Chapter Four
A/N:
Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Your support and encouragement meant a lot. And special thanks to Aimee for the beta help, and sorting out those pesky quote marks and commas. ;) Hope this doesn't disappoint!
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She felt better for about twenty minutes before the loneliness and fatigue set in again. That was just about as long as the car ride from the bus station to her grandparents house. Rory found herself smiling and answering yes, she was enjoying Yale so far and yes, her roommate seemed nice. She felt more drained with each lie and found strength only in the fact that she would be seeing her mother soon.
Once they arrived back at her grandparent's house, the entire conversation was repeated with Richard. It was even harder this time, if possible, because Rory could tell how proud her grandfather was that she was attending his alma mater and how badly he wanted her to be happy there. It obviously meant a great deal to him, and it wouldn't kill her to pretend to enjoy it for one evening, so she smiled and repeated her same answers. Yes, she was enjoying Yale so far. Yes, her roommate seemed nice.
Rory was right in the middle of describing her courses when the doorbell rang. She wanted so badly to run to her mother and hug her tightly and beg her to take her home right then. But that would make her grandparents think she in fact wasn't happy at school and that wasn't a road Rory wanted to go down that night. All she wanted was to go home and sleep in her own bed and spend the weekend with all the dear, familiar people in Stars Hollow who she hadn't realized she missed so much until they weren't there anymore.
"Rory!" Lorelai exclaimed, throwing her arms around her daughter. "I'm never letting you go away again, do you hear? You're staying right in the basement and I'll bring you food and coffee if you're good, but you're not leaving me alone again, do you understand?"
Rory blinked back tears as she hugged her mother tightly and struggled not to admit how great that actually sounded. "I missed you too, Mom."
"Look at you," Lorelai insisted, holding her by the shoulders. "You look different already. You're not taller, are you?"
Rory grinned. "Maybe you're shorter."
"I am *not* shrinking," Lorelai huffed in pretend indignation. "I'm just not wearing my heels tonight."
"Lorelai, would you care for a drink?" Emily asked, and Rory again became conscious of her grandparents in the room. A talk with her mother, if it was going to happen at all, would have to wait till later that night. She shrank down onto the sofa next to Lorelai and plastered a smile on her face again.
Fortunately, the conversation turned to Lorelai's work, and how she and Sookie had finally bought the old Dragonfly bed and breakfast once the bank's loan finally came through. Rory had never been so appreciative of interest rates and mortgages as she was right then, and she rested her head against her mother's shoulder, finally able to forget about Yale for the time being.
Two hours later, dinner was finally over, Rory had said goodbye to her grandparents, and she and Lorelai were finally in the car, heading down I-85 through the darkness to Stars Hollow. They would be back by eight o'clock, and Lane was coming over, and the three of them were going to watch Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and stuff themselves with junk food. It was a favorite ritual of Rory's, and had been since childhood. Dean had always joined them while he and Rory were dating, and she realized that tonight would be the first time she'd have seen the movie since they broke up.
This shouldn't be so weird, she told herself firmly. It had been a long time, after all, almost a year. Actually longer, considering she'd stayed with Dean for quite some time after she'd begun developing feelings for Jess. And they'd stayed friends afterwards. It wasn't like she'd seen him today for the first time since their breakup. So they were living in the same city, so what? They'd both lived in Stars Hollow last year, and nothing happened between them. So why did she still feel so awkward?
Lorelai's voice cut through her thoughts. "Okay, out with it."
Rory jumped slightly. "Huh?"
"You've been quiet as a mouse all night, and you're never like that unless something's wrong," Lorelai continued. "What is it?"
Part of her wanted to tell her mother everything, how she'd seen Dean today and how confusing that had been, how homesick she was at Yale and how her roommate talked on the phone till all hours of the morning and spread her underwear to dry over Rory's bed. But she was an adult now, almost nineteen and off at college. She couldn't keep letting her mother fight her battles for her.
She decided on a modified version of the truth. "I just missed you, that's all."
Lorelai reached over and took her hand. "I missed you too, sweetheart. The house is too quiet without you."
"Yeah, because I make so much noise," Rory teased. "I'll just bet you miss the loud music and the wild parties and the boys coming over day and night."
Lorelai laughed. "I think you're confusing your adolescence with mine."
The mood lightened, and they teased each other the rest of the way to Stars Hollow. Rory grinned to herself in the darkness, so glad to finally be home.