Spring is a time for marriage in Stars Hollow, the marriage the whole town was buzzing about, the marriage between Luke and Lorelai. Family was in town, Jess had snuck in at night leaving the townspeople gossiping the next morning, and Liz had shown up, without TJ, peddling earrings. Large fancy wedding gifts had been coming in from rich and unimportant relatives for weeks. It was an event to be talked about, Kirk was attempting to peddle his services as a wedding cake maker, and Miss Patty had been training unenthusiastic six year olds to dance like 'faeries'. It was going to be a wedding like Stars Hollow had never seen before, whether the bride and groom like it, or not.
The house was filled with half-crocked middle-aged women, as Rory nursed a cocktail, and went on a mission to find her mother. She was bent over her desk, a martini in one hand and a pen in another.
"What are you doing?"
"Oh hi Hon." She was wearing a hat shaped like a hen on her head, her eyes were slightly glossy.
"I'm reiterating question, you should be playing pin the penis on the male model, why are you up here?"
"Oh, I was just writing a few things, I need to get, I didn't want to forget."
"Things for what?" Rory asked.
"The wedding! I forgot so many things!" She finished with her paper with a flourish. "Be a dear, go pick them up."
"Mom! It's 10:30, nothing is open."
"I'm sure you can manage, you are an Ivy League student after all."
Rory looked down at the list.
"Twinkies, Popsicles, olives.."
"For the martinis."
"Some how I doubt that you need these for the wedding."
"No these are for now."
Rory gave her mother a stare down. "How long is this party going to last?"
"I'll have to check with the Guinness book." Rory sighed.
"Little people for wedding cake." Rory read, she raised her eyebrows. "They come with the cake."
"But then they get sticky and icing-y, and you can't keep them because they'll attract bugs, and you don't want to be reminiscing one day and become infected with some virus." Lorelai raised her martini, sloshing some down her wrist, to show her effect.
"You could buy them later."
"I'll make Luke carry them in his pocket so I can say they were at the wedding."
Rory went back to her list. "Trashy garter belt?"
Lorelai nodded enthusiastically.
"Do you not remember Grandma buying you one made out of Persian silk?"
"Exactly, you don't want to throw one like that. You want to throw one with leopard stripes, or with hot pink lace."
"Mom, you're getting married your days of acting like a two bit hooker are over."
"A trashy garter belt will be my final hooker hurrah."
Rory looked down the list. "You are crazy." She paused. "And drunk."
"Yes and yes. Now get going honey, I need to go pin a penis."
"What about if I've been drinking?"
"You can take a cab." Lorelai stated slurring slightly.
"I don't have any cash." Rory countered.
"Luke can drive you. That what husbands are for."
"Don't forget the Twinkies." Lorelai led her daughter down the stairs and nudged her to the door.
"Lorelai, your turn sugar, he is one hot model!" Babbette called from the living room.
"Have fun." Rory downed the last of her cocktail and headed off to Luke's.
The diner looked dark, and empty. She hammered on the door; she wasn't going home empty handed to a drunk and overly excited Lorelai. A shadow lumbered down the stairs, but it wasn't Luke.
Jess' eyes were slightly puffy, and his shirt was wrinkled.
"Hi."
"Hi." Jess stated looking almost as shell-shocked as she felt.
"Uh."
"Uh."
"Where's Luke?"
"He went out, with Liz, she was garbling about Uzbekistan food, I think they went to the city."
"Oh."
An awkward silence pursued. They both shifted their weight, and looked at their shoes.
"Why?"
"My Mom is hammered over at her Bachorlette party and wanted me to go buy some stuff."
"You need Luke to hold your hand?" He replied almost cruelly.
"No, I've been drinking, so I can't drive."
He almost looked surprised. As if after all this time apart, he still expected her to be the one passing up the booze at a party.
Rory started backing up nervously, holding her purse and the list up protectively.
"Bye."
"I can drive you." He leaned casually up against the doorframe, smiled slightly, running his hand through his tussled hair.
"Uh, no, it's okay; I mean I can do it later."
"How's your Mom going to react if you go home without..." He strained his eyes to read her list. "Twinkies?"
"Fine."
"Fine." They both stood, frozen in position, starring at each other.
"I'll get my keys."
"I'll be, uh, here."
Jess dodged between tables and disappeared up the stairs. Rory let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.
He remerged wearing a leather jacket, and his car keys.
"Let's go."
She followed him like a lost, and slightly tipsy puppy around Luke's to wear his old beaten up, five-toned clunker sat at the curb.
"You still have this car?"
"Not everyone has rich grandparents to buy fancy Ivy League cars."
"Oh."
Rory haden't been in his cars for over two years, but it struck her at how it was still the same. It had a smokey smell, mixed with mint, there were books, and Cd's scattered over the passenger seat, that Jess scooped up in a handful and dumped in the backseat. The door still creaked, when you closed it.
"Where are we going?"
"I don't know somewhere where I can buy trashy wedding paraphernalia, and snacks."
Jess started up the car with a gurgle and the sound of metal rubbing up against metal.
"We'll go to Wal-mart."
"Good idea."
They both nodded, looking at each other and once met eye contact looked away.
The tension in the air kept getting worse, thick like smog on a bad day; Rory began to feel the effect of the third cocktail on a stomach consisting only of French fries and cheetos.
Jess cleared his throat. "You can put on some music."
Rory busied herself with CD's, finally putting the distillers on.
"Good choice."
"Thank you. Do you remember.." Rory cut herself off feeling foolish about trying to play reminisce a punk concert with an ex-boyfriend.
"Yeah, I do." He replied his voice soft and almost inaudible over the music.
"Wal-mart." Jess stated pulling into the parking lot.
"Wal-Mart." Rory echoed.
"Wal-Mart Closed."
"Closed." Rory asked in disappointed, if she had to make a 25-minute car ride from hell with Jess, she damned well wanted to come away with something, even if it was trashy lingerie and wedding knickknacks.
"Don't worry about it."
Rory sat back, folded up her Mother's list and put it in her purse when she realized Jess wasn't leaving the parking lot. He was going around the back. It was dark, and smelled rather strange in the area Jess stopped.
"What are we doing?"
"We are making your drunken mother happy." He stated simply, if Rory could see him, he probably had a cocky grin on his face.
"It's closed."
"I used to work here, we can go in, get your stuff and we can drive back."
"No!" She protested.
"Calm down."
"But what about security? And how would we pay?"
"Rory, chill." She could feel his hand brushing up against her arm and then quickly retreating.
"Wal-mart doesn't even pay proper wages, trust me, it doesn't have a real security system. We can, or you can, in your own car, can come back and pay."
"We get arrested, and I am not testifying on your behalf."
Jess laughed. "Jesus Rory, you haven't changed."
"Do you think you have?"
"Let's just go." Jess responded antsy to steer away from the conversation.
Rory followed him up a creaky, set of metal stairs, they both stood before a metal door. Jess got down on his knees and began picking the lock.
"What are you doing?"
"I used to come out this door for a smoke when I was supposed to be working."
"And it's no wonder you got chosen as employee of the month." Rory replied dryly.
"Well excuse the working man, college white."
"Excuse me?" Her voice was tinted with anger.
"You're better than me, I admit it! I get paid two dollars above minimum wage, you go to Yale, and your tuition would cost me three years salary. Don't look down on me, it doesn't suit you." His voice was low and disdainful, he kicked the door with more force than needed and it swung open.
"I don't look down on you." Her voice said softly in his ear and she followed him into the empty and dark Wal-Mart.