Something To Remember
by inmyeyes
Part 4
(Saturday morning. Gilmore residence. Hartford)
"Good morning, dear. Did you sleep well?"
Rory planted a light kiss on her grandmother's cheek and smiled brightly. "Good morning, I had a good sleep." She walked around the table to take her seat. "Where's Grandpa?"
"He had to go to the office. Something about an emergency," Emily frowned. The frown turned into a smile when she noticed the light in her granddaughter's eyes. "Did you have fun with Tristan last night?"
Rory practically lit up at the mention of his name. "I had a wonderful time. Grandma, you don't mind if I go out with him today, do you?"
Emily smiled, reaching out to pat Rory's hand. "Of course not. You should go out and have fun. Besides, I have a million things to do for the dinner tomorrow!"
Rory's brow furrowed in confusion. "Dinner?"
A light laugh was drawn from Emily. "Oh dear, I forgot to tell you. There's a charity benefit dinner tomorrow, at the de la Tere Hall at 7pm. I've been planning it for weeks now. I'd love it if you would come, Rory."
"Of course, I would, Grandma," Rory said. "But I don't have anything to wear."
Emily shook her head. "Nonsense. There are a few dresses in your wardrobe, Rory. You can wear one of those or if you like, you can buy one. Oh, and invite Tristan along if you want to."
* * * * *
(A little while later)
"So?"
"So?"
"You decide."
"What? No way."
"Oh come on, you know Hartford better than I do."
Tristan laughed at the pouting that Rory was doing. "Oh, stop that! Fine, fine."
Rory jumped up and squealed, throwing her arms around him.
"You know, if you wanted a hug, you could have just asked," Tristan smirked.
Rory rolled her eyes but lightly kissed his lips. "Get up. Let's get going."
For a few seconds, Tristan was still, his mind still trying to recover from the feel of her soft lips on his. The action was so unexpected, so unconscious on her part and so natural that his heart felt like bursting from all the joy that radiated from it because of that one simple kiss. A sharp tug on his arm brought him back to reality. He looked up, only to see Rory frowning at him.
"Are you feeling okay?" she asked, running a hand through his hair.
He took hold of her hand, kissed her palm and smiled widely. "I'm feeling great. Let's go. I know just the place."
* * * * *
Rory took in the scene around her, then turned to look incredulously at the boy standing next to her, who was grinning smugly.
"This? This is the great, wonderful place you were telling me about?" Her tone was filled with amusement.
"What's wrong with it? It is great and wonderful," Tristan countered.
"Tristan, you brought me to a a park," Rory stated.
"That's where you're wrong," he disagreed. He lowered his voice to a whisper, as though sharing an important secret. "It's not just a a park."
Rory rolled her eyes good-naturedly at the all-knowing smirk on his face. "Why? Did aliens land here? No wait, the grass is special, isn't it?"
Tristan chuckled. "No, better still, it's my favourite park."
"Wow, this must be some park. It passed the DuGrey test with flying colours to win the favourite park award," Rory said seriously. But one look in her eyes and Tristan knew that she was mocking him.
"Of course. The trees here provide fabulous shade. The benches are sturdy and have messages of love scribbled on them. The water sprinklers are in perfect order, and they have the best playground."
"The best playground? I must see this."
* * * * *
(Early afternoon. The park)
"It's a dog."
"No, it's not. It's a plane."
"A plane? Are we even looking at the same thing?"
"Well, I'm looking at that cloud that looks like a plane."
"It does not look like a plane!"
"Now, that one... that's a plane."
"Oh please, that is so totally a bird!"
"Is not."
Rory turned her head to look at the boy who was laying beside her on the warm grass. "You know, you suck at this game."
At her words, he too turned his head to face her, smirking. "No, I just have more imagination."
"Yeah... seeing things that aren't there."
Tristan just grinned.
Rory's eyes turned back to the blue sky above her, but her thoughts were still on him. He had surprised her; of all the places she had expected him to bring her to, the park was never one of her options. But, as she had found out, Tristan loved going to the park and this really was his favourite park. He had brought her to the playground where they had spent hours playing by themselves, and with the kids who were there. They helped the kids build some sand castles, they played catch, they played some ball games with the young ones and challenged each other to see who could swing the highest. She had never felt so free or so happy to be alive.
And she loved to watch him. There was this luminous glow in his eyes whenever he was playing with some of the kids and it warmed her heart to see that. While she admittedly still didn't know that much about him, she found that she was very perceptive when it came to him. And she had a feeling that that young, playful, carefree side of him didn't come out to play often enough.
"Have you ever been in love?"
"What?" Her question had invaded his train of thought. He had been busy replaying in his mind the time they had spent together just now. He was memorizing every smile, every laugh and every joyful glint in her eyes. He could easily recall her shriek of laughter when he had pushed her higher on the swing and the way she had smiled so brightly when a group of kids tried to tackle her.
"Have you ever been in love?" she repeated.
"No."
"Why not?"
He turned on his side, leaning up on an elbow and saw that Rory was carefully watching him.. He shrugged, his eyes not meeting hers. "I haven't found the right girl." Until you came along. He decided to turn the tables on her, even though he knew that she probably wouldn't be able to answer the question. "Have you ever been in love?"
Although his tone was teasing, she took the question seriously. Even with her blurry vision of her life, the answer was as clear as day to her. "No, I don't think so. I don't think I could forget that." She suddenly frowned, as though struck by something. "I have vague memories of this guy..." Her frown deepened. "I think we were together for a while." Then with certainty, she admitted, "I don't think I loved him though."
Tristan swallowed thickly, knowing perfectly well that the guy in question was that- that bag boy. Dean. He fought to suppress the panic rising in his chest. She was getting back snippets of her memory, and when she finally recalled that Dean and her were still together.... No, he wouldn't think about that. He shook his head, as though trying to kill the thoughts mulling in his head. Deciding to tread on safer ground, he changed the subject. "So, what do you wanna do now, my lady?"
Rory couldn't resist returning his grin. "I have an idea."
* * * * *
(Gilmore residence. Hartford)
"Ma'am, there's someone on the phone asking for Rory."
Emily looked up from the guest list she was examining and accepted the telephone that was offered to her by the maid. "Hello, Emily Gilmore speaking. Who is this?"
Dean swallowed down his nervousness, and tried to keep his voice cool. "Hi, Mrs. Gilmore. This is Dean. Can I speak to Rory?"
"I'm sorry, Dean, but Rory's not at home. I'll tell her you called," Emily answered absently, her mind still focused on the list before her.
He sighed. "Thank you."
A moment later, Emily gasped in horror when she realized that she had missed some people out in the list. In the flurry of activity that followed, Dean's call was forgotten.
* * * * *
"Ok, so what exactly is this great idea of yours?" Tristan leaned against a lamp-post as Rory came back from the newsstand, clutching a copy of the local paper in her hands. "Oh wait, are we gonna fly paper airplanes?"
Rory hit his shoulder with the rolled-up newspaper, rolling her eyes but managing to notice how handsome he looked whenever he laughed freely. "We let our fingers do the walking." As she pulled apart the newspaper, trying to find the 'Events' section, she snuck a look at him and immediately took note of the mischievous look in his eye. She stopped what she was doing, her eyes shooting daggers at him and waited for the comment that she was certain would come.
"We let our fingers do the walking, eh? I know where my-"
Again, he was smacked; this time, Rory hit the back of his head with her hand. "You are impossible," she muttered, but he could see hints of a smile on her face.
He just grinned. "Impossible? I prefer incorrigible. Or maybe insufferable. Better yet, I like handsome and charming."
Rory just tuned him out and grinned victoriously when she finally found the page she wanted. "Close your eyes," she instructed.
Tristan's grin widened. "Wow. Exactly what are you gonna do to me, Rory?" He wriggled his brows suggestively.
"I'll bash your head against this lamp-post if you don't do as I say," she offered.
"How dominatrix of you," he leered. "I didn't know you had it in you." But he closed his eyes, although the smile remained firmly in place.
"Give me your hand," she told him. When she saw him smirk, she laughed slightly. "And don't say anything."
His lower lip jutted out in a pout, making him look like one of the young boys whom they had played with at the playground. "I wasn't going to say anything," he protested.
"Sure, you weren't," Rory said disbelievingly. She took hold of his hand. "Okay, here's my brilliant plan. There's a list of things that are going on today in Hartford on this page. I want you to point, and we'll go to that whatever you pointed at."
"That's your brilliant plan?"
"Right, this coming from the guy who told me about this wonderful place and brought me to a park," she retorted. "Come on, just point at something. Anything."
"Okay, okay. Sheesh, don't get your panties in a wad." He was ready for the impact of her hand slapping his arm. A laugh was wrenched from him. "All right, I'm pointing, I'm pointing!"
He opened his eyes to see Rory's dark head in front of him, reading the small snippet on the page. In a gesture that seemed so natural to him, he slid his arms around her waist, pulling her back against his chest. He rested his chin on her shoulder and scanned the paragraph that Rory was pointing to.
"Poetry-reading. Auden." He turned his head to plant a light kiss on her neck. "Not a bad choice."
* * * * *
(Hartford Library)
Reaching back to take his
hand, Rory led Tristan to the empty seats at the back of the room as noiselessly
as she could, trying not to interrupt the girl who was reciting the poem
at the front of the room. When they were finally seated, she didn't think
of taking her hand away from his, too enraptured in the poetry.
Time will say nothing but
I told you so,
Time only knows the price
we have to pay;
If I could tell you I
would let you know.
If we should weep when
clowns put on their show,
If we should stumble when
musicians play,
Time will say nothing
but I told you so.
As the words rolled off the
girl's tongue, Rory found an odd familiarity in the poem. She bit her lip
in confusion, trying to figure exactly what it was that was nagging at
her. Then suddenly, she realized that she remembered the words of the poem.
She tried to stifle the wide smile of triumphant at that tiny remembrance
and started to mouth along to the words.
There are no fortunes to
be told, although,
Because I love you more
than I can say
If I could tell you I
would let you know.
The winds must come from
somewhere when they blow,
There must be reasons
why the leaves decay;
Time will say nothing
but I told you so.
The feeling of her small hand
in his sent a current of elation through his body. He realized that what
he valued the most were those small, insignificant and unconscious touches
that made him feel like she really cared for him and revealed how very
comfortable she was in his presence. Sure, there were still those tense
moments when he had to remind himself not to overstep any boundaries with
her but those moments were few and far between. With her heart untainted
by those foul memories of him, she was warm and giving and her smile sent
his heart racing. But every time he felt himself soaring too high, the
knowledge of his deceit sent him tumbling back to earth.
Perhaps the roses really
want to grow,
The vision seriously intends
to stay;
If I could tell you I
would let you know.
Suppose the lions all get
up and go,
And all the brooks and
soldiers run away;
Will time say nothing
but I told you so?
If I could tell you I
would let you know.
Tristan turned his head, staring at her profile before smoothing back an errant strand of hair with his free hand. He instantly noticed the jubilant smile on her pretty features. "Why are you smiling?" he whispered, tightening his hand around hers.
When the full blast of her smile hit him, he found that happiness made her eyes shine brighter. "The poem! I remember the poem, Tris. It's one of my favourites."
His initial reaction was to share in her joy; he lifted up her hand that was encased in his, kissing the back of it lightly and matching his grin with hers. His grin faltered slightly when he realized that his charade would soon come to an end.
* * * * *
(Late that night. Gilmore residence. Hartford)
Rory laughed at the babbling.
"Mom! I'm fine, don't worry about me."
On the other end, Lorelai
sighed but she was relieved to hear her daughter laughing. "Of course I'll
worry about you! You're my daughter."
Rory leaned back against the pillows on her bed. "I know, but try not to."
"How's the Evil One?"
"Evil One?" Rory repeated, puzzled.
Lorelai realized that she didn't remember the evil-doings of Bible Boy. "I meant Tristan. How is he?" She could hear the grin in Rory's voice when she answered which was surprising.
"He's great. We went to the park today and we had so much fun. We played with some of the kids there, then we watched the clouds. And then we went to a poetry-reading and Mom," the excitement in her tone was evident, "I remembered some of the words of the poem. It was Auden's 'If I Could Tell You' and you know how much I love that poem. Remember when I did that for my 5th grade poetry recital and...."
Lorelai's brow furrowed in confusion at Rory's description of Tristan which was so contrary to all the stories that Rory had relayed to her but she didn't dare question her. Rory didn't need any extra stress or confusion so she didn't voice her queries. 'Plus,' she reasoned, 'it would be good if they were to become friends.' So instead, Lorelai just inquired more about their day and Rory was more than glad to tell her about it and about him.
"I like him, Mom," she confessed. "I like him a lot. He's sweet and smart and he makes me laugh. And he has the best smile, Mom. When he smiles at me, I feel like I've been given some special gift."
Lorelai didn't quite know what to say to that.
Rory sighed softly. "I miss you, Mom."
"I know, I miss you too."
* * * * *
(DuGrey residence. Hartford)
The soft strains of Brian McKnight's rich voice resounded in the large room. There was complete darkness, except for the lamp on his desk that had been switched on. He lay unmoving atop the silk sheets of his large bed, his eyes staring unseeingly at the empty blankness above him. With a loud sigh, he sat up, threw the sheets away from him and strode to the sliding doors that led to his balcony.
Once he was outside, he found that he could breathe easier but the heaviness of his heart, weighed down by lies, remained.
Tomorrow was Sunday, the day
of the dinner which Rory had shyly invited him to. It would also be his
last full day with her before her mother returned... and before his lies
would be eventually exposed.
* * * * *
* * * * *
A.N : Wooo! Finally, I've finished this
part. Sorry it took a while. This was a pesky one to write.
Go on, hit the review button!
::shameless grin::