat on her bed. Maybe she missed dad?
"It's nothing, a sad romantic movie..." G replied, gesturing at her laptop, diverting the subject. She wasn't sure if she could talk about it if she wanted to. It was strange how she took some enjoyment from the pain, melancholy, that she felt - making her feel alive. Wasn't that the kind of pain that famous authors and songwriters wrote about?
"What did you want to talk about?" G asked instead.
Rory was perhaps too quick to accept that answer for the moment. But it was not like she had much to go on - it wasn't like she or her mother had never wailed at Pride and Prejudice, Titanic, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or The Way We Were. Together with the right set of emotions, those were the wailing movies.
"Logan is going to London on work for a while - might be some weeks or a month - and it sucks," she announced with a sigh. "But I was thinking since he's gone, I might go to Stars Hollow. I haven't taken the girls anywhere yet and this way I could hang out with my mom and Celeste a bit. I might be a couple of weeks. Would you be okay with that? I can ask Cathy to make sure you have food in the house and that all the other maintenance stuff gets done," Rory said.
"Yeah, I guess..," G replied.
"But please, no big parties up here, okay?" Rory added, the parent mode kicking in for a moment.
"Yeah, like I'm this big party girl..," G sighed. Well she kind of looked the role, but the last few months had made it evident that she really wasn't. After all - it was Saturday evening and instead of going Matt's Halloween themed after-party she was here, stuck in her own head.
It was then something motherly kicked in with Rory - just something didn't seem right.
"Hey, seriously - tell me what's wrong? I can see there's something more going on than just a sad movie. It'll be just between you and me, I promise," Rory assured.
G sniffled, pushing a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. She took a deep breath.
"It's so stupid…," she shook her head, looking up.
"Stupid or not, if it makes you cry, you should tell someone. It'll make you feel better," Rory suggested, scooting to her side.
G pulled up her knees, laying her forearms on top of them and her own head sideways onto them. Why was it so hard to say it?
"I just... There's this guy, and I just.. I can't shake him. And I know it won't ever happen. It just hurts," G admitted, tears continuing to fall down her cheeks.
Rory placed her arm around her back, leaning her cheek onto G's shoulder. She really didn't know what to say. What she had gone through with Logan was so much more complicated than a teenage crush, it hardly applied here. But she felt for her nonetheless.
"Does he know how you feel?" she asked.
"I don't know... He might have some idea," G replied. She could've added that it wouldn't make any difference, but she didn't want to draw Finn into this by name. Even if she had trouble getting over him, he shouldn't have to keep away from his friends because of her, and if they knew - having him stop hanging out, would've likely been the first thing to do, just like they had spoken to him in the summer. God, that had been embrrasing!
"Well, I guess it depends a lot on the guy, but sometimes talking it out with the guy can help. Even if to just clear the air, I know that's not really what young people do these days… but that's all I've got, sorry," Rory added, feeling old. The therapy she'd been to with Logan had largely been about improving the commnication. She was beginning to feel quite guilty for leaving - it didn't seem like a good time to leave her sister wailing home alone after some guy. Who knew what teenagers did in cases like this - times were different, surely they would not just watch movies and eat junk food like she would've at that age?
G simply shrugged, wiping her tears away. She was still hanging onto the lifeline of communication she had going on with Finn - the list, the messaging, the occasional visits, though she doubted he would bother with the latter if Rory left for Stars Hollow. She was scared that if she did talk to him, however daunting that seemed, that would just leave her completely alone.
"Now I don't feel like leaving you here all by yourself," Rory hugged her.
G didn't want her to stop her plans because of her either - she saw it too, the last few months had been rough on Rory, and Rory clearly missed her friend and hometown.
"I'll be fine, I have a short week next week anyways, and I really don't plan on doing much else than this," she added, gesturing at her computer.
"You really should go out more, you know - hang out with your friends or something, just don't do drugs and be safe," Rory added with a smile, trying to be optimistic for her. "Sitting at home like this isn't good for you, and if it's wallowing you want, you come with me - I'm an expert wallower," she added, trying to spin this the best possible way.
G chuckled weakly at that thought. She did feel lighter having explained herself at least a little. Maybe Rory was right and speaking openly about it would help? She couldn't just keep going like this - could she? Something needed to change.
"Maybe Stars Hollow for a few days would be a good change of scenery for you?" Rory suggested thinking of the long weekend she'd mentioned. "I'm not sure how many beds there are, but if you'd be okay on a pull-out couch for a few nights, I'm sure we could make it happen," she suggested. She knew that perhaps it wasn't her brightest idea to invite guests into someone else's house like that, but she had a feeling Celeste would understand if she knew the situation. Heartbreak, unanswered love - that sucked. And in her age it probably sucked even more. But at the same time, in a way that heartache was a rite of passage - almost as if one survived the first one, with the rest - if there were any - one would know at least that in theory one could survive those too.
Jess stood in front of a fairly small 30-40 person crowd at an indie bookstore in Indianapolis. It was his fifth signing in four days, and he was quite pleasantly surprised by the places Lauren, her editor, had found for him. It was just like he was - he didn't want big and flashy, instead small, intimate and specific. What he wrote wasn't for the masses, and that was part of his draw to many people. They were his kind of people, and after years of doing the dull administrative part of this business, he finally felt like he belonged - not in this store in particular, but in the setting. Besides, seeing a variation of small specialized books stores across the country did give him some advantage when it came to his own store. Everywhere he went he would ask a little, how they were doing or how they were making their ends meet and actually getting quite a lot of valuable information, even some contacts that showed curiosity towards what he was up to. And so far everything he'd heard seemed to point in the direction that everything he'd been planning had been spot on.
"Hi, my name is Jess Mariano," he began after he'd given the crowd time to settle for a minute. He was dressed in a dark grey shirt, the sleeves rolled up, wearing a simple suit vest over it - he liked to think he looked pretty handsome like that, and the attention he seemed to be getting from some of her female readers certainly seemed to confirm it. "I'd like to thank you all for coming. Today, I'm here to introduce to you my latest book titled 'The Jump' and I've dedicated it to my wife, Celeste, without whom this would never have existed. It's about how a person or an event in life can alter one's life and beliefs. And more than anything it is about the changes happening below the surface of a person. Those of you who have read my previous books might find this a little different - the rebellious, slightly violent, abrupt nature that persisted on those, has exchanged to something more subconscious - but I do believe you'll still recognize the topics that have always fascinated me," he explained, then moving on to reading a few excerpts from the book and answered some questions.
"Mr. Mariano, do you think people have influence over such events in their lives or is it just sheer luck?" an older woman asked him.
Jess chuckled. "Luck - what is luck?" he said. "I honestly don't have an answer for this - personally I like to think some form of karma exists, that unlike in most of nordic noir, at some point thing balance themselves out," he added, hopefully. That alone was something he'd only started to think in the past few years.
"Is the main character formed after yourself or somebody else you know?" another woman asked.
"There are some traits of mine in there for sure, just as in my earlier book, but I've loaned some from others as well," Jess explained.
"Can we expect more books after this?" a younger man asked, already having begun reading the book in his hands.
"Too early to make such promises, but I'm definitely already working on something else as well," he admitted. He'd begun writing it just a month ago, it had just flown out of him. The new book was darker - centering on his own experiences from living with someone with mental health issues. He knew it was probably going to take some serious convincing so Celeste would let him publish it - but he wanted to finish it first before he showed it to her, having simply told her that he'd been editing. But the topic was close to his heart, and the last thing he wanted to do was upset her. He wanted to show her the light he still saw in her and how he hadn't lost hope for her. She was so brave in his eyes. She'd lived a lifetime of excitement and struggles in half a life compared to most people. But what he believed she quite didn't - was that while she struggled with her depression - sure, she'd slipped - but she'd always herself recognized the problem and asked for help. She knew how to get back up, even if it felt like there was no way up.
It was as he finished, having gathered up his things and pulled on his coat that afternoon, he stepped out into the street and walked down the road to get into his rental car to drive to his hotel in Cincinnati. There was something about being on the road that worked - and he really wasn't the first author who had admitted it. While he missed home, Evie and Celeste, naturally, being alone allowed time to think. It was a mental and physical journey of sorts, making her dream of Celeste's cooking, but at the same time enjoying the anonymity of being on the road until he actually stepped in front of his audience. He too had needed a break like this.
AN: Okay, so I need some feedback. I know many of you have issues with the F and G situation. I need to explain myself a little so you perhaps understand my side in this a little better. What I see - nobody is taking advantage of anyone - it's two people against odds falling for each other and I really don't think it's something either of them want to be doing, or will take lightly, sensing the social norms behind it. I also see two people that are lonely and the company is comforting. And I am not saying it's "okay" or "normal" for things like this to happen, but they do - and it's not in every case something creepy but I like the idea of people connecting, regardless of the age. The emotional maturity of teenage girls is 11 years older than that of guys the same age, for example. And Finn is a man-child (like one of my readers said). But I am not desparate for getting those two "together". It is mostly about the angst with these two. I do not plan to write mature content about anyone underage - if something happens it'll be tasteful, legal and taking into account the complexities. But as I said 'if' - I haven't fully decided yet where I will take them. I want to know if there are readers out there who see this storyline for what I see - something new, something romantic in terms of it's unavailability / the longing and for the 'what if things were different?' Are there readers out there that like this storyline? This way I'll know a little better to whom I am writing this. Feel free to drop me a PM if you don't want to review. I fully understand that this is a difficult topic, for some painful, unethical etc - but to me, essentially it's just a writing challenge - and I kind of want to see Finn at least a a little happier (but I can make that happen in other ways).