Tristin Dugrey stepped out of the limo and ran up the steps into his "home". Haha right, home. He thought bitterly. No one had been at the airport to greet him that was for damn sure. He had stepped off the plane after being in North Carolina for two years to see a sign with the word DUGREY written in big black letters. Greeting the new family chauffer he picked up his bags and had walked into the awaiting limo. God how he hated his parents. He wondered where they were right now since they obviously weren't at home. He figured his mom was out with one of her countless socialite friends drinking at the club or shopping in Boston. His dad was a bit harder to place. Probably in the office yelling at someone, or in the office sleeping with his new secretary, or in the office in New York, California, Japan,etc.

Oh well, being home alone was not a surprise to Tristin. After living so closely with other guys for the past two years, he was happy for some privacy. He ran up the marble staircase taking the steps two at a time. He opened the double doors to his left on the second landing. This was of course his wing of the household. Throwing his bags on the leather couch in the middle of the room, he was happy to see nothing had changed. Everything around him oozed wealth. His sitting room consisted of a big screen tv, every gaming system on the market, video games, dvds, a stereo and speakers, pinball machine, and leather furniture. A mini bar, refrigerator, and microwave sat in the corner. It still looked like the ultimate bachelor pad. From the sitting room he walked into his bathroom and closet on the left. He saw that his mother had restocked his bathroom and had filled his closet with new clothes while he had been gone. Everything was lined up with the tags still on it waiting for him to wear them. He walked back across the sitting room and into his bedroom. A king sized bed sat in the center of the room with a desk across from it. Tristin's bedroom itself was extremely bare. His father always used to say that his bedroom should be used strictly for sleeping and studying. Haha, little does he know about the midnight meetings I used to have in here with my different flavors of the week.thought Tristin with a smirk on his face. Tristin began to quickly unpack his duffle bag. Throwing his clothes out of the bag with other miscellaneous objects, he finally got to the bottom of the bag where he found the book he had been looking for.

Tristin sat at the edge of the desk and opened the book to page 35. He knew exactly where the picture was and ever since his parents had sent him the book, he looked at the picture everyday. Staring down at the picture of Rory Gilmore, Tristin felt excited and happy. His parents had sent him Chilton's yearbook a few weeks back with a note saying he could come home for the summer before college. Ever since the yearbook had arrived, Tristin had looked at Rory's picture a few times daily thinking of how great it would be to see her again. Man I screwed things up last time, but I won't do it again. Even if she is still with bagboy or someone else, I want to be her friend. Tristin placed down the yearbook and began to pace in his room. Where will I be able to find her? What will I say? What if she still hates me?

Tristin felt the need for some fresh air so he stepped out on to his balcony. "Tristin baby! You made it home safe and sound! Come say hi to Mommy's friends precious!" Tristin cringed hearing his mother's high pitched voice. He looked down to see her having tea on the porch with some of her friends. Tristin threw on a fake smile and yelled down, "One minute mother, please excuse me while I change." Tristin walked into his closet and threw on a pair of khaki shorts with a short sleeved white button down shirt. He figured he would see who was at the club after speaking to his mother and her friends.

Tristin ran down the flight of stairs holding his keys. He always figured if he was holding his keys they would think he was in a hurry and let him leave faster. Walking out on to the back porch Tristin threw on an overly cheery fake smile. "Mother is it so good to see you!" He explained as he bent down to give her a kiss on the cheek. Turning on the Dugrey charm he turned to the women sitting with his mother and said, "And who are these beautiful ladies who are sitting with you this afternoon?"

"Well Tristin meet my friends, Mrs. Robertson and Mrs. Gilmore." The two women exchanged polite hellos with the awestruck Tristin. Janet Dugrey was shocked to see her son actually sit down with the women.

Tristin could not believe his luck. Mrs. Gilmore sitting on his back porch, drinking tea with his mom? It was all too good to be true. Could this be his Mary's grandmother? A ticket to finding her?

"Tell me Tristin, how was finishing school in North Carolina? Did you enjoy it out there?" Mrs Robertson snapped Tristin back to reality.

Tristin's mother shot him a look which said, "Don't you dare tell them you were in military school or you will disgrace the entire family." Of course Tristin had known his parents would lie, they would never let anything tarnish the precious family name.

"Well mam," Tristin replied. "It was hard being separated from my family, but I like to believe that the school down there shaped me into being a fine young southern gentleman. I also like to believe that it helped me get into the college of my choice."

"Tristin which college will you be attending this fall?" Mrs. Gilmore asked.

Tristin looked at Mrs. Gilmore and turned up the charm. "Well mam, after being accepted to Harvard, Yale, and Prineton, it became very hard to make a choice. After all, they all have very good academic programs. But after giving it much consideration I have chosen on Yale. After all, my father and grandfather were both Yale men."

Mrs. Gilmore looked very excited and ready to say something but his mother cut her off. "Yes and due to Tristin's hard work these past years and his acceptance to Yale, his father and I have a little present for him. Sweetie go upstairs and change into something nice. We are going to the club for a special dinner tonight and you need to look your best. So go shower and get ready, your father will be home soon."

Tristin looked at Mrs. Gilmore longingly wondering what she was going to tell him. With a charming goodbye Tristin ran back up the stairs and made a mental note to have his mother invite Mrs. Gilmore back for tea another day.