3: That's Called Denial, My Friend

Lorelai walked over to where her daughter stood chatting to Emily and Richard.

"Uh, hey, you don't mind if I kidnap Rory here for a few minutes, do you?" she asked.

"Go ahead," Emily replied.

Lorelai motioned Rory to follow her to the side.

"Mom? Why are you being so secretive?" Rory was a bit suspicious. "Is this some weird wedding ritual I haven't heard about?"

Lorelai smiled. "No, don't worry. I just want to talk to you."

"Oh. Okay. Sure."

They found a bench to sit on.

"Listen, Rory, I know that you're a grown-up now, and even if I'm a cool mom, taking advice from me might not be what you want, but... how have you been?"

Rory squinted. "Working, in Hartford. Enjoying it, but finding it weird to run into Paris often...."

"I know that, sweetie. I was asking about... well, how you've been in the guy department."

"I've had dates, you know that, Mom," Rory elaborated weakly.

"You know, you look a lot like me, and I think you take after me in that department, too." Lorelai sighed. "What I'm trying to say is that, often times, what might make you happy can be right there in front of you. Yeah, I know this sounds like a line from a romantic comedy, but, I mean, look at Luke and me. For years, we flirted back and forth, but I didn't realize how much I liked him until later."

"I'm not really seeing where this is going," Rory commented.

"Maybe you already met the guy that's going to make you happy. It's just taken a while," Lorelai nudged her daughter. "I just don't want you to end up being a crazy lady with lots of cats and an even larger collection of junk than we have at our house." Lorelai smiled at Rory, who looked very thoughtful. Maybe this would help, Lorelai thought.

"We're going to need you later for a speech, so don't think too hard," Lorelai joked, getting up with the view of getting herself some more coffee.

Rory was left sitting on the bench, looking around at all the couples she could see. Her Mom and Luke, Lane and Dave. Her grandparents. The phone conversation with Paris came to mind. Paris and her boyfriend. Jess. Why had her mind traveled to him?

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"Hey, Jess," Luke stepped over to his nephew, who was being eyed suspiciously by Taylor.

"I told you that you could bring a date if you wanted," Luke continued.

"Yeah, but I don't have one, so I thought I'd do something crazy, and came alone," Jess answered.

Luke sighed. "Been unlucky?"

"Well, I'm no Alfie, but I haven't really been unlucky either. Just not into the whole dating thing so much since I started writing literary reviews." Jess smirked.

"Maybe you, uh, just haven't met the right girl," Luke attempted.

"What is this, Stars Hollow, advice town?" Jess questioned.

"Nice to see that you're still sarcastic," Luke commented. "I'm just saying that maybe the right girl hasn't noticed it yet. Look at what happened with Lorelai and me. It took a while for her to, I don't know, notice me. In a different way. Maybe waiting will be worth it," he finished. Geez, that had sounded corny.

"When did you turn into a self-help book?" Jess shot back. This was a strange conversation.

"But you still read those," Luke said, giving Jess a look and leaving him standing there, looking confused.

What the hell had that been about? He'd come to this wedding because he was invited, not because the invitation included a free dose of advice. Waiting would be worth it? Ignoring Taylor, who still watched him carefully for any signs of a prank of the seventeen-year-old Jess proportions, Jess looked at the couples around him. Luke and Lorelai. She was sipping coffee again. Over manning the music were Lane and Dave. His mother and TJ, who were taking a trip around the country. He couldn't help noticing Rory was there alone. But she had turned him down and he wasn't about to wait around for her.