After they had eaten lunch, Rory and Jess walked around the Upper
West Side, checking out CD and book stores as they walked. Rory knew that
Jess was just stalling, but she didn't want to say anything. She didn't
really blame him. They finally got back in the car and Jess began driving,
two hands on the steering wheel. Rory automatically knew that something was
wrong: Jess' driving style was not cautious, as she well remembered from
the time so long ago that they had been driving together, and yet he was
looking straight ahead, glancing in the rearview mirror at regular
intervals and checking his blind spots. It was if, instead of Rory, a
tester from the DMV was sitting in the passenger seat. Again, Rory knew not
to say anything. She knew from past experience that it was best to leave
Jess alone when he was nervous. When other people craved comforting, Jess
locked people out and snapped at them when they did try to approach him.
No, it was best to just sit here, quietly, and wait until Jess finally
spoke to her.
Jess finally reached West 34th street and pulled into an empty parking spot along the narrow street. He sat in the car for a moment, the key already out of the ignition, both hands still firmly on the steering wheel. He finally unbuckled his seatbelt and opened his door. Rory stayed where she was.
"Do.. do you want me to wait out here first?" she asked timidly.
"No," Jess said.
"OK." Rory tentatively unbuckled her seatbelt and reached for the hnadle on the passenger side door.
"Wait!" Jess yelled, and Rory quickly removed her hand and sat up straight.
"I thought you-"
"No, there's just traffic. Wait until the red light." Jess was standing outside the car, his door still opened, looking down the street into the oncoming traffic. "OK, you can open your door now."
"OK. . ." Rory opened the door again, and suddenly heard a horn honk loudly, right next to the car.
"What? What? It's a red light, fucker! Where are you going? Where are you going in such a hurry?" Jess screamed at the man who had honked his horn. Rory quickly opened her door and got out, slamming it and running around the back of the car to where Jess was standing. She suddenly realized how busy the city was. All of the cars and people in such a hurry. No wonder Jess had alwayse been so harsh: how could anyone grow up in this city and not be like that? With all the craziness all around you, people trying to cut corners to make their lives easier no matter how much danger it put other people in. . . Rory slid her arm around Jess' back, and Jess draped a protective arm around her, slamming his car door. They walked like that up to the stoop of an apartment building. Jess drew a key out of his pocket and stood on the stoop, looking at the black painted door, unable to do anything for a moment. Then he took a breath, removed his arm from Rory's shoulder, and stepped forward to unlock the door. He swung it forward, stepping back to let Rory walk in first. They stepped into a small elevator, and Jess pressed 7. The elevator jolted to a start. A small bell dinged every time they passed a floor. After the fourth ding, Jess reached for Rory's hand. They weaved their fingers together and stood facing the doors.
At the seventh ding, Jess tensed up and then the two of them walked out of the elevator into a dark hall. Jess turned to the left out of the elevator and came to face a large grey door. He reached out and pushed the buzzer with one finger. They waited a moment and someone came to the door. Rory heard a small click and then a woman's voice saying "Jess!"
The door flew opened and Rory saw a woman who she assumed to be Jess' mother standing in the doorway. She looked old and tired, but Rory knew that she was not much older than her own mother. She had fake blond hair and tired eyes that had been lined in eyeliner and eyeshadow in an attempt to make her look more awake. Her cheeks and lips were sunken, and both were painted pink.
The woman reached out both arms in an attempt to give Jess a hug, and it was apparent that neither had done this in a long time. Jess waited a beat and then reached out to give his mother a half hug, one hand still clenching Rory's tightly, even though Rory had let hers go limp in an attempt to allow Jess to give his mother a more suitable embrace.
"Wow. Jess. You're taller."
"Nope."
"Well, you look taller. And who is this young lady?" Two things were apparent: one was that Liz was straining to speak so nicely. It was obvious that Jess had never heard her speak like this, and also that Liz had never spoken like this. The other thing was that Jess had definitely not told Liz that Rory was coming.
"This is Rory," Jess said. Luckily, he was holding her left hand, so her right was free to shake hands with Liz.
"It's very nice to meet you," Rory said quietly.
"Oh! You're so sweet," Liz said, sounding surprised. Rory remembered what Jess had once told her about the kind of girls he used to date. She looked straight down at her shoes.
"Liz!" she suddenly heard a gruff man's voice. A tall man suddenly appeared beside Liz. "You must be Jess," he said, nodding in Jess' general direction..
"And you'd be Pete," Jess said, giving Pete a similar nod.
""Who's that?" he said, gesturing to Rory with a ham sandwich he was holding.
"That's Rory," Liz said.
"Oh yeah? Where's Rory staying?"
"She's staying here," Jess said. Rory hated when people talked about her as if she wasn't there. She felt like a burden.
"Oh yeah? Where?"
"With me."
"She looks like a goody-two shoes. You sure Princess is OK with staying with big, bad Jess?" Pete sneered.
Rory was taken aback. She didn't like it here. She wished she had never agreed to come. No one back in Stars Hollow would have ever spoken about her like that.
Jess hadn't answered Pete. The two men were just standing, staring at each other.
"Well, uh, why don't the two of you come in?" Liz said, standing to the side so there was room. Jess held Rory's hand tighter.
"I'm going to get our luggage, and then I'm taking Rory to dinner. We'll be back late. Don't wait up for us," Jess said. Jess released Rory's hand and all of a sudden, she felt very alone. Jess turned to get on the elevator, but she stopped him as he was turning, when he was facing her. "Do you want me to come with you?" she asked in a whisper, her face blocked by Jess' so that Pete and Liz couldn't see what she was saying.
"No, just wait here. I'll be right back." He turned and got on the elevator, leaving Rory all alone. She watched the closing doors and then slowly turned to look at Liz and Pete.
"Come on in. . . Lori, was it?"
"Rory," Rory corrected, quietly.
"Rory, well, that's not a name you hear every day." Liz ushered her into the small apartment.
"It's short for Lorelai. My mom named me after her."
"Well, that's interesting. Here, why don't you have a seat Rory, tell me about yourself."
They were standing in the living room. Pete went into the kitchen, Liz sat down on a sofa, and Rory perched on the edge of a large chair.
"So, you're from Stars Hollow?"
"Yes," Rory said, quietly.
"Did you go to Stars Hollow with Jess?"
"No, um, I went to Chilton. It's a private school in Hartford."
"Oh. Well then, how did the two of you meet?"
"Oh, well, um, my mom and I are Luke's best customers and, uh, he and my mom are really close friends, so when Jess came we, uh, kind of had him over for dinner?"
"Oh, well that's nice of you. So you know my brother, then?"
"Yeah. Luke's kind of been like, a surrogate father for me."
"Oh. . . he's dating your mother?"
"Uh, no. It's kind of complicated. He's just always been there for us. He helped us find our house after we moved out of the inn. . ."
"The inn? Oh, I'm sorry, I don't mean to pry."
"Uh, no, no it's OK. Um, my mom actually grew up in Hartford, and then, she uh, got pregnant when she was sixteen and then left her parents house to live in Stars Hollow. And uh, she worked at an inn, so we lived there for a while, and then we finally got enough money to move into a house."
"Oh."
"Rory!" Jess called.
"We're in here, Jess," Liz called back. Jess came into the room and walked up behind Rory.
"We're going to go, now," Jess said. Rory stood up next to him and followed him out of the apartment and into the hall. They let the door close behind them.
"So that was your mom?" Rory said.
"Yeah, that was my mom."
Jess finally reached West 34th street and pulled into an empty parking spot along the narrow street. He sat in the car for a moment, the key already out of the ignition, both hands still firmly on the steering wheel. He finally unbuckled his seatbelt and opened his door. Rory stayed where she was.
"Do.. do you want me to wait out here first?" she asked timidly.
"No," Jess said.
"OK." Rory tentatively unbuckled her seatbelt and reached for the hnadle on the passenger side door.
"Wait!" Jess yelled, and Rory quickly removed her hand and sat up straight.
"I thought you-"
"No, there's just traffic. Wait until the red light." Jess was standing outside the car, his door still opened, looking down the street into the oncoming traffic. "OK, you can open your door now."
"OK. . ." Rory opened the door again, and suddenly heard a horn honk loudly, right next to the car.
"What? What? It's a red light, fucker! Where are you going? Where are you going in such a hurry?" Jess screamed at the man who had honked his horn. Rory quickly opened her door and got out, slamming it and running around the back of the car to where Jess was standing. She suddenly realized how busy the city was. All of the cars and people in such a hurry. No wonder Jess had alwayse been so harsh: how could anyone grow up in this city and not be like that? With all the craziness all around you, people trying to cut corners to make their lives easier no matter how much danger it put other people in. . . Rory slid her arm around Jess' back, and Jess draped a protective arm around her, slamming his car door. They walked like that up to the stoop of an apartment building. Jess drew a key out of his pocket and stood on the stoop, looking at the black painted door, unable to do anything for a moment. Then he took a breath, removed his arm from Rory's shoulder, and stepped forward to unlock the door. He swung it forward, stepping back to let Rory walk in first. They stepped into a small elevator, and Jess pressed 7. The elevator jolted to a start. A small bell dinged every time they passed a floor. After the fourth ding, Jess reached for Rory's hand. They weaved their fingers together and stood facing the doors.
At the seventh ding, Jess tensed up and then the two of them walked out of the elevator into a dark hall. Jess turned to the left out of the elevator and came to face a large grey door. He reached out and pushed the buzzer with one finger. They waited a moment and someone came to the door. Rory heard a small click and then a woman's voice saying "Jess!"
The door flew opened and Rory saw a woman who she assumed to be Jess' mother standing in the doorway. She looked old and tired, but Rory knew that she was not much older than her own mother. She had fake blond hair and tired eyes that had been lined in eyeliner and eyeshadow in an attempt to make her look more awake. Her cheeks and lips were sunken, and both were painted pink.
The woman reached out both arms in an attempt to give Jess a hug, and it was apparent that neither had done this in a long time. Jess waited a beat and then reached out to give his mother a half hug, one hand still clenching Rory's tightly, even though Rory had let hers go limp in an attempt to allow Jess to give his mother a more suitable embrace.
"Wow. Jess. You're taller."
"Nope."
"Well, you look taller. And who is this young lady?" Two things were apparent: one was that Liz was straining to speak so nicely. It was obvious that Jess had never heard her speak like this, and also that Liz had never spoken like this. The other thing was that Jess had definitely not told Liz that Rory was coming.
"This is Rory," Jess said. Luckily, he was holding her left hand, so her right was free to shake hands with Liz.
"It's very nice to meet you," Rory said quietly.
"Oh! You're so sweet," Liz said, sounding surprised. Rory remembered what Jess had once told her about the kind of girls he used to date. She looked straight down at her shoes.
"Liz!" she suddenly heard a gruff man's voice. A tall man suddenly appeared beside Liz. "You must be Jess," he said, nodding in Jess' general direction..
"And you'd be Pete," Jess said, giving Pete a similar nod.
""Who's that?" he said, gesturing to Rory with a ham sandwich he was holding.
"That's Rory," Liz said.
"Oh yeah? Where's Rory staying?"
"She's staying here," Jess said. Rory hated when people talked about her as if she wasn't there. She felt like a burden.
"Oh yeah? Where?"
"With me."
"She looks like a goody-two shoes. You sure Princess is OK with staying with big, bad Jess?" Pete sneered.
Rory was taken aback. She didn't like it here. She wished she had never agreed to come. No one back in Stars Hollow would have ever spoken about her like that.
Jess hadn't answered Pete. The two men were just standing, staring at each other.
"Well, uh, why don't the two of you come in?" Liz said, standing to the side so there was room. Jess held Rory's hand tighter.
"I'm going to get our luggage, and then I'm taking Rory to dinner. We'll be back late. Don't wait up for us," Jess said. Jess released Rory's hand and all of a sudden, she felt very alone. Jess turned to get on the elevator, but she stopped him as he was turning, when he was facing her. "Do you want me to come with you?" she asked in a whisper, her face blocked by Jess' so that Pete and Liz couldn't see what she was saying.
"No, just wait here. I'll be right back." He turned and got on the elevator, leaving Rory all alone. She watched the closing doors and then slowly turned to look at Liz and Pete.
"Come on in. . . Lori, was it?"
"Rory," Rory corrected, quietly.
"Rory, well, that's not a name you hear every day." Liz ushered her into the small apartment.
"It's short for Lorelai. My mom named me after her."
"Well, that's interesting. Here, why don't you have a seat Rory, tell me about yourself."
They were standing in the living room. Pete went into the kitchen, Liz sat down on a sofa, and Rory perched on the edge of a large chair.
"So, you're from Stars Hollow?"
"Yes," Rory said, quietly.
"Did you go to Stars Hollow with Jess?"
"No, um, I went to Chilton. It's a private school in Hartford."
"Oh. Well then, how did the two of you meet?"
"Oh, well, um, my mom and I are Luke's best customers and, uh, he and my mom are really close friends, so when Jess came we, uh, kind of had him over for dinner?"
"Oh, well that's nice of you. So you know my brother, then?"
"Yeah. Luke's kind of been like, a surrogate father for me."
"Oh. . . he's dating your mother?"
"Uh, no. It's kind of complicated. He's just always been there for us. He helped us find our house after we moved out of the inn. . ."
"The inn? Oh, I'm sorry, I don't mean to pry."
"Uh, no, no it's OK. Um, my mom actually grew up in Hartford, and then, she uh, got pregnant when she was sixteen and then left her parents house to live in Stars Hollow. And uh, she worked at an inn, so we lived there for a while, and then we finally got enough money to move into a house."
"Oh."
"Rory!" Jess called.
"We're in here, Jess," Liz called back. Jess came into the room and walked up behind Rory.
"We're going to go, now," Jess said. Rory stood up next to him and followed him out of the apartment and into the hall. They let the door close behind them.
"So that was your mom?" Rory said.
"Yeah, that was my mom."