DISCLAIMER: Tess is my property! Muahahaha! Everything else is property of Amy Sherman-Palladino and The WB.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm back. Took me long enough huh? Procrastination is a bizatch. I apologize to anyone that was enjoying reading this fic (which would be…no one). Reviews are nice. They make me smile *grin* . See, even talking about them makes me smile.
CHAPTER 8: OVER-RUNNINESS
At the Inn
"Sookie, these pancakes are incredible." Tess managed to muffle between taking bites of the blueberry pancakes in front of her.
"Glad you like them hun. You want more?"
"Please." Tess said eagerly. "Why have you made so many?"
"Well, I got here very early. I had to get out of the house." Sookie said, sighing.
Tess wrinkled her nose. "Ouch. Domestic problems?"
"Jackson is in the midst of inventing a new vegetable"
"Oh really? What is it?" the younger female asked with genuine interest.
"A cross between a tomato and a cucumber." Sookie said sadly.
"Why would anyone want a vegetable that's a cross between a tomato and cucumber?"
"Jackson says that they are the most popular sandwich filings. This morning he was trying to name it. It was awful."
Tess patted Sookie on her arm affectionately. "I'm so sorry."
"Hey, I'm the one that married him. So, what's on your agenda today?"
"Well I'm interviewing the first lucky hopeful for the new position at the Inn."
"That's so exciting!"
"Well...this person is actually the only lucky hopeful to apply for the job, so I'm telling ya, they better be good!" Tess said nervously, swallowing her last bite of pancake and pushing the door open.
"Good Luck sweetie!' Sookie yelled after her.
Tess walked to the front desk and poked Michel. "Hey, is the applicant here yet?"
"Do not poke me." Michel said and went back to the computer.
"And they say the French are surly!" Tess exclaimed, exasperated. "Are they here yet Michel?"
"Yes."
There was silence.
"Where?!"
"What? I wish I could answer your question, but a crazy person has just screamed in my ear, and I think I am deaf. Sorry." Michel huffed, and walked into the kitchen.
Tess groaned and scanned the front lobby. She saw a person sitting on one of the couches, and she walked up hesitantly.
"I'm sorry, but are you the applicant for the new job?"
"Yeah." The man stood up, and Tess finally got a good look at him. She frowned. "Wait a second, don't I know you? Tristan?"
He looked a little shocked. "Yeah, yeah, that's me. Teresa right?"
"Uh huh."
"Uh…what are you doing here?"
She laughed. "I work here. I'm the one that put the ad in the paper. Rorys mom owns the Inn."
"Rorys mom owns it? But…she lives in Stars Hollow right?"
"Yep. The Inn is on the outskirts of Stars Hollow." Tess said, smiling. "Is that a problem? Because…you got the job"
"I did?"
"People aren't exactly begging to fill the position. Congratulations" she said, extending her hand.
"I don't think I can" Tristan said nervously.
"What? Why not?" she said, pulling her hand back quickly.
"Well…" For once in his life, Tristan was at a lost for words.
Tess frowned. "Is this because of Rory? What's the deal with you two anyway?"
"Because of Rory?" he scoffed unconvincingly. "Nooooo…"
"Well then you can't back out on me. Please Tristan! I need help. You don't know Lorelai Gilmore. She's like the Energizer Bunny version on steroids. I can't handle it all by myself."
Tristan sighed, and looked deep in thought for what felt like and eternity for Tess.
"Ok"
"Yes!" she hugged him hard. "Thank you thank you thank you!"
He laughed despite himself. "You're welcome. Where do I start?"
Next day
"Morning" Jess mumbled, reaching past Tess for the cereal.
"Hey" she said, not glancing up from the newspaper. "Where were you last night?"
"Around" he said casually, scratching his head.
"Around around, or around with Rory?"
He cleared his throat. "Around with Rory."
"Huh"
He sat down cautiously. "So, now that we can actually talk to each other without reaching for a knife, do you want to talk?"
"Not really."
"Teresa"
She sighed and stopped reading. "Talk away"
"We kissed"
She raised her eyebrows. "Yes, yes we did"
Jess squirmed in his seat. "Well, is that all it was?"
"Yes" she replied, almost too quickly.
Jess decided it was useless to discuss it. He got up from his seat and took his bowl to the sink.
Tess frowned. "What?"
"What?"
"If you have something to say Jess, just say it"
He raised his arms up defensively. "I have nothing to say"
Tess just stared at him.
He shrugged. "It's just that…you always do this."
"Do this? Read the newspaper you mean?"
"No Teresa, You…love them and leave them I guess. Never in it for the long haul. Then you refuse to talk about it. For example, how long was your longest relationship?"
Tess was fuming. "My longest relationship has been my friendship with you, but if you keep on talking, who knows how much longer that will last?"
"I'm just saying-"
"That I'm a slut?" she asked loudly.
Jess rubbed his temples. "Of course not-"
"Well if I'm a slut, the only reason I would turn out that way would be because I spent too much time with your mother" she spat, and immediately regretted saying it.
Jess felt his blood boil. "Leave my mother out of this" he said in a dangerously low voice.
Tess bit her lip. She muttered a "sorry", and quickly walked to the door.
"Why can't we have a conversation without fighting these days?" he yelled after her.
"I don't know, why don't you ask Rory!" she yelled back, slamming the door after her.
In the diner
Tess had almost made it past Luke when he turned to face her.
"Where's Jess?" he asked tiredly.
"Upstairs"
"That kid…" He looked around the diner to the one table that hadn't been served yet. "Look, I hate to ask, but could you serve them while I go get him and some things I need?" he asked, pointing to Lorelai and Rory, who were sitting by the window.
Tess groaned, snatched the pen and pad sitting on the counter, and slowly walked to their table.
"May I take your order?" she asked Lorelai and Rory in a bored tone.
"Well, we were thinking about getting eggs," Lorelai said, "but we can't decide about how we should order them. I mean, it's a hard decision. Because you know, there's the whole over-runniness problem. And then the over-cooked situation."
"Over-runniness?" Tess repeated slowly. "You do know that's not a word-"
"Look, no beating around the bush." Rory butted in. "Are your eggs good? Fresh?"
Tess stared blankly. "I'm sure they're fine."
Lorelai frowned. "Well, in that case, can we see a prototype of said egg?"
Tess clenched her teeth. "Look, I'm in no mood for your "witty" repartee this morning. If the next word to come out of either of your mouths is not an edible noun from our lovely menu, I will kill you both and make it look like suicide."
"We'll have some scrambled eggs please." Rory said quickly.
"And coffee." Lorelai said, snapping her menu shut.
"Very good." Tess said, and walked around the counter to put the order in.
"Boy, whatever happened to service with a smile?" Lorelai whispered to Rory.
Tess turned around to face them again. "Sleep with one eye open." She threatened, and stormed out of the diner.
"What crawled up her butt and died?" Rory asked curiously.
"I would think it's a safe guess to say it was a Jess" she said, pointing to him and Luke arguing quietly. "The look on his face could burn Michael Jackson's nose off."
"Ew."
"No kidding." Lorelai banged the table impatiently. "Coooofffeeee…where are yooooooou?"
Rory rolled her eyes. 'Real mature mom. I'll go ask." She stood up and and approached Jess and Luke cautiously.
"Um…Luke?"
"What?" he snapped. "I'm sorry Rory. What's up?"
"Coffee?" she asked meekly.
"Sure, sure." He said. Walking to the counter. "Hey, hey, we're not done here!" he yelled after Jess, who was making his getaway. The door slammed and and Luke groaned.
Rory searched for something to say. "Hey, did you know it's my mother's birthday soon?"
Luke tried to be nonchalant. "Uh, yeah…I thought it was someone's birthday around this time." He said, full well knowing that he had been planning what to get Lorelai a few weeks before.
"We and Sookie were thinking about throwing her a surprise birthday. Are you in?"
Luke hid his smile. "Sure, I'd be happy to help." He stopped talking as he noticed that Lorelai was nearing the counter. She stood next to Rory and tried to look angry.
'Hey, what's the hold up on the sweet sweet caffeine?"
Luke rolled his eyes and poured her a cup, which she accepted happily.
"So, what are we planning?" Lorelai asked in a hushed voice. "How to vandalize Taylor's shop? Steal a gnome? Abduct George Clooney and make him our love slave?"
Luke and Rory just stared at him. Lorelai blushed.
"Woops, that's just my plan huh?"
"Yes mom." Rory nudged her towards the table. "Come on, food's almost ready." She looked over her shoulder and to Luke. "We'll talk" she mouthed.