Title: Interviews, Memories, and Everything Else
Author: Alysinomo (alysinomo@hotmail.com)
Rating: PG
Archived: 9/25/2002
Spoilers: None.
Summary: Rory has grown up and is now a successful, 28-year-old journalist for the New York Times. She gets the surprise of her life (and one of her biggest career hurdles!) when she is assigned to interview a brilliant new author, Jess Mariano. What will come of Rory and Jess? Will old memories and feelings resurface?
"Rory!" Jay Walters called, sticking his head out of his office. A slender, twenty-something brunette glanced up from her desk.
"Jay?"
"I want to talk about that story."
Rory got up from her desk in a hurry, heading towards the open doorway at the end of the hall.
Ever since graduating from Yale University, 28-year-old Rory Gilmore had been working her butt off as a junior contributor for The New York Times. She had logged long hours, putting 110% into her measly assignments, hoping to catch the eye of her editor Jay Walters. While she wasn't exactly Christiane Amanpour, her writing was above par and she was a step closer to achieving her dream, to be the chief international correspondent.
Rory stood nervously outside the door, smoothing her skirt and hair before stepping into the bright office. Smiling tightly at Jay, she sat in a chair and waited for him to begin,
"Rory."
"Jay?"
"I've got a story for you."
"A story?"
"Yes. Now listen carefully."
"Ok."
"There's this new hotshot in town, some author guy. I know you love to read, and hey, you're a great writer – so I've decided to let you do an intimate interview with him. His name is Jess Mariano-"
Rory nearly fell off the chair. Jess Mariano? Was this the same Jess she had left behind in Stars Hollow? The prank-pulling, punk listening, bad-ass New Yorker? He was an author? Since when had he shown any direction in his life? She couldn't do it; there was no way she could do this interview!
"Rory? Rory?"
Rory spaced in, blushing, she apologized. "Sorry Jay, I thought I recognized that name from somewhere, I was trying to remember where."
Jay gave her an appraising look before settling back into his spiel,
"As I was saying, this Mariano guy, complete literary genius-"
'Always was.'
"…Has written this book, Last Dance to Nowhere, praised by critics, including the New York Times. I want you to get the deal on this guy, on this book. Track him down, interview him; find out about his past, his present, the book, the inspiration – I want it all."
Rory sighed, she couldn't turn it down. It was too important to her career; she needed to make Jay see that she was more than just a low level contributor!
"Great," she said, trying to mask her lack of enthusiasm, "I'll do it. Do you have anything I can contact him with? Agent's number? Home number?"
"Yup," replied Jay, handing a sheet of paper over the desk, "Here's his literary agent's name, address, phone number, e-mail fax...Etc...Etc…"
"Ok," she said, smiling and getting up from the chair, "I'll see what I can do." She walked out of the office and back towards her desk.
* * *
Rory Gilmore stumbled into her apartment at exactly 8 pm, tired after a long day. She had spent the rest of the afternoon, gnawing over her upcoming Jess interview and what she was going to say, better yet, what she was going to do. It was highly likely that he was going to remember her, after all, 11 years was not that long in the span of a lifetime.
Rory shrugged her black coat off her shoulders, flinging it onto a hook on the wall, discarding her scarf and mitts in the vicinity of the hall table. Walking past her answering machine, she noticed the flashing light – it was probably her mother. They had been engaging in weekly gab fests since her university days, and it wasn't like they were going to stop now. Poking the play button, her voice came over the speaker.
'Hi. It's Rory, not home, leave a message!' Beep! "Hey Babe, it's me. Call back." Rory smiled at her mother's message and picked up the receiver, her fingers beginning to dance over the familiar number. Rory frowned; maybe it wasn't the best time to call her mother. She was still anxious about the Jess interview, and her mom wasn't exactly the one to overcome old grudges. Rory was pretty sure Lorelei still hated Jess from when she was 17. Pressing the pound key, Rory began to punch the numbers of her best friend, Lane Kim.
The phone rang three times before a male voice picked up,
"Hello?"
"Hey Jared, it's Rory. Is Lane there?"
Jared was Lane's longtime boyfriend and band mate. True to her aspirations, the minute she had left the Kim household, Lane had followed her dream, dyed her hair blue and formed a punk band; she was the lead, Jared played the drums. Jared and Lane were also living together in New York City, but due to their increasingly different lives, the two friends found it hard to see each other.
"Hey Ror!"
Rory smiled, "How'd you know it was me?"
"Jared said so."
"Oh."
"So what's up?"
"IhavetodoaninterviewwithJess."
"What??"
"Remember Jess Mariano?"
"How could I not?"
"You know he has a book out?"
"Yeah?"
Rory didn't say anything. Lane thought for a moment,
"Oh no."
"Yeah."
"You have an interview with Jess!"
"Yes!"
"What are you going to do?"
"I have no idea."
"Have you told Lorelei?"
"No," replied Rory, "You're the first to know. I don't know what she'd say."
"Rory, you're not 17 anymore, she can't control who you date."
"Who ever said anything about dating?" Rory shrieked.
"You and I both know that the only reason we're even having this conversation is because you're not sure what's going to happen. I think you should do the interview; you have to do the interview. You also need to tell Lorelei, you guys are best friends. Even if nothing happens, even if he's doesn't remember you, she still needs to know what's happening in your life."
"Ok. I guess I'll call her."
"Good. Now you're coming to my show on Saturday right?"
"Yeah sure." Said Rory absent mindedly, "Where is it?"
"Awesome! This gonna be so cool! It's at the Jailhouse at 10 pm, but could you come at 9? I want you to meet the guys and hang out backstage with me before the show!"
"Ok. I'll be there." Rory hastily grabbed a pen out of a drawer and scribbled the information on her hand.
"Well, I gotta go. Jared's taking me to this really cool art gallery with a punk inspired collection!"
"Ok. I'll talk to you later." Rory hung up the faintly and smiled to herself, Lane was so lucky.
* * *
Three days later Rory sat down at her desk. She had completely avoided the Jess interview since it had been assigned to her, but now it was eating her alive. She still hadn't contacted his agent, or given them any sign that she wanted to talk to him – she couldn't bring herself to do it. Quite a few times she had found herself chickening out halfway through dialing the number, she found herself thinking about how awkward it might be, what she might say…what he might say. But it was getting completely ridiculous; she was a professional! All she needed to do was get her interview and get out of there; she'd never have to speak to him again! Ha! It was so easy! She had no idea why she was so anxious. For what seemed like the millionth time, Rory picked up the phone and dialed the agent's number, she'd had it memorized since the 5th call.
Just as she finished punching in the agent's number, Jay stuck his head outside the door and yelled down the hall at Rory once again.
"Ah! Coming!" Rory slammed the phone down a little harder than she intended to, and walked towards the large office at the end of the hall.
"Yes, Jay."
"Well, what do you have for me?"
"About the Mariano interview?"
"Yes!"
"Well it's coming along nicely," she lied between her teeth, "I've been doing some background research on his book-"
"Have you got your interview yet?"
Just as Rory was beginning to panic, trying to think of an excuse, the phone rang.
'Saved by the newspaper gods!'
She waited 5 seconds before smiling and dashing back to her desk, pretending as though she wanted to give Jay some privacy.
Rory found herself once again, in front of the dreaded phone. This time she had to do it, Jay was 30 seconds away from asking her if she had her interview – and she needed one! Rory Gilmore began to haphazardly rummage around her desk, searching for the Agent contact info. She needed the name, she had the phone number, but what use was it when she didn't know who she was talking to?
Clearing her throat, Rory calmly picked up the phone and dialed the number.
"Good afternoon, Anne-Marie Spencer literary agents."
"Hi, yes, I'm Rory Gilmore from the New York Times. I'd like to schedule an interview with Jess Mariano, if possible."
"I think we can arrange it. How about this Thursday, the 16th from 12:00 to 1:00?"
"Great, thank you. Where would Mr. Mariano like to meet me for the interview?" Rory asked politely.
"He usually prefers '21' Club, so how about you meet him there at 12 sharp?"
"Ok. Thank you."
Rory hung up the phone and heaved a sigh of relief- it was over, and not so bad after all! But then there was the actually interview…and when did Jess get so refined? '21' Club? She would have never expected to see the Brooklyn boy dining there. His book must be making a lot of money…
Jay stuck his head out the office door, yet again.
"Rory!"
"Yup!"
She hurried down the hall, this time feeling some what more prepared than 10 minutes before.
"Hi Rory. Sorry about that. Some problems with some sources…" he waved his hand dismissively, "anyway, what about this interview?"
"It's been scheduled for Thursday, 12-1, '21' Club."
"Hmm…ok. Remember, don't let him pay for lunch. Whatever you do, make sure it's on the company card. We're getting his info; therefore we have to butter him up."
"Ok. Is that all?"
"Yup. Just wanted to check your progress."
Rory smiled and exited the room.
* * *
Rory Gilmore ran frantically down the subway steps. Shoving people out of the way like a true urbanite, she jabbed her hand into the closing door, forcing it to open once again. She sat down calmly on a scratched vinyl seat and began to sip her coffee. Normally, she would have already opened her book, but in her frantic rush that morning, her latest had never made it off the bedside table.
She glanced around the subway car, reading the advertisements one by one. Colgate toothpaste, upcoming jazz festival, colour contacts. She nearly spat her scalding coffee all down her front, however when her eyes came to rest upon the 4th ad. It was an advertisement for "Writer's Weekly Magazine" and Jess Mariano was on the cover. He still looked good.
Rory impatiently waited for her stop. Twenty minutes later the Subway pulled into Christopher St./Sheridan Sq. Once again, she went into crazy New Yorker mode, dashing up the stairs and into the terminal. This time, however, she wasn't dashing somewhere, she was dashing to get something.
Rory grabbed the magazine off the nearest newsstand, paid the seller and ripped it open. Flipping through rapidly, she at last came upon the cover story. Right at the center of the magazine was a full page spread with Jess' picture and the beginning of the article. Rory couldn't deny it, he still looked good. He hadn't changed as much as she imagined he would, same mischievous eyes, galled and lips turned into an upwards smirk. He did look a little wiser though, somewhere in his eyes there seemed to be some growth, some sort of recognition that he wasn't exactly the same boy she had left behind.
Rory began to read the anticipated article,
Jess Mariano: Literature's Crowned Prince.
By: Judy Kyler.
As I sit with Jess Mariano in the lobby of the Waldorf Astoria Hotal, I come to realize that he is no ordinary author. His unique personality doesn't lead one to believe that he is the same person who wrote Last Dance to Nowhere. He comes across as a regular, twenty something kid out of a late night bar; but do not be mistaken, Mariano has more to offer the world than you might believe.
JK: Hi Jess.
JM: Hi Judy.
JK: What can you tell us about your new book?
JM: Last Dance to Nowhere is really about a man and his affair with another woman. The man is this successful stock broker with a penthouse on Fifth Avenue, a socialite wife. However, instead of the man loving his wife, he loves this other woman whom he meets in the self-help section of the library. This book is really about the human condition, human behaviour, why we do the things we do.
JK: Any why did you choose to have this story told through the eyes of stock broker?
JM: Because the public can and cannot relate to this figure. They can relate to him in their sympathy of having to live with this marriage, but at the same time they can't relate to him because he's just this alien figure type. He lives better than most of the world, has a great job, great life period – but he's not happy. For most people, they can't understand why this man would hate his life, but they know that he does. That's what this book does, it gets into this man's head, into his affair – it tells the whole story.
JK: Where'd you get your inspiration for this book?
JM: From a number of different places. I got the idea of using a man and his broken marriage when I watched a man and woman argue on a street corner. They ended up making up quite physically in the end. It made me wonder, what if that weren't the case? What if that man and that woman never made up? What if there was more to relationship than what's apparent?
JK: And what about the idea for "the other woman?" It works tremendously for this novel, but how did you come up with that idea?
JM: (laughs) That aspect of the story was drawn from my own experiences. Throughout my rather short years of dating, I always seem to end up in the sort of "Someone Else" predicament. I've had girlfriends cheat on me because they didn't love me anymore, but they loved my car! There was also one girl in particular when I was 17. She had a boyfriend, but I cared about her so much that I pursued her anyway. And she pursued me, while she was with her boyfriend. I guess I was the bad boy in that one, but I just thought of it as a sort of "unrequited love" thing.
JK: So what happened to this girl?
JM: nothing. We went our separate ways.
JK: I see. Do you find it a bit strange, being thrust into the literary spotlight like this? Being called the next Mordecai Richler?
JM: Definitely! People have had so much praise for me and for the book, it's amazing! And being compared to Mordecai Richler, that's a compliment in itself; I'm only 28!
JK: Now, before we go, I have to ask – do you have a girlfriend?
JM: Nope, I'm single.
Rory finished the article, hardly believing what she had read. He had talked about he in the article! Her! So maybe he hadn't forgotten her…
Rory Gilmore walked slowly from the subway station up to her Greenwich Village apartment. She knew what she had to do, she had to call Lorelei. She'd know what to do, how to act during this dreaded interview.
* * *
A/N: So I finally decided to get off my lazy ass and write my own future Gilmore Girls fic. I was inspired to write it when I read the guidelines for September's challenge fic on "Bookends" – a great Rory/Jess fanfiction site. Anyway, since I realize that I won't be able to finish this in time to submit it, I have decided to post it on here and then maybe send it off to another site some time. J Anyways, I hope you guys like it, I'm pretty proud. Feedback is great!