Chapter 12: Solace

Christopher guided his very depressed looking daughter into the house. Maybe now he would finally get some answers.

Christopher: "Rory, what's the matter?"

Rory: "Dad...I - uh - mom didn't tell you?"

Christopher: "No, in fact, she sounded really concerned about you. I'm here now. Can you talk to me about it?"

Rory: "I don't know...Dad....some huge things are happening to me right now and I am not totally sure how to deal right now. But ... why are you here?"

Christopher: "I came back to see your mom....Sherry and I split up and then your grandmother told me about Lorelai's recent break-up with some insurance guy. I still can't get my mind around the fact that she dated an insurance guy. What's going on with her? I mean, is there someone else after him?"

Rory looked puzzled. She wasn't sure how to tell her dad about her mom and Luke. Rory had seen it coming for such a long time but with all her emotions out of whack she was having some difficulty at this very moment looking up at her father and at the same time being happy for the love her mom had recently discovered.

Rory: "Dad, I really don't know how much you know about mom and her friend Luke, at the diner. But...they...well, I mean...for such a long time now Luke has always been around..and well just last night, they kissed...." Rory's words trailed off as she stared at her Dad trying to figure out what he was thinking....

Christopher: "She kissed him? Where did that come from? Isn't he pretty rude to her at the diner?"

Rory just laughed.

Rory: "Yeah....that's just always been their weird way of flirting around the edges, without really having to say that they really like each other. I think that they will inevitably start dating now, though. Dad .... (Rory paused, taking a breath) .... You know, I used to wish that you and Mom would get married and you would come to live with us. Why didn't you? Did you ever love her, or us, for that matter?"

Christopher (breathing deeply): "Rory, you and your mom have always been in my heart. I tried to marry her several times. But .... well, you know how your mom can be... (Rory just nodded) ...and then there was Sherry...I loved her too. With your mom, I always thought that there would be the right time somewhere down the line... I thought that now might be it...but I guess I was too late...." Christopher let these words roll off his tongue as he just stood there, realizing that the woman who may have been the right one all the time had just gotten away from him.

Rory and Christopher stood in the middle of the living room for what seemed like an eternity...

Rory (finally speaking up): "Well, let's sit down or something. Do you want to watch a movie or do you need go home soon? We can eat ice cream and tons of chocolate. If there is one thing I learned from mom is that a little wallowing never hurt anyone."

Christopher smiled down at his daughter, impressed at her wisdom so apparently handed down to her from her mother. He said with a grin, "A movie sounds great."

Sometimes we wonder why things happen when they do. Things can seem so out of the blue and we walk around for days after an important decision was made or a chance meeting had just taken place and we contemplate the meaning of it all. So this was for Rory at this moment. Some decisions seem so ridiculous in afterthought and we try to erase them from our memories. Yet, then again, when we let go of our worries and our fears and realize that the feelings that prompted these decisions are simply what they are: feelings, then we can stand tall again for who we are and continue on because life doesn't stop just because of a poor decision made or a chance meeting in the street. Life goes on. As Lorelai once said, "It's not our mistakes that matter, it's what we do with them."

Contemplating her mother's wisdom, Rory thought back to all the mistakes she had seen her mom make and how she always seemed to rise to every single occasion, despite the fact that she must have been carrying a ton of guilt and hurt. Her mom taught her to be strong and confident, even in the face of error. She wouldn't fail her now. She looked over at Christopher who had just settled down on the couch. She wanted to tell him. So, she did. She told him of all the things that had happened, the feelings that evolved over the past year for Dean (who had gotten married) and then what finally happened last night and how she had stood at the bridge just moments ago and told him how it couldn't be. And, for the first time, Rory cried in the arms of her father.

Christopher just sat on the couch, stroking his daughter's hair. He felt something rise within him he didn't know existed. He held his daughter in strong, protective arms, letting her cry, becoming the father she had always wanted and needed.