Celeste was just walking along the street, having just passed Luke's, pushing Evie in front of her in ther light-weight stroller, going to take Evie to Hattie's daycare. It was a brisk and sunny morning, the frost from the streets having just recently melted leaving the asphalt wet, and she was pleasantly enthusiastic of the week to come. After all she could now count days, hours until Jess would be back home for Thanksgiving.
Neither of them had truly embraced the holiday - she had tried a couple of years, actually inviting everyone over and handling the cooking mostly herself. But she just hadn't really connected with this particular holiday, and Jess had never really been the one to appreciate this type of holidays altogether, simply not having grown up with everyone making a big deal of it. And this year she actually really looked forward to just being home with Jess and Evie. It was as simple as that. She had discussed it with Rory, briefly considering either going to Manhattan or Rory and the kids coming to Stars Hollow, but travelling with three kids under three was no picnic and she knew all Jess wanted was just to sleep in his own bed. Besides, Rory would have Luke, Lorelai and Leo coming over which meant she'd be fine too. She knew Rory was coming to the store opening and that would just have to do.
She'd just passed the Doose's Market and stopped to adjust one of Evie's gloves, which kept coming off, when a familiar voice approached her.
"Celeste, oh and Evie too, hey," Liz greeted her and hugged her, while holding a gallon of milk, clearly having just been out on a milk run that morning.
"Hey," she replied. Evie was pretty out of it and would have preferred being in bed, but Celeste needed to be at the Dragonfly by 8.30 for a weekly staff meeting this morning.
"Everything good? If you need any help with the store, don't hesitate to ask, okay?" she blabbered, her thoughts translating hastily into words without giving it much thought.
"Yeah, everything's fine," she replied, nodding, feeling already the pressure of time to get Evie to daycare.
"I'm sorry we can't invite you to Thanksgiving dinner, TJ-s parents are getting kind of old and weary, you know what I mean," Liz said. "We figured we should go to them while they're still around, you know," she added.
"It's quite alright," Celeste commented. Frankly she was a little relieved - they'd been there over the year before and Liz wasn't exactly the greatest cook. Jess had said that what they'd been server had already been an improvement but she could tell how everyone at the table had mainly insisted on getting more of the lentil salad she'd brought along rather than what Liz had made. She appreciated the effort, but she would much rather cook herself.
"And you know, I also wanted to thank you for helping Doula the other day," she pulled her aside, out of other people's earshot. Apparently Doula had talked to her mom about getting her period, and Celeste was glad - it was the right thing to do.
"It's no problem, I was happy I was there and could help," Celeste replied, feeling relieved she had take this so well.
"I felt so bad when she told me what had happened - and I mean back in the day there weren't that many alternatives and I got my… you know… kind of late, so I didn't expect it to happen this soon for her… It caught me a little off guard," Liz whispered, clearly not feeling entirely comfortable discussing this. "I mean it's a part of becoming a woman and I've told her how she shouldn't have to hide it, but…," Liz shrugged. Liz seemed to have mixed feelings about topics like this - in part she wanted to celebrate her child's major milestones, but then again doing things like this also meant that other topics she didn't feel as comfortable discussing with her, would soon need to be discussed in more detail, which she didn't really look forward to doing, her being a slightly older parent.
"Liz, I really must be going…," Celeste said, checking the time demonstratively.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to keep you. It's just that we just had a parent's conference with the school and they said that they are looking for someone to to replace Mrs. Driscoll. The woman's heath isn't what it used to be and she's been teaching these things since forever. You know, to talk to the kids about stuff like this. It's not a real teacher's position or anything, and there might be some quick course requirement involved," Liz blabbered, shrugging her shoulder. "Anyways I thought maybe this might be something you'd be interested in," she proposed, not wanting to let her go.
Celeste frowned, not quite following why her mother-in law would think of her when it came to the middle-schools sex-ed classes.
"Oh don't take this the wrong way - you just seem friendly, approachable and even Doula says how 'cool' you were about the whole thing. I know you've been looking for the 'right thing' and I just thought I'd mention it - whoknow maybe you'd like working part time with the kids," Liz added.
"Thanks, I guess...but I really need to go, I have to get to work," Celeste said, already beginning to move in the direction she needed to go. She really didn't take the suggestion very seriously, rather it seemed funny to her that Liz might think she'd be good in that sort of thing, and brushed the thought aside.
"Sorry! Just think about it," Liz called after her and got into her car.
"So what, you're just going to drop the whole book?" Lauren exclaimed as she sat with Jess in Truncheon Philly's coffee nook.
"It's not dropped, it's just on hold," Jess explained, biting on a chocolate chip cookie.
"Why? You spoke with such excitement about it," Lauren continued.
Jess swirled the remainder of his coffee around in his cup, while his eyes observed it. He'd held off telling Lauren for a while what the situation was with the book, trying to accept Celeste's statement himself. He was deeply glad that she hadn't said outright 'no' but still, he didn't quite dare to believe she might actually say 'yes' eventually.
"I sort of went about this the wrong way - I should've talked to Celeste first," he replied simply, already guessing what kind of scolding was coming his way.
"So she has the power over what you publish? Maybe we should just title her the agent here," Lauren snorted, rolling her eyes.
"Without her there wouldn't be a book, not this one, not the Jump," Jess emphasized. It was the truth - even if the new book hadn't needed her approval, which was the only ethical thing to do, so much of his creativity was down to her and both books would not have been the same without her. She was the inspiration, she was the first pair of eyes who read these things.
"So how long will we have to delay its release? What do you think?" Lauren continued, not wanting to bury the idea.
"There's no deadline. But I promise you'll be the first to know if you can do anything with it," Jess assured.
"It's just like I don't know who you are anymore," Lauren sighed, taking another sip of coffee. While normally one might take on offence of something like that, Jess didn't. He didn't want to be the inconsiderate, rebellious and uncommunicative person he'd been when he'd been with Lauren and written his first books. That was not what he wanted to return to. The transformation had infinitely been for the better, even if she didn't see it.
Celeste had already noticed Rory's message about needing to talk to her during the staff meeting but held off on the impulse to text her back right there for now. She didn't actually have to be at work that day at all, not until tomorrow, so she had been planning on spending the day going through Apparatus Bay's online shop looking for bugs and listing things that needed to be fixed. She also needed to take some photos of the special editions they sold, so it would confirm the actual condition and inscriptions before people placed their orders. Having an online shop on top of everything felt a little overwhelming to be honest.
She called Rory the moment she stepped out of the Dragonfly and made her way down it's driveway - whenever it wasn't raining or she wasn't in a hurry, she would avoid using the car around the town as much as possible. And this ways she'd get some exercise, save on gas and keep the air cleaner - sure, it would've saved her some time, but essentially she kept thinking how she was setting a role model for Evie too. Thankfully she hadn't needed to explain her thought process to too many people during their stay in Stars Hollow yet, not wanting to seem like she thought she was better than them somehow.
"Hey," Rory sighed as she picked up, adding, "just give me a sec."
"Okay," Celeste replied, wondering what this was about.
Rory was just making her way to their Volvo to drive back home from the pool. Finny had gotten a little cranky, not wanting to get out of the water so the last bit had left her exhausted. But at least she'd tried.
She hastily strapped Finny into his car seat and threw the backpack that held their swimming gear to the back of the car. Her own hair was still wet, simply the hood of her jacket pulled over her head. Finny hadn't been very patient with her getting dressed, let alone letting dry her hair or moisturize. She recalled the kind of luxury going to swimming alone had been.
Rory glanced back at Finny, wondering whether he'd need some more food before falling asleep, but it seemed that the banana she'd had with her had done the trick, the boy looking already a little tired. He usually didn't fall asleep this early, but since he hadn't slept too well last night and they'd just been swimming, she'd seen stranger things.
She pushed the ignition button and waited for the hands free system to connect.
"Ok, I'm here, sorry," Rory explained, letting Celeste know she had her attention.
"It's fine - what's up?" Celeste asked.
"I think we need to have the talk with G today," Rory began, still slightly out of breath.
Celeste frowned again not quite understanding what she was talking about. Since the morning talk with Liz, her first idea of 'the talk' was probably something a little different than Rory's was. After all G really didn't need 'the talk'.
"About your identity I mean. She pretty much figured it out thanks to the dresses, I just didn't dare to confirm anything before I had spoken to you," Rory added.
"Oh…," Celeste replied. She'd figured G might have some questions, but she hadn't quite expected her to go full on PI on her either.
"You okay there?" Rory asked, hearing only silence.
"Yeah, I mean… then we'll just have to talk to her," Celeste shrugged. She would not confirm or deny it herself either, but she could tell her the general story, hoping she'd understand the need for the secrecy.
"Care to tell me why are you selling the dresses?" Rory inquired, carefully.
"It's for the opening. Finn got me this amazing band and I just wanted to grab the chance," Celeste explained.
"Yeah, but you loved those dresses," Rory continued, as she drove.
"I kept some," she replied. "It was time, I can't keep a museum around if they can help me achieve other things. It's not like they fit me anymore," Celeste commented. The latter was no news, but still, it was the most convenient excuse she had to sell them. Part of the truth was, it stung a little bit - just knowing that she still had them, a constant reminder in the back of her mind that she'd given up some alternate life.
"Then why not just let me buy some of them," Rory insisted, feeling like there had to be some sentimental value behind them.
"It's fine really," Celeste replied.
Rory was a little surprised to hear her speak of it with such composure. The time she'd donated a bunch of those dresses, she'd almost been angry at them, and now it just felt like she was just slowly letting go. It sounded healthier at least and Rory really wished they could've just be together that day, so she could really see her - to be sure she was okay.
"Hey, you'll never guess what Liz suggested I should try as my next career adventure," Celeste recalled with a chuckle, changing the subject. She continued to walk and Rory to drive, the topic entertaining both of them.
Finn woke up feeling parched, his throat feeling a little hoarse even before having attempted to speak that morning. Sun peeked in through the wooden blinds covering his window. He could already sense the day was going to be a hot one. As he'd gulped down two glasses of water, brushed his teeth and ran cool water over his face, he stared at himself in the mirror, finally the event of last night gaining some perspective. He felt different after last night's ordeals, almost expecting it to show on his face - but he couldn't see it. His hair was messy as ever, his forehead showing already significant lines - time was ruthless that way. But he really didn't feel old because of it. The adventure part of last night he actually had kind of liked, not that he wanted to repeat it. But it was this type of excitement, unexpectedness that he missed.
He pulled on a pair of khaki shorts and a plain navy t-shirt, and emerged from his room barefoot, wondering whether Charlie was already up. Oh, she was definitely up, and the fact that he found her sitting by the bar counter, her tablet plugged in to charge and browsing it, her backpack already packed and ready to go besides her on the floor, somehow made him feel a little sad.
"Good morning," Finn said, smilingly. His voice was definitely a little hoarse. "Have you been up long?" he asked, hoping she wasn't in a hurry to leave and he'd kept her.
"Hey," she replied, having the same problem with her voice. "An hour or so, not long," she added, showing her tablet indicating that she'd been doing some research on Brisbane.
"God, we sound almost the same," he laughed at the raspiness of their voices. "Breakfast?" he proposed, figuring she must've been starving.
"I really don't want to be more trouble," Charlie replied hesitantly. Her hair was braided into a half-up french braid, keeping the hair off her face. She was wearing a simple sleeveless shirt-dress, made of some kind of travel-purpose material. The material alone, the ways she seemed to be prepared with her non-smart phone, her fairly small 50 l backpack - it all spoke about that she'd really prepared for this trip she was on.
"Oh, nonsense, it's no trouble. You must be starving," Finn assured, gesturing for her to come and join him, as he pushed the sliding door of the pool house open and followed the pathway along the side of the pool up the stairs, still barefoot. He didn't have much food in the pool house normally, just some drinks, there not being much point to keep a stacked fridge if he mostly ate out or with his sister's family.
"In case there's a mess, just ignore it, okay? I didn't exactly give my sister fair warning that I'd be inviting someone over, but they're all at work, school or daycare by now, so don't worry," Finn explained.
Charlie didn't say much, just observed the main house with astonishment, commenting casually what a beautiful place this was. There was no mess, the place looks as impeccable as it almost always did. The pool house was younger and much more anonymous in it's design than the main house, creating a notable contrast. The main house was almost like a work of art, that's what Sylvie was in Finn's eyes - an artist. All the little details and views from each location of the house had that perfect composition, perfect balance between calm, minimalistic and interesting.
"Eggs alright?" Finn asked, as he opened the fridge and gestured to Charlie to take a seat by the counter. She'd brought her tablet, having been in the middle of making her plans, but it almost seemed like it was a protection mechanism of sorts - keeping herself busy like that, in case there was awkwardness.
"Yeah, sure," she replied, sounding a little unsure of herself.
"Did you sleep alright?" Finn asked casually as he continued to reach for the pan and crack four eggs, one by one, onto it once the induction stove had reached the correct temperature.
"Oh yeah, definitely," Charlie replied, sounding well rested. "Thanks for letting me crash," she added, the statement had clearly been on her mind but perhaps she hadn't been too sure when to say it.
"It was no problem, really," Finn said. "Coffee?" he asked.
"Water is fine. Anything I can do to help?" she offered, feeling a little silly just sitting there.
"If you want toast or something, feel free to get it from over there," Finn said, gesturing towards the white minimalistic looking bread box on the counter, while he let the eggs fry and got a fresh mango from the bowl on the counter and began to dice it. "How's your arm by the way?" he asked, recalling it just then.
"It okay, I guess," she held up her arm, having taken the bandage off Finn had put on last night and replaced it with a simple gauze that she'd taped onto her skin with a fed smaller bandaids, having not been able to tie the bandage herself with just one hand in the morning.
"Good, there's a decent traveller's clinic by the town hall, if you need it," Finn suggested.
She smiled weakly at him, thankful for the suggestion.
"I booked an AirBnB for myself in Fortitude Valley," she began, wanting to assure that she had her accomodations sorted.
Finn was a little surprised to hear it - he'd almost expected her to do what backpackers did - staying in campsites, caravan parks or hostels, and he scolded himself for just assuming that. After all she'd told him herself that she didn't quite fit the profile.
"So you plan on sticking around Brissy for a while?" he asked instead of showing his surprise.
"My sabbatical is almost up, I have until the end of the year," Charlie explained. "And I figured I might just as well stick around for a while - try to get some part time temp job around here or something. I haven't really made a lot of plans ahead, I just take things as they come," she added.
"I'm still curious to what you are taking that sabbatical from," Finn pointed out, leaning against the counter.
"You are free to keep guessing," Charlie chuckled.
"A telemarketer?" Finn guessed, and poured her the glass of water.
Charlie shook her head smilingly, quite enjoying this process. She accepted the water from him with a friendly 'thanks'.
"But if you're sticking around, you should call me up sometime. It's not like I have a lot of plans here myself and if you want I could show you around," Finn suggested, feeling surprisingly nervous proposing it. He wasn't trying to put his moves on her - this wasn't about that. The truth was that what he wanted was a friend right now, having gotten quite enough of playing games. What he missed most about G was the friendship, that feeling that one had someone to do things with, talk to, and Charlie at least seemed infinitely more interesting than any of the girls he'd met during his time in Australia so far. He didn't want to have to impress anyone, he just wanted to hang out with someone, do something he wouldn't normally do.
Finn placed the plate with eggs in front of her and a plate of mango, lychees, and some melon between them and took a seat next to her by the counter.
"Yeah, sure… maybe," she replied, leaving Finn pondering what that hesitation was about.
They both ate in silence for a while.
"Finn, I just want to make something clear, okay?" she began, having just finished her eggs. "I'm not here looking for hook-ups or romance, that's not what this trip is about," she explained. "You seem like a really nice guy and I am truly grateful for you helping me out last night, but I just don't want you to get the wrong idea," Charlie explained.
Finn continued to chew his food for a while. He was curious to how she'd even gotten to such lengths in her thinking process, but then again she had been up longer than he has, and maybe indeed in some way his suggestion a minute ago had come off as slightly flirty.
"I didn't mean anything like that by suggesting it," he said. "Honestly I've been on a bit of a less than exemplary rebound journey here and honestly I'm just a little sick of trying so hard all the time," he explained, opening up more than he had the entire time they'd talked. He figured that admitting to something like that might actually disperse some of her concerns - after all this really wasn't something one admitted to someone one was after, right?
"So just friends?" Charlie looked at him, Finn registering for the first time what unusual amber color her eyes were.
"Deal," Finn replied. He wasn't really sure what this meant - he'd had a number of female friends over the years, Rory and Stephanie having been prime examples. Though out of all of them Rory really had been the only one he'd never attempted anything with. Hence he pondered whether that was even something he was capable of. But this was five weeks, surely, as a measure of keeping himself occupied and avoiding simply staring at the wall or drinking himself under the table each night, he could handle this.
They finished their breakfast and after Finn retrieved his phone, wallet and keys from his bedroom, the two headed towards the carport where Finn's formerly white Wrangler waited. The car was dusty, the smoke having dyed it grey, and the roof and the back window were covered in ash and other debri. Oh, his sister would definitely have some questions about the condition of the car when he got back, clearly having noticed it's state in the morning.
As soon as the two opened their respective doors the strong odor of smoke filled their nostrils.
"Huh, I guess I better get this one to the cleaners," Finn commented. To be frank he didn't really want anything to do with that smell ever again and he almost wanted to say that it was time to get a new car. But with this little game that they seemed to have ongoing, he didn't quite want to throw his money around so prominently as he perhaps usually did. He liked the fact that Charlie didn't really know anything about his job, family business or net worth, even if she could've guessed his sister was fairly well off. But then again neither did he.