I didn't say this last chapter, but in case anyone's confused about the
issue, I do not own any of the characters, sauf Eliza.
***********************
At the diner, Jess closed his book and looked up expectantly.
Rory nodded, and Lorelai interjected seriously, "Come, sit, Jess."
Since the diner was basically empty, Luke made no objection.
Jess slid into the seat next to Rory. "So."
"So." Rory mimicked noncommittally.
"Did anything interesting happen?"
Lorelai and Rory exchanged uncomfortable glances, and Rory furrowed her eyebrows.
"I don't know that we're supposed to know anything about what happened."
"Yeah, it was really weird. She's definitely interesting, and not just because she bugs Taylor, but it kinds felt like we walked in on something private," Lorelai added.
"There's a town mystery involving Taylor?" Jess said incredulously. "The only thing remotely intriguing about him is how he got to be such a pompous self-righteous jerk." He looked back and forth between Lorelai and Rory, not totally at ease with how to talk to both of them together. Or course, neither Rory nor Lorelai were completely comfortable, either. But they were spared further musings on how they would companionably keep the conversation going by the entrance of Eliza.
Everyone looked up at her, curious. Before they could withdraw their looks in guilt of objectifying her newness and strangeness, she directed her open face towards them.
"Sorry to disrupt your tete-a-tete," she said expectantly.
"Not at all," said Lorelai. As if remembering herself while gesturing to the empty diner, "Would you like to join us? We'll provide much better conversation than Luke will if you sit at the counter."
Luke rolled his eyes. Eliza paused, and accepted. She moved towards the empty seat while apologetically introducing herself. "I'm Eliza. I'm sure you thought I was being horribly strange and unsociable earlier." She paused and cut a wicked grin at Rory and Lorelai, all the while somehow assuming Jess into an "outsider in-group" she had established for herself. "But I saw you were active in scoping out the mystery in which I had shrouded myself, and therefore, I believe, ended up with more questions than you had when you started?"
Lorelai and Rory ducked guiltily and started to say something about accidentally overhearing part of her interaction with Taylor. Jess was simply staring hard at Eliza.
"It's okay," she hastily continued. "This is a small community, and I knew nothing went unnoticed here before I came back."
Luke had walked over to refill coffee and take Eliza's order. Everyone did a double-take at Eliza's admission. "Back?" Rory voiced it.
"Yeah. Although I left when I was too young to remember anything-" she broke off pensively. "No, I officially know nothing about any of you- you're too young for my mother to have been able to tell me about you. So you're safe!" She ended with an inclusive smile.
"Good. We wouldn't have wanted our eccentricities to have proceeded us," Lorelai said encouragingly.
"No, not at all. In any case, I'm here for a while now."
"What have you come to do?"
"I'm actually taking a bit of a break from my PhD program. I felt like my research wasn't new, wasn't ingenuous, wasn't contributing anything worthwhile to the extant body of human knowledge," she said passionately, "And since I'd never really known where I grew up, and I wanted a bit of peace, I decided to come home for a bit. I'm going to teach English. One of the English teachers at Star's Hollow High all of a sudden decided to retire, and I offered to replace her even before the end of the term."
"Oh. That's great," Lorelai said.
They suddenly realized Luke had been waiting a long time for recognition. She placed her order and they all fell into easy conversation.
******************************
Walking home, Lorelai and Rory discussed the newcomer. "She seems great."
"Yeah. And she's read so much great stuff."
"Rory, she's going to be an English teacher."
"At a public high school. Plus, how many people are really that passionate about educating. She might even be as good as some of my teachers at Chilton." There was a moment where both knew they were thinking of Mr. Medena, and then they continued.
"Hey, did you realize, she made it sound like she was going to tell us about what happened with Taylor, but she never did? Oooh, tricky!" Lorelai's eyes glittered.
"Mom, I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to tease the mystery out of her later. The conversation just took a turn and it never came up again."
"You're just too young to know about that thing."
"What thing?"
"That thing that older people do."
"When." Rory prompted.
"When they want to keep the conversation from something they don't want to talk about. You see, they start out by apologizing for something obvious, then making it your fault, then excusing you, and transitioning the excuse into something they're more comfortable talking about."
"I hardly think she was trying that hard."
"No, it was a classic. She's good-think about it. 'I must have seemed strange.you followed me.it's okay. I'm happy to be in this small community.'" Lorelai pantomimed Eliza's hand gestures.
"Wow," Rory said, only vaguely skeptically.
"Yeah. But did you notice how I surreptitiously got her information when I asked her to lunch later this week?"
"Surreptitious. Good word."
"Yeah, and better, since I know her last name, I can ask around town about her."
*****************************
"So." Lane slid into her seat at Luke's as she picked up Rory's hamburger and stuffed it into her mouth. "What's new?"
Lorelai hunkered down, giving her a sideways grin.
"Yeah, Mom, what did you find out today?" Rory had just returned from the counter where she had been flirting with Jess.
"Well," Lorelai paused dramatically. "Taylor has a kid."
Lane swallowed hard and blinked in astonishment. Rory's eyes grew wide. "I had considered something like that after what we overheard, but.it just seemed too bizarre and out of character."
"Yeah, I wasn't quite sure what to think, either. And she just seems way too.cool and well-adjusted to be Taylor's kid."
"Whoa. Wait a second. Fill me in here, please?" Lane interjected.
Lorelai and Rory relayed the events of the previous evening to Lane. Then, Rory sat back reflectively. "So Taylor has a love-child?"
"No, he was married. Apparently, they got married really young, and as she grew up within the marriage, she realized that he was really crazy. They'd already had Eliza, but she didn't want her growing up in such a stilted environment. So she divorced Taylor and left, taking Eliza with her. She hasn't been heard from since," Lorelai finished with a flourish.
"Wow. Taylor being forced to live in a situation completely devoid of picket fences, two and a half kids, and unicorns on all the ice cream parlor signs. It's amazing he survived." Lane stuffed the last bit of hamburger into her mouth, glanced at her watch, and smoothly transitioned, "Gotta go."
"Bye!" both Gilmores called after her.
******************************
Rory and Jess met down at the bridge later that night. In between flirting and making out, which of course were fun and distracting, she told him about Eliza.
"She's my new English teacher," he replied.
"Oh." Pause. "So will your attendance improve?"
"Depends."
"On what?"
"Rory, how many teachers have you had who actually taught you anything about what you read?"
She thought about it. Before she answered, he added, "And my school's not even as good as yours."
"Okay, new subject," and she leaned in for a kiss.
"I definitely prefer this one," he reciprocated.
***********************
At the diner, Jess closed his book and looked up expectantly.
Rory nodded, and Lorelai interjected seriously, "Come, sit, Jess."
Since the diner was basically empty, Luke made no objection.
Jess slid into the seat next to Rory. "So."
"So." Rory mimicked noncommittally.
"Did anything interesting happen?"
Lorelai and Rory exchanged uncomfortable glances, and Rory furrowed her eyebrows.
"I don't know that we're supposed to know anything about what happened."
"Yeah, it was really weird. She's definitely interesting, and not just because she bugs Taylor, but it kinds felt like we walked in on something private," Lorelai added.
"There's a town mystery involving Taylor?" Jess said incredulously. "The only thing remotely intriguing about him is how he got to be such a pompous self-righteous jerk." He looked back and forth between Lorelai and Rory, not totally at ease with how to talk to both of them together. Or course, neither Rory nor Lorelai were completely comfortable, either. But they were spared further musings on how they would companionably keep the conversation going by the entrance of Eliza.
Everyone looked up at her, curious. Before they could withdraw their looks in guilt of objectifying her newness and strangeness, she directed her open face towards them.
"Sorry to disrupt your tete-a-tete," she said expectantly.
"Not at all," said Lorelai. As if remembering herself while gesturing to the empty diner, "Would you like to join us? We'll provide much better conversation than Luke will if you sit at the counter."
Luke rolled his eyes. Eliza paused, and accepted. She moved towards the empty seat while apologetically introducing herself. "I'm Eliza. I'm sure you thought I was being horribly strange and unsociable earlier." She paused and cut a wicked grin at Rory and Lorelai, all the while somehow assuming Jess into an "outsider in-group" she had established for herself. "But I saw you were active in scoping out the mystery in which I had shrouded myself, and therefore, I believe, ended up with more questions than you had when you started?"
Lorelai and Rory ducked guiltily and started to say something about accidentally overhearing part of her interaction with Taylor. Jess was simply staring hard at Eliza.
"It's okay," she hastily continued. "This is a small community, and I knew nothing went unnoticed here before I came back."
Luke had walked over to refill coffee and take Eliza's order. Everyone did a double-take at Eliza's admission. "Back?" Rory voiced it.
"Yeah. Although I left when I was too young to remember anything-" she broke off pensively. "No, I officially know nothing about any of you- you're too young for my mother to have been able to tell me about you. So you're safe!" She ended with an inclusive smile.
"Good. We wouldn't have wanted our eccentricities to have proceeded us," Lorelai said encouragingly.
"No, not at all. In any case, I'm here for a while now."
"What have you come to do?"
"I'm actually taking a bit of a break from my PhD program. I felt like my research wasn't new, wasn't ingenuous, wasn't contributing anything worthwhile to the extant body of human knowledge," she said passionately, "And since I'd never really known where I grew up, and I wanted a bit of peace, I decided to come home for a bit. I'm going to teach English. One of the English teachers at Star's Hollow High all of a sudden decided to retire, and I offered to replace her even before the end of the term."
"Oh. That's great," Lorelai said.
They suddenly realized Luke had been waiting a long time for recognition. She placed her order and they all fell into easy conversation.
******************************
Walking home, Lorelai and Rory discussed the newcomer. "She seems great."
"Yeah. And she's read so much great stuff."
"Rory, she's going to be an English teacher."
"At a public high school. Plus, how many people are really that passionate about educating. She might even be as good as some of my teachers at Chilton." There was a moment where both knew they were thinking of Mr. Medena, and then they continued.
"Hey, did you realize, she made it sound like she was going to tell us about what happened with Taylor, but she never did? Oooh, tricky!" Lorelai's eyes glittered.
"Mom, I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to tease the mystery out of her later. The conversation just took a turn and it never came up again."
"You're just too young to know about that thing."
"What thing?"
"That thing that older people do."
"When." Rory prompted.
"When they want to keep the conversation from something they don't want to talk about. You see, they start out by apologizing for something obvious, then making it your fault, then excusing you, and transitioning the excuse into something they're more comfortable talking about."
"I hardly think she was trying that hard."
"No, it was a classic. She's good-think about it. 'I must have seemed strange.you followed me.it's okay. I'm happy to be in this small community.'" Lorelai pantomimed Eliza's hand gestures.
"Wow," Rory said, only vaguely skeptically.
"Yeah. But did you notice how I surreptitiously got her information when I asked her to lunch later this week?"
"Surreptitious. Good word."
"Yeah, and better, since I know her last name, I can ask around town about her."
*****************************
"So." Lane slid into her seat at Luke's as she picked up Rory's hamburger and stuffed it into her mouth. "What's new?"
Lorelai hunkered down, giving her a sideways grin.
"Yeah, Mom, what did you find out today?" Rory had just returned from the counter where she had been flirting with Jess.
"Well," Lorelai paused dramatically. "Taylor has a kid."
Lane swallowed hard and blinked in astonishment. Rory's eyes grew wide. "I had considered something like that after what we overheard, but.it just seemed too bizarre and out of character."
"Yeah, I wasn't quite sure what to think, either. And she just seems way too.cool and well-adjusted to be Taylor's kid."
"Whoa. Wait a second. Fill me in here, please?" Lane interjected.
Lorelai and Rory relayed the events of the previous evening to Lane. Then, Rory sat back reflectively. "So Taylor has a love-child?"
"No, he was married. Apparently, they got married really young, and as she grew up within the marriage, she realized that he was really crazy. They'd already had Eliza, but she didn't want her growing up in such a stilted environment. So she divorced Taylor and left, taking Eliza with her. She hasn't been heard from since," Lorelai finished with a flourish.
"Wow. Taylor being forced to live in a situation completely devoid of picket fences, two and a half kids, and unicorns on all the ice cream parlor signs. It's amazing he survived." Lane stuffed the last bit of hamburger into her mouth, glanced at her watch, and smoothly transitioned, "Gotta go."
"Bye!" both Gilmores called after her.
******************************
Rory and Jess met down at the bridge later that night. In between flirting and making out, which of course were fun and distracting, she told him about Eliza.
"She's my new English teacher," he replied.
"Oh." Pause. "So will your attendance improve?"
"Depends."
"On what?"
"Rory, how many teachers have you had who actually taught you anything about what you read?"
She thought about it. Before she answered, he added, "And my school's not even as good as yours."
"Okay, new subject," and she leaned in for a kiss.
"I definitely prefer this one," he reciprocated.