Title: Rory Gilmore, This Is Your Life!
Chapter Three: Strange Things (AKA Packing Is An Ordeal)
Summary: Rory has just recently gotten engaged, and here come the complications!
Spoilers: Nope, no spoilers. I'll probably delete this section of the introduction in the next chapter. Cross your fingers!
Disclaimer: I own nothing! Except for the story, you know. I own that. And the new characters. And Milo. Actually, all I own is a picture of Milo—a poster. Dear God, that boy is hot!
Distribution: E-mail is nice. Please tell me if you wish to convey my words to anyone else! Sami57peace2u@hotmail.com (and you can't use it too much!)
A/N: Thank you for all of your reviews! Everyone really liked the boyfriend boxes; so do I, so that's good.
For the few of you who did not understand: If you have ever seen the season one finale, you see where Rory finds the Dean box, and Lorelai starts babbling about how she shoved it in the closet with the Max box so they could talk about how they each had a Gilmore girl and lost a Gilmore girl, so the boxes in my story are all together and talking to each other, and some of the older boxes-Dean, Jess, Noel-don't know that much about the newer boxes-Paul, Todd-but they've learned, since now they've spent over two years together.
~~~~
Greg was sitting on the couch in Rory's apartment, watching as Rory flew around the place, trying to pack. As she ran through the living room and started throwing books into a bag near her feet, Greg discreetly glanced at his watch. Well, not discreetly. He lifted his wrist, looked at his watch, and did a double take. Then he sighed, shook his head, and lowered his wrist.
Rory didn't pay any attention.
After twenty more minutes, he finally decided to address the problem directly.
"Ror?" he asked as she ran to the dining room table.
"Uh-huh," she said distractedly.
"Are we gonna leave soon?"
"I'm sorry, honey, I'm still trying to pack." Rory rushed past him and back into her room, in the back of the apartment. Greg stood up and followed her.
"You've known we were going for a while now."
"I know."
"What would you have done if you'd gone to work today?"
Rory finally stopped and faced Greg sheepishly. "I did go to work today."
"Rory!"
"I know, I know I wasn't supposed to, but I told Josh I'd be in, so I thought I'd just go in and tell him I wasn't gonna be there."
"You couldn't have called?"
"And I also wanted to pick up a few things." Rory turned back to her bed and started re-folding her clothes so they would fit in her suitcase.
"Ah, the truth comes out. Now, I told you you were supposed to relax."
"I know."
"We're leaving for three months, you know."
"I know. But they need me!"
"Sweetie, I know they need you. Believe me, I get the feeling." Greg wrapped his arms around Rory's waist. She smiled into his eyes. "But you need to relax. Well, relax as much as you can planning a wedding."
Rory laughed.
"A laugh. Laughs are good. They mean you're relaxed."
Rory nodded.
"Okay? So are you gonna leave the laptop at home?"
Rory paused, and then shook her head.
"Have I taught you nothing?" Greg sighed.
"I promised I'd get an interview with Paris."
"One interview. One story. No more. Promise me."
"But Josh said-"
"Do I care what Josh said? No, I don't. You need to relax."
"But I have to-"
"You don't have to do anything, babe. Nothing at all. You can do the Paris interview, cause I know she just got nominated for a Nobel Prize, and she's looking for publicity. But that's it. After that interview, nothing. Please? For me?" Greg did his puppy-dog eyes, and Rory laughed again.
"Okay, for you."
"Good." Greg pulled her closer and hugged her. "Now finish packing."
"You wanna help?"
"Sure. I've been packed for a week."
"Shush. Gilmores are known to be last-minute packers. If we can't freak out over something before we leave somewhere, we freak out."
Greg laughed. "What can I do?"
"Find all these books, please. And go to the coffee shop and buy me some ground coffee. And some muffins for the car ride. And two cups of coffee." Rory handed Greg a list of books.
"Okay. I'll go get the coffee and stuff first, and then I'll do the books."
"Do the books first, and then the coffee, so the coffee's still warm when we get going."
"Which'll be when?"
"An hour, tops."
"That's what you said two hours ago."
"I'm always late when I go to see my mom. Oh, that reminds me, I forgot to tell her we were leaving early." Rory started walking to the phone near her bedside table, but Greg grabbed her at the waist and spun her around.
"We'll call her from the car. Or we could surprise her."
"Oh! Surprise her! That's a good idea. Thanks."
"It was nothing. Pack." Greg kissed Rory quickly, pointed at her open suitcases, and left the room.
~~~~
After another two hours of packing, Rory and Greg had finally left New York at two, three hours before their original time, and four hours after their amended time. With a minimum amount of traffic between the city and Stars Hollow, they arrived outside of Luke's Diner at four-thirty.
"Coffee coffee coffee coffee coffee," Rory said in a sing-song voice as Greg pulled to a stop in front of the diner.
"You really do have a one-track mind."
"No, two one-tracks, actually. When I'm at work and full of coffee, my one-track mind's on work. Otherwise, it's on coffee."
"No track for me?" Greg asked as they met outside of the car.
"Only as long as you promise never to say anything that cheesy again."
"Mmm, I'll try." Greg smiled and entwined his fingers in Rory's. They walked into Luke's, Greg playing with Rory's diamond ring with one finger.
The second the bells started ringing, Luke, standing behind the counter, looked up. As soon as he saw who it was, he smiled, and patiently waited for the couple to walk towards him, which they did.
"New around here?" Luke smiled.
"Hey, Luke. Coffee. In an IV." Rory pleaded as she collapsed onto a stool. Greg sat next to her.
"More like your mother each day," Luke shook his head as he went about getting her coffee.
"Which is not such a bad thing."
"Depends on your viewpoint. Here you go." Luke placed the cup in front of Rory, who drank it gratefully. Luke turned to Greg. "Coffee for you, too?"
"Uh, can I get a water instead?"
"You with Rory?" Luke asked in disbelief.
"Uh, yeah. Hopefully for a long time." Greg smiled at his fiancée, who shook her head.
"No more cheesy stuff."
"Sorry." Greg turned back to Luke. "What's so weird about me wanting water?"
"Well, you two came in here looking pretty friendly, and I didn't think anyone could be friends with a Gilmore and not drink coffee."
"I drink coffee, just not as much as Ror."
"And you're friends with Mom and don't drink coffee," Rory pointed out, now officially interested in the conversation now that her ambrosia was gone.
"That's because I'm stubborn and refuse to change. Here's your water." Luke plopped a clear glass in front of Greg, who nodded his thanks.
"Yes, that's what Mom would say, too. Speaking of her, have you seen her around?"
"She came in for lunch, and then headed back to the Inn. Sookie was busy today."
"Ah. So she probably won't be home till later?"
"No, she'll probably be home on time, she just won't be wandering around the town till six-thirty or so."
"Oh, okay. Thanks, Luke."
"Anytime, Rory. You're always welcome here."
"Thanks," Rory smiled as Luke walked off to take someone's order. Then she turned and stared at Greg, who was looking around the diner, his water forgotten. He glanced over at her and started.
"You need something?"
"Yes, finish your water and let's go."
"What? Where?"
"I'm showing you around Stars Hollow. Or, you know, at least part of it."
"Okay." Greg swallowed the rest of his water in one big gulp and they left the diner.
~~~~
"So he's the mailman-" Greg tried to clarify as he and Rory walked up the steps of the Gilmore home later that afternoon.
"And video-store clerk, head cashier at Doose's-"
"Which is the market, right?"
"Yeah."
"Cool, that's one right."
"Yeah, one out of twenty thousand."
"You know, you have a penchant for exaggerating."
"And you have a penchant for injecting the word penchant into almost every conversation."
"I do not!"
"Oh, don't regress on me now!"
"You used a big word!"
"I admit I use big words-it's what comes from being a journalism major at Yale, taking thousands of English courses."
"You always have to win, don't you?"
"You've learned my secret," Rory smiled and rang the doorbell.
"It really wasn't that hard to learn," Greg muttered.
"I know," Rory said proudly.
"Ack! I swear, I'll be there soon! The…couch just tripped me!" Lorelai called from inside the house. Greg smiled at Rory.
"She sounds like Cathy from the cartoon strip when she says 'Ack.'" Rory said.
"It's endearing."
"Big word! I win!" Rory announced triumphantly.
"I'm here!" Lorelai announced, pulling the door open. "Rory! Babe!" She threw her arms around her daughter. "You're early!"
"We left earlier than I thought we would."
"What time?" Lorelai asked, looking at Greg, while still hugging Rory.
"Two."
"It's six-thirty! That's shocking, Rory." Lorelai broke the hug to look at her daughter.
"We were here two hours ago. We've been killing time."
"Uh-huh, that's what they all say." Lorelai fully released Rory, and then leaned against the doorjamb, crossing her arms and staring at Greg. "So. Greg. Your real name isn't Gaylord Focker, is it? Cause if it is, I gotta call my husband, and then since he's a former CIA operative, he's gonna talk to you in Thai and then perform a polygraph test on you." Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "You aren't a crackhead, are you?"
"No, I'm not. Don't worry, though, I'll certainly take good care of Pam here, and I promise not to break the urn holding your husband's dead mother's ashes or sniff your son's boxers. And my name's not Gaylord, it's Gregory."
"Oh, Gregory!" Lorelai immediately switched mindsets. "Well, Gregory-can I call you Greg? Good. Well, Greg, you stand here with Dharma, and I'll go get her father Larry. He's still messed up from the sixties and seventies. You know, we're not married. We've been together since before Dharma was born, but we're still not married. Larry doesn't believe in marriage, cause he thinks that's the government's way of keeping its eye on you."
"Well, Abby, to each his own, I guess. You know, I think if you talked to him about it, he might take it into consideration, and he might even marry you, you know?"
"I love you!" Lorelai said, finally breaking character and being herself again. She threw her arms around Greg's neck, standing on tiptoe to whisper in his ear. "You're gonna make it in this family just fine!"
"Thanks. Are you Lorelai now?"
"Oh, of course I am. Come in, come in, you've been standing here for forever!" Lorelai, holding Greg's hand, pulled him into the house, leaving a bewildered Rory on her own. After a second, she followed them. Walking through the house, she found them in her old room, looking at an old friend.
"Colonel Clucker!" Rory exclaimed, dropping her bags near the door and stepping over them to grab the stuffed rooster from Lorelai's hand. "I haven't seen him in forever!"
"You'd see him more if you came more often," Lorelai pouted.
"I've been busy, Mom. Work. You understand."
"She's been too busy to spend too much time with me, either, and I live three blocks away." Greg said to Lorelai.
"She's always been uber-obsessed with school and work. Well, more work now that she's out of school."
"Right."
"Stop talking about me like I'm not here!" Rory exclaimed.
"Sorry, sweetie," Greg said, slipping one arm around her waist and kissing her head. Lorelai watched the couple, wondering at how in love they were. She hadn't had that in so long.
"So, Rory, I'm guessing you've already stopped by Luke's?"
"Yeah," Rory said sheepishly.
"Oh, that's okay. I brought you up to love coffee more than life itself, and apparently I've succeeded." Lorelai rubbed her hands together and waggled her eyebrows evilly. "My evil plan is working."
The other two laughed, and then Rory placed Colonel Clucker lovingly on her dresser and held a hand out to her mother.
"What say we go get coffee?"
"Wonderful idea. And dinner, too, cause I have no food."
"Have you ever had food in the house?"
"Uh, no." Lorelai shook her head, and mother and daughter started walking out of the house. Greg followed.
~~~~
"No, I don't care if that's the theme of the movie, the best song is still 'Let's hear it for the boy'," Lorelai protested as she, Greg, and Rory walked into Luke's.
"But 'Footloose' is such a great song!" Greg protested.
"Yeah, but when you hear the beginning of 'Let's hear it for the boy', automatically you start thinking about the musical montage where Kevin Bacon's teaching Chris Penn rhythm."
"It's easier to dance to 'Footloose'."
"'Footloose' is by Kenny Loggins!" Lorelai shouted.
"Ooh, that's the final nail in the coffin. You've lost," Rory said to Greg. He mockingly hung his head in defeat.
"Celebratory cup of coffee, Luke," Lorelai implored as she walked to the counter. "And a side of defeat fries for my friend over here."
"Coffee for me too, Luke," Rory said.
"You're both killing yourself with caffeine." Luke scolded.
"Eh, who cares?"
"Yeah. Really. Do you care?" Rory turned to Greg.
"You marry me, then you can kill yourself with caffeine. All I ask."
"You're getting married?" Luke asked, slightly shocked. He poured coffee for both girls, still staring at Rory.
"Yeah. To Greg."
"And she's got a killer ring!" Lorelai announced, shoving her daughter's left hand under Luke's nose.
"Wow. You're engaged. Are you old enough?"
"Luke," Lorelai said. Luke glanced at her, and she shot him a look.
"Oh, right, yeah. Sorry. You wanted defeat fries. I'll get those." Luke left the coffee pot on the counter and walked into the kitchen.
"What was that about?" Rory asked.
"I dunno, but he left the coffee!" Lorelai exclaimed. She grabbed the pot and filled her coffee cup to the brim, and then did the same to Rory. She waved the pot at Greg, but he just shook his head. "Hey, Rory, I think I found his drawback."
"It's not a drawback," Rory protested. "He leaves all the coffee for me."
"Oh, that's thrilling! I've just gotten that since you moved out. It's a wonderful thing, isn't it?"
"Just fabulous." Rory smiled at her mother and they both sipped their coffee.
~~~~
"Who else do you know?" Lorelai, walking backwards up the stairs to the Gilmore door, asked Greg.
"Uh, who else do I represent, or who else do I know?" Greg, his arm wrapped protectively around Rory, asked.
"Represent!"
"My firm, or just me?"
"Like, who could you get to come to my birthday party, if I wanted them to." Lorelai threw the door to the house open, and the other two followed her in.
"They're all really expensive."
"I know that," Lorelai said exasperatedly. "Who do you represent, closely, who know what's going on in your life?"
"Oh, that's easy. Bernadette DeRussy. She's the only one of my clients who even asks about me. The rest of them are too busy. You know, being famous."
"Right. Bernadette DeRussy…what's she been in?"
"She was Richard Gere's daughter-in-law in that movie last year." Rory spoke up.
"Oh, the short cute little blonde girl?"
Rory and Greg nodded.
"She's the sweetest thing! So she actually cares about people?"
"Yeah. She's really nice. She called me yesterday," Rory said, walking out of the kitchen and into her room. She returned after a second, sweater-less. "She wanted to congratulate me on getting engaged. She just raved about you," Rory said, smiling at Greg.
"She's great."
"We should invite her to the actual thing." Rory said excitedly, sitting in the chair at the kitchen next to Greg and across from Lorelai.
"I don't think so. If she goes, then at least one person from the press will leak it, and we'll get early publicity."
"You're her PR person! You could insist that she's out of the country."
"I'll try—I don't know if it'll work though."
"That you try is all I ask." Rory smiled.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Lorelai demanded, glancing between the two like she was watching a tennis match.
"Oh, just the surprise." Rory said flippantly, knowing that response would drive her mother crazier—if that was possible.
"Ooh, what surprise? Tell me! Tell me now!"
"Shall we?" Rory asked Greg.
"We shall," he nodded.
"Okay. See, Mom, because of our jobs, we've made and kept a lot of friendships with people in the entertainment industry."
"Famous people, right. Go on." Lorelai prodded.
"And I know more than a few of them who would want to come to our wedding—if only to bolster their reputation as a non-diva actor, actress, rock star, etc." Greg said.
"Get to the surprise, people!"
"Okay! We don't want to have a huge press laden wedding, but we don't want to turn away some of these people either." Rory said.
"So we've decided to have two weddings."
"Two?" Lorelai asked.
Rory nodded. "Two. One here, at the end of the summer, and one on our first anniversary, in a cathedral in the city."
"With a reception at my parent's place in the Hamptons."
"Omigod!" Lorelai exclaimed.
"Yeah. So tomorrow Paris, Lane and Dave—"
"—and Steve, my brother, and my parents—"
"—are gonna be here, and they've all cleared their schedules so they can be here for the whole summer. We're gonna be spending the time planning both weddings."
"Only we're gonna put most of our energy into the actual ceremony, and focus more on the second wedding after the first one."
"Right. So we're gonna be here for three months."
"That's the surprise?" Lorelai asked.
"Yeah, that's the surprise. I thought you'd be more excited."
"Oh, believe me, I am. I'm thrilled to pieces. You just kind of made it seem bigger."
"Mom! I'm getting married here at the end of the summer!"
"Yeah, you're right. I don't know what's wrong with me." Lorelai smiled at her daughter. "It's fabulous news, sweetie. I'm so happy for you."
"Thank you," Rory smiled back, and they hugged. Then Lorelai hugged Greg.
"You are the best thing that ever happened to her, and that's saying a lot, cause I'm her mother."
"You're even better than I imagined," Greg complimented back.
"Oh, I'm gonna cry," Lorelai announced, pulling away from Greg and wiping her eyes.
"Don't!" Rory exclaimed.
"I won't." Lorelai grinned. "Ooh, it's getting late. About time for you to go, huh, Greg?"
"Sure."
"Okay. I'm going upstairs for a minute, and when I get back down, I expect to see you ready to go to the Inn. Goodbyes before I get back, okay?"
"Okay, Mom!"
"Good." Lorelai made the 'I'm watching you' gesture Robert DeNiro used on Ben Stiller in Meet The Parents and then headed upstairs.
Greg smiled at Rory and slid his arms around her waist, pulling her towards him.
"Alone at last."
"Do you have to go?"
"I don't want to sleep on the couch."
"You can sleep with me," Rory said.
"No, I can't. We promised we wouldn't have sex until we were married."
"I know," Rory sighed. "I just don't know if I can wait that long."
"Three months, sweetie, that's it."
"Okay. Maybe I can make it three months." Rory kissed Greg softly. "I can't wait to meet your parents."
"I want to meet your dad," Greg announced.
"Soon. We'll take a trip to visit him and Sherry and Georgia soon."
"When's soon?"
"When the big hand hits the 'S' and the little hand hits the 'oon.'" Rory said, using a phrase her mother had used long ago.
"Okay." Greg, satisfied with this answer, kissed Rory again. They were still kissing a minute later when Lorelai rushed downstairs, her hand practically bolted across her eyes.
"I'm here! All kissing unsuitable for children and mothers should cease and desist immediately!"
Greg and Rory parted.
"It's okay, you can look now," Rory said as she and Greg walked from the kitchen to the bottom of the stairs.
"Phew! Okay, come, perfect-future-son-in-law," Lorelai implored, leading Greg to the door. "I'll be back in twenty minutes. Try not to do anything stupid."
"Right back at ya, Mom."
"Silly. Okay, we're leaving!" Lorelai was standing at the door, ready to go, but Greg and Rory were staring at each other. "Now! You can call her as soon as you check in, okay?"
"Okay," Greg said reluctantly, tearing his eyes from Rory's. "Let's go."
"Bye!" Rory said.
Greg turned around. "Bye! I love you!"
"I love you too!" Rory called as Lorelai pulled Greg out by his shirtsleeve. She smiled, watching her fiancée and mother walk off, and then she turned and walked into her old room. Her suitcases were piled near the bed, and she lifted the most important one—the one with all her best clothes and personal hygiene products—onto her bed and began to unpack.
After five minutes, she'd managed to stuff her clothes into her empty dresser drawers and half-empty closet. As she neared the bottom of the relatively small suitcase, she noticed a large brown envelope. She lifted it gingerly, and then pulled out three stacks of letters and a business-letter sized yellowing envelope. Placing the other pieces of paper to the side, she reverently lifted the second letter from the stack, this one dated late July, 2003.
Rory—
I'm writing again. Again, I don't know exactly why.
I'm settling into life here with my dad, his girlfriend, and his girlfriend's daughter (not his). The only thing that I really can't adjust to is the dogs—I don't like dogs, can't stand 'em, never have been able to.
I wonder sometimes, about that godforsaken hellhole known as Stars Hollow. No matter how much I hated it, it still crawls under your skin and stays there. So I'm wondering what job Kirk's doing this week, how many people Patty has sexually harassed today, how many cups of coffee you and Lorelai have stolen from Luke.
How do you get your minimum amount of coffee, now that I've gone? Have you managed to trick Caesar into giving you coffee? Have you gone without?
These are rhetorical questions, I suppose, since this letter isn't leaving the house, just like the last one.
Are you getting ready for college? Are you and Lorelai crazily upping your movie nights to five times a week, as opposed to the normal three? Are you freaking out? Is Paris? (Okay, that's not so rhetorical—she obviously is) How many pro-con lists have you made?
The questions go on and on. I just wanted to get them down on paper, because I haven't seen you in two months, and I was used to seeing you every day for over two years.
You were the best thing that ever happened to me, Rory, I hope you know that. I didn't move out here because of anything you did—it has nothing to do with you.
I haven't had the greatest chance to read as I've been out here, although I still always have a book shoved in my back pocket, as you have one shoved in your purse.
I did read the other day, though. The Fountainhead. Still can't get through it, though I'm still trying. You read more Hemingway, and I'll get through Ayn Rand, I swear.
I miss our talks about books, I miss stealing books from you. I think I actually miss getting on Dean's nerves.
Strange the things the mind singles out.
Jess.
Rory folded the letter and delicately placed it in the yellowing envelope next to the first one. He'd missed her.
Strange the feelings the mind conjures up.