SPOILERS - None.
SUMMARY - Same as the other chapters, PG-13
DISCLAIMER - The WB, Amy Sherman-Palladino, et al owns it all.
A/N: Thank you to my reviewers (you know who you are by now) - I love you guys!!! And don't worry, I won't be drudging up a forgotten girlfriend/wife or a child for Jess, that's way too cliché even for me. A/N2: I'm keeping this a Jess's point of view story, so I won't be writing about what Rory, Lorelai or Luke are doing unless they're telling Jess about it.
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Chapter Nineteen
I hated leaving her. I boarded the plane with a final wave and sat down with a huge sigh. I pulled out my laptop and finished the article for the first leg of the flight, then hunkered down with my journal to work on my book. Then it struck me - I should have Rory write half of this book, from her perspective. It could be like that 'Love Letters' play. We could alternate chapters of our history. I made a note in the margin of the journal to talk to her about it. I wonder if she'd go for it. It would be a great way to work through what had happened to us way back when, and maybe would be cathartic for our new relationship. I landed at Laguardia and it was already evening, taking a taxi to my modest apartment building in Manhattan.
I stopped at the greengrocer around the corner from my building and picked up enough groceries to last me at least a few days. I stopped in the lobby and wrestled out the ton of mail that had been stuffed into my tiny mailbox. They must have gotten a new mail guy again, damnit. As soon as I get a system with one they change them. I'd leave a note saying that if there was a post-it in the window of my box, that meant I was traveling and to hold my mail until the post-it was gone. It was a hell of a lot easier to do that then fill out those dumb postal service forms every time. Oh well. Bill, bill, junk mail, invite to some gallery opening, invite to a nightclub opening, a letter from Lilly. We've been writing to each other ever since I left California. She's a nice kid. Weird, but nice. I bet Rory would really like her. Maybe we can go out to California to see her and Rory can meet Jimmy. Or maybe Lilly can come to D.C. and stay with us for a few weeks during the summer. Huh, that would be weird. I was lost in thought about that as I went up the elevator to my floor.
I got to my apartment just in time for my neighbor across the hall to poke his nose out. Geez, it'll be nice to be rid of him, even though he's nice and all, he'd get along great with Taylor Doose.
"Hey, Jess! Wow, long time no see, I thought you moved out or something!" he asked, leaning against his doorframe.
"Hey Mr. Markowitz, no, I've just had a couple back-to-back trips, that's all," I said putting the key in the lock as quickly as possible while juggling my bag of groceries and computer bag.
"Nice tan, I guess you went someplace nice and sunny, eh?" he pried.
"Yup, St. Lucia. Got married," I said quickly, regretting it as soon as I said it, knowing that it would launch him into a flurry of questions.
"Wow! Really! Who's the lucky girl? Where is she? When did this happen? When does she move in? What does she do?" he ranted.
"Geez!" I interrupted. "She's an old girlfriend, she lives in Washington, I'll be moving in a week, I'll call the super tomorrow to let him know. So, listen, Mr. Markowitz, I've had a really long day and I'm going to call it a night," I said trying to dismiss myself.
"Oh, oh! Sure! Hey, don't you leave without saying goodbye, okay? Congratulations, Jess, and good luck to you," he said, closing his door behind him.
Whew. I walked in and closed the door, throwing my keys and my bags onto the kitchen table.
I pulled a beer out of my bag and took a long swig. Yeah, it's been a long day, a long month actually. I looked around my small, neat apartment. At least I won't have too much to pack, I thought with a laugh. I'm not sure if it's because I was never into material things, or whether I just needed to always be ready to hit the road, but I never really accumulated stuff like other people did. I've got my books, my CDs, a small stereo and my clothes. That's about it. I hit my answering machine to see what I've missed. I pulled out my note pad and got ready to write down who I needed to call back.
.You have nine new messages. said the dull-toned electronic voice. Geez, when did I get so popular for me to get nine messages?
Saturday, 8pm.Hey Jess, it's Brenda, I'm back from my photo shoot in
Hawaii and was hoping we could get together. Call me.
Sunday, 9pm.Hey Jess, where the hell are you? I thought you'd be home
by now. I need that article by tomorrow, buddy.
Sunday, 9:30pm.Jess, it's Monica, I thought you were coming home
tonight. Call me when you get a chance.
Tuesday, 7:00pm.Hiya Jess! It's Lilly! Sasha said I could call you
instead of writing you a letter today! So, hi! Bye!
Thursday, 11pm.Um, Jess? It's Brenda again. I'm only going to be in
town for Fashion Week for a few more days and then I'm going to Paris
for the runway shows. Call me, okay?
Saturday, 10am.Jess, it's Brenda again. I hope you're not avoiding my
calls. I thought we had a good time, why aren't you calling me back?
Monday, 7am.Well, I'm here at the airport, waiting to get on the plane
to Paris. I guess you don't want to try to make something of it, huh?
Well, maybe I'll see you when I get back.
Tuesday, 9pm.Hey Jess! It's Brian. I haven't seen you at the gym
lately, what are you traveling again or something? Give me a call and
let's catch a beer.
Wednesday, 8pm.Hi, it's me. I miss you already. I just got back to
my apartment in D.C., and it already seems lonely. Call me when you
get a chance. I love you, Jess.
I just sat there with the pen in my hand. Ugh, that Brenda was a mistake. Geez, it was one night. I'm glad I don't have a rabbit, I'd find it in a pot on my stove or something! The last message is the only one I care about returning, God, I miss her already. Maybe when they others hear that my phone's been disconnected some of these loose ends will realize that I'm off the market. Well, that and the marriage announcement in the paper. I just don't want to deal with them. I do have to remember to call Brian, though. He's going to be pissed when I tell him that I got married and that I'm moving, but he's a pretty cool guy, so it'll be okay.
I slipped out of my clothes and got into my bed, grabbing the cordless phone on the way. I grabbed my journal where Rory had written down all of her numbers and dialed the phone. She picked it up after four rings.
"Hey," I said laying back on the bed.
"Hey!" Rory said out of breath.
"What on earth were you doing that you're so out of breath?" I laughed. I could just picture her all flustered, searching the couch cushions for the phone.
"Oh, I was in the shower when I heard the phone ringing and I had to make a mad dash for it," she explained.
I closed my eyes at the thought of her standing there, dripping wet with a towel around her. "Umm, nice visual. What are you wearing?" I said seductively.
"Actually, nothing at all! And I'm getting a chill! Hang on a sec, let me put my robe on," she said, setting the phone down for a minute. I could hear some rustling around. "Okay, I'm back," she said sound more calm. "So what's going on?"
"Nothing much, just settling in for the day and wanted to say goodnight," I said.
"Ooh! Are you in bed? What are YOU wearing?" she asked, mirroring my seductive talk.
"Yup, I'm in bed, and I'm in my boxers, since there's no one to NOT wear boxers for here," I whined.
"Aw, poor baby. So how's the big apple?" she asked with a smile.
"You have GOT to stop calling it that! Anyways, it's always the same. Crowded, noisy, smelly, you know, home sweet home."
"Not for long!" she quickly replied.
"Yup, not for long. I'm going to call my super tomorrow and get my stuff packed up. I might be able to get it all moved down there by this weekend if I'm lucky. My friend Brian has a car so I should be able to coerce him into driving me down to D.C. But I'll let you know how things go the next couple of days."
"Okay. So, Jess, I guess I'll talk to you tomorrow night?" she said quietly.
"Yeah, I'll call you tomorrow, sweet dreams, my love," I said, mentally slapping myself for sounding so cheesey.
"Sweet dreams, Dodger," Rory said simply and then I heard the dial tone. It's going to be hard to sleep without her next to me for the next couple of nights. Amazing how I've just been able to turn my life upside down again, going from a sad and lonely guy just ten days ago to a happy, married one. Shit, I forgot to mention the book idea. Oh well, I'll talk to her tomorrow. And the day after that, and the day after that. I smiled at the thought of it. Finally.
Tomorrow I will start to disassemble my New York single life. I never thought it would happen.
.to be continued!
A/N: Thank you to my reviewers (you know who you are by now) - I love you guys!!! And don't worry, I won't be drudging up a forgotten girlfriend/wife or a child for Jess, that's way too cliché even for me. A/N2: I'm keeping this a Jess's point of view story, so I won't be writing about what Rory, Lorelai or Luke are doing unless they're telling Jess about it.
*************************************************************************** **************
Chapter Nineteen
I hated leaving her. I boarded the plane with a final wave and sat down with a huge sigh. I pulled out my laptop and finished the article for the first leg of the flight, then hunkered down with my journal to work on my book. Then it struck me - I should have Rory write half of this book, from her perspective. It could be like that 'Love Letters' play. We could alternate chapters of our history. I made a note in the margin of the journal to talk to her about it. I wonder if she'd go for it. It would be a great way to work through what had happened to us way back when, and maybe would be cathartic for our new relationship. I landed at Laguardia and it was already evening, taking a taxi to my modest apartment building in Manhattan.
I stopped at the greengrocer around the corner from my building and picked up enough groceries to last me at least a few days. I stopped in the lobby and wrestled out the ton of mail that had been stuffed into my tiny mailbox. They must have gotten a new mail guy again, damnit. As soon as I get a system with one they change them. I'd leave a note saying that if there was a post-it in the window of my box, that meant I was traveling and to hold my mail until the post-it was gone. It was a hell of a lot easier to do that then fill out those dumb postal service forms every time. Oh well. Bill, bill, junk mail, invite to some gallery opening, invite to a nightclub opening, a letter from Lilly. We've been writing to each other ever since I left California. She's a nice kid. Weird, but nice. I bet Rory would really like her. Maybe we can go out to California to see her and Rory can meet Jimmy. Or maybe Lilly can come to D.C. and stay with us for a few weeks during the summer. Huh, that would be weird. I was lost in thought about that as I went up the elevator to my floor.
I got to my apartment just in time for my neighbor across the hall to poke his nose out. Geez, it'll be nice to be rid of him, even though he's nice and all, he'd get along great with Taylor Doose.
"Hey, Jess! Wow, long time no see, I thought you moved out or something!" he asked, leaning against his doorframe.
"Hey Mr. Markowitz, no, I've just had a couple back-to-back trips, that's all," I said putting the key in the lock as quickly as possible while juggling my bag of groceries and computer bag.
"Nice tan, I guess you went someplace nice and sunny, eh?" he pried.
"Yup, St. Lucia. Got married," I said quickly, regretting it as soon as I said it, knowing that it would launch him into a flurry of questions.
"Wow! Really! Who's the lucky girl? Where is she? When did this happen? When does she move in? What does she do?" he ranted.
"Geez!" I interrupted. "She's an old girlfriend, she lives in Washington, I'll be moving in a week, I'll call the super tomorrow to let him know. So, listen, Mr. Markowitz, I've had a really long day and I'm going to call it a night," I said trying to dismiss myself.
"Oh, oh! Sure! Hey, don't you leave without saying goodbye, okay? Congratulations, Jess, and good luck to you," he said, closing his door behind him.
Whew. I walked in and closed the door, throwing my keys and my bags onto the kitchen table.
I pulled a beer out of my bag and took a long swig. Yeah, it's been a long day, a long month actually. I looked around my small, neat apartment. At least I won't have too much to pack, I thought with a laugh. I'm not sure if it's because I was never into material things, or whether I just needed to always be ready to hit the road, but I never really accumulated stuff like other people did. I've got my books, my CDs, a small stereo and my clothes. That's about it. I hit my answering machine to see what I've missed. I pulled out my note pad and got ready to write down who I needed to call back.
.You have nine new messages. said the dull-toned electronic voice. Geez, when did I get so popular for me to get nine messages?
Saturday, 8pm.Hey Jess, it's Brenda, I'm back from my photo shoot in
Hawaii and was hoping we could get together. Call me.
Sunday, 9pm.Hey Jess, where the hell are you? I thought you'd be home
by now. I need that article by tomorrow, buddy.
Sunday, 9:30pm.Jess, it's Monica, I thought you were coming home
tonight. Call me when you get a chance.
Tuesday, 7:00pm.Hiya Jess! It's Lilly! Sasha said I could call you
instead of writing you a letter today! So, hi! Bye!
Thursday, 11pm.Um, Jess? It's Brenda again. I'm only going to be in
town for Fashion Week for a few more days and then I'm going to Paris
for the runway shows. Call me, okay?
Saturday, 10am.Jess, it's Brenda again. I hope you're not avoiding my
calls. I thought we had a good time, why aren't you calling me back?
Monday, 7am.Well, I'm here at the airport, waiting to get on the plane
to Paris. I guess you don't want to try to make something of it, huh?
Well, maybe I'll see you when I get back.
Tuesday, 9pm.Hey Jess! It's Brian. I haven't seen you at the gym
lately, what are you traveling again or something? Give me a call and
let's catch a beer.
Wednesday, 8pm.Hi, it's me. I miss you already. I just got back to
my apartment in D.C., and it already seems lonely. Call me when you
get a chance. I love you, Jess.
I just sat there with the pen in my hand. Ugh, that Brenda was a mistake. Geez, it was one night. I'm glad I don't have a rabbit, I'd find it in a pot on my stove or something! The last message is the only one I care about returning, God, I miss her already. Maybe when they others hear that my phone's been disconnected some of these loose ends will realize that I'm off the market. Well, that and the marriage announcement in the paper. I just don't want to deal with them. I do have to remember to call Brian, though. He's going to be pissed when I tell him that I got married and that I'm moving, but he's a pretty cool guy, so it'll be okay.
I slipped out of my clothes and got into my bed, grabbing the cordless phone on the way. I grabbed my journal where Rory had written down all of her numbers and dialed the phone. She picked it up after four rings.
"Hey," I said laying back on the bed.
"Hey!" Rory said out of breath.
"What on earth were you doing that you're so out of breath?" I laughed. I could just picture her all flustered, searching the couch cushions for the phone.
"Oh, I was in the shower when I heard the phone ringing and I had to make a mad dash for it," she explained.
I closed my eyes at the thought of her standing there, dripping wet with a towel around her. "Umm, nice visual. What are you wearing?" I said seductively.
"Actually, nothing at all! And I'm getting a chill! Hang on a sec, let me put my robe on," she said, setting the phone down for a minute. I could hear some rustling around. "Okay, I'm back," she said sound more calm. "So what's going on?"
"Nothing much, just settling in for the day and wanted to say goodnight," I said.
"Ooh! Are you in bed? What are YOU wearing?" she asked, mirroring my seductive talk.
"Yup, I'm in bed, and I'm in my boxers, since there's no one to NOT wear boxers for here," I whined.
"Aw, poor baby. So how's the big apple?" she asked with a smile.
"You have GOT to stop calling it that! Anyways, it's always the same. Crowded, noisy, smelly, you know, home sweet home."
"Not for long!" she quickly replied.
"Yup, not for long. I'm going to call my super tomorrow and get my stuff packed up. I might be able to get it all moved down there by this weekend if I'm lucky. My friend Brian has a car so I should be able to coerce him into driving me down to D.C. But I'll let you know how things go the next couple of days."
"Okay. So, Jess, I guess I'll talk to you tomorrow night?" she said quietly.
"Yeah, I'll call you tomorrow, sweet dreams, my love," I said, mentally slapping myself for sounding so cheesey.
"Sweet dreams, Dodger," Rory said simply and then I heard the dial tone. It's going to be hard to sleep without her next to me for the next couple of nights. Amazing how I've just been able to turn my life upside down again, going from a sad and lonely guy just ten days ago to a happy, married one. Shit, I forgot to mention the book idea. Oh well, I'll talk to her tomorrow. And the day after that, and the day after that. I smiled at the thought of it. Finally.
Tomorrow I will start to disassemble my New York single life. I never thought it would happen.
.to be continued!